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Members
MARK BAVARO
Life Athletes Biography
Mark Bavaro
NFL Legend
Life Athletes officer
Look for Mark Bavaro on Super Bowl Sunday 1997... he's a star tight end on
the All-Madden Super Bowl team! He played tight end with the New York
Giants from 1985 until his retirement in 1994, and is a 2-time Super
Bowler. Mark made the all-NFL first team in 1986 and 1987. He holds the
Giants' record for most past receptions in a game with 12 catches in the
Giants vs. Bengals game on October 13, 1985. Mark hoped to leave
retirement and play in 1995 and 1996, but was unable to. For that reason,
the honor of being an all-Madden great is even sweeter. It's hard to
leave the game, Mark says, and it's always nice to be remembered. In an
exclusive interview for Life Athletes, Mark tells you about sports, life,
and being part of the Life Athletes fellowship:
Sports bring you into a community, and teach you lots about how to
interact. My best memories, more than the great games, were the friends
that I made playing at every level. I never had a perfect game, ... even
in the NFL, you have to deal with failure. I'm much more comfortable
receiving accolades now then I was during my career. Receiving honors
while you're still playing puts extra pressure on you, since you can't be
good all the time. I was always one of the tougher guys in the NFL. But
in football, sometimes you get embarrassed. I'd get beat up by guys who
were a lot smaller than me...failures will always happen to you. But
don't let your mistakes keep you down.
I have been involved in the Life Athletes camps. I went to South Bend,
Indiana (home of Notre Dame) last summer. I don't go there to influence
people, but more to share my knowledge and skills about the game of
football. I joined Life Athletes as a group of colleagues, and it is a
good organization. I can share my talents, and my standards... you know,
"Respect Life" covers all forms of life-- not just babies, but your
neighbors, your parents, your girlfriends...
Mark began his football career at the prestigious University of Notre
Dame, a school as well-known for tough classes as for football. He earned
a bachelor's degree in History in 1985. He talks about America's freedom
like he knows that it didn't have to be this way. "We have the freedom
and opportunity to live in America, and we all want to live. Nobody I
know wishes they had been aborted. Being against abortion is more a matter
of common sense than religion. Common sense tells you it's not right to
kill one another. It's not a new revelation to treat others as you would
want to be treated."
While we owe a lot to our past, Mark thinks young people today need to be
a little more proud of themselves. I was a slob when I was in high
school, but we didn't act hopeless. What I see today is despair... it's
not wrong to have a skill, or something you love. You don't have to
follow; do what you want and pursue your own interests. Most of all,
football has taught Mark that the "R" word-- responsibility-- is a
positive concept. Working through problems and failures, he thinks, is a
badge of honor. You won't find perfection in this life. But people can
work through things!
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