"FOOTBALL GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO FORGE A LIFE IN ALASKA.”

In the Super Bowl, you were up 14-0, totally dominating the game and then your kicker tried to do something crazy, which made the game a little closer.

It was a low kick that got deflected and the ball bounced back into the arms of our kicker Garo Yepremian. For years, Shula harped at him to always, "Fall on the ball...don't try to do anything with it.” But Garo panicked and tried to throw it. He was left-handed but tried to throw it with his right hand. It was intercepted and run back for a touchdown. Instead of a 17-0 score in a 17-0 season, which would’ve been like destiny, we’d just breathed new life into the Redskins. It was now 14-7 with several minutes left in the game. It was a very tough, tense situation. But a guy named Jake Scott, a weak side safety, intercepted a ball late in the fourth quarter, just by his fingertips. That sealed the game.

It seems like you went on every single TV talk show after winning Super Bowl VII. That must have been fun.

It was fun. I think Jim Kiick and I probably got an unfair amount of publicity with the "Butch & Sundance" thing, but that didn’t stop us from making the most of it.

You went 12-2 in '73 and you won Super Bowl VIII, and you were 32-2 in over just two seasons. You've said the '73 team was better than the '72 team because you just dominated everybody.

I think the '73 team was better in terms of pure ball domination. We didn't have as many close games, either - let's put it that way. Most of the time, it was pretty much a given that we were going to win. Until we didn’t.

You still have such a close brotherhood with your old teammates.

We look forward to getting together every year when the Dolphins bring us back for an Alumni Weekend. We usually watch practice and attend a game the following day. It’s a great tradition and the stories get wilder and wilder. When I finally got around to writing my book I wanted it to be about all of that, not just my career, but about the camaraderie, the highs and the lows, and the people who profoundly influenced me. I feel good about the book because I accomplished what I set out to do. I enjoyed writing it, and it's very true to what happened. But when I get together with the fellas and we start recounting football stories, there's always a difference of opinion, of course, on who did what, who picked up a blitz or made a tackle. We’re still competitive.