The NFL season kicked off last week and there is plenty of excitement in the air.  People are following their favorite teams and talking smack in their fantasy football leagues.  I always love it, but this year my enthusiasm is a bit tempered.  You see, my boy, Dat Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American player in the NFL, is no longer playing after 7 years in the league.  He played one of the toughest positions at middle linebacker and was noted for his hard-hitting style and instincts.  Dat retired from the Dallas Cowboys after suffering knee and neck injuries last year which prevented him from playing up to his high standards.  As a Washington Redskins fan, it's blasphemy to root for a Cowboy, so when the Skins played the Cowboys, I always wanted Dat to have a huge game but the Redskins to come out on top. 

Who needs a neck anyways?

"He's done a great job," Cowboys Head Coach, Bill Parcells said.  "He has been a very dependable guy. Obviously one of our team captains.  I haven't been here for all of his career, but if the first part was anything like the first couple of years with me, then he's to be commended for what he's accomplished."

I've followed Dat's career since his college days at Texas A&M, where he was an All-American and won the Lombardi Award as the nation's top linebacker and the Bednarik Award as the top collegiate defensive player his senior year.  Always considered undersized to play football (although 5'11" 238 lbs is not tiny), Dat proved his critics wrong and had a solid NFL career.  His 172 tackles in 2001 was the second highest single-season total in Cowboys history, and he led the team in tackles in 3 of his final seasons where he played all 16 games.  Not bad for a guy who was born in a refugee camp when his parents fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975.  I've started reading his autobiography and it's great to know that he is a strong Christian as well.  So here is a Vietnamese guy with my last name and a had similar upbringing who overcame the odds to be a successful NFL player and great Christian witness.  How can I not be inspired?  

I wish Dat could have played longer in the NFL but I'm glad he was able to have the career that he did and was a solid role model for kids.  Some lil boy is sitting in a rice paddy in Vietnam dreaming of being the next Dat Nguyen.  Or perhaps that boy is really sitting in a cubicle in Virginia.  That would be awesome to meet him one day to discuss our lives and his football experiences.  His bowl(s) of pho will definitely be on me!