Adrian Peterson is one of, if not the best running back in the National Football League. Peterson received many nicknames for his excellent gameplay on the field, but he received his first from his father. His father called him “All Day” because it seemed like he would never get tired of playing when he was younger. Born in Palestine, Texas, Peterson’s parents were also superstar athletes. His father, Nelson Peterson, played basketball. He played shooting guard for Idaho State University and had dreams of taking his career further than just college. But he gave up his NBA dreams when while cleaning the gun, he was accidentally shot in the leg by his brother. His mother, Bonita Brown, was a three-time Texas state champion at Westwood High School and ended up attending the University of Houston on an athletic scholarship as a sprinter and long jumper.
Peterson wasn’t always interested in sports. When he was seven years old, he watched his nine-year-old brother Brian get killed by a driver under the influence. Sports were the only thing he found that really gave him a release from that pain. Football eventually became his favorite choice. He played for a Pop Warner Football program that his father coached when he was 12. But when he turned 13, his father was arrested for laundering money for a cocaine ring. But that didn’t stop his venture into learning more about football and other sports. He participated in track and field in high school along with basketball and football. He recorded two blazing times in the 100 meter before he graduated. His first was a wind-assisted time on 10.33 seconds and his second, significantly faster time of 10.19 seconds. His excellence on the field and the track his junior and senior year attracted attention from many great Division 1 sports programs around the country. It also helped him realize that he would most likely get to choose from almost any program he wanted after his senior year at Palestine high school.
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