Winter was born with a cleft palate and deaf in one ear, he faced near constant bullying at school. He told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that "Seventh and eighth grades were the worst. I remember being thrown in dumpsters, beat up, spit on. Some days more than others. I just thought bullying was part of being different."
Things weren't any better at home, unfortunately. His father was extremely abusive, so he turned to his mother for support. What a support she was, too. After Winter didn't get any recruiting offers coming out of high school, he and his mom went on a whirlwind tour of college campuses, just trying to get a meeting with a coach. Nobody offered a scholarship, but Syracuse offered him an opportunity as a walk-on. He took that chance and ran with it, earning the team's MVP award before he was ultimately drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.
A few seasons later, he made his way to Green Bay as part of his decade long NFL career as a defensive lineman. Winter was never an all-star, but he was far more than just a warm body to fill a roster, too.
After his NFL career came to an end, Winter took up a new profession as a motivational speaker. I actually got to see him when I was a grade-schooler. My dad, brother, and I went to see him speak, and we bought his book, even getting it autographed. I was pretty transfixed by the speech, and I still remember a lot of what he had to say today.
No comments:
Post a Comment