Curtis Martin Speaking to NY Media on Friday in Canton Ohio
| curtis_martin_talk_about_college.mp3 |
Cortez Kennedy talk to media on Friday during Class of 2012 Hall of Fame media day
| cortez_kennedy_8-3-12_part_1.mp3 |
Chris Doleman speaking to selected media members at Class of 2012 Media Day
| chris_doleman_8-3-12.mp3 |
Dermontti Dawson talking to some Pittsburgh Media members on Friday afternoon in Canton Ohio
Jack Butler talking to media member about playing Football in Pittsburgh in 1950's
| jack_butter_8-3-12.mp3 |
Willie Roaf talking to some of Saints Media Members on Friday afternoon in Canton Ohio
Photos from Live show from Pro Football Hall of fame and some interviews
HerbFM's Chris Heidel walking and talking Former Canes Great
and Former Jets Vinnie Testaverde
and Former Jets Vinnie Testaverde
| vinnie_testaverde_8-4-12.mp3 |
Fantasy sideline show Host Dennis Farrell with
HerbFM's Euan McCreath live on the Radio
HerbFM's Euan McCreath live on the Radio
| pro_football_hall_of_fame_radio_show_replay.mp3 |
Setting Up to Three Hours of Live Radio from Pro Football Hall of Fame
| morten_anderson.mp3 |
Morten Anderson stop by HerbFM Radio booth to speak with HerbFM's Chris Heidel
Here are some question HerbFM's Euan McCreath asked Curtis Martin during Class of 2012 Media Day
| curtis_still_in_awe.mp3 |
| curtis_martin_150_in.mp3 |
Curtis Martin: Faith & Football
2012 Hall of Fame Inductee
By: Euan McCreath
8/8/12
Canton- Ohio --Saturday night, August 4th six former NFL greats were ushered into NFL immortality at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf and Jack Butler are now part of the elite fraternity known as the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's as special an event as there is in sports, and HerbFM was right in the middle getting the inside scoop as to what really made these players as great as they were, for as long as they were.
With the six new inductees there are now a total of 273 players who own NFL's Gold Jacket. Although the NFL and the players’ successes are based on statistics, like Pro Bowls and Super Bowl Rings, perhaps the aspect that is most overlooked in these players and accomplishments is the men’s respective characters and the influential people who have helped make them first the men they are, and second the elite NFL players they became.
During Curtis Martin’s illustrious career which included ten consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, 100 touchdowns and had an unprecedented 119 consecutive starts, he had to overcome so many personal obstacles. One thing Curtis Martin was on the field was tough. It's so hard to lead by example when your teammates can't count on you being in the huddle each week, but that was never a concern for any of Martin’s Patriot or Jet teammates. I asked Curtis what he attested his mental and physical toughness. "This is kind of a personal story,” an emotional Martin said with tears filling up his eyes. “I always speak about when I was nine my grandmother who was like my mother to me was murdered. I remember in the courtroom where the murderers were, and I remember them saying that before they killed her they said that my grandmother was following them around the house begging them not to kill her. When I think about the fear that must have been in my grandmother’s heart the whole time, that's what drove me. That’s what made me fearless.”
I had known about his story before standing next to Curtis during media day in Canton but I have to say looking into his eyes while he was expressing so many emotions was very difficult. I felt sadness, pride, quiet strength, humility, all from a man who was about to be honored for his performance on the field. It prompted me to ask Curtis about the role his faith played in getting him to the Hall of Fame. “I was pretty much a knucklehead when I was younger I didn’t do things right and I didn't care about faith or about much of anything. Some people talk about God, but if it wasn't for me having faith and just believing in something bigger than myself I wouldn’t of even played the game. I realized that I was gifted with this talent for some particular reason and it wasn’t just for me, and that I had to use this talent to reach other people and impact their lives in a positive way. So I would say faith didn’t play a major role it played the role in my commitment to the game of football.”
Curtis experienced a man pull the trigger seven times while pointing a gun at his head when he was younger and it didn’t go off. The eighth time however, when the gun was pointed away from Martin, it discharged a bullet. Talk about divine intervention!
Nobody did it better than #28! Only three men have more rushing yards in NFL history than Curtis Martin. But his number twenty eight carried so much more meaning than the number that appeared under his name in both New England and New York uniforms. Before each and every one of his games Curtis would read his bible and specifically the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28. This is what the chapter starts off stating, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”
I struggled to find words to describe my brief time in the presence of Curtis Martin. Humble, strong, and grounded are just a few of the words I would use to describe the man. Tough, gifted, relentless, are others that come to mind when I think of the player. Curtis Martin doesn't like the spotlight and is quick to credit both his mother and Bill Parcells as being two strong influences in his success on and off the field during his career, but make no mistake his strength, perseverance and toughness come from a higher place. During his speech Curtis said the following" If God could stand up, I would like to thank him."
Watching Curtis Martin run with a football in his hands was like watching an eagle gliding through the air, it was natural, it was what he was born to do. Throughout everything he’s never forgotten where he has come from. There’s no question the NFL has gained an incredible football player into this year’s Hall of Fame class, but his greatness on the field pales in comparison to the man he is off of it.
2012 Hall of Fame Inductee
By: Euan McCreath
8/8/12
Canton- Ohio --Saturday night, August 4th six former NFL greats were ushered into NFL immortality at the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf and Jack Butler are now part of the elite fraternity known as the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's as special an event as there is in sports, and HerbFM was right in the middle getting the inside scoop as to what really made these players as great as they were, for as long as they were.
With the six new inductees there are now a total of 273 players who own NFL's Gold Jacket. Although the NFL and the players’ successes are based on statistics, like Pro Bowls and Super Bowl Rings, perhaps the aspect that is most overlooked in these players and accomplishments is the men’s respective characters and the influential people who have helped make them first the men they are, and second the elite NFL players they became.
During Curtis Martin’s illustrious career which included ten consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, 100 touchdowns and had an unprecedented 119 consecutive starts, he had to overcome so many personal obstacles. One thing Curtis Martin was on the field was tough. It's so hard to lead by example when your teammates can't count on you being in the huddle each week, but that was never a concern for any of Martin’s Patriot or Jet teammates. I asked Curtis what he attested his mental and physical toughness. "This is kind of a personal story,” an emotional Martin said with tears filling up his eyes. “I always speak about when I was nine my grandmother who was like my mother to me was murdered. I remember in the courtroom where the murderers were, and I remember them saying that before they killed her they said that my grandmother was following them around the house begging them not to kill her. When I think about the fear that must have been in my grandmother’s heart the whole time, that's what drove me. That’s what made me fearless.”
I had known about his story before standing next to Curtis during media day in Canton but I have to say looking into his eyes while he was expressing so many emotions was very difficult. I felt sadness, pride, quiet strength, humility, all from a man who was about to be honored for his performance on the field. It prompted me to ask Curtis about the role his faith played in getting him to the Hall of Fame. “I was pretty much a knucklehead when I was younger I didn’t do things right and I didn't care about faith or about much of anything. Some people talk about God, but if it wasn't for me having faith and just believing in something bigger than myself I wouldn’t of even played the game. I realized that I was gifted with this talent for some particular reason and it wasn’t just for me, and that I had to use this talent to reach other people and impact their lives in a positive way. So I would say faith didn’t play a major role it played the role in my commitment to the game of football.”
Curtis experienced a man pull the trigger seven times while pointing a gun at his head when he was younger and it didn’t go off. The eighth time however, when the gun was pointed away from Martin, it discharged a bullet. Talk about divine intervention!
Nobody did it better than #28! Only three men have more rushing yards in NFL history than Curtis Martin. But his number twenty eight carried so much more meaning than the number that appeared under his name in both New England and New York uniforms. Before each and every one of his games Curtis would read his bible and specifically the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28. This is what the chapter starts off stating, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”
I struggled to find words to describe my brief time in the presence of Curtis Martin. Humble, strong, and grounded are just a few of the words I would use to describe the man. Tough, gifted, relentless, are others that come to mind when I think of the player. Curtis Martin doesn't like the spotlight and is quick to credit both his mother and Bill Parcells as being two strong influences in his success on and off the field during his career, but make no mistake his strength, perseverance and toughness come from a higher place. During his speech Curtis said the following" If God could stand up, I would like to thank him."
Watching Curtis Martin run with a football in his hands was like watching an eagle gliding through the air, it was natural, it was what he was born to do. Throughout everything he’s never forgotten where he has come from. There’s no question the NFL has gained an incredible football player into this year’s Hall of Fame class, but his greatness on the field pales in comparison to the man he is off of it.
