Living
my dream
By David
Carr
In 2002, David
Carr became only the 12th quarterback selected with the top overall
pick since the NFL and AFL became one league in 1970. The Houston
Texans then signed him to a seven-year contract. He became the
team’s starting quarterback after winning the job during
training camp.
I started throwing
a football when I was in diapers. I’d throw it either straight
into the floor or behind me. That’s how my football career
began.
Over the years, throwing
a football on the living room floor turned into playing backyard
football. Dad would hold my little brother under his arms and
chase me all over the yard and throw my brother on top of me.
I guess that’s where I learned football is a contact sport.
When I was 9, our family
moved to Fresno, Calif. I attended Mountain View Elementary School,
where I played tackle football for the first time. I’ve
played quarterback my whole career. At a young age people would
tell Dad that God had blessed me with a gift and talent. If I
gave God the glory and praise for what I accomplished, they would
say, God would continue to bless me and let me play. At first,
I thought I was just having fun on the football field. But God
has been in all of this, and He’s been faithful.
In junior high, we
went 10-0 and were the Raisin Bowl champions. I completed 75 percent
of my passes and was the team’s MVP. Things were looking
up. But, more importantly, that was the year I joined the Fellowship
of Christian Athletes.
One night, my coach,
who led the FCA, told me we were going to have a special guest
speaker and I needed to attend. I didn’t know who it was
and he wouldn’t tell me. We went to my friend’s house
and there were about 15 people there. We were in a garage hanging
out, and in walked Trent Dilfer, who at that time was quarterback
at Fresno State. He spoke for 15 minutes, but to this day I can’t
tell you one word he said because I was so in awe that he was
there with me.
After that, Dad started
taking my brother and me to Fresno State practices and games.
The first time I saw a Fresno State game and watched the players
walk down the ramp, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
We moved back to Bakersfield
for my freshman year of high school, and suddenly my football
dreams were put on hold. I didn’t play because they said
I was too small. I was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 105 pounds.
It was difficult because I had just come off a great year going
undefeated and we were doing really well. But I trusted in God
and kept practicing. Dad and I would practice early in the morning
or late at night, whatever it took. My sophomore year I didn’t
start either — I didn’t even play on the junior varsity
team.
I knew that if I wanted
to fulfill my dream of playing college football, I was going to
have to get going. My junior year I finally made the varsity team
and started and things went really well. We went further in the
playoffs than our school had ever gone. God was blessing me by
giving me the opportunity to play.
Colleges started contacting
me my senior year. They would approach Mom and Dad and anybody
who was close to us to try to persuade me to go to their school.
Schools like Washington, Purdue, UCLA, just to name a few, offered
me scholarships. But it didn’t feel right.
Fresno State was the
team I had always wanted to play for, but they hadn’t called
and it was getting close to the national letter of intent signing
date. One night, Dad couldn’t sleep. He went downstairs
and prayed. The next morning Fresno State called and offered me
a scholarship. It was an unbelievable blessing from God and I
thank Him for that to this day.
I finally got to put
on the red Fresno State jersey and walk down the ramp. But things
didn’t happen like I had planned. I thought I could go in
there like Trent Dilfer had, flip Fresno’s record book upside
down and leave a trail of glory. My freshman and sophomore years
I only played a little. My junior year I wore street clothes and
a headset. I thought I was going backwards. But God had a greater
plan for me. I was growing as a Christian. I learned to cast my
cares upon the Lord.
The next year it was
finally my turn to walk down the ramp as Fresno State’s
starting quarterback. God blessed us with a wonderful season and,
although it didn’t end how we would have liked, it was a
lot of fun. I thank God for that. Being on national television
gave my wife and me the opportunity to share the love of God to
the nation, and we’ve had a lot of fun with it.
It hasn’t been
an easy road. I didn’t always play and a lot of things went
wrong, but God never said it would be easy. He just said I wouldn’t
have to do it alone. And I haven’t. He’s been with
me every step of the way, and my family has been there too.
God has a plan for
each of our lives. It doesn’t matter whether you’re
a doctor, lawyer, teacher or cab driver. You don’t have
to be a football player. God gave me the ability to throw a football,
but not for obvious reasons like entertaining a crowd. He did
it so I could have a platform to share my faith.
I love football. I
eat it, breathe it and sleep it. But I love God so much more,
and I thank Him every day for what He has given me and for the
opportunity He has blessed me with. I always try to live by this
truth: What I am is a gift from God; what I become with it is
a gift back to God.
From an address given
on September 9, 2001, at People’s Church (Assemblies of
God) in Fresno, Calif., G. L. Johnson, pastor.
E-mail your comments
to pe@ag.org.
