Martin Rucker II was bitten by the political bug when he first saw his father Martin Rucker, then a state representative from St. Joseph, on the floor of the capitol in Jefferson City.
Imagine that. A strapping teenager on the Missouri football team, a tight end who would go on to become an All-American and a fourth-round NFL draft pick, got goosebumps over the sausage-making that is our legislative process.
"We got to see his desk out there on the floor," Rucker said by phone Friday. "I thought, man, this is really cool. I might want to take a look at this, see what this is all about.