A Divine Friendship
by Harold Love '98"Life is nothing without memories and memories are nothing without friends."
When I think back on the years from 1996-1998 when I was in divinity school at Vanderbilt and my favorite sports memory, I can’t help but to think about Alphonso Harvey.
In 1997, Alphonso was a defensive tackle from Florida who wore jersey #92. Absent of his time at Vanderbilt, we probably never would have met. I bring this memory up because it is my belief that sports are about more than what happens in the game or what the final score is. Sports can develop friendships among the athletes that will last a lifetime and can do the same for the fans.
In my case, the latter is what happened.
If it were not for Vanderbilt football, I would have never met Alphonso Harvey, who happened to be a member of the same fraternity that I was in, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. If it were not for Vanderbilt football, I never would have developed the friendship I have with Alphonso, who later would end up buying a house two streets over from where I was living. If it were not for Vanderbilt football, Alphonso may not have been as supportive as he has been in my political career.
Sports can bring people from different walks of life into the same space and give them memories to last a lifetime. This year, Alphonso married the woman of his dreams and less than a month later I married the woman of my dreams.
If it had not been for Vanderbilt football, our paths would probably have never crossed.
A lot has changed since 1998. Alphonso has gone on to start his own company, Music City Med, helping patients with post-surgery healing, and I’m in my seventh year as a state representative.
Life is nothing without memories and memories are nothing without friends.
As told by Rep. Harold Love, Tennessee House of Representatives to Andrew Maraniss