Failure to Champion
Sports players who went from failure to a champion
The Philippines vs America
When it comes to sports there have been multiple rivalries. In basketball there's the Celtics and the Lakers, the Bears and the Packers in football , the Giants and the Dodgers in baseball,and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in soccer . When it comes to boxing two people have been rivals their names are Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.These two men have turned out to be one of the best boxers in the world, but one of them was not as fortunate as the other. Floyd Mayweather’s childhood differs from Manny Pacquiao’s in a lot of ways. The first way is that Mayweather already had a original childhood like other american kids while Pacquiao was forced to do work. The second reason is that Pacquiao had to deal with a parental separation while Mayweather got to live with people he loved. The next reason is that Pacquiao was born in more of a rundown area than Mayweather was which caused his family to be extremely poor. The last reason is that since Pacquiao’s family was poor they had less food to eat. According to washington post.com Pacquiao’s father came home all hungry and drunk which led to his father eating Pacquiao’s best friend which was his dog. This is different Mayweather’s life because his parents had enough money to send him to boxing classes and pay for his food and education something that Pacquiao’s family could not do.
While their lives were different they have also been alike as well. The first similarity between these two boxers was that they had an ambition to become something great. These boxers started to do boxing from a very young age,but unlike Mayweather Pacquiao had to travel to another country to begin his career. The second similarity between these two men is that they had people in their lives who had faith that they would succeed in their ambitions, Pacquiao had his mother while Mayweather had his grandmother. The third similarity between these two men is that they both became one of the best boxers because of the amount of the amount of hard work they put into their career. The last similarity between both of them is that they both are now one of the richest boxers in history and one of the highest paid athletes because of their dedication and their perseverance when they had to deal with adversity. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have both been around the boxing world for a very long time they have both had their share of adversity and triumph, but in the end they have persevered through the toughness and have became one of the greatest rivalry during the past decade. Overall Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao have had toughness in their lives, but still are an inspiration to athletes and people everywhere.
Poverty to Champion
Throughout history people have come from failure to accomplish things that no one would dream of doing,Diego Maradona was one of them. He was born to a very poor family in Buenos Aires Argentina, but through his hard work and his dedication Maradona was able to capture multiple awards and most famous of all the World Cup in 1986. This is a story about how a boy from failure was able to rise to a man with superstardom. First let us go back to the beginning of this man’s life. Diego Maradona was born in Lanus Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 30th 1960, but he was raised in Villa Fiorito which was a poor and rundown town on the outskirts of the city. As a kid Maradona was born to a poor family and was asked to do work to support his family, but he still made time for his favorite past time which was futbol. Maradona was an amazing soccer player as a kid and while playing for his neighborhood club and he became a staple Los Cebollitas which was the younger club for the professional club Argentinos Juniors.
After he went to the professional club Argentinos Juniors Maradona made his professional debut ten days before his sixteenth birthday. He played for this club from 1976-1981. Next Maradona got transferred to the team of his dreams which was Boca Juniors because of joining midway through the season he played during the 1982 season and was able to capture his first competitive medal. After the 1982 World Cup Maradona was transferred to FC Barcelona and was able to capture more stardom. Then he was transferred to Napoli during the summer of 1984 and made his first Napoli debut in front of 75,000 fans on July 5th 1984, but his most famous accomplishment came during the summer of 1986. This World Cup took place in Mexico May 31st - June 29. Argentina was drawn in group A along with Italy, Bulgaria, and South Korea. During the World Cup Argentina got 5 points which was enough to top the group and advance to the knockout stages. The first leg of the knockout stages Maradona’s team faced the Uruguayans.This game resulted in a win. Argentina was able to continue their dominance to the final game where they faced the powerhouse of West Germany,because of Maradona’s dominance they were able to capture the World Cup and Diego Maradona was crowned with the Golden Ball. Unfortunately after he came from the world cup he became addicted to cocaine in which he had to spend a 15 month ban for failing a drug test.Lastly Maradona was still able to compete in international play, but do to his addiction his international career ended after the 1994 World Cup. Maradona was also able to manage some of the teams he played on which were Argentinos Juniors,and most famously the Argentinian National Team which was led by stars Lionel Messi and Sergio Kun Aguero. Due to his lack of health and his stubborn attitude he was able to many millions of euros worth of debt in Italy. Overall Diego Maradona was a idol to young soccer prodigies to pursue their dreams through hard work and stubbornness even though he had mishaps in his life.
Article about Failure
Lebron James failure essay
The G.O.A.T
People have come from different styles of poverty cities to claim a sports title.Like Tom Brady,Diego Maradona,Michael Oher,and Victor Cruz, but one thing that they all had in common was their ambition to do hard work,and to pursue their dreams. Lebron James was one of them. This is a story about how a lonely boy from the streets of Akron Ohio became one of the most athletic and popular athlete in the world. Because of his mother Lebron was a kid who never had a good opportunity. Therefore Lebron was a kid who never had an idea for a future he felt like achieving, Since his mother was usually out of the house Lebron was sent to live in the house of Frank Walker a football coach. When he was kid he played for an AAU team where he excelled in basketball along with his friends, the “Fab Four”. Lebron went to St. Vincent and St. Mary high school where he became the star of the varsity basketball team. Many critics thought he was the greatest high school basketball player in America. Because of his determination Lebron decided to enter the 2003 NBA Draft where he was selected with the first overall selection. As a result of his dedication Lebron was able to guide the Cavaliers back to stardom in the nba and was selected to many all star games in the process. Also he won the MVP award twice, and guided the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 where they sadly lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Because of the team's lack of talent and playoff push Lebron signed with the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010 to form the Big Three. This combination led to the Heat appearing in 4 straight finals and in 2012 Lebron was able to capture the triumph he rightly deserved the NBA Championship,and the NBA Finals MVP. Lebron was an idol to many young Miami Heat fans who loved watching basketball, but during this time Lebron started to miss his home, and his mother team, the Cavaliers. So during the summer of 2014 he opted out of his contract with the Heat to rejoin the Cavs who already had Kyrie Irving, an NBA All Star. He told his fans one simple line that changed the Cavaliers future for years to come “I’m coming home”. This led to the Cavs becoming one of the most dominant teams in the league,and Lebron being more happier than ever. The Cavs season could only get better. During the trade deadline they picked up J. R. Smith to pair next to Kyrie Irving to form one of the best backcourts in the NBA. They cruised many teams in the league,and ended up clinching the division title for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. The Cavaliers had a decent start to playoffs, but because of Lebron’s talent they were able to shift past the Boston Celtics, and the Chicago Bulls. In the Eastern Conference Finals they were able to sweep the surprising #1 seed the Atlanta Hawks. This shows how much perseverance Lebron had even though the Hawks had a better record than they did. Overall Lebron is an idol to many of his fans not just in America, but around the world because of his perseverance and his dedication to succeed in his life.
Footbal Legend
Many athletes have started on their teams as a big nobody or the odd one out, but they showed perseverance and came back to claim a trophy or a championship. Some people are Michael Oher, Manny Pacquiao, Victor Cruz, and Manu Ginobili. Tom Brady was one of them. He was a sixth round pick up for the New England Patriots, but the main difficulty was that the Patriots already had a steady starting quarterback. The problem is that Brady was stuck being the backup or who know’s how long,
Going into the 2001-2002 NFL Season the Patriots were looking to improve there record by a lot because they did not want to go back into the lottery, The Patriots season did not start of in a good way, The team went 0-2 in the first to games, and felt like the following year was repeating itself. Also to make matters worse for the team there starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe got injured because of a hit against the New York Jets. This led to Tom Brady becoming the new starting quarterback for the whole season. Tom Brady’s dream was coming true he was finally being part of an NFL organization.Brady did not hesitate a bit about being in the spotlight he made an impact right away. Brady led the Patriots to a 11-3 record as a starter and a 11-5 record overall. This was enough to clinch the division and the AFC conference .
Brady continued his dominance throughout the playoffs and the Patriots started to become a dangerous team. During the playoffs because of the season the Patriots were forced to play in harsh weather that resulted in very close games, but the Patriots were able to pull off to big wins and were able to reach the Super Bowl for the 3rd time. In the Super Bowl the Patriots were able to pull of a surprising win against the mighty St. Louis Rams, when Adam Vinatieri made the game winning 48 yard kick to solidify a “cinderella” season for the Pats. Since then Tom Brady has been to 9 Pro Bowls, won 3 Super Bowls, won 2 NFL MVP awards, and 3 Super Bowl MVP’s,and is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Overall Tom Brady was a savior to many of his fans and someone that not just football junkies can look up to for courage or perseverance.
Soccer Dreams
Many soccer players have come from poor or developing countries such as Pele, Lionel Messi, and Franck Ribery. Cristiano Ronaldo is also on this list. As a kid Ronaldo did not have many of the luxuries that we have today. To be more specific Ronaldo had to live in a small cottage where he shared one room with his mother and two sisters. Ronaldo told an interviewer that this part was one of the most painful parts of his life. Ronaldo had to also go to work because of his expulsion from school at age 14 for throwing a chair at the teacher, but his mother told him to concentrate on the game that he loved which changed his life forever.
As a kid Ronaldo was a prodigy in soccer , and he had many good characteristics to become a superstar. For example he could dribble the ball past many players,was able to shoot at a high rate, got a multitude of goals, and was fast on the pitch. Because of his excellence Ronaldo was able to join his local club called Andorinha were his father worked as a kit man. Ronaldo was able to excel at that level and joined the higher ranked local club Nacional where he played for 2 years and won the title the same year. In 1997 Ronaldo joined the club that would change his soccer career forever Sporting CP, one of Portugal’s best clubs. Ronaldo was able to make an impact right away. He assisted and scored goals and Sporting CP won the title. Because of his talent Ronaldo was called up by a few of the big name clubs like Manchester United, and Arsenal, Ronaldo eventually signed with Man United during the summer of 2003. During his time at Manchester United Ronaldo gained large amounts of popularity off the court and on the court. Also he gained fame playing for the national team where he became one of their most prolific players, and popular player’s. Ronaldo was a big part for Portugal during the 2006 World Cup and he carried that into his play with Man United. Ronaldo was able to clinch many championships during his stay with Man United because of the players around him. For example he was paired up front with Carlos Tevez, and Wayne Rooney, Diego Forlan, and Ruud Van Nistelrooy because of the amount of talent Man United was able to clinch 3 championships and a Ballon d’ or given to the best FIFA player. In 2009 another big name club approached him Real Madrid. Ronaldo accepted the offer with a fee of 94 million euros making him the most expensive footballers in history. Again Ronaldo was paired with amazing players such as Raul, Iker Casillas, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria, Sami Khedira, Kaka, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Luka Modric, and most famous Gareth Bale. Because of this talent Real Madrid became a powerhouse in La Liga and the Champions League, and Ronaldo was nominated every year of the Ballon d’Or award, Since coming to the team Ronaldo has been the poster child and the future of the franchise for years to come. Overall Ronaldo was a big piece of inspiration for many of his fans and his family, but most importantly Ronaldo showed the soccer world want means to be a true winner with his hardwork and dedication to the sport he loved.