8901030820
DETROIT FREE PRESS
890121
Saturday, January 21, 1989
METRO FINAL
4C
Photo ASSOCIATED PRESS
MITCH ALBOM and CURT SYLVESTER
SUPER BOWL XXIII;NOTEBOOK
Copyright (c) 1989, Detroit Free Press
BENGALS' WILLIAMS: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
MIAMI -- Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Reggie Williams has one of the
most interesting backgrounds among Super Bowl players.
Williams, who grew up in Flint and went to Flint Southwestern High, is a
Cincinnati city councilman, holds a psychology degree from Dartmouth, was
elected NFL Man of the Year in 1986, and attended a state dinner at the White
House last year. He has received numerous awards for work with charities and
the community.
That made Williams, 34, a popular subject for reporters during interviews
this week. Some of his comments:
On his dual role as football player and city councilman: "Football is
immediate gratification. You make the tackle or you don't. City Council is
lobbying, waiting, arguing. It takes forever, but you know that what you're
doing can affect the lives of thousands of people. I think I'm a better
football player because I'm a city councilman, and I'm a better councilman
because I'm a football player.
Growing up in Flint: "I grew up in the '60s. There were all sorts of
disturbances in those days -- in classses, in the schoolyards, in the street.
The streets of Detroit had the riots in 1968. I remember the constant anger
the most, that everyone was mad about something. It seemed like the only
outlet was violence -- not just physical violence, but mental violence, talk
and dialogue.
"There was this time in our school, when I was in 10th grade, where a
student was arrested right in the hallway, in front of the students. A black
student arrested by white cops. There was a feeling that day that everything
we had been hearing about Detroit had arrived in Flint. It was if if we were
saying, 'The riots are here! The riots are here!'
"It was hard for me because I was a pacifistic, nonviolent kind of kid. The
most frustrating memory I have of that time was walking down the hallway and
seeing a white friend of mine take a ferocious hit in the jaw from a black
friend of mine. I'll never forget it. I didn't know what to do, or whose side
to take. It was shocking. I just kept walking."
His childhood: "My father worked in Fisher Body during the day and drove a
cab at night to try to provide a life for us. We lived in a bad neighborhood.
We eventually were able to move to a better neighborhood, and because of that,
I was able to go to a better school where they discovered my hearing problem.
Because of my hearing problem, I had developed a speech impediment.
"The early part of my childhood was a mixture of frustration and
humiliation. I was not normal like the other kids. They just thought I was
slow. My grades were poor. Had that (the speech impediment) not been
discovered, I would never have been educated."
Education: "My mother is a voracious reader. My very first, most important
possession was my library card. I went every Saturday to the library. Both my
parents dropped out of high school, but went back to get their degrees later.
That was a big inspiration."
Why he became a football player: "I didn't start playing football until the
10th grade. The only reason I started playing then was social; football
players were more readily accepted than bookworms. I went out for football to
avoid being a nerd. Also to try and get a date for the senior prom. It was a
two-year program, but it worked."
VERBAL WARS: The buildup between San Francisco and Cincinnati had been
noticeably lacking in potshots, but 49ers cornerback Tim McKyer took care of
that.
McKyer claimed, "We can blow these guys (Bengals) out."
McKyer waved a hand to reporters and announced: "That Super Bowl ring is
already as good as there." He also referred to the 49ers defensive backs as
Mercedes-Benzes and the Bengals receivers as Chevrolets.
Bengals cornerback Eric Thomas replied that his team's entire defensive
backfield is faster than San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice.
"McKyer managed to criticize our receivers, defensive backs and Chevrolet
all at once," Cincinnati wide receiver Cris Collinsworth said.
MIAMI STILL SUPER: The street riots that disrupted Miami this week would not
affect the city's chances of hosting future Super Bowls, NFL commissioner Pete
Rozelle said. The next two Super Bowls have been awarded to New Orleans and
Tampa. The 1992 game is probably headed for a northern city with a domed
stadium, likely to be Indianapolis.
5:18 KICKOFF
* WHO: AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals and NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
* WHEN: Kickoff is 5:18.
* TV/RADIO: NBC, Channel 4 in Detroit; WWJ 950-AM.
* LINE: 49ers by 7.
* WHERE: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami. Capacity: 74,930.
CUTLINES:
Linebacker Reggie Williams, who grew up in Flint, anchors the Bengals'
defense.
INTERVIEW;BIOGRAPHY;FOOTBALL;PLAYER;REGGIE WILLIAMS;UNUSUAL;
CINCINNATI;COUNCILMAN;AGE