He fully admits he “never should of been there” and by there, he means Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI. Dave Tollefson spent seven seasons in the NFL, however he took the most unlikely route to not only get there, but have a highly productive and fruitful career.
Tollefson was two years removed from high school, employed as a carpenter when one of his friend’s called from Northwest Missouri State asking him to come visit. Dave played football throughout high school and had a cup of coffee in the junior college ranks, but still wanted to play. He got his shot in Division II and from there his story only gets more bizarre.
What I admire the most about Dave is how incredibly loyal he is to the people closest in his life. Just so happens he’s incredibly close with Eli Manning.
When Dave and I met in Omaha, it was only natural we would get into multiple debates about his former teammate, being that I grew up in Dallas, TX. As a Dallas Cowboys fan I couldn’t stand that Eli Manning won a Super Bowl, much less two, before my favorite player Tony Romo did. I genuinely believe Romo is a better quarterback than Manning, but Dave has shown me there’s so much more to Manning than I saw.
You see, there’s so much more Dave Tollefson as well. Without his competitive spirit and fierce determination, that phone call would’ve just been a phone call.
