Obviously, there’s never a bad time to read. Even during an NFL Playoff game.
Fox Sports cameras caught Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown flipping through a self-help book while sitting on the bench during his team’s 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Jan. 12, prompting reporters afterward to wonder if he always reads during games or if he was doing it to highlight his frustration with the team’s game plan.
Brown, 27, had just one reception for 10 yards during the Eagles’ win, despite being the team’s leading receiver all season.
“I wasn’t frustrated at all. I thought you probably all thought that,” Brown said after the game, according to ESPN. “Why do you always think I’m frustrated? Damn it. I like to read.”
The unusual moment quickly went viral, as sharp-eyed NFL fans found the exact book Brown was reading: Internal excellence by Jim Murphy.
Afterwards, Brown posted images of the book on social media with the paragraphs highlighted: “This game is 90% mental and 10% physical for me,” he wrote alongside the post. “I bring it to every game and read it between every drive. I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may happen in the game, good or bad.”
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Murphy’s 2020 motivational book has found its way into the hands of several high-profile athletes and CEOs in recent years, according to Sports Illustratedd, who quickly reached the author on Sunday evening.
“It was a pretty amazing night,” Murphy said SI. “I’m sitting here in the hotel alone. I was wondering, what about all those messages? And then I saw what happened and I was like, oh my god, that’s crazy. Really neat.”
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Murphy, whose book became a “No. 1 best seller” on Amazon by Monday morning, said he plans to contact Brown to discuss the book and whether it can help the star wide receiver.
“It’s a real honor to be a part of his life and to have a significant place in anyone’s life,” Murphy told the news outlet.
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AJ Brown.
AP Photo/Chris Szagola
Browns teammates reportedly call the book “The Recipe” because the wide receiver always carries it with him.
“Physically I believe I can do anything and everything, but I have to make sure I’m mentally OK,” Brown said, according to NJ.com. “It’s something I use to refresh every drive, whether I score a touchdown or drop a pass. I always go back to that book and just refocus. Nothing matters, nothing happened, and I just recharge when I get back on the field.”
While Brown is known to carry a book with him all season, some teammates question whether it’s something he actually routinely reads during games.
“I’ve never seen him read [on the sideline]; I saw the playbook in his hands,” running back Jalen Hurts said after the game, per ESPN. “Everybody has different things and finds their flow in different ways. So he decides to do it.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education