Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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Wait, there’s a “Greatest Show On Turf” text chain!?
How fun is that.
Kurt Warner shared this during our phone call this week. The legendary St. Louis Rams quarterback is part of a new show on VICE TV called: “NFL Classics: After Further Review.” Each week, host Kyle Brandt looks back at a famous game in history, along with a player from the game … and a celebrity from the winning team’s city.
This week, an episode aired with Warner and St. Louis native Cedric The Entertainer. They dissected Super Bowl XXXIV, Rams vs. Titans, which St. Louis won on the final play, when linebacker Mike Jones famously tackled an opponent near the end zone. This episode is available on demand: https://vicetv-nfl-guide.lovable.app/.
Here’s my Q&A with Warner, the Super Bowl’s MVP.
Q: The game was January 30, 2000, so it’s been 25 years. Can you believe it?
A: I mean, it’s crazy, just a lot of reminders out there of how old I am. That’s one of them. But at least it’s a good old memory. It was fun to do it.
Q: What was the experience like doing this VICE TV episode?
A: To just kind of relive it and being able to take a little more in-depth look at it — and share a little bit more of that depth with fans — I think is a lot of fun. There’s so many things that go into playing a football game and obviously the biggest game. So different little stories that we were able to share that people probably never heard, or most people have never heard, just about that week and that game.
I think it’s fun to always go a little bit deeper into things and share the full experience, the full Super Bowl experience, with people. So pretty cool that that they’re doing this.
It’s cool to be on there with Ced, a fan of the team. Obviously there’s one side as a player and living through that experience. But the fans in St Louis had never been through anything like that before, so to hear their perspective, the excitement about the big game, what and situation meant to the to everybody, all of those things I think were cool to get that perspective.
Q: Where were you when Mike Jones made “The Tackle”?
A: I mean, normally, when I’m watching the game, I was usually on my own, anyways. I’m not normally standing with anybody or talking to anybody through the course of things. At that point in that moment, I’m just praying that somebody makes a play.
Q: Obviously, you are a St Louis hero, but the St Louis Rams no longer exist. It’s now the team in Los Angeles. What’s that been like where you’ve been honored in Los Angeles?
A: I’ve gone back. ‘The Greatest Show On Turf’ did something last year, you know, as a unit. So yeah, I mean, so many different perspectives to it. Like, my only time with the Rams was in St Louis. So obviously St Louis has a special place in my heart. And you feel for the city, that they don’t have a team anymore. And all I also know that when I was growing up, it was the Los Angeles Rams. That was the history and the backbone of the organization. And so, I understand that part of it, too. And so, you have mixed emotions on all of it. But I think at the end of the day, the Rams hold a special place in my heart — not just St. Louis Rams, but the Rams organization for giving me the opportunity that they did. I will always celebrate that, just like I’ll celebrate the people in the community of St. Louis, because they were just as important and special to me.
Q: Do you keep in touch with anybody from from your St. Louis Rams world?
A: We all try to stay connected. We’ve got a ‘Greatest Show On Turf’ text chain with a bunch of the players, offense and defense. And we’re always hitting people back and forth. I mean, if you watched the game on Monday night, the Lions ran a particular play down a goal line where they handed it Amon-Ra St. Brown, who handed it to Jameer Gibbs and, you know, everybody’s kind of going through: ‘Dan Campbell ran this in 2019 with this team.’ And I said, ‘Well, hold on. You know, the ‘The Greatest Show On Turf’ ran it with Az-Zahir Hakim and Marshall Faulk back in the day. And they did it well as well as anybody.’ And so somebody just posted that video to our group and said, ‘This is how it’s done. You know, people are still stealing stuff from ‘The Greatest Show On Turf’ 20-however-many years later.’
Always just different things, whether guys’ (college) teams are playing against each other, or their sons are playing in the league. You know, Dre Bly sent us a video earlier of his son, he was with Minnesota in preseason. It’s all that kind of stuff, just however we can help each other, however we can stay connected. I would say at least a couple times a week that text chain is blowing up in some way, shape or form.
Q: Last question, I’m just curious, who are some of the current quarterbacks that you enjoy watching? And, of course, why?
A: I mean, we’ve got so many really good ones. Obviously, Patrick (Mahomes) and Lamar (Jackson) and Josh (Allen) and Joe (Burrow). You know, those guys being the best in the league. It’s, it’s fun to watch them … and the appreciation of how a Joe Burrow plays the game, plays the game more like I did. But then I have come to really appreciate guys like Lamar Jackson and what they bring to the table, that goes above and beyond anything that I could ever do.
I try to appreciate all of these guys and for their different skill set. You know, Jalen Hurts, just the way that he plays in the big moments is fun. And then you get a chance to know these guys (as a TV analyst). And that’s the other reason you cheer for them, because they’re all unbelievable guys. Those guys that I mentioned, I like all of them and love what they bring to the league and the way they carry themselves. I’m a fan of good people, and I think we’re very, very fortunate that we’ve got a lot of really, really good quarterbacks that are leading us into the next generation.
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Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch
Sports columnist
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