Steve Young Interview Excerpts

OK, here's some of the text from the interview. Unfortunately, the .pdf of the transcript is password protected and the transcribers, ASAP Sports (asapsports.com) haven't posted it on their site. So you're going to have to trust me on this one. Below is my question(s) to Hall o' Famer Steve:

Q. You got your law degree in 1994 from the J. Reuben Clark Law School?

STEVE YOUNG: Yes, I did.

Q. That's kind of a rare asset for a pro player. How do you think that prepared you or helped you in your understanding the complexities of the NFL game?

STEVE YOUNG: Well, more than anything, it drove me a little crazy backing up Joe and not playing much, and I was going nuts. So law school was a help more than anything in the off-season to get -- I think that a lot of quarterbacking is processing information, processing it quickly and efficiently. There are a ton of guys who are playing in this league who have not made it because they could not process information over and over again. You've seen it, call a play and on the third play there's this bonehead move that happened and you can't explain. Too much was going on too fast, and they couldn't process it fast enough.

I think that training yourself is only going to help in the NFL. Memorizing – law school is a lot of memorization and I learned from watching Joe, a lot of football memorization. It really paid off. When you know everything that's going on with you, you can really get good pretty fast.

So there you have it. I do wish the transcibers had included the gnarled mess of Spanish diction we all heard between my questions. Alas. I'll sign off, but here are Steve's comments on entering the Hall of Fame with Dan Marino, the importance of winning championships, and his view of the spectacle that is Terrell Owens:

Q. Having achieved so much in your career on the Pro Bowl, Super Bowls, where does being in the Hall of Fame rank?

STEVE YOUNG: Well, it's different because it's obviously not on the field. I mean when you're accomplishing things on the field, I've always said, the position of quarterback in the NFL is the best job that I could ever imagine. It takes every bit of you, so to be successful, it's a tough thing. So those accomplishments that are on the field are really great.

Now this one, this one encompasses everything that was on the field. So I've got to say, not playing anymore, this is as good as it gets, and this is the end. I think that it allows you to kind of -- it allows you to put it to rest. I appreciate that because, you know, you keep thinking to yourself, maybe I didn't play long enough, maybe I should have played longer, maybe should I have played better, maybe I could have done this or that and now you go to the Hall of Fame, and now, it's done. You don't have to worry, you don't have to think, you did what you did, you put it on the line, you went out there and now it's over.

Q. When you look at your career and Dan Marino's career, how important is it for you to go into the Hall of Fame with a Super Bowl triumph, and considering he is the most prolific passer in history, how important is that Super Bowl victory for you right now?

STEVE YOUNG: I think Super Bowls, for good or bad, are career-makers. They leave you, hopefully, with fans forever and championships. No matter how many yards you throw or how efficient you are or how many MVPs you get, people tend to respond to championships. It's just the way it is.

So the fact that I got one is very important. I don't think in the big picture it matters whether you do or you don't (win a Super Bowl), because the truth is, championships are won by a team. And quarterbacks certainly have a lot to do with it, but I don't think that -- I would not knock somebody for not winning a championship. There are tons of guys in the league today that are great, great players that are not going to see Super Bowls because they don't have the organization behind them or they don't have the talent around them. You have to realize that football is a team game and that's just part of how you judge people.

Q. Given what you just said about contracts and holdouts, what's your take on Terrell Owens situation with the Eagles?

STEVE YOUNG: Terrell is great at theatrics. In that respect, you look at the contract that he signed last year, you knew that this year was a leverage year for the Eagles to find out whether things were going to work out. I think Terrell at the end of the year realized maybe too late that was the case. If I were Terrell, because of the nature of him, I would probably call and say, ‘Hey, look, I'm upset, but, I want to lead the league in receiving this year, and when I do, final regular season game, I'm going to have a ceremony at half-time.’ I think people would respond to that. I think people would respond to that kind of a bold statement. I'm going to go prove that I'm the best receiver in the game, again, and then I'm going to -- I think that's probably the best way to handle it. If he shows up for work and things happen, no matter what his words say, I know him, he'll play hard, he'll fight hard and he'll have a great season.