Why You Should Always Stay Ready
In 2018, the national championship games in both major college sports (football and men's basketball) proved something remarkable.
Alabama won the 2018 national championship in college football, while Villanova won the 2018 national championship in men's college basketball. Both teams were favored to win and both teams did, in fact, win.
But the remarkable thing about both games is not who won, what the score was, or who scored the most points. The remarkable thing about both games is that the star player in both of them started the game on the bench.
Both Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) and Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova) were not starters for their teams. They both subbed in when their number was called and were ready.
Tua was a freshman quarterback playing behind future NFL starter Jalen Hurts. We all know now that Tua would eventually become an NFL starting quarterback before Hurts would, so why was he playing behind Hurts in the first place?
Well, Hurts had finished the previous season with 36 overall touchdowns, breaking the previous record for touchdowns in a single season for Alabama. Alabama concluded its regular season with a perfect 12–0 (8–0 SEC) record. Hurts would go on to lead his team to win the SEC Championship over the Florida Gators and was subsequently named SEC Offensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and received Freshman All-American from several publications.
So it's safe to say Tua was not expected by many to become the star of the 2018 national championship game. But when Hurts played poorly in the first half and was benched in favor of Tua at halftime, Tua was ready and took over the game.
Tua played exceptionally well in the second half and threw the walk-off touchdown in overtime to beat Georgia 26-23. He finished with 166 yards passing and three touchdowns.....in only one half of play. His number was called upon, and he was ready.
Donte had been Villanova's sixth man for most of the regular season, coming off the bench in nearly every game. Villanova had in their starting lineup future NBA 1st round draft picks (Mikal Bridges and Omari Spellman) and the consensus national college player of the year and first-team All-American (Jalen Brunson), so it's for good reason that Donte had a hard time cracking the starting lineup.
In the 2018 national championship game against Michigan, Donte subbed in and would go 10-15 from the field, including 5-7 from behind the arc. He was named the most outstanding player at the Final Four and his 31 points marked the highest scoring total off the bench in a national title game ever. His number was called upon, and he was ready.
Tons of so-called experts listed their "Players To Watch" before the game. Do you know how many listed Tua or Donte? Not a single one. It's what makes sports, well, sports.
If you are an athlete, it's imperative to always keep these five things in mind:
1. Always be ready.
2. Value team over self.
3. Always be ready.
4. Don’t worry about things you don’t control.
5. Always be ready.