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+---- Thread: *Who is Howard Miller? (/showthread.php?tid=7471)
*Who is Howard Miller? - dropbear - 02-14-2018
Who is Howard Miller? While the name will no longer be one that is unfamiliar to football fans with the DSFL draft in the books, Miller is still a relatively unknown quantity. We sat down with the first overall pick to talk about who he is, was, and wants to be, on the field and away from it.
I guess we should start with how you started. What can you tell us about your family?
Well, my dad was an elementary school teacher and my mum was a sports scientist. I know what most people picture when they think of athletes at my level is a dad taking his son to football from as young as possible, and pushing him all the way until he's standing where I am today. In truth, I didn't play football until I was much older than most, and it was my mum who got me into it.
Mum and dad are both from Australia, and while I was technically born there, we moved almost immediately to the States after my birth. The biggest opportunities in sports, outside of something like soccer in Europe or South America, were here. Dad was happy to come because as a teacher, his skills were essentially 100% transferable. Neither of them made the move with the intention of me being forced into sports or having to go down that path if I didn't want to. They had both agreed to let me try as many things as possible and choose for myself what I wanted to do. So they came over to Chicago to see how things went, and they've never looked back.
You say your father was a teacher -- is he retired?
He's still involved at the same elementary school he was all those long years ago when he and my mum first came here. He's stepped out of the classroom now, though, and helps faciliate the classroom teachers and does more outreach work than anything. It's how I got involved with my charities.
You mentioned you got started in football late. Just how late was that, and what prompted it?
I didn't start playing football seriously until my sophomore year in high school. I had played just about every sport that Chicago had to offer by that point, and while I was always one of the better performers, I never stuck it out. By the time my sophomore year rolls around, I've got hundreds, probably thousands of acquantances, but no friends. Nobody ever came around to my place. I never had sleepovers or went to other kids' houses. By that point, I don't think my mum and dad had even seen me interact with a kid my age outside of sports teams. I was always hanging around with coaches and older guys around the clubs I played at. I just never felt comfortable around people my age, you know?
So my first day of sophomore year rolls around and I still remember it vividly to this day. Mum barges into the kitchen and says, "You're playing football". And I said to her, "Mum, I've played football before." And she just looks me in the eyes -- and I know whatever she says next I have no choice but to nod and accept my fate -- and she says, "You're playing football. For the whole year."
In her line of work she was constantly interacting with all kinds of athletes, but whenever we look back at that moment and speak about why she did what she did, she always told me that it was because football teams were like a family. And she said at that point in my life I needed a family that wasn't my actual family. I needed football. Not for football, but to find my family. And I did. I've been in love with the game and everything that comes with it ever since.
Have you had any other passions over the years?
Oh, yeah. Plenty. I went through a lot of the typical phases guys go through, especially through high school. The only thing that's ever stuck with me is music. I was always fascinated by it and loved hearing it, playing it, and trying (and failing) to make it.
Once I became a bit more popular around high school and went to some parties and got to do that whole side of the high school experience, I actually started to find out how much I loved putting on a song and having everyone go crazy over it. I never drank at parties because of football, so I'd just stand in the corner on my iPod and choose songs to get people going. Mum and dad were always supportive of anything I did, so by junior year I had my own legit DJ equipment.
For the rest of high school, rather than just go to parties for no point, I started DJing at them instead. I made money out of it that helped me contribute to my own college education -- something that made me appreciate the experience and opportunity a lot more -- and it kept me out of trouble.
I saw so many talented guys make mistakes while they were drunk or even just trying to impress people. If some of those guys hadn't had too much to drink or were just more confident in themselves as individuals, there's no way I would have been drafted first overall. I've seen the next Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Brian Urlacher, the next generational guys just lose it all over stupid mistakes. I still think about those guys all the time, but it helped me to keep my head on straight and do the right thing for my future.
Anyway, I got a bit sidetracked there. Eventually I got over the sort of music that was necessary to get a houseparty going, and got bored of just choosing songs. I got more interested in how it was made, and what was going on behind the scenes so to speak. It's the same as football: my desire to know everything about a topic, inside and out, is what drives me to become one of the best at it. So, naturally, I ended up picking up a bunch of instruments.
I've been playing piano since my senior year, and studied music and teaching at college. My mum's proud because I play sports and am in her field because I work with elite athletes; my dad's proud because I took school seriously and can be in his field once I retire.
Would you want to teach at your father's school?
Oh, man, absolutely. That's the dream! Once I hang up the cleats I want to be sitting in front of a room full of kids who know me as Mr Miller Jr, and I want to help them discover the same passion for music that I got to discover. I just want them to have the chance to discover it a lot earlier than I did!
Talking about life after football, do you not have plans to stay around the league once you retire?
I don't think so, no. I can't see it happening as it stands right now, anyway. I want to give everything I have as an athlete, and do my part for the game and for the teams I play for. After that, I don't think there'll be any juice left in the tank. At least, I don't intend for there to be. I want to give it absolutely everything I've got -- I want to be the greatest. I don't think that if I came to the end of my career and felt I could stick around a couple more decades still trying to win championships that I would have achieved what I wanted to as a player. In my mind, I'll either be the greatest ever, or I won't be. Either way, I'll leave my legacy as a player, and nothing else.
We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, but what else would you look forward to in retirement? Anything that you'd like to do now that you don't have enough time for?
I'm a big golfer. A terrible golfer, but I play a lot [laughs]. I love to read, but after spending all day breaking down film and going over playbooks, it's a huge mental hurdle to get over and try and pick up a book for enjoyment. I'm a big Lord of the Rings guy. The ball is like my precious, but at the same time I'm Frodo and the endzone is Mt Doom, you know? [Laughs].
I write, too. But it's the same with reading -- my head hurts more than my muscles at the end of practice. I just don't have it in me to pursue those hobbies while I'm playing football at this level. So, yeah, when I retire it'd be nice to get to do more of that sort of thing.
And finally, there has of course been a lot of attention given to the fact that your manager is Ben Longshaw, a former NSFL player himself. What insights has he been able to give you?
Oh, he's been great. I couldn't imagine getting to this point without him. You know, the biggest thing he's done for me, though, hasn't been football related. At least not in a strategy or fitness sense. It's been all about the mental side of things, and the community and league itself.
After I got drafted, he shook my hand, congratulated me and said, "For God's sake, Howard, don't forget to have fun out there, man. I did."
I know he's extermely disappointed about his career. He told me that he was so focused on being better than the people around him that he alienated himself from them, to the point that he hated anything to do with the NSFL because it was him against the world there. He's pointed out how some of the most successful guys in the league now are ones who were charismatic, social, likeable guys who were dedicated but also took the time to get into the community of the league. He made a point to show me that some of the biggest rivals ended up on the same teams in the end anyway.
His advice that stuck with me the most was before I got to meet the other draft prospects and prepare for the Senior Bowl. He said, "We're competing, we're not going to war." I don't know what it was about that, but it stuck with me. Since then, I've made an effort to get to know the other rookies and to reach out to guys from other teams as well as forming bonds with guys around my own locker room.
Any time Ben sees me with a bunch of guys from around the league it's like his face is at war. I can see the smile, but there's also the hurt in his eyes. It gets to me a bit, actually.
So every time I step out onto the field, I'm not only thinking about wanting to be the best, and wanting to make my mum and dad proud, I'm thinking about how much I want to do it for Ben, too. I'm gonna be his Samwise, and help get him to the places he couldn't get on his own.
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1897 words - reading for grading*Who is Howard Miller? - tbone415 - 02-14-2018
Great read! Absolutely made my day!!!
*Who is Howard Miller? - Supersquare04 - 02-14-2018
Graded, expect your $20s from this article soon
*Who is Howard Miller? - dropbear - 02-14-2018
(02-15-2018, 01:25 AM)Supersquare04 Wrote:Graded, expect your $20s from this article soon
:rofl: :rofl:
*Who is Howard Miller? - PDXBaller - 02-14-2018
Nice read. This Miller guy seems very nice!