CHICAGO — As part of the National Football League's "Honor Roll" program, ex-NFL player Dave Diehl visited Brother Rice to thank the school for helping him get to the top of his profession.
Diehl, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants in his 11-year career, visited his alma mater in Mt. Greenwood on Friday to explain what Brother Rice meant to his dreams of becoming a professional athlete.
He said Brother Rice football coach Tom Mitchell was "one of the greatest influences" in his life, according to the school's student newspaper, The Standard.
Thank you David Diehl for speaking to our Crusaders today. We can learn so much from your message, work ethic and determination.Please follow the link for images from today's festivities.
Posted by Brother Rice High School - Chicago on Friday, March 11, 2016
Diehl, who graduated from Brother Rice in 1998, gave the school a golden football. The football is a meant to be given to high schools that produced Super Bowl-participating players, according to the NFL. The awards program, rolled out this year to commemorate the 50th Super Bowl, will be given to more than 2,000 high schools nationwide.
"I felt [the award] was something very special, to symbolize not only my accomplishments but to symbolize Brother Rice and what the school has produced," Diehl said, according to The Standard.
A golden football has also been presented to St. Rita, where Darius Fleming played before winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots.
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