BY JOBY FAWCETT
Times-Shamrock Writer

Chris Snee is proud to be from his hometown. And he wants all the wide-eyed students who sat attentively to his poignant words Thursday in the Montrose High School auditorium to be the same.

Soft spoken, his speech was heard loud and clear as the two-time world champion with the New York Giants returned to his school to present a golden football as part of the NFL’s Super Bowl High School Honor Roll program, which recognizes high schools that have had a player or head coach on an active Super Bowl roster. This season is the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl.

“On the drive here, I thought about all the good times and what I was going to say, hoping to have a good message,” said Snee, 33, who lives in New Jersey with his wife, Katie, who is coach Tom Coughlin’s daughter, and three sons, Dylan, Cooper and Walker. The Snees are also expecting a daughter in February.

“When I stepped into this building, and I haven’t been in the auditorium since I graduated, there were lots of great thoughts because I had such a positive experience here.

“I’m always proud to be a Meteor. And proud to be from Montrose,” he said.

As the former Pennsylvania all-state player, Boston College All-American and NFL All-Pro lineman took the stage, looking trim after losing almost 70 pounds from his playing weight of 305 pounds, his presence was still larger than life to the Montrose school community.

He walked past a trophy case devoted to his accomplishments that prominently displays No. 76 jerseys from his high school, college and pro careers. A sign, decorated in red, white and blue — the colors of the Giants — welcomed him and a video screen entertained the audience highlighting his dominance as a football player.

Throughout his moving monologue, Snee stressed and acknowledged the importance of family, many who were seated in the front row. He credited his success to a strong up-bringing and devotion to his values, instilled in him by his parents, Ed and Diane, and the influential coaches in his life, Tom Lucenti for football and Todd Smith for basketball.

“High school coaches have a profound effect on the lives of children,” Snee said at the podium. “They teach you about the fundamentals, teamwork and accountability. You can count on me, I can count on you.

“Hard work, discipline and the integrity of the game. All lessons you can use in your future.”

He encouraged everyone to look at him as an example when setting personal goals, and emphasized that hard work can help accomplish dreams, just as it paid off for him as he rose from his humble roots to national prominence on football’s biggest stage on Super Bowl Sunday.

Most of all, however, he hammered home the pride he had in being from Montrose and his corner of Northeast Pennsylvania.

When any one asks where you are from, he said, powerfully, “don’t say you are from the middle of nowhere or close to Scranton or Binghamton, proudly say you are from Montrose.”

After his speech, Snee signed the gold football, which will be part of his memorabilia on display at the school. Then, Snee graciously signed autographs and posed for pictures with students, administrators and players who admire and look up to the champion.

“He just proves that someone from here, in Montrose, can get to the highest level of their profession whether it is sports or industry or business,” said Montrose sophomore lineman Seth Bulkley, who plays right guard, Snee’s position, for the Meteors.

On his way home, taking that familiar drive onto the campus, Snee had glorious memories race through his head, he admitted. He was an unstoppable force along the offensive and defensive lines for the Meteors during the late 1990s.

At Boston College, Snee built a reputation as being one of the strongest linemen in the country. He carried that mantel with him as a second-round draft choice and through a decorated 10-year career with the Giants, where he started 141 regular-season and 11 postseason games, including wins over the New England Patriots in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.

He is the first player from Susquehanna County to play in a Super Bowl.

All the while, he never forgot his hometown.

“Chris has been an outstanding person,” Lucenti said. “Great, hard worker when he was here in high school. Kept that up through college and obviously everybody saw in the NFL.

“Very, very grounded and attached to the people here in Montrose. We think the world of him. (He) always came back and made us feel special and made us feel part of his NFL experience.”