2008 Woodie Awards
Tiki Barber sneaks through SHU
Adam Kagdis
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: News
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That is the advice that Tiki Barber, the starting running back for the New York Giants, mother says to him before every game.
She may not have given that pep talk before he spoke at Sacred Heart University on Tuesday, Feb. 28, but he gave the crowd great advice from an underdog point of view.
"You know why I smile? Because I love my teeth," said Barber.
The event, In Pursuit of Excellence: Leadership, Determination and Teamwork, took place in the Edgerton Center for the Performing Arts.
"This was an opportunity for me to deliver a message that shaped who I am," said Barber. "I want to encourage [students] to find their passion. Always find ways to reinvent [yourself] to make [yourself] a better person."
Now that the season is over Barber plans to "really relax" and take care of certain things, like his boys birthdays, and Dr. Seuss's birthday.
"The end of Feb. is very important to me because it is Dr. Seuss's birthday, and literacy is very important to me."
Tiki and his brother, Ronde, have been writing children's books in their free time. This is significant to him because he was given the chance to succeed through education, he was prepared for the real world, and he has been able to flourish under these circumstances.
He also expressed the importance of the relationships within ones family. They are the "crutches" that will help you move to the next level.
Barber explains his mother as a "phenomenal woman, she only wanted to provide for us. Perseverance, and family, that was my mother."
Barber was born premature and suffered from febrile seizures as a toddler,
"I had to fight, persevere, and be determined, I had to work as hard as I could," said Barber.
"Tiki taught me to strive to be the best. He had a passion, we all have to be passionate or else we fail, and it will hurt our souls," said Joe Dellaposta, senior, Shirley, N.Y. "He taught me that there is never a reason to give up."
Barber was told he could never play contact sports. But he used the fierce determination passed on to him by his mother, a breast cancer survivor and single parent, to shine both academically and athletically.