Former Super Bowl players in Jackson reminisce experience
It’s been a while since Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones, Jabari Greer and Artis Hicks have played in a Super Bowl.
That doesn’t mean their memories are faint.
“All the cameras flash,”Hicks continued, “I was like, man I’m in the Super Bowl.”
That was in 2004 with the the Philadelphia Eagles.
Just three years into the NFL, the JCM graduate was playing on the world’s biggest stage.
“The older guys all had camcorders videotaping the whole experience,” Hicks said. “I’m thinking to myself, I don’t have to worry about that. I know I’ll be back.”
Hicks came close to returning with the Minnesota Vikings in 2009. That season belonged to another Jackson native.
“The lights seem a lot brighter,” South Side’s Jabari Greer said. “But as soon as the ball was snapped, the game was the same speed.”
Greer, who has transitioned into commentator for the SEC network, added the Super Bowl isn’t just about the game for players.
“Involving the people that help you get there,” Greer said. “Gotta get tickets, make sure your family is taken care of and hotel rooms.”
Greer was crowned a champion in his only Super Bowl with New Orleans in 2010. Meanwhile, Hicks and the Eagles lost to New England in ’04.
Combined, the two still don’t have more appearances than Jackson legend Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones.
“This is the biggest sporting event in the United States,” Jones said at a San Francisco hotel. “When we wake up, we are world champions.”
Jones earned that title after Super Bowl XII with the Dallas Cowboys.
All three former players say playing in the game changed how they watch the big event.
“Man I don’t want to go to that if I aint in it,” Hicks said. “Changes your whole perception.”
