A Plaxico Burress Dream

     The Virginian Pilot reported that Virginia Beach recognized New York Giant's receiver, Plexico Burress, with a special day and retirement of his jersey. The article recited his high school coach who said,"He's really connected all the dots. He never lost who he is".(Pilot Article)

     I've watched Burress with special interest because I had some interaction with him in Virginia Beach. I remember when he announced that he was going to attend Michigan State. Then, of course, I remember when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him. All those steps were part of his dream. I'm guessing a dream of a superbowl win.

     I also remember seeing some of his dream on one evening. It was at the Bruce Smith tournament in Virginia Beach. Bruce annually held this as a weekend fund raiser where he invited players to come play golf and be part of an entire weekend for fund raising purposes. Some of us at the firm would help with the activities including coordinating the players back and forth to the airport, getting memorabilia signed for the auction and getting each player their room keys and making sure they were shuttled back and forth to the events.

     On this particular year, we were at the last event in the main ball room. The auctioneer was about to begin the live auction events, which were always lively because they included the players bidding, who seemed as excited about signed sports items as everyone else. As I was standing off to the side, a seventeen year old Burress came walking by with his girlfriend. At that time, he was already known for his prolific high school achievements. He looked around at all the players, who numbered about 40-50 and I saw a wide eyed look as he took it all in. I walked up to him and introduced myself and said, "Someday, you'll be part of this and everyone will be paying for your autographed items". He smiled and said,"I hope so".

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