Former Arizona left tackle Glenn Parker, now a radio personality and announcer for the Versus network, met up with the Arizona Daily Wildcat to talk about his time at Arizona, his NFL career and his promotion for Alltel, in which a UA student has the chance to win $100,000.
Wildcat: What do you remember most about playing at Arizona?
Parker: My friendships that I made through the U of A and the coaching staff would be my No. 1 memory. … The nighttime games under the lights, you gotta love those. They were unlike anyplace else.
W: What was your favorite college moment?
P: Beating ASU twice was huge, but the single-best moment was Doug Pfaff’s kick to beat Oklahoma, who was ranked No. 6 in the nation, on our field. That was a great one. It was a tight game. We ended up winning it 6-3. They beat us the year before when they were ranked third in the nation, so it was nice to get them back. It was awesome.
W: So you only played at Arizona from 1988-1989?
P: Yeah, I was a JC (junior college) transfer out of Golden West College in Huntington Beach. I didn’t play football in high school, so I didn’t start playing until I was in college. For me, it came down to USC, Oregon and Arizona.
W: What was it like not being involved in athletics in high school?
P: It was great. In high school I was into going to the beach and just doing other things. I was your typical geek. I was athletic, but I was into reading books and learning history. I was in JC, and I didn’t know where I was headed in my life. A friend and I were playing basketball and a coach saw us, and I told him, “”I want to play for you.”” And he said, “”All right, you’re my new tackle.”” I was lucky that he was there to take me under his wing and teach me football. It’s weird if you’ve never played. I didn’t even know how to put the pads on. I didn’t know how to get in the stance. Once I found out I was playing tackle I started studying tackles and seeing how they move and tried to copy them. Next thing you know I was playing well and getting scholarship offers. I was always very athletic, but the hardest part about football is understanding the pain of getting hit. The first time I got hit I just wanted to lay on the couch. I was like, “”Oh, forget this, I’m done. I’m finished with football.””
W: Who do you still stay in contact with from college?
P: I still stay in contact with more people from college than I do from the pros. Those are friendships you make that last a lifetime.
W: What was it like being drafted after you had only been playing football for four years?
P: It’s something I always dreamed of. Once I got old enough and wanted it I didn’t think about it because I was trying to succeed at the current level. All of a sudden, agents and scouts start coming around. The real joy isn’t even getting drafted, it’s realizing the final touch has been made and you’re part of the team. …I had only played in 27 games in my life and I was drafted in the third round of the NFL. I had actually been predicted to go higher, but it was a relief just to get picked and start on a new journey. It’s odd, unlike college, where you get to pick where you go and who’s going to be your coach.
W: Who do you remember playing with the most in the NFL?
P: As far as playing against someone, you remember funny moments on the field, like Chris Bowman asked me about wine because he’s into wine, right in the middle of the game. Teammates get pissed off that I’m talking wine right in the middle of the game.
W: I heard you used to be active in the Society for Creative Anachronism (an historical re-enactment and living history group that recreates pre-17th century Western European history and culture)?
P: Yeah, it’s true. I was a member of the SCA. I loved it. I met really good people there. It was so fun as a kid. I was active when I was in high school. I probably gave it up when I was around 18 years old. It got a little weird.
W: So, you announced the Arizona-BYU game for the Versus network?
P: Boy, that was a bad one, wasn’t it? Definitely not the coming-out party for the offense that they had hoped, but yeah, I do all the college football games for the Versus network.
W: Is it hard trying to be unbiased toward Arizona on national television?
P: I did games for Arizona on FSN like five years ago, but there you’re the home team doing it. What was odd about the BYU game was it was national television. You should always be neutral to begin with, but you’ve got to be very careful how you speak.
W: What differences and similarities do you see in football today with when you played?
P: The players are better now. Maybe they’re not draft potential, but when you look at it realistically, the kids today are bigger, faster and stronger. Maybe they’re not as good relatively to the rest of the players out there, but I look at them and I’m amazed.
W: What was it like to play in five Super Bowls (four with the Buffalo Bills, 1990-1993, one with the New York Giants, 2000) and not win any of them?
P: If you look at it a certain way, it’s disappointing. But if you look at it in the way I prefer, (which) is how tough it is to get to one. I was a part of five great teams doing something special. There’s great memories. I would have loved to have won one, but I’m not going to let that dictate the process, because it was great. I consistently had winning teams, I was in the playoffs, I made a little extra money and there was a lot of glory. It was a great thing.
W: What was it like getting coached by Marty Schottenheimer (during Parker’s stint with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1997-1999)?
P: Marty is a guy that you would love to go out and have a beer with. He’s that type of guy. Unfortunately, Marty’s a bit of a micromanager, and so if you ever work for someone who tries to manage every second of the day, it gets pretty exhausting. That’s what end up with his teams, they get very tired by the end of the year because every second of their day is micromanaged. You spend 14 hours at the stadium every day and you don’t get five minutes to think to yourself. That’s tiring. It really becomes a grind.
W: Tell me about this Alltel promotion you’re involved in.
P: It’s the My Circle First and 10. You don’t have to be a member of Alltel to do it. You just text UAZ to the number 52191 and you get a chance to win $100,000. But more importantly you get a chance to bring 10 of your friends to the Homecoming game on the field against UCLA, treated like a VIP. You get to throw a football through a target. If you win, 20,000 fans in the stands win free cell phone service. Now the guy gets to be Willie Tuitama and be the hero and give everybody free wireless service. I hope the guy wins because I want to see the stands go nuts. They even get to be coached by me for a day.
as told to Mike Ritter
