Cook: Bettis even outdrives Tiger in popularity at Detroit golf event
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The strangest thing happened when Tiger Woods walked to the No. 17 tee with his playing partner during the Buick Open Pro-Am Wednesday in suburban Detroit.
The golf fans went wild, but not the way you might think.
"Mr. Bettis! Mr. Bettis! Over here, please!"
"Jerome, can you sign my football?"
"Hey, Bus ..."
"So we get to the tee box and Tiger says to me, 'How in the world do you deal with that?' " Bettis said with a giggle.
Pretty odd question, wouldn't you say, coming from maybe the most recognizable person on Earth?
"It was hilarious," Bettis said.
Carlos Osorio, Associated PressJerome Bettis discusses a putt with Tiger Woods Wednesday in the Buick Open pro-am in Grand Blanc, Mich.
Click photo for larger image.
That was just one of the priceless memories Bettis took away from his once-in-a-lifetime golfing experience. "I shot an 83. That's the second-best round of my life. So I guess I wasn't that nervous," he said. "There was a huge crowd at every turn, but that doesn't scare me. I'm used to being watched. I'm just glad I didn't hit anyone off the tee box."
Bettis also went home with a cherished souvenir. Woods signed a pin flag for him, "Thanks for a great day! Tiger." Woods didn't go home empty-handed, either. "I gave him one of my jerseys," Bettis said. Woods promised to hang it on the wall of his $40 million oceanfront estate in Jupiter Island, Fla.
Presumably, right next to his Peyton Manning autographed jersey.
"Yeah, he said he and Peyton were friends," Bettis said. "We really didn't talk about golf much. It was all about football. He said he still was mad at me because we beat his team."
You should have heard Bettis laugh.
At least Woods had the decency not to mention The Fumble in Indianapolis.
"I appreciated that," Bettis said.
For Bettis, the golf outing was another entry on an endless list of highlights since the Steelers won Super Bowl XL in Detroit, his hometown. (No, Bettis didn't have to explain to Woods why he owns all of Detroit, including the No. 17 tee box at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club). There were laughs and handshakes with the most powerful man on the planet in the East Room of the White House. There was his wedding July 8 in Jamaica with old teammates Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Joey Porter among the 150 in attendance. Now, there was this little golfing date with the man, who, only 10 days earlier, had won the British Open, his 11th major championship.
Sort of beats the goal-line drill in Latrobe with a 100-degree heat index, doesn't it?
"Oh, my goodness, no, I don't miss that," Bettis said.
Bettis still talks to many of the Steelers -- Porter almost every day -- and keeps his finger on the team's pulse. He predicted this will be Bill Cowher's final season as coach. "I think so. I think he wants to recharge his batteries a little and be with his family. His marriage is a big issue with him. He also knows if he retires and teams try to lure him out of retirement, that's when he'll really get the big money. He knows he's not going to get $5 million or $6 million from Pittsburgh. Believe me, he understands the dynamics of the situation." And Cowher's replacement? "I think it will be Whiz [Ken Whisenhunt]," Bettis said. "That's one of the reasons he didn't leave [to take the Oakland Raiders' job]."
Opinions such as those are why NBC is paying a ransom's price for Bettis as a commentator on its NFL pregame, halftime and postgame shows this fall. He'll make his debut when he does the Washington-Cincinnati game Sunday in Cincinnati. It seems like the appropriate site considering he had many of his better games against the Bengals in Cincinnati.
"I'm sure a lot of their DBs will be glad to see me in the booth instead of on the field," Bettis said, giggling again.
The Steelers and their Heinz Field crowd won't be feeling that way when NBC does the season opener Sept. 7 against the Miami Dolphins. It will be one of at least two scheduled appearances for Bettis in Pittsburgh in September.
On Sept. 8, he will be the host of the Jerome Bettis All-Star Caring For Kids celebrity banquet at the Heinz Field Great Hall, a night when he will honor Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch for his work with children in Homestead.
"What I miss is being around the guys," Bettis said. "When I get back in that stadium and feel the energy, that's when it will hurt the most."
That doesn't mean Bettis has regrets about his retirement. "Physically, I just couldn't do it anymore." Nor does it mean he isn't looking forward to his new NBC gig. "I know I can do that job. I know how to talk about football. I've been doing it my whole life."
It's not as if the new job doesn't have its perks.
"I know this," Bettis said. "On Monday mornings, I'm not going to be sore anymore."
First Published August 6, 2006 12:00 am
