When you think of an idol, you think of someone who has done something great. Keenan Turner is not my idol because of the things he did great, but the things he did that were not so great. God doesn’t give very many second chances, so we need to use our one chance wisely.
During Keenan Turners entire wrestling career, fear was always a factor he had over everyone. My dad always used to tell me how he cut weight so he never had to wrestle Keenan. He was only 155 pounds as a senior in high school, but the way he carried himself made him look like a 250 pound pro linebacker. When I first saw him when I was little, I was truly scared; I thought he looked like a hardened navy seal. But the more I got to know him, the more I found out that the rough exterior known as his appearance was only because of the wear and tear of wrestling for 15 years.
He kind of became my idol after a while. He’s the one who really inspired me to wrestle. When I think of him, I think of the times he taught me the basics of wrestling. I really thought he was perfect, and I wanted to be exactly like him when I grew up; until my dad told me what happened at the end of his wrestling career.
It was right around my eighth birthday, and my dad told me about another one Keenan’s matches in high school. After that, I asked why he still lived in Meeker if he was such a good wrestler. My dad said it all started around junior year at Meeker High. Since it was such a small town in the middle of nowhere in Colorado, meth plagued the town. Keenan got on that terrible drug, but luckily, my dad talked him out of it during the end of junior year.
During his senior year, he went undefeated, 33 wins, 0 losses. He also won his third state championship in a row. When he got a recruitment letter from Nebraska University, one of the best wrestling schools at the time, he became the celebrity of Rio Blanco County. When it came to sports, he was the champion.
When he went to Nebraska, things stayed the same. He lost only once that year to a close match to qualify for the NCAA tournament. By the end of that year, people were already predicting his future. He had a great chance to win a National title, go to the Olympics, become a college coach; he would be set for the rest of his life. He would have eternal fame in the wrestling world. Nothing would ruin his chances to do all these amazing things. Until, there was a random drug test for the wrestlers. He tested positive for methamphetamine. He was kicked off the team, flunked out later that year, and sent home with the disappointment of a lifetime.
Everyone at home stared at him with great disappointment. He was the failure of the town, and a disgrace to be living there. Even his dad hesitated talking to him. And with that, he had a major drug addiction with more than just meth. He was a fried has-been living in a small town in Northwest Colorado. His life was ruined.
I don’t see this tragedy as a time of grief, but a time to learn. A time to make sure that same tragedy doesn’t happen to one of us. You seem to see things like this happen more and more all the time. God is not doing these things to punish us. He is just merely showing us how easily bad choices can affect our lives. “God’s gift to me is potential, my gift to God is the results.” Keenan Turner wrote that. He was right, God did give him potential, but he just didn’t give God the results.
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