Throw Back
Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten brings old-school values to a league infamous for halftime wardrobe malfunctions, locker room towel-dropping and on-field faux-mooning.
Horatio Alger was writing Jason Witten’s biography 100 years before Witten was born.
Alger (1832-1899) wrote formulaic stories in each of which a young boy from a rural background would set off to earn his livelihood in the big city. The boys in Alger’s stories would always face dire hardship, yet triumph through pluck, character and hard work — generally with the help of an older male mentor figure.
Jason Witten’s parents divorced when Witten was 11. His mother, Kim Barnette, moved the boy and his two brothers from Fairfax, Virginia, to Elizabethton, Tennessee, where they lived in the home of Witten’s grandfather, Elizabethton High School football coach Dave Rider.
Witten took to football immediately. After playing for Rider at Elizabethton, Witten won a football scholarship to the University of Tennessee and is now the starting tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. This season he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl, the National Football League’s all-star game, February 13 in Hawaii. The Riders will be by his side for the trip.
“I was so fortunate that at a very young age I had my grandfather coach me on the football field,” says Witten. “He taught me so much, not only about football, but about morals and life. You know, he taught me ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir’ and why things like that are important. He taught me how hard you’ve got to work to make it to the top level. He taught me to dedicate myself on the field and in the classroom.”
Rider defers such praise to Witten and Barnette. “Their mother raised them. She kept tabs on Jason and Shawn and Ryan. She was always still the boss. But there were never any problems with any of them, especially Jason. You always knew where he was. He was always a good Christian boy. He and his brothers never tried to use having me as the football coach to try to get any special consideration for anything.”
That’s a rare departure for a future NFL player. Many current players have been pampered and given special treatment since their talent level became apparent when they were Little Leaguers. Witten’s talent was certainly apparent at that age, says Rider. “He had natural instincts, especially on defense. He just knew where the ball would be. You couldn’t fool him. His brothers really helped him learn the game. He didn’t play for me until he was a freshman in high school.
“He was also really well-liked, I remember,” says Rider. He still is. Witten is one of the most popular players on the Cowboys roster (along with Southwest Virginia native Julius Jones, the team’s tailback). “Whenever he comes home, he signs autographs for everyone and always takes a lot of time trying to help people here. He’s still got his feet flat on the ground. He hasn’t gotten the big head.”
As one might expect, celebrity doesn’t come naturally to Witten, but the good manners he was taught as a young man still guide his actions. “It’s very tough when everywhere you go, people know everything about you,” admits Witten, who (just to make his point) stands 6’5”; weighs 261 pounds; misses cornbread, steak and gravy and good home-cooked mashed potatoes when he’s not in East Tennessee; and will make $547,000 next year unless the Cowboys offer him a new contract, which is a hot rumor in Dallas. “You’re in the limelight all the time, it seems. You know, everywhere you go it feels like everybody’s watching you. You don’t want to make a mistake because you never know who’s watching you. But that’s just part of being a role model.
“I remember when I was a kid and I always looked at certain people and tried to do every move they did and model myself after them. So as a professional athlete, I think that’s a responsibility that you have to take as part of your role,” says Witten. “It can be tough. It is tough. But you learn to appreciate it. Sure, there might be a time you want to sit down and enjoy dinner, but you end up signing 50 autographs. You just adapt to it.
“When guys get done playing, sometimes they miss that drive of having everybody watching them. Other times it does get on your nerves, when somebody tries to take advantage of it, especially when you come home to East Tennessee. But everybody’s so proud that I’m a Dallas Cowboy and that I’m a Pro Bowler. They feel like I’m theirs, and that I’m part of them. To see other people live their lives through you, that’s special. Some athletes don’t like that. I look at it as a challenge that’s part of what I do, and I just try to enjoy it and to help impact other people’s lives and try to breed success.”
That desire to help other people is another Alger-esque aspect of the Witten story. When Alger’s characters achieved success, Alger would have them move on to become mentors in later stories. Witten is beginning to play that role now in Elizabethton. “I don’t get up here very often, but I do have a football camp that I run in the summer, and I try to give a lot of time to the Boys and Girls Club. I try to do things that I think will make kids better people and will allow them to see the success that I’ve had and say, ‘Hey, there’s a chance for me to make it, too.”
Witten’s message to youth is one of hard work, determination and self-reliance. But, he says, the focus isn’t on the sacrifices needed to achieve success, but on success itself. “The motto of our football camp,” says Witten, “is ‘Dreams Do Come True.’”
Somewhere, Horatio Alger is smiling.
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Kudos to Jason Witten. I’ve admired his ability as a player since he was at Tennessee. He is a remarkable player, and as this article shows, an exceptional young man. Thanks, Jason, for being a positive role model. We Cowboys fans love you!
Comment by steph — November 13, 2007 @ 4:26 pm