Mr BioFile Interviews by Scoop Malinowski
By Scoop Malinowski
Status: University of Colorado football head coach. Former NFL cornerback and MLB outfielder. Played college football for Florida State.
DOB: August 9, 1967 In: Fort Myers, FL
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 195
Childhood Sports Heroes: Had four of ’em… Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, OJ Simpson and Julius Erving.
Nicknames: Prime Time, Prime, Neon.
Childhood Ambition: To be successful. And take care of my family. I knew I was gonna be a success no matter what.
Favorite Movies: The Five Heartbeats, The Mack – black history.
First Car: 1974 red Toyota Celica. I had it in ’82 when I was sixteen.
First Job: Hustler. Just hustling.
Early Sports Memory: I always wanted to make sure my parents didn’t have to work again for the rest of their lives.
Hobbies/Interests: Fishing. Fishing’s relaxing, man. Most relaxing thing in my life. It’s therapy for me. I don’t think about business, sports. All I think about is catching the next fish. Collecting comic book superhero capes.
Pre-Game Feeling: Tired… relaxed. Just think about the game. Think about playing great, having a great time. Helping my team win. Out there on the field – deeply focused. And intense. I feel invincible.
Musical Tastes: Rap, R&B, Marvin Gaye.
Favorite Meal: Fried lobster, my wife’s baked beans, with sweet iced tea.
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: Honey Frosted Wheaties.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Butter pecan.
Greatest Sports Moment: Being able to earn enough money to not have to have my mom work again for the rest of her life.
Most Painful Career Moment: Any time I lose.
Favorite Athletes To Watch: Shaquille O’Neal. Magic Johnson. Mike Tyson – he’s a winner, the best. His desire for success can’t be faded. Rickey Henderson. Andre Agassi – he’s exciting. Gabriela Sabatini. Payne Stewart.
Interesting Fact: I’m a businessman first.
People Qualities Most Admired: Magic Johnson – the person I admire the most. He’s a great athlete. And a businessman. Very charismatic, very caring. He’s a people’s person.
Future Ambition: To be the best father ever. I don’t care about what they say about me when I’m through with sports. I don’t want to be known as anything else in life but a great father.
Career Accomplishments: NFL All-Pro cornerback from 1989-2005 for Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens; Two-time Super Bowl Champion; Scored 22 NFL touchdowns and made 53 interceptions; Major League Baseball outfielder from 1989-2001 for New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants; Played in World Series in 1992 with Atlanta; Deion is the only athlete to play in both the Super Bowl and World Series; Career batting average was .263.
Deion Sanders career highlights
(Note: Deion and I did this Biofile at Shea Stadium in 1995 while he was a San Francisco Giant. I still remember the encounter vividly. I asked him if he could do a quick Biofile interview. He declined at first but something about his reply didn’t seem believable. So I said, “I’m going to ask you the question anyway, if you want to answer you can… Who were your childhood heroes?” Not a second went by and he revealed his quick answer – and also shared this wonderful exclusive Biofile which I hope you enjoyed.)
