New York Giants defensive back Terrell Thomas will return to the field today for the first time since tearing his right ACL. It was the third time that Thomas tore his right ACL and his second time in two years.
The physical struggles and trauma of back-to-back ACL tears sounds hard enough. But with the mental struggles added on to that and the uncertainty of ones future in football, that may be enough to break a persons will. But not Terrell Thomas. He found strength in his family, most notably in his mother and his young daughter Tatum.
The doubt that surrounded Thomas’s ability to come back was something that only fueled him to work harder than ever. This year’s Super bowl is being held at MetLife Stadium and Thomas believes that the Giants are poised to be the first team to play a Super Bowl on their home field. As a personal goal Terrell is going to take things one week at a time. “As far as myself my goal is to get through sixteen games, contribute and prove a lot of people wrong. As far as individual numbers I have no idea. I haven’t played football in two years so I just want to play. My goal is to get
through sixteen games and whatever comes with that is a bonus. “
It will be a great moment for Thomas and the Giants. It has been a long road to recovery and now the man they call “T2” will have an opportunity to once again play the game he loves.
Whatever comes Thomas’s way this season you can be sure that he will be up for the task. Injuries have slowed him throughout his football career but they have yet to stop him from playing the game that he loves. “My latest injury taught me about life and how to be a man. It also taught me that there are a lot of people looking at you. Your every action, how are you going to respond? It taught me that I can withstand anything in life. I have been through the valleys of the roller coaster of life. You have the world in your hands taken from you and you have a little two year old looking at you seeing how you are going to recover. It just motivates me. It sucks that I went through it but I’m happy because it’s definitely taught me a lot about myself, life and how to be a father.”
He sounds like a man who is ready to prove many doubters wrong and give people hope that no matter how many times you get knocked down, with faith, family and commitment, nothing can hold you down.
