Happy Mother's Day, Mom...and Sons

FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-26 5/10/00

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM…AND SONS

Flowers…candy…even a wedding. Those are some of the gifts NFL players have in store for mom this Sunday, Mother’s Day.

But this year, a group of NFL moms are turning the tables and giving their sons a gift – a from-the-heart poem that tells their offspring just how much they have meant to their lives.

Two members of the two-year-old Professional Football Players Mothers’ Association (PFPMA) – CASSANDRA OGDEN (mother of the Baltimore Ravens’ JONATHAN) and SANDY MC CRARY (mother of the Ravens’ MICHAEL) – have written a "Special Mother’s Day Message" that will be posted on NFL.com this week for all NFL players – and fans -- to read.

The poem (full text at end of release) tells their football-playing sons that their mothers are proud of them and their accomplishments on and off the field.

Lines from the poem’s final stanza summarize the mothers’ feelings towards their sons, and also touch on the message the PFPMA will deliver this year in local community relations projects. The organization will also send representatives to the annual NFL Rookie Symposium in June that is conducted for all drafted rookies. The poem’s final stanza:

"This Mother’s Day you have honored us, and proud of you we are
On the field or off the field, you’ll always be our star
A few have faced disappointments, but for most your dreams have come true
Stay strong, be responsible, continue to make good choices
This is our Mother’s Day prayer for you"

While NFL players will be reading about how Mom feels about them, they also will be showing how they feel about her. A sampling of NFL players’ plans for Mother’s Day:

I’M GETTING MARRIED, MOM!: What a present Jacksonville Jaguars tight end KYLE BRADY has for his mom (VALERIE) this weekend! He’s getting married (to KRISTI JACOBSEN) on Saturday. On Sunday, Kyle will follow up with a full-day spa treatment for Valerie.

Kyle’s biggest problem for the weekend? Enough flowers for the ceremony. "Florists don’t do weddings this weekend," he says.

CARDS’ MOTHERS COMING & GOING: One’s heading west, the other east. Arizona Cardinals tackle L.J. SHELTON is flying his mother PAULA RENEE from her home in Michigan to Phoenix for Mother’s Day. "I’ll take her out to dinner," says L.J. They can rehash his high school days. "My best memories of my mom," says L.J., "were of when I won the state championship (at Rochester Hills [Mich.] High School). She was always there watching me play and she’s the first person I remember seeing after games."

Cards center MIKE DEVLIN will fly back home to New Jersey with wife JULIE, mother of his son and two daughters, and "treat Julie like the queen she is."

BUDDY’S BARBECUE: New York Jets cornerback BUDDY CRUTCHFIELD will return to his home in Raleigh, North Carolina to join in an annual neighborhood tradition – a Mother’s Day barbecue in which Buddy and all his boyhood friends salute their mothers by holding a community cookout.

BILLS VISIT NURSING HOME: A group of Buffalo Bills who will be away from home on Mother’s Day, including MIKE CAWLEY, DREW HADDAD and ROBERT HICKS, will visit a Buffalo nursing home on Friday to give bouquets of flowers to all the resident mothers who are also away from home.

GOOD TO HAVE MOM HOME: Minnesota Vikings punter MITCH BERGER doesn’t have anything too unusual planned for his mother this Sunday, other than spending the entire day with her. Berger’s mom had heart surgery six weeks ago and simply wants her family around her on her special day. And that’s fine with Mitch.

"It’s a chance to express to my mom that I love her and let her know that she is everything to me," says Berger. "I’m blessed to have a mother like I do. It’s a great day to let her know just how much I love her."

DIAMONDS ARE A MOM’S BEST FRIEND: TAKEO SPIKES wants to pay his mother back for giving him his toughness. The Cincinnati Bengals linebacker will be getting his mother LILLIE a diamond for Mother’s Day. That’s because, according to Takeo, she made him "rock hard" when he was a youngster. "When I was sore or hurt from football, she’d say, ‘That’s nothing. Don’t be such a baby. Get back out there and play. You’ll be fine.’"

KAY & KRISTY KLEAN UP: Chicago Bears tackle BLAKE BROCKERMEYER is a wise man. He’ll send flowers to both of the mothers in his life – mom KAY and wife (and mother) KRISTY.

MOTHER’S DAY GIFT FOR ROOMATE: The Denver Broncos’ first-round draft choice this year, cornerback DELTHA O’NEAL, promised his college roommate a special gift four years ago. He’ll deliver it – his sociology degree -- the Saturday after Mother’s Day to that roommate – and mother -- SHERYL JESSIE.

"He wanted me there with him," says Sheryl about the mother and son sharing a townhouse near Cal’s Berkeley campus. "I told him how important it was for him to get his degree. I said: ‘That will be with you forever.’"

Thanks, Mom!

BROWNS DUO TEAMS UP AGAIN: Cleveland Browns quarterback TIM COUCH and wide receiver KEVIN JOHNSON, who last season combined for the most touchdowns (eight) by a rookie quarterback-wide receiver duo since 1971, are teaming up again for Mother’s Day. Each will send their mother (JANICE COUCH and FLORA JOHNSON) a big bouquet of flowers this Sunday.

Speaking for himself and his QB pal, Johnson says, "Every day is Mother’s Day for me."

* * *

A SPECIAL MOTHER’S DAY MESSAGE

From PFPMA to Our NFL Sons

We offer this Mother’s Day message, to you our NFL sons

To let you know that we appreciate all the thoughtful things you’ve done

A true champion to fans and family, be your victories great or small

Your road has not been easy, yet you always gave your all

The limelight often came early, and with it came challenges too

But your dream of joining the professional league was finally about to come true

On the playing field your physical strength was used to help your team score

Your love of the game and athletic feats, would make your mother’s heart soar

Yet with every down you dodged injuries, particularly if your body was in pain

Your knees, your ankles, your sense of self – nothing remains the same

If you win the hometown loves you -- if you lose, it’s a different story

But that’s the business of football, it’s not just good times and glory

Old friends, agents, financial wizards -- how could you know who to trust

Many told you only what you wanted to hear, with little regard for what was just

When you were young, as moms we loved you, and did our very best

Through Pop Warner, J.V., and Varsity football, we rarely stopped to rest

We raised you to be responsible, and taught you right from wrong

Instilling discipline, determination and integrity -- traits that make you strong

Now that you’re in the NFL, fame and wealth have opened many doors

But which ones you choose to enter, that decision can only be yours

This Mothers Day you have honored us, and proud of you we are

On the field or off the field, you’ll always be our star

A few have faced disappointments, but for most your dreams have come true

Stay strong, be responsible, continue to make good choices

This is our Mother’s Day prayer for you.