Michael Strahan Executes His Game Plan

"I’m not going to fool you. This is who I am. This is what you get. I think people have seen every side of me." He retired a Super Bowl champion. Then he let his curiosity, personality, empathy, and leadership skills steer him into a thriving television and business career.

- CHRIS NASHAWATY

MICHAEL STRAHAN WAS GASSED, his body and brain running on adrenaline when he glanced at the game clock on the evening of February 3, 2008— Super Bowl XLII. There was just 2:39 left to play, and his New York Giants were trailing the undefeated and heavily favored New England Patriots 14-10. As Giants quarterback Eli Manning prepared to run onto the field for a final, desperate drive, he saw Strahan, the team’s defensive cornerstone, corral the hulking corps of offensive linemen and shout: “Seventeen-fourteen! Believe it, and it will happen!”

This sort of pep talk was part of Strahan’s job. He’d always been able to inspire teammates. His words carried weight because he led by example through his own fiery passion, iron will, and tireless work ethic.

What came next is legendary, at least to Giants fans: Thanks in large part to a circus catch by receiver David Tyree, Manning drove his team 83 yards and into the end zone, which, adding the extra point, put Big Blue ahead 17-14 with 35 seconds to play. After a final defensive stand, Strahan began jumping up and down as the clock ran out, beaming his famous, thousand-watt, gaptoothed smile. He might have been the only one in America who wasn’t surprised by what had just happened.

Recalling the moment 12 years later, Strahan flashes that same smile—the wattage hasn’t dimmed, the gap is just as wide. “Man, I just wanted to win,” he says. “I wanted that Super Bowl ring.” Strahan insists that his motivational words that day weren’t hot air or bluster. “No, no, no. I really believed it. And I wanted them to believe it too.”