Colin Scotts took a chance on gridiron and now he's encouraging youngsters all across Australia to take a punt on American football.
The ACT Gridiron season kicks off this weekend but the league is entrenched in a battle to retain players despite having a presence in Canberra since 1993.
The sport has grown substantially in Australia since Scotts was plucked out of rugby union and offered a full scholarship to play football for the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in 1983.
Scotts had never seen an American football game before taking up the scholarship - he was "the pure excitement, the pioneer".
But the second Australian to play in the NFL and former St Louis Cardinals defensive end has been left to lament the fact that "even though every kid wants to do it, they do it on video".
The Central Spears won four championships in a row before losing last season's Capital Bowl to the University of Canberra Firebirds.
But the Spears don't have a men's team this season due to a lack of numbers, leaving five clubs to fight it out on the road to Capital Bowl XXV.
The Firebirds will defend their championship against the Gungahlin Wildcats, Woden Valley Gladiators, Centurions, and the Tuggeranong Tornadoes who are returning from a year in the wilderness.
The Spears will feature in the women's competition alongside the Tornadoes and the Diamonds, an affiliate of the Centurions.
"I encourage everybody to seize every opportunity in life because you're going to learn something," Scotts said.
"The only regret you're going to have are if you didn't have a crack. Go and try and you accept the failure if it is, and you learn from it and move on. Who knows, if you're successful, bonus, it's all good.
"It's just very difficult here because it's so amateur and it will continue to be so. It's not a sport that will be embraced by money, sponsorship.
"These days you've got to have the money behind you and professionalism. There's not enough depth of talent. Even though every kid wants to do it, they do it on video.
"I don't regret a minute of my decision. I got given an opportunity and my dad always said life starts at the end of your comfort zone and there was something in that."
Scotts welcomed his old university to his home city when the Rainbow Warriors and California Golden Bears brought the "American flavour" and "college soul" to Sydney last year.
Australia's first NFL draft pick will be on hand again when Stanford play Rice in the second edition of the college football Sydney Cup at Allianz Stadium on August 27.
A packed house is expected at Allianz Stadium and Scotts says a big crowd could help to lure the NFL to Australia.
"They go to London and play eight games a year and they sell it out, so there's no reason why we can't bring a West Coast side down here and we're working on it mate, we really are," Scotts said.
ACT GRIDIRON ROUND ONE
Saturday: Woden Valley Gladiators v Gungahlin Wildcats at 10am. University of Canberra Firebirds v Centurions at 3pm. Both games at Griffith Oval.
