GaryMrMets
10-31-2005, 02:16 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/story/360577p-307245c.html
Sean Mara wins
one for Pop-Pop
BY WAYNE COFFEY
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
At 10 o'clock yesterday morning, 16-year-old Sean Mara stood somberly amid the tree-clad hills of Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester, watching the man he called Pop-Pop lowered into his final resting place.
Two hours later, Mara, a junior quarterback for Iona Prep, was putting on his No. 4 maroon-and-gold uniform, about to play the most emotional football game of his life, and the most meaningful.
He would wind up throwing two touchdown passes in a 13-6 upset of Mgsr. Farrell, the best 5-for-18, 131-yard day you will ever see.
"I think about my grandfather a lot," Sean Mara said in the late-afternoon chill on the Iona Prep field. He has light brown hair, and a face that looks more out of a choir than a huddle. On his wrists were thick yellow bands that said WTM, 1916-2005. His lips quivered as he spoke.
"I know he would want to us play like this," Sean said.
Wellington Timothy Mara, iconic owner and departed patriarch of New York sports, left behind 11 children and 40 grandchildren. He and Sean had a special bond. They were suitemates when Sean would go to the Giants' camp in Albany each summer. Wellington would delight in seeing Sean throw passes to Jeremy Shockey and get pointers from Eli Manning.
Until this year, Wellington Mara had been as a much a fixture on the hill overlooking the Iona Prep field as he was at Giants Stadium. His spot was under the two big pine trees, along with a small army of family members, at the school where several generations of Mara boys have been educated.
The game began with a moment of silence for Wellington, and widespread uncertainty about how Sean, a 6-1, 185-pound lefthander, would hold up.
"At the beginning of the week I didn't think he was going to play," said Joe Manuele, a 5-7 senior running back who scored the clinching TD on a spectacular 51-yard dash with a fourth-quarter screen pass. "That shows a lot of heart right there."
Said coach Vic Quirolo, "He was at one practice all week and he didn't miss a beat."
Frank Mara, Sean's father and the Giants' director of promotions, left it up to Sean whether to play. "The only thing I told him was, 'Pop-Pop would want you to play.' The game must go on," Frank Mara said.
John Mara, Frank's brother and the Giants' VP, was on the hill yesterday, and so were about 30 cousins, kids and grandkids. There are no stands at Iona Prep. You bring a chair, or you sit on the grass, or you root for the Gaels standing up.
The Maras want no special treatment, says AD Bernie Mahoney, and Sean is the same way.
"He doesn't say two words," Mahoney says. "He doesn't dress in Giants clothes, or come in here and say, 'I can get the best equipment from my family. He wears our stuff.'"
Sean is in only his third year playing quarterback, and according to Quirolo, is an exceptionally quick study. He has a strong arm and poise that seems unshakable. He devours information on the Internet about the top college quarterbacks, and attended a series of quarterback camps last summer.
Sean misfired on his first four passes, before drilling a ball over the middle to receiver/safety Mark Castellano for a 23-yard gain to the Farrell 18. A few plays later, he hit senior Clinton Pope on a 3-yard out pattern in the end zone. Mara would connect with Pope again down the left sideline for a 33-yard gain in the third quarter, and with Farrell, a perennial Catholic power, seizing the momentum early in the fourth, he flipped the screen pass to Manuele. Mara sprinted all the way downfield to greet him.
"To see your quarterback down in the end zone with you, that's a wonderful feeling," Manuele said.
"I was pumped," Mara said.
Today, Sean Mara will be at his usual Sunday location, on the Giant sidelines with his brother, Jack, a cornerback on the Prep freshman team. Sean will shag punts before the game, and root hard for players who almost feel like extended family.
With his gold helmet in his hand and a towel speckled with blood at his waist, Sean Mara watched his teammates disperse after the game, heady with a 6-2 record, eager to hit the postgame buffet in the cafeteria. The Farrell bus was revving, ready to return to Staten Island. Sean talked about what a respite the game was for him after so much grieving. His voice was soft.
"It's sad," Sean said. "I'm used to looking up on the hill, and seeing my grandfather watching."
Sean Mara's grandfather is in the same cemetery as Babe Ruth, and many other famous people. Six hours after he left his Pop-Pop's grave, the Iona Prep quarterback was asked how he'd remember him. He looked at his questioner and said, "Nobody better. That's all I can say."
And then it was time for Sean Mara to go. He walked off the field and hugged his father and mother, Lynn, at the top of a hill that never would be the same.
Originally published on October 30, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/744-mara_grandson.JPG
Sean Mara joins Iona Prep teammates in moment of silence to honor grandfather Wellington Mara before helping Gaels to upset of Mgsr. Farrell.
Sean Mara wins
one for Pop-Pop
BY WAYNE COFFEY
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
At 10 o'clock yesterday morning, 16-year-old Sean Mara stood somberly amid the tree-clad hills of Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester, watching the man he called Pop-Pop lowered into his final resting place.
Two hours later, Mara, a junior quarterback for Iona Prep, was putting on his No. 4 maroon-and-gold uniform, about to play the most emotional football game of his life, and the most meaningful.
He would wind up throwing two touchdown passes in a 13-6 upset of Mgsr. Farrell, the best 5-for-18, 131-yard day you will ever see.
"I think about my grandfather a lot," Sean Mara said in the late-afternoon chill on the Iona Prep field. He has light brown hair, and a face that looks more out of a choir than a huddle. On his wrists were thick yellow bands that said WTM, 1916-2005. His lips quivered as he spoke.
"I know he would want to us play like this," Sean said.
Wellington Timothy Mara, iconic owner and departed patriarch of New York sports, left behind 11 children and 40 grandchildren. He and Sean had a special bond. They were suitemates when Sean would go to the Giants' camp in Albany each summer. Wellington would delight in seeing Sean throw passes to Jeremy Shockey and get pointers from Eli Manning.
Until this year, Wellington Mara had been as a much a fixture on the hill overlooking the Iona Prep field as he was at Giants Stadium. His spot was under the two big pine trees, along with a small army of family members, at the school where several generations of Mara boys have been educated.
The game began with a moment of silence for Wellington, and widespread uncertainty about how Sean, a 6-1, 185-pound lefthander, would hold up.
"At the beginning of the week I didn't think he was going to play," said Joe Manuele, a 5-7 senior running back who scored the clinching TD on a spectacular 51-yard dash with a fourth-quarter screen pass. "That shows a lot of heart right there."
Said coach Vic Quirolo, "He was at one practice all week and he didn't miss a beat."
Frank Mara, Sean's father and the Giants' director of promotions, left it up to Sean whether to play. "The only thing I told him was, 'Pop-Pop would want you to play.' The game must go on," Frank Mara said.
John Mara, Frank's brother and the Giants' VP, was on the hill yesterday, and so were about 30 cousins, kids and grandkids. There are no stands at Iona Prep. You bring a chair, or you sit on the grass, or you root for the Gaels standing up.
The Maras want no special treatment, says AD Bernie Mahoney, and Sean is the same way.
"He doesn't say two words," Mahoney says. "He doesn't dress in Giants clothes, or come in here and say, 'I can get the best equipment from my family. He wears our stuff.'"
Sean is in only his third year playing quarterback, and according to Quirolo, is an exceptionally quick study. He has a strong arm and poise that seems unshakable. He devours information on the Internet about the top college quarterbacks, and attended a series of quarterback camps last summer.
Sean misfired on his first four passes, before drilling a ball over the middle to receiver/safety Mark Castellano for a 23-yard gain to the Farrell 18. A few plays later, he hit senior Clinton Pope on a 3-yard out pattern in the end zone. Mara would connect with Pope again down the left sideline for a 33-yard gain in the third quarter, and with Farrell, a perennial Catholic power, seizing the momentum early in the fourth, he flipped the screen pass to Manuele. Mara sprinted all the way downfield to greet him.
"To see your quarterback down in the end zone with you, that's a wonderful feeling," Manuele said.
"I was pumped," Mara said.
Today, Sean Mara will be at his usual Sunday location, on the Giant sidelines with his brother, Jack, a cornerback on the Prep freshman team. Sean will shag punts before the game, and root hard for players who almost feel like extended family.
With his gold helmet in his hand and a towel speckled with blood at his waist, Sean Mara watched his teammates disperse after the game, heady with a 6-2 record, eager to hit the postgame buffet in the cafeteria. The Farrell bus was revving, ready to return to Staten Island. Sean talked about what a respite the game was for him after so much grieving. His voice was soft.
"It's sad," Sean said. "I'm used to looking up on the hill, and seeing my grandfather watching."
Sean Mara's grandfather is in the same cemetery as Babe Ruth, and many other famous people. Six hours after he left his Pop-Pop's grave, the Iona Prep quarterback was asked how he'd remember him. He looked at his questioner and said, "Nobody better. That's all I can say."
And then it was time for Sean Mara to go. He walked off the field and hugged his father and mother, Lynn, at the top of a hill that never would be the same.
Originally published on October 30, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/744-mara_grandson.JPG
Sean Mara joins Iona Prep teammates in moment of silence to honor grandfather Wellington Mara before helping Gaels to upset of Mgsr. Farrell.