Sam Gagliano – Survivor: A Team USA Q&A

By Eric Moreno | Posted 12/27/2018

Football – much like life – is never easy. Setbacks are the natural order of the sport. Wins come just as often as losses. It is this chief lesson that the sport has been able to impart to the millions upon millions of players who have suited up since the game was created.

The goal after every loss, no matter if it is a play, a game, or a season, is to always find yourself getting back up to face the next challenge. This has been the main lesson that has kept inaugural Team USA member Sam Gagliano going throughout the course of his career on and off the field.

A decorated high school athlete at Waxahachie High School in Waxahachie, Texas, Gagliano's path to success was laid out before him from an early age. His play on the field for the Indians earned him an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. Injuries plagued him while with the Falcons and an off the field incident forced him to leave before graduation.

Despite the setbacks, he has forged a path forward working in the corporate world and caring for his closest family members – his wife and mother – who deal with chronic health issues. Despite all the personal tumult, Gagliano has been able to comport himself with the same dignity, pride, and grace that were the hallmarks of his playing career. We recently had the chance to catch up with Team USA's star receiver to talk about his experience in playing for the first. U.S. National Football Team.

EM: Sam, I know you grew up here in Texas, so when did you first start playing organized football? Growing up here myself, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that you were going to play football at some point. Is that how it was with you?

Courtesy of  Sam Gagliano

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SG: I first started playing organized football in seventh grade. I started playing peewee football then. What got me into it was that our P.E. period, when we'd go out to play sports and football was the one where I was the standout in the class. After that, I figured I'd give it a shot.

EM: Knowing the kind of athlete you were, I'm sure you played a bunch of different positions, right? What all did you play and when did you settle on being a wide receiver?

SG: Back then I started at quarterback and all through peewee, I played running back, I played linebacker. I was one of those that played everything all through high school.

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I settled on a wide receiver when I started coming into it in high school. I started realizing that that was the position that I liked the most. I felt that it was also the position that I could have the most success at so that's why I chose it.

EM: Once you started playing football 'for real,' what made you fall in love with the sport?

SG: Oh, I don't know if I have a good answer for that. I just know that for as long as I can remember football was my first love. I remember always knowing that I loved football. I don't know where it came from, but it was always there.

EM: How did you learn about the opportunity to play for Team USA?

SG: My head coach in high school came to me and said 'Hey, there's this thing that's going on and I nominated you for it.' He gave me the breakdown of what it was supposed to be and the kind of player that was supposed to be represented for the USA in that game. That was the main reason he said he nominated me for it. He threw my name in the hat and that's how I got in there.

EM: What was it like for you that week of practice being around all of this top talent from all across the country? I must imagine being around that caliber of player pushed you to be at that and beyond, right?

SG: Oh my God, it was incredible. It felt like home. It was amazing just being around the caliber of skill, the knowledge base that was on that team. That's not to say that my high school team was not talented. We were 13-1 my senior year and were an incredible team, but it was just a little bit different seeing 49 guys from completely different football programs, completely different schools of thought come together and make it happen in a week.

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It was incredible being around the type of intelligence that was present that week. It was my first exposure to how smart you must be to play this game. During high school, I played a bunch of different big names. I played against Robert Griffin III, I played with Tony Jerod-Eddie, I played with Von Miller. Montae Reagor went to my high school and he would come back each summer. So, I've had a lot of big-name people pushing me this entire time through my sports career.

EM: Did wearing the red, white, and blue uniform of Team USA mean anything special to you?

SG: I got the biggest set of goosebumps I've ever got in my life getting to wear that uniform. Being able to represent the country was incredible. Getting to play football for my country, getting to put that jersey on and representing something more than just my name on the back was a feeling I'll never forget. It had been instilled in me all through pee wee, all through high school, but it felt a little bit different when it was Team USA. It was something much more serious.

EM: Do you have a favorite memory from the actual game itself?

SG: The memory that sticks with me the most is I had a fourth-down catch. It was a conversion late in the game, I think fourth and nine and I had a corner route to the short side of the field and gained 11 right on the sidelines. That was my biggest memory from the game.

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The knowledge I was able to take, especially about processing the speed of the game, was something I was able to take with me and that helped me transition into college. Also, just understanding that there is always a different way to look at a certain situation and a certain play. We brought 50 guys from 50 different places and we got to hang out all week and I got to see a lot of different perspectives, not just about the game, but also about life in general.

EM: Last thing for you Sam, what would you say was your favorite part of the whole Team USA Experience?

SG: My favorite memory, I have to say, was hanging out with Mike Hull. He's a linebacker that ended up going to Penn State. I spent the entire week with Mike Hull and had a blast. That's probably my fondest memory.

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