Neal goes from mat to Super Bowl
By Brian Fees
02/06/2005
For many of the players in today’s Super Bowl, the path to the NFL was a simple one.
First you are a high school star, one who is recruited by all the National powers. Then you head off to college. If you’re lucky you are one of the nation’s best. An All-American, a National Champion. Next, you get drafted into the NFL and of course the rest is history.
For Stephen Neal, life was like that.
Okay, so maybe his path was a little different. In high school, Neal was a football star. He also starred in wrestling, swimming, tennis and track and field. After high school, Neal used his athletic prowess to get into college. He headed off to Cal State-Bakersfield where he was an All-American, the best in the country, and won a National Title.
Oh, you don’t remember Cal State’s National Championship do you? That’s because it wasn’t the schools.
No, this honor went just to Neal. You see, Neal never played football in college. He was too busy dominating as a wrestler. While teammates like Tom Brady, Ty Law and Richard Seymour were busy establishing themselves as college football players, Neal was establishing himself as the best wrestler in the country.
In 1999, Neal beat future WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar 3-2. With the win, Neal capped his career with a second Division I title. While in college, Neal had 31 pins his senior season, most in school history. He had 71 pins in his career, most in school history. He had 156 wins in his career, most in school history.
You can see where this is going. In college, Neal never stepped onto the football field, so he never had a chance to win a Heisman Trophy. He did however win the Dan Hodge Award in 1999. The award is merely considered the Heisman Trophy of college wrestling.
After college, Neal continued his success on the mat. He won the U.S. Freestyle Championship, the Pan-American Games title and the World Championship. In wrestling, Neal is as good as they come. He’s a school record-holder. A National Champion and even a World Champion.
For as dominant as Neal was in wrestling, he wanted more. In 2001 he signed with the Patriots as a free agent.
If you think this is where the rest is history part comes into play, you haven’t been following Neal’s path to the NFL closely enough. After signing with the Patriots, Neal was eventually cut before he played a game. Next, he signed with – of all teams – the Philadelphia Eagles. In Philadelphia, Neal made the practice squad. That’s when another team came calling. Yep, the Patriots wanted him back.
The long path to the NFL had finally led Neal right back to New England. But, even then things weren’t easy. After making his debut in 2002, he missed the rest of that season and all of last year with an injury. It wasn’t until this season that Neal has had an opportunity to see significant playing time. On a 14-2 team like the Patriots, an inexperienced youngster like Neal did not get thrown into the starting lineup. He did however see significant time off the bench.
After today’s game, no one knows exactly what Neal’s future will hold. The one certainty is that the pressure of a Super Bowl will not get to this lineman. Until they lost to Pittsburgh earlier this year, New England had won 21 straight games. The mark seems impressive enough, but it’s hardly unheard of in sports. For many players, they have had streaks like that, whether it be in college or more likely high school. In college, Neal had a streak of his own. When his collegiate career came to a close, he had won 88 straight matches. Oh yeah, he also had gone undefeated in Pac-10 matches in his career. Kind of makes 21 seem like a rather small number doesn’t it?
Once today’s game starts, Neal will just be another member of the Patriots. His wrestling exploits won’t play a role in this game, and as impressive as 88 straight wins are, it won’t help him against the Eagles.
In high school, Neal wrestled a fellow named Ricky Williams. Some in the NFL may remember him. Miami fans will never forgive him. His opponent in that final college match, Lesnar, recently gave up his WWE career for a shot with the Minnesota Vikings in training camp. All this just reminds us that Neal is hardly the first person to excel on the mat and the football field. After today, he could have a distinction neither Williams nor Lesnar will ever hold. National Championship college wrestler and Super Bowl champion.
All that stands in Neal’s way is a team from Pennsylvania. Kind of funny how this state has had such an impact in his life. In 2001, it was the Eagles who gave Neal his chance after the Patriots cut him. And, his match with Lesnar, perhaps the greatest athletic moment of his career, took place just a few hours away at Penn State.
For Neal, Pennsylvania has been good to him. No doubt, he will always wish the Eagles well for the opportunity they gave him four years ago – just not today. Today, Neal is searching for another title. National Champion. World Champion. Super Bowl Champion. Sounds kind of poetic doesn’t it.
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