Bucknell University Athletics
DeGraffenreidt En France: An Unlikely Sight
9/29/2004 8:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 29, 2004
Previous installments of "Meet A Bison":
Sept. 21, 2004: Daris Wilson, Football
By Todd Merriett, Bucknell Athletic Communications
The average French male weighs less than 170 pounds. The average American male weighs nearly 180 pounds. Aaron DeGraffenreidt weighs 332 pounds and casts a large shadow in America, but he makes even more of an impact in France.
The French saw plenty of the mammoth DeGraffenreidt last spring when he spent a semester abroad in Tours, a city of 280,000 people 150 miles southwest of Paris in the Loire Valley. During that time, the senior member of Bucknell's offensive line immersed himself in the French culture as part of Bucknell's popular study abroad program, something nearly every French major experiences.
While studying at Université Francois Rabelais, DeGraffenreidt was a daily fixture on the bus to the "local" gym - nearly 30 minutes away. During the ride to his daily workout, DeGraffenreidt focused on Bucknell's 2004 football schedule, especially the season-opening game with Villanova and his final home contest versus defending Patriot League champion Colgate. Without teammates and coaches around, the Baltimore, Md., native used the upcoming season, his final as a Bison, as his motivation to get his lifting completed each day in a country that does not pride itself on physical fitness facilities.
"In general, Europeans do not have athletic regimens like Americans," explains DeGraffenreidt. "In France, a person needs to apply for a weight-lifting license before going to a gym. Once I did find a gym it was the size of a shoe box and I felt out of place because everybody else dressed in khakis and stood around looking at the weights more than lifting them. After awhile people recognized me and brought their friends to watch me work out. They didn't know how to react to me. When I would go for runs I thought Godzilla was following me the way people would scatter at the sight of me."
Along with the daily trip to the gym, DeGraff-enreidt, a French and political science major, spent plenty of time in the classroom while in Tours. For the first quarter of his four months in France, DeGraffenreidt studied in an intensive language program with other foreign students. Following that initial immersion, he lived with a host family and took classes completely in French.
"We were totally immersed in the language and culture," says DeGrafenreidt. "Before going I had taken a 300-level French class and thought I knew French, but nothing can replace being there for four months. One class I took about the European Union was the hardest class I will take during my four years at Bucknell. It was held in a 300-person lecture hall and the teacher would talk for two hours (in French) about French politics."
Along with going to classes, DeGraffenreidt made lasting bonds while overseas. A group of nearly 15 Bucknell students were enrolled in the program, many of whom DeGraffenreidt barely knew. Since they returned, the group has remained close, leaving DeGraffenreidt with friends he would otherwise not have had. DeGraffenreidt also formed friendships with other foreign students in France. The friendships were so tight that a friend from Belgium recently spent a week visiting Lewisburg and cheered on the Bison during their home-opening 15-9 win over Cornell Sept. 18. Even though he gained a number of lifelong friends and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, had DeGraffenreidt not chosen to attend Bucknell, he may not have had the opportunity to create such unforgettable memories. College football teams generally hold a spring practice which is held in high importance. By going to France during the spring semester, DeGraffenreidt missed out on those valuable 15 practices. Many coaches would not have been receptive of the situation, but Bucknell's mentor Tim Landis understood that academics came first to DeGraffenreidt.
"Coach (Former Bucknell head coach Tom) Gadd knew I was planning on going abroad my senior year," remembers DeGraffenreidt. "When Coach Landis took over in the spring of my sophomore year I informed him of my plans and he was initially taken aback by the news since I was telling him so far in advance. However, once the time came he was supportive of me and my decision. The coaching staff made sure I stayed in touch with them and told me not to eat myself out of a job."
DeGraffenreidt, who left the United States at 342 pounds, tipped the scales at a svelte 339 when he returned.
The heaviest person on Bucknell's 92-person pre-season roster, DeGraffenreidt has always been big. His parents did not allow him to play football until ninth grade because the youth leagues in Baltimore were divided up by weight and not age. As a 10-year-old, DeGraffenreidt would have been paired with 14-year-olds. The decision by his parents was tough for him to handle, but looking back on it he thinks it was the right decision. In the absence of football, DeGraffenreidt played a myriad of sports, including soccer, baseball, water polo and his favorite, basketball.
DeGraffenreidt's parents finally let him join the football team as a high school freshman, but it nearly didn't last. His mother showed up to his first game and when she arrived an offensive lineman was laying on the ground with a broken femur. Luckily it was not her oldest son or else his career would have been over before it even started. Despite her apprehensions about letting her son play football, DeGraffenreidt thinks his mother will miss the day when she can't watch him play.
"She is nervous when she watches me play, but she has been supportive and tries to learn about the game," explains DeGraffenreidt. "She tries to make it to as many games as possible, but often just my dad can come because she is caring for my twin nine-year old brothers and my 16-year-old sister. When she is here, she is the loudest person in the stands. I know she is always behind me."
Along with their influence on his football life, DeGraffenreidt's parents have had just as big of an impact on his academic life, mainly his college choice. Initially recruited by Boston College, Fordham, Maryland and Wake Forest, DeGraffenreidt chose Bucknell in part because of his parents.
"Fordham was my top choice," recalls DeGraffenreidt. "Being from Baltimore I wanted to stay in a big city and Fordham has a Jesuit history, just like my high school. When I went there the coach didn't impress me as much as Coach Gadd had. I also visited Maryland and was offered a scholarship, but when I tried to enroll in the honors program I was told they discouraged their football players from being in the program. That happened just a day or two after Coach Gadd visited us and my mom said, `you're not going to Maryland.'"
That choice allowed DeGraffenreidt the chance to end up in Lewisburg, a little bit smaller place than his familiar Baltimore stomping grounds. "It did not bother me coming to a smaller place like Lewisburg," says DeGraffenreidt. "My best friend from home, Michael Lookingland, who is a member of the (Bison) soccer team, had already announced he was coming here, plus I had 90 teammates on the football team that I could hang out with."
Thanks to that open mind and the fact he has stayed on campus to work out the last two summers, DeGraffenreidt has grown attached to the area. Despite the attachment, DeGraffenreidt will move on next spring. His new destination may not be France, but it will involve French as he hopes to take the Foreign Policy State Department Exam which would enable him to help manage diplomatic relations between the United States and French-speaking countries, mainly in Africa. DeGraffenreidt is also eyeing graduate school programs at Columbia and Georgetown.
However, after putting academics first last spring, he may have to put the applications on hold as he concentrates on football this fall.
