Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-12

fore an important game he severely
Wrercht his knee arG yet refused TO
give up his opportunity TO play He
lasted throughout Tn" entire game,
Iilylng his llSu0l Brilliant way, no one
Noticed that there was anything out Of
the ordinary H. his Gtmcanor until he
BEGAN t. get Llidt"ssed after the con-
'eSt, whom slddtu MY he began to rave
w'tt dcliliun. My Got, m, knee, my
knee You can't give up Billy. you're
captain OF the team. My God my
kneeW Suffering the most intense
agony, as It afterward developed, that
man had gone through the match, fore
ing h'msolf fy pure, clear'grit 20 play
on and not to give up and ~ tire. TEat
was nerve
Nerve Is The leayen that leaycneth the
whole football lump. Given big,
strong husky" man, with skill and
knCWlcdgr. and small man, with not
half the tber'F physical advantages
ard icrhnicol skin, but with nerve. and
the lnttci viii inevitably and always
got The better Of his opponent He re-
fuses TO know when he is put out Of
the play Hnock him down dozen
tiNrS' he WIN stand pp again and con
'lnun e. DO Ia rest, By anG by the big
college IarlaiCr and that " the anti
thesis Of nerve, bat the little man keeps
on, prrSistt city and By end By begins
r. 40 things &C. thr BIC man
When player constdntly has 70 draw
ON his nerve IL is, however, a very
wearing thing, and taxes his vitality
ana Train power to the utmost. Like
everything else which Is overtaxed. az
Ter while II gives out. the SUNNY
dllnlnlshesi there Is no reserve mower
on which to draw II is exhausted 10 n
greater or less extent And that IS only
reasonable, and II is why, too. as yoii
may learn to your surprise the life and
top notch ability Of the really good
Football man Is of comparatively short
duration. He may last three or four
years, but at the end of that time no
matter how anxious, how willing he
may be. he cannot do the things he
once could.
There Is a limit to all human power,
he has reached It, and perhaps gone be.
yohd Il; from that time on his ability
mutt decline. To the uninitiated he
NAV still seem to have all his old time
sk.ll. but taat probably Is due to his
reputation, which Is sim unclouded.
ms teammates VIII know, however, that
no longer has he the power and skill
thtt used to be his. Physically he may
seem all right, he may be all right: he
may not have lost one iot or title OF his
knowledge Of all the finer points Of the
game, but all the same, when the crisis
comes, when his team faces defeat and
he tries to draw on his nerve power,
no longer can II help and make possible
tn eimpossible as 1t once did.
He viii play on nerve as he always
did, but his nerve OF today Is not, can
not be his nerve of four years ago. lie
may tiy hard he may try harder but
physical endurance an dmental endur-
HnCc especially have reached their zen
It'll and are on the wane, This is true,
pittldly true, or the word Of those who
know You may see its truth on al
moost any of the big college eevens in
the country. Names of the men could
be mentioned, but il would scarce be
kind TO those who, through no fault
of their own, can no longer accomplish
the superhuman for that Is what nerve
In il slightest form can make man do.