Tag: If you’re a Football fan

Jim Kelly

Written on September 25, 2012.

“Records Are Made to be Broken…” They know their legacy isn’t what they did on the field. They are well-rounded. I’ve not always been a fan of the Buffalo Bills. I don’t dislike them, but I’ve just never “circled the wagons” like so many others. I felt bad for Jim Kelly when he lost four straight Super Bowls, but that he had a chance to play in four is a bigger...

Don’t just get a Ph.D in life…

Written on June 13, 2012.

Warrick Dunn is one of the most exceptional people I’ve ever met. Warrick played 13 years in the NFL, becoming the smallest player in the league’s history to carry the football for more than 10,000 yards. While in high school, his mother, a police officer, was killed during a robbery at a bank. When Warrick made it to the NFL, he started a foundation and continues today to help buy homes for single mothers like his....

Sam Cunningham

Written on July 1, 2011.

“Hope for the Best, But…” The truly Great prepare for all the possibilities before they step on the field. This weekend, Sam “Bam” Cunningham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In honor of that well-deserved honor and his Great career, we want to share a Moment of Greatness that helped define both Sam’s career and change college football. On the evening...

Tony Dungy’s Championship Life

Written on May 2, 2011.

Dungy never lost faith that he could balance work and personal life, even when he wasn’t winning the number of games he wanted. It’s a badge of honor among many sports coaches to tout long hours studying videos, nights slept on office couches and devotion to winning so all-consuming that everything else be damned. Tony Dungy doesn’t wear that badge. Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has...

Michael Oher

Written on February 1, 2011.

What Off-Season? They are always working towards the next game… It’s one the most memorable scenes in one of Hollywood’s most memorable movies. A large African-American teenager named Michael Oher is walking down the street, hunched over against the cold, when an affluent family in a silver BMW pulls up next to him. The mother, played wonderfully in the movie by Sandra Bullock, asks where he is...

Drew Brees

Written on January 1, 2011.

When Everyone is Watching… They embrace the idea of being a role model! Over my years at Sports Illustrated, one of my favorite moments each week was getting a look at the images that were chosen for the cover of the magazine. My favorite cover of all time was published last Feb. 15, the week after the Super Bowl. On it is pictured New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, fresh off his team’s big win,...

Raising Champions

Written on October 6, 2010.

For the patriarch of football’s first family, his No. 1 lesson for his boys had nothing to do with football. In the sweltering bayou country of southern Louisiana, four accomplished men reunite every summer, bunking together as roommates in the cramped living quarters of a small college. “As a fan of the game, I’m pleased the two sides have reached a deal and, as a professional, I want to get back...

Archie Manning

Written on October 1, 2010.

Rubbing Elbows… They understand the value of association. Thanksgiving. What a great week to celebrate family and all that it can mean to our success. Sibling rivalry can be rough; it can be outgrown; it can be laughed about years later – and it can be a tremendous motivator towards Greatness. A few weeks ago, I spent some time catching up with the First Family of Football: Archie Manning and his sons...

Bobby Bowden

Written on January 1, 2010.

Believe… The truly Great have faith in a higher power. As the college football season came to its official close last night with the national championship game, one of the enduring memories of this post-season came at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. There, college football’s second all-time winningest coach Bobby Bowden was carried off the field as his Florida State Seminoles won in what was Bowden’s...