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EVENTS
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Movie star perfect Giants' Sehorn has it going for him after some tough times
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Jason Sehorn walked to the director's chair and sat so a technician could put a microphone on his lapel. "You want a mic check?" Sehorn said, turning to a nearby cameraman videotaping the interview for a television show prior to the NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. "How's that?" It happened so naturally. But that's the way things are for the New York Giants cornerback who might be the team's most physically gifted athlete. He makes things look easy, even the spectacular, like his 32-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday in the NFC semifinal. It might have been the interception of the year in the NFL. It was certainly the best Giants head coach Jim Fassel ever saw. And it was good enough to get Sehorn a spot on Late Night With David Letterman. The interception came late in the second quarter of the Giants' 20-10 win. Donovan McNabb tried to throw an out pattern to Torrance Small. Sehorn dived in front of the receiver and momentarily got his hands on the ball. As the ball fluttered in the air, the 29-year-old tipped it up to himself, caught it, and got up and ran for the touchdown. "A lot of people talk about white people can't jump, but he definitely breaks that stereotype," Giants linebacker Mike Barrow said. "Jason's got that extraordinary-type, Superman-like ability. That [the interception] was supernatural. It was something out of those sci-fi movies." Sehorn called it lucky, which isn't surprising. If you were meeting him for the first time and found out he was from California, you would suspect he was a surfer, or at least one at heart. He's a good looking, wavy-haired, laid-back athlete. He gives the impression sometimes of being aloof, which has caused some problems with his teammates and coaches in recent years. "Sehorn is like a private guy," said Pro Bowl guard Ron Stone, whose locker is next to Sehorn's. "He is cool with me because we relate to each other. He's down-to-earth quiet, but you have to know what to expect out of Sehorn because he can get to you." Watch a Giants' practice and you might understand. Sehorn, who was raised by a single mother, tends to stand out. He wears red socks when almost everybody else wears blue. He frequently stands alone and he's always by himself running sprints, usually a couple of yards in front of everyone. Even off the field, Sehorn is different. He is a health-food fanatic. His lunch is usually a liquid chemically engineered dietary supplement. "My momma [Nancy] raised me to be your own man. Have your own identity. Don't be a follower," Sehorn said. "Just because someone else does something, don't do it. If nine people want to get in a car because they have been drinking, you can be the so-called dumb one and walk home. Be that guy. I have just been a little bit different." That didn't create a problem with the Giants until Sehorn tore two major ligaments in his right knee returning a kickoff during the preseason in 1998. A second-round draft pick in 1994, Sehorn had just finished the transition from safety and had blossomed into one of the best cornerbacks in the league. The injury caused him to miss the entire season. Instead of staying in New Jersey, Sehorn decided to follow his own rehabilitation regimen in California. He worked with a personal trainer and returned in great shape. However, he had put on too much muscle for the 1999 season. That led to problems with his hamstring and he was never himself. His disappointing year eventually ended with a broken left leg with four games left in season. "Jason and I talked after that and I told him I wanted him here in the offseason," said Fassel, who was trying to foster team unity for the 2000 season. "I'm not saying I brought into it, but I believe it," Sehorn said. "The more we are together and the more we rely on each other and believe in each, the better off we'll be. There's animosity when you don't do the same things everybody feels they have to do." Sehorn is the first to admit he might be misunderstood. "If you get to know me you'll find a lot of things out," Sehorn said. "But I'm not just going to sit there and let you know. It will take time. That's what a friendship is built on. Being raised by a single mom you realize you just don't give people the open door to your life and tell them everything and allow them the ability to hurt. Make them work for their stuff." Sehorn is interesting once he starts talking. Only 5-feet-9 after his sophomore year in high school, he grew five inches over the next four years and went from a good athlete to a very good one. That's also the time he started working out more, although he's not someone who lives in the weight room. "I do a lot of fun stuff, like swimming and rollerblading and rock climbing, things that aren't so repetitive and monotonous," said Sehorn, who had an outstanding regular season making two interceptions and 77 tackles despite missing two games with a broken rib under his collarbone. "It has taken time, but Jason has his confidence back," linebacker Jessie Armstead said. "He's doing the things Jason is accustomed to doing, getting the interception runback back for a touchdown, getting an onside kick and running it back for a touchdown. Those are the things that make you a top player." Sehorn, whose first marriage ended in divorce, doesn't discuss his upcoming marriage to television actress Angie Harmon much. They met at Giants Stadium after a game against the Redskins last year and it was Sehorn's mom who actually played matchmaker. "Mom says, 'I have to talk to her, I watch her show all the time,'" Sehorn said. "So we go talk to her and that's how I met her. It was kind of cool." While Sehorn would also like to get into television, he's not rushing things. If a fans stops him in the street and wants to talk, Sehorn will listen. "Eventually this will end and nobody will care any more," Sehorn said. "There will be somebody else playing for the New York Giants and they are going to be great athletes and people are going to want to talk to them. So while it is happening, I am going to enjoy it. "That why when all these open doors come, I take advantage of it, because it's fun and I know they may not come again. When I am done at the end of the road, I am going to say I had a wonderful time."
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