They do it without fanfare | BISON Media Blog

It was the peak of the playoffs last last December and I asked former NDSU tight end Matt Veldman about a story I wanted to do on his work with some underprivileged kid or kids. Not sure exactly what the story was. Whether it was out of modesty or the fact it was a subject that he just didn’t want out there, or maybe the subject demanded obscurity, he politely declined. So, it was on to another story.

This week, I got a sense of what Matt was doing. Our special game day section story this Saturday is on Bison linebacker Grant Olson, who over the course of our interview talked about his work with ShareHouse in Fargo, an addiction service that helps men and women get through those rough times. To get more in depth with the story, I talked with a director at ShareHouse, who said Grant did a geat job with the 9-year-old boy he mentored. The mother told the director she couldn’t say enough good things about him, and so you get the picture of how that went.

Anyway, it came about that Matt also was helping with ShareHouse last year, which I’m guessing was the story I was trying to tackle during the playoff run. That says a lot about the both Veldman and Olson, the things they do behind the scenes without fanfare. I did something similar on Billy Turner last year.

I’m sure there are other Bison players doing the same type of community service. There are kids that always do things benefit the community in ways we don’t know about. It’s one thing to do something in front of a full Fargodome; it says quite a lot about a young athlete to do something so valuable when nobody is watching.

9 thoughts on “They do it without fanfare”

Amen to this story. Yes, there are many who do these kinds of things and they are not being written about or talked about every day. I have experience personally with one who was named in the petition crap. He did some great things for a bunch of youth in the area and there was no week long praising of how he changed those lives for the positive.

The old saying goes, if a tree falls in the forest and no one sees or hears it, does it really fall? Well how about, if an athlete does good things for and in the community and the media does not cover it like crazed dingos, which they do for negative stories, does the positive story really happen.
Several of us read this blog religiously and comment on it as well, and there are some great posts by a lot of the readers. With that said, good job Jeff, but to go further, I would suggest gathering up more of these stories and putting them in a column for all to see and read, and run a series for a week, kind of like how we saw and heard the negatives for over a week straight. I would be glad to share with you, if it is ok with the athletes, some of the positives.

Thanks for doing these stories Jeff. Seems like all we ever here about are the trouble athletes get into and never the good things most of them are involved in, nice to get some balance. The vast majority of student athletes are like Grant and Matt, wish they got more pub. Such is life…always concentrating on the bad.

Thanks for a refreshing story.

Will this story be in the Grand Forks Herald or are they only interested in negative stories about the Bison.

southcliffbison on September 21, 2012 at 11:24 am said:

…………..and the answers are: “No” and “Yes”

Great story. I agree with bisonfan that the vast majority of student-athletes are not causing trouble. Unfortunately, the bad apples are the ones that make the news to often and the rest of the athletes good deeds are left unnoticed.

Ben on September 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm said:

On the football team it is not the vast majority.

I am pleased to see this happening. Back a few years ago when the Bison were receiving all the negative news print I emailed news sources to do an article on the positive these young men were doing. A story was picked up by a publication in Fargo and published a story on what a great role modeling players do.

My three sons have had personal contact with a number of the players past and present and ALL of them have been wonderful role models. I commend not only the players but Coach Bohl and his staff for recruiting young men who not only play football but also are at school to gain an education and give back to the community!!! Do they make mistakes? Sure, but the positive these young men do needs to be brought to the forefront as well.

Sure this wasn’t court mandated?

NewNameGuy on September 21, 2012 at 6:16 am said:

Amen to this story. Yes, there are many who do these kinds of things and they are not being written about or talked about every day. I have experience personally with one who was named in the petition crap. He did some great things for a bunch of youth in the area and there was no week long praising of how he changed those lives for the positive.

The old saying goes, if a tree falls in the forest and no one sees or hears it, does it really fall? Well how about, if an athlete does good things for and in the community and the media does not cover it like crazed dingos, which they do for negative stories, does the positive story really happen.
Several of us read this blog religiously and comment on it as well, and there are some great posts by a lot of the readers. With that said, good job Jeff, but to go further, I would suggest gathering up more of these stories and putting them in a column for all to see and read, and run a series for a week, kind of like how we saw and heard the negatives for over a week straight. I would be glad to share with you, if it is ok with the athletes, some of the positives.
bisonfan on September 21, 2012 at 6:41 am said:

Thanks for doing these stories Jeff. Seems like all we ever here about are the trouble athletes get into and never the good things most of them are involved in, nice to get some balance. The vast majority of student athletes are like Grant and Matt, wish they got more pub. Such is life…always concentrating on the bad.
Richard Sorenson on September 21, 2012 at 8:19 am said:

Thanks for a refreshing story.
KC Bison on September 21, 2012 at 9:20 am said:

Will this story be in the Grand Forks Herald or are they only interested in negative stories about the Bison.
- southcliffbison on September 21, 2012 at 11:24 am said:
  
  …………..and the answers are: “No” and “Yes”
BIGTIME on September 21, 2012 at 9:58 am said:

Great story. I agree with bisonfan that the vast majority of student-athletes are not causing trouble. Unfortunately, the bad apples are the ones that make the news to often and the rest of the athletes good deeds are left unnoticed.
- Ben on September 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm said:
  
  On the football team it is not the vast majority.
sdbison on September 21, 2012 at 10:40 am said:

I am pleased to see this happening. Back a few years ago when the Bison were receiving all the negative news print I emailed news sources to do an article on the positive these young men were doing. A story was picked up by a publication in Fargo and published a story on what a great role modeling players do.

My three sons have had personal contact with a number of the players past and present and ALL of them have been wonderful role models. I commend not only the players but Coach Bohl and his staff for recruiting young men who not only play football but also are at school to gain an education and give back to the community!!! Do they make mistakes? Sure, but the positive these young men do needs to be brought to the forefront as well.
cfm on September 21, 2012 at 11:07 am said:

Sure this wasn’t court mandated?