Martin Parker won two football championships in high school, one at Richmond in 2008 and will now add another championship ring to his collection. Parker was a member of the New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI Championship team.
Parker, a 2010 Richmond Graduate, was a defensive lineman for the Spiders football team. He was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and a first team All-CAA Football selection. He led CAA defensive linemen in tackles and was second overall in the league for total sacks, according to a press release on the Richmond Athletics website.
Parker also received First-Team All-American honors from the Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation, the American Football Coaches Association and the Sports Network, according to the press release.
Parker entered the NFL this season as a free agent rookie defensive tackle for the Giants in September 2011, but two weeks into training camp, Parker said he broke his foot and had been placed on the waived/injured list.
Even though he did not play this season because of his injury, he was on the sideline at the Super Bowl XLVI game wearing New York Giants gear. Not only did he get to stand on the sideline at the game, but he also got to celebrate winning the Super Bowl.
"Being on the sideline at the Super Bowl is a surreal feeling," Parker said.
"We all charged the field, and confetti fell from the sky. It reminded me of when we won the National Championship in 2008."
The Richmond Spiders won the CAA of the NCAA's Division-I Football Championship Subdivision against the University of Montana in 2008. Parker said that it had been an amazing journey because they had been able to prove people wrong about their capabilities as a team.
Parker said that not many people believed in the Giants this season. After going 6-2 to start the season, the team lost four games in a row. Many people did not expect the Giants to make the playoffs. Even when they did make the playoffs, many people expected the team to lose in the first round, Parker said.
"It's just one of those situations," he said. "You're in a position, and you just prove people wrong."
Parker's foot is healed now and he is ready for training again in two weeks, he said.
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"People dream about winning the Super Bowl as kids," Parker said. "You never expect yourself to be in that position to hold the trophy and take a picture with it."
Contact reporter Marie Jayme at marie.jayme@richmond.edu
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