R. Jay Soward
Encyclopedia
Rodney Jay Soward (born January 16, 1978 in Rialto, California
) is a football
player who currently plays for the IFL
's Wenatchee Valley Venom as a wide receiver
.
scene with a 4-TD
game vs. UCLA in his freshman season with USC
. Despite Soward's superior skills, he never reached his potential in his USC career, ending his tenure with 32 touchdowns in four seasons.
Soward's drug problems became worse while in college, where he admitted smoking marijuana every day.
to ignore and they took him with a first-round selection (29th overall) in the 2000 NFL Draft
. Soward did not take the pressure of being a first-round selection very well. "I think the hardest part for me was dealing with all the pressure after getting drafted," he recalls. "I didn’t play well my first year so people were on me a lot. I wish I would have went to New Orleans in the second round. I wish I hadn’t ever been a first round draft pick. I felt that New Orleans had a better staff to suit me at that time. I think being with those guys would have changed my future in the NFL."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
After wearing out his welcome with the Jags in training camp, before playing in his first game under head coach Tom Coughlin
(who had gone so far as to send a limousine, at the team's expense, to pick up Soward every day for practice, just to make sure he would come), he was suspended several times by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He has not filed for re-instatement since his last suspension. Though many media outlets attributed the suspension to marijuana, his suspension came as a result of alcohol abuse
. "I can honestly say I was an alcoholic at that time in my life," Soward recollects. "That’s why I’m not playing in the NFL, because I was an alcoholic at that time."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
After entering the NFL's substance abuse
program, Soward was critical about its effectiveness. "It was horrible counseling. I’ve been in every rehab
centre known to man," said Soward. "They even had the nerve to put me in rehab in Miami, the drug
capital of the world. I don’t really think the rehabilitation
process is very good for players down there. I think it is more of a disciplinary kind of rehabilitation which doesn’t teach anybody anything. For me, the more they took away from me the more it made me want to drink, the more it made me want to feel depressed, the more it made me want to feel bad about me."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
. On May 18, 2004, the Toronto Argonauts signed him to a contract.
As an Argonaut, his primary role in the offense was as a fly route receiver that stretched the defense and whose long receptions usually translated into touchdowns. This was reflected in his touchdown to reception ratio of 10:39 (as of August 19, 2006). The only drawback to Soward's Argonaut tenure has been maintaining his health for a full season.
In his first year with the team, Soward went on to win a Grey Cup Championship
.
In 2005, Soward and the Argonauts were unable to repeat as back-to-back champions, losing the Eastern Division Championship to the Montreal Alouettes
. In that game, Soward was dubiously remembered for an overzealous touchdown celebration. After scoring a touchdown, he ran into a concession stand
setup behind the end zone
, grabbed a bag of popcorn
, and shared it with a teammate and nearby fans. Though his touchdown helped to put his team up 14-0 after the first quarter, the Argos got outscored 33-3 for the next three quarters. That led many to believe that Soward's timing for his celebration stunt was not only premature, but a catalyst that fired up the Alouettes. "It was a very spontaneous thing and I apologize to the people of Toronto
if they feel I took away our opportunity, but I was just making an atmosphere where people can enjoy the game and see something different."http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2005/11/25/1323027-sun.html
In 2006, when asked about the popcorn incident prior to a rematch against the Alouettes, Soward stated that he felt the criticism against him was unjust and that he would do it again if the opportunity presented itself.http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1155851411243&call_pageid=972053291757
He told Los Angeles radio station KLAC that he got the popcorn idea from seeing Keyshawn Johnson
do it after scoring a touchdown when he was playing football for West Los Angeles College. During the East Division semi-final that year, Soward caught the game winning touchdown to help the Argonauts advance to the division finals which they went on to lose vs. the Alouettes in Montreal.
On December 15, 2006, Soward was released by the Argonauts.
Since then he has been making a living in repairing televisions and working in a warehouse.
Rialto, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Rialto had a population of 99,171. The population density was 4,434.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Rialto was 43,592 White, 16,236 African American, 1,062 Native American, 2,258 Asian, 361 Pacific Islander, 30,993 from other...
) is a football
Gridiron football
Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...
player who currently plays for the IFL
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
's Wenatchee Valley Venom as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
.
College career
He burst onto the college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
scene with a 4-TD
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
game vs. UCLA in his freshman season with USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. Despite Soward's superior skills, he never reached his potential in his USC career, ending his tenure with 32 touchdowns in four seasons.
Soward's drug problems became worse while in college, where he admitted smoking marijuana every day.
NFL
Soward's pure talent was too much for the Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
to ignore and they took him with a first-round selection (29th overall) in the 2000 NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. Soward did not take the pressure of being a first-round selection very well. "I think the hardest part for me was dealing with all the pressure after getting drafted," he recalls. "I didn’t play well my first year so people were on me a lot. I wish I would have went to New Orleans in the second round. I wish I hadn’t ever been a first round draft pick. I felt that New Orleans had a better staff to suit me at that time. I think being with those guys would have changed my future in the NFL."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
After wearing out his welcome with the Jags in training camp, before playing in his first game under head coach Tom Coughlin
Tom Coughlin
Thomas Richard Coughlin is an American football coach who is currently head coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League . Coughlin has led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII. Coughlin was also the inaugural head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, serving from 1995–2002 and...
(who had gone so far as to send a limousine, at the team's expense, to pick up Soward every day for practice, just to make sure he would come), he was suspended several times by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He has not filed for re-instatement since his last suspension. Though many media outlets attributed the suspension to marijuana, his suspension came as a result of alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
. "I can honestly say I was an alcoholic at that time in my life," Soward recollects. "That’s why I’m not playing in the NFL, because I was an alcoholic at that time."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
After entering the NFL's substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
program, Soward was critical about its effectiveness. "It was horrible counseling. I’ve been in every rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
centre known to man," said Soward. "They even had the nerve to put me in rehab in Miami, the drug
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
capital of the world. I don’t really think the rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
process is very good for players down there. I think it is more of a disciplinary kind of rehabilitation which doesn’t teach anybody anything. For me, the more they took away from me the more it made me want to drink, the more it made me want to feel depressed, the more it made me want to feel bad about me."http://www.canoe.ca/Argos/FanZone/otg6.html
The Canadian Football League
It was not until four years later that Soward's pro football career was resurrected in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. On May 18, 2004, the Toronto Argonauts signed him to a contract.
As an Argonaut, his primary role in the offense was as a fly route receiver that stretched the defense and whose long receptions usually translated into touchdowns. This was reflected in his touchdown to reception ratio of 10:39 (as of August 19, 2006). The only drawback to Soward's Argonaut tenure has been maintaining his health for a full season.
In his first year with the team, Soward went on to win a Grey Cup Championship
92nd Grey Cup
The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The game decided the championship of the 2004 Canadian Football League season...
.
In 2005, Soward and the Argonauts were unable to repeat as back-to-back champions, losing the Eastern Division Championship to the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
. In that game, Soward was dubiously remembered for an overzealous touchdown celebration. After scoring a touchdown, he ran into a concession stand
Concession stand
A concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
setup behind the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
, grabbed a bag of popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
, and shared it with a teammate and nearby fans. Though his touchdown helped to put his team up 14-0 after the first quarter, the Argos got outscored 33-3 for the next three quarters. That led many to believe that Soward's timing for his celebration stunt was not only premature, but a catalyst that fired up the Alouettes. "It was a very spontaneous thing and I apologize to the people of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
if they feel I took away our opportunity, but I was just making an atmosphere where people can enjoy the game and see something different."http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2005/11/25/1323027-sun.html
In 2006, when asked about the popcorn incident prior to a rematch against the Alouettes, Soward stated that he felt the criticism against him was unjust and that he would do it again if the opportunity presented itself.http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1155851411243&call_pageid=972053291757
He told Los Angeles radio station KLAC that he got the popcorn idea from seeing Keyshawn Johnson
Keyshawn Johnson
Joseph Keyshawn Johnson is a former American football wide receiver, interior designer, business executive, author and current television broadcaster for sports channel ESPN. He retired from football on May 23, 2007 after an eleven-year career in the National Football League...
do it after scoring a touchdown when he was playing football for West Los Angeles College. During the East Division semi-final that year, Soward caught the game winning touchdown to help the Argonauts advance to the division finals which they went on to lose vs. the Alouettes in Montreal.
On December 15, 2006, Soward was released by the Argonauts.
Since then he has been making a living in repairing televisions and working in a warehouse.