For a 6-foot-2-inch giant of a man, who spent 12 years evading defensive stalwarts in only the NFL, one wouldn’t expect Michael Irvin to be scared of anything. But just like us common folk, the former Cowboys man isn’t really immune to fear, especially when it comes to flying. When Irvin transitioned to a broadcasting career after his career-ending injury, it wasn’t all that chaotic. But soon, job offers started piling in from NFL Network to ESPN, and just last year he landed another gig — a seat at the rotating table of Undisputed. So, it’s safe to say he has embraced his role as a broadcaster, which requires a lot of flying hours, but despite his fear of flying, Irvin hasn’t taken the easy way out.
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During his recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, we finally got to see how the former NFL star manages his schedule. And he sure does it style, as the guest host of the show, Suzy Shuster, revealed that she had extended the invitation to Irvin at very short notice. Irvin, who was scheduled to check in at 9:30, which to Suzy was already unbelievable enough due to his hectic schedule, but to her surprise or any, he reached the venue early.
So with this information, one would only imagine that Irvin flew private, but that wasn’t the case at all. Irvin told Suzy Shuster that ‘commercial‘ is the way for him and he never opts for ‘private‘. The former NFL star revealed that oftentimes his shift at FOX ends just an hour before his flight’s schedule, and he has to run ‘right up to the door‘, but the staff at the airport are friendly, and they have become fond of their daily customer.
The airport apparently urged Michael to fly private since he’s always on the run, but the Hall of Famer wideout prefers a plane that has more than one engine. He said,
“I’m afraid to fly (period). But I’d rather fly Commercial cause I think they got more than one engine on them planes,” followed by, “And I saw it one time — it was a plane was caught on fire — one of the engines — they turned that plane around and got it back to the airport.“
This was all Irvin needed to opt for commercial instead of private. Although he gets a bit of extra attention on commercial flights from passengers who instantly recognize the former NFL star and sneakily take his picture, it doesn’t seem to bother him. Nonetheless, there are some downsides to using commercials.
Michael Irvin Names One Thing He Hates About Flying Commercial
When Suzy Shuster asked the three-time Super Bowl champ about how he prefers to fly — shoes on or shoes off — he revealed that he prefers wearing his footwear on a plane. While it can be a bit unconventional to some, since long flights tend to cause foot pain, Irvin prefers shoes on because he often goes to the bathroom. For a man who is barely on time at the airport, it’s very much understandable. However, what’s surprising is that whenever Irvin goes to relieve himself, he makes a complete mess.
“I go shoes on,” Irvin said. “Because you’re going to get up and go to the bathroom. And you guys know — Cause I know — I miss a lot in that bathroom. It’s small areas, confined.“
However, Irvin did mention that cleans up after himself using tissues, as people are right there waiting at the door to get in and do their business. If they saw Irvin make a mess in an airplane bathroom, it could become the talk of the town for a while.
