vince
09-12-2007, 06:11 PM
Crosby was Week 1's NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Kicker Crosby is a humble hero
By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
Back in Georgetown, Texas, they say the Crosbys are simple folks. Quiet, humble, hard-working people from the heart of Texas.
So, perhaps it should have been no surprise that the day after Mason Crosby, the Green Bay Packers' rookie kicker, booted the game-winning field goal to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, that his younger brother, Rees, a senior at Georgetown High School, barely mentioned a word of it to anyone as he walked the halls on Monday.
"I saw Rees in the hallway, said hello to him, but he really didn't say anything about the kick," said Frank Ibarra, the freshman football coach at Georgetown High, the only high school in the town of about 40,000 people. "That's just how Mason was. He also was very quiet and never said much. Everyone knew who he was, but he kept to himself a lot. He wasn't one to brag or boast."
To be sure, the entire school — and the entire town — knew about Crosby's latest exploits. It was splashed on the sports pages of the newspaper from nearby Austin and all over the local news.
But, from the sound of things, it would be unlike anyone in the Crosby family to act like anything unusual had happened — at least outwardly.
"That's how we were raised," Rees Crosby said. "If something good happens, that means you prepared well for it, you were focused and determined and you created your own luck. It's not something you go bragging about."
Humbleness rarely is exciting, but such is the first glance into the personal life of the Packers' newest star, who in his first NFL regular-season game lifted the Packers to a 16-13 victory over the Eagles with a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining. The sixth-round draft pick, who beat out incumbent Dave Rayner, also made kicks of 37 and 53 yards to complete his perfect debut.
Crosby's father, Jim, attended Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, but his mother, Karen, stayed behind to watch Rees, a senior linebacker and punter, play a game in San Antonio on Saturday.
"We have a real supportive family like that," Rees said. "If one parent was going to see Mason play, the other would stay and see me play."
The Crosby boys come from an athletic family. Jim played fullback at UTEP, and one of their grandfathers ran track at Marshall University. In high school, Mason not only was a standout kicker and punter, but he earned accolades as a free safety. He also was a standout soccer player and plays to a single-digit handicap in golf.
Yet from the day the Packers selected Crosby at No. 193 overall in the draft, it has taken prodding to get much personal information out of him. His special teams coach, Mike Stock, admitted on Monday that "I don't really know him that well."
"He's a pretty balanced guy," said Brian Cabral, an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, where Crosby kicked for four years. "Even with all the success he had here, he was pretty even-keeled. He's just a humble guy who goes out and does what he does. He was never in trouble. He was a good kid and an all-around good guy. You're not going to find any stories here other than how far he can kick it."
Stock used some of those same words to describe Crosby, who was the third of three kickers selected in April's draft.
"He's reserved," Stock said. "I think he's balanced. He's never going to be too high, and he's never going to be too low. He's human. He's going to miss some kicks, but he didn't miss any (on Sunday). We're just one game into the season, so let's not put anyone into the Hall of Fame yet."
Crosby said he and Rees get their demeanor from their father, who works as a salesman for a chemical company in Texas.
"His personality and temperament is the same as ours," Crosby said. "Don't get too high. Don't get too low. That comes from my dad."
Knowing full well that Rayner was popular among his teammates, Crosby said little during the preseason other than the typical kicker clichés about trying to make every kick and win the job. Always polite but rarely exciting, the 23-year old slowly has made friends on the team. On Monday afternoon, receiver Donald Driver approached Crosby in the locker room and asked him to be a guest on his TV show, but Crosby already had committed to appearing on tackle Mark Tauscher's radio show.
"I usually don't say too much," Crosby said. "I just do my job when I'm on the field."
It helps that Crosby comes from a football background. Though he played soccer like most kickers, he could have played small-college football as a safety, too. He showed some of those skills on the final kickoff of Sunday's game, when he threw his body to make a tackle.
"I don't know if you saw who made the tackle on the last kickoff cover, but you might get a better idea what he's all about," Stock said. "Take a look at it. He didn't go down there and waddle. He went right after him. You need to take a look at that if you want to be impressed by what he's all about."
Kicker Crosby is a humble hero
By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
Back in Georgetown, Texas, they say the Crosbys are simple folks. Quiet, humble, hard-working people from the heart of Texas.
So, perhaps it should have been no surprise that the day after Mason Crosby, the Green Bay Packers' rookie kicker, booted the game-winning field goal to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, that his younger brother, Rees, a senior at Georgetown High School, barely mentioned a word of it to anyone as he walked the halls on Monday.
"I saw Rees in the hallway, said hello to him, but he really didn't say anything about the kick," said Frank Ibarra, the freshman football coach at Georgetown High, the only high school in the town of about 40,000 people. "That's just how Mason was. He also was very quiet and never said much. Everyone knew who he was, but he kept to himself a lot. He wasn't one to brag or boast."
To be sure, the entire school — and the entire town — knew about Crosby's latest exploits. It was splashed on the sports pages of the newspaper from nearby Austin and all over the local news.
But, from the sound of things, it would be unlike anyone in the Crosby family to act like anything unusual had happened — at least outwardly.
"That's how we were raised," Rees Crosby said. "If something good happens, that means you prepared well for it, you were focused and determined and you created your own luck. It's not something you go bragging about."
Humbleness rarely is exciting, but such is the first glance into the personal life of the Packers' newest star, who in his first NFL regular-season game lifted the Packers to a 16-13 victory over the Eagles with a 42-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining. The sixth-round draft pick, who beat out incumbent Dave Rayner, also made kicks of 37 and 53 yards to complete his perfect debut.
Crosby's father, Jim, attended Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, but his mother, Karen, stayed behind to watch Rees, a senior linebacker and punter, play a game in San Antonio on Saturday.
"We have a real supportive family like that," Rees said. "If one parent was going to see Mason play, the other would stay and see me play."
The Crosby boys come from an athletic family. Jim played fullback at UTEP, and one of their grandfathers ran track at Marshall University. In high school, Mason not only was a standout kicker and punter, but he earned accolades as a free safety. He also was a standout soccer player and plays to a single-digit handicap in golf.
Yet from the day the Packers selected Crosby at No. 193 overall in the draft, it has taken prodding to get much personal information out of him. His special teams coach, Mike Stock, admitted on Monday that "I don't really know him that well."
"He's a pretty balanced guy," said Brian Cabral, an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, where Crosby kicked for four years. "Even with all the success he had here, he was pretty even-keeled. He's just a humble guy who goes out and does what he does. He was never in trouble. He was a good kid and an all-around good guy. You're not going to find any stories here other than how far he can kick it."
Stock used some of those same words to describe Crosby, who was the third of three kickers selected in April's draft.
"He's reserved," Stock said. "I think he's balanced. He's never going to be too high, and he's never going to be too low. He's human. He's going to miss some kicks, but he didn't miss any (on Sunday). We're just one game into the season, so let's not put anyone into the Hall of Fame yet."
Crosby said he and Rees get their demeanor from their father, who works as a salesman for a chemical company in Texas.
"His personality and temperament is the same as ours," Crosby said. "Don't get too high. Don't get too low. That comes from my dad."
Knowing full well that Rayner was popular among his teammates, Crosby said little during the preseason other than the typical kicker clichés about trying to make every kick and win the job. Always polite but rarely exciting, the 23-year old slowly has made friends on the team. On Monday afternoon, receiver Donald Driver approached Crosby in the locker room and asked him to be a guest on his TV show, but Crosby already had committed to appearing on tackle Mark Tauscher's radio show.
"I usually don't say too much," Crosby said. "I just do my job when I'm on the field."
It helps that Crosby comes from a football background. Though he played soccer like most kickers, he could have played small-college football as a safety, too. He showed some of those skills on the final kickoff of Sunday's game, when he threw his body to make a tackle.
"I don't know if you saw who made the tackle on the last kickoff cover, but you might get a better idea what he's all about," Stock said. "Take a look at it. He didn't go down there and waddle. He went right after him. You need to take a look at that if you want to be impressed by what he's all about."