In the Bengals' 50th season on the anniversary he delivered one of the greatest days in franchise history, Corey Dillon plans to remember. And he just may surf YouTube to do it.
"And watch the whole game over. Every time I see clips or footage I get a chill," says Dillon in an anniversary edition of a Hobson's Choice podcast celebrating his 278-yard game on Oct. 22, 2000 that eclipsed Walter Payton's all-time single game rushing record.
But when Dillon joins other top 50 Bengals to be honored during the Dec. 4 Monday Night game against the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium, he'll be observing another one of his historic contributions. That will be 20 years to the night he broke Jim Brown's rookie single game record with 246 yards. He calls his subsequent meeting with Brown "the best thing (next) to having my kids and that's pretty up there."
On the podcast Dillon talks about those three kids and how they're at the center his life in Carlsbad, Calif., as well as:
-Dillon, the Seattle native who stayed home to play at the University of Washington, somehow has an oldest daughter playing volleyball at Washington State. But you won't seem him in any WSU gear.
-Not only does Dillon think he "absolutely," deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but "I think there are other (Bengals) that should join our brother Anthony Munoz … It makes no sense," and he's talking about Ken and Willie Anderson for starters. As for himself, he sees O.J. Simpson and Terrell Davis in Canton and says he belongs, too.
-Dillon, whose last act as a Bengal was one of defiantly throwing his equipment into the PBS stands, has moved on and he hopes everyone else has. The fact he has his name on a banner is very gratifying.
"That's neat. I didn't know there was a banner," Dillon says. "I (was) a young man. I made mistakes. I take ownership of how I (left). It wasn't the right exit, but it happened … But I can't take it back. I would if I could, but I can't."
Although he had his ups and downs with Bengals management, he's grateful.
"I want to thank them. They didn't have to draft me," Dillon says, "To put it in perspective, they gave me an opportunity (to realize) my dreams … I've got a lot of respect for the Brown family."
-Dillon wanted to give Bengals rookie running back Joe Mixon some advice. Twenty years after Dillon's first-round talent fell into the second round because of off-field issues, Mixon found himself in the same spot.
"If I could tell him one thing," Dillon says, "the only way to change people's minds is to perform and perform well. And keep your nose clean and he's going to be all right."
Listen to the podcast:
