[Buckskin86]

Updated: July 6, 2009

This article appears in the July 13th issue of ESPN The Magazine.




Just a few days after winning Super Bowl MVP honors, the Steelers receiver is backstage, prepping to appear on Live! with Regis and Kelly, his pin-striped suit jacket on a nearby hanger. A production assistant comes in with a thick brush. Holmes shakes his head, laughs. "Tell them they got some black people up in here," he says, smiling and patting down the back of his head.

Regis Philbin pops in, congratulates Holmes on his acrobatic, game-winning catch, tells him how breathtaking the moment was. Holmes says thank you, that he was as thrilled as anyone, that he was just doing his job.

The show begins. Holmes signs Reebok shoes and magazines as he waits for his cue. His friend and former barber, Renny Razor, shears his hair. Holmes watches closely, swatting away the falling pieces. "Not too tight," he says, laughing. "This ain't no Flowbee situation."

Moments later, Holmes walks onto the Live set to a standing ovation. "What a great moment in sports history," says Kelly Ripa. "What a great moment in my life," Holmes responds, grinning. The audience laughs. "Are you single?" a woman shouts from the crowd. Holmes nods, gives a shy grin.

In the wings, producers watch and marvel. "He's such a natural," one coos. "Really. Forget football. That man should be on television."

Leaving the stage, Holmes is pumped. "I love the spotlight," he says, his shoulders shimmying. He climbs into a waiting black Escalade. Autograph seekers bang on the sides of the car as it inches down a New York street on which the 25-year-old Holmes would have been unnoticed a year ago.

Santonio Holmes loves the spotlight - Allison Glock, ESPN The Magazine - ESPN

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