Especially when it’s your turn to sing.
Rookies have traditionally serenaded their teammates during training camp gatherings, as part icebreaker and part rookie initiation. Recently, it was Davidson native Tommy Irvin’s turn to carry a tune at Arizona Cardinals camp.
He chose Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” and tried not to fumble it.
“It’s really about the song choice,” Irvin said by phone this week. “You have to pick what people know.”
And then you just have to go for it, something that may sound like a difficult task for the naturally quiet Irvin.
“I actually didn’t really mind too much,” he said. “Some guys get booed off, so you have to give your best effort.”
So Irvin did, and as he belted out the words “I’ve been waiting for this moment, for all my life,” the lyrics couldn’t have been more appropriate.
The former North Meck High and Wofford College star has, in fact, been waiting for this moment all his life. Having long dreamed of playing pro football, Irvin is trying to turn his dream into reality.
He remains on the Cardinals’ roster after two of the team’s four preseason games, having posted three tackles from the strong safety spot, including one assist against the Oakland Raiders in the first preseason game and two solos against the Green Bay Packers last Friday. Irvin hasn’t gotten what he would consider a lot of repetitions, but is trying to capitalize any time he gets an opportunity. Teams are handing out pink slips every day, so not performing is not an option.
“Any day you can be gone, so you just gotta make the most of it,” he said. Irvin has already played in two of the NFL’s most storied atmospheres, The Oakland-Alameda
Coliseum, known as the Black Hole, and historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The opportunity has provided him with a mix of emotions, as he simultaneously fights for a roster spot and tries not to double take at the sight of players he grew up watching on TV.
And then there’s the speed of the NFL game. Players hear about it, but experiencing it first hand is something different, he said.
It was a little surreal for me,” said Irvin. “That first series, everything was going 100 miles per hour. You have to just slow yourself down.”
The Cardinals host San Diego (Saturday) and Denver (next Thursday) in preseason games, and typically, players battling for roster spots play most of the fourth preseason game as the starters rest. Irvin is hoping to get that next great opportunity so he can continue his pro career.
“You can’t really beat it,” he said.
The only way to top it would be to play in a regular season game in a few weeks, maybe against the hometown team. Conveniently, Arizona hosts the Carolina Panthers in week one Sept. 11.
