As the media often reported leading up to the Brophy vs. Marcos match, what started off as a “zany idea” actually saw the light of day 14 months later. Over the course of a year more than 3,200 emails were shared, hundreds of phone calls, text messages and IMs exchanged by teammates and rivals – all with the pursuit of re-assembling our teams to “settle the score.”
From a personal perspective the outcome of the match isn’t what we trained and planned for, although I am continually reminding myself about the positives which resulted from our REPLAY campaign. In my gut and in my heart, I will always believe Brophy was the better team in ’90 and still is in 2010.
Below are a few highlights:
- Each team was 100% re-assembled
- Players flew in from San Jose, LA, San Diego, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Des Moines, Tampa, Washington, DC and New York
- The game was sold out with standing room only along both sidelines around the track
- Thousands of dollars raised for Brophy and Marcos charities
- First soccer game in the Gatorade REPLAY League
- First game on the West in the Gatorade REPLAY League
- People who hadn’t spoken in 5, 10, 15 or 20 years from both sides are now talking again, and friendships have been rekindled
There were times during our pursuit where it appeared we didn’t have any wind in our sail; but we pushed. In this instance determination and perseverance prevailed.
I will look back fondly on our team meeting prior to the game, in the Brophy classroom, where we talked about our memories, experiences and what we valued most being a part of the BCP community; Brophy soccer and knowing Mic. This was personal and meaningful, and thank you so much John for making this happen!
As I shared with the team, as I look back on my Brophy experience I am most thankful for the life lessons I learned as a Bronco and playing for Mic and John: self confidence and courage.
This entire REPLAY pursuit took courage for all of us to train, get in shape and take the field one more time in front of our family and friends.
Courage is a powerful trait.
Courage is the fuel that enables a lot of things.
It takes courage to:
- Say no
- Show your weakness
- Start something new
- Start over
- Try a different approach
- Take risks
- Hold your ground when you believe you are right
- Admit you are wrong
- Not go with the crowd
- Highlight errors and mistakes
- Express unpopular opinions
- Call out the elephant in the room
- Be accountable for your mistakes (it’s easy to be accountable for successes)
- Put others first
- Try new things
- Accept criticism
- Be different
- Be uncomfortable
- Try
- Fail
Courage is at the heart of all great efforts – and allows us to do the hard stuff.
All the great successes I have witnessed have come about because people had the courage to do something different, to challenge the status quo, to take a risk, to be willing to fail.
In the end, as a team we were courageous and took on the REPLAY challenge.
What kept me going was the more people I spoke with about our potential re-match it got me pumped up. The energy, enthusiasm and interest in seeing our “Co-Championship” game played again was amazing. There is nothing more energetic and exciting than being around others who are passionate about their ideas and goals.
As our campaign marched on, interest grew and others wanted to participate in any way possible. Whether it was creating the game ticket, t-shirt design, making banners, emailing old friends/classmates to drum up support, etc the passion and excitement grew and it became infectious among our schools, classmates, family, friends and Valley soccer fans.
There are many REPLAY stories out there – as Gatorade has received more than 3,000 submissions – and our commitment to sharing the Brophy vs. Marcos story and following through by actually playing the match is a testament to what we all believe in our heart, mind and soul.
Everyone who attended the game at 7pm on Sat, 5/8 could tell the Brophy and Marcos players (and fans in the stands) has this feeling. You could see it. You could feel it.
Hope, optimism and excitement were abuzz. It was awesome to be part of the Brophy vs. Marcos match … it was like being plugged into an outlet, the energy just got inside you.
Here’s to keeping this dose of optimism and hope alive among our Brophy soccer family as it will keep us all running for days – it certainly keeps me going. Most importantly thank you for your ongoing support, commitment and friendship. I am very thankful our paths crossed in life and Brophy is our common denominator.
Your friend and teammate,
-Wendel
Brophy vs. Marcos REPLAY 
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