I know this season has not exactly turned out the way that you would like it. With all the controversy behind the ownership as well as the multiple losses. This year could easily been seen as the year that the Railhawks just gave up. But to me that isn’t how I perceive it. I believe that this is the year that will only make the team stronger and better in the future.
Remember you have to go through a valley to get to the top of the hill and I believe right now that you are in the valley but soon you will be cresting that hill. I should know last year was absolutely the worst in my life. It seems like everything we touched was falling apart. It started in January with the call from school that Gracie had some type of seizure. ( Not having a history of seizures, we were immediately concerned.) The next three months of multiple doctor’s visits and tests to rule out brain tumors and vision problems, we finally had a diagnosis – Epilepsy.
After being put on medication, we thought things were finally getting back on track and then the car accident occurred. Leaving me the promise of surgery in the future for my torn rotator cuff. Being out of work to take care of Gracie and then the accident left a financial strain on the family. Adding to that the emotional turmoil of seeing my first-born, Maddie, moving away to attend college. I could have been a basket case.
Think that last year was bad by reading this, wait it got worse. During the whole time, I watched my dad’s, who had always been my hero, health decline. He slowly slipped away from us and in December he was put in a hospice center and died while there.
Why do I mention this in the grand scheme of all that is soccer? Because if I could look back at one thing besides my faith that got me through last year, it would being able to attend Carolina Railhawks game. For just a while my family was able to escape all that life threw at us and we just got to enjoy being a family and watching an awesome team.
I wanted to write this post to tell you keep your chin up and if this post can do what 1/5th that the team did for me last year than I have done my job. It is always great to attend games but it is even better when players remember who you are and ask how you are doing. And that little bit of contact with your fans is what makes Carolina Railhawks a great team. You will rise like the Hawks you are and soar. We all go through that time and this is yours. Don’t believe me, just look at the San Antonio Scorpions last year they won the championship but this year they are not geling either.
But I can tell you from the experiences of last year, not only am I stronger, but I have also been able to expand my blog. More doors are opening for me.
Just know that devoted fans will never leave your side. And sometimes life gets in the way of us attending games but we are there in spirit.
So thank you for being the team that you are. And believe that this is the year that will only make you stronger.
We all need things that keep us going and it’s nice to see that you are taking active steps to make sure to stay happy.
Sometimes it just takes something like a sports event or other activity to help you forget your struggles for a little bit that in the end gives you the ability to cope with them better. I am sure things will brighten soon.
What a beautiful letter and it’s so easy to give up when things aren’t going your way but I hope they’ll come together and do better next season.
I think events in our lives can make us stronger and do make us stronger. It might not happen in the time frame that we wish it would happen, but I do believe in the saying “When one door closes, another opens.” We just have to hang in there and keep on keeping on and trust in whoever you believe in.
That is quite an eventful year – and a very complimentary letter to the team!
Sometimes, when things are rough we really need an escape. It can be the simplest things that help take us away from our problems for a little while.