You’ve seen the commercial. Willie McGinest, the sagacious outside linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, is speaking winsomely into a cell phone: “I know, I made a mistake.”

Electric strings from Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky whine behind him. The video jumps to McGinest facing the camera, as he explains “I listen to my mom but just not on the football field all the time.”

That mom is Joyce McGinest, the woman who, as the commercial says, signed up the second of her three children––her only boy––for Pop Warner Football when he was seven years old. She viewed football as a means to keeping her Long Beach son busy and productive. Lo and behold, it did just that….for thirty years.

“Willie always said that he wanted to be a professional football player,” says Joyce. “So what is the best time to start? When you’re small, to give you the fundamentals.”

You know the cliff-notes to the rest of the Willie McGinest story: Part of the 55 Club at USC, a pioneer at the now ubiquitous hybrid rush-linebacker position early on with the Patriots, later a staple in New England’s three Super Bowl titles and now, a revered veteran leader for the burgeoning Browns. A cut below Hall of Fame caliber, McGinest nevertheless epitomizes everything that is right about the game. And he’ll long be remembered because of that. Alas, he will go down as a rare rock-solid piece to a dynastic puzzle––much like a Robert Horry or a Jorge Posada.

McGinest’s legacy will have a chance to fortify sooner than later. At 37, and playing in the renegotiated final year of his contract, the 2008 season is set to be his last.

“You have to know at some point that your body and your mind is telling you, ‘Hey I can go, but this is it,’” McGinest says. “I don’t want to be one of those guys that’s hanging on, not being productive. I don’t want to be a guy that’s just doing a lot of talking from the sidelines.”

So 2008 will be the farewell tour (he, of course, just wants it to be a “winning tour”). But Number 55 for the Browns is not the only McGinest who will face a new reality come winter. The sweet woman he’s talking about in the commercial will, for the first time in three decades, watch football without seeing her own flesh and blood on the field.

“I have so many memories,” says Joyce, showing a mother’s inability to pinpoint just one or two favorites. “Seeing (Willie) playing t-ball, baseball, football, basketball. Just being a mother, it’s just been a fun time.”

“My family has been there since Day One,” says Willie. “They’ve been there in the stands cheering. As well as me playing for my myself, I’ve played for my family.”

The McGinest parents are among the select few who have been privileged enough to watch their son play sports well into his adulthood. They make it to Willie’s home opener each year, as well as several of his road games. When they’re home in Long Beach, they follow their son––and all of the NFL action––on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. “I just love football––I love football,” Joyce says. “It’s just like a ritual. When Willie’s playing on Sundays I watch him and then whoever else comes on after or before.”

Growing up, Willie saw his father (Willie Sr.) work at Long Beach Bakery and later for Hostess Cake. His mother worked for a nonprofit organization called Head Start before spending eight years with Ability First (a program that helps individuals who have physical and mental development disorders). She also spent part of the year working a second job, usually in retail.

“I worked hard, which was inherited by my folks. I had a lot of responsibility at a young age, had a lot of chores. I had to be accountable. Those values stayed with me all along,” Willie says. When Bill Parcells drafted him fourth overall in ’94, the McGinest parents saw the culmination of their efforts. “Our family, we are very blessed, and it’s just been really good,” Joyce says. “We’ve been able to do more things, see more things, it’s just been great. But it hasn’t changed (our) life––(we’re) still the same, as if (Willie) was still playing at Poly Tech.”

Dramatic changes will occur next year. Joyce believes her son will miss the game but will ultimately still thrive, thanks to his far-reaching business and charitable work. As for her?

“It’s going to be…

She sighs.

“It’s going to be quite different for me. I’m going to miss it. Because on Sundays, that’s my dream, to see him play. On Sunday’s I can’t wait to see my son play. It’s going to be lonely for me. It’s going to be lonely. It will probably take me longer to get used to him not playing than it will him.

“Willie probably feels that I’m going to miss it, but to what extent, I don’t think he knows. A mother’s feelings are sometimes different than the dad’s. Sometimes we can get a little emotional (her voice in this moment provides firsthand evidence). It will probably be a little hard for me.”

At least her son’s final season expects to be one marked by success. “I came back because I believe we have something special in Cleveland,” Willie says.

Normally, such sentiments would be laughable. Up until last year, the Browns had had just one winning season since ’94 (they were out of commission from ’96-’98). But head coach Romeo Crennel and GM Phil Savage have built a formidable foundation, which led to a 10-win campaign in ’07 and expectations high enough in ’08 for the league and television networks to award the team five primetime games, the same number as the Colts and Patriots.

“Everything is coming to fruition. We just have to go out and prove what type of team we are,” Willie says. “I came back because I’m excited about it.”

Willie’s post-football life promises to be vibrant. A childhood friend of Snoop Dogg, he is the CEO of 55 Entertainment, which has a production deal with A & M/Interscope. He recently confirmed a franchise agreement with three WingStop restaurants in Southern California, and he is also a partner in Signature Collectibles, a sports memorabilia company.

“Willie had told me when he was playing Pop Warner that he would be a professional football player. And he was going to have his own business where he could be the boss, that he would tell people what to do” Joyce recalls, her smile almost audible. “Those were the goals that he had set for himself. And he has accomplished that.”

Willie’s business acumen has far-reaching benefits. He has spearheaded the Willie McGinest Foundation, a children’s charity that has been so prominent in Long Beach that the city now celebrates Willie McGinest Day every May 2.

“It’s something that I need to do because of how blessed I was and where I came from,” Willie says of his civic work. “What I’ve been blessed with enables me to always give back, and I think that’s important for us athletes, and entertainers or whoever. There’s always somebody out there who needs something or needs the help. You can make a difference just talking to a kid––its not always having to give money or give items. Just speaking to somebody or reaching out or reaching back can change somebody’s life.”

Joyce McGinest knows this is one enthralling element of her son’s life that isn’t going away anytime soon. “Willie’s just a good person. I think that’s why he’s reached this point in his life. He’s a good person and he has a good heart.”

| Cleveland Browns, retirement, Willie McGinest, Willie McGinest Mom