Sunday, Feb. 16 was a day filled with basketball games being played around the country. Like always, teams won and teams lost, but on Sunday at Illinois State University, the women’s basketball team won much more than just a game.
Kay Yow is considered a legend in women’s basketball, not only for her successes but also for her servant leadership. It’s been said by many coaches around the country that she instantly made you feel comfortable, she made you feel like you mattered and like you belonged.
So when Yow was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, she decided to make that matter too. When a person receives the news that he or she has cancer, there are many different ways of dealing with it. Coach Yow inspired people with her heart, her hope, and her faith, despite having to deal with this terrible disease. She battled like a superhero, turning her fight into strength and power that other people could see and use. She continued to coach with a smile, while still being a role model putting the needs of others before her own. She was, and to this day continues to be, an inspiration.
Although Yow lost her battle in 2009, her legacy lives on. Play 4 Kay games are taking place all over the country this month to honor the dignified hero that is Kay Yow. And on Sunday, Feb. 16, the ISU women’s basketball team battled for her and all the other people who fight for their lives every day.
Think about this world we live in. Better yet think about a regular day for yourself, as a student. What do you hear? What do you see? I’m willing to guess it’s a lot along the lines of: “It’s too cold outside,” “My teacher is being so annoying,” or “I just don’t feel like doing (fill in the blank) today.”
Some people don’t have tomorrow. Some people are fighting for their lives each and every day, the way Yow spent long, hard years battling for hers. And she did it with a smile on her face. “When life kicks you, let it kick you forward,” she said. What could we possibly have to complain about?
As a member of the women’s basketball team on campus, I cannot even begin to describe what an honor it was to participate in the Play 4 Kay game on Sunday. Humbling doesn’t even begin to describe it. You run out of the tunnel wearing that pink uniform, knowing today when you step foot on that court, it’s different. This game means a lot more than the final score. This game means so much more than just a team winning, and a team losing. Today you fight for life. Today you fight for those who lost their fight.
Today, you fight to inspire.
I wish I could’ve witnessed Yow and all of her honorable, beautiful greatness, but the Play 4 Kay games that are going on all over the country show me glimmers of hope and faith that what she did for women all over the country was real, and continues to live on today.
Forty-five survivors recognized, 106 luminaries lit, 17 treadmill walkers, three sprint triathletes, an overtime win for the home team, a sea of pink shirts, grinning faces, clapping hands singing the Redbird Fight Song, and $20,777 raised, all supporting the Kay Yow Fund. Oh yes, on Sunday, Feb. 16, much more was won than just a basketball game.