Rooting for Simms
You may have seen this story about Chris Simms, NFL quarterback and son of former Giants great, Phil Simms.
A highlight from my sports writing career was the day more than 10 years ago that I spent shadowing Chris. At the time, he was New Jersey’s top high school football prospect. I met him at his house in the morning, trailed him at school, and attended a Friday night game under the lights. Not a bad way to make a living.
My editors wanted to capture the process of Simms being wooed by major colleges. His star was clearly on the rise, and it appeared as if he would one day become as successful and beloved as his famous father. Chris was one of the few athletes I covered that I actually rooted for. He was 16 or 17, and he was tall, charming, funny, and polite. He was not arrogant, entitled, or self-absorbed.
One moment from that day stayed with me. It was a conversation I had in the cafeteria with his girlfriend, Danielle, while Chris horsed around with some teammates. She was a sweet and quiet girl -- not a Hollywood beauty, but striking in a small-town way. I could see in her eyes that she was worried about how their relationship would fare. Would it survive this recruiting period, these visits from reporters, the big-man-on-campus college career at a high-profile football school? In fact, the University of Tennessee had chartered a jet to meet Chris after the game that night and whisk him to campus for a visit. It was left unsaid, but understood by both of us, that this new life of his would probably include a lot of pretty (and, shall we say, opportunistic) girls. Danielle’s eyes teared as we talked. She was 16; I was nearly 30, but I felt deeply, deeply sorry for her. I remembered what it was like to be in love at 16. Chris, in the innocent and optimistic way of young boys, vowed he would stay true to Danielle. It was a sweet thing to say, but I had doubts. I’d been around enough athletes to know that the world of professional sports is littered with broken-hearted hometown girlfriends.
So I was delighted when I read, eight or so years later, that Chris and Danielle were married. For some reason, this made the world right for me. Not every bimbo cheerleader gets the quarterback in college, you know? The small town, Noxema-clean beauty still holds some appeal.
Chris is now in the sixth year of his professional football career. This year he’ll back up quarterback Kerry Collins for the Tennessee Titans. Chris and Danielle, who have one child and are expecting another, were in the news again this week, and not for anything that you’d be proud of. But the longevity of their relationship is impressive, and I am hopeful they will learn from this mistake.
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Re: Rooting for Simms
I'd never heard of him, but after reading this, I'm rooting for him too. As I suspect every woman who reads this will be.
May '10
Re: Rooting for Simms
He always seemed like one of the good guys to me, and, aside from being especially stupid for an athlete with big money to lose and the possibility of the kind of bad press I wouldn't get for the same infraction, toking up isn't going to change my opinion of him. It's really not that big of a deal.
I'm a Denver fan and we watched him last year: he's a nice guy who works hard and always does his best to serve the team's interests. I'll continue to cheer him on.
I have to admit, though, the one time that he played last year I thought it was very obvious that his playing days are over. It was a nightmarish performance and every Denver fan knew that he wouldn't survive the off-season with the team.
Coming back from his injury a few years back, the fact that he's still playing is impressive. I hope that last year's performance was a fluke and that he plays better for Tennessee if he sees any time on the field