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Fame won't go to Tyree's head

Shaun Powell
February 12, 2008

LOS ANGELES

He rolled up in a stretch limo to the TV studio, saw a magazine with his picture on the cover lying in a waiting room and watched a helper almost pull a hamstring while fetching him a cold bottle of water.

If you're David Tyree, who never drew this stir before the Super Bowl, what do you do? Well, of course, you throw up your hands and rest them on your head. Yeah, that's the move.

"I can't really believe all of this," he said.

The Super Bowl was what, more than a week ago? It's all a blur to the hero of that game, the player who went from a special-teamer to special TV guest, the fourth-string Giants receiver who made the toughest and possibly biggest catch in Super Bowl history.

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Yes, if you're David Tyree, you instinctively throw up your hands and rest them in disbelief on your head, even if the football, once famously stuck in between, is suspiciously missing.

"God is good," Tyree said.

Right after the Giants' victory parade, he flew cross- country and made the national talk show circuit here in the city famous for making folks famous. During a short rest between takes, Tyree took time to count his blessings, of which there are many.

Years ago, he traded his past, which included an arrest for marijuana possession, for religion and changed his life. He lost his mother during the recent holidays, but he and his wife expect to welcome twin girls next month. And no matter where his football career goes from here, he'll live forever in Super Bowl lore because of a catch that to this day defies logic.

"I haven't even returned all the calls I've gotten from people," he said while getting a few strokes of makeup. "I'm a little backed up."

Whenever he's recognized, people want to talk about The Catch, which he made to complete The Play, which helped the Giants win The Game. It's frozen in memory by now, how Eli Manning broke free from the grasp of two Patriots and heaved a pass that wiggled a bit before falling toward Tyree. The receiver was smothered aggressively on the play by the Patriots' Rodney Harrison but still managed to grab the ball, press it against his helmet with one hand and hold on to it while he fell on top of Harrison.

The ball and the helmet have become symbols of the Giants' victory, set in bronze, and the man who made it happen will happily describe it well into his rocking-chair days.

It appears that only the football, not sudden stardom, will cling to Tyree's head. He's an athlete worth rooting for, someone who appears humbled and gracious and even more grounded in life than Tom Brady was by the Giants.

It's probably because Tyree, in his wildest dreams, never anticipated being on the cover of Sports Illustrated or hearing his name being screamed in a victory parade.

He's come a long way since high school in Montclair, N.J., and then Syracuse, where he was determined to reach the NFL despite the odds. He's only 6-1, doesn't bring world-class speed but impresses his teammates with his refusal to quit on plays.

Early in his career, he mostly used his now-famous hands to tackle, making the Pro Bowl as a special-teams player. Then he saw his rank in the Giants' receiving rotation fall to fourth this season.

He also overcame a habit of getting into trouble, most glaringly four years ago when he was pulled over and found with marijuana. It's a subject Tyree doesn't distance himself from. He spoke candidly about it three months ago in a soul-bearing moment during a panel discussion about the lifestyles of athletes at the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair. He raises his cautionary tale when addressing youth groups.

"I didn't always do the right things," he said, "but it changed me."

Most unlikely Super Bowl heroes ultimately fade in time. Jim O'Brien, Desmond Howard, Larry Brown, they all had their TV turns, too, before moving on. As he rose from the makeup chair last week, Tyree signed a football "2008 Super Bowl champions." Those requests will multiply, even in the distant future, because for Giants fans, Tyree is locked into history.

He shrugged quietly and said softly: "It's nice. But to be honest, after I leave here, I'll belong to my wife. I look forward to that."

Imagine: A Super Bowl hero famous for hanging on was in a hurry to let go of a memory. If only for a moment.

Related topic galleries: National Football League, Multi-Sport Events, Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison, Football, Yogi Berra, Super Bowl

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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