Donovan McNabb's Remarks at Weight Room Ground Breaking Ceremony
Donovan McNabb Press Conference Quotes
May 13, 2005
“I just want to talk about some different things. Obviously we know why we are here. I just want to reflect and give a little insight on why I take pride in this particular issue and why my wife, Roxi, takes pride in it. Back in 1994 when I was recruited to come to Syracuse, I remember sitting down and talking to Kevin Rogers, George DeLeone and Paul Pasqualoni. What we talked about was my goal. My goal was to come to Syracuse University and win championships. My goal was to come to Syracuse and receive my degree. My goal at Syracuse was to be a better person when I leave here and be a better man. All of those dreams came true. After I left Syracuse, I talked to some of the underclassmen and told them hard work pays off, as does being determined, goal setting, making sure you are out-working the guy next to you. That doesn’t mean just getting on the football field and making plays. That means being in the classroom and doing extra work. That means spending time in the weight room, spending time in the film room, sitting down and talking to your coaches to eliminate mistakes. Sitting down and talking to my wife, who was a basketball player (at SU), and we just talked about each other’s motivation and they were somewhat similar. We talked about the opportunity we had here, meeting great friends and making sure that we continue to push each other and have that drive and that vision that Daryl (Gross) talked about, and having that commitment as Coach Robinson talked about. And it all starts now.
“When we all sat down and talked about something in which we could take another step forward and the weight room came up, I jumped right on it. This weight room is something special to me because, coming from Chicago where the weight rooms are just as big as our meeting rooms here at Syracuse, I had an opportunity to get in the weight room and venture into different things. At this particular point, it is hard to get me out of the weight room. That’s because I just have the mentality that I feel that I’m doing something that someone else is not doing. My goal is to be the best football player who has ever played my position. The only way that that can possibly happen is if I’m outworking the guy next to me or the guy who is in the weight room or outworking the guy who is sitting down writing his goals down. If it’s in the weight room lifting weights, if it is pushing the guy next to you, if it is talking to the coach and just explaining the vision, that is something that I take pride in. And I have that in my heart – that this weight room is not only to push us to a better team, this is going to boost us to winning championships.
“For the team that we have here, we have some great athletes. I’m just kind of the fourth piece of the puzzle with this weight room. We brought in a heck of a coach in Greg Robinson. And I do remember that game in Kansas City. It didn’t turn out as well as you wanted it to, but it worked well for us. You sit back and you hear Coach Robinson talk. He is a philosopher. He sits down and breaks different things down for the kids to understand his goals, his determination, his vision. I know that in his heart, when he gets the guys out on the football field to prepare for games, in the end, there will be a championship brought here to Syracuse University.
“Talking to Daryl through the whole process of who we wanted to bring in and his attitude toward it. I remember telling him, ‘Hey, this isn’t USC, it’s a better University. Although they may have national championships, now you are going to be with us so expect to bring a little bit of that flavor here.’ We talked about the vision. We talked about where it all will start. And we talked about Coach Robinson. Even before the decision was made, he felt great about bringing Coach Robinson in and the attitude about the defense and the offensive mentality and the special teams. And bringing the winning tradition back to Syracuse. It is something, as a player, you get excited about. When I was talking to Daryl throughout the process, after we got off the phone, I picked up the phone and talked to guys like Keith Bulluck, Marvin Harrison, Kevin Johnson, guys who have moved on to the NFL who I had the opportunity to play with. We know there were tough times watching, but we still bleed orange. I told them about the vision and the things we planned on doing here at Syracuse University. The guys are truly excited. It’s something special to be a part of right now.
“Again, I say that I am very excited about this. This is something in which we all need to be excited about. Not just because this is a weight room, but this is a building block to where we want to go. I was just sitting back as Coach Robinson was talking and those diamonds just continue to shine on his finger (from his Super Bowl ring), I will have one of those soon.”
Question and Answer Session:
What does it mean to you to be able to give back to the program?
“It does mean a lot. It means a lot to come back here and it’s something I take pride in. My wife wasn’t able to make it this time. We try to come around and we make our first stop and eat Acropolis pizza and go down to our favorite, Marshall Street, and just reminisce a little bit. To come back over here to the facility (Manley Field House), as I was telling a couple of the equipment managers here that I just felt like I wanted to go in the weight room and start working out already. It’s an attitude that you have to have. Anytime that you come back to a place where it all starts, it gets your blood flowing.”
How necessary do you feel that a new weight room is to the football program?
“I probably have the most experience out of everyone as far as weight rooms are concerned. When I was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, we had just about everything in Veteran Stadium. All of the weights were pretty much just set in the closet. Coming from Syracuse where you get a chance to move around and grab a couple of different things, it was kind of a wake-up call. We moved over now to the Nova Care Facility where I believe it is over 5,000 square feet as far as the weight room is concerned. That is extremely big. Just working out in there and being able to move around is something that you miss. When you are in the weight room, that keeps your drive and determination going to get out there and work extremely hard and give all that you have. I think this is very important for the success for the Syracuse Orange and where we want to go.”
“I probably have the most experience out of everyone as far as weight rooms are concerned. When I was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, we had just about everything in Veteran Stadium. All of the weights were pretty much just set in the closet. Coming from Syracuse where you get a chance to move around and grab a couple of different things, it was kind of a wake-up call. We moved over now to the Nova Care Facility where I believe it is over 5,000 square feet as far as the weight room is concerned. That is extremely big. Just working out in there and being able to move around is something that you miss. When you are in the weight room, that keeps your drive and determination going to get out there and work extremely hard and give all that you have. I think this is very important for the success for the Syracuse Orange and where we want to go.”
If the weight room is one of the building blocks, what are some of the others?
“For me, just looking over things, obviously it started with the Chancellor coming in and the things that she has been able to do so far and the vision and what she plans to do as the years continue on. Then it was hiring Daryl after Jake (Crouthamel) decided to retire. Daryl has come in with a vision of changing things around and trying to get into his mind that he’s not at USC anymore. It’s kind of tough. I know this sunshine is bringing him home. It may snow soon so it will bring him back. Then hiring Coach Robinson. That’s why I say I’m the fourth piece of the puzzle where things have fallen into place. We have had some success with just some the things we have been able to do so far. I just see this as a continuation of the process.”
Will a new weight room make a difference with recruits?
“I think it does. It’s no different than as a free agent in the NFL. You come with your parents – that’s the only difference. You come with your parents, you’re going around the University campus, you are seeing Newhouse and the Sims Building. You are going through all of these buildings and talking about getting your degree and what you can get your degree in, where we rank as far as student-athletes graduating. But you want to see where your son is going to be. This kind of a home away from home. If it is a comfortable environment, a comfortable setting where you feel comfortable bringing your kid here and coming to visit on the weekend to watch him play and knowing that he is here at a place like this, you feel very confident about your decision to come to Syracuse. I think this will attract some of the better athletes across the nation which will lead us to bringing championships home.”
What drives you to come back to SU?
“I don’t know, maybe it’s because I bleed orange. Just talking amongst the guys who graduated from here who I played with or guys who played before me, guys like Reggie Terry, Rob Burnet, Rob Moore. Just seeing the progress we’ve been making, the energy just continues to rise. Guys are excited to watch Syracuse football on television or possibly come back to the Dome to see an event. You just feel the need to reflect back on the great times that you had here, up on South Campus or being on Marshall Street or being in the Dome winning against Virginia Tech or the University of Miami or whatever it may be. That is something that, no matter what sport you played, it is basketball or field hockey or lacrosse, that is something that you have to have after leaving this place.”
How important is it to you to be part of this program?
“You have to respect the past. I’ve been gone now for seven years. It’s not as long as some of the other guys here. It is memorable because it’s not just what you have done, it’s what the guys have done before you. The guys who have paved the way for you. You can’t act like you are the guy who lit the torch and now the younger guys are carrying it now. The torch was lit before us. It’s our job to continue the legacy. While I was here, it was big that we were able to carry on the legacy that Marvin Graves carried on, that Kirby DarDar carried on. Even before then, Jim Brown and Floyd Little and Ernie Davis – guys like that who have worked extremely hard to bring championships here. Working well in the community where it’s not just that you are seeing a guy on television, you are seeing him out in the community shaking hands and just talking to kids. Those kids who they may have talked to when they were in college maybe are guys you see here – guys who were driven to be the next Ernie Davis, to be the next Marvin Graves, to be the next Donovan McNabb. Those guys are the ones you are watching now. It is exciting to see where those guys are going to go and they will influence.”
