Cold is a state of mind.
Come September, the middle of September when the first frost comes, that's hunting season. Fishing poles are hung up and the hunting season starts. You've got to be careful, if you're a hunter, that it doesn't become an obsession.
Well 'Monday Night Football,' I think the players kind of like it because they like the attention, and it's a lot of attention. But on the other hand, it's a disruption of the routine we used to have to play on Monday night. If you're a player, you sit around all day waiting for a game. It's different than when you play at noon.
There was a prison uprising at Alcatraz, and I drove the Marines over there in a landing craft to quell the riot. I am the only serviceman I know with an American Theatre ribbon.
You have to remember one thing: Football is entertainment; it's not life or death. Once the game is over, you're already talking about next year and the draft. It's just entertainment.
I happened to be in a position in Superior where I could play three sports, and when I came to Minnesota, I had the understanding they would allow me to play three sports. Kids now don't have the same amount of time. You have coaches that think baseball is 10 months a year. Hockey is 11 or 12 months a year.
If you have time to be with a dog, and the dog is smart, you come to understand the dog, and the dog understands you. They're not hard to train. But they have to be smart, and you have to spend time with them. It's like coaching. I was a better coach when I had smart players.
The quarterback is the most vulnerable one on the field. He's in an awkward position a lot of times when he throws the ball. So he does have to be protected. You lose a quarterback, you're in trouble. I don't know if they can make it too safe. I think health becomes an issue.
It's not an exercise on how to avoid getting hit. I think there are certain safety measures that take care of the mental part of it, with players not looking to hit somebody in the head. They've done that. But let's not take the entertainment value out of football.
First of all the name, and the color purple, I think those two things distinguish the Vikings as much as anything. You go anywhere in the country and say 'Vikings,' they know exactly where you are. You say 'Cardinals,' well, Cardinals who? There are a dozen Cardinals teams in the country in professional and amateur sports.
'Monday Night Football' has the good and the bad points. The bad point is you have to wait around all day, and it disrupts your schedule for the next week. Now you have one less day to prepare for the following week.