Getting to Know … Rocky Boiman

Name: Rocky Michael Boiman.

Born: January 24, 1980 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Grew up on the west side of Cincinnati

Family: Parents are Mike and Linda Boiman. Mike works on road maintenance for a township in the Cincinnati area. Mom Linda handles mortgage loans for a small Cincinnati bank. He has one younger sister Lindsay, who attends Cincinnati State.

Is your name really Rocky? “Yes, it’s on the birth certificate. It was really no one person I was named after. My parents liked the name, so they decided to make it my name rather than a nickname.”

High School: attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. Founded in 1831, St. Xavier is the oldest high school in Cincinnati and one of the oldest in the nation, preceding many colleges and universities. Operated by the Jesuits, St. Xavier is the largest Catholic high school in Cincinnati and the surrounding region. Among famous alums are Hall of Fame pitcher and current U.S. Congressman Jim Bunning, former pro basketball and baseball player Bob Arnzen and former pro football players Lemar Marshall, Melvin Johnson and George Ratterman.

College: Notre Dame University. “That where I wanted to go to school when I was five years old. I grew up watching them. My parents were fans. I became a fan and it was definitely a dream come true when I had the opportunity to go there … it was my dream school and when they offered there was no way that I could have said no.”

What was the hardest class you took at Notre Dame? “Organic chemistry, by far, that was the hardest. I took it one summer. It was brutal. It was three hours of class a day and five-hour labs once or twice a week. It was no fun at all.”

If the TV is on, what are you watching? “I’m a History Channel kind of guy. Discovery Channel or news. I watch Glenn Beck, he’s my guy.”

What’s your favorite place? “Me and my parents have a little piece of land in the Bahamas. That’s kind of our family thing we’ve done together. We are putting a little house on it. San Salvador Island. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s pretty cool.” (It’s widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus on October 12, 1492.)

What’s your ride? “I just have a Chevy Silverado pickup truck out here. I also have a 2007 Corvette back home.”

What was your first car? It was a Chevy truck that belonged to my Dad. It wasn’t anything great, but I was happy to be able to drive it.”

Favorite movies? “My all-time favorite movie is Predator. My Dad took me to see it when I was eight years old. Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies. Casino.
Aliens I, II and III.”

What was your first job? “I worked at a quickie mart kind of place. It was called the Okeana Quick Stop, out in the country from Cincinnati. It was near my house. It had the gas station. I ran the register and we rented movies and had a little fresh pizza. I was doing everything, making $5.10 an hour and running the show. It was fun. The boss I worked for was a good guy. It wasn’t a bad job.”

What’s your favorite team? “I would have to say the Cincinnati Reds. I always root for them.”

What’s the best advice you were ever given? “I would say, the Boiman Law is if you want something done right, you do it yourself. I learned that from my Dad. I learned a ton of valuable lessons from him.”

Who is your hero? “My parents. They raised me well.”

Best thing about being a pro football player. “You get paid money to do what you love. Sometimes you forget you get a pay check for being around here. It’s fun. There are a lot of ups and downs; it’s such a microcosm for life. If you do things right, you get a reward. And sometimes you do everything right and things don’t go your way. That’s how life is. There are so many valuable lessons that can be learned from this game. ”

What’s your favorite meal? “I’m a steak and potatoes guy. Pretty simple.”

Bucket List? “I would like to write a song. I would like to ride in a fighter jet and travel over in Europe to places I’ve not been.”