By John Ingoldsby | Engagement Insider
AURORA, OH June 25, 2014 – The Class of 2014 has started to fulfill their NFL dream, but before beginning this life-changing journey, the League made sure their eyes are wide open to the reality awaits them.
With the good, the bad, and the ugly laid out before them this week during the annual Rookie Symposium in rural Ohio—starting the past four days for the NFC newest players and continuing thru this weekend for the AFC assemblage—there should be no surprises for the 256 draftees.
With the likes of Warren Sapp and Ricky Williams warning them about potential pitfalls or Deion Branch and Donovin Darius describing their roads to success, none of the new crew should be naïve when navigating their upcoming NFL journey.
From social media and money to building up their body and brand, these NFL lottery winners listened to the game’s Legends to learn how to handle this opportunity of a lifetime.An opening that they earned with hard work and world-class talent, and also an eagerness to learn from those willing to teach them the highs and lows of life in the NFL.
The messages were loud, and it was clear the rookies heard them well.
“It was a lot of information, yet it was important and vital that we relate to the speakers who represented the top and bottom of the NFL,” said Chicago Bears draftee Brock Vereen. “We hope to take all the information and apply it.”
Yet with all the football stories he heard, it was a basketball player’s story that struck the University of Minnesota star.
“I had heard about Chris Herren’s story, but to hear him tell it, I was in shock. To know he was once sitting in our chair as a rookie, and then what happened to him, was really amazing,” said Vereen, whose brother Shane plays for the Patriots.
What happened to Herren is, of course well documented, as the Massachusetts high school hoops legend played in college and the NBA while in the throes of severe substance abuse, finally achieving his dream of playing for the Boston Celtics, but bottoming out by buying heroin on the street outside the Garden while in uniform.
But Herren ultimately overcame his addiction and his powerful message that he preaches worldwide today resonates with athletes of all sports, as was evidenced when the NFL rookies gave him a standing ovation and then waited in line afterwards to meet him.
But Herren was not alone in grabbing the audience’s attention.
Former Falcon Brian Banks, who was wrongly convicted of rape as a highly-recruited high school star and served five years in prison and five years on probation before his accuser recanted, was equally mesmerizing as a panelist.
“I had to figure out how to move forward by forgiving, so I could be a better man coming out of prison than I was going in” said the California native, who now preaches his inspirational message nearly full-time. “I never had professional speaker training, but I feel blessed and believe this is my calling ever since Commissioner Roger Goodell brought me in to talk, and people now seem to be listening to my message.”
A message that Banks encapsulated for the new NFLers by saying, “Some people will worship you, and others will target you.”
That bullseye on the back of NFL players can draw the aim of many, the rookies learned, particularly with money as the main motivator.
“I particularly liked the financial advice provided by Eddie George, who talked about the importance of understanding what happens to your money and checking your accounts all the time,” said Seahawks ‘Legion of Boom’ hopeful Eric Perkins about the former Tennessee Titans star turned entrepreneur.
Perkins’ fellow Seattle draftee Garrett Scott concurred, adding, “It’s good for us to hear from NFL guys who have been through it, learning from their examples as people who experienced it, which I respect like I would if my dad told me.”
Those examples also included information that can help players on the field as well, as told to them by Dr. John Lombardo speaking about Performance Enhancing Substances, and also Chairman of the League’s Health and Safety Committee, Dr. John York, who owns the San Francisco 49ers.
Their expert medical opinions, along with those from panelists like new Hall of Famer Cris Carter who teamed up with Sapp in one of the Symposiums most entertaining sessions, carried the same message: “In the NFL, your body is your business, so treat it with respect since it is ‘Rookie, Incorporated.’”
For new Tampa Bay Buccaneer Kadeem Edwards, this hit home, as he said, “It was great for me to hear from a Buc like Warren Sapp and Cris Carter, both franchise players, who laid out what we might expect in our careers.”
For further entertainment and educational value, the class that may have created the most enthusiastic response from the rookies of all the sessions, was by NFL Director of Officiating Dean Blandino, who outlined the rule changes from college to the pros, complete with video examples and ESPN Sports Center-type highlights.
And to further stoke the competitive fire burning inside these top athletes, almost all the sessions began with the ongoing Ultimate Rookie Challenge, where rookies answered questions from previous classes and were ranked by both team, which helped solidify the omnipresent camaraderie, and individual.
But you can’t keep over 100 NFC rookies cooped up in classes for four days, so the League threw them an outside lifeline by transporting them up the road to the Cleveland Browns training facility for an NFL Play 60 Youth Event and barbecue.
While there, the football player and kid came out in all of them as they enthusiastically interacted with well over 100 youngsters, doing jumping jacks, conducting drills playing catch, and generally making the day of every child there, while also enjoying it themselves.
“This is great being out here with the kids, and we are just soaking it all in,” observed Dallas Cowboys Draftee Devin Street, a wide receiver out of Pitt. ”We are embarking on a journey both mentally and physically, so being out here is a great way to show our passion for the game.”
That passion was, as expected, shared by the kids, of whom 70 or so were the offspring of military representatives from all five branches brought in by the USO.
“It is important to have the military here onsite so we can show them and their children how much we appreciate their service,” said Browns Director of Community Relations Jenner Tekancic.
One of those happy attendees was Lieutenant Colonel Lenny Bornino of the Ohio National Guard, who brought his three sons to join in the fun, and noted, “This is a wonderful event for the kids to see these future NFL players up close, and good for us too since both the National Guard and NFL are seeking young men with character, like those out here today.”
Character that is a key component to rookies making it in the NFL, and perhaps for a select few who have more character than most, someday making it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nearby Canton, where the players were taken to wrap up the Symposium.
During their three-hour tour this morning, they learned the history of their game, saw the 247 famous bronze busts of the most exclusive club in sports, and heard from incoming inductee Aeneas Williams, who said simply, “Begin With the End in Mind.”
An end that for Williams will soon be a Gold Jacket, but for now can serve as inspiration for today’s rookies.
“This place is pretty cool while also being very educational,” said New York Giants Draftee Weston Aichburg, adding “It’s just so special.”
For Washington Redskin running back Lache Seastrunk out of Baylor it was all that and even more, as he rushed into the room housing the busts asking, “Where’s Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, and Barry Sanders?”
After he found them, he happily observed, “Coming here is what I used to dream about as a kid when my granddad would talk about these players. I love this game, and am so thankful for this whole week which really changed my whole view about what we are about to begin.”
As all his fellow rookies would undoubtedly attest, it’s the start of something big, where they learned about the past to be put in the best possible position to succeed in the future on one of the world’s biggest stages – the National Football League.