|
After all those frustrating years on the sidelines, being a starting quarterback in the NFL is a dream come true. Yeah, I paid my dues—with interest. You can't believe the torture, the mental anguish. I never doubted my ability. I doubted that I'd ever get the chance to show my wares."
"I can run the 40 in about five seconds flat. Put Too Tall Jones on my tail, and I'll turn it in four. Fear is a great motivator."
"I guess through the course of 12 years," says Theismann, 36, "you're supposed to be a tough guy in a tough business. And you go out and play and you say, 'I don't give a damn about this and I don't give a damn about that.' All of a sudden you get hurt (by Lawrence Taylor), and literally thousands and thousands of people pour their hearts out to you and say they're sorry, 'We're going to miss you.' I never felt so much love. I couldn't leave the game right now."
"I like being recognized," he says. "I like making people happy."
"Listen, I love a challenge. Like when I was a 5'10", 148-pound quarterback at South River [N.J.] High. I was set to go to North Carolina State until some newspaper guy said Little Joe would get killed if he went to Notre Dame. That ticked me off, and I said, 'I'll show them.' So I went to Notre Dame and only set 23 records, including most interceptions."
"Same thing in the 1971 pro draft. I was 177 pounds by then and still growing, but they said I was too small to play in the NFL. That's why I didn't go until the fourth round. Miami drafted me as a backup for Bob Griese, but, heck, he was young and in his prime, and I wanted to play right away. So I went with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian league. And what happens? In 1972 Griese breaks his leg and Earl Morrall, the backup they got in my place, gets to take over. The Dolphins win two straight Super Bowls while I'm running around up in Canada. Seeing as Morrall got my two championship rings, I had my own pinkie ring made up. It's a gold No. 7, my number, surrounded by three small diamonds to remind me how intelligent I am."
"When a quarterback looks at the rush, his career is over."
|
|
"I used to call him King Quote. He was always good for paragraphs four through seven of my story. When I talked to Theismann, I had to be sure to bring along the 90-minute tapes. He did the rest." - Gary Pomerantz
"Joe not only has the team, the coaches and the fans believing in him, he has himself believing in him, and that's the key. I'm not sure he always had that, no matter how much talking he did." - Bobby Beathard
"Let's get this Theismann situation straightened out. It wasn't my fault that he didn't get along with me. He didn't want to. When Joe became a Redskin, Jurgensen and I tried to help him. We knew we wouldn't last forever. In quarterback meetings we would try and explain things to him, but he seemed indifferent toward us. So we said the hell with him if that's the way he was going to be. Have you ever heard of a Notre Dame quarterback who didn't think he knew it all?" - Billy Kilmer
"Sonny (Jurgensen) and I both wanted to start, of course, but when Theismann joined the Redskins, we didn't care which one of us did as long as it wasn't him." - Billy Kilmer
|
