February 7, 2024 • 41 mins
Join us on a nostalgic trip down memory lane with Giants legend Ottis "OJ" Anderson as he shares behind-the-scenes moments from the iconic Super Bowl 25. In this second of two parts on "Games People Play," Bernie Corbett uncovers the stories of practice pants superstitions, the psychological strategies of Bill Parcells, and the hard-hitting plays that defined a championship. Tune in for an episode that's as gripping as the final moments of a Super Bowl nail-biter.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Did someone say espresso Martini? Howwe spiked? Alcaccino is here to provide
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premium ingredients. Ready for your nextadventure, catch the buzz Alcaccino, sit
back and enjoy the ride. OhJay, this is your life. Here
we go. Now, welcome everyonetoo our latest edition of Games Play with
(00:49):
Bernie Corbett. As I say everyweek, I remain Bernie Corbett, Glad
you could join us. And onceagain, I know I seem like I
say it every week. We haveanother very special guest in a man who
has a number of unique distinctions inthe world of football. Thus, I'm
finally back in a comfort zone today. I have my Giants at my Phil
Simms Vinta jersey. I got myGiants hat like we're going to a playoff
(01:11):
game at Giants Stadium. In thebackground, bundled up the gloves, the
thermals and very appropriate that I guesstoday is the Super Bowl twenty five MVP.
Otis my man, OJ Anderson,and then we take you to a
game in the Divisional playoffs the Giants. Obviously there was a lot of doubt
(01:32):
about the Giants because of the injuryto Phil Simms late in the season,
the Buffalo game, and Jeff Hostetleris sending to the starting role. Your
relationship with Jeff Hostetler, OJ,obviously a lot of similarity about the Giants
and that Super Bowl championship team.With Jeff off the bench, you in
a more prominent role. What aboutyour relationship with Jeff and what he went
(01:56):
through with some of the things thatwere analogous between the two of you.
Well, you know, Jeff andI, we we practiced second team all
the time when Sims were there,so we had a relationship. He knew
how I liked the ball hand offto me and he knew how would park
it out made So we grew together. So when we became starters, we
(02:19):
laughed about it because we were thinking, here we go practice balls off.
The practice squad kind of started us. So that just make this thing work.
And then the the first playoff game, the Giants hosting the Chicago Bears,
and remember that day well at theold Giants Stadium. I would suffice
to say because of your your selectionyour apparel that day that it turned out
(02:44):
you weren't expecting to play. Youhad a little bit of a mistake that
turned out to be something that becameone of Bill pols many superstitions. Yeah,
I inadvertently had my practice fans onand and you know the room or
parcels if you play a game andsomething that that if it's if it's not
ornary on you, nary for you, and you win, and he finds
(03:07):
out about it, he wants youto have a game. So what basically
happened was when they found out thatI had on my practice pans and we
won, then they quickly made surethat I have it on the next game,
and then the next game, andit just blossomed from there. One
of the most superstitious guys in aworld of superstition and professional sports. The
(03:30):
practice pants. Practice pants made perfectfor for oj Anderson in that game and
that victory over the Bears. Youdid some some hot running in that game.
You got it twenty one times.You had eighty yards in the game
and the adrenaline really taking over withyou taking taking the position with the Hampton's
injury. I think one of thehighlights of that game, uh, Jeff
(03:51):
hosts that was touchdown. Do youremember the the big block you put You
get the block a refrigerator. It'snot often you get the block a catching
appliance. No. I. Iwas actually trying to see they having food,
and then when I went to tryto open up the kitchen refrigerated,
but unfortunately not being refrigerated, Icouldn't get it open. So I just
knocked it down, knocked the fridgedown and led Jeff oss Or in the
(04:15):
end zone. And the Giants werethe next week were somehow a lot of
people counting them out and were ontheir way to San Francisco and rematch with
the forty nine ers. You knowone of the games, Oh Jay,
looking back thirty years later, it'sa game that I think as long as
people are going to talk about theNFL, they're going to talk about that
game. Your memories. What immediatelycomes to mind about I happen to watch
(04:41):
the game on tape and the pandemiceverybody's watching tapes of all games. I
happen to watch it recently. Theferocity of that game, the physicality,
I mean, it makes what's goingon today in the NFL look like a
seven on seven drum. It reallydoes, because you know, the way
you can hit a player was legalcompared to what you can do now,
and it would have been hard forus to play on those rules based on
(05:03):
the years we had to learn toplay the game the way it was played.
But yes, it was one ofthe most physical games we played.
But we knew that the winner outthat game probably uh hands on winner to
win the Super Bowl, and andwe was able to accomplish that. Indeed,
you were, once again the psychologistthat was Bill Pselves. He had
(05:26):
a little talk with the team aboutthe travel arrangements. So there was an
unusual situation with those two week gapin between the the NFC Championship game and
the Super Bowl, just to giveus an idea about what Bill had to
offer in terms of how he waspacking and what the expectations were to pack.
Of course, you knew you hadto pack your practice pants that was
(05:47):
required. Oh yeah, I knew. Whatever it was this practice pans pack,
But Bill, you know the motivatorthat he lost. He challenged us
by saying, listen, Uh,we practice for one week, packed for
one week. Use you can packfor two weeks. He said, I'm
bringing suit k is large enough fortwo leaks. If you're all part of
this, you bring yours tomorrow,which was that Friday. You bring the
(06:10):
suit k is bigging us a parkfor two weeks because when we leave San
Francisco, we're going straight to Tampa. So I just want to know who's
the board. Everybody showed them nextday with double bags because we were going
to Tampa and was under San Francisco. The Giants were on Fancisco. Yeah,
the San Francisco and your your thoughtas you had the opportunity, you
(06:35):
know here it was you were closeto the the dream had been deferred.
Now you had a chance opportunity tofulfill your destiny. It comes down to
Matt Bier's field goal and uh,as far as what was going through your
head and ahead of everybody on thatsideline, I'm sure was with share,
(06:55):
but particularly for you. You madethe promise to Maurice Conton, We're going
to be there. Now it's allriding on the foot of Matt BYRF he's
going to be able to get youthere in the end. Well, yeah,
Matt, Matt did a great job. I think you keep cut of
your field goals for it that day, and we just knew we just had
to just hold on and give himan opportunity. And once we did,
everybody know what happened. He madethe field goal and we was on our
(07:17):
way to Tampa. And you guyspacked the right way. You packed heavy,
you didn't pack light. And withthe backdrop of the Gulf War,
I know that there's NFL film ofyou in your hotel room watching the coverage
of the Gulf War as everybody wasriveted to at that time. Security was
unprecedented, the Giants eight and ahalf point favorite to the Buffalo and the
(07:39):
k gun offense. And I knowthat you were interviewed OJ for a special
that was done on Whitney Houston.That moment of the star spangled banner and
Whitney Houston's rendition. That's just anotheraspect of that game and the backdrop of
that game that'll be it's thirty years, will be talked about for another thirty
or another one hundred. Just earningmoment. Well for sure, because one
(08:03):
thing for sure, Houston won't beever performing such a great redendant redemption of
the national anthem. And two itwas the Gulf Wall, which was a
warned that clearly they thought about nothaving a game. So everything panned out
and worked out well for us.Everything fell into place for us, and
I'm just glad to be a partof that type of history what we want
(08:24):
and the fact that we had oneof the greatest entertainer performed the national anthem
for us. I didn't know whatthe background was until I did a little
bit of digging, but apparently theygo on each side. They go to
about four or five candidates. TheMVP award for the Disney people at the
time with their advertising campaign, andeverybody had a choice. You could give
(08:46):
the traditional would have become a traditionalI'm going to Disney World where you can
say I dedicate this win to ourtroops, and you opted for if you
had the opportunity, I think youknew which way you were going to go,
and you were the only guy everin that in that scenario, they
had a chance to say that theywere dedicating the wind to the troops as
opposed to I'm going to Disney World. You made that clear at the time,
(09:07):
and you ended up having the opportunitythe window of opportunity presented itself.
Yeah. Another thing I could tagmy hat too is that I'm known the
player that sit anything different and todedicate and win to the troops was probably
one of the most important things thatI could have done after even winning on
behalf of all the troops, wasto dedicate that game to them and all
(09:31):
the fans of Giants who lived aroundthe world to watch that game, your
dream, your destiny. Now youhave the opportunity and it is the formidable
Buffalo Bills. As far as thegame plan, you know, once again,
Bill Belichick and his defensive game planis resides in Canton and the Hall
of Fame team that scored ninety fivepoints in their previous two playoff games.
(09:54):
And there was a definite plan inmind for fig ron Air hid build by
ourselves, and the plan I'm surewas to the liking of you, it
was going to be to control theball, not turn it over, and
really to be able to just tryto pound the Bill's defense to death and
wear them down. Actually, uhoh, Jay, just to give us
(10:16):
a little bit of insight. RonEarhot. You had a great relationship with
Port with him as the offensive coordinator. He actually came to you and asked
you about what plays you were goingto be comfortable with running that day.
You were guys really wanted to simplifyit, Yeah, he did, were
gonna be anything fancy? He said, you want to stay between the tackles.
I said absolutely. He said,if we go outside, will give
(10:37):
may At an opportunity to stretch thefeel. Lewis tell me to stretch distress
the feel, he said. Butyou know, every once in a while,
Build peep his head in there andsay hey hey, once in a
while we got to get a bigchance to get outside, just to trick
them. So there was a fewplays I did try to get outside,
and one you know about, whichis that no tourist run. Then I
(10:58):
went down on that sideline and bighit the big hit on Kelso, Mark
Kelso So I game flame where I'dsay, out of the twenty four carries,
uh, twenty two was all insideand two is outside and one was
will never be forgotten by Mike Kelso. He might still be feeling it with
that stiff finally you delivered. It'sreally personified the you know, the blue
(11:20):
collar mentality that Giant team and thedefense was dishing out paint all afternoon oj
on those Buffalo receivers. But youshowed the offense could could dish out a
little bit of paint. Uh asuh your your pal. I know you're
very close with the Champ Larry Holmes. Did you ever talk about that upper
cut that you delivered? Yeah,uh, there are actually a few times
(11:41):
about it, like they did youlearn that from me? I said,
well before I knew you, Champ, but uh I, uh I still
when I thought you'd be proud ofit. Indeed, and uh it turned
out to be a pretty good ridebecause what was it? Ride thirty four
and ride thirty five inside right,inside left. That's it. Yeah,
(12:03):
those the two players, those that'swhat they played thirty five. You can't
beat it. Those were the playersthat I had absolutely and the Giants with
they bookended two drives eight and ahalf and nine and a half minutes,
set the record for time of possessionall time in the Super Bowl. You
had your season high with one hundredand two yards averaged almost five yards to
(12:26):
carry in the game. And oneof the things that I think is underestimated
when you go back and you lookat what Jeff did the passing game was
the ability for the for the rungame, you know, once again,
to be able to the play action, the look of play action. That
threat really set up Jeff to makesome big You think of some of the
big throws he made to Bavarro andIngram, particularly down the stretch of that
(12:46):
game. You did and that andthat's why I worked. Because we were
so dominant running the football that theyhad the respect the fact of coming up
and trying to stop me up themiddle, and that gave us to throw
the ball over the top. Andby doing that, you saw what happened.
We were just get some passes overthe top. Mark Ingram made one
of the most incredible catching running inthe history of Super Bowl for me ever,
(13:11):
when he caught that ball, shutup the first down and made the
moves that he made to get thatfirst down and keep the drive alive and
gave us a chance to take thego ahead touchdown and never gave up the
lead from that point on. Gottagotta mention, uh, I think the
ultimate I can't imagine more of alesson, if you will, in humility
than the one that you personally received. With a conversation with your teammate Mike
(13:35):
Ingram. I remember seeing it whenI first was aware of it, and
I couldn't believe it. Uh,where where has he gone? Where did
that guy go? You gotta yougotta be able to recount that. I'm
still amazed. You must have beenamazed at the time with Mike Ingram recounting
that to you. Well, youknow, Mark ing was at the time
with the Giant first round draft pick. They came from Michigan State and the
guy that he knew on his teamwas with Carl Banks, both Michigan Michigan
(13:58):
State guys. And I remember beingin the shower area and getting uh,
you know, just just get done, just got them playing football practicing,
and we were just kind of hangingout there and Mark Ingle came up to
me. He said, hey,man, you ever heard of Oldest And
I said, yeah, yeah,yeah, yeah. He said, you
(14:22):
know what, when I was growingup, I loved him. I was
in the backyard, I said,I was older Samons Olderson and uh and
uh and and he said, andI just didn't know. He's just like
disappeared, you know. I said, no, he's still around. He
said, where is he? Whohe played from? I said, well,
you're talking to him. He saidtalking to who? I said,
you're talking to oldest Samers. Hesaid, no, you O Jamison,
(14:45):
oldest Amerson as well. He saidno, you're not you O J.
Anderson. I said, well,go ask Banks, so he goes car
Banks. Car Banks said no,oldest Anderson is O J. Anderson.
And Ingland runs back towards the showerroom and looked at me like, you
O J. You're O J.Anderson. You're you're you mean you're old.
It's not old. I mean,oh my god, I can't believe
(15:09):
it. And he just grew upin red. He was like, oh
my god, you're my hero.I mean I always wanted to be you.
I was a running back and Iwas, shoot, I did the
things you did, and now I'mtalking to you. So it wasn't I
wakened to me to see how faryou have the journey from uh from reality
of a lot of kids. Soit's good to know that that Mark played
(15:31):
me. And even Stephen Baker kidme all the time about it, you
know about how he uh was mewhen he was growing up, you know,
and the fact that he's one ofmy closest friends gives me all the
time about uh, you know,being me in the backyard. I said,
we don't feel bad. I wassome of those players Gail Sayers in
the backyard too, and and andO. J. Simpson and other people
(15:52):
around the league. I was there. I was those guys too. So
it goes to cycle Baker, somebody, some little kid. So we're saying,
he Stephen Baker, the touchdown maker, you know, feel feel good
about somebody, want to be somebody. Indeed, it's going to say that
was one of those moments for you, a little bit of an epiphany and
awakening that hey, I really havebeen around a while. I got guys
(16:14):
on my team that grew up idolizingme, you know, absolutely well down
the stretch. And you know,once again, I know what it was
like to be a Giant fan,and I can only imagine what it was
like on the sidelines. But asas the game came down with Scott Norwood
lining up for that field goal,you know, as Bill Passels has said,
many times, hey, forty sevenyards on grass to win the Super
(16:37):
Bowl, No would have been onefor five on grass forty plus yards.
Not an easy kick, let alone, to win the Super Bowl. But
the pressure was a little bit differentfor you on the sideline, oh j
because you had a representative of Disneyactually in your ear, and on the
other sideline Thrman Thomas had one inhis ear. I mean, this was
like the ultimate game show, youknow, you win or lose? Yeah,
(17:00):
yeah, exactly. It was amazingthat that that's Saturday before the Super
Bowl. Uh, Disney picked fiveplayers they thought would impact players of the
game that would be candidates of uhof announcing the Disney slogan of going to
Disney World. And it was me, Jeff Lawrence, I think, and
(17:27):
uh Leona Marshall maybe I think onwas five guys we had on the other
side of the field. It wasAndre Reed, Thurman, Thomas Canis,
Bennett, Bruce Smith and maybe Jamesand Jim Kelly. So it was those
five guys and they they you know, they had it right. Uh.
(17:51):
Thurman clearly was going to be them v P and he made that field
goal. But my prediction and voodooand everything else that went along with it,
UH gave me that chance to liveabout my my fantasy and my well,
my you know, my my fantasyand also my prediction. Like I
tell people all the time, MuhammadAli were on the guy who predicted victory.
(18:11):
Hmm, that's right. You putyourself in that class. We were
you were you standing next to cotthat I'm trying to remember you next to
Cott that at the time, sayingHey, don't worry about this, we
got it. I told you ago. Unfortunately I was on I was on
the one knee, uh towards theend of the field, ready to run
into the locker room had he madeit. Uh, I guess I was
gonna be a poor sport about it, but uh hindside probably would not been.
(18:34):
But I was. I was onthe end. I was, and
I was looking at Buffalo sideline.So when the kick went up, I
saw mar Leavey under Reid and Jameslost and grab hands and their hands started
to rise, and I was like, oh shoot, and then instantly they
dropped their hands, and then uhuh brown out outside Russia and and Elpson
(18:57):
Walls threw the hands in the air, and all I kept hearing was wie
right wide right, and all Icould hear was Disney chasing me down.
Saying you the MVP, and whatyou're going to say, I dedicate this
way into our troops. That's allI remember. Everson Wallas got the cover.
You had the cover though, beforeyou get that cover on the wall
anymore. And I'll be honest thatGiant Steps is a great action. Shut
(19:19):
well. You know, I'm justso happy that I did not see that
prior to the game, because youknow Sports Illustrated carrying cover, it carried
a zinc I'm up sorry, Uhyeah, it's jeeps. Anyone who on
the cover prior to a major event, they don't do well. And I
(19:40):
had no idea I was on thecover. Had I known that, I
think it would probably played a partof my head because you know that run
that I made down the sideline whenI wind up to hit Mark Kelso if
you look in the background to meas Bennett was right behind me, and
he could have easily knocked the ballout of my arm because I had the
(20:00):
ball unsecured because I was so caughtup in trying to punishing Mark Kelso that
the ball was actually away from mybody. And uh and the cane has
been It just happened to go forthe typo instead of the ball, and
and and clearly had he not madethat typle because he actually got me down
Mark Kelso I would have kept going. I would have ran through him and
(20:22):
got more yarns. But Bruce Smith, I mean, Canis Bennett was the
man who uh said a long run. Also he could have been a hero
m And as you mentioned, fromyour angle on the field goal, you
thought there was reports that you saidit thought it might have looked good.
You needed that validation of Walls andBrown and everybody on the field to take
that siar relief exactly it was.It was. That's the only reason why
(20:45):
I knew it was it was itwas missed. It looked like it was
right, but danger I had lookedgood all the way, and just the
crowd and the celebration on the fieldgave me the true indication that he had
missed it. When you're sh uponits star and the ending to one of
the greatest Super Bowls of all time, it remains it stood the test of
(21:06):
time and obviously the unique, oneof the most unique in terms of the
overall the experience that with the backdrop, with the Gulf War, et cetera.
You're with the Giants for ninety one. Another the other was mind by
Strike finished up in nineteen ninety twoand one. Once again, as I
make this case for the Hall ofFame, probably aware of this, maybe
(21:30):
maybe not seven hundred and thirty ninetouches as a giant, three fumbles.
That's going to keep you in Billpots ELS's lineup. I'm sorry, yes
it will. And I don't knowif people know a whole lot about football,
but to have a ball in yourhand that many times and only have
(21:51):
three fumbles, I think two Ilost in one I recovered myself, which
was in the playoff game against theRams, so it's three on the books,
but only two I lost. Sowhile lazy gentleman, that's that's a
lot of hold onto that football rightthere. Well, I'm going to try
to make the case. You know, unfortunately Johnny Cochran's not with us anymore,
but I'm gonna I'm gonna do mybest to make this case for you
(22:11):
to get you to Canton. Well, I appreciate it, thanks indeed.
Well, once a giant, alwaysa giant. I know you've you've stayed
close uh to the organization uh overthe years, but oh j your your
work since the ending of your career. Uh, my goodness, it's run
the gamut. You've had a lotof great experiences. You still do motivational
(22:33):
speaking, Uh, your entrepreneurship,you've you've worked in the media. Uh
and uh from a charitable standpoint,it'd be easy for me to list charities
that you haven't worked with. Doyou have a strong sense of the community.
I mean, you've been an amazingphilanthropist with you know, MS Boys
and Girls Clubs, United Way,Uh, breast cancer. Uh, you
(22:55):
know it, Martyr Dime, Munchof Dimes. I saw on YouTube the
piece that you did when you wentto that elementary school and uh, you
chime them for about fifteen minutes there. And you do a lot of work
with the schools and education. Isthis something that really goes back to your
upgroup, your your upbringing and yourroots, et cetera, that you have
(23:15):
a real serious and abiding interest andconcern and accountability for this. Well,
you know, I had some menin my life that really saw saw nothing
of me to to to help mealong. And I'm just trying to recificate,
you know, missis Kate. Ican't say the word now. Thank
(23:37):
you, Kate, and and andI just just want to do that.
I just want to give back becauseI was blessed to have an opportunity and
and have someone to to say,you know what, this kid may not
have a lot, may not havethat mentor in his life, but that's
that's some good in him. Andthat's some opportunities. And the support that
(23:59):
I got from Little League coaches andand UH one guy in particular, UH
Callaway. Uh he was a goodtime mentor for me. Uh male or
Bradovich who throve my mom every Saturdaydown to Miami to see me play him
and his family. It just wasso so much and and and I just
(24:21):
knew that if I had a chanceto make it as a professional, I
would I would try to impact kids'lives like minds was impact and if they
were in a financial situation and Icould lend uh on my time and of
my money at the time to helpthose individuals out, That's what I was.
(24:41):
I felt that not that I wantedto do it, I felt that
I needed to do it because Iwas so blessed that I've had an opportunity
coming out of the projects of WestPalm Beach, Florida and and and playing
a childhood dream. You just don'tget that opportunity all the time, and
I just wanted to share that.Whatever. So my foundation is about scholarships,
(25:02):
and it's about giving the kids whoare struggling financially but want to go
to college have the grades to goto college, but just fallse shots,
fall short on funds, and we'rejust trying to help them alone. And
we want to let everybody know thatif you want to support the OJ Anderson
Scholarship Fund, you can go toyour you have a website people can get
(25:25):
more information about that. And alsofrom a business standpoint about speaking engagements and
you're now also vice president of thelast I believe three years of business development
for your own company, which isinvolved in exhibitions and trade shows. We
can only hope that that business isgoing to be revitalized for everything, well,
you know what the trade show iswhat it is, and you know
(25:48):
you have to be able to adjust. And my new adjustment is my teammate
Lawrence tell Mark Varro partner up witha company called Tridelics, and we've been
able to take I V technology uhand and and converted to a a depth
perception of pictures. So we havetaken three D and enhanced it by two
(26:11):
D and give you a deeper perceptionand a shallow box type image. And
just to show you what I'm talkingabout, hopefully you can see this.
This is one of our helmets thatwe made with Lawne Tailor singing signatures on
it. And as we were aswe were doing this show, believe it
or not, we were just onHome Shopping Network, so really peaking through
(26:36):
the door watching our product being displayedHome Shopping Network. Here's one of of
uh ye yeah, and you know, these are some of the things that
we do. Here's a photo ofof Thanksgiving, so we get a look
(26:59):
at it. And and then wegot all thirty two teams we got licensed
by the NFL to show you,and I'm gonna show you two more and
then that'll that'll be all I canshow you. Okay, here's a look
at Tampa Bay. Okay, Giantsopponent Monday Night. Yeah, Tampa Bay
and that depth reception of three Dyep. And like this, and this
(27:25):
is a real nice one of itChicago Bears. If you can see it,
oh yeah, yep, bed downin Chicago Bears. Yep. Yeah,
that's the that's that five D technologyand it's on a deep shadow box.
Look at the end it is ladiesand gentlemen. Oh gosh, yeah,
yeah, that's what's amazing about thistechnology. It's uh, it's it's
(27:52):
it's it's new, new technology andand and we're the only one in the
country can do it. And wemake said so good about it is that
the NFL gave us license to doall thirty two teams helmets. So we've
been able to create every helmet logoand uh and and presented. And today
(28:15):
it was our first day on OldShopping Network, which was all at two
o'clock. And I was actually lookingthrough the door looking at a product as
I talked to you. So justsome checks that look kind of weird.
That's because I was looking through thedoor, you know, put checking out
your red debut. You mentioned abouta couple of your former teammates that are
involved with you. Uh, you'vehad a long standing You've had a very
(28:37):
close relationship with Lawrence Taylor. Iguess so goes the story. You were
the guy that was telling Lawrence,Lawrence, it's not coming home at two
am. You don't have to stayout till three. Well, you know,
lasts all man, if Lawrence respectyou, he listened to you,
and and uh he respects my craft. He inspect me as a teammate.
(29:00):
And uh, you know, youknow Lawrence was Laarne, but he did
take heaps of some of the thingsI said. And you know, now
we've business partner and we haven't funat what we're doing here at tried deelics.
Uh it's just you know, hereand I and Bavarro we just having
fun. We we kids in thecandid store with all this new technology and
uh have a way of bringing theworld, uh, something they've never seen
(29:23):
before, which is this this typeof technology. Yeah, it's been like
a flat screen TV. You know, you just you know exactly it's it's
not even it's crazy. It's justthat thing and this gentleman's thing. And
then you know, look at this, this is almost you know, and
and you know what unique this is. I'm gonna surprise you one more piece.
I'm sure something okay, brand newtechnology here follow us Spacebook and games
(29:47):
people Play podcast and we've got ourown display with O. J. Anderson
and his current business initiative with theformer teammates yep, and this is UH.
The company is called try t ri d e l i X dot
com t r I d e li X try Delics. Here's what I'm
(30:10):
really happy and laugh about. Okay, here's your first look at coasters,
AH coasters that you can have forfor Christmas, Thanksgiving. This is it.
This is the new technology. Sowe can create any image, any
size you want, of any productthat you have here at try Delics.
(30:33):
So this will be coming out aswell. Okay, so all you all
kinds of different products will translate tothis technology to try Delics exactly any photo
you have, ladies and gentlemen.As we get started right now, We're
only dealing with UH sports right now, but we have the capability and to
replicate any image of of anything.Here's wal more. Look at this,
(31:00):
okay, see the backdrop of theNew York Skyline behind. Oh Ja,
I probably show you this is butthis is UH basketball. Okay showing you
this because we don't have the licensefor this yet, but okay, this
is what we can do. Thisis uh a photo of Dallas Maverick all
(31:25):
time shooting guard, not dirt withbiscuit, but that other great one mm
ah, so soon to be theNBA have already secured the NFL, and
good timing with the holidays to come. Indeed, indeed, here's another piece
(31:51):
with slogan, with slogans you know, strong, strong, inside and out.
Here what I mean by what wecan do? Yeah, technology,
the same thing. And look atthe death perception of this yepy very very
appropriate for the time that the timewe're in with the pandemic. Strong inside
and out, O Jay. Indeed, so this is you know, one
(32:20):
of the showrooms where we are,and this is uh, you know where
I'm doing the interview at. Butsure this is Trie Delis ladies, gentleman,
right right, yeah, Try Delis. And like I said, we
just got our home shopping network.Looked like it was a success. Uh
not a world know about us.We were kind of going underneath the radar,
(32:43):
but just opened up the floodgates andhopefully let them come in. People
see their team and see the technology. And uh and we on Instagram,
if you look at uh Try Delas, you can probably find some quotes and
photos and some action movies of meand Lawrence doing some ps as all that
(33:04):
product. So you know, weout there and plus you having the audience
to uh, you know, takea look at it for the first time,
and you know, this is whatwe're doing, break breaking, ground
breaking news. I like the ideaof those coasters, particularly, you know
when I have my favorite adult beverageon the coaster and uh, my tears
are starting to fall watching the Giantsthis year. But anyway, uh,
(33:28):
but the coasters will come in handy. That might make a little little gift
for Santa Claus to put in mystocking and a lot of other stockings out
there. Absolutely, yeah, I'lltell you just you know, wrapping up,
we mentioned about the about the Hallof Fame and uh uh the possibility.
I got to ask you about oneguy, the only career that I
can really think when you talk aboutlongevity at the position this guy is still
(33:52):
going. Is it something about thewater down there in Miami sticks, Frank
go, my goodness, what isit about Miami running backs? You guys?
Well, you know what, it'sjust what we do. It's uh,
if you look at the greatness inMiami history and running backs, going
(34:12):
back to Chuck for mean, youpaid away from me, ye and then
after me you had James and mcgayeeyou got Ovid Brat, you got Melvin
Brad, you had high Smell,I mean, gosh, and the list
just goes on when you start camerunning backs and and to know that that
(34:36):
you're part of that history. Anduh and Frank gor just making us all
proud because he's father Time and heknows how to beat Father Times. And
and you know he's just blessed afterhaving a riffic injury and able to still
out overcome then and and just havejust a great career. Well yeah,
just yeah, a unique career andstill going Frank core. There's not too
(34:59):
many guys you talk about double digitsas as we mentioned at that position,
and uh, just a couple offinal words, just the the impact,
the magnitude what you did, theunique quality of what you did, you
know, the revitalized to come backto be once again, to be that
that that lead horse pulling the pullingthe wagon again. And I love the
comment way back in the day fromLeonard Marshall it was like James Brown reappearing
(35:22):
at the Apollo Theater like lives arecoming from the grave. He also said
that as well, And you Hadllstalking about Elvis Bill's a little older,
he said Elvis on the comeback trail. But the ultimate compliment from Bill Pascells
was, and I've kind of adoptedthat I use it from time to time.
(35:43):
I should be paying Bill a royaltyas Hey, this guy's got a
few pelts on his horse. Youhave a few. Come on as you
say, were you always say ifyou don't have no pills, you can't
talk. If you got a feelon your horse, you's pretty good.
Indeed, Well, we can onlyhope that this is a journey. We've
taken you on a journey here thisafternoon and really enjoyed it. We can
(36:05):
only hope that the journey will endin Canton. You've got some great support,
Bill Passals wrote to looking at theletters to the Hall of Fame,
you're on selfishness, missing piece ofa championship puzzle. Relied heavily his veteran
leadership, his toughness, fighting hisway to Super Bowl twenty five and beyond.
Never shine brighter at that time withthe heavy lifting that you did all
(36:30):
the way down the stretch for theGiants to win that Super Bowl. Some
surveys have said you're the number tworunning back not in the Hall of fame
after Roger Craig, who obviously playeda big part with the fumble and that
NFC championship. But it's something thatI'm sure you think about as we wrap
up. Ah, Jay, howcan you not You probably from day to
day think about why you haven't beenable to get the recognition or the consideration
(36:54):
that you would think of ten thousandyond NFL running back with all the accolades
and the unique aspects of your careerwould have got well. I think because
I played seven years in Saint Louisand it not being media mecca of the
world like LA and New York andChicago and in Texas. I think,
(37:15):
you know, had I played inone of those markets early on, I
don't think it'd have been a question. But I think the first seven years
in Saint Louis and those who actuallyjust saw me play, uh he thought.
I played in three decades seven eightiesand nineties and pretty much bet a
thousand yards in all three decades.They are no longer around. So people
who really saw me, the sportingnews people who wrote minute articles about me
(37:39):
back in the day, uh,they're gone. And I think the new
generation who who don't know the historyof myself. They don't look at these
guys currently, you know, likeTerrell Davis who just went in, you
know, ahead a man and youknow, and pretty impressive stats he had,
you know, but they'll figure itout. I gave up. Like
(38:04):
Harry told me, You know what, if you live your life where we're
worrying about whether or not you areHall of Fame worthy, all you got
to do actually people you played against, and not a player who in the
Hall of Fame played against me wouldn'ttell you that. Not only was I
was the teacher stopping the Cardinals andat the time the Giants when I played
Nightmares forever. That's what I need. As long as my peers knowing my
(38:29):
talent, my peers know that Igave it all. The fans who saw
me knew that I gave it all. I'm good. I'm good. I'm
one of fifty guys with the MVP. I'm one of few guys who was
voted come Back Player of the Yearand Roocular Year. So I do have
(38:49):
some individual honors that marquee for alot of players who are in there that
don't have them probably won't have them. But you know, the Hall of
fame is ultimate where you want togo, but that ain't the only place
to go. So I take whatI've done, and I'm proud of it.
I put my stats up against anybodyin the Hall of Fame, anybody
(39:10):
who's going in the Hall of Fame. And I tell people all the time,
I have fourteen years on my resume, but I ain't play fourteen straight
years. And that's what I tellthem. Go back, look at the
look at it, and you'll see, for the first four years of my
career that was nobody better than eventhe current guys who are in there,
(39:31):
even the current guys who are amission to now look at my first four
years. Seventy nine, eighty eightyone. Throw way eighty two was a
short season. Eighty three, eightyfour. Pull them up, seventy nine,
eighty eighty one, eighty three,eighty four, Pull them up,
ladies in gun, and put themagainst anybody you want to, and you'll
see what I'm talking about. Indeed, from West Palm Beach to the U
(39:55):
to the gateway out of Saint Louisto the Swampson and and hopefully we could
still say, hey, you gotmy vote, I'm in your corner.
We'll do anything we can for you, OJ. Believe me, it's been
great spending time and hopefully some dayto Canton. And if you do get
the can let me just be coachpast sales for a minute. Bring the
(40:15):
practice pants, pack the practice youknow what, that's a great idea.
Let that be it. In thatpart of I'll walk on stage with them
more high by bed. Absolutely,it's a date. OJ, thanks very
much. You played well with uson The Games People Play. Many thanks
for your time. I appreciate thankyou anytime. Thank you. O.
J. Anderson. Otis O J. Anderson. Otis my man, our
(40:37):
man here today on the Games PeoplePlay, and I want to thank OJ
for playing with us today. Iwant to thank executive producer Andy Bernstein.
He's off site today. We wantto also sign for all of the above
and for O J. Otis OJ. Anderson. This is Bernie Corbett
(40:58):
saying, play well everyone. Yeah,
Did someone say espresso Martini? Howwe spiked? Alcaccino is here to provide
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(00:21):
premium ingredients. Ready for your nextadventure, catch the buzz Alcaccino, sit
back and enjoy the ride. OhJay, this is your life. Here
we go. Now, welcome everyonetoo our latest edition of Games Play with
(00:49):
Bernie Corbett. As I say everyweek, I remain Bernie Corbett, Glad
you could join us. And onceagain, I know I seem like I
say it every week. We haveanother very special guest in a man who
has a number of unique distinctions inthe world of football. Thus, I'm
finally back in a comfort zone today. I have my Giants at my Phil
Simms Vinta jersey. I got myGiants hat like we're going to a playoff
(01:11):
game at Giants Stadium. In thebackground, bundled up the gloves, the
thermals and very appropriate that I guesstoday is the Super Bowl twenty five MVP.
Otis my man, OJ Anderson,and then we take you to a
game in the Divisional playoffs the Giants. Obviously there was a lot of doubt
(01:32):
about the Giants because of the injuryto Phil Simms late in the season,
the Buffalo game, and Jeff Hostetleris sending to the starting role. Your
relationship with Jeff Hostetler, OJ,obviously a lot of similarity about the Giants
and that Super Bowl championship team.With Jeff off the bench, you in
a more prominent role. What aboutyour relationship with Jeff and what he went
(01:56):
through with some of the things thatwere analogous between the two of you.
Well, you know, Jeff andI, we we practiced second team all
the time when Sims were there,so we had a relationship. He knew
how I liked the ball hand offto me and he knew how would park
it out made So we grew together. So when we became starters, we
(02:19):
laughed about it because we were thinking, here we go practice balls off.
The practice squad kind of started us. So that just make this thing work.
And then the the first playoff game, the Giants hosting the Chicago Bears,
and remember that day well at theold Giants Stadium. I would suffice
to say because of your your selectionyour apparel that day that it turned out
(02:44):
you weren't expecting to play. Youhad a little bit of a mistake that
turned out to be something that becameone of Bill pols many superstitions. Yeah,
I inadvertently had my practice fans onand and you know the room or
parcels if you play a game andsomething that that if it's if it's not
ornary on you, nary for you, and you win, and he finds
(03:07):
out about it, he wants youto have a game. So what basically
happened was when they found out thatI had on my practice pans and we
won, then they quickly made surethat I have it on the next game,
and then the next game, andit just blossomed from there. One
of the most superstitious guys in aworld of superstition and professional sports. The
(03:30):
practice pants. Practice pants made perfectfor for oj Anderson in that game and
that victory over the Bears. Youdid some some hot running in that game.
You got it twenty one times.You had eighty yards in the game
and the adrenaline really taking over withyou taking taking the position with the Hampton's
injury. I think one of thehighlights of that game, uh, Jeff
(03:51):
hosts that was touchdown. Do youremember the the big block you put You
get the block a refrigerator. It'snot often you get the block a catching
appliance. No. I. Iwas actually trying to see they having food,
and then when I went to tryto open up the kitchen refrigerated,
but unfortunately not being refrigerated, Icouldn't get it open. So I just
knocked it down, knocked the fridgedown and led Jeff oss Or in the
(04:15):
end zone. And the Giants werethe next week were somehow a lot of
people counting them out and were ontheir way to San Francisco and rematch with
the forty nine ers. You knowone of the games, Oh Jay,
looking back thirty years later, it'sa game that I think as long as
people are going to talk about theNFL, they're going to talk about that
game. Your memories. What immediatelycomes to mind about I happen to watch
(04:41):
the game on tape and the pandemiceverybody's watching tapes of all games. I
happen to watch it recently. Theferocity of that game, the physicality,
I mean, it makes what's goingon today in the NFL look like a
seven on seven drum. It reallydoes, because you know, the way
you can hit a player was legalcompared to what you can do now,
and it would have been hard forus to play on those rules based on
(05:03):
the years we had to learn toplay the game the way it was played.
But yes, it was one ofthe most physical games we played.
But we knew that the winner outthat game probably uh hands on winner to
win the Super Bowl, and andwe was able to accomplish that. Indeed,
you were, once again the psychologistthat was Bill Pselves. He had
(05:26):
a little talk with the team aboutthe travel arrangements. So there was an
unusual situation with those two week gapin between the the NFC Championship game and
the Super Bowl, just to giveus an idea about what Bill had to
offer in terms of how he waspacking and what the expectations were to pack.
Of course, you knew you hadto pack your practice pants that was
(05:47):
required. Oh yeah, I knew. Whatever it was this practice pans pack,
But Bill, you know the motivatorthat he lost. He challenged us
by saying, listen, Uh,we practice for one week, packed for
one week. Use you can packfor two weeks. He said, I'm
bringing suit k is large enough fortwo leaks. If you're all part of
this, you bring yours tomorrow,which was that Friday. You bring the
(06:10):
suit k is bigging us a parkfor two weeks because when we leave San
Francisco, we're going straight to Tampa. So I just want to know who's
the board. Everybody showed them nextday with double bags because we were going
to Tampa and was under San Francisco. The Giants were on Fancisco. Yeah,
the San Francisco and your your thoughtas you had the opportunity, you
(06:35):
know here it was you were closeto the the dream had been deferred.
Now you had a chance opportunity tofulfill your destiny. It comes down to
Matt Bier's field goal and uh,as far as what was going through your
head and ahead of everybody on thatsideline, I'm sure was with share,
(06:55):
but particularly for you. You madethe promise to Maurice Conton, We're going
to be there. Now it's allriding on the foot of Matt BYRF he's
going to be able to get youthere in the end. Well, yeah,
Matt, Matt did a great job. I think you keep cut of
your field goals for it that day, and we just knew we just had
to just hold on and give himan opportunity. And once we did,
everybody know what happened. He madethe field goal and we was on our
(07:17):
way to Tampa. And you guyspacked the right way. You packed heavy,
you didn't pack light. And withthe backdrop of the Gulf War,
I know that there's NFL film ofyou in your hotel room watching the coverage
of the Gulf War as everybody wasriveted to at that time. Security was
unprecedented, the Giants eight and ahalf point favorite to the Buffalo and the
(07:39):
k gun offense. And I knowthat you were interviewed OJ for a special
that was done on Whitney Houston.That moment of the star spangled banner and
Whitney Houston's rendition. That's just anotheraspect of that game and the backdrop of
that game that'll be it's thirty years, will be talked about for another thirty
or another one hundred. Just earningmoment. Well for sure, because one
(08:03):
thing for sure, Houston won't beever performing such a great redendant redemption of
the national anthem. And two itwas the Gulf Wall, which was a
warned that clearly they thought about nothaving a game. So everything panned out
and worked out well for us.Everything fell into place for us, and
I'm just glad to be a partof that type of history what we want
(08:24):
and the fact that we had oneof the greatest entertainer performed the national anthem
for us. I didn't know whatthe background was until I did a little
bit of digging, but apparently theygo on each side. They go to
about four or five candidates. TheMVP award for the Disney people at the
time with their advertising campaign, andeverybody had a choice. You could give
(08:46):
the traditional would have become a traditionalI'm going to Disney World where you can
say I dedicate this win to ourtroops, and you opted for if you
had the opportunity, I think youknew which way you were going to go,
and you were the only guy everin that in that scenario, they
had a chance to say that theywere dedicating the wind to the troops as
opposed to I'm going to Disney World. You made that clear at the time,
(09:07):
and you ended up having the opportunitythe window of opportunity presented itself.
Yeah. Another thing I could tagmy hat too is that I'm known the
player that sit anything different and todedicate and win to the troops was probably
one of the most important things thatI could have done after even winning on
behalf of all the troops, wasto dedicate that game to them and all
(09:31):
the fans of Giants who lived aroundthe world to watch that game, your
dream, your destiny. Now youhave the opportunity and it is the formidable
Buffalo Bills. As far as thegame plan, you know, once again,
Bill Belichick and his defensive game planis resides in Canton and the Hall
of Fame team that scored ninety fivepoints in their previous two playoff games.
(09:54):
And there was a definite plan inmind for fig ron Air hid build by
ourselves, and the plan I'm surewas to the liking of you, it
was going to be to control theball, not turn it over, and
really to be able to just tryto pound the Bill's defense to death and
wear them down. Actually, uhoh, Jay, just to give us
(10:16):
a little bit of insight. RonEarhot. You had a great relationship with
Port with him as the offensive coordinator. He actually came to you and asked
you about what plays you were goingto be comfortable with running that day.
You were guys really wanted to simplifyit, Yeah, he did, were
gonna be anything fancy? He said, you want to stay between the tackles.
I said absolutely. He said,if we go outside, will give
(10:37):
may At an opportunity to stretch thefeel. Lewis tell me to stretch distress
the feel, he said. Butyou know, every once in a while,
Build peep his head in there andsay hey hey, once in a
while we got to get a bigchance to get outside, just to trick
them. So there was a fewplays I did try to get outside,
and one you know about, whichis that no tourist run. Then I
(10:58):
went down on that sideline and bighit the big hit on Kelso, Mark
Kelso So I game flame where I'dsay, out of the twenty four carries,
uh, twenty two was all insideand two is outside and one was
will never be forgotten by Mike Kelso. He might still be feeling it with
that stiff finally you delivered. It'sreally personified the you know, the blue
(11:20):
collar mentality that Giant team and thedefense was dishing out paint all afternoon oj
on those Buffalo receivers. But youshowed the offense could could dish out a
little bit of paint. Uh asuh your your pal. I know you're
very close with the Champ Larry Holmes. Did you ever talk about that upper
cut that you delivered? Yeah,uh, there are actually a few times
(11:41):
about it, like they did youlearn that from me? I said,
well before I knew you, Champ, but uh I, uh I still
when I thought you'd be proud ofit. Indeed, and uh it turned
out to be a pretty good ridebecause what was it? Ride thirty four
and ride thirty five inside right,inside left. That's it. Yeah,
(12:03):
those the two players, those that'swhat they played thirty five. You can't
beat it. Those were the playersthat I had absolutely and the Giants with
they bookended two drives eight and ahalf and nine and a half minutes,
set the record for time of possessionall time in the Super Bowl. You
had your season high with one hundredand two yards averaged almost five yards to
(12:26):
carry in the game. And oneof the things that I think is underestimated
when you go back and you lookat what Jeff did the passing game was
the ability for the for the rungame, you know, once again,
to be able to the play action, the look of play action. That
threat really set up Jeff to makesome big You think of some of the
big throws he made to Bavarro andIngram, particularly down the stretch of that
(12:46):
game. You did and that andthat's why I worked. Because we were
so dominant running the football that theyhad the respect the fact of coming up
and trying to stop me up themiddle, and that gave us to throw
the ball over the top. Andby doing that, you saw what happened.
We were just get some passes overthe top. Mark Ingram made one
of the most incredible catching running inthe history of Super Bowl for me ever,
(13:11):
when he caught that ball, shutup the first down and made the
moves that he made to get thatfirst down and keep the drive alive and
gave us a chance to take thego ahead touchdown and never gave up the
lead from that point on. Gottagotta mention, uh, I think the
ultimate I can't imagine more of alesson, if you will, in humility
than the one that you personally received. With a conversation with your teammate Mike
(13:35):
Ingram. I remember seeing it whenI first was aware of it, and
I couldn't believe it. Uh,where where has he gone? Where did
that guy go? You gotta yougotta be able to recount that. I'm
still amazed. You must have beenamazed at the time with Mike Ingram recounting
that to you. Well, youknow, Mark ing was at the time
with the Giant first round draft pick. They came from Michigan State and the
guy that he knew on his teamwas with Carl Banks, both Michigan Michigan
(13:58):
State guys. And I remember beingin the shower area and getting uh,
you know, just just get done, just got them playing football practicing,
and we were just kind of hangingout there and Mark Ingle came up to
me. He said, hey,man, you ever heard of Oldest And
I said, yeah, yeah,yeah, yeah. He said, you
(14:22):
know what, when I was growingup, I loved him. I was
in the backyard, I said,I was older Samons Olderson and uh and
uh and and he said, andI just didn't know. He's just like
disappeared, you know. I said, no, he's still around. He
said, where is he? Whohe played from? I said, well,
you're talking to him. He saidtalking to who? I said,
you're talking to oldest Samers. Hesaid, no, you O Jamison,
(14:45):
oldest Amerson as well. He saidno, you're not you O J.
Anderson. I said, well,go ask Banks, so he goes car
Banks. Car Banks said no,oldest Anderson is O J. Anderson.
And Ingland runs back towards the showerroom and looked at me like, you
O J. You're O J.Anderson. You're you're you mean you're old.
It's not old. I mean,oh my god, I can't believe
(15:09):
it. And he just grew upin red. He was like, oh
my god, you're my hero.I mean I always wanted to be you.
I was a running back and Iwas, shoot, I did the
things you did, and now I'mtalking to you. So it wasn't I
wakened to me to see how faryou have the journey from uh from reality
of a lot of kids. Soit's good to know that that Mark played
(15:31):
me. And even Stephen Baker kidme all the time about it, you
know about how he uh was mewhen he was growing up, you know,
and the fact that he's one ofmy closest friends gives me all the
time about uh, you know,being me in the backyard. I said,
we don't feel bad. I wassome of those players Gail Sayers in
the backyard too, and and andO. J. Simpson and other people
(15:52):
around the league. I was there. I was those guys too. So
it goes to cycle Baker, somebody, some little kid. So we're saying,
he Stephen Baker, the touchdown maker, you know, feel feel good
about somebody, want to be somebody. Indeed, it's going to say that
was one of those moments for you, a little bit of an epiphany and
awakening that hey, I really havebeen around a while. I got guys
(16:14):
on my team that grew up idolizingme, you know, absolutely well down
the stretch. And you know,once again, I know what it was
like to be a Giant fan,and I can only imagine what it was
like on the sidelines. But asas the game came down with Scott Norwood
lining up for that field goal,you know, as Bill Passels has said,
many times, hey, forty sevenyards on grass to win the Super
(16:37):
Bowl, No would have been onefor five on grass forty plus yards.
Not an easy kick, let alone, to win the Super Bowl. But
the pressure was a little bit differentfor you on the sideline, oh j
because you had a representative of Disneyactually in your ear, and on the
other sideline Thrman Thomas had one inhis ear. I mean, this was
like the ultimate game show, youknow, you win or lose? Yeah,
(17:00):
yeah, exactly. It was amazingthat that that's Saturday before the Super
Bowl. Uh, Disney picked fiveplayers they thought would impact players of the
game that would be candidates of uhof announcing the Disney slogan of going to
Disney World. And it was me, Jeff Lawrence, I think, and
(17:27):
uh Leona Marshall maybe I think onwas five guys we had on the other
side of the field. It wasAndre Reed, Thurman, Thomas Canis,
Bennett, Bruce Smith and maybe Jamesand Jim Kelly. So it was those
five guys and they they you know, they had it right. Uh.
(17:51):
Thurman clearly was going to be them v P and he made that field
goal. But my prediction and voodooand everything else that went along with it,
UH gave me that chance to liveabout my my fantasy and my well,
my you know, my my fantasyand also my prediction. Like I
tell people all the time, MuhammadAli were on the guy who predicted victory.
(18:11):
Hmm, that's right. You putyourself in that class. We were
you were you standing next to cotthat I'm trying to remember you next to
Cott that at the time, sayingHey, don't worry about this, we
got it. I told you ago. Unfortunately I was on I was on
the one knee, uh towards theend of the field, ready to run
into the locker room had he madeit. Uh, I guess I was
gonna be a poor sport about it, but uh hindside probably would not been.
(18:34):
But I was. I was onthe end. I was, and
I was looking at Buffalo sideline.So when the kick went up, I
saw mar Leavey under Reid and Jameslost and grab hands and their hands started
to rise, and I was like, oh shoot, and then instantly they
dropped their hands, and then uhuh brown out outside Russia and and Elpson
(18:57):
Walls threw the hands in the air, and all I kept hearing was wie
right wide right, and all Icould hear was Disney chasing me down.
Saying you the MVP, and whatyou're going to say, I dedicate this
way into our troops. That's allI remember. Everson Wallas got the cover.
You had the cover though, beforeyou get that cover on the wall
anymore. And I'll be honest thatGiant Steps is a great action. Shut
(19:19):
well. You know, I'm justso happy that I did not see that
prior to the game, because youknow Sports Illustrated carrying cover, it carried
a zinc I'm up sorry, Uhyeah, it's jeeps. Anyone who on
the cover prior to a major event, they don't do well. And I
(19:40):
had no idea I was on thecover. Had I known that, I
think it would probably played a partof my head because you know that run
that I made down the sideline whenI wind up to hit Mark Kelso if
you look in the background to meas Bennett was right behind me, and
he could have easily knocked the ballout of my arm because I had the
(20:00):
ball unsecured because I was so caughtup in trying to punishing Mark Kelso that
the ball was actually away from mybody. And uh and the cane has
been It just happened to go forthe typo instead of the ball, and
and and clearly had he not madethat typle because he actually got me down
Mark Kelso I would have kept going. I would have ran through him and
(20:22):
got more yarns. But Bruce Smith, I mean, Canis Bennett was the
man who uh said a long run. Also he could have been a hero
m And as you mentioned, fromyour angle on the field goal, you
thought there was reports that you saidit thought it might have looked good.
You needed that validation of Walls andBrown and everybody on the field to take
that siar relief exactly it was.It was. That's the only reason why
(20:45):
I knew it was it was itwas missed. It looked like it was
right, but danger I had lookedgood all the way, and just the
crowd and the celebration on the fieldgave me the true indication that he had
missed it. When you're sh uponits star and the ending to one of
the greatest Super Bowls of all time, it remains it stood the test of
(21:06):
time and obviously the unique, oneof the most unique in terms of the
overall the experience that with the backdrop, with the Gulf War, et cetera.
You're with the Giants for ninety one. Another the other was mind by
Strike finished up in nineteen ninety twoand one. Once again, as I
make this case for the Hall ofFame, probably aware of this, maybe
(21:30):
maybe not seven hundred and thirty ninetouches as a giant, three fumbles.
That's going to keep you in Billpots ELS's lineup. I'm sorry, yes
it will. And I don't knowif people know a whole lot about football,
but to have a ball in yourhand that many times and only have
(21:51):
three fumbles, I think two Ilost in one I recovered myself, which
was in the playoff game against theRams, so it's three on the books,
but only two I lost. Sowhile lazy gentleman, that's that's a
lot of hold onto that football rightthere. Well, I'm going to try
to make the case. You know, unfortunately Johnny Cochran's not with us anymore,
but I'm gonna I'm gonna do mybest to make this case for you
(22:11):
to get you to Canton. Well, I appreciate it, thanks indeed.
Well, once a giant, alwaysa giant. I know you've you've stayed
close uh to the organization uh overthe years, but oh j your your
work since the ending of your career. Uh, my goodness, it's run
the gamut. You've had a lotof great experiences. You still do motivational
(22:33):
speaking, Uh, your entrepreneurship,you've you've worked in the media. Uh
and uh from a charitable standpoint,it'd be easy for me to list charities
that you haven't worked with. Doyou have a strong sense of the community.
I mean, you've been an amazingphilanthropist with you know, MS Boys
and Girls Clubs, United Way,Uh, breast cancer. Uh, you
(22:55):
know it, Martyr Dime, Munchof Dimes. I saw on YouTube the
piece that you did when you wentto that elementary school and uh, you
chime them for about fifteen minutes there. And you do a lot of work
with the schools and education. Isthis something that really goes back to your
upgroup, your your upbringing and yourroots, et cetera, that you have
(23:15):
a real serious and abiding interest andconcern and accountability for this. Well,
you know, I had some menin my life that really saw saw nothing
of me to to to help mealong. And I'm just trying to recificate,
you know, missis Kate. Ican't say the word now. Thank
(23:37):
you, Kate, and and andI just just want to do that.
I just want to give back becauseI was blessed to have an opportunity and
and have someone to to say,you know what, this kid may not
have a lot, may not havethat mentor in his life, but that's
that's some good in him. Andthat's some opportunities. And the support that
(23:59):
I got from Little League coaches andand UH one guy in particular, UH
Callaway. Uh he was a goodtime mentor for me. Uh male or
Bradovich who throve my mom every Saturdaydown to Miami to see me play him
and his family. It just wasso so much and and and I just
(24:21):
knew that if I had a chanceto make it as a professional, I
would I would try to impact kids'lives like minds was impact and if they
were in a financial situation and Icould lend uh on my time and of
my money at the time to helpthose individuals out, That's what I was.
(24:41):
I felt that not that I wantedto do it, I felt that
I needed to do it because Iwas so blessed that I've had an opportunity
coming out of the projects of WestPalm Beach, Florida and and and playing
a childhood dream. You just don'tget that opportunity all the time, and
I just wanted to share that.Whatever. So my foundation is about scholarships,
(25:02):
and it's about giving the kids whoare struggling financially but want to go
to college have the grades to goto college, but just fallse shots,
fall short on funds, and we'rejust trying to help them alone. And
we want to let everybody know thatif you want to support the OJ Anderson
Scholarship Fund, you can go toyour you have a website people can get
(25:25):
more information about that. And alsofrom a business standpoint about speaking engagements and
you're now also vice president of thelast I believe three years of business development
for your own company, which isinvolved in exhibitions and trade shows. We
can only hope that that business isgoing to be revitalized for everything, well,
you know what the trade show iswhat it is, and you know
(25:48):
you have to be able to adjust. And my new adjustment is my teammate
Lawrence tell Mark Varro partner up witha company called Tridelics, and we've been
able to take I V technology uhand and and converted to a a depth
perception of pictures. So we havetaken three D and enhanced it by two
(26:11):
D and give you a deeper perceptionand a shallow box type image. And
just to show you what I'm talkingabout, hopefully you can see this.
This is one of our helmets thatwe made with Lawne Tailor singing signatures on
it. And as we were aswe were doing this show, believe it
or not, we were just onHome Shopping Network, so really peaking through
(26:36):
the door watching our product being displayedHome Shopping Network. Here's one of of
uh ye yeah, and you know, these are some of the things that
we do. Here's a photo ofof Thanksgiving, so we get a look
(26:59):
at it. And and then wegot all thirty two teams we got licensed
by the NFL to show you,and I'm gonna show you two more and
then that'll that'll be all I canshow you. Okay, here's a look
at Tampa Bay. Okay, Giantsopponent Monday Night. Yeah, Tampa Bay
and that depth reception of three Dyep. And like this, and this
(27:25):
is a real nice one of itChicago Bears. If you can see it,
oh yeah, yep, bed downin Chicago Bears. Yep. Yeah,
that's the that's that five D technologyand it's on a deep shadow box.
Look at the end it is ladiesand gentlemen. Oh gosh, yeah,
yeah, that's what's amazing about thistechnology. It's uh, it's it's
(27:52):
it's it's new, new technology andand and we're the only one in the
country can do it. And wemake said so good about it is that
the NFL gave us license to doall thirty two teams helmets. So we've
been able to create every helmet logoand uh and and presented. And today
(28:15):
it was our first day on OldShopping Network, which was all at two
o'clock. And I was actually lookingthrough the door looking at a product as
I talked to you. So justsome checks that look kind of weird.
That's because I was looking through thedoor, you know, put checking out
your red debut. You mentioned abouta couple of your former teammates that are
involved with you. Uh, you'vehad a long standing You've had a very
(28:37):
close relationship with Lawrence Taylor. Iguess so goes the story. You were
the guy that was telling Lawrence,Lawrence, it's not coming home at two
am. You don't have to stayout till three. Well, you know,
lasts all man, if Lawrence respectyou, he listened to you,
and and uh he respects my craft. He inspect me as a teammate.
(29:00):
And uh, you know, youknow Lawrence was Laarne, but he did
take heaps of some of the thingsI said. And you know, now
we've business partner and we haven't funat what we're doing here at tried deelics.
Uh it's just you know, hereand I and Bavarro we just having
fun. We we kids in thecandid store with all this new technology and
uh have a way of bringing theworld, uh, something they've never seen
(29:23):
before, which is this this typeof technology. Yeah, it's been like
a flat screen TV. You know, you just you know exactly it's it's
not even it's crazy. It's justthat thing and this gentleman's thing. And
then you know, look at this, this is almost you know, and
and you know what unique this is. I'm gonna surprise you one more piece.
I'm sure something okay, brand newtechnology here follow us Spacebook and games
(29:47):
people Play podcast and we've got ourown display with O. J. Anderson
and his current business initiative with theformer teammates yep, and this is UH.
The company is called try t ri d e l i X dot
com t r I d e li X try Delics. Here's what I'm
(30:10):
really happy and laugh about. Okay, here's your first look at coasters,
AH coasters that you can have forfor Christmas, Thanksgiving. This is it.
This is the new technology. Sowe can create any image, any
size you want, of any productthat you have here at try Delics.
(30:33):
So this will be coming out aswell. Okay, so all you all
kinds of different products will translate tothis technology to try Delics exactly any photo
you have, ladies and gentlemen.As we get started right now, We're
only dealing with UH sports right now, but we have the capability and to
replicate any image of of anything.Here's wal more. Look at this,
(31:00):
okay, see the backdrop of theNew York Skyline behind. Oh Ja,
I probably show you this is butthis is UH basketball. Okay showing you
this because we don't have the licensefor this yet, but okay, this
is what we can do. Thisis uh a photo of Dallas Maverick all
(31:25):
time shooting guard, not dirt withbiscuit, but that other great one mm
ah, so soon to be theNBA have already secured the NFL, and
good timing with the holidays to come. Indeed, indeed, here's another piece
(31:51):
with slogan, with slogans you know, strong, strong, inside and out.
Here what I mean by what wecan do? Yeah, technology,
the same thing. And look atthe death perception of this yepy very very
appropriate for the time that the timewe're in with the pandemic. Strong inside
and out, O Jay. Indeed, so this is you know, one
(32:20):
of the showrooms where we are,and this is uh, you know where
I'm doing the interview at. Butsure this is Trie Delis ladies, gentleman,
right right, yeah, Try Delis. And like I said, we
just got our home shopping network.Looked like it was a success. Uh
not a world know about us.We were kind of going underneath the radar,
(32:43):
but just opened up the floodgates andhopefully let them come in. People
see their team and see the technology. And uh and we on Instagram,
if you look at uh Try Delas, you can probably find some quotes and
photos and some action movies of meand Lawrence doing some ps as all that
(33:04):
product. So you know, weout there and plus you having the audience
to uh, you know, takea look at it for the first time,
and you know, this is whatwe're doing, break breaking, ground
breaking news. I like the ideaof those coasters, particularly, you know
when I have my favorite adult beverageon the coaster and uh, my tears
are starting to fall watching the Giantsthis year. But anyway, uh,
(33:28):
but the coasters will come in handy. That might make a little little gift
for Santa Claus to put in mystocking and a lot of other stockings out
there. Absolutely, yeah, I'lltell you just you know, wrapping up,
we mentioned about the about the Hallof Fame and uh uh the possibility.
I got to ask you about oneguy, the only career that I
can really think when you talk aboutlongevity at the position this guy is still
(33:52):
going. Is it something about thewater down there in Miami sticks, Frank
go, my goodness, what isit about Miami running backs? You guys?
Well, you know what, it'sjust what we do. It's uh,
if you look at the greatness inMiami history and running backs, going
(34:12):
back to Chuck for mean, youpaid away from me, ye and then
after me you had James and mcgayeeyou got Ovid Brat, you got Melvin
Brad, you had high Smell,I mean, gosh, and the list
just goes on when you start camerunning backs and and to know that that
(34:36):
you're part of that history. Anduh and Frank gor just making us all
proud because he's father Time and heknows how to beat Father Times. And
and you know he's just blessed afterhaving a riffic injury and able to still
out overcome then and and just havejust a great career. Well yeah,
just yeah, a unique career andstill going Frank core. There's not too
(34:59):
many guys you talk about double digitsas as we mentioned at that position,
and uh, just a couple offinal words, just the the impact,
the magnitude what you did, theunique quality of what you did, you
know, the revitalized to come backto be once again, to be that
that that lead horse pulling the pullingthe wagon again. And I love the
comment way back in the day fromLeonard Marshall it was like James Brown reappearing
(35:22):
at the Apollo Theater like lives arecoming from the grave. He also said
that as well, And you Hadllstalking about Elvis Bill's a little older,
he said Elvis on the comeback trail. But the ultimate compliment from Bill Pascells
was, and I've kind of adoptedthat I use it from time to time.
(35:43):
I should be paying Bill a royaltyas Hey, this guy's got a
few pelts on his horse. Youhave a few. Come on as you
say, were you always say ifyou don't have no pills, you can't
talk. If you got a feelon your horse, you's pretty good.
Indeed, Well, we can onlyhope that this is a journey. We've
taken you on a journey here thisafternoon and really enjoyed it. We can
(36:05):
only hope that the journey will endin Canton. You've got some great support,
Bill Passals wrote to looking at theletters to the Hall of Fame,
you're on selfishness, missing piece ofa championship puzzle. Relied heavily his veteran
leadership, his toughness, fighting hisway to Super Bowl twenty five and beyond.
Never shine brighter at that time withthe heavy lifting that you did all
(36:30):
the way down the stretch for theGiants to win that Super Bowl. Some
surveys have said you're the number tworunning back not in the Hall of fame
after Roger Craig, who obviously playeda big part with the fumble and that
NFC championship. But it's something thatI'm sure you think about as we wrap
up. Ah, Jay, howcan you not You probably from day to
day think about why you haven't beenable to get the recognition or the consideration
(36:54):
that you would think of ten thousandyond NFL running back with all the accolades
and the unique aspects of your careerwould have got well. I think because
I played seven years in Saint Louisand it not being media mecca of the
world like LA and New York andChicago and in Texas. I think,
(37:15):
you know, had I played inone of those markets early on, I
don't think it'd have been a question. But I think the first seven years
in Saint Louis and those who actuallyjust saw me play, uh he thought.
I played in three decades seven eightiesand nineties and pretty much bet a
thousand yards in all three decades.They are no longer around. So people
who really saw me, the sportingnews people who wrote minute articles about me
(37:39):
back in the day, uh,they're gone. And I think the new
generation who who don't know the historyof myself. They don't look at these
guys currently, you know, likeTerrell Davis who just went in, you
know, ahead a man and youknow, and pretty impressive stats he had,
you know, but they'll figure itout. I gave up. Like
(38:04):
Harry told me, You know what, if you live your life where we're
worrying about whether or not you areHall of Fame worthy, all you got
to do actually people you played against, and not a player who in the
Hall of Fame played against me wouldn'ttell you that. Not only was I
was the teacher stopping the Cardinals andat the time the Giants when I played
Nightmares forever. That's what I need. As long as my peers knowing my
(38:29):
talent, my peers know that Igave it all. The fans who saw
me knew that I gave it all. I'm good. I'm good. I'm
one of fifty guys with the MVP. I'm one of few guys who was
voted come Back Player of the Yearand Roocular Year. So I do have
(38:49):
some individual honors that marquee for alot of players who are in there that
don't have them probably won't have them. But you know, the Hall of
fame is ultimate where you want togo, but that ain't the only place
to go. So I take whatI've done, and I'm proud of it.
I put my stats up against anybodyin the Hall of Fame, anybody
(39:10):
who's going in the Hall of Fame. And I tell people all the time,
I have fourteen years on my resume, but I ain't play fourteen straight
years. And that's what I tellthem. Go back, look at the
look at it, and you'll see, for the first four years of my
career that was nobody better than eventhe current guys who are in there,
(39:31):
even the current guys who are amission to now look at my first four
years. Seventy nine, eighty eightyone. Throw way eighty two was a
short season. Eighty three, eightyfour. Pull them up, seventy nine,
eighty eighty one, eighty three,eighty four, Pull them up,
ladies in gun, and put themagainst anybody you want to, and you'll
see what I'm talking about. Indeed, from West Palm Beach to the U
(39:55):
to the gateway out of Saint Louisto the Swampson and and hopefully we could
still say, hey, you gotmy vote, I'm in your corner.
We'll do anything we can for you, OJ. Believe me, it's been
great spending time and hopefully some dayto Canton. And if you do get
the can let me just be coachpast sales for a minute. Bring the
(40:15):
practice pants, pack the practice youknow what, that's a great idea.
Let that be it. In thatpart of I'll walk on stage with them
more high by bed. Absolutely,it's a date. OJ, thanks very
much. You played well with uson The Games People Play. Many thanks
for your time. I appreciate thankyou anytime. Thank you. O.
J. Anderson. Otis O J. Anderson. Otis my man, our
(40:37):
man here today on the Games PeoplePlay, and I want to thank OJ
for playing with us today. Iwant to thank executive producer Andy Bernstein.
He's off site today. We wantto also sign for all of the above
and for O J. Otis OJ. Anderson. This is Bernie Corbett
(40:58):
saying, play well everyone. Yeah,
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