[Vision2020] Gamers To the End (Rick Reilly)

[Tom Hansen]

>From Rick reilly's column "Life of Reilly" in today's (February 2, 2007)
Sports Illustrated -

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Gamers To the End
By Rick reilly

You up for a challenge?

I'm going to tell you about five young Americans at the peak of their
athletic lives.  Your job is to guess how all five lives came together in
the past month.

One.  As usual Elizabeth Loncki is acting very unladylike, just the way she
likes it.  It's 2001, she's 18, and she's challenging her dad to a push-up
contest.  He just did 50, but now Elizabeth is hitting 51.

He could've done 100, and she would've done 101.  That's how she is.  A 5'5"
Energizer Bunny, she's the furnace that heats the volleyball team at Padua
Academy in Wilmington, Del.  She's the darling of the weight room wherever
she works out, spotting guys twice her size.

She also reads to shut-ins and runs errands for seniors.  And seems like
twice a week, she'll get up early so she can get balloons for somebody at
school.  Just don't try calling her "sweet".

Two.  Brian (Cap'n) Freeman is about to become one of the best in the world
at something he never thought he's even try - bobsledding.

A burly brakeman from the virtually snowless town of Temecula, Calif.,
Freeman digs in, grunts and pushes to U.S. to a bronze medal at the 2002
America's Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y..  But Freeman isn't just the piston for
his sled team, he's also the soul of it - willing to push for drivers other
than his own, just to give them a chance to develop with a few more runs.
"A total team guy," says Steven Holcomb, the current World Cup bobsled
points leader.  "I wouldn't be where I am today without Brian."

Three.  If you'd been there when Shawn Falter was a toddler, with those
massive braces on both legs, you wouldn't believe what you're seeing now, as
the senior leads his 1998-99 Homer (N.Y.) High basketball team.  No longer
pigeon-toed, he's blocking shots, rebounding like a man on a caffeine drip,
scoring when it's needed and setting up teammates the rest of the time.

That's nothing.  You should see him on the football field, scoring TDs at
tight end and trying to decapitate receivers at safety.  And all while being
skinnier than a one-iron.

"All heart," marvels Jeff Tabel, who was his hoops coach.  "Born to lead."

Four.  Luis Castillo isn't just a good wrestler, he's the captain of the
2003-04 team at Mattawan (Mich.) High.  Wait!  He's not just the captain,
he's the winner of the team's leadership award.

And wrestling is only where it starts.  He's a break-dancing,
bungee-jumping, joke-telling machine in a crew cut.  "The all-American kid,"
the grown-ups call him.  And it makes you wonder: How many people know he
was born in Mexico?

Five.  It's 2000, and 17-year-old Jason Corbett takes his mark at the
ancient Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.  The timer is ready and - bang! -
Corbett's off.  Of course, there's no official time for his run because
there's nobody in the stands and it's his buddy holding the watch.

He's not in a track meet, he's on a trip with some Casper, Wyo., high school
classmates.  But, hey, that's not going to stop Corbett from running or
having a good time.  Nothing stops Corbett.  He swallows life whole - track,
snowboarding, fly-fishing and hunting.  The kid has all the warning signs of
a thrillaholic and loves anything to do with the outdoors.  Maybe that's why
he ended up in the only place big enough for him: Alaska.


So, what do these five athletes have in common?  They were all killed in
Iraq during a two-week period in January.

Air Force Senior Airman Loncki, 23, was killed by a car bomb near
Al-Mahmudiyah.

Army Captain Freeman, 31, was killed by insurgents disguised as American
soldiers in Karbala.

Army Private First Class Falter, 25, died as a result of that same ambush.

Marine Lance Corporal Castillo, 20, died from wounds suffered while on
patrol in Al Anbar province.

Army Specialist Corbett, 23, died of injuries from small-arms fire suffered
while on patrol in Karmah.

Five athletes.  Five futures.  All gone.

Five of 84 Americans killed from New Year's Day through Sunday.  Five of
3,084 American killed since the war began.

Athletes love teams, and when they run out of sports teams they sometimes
join bigger teams, ones with Humvees for huddles and tombstones for trophies
and coaches they've never met sending them into a hell they never imagined.

And they throw their whole selves into it anyway, because they are brave and
disciplined and will chew through concrete to win the game.

But what if the game can't be won?

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.