WPSU's This I Believe
I Believe in My Fans
- Contributor: Paul Cianciolo
Town: University Park, PA
County: Centre County
Heard on NPR's Weekend Edition on August 14, 2008
I’m no one special. I don’t consider myself different from anyone else. But when some people discover what I do to pay my college tuition, they light up. They look at me as if I’m special. It’s a little embarrassing. I’ve never understood why my ability to throw a football well entitles me to so much admiration. When people say, “Good luck next season,” I just smile and say “Thank you.”
Growing up, I was blessed with many things: A supportive family, good health, a strong work ethic, and athletic talent. Armed with these, I was fortunate to earn a football scholarship to Penn State University. I arrived on campus four years ago. I quickly discovered what it meant to have some serious fans.
Over these past four seasons, I’ve seen some highs and some lows. In 2004, the Penn State football team was knocked out of bowl contention long before the regular season ended. Our fans stuck with us. In 2005, we won the Orange Bowl in triple overtime and finished as the third-ranked team in college football. Our fans partied with us.
But you know, this tremendous accomplishment was nothing compared to something that happened several months before that game—an event that got a lot less publicity than our football game. An event where I met a different group of fans.
Before I met these “fans,” my idea of a bad day was having Coach Paterno jump on me for throwing an interception, or having to get up at five o’clock in the morning for a run. But that day a few years back, I found out what a bad day really was.
My teammates and I watched as these new fans got off the buses to visit us. They looked tiny; most were bald. They were all young children. Each child had two things in common: A diagnosis of cancer, and a wish to spend time with Penn State football players.
Listening to their parents’ stories of diagnosis, treatment, and pain, I finally realized what a bad day is. A bad day is chemotherapy. A bad day is multiple blood transfusions.
For two hours, I threw the football around with some of those kids. Some were too weak to hold the ball up themselves. I learned more during those two hours than I have during fifteen years of schooling. I learned what I believe. I believe that each of us has the responsibility to make the most of the talents and opportunities that have been given to us.
I realized that, like my little fans, many people have not had the opportunities that I have had. I realized that I have to take advantage of each breath, and every game. To NOT do so would be an injustice, not just to me, but to those kids as well. In the end, I became their biggest fan. As they left that day, many of the kids wished me, “Good luck next season.” I silently wished them the same.
I believe in my fans
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