St. Jude children inspire seniors

Even though the Knights came away with a huge Liberty Bowl victory Friday in Memphis, the seniors have more than just trophy for a souvenir.

The seniors traveled to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis to spend time with the patients and families that were staying there.

The players went on an emotional roller coaster ride while at the hospital, learning about the disease and themselves.

"Our everyday lives consist of waking up, going to practice and going to class; we have no worries,"  said defensive tackle Wes Tunuufi Sauvao. "We can't complain about the little aches and pains. It's a different thing when you're fighting a deadly disease like cancer. You're fighting something that you can't beat and that isn't self inflicted."

According to the hospital's research, St. Jude has improved patients' survival rate of leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer,  from 4 percent to 94 percent.

The Liberty Bowl has helped in many ways, especially with increasing awareness.  The halftime show, which is nationally televised on ESPN, honors St. Jude patients each year.  The players, who not only had a chance to sign autographs and take photos with the kids, also had the opportunity to spend time and speak with the families, as well.

What stood out to the seniors the most was the St. Jude "ABCs of Cancer" written on the wall, according to head coach George O'Leary. The wall, which helps the children find a way to share their emotions by writing how they are feeling, covers many different cancer-related topics.  

Some of the letters represented positive things, but others described the sad reality of the deadly disease.

"For me, the letter on the alphabet that stood out the most was K, which stood for Kemo [Chemo]," Sauvao said. "The kids wrote about how chemo makes you lose your hair and makes your food taste bad. Reading that alphabet wall made me feel their pain. Me and the rest of the guys started tearing up."

Reading the "ABCs of Cancer" made the seniors realize how grateful they were for their own health.

"No matter how bad things are or how bad things get for us, we have to remember that these kids have it worse," said linebacker Derrick Hallman.

In a pregame press conference, O'Leary commented on the trip to St. Jude. He spoke about the players, and how the trip made a huge impact on them. O'Leary, who emphasizes to his players on giving back to the community, had seniors visit the hospital before the 2007 Liberty Bowl as well.

"Coming over, there was a lot of noise on the bus," O'Leary said. "Coming back, you didn't hear a lot of noise."

The players had a chance to reflect on what they had experienced while at the hospital. They also came away with a new found respect for everyone that is battling the deadly disease.  

The seniors will remember a lot about their trip to Memphis, which included their first bowl victory in school history, but will always have the memory of the trip they made to the St. Jude Children's Research hospital.

Hallman, who recorded a sack in the victory against Georgia, was so inspired by the visit that he dedicated the win to the children of St. Jude.

"We played this game not only for our school and fans," he said, "but for those kids."