Traveling with T-Sizzles
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Day Two: Nagurski Award Celebration
Tuesday, Dec. 10:
The day started out early once again with a 6:30 a.m. shuttle to the Charlotte Airport to hop on a plane for Houston for the Lombardi Award. After winning the award last night and it being a long day, it was going to be a chore to get Terrell out of bed and on that plane. But, that wasn't the case as it was Terrell who gave a bright and early wake up call to me to get me out of bed and proclaimed, let's get on this plane and win another award. With a new bounce in his step the Arizona State party boarded a van with Shane Walton (Notre Dame), Lisa Nelson (Notre Dame SID) and Coach Walters from ND. After checking in his bags he grabbed a Cinnabon and two magazines and waited for the US Airways plane to leave. In the line to board, all four traveling to Houston for the Lombardi Award (ASU SID, Maryland SID, Terrell and E.J. Henderson) were all screened for security reasons.
The plane ride was an easy 2 hours, 45-minutes with Terrell sleeping almost the whole way while enjoying his own row of seats. While he was disappointed there was no movie, he did admit that he would have slept right through it.
A limo picked up the candidates at baggage claim in Houston and took them to the JW Marriott Hotel in The Galleria area of Houston. Terrell was given a couple of shirts, his much anticipated $100 for incidentals and went away to his room where he was very happy with his big king bed. After lunch, his girl friend Jamie arrived from another flight out of Charlotte and then the whirlwind tour around Houston began.
After the initial fitting of the tuxedos for the Wednesday dinner, the first stop for the four finalists (E.J. Henderson, Maryland; Tommie Harris, Oklahoma; Cory Redding, Texas; Terrell Suggs, Arizona State) was at the Burnett Bayland Home for Juveniles. Each player talked for three or four minutes about their background and how to make correct choices. Terrell went last after a video of his highlights introduced his great season. He spoke about he grew up in the city in Chicago and didn't always make the right decisions and how important it was to surround yourself with good people.
After a snack (not a snack for Terrell as he had a steak and a fried Twinkee) at Franki B. Mandola's restaurant, the finalists made an appearance on KILT radio, the home of Houston sports. The four finalists split up with Henderson and Harris going first, then Terrell and Cory Redding going next. Terrell was joking on how Cory is the favorite for the award being from Houston and being a Texas Longhorn. Like the entire week, he immediately became a favorite of the two sportscasters.
After a 15-minute break (which has been one of the longest so far this week), the finalists got back in their limos and headed for Reliant Stadium for the VIP reception. The evening featured Terrell signing a ton of autographs, an introduction by one of Houston's most popular radio personalities and a couple of pictures with the Lombardi Trophy. Terrell's parents arrived in town for the reception and were all smiles with the honor that has been put up on their son. A special appearance by Miss Texas USA 2002, Nicole O'Brian was a surprise to the finalists and all four got their pictures taken with her around the "Block of Granite" trophy.
The night ended around 9 p.m. after returning from Reliant Stadium. After a long day, Terrell hit the sack for some good night rest, knowing another early 7 a.m. wakeup call was right around the corner.