After scoring the winning touchdown to beat the New England Patriots this past weekend, the Dolphins’ Kenyan Drake took on a new foe: 5 pounds of food from Smokey Bones.
The 24-year-old running back accepted the food challenge from the food chain’s Plantation restaurant, which agreed to donate $5,000 to the charity of his choice: the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County.
“I don’t know how much exposure I would have had [for] this event if it wasn’t for the Miami Miracle, but like I said, it’s great timing and a lot of people came out to support,” Drake tells Boca magazine.
His winning play has been dubbed the “Miami Miracle,” after the ball was handed off to him and he dodged the Patriots defense, just seconds before the clock ran out.
Kenyan Drake takes on 5 pounds of food from Smokey Bones
With news cameras and fans gathered around his booth, Drake went face-to-face with Smokey Bones’ 5 pound challenge, a collection of the restaurant’s signature dishes: a half-pound premium burger, 1 pound of smoked pork chop, 2.5 pounds of baby-back ribs, and for dessert, a Hot Bag O’ Donuts. Alas, after about 35 minutes of eating, he threw in the towel.
“I’m full,” he joked.
The restaurant still presented a check for $5,000 to go to the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County.
“He did an amazing job. Obviously he outran 3,000 pounds of very tough defensemen, but our 5-pound challenge was a little rough for him,” jokes Ryan Esko, the CEO and president of Smokey Bones.
After the check presentation, Drake greeted a line of fans to take photos and sign everything from sweatshirts, hats and helmets to even a seat from Dolphins stadium.
Originally from the Atlanta area, Drake grew up in the Boys & Girls Club.
Kenyan Drake signs Dolphins gear for fans.
“The Boys & Girls Club just kind of gave me a good platform to understand that it’s about giving back,” he says. “Not just in the season of giving, which is the holidays, but all the time, and the youth are our future. Just giving back that time to them I feel like is the most important aspect of using this platform.”
Some stand-out dishes from the Smokey Bones challenge? Drake says it was the ribs and pork chops.
“This is a person who’s not only doing great with his athletics, but he’s also doing great to the community,” Esko says. “He’s using his platform right now to really help our community and he’s a big inspiration.”
