Christian Ex-NFLer Suffering Brain Damage Wrote This Love Song for His Family Before It's Too Late (VIDEO)
Football gave Ben Utecht wealth and athletic glory, including a Super Bowl ring when his Indianapolis Colts won it all in 2007. However, it came at a cost as the tight end suffered five known concussions on the field – two at the University of Minnesota, two with Indianapolis and one with the Cincinnati Bengals.
At the age of 30, Utecht, a married father of three, began experiencing memory loss. He's now an advocate for traumatic brain injury, and he fears how his own brain function will hold up over the years.
"Will I experience early-onset dementia in my 50s? Will I experience more issues with amnesia or headaches or behavioral changes?," he said to USA Today. "All of these things are consequences of brain injury. I think now that I'm aware of them — especially now that I'm the father of three beautiful little girls — it's definitely in my heart and on my mind. I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't."
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After his fifth concussion, Utecht left the NFL and pursued his lifelong dream of being a singer. Though more than his music, he wants to be known for his faith.
"My identity is as a Christian, not a football player or musician. In music and sports, the things people are doing become who they are," Utecht told About.com. "While people come to hear my testimony as a professional athlete, or see me as a musician, it is who I am as a believer in Christ that I want people to see."
"You Will Always Be My Girls" is a love song he wanted to write for his family before his condition got any worse. It's a moving gift that preserves the man Ben Utecht is, here and now.
