The Harrington Family Foundation

They sat no more than a foot apart in the cafeteria at O.W. Best Middle School in Dearborn Heights, the blue eyes of sixth-grader Dylan Brown fixed on Lions quarterback Joey Harrington. For the past hour, Harrington had answered questions and tossed five- and 10-yard passes to more than 100 of Dylan's classmates.

"It seems kind of, I don't know, not real," Dylan said later.

By the end of the morning, the boy understood what real was all about.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, a black stretch limousine carrying Harrington had pulled in front of the Brown family home to chauffeur Dylan to school -- part of his prize for winning a contest sponsored by the NFL and the J.C. Penney after-school program.

With the moon roof on the limo twinkling like a starlit night, Harrington peppered the boy with questions about sports as they headed to school.

After the promotional activities were over and the students returned to class, Dylan was allowed to listen in as Harrington spoke honestly to two reporters about the challenge he faces after being replaced last weekend by Jeff Garcia as the Lions' starting quarterback.

"My commitment is to the team," Harrington said. "If that means that my job for the rest of the season is to back up and support Jeff, then that's what I'm going to do. It's not always going to be easy because he's got the job that I've put so much time and energy into.

"I said this the other day, that it's a close third, that after God and family is football. It's very difficult to sit and watch somebody else lead your team. But if that's my role, then that's the role I'm going to play, and I'm going to play it well."

Garcia led the Lions to a 13-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, snapping Harrington's streak of 37 consecutive starts dating to 2002, the year he was drafted. Harrington is scheduled to be the backup again Sunday when the Lions play the Chicago Bears at Ford Field.

For Harrington, spending part of his off-day as Dylan's guest at the middle school was a kind of reality check -- a "refresher," he said.

After signing a row of footballs in the library, Harrington, 27, knelt on the tile floor in the hallway and slurped from a drinking fountain sized for kindergartners.

He answered dozens of questions in three sessions. Harrington -- who was cheered when he was introduced at the assembly -- said he was surprised that none of the students asked how it felt that he wasn't the starting quarterback.

The students were not prepped on what to ask or say beforehand, school principal John Znamierowski said.

The closest inquiry on that topic came from Samantha Hines-Vermillion, a sixth-grader in Dylan's homeroom class, who raised her hand and asked: "Will you be with the Lions next year?"

Harrington replied: "We're having a little rough spot right now, but I'm planning on being right back."

Harrington said afterward: "I'm actually surprised that it didn't come up more. That may just be my own sensitivity to the subject right now, but I was prepared for it, because the thing I needed to leave with them was that not everything is going to work out just how you planned it. But that doesn't mean you stop working."

After the Q&A sessions, Harrington expounded on something he had said earlier, how when he was asked by a student to list some of his "best friends" on the team, he named Garcia as one of them.

"He's a great guy, he really is," Harrington said. "The thing that really impressed me -- and solidified it -- was two weeks ago after a home game. I left the field to chants, and he called me a couple of hours after the game, out of the blue.

"He said, 'I'm just calling to make sure you're doing OK. I know it's not a great situation -- a lot of things are coming down on your shoulders -- and I want to make sure that you're doing OK.'

"He didn't have to do that. Jeff's a very genuine person. We're not winning, and you make a change. I don't hold that against him. It's not a reflection on the type of person he is."

Listening intently to Harrington words, Dylan Brown -- which also happened to be the name of a friend that Harrington played football with in the sixth grade in Portland, Ore. -- turned and looked at his mother, Jodie.

From Harrington, the boy had just learned a valuable lesson -- that the most difficult situations are handled with dignity.

Lucky for Dylan, the quarterback had saved the best for last.