Super Bowl: A Part-Time Job
The following is a weekly 60 Minutes Wednesday commentary by columnist Steve Hartman.
I'm not a big sports fan. I don't usually watch the Super Bowl, let alone cover it.
But I love a good Cinderella story, and there's one in the works here that could become one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time.
Just two weeks ago, Philadelphia Eagle Jeff Thomason was New Jersey construction worker Jeff Thomason.
He was 35, married and the father of three. He'd played pro football, but it had been awhile. In fact, his youngest was still damp to the touch when the Eagles fired Jeff two seasons ago.
And he would have never played again, if not for the terrible misfortune of one of his very best friends.
On the same play that sent the Eagles to the Super Bowl, Philadelphia tight end Chad Lewis cracked his right foot. "As soon as I caught the ball, I knew my season was over and I was not going to play in the Super Bowl," said Lewis.
Determined to make something good come from it, Lewis convinced the Philadelphia coaching staff to bring back his old friend, Thomason.
Thomason now has just three days left to work out the kinks, and coaches say he will be playing at tight end, ready or not.
Thomason says that when he played before, no one ever wanted to talk to him. But now, he's the big story here, and the other players know it.
Thomason is humble, and so nice that Lewis says he can even make a broken leg feel better. Does it make it any easier for Lewis, knowing that Thomason will be in his place?
"No, I love it. I had a baby boy born last year and we named it Jeff," says Lewis. "And there's a reason, because Jeff is one of the best guys I've ever met."
Depending how things go on Sunday, come Monday, Thomason could be sitting across the desk from Leno, Letterman or Peggy from accounting.
But no matter where he ends up, I'm sure he will be who he is, just a regular guy who once worked a part-time job at a place called the Super Bowl.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. I'm not a big sports fan. I don't usually watch the Super Bowl, let alone cover it.
But I love a good Cinderella story, and there's one in the works here that could become one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time.
Just two weeks ago, Philadelphia Eagle Jeff Thomason was New Jersey construction worker Jeff Thomason.
He was 35, married and the father of three. He'd played pro football, but it had been awhile. In fact, his youngest was still damp to the touch when the Eagles fired Jeff two seasons ago.
And he would have never played again, if not for the terrible misfortune of one of his very best friends.
On the same play that sent the Eagles to the Super Bowl, Philadelphia tight end Chad Lewis cracked his right foot. "As soon as I caught the ball, I knew my season was over and I was not going to play in the Super Bowl," said Lewis.
Determined to make something good come from it, Lewis convinced the Philadelphia coaching staff to bring back his old friend, Thomason.
Thomason now has just three days left to work out the kinks, and coaches say he will be playing at tight end, ready or not.
Thomason says that when he played before, no one ever wanted to talk to him. But now, he's the big story here, and the other players know it.
Thomason is humble, and so nice that Lewis says he can even make a broken leg feel better. Does it make it any easier for Lewis, knowing that Thomason will be in his place?
"No, I love it. I had a baby boy born last year and we named it Jeff," says Lewis. "And there's a reason, because Jeff is one of the best guys I've ever met."
Depending how things go on Sunday, come Monday, Thomason could be sitting across the desk from Leno, Letterman or Peggy from accounting.
But no matter where he ends up, I'm sure he will be who he is, just a regular guy who once worked a part-time job at a place called the Super Bowl.
