Author’s note: This is the third episode of my weekly column, Barely Relevant.

Cat Stevens sings: “I know that it’s not easy to be calm when you’ve found something going on” in the song “Father and Son.” Like a person with multiple personality disorder – he switches POVs between a wise older dad and an excited young boy who wants to run out into the world and bop it on its head. You can hear the tonal shift in his voice between verses.

One way to look at it is that it’s an allegory for Cat Stevens finding religion. There’s one half of him that wants to run off and quit music – and the Western world – and immerse into Islam and spirituality. And an older – wiser – half tells him to be calm – to slow down and enjoy what he already has. You can hear Cat struggling with the same existential dilemma in the songs “Don’t Be Shy” (love is better than a song – love is where all of us belong) and “On the Road to Find Out” (the answer lies within so why not take a look now, kick out the devil’s sin and pick up a good book now).

Of course, Cat Stevens fans know what happened after Cat wrote these songs—he abruptly quit music and disappeared from the public eye for three decades. To pray. An easy way to look at this is that his younger self won. He got excited, ignored the wise, fatherly advice, and ran with his inner child—straight to God. It’s a classic story (The New Testament, Siddhartha, and Gilgamesh). Writers like Fosse, Borges, and Dillard have made a living exploring these themes. The search for love, God, and meaning weaves itself through nearly every fiber of every book, painting, and record you’ve ever picked up. But what does this have to do with football?

This is where I explore the love theme. In 1965, Cat Stevens wrote a song called “The First Cut is the Deepest.” It’s a love song – clearly about how one’s first love will always be the strongest. He’s referencing being in love with a girl, but later – once we learn more about Cat Stevens – it’s hard not to hear the song and wonder if he’s singing about God. This made me think about Tom Brady. Not because he’s God-like – in any way – let me be clear about that – but because we all watched him go back to football season after season. Even potentially – and possibly detrimentally – to his love life. I’m speculating wildly here (of course, relationships are not that simple), but it’s possible that his first love was that strong: football. And his first cut was the deepest.

That guy had a huge career – possibly the hugest. He was able to spend a massive amount of time with his favorite lover. But what about the guys who loved football as much as he did and never made it? Whatever happens to those guys? In the spirit of cut-down day, let’s explore a few of their stories.

Charlie Ward

When it came to multi-sport athletes in the 1980s/early 90s collegiate world, there was Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Charlie Ward. Charlie Ward played basketball and football for the FSU Seminoles. In fact, in 1992, he was named FSU’s first black player to win the starting quarterback position. As quarterback, Charlie Ward went on to take FSU to their first national championship in the Orange Bowl. And win it. In 1993, Ward won the Heisman, the Maxwell (best all-around college player), the Davey O’Brien Award (best college QB), and the 64^th AAU James E. Sullivan (top athlete at collegiate or Olympic level).

When the 1993 football and basketball seasons ended, Ward declared for the draft. But his name was never called. Some say it was due to his height (6’2), and some say it was for other reasons. Ward became the first Heisman winner in the Super Bowl era to never play in the NFL. Another first. A few months later, Charlie Ward was selected in the first round of the NBA draft… a sport where height is even more important. Ward signed with the New York Knicks and became the first Heisman winner to ever play in the NBA. Yet another first.

Charlie Ward and the New York Knicks went on to the NBA finals in 1999 but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Ward spent 11 seasons in the NBA before moving on to coaching – first as an assistant to the Houston Rockets, but he eventually returned to his first love. He coached varsity high school football at a few different schools before starting his own web series, Chalk Talk with Charlie Ward… where he talks about Seminole Football.

Dwayne Johnson

Son of prolific WWE wrestler Rocky Johnson and Ata Johnson – adopted daughter of professional wrestler Peter Maivia – you could say Dwayne Johnson had combat sports in his blood. In high school, Dwayne wrestled, ran track and field, and… played football. Defensive tackle, to be exact. He played two years at Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, before being recruited – and offered a full ride – to the University of Miami.

Johnson played for the Miami Hurricanes for four years, winning a national title in 1991. Unfortunately, most of those years were spent as a backup behind Warren Sapp. By the end of his career, he played in 39 games with one start and recorded 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles. He also graduated summa cum laude with a double major in criminology and physiology.

He failed to make an NFL team and got signed by the Calgary Stampeders. They switched him to linebacker and cut him two months later. What happened next? Oh yeah.

Dwayne Johnson eventually became “The Rock” and did some pretty awesome things to other wrestlers in various WrestleMania Summer Slams, Royal Rumbles, and King of the Rings. He won the WWF Championship in 1998. A year later, he started acting and found a way to become one of the largest known Hollywood stars in recent history. And the voice of Maui in Moana – that I’m constantly forced to hear sing the song “You’re Welcome” over and over again in my car while I’m dropping my kids at school. Sometimes, I forget to turn it off, and he keeps singing to me while I’m driving home. I hum along, and if a friend were to ask me, “Hey, who have you been listening to these days?” I’d have to answer, “Oh, I’ve just been listening to a lot of Dwayne Johnson.”

Eventually, Mr. Johnson, the Rock, found his way to producing and starring in a television show about football players called Ballers. He played an ex-linebacker that eventually became part-owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. And, I saw him – about two years ago introducing the Super Bowl in Los Angeles. I was in the audience, and I watched him after his introduction. He paced around the sidelines for a long time – talking to players, high-fiving, tossing a football up and down, and playing catch.

Uncle Rico

Back in ’82, he used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile. Dead serious.

Honorable mentions:

Eric Crouch (selling playground equipment)

Damon Allen (CFL star)

Marcus Dupree (USFL to NFL to cut by Chuck Knox)

Jeff Samardzija (chose baseball)

Nate Robinson (superstar)

For every player you see in the NFL, there are multitudes more who tried and failed to make it. Real people – guys who loved the game, lost it, and had to figure something else out. Some of them had fantastic – fulfilling – careers. Many more didn’t.

In 1990, Los Angeles Raider Lyle Alzado said, “I miss the violence” when asked why he was attempting a comeback at 40 – four years after retiring. He failed to make it back. Peyton Manning has said he misses hanging out with “the guys” in locker rooms and buses.

I briefly played tight end in high school. I wasn’t very good and got drilled a lot – my family still has photos of me after games with grass clumps stuck in my helmet and mud streaked up and down my jersey. I don’t miss the violence – and I wasn’t around long enough to get completely sucked into the culture. But I remember Friday nights, traveling, and the anticipation before games. Of course I get it (in a much smaller way).

As I write this, it is Tuesday – August 27^th —and the Seattle Seahawks have reduced their final roster to 53. Guys like Jamie Sheriff (who delivered beer earlier this year), George Holani (UDFA), and Easop Winston (who briefly led all WRs in the preseason) have been waived. Some will continue on our practice squad – but nothing is sure or guaranteed. Only the promise that their stories will continue – somewhere.