Giants' 'All In' Speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez Visits ALJ

This release was received from the Clark School District.

On Thursday, December 05, 2013, members of the Crusader Athletic Leadership Council met in the Arthur L. Johnson High School Auditorium. The Council had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with guest speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez, who talked to the C.A.L.C. Members on the topic of being “All In”.

During the New York Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl run, much of their inspiration is attributed to Gian Paul Gonzalez (pronounced John Paul). Prior to the Giant’s Christmas Eve game with the NY Jets, Gonzalez delivered the now famous “ALL IN” rally cry message during the Giants’ chapel service and is now widely recognized as having inspired the New York Giants to their Super Bowl victory and was featured on ESPN on Super Bowl Sunday, and has had notable appearances on Fox News and CNN. He has traveled across the nation as a motivational speaker for the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, to the Army Cadets at West Point, Sam’s Club, Patch.com, as well as to many other corporate, athletic, government agencies, and educational institutions.

Gonzalez, 29, a high school teacher in Union City, N.J., was asked to lead a chapel service for members of the New York Giants team the night before the team’s Christmas Eve 2011 game against the New York Jets. There was little hope then that the team would make it to the playoffs.

To illustrate the concept of commitment Gonzalez handed each football player a poker chip and instructing them to write their number on one side of the chip and write what they wanted to be committed to on the other side. He then shared with the team the meaning behind the poker phrase “All In”. He inspired them to be committed and put all their “chips” on the table. “We are faced with decisions every day at which time we can decide to be fully committed, or all in,” says Gonzalez, a former All-American forward, who passed up a professional basketball contract to continue his work with at-risk youth. “I said to the players, ‘I want you to fully commit to being all in on something.’” Gonzalez went on to urge players to fully commit to anything they take on, whether as a father, husband, son or even, a football player.