Sports

Former Steelers HOF QB Terry Bradshaw Talks About His Struggles In Pittsburgh

April 30, 2014 / 1:31 PM EDT / CBS Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan)- Former Steelers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw joined "The Cook and Poni Show" to discuss his appearance at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Inaugural Fan Fest to be held this weekend in Cleveland.

Bradshaw will join former teammates Lynn Swann, and Franco Harris along with others such as Joe Nameth Warren Sapp, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk and many others at this weekend's event. It also includes the four-time Super Bowl Champion Bradshaw performing his Las Vegas-style one-man show, "America's favorite Dumb Blonde," on Saturday, May 4.

"When the reporters started saying I was dumb and stupid, it was the most painful thing I ever went through in my life," Bradshaw said. "But, I decided to take the high road and put it into humor. I took it and made a living out of being stupid."

Bradshaw says the days in Pittsburgh were hard because of everyone getting on him so much. He said even when he played well, they would say things like, "not bad for dumb guy." He said it was painful and hard to deal with, but his ability to make fun of himself lead to many other opportunities including a record deal with Nashville that he got after making a $100 bet with a friend that he could get a record deal.

"I didn't pursue it. It pursued me. I am a rancher. Always have been. It's how I planned on making my living," Bradshaw said. "It came at me. I was just smart enough to have fun with it."

He still is having fun with it in his current job at the "NFL on Fox" on Sundays during the NFL season.

"It's been a 20-year run," Bradshaw says. "I like the entertainment value of it. I gave up on the X's and O's. It's pretty cool what we have going on there and we are all buddies."

It hasn't always been fun and games for Bradshaw.

"There were so many defining moments. I was in and out of the lineup for five years and I was demanding to be traded," Bradshaw said. "I didn't understand the coach. I wonder why was the city so hateful to me. I never understood it all."

Bradshaw said he always felt like he was never appreciated here, but he was tough and he learned how to survive.

"I had to get tough mentally to survive and I did and I am very proud of myself for being able to handle all of that stuff," Bradshaw said. "So, in the end, it's now fun and games."

Bradshaw said it still hurts him to think how some of the fans were, but he has chosen to move on and turn his life around. He admits it wasn't easy.

"It was a struggle, I would just go with it and say, 'Why the hell do you say that about me? I did my job,'" Bradshaw said. "I'm not a guy who looks over his shoulder. I don't look back. I move on. It does no good to stand in quick sand and look over my shoulder."

Bradshaw also said he wishes he would have been more like Johnny Manziel, a guy who is not afraid to be himself

"I like Johnny Manziel a lot," Bradshaw said. "I wish I could take what I know and put it in a 21-year-old body. I would have been a totally different quarterback. I would not have taken the crap I took. I would have told them what I thought about it. I would have been a different person."

Bradshaw also took time to weigh in on the future Steelers Hall of Fame QB Ben Roethlisberger, saying he seems to have really turned things around and he is happy to see that because he thinks the star player should always be the good guy.

"He is a tremendous QB and I love watching him play. He is really amazing," Bradshaw said. "I always want people I admire to be good people. When I found out [Tom Brady] was a good dude, I pull for him more. He seems to be a happy guy and I am happy for him and his wife."

Bradshaw said his one-man show will be coming to Pittsburgh sometime in June.

Check out the Pro Football Hall of Fame Inaugural Fan Fest this weekend May 3-4 at the International Exposition (i-X) Center in Cleveland.

Tickets are on sale now online at ProFootballHOF.com/FanFest or by calling 1-844-FAN-FEST (216-265-2624).