Malcom Floyd Interview: Part One – Setting The Bar As Competitors

Hello Bolt Beat Family. As promised, here is part one of “a personal look into the life of San Diego Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd”.

There have been a lot of questions about whether he will be returning this season, and what has been going on with him over the last few months. I figured, why not go straight to the source? I want to thank Malcom, Chargers Media Relations Coordinator Jamaal LaFrance, and Chargers Director of Public Relations Bill Johnston for this amazing opportunity to interview one of our favorite players, during a time when most teams would be extremely tight-lipped. This is simply a testament to how this team has nothing to hide, and how they are appreciative of the support that their fans give them. It’s a new Chargers era, folks. Enjoy every minute of it.

I won’t spend much more time pontificating, as I know you are all eager to hear what M80 has to say. I just want to thank the Bolt Beat readers for all of their support, and the questions they submitted. It was really fun to ask some of these questions, and it was clear that Malcom enjoyed answering them. He gave a chuckle here and there, as I asked some of the questions, and I think we made him feel pretty loved. We want to know all things Malcom, and he was more than obliged. He is most definitely a class act, an extraordinary human being, and never once made me feel uncomfortable (even though I was nervous).

I am going to cut out some of the banter, but still leave what is important. I will post the actual interview later (which was 40 minutes long.. and my voice sounds funny). But… for now, here is the first part.

We love Malcom Floyd… and without further adieu… here is what this beloved veteran has to say about his situation, and the San Diego Chargers in 2014.

Saturday, March 29th, 2014: 11am

Me: Good Morning Malcom:

M80: Hey Peter.

Me: How are you doing today?

M80: Good thank you, how about yourself?

Me: I’m not too bad. We had some earthquakes last night, so it got a little shaky. Are you down here, or in Wyoming?

M80: I’m down here in San Diego. I didn’t feel it, but it was about 5.6 or something?

Me: Honestly, I haven’t been on the news to look. It happened late, and I went to bed. I woke up early this morning, and haven’t turned on the TV….    Anyway,, I just want to thank you & the Chargers for the opportunity to interview you. I’m a big fan of yours, and I know our readers will be really happy about this.

M80: No problem.

Me: Well, let’s get started then. I have some questions that I will be asking, and also some from our readers….. I know you are pretty big into basketball. Have you been playing any basketball lately?

M80: I’ve shot the ball around a couple of times, but I can’t play any five-on-five team ball, or anything like that. I haven’t been cleared to do anything like that yet.

Me: One of our readers wanted to know if there was anyone who could beat you or Gates in basketball?

M80: That could beat Me & Gates? You know who has a good shot is, Philip Rivers…. he has a really great shot. And Weddle… he’s tough to guard, and will drive to the hole, and surprise you. And Danario.. he can dunk the ball crazy! He can do windmills, and all kinds of crazy dunks. His vertical is like… 46.

Me: Man, I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that. What have you been up to in the offseason? Have you been on any exciting trips?

M80: Yes, I was able to go to American Samoa. My Mom’s from there.

Me: Oh really? That sounds exotic.

M80: Yeah. You can watch tropical rain forests on the Discovery channel, but you have to actually be there to experience it. The weather.. the climate.. the sunlight on your skin. It was super hot, but it was super nice.

Me: Like, equatorial weather, huh?

M80: Yeah..the rain will come, and cool you down… then all of a sudden, the sun will come.. it was very nice. I would go back again.

Me: Did you go on any tours through the rainforest?

M80: Yes. I went to my Mom’s village, and we went on a couple of other road-trips through other villages throughout the island. There is only one road that goes through the island, and you can only go 25 mph. So, we went to a couple of schools, and… that was it.. I sat around… (chuckles)… a rest from basketball. It was all blue water.

Me: Sounds like an awesome trip! What made you pick there?

M80: I’ve just never been there, and my Mom is from there. She came here to the States when she was 19. She took us back to her village, and I definitely want to go back.

Me: That sounds amazing… going back to see your history like that.

M80: Yes, it was really cool.

Me: Well, let’s move onto the next question. Charger fans were horrified to lose both of our starting receivers so early in the season. We lost both you and Danario right out of the gate. Seeing that you were both in similar situations, with early injuries, how much did you lean on each other, and encourage each other during the rehab process?

M80: Well.. so I said “Now your knee got hurt, I’m going to go out there and play for you”. I’d see him before practice, and give him a handshake, and go out there. And then.. (chuckles)… I ended up getting hurt, and it was a tough time for both of us. But, just watching what he’d been through in the last couple of years.. and watching other players like Philip in that playoff game, when he had a bum knee.. and Gates with the foot issue.. you know, guys continue to not quit, and come back. So, those are inspiring moments for me. It always helps to take a look back, and look at those situations, and keep my head up.

Me: And as fans, and watching you guys go through that… pretty much what Philip did is legend around these parts.

M80: (Laughing) LEGENDARY! That is super-LEGENDARY! I’m just grateful to have a quarterback like that.

Me: Anytime anybody talks about Philip’s toughness, people on our side just point right to that. And Gatesy with his foot injury.. that’s one of the most nagging injuries ever, and for him to work through that… everyone is always pointing at the production, and in the back of our heads we all know “Hey.. he played through that, and that’s huge”.

M80: Yep. They’re great competitors, and examples of where we’re supposed to be, as far as setting the bar. I’m glad we have great leaders like that on our team.

Me: Yeah.. me too…. I think we can all agree that something looked a little different about you coming into the 2013 season. You came in there as the #1, and the first couple of games that you did play, you looked amazing. Even up until the point where the injury happened, it just looked like you were on fire.

M80: The new coaching staff was really awesome. They really focused on a lot of details, and route running. Our workouts in the offseason really carried over. But, I could tell the difference in the route running with coach Graves. He had these drills we had to do before practice. And.. (laughs).. and they were clearly a good warm up.. but, I could tell that they really carried over to the field, as far as being more explosive.

Me: Oh, man, it showed.. I was like “Wow.. Malcom”.

M80: Yeah, so I’m ready to get out there training, and get back on that level of my game, and i’m really excited that I can do a lot more now, than I did before. Especially with the team we have. We have a young great team, and I want to be a part of that before I’m done.

Please stay tuned for part two of the Malcom Floyd interview, later this week.

Keep Bolting Toward Excellence!

Peter Thompson