SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Third-grader Mason Farley immediately knew the first question he would ask Oakland Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison when he won a prize to meet an NFL player.
“Would you tackle George?” Mason asked soon after Morrison arrived at his house Tuesday, hoping to inflict pain on his younger brother.
Morrison politely declined that opportunity, but did toss the football around with the two young boys, then visited their school as part of the “NFL Take a Player to School” promotion.
Mason, 8, and his 7-year-old brother George each entered the contest, which is held each year in every NFL city and two other markets.
Mason ended up winning, and got the chance to take Morrison to the Town School for Boys in San Francisco, where the linebacker talked about setting goals, driving to be the best and the importance of getting 60 minutes of exercise a day.
While many of the questions from the eager students focused on what it’s like to “level” an opposing player and what was the hardest hit of his career, Morrison stuck to his message.
‘ Morrison said. “I remember when I was a kid I’d listen to these role models in school and use what they said in my own life.”
Morrison, who grew up across the San Francisco Bay in Oakland, said he didn’t get the chance to meet a football player as a kid but enjoyed the lessons he got from fire fighters and police officers who visited his school.
Mason got up early on his big day, dressed in his Morrison jersey with silver and black balloons outside their house and in the living room.
A family that used to root for the Chargers because their mother, Mary, was from San Diego, now has a new favorite NFL team. Although George pointed out that Mason still likes to play as the Chargers in video games.
“Those days are over,” Mary Farley said. “We’ve been watching Raider football now. We’re fired up.”
Mason, George and their 5-year-old sister, Ella, kept looking out the window waiting for Morrison’s limousine to arrive, and admitted that getting the chance to take a limo to school was just about as cool as meeting Morrison.
When Morrison arrived in his own jersey, he asked about Mason’s own athletic career, which included a loss in a soccer game last Saturday.
“Don’t worry. We didn’t win last week either,” Morrison said, referring to the Raiders 29-10 loss in Baltimore. “I feel your pain.”
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