Integrity

On a cold, dark evening in November 1974, a football team gathered in the basement of Faith Lutheran Church in Excelsior to celebrate the first undefeated season in the history of the Minnetonka Athletic
Association Football Program.  (It’s now apparently known as the “Lake Minnetonka Athletic Association).   The team was the 6th Grade “Vikings” coached by Dan Lagieski and Jerry Bruner.  This team was a surprise champion because it had only 17 boys and as far as anyone knew, the coaches were both rookies.  Coaches Dan and Jerry drilled the team, drilled them again, and again until the team was really the proverbial well-oiled machine.  There were some close games but when the season was over, the Minnetonka “Vikings” were undefeated and untied.

On the evening of the banquet, one of the fathers had organized a surprise for the boys.  The captains of our Minnetonka High School football team attended the banquet and spoke to the boys and parents.  I’m sure they were introduced by name at the time, but I didn’t learn and remember their names until a few years later.  What I do remember, and really  the only thing about that evening I remember clearly, is something the handsome blond-haired captain said.  The last thing this gentleman said to us was simply:

“Never give up.”

One of my close friends and mentors has often said that the real definition of integrity is simply, “when your actions match your words.”  Put another way, if you say you believe something or you recommend a certain course of action and you yourself follow the advice, or your stated beliefs are not contradicted by your actions, then you can be said to have shown “integrity.”

Well this high school football player went on to graduate from his university, with honors, in 1979 and then appeared as a “walk-on” in the training camp of an NFL football team several weeks later.  His tenacious style, hustle, and excellent attitude earned the respect of coaches, players, and fans so that when the music stopped and all the cuts had been made, he was a member of that NFL franchise’ special teams squad.

In 1983, Minnesota Vikings Coach Bud Grant appointed Keith Nord a Captain of the team.  He continued to lead the team on the field until he retired in 1985.

Speaking to the Minnetonka High School Football Team as part of the “Men of Character” program in 2011, he had some interesting remarks about the day Bud Grant asked him to Captain the Vikings.  The whole video of this session is really worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MprXF30Ki6E

During the video, he asks the players “What’s integrity?” and one of the answers was, “following your morals all the time.”  To me, that’s another way of saying, “making your actions match your words.”

Well, if that definition is correct, then Keith Nord is an excellent example of a man with integrity.  In 1974, he advised 17 of us to “Never give up” and that’s exactly what he did himself.  There is only one way to get a job as a player on an NFL team as a walk-on and that is to want it more than the other guy, to never stop hustling, never stop improving, and never give up.

That’s how he did it.  He made his actions match his words.

After retirement, Keith has been an active motivational speaker, with a special interest in youth programs and has received countless accolades and compliments for his work with young people.

Often the remarks about his work will be on the order of, “It’s really nice to see an NFL player working so hard in his retirement to have a good influence on today’s youth.”

Keith retired from the NFL after the 1985 season, nearly 20 years ago.

I can tell you from personal experience that he’s been having a good influence on young people for a lot longer than that.

Myself, one thing I once thought I wanted to be was a player in the NFL but clearly I didn’t want it badly enough.  Something I obviously wanted more was to be a pilot.  Over the years, I’ve overcome a fair number of obstacles (not all of my own making!) and now fly a corporate jet based in Asia.  A good portion of the reason for my ability to achieve this goal was following some advice I received as a boy from someone whom I admired and respected:

“Never give up.”

Thank you, Keith Nord.