Howie Long Strikes Chord With Kids, Athletic Boosters

As Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long signed autographs, the kids couldn't take their eyes off the Super Bowl ring, glittering unashamedly on a hand built big enough to carry it. What they saw behind the ring was a grown man who, 30 years earlier, was in a situation similar to their own.

Long was the headliner for the annual Boys Town Booster Banquet on May 1 to benefit the student-athletes and athletic programs at Home Campus. The event is sponsored each year by the Boosters, a group of Omaha-area business men and women.

As he was growing up, Long lived in the homes of four different relatives. At a young age, his father left home and he was separated from his sister.

It wasn't until Long got married and had his own children that he realized the incredible sacrifice his uncle had made to take in a troubled teenager and instill the discipline, work ethic and foundation he would use to follow his life's path.

He told more than a thousand attendees at the banquet what he told the Wegner School children. "I felt like we were kindred spirits in that room today. If I can make it, trust me, any of these kids can make it." He told the children to be grateful for their Boys Town families and their teachers for helping them through a difficult time.

His career started at Villanova University when he took the place of an injured lineman in a college all-star game. Long caught the NFL scouts' attention and the Oakland Raiders drafted him in 1981.

During his career, Long set a record for sacks in the Raiders 1984 Super Bowl victory over the Redskins, was elected to eight Pro-Bowls and recorded 84 career sacks. In 2000 he was elected to Pro Football's Hall of Fame. He has since become an NFL analyst for Fox Sports and has starred in films and TV commercials.

"I am proud of what I accomplished as a football player. I am proud of what I accomplished in television. But the thing that I'm most proud of, because of my background, are the things that I have done as a husband, as a father and as a neighbor."

That is the true message behind the glitter.