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| ND Kalu with #TheSwapCast |
If you haven't heard the story
already about our recording mishap, then go here https://www.facebook.com/Theswapcast/ It's sad,
man. But before we get emotional about that, let's talk about N.D. Kalu.
Post Super Bowl LI, The Swap wanted
to spend one more week on football talking to someone with an inside track into
the NFL. Houston, with its storied franchise history from the Oilers to the
Texans, has a lot of football figures and of them, N.D. Kalu stuck out. His
strong Houston ties, post-NFL success, and, quite frankly, how genuine a person
he is made him perfect to talk to about his experience.
He graciously agreed to sit down and
talk with us. We were fully expecting to have a good conversation, but turns
out, it wasn’t just good, it was great. There were so many laughs and
highlights from the discussion; we wanted to share it with you.
Here’s the best of the show:
Background + Business
N.D., native Texan, began laying his
roots in Houston back in 1993 at Rice University. After earning his degree at
Rice in 1997, he played in the NFL for 12 years—retiring in 2008 as a Houston
Texan. Before leaving the league, N.D. managed to complete an entrepreneurship
program at the Wharton Business School and The Kellogg School of Management,
plus become a Licensed Texas Real Estate Broker and co-found Benford-Kalu
Investments, LLC, a real estate investment firm. He amazingly did all this
during off seasons.
Almost a decade now removed from his
pro football career, N.D. has a successful business, runs Kalu 4 Kids (501 (c)
3), serves as a Houston Texan Ambassador, conducts a children’s football camp
in partnership with former Philadelphia Eagles teammate Bobby Taylor, and is
involved in other business ventures and non-profits.
If all this isn’t enough to keep him
busy, N.D. is also a husband and father of 5 children all living at their home
in South Houston.
Cowboy Boots over Bikinis
N.D. grew up in a home head by
traditional Nigerian parents where education was emphasized over everything. He
was an accomplished high school football player, not to mention a high jumper
who could clear 7 feet, but he also excelled academically, so college offer
letters rolled in.
N.D. laughed as he recalled the big
decision being out of his hands, “My parents opened the letters, discussed
them, and decided for me.” With his heart set on Miami (for reasons that we
suspect of a young high school boy aren’t entirely academic), his parents
prioritized his scholastic interests by choosing Rice University, dubbed the
Ivy League of the South.
In a twist of fate, after committing
to Rice, an offer letter came in from Miami University. His mom knew that was
his school of choice and asked, “So what are you going to do?” The strength of
his commitment, combined with the respect he had for his parents’ decision made
him stick with it. To Rice he went.
College Athlete or Intellectual?
Make no mistake. The academic rigor
of a Rice University education is real. But imagine competing with your peers
given half the time to do the work, mixed in with exhaustion that comes with
the physical demands of athletic practice and travel, plus unrelenting Houston
heat. That was N.D.’s life for 4 years while earning his degree. But to have
his intelligence (and even his presence) at the top university questioned by
some was what N.D. described in one word, “frustrating.”
For all the reasons listed before,
student athletes have special challenges to work through that other students
don’t deal with. Their college experience may be easier based on their having
more time, less exhaustion, and receiving the benefit of not having their
intellect doubted.
But N.D. proudly wears both labels:
athlete and intellect. Because he knows all the hard work that went into it. As
he mentioned, you can go to Rice, “but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll
graduate,” which he did.
NFL Money + Lifestyle
N.D. made one thing clear: he is not
about that iced-out-neck life! No diss to iced out necks or fancy cars, in
which he also has no interest, but as he said, “The problem is when I get the
bill.”
Word has it among his former college
mates that he was known for driving an aggressively average looking vehicle in
the heyday of his NFL career. As I was told, compared to his stature, age
group, and income, nothing about his car suited him and his friends always had
a good laugh about it.
What he likes to spend is his time.
Time on his family, time serving the community, and time on his projects. In
fact, as we were talking about Nigerian food (including fufu, chief among the
customary vittles) we learned that he’d just had a Sunday meal at his mom’s
house before joining us.
When we asked him what he enjoyed
most out of making plays on game day or making deals in business N.D. didn’t
hesitate, “The life I have now.”
Advice You Must Not Ignore
The question was simple and the
answer was concise. “What’s one piece of advice you can give to athletes that
are new to the league,” we asked.
“Study the playbook,” N.D. said.
Many factors may determine how new
athletes ascend in the league, but one of the best ways to descend is to not
study plays. It’s that simple.
Nigerian Time
Our conversation occasionally went
off the rails mainly because someone at The Swap made a detour, so that’s how
we wound up talking about time differences.
The Swap cast agreed that there are
two types: regular time and CP time. These are facts. But if there was any
argument about a third category, N.D. put it to rest. It’s Nigerian time.
Nigerian time is real and, as N.D.
confirmed, in a whole ‘nother stratosphere from CP time. CP might put you back
an hour. Plan on being set back by 3 hours for Nigerian time. You’ve been
warned.
Parting Shot
The last thing we do on the show is
give closing thoughts—something we want listeners to take away. As we rounded
the table, the summary of our collective experience with N.D. boiled down to
this:
The bar that N.D. has set for
post-NLF success is high. He is a great example of what it means to be a winner
on and off the field. From the love that he has for his family to the work that
he’s doing to help kids get a head start on technology and academics is just a
fraction of why he’s deserving of our love and support.
We had a great time hanging out the
N.D. and he’s now officially a friend to the show.
***
Follow N.D. on Twitter at @ndkalu
