Notre Dame Fighting Irish All-American LB Manti Te’o will play on Saturday night as his team will travel to take on the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. It is a big early season college football contest as the No. 20 ranked Irish will look to get some revenge against the No. 10 Spartans.
But as big as the game is, it will pale in comparison to what Te’o has gone through this past week. It shows us that sometimes, especially when it comes to sports, that our priorities are not always in proper order.
Te’o is mourning the loss of two people close to him. The senior linebacker lost his grandmother and his girlfriend this week. Te’o’s father, Brian, told the Chicago Tribune that his grandmother died on Tuesday night. His girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, lost her battle with leukemia early Wednesday morning.
“He lost some people very close to him, and it’s obviously taken a toll on him,†Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters after practice Thursday. “Our players have been there for him and have been a great support. We’ll support him. He’ll be with us. He practiced. He’ll be playing Saturday against Michigan State.
“Unfortunately, he’s gone through a very rough 24, 48 hours. But his support and his family at home have been great, and all of the coaches and players have been there for him. He wants to be with his teammates, he wants to be with the people that care about him. He’s a strong man and he’s going through a tough time, but he’ll rise to the occasion.â€
While Te’o will be on the field for the huge primetime game Saturday night, he will do so with a heavy heart.
The game will matter. They always matter. But this shows us that in the whole scheme of things, they do not matter nearly as much as many people would lead you to believe.
It is a big game, yes.
But it is still just a game.
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