Michael B. Jordan played football in the hit television series ‘Friday Night Lights’ as quarterback Vince Howard, but he recently spent a day with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium to show that his athletic skills are more than just for show.
Jordan, who hails from Newark, New Jersey, is a Giants fan and grew up rooting for Tiki Barber and Eli Manning. He got to chat with the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and his center, Shaun O’Hara, about his directorial debut for ‘Creed 3,’ which comes out March 3. The team gave him the full game-day experience, including a walk-up tunnel video, his own locker, warm-up drills and a postgame interview.
‘This was meant to be,’ Jordan said while taking in his jersey and pads. ‘This looks nice.’
Manning and O’Hara took him to the field where Jordan did drills and ran routes. Manning broke down Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous catch from a 2014 game against the Dallas Cowboys where he leaped past defender Brandon Carr and made a one-handed catch behind his back in the corner of the end zone.
Jordan dutifully lined up, ran the route step by step and, watching Manning’s throw spiral through the air, leaped to make his own one-handed catch. The Giants greats were impressed.
‘MBJ! MBJ!’ they cheered.
At the end of the day, Manning shared some parting words, expressing how the actor surprised him.
‘This was awesome. I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t think you’d be able to make some of these catches. But that was one take, this was all live, this was legit,’ he said. ‘You showed up, I really appreciate it.’
‘This is a dream come true to be on the field with you two reliving and remaking these plays,’ Jordan responded. ‘I’m gonna take this with me for the rest of my life.’
