Rutgers football legend Eric LeGrand & sports and entertainment journalist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: The Scoop B Brand
Check Out Eric LeGrand & Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson chat on Scoop B Radio
Somebody send a memo to the gentleman in the Dos Equis commercial, he may have some competition. Rutgers University mainstay Eric LeGrand may in fact be the most interesting man in the world.
Honored with the Jimmy V Award at ESPN’s 2012 ESPY Awards and a recipient of the WWE’s Warrior Award, LeGrand inspired many after the defensive tackle was paralyzed while making a tackle in an October 2010 game.
Since his accident, LeGrand regained movement in his shoulders and sensation throughout his body. Through is all, he’s been an inspiration and his dedication to rehabilitating his body is admirable.
How does he do it? How does he stay motivated through it all?
“Honestly it is just the people that support me and the random people that are looking up to me,” Eric LeGrand told me on Scoop B Radio last week.
“I feel that it is a responsibility, how can I let all those people down? My motivation is my mom who gave up everything for me to learn how to take care of a quadriplegic. I want to get better for her so she doesn’t have to take care of her son for her whole life, you know? So she can be able to relax and do what she wants to do.”
LeGrand says he draws on inspiration from others like former Penn State Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro who had a similar injury. “I feel like in this world we are living in today either through the grace of God or by sheer stubbornness,” said LeGrand. “We will find a cure for this. It’s just crazy how fast technology is growing and what we are doing with it now. That is my motivation and to get everyone else out of these wheelchairs as well.”
As upbeat as LeGrand is, you’d have to wonder if others with similar injuries are as upbeat as him. “It all depends on their situation,” he said. “This injury doesn’t discriminate and people come from all walks of life with this injury. You can have people that are happily married with kids or you could get somebody who is 15 years old and in high school with this injury.”
Added LeGrand:
“So everyone’s mental is different. You could get a gang member who just got shot or you could have somebody who got into a car accident. People’s mindset is different. Some people have a lot of support some people have no support. So everybody’s mental is different so you gotta have that one same thing if you want to be able to deal with this and you have to believe. You just have to [believe] that you will be alright and you will get better and if you do your part, that is the one thing I try to tell people. If you don’t believe that you are going to get better than you are not.”
Eric LeGrand accepts ESPN’s Jimmy V award in 2012. Photo Credit: Bleacher Report
In addition to discussing his health, Eric LeGrand discussed Rutgers’ Big 10 Conference allegiance.He doesn’t think they are over their head in that conference: “I don’t think they are over their head at all,” he said.
“It is going to be a while until they are up there with the Ohio State’s and the Michigan’s, you know? They have been doing and performing well and that greatness has been there for so long, it is going to take a while before Rutgers can get there.”
LeGrand believes it will persistence and patience for Rutgers to see the benefit of switching to the Big 10 Conference:“Around here in the New York/New Jersey area where we are, it gives you so much going on between all the different teams,” he said.
“New York/New Jersey we are a pro-sports area. We aren’t like a college town you got the Knicks, you got the Brooklyn Nets, you’ve got the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers. You’ve got the New York Giants, The New York Jets, we are a pro sports city. So to get people on board with college you have to win. You have to win and with the players we have around here you can do it. They just got to get these players believing. But that is the biggest thing now with this new generation, people are actually growing up Rutgers fans. When I was growing up no one was a Rutgers fan. People are now growing up Rutgers fans which is cool to see.”
Speaking of locality, LeGrand believes that New Jersey can retain local talent to stay and play at Rutgers. “It is not easy because you have these big schools coming at them and these big schools have a lot to offer,” said LeGrand.
“We have a great system when it comes to academic-wise. It is one of the top program colleges in the country when it comes to business schools and stuff like that. You can do anything at Rutgers, but you gotta get those guys that want to have that Jersey pride, but I stay at home even if you are from New York or Eastern PA, Connecticut. Stay home, want to play in front of your family want to stay. If I held up my recruitment I probably could have played anywhere in the country, but I lived 20 minutes from Rutgers and I said: ‘you know what? I am going to stay here. Why go somewhere else and take my time? I have this University right here that I can represent.”
Eric LeGrand’s Ultimate Warrior-inspired Air Jordan’s. Photo Credit: Paint or Thread
Lastly, Michael Jordan is one of the most inspiring and transcendent athletes in the world. Today, retired NBA legend Kobe Bryant celebrated his 39th birthday and surely inspired by Jordan as was Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James. LeGrand counts Jordan as an inspiration as well. After all, when he was honored with the Ultimate Warrior Award by the WWE, he wore custom Air Jordan 3 sneakers to his induction ceremony. “”They came out incredible,” said LeGrand. “And then he hooked them up with the shoe laces too to make the tassels look like the warrior so it was cool, it was real cool.”
As for why he holds Michael Jordan in such high regard, LeGrand broke it down:
“I would say Michael Jordan for his greatest sheer will and determination and never give up and the fight no matter what. The biggest moments [he] never gave up. You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. He showed that he was able to do that.”
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