Ryan Clark spent the last eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it became increasingly clear in March that he wouldn't be back for a ninth. When the move became inevitable, Clark made an announcement on Twitter about his transition:
Made a decision: when I sign I will call 25 Steelers fans to say goodbye & 25 fans of my new team to say hello!! Sound good?!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) March 14, 2014
When he signed with the Redskins at the end of March, Clark decided to get started:
Looks like I have some phone calls to make tomorrow!! Steeler fan good byes and Redskins fan hellos!! Should be fun!!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 1, 2014
So I snuck in two calls. I figured they put their number out there so I why not call. One Steeler, one skin fan down! 24 more .
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 1, 2014
According to the Washington Post, one of his very first calls ended up leaving a major impression. Clark called a Steelers fan who had tweeted a phone number his way the previous night, and it turned out to be a middle school Phys Ed teacher.
Six hours after she tweeted a phone number at Clark, near the end of a school day, her cell phone vibrated. Her students were spending the first 15 minutes of class on a reading initiative, and the incoming call had no caller ID, so she ducked into the school’s locker room to field the call.
Sure enough, it was Ryan Clark, calling to thank Brown for being a fan. She told him that she was in class, and that most of her students happened to be Redskins fans, and asked if he would talk to them.
“Not a problem,” he said. “I’d love to.” So Brown put her phone on speaker, and told her class that the Redskins’ new safety was on the phone.
This being April 1, many of them didn’t believe her. But the man on the phone told the middle schoolers that he had played in Washington when they were little kids, that he was awfully excited to be back, and that he was looking forward to the season.
Some of the kids didn’t know what to say. Others starting singing “Hail to the Redskins.” Clark laughed, wished every well and said good-bye. “They were just excited, amazed,” Brown said. “I was just on cloud 9, almost in tears.”
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Just called @Steelertarheel7 to say thanks and good bye & got to say hello to a room full of Redskins fans! Who knew she taught in Maryland
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 1, 2014
(H/T DCSportsBog)
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