I was driving down one of the main drags in Columbus (OH) last week, checking stuff out, as I am wont to do. I was waiting for the light at the intersection of Lane Avenue and North Star (a busy intersection) and noticed a sign stuck in the mulch. What caught my eye was the mention not only of Chris Spielman’s name, but also the web site ChrisSpielman.com. Why did this catch your eye, you ask? Well, hey…I’m really glad you asked that!
I was a fan of Spielman’s play as a linebacker at Ohio State in the 80s. NO ONE played harder than this guy did. He wasn’t the biggest and wasn’t the fastest…but he never stopped fighting to get to the ball…and when he arrived, you KNEW it. He went on to an All-Pro career with the Lions, and briefly with the Bills and the Browns. Eventually, he broke something in his neck and his career was done. In the midst of all that, however…his wife Stefanie was diagnosed with cancer. Chris took time off from football to be at home with her…supporting her. There was a famous picture of the two of them, bald, after he shaved his head in support during her chemo/radiation treatments. Nearly 10 years later, she seems to be well (although she’s had some relapses), and football is just a memory. They have raised a ton of money for cancer research. I admired his example a lot.
Chris has a radio show here in Columbus that I listen to frequently. Several years back, when I was just a “little bitty baby” web developer, I checked….and sure enough…ChrisSpielman.com was available. So I grabbed it and put up a little tribute site to the guy. I don’t know Chris…have never met him…but I just thought there should be a web presence of some sort for him. And yes, I own it to this day…so this banner was advertising my web site. Nice surprise!
Back Story: Earlier this year, I was contacted by the people helping him put on his first football camp this summer. They asked if I would put something on the site about it. I did…and that explains the signs…although I didn’t know they were coming. I also added info about Chris and Stefanie’s upcoming cruise to raise money for cancer research when asked by the folks at Travel Partners.
By the way, I was doing some voiceover work at Ozone Studios (a production house here in Columbus) yesterday…and when I walked in, I had to walk right past a photo shoot with Kirk Herbstreit, former OSU quarterback and current ESPN college football guru (and I mean “guru”…he really knows his stuff!). Kirk also has a radio show with Bruce Hooley on the same radio station that Chris does. I had seen Kirk once previously when he handed me my lunch one day at a Taco Bell drive-thru (long story), but hadn’t actually been in the same room with him before.
The guy is ridiculously good-looking…6’5″ and tanned as the day is long. Somehow, he got all the “looks” genes. The room had about 20 people in it…but it was obvious at a glance that there was just one person in the room who belonged in front of the camera. He’s an Adonis. You know how they say there are people that are so sexy, they can cause a member of the same gender to “switch teams”? Well, it’s rumored that Kirk has actually converted some WOMEN to sports fans…just so they can have an excuse to watch him on TV…talk about your miracles! 😉