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Buffalo punter Brian Moorman isn't just one of my favorite football players. He's one of my favorite athletes anywhere, and I just was reminded why.
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| Moorman's enthusiasm for helping children with cancer is obvious. (Getty Images) |
He cares about his sport. He cares about his teammates. Mostly, he cares about people -- particularly children.
If you don't understand, I recommend stopping by next weekend's triathlon in Pittsford, N.Y., home of the Bills' summer training camp. Moorman, wife Amber and Bills' placekicker Rian Lindell are among the nearly 300 persons expected to participate in the June 1 event, doing it to raise money and awareness for Moorman's PUNT foundation.
Maybe you've heard of it. Chances are you have not. The acronym stands for Perseverance, Understanding, N'encouragement and Triumph, and the foundation is devoted to helping western New York kids afflicted with and affected by cancer.
That tells you something about Moorman, who has been a spokesman and supporter for events at Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute. But so does this: To raise money for the foundation, he's willing to put himself through the grind of his first-ever triathlon.
OK, so Moorman has a collegiate background in track (he was a three-time national champion in the 400-meter hurdles) and, yes, he tried a little road biking as part of last year's offseason training.
But those experiences have as much to do with preparing you for a triathlon as a game of whiffleball does for putting you on the Red Sox. Nevertheless, Moorman is willing to give this a whirl, and let him explain.
"I always thought it would be fun to say I did a triathlon," he said. "So I started looking around, and we found one in Pittsford, outside of Rochester.
"It was too late to do one last year, so I ran into the town supervisor and asked him if he would be interested in partnering with our foundation in raising money to help kids with cancer. He was excited about the possibility, put me in touch with the people in charge and we kind of ran with it. Now it's just a matter of getting through it."
That won't be easy. Moorman and Lindell must swim 300 yards each. Then they bike 15 miles. Then it's a 5-K, or 3.1-mile run. Granted, it's not the Ironman, but it's not a couple laps around the practice field, either.
"Am I nervous?" Moorman asked. "Yes. I competed in track in college, and I'm competing at the highest level in football. But this is a whole new ballgame.
"I have a lot of respect for the endurance-type of athlete because I was more of a long sprinter in college. So running three miles is a big deal to me -- not to mention after I've gotten off a bike.