“You Made It!”

A Dream Come True

Since their days on the playground and pee wee football, they were the best. The skillset of these developing athletes stood head and shoulders above the rest. Coaches and parents noticed. Teammates hoped to be like them, yet in their heart of hearts that knew such thoughts were nothing more than daydreams in which even they didn’t believe.

The young athletes moved on to high school where they were named All-State. Universities yearned for them. Recruiters tried to charm their parents in the comfortable confines of the athletes’ childhood living rooms. They picked the school, enjoyed their athletic free ride and gave something back to the university in the form of wins and excellence.

Later, NFL scouts, paid to uncover every nook and cranny across the country in search of an undiscovered yet promising talent, identified them as a player who just might help their team win on Sundays. Maybe said scouts even convinced GMs to spend draft capital to obtain their services. Maybe they convinced the undrafted athletes that their team could provide a home for them – a place to earn a healthy living to support their families.

As NFL hopefuls, the stakes grew greater than ever along with the level of competition. The fight for survival is fierce and for some, it represents the first threat of failure in their lives. The pressure mounts. It weighs on their minds, perhaps even making a sound night’s sleep a rarity. The chance to reach for and secure the proverbial brass ring is real but so too is the bitter and sudden end to their athletic achievements.

If they fail, they’ll be forced to hang up their cleats, take off the tape for the last time and join the mainstream working world. Their support system encourages them, walks them through the mental anguish and the fear of The Turk, knocking on their door and ushering them into the office of the head coach or general manager.

Those preseason games that some watch with a jaundiced eye because the quality of play isn’t entertaining enough, represent a final audition for many. A great performance might land them on the final 53. A mediocre or poor performance could send them home, forever altering an athletic journey that began all those years ago.

The final preseason game ends.

And so, they wait – for seventy-two or so hours to learn whether or not the dream remains alive.

The waiting is the hardest part.

Then, the call comes. Eric DeCosta wants to see you in his office.

The heart beats like the thunderous pounding of a big bass drum.

For Keyon Martin, Rueben Lowery and Jay Higgins it’s time for “the talk”.

Dreams becoming a reality.

Eric DeCosta surprises three undrafted rookies with news they made the 53-man roster. pic.twitter.com/8Rf2shoQoz

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 27, 2025

They made it!

The joy, the pride, the sense of accomplishment soars. Families who have supported these athletes, every step of the way; through every inconvenient practice; through every game sitting in the stands in the heat, in frigid conditions, through rain and snow. All of it suddenly becomes worth it. Each represents small deposits in a dream now realized.

Unless you are the Tin Man, watching the video above evokes powerful emotions and admittedly, my eyes started to sweat. These are red-letter days for those young men and their families.

To Messrs. Martin, Lowery and Higgins. Congratulations. May your respective journeys continue for many successful years, hopefully, right here in Charm City.

Embrace the grind.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/08/28/lombardis-way/dream-come-true/