One of the many cool things about watching sports week-in and week-out, is observing how athletes navigate the thrills of victory and the agonies of defeat. What’s deeper than those fan and media experiences is watching the unfolding of personal redemptions. Sports stories of salvation are as inspiring as they are ‘Shakesperian’, because we all relate to personal failings but simultaneously need reminding of the possibility to persevere over them.
On the stage of Monday Night Football vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in front of millions of people, new Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had his moment of overcoming.
Hopkins not only recorded 8 receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns, but he did it with vintage skill and dramatic flair. He did so with precise back-of-the-end zone toe-taps, and determination to shed double-defenders.
After losing wide receivers Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice for an extended period of time, it’s clear Kansas City’s trade for Hopkins is addressing its previous gap of talent at the position and helping them to stay undefeated.
However, it wasn’t too long ago that Hopkins was on the other side of the arc of adversity. After beginning his career in Houston with consistency and stability, notching five 1,000-plus yard seasons in seven years, Hopkins’ cache was halted in part due to an extended 2022 suspension in his third and final season in Arizona. Though Hopkins returned to the Cardinals for game action that year, he was unable to fully recapture his previous luster in the desert.
At times, it was clear that his connection with Kyler Murray was taking time to rebuild, and finishing his final season with a seven-game losing streak likely added to the frustration. An unceremonious release the following offseason—regardless of whether it was mutually agreed upon—was understandably painful and disheartening.
It can be just as painful as not having a steady stream of suitors offering a value that reflects your true talent, especially when, deep down, you know your abilities are still burning strong inside.
It’s equally hurtful when the narratives tied to your past are both burdensome and weaponized—giving them the power to become self-fulfilling prophecies that are harder to shake. Many can relate to this struggle, even if some of the whispers are rooted in truth or self-perpetuated.
Everyday people. Everyday fans. We all face the daily challenges of life and the microcosms within it, often carrying the weight of unspoken judgments or assumptions.
And yet, we all deserve the grace to grow.
We all should be allowed to gain from the wisdom of our pasts, and the space to relent to the lessons we are meant to learn. Finding contentment in deferred blessings is not a denial of joy. It’s an opportunity for greater peace to navigate the winds of life ahead. It’s a source of strength to surge past all doubt, and resolve to achieve the glory of the unthinkable when you continue to believe in yourself.
That’s exactly what Hopkins proved when he joined Tennessee and made the most of his circumstances during the 2023 season. He reminded fans that being over 30 doesn’t diminish his ability to rack up thousand-yard seasons, nor does it have to limit any of us. That no matter where he is, he is still who he is.
How powerful is that?
It’s as powerful as faith the size of a mustard seed and the will of self-belief. It’s powerful enough to recast the past in a new situation, and to chart the path towards the unforeseeable.
For Hopkins to eventually end up with the defending Super Bowl champions, in their quest for a 3-peat is about as sweet as a Shakesperian kiss. Or, it’s as sweet as having a breakout performance in the latter stages of your career, in front of those who never fathomed it could ever be possible.
The best part of witnessing these recent sports stories of redemption—from Sam Darnold to Kirk Cousins, Kliff Kingsbury, Vance Joseph, and Geno Smith—is that they all serve as powerful reminders: it can be us too.
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