He's finally found his arena

HOUSTON, Texas -- He was one the most athletic players on the New England Patriots.

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Michael Bishop played one season (2000) with New England and showed incredible athletic ability. In fact, not only was Bishop ahead of Tom Brady on the Patriots depth chart, but also many fans loved his potential Michael Vick ability they wanted him in the line-up.

“I was excited to have the opportunity to play at the next level coming out of college,” said Bishop. “I enjoyed the time I was there and wish I was there longer. I definitely wish I had more playing time and a lot more opportunities than what I had. Certain situations didn’t permit that at the time, but I loved every minute of it.”

Bishop had the unique opportunity to play and compete with Brady and is not surprised at all with the level of success he has achieved.

“I think Brady is one of the top players in the National Football League,” said Bishop. “He is a great guy on the field and off the field. I spent a lot of time with him when I was with New England just talking about life and where he wanted to be and where I wanted to be years from now. When I was there he was working hard, was in the weight room and doing the things you need to do to be in the situation he is in now. I’m not surprised at all with the success he has had."

These days, Bishop, who resides in Houston, Texas and has a daughter Nia, 5, continues to play professional football in the Arena Football League.

“(Nia's) had a big impact on me,” said Bishop. “As my daughter she understands football more than any other five-year-old that I could imagine. She’s been around my highs and my lows. I try and teach her what I’m doing in life so she doesn’t have to go through the same things I went through to get where I’m at.”

In the AFL, Bishop is the starting quarterback for the Grand Rapids Rampage.

“I am loving it there and it’s a fast-paced game,” said Bishop. “It’s a different game for a quarterback. You can expect 70-point games and the game is not over until the last seconds tick off the clock. You can score in a heartbeat."

“It’s a great game and there is a lot of attention on the game and a lot of guys vying into the game. Within the next couple of years it will continue to grow.”

Bishop is enjoying a tremendous amount of individual success with Grand Rapids. On February 5 against the Colorado Crush, Bishop sent an AFL record by becoming the first quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game.   Continued...