Q. What football players did you look up to as a child?

A. Well, we are going to go way back. When I was growing up, football wasn’t as dominant in exposure as it is today. So I would have to go back to 1960 when I was a freshman in high school. The Green Bay Packers got a brand new coach two years before that, a guy named Vince Lombardi. All of a sudden, the Packers started to win, and we started becoming bigger Packer fans than we were in the past. I watched those Packer teams of the 60's with Paul Hornung, one of my favorite players; Jimmy Taylor, a blocking back; and, Bart Starr. I could go on and name everybody, but because I was a running back, I watched those guys, specifically Paul Hornung and Jimmy Taylor.

Q. What was your greatest college game?

A. Probably the greatest college game that I played in, which wasn’t necessarily my most productive, was in 1966. It was called the Game of the Century. We [Notre Dame] played Michigan State in Michigan, and it was their last game and our second to last game. The game was built up by the media and the fan base. It was the first time in many years that the #1 and #2 ranked teams got a chance to play one another. There weren’t any bowl games at that time and the mythical national championship was voted on. The game ended in a tie, but we won the next game against Southern Cal 51-0, and eventually got the national championship. But that game against Michigan State, with its status, was probably the biggest game of my career.

Q. Who was your favorite NFL teammate?

A. My favorite teammate was Jack Lambert. Jack was also my roommate. He was our middle linebacker and had a reputation for being a very aggressive football player. But he wasn’t. Well, that’s the way he played, but he wasn’t that kind of person. He was a very well read and educated person. I liked the way he played and the way he handled himself. With Jack, things were pretty black and white. He expected everybody to play the way he played. If you are on the field, you better play. The only reason that you shouldn’t play is if an ambulance comes and takes you off the field, and that was Jack's belief.  You have to play hurt, play with an injury or play even though you're sick, and that was Jack.

Q.  How tough was it to play your rookie season, be in the military and get wounded, and then come back to play in the pros?

A. When you’re a rookie, you are at the bottom of the totem pole. It's like going to first grade-- you're at the bottom of the totem pole. You go to Junior High-- you're at the bottom of the totem pole. You go to high school-- you're at the bottom of the totem pole.  My biggest thing was trying to make the team. You then make the team and finally accomplish that goal. Then I was injured. I'm not the biggest or the fastest guy, so I didn’t know if I was going to make the team. It took me 2 years to do it, but I finally made that roster in 1972 and it kind of turned everything around.

Q.  Which NFL stadium was the toughest to play at?

A. There were two. One was the old Baltimore stadium. The second one that was just as bad was the Cleveland stadium. These were two stadiums that were falling apart. They were used for both baseball and football, so by the time the football season came, the lockers were crazy and old. The field was hard and there was no sod. They painted them green, and it was all dirt. It was like playing at a sandlot some place. From a physical point of view, they were tough. From a team point of view, I always thought Houston was tough to play in. The Astrodome had a whole other set of problems. The Astrodome had AstroTurf. The noise level was extremely high, and you could not hear anything. We had a great rivalry with Houston as well, and the crowd would drive you nuts. They had hangman nooses and they would cheer loudly. So, Houston was probably the loudest.

Q.  Which NFL stadium was your favorite to play at, other than your home field?

A. I liked playing in Washington because it had a grass field. I liked playing on grass fields. When we are talking about the 70's, everybody had AstroTurf. There weren’t that many teams who had a good grass field, so I enjoyed playing there because the 'Skins had a great field at that time.

Q.  What motivated you to write a book?

A. What motivated me was my co-author, Terry O'Neil. Terry was from the Pittsburg area, and we both went to Notre Dame. He is about four years younger than I am, but I didn’t know him at Notre Dame. He was working on Monday Night Football and he called me and said, "Hey, what do you think about writing a book? I'd love to write a book about your story." I said, "Wow, that would be great." He said, "Take a tape recorder and record your thoughts about the 1974 Super Bowl, and we will start there." So, he was the guy, and like all things, it's always somebody else who gets you going.

Q. What are some of the things you have enjoyed doing since you stopped playing football?

A. I had a chance to work in television which was a lot of fun at the time. I also learned a lot of things from working in television. Secondly, I do a lot of speaking, which has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of different people throughout the years. I also like to be able to sit back and criticize the Steelers and tell them what is going wrong because I can do that now. I like football and I like watching the Steelers. Also, I play golf.

Q. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

A. I like chocolate--any kind of chocolate-- maybe with some vanilla swirls in between.