AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 26 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USCalvin does Manhattan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Highlights from Day One of Calvin Johnson’s two-day NFL-coordinated pre-draft PR tour of Manhattan:
7 a.m. — A bunch of burly guys who might once have been offensive linemen huddle in the lobby and by the entrance of the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. A camera crew from NFL.com waits outside. Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson and four other top NFL draft prospects are about to start a pr tour of the Big Apple, and the entourage is ready.
7:35 — Johnson, dressed in khakis, striped shirt, blue sports coat and brown shoes, walks through the lobby and immediately gets approached by an autograph seeker, who is instantly brushed away by a member of the entourage.
7:38 — LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, in white shoes with no socks, boards a white Hummer H2 with an NFL draft logo on the side. He has been driven around in the Hummer all week, while Brady Quinn rode around in another Hummer, but today they are part of a five-player group and the rules have changed. An NFL official tells Russell to get in the black “chauffeured services” bus with Johnson and the other draft prospects.
7:55 — The bus, the Hummer and a couple of cabs arrive at Times Square Studios at 44th Street and 7th Avenue, site of ABC’s Good Morning America.
8:24 — Russell and Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn walk onto the set. “Who’s that?” a man staring in from the sidewalk asks about Russell, “Michael Jordan?” The others eventually join them, but they’ve got a long time to wait. Only after segments on Tyra Banks, “Dancing With the Stars,” stain removal and “the happiest place on Earth” (it’s Denmark, by the way) does Good Morning America devote its final 10 minutes to what Diane Sawyer introduces as “the ultimate fantasy football.” Chris Cuomo comments on how small the players make him look and says of Johnson’s athleticism, “He scared me. He jumped so high that he jumped far, as well.” But Johnson doesn’t say anything and gets only a few seconds of air time.
9:34 — About 150 Central Park East Middle School kids, all wearing new white T-shirts with the NFL logo on the front, roar as the players enter gymnasium. Adrian Peterson and Brady Quinn talk to the kids about the importance of staying fit. Soon, the kids head to workout stations, where the players are supposed to lead them in exercises. Johnson appears to have drawn the short straw, the exercise balls. A phys ed instructor tells the kids to sit on the balls, put their arms across their chests and do sit-ups. Then she asks Johnson to do it. He self-consciously does two, then gets up and walks around encouraging the kids. “How many have y’all done? Y’all quit counting, huh?” Johnson says, smiling. Then, a breakthrough. Johnson shows the kids an exercise he knows, lying on his back on the floor, propping his feet atop the exercise ball, raising his hips off the floor and then using his feet to roll the ball toward his body and back. The kids love it. Johnson relaxes. Felicia Walker, 13, gives him a big waist-high hug. “He’s so cute,” Felicia says. “He’s so talented. You get to meet such a professional and smart person.” A teacher looks on, admiringly, as Johnson captivates the kids. “It’s a great exercise, it’s great for the abs and it’s different for the kids,” says Alan Semel of the New York City department of education after school program. “Now, they’re doing an exercise NFL players do.” Other kids hug Johnson, who is suddenly the king of the gym.
12:03 p.m. — Johnson and the four other players each sit at their own tables on elevated platforms and field questions from newspaper, TV, magazine and Internet reporters below. It’s the media luncheon at Chelsea Pier (roast beef, green beans, a pasta dish, various desserts). Johnson refuses to get baited into naming the team he wants to pick him, the team he thinks will pick him or which selection he will be in the draft, though he admits to wanting to be first and considering himself the best available player. “I don’t have a clue right now [what will happen in the draft,” he says. Few if any of the questions could be construed as hard-hitting. Typical: A reporter who asks whether it’s tough to live up to the reputation of being perfect. “Nobody’s perfect,” Johnson says. “I have certain things I work harder on. … I’m going to work hard, I’m going to do all I can, to live up to all the hype that’s out here.” He says he is enjoying himself on the trip (though as usual he looks as if there are other things he’d rather be doing than interviews about himself). “It’s all good,” he says of his third trip to New York, but he calls the visits to schools his favorite part. After 42 minutes of answering questions, he poses for photos with the Hudson River as a backdrop and the Statue of Liberty far in the distance. Then he gets to see his parents and siblings and eat lunch.
2:25 — The five draft prospects pose atop the marquee of the Radio City Music Hall at 50th Street and 6th Avenue. Ten professional photographers shoot the picture from across the street, amid about 15 amateurs and 60 or 70 gawkers. “That kid is Calvin Johnson,” a Rockefeller Center doorman says, then declines to give his name because he’s supposed to be on duty. After the photo shoot, the players are off-duty. Johnson looks forward to attending a performance of the Broadway musical The Color Purple. There’s another PR tour on Friday.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
Comments
By G
April 26, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
CJ is the man!!!!
By scooter11
April 26, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this
Is ‘Manhattan’ a type of weed?
By '78 grad
April 26, 2007 11:45 AM | Link to this
Calvin is a great guy. I know him personally having participated in several “tickle piles” with him. He has some of the largest “muscles” that I have ever seen:)
By FSU Forever
April 26, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this
Whooooooaaa …”Tickle Piles” are you saying Calvin is the next John Amaechi
By "D" in Houston
April 26, 2007 12:51 PM | Link to this
This was a lame story….but it is still better than reading any more news about Vick and the SMEAR campaign that is being aimed at him! Give me a break!
By #1 falcon fan
April 26, 2007 1:12 PM | Link to this
wassup with the vick trespassing report that wasn’t worht puting in the paper you guys really want vick out this rediculous! if vick’s trded we go 5-11 for the next three to five yrs. watch
By John Amechi
April 26, 2007 1:13 PM | Link to this
No Dummy! 78 Grad is John Amechi! “Dr. Dre is dead you silly, he’s locked in my basement. I am the real Slim Shady!”
By Poncey High
April 26, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this
CJ is going to be as big a let down as every other Georgia Tech pro prospect.
He’s from an ACC school… there’s no talent in that conference.
By Apologetics
April 26, 2007 1:48 PM | Link to this
Really? No talent in the ACC? I would encourage you to research NFL rosters and see how many guys are from the “U” (Miami), FSU, NCState, Clemson, VaTech, UNC, etc.
I love you UGA boys and your stereotypical misconceptions.
Odell Thurman is probably your sons’ hero.
By artie
April 26, 2007 2:05 PM | Link to this
..and who’s that talent-less TE from UGA that couldn’t catch a pass at the combine to save his life!!!! Oh, and what the hell is Ware thinking about leaving early?!?! LMAO!!!!
By steve
April 26, 2007 2:16 PM | Link to this
And the point of this article is….????
D in Houston, Smear campaign against Vick? Are you serious? The guy has brought the negative attention on himself. Hardly a smear campaign.
By alo
April 26, 2007 2:26 PM | Link to this
It’s all good. The GT faithful are out in full force for bragging rights because of CJ, and rightly so. He’s going to be great, but he still couldn’t do much against UGA. I think he had 9 catches for 71 total yards in three years?? Those aren’t #1 overall pick numbers. So Jacket fans, let’s not bash on UGA too much, considering the facts.
By gdawginkalamazoo
April 26, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this
That was actually Willie Nelson’s tour bus they took around town.
By Ramble ON!
April 26, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this
gdawginkalamazoo any truth to the rumor Odell was the driver, or was it that bald headed idiot with the tatoo on it at the UGA games? I heard he was a bus driver.
By gdawginkalamazoo
April 26, 2007 3:08 PM | Link to this
Ramble ON! Odell was riding shotgun. I believe the driver was reported to be Maurice Clarett.
By will c
April 26, 2007 3:51 PM | Link to this
Get that money Calvin, so you can make it rain in Magic City like Pacman. The club hasn’t been the same since the BMF crew was indicted. The hot girls are waiting.
Rich Guys Trophy Wife http://www.richguystrophywife.com
By Ramble ON!
April 26, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this
Sounds like a bus I don’t want to be on!
By Bitter ugaG Fans
April 26, 2007 3:59 PM | Link to this
Apologentics, Sill bitter CJ picked the better school of the two, aren’t you butt lickers. Wait ‘til you see a few more you lost in recruiting to us like Dwyer run all over you.
And alo, please, look who he had throwing to him in those games and you could only manage to beat us by a field goal?
By charles
April 26, 2007 5:00 PM | Link to this
Who said there has to be a point in the article? It was interesting wasn’t it?
By Dee
April 26, 2007 5:39 PM | Link to this
Yea those Tech-UGA games would have been a lot different if Tech had a true drop back QB.
By PHATT
April 26, 2007 6:35 PM | Link to this
I just read Blank has ORDERED McKay to draft Calvin. They have what it takes to move up to the 2 spot, via Detroit. That would be incredible.
By Jim
April 26, 2007 7:21 PM | Link to this
If the Atlanta Falcon Gods are listening, please - oh please trade up to get hometown hero and future superstar Calvin Johnson. The Falcons have the ammo (extra draft pioks) to move up and significantly improve the team with Calvin Johnson. Unlike Roddy White (Troy Williamson’s conjoined twin), who as a former No. 1 pick couldn’t catch a beach ball in a bushel basket (I have to be fair, the only thing Roddy White can catch is a cold), C Johnson is the REAL DEAL (most of you are smart enough to read what the NFL Scouts and Front office people say about C J - he’s truly SPECIAL. Michael Vick used to run as a weapon, lately the only thing Vick seems to run with is the Bloods. Give Michael Vick this once-in-a-lifetime wide receiver and watch Vick be King of the Mountain AGAIN. And PLEASE Falcons brass, don’t draft Bad Bad Levi Brown (should be FAT FAT Levi Brown) and expect the fans to get playoff hopes and excitement with a guy who looks like the leading male in a Jane Goodall Natl. Geographic special. Calvin Johnson, Falcon’s Nation impatiently awaits you….
By Ernie McDweeb
April 26, 2007 8:53 PM | Link to this
With Crit and Young leaving, I’d like to try out for the team. If they were the best players, I’d like to think I could beat out whoever bcked them up. My only demands are tape for my glasses in case they broken and excused absences from practice for Star Trek conventions. I will part with my nightly Dungeons and Dragons game to show my commitment.
By Poncey High
April 27, 2007 1:03 AM | Link to this
It’s a fact GT has second tier, lesser recruited players that IF they make it to the NFL go bust.
The truth hurts folks.
By Kendall
April 27, 2007 6:31 AM | Link to this
Calvin, how did you pass the drug tests that your dear institute gave you during the season? Or did you? tech is fast becoming drug cover-up central.
By Glenn
April 27, 2007 8:24 AM | Link to this
I withheld judgement until I saw the players on TV and must say that Calvin displayed more class than the other four young men combined. Not flashy, not playing up to the cameras, inspiration to the kids…In other words a role model that would be nice to have for Atlanta’s own for a long career. If this exhibition didn’t convince the Falcons to make a move on Calvin, nothing will.
By RL
April 27, 2007 10:04 AM | Link to this
Dear Arthur Blank,
Please trade Michael Vick this weekend for the first pick in the draft and take Calvin Johnson. I know that only gives us Joey Harrington at QB but I am tired of a criminal being the face of my team.
By Poncey High
April 27, 2007 10:15 AM | Link to this
This is hilarious. You see Calvin Johnson NOT acting the fool for the cameras and he becomes a role model?
I am sure everyone thought the same of Vick when he first got to Atlanta… then the dog fightin’ Ron Mexico emerged…
How fast role models fall.
By alodawg
April 27, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this
Reggie Ball was a scholarship player for UGA, I admit it, but good old fashioned hate will never go away! Since CJ will be getting a nice paycheck, now he can afford to buy some of that sticky-icky-icky.
By Glenn
April 27, 2007 10:57 AM | Link to this
Poncey High,
Calvin has been a model citizen from day one and now that he is standing beside other potential high draft choices he remains the same while the others dress like they plan on being big shots and act the fool in front of the cameras.
The fact that Calvin is still not corrupted when the others are, before they have even been drafted, and has maintained his dignity and respect places him heads and shoulders above any other draft-able player.
When you compare Calvin’s play making abilities and attitude with players from the other Universities (as well as UGA, past and present), he represents the best of all athletes from the State of Georgia, regardless of where they attended college.
Finally, maybe its time to compare numbers between Michael Vick and other QB’s with his experience. Peyton won his first (and only) Super Bowl this year, and he was drafted years before Vick. Dan Marino is still waiting.
Michael has brought the Falcons as many, or more, playoff games than any other QB in franchise history. This can be said in spite of having wide receivers who can’t catch the ball and an undersized and nonathletic offensive line.
Michael Vick is not perfect, but he has been unfairly convicted of things he never did and has maintained his poise throughout. He has also invested in our community quietly rather than trying to get publicity for his actions.
While Vick may not be YOUR ideal role model, he is not selling drugs or beating up helpless women. He is a professional athlete who kids can look up to. Don’t compare him with PacMan Jones or the Cincinnati Bengals.
I would also mention that Michael is earning a much better living than you…And, I’m sure laughing at idiots, like you, who continually are making these idiotic comments.
By DawgBite
April 27, 2007 12:11 PM | Link to this
Congratulations Calvin! You’re a class act. I wish Calvin the best at the next level.
By Tied to the whippin post
April 27, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this
AJC will dog him out next week watch!