I want to take a moment to side track away from racing today. For those who may not know, today is the 40th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, boosters, and fans. Normally I don’t mention things like this because a lot of it has no bearing on what I’m doing, but, if you have followed C2C since the beginning of the season, you’ll understand the connection we have to Marshall – in more ways than one.
The obvious connection is through our work with Herd Racing, and their association with Marshall University. I will confess that I’m not a football fan in the normal sense of the word. I support the football team of my old high school, and in the never-ending struggle of Gamecocks vs. Tigers, I fall on the side of Clemson. But I’m by no means a football fan. However, when we began working with Dana Tomes and Herd Racing this year, I was captivated by the story behind their number and the team.
I’m even more so captivated by Marshall University’s football program. To know that they lost everything – and I mean everything – came back, rebuilt, and “rose from the ashes” speaks to me on a lot of levels, many of them personal. I can easily say that, for our first real client, Herd Racing was a perfect fit.
There are difficult moments in everyone’s life that challenge our definition of who we consider ourselves to be. A lot of times, these events are tragic and devastating, and other times they’re painful to bear the weight of with any sense of purpose. But those moments can be something more than just setbacks or obstacles. These moments in our lives can redirect us in our journey to our destiny. And while the crash was indeed a tragedy, it has given to Marshall, and all those who are apart of its legacy, a unique purpose. They are not simply a college with a football program. Huntington, WV, is not simply a small town with a big college. Marshall students are not simply part of an academic body. That moment in Marshall’s history has given it an identity all its own, and a fierce pride in the Thundering Herd runs deeper than mere sports or academics.
The same applies to Herd Racing, and the same applies to how I feel about working with them. Maybe it’s just my personality, and maybe it’s just because they were willing to take a chance on me, but there is a deep-rooted loyalty and appreciation for them, and by default, Marshall. It goes beyond mere business.
I know a lot of people try to be impersonal and calculated when it comes to business, but I think that’s also why there’s such a deficit of passion in racing these days. I can speak from experience when I say I’ve seen what happens to people who get into racing as fans, start working in it, and wind up losing their passion because they didn’t find the beauty and meaning in the little thing this sport has to offer. It’s things like the Marshall story and the background Herd Racing has that makes me even more passionate about what I do.
We are not simply in this sport to make a living. We are here to enrich the sport with our passion. It is absolutely critical for those of us who ARE working in racing to find something to keep the fires of passion for racing alive. Otherwise, what’s the point of being involved in it? For me, it’s the stories like those behind Herd Racing that continue to fuel my desire to be in this sport. And it’s the story of Marshall University that serves as a reminder that, no matter what happens, if you stick to it long enough, and you give everything you’ve got to something, it may not happen this year, next year, or even the year after next, but someday, the dream will be realized.
Let us remember and reflect on that tragedy that happened 40 years ago today, but let us also look at ourselves and look at the moments that have reshaped and affected us in ways that maybe we don’t fully understand yet. Because it’s those moments that define us and make us who were are. And though the Marshall plane crash was tragic, it gave the town of Huntington and Marshall University something that it would not have gotten had the event not transpired: uniqueness and individuality.
In the past two years I’ve been through a lot. I had to say goodbye to a very, very good friend of mine, and though it wasn’t a death, it seems like I’m still mourning the loss of that friendship with that person almost two years later. I’ve never been one to get over things like that easily. And I suspect I will struggle with their departure for many years to come. But, I understand the purpose in it. I understand that had that person not left my life, I would still be behind in my own personal growth. I’ve come a long way in a year’s time, but I still have a lot to learn and to do. I don’t know if I’ll get C2C in a position of prominence this year, next year, or the year after that. But it’s the knowledge that I have to press on, if not for myself, for my family and friends and my future, that keeps me going every day.
I encourage you, as we draw closer to the end of the racing season, and as we go into the holiday season, to look back and reflect on the year. If you feel like you’ve lost your passion for something, and this can be anything – marriage, family, your job, a hobby – find a reason to get fired up about it again. Remember the things that have shaped and made you who you are, and understand the purpose behind why it happened.
And if you’re going through something now that troubles you, or you don’t fully understand, rest assured that there is a purpose, and that God never allows anything to happen that He does not provide His peace to get us through.
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Amen brother! Finding inspiration through tragedy is God’s way of showing us that things will get better and he never leaves or forsakes us. He has a plan for all of us. It is our job to let him work in our lives to make sure that plan comes to being. Keep digging! How about coming up with a memorable We are Marshall theme for that show boat we are finishing up!!! Dana.