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We don’t do much free advertising in these parts, unless we get something in return, like access to the spokesperson. Or cookies.
But the folks at Mazda deserve a gratuitous plug because they’re fixing up the 1991 Mazda that Redskins running back Alfred Morris refuses to relinquish.
“She’s getting [refurbished],” Morris told the media on Thursday, via quotes distributed by the team. “Mazda is going to make her like new, like she came off the floor on ‘91. They actually just took it, so we’re going to switch cars while they’re doing it. They said it would take about six-to-eight weeks to do it, but they’re going to totally refurbish it, so I’m happy about that. . . . They’re just [refurbishing] it so that it can run for about 20 more years.”
Morris said his agents approached Mazda with he idea to fix up the car.
“Mazda was everywhere because of my car, so it was kind of giving them free publicity in a sense,” Morris said. “I think they [Mazda] kind of hinted at saying something about, ‘Oh, we’ll fix your car up.’ They went from there and they worked out a deal. So it worked out, and I’m going to get my baby back on the road so I’m excited about that.”
But Morris says the car won’t be radically different.
“It’s not like ‘Pimp My Ride’ or anything like that,” Morris said. “I’m not into that type of stuff anyways. . . . I just had a crack on my dash, so fixing things like that. They made sure the engine was in tip-top condition. Maybe if the transmission is not so good, rebuilding the transmission. Just making sure that it can run 20 more years so that I don’t have to worry about it, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to put it on the road. It might break down and I’ll be stranded.’ Just to get that worry out of the way, they’re going to refurb, and they might update it a bit, maybe put a navigation system or something in it. But nothing like big rims and fish tanks in the back.”
Regardless of what Mazda does to the car, Morris uses it as a way to stay humble and grounded as his NFL career takes off. And it’s a smart, non-#YOLO way to keep his money in his pockets for as long as possible.