SPORTS SCENE
EMBRACING FAILURE TO SUCCEED
SECOND STRING TO SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES STORY BY CARTER BROOKS
I
t was a Super Bowl for the ages this past February. With Tom Brady and the New England Patriots set to defend their crown against the Carson Wentz-less Philadelphia Eagles, many expected to see a lopsided Pats victory in Super Bowl 52. But lo and behold, a banged-up, resilient, God-fearing group of young men from Philadelphia walked away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as league champions. It was anything but a typical season for the Eagles. After bouncing back from a 2016 campaign that saw the team from Pennsylvania finish the year 7-9, this past season’s squad clinched their division with a win against the St. Louis Rams. However, it was that game in which star quarterback Carson Wentz went down with a torn ACL. Although many believed all hope was lost after Philadelphia’s 25-year-old quarterback — the second
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overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft — suffered his injury, backup QB Nick Foles took the reins and helped guide the Eagles to their first Super Bowl, and first championship since 1960, with a 41-33 victory over the Patriots from US Bank Stadium in Minnesota. It was Foles’ faith in the Lord that helped the 29-year-old keep his head above the water after being cut by the Rams in 2016. He came back to Philly for his second stint — this time as a backup — but stepped up to the plate and delivered mightily in quite possibly the most important moment of this life, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to both throw for and receive a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Finishing Super Bowl 52 with three touchdown passes, a touchdown reception, 373 yards, a 78 percent completion rate, and the Super Bowl
MVP trophy capped off what was a brilliant comeback for the Austin, Texas native — one that was charged by his Christian faith. After the game, Foles met with the media and dropped a bomb in the form of this viral quote. “I think the big thing is not to be afraid to fail,” the Super Bowl champion said. “I think in our society today, Instagram and Twitter are highlight reels; they’re all the good things. But when you fail, or when you have a rough day and you look at that, your life doesn’t seem as good, and you think you’re failing. You know, failure is a part of life. That’s a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times, made mistakes. We all are human, we all have weaknesses.” Foles continued:
