Home Cover Stories Joe Montana is still as cool as the other side of the pillow

Joe Montana is still as cool as the other side of the pillow

Written by Michael Murphy, Northside Sports Editor

Sunday, 30 April 2006

The legendary 49er talks about skipping the Super Bowl, turning 50, and family life after football The late, preeminent sportswriter Jim Murray once said, “He was such a great player they named a state after him.” Playing football, making spectacular fourth-quarter comebacks – 31 in his career – and winning Super Bowls are all part of the legend of Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who might have been the greatest ever to play the game. But Joe Montana has moved on with his life and now is playing on his own field, guided by a different motivation and satisfaction than just being successful in his sport. Montana lives with his family on a ranch in Knight’s Valley, north of Calistoga in the wine country. He is about as removed from being a football player as someone of his stature can be. His recent decision to skip the Super Bowl festivities honoring past MVP’s (he won the award three times) set off a firestorm of criticism and indignation. Montana blew it off with the panache of a man with the nickname “Joe Cool.” "To me, it's more important to be home with my boys," he said. "The Super Bowl is a great event, but I've moved on with my life." Montana expressed regret that he wasn't around enough during his playing days to attend the games and performances of his two oldest kids, Alexandra, 20, and Elizabeth, 19. "When I was playing, I missed a lot of my two girls, their activities," he said. "They looked up in the stands and I wasn’t there. I want to be there for the boys." Asked about the allegation of demanding $100,000 in appearance fees for attending the Super Bowl, Montana firmly denied the charge, insisting, "A lot of people just don't understand that while it's tremendous, I've moved on with my life. People think I need to be stuck with football the rest of my time." Instead, Montana has diversified his portfolio, selectively choosing what companies to get involved with and where his new adventures will come from. “It’s hard to replace the thrill of playing sports," he admitted. "I just like competition. I wasn’t afraid to be there. Fact is, the more challenging it was, the better it felt. Plus, I was surrounded by a lot of great teammates. When you have guys striving for the same things at the same level as you are, it makes accomplishing things a lot easier. “One of the two things I’ve done is I have some cutting horses I get to compete on every now and then. It’s really hard to explain what they do, but you have 2 ½ minutes to go through this whole process and separate a cow, put your hand down and try to keep it from getting back to the herd. "The other one is I like watching my boys compete in basketball and football. It’s fun to watch and that gets your heart going, too.” Nathanial, 16, and Nicholas, 13, are just like Dad -- they enjoy playing sports. “They took it up themselves. We were in kind of that Catch-22 situation where you don’t want to push them into it, and then, well, what happens if you don’t help them early and they do want to play and they get in and then they’re behind? "We let sports happen; we didn’t push them into it. Then you try to help them as much as you can. They go through some growing pains that way, but I think they enjoyed it a lot more when it’s been their decision.” As hard as this may be to learn for many of No. 16’s legion of fans, Joe Montana will be turning 50 this year. His birthday is June 11. 50 is a different number," he assured. "40 was a little bit easier to understand. But 50, you start going, oh well, you’re getting over the hill.” Hardly. The man who passed for 40,551 yards in his career, finished with a 92.3 quarterback rating and recorded 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in four Super Bowl games, accumulating a remarkable 127.8 rating, looks like he could still lead a team into the end zone. However, his health did undergo a challenge in the last few years. He faced it like it was the New York Giants pass rush. “I got involved in the BP Success Zone campaign about three years when I found out that I had high blood pressure," he said. "The thing is, there’s no symptoms, so they call it the silent killer. ‘If it hadn’t been for me going in for a regular physical once a year, I wouldn’t have known about it. I thank it all to my wife, ‘cause I treated the doctor like the dentist. If it hurts, I went. If not, I didn’t go. "She said once I turned 40, I should at least go and make sure everything is OK. I found out that there was a small starting of clogging in one of the arteries and I needed to make some changes to keep my blood pressure under control.” The program is sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, one of the few companies Joe chooses to be affiliated with these days. “We’re really out there trying to get people who have high blood pressure to get in and see their doctor," he explained, "and set a healthy blood pressure goal and define a treatment plan and then work to achieve that goal. "When you look at how many people this affects, which is 65 million Americans, about one in four of us. We’re not really looking for a cure; we have ways to control it right now. We have great medicines out there, and with a little lifestyle change, a little more regular exercise and you can lower your risk for heart attack or stroke simply by knowing what your blood pressure is. “When you are an athlete you can go out and eat just about anything you want 'cause you’re staying in a lot better shape than when you retire. But when I played, I loved those pizzas and cheeseburgers and potato chips. Anything that was fried, I loved. And I still do. "You don’t have to cut it out completely; you have to do things in moderation. And then those changes become a little more permanent. Just cut down on the size of things and that does more than half the battle. “All that being said, if I can make the changes necessary, a lot of people can and they shouldn’t be afraid of it. We have a great Web site with more information at www.bpsuccesszone.com.” Joe Montana’s poise, agility and patience under pressure is legendary. His grasp of the 49ers' game plan, the most detailed in the league under coach Bill Walsh, showed his ability and intelligence. There are only a few current quarterbacks that seem to have the Montana magic. “It’s really more concentration than cool under pressure. When things get tight, you still have to be able to concentrate. I think a lot of guys get caught up in `gotta hurry, gotta hurry, time’s running out' as opposed to guys like Tom Brady. "If you watch Brady, he’s in no hurry. You can tell he’s concentrating on what’s going on down the field and that’s where it has to be. You have to have a pocket presence at that point of time. ‘I enjoy watching Peyton [Manning]. I enjoy watching Brady. I think Tom is a lot of fun to watch. It’s hard not to want to watch someone like Peyton ‘cause the ball’s always in the air. "I enjoyed watching the Steelers ‘cause I grew up there, so watching Ben [Roethlisberger] win the Super Bowl this year was fun. I saw [Terry] Bradshaw before they won the Super Bowls and just was always amazed at what he was able to overcome to get to where they were.” Today’s expectations on the top selection in the NFL Draft can be stifling, especially when the team around that player is not very good, which is usually how teams earn that pick. “Nowadays, it is a lot more dramatic," Montana observed. "You’re looking at signing bonuses that are more than I made in my career. “How people around you help to handle that pressure is important. The coach has to take a certain amount off you. That’s what Bill did – he put me in a position to succeed. Otherwise, it can be pretty demoralizing for a young guy.” How about the 49ers' new quarterback? “Alex Smith? It’s hard to make a judgment," Montana said. "He’s obviously talented, but in watching him where he was, that’s a tough thing to go through when you don’t have any protection and you don’t have any studs on the outside. The guys they have are good receivers, but there’s not a Jerry Rice or a T.O. (Terrell Owens) or someone in that talent category.” Speaking of the former 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles star -- and current Dallas Cowboys receiver -- Montana was asked what would need to happen for him and Owens to have been in synch, had they played together. "It’s just whether you’re willing to put up with a lot of that," he said. "It’s like everybody is saying: It’s not that first year, it’s the second year when it all goes downhill. But hopefully he’s learned a lesson from what’s happened, and if not, then it’s his own fault.” Montana's good friend, Brett Favre, is struggling with his decision to return to the Green Bay Packers this season. From 2,000 miles away, the reasons are easy to identify. “He’s hesitating on two sides," Montana observed. "He’s hesitating on whether he thinks his team is good enough to go to the playoffs, which is a bad thing. And then you add, “Do I really want the ball in my hands?” (That's) probably worse because you’re doubting yourself and you can’t do that. And that tells you maybe it’s time to not be there. "The mental aspect is the hardest part of the game because if you are just THAT far behind from making a good decision and making a bad decision, recognizing the blitz or not recognizing the blitz, you’re going to fail. "The game is 75 percent mental for the quarterback. If you are doubting yourself on that side, you’re already starting at a disadvantage.” Montana speaks with a quiet authority on all subjects, exhibiting a sometimes intense versatility that belies his calm, cool and collected nature. While talking with one of his sons this past season before a game, he was able to impart some of the wisdom he gained from playing 16 seasons in the NFL. “When I played I think I was most nervous before the game started," he admitted. "Then on the day of one of his games, I asked my boy how he was doing and he said he was a little nervous. I said, `That’s good!' That means you’re worried about how you are going to perform. “If the difference between an A and an F doesn’t matter to you, I hope you are on someone else’s team!” Montana attended Ringgold High in Monongahela, Pa., where he was a standout in football, basketball and baseball. In football, he was a two-year starter and, as a senior, won Parade All-American honors. In basketball, he led his team to a league championship as a senior. He also served as his class vice president as a senior. At the University of Notre Dame, Montana continued to show signs of the greatness that would become his destiny. Montana led the Irish to a 1978 national championship, and the come-from-behind victory over the Texas Longhorns in the 1979 Cotton Bowl is still talked of in hushed tones on campus in South Bend. The game was the most dramatic as it happened in his last collegiate competition, when he fought hypothermia in the ice and wind in Dallas. After being fed bouillon during the second half to get his temperature back near normal, he led Notre Dame from a 34-12 deficit to a 35-34 victory in the final 7:37, throwing a perfect pass to Kris Haines for a touchdown with no time remaining. Montana’s two daughters are both students at his alma mater. Did he have any advice for them when they left for school? “Find something warm,” he joked. “Having two daughters at Notre Dame has been pretty nice. It makes it easier when they’re both in the same place, with the same time off from school. It makes vacation a little easier. It’s great to not only have them there but still be involved with the university and get back there. “I really missed my girls growing up when I was playing the game, and fortunately for me I still have a little bit more time before they’re completely gone out of college and on their way. Now, with the boys, I try to be home for them. They are at an age where they can tickle you inside and then make you want to cry, ‘cause the boys are a lot harder than the girls.” Aside from enjoying life with his wife Jennifer and their kids, Montana has co-authored a new book titled “The Winning Spirit” and has tried his hand at growing grapes. “The book is about success using my football experiences – things like preparation, humility and leadership," he said. "Anyone who is a strong leader is humbled by things other people do around them. If you’re a good leader, you realize a leader can only be so much without the rest of the team. When that happens, the respect that starts to happen is unbelievable. And the trust in each other. No one’s on a pedestal. "To be a good leader, you have to have that – the ability to put yourself in with the group and not above them. Demand a lot from them, but you can do that as long as you’re doing what you ask them to.” A wine lover, Montana flirted with starting his own winery, but years ago admitted his concern that people would exploit his name and his privacy. Nevertheless, he and Jennifer knew they had the opportunity to share their name to create a wine and wine label that would be a powerful charitable tool. They found that opportunity by pairing with Ed Sbragia, the winemaster who’s helped build Beringer’s reputation for 25 years. The collaboration started with the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction. That year, Sbragia and the Montanas created a cabernet sauvignon blend from Beringer Howell Mountain fruit from the renowned 1997 vintage. It was named "Montagia," and one case of 750-ml bottles plus one 9-liter bottle, together with a dinner at Beringer’s historic Hudson House with Ed, Joe and Jennifer, plus some rare Montagia-logo sportswear were auctioned, garnering a healthy $210,000 for Napa Valley health charities. The two had so much fun with that project they decided to continue the collaboration to continue making Montagia and focus it primarily for charitable donations. “I don’t make enough wine to worry about it. It’s all for a good cause," Montana said. "We started off making about 250 cases, and this year we did about 750 cases, the most we ever made, so we don’t have a distribution problem.” While Montana and his wife are busy staying one step ahead of their boys’ sports activities, he plans on enjoying them while they are here. But when they do leave for college, San Francisco could be the beneficiary. “We haven’t been in the City for ages, not as much as we used to," he admitted. "It’s really difficult with the kids' schedules, now that the girls are gone. I mean there’s practice almost every night of the week, and homework, and then they have games three days out of seven. It’s really difficult for us to even find time to come in. “Jenn and I keep talking about as soon as the season’s over with basketball to find time to get back in there because we do love it. Eventually maybe even finding a place -- a small place -- to come down and spend a little more time, when the boys are gone.” As Montana stated about football, “Some things are just out of your control.” But with a new-found appreciation for a healthy lifestyle, a close-knit family and his hands in a few businesses he enjoys, Joe seems as much in control of his fate off the field as he did lining up at Candlestick Park on Sundays when the 49ers were kings.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 22 November 2006 )