Follow your dreams even when you don't know where they may take you!

Picture courtesy of the Topeka Capital Journal

As I write this post, I want to preface all of this in that I am sports fan. My teams are the Kansas City Chiefs, Missouri Tigers, Sporting KC, and the Kansas City Royals. Overall though I am a sports fan. I really love the plethora of positive story lines that get their start in between the lines. Everything from Team Jack in the Nebraska Spring football game last year to the Lacey's big brother at Michigan State.

Recently I heard of a story that might not pull your heart strings or involve any terminable diseases, but it does inspire hope and belief in that chance meetings sometimes aren't so chance and could potentially lead to a knock from opportunity.

Tarik Black, a University of Kansas big man described as a bruising forward transferred from Memphis to Kansas for his final year of NCAA eligibility. Despite my Black and Gold allegiances, KU is the place to play basketball on a national stage, get noticed by NBA scouts, and potentially boost your basketball career to the professional level.

What Tarik didn't count on was someone not associated with the NBA scouting ranks to notice his talents as a big man on the court. Since the days that Tony Gonzalez in KC Chiefs red revolutionized the tight end position in the NFL, football scouts are looking in all sorts of places to find athletes with transferable skills to the gridiron. Tarik's skill set is illustrated when he plays in the post underneath the basket going up strong for rebounds and put backs. With light hands and a strong physical presence he makes himself a target for the ball handler to get an easy layup.

Picture courtesy of Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

This is what caught Aaron Rodger's eye. Yes Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. Arguably one of the, if not THE, best quarterbacks in the National Football League. Aaron was in Lawrence, Kansas at the invitation of Bill Self, the head coach of the storied basketball program, to take in a basketball game in Phogg Allen Fieldhouse. The home of the phrase "Beware of the Phogg", brought the future Hall of Fame quarterback to the game, however the talent of Tarik intrigued Aaron enough to confront him and offer the big man a tryout to play tight end in for the Green Bay Packers. Now it is up to Tarik to first choose basketball or football and then prove himself in workouts and evaluations. He may not make it in the NBA, or the NFL, but now he has the choice. Better yet he has the opportunity.

Great! Grand! Wonderful! (NO YELLING ON THE BUS!) What does that mean for me? You were wondering when the beer portion of this beer blog was going to show itself.

What if John McDonald, founder of Boulevard came up to me tomorrow and said, "Hey, I like your style. I need some one help bring beer to the people and make the beer more accessible to the masses. Would you like to do that?"

What if Draft Magazine came to me and said, "We need you to travel the US and abroad to drink beer, meet people, talk about beer, and share your insights. Interested?"

What if a random stranger walks up to me and hands me $5 dollars and says,  "Pick me out a beer to try so that I can start my craft beer experience."

While I write and help others find craft beer, I am listening for opportunity to knock. I just hope I am listening to the right set of doors.

Most people probably read the Yahoo story about Tarik Black and thought "Oh that's nice that a kid might have a chance to make it in two of Americas top sports." I didn't take it that way. I thought:

Hard work, dedication, perseverance, and showing what you can do to others pays off in ways you might think they will, but more often than not those virtues show you a return on investment that you might not have thought of.

Risking sounding like a Disney movie or high school counselor, I am going to work hard to make my dreams come true and I hope you come along for the ride.