Faith Filled Family Magazine September 2016 | Page 11

the idea to tell the story and include Brandon’s
faith, something that was so integral in Brandon
and our whole family. We felt comfortable with
him right away.
Marty BURLSWORTH, how did you feel when
he actually achieved not only becoming a
walk-on, but became a linebacker - (he was
an offensive lineman) for the Arkansas Razorbacks. And by 1999, he had become an All
American and was taken as an early draft pick
in th e NFL by the Indianapolis Colts. Why was
becoming a walk-on important to Brandon?
To both of you…What effects has this film had
on your life?
Really, becoming a walk-on was never the goal.
Brandon and I believed that he was a scholarship quality athlete. I hounded them to death to
give him a scholarship. He had other scholarship
offers from smaller schools so we had options,
but he wanted to play for the Razorbacks. When
they offered us a preferred walk-on, we accepted
it because we knew that he would win a scholarship. The difference in walk-on’s is that they have
to work harder to prove themselves. They couldn’t
see the heart and determination of Brandon that
our family did! It didn’t take long for Brandon to
earn the respect of the coaches and teammates.
The first year after the accident was hard, I’m not
going to act like it wasn’t. But when it came to
sink or swim, we made a conscious decision to
use our tragedy for good (Romans 8:28). Our

goal, and we know our purpose in life, is to continue to do the things that Bran planned on doing
anyway. I can’t tell you how many times I think to
myself, “Brandon would do this or that”. Continuing his legacy is important to me, and our prayer is
that the movie will help make that happen.
Marty Burlsworth, you said, “We are here to
impact people’s lives, just like Brandon did
and like he would if he were still alive within us
today.” And you head up the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Tell us more about the foundation? How does it impact the lives of those
who have been told they are not good enough?
We have several programs all helping develop
strong Character and helping needy kids. One
of those programs is the Burls Kids. We take 25
underprivileged kids to each home Razorback
football game, to give one day where they are
the center of attention. Most of these kids come
from pretty tough circumstances. At the end I say,
“Have you ever been told you aren’t good enough,
you aren’t strong enough, you aren’t smart
enough? Next time, you look them in the eye and
say “Watch me”. Our goal is to give them the confidence to succeed. We stress Faith, Family and
Football. Our Burls Kids program is also active in
Indianapolis, where Brandon was drafted by the
Colts.
In the film Brandon has to overcome being
teased, and the stigma of being “not good
enough”. For Brandon to have endured such