» ESPN: For this firefighter, football is more than a game (Wright Thompson)

Great ending note here on a story with some sad overtones to it. Todd DeLamielleure is a former college student athlete whose father is an NFL Hall of Famer. Todd's path in sports didn't quite go as far as his dad's, but he's not given up the dream even as he finds a renewed calling as a firefighter in South Carolina. The backdrop of this tale is that Todd's station lost nine men to a fire on June 18th.

Todd continues to play in a fledgling semi-pro league. The closing note of this article mentions a great moment of reconciliation between Todd and his father from a preacher some of us are familiar with.

There's no guarantee the league will take off. There's no guarantee Todd will make the team or, if he does, that it will lead to anything else. That's OK. He's not thinking about trying to get another shot in the NFL. He's thinking about that first game, and the pain of the first hit and the sweat stinging his eyes. He's thinking about righting an old wrong, about the importance of having a dream, and maybe someday he'll understand that his story has everything to do with those nine firefighters and that now is the perfect time to tell it. When he does this thing he loves, he honors brave men named Mike and Melven, named Billy, Brad and Brandon, brave men like himself, named Mark, Michael and Earl. He honors his friend, Louis, who left behind a wife named Lauren.

That's what his dad believes, that the past month has given urgency to all unfinished business. A few days before the fire, Joe was watching Joel Osteen, a popular television preacher. The theme of the sermon was not leaving any regrets. So Joe wrote his boy a note. Just in case, you know. He said, "I know it sounds crazy, but I think the girls are right. I should grow up and be like you."

On Father's Day, the day before the fire, Joe gave the letter to his son.

"Man, I'm glad I gave him that note," he says. "What would have happened if he would have been in there? I think that's why he's playing football. He doesn't ever want to have any regrets."