So, have you ever wondered what a pro athlete might say about their team when he doesn't think anybody is really listening? It just so happens that a reader of this blog, who is a good friend with someone in my family, had a recent encounter with Dallas Cowboys defensive end George Selvie. That anonymous member of the blog then emailed me the details of the encounter. Selvie obviously didn't know this conversation would end up on a Cowboys site, but I'm only putting it up because I think it reflects well on Selvie, and it shows some of the optimism the Cowboys players have about the defense this year.

My anonymous source ran into Selvie at a sporting event in Pensacola, FL, Selvie's home town. I'll let the email explain with some minor editing.

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So, I was at a semi-pro baseball game this evening in Pensacola. My two sons were with me and they noticed that the stadium had two bouncy houses that kids could play in, so I grudgingly went over to them with the boys so they could get some energy expended. I am sitting there on one of the benches watching my boys wait in line and a guy sits down next to me with his son to wait in line, too. I noticed the guy had a Dallas Cowboys cap on his head as well as one on his son's, so I struck up a conversation with him. One of my boys happened to have a shirt he got from training camp a few years ago when we went. The conversation went something like this:



Me: Hey man, like your hat, I am a big fan of the 'Boys. My son here has a shirt on like your hat that we got from camp a few years ago.



Him: Do you live around here?



Me: Yeah.



Him: You drove all the way to training camp to watch [the Cowboys] practice?



Me: Yeah, I try to go every year if I can, it's the best opportunity to actually meet a player. I try to stay at the hotel that the players are staying at so I can actually see them walking around. Its pretty cool, you should try and go sometime if you can.



Him: Well, I PLAY for the cowboys...



Me:..... urm .. uh... um...



I did not realize it, but I was chatting with George Selvie! Imagine my embarrassment realizing I suggested he go to training camp in order to meet players on the team!



After, gathering my composure, I spoke with him a bit about the boys and he had some interesting things to say.



He said something very promising about mini-camp this past week. He stated that he was very surprised at how well DeMarcus Lawrence did against Tyron Smith. I quote "He held his own against Tyron, I was quite surprised at how well he did." I followed that up with, yeah Tyron is a beast, and he said "Yeah he is, I don't usually go up against him as I am on the other side, but Lawrence did very well against him."



He went on to tell me that he thinks that our defense will play much better this coming year, that the injuries we had [in 2013] were very hard, and he feels we will be much stronger this coming season. When I mentioned Sean Lee's injury, he had a pained look on his face, and said, "Yeah, that is a big blow, but I believe we will be alright."



Soon after that, our sons were done bouncing around and I wished him good luck this season and he shook my hand. He was a very friendly guy, and seemed just like a normal guy just enjoying some family time. I am a big fan of Selvie after seeing how much of a down to earth guy he was.