America's Game - 1988 49ers

[Music] [Music] entering 1988 san francisco 49ers coach bill walsh was haunted by the way his team's previous season had ended in 1987 the 49ers rolled into the playoffs with the best record in football that year we were 13 wins two losses we had everything going for us we dominated the league in every every statistic we clearly were the best team in the national football league the san francisco 49ers owners of the best record in the nfl at 13-2 cops in both offense and defense the niners 11-point favorites today and the pick of most of the experts to win it all again in that game number 79 harris barton was a rookie offensive tackle success was only measured by winning super bowls it was not we got to the playoffs we won eight games hey i made the all i was all pro i went to the pro bowl it was hey did you win the super bowl and if you didn't win the super bowl you know what it was it was a terrible season and so we came out against minnesota and then anthony carter just goes berserk i mean i don't even know who the quarterback was but every time i look look up at the big screen to see what the replay was anthony carter was making some type of circus catch a magnificent catch by carter unbelievable 227 yards in 10 catches for ac anthony carter the playoff loss to the vikings in 87 was part of the most traumatic experience i've had in sports coming off the field i just was so embarrassed so humiliated our owner was beside himself very very angry and hurt in private conversations eddie was so frustrated that he probably stated other people he'd like to fire me well those of us in football understand these kind of things occur it's a tough thing to to live down or live through we just we just experienced and it there isn't an easy way out there isn't a way that you can avoid it it's there and it'll live with us but we just in this particular game for some reason it struck every man in the room we did not move we did not hit don't expect kind words from the newspapers they'll be on this one for for months but who the hell are they it was traumatic it had repercussions throughout our organization for months to come what the 49ers were at that point in time was really a team in transition they were transitioning out of the out of the teams that had won the super bowl in 1981 in 1984 and they were bringing in younger players so you know jerry rice was replacing a dwight clark i was replacing a keith farnhorst they had brought steve young in you know steve young came in in 1987 as well and they wanted to work him into this part of this transition in the playoff loss to the vikings walsh pulled joe montana in the third quarter and replaced him with steve young young led the 49ers on two scoring drives setting the stage for an epic quarterback controversy in 88. do you think steve young is a quarterback yes he is he's great oh man he's something else and we had to dig down deep in order to keep him contained because he was running us to death because joe no longer fast enough montana once football's magic man now appeared to be an ordinary joe joe montana looking slower and slower as the age of the viking pass rush begin to catch up with him many speculated that the 1988 season would be his last in san francisco they said the same of his coach i wasn't sure following 87 whether 1988 would be my last season to be honest i wanted to finish my career with a super bowl victory there was a lot of stress there though bill walsh played football at san jose state his coaching mindset was influenced more by his days as an amateur boxer i boxed briefly in college but then the service i was assigned on the army team so i box it with a lot of the great professionals that would come through boba olsen world's middleweight champion joey maxson world's light heavyweight champion many others i didn't box when i was a sparring partner get knocked all over the ring point is i knew just enough about it to relate it to athletes when we take that field that line field is just like marvin hagler that's what it's going to be like we're going to be unloaded on somebody they would buy into it they they could understand it when you say beat them to the punch the most important factor on our ball club is the quickness the explosion just beating people to punch we beat them to the punch just like when i talk about those boxing matches it doesn't show up when you play the raiders early in the 49ers weight room walsh installed a speed bag the speed bag none of us could really do it well and obviously you couldn't do it during meetings because it was loud bill liked to have it there because he could always walk into the weight room and amaze guys because he could do the speed bag better than anybody else he used to hit it every day we used to go out and spar we would just shallow box each other right and he always to catch me with those left hands he's lefty it's oh i got one in i got one in on you you know training camp in 1988 would feature a battle of heavyweights two-time super bowl champion joe montana versus challenger steve young just as there will always be fleas on dogs there will be a quarterback controversy somewhere in the nfl and now there is one building here in san francisco our problem is we have two and there's a quarterback controversy developing we're going to have to select between steve young and joe montana that's a critical area for us in just his second season with the team young refused to live in the legends shadow there's a lot of tension with with steve coming to the 49ers steve would get really mad really wanted to show that he he's worthy he can play everyone wants to play i want to play desperately and i'm going to try to drive everyone nuts until they give me a shot and i don't think anyone wants to sit the bench and that's very much the case for myself this is the first time joe would have to basically compete have somebody over his shoulder so there was a lot of tension at age 32 joe montana knows this is a crucial year you've got a young guy pushing you in town now steve young how do you handle this we have to be as competitive as possible without letting it come between us it never got where these guys wouldn't speak or talk to each other they had to talk to each other they kept it professional if joe was upset at anybody it would have been me not not steve young joe was having problems physically because of that steve saw some action in the season opener in new orleans montana threw three touchdown passes as the 49ers built a commanding lead montana back to throw steps up for the end zone touchdown 49ers to mike wilson but in the third quarter he left the game with a bruised elbow young came in but was unable to generate any offense instead he gave points to the saints on a safety the 49ers held on for a narrow victory but in the locker room not everyone was happy steve you satisfied with this kind of role you expect this all year like a relief pitcher you kind of get into the bullpen i'm i'm satisfied to play for the 49ers and we'll take it from there you know obviously you know i've talked about wanting to play i mean if you want to talk to someone wants to play come talk to me but just handle it and just handle it the following week in new york walsh gave young his first start as a 49er well joe wasn't able to play i didn't plan to play him at all and so this was i just had to go with steve i don't think joe was hurt at the time uh i think you know bill was trying to work steve in it was early in the season you know his probably excuse was he want to keep joe fresh but he was one to see what steve could do on the national stage and so a lot of us were questioning you why why is steven here in trouble running out to the left gonna be caught yeah again the 49ers are really self-destructed in this first quarter young fumbled on san francisco's first three possessions steve struggled and so reluctantly i went with joe in the second half the 49ers trailed 17-13 58 seconds on the clock they have to go 77 yards with the game on the line walsh called for a 76 all go a play he installed in practice earlier that week specifically for the giants so they all go and just concentrate on this part of it or this part of it they will rotate past and leave this open or stay inside leave this open so we've got a hell of a chance 76 all go as in all go basically what the play is is how you just tell all your receivers it's the hail mary you know hey i'm gonna draw back i'm throwing as far as i can i was right tackle the time montana i'm blocking and he spins inside basically he's got a clean shot at the quarterback and sure enough joe at the time just threw up just a prayer to jerry rice down the sidelines touchdown 49ers a 77-yard touchdown pass to jerry right silence was one thing i'll never forget boy and it is stunned silence here the crowd was just going berserk before the before that play that was one of the greatest plays that i'd ever seen uh and i was part of it in week three montana was decidedly he threw three interceptions as the 49ers were upset by the lowly falcons montana has been intercepted three times today in week six against the broncos the four and 149ers were blown totally off course a fierce win came up in the second half and i mean fierce had to be 40 mile an hour gales impossible we couldn't even throw a pass i commemorate just trash and dust flying everywhere there were times we'd walk the line of scrimmage and you could barely stand up goes into overtime joe gets hurt we're tied at 13 in overtime the wins continue to swirl steve comes in and he he throws a interception it's intercepted it bounced off a rice's hands to steve wilson the ball held up i believe by the wind the wind probably hurt steve throwing that ball but nobody ever remembers that here is the kick it is up the kick is good the broncos win it 16 to 13. for bill to see a team that had all this talent and had all this history that he had built winning one week you know on a miracle and losing the next week on a fluke and it just wasn't the 49ers that he was used to the niners record drops to four and two his teams they were precise they executed and we were doing anything but that at that point in time this season [Music] we've got to have everybody 100 fresh for this ball game somehow you've got to be fresh in some cases it may mean a lot of sex and others none i don't know i really enjoy the humor that danny white you know he's not going to play so he's the guy mouthing off they're going if you can get everyone to laugh together you can get everyone to get serious together we've set a high standard for this ball club the highest in football maybe the highest football is seen and we're not going to deteriorate regardless of who's in the game because the guy next to you suffers if you don't give it everything you've got the thing that you've never wanted to do as a player with 49ers is you never want to let the other guys down you cannot let down because you're obligated to the men sitting next to you tonight you can't let down one of the first speeches bill gave every year was anybody who carries a football for the san francisco 49ers was an extension of everybody else in this room so roger craig you carry the football you're an extension of harris barton who's blocking for you you're an extension of joe montana who hands the ball off to you your extension of michael carter who's playing defense an extension of the fans of san francisco you're an extension of the guy who's cleaning your uniform we give you that type of respect when we hand you the football we were an extension to each other and we believed in that my responsibility for play action faking and things like that was just as big as joe rice or john taylor catching touchdown balls it was such a team thing it's not our athletic ability that's going to go out and knock the jocks off these guys it's how we play as a team i know they all want to win badly they want to beat us but then they can't do it because we play better as a unit than they do we know we're the best team let's just go out and prove it to build team unity bill walsh created the annual 49er fishing derby our facility and the training camp had a pond it was pretty large going by it one day on my bike i thought wait a minute if there were fish in there we could have a fishing derby so one thing to stock this thing with fish tomorrow and friday we're going to have a dent a barbecue everybody will have a hole i don't want any whole fights we filled that thing with catfish then everybody got a rod we had teams the defensive backs versus the offensive line we had individual prizes we had a catfish feed uh that night so it turned out to be quite a tradition walsh's stocking of the pond with catfish was a source of unintentional humor to the team for catfish was the nickname of starting running back roger craig if you hook roger you don't get 100 bucks freddie solomon named me catfish when i run through the holes my eyes expand it's not that i'm afraid to get hit or anything i just i like to see where i'm going so i just swim through the hose craig's nickname became a punchline for the former boxer coach walsh he had this artist draw a picture of me looking like a catfish with bug eyes you know with 33 on you know swimming through the whole the team just crack up laughing you know so this is a way of loosening this up for a big game man he's known for that craig's superhero-like strength changed the perception of the 49ers as a finesse team so did his high knee running style i was a high hurdler in high school and in college and my coach in high school used to tell me get your knees up we should run through those tires you know you got to get your knees up bros you'll fall on your face and one game in high school i knocked out like three three guys in the same game you know lifting your knees up is kind of like a weapon for me because people didn't shy away from tackling me i use it to my advantage [Music] in 1988 craig had his greatest season as a pro a discouraging run for the defense by roger craig he rushed for a career high 1502 yards and led the team with 76 catches his versatility was a perfect fit for walsh's complex schemes coach wash he utilized me better than any coach ever utilize me we want to get roger the ball we're going to flood one side and get roger out in the whole idea here now whenever he wanted me to do something i was going to make sure i was going to be there for him we know that this guy will have to cover roger which is scary for them he would always give some type of positive reinforcement because rogers had some great days catching the ball at the rams in week 7 craig played the game of his life he goes to the end zone touchdown 49ers he is the best back in the league right now he rushed for 190 yards scored three touchdowns and ripped off one of the greatest runs in nfl history it's a drop the middle to craig and he breaks loose and runs loose he gets used from the 30 to the 25 he's out of the 20 breaks lose again he's an attack five touchdown 49ers oh what a bonanza spectacular run by roger price i remember watching it that night on the newscast thinking myself you know was i in the same game as this guy you know this is this is something like there's a hall of fame clip here did pull the team together it did exemplify you know that 88 season looking back on it i run against the rams exemplify what i was all about as a as a player endurance the strength the power and the speed you know to do all that in one run he was busting people he knocked a couple people down knocked a couple of his own players out of the way might be the best run of his career when i see that run i still get goosebumps that's highlight real material forever like most offensive linemen harris barton was not a household name when he entered the nfl i was drafted by the 49ers 1987 and i never forget i'm watching on espn and a restaurant in north carolina university of north carolina and the commissioner of the league gets on and announces my name 49ers first choice harris burton offensive tackle north carolina harris burton and i'm like well that's a good way to start i got drafted and the next afternoon i was flying on a plane ride out to san francisco never been to san francisco before got off the plane and an hour later i'm standing in the huddle with some of the best football players in the world to my right is joe montana to my left is jerry rice and roger craig and tom rathman and that happened in a 24-hour period you know i realized that hey i'm not in north carolina i'm with the world championship 49ers i was born and raised in a jewish family in atlanta georgia you know i i went way beyond my physical abilities i had to use a lot of mental strength and i was never a player that you know i'm a nice guy and i i had to spend the entire week really psyching myself up to go out there and do go out there and do battle he was a nervous body though he's a worrier you know during the game he would always say is my technique okay you know he's prancing around in the locker room working on his technique as blocking techniques we had to sort of protect harris because he he would worry he'd worry about things and the other players knew it so they'd find reason to get him to worry i'd say harris you better be ready this week you know you're going as lawrence taylor you know so just make him that much more nervous barton had reason to worry in week 8 when the 49ers traveled to chicago to face the nfl's number one defense well monday night game because in chicago that game joe just got abused west coast offense coming to chicago we score them usually seven points the bears had to be thinking that hey we own these guys we were losing the end of the game bill pulls joe and put steve in and steve missed on a fourth inches play back to throw throws on here to craig and he's not going to get the first down when bill pulled joe that was a red flag that went up the flagpole we were still struggling with joe's health at that time she's got a great heart and tremendous courage and so if you were asked joe will say he's 100 fit and ready he's been taking a lot of hits he needs a rest to be honest with you he needs a week off in week nine steve young started in place of joe montana early on he disappointed those looking to avenge the playoff loss to the vikings in 87. he was on some plays he was off some plays this is not the same steve young that just went in the hall of fame you know this is a steve young that is kind of raw out there and he i mean he's almost like a rookie he's never been in this system he's left-handed he's got new receivers he frankly didn't play very well that year you know he'll tell you that too he did struggle at times he had this great athletic ability that saved him [Music] late in the fourth quarter the 49ers trailed the vikings by four young back to throw in trouble he's going to be zac no gets away he runs gets away again goes to the morning gets away again to the 35 cuts back at the 30 to the 20 the 15 the 10. he died on you won't see many better runs in your life than that the run that steve has at the end of the game that wins the game this one really showed the greatness that steve young was going to be one of the greatest runs i've ever seen a quarterback have i mean very similar to roger federer i mean a run that you thought he was tackled several times but he just kept going and kept going and kept going kind of like the old energizer bunny see was always known for his dramatics you know he could run in he didn't have to stumble across the line he just kind of tripped on like the five yard line on this the white line that's what he tripped on it was a strange experience for steve because they were running him out of town in 1988 he was literally getting booed during that game people were going from booing steve to just thinking he was just the second coming in a game that was as slow as pond water in the first half quarterback steve young finally found the play that would do it the one when he had to keep it himself and struggle in to win it you know i think watching roger running into rams i decided maybe i'll start trying to break back on it and stuff you know um but i don't i don't think that's going to be our offense very much in the future that was one heck of a run don't mind him taking away some of your thunder today i'll tell you it helps out steve is a frustrating guy because he can't seem to get in sync but on the other hand he makes a big play like this that wins the game a tremendous athletic effort i think this last week might have been a good breakthrough for steve it's very likely that that steve will start again i just don't believe that joe will be 100 ready this next week young would start again the next week at the cardinals and guided the 49ers to a 23 to nothing lead chase now throws for the end zone touchdown to brent jones i remember leaving the field at halftime thinking this is as good as we've ever looked this was beautiful i was so proud but in the fourth quarter the former boxer would be floored by a haymaker i was facing one way and two players running full speed going for ball hit me from behind one of the coaches got knocked down on the sideline it appears they just hit me flat on my back and they cracked two ribs i found out later i mean people didn't think i was going to get up it was really and maybe i shouldn't i could hardly stand up hey hey bill way to get a little contact down there for the next few games i was uh strapped up and kept on going i don't think many people knew of it i didn't give it a second thought other than it hurt like hell what happened next would hurt even worse six seconds ten yard line six-point differential he throws [Applause] [Music] it was a shocker we lost the last uh four or five seconds uh you know all this boxing rhetoric you know bill was literally knocked out and had to be assisted onto the team playing because he was light-headed look back on this and just pull our hair out because there's absolutely no reason for this to happen it was probably the worst loss that steve young had you know he always would say afterwards you know in private that if we win that game you know he's a starting quarterback and uh he's probably right in week 11 joe montana was called on to salvage the season he'd been sick all week with with his stomach virus he is in a weakened state because he lost eight pounds during the week he really shouldn't have been out there but after losing to arizona he was willed by the fans in the community and the media and by me to get out there and give it a shot and it was not a great game for joe we just couldn't generate anything and the 49er passing game which has sputtered all season is just out of sync so far here today that was a game that bill really wanted to win you know al davis was the guy who got bill in the business and to go out and you know be shut down by them not score a touchdown was just unbelievably deflating uh for bill and the entire offense we stunk it up that was probably the low point and i'm not putting words in bill's mouth probably the low point from phil's career i mean this is his team and his organization being just torn apart by an organization that is exactly the opposite of his 49ers high-powered offense held to only three points where bill would teach discipline and execution the raiders were always looked at as hey they sit on their helmets and they smoke cigarettes in the locker room and they're gonna have late hits don't have stupid penalties well that team just dismantled you know the team that bill had built for the first time since 85 the 49ers will lose back to back games we had those two losses staring at us and uh there was a lot of stress though yes their playoff hopes goodbye it was a brutal loss you told me then in that locker room that we were going to win the super bowl i would have bet everything i had and said that there's no way that's going to happen [Music] remember walking into the 49er facility and guys are saying to themselves hey what are you going to do in the off season you know because there's no way we could make the playoffs we're in a pretty tough division we're six and five at the time there's a bunch of teams ahead of us guys are almost packing up you know running a lot called the team meeting and the coaches weren't allowed to come into our our room and ronnie stands up and and gives one of the most impassioned speeches really that i've ever heard it's really the screw the coaches meeting hey we know more than they do we're better than this let's see what we can do it was really kind of an unforgettable moment it really changed my sports career because you always hear about these player only meetings and does it ever work you know i'll tell you it usually never works but this one did guys came out of that meeting a united and cheering for each other and pulling for each other you got my back i got yours type of attitude and stick together and be brothers and we could easily went to the tank you know guys could easily start pointing fingers we said we don't want any fingers pointing you know we're in this thing together back to the five yard line taken by taylor comes to the near side now tries to go back the other side is pulled down gets away goes to the 10 stumbles the 15. against the defending world champion redskins john taylor's 95-yard punt return broke the game open and change the course of the 49ers season joe montana also came to life in a 37-21 victory everything was in sync following the redskins victory offensively joe montana had now recovered completely so we had joe back the 49ers won four of their final five games to finish the season 10 and six touchdowns what a play by montana steps up throw her wide open 45-40 in front of 49ers [Music] they clinched the nfc west title and headed into a much anticipated playoff rematch with the vikings i think everybody was looking to play the vikings that would give us a chance to redeem ourselves somewhat from that loss the previous year joe montana threw three touchdown passes in the first half to jerry rice take a 21-3 lead we put them away right now right now man keep working keep working roll that up the 49ers scorched the vikings for 34 points [Applause] the last seven coming on a classic catfish fry [Music] relieved by exercising the demons of 87 the players hoisted bill walsh on their shoulders even more surprising was the first speaker in the post-game locker room joe montana very seldom gave motivational talks after the game and he gave a talk that room was so quiet you can hear a pin drop that's how quiet it was when he talks it's like ef hutton you listen the teams that have beaten another team by a big margin have come back the next week and played terrible and that is not going to happen to this ball club it's we've opened the door we're going to go through it next week and we're going to take kick ass and take no prisoners the weekend in the nfc championship the 49ers would face the bears who the previous week defeated the eagles in the legendary fog bowl we couldn't get much out of the tapes preparing for the bears because you couldn't see the bears probably the most effective thing that will happen today team next week can't look at film on it the bears had proclaimed themselves that year the team of destiny they probably felt well if we can get through this we can get through anything yes we are ready it's not cold enough out here the weather is going to be a factor here today by the -25 chill factor it was 26 below wind chill and it was the coldest colts and yellowstone ever ever experienced it was the coldest game i ever played in my life i went out there in a short sleeve shirt i went out on the field i couldn't feel the ball it's so cold that the mist in the air off of a player's breath was so thick you couldn't see it's freezing nobody wants to admit how cold it is like wow how am i going to play this game today i'm going to get through this game today you know it's all worried we got to jump on him fast kind of beat him to the punch as bill washers say beat him to the punch and we jumped on him early 11 minutes into the game the 49ers landed the first blow he gets away the 61-yard jab staggered the bears the minute jerry rice caught the touchdown pass we were in business and silenced the hecklers in the crowd there was a man behind me with a megaphone chanting and talking to me about my body parts and my my preferences in life and everything else and whenever it was quiet the whole stadium could hear it and they'd laugh and they'd roar and everything was fine but by the time we got to third quarter he could couldn't talk because i knew we had him they just didn't have the complete offensive package that you had to have to be a team of destiny [Applause] looking throwing touchdown 49ers because of the elements because of the apparent strength of the opposition that may have been the best 49er victory rathman drives for the end zone touchdown 49ers here we go there are just a few games where you get in the locker room afterwards and it's almost a frenzy of excitement and you're just you for it it was incredible that was truly a great victory and as i recall my career that one stands out as much as any whoever would have thought it on the coldest day of january the finesse ass 49ers would come in the backyard of the bears and kick ass i remember looking at kevin fagan and he looks at me and goes we're going to the super bowl in two weeks we're gonna play in the super bowl and when that's that's a moment in sports that you really never forget you know i've never been in a super bowl the tunnel vision kind of goes away and for a minute man you just celebrate how great it is amongst all these guys that had been in the trenches with you all year long you were six and five you were yelling and screaming at each other in huddles and here you are two weeks away from going to the super bowl [Applause] that's a great feeling [Music] you don't want him to to sing for your team because every time i every time i pick a team and i do the anthem i lose yeah they've always lost so do you follow football and do you have a prediction perhaps this will be my first football game ever on hand to watch her husband billy joel sing the national anthem supermodel christy brinkley weighed in on super bowl 23. i know joe montana is supposed to be really great in the locker room bill walsh was preparing for the big game the way he always did i took a little nap to want to demonstrate to the players you're totally at ease and totally relaxed and ready to go we collectively are the best team in football as we sit here we are the best right now our opposition knows it we know it so we take the field we take it with great pride in ourselves that we've come this far and i always take advantage of it i walked out on the field prior to the game by myself and walked around the stadium and became a little emotional all by myself thinking this could be it this could be my last game i do take some pride in the fact that i didn't talk to the team about retiring i didn't try to tug on their sentiments wanting one for the gipper or something the players win the game for each other not for a coach or an owner walsh's adversary in super bowl 23 would be his longtime friend sam weiss i'm so nervous i just wet myself and i'm done weish had been an assistant on walsh's original 49ers staff and helped groom a young quarterback named joe montana he knew number 16 was on joe is hot so let's cover him he's throwing good warm-ups i guess that means i'm in a wild super bowl montana tied the game at 13 earlier in the fourth quarter [Applause] [Music] [Applause] 338 is the time remaining so it'll be about a 40-yard attempt bengals regained the lead on a jim beach [Music] walsh would have to go the distance for the win the 49ers last drive started on their own eight-yard line we grew up running out on the field and sure enough they called television time out and so we're all standing out in the huddle and i am just i was always an intense guy i'm like man we have fought through it we were six and five man we should be beating this team and we're behind by three we need to score a touchdown this is crap what are we doing it was the tensest time that you could ever have as a football player this is a super bowl and you're down and joe looks at me and he he goes hey hey h and i go what he goes he goes hey check it out and i go what he goes look down there in the other end zone i go okay he goes you see him i go no he goes there's john candy down there in the end zone and sure enough the whole huddle turns around and looks down there there's john candy eating popcorn at the other end of the stadium they're like yeah that is john candy look at that and then the official blows a whistle and the end play starts the 49ers have a long way to go montana back to throne first down throws over the middle completes it to craig craggers to the 16. that was joe montana at his best montana is back to throw a little dunk over the middle caught by john frank and that'll be a first down montana with a first down two receivers near side joe back to throw steps up throws out here for right midfield goes out of bounds two wide receivers near side montana to throw completed up the middle to craig at one point joe looked at me and gave me a timeout signal and i waved him off i didn't want to take a time out there and he did it again i waved him off i had no idea he was hyperventilating montana trying to drive him the length of the field here with the game in the balance 16 to 13 the bengals lead montana back to throw throws over the middle up [Applause] [Music] of each other everyone had different roles they had to play 52 seconds remaining that whole drive we were just an extension to each other with 39 seconds remaining walsh called 20 half back curl x up it was the last play he would call as coach of the [Music] seconds 49ers back to throw montana stepped up [Music] throws for the touchdown [Applause] [Music] [Applause] at the time the touchdown was scored uh in the midst of all that i knew that would have been my last game it was very emotional and it was the wear and tear it began to show sam weitz comes across the field to look for bill waltz also i had a great affection for sam watch because he and i had been like brothers i love you i love you congratulations i'm happy for you like i've never been believe me congratulations this is yours you deserve it i trusted him and had my arm around him and he in a sense protected me because i i was starting to wind down from that point on and uh he helped me off the field really that was a good game [Applause] [Music] everybody sold out this week everybody damn it's great isn't ronnie said man doesn't it feel great it felt like heaven you know after you know what we went through that whole year i feel like i'm in heaven right now you know it's my second super bowl title i terry we work so hard we deserve it we overcame all the adversities throughout the year and we just pulled together christy brinkley in the locker room came in and i took a picture with me and i don't have anything on but these shorts man like my underwear so it was uh kind of strange eric wright dumped gatorade on eddie davarlo [Music] [Applause] it takes like gus to do that [Applause] it was interesting after that game i saw the men celebrating with eddie de barlow and everyone and almost felt like an outsider almost in a matter of seconds an outsider who just won the super bowl [Music] i think it was time for me to leave this is a tough moment in a way because was this the final game on the sideline for a great coach bill walsh that was when i stepped away emotional moment right now with the coach down here inside the locker room thank god my son was there with me and we sort of embraced and got through it [Music] meanwhile everybody else was was celebrating a few feet away bill he shocked me man when he retired that killed me inside i mean a part of me died i was hurt by it i was gonna miss a great coach but a friend as well we got to be really good friends almost like father-son figure am i number one in the world bill i miss roger i miss all the guys we care for each other that's one of the reasons we had the success we had we were totally bonded as a group of men this is my first ring this is the ring that we won for winning that super bowl against cincinnati bengals players like ronnie lott and joe montana who have four of these always say the first one is the most important uh the one that means the most to them and that's true this ring sits in my safe deposit box i'm scared to death to take it out the money goes the fame goes but they can never take this away from you and it's something that still gives me good response [Music] phil retired that day but one thing that he left a message with us even in life today you know you're only an extension to each other when you have that kind of attitude and that belief you're going to do wonderful things [Applause] when you're selfish nothing like that happens 1988 established the 49ers as a dynasty it came the hard way we salvaged a struggling season to make it a championship season super bowl 23 means an awful lot to me [Music] so [Music] for additional video content photo galleries and more from america's game visit nfl.com america's game [Music]

Channel: 80s Football Cards

Views: 19,557

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Id: OJCJUVRnbgM

Length: 44min 52sec (2692 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 23 2022