2022_09_New_Jersey_Monthly

PEOPLE
KEYNOTE CO-SPONSOR
KEYNOTE CO-SPONSOR
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7
Evening Keynote Event
featuring FRANK BRUNI at
Mayo Performing Arts Center.
Tickets on sale now!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8
All-day FREE Festival with 60+ authors
including Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry,
Fantasy, and Young Adult writers!
S P E C I A L E V E N T S P O N S O R
Bring your kids to meet some of
their favorite authors, plus fun
activities for all ages!
K
I D F E S T
Morristown Festival of Books is a fund of the Community Foundation
of New Jersey, a non-profit corporation, and we proudly support
literacy and education in our community, this year through a
partnership with Literacy Volunteers of Morris County.
when he was a kid—and he’s even been
featured on a few rap songs under the
stage name New Balance.
“He always has a bigger vision. He’s
never satisfied. It’s not a ruthless ambition.
It’s self-motivating,” says Schrager,
who shared a dressing room with Burleson
for five years. “I think he just wants
whatever he can get in this life.”
In addition to everything else Burleson
does, he must also carve out time for his
wife of 19 years, Atoya, and his children.
They are all consulted and encouraged
to speak their minds when
Burleson is offered a new job; he once
turned down a chance to host a show
in Los Angeles because Nehemiah, the
middle child, expressed concern over
Burleson missing important moments
and milestones.
While Schrager has jokingly chided
Burleson for not spending his summers
at the Jersey Shore, the family does
have a few favorite spots in the northern
part of the state. Brownstone Pancake
Factory in Edgewater, where Burleson
initially moved after taking the Good
Morning Football job, is a favorite, and
he adores the town of Ridgewood, his
second New Jersey stop. His current
town, Franklin Lakes, reminds him of
where he grew up in Seattle.
Both of Burleson’s sons play football
for Ramapo High School in Franklin
Lakes after stints at Don Bosco. With
the help of naps, Burleson plans to assist
the team when his busy schedule
allows him to. “Maybe seven, eight years
from now, you’ll be talking about the
Burleson boys in the NFL,” he says—but
he’s not pressuring any of his three kids
to become professional athletes.
If they want to, great. If not, that’s
fine too. But whatever the Burleson
youngsters want to do, they will have
contingency plans. As in more than one.
Dad has already laid the groundwork
for that.
“I think I am a walking representation
of having a backup plan,” Burleson
says. “Sports won’t last forever. I don’t
care how talented they are or if they
want to pursue it. They could have a
career that lasts 11 days. They can have
a career that lasts 11 years. But what I
do know is that the Burleson boys and
my daughter will have a plan after their
plan A, B and C.”
34 SEPTEMBER 2022 NJMONTHLY.COM