This week is "Jimmy V Week" on ESPN, featuring week-long initiatives on multiple ESPN platforms to raise awareness for the V Foundation. Stuff like this normally kick starts my cynicism, knowing some of ESPN's self-promoting ways. But the V Foundation raises money for cancer research and that's something that is worthy of our attention.
Jim Valvano, many of you know, was famous for coaching the North Carolina State basketball team to a National Championship over the University of Houston in 1983. By 1993, he was out of coaching and fighting for his life against stage 4 cancer. The clip above is of his acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, given to him at the ESPYs that same year. Valvano died less than 2 months after giving this speech.
Since 1993, the V Foundation has raised over $70 million dollars for Cancer Research. In 2005, Jim's own daughter, Jamie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. More importantly, she was diagnosed with a rare form of genetic breast cancer that was only found due to advancements in cancer research, research whose funding was aided by the money raised from her father's Foundation. And because they caught it early, she's since recovered and been declared cancer-free.
But back to that night at the ESPYs in 1993...
It was, quite simply, a fantastic speech. I remember watching that broadcast live in my dorm room that night and being moved to tears. Everyone who watched him that night, whether on TV or at the awards show, knew that he was losing his battle. I recalled then what it was like for my family when Mom had breast cancer. I made special note of what Jim said in that speech, that each day he aims:
1. To laugh each day
2. To spend time each day in thought and reflection
3. To allow his emotions to be stirred and moved to tears
Those just seemed to be wise words to me then. They seem to be much wiser words to me today. Now that Dad also faces his own battle with cancer, not to mention that our good pal Jocelin (even though I wasn't able to run the fundraiser on your behalf, Joce, you know I'm with you) walks that road, too...I am glad for Jimmy V Week on ESPN and for the ways that it is bringing meaningful assistance to this important work.
Jim Valvano, many of you know, was famous for coaching the North Carolina State basketball team to a National Championship over the University of Houston in 1983. By 1993, he was out of coaching and fighting for his life against stage 4 cancer. The clip above is of his acceptance speech for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, given to him at the ESPYs that same year. Valvano died less than 2 months after giving this speech.
Since 1993, the V Foundation has raised over $70 million dollars for Cancer Research. In 2005, Jim's own daughter, Jamie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. More importantly, she was diagnosed with a rare form of genetic breast cancer that was only found due to advancements in cancer research, research whose funding was aided by the money raised from her father's Foundation. And because they caught it early, she's since recovered and been declared cancer-free.
But back to that night at the ESPYs in 1993...
It was, quite simply, a fantastic speech. I remember watching that broadcast live in my dorm room that night and being moved to tears. Everyone who watched him that night, whether on TV or at the awards show, knew that he was losing his battle. I recalled then what it was like for my family when Mom had breast cancer. I made special note of what Jim said in that speech, that each day he aims:
1. To laugh each day
2. To spend time each day in thought and reflection
3. To allow his emotions to be stirred and moved to tears
Those just seemed to be wise words to me then. They seem to be much wiser words to me today. Now that Dad also faces his own battle with cancer, not to mention that our good pal Jocelin (even though I wasn't able to run the fundraiser on your behalf, Joce, you know I'm with you) walks that road, too...I am glad for Jimmy V Week on ESPN and for the ways that it is bringing meaningful assistance to this important work.
1 comment:
at first I was thinking...here we go, another good sports post by Dennis. But to my surprise, it was much more. I find it so easy to get caught up in the ToDo's of each day. Those three simple points in his speech serve as a reminder that there's so much more to life than just what we "do" or what we check off our list.
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