Each summer Green Bay Packers players engage in one of the coolest traditions in professional sports, when they borrow bikes of local youngsters to ride to training camp.
This year rookie center Corey Linsley went above and beyond after meeting his "bike kid," and Linsley's kindness has made waves in Wisconsin and beyond.
Linsley, a fifth-round pick out of Ohio State, befriended a young boy named Travis whose bike he has been riding camp the past few weeks. Linsley discovered early on that Travis' mother was in the hospital with a condition that he declined to discuss with reporters.
On Linsley's fifth ride to camp, he asked Travis for his father's phone number. Together Corey and Travis' father arranged for Linsley to surprise the youngster with a new bike.
"I was just like, you know, I'll befriend this kid and see how much I can help out," Linsley told Fox Sports Wisconsin. "I figured buying a bike would be appropriate for the situation."
And here is photo proof of my last Tweet about @Linsley71. Just awesome. pic.twitter.com/XnJttXUDvx
— Kyle Cousineau (@KCousineau09) August 3, 2014
Linsley tried to avoid the spotlight and was reportedly even a little disappointed when this story got out. But the ordeal has turned out to be a nice way for the rookie to take his mind off competing for a starting spot.
Linsley has been playing well in camp but has a lot of work to do if he wants to unseat projected starter J.C. Tretter.
"It definitely takes your mind off of the stress and the stuff that goes on here and really grounds you a lot and brings you back to reality," Linsley said. "There's still people that look up to you no matter what."
The best part about all of this for Linsley is that because he shares a bike with Travis, he too will get to test out the new wheels.
"I'm excited to ride it too, I guess," Linsley said.
