- David Tyree
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David Tyree 
Tyree re-enacting his famous catch at the Giants' Super Bowl XLII championship celebration in New York City.Personal information Date of birth: January 3, 1980 Place of birth: Livingston, New Jersey, U.S. Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 206 lb (93 kg) Career information College: Syracuse NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 6 / Pick: 211 Debuted in 2003 for the New York Giants Career history Roster status: Retired Career highlights and awards Career NFL statistics as of 2009 Receptions 54 Receiving yards 650 Receiving TDs 4 Stats at NFL.com David Mikel Tyree (born January 3, 1980) is a retired American football wide receiver and special teams player. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University. Tyree has also played for the Baltimore Ravens. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 as a special teams player.
He is best known for his helmet catch on the Giants' final drive of 2008 Super Bowl XLII in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, that was instrumental to the Giants' final-minute touchdown and a 17–14 victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. During the play, Eli Manning avoided being sacked and threw a deep pass over the middle of the field which Tyree caught and pinned to the top of his helmet during his jump. He managed to keep control of the ball on his way to the ground while being tackled by safety Rodney Harrison.
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Early years
Born in Livingston, New Jersey, Tyree grew up in a one-bedroom house in Montclair, New Jersey with his mother and two older sisters after his parents divorced.[1] He played high school football and was a three year varsity letterman at Montclair High School, where he was selected as a Blue Chip Illustrated All-American.[2]
College career
Over Tyree's career at Syracuse, he ranked 13th on the career receiving record list with 1,214 yards, including 229 yards against Virginia Tech in 2002. He also developed a reputation for being an excellent special teams player, amassing six blocked punts.[3]
Professional career
New York Giants
Tyree was primarily a backup for the Giants, never amassing more than 19 catches in a single season. However, he was known as an exceptional special teamer, and he earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 as a special teams player.
Main article: Eli Manning pass to David TyreeDuring the 2007 season, Tyree amassed 4 receptions for 35 yards with no touchdowns, however his utilization in Super Bowl XLII was perhaps his most relevant contribution.[4]
Tyree made two key plays in Super Bowl XLII. First he caught a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning, Tyree's first of the season, that gave the Giants a 10-7 lead late in the game.[5] Later, on a 3rd-and-5 with 1:15 remaining and trailing 14-10, Manning eluded a sack and threw 32 yards downfield toward Tyree. In Manning's words, the ball "floated" high.[6]
Tyree leaped and caught the ball fully extended, bringing it down against his helmet with his right hand, while the New England Patriots' Rodney Harrison pulled violently downward on that arm, simultaneously wrenching Tyree arching backwards towards the turf. Tyree, who managed to get a second hand on the ball during the descent, seemingly kept the ball only inches from the turf, thereafter struggling successfully for possession while Harrison tried to steal the ball away from him on the ground.[5][7] "I told you. He's a gamer", Eli commented to his brother, Peyton, regarding Tyree, after the game.[8] ESPN Sportscenter designated it the greatest play in Super Bowl history the following day. It was later voted for the 2008 ESPY award for Play of the Year. The pass moved the Giants to the Patriots' 24-yard line. Four plays and 24 seconds later, Manning threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown. The final score of Super Bowl XLII was Giants 17, Patriots 14.[9] Tyree dedicated this catch, which remains the last catch he has made in an NFL game, to his mother, Thelma, who died of a heart attack that year.
In 2008, Tyree was placed on injured reserve for a knee injury suffered during training camp after being on the physically-unable-to-perform list most of the season. Tyree was released during the final cuts on September 5, 2009.[10]
Baltimore Ravens
Tyree was signed by the Baltimore Ravens on October 13, 2009 after working out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Retirement
Tyree signed a 1-day contract with the New York Giants to announce his retirement from the NFL as a Giant on July 29, 2010.[11]
Personal
Tyree is married to Leilah, and they have four children: two sons— Teyon and Josiah, and twin daughters— Sophia and Hannah. They reside in Wayne, New Jersey.[12]
Tyree battled with alcohol addiction beginning in middle school, and in March 2004 was arrested for possession of marijuana.[13] Leilah told him she was pregnant with their second child the day he was released from jail. Later that month, Leilah "presented Tyree with an ultimatum — her lifestyle or his."[13] He began reading a Bible on her bed, and "for the first time, the words on the page made sense" to him. Tyree said from that day he never drank again.[13] He and Leilah were married in June 2004.[14]
He is a born-again Christian[14] and has made appearances at the 2008 and 2009 Christian concert "BattleCry".[15] In 2006, he and his wife started Next In Line, a project that counsels teenagers in his hometown.[13]
In 2011, Tyree became an advocate against legalization of same-sex marriage in New York with the National Organization for Marriage.[16]
Tyree said in an interview that the passage of the Marriage Equality Act would "be the beginning of our country sliding toward...anarchy".[17] He said he would trade his famous catch and the team's Super Bowl title to keep marriage between a man and a woman.[18]
See also
- Superbowl XLII
- History of the New York Giants (1994-present)
- Eli Manning pass to David Tyree
References
- ^ Dillon, Dennis. "The miracles in David Tyree's grasp", Sporting News, June 19, 2008. Accessed February 24, 2011. "Born in Livingston, N.J., Tyree had something of a hardscrabble life. He was 1 when his parents, Jesse and Thelma, divorced. When he was 10, Thelma moved Tyree and his two older sisters to Montclair, where they lived in a one-bedroom house. Thelma slept in the bedroom, David had the living room and his sisters took the dining room."
- ^ "NFL Players: David Tyree". http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=34715. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ "David Tyree Profile". http://www.suathletics.com/roster.asp?playerid=199&sport=187&roster=135. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/players/davidtyree/profile?id=TYR159366
- ^ a b Youngmisuk, Ohm (2008-02-04). "David Tyree catches on in Super way". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2008/02/04/2008-02-04_david_tyree_catches_on_in_super_way-2.html. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ [Post-game mic recording Fox News Eli Manning and Peyton Manning.]
- ^ "Name the Eli Manning-David Tyree pass". Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209134446/http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-giantsplay-email,0,1366051.customform. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ {Fox & Friends microphone session.}
- ^ "'Supernatural' catch by Tyree a play for the ages". http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3229468. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81267676&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true
- ^ Youngmisuk, Ohm (29 July 2010). "David Tyree to retire as a Giant". http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5421664. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ Picker, David. "Montclair Celebrates One of Its Own", The New York Times, February 5, 2008. Accessed March 31, 2011. "That should not be difficult to arrange, since Tyree lives in nearby Wayne and has maintained close ties to the Montclair football program since departing in 1998 to begin his college career at Syracuse."
- ^ a b c d Bishop, Grey. "Superbowl Spotlight Shines on A Changed Man"
- ^ a b The Catch: Super Bowl moment small part of Tyree's journey
- ^ "Moving forward, Giants GM Jerry Reese has put SBXLII in his rearview mirror". http://www.giants.com/news/eisen/story.asp?story_id=26978. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ "David Tyree on Marriage: The NOM Interview". National Organization for Marriage. YouTube. June 15, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6lwIx9f5uk. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
- ^ Kessler, Jason (June 16, 2011). "Super Bowl hero warns of 'anarchy' if NY approves gay marriage". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/16/new.york.gay.marriage.tyree/.
- ^ David Tyree, hero of Giants' Super Bowl upset of Patriots, said he'd trade win to block gay marriage
External links
New York Giants 2003 NFL Draft selections William Joseph • Osi Umenyiora • Visanthe Shiancoe • Roderick Babers • David Diehl • Willie Ponder • Frank Walker • David Tyree • Charles Drake • Wayne Lucier • Kevin Walter2006 Pro Bowl NFC starters Offense QB Matt Hasselbeck | RB Shaun Alexander | FB Mack Strong | WR Santana Moss | WR Steve Smith | TE Alge Crumpler
OT Walter Jones | OT Orlando Pace | G Larry Allen | G Steve Hutchinson | C Olin KreutzDefense DE Julius Peppers | DE Michael Strahan | DT Shaun Rogers | DT Tommie Harris
OLB Keith Brooking | OLB Derrick Brooks | ILB Brian Urlacher
CB Ronde Barber | CB DeAngelo Hall | FS Darren Sharper | SS Roy WilliamsSpecial Teams Categories:- 1980 births
- Living people
- American evangelicals
- People from Montclair, New Jersey
- People from Wayne, New Jersey
- Players of American football from New Jersey
- African American players of American football
- National Conference Pro Bowl players
- American football wide receivers
- Syracuse Orange football players
- New York Giants players
- Baltimore Ravens players
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