One of my favorite things about sports is that once in a while, an athlete will have such a tremendous story that goes far beyond the playing fields. A couple of days ago I watched a short documentary on ESPN about the oldest rookie in the NFL, Nate Boyer, who made his preseason debut for the Seattle Seahawks a few nights ago, playing long snapper.
For most people who are on an NFL roster this year, the story goes like this: impress scouts in high school, get a scholarship to play football in college, shine on the national stage, impress an NFL team, get drafted. This is not Nate Boyer's journey to the NFL. In fact, Boyer is at least 10 years older than any rookie drafted this year. His story starts about 16 years ago. He felt that college right out of high school wasn't for him, since he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. He tried to make it in Hollywood, but with virtually no success. However, his life changed when he read a Time magazine article about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. In a YouTube interview, he said that he "felt compelled to go and do something" after reading about the devastation that those people were facing.
After a few years of helping in a refugee camp in Sudan, he decided to go enlist in the army. After two years of training, he earned a spot in the Green Berets, one of the most elite units in the army. He served for five years, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was even awarded a Bronze Star for his service. After returning home for good, he decided that his goal was to play college football. The only problem was, he had never played organized football in his life.
Boyer decided to attend the University of Texas, who have one of the most prestigious college football programs in the country. He attended an open tryout, and ended up making the team as a scout team safety. However, he realized that he wouldn't see any playing time unless he switched positions, and he realized that the team needed a long snapper. He watched videos on the Internet and practiced for two months until he earned a spot on the team.
His work ethic impressed the coaches so much that he became the starting long snapper. More importantly, he became an inspiration to the team. Whenever the players would complain about practicing in the Texas heat, the head coach would call him over and tell them about running through the streets of Afghanistan in 120-degree heat while wearing 50 pounds of gear. I'm sure that for the players, that put things into perspective.
After playing for Texas for five years, he set his sights on the NFL even though his chances of being drafted were slim. After seven rounds of the draft, he was, in fact, not selected, but minutes after the draft ended he was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. Even though his chances of making the opening day roster are slim, bad odds have never stopped him before.
