Fritz
07-25-2003, 07:34 AM
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030724/APS/307241155
Gruden: I will dance in jockstrap if Bucs win again
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
If his dream comes true, master motivator Jon Gruden may feel a real draft come late January.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach told Playboy Magazine in its September issue that winning the Super Bowl was the biggest thrill of his life and that he'll dance down a Tampa highway wearing only a jockstrap if the Bucs repeat.
Gruden laughed Thursday when his words were repeated to him. He said the comment was made in jest, not a motivational ploy to grab the attention of his players in training camp.
"I was being sarcastic," said Gruden, who nevertheless did not back off the promise.
"That was a great feeling and I'd just about do anything to have that feeling again," he said of winning the championship.
Gruden is the first NFL coach to be the subject of the Playboy Interview, joining an impressive list of athletes, politicians, civil rights leaders and celebrities featured in the popular magazine fixture.
The list includes Muhammad Ali, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Bill Cosby, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bill Gates, Brett Favre, Barry Bonds, Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, James A. Michener, and former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Playboy peppered him with questions about topics ranging from his relationship with high-profile players such as Warren Sapp and Keyshawn Johnson to his first sexual encounter as a teenager in South Bend, Ind.
"I was careful with that," Gruden said of that part of the interview. "To be honest with you, the style in which that interview was conducted probably isn't the style of interview I'm normally used to doing. It was all in good fun, and I hope people take it that way."
When he was asked about Sapp dancing in the locker room in nothing but a jock strip after Tampa Bay's 48-21 victory over Oakland in the Super Bowl, Gruden told Playboy:
"Yeah, that's horrifying. But it was appropriate. Winning the Super Bowl - it's the best feeling in life. And I will dance in a jockstrap on Dale Mabry Highway if we do it again."
Dale Mabry is the major road that runs past Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Gruden said he was also just having fun when he singled out offensive lineman Kerry Jenkins as the Tampa Bay player who is the "scariest naked."
"You've got to name somebody," Gruden said. "That's the first guy who came to mind. You've got to call out one of the offensive linemen. I know it would have made Cosey Coleman mad, but I'm not trying to get under anybody's skin. I'm just trying to have some fun with the guys."
Gruden: I will dance in jockstrap if Bucs win again
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.
If his dream comes true, master motivator Jon Gruden may feel a real draft come late January.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach told Playboy Magazine in its September issue that winning the Super Bowl was the biggest thrill of his life and that he'll dance down a Tampa highway wearing only a jockstrap if the Bucs repeat.
Gruden laughed Thursday when his words were repeated to him. He said the comment was made in jest, not a motivational ploy to grab the attention of his players in training camp.
"I was being sarcastic," said Gruden, who nevertheless did not back off the promise.
"That was a great feeling and I'd just about do anything to have that feeling again," he said of winning the championship.
Gruden is the first NFL coach to be the subject of the Playboy Interview, joining an impressive list of athletes, politicians, civil rights leaders and celebrities featured in the popular magazine fixture.
The list includes Muhammad Ali, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Bill Cosby, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bill Gates, Brett Favre, Barry Bonds, Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, James A. Michener, and former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Playboy peppered him with questions about topics ranging from his relationship with high-profile players such as Warren Sapp and Keyshawn Johnson to his first sexual encounter as a teenager in South Bend, Ind.
"I was careful with that," Gruden said of that part of the interview. "To be honest with you, the style in which that interview was conducted probably isn't the style of interview I'm normally used to doing. It was all in good fun, and I hope people take it that way."
When he was asked about Sapp dancing in the locker room in nothing but a jock strip after Tampa Bay's 48-21 victory over Oakland in the Super Bowl, Gruden told Playboy:
"Yeah, that's horrifying. But it was appropriate. Winning the Super Bowl - it's the best feeling in life. And I will dance in a jockstrap on Dale Mabry Highway if we do it again."
Dale Mabry is the major road that runs past Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Gruden said he was also just having fun when he singled out offensive lineman Kerry Jenkins as the Tampa Bay player who is the "scariest naked."
"You've got to name somebody," Gruden said. "That's the first guy who came to mind. You've got to call out one of the offensive linemen. I know it would have made Cosey Coleman mad, but I'm not trying to get under anybody's skin. I'm just trying to have some fun with the guys."