Zach Thomas took the podium at the Dolphins facilities today to announce his retirement from the NFL and the Miami Dolphins. He got very emotional. But then he was handed some kind of magical baby because after that, he got happy again. Still, you couldn't expect anything less from a badass gridiron warrior that always left it all on the field on Sundays. Zach's tears were all about the gladiator in him knowing full well his days of denting Jets and Patriot asses were now officially over.
Here are some of the highlights from his presser:
On Jimmy Johnson: "Jimmy took a chance on a slow, too short guy and gave him a chance. But I gotta say, I think he's an expert on talent."
On JT: "I hope he gets the same opportunity to do this. He's a Dolphin for life."
On Dan Marino: "Best quarterback on the planet. I'd call my parents whenever I picked him off in practice. They'd be more excited about that than when I'd get one in a real game."
On the fans: "It's been a great ride. You showed unconditional love to me. I'm sorry about not bringing you a Super Bowl but I know they're on the right track. I like what they're doing here. They'll bring us a ring. Thank you for your loyalty. I pushed it to the limit, gave it all I had."
As Tony Sparano said in his introduction, Zach Thomas is a Dolphin icon. One of the all-time greats. And a guy every linebacker who walks into this organization is going to know about. All 2,486 of them.
Zach Thomas recorded 1,202 solo tackles in his career. Mike Singletary: 885. If the Hall of Fame voters don't get him in five years from now, they can all get fucked by an oil derrick.
Thanks for everything, 54. It was an honor and joy to watch you fuck people's shit up good and proper every week. We love you.
