The man known as “Wrong Way Roy”

On New Year’s Day in 1929 Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl. Shortly before half time, a man named Roy Regals recovered a fumble for California. Somehow he became confused and he started running 65 yards in the wrong direction. A teammate tackled him just before he would have scored for the opposing team. When California attempted to punt, Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety. The team headed off the field and went into the dressing room. As they sat on the benches, Regals put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in the corner, put his face in his hands and cried like a baby.Coach Nibs Price was silent. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Regals. Everybody just sat there. When the timekeeper announced three minutes till the end of the half, the playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and simply said, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”The players got up and started out — all but Regals. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called him again but still he didn’t move. Coach Price went over to Regals and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team starts the second half.” Regals looked up and with tears in his eyes he said, “Coach, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the University of California. I’ve ruined myself. I couldn’t face that crowd in the stadium if my life depended on it.” Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Regals’ shoulder and said, “Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over.”Roy Regals went back and everybody who saw it said he played the greatest game in his entire life in that second half.The fact is, we take the ball a lot of times and run in the wrong direction and we stumble and fall and embarrass ourselves and make mistakes and we’re so ashamed that we just think, “I don’t even want to try anymore. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to try again.” God comes to us. He puts His arm around us. He says, “Get up and go on back. The game’s only half over.”