Plaxico Burress played his first NFL game Sunday night since shooting himself in the leg and subsqequently spending 20 months in prison. Burress caught four passes for 72 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown catch, as his New York Jets defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 27-24. Burress was on the ‘Michael Kay Show’ on ESPN Radio New York Monday to dicuss the game.
Sports Radio Interviews has the full transcript. We have excerpts below:
What did it mean to run out of the tunnel and get the reception that you got from fans on Sunday Night Football?
“It was a surreal feeling. Obviously from the time that me and my family had to wait for the last two-and-half years with everything we’ve been through it is just gratifying. I am just appreciating being able to play in this business for so long and you go out and just be consistent to just have that football field back and get back to the regular season with my family there. To give my son my first touchdown ball. It was just a great feeling.”
When you were on the sidelines during the game did you think about what happened to yourself over the past 2 years? Did you let that wash over you at all?
“I think about it every day. It’s something that when you go through a tragedy, a situation, you can’t help but let it surface from time-to-time. When I’m on the football field I just try to focus on what I have to do and just play my role and doing what I can do to have it impact on my teammates and being a member of the New York Jets. I just try to focus on the task at hand and everything I do is definitely a motivation for me, so I let that kind of fuel me getting through the rough times and just being patient like last night. I didn’t have any catches in the first half. I was saying to myself here it comes and the one thing I have learned is patience.”