Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?

This is a blog about perseverance, motivation and reinvention, or, quite simply, the comeback story.

Let’s face it, nothing tugs at the public’s heartstrings more than the Comeback Kid’s fall from grace or victory, and eventual ascension back to glory. We’re all searching for our heroes.

There are plenty of these stories in circulation, especially involving the travails of professional athletes – be it their bouts with shoulder dislocations or tarnished reputations. Look at Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez.

And with preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London (a k a Games of the XXX Olympiad) in full swing, who knows what compelling tales might surface. Let’s not also forget the new football season, college and pro; and the hockey and basketball season set to begin this fall. Then there’s the final stretch of baseball...

You get the picture.

So why have I chosen to focus on athletic comebacks, besides the fact that there’s no shortage of material to write about?

In a word: passion, and, to some extent, identification. O.K., those were two words. The truth is, I truly admire the determined spirit of all athletes. They fill me with hope and inspiration. And there’s so much that we can all learn from them and apply to our daily lives – teamwork, sportsmanship, mutual trust and a very strong work ethic, for starters.

My interest in sports began in childhood, when I played intramural basketball in grade school and spent countless nights at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island watching the pros play and corralling them later to autograph my basketball. In my household the TV was always set to baseball in the spring and summer and football in the fall and winter. Later, after I had my own children, I instilled the importance of staying physically active. My house rule was this: you have to play one sport (your choice) per season. (And unlike me, they had far more to choose from.)

My daughters and I would often run together and compete in road races and triathlons, sometimes in relays. I have completed countless races over the years, including nine marathons.

I was never a standout athlete – more of a middle-of-the-pack competitor – though I did take home a handful of trophies. But what I lacked in athletic prowess, I made up for in my acute interest. 

As a journalist, I have written a few sports-related pieces, and have had the chance to interview the real pros. I also write a second blog about sports injuries, which chronicles my own journey to recovery from  arthroscopic hip surgery.

Yes, I am waiting ever so patiently for my own comeback. I'll keep you posted.