Former NFL placekicker and Detroit player Jason Hanson was invited by the Arts and Lectures Committee to speak about how his NFL career and retirement shaped him as a person.
He was invited to speak to the Ferris community about his experience, containing messages that were universal, regardless of whether anyone is an athlete or not.
Hanson presented to 120 Ferris students, faculty and community members in the DEC ballrooms on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. before exchanging photos and autographs with the community.
Hanson has achieved numerous NFL records, including 21 seasons played with the Detroit Lions (most seasons played with one team) and 327 games played (most games with one team). He has made 495 field goals throughout his career and has scored a total of 2,150 points. In the 1992 NFL draft, he was drafted in the 2nd round and was the 56th overall pick from Washington State University.
One of the key points Hanson made during the lecture was the value of pursuing excellence instead of success, explaining that excellent people have flaws and times of failure.
“The idea of focusing on being the best, giving your best, whether or not you end up being the best, but your best chance of being successful,” Hanson said. “It’s to worry about what it takes to be excellent as opposed to being consumed with the actual success itself. That can distract people from doing what needs to be done to get there. I learned as a kicker that you worry about your job executing the kick.”
Hanson’s advice to kickers was to lift their heads to look after they’ve kicked the ball rather than looking down after kicking.
In his lecture, the concept of remaining consistent was the main piece of advice he’d give to kickers of this generation, as well as future generations.
“I should be taking advice from them because they’re so good today,” Hanson said. “The kicking in the NFL has become so excellent that guys are doing things that when I came in the league were unthinkable or superhuman, and now they’re doing them all the time. I would go back to the idea of consistency. That’s one of the marks of being a kicker by doing it over and over again instead of just in the moment. The goal of NFL kickers is to be consistent each week and each season.”
Some statistics were shared by Hanson, mentioning that the percentage of field goals made has increased every decade.
Many of the attendees were either Lions fans or fans of Hanson. Associate professor in hospitality management Amy Dorey holds a special memory of seeing Hanson play during a big game.
“My first NFL game was at the Silver Dome,” Dorey said. “And I wanted to make a banner. I took a bedsheet and made a big banner, and I hung it up. I remember it to this day. It was 1999, and it was Thanksgiving. It’s a memory I’ve always held, and to meet the person I’ve always cheered for almost 30 years later is a big deal.”
The banner created by Dorey was to represent Hanson, who was a longtime favorite of hers.
The students who attended the lecture either came as fans of the Lions, current athletes or students hoping to receive extra credit for a class.
Television digital media production senior Cam Altonen commented on how Hanson’s lecture impacted him as a senior and an upcoming graduate.
“It’s nice to hear from successful people,” Altonen said. “I learned a lot of things today, actually. I’ve been going through a lot, obviously, because I’m a senior and I’m really busy. It was nice hearing him say focus on what’s in front of you. Especially me, since I’m about to graduate and looking for internships in the future. That’s hard sometimes because I miss what’s in front of me, so that was a good life lesson I learned.”
Regardless of career or passion, Hason’s advice has helped so many people learn valuable life lessons and has given some meaningful tips for doing well in life.