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LB A.J. Hawk (2x All-American, Lombardi Trophy, National Champion, Super Bowl Champion)

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Terrific story. Warms my heart to see a role model be a true role model.

The program definately needed this right now. Hopefully others on the team can read this and listen to Hawk.

An All-American athlete with All-American character.
 
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Great post. With our crop of upcoming linebackers I hope to see more of this spirit. Curtis Terry and Chad Hoobler sound like a great kids and so does many of or recurits such as Austin Spitler and Jame Laurinaitis. I always though of linebackers natural born killers who are as happy to look at your as smash your face in. Perhaps they are just big speed athlethes who aren't primadonas like running backs.

Smithlabs
 
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Bump this. We've talked enough about Dukes and Smith. Hawk gets his due.


He may go down as my favorite Buckeye that I was able to watch. I love the tenacity, the instincts, the desire to win, and now, his unbelievable character.
 
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I've been thinking abuot this article...

And while I'll admit being quite moved the other morning reading the article in the Dispatch... thinking waht a great kid AJ is... I was also thinking that what it REALLY said was just that young Mr Hawk is a nice kid who is loyal to his friends... and it shouldn't surprise any of us... we know what a team player the kid is already. What I'm trying to say is that it shouldn't matter that his friend is quadriplegic.... it makes for a more interesting story on a few different levels... but it shouldn't really matter.

Strangely, after I read the story I was reminded of the apt fire a couple years ago where the OSU and OU kids died.... right after that a friend of mine, OU grad, commented [we were in a bar... quite a number of drinks into things] that "Man, those girls were hot....... [pauses] I can't believe I just said that, as if it would have lessened the tragedy if they weren't."

Funny thing is... he's not the only one who thought that... kind of like Mark McDonald.... it just makes AJ a good guy... not a better guy because of Mark's condition...

I only point these things out, because I think it marginalizes the friendship (and both these young men) if its viewed any other way than a couple of High School buddies staying in touch, whenthe tendency is to look at it like "AJ and his little Handicap Buddy Mascot"
 
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That's apples and oranges, AK. The fact is this story IS more meaningful because MacDonald is disabled. Virtually every player (and most anyone who leaves for college) will hang on to some of their old friends, while moving on from most of them; what's special here is that AJ goes out of his way to maintain this relationship because it means so much to MacDonald. Don't kid yourself about the "culture of cool" in which kids grow up today: this story SHOULD and DOES matter more, because a disabled young man is so much more likely to be forgotten when a HS friend goes on to bigger and better things.
 
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AKAKBUCK said:
I've been thinking abuot this article...

but it shouldn't really matter.
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sadly if the kid wasn't a quadrapalegic it wouldn't be news.

but like you i took from this article that aj hawk doesn't base friendship off of what can be gained or conveniance. seems aj doesn't run from something when its tough. doesn't shirk away when it isn't easy or popular. more over, he stays true even when others are no longer looking. sounds like the same can be said for his brother. personally, i tip my hat to the entire hawk family on this one and not just aj and his brother. very refreshing to say the least.

aj is without question one of my fav buckeyes ever. but then, he has been since he was a freshman :p. i remember wishing tressel would start him over cie grant hehe. sorry cie :p.
 
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KevinBuck said:
That's apples and oranges, AK. The fact is this story IS more meaningful because MacDonald is disabled. Virtually every player (and most anyone who leaves for college) will hang on to some of their old friends, while moving on from most of them; what's special here is that AJ goes out of his way to maintain this relationship because it means so much to MacDonald. Don't kid yourself about the "culture of cool" in which kids grow up today: this story SHOULD and DOES matter more, because a disabled young man is so much more likely to be forgotten when a HS friend goes on to bigger and better things.
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i think the point AKAK was making was that hawk is such a great person that he sees past the disability and just sees a friend. it kind of cheapens that friendship when you write a story about it emphasizing the fact that the kid is handicaped.

at least, thats what i got from it.
 
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