Thursday night Tampa Bay and Washington finished their 2014 preseason campaign in Tampa. Before the game while bubble players warmed up for their final opportunity to make the 53-man roster and fan warmed up their seats in the stands; former NFL players were warming up their vocal chords. The Original NFL Gospel Choir prepared to take the field and perform the National Anthem.
The choir was inspired by Reggie White, the late NFL Hall of Famer and serves as platform for former and current NFL alumni to express their faith through music. The choir includes members that are Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowlers, Walter Payton Man of the Year recipients, Heisman Trophy winners and Hall of Famers. The former players involved have really enjoyed being a part of a team again and that experience has served them well in the choir.
“I feel comfortable,” Former Washington Redskins running back Reggie Branch commented when asked about the correlations between being on a team and being in a choir. “When you have an offense, you have a quarterback, that’s the conductor. You have running backs and receivers and you have (in a choir) tenors and bass!”
“It’s just another one of the fellowships,” former Buccaneers receiver Jerry Bell noted about the choir’s similarities to playing on a team. “When we get out of the game, a lot of the things that we enjoy is being with each other, and this is just another great opportunity for that to happen.”
That would not have happened without Pro Athletes Marketing and its founder Irene Pridgen. Almost every member of the choir credits Pridgen with their involvement. Pridgen, who is also a co-founder of the National Football Players Women Association, is one of the driving forces behind the choir and has motivated these tough men to show a softer side and spread a special message from an unlikely source.
“When young kids see these great men on stage giving praise to our lord and savior I think it will help to convince them to say you know I’ll try that too,” said former Oakland Raiders tackle Henry Lawrence, who remains inspired by what the choir can represent. “For kids to see grown men standing there singing ‘I love the lord’ I think that can help to cause a major breakthrough with our youth, and not just our youth but older people as well.”
Another shared experience by most of the members of the NFL Gospel Choir is that they grew up involved in their church choir so they knew what to expect but not everyone was as fortunate. “I never sang in a choir,” Original Buccaneers receiver Barry Smith commented following their performance of the anthem.
Lee Paige, a former defensive back for the Buccaneers, felt an obligation to do what his mother said. “I have gospel roots and my mother who heard me talking about it encouraged me to do it. She was like hey son you can still sing and I was like, I don’t know and she said you should try.”
They are all trying and succeeding. The performance was received with a thunderous applause from the Tampa Bay faithful. The players hugged and high fived each other as they walked from the field and back to their rehearsal space. Guys were taking pictures with their family members and friends while simply enjoying the moment. There’s no doubt about this choirs ability to grow and don’t be surprised to see the Original NFL Gospel Choir travel to cities across the US and beyond.
In addition to Branch, Greene, Lawrence, Bell, and Smith; Former Eagles defensive end Don Ratliff and tackle Rusty Russell, Former Cardinals and Chargers safety Kenny Greene as well as former Buccaneers Chidi Ahanotu (DE), Kevin House (WR), Gary Huff (QB), and Beau Jarrell participated and were joined by the Without Walls Community Choir and led by choir director Mark Payne.
Photo Credit Allen Buchanan/The Weekly Challenger
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