Many youngsters talk about playing professional football when they're growing up, but very few actually achieve this goal. With the 2009 NFL Draft taking place on April 25-26 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, this dream will come true for some of today's top college players as the Detroit Lions start things off with the first overall pick.
Draft day is always a special one for the athletes involved and their families, just as it was for Zelda Westbrook and Emma Clements - both members of the Professional Football Players Mothers' Association. They both have sons that were selected to play in the NFL, and Draft day was a time for them to share in the excitement.
"I never thought about the NFL because I knew we had talked to him about his chances of going to the NFL, and it wasn't one of those things that went hand in hand," Westbrook said about her son Brian, now a dominant running back for the Philadelphia Eagles. "It's so few young men that actually get into the NFL versus the ones that are trying to get in."
Clements' son, Nate, now a cornerback for San Francisco, played football at Ohio State after seeing success at Shaker Heights (Ohio) High School. His mother said football has always been his passion and that he used to say he wanted to play in the NFL - even when he was a little kid.
And then Nate's name was called as the 21st overall pick in the 2001 Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
"We were all happy and screaming and everything," Clements recalled about seeing her son's name scroll across the TV. "His family and friends and a minister from his church were there, and we had a Draft party at my house.
"Seeing the excitement on Nate's face was great, and we were all very happy for him."
See what PFPMA member Jenna Gonzalez had to say about Draft day with her son, Anthony, who now suits up as a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. (Video courtesy of WKYC-TV Cleveland)
Westbrook remembers a similar scenario playing out upon seeing Brian selected as the 91st overall pick in the third round of the 2002 Draft by the Eagles.
"We had a house full of family and friends that day," Westbrook said. "It was nerve racking just waiting that day to see if Brian's name was going to get called. The phone was ringing off the hook and every time it rang Brian was up answering the phone, which is something he never did.
"Then his name was called and we were overjoyed, and the whole house was just in an uproar."
Brian's mother said it was extra special because although her son was very talented, he had been told that he would face some challenges if he made it to the next level that were beyond his control.
"Everyone said he was too small to do this and he would never make it to the NFL," Westbrook said. "So it was just a really exciting time for us to have that happen."
Brian and Nate have been playing America's favorite sport for a long time now and both got started at early ages - Brian was 9 and Nate was only 7. Clements said her son's youth football experience playing for the team PAL Six was something that helped shape him into the person he is today.
"I look back on it and it gave him a great opportunity because I was working and my husband was a fireman, so he was away from home sometimes," she said. "I would have to come home from work and take him to football practice. The discipline he learned was important growing up back in the '80s when things weren't as good as they are now."
Westbrook said Brian was fortunate enough to have great coaches as a youth player at the Allentown Boys & Girls Club in Fort Washington, Md., and then at DeMatha (Md.) Catholic High School, so she can really appreciate the work that USA Football is doing to improve the sport from the grassroots level.
"I think it's a wonderful thing because then the youth learn the correct way of playing football," she said. "The education provided for the coaches I think is really important in today's world on the field because you're teaching them the fundamentals of the game and the safety of the game."
Having made their way from youth football to the professional ranks, Brian and Nate can watch this year's NFL Draft knowing that it will give others the opportunity to see their dreams become a reality as well.
