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Rambam boy interviews frum Super Bowl winner

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A few weekends ago, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of “The Miracle on Ice,” one of the biggest sports upsets of all time, when a bunch of college students from the U.S. beat the “invincible” USSR 4–3 in the semifinals of the hockey Olympics in Lake Placid. They went on to win the gold against the Finns, 4–2.

 No one thought that these American kids could beat those guys, but they did in a classic David vs. Goliath fashion. The same way nobody would think that a former pro NFL player would give the time of day to a 9th grader from suburban Long Island — but that’s just what happened.

I love sports. And I want to become a journalist one day. So what I say is why not start when you can? Why do you have to wait until you’re older? So I email people and I try to connect with Jewish sports figures. And who better than Alan Veingrad?

Alan Veingrad was a non-religiously-observant football player for the Green Bay Packers, and won Super Bowl XXVII with the Dallas Cowboys. He then became a religious Jew after he retired. 

And he gave me the time of day.

So I got friends, Itai Eliach, Alon Jakubowitz and Jakey Srulovich along with the Assistant Principal Hillel Goldman, to give me advice on what questions to ask. This is what we came up with, and Alan Veingrad’s answers.     

Why did you play on the offensive line?

Well it wasn’t really my decision. … My high school coach picked it for me and I’m a team player.

Describe the call from the Packers.

The packers called me and told me that they were going to sign me but not draft me. I went undrafted but signed contacts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Oilers but got released so I went to the Packers.

What was it like playing with names like Sterling Sharpe, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Leon Lett, and Don Majkowski?

I took after their leadership everywhere like in the gym and on the playing field.

Was there another sport you enjoyed other than football?

High school track & field and discus. I was actually better at track and field than football.

How much did you know about Judaism before you turned religious? 

Not much. I went to Hebrew school and had a bar mitzvah but I didn’t know much about the holidays or stuff like that.

How did you become religious?

I was introduced to Rabbi Moshe Gruenstein who gave weekly inspirational messages on that week’s parsha. I was always looking for inspiration.

How long after retirement before you started getting into Judaism?

Two years after retirement I went to Torah classes but 10 years after I fully became religious. Wearing a kippah, tzitzis, teffilin, etc. 

What is your relationship now between coaches and players?

I keep I touch with my best buddy from the field Rich Moran on a weekly basis, and I talk to former teammates on an annual basis.

What do you do now?

Besides speaking to people, I work for AIPAC. I started working there in June so this will be my first convention. I Speak 10 or 12 times a year,

What would you say to a frum Jew who wants to go into a career in sports?

I think it’ll be an extremely challenging career with Shabbos and the holidays and I don’t really think that that’s what a Jew should be focused on. They should really be focused on Torah and mitzvot anyway.

It was really a remarkable opportunity to speak to the sport’s great and for him to treat me with respect and show how a commitment to Judaism is always a process of growth.