\u201cEveryone is always playing the what-ifs,\u201d the New England linebacker and former Legend High star told me Monday morning. \u201cBut you know, I would say we still win that game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Bo is a tremendous player. But we also have to scheme up for who you\u2019re playing. And at the end of the day, we\u2019re the ones that came out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
True. Barely. In a pinch of irony, a native son helped to send his childhood team out of the AFC playoffs six months ago, playing on 21 snaps in a soggy, sloppy 10-7 Pats victory that ended the greatest Broncos season in a decade prematurely.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after we won that game, it was the first time that my parents were on the field (at Empower), that my wife was on the field, my brother was on the field,\u201d Muma told me by phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo having that moment after we won that game and we\u2019re doing the trophy presentation and they\u2019re running out there and we\u2019re all celebrating together, taking pictures with the AFC Championship trophy \u2014 it was very surreal. And so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muma, 26, is one of the NFL\u2019s cool dudes, which makes it awfully hard to hold a grudge. Especially when he gives so much back to a Front Range community that made and shaped him.<\/p>\n
The former multi-sport standout with the Titans and heat-seeking missile with the Wyoming Cowboys is bringing his Muma Movement football camp for children with Type 1 diabetes<\/a> to Parker Fieldhouse on Friday. The midday session starts at 10 a.m. and runs through 1 p.m. Admission is free.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only a camp for the kids, but it\u2019s also a camp for the parents and caregivers, siblings as well,\u201d Muma, a former Jaguars draftee who spent the \u201925 season with the Colts and Patriots, explained. \u201cBecause I think that\u2019s one of the biggest things with having Type 1, is to be able to bounce ideas off each other and see what works for some people. Because (even if) it might not work for you, it might work for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n Muma was diagnosed with Type 1 at age 13. He\u2019d found himself chugging water to stay hydrated and constantly taking bathroom breaks. He lost 30 pounds. The kicker came at a friend\u2019s house when he drank a whole gallon of milk and thought nothing of it. That friend\u2019s Mom called Chad\u2019s folks.<\/p>\n \u201c(She was like), \u2018Hey, you know, Chad just drank a whole gallon of milk.’\u201d he recalled. \u201cMy parents had me walk in their room that night and they had a checklist of all the symptoms. And I was hitting every single one.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the first things Muma did after being diagnosed was Google \u201cNFL players with diabetes.\u201d Can I still play this game? Should I still do this thing?<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t need ChatGPT to tell him the answer to both was a resounding \u201cHeck, yes.\u201d \u00a0The search engine came up with \u00a0ex-Broncos QB Jay Cutler, then slinging it for \u201cAnd that little amount of hope was all I needed just to be like, \u2018OK, I can play sports.’\u201d Muma said. \u201c\u2018(That) I can keep doing this.’\u201d<\/p>\n The wind beneath his wings came from Cutler \u2014 and from Mark Andrews, the Ravens tight end who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 9.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone has a different amount of insulin that they have to give themselves,\u201d Muma continued. \u201cTheir bodies react differently to exercise \u2014 some kids, while they\u2019re playing football, drop super far, whereas when I\u2019m playing, my adrenalin skyrockets. So it\u2019s very different.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the whole premise of the camp is kind of to put it into a perspective of day in the life of a professional Type 1 diabetic.\u201d<\/p>\n Muma tests his blood sugar for campers before they start working out. Then he\u2019ll do it again during a \u201cfirst-quarter\u201d break. Then again at a \u201chalftime,\u201d after a \u201cthird-quarter\u201d break, and so on \u2014 just to get them used to the routine. Campers are given Glow Gummies, a sponsor, to regulate their blood sugar, and also work out with small, portable insulin pumps provided by Tandem Diabetes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about the kids. It\u2019s about Stella Piety. She\u2019s from Indianapolis. Stella became a Muma Mover last year, at age 11, while he was rolling with the Colts. The Muma Movement had a sweepstakes to design Chad\u2019s shoes for the NFL\u2019s annual \u201cMy Cause, My Cleats\u201d initiative.<\/a> Stella won tickets to a game and got a chance to see her design up close. They swapped jerseys \u2014 Chad gave her a Colts No. 55; she gave him a flag football top. Muma says her family\u2019s traveling all the way from Indy for Friday\u2019s camp, and using it as the waypoint for a little summer getaway to the Rocky Mountains.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it will be fun to have her at this camp and kind of see her lead the other Type 1 diabetics,\u201d Muma said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be cool to see that whole family again.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s for the kids down in Jacksonville, the ones who still follow No. 49 in blue. Including one who came up to Chad at a Muma Movement camp last year with a confession.<\/p>\n \u201cI was diagnosed with diabetes four months ago,\u201d one young man in Florida told Chad in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was diagnosed, the first thing I did was search online for \u2018NFL players with Type 1 diabetes.\u2019 \u00a0And your name came up.\u201d<\/p>\n Muma smiled at that one. Some of the best blessings are blindside jobs. It\u2019s amazing how far a little bit of hope can fly.<\/p>\n ***
the Bears.<\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TDP-Z-AP26013163274009.jpg\")
New England Patriots linebacker Chad Muma (49) reacts during the second half of an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo\/Greg M. Cooper)<\/p>\n
For more information on the Muma Movement Camp, visit MumaMovement.com<\/a> or visit parkerrec.com\/calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n