Great read! Learned a lot I didn't know about the Mathews family. Thanks Gabe.
Photo by Clay Taylor
Texas A&M Football
Bruce Matthews talks new book, growing up in a football family
Key notes from Bruce Matthews interview
- The big thing I think is that in the title (Inside the NFL's First Family - My Life of Football, Faith and Fatherhood) is the purpose. My life is football, faith, and family. My past of knowing Jesus Christ has really changed my perspective on athletics and family. It has been a blessing in athletics for sure, but going through some of our struggles, it is more just to help other people and show them that we are all in this together. I hope it is a message of encouragement that also has a few football stories as well.
- It is neat that you talk about my brothers. So much has been said about my brother Clay
Jr. and I, but we have a set of twin brothers that have a mental incapability. They played in a charity basketball game against
the LA Rams and both of them were booted out of the game for arguing against
calls. Our youngest daughter Gwen has Down
Syndrome, and it was a big shock when she was born. We weren’t sure if we were prepared for it,
but I was so thankful that God didn’t do what I wanted to happen. It has been such a blessing having such a
wonderful girl around.
- Stephen is the oldest child and he is a Baylor Bear. He is the one Matthews who has kind of figured it out in the professional world, he figured out there is an easier way than banging your head against another. My brother’s oldest son Kyle played at USC, but was not as known. He is now really successful in commercial real estate. Kevin is also doing real estate right now with Aggieland Properties.
- After Jake went to the Super Bowl, I told him I hope there would be more opportunities. The loss was disappointing for Jake, but it is something that in time he will appreciate, even though he probably has a bad taste in his mouth right now.
- My grandfather was tough but fair. He was always teaching the neighborhood kids in Charleston how to box. He was a minor league baseball player and apparently he beat Ty Cobb in a foot race back in the day. It is nice to see the people at A&M take so much pride in the Matthews name. My father loved the game of football, but it wasn’t so much about the specific game. He was more about teaching integrity whether through marriage, in a contract or whatever it was. We didn’t need a piece of paper to show that we would hold our word. I wanted to play baseball growing up until I found out there aren’t too many 300 pounders playing baseball.
- When VHS tape came out, my mom went on The Price is Right and we knew she would win something. At family gatherings we will throw the tape on. It was funny because she thought she has lost, when in fact she had actually won.
- It was tough moving a lot, but my mom was from North
Carolina and my dad from South Carolina.
We then moved to LA which was a culture shock and my mom had a bout with
depression. Even today, it is tough to
admit that we need help. There are
resources that can really help you out there.
My dad really set the example for us.
He knew that my mom was much better off when we lived in Arcadia,
California. Every year as I get older, I realize that him
quitting a presidency job to put the family first was the ultimate sacrifice for
his family.
- Things were very different back in the day. Luke was offered before he even played a down of high school football. I knew I wanted to go to USC, but I needed a backup plan and Cal was that. Once Coach Robinson came in and offered me, it was a no brainer to go to USC.
- Archie Manning was our quarterback in Houston. The first night of camp, he took me out to a steak dinner and I couldn’t believe I was eating dinner with Archie. It was a rebuilding situation for sure. We lost to the Packers 38-35 in our first game in overtime, but we gave up no sacks. Archie would take out the whole offensive line to a nice steak dinner at the same place and he would tell us that he would take us out to a steak dinner every time we didn’t give up a sack. Low and behold, that was the only game that season in which that happened.
- I knew the recruiting process had changed, but Kevin was ignored like a diamond in the rough. We did have some trouble with coaches then, but there was not much notoriety for him. He had some out of state offers and we were lucky enough to be able to pay for his tuition. We told him to play where he wanted to play and we would pay for it. He chose A&M and he was getting some really good feedback from the coaches as a freshman. Eventually he was running the second string center spot, I couldn’t believe it honestly. He was eventually put on scholarship and we couldn’t have been more proud of him.
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