NFL Gateway To Excellence

The Pittsburgh Steelers represent a form of excellence in American society. It is the first time in the history of professional football a team has won six Super Bowls, although they have played in seven of those games which represent the epitome of excellence in professional football.

Most NFL teams send its rookies to the museum as part of their orientation and training for an excellent career in pro sports.

This year, I was there when several rookies from the Pittsburgh Steelers were touring the museum and signing autographs for high school students. 

In order for my students to experience the HOF vicariously, I took many pictures. These articles are posted, printed and shared with the two-year college students.

The goal is to raise the level of expectation of people who need more passion and inspiration to attain excellence in the career of their choice. Examples of excellence in professional football are firing up the classroom in a mathematics class in Houston, Texas.

Young people have been challenged to trace (using mathematics) the careers of selected rookies and to compile and analyze the statistics of their careers. To the extent possible, different ways of looking at the football data are discussed and applied.

The rookies will be the focus of study during the football season are:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2009 ROOKIE FREE AGENTS

Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	College
Steven Black	WR	6-2	200	Memphis
Jeff Bradley	DT	6-3	280	Western Carolina
Mark Estermeyer	LS	6-1	251	Pittsburgh
Ramon Foster	OT	6-5	328	Tennessee
Cedric Goodman	WR	6-2	189	Georgia
Tyler Grisham	WR	5-10	184	Clemson
Tom Korte	LB	6-0	239	Hillsdale (Mich.)
Kevin McCabe	QB	6-2	209	California (Pa.)
Steve McLendon	DT	6-3	305	Troy
Isaac Redman	RB	5-10	228	Bowie State
Mike Reilly	QB	6-3	214	Central Washington
Derrick Richardson	S	5-11	201	New Mexico State
Andrew Schantz	LB	6-1	234	Portland State

Join us in this adventure. Will the Steelers do it again? The bar is set high, but we know that anything is possible, if the rookies work hard and stay focused.

I congratulate the coaching staff for the wisdom they have to give the rookies an opportunity to experience a "gateway" to excellence in American society. The passion, character and excellence in training to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame can be replicated in other careers to produce more professionals who enjoy accolades similar to enshrinement.