I have told this before, so the short version. My uncle played football at the Naval Academy and was Roger Staubach's teammate. I met Roger and became a fan. He inspired me to want to become a college quarterback. When Roger ended up on the Cowboys, I became a Cowboy fan. I also played football and worked hard to become a good player. I never became a quarterback but coming out of high school at 6'4", 245, I accepted a D1 scholarship from Rutgers and played four years of college football, three as a starter at LB/DE. I also was tried at TE, but, um, hands of stone and such. Had two stints in NFL camps (Washington and New York Giants) but didn't make it. Plenty strong (could bench 400) but too slow for the pro game.
But thanks to being inspired by Roger I worked hard and had opportunities that many people never have.