Simple plan

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The real deal

 

You don’t make it to the National Football League without talent, determination and a lot of hard work. And once you make it to the NFL (which some people say means Not For Long) you have to keep getting better, stronger and wiser because there is always someone pinning for your job.

How do I know all this?

I watch football every weekend and subscribe to a couple of sports magazines. It’s that simple.

But I also acquire my limited football knowledge by interviewing some of the biggest stars in the football world. This year I interviewed Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers for our 12th annual Super Bowl edition.

I expected Polamalu to be kind of mean (he’s a strong safety after all) and maybe a little full of himself (he’s one of the best defensive players in the league). But when I talked to him, I quickly learned he is soft-spoken, polite, intelligent and humble.

So I misjudged him a bit.

Happens all the time to most of us — especially when it comes to celebrities. But you need to know that before we run a story on a football player we ask if the player we are interviewing loves Jesus and has a solid relationship with Him. If they don’t, we move on.

So, why am I telling you all this?

The men featured in these pages are the real deal. They live a Christ-centered life on and off the field.

Our hope is their stories will inspire you to do the same.

Kirk Noonan

E-mail your comments to tpe@ag.org.