UGA Football: Frierson Chats With Lewis Cine

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Lewis Cine graduated from Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill, Texas, but the Georgia football defensive back is a Boston-area guy at heart. The Bulldog sophomore grew up mostly in Everett, Mass., and that is home, that is the placed that shaped him as a football player and as a man.

Cine (pronounced like “seen”) had six tackles in the Bulldogs’ 37-10 season-opening win at Arkansas on Saturday, and he said during a Quick Chat on Monday that it felt really good to be back playing again after the season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. He also talked about loving mom’s cooking, how he got into football and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: Just how good did it feel to take the field and play a game Saturday, for the first time in almost 10 months?

Cine: It felt amazing to be back, to actually be able to play against someone other than ourselves. In practice we go against each other a whole lot and to finally play a different team and see something different was a lot of fun.

Frierson: What did you think of the special uniforms?

Cine: They’re great, very traditional and it comes from a good place, being the 40th anniversary of the 1980 team. I think it awesome that we got to wear that.

Frierson: Are you a guy that cares much about what you’re wearing?

Cine: Honestly, my man, it really doesn’t make a difference to me. I just like the game of football — just line up and play. That’s really what I enjoy.

Frierson: How did you get started playing?

Cine: It was a friend of mine that really introduced me to football, a couple of friends of mine from school. I think it was second grade or third grade, it was just playing for fun and then I got interested in it from there and it just took off.

Frierson: Do you enjoy the game the same way not that you did back then? Is the joy of being out there like it was when you first started?

Cine: Yes, there is the same joy when I take the field. Of course the game has gotten faster and there’s more you’ve got to learn about the game, more keys to the game, but the love is still the same.

Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up?

Cine: I played soccer and basketball. I feel like playing those two sports really helped me in playing football because soccer helped me with my footwork and helped me with being agile and moving from one direction to the next fast. Playing basketball, I feel like that gave me a little sass.

In track I did the 100, 200, the hurdles. I like being active, staying active, and the more I can do the funner it is for me.

Frierson: What’s something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?

Cine: Haitian food — it’s not anything in particular but I just love the traditional Haitian food. It’s got a lot of spices, got a lot of flavor, and that’s what I love.

Frierson: Does it taste like home?

Cine: Oh, yeah, most definitely. It reminds me of mom’s cooking, and nothing beats mom’s cooking.

Frierson: Can you do versions of that here? How good are you in the kitchen?

Cine: Man, I’m terrible in the kitchen. It’s not that I’m terrible in the kitchen but I used to not be around when mom was cooking so I didn’t really learn much.

Frierson: During quarantine, when you suddenly had more free time than you expected, did you pick up any new hobbies or do anything interesting?

Cine: I did pick up learning Spanish. I’ve got a couple of Spanish-speakers in my family, my mom is in Chile so she speaks Spanish, and my little brothers, the ones in Chile, speak Spanish, as well as my daughter and a couple of cousins. There’s a lot of Spanish-speaking people so I picked up Spanish and am trying to learn and better myself.

Frierson: Tell me about home — when you think of home what comes to mind?

Cine: I mostly claim up north, the Boston area. I grew up in this little city called Everett, and it was really known for football. I felt like that’s where I got a lot of traits and I learned a lot from being raised up there.

You’ve got to be tough as nails, one, and two, you’ve got to be good with people. And three, family is very important.

Frierson: Do you miss the winters up there?

Cine: [Laughs] No, no, no I do not miss the winters up there, those were grueling. What I really enjoyed about Boston was the culture. What’s different about here and up there is the culture up there is like a mix of everyone — there’s Little Italy, there’s Chinatown, there’s all these places and all these spots you can go and chill and have food. But down here it’s kind of different.

Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?

Cine: I don’t even know. I think I’d like to be in the shoes of a billionaire just for one day. A billionaire probably has very little time to do a lot and they’re probably constantly on the move, so that’s kind of cool.

Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else’s dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?

Cine: I think I would go to Bora Bora and I’d take my daughter with me, and I’d bring mom as well, show her something different, both of them.

The water there is beautiful and those little huts they have on the water — the vibe about it makes it look like a place I want to visit.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.