“I DO NOT PRAISE FISH FOR SWIMMING WELL”
The above quote is from Emmanuel Acho, probably the only Nigerian mouth talking American football on sports TV in the United States. He was explaining why he would not heap too much praise on one quarter back (QB) who had played well the weekend before, noting that QBs are paid to play well.
Acho and Marcellus Wiley, the lead host, discuss or debate approximately fivesports topics on “Speak for Yourself,” each week day. This time of year, which is the only time I have seen SFY, the talk is about American Football at the professional and college levels.
Acho and Wiley use the slangs and style that we saw Black barbers use in the movie “Barber Shop.” But their street talk belies the fact that they are both highly educated individuals. Before playing in the NFL, Riley and Acho graduated from very notable universities. (Less than half of NFL players completed their university education). The antics of these SFY hosts make the show a “must watch” for me.
Riley went to Columbia University, one of the eight Ivy League universities. Acho, son of Nigerian immigrants Sony and Christie Acho, graduated from the University of Texas. UT ranks in the top 40 overall of US Universities and in the top 10 of public universities.
As a Helmeted African, Acho played professional football for four NFL teams but left after his third year to begin a career in broadcasting. He joined SFY in June 2020. Acho is also the author of “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” which is also the name of a YouTube show that features him. He played defense, like most Nigerians currently in the NFL. His Twitter handle is @EmmanuelAcho.
While most Nigerians play on defense, Christian Okoye, the most famous (or notorious) Helmet African, played offense for the Kansas City Chiefs. His style of play was so powerful that he earned the nickname “The Nigerian Nightmare.” He carried the ball as a fullback. (The offense moves the ball forward by throwing it or running it).
Other Nigerian players were stand outs in their time too but did not receive as much notoriety as Okoye. One of them is Chidi Ahanotu, who played defense for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, my hometown team.
Like Acho, Chidi was a Helmet African who was both brainy and athletic. He was admitted to top Universities including Columbia (Ivy League) and Berkeley, which is ranked among the top 20 among all US universities and number ne or two among public universities in the country. Wikipedia reports that Ahanotu’s father played soccer for Nigeria before emigrating to the USA.
Ahanotu played for the Bucs for nine years and ranks among the top 5 in sacks on the team. (A sack is when a defensive player tackles the quarter back of the offense behind the original line of play, also called the line of scrimmage. A sack moves the offense backwards to the point of the sack).
Ahanotu’s Twitter handle is @ChidiAhanotu
