A Letter to a Friend: Failure and Football from the Inside Out Thirty-five years ago, I tried out for the Seattle Seahawks. After getting released just prior to the regular season, I wrote a long letter to a very close friend. Much of the letter was excerpted verbatim from a journal I had kept during the experience. A few years ago, my friend Scott found the letter in a box and sent a copy back to me. I have transcribed the letter here, along with some brief reflections at the end about what it looks like now looking through the rear-view mirror. I can’t help but feel for all the guys facing final cuts this week. Fall 1984 Dear Scott, It has taken me awhile to get this letter started, but as I told you on the phone when we last talked, I want to write you a letter filling you in on everything that has happened with football since I saw you last June. I know you are probably lonely out there in the...