My Interview with Doug Flutie

Doug Flutie was one of the toughest competitors on the football field. Being smaller than the average quarterback never stopped him. Whether he was throwing his famous "Hail Mary" pass as the quarterback for Boston College in 1984 or winning the Comeback Player of the Year Award in the NFL in 1998 when he played for the Buffalo Bills, Flutie always gave his best.

Now retired from football, Doug has been involved with his charity, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism; he works as a college football analyst, and is a great father. He recently started working with Dove Men+Care for their Journey to Comfort campaign. This past Friday, Doug was part of a discussion on fatherhood with Dove Men+Care at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. I was able to attend this event and listen in on his thoughts about being a father. After the presentation Doug was nice enough to answer a few of my own questions.

Art Eddy: In your career there were a lot of people doubting your skills as a quarterback. Did you ever believe any of the critics? Did you ever doubt yourself?

Doug Flutie: I think the only time I doubted myself was my senior year in high school. I was not offered a Division I scholarship. I remember a scout from Ohio State coming in and looking at my film. He was all excited to meet me. Then he met me and I was 5'10" and he said that I was not a Division I quarterback. You are a heck of an athlete, but you are not a Division I quarterback. So right then and there it was like screw you I am going to prove to you that I am.

No one recruited me in Division I. They are telling you that you are too small to play quarterback in Division I anyway. You figure these guys know what they are taking about. These are college coaches and I am a high school kid. Boston College had a coaching change. They had guys that they wanted go elsewhere and they offered me very late in the recruiting season, but I got my Division I offer. So it was the opportunity that presented itself to prove these people wrong. Once you got on the field whether it was practice or a game, you know what, the game was the same. Take your snap. Take your read. Throw to the open guy. All the doubters for me help to motivate me on a daily basis.

AE: What was the toughest thing about being a father in the spotlight?

DF: I think the number one thing is time commitments. When you are in a high profile job and there is a lot of pressure on you and the time you spend between work and home and being there for your kids. I was fortunate enough to have my offseasons that I spent a lot of time with them. So it was kind of one extreme and then the other when the kids were younger. That is kind of the biggest thing is juggling that cause you miss a lot.

AE: What is the number one thing you strive to teach your children?

DF: I think it is to just be a good person and to have values and standards and to stick by them. My daughter is very strong willed and is a great kid. She doesn't drink. She doesn't smoke. She doesn't fold to peer pressure. I think how affectionate my wife and I have been with her over the years all plays into that. She realizes the more people she is exposed to that kids who have both parents around grow up to be much better people.

AE: Which tastes better Flutie Flakes or Flutie Fruities?

DF: Flutie Flakes are the best!