TELL US, MARTELLUS
Former Big Blue tight end brings unique personality to Super Bowl
IT WAS ONE of those lazy days of training camp, early August, the Giants hunkered down at the University at Albany in the summer of 2012. Their new tight end, Martellus Bennett, was holding court, speaking outside the cafeteria after lunch.
Affable and towering, Bennett spent his first four NFL years with the Cowboys, serving as an understudy to Jason Witten, and he had come to the Giants to flex his football muscles.
The Giants wanted Bennett to add some bulk to his long, lean frame and he complied. Bennett praised his conditioning, strength, speed and endurance, boasting, “I could run all day.’’ What came next was the unofficial beginning of the legend of Martellus Bennett.
“You go out there and you see a big, black guy running down the field, it’s usually me,’’ he said. “I’m kind of like a black unicorn out there. It’s amazing to watch.’’ It is more amazing to hear.
Super Bowl week has had its share of interesting and unusual personalities, from massive William “Refrigerator’’ Perry to his quarterback and teammate Jim McMahon (he mooned a helicopter news crew and greeted the sunrise after a sleepless night on Bourbon Street).
There was Joe Namath’s guarantee and Lyle Alzado’s threat (“I’m gonna take off Joe Theisman’s head’’). There was the relentless self-promotion of Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood’’ Henderson and Fred “the Hammer’’ Williamson.
Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan wore a rhinestone dog collar, and Cowboys running back Duane Thomas, famously reticent to speak with the media, uttered this classic about the Super Bowl: “If it’s the ultimate game, how come they’re playing it again next year?’’
Boorish Marshawn Lynch graced everyone with his presence so he wouldn’t get fined.
Air-lifted into the fray, starting Monday in Houston, comes Bennett, the Black Unicorn, back in his hometown. Have player and podium ever been more meant for each other? Set up shop near his microphone for a derivative of an old Lay’s potato chip commercial: Bet you can’t use just one of his quotes.
Now that we’re on the subject, Bennett, 29, recently mused everyone is like a certain kind of chip, and Roger Goodell reminds him of Pringles — which was not meant as a
compliment, because, Bennett explained, “I don’t consider those chips.’’ Friday at Foxborough, Mass., Bennett called Bill Belichick “a pretty cool dude’’ and looked ahead to the Super Bowl LI matchup thusly: “The falcon’s natural prey, I believe, is the raccoon.’’ The Super Bowl never has included such a strange and fertile mind. He once likened former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to Professor Dumbledore from the “Harry Potter” series Bennett adores. He instantly made a connection with Eli Manning in his one and only season with the Giants. “He’s easy to talk to,’’ Bennett once said of Manning. “Just ask him what he wants. Sometimes, with your wife, you never know what she wants. You ask and she’s like ‘Well, I don’t want chicken.’ You’re like “Well, do you want steak?’ She’s like “No, I don’t want steak.’ Eli knows if he wants chicken or steak.’’
The Giants messed up on this one. Bennett signed a one-year deal and did everything asked of him, establishing career highs for receptions (55), yards (629) and touchdowns (five), starting all 16 games. The Giants did not mind his quirky ways, but they weren’t enamored with them, either. They should have re-signed him, but they sat back as the Bears gave him a fouryear, $20.4 million deal. The Giants have been looking for his replacement ever since Bennett walked out the door.
Bennett blossomed in Chicago, making the Pro Bowl in 2014 after a 90-catch season. Mired in losing, the Bears traded him to the Patriots, and he has been a godsend, with injuries shelving Rob Gronkowski once again. Bennett had 55 catches for 701 yards and led the Patriots with seven touchdown receptions. Despite his rabid imagination, Bennett has fit in with Belichick’s rigid regime.
Speaking of imagination, Bennett helps run The Imagination Agency, a multi- media company, and has produced children’s books, rap songs and an animated film based on a penguin named Cosmo. He calls himself the “creative director of awesomeness.’’
Bennett quotes Dr. Seuss and Oscar Wilde. He is a voracious and speedy reader, explaining, “I only read the left-hand pages, so I finish books two times as fast.’’ He loves dinosaurs. He is extremely close with his older brother, Michael, a defensive end for the Seahawks, who he calls “Black Santa.’’
Martellus said he considers himself “the Kanye of the NFL” and bemoans there are no black characters in “Frozen.’’ He has called Jay Cutler “the worst quarterback in the NFL.’’ Growing up, he insists, he did not dream of playing in a Super Bowl.
“It was more about dragons and wizards,’’ he explained.
There is a method to Martellus Bennett’s madness, or perhaps, madness to his method. Either way, he is coming to a Super Bowl near you.