Clay Matthews could definitely steal my girlfriend and probably yours too, bud. Upon scheduling this interview, my girlfriend did a quick Google search to put a face with the name.
As images of “The Clay Maker” flipped across her iPhone, she said, “Wow. This guy is a complete stud.” The accompanying far away look in her eyes told me all I needed to know; that if given the chance, she would shed me the way Matthews sheds opposing double teams.
Aside from getting the ladies flustered off the field, Matthews has established himself as the best pass rusher in the NFL, thanks to a successful start to his career that rivals any linebacker in NFL history.
In five seasons, Matthews has made the Pro Bowl four times, been selected as an All-Pro twice, been named NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and won Super Bowl XLV.
I was fortunate to speak with Clay about his career, his lineage and the Campbell’s Chunky “Sacks for Soup” campaign.
Talk about the partnership with Campbell’s Chunky Soup.
For the past year I teamed up with Campbell’s Chunky and created the “Sacks for Soup” campaign. For every sack that I was able to get last year, Campbell’s Chunky donated 2,000 cans of soup; 1,000 to a local Green Bay food bank and another 1,000 to the opposing team’s city. To date, we’ve donated over 40,000 cans of Chunky soup. For every sack, they also donated $1,000, so we were able to get around up to $20,000 for my foundation (CM3 Charitable Fund), so it’s been a fantastic campaign; one that not only provides for myself, but gives back in the process of doing so.
What’s your favorite kind?
My favorite kind thanks to the Green Bay weather and obviously a play on the Packers is the Hearty Cheeseburger. They’re all fantastic, so it’s hard to choose, but just like on the commercial, I like the Clam Chowder and the Spicy Quesadilla as well. They’re all really good, so I have to say all three.
I thought they’d make you a special kind called “Bear Chunks” for the way you’ve annihilated Chicago Bears quarterbacks in your career.
I’m willing to try! I don’t know if it would be a big seller, but I’d be all for it.
When I first heard about this greatness stuff, I asked Aaron Popkey, spokesman for the Packers, to set the record straight. He conferred with Tom Murphy, archivist at the Packers Hall of Fame.
“The Packers have no knowledge of it being anything other than Green Bay,” Popkey said. “Maybe it was Tiki Barber having some fun with it.”
Final thought: does anyone else think that Tiki Barber seems like the kid in elementary school who loved to know something that no one else did and loved even more running around saying “Na-na-na-na-boo-boo” and rubbing it in that he knew it and you didn’t? I think so. I also think this video sums up Tiki Barber quite well.
The fact that Yahoo! Sports let Tiki run with this segment has to be a little embarrassing. I wonder if anyone researched Tiki’s “facts” before he hit the Packer media day.
during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/Brian KerseyThe Black Eyed Peas perform during halftime of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/Brian Kersey
In the last few days after Super Bowl XLV, there has been much discussion about the halftime performance of the Black Eyed Peas. Our own Anthony Stalter was not a fan, and when I spoke to a few of the guys on my Tuesday night basketball team, they weren’t all that thrilled with the Peas either.
I am admittedly not a huge BEP fan, though I do like a few of the songs, especially “I Gotta Feeling” since my two-year old always marches and hops his way around our kitchen island whenever it comes on. I thought the halftime show was okay. Slash’s appearance was a nice surprise (though Fergie’s Axl Rose impersonation left a bit to be desired) and they did a nice job with lit-up dancers around the stage. However, if I never saw Usher perform again, I think I’d be all right with that.
It got me thinking — maybe I could lay some groundwork and help pick the artist/band to perform at next year’s Super Bowl.
Looking at this list of Super Bowl halftime shows, it’s interesting to note that the Super Bowl used marching bands up through most of the ’60s, ’70s and even the ’80s. It wasn’t until 1991 when the Super Bowl got a “big” name, when Disney produced a show that featured the New Kids on the Block. Through most of the ’90s, the halftime shows would feature a medley of acts, though Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did headline in 1993 and 1996, respectively.
After Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004 (produced by MTV), the powers-that-be went conservative over the next few years, booking Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones for the next two Super Bowls before going with Prince in 2007. His show was a bit risque as well (remember the shadow of his guitar?), so the Super Bowl followed up with Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and The Who before booking the Black Eyed Peas for 2011.
In many ways, the BEP booking makes sense. They’re mainstream enough that a vast majority of the SB audience would have heard at least one of their songs and they’re not going to risk the negative publicity by being particularly edgy or pushing the envelope in any way.
So where does that leave us? Most of the rock icons have already performed (adding U2, Sting, ZZ Top and Aerosmith to the previously mentioned classic rock acts), but a few names that jump out are AC/DC, the Eagles, Elton John and John Mellencamp. Since Super Bowl XLVI is in Indianapolis, an appearance by Mellencamp makes a lot of sense. AC/DC is probably too hard, though they could do a song or two as part of a medley of artists. The Eagles and Elton John are probably too soft to carry a halftime show by themselves.
What about a more contemporary artist?
Here are eight possibilities that make some sense, in increasing order of how much I’d like to see them get the gig (and what chance they’d have to pull it off if given the opportunity):
Pittsburgh Steelers Gary Russell (L), Hines Ward (C) and Mike Wallace enter the field before the start of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. UPI/David Silpa
Hines Ward expressed his frustrations to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about not having more opportunities to make plays on the Steelers’ final drive against the Packers in Super Bowl XLV. But as usual, he was professional about it.
Ward thought they’d do it right until the end, when they had a first-down on their 13 and two minutes to go. However, without criticizing anyone, he was not happy he did not get much of an opportunity on that drive. Heath Miller caught the first pass for 15 yards. Ward caught the next for 5 yards — which wasted about 30 seconds because Antwaan Randle El acknowledged he lined up on the wrong side. The next three passes all were aimed at Mike Wallace but never connected.
“I’m thinking deja vu, here we go again,” said Ward, who caught seven passes for 78 yards and one touchdown in the game. “Two minutes, let’s go down there. I really felt like I was in a zone, that anything that came my way it was going to get caught no matter what. I didn’t get an opportunity. I would like to have gotten opportunities [on the final series] but it didn’t happen.”
Spoken like a true competitor. Ward has been around long enough to know that criticizing coaches or teammates gets you nowhere fast. If you’re a winner, you want the ball in your hands in crunch time and there’s no doubt Ward is a winner. I’m sure Mike Tomlin appreciates that his veteran receiver wanted more chances to make plays in the clutch and expressed his frustrations without throwing anyone under the bus.
On a related topic, Ward will have two surgeries this week, one on his left knee and the other on his left thumb. As of right now, the Steelers expect him to be back in uniform next year if there’s a season.
