What are you talking about?
If you’ve ever had this moment, where a stranger says something that simply doesn’t make sense, former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown’s got your back.
He heard the comment fine. But things weren’t computing.
A nurse had approached him to deliver a solemn message as he carried his newborn twins from the delivery room to the hospital’s nursery.
“I feel really bad about what happened tonight,” she told Brown.
Tonight? Wait, what happened tonight?
The only thing on his mind was the pure joy and sheer delight of welcoming his twin children, who were healthy and in his arms. Sure, he was exhausted. But what could she possibly be referring to?
“The Super Bowl,” the nurse said, with a questioning tone.
Oh yeah. The Super Bowl. That was tonight.
Brown and the Raiders had just been thumped by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21 in the 2003 Super Bowl in San Diego. And unbeknownst to Brown, his wife had gone into labor before the game.
Moments after the game was over, the Raiders informed Brown of his wife’s situation. And that a private jet had been arranged to whisk him away—500 miles up the coastline to Oakland. Doctors held off his wife, Sherice, as long as they could, and barely 15 minutes after arriving, Brown was holding his twin son and daughter.
This was just one day in the life of a Heisman winner and 17-year star wide receiver. But the lesson on that night would linger. There’s more to life than the Super Bowl. More than football.
“Absolutely it puts it in perspective,” said Brown, who was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “For me, it was the best way to put that game behind me. As important as you may think the Super Bowl is, nothing is more important than these two lives.”
‘Tim Brown’s Coming’
On Saturday, Brown signed autographs for hundreds at the Billy Graham Library, including one Panthers fan, Steve Gibson, who took the day off work and arrived nearly 4 hours early. Another fan, Johnnie Beegle of Lowell, adopted the Raiders as his team in 1987, the year Brown won the Heisman at Notre Dame, and got Brown’s book for Christmas.
He heard about the book signing on 106.9 The Light and started to text his wife. Before he could finish the text she was calling in.
“She called and said, ‘Tim Brown’s coming to the Library,’” Beegle said. “I think she was even more excited than I was.”
In 2001, Beegle made a trip to NYC, stayed at the Raiders team hotel and got every key player’s autograph, including Jerry Rice, but was unable to track down Brown.
That all changed Saturday.
“I love Tim Brown,” Beegle said. “One of the greatest receivers ever, right up there with Jerry Rice.”
Using His Platform
Minutes before signing autographs, taking pictures and sharing moments with fans, Brown shared with BillyGraham.org a few life lessons he’s learned along the way.
Perhaps the one that sticks out the most—and why he decided to write this book Making of a Man—came one evening during his personal prayer time near the end of his career.
“When I was around 33, people started to say, if you have another good year, you could be Hall of Fame worthy,” Brown recalled. “So I was having a great year and I started to believe that.
“I remembered in prayer one night,” Brown said, “it wasn’t audible, but the Spirit said to me, ‘I don’t have you here just so you can make the Hall of Fame. I have you here so you can go back and reach young men.’”
Convicting? Oh yeah.
Convinced? Not quite.
Brown didn’t like that message he was hearing from the Lord.
What about the 11-inch scar on his knee from surgery? What about the thumb that goes the wrong way?
“I had sacrificed a lot,” he said. “It took a week or so until I got it—God was building a platform so I could go back and reach young men. And old men. And some young women and old women.
“Some of the best comments (about the book) I have received have come from women.”
With NFL career rankings of 5th in total catches (1,094), 6th in total yards (14,934) and 7th in touchdown catches (100), it was only a matter of time until Brown was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Yet he’s not one to elevate himself above others. He’s more likely to be found talking to people about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
“I wrote the book simply because in society today, we have these superstars who have the ability to touch millions and millions of folks,” he said. “But if we use our platform properly we can bring people to Christ.”
‘Blessed With Every Page’
Cherie Sims started reading the book and couldn’t stop. A year ago, her 13-year-old son lost his dad and she was hoping something she read would apply to her as a single mother.
“I was blessed with every page,” she said. “It’s raw and honest and very transparent. It makes him easy to identify with.”
Particularly impactful were Brown’s thoughts on what young men need.
“The words of wisdom from his book have changed how I parent,” she said. “How to bring God into discipline. The importance of godly men in his life, who can stand in the gap.”
One of the chapters that keeps sticking with Sims is where Brown sat down his teen with a simple message: “For the next six or seven years, you’re not going to like me, but that’s OK. In fact, the more you don’t like me, the better job I’m probably doing.”
