Finding inspiration from Herm Edwards while weathering a storm

First, the lights flickered. I looked out the window and saw trees whipping through rainfall. Then my computer charger stopped working. Seconds later, I was booted from the Zoom call. In an age of COVID-19, civil unrest and economic downturn, it would only make sense that I’d also lose power during the one week I needed it most. I’ve been quarantined in Pennsylvania and Wednesday a thunderstorm wiped out cell service and power through multiple counties. I drove to a family friend’s house where they had a generator. That worked for a while. Yet, seconds after I asked Arizona State head football coach Herm Edwards a question during his mock-presser, the WiFi stopped again. With each surge of electricity trying, and failing, to reboot the grid, I was knocked off the internet. The parts of Edward’s talk I heard were invigorating. As a black player, coach, analyst, and now coach again, he provided unmatched insight. Edwards stressed the importance of maintaining community, listening to one another to solve larger problems and leaving a legacy. As the week continues — fingers crossed for sustainable electricity — I’ll continue to find inspiration in his words: “I sit on other people’s shoulders.”