When I grew up in Story City, Iowa in the 1960s, wrestling was big at Iowa State University (ISU) in nearby Ames. I recall the wrestler Dan Gable among others Dan Gable: College wrestling stats, titles, history | NCAA.com who proved to be one of the greatest of all time. But in 2018-22, Quarterback Brock Purdy made football relevant at ISU as he transformed the program Brock Purdy - Football - Iowa State University Athletics (cyclones.com) with his accomplishments.
He was drafted last in 2022 by the San Francisco 49ers and received the title Mr. Irrelevant, but proved himself to be relevant by starting in Super Bowl LVIII at the end of his second season.
What impressed me about him is that his faith keeps him grounded as explained in the following article:
On Tuesday, Purdy shared details about his faith in God.
“Yeah, this year for me, it’s been Psalm 23,” he told reporters.
“‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.’ Then it goes on.”
He continued, “But for me, you know, playing this game, playing this sport, there’s a lot that goes into it and it’s easy to get wrapped up in wanting to be loved, obviously, by your teammates and everybody, but also the world.”
“So for me, in that passage, it’s talking about, ‘I already have what I need from the Good Shepherd in Jesus.’”
“So I’ve just been studying Psalm 23 throughout the whole season and then going back to it. It’s what I start off with, actually, every single day. I just read off Psalm 23 to myself before I start off with some solitude and then go about my day.”
Even though Kansas City Chiefs defeat San Francisco 49ers in OT in Super Bowl LVIII, become first back-to-back NFL champions in 19 years | CNN in what turned out to be Super Bowl 2024 is the most-watched program in television history | AP News, life went on for Brock Purdy a man of faith.