INDIANAPOLIS -- James Ihedigbo stands near the sideline of the Lucas Oil field with his sleeves rolled up. The tattoo near his right tricep -- a cross with a banner reading "APOLLOS IHEDIGBO" draped over it -- is in full view. Apollos, his father, died of kidney failure while on sabbatical in his native Nigeria. James was 17.
Over a decade later, Apollos' son is entertaining reporters at Super Bowl media day.
I think about my dad a lot. I get emotional thinking about it. A lot. I know he would be, and he is, very proud of where I got to and the point that I'm at. It's taken a lot of years, a lot of hours of working out and training and film study and preparation to get to this point.
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I often think about . . . all the time . . . his hard work. He could come from Nigeria, a third-world country, and be successful in the United States and earn his PhD in education. He went from picking cans off the street to being an academic advisor at UMass. That's a true story. I feel I'm here in the United States and there's nothing that I can't accomplish.
I've been blessed to have one of the greatest games as a platform to do other things, to touch other people's lives. I think that's what I was blessed with. I'm a firm believer that I was blessed so I could bless others. That's what I'm trying to do.
I just want to educate -- give people opportunities that they don't have -- in any way that I can. Give people what they need to be successful like I am.