Heroes

Today I caught a documentary on Steve Young while I was running on the treadmill. Steve Young could only be described as the Christenson family hero of all heroes. My dad taught my Sunday School class when I was around 13, and at least once a month the lesson was a talk by Steve Young that my dad had on cassette tape. Most of us in the class had it memorized. The gist of the talk was about working hard and not giving up. For those that don't know Steve's story, he was an 8th string quarterback at BYU who worked hard and with a little luck, ended up as one of BYU's all-time best quarterbacks. He took the same approach in the NFL, finally taking over Joe Montana's old post as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and earning them a Super Bowl championship.

During the documentary, Steve talked about heroes he had, the two most important being Roger Staubach and his father. To roughly quote him, he said his admiration for Staubach growing up helped him want to be a hero to someone else the way Staubach was for him. He said Staubach didn't owe him anything just because he was his hero, but because Staubach lived an examplary life, Steve sought to do the same. Of course I thought about how more sports athletes should think about that concept on a deeper level: how their actions in and out of the sport will affect those who are watching.

I think what impressed my dad so much was Steve's attitude of not giving up, and even more, of giving it your all. It was a very inspirational hour of television that has really helped me refocus my energies on the upcoming Vikingman. It also helped remind me that nothing is as important as the family. He ended the documentary with a famous quote from an LDS church authority: "No success can compensate for failure in the home." For me, triathlon must enhance my enjoyment with my family or else I will have to give up triathlon. Triathlon can definitely be a family matter. I may not be the fastest, but it makes me healthier and happier, thereby spilling out on my family. It's hard to feel sad or down on yourself after running, swimming, or biking a few miles.