As we approach the end of college football…the Heisman trophy is looming. It is an exciting time in college football as many of the conferences have expanded and the SEC continues to lead the pack. However, along with that comes great history and players we just can’t forget. Ryan Leaf was once a Heisman hopeful and the future of the NFL. However, things change and sometimes a players demise becomes their future strength.

I suspect few of you have ever heard of Great Falls, Montana. Most of us have never even thought of paying it a visit. Just about 50 thousand people live there and clearly it is not the largest city in Montana. In truth, none of the cities are all that big. However, what makes Great Falls big is that Ryan Leaf grew up there and through his athletic power that town captured much attention. As much as this is about Great Falls it is really about Ryan Leaf.

Some athletes have g-d given abilities at birth and have athletic prowess before most can even walk. That was Ryan. Pure raw athletic ability sprinkled with unusual size and the ability to move as a big man. He was a phenom in Great Falls and prolific at the college level. He was in fact, by in large, a better player than Peyton Manning at the college level. However, being a great athlete is part of this story.

Great Falls is a wholesome community where the outdoors and family are on a pedestal. For Ryan Leaf, his ego was right next to all those important things that the people of Great Falls represent. However, this is not about the “bad” of Ryan Leaf, but more about a boy becoming a “man” and living a grounded life.

Being the best on the field at an early age…….being told you are the best….believing you are the best…..builds a monster. Ryan became that bigger than life ego and abandoned the value base of Great Falls. In the end, his professional career started and ended quickly. The demise of his mind fell apart ……and Ryan Leaf was in a world of hurt faced with issues nobody would have seen. Ego……..drug usage……..jail time……and the unravelling needed to take place for Ryan to be where he is today.

He once made 5 million a year as a player in the NFL and was miserable. Today, he makes a pay check like the rest of us doing what he loves. He is grounded….a good man…..and serving others who have dependency issues and so forth. He cares about people……peoples decisions….and now is the kid from Great Falls who became a grounded man. Ryan is the perfect example to prove we can have a downswing in life and follow it with an upswing. It takes work and Ryan put his time in. He is not a “bust”, but rather a hero to people who believe adversity will cripple them for life. Failure is often the recipe to success and inducing arduous work. Ryan succeeded by all accounts.

Brad Weisman

bweisman@inthesport.net