How Marc Sessler Humanized NFL Players & Coaches

            Last year, Around the NFL's Marc Sessler was tasked to fly with five NFL players & a former NFL coach to Italy & Germany for a US0-NFL tour.

            Initially, “the Quiet Storm,” as he’s affectionately called by his Around The NFL cohorts, was placed on the tour to cover all the activities these NFL players were doing to give back to U.S. troops.

            But rather than being a typical reporter and just give quick, end-of-the-day recaps on every event, Sessler took a different approach.

            He would hand the players his phone and allow them to run around, filming whatever they wanted, so long as it was from their perspective.

“And I and I basically just leaned on social media to promote them, and promote them as good dudes, caring guys, who were there for the reason they were there for, which is essentially to reach out to our soldiers oversea,” Sessler told NCC Sports.

One of Sessler’s favorite moments during that tour was watching Baltimore Ravens (formerly New Orleans Saints) running back Marc Ingram get tackled by a military dog. The video not only went viral on social media, but it also helped further solidified the bridge between the players & the NFL media that followed them.

Marc Sessler (second from left) alongside his
Around The NFL co-hosts.

“…So, I think by like day three, they realize like, ‘Okay, this is like, this is a good setup, but also, like, I when I talked to them, I never talked about football,” Sessler said. “I would just try to listen to what they were saying… and used, like, who I am as a person over time to get to know them.”

When the tour ended, Sessler found himself viewing players and coaches in a whole new light.

“[The tour] changed the way I felt about coaches and players… These guys were some of the smartest, coolest people I've ever met. And it blew my mind… like, when I think back about that trip, like, these were people that I would love for my own boys to grow up to be like them. Each one of those players, they were really cool.”

Often times, members of the sports media dive so deep into their thoughts & analysis of players and coaches, that they forget that these guys are just regular people. Sessler took this trip as an opportunity to remind NFL fans and members of the football cognoscente that players and coaches are human, just like them.

They are prone to error, can formulate their own opinions on any topic, and most importantly; they know when to cut loose and have a good time.