Gatorade sure knows how to throw an event.
We had quite the time at the 2016 Gatorade Athlete of the Year awards show. If you haven’t seen part one about Todd Gurley and his love of Carls’ Jr., we recommend you head there first. Go ahead – we’ll wait.
One of the best things about an event like the AOY is seeing the present and past of the sports world introducing the future, as we got to see the likes of April Ross, Cam Newton, and Landon Donovan introduce their younger counterparts.
Athletes like Lucas Mendes, the star forward of Washington-Lee High who aims to continue the rise of soccer in the U.S. the way players like Donovan started, or Khalia Lanier, the future USC outside hitter who will probably be in Olympic discussion for volleyball in the coming years.
These are superstars we will watch go grow in the next few years, and they’ve been given time to shine by those who are already there. Regardless of whether they won the big honors of the night, they were and are still the top of their class, and the future of their chosen sports. And hey – there was a ping pong table that lit up the night!
Forrest Gump’s favorite sport aside, Next Impulse Sports also had a chance to catch up with Detroit Lions’ Quarterback Matt Stafford, a man whose can who’s reached 25,000 passing yards faster than anyone ever and can still wear a mean suit. Here’s what he had to say:
Next Impulse Sports: You’ve got a strong arm, or, as coach Jim Cooter said recently, you’re a bit of a “gunslinger.” Do you prefer a shorter passing game or are you more of a long ball guy?
Matt Stafford: I just like doing what we’re best at, and each year each team is a little different; it’s a total team effort to move the ball. Last year, we were better at getting the ball out quicker. This year, we’ll find our identity and look forward from there.
NIS: You’ve done quite a bit with your career, from being the fourth qb to throw for 5,000 yards in a season and the fastest ever to 25,000 total yards. And you’ve still got a long career ahead of you. What’s your next big accomplishment you see for yourself in this career?
Stafford: The biggest thing for me is that I’ve had some accolades that people give me credit for, but those kind of go by the way side as you get older in your career, and I just want to win. I want to make playoff runs, I want to get to Super Bowls, I want to get to places everyone in my position wants and that’s what is most important.
NIS: Two big questions for your big southeast Michigan fans: 1) What’s you favorite Detroit restaurant, and 2) What’s Mitch Albom like in person?
Stafford: I actually have a chef that cooks for me during the season, and he started a restaurant called Savannah Blue, it’s great soul food.
With Mitch Albom, I’ve done some charity with him, and he’s taken me under his wing and shown me the streets. He’s a great ambassador for the city; not only philanthropically, but writing books, on the radio, or on TV and he’s always talking about Detroit. So he’s probably what the city needs most.
With that, we’d like to thank Gatorade once again for the great opportunity to celebrate the future stars of the sports world, wine and dine with some current ones, and check out that sweet, sweet ping pong table. Oh, keep up the great work with your entertaining commercials and Karl-Anthony Towns playing streetball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP7izIhmV5c
