Captain Peter Cavanagh pens our next player blog...
A lot of the lads are starting to panic about these blogs now, especially after the standard that Peter Vincenti set was followed up by Hendo. I was hoping to go after Joe Raff so I sounded intelligent, but I have had second thoughts just in case his is comedy gold.
So after deciding to take the plunge I have been asked to talk about inspiration and what inspires me. It’s hard to speak about inspiration without mentioning motivation as a lot that inspires us also provides us with the motivation to go out and achieve our goals.
Pick up any feel good or sports movie these days and you will find a plethora of inspirational quotes and speeches sprinkled throughout the film. Blindside, Coach Carter, Remember the Titans to name just a few and who could forget Al Pacinos inch by inch speech in Any Given Sunday. These words used at the right time can often inspire and motivate you in the short term.
But personally I have always taken more inspiration from people. Not just incredible sportsmen who achieve incredible feats like Mo Farah, Messi, Tony McCoy or Floyd Mayweather, but also ordinary people who have suffered and sacrificed or shown great will and determination all for the benefit of others. How can you fail to be inspired by people like Martin Luther King or Hillsborough campaigner Ann Williams and what they done for their respective causes.
I watched a Sky Sports ringside special about Darren Barker a couple of weeks ago. For those of you who didn't watch it, it was about Darren who was about to fight for the IBF middleweight title and how he was using the loss of his younger brother to inspire and motivate him on his quest. He went onto win the belt showing great courage after being knocked down in the 6th round citing it was the memory of his brother that made him get up. I only mention this as having suffered the same personal tragedy in 2005 and it is now my brother who is my main inspiration every day. He is someone I think about if ever I feel the need for some extra strength and motivation.
How can we talk about inspiration without touching on the incredible story of our very own Rickie Lambert. If he doesn’t inspire every lower league footballer to never give up on your dreams then they're in the wrong game. I grew up playing against Rickie and from the ages of 10 to 14 I played with him for Liverpool FC junior teams, often travelling on the same bus to training together with our Dads. At 14 because of the strength of the group, three players were released - Rickie, Danny Coid and Kevin Nolan - who went onto amass over 1250 league appearances, as well as England under 21 and full honours between them. Needless to say the coaches that made those decisions are no longer in a job!
Up the Dale!
Cav