Warren Moon
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moonis an American former professional gridiron football quarterback who played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, and the Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He is currently the color commentator for the Seahawks radio network, working alongside Steve Raible. He was the first African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth18 November 1956
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
This is a big year for him, ... He's in a group of exceptions to the rule. This is his team. Everything is in place. Yeah, I'd say it's a big year.
I think all the guys that have played in the game before me as African- Americans have to share in this a little bit. We've made tremendous strides over the years and I really don't want to make this a racial thing because it shouldn't be. But it is significant because it is the first and I think whenever there is a first it is significant. When Doug Williams was the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl, I think that helped a lot of things as far as young black quarterbacks getting more opportunities. I think this will be significant also. It shows we have arrived at the pinnacle of our sport.
I think that's what the whole 12th-man thing has done. It's made them really feel like they are part of every victory.
Last year, he was somewhat frustrated with not playing,
I think he'll be able to handle it very well; he's a very intelligent guy, very well-spoken, very humble. Look what it did for (New England's) Tom Brady; look what it does for any quarterback who wins this game.
When I was coming up as a kid, there were programs that kept me out of trouble and on the straight and narrow in South Central Los Angeles, and I always felt that when I got to a stage where I could provide similar opportunities to kids then I would do that.
The CFL made me a more versatile QB because of all the things you had to do once you got on the field. And if I wasn't as versatile as I was, I wouldn't have been as successful in all the different offenses that I was in, in the NFL.
I never thought I would be the oldest quarterback in the National Football League at one point, not in a million years. I never thought I would play as long as I did, either, seventeen years from start to finish, with stops in Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, and Kansas City.
My biggest hero was Roman Gabriel, who was the QB of the Rams, and Roger Staubach. Those were the two guys I tired to emulate when I was little.
That's the one regret I have in all the years that I've played professional sports, that I didn't win a championship in the N.F.L. And that's why you play on any level of team sports: you want to win a championship as part of a team.
When people talk about the great quarterbacks, it's almost exclusively the guys who have won Super Bowls. There have been some very good ones who hardly get mentioned because they never won the big one. I don't know if that's fair, but that's the way it is.
I've always tried to lend my support to worth while causes, and I feel you should use your celebrity to help with worldwide causes and help them gain exposure.
There are so many bad influences out there. I don't care if a kid is rich or poor, if he lives in a million-dollar house or the ghetto, he is going to find some sick things on the street. And if we don't clean it up soon, we're all going to pay the price.
To be voted into the Hall of Fame would be the crown jewel of my career. When I look back at what I overcame and what I was able to accomplish, it would be extra special.