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View Full Version : Broncos' Graham gives back to hometown



Lonestar
06-28-2009, 11:04 AM
The Broncos tight end, who played at TJ and Colorado, shows his support for local youths with his football camp.
By Jim Armstrong
The Denver Post
Posted: 06/27/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT


The Denver Post )What does it mean to Daniel Graham to be able to work with all those Denver-area kids at his annual football camp?

You didn't have to ask him Friday morning. All you had to do was look at him.

The Denver kid who graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and played at Colorado and owns Nuggets season tickets and followed his dad's footsteps to the Broncos was wearing . . . what else? . . . a Rockies cap. No word on whether he had an Avs license-plate holder on his car.

"I don't really recall any football camps growing up around here," Graham said. "It's just something I wanted to do to give back, to help these kids, especially in my hometown. I was fortunate to have a father who played in the NFL, someone I could look up to and model myself after. I wanted to show my support for these kids, just like he did for me."

If you know the Grahams, you knew Camp DG was going to be a family affair. Tom, the patriarch, played linebacker for the Broncos and a few other NFL teams in the '70s. He was there, as was Daniel's mother, Marilyn, and his twin brother, Joshua, among others.

Then there was Daniel's honorary uncle, George Martin, the former Giants defensive end who played with Tom at Oregon back in the day. Not that Martin is the giving type, but he spent nine months in 2007-08 walking from New York City to San Diego on a Journey for 9-11, raising $5 million for the heroes of the post-attack calamity.

So much for all those negative headlines involving NFL players. Oh, and did we mention that a handful of Daniel Graham's Broncos teammates also were on hand at the Lowry Sports Complex?

The camp was the third-annual affair but won't be the last. Daniel plans to host it for years to come, until he's walking in his dad's shoes.

"Yes, I do," he said. "I'm not going anywhere. When I retire, this is going to be my home. It's always been my home. This is going to be something I can look forward to."

Graham underwrites part of the camp through his Daniel Graham Foundation. He also supports Champ Camp, a Boulder-area camp for kids with asthma, a disease he has battled since his youth.

Whatever camp he's speaking at, Graham sends the same message.

"The reality is that everyone doesn't make it to where I'm at," he said. "I want to show these kids what reality is. Even if you don't play in the NFL, you've got to go for your goals. You can't let anyone shoot down your dreams


http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_12700826?source=rss