Adrian Peterson Goes 1-On-1 With WCCO's Mike Max
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There's no question all eyes will be on Adrian Peterson at Levi's Stadium. He played just once last season before getting sidelined for his off-the-field issue. At the age of 30, Peterson has his sights set very high as he always does. WCCO's Mike Max talked with him about what this first game of the 2015-2016 season means, what fame means, and what he wants people to know who he has become over the past year. Here is a transcription of their exclusive interview:
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Mike Max: What's it going to be like when it's Monday night and you run out there to play a football game again? What will it feel like to you?
Adrian Peterson: I think it's going to be fun. It's going to be a great feeling. I really can't describe it. I'm just anticipating it. I'm looking forward to getting out there with the guys, and getting out there on the field is the thing I'm looking forward to most.
Max: Most of us just get to watch these games, we don't get to play them. What's it like to be a focal point of an NFL game, particularly when you know you're going to carry the ball a lot?
Peterson: You've got to have a lot of confidence, you know? I think the feeling just comes with the preparation during the week, and just feeling confident that "Hey, I got to take care of business and do my job when the ball is in my hand." It's a totally different feeling, but you got to love it -- you've got to love to fight and scratch and compete. That's the mentality that I have, and that's what's going to carry me through.
Max: Is it the most fun that you can have in your life, playing football and being out on the field on game day?
Peterson: It is, man. If you think about it, we've been playing this game since we've been 6, 7 years old. It's an amazing feeling. It's a Monday night game, the start of the season. It doesn't get any better than this.
Max: What do you worry the most about for yourself when you haven't played for a long time?
Peterson: Not much, to be honest. I don't think I'm going to be worried about too much. Just going out there and playing, just having contact will be the number one thing.
Max: People talk about you being 30. You don't see any drop-off in some of those things people watch for?
Peterson: No, I don't see a drop-off at all. I kind of addressed this before. I look at age ... age is nothing but a number, and it's all about the mentality that you have and the effort that you put forth to keep your body in tip-top shape. And being able to do the exact things that people say you used to do, even better. I think it's all mind over matter.
Max: What did you do in the offseason to make sure you stayed there? Did you go on a special program or anything?
Peterson: There really weren't any tricks to it. I had a lot of time to relax and just let my body recover. But outside of that, I have a great trainer. And the programs that he comes up with, his workouts, they definitely push you to the limit and really make you max out.
Max: We sat with you in Oklahoma after you were drafted down there. We sat in the stadium and you looked out at the field and you talked about what you had done there in Oklahoma and what was ahead of you ... How has life been different than what you thought it would be and how are you a different person from the day that we met you?
Peterson: You live and you learn, so in that way life is different. You become wiser, you have a lot of different experiences that you go through in life. Leading up to that point before you took off on that journey -- going to the NFL -- you have life lessons as well. Different things that you go through that kind of mold you and have you ready to prepare for what lies ahead, coming out of college. I feel like my foundation has kept everything together; the glue hasn't broken.
Max: You saw your brother die on a bicycle, and your father go to prison. You went through that all as a kid ... You've seen more adversity than most.
Peterson: I would have to agree with you. I feel like the things that anyone goes through in life -- particularly in my case, losing my brother at a young age and my dad being incarcerated going into my sixth-grade year -- it definitely helped me build and have tough skin when dealing with life ... I'm not really quick to judge someone. That's life.
Max: Yeah, you learn along the way.
Peterson: Yeah.
Max: What is fame to you? You've had so much fame, really, since college but since you came into this league. What have you learned about fame?
Peterson: It ain't all good, but it ain't all bad either. The type of person that I am, if you see me walking around, you wouldn't know that I'm this "famous guy." That's the way I try to live life. Fame allows your life to be broadcasted across the world. So you know that can be good and that can be negative.
Max: You've seen it all.
Peterson: I've seen it all.
Max: When you're done playing football, whenever that is, what will it be like for you? You've had so much football in your life. Do you ever worry about that?
Peterson: Not at all, not at all. I think it's going to be relaxing, even more so--
Max: You can't relax, that's not who you are!
Peterson: I think once I'm done, I feel like I'll be ready to relax a little bit, just a little bit and then I'll get back going. God willing, I'll accomplish the things that I want to accomplish -- personally and, most importantly, as a team. When that time does come for me to sit back and relax, I'll be able to look back and feel like I accomplished my ultimate goal of winning a championship.
Max: And what will you want Vikings fans to say about you?
Peterson: Whatever they want. (Laughs) To be honest with you, I've always been that way. It's not like recent events have made me that way. I've really never cared about what people had to say about you. Really in life, you can't go off of what people say about you. Because if you do you're going to stay down in the dirt and you're not going to be able to pick yourself up. I can tell you what I will say to the Vikings fans is that I love them. When I go out and I play this game, I play with everything in me to help my team win. Every game I do that. I do it for love of the game, for my teammates, and for the fans too. The fans out here in Minnesota are dedicated, I'm talking families that have held onto tickets for 40 to 50 years. I love those people. I just try to bring light to people, and love, even when it's tough. Project love to people.
