I am not here to defend football. The NCAA and NFL have millions of dollars in their vaults to put a positive spin on a sport being battered these days as a health risk. There’s a direct link between concussions and dementia — and if you play football, you can’t escape those head blows.
So I’ll let the NCAA and NFL handle the negative aura that has shrouded their sport. They have the time, energy and resources to fight their own battles.
What I will defend are the core values of football.
I’ve been around the sport since my college days at Michigan State in the late 1960s. I’ve seen my share of great players over these last five decades. I’ve also seen my share of great men. Football often served as the bridge between the players they were on the field and the men they became off it.
I sat down with one of them the other day — Mike Rawlings, the mayor of Dallas. I’ll let you in on a little secret: Rawlings wouldn’t be the mayor of this great city today if it weren’t for football.
Rawlings played football for as long as he can remember.
“Football was my life,” Rawlings said. “There was school, church and football. … Since I was 9 until 20-something, I was putting on helmets every morning this time of year.
“It created so much of my patterns and habits for success in my life. I’m biased. I don’t think you can find a sport that is more team-oriented, that is more intellectually challenging, that is more about athleticism and also dealing with the existential nature of pain. It’s the sport of life.”
Rawlings played defensive end at Liverpool High School in suburban Syracuse, N.Y., and played it well enough to earn a full college scholarship to Boston College. He played four seasons for the Eagles but lettered only as a senior. Along the way he earned a magna cum laude degree in philosophy and communications.
“Without that college scholarship, there is no way I’d be here today,” Rawlings said. “My life path would have taken me to a different place.
“I went to a Jesuit institution that taught the value of giving back. It helped me take my mental toughness and desire to take the other guy down and refocus it toward things much broader in scope. I was able to be very competitive in business. I’m a competitive guy.”
Football breeds competitiveness. And a whole lot more.
Life lessons can be learned on the football field. Players are taught accountability and responsibility. They come to understand the value of preparation and work ethic. They learn the concepts of teamwork and trust. It molds men, matures men and puts them on a path toward more noble achievements in life.
Former college football players have served as president of the United States (Gerald Ford), secretary of state (George Shultz), secretary of defense (Donald Rumsfeld), secretary of treasury (Hank Paulson) and secretary of housing and urban development (Jack Kemp).
Former college football players have served in Congress, representing Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. They have served as governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia, and mayors of Baltimore, Newark and Pittsburgh in addition to Dallas.
Former college football players have served on the U.S. Supreme Court (Byron “Whizzer” White) and state Supreme Courts. They have served as university presidents at Boise State, Florida State, Georgia Tech and New Mexico and also as a past dean of the Wharton business school.
Former college football players have become four-star generals and astronauts. They have become CEOs of GE, IBM, Chrysler, Starbucks and Quicken. They have become presidents of Amway and Lockheed. They have become doctors, lawyers and educators. They also have become Rhodes Scholars.
And let’s not forget the opportunity that the sport provides.
There are 767 colleges fielding football teams this fall, an all-time high. There are seven start-up programs this fall and another nine scheduled to field new teams over the next two seasons.
Those 767 colleges translate into more than 70,000 student-athletes, many of whom would not be attending school without the benefit of a scholarship. A free education — and a degree — give many a football player a chance in life.
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin touched on that opportunity when I visited with him last month.
“I like creating opportunities for people who may not have had an opportunity to go to college,” Sumlin said. “There have been a lot of first-generation graduates over my last 26-27 years as an assistant and head coach.
“Young guys coming in at 17, 18 years old — then having them come back after they leave and seeing them as good husbands and fathers. There’s a certain gratification, personal gratification, to that besides winning games.”
Rawlings was one of those beneficiaries.
“I was from a family that could never have sent me to a great school like Boston College,” Rawlings said. “We didn’t have any money. My dad had just gotten his doctorate degree, and my mother was on a schoolteacher’s salary.
“But I was bound and determined as a freshman in high school that I was going to get a Division I college scholarship some place. I was fortunate enough to be able to do it.”
Rawlings took that degree and his football competitiveness and went on to become the CEO of both Pizza Hut and TracyLocke before becoming mayor.
“Football taught me about the success in getting the ball across the goal line,” Rawlings said, “and trust me, there are so many lessons in that. Everyone has different goal lines. For some it’s money. Others want to build a great city. Others may want to feed the hungry. It’s about accomplishing the goal. It’s about leadership.
“Football is a violent sport. I get that. But to not understand what football has done for this country — the leaders across America it has produced. I don’t know what America would be like today if it wasn’t for football. That should be the question being asked.”
Rick Gosselin is a Dallas Morning News sports columnist. His email address is rgosselin@dallasnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RickGosselinDMN.
