Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Man In the Arena-Theodore Roosevelt

"The Man In the Arena"  in relation to U.S.A Military and Wrestling
Excerpt from the speech "Citizen In A Republic" 
by Ted Roosevelt in Paris, France on April 23,1910

Our soldiers who risk their lives every day, to protect 300 Million people, that they don't even know, aren't recognized enough for their sacrifices and hard work. A lot and most of the credit is given to the men and women in charge that send soldiers into battle. Sure they call the shots, but they are not the ones taking the shots. In Roosevelt's speech he says, "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly..."

 Our troops are the hardest working people in our entire country, and I try to imagine my self-putting in the same work they do, and apply it to wrestling. What every athlete does, eat right, work harder than anyone else, stay in shape, workout everyday etc. My coaches are always hard on us about putting in extra time, doing more than the next person, "why do 10 reps, when you can do 15, or even better go until you can’t anymore..." When it all comes down to it, win or lose its all about how hard you wrestled and did you work hard in training to beat your opponent. In relation to our troops, since they put in the work to protect me and my country, I sure as hell can put in the work on the mat. I'm setting goals this year, not to break when I'm weak, and not to stay down when I fall, and to complete every workout given to me. If our troops gave up on us, where would America be?


I'm so grateful for the men and women who fight for me and my country. I have so many family members who are veterans and are still in the military, and they all take pride in what they do and did, and none of them have any regrets. The stories I've herd are just so inspiring and it has made me really consider joining the military when I graduate in 2016. I feel I have something to give back to America and our troops,








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