Slovenian Looking to Fulfill Football Dreams in U.S.

This morning I woke up, made my eggs and hopped on my computer. Like most mornings, I was sifting through the muck to discern the day's tasks. Then I clicked on an e-mail from my Austrian Football League coach, Bob Bradley. You can read all about my adventure there. But while that chapter in my life is closed, a football adventure is just beginning for one of my teammates from Austria.

His name is Matic (pronounced mah-TEES) Pirnat, he is Slovenian and he loves American football. Coach Bradley informed me that Matic was trying to come to America to go to school and play football. He had reached out to Coach to see what he thought of his talent and if he had any contacts that could aid in the process. 

Not to wax patriotic, but is there any greater testament that the United States is the land of opportunity, not to mention that football is the greatest game on Earth?

Matic is from a small Slovenian village (about 50 residents), that up until 1991 was part of war-torn, socialist Yugoslavia. His father brews his own beer and he lifts weights in his garage because he wants to get bigger and better. Somehow American football reached him, and he was hooked.

Sometimes, as a former player, a fan, and a writer, I get caught up in the humor of today's game: the ridiculous antics, the overpriced contracts and the characters that comprise the college and professional game. I forget that football is transcendent. It's a game of blocking, tackling and teamwork. It is, in my opinion, the beautiful game, the one sport that is most revealing of character and heart.

This story is, for lack of a better word, touching. The fact that somewhere in Eastern Europe, while Americans dream of dollars, high-powered jobs and reality television, this 18-year-old's dream is to come to America to get his education and play college football.

I have no idea where Matic will end up or how he'll do, but it is stories like this that keep me in love with sports and their ability to reach out and touch someone's soul. I wish him the very best of luck.