Me as a child? Rambunctious, never still, always in trouble, never could keep my clothes clean, didn’t even like to wear clothes. Used to take my shoes and socks off on the way to school and hide them in a culvert so I could go barefooted. Not a good student, didn’t like school—and then, of course, later on in life you find out that you’re an ADD guy, so that helps explain why you weren’t a good student.

My dad worked six days a week, and on Wednesdays and Sundays we were in church—I had that foundation. I fished with my father, but he never played catch with the football. If I screwed up in life, I can’t blame it on anybody else because I grew up with a lot of love and a lot of fun.

I got my first football when I was 11, and I was hooked. I wasn’t a good athlete at first, but I worked hard to be good at it. I remember figuring out how to snap my wrist and make a spiral, and then throwing the ball into a snowbank—we were living in Iowa then—over and over, because I didn’t have anybody to play catch with. And I said, “Oh my God,” and went and begged my mother to come watch me. That was it.

By far the greatest impact on my career was Mickey Slaughter at Louisiana Tech. I wasn’t highly recruited from high school, but my body really caught up my junior year in college. Mickey was the one who always said, “You’re gonna be the best,” just pumping me.

We won four Super Bowls in six years with the Steelers and had many wonderful moments. But you also have to learn to handle the booing and four interceptions and the critics on your ass. Learning that helped me through the other tough times in my life.

Fox put me into the pregame show in 1994, and away we went. It’s a team sport. It’s not about me—it’s about all five of us believing in the same thing, striving to be the very best. Jealousy is set aside. We all support one another; we care about each other as people; we know each other’s families. I’m really proud of that show.

My faith gave me strength to deal with skin and bladder cancer last year. Like I told my wife, if I die I’m going to heaven, and if I don’t die I get to enjoy you some more, so what’s the downside? The nervousness with cancer comes after you’re told you’re cancer-free and you go back every 90 days for blood work and PET scans, and sitting there waiting on the results for three days.

For a 74-year-old guy, I’m pretty silly. I see life as a big ol’ toy to play with, to laugh and have fun. I love to engage people. I know I’m a celebrity, and I know they’re looking at me in awe, and I like to take the anxiety away from them and make them feel at home. It makes me feel good. I like people liking me. —Jeffrey Lee Puckett