Where is XLII hero Tyree now?
INDIANAPOLIS — David Tyree does not want his life defined by one hellacious catch — even if that dramatic snag four years ago is one of the most memorable freeze-frame moments in Super Bowl history. Tyree never caught another pass. It mattered little to him that by 2008, at only 28, his NFL career effectively was complete. His real work was merely beginning.
“As great as that catch was — as great as that moment was — I knew I wasn’t going to have a moment that eclipsed that,” Tyree said. “It gave me a sense of peace as far as moving on.”
Tyree’s ridiculous third-down catch in the final minutes of Super Bowl XLII fueled the New York Giants’ winning touchdown drive in a 17-14 victory against the New England Patriots.
Tyree outleaped the Patriots’ Rodney Harrison, snatching the football with two hands, then improbably pinning it against his helmet with one hand as he fell backward. It ensured the former Syracuse star, who never caught more than 19 passes in an NFL season, a place in Super Bowl history.
The spectacular catch launched him into various marketing opportunities and, more important for him, onto a pedestal to share his views. He cowrote a book, More Than Just the Catch, in which he discussed his strong religious convictions. Tyree and his wife, Leilah, are the parents of six children they home-school in Wayne, N.J. The couple are working on another faithbased book that Tyree says “is going to challenge the core of our culture.”
Last summer, he appeared in a video for the National Organization for Marriage. At the time, he said pending legislation of a gay marriage bill in New York would promote “anarchy” if passed. New York later legalized samesex marriage.
Tyree was deluged with criticism. “I got tons of flak, but I expected that,” he said.
Tyree works at home in marketing and philanthropy for a wealth-management firm. He always will be grateful for his fleeting moment of fame, but he keeps it in perspective as only being “part of the journey.”
“It’s not about the money,” he said. “For me, it’s (about) having a moment that transcends my career to be a part of Giants history, NFL history and Super Bowl history.”