Steve Wright is one of the many characters of all time in the NFL. Wright spent 11 years in the NFL as a swing offensive lineman. After his playing career ended Wright was on Survivor for a season. Wright joined the Ed Block CourageCast to discuss his career, plus his new book “Aggressively Human: Discovering Humanity in the NFL, Reality TV and Life”
Here is a snippet of the Interview (Some answers have been shortened for space):
Dave: When we were talking getting ready to do this you said that receiving the Ed Block Courage Award as a member of the Raiders was one of your greatest honors in your professional career. Can you Elaborate a little bit of why it meant so Much to you?
Steve: For one. I’ve never won an award playing football It just came out of the blue. I had no idea I was even in the running for it. It was, uh, an honor over all the studs that I played with. You guys know them all from Tim Brown and Howie Long and Marcus Allen and the list just goes on and on and on and they’ve all been injured as well. Um and everybody gives back to the city, you know, the whatever cause you have that support. So I wasn’t really sure how I won it, but all of a sudden I was invited. I think we went to New York (Was Baltimore) for the occasion and it was just an honor to be recognized from all the years of toiling in the trench and putting up with injuries.
Wally: You Know me also being an Undrafted Offensive Lineman that same kind of track, you know at what point did you really feel comfortable? Okay, to say that I belong here, you know. Im starter. Did you ever get over that hump to feel comfortable in that space?
Steve: It’s a great question. No, not really. Just try to stay on my game all the time. My thing that really kept me in the game was staying in the moment, staying in the present. Not worrying about too much out in front, a big game coming up, if im going to be playing left tackle or right tackle or um how bad I did a couple weeks ago, but really staying in the present really helped me a lot.
Steve Wright Elaborates:
Wally: I relate to that one you know? Just you know, when you’re undrafted and you’re just trying to make it there. You’re the best you can right now.
Steve: I mean, I had you know, to elaborate on that story. I had five roommates, all free agents and four of them disappeared, uh, pretty quickly In training camps. I’m sleeping in this six bedroom place by myself, but I would really remember these guys worrying about. It’s Monday and they’re worrying about the 49ers practice game before the preseason starts. Where we’re going to Arizona to go against the Cardinals or something for a week of training and they’re worrying about that. I was like, whoa, I got practice on Tuesday Morning cuz there was 123 free agents. Only three of us made it and everyday they’d put us on the weight scale and there was a line. There was a big list of the 120 people in everyday you get under you see a black sharpie through a few names.
So it’s just like kept my vision on that next morning and then that afternoon and it’s actually even shorter than that. Just the drills just do the best you can right now. Then it just kind of kept rolling on itself and made it. And even when I was starter with the Colts and out here with the Raiders. I never felt uncomfortable but I never felt really comfortable either. I just kind of just let all those thoughts go and just play the best I can and let the chips fall where they may.
