Sports and Reality

By: Lee Ramsey
    Sports have been a big part of my life and probably yours too if you’re reading this. I’ve played, coached or covered sports as a newspaper journalist almost all my life.
    If it’s taken seriously, spots can emotionally put you on top of a mountain or bring you to your knees. That’s really what makes it exciting.
    Sports provide a valuable therapeutic remedy for dealing with everyday life’s problems, at least temporarily.
    However, sometimes reality has a way of reminding us of just how unimportant sports are.
    Last Wednesday, Aug. 4, was one of those days. Reality hit the Seymour community hard, very hard when former Eagles baseball star Corbin Weaver passed away.
    Corbin, the ‘Big Weave,’ as everyone affectionately called him, recently graduated this past spring. In February, he signed scholarship papers to play baseball for Roane State College.
    I was fortunate enough to cover the signing held in the Seymour High School library.
    Corbin was one of the most likeable, polite kids I have ever met. His parents were bursting with pride on that day.
    Any signing of an athlete to a college scholarship is one the most enjoyable stories a writer will ever cover. It celebrates and fulfills all that the athlete has worked towards for so long. This was a great day. I was very happy for Corbin and his family.
    You could tell Corbin came from a good family. No one ever knows what’s down the road. Just try to enjoy every day and make the most of it.
    I didn’t personally know Corbin and his family, but my son and his friends did and they only had good things to say about him.
    This tragedy reminds me of the time my 17 year old nephew Joseph Ramsey was killed suddenly in a car accident a few years ago. Like Corbin, Joseph Ramsey was an outstanding human being who everyone liked.
    He loved sports, especially baseball. When people die this young, the shock seems even greater. The tragedy is magnified.
    Corbin Weaver brought a lot of joy and entertainment to a lot of people.
    The estimated 300 plus crowd attending his memorial service on the Seymour football field the night following his death is a testament to this and how well he was liked as a person.
    When it comes to the stark reality of death, sports becomes very unimportant. Everyone knows that.
    There are some, however, who want to put down sports and fans because we put so much emphasis on it. They have a point somewhat, but actually sports are a very positive tool to deal with life’s very harsh disappointments, tragedy and everyday stress by temporarily taking our minds off of it.
    Sports fall under the term recreation. The definition of recreation is ‘the recreation of the mind’.
    Anything that contributes to dealing with life’s realities in a positive manner can’t be bad.
    Corbin and Joseph were both taken from us much too soon. Both deaths were senseless tragedies but I know Joseph’s death was not in vain and I’m sure Corbin’s won’t be either.
    God will use this to change lives even though the cost is so great.