There are many questions a person gets asked in life. However, the worst question is one of regret – what if?
The question of "what if" constantly plagues many athletes, both college and professional. The true athlete is always aiming for the top, and anything less than No. 1 is a failure.
And when he or she doesn't attain that goal, self-doubt sets in. Unfortunately, in life there are no replays. Self-doubt gradually eats away at your soul, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Yale quarterback Patrick Witt isn't willing to face that emotion.
Witt was recently invited to an interview opportunity for the Rhodes scholarship. The award – considered the world's most prestigious scholarship – has been awarded to the likes of TV personality Rachel Maddow and President Bill Clinton.
This opportunity would seem like a no-brainer to the average scholar, but Witt chose to decline.
The quarterback's scheduled interview would've conflicted with Yale's game against Harvard this Saturday. "The Game" is one of college football's most storied rivalries, spanning 128 years. Witt would be damned if he were to miss a chance at history.
Witt is well on his way to becoming the greatest quarterback in Bulldogs history. He is one of the school's all-time leaders in completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. The quarterback is also the current leader in the Ivy League in many major passing categories this season.
He's writing his name into the annals of one of the most prolific schools in American history. If that means turning down one of the biggest opportunities one can ever be granted, then it's his right to do so.
Witt was only offered a slim opportunity even if he decided to take the interview. Why miss a chance to have your name written into lore for a mere chance?
Witt is going to have other opportunities to win the scholarship. He's a 22-year-old student and the scholarship eligibility ends at age 24.
The quarterback is in his last year of NCAA eligibility. There will never be another chance for him to take part in the historic event, lead his team, and further cement his name in Yale's history books.
If he was denied the scholarship, he would forever regret not taking part in the Saturday matchup.
Your regular scholar may scoff at his decision. But then again that everyday scholar doesn't comprehend college sports. A collegiate athlete has to give it his all every day of each week to even compete at a Division-1 level and be successful in school. To blow off what he or she has been working at for a slim opportunity would be huge disservice to oneself.
The Rhodes legacy lists four standards: energy to use one's talents to the fullest, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports; truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship; moral force of character and instincts to lead; and to take an interest in one's fellow beings.
Witt was fully aware of those standards.
"The important part here is not so much the game, but the principle of it," Witt said. "If I were to go to that interview and skip the game, in a lot of ways I'm not acting like the person they selected to interview."
Best of luck to you, Mr. Witt.
Email: brian.josephs@ubspectrum.com
