More than anything else, Aikman was a winner
By D.Laurant on August 3, 2006 04:08 AM
When Troy Aikman quit football in 2001, it wasn't the first time. He also quit in eighth grade, back in Henryetta, OK.
Aikman's family had just moved from Southern California to a rural community in the heartland, placing Aikman in a house he later described as "seven miles out of town on a dirt road." He had played a little youth football in California, but was primarily focused on baseball. And that's what he decided, at age 13, that he would dedicate himself to.
That vow lasted a year, when the football coach at Henryetta High School (nickname: the Hens) talked him into coming out. And Aikman -- who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH on Aug. 5 -- didn't stop playing quarterback until a series of concussions and back injuries finally forced him out two decades later..
It seemed that wherever he went, Aikman's careers hardly ever began auspiciously. After being selected All-State at Henryetta as a prolific passer, he went on to the University of Oklahoma because Barry Switzer's teams almost always won. With great fanfare, he made his first start against the University of Miami --and broke his leg, with future Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson standing on the opposite sideline.
While Aikman was convalescing, Switzer re-instituted a ground-oriented wishbone offense, so Aikman transferred to UCLA. His teams went 20-4 there, but never made the Rose Bowl.
Even worse, though, was his first season with the Cowboys. With Aikman as the sacrificial lamb under center, Dallas went 1-15 in 1989 -- a period he calls "the worst year of my life."
But Aikman showed early in his pro career that he could rise above adversity. He threw for 2,579 yards in 1990, and the Dallas Cowboys were 9-7. The next year, they were 11-5. And in 1992, they battered Buffalo 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII, with Aikman throwing for 273 yards and four touchdowns and earning MVP honors.
He went on to win 90 games during the '90s, play in three Super Bowls and go 11-5 in postseason play. More than anything else, he was a winner.
And so were WR Michael Irvin and RB Emmitt Smith, who together with Aikman formed an unholy alliance called "The Triplets." Along with TE Jay Novacek, they presented opposing defenses with a bewildering number of options.
Ironically, that supporting cast later became the basis of arguments against enshrining Aikman in the Hall of Fame. It was the team, his detractors said, not the man. Yet Aikman's unflappable on-field presence and accurate arm made him the driving force behind all that talent, and his deadpan demeanor masked a fierce competitiveness.
Aikman, now a football analyst with Fox Sports, has pushed for Irvin (who had numerous off-field issues) to be enshrined, but his former batterymate failed this year in his second try.
Besides broadcasting, Aikman has also joined with Roger Staubach, another former Cowboy quarterback great, to back a Nextel Cup racing team.
And yes, Aikman was once drafted by the New York Mets out of high school. He decided he'd rather play football.
When Troy Aikman quit football in 2001, it wasn't the first time. He also quit in eighth grade, back in Henryetta, OK.
Aikman's family had just moved from Southern California to a rural community in the heartland, placing Aikman in a house he later described as "seven miles out of town on a dirt road." He had played a little youth football in California, but was primarily focused on baseball. And that's what he decided, at age 13, that he would dedicate himself to.
That vow lasted a year, when the football coach at Henryetta High School (nickname: the Hens) talked him into coming out. And Aikman -- who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH on Aug. 5 -- didn't stop playing quarterback until a series of concussions and back injuries finally forced him out two decades later..
It seemed that wherever he went, Aikman's careers hardly ever began auspiciously. After being selected All-State at Henryetta as a prolific passer, he went on to the University of Oklahoma because Barry Switzer's teams almost always won. With great fanfare, he made his first start against the University of Miami --and broke his leg, with future Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson standing on the opposite sideline.
While Aikman was convalescing, Switzer re-instituted a ground-oriented wishbone offense, so Aikman transferred to UCLA. His teams went 20-4 there, but never made the Rose Bowl.
Even worse, though, was his first season with the Cowboys. With Aikman as the sacrificial lamb under center, Dallas went 1-15 in 1989 -- a period he calls "the worst year of my life."
But Aikman showed early in his pro career that he could rise above adversity. He threw for 2,579 yards in 1990, and the Dallas Cowboys were 9-7. The next year, they were 11-5. And in 1992, they battered Buffalo 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII, with Aikman throwing for 273 yards and four touchdowns and earning MVP honors.
He went on to win 90 games during the '90s, play in three Super Bowls and go 11-5 in postseason play. More than anything else, he was a winner.
And so were WR Michael Irvin and RB Emmitt Smith, who together with Aikman formed an unholy alliance called "The Triplets." Along with TE Jay Novacek, they presented opposing defenses with a bewildering number of options.
Ironically, that supporting cast later became the basis of arguments against enshrining Aikman in the Hall of Fame. It was the team, his detractors said, not the man. Yet Aikman's unflappable on-field presence and accurate arm made him the driving force behind all that talent, and his deadpan demeanor masked a fierce competitiveness.
Aikman, now a football analyst with Fox Sports, has pushed for Irvin (who had numerous off-field issues) to be enshrined, but his former batterymate failed this year in his second try.
Besides broadcasting, Aikman has also joined with Roger Staubach, another former Cowboy quarterback great, to back a Nextel Cup racing team.
And yes, Aikman was once drafted by the New York Mets out of high school. He decided he'd rather play football.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:28 PM
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