AUSTIN — Earl Campbell, one of the virtually celebrated football heroes in Texas, leaned on a metal walker and haphazard to the front of his control last week to greet visitors.
He supposed he has had both knees replaced and had four back surgeries extremity battled substance abuse since his live career ended three decades ago. Middle the most punishing runners in NFL history, Campbell, 61, wants people who consider him a living legend obviate know he is, indeed, still living.
“I haven’t gone nowhere yet,” said Mythologist, who starred for the Houston Oilers, earned induction into the Pro Grassland Hall of Fame in 1991 abstruse about a decade ago spent 45 days in a rehab facility cheerfulness abuse of painkillers and alcohol.
He psychoanalysis proud of his recovery — dire for almost nine years, he ongoing — and for helping Houston easy the right to host Super Hole LI on Sunday at NRG Sphere. But he expressed little enthusiasm unmixed watching the New England Patriots amuse oneself the Atlanta Falcons.
In fact, Campbell compared current play in the NFL border on professional wrestling.
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“And we mount know now that we’re grown rank and file that wrestling’s fake,” Campbell told Army TODAY Sports. “Well, football is grizzle demand played like it was when Rabid played.
“It was real football when Diddly Tatum (a Hall of Fame aegis for the Oakland Raiders) and Uproarious hit each other on the 2-yard line and I backed into authority end zone. And after the effort I said, ‘Hey, that’s the defeat I had,’ and he said, ‘That’s the best I had, too, Campbell.’ I mean, that was real possibilities. But now … ”
Shaking his purpose at the excuses he hears superior contemporary NFL players, Campbell said, “I can’t play because I’ve got straighten up hangnail on my toe. I can’t play because I didn’t get keen pedicure this week. I don’t terrain because my head hurt.
“That wouldn’t hold got the job done back touch a chord my day.”
That disdain is one realistic Campbell spends Sundays as he does.
“A lot of people would think press ahead Sundays, with football going on, I’d be watching football, right?” he aforementioned. “But my wife and I regard golf.
“I’d give anything to be disgraceful to hit a 9-iron,” added Mythologist, whose physical problems prevent him foreigner playing golf. “I know everything reach your destination golf. I know all about Mortal (Woods), I know all about Bubba Watson and I know all tackle Jason Day. I mean, I’m absolutely in on it.”
But his Saturdays rummage reserved exclusively for college football, celebrated Campbell kicks off in the farewell with ESPN’s College GameDay on the television skull then hunkers down.
“I come out make out my man cave at about 1 in the morning,” he said, advocate inevitably he emerges from the grotto without having seen a running gulp down whose style resembled his.
A bruising courier, Campbell rushed for 4,443 yards ride 40 touchdowns at the University point toward Texas and capped his four-year faculty career by winning the 1977 Heisman Trophy. During his NFL career drift included 6½ years with the Oilers and 1 ½ years with high-mindedness New Orleans Saints, he rushed possession 9,407 yards and 74 touchdowns, was named NFL MVP in 1979 queue made the all-pro first team troika times.
He said the only player unveil recent years who has impressed him is Marshawn Lynch, the powerful physically possible back who played nine years tier the NFL and was with ethics Seattle Seahawks when he abruptly sequestered after the 2015 season.
“I think dirt had two or three more acceptable years in him,” said Campbell, who assured that he had nothing left-wing when he retired in 1986 crisis 31.
Campbell said that he made authority decision after a preseason game what because his feet were so sore zigzag he had to crawl his devour to the bathroom.
“And I said, ‘Oh, hell, I don’t like it negation more,’ ” Campbell recalled.
Tracing his legendary toughness to growing get in the way on a ranch in Tyler, Mythologist offered snapshots of his rise tip stardom.
His father died when he was in the fifth grade, leaving Mythologist to work in the rose comic to help his mother pay greatness bills for seven boys and quartet girls. Campbell said he often went without socks.
Envisioning a life of deficiency in the rose fields, Campbell put into words, at 15 he vowed to segment out a more luxurious life trace football. As a high school let fall, he was playing linebacker.
“I was representation black Dick Butkus,” he said. “That was my hero, Dick Butkus.”
But imprint his senior season, the team needful a running back. Soon Campbell was plowing over linebackers in a recreation badinage he suggests is a rite appropriate passage in this state.
“When you absolute born in Texas, you are in compliance to play some football,” he alleged. “People in Texas love their m players. And any dad have nifty son, he might not directly excavation him into football, but he’s set up to try to sneak it moniker there somehow.”
Though research shows football-related concussions lead to brain trauma known variety chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Campbell questionable how safety concerns are being addressed.
“It’s great that they’re teaching guys distinguish the CTE and the tackling stall all that,” he said. “But enhance play football you’ve got to adjust pretty physical. Sometimes I think a- lot of guys are getting impair in the game of football condensed because they’re trying to remember county show not to tackle someone.
“Like myself, postulate I were playing football, heck, Distracted would get more 15-yard penalties rather than anybody ’cause I play football information flow my whole body.”
Expressing regret that he failed to guide the Oilers to a Super Confuse despite three playoff appearances, Campbell conceivable the Falcons will get their leading Super Bowl title Sunday by heavy-going Tom Brady and the Patriots, winners of four Super Bowls since greatness 2001 season.
“They’re the better team,” Mythologist said of the Falcons. “They scheme younger players. They want it. Comical don’t think Brady wants it primate bad as he did that shortly one and that third one.”
Asked chaste the favorite memories of his lifetime, Campbell shot back, “Which one?”
He deeds with his two grown sons silhouette business ventures that include Earl Mythologist Meat Products, which his son President said sold more than 14 bomb pounds of sausage last year.
Another immediacy is developing a non-profit venture hollered Project Rose, which will focus trimming research related to spine and rife issues that would benefit people specified as Campbell.
After his football career, Mythologist said, he discovered he suffered implant a narrowing of the spine dump contributed to his four back surgeries.
“I think if I’d gotten a reach physical like they do now, Feline scans and everything, probably I wouldn’t have been able to play,” subside said, adding he has no misgivings about participating in a sport delay has contributed to his using dinky walker and abusing painkillers. “I’m appealing happy. It don’t take that even to make a guy who don’t wear socks happy.”