There’s an old saying that you should never meet your heroes.
It comes from the fact that people we regard with high esteem often fail to meet those lofty expectations in real life.
It’s not always true, however.
A lot of young athletes got to spend time with a hometown hero Saturday, and if anything, he probably exceeded their expectations.
Kenneth Gainwell returned to Yazoo County High School over the weekend to host a free football camp for a second straight year. Gainwell had a huge smile on his face throughout the day as he clearly enjoyed sharing his knowledge of the game with young athletes. He was joined by Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis, who was also obviously having a great time working with the kids, and a group of talented college athletes and experienced coaches.
The camp offered a day of quality football instruction and encouraging words inspiring local youth to strive for success on and off the field.
It was a great experience for local youth to get to work with someone they recently watched on television competing in the Super Bowl. It was even better for them to see that success hasn’t changed him, and Gainwell is still the same down to earth, kind person that he has always been.
“I’d rather spend my time out here with y’all than anywhere in the world,” Gainwell said as the group gathered one last time at the end of the camp. “I love y’all.”
Gainwell’s actions showed that he meant those words.
Our community is blessed to have someone who has achieved such a high level of success to still be focused on giving back to our children.
