Marcus - You are a Champion

Imagine a young professional, who gives it his all every time he is given any responsibility, who handles the limelight with humility and who in his free time chooses to give back to the community. Such a person is not just a model professional but also a model human being, such a person is what you want kids to have as a role model. Does such a person exist? Yes, and his name is Marcus Rashford.

Unfortunately, we live in a complicated world, a world in which the noblest of intentions are viewed with a tinted glass. So, when Marcus chooses to help those in need during the pandemic – he is called names by certain people – names that don’t deserve any attention by recapturing here. The very people who are doing this, may I ask them – what the hell did you do for your community when the pandemic struck – let me guess you chose the cowards way out and ignore it / act busy.

It is not easy in any profession to take time out for anything beyond your immediate personal life, yet here’s a young man who had the gumption to do more. Why? Because he hasn’t allowed success to change who he is or forget the struggles he himself encountered growing up. He understands what communities from which he came are suffering through and now that he is in a position to do something about it, he is doing everything he can to make a difference. It is indeed sad that an act like this is still having its share of mindless critics.

Now, let’s come to Marcus the professional. Thrust into the limelight at a young age, from day one there is one aspect of his game that remains unshakeable – commitment. He is committed to the cause, committed to his team, committed to his coaches. So committed infact, that he will take the responsibility of an injury time penalty in a crunch Champions League game with PSG even though he had never taken a senior penalty before and walk out to take penalties in a Euro final having hardly played in the entire tournament. Not once, will you ever leave a game thinking Marcus wasn’t committed today. Yes, he may have bad games but his commitment has remained beyond question. Believe it or not, there are a lot of other footballers who chose the limelight over commitment – but not Marcus. Shouldn’t a player like this be supported when he doesn’t succeed – instead of ridiculing and mocking him? Somewhere, in the adrenaline rush of instant gratification, there is a section of supporters who have forgotten what ‘supporting’ means.

But, for all the hate, love still blossoms. Those people who turned up to paste positive messages on Marcus’s defaced mural yesterday – are exactly what support and humanity has always been about. Stand by your heroes, when they are down, because they never meant to let you down. Moments of failure and the vengeful narrative of morons will never define who Marcus Rashford is – he is and will for always be a CHAMPION.