Taking Names and Keeping Score
Second chances
Charlie Anderson
There are many people in our society that firmly believe there is no such thing as a second chance. They would be the first to tell you that in real life there are no do overs and you better get it right the first time. Of course they are correct in that, what ever you attempt to do in any given moment and fail to accomplish cannot be repeated because the circumstances would not be exactly the same even in the very next moment.

Their argument can further be substantiated by the fact that our society as a whole is generally unforgiving and the mistakes we make never seem to be completely forgotten, at least in the eyes of man. Thankfully the God who created us knew we weren't ever going to be perfect beings and provided a way that we could be forgiven for our mistakes and shortcomings. If it were not for that provision not only would we be spending our lifetime here on earth trying to live down our mistakes but we would spend eternity in even worse circumstances.

The world of sports is one of the few places where mistakes can seemingly be overcome and ultimately forgotten. For instance in baseball, hitters are considered to be doing a good job if they possess a batting average that is .300 or better. That seems strange since that means they are failing twice as much as they are being successful.

In basketball a player whose scoring percentage from the floor is at least 50% is considered to be a good shooter. Here again that is somewhat strange when you consider that means he or she is failing almost half the time. In football numerous rushing attempts for no gain are often forgotten after one break away run for a long touchdown. That trend holds true in each and every sport that athletes participate in whether it is a sport that is more individualized or the ultimate team situation.

There are some exceptions to the rule however such as Bill Buckner's infamous error in the 1986 World Series that many believe allowed the New York Mets to come back from a 3 to 2 game deficit to the Boston Red Sox to ultimately win the series.

That one mistake in Buckner's past unfortunately has over shadowed an otherwise wonderful 22 year career in which he posted a lifetime batting average of .289, collected some 2,715 hits and won a National League batting championship.

In keeping with my primary focus but bringing things closer to home, this past week as I attempted to keep up with the football signings in our area and across our state I couldn't help but notice that former Thomasville High School standout Aaron Johns had signed to play his fmal two seasons of eligibility with Neil Callaway's UAB Blazers. Johns, whose career in football has had its ups and downs since he graduated from Thomasville back in 2004, seems to have righted the ship so to speak and is moving on.

His story is one that is a perfect example of an athlete whose successes were great and widely acclaimed but whose mistakes were glaring and still serve to keep a cloud of skepticism over his future in mind of some people. It all began at Thomasville High School where after a successful junior year he had a super senior season in which he was named 4A Back of the Year in Alabama after rushing for 2,050 yards, catching passes for another 224 yards and scor- ing 37 touchdowns. From there his accomplishments made it possible for him to receive an athletic scholarship to the University of Alabama where in the fall of 2004 as a true freshman he had 47 carries for 185 yards and seemed to establish himself as someone to watch in the next season. That however is when things began to change. For a number of reasons, some that he readily admits were his own fault and some he genuinely wasn't sure about, be appeared to fall out of the good graces of the coaching staff at Alabama and spent the entire 2005 season in what was deemed a red shirt year. Seeing no future for himself at Alabama after that experience, he elected to transfer during the second semester to Copiah- Lincoln Community College for what would be his sophomore season. There in this past season he rushed for 914 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and scored 24 touchdowns in 10 games.

His performance and his numbers were certainly good enough to bring UAB calling and earn him what he considers a second chance to be all he can be. Maybe, at least for his sake, it's time for those of us who pulled so hard for him while he was at Thomasville High School to look beyond what might have happened at Alabama and give him a second chance in our heart and mind too.

Until next time…….be safe!

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