Philip Lutzenkirchen and Bailey Moody (photo source WBRC)AUBURN, AL (WBRC) -
Philip Lutzenkirchen is the No.1 scoring tight end in
Auburn history. He also owns AU's single-season record for touchdowns at
his position. He's had not one, not two, but three game-winning
touchdowns to his name. And while Philip's thankful for his recognition
on the field it's not how the well-known Auburn figure wants the world
to remember him.
"Football is football," Lutzenkirchen said. "At some point its going to
end for me. I'd much rather be known for what I've done off of the field
and impacting peoples lives than how many touchdowns or catches I've
had."
Although Philip isn't one to talk publicly about his off the-field
service, his team has noticed that he isn't your normal run-of the mill
division one athlete.
"Just to see the way he impacts lives not just as a football player, but
as an Auburn man. As a guy that's really a Christ-ly man that lives his
life right. Kids are touched by him. When he speaks they listen."
Visiting struggling children isn't anything out of the ordinary for
Philip. So when he got wind of an 11-year old girl named Bailey from his
hometown of Atlanta who was recently diagnosed with bone cancer he
jumped at the opportunity.
"It was cool watching him walk up," said Bailey Moody. "He was coming to
see me. He was huge. He heard I had cancer and was having surgery soon.
He wanted to cheer me up."
It's clear Philip's friendship has made a deep impact on Bailey who went
from playing guard for her gradeschool basketball team to hearing a
bone cancer diagnosis within a matter of 48 hours. For Bailey having a
sports-figure like Philip to look to was exactly what she needed.
"He recognizes that he's got an opportunity to do more with playing
football than just being on the field on Saturdays," said Bailey's
father, Patrick Moody. "He recognizes that he can use that to make a
difference elsewhere. That's important to him and you can tell he takes
it very seriously."
Even if Philip goes go down in the record-books as Auburn's greatest
tight-end, Bailey and the Moody's are certain his impact on their family
will be remembered much more than what he accomplished on the field.
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