AHMAD BRADSHAW
SUPERBOWL CHAMPION
NEW YORK GIANTS
ALL-MET ELITE
BLUEFIELD VA.
Contributed photo AAU... Ahmad Bradshaw, front row, left, was part of the Bluefield Blazers AAU basketball team that won a national title in 2003 at Kutztown University. Front row, left to right: Bradshaw, Chris Hairston, Cloyd Jeffries and Kenny Bogart. Second row, left to right: Coach Tony Webster, Anthony Steptoe, Dustin Wade, Treymane Matthews, Garrett Patterson, Harry Hanly, Jose Steele, Delane Goodson, Dexter Moore, William Jackson and
Coach George Smalls.
BLUEFIELD, Va. — When Mike Watson, Bluefield, Va., town manager was asked if the town of Bluefield intended to give Ahmad Bradshaw a key to the city, he smiled and laughed.
“I saw in the paper where Ahmad received a ceremonial key to the city of New York,” Watson said. His eyes looked up as though he was watching numerical tumblers clicking. The population of New York City in the 2011 census was 8.1 million while the population of Bluefield, Va., was fewer than 5,100 in 2000.
“I don’t know if we can compete with that,” Watson said, still smiling. “Our council members might have something in mind when we meet Tuesday evening. I know one thing for sure. We’re going to have to change our sign.” The Graham High School Boosters have already placed a canvas codicil to the sign, pointing out Bradshaw’s latest accomplishment. The town is also displaying a similar statement on its electronic message board.
In 2008, the town erected a sign congratulating Bradshaw and the New York Giants for their victory in Super Bow XLII. Bradshaw was the leading rusher in that Super Bowl, just as he was in Super Bowl XLVI. Of course, last Sunday, Bradshaw scored the Super Bowl winning touchdown with less than a New York minute left in the game. The Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 , and Bradshaw led all rushers with 72 yards on the ground before scoring on a 6-yard run with 57 seconds remaining.
A man of few words, Bradshaw posted a two-sentence comment on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon. “Very blessed,” he wrote. “Thank you God!”
Tony Webster of Bluefield coached the NFL halfback during two seasons when Bradshaw played summer league basketball on the Bluefield Housing Authority’s AAU team. The Bluefield Blazers participated in tournaments from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania, and while Webster admitted that Bradshaw wasn’t the best basketball player on the team, there was no denying his athletic ability and his competitive drive.
Although Webster said Bradshaw was mostly quiet and introspective, he was capable of cranking up the intensity when the time came. “We were playing a tournament in Washington, D.C., and Ahmad must have thought that the other teams weren’t giving us any respect.
“He came in that locker room and told his teammates that the other teams thought that since we were from West Virginia, we weren’t anything,” Webster said.
“He told the kids that they were just as good as anybody else, and told them to go out and beat them all just to show them how good we were.
“The Blazers won that tournament, then we went to Kutztown University in eastern Pennsylvania and won that tournament,” Webster said. The tournament at Kutztown, Pa., was the Athletes For Better Education national tournament. “I think we only lost one game that whole year. That was some team. That bunch right there was an exceptional group of young athletes.”
Webster watched the Super Bowl at home with his family, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it was for a young man from a small community to have such an impact on such a big game at a critical time.
“It’s unreal,” Webster said. “When you think about all of the people who have played in the NFL through the years and never won a championship, and you see a guy like Ahmad who has only been in the league five years and he already has two championships ... It’s a blessing. That’s all I can say.”
Webster said he looks forward to visiting with Bradshaw when he comes back to Bluefield. “He usually comes to town after the season,” Webster said. “He’s as competitive as anyone I’ve ever known, but he knows where he came from. I look forward to seeing him again.”
“I saw in the paper where Ahmad received a ceremonial key to the city of New York,” Watson said. His eyes looked up as though he was watching numerical tumblers clicking. The population of New York City in the 2011 census was 8.1 million while the population of Bluefield, Va., was fewer than 5,100 in 2000.
“I don’t know if we can compete with that,” Watson said, still smiling. “Our council members might have something in mind when we meet Tuesday evening. I know one thing for sure. We’re going to have to change our sign.” The Graham High School Boosters have already placed a canvas codicil to the sign, pointing out Bradshaw’s latest accomplishment. The town is also displaying a similar statement on its electronic message board.
In 2008, the town erected a sign congratulating Bradshaw and the New York Giants for their victory in Super Bow XLII. Bradshaw was the leading rusher in that Super Bowl, just as he was in Super Bowl XLVI. Of course, last Sunday, Bradshaw scored the Super Bowl winning touchdown with less than a New York minute left in the game. The Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 , and Bradshaw led all rushers with 72 yards on the ground before scoring on a 6-yard run with 57 seconds remaining.
A man of few words, Bradshaw posted a two-sentence comment on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon. “Very blessed,” he wrote. “Thank you God!”
Tony Webster of Bluefield coached the NFL halfback during two seasons when Bradshaw played summer league basketball on the Bluefield Housing Authority’s AAU team. The Bluefield Blazers participated in tournaments from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania, and while Webster admitted that Bradshaw wasn’t the best basketball player on the team, there was no denying his athletic ability and his competitive drive.
Although Webster said Bradshaw was mostly quiet and introspective, he was capable of cranking up the intensity when the time came. “We were playing a tournament in Washington, D.C., and Ahmad must have thought that the other teams weren’t giving us any respect.
“He came in that locker room and told his teammates that the other teams thought that since we were from West Virginia, we weren’t anything,” Webster said.
“He told the kids that they were just as good as anybody else, and told them to go out and beat them all just to show them how good we were.
“The Blazers won that tournament, then we went to Kutztown University in eastern Pennsylvania and won that tournament,” Webster said. The tournament at Kutztown, Pa., was the Athletes For Better Education national tournament. “I think we only lost one game that whole year. That was some team. That bunch right there was an exceptional group of young athletes.”
Webster watched the Super Bowl at home with his family, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how strange it was for a young man from a small community to have such an impact on such a big game at a critical time.
“It’s unreal,” Webster said. “When you think about all of the people who have played in the NFL through the years and never won a championship, and you see a guy like Ahmad who has only been in the league five years and he already has two championships ... It’s a blessing. That’s all I can say.”
Webster said he looks forward to visiting with Bradshaw when he comes back to Bluefield. “He usually comes to town after the season,” Webster said. “He’s as competitive as anyone I’ve ever known, but he knows where he came from. I look forward to seeing him again.”
No comments:
Post a Comment