OPINION: What playing for the Green Bay Packers taught me about building greatness in New Mexico

When I came back to Las Cruces for New Mexico State University’s Homecoming, I was proud to see students filling their section, kids cheering on their heroes and a city still believing in its team. I thought about my twins; they are autistic and nonverbal and both full of wonder. One day I will bring them here to see where their dad’s NFL dream started. Dreams are still alive for today’s Aggies and fans — what’s missing is the investment to match them.

I want to thank the collective at NM State athletics for bringing me back — their hospitality made this visit my best one yet. I also want to thank new NMSU Athletic Director Joe Fields for welcoming me and making the weekend special. I am excited to see what Fields has in store for our Aggies. When a university embraces its former players and lets them give back, that passion spreads.

Passion alone does not build greatness. I learned that playing for the Packers in Green Bay, where a city smaller than Las Cruces built one of the greatest football cultures in the world. It wasn’t just belief in the “G” on our helmets — it was the willingness to invest in that belief, and literally buy-in. New Mexico can be that kind of place — if our leaders build something worthy of the fans who already believe.

We are close. During my time at State, we rarely had crowds like the one I saw Saturday. Now we have to give them a reason to come back. Our fans deserve an experience that matches their passion, not the same press box from the 1970s.

Last year, lawmakers approved $11 million for the University of New Mexico to study the building of a new football stadium; they also approved $3 million in recurring funds to support the Lobo student-athletes directly. Those are good steps, but for New Mexico to fully benefit, those investments must be consistent across the state. If football is a cultural and economic driver in Albuquerque, it’s just as much of one in Las Cruces. When one university receives major support and another doesn’t, we miss opportunities to grow the entire state’s sports economy.

NMSU has proven it can deliver major results with limited investment. This is a program that has reached three bowl games in eight years and delivered a 10-win season. If New Mexico wants to keep its homegrown athletes here and build sports programs that match the strength of our communities, then our investments should reflect a statewide vision, not reward some and exclude others.

The new locker room at NMSU is a good start and credit goes to the students who helped fund it through their fees, but it cannot be the finish line. Investing in the fan experience means investing in our young people and their pride for where they come from. And I know exactly what that New Mexico pride can do, because I lived it.

Aggies make things happen. When I played at NMSU, I also worked at Fanzz in the Mesilla Valley Mall, folding jerseys with names of NFL stars, wondering if my name would ever be on one. Years later, I walked into Lambeau Field and saw HOUSE 31 stitched across the back of my own jersey. That journey from the mall to the NFL is what it means to be an Aggie — you work hard, you believe before anyone else does and you defy the odds.

One day soon I will bring my kids to Aggie Memorial Stadium. I may not be able to hear my kids’ voices, but I can picture their faces and imagine what they will feel when they see the future New Mexico that I can already envision. I want that for every kid in New Mexico.

Greatness begins when people decide to believe and invest in themselves. I lived that by making it to the NFL from the Mesilla Valley and I saw it every day in Green Bay.

It is time for NMSU and New Mexico to believe and invest too. When we do, the whole country will see what we are made of.