Baltimore Raven Justin Tucker to speak at Freeman Stage, reflects on life with music

Baltimore Raven and Super Bowl champion kicker Justin Tucker will be stepping away from the football field to spend a day on Delmarva on June 18.

But rather than line up for a field goal or prepare for a kickoff, Tucker will be speaking to a crowd at The Freeman Stage in Selbyville about his extraordinary life that has seen music and football collide.

“I suppose I have a somewhat unique story to how I pair together seemingly two different worlds — fine arts and music and football,” Tucker said. “I found that there are numerous parallels between performing a piece of music and going out on the football field.”

While most know the two-time pro bowler as one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, many are not familiar with his background and career in music.

A graduate from the University of Texas, Tucker originally entered college with plans to study broadcast journalism, but after taking classes and feeling bored with the subject, he quickly shifted his academic focus to the arts.

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“Initially (journalism) wasn’t my cup of tea, and I just felt like I was in school again. I had done that whole song and dance — no pun intended,” Tucker said with a laugh. “I have an appetite to learn and become educated by the idea of getting into the music and school recording technology, so I figured I’d just go for it.”

Music had first become a part of Tucker’s life when he entered middle school. He was required to pick either band or choir to fulfill his fine arts credit for the year. Rather than jump to singing, the future Ravens’ kicker opted to play the trumpet, giving him his first real taste of what music had to offer.

But because of his love for football, Tucker had to make the decision whether to stick with the trumpet or focus on becoming the best athlete he could be.

“I put all my eggs in the football basket — I never thought about not being a football player,” Tucker said.

Even at an early age, Tucker had already determined he would make a career out of football. He had dreams of playing in the NFL and becoming one of the best players in league history.

However, his love for music continued to stay in his life as he listened to and explored different genres of music while simply singing for fun in his spare time.

Once college came around and Tucker had cemented a spot on the Texas Longhorns football team, he could use his studies to circle back to what he had first discovered as a sixth-grader.

As he started to study the fundamentals and basics of music, Tucker quickly realized the similarities between what he was studying and what he was doing on the football field. Through his participation in one, he was able to benefit in the other.

“For me, more than anything there’s a level of attention to detail — any great performer knows there’s a level of attention to detail in order to perform the best of one’s abilities,” Tucker said. “I gained an appreciation for music and performance and drew my own parallels between music and football.”

That attention to detail allowed Tucker to become one of the most accurate kickers in Division I, ultimately leading to him signing an unrestricted rookie free agent contract with the Ravens in 2012.

Tucker competed with former Ravens’ kicker Billy Cundiff and walked away with the starting job once training camp concluded.

The rest was history.

Tucker broke franchise and NFL records early on in his career, holding league records for most accurate kicker, longest field goal in a dome stadium (61 yards), most 50-plus yard field goals in one season (10) and most 50-plus yard field goals in one half (3). He holds the Ravens’ record for most points scored in a single season with 141 in 2016.

But even with his success on the field, Tucker was determined to make his passion for music have a part in his life. After deciding to sing at his rookie initiation performance, his teammates saw there was something else to the rookie out of Texas other than just his leg.

“I think everyone just seemed confused,” Tucker said regarding his performance. “But they’ve all been supportive and joined in to sing at times.”

From there on, everyone in the organization knew about Tucker’s voice. He was even invited to sing at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and New York Opera, but was unable to do so. Tucker did perform “Ave Maria” at a benefit concert with the Concert Artists of Baltimore.

While he continues to dominate on the football field and the stage, he understands he may serve as a role model to younger kids hoping that they too can succeed in two different worlds.

Tucker believes every student should have the opportunity to participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible, giving them various options to pursue as they prepare for life outside school.

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“Some kids might be incredibly decisive at an early age and some might want to take their time and find what they like — that should be encouraged,” Tucker said. “If I hadn’t started playing football, I still had a variety of other interests that I could have very well enjoyed during my school years.”

When Tucker appears at The Freeman Stage, he will be showing that same encouragement while also standing as living proof that a person can succeed in two different walks of life.

“I hope that what I do out on the football field and what I do off of it, how I perform and then how I act would serve as an example,” Tucker said. “I think anyone that’s in this line of work that’s on the grand stage, there’s high visibility, and it’s important to think about it. I can only hope that somebody somewhere can look at what I do gain something from it.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, call The Freeman Stage box office at 302-436-3015 or email info@freemanfoundation.org.

Twitter: @rickypollitt52