Author Topic: Reality TV beckons former Pittsburgh receiver (Donny of Allison and Donny Fame)  (Read 3597 times)

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Offline chunkylover53

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From the Albuquerque Tribune

There's the old boys' network, where "played college football" opens doors and produces extended hands.

Donny Patrick has that, having been an anticipated recruit at Pitt before transferring to Bloomsburg.

Patrick has something else on his resume, one that opens eyes and produces extended laughs.

He has a short reality TV career, first as the betrayed boyfriend back home on "Big Brother 4," then as the beleaguered half of a desperately dysfunctional couple on "Amazing Race 5."

Yeah, that Donny. Of Alison & Donny.

"It came up (in job interviews)," Patrick said with a laugh this week. "It was a good ice-breaker."

Whether it was the 15 minutes of fame or the football or his recent degree in marketing, Patrick had what it took to land a recruiting and sales position with Aerotek, a technical and engineering staffing agency.

He starts Monday.

"It's going to be a pretty exciting job," Patrick said.

It will have to be to keep Patrick awake.

College by itself is a heck of a ride for many students. Playing football adds another dimension. Throw in Patrick's TV adventures, and you have someone who has packed a lot into less than 24 years of living.

Coming out of Hazleton, Pa., in 2000, Patrick was a touted freshman receiver at Pitt training camp, joining a team with future NFL players such as Antonio Bryant, Kevan Barlow, Shawntae Spencer, Torrie Cox and Ramon Walker.

"It seems like yesterday," Patrick said. "I still have dreams about it - just being back out there, being around those guys."

Patrick redshirted that year, but, by the next season, he strangely had become nearly invisible to the Pitt coaches. He appeared briefly in a few games the next two seasons, but did not have a catch and decided to transfer to Bloomsburg.

There were whispers at the time that Patrick had run afoul of his coaches over some personal issues, perhaps involving a female and a dispute with a teammate.

All Patrick will say now is, "I'd like to think it was strictly football."

But there was Alison Irwin, a Meadville, Pa. native and now a Pitt graduate who dated Patrick on and off for years, including after he moved closer to home to play at Bloomsburg.

When Irwin was on "Big Brother," CBS invaded little Bloomsburg briefly to get a couple of interviews with Patrick and to get footage from a practice.

Bloomsburg director of sports information Tom McGuire had the hair-pulling task of getting every player to sign a release promising to keep the CBS visit a secret.

"It was pretty interesting to bring that type of exposure to such a small town, although my teammates gave it to me a little bit," Patrick said.

CBS loved the dynamic between Irwin and Patrick and asked them to try out for "Amazing Race."

That meant trips to Los Angeles for evaluations and extensive interviews.

"From the start, I knew exactly what they wanted out of us - to see if we were going to give them the drama they wanted," Patrick said.

They got it. Just not for very many episodes.

Alison & Donny, as the show called them, finished first in the opening episode in Uruguay, then disintegrated into a feuding, snarling pair in the second episode in Argentina and finished last to get eliminated.

Think Rob and Amber in a dark, alternate universe.

"What started out as a blossom turned into a decay," Patrick said of the relationship, which since has ended.

At least, he got to do the kind of traveling most of us just daydream about. He said he loved South America and enjoyed Thailand and Paris, two of the places they sequestered ousted teams until the show finished taping.

Patrick returned to little Bloomsburg ready to fade into anonymity. Because he missed spring practices in 2004 to tape the show, he was not allowed to play that fall.

He was surprised to learn he still had a year of eligibility, though, so he played last fall. It turns out he had one last burst of star power, though on a much tinier stage.

Patrick, listed at 6 feet 3, 218 pounds, was the leading receiver - 38 catches, 600 yards, 6 touchdowns - on a 2005 Huskies team that won the PSAC East title, went undefeated in the regular season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

"We came from not even being on the map to climbing as high as No. 2 (in the Division II rankings), and that was something I'll always remember," Patrick said.

He briefly explored continuing his football career in an arena league or in Europe.

"In the end, I looked at the bigger picture and decided it was time to get into the corporate world rather than pursue a childhood dream any longer," he said.

Patrick doesn't keep in touch with Irwin. As he's starting a new chapter of his life, he said he's not in a relationship and, for now, isn't looking for one.

You can't blame him.
Because sometimes the way to feel good about yourself is by making someone else feel bad. I am tired of making others feel good about themselves.