Continuing the theme from last week, here's the 16 more reasons why Kelvin Hayden is awesome:
11. This Q&A from a Colts Chat a few months back:
Q: Entering the season, most people outside the team didn’t expect this group to develop into one of the NFL’s top secondaries. A lot of people didn’t know about you guys, but all of you had confidence. Where did that come from?
A: That started back before training camp – in OTAS (organized training activities). Guys like me and (cornerback) Marlin (Jackson) – all of us would sit around and say, ‘Hey, we can be the best secondary in the league.’ We took pride in that and believed that we could be that secondary that’s one of the elite week in and week out. (Safety) Bob (Sanders) kind of fuels us, a guy of his caliber. Then you have Marlin and (safety) Antoine (Bethea) – those guys are also big-play guys. We kind of fuel off each other. It’s exciting when you make plays. It makes you feel good. It also gets the fans into it and the whole defense. The linebackers are playing well. The defensive line is playing well, as always. We just want to fuel off each other and have fun out there. We call Sunday, ‘Party Time.’
12. If Sundays are "Party Time" then Kelvin is the bouncer.
13. Kelvin will sign anything:
14. He was named one of the 10 greatest defensive backs in Illinois history, which is mighty impressive considering he only played DB for one year with the Illini.
15. He epitomized everything the Super Bowl champion team was all about, just ask Tony Dungy:
"Kelvin Hayden goes in and makes a tremendous play; that’s what our team is all about. We always talk about the next man up just has to step in. We don’t change anything. We don’t do anything differently. I’m just really proud of our guys, because that’s what we’ve done all year."
16. In this article that talks about Illinois' recruiting class of 2003, Kelvin lists his favorite athlete as...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Marvin Harrison!
17. Kelvin's TD in the Super Bowl was the final touchdown of the season but it was also the Colts first defensive touchdown of the season. Whether you see it as the beginning or the end, it was a good time to score.
18. Kelvin's coach in college was Ron Turner, who went on from Illinois to become offensive coordinator with the Bears. So you really have to wonder what he was thinking when he said "Yeah, let's try and test that Hayden guy!"
19. Actually, I'm a little more interested in what Ron said immediately after the interception. I'm sure it was entertaining, but probably not safe for most audiences.
20. He's cool with Phil B. Wilson (go down to question 12).
21. The (younger) ladies love it when they get Kelvin Hayden jerseys.
22. If Kelvin was a bartender in his hometown of Chicago, he would've put it on the Celtics-Lakers game last night.
23. He's much more well-liked in Indiana than that other Kelvin.
24. According to this scouting report, Kelvin was a two-time track champion in Chicago.
25. He understands that it takes lots of hard work to be successful and stay successful in the NFL:
"I don’t mind work, I consider myself a hardworking guy. Anything you put in front of me, I consider it a task. I just want to conquer that task. It’s just something I like to do. It’s really no biggie to me.
You want to get better and better every year. The older you get, the harder you have to work. My whole thing is continue to work hard and not get satisfied, to just try to get better, week in, week out, every day. This is the NFL. They say it’s a window of opportunity.
I just want my window to stay open as long as possible."
26. You know what it is: