Snyder and Bulger to host army hero

September 22, 2008 by markhopper 

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Two small paragraphs at the end of a long NFL article today provide an exclamation point on the power of positive media.  On October 12 a returning, two-tour soldier will be hosted by Washington Redskin owner Dan Snyder and St. Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger when their teams meet at FedEx field.

Aren’t soldiers returning to hometown parades in many parts of the country?  Why is this story any different?  If you are a Peter King reader then you already know, but if you are not then enjoy this story.

This is a 3 year story in the making.  In what was one of the best and most inspiring articles I read in 2005 Peter King of SI.com detailed a chance encounter he had with Army Sergeant Mike McGuire at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.  Please, read this story.

Over the past 3 years King has maintained an ongoing correspondence with McGuire which he shares with his readers as part of his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback article.  During this time period King has shared the fears, successes, tragedies, and gut wrenching decisions that a husband and platoon leader faces during his tours of duty.

Now Mike McGuire is returning home.  He is a huge NFL fan and his favorite team is his hometown St. Louis Rams.  The broader visibility that was provided through the Sports Illustrated website has yielded a heroes welcome that should be more standard than the exception.

Enjoy this excerpt from SI.com, Monday Morning Quaterback and Good Guys of the Week

I doubt many in our military deserve leave more than Army First Sgt. Mike McGuire, who is deep into his second long tour in Iraq, overseeing a platoon of men hunting Improvised Explosive Devices on the most dangerous roads in the country. I am so pleased he’ll be coming home to the States — to Missouri, his home, and then to a ceremony in western Pennsylvania honoring the memory of fallen comrade Allan Bevington, and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit a wounded man in his platoon, Nick Koulchar.

The Rams, Mike McGuire’s favorite team, aren’t home when McGuire will be in St. Louis, but [Washinton Redskin owner Dan] Snyder and [Rams Quarterback Marc] Bulger stepped up to take care of that. Snyder will host McGuire, wife Pam, and the brother of the wounded Koulchar at the Rams-Redskins game Oct. 12. And Bulger, whose foundation provides care and R&R for American troops, will host McGuire at Rams Park.

You think those things don’t mean a lot? McGuire, like so many of our soldiers, lives for the NFL, plans his week around it, talks endlessly about it out on patrol. And for the owner of the Redskins and the quarterback of his favorite team to take the time and effort to recognize him … it’s something McGuire will remember for the rest of his life.