By Chris Rosenblum
State College Area School District
At today’s (Dec. 24) game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, anyone peering at the stadium field through binoculars might spot Antonio Young’s face.
He won’t actually be standing on the turf. For a kindergartener from State College, that would be a lot to ask. But he’ll be represented just the same — thanks to a family friend.
Seahawks outside linebacker Terence Garvin will have the Mount Nittany Elementary student’s likeness painted on one of his cleats, as part of the National Football League’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign.
This season, players have been wearing custom cleats in support of a charity or cause of their choice. Garvin opted to promote autism awareness because both his niece, whose face adorns his other shoe, and Antonio are autistic.
“Autism being part of my family, I can take them on the field with me,” Garvin said on his Instagram account.
How did a local kid wind up on an NFL linebacker’s foot? Antonio’s dad is the connection. Antonio Young Sr. and Garvin became friends when the fifth-year player was trying to break into the league. They had belonged to the same fraternity — Young at Penn State, Garvin at West Virginia — and Garvin, an undrafted rookie, felt comfortable taking advice from Young, a sports consultant, about marketing himself as a free agent.
Artist Marcus Williams designed the cleats featuring Antonio Young for Seahawks linebacker Terence Garvin. Photo by Marcus Williams.
After Garvin signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, they lived near each other in Pittsburgh. Antonio’s birth strengthened the bond.
“He understood when we found out our baby had autism,” recalled Davina Terry, Antonio’s mother. “He remembered when his sister had to go through that, so that was something close to him.”
Since then, Garvin has maintained ties with Antonio and his parents. Lately, though, he neglected to mention his footwear art.
“We didn’t see this coming,” Terry said, laughing. “He just sent us the pictures of the cleats and we thought, ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ ”
She appreciates that Garvin is using his NFL status as a platform to draw attention to autism, and that, with a special holiday gift, he honored Antonio as much as his own kin.
“For him to include his own family and then include us was nice,” Terry said. “It was something Antonio deserved.”
Terence Garvin and artist Marcus Williams with the cleats featuring Antonio Young. Photo courtesy Marcus Williams and Terence Garvin.
Top photo by Nabil K. Mark/SCASD
