He's been an Eagle for a full season, but cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is quick to point out whether he's actually been in the City of Philadelphia for six months.
When the Eagles stunned the sports world by landing the most prized asset on the free agent market in late July, Asomugha was whisked to Lehigh University where he underwent his crash course in learning the new defensive scheme before jumping right into the season. After getting away to London and Los Angeles to visit friends and family after the season ended, Asomugha is set to embrace his first full offseason with the Eagles in Philadelphia.
"The fact that we ended up on top in those last four games and the great things that we were able to do as young and as new as we were - coaches and the players included – and the fact that we were able to go through some rough times and finish off the way we did bodes well for our future," Asomugha said. "I think everybody is excited about the future of the Eagles. I talk to guys all of the time during the offseason. Everybody's working. Everybody's ready."
On Thursday night, Asomugha was named a Philly 360 Creative Ambassador. The Philly 360 campaign is part of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation as the Creative Ambassadors help build buzz about Philadelphia through their social networks — and encourage more people to visit in the process. Asomugha and 16 new Creative Ambassadors were honored at a ceremony held at Tendenza in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties section which was also attended by Mayor Michael Nutter. Previous Creative Ambassadors have included The Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff among others.
"The last six months have been pretty cool. It's good to see something new. I've been in California for so much of my life, coming out here to the East Coast has been great," Asomugha said. "It's a different culture. Everything about it has been different. It's great for growth and for change, so I love it."
Known for his outstanding charitable work off the field, Asomugha is expanding a program that began while in Oakland to incorporate children from Philadelphia - the Asomugha College Tour for Scholars (ACTS). Asomugha will take high school students from Oakland and Philadelphia to Chicago in April to visit a number of different college campuses.
"The Eagles were so helpful and Eagles Youth Partnership was so helpful in finding out what's going on in the community so I could help," Asomugha said. "Doing the tour with the California kids has been great. Now, I'm here so I figured there's got to be a way to incorporate some Philadelphia students in. I just think it's fun. I think it's fun going out and helping people and having them see that someone that they see on TV all the time is coming out and helping and being a big part of their community."
The four-time All-Pro cornerback signed with the Eagles partly because of their work in the community, but also because of the team's playoff track record. And Asomugha believes that keeping the team intact – players and coaching staff - will help the Eagles resume their winning ways in 2012.
"It's really important because you have that continuity. You still have that chemistry. We were all challenged in ways that we've never been challenged before whether it was doing new things as a coach or as a player. We had to grow from it," Asomugha said. "It would all be for naught if (Juan Castillo) wasn't back. It's a good thing that he's back because it's going to help us continue to grow and we'll be able to realize why we went through what we went through and all of the growth that we have."
To learn more about the Philly 360 program and Asomugha's involvement, click here.
