clarinews@clarinet.com (MIKE RABUN) (01/19/90)
_A_d_v_ _w_e_e_k_e_n_d_,_ _J_a_n_._ _2_0_-_2_1 _U_P_I_ _S_p_o_r_t_s_F_e_a_t_u_r_e _T_o_n_y_ _D_o_r_s_e_t_t_ _T_r_a_v_e_l_s_ _T_o _S_u_p_e_r_ _B_o_w_l_ _A_s_ _S_p_e_c_t_a_t_o_r DENVER (UPI) -- Tony Dorsett's voice straddled the line between wistfulness and resignation. It was the voice of a man who has grown wise with age and who knows better than to fight a battle that can no longer be won. ``I'm going to turn 36 in a month,'' he said. ``Can you believe that? I've enjoyed it all, but I guess it's time to move on to new horizons.'' And then he delivered what he considerd the most stunning news of all: ``I have a 16-year-old son. That will age you a little bit, won't it?'' For Tony Dorsett, the second leading rusher in the history of the National Football League, these are bittersweet days. During the past six months he has endured the inevitable metamorphosis from public figure to forgotten man. For the first time in two decades, he has been free of the pressures that come from being a high-profile football player. He has suffered the pain of the most serious injury of his career, a wrecked knee that still has some healing to do. And he has stood by while his teammates have reached the Super Bowl without him. ``When you're injured, you don't feel a part of anything,'' Dorsett said the day after the Denver Broncos won their third trip to the Super Bowl in four years. ``The ball continues to roll without you. I had nothing to do with this team's success other than to lend my support along with the umpteen million other fans.'' On Aug. 3, as Dorsett changed direction during a routine workout at the Broncos training camp, a knee gave way. He knew that very moment that his career was over. Surgery followed, along with the long rehabilitation. ``I planted my foot and my knee gave way,'' he said. ``It crumbled like a piece of spaghetti. My thinking was that at 35 years of age there wouldn't be any more football. ``I've used this year to get myself together for life after football. It's been somewhat of a blessing in disguise, I guess. The game has been such a major part of my life. I've been playing football for 18 years at least.'' Then he started adding them up. ``Gee,'' he said. ``It's probably been more than that. There have been 13 years in the NFL and then college and high school and pee wee ball. Yeah, I've played a lot of years.'' Those years included a Heisman Trophy winning season at the University of Pittsburgh. They included a Super Bowl crown in his rookie year with the Dallas Cowboys. They included the longest run from scrimmage in an NFL game, a 99-yarder against the Minnesota Vikings during a Monday night contest. They included 12,739 rushing yards, a number that fell 3,987 short of Walter Payton's NFL record. ``It's a career I can live with,'' he said. ``When you consider what I accomplished as a running back at 185 pounds and all the licks I've taken, I'm pretty happy with it. ``I've experienced the highest point you can experience. I became the second leading rusher when I never thought I would play more than five years. When I want to leaf through some pages, it will be something I can smile about.'' Dorsett hopes his future lies in broadcasting. He knows he will have a chance to prove himself to network officials. ``I will try to make the most of the opportunity,'' he said. ``Most of all I just hope I can get healthy and go into mainstream America and try to function like a normal human being.'' Dorsett's last game as a member of an NFL team has taken on a large dose of irony. It was at the Louisiana Superdome that the Pittsburgh Panthers won the national championship and it was there Dorsett helped win Super Bowl XII for the Cowboys. Now he will travel to New Orleans for the Super Bowl once more. ``Yeah,'' he said, ``I'm going to make the trip. It will be my last hurrah. I'm going and hopefully cheer these guys to victory. It's been a great year for them. It's been dismal for me, on the outside looking in watching these guys accomplish the great feats they have been able to accomplish. I've been in a lot of championship games. I just wish I had one more chance to play. When you are playing in front of the type of fans you have in Denver it is really exciting. ``I was juiced up (during the AFC victory over Cleveland). I wanted to be out there. I was talking to (rookie Denver running back) Bobby Humphrey and I told him, `if you think you are excited now, wait until you get to the Super Bowl.' ``It's an unbelievable feeling and I wish I had that opportunity to experience it again. I guess I will just have to experience it from another angle.'' And with that wistfulness returning to his voice, he said: ``It would have been a great ending for me.'' _A_d_v_ _w_e_e_k_e_n_d_,_ _J_a_n_._ _2_0_-_2_1