WAGGING WITH... TERRY BRADSHAW

Living and loving life— with a huge passion for dogs

TB: Dolly (with laughter). OK, then we have a trio of litter mates—Jesse James, Annie Oakley and Billie the Kid (the result of a trip to Mississippi I took to buy one dog); and two more nest mates—Biscuit (she is the queen of the house) and Gravy (the laziest of all the Dachshund).

I always wanted one big dog as a deterrent but the other little ones to snuggle. I have as many as five of them sleeping with me in my recliner. Their barks are all different and I love their personalities. The ones that are nest or litter mates never fight. And they do everything together. They eat out of the same bowl and pretty much stick together. And at night they play tag—you’re it!

WM: What are your favorite breeds of dogs?

TB: I love Westies. They are so beautiful. But they love to dig. Dig, dig, dig. Hank just tears up the yard. And when he’s slinging the dirt, Dolly girl is right behind him barking, “Go big guy! Go!” But probably Cocker Spaniels. The face of a Cocker Spaniel is priceless. I don’t necessarily love German Shepherds, but I marvel at their strength. I’ve had Dalmatians, English Setters, Pointers, and Boxers. Even a white Boxer. Her name was Duchess. I do love Boxers.

WM: What breed of dog would you liken yourself to.

TB: Let’s see, I was a blonde, gray now. One that’s powerful, a German giant—along the Brad Pitt line, gorgeous. A Boxer. Right Tammy? Yes, final answer. A Boxer.

WM: And Tammy?

TB: First of all, we’re talking princess. Beautiful and sexy. But not a Poodle. Not foofoo. She would be an Afghan Hound.

WM: I loved the movie Failure to Launch where you played the part of Al, Matthew McConaughey’s father, along with Kathy Bates as his mother. Any characteristics of Terry Bradshaw that were reflected in Al?

TB: (Without hesitation) A lot alike. A lot alike. Terry Bradshaw is a little bit behind times on the social scene, simple minded in family values and a solid, moral guy. Al and Terry would want to get the kids out of the house, but not necessarily would they go about it in the same way. And…Terry Bradshaw would have a naked room and pee outside like Al. (Ha, ha, ha). Yeah, a lot alike.

WM: Would you like to make more movies?

TB: (With even less hesitation) No! No! No! I don’t like making movies. That’s not who I am. I’m not an actor and I don’t bring anything to the movie. I am football, horses, broadcasting, singing, entertaining and public speaking. My electricity takes off when I perform. It’s the power of feeling good about yourself. If I can be up there performing and bring 90 minutes of joy and happiness to people’s lives, that’s what I enjoy. It’s not a pre-game joy. It’s when it’s all up to me—the pressure to perform like corporate speeches and delivering a message.

WM: Terry Bradshaw. Four-time Super Bowl champ. Of those four games, which one was most memorable?

TB: The first one. Against the Minnesota Vikings. Super Bowl IX. You never know if you have the ability to win a title that is so hard to do. And it was scary—almost unfathomable to win with such a young team.

WM: Ok. Changing it up here a bit. Which of these do you favor? Cornbread or cheesecake?

TB: Ohhhh, cornbread. Cornbread and milk. Mexican cornbread. Mexican cornbread and milk.

WM: Baseball or boxing?

TB: Boxing. But not the MMA stuff. I don’t care for that.

WM: Milwaukee Bucks or Phoenix Suns?

TB: Bucks

WM: Bourbon or beer?

TB: Awwww, I think you might know that one—bourbon! We started Bradshaw Bourbon about five years ago. Bourbon gets better with age and the key to ours is that we came up with a yeast blend that ages it six years. It was ranked second by Fred Minnick in a blind taste test review. Bradshaw Bourbon is not a celebrity endorsement. It’s all me. I started it, approved the taste, did the labeling and bottle size and shape. We also have Bradshaw Ranch burgers and a clothing line coming up. I can’t believe I’m doing so much at 73!

WM: Any life lessons you’ve learned from your relationships with dogs?

TB: You know, today there’s such division in the nation. We’ve gotten so that the country is so politically and morally divided. All the things this nation was built on are suddenly up in the air. I recently said to Tammy, “No matter how bad your day could be, whether you’re poor, homeless, fat, skinny, rich or poor, clean or dirty, when a dog sees you, he only sees your heart. That’s all he sees. Wouldn’t it be something if the world would be like that?”

WM: Amen to that, Terry. Amen to that.