Home Game
After almost two decades in the NFL, Bruce Matthews has decided he needs to spend his time with seven very important people who live in Houston.
by Jeff Arnold
Bruce Matthews has never been one to feel completely comfortable as the center of attention. It just wasn't his way.
Over the course of a National Football League career that spanned 19 years and that placed him at every spot on the offensive line, Matthews always remained the same. Quiet, reserved, workmanlike.
Always one to let his playing speak louder than his soft, Texas voice, Matthews quickly became known as football's Iron Man. The former University of Southern California All-American appeared in a record-tying 14 Pro Bowls, never missing a game to injury and never allowing the accolades that will place him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007 to get in the way of his humble approach to his profession.
"God blessed me with a body and a desire and a will—all the things that went into making the player I was," says Matthews, who retired this summer after spending his entire career with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans organization. "It's hard for me to hear all of the nice things said about me, because without God having done what He's done in my life, I wouldn't be here."
Few expected that Matthews would ever last as long as he did in the league after the constant pounding he took Sunday after Sunday. He cleared holes for four 1,000-yard rushers and five Heisman Trophy winners, always playing where he was needed without saying a word.
"I've been trying the last 4 or 5 years to express to people about what [Matthews] had accomplished," says Titans general manager Floyd Reese. "I haven't been able to do it in 5 years, and so I don't know how I can do it now. It will be impossible to replace him. What he has done is unparalleled."
But for Matthews, playing was only a portion of what he meant to his teammates and those he surrounded himself with. Always the veteran teacher, Matthews took those who played alongside of him to heart, treating them as equals.
"I think the effect Bruce had on me and my teammates was not generally on the field," Titans offensive lineman Brad Hopkins says.
"It was off the field where he had his greatest influence, as a friend. With Bruce, it was always more than just football. He respected you as a player, never coaching or yelling at you. He always did his job and expected you to do yours."
And no one knew that better than Mike Munchak, Matthews' best friend, former offensive line mate with the Oilers, and current Titans offensive line coach. Matthews introduced Munchak for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2001, a favor that will likely be returned in Canton, Ohio, 5 years from now. "Bruce and I had a very special relationship that football allowed us to have," Munchak says. "He made me a better person. I think we all think of Bruce Matthews as the great football player. But to me, he's a much better person than he is a football player. A lot of that has to do with his Christian beliefs and because of the way he lives his life and the things he believes in."
Matthews admits that he considered returning for a 20th NFL season, continuing a league record of 229 consecutive games played. His decision was made more difficult after the Titans finished 7-9 in Matthews' final season only 2 years after they reached the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams. The Titans finished 13-3 in two of Matthews' three final seasons in Nashville, making it difficult to end on a losing note.
"I have no regrets whatsoever," Matthews says. "[Playing professional football] is an honor that I never took lightly. I cherished every opportunity I had to play this great game, and never once did it seem like a job to me.
"I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for blessing me, and I fully recognize Him and what God has done in my life. I wouldn't be here otherwise."
After 5 years in Tennessee, the constant off-season movement between Matthews' Houston home and Nashville started to take its toll. The father of six, Matthews realized that at age 41 his role as father has carried with it more importance than did his role on the offensive line.
"I guess I wavered a little bit [with the decision to retire]. A lot of things went through my mind. More than anything, I've never had a real job, and I wondered what I would do for the rest of my life.
"But I've been blessed with six kids, and I look forward to being the best husband and best father I can be from here on out."
Matthews' oldest son, Steven, will be a high school senior this fall in Houston, allowing his father to experience football on a different level. While Matthews pondered the idea of continuing his playing career with the expansion Houston Texans, he deemed it more important to be there for his children as they continued to grow.
"I'm really looking forward to Fridays and the high school football games. I learned that you have to be an employee of the school district to help out with the high school games. I was going to walk on and help out with coaching, but [the school district] has other plans obviously."
Along with spending time with his children and wife of 19 years, Carrie, Matthews' life will take a different turn. He plans to continue working in his Houston-based construction company while remaining a fan of his former teammates in Nashville.
"I think the thing that I will miss the most is just competing," says Matthews. "For me, that not only went on the field, but in practice. I didn't like to lose, whether it was in practice or playing dumb games in the locker room.
"I've always enjoyed competing, and about the only people I can stomach losing to now is my kids."
So for now, Matthews will move on without football until the time when he receives the call that enshrines him with the sport's other greats.
"I don't want to even think about that right now," Matthews says. "If that is what God has for me down the road, then so be it."
Jeff Arnold covers the Tennessee Titans for The Leaf-Chronicle in Clarksville, Tennessee.
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