Nate SOLDER
New Giants left tackle Nate Solder discusses his time with the Patriots, his Super Bowl triumphs and heartbreaks and his personal challenges in a Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Q: Does your son young Hudson know that you are a New York Giant now? A: (Smile) He does. He says, “The Patriots are daddy’s old team. Daddy’s new team is the Giants.” I don’t know if he knows what those words mean, but he says those words. Q: How old is Hudson? A: He’ll be 3 in July. Q: What’s new with Hudson since we last spoke during Super Bowl week? A: He had his last chemo treatment [for Wilma tumors, a form of kidney cancer] about a month ago. He has surgery scheduled [at Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston] to take out the power port where they inject the chemotherapy in June. And then after that they’re gonna do surveillance [at Sloan-Kettering], which is they’re keeping a close eye on the kidneys and the tumors that are still there, they haven’t totally disappeared. Q: So you’ve got your fingers crossed again? A: Yeah, I think we’re kind of in the hospital mindset. It’s OK, ’cause you’re like, “OK, if we go back to this, we can do it.” We don’t want to have to do that, we want it to just kind of resolve itself. But then the hard thing is like this summer, he’s gonna have his port out, we’re gonna start getting into the flow of kind of a semi-normal life with him where he can be exposed to the kids, he can be doing a lot of different activities that he’s not able to do right now. And then you start forgetting a little bit, as much as you try to remember. So that was kind of the heartbreak last time, it’s like, “Oh yeah, he still has cancer.” Q: When you had the testicular cancer in 2014, how scary was that? A: Yeah, I was afraid ’cause I’d never had cancer before obviously, but I didn’t know what that meant. As a lot of people don’t when they first get a diagnosis like that: What does this entail? What do I need to do? I was very fortunate because I had surgery and it was done with. Q: Who is one pass rusher in history you would have loved to test your skills against? A: I know where you’re leading me on this (laugh). Q: No, it can be whatever you like. A: I was thinking LT [Lawrence Taylor]. Q: Why him? A: He’s so darn big, and he’s so fast. It would be great to play against him in hindsight knowing how significant his impact was on the NFL. He might have maded me look terrible, I understand that, but to say that you did that ... when you’re in a league that’s so great as the NFL, you’re going against the best of the best all the time. That’s the fun of it. Q: That’s a lot of pressure being the quarterback’s blindside protector. A: Yeah ... it is a lot of pressure. ... I’m trying to think of the right way to say it ... that’s something I embrace, I enjoy. That’s the thrill of the whole deal, you know what I mean? God gave me certain gifts and talents, and He put me in that position, and it’s fun. But we’re a team though, it’s 11 guys out there. ... It’s so much not just one guy out there. Q: How do you feel about being the highest-paid in the NFL — four years, $60 million? A: I think it’ll be someone else next year (chuckle), I mean, it’s just what it is. Q: Do you feel any added pressure because of that? A: My pressure’s to my teammates, to my coaches, to do the best thing that I can by then to help work with them, to serve them. That’s what my pressure comes from. Q: Did Tom Brady ever yell at you for allowing a sack? A: No, never. Q: What was he like in the huddle? A: So focused, unbelievably focused. He was totally consumed with what the play is, what the coverage is. ... He almost had a glossed over look where it’s like he was a shell of himself ’cause he was processing constantly. sta tl Q: What is the best joke Bill Belichick ever told? A: I don’t remember any of his jokes. He would tell a joke from time to time though. Q: Were they funny? A: Oh yeah, ’cause he had good delivery. Q: How did it make you feel when he would call you out in front of the team for a mistake? A: Angry (laugh). Q: That was his purpose. A: I think you’re right. What’s the word where you want to do it quickly? ... urgency. Q: What drives you? A: It’s gotta be my faith. Knowing that I play for an audience
of one. Knowing that God loves me no matter what happens. Knowing that He gives me the strength and abilities to do the things that I need to do, whatever that is. He knows what’s best for me. And I got two little kids at home and a wife that ... they just love me and they cheer for me. It’s a lot of fun. Q: Describe what it was like winning two Super Bowls. A: The whole Super Bowl experience can be summed up in this way: It’s almost like a dream in a lot of ways. It’s so surreal, it’s so temporary, it’s so short, and then it’s kind of like, “Did that really all happen?” With that being said, I think there’s gotta be a mindset — this comes from my relationship with Jesus Christ — that that is not the most important thing in my life. The reason I play is not simply for that. We do what we do to be the best that we can possibly be at what we do. But the goal in the end, if it’s just awards and medals, it’s gonna be temporary. The goal is for something far more eternal than that. Q: What was it like losing two Super Bowls? A: Oh man, [Super Bowl XLVI following the 2001 season] we lost to the Giants, I didn’t get over that for like two years (laugh)! Q: Why was that one so tough? A: ’Cause that rookie year is so long and so hard, and then you get to the very end and you just barely (chuckle) miss it. It’s like you build this whole tower and then it just aaaaaall
crumbles. Q: How about last year losing to the Eagles? A: Last year’s I had a whole different perspective. We’d personally been through so much. I went up and congratulated a lot of the Eagles guys ’cause I just knew how happy that they were and how they’d earned it and how special that moment was for them. And I truly felt very happy for them, because I don’t think that anything was given to them. I thought that they’d played a great game. Did I want to win? Of course. But I also knew that the significance of what had happened for them was very awesome. It kind of felt like the end of a chapter for our family, too. We had kind of foreseen maybe not being in New England anymore or if it was just kind of like, “I think this might be the last time that I’m in this uniform.” And I kind of felt that, I don’t know why that was. Q: What was it like trailing the Falcons 28-3 and coming back to win Super Bowl LI? A: Just through the experiences we’d had, you never feel like it’s over. Q: Describe your 16-yard TD catch in the 45-7 win over the Colts in AFC Championship following the 2014 season. A: It was a play-action, we sold out on the run, they overplayed the run, I dropped out to the left and they threw it to me. I think I ran like 15 yards or something like that. It was awesome (smile). My priority was to catch the ball and not let go of it. I don’t know if I’m gonna score, but I’m not gonna fumble this ball (laugh). If I’m on the 1-yard line, we can run it in, but if I fumble this ball, I’ll never live that down. Q: What is Rob Gronkowski like? A: Tremendously talented, great teammate, great childhood spirit. Q: Patriots owner Robert Kraft? A: Very impressive owner. Highclass. Very thoughtful. Q: Who are athletes in other sports you admire? A: Serena Williams ... LeBron James. I can’t imagine the pressure he’s felt since he was 15, 16 years old, and he’s lived up to it. Q: Three dinner guests? A: Jesus, DaVinci, Martin Luther. Q: Favorite actor? A: Anthony Hopkins. Q: Favorite actress? A: Jessica Chastain. Q: Favorite meal? A: I love meat loaf (laugh). Q: Message to Giants fans. A: We’ve come here because we want to be part of the community, we’ve come here because we want to help, we’ve come here because we want to be long-term Giants.