By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Other than "lights flashing and the fireworks going off," Santana Dotson doesn't remember a lot from the Green Bay Packers' 35-21 win over the New England Patriots in Super Box XXXI in New Orleans.
"But the Super Bowl we lost," he said of the Packers' 31-24 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII, "I remember every play of that Super Bowl. As a true player, and somebody who wants to master their craft, I think most times we're shaped by the losses and trying to make sure we never go to that valley again."
Speaking at Thursday's Waco Chamber of Commerce Kickoff Luncheon at the Baylor Club, the former Baylor All-American defensive lineman talked about his path to Baylor, a memorable game against Colorado and a 10-year NFL career highlighted by the back-to-back Super Bowls.
"You start understanding why football is the No. 1 sport and the most-watched," he said, "because you don't get seven times to do it, like basketball or baseball. Typically, in a seven-game series, your best team is going to end up finding a way to win that game.
"Football is different, because you've got 60 minutes to figure it out and a halftime to adjust and go back out and try and fix things. I think that's really the reason people love the sport of football and tune in on a weekly basis."
Even 21 years after retiring, Dotson has stayed in the game through football camps, mentoring, speaking engagements and is part of the "Bob and Brian Show" on WHQG in Milwaukee, Wisc.
"Sometimes, I reflect back and I'm floored by it," Dotson said, "because it goes back to that decision you made at 17 years old that said, 'Okay, this is going to be the next logical step.' . . . This is a game that I've been involved with, literally, since I was 7, 8 years old."
That includes earning high school All-America honors at Houston Yates, leading his team to a three-year record of 36-4 and winning the Class 5A state championship as a junior in 1985. He was named to the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame two years later.
Taking his five official visits, Dotson said he "felt like it was my choice." But his parents seemed to be pushing him toward one place.
"They made it sound like it was my choice," he said, "and now as I reflect back on it, they were kind of guiding me toward Waco. I'm a big-city kid coming out of Houston, and Waco, eh . . . I don't want to call it lucky, but sometimes fortune really guides you. (Coming to Baylor) was honestly probably one of the best decisions I've ever made."
At Baylor, Dotson was named the Southwest Conference newcomer of the year by the Dallas Morning News in 1988, when he had 36 tackles and four stops behind the line. A three-year starter for the Bears, he was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior in 1991, when he had 60 tackles, four sacks and two blocked kicks.
Describing Hall of Fame coach Grant Teaff as a constant, Dotson said his Baylor head coach made "sure you were doing everything you're supposed to do on and off the field."
"(Defensive coordinator Pete) Fredenburg was kind of the rowdy that was always starting something and getting you ready for fisticuffs," Dotson said. "Both of them were great coaches, and (defensive line coach Robert) James was that mentor, that guy that you knew you could go to if you ever needed anything on the field during the game or away from the field. It was a great family network, and I couldn't have played for three better coaches."
Dotson's defining moment came in the second game of that season, against defending national champion Colorado, when he blocked a chip-shot field goal in the fourth quarter that would have given the Buffaloes a 17-13 lead. The ball bounced all the way past midfield, where Brian Hand recovered it, setting up Jeff Ireland's 35-yard field goal to win it, 16-14.
"What sticks out to me more so is I had an injury before the last drive," he said. "Colorado got the ball back and had one more opportunity. I had an injury right before the blocked field goal. I was able to block the field goal, but I was not able to go back in on the last drive. And I was going crazy, because as a player, you want to be able to affect the outcome of the game. And I felt like I wasn't able to get out there and finish it."
Taken by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the 1992 NFL Draft, Dotson played three seasons with the Buccaneers before moving to Green Bay in 1996. That was 31 years after his father, Alphonse Dotson, signed with the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs despite being taken by the Packers in the second round with the 24
th overall pick.
During a pre-draft interview, Dotson said he didn't really care where he went, "I just don't want to go to a small town. No Green Bay and no Buffalo."
"The opportunity to go to Green Bay and play along the likes of the Reggie Whites, the Sean Jones . . . that was the best choice I made during my career," he said.
One of his messages to kids is to, "Try the spinach."
"I refused to eat spinach until I was 13, 14 years old," he said, "and then once I tried it, I was like, 'Oh, this is pretty good!' I compare that Baylor opportunity and the Green Bay Packer opportunity that way. You look at things from the outside, and you're like, 'I don't think that will work for me.' And then, as I reflect back, that was the best decision I made.
"The two cities are a lot alike. They're family atmospheres, they're community-driven, they appreciate their teams and their athletes and love football. As an athlete, as somebody that's a professional athlete or a collegiate athlete, who could ask for anything more than being appreciated when you're in that arena."
Getting into broadcasting, Santana has been part of one of the longest-running shows in the Wisconsin area, the "Bob and Brian Show."
"Life in the media is great. And I say that because you're never wrong," said Santana, who would like to do some TV broadcasting at some point. "Even when you're wrong, you get to bounce back the next day and say, 'Well, this is why I was wrong. And if they never would have done this, I would have been right.' It's like the weather man. It's going to rain, but it didn't rain. 'Well, here's why it didn't run because we had high pressure. If that high pressure hadn't been there, it would have rained.'''
Santana and his wife, Monique, have three children: one son, Khari, and three daughters, Amani, Sanaa' and Indya. His oldest daughter, Amani, was a thrower for the Baylor track team and now works for Rice University in research and development, while Sanaa' is in her last year with LSU volleyball.
"(Amani) enjoyed her four years here," Santana said. "Definitely got her out in four years. That was my rule: You've got four years to figure it out, and then you've got to start paying for some stuff."
