MATTERS MARIAN - Marian Catholic High School

HARRISON, PABST SUPER BOWL STANDOUTSWhen the New England Patriots defeatedthe Carolina Panthers, 32-29, on Feb. 1 towin Super Bowl XXXVIII, it was a great dayfor those in the Boston area.On the field and behind the scenes, it wasn’ta bad day for Marian Catholic either.Rodney Harrison ’91 had been to a SuperBowl before with the San Diego Chargers,but on this occasion he played a major role inmaking sure the Patriots won the Super Bowl.Known for years as one of the NFL’s bestsafeties and hardest hitters, Harrison led thePatriots in tackles against the Panthers witheight solos and one assist, while alsorecording a sack.Marian is hopeful that Harrison finds hisway back to Marian-Chicago ties in the nearfuture. Marian would like to see Harrisonjoin former NFL players Mike Prior ’81and John Holecek ’90 as the lone Spartansto have their jerseys retired.Harrison had his share of ups and downsthe week of helping the Patriots win theSuper Bowl. He sustained a broken arm inthe second half of the contest, but great newscame later in the week when Rodney and hiswife Erica had their first child.The three-time Pro Bowler and four-timeSan Diego Chargers Defensive Player of theYear has done his share of deeds behind thescenes as well. Harrison helps run summercamps for youngsters in his native Markhamand is still heavily involved with BigBrothers/Big Sisters of San Diego.At Marian, Harrison gained a reputationas being a huge hitter in the defensivebackfield. He also ran track and led theMarian men’s basketball team to its onlyIHSA regional title. However, he’ll be thefirst to tell you the NFL is a different world.“I would tell high school football playersthat no matter how hard you hit in yourgames now, just multiply that ten timesover and you’re in the NFL,” Harrison said.“There’s so much preparation for eachgame—lifting in the weight room, watchingfilms over and over and attending all themeetings. You have to play at such a highlevel on game day, or they’ll just run youover. The intensity and pressure are so high.You have to do so much to prepare yourselffor each game.”Although new father Harrison is on top ofthe world with a Super Bowl championship,he tries to keep things in perspective.Paul Pabst ’87 stands with comedian Chris Rock and ESPN anchor Dan Patrick at Super BowlXXXVIII. Pabst currently works for ESPN as a producer.“It’s so important to be able to share thesemoments with family and friends,” Harrisonsaid. “Being with them helps me calm mynerves and gets me away from all the hypeof the Super Bowl. These people have beenwith me during the tough times and thegood times. I love all of them. It’s awesometo share this experience with them.”Meanwhile, Paul Pabst ’87 also playeda large role in much of the Super Bowlcoverage that week. Pabst serves as producerfor ESPN’s Dan Patrick Show, which alsofeatures former Major League Baseballpitcher Rob Dibble.“The Super Bowl is the ultimate; it’s becomea national holiday,” Pabst said. “I’m still asports fan and down in Houston this year,I was lucky enough to meet Jerry Rice,Joe Montana, Dan Marino, among others...on the same day on the same show.It’s something that never gets old.“I hope I never become jaded,” says Pabst,“where meeting some of the greatest athletesin the world becomes old-hat. I doubt thatwill ever happen. The show is a challenge,mostly because every media outlet is intown competing for the top names andbiggest stories. However, that’s what getsme fired up, trying to have a better showthan the competition.”The passion that Pabst has for sportsand his profession has existed for a longtime, including dating back to his daysat Marian Catholic.“Senior year at Marian I took an electivejournalism class and started working onthe school paper,” said Pabst, whoproduces the show aired daily in theChicago area on ESPN Radio AM-1000from 1 to 3 p.m. “That’s when I knewwhat I wanted to do. I still have a fewpieces that I wrote for the paper, theyare funny to look at from time-to-time.“The journalism class and school paper werethe start of where I am now. I was never indanger of getting straight A’s at Marian,but the thing I liked most about the schoolwas the fact that we had elective classes suchas journalism. I’m sure many schools at thetime offered no such course. If I would havegone to such a school, instead of Marian,I may not have found what I wanted to doat a young age.”Much of Pabst’s work has brought him backto Chicago ties, including one of hisfunniest memories.“We were at spring training and SammySosa agreed to a TV interview with DanPatrick,” he said. “We had to hustle tomake it to Sammy’s Scottsdale home,right after finishing our radio show.Dan had no time to change and when wepulled up to Sosa’s home, Dan went intoSosa’s garage, dropped his casual clothesand hurriedly put on a suit and tie.“I’m standing guard at Sammy’s door soneither he nor his agent could come out tosee the man about to interview him, in abarely-dressed state. I just paused for a secondand thought, ‘If you told me a decade agothat I would be in Sammy Sosa’s garage,trying to keep him from seeing a half-nakedDan Patrick,’ I would have thought youwere insane.”Marian Catholic would also like to take Paulup on his offer to be back in the halls someday to share more stories and mentor students.4