RALEIGH — Joe Theismann spoke to the residents of the senior living community about the importance of sharing their life knowledge with a new generation.
“Every one of you can share an experience with someone else,” he said. “Remember this time in our lives? Remember that period in our lives. Remember this relationship? Remember the football back then? Remember when they could actually hit a quarterback?”
Theismann then took a beat and delivered the punchline, crisply and on target, just like hundreds of passes to Washington wide receivers back in the day.
“I do,” he said, and the room erupted.
Theismann, whose self-depreciating sense of humor helped make him a popular announcer on ESPN’s NFL coverage, also poked fun at his name change in college, to make his last name rhyme with “Heisman,” and his 1-yard punt — still an NFL record for futility at that position.
The College Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl-winning quarterback was giving a lecture entitled “The Challenge of Change” at the Cardinal community in North Hills. He is no stranger to the topic. The biggest change, of course, was the career-ending injury he suffered on “Monday Night Football” when he suffered a gruesome compound fracture of his leg while being sacked by Lawrence Taylor. The injury has lived on in America’s memory. It’s been featured everywhere from the movie “The Blind Side” to an episode of “The Simpsons.”
“I’m kind of the grandfather of injuries in the NFL it seems,” he joked prior to taking the stage. From Alex Smith’s broken leg a few years ago to the Damar Hamlin on-field cardiac arrest last season, whenever there is a catastrophic injury in the NFL, Theismann knows he’ll be getting phone calls looking for his reaction and perspective.
“I sort of understand why they call,” he said, “because mine was very public. Mine was the biggest public injury that we’d seen in sports. And it isn’t just things in the NFL. I mean, I had a doctor reach out to me who broke his leg skiing. So, it’s really more through society than it is just the world of athletics.”
Theismann’s message is on the aftermath of that injury and moving on with his life after he couldn’t physically do what he used to be able to do. It’s something that many of the seniors in his audience can identify with, perhaps on a smaller scale.
“For me, it wasn’t the physical rehabilitation so much as what it was like mentally,” he said. “When all of a sudden what you have is gone. And how do you address it? How do you deal with it? I was glad I worked my rear end off to try and come back and play because it helped me for the last, you know, 38 years to be able to do the things I want to do and have a quality of life.
“And instead of saying, ‘Woe is me,’ I said, ‘OK, this is just another challenge in my life that I’ve got to deal with going forward.’ And I try and share that story with people.”
Theismann’s former team has also undergone plenty of changes since his playing days. When he played, Washington was known as the Redskins and had one of the more stable ownership situations in sports with Jack Kent Cooke. They sold out every game and won three Super Bowls in 10 years. The team has been sold twice since then and struggled on the field and at the gate. The team has also changed its name twice, first to the Washington Football Team, then the Commanders. Recently, Theismann speculated that, under new owner Josh Harris, the team might want to change its name again to get a fresh start. The comments gained national attention, something Theismann was certainly not seeking at the time.
“I mean, we’ve just got to win football games,” he said. “That’s the most important thing right now. As far as what they’ll do with the name, (it’s) totally up to ownership and what they want to do. So I’m done making comments on it.”
Despite all the ownership drama, Theismann still pointedly used the term “we” when discussing Washington.
“I feel like it’s always been a ‘we,’” he said. “Since I got there in 1974. The tremendous experiences, tremendous relationships we built up over the years. There was no free agency. So, our families grew up there. A number of the guys that I played with are still in that area, and their kids grew up there.”
Theismann still keeps tabs on the current Washington team, which features head coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Sam Howell, two names well known by football fans in North Carolina.
“I think Ron’s had a very young football team, particularly the quarterback position,” he said. “The offense is very young all the way around. I think he’s done a wonderful job navigating some very difficult challenges. You can’t play in the NFL without a quarterback, and I think he’s had 10 in the four years he’s been there.”
Theismann thinks he might now have the answer at that position.
“I love the way Sam’s progressing,” he said. “He has all the physical tools. He’s smart, he processes information well, mobile enough to make plays with his legs. You don’t have to be Lamar Jackson or run all over the place like Kyler Murray. I mean, you just you move around enough to get the ball out of your hands.
“I really like the way Sam has progressed. I think he’s mature beyond his years, and that’s a great sign going forward. Big thing is to stay healthy. The guy’s been sacked more times than just about anybody in the NFL, so we know how tough he is.”
And, if anybody knows the importance of avoiding sacks and staying healthy, it’s Joe Theismann.
