The ex- wide receiver who, despite being on a team that stressed a running game, dawns a career record of 589 receptions and 76 touchdowns, tells that this favorite football memory was winning Super Bowl XI.
“Going to the Super Bowl. It’s been 35 – years since we went Super Bowl XI and beat Minnesota, but that stands out the most in my mind. There were so many years that we had gotten to the championship games and had lost because of some fluke play and something that happened, or whatever it may be, and lose. We finally got to the Super Bowl and won. So that was the biggest throw for me.”
Between his career as a wide receiver and coach, Biletnikoff spent 30- years married to one NFL team, The Raiders. But this doesn’t mean the Super Bowl XI MVP isn’t allowed to admire rival teams. He in fact shares that some of his favorite players played head- to -head in Super Bowl XLVI.
“I like New England with Brady and Welker, because I like both of them; I think they are a fantastic combination. I like the guys down in San Diego; I think they have a really good passing game…I like Cruz for the Giants, I like Manningham, and like I said, I like to watch Welker. Those are the guys that I like to watch the most,” he says.
In light of the recent Hall- of – Fame inductee upsets, Billetnikoff shared his opinion on the difference between those who were inducted, and those who weren’t.
“They had a lot of guys like [Bill] Parcells and Timmy Brown and Chris Carter and Andre Reed. All those guys I know and neither one of those four guys made it to the Hall –of-Fame. But the guys that [were recently named to be] in the Hall- of –fame, they played years ago and are older guys, so it seems like all the voting went to that way this year, instead of more current guys. The last two years of the inductees that came into the hall-of-fame, was more of a group that just got into the eligibility years.”
When it comes to life beyond playing and coaching football, the 68-year old says that he always keeps busy. “I just retired from coaching, but every now and then I help out at high schools,” he says. “We have a foundation called the Biletnikoff Foundation. We work a lot with at-risk youths and adolescents. I also try to get my golf game straight! Overall, I just try to be an asset more than a liability.”
