August 5, 2011
The Art of Working Hard and Sticking Around The man in the picture is Mark Tauscher. He was fired from his job last week. We knew each other in college. We met in Portuguese class. He would see me do stand-up comedy at the student union and I would go to the bar where he worked. He was also a football player. Mark was not a star player. He didn’t even have a scholarship his freshman year. In fact, I don’t think he played at all the first three years he was on the team. In the spring practices before his senior year though, he was fighting for the position of starting guard but lost to a promising freshman. As an offensive lineman, Mark knew that if he didn’t start, he wouldn’t play. So Mark quit football. The promising freshman was Terry Stephan. Terry, coincidentally, was also a friend of mine because my roommates went to high school with his older brother. In the fall, Terry suffered a fairly minor neck injury. During the standard MRIs and whatnot that come with neck injuries, it was discovered that Terry had a potentially life-threatening spinal cord condition. So Terry quit football. With his preferred starter unable to play football, the head coach convinced Mark to re-join the team. Mark started every game and the team won the Rose Bowl. That team featured a Heisman Trophy-winning running back and several offensive lineman who were considered professional football prospects. Mark was not one of those prospects. Mark is from Marshfield, Wisconsin. He played collegiately for the University of Wisconsin. In the last round of the NFL Draft, he was selected by the Green Bay Packers. By the third game of his rookie year, Mark was their starting right tackle. Last week, the Green Bay Packers fired Mark Tauscher. But this is not a sad story. This is a story of hope. Not good enough for a scholarship. Not good enough to start in college. Not good enough to be a professional football player. Mark Tauscher played 12 years for the Packers. He has a Super Bowl ring on his hand and an infant son in his arms. Oh yeah, and he’s earned over $20 million. Work hard. Stick around.

The Art of Working Hard and Sticking Around

The man in the picture is Mark Tauscher. He was fired from his job last week. We knew each other in college. We met in Portuguese class. He would see me do stand-up comedy at the student union and I would go to the bar where he worked. He was also a football player.

Mark was not a star player. He didn’t even have a scholarship his freshman year. In fact, I don’t think he played at all the first three years he was on the team. In the spring practices before his senior year though, he was fighting for the position of starting guard but lost to a promising freshman. As an offensive lineman, Mark knew that if he didn’t start, he wouldn’t play. So Mark quit football.

The promising freshman was Terry Stephan. Terry, coincidentally, was also a friend of mine because my roommates went to high school with his older brother. In the fall, Terry suffered a fairly minor neck injury. During the standard MRIs and whatnot that come with neck injuries, it was discovered that Terry had a potentially life-threatening spinal cord condition. So Terry quit football.

With his preferred starter unable to play football, the head coach convinced Mark to re-join the team. Mark started every game and the team won the Rose Bowl. That team featured a Heisman Trophy-winning running back and several offensive lineman who were considered professional football prospects. Mark was not one of those prospects.

Mark is from Marshfield, Wisconsin. He played collegiately for the University of Wisconsin. In the last round of the NFL Draft, he was selected by the Green Bay Packers. By the third game of his rookie year, Mark was their starting right tackle. Last week, the Green Bay Packers fired Mark Tauscher.

But this is not a sad story. This is a story of hope.

Not good enough for a scholarship. Not good enough to start in college. Not good enough to be a professional football player. Mark Tauscher played 12 years for the Packers. He has a Super Bowl ring on his hand and an infant son in his arms. Oh yeah, and he’s earned over $20 million.

Work hard. Stick around.

1:51am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Z21KVy7x9ijV