Always Compete by Steve Bisheff

Author:Steve Bisheff
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2011-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

Sometimes a story comes along that makes a coach and a team forget all about the pressures of a season or the current ranking in the BCS computer polls. This one began four years ago when an eleven-year-old boy from Prairie View, Wisconsin, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a smile as warm as a winter fireplace, quietly adopted the USC Trojans as his favorite football team.

If anyone needed a diversion at the time, it was Ryan Davidson, who originally had been diagnosed with a brain tumor at age six. The cancer was in remission for five years, but then in April of 2004, it reappeared. The chemotherapy treatments and the endless digesting of pills and various experimental methods made it tough, but Ryan hung in there. Jim Phillips, a family friend living in California who was impressed with Ryan’s courage, sprinted into action. He arranged for Ryan and his dad, Kirby, to fly West and have choice seats for the USC-Cal game.

“We got there and the first thing we did was go to Heritage Hall,” says Kirby Davidson. “Ryan wanted to pose by the Heisman trophies. Next thing I know, someone says, ‘Let’s go up to the athletics offices.’ So we do, and Pete Carroll walks out, looks over and says, ‘You must be Ryan. We’ve been expecting you.’ Well, Ryan is grinning from ear to ear by now, so we take a picture of him with the coach. Then Carroll says, ‘Ryan, come into my room.’ He takes him into his office and spends a few minutes before we [his dad and Phillips] go in. When we get there, Ryan is looking at game film with the coach and has the clicker in his hand, and they’re talking like they’re best of friends.”

After that came a flurry of activity that included meeting Heisman winner Matt Leinart, assistant coaches, and an assortment of players. From there, the Davidsons and Phillips were escorted to Howard Jones Field, where the team practices. “The kids just all took Ryan under their wing,” says Kirby. “They went out of their way to make him feel like one of the team.” When practice was over, the Davidsons were startled to find the best was yet to come. “The players all got into a group and they started whooping and calling Ryan’s name,” Kirby says. “They packed him into the center, and they raised him on their shoulders and they’re all chanting, ‘Ry-an! Ry-an! Ry-an!’ At that point, I have to tell you, Dad was forced to wipe a few tears from his eyes.”

After the game, a close USC victory, Ryan was escorted to the locker room. “As soon as Coach Carroll saw him, he shouted, ‘There he is,’ and came over and gave Ryan a big hug. Lots of players followed and gave him gloves and wrist bands. Honestly, by the end of the weekend, Ryan was feeling like the MVP of the team. I’ve never seen a group of people go out of their way to make a weekend so special for a child dealing with a serious illness.

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