Parental guidance prepped Patriots safety for stardom
By Ian R. Rapoport | Friday, October 21, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | N.E. Patriots
Photo by Nancy Lane
FOXBORO — There isn't a how-to guide on being a celebrity. There should be, considering the pitfalls and life-shaking changes the famous encounter, but there isn't.
It's trial and error and learning on the fly while striving to continue doing the job that brought one into public consciousness. All of which makes the education Patrick Chung received priceless.
Before he was a star safety for the Patriots [team stats] heading toward a breakout season, before he was a do-everything playmaker for the University of Oregon, Chung was born in Jamaica to reggae star Sophia George and her producer/manager/husband Ronald Chung. On their laps, Patrick heard stories of stardom and star-crossed situations, of fame and of infamy.
From California to Foxboro, those conversations continue on the phone. He has devoured every word.
"I said, 'Son, I can stretch my hand and let me reach you, because there is so much I can teach you," said his mother George-Chung, whose song "Girlie Girlie" was a No. 1 hit in Jamaica in 1985 and made it into the top 10 in the United Kingdom. "You always learn from people who have been there before you. One thing you never want to ever say is, 'I have arrived.' Be humble at all times. I teach him about my life experiences being in that 'celebrity status' for a while. He always listens."
Rising star
Chung has risen from Patriots 2009 second-round pick, to special-teams maven, to starter, to likely to star. On a suddenly surging defense heading into its bye, the 5-foot-11, 212-pound Energizer bunny has 37 tackles, an interception and a sack.
During camp, coach Bill Belichick noted "you really can't outwork Chung," and he meant it.
The same studious, diligent nature that led him to morph from child soccer player to Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High football star also led him to soak up the advice doled out by his parents on how to thrive amid backslaps, back-stabs and bright lights.
His parents, married for 26 years, warned him he won't please everyone. They spoke on how to deal with a performance that doesn't delight the crowd, and how to choose your friends and advisers. How to succeed, how to fail, and how to handle each in public.
Accordingly, Chung is polished and even-keeled, whether he's injured and missing the loss in Buffalo or making a game-turning, red-zone interception against the Raiders.
It all goes back to lesson time in the Chung household. Sophia and Ronald have traveled from Kingston to Japan, London and anywhere in between performing, picking up experiences along the way.
The lights have since dimmed. George-Chung set singing aside to raise a family that includes 28-year-old Patrice, who works in pharmaceuticals, and 19-year-old Petra, an Oregon student and aspiring journalist. George-Chung still writes songs, but mostly she just sings to her children in between life lessons.
"I got prepped for this," Chung said. "My parents, they've been through it, they've lived it. Giving me advice along the way. I should've listened 100 percent instead of 80 percent. But I did pretty good."
Chung will rarely admit to performing anything to the highest level. Of that Oakland interception, for instance: "Off to the next one," he said.
Chung described his mom as "a rock" and his father as the one who made him a man. Patrick intends to give them a reason to "brag about us kids," and he already has.
Never was there a better example than on Jan. 17. One day after the Patriots' shocking loss to the Jets in last season's playoffs, Chung sat at his locker, sorting through old cleats and gloves. Quietly, he motioned reporters over to talk about the issue that dominated the airwaves.
Late in the first half, as personal protector, Chung called for a fake punt that failed, an ill-advised adjustment that derailed his team. He could have easily slinked off into the offseason, allowing the hurt to fade before responding in the spring that the issue was "in the past."
Instead, he stared into the cameras and declared, "That's on me."
Out in California, a heart-sick mother looked on.
"I felt for him, because I know inside he was dying," Chung-George said. "When I talked to him, I said, 'You know what, son? I am very proud of you. You just have to take responsibility and just try to move on from there.'
"The Jamaican elder says, 'Breathe, stretch, shake and let it go,' " Chung-George said with her island-tinged accent. "You must always know bitter and sweet."
Chung does. With an ever-ready smile and an easiness that brings teammates into his fold, Chung handles it all with equal aplomb.
Living on Jamaica until their son was nine, the Chung family moved to Florida, then a year later drove to California. The reason was simple — better opportunity for the children to attend college. The several-day drive made an impression, with Chung recalling how he asked, "let's put wings on the car and let's just fly there." Life was changing, and he knew it.
When they landed in California, it presented Patrick with fresh obstacles.
Just 11 years old, he was the half-Jamaican, half-Chinese newcomer who looked different. With an accent that clashed with the surfer dudes, children would ask him if he could speak Chinese or Jamaican, despite the Jamaican Patois he lapses back into when he's around family being mostly English.
Being the curiosity is what Chung says made him stronger. Now 24, he identifies himself with his entire catalogue of ethnicities.
"I'm Jamaican and I'm Chinese," Chung said. "I'm not going to try to separate the two. That's me."
It also means he can offer light-hearted jokes about both cultures, saying his speed comes from his Jamaican roots while his ability to see things before they happen comes from his Asian background. A self-described "goofball" off the field, Chung's diverse background helped turn him into an arms-outstretched, all-welcoming teammate who says he can "be cool with anybody."
No surprise, his dad is the same way.
"That's Patrick's personality," George-Chung said. "Try and make friends with everyone, try and make everyone feel welcome, and don't think that you're better than that guy across the street because you earn a little bit more money."
When touted prospects came to Eugene, Ore., it was Chung who was assigned to tour the would-be college students around.
"He's a guy that we would use in recruiting because he put a positive face on things," recalled ex-Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, now an ESPN analyst. "Very comfortable in terms of representing the university on the field, off the field."
It's that way in New England, as Chung is starting to become one of the Patriots public faces.
A "relentless" child, George-Chung said, he swam, played soccer, and earned karate belts. Stubborn just like his mom, Chung once refused to come to dinner because he was dressed like RoboCop, and RoboCop didn't need food.
Love at first sight
He picked up football from scratch as a high school freshman, falling in love quickly. He proudly proclaimed to his parents that he yearned to hit, which anyone can see now. He admired the passion of former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins and tucked away his pride to embrace criticism from his coaches.
Playing time led to a scholarship at Oregon, despite being a year younger than most seniors.
Bellotti used to tell his defensive backs to have "quick feet and a short memory." He didn't remember the two-time All-Pac 10 player having many bad plays, but on the rare occasions Chung did, there was that same deep breath and steely expression.
"I don't remember him dwelling on things, just being upbeat, positive," Bellotti said. "Not the life of the party, but pretty close. . . . The beginning of junior year, he started making reads and recognizing how to train his eye to see what the coaches kept talking about. He became not only a great football player, but also an instinctive football player."
The progression was similar in New England.
Belichick raised eyebrows this camp, cutting veteran James Sanders [stats] and two-time Pro Bowler Brandon Meriweather. That left the safety position to just Chung and unproven players James Ihedigbo, Sergio Brown and Josh Barrett. Despite an ever-changing starting unit and some growing pains, Chung has shepherded the group toward improvement with his smarts and his magnetism.
"He definitely does a good job of making guys know that we're a unit," Barrett said.
On the field, Chung's passion comes through. He is always moving, always hitting, always filled with emotion. He unabashedly says, "I love football," and that's not an act.
His mother views Patrick as "a guy with a big heart who likes to make everyone happy," and the result is he outworks others in a battle for success to please his coaches, teammates and family. No one beats him during practice sprints.
Chung is fighting to make his family proud and to begin paying his parents back for the opportunity they gave him on the trek from Jamaica. Now established in New England, Chung wants more. He aims for a long career on the field and hopes to help children — "the funniest people on earth" — off it.
"If you start off on the right track when you're younger and you're raised the right way," said Chung, who has a 1-year-old boy, Taj, and a fiancee, "it's a lot easier to get a good man or woman out of that when they grow up."
He would know.
"His dad always says, 'Pick sense out of the nonsense that I'm saying,' " George-Chung said. "He has listened. . . . I love watching him (on TV). Even though I watch him and think 'Oh my goodness, he's going to get hit,' it's such a joy watching him. I can't express how proud I am."
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1374852
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