I don't mean to take anything from Campbell's accomplishments. I'm sure he's a person worth emulating. However, being good at a sport and being a swell guy does not, IMO, put one in the same category as Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, et al.
Point well taken.
OK, so he didn't die at the Alamo, didn't lead a military campaign against Santa Anna, and he wasn't considered the Founding Father of Texas. But a Earl Campbell's life story is quite remarkable and highlights so many of the great things about what it means to be an American. He was one of eleven kids whose parents raised their children to appreciate the values of faith, honesty, integrity, and hard work. His father worked on a rose farm by day and at a nearby K-Mart store by night.
Earl's father died suddenly at a young age, and the family endured quite a lot of hardship as they struggled to make ends meet. All eleven kids matured at a young age, and they all pitched in to help the family survive. Many of them worked in a flower shop that his mother opened after her husband died (the origin of Earl's nickname "The Tyler Rose"). Earl attended segregated schools as a kid and became a great high school athlete despite the difficulties and outright animosity he faced at the time ths school was being desegregated.
In later years you'd never hear him complain about growing up in that environment, though.
After his retirement from football, Campbell started a business selling his trademark sausages, ribs, and barbecue sauce. He's also served as an "ambassador" of sorts for his alma mater, the University of Texas. A rags-to-riches story that exemplifies everything that is great about America.
Here's an interesting quote that I found from an interview a few years ago:
"It's sad that we can't let a team pray before a game as a unit or say a prayer before a basketball game. But we have to encourage our kids to be Christian people and to get up and go to church. I heard one guy who said his son couldn't kneel and say, "Thank you, Lord," after a touchdown because the referee would throw a penalty on him. There is something wrong in our legislature and government when we take prayer away from kids while we want them to know there is a Christ, the Devil and things you can't do. When we had prayer in the schools, we didn't have so much trouble with kids. I was thinking this morning as I was driving to work and telling God that I thanked him so much for my wife and my kids and for them being in choir rehearsal and prayer meeting, because that is where it all starts. Until our government gets prayer back in schools, I think we are going to lose our kids."
Is Earl Campbell a hero? You bet your @ss he is.