THANKS, NFL!

Who would have dreamed those gnarly, brawny guys who make a living playing football could actually bring tears to my eyes?  They just did! 

No, I would not be likely to cry over football, per se.  But this week I heard something quite touching about the NFL and the management of some teams.  Last week when I watched the news report of a budding high school football star who lost out on college ball and a possible pro career due to the lie that sent him to jail, I felt terribly sad for the man.  Now twenty-six years of age, he is free from incarceration after the woman, a girl friend of the sixteen year old a decade ago, now confessed to the lie accusing the boy of rape.  So he is free suddenly, but he's a twenty-six year old with no real football experience since his high school playing that showed him to be a likely future star. 

Probably most people would think his head would be in the stars, or at least in the clouds, if he even hoped there might be a distant chance of redeeming a career in the sport.  Daunting idea to say the least after missing out on the best years for his personal development.  But I told my wife that it would be only right, no matter how unlikely, for a professional team to at least invite this fellow to a training camp - just to see what he might still have.

Now we are told that half a dozen NFL teams have approached this man with the thought of giving him a try-out.  I immediately broke into tears at the news.  Hard to believe a crusty business like pro football could have at its heart - well, heart!  But here we are.  And I can now only hope that this young man has the physical stamina and strengths required to make the grade.  Even a foreshortened career in that league can go a long way toward restoring a life to someone who lost his youthful opportunities as the result of a lie.

Way to go, NFL!  Go get 'em, Brian Banks!