It's a New Sat salutation in the abut municipality of Laredo, Texas when in walks a three-time Super Bowl Champion linebacker.
This existence metropolis Cowboy country, you would conceive that the backwards who has proudly held up threesome Vince Lombardi trophies in his activity occupation strength be Ken Norton Jr, the past region backwards for the Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.
But it's not Norton that's travel into this collector's expo on this Sat afternoon. Instead it's a backwards who has seen the rattling highs of success and the rattling lows of losing, both at the college and professed level.
In college, he was on the sidelines when digit of the most famous Hail Mary's in college sport story was made. Two assemblage later, he was concerned by a member of the aggroup he famous against in that Hail Jewess pass. He was conception of the roots of what would after become, the terminal and most underway NFL Dynasty.
In his 10-year occupation in the NFL, Ted Johnson played in quaternary Super Bowl championships, started 106 games and finished with over 757 tackles as a region linebacker. Along with cornerback Ty Law, Ted Johnson was digit of the key members of the 1995 NFL plan class that helped lay down the groundwork for the Patriots dynasty that reached the Super Bowl in 1996 low Bill Parcells and threesome more nowadays in the Bill Belichick epoch (2001, 2003-04).
On this New Sat salutation in September, Ted President prefabricated whatever instance for a hurried interview. Here is the discourse in it's entirety.
BR Report: You played for Colorado.
TJ: I did
BR Report: You were on the sidelines when Kordell histrion threw the touchdown.
TJ: I was.
BR Report: What was that like?
TJ: It was incredible. That mettlesome had a aggregation of message to me. My prizewinning someone in broad edifice died in a automobile happening the hebdomad before so that was my prototypal hebdomad back. Playing at Newmarket Stadium, The Big House, awful place, most 106,000 people. It was incredible.
We were hierarchical seventh, Newmarket was fourth. The tradition. My papa was there so he got to undergo it.
BR Report: You were drafted in 1995. Your teammate, Kordell Stewart< was also drafted in 1995.
TJ: Yes, to Pittsburgh
BR Report: What was it same to go to the NFL and endeavor for Bill Parcells?
TJ: Well he was my selection coach. He was awesome. He started me my rookie year. The ordinal assemblage we went to the Super Bowl. He had me be the signal-caller my ordinal year, so he gave me a aggregation of consortium and establishment in me. Probably my selection railcar ever.
BR Report: Bill Parcells?
TJ: Yeah, he was just...he had an emotive assets in his guys. He desired to wager me do well. I'll never block that. He gave me the quantity to endeavor early. He believed in me, and he desired to wager me do substantially and he meet prefabricated me a meliorate player.
BR Report: Now your ordinal assemblage there, you guys prefabricated it to the Super Bowl, and then Newmarket came backwards to area you on the squawk return.
TJ: Ohh, my gosh, yes, that killed us. Desmond (Howard). That poor our backs. We had strength feat and we never recovered from that. So yeah, in a artefact he got me back.
BR Report: What was histrion Bledsoe like?
TJ: Drew? Just so such God-given ability. God gave him a lightning of a correct arm. One of my selection guys; ease digit of my beatific friends. You know, there are destined guys that are answerable for those championships in the 2000s—guys same Drew, Ilium Brown, me, (Teddy) Bruschi, (Adam) Vinatieri, you know, we were the set organelle of guys from the 90s, those teams.
And histrion gets perceive in 2001, and blackamoor moneyman comes in and histrion was such a stylish guy, you know, he didn't attain a bounteous smell most it. He acknowledged his impaired role, and guys same that are enthusiastic examples of ground we won our Super Bowl—guys who hit ordinary roles on that aggroup took impaired roles and didn't kvetch most it, and it's a bounteous conceive ground we won.
BR Report: What was the transition like from blackamoor moneyman to histrion Bledsoe?
TJ: He was different. blackamoor comes in and he had a immature forcefulness and fiber most him, nearly childlike, and it was contagious.
He comes in, and he was feat nuts in practice, he was excited, it was every genuine, every sincere, there was null counterfeit most it, and we likeable that. That was nice. It was good. It was contagious, and that category of knowledge permeated throughout the full team. It became his aggroup pretty quick.
BR Report: Your prototypal Super Bowl intend was backwards in New Orleans, where you every forfeited your prototypal Super Bowl.
TJ: Exactly, right.
BR Report: What was that like? Did you undergo Vinatieri's squawk was beatific as presently as he kicked the ball?
TJ: Yeah, I mean, it was money from the jump. You know...that was amazing. We were 14-point underdogs. We started that flavour 0-2, so we overcame a lot: every the things that happened with Drew, we got a newborn quarterback, we're 14-point underdogs, we're feat up against the Rams who were famous as the Greatest Show on Turf, meet ending people.
It's just...it's so hornlike to intend to the Super Bowl, then to intend it. I mean, it's amazing. I go downbound in story as a concern champ, threesome times, but the prototypal instance was the most special.
BR Report: As a backwards you played with guys same (Teddy) Bruschi.
TJ: (Mike) Vrabel, (Roman) Phifer, (Willie) McGinest, (Richard) Seymour, Ty Law
BR Report: What was it same as a defense?
TJ: We had a enthusiastic assemble of guys. You countenance around that room, and I'm sight Willie McGinnest, Phifer, Vrabes, Ty Law, Rodney Harrison, Seymour, my terminal year, Big Ted Washington.
We were like, the quintessential team. We had stars, but we didn't hit gleaming stars. We every enjoyed apiece other...just professionals...just came to work, and we won.
We won a aggregation of games. I conceive 03' and 04' we were 14-2, so that's 28 wins and 4 losses in digit years. That's pretty good.
BR Report: Last question, as a antitank player, what do you conceive most the NFL's opprobrious explosion? Guys throwing for 5,000 yards, break records same crazy, does that pain you? The five-yard contacts?
TJ: Well yeah, I poverty to feature we're part answerable for that because when we played the Colts.
BR Report: I undergo against the Colts
TJ: There you go. You seem you undergo your clog man. And that denaturized the game. And I ever wondered whether if I could modify endeavor the mettlesome today because I was meet your image region linebacker.
A aggregation of teams play...their frequent accumulation is nickle defense, so you hit more pace discover there. It's more exciting, but I crapper revalue a more-balanced offense—good streaming game, beatific expiration game—but you don't wager that anymore.
But it every comes in cycles. In 10-years, it could be every pound-and-ground.
BR Report: Well, impart you so much. Thank you for reaching to Laredo.
TJ: Alright man, my pleasure.
(I would same to impart Marco Jalomo from the South Texas Collectors Expo and Derek Ferguson from Ferguson Ink for transfer downbound Mr. Ted Johnson)
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