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Emmitt signs in for work
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
FLAGSTAFF - Royalty descended upon the Arizona Cardinals at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Emmitt Smith walked onto the practice field at Northern Arizona University, and if a band had been there, it would have played “Hail to the Chief.”
Smith's every step was recorded by television cameras. Fans lined up four deep behind a metal railing and paid their respects as Smith went by.
“Here comes the star of the hour.”
“Emmitt, can you sign my paintbrush?”
“Emmitt, Emmitt, we love you Emmitt.”
Russ Mills settled into a folding chair on the other side of the practice field. To his right sat his 12-year-old son, Ben, to his left, his daughters, 7-year-old Katie and 10-year-old Sarah.
Ben and Sarah wore red No. 22 Cardinals jerseys.
“We got them Thursday,” said Mills, a Phoenix resident who has been a Cardinals season-ticket holder for 14 seasons. “I've always respected him as far as what he brought to the game.”
Ben, his face full of freckles and with a shy grin, said he wanted Smith's jersey because “he's a legend.”
The Mills' only have one problem with Smith being a Cardinal. What to do with those Jake Plummer jerseys?
“We're trying to find a good car wash to donate them too,” Russ said.
In terms of winning football games, the Cardinals' signing of Smith can be debated. He's 34 years old and his statistics have declined three straight seasons.
But as a public-relations move, it was pure genius.
Smith is the NFL's all-time leading rusher, the biggest name ever to wear Cardinal red. He brings star power to this star-crossed franchise.
Saturday, about 1,500 fans watched Smith go through his paces. One team official said it was the biggest crowd he has seen the first day of training camp.
Smith's likeness was everywhere. On jerseys. On the cover of Wheaties boxes. On the front page of the Dallas Morning News the day after he broke Walter Payton's rushing record.
There were even a couple of fans who showed up wearing the silver and blue No. 22.
“That's funny,” Smith said.
The Cardinals issued 43 media credentials. Reporters from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Orlando Sentinel were in town. So was Sports Illustrated, which will put Smith on its cover this week.
Smith was unfazed by the attention.
“This is to me what I consider an average crowd,” he said. “In Dallas we had 4,000 or 5,000 for training camp.”
Here in Arizona, though, fans are starved for a reason to watch the Cardinals. So they're feasting on Smith.
“He's a big star,” said artist Ray Plate, who came to practice carrying a portrait he had done of Smith.
The media caught the fever, too.
It was duly noted that Smith touched the ball for the first time at 9:04 a.m. When Smith grabbed his right calf early in practice, pens flew to their notepads.
“He got stepped on,” coach Dave McGinnis said later. “I asked him how many times he's been stepped on, he said, ‘28,000 times.’ ”
The Cardinals finished practice at about 10:45 a.m. Smith still had work to do.
First was the requisite press conference. Smith spoke for about 15 minutes, touching on everything from his days at the University of Florida to life as a Cardinal.
On whether close friends have questioned his coming to Arizona: “All the time. All the time. It's ‘Why the Cardinals?’ I'm like, ‘Why not the Cardinals?’ It's a tremendous opportunity here. I'm excited about being here. I really am.”
On whether he may be tarnishing his legacy: “You know who tarnishes legacies? People. We don't. We play the game because we love it. We don't think about our legacies.
“As an athlete or gladiator, you don't worry about your past. You worry about what your future is going to be like and what you're doing right now. That's what we do. We play football for a living. We don't play legacies and history for a living.”
On whether he has a chip on shoulder because the Cowboys cut him and the Cardinals were the only team to offer him a starting job: “The chip is trying to help this team improve. That's an everyday chip, an every year chip. That's nothing against anybody.”
On the 7,000-foot altitude in Flagstaff: “It definitely has an effect on the body. My first four plays it felt like I ran for 1,700 yards and I probably didn't go more than 20 yards.”
Once the media was satisfied, Smith was quickly shuttled to the sponsor's tent. There he signed more autographs, took more pictures, sold more tickets.
Practice had been over for at least 30 minutes. His teammates were long gone. Smith couldn't join them.
He walked over to a group of fans who patiently had been waiting as Smith greased the team's sponsors.
Smith grabbed a pen and started signing. Seat cushions. Caps. T-shirts.
One man went nuts as he collected Smith's signature.
“Thank you, Emmitt. This is amazing. Oh yes, yes, yes. You made my life, Emmitt. Thank you.”
Finally, 45 minutes after practice, Smith said, “I've got to go.”
The players walk across the street and down a dirt path to their locker room in the Skydome following practices. Not Emmitt.
Hundreds of fans were still waiting for him near the street. He needed safe passage.
He got it from McGinnis, who gave Smith a ride in his golf cart.
It's a privilege of royalty.
Emmitt signs in for work
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
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FLAGSTAFF - Royalty descended upon the Arizona Cardinals at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
Emmitt Smith walked onto the practice field at Northern Arizona University, and if a band had been there, it would have played “Hail to the Chief.”
Smith's every step was recorded by television cameras. Fans lined up four deep behind a metal railing and paid their respects as Smith went by.
“Here comes the star of the hour.”
“Emmitt, can you sign my paintbrush?”
“Emmitt, Emmitt, we love you Emmitt.”
Russ Mills settled into a folding chair on the other side of the practice field. To his right sat his 12-year-old son, Ben, to his left, his daughters, 7-year-old Katie and 10-year-old Sarah.
Ben and Sarah wore red No. 22 Cardinals jerseys.
“We got them Thursday,” said Mills, a Phoenix resident who has been a Cardinals season-ticket holder for 14 seasons. “I've always respected him as far as what he brought to the game.”
Ben, his face full of freckles and with a shy grin, said he wanted Smith's jersey because “he's a legend.”
The Mills' only have one problem with Smith being a Cardinal. What to do with those Jake Plummer jerseys?
“We're trying to find a good car wash to donate them too,” Russ said.
In terms of winning football games, the Cardinals' signing of Smith can be debated. He's 34 years old and his statistics have declined three straight seasons.
But as a public-relations move, it was pure genius.
Smith is the NFL's all-time leading rusher, the biggest name ever to wear Cardinal red. He brings star power to this star-crossed franchise.
Saturday, about 1,500 fans watched Smith go through his paces. One team official said it was the biggest crowd he has seen the first day of training camp.
Smith's likeness was everywhere. On jerseys. On the cover of Wheaties boxes. On the front page of the Dallas Morning News the day after he broke Walter Payton's rushing record.
There were even a couple of fans who showed up wearing the silver and blue No. 22.
“That's funny,” Smith said.
The Cardinals issued 43 media credentials. Reporters from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Orlando Sentinel were in town. So was Sports Illustrated, which will put Smith on its cover this week.
Smith was unfazed by the attention.
“This is to me what I consider an average crowd,” he said. “In Dallas we had 4,000 or 5,000 for training camp.”
Here in Arizona, though, fans are starved for a reason to watch the Cardinals. So they're feasting on Smith.
“He's a big star,” said artist Ray Plate, who came to practice carrying a portrait he had done of Smith.
The media caught the fever, too.
It was duly noted that Smith touched the ball for the first time at 9:04 a.m. When Smith grabbed his right calf early in practice, pens flew to their notepads.
“He got stepped on,” coach Dave McGinnis said later. “I asked him how many times he's been stepped on, he said, ‘28,000 times.’ ”
The Cardinals finished practice at about 10:45 a.m. Smith still had work to do.
First was the requisite press conference. Smith spoke for about 15 minutes, touching on everything from his days at the University of Florida to life as a Cardinal.
On whether close friends have questioned his coming to Arizona: “All the time. All the time. It's ‘Why the Cardinals?’ I'm like, ‘Why not the Cardinals?’ It's a tremendous opportunity here. I'm excited about being here. I really am.”
On whether he may be tarnishing his legacy: “You know who tarnishes legacies? People. We don't. We play the game because we love it. We don't think about our legacies.
“As an athlete or gladiator, you don't worry about your past. You worry about what your future is going to be like and what you're doing right now. That's what we do. We play football for a living. We don't play legacies and history for a living.”
On whether he has a chip on shoulder because the Cowboys cut him and the Cardinals were the only team to offer him a starting job: “The chip is trying to help this team improve. That's an everyday chip, an every year chip. That's nothing against anybody.”
On the 7,000-foot altitude in Flagstaff: “It definitely has an effect on the body. My first four plays it felt like I ran for 1,700 yards and I probably didn't go more than 20 yards.”
Once the media was satisfied, Smith was quickly shuttled to the sponsor's tent. There he signed more autographs, took more pictures, sold more tickets.
Practice had been over for at least 30 minutes. His teammates were long gone. Smith couldn't join them.
He walked over to a group of fans who patiently had been waiting as Smith greased the team's sponsors.
Smith grabbed a pen and started signing. Seat cushions. Caps. T-shirts.
One man went nuts as he collected Smith's signature.
“Thank you, Emmitt. This is amazing. Oh yes, yes, yes. You made my life, Emmitt. Thank you.”
Finally, 45 minutes after practice, Smith said, “I've got to go.”
The players walk across the street and down a dirt path to their locker room in the Skydome following practices. Not Emmitt.
Hundreds of fans were still waiting for him near the street. He needed safe passage.
He got it from McGinnis, who gave Smith a ride in his golf cart.
It's a privilege of royalty.
