Success should not be measured by how famous you are or by how much money you make, but success can be defined by the peace and happiness you find from within yourself. After he retired in 1993, Alan Veingrad, former offensive lineman for the Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys, found in retirement a more meaningful ‘success.’ Using the same sense of discipline and strength he used in football, Alan focuses his sights on what he considers a significantly more meaningful “end zone”—observant Judaism.
Alan Veingrad recently visited Magen David Yeshivah for an inspirational look at his journey, from a secular Jew playing professional football, to the observant Jew he is today. Addressing the sixth-eighth grades, Alan gave the children insights into playing professional football as the only Jewish person on the team. He also told them how he uses the discipline and strict work ethic that he learned then, today in his personal life.
Besides the excitement of meeting a former professional football player, the children were in awe of his amazing story of Judaism.
“I found Magen David Yeshivah to be a truly amazing school. It was so nice to see so many different events and such a beautiful school. The support of the community is tremendous, and to see how efficient they are in passing down the traditions is wonderful,” he said.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Elizabeth, NJ and Miami, FL, Mr. Veingrad says he grew up like most Jews in America—with a “very secular” background. “We lit candles Friday night and got together with family on Hanukah and holidays,” he says. “The focus was mainly on the chicken soup, kugel and latkes.”
His parents had him attend Hebrew school, in order to ready him for the required bar mitzvah celebration. “I just didn’t connect,” he remembers. “After my parents dropped me off, I’d walk in the building and go out the back door. I spent the time throwing stones into a lake.”
Veingrad went on to attend East Texas State University in Commerce, TX, with classmates hailing from the Bible Belt states—leaving Alan the lone Jew on campus. “Most of my teammates had never even met a Jew before,” he says. “What little they knew they heard at home and in the movies.” After he completed his undergraduate degree, the Green Bay Packers signed him on as a free agent. Over his seven professional ball playing years, aside from some locker room ribbing, Veingrad says he rarely encountered overt anti-Semitism.
After he retired, his cousin extended a friendly invitation to an “authentic Shabbat meal” at his Miami Beach home. “He showed me the power of reaching out to a Jew,” says Veingrad. “My cousin asked me: ‘Alan, will you come to my house for a Shabbos?’ And I accepted. Then during the meal he asked me; ‘Alan, would you go to a Torah class?’ I said okay, I’ll go to one.”
He informed Veingrad of a class given by a “traveling rabbi” who made a regular stop in his neighborhood. He attended the class and found the rabbi’s topic particularly inspiring. “He spoke about envy and materialism,” recounts Veingrad. “When I lived and breathed football, the guys made lots of money; I didn’t relate to that aspect. I owned a pickup truck and lived in a one bedroom apartment. It wasn’t until after I retired that I lived around people who owned huge homes [and whose lives revolved around] vacations, boats, golfing and sports cars. I didn’t like it. I realized I couldn’t live in an environment in which everyone was a slave to materialism.” He sees it as no coincidence that his first Torah class spoke directly to his core beliefs and gave him fuel to take him to the next spiritual step.
The Shabbat experiences and a telling article solidified some consequential decisions concerning Veingrad’s life direction. He noticed a piece in The Fort Worth Star Telegram depicting the former NFL lineman’s current milieu. “It spoke of my ‘busy lifestyle’ of kayaking, martial arts, biking, landscaping, and skateboarding with my children,” he says. “I read it and thought: ‘Something’s missing.’” He decided to hold a family discussion about how they would be making some changes in their weekly routine together. “This Friday night, we are going to shul,” he began. “And we are going to have Shabbat meals. My family was right behind me.”
So in 2003, the Veingrad family became fully observant. His children are truly inspired by their father’s accomplishments. Alan travels around the country telling his story, sometimes three to four times a week. “If I can make a difference to one person, I feel as if I made all the difference in the world. I used to view the Torah as a story book, now I view it as an inspirational message, a true part of life.”
Alan has found a true sense of happiness and fulfillment.
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Randi Shomer is a community member, mother of four children, and a freelance writer for IMAGE Magazine.
