文本内容:
He NeverMissed aGameBob Richards,the formerpole-vault champion,shares amoving storyabout askinny youngboywho loved football with all hisheart.Practice afterpractice,he eagerlygave everythinghe had.But beinghalf thesize ofthe otherboys,he gotabsolutely nowhere.At allthe games,this hopefulathlete saton thebench andhardlyever played.This teenagerlived alonewith his father,and thetwo ofthem hada veryspecial relationship.Even thoughthe sonwas alwaysOn thebench,his fatherwas alwaysin the stands cheering.Henever misseda game.This young man wasstill thesmallest ofthe classwhen heentered highschool.But his father continuedto encouragehim butalso madeit veryclear that he didnot,have to play footballif he didn twant to.But theyoung manlovedfootballand decidedto hangin thereHe wasdetermined to try hisbest,at every practice,and perhapshedget toplay whenhe becamea senior.All throughhigh schoolhenever misseda practicenor agame butremained abench-warmer allfour years.His faithfulfatherwas alwaysin thestands,always withwords ofencouragement forhim.When theyoung man〃went tocollege,he decidedtotryout for the footballteam asa walk-on.Everyone wassurehe couldnever makethe cut,but hedid.(花名册)The coachadmitted that he kepthim onthe rosterbecause healways putshis heartandsoul toeverypractice,and atthe sametime,provided theother memberswith thespiritand hustlethey badlyneeded.The newsthathehad survivedthe cutthrilled himso muchthatherushed to the nearestphoneand calledhisfather.His fathershared hisexcitement andwas sentseason ticketsfor allthecollege games.This persistentyoung athletenever missedpractice duringhis fouryears atcollege,but henever got toplayin agame.It was the endof hissenior footballseason,and ashe trottedonto thepractice fieldshortlybefore thebig playoffgame,the coachmet himwithatelegram.The young man readthe telegram〃and hebecame deathlysilent.Swallowing hard,he mumbledto the coach,My fatherdied thismorning.Is itall rightif Imiss practicetoday”The coachput hisarm gentlyaround hisshoulder,and said,“Take therest ofthe weekoff,son.And dont evenplan tocome backtothe game on,Saturday.zSaturday arrived,and thegame wasnot goingwell.In thethird quarter,when the team wastenpoints behind,a silentyoung manquietly slippedinto theempty lockerroom andput onhis footballgear.As heran ontothe sidelines,the coachand hisplayers wereastounded tosee theirfaithful,teammate backso soon.Coach,please letme play.Ive justgottoplay today,z saidthe youngman.The coachpretended notto hearhim.There wasno wayhe wantedhis worstplayer inthisclose playoffgame.But theyoungmanpersisted,and finallyfeeling sorryfor thekid,the coach・〃gave in.All right,he said,“You cango inBefore long,the coach,the playersand everyonein thestandscould not believe theireyes.This littleunknown,who hadnever playedbeforewas doingeverything right.The opposingteam couldnot stophim.He ran,he passed,blocked,and tackledlike astar.His teambegan totriumph.The scorewas soontied.In theclosing secondsofthegame,this kidintercepted apass andran allthe wayforthewinning touchdown.The fansbrokeloose.His teammateshoisted himonto theirshoulders.Such cheeringyou neverheard.Finally,after thestands hademptied andtheteamhad showeredand leftthe lockerroom,thecoach noticedthat thisyoungmanwas sittingquietly inthe cornerall aloneThe coachcame〃,to himand said,Kid,I cantbelieveit.You werefantastic!Tell mewhat gotinto youHow〃did youdo itHelooked atthecoach,with tearsin hiseyes,and said,“Well,you knewmy daddied,but didyouknow thatmy dadwas blind”The youngman swallowedhard andforced asmile,“Dad cametoall mygames,but todaywasthefirst timehe couldsee meplay,and Iwanted toshow himI could〃do it!,Like theathlete*sfather,God isalways therecheering forus.He salways remindingus to,go on.He seven offeringus Hishand forHe knowswhat isbest,and iswilling togive uswhatwe needand notsimply whatwe want.GOD hasnever misseda singlegame.What ajoy toknow that,life ismeaningful iflived forthe Highest.Live forHIM forHe swatching usinthegame oflife!。