Antonio Brown

David Aretha

Description

The son of legendary Arena Football League player "Touchdown" Eddie Brown, wide receiver Antonio Brown is nearly as known for his end zone dances as he is for the sheer number of receptions and receiving yards he has racked up since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. However, none of his success came without struggle: Antonio's parents would divorce when he was a child, and he went through a period of extreme hardship, homelessness, and rejection from multiple colleges—even being expelled from one—before making his way to Central Michigan University and, from there, to the NFL. 

Antonio Brown is a compelling profile of one of football's best wide receivers. This lively biography provides readers with a behind the scenes look at Brown's personality, life, and career.

Sujets

• Sport
• Autour du sport
• Autres sports
• Athlete
• Athletics d'Oakland
• American
• Football
• African American
• Recreation
• Professional
• Athletics
• América
• Fútbol
• Sports

Informations

• Publié par: Infobase Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781438195506
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Antonio Brown
Copyright © 2019 by Infobase
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:
Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001
ISBN 978-1-4381-9550-6
You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.infobase.com
Contents Chapters Throw It to Antonio A Star Without a Home Chippewa Warrior Shining in Steel City Antonio Brown, Superstar Getting Personal Smashing Records Support Materials Timeline Bibliography Further Resources About the Author Learn More About The Honor Roll Arena Football League AB and J. J. The Rooneys’ Team Brother Desmond
Chapters
Throw It to Antonio
Antonio Brown would have to step up.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Oakland Raiders on November 8, 2015, their season was on the line. At 4-4, they needed a victory to have a realistic chance to make the playoffs. But they’d have to do it without Le’Veon Bell.
One year earlier, Pittsburgh’s wrecking-ball running back had rushed for 1,361 yards as a First Team All-Pro. And in 2015, Bell was racking up 100-yard games before suffering a season-ending injury on November 1. 
So, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would need to rely more on the passing game, and that meant Antonio. The year prior, the All-Pro receiver had led the league with 136 receptions. Maybe quarterback Ben Roethlisberger—the burly 12-year veteran—would fire 10 passes to his favorite target this afternoon. Or perhaps 12 or 15. Or maybe even... 23? 

Antonio Brown during the Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game, November 8, 2015.
Source: Newscom: Jason Pohuski/Cal Sport Media
Spirits soared as fans poured into Heinz Field that afternoon. Unquestionably, Pittsburgh ranked among the NFL’s most football-crazed cities. At the time, the Steelers had won six Super Bowls—more than any other team—and had made the playoffs 27 times since 1972. Steelers fanatics, many of whom worked in the nearby steel mills, packed the stands. Fans waved their Terrible Towels—the iconic black and gold cloths that had often rallied their team to victory.
Sunshine bathed the Steel City, and the thermometer read 54 degrees at game time. A perfect day for football. During warm-ups, Antonio sparkled as usual. The handsome, bright-eyed 27-year-old flashed his million-dollar smile, revealing a perfect set of blindingly white teeth. 
Antonio, known for his hip-swiveling touchdown dances, had inherited not just the talent but the charisma of his father. “Touchdown” Eddie Brown had been voted the greatest player in the history of the Arena Football League after totaling an insane 303 touchdown catches. (No one in the NFL has ever reached 200). 
On November 8, Antonio would have a day that would make even his father’s head spin.
The Antonio Show began quietly on the second play of the game, when Roethlisberger completed a short pass to Brown for six yards. On Pittsburgh’s second drive, he was wide open deep down field and Big Ben missed him. But he kept throwing to him. In fact, Roethlisberger and backup quarterback Landry Jones would heave 23 passes toward Brown that afternoon, of which he’d catch 17. All day long, Antonio would utilize his remarkably quick feet, dynamic shifting ability, and uncanny instincts to leave defenders in the dust.
Brown’s second catch of the day made the highlight video. He stood on his tippy toes and leaned out of bounds to complete a 13-yard reception. Later in the first quarter, Ben saw Brown racing past all defenders deep down the middle. He launched a long rainbow that Antonio hauled in. He then broke tackles and stumbled forward for a 59-yard gain to the Oakland 24. Fans whipped their towels into a frenzy, but Brown was just warming up.
Late in the second quarter, the day’s hero streaked down the left sideline. Roethlisberger lofted the ball perfectly and Brown caught it over his shoulder on the dead run for a gain of 41. Two more grabs late in the second quarter helped give Pittsburgh a 21-14 halftime lead.
“I had a good flow,” Brown told NFL Media in his smooth, baritone voice. “I was feeling really good, positive energy. I was in the flow, and within every series we were getting the looks we practiced for, and I was pretty positive today.”
To the Raiders, that “flow” felt like a tsunami—especially in the fourth quarter, when he hooked up with Big Ben for completions of nine, three, and 15 yards. Even after Roethlisberger left the game with a foot injury late in the fourth, backup Landry Jones knew whom to target. He hit Antonio for gains of 14, three, and 17 yards. Brown’s 15th catch of the day—a diving grab—set the Steelers’ record for receptions in one contest. The 17th and final catch turned out to be the biggest.
The situation: With 55 seconds remaining, the game was tied at 35-35. The Steelers faced a third-and-two, meaning if they didn’t make it Oakland would receive a punt and have a chance to win in regulation. 
With Brown facing single coverage on the left side, Jones knew exactly what to do. Antonio raced three yards upfield, cut sharply to his left, snatched the pass, turned, and raced 57 yards down the right sideline. Terrible Towels waved supreme, and as the clock expired Chris Boswell booted an 18-yard field goal for the win.
On the day, Brown had amassed 284 receiving yards—the seventh most in NFL history. He also ran twice for an additional 22 yards. Afterward, Raiders safety Charles Woodson—one of the greatest ever at his position—was left speechless. “I really don’t know what to say but ‘wow,’” Woodson told the press. About the only thing Brown didn’t do was throw the ball, which he could have done, for in high school he had been a star quarterback.
In a league full of superstars, Antonio Brown maintained a lofty status. Prior to the 2015 season, in a poll of NFL players, the Steelers receivers ranked as the eighth best player in the league. Following his monstrous ’15 season, he moved up to fourth. The lofty company included 1) Cam Newton, 2) Tom Brady, 3) J. J. Watt (Brown’s college teammate), 4) Antonio Brown, 5) Adrian Peterson, and 6) Aaron Rodgers. Eventually, he’d move up to No. 2.
Amid all his success, Brown could often be seen smiling, laughing, dancing, and espousing an enthusiastic message. “Anytime you get an opportunity to put more fun in the game, that’s good,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of positive energy.”
More than anything, that positive focus carried Antonio to the top. Sure, he had inherited the athleticism of Eddie Brown, but his parents divorced when he was a kid. At age 16, Antonio was kicked out of the house due to conflicts with his stepfather. For six months, he had no home, slept on friends’ couches, and even wound up on the streets. He was so skinny due to his poor diet that friends called him “Boney Tony.” He was ousted from his first college, and scouts predicted he wouldn’t hack it in the NFL.
“I’ve been fighting for my life before and sleeping in cars and trying to find a place to lay my head,” Brown told Tribune Business News . “I’ve had situations where I’ve had nowhere to go.” 
Football, he added, “is the easy part. I overcame life.”
A Star Without a Home
To this day, Antonio has revealed few details and feelings about his early years. But we get a sense of the hurt he felt about his father, “Touchdown” Eddie Brown, abandoning him and his mother.
One story hints at his resentment. When Antonio attended college at Central Michigan University, Eddie acquired a sideline pass to talk to his son. But after the game, after conducting an interview with a reporter, Antonio “walked by me like he didn’t even know who I was,” Eddie told the Indianapolis Star . The two would gradually reconstruct their relationship, but Eddie is now aware of how much pain he had caused. “Every father who has ever been separated from his kids is grateful to get that relationship back,” Eddie told the Star . “But there’s going to come a time when your son is going to say to you, ‘Where the [expletive] were you, Dad?’”
Son of a Legend
In the run-and-gun, smaller-field, all-indoor Arena Football League, the Indianapolis Firebirds featured receiver “Touchdown” Eddie Brown,” often hailed as the greatest player in AFL history. “They called him ‘Touchdown’ for a reason,” Mike Hohensee, who coached Brown in Albany, told ESPN.com . “I don’t remember ever seeing him drop a pass in the end zone.”

Eddie Brown of the Indiana Firebirds, June 13, 2002.
Source: Newscom: Shawn Jordan/Icon SMI 716
From 1994 to 2000 with Albany, and 2001 to 2003 with Indianapolis, Brown dazzled fans with his speed, sharp cuts, sure hands, and wiggly dances in the end zone. In his AFL career, Brown rushed for 32 touchdowns, returned nine kicks for scores, and caught an unbelievable 303 TD passes, topping 40 in a season four times. In one game, he scored nine touchdowns—three more than any NFL player has ever scored in a single contest.
Eddie Brown himself didn’t have it easy. While Eddie’s mom struggled to make ends meet, his high school basketball coach aimed to keep Eddie on the straight-and-narrow. Every morning at six o’clock, Coach picked him up and drove him to school. Eddie had a future in college football, but a challenge faced him and girlfriend Adrianne when they were still in high school. She gave birth to Eddie’s son, Antonio Tavaris Brown, on July 10, 1988. Dad was just 18 years old.
Eddie went off to college—first to Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and then to Louisiana Tech—while he and Adrianne maintained a relationship. Adrianne gave birth to their second and final child together, Desmond, in 1990. 
For a few months as an eight-year-old, Antonio and his brother lived with their father in Albany. In second grade th