It's been more than 10 years since his leg was broken by New York Giants' linebacker Lawrence Taylor, ending an overachieving career and splintering Theismann's $1 million salary, but his love for the game and his spirit have never diminished. The drive that took him from the rundown fields of a northern New Jersey high school to two Super Bowls has given him a new life. Now for Theismann, there is not only football (he is an ESPN analyst), but a new love (fiancee Robin Smith), two expanding careers (he's a restaurateur and a corporate speaker), and a new way of looking at life.
"I feel that the things I've gone through have been tests, and hopefully I've been able to bounce back," Theismann said recently, en route to the Jacksonville, Fla., airport after competing in an offshore powerboat race.
That's another new interest. When his schedule permits, he climbs into the Harrah's Megabucks 777, an Atlantic City, N.J.-based raceboat that has won three straight national championships in "C" class. The deep-V boat, designed and built by Sutphen Marine of Cape Coral, Fla., is powered by two 750-hp, 509-cu-in Chevy engines from Innovation Marine of Sarasota, Fla.
Theismann loves going faster than 100 mph. He also loves his job aboard the boat as navigator -- essentially its quarterback.
"He likes being in a position where he can give orders and make calls," said teammate Jason Seelig, the boat's throttleman.
"This is the only thing I've found in my life that's close to football," says Theismann, now 46 years old. "Once you put that [racing] helmet on, it's like you're getting into uniform to play football. This boat has got so much power, it's so damn exciting. It's just like a football game I miss being on the edge and this gets me closer to it."
Theismann grew up in South River, NJ, a community of about 10,000, being told he was too small and too slow to play football. Maybe so, but he was also stubborn. He overcame the negative perceptions by working hard.
Although he was drafted out of Notre Dame to play for the Miami Dolphins, a contract dispute prompted him instead to pick the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He played there in 1971, '72, and '73. Miami, meanwhile, went on to the Super Bowl three straight years, losing in '72 and winning in '73 and '74, leaving Theismann and millions of other people wondering why he had taken such a hard line with the Miami organization.
When he finally got to the Redskins, he volunteered to return punts which is like saying, "Hey, coach, mind if I play on the interstate for a while? There are a couple of trucks I've been wanting to run into." It's the kind of thing that impresses coaches. Still, he waited four years for Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer to get out of the way before he could start as Washington's quarterback.
Theismann also likes to tell a story about an incident in 1978 when the Redskins were playing the New Orleans Saints. A pulled hamstring left him barely able to walk, and so when he had a chance to either run or pass on a crucial third-and-short play, he threw -- incomplete. If he had run he probably would have made it. When he returned to the sideline, Joe Walton, the Redskins' offensive coordinator, admonished him, saying, "You get the job done any way you can. You do whatever it takes."
He had to remind himself of Walton's advice when his football career abruptly ended.
"The injury showed me that no matter how great you are, it can be over in an instant, and you can never take it [your success] for granted."
From that moment on, his new job was to remake his life -- no matter what it would take. His first move was to make peace with Taylor.
"We're actually very good friends and have been," he says.
When he left the game, he thought a lot about money.
"It's one of those really funny things," he says. "If you don't have it, you want it, and if you do have it you want to spend it. It takes great discipline to make money, but I think it takes even greater discipline to keep it."
Because of a Lloyd's of London insurance policy, he managed to keep a portion of the $5 million contract he had signed with Redskins. He declines to say how much. What he does say is that with his various business interests, he's making much more money than he was when he was on the field. His speaking engagements keep him on the road five days a week, and he takes an active role in the management of the three sports bars and restaurants of which he is part owner.
He's also an occasional movie actor. He had parts in Cannonball Run II and The Man With Bogart's Face.
At 200 pounds, Theismann is heavier today than when he was playing, but only by 5 pounds.
"But my waistline hasn't changed," he notes. "That's the important thing."
His fitness regimen is a combination of work and play. A self-described "single-digit handicapper," he occasionally plays golf with John Daley or Curtis Strange. His home course is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va., and he also likes the Loxahatchee Country Club in Jupiter, Fla. He plays some racquetball -- as much as his football-weary body will allow -- and tries to work out four days a week, walking and running on a treadmill and doing strength training with free weights and machines.
"I feel very strongly about keeping my legs in shape," he says. "I think the legs are the most important parts of any athlete."
He occasionally sees old friends like Whoopi Goldberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds, but the most important person in his life now is his fiancee Robin Smith, whom he plans to marry this year "right after football season." "Finally I have someone in my life I can't do without," he says. Twice divorced, he has three children from his first marriage: Joe, 24, who lives and works in West Virginia; Amy, 22, an executive secretary in Florida; and Patrick 16, who's busy with school and sports in Indiana. Theismann remembers sports announcer Howard Cosell saying that he wouldn't know what he'd do if he couldn't travel with his wife, and he also remembers wondering what he meant by that. Now, he says, "I fully understand what Howard was talking about."
"It's one thing to enjoy the pleasure and success of life, but you really can't enjoy them unless you have somebody to share them with."
Believe it or not, he plays with dolls. This is an interest passed along by Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. Theismann collects clowns created by San Francisco sculptor Ron Lee. "Some of the stuff he does is absolutely beyond belief," says Theismann.
He also collects sports memorabilia, which he displays in his restaurants and his home. He's currently "into shoes" and owns footwear worn by footballers Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders of the Dallas Cowboys, Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions, and the Miami Dolphins' Dan Marino, as well as shoes from Orlando Magic basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. He also has gloves worn by Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers and two jerseys worn by Joe Montana, one from his days with the 49ers and one from the Kansas City Chiefs.
The items have all been his for the askingÑsome of the perks of being a Super Bowl winner and Associated Press MVP (1983).
"I try to get unique things from the guys," says Theismann. "Some- times it costs me an autographed football or jersey, but it's worth a trade. You know, something old for something new."
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Theismann is his energy. You get the impression that he now believes he could handle just about anything, including the prospect that seems to terrify many former pro athletes -- age.
"I'm a firm believer in the idea that you do not have to age, not physically or mentally," he says. "There are ways to preserve yourself."
One of his secrets is water. "We generally don't drink enough water, and I find that people with a lot of energy tend to drink a lot of water," he says "It's a great, great source of energy. The body is like a small business. If you build a great foundation, it can grow and prosper and handle any problems that come up," he says.
He still thinks about his two Super Bowl experiences, the first a win, the second a loss. He wears the rings from both - mostly, he says, as reminders that "if you want to be a champion, you have to work hard every day. The minute you feel comfortable, you're going nowhere."