"THE TRUE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION," by Brady Poppinga, $13.99, 119 pages (nf)
Many football fans in Utah — especially BYU fans — are familiar with the name Brady Poppinga. He was a major contributor on the Cougar defense from 2001-2004 and went on to have a long career in the NFL. What most people don’t know is how Poppinga used his competitive spirit to set and achieve these goals.
In his autobiography,"The True Spirit of Competition," Poppinga uses stories from throughout his life to anecdotally demonstrate how he set goals to first play football at BYU followed by the NFL and how he achieved those goals. From the time he was 4 years old and put on football pads for the first time, he wanted to be the best.
Brady was born into an athletic family in Evanston, Wyoming. His father had played football for Brigham Young University in the 1970s and all of the children eventually competed in sports at the college level — his oldest sister played volleyball and all of the boys received scholarships for football. Being the middle of the three Poppinga boys, Brady found his competitive fire early on, as sports were a part of everyday life.
As part of his desire to be the best, he developed what many might consider an unhealthy desire to win; Poppinga describes how this competitiveness made him hate losing so much that he would go to great lengths to ensure that he didn’t experience a loss in anything, ever.
He goes into great depth about this competitive spirit that lasted all through high school and even into his time as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay. At one point, he describes how he was considering giving up his dreams of playing football because he felt that he was not treating his opponents respectfully. However, after examining the personal changes that he was experiencing as a missionary, he received an answer to his prayers that told him to follow his dreams, but to do so while channeling his competitive tendencies more constructively.
All through the book, Poppinga describes how he learned to treat his opponents with mutual respect while still giving his best efforts in life and in sports. Whether it was using his competitive spirit to battle injuries or to become a Super Bowl champion, "The True Spirit of Competition" can be a useful example in the proper ways to set goals and what it can take to properly achieve goals.
This is an enjoyable “behind-the-scenes” stories of Poppinga's life and career and can be used reference as they navigate goals personally, spiritually or athletically.
Landon Walters is a history and political science major at Salt Lake Community College. He is an avid sports fan and loves writing. Email: mavericksoccer_22@hotmail.com