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GRANTLAND RICE
Grantland Rice (1880–1954) was an early twentieth-century American sportswriter and broadcaster. His writings and broadcasts reached homes all across America. In his poem “Alumnus Football,” he famously penned the line: “For when the One Great Scorer comes, / To write against your name, / He marks—not that you won or lost—/ But how you played the Game.” Rice looked at sports for deeper truths than just athletic skill and talents, and he often regretted the negative influence money had on sports. In his poem “The Answer,” Rice admonishes us to make the best of what we have and to never give up, no matter what the world may throw at us. No matter how hard we get knocked down, we should always get back up and keep fighting.
When the battle breaks against you and the crowd forgets to cheer,
When the Anvil Chorus echoes with the essence of a jeer;
When the knockers start their panning in the knocker’s nimble way,
With a rap for all your errors and a josh upon your play.
There is one quick answer ready that will nail them on the wing;
There is one reply forthcoming that will wipe away the sting;
There is one elastic come-back that will hold them, as it should,
Make good.
No matter where you finish in the mix-up or the row,
There are those among the rabble who will pan you anyhow;
But the entry who is sticking and delivering the stuff,
Can listen to the yapping as he giggles up his cuff;
The loafer has no come-back and the quitter no reply,
When the Anvil Chorus echoes, as it will, against the sky;
But there’s one quick answer ready that will wrap them in a hood,
Make good.