An Even Higher Calling

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to meet many of my childhood heroes. The Broncos
and the Pro Football Hall of Fame invited Floyd Little to come to Denver to receive his HOF ring
at halftime of the Broncos-Colts game. It was the final triage of his journey into immortality,
having already received his gold jacket and bust in Canton HOF weekend.

The Broncos allowed Floyd to invite 10 family/friends for the weekend's fesitivities expense-free,
which also happened to be the Broncos Alumni weekend. I was fortunate to be one of the 10
invitees. The festivities included Friday's Alumni Dinner at Invesco Field, Saturday's Alumni golf
outing, and Sunday's game in a private suite.

At the Alumni Dinner, I got to meet some of the all-time Broncos greats who I admired as a kid
growing up in the 1970s. In addition to guys I have met before like Billy Thompson, a friend of
Floyd's, I met Rich Jackson, Charley Johnson, Louis Wright, Haven Moses, Goose Gonsoulin,
Fran Lynch, Steve Foley, Rod Sherman, Larry Brunson, Otis Armstrong, Don Horn, Marv
Montgomery, Red Miller, Joe Collier, and many more.

As I sat with Floyd and his family, I soaked up the surreal atmosphere before he told me he had
been in Denver for a few days. It came to no surprise that Floyd had flown out to the Mile High
City earlier to speak to various youth groups . . . to teach life skills to help them be successful.

"I told them 'You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning then to play in the NFL,'"
said Floyd. "That's why getting an education and surrounding yourself with good people are
so important."

Speaking to youth groups is nothing new to Floyd. As a star NFL player, Floyd's work in the
Denver community was as legendary as his play on the field. He was a personal assistant to
Governor John Love and twice won national humanitarian awards, such as the 1973 Brian
Piccolo Award and the 1974 Byron Whizzer White Award.

In addition to speaking to youth groups, Floyd is working with former NFL tight end Roland
Williams to become the national spokesman for another youth initative that Williams is
heading up.

Floyd was also scheduled to speak to the Broncos before the Colts game to get them fired up.
In the wake of the death of Broncos receiver Kenny McKinley of an apparent suicide, Floyd
decided it would be more appropriate to give a fire and brimstone speech another time. In
fact, next season Floyd hopes to address all 32 teams about life choices and being the best
you can be.

Still, the death of someone so young with so much going for him weighed heavily on Floyd.
I could see getting his HOF ring paled in comparison to the opportunity to help another
young person.

"I would have loved to have had the chance to talk to this young man," said Floyd. "You never
know what's going through someone's head and how desperate things can appear. I wish I
would have had the chance to try and help him."

Suicide is one of those horrible atrocities of life that always begs the question "Why?" That's
something I asked a couple times this year. First, with the apparent suicide a few months
earlier of Erica Blasberg, a 25-year-old LPGA blossoming star, and then again with McKinley's
death.

Perhaps, the pastor at McKinley's memorial services in Denver said it best: "The reason Kenny
decided to take his own life is between God and him."

Now as a Hall of Famer, Floyd continues to have an even higher calling. He's more committed
than ever to helping America's youth be successful . . . before they reach such a horrible roadblock.

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