Tuesday, August 25, 2015
For Jason Garrett, Bruce Springsteen an inspiration
By Todd Archer
OXNARD, Calif. -- Forty years ago today Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album was released.
So focused is Jason Garrett on Dallas Cowboys training camp that little bit of trivia escaped the noted Springsteen fan, but the coach quickly opened up about the artist.
"First of all I think it dates us all," Garrett said. "But it's the iconic Bruce Springsteen album. Seen the future of rock and roll, his name is Bruce Springsteen. I think that was the album that everybody was waiting for. It took him a little while to get it all together. He had to work through some business issues but there was a lot of anticipation and I don't think it disappointed."
Garrett grew up on the Jersey Shore with his older brothers and sisters "chasing" Springsteen from seashore bar to seashore bar. As time has passed and Springsteen has remained, Garrett's appreciation has grown.
"We talk to our team all about it all the time: I'm inspired by excellence, inspired by excellence in all walks of life," Garrett said. "A great writer, a great song, certainly a great artist, great athletes in all walks of life, great speakers, poetry, a great book, whatever those things are that are excellent it's hard not to be inspired by them. So that's one of the things we try to do with our team. We put them in front of the Navy SEALs. We get the Marines. We have Denzel Washington speak to them because when you're around excellence it's hard not to be inspired by it. And Bruce for me, there's a lot of personal affection for the guy. … One of the things that's interesting, people talk about music and books being alive and I've come to understand that because his songs mean different things to me over the last 40 years. When you're a 15 year old kid listening to it, it means something to you. Then at different stages of your life it means different things to you. So he's certainly been someone who's been a part of my life for a long time. I'm inspired by him. I love the guy."
And his favorite song?
"My dad, when asked who the greatest baseball player of all time, says unequivocally Babe Ruth. There's nobody even close," Garrett sad. "And so I say Born to Run. Now, you can make great arguments for other ones, but it's Born to Run."
