USA Football, the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels, illustrates how football impacts the lives of Americans through a public service announcement (PSA) featuring six everyday Americans whose lives have been shaped by the great game of football.
The PSA will air during every nationally-televised NFL preseason game through August 28 and will be shown on all NFL stadium scoreboards in August.
The televised message, titled "I Played," features six professionals in their respective work environments whose qualities of leadership and strong character were forged by playing football - a sport that relies on selfless teamwork to attain success.
One of the former football players featured in the PSA is Dr. Johnny Benjamin, a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon from Vero Beach, Fla.
"I played youth football for as long as I can remember," said Benjamin, a former youth, high school and college player in Texas. "For me, football was a great opportunity to be with my friends, stay out of trouble and have a lot of fun. I really grew up my whole life playing football."
Benjamin and the five other "I Played" personalities were selected for the message based on their zeal for the game and the timeless lessons they gained from playing the sport.
The other professionals featured in the PSA all played the sport at the youth, high school or college level and include: Jay Hedley (business executive), Gary Lautsbaugh (retired Air Force serviceman), Marcos Morales (construction management professional), Peggy Evans (real estate agent) and Tom Kane (firefighter).
"I Played" is part of USA Football's "Play Football...it's more than a game" campaign. The "I Played" television message invites viewers to usafootball.com to share football-playing memories and tell how the game has enriched them as people.
USA Football's "I Played" PSA will air during nationally-televised NFL preseason games on CBS, ESPN, FOX, NBC, and NFL Network (outlined below). All versions of the "I Played" message were filmed in the greater Philadelphia area in late June, produced by NFL Films.
NFL Preseason Schedule:
| Preseason Week 1 (August 7-11) | ||
| Thursday, August 7 | New Orleans at Arizona | ESPN (8:00 PM) |
| Monday, August 11 | Cincinnati at Green Bay | ESPN (8:00 PM) |
| Preseason Week 2 (August 14-18) | ||
| Thursday, August 14 | Carolina at Philadelphia | FOX (8:00 PM) |
| Saturday, August 16 | Oakland at Tennessee | FOX (8:00 PM) |
| Sunday, August 17 | New England at Tampa Bay | NFLN (8:00 PM) |
| Monday, August 18 | Cleveland at NY Giants | ESPN (8:00 PM) |
| Preseason Week 3 (August 21-25) | ||
| Thursday, August 21 | San Francisco at Chicago | FOX (8:00 PM) |
| Friday, August 22 | Houston at Dallas | CBS (8:00 PM) |
| Saturday, August 23 | Pittsburgh at Minnesota | CBS (8:00 PM) |
| Sunday, August 24 | Buffalo at Indianapolis | NFLN (8:00 PM) |
| Monday, August 25 | Seattle at San Diego | ESPN (8:00 PM) |
| Preseason Week 4 (August 28-29) | ||
| Thursday, August 28 | Jacksonville at Washington | NBC (7:00 PM) |