Declan McMahon remembers the first time he felt adrenaline pumping through a huge stadium.
It was WrestleMania 32 in Dallas when he went to the AT&T Stadium with his father. He heard jokes – even cheers – and it immediately became a life moment that was not easily forgotten.
It was no ordinary night, or ordinary event or ordinary family.
Shane McMahon, father of Brooklyn (NY) Polly Prep recruits, and his grandfather, Vince McMahon, chairman and CEO of WWE. The vitriol that spread at WrestleMania is because his father was involved in a Hell in the Cell wrestling match against Undertaker.
That night, Shane McMahon jumped from the top of a metal cell in an attempt to land on the Undertaker – and basically ended the match – but he missed and hit a table instead. There was a stretcher – show or no show – and Declan McMahon remembered the scene well.
“For the love of mankind,” said WWE announcer McMahon while missing. “Shane has just exploded through a table.”
“It was voluntary,” Declan McMahon said. “It’s even crazier.”
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All that being said, Indiana is getting a top-notch footballer and a special person, as McMahon has recently decided to take a walk-on spot of choice with the Huskies.
And with all that said, McMahon sees himself as an underdog player going to an underdog team at a conference filled with undertakers like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State and others and ready to bury you.
Polly Prep Prospect, who has played quarterbacks, has fallen behind and is excited for opportunities wherever his team needed him. Many do not have this opportunity, and McMahon will not let it slip.
“Growing up in a wrestling family, one of my greatest memories was once I went out to the AT&T stadium with my dad and got an adrenaline rush while my dad was wrestling in a stadium where everyone was shouting at you,” McMahon said. “It’s good to be a villain and to go there and win. It’s going to be a crazy experience. “
McMahon is a rare football prospect due to his family name and the spotlight in the sports entertainment industry, but in many ways Polly Prep recruitment is just like the other kids in the 2022 class.
He was looking for a shot. Proper fit. Coach he can trust. A situation where he can contribute. A higher level of education. Something that seems right.
After spending time with the Indiana coach Tom AllenMcMahon was sold, and even East Carolina, Fordham and others followed him.
“I contacted Ryan Hansen (on-campus recruiting director),” McMahon said. “After my spring break I wanted to set up an inspection together and once I got down I was completely blown away.
“I’m talking to the running back coach (Craig) Johnson And speaking to Coach Allen while I was there, I really got a great feeling from that place and I felt that they could build me as the best football player, not just as a player but as a person.
“I (Allen) got the real feeling when he told me, and my family was in the room, that we would not only make you a great footballer, they would make me a great man. It speaks to his character as a man and a coach. It is even more important to build a strong relationship with your coach that you can relate to and that you want to play for.
“Ever since that conversation I wanted to play for Coach Allen and I thought it was an easy decision.”
Recruitment has been different for McMahon than for others who have 50 offers, with college instructors salivating to bring them to campus and essentially begging for their promises. McMahon had to do a lot of leg work – and it was okay with him even though it was tough at times.
“At first it was frustrating because coming from New York City I felt like I wasn’t getting enough exposure, but my head football coach said they would find you if you had the talent,” McMahon said. “It’s a proof that if you keep your head down and keep working, the school will find you. When Indiana called, when every school called, I was so excited. “
When McMahon announced his commitment in Indiana, another aspect of the family came into the public eye when his father, Shane, tweeted about how proud he was of his son’s decision.
It was a typical father’s move, seen thousands of times by other employers’ fathers.
It was so pedestrian that it stood in the ring for the man known as Shen-o-Mack, who jumped off the top rope and hit the table and kicked the trash can among the opponents. Not the usual “dad thing”.
In some ways, Declan McMahon is jumping off the top rope of his own football future. Can the wrestling business wait? Sure. But running back to 2022 is about to take his shots first in football, in reality he is part of an incredibly successful wrestling and entertainment family with high expectations ahead of him.
The son must have made the father proud – and vice versa.
“When you see him on TV and always because he’s my dad, he feels like a superhero and I bet he feels like a superhero to a lot of other people – but when you grow up, and I like my body and my The body has been developing. The mind has been the same for 18 years – he has remained the same, “said McMahon. People love my dad and for the same reason I see him as my hero and those kids don’t get a chance to see him every day.
“It really helped me to develop as a person and me as a person, and over the years I’ve met incredible people who have helped me build my character. When he changes hands and jumps out of the cage, he Mack. But at home he’s a father. “