'Family' An Integral Part Of Football Success

BOULDER — In a 7:22 a.m. team meeting, the expectation from Coach Mike MacIntyre and his Colorado coaching staff is for football — and football only — to be on the mind of each individual in the room.

I must admit, I didn't fully meet that expectation on this particular morning.

Coach Mac opened the meeting with a question. He asked us, "Do you know how an empire falls?" He then suggested that history proves an empire falls when the nucleus, as he described it, begins to become dysfunctional.

"The nucleus of an empire is the family," he said — and I believe that applies to the empire here at Colorado.

To us, family included every member of the team in the meeting room that morning. Coach Mac used this analogy to help us understand that the only way for our team to remain as strong as we needed to be was for us to be willing to extend a hand for the man next to us in times of need.

We were, Coach Mac stressed, going to have to "hold up our brother."

During my time here at Colorado, I have come across some of the biggest football fans I have ever encountered. It is almost as if they take "Eat, sleep, breathe football" to a literal level. I have realized people shake your hand with an even firmer grip and smile much larger than usual once you tell them you play for the Buffaloes. This is maybe the closest thing to being a celebrity most of us will ever get.

It's no myth that universities all over the country love their athletes. And trust me, that appreciation is mutual – we love you all back.

However, there is something about the glorification of collegiate athletes and athletes in general that lead "outsiders" to believe athletes don't face the same challenges they do. We have fathers and husbands that play on this team. As much of a challenge as it is to play this sport, the real challenge is everything else that comes along with it.

Athletes certainly do not live a "normal" life. It is not a secret that being an athlete requires us to wake up in the morning earlier than most and push our bodies to limits we weren't quite sure they could reach.

The part that isn't quite as glorified is the ability push our minds beyond those limits, which requires the real strength. Regardless of the most difficult and emotional circumstances an athlete faces away from the sport, the pressure is still on to perform at his or her highest level.

This is where the nucleus comes in, where Coach Mac's analogy hits home: not one of us got here on our own. Nor will any of us make it to where we desire to go without help along the way.

The more time spent with each other leads to us learning about one another — oftentimes by accident. It is the conversations over a plate of pancakes at breakfast that end up being the most meaningful. However, at 7 a.m., it is clear that most of us really don't feel like talking about much of anything. But the rare times those conversations do occur certainly have the most impact.

The dynamics of a football team are nearly as diverse as it gets. Even at a university, where the numbers might suggest a lack of diversity, our football team indicates otherwise.

Most would say that skin color and ethnic background are what diversity means to them – which we do have here at Colorado. But our diversity is shown in many other ways.

Our locker room is full of people who come from all over the world. Some were raised in single-parent households, others in a traditional family setting. Some of us attended public schools, others attended private institutions.

But the way we might be considered the most diverse is the many different personalities in the locker room. With so many differences, one way we stay connected is something we can dance to.

The locker room music is the ultimate unifier. I've seen first-hand how one song can change the attitude of nearly 100 men within just a few seconds. I will often take mental notes of songs that have the guys bobbing their heads, just so I can get a feel for what they like to hear. If it's a song from the 90's, I'll usually turn to one of them and ask, "What you know about this youngin'?"

Something about dancing in the locker room feels familiar. This feels like family. It is safe to say that music is essential to getting us through most of our days.

During the course of the year, we miss birthdays, funerals, weddings, and holidays. We tend to miss a lot of events that were once the regular fabric of our lives. That is the sacrifice we agreed to make.

However, we ask our families back home that you do not think we have forgotten about you.

We have not forgotten about the long days and nights you put in at work, the new cleats you bought us when the old ones were worn down, or the meals you made when you were exhausted.

For that, we owe you. We ask that you understand that we mean no harm when we don't answer the phone every time you call.

To the mothers, fathers, grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters: we thank you. Together we are the empire.

And without you, this empire would have fallen a long time ago. Without you, we are without our family.