"UNSTOPPABLE" ROBLES OFFERS A DIRECTION

"When opportunities don't present themselves, you have to look for other doors to walk through", said a confident and smiling Anthony Robles Monday night.  My gosh, if that didn't resonate with me.  And it sure made me inquisitive of what else he might be passing along our way.

The night, was 2013 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Banquet for Central Iowa.  It's a night I've attended many times, but none with the effect I was left with on this particular evening.  If you don't know of Anthony Robles, you're probably not alone.  He's not what you'd call a household name.  At least not yet.  He's a former NCAA wrestler who in his final season won the 125-pound weight class while wrestling for the Arizona State Sun Devils.  That fact alone is not so unusual, but given that he only had one leg is.  In truth, that's his story....the past, present and future of what he encounters each and every day.

If ever a mother (Judy Robles) could have said, "I told you so"

Robles was born with one leg, just his left.  And his mother was young, just sixteen.  So given those odds, wouldn't it be easy to see failure written across much of these two lives?  That was not the case.  His mother, Judy, always reasoned things out by saying, "God made you this way for a reason", over and over and over again, until he believed it.  For sure, it was her unwavering push that enabled him to be where he is today.  Was it a cakewalk to fame?  Far from it, as Robles would say......

He's never met his real father.  In fact, he didn't know much about him at all until he needed to add that portion of his life to the book he's written, "Unstoppable-from Underdog to Undefeated".  His step-father,who had served as a father figure since he was four, left the family.....walked away from Anthony's mother and three other siblings because he could no longer handle the financial pressures.  Strange considering his step-father was a pastor at a local church in Mesa, Arizona.  Nonetheless, the remainder of Robles family leaned on their faith.  Somehow, Judy reasoned...."you stay in school and we'll be alright".

It was around this time, the sophomore year of Anthony's career, that there were also changes in his mind-set.  He became more focused......his prayer life became deeper and he depended on his God for strength......and he also kept thinking about his mother's message...."God made you this way for a reason".   Weeks later, Robles placed fourth in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament.  The next season, he enjoyed a 32-4 campaign, but finished seventh at the NCAA's.  There was but one year left.

In the 2010-11 season Robles enjoyed his achievements, going undefeated through the regular season and right up to the final match against Iowa's Matt McDonough, the defending champion at 125 pounds.  Scared....but determined.....and relieved to see his family in the arena....Robles wrestled "the match of his life", winning 7-1.  He had, in many respects, gotten his glory.  Hours later when the meet was wrapping up, he grabbed further accolades by being named "Outstanding Wrestler".   Later would come other forms of recognition through the NFL Hispanic Leadership Award and the Jimmy V Perseverance Award.

Today, Robles is working on a movie deal, serves as an analyst on ESPN wrestling coverage and.....is on the motivational speakers circuit.

To me, what a crowd of some 400 saw Monday night had much to do with humbleness.  Truth is, it could have been an evening where disabilities took center stage.  But they didn't.....and after the initial walk to the podium, the two crutches that were positioned under Robles' armpits seemed as natural as a stool.  That's how much he held the interest of the crowd.

Yes, Judy Robles, God did make your little Anthony for a reason.  Just like he has for each and every one of us.  It's our path......much like the one Anthony painted of his Monday night, that we need to find.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance"-James 1:2

Thanks for reading,

John                

****The evening ended with a poem Anthony read after receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance Honor which he shared so graciously...it goes like this:

Every soul who comes to earth with a
leg or two at birth must wrestle his
opponents knowing its not what is, but
what can be,  that measures worth.  Make it
hard, just make it possible and through pain,
I won't complain.  My Spirit is unconquerable.
Fearless I will face each foe for I know I am capable.
I don't care what's probable, through blood, sweat
and tears, I am unstoppable"---Anthony Robles.

THE ROAD GOES THROUGH ATLANTA

Last week I flew down to Port St. Lucie, Florida to move my brother-in-law back to the Midwest.  We left for the Northlands on Thursday afternoon and after spending five hours on the road through a continual drizzle....we decided enough was enough for one day.  Packing, cleaning, loading and driving that is.

We pulled over in Lake Park, Georgia to wind down and I figured it would be a good place to watch the Finals of the NIT Men's Basketball Championship direct from Madison Square Garden in New York.  The Iowa Hawkeyes were taking on the athletic Baylor Bears.  That should say enough, athletic I mean.  My Hawks looked pretty pathetic, I must say.  They didn't have a good shooting night and the long Bears frontline made life very uncomfortable for any short range shot.  It was a complete Baylor blowout.....74-54.

The next morning we hit the road bright and early....in the rain of course.  Still comin down. And traffic was the same as it had been the day before. Everywhere.  I was driving the U-Haul truck and my brother-in-law was in his pickup.  Cars and trucks were in front of us, beside us, behind us.  Everybody going lickity-split.
For four more hours we faced this test.  Then came Atlanta.

A city with a whole lot going on....especially in the Sportsworld.

 

Ever since we left Florida, I'd been envisioning our path through "the city in a forest", for its abundance of trees.  National Geographic named it "A Place of a Lifetime".  The reason for my concern and excitement had to do with Atlanta being at the center of the Sportsworld the next few days.  We rolled in around 11 a.m.  I figured it would be gridlock to the utmost.  Why?  Over 5 million people live in the Atlanta and surrounding area.  That's one thing.....and.....

The Chicago Cubs had arrived in town late Thursday night to play the Atlanta Braves a weekend series.   Cub fans will show up just about anywhere and the Braves were receiving notice as one of the favorites in the National League.  Over 33,000 fans went through the turnstiles in seeing Atlanta knock off Chicago 4-1.  Saturday night, another 38,000 fans attended a 6-5 Braves win.  On Sunday, almost 46,000 were on hand for another Atlanta victory 5-1.

In another part of town Friday evening, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA were hosting the Philadelphia 76ers.  Over 17,000 fans were on hand to see Philadelphia ride off with a 101-90 victory...and then of course there was the NCAA Final Four crowd.  Louisville, Michigan, Wichita State and Syracuse fans had invaded the south to see their teams fight for the 2013 Championship.  And if that wasn't enough.....the Masters Golf Tournament was due to tee off on Tuesday with two days of fun leading up to the Thursday beginning.

Let's see....33,000...38,000 and 46,000 for baseball, 17,000 for pro basketball....75,000 for the Saturday games of the Final Four....74,300 for the Finals Game on Monday night...and the Masters.  The prestigious Masters has never announced their attendance figures, but estimates are figured at 35,000 a day.  Was this the place to be if you loved sports?  Ahhhh, ya.

A friend of mine told me this past week of some insurance buddies of his that made it to two Cubs games,  the Final Four semi's and the Finals and the first day of the Masters on Tuesday. What a couple of days for them, huh?

So, you can see I had some apprehension about traveling through the city.....but no worries.  Traffic was heavy, but manageable, at least for us at the time I mentioned.   Did it get crazier later on in the day and into the weekend?  I'm sure it did.  But from my vantage point.  Atlanta-well done.  You are without a doubt one of the meccas of the sports world.

Oh, by the way, we got home that next morning about 2:30.  Drove 19 straight hours.  Thirteen of those 19, we fought traffic, tooth and nail.  It wasn't until we hit Clarksville, Kentucky that things began to slow down and the white knuckle driving ended.  It was a trip worth remembering....

Thanks for reading,

John

****Who will be triumphant in Atlanta this weekend at the Masters?  Tiger Woods was in a pretty good position until Saturday morning when he was assessed a 2-stroke penalty for a ball drop.  As of this writing, Woods is -1 through the tourney, trailing the leader, Jason Day, by five shots.  I'll go out on a limb and pick Angel Cabrera to win it all.  He's been very consistent thus far.  But Tiger lurks and who knows how mad the penalty made him.  We'll see...

And lastly, I couldn't let this day go by without  passing along a quote from SS Jose Reyes from the Toronto Blue Jays,  who severely sprained (or fractured) his ankle Friday night.  When asked for his feelings, he said, "Sunny days wouldn't be special if it wasn't for rain", he tweeted.  "Thank you guys for all the love and prayers.  I put everything in God's hands for he is the one that got me here".

I know what you mean about the rain.....and with sunny skies today....Amen!!!