More Than a Game: Freddie Steinmark and the Fight We All Must Face

When I watched My All-American, the story of Freddie Steinmark, I expected to be moved by a classic underdog football story. What I experienced instead was a quiet masterclass in leadership, choice, and human spirit.

Freddie Steinmark was the starting safety for the Texas Longhorns in 1969. He was an All-Southwest Conference defensive back, and even with his small stature, he played with heart that couldn’t be measured in inches or pounds. But what defined him wasn’t just his performance on the field. 

It was how he responded off it. From his extensive training, his personal relationships and leadership, and especially his actions after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer that led to the amputation of his leg.

Doctors couldn’t understand how he’d even managed to walk, let alone play football, with a tumor embedded in his femur. But that was Freddie. The pain didn’t stop him. The fear didn’t define him. He made a choice – a conscious, deliberate choice – to keep fighting. To lead. To live fully in the face of uncertainty.

And that’s what stayed with me long after the credits rolled: his attitude was a choice, not a byproduct of his circumstances.

We talk a lot today about outcomes – results, goals, dreams realized. But the truth is, outcomes are often beyond our control. No matter how hard we work, how smart we plan, or how desperately we want something, we can’t force life to comply with our expectations. Trying to do so is exhausting and ultimately fruitless.

Freddie’s story is a mirror for our own. Life will not go according to plan. Setbacks are guaranteed. Pain is inevitable. But as he showed the world:

Attitude and effort are always ours to command.

That doesn’t mean we don’t feel fear, loss, grief, or anger. It means we learn to accept the reality of our circumstances without letting them define who we are or how we act.

This is a concept drilled into athletes early. They train for years to play for minutes. They endure grueling practices, discipline their bodies and minds, delay gratification endlessly – all for a chance, not a guarantee. They know that how they show up every day, the attitude they bring to the mundane and the painful, matters more than the spotlight moments.

And yet, outside the arena, many of us lose sight of this. We let circumstances hijack our mindset. We outsource our emotional state to whatever is happening around us. But circumstances are neutral. They’re just facts. We’re the ones who assign meaning, who prescribe emotion, who decide if something is a catastrophe or a catalyst. And the moment we realize that, we regain our freedom

Acceptance isn’t resignation. It’s the beginning of forward motion. It clears the clutter so we can see where the real choices begin. The ability to say, “This is what is, now what will I do with it?” That’s where leadership starts.

Don’t be afraid of adversity or unforeseen circumstances. Don’t run from it. It’s in those dark, uncertain spaces that the freedom to choose becomes most powerful. Whether you collapse or rise in those moments depends not on what’s happening to you—but how you interpret it. 

• Fire can destroy. It can also warm, illuminate, and forge steel.
• The same adrenaline that fuels anxiety also fuels excitement.
• The same pressure that creates panic can create innovation. 

The moment you recognize this is the moment you reclaim your power.

We all have desires. We all want success. We all talk about goals and dreams. But the wanting isn’t what gets us there. It’s the willingness. The willingness to act. To persist. To do the work even when no one’s watching. That takes more than passion – it takes reasoned, consistent, often inconvenient choices.

And here’s the real secret – successful people don’t just ride waves of passion. They make hard choices. They delay gratification. They defy comfort. They prioritize discipline over convenience, process over popularity. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s necessary.

People love to talk about their “why.” And yes, having a compelling purpose gives you direction. It points the way. But the how – that’s where the magic happens. That’s the muscle. That’s the repeated, daily decision to show up with excellence. The how is where dreams become discipline, and ambition becomes action.

Without a how, the why is just a good intention.

The how is where the real power is.

Without a how, your why is just a wish. It’s the process – the repeatable, intentional, daily choice to take the next step – that actually creates momentum.

It’s the early morning practice. The hard conversation. The decision to show up when nobody’s clapping.

The why might inspire you, but the how transforms you.

Freddie Steinmark didn’t get to write the end of his story. Cancer stole that from him. But he got to decide how he would meet the challenge. 

He didn’t lead from passion – he led from purpose. He followed his values.

He felt a responsibility for others. His fight wasn’t just for him – it was for his teammates, his coaches, his family, and eventually, the cancer patients and survivors who drew strength from his story.

It reminds me of another story, from the 1968 Olympics, when Tanzanian runner John Stephen Akhwari limped into the stadium long after the race was over, bleeding, injured, barely able to walk. When asked why he didn’t quit, he replied: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.”

And so, I’ll ask you: what are you facing right now? What race are you in the middle of? What outcome feels uncertain or out of reach?

Maybe it’s not about controlling the end. Maybe it’s about choosing how you’ll carry yourself through the process. 

Maybe it’s not about winning, it’s about finishing with integrity, grit, and heart.

That’s the race we’re all running.

And if Freddie Steinmark could run it with one leg, a tumor in his body, and the weight of an uncertain future pressing on his back, so can we.

Because attitude and effort are always within reach.

And they might just be the most powerful choices we ever make.

Wherever you are right now, whatever challenge you’re facing, remember:

• You can’t force outcomes, but you can fight with honor.
• You can’t always control your situation, but you can control your spirit.
• You don’t need everything to go right to make the right choices.

You weren’t sent here just to start. You were sent here to finish – with courage, clarity, and character.