WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – HE KEPT GOING

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

IT HAS BEEN … SUCH A GOOD NEWS WEEK.

THE GOOD VIBES KEPT FLOWING ON TUESDAY WHEN THE MIAMI DOLPHINS ANNOUNCED THEY’VE SIGNED LINEBACKER SAM EGUAVOEN TO A 1-YEAR, $2-MILLION EXTENSION.

YOU’LL REMEMBER SAM FROM HIS THREE YEARS WITH THE ROUGHRIDERS BETWEEN 2016 AND 2018 BUT THE STORY RUNS MUCH DEEPER.

THE GARLAND, TEXAS PRODUCT STARRED AT TEXAS TECH BUT NEVER GOT A PRO OPPORTUNITY. HE WAS WORKING AT FOOT LOCKER WHEN HE SAW AN AD FOR A ROUGHRIDERS OPEN TRYOUT IN DALLAS, AND THOUGHT, “WHAT THE HECK?”

SAM PLOPPED DOWN HIS HUNDRED BUCKS AND SHOWED ENOUGH FOR CHRIS JONES TO SIGN HIM AND BRING HIM TO REGINA. IN HIS ROOKIE SEASON HE WAS DOING PRETTY WELL – AVERAGING NEARLY FOUR TACKLES PER GAME – BUT THEN HE SUFFERED A SEVERE KNEE INJURY IN A GAME AT MCMAHON STADIUM IN CALGARY.

I REMEMBER CALLING THE GAME, AND SEEING SAM ON HIS BACK ON THE TURF STARING UP AT THE SKY. I KNEW WHAT HE WAS THINKING … “IS THIS IT?”

IT’S A TOUGH INJURY TO COME BACK FROM AND FRANKLY, I HAD MY DOUBTS HE COULD DO IT. (PARTICULARLY SINCE JONES MOVED PLAYERS IN AND OUT LIKE TRADING CARDS).

BUT SAM NEVER GAVE UP. HE WORKED TIRELESSLY IN THE WEIGHT ROOM AND EARNED HIS WAY BACK ONTO THE FIELD. OVER THE NEXT TWO SEASONS HE WAS A HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL, REGISTERING 148 TACKLES, FOUR SACKS, AND TWO DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS.

I RECALL VISITING WITH HIM IN THE RIDER LOCKER ROOM IN THE SUMMER OF 2018 AND MENTIONED THAT NFL SCOUTS WERE BUZZING ABOUT HIS PLAY. HE STARED BACK AND SAID, “THEY ARE?”

THE REST, AS THEY SAY, IS HISTORY AND EGUAVOEN’S BEEN A KEY PART OF THE DOLPHINS REBUILD. I WATCHED EVERY GAME THEY PLAYED THIS SEASON AND HE WAS A FORCE. IT WAS A TREAT TO CATCH UP WITH HIM AFTER ONE GAME IN MIAMI, ALTHOUGH NFL COVID PROTOCOLS FORCED US TO FACETIME DESPITE BEING IN THE SAME PARKING LOT!

NOT EVERYONE WHO REFUSES TO GIVE UP WILL ACHIEVE NFL RICHES LIKE OUR FRIEND SAM EGUAVOEN.

BUT HE’LL FOREVER BE KNOWN AS THE ONE WHO “MADE IT”.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY.

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV Network across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live and listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)