TQL Competition Pushing Up Stakes
As inevitable as death and taxes, TQL offices that survived the first round of the national Pushups For Charity initiative benefitting the Boot Campaign ramped up the intensity for round two.
After a tourney-best 97 on opening day, Devin D. of Team Tampa threw down the first triple-digit performance of the tournament, punching out 105 pushups in a minute. (Team Richmond later posted a 106.) Devin will be back on the floor awaiting the Cleveland/Charlotte winner on Friday.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself,” he said. “I used to compete against the greatest athletes in the world.”
The six-foot, 210-pound former safety spent three years in professional football, playing with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, as well as the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena League. He was in training camp with the New York Giants last summer before a rotator cuff injury ended his gridiron career.
Devin came to TQL last September and said he enjoys the competitive atmosphere. "The sky is the limit,” he said. “You control your own destiny and you get out of it what you put in. I like that.”
Tampa GSM Chris F. said he likes having Devin on his team, especially for the pushup competition.
“I asked him if he needed to take a day off and he laughed at me,” Chris said. “If this keeps up he’ll be challenging the world record* by the final round.”
Past Tampa, other Friday matchups include Portland/Pittsburgh, Richmond/Jacksonville and Indianapolis/Fort Lauderdale.
Team Indy isn’t buying the Devin hype.
An unnamed source there grumbled, “If those were pushups, I could do 600. All I know is when I looked at Gary Carr’s video, he said 90 degrees and arms fully extended. We might not hit 105, but they’re going to be good pushups.”
“A winner’s a winner,” Devin replied. “Everybody is going to hate on the guy on top and I’m used to that. I have no problem answering the haters.”
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*The world record for most pushups in a minute is disputed; claims range from 140 to 199.
