a day ago
Here's how fans can follow Jimmy Graham's ambitious Arctic Ocean paddle
Now this is cool -- former New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham has spent his post-football career preparing for a special journey, planning to lead a rowing team in a 1,000-mile paddle across the Arctic Ocean. With former teammates like Drew Brees and many of his fans cheering him on, Graham is using this opportunity to raise funds through the Million Meters Club in support of charities like the Covenant House New Orleans and Laureus Sport for Good New Orleans.
And Graham's fans can track his progress. He shared a look at the live tracking map that supporters can use to see where he and his crew are making progress across the Arctic this July, in what's expected to be at minimum a 10-day journey. You can follow along here at the Arctic Challenge's official website. It's an ambitious goal for a good cause, and we'll be wishing Graham the best once he sets out in just a few days.
While they're prepared to be at sea for up to 20 days, Graham's team is hoping to beat the world speed record for this trek of 15 days and five hours. The four-person crew will row in shifts of two hours on, two hours off, sleeping only sparingly throughout the trip.
"Basically, we're looking to inspire young people by demonstrating the power of persistence," Graham told the Saints' team reporter John DeShazier. "I've been given a lot in my life and I just want to make sure I'm relaying that to other people and trying to inspire. I understand that my life circumstances – when I was born and when I was raised – wasn't the greatest, and I think it's a tragedy sometimes. I was blessed enough to have a lot of realization very young and to realize that what I was in and where I was growing up was not normal. And basically, at the age of 12, I decided to change my life and chase my dreams and chase something bigger and greater, which led me down a wild path and led me to the NFL."
