One: The Word
I could tell you three things I do to prepare myself for game day, but honestly, my routine starts long before Sunday morning.
The first thing I do every morning – before I brush my teeth, before I think about routes, and x's and o's – I read the scriptures that my mom sends me. Whether I have my Bible with me, or I look them up on my phone, I read the godly message from my mom every day.
See, my mom is a religious woman, and she's been sending me daily scriptures since college. I look forward to seeing those messages in the morning, and I feel lost without them. There's been times where she's been a little late, and I have to text her to make sure everything is alright.
That's important to me, it's something I do every day, period. I'm a momma's boy, and she's never been wrong, so I always listen to her.
Two: Music
Music, that's number two.
After I read my word, I bump my music. My music gets me right. It's funny, because I listen to the hardcore rap music while I'm in the hotel, but as soon as I get into the locker room, I listen to the Sunday church service that my pastor back home sends me.
If that wasn't enough of a change of pace, right before I go on the field, I listen to classical music. You do things a little differently when you've been in the league eight years. When you're young – you're hype, but you don't realize that you use so much energy that way. I listen to classical music to calm me down, mellow me out, and put me on an even playing field. I just put it on Pandora, set it on Beethoven, and let it play on out.
Three: Routine
If you couldn't tell by now -- I'm a routine guy, so everything I do has to be the same. It could just be me, but I believe routine is important to developing a rhythm. I eat the same breakfast, I do the same things, and honestly, I feel out of sync if I miss a step.
I broke routine once in Atlanta. Every Friday, I used to go to a certain restaurant, and for some reason that Friday I didn't go. I had a decent game, but I could tell something was a little off, and I wouldn't be surprised if my pre-game meal had something to do with it.
