Nick Harris

It was a boyhood dream.

I used to wonder what it would be like to be in an NFL locker room, or come running through the tunnel. It’s everything I ever imagined – and more.

It’s great to be playing football. It’s great to have your profession be a game.

Of course, there’s so much more to life.

My identical twin brother and I had to talk our mother into letting us play football. She was afraid we’d get hurt. When we finally got on the football field, we caught on fast.

I played tight end and linebacker. My brother was the quarterback and safety. I never really thought about punting.

A couple small schools were recruiting me to play linebacker, but California offered a full ride scholarship to be their punter. I had gone to a punting camp during the summer. Cal called the camp to find out if there were any good punting prospects available and came up with my name.

I had a great experience at Cal. Our offense wasn’t very good and our defense was very good, which translates into a lot of punts. I set NCAA records for most punts in a career and for total yardage.

I was drafted by the Bronco’s and then cut during camp. The Bengals picked me up the next day. As it turned out, I was cut on a Tuesday, flew to Cincinnati for an exhibition game on Thursday, signed with the Bengals on Friday and moved in on Saturday.

I played with the Bengals for two and a half years, and was cut midway through my third season. I signed with the Lions and played all 16 games – with two different teams.

There was another reason my experience at Cal was so great – an even more important reason.

My mother always made sure my brother and I went to church, so when I went to Cal, I knew I had to find something, even though we had practice on Sundays. I went to an AIA (Athletes In Action) meeting and the person running the meeting asked me how my walk with God was.

I replied, “Pretty good.”

Over the next two years, I learned that while I had always known about God, I had never had a personal relationship with Him. Like a lot of people I had always known a lot about God, without actually knowing Him. Through AIA, I began to grow in my relationship with Jesus.

Then I went into the NFL and hooked up with guys who taught me what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and what it means to be a husband and father, and what it means to be a man.

Now, before every game, I ask myself who I’m playing for. Am I playing 90% for Christ? Or 100%? He’s the only One I am playing for – an audience of One. There’s great peace in that for me. The anxious times that happen in life go away when I focus on Christ. Of course, that’s tough to do. My pride tries to get in the way, and I have to continually renew my focus on Christ.

My favorite Bible passage is Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” That means that whatever we have in our hearts will eventually be demonstrated in our actions or words. My desire is that Christ be so much in my heart that He is always demonstrated through me.

Playing in the NFL is a boyhood dream. But being a follower of Jesus means even more.

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