Hometown Heros

My hometown isn't what you'd call a sports mecca, so we tend to cling to our local heroes. Of recent vintage, we have this year's Masters champion Zach Johnson and former NFL MVP Kurt Warner.

I don't think Kurt ever loved us as much as we loved him, but Zach is the real deal. He thinks so much of his hometown, he returns secretly to enjoy quality time with his family and friends while also doing his civic duty through charitable causes and public appearances.

I'm not even a Sox fan, White or Red, but I felt a little civic pride in learning Chicago closer Bobby Jenks tied a major league record for most consecutive batters retired. Jenks, who played minor league ball for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and Jim Barr (San Francisco, 1972) are now the only major leaguers to retire 41 consecutive batters.

Think about it: 41 straight. That's nearly 14 innnings -- though not consecutively -- without a hit, walk, error, nothing but walking back to the dugout. Phenomenal. Now go get Orel Hershiser's consecutive scoreless innings record (59) and we'll talk.

But I've rarely been prouder of a Cedar Rapids product than Friday night, when Coe College graduate Fred Jackson broke tackles, stiff armed and dove his way to a 17-yard touchdown for the Buffalo Bills. They're in the NFL, you know?

Sure it was only a pre-season game and it was against the second or third team defense, but there aren't many Division III athletes competing for jobs in the NFL and there are even fewer more deserving than Fred.

A back-up running back in high school in Texas ("Friday Night Lights" is not entirely fictional), Fred and his twin brother, Patrick, came to Coe with the encouragement of one of their high school coaches, Wayne "Phiz" Phillips, who happened to be a Kohawk football player (under fellow Coe alumnus and Buffalo GM Marv Levy, I should add) and later head coach.

Fred and Patrick blossomed at Coe, each excelling on opposite sides of the ball (Fred at running back and Patrick at defensive back) and special teams. In 2002, their senior year, the Kohawks were 10-2 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA DIII playoffs WITHOUT SO MUCH AS ATTEMPTING A FIELD GOAL ALL YEAR! That's what kind of college football player Fred Jackson was. Equally impressively, they raced home from the NCAA DIII track championships that spring to receive their college degrees.

With the help of the aforementioned connections, Fred got some NFL looks he may not have otherwise. That's not a knock on him, by any means, but a fact of NFL life. Ultimately, Levy's Bills signed him to a contract and sent him to NFL Europe, where he starred. After spending last season on the Bills' practice squad, Jackson is looking to earn a roster spot in the National Football League.

With guys like Kurt, Zach and Bobby earning local fame, why not Freddie too?