High School Football Player Finds His Special Team Off The Field
BENSALEM, Pa. (CBS) -- As the sun set, the Bensalem Owls prepared for Friday Night Football, with senior captain Saleem Martin ready to tackle the challenge.
"It's about the attitude. It's not about the win. It's about a team that makes you proud," said Martin. A team that hasn't won in three years, but proved victorious for #51, especially when practice ran long.
"It actually started because he was missing dinner at the group home, so he'd bring him home for dinner," said Bob Adams.
Bob and Melissa Adams met Saleem through their son Bobby, his former teammate, last summer. They say one ride home led to another and invites to family dinners turned into long weekends at the shore.
"You know kids. They're bored even with 5,000 toys, especially the little ones. It was like their new friend," Melissa said. Saleem, who was in foster care most of his life, says it was a love he'd never known and it was mutual. In January, shortly before his 18th birthday, with permission from the family, Melissa asked to adopt him.
"First thing she said to me, you want to be part of this family. You don't got to hold back on trust. You don't got to hold back on us," Saleem said.
"Some people we meet, they stare. They don't understand," Melissa said. "I tell him, they don't have to understand. This is our family and we do what we want."
Win or lose, Saleem says he's learned what matters most is who's cheering you on.
"I'm just glad I can turn around and wave to like ten people and that's all family right there," Saleem said. "If I'm having a bad game, I'm not going to have a bad night when I leave the stadium."
On Friday night, the Owls broke their 27-game losing streak and Saleem had quite the cheering section.
