You’d think a small Connecticut state Capitol ceremony honoring Indianapolis Colts legend Dwight Freeney would pale in comparison to his glitzy induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend.
But, true to his character, the Bloomfield native seemed to give this local event, alongside plenty of old friends, the same energy and spirit he brought to Canton.
“You’re seeing ghosts of the past… it’s nuts,” says Freeney. “These are the types of things that I kind of treasure a little bit more than other ones. It’s just because… you’re coming home, you’re seeing family, you’re seeing friends and that’s what life’s about… I appreciate all that’s responsible for this.”
Along the way, speakers from local politicians to his high school coach to the regional West Indian association spoke less about his football acumen—highlighted by 136 career sacks and a Super Bowl championship with the 2006 Indianapolis Colts—than his gifts as an excellent human being.
“You would love to be known for someone who gives back and is a standup citizen, because that’s the majority of your life, that’s who you will be,” he says. “You’ll be able to help the community, help people whenever they need it. So, it touches me whenever I hear that—things outside of the game of football—that people remember you as.”
Several speakers credited Freeney’s upbringing for the man he’s become. His dad, Hugh Freeney, agrees, saying, “We stayed right on top of him. We had kids coming to our house at 8 o’clock at night, trying to get him to go out, and we wouldn’t let him go. I believe strong parenting was part of it.”
Of course, there was also plenty to say about his athletic career, especially his legendary status at Bloomfield High School. Despite the injury concerns of Dwight’s parents and his dad’s love of baseball, coach Jack Cochran coaxed young Dwight into the football program.
After many years as an afterthought, that’s when football took off at Bloomfield High.
“Instantly, Dwight signs a scholarship (to Syracuse) and everything changed,” says Cochran. “The next year, we had seven Division I scholarships. The colleges were flooding in. Back then, in the Nineties, Connecticut was a ‘pass-over state’ for recruiting… they recruited Massachusetts and New York. Once Dwight went to Syracuse, doing his thing, getting sacks, coaches couldn’t get out of Bloomfield, sometimes 15 or 20 a day. In a 10-day span, we had Joe Paterno, Lou Holtz in the building. Nick Saban, in Bloomfield High School. It just took off. Every sack he made, all that success, Bloomfield rose.”
Bloomfield started winning state championships, and now has 10 of them.
Friday’s ceremony was organized by state Rep. Bobby Gibson (D-Bloomfield), who was one of Dwight’s coaches at BHS.
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