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Championship!!!!
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In Adrian Mayes’ life, there is no script. You simply set goals along the way, work hard and enjoy the ride. You would be hard pressed to tell Mayes you have to be a college superstar or appear on Mel Kiper’s draft board to have a shot at the NFL. Simply put, Mayes sets his goals and goes about achieving them by whichever means necessary.
For him, the road to the Cardinals 53-man roster is less about Heisman trophies and hype than about lots and lots of hard work. Well, that and sketchy cab drivers, Burger King vouchers, Las Vegas weddings and German barbecue (which is pretty good if you hear Mayes tell it). Who knows what the ending will be, but the story sure has an interesting plotline.
Mayes made the switch from safety to linebacker during his senior year at LSU in 2003. After injuring his wrist early in the season, he was used primarily as a backup. Not too encouraging for most people who have dreams of making it the NFL, but for Mayes, it was just another obstacle to overcome.
“In college I played mostly on special teams so I said I was going to pray and try to go somewhere and I went out and I did some good things,” offered Mayes. “Coach Solomon (defensive backs coach) mentioned to me one time ‘I have seen you at pro day and I have seen you working out and I thought, shoot, why weren’t you playing, because originally I came here to see Randall Gay.’ That has triggered me ever since.”
Gay is a starting cornerback for the World Champion New England Patriots and a friend of Mayes. They both came to the NFL from LSU where Gay was a running back who converted to cornerback. Just like Mayes, Gay was injured and it limited his playing time during his senior season.
“He just stuck through it all. He just kept working and working and maybe God just puts people in those situations so people can appreciate it more,” confessed Mayes. “He took advantage of his opportunities and that is all you can do.”
Mayes does not yet have the Super Bowl ring that Gay possesses but he looks to his success as a reminder that there is no set path to achieving your goals.
The Houston, Texas native entered the 2004 season as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Cardinals. The coaches were intrigued with his abilities on special teams.
“Thank God Coach (Kevin) O’Dea (special teams coach) watched the film and got me in and Coach Green agreed with him that I should be here,” added the former state of Texas hurdle champion. “Those guys gave me an opportunity and coach Solomon worked with me one-on-one and he saw as much potential in me as I saw in myself.”
He made it through training camp, but was released in the final round of cuts. He was then signed to the practice squad until he was called up to the 53-man roster on November 2 after which he saw action in four games on special teams.
The NFL season is a long one, especially for a player in his first year out of college. Most players are glad for the break by the time the season winds down. Mayes didn’t know it yet, but his season was about to get a lot longer.
After the NFL regular season ended, head coach Dennis Green told him that he wanted him to go to NFL Europe to get some more experience in game situations. He jumped on the opportunity and went to Europe to join the defending World Bowl champs the Berlin Thunder.
Mayes offered these observations on the experience of being an American football player in Europe:
On the competition:
“I enjoyed it a lot. It made me realize and appreciate the opportunities that I have. You had guys over there that were allocated by NFL teams and you had guys that weren’t. They were just free agents or whatever and they were fighting for a chance to get noticed. For them it was up in the air and if they didn’t get called by a team it was back to a regular job. It made me aware to take advantage of my opportunities because I knew I could come back and at least have a chance to compete when I got back to the States.”
On the World Bowl title game:
“The guys over there stepped it up to another level. Unfortunately we didn’t come out on top but everybody was there to prove a point and Amsterdam was out to prove a point because they wanted to win a World Bowl. Everything was more intense those guys just came out hungry. To me, that was my Super Bowl. That is something that I lost and it was something that I wanted. That is why, being back here, it made me want it even more. I came back with a whole different attitude. When I was here last year I was quiet because I was a rookie and I didn’t want to say too much. Over there I turned into a totally different person. Everything changed, I just appreciate my experience. I am happy to be back here, but I am not the same person. Spiritually, attitude wise, work ethic wise, everything is different because I want it more.”
On fan reaction:
“It was different because football to us is actually soccer to them. So when people ask you what you do and you say play football, people think you play soccer and they come up to and ask you to sign soccer balls. So guys are walking around signing all these soccer balls. I think people are getting more involved though. With the Colts going to Tokyo and us playing in Mexico City, it is bringing the game to an international level.
In Europe they blow whistles during the game and it throws the quarterback off because he doesn’t know if it is the referee stopping the play. They blow whistles the whole game and they play drums too. The celebrations over there are a lot different too. You could put on a whole show without getting a flag thrown. It is like you are entertaining the crowd. You have to keep in mind that you have to come play back in the States because some of the things you can do over there you can’t do over here.”
On the cab drivers:
“It helps to learn the language. You have to learn how to say simple things like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ but we did have a funny experience. We had an equipment guy that was German but the cab driver must not have been able to tell because we were going to one of these parties that they throw for you after every game. We were trying to get a cab there because we missed the bus that takes everybody there. We mentioned the name of the hotel and the cab driver acknowledged us and started to ask his friend, another cab driver, where it was located. The guy told him that it was just down the road but to drive around the block a few times to get the meter up. Well the equipment guy with us starts telling us everything they were talking about. The equipment guy told them in German that we weren’t falling for that and the cab guys were shocked and couldn’t believe we understood them. It was great.”
On the food:
“I kind of stuck with most of the stuff I was familiar with. They gave us vouchers and coupons for Burger King, so every week we would go there. It was pretty self explanatory. You said you wanted a number one, number two or number three and they understood that. We had a place called Jack’s Pizza and that was real good. They had had English menus and spoke English. I just stuck to the basics mostly. It made me appreciate the States though if you are at a McDonald’s or something like that. Over there you have to pay for ketchup if you want some with your meal. Over here it is free. Occasionally they would have a barbeque for us and it was pretty good actually. It was like a back home backyard barbeque so that was good.”
Mayes returned to the Cardinals training facility as the team was nearing the end of the team organized workouts. He received a couple of days off before it was right back to the field. For most players trying to make the team, especially the rookie free agent rookies, guys work a little extra or stay those extra few minutes. They always try to get that valuable second look or an approving nod from the coaches.
“I want it now even more than I did before,” said the second-year pro. “When I came in as a free agent I knew I was going to have to do this and do that. It has been a long year from the college season to the draft to working out for pro day. I am looking at the big picture right now. If I work hard now I will be able to take that break later. Coach Green came to me and wanted me to play in Europe and it was my opportunity to prove myself. I even had to change my wedding date.”
Change the wedding date? Must be an understanding fiancée!
“On February 19th, I got married,” said Mayes. “Coach Green told me he wanted me to play in Europe and we were going to delay the wedding for a year, but I knew that I wanted her to be my wife before I went to Europe so we went to Vegas and tied the knot. She actually came to Europe for a while and enjoyed herself and met some people. It was beautiful having her over there. It wasn’t any kind of honeymoon or anything because it was all business. Being in the film room, being with the team on the field and in practice was not a vacation.”
Mayes is definitely not a man who lacks motivation and he is someone who has set goals for his life. Most importantly, it seems Mayes is enjoying the ride. He smiles when he talks of getting married, he laughs about adapting to life in Germany and his eyes widen with excitement when the talk turns to football. Sure, some forks in the road have appeared, even some roadblocks that seemed destined to slow him down, but whether the goal is a spot on the 53-man roster or finding time for that long awaited honeymoon, regardless of the path he takes or setbacks he encounters, chances are he will get where he is looking to go.
By Mike Helm
Cardinals Media Relations
http://azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2917
