Success.com
Matt
Light: Blocking Out the Pain
An
unsung hero models the power of inner strength.
by
Jeff Sullivan
When
the New England Patriots drafted Matt Light out of Purdue in 2001,
the offensive lineman couldn’t really even call himself a fan of
the sport. He had other interests, but it was a steady job.
An
outdoorsman growing up, Light never liked sitting in front of the
television watching sports. That was for other people. “The first
time I saw an NFL game,” Light says, “I was on the field playing
in it.”
He
certainly saw plenty of games during his 11 seasons, though, becoming
one of only five players in league history to have started five Super
Bowls, winning three of them. He spent each of those games protecting
Tom Brady’s blind side. To most of the outside world, he was an
unknown cog in the incredible machine that was the Patriots offense.
But inside the locker room, he was valued as a hard worker and
depended on for leadership-by-example.
The
truth is fans and many teammates never knew the half of Light’s
stoic professionalism. If only things had worked out slightly
differently, he might not have been around for the team’s entire
dynasty. Early in his time with the Patriots, Light was diagnosed
with Crohn’s disease, a painful inflammation to the lining of the
digestive system that affects as many as 700,000 Americans. Virtually
every day of his career, he dealt with not only the rigors of playing
one of the most demanding positions in sports, but also excruciating
internal pain. The long struggle began as a rookie, when he noticed
bleeding from his bowels.
“Obviously
I knew there was something wrong,” Light says. “I definitely went
through the process of Why me? Why this? Why now? And how did this
happen? What did I do that caused this? Then you educate yourself and
try to find ways to deal with it. I just went about that stuff all
matter-of-fact, got the bleeding stopped, which was really important;
I think I only missed like a week.”
Even
as the bleeding instances recurred, Light and the Patriots medical
staff kept his health problems under wraps. The issue was
uncomfortable to share, but just as much a concern, he didn’t want
to create an excuse if his play suffered. Astoundingly, that didn’t
happen much, as Light fought through the pain to win a starting job
as a rookie—a job he would keep his entire career—and helped New
England win its first championship in 2001. But after winning a
second Super Bowl at the end of his third season, Light almost—and
probably should have—died the following summer.
“I’ll
never forget, I answered the phone—and I don’t even know who it
was to this day—the pain hit me and just knocked me off my feet,
and I was just lying there on the ground in almost like a seizure. My
daughter crawled over—she was a 11⁄2 at the time, maybe 2, and
laid her head on my stomach, and my wife found me.” Rushed to the
hospital, Light’s appendix and 13 inches of his intestines were
removed. There were complications, though, and for 28 days he
couldn’t eat or drink anything, living on an IV drip. He lost 50
pounds, and was down to 265, far too lean for an offensive lineman.
But through hard work in the weight room and with the help of a
special nutritionist, Light was back in playing shape in time for the
season. Miraculously, he started all 16 games that year and helped
New England win a third Super Bowl.
“I
battle it every single day,” Light says. “The disease sucks. You
think you have it kicked, and then it comes back with a vengeance.”
Even without Crohn’s, the life of an NFL lineman isn’t easy.
Light endured 13 surgeries during his college and pro career. Still,
he was always there, blocking the blind side of two of the most
successful quarterbacks the game has ever seen, Drew Brees for three
seasons at Purdue and Brady with the Patriots.
Light
is also a disciple of one of the NFL’s most legendary coaches, Bill
Belichick, who like Brees and Brady is headed for the Pro Football
Hall of Fame. When asked about their secrets, about how great leaders
can rub off on and push those around them to achieve the seemingly
impossible, Light’s answer was simple.
“Successful
people aren’t successful just because,” he says. “There are
random acts of violence, random acts of genius…. There are not
random acts of success. It happens for a reason; there are
ingredients. Some of that is just being relentless in your pursuit
and having some intelligence. None of it matters, though, if you
don’t have the ability to work harder than others around you.”
Through
his hard-fought career and into retirement, Light has outworked most
athletes to forge a legacy on and off the field. Considering the
personal nature of his battle with gastrointestinal disease, he’s
encouraging those with symptoms to educate themselves at the website
of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, CCFA.org, and
to be honest with their doctors and seek the right treatment.
But
as an everyman, Light also wanted to contribute to the greater good
and established his own charity for youth outreach a decade ago. The
Light Foundation is geared toward creating leadership in a new
generation by exposing teens to outdoor learning programs.
Along
with a turkey hunt, celebrity shootout and scholarship awards, the
foundation presents an annual 10-day Youth Leadership Program at Camp
Vohokase in Greenville, Ohio, where Light grew up. In 2008, The Light
Foundation financed, built and opened the $6 million facility, which
sits on 400-plus acres and is also used for community events for the
YMCA and Boy Scouts.
“I’m
big on ‘To whom much is given, much is required,’ ” Light says.
“I talk to the kids in our foundation all the time about legacy.
Your legacy is people’s viewpoint of what you did or the impact you
made. I think in my position, the success I had on the football
field, the money, the Super Bowls, I don’t know how it would all be
worth it if we didn’t create this foundation.”
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