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Chiefs quarterback Croyle organizes hunt for charity

By BRENT FRAZEE

The Kansas City Star

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Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle was a proud hunter after he took a big turkey on opening day of the Kansas season in 2007.

 
 <table> </table> Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle may work in the big city, but he still describes himself as “a country boy at heart.”Maybe that’s why something stirs deep within his soul once spring arrives. He feels the urge to return to his roots, get back in the woods and hunt wild turkeys again.

“Hearing that first gobble of the spring ranks right up there with throwing a touchdown pass for me,” said Croyle, 25, who was brought up in Alabama. “I’m just a fanatic about turkey hunting.

“In Alabama, there isn’t much to do except hunt. I grew up with it. And I haven’t grown out of it."

“I could turkey hunt every day if I had the time.”

Croyle has already shot three turkeys this spring in his wife Kelli’s home state, Mississippi, and one in his native Alabama. But it’s an upcoming hunt in Kansas that has him the most excited.
Why? Because that May 3 hunt will benefit his parents’ Big Oak Ranch, two Christian-based children’s homes in Alabama that take in abused and orphaned boys and girls.
Croyle was brought up on that ranch and learned to admire his parents’ work. Now that he is in the position to provide some help, he is excited about the possibilities.

“I’ve had friends who have done fundraiser golf tournaments,” he said. “But this turkey hunt is more fitting for me.

“It combines something I love with a good cause.”

Here’s how it will work: The first 25 hunters from the public who sign up for a $500 fee will be paired with volunteer guides who have access to hunting land in Kansas.
During a kickoff party the night of May 2 at Arrowhead Stadium, Croyle, some of his Chiefs teammates and country-music artist Rhett Akins will appear. And at an auction, the hunters will bid for Croyle’s and Akins’ services as guides.

The following day, hunters and their guides will go their separate ways and take part in a day of hunting. They will return to Arrowhead at 5 p.m. for a buffet dinner and awards ceremony for the hunters who take the biggest turkeys.

Croyle is getting help organizing the event from former Chiefs quarterback Tony Adams, himself an avid turkey hunter, and Adams’ outdoors Web site, Discover the Outdoors (dto.com), which is based in Lenexa.
For Croyle, this event, called the “Brodie Croyle Turkey Trot Charity Hunt,” is a comfortable fit. He grew up hunting and took his first turkey when he was only 7 or 8.

“When I saw that gobbler come strutting in, I knew turkey hunting was for me,” he said. “I just enjoy the setup, the strategy, hearing the birds call and trying to get them to come in.”

Croyle has taken some big gobblers in Kansas. Now he is hoping to guide someone else to a trophy bird during his charity hunt.

“We’d like to get this to be an annual event,” he said. “Kansas has some great turkey hunting, and there’s some great land not far from Kansas City. So it’s the perfect place to have an event like this.”
<hr class="infobox-hr-separator"> Brodie Croyle Turkey Trot Charity Hunt
•WHAT: A hunt in Kansas that will benefit the Big Oak Ranch, Christian-based children’s homes in Alabama run by the parents of Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle.•FORMAT: The first 25 hunters from the public who sign up for a registration fee of $500 will be paired with volunteer guides. Awards will be given to the hunters who take the biggest turkeys.
•WHEN: The hunt will be May 3. The night before, there will be a kickoff party at Arrowhead Stadium, which will include a dinner, guest appearances by Croyle and some of his teammates and country music singer Rhett Akins, and an auction and raffle.