COMMENTARY
SPORTS MEMORIES
Sitting down to dinner with a
longtime friend normally results
in reminiscing. I recently dined
with former quarterback Steve
DeBerg. Longtime Buccaneer fans will
remember him, along with fans of San
Francisco, Denver and Kansas City. He
was a quarterback with all those teams
and logged a rare 21 years total in the
National Football League. He did not retire
until age 44, which is quite remarkable.
When he was with the Bucs from 1984
through 1987, we became more than
reporter and athlete, we became friends.
We ended up taking several ski trips out
west together with families and friends.
You might expect memories from those
trips to be discussed during our dinner.
However, we talked more about Steve’s
career as a quarterback and about an
interview he did on my six o’clock sports
show in 1988. Steve was going to be my
guest “live.” All the other competing
sportscasters were trying to contact him,
as the word was out that he was headed
to Kansas City. Steve had agreed to an
interview with me, so the “live” shot had
been prearranged, and I knew exactly
where he was. As I was getting set to go
on the air, I could see in a monitor that
the “live” truck had arrived, and he was
ready to be interviewed. We wasted no
time getting to the to the heart of the matter
on the air. When I asked about the rumors,
he said he had an announcement. Then he
announced he was retiring! My look was
enough, but the gasps off camera from
anchors Gayle Sierens and Bob Hite, who
were on set with me, is what I am sure
most of the viewers and all the Buc fans
remember.
Nobody expected the announcement.
He knew that, and took full advantage of
the live interview. As we continued, he
appeared a little choked up, as you might
expect from someone who is ending a long
career in a game he loved. It was not until
the end of our interview when he surprised
us again by saying, “April Fools!” As well
as I knew him and what a great sense of
humor he had, I never thought to check
the calendar before I went on the air with
him. Oh, and those “choked up” moments?
They were the result of him trying to hold
back laughter, which came through loud
and clear once he saw we had all been
“had.” To this day, it is one of the moments
he and I treasure.
While on air, Steve did confirm he
126 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
was going to go to Kansas City, where
he spent four years leading the Chiefs to
two playoffs. It was during that time that
he met their running backs’ coach, a guy
named Bruce Arians, who is now head
coach of the Buccaneers.
Steve is still listed as the oldest starting
quarterback in NFL history. Tom Brady is
matching him in seasons and is at the age
when Steve retired. What Brady will do
after this season is anyone’s guess, but if
he continues to play, he will take that title.
Either way, you can bet Steve DeBerg will
be rooting for him.
Steve is fully retired now and I say
“fully” because of the many times he has
retired and then resumed his career. He
suffered a smashed pinky while playing
for the Chiefs, but otherwise got out of the
game relatively unscathed.
I was fortunate to have a career that
allowed me to get to know many top
athletes and others associated with sports.
Some were big names and others relatively
unknown, yet I consider it a privilege to
have had all those opportunities. I always
enjoyed discovering that like with Steve
DeBerg, everyone was quite different off
the field than when they were competing. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dick Crippen, a staple
in Tampa Bay broadcasting for more than 40
years, is a retired senior adviser for the Tampa
Bay Rays, where he worked extensively with
the military. He is active in the world of charity
fundraising and sits on numerous boards for
nonprofit organizations.
By Dick Crippen
Dick Crippen