The NFL has seen a down season in quality of play. Injuries ravaged many teams, and star players like Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and others sabotaged many of the more compelling storylines and rivalries. Attendance and ratings are still good, but true NFL aficionados know that the product on the field has suffered.
Uninspiring play from high-profile teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the latter of which has already been eliminated from the playoffs by the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has also contributed to the down season fans have witnessed in 2023. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t compelling stories and fresh, likable faces to root for.
Perhaps the best story of the season has come from Houston, Texas. The Texans have been one of the more moribund franchises in recent years, but they made the playoffs in 2023 and even won a Wild Card game. The team hired new coach DeMeco Ryans, and he drafted prized Ohio State product C.J. Stroud second overall in the April NFL Draft.
Not only did Stroud become the odds-on favorite for Rookie of the Year, but he also became the youngest player in league history to win a playoff game. To add to his appeal, Stroud is a devout Christian who always gives thanks to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and isn’t afraid to say it on television, even if television doesn’t want to air it as NBC did recently.
Recently, an unusual and wildly popular pop-culture icon talked about C.J. Stroud. Rapper, game show host entrepreneur, and producer Snoop Dogg talked glowingly about coaching Stroud in his youth football league when the superstar quarterback was a young boy.
Snoop, 52, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, coached the 22-year-old rookie in his Snoop Youth Football League in California when he was 11-13 years old. Snoop recently spoke like a proud father about Stroud and his accomplishments. He said: “I’m so excited watching these games now. I don’t even watch for the win.”
The Doggfather rapper also added: “I watch for the thrill to see that these kids have turned into grown men and they’re playing big roles on these teams. They’re used to these bright lights because they were put into these positions as kids.” Snoop’s league is a non-profit he founded in 2005 for inner-city youths to participate in sports and have adult mentorship.
Snoop is a 16-time Grammy nominee, but he is also a philanthropist, and understands the need for strong male role models in his community. Clearly, he hit the jackpot with C.J. Stroud. The rapper continued: “He’s so positive. That’s what I like about him is that he’s pushing a different narrative than a lot of these other guys in the league. He’s pushing a real narrative of spirit love and just being a voice of positivity.”
C.J. Stroud has Snoop Dogg partially to thank for being the man he is today, and sports fans and the NFL are better for it. Stroud is, most importantly, a Christian, and thankfully, Snoop helped put him on the right road to NFL superstardom for years to come. Watch Snoop here:
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
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