Terry Foster: Untold Stories Of Calvin Johnson, A Regular Guy
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
Calvin Johnson was missing and Dominic Raiola was worried.
It was a beautiful sunny day on Union Lake and boaters and swimmers were enjoying a wonderful day. One of those people was Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson. A couple minutes ago Johnson was jet skiing. Now he was missing. Raiola stood on top of his boat and scanned the horizon. He was fearful that one of the most dangerous men in sports might be struggling somewhere in the water.
Finally he searched on shore and sure enough there was Calvin sitting on a neighbor's porch chopping it up with neighbors. Johnson's Jet Ski stalled and he decided to eat pizza and enjoy laughs after the neighbors pulled him to shore.
This is what he is -- plain old Calvin.
There are dozens of stories that show that CJ is more Johnson than Megatron. He does not consider himself to be a super star or a guy that wants all of the attention.
Teammates simply called him Calvin or CJ.
That might explain why Johnson slipped into retirement with a statement rather than a splash. Peyton Manning held a huge press conference that was carried nationwide. Johnson filed his retirement papers, wrote a note and split.
The fans and media wanted more but that is just the way Johnson is.
The cynics believe he took a final dig at the organization by not making a big splash. Really? Have you not been paying attention to the man for the last nine seasons?
"He is just plain old Calvin," former teammate Nate Burleson said. "We would sometimes go bowling with some of the guys and you never knew that Calvin is this big super star. He is never Megatron or this huge super star. He is never rude to anybody. He just doesn't want to be the center of attention. Sometimes we'd go out to dinner and get a private room because Calvin doesn't want us to be bothered with his fans."
Johnson loves to get away and drive. He isn't going anywhere in particular. He simply wants to get away and enjoy the Michigan country side. Sometimes he drives to Chicago and on the way back, somewhere around Kalamazoo, there is a stretch of I-94 that dips. He can see the entire landscape. He can see if the police are lurking. If the coast is clear he enjoys revving up the engines and challenges the speed limit a bit.
"I can't tell you how fast," he said last year. "You want to get me in trouble?"
Johnson loves to drive fast, but he also likes drive away from the crowds with rural Michigan speeding by. He is not a guy who brings attention to himself. He is not a social butterfly. Johnson likes to be with family and out of the public eye.
So are you waiting for that farewell press conference?
You might be waiting a long time.