By KEN SUGIURA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/22/05
NEW YORK  Ronnie Brown leaned over the glass case as a salesman hawked a digital watch.
In addition to telling time, the timepiece, its face practically the size of a potato chip, measured altitude, barometric pressure and had a compass. Price tag?
Associated Press
Ronnie Brown gazes at the sights of Manhattan while his agent, Todd France, does some business on his cell phone.
A cool $199.
Brown, the Auburn running back from Cartersville about to strike it rich in the NFL draft Saturday, thought it over.
"I'll take two of those," Brown said, as casually as though he were ordering crème-filled doughnuts.
He couldn't hold his cool, though. He broke into a smile, a wide grin that seemed to say, "Can you believe I just did that?"
So Thursday went for Brown, in the big city as one of six high-profile invitees for the draft. He wandered about New York, shopped Fifth Avenue, went on a Nike-funded buying spree, listened to a Reebok sales pitch and calmly waited for his life to change forever.
"To be in this position, it's a once in a lifetime experience," Brown said Thursday.
Brown and his Atlanta-based agent, Todd France, arrived in New York Wednesday. They set up shop at their Times Square hotel and dined with Gil Brandt, the former Dallas Cowboys scouting maven now in the employ of the league. Still with an ear to the ground, Brandt told Brown and France he'd never seen a draft like this one, with so many rumors flying about and the identity of even the first pick still uncertain.
Thursday morning, it didn't seem to bother Brown much as he lounged in his 40th floor corner room that overlooks the Hudson River. He watched Maury Povich and Jerry Springer (Springer's theme: "There's a mistress in my house") and relaxed with Woody Rozier, a boyhood friend who had just flown in with his girlfriend from Atlanta.
"Where do you want to go?" Rozier asked playfully. "Don't lie to me."
Diplomatic even with Rozier, Brown said he didn't care.
Shortly afterward, a hotel employee unlocked the door to Brown's adjoining room, with a fluffy king-sized bed and two flat-screen televisions.
Deadpanned Brown, "I can make this work."
The four piled into two taxicabs and headed off to Saks Fifth Avenue. In between phone calls with a team interested in Brown, the players union and other clients, France pointed out black loafers Brown might purchase and consulted with him on socks.
An agent's work is never done.
The next stop was Niketown, where Brown had a $1,000 shopping spree awaiting him as an enticement to sign with the shoe giant.
Brown started off in the Air Jordan section of the five-story store, folding up shorts, jackets and sweatpants into a mesh bag. He picked up two pairs of size-12 sneakers and returned to the customer service desk, where he was rung up at a paltry $547.98.
France put him on the phone with Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes, another of his clients.
"Man, I'm trying," Brown said. "I'm still coming up short."
As the store clerks teased Brown for his anemic purchasing power, a woman in the next line asked what he'd done to earn such graft from Nike.
Said Brown, "A lot of running."
Back Brown went to the sales floor, where he picked up the watches.
"Let me guess  comp?" asked a clerk after Brown's blithe "I'll take two of those" order.
As Brown and France left the store, Brown's phone rang, as it seems to do every few minutes. Jumping into a taxi, Brown had news for his agent.
"Hey," he said, "that was the 49ers."
The holder of the first overall pick, the team was just making sure it would be able to reach Brown in the event the team traded down for a lower pick. Many experts predict that Brown will be selected second overall by the Miami Dolphins.
After returning to the hotel, an NFL Films camera crew had him pretend to check in. An enthusiastic crew member suggested it would be his first shot at acting. He then went upstairs for a sit-down interview with ESPN. Returning to the lobby for a meeting with a Reebok rep, he ran into Utah quarterback Alex Smith, a possible first overall pick.
An orientation meeting for the invited draft prospects was to follow, then dinner.
New York was treating him right.
"It's exciting for me," Brown said, relaxing on a lobby sofa. "I'm enjoying the process and everything that comes along with it."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/22/05
NEW YORK  Ronnie Brown leaned over the glass case as a salesman hawked a digital watch.
In addition to telling time, the timepiece, its face practically the size of a potato chip, measured altitude, barometric pressure and had a compass. Price tag?
Associated Press
Ronnie Brown gazes at the sights of Manhattan while his agent, Todd France, does some business on his cell phone.
A cool $199.
Brown, the Auburn running back from Cartersville about to strike it rich in the NFL draft Saturday, thought it over.
"I'll take two of those," Brown said, as casually as though he were ordering crème-filled doughnuts.
He couldn't hold his cool, though. He broke into a smile, a wide grin that seemed to say, "Can you believe I just did that?"
So Thursday went for Brown, in the big city as one of six high-profile invitees for the draft. He wandered about New York, shopped Fifth Avenue, went on a Nike-funded buying spree, listened to a Reebok sales pitch and calmly waited for his life to change forever.
"To be in this position, it's a once in a lifetime experience," Brown said Thursday.
Brown and his Atlanta-based agent, Todd France, arrived in New York Wednesday. They set up shop at their Times Square hotel and dined with Gil Brandt, the former Dallas Cowboys scouting maven now in the employ of the league. Still with an ear to the ground, Brandt told Brown and France he'd never seen a draft like this one, with so many rumors flying about and the identity of even the first pick still uncertain.
Thursday morning, it didn't seem to bother Brown much as he lounged in his 40th floor corner room that overlooks the Hudson River. He watched Maury Povich and Jerry Springer (Springer's theme: "There's a mistress in my house") and relaxed with Woody Rozier, a boyhood friend who had just flown in with his girlfriend from Atlanta.
"Where do you want to go?" Rozier asked playfully. "Don't lie to me."
Diplomatic even with Rozier, Brown said he didn't care.
Shortly afterward, a hotel employee unlocked the door to Brown's adjoining room, with a fluffy king-sized bed and two flat-screen televisions.
Deadpanned Brown, "I can make this work."
The four piled into two taxicabs and headed off to Saks Fifth Avenue. In between phone calls with a team interested in Brown, the players union and other clients, France pointed out black loafers Brown might purchase and consulted with him on socks.
An agent's work is never done.
The next stop was Niketown, where Brown had a $1,000 shopping spree awaiting him as an enticement to sign with the shoe giant.
Brown started off in the Air Jordan section of the five-story store, folding up shorts, jackets and sweatpants into a mesh bag. He picked up two pairs of size-12 sneakers and returned to the customer service desk, where he was rung up at a paltry $547.98.
France put him on the phone with Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes, another of his clients.
"Man, I'm trying," Brown said. "I'm still coming up short."
As the store clerks teased Brown for his anemic purchasing power, a woman in the next line asked what he'd done to earn such graft from Nike.
Said Brown, "A lot of running."
Back Brown went to the sales floor, where he picked up the watches.
"Let me guess  comp?" asked a clerk after Brown's blithe "I'll take two of those" order.
As Brown and France left the store, Brown's phone rang, as it seems to do every few minutes. Jumping into a taxi, Brown had news for his agent.
"Hey," he said, "that was the 49ers."
The holder of the first overall pick, the team was just making sure it would be able to reach Brown in the event the team traded down for a lower pick. Many experts predict that Brown will be selected second overall by the Miami Dolphins.
After returning to the hotel, an NFL Films camera crew had him pretend to check in. An enthusiastic crew member suggested it would be his first shot at acting. He then went upstairs for a sit-down interview with ESPN. Returning to the lobby for a meeting with a Reebok rep, he ran into Utah quarterback Alex Smith, a possible first overall pick.
An orientation meeting for the invited draft prospects was to follow, then dinner.
New York was treating him right.
"It's exciting for me," Brown said, relaxing on a lobby sofa. "I'm enjoying the process and everything that comes along with it."
