This actual announcement is a few days old, but being a day to honor our country's veterans, it is definitely timely. Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald was named the team's nominee for the "Salute to Service Award presented by USAA." The award, presented annual by USAA and the NFL, honors a league member who demonstrates an exemplary commitment to honoring and supporting the military community. USAA is the Official Military Appreciation Sponsor of the NFL.
The nomination was announced last week. Each team has one nominee and finalists are named in January. The winner will be recognized at the "5th Annual NFL Honors" awards show in San Francisco on CBS on Saturday, Feb. 6, the night before Super Bowl 50.
Past winners include Jared Allen (2014), John Harbaugh (2013), Charles Tillman (2012), and the late Tennessee Titans owner, K.S. "Bud" Adams, a WWII veteran (2011).
Coming from a family with deep-rooted military ties, Fitzgerald was nominated by the Cardinals because of his tremendous support for the military. Here is some of what his nomination tells us:
In May of 2015, Fitzgerald held a free, two-day ProCamp for 200 children of military personnel at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC, the largest US Army base in the world with over 50,000 active service member. In addition to teaching children the fundamentals of football, including route-running and catching passes he also participated in a meet and great and Q&A with Wounded Warriors from the base. In March of 2016 he will host another such program at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA. In October of 2014 Fitzgerald participated in a similar camp at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The goal of the camps is to support the Defense Department's Healthy Base Initiative, which helps service members, their families and DOD civilians live healthier lives through nutrition and fitness. Earlier in 2014, he joined a group of NFL players who participated in a camp at the Schofield Barracks in O'ahu, Hawaii in January. Also in 2014, Fitzgerald was at Luke Air Force Base for a fly-along with pilot Maj. Michael Fisher aboard an Air Force Thunderbirds fighter. Fitzgerald was a passenger in the F-16 for an hour-long flight to help promote Luke's Open House and Air Show that weekend. In June of 2011, Larry joined EAS on a promotion for the Semper Fi Fund. He did numerous interviews to raise awareness for the "Views for Vets" Semper Fi Fund initiative.
Here is the list of nominees for each NFL team:
2015 SALUTE TO SERVICE TEAM NOMINEES
TEAM |
NOMINEE |
Arizona Cardinals |
Larry Fitzgerald Jr. (WR) |
Dan Quinn (Head Coach) |
|
Steve Smith Sr. (WR) |
|
Manny Lawson (LB) |
|
Ron Rivera (Head Coach) |
|
Matt Slauson (G/C) |
|
Johanna Kappner (Finance Employee) |
|
Alex Mack (C) |
|
Darren Woodson (Former S) |
|
Malik Jackson (DE) |
|
Zeke Bratkowski (Former QB) |
|
Brian Cushing (LB) |
|
Pat McAfee (P) |
|
Roy Miller (DT)* |
|
Jacksonville Jaguars* |
Matthew Smiley (Assistant Special Teams Coach)* |
Mike DeVito (DE) |
|
Jason Fox (OT) |
|
Robert Kraft (Owner) |
|
Sean Payton (Head Coach) |
|
Tom Coughlin (Head Coach) |
|
Eric Decker (WR) |
|
Napoleon McCallum (Former RB) |
|
Zach Ertz (TE) |
|
Alejandro Villanueva (OT) |
|
Jeff Fisher (Head Coach) |
|
Torrey Smith (WR) |
|
Mike McCoy (Head Coach) |
|
Jermaine Kearse (WR) |
|
Vincent Jackson (WR) |
|
Andre Roberts (WR) |
***The Jaguars submitted two nominees.