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Iron man Titans' Matthews finally gets his game
Posted: Wednesday January 26, 2000 06:10 PM
By John Giannone, CNNSI.com ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- Amid the junk food cravings, there is an endless tenacity and a steely will that has made Bruce Matthews the NFL's iron giant. "My special diet is cheeseburgers and Diet Coke," jokes Matthews."That ain't going to carry you very far." Well in this case, maybe it has. For 17 seasons, through 264 games, blocking for 14 quarterbacks and 26 running backs, Matthews has always answered the bell. This week, at long last, the bell tolls for Matthews at the Super Bowl. "The Good Lord has given me a body and he's given me a desire to continue to play," said Matthews. "There isn't any secret workout or special supplement that I take. I mean, He's just blessed the Matthews family with genes that you can knock us around a lot but we can continue to play." Teammates know another secret to his longevity and marvel at what he can do at age 38. "The fire is still in his belly, you know what I mean?" said linebacker Barron Wortham. "When the fire is still in your belly, I mean, the only way to suppress that fire is if you just get tired of playing. And so far he's not tired of playing." "He isn't acting his age, man," observed defensive lineman Kenny Holmes. "It's like he's 21, like he's Jevon's [Kearse] age. He's around here, jumping around, playing games, having fun. He's excited, man." Wide receiver Yancey Thigpen adds the team understands how important it would be to win the game for Matthews. "This game really means more to Bruce than the Hall of Fame, than all the Pro Bowls he's ever been associated with. So we're going to try and go out and win it for Bruce." As a long-suffering Oiler who still lives in Houston, Matthews admits this has become a bittersweet week. Only this year did he become accustomed to playing in Tennessee and not Texas. And amid all the Titan hype, Matthews still waxes poetic about the past. "They talk about it being loud at [Tennessee's home stadium] Adelphia. But man, back in the '90s when we were on our run, the [Astro] Dome was a wreck to play in if you had to play against us there. I'm thinking well, maybe my hearing is impaired because I'm older. But in the Dome when it was loud, you could feel it in your spine." When Matthews stands guard against the Rams, he'll have more than Houston on his mind. There's older brother Clay, a 19-year NFL veteran who never felt the Super Bowl experience but who will lead the family cheers on Sunday. "It's something I've talked to my brother about," said Bruce. "Without a doubt, the desire to play in the Super Bowl is always there. And it's definitely something that we've come to understand. We kind of decided that hey, with or without making the Super Bowl, jeez, we've had great careers." With the finish line in sight, Matthews' future could include a job with Houston's expansion franchise or alongside college teammate Jeff Fisher and best friend Mike Munchak on the Titan coaching staff. But Matthews says that win or lose, he will fulfill his contract and return to the field next season. Part of Matthews' inspiration to return next season could be to fulfill his five childrens' wish and pass his brother Clay for second place on the all-time games played list for non-kickers, behind only Jim Marshall.
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