Football Dream Takes A Detour
17/06/2009 04:20
Rector has gone from tiny Texas town to NFL to Edmonton
From Friday-night high-school hero in a tiny Texas town to punt return dynamo for the Dallas Cowboys; Jamaica Rector lived the dream.
It feels like yesterday. But it has already been three years.
"Growing up, I just loved to play, man. I loved to play any sport. When it was football, I loved to catch balls. That was it. To be able to play for the Dallas Cowboys and to be at home, it was a dream come true. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that, man."
The 27-year-old surely could have asked for more. He got into one game with America's team before getting injured, two more with the Arizona Cardinals before getting released, and there is no counting on an encore.
So Rector is in Edmonton, competing for a job as a slotback with the Eskimos, because the dream doesn't always follow the script you write as an athletically gifted kid in the dusty north central Texas town of Celeste, population 817, according to the 2000 census.
"You know, just the way the coin flipped, I got an ankle sprain that took me out," he said Monday.
"I've been fighting to get back ever since. It doesn't hurt that bad, really. You played. You played for an NFL team. That's an accomplishment. Nobody can take that away from me. I did that. I'm just going to keep on truckin' and see what happens next."
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
From all reports, Rector has been very impressive at this year’s Eskimos’ camp.