ESSENCE Black Women In Sports host, Sharí Nycole, spent some time at MetLife Stadium to chat with coaches and players for HBCU powerhouses, Howard University and Morehouse College, prior to their matchup at the HBCU NY Classic.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00What's going on Essence fam? It's your girl Sheree Nicole here again on behalf of Essence
00:09Black Women in Sports and this time I'm hanging out at MetLife Stadium to check out the HBCU
00:13Classic between the Morehouse Maroon Tigers and the Howard University Bisons. It's all
00:18going down. I'm super excited. I'm going to chat with some of the players and coaches
00:21about their pregame rituals and also how they plan to win the big game. And guess what else?
00:25I'm going to the big game. I got all the action for you and it starts right now.
00:29What we talk about at Howard is we don't have the huge NIO budgets and we don't have the
00:34fancy buildings and all of those things but I know if you take a 25-pound bumper plate
00:38and you press it 25 times it's going to be the same thing that a 25-pound bumper plate
00:42does for you at the University of Alabama.
00:44What do you say is the main way for those who view HBCU athletics or those who are in
00:48the space to move in a way that's more on the offensive versus on the reactive or the
00:53defensive?
00:54When it comes to meals and using sports science and the way that we approach things and meetings
00:59and the detail and accountability that comes with that, it's no different than anywhere
01:02in the country because at the end of the day it's playing with a football, some helmets
01:05and shoulder pads and it's on grass or turf. The difference is in mindset. The difference
01:09is in mentality and if you feel like you're always short-changed or whatever and you're
01:13on the bottom level of the stick, that's how you treat yourself. That's how it would be
01:16done. So everything we try to do we do in a first-class manner but to give it as much
01:20as required.
01:21These young men, they play for each other. They run the fire for each other. They won't
01:26quit no matter what the score is in the game and they truly love each other.
01:31Is there one thing about HBCU football, inclusive of Morehouse, inclusive of Howard and all
01:36the other schools, that is a staple that you very well have a grasp on that you want other
01:41people to either see or understand as a result of this game?
01:45These young men are just playing because they love the game. It's not about NIL deals.
01:52It's not about commercials. It's not about likes. It's not about all that stuff. They
01:56just love the game and so does the fans of HBCUs. They love it. They love the environment.
02:02It's a homecoming every time you come to an HBCU game.
02:06Some of the best NFL football players came from HBCUs. Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, World
02:11War I think. With NIL and what you see happening with the transport pool, you start to see
02:15some of that talent now find itself in an HBCU. You look at the FCS level which is Division
02:22I. Now you're having young men look at am I going to go to Tennessee Tech or am I going
02:27to Howard University?
02:28If I can do it, these guys can do it. I didn't play high school football. I was a walk-on.
02:33Even all those things like that and I just truthfully tell my story and hope it just
02:37inspires them. I kind of use that and know that I'm a mentor. I know they're always
02:42watching me in whatever I do. I just want to make sure and make my grandmother proud
02:46that I'm leading them in the right way.
02:48You've got to understand that HBCU, especially in football, there's great, great talent.
02:54We've got to find a way to market it more. I'm not saying better because we've been
02:59doing a good job at it, but more. For myself and others that have played at that level
03:07at the professional level, we need to call their friends that's coaching now and say,
03:11hey, come check us out. Look and see what we have. Then once those professional eyes
03:16get in the media, start saying, oh, there's something there.
03:20Corporate sponsorships for y'all being here just to meet these players and build connections
03:24with these players is deeper than football. All these players are hoping to impact the
03:28world and get full-time offers from jobs. For us to get this exposure, for the world
03:34to see HBCU's play, it's really important for us.
03:36Any trash talk you have for your comrade who you'll be facing in this game.
03:41I hope they're ready to get a team that's playing with a different passion, playing
03:46with the understanding that it doesn't matter who the opponent is, the opponent is us.
03:50When you make yourself the most difficult and hardest opponent to overcome each and
03:54every day, you can get some pretty good excellence and hopefully they get a chance to feel that tomorrow.
03:59You know we didn't come here just for a check, right? We came here to win.
04:04We came here to shock the world. I hope you're ready to play.
04:12And with all that trash talk behind them, the kickoff commenced the next day and the
04:16Howard University Bisons got things going early. While HU went into the locker room
04:21sitting comfortably in the lead during the first half, the Morehouse College band looked
04:25to even the score, at least figuratively speaking, during their halftime performance.
04:30HU kept it competitive and showcased some solid moves on the field as well.
04:33And from my vantage point, it looked like a tie.
04:36The second half started off similar to the first, with Howard taking full command of
04:40the game, but late in the third quarter and most of the fourth, Morehouse kept things
04:44interesting and made it into the end zone multiple times.
04:47But it wasn't enough, and the Howard University Bisons ultimately left MetLife Field with
04:52the trophy.
04:53Regardless of who won or lost, it was a great day for HBCU football and a great opportunity
04:57for the world to see the beauty, power and prowess of HBCU sports.
05:02This is Sheree Nicole signing off for Essence Black Women in Sports.