Count Steeler
01-18-2013, 08:53 PM
In December, members of the Pittsburgh Steelers dressed for practice and were led to the indoor field as usual. But when the doors opened, there on the turf was a classical ensemble playing the seasonally appropriate "Sleigh Ride." Offensive lineman Max Starks and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played the bells while cornerback Ike Taylor conducted.
No, it was not a hallucination.
Starks, a 6-foot-8, 345-pound tackle, was on the board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until last year. He has narrated youth programs for the symphony for years as elementary school children sat wide-eyed in the audience. During one rehearsal early on, he botched a line and made the horn section and everyone else giggle when he declared to the conductor, "I'm sorry, Coach, I won't fumble again."
To Starks, there is nothing at all inconsistent between his day job, blocking for Roethlisberger against a meaty defensive line, and putting on a jacket and tie at night to attend the opera.
"When you think about the fine arts, the syncopation of getting 80 instruments together in perfect harmony, it's similar to a football team," Starks said. "Getting 61 guys in sequence with each other, the carry-over keeps it consistent."
Starks was exposed to live music growing up in Orlando, Fla. His mother loved musical theater, and the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre was a second home. Starks played the imposing Uncle Drosselmeyer in a fourth-grade production of the Nutcracker ballet and later sang bass in his high school chorus.
"Just being able to experience those shows brought it home for me," Starks said.
full story @ http://espn.go.com/espnw/8841015/street-clothes-pittsburgh-steelers-max-starks-unconventional-passion-breaks-barriers
No, it was not a hallucination.
Starks, a 6-foot-8, 345-pound tackle, was on the board of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until last year. He has narrated youth programs for the symphony for years as elementary school children sat wide-eyed in the audience. During one rehearsal early on, he botched a line and made the horn section and everyone else giggle when he declared to the conductor, "I'm sorry, Coach, I won't fumble again."
To Starks, there is nothing at all inconsistent between his day job, blocking for Roethlisberger against a meaty defensive line, and putting on a jacket and tie at night to attend the opera.
"When you think about the fine arts, the syncopation of getting 80 instruments together in perfect harmony, it's similar to a football team," Starks said. "Getting 61 guys in sequence with each other, the carry-over keeps it consistent."
Starks was exposed to live music growing up in Orlando, Fla. His mother loved musical theater, and the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre was a second home. Starks played the imposing Uncle Drosselmeyer in a fourth-grade production of the Nutcracker ballet and later sang bass in his high school chorus.
"Just being able to experience those shows brought it home for me," Starks said.
full story @ http://espn.go.com/espnw/8841015/street-clothes-pittsburgh-steelers-max-starks-unconventional-passion-breaks-barriers