Jacksonville author Gail Carter-Cade has channeled her family's dedication to the Jacksonville Jaguars into a poem designed to support athletes facing the emotional challenges of professional sports. The poem emerged from a personal experience at a Jaguars away game in Nashville, Tennessee, where Carter-Cade and her family witnessed players' visible disappointment following a loss.
Carter-Cade, who specializes in writing about healing and emotional resilience, observed that athletes experience more than physical pain after defeats. She references Psychology Today, which notes that athletes often face deep emotional fallout including sadness, shame, anger, fear of disappointing others, self-doubt, anxiety, and loss of confidence. Her poem, titled "A Loss," attempts to give voice to these invisible struggles while reframing loss as feedback rather than failure.
"I wrote this poem to let athletes know how they feel matters — and to let fans understand the emotional toll of the game," Carter-Cade explained. "In this way, we can truly uplift the pain." The poem appears in her workbook Uplifting The Pain By Fostering Growth Mindset Through Poetry Now and her book Uplifting The Pain of Behavioral and Learning Styles Through Poetry Now, also available at Barnes and Noble.
The initiative carries implications beyond football fandom. By addressing the psychological impact of sports performance, Carter-Cade's work contributes to broader conversations about mental health in athletics. Her focus on growth mindset—the idea that setbacks provide learning opportunities rather than defining failures—aligns with contemporary approaches to athlete development and resilience training.
For the sports industry, this perspective challenges traditional narratives that prioritize winning above emotional wellbeing. It suggests that fan support should extend beyond cheering victories to acknowledging the psychological demands of competition. Carter-Cade specifically mentions quarterback Trevor Lawrence's character and work ethic as qualities not reflected on scoreboards, highlighting how public perception often overlooks athletes' personal struggles.
The poem's message extends to students and anyone facing disappointment, positioning sports as a metaphor for broader life challenges. Carter-Cade hopes Florida communities will embrace this perspective, creating more supportive environments for athletes at all levels. Her social media presence, including content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, amplifies this message to wider audiences.
This approach represents a shift in how communities engage with sports teams, moving beyond transactional fandom toward emotional solidarity. By validating athletes' emotional experiences, Carter-Cade's work potentially reduces stigma around discussing mental health in competitive environments. The initiative demonstrates how personal passion for sports can translate into meaningful support systems that benefit both athletes and the communities that cheer for them.
