Chicken soup - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

Of course, you know about the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. It’s a compilation of real-life stories that warm the heart, inspire, and celebrate the joys of life. Negativism isn’t entertained – there’s enough of that we encounter everyday.

The series is by no means escapist. It just shows there is a brighter side of things. There is no attempt to camouflage harsh reality under a white cloud of optimism. What the series hopes to deliver is a message of hope, love, and happiness.

It all began with the first "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book, a New York Times bestseller that featured 101 stories that captured the hearts and imagination of millions of readers all over the world. The book was such a hit that it spawned a second helping, third serving, and a fourth course.

Now the series has expanded to include special editions for "the surviving soul" (heartwarming accounts of courageous people who found the power to battle cancer in their endless hope, unwavering faith and steadfast determination... with a positive attitude), "the soul cookbook," "the soul at work," "the woman’s soul," "the teenage soul," "the expectant mother’s soul," "the parent’s soul," "the golden soul," "the preteen soul," "the single’s soul," "the college soul," "the golfer’s soul", and many more. The common denominator is each book compiles real-life stories that are inspiring and provocative.

The latest "Chicken Soup" to hit the bookstores is right down our alley. It’s called "Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan’s Soul" and lists 101 stories of insight, inspiration, and laughter from the world of sports.

The stories aren’t long – easy to read, about two to three pages long. Contributors include personalities like Steve Young, Monica Seles, Bill Bradley, Jim Brown, Pat Riley, Dick Vitale, Rafer Johnson and Meadowlark Lemon.

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Here’s one from Lemon, who was for years the Harlem Globetrotters’ "Clown Prince." In his story entitled "Beyond Race," Lemon recounted how once, he had the runs and hurriedly jogged to the nearest restroom while waiting for a plane at an airport. On the way to the restroom, someone asked for his autograph and he somehow obliged – hazards of the trade.

Then, after playing an all-black team before an all-white audience and eating at a black-only diner, a white man came up to him carrying his blond daughter of about six. The father said his daughter wanted to meet Lemon. She hugged and kissed Lemon. The father later told Lemon that his daughter was dying.

On another occasion, Lemon followed the ball out of bounds during a game and it rolled towards a boy at courtside. Lemon scooped up the ball and passed it to the boy who just couldn’t catch it. The ball went back and forth until someone whispered that the boy was blind. Lemon took the ball to the boy, embraced him, and the boy cheered himself hoarse the rest of the game. Lemon said the blond daughter and the blind boy saw beyond color.

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In Riley’s story entitled "When Your Back Is Against The Wall," he talked about the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals in 1985 between his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics. In Game 1, the Celtics beat the Lakers by 34 at the Boston Garden.

In the dugout before Game 2, Riley spoke to his players.

"A lot of you probably don’t think you can win today," he said. "A lot of you don’t think you can beat the Celtics. I want each of you to close your eyes and listen. When I was nine years old, my dad told my brothers to take me down to Lincoln Heights and get me involved in basketball. They would throw me into a game and I would get pushed and shoved. Day after day, I ran home crying and hid in the garage. This went on for two or three weeks. One night, I didn’t come to the dinner table so my dad got up and walked out to the garage where he found me hunkered down in a corner. He picked me up, put his arm around me and walked me into the kitchen. My brother was upset with him. ‘He doesn’t want to play – he’s too young.’ My father stood up and said, ‘I want you to take him there because I want you to teach him not to be afraid, not there should be no fear. Teach him that competition brings out the very best and the very worst in us. Right now, it’s bringing out the worst but if he sticks with it, it’s going to bring out the best. He then looked at his nine-year-old, teary-eyed son and said, "Pat, you have to go back there."

As Riley spoke, he noticed guard Michael Cooper crying. Cooper had a bad leg injury when he was a boy and could hardly walk. But he survived and became a star basketball player. Cooper knew what adversity was all about.

"I don’t know what it’s going to take for us to win but I believe that we’re going to go out there like warriors and that would make our fathers proud," said Riley.

The Lakers won Game 2 and clinched the title in six.

"All of us have at least one great voice deep inside," continued Riley. "A lucky few are born into situations in which positive messages abound. Others grow up hearing messages of fear and failure which they must block out so the positive can be heard. But the positive and courageous voice will always emerge, somewhere, sometime, for all of us. Listen for it and your breakthroughs will come. All great breakthrough messages deny the crippling power of fear. Fear of failure will lead you toward despair, wrong decisions and incomplete performance. It’s one of the last hurdles between any person or any team and greatness. Listen to the voice that counsels courage, that affirms your life and your ability – it will position you to do your best."
Pick up a copy of any of the "Chicken Soup" books. It could turn your life around.