 Image from ESPN.com |
There’s not much I can tell you about Brett Bafaro the football player that hasn’t already been written about. Sure, you already know he’s a beastly 6’2 1/2″, 230lbs. Sure, you already know he runs a legitimate 4.50 40. Sure, he’s being recruited throughout the country and has numerous offers from schools such as OSU, Boise State, UO, Utah, UW, Colorado, etc. He could walk into any of those schools today and start from day 1 at both fullback AND linebacker.
So all that being said, let’s talk about Brett Bafaro the student, teammate, and person. In a time and day when so many athletes, politicians, and celebrities are all about “ME”, Brett Bafaro is a breathe of fresh air. “Make sure you get shots of Eggiman(Evan), he’s really good.” Said Brett, as if he were a HS coach promoting a recruit to a college scout. And that’s essentially what Brett does; use the podium he’s been thrust onto, to help any and everyone around him. When we contacted him to say we’d be out to film practice, within 5 minutes he had sent a text with a list of guys we should interview and film.
Not only is Brett the ultimate teammate, he’s smart too. But not just in the classroom(though he has above a 3.5 GPA), in the decision making department as well. Every week, damn near every day, their are stories of athletes making stupid choices. From tweeting something offensive, to bringing a gun to a club and shooting yourself in the leg(Hey Plaxico, at least you caught a TD the other day!), one’s left to wonder if it’s not just our economy, but athletics as well with a bleak future. Then you meet and get to know Brett Bafaro, and your faith in humanity and athletics is restored. The most popular kid at school and on the team, Bret is invited to any social gathering going on. “I just don’t go to parties. It’s not that I’d do anything wrong, I just have seen people make poor choices and get burned for it. Someone can take a picture and post it on facebook whenever they want, and it can be construed differently than the way it actually was. If I avoid that situation altogether, then it’s never an issue.” In an era where juicy headlines and negativity flood our newspapers and t.v. sets, let’s all step back and enjoy Brett Bafaro for as long as we can.
