I had the great opportunity to cover the Kansas City Chiefs in the late 1990s for Kansas City Sports Magazine. I can still close my eyes and flash back to yesteryear watching my Chiefs heroes like wide receiver Otis Taylor (I had a poster of him on my bedroom wall growing up) and dynamic running back Joe Delaney, who died a hero after drowning trying to rescue three children. Delaney, who did not know how to swim, died as he always lived his short life (age 24) — trying to help others and make a profound difference.
So it was a great thrill to cover my childhood team and write human interest stories on some great players and people like offensive lineman Glenn Parker and hard-hitting defensive back Chris Dishman. I also loved featuring some kind cheerleaders Michelle Reiter and Kimberly Roberts. I was very humbled when Michelle and Kim both called and thanked me for my stories on them when the articles were published. Michelle and I reconnected on Facebook many years ago, and it was so great to hear from her. I was so humbled and overwhelmed by her endorsement on LinkedIn and also when she called me an "inspiration." She is such a kind soul. Michelle, Kim, everyone who has ever been a cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs, and all the countless players who've donned the uniform, and, of course, the inspiring Hunt family — they are all great ambassadors for the franchise and helped make the Chiefs who they are today — not only Super Bowl winners, but with their humanitarian outreach into the community.
This story on one such humanitarian, Glenn Parker, was very moving to me. I had an hour sit-down interview with Glenn at Saturn of Kansas City in October 1999, talking to him about his volunteer work with Special Olympics, his early days playing football and being named Chiefs MVP for the 1998 season, while watching him genuinely interact with one Special Olympian and others in the dealership. I came away with our interview with great admiration for Glenn and what a wonderful and outstanding human being he is.
Here is that feature on Glenn Parker in Kansas City Sports Magazine. As I do with every story, I put my heart and soul into this one.
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By David Garfield
Glenn Parker watched with amazement and wonder last spring volunteering at the Special Olympics track and field competition at Blue Valley Northwest High School. He’ll never forget seeing the first Special Olympian storming through the finish line in the mile run, and then looking in the distance at the last athlete struggling two and a half laps behind.
“Yet, all those other kids waited and clapped and cheered him on,” Parker said. “That was very nice. The coaches were running with him and telling him to ‘finish, finish.’ He did it. It was neat.”
Parker isn’t used to people cheering for someone coming in last place. After all, the Kansas City Chiefs’ left tackle is in the high-pressured, money-making business of pro football, where “last” guys and teams don't finish first.
“When you play football for a living, you lose focus and sight of the fact that sports is supposed to be fun and supposed to be about the event and all the things that it can teach you about yourself and dealing with other people,” Parker said. “It’s all about money and winning now, and that’s not what it was originally for. All Special Olympians still see it as what it is. Again, it’s not about 80,000 people and millions of dollars. It’s about 20 people clapping, cheering, and having fun.”
Parker was hooked that memorable day handing out medals to all the competitors. He was even awarded himself with a lot of priceless hugs from some very “affectionate people.”
“That got me started and they asked me to be a spokesperson,” Parker said. “And here I am.”
Parker is here just past 4 p.m. this recent overcast Saturday afternoon at Saturn of Kansas City signing autographs and raising money for a cause quite dear to him. Through December 10, Parker is teaming with Special Olympics Missouri, law enforcement agencies, and Wolfe Automotive Group as the honorary chairman of a state-wide fund-raising campaign called “Win with Glenn.” Parker will be making personal appearances at all 10 participating Wolfe Automotive dealers and Saturn retailers in Kansas City.
The campaign is a raffle where four lucky winners will win tickets to the Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers home game on December 18. One of these four finalists will win one of five new cars from a Kansas City area Wolfe Automotive dealer or Saturn retailer. All proceeds from these $2 raffle tickets will benefit local Special Olympic athletes.
One Special Olympic athlete named Richard is in the dealership today watching his hero welcoming customers and telling them about the purpose of his appearance. Richard, a junior at Center High School, smiles contently along with the director of marketing and communications for Special Olympics Missouri, Diannah White, a local police officer, and a few dealership employees.
Sitting behind a nearby table casually dressed in a Nike hat, shorts, and a navy blue short-sleeved shirt, Parker certainly doesn’t look as imposing as he would staring menacingly into the eyes of a defensive lineman during game days. This 6-5, 313-pound giant, with his signature goatee, has actually been called a “teddy bear” by some people for his compassionate and gentle nature of the field.
Asked if his involvement with Special Olympics has changed his perspective on life and made him a better person, Parker answers candidly:
“It’s opened my eyes to a new segment of our population that you know is there, but until you deal with it, you kind of see it and say, ‘OK, I can do something. I can help.’ I’m not doing much. I’m lending my name and coming down and signing some autographs. But it’s going to help ...I would think if anything, it’s allowed me to be friends with some of these Olympians and people involved in this organization. It’s neat that I get to meet these people.”
Suddenly, an elderly woman walks into the store proudly holding a Chiefs shirt and football, which are decorated with countless autographs from current and former Kansas City players. “I got Marcus Allen,” she says. The woman now hands the shirt to Parker, who looks closely to find an open place to pen his name.
“There’s a spot on here someplace,” Parker says. “Here we are.”
With that matter of business at hand, Parker points out the raffle tickets to the woman. “I’ll do it, but I won’t win,” she says. The two continue talking and joking. The woman says she’s been a longtime Chiefs fan, but has never been to Arrowhead Stadium.
“We’ll have to get you down there, don’t we,” Parker says. “Yeah,” she responds cheerfully. The woman now puts her $2 on the table, picks up a raffle ticket, and says goodbye. “Thank you very much,” Parker says. “Thanks for coming out.”
As the woman leaves, Parker continues elaborating on his love for Special Olympics.
“It gives everyone of these Special Olympians a chance to compete at whatever sport they choose, and do it free without ever having to pay a dime,” Parker said. “That’s something I liked. I grew up playing every sport for free. There are fields everywhere in Southern California. These Olympians can get that chance.”
Parker grew up in sunny Huntington Beach, Calif., as the youngest of six siblings. He describes his childhood this way: “Great loving family, a paradise to live in where I was. I’m thankful every day for what I had.”
While he really didn’t do any volunteer work in his youth, he now feels a unique responsibility and privilege as a professional athlete to serve others. Parker, who was active in charity work during his years with the Buffalo Bills (1990-1996), said he could act no other way. But was he aware of volunteerism growing up?
“As a kid, I was out playing at the beach and having fun,” Parker said. “I didn’t think about that stuff at all. But then you get older, you start to think about it.”
Parker spent a majority of his childhood living the good and carefree life — surfing at the beach, playing volleyball, basketball, and football. Surprisingly, he didn’t play organized sports or high school football. Well, he did play football briefly his freshman year in high school.
“I hated it,” he says, grinning “I had a 300-pound 5-foot-5 coach screaming at me and telling me I was out of shape,” Parker said. “I said, ‘You know, I don’t need this,’ so I left. It just wasn’t fun. To me, sports was always fun growing up. When I got there, it was about killing, win, kill, and win.”
So Parker quit the team and went back to the beach. A few years later, he decided to give football another chance at Golden West Junior College in hometown Huntington Beach. The free-spirit beach boy had now matured and was able to handle life better.
“I realized I was able to look at it and say, ‘I want to get a scholarship. If I’m going to get a scholarship, I’m going to have to listen to these guys and I have to be coachable and do what they want, which was not a problem anyway. But I have to take the good with the bad. If they screamed at me, they screamed at me.’”
Fortunately, Parker had some great coaches who genuinely cared about him as a person and taught him about the “game of football and a lot about life in between. It took off and I did well. I got lucky.”
Parker earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona and played two years for the Wildcats (1988-1989) at offensive tackle. He was named All-Pac 10 as a senior in 1989. His crowning achievement, however, was meeting his future wife, Casey O’Shaughnessy. Casey, a native of Buffalo, NY., had received a synchronized swimming scholarship to Arizona.
Parker, who actually dated Casey’s best friend in college, became very good friends himself with this athletic swimmer. When Casey graduated from Arizona and moved back to Buffalo, Parker wondered if he’d ever see her again.
And then destiny reunited the two friends when Parker was drafted by the Bills in 1990. Their friendship blossomed into a romance, and they eventually married. Parker, who was brought up with good moral values in a very tight-knit family, had now taken another pivotal step in his life.
“I got the greatest wife in the world,” he said. “That further defines you because you’re never the same person after marriage as you were before. You change and you give and take, and you kind of mold. If I wasn’t a good person before, she’s made me a much better person.”
The couple now have two daughters — Madeleine, 4, and Emily, 2. Parker said the family does “everything that normal parents do,” such as go to the playground, picnics, movies, and shopping. Despite his grueling schedule as a professional athlete, this gourmet chef insists that the family have regular dinners together at home.
“We like our girls to be around the table with us and talking about the day,” Parker said.
As Parker talks thoughtfully about his family and greets new customers who walk into the dealership, the subject soon turns back to football. Asked his most memorable moment in his career, Parker, who played in four Super Bowls with the Bills, doesn’t hesitate.
“Getting elected MVP by my teammates last year,” he said. “That’s by far ... When your teammates decide you’re the guy, that’s quite an honor.”
Parker, who started games at left guard, left tackle and right tackle in 1998, became the first offensive lineman in franchise history to earn MVP. He recalls the emotional day last season when coach Marty Schottenheimer took him aside in the locker room and told him about the award just before their final home game against the Dallas Cowboys. Parker was so intent on playing that he didn’t get caught up in the moment. However, that all changed after the game when he was alone with his wife and dad.
Enjoying himself with a beer in the parking lot, Parker told them about being named MVP by his teammates.
“My wife broke down right there,” he said.
And then later when the couple got home, this giant teddy bear broke down and cried himself.
“Whenever you’re able just to relax and let it go, that’s when the emotional sweep comes over you,” Parker said.
With the 1999 campaign now in gear, Parker is hoping the Chiefs fortunes can change dramatically from last year’s 7-9 record. He said the players have greater team unity and cohesiveness under new coach Gunther Cunningham.
“He wants us to see ourselves as a 47-man team rather than an offensive line, a defensive group, things like that,” Parker said. “He brings everybody in. Nobody’s down here or up here. We’re all in the middle.”
Parker lives for game days where he and his teammates have the “chance to put what you’ve learned all week into practice. Games are fun, especially when you win. In this business, losing is no fun at all.”
He knows, though, that having fun on Sundays is a whole different world from the pure spontaneity and innocence he felt playing volleyball on the beach as a child or the warm hugs the Special Olympians share during a festive day of competition. While he would love to see professional sports return to this level, Parker realizes it is wishful dreaming.
“It will never go back,” he said. “It can’t, not with the money involved. It’s more of a business now than ever and it’s not turning around anytime soon, if at all.”
As the clock nears 5 p.m, Parker gets up from his chair and has some fun visiting with White and others. Richard watches closely nearby while holding tightly to his autographed hat. He said he got two Chiefs cheerleaders signatures earlier that day at Price Chopper — “Cheers to you! Raquel” and “Go KC! Jennifer,” who even drew a special heart by her name.
Is Richard going to get Parker’s autograph today?
“I’m a big fan of his,” Richard says, as he walks over to his hero and asks him for his signature. Parker, who notices the cheerleaders autographs, flashes a broad smile and says, “That’s better than mine any day.” He modestly autographs the hat and soon bids goodbye to Richard and everyone in the dealership. The people all wish him good luck in the home opener tomorrow against the Denver Broncos.
“See you next weekend,” Parker says. "Thanks for doing it,” White responds. “My pleasure. Take care of yourself,” Parker adds while leaving.
Richard’s mom, Mary, who arrived at Saturn of Kansas City about 4:45, can’t help but smile seeing Parker’s genuine enthusiasm toward Special Olympics and how much his presence here today means to her son.
“He’s a great guy,” she said. “I hope he comes out to the events because I think it’s already touched his heart to see them compete and be a part of it. It’s really warmed me that he’s jumped on board.”
