A Personal Anecdote About the Steelers Keyaron Fox

by Michael Bean on May 28, 2008 11:01 AM EDT

Occasionally, I'll get an email that I'm eager to share with the group. Yesterday was one of those times, as I was contacted by a a very nice guy from Kansas City who had nothing but positive things to say about Keyaron Fox. Sure, it's just one man's opinion, but Steelers fans, including myself, have seen very little of Fox, so any and all information is welcome. Plus, it's a pretty cool story regardless:

Blitzburg,
Signed up for your blog just to get you this message. Wanted to share some views about Keyaron Fox and let you guys know how lucky you are. Having grown up in Houston, have mixed feelings (other than utmost respect for the dynasty and loyal fans) about the Steel Curtain after rubbing our noses in it for so many years :) But, best friend is a Pittsburg boy and rabid fan, so I follow with him.

Quick background. When we relocated to KC area in '04, I went out ahead while we tried to sell the house back in FL. Flew the wife out one weekend in May (instead of me flying home) to look at houses. She ended up on the same flight as Keyaron from ATL to KC, and told me about "this big polite dude who just signed with the Chiefs". She was across the aisle from him, and the woman next to him was asking him all kinds of questions, which he answered politely and a little bit shyly. When the lady asked where he went to school, he said GT, and my wife could not help herself and yelled out "Go Gators" (where our son was attending at the time). About 5-6 weeks later, I was on my normal flight on Sunday, got the window seat, and this huge dude gets squeezed into the middle seat next to me (I aint small, 6' and a 46 regular coat). I mentioned us broad guys always get stuck next to each other, he laughed, and the other guys asks "you play ball?" He says ya, rookie with the Chiefs. Other guys says what position? DB? Keyaron goes "Oh man, I GOT to put some meat on me, No, OLB". I said I think my wife sat across the aisle from you back in May flight on your way to first mini camp. He says "crazy Gator lady?". I admitted it was her. He was a real nice person, and spent the entire flight talking freely with me and the other guy (who owned a sports bar in KC).

The encounter led to my wife and I always looking for #97 on kicks and returns in the first season. Absolute ball hawk, good nose for the ball, and solid tackling technique (I grew up playing MLB). The next year he was getting pulled into defense schemes several times in the opener and looking like a guy who was getting it and pulling his weight. Blows knee out on a crappy slick field in Oakland, season over.

Comes back in '06 with Herm now the boss.goes nuts and plays out his mind when he gets a chance due to injury. In '07, tweaks hammy really badly and misses several games, but put a hurt on NYJ with 9 solo tackles.

Needless to say, I will be watching any Steeler game I can this coming season, just to see how Keyaron does.

All the best,

Name Redacted

I can't wait to watch Fox bang heads on special teams. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Many thanks _____ for sharing and as always y'all, hit me up with questions, suggestions, whatever, whenever.

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Comments

Haha.

That’s freaking awesome.

by HinesField on May 28, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions

Yay

That sounds real good to me – can’t go wrong with a guy that gets after it.

by smashmouthsteel on May 28, 2008 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

we keep

forgetting about Fox in the mix at ILB, to potentially replace Farrior if he ever ages. he could be a steal.

by TheMostViolentTeam on May 28, 2008 12:45 PM EDT reply actions

cool story

I’ve never met an athlete in a setting like that but if I’m ever lucky enough to get the chance, I hope they’re cordial like he was.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on May 28, 2008 12:58 PM EDT reply actions

Meeting an athlete

That story is pretty cool. It’s especially cool that the writer met Fox again after his wife did.

My one brush with fame was meeting Kevin Greene. I had this training class in a hotel in downtown Atlanta, and the Friday afternoon before the Rams-Titans SB, I saw him in the lobby while I was waiting for my car. So, I went up and asked if he was Kevin Greene. He said he was. I told him I was a fan from his Steelers and Panthers days. He called a friend on his cell phone, and I figured he was done talking to me. But, after he was off the phone, he actually talked to me some more about the days in Pittsburgh, but he also really harkened back to his days in LA. I could tell that, while he enjoyed his other stops, he was a Ram at heart. He definitely thought they would win the SB that year. He showed me the AFCC ring from ‘95. That sucker was huge!

Anyway, he was really nice, and I figured part of it was just that I didn’t bug him too much at the beginning.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 28, 2008 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

"My one brush with fame was meeting Kevin Greene. "

The only famous person I’ve ever met was Franco Harris at a charity event in Hershey about 20 years ago. He was really nice actually, but I had no idea who I was talking to at age 9 or whatever. Now that I’m a PSU grad and a huge Steelers fan, I realize I met one of the most important, dominant sports figures of all time. Lucky me I guess.

My mom is also a huge fan, and she witnessed the Immaculate Reception in person, so she was probably a little more impressed than I was at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZi2ryWsShY

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on May 29, 2008 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions

That's awesome

In any interviews I’ve seen him in, he always seemed like one of the nicest guys. In fact, the way he talks is somewhat similar to Troy Polomalu, just very soft-spoken.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 30, 2008 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Noticing a pattern

A couple actually. Number one we are really zeroing in on high character guys for the most part. Also, we seem to be investing in players who may have dropped under the radar due to injuries, but have tremendous upside. Article in Tribune-Review today indicating that Matt Spaeth is just reaching full strength from shoulder surgery he had before he was drafted. He could be much improved over his rookie season. Sweed also seems to fit that pattern, as well as that of being a pretty high quality guy. I’m getting pretty psyched about what’s being put together this year.

by Ivan Cole (RickVa) on May 28, 2008 1:48 PM EDT reply actions

Could we be looking at something similar to the 49ers '86 draft?

On the NFL network, they did a show on the Top 10 drafts of all time (of course the Steelers draft of, IIRC, ‘74, was number 1, with Lambert, Swann, Stallworth, etc.). But one of those was the 49ers draft, I think it was ‘86. Bill Walsh talked about taking some chances on players that dropped due to injury, and he said they all panned out (or nearly all). If we could get that sort of production out of our picks from this year and last, we’ll be a dominant team for the next 3-5 years. Of course, that’s all speculation at this point, but we’ll see soon enough.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on May 28, 2008 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions