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The 48th playing of the Super Bowl will be played today between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. I, along with many others, are hoping for a great game. However, I am also pulling for the Seahawks to win based on the fact that I went to high school and played baseball with one of their players, Golden Tate. I am going to give an inside scoop of what it was like being in high school and being friends with an NFL superstar.
My earliest memory of Golden was in 8th grade. I was playing football for Christ the King school (I went to St. Ann's but we did not have a football team). St. Joseph's was one of the worst teams in the league and lost almost every game. The last game of the season, we heard that St. Joseph's had a new player, his mom just now letting him play. They won the first game of the playoffs, but lost to the powerhouse Holy Rosary. It was us and Holy Rosary in the finals, while St. Joseph's was in the 3rd place game which took place right before our game. I got a chance to watch some of the game and I noticed somebody who was head and shoulders above the competition. You could see the potential in this kid and you knew that he was something special.
Fast forward to basketball season when my school took on St. Joseph's. It was one of the toughest games I have ever played. Golden was incredibly quick and you had to be in great condition just to keep up with him. You could tell that he was not as polished as a basketball player, but he was still really good and you were afraid to play him. We played them in a tournament later in the year. We were relieved to know that he was not playing due to bad grades. However, we lost to them in OT. They were a pretty stacked team with Golden.
During High School, I went to Pope John Paul II High School. Me and Golden were in the same grade. Everybody knew that he was a great athlete and treated him like such. I remember having a few classes with him. He was not the smartest guy but you could tell that he tried hard. During my junior year, we had a test in Personal Finance. Golden was sitting right next to me. I noticed that he keeped looking at the teacher and when the teacher looked away, he had a note card underneath the test that he would look at with all the answers. Personally, I always liked Golden. We were never great friends, but we always talked and he took the time to get to know me. I also liked that just because he was a star athlete he did not change who he was. He was not cocky and was very friendly. He was never in over his head and think he was better than anybody. I believe he got that attitude from his mom, who was a very sweet woman, but was also very stern.
In sports, Golden played football, basketball and baseball throughout high school. You could tell that football was the number 1 sport for him and the sport he loved the most. He played QB, wide receiver, running back, punt and kick return, and cornerback all throughout his high school career. Golden was an impact player and you had to keep your eyes on the game, because if you looked away you might miss something special. His biggest moment was againgst Goodpasture one year. We were down by 14 with about 20 seconds left. Game over right? Wrong! Golden scored a TD, recovered an onside kick, then scored the game-tying touchdown dragging 2 defenders with him to send the game to OT which we wind up winning. We knew he was going to go to a big time school. he would come into the baseball locker room with letters from schools like Nebraska, Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin among others. Every now and then, he would get a letter from a school like San Jose St. He would look at it and laugh and throw it at us and said we can open it. Phillip Fulmer came to our school one day, though we never saw him. Once when I was in theology class one day, Charlie Weis, head football coach of Notre Dame at the time, walks in and talks to us. Later that day, Golden walks up to the stage and lets the school know that he decided to play football at Notre Dame.
Golden also played basketball in High School, although he did not play his Senior year. You could tell that out of all the sports, basketball was his "worst" sport which really did not mean anything because he was still great. One of my favorite memories of high school is my junior year when we played our arch-rival Father Ryan at their place. Down by 1 with 3 seconds left, we inbound just past midcourt. We throw it to Golden at the top of the key who drives to the free throw line and puts up a floating bank shot that goes in to win the game. We rushed the court and it was an epic moment.
Golden also played baseball and boy could he play. I played with him for 3 years, but I mostly sat on the bench watching greatness. Golden is making a name for himself in the NFL but if he really wanted to he could switch over to baseball and he would do just fine. He actually got drafted right out of high school but decided to go to Notre Dame, where he played baseball as well. Golden was the perfect 5-tool player. He had it all and made everything look so easy. He was the starting Center fielder all 4 years. His range was incredible and he had a cannon of an arm. He could throw it from the fence, which was 375 feet away, all the way to home plate on just 1 hop! At the plate, he could hit for average and power. He once hit 3 homers in one day and had an inside-the-park homer as well. He had great speed on the basepath. Many times he would get picked off but he had the speed to get down to second base before the ball could get there. During his senior year, he was gone for most of the practices because he had to go to banquets and other commitments. However, his playing time was never cut, because you know it's Golden Tate. The coach would be stupid to bench him, although if anybody else did the same thing they would not have been playing. One day he even forgot his jersey and the coach gave him his. One day we were playing in a tournament when some scouts for the Yankees came to watch him play. At one point, he had to lay out for a ball. When he came back to the dugout, he asked us, "Is my thumb supposed to bend this way?" with his thumb bent in a weird direction. He wound up tearing a ligament in his thumb and that was the end of his baseball career in high school. He would run track the rest of the year.
As I watch the game today, I will be proud to know that I got to know Golden Tate. Many memories have revolved around him. The last time I saw him was 2 summers ago. I was walking around downtown Nashville when all of a sudden I saw him. Before I could say anything, he yelled my name and rans up to me and gave me a big hug. Not everyday you see an NFL star walking around downtown Nashville. I think that is what sums up Golden Tate. He is a very caring, genuine guy who never forgets the people from his past. He will never let fame get to his head and will never change who he is. That is the Golden Tate that I know and I wish all of you could know. Go Seahawks!
Until Next time,
Nathan Krispin
Boy Meets Sports
