Status: New York Jets kicker.
Ht: 5-10 Wt: 206
DOB: May 23, 1976 In: Florida
College: Michigan.
Football Inspiration: “Walter Payton. I had a picture that he signed and gave to me, it said: ‘Life in athletics requires total effort for success.’ Then he signed it, Walter Payton. I had it in my room all the time. So he’s definitely one of them.”
Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Love to play golf. Play any time that I can. And I play with my kids. I have three kids. And I love playing with them.”
Nicknames: “Jay is. Actually my name is Thomas James Feely IV. So, my grandpa was Tom, my father was T.J., so I went with Jay [smiles].”
Favorite Movies: “Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie of all time. Then Braveheart, Gladiator.”
Favorite TV Shows: “The old ones. There’s no good shows out now. I loved Cheers and Seinfeld.”
Musical Tastes: “My favorite group is Third Day. Good friends with Mac Powell, lead singer. Then U2 for sure. I got their Greatest Hits always going in my car.”
First Football Memory: “Well, my first memory is I almost stopped playing. We had practice on Labor Day weekend. And I had a soccer tournament that same weekend. And coach said we could go to the game. There was a group of six of us. Then other five got back ’cause their team got knocked out. But we were on a great team, we won the tournament. I got back and the next day he chewed me out so bad that I almost quit football as a freshman and jayvee [laughs].”
First Job: “Working as a camp counselor. My mom owned a summer camp.”
First Car: “I had a white Ford Taurus, which is exactly what all the undercover cops had in Florida. So in high school whenever I went to a party, I’d always bust the party. And everybody’d be, It’s just Jay Feely [laughs].”
Favorite Meal: “I’m supposed to say anything my wife cooks, right? No, I’d say lasagna and steak.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Total Raisin Bran.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I love ice cream. Everything, any flavor [laughs]. You name it, I’ll eat it.”
Pre-Game Feeling: “I just want to have fun. And enjoy the position that I’m in and the opportunity that I have to play football. And enjoy the moment.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “I’d say either winning the national championship at Michigan, that was a phenomenal moment. And actually, even after that, I got to sit down with a little kid who was ten-years-old with an inoperable brain tumor. His mom found me in the lobby of the hotel afterwards, thousands of people around. She came up to me and I didn’t know him. And I got to talk to him about my brother who had a terminal condition as well. And just encourage him. And that meant more to me than winning the national championship.”
Most Painful Moment: “Missing a game-winner. Any time you miss a game-winner. People always say it’s a team win, it’s a team loss. But when we have an opportunity at the end of the game to win a game for your team – you don’t come through – that sticks with you and it hurts.”
Dream Position: “I played wide receiver in high school. I kinda pretend I’m a wide receiver still [smiles].”
Funny Football Memory: “Well, Jim Mora, when he took over the team in Atlanta, they had a rule in the first meeting: Not to supe up your golf carts. And he came up to me after like the third practice. And he’s like, Come here. And I walked over. Is your cart suped up? Did you change the governor? I didn’t want to lie to him, so I was, Yeah, a little bit. And he said, You want to race [laughs]? So we lined up our golf carts and drag-raced back to the apartments [smiles].”
Embarrassing Football Memory: “I won’t tell you who. It didn’t happen to me. One of the older players got hit and fell down and ruptured a hemarroid. And we had white pants on. So he had blood just all over coming out. And one of the teammates went up to him, Your ass is bleeding! So he ran in and had to change his clothes. That was pretty funny. We had a good time with him on Monday, with Preparation X up in the locker. And Maxi Pads, you name it.”
Favorite Vacation: “Hawaii. We love going there. So peaceful. And just bliss.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like honesty. And I like when people act the way they purport to be. The person they put out there, I like when they have integrity.”
Scoop’s book “Heavyweight Armageddon! The Tyson-Lewis Championship Battle” is available at www.amazon.com