NFL Media's Oklahoma Drill series presents exclusive, quick-hitting one-on-one interviews with players and coaches from around the league. No nonsense -- just football experiences directly from the source.
Drew Pearson
Receiver, Retired
Born: Jan. 12, 1951
Experience: 11 seasons
Interview by Tom Blair | May 3, 2017
Actually, it was [as fun as it looked]. I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did, but the more I got involved with the crowd and the crowd started booing, and the louder they got, I had a tendency to get a little louder, to get a little more pumped up myself. That delivery was not intended, that's for sure.
[Commissioner Roger Goodell] kind of encouraged me to say that ... to rile the crowd up even more. I didn't plan on saying it. And when I walked out there and saw the crowd and heard the boos, I said, They're giving it to me, so I'm going to give it back to them.
I was sitting back there in the green room, waiting for my turn to go out there, and everybody was going out there reading their card and coming back, and that was pretty much it. But I had waited almost two hours back there, so I said, I'm going to do something a little different and take advantage of the opportunity.
I hope it's all in good sporting fun, a] competitive-type spirit. Don't take this seriously; don't come looking for me, [Eagles fans! I'm from New Jersey, so I know how those Eagles fans are. I grew up in Central Jersey, so I had a choice in terms of teams to root for] ... and my allegiance went north, to the [Giants and Jets. So I know how those Eagles fans are, [and] it was all about good natured-type ribbing.
I was one of the more talkative players on the team. Off the field, kinda quiet, introverted. But on the field, [I] turned into something totally different, and it just came out. Actually, I was with a few of my teammates Monday, and they said, That was perfect for you, because you did all the talking on the field anyway.
They used to tell me to shut up because I was talking too much noise or too much trash out on the field. But yeah, I was one to try to rev up the crowd and get them more involved in the game.
Well, yeah, I think it's the way [receivers] play. We're out in open space, and when we do something, we think everybody's looking at us, so we kind of take advantage of the moment and try to do something crazy. I see what the guys do nowadays ... and sometimes I criticize that, and ... then I think about some of the things I might've done. And I think, I'd better lighten up on them.
**Actually, the memory of playing against the Eagles] I remember more than anything is,** [Philadelphia is] where I ended my playing streak. I had 100 straight games going, and I had twisted my knee spiking the football in the end zone against the [New York Giants at Texas Stadium, and the next week, we were playing the Eagles in Philly. My knee was in bad shape. I hyperextended it. It was a big game, and I couldn't go. Coach (Tom) Landry gave me every opportunity to play. But it was Veterans Stadium, [which had] the hard field, the hardest field in the world, ever. It was terrible. And because it was that field pressing on my knee, I just couldn't do it.
And for me to tell Coach Landry I couldn't go, that was the hardest thing to do. Back then, they didn't ask the doctor, Can he go? They asked you ... you had to make that decision.
We ended up winning the game. Butch Johnson caught the winning touchdown, and he was my replacement. So my knee got better the next week.
We had some great battles up there, because it was always the same players, year in and year out, twice a year. ... So they knew you well and you knew them very well, so the battles sometimes because very fierce. A lot of trash-talking out there. I knew Herm Edwards would never be a Cowboy, and Herm knew I would never be a Philadelphia Eagle.
Those are the kinds of games that bring out the best in you, when you play your rivals like that.
When I turned the corner to walk on the stage at the draft] and saw that crowd and heard that crowd, I said to myself, *They can either intimidate me, or I can embrace this,* and I decided to embrace it. I didn't go down there to make that presentation thinking about getting back at those [Eagles for beating us in the 1980 [NFC] Championship Game.
The biggest worry was not dealing with that crowd -- I'd been booed in Philadelphia before. The biggest worry was pronouncing my draft pick's name.
I had to get that name right, because this kid (Chidobe Awuzie) has waited all his life to hear his name called, and he didn't want some guy up there yelling and shouting and mispronouncing his name.
[It was a] lot tougher [to play receiver when I played]. It was more of a physical battle. First of all, they didn't throw the ball that much, so your cornerbacks were more force guys as opposed to cover guys ... so they're beating you up, and they were allowed to be physical, because they could do anything to you coming off the line of scrimmage.
All those years dealing with that coming off the line of scrimmage and going downfield when they continue to bump you and hit you and do whatever they want to you, as long as the ball is not in the air. You had to be very physical as a receiver to have any success.
We weren't a passing league then ... the running backs were the superstars. No. 1, run the ball, No. 2, run the ball, No. 3, pass if necessary. That's how it worked for most teams in the NFL. Our stats don't compare to the stats you see the receivers getting now. But it's a different game. They can't hit you in the head, they can't go for your knees anymore. So it's almost simple enough where I could play now.
I did 18 interviews on Monday and I did about five yesterday, and today I've got three more scheduled and one on Thursday. I guess it'll wane away after Thursday, and I'll be normal again. But it's been hectic, and I'm just trying to take advantage of the moment, I guess, and the opportunity to have people find out more about Drew Pearson.
**I want people to learn] that I'm a Cowboy all the way.** Even though I was born in New Jersey and went to college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I'm a Cowboy all the way. I just want [Cowboys nation to know that, and the Cowboys organization, as well. My former teammates, they know that. I think all the players that play with the Cowboys know that, as well.
For me, it's meant everything. It's given me my life after football. Having played for the organization, the success that we had ... Now you've got this demographic out there that really supports the Cowboys, and that's the demographic that grew up watching us. Now, because of that, we still get opportunities and we still have value, because we played for the Dallas Cowboys.
Actually, my son-in-law is a huge Eagles fan, born and raised in Philadelphia, and he's been having to live with this. He's taking it hard. But he understands there's nothing he can do about it, because I'm the father-in-law. Oh, he's taking it hard. He's already convinced his oldest son to be an Eagles fan, and his son -- my grandson -- is taking it hard, as well. How could you do that, grandpop?