This was so good I thought it deserved its own thread and not be buried under another one. I hope you do too. It has a Father's Day impetus, but it is one of the best articles ever regardless of time of year. Tech should use this article's snippets to share with potential recruits.
Very well done. A lifelong Detroit Lions fan has an unexpected conversation with Calvin Johnson, Sr. I wish the world had a lot more of Megatron's parents.
Link: http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/06/17/lions-fan-learns-about-fatherhood-calvin-johnson-sr
He offered another smile, but this time shook his head in a gentle rebuke. “Calvin plays football,” his father said firmly. “If that’s all he wanted to do with his life, he wouldn’t have gone to Georgia Tech.” I got his point: Georgia Tech is renowned for academics, not athletics; had the younger Johnson cared only about an NFL career he would have forgone the construction management program at Georgia Tech and chosen another school.
“Do you want to know about my other children?” Calvin Sr. asked. He was beaming now.
It turns out Megatron isn’t the family wunderkind. His older sister earned a Ph.D. in biomedical science and was being published in medical journals. His younger brother was about to earn a degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. His younger sister was on a scholarship at Georgia State. These academic successes, Calvin Sr. explained, owed to their mother, Dr. Arica Johnson, who holds a doctorate in education and is an administrator with the Atlanta public schools. I looked over at Calvin’s mother. She shrugged, smiled, and then returned her gaze to the gridiron.
“That’s one impressive family you’ve got,” I stammered, searching for an adequate compliment.
“Yeah,” Calvin Sr. replied, a grin spreading across his face. “But none of them can drive a train.”
I laughed too, recalling the profiles I'd read about Calvin's father working as a freight conductor for Norfolk Southern Railway, hauling shipments back and forth through central Georgia for the past three decades.
Suddenly it all made sense. Lions fans had long known that in an era of divas and drug users and domestic violators, Calvin Johnson was a gentleman superstar—a once-in-a-generation talent, yes, but a better person and teammate. Now, chatting with is father, I understood why. What made No. 81 so special wasn’t just the physical supremacy he was born with; it was the humility, work ethic and decency he and his siblings were taught. The NFL’s best receiver was dressed in full jersey and pads that night, joining huddles and catching balls despite knowing he wouldn’t play. And his parents sat in the stands despite knowing the same.
Very well done. A lifelong Detroit Lions fan has an unexpected conversation with Calvin Johnson, Sr. I wish the world had a lot more of Megatron's parents.
Link: http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/06/17/lions-fan-learns-about-fatherhood-calvin-johnson-sr
He offered another smile, but this time shook his head in a gentle rebuke. “Calvin plays football,” his father said firmly. “If that’s all he wanted to do with his life, he wouldn’t have gone to Georgia Tech.” I got his point: Georgia Tech is renowned for academics, not athletics; had the younger Johnson cared only about an NFL career he would have forgone the construction management program at Georgia Tech and chosen another school.
“Do you want to know about my other children?” Calvin Sr. asked. He was beaming now.
It turns out Megatron isn’t the family wunderkind. His older sister earned a Ph.D. in biomedical science and was being published in medical journals. His younger brother was about to earn a degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. His younger sister was on a scholarship at Georgia State. These academic successes, Calvin Sr. explained, owed to their mother, Dr. Arica Johnson, who holds a doctorate in education and is an administrator with the Atlanta public schools. I looked over at Calvin’s mother. She shrugged, smiled, and then returned her gaze to the gridiron.
“That’s one impressive family you’ve got,” I stammered, searching for an adequate compliment.
“Yeah,” Calvin Sr. replied, a grin spreading across his face. “But none of them can drive a train.”
I laughed too, recalling the profiles I'd read about Calvin's father working as a freight conductor for Norfolk Southern Railway, hauling shipments back and forth through central Georgia for the past three decades.
Suddenly it all made sense. Lions fans had long known that in an era of divas and drug users and domestic violators, Calvin Johnson was a gentleman superstar—a once-in-a-generation talent, yes, but a better person and teammate. Now, chatting with is father, I understood why. What made No. 81 so special wasn’t just the physical supremacy he was born with; it was the humility, work ethic and decency he and his siblings were taught. The NFL’s best receiver was dressed in full jersey and pads that night, joining huddles and catching balls despite knowing he wouldn’t play. And his parents sat in the stands despite knowing the same.
