NFL Draft

I often think about what it would be like to be a professional athlete. Every year I watch the NFL draft where college athletes are selected by teams in the NFL. Each year, ESPN does a background story on a number of the players involved. When I watch these stories, I see a lot of similarities between the average kid and these young men who are starting their careers as professionals. They start these stories off by beginning from their childhood. They show what these young men went through when they were kids and what their lives were like. Some of these men were blesses to be in a great situation where they had a great family who was supportive and dedicated. An example of this type of player would be like Peyton or Eli Manning. When they were kids, their father was a quarterback in the NFL and for them; it was easy to see what their future could be like. When they were in high school, they had a lot of connections from their father and they were easily acknowledged for who they were. The other half of the players that you hear about were not as fortunate. Often times, these young men were brought up in violent neighborhoods where they had hardly any family support at all. Sometimes, you hear about young men who got caught up in the gang life, and were fortunate enough to be touched by someone and were able to change their lives around. An example of this would be Tyrone Wheatley. Tyrone Wheatley grew up in Michigan and lived with his mother. His father was not in the picture and he lived in a bad neighborhood. He was forced to grow up at a quick age and learned to be a man. Tyrone became a tremendous football player and was also a 3-time track and field state champion. He earned a full scholarship to the University of Michigan and was a first round draft pick in the NFL. When I watch these stories, I see how much these men went through in their lives and it inspires me to be the best I can be.