I never liked Troy Aikman growing up.
Not at all, really.
As a Niners fan, rooting for the Cowboys quarterback was like pulling for the football version of Darth Vader. And I say that with only mild exaggeration.
If the Cowboys weren’t your team, you probably hated them. They won too much, talked too loud and the whole idea of them being “America’s Team” was sickening.
Needless to say, the Cowboys weren’t my team.
But as hard as it is to admit, this Aikman guy has kind of grown on me.
During halftime at last week’s Notre Dame game, the former star quarterback announced he had recently completed his UCLA degree and will be walking in June. After 20 years spent away from the classroom, Aikman finally had gone back and finished what he started.
In spring 1989, Aikman needed only two more upper division sociology courses to graduate. But the call of the Cowboys, who drafted him No. 1 overall, was too strong. He left Westwood for Dallas and didn’t look back.
All of a sudden, Aikman was the face of the franchise ““ coming back to college must have been a distant priority. After starting 11 games for a 1-15 team his first season in the league, Aikman’s career took off.
Between 1992 and 1995, Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles, establishing himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. (And yes, it still stings a little to write that.)
He never received his degree but what did it matter? He was the leader of a football dynasty and was a lock for the Football Hall of Fame. Aikman had it made and returning to school during the off-season probably would’ve been seen as a distraction.
While many people overcome hardship to finish their degree, Aikman had to overcome success. If he didn’t want to take those last two sociology classes, nobody would’ve blamed him. The guy was untouchable and, except for a few nagging concussions, he had everything going for him.
Even after Aikman retired from football in 2001, he had no real reason to finish his degree. Two more classes and a piece of paper certainly wouldn’t affect his new career in broadcasting. It wouldn’t bump him up on the pay grade ““ like he needed it anyway. Plenty of athletes never look back on an unfinished degree. It wasn’t like Aikman was under any pressure to hit the books again.
But, after leaving a promise to his mother unfulfilled, coming back to school was just something he had to do.
“I promised my mother when I left school that I would go back and finish,” Aikman told The Dallas Morning News last week. “It may have taken longer than anyone thought, but I did it.”
For two decades, scheduling conflicts and missed opportunities gnawed on Aikman but he finally found the time this past year. He aced two online courses in the spring and fall ““ one on ethnicity and race and another on the sociology of aging ““ to finish off his degree.
So on the list of Aikman’s accomplishments from the Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, collegiate honors and Hall of Fame membership, where does graduating rank?
“I don’t know which would come first,” he said last week. “Honestly.”
So for all us who might be walking alongside Aikman in June, he provides some hope. We might not find jobs, but graduating from UCLA is apparently as good as winning a few Super Bowls.
I just wonder what kind of touchdown dance Aikman will do when he finally gets a hold of that diploma.
E-mail Feder at Jfeder@media.ucla.edu if you’re going to pull a cell phone out of your sock, sign yours and throw it into the audience.