Justin Brown Talks Worst Heckling Experience, Asking Bobby Abreu for an Autograph, Parent's Memorabilia Collection
Justin Brown was a star wide out at Concord High School in Wilmington, Delaware.
He took his talents to Happy Valley and, in turn, took to Beaver Stadium as a future star for Penn State University.
Prior to his senior season he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, finishing his college career there.
The big, strong wide out was tabbed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
After two years in the Steel City, the Steelers cut ties with Brown and he headed to the Buffalo Bills organization.
After a short time in Buffalo, he was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
Now working as a consultant, Brown helps students, athletes and professionals find their identity outside of their occupation.
In this exclusive interview with Brown, he talks about signing his first autograph at Penn State, his parents stash of his memorabilia and a particularly unruly Steelers fan.
Tony Reid-When was the first time you were asked for your autograph?
Justin Brown-The first time I remember being asked for my autograph was when I was being recruited by Penn State University. I was probably 16 years old. I was going up for a junior day or something like that. I was up there with my mom and another recruit from the same area. We were walking to the spring game and someone asked us for our autographs. That was the first time. The person asked for me to sign, my mom to sign and the other recruit to sign. It was a unique experience.
TR-Many players have told me that the autograph evolves over time and that first one can be difficult, as you don’t know where to sign, how to sign or what to sign. Was that your experience?
JB-Yeah, exactly. Like you said you don’t know where to sign. You don’t want to mess it up. At the same time it’s also humbling. I remember one time asking Bobby Abreu for an autograph. I still remember him rolling down the window of his red Durango and signing a baseball for me and handing it to me right outside of Veteran’s Stadium. It was always humbling for me to sign an autograph and understanding what it meant for the person on the other side because I had that experience myself.
TR-You played for Penn State at Beaver Stadium, for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field and all over the country. How was it playing in front of two super passionate Pennsylvania fan bases?
JB-A memorable one from Pittsburgh was the first time running out of the tunnel and seeing black and yellow. My first start was when we played the Cleveland Browns. That was a phenomenal experience. One time I had an interaction in preseason with what I will call a passionate Penn State fan. I transferred to the University of Oklahoma my senior year. When I was jogging back in after our last preseason game I was jogging back in the tunnel, obviously this guy is a Pittsburgh fan and he yells at me ‘I hope you break your f-ing neck’ I was literally walking right next to Coach Tomlin and he even stopped and looked up and said ‘You gotta love the passionate fans.’ We laughed it off and just went into the locker room. I’ve been heckled before but that was the most memorable experience with a fan.
TR-I’ve been a passionate sports fan my entire life and from my perspective I couldn’t even fathom saying something like that to an athlete. From your perspective to hear that from a fan, that has to shed a negative light on fans and interactions on some level.
JB- It does. I am sports fanatic myself. I remember everything about the University of Miami Hurricane teams with Ken Dorsey, Willis McGahee, Sean Taylor and all of those guys. I was eleven or twelve years old. All I was doing was watching college football. On Saturday if College Gameday started at 10AM we aren’t turning it off until the west coast games are over. I was a fan of every sport-basketball, baseball and football most importantly. I can definitely understand being passionate but at the same time sometimes you have fans that go overboard. Sometimes fans lose that sense that we are still human beings, that we are real people. We have families we go home to.
TR-You had a card in high school, you had cards at Penn State University and your rookie cards appeared in 2013. When was the first time you saw yourself on cardboard?
JB-It was humbling. That is when you have those out of body experiences. The dream that you had signing cards and making it to that stage God presents it in front of you. All you can do is be grateful and thankful. To actually sign and get cramps and sign a certain amount and get them back so you can get compensated for it, it is a very humbling experience.
TR- Did you hold on to any cards of yourself? Do you have a room where you have any memorabilia displayed?
JB-That’s funny. I don’t have any signed cards of myself. I have some signed magazines and memorabilia and certain things that my parents kept. They have a stash of a lot of things they kept over the years. I definitely don’t have any of my original rookie cards. I had to make sure they all got back to where they came from.
TR-What players inspired you as a kid? Whose cards did you collect? Whose poster was on your wall? What jersey number did you have to have?
JB-I was a card collector. I wish I could have collected more. I am the youngest of three and I came from a working class family. I wanted to have those cards but I just didn’t get the opportunity. I followed the old school Phillies like Scott Rolen, Doug Glanville, Bobby Abreu, growing up watching those guys. Being close to Philly the 76ers were heavy. I grew up in the era of Allen Iverson, Aaron McKee, Theo Ratliff, Dikembe Mutombo and all of those guys. Football was unique. I am surrounded by Philadelphia Eagles fans. Once the Eagles lost in the NFC Championship to Tampa Bay. I can still see Ronde Barber picking off the ball. After that I was tired of the Eagles getting this close. At the time Mike Vick was coming out of Virginia Tech to Atlanta. I started following Vick. Shortly after I found myself with a Vick jersey and I was one of the few fans supporting Vick and the Atlanta Falcons in Philly. I came from a sports family. I followed Vick a lot growing up. He was one of the main reasons I wore number 7 during high school. Being able to have the opportunity to meet him on the football field when he was playing for the New York Jets and I was playing for the Steelers. That was a unique experience, too. Only you and God can know exactly what that meant, as far as why he inspired me and pushed me and helped me preserve and then you get to meet that person who helped you and mold you to what you are today.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms