Hardly relevant: The first cut is the deepest, NFL Cut Down Day, and The Rock

Author’s note: This is the third installment of my weekly column, Barely Relevant.

Cat Stevens sings in the song “Father and Son,” “I know it’s not easy to stay calm when you know something’s wrong.” Like someone with multiple personality disorder, he switches narrative perspectives between a wise older father and an excited young boy who wants to run out into the world and smack it on the head. You can hear the tone change in his voice between verses.

You could look at it as an allegory for Cat Stevens’ journey to religion. Half of him wants to run away and give up music – and the Western world – and immerse himself in Islam and spirituality. And the older – wiser – half tells him to keep calm – slow down and enjoy what he already has. You can hear Cat’s struggle with the same existential dilemma in the songs “Don’t Be Shy” (love is better than a song – love is where we all belong) and “On the Road to Find Out” (the answer lies within ourselves, so why not look now, exorcise the devil’s sin and pick up a good book now).

Of course, fans of Cat Stevens know what happened after Cat wrote these songs – he abruptly gave up music and disappeared from the public eye for three decades. To pray. One way to look at this is that his younger self won. He got excited, ignored wise fatherly advice and ran with his inner child – straight to God. It’s a classic story (The New Testament, Siddhartha and Gilgamesh). Authors like Fosse, Borges and Dillard have made a living exploring these themes. The search for love, God and meaning runs through almost every fiber of every book, painting and record you’ve ever picked up. But what does this have to do with football?

Here I’m going to dig into the subject of love. In 1965, Cat Stevens wrote a song called “The First Cut is the Deepest.” It’s a love song — clearly about how the first love is always the strongest. He’s referring to being in love with a girl, but later — as we learn more about Cat Stevens — it’s hard not to hear the song and wonder if he’s singing about God. This made me think of Tom Brady. Not because he’s godlike — not in any way, I must clarify — but because we’ve all seen him return to football season after season. Even potentially — and possibly detrimental — to his love life. I’m speculating wildly here (of course, relationships aren’t that simple), but it’s possible that his first love was that strong: football. And his first cut was the deepest.

This guy had a great career – maybe the greatest. He got to spend a lot of time with his favorite lover. But what about the guys who loved football as much as he did and never made it? What happens to those guys? In the spirit of cut-down day, let’s explore some of their stories.

Charlie Ward

In the college world of the 1980s/early 90s, multi-sport athletes included Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Charlie Ward. Charlie Ward played basketball and football for the FSU Seminoles. In fact, in 1992, he was named FSU’s first black player to win the starting quarterback position. As a quarterback, Charlie Ward led FSU to its first national championship in the Orange Bowl. And won it. In 1993, Ward won the Heisman, the Maxwell (best all-around college player), the Davey O’Brien Award (best college QB), and the 64th National Basketball Association Award.^th AAU James E. Sullivan (top athlete at college or Olympic level).

When the 1993 football and basketball seasons ended, Ward declared for the draft, but his name was never called. Some say it was because of his height (6’2″), others say it was for other reasons. Ward was the first Heisman winner in the Super Bowl era who never played in the NFL. That was also a first. A few months later, Charlie Ward was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft… a sport where height is even more important. Ward signed with the New York Knicks and became the first Heisman winner to ever play in the NBA. That was also a first.

Charlie Ward and the New York Knicks reached the NBA Finals in 1999, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Ward spent 11 seasons in the NBA before becoming a coach – first as an assistant with the Houston Rockets, but eventually returning to his first love, coaching high school varsity football teams at several different schools before launching his own web series. Chalk Talk with Charlie Ward…where he talks about Seminole football.

Dwayne Johnson

As the son of successful WWE wrestler Rocky Johnson and Ata Johnson – adopted daughter of professional wrestler Peter Maivia – Dwayne Johnson had martial arts in his blood. In high school, Dwayne wrestled, ran track and field and… played football. Defensive tackle, to be exact. He played two years at Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, before being recruited and offered a full scholarship to the University of Miami.

Johnson played four years for the Miami Hurricanes, winning a national title in 1991. Unfortunately, he spent most of those years as a backup behind Warren Sapp. At the end of his career, he played in 39 games, including one start, and recorded 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles. He graduated summa cum laude with degrees in criminology and physiology.

He didn’t make an NFL team and was signed by the Calgary Stampeders. They made him a linebacker and released him two months later. What happened then? Oh yeah.

Dwayne Johnson eventually became “The Rock” and did some pretty awesome things to other wrestlers at various WrestleMania Summer Slams, Royal Rumbles, and King of the Rings. He won the WWF Championship in 1998. A year later, he got into acting and found a way to become one of the biggest Hollywood stars in recent history. And the voice of Maui in Moana – which I have to listen to constantly in the car as I sing the song “You’re Welcome” over and over while I take my kids to school. Sometimes I forget to turn it off and he keeps singing to me as I drive home. I hum along, and if a friend were to ask me, “Hey, who have you been listening to lately?” I would have to answer, “Oh, I’ve just been listening to a lot of Dwayne Johnson.”

Eventually, Mr. Johnson, the Rock, found his way as producer and lead actor in a television show about football players called Ballers. He played an ex-linebacker who later became part owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. And I saw him – about two years ago, when he announced the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. I was in the audience and watched him after his speech. He paced the sidelines for a long time – talking to the players, giving them high fives, throwing a football up and down, playing catch.

Uncle Rico

Back in 1982, he could throw a pigskin a quarter mile. That was deadly serious.

Honorable Mentions:

Eric Crouch (sales of playground equipment)

Damon Allen (CFL star)

Marcus Dupree (from USFL to NFL, released by Chuck Knox)

Jeff Samardzija (has chosen baseball)

Nate Robinson (Superstar)

For every player in the NFL, there are thousands of others who tried and failed. Real people – guys who loved the game, lost it, and had to figure out something else. Some of them had fantastic – fulfilling – careers. Many others didn’t make it.

In 1990, Los Angeles Raider Lyle Alzado said, “I miss the violence,” when asked why he tried to make a comeback at age 40, four years after retiring. He didn’t make it back. Peyton Manning has said he misses hanging out with “the guys” in locker rooms and on buses.

I played tight end briefly in high school. I wasn’t very good and I got beat up a lot – my family still has photos of me after games with tufts of grass in my helmet and streaks of mud on my jersey. I don’t miss the violence – and I wasn’t around long enough to be fully immersed in the culture. But I do remember Friday nights, traveling, and the anticipation before games. Of course, I understand them (to a much lesser extent).

As I write this, it is Tuesday – August 27th^th — and the Seattle Seahawks have trimmed their final roster to 53. Guys like Jamie Sheriff (who delivered beer earlier this year), George Holani (UDFA) and Easop Winston (who briefly led all WRs in the preseason) have been released. Some will continue on our practice squad — but nothing is certain or guaranteed. Just the promise that their stories will continue — somewhere. Those who continue may find their way back to football one day. Because what was that song again?