Super Bowl QB has DePauw connection
By DAVID CLUCAS
Banner-Graphic Staff Writer
Dean of DePauw
University's Music School Patricia Collins Jones is hardly an expert on
football; she's a musician.
In the last week, however, football has
dominated the office talk. Her nephew is off to the Super Bowl; not to watch,
but to start at quarterback for the New York Giants.
On Sunday, Kerry
Collins threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-0 drubbing of the
Minnesota Vikings. The Giants won the NFC Championship and will play in the
Super Bowl on Jan. 28.
"I had a good feeling about that game," Jones
said. She called to congratulate her nephew and left a message on the machine.
"I can just imagine how busy he is."
Despite the fair amount of distance
between Indiana and central Pennsylvania, Jones has kept up with Collins from
the days when he was a young athlete.
"Both my nephews were quite
athletic," she said. "In high school they competed for the same quarterback
spot."
As Collins moved up the ranks to become the starting quarterback
of the Penn State Nittany Lions, Jones said she was encouraged to learn more
about the game of football. She wanted to be able to follow the success of her
nephew. When Penn State visited Northwestern, Indiana, or Illinois, she went to
see him play. And if that wasn't exciting enough, in 1994 she went to see Penn
State win the Rose Bowl. As Collins moved to the NFL, Jones saw him play against
the Rams when he was with the Carolina Panthers and this year went to a
Giants-Bears game.
"I'm very proud of him," Jones said. "Not just for
what he's done athletically, but also how he's grown within himself." After
being swamped with the pressures of being a young quarterback in the NFL,
Collins struggled with alcohol problems. He left the Panthers and played a
little for the New Orleans Saints. By the time the Giants signed him, many
sports reporters were skeptical of his future. But Collins soared back, and
Jones said he is thrilled to repay the Giants for the faith they showed in him.
"When we spent some time together in Chicago before the game, I was
impressed how comfortable he was with himself. He's a very strong person."
Jones thinks that New York is a good place for Collins. In the city of
so many people and famous stars, Collins just blends in. Before, with the
Panthers and Nittany Lions, the small market areas made Collins a stand out in
public. Jones remembers once when she was with him at a restaurant and several
fans came up wanting autographs.
"When the third person came up
asking:'Aren't you Kerry Collins?' Kerry turned around and said, 'No, I'm sorry,
I just look like him.'"
Originally, Jones had planned to watch the Super
Bowl on TV, but a call from Collins' brother Patrick now has her going to Tampa
to see the NFL championship game in person.
Of the Giants Super Bowl
opponents, the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens, Jones said: "I caught a glimpse of
what that (Tony) Siragusa did to the Oakland quarterback (Rich Gannon); he
better not do that to Kerry."