***Editor’s Note: Andy McGee is a Columnist for “The Thirsty Quill.” While Mr. McGee often writes for ‘The Quill’ from a Liberal perspective, it is important for the readers to note that his current submission is written from a non-partisan point-of-view. As always, “The Thirsty Quill” greatly appreciates Andy’s participation and contributions to our site.***

“We Won’t Try, We Will”

By: Andy McGee, Columnist

The great state of North Carolina lost a true hero this past week, and the world lost one of the very best we have to offer. Ms. Kay Yow, women’s basketball coach for her beloved North Carolina State “Wolf Pack” went on to be with her Lord at the tender age of 66. Kay is revered in the world of college athletics, both for her competitive nature and her ability to teach.

Here in North Carolina (where Basketball means more than anywhere else in the world), she was indeed a legend. But her heroic legacy will only partially be remembered by what she did on the hardwoods for over 30 years. No, Coach Yow will be remembered by the grace in which she battled her fight with breast cancer; a fight that lasted from 1987 until just this past weekend. We have all been exposed to countless metaphors growing up, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, “play to win”, “if at first you don’t succeed”….

For her relentless courage, and her fierce competitive nature, Coach Yow can now be the inspiration to these as well as countless metaphors yet to be written. Here is a lady who in 2007 was on full time chemotherapy, and still coached her basketball team to the ACC Championship Game and into the NCAA Tournament that followed.

My favorite memory of Coach Yow was watching her sitting on the bench in the Sweet 16 against #1-ranked UCONN, her team well outmatched by the eventual champion, Kay’s fingers wrapped in bandages, as all but a few of her fingernails had fallen off from treatment. With just a few minutes left in the game, her players, down by a large margin, refused to take the beating they were receiving. A three from twenty feet out, “swish,” and then another, “swish”, and then another…. It was like they would not accept the fact their season was about to end. They had to win. Unfortunately that night, sports as well as life, was proven to be non-fiction. No magic wand to guarantee victory, no story so touching that it could overcome the reality of the moment. The Lady Pack lost that game and Coach Yow’s seniors were devastated.

Coach Yow had already missed several games that year and said that the only thing that made her overlook the pain was coaching the Pack. Essentially, many of the Lady Pack thought they were letting their beloved coach down. That night, the neutral crowd of just about 12,000 people proved that they were in fact not neutral when it came to Kay Yow. They gave Ms. Yow a thunderous ovation for what she had done. Not just for NC State, not just for Women’s basketball, not just for sports; but for what she did in life. Here she was, dying, literally day-by-day, but she pushed on, through exhaustion, through chemo, through unparalleled pain and suffering, she pushed on. One could not help but think of another metaphor her good friend and colleague Jimmy Valvano coined just a little over fifteen years ago: “Don’t give up, Don’t ever give up.”

Like Jimmy V, Coach Yow created a cancer fund that (if it generates a portion of what Jimmy V’s has) will be a true miracle for hundreds of thousands of people suffering from the dreaded disease of cancer. Kay Yow made a difference with her time on earth, and now rest assured her legacy will make a difference for years and years to come. Thank you, Kay Yow, for everything you are.

Kay Yow: An Inspiration To All