Joe Haden

Cause: Special Olympics

Joe Haden's cleats are personal. Extremely personal.

He is supporting Special Olympics in support of his brother, Jacob Haden, who is five years younger than him and a Special Olympian. The younger Haden has a cognitive disorder which affects his ability to speak and communicate verbally.

"I think it's really good to be able to do something like this," said Haden, who is the Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. "You have a lot of people in the league that have a lot of stuff going on at home with their families, things they care a lot about, that mean a lot to them. For the league to let us do this is special. I am a guy that likes to wear different color cleats and they always fine you. Now when they let you get a cause out, something that means so much to you, it's special."

Jacob Haden calls his older brother Joe his '1,' because he is the oldest sibling. And Joe takes that to heart, protecting his younger brother at all costs, looking out for him, starting from the time when they were young.

On a normal summer day, the Haden boys were swimming at their aunt's house. They all came in after a while, except for Jacob. They couldn't find him. Joe, who was nine years old at the time, went outside and saw a shadow in the bottom of the pool. It was four-year old Jacob. He jumped in and saved him, his aunt performing CPR, and a helicopter eventually transporting him to the hospital.

"It was the scariest day of my life," said Haden.

Jacob doesn't let his condition hamper him, and it's his passion that has led Joe to get more and more involved with Special Olympics.

"He is one of my best friends," said Haden. "I have four younger brothers. Three play college football and he is a Special Olympian. He has always been doing it, bocce ball, track. We would always go to those events. My third or fourth year in the NFL I ended up becoming the Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. I would go to the regional games. It was a great time. They would have flag football, bocce ball, track, basketball. It was just so much fun to see how much joy we brought to those kids just to play the games.

"At the end of the day everybody got their ribbons and awards, but it wasn't about that. It was about them having the opportunity to play."

Haden's eyes light up when he talks about Jacob. You can tell immediately how proud he is of him, how much he loves him, and how much he respects and admires the strength he has in dealing with his challenges.

"I am so happy for him, so proud of him," said Haden. "Just for him to live his life the way he does, being so happy and proud. He has a speech delay so he can't really talk. For him to be so happy, and have so much joy every day, it teaches me never take for granted what you have, just being able to talk, interact with people, being able to get people's attention and for them to know what I am talking about.

"Sometimes talking to him I can't understand what he is saying. I will be like Jacob what are you trying to say. That is when it gets to me the most. He never gets down, he will still be trying to let me know what he is trying to say, what he is talking about. It takes a big man to do that.