September 10, 2025 • 52 mins
Peanut Tillman and Roman Harper sit down with Hall of Famer Steve Largent for a wide-ranging conversation that spans his legendary NFL career, his second act in Congress, and the values that have guided him through it all. Largent reflects on his journey from getting cut by the Oilers to becoming the face of the Seattle Seahawks, sharing stories of his most satisfying season, his 100th touchdown, and even his payback hit on Mike Harden. He opens up about life after football—why he never struggled with retirement, how he became a licensed pilot, and his time as CEO of a telecommunications company. Largent also dives into his political career as the only Pro Football Hall of Famer to serve in Congress, recalling his “welcome to Congress” moment, the balance of family and public service, and why he’ll never go back. From humility to servant leadership, this episode is packed with wisdom and insight from one of the NFL’s true all-time greats.
The NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm Peanut Tillman, and this is the NFL Player's Second
Act podcast and with me, as always, my trusty co host,
mister Roman.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I talk too much, Harper, Well, thank you. I'm not
going to talk at all then.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
But I'm really excited about our next guest because this
is our first my first time ever meeting him and
uh he, I mean, the stats speak for himself.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Just introduce and let's jump into it.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
He's a first ballot Hall of Famer NFL Top one hundred,
and he's the only Hall of Famer to ever serve
in Congress. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Stevelger to
show larger thank you, walding.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
To the pot. Mister world traveler.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yes we figured that actually opposite. Yeah, he's uh DC, Seattle, No, Tulsa.
I'm sorry, he's from Oklahoma City. Yeah, No, Houston, Houston Draft. Yeah,
six weeks we we can't even come back to Tulsa, Washington, Tulsa.
(01:12):
Yeah there it is all right, that's about it. Well,
Steve Man.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Tell me, first of all, what is it?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
What does it mean to you to be named to
the NFL's All one hundred team.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I just think. I pinched myself.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It does it shock you?
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Does it?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
How does it come across you?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Like?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
How does that land for you?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
It does? I I pinched myself all the time to
make sure it was really that's really real. Uh, And
that's that's what happened. When I was named to the
Hall of Fame. You know, I thought, Wow, I can't
believe that I'm I'm actually among all these great football
players that I've watched all my life, and uh, I'm
now in the same league with them, And so it was.
(02:00):
It was really special and my whole life I feel
like it's been a dream.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Now now you say that, but I'm looking at you, like, dude,
you got to be kidna. I mean, you retired, you
were the number one, You had all the stats when
you retired, so it couldn't have been too much of
a shock or you still just like you just don't
expect it because the way you came into the NFL,
you know, is it because of that? Because the way
you got in, well, how Houston. You drafted in the
(02:29):
fourth round to Houston, but then they don't want you.
They trade you for an eighth round pick to Seattle. Sorry,
if I'm telling your whole story everything that right about.
Now you know all of these things happen. Does that
kind of what makes you even after you retire being
the all time leader and all the stats and receivers,
you still just like shocked when you go to the
(02:50):
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, I think, well, I hope. I hope that it's
because I've learned a lesson about humility and having humility,
and I think that I think my wife is a
big contributor to that as well as we've known each
other since we've been in high school. And so I
(03:11):
think that, you know, that's the way I try to
raise my kids is help them understand the value of humility.
And I hope that I've displayed that for them. And
I didn't even have to talk to him about it
because I've been living it in front of him. But
I just think that's an important quality in life.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So you talk about humility, great quality. We need it.
I want to talk about payback.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, I don't know what week it was,
but I'm gonna show you a picture right now, and
I want you to kind of tell me what you think.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So for those for our listeners.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It's it's it's a picture of Steve and he has
given Mike Harden the business. Uh it was something was.
I wouldn't even call this a cheap shot. He had
cheap shots you earlier in the season, he had forced
a f.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
That's what brings context into this story. Oh yeah, is
what he did to me when we played them in Denver.
Uh he hit me with a cheap shot. He was.
He was penalized for it in the game, was fined
after the game five thousand dollars and uh so a
total cheap shot and and took me out of the game.
I was, I was, I didn't know where I was
after he hit me. And he hit me in the head.
(04:29):
Uh broke my face mask. I kept that face mask,
by the way. Broke my face mask, and I was
out of the game. Uh so, Uh you know he
was given high fives to guys, oh wow and all
that kind of stuff. So, uh then fast forward to
we played Denver home and home because they're in our divisions.
(04:50):
The Seahawks are still in still in the a f
C West, and uh that's when I got him back
in the Kingdome. And uh, people said, what did you
know it was going to be It was my carden absolutely,
I know for a minute he touched the ball who
had it, and I went after him with everything I
had and hit him legally with my shoulder. I didn't,
(05:13):
you know, do any kind of penalty uh inducing plays,
But I got him back good. And that was the
best tackle and best play I've ever made in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Out of all the touchdowns, after all.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
The touchdowns, all the catches, that's the one that gave
me more satisfaction than any other play. Was this play,
this payback play.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You should have been just you should have just came
over to the defense lay safe corner. If you like
the hitting that much like this, we love it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Also, I also heard you say something in that you
said in the NFL it was your favorite play of
all time, because that would one that would minus that
one or maybe something in high school like like so
college like we always have like these plays that like
really stand out, and everybody has ever thought about that. Yeah,
So I'm just like, I'm sure you had some great
(06:05):
plays and if we're like, no, that was my favorite
play in the NFL. So I was just you said NFL,
So I didn't know if that was all time as well.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Well, that play that we talked about earlier with my
card and was my favorite play of my career. But
you know, I had a lot of you know, great
catches and where where I was even you know, surprised
that I held onto the ball or caught it or whatever,
(06:33):
scored a touchdown into the end zone, tapped my feet
on the back of the end zone, that kind of thing.
But you know, I think I think the the season
that really gave me the most satisfaction was our very
first year we ever made the playoffs. That was in
nineteen eighty three, and we made it as a wild
(06:56):
card team. We won the wildcard game, we went down
and played Miami in the divisional playoffs and and we
beat him. And so that that whole season eighty three
when we first made the playoffs and got to feel
what that was like, got all the way the AFC
Championship game, which we lost, but nonetheless we uh, we
(07:18):
really had a great season. I think we were finished
nine and seven or something like that, but then went
into the playoffs as a wild card team, and that
that run was just just seared in my mind as
being one of my favorite years. Played in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, you talked about tow tapping, and your one hundred
receiving touchdown was a toe tap and so I don't
know if they called.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It that back then, but it totally was.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
But I want to know about your you have one
hundred and one.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Yeah, that was a one hundred touchdown. Was actually against
the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Yes, and I remember that
played very well. And you know, it was kind of
weird because you know, I knew I had ninety nine
touchdowns and I thought, I can't I can't quit. I
can't quit on ninety nine. I got to get a
hundred somehow, and uh so I convinced Dave Craig to
(08:14):
throw me the ball. But he did, and and we
scored and and it was, uh it was very memorable.
But uh yeah it was. It was uh you know,
uh my my like I said, my whole career was
like a dream come true. Uh in my life. And
uh I never took it for granted. I always felt
like I had to work hard and and uh play
(08:35):
well and and and so uh that that's how it developed.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Do you kill the ball the footballs? Do you have them?
Speaker 3 (08:42):
No, you don't.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I wish I would throw it up in the stands.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
No, I didn't throw the stand It was we were
in we were in Cincinnati. I don't throw in the stands.
But uh no, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
And so okay, so you got so you have.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Can you recall your only non receiving touchdown?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
You know I had one. I think I got the
ball on a reverse and ran it in the end zone.
Its like on the six yard line or something. I
can kind of. I vaguely remember the play, and the
only reason I remember is because I was just looking
at some pictures from that that play, just a couple
of weeks ago. But I think that's what it was.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'm gonna help you out there. It was ten yards.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I knew it was close.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
You were close, and it was like it was a toss,
but it was like a reverse dy like like you
came back, like you.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Caught it off of that.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I was in the slot.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yes, yes, yes, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Like a reverse toss.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It's a great call. You're there.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So just as the story comes back to you, more
people going to ask you this.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So I just want to help you out.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
At some point, we were all humbled in this league.
I know, I was my Rookieary by veterans on my team.
What was your welcome to the NFL moment for you?
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I think I think it was Actually, uh, it was
a stark arrival as a Houston Oiler, Okay, and I
played six weeks. I was in in Houston for six weeks.
That's all they gave me. I was a fourth round
draft pick. I was a second draft pick that they had.
They had a second round draft choice, who was Mike
(10:19):
Barber tied in for Oilers for a long time, and
then I was the second pick that they had, and
so I thought, you know, I'm gonna make this team.
And man, I went down there and I was competing,
but I wasn't producing, and they ended up bum Phillips
was in his second year with the Oilers and he
(10:39):
called me in his office and Steve, we appreciate your effort,
but we got a lot of good receivers here, and
they did, and they said we're gonna let you go.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I thought.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I was a second pick. What are you talking about? Yeah,
you know, I didn't say that, but that's what I
was thinking. And so it was like a slap in
the face and so I got in my little car
and that I drove down to Houston from Tulsa and
I got my car and drove back home, and my
wife met me, and I just thought, Kah, you know,
(11:16):
I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. And
about that time I got a call from Seattle. Actually
they called my wife before I got to Tulsa, and
they said, we'd like you to We'd like to give
you another chance if you want it. And the thing
was is that the offensive coordinator at the University of
Tulsa that I played for for three years that he
was there was Jerry Rome. And Jerry was an NFL
(11:38):
player and quarterback from Tulsa, and he had he had,
you know, he had left the University of Tulsa and
gone to Seattle to be a coach for the first
year of the franchise, and he had told the head
coach man, we need to draft large it and they
never did. And so then when I was came up
(11:58):
on the waiver wire, he was, he saw the waiver
wire and they said, uh, And Jerry went to the
head coach and he said, we really need to get
this guy. And so they gave up an eighth round
draft choice. They had eight rounds that they had more
than eight rounds twelve times and fourteen rounds then and
uh and so they gave up an eighth round draft
choice for me, and I went to Seattle. And the
(12:22):
thing about that was that a lot of people don't
understand is that Jerry Rome was the He wasn't the
offensive coordinator, but he was like the offensive coordinator. And
in Seattle all that the entire passing game was the
same passing game that we played that I had played
for three years in college. They were all the same.
(12:43):
You know, seventy nine was the same route that I
ran in college. So to come into the to the
to Seattle and to know as a rookie, as a
rookie and everybody else is still trying to learn what
Jerry's talking about when he talks about, you know, run
seventy six. And so that was a real, real advantage
(13:07):
for me. And Jerry was just such a pivotal turning
point in my life and in my playing career for sure,
And you know, I owe him a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
I want to know what was it like to be
on the top of the mountain of greatness. So when
you retired.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Most receptions you got eight nineteen, most receiving yards thirteen thousand,
most touchdowns hunted, most consecutive games with the catch, most
seasons with at least fifty catches, most seasons with at
least one thousand yards.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Like, what was that? Like? You was him? You was
the man.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, you know what's interesting about those statistics is is
that I never looked at statistics my entire career. In fact,
I don't think I even saw those statistics until two
or three years after I retired and started looking at Canton,
and I thought, well, I'm gonna look at what my
statistics were.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I think I got a chance.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yeah, yeah, I think I got a chance because uh,
you know, I mean, that's it's amazing, And it was
amazing to me when I saw the statistics.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So it's funny that you say you think you have
a chance, though, but you were a first ballot guy.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Well it's also funny that you know, I know you're humble,
and you talked about humility you know a couple of
times already, but like you may be the only the
first receiver I've ever met that was like, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Don't really look at my own stats.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
You know, it's just so opposite of Yeah, every receiver
that I've known that since that I've been around playing for.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Me, you don't strike me as a diva though. You don't.
You don't strike me as like a diva receiver, right
like you don't. There's one hundred okay, cool, Yeah, I
didn't know.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Only one hundred and seventy seven games straight with the Cats.
Probably didn't complain a lot or did you complain?
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Yeah, no, you didn't.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Like you just go with like, I's kind of open
you know, I'm open door to me, all right, Cool,
give me a damn ball.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
You don't seem like give me a damn ball right now?
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Like like, no, I didn't say that, but uh did you?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I was. I was a team.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Guy, yeah all the way. Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
And I love playing in Seattle.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You know there was a new franchise when I went there,
and uh I got to see it develop into a
playoff team, uh for several years after I was through,
and so that was really fun too. But uh yeah,
it was uh, it was it was. It was like
I said, it was a dream come true for me.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
All Right.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I know you're humble, all right, but I want you
to put that on the backboarding for this one answer. Okay,
did you feel how validated did you feel about your
career and being on top of the mountain after the
way you came into the league, you know, being at
Houston for six weeks to be in their second pick,
fourth round, and like, how validated did you feel like,
all right, put the thing only on the back burner,
(16:00):
then we'll give it back to you.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
After that end.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Well, it wasn't a validation, but it was really it
was like, wow, I can't believe that. Look at these statistics, Terry.
I mean, I tell my wife, look at these statistics.
I'm nobody's ever done this before. Uh. And I was
able to do that? Is that amazing? And we would
just laugh about it, you know. So I think I
think there was a real advantage of not not being
(16:26):
aware of what the statistics were. And I wasn't like
I said, but you know, I think it also I
hope that it also kept me as a humble person
and a better team player and a guy that was
more concerned with winning the game than how many catches.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You Yeah, you've being who you are.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Did you ever like compare yourself to other receivers, because
you know, you passed the lands all Worth when you
when you passed all the stats. But like we're like,
how do you continue to work on your game? Like
who were you compared?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Did you? Did you do any of that or did you?
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I didn't, That's what I'm saying. I didn't. I didn't
look at the statistics. I didn't look at who'd gone
before me and what their statistics, how many passes they
caught or touchdowns they had or any I didn't. I didn't.
I didn't know because I didn't bother to look at it.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Maybe I should have, but uh, I think I was.
I was looking more at what's happening on the field
today and what we want to do tomorrow as opposed
to what guys had done before me and how I
stack up against them.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Did you model your game after a safety? Who was
your which guy was your person?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I tried to, Like I was always try and like
see things.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Ooh, I would love to be able to do that.
I don't think I could.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
But in my mind I always thought I was trying to,
you know, emulate or try and get a little bit
of you know, a little like I wish I could
have had some like just the instincts of a Troy Palamolo,
which like I don't think he was supposed to jump
over the offensive line, right, I do that, but like
had to have the audacity to do those things and
(18:07):
something that I like, Oh I wish I could be
that free. But like I'm like, oh, but what if
I get caught and then like my whole half, the
half of the field is just wide open.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So yeah, I didn't do that. Yeah, yeah, I wish
I could have.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Though, So I wore I wore thirty three. Crazy story,
how I picked that number?
Speaker 1 (18:26):
You were like forty one, which is heavy as hell? No,
the one is very slimming. Actually one is slimmy. Yeah,
it works, it works for you.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
But it looks heavy. It looks very heavy. We all
pick our numbers for whatever reason. Why did you pick
the number eighty?
Speaker 4 (18:43):
I didn't pick it. They gave it to me. Oh yeah,
I got a good number. I got to Seattle and
somebody else that they had cut had worn it before me,
and they said, hey, you get you're eighty. I didn't care.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
I didn't get any choices at all in your It
was just like, look, have your you're going to Seattle.
This is your coach. You're wearn't eighty. You're not asking
for the ball, like take it.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Or leave it?
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. I was glad to be there,
glad to have a number.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
So what was it like?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
So what went into the decision because most people forget
that Jerry Rice actually played at Seattle, and we went
into the decision of you unretiring your jersey because the
number eighty was retired at the time. You're like, you
know what, Jerry Rice can wear number eighty?
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Yeah, well it was. Ah, I'm not exactly sure that
they called me before they gave him my jersey.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Okay, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
If they did, I think I I was sort of
in an awkward position, okay, yeah, because I thought, you know,
well they re tired of my jersey. Yeah, then they
unretired jersey. How many times does this you go back
and forth?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
And do you know?
Speaker 4 (20:04):
So you know, I don't know. I think that I was.
I tried to be humble about that and uh.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It's okay to put this thing on the back burden. Yeah,
I'm trying to.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Give me If Jerry was where my joy that's great?
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Okay, it's okay. Okay.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
So I'm glad we got that out. Yeah, okay, I'm good. Okay,
we're opening up here a little.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
You know, after after fifty years, you can be more humble.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Yeah, we're going to take a short break and we'll
be right back.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I want to talk about I want to talk about
a second act. So you had you won four terms
in office. You are served in House Representatives from ninety
four to two thousand and two, the first Conguession congressional district.
What do you think it means from when you here.
You're the only Hall of Famer to serve in Congress.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, I think that there's a lot of smart players
that never ran for Congress. Really, I didn't know that.
You know, Jack Kemp was a guy that I really
modeled my career beyond football after Uh he was Jeff
(21:25):
Kemp's father and a great quarterback at Buffalo, and he
was in Congress for a number of years, and so
I was kind of second after Jack Kemp being in Congress.
But he, uh, you know, he really set an example
for me. In fact, I talked to him before I
(21:46):
ran for Congress and just got some advice from him,
and so, uh, you know, I didn't really think about,
you know, how many guys had been in Congress or not.
But you know, I was really I felt like that
I had a message and I delivered it well to
(22:07):
the constituents and they were sold. And so they re
elected me three times after I was elected the first time,
and it was a it was a good marriage. And
actually my time in Congress, I loved it. It was
it was a funny thing happened in nineteen let's se
(22:31):
it had been nineteen ninety four when I ran for Congress,
and that was that the House flipped. It had always been,
I mean, for forty years or so, it had been
Democrat controlled Congress, and when in nineteen ninety four it flipped,
so I got to serve in the majority. I was
(22:52):
a Republican and I was serving the majority for almost
eight years, and it was it was a unbelievable experience. Really,
what you find out is is that when you're in
the minority, you don't get to do very much because
you're not you're not you just you just aren't aren't
(23:12):
in control. And so the majority parties in control in Congress.
In the House, for sure, it's a little bit less
so in the in the Senate. But so it was
really a unique experience to be in Congress and be
a Republican and be in majority for the first time
for forty or fifty years, and it was it was
(23:35):
really special, and I loved it. I loved working there
and feel like I'm doing something for my constituents and
for the country and trying to and be a voice
for people who for a long time didn't feel like
that they were heard. And and so it was, it was.
(23:57):
It was one of the great experiences of my life.
And I loved it. Uh, but I'd never go back.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So I got why, no, no, no, why you don't
get to just leave off with that great We're going
to save you off the time.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
I'll tell you, Okay, I'll tell you why it is
is because every week that Congress was in session, and
they were in session for you know, ninety percent of
the time. Uh, You're I'm flying I'm living in Tulsa
and flying to d C and then getting on a
planning flying from d C back to Tulsa every week.
So I left on Monday or Tuesday and I came
(24:32):
home on Friday. And it was just that was just hard. Yeah,
to fly that much and to be so much and
and you know where am I living and I've gotten
raised trying to raise four kids, yeah, and get them
into college, and you know, and so it was it
was just hard. It was hard on my wife. It
(24:52):
was harder on my wife probably than on me, but
it was hard on me too, just all that travel
every week. Uh, it was it was. It was I
felt like I kind of made my point and I
can go home. And I actually went home and ran
for Congress. It ran for governor and and got beat
by a few thousand votes, and that was very disappointing too.
(25:15):
But uh, at that point, you know, I was I
was through with my my political career. I'd finished my
football career and I'd finished my political career.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Was there ever.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
A moment when you were in Congress like you were
a rookie? You know, I asked you the question of
what the NFL what was your welcome to Congress moment?
If there was like, oh, I mean Congress.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
I I just totally messed up.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Yeah, I tell you, Uh, what I often thought about
was the the the beauty of the people that I
chose to work for me in my office, so in Congress,
you have two off You typically have two offices. You'll
(26:08):
have your Washington d C. Office and you'll have your
district office. And so your district office takes fair of
all all of the complaints or whatever people have about
Congress or the bills they want to see passed or
not passed or whatever, and so they deal with them,
or I'll talk with them after they've dealt with them.
And then you've got your DC people who really are
(26:30):
looking at the bills that are going to be proposed
and how we want to vote on those, and do
we want to offer amendments and stuff like that. And
so I really had a great, great team of people
that worked for me both in my office in Washington,
d C. And in my office in Oklahoma in Tulsa
(26:51):
in the first Congressional district. And so they really carried
a lot of the load for me. And that was
one of the things that I really feel like that
I did well, was choosing people to work for me.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
How special was the month of January nineteen ninety five
you were sworn into Congress and January the fourth, you
were selected to the NFL Hall of Fame. On January
the twenty eighth, and you were also sworn You were
(27:25):
sworn in on your twentieth wedding anniversary on January the
twenty January the twenty or no, fifth and fifth?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, the same. There we go.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
You gotta get I still mess that up. I'm trying
to get better myself. So yes, I'm glad you corrected me.
How special was all that in the same month? How
are you handling all these emotions and just trying to
get it right?
Speaker 4 (27:49):
You know what? I feel like I was, I was
walking on water because it was every experience was unique,
but every experience was like awesome, I mean just really awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
To be married to my wife for twenty years now
it's fifty years and we we still love each other
more than we ever have before. And our four kids
are doing well. I've got ten grandkids. We just had
all ten of them at our house. We took them
on a vacation with us, just the ten kids and
(28:27):
my wife. We rented a big van to carry them all.
With the ages, we've got a second year in college
down to a seven year old.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Six boys and no, we have six girls and four boys. Yeah,
so that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
How much how much more. Why do grandparents love the
grandkids so much?
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Yes, because you know, I tell you exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Detail. Grandparent denies any Oh, yeah, more than my kids.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Let me tell you why grandparents love grandkids because they
can say, you guys, your your parents are heard of PI,
they're going home, said.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
You don't take your kids. Good, it's time to leave.
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I got one more political question for you. While the House,
why the House of Representatives, that's good, That is the Senate.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
Yeah, that's a good question. And I've never been asked
that question before. But we actually had two senators, uh
that were fairly long term senators. Uh, they weren't leaving, uh,
and they weren't challenged that particular year.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
But we had a member of Congress who actually actually
the man that held my seat in the first congressional
district ran for the Senate. He ran for the Senate,
and so I ran for his seat and uh and
and was fortunate enough to win. But uh, it was
it was I don't think I knew that much about
(30:05):
Congress as to that's why I ran for the House.
I didn't know really that much about government. I never
was in I wasn't a political science major. I was
a biology major, so I didn't know that much about it,
but uh I learned quickly, and uh, it was it was.
It was one of the greatest experience I've ever had
in my life.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Did you were you like one of the cool kids
in Congress because you just got elected to the NFL
Hall of Fame as well? Did that like make you
more popular? Like dude, like Steve Large he's on our committee,
you know, like, did you get better assignments?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
The lad is out of order, the gentleman is out
of order, Steve, He's always in order?
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Like did that ever happen?
Speaker 4 (30:48):
Like?
Speaker 1 (30:48):
How did that hit home?
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Well? Uh? I think most of the people that I
served in Congress with, in that senator or or in
the House, Uh, they were aware of my political career.
I mean they were not in my own political they
were aware of my uh football career. They knew about that.
But being elected into the Hall of Fame, Uh was
(31:10):
pretty cool after just getting elected to Congress, did you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Get like a day of standing ovation?
Speaker 3 (31:16):
They should have gave you at least a standing ovation
where okay, good, okay, good, okay good that I mean
everybody should stand up and sell like that.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
That's good stuff right there. So we had.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Stephen already Mama calling Colin excuse me. He served, he
took a seat for the for for Texas. And there's
this skit to sketch comedy artist comedians Key and Pill
and they do this scene where they act like Obama
and Obama shakes, he shakes the hand. He's like with
(31:50):
the white person, like, hey, how you going, how's going?
Speaker 1 (31:51):
That's going? How you doing? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
And then he sees a black guy brother and he
was like, hey, my man, what's going on?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And he brings it up high.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Was there ever anything like that in Congress with shaking
a white guy's hand versus shaking a black guy's hand?
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Was there?
Speaker 3 (32:07):
That was never like oh, we go in and go
for the hood? Was there ever anything like that?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Because we we've started to see a little bit of
a trend like that with certain with certain politicians. Would
you agree with that it's happened before, it's happened before.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
So I can tell you that in my in my
experience that if I'm shaking a guy's hand that I
played football with against or with with either one, it's
always like yeah, it's always like that, no matter what color,
right right right right like this. But when I'm shaking,
(32:41):
the Speaker of the House's hand is like this. And
I don't know why that is, but.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
You never tried to go in high like that. The
high the high angle, high angle of the time, he's
not going to get it.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I don't Yeah, I didn't want to confuse.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Okay, So that's a good question. Why we ask This is.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Why we asked. Yeah, I love these political questions. We
actually know the guy that he was like, I don't know.
I just the guy goes like this, I go like that,
when he goes up like this, ill like that, he.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Says, and told so it's the hangle of attack. I just, oh, yeah,
I love that.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
So, Steve, you know, we call this the second Second
Acts Podcast because we'd love to know about your second act.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
That's why we're so asked.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
You all these not really political questions, but just more
about your time in Congress. What did you do in
that five year window of retirement and then all of
a sudden running for Congress because you had a little
window in there.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
So I let's see, it was nineteen ninety four, I
retired in eighty nine. That was my last season, so
really nineteen ninety and then I ran for Congress in
nineteen ninety four, and so I was I was I
was speaking going around talking about you know, my football career,
talking about my faith, and just talking about you know,
(34:05):
what I thought was good for the country. And then
so I had done that for four or five years,
and we had moved back to Tulsa because you know,
I lived in Seattle obviously during the season, and then
we moved back to Tulsa permanently, and that's when I
ran for Congress. But before that, I was just you know,
(34:28):
going around the country doing autograph shows and speaking engagements
and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Did you ever did you ever have like a down
struggle time, like like like a struggle period or like
this time of like it's just you know, we have
these times where guys struggle in between retirement and actually
like the transition, the transition, that's the word I got
you for. What was that like for you? Like, I mean,
you're Steve larger.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Yeah, I would. I'm laughing as I say this, because
I I think that a lot of guys go through
the struggle like you. Yeah, I didn't struggle at all.
I'd finished my career and I was busy. Uh and
I was. I still worked out and uh uh take
trying to take care of my body and stay in shape.
(35:19):
Uh not not like I felt like I was going
to play again. Because I chose to retire. I didn't
have to retire, which is unique, uh for for football players.
But uh yeah, I was. I was going and blowing.
I learned how to fly. I've got my pilot's license,
and I still I don't fly now because I don't
(35:40):
trust myself. But uh, you know, I flew my own
plane that I had, and I flew for probably ten
years before I ran for Congress. And so it was,
it was, it was. I had a blast. I loved it,
and uh so I I never had to I never
was worried about it. But yeah, the choice to go
(36:03):
from that life and move into a political career was
a big step for me. Uh but you know, I
think it was still positive, still good. Uh. I think
the Lord blessed it, and so it was, it was
all good.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
So we're not gonna go.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
I've been trying to get him to go to uh back.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
To back to school. That ain't gonna work.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Not happen what if we ran for Congress.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
No, I kind of just like my life, like right now,
you know when when when the temperature gets down, I
want them to just lower the temperature a little bit,
you feel me, Steve, I need to like lower the temperature,
like go back to nineties temperature. Nineties temperature doesn't seem
anywhere close.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Is warm in the room as it is now.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, absolute, you know what I mean. I could go
across the island wap up everybody in the nineties like
it was cool, like we were actually just you know, we.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Could we could change that.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
I don't know, man, we can't like our personalities, our
sense of humor.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
That means one of them we can start. We can
start dapping.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
People up, maybe attack both of us on another side,
and then we could both win, and then we could
be like bridge the gap.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
We got to flip a coin and see what I'm
saying that we got it running opposite.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
He could be our mentor dude, Steve left twenty years ago, dude,
like some of these people are.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
This is wisdom at its finest. This is wisdom.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
And I see Thomas over there making the face like
I don't know, I don't know about this one.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
We're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
So I want to I want to talk to you
about your time as the president and CEO for the
wireless communications.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Was that man, that was one of the most awesome jobs. Yeah,
you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
The cell phone minutes all the time.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
The cell phone industry was just going and blowing.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
It still is Uh what year what year was that.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
That was in? Uh, it was right after I lost
the race for governor. Okay, so that would have been
ninety five ninety six.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
So they were still doing like nights and weekends and
you had to like actually work your minutes. And when
you have her paying for like legit minutes and they
call me after five, that's what we're Text messages wasn't
even a thing yet.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
And well I think text messages were, but they weren't
big at all.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Yeah, because they cost more than phone call.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
Yeah yeah, yeah, So uh it was it was It
was an industry that was, you know, going like this, yeah,
yeah and so and and you know the thing that
I loved about it most was the CEOs of the
various companies that we had, and we had we had
all the you know, the at and Ts and Verizons,
all those guys were in the association, but also all
(38:59):
that handset manufacturers were in our association too, So it
was really an important job to get it right. And
so I would say those companies got it right ninety
nine percent of the time. Sometimes they screwed up, but
they got it right most of the time. And and
we wanted to display that before the people and for
(39:20):
the members of Congress who wanted to try to legislate it,
because you know, they're always trying to legislate. So and
I thought that it was It was one of the
most fun, educational, engaging jobs that a guy could have.
I loved my work at CTIA. I had a team
(39:43):
of people, one hundred people that worked for me in Washington,
d C. And we just did I think we did
a bang up job for the industry. And it's it's
continued on now. You know.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Just listening to you right there, I just want to
let you know you are true professional Steve Largent, all right.
Instead of trying to say you know because to me
it words matter, PEN say that all the time.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Words matter.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
And instead of trying to say control, regulate.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
You said legislate. Yeah, they're always trying to legislate like that.
That's important.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
What do you what do have you learned between the
difference as far as wording of control versus legislate.
Speaker 4 (40:23):
Well, uh, I mean I was Republican and I was
just one of those guys that didn't believe that you
had to regulate everything. Yeah, and that you didn't need
to regulate everything. And so my my caution that I
(40:46):
thought felt like I brought to Congress, and I was
one of many who brought to Congress the idea that hey,
let's let's think about this before we regulate it, uh
to try to control it. We don't need to control
anything else. We don't need to regulate anything else, uh
unless we absolutely have to. And so that's what I
that was my message to Congress when I was the
(41:08):
president of the c t i A, the Wireless Association,
was let's think about this before we just jump into
this deal and regulate the industry. And so that was always,
uh the cautionary flag that I was trying to wave
before Congress when I was there.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Yeah, I'm gonna take that back home with me. I'm
gonna try and legislate my kids. Yeah, you know, not
gonna regulate as much. I mean, it's just like just
just getting you down the road. Yet we got barriers.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
Make a broad.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Legislate. We're not gonna regulate.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Okay, you got it. I know when you talk with
your words, your handy in my face, I'm legislating. I'm
about to relate.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
You're about regularly me please, Oh my goodness. Anyway, anyway,
I got something that he ain't gut. So you and
I we have something in common. Nineteen eighty eight, you
won the Watch or I don't think it was called
the Watch Paytonment of the Year, but you won the
NFL Man of the Year award.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
What does that?
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Where does that award sit with all of your football accolades.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
I think it's pretty cool just because you know, I
think the people that vote on that are players, and
so I think that's pretty cool that you could win
an award from the players, not necessarily from the you know,
the coaches or from the press or anybody like that.
And I think that says something about you know, your
(42:41):
playing career and your demeanor that you take on the field.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
R I want to know about the idea of service
to you and what it means to you, You've served
a lot. You know, you you served in Congress, you
served as a leader of the wireless situation, you served
your your.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Community to be able to win Man of the Year.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
And I was also told, like the best leaders, sometimes
you got to learn how to serve before you lead.
And so maybe it's a reflects on how great of
a leader you are. But what does service mean to you?
Speaker 4 (43:17):
Well, I mean to me, I would always drop it
back to my faith in the Lord. And I think
the idea of being a Christian is about serving, serving
your family, serving your friends, serving people in general. And
so it wasn't it wasn't a real leap for me
(43:38):
to serve in Congress because it's sort of an example
of what you're trying, how you're trying to lead your life.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Makes sense. I want to read something to you real quick.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Something you said, uh, oh, this, this is this is
a good one. This is this ain't one of those
I'm not saying you are for nothing bad.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
This this is a good one. I was trusted.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
I was a biology major at the University of Tulsa.
Had a three point two grade point average, and that
is probably one of the crowning achievements of my life.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
It's not sports.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
It's not being in the Hall of Fame, and it's
not it's not all the other stuff. It's getting my
degree in four years.
Speaker 1 (44:23):
Why do you feel that way?
Speaker 4 (44:24):
You know, I'm still proud of that. You know, it's
been maybe forty years or whatever since I graduated from
the University of Tulsa. But to have a biology degree,
that means you didn't you know, nobody allowed you to
just escape college with you know any Yeah, yeah, don't.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Call him out right, yeah.
Speaker 4 (44:48):
But you know, to do that and to do it
in four years time. And I have a three point
two grade point average, which is pretty good for football player.
And you know, I just I just was really, really
still am really proud of what I've done. Uh, And
I try to encourage other players. You know, if you
(45:11):
didn't get your college degree when you were in college,
get it now in the off season, you can go
to college. And and so it was, you know, it
was it was something that I was really very proud of,
still am very proud of graduating from the University of Tulsa.
And I think that it's a real accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Yeah, see, get your degree in the off season and
we can go back.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Let's get it, dude. I did that.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
I went and got my degree, high degree, high degree,
words matter, higher learning. No, all right, I need you
not to be humble right now, I'm going to ask
you a question.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Do not be humble? Good? Look, you have to not
go to work. Pick people.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
You only get four picks of people that have helped
you become the man you are today. And if it's
sure mount rushmore of success, well who.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Would those four?
Speaker 4 (46:06):
First? Would be my grandfather, my mom's dad, Stan Sorenson
was his name, and he was a guy. I lived
with my grandparents for a year while my mom and
stepfather and three brothers moved around the country with my
stepfather's job as a mechanic on airplanes. And uh, so
(46:29):
I lived. They wanted to put me in one place
because I was already getting into high school, and I
lived with my grandparents, and so I got to learn
from my grandparents and particularly my grandfather, and I can
remember times that he would always come to my football
games and baseball games and take me hunting and fishing,
(46:51):
and I just love that. I love spending time with him.
Uh And he really taught me a lot about what
it was to be a man and to be a
giver as opposed to a taker. And so I think
that he would be number one on my list of
top five other guys. I would say, well, Jerry Rome
(47:18):
would be another guy that I've put in that because
of his coaching ability and what he saw in me
that I didn't even see in me in college for
three years, and then the fact that he went out
on the limb to try to get me drafted by
the Seahawks and not the Oilers, but then picked me
(47:39):
out of the list of cut players and brought me
to Seattle and then plugged me in as a receiver
running the same offense I'd run for three years in college.
So Jerry would be another guy on my list. I'm
trying to think. You know another guy that I I
(48:00):
think is a is a real Uh he's a great
friend and a great brother. Is Jim Zorn, my quarterback
at Seattle. Uh. He was a He was a guy
that he kind of was. He kind of came out
of college same way I did. I don't think he
wasn't even draft He was a free agent, and he
was a free agent with Dallas and then Seattle picked
(48:21):
him up when they became a franchise and he became
the starting quarterback for the Seahawks and just really had
to fight and scrap and uh then became the quarterback
and was kind of a I think he's kind of
a legend just because he was a quarterback for so
many years on Seattle and a team that we didn't
(48:42):
win him in a lot of games the first six
or seven years we played. But Jim was always a
leader and always a guy that, uh that knew what
he was doing and where he should be and where
he's where he's going to throw the ball. And so
I think I think I would pick Jim as one
of my guys that's a leader both on the field
and off the field. I think uh other guys that
(49:06):
kind of Uh. I'm trying to think of the guy's name.
He was a he was a representative here in Ohio.
Uh and then I uh he ran for governor and
became governor of Ohio. I can't think of his name now.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (49:24):
Anyway, he was. He was really a good leader too,
And I was a leader in Congress and I really
tried to implement what he did in my life in
Congress as well. But anyway, I don't know if I
can think of There'll be some others that will pop up,
and I'll talk him to I'll talk to you about that.
Speaker 3 (49:44):
Yeah, I'm just just googled just to try and see
if he may pop up. John John Cassick Cossick yea
from nineteen to two thousand. John, there we go. I
mean it's you.
Speaker 4 (50:02):
Know what I mean, John kas was that guy. He
uh he kind of took me under his shoulder, under
under his arm and and uh, you know, pointing me
in the right direction. And it was really just a
great friend and a good guy. And uh, like I said,
he later has became governor of Ohio for two terms,
I think, but uh, just an all round good guy.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
You're off the hot seat.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
See, we appreciate you coming in, man, just blessing us
with some wisdom and your humility and just yeah, I've yeah, man,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
We appreciate you. Steve Man. This has been awesome.
Speaker 3 (50:40):
Number one, uh, blessing us to your first Congress Hall
of Fame. Congressman also shout out the first pro bowler
for the Seattle Seahawks that you also accomplished that in
your career.
Speaker 1 (50:55):
So the list continues to go.
Speaker 4 (50:57):
On in First Hall of Famer from Seattle.
Speaker 3 (50:59):
First Hall of Fame, AM for Seattle there. Thank you
for finally dropping that ability.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (51:04):
We've been waiting for it all the conversations.
Speaker 4 (51:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (51:07):
He's probably the first biologist.
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Yeah, like, hey, it's a lot of first going on.
Speaker 3 (51:16):
And look, man, just as much as you've accomplished to
keep your steady smile, your spirit, you look awesome. You
can still tell you take care of great care of yourself.
I don't see a whole bunch of.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
You very nice. You're looking good man. It's halshtag goals,
and so I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (51:40):
Man.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
You did not disappoint.
Speaker 3 (51:42):
You lived up to everything that we had heard about you,
and you are exactly the great human being and man
that I hope to be when I met you. So
uh shout out to Joe Vitt who said all the
great things about you, and he was not lying. So
we appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Man. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (51:57):
All right, Thank you, no doubt man.
Speaker 3 (51:59):
All of our viewers of listening out there, wherever you
pick up your podcast, whether it's Apple Podcasts, all right,
Heart Radio app make sure you give us a like, subscribe, follow.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Leave a couple of commiments. Uh, we'll put.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
Jay and UH and everybody to work on responding to them.
So appreciate it, and UH make the YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
I was going there on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (52:18):
You appreciate it, man, Thank you, appreciate it checking our
YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
I'm peanut. That's wrong, that's Steve.
Speaker 2 (52:24):
And this is the NFL Player's Second Act podcast and
we are out
What's up, everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm Peanut Tillman, and this is the NFL Player's Second
Act podcast and with me, as always, my trusty co host,
mister Roman.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I talk too much, Harper, Well, thank you. I'm not
going to talk at all then.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
But I'm really excited about our next guest because this
is our first my first time ever meeting him and
uh he, I mean, the stats speak for himself.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Just introduce and let's jump into it.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
He's a first ballot Hall of Famer NFL Top one hundred,
and he's the only Hall of Famer to ever serve
in Congress. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Stevelger to
show larger thank you, walding.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
To the pot. Mister world traveler.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yes we figured that actually opposite. Yeah, he's uh DC, Seattle, No, Tulsa.
I'm sorry, he's from Oklahoma City. Yeah, No, Houston, Houston Draft. Yeah,
six weeks we we can't even come back to Tulsa, Washington, Tulsa.
(01:12):
Yeah there it is all right, that's about it. Well,
Steve Man.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Tell me, first of all, what is it?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
What does it mean to you to be named to
the NFL's All one hundred team.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
I just think. I pinched myself.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
It does it shock you?
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Does it?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
How does it come across you?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Like?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
How does that land for you?
Speaker 4 (01:38):
It does? I I pinched myself all the time to
make sure it was really that's really real. Uh, And
that's that's what happened. When I was named to the
Hall of Fame. You know, I thought, Wow, I can't
believe that I'm I'm actually among all these great football
players that I've watched all my life, and uh, I'm
now in the same league with them, And so it was.
(02:00):
It was really special and my whole life I feel
like it's been a dream.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Now now you say that, but I'm looking at you, like, dude,
you got to be kidna. I mean, you retired, you
were the number one, You had all the stats when
you retired, so it couldn't have been too much of
a shock or you still just like you just don't
expect it because the way you came into the NFL,
you know, is it because of that? Because the way
you got in, well, how Houston. You drafted in the
(02:29):
fourth round to Houston, but then they don't want you.
They trade you for an eighth round pick to Seattle. Sorry,
if I'm telling your whole story everything that right about.
Now you know all of these things happen. Does that
kind of what makes you even after you retire being
the all time leader and all the stats and receivers,
you still just like shocked when you go to the
(02:50):
Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Yeah, I think, well, I hope. I hope that it's
because I've learned a lesson about humility and having humility,
and I think that I think my wife is a
big contributor to that as well as we've known each
other since we've been in high school. And so I
(03:11):
think that, you know, that's the way I try to
raise my kids is help them understand the value of humility.
And I hope that I've displayed that for them. And
I didn't even have to talk to him about it
because I've been living it in front of him. But
I just think that's an important quality in life.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So you talk about humility, great quality. We need it.
I want to talk about payback.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, yeah, so yeah, I don't know what week it was,
but I'm gonna show you a picture right now, and
I want you to kind of tell me what you think.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So for those for our listeners.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
It's it's it's a picture of Steve and he has
given Mike Harden the business. Uh it was something was.
I wouldn't even call this a cheap shot. He had
cheap shots you earlier in the season, he had forced
a f.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
That's what brings context into this story. Oh yeah, is
what he did to me when we played them in Denver.
Uh he hit me with a cheap shot. He was.
He was penalized for it in the game, was fined
after the game five thousand dollars and uh so a
total cheap shot and and took me out of the game.
I was, I was, I didn't know where I was
after he hit me. And he hit me in the head.
(04:29):
Uh broke my face mask. I kept that face mask,
by the way. Broke my face mask, and I was
out of the game. Uh so, Uh you know he
was given high fives to guys, oh wow and all
that kind of stuff. So, uh then fast forward to
we played Denver home and home because they're in our divisions.
(04:50):
The Seahawks are still in still in the a f
C West, and uh that's when I got him back
in the Kingdome. And uh, people said, what did you
know it was going to be It was my carden absolutely,
I know for a minute he touched the ball who
had it, and I went after him with everything I
had and hit him legally with my shoulder. I didn't,
(05:13):
you know, do any kind of penalty uh inducing plays,
But I got him back good. And that was the
best tackle and best play I've ever made in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Out of all the touchdowns, after all.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
The touchdowns, all the catches, that's the one that gave
me more satisfaction than any other play. Was this play,
this payback play.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
You should have been just you should have just came
over to the defense lay safe corner. If you like
the hitting that much like this, we love it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Also, I also heard you say something in that you
said in the NFL it was your favorite play of
all time, because that would one that would minus that
one or maybe something in high school like like so
college like we always have like these plays that like
really stand out, and everybody has ever thought about that. Yeah,
So I'm just like, I'm sure you had some great
(06:05):
plays and if we're like, no, that was my favorite
play in the NFL. So I was just you said NFL,
So I didn't know if that was all time as well.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Well, that play that we talked about earlier with my
card and was my favorite play of my career. But
you know, I had a lot of you know, great
catches and where where I was even you know, surprised
that I held onto the ball or caught it or whatever,
(06:33):
scored a touchdown into the end zone, tapped my feet
on the back of the end zone, that kind of thing.
But you know, I think I think the the season
that really gave me the most satisfaction was our very
first year we ever made the playoffs. That was in
nineteen eighty three, and we made it as a wild
(06:56):
card team. We won the wildcard game, we went down
and played Miami in the divisional playoffs and and we
beat him. And so that that whole season eighty three
when we first made the playoffs and got to feel
what that was like, got all the way the AFC
Championship game, which we lost, but nonetheless we uh, we
(07:18):
really had a great season. I think we were finished
nine and seven or something like that, but then went
into the playoffs as a wild card team, and that
that run was just just seared in my mind as
being one of my favorite years. Played in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, you talked about tow tapping, and your one hundred
receiving touchdown was a toe tap and so I don't
know if they called.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It that back then, but it totally was.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
But I want to know about your you have one
hundred and one.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Yeah, that was a one hundred touchdown. Was actually against
the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati, Yes, and I remember that
played very well. And you know, it was kind of
weird because you know, I knew I had ninety nine
touchdowns and I thought, I can't I can't quit. I
can't quit on ninety nine. I got to get a
hundred somehow, and uh so I convinced Dave Craig to
(08:14):
throw me the ball. But he did, and and we
scored and and it was, uh it was very memorable.
But uh yeah it was. It was uh you know,
uh my my like I said, my whole career was
like a dream come true. Uh in my life. And
uh I never took it for granted. I always felt
like I had to work hard and and uh play
(08:35):
well and and and so uh that that's how it developed.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Do you kill the ball the footballs? Do you have them?
Speaker 3 (08:42):
No, you don't.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I wish I would throw it up in the stands.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
No, I didn't throw the stand It was we were
in we were in Cincinnati. I don't throw in the stands.
But uh no, I didn't.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
And so okay, so you got so you have.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Can you recall your only non receiving touchdown?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
You know I had one. I think I got the
ball on a reverse and ran it in the end zone.
Its like on the six yard line or something. I
can kind of. I vaguely remember the play, and the
only reason I remember is because I was just looking
at some pictures from that that play, just a couple
of weeks ago. But I think that's what it was.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I'm gonna help you out there. It was ten yards.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
I knew it was close.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
You were close, and it was like it was a toss,
but it was like a reverse dy like like you
came back, like you.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Caught it off of that.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I was in the slot.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yes, yes, yes, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Like a reverse toss.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
It's a great call. You're there.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
So just as the story comes back to you, more
people going to ask you this.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So I just want to help you out.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
At some point, we were all humbled in this league.
I know, I was my Rookieary by veterans on my team.
What was your welcome to the NFL moment for you?
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I think I think it was Actually, uh, it was
a stark arrival as a Houston Oiler, Okay, and I
played six weeks. I was in in Houston for six weeks.
That's all they gave me. I was a fourth round
draft pick. I was a second draft pick that they had.
They had a second round draft choice, who was Mike
(10:19):
Barber tied in for Oilers for a long time, and
then I was the second pick that they had, and
so I thought, you know, I'm gonna make this team.
And man, I went down there and I was competing,
but I wasn't producing, and they ended up bum Phillips
was in his second year with the Oilers and he
(10:39):
called me in his office and Steve, we appreciate your effort,
but we got a lot of good receivers here, and
they did, and they said we're gonna let you go.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I thought.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
I was a second pick. What are you talking about? Yeah,
you know, I didn't say that, but that's what I
was thinking. And so it was like a slap in
the face and so I got in my little car
and that I drove down to Houston from Tulsa and
I got my car and drove back home, and my
wife met me, and I just thought, Kah, you know,
(11:16):
I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. And
about that time I got a call from Seattle. Actually
they called my wife before I got to Tulsa, and
they said, we'd like you to We'd like to give
you another chance if you want it. And the thing
was is that the offensive coordinator at the University of
Tulsa that I played for for three years that he
was there was Jerry Rome. And Jerry was an NFL
(11:38):
player and quarterback from Tulsa, and he had he had,
you know, he had left the University of Tulsa and
gone to Seattle to be a coach for the first
year of the franchise, and he had told the head
coach man, we need to draft large it and they
never did. And so then when I was came up
(11:58):
on the waiver wire, he was, he saw the waiver
wire and they said, uh, And Jerry went to the
head coach and he said, we really need to get
this guy. And so they gave up an eighth round
draft choice. They had eight rounds that they had more
than eight rounds twelve times and fourteen rounds then and
uh and so they gave up an eighth round draft
choice for me, and I went to Seattle. And the
(12:22):
thing about that was that a lot of people don't
understand is that Jerry Rome was the He wasn't the
offensive coordinator, but he was like the offensive coordinator. And
in Seattle all that the entire passing game was the
same passing game that we played that I had played
for three years in college. They were all the same.
(12:43):
You know, seventy nine was the same route that I
ran in college. So to come into the to the
to Seattle and to know as a rookie, as a
rookie and everybody else is still trying to learn what
Jerry's talking about when he talks about, you know, run
seventy six. And so that was a real, real advantage
(13:07):
for me. And Jerry was just such a pivotal turning
point in my life and in my playing career for sure,
And you know, I owe him a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
I want to know what was it like to be
on the top of the mountain of greatness. So when
you retired.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Most receptions you got eight nineteen, most receiving yards thirteen thousand,
most touchdowns hunted, most consecutive games with the catch, most
seasons with at least fifty catches, most seasons with at
least one thousand yards.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Like, what was that? Like? You was him? You was
the man.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Well, you know what's interesting about those statistics is is
that I never looked at statistics my entire career. In fact,
I don't think I even saw those statistics until two
or three years after I retired and started looking at Canton,
and I thought, well, I'm gonna look at what my
statistics were.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
I think I got a chance.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yeah, yeah, I think I got a chance because uh,
you know, I mean, that's it's amazing, And it was
amazing to me when I saw the statistics.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So it's funny that you say you think you have
a chance, though, but you were a first ballot guy.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Well it's also funny that you know, I know you're humble,
and you talked about humility you know a couple of
times already, but like you may be the only the
first receiver I've ever met that was like, Yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Don't really look at my own stats.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
You know, it's just so opposite of Yeah, every receiver
that I've known that since that I've been around playing for.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Me, you don't strike me as a diva though. You don't.
You don't strike me as like a diva receiver, right
like you don't. There's one hundred okay, cool, Yeah, I
didn't know.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Only one hundred and seventy seven games straight with the Cats.
Probably didn't complain a lot or did you complain?
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Yeah, no, you didn't.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Like you just go with like, I's kind of open
you know, I'm open door to me, all right, Cool,
give me a damn ball.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
You don't seem like give me a damn ball right now?
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Like like, no, I didn't say that, but uh did you?
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I was. I was a team.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Guy, yeah all the way. Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
And I love playing in Seattle.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You know there was a new franchise when I went there,
and uh I got to see it develop into a
playoff team, uh for several years after I was through,
and so that was really fun too. But uh yeah,
it was uh, it was it was. It was like
I said, it was a dream come true for me.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
All Right.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I know you're humble, all right, but I want you
to put that on the backboarding for this one answer. Okay,
did you feel how validated did you feel about your
career and being on top of the mountain after the
way you came into the league, you know, being at
Houston for six weeks to be in their second pick,
fourth round, and like, how validated did you feel like,
all right, put the thing only on the back burner,
(16:00):
then we'll give it back to you.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
After that end.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Well, it wasn't a validation, but it was really it
was like, wow, I can't believe that. Look at these statistics, Terry.
I mean, I tell my wife, look at these statistics.
I'm nobody's ever done this before. Uh. And I was
able to do that? Is that amazing? And we would
just laugh about it, you know. So I think I
think there was a real advantage of not not being
(16:26):
aware of what the statistics were. And I wasn't like
I said, but you know, I think it also I
hope that it also kept me as a humble person
and a better team player and a guy that was
more concerned with winning the game than how many catches.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You Yeah, you've being who you are.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Did you ever like compare yourself to other receivers, because
you know, you passed the lands all Worth when you
when you passed all the stats. But like we're like,
how do you continue to work on your game? Like
who were you compared?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Did you? Did you do any of that or did you?
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I didn't, That's what I'm saying. I didn't. I didn't
look at the statistics. I didn't look at who'd gone
before me and what their statistics, how many passes they
caught or touchdowns they had or any I didn't. I didn't.
I didn't know because I didn't bother to look at it.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Maybe I should have, but uh, I think I was.
I was looking more at what's happening on the field
today and what we want to do tomorrow as opposed
to what guys had done before me and how I
stack up against them.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Did you model your game after a safety? Who was
your which guy was your person?
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I tried to, Like I was always try and like
see things.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
Ooh, I would love to be able to do that.
I don't think I could.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
But in my mind I always thought I was trying to,
you know, emulate or try and get a little bit
of you know, a little like I wish I could
have had some like just the instincts of a Troy Palamolo,
which like I don't think he was supposed to jump
over the offensive line, right, I do that, but like
had to have the audacity to do those things and
(18:07):
something that I like, Oh I wish I could be
that free. But like I'm like, oh, but what if
I get caught and then like my whole half, the
half of the field is just wide open.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So yeah, I didn't do that. Yeah, yeah, I wish
I could have.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Though, So I wore I wore thirty three. Crazy story,
how I picked that number?
Speaker 1 (18:26):
You were like forty one, which is heavy as hell? No,
the one is very slimming. Actually one is slimmy. Yeah,
it works, it works for you.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
But it looks heavy. It looks very heavy. We all
pick our numbers for whatever reason. Why did you pick
the number eighty?
Speaker 4 (18:43):
I didn't pick it. They gave it to me. Oh yeah,
I got a good number. I got to Seattle and
somebody else that they had cut had worn it before me,
and they said, hey, you get you're eighty. I didn't care.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
I didn't get any choices at all in your It
was just like, look, have your you're going to Seattle.
This is your coach. You're wearn't eighty. You're not asking
for the ball, like take it.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Or leave it?
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. I was glad to be there,
glad to have a number.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
So what was it like?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
So what went into the decision because most people forget
that Jerry Rice actually played at Seattle, and we went
into the decision of you unretiring your jersey because the
number eighty was retired at the time. You're like, you
know what, Jerry Rice can wear number eighty?
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Yeah, well it was. Ah, I'm not exactly sure that
they called me before they gave him my jersey.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Okay, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
If they did, I think I I was sort of
in an awkward position, okay, yeah, because I thought, you know,
well they re tired of my jersey. Yeah, then they
unretired jersey. How many times does this you go back
and forth?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
And do you know?
Speaker 4 (20:04):
So you know, I don't know. I think that I was.
I tried to be humble about that and uh.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
It's okay to put this thing on the back burden. Yeah,
I'm trying to.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
Give me If Jerry was where my joy that's great?
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Okay, it's okay. Okay.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
So I'm glad we got that out. Yeah, okay, I'm good. Okay,
we're opening up here a little.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
You know, after after fifty years, you can be more humble.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Yeah, we're going to take a short break and we'll
be right back.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I want to talk about I want to talk about
a second act. So you had you won four terms
in office. You are served in House Representatives from ninety
four to two thousand and two, the first Conguession congressional district.
What do you think it means from when you here.
You're the only Hall of Famer to serve in Congress.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, I think that there's a lot of smart players
that never ran for Congress. Really, I didn't know that.
You know, Jack Kemp was a guy that I really
modeled my career beyond football after Uh he was Jeff
(21:25):
Kemp's father and a great quarterback at Buffalo, and he
was in Congress for a number of years, and so
I was kind of second after Jack Kemp being in Congress.
But he, uh, you know, he really set an example
for me. In fact, I talked to him before I
(21:46):
ran for Congress and just got some advice from him,
and so, uh, you know, I didn't really think about,
you know, how many guys had been in Congress or not.
But you know, I was really I felt like that
I had a message and I delivered it well to
(22:07):
the constituents and they were sold. And so they re
elected me three times after I was elected the first time,
and it was a it was a good marriage. And
actually my time in Congress, I loved it. It was
it was a funny thing happened in nineteen let's se
(22:31):
it had been nineteen ninety four when I ran for Congress,
and that was that the House flipped. It had always been,
I mean, for forty years or so, it had been
Democrat controlled Congress, and when in nineteen ninety four it flipped,
so I got to serve in the majority. I was
(22:52):
a Republican and I was serving the majority for almost
eight years, and it was it was a unbelievable experience. Really,
what you find out is is that when you're in
the minority, you don't get to do very much because
you're not you're not you just you just aren't aren't
(23:12):
in control. And so the majority parties in control in Congress.
In the House, for sure, it's a little bit less
so in the in the Senate. But so it was
really a unique experience to be in Congress and be
a Republican and be in majority for the first time
for forty or fifty years, and it was it was
(23:35):
really special, and I loved it. I loved working there
and feel like I'm doing something for my constituents and
for the country and trying to and be a voice
for people who for a long time didn't feel like
that they were heard. And and so it was, it was.
(23:57):
It was one of the great experiences of my life.
And I loved it. Uh, but I'd never go back.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So I got why, no, no, no, why you don't
get to just leave off with that great We're going
to save you off the time.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
I'll tell you, Okay, I'll tell you why it is
is because every week that Congress was in session, and
they were in session for you know, ninety percent of
the time. Uh, You're I'm flying I'm living in Tulsa
and flying to d C and then getting on a
planning flying from d C back to Tulsa every week.
So I left on Monday or Tuesday and I came
(24:32):
home on Friday. And it was just that was just hard. Yeah,
to fly that much and to be so much and
and you know where am I living and I've gotten
raised trying to raise four kids, yeah, and get them
into college, and you know, and so it was it
was just hard. It was hard on my wife. It
(24:52):
was harder on my wife probably than on me, but
it was hard on me too, just all that travel
every week. Uh, it was it was. It was I
felt like I kind of made my point and I
can go home. And I actually went home and ran
for Congress. It ran for governor and and got beat
by a few thousand votes, and that was very disappointing too.
(25:15):
But uh, at that point, you know, I was I
was through with my my political career. I'd finished my
football career and I'd finished my political career.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Was there ever.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
A moment when you were in Congress like you were
a rookie? You know, I asked you the question of
what the NFL what was your welcome to Congress moment?
If there was like, oh, I mean Congress.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
I I just totally messed up.
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Yeah, I tell you, Uh, what I often thought about
was the the the beauty of the people that I
chose to work for me in my office, so in Congress,
you have two off You typically have two offices. You'll
(26:08):
have your Washington d C. Office and you'll have your
district office. And so your district office takes fair of
all all of the complaints or whatever people have about
Congress or the bills they want to see passed or
not passed or whatever, and so they deal with them,
or I'll talk with them after they've dealt with them.
And then you've got your DC people who really are
(26:30):
looking at the bills that are going to be proposed
and how we want to vote on those, and do
we want to offer amendments and stuff like that. And
so I really had a great, great team of people
that worked for me both in my office in Washington,
d C. And in my office in Oklahoma in Tulsa
(26:51):
in the first Congressional district. And so they really carried
a lot of the load for me. And that was
one of the things that I really feel like that
I did well, was choosing people to work for me.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
How special was the month of January nineteen ninety five
you were sworn into Congress and January the fourth, you
were selected to the NFL Hall of Fame. On January
the twenty eighth, and you were also sworn You were
(27:25):
sworn in on your twentieth wedding anniversary on January the
twenty January the twenty or no, fifth and fifth?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, the same. There we go.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
You gotta get I still mess that up. I'm trying
to get better myself. So yes, I'm glad you corrected me.
How special was all that in the same month? How
are you handling all these emotions and just trying to
get it right?
Speaker 4 (27:49):
You know what? I feel like I was, I was
walking on water because it was every experience was unique,
but every experience was like awesome, I mean just really awesome.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
To be married to my wife for twenty years now
it's fifty years and we we still love each other
more than we ever have before. And our four kids
are doing well. I've got ten grandkids. We just had
all ten of them at our house. We took them
on a vacation with us, just the ten kids and
(28:27):
my wife. We rented a big van to carry them all.
With the ages, we've got a second year in college
down to a seven year old.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Six boys and no, we have six girls and four boys. Yeah,
so that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
How much how much more. Why do grandparents love the
grandkids so much?
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Yes, because you know, I tell you exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Detail. Grandparent denies any Oh, yeah, more than my kids.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Let me tell you why grandparents love grandkids because they
can say, you guys, your your parents are heard of PI,
they're going home, said.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
You don't take your kids. Good, it's time to leave.
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I got one more political question for you. While the House,
why the House of Representatives, that's good, That is the Senate.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
Yeah, that's a good question. And I've never been asked
that question before. But we actually had two senators, uh
that were fairly long term senators. Uh, they weren't leaving, uh,
and they weren't challenged that particular year.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
But we had a member of Congress who actually actually
the man that held my seat in the first congressional
district ran for the Senate. He ran for the Senate,
and so I ran for his seat and uh and
and was fortunate enough to win. But uh, it was
it was I don't think I knew that much about
(30:05):
Congress as to that's why I ran for the House.
I didn't know really that much about government. I never
was in I wasn't a political science major. I was
a biology major, so I didn't know that much about it,
but uh I learned quickly, and uh, it was it was.
It was one of the greatest experience I've ever had
in my life.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Did you were you like one of the cool kids
in Congress because you just got elected to the NFL
Hall of Fame as well? Did that like make you
more popular? Like dude, like Steve Large he's on our committee,
you know, like, did you get better assignments?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
The lad is out of order, the gentleman is out
of order, Steve, He's always in order?
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Like did that ever happen?
Speaker 4 (30:48):
Like?
Speaker 1 (30:48):
How did that hit home?
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Well? Uh? I think most of the people that I
served in Congress with, in that senator or or in
the House, Uh, they were aware of my political career.
I mean they were not in my own political they
were aware of my uh football career. They knew about that.
But being elected into the Hall of Fame, Uh was
(31:10):
pretty cool after just getting elected to Congress, did you.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Get like a day of standing ovation?
Speaker 3 (31:16):
They should have gave you at least a standing ovation
where okay, good, okay, good, okay good that I mean
everybody should stand up and sell like that.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
That's good stuff right there. So we had.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Stephen already Mama calling Colin excuse me. He served, he
took a seat for the for for Texas. And there's
this skit to sketch comedy artist comedians Key and Pill
and they do this scene where they act like Obama
and Obama shakes, he shakes the hand. He's like with
(31:50):
the white person, like, hey, how you going, how's going?
Speaker 1 (31:51):
That's going? How you doing? How you doing?
Speaker 2 (31:53):
And then he sees a black guy brother and he
was like, hey, my man, what's going on?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
And he brings it up high.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Was there ever anything like that in Congress with shaking
a white guy's hand versus shaking a black guy's hand?
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Was there?
Speaker 3 (32:07):
That was never like oh, we go in and go
for the hood? Was there ever anything like that?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Because we we've started to see a little bit of
a trend like that with certain with certain politicians. Would
you agree with that it's happened before, it's happened before.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
So I can tell you that in my in my
experience that if I'm shaking a guy's hand that I
played football with against or with with either one, it's
always like yeah, it's always like that, no matter what color,
right right right right like this. But when I'm shaking,
(32:41):
the Speaker of the House's hand is like this. And
I don't know why that is, but.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
You never tried to go in high like that. The
high the high angle, high angle of the time, he's
not going to get it.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I don't Yeah, I didn't want to confuse.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Okay, So that's a good question. Why we ask This is.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Why we asked. Yeah, I love these political questions. We
actually know the guy that he was like, I don't know.
I just the guy goes like this, I go like that,
when he goes up like this, ill like that, he.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Says, and told so it's the hangle of attack. I just, oh, yeah,
I love that.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
So, Steve, you know, we call this the second Second
Acts Podcast because we'd love to know about your second act.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
That's why we're so asked.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
You all these not really political questions, but just more
about your time in Congress. What did you do in
that five year window of retirement and then all of
a sudden running for Congress because you had a little
window in there.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
So I let's see, it was nineteen ninety four, I
retired in eighty nine. That was my last season, so
really nineteen ninety and then I ran for Congress in
nineteen ninety four, and so I was I was I
was speaking going around talking about you know, my football career,
talking about my faith, and just talking about you know,
(34:05):
what I thought was good for the country. And then
so I had done that for four or five years,
and we had moved back to Tulsa because you know,
I lived in Seattle obviously during the season, and then
we moved back to Tulsa permanently, and that's when I
ran for Congress. But before that, I was just you know,
(34:28):
going around the country doing autograph shows and speaking engagements
and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Did you ever did you ever have like a down
struggle time, like like like a struggle period or like
this time of like it's just you know, we have
these times where guys struggle in between retirement and actually
like the transition, the transition, that's the word I got
you for. What was that like for you? Like, I mean,
you're Steve larger.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Yeah, I would. I'm laughing as I say this, because
I I think that a lot of guys go through
the struggle like you. Yeah, I didn't struggle at all.
I'd finished my career and I was busy. Uh and
I was. I still worked out and uh uh take
trying to take care of my body and stay in shape.
(35:19):
Uh not not like I felt like I was going
to play again. Because I chose to retire. I didn't
have to retire, which is unique, uh for for football players.
But uh yeah, I was. I was going and blowing.
I learned how to fly. I've got my pilot's license,
and I still I don't fly now because I don't
(35:40):
trust myself. But uh, you know, I flew my own
plane that I had, and I flew for probably ten
years before I ran for Congress. And so it was,
it was, it was. I had a blast. I loved it,
and uh so I I never had to I never
was worried about it. But yeah, the choice to go
(36:03):
from that life and move into a political career was
a big step for me. Uh but you know, I
think it was still positive, still good. Uh. I think
the Lord blessed it, and so it was, it was
all good.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
So we're not gonna go.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
I've been trying to get him to go to uh back.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
To back to school. That ain't gonna work.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Not happen what if we ran for Congress.
Speaker 3 (36:36):
No, I kind of just like my life, like right now,
you know when when when the temperature gets down, I
want them to just lower the temperature a little bit,
you feel me, Steve, I need to like lower the temperature,
like go back to nineties temperature. Nineties temperature doesn't seem
anywhere close.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
Is warm in the room as it is now.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Yeah, absolute, you know what I mean. I could go
across the island wap up everybody in the nineties like
it was cool, like we were actually just you know, we.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Could we could change that.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
I don't know, man, we can't like our personalities, our
sense of humor.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
That means one of them we can start. We can
start dapping.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
People up, maybe attack both of us on another side,
and then we could both win, and then we could
be like bridge the gap.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
We got to flip a coin and see what I'm
saying that we got it running opposite.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
He could be our mentor dude, Steve left twenty years ago, dude,
like some of these people are.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
This is wisdom at its finest. This is wisdom.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
And I see Thomas over there making the face like
I don't know, I don't know about this one.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
We're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
So I want to I want to talk to you
about your time as the president and CEO for the
wireless communications.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
Was that man, that was one of the most awesome jobs. Yeah,
you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
The cell phone minutes all the time.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
The cell phone industry was just going and blowing.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
It still is Uh what year what year was that.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
That was in? Uh, it was right after I lost
the race for governor. Okay, so that would have been
ninety five ninety six.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
So they were still doing like nights and weekends and
you had to like actually work your minutes. And when
you have her paying for like legit minutes and they
call me after five, that's what we're Text messages wasn't
even a thing yet.
Speaker 4 (38:32):
And well I think text messages were, but they weren't
big at all.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Yeah, because they cost more than phone call.
Speaker 4 (38:38):
Yeah yeah, yeah, So uh it was it was It
was an industry that was, you know, going like this, yeah,
yeah and so and and you know the thing that
I loved about it most was the CEOs of the
various companies that we had, and we had we had
all the you know, the at and Ts and Verizons,
all those guys were in the association, but also all
(38:59):
that handset manufacturers were in our association too, So it
was really an important job to get it right. And
so I would say those companies got it right ninety
nine percent of the time. Sometimes they screwed up, but
they got it right most of the time. And and
we wanted to display that before the people and for
(39:20):
the members of Congress who wanted to try to legislate it,
because you know, they're always trying to legislate. So and
I thought that it was It was one of the
most fun, educational, engaging jobs that a guy could have.
I loved my work at CTIA. I had a team
(39:43):
of people, one hundred people that worked for me in Washington,
d C. And we just did I think we did
a bang up job for the industry. And it's it's
continued on now. You know.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Just listening to you right there, I just want to
let you know you are true professional Steve Largent, all right.
Instead of trying to say you know because to me
it words matter, PEN say that all the time.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Words matter.
Speaker 3 (40:08):
And instead of trying to say control, regulate.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
You said legislate. Yeah, they're always trying to legislate like that.
That's important.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
What do you what do have you learned between the
difference as far as wording of control versus legislate.
Speaker 4 (40:23):
Well, uh, I mean I was Republican and I was
just one of those guys that didn't believe that you
had to regulate everything. Yeah, and that you didn't need
to regulate everything. And so my my caution that I
(40:46):
thought felt like I brought to Congress, and I was
one of many who brought to Congress the idea that hey,
let's let's think about this before we regulate it, uh
to try to control it. We don't need to control
anything else. We don't need to regulate anything else, uh
unless we absolutely have to. And so that's what I
that was my message to Congress when I was the
(41:08):
president of the c t i A, the Wireless Association,
was let's think about this before we just jump into
this deal and regulate the industry. And so that was always,
uh the cautionary flag that I was trying to wave
before Congress when I was there.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Yeah, I'm gonna take that back home with me. I'm
gonna try and legislate my kids. Yeah, you know, not
gonna regulate as much. I mean, it's just like just
just getting you down the road. Yet we got barriers.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
Make a broad.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Legislate. We're not gonna regulate.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Okay, you got it. I know when you talk with
your words, your handy in my face, I'm legislating. I'm
about to relate.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
You're about regularly me please, Oh my goodness. Anyway, anyway,
I got something that he ain't gut. So you and
I we have something in common. Nineteen eighty eight, you
won the Watch or I don't think it was called
the Watch Paytonment of the Year, but you won the
NFL Man of the Year award.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
What does that?
Speaker 2 (42:15):
Where does that award sit with all of your football accolades.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
I think it's pretty cool just because you know, I
think the people that vote on that are players, and
so I think that's pretty cool that you could win
an award from the players, not necessarily from the you know,
the coaches or from the press or anybody like that.
And I think that says something about you know, your
(42:41):
playing career and your demeanor that you take on the field.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
R I want to know about the idea of service
to you and what it means to you, You've served
a lot. You know, you you served in Congress, you
served as a leader of the wireless situation, you served
your your.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Community to be able to win Man of the Year.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
And I was also told, like the best leaders, sometimes
you got to learn how to serve before you lead.
And so maybe it's a reflects on how great of
a leader you are. But what does service mean to you?
Speaker 4 (43:17):
Well, I mean to me, I would always drop it
back to my faith in the Lord. And I think
the idea of being a Christian is about serving, serving
your family, serving your friends, serving people in general. And
so it wasn't it wasn't a real leap for me
(43:38):
to serve in Congress because it's sort of an example
of what you're trying, how you're trying to lead your life.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Makes sense. I want to read something to you real quick.
Speaker 2 (43:50):
Something you said, uh, oh, this, this is this is
a good one. This is this ain't one of those
I'm not saying you are for nothing bad.
Speaker 1 (43:59):
This this is a good one. I was trusted.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
I was a biology major at the University of Tulsa.
Had a three point two grade point average, and that
is probably one of the crowning achievements of my life.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
It's not sports.
Speaker 2 (44:13):
It's not being in the Hall of Fame, and it's
not it's not all the other stuff. It's getting my
degree in four years.
Speaker 1 (44:23):
Why do you feel that way?
Speaker 4 (44:24):
You know, I'm still proud of that. You know, it's
been maybe forty years or whatever since I graduated from
the University of Tulsa. But to have a biology degree,
that means you didn't you know, nobody allowed you to
just escape college with you know any Yeah, yeah, don't.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Call him out right, yeah.
Speaker 4 (44:48):
But you know, to do that and to do it
in four years time. And I have a three point
two grade point average, which is pretty good for football player.
And you know, I just I just was really, really
still am really proud of what I've done. Uh, And
I try to encourage other players. You know, if you
(45:11):
didn't get your college degree when you were in college,
get it now in the off season, you can go
to college. And and so it was, you know, it
was it was something that I was really very proud of,
still am very proud of graduating from the University of Tulsa.
And I think that it's a real accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
Yeah, see, get your degree in the off season and
we can go back.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Let's get it, dude. I did that.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
I went and got my degree, high degree, high degree,
words matter, higher learning. No, all right, I need you
not to be humble right now, I'm going to ask
you a question.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Do not be humble? Good? Look, you have to not
go to work. Pick people.
Speaker 2 (45:55):
You only get four picks of people that have helped
you become the man you are today. And if it's
sure mount rushmore of success, well who.
Speaker 1 (46:04):
Would those four?
Speaker 4 (46:06):
First? Would be my grandfather, my mom's dad, Stan Sorenson
was his name, and he was a guy. I lived
with my grandparents for a year while my mom and
stepfather and three brothers moved around the country with my
stepfather's job as a mechanic on airplanes. And uh, so
(46:29):
I lived. They wanted to put me in one place
because I was already getting into high school, and I
lived with my grandparents, and so I got to learn
from my grandparents and particularly my grandfather, and I can
remember times that he would always come to my football
games and baseball games and take me hunting and fishing,
(46:51):
and I just love that. I love spending time with him.
Uh And he really taught me a lot about what
it was to be a man and to be a
giver as opposed to a taker. And so I think
that he would be number one on my list of
top five other guys. I would say, well, Jerry Rome
(47:18):
would be another guy that I've put in that because
of his coaching ability and what he saw in me
that I didn't even see in me in college for
three years, and then the fact that he went out
on the limb to try to get me drafted by
the Seahawks and not the Oilers, but then picked me
(47:39):
out of the list of cut players and brought me
to Seattle and then plugged me in as a receiver
running the same offense I'd run for three years in college.
So Jerry would be another guy on my list. I'm
trying to think. You know another guy that I I
(48:00):
think is a is a real Uh he's a great
friend and a great brother. Is Jim Zorn, my quarterback
at Seattle. Uh. He was a He was a guy
that he kind of was. He kind of came out
of college same way I did. I don't think he
wasn't even draft He was a free agent, and he
was a free agent with Dallas and then Seattle picked
(48:21):
him up when they became a franchise and he became
the starting quarterback for the Seahawks and just really had
to fight and scrap and uh then became the quarterback
and was kind of a I think he's kind of
a legend just because he was a quarterback for so
many years on Seattle and a team that we didn't
(48:42):
win him in a lot of games the first six
or seven years we played. But Jim was always a
leader and always a guy that, uh that knew what
he was doing and where he should be and where
he's where he's going to throw the ball. And so
I think I think I would pick Jim as one
of my guys that's a leader both on the field
and off the field. I think uh other guys that
(49:06):
kind of Uh. I'm trying to think of the guy's name.
He was a he was a representative here in Ohio.
Uh and then I uh he ran for governor and
became governor of Ohio. I can't think of his name now.
Speaker 1 (49:24):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (49:24):
Anyway, he was. He was really a good leader too,
And I was a leader in Congress and I really
tried to implement what he did in my life in
Congress as well. But anyway, I don't know if I
can think of There'll be some others that will pop up,
and I'll talk him to I'll talk to you about that.
Speaker 3 (49:44):
Yeah, I'm just just googled just to try and see
if he may pop up. John John Cassick Cossick yea
from nineteen to two thousand. John, there we go. I
mean it's you.
Speaker 4 (50:02):
Know what I mean, John kas was that guy. He
uh he kind of took me under his shoulder, under
under his arm and and uh, you know, pointing me
in the right direction. And it was really just a
great friend and a good guy. And uh, like I said,
he later has became governor of Ohio for two terms,
I think, but uh, just an all round good guy.
Speaker 1 (50:27):
You're off the hot seat.
Speaker 2 (50:28):
See, we appreciate you coming in, man, just blessing us
with some wisdom and your humility and just yeah, I've yeah, man,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
We appreciate you. Steve Man. This has been awesome.
Speaker 3 (50:40):
Number one, uh, blessing us to your first Congress Hall
of Fame. Congressman also shout out the first pro bowler
for the Seattle Seahawks that you also accomplished that in
your career.
Speaker 1 (50:55):
So the list continues to go.
Speaker 4 (50:57):
On in First Hall of Famer from Seattle.
Speaker 3 (50:59):
First Hall of Fame, AM for Seattle there. Thank you
for finally dropping that ability.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (51:04):
We've been waiting for it all the conversations.
Speaker 4 (51:06):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (51:07):
He's probably the first biologist.
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Yeah, like, hey, it's a lot of first going on.
Speaker 3 (51:16):
And look, man, just as much as you've accomplished to
keep your steady smile, your spirit, you look awesome. You
can still tell you take care of great care of yourself.
I don't see a whole bunch of.
Speaker 1 (51:28):
You very nice. You're looking good man. It's halshtag goals,
and so I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (51:40):
Man.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
You did not disappoint.
Speaker 3 (51:42):
You lived up to everything that we had heard about you,
and you are exactly the great human being and man
that I hope to be when I met you. So
uh shout out to Joe Vitt who said all the
great things about you, and he was not lying. So
we appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (51:55):
Man. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (51:57):
All right, Thank you, no doubt man.
Speaker 3 (51:59):
All of our viewers of listening out there, wherever you
pick up your podcast, whether it's Apple Podcasts, all right,
Heart Radio app make sure you give us a like, subscribe, follow.
Speaker 1 (52:07):
Leave a couple of commiments. Uh, we'll put.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
Jay and UH and everybody to work on responding to them.
So appreciate it, and UH make the YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (52:16):
I was going there on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (52:18):
You appreciate it, man, Thank you, appreciate it checking our
YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
I'm peanut. That's wrong, that's Steve.
Speaker 2 (52:24):
And this is the NFL Player's Second Act podcast and
we are out
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.