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Real World Heroes:
Clay interviews Tecmo Bowl legend Christian Okoye
05/23/07
by Clay
Christian Okoye and Tecmo video games remain connected even after more than 15 years. The moment one makes news you can be sure that the other isn't very far behind. There's some sort of karmic thread that unites them both.
That's why I didn't bang my head into a wall when I found out that Okoye, my video game idol, was slated to be a contestant in the new CBS reality television show called Pirate Master. The premise of the show is evidently that 16 contestants will compete to uncover $1 million in gold while each week a contestant is voted off. Oh, and everyone dresses up as a pirate.
Thanks to all of you who e-mailed to let me know what my video game idol was up to. Honestly, the next thing you know Bo Jackson is going to be a special-guest competitor on Inferno IV (who doesn't want to see Wes brought back to take him on?). Regardless, Okoye's show premieres on Thursday, May 31, and there is a 100 percent chance I'm going to be watching all summer long.
But based on their karmic connection, I could feel Tecmo news percolating in the atmosphere. So I wasn't even that surprised when, before I had even gotten used to Okoye's newest star turn, news broke that after almost 20 years of sitting around twiddling their thumbs, the fine folks at Tecmo were planning on releasing a new football game.
Yep, Tecmo has finally listened to a generation of video game fans who grew up playing their game and now they're bringing back Tecmo Bowl at some point in 2008. At least, according to several news releases that were forwarded to me by readers. Unfortunately, we know zero details about this upcoming game because all Tecmo managed to do was release a short commercial featuring a guy with a mullet getting ready to play the game. I looked on Youtube for this commercial and instead found this: Several guys reenacting an Eagles touchdown Tecmo Super Bowl style. Enjoy.
As if this weren't enough of a connection to the Nigerian Nightmare, Okoye was kind enough to talk with me after I managed to track him down. You can imagine how nerve-wracking it was for me to interview my video game hero. Throughout our talk I was afraid my voice was going to crack and I occasionally paused to recount particularly impressive video game moments from our (and by our, of course, I mean mine) video game lives. Without further ado, here is my hard-hitting Christian Okoye interview.
1. First of all, you're my video game idol, how often do people mention your status on Tecmo Super Bowl? "All the time. All the time. You know, I have the great fortune of traveling around the nation and I honestly get people coming up to talk to me about that game everywhere. A lot of them bring the game itself for me to sign for them. I've signed hundreds and hundreds of those games."
2. Did anyone competing alongside you mention your Tecmo Super Bowl status on Pirate Master? "Actually, let's dodge that one. I don't want anyone coming after me because we're not supposed to talk about the specifics. But I can tell you this, nobody knew who I was on the show."
3. How did you come to end up on Pirate Master? "I was invited to be involved and I accepted not knowing what was going to happen. They don't want to prepare you for it. All I knew was that we were going to be on the ocean and on a boat and we were going to be competing."
4. Can you confirm or deny whether you break any tackles while running with a treasure chest on the beach? (Okoye was not allowed to answer this question to protect the secrecy of Pirate Master's results.)
5. What are you up to now outside of Pirate Master? "My days are very full. Since 1990 I've had the Christian Okoye Foundation. I'm involved with that and we do a lot of work with underprivileged youths. I've also got Okoyefitness.com, which is a nutritional company I founded nine years ago."
6. Do you ever play Tecmo Super Bowl? Your kids? Relatives? "You know, I never played it. Never in my life." (At this point I displayed my journalistic integrity by exclaiming, 'Wow.') "Wow is right. I would love to play it sometime soon." (Of course I told Okoye I would like to play him.) "Okay, but you know you're going to beat me. I play better being in the actual game than I do with the video game."
7. What's your take on the current slate of NFL running backs? "Aww man, I have tremendous respect for anyone in the NFL. I have great respect for Baby LT. ("Why is he Baby LT?" I asked.) Because LT is the original LT, you know. The new LT. He's awesome. I think he single-handedly won 14 games for San Diego last year. He's incredible. He reminds me of Walter Payton, only faster. You see, Walter was not very fast, but he was tough, but LT is tough and fast."
8. Will there ever been another Nigerian Nightmare and did you like the nickname? "I loved the nickname. Loved it. One of my teammates named me that, Irv Eatman, one of my offensive tackles. As for the Nigerian Nightmare, I don't know. It would be nice if someone comes in and plays tough like I did. All I have to say is I had a good run and I was blessed for the time in the NFL. I did the best that I could."
The "real" Okoye
9. When was the first time you ever saw a football game? "I saw the game for the first time in 1982 when I came to America. I went to a football game in 1983 at my school. I didn't like it and I left after five minutes. It was just a different game than I knew. I knew soccer and soccer was football to me. We left then because I was disappointed in this (American) version of football."
10. Has anyone from Tecmo contacted you about their projected 2008 game? "No, they haven't contacted me. But of course my phone is there. I would love to be a spokesperson."
11. If I told you that you hold the all-time video game record for broken tackles would that surprise you? (Prolonged Okoye laughter.) "Really? I never heard that. But hey, if you say so. But that would surprise me, yeah."
12. Do you ever hang out with old members of the Chiefs like Nick Lowry or Steve DeBerg (two other video game stalwarts of Tecmo Super Bowl)? "Oh yeah, those guys are great. I just saw Steve in Tampa and hung out. Maybe every other week I talk to him."
13. Did you guys play Tecmo Super Bowl in the Chiefs locker room during your career? "You know I don't remember it. But we didn't have that much video games going on then. Now they do, not then."
The Okoye of Clay's dreams
14. Have you ever met Bo Jackson and gotten into an argument with him about who was the greatest video game athlete of all time? "No, no, we've never talked about that. I've met Bo but we never talked about the video games. Let me ask you a question, you've played this game and people have told me I was the best and if I was the best then no one is better than me, right?"
15. Between you and me, do you have any doubts that your video game alter ego would toast Bo Jackson's video game alter ego? "No doubt at all."
After I hung up, I tried to comprehend how in the world Christian Okoye could have gone his entire life without playing as himself on Tecmo Super Bowl. Then I realized Okoye is the latter day Ludwig von Beethoven of the NFL. Just as the composer Beethoven was deaf and unable to experience the melody of his musical genius, so too has Okoye been unable to experience the majesty of his video game genius. Such is life.
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