Travis Rudolph Is What's Right In This World

Travis Rudolph - Hero

he·ro

ˈhirō/

noun

1. a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
"a war hero"
synonyms: brave person, brave man/woman, man/woman of courage, man/woman of the hour, lionheart, warrior, knight; champion, victor, conqueror, star, superstar, megastar, idol, celebrity,
luminary; ideal, paragon, shining example, demigod; favorite, darling; informal celeb 

In this world of whiny, pampered, self absorbed, prima donna people (can you say Colin Kaepernick?), along comes someone who is his polar opposite. That person can appear out of nowhere, out of the blue, in the strangest places, and in the most innocuous situations. But there he or she is - and they transform themselves into heroes without any intention of doing so.

It doesn't always involve a life saving event. It doesn't have to be a daring rescue. It doesn't necessarily require feats of superhuman strength. Sometimes, it can just involve pulling up a chair and sitting down with a little boy who is eating lunch all by himself.

Because the other kids in his school think he's different. Because they find him a little awkward. Because he doesn't fit in. So he almost always eats lunch all by himself.

But the kid doesn't seem to notice that the others exclude him from things. He doesn't see the funny looks, the finger pointing, or the whispers. He views life with a glass-half-full attitude, a smile on his face, and a song in his heart.

Leah Paske and her son Bo

That's Bo Paske. He's autistic. He's different from the other kids. In a brand new school year when they may not know who he is the other kids may be reluctant to sit with him. It's not that they're  going out of their way to be cruel, it's just kids unfortunately being kids.

But that can be hurtful. Even if you're like Bo. He takes it in stride and doesn't seem to give it a second thought but deep down he has to feel it.

Snapshot taken of Travis Rudolph eating lunch with Bo

So, as he sat in the school lunch room all by himself, with all the other tables full of kids laughing and talking, Bo was quietly eating his lunch by himself.  All of a sudden, an unfamiliar man came over and asked him if he could sit with him and have lunch. Bo said sure. He had no idea who the man was but it was since to have someone to talk to.

It was Travis Rudolph, a former 5-star high school wide receiver who has been playing football for Florida State the last two years. The same Travis Rudolph who is destined to play in the NFL. Rudolph and a few other FSU players were visiting Bo's middle school and he saw Bo eating lunch by himself. Rudolph put two and two together and decided to perform an anonymous act of human kindness.

"We just had a great conversation. He started off, telling me his name was Bo, telling me how much he loves Florida State. We went from there,'' said Rudolph when interviewed after a picture of him sitting with Bo went viral over the internet. "I just wanted to go say hi to the kid, because I saw him eating alone. I didn't even know anybody took a photo of it,'' he said. "I'm glad it can bring awareness to helping others. It was real easy... you'd never think anything was wrong with him. He had a nice smile on his face. Just a really warm person."

Rudolph didn't do it for attention. He didn't do it for the cameras. He had no idea anyone had noticed what he did or that someone had captured the moment in a photo.

But someone did. And the photo was texted to Bo's mom who in turn posted it on her Facebook page. And her post went viral. The national media quickly picked up the story and it's been all over cable news, the sports networks, newspapers, and magazines.

For the last few days, all we've heard about is the unpatriotic, hypocritical act of a soon-to-be washed up, numb nut, 49ers backup quarterback who refuses to stand for the National Anthem because he's suddenly taken up the flavor of the day cause and wants to show his concern for the plight of people of color. 

In case Colin Kaepernick missed this story, Travis Rudolph is black. Bo is white. Travis didn't see a white kid eating alone and Bo didn't see a black man asking if he could sit down. Each just saw a person, no skin color. One person decided to do an incredibly touching thing for another person who gratefully accepted it.  

And now, just like everyone knows who Kaepernick is, everyone knows who Travis Rudolph is. Beyond that, they know what a pompous ass Kaepernick is and what remarkable person Rudolph is. Kaeprenick's antics have rightfully resulted in nothing positive. Rudolph's act of kindness has made it so Bo will never have to eat lunch alone again. Bo's mom says that Bo no longer has a shortage of lunch buddies.

In the game of life, I score it Rudolph 1, Kaepernick 0.