Theismann is still the talk of the town

By Scott Benjamin

In the Nation’s Capital, Joe Theismann in the 1980s had a higher approval rating than Ronald Reagan and among the celebrities who hailed from the Garden State he was the hottest thing that side of Bruce Springsteen.

So what if The Gipper became known as The Great Communicator because he went on national television in 1981 from the Oval Office and convinced the public that the formula for reviving the American economy was a three-year, 25 percent across-the-board tax cut.

(Fun Fact: A young, gaffe-prone U.S. senator from Delaware voted for that package and now thinks the formula for reviving the American economy is a $1.9 trillion stimulus.)

In those days Theismann’s quote quotient was greater than Dickie V’s.

Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Newman reported in 1984, “He spoke in quotations that leaped from his mouth full blown, complete with commas, periods and quotation marks. He was the prince of prolixity, and the press adored him. ‘I used to call him King Quote,’ says Gary Pomerantz of The Washington Post. "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.’ "

And so what if The Boss lifted Courtney Cox out of the orchestra pit and onto the stage during the instrumental outro to “Dancing In The Dark” on MTV.

Theismann not only led the Washington National Football League (NFL) franchise to a Super Bowl crown, was the league’s Most Valuable Player the following season, but the year after that, while still an active player, he was in the broadcast booth for the Super Bowl with Faultless Frank and Dandy Don.

That was the game when the 49ers won their second Super Bowl and resulted in Montana and Marino standing near the Pepsi machine, where Dan said, “Joe, next time, I’m buying.”

Speaking of Montana – he joins Broadway Joe Namath as the only quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl and an NCAA championship. However, his career in the Cathedral of Touchdown Jesus pales in comparison to Theismann’s two plus years throwing spirals for the Fighting Irish.

Theismann electrified the crowds in South Bend by throwing for 4,411 passing yards and 31 touchdowns, gunned down number-one Texas in the Cotton Bowl his senior year and was second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Last year, Tyler James of the South Bend Tribune rated him fourth all-time among the Notre Dame quarterbacks, while Montana was in eighth place. In fact, the four-time Super Bowl champion is two positions behind Tony Rice, who led the Fighting Irish to the 1988 national title but was not selected in the 1990 NFL draft.

Reagan played George Gipp in the movie theaters – but could not even throw a pass as well as Theismann’s predecessor as Notre Dame quarterback – Terry Hanratty, now living in New Canaan, who led the team to the 1966 national championship.

Unfortunately, we focus too often on the negative.

Consider that the overtime session is referred to as “Sudden Death” and not “Sudden Victory.” The most controversial stories appear at the top of the Google search, not the ones about people’s civic good deeds.

Roger Pearson – who was both Greenwich’s first selectman and Ivan Lendl’s agent – has said, “Be careful for what you’re remembered for.”

You know, Lyndon Johnson with Vietnam, Richard Nixon with Watergate, the ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs.

To some extent, that is how it is with Theismann.

He was the central character in what was voted by ESPN viewers as the “most shocking moment in history.”

In a November 1985 game against New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacked Theismann, breaking his leg. It caused Taylor to cry and Theismann to be carried from the field on the stretcher. His career was over.

“My entire career is in a box,” he recently said during a February 25, virtual interview sponsored by the Global Services Institute of Long Island University.

In Newsday national football columnist Bob Glauber’s 2018 book, “Guts and Genius” (Grand Central Publishing, 320 pages) – which chronicles former NFL coaches Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells – Theisman said, “It was the moment that changed my life. I had enjoyed so much success, my ego had gotten so out of control. I felt like I was the be-all and end-all, and that the world revolved around me. It slammed my feet back on the ground, because it took away the one thing that I held above everything else. It stripped away my football identity and it forced me to look at myself as a person. So, to me, it wasn’t a tragedy, it was a blessing. It came at a time in my life where I wasn’t capable of making the decision to be a different person. Something had to happen, and that was it. It was the day that changed my life.”

Theismann said that now, more than a generation later, he and Taylor play golf together.

Last year his most recent book, “How to be Champion Every Day: 6 Timeless Keys to Success” (Radius Book Group, 176 pages), was published.

In the virtual interview, which was conducted by Inside Edition special correspondent Rita Cosby, he insisted that “the most important trait is mental toughness.”

Theismann said that some people are too focused on their “physical gifts. That is something that can go away.”

He noted that three and a half years is the average length of a career in the NFL.

Theismann, who was an Academic All-American in college, said, “Getting an education is so important. They can’t take that away from you.”

He said his four years at Notre Dame were devoted to classes and football. “I only went out on two dates.”

But his parents had set the example. He said his father worked during the day at a gas station and would have about an hour for dinner and then go to his second job at a liquor store.

Theismann recalled when his baseball got worn, he applied black tape to it since it wouldn’t be possible to buy a new one.

He was so accomplished with a bat and glove that he received a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins following his senior year in South Bend.

Theismann also cautioned that people should not let others define who they are.

“Someone told me the other day that they don’t like Tom Brady because he’s won so much. My questions is: “What’s wrong with that?”

He also underscored the importance of not just the content of what you say to other people but “the tone and inflection.”

“It is also how you say it to them,” Theismann explained to Cosby, a Greenwich High School graduate who chairs the Global Services Institute.

Regarding the current state of football in the Nation’s Capital, Theismann, who spent nearly 20 years as the color commentator on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football, said he agrees with the decision to remove the name “Redskins” from the franchise, since it is considered racist.

“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense.

Theismann praised the owners for employing “due diligence” in considering various options before making a decision on the new nickname.

He insisted that the name change doesn’t alter what the team accomplished during his hey-day in the 1980s.

“We have our legacy,” Theismann remarked. “This is a new beginning.”

He said the Washington franchise – which was 7-9 in 2020 - should not trade away its first round draft selection, the 19th choice, this spring.

Theismann said it was unrealistic to think that by trading that selection could result in obtaining a veteran quarterback such as, for example, the New York Jets’ three-year veteran Sam Darnold, the USC product, and then being able to afford to pay the remainder of his contract.

NBC Sports’ Peter King, an Enfield native, recently speculated that the Denver Broncos might be willing to send their second round selection to the Jets for Darnold.

Theismann said Washington should use its first round selection to address other areas of its lineup.