Troy Aikman

Photo from http://www.aikman.com/stuff_gallery.shtml

What is a hero?

To me, a hero is someone that does something good for others. They give without thinking of what they might lose in the process. They work hard to accomplish their dreams, and do not let anything get in their way. A hero is human, so therefore they have to make mistakes. They also learn from their mistakes, and turn them into personal knowledge. Through their heroic acts, they inspire others to do good things as well, and to try to make the world a better place.

Troy Aikman was born on November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California. Troy Aikman played football at the university of Oklahoma in 1985-1986. Then he transferred to UCLA in 1986, and sat out a year to be able to gain back eligibility, and then returned to the field in 1987 and 1988. It was then that he was named a consensus All-American and the winner of the Davey O'Brien Award for being the best college quarterback of the year.

After college he went straight into the NFL draft, and was the first overall pick. He went to the Dallas Cowboys to play, and later become a legend. In his rookie year with the Cowboys, he helped lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 16-4 playoff record, and then to three Super Bowl Championships. He helped lead the Dallas Cowboys for two primary reasons. First was his agility, and the second was his ability to read the defense. He won the MVP for Super Bowl XXVII, and in Super Bowl XXX.

Later in Troy Aikman’s career, he had more trouble with concussions, and with back problems. After that, the Cowboys cut him, but mostly to avoid paying him a $7 million Roster bonus. He went on to become a NFL broadcaster, which he is still doing this day.

Photo from http://www.allposters.com/images/26/004_6619.jpg

Troy finds other ways to make people happy even if it is not on the football field. Now he is at the chair of the Troy Aikman foundation, which brings happiness to children in medical centers. So far Troy has only three centers open, but hopes that in the future there will be a center in every city that has a professional football team.

The first center was opened in Dallas, Texas, with a $250,000 grant from the foundation. In the play room there is an eight foot replica of his helmet, a theater with a seven foot by five foot screen, a laser disk screen, and 1200 fiber optic stars on the ceiling.

Another center was opened in Texas, and another in Oklahoma. Soon a fourth center will be established at UCLA’s Children Center. The Troy Aikman foundation is paired up with the Starbright Foundation, which is chaired by Steven Spielberg. They created an online computer network that links all of the computers from the various centers together, and makes it so that the children are able to play, talk to other critically ill children, and can even see each other by video communication. Troy sometimes even gets on his home computer and talks to the children also.

Troy does other things in addition to the medical centers. He also co-chaired the Beyond the Rainbow Luncheon to help raise funds for Children’s Cancer. In 1997 he held a race in Fort Worth that benefited his charity, and the Speedway Children’s charity. He also helps raise money for disaster relief for the Red Cross.

Troy Aikman fits all of the descriptions of a hero because he is giving and he is a role model for all. If everyone in the world had even half of the kindness that he holds in his heart, the world would surely be a better place.