Mangini, Good Son

Mangini Could Not Resist This Trick Play

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 3, 2007

Eric Mangini finished practice, met briefly with some of his assistant coaches, then hopped into a helicopter last Thursday. Mangini, the Jets? coach, was not on a secret recruiting trip. He went home to Connecticut to surprise his mother, Nancy, at her college graduation.

?I told her I wasn?t going to be able to make it, but it was so important to be there,? Mangini said. ?She?s been working on her degree for a long time. It?s incredible. She?s a diligent student and I wish I was as good a student as she?s been.?

Nancy Mangini, 69, went back to school a few years ago so she could learn a little more about art history.

On Thursday night, she walked on stage and accepted her associate?s degree in science ? with honors ? from Tunxis Community College in front of a number of friends and relatives, including her son, the coach.

?My daughter had a luncheon, and my brothers and sister were there,? Nancy Mangini said Friday. ?But Eric wasn?t there and I really didn?t expect him to come, but then I thought, ?Well, maybe, but it is a long drive for him to come and then just turn around and go back.? It wasn?t until after the ceremony when everyone was waiting outside that I saw him. I was delighted and so pleased.?

Mangini?s schedule was packed last week with voluntary team workouts while he was also preparing for a youth football camp. He knew he would not be able to make the trip if he had to drive. So Woody Johnson, the Jets? owner, offered him the use of his helicopter. Mangini made the trip from Farmingdale (N.Y.) Airport on Long Island to Robertson Field Airport in Plainville, Conn., in 35 minutes.

?It was great,? said Mangini, who had been in a helicopter once before. ?It was smooth and fast ? and no traffic.?

Mangini met other family members at one of his sisters? houses, and the group headed over to Central Connecticut State, where the graduation ceremony was held.

Upon hearing of her son?s mode of transportation, Nancy Mangini laughed. ?I was really impressed,? she said. ?We were all just so happy. Eric came back to my house and we ordered pizza and had dessert. It was just a lovely, fun time.?

After a few hours celebrating his mother?s big night, it was back to the air for Mangini, who returned to the team?s offices late Thursday night and watched practice film.

All in a day?s work for a loyal son.

?He was my baby ? the youngest of the five ? and you kind of hold on to that youngest one longer,? said Nancy Mangini, whose pleasant and even-keeled demeanor has appeared to rub off on her youngest son. ?I think we have a good relationship. He?s very, very good to me. I just love him.?

She was a stay-at-home mother, a responsibility that intensified when her husband, Carmine, died of a heart attack when Eric was 16.

Nancy Mangini, who lives in Avon, Conn., became involved with local museums: the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford and the Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington. She took classes to become a docent at each and, with her interest in art piqued, she decided to learn more.

She is not sure what is next for her, but she is interested in pursuing an art history degree from Central Connecticut State.

?There?s just so much to learn out there,? she said. ?I would highly recommend to any senior citizen that has the time to take classes. I think what it did for me was give me a more liberal attitude. You get kind of used to doing things the same way with the same old beliefs that you grew up with, and all of the sudden, you?re given a whole new outlook and get different opinions.?

She keeps her thoughts about football to herself, though, especially when it concerns her son?s team.

?I?m too much of a novice with football that I wouldn?t dare,? she said. ?Whatever he does is right. I wouldn?t even assume I knew more than he does when it comes to football. Other things I might correct him on, like child rearing, but certainly not football."