Giants coach Ben McAdoo reportedly tried to motivate veteran players with a bizarre story about an old lion that had lots of sex
New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo may have found one of the most unique sources yet at the start of training camp, according to Steve Serby of the New York Post.
McAdoo told his veteran players the story of Frasier the lion, a former circus lion in the 1970s that was sent to a zoo where he had a late resurgence.
Frasier, who later became known as "Frasier the Sensuous Lion," according to the LA Times, had up to 33 cubs in 16 months, impregnating lionesses who had previously rejected any partners.
McAdoo told reporters afterward:
"A lion in a Mexican circus, I believe it was the '70s - '72 maybe - and he was a little long in the tooth, and it was showing, and they felt he was washed up and they sent him north to California [Lion Country Safari], and the next thing you know, he was eating vitamins. The lionesses were bringing him meat and wouldn't eat until he was done eating. And was a lion that showed that he still had value, he still had worth. It just took him a little more time and effort to get himself ready."
The message apparently being, it's never too old to contribute.
Meanwhile, McAdoo reportedly read a Rudyard Kipling poem titled "IF" to players 26 and younger. So unfortunately for players younger than 26, like Odell Beckham Jr., who is 24, they will have to look up Fraiser the lion on the internet.
There's no telling if McAdoo truly motivated players, but at least the first day of training camp didn't sound like a dull one.