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GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT

Feb 17, 2022

Jim Kelly, the NFL Quarterback legend and Hall of Famer for the Buffalo Bills has fought cancer and personal tragedy. His PERSEVERANCE, summed up in the simple advice given to him by his daddy when he was growing up: GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT – is amazing.

The SAME CHARACTER TRAITS & MINDSET that he learned and used playing QB and being a team leader/captain and reach his dreams on the football field are THE SAME ONES he has used to deal with tough, life challenges — including the death of his 8 year old son, Hunter, a plane crash and 3 battles with cancer (squamous cell carcinoma).

LOSING 4 SUPER BOWLS

In college at Miami (1979-1892), he had to work and earn his way up from fourth-string QB to starter to a Heisman Trophy candidate. Kelly was drafted in the famous 1983 QB class (Dan Marino, John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Ken O’Brien, & Tony Eason) as the 14th pick by the Buffalo Bills. Kelly led the Bills to 4 consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 – 1993, with teammates like Thurman Thomas, running back; Bruce Smith, defensive end; Marv Levy, head coach; Andre Reed, wide receiver; Don Bebe, wide receiver; Kent Hull, offensive lineman; Scott Norwood, kicker.

Here are the scores & opponents of each Super Bowl.

  1. 1990 finished season with a 13-3 record and lost to the N.Y. Giants 20 – 19 when Bills kicker Scott Norwood attempted a 47 yard field goal & it sailed wide right, less than a yard outside of the upright.
  2. 1991 finished season with a 13-3 record and lost to Washington 37 – 24.
  3. 1992 finished season with an 11-5 record and lost to Dallas Cowboys 52 – 17. But in the wild card play-off game against the Houston Oilers with Kelly hurt and down 35-3 in the third quarter, the Bills rallied to win the game in overtime 41-38; the largest deficit ever (32 points) overcome to win a game in NFL history.
  4. 1993 finished season with a 12-4 record and lost again to the Dallas Cowboys 30 – 13. The Bills led at halftime but Emmitt Smith took over in the 2nd half.

As a player, Kelly could take a licking and keep on ticking; GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT.

Not long after the Bills had lost a second consecutive Super Bowl, Coach Marv Levy was on a radio show when a caller phoned in with a desperate plea: “Don’t go back to the Super Bowl. It’s just too heartbreaking.” The Coach responded: “I understand your thinking. I can even share your anguish. BUT, I would NOT want you playing on my football team with that kind of attitude.”


“When you’re going through hard times, it’s about your ATTITUDE,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of things that don’t go your way; you’ve got to fight through them.”

LOSING HIS SON, HUNTER

Following retirement from football, Kelly would face far greater challenges than losing the Super Bowl, not once, not twice, not three times but four times and come ohhh so close — ONE FOOT from being a World Champion. FIRST, his son, Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe disease – a severe and progressive neurological disease. Hunter had no motor skills and relied on a feeding tube and oxygen at all times.



Jim’s wife and rock, Jill and their son, Hunter at Jim Kelly’s Hall of Fame induction in

Despite a diagnosis not to survive past 2 years, Hunter lived til 8. “”He (Hunter) encouraged me as a father. I look at that and say, ‘I wasn’t that tough’”.

Jim Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 3, 2002 and made memorable remarks about TOUGHNESS attributed to his son, Hunter.

“That was probably one of the toughest times in my life. Those times were very hard on all of us,” according to Kelly. GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT.

Kelly kept getting up, and his family (wife, Jill and two daughters) too. Kelly survived a plane crash while bear hunting with his brother in Alaska, when the plane took off, crashing into the Bering Sea. “I was able to swim back in to shore”. GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT.

3 DIFFERENT CANCER DIAGNOSIS

NEXT, Kelly described experiencing a great deal of pain in his mouth; following root canal he developed serious headaches. The biopsy revealed CANCER – squamous cell carcinoma. “Not one time did any of my family ever frown or have a bad attitude. They were there to make me better,” he said.

Jim Kelly, with his wife, Jill and their two daughters, Erin and Cameron.


Kelly eventually went through 45 rounds of radiation and chemotherapy and had his upper jaw removed after the cancer spread. After 3 different cancer diagnosis and multiple surgeries and treatments, Kelly now lives and adjusts cancer-free. Kelly was fitted with a prosthetic jaw and teeth that allows him to eat, drink & speak.

Remember his son, Hunter, NEVER spoke a word; NEVER ate (used a feeding tube); and was oxygen dependent to breath.

From personal experience and as a cancer survivor where the radiation treatment has affected my throat and voice, I have some idea of what Jim Kelly struggled with. Sometimes every swallow – even your own saliva – is a very difficult challenge. I went 8 months without being able to swallow and was told I would never eat solid food again without aspirating. My mindset was, “Oh yes I will; just watch and see”. As you sit in your chair reading this article, try not to swallow for the next 5 minutes.

And with every word spoken you feel as though someone is trying to choke you to death. My vocal chords are paralyzed and M.D. Anderson recommended a total laryngectomy, but my mindset was, “I have more to say”, and in fact coached more years “keeping college umpires in line” with my squeaky voice. With every breath you take, it is like breathing through a straw; but my mindset is to keep exercising and staying healthy even if it means gasping for air.

Jim Kelly has TOUGHNESS no one can ever imagine. Going through his battle with cancer is enough for any person to have to endure. Losing your son at 8 years old – unbearable. Losing 4 Super Bowls in a row for somebody as competitive as he is – “tough”.

PERSEVERANCE IS POWER

When is it time for self-pity? Or why me? Or waving the white flag? NOPE, just like in his playing days his persistence and perseverance and toughness and resolve and attitude and growth mindset will not allow it.

“I’ve been through so many things in my life, and I’ve LEARNED A LOT (from each experience). I might have lost 4 Super Bowls, but I don’t plan on losing against cancer.” GET UP, YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT!

WATCH ESPN ESPY AWARD FOR PERSEVERANCE

WATCH THE ESPN ESPY AWARD FOR PERSEVERANCE PRESENTED TO JIM KELLY


NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER GIVE UP! If you are competing in sports right now or going through TOUGH TIMES but have the character trait of perseverance, then:

  • don’t accept sympathy nor people feeling sorry for you.
  • DO NOT LABEL YOURSELF AS A VICTIM.
  • NO WHINING; NO blaming, and NO making excuses.
  • BE A FIGHTER.
  • Find a way to make a difference in your community NOW.
  • There will be heart break;
  • you will go through pain and suffering;
  • there will be disappointing losses too.
  • Life will throw you curveballs to see how you react and fight back;
  • even if you swing and miss over and over —Keep fighting to the end.
  • Keep getting up with faith and hope that you will be alright.
  • And while fighting your own battles, DO NOT BECOME SELF-ABSORBED; take time to make a difference in somebody’s life who is also fighting for their tomorrow. Show them a smile and give them an encouraging word and be their beacon of hope.

TOGETHER it is easier to GET UP, and to believe: YOU WILL BE ALRIGHT!

PURSUE EXCELLENCE & WIN THIS PITCH!


About the Author

Mike Lotief coached 17 successful years as either the head softball coach or co-head softball coach with his wife Stefni Whitton Lotief at the University of Louisiana from 2002-2017 with an overall coaching record of 731-176 (80.6 winning percentage). Every season, the Ragin Cajuns softball team advanced to the NCAA tournament and also advanced to three (3) Women’s College World Series (2003, 2008, 2014) and from 2012-2016 advanced to five (5) straight NCAA Super Regionals. Coach Lotief produced over 40 All American selections and his 2017 team lead the nation in scoring and was ranked in the Top 10 in home runs, slugging percentage, on base percentage.

The coach is a cancer survivor (twice) and was the first person in the U.S. to receive the Pro Trach device. Mike and Stefni spearheaded and raised the funding to build the new softball stadium in 2009 and the new softball indoor hitting facility in 2015. They are proud parents to Chelsea, who played softball and graduated from the Univ. of Louisiana in 2018, and Andrew, who is a junior at Louisiana studying Mechanical Engineering.

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