Super Bowl Huskies: Bjornson Left the Field With an Opponent, Ex-Teammate
Eric Bjornson took the long walk from the locker room to the field at Sun Devil Stadium, a place he knew well.
With each step, the Dallas Cowboys rookie tight end felt his emotions take over.
He was about to play in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona, on the biggest stage in football.
It made no difference that he was pulling only special-teams duty that day against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Or that he had played in pressure-filled games at the University of Washington, beating Ohio State and ending Miami's 58-game home winning streak on consecutive weekends.
This was different, unfamiliar to his senses.
"I've never been that nervous before a game, and I wasn't playing," Bjornson said. "It was the only game people were watching on the planet."
In the days leading up to kickoff, he joined in the frivolity, doing an interview with a kid named Sparky Mortimer, sent by talk-show host David Letterman to file daily reports. The youngster called him a no-name. Bjornson bench-pressed him for everyone in America to see.
On January 26, 1996, Bjornson handled his punt- and kickoff-team responsibilities. He remembers missing a tackle. He held his breath as Dallas survived a late rally and an onside kick to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17.
When it was over, he sought out Steelers tight end Mark Bruener, his former UW teammate, and they walked off the field together.
This marked the first Super Bowl in its three decades in which there was at least a one-time Husky player on each roster.
Former Huskies Eric Bjornson and Mark Bruener left the field together at Super Bowl XXX.
Eric Bjornson
Bjornson, who started at quarterback and wide receiver for the Huskies, returned to Seattle following the game, which he considered his offseason home, only to turn around and go to Washington, D.C.
Bjornson and the Cowboys were offered a chance to meet the President.
Just 10 or 11 out of 53 Dallas players made the trip.
Many of them had done this in 1993 and 1994 when they won other Super Bowls.
Emmitt Smith and Charles Haley went to the nation's capital, but Troy Aikmen didn't
Bjornson was the only rookie who got on the jet headed east.
"For a lot of veterans, it was, 'Ah, I've met Bill Clinton twice, I don't need to go again,' " he said. "It was kind of old hat for some of these guys."
Bjornson, who lives back in his hometown Bay Area and is a benefits consultant, spent six seasons in Dallas. In his pro career, he caught 147 passes and 1,324 yards, and scored 8 touchdowns. He became the Cowboys starting tight end for two full seasons and 41 games overall.
He won a Rose Bowl, a national championship and now a Super Bowl, something that only D'Marco Farr, Dana Hall and Damon Huard among his former UW teammates had experienced.
"I was just a rookie," Bjornson said. "I was the luckiest guy to be part of it."
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