Pregame Ritual – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
With his fear of a pre-game ritual going bad, Salley keeps his thoughts away from pre-game superstitions. He has no particular way of putting on his uniform or lacing his cleats, nor does he have a special song to listen to.
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Looking at 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pound senior free safety Nate Salley, many people may picture him jamming to music before the game or going crazy with his teammates in the locker room. However, appearance may be deceiving as Salley goes a whole different route to get pumped up for a game. Salley finds inspiration from his family.
With his fear of a pre-game ritual going bad, Salley keeps his thoughts away from pre-game superstitions. He has no particular way of putting on his uniform or lacing his cleats, nor does he have a special song to listen to.
Instead, Salley uses his time to call his mother, Patricia.
“He calls before every game and I sing to him from an old poem my mother used to read to me,” Patricia said. “She read it to me to motivate me and that’s why I read it to Nate.”
The poem, Persevere, is now a song recorded by Grand Bahama Island artist Phil Stubbs and is a family tradition from Salley’s younger years and his days at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“When I hear her sing I remember how she raised me with no slacking,” Salley said. “She always taught me that the sky was the limit. This song shows me that no matter when you will stumble you will always succeed if you continue to work hard.”
The family-oriented ritual continues on as Salley runs out of the tunnel with his teammates and throws up a hand-made “L,” made by extending the thumb and index finger of his left hand, to the crowd and his parents.
The “L” represents their hometown and the old-time Fort Lauderdale chant, “Lauderdale in the house.”
“This makes me think of home and where my football career all started,” Salley said. “I think of all the people there watching and cheering for me. It puts joy in their hearts to see me play. It’s crazy. My parents are more pumped up than I am.”
Salley’s parents rarely miss games even going back to his younger days. They missed only three games throughout his high school years and two turned out to be losses. Last year they attended eight of the 12 Ohio State games, missing the Iowa game because their plane did not arrive in time. That was a awkward feeling for Salley.
“When my parents weren’t at the game, it affected me at first,” he said. “Seeing my parents in the stands puts new energy in me. I do it all for them.”
No worries for this year since Patricia will be staying in Columbus to attend the games and Salley’s dad, whose name also is Nate, will be flying up for most of the games.
After running onto the field, Salley glances into the crowd frequently for his mother, who he considers his good luck charm, and his father.
“When I run on and off the field I can look up and see them waving their hands, going crazy,” Salley said.
For Salley the sight of his family gives him an adrenaline rush allowing him to play to his fullest potential, creating hopes and dreams for his family.
His family members who cannot attend games at Ohio Stadium watch it on television. In the Bahamas Islands, where Patricia was raised and her family still resides, the whole family gathers in Salley’s grandfather’s bar to watch the game on cable.
“My nieces and nephews look up to me and have dreams of one day playing for Ohio State or becoming an Ohio State cheerleader,” Salley said. “They support what I do and someday hope to follow in my footsteps.”
Salley was the first person from his family to graduate from high school and the family considers this a life time opportunity for them as well to watch Salley play football.
“Football won’t always go perfect but you have to keep going with it,” Salley said. “You can’t give up because then you’ll never have a chance.”
Salley draws motivation from one particular line in Stubbs’ song, “Stumble often, don’t be down cast. Try and try again, you will achieve at last.”
