Tew honored at National Football Foundation ceremony
12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Used with permission by Deseret News National
By Lee Benson
This Tuesday night Jared Tew, a 2007 graduate of Park City High School and currently an F-16 fighter pilot with the United States Air Force, will be in a ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in downtown Manhattan, otherwise known as The Center of the Universe.
In one direction will be Condoleezza Rice and master of ceremonies Mike Tirico. In the other will be the 15 men being inducted into the college football Hall of Fame, among them Brian Bosworth, Lincoln Kennedy, Ricky Williams, Bob Breunig and Jim Tressel.
How did Tew get here? Same as the rest. Because of football.
The affair is the annual awards dinner of the National Football Foundation, the organization that has been around since 1947 with the stated purpose of promoting and protecting all things football.
In addition to recognizing the newest Hall of Fame class, every year the NFF hands out other special honors, including its Gold Medal, which will be awarded Tuesday night to Rice — the former Secretary of State who grew up in Alabama the daughter of a high school football coach and is currently a member of the College Football Selection Committee — and the Distinguished American Award, which goes to "an outstanding person who has exhibited enviable leadership qualities and made a significant contribution to the betterment of amateur football in the United States."
Vince Lombardi, Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart (the actor), T. Boone Pickens, Pat Tillman, Pete Rozelle, Tom Osborne, Rocky Bleier, Tom Brokaw and many others just like them are past recipients of the award.
That's the award Jared is getting.
Was Capt. Tew surprised?
Is the pope a Notre Dame fan?
Tew was at his base in Aviano, Italy, where he's stationed with the 31st Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force, when he logged into his military email a few weeks ago and read a note that informed him about the honor and asked for some additional information.
First thing he did was call his dad, Steve, back home in Utah.
He read him the email and then asked, "Does this seem like a scam, or some kind of joke?"
Steve did some quick Googling, confirming that there is indeed an award called the Distinguished American Award and that it has indeed been given out by the NFF since 1968.
The next thing he did was book a flight to New York City so he and his wife Sherma could see the kid who once had to be reminded to take out the garbage and clean his darn room stand up in the Waldorf Astoria and be heralded as a Distinguished American.
By the age of 26, Jared has already, first, graduated with a business degree from the Air Force Academy; second, won his wings in pilot training; third, been ranked as the No. 1 wingman in his squadron; fourth, received his promotion to captain; and fifth, visited the White House.
Where does football fit into all this? Pretty much everywhere, if you ask him.
"I'm very biased about the topic," he said. "But what I learned from playing football is what has helped set me up to be the person I am today. Football teaches so many life skills and lessons about teamwork and working together that I think can't be taught as well anywhere else."
After playing for a Park City High School football team that placed second in state in 2006, due in no small part to his 24 touchdowns and 1,707 yards rushing, Tew accepted a football scholarship to the Air Force Academy. In three years as a running back on the varsity, he rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 17 touchdowns for teams that went a collective 25-14 and played in three straight bowl games. In two of them, the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl and the 2010 Independence Bowl, Tew was named the game's Most Outstanding Player.
After that 2010 season, he capped his career in the White House, where he presented a commemorative football to President Barack Obama as he and his Falcon teammates were awarded the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy after wins that year over Navy and Army.
The successes and accolades did wonders for Tew's confidence, but maybe the best present football gave him was an outlet from the exacting rigors of life at a military school.
"The Air Force Academy is not a typical college experience, with all the extracurriculars and a difficult academic set," said Tew. "Football gave me a release and a very strong friendship with a bunch of guys year-round. My best friends were always the friends I'd play football with because of the bonds that we formed.
"It's crazy how similar being a fighter pilot is to being on a football team. Everyone has a responsibility and the workload is never on one individual. All is dependent on how well you do as a team. You're only as strong as your weakest link."
It's a formula that served Tew well on the football field, and one he will take with him if and/or when his squadron is deployed to a war zone, something that could come at any time.
In the meantime, there's a banquet at the Waldorf to get ready for — all thanks to football, the gift that keeps on giving.
