Photo via Mike Fender

U.S. Senator and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio welcomed USA Football 2018 National Conference at Pro Bowl attendees at the opening keynote address Friday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Rubio - who played football growing up, and who has coached his sons' youth teams - had plenty to say about the game he loves.

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View Rubio's full speech here:

 

Here's a post-speech conversation with Rubio backstage:

 

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Highlights of Rubio's speech include:

• (1:03) Unlike other major sports populated by foreign-born players, Rubio says football’s future at the highest levels depends on player cultivation right here, right now.

“We don’t have Lithuanian quarterbacks. We don’t have Croatian wide receivers. Basically, the game of football, largely our talent is provided by American families.

“If a significant portion of American families decide that we’re not going to let our kids play football at any level, it won’t be long before the game begins to deteriorate.”

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• (4:13) Rubio is not a fan of sports specialization.

“(It’s) really bad for kids. They should be playing all these different sports. In addition to wiring their brain and their bodies right for all of that, it’s really the right thing to do. It teaches them to compete at every level.”

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• (5:29) Rubio makes his feelings about football crystal clear.

“I just honestly believe this constant barrage of negativity about the game has driven us to a point where (it’s) gone from caution to irrational fear of a game we’ve been playing in this country for a long time, and has done a lot of good things for communities and for individuals.”

• (6:44) The lessons Rubio says football teaches.

“Our young people need to learn that oftentimes in life, there are things you want to do and things you have to do. You have to do them because it’s your job, you have to do them because people are counting on you, you have to do them because that’s what everyone’s expecting. You have to do it or there are consequences for not doing it, and football teaches that.”

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• (17:25) Rubio’s message to coaches on the power of football.

“I want my kids to learn resiliency, sacrifice, accountability and working with others in a competitive environment, because I don’t know any other way to teach them that. You can’t learn that in a video game. You can't learn that in a movie.

“It is a game that comes with some risk. You know what else comes with some risk? Life.”

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