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Opportunity Knocks. Time to Kick in the Door

September 9, 2013
Terry Vaughan

One of Hollywood's legendary  tough guys was once the little kid that everyone picked on.

As a child Bruce Lee often came home bloodied and bruised from losing fights in the hardscrabble streets of Hong Kong. He decided to adapt by learning martial arts and later became one of pop culture's greatest icons for his many roles in action films such as Fists of Fury and Enter the Dragon. His masterful fight scenes on film were so captivating because his audience knew he could back it up in real life.

Instead of allowing his circumstances to defeat him, Bruce Lee decided he was tired of getting punched in the nose and did something about it.

Bruce Lee, 40 years after his death, is still the preeminent figure in the history of martial arts excellence.

Lee once quipped, "To hell with circumstances. I create opportunities."

The 2013 football season is at the halfway point and a bloodied and bruised Bradford Tornado team finds itself at a crossroad. No one is particularly happy about an 1-3 record, even though everyone knows that the schedule has been salty.

Some say adversity builds character-others say it reveals it. My two cents on the theory is that some choose to fight through adversity and overcome while others allow it to crush them. But adversity is a sure fire filter to display character-good or bad. When things go wrong you can find out pretty quickly who you can count on and who is ready to cash in their chips.

Opportunity is still knocking for the Tornadoes. It is time for the team to decide if they want to kick in the door or allow the circumstances to convince them that there is nothing waiting on the porch worth opening the door for.

The Coaches can try and motivate with fire-breathing locker room speeches until the cows come home and it will not mean much if the Tornadoes do not recognize that there is much to play for and it is time to "get-r-done", (with apologies to Larry the Cable Guy)

Forget the circumstances. Embrace the opportunities.

It starts with a trip to Interlachen this Friday night in the second of our four District games. Bradford is still undefeated in District play and a post-season berth is just as attainable at this point as if the team were 4-0. The Rams have been dominated by the Tornadoes through the years and Bradford needs to come into this game determined to make the statement that this tradition will continue. A big victory with inspired effort will have BHS sitting pretty for a playoff spot, although Keystone and Umatilla still may still have something to say about things.

Another of Bruce Lee's memorable quotes went like this: "Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick."

For the 2013 Bradford High football team, it is time to show they still have the will to fight through their circumstances and punch back.