Tiki Barber was sitting poolside in Hawaii with New York City Police Detective Ken Cardona, retired Detective Richard Stark and Barber's agent Mark Lepselter the night of Feb. 5 relaxing before the week's activities were to begin the next day.
Captain Rob Wolfe approached the two and the three men chatted about football, the military and life. Captain Wolfe is in charge of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry based in Hawaii.
During the course of the conversation, Captain Wolfe invited Barber on a morning run with his battalion. While many Pro Bowl performers do take the time in Hawaii to do charitable activities, others enjoy the time to sleep in and relax after a long, grueling season. But Barber felt strongly about doing something to benefit the U.S. Military and gladly passed up on a few hours of sleep to give his time to Captain Wolfe and his men.
The run was scheduled for the morning of Feb. 7, and while most other people on the island of Oahu were sound asleep, Barber was in the hotel lobby at 5:45 a.m. for his pickup. Captain Wolfe pulled up and the men all jumped in the car and headed out to the base.
The run was the daily physical training (PT) that the men do each morning before sunrise. One-hundred fifteen men stood at the ready as Barber led them on their run -- 20-year-old men in top shape running through the darkness behind a lead block by one of the NFL's top running backs.
"These young guys and families make great sacrifices everyday," Captain Wolfe said. "To have someone like Tiki Barber come here see them is huge. I can talk and lead and try to motivate them until I'm blue in the face. But to have a professional football player and some of NYPD's finest come here to tell them they believe in what they are doing gives them a sense of purpose that I can't provide."
When the run was over, it was Barber who was the one left impressed.
"Athletes and entertainers get a lot accolades in our society. But the fact is that our country is what it is because of the freedom we have. The men and women of the military keep that peace and provide the freedom we enjoy on a daily basis," Barber said.
The men of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry are headed to Japan on Feb. 8. Then they'll be deployed to Iraq in August. Captain Wolfe made a promise to Barber.
"What I can do is promise you that these guys will continue to make you proud and make a difference every day on terror. Our soldiers are committed, proud professionals. I am humbled by them every day and am grateful that you guys were able to share a little bit of it with us."
While most of the players gathered in the training room just before 9 a.m. for the first scheduled team meeting, Barber strolled in and took a seat. On this morning, you can count one Pro Bowl running back in the mix of people who does more before 9 a.m. than most people do in a day.