Athletic triumphs give people hope in bad times
Posted By David Gough
Posted 1 month ago
In this week's Sports Illustrated, there is an article about the Detroit Tigers and how they have helped an area hit hard by the economic downturn.
Comerica Park has been full most of this season as the Tigers are fighting for a playoff spot. For a town that is hurting, the Tigers have provided a jolt.
I was thinking of the parallels between Detroit and the Tigers and Wallaceburg and Shaun Suisham.
Like Detroit, and let's not pull any punches, Wallaceburg has struggled economically for the past decade. Company after company has left Wallaceburg. The economic downturn hit Wallaceburg about four years before the rest of North America and has stuck around.
By now almost everyone is aware of Suisham's story. He was a hockey player who gave football a try in high school. He kicks two ridiculously long field goals to give WDSS their first championship in years, goes to college and sets NCAA records and now has a regular role in the biggest and most popular sporting league in North America.
For the past four years Wallaceburg has followed Suisham in every step of his NFL journey. With factories closing and people losing jobs, it's important to have something to root for.
Suisham makes it easy for us to cheer for him. He has matured into a classy, caring and dedicated person and player. Not only does he give back with free football camps the past three summers for local youth, he also personally helped with the improvements with the football field at WDSS.
Rooting for Suisham to fail would be like hating ice cream, puppy dogs and rainbows. As a professional, he has been a great role model for our town. He has given Wallaceburg a jolt.
In interviews with media, he is always polished, polite and well spoken. If he is Wallaceburg's de-facto representative, then he represents us well.
Hundreds of people from Wallaceburg have taken a bus ride to see Suisham perform in both college and in the pros, including this past weekend in Detroit. Thousands more are supporting him from afar every Sunday, living and dying with every made and missed field goal.
Wallaceburg has had a tough go the past few years. It has been nice that we've had number six giving us our kicks in the NFL during that time. We've needed something like this.
