Kyle Eckel, fullback for the New Orleans Saints and a Naval Academy graduate, answers questions from press during media day at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. DoD Photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class William Selby.
By Pettty Officer Second Class William Selby
While the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints don’t face off until Sunday for Super Bowl XLIV, the media frenzy yesterday had the feel of a championship football game.
The swarms of media outlets from around the world began early yesterday in an attempt to vie for the best possible position in front of the star player’s podium. Even though I’ve watched media day every year, I found out quickly that I was nothing more than rookie military journalist.
Soon enough players were being ushered in and, “it was on!”
While walking around and trying to get photos and “shout out’s” from the players for troops stationed around the world, I was looking for a unique story and before I knew, two fell in my lap.
First, I met U.S. Marine Sgt. Edward Donoghue, of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines who was in Miami thanks to his father. You see, his father is a photographer for the Miss America pageant and he is the lucky escort for the newly crowned Miss America.
Then, a little later I ran into a former Navy midshipmen by the name of Kyle Eckel. Eckel, is not only a former Navy midshipmen, but now is playing in Super Bowl XLIV. His road to being a professional football player is obviously not the normal one taken.
“Being a part of the military and a part of the Naval Academy was challenging sure. We didn’t get a lot of sleep … and we’re always studying for the next test, but I’m a better man for it,” Eckel said.
Not only were there several military related stories since coming out here, we noticed that the NFL and their players were very helpful and accommodating, and there were two players that stood out among the rest.
Saturday at the Pro Bowl practice, we approached Kevin Mawae of the Tennessee Titans, whom we had gotten a message from the day before. We found out that his father had served in the U.S. Army for 23 years so we wanted to interview him a little further. While conducting the interview, a security guard who was in charge of getting the players on the bus interrupted and told Mawae he was needed so the bus could leave. Mawae, told the man that he would leave after wrapping up the interview. He made time for us.
Then today, while chasing every possible player we could, we stumbled upon Billy Miller, tight end for the New Orleans Saints. While interviewing him, a representative for another network approached him and told him he was due for an interview. Miller, who has traveled on several occasions to see the troops that are deployed, told the man, “just a second, I’m talking to the military.” When the man persisted, Miller said in a very commanding manner, “I’ll get to you when I’m finished.”
I can’t say how nice it is to be appreciated by these giants of the sport. We look to these guys for entertainment and sometimes think they are bigger than life, but in reality, most of them are just like you and me.
Hey, we all put our pants on one leg at a time right?
