Tom Green has been through a lot in his 60 years — having a lucrative real estate career, losing it all during one of the financial crises, playing semi-pro football and surviving Stage 4 cancer.
And when many others are making decisions at that age about what life will be like when they retire, Green is waking up early every day to work out, and for a good reason.
He’s trying to play a game for the McDaniel College football team as a defensive lineman. McDaniel College is in Westminster, Maryland.
He went back to community college and started training to join the team.
He may even be suiting up this weekend, when he could become one of the oldest players in the NCAA.
“If you don’t see me this year, you’ll see me next year for sure,” he said.
The Baltimore Sun first reported Green’s story.
Green joined WTOP anchors Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson on Thursday to tell his story.
Listen to the interview and read the full transcript below.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
- Shawn Anderson:
Tell us why, at age 60, you wanted to play college football?
- Tom Green:
I was just sitting around in a room, and I was just really bored, and I said, “You know what? I want to play college football!”
I’ve always wanted to play. It’s been a lifelong dream. I actually wanted to play pro football back in the day, and played several years of semipro ball. Didn’t have quite the talent to make it. I did a couple walk-ons with the World League back in the early ’90s, didn’t get very far. Still, the something that was inside of me that I wanted to accomplish, to play college football. So here I am.
- Anne Kramer:
What did your family say, Tom, when you went to them and said, “Hey, I’m going to play college football?”
- Tom Green:
I’m like the ultimate salesman, OK? I’ll sell anything. It’s just in my nature. And when I first came out with this proposal, it was kind of the look of, are you crazy?
Then it was the look of, you’ve got to go through community college first. Yes, I have to do community college first.
Then there was the doubt. Then there was the thinking of, he’s actually going to classes every day. He’s actually going through with this.
So it went from disbelief or vice versa, and then finally, hey, you know what? I’ll back him.
- Shawn Anderson:
You’re on the team, and you’re practicing, and your teammates are 40 years younger than you. So what’s been their reaction to your being there?
- Tom Green:
Well, it’s definitely a culture shock. The demographics are definitely different, but I got some great guys on the team. I really do.
That Grayson Wendel — he’s a wide out. He’s so lucky I’m not a defensive back. I mean, you got guys like Johnny Irvin and Pierce (Sponaugle) and Mike Hensley. These guys, they’re great, and it’s just that humor and humanity, they’re timeless.
- Anne Kramer:
Tell us about what practice and workouts have been like. Were they what you expected, physically and emotionally?
- Tom Green:
I went into this like a Russian bear. I mean, I was huge, strong, worked out like crazy. I was dragging a sled with a couple hundred pounds up a steep hills and I was running and so on and so forth. Super shape.
About a week before practice actually started for me at the school, I tweaked my Achilles, and ever since then, it just won’t let up. I’m pushing myself every week to get out there, and I think it’s actually detrimental to me. So it’s just one of those things to where I haven’t been able to show what I can really do on the field yet.
Hopefully, before the season’s out, I can show that.
- Shawn Anderson:
So you are practicing every day, but what about actually getting on the field for the game? What is your coach saying about your chances of playing?
- Tom Green:
Well, here’s the thing. What I found out is that, man, the defensive playbook. Man, things have changed since my day. We had like, five or six different plays, three or four different coverages, and that was it. I got to go to college just to study the playbook.
To get onto the field, they’re probably saying it’s not going to happen this year because I have to study so much. But in all honesty, I have full intentions of playing at least next year into the next. So I want to play at least three years.
- Anne Kramer:
What would it be like to actually get into the game and play for you?
- Tom Green:
Oh, man, I’m telling you, there’s that old feeling inside of me that just wants to go in and just tear it up.
I mean, I get to play scout. So we play against our first team offense. So I did, like 14 plays yesterday on scout, which we went live, and that felt really good. Hitting each other and all it just, it was like riding a bicycle. It was great, but this Achilles is just holding me back. I cannot put the pedal to the floor yet, and it’s killing me.
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