[As you can see, the new issue of Hail! magazine, our free digital publication dedicated to the burgundy and gold is now out. Here is a sneak peak of my feature story in this week's issue on Redskins tight end Chris Cooley, D.C.'s favorite athlete.]

As a 4-year-old, Chris Cooley used to dress up in his John Elway jersey – complete with helmet and pads – and play imaginary football games in the backyard.

Although he was young, Cooley was as passionate about the Denver Broncos as any season-ticket holder.

“I’d bawl if the Broncos lost,” Cooley admitted. “Football is something that’s meant a lot to me from a pretty young age.”

You can imagine how Cooley handled it when Elway and the 1987 Broncos won eight of their last nine games to make it to the Super Bowl – only to get blown out by the Washington Redskins 42-10 on football’s biggest stage.

But even watching the Broncos’ most heartbreaking losses only reinforced what Cooley already knew – he absolutely wanted to be a football player when he grew up.

“As a kid you always aspire to be a professional athlete,” he said. “At least I did. If it’s not sports, then there’s something else you want to be when you grow up. But, as a kid, I was very good at all sports. I excelled at everything I played and it’s what I wanted to do.”

While Cooley knew he could play, he didn’t get a chance to play with the varsity team until he was a senior in high school and Utah State was the only college to offer him a scholarship. Not exactly the kind of start most athletes dream of.

“I always loved football and I always knew I was good at football; I just wasn’t getting the opportunity to play,” Cooley said. “I ended up starting the last four or five games my junior year and we had a pro scout come out and watch our film. He grabbed me and said, ‘Hey, I put a fifth-round draft grade on you. I just thought I’d let you know because you’re probably going to start receiving some attention.’”

Although playing in the NFL was always the dream, until that point it appeared as though Cooley would have to do something else with his life after college.

“I was going to be an art teacher,” he said. “That was the plan. I think it would be fun to do, still. It’s something that I still have in mind. It’s something that means a lot to me. That’s what I was going to do with my life.”

In the days leading up to the 2004 NFL draft, Cooley had his first interaction with the Redskins. The Powell, Wyoming, native visited Redskins Park, and then went out to dinner with Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs and a host of others.

“I was intimidated,” Cooley said. “They said we were going out to dinner, so bring nice clothes. I had a $12 white button-up shirt, some Dockers and Doc Martin shoes. I’m sure I looked like a poor kid from Utah.”

His fashion sense aside, Cooley made enough of an impression on the organization that he was drafted in the third round with the 81st overall pick. And he’s been one of the organization’s most prominent players ever since.

“He came in and had some unbelievable games against Dallas early on, plus the whole Captain Chaos thing and he really took off with the fans,” Redskins safety Reed Doughty said.

Even though his numbers speak for themselves, Cooley’s lighthearted side – whether he’s wearing booty shorts during training camp or introducing himself to the opposition as a fictional super hero – is what has helped him become a fan favorite.

“I’ve always felt really fortunate that so many people here have liked me,” Cooley said. “I’m fortunate to have been given opportunities to excel from Day One. I was starting by the end of training camp as a rookie, which isn’t common. And I think I made the most of it.

“I play hard and I think people recognize that,” he continued. “They see that I play hard all the time and honestly, for the most part, unless you drop a ball, no one really knows when the tight end messes up. For the most part people think I’m doing exactly what I should be doing out there.”

While Cooley might downplay it, his teammates have no issue putting into words what the 28-year-old means to the burgundy and gold.

“All he does is make plays for us,” Redskins center Casey Rabach said. “When we need a clutch catch out of someone, it seems like Chris is always that guy. He’s definitely someone you can build a team around.”

It’s one thing to play football at a Pro Bowl level. It’s another to welcome the world into your life as Cooley has done.

To read the rest of this feature click here and subscribe to Hail! magazine.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Flying back from Dallas after the Washington Redskins lost 33-30 to the Cowboys to drop to 5-9 on the season, I had an interesting conversation with a friend. With plenty of time to kill, we came up with a fun little game – pick 10 players from the current roster to build the team around. Just 10. That’s all you get.

The only stipulation was that you had to operate under the assumption that Mike Shanahan will still be the head coach, Kyle Shanahan will still be the offensive coordinator and Jim Haslett will still run the 3-4 defense as the defensive coordinator. That left open the possibility of choosing a lesser player simply because he was better suited to run the offense/defense the Redskins are working towards (Rex Grossman, anyone?)

What you’ll see with my list is that getting younger and more athletic was a priority. In fact, only one players over the age of 30 made the cut, while five of the players listed below are 26 or younger.

(Just missed the cut: Santana Moss, receiver; Lorenzo Alexander, linebacker; Anthony Armstrong, receiver)

10. London Fletcher, middle linebacker – The one graybeard to crack the list is here simply because he’s a heart and soul kind of guy. Sure, he’s 35-year-old and better suited to run a 4-3 defense, but he’s also a gladiator who happily gives his team everything he has week in and week out as evident by his current 206 consecutive games played streak. Fletcher is so intensely fired up before kickoff that the 13-year veteran still pukes on the sideline every single Sunday. Hell, his own wife can’t imagine him not playing football.

“If you listen to my wife, she said I’d have to be in the hospital, strapped down to the bed,” Fletcher said when asked what it would take for him to miss a game. “Not just in the hospital, but actually strapped to the bed.”

If you’re rebuilding your roster from the  ground up, isn’t that exactly the kind of role model you want them to follow? So if I’m making one exception on this list, it’s got to go to Fletcher. After all he’s done for the Washington Redskins, I have no problem showing him the respect he deserves.

9. DeAngelo Hall, cornerback – With seven seasons under his belt, it’s hard to believe Hall is just 27 — especially when you factor in all of the ups and downs he had earlier in his career during his time in Atlanta and Oakland. But Hall, at his best, is a game changer (just ask Jay Cutler). He’s a cornerback who is capable of tilting the field in Washington’s favor and has the type of big-play potential the Redskins have lacked since Sean Taylor.

Consider this: in the last three seasons the Redskins have scored just two defensive touchdowns. Both came courtesy of Hall. Taking it one step further: Hall has one less touchdown than Clinton Portis over the last two seasons. Even though he’s a guy who lays an egg once or twice a season, Hall is still someone with eight turnovers to his credit this season.

8. Ryan Torain, running back – Torain is a 24-year-old who absolutely looks like a legitimate NFL feature back whenever he’s given the ball. But he’s also a guy who history shows has trouble staying healthy for more than two or three games in a row. His upright and physical running style leaves him vulnerable to injuries, but he’s also the one guy in the Redskins rotation these days who can burst out a 40-yard run seemingly out of nowhere.

When Shanahan drafted Torain in 2008, he immediately compared him to another Denver running back — Terrell Davis. And that guy had a pretty solid career. This season Torain is rushing for 4.9 yard a carry, which is something Portis hasn’t done since ‘03. That’s reason enough to roll the dice with the Arizona State product and hope like hell he’s able to finally shake of the reoccurring injuries and finally make it through a 16-game schedule.

7. Chris Cooley, tight end – This might be surprising considering my professed love for all thing Fred Davis, but the truth is that Cooley is the face of the franchise. In addition to being a two-time Pro Bowler, he’s also the people’s champ and the team’s best blocking tight end. With four receptions, Cooley will tie receiver Ricky Sanders for fifth on the Redskins’ all-time reception list at 414, and with 11 more catches, the 28-year-old will tie tight end Jerry Smith for fourth place with 421 catches.

That would leave Cooley in the company of such legends as Art Monk, Charley Taylor and Gary Clark, which is more than enough reason to keep Cooley in burgundy and gold as long as conceivably possible.

6. Jammal Brown, right tackle – I fully admit that Brown’s career in Washington got off to a rocky start. The 29-year-old came to town via a trade with New Orleans and was clearly less than 100 percent at the beginning of the 2010 season. But what’s stood out to me as the season has gone along is that slowly but surely Brown is returning back to his Pro Bowl level of play. Brown has been dealing with an injury to his left hip since before the 2009 season, which is only compounded by Washington’s desire to move him to right tackle.

“When I was at left tackle I was pressing off with my right hip, so I was able to play the whole year with a torn labrum,” Brown said. “But when I got here they moved me to right tackle and I’m putting all that weight on my left hip. That’s what was making me hurt a little bit more … But everything’s good now.”

Since the Detroit game, Brown has looked more and more like the player the Redskins hoped they were getting when they made the trade with the Saints. His lateral movement and quickness seem to be back and Brown really seems to be getting his confidence back. It would be a shame for the Redskins to let him walk out the door right as he’s shaping back into form.

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[As you can see, the new issue of Hail! magazine, our free digital publication dedicated to the burgundy and gold is now out. Here is a sneak peak of David Elfin's feature story in this week's issue on Redskins left tackle Trent Williams as his rookie season comes to an end.]

Ten years ago, Washington’s rookie left tackle, the third overall pick in the draft, had what he called an up-and-down season during a very disappointing year for the Redskins.

This year, Washington’s rookie left tackle, the fourth overall pick, is equally dismayed with his debut during a very disappointing season for the Redskins.

The tackle from 2000, Chris Samuels, made the first of his six Pro Bowls with Washington in just his second season. So if history repeats again, then Trent Williams, who succeeded Samuels this year while being mentored by his predecessor, has plenty to look forward to in 2011.

“I’m hard on myself,” Williams said. “I always feel like I can do better. Even when everybody says I did great, I feel like I can do better. When I look at film, I see so many things I would like to do better from stepping right to finishing people [off], just everything. I know it’s my first year, but I want to dominate and I don’t feel like I’ve dominated. I’m impatient. I want to be good now.”

Those who have worked with him and against the 2009 All-American from Oklahoma are pretty impressed right now.

“Trent’s had some up and downs like all rookies have, but he’s done an excellent job,” said Samuels, who has worked as a volunteer assistant line coach this year. “The sky’s the limit for the young guy. He can be one of the best ever if he keeps working hard and stays hungry. He’s more athletic than I was.”

Right tackle Jammal Brown, like Williams a first-rounder (13th overall by New Orleans in 2005) out of Oklahoma, likes what he sees from his protégé.

“Mentally, Trent understands the game better,” said Brown, who made two Pro Bowls as a left tackle for the Saints. “When you first come in, you’re so worried about doing things right, you don’t look at the whole picture. He’s starting to see more of the whole picture. I was very athletic, but Trent’s ahead of where I was, especially how he moves lateral and how he moves backwards. Put some technique to that, he’ll be hard to reckon with. “

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, one of the game’s elite pass rushers, beat Williams for a sack in his debut but said the rookie is no easy mark.

“He’s going to be a really good tackle,” Ware said on the eve of their rematch. “He’s very athletic. He run-blocks very well. He pass-blocks very well. He’s been improving every week. From the first time I faced him ‘til now, the little things that he had problems with, he’s corrected.”

Because Williams holds himself to such a high standard, he looks forward to a rematch with a pass-rusher who he feels might have gotten the best of him.

“Sometimes when they get to the quarterback, it can be a coverage sack or the quarterback didn’t step up in the pocket, but I blame myself if my man touches the quarterback,” Williams said. “When DeMarcus got a sack in my first game, that was my fault. He’s a tremendous player and I’m just excited to have another chance to go against him and kinda measure my progress from Week 1 to Week 15. I feel like my knowledge of the game has progressed a lot. We’re gonna see how much I’ve progressed physically.”

Of course, the 6-foot-5, 318-pound Williams has always been big, strong and athletic. He grew up in Longview, Texas in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house that at times accommodated eight people.

Williams’ best friend dating back to elementary school was a quick running back in training named Chris Ivory, now with the Saints. And when Williams reached high school — where he played with teammates Malcolm Kelly and Robert Henson — he was an offensive power in football and a defensive force in basketball.

“When I was young, I always pictured myself in the Pro Bowl, but I played basketball in high school, too,” Williams said. “I was a center. I was pretty good. I stopped growing when I reached about 6-5. I’d like to say I was an all-around player, but I think my defense kinda kept me on the court. I blocked shots, took charges, the whole nine yards.”

To read the rest of this feature click here and subscribe to Hail! magazine.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “The One I Love” by R.E.M.

It should come as no surprise that the Washington Redskins lost 33-30 to the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. After all, the Redskins have lost six of their last seven games after starting the season 4-3.

But the story of this game is the fact that the Redskins officially ended the Donovan McNabb era and willingly turned the football over to backup quarterback Rex Grossman.

Forget pedigree. Forget resumes. Throw out accolades and accomplishments. In the end, head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan decided they’d rather have the Redskins offense run by The Rex Cannon.

“I thought Rex did an excellent job today,” Shanahan said. “I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he took advantage of that opportunity. It’s always tough when you don’t play for a while, especially with the type of week we had in practice, the conditions were a little tough, but he did a good job. He came back in the second, demonstrated a lot of poise and played well.

It’s a crazy turn of events – considering all the talk of how Shanahan never won a Super Bowl in Denver without John Elway, and all of the comparisons between McNabb and Elway during the offseason. With that in mind, it’s nearly impossible to imagine that it took just 13 games to decide the Redskins are better off without McNabb.

But that’s where we are, and now it’s simply a matter of how the Shanahans choose to end the McNabb era. Do they handle the situation with class and show respect to the veteran on his way out the door or do they continue to attack McNabb’s character as they did earlier in the year when benching him against Detroit was justified by questioning Donovan’s intelligence and conditioning?

If I had to guess, I’d say the dynamic coaching duo doesn’t suddenly flip a switch and handle McNabb with grace and class. But hell, after this, nothing these two do would really surprise me at this point.

2. “Welcome to the Family” by Avenged Sevenfold

So how did Grossman do in his burgundy and gold debut? Well, he had a pretty outstanding showing – completing 25 of 43 passes for 322 yards with four touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble and a quarterback rating of 93.4.

The offense was nowhere to be seen early, but Grossman didn’t panic. He calmly let his teammates know that they were only a play from turning things around and then, surprisingly, Grossman began to deliver.

“We didn’t get a lot of things going early,” Grossman said. “[We] couldn’t pick up a first down to try and get through our game plan, but once you make first downs and get able to run all the plays that are in the game plan that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan drew-up, then you can start attacking what they’re doing on defense.”

It’s no coincidence that Grossman gave a shoutout to the younger Shanahan in his post-game comments. The two aren’t exactly kindred spirits in the sense that former Redskins backup Todd Collins and former offensive coordinator Al Saunders were, but the two obviously have a comfort level and familiarity with each other.

No one can argue with a straight face that Grossman is a better quarterback than McNabb. But what the Shanahans have said definitely over the last few days is that in their opinion, Grossman is better suited to run their offense.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

This isn’t exactly breaking news, but the Washington Redskins are done. After losing five of their last six points, it’s officially time to close the book on the 2010 season and start looking ahead to how to fix this mess.

The Redskins don’t play in the NFC West, so they’re not going to make the playoffs, and honestly, this team is so flawed that it’s for the best anyway. In order for Washington to have any real chance at building a consistent winner, the franchise has to fundamentally change the way they conduct business.

High-priced free agents should be the cherry on top – judiciously added to an already established team in hopes of pushing your talent level over the top. Of course, anyone familiar with the Redskins knows that free agency has been a way of life for the burgundy and gold.

But honestly, how many of the free agents that head coach Mike Shanahan brought in last offseason actually made an impact? Guys like running back Ryan Torain and cornerback Phillip Buchanon have shown flashes, but far too often you find there’s a reason other teams discarded the players you’re picking from.

The key, of course, to building a long-term winner is to embrace a youth movement. (Well, technically the key to fixing the problem is to first admit you have a problem, which isn’t something Shanahan and the Redskins seem overly eager to do, but that’s a conversation for another day). Build through the draft and discover your own younger, less-expensive talent rather than overpaying for a player who made a name for himself elsewhere.

It’s okay to have a few veteran players in your locker room to serve as leaders (guys like defensive end Phillip Daniels, receiver Santana Moss and middle linebacker London Fletcher instantly come to mind), but there’s not much to get excited about when you have one of the oldest teams in the league and you’re still finding new and creative ways to lose each week.

At least if you’re playing younger guys there’s reason for optimism. Your fans know that the team might be taking its lumps now, but that brighter days are ahead once the youngsters learn the ropes. Instead, you’re seeing more of the same with the Redskins – slapping a band-aid on the problem and praying like hell you get lucky enough to stumble into the playoffs.

Here’s what I’d like to see the final three games – an all-out youth movement. Start signing any and all youngsters that are available and give them playing time instead of a guy like Roydell Williams, who clearly isn’t a long-term solution to the Redskins’ woes.

With that in mind, here are five players I’d love to see more of in the final few weeks of this disappointing 2010 season:

Will Montgomery – At 27, the fourth year pro out of Virginia Tech is the graybeard of this list. Everyone else I’ve included is 24-year-old or younger, but Montgomery makes the list because he very well may be the future starting center here in Washington.

I like Casey Rabach and fully admit he’s one of the best quotes in the Redskins locker room, but he’s also 33 and has not had the best season of his 10-year career. Rabach signed a three-year contract worth $12.3 million back in March, but I still find it hard to believe any at Redskins Park thinks he should be considered a premiere center.

When Rabach was knocked out of the game against Tennessee earlier this season, Montgomery stepped in and did an admirable job in the middle of the Redskins offensive line. So why not throw the Centreville native into the starting lineup at center and see if he can handle the pressure?

If he works out, then you can let Rabach go and start worrying about upgrading the two guard positions. If he can’t hold his own, then you can let him continue to earn a minimal salary as a backup. This makes too much sense not to happen. Of course, Shanahan is devoting his free time to debating the merits of Donovan McNabb versus Rex Grossman, so he’s clearly too busy to focus on the center position.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

[Yesterday I gave you a sneak peak of my feature story in this week's issue of Hail! magazine on Redskins defensive end Andre Carter and his unique friendship with Washington Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz. In the same issue, we have a fantastic feature written by Joel Murphy on the bond between Redskins backup fullback Darrel Young and his brother David, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Here's a preview of that story.]

By the age of six, Washington Redskins fullback Darrel Young already knew what he wanted to be when he grew up – a professional football player.

While some kids change their mind as often as the seasons change, Young never wavered on his dream of one day playing in the NFL.

Once she knew that her son had made up his mind, Geneva Young did what any mother would do – loved and supported her baby boy. To this day Young remembers the advice his mother gave him as he practiced day in and day out in his backyard: “Run the ball like your brother is chasing you.”

And by all accounts, being picked on by his big brother did wonders for Young’s football career. In addition to inspiring him to run harder, Darrel’s older brother David gave him the toughness necessary to realize his dream.

“A big brother is always going to be a big brother, so he bullied me around a little bit but it was just to toughen me up, never to hurt me,” Darrel said. “I’m thankful that I had an older brother that was a little rough with me.”

Darrel and David, who are seven years apart in age, had a typical childhood growing up in Amityville, N.Y. David would torment him from time to time, but he was also fiercely protective of Darrel if anyone else ever tried to mess with his little brother.

To this day, David is still the person Darrel looks up to most and the go-to guy whenever the 23-year-old needs advice.

“He’s the person I go to all the time for everything, regardless if it’s school, football, family, love life, whatever it is,” Darrel said.

While David was more outgoing and a bit of a comedian growing up, Darrel has always been more quiet and reserved. Even still, the brothers still have plenty in common – especially their love of sports.

David ran track and played basketball, two sports that Darrel also tried his hand at, but it was football that Darrel truly loved and excelled at. Watching his little brother’s games, David could tell Darrel was destined for big things.

“He would always stand out over the other kids. As a younger kid, he was always playing one age above,” David remembers.

When asked by his first grade teacher what he wanted to do for a living someday, Darrel didn’t hesitate – he was going to play in the NFL.

“By the time he was nine or 10, he said to me, ‘Mom, I feel it in my heart. I’m going to play football,’” Geneva remembers.

While Darrel dreamed of a life in the NFL, David had his heart set on pursuing a career in the culinary arts. He also had an interest in joining the military, so when he turned 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a cook. His decision took the whole family by surprise, but Darrel was particularly devastated.

“I think I took it the hardest just because I was going through a transition from elementary school to middle school at the same time and I was trying to find my life out just in terms of football and stuff like that,” Darrel said. “So when he left, I did get his room and all the stuff he didn’t want to take, but at the same time, I lost my best friend.”

The two remained close, of course, and David actively followed his brother’s career – through high school, college and now the pros – from wherever the military sent him. David was also there last season to offer advice and support when Darrel, who was signed to the Redskins practice squad as a linebacker, was cut after just two weeks on the team.

“When they released me, everyone said, ‘You’re doing a good job. You’ll be back. It’s nothing you did,’” said Darrel, but he wasn’t entirely convinced. “They brought in another linebacker, so I felt like there was something I wasn’t doing.”

When times are tough, it’s always good to have a big brother to offer reassurance.

“I told him, ‘You’re going to make it to the next level, don’t worry about it,’” David said.

When colleges like Georgia Tech and West Virginia told Darrel he wasn’t good enough to play for them, he used it as motivation to push him harder during his career at Villanova. Likewise, when he was released from the Redskins practice squad during his rookie year, it only added more fuel for the fire.

“I always said if I got another opportunity, I would strive for my best, never give up and just fight until I have nothing left,” Darrel said.

The Redskins brought Young back this season, but on the first day of training camp, Darrel feared history had repeated itself when he came in and couldn’t find his name on the linebacker depth chart.

To read the rest of this feature click here and subscribe to Hail! magazine.

[As you can see, the 15th issue of Hail! magazine, our free digital publication dedicated to the burgundy and gold is now out. Here is a sneak peak of my feature story in this week's issue on Redskins defensive end Andre Carter and his unique friendship with Washington Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz.]

The D.C. sports scene is a tight-knit community, so it’s not uncommon to see star athletes such as Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin hanging out during their free time.

The same holds true for other athletes such as Capitals defenseman Mike Green and Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and Redskins return man Brandon Banks and Wizards point guard John Wall. But the award for unlikeliest D.C. duo has to go to Redskins defensive end Andre Carter and Capitals defenseman Jeff Schultz.

Carter, who calls San Francisco, Calif. home, admittedly couldn’t stay upright on a pair of ice skates, and Schultz, who hails from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has never played a down of football in his life. Yet, the two have become fast friends this year. They regularly attend each other’s games, and Carter, and his wife Bethany, and Schultz, with his girlfriend MacKenzie Keeley, hang out whenever possible.

The couples do lunch once a week and enjoy going out to dinner whenever possible. Their get-togethers have even included teammates such as Redskins defensive lineman Phillip Daniels and Caps defenseman John Erskine.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Carter said. “It’s good to mix the two worlds together because, at the end of the day, we’re all normal people. We might do different sports for a living, but there’s a lot we have in common. And honestly, I’m digging the Canadians. They know how to have a good time and can definitely be hardcore drinkers.

“Okay, not so much Jeff, but John Erskine and his girl – they can throw down some drinks,” he said laughing.

And to think, this budding “bromance” likely never would have happened if not for a chance encounter during a charity event.

“We met at the March of Dimes fashion show,” said Bethany. “We were changing in the same changing room, and we were being girls. We got to talking a little bit…”

“And Jeff had mentioned to me that morning how he wanted to go to the Redskins-Cowboys game,” said MacKenzie. “He really wanted to go see that game and we didn’t even know how to get tickets or anything. I didn’t even say anything and Bethany pulls out a stack of tickets from her purse and invited us to come to the game.”

Since then, the four have been inseparable.

“Jeff reminds me a lot of myself when I was that age,” Carter said. “When I was younger, I was really quiet. Of course, I met my wife and she helped get me out of my shell. Jeff is kind of the same. He’s really low-key and humble, but he works hard. I’m anticipating down the road we’ll get him more and more to come out of his shell. That’s my goal – to get him to be a little more outgoing. He doesn’t know it yet, but that’s my mission.”

Prior to his friendship with Schultz, Carter wasn’t exactly someone rushing home to catch hockey highlights on the NHL channel.

“I didn’t know nothing about hockey,” Carter admitted. “I think I went to one Sharks game back when I was a 49er, but that was it. When the Olympics came around this most recent time, I really started to get into it. Since then, my wife started going to games, and now with Jeff, we try to go to as many games as possible.”

While it took Carter 30 or so years to truly appreciate hockey, his 3-year-old son Quincy fell in love with the sport almost instantly. In fact, he already owns multiple hockey sweaters and one of Jeff’s sticks.

“Andre’s been really good about letting us know if they have a couple extra tickets and we try to return the favor,” Schultz said. “I know their son Quincy is a really big hockey fan. When Andre asks him which sport he likes better, he says hockey.”

Schultz isn’t kidding. The Carters are pretty sure at this point that they know what Quincy wants to be when he grows up.

“My son is obsessed with hockey,” Bethany said. “You’d think being a football kid, he’d be in love with football, but he’s totally obsessed with hockey. So the moment he met Jeff and got to go to the locker room, that was it. He still talks about it at school to his friends and tells us to call Jeff. He even tries to sing the American and Canadian anthems. He’s completely hooked.”

With Carter and Schultz regularly swapping tickets to each other’s games this season, they’ve both gained a new-found appreciation of the other sport.

To read the rest of this feature click here and subscribe to Hail! magazine.