Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sports Bar with Clifton Smith
Clifton Smith has been a friend of mine since I was very young...I did my first interview as a reporter with Clifton Smith so I found it only natural to have my first "Sports Bar" with him.
Before I get into the interview let me briefly explain "Sports Bar". When I first started SPORTS CHICK CHAT , I did it with the intentions of showing WHO the athletes were outside of the games and stats you see on TV. The good, the bad, the ugly... I wanted to show every side. So far; however, my blog has been a little on the negative side (oops) !!! What "Sports Bar" is going to convey is what an athlete does or loves to do off the field/court. Whether it is music, fashion, wives, children...whatever it may be, I just want the fans of these great athletes to be able to make a connection with them on a personal level!
Clifton Smith grew up in Fresno, CA. Ever since he was a young boy he played football and has always been Fresno's Hometown hero "Batman". After receiving offers from big time universities, Clifton's fans were overjoyed to see he was staying in Fresno as a Bulldog. His college career didn't pan out as foreseen over the next few years. He suffered from injuries and personal issues. Maybe this hometown hero was a fluke!!! The town still stuck behind him through these rough years and knew his time would come...we hadn't seen the last of Clifton Smith III. In April 2008, the whole community watched the NFL Draft and held their breath praying "Batman" would finally get his break.... day 1 went by and then day 2....Clifton Smith had went un-drafted.
Smith was eventually picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he remained on the practice squad until October 25th. He had finally gotten his opportunity. One week later on November 2 he returned a 97 yard kickoff return for a touchdown! Shortly after this undrafted Rookie who had 30 other teams not believe in him was selected for the 2009 AFC-NFC PRO BOWL.
Q. Clifton, where were you at when you first heard about your Pro Bowl Selection?
A. I was on my way home from visiting with some kids at a local hospital and me and my teammates sang some Christmas songs and I got the phone call on my way home
Q. Who was the first person you called?
A. The first person I called was my mom and she was very excited and happy for me
Q. You mentioned you were singing some Christmas songs for children...what is your favorite charity to do?
A.I enjoy going to children's hospital to have fun with them, to brighten up their day and I like working football camps as well because I like to coach
Q. I noticed kids seem to have a soft spot in your heart....If you could tell them any one thing about life or football what would it be?
A. I would tell them not to be in a rush to grow up have fun being a kid and to have a dream and don't let anyone keep them from that dream
Q. Some athletes like to just sign on the dotted line to give a money donation to charities ...you actually participate in a lot of charity work...what's in it for you?
A. I like for kids to see me outside of my uniform so they can see that I'm just a normal person just like they are and (I want) "the kid" that everyone says is too small to keep his/her dreams, I want to show them that any and everything is possible!!!
Q. You are a great mentor to young children, where do you think you got that from, who were your mentors growing up?
A. My mentors growing up was My parents and My uncle Tim McDonald (former NFL player)
Q. What's one of the greatest moments you had from doing a charity?
A. For me, the best moments from doing charity is seeing the smiles on peoples face and knowing that you can change some peoples' life and make them forget about their worries and their problems even for a little bit. You have to approach every situation with a sense of humility. Humility is not thinking of yourself; but it is thinking of yourself less.
Q. If you ever decided to do a foundation what do you think it would be about and why?
A. We are putting a foundation together right now and we are going through the process of finding our identity and what we are about and the different things we are going to do
Q. And finally all your fans want to know...what are your hopes for this upcoming season?
A. I think this will be a good season for me and my teammates we expect great things with a young team and a new young 32 year old head coach
* I would like to thank Clifton Smith for taking the time out to conduct this interview with me. This one is for all the people out there who have ever had a dream and someone told you it couldn't come true...Good luck on the upcoming season and future success in the NFL, and with the foundation Cliff. GOD bless
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
