Webster defines an ending as a conclusion or termination. There are happy endings ( get your mind out of the gutter people ), such as college graduation or ending your work day on a Friday evening. But there are also endings that are not so joyful. Death, loss of a job, and a fun filled weekend just to name a few. Endings are inevitable. We all must answer to our God when all is said and done. The key to how we are accepted is determined by how we well conduct ourselves with our time on this Earth. The same can be said about your career, whether you are an engineer, a business manager, like me a process operator, or a professional athlete.
How many of us dreamed of being the next Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Barry Sanders, John Elway, or Lawrence Taylor as kids. I know I did. Instead of my body growing more vertically. It grew more horizontally, in a bad way. Ok maybe I am embellishing a bit. But you get the point. Marcus Lattimore had similar dreams and was well on his way to achieving them until that unforgettable Saturday afternoon against The University of Tennessee . I remember watching the game in shock as were the fans in the stadium. You wonder why kids deserve to be paid while playing ball in college look no further than this kid. Raised by a single parent, being a 1st round draft pick would have gone a long way in securing he and his family's future. But as a result of the system implemented by the NCAA he had to put himself at risk for just a full scholarship. I'm not saying that's anything to sneeze at. Thousands of people are paying off student loans nearly twenty years after they've left college. But to see the amount of revenue generated by his jersey sales (which he gets no part of) is appalling and is no comparison to a 4 year scholarship.
The unforgettable image of seeing his kneecap out of socket is forever entrenched in my brain. The injury was as gore as Joe Theisman's injury that ended his career at the hands of Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football nearly 30 years ago. But here he was an All-American Junior Running back that most draft pundits had graded as a 1st round pick prior to this, his 2nd knee injury and was driven off in a cart in tears fearing the worst. A player with can't miss potential. Similar to his former college teammate and this past year's NFL 1# draft pick Jadeveon Clowney. Instead this would result in him being drafted in the 4th round by the San Francisco 49ers and despite the class and patience exhibited by the 49ers organization to nurse Lattimore back to health, and Marcus's faith and perseverance the injury that he sustained, is as of this week be the reason he will now retire from football.
A little background on Mr Lattimore. He was Mr Football in SC his senior year in high school. He was rated the 2nd best running back prospect in the nation out of high school and chose the University of South Carolina to play his college ball over nearby Clemson University. His Freshman year he was named national Freshman of the year. I recall a SI article stating he was the best RB prospect since Adrian Peterson. That's high praise. From all accounts he was just as good a person off the field as he was as a player on the field. His football exploits didn't boost his ego, he was and is a man of faith. Which is why many fans, not just Gamecock fans, continue to admire him. It saddens me to see such an awesome talent have to lose his career to something he couldn't control. While drug and alcohol abuse ruins players careers, that punishment is self inflicted and is easier to accept because you have a choice to make. Lattimore didn't ask to have his kneecap turned in the opposite direction. Fate said so. In many ways it is unfair. When you look at how childish guys like Johhny Manziel and Jameis Winston act and acted during there college careers it makes you appreciate how special Marcus Lattimore was.
Although his football playing career is over I am sure there's no shortage of options coming his way. Coach Spurrier has already said there's a position waiting on him at USC. He also can be an analyst on the SEC network along with other former SEC players who' s pro careers didn't pan out the way they planned for one reason or another such as Tim Tebow and Greg McElroy. So all is not lost. Just because one chapter of ones life has ended doesn't mean life doesn't move on. Perhaps God has a bigger calling on his life thru his foundation and other works. But why did this happen to Marcus Lattimore? This young man stayed out of trouble off the field. He wasn't a PED or recreational drug user. Coach Spurrier and the 49ers training staff echoed that his work ethic was matched by very few. The reply to the above question. Why not Marcus Lattimore? Very few others could persevere through such extreme adversity and if such actions bring you closer to Christ there's no gift on this Earth that can top that.
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