Unfolding Short Stories: "Football was my god. It told me who I was, how good I was, and what I was going to do."

The Unfolding

Northwestern Media

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 809 Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Football was my god. It told me who I was, how good I was, and what I was going to do."

Derwin Gray was a leader on the Indianapolis Colts. A hard-hitting defensive star with NFL money, a promising career, and a wife to share it all with. By every measure, he was a success. But inside, Derwin was still a boy without a role model, shaped by his father’s absence and striving to prove he was worth something. He thought building a strong resume was the answer. Then, in the most unexpected way, God met him—in the locker room—through a teammate wrapped in nothing but a towel. What followed would change everything.

Hear the full interview here on the Manly with Andy Podcast: https://www.myfaithpodcasts.com/podcasts/manly-with-andy/episode-113-how-to-actually-share-jesus-w-others-derwin-gray/

Transcript

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0:00.0	God's story, your life.
0:05.0	Unfolding short stories.
0:08.0	Derwin Gray was a leader on the Indianapolis Colts, a hard-hitting defensive star with NFL money, a promising career, and a wife to share it all with. By every measure, he was a success.
0:24.8	But inside, Derwin was still a boy without a role model, shaped by his father's absence,
0:31.4	and he was striving to prove that he was worth something. He thought building this strong resume
0:36.8	was his answer. Then, in the most unexpected way,
0:41.5	God met him in the locker room, through a teammate wrapped in nothing but a towel. And what followed
0:47.7	would change everything. For me, being an NFL player, I was responsible.
0:55.0	I was intentional.
0:57.0	I was passionate.
0:59.0	I was studied.
1:00.0	I was ready to be an NFL player.
1:03.0	I was a much better NFL player than I was a man.
1:08.0	Outside of the field, I was what I like to call emotionally constipated, suppressed emotions.
1:16.9	I wasn't able to communicate with my wife. I wasn't able to communicate my feelings. I was passive.
1:22.7	The only thing I was aggressive about was actually playing the game, right? So my journey into manhood took place when I met
1:30.0	Christ. So I didn't grow up in church. Football was an essence, was my God. And so in Texas,
1:37.2	that's just what we do. Played at a great high school. I had great coaches. I learned discipline.
1:42.9	I learned sacrifice. I learned team. I learned a lot of
1:46.6	incredible things about manhood. Became a great player, got a football scholarship,
1:51.5	ended up meeting my wife, my freshman year, and everything's going great for us. Football is a
1:56.8	great God until you can't make it happy anymore. My rookie year, I get drafted about a Colton 93.
	...

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