An Interview with Joe Theismann
From the Fall '95 issue of "The Point"

He was once the field general for an AWL Super Bowl powerhouse, scrambling, dodging, and zipping passes to a bunch of glue-fingered guys known as "The Smurfs. Now he's the feistiest member of ESPN's engaging, informed and always spirited "NFL Game Day" broadcast team. But did you know he was once just one of thirteen candidates for quarterback of Notre Dame? Talk about beating the odds! How did he make it to the top of his profession? Well, this super star credits a great deal of his success to Pop listener Little Scholars. Find out why as The Point talks with JOE THEISMANN, former All-Pro quarterback for the Washington Redskins.

The Point: Did you have help from your family on technique when you first started out?

Joe: You bet. I tell you when I can ten or eleven, my dad was working, so my mom was actually the one out there catching passes for me. She was my prime receiver.

The Point: Wow! Did she run the “down and out” pattern?

Joe: No, she was pretty stationary But, she had good hands! And, at that time, she helped me even more on technique because she had a better arm than I did.

The Point: Then, when did you start playing organized football?

Joe: Well, you know it's ironic. My mother wouldn't let me play Pop Warner football until I was twelve years old. At the age of ten, the coaches in South River, New Jersey where I grew up came to my mom and said, 'We'd like Joey to play' She said 'No, he'll get hurt.' At the age of eleven, the same coaches came to her and said 'Listen, we'd really like Joey to play.' Again, she said, 'No, he's gonna get hurt. Finally, at the age of twelve, between the coaches and my prompting, my mother finally relented and she let me participate in Pop Warner football.

The Point: So your mother was a stickler for doing things the right way. Did PWLS meet with her game plan?

Joe: Absolutely. Looking back on it now, I played football for twenty-three years, from Pop Warner through professional, and to this day I think that some of the best fundamentals I have carried through my entire career, and some of the most important lessons were learned through Pop Warner football.

The Point: Still, at first, your mother shared a concern that a lot of parents have about the safety of a youngster playing tackle football.

Joe: That's very true. There's always the concern from parents that football is a cont­act sport. But I try to explain to them that's where Pop Warner is different from any oth­er youth football. Look at it this way, if a one hundred pound mouse runs into another one hundred pound mouse, neither one of them should get hurt. I think these days, parent have this vision of their, son, or possibly their daughter, running into some other youngster whose 250 pounds. That's simply not the way it is in Pop Warner. Strict weight categories are so important to the safety record of Pop Warner.

Actually, I believe that I stayed skinny through high school because of Pop Warner and the fact that I had to stay under 115 pounds when I was 12 years old. It worked out that I watched my diet and it was a pretty good way to keep our weight down. A lot of my teammates were the same way.

The Point: You talked about the lessons you learned from Pop Warner Give as some examples.

Joe: The thing that Pop Warner Little Scholars teaches kids is that number one, you're act going to win in life all the time. And when you don't, how do you prepare for that next challenge? And that goes for cheer squads as well as football teams.

Pop Warner also teaches kid, the importance of scholastics. For example, I could not go to football practice until my homework was done. So, what it taught me was priorities. That emphasis on education is a discipline that Little Scholars retain for the rest of their lives.

I firmly believe that whatever fields of endeavor you might choose to enter…business, education, entertainment, community service...the lessons you learn in Pop Warner can do nothing but help you in the future.

The Point: Would you agree that PWLS coaches have a lot to do with helping youngsters to much their potential?

Joe: Very much so. The great thing beat Pop Warner coaching is that they understand changes kids naturally go through over their years with PWLS. They also can understand that techniques change as a young athlete's body changes. You know kids who were offensive Around, might become wide receivers or quarterbacks as they grow and change Add, Pop Warner coaches learn how to recognize that fact. They work with kids to maximize their potential.

But, there's also one important thing I think all PWLS coaches have to understand. This is something that was really a part of my time as a Pop Warner player. They need to understand that this is a game first and foremost. There was only one "Vince Lombardi," and he died. he had a particular coaching style, and it was for grown men. But, when you're coaching eight, nine, ten year old kids, its vital to teach them that football is a "game", and a game that you should have fun playing.

The Point: How, about having fun, playing well and winning?

Joe: I'll tell you something, "winning" is important. And, I think it's good to learn that it's important. It's also Important to know that if you put your best effort out, you may not always win, but if you don't, you'll never have a chance to win.

With Pop Warner, you learn to be part of a team or a squad. You learn to depend on one another. Where else can a ten or eleven year old learn to depend on someone else to guide him and take care of him besides his parents? And isn't it great when you're a young halfback and a defensive linemen knocks you down, that he also helps you up?

The Point: Building new friendship, 1, an Important part of PWLS today. Did you find that to be the case in your days with the South River Little Knights?

Joe: Let me tell you, some of the closest friendships I've had throughout my life have stemmed from my Pop Warner experience. And these guys us now in all walks of life... law enforcement, business, teaching, you name it. What was really great for all of us growing up in South River is that we stuck together. We won a Pop Warner Championship. Then, we went on and played freshman football together, then, Junior Varsity, then varsity for South River High School . So, we played together for five years. And, that built a closer and closer relationship.

The Point: South River , New Jersey has had quite a tradition for football.

Joe: It sure has And, I believe that the continuing success of the South River High School program has been directly attributable to the Little Scholars program. Everybody is looking for that minor league of high school football and cheerleading and I think that Pop Warner is the perfect program for that.

The Point: You were recruited pretty heavily by colleges during your senior yea at South River , Was Notre Dame your first choice?

Joe: Not really. See, I had visited Notre Dame, but I was all set to go to North Carolina State . My high school coach was the backup quarterback to Roman Gabriel, and I was impressed with that, Then, when people stopped knocking on our door, I sat down for a little while and really thought about what I wanted to do with my future. About that time, Notre Dame contacted me again and asked me to make a return trip to visit South Bend . I can't tell you the reason why, but af­ter I get off the plane from my second trip I told my dad 'I can't go anywhere else but Notre Dame. It's that special.' I wasn't raised catholic. I didn't have that Notre Dame tradition drilled into me as a young kid, I just thought Notre Dame was a great football school. I learned late, that it was al­so a wonderful academic institution as well. But, yes, I went there to play football. I made sacrifices my first two years socially so that I could have the academic credentials to ensure that I could continue to play ball.

The Point: What were some of the lessons you learned from playing big-time college ball?

Joe: The same lessons I learned from Pop Warner. For example, don't ever give up on your dream. I mean, when I graduated from high school I was 152 pounds and 5' 10.” And, I was going to be a quarterback at Notre Dame. I was one of thirteen candidates that they brought in. But, I made up my mind that I was going to be the guy who would win the starting job. I worked hard. I worked late. I went in early. I did everything I could to gain an advantage.

You see, a lot of times in competition, everybody has the same talent, but the question is who gets noticed, and how do you get noticed. If you're given an opportunity, you have to be able to capitalize on it. In other words, if you see a receiver whose open you gotta get him the ball. Anybody can throw an incomplete pass, but if you can deliver when the opportunity is there, you're going to be a success. That's the bottom line. And, you never know when the opportunities are going to come. It could be blocking a kick, it could be recovering a fumble, it could be throwing a key block. There are so many different ways for things to be significant, they don't always have to be headline grabbers.

The Point: Case in point. When you went from Notre Dame to the Washington Redskins, you weren't the starting QB right away. You were running back kickoffs and punts.

Joe: There you go! You know...if you can stay with stuff, sooner or later an opportunity's going to be created and you're going to be able to capitalize on it. But that again is the key. First of all, you have to love what you're doing. If you love it, you never give up on it. The only time anybody is ever a failure is when they quit trying. As long as you're trying, you're never a failure.

My advice to any young Pop Warner player or cheerleader is don't let anybody tell you that you can't do something. You know, a lot of people out there are going to tell you that you can't block somebody or you can't perform this formation. Don't you ever believe what anybody tells you when they're saying that. You're the only person who can decide whether you can or should do something.

The Point: Joe, when you finally had to retire from pro football, how did you face the future?

Joe: Each phase of life presents a new set of challenges. The phase that you just came out of makes you better equipped to deal with the next one. I think that life is just a series of lessons. Life is a library.

The Point: Hmm..."life is a library.” I like that.

Joe: What I mean is, you can go to the library everyday and just sit at a desk with your head in your hands and learn absolutely nothing. But, if you decide you want to learn something from life, you need to get some books, open them up and learn something. In other words, when my leg was broken let's take that as an exam­ple. I could have said 'Oh God, what am I going to do now?! But, because I loved football, I was given a chance to do some broadcasting. What did I do? I camped out in this area of life's library marked "SPORTS," and I studied "football." I took every book I could off the stacks about the game, about the people. I have, for example, on the desk in front of me, phone numbers and information from all the coaches and players that I know to get ready for this weekend's NFL Game Day show for ESPN. I mean do I have to do it? No. I really think I have enough knowledge to get by. But, I've never been satisfied with just being a participant. I want to try and be the best at what I pursue That's what drives me, I want to be the best.

The Point: A lot of people, especially young people, think you have to be the best "overnight," that life's a sprint, either you've got it or you don't.

Joe: But see, that's not the case. Life's a marathon, you just have to keep plugging.

The Point: So, as Yogi said, "It ain't over 'til it's over?"

Joe: You got it. God bless that great philosopher!.

Interview in 1995 by Bob Field, Jr.