Time for another retro-blog! Since the NBA is currently on hiatus, I've resigned myself to the fate of having to get friendly with some other sports real quick. I've been watching a bit of NFL, but really only the Chargers games, for reasons that will become clear soon enough :) However, I'll be keeping up with more games so that I can get my pro sports fix for the winter.
On April 26, 2009 I wrote the following blog post on my friend and little brother Vaughn Martin, aka #92 for the San Diego Chargers! Because I will never stop being proud of this dude, read on to see my '09 draft day reactions...
I read lots of different blogs, and I always laugh when bloggers take a photo with a celeb, then caption it by saying "Me and my good friend so-and-so", and I pretty much figure they're just trying to name-drop on the photo-op. But now I have my very own celebrity friend! Meet Vaughn Martin.
Vaughn and I go back to high school days...he's been good friends with my younger brother, and we've all been tight like briefs in batty creases. Years later, after South Secondary, parties at Jim Bob's, and chillin' at the Twins' house (lol), Vaughn decides he's going to make history by becoming the first Canadian underclassman to enter the NFL draft. Was he crazy? As of today, not only did he accomplish that, but he was also the second-highest selection ever for a player from a Canadian school! As Vaughn is now the newest addition to the San Diego Chargers, I know which home game I'll be traveling for when the next NFL season opens! Whether he plays in the first game or not, I gotta be there to support. That's what friends do.
With all the hype surrounding Vaughn, none of it has gone to his head - he's still the same Vaughn he's always been, and I love him for that! All too often, people are quick to switch it up and start feeling themselves a bit too much, but not Vaughn. Not only am I ecstatic for him and his new venture, but he's kind of given me a kick in the pants and reminded me that I don't need to be complacent in my own life. I need to go out there and get what I want out of life, create my own opportunities, and not wait for someone to hand something to me - especially in the face of people telling me that I can't do it. First Obama, now Vaughn...on so many different levels, people are constantly proving the status quo wrong, and I'm loving it!
Go Vaughn - it's ya draft day - we gon' party like it's ya draft day! Corny? Yes, I know...lol!
Click here for an insider's look at Vaughn's story, courtesy of TSN.