Bon Jovi on football: It's my life
By Jon Bon Jovi
Special to NFL.com
Note: It's only fitting that Bon
Jovi is headlining the NFL's Kickoff event in Times Square on Sept. 5,
as all the guys in the band are huge football fans. That's why it's also
perfect that Jon Bon Jovi kicks off a new feature here on NFL.com --
"Passion for the Game." Each week, a big name from the entertainment
world will weigh in with thoughts and memories about their favorite sport.
Enjoy!
(Aug. 29, 2002) -- I played football when I
was young. I started in Pop Warner football when I was little and then played
again once I got to junior high school. That's when I realized I wasn't big
enough for football. In Pop Warner, weight class was the key. I was a little
linebacker, the defensive captain. When I didn't make weight (95 pounds) the
day before the first game, they sent me up to the "Midgets" and that
weight group was for kids all the way up to 120 pounds! I was too small. So I
sat on the bench, hoping to play second-string tackle. Then, in eighth grade,
when I started junior high, I decided I'll give it another shot ... but it
wasn't happening. (Thank God I found music!)
As a spectator, I can't remember not being
involved in football. My earliest memory is of the Miami Dolphins. Bob Griese
and the Miami Dolphins -- first losing the Super Bowl -- then going back and
winning the Super Bowl. I remember writing on my football in chalk --
"Griese's Gang."
I just loved the Dolphins. Griese, Paul
Warfield, Mercury Morris, Jim Kiick, Larry Csonka, Nick Buoniconti and the head
coach was still Don Shula then. I remember it to this day. I could probably
still rattle off exactly where each one of them went to college, what positions
they played, their stats -- they were my team when I was very young.
As a kid, the appeal of the Miami Dolphins hit
home with me -- they were larger than life. Football was always my family's
sport and my family's love of the New York Giants started long before I was
around. The New York Giants were the home team and our family favorite. As soon
as I was able to appreciate what that really meant -- even enduring all the
losing seasons -- the Giants became my team and remain my team to this very
day.
I have been fortunate to get to know Bill
Parcells and Bill Belichick and have remained close with them over the years. I
was lucky enough to be on the team bench and in the team locker room when the
Giants won Super Bowl XXV in Tampa in 1990. How many people can say that Bill
Parcells and Phil Simms have had dinner at their house?
Sunday is still all about football in my
house. Any year I'm not out on the road touring, my Sunday ritual starts with
watching ESPN. Then I turn to the FOX pregame, then the satellite dish for all
the games. Both of my older children know exactly which teams we're rooting for
on every channel we switch to. They know many of the teams and even a few of the
players. They've both lost their voices -- more than once -- screaming for Doug
Flutie.
Ritual is the most important part of the
football experience. See, it's all about the East Coast versus the West Coast.
The East Coast revolves around food. To me, football is a lunchtime thing.
Either tailgating outside the stadium or I'm in my family room, eating junk
food and watching the game. But football on the West Coast? I never could get
used to coffee and eggs with John Madden!
I'm very fortunate that I've been able to
collect football memorabilia that means something to me personally. Punter Sean
Landeta got me a Super Bowl ring with my own number and name engraved from the
Giants' Super Bowl victory in Tampa. I have Lawrence Taylor's Pro Bowl jersey.
I have Doug Flutie's New England and Chicago jerseys. I have one of Dan
Marino's jerseys and one of Steve Young's jerseys as well. And most
importantly, the official New York Giants team jersey made just for me with my
name and the No. 1 on the back, given to me personally by coach Jim Fassel this
past summer at Giants Stadium before a concert.
I've met many NFL players, some of whom have
become friends and certainly, a few who I have grown very close to over the
years, especially Sean Landeta and Doug Flutie. But the classiest act in all of
football -- and my best friend in the game -- is the one who (in New Jersey
terms) would be the consigliore ... the man with all the smarts and all the
heart, Bill Belichick. He'd be the man you'd want next to you on the field or
on the stage! Because, if most of you don't know, Bill Belichick is a HUGE rock
'n' roll fan and if he wasn't head coach of the Super Bowl champs, I'd bet he'd
be a drummer in a rock band. (I'm sure his wife's very happy he knows defense!)
In fact, the song "Bounce" on our new album is dedicated to Bill.
He's a good man.