Dividing Time Between the Gridiron and a Tree Stand with Sean Considine
John E. Phillips 01.31.13
On Sunday, February 3, 2013, when the Baltimore Ravens come out of the tunnel to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, one of the men to keep your eye on is number 37, Sean Considine. Considine, an avid outdoorsman who is on Mossy Oak’s Pro Staff, will be living the dream he’s had for most of his life and his entire football career.
“I like to bowhunt more than I do shotgun hunt,” says Sean Considine, safety for the Baltimore Ravens. “In my state, we can’t hunt with rifles. I’ve been shooting a Mathews bow for the last few years, because that company makes a great bow.”
Since Considine also played football when he was young, he could get in more days hunting deer with a bow than he could with a shotgun. At a very early age, he started hunting with a bow to have more days to hunt whitetails.
“The Illinois State Football Championship is held on the opening day of shotgun hunting in Illinois,” according to Considine. “I knew I’d have more days to hunt if I shot a bow, than if I hunted with a shotgun.” Considine had two passions that took place at the same time: football season and deer season. Not willing to give up either, he had to structure his schedule to find time for both.
The XLVII Super Bowl will have Considine’s undivided attention.
“This game will give both teams’ players the biggest stage they’ve ever performed on, since the Super Bowl will be seen around the world,” he says. “For us, as players, there’s a lot of hype, excitement and stress, leading up to coming out of the tunnel on Super Bowl Sunday, February 3. So, to deal with all this, I need to have a great deal of preparation for the game. I know that the better I prepare this week, the less stress I’ll have on game day. I want to know, before I come out of that tunnel, that I’ve done everything I possibly can do to give myself a chance to play in one of the greatest games of my career. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity. The Super Bowl, for me, as a small town kid, is a dream come true, and I can hardly wait to play.”
Sean Considine comes from humble roots and has put in a lot of hard work and moved from team to team in the NFL for over eight years. His job is to be the best football player he can be, especially this Sunday for the XLVII Super Bowl. Although he’s at the height of his profession in his football career, he still views himself as that small town, rural, country boy, who just wants to hunt and fish and play football.
One of the reasons that Considine is a member of the Mossy Oak Pro Staff is that through all his football career successes, he still views himself as an outdoorsman with a love of the land and the wildlife that lives on it, and the water and the fish that swim in it. He plows and plants for wildlife, and he enjoys the solitude of a deer stand, away from the crowds, the glamour, and the glitz, that will be this Sunday’s Super Bowl.
To learn more about Mossy Oak, go to www.mossyoak.com. Outdoor Hub will be publishing more articles detailing Considine’s outdoors background in the lead up to the Super Bowl–keep checking back for more.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
