Ray Austin’s time in the NFL was limited. He played for the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets for three seasons in the late 1990s. But those brief stints were the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. A few weeks ago his wife Ashley brought him to Chicago’s StoryCorps booth. He told her about the day he fell in love with football, as a kid growing up in Hawaii.

StoryCorps’ mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to share, record and preserve their stories. These excerpts, edited by WBEZ, present some of our favorites from the current visit, as well as from previous trips.