Slauson finds inspiration from older brother

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Wow...this is a great article IMO.

 

Journal Star

 

Husker lineman finds inspiration from older brother

By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON and ANTHONY ROBERTS / Lincoln Journal Star

Saturday, Sep 20, 2008 - 12:44:39 am CDT

 

It’s always been with him, but never defined him.

 

He couldn’t speak like the other kids. Saying his name was tough. Reading was tougher.

 

Matt Slauson shrugged it off and kept trying, kept talking even if the words didn’t come easy.

 

Stuttering wasn’t going to stop him then. It sure doesn’t stop him now.

 

The Nebraska senior offensive lineman shows up to talk to the media at almost every request, sometimes with a big belt buckle and cowboy hat, always with a worthwhile opinion.

 

Questions come. Cameras point bright lights at him. He stammers sometimes. He doesn’t care. That’s him.

 

“I remember the first interview I had to do,” Slauson says. “It was kind of a stressful time. I bet I was mumbling and stuttering and stammering and all that. But I was like, ‘Hey, this is me. This is what the fans are going to get so I hope they like it.’”

 

Because of his speech impediment, he didn’t learn to read until the fifth grade. Some teachers didn’t want to deal with the problem. It’d take too long if they had him read aloud.

 

“So they’d just get mad, give me a book and say, ‘Go and read.’ And I didn’t know what the heck I was doing,” Slauson says.

 

It was an obstacle, but the 320-pound Slauson found it not worth his time to feel sorry for himself. There are others who have had more to overcome.

 

He sees it when he visits hospitals with the team. He thinks of his older brother, Nick, a 26-year-old who has persevered after a prenatal brain injury.

 

Identical twins, Nick and Chris Slauson grew too big in the womb. Oxygen briefly was cut off to Nick.

 

His learning was affected. His determination was not.

 

“He would never accept that as a handicap,” says the boys’ father, Rob, principal at Lincoln Southwest High School. “When Matt measures a challenge of having difficulty with speech with what Nick had to overcome, it’s like, ‘Gosh, I don’t have anything to complain about. Why would I let this drag me down?’”

 

Nick started swimming, participating in the Special Olympics, eventually joining his high school team in Oregon.

 

He didn’t just compete. He won. State champ. Nick was part of a 400-meter relay team that still has the school and state record.

 

“He’s been a constant inspiration to me because he’s a limited person and he’s had so much success in his life,” Matt says. “Something that has really helped me is to find somebody who inspires me, somebody who is dealing with something even more than what I’ve got and they keep on going.”

 

So, yeah, the big guy will let his voice be heard. Just be patient if the words don’t come out right away. Something good is coming.

 

“I think what Matt learned at a pretty young age is that he speaks with his heart. His mouth just has to catch up with it,” says his dad. “He always had the gift to share the joy he had about things. And if his mouth doesn’t catch up, it’s OK with him.”

 

Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com at 473-7438.

 

[Husker_Power]

good read

 

[Huskerballz]

Slauson is a solid guy. I hope he finds a home in the NFL.

[Touchdown Tommie]

Great story....thanks for sharing. I think he has a real shot at making it to the NFL. he is a big kid and plays with heart.