“It was surreal,” Pete said. “It’s hard to find the words to describe. English probably isn’t the language to describe it in.”
Pete then used a word in his native tongue that was difficult to make out, and didn’t have a direct translation to the English language. Still, he knows it will carry meaning to those closest to him.
“Folks back home, folks upstairs at our stadium will know.” Pete said.
As Pete looked up at the Navajo flags, signs with his number and smiles of his supporters, what did he see?
“I saw hope, courage,” Pete said. “Hope and courage.”
For Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, seeing Pete get recognized by his supporters at that magnitude was unlike anything he’s ever seen in his decades of coaching in the NFL.
“That was really cool,” Schottenheimer said. “It was really awesome. We had him break it down and his comments were really cool – talking about the brotherhood. He talked about The Star and the importance the Star holds for him. These guys love him.”
When Pete broke down the team, he told them that “fate brought us here as strangers, but this game, this star, this team will make us brothers.” It was the cherry on top of a special night.
“It’s just to show that I’m very thankful for this team,” Pete said. “Obviously, I’m not able to be here and speak to, I guess, obtain such a following because of this team. It is through the Cowboys, this organization, Jerry Jones that I’m able to participate and be amongst such incredible play.”