Effort‪.‬

For starters, my wife Peg had our first child, Tammy, in May, and when she was just two weeks old I took a bus all the way from our hometown, Hartley, Iowa, to Edmonton, Canada to try out for a pro football team. I knew Peg was capable of handling things without me, but I still didn't like leaving her alone with the new baby if I could help it. My boss at Wal Mart, where I'm in charge of the Lawn and Garden Department, wasn't too happy about me taking so much time off. I also wasn't crazy about living in a dorm room for three weeks. I'd never been away from Peg for more than a weekend. I was already missing her when the bus pulled out of the Hartley bus station. I was one of the four rookie defensive tackles. Two of the guys were from the Big Ten and another guy was from Oregon State. Of the 16 rookies in the camp, I was the only one from a small college, St. Jude's College in Alba, Iowa, which isn't exactly in the habit of sending players to the pros. In fact, as far as I know, I'm the first player from St. Jude's to try out for any pro team in any sport.