Only two Carolina Panthers were named to the Pro Bowl, but the team will have many more representatives in Honolulu. Steve Smith, who earned his fifth Pro Bowl honor, has decided to bring his wide receiver teammates with him for the trip to Honolulu.
Smith surprised his teammates last week by telling them he was paying for them to take the trip with him.
“They kind of looked at each other, and I said, ‘I’m serious,’” Smith said. “Once they got the call from my travel agent, they kind of knew it was for real.”
So why is Smith taking them to Honolulu?
“All those guys ran routes to get me open. At times they took it for the team and ran some clear-out routes for me,” Smith said. “For me to sit here and say I did it on my own and all that stuff, it’s unfair. This is an opportunity for me to thank them and enjoy as a group the success that we all played a part in.”
Players who have had successful seasons often give gifts to their teammates as a thank you. Reggie Bush didn’t make the Pro Bowl, but he was grateful for his offensive linemen and bought them some pretty sweet motorized scooters.
I don’t know about you, but I’d take the trip to Hawaii. And that was a pretty nice gesture by Smith, who hasn’t exactly been a model teammate at times.
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