Before Nationals, a Bigger Game: Frisco Elite Takes the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS

This week, the football world learned that Chris Johnson — one of the most electrifying running backs the game has seen — has been diagnosed with ALS. News like that has a way of cutting through everything else in the sport. Records, rankings, championships — for a moment, none of it matters as much as one man's health and the family standing behind him.

At Fathers and Football, football has never just been about football. It's about the people the game connects — the dads on the sideline, the kids who look up to them, and a wider community of players, coaches, and families who show up for each other when it counts. Chris Johnson's diagnosis is one of those moments.

So Frisco Elite is taking the challenge

Ahead of our run at the NFL FLAG National Championship, our Frisco Elite players and coaching staff are committing to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It's a small, cold, ten-second thing measured against a disease like ALS — but the challenge was never really about the water. It's about making noise, pointing a spotlight at the cause, and backing it with real support.

We're doing this now, before nationals, on purpose. Whatever happens on the field, we wanted our guys to walk into that tournament having already stood for something bigger than a trophy.

"Elite on the field. Elite at home." That's always been the Frisco Elite standard — and standing up for a cause bigger than the game is part of that standard too.

Reaching out to the ALS Association of Texas

This post is also FAF's public first step toward a relationship with the ALS Association's Texas chapter. We haven't finalized a partnership yet — we're reaching out, and we want our community to know that's the intent: to put our platform behind an organization doing the real work of research, care, and support for families facing ALS.

We'll share more as those conversations move forward. In the meantime, here's what we're asking of our community:

• Take the challenge. If we call you out, grab a bucket, film it, and challenge three more people.
• Donate directly to the ALS Association if you're able — a link will follow once our video is live.
• Say his name. Keep Chris Johnson and his family in your conversations and your prayers this season.

— Justin Floyd, Fathers and Football