Prior to the big game in February, D Magazine released a Super Bowl special edition featuring a wonderful article titled "Super Bowl Memories." Several former Dallas Cowboys, as well a couple of Texas-born stars from other teams, recounted to Mickey Spagnola how the Super Bowl changed their lives.  

In part 6 of the 12-part series are the reflections of “Too Tall,” a member of the famed "Doomsday Defense" squad who has gained some recent fame through the very funny Geico commercials.

Ed “Too Tall” Jones
Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls X, XII, XIII

The moment I remember was 1977 after we beat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl [XII, 27-10]. I was on the bus riding back to the hotel, sitting next to Harvey Martin, and I touched Harvey Martin and said, “Do you realize tomorrow morning when we wake up we are world champions?”

And I say that because you can’t really explain what it’s like, that feeling in words. But I do wish every player who had an impact on the game could have experienced that. I talk about guys that I idolized—Deacon Jones with the Rams, the Purple People Eaters’ Carl Eller and all those guys. I shot a commercial not long ago with Dan Dierdorf, who was a lot like Rayfield Wright. And Dan told me, “Ed, I played 13 years and I would trade 12 to, not win it, but to experience playing in a Super Bowl.” And Dan meant a lot to the game.

Source: D Magazine Special Edition Super Bowl  

Part 1 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Troy Aikman
Part 2 of 12  Roger Staubach's Super Bowl Memories
Part 3 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Michael Irvin
Part 4 of 12  Tony Dorsett’s Super Bowl Memories
Part 5 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Daryl Johnston

Prior to the big game in February, D Magazine released a Super Bowl special edition featuring a wonderful article titled  "Super Bowl Memories." Several former Dallas Cowboys, as well a couple of Texas-born stars from other teams, recounted to Mickey Spagnola how the Super Bowl changed their lives.  

In part 5 of the 12-part series are the reflections of the first fullback ever selected for the Pro Bowl – and who would entice fans to chant "Moooooose" whenever he made a play.

Daryl Johnston
Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, XXX

It’s the culmination of what you do for an occupation. It’s a childhood dream. It’s reaching the pinnacle in your business. So from a number of different perspectives, you have an opportunity if you can win that game when you are trying to figure out who’s the best, it was always something that I felt very proud about. The biggest thing, though, is as growing up as a little boy, watching the Super Bowl with my dad, and then to imagine that you are involved in that game and that out there in the country there are some little boys watching it with their dads kind of the same way you did. Kind of wondering who it is many years down the road that will have the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream.

The first Super Bowl [XXVII], you know Buffalo had been there twice so this was their third time, and we’re still young, people were still wondering how did we beat San Francisco [30-20 in the 1992 NFC Championship] because San Francisco was supposed to be the top team. And when we got on the field [at the Rose Bowl] we were a little bit nervous—our sideline had a little bit of nervous energy. You’re looking across the field at the Buffalo Bills. and they are very calm, it’s nothing new to them—“Hey this is our third go-around”—and the fly-by with the jets that came over the stadium just absolutely electrified our sideline, and you were absolutely blown away by that.

[Winning the Super Bowl] opens a lot of opportunities, especially when you are a three-time Super Bowl champion. I don’t know if I would be working in the [TV broadcasting] industry I am now if I was just a fullback. But being a three-time Super Bowl championship fullback adds quite a bit of credibility to your résumé.

Source: D Magazine Special Edition Super Bowl 

Part 1 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Troy Aikman
Part 2 of 12  Roger Staubach's Super Bowl Memories
Part 3 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Michael Irvin
Part 4 of 12  Tony Dorsett’s Super Bowl Memories
Part 6 of 12  Ed “Too Tall” Jones’ Super Bowl Memories

Prior to the big game in February, D Magazine released a Super Bowl special edition featuring a wonderful article titled "Super Bowl Memories." Several former Dallas Cowboys, as well a couple of Texas-born stars from other teams, recounted to Mickey Spagnola how the Super Bowl changed their lives.  

In part 4 of the 12-part series are the reflections of "Tony D," the only player in history who has won the Heisman Trophy, won the Super Bowl, won the College National Championship, been enshrined in the College Hall of Fame, and been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tony Dorsett
Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls XII, XIII

Playing in the Super Bowl meant everything to me as an athlete, no question about it, but especially now. I have a greater appreciation of [playing in the Super Bowl] now than I did back then because as the years have gone by you see so many of the great players who played the game but didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the Super Bowl, and that makes it even that more meaningful. Let me tell you something, I went to two Super Bowls my first two years in the league, and it was the biggest extravaganza I ever thought could be possible on earth—the greatest show on earth, the greatest show on turf.

But when it really hit me about being in the Super Bowl is when I watched my son [Anthony] when he was playing for the Tennessee Titans [Super Bowl XXXIV], and when I was down on the sideline. When they started playing the National Anthem, all these thoughts started going through my head. I’m thinking about Jim Brown, Barry Sanders. I’m thinking about Gale Sayers, all these great runners and great players that played in the National Football League that didn’t have a chance to play in the ‘ultimate game.’

But here’s my son, my baby boy, having the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, and it took all the strength in my body to just stand there; there were tears just flowing and I got real emotional about it. Because it is the biggest thing in sports in this country. It’s a world-wide extravaganza. And not just play in it but to win it—people don’t remember a lot of times the bridesmaid, they remember the world champions, and to be a world champion, man it means a whole lot to me.

I remember the first one [Super Bowl XII] because I scored the first touchdown. I was a rookie, and here I was coming back to the same city [New Orleans] that I previously won a national championship at the University of Pittsburgh back in the same stadium [Superdome], and to score the first touchdown as a rookie, that meant a lot to me. And the second one, I had a chance to go against my hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you talk about somebody that was geeked up.

Source: D Magazine Special Edition Super Bowl, Wikipedia  |  Photography by Layne Murdoch

Part 1 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Troy Aikman
Part 2 of 12  Roger Staubach's Super Bowl Memories
Part 3 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Michael Irvin
Part 6 of 12  Ed “Too Tall” Jones’ Super Bowl Memories

Prior to the big game in February, D Magazine released a Super Bowl special edition featuring a wonderful article titled "Super Bowl Memories." Several former Dallas Cowboys, as well a couple of Texas-born stars from other teams, recounted to Mickey Spagnola how the Super Bowl changed their lives.  

In part 3 of the 12-part series are the reflections of the man known as "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his career.

Michael Irvin
Dallas Cowboys, Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, XXX

The third Super Bowl [XXX] was great, but it was tough. We had also lost Coach [Jimmy] Johnson, and inside the locker room we wanted to prove that we could still go out there. We enjoyed playing together, and we were a family. We wanted to go out and prove we could still win a Super Bowl.  We loved Coach Johnson but now Coach [Barry] Switzer was the coach, and you know whenever you make a change like that, difficult times come with it.

But we weathered the storm, and we did win a Super Bowl [27-17 over Pittsburgh]. But I think those tough times are what made our teams so fun to play on. 

I can remember before we won Super Bowl XXVII we would have team meetings trying to understand why we are getting our heads kicked in the way we are getting our heads kicked in. Then after the team meeting we go ahead and get our heads kicked in. There was nothing we could do about it. But having those tough times, and then sitting in that locker room after Super Bowl XXX, winning three Super Bowls in four years, and looking around, that was the first time I really reminisced on the history we were creating. I thought, wow, can you believe that? We have won three Super Bowls in four years, and you go back to, wow, after getting our heads kicked in like that … So it was a beautiful thing to accomplish, and it’s going to be a beautiful thing to share with the people in Texas. And I’ll say it again: I can’t wait for the Super Bowl to be here next year.

Source: D Magazine Special Edition Super Bowl 

Part 1 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Troy Aikman
Part 2 of 12  Roger Staubach's Super Bowl Memories
Part 4 of 12  Tony Dorsett’s Super Bowl Memories
Part 5 of 12  Super Bowl Memories of Daryl Johnston
Part 6 of 12  Ed “Too Tall” Jones’ Super Bowl Memories