Calais Campbell talks about life off the field

Outside The Huddle

Each week, The Republic spotlights a Cardinals player for a series of on-the-spot, off-beat questions.

Today: Calais Campbell, Defensive End

Question: What's one place in this world you are dying to go visit?
Campbell: Maybe the pyramids in Egypt, just because of all the history behind them. That, and Larry Fitzgerald went and showed me a bunch of pictures, told me all about it, and now I'm dying to go.

Q: What NFL team and player did you enjoy watching the most as a kid?
A: The Denver Broncos. And my favorite player growing up was Shannon Sharpe.

Q: Shannon had a bit of big mouth, didn't he?
A: Yeah, he definitely did. (laughs) But because if him, I wanted to be the best tight end in the world when I was like 6. But then I realized it was better to hit then to be hit, so I chose to play defense.

Q: What hobbies do you have and if you don't have any, which ones might you like to pursue?
A: I've tried to pick up golfing and it's definitely a hard sport. I'm very competitive, so it's been a real challenge for me. But I also like to play pool and I'm a big cards player. But I'm also from Denver, so I've done some rock climbing and I've been snowboarding.

Q: Seeing you on a snowboard seems kind of scary. I mean, you're 6 feet 8, right?
A: It's definitely a sight to see. I'm not the best snowboarder, but I have fun with it."

Q: Do you play any musical instruments?
A: Growing up I played the trumpet from like fourth to eighth grade. But I gave it up in high school because you couldn't play football and be in the marching band, so I chose football.

Q: Good career move. So have you checked yourself out on Madden 2011 yet?
A: Yeah, but I'm a little disappointed. I thought I'd have a better rating in the game. They made me a lot better than they did the year before. But I want to be higher, especially on their Swagger Scale. (Darnell) Dockett is a 90 and mine is 87, so I can't live that down. I want to be even or higher than him.

Q: What sort of things did you do for fun as a kid besides sports?
A: I was on the chess club growing up so we always used to play in chess tournaments. I'm a big movie guy and I did a lot of that. And my dad put us in this outdoors club in the summertime to keep us busy. It was a lot of fishing, hiking, camping, rock climbing, a lot of outdoor stuff and it was fun.

Q: What dream car do you want in your garage right now?
A: I told myself if I get 10 sacks this year, I'm going to buy myself a nice little Jaguar XA. It's nothing too crazy. It costs like $110,000 with all the extras.

Q: Your favorite meal of all time?
A: My mom makes the best fried tilapia with sweet potatoes and maybe some mac and cheese. And she makes this amazing pie. It's kind of like a banana-cookie cream thing and it's the greatest.

Q: Now name me one teammate I should watch this Sunday when you guys play the Rams and why?
A: I think Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie always has a big game against the Rams. He creates problems out there and with the pass rush we're going to be putting on (Sam) Bradford, I think he's going to make some plays.

Click here to order Calais Campbell’s proCane Rookie Card.



(azcentral.com)