Philip is not a top sports star, and no one will spend tens or even hundreds of millions to come to him for endorsement. For him, a charity that can provide two to three thousand US dollars in sponsorship fees is already a very good income.
In terms of advertising endorsements, Philip is unlikely to have a high net worth. Advertising endorsement fees are linked to the popularity of athletes. In this regard, disabled athletes are inherently disadvantaged. Those big media with wider coverage rarely pay attention to disabilities. Things about athletes. If the insurance company hadn't happened to launch accidental disability insurance, it might not have been Philip's turn to endorse this advertisement.
Although sponsorship and endorsements are not much, they have greatly improved Philip's life. Before, he had to work four or five hours of odd jobs a day in order to receive government relief, but now he no longer has to work odd jobs. Charity The organization's sponsorship fee, plus his disability military allowance, is enough for his daily living expenses, and he can stay at Dai Li's training hall for training around the clock.
Philip's success is more like an example, inspiring the other eleven disabled athletes who train for free. However, they do not have Philip's talent. Even if they work hard, it will be difficult to reach Philip's height.
…
In the locker room of the training hall, Philip took off his prosthetic limbs, with an expression of relief on his face.
He even rubbed the place on his calf where he wore the prosthesis with his hands, and his originally ferocious eyes gradually became calmer.
"I'll do it!" Dai Li came over and started massaging Phillip.
The contact area between the calf and the prosthetic limb became red and swollen again, and some healed scars could be vaguely seen on the skin. These were all caused by wearing the prosthetic limb.
No matter how good a prosthetic leg is, it is not the same as your original real leg. It is impossible to say that walking with a prosthetic leg is the same as walking with a real leg. Walking with a pair of prosthetic limbs will inevitably make you more tired and harder. Even though the Leopard blade prosthetic limb is the most advanced sports prosthetic limb in the world, it uses the most advanced carbon fiber, its shape is as ergonomic as possible, and its weight is heavier. It is only 8 pounds, but it is actually not comfortable to wear.
In order to prevent the prosthetic limb from falling off while running, Philip must fix the prosthetic limb very tightly. However, the carbon fiber material is very hard. The Leopard-style blade prosthetic limb made of 80 layers of carbon fiber is much harder than steel. Although there is no need to worry The prosthetic limb will be broken, and this thing can be used to fix it on the flesh and blood body, which will naturally cause harm to the body.
The muscles clamped by the prosthetic limb will become red, swollen, and bruised, as if someone had punched them; the areas where the skin contacts the body will be scratched, bleed, scab, and scarred, and then the process will be repeated again.
Philip has to endure this process every day. In comparison, training for people with sound limbs only requires hard work and sweat, while Philip also has to pay physical pain.
"Barron, I really admire you. Track and field training is inherently a very boring thing. The constant repetition will bring great mental pressure to the athletes. But for you, you not only have to bear With the mental pressure and physical pain, it would be difficult for ordinary people to persevere," Li Dai said.
"Compared to losing both feet, this pain is nothing." Philip sighed, and then said: "But I still didn't get what I wanted."
Dai Li paused for a moment and then said: "You are already the fastest runner in the world in your level. You have broken world records in 100 meters, 200 meters, and 400 meters. And your nickname of 'Blade Runner' sounds really cool, and it goes well with your Panther-style blade prosthesis."
"That only means that I have achieved results." Philip shook his head: "Although I keep winning games one after another, I don't feel happy."
"Why? Why are you unhappy after winning the game? Are you too tired? If so, we can reduce some training intensity." Dai Li thought for a while and then said: "Your current level is far beyond your level. You have an absolute advantage over your opponent. In 100 meters, you will be half a second faster than your opponent. In the 200 meter event, you will be nearly 1 second faster than your opponent."
"It's not because of fatigue." Philip shook his head, sighed, and then said: "When I went to Houston to play a few days ago, many people took pictures around me. They said to me, 'Come on, Blade Warriors.' My people were encouraging me, but, it wasn’t what I wanted.”
"I don't quite understand what you mean. I think it's a good thing for someone to encourage you." Li Dai said.
"I also know that this is a good thing. They are caring about me, but I can feel that the way they look at me and the tone they speak to me are full of sympathy and pity!" Philip's expression became serious: "But I don’t need other people’s sympathy and pity, what I want more is respect! I want to live with dignity!”
When Philip said this, he became emotionally excited. He continued: "I don't want to be a great person, and I don't think what I do can inspire other people. I am an athlete, and I just hope that I can live." It makes more sense. I don’t want to be regarded as a weak person who needs to be cared for, or in other words, I don’t want to be treated specially. Even if this kind of special treatment is a kind of preferential treatment, it will make me feel very uncomfortable.”
"I understand." Dai Li frowned and thought for a while, then said enlighteningly: "But you can't avoid it. Others will treat you specially because you are not a person with sound limbs. People will regard disabled people as weak. , and sympathizing with the weak is also everyone’s normal psychology, but this does not mean that others will not respect you.”
"What I want is equal respect!" Philip said sonorously.
Dai Li stopped massaging his hands and looked at Phillip with some surprise.
Philip calmed down and continued: "When I first came back from Iraq, I did not install a prosthesis immediately. Instead, I sat in a wheelchair for a while. During that time, I used various barrier-free facilities. , I have also enjoyed many special privileges. When I cross the road, someone will take the initiative to push my wheelchair for me. When I take the bus, there will be a special wheelchair space... I am very grateful to those who help me, but their help, They also made me feel uneasy, they made me feel that I am not a normal person, and I cannot live like a normal person without the help of others.”
"So you started practicing using prosthetics?" Dai Li asked.
Phillip nodded: "Yes, I want to live a normal life. I hope that people will not treat me as a normal person instead of treating me as a disabled person. So I practiced hard, and the first thing was to say goodbye I could move forward in a wheelchair by relying on crutches; later I could walk without the crutches; and later, I could walk like a normal person, even run. From that day on, I never used those barrier-free facilities again. , I didn’t even use the disabled parking space!”
"I probably understand what you mean." Dai Li nodded with emotion, and an extremely bold idea suddenly came to his mind.
"You want everyone to regard you as a person with sound limbs, then have you ever thought about participating in ordinary people's track and field competitions and competing with those athletes with sound limbs?" Li Dai suddenly asked.
"How is this possible? I can't outrun them!" Phillip shook his head. He felt that Dai Li's idea was really too whimsical.
"Why do you think you can't beat them?" Dai Li immediately asked.
"It goes without saying that I don't have feet!" Philip stared at Dai Li with a special look.
"Do you care about this very much?" Dai Li smiled, and then he asked himself: "You really care about this. You just said that you want to live a normal life, and you hope that others will You treat yourself as a normal person, and you have worked hard for it. Now you can really walk and run like a normal person. But in your own heart, do you regard yourself as a normal person?"
Dai Li said, shook his head, and continued to answer his own questions: "No, when I asked you to participate in a competition between normal people, your first thought was that you have no feet and cannot compete with normal people. Why? Your idea is not 'I should give it a try'? Because in your heart, you do not regard yourself as a normal person with sound limbs! Then how can you ask others to treat you as a normal person? If If you want to be recognized by others, the first thing you have to do is to recognize yourself!”
Dai Li's words seemed to be like a needle sticking straight into Phillip's heart. At this moment, Phillip's expression suddenly became dull, and then turned into a reflective expression.
After a long time, Phillip finally sighed: "Coach Li, you are right. I don't recognize myself, so how can I ask others to recognize me? It's because I have never faced myself, or I am deliberately blinding myself. My own eyes, I’m so stupid!”
"Then are you going to give it a try?" Dai Li said as he started massaging his hands again.
"Try? What is it?" Phillip asked in confusion.
"Try what I just said, go to the competition between normal people and compete with those normal people with sound limbs!" Dai Li still lowered his head as he spoke, but continued to focus on the massage movements on his hands.
Phillip's eyes seemed to be struggling, and he seemed to have no idea how to decide.
But Dai Li raised his head, stared at Phillip, and said with a deep expression: "You say goodbye to the wheelchair, say goodbye to the stretcher, and walk and run like a normal person. You just want to be like a normal person with sound limbs and freedom of movement." People, or you are learning how to be a normal person. Now, it’s time for you to bid farewell to the learning process, and you should try and try to be a truly normal person!”