Super Bowls, Super Players and Super Heroes

Over in Tampa, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, uh, I mean Super Bowl week. 

Yesterday, in a small community park near the Ybor City exit off of I-4 in the 813 and far from the celebrities and fancy parties associated with the Super Bowl, several NFL players got together to improve the community.  There is no doubt that for several fortunate children and families, who like many of us will not be able to purchase the high priced tickets to get into Raymond James Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, their Christmas, I mean Super Bowl, happened today in Tampa. 

While the Super Bowl is typically all about the bright lights and big plays on the world's biggest stage, I managed to find some super (NFL) players who will play absolutely no role in the outcome of Sunday's game but instead decided to play the role of super heroes to some under-privileged kids in an impoverished East Tampa neighborhood.

Just ask Mike Furrey of the Detroit Lions (seen here carrying logs) who, when interviewed by a local news reporter and asked this question: "Hey, your into it, getting all sweaty and dirty?"  responded by brushing off his shirt and saying:

"I LOVE this stuff.  I love getting involved and building things and contributing to kids who want to make something out of their lives.  We may come from different backgrounds, but we all need an opportunity to be successful.  If I can contibute to that then that's great.  To tell you the truth, there is no place else I would rather be!" 

During the regular season, The Home Depot built 17 playgrounds, one for each week of the regular season, in each MVP’s local market and made donations to the charities of their choice.

Each player worked alongside representatives from KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit, local community partners and volunteers from The Home Depot to complete the building projects in just one day.  Throughout this process, more than 2,600 The Home Depot associates donated more than 21,000 hours of service.

The players honored as part of The Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP program in 2008-2009 included Steve Smith* from the Carolina Panthers (seen here being the hammer, not the nail); Keith Brooking*, Atlanta Falcons; Vernon Carey, Miami Dolphins; Nate Clements, San Francisco 49ers; Brian Dawkins*, Philadelphia Eagles; Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns; Bobby Engram, Seattle Seahawks; Mike Furrey*, Detroit Lions; Chad Greenway, Minnesota Vikings; Andre Johnson*, Houston Texans; Kassim Osgood, San Diego Chargers; Samari Rolle, Baltimore Ravens; Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears; Amani Toomer*, New York Giants; Kurt Warner*, Arizona Cardinals; and Ty Warren, New England Patriots.

The Home Depot, whose slogan is "U can do it, We can help", is the sponsor of the NFL Neighborhood MVP Award.  This award recognizes NFL players who make major contributions to their communities through their own efforts and foundations and/or by supporting or contributing to local charitable organizations.  

Among the 16 players nominated for this presitgious honor this year were two former University of Miami players: OL Vernon Carey and WR Andre Johnson (seen above throwing up "The U" for Canespace).  

As a result of his significant contributions in both Miami and Houston, Johnson  was selected as one of the eight finalists along with the Cardinals' Kurt Warner,  Keith Brooking of the Falcons, Carolina's Steve Smith, the Eagles's Brian Dawkins, Cleveland's Braylon Edwards, the Giants' Amante Toomer and the Cowboys' Jason Witten who won the 2008 award and is pictured above with NFL and Home Depot officials holding a $25,000 check to his charitable foundation.  

Johnson, who along with Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis led the Hurricanes to the 2001 national championship, was a very humble and gracious interview. 

He is a truly grounded, down to earth and pleasent person to be around.  His calm, sincere demeanor and direct eye contact let's U know that he means what he says and says what he means.  

Watching him operate a power drill and assemble playground benches for kids in Tampa may not be as exciting to some fans as watching him catch TD passes for the Houston Texans, but to me it was worth every bit as much.

In a few more days we will have the complete Andre Johnson interview.  Until then let it be known that AJ is a true Miami Hurricane and a fan of Canespace.  Trust me when we get to the interview U will learn to appreciate Andre Johnson as a Miami Hurricane, and maybe even more importantly as a person, in an all new way.  

There are a bunch of kids in East Tampa who already feel that way...

Comments

[BROWNSUB]

Go Canes!!

[BROWNSUB]

Haha!!! Soup I think I get a Canespace Shirt with That Post!! I Believe thats 3 or 4 # 1st time Posts.

[BROWNSUB]

Good Article By The Way!!! Also CGNC Meant to Tell U Yor Article Was Good As Well!!! Go Canes!!!

[86Cane]

Browns...do I have your addy? Email me your mailing address and size to:

[email protected].

[BROWNSUB]

86 I just sent you an Email, Thanks. Go Canes!!

[JLF]

good article 86

[JLF]

Found these comments about Hall at TOS what do you guys think???

"Because I have been on the Hall to OSU bandwagon for sometime. I got a message today from someone in Marcus's inner circle that said he was blown away with his visit. Not like his Michigan comments. Anyway he said that as of now Hall really wants to go to Miami if he gets his mamma's blessing. We will see but you guys really have a great shot."

I hope I end up wrong on this by the way.

"Everyone knows my stance that I believed Hall was committed to OSU as a silent all yr. Well I am warming up to Hall to Miami. I don't think its a done deal but what I heard yesterday is there is an individual at Glennville that is pushing him to Miami now along with the fact he LOVED his visit. It's on Randy's meeting with the mom.

There is 2 kids that are helping right now pushing him there hopefully his future roommate and a RB. "

[BROWNSUB]

I Just Noticed That Guy With The Gator Hat In The Picture with Andre Get Him Outta Here!! LOl

[JLF]

Posted by: BROWNSUB | January 28, 2009 at 11:27 PM

Lol need to crop him out of pic

[reggaebob]

from the last blog...

Shabba Ranks

Posted by: dj moonbat | January 28, 2009 at 10:28 PM

YOU ARE MY MAN!!!

and Matt, while i may not agree NYC is the BEST city ever (i am from Boston, afterall), i feel what you are saying about it being a great place to live. I wouldnt mind visiting there quite often. But ive lived half of my life in Boston and the other half in South Florida, im a 561, 305 or 617 man for life.

And as much as id love to have bryce, im over all of this drama. Let him make a decision and i wish him the best wherever he goes, be it here or elsewhere. Mike James and Lamar Miller, you are TRUE U and for that you have already earned our respect.

oh and our DC will be a very large hire, methinks.

Posted by: reggaebob | January 28, 2009 at 11:33 PM

[reggaebob]

and before i head out, i totally understand the gator guy being in that pic with andre johnson. which UF alum is he going to fraternize with? reche caldwell? yeah...

now on to homework...

[SOUP]

Yeah what are U gonna do? The Gator hat guy was in the way, but it is Central Florida. I met SEVERAL UM folks from The Home Depot though who outnumbered him by far.

[VaCanesFan]

Anyone look at the Highsmith video on ESPN? He looks very good. He may be the sleeper of this outstanding class.

[Calvin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhL4na-srdM

[LA]

SI can't make up their mind.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/

Same Page......Are we a force or are we losing guys....GREAT REPORTING!

Miami losing grip on commitments?

Between losing games, coordinators and a starting QB, Miami has been in turmoil
Despite that, Randy Shannon has turned Miami back into a top choice for recruits
Depending on No. 1 RB Bryce Brown and other elites, "U" could land top 10 class

[bg1906]

Guys also visiting this weekend is Quinton Washington. He is an OL out of SC. I like him too. Nice tape. I hope we can pull him as well. If we get him and White, I'll be happy. I don't think we get Tiller, and Campbell is having grade issues, but I like those 2 guys. Bob Massie or Marcus Hall, though I think neither ends up here, would be icing on the cake.

[Hassan]

Tubbs is rumored to be the man to fill the DC position. It would be a big hire and if we win the NC 2 out of three years Whipple and Tubbs can pick where they wanna coach next.

[BROWNSUB]

Soup 4got to tell u tshirt. Size in that email 3x

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Hassan, I think Tubbs is already inked in at ESPN. Good easy, cash and a nice break.

[TLuv]

Good article 86. It's always great to see former canes represent the U proudly.

So Tubbs as a DC? That's news to me. But good news nevertheless.

[reggaebob]

Hassan, I think Tubbs is already inked in at ESPN. Good easy, cash and a nice break.

Posted by: Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer | January 29, 2009 at 12:56 AM

those are the general rumblings about tuberville, and after his large auburn buyout i doubt hes in any real rush to get back into coaching immediately

[HawaiiCane]

Great to see so many Canes in the Super Bowl!

Great to see Canes (Johnson & Carey) representing in bettering thier communities!

Can't wait to see 7 Canes represent 'The U' in 2 weeks here at Aloha Stadium for the Pro Bowl!!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT 'THE U'!

[Swamper]

Gruden Gruden Gruden!!!!!!

YEAH i said it!!! GRUDEN!!!!!

[SPEEDWRECKS]

I remember when Adrian Peterson was available to play in NCAA... he was also ready, at that same time, with a body [mass & speed], to play in the NFL. That 1st year in college, he would have WON the Heisman had he not been tagged "freshman".

In 2009, there is another RB with promises not disimilar form Peterson. Big difference is that Bryce will not be going to run behind all those corn & cow fed lineman from Tex & OK paving the way at well-known perpetual powerhouse OK.

Thus, for Peterson, it was a known entity [OU]how his services would be unleashed. On the contrary with Bryce, he is going Cane after an '09 O line was said to be the strength of that UM team that eventually turned out to be one its biggest link of weakness.

The reality is whether the Bryce camp should be concerned with the HOW, AMOUNT, WHERE, WHEN, Bryce skill sets will be unleashed. I say yes, the camp shall demand to see how this all can be done from the newly titled architect of the Univerversity of Miami offense, Mark Whipple & HC Shannon.

Requesting to know is just for that camp, and showing it to this camp shall be a piece of cake for the U coaching team. Arthur Brown, Sr. and his son have already said that the U supports Bryce in maintaining a deliberate and balance head in making his final decision, and he will make the choice for the U, but only the right and comfortable way.

Welcome aboard Bryce!

Everyone else, particular including all the fans that seem to mouth off at Butler, Bryce, and Arthur, Sr. and their request for Bryce's utilization transparency shall just STHU!

[Anton]

I love Mike Furrey. He is the brother in law to a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, he was cut by the Lions yesterday.

[SuperCooper]

AJ has some big hands, damn.

[MaSsiVcAne]

So if Shannon does accept the play calling duties of DC would that leave us extra money to go after an additional strength coach or a dedicated nutritionist?

[hurriphin]

Dre' all day.

[canechic]

Good job blogging Hawaii! No Gruden!

Andre is so cute!

[Hassan]

Who is coming to the U as a big time DC? Tubbs would be perfect

lets say brown has about 1100 yards as a freshmen that would break our all time make n about 10 td's sounds about right. I think Brown can make an impact. I also think with so much more depth our OL can be pretty good. not great but pretty good. Jacory will not hold the ball as long this year which will make them look good. and with our guys not being freshman it will scare defenses more now that they all had a year of swasey

[canesbrewing]

Solar break the blog again!!

[Century Cane]

Antrelle rolle

[SOUP]

More to follow on the AJ interview and more photos. AJ loves him some Canespace!

[Canefantasy]

This class is turning into a better class then last years. I am super excited this is the best time of the year. Hopefully we get everyone that we need. Its good to be a Miami Hurricane!!

[USAFCane]

IMO BB is a Cane and working behind the scenes to better this class. Give the "kid" his time in the son.

[hurriphin]

Jhipple

[canesteeler]

Whip It, Whip it Good

[canesteeler]

Super you know what they say about guys with big hands.............. They wear big gloves!

[CanesgirlNC]

A shout out to all those guys that pitch in and help. Steve Smith does alot up here - he personally donated money so a local highschool marching band that was invited to attend the inauguration could go - their fundraising fell short

[CarolinaCane]

the steelers give the U a bad name! they are on of the few nfl franchises without a former cane on their roster

[CanesgirlNC]

Thanks Brownsub

[CarolinaCane]

steve smith is the man--they would be in the super bowl if delhomme didnt drink too much the night before his birthday and throw 5 picks!

[CanesgirlNC]

Carolinacane - yeah I didn't think about delhomme celebrating his b-day!!! There was always that rumour about Jim Kelly and the 4 superbowl losses too........gotta give props to Arizona though - they neutralized Beason and shut down the run. Made delhomme throw and we know he always tries to do too much

[CanesgirlNC]

86 - and don't forget to post the rest of the pics from the Miami FSU b-ball game - or are you saving that for another time?

[CarolinaCane]

yea a guy i work with said that lots of people saw him around town the night before--i give the cards alot of credit too though--they shut down steve too--i dont think he had a catch in the first half!

[MaryLouAlumni]

Great article. Met AJ, Dorsey and the rest at a U game in Syracuse NY way back when. When you stand next to them, they are awsomely huge! Fun, fun, fun.
Been out of commission again. Back to the hospital yesterday. Got a severe upper respitory virus and have lost my voice. Contageous, of course. So, I'm home again for awhile. I work 3 days a week at the unemployment office and I'm sure that's where I got it. Process 600 people a day and germs are everywhere, expecially on the computer keyboard and mouses etc. I sure have had bad luck the last two months---norovirus, emergency gallbladder surgery and now this. But, I'm a true CANE and I will bounce back, but at 60 yers old, it just takes longer. Wierd not having a voice at all. Hope I get better in a week or so. My best to all of you.

[SOUP]

86 - and don't forget to post the rest of the pics from the Miami FSU b-ball game - or are you saving that for another time?

Posted by: CanesgirlNC | January 29, 2009 at 09:54 AM

Yes, I will post them right before the Wake Forest game on 2/4 or 2/5. We are planning on doing another "Canespace Day at The BUC" for that game and I will post them to show how much fun we had at the FSU game.

[SOUP]

MaryLou...feel better, take care, be strong!

[CarolinaCane]

canes have to beat maryland on sat night--tough 3 games after that with duke, wake and tarheels! we put are self in the same position last year, but i think we have to have a better than .500 record come tourney time

[Mr Troutman]

MaryLou,

I always admired Your courage on staying tough and loyal on this blog. I hope U feel better and work things out.

Ps
Keep some Lysol around to spray in the air. LOL! Processing 600 hundred PEOPLE a day can be rough. This economy is sure getting worse. President Obama can only do so much before it all come crubling down. It will take the act of GOD to stop this severe bleeding to this US economy. Let us all pray for all that are losing their job and also for our Canes!! I just had to squeeze that one in there.

Peace!!