Alive and Wow!

Mark Herzlich is sitting at Table 40 in a posh midtown Manhattan ballroom during a charity event on the final Friday in October. About half the members of the New York Giants are there - a gala for coach Tom Coughlin's Jay Fund, which raises money for children's cancer - including franchise quarterback Eli Manning. Even so, the donors in attendance continue to flock to Table 40. They want to meet Herzlich. They want to meet the man who survived cancer and who is now a rookie special-teams contributor for the Giants. They want to shake his hand. They want to share a few words.

One of those eager to meet the man is Gail Horgan. Earlier this year, Horgan lost her 33-year-daughter, Kristin, to cancer. Herzlich became Horgan's favorite player after she read about his story during training camp. A contributor to the Jay Fund, she even called Coughlin's daughter, Keli, who organizes the "Champions for Children" gala, to lobby for him to make the team. Keli couldn't make any promises when it came to a roster spot for Herzlich, but was able to help Horgan meet her favorite player.

For her 60th birthday, all she wanted from her two sons was a Herzlich jersey. It's worth noting that Herzlich is not a frontline player. He barely made the Giants. His jersey isn't available at the local Modell's; it needs to be custom-created online. Still, her children made the effort for their mother, and Horgan brought the jersey to the gala. When she approached Table 40, she showed the jersey to Herzlich, shared a few words, and asked for his autograph. "I think he was moved because of the connection, and I think he was also moved that someone recognized him as a player," Horgan says. "I know that's important to him. He doesn't want to just be recognized for his ailment."

This is the difficult balance Herzlich now encounters each day. He is both a symbol of hope - an inspiration for those inflicted by cancer - and an undrafted NFL player trying to carve out a spot on the Giants, a guy who simply wants to be part of a team. That, of course, seems nearly impossible, considering he's the only rookie free agent who has been profiled on "60 Minutes," who can claim more than 40,000 followers on Twitter and who has random 60-year-old women asking to autograph personalized jerseys.

"What he really wants, what his desire is, is to be a football player and to be treated that way," Coughlin says.