Q&A with Jeff Foxworthy

The man who gave us the phrase "you might be a redneck" returns to the spotlight next month with Blue Collar Comedy Tour: the Movie, which includes musings on motor sports. "If you think the last four words of the national anthem are 'Gentlemen, start your engines,'" he says, "you might be a redneck.

Jeff Foxworthy Pat Goddard/Daily Press/AP

SI: Before starting in comedy you fixed computers at IBM. Could you fix the BCS computer?

Foxworthy: (laughs) No way. A lot of smart people have been working on it, and it's still messed up. I think we should just draw teams out of a hat. That seems more fair.

SI: You played against Heisman-winning running back George Rogers as a free safety at Hapeville (Ga.) High. How did that work out?

Foxworthy: George still bears the scar from the shoestring tackle I made on him in 11th grade. I failed to tackle him in the 9th, 10th and 12th grades.

SI: But you were captain of the football team, right?

Foxworthy: Yeah. I was a 123-pound safety. They sent me out there to intimidate the other team.

SI: Your brother, Jay, played linebacker at Duke. Considering the Blue Devils' 2-32 record the past three years, do either of you volunteer that information these days?

Foxworthy: We're very quiet during football season and very vocal during basketball season.

SI: You and John Smoltz often go bowling, play video games and have putt-putt competitions. Who wins?

Foxworthy: Smoltzie wins putt-putt, I dominate the video games. It was more fun to bowl with Smoltzie when he had elbow surgery in 2000, because he would bowl left-handed and I had a chance.

SI: Do you think the Braves deserve the title "Team of the '90s", or should that go to the Yanks?

Foxworthy: It depends on what part of the country you live in. I think it's pretty amazing to win the division 11 years in a row, but it's pretty horrible to have your heart broken every October, too. So this year, two days after the Braves lost to the Giants, I called Smoltzie and said, 'I know everybody's calling you trying to lift your spirits, but I don't want to be your friend anymore. I'm so sick of losing like this. But if you guys get in the playoffs next year we can revisit the idea.'

SI: You've attended a longstanding weekly Bible study with several Braves. Before Smoltz moved to the pen, was there ever a prayer offered for a dominant closer?

Foxworthy: (laughs) No, but a few guys have put a NASCAR car on a prayer list, and I don't know how God feels about that.

SI: What was your all-time biggest sporting thrill?

Foxworthy: Probably the '91 Braves. Being a lifetime Braves fan, it was futility for 30 years, then that whole '91 season was just a thrill. I remember I had just moved to L.A. when Atlanta beat the Pirates in the playoffs. I walked to the front steps and sat out in the yard by myself and had tears rolling down my face, thinking, 'Oh my God, the Braves are going to the World Series.'

SI: You've been to a Braves fantasy camp. Do you think you missed your calling as a big leaguer?

Foxworthy: I have almost given up on my dream of playing major league baseball, but the fact that Julio Franco is still around makes me not let go of it entirely. I think he's 58.

SI: You've been the chairman of the Duke Children's Hospital Golf Classic for nine years. How is your golf game?

Foxworthy: Put it this way: I have to get checked for ticks at the end of the round. I do spend a little time in the woods.

SI: Who is the best golfer among the celebrities?

Foxworthy: John Smoltz. He is the best golfer I've ever played with. Smoltzie is like a plus-1. He gives me 30 strokes when we play. We're pretty close at 30, but I dominate him at video golf. It all works out. Terry Bradshaw can hit it the farthest of anyone I've ever played with. It's not always the straightest, but he can smack a golf ball.

SI: You've performed at The Swamp at the University of Florida. Was that the toughest venue you've ever played?

Foxworthy: It was the scariest. There was a pep rally the night before homecoming in the sold-out football stadium, with people all over the field. I'm backstage, and they're telling me, 'Yeah, we've been doing this for 20 years. We booed Bob Hope off the stage. We booed the Smothers Brothers off the stage. We made Paul Poundstone cry.' I'm like, I'm not going out there. But I got a standing ovation, and at the end when I walked off the stage manager says, 'Go back out and do an encore.' I'm like, 'No way!' They got one shot at me. If they didn't boo, I was out of there. Stand-up is not made for 80,000 people.

SI: What's more nerve-racking: facing a heckler onstage or throwing out the first pitch at a Braves game?

Foxworthy: First pitch. You've got no time to warm up, you're wearing cowboy boots, and your friends call you for two weeks beforehand, leaving messages saying, 'You're gonna bounce it.' You know what the key is? You have to throw it, you can't short-arm it. The last time I did it, they had me clocked at 92 mph on the black, with movement.

-- Pete McEntegart

Issue date: January 20, 2003

 

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