High School Dan Marino example essay topic

What pops in your head when you think of the word icon? To me and icon is someone that you would look up to as a little kid or young adult. As a little kid my icon was always Dan Marino. I see Dan as an icon to me and many other young adults because of his contributions off and on the field. Dan Marino has become a great football player over the past 16 years and also a dependable family man and contributor to charities. Many of the events that molded him into such a great man will be discussed in the following paper.

Dan was born on Sept. 15, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dan and his family survived as working-class people that lived from paycheck to paycheck. There home was located in a part of Pittsburgh called Oakland.

His father had many jobs to get the family through the tough times. His main job was delivering papers for the Pittsburgh Post -- Gazette. When Dan was growing up he loved the sport of football. He had a natural throwing arm action and he additionally liked to play with kids a lot older than him so he could get some real competition. In addition to playing football, Dan Marino played baseball as a kid in his neighborhood and at school. He went to high school at Central Catholic high school and played football and baseball.

While playing sports for four years at Central Catholic high school Dan Marino shattered most of the schools records in football and a couple in baseball too. Once finishing high school, Dan was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round of the 1979 draft. The Royals offered Marino a contract along with a $35,000 signing bonus. Once Dan realized that he would lose his scholarship if he signed with the Royals, he turned down the offer and went to college at the University of Pittsburgh. During college Dan stayed with football and shocked to college scene. During his first three years at Pittsburgh, Marino broke and set many records that that had not been broken for many years.

Some of theses records have not been broken to this day. However, during his last year of college Dan Marino did not have a good year at all by throwing more interceptions and touchdowns. Many NFL teams were worried about the dependability of Marino therefore; he did not get drafted until the 27th pick of the first round in the 1983 draft by the Miami Dolphins. During Dan's second year as a Dolphin he shattered a few records.

They were most touchdowns in a season, and highest passing rating as a rookie. Through Dan's 16 years as a quarterback in the National Football League he has broke a total of 24 records. No other quarterback has as much success in the NFL as Marino. This is the main reason for Dan's rise to fame and noteworthiness. With Dan Marino's extreme success on the field, he also has many contributions off the field. Marino has donated a lot of money to many charities and he has also opened his own charity in 1996.

In 1998 Dan Marino was given the "Man of the Year" award because of these contributions and being such a devoted family man. Through out the years Dan has struggled from being poor as a kid too, an outstanding football star. He also has shown the public his great appreciation for being fans by donating and giving back to the community. The one thing that Marino has taught me as an icon is that with hard work and determination anyone can achieve there ultimate goal for life.