Heroes with Heart
By Kim Dunbar
 January
2005 - On January 11, people of all ages and from different backgrounds
came from all over New England to help the victims of the December tsunami.
They shared one common bond — love for their New England Patriots.
In the wake of the recent tragedy in Asia, communities and organizations
all over the world are making every effort to support the countries devastated
by those fatal waters. In Worcester, over 3,000 Patriots’ fans converged
on Rotmans Furniture Store to meet New England Patriots Richard Seymour,
Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon and Tedy Bruschi. The players helped raise
$4,000 for UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) at the signing
and charity auction organized by Paid Inc., a locally based company that
works with sports collectibles and develops professional athlete web pages.
“Although $4,000 doesn’t seem like much,” Patriots
linebacker Tedy Bruschi said while he looked over his shoulder at the
oversized check sitting on a stand behind him, “every little bit
helps. Those people need so much more, but it’s great to be able
to help and to see everyone who came out to help as well.”
Bruschi is one of the leaders on the New England squad and also a popular
fan favorite. He had a tremendous regular season, racking up 122 tackles
— second best on the team (behind Rodney Harrison’s 138) and
tenth in the AFC.
Bruschi is known around the league for his hard work, discipline and competitive
spirit. He plays to win, whether on the field at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro
or in his backyard playing
a friendly pickup game.
“My competitive attitude doesn’t change,” he said with
a smile. “Whenever I play my young sons in football, I go out to
beat them, because it won’t be too long before they will be beating
me.”
Bruschi is also very active in his community, working with the United
Way and other organizations and charities. If you watch a lot of football
games, you may have seen Bruschi in a recent United Way commercial, in
which he received the Most Improved Player Award for his work in the community
and math tutoring skills.
Like Bruschi, Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison is a driving force
behind New England’s success. He has been praised by his coach as
being an extraordinary team leader, and he is respected by everyone he
comes in contact with. For Harrison, playing football and the ability
to help those in need are two extremely important gifts that shouldn’t
be taken for granted.
“Life is about giving back,” he said. “I think the tsunami
really put things in perspective. We all have a duty to give back any
way we can, whether it be financially or with our time and prayers, whatever
we need to do.”
Harrison, a defensive captain for the Patriots, has a tough reputation
around the league — some even say that he is dirty. But he doesn’t
seem to mind, interchanging the words ‘tough,’ ‘rough’
and ‘dirty’
when discussing the reputation he has among his peers. Without argument
or concernabout what others think of his style of play, Harrison uses
it all to his advantage on the field.“Intimidation is a big part
of the game,” he said. “Having other players know that you
are physical and aggressive makes you more of a player to be watched.
It helps from a mental standpoint, whether it causes a receiver to drop
a ball or a quarterback to throw an interception, it works to your advantage.”
Harrison, who has been playing football since he was six years old, believes
that his ability to play this sport is an honor and a privilege.“God
gave us the opportunity to play in the NFL and every day is a gift. My
motto is to play every play like it is the last play. My motivation to
go out there is to
display the talents God gave me and to have fun. I love this game.”
The signing with the four players took place four days before the Patriots
defended their Super Bowl title in the second round of the playoffs against
AFC Conference rival Indianapolis Colts. Fans were dressed in jerseys,
many with red, white and blue face paint. They greeted the players one
by one with well wishes for a third trip to the Super Bowl in four years.
“Give ‘em hell,” said one fan as he passed by defensive
end Richard Seymour. Seymour smiled and said he would. The humble player,
however, believes that his work on the field is only the beginning. “Football
is only part of what
we do, it is not who we are,” he said, agreeing that he and other
athletes have a duty to serve as role models for young fans. “Anytime
you can give back to people who need it is great,” said Seymour.
“Life is about how you can help others and bring others up in their
time of need. It brings joy to my heart when I can see the joy that people
may have by something we can do.”
This season, Seymour earned his third consecutive invitation to the NFL
Pro Bowl on February 13, where he will join teammates quarterback Tom
Brady and kicker Adam Vinatieri for the game in Honolulu, Hawaii. In just
his fourth season in the league, he already has two Super Bowl rings.
But Big Sey (a nickname adopted by fans) ultimately wants to be in the
Hall of Fame.
“My ultimate goal is to be a Hall of Famer,” he said. “I’m
not where I want to be yet, so I still have work to do. I know I have
the potential to get there, but it will just take more hard work.”
According to Harrison, this kind of attitude is an example of what separates
a good player from a great player. “A great player is willing to
go above and beyond the call of duty and is willing to make sacrifices.
A good player does what is necessary, which is not always the bare minimum,
but just enough to get the job done.”
Harrison and his teammates are all examples of great players, especially
Patriots running back Corey Dillon, who is
new to the team this year after coming over from the Cincinnati Bengals.
“As soon as I got here in New England,
the fans welcomed me with open arms,” said a cheerful Dillon. “New
England is filled with diehard fans who love their Pats. Whether rain,
snow, typhoon, whatever, they’re out there cheering. These people
are great. I love them.”
On the first day of Patriots training camp this summer, every time Dillon
touched the ball the crowd would cheer, showing their appreciation for
the player whose teammates call “the new guy” and even “the
rookie” despite his eight years of experience in the NFL. Dillon’s
fame in New England is well deserved. In his first season with the Patriots,
he broke the regular season rushing record, setting the new bar at 1,635
yards and strengthening the running game for the franchise.
After the overwhelming support he has received from the New England community,
Dillon is sure to give back to others. “It feels good to be able
to help because this is a good cause,” he said about the charity
auction.
“The tsunami was such a tragedy and I think everyone in the world
is trying to reach out to the people who lost family and friends in the
disaster, so it’s great that the proceeds go to this and it’s
a tremendous thing to be
here.”
All the proceeds from the silent auction, which featured autographed
memorabilia from the
World Champion Boston Red Sox, World Champion New England Patriots and
other prestigious athletes, were donated to UNICEF. Paid, Inc. Special
Events Coordinator Kevin Gniadek said that many other organizations
have benefited from similar auctions, including the Worcester Food Bank,
the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, D.A.R.E. America, the Matt
Light Foundation and the Worcester Sports Council. He also said that the
company has donated tens of thousands of dollars to charitable organizations,
but this year’s goal is to raise $100,000. “Anytime you can
get the community together to raise money for a good cause… it’s
nothing less than exceptional,” Gniadek said, echoing the words
of Richard Seymour, Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon and Tedy Bruschi. For
Patriots fans, there’s nothing better than meeting some of the NFL’s
most elite athletes. For the tsunami survivors, every little bit helps.
No one could have asked for a better solution to help remedy a global
heartbreak.
For more information about Paid, Inc., contact Kevin Gniadek at (508)
791-6710 or kg@paid.com.
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