The film Brothers At War won the Best Feature Documentary award at the 2008 GI Film Festival. It’s a story about a journalist who claimed he wanted to understand the motivation and sacrifice of his two brothers serving in Iraq. On this Veteran’s Day, I wanted to look into two brothers who will be battling each other on the gridiron next weekend.
When the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs meet up with the one loss Denver Broncos on NBC’s Sunday Night Football this weekend there will be two brothers playing the same position for opposing teams. Chiefs’ punter Dustin Colquitt will be kicking against his brother and counterpart Britton Colquitt.
Both followed in their father’s footsteps (pun intended) and punted for the University of Tennessee in college. The older of the two, Dustin, was drafted in the third round by Kansas City in 2005. Exactly 23 spots later than their father, Craig Colquitt, was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 1978.
Britton was an undrafted free agent who was signed to the Miami Dolphins practice squad on December 22, 2009. Eight days later, he was dealt to Denver but didn’t suit for a 44-24 defeat to the Chiefs in Mile High on January 3, 2010.
Father Craig was a two-time Super Bowl Champion. Dustin is a Pro Bowler who was a two-time SEC first-team selection and a Consensus All-American in college. Britton was a first-team SEC selection once while at Tennessee.
This season, Dustin leads his younger brother in every statistical category barring attempts. He averages 3.4 more yards per punt and has a long of 65, topping Britton by five yards. Dustin has landed a league-leading 26 inside the opponents 20-yard-line to Britton’s 15. The Chiefs punter also has a net average almost 700 yards better than his little brother.
You learn later in the aforementioned film that the embedded reporter had an ulterior motive. He had wanted to join the military, but was denied. He took the assignment to prove to his brothers that he, too, could sustain the rigors of war.
Football is a competitive game. I am not comparing it to the sacrifices our troops and their families make on a daily basis, but two brothers will be in the same theatre on Sunday night. One has something to prove, the other wants to deny him the glory.
Happy Veteran’s Day everyone, and go Chiefs!
Troy Alan is a Kansas City Chiefs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TRantMedia.