August 4,2017
(Photo Credit: Washington Valor)
“Everywhere I go, I take
New Orleans with me.” Washington Valor wide receiver Roger Jackson
proudly represents his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, no matter
where he is. He loved the culture, the music, the food and growing up
around his family in the Big Easy. Unfortunately, like so many other
families, Jackson’s family had to leave New Orleans after Hurricane
Katrina. While he didn’t lose any close relatives, he explains there
were people that he never saw again after the natural disaster. Jackson
recalls, “After the hurricane, I had one of my friends use my telephone
to go meet up with their family. During hurricanes it happens all the
time, but she said I’ll see you in a couple days, and I still haven’t
seen her yet. And she was one of my best friends in life, so it’s
crazy.”
Jackson and his family relocated from New Orleans to Siloam Springs, Arkansas. “It was really tough because I had never been to Arkansas, never really heard of Arkansas before, and it was just me, my younger sister, and my mother,” he describes. “We just had ourselves and we were in a place that didn’t have a lot of people like we were used to. It was different and difficult, but I had football and put all my emotions into football and kept playing.” With his focus set on the gridiron, Jackson became a known man in his new state. It was in Arkansas that Jackson would get his lifelong football nickname: Spiderman. “On a high school football blog, FearlessFriday.com, they saw me play a couple games, made a couple big catches, and one of the men, his user name was Retro something, nicknamed me Spiderman,” Jackson said. “My teammates started calling me that and it just kind of stuck when I got to college.” He was a star wide receiver at Arkansas Tech before joining the professional ranks.
He debuted in the Arena Football League for his hometown New Orleans VooDoo, followed by the Jacksonville Sharks, before arriving in Washington this season. No matter where he’s playing, his hometown is always with him. “It definitely motivates me. My rookie year I got to play in New Orleans,” Jackson reflects. “Some people from back home say stuff like he’s not from New Orleans anymore because I’ve been so many places. But still, I feel like it’s a lot of responsibility and privilege to be able to represent where I came from and keep playing in this fashion.”
Representing New Orleans and football have been two of the biggest constants in Jackson’s life. “It’s definitely been a platform to elevate myself and get myself out of situations and give me life after a lot of negative situations. It may be the thing that pushes me to my next platform even after football,” shares Spiderman. He still has a lot of plays to make on the field before he moves onto his next career. Jackson leads the Valor in catches and will look to add to that total in the season finale tonight. Despite being eliminated from the playoff picture, Spiderman and the boys will be ready to go. Jackson declares, “At this point, you want to go out and play a full game with your brothers, play a full game for the organization thanking them for the opportunities they gave you, and at the same time, for yourself, showing you’re grateful to play this game and do what you know you can do every time out. The motivation is what it should be every week: to go out there, compete, and get a win.”
Roger “Spiderman” Jackson will end his first season with Washington tonight at Baltimore and as always, he will be going onto the field with his hometown on his mind and heart. “Everywhere I go, I take New Orleans with me.”
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