Tee time brings military, NFL together

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. William Powell
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  Ten servicemembers got a chance to share a tee time Feb. 5 with National Football League Hall of Fame members in their annual golf tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.

The servicemembers took to the greens with more than 26 hall-of-famers, including Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Lynn Swann, Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor.

Servicemembers are often invited to participate in hall-of-fame contests to show the NFL’s appreciation for the hard work and sacrifices they make while serving their country, said Nick Nicolosi, the tournament supervisor.

“Wherever the [football] tournaments go, we try to involve those in uniform if there are military bases nearby,” Mr. Nicolosi said.

“We began this tradition during Operation Desert Storm, and I think this was the best one yet because we had more football celebrities and military participants than in previous years,” Mr. Nicolosi said. “The players really enjoyed interacting with all the servicemembers, and it’s the least we could do to say thank you.”

For most of the military participants, it was an exciting opportunity.

“I grew up watching Charley Taylor from the Washington Redskins in the early 1970s, and I’m still a Redskins fan,” said Navy Chief Petty Officer David Williams, from Blount Island Command Marine Base, Fla. “He is one of my heroes and happened to be my team’s captain for the tournament. It was a great honor to meet him.”

Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Matt Ranieri, from Kings Bay, Ga., said playing on Charley Taylor’s team was the best thing that has happened to him in his military career.

“During the party the night before, I got to sit and talk with Paul Warfield, a hall of fame wide receiver from the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins,” he said. “I worshipped him as a little kid, and I felt like an 8-year-old all over again.”

The weekend also enhanced relationships between the various military players, said Petty Officer Ranieri.

“I’ve worked with the Marines before, but I rarely interact with Air Force members,” he said. “This has been great. After about five minutes on the course, it felt like we were all stationed together.”

The military is one team, one fight, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Arrance, from Jacksonville Recruiting Station, Fla.

“All of us on one team in the tournament symbolized the way we fight and win wars,” he said.

The tournament not only brought together the different services, but also two different lifestyles with remarkable similarities, said the servicemembers and former football players.

“You have to be extremely disciplined to be a professional athlete and self-disciplined to be successful in the military,” said Lt. Col. Craig Hall, from here. “Each person has (his or her) own job to do that contributes to the team’s success, in both the military and football.”

Mr. Warfield, a former Ohio National Guardsmen, said what the military teaches the new recruits today is very similar to what professional football players learn.

“The men on the front lines in war must rely on one another,” he said. “They have that camaraderie, or brotherhood, because they have to depend on the guy next to them to cover their back.

“Football players rely on one another in a similar capacity for success,” Mr. Warfield said. “If we’re all pulling our weight and not going in different directions, that’s how championships are won.”

Mr. Jones, the 6-foot 9-inch former Dallas Cowboys defensive end, said he believes that the war on terrorism is necessary.

“I don’t want my daughter and granddaughter to live in fear like people in some countries do,” he said. “It’s unbelievable what the terrorists do, but from all I read, we’re on course to creating peace there. It’s a different type of war than we’re used to, and I hate to hear about the fallen Soldiers, but I feel that war was the only way. Hopefully we can put this all behind us soon.”

With the war and other problems on the minds of the players, they said that the tournament was a good way to temporarily escape life’s obstacles and enjoy the outdoors. (Courtesy of AETC News Service)