It took just 36 seconds, including introduction, for Joique Bell to tell me his goal was to bring a Superbowl Championship back to Michigan. The Detroit Lions’ running-back was in Dublin on Thursday to launch Elverys Intersport’s deal with the NFL to exclusively supply NFL merchandise in Ireland.
Irish NFL fans in attendance at the event in Dundrum were treated earlier in the day to a Q&A session with Bell and former Dublin GAA star Mossy Quinn, a Tennessee Titans fan himself. As is now customary for visiting sports stars, Bell charmed the crowd further with a display of his hurling skills, and posed with a Mayo GAA jersey before signing photos for everyone in attendance.
But when we sat down later in the day to talk football, Bell was firmly focused on the job ahead. The Lions lost narrowly to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card game last January, and a return to the play-off is top of the agenda in Detroit in 2015.
"I don’t feel any pressure. You only feel pressure if you don’t prepare"
With fellow running-back Reggie Bush now departed for San Francisco, all eyes turn to Bell to lead the Lions’ running game in search of that elusive Super Bowl. The Lions are the only team in the NFC Conference yet to play for the Vince Lombardi trophy, and have not brought a NFL Championship home since 1957. Less than a minute in I was convinced that no-one could possibly want this to happen more than Bell.
Bell is a rare case in the NFL. He was born and raised in Michigan and played his college football in the State. At one point in his life he even worked as a security guard for the Detroit Lions, and nowadays controls security of the ball for the Lions offence each NFL Sunday. It’s certainly something Irish fans, with our own parochial affiliations, could relate to, but I wondered if being the home town hero meant additional weight for Bell to carry into an NFL season. He was having none of it though as I opened up our conversation on the subject, “I don’t feel any pressure. You only feel pressure if you don’t prepare. It will only be sweeter when I bring a Championship to my state”.
The friendly smile and warm nature I had seen earlier in the day remained throughout the interview, but his eyes widened and he leaned back, extending his shoulders with obvious pride, as he told me why Detroit is so special to him, saying: “The pride of the City is the best thing about the City. The people from the City have a certain type of love, and they own it, good or bad.”
It felt like he could have been talking about himself. Responsibility, pride and love were his three key messages – I could easily see why the Detroit fans adore him. Pride in the shirt, pride in the county. He’d fit in well here in Ireland.
But it’s not just talk from Bell, he clearly wants to back up everything he says. For starters, his rushing stats have improved by almost 200 yards each season since 2012. Last year, Bell rushed for 860 yards and scored seven rushing touchdowns in the process. If his numbers increase as per his year-on-year average, he’s on course for his first 1000-yard rushing season in the NFL – something he’s comfortable with and already contemplating. “As long as I stay healthy and my offensive line stays healthy, then that’s something that’s a realistic goal.”
"In the NFL you’ve got to be smarter because it’s longer seasons, the hits are harder, the game is faster and you got to be able to maintain your body"
Staying healthy in the NFL has always been a key ingredient for success. Nowadays players call on a wealth of expertise, from coaches to medics to scientists, but above all, Bell was quick to point out the importance of rest for modern athletes. He told me he enjoys spending his free time “just chilling at home” and watching track and field events from the comfort of his couch.
It’s not the party world and glamorous lifestyle you might expect, but it’s the reality for many NFL stars. He speaks with maturity about how he’s recognised over the years that to succeed he’s got to be smarter and wiser, both on and off the field, saying: “I used to just go-go-go, because I thought that’s what I had to do.
"When you’re a young player in college all you know is work. In the NFL you’ve got to be smarter because it’s longer seasons, the hits are harder, the game is faster and you got to be able to maintain your body.”
Intelligence is a commodity Bell is not lacking in. Apart from learning changing NFL Playbooks each season, he’s also in the process of completing a Masters in Sports Administration. Like the smartest players in the NFL, he’s already preparing for life after the game: “You don’t want the end of your career to creep up on you and then you say, what’s next? You want to give yourself options, but the only thing that worries me right now is the first game of the season. It’s the only thing that matters.”
By the end of our chat, I was sold on Joique Bell. His drive and determination were as infectious as the smile and good nature that wooed the Irish NFL fans earlier in the day.
As we wrapped up our chat, Bell asked one of his PR team “where’s my jersey at?” When one of them threw him his Lions shirt, he smiled and said “nah, my Irish one!”
And with that, he exited the building with his Mayo GAA jersey under his arm, on a quest to bring glory back to his people and his city for the first time since the 1950’s. The coincidence was not lost on me, and as I followed out the door behind him, I wondered what odds you’d get on a “Vince in Detroit” and a “Sam in Mayo” double this year. Stranger things have happened.
