Moon doesn’t consider what Favre is doing an old story

Posted Thursday, Oct. 08, 2009 Comments   (0) Print Share Share Reprints
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By RAY BUCK

rbuck@star-telegram.com

buck The final NFL start of Warren Moon’s Hall of Fame career came eight days after his 44th birthday.

So, don’t expect him to be all aghast that Brett Favre is able to turn 40 and get the Minnesota Vikings to 4-0 all in the same week.

"This guy can still play the game," said Moon, 52, promoting his new autobiography Never Give Up On Your Dream: My Journey (DaCapo Press, $25) when he’s not serving as an analyst on Seattle Seahawks broadcasts.

"In fact," Moon confessed, "Brett plays the game the way I wish I could’ve played it … like a little kid having fun most of the time."

Moon played six Canadian Football League seasons and 17 NFL seasons, mostly with the Houston Oilers (1984-93). While he never got his team to a Super Bowl, he ranks fourth all-time in passing yardage (49,325) behind guys named Favre, Marino and Elway.

"People are going to complain about Brett retiring and unretiring again like he did," said Moon, who finished his career with the 2000 Kansas City Chiefs. "But that’s just the way Brett Favre plays the game. Kind of wishy-washy in his read progression … [and] wishy-washy in his announcement about retirement.

"You never know what he’s going to do next."

Today is the last day that Favre can claim to be thirtysomething. He turns 40 on Saturday.

"At this age, you lose some of your athleticism, no question about it," Moon said. "But to me, the game seemed so much slower when I got older. You’d almost get a little bored with the Xs and Os of the meetings."

Moon found writing a book to be cathartic.

Chapter 16 is titled "Not Perfect," and outlines the July 18, 1995, Sports Illustrated Moon family story and photo concerning a 911 call made by 7-year-old son Jeffrey to the Houston police to report an incident of spousal abuse.

It was Moon’s Chappaquiddick.

"Getting all these things out was therapeutic," said Moon, adding that full disclosure of both the good and the bad are needed if a book "is going to have any credibility."

This one has plenty of that. All 264 pages.

Taking aim at QBs

ESPN flashed a graphic on Monday Night Football showing Brett Favre’s next goals as being (1) oldest QB to win an NFL postseason game (Phil Simms, Giants, 39 in ’93) and (2) oldest QB to win a Super Bowl (Elway, Broncos, 38 in ’99).

Simms, now an analyst for CBS, said this week that Favre has "the greatest arm the NFL has ever seen."

'Lost’ UT-OU film found

The 1989 Texas-OU Red River then-Shootout (won by the Longhorns, 28-24) was televised on pay per view only.

"It was quite a coup at the time for Home Sports Entertainment to pick this game up and show it on PPV," said Ramon Alvarez of Fox Sports Southwest, which began as the HSE network in 1983.

The Sooners were serving a two-year TV ban on NCAA probation.

Freshman QB Peter Gardere led the Longhorns to his first of four career wins over OU, a team UT hadn’t beaten since ’83.

Tuesday at 7 p.m, Fox Sports Southwest will air the ’89 classic on "free TV" for the first time ever as part of the network’s Red River Rivalry Week.

Also, Fox Sports Southwest’s Big 12 Football Saturday on Oct. 17 (3 p.m.) will be devoted to a postgame wrap of the ’09 Texas-OU game (11 a.m., WFAA/Ch. 8).

Ray Buck, 817-390-7760

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