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The Six Million Dollar MAN!!!
By Lisa R. Foeman
Antonio Michael Freeman, 27, prefers to be called “Buttons” or
“Free”. The origin of the nickname “Buttons” depends on which parent
tells the story. If you ask Rotha Freeman, the nickname comes from a nurse declaring
Freeman, her third child, cute as a button at birth. The elder Clarence’s version
describes a television show about a family of monkeys who had a third baby monkey named
“Buttons.”
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Courtesy Green Bay Packers
Antonio
"Buttons" Freeman |
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The lad dubbed “Buttons” dreamed of NBA greatness as a child. Growing up in
Baltimore, Maryland, Freeman first developed his hoop skills on the inner-city courts of
Aiken Street. His years of hard work were recognized during his senior year at Polytechnic
High School when he was named Maryland’s Offensive Player of the Year.
The unpredictable world of college athletic recruiting
steered Freeman from a NBA destination toward a parallel course charted by the youngster:
the NFL. His prep gridiron career at Polytechnic High School as a wide receiver and
cornerback was stellar, culminating in a 10-0 record and the Maryland Group State A
championship title during his senior year. So storied was Freeman’s football prowess
that his former Polytechnic coach Augie Weibel retired his jersey (#80), a first for a
Polytechnic High athlete.
Freeman’s choice of sport “came down to money.” “I had a lot of
schools that offered me partial money for basketball, but I had four schools that offered
me full scholarships to come play football,” Freeman recalled as we sipped on ginger
ale in the comfortable lobby of Baltimore’s Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.
Football scholarship in hand, Freeman arrived at the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Tech in
August 1990. “When I got to Tech, I was coming out of high school, and thought I was
Mr. Almighty. They told me I wasn’t big enough, I wasn’t strong enough. So, I
got redshirted. That year I was so disappointed because I wanted to come in and play. That
[redshirt] year was the best thing that ever happened to me because it allowed me to get
faster, stronger, and bigger.”
Freeman didn't realize how much he wanted to play football until a big game with hated Big
East rival West Virginia in his freshman year. He was thrown into this pressure-filled
game and scored a touchdown, the first of his career and the game-winner. The former prep
superstar savored that moment which established him as a big-play receiver and was more
than a year in the making. MORE>>
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