Former Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis was in Dallas on Tuesday, as a guest of SMU's Athletic Forum, but his life hasn't been the same since the Steelers won Super Bowl XL in Detroit two and half months ago.
“Well life is totally different as a champ,” says Bettis. “You get a couple of free meals, ha ha ha, and you get a lot of hand shakes, but its fun.”
Bettis played for 13-years, becoming the NFL's fifth all time leading rusher. His totals reached 13, 662 yards, but more importantly, he finally won a Super Bowl.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” he said during the Super Bowl XL post game celebrations. “I decided to come back and win a championship, and mission accomplished, so with that I have to bid a farewell.”
Bettis has since retired, and signed a contract to become a studio analyst for the NFL’s Sunday night games to be carried by NBC. But those early years in the league were tough.
“If I had know what I know now, then I think I could have put up some really, really, really astounding numbers early in my career, and not taken so much of a beating,” says Bettis.
Bettis has always played like a bowling ball on the football field, and knows a thing or two about bowling. In fact, Bettis rolled a perfect 300 game in competition and wanted to become a professional bowler while growing up in Detroit. So, as luck would have it, in June, he will become the first inductee into the Celebrities Bowling Hall of Fame in St Louis.
Says Bettis, “Its a shame that I can get into the Bowling Hall of Fame before you can get into the Football Hall of Fame, but hopefully, that will happen. But if it doesn't happen, at least I can say I got into ‘A’ hall of fame.”
It has been an incredible year for Jerome Bettis, and this fall, he'll be watching football with a different eye. But for now, the man they call the bus, is making a lot of stops around the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment