A few days ago, Goose posted the tragic story of F3 Knoxville’s Cardinal. In his first VQ, Cardinal (Taylor Phelps, 36) collapsed five burpees into the beatdown. Those were his last. He passed away a few hours later. Across the nation and abroad, an outpouring of love, support, money (approx. $108,000), and of course, tribute beatdowns started rolling in. As a journalist, Matt Crossman wrote, “Out of tragedy came a tidal wave of support. Out of grief came a groundswell of grace.”
If you’ve ever designed a beatdown, you are familiar with the excitement, anxiety, and time that goes into planning each minute; a juggling act, balancing the needs of rigor, creativity, and the safety of the PAX. Designing your VQ is in many ways, a rite of passage. It is a liberating, empowering, and fulfilling experience. To that end, it is no surprise that Cardinal was so excited that he had shared his plans with other PAX as well as his wife, Andrea. In fact, we learned that Andrea even laminated the page he would use for the Q.
The men of F3 Thibodaux wanted to do their part and offer up our prayers, our pain, and our exhaustion. 5 PAX showed up to the new Lion’s Den AO on crisp 44 degree morning. Following the lead of other PAX, we knelt for a moment of silence after the fifth burpee when Cardinal collapsed. We held that silence for 30 seconds; we could have held it for 30 minutes.
Indeed, as we were suffering through the second set of 15 burpees (burpees 45 – 60), Goose gave us reminders not to take a break. He said, “Cardinal’s wife doesn’t get to take a break.” We all kicked it into a higher gear.
To Andrea: If for some remote reason, you ever read this tribute, please know that we are praying for you and your family. We will keep your husband’s memory.
To Cardinal Junior: We want you to know that the men of F3 Thibodaux stand by you and Evie ALWAYS as your friends and brothers. We stand by your side in the gloom. Keep fighting the good fight.
Warm-up
15 Side Straddles Hops, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Flutter Kicks Double Count, 10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward, 10 Little Baby Arm Circles Backward, 10 Hallelujahs, 10 Knoxville Cherry Pickers, 20 sec Sampson Hold, 10 Willie Mays Hayes
_______________
The Thang
5-Burpees
5-Big Boys
5-Heels to Heaven
Run approx 160 meters (from Aslan to Playground and back)
Repeat set
(Burpee counter: 10)
10-Burpees
10-Little Baby Crunches
10-Mt. Climbers Double Count
Run approx 160 meters (from Aslan to Playground and back)
Repeat set
(Burpee counter: 30)
15-Burpees
15-Air Squats
15-Freddy Mercury’s
Run approx 160 meters (from Aslan to Playground and back)
Repeat set
(Burpee counter: 60)
20-Burpees
Run approx 160 meters (from Aslan to Playground and back)
Repeat set
(Burpee counter: 100)
Rocky Top (version by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
Hillbilly Walkers; burpee for every Rocky Top (18 burpees)
(Final Burpee counter: 118)
5MOM
COT with fist bump and each PAX saying hospital name, age, and Cardinal.
F3 Thibodaux’s own Cardinal prayed us out.
Cardinal Knoxville’s M, Andrea posted in response to the deluge of support, “He [Taylor] had been happier than I had seen him in so long when he found you guys. Thank you for making his last days bright.”
I think we can all relate to this experience and sentiment.
Make sure to tell your people you love them today.
SYITG,
Yankee Joe
