Cheney native Steve Emtman to be

By PAUL DELANEY

Staff Reporter

When Steve Emtman becomes one of the latest inductees into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame next Tuesday morning at the Spokane Arena, he might need more than the allotted single cubicle for his memorabilia display.

That's not because of Emtman's still-imposing size, but rather because he'll likely need additional room to honor the teammates he says helped get him there.

Emtman joins world-renown mountain climber John Roskelly, decathalete Dan O'Brien and coach Jeanne Helfer as the 2007 inductees.

“I was kind of the poster boy for the great team defense we had,” Emtman said. “I credit those awards to those guys I played with.”

Emtman was born and raised in Cheney on the family farm but did his best to stay as far away from the long days and chores as he could, he said. “I got into every sport and sports camp to get out of working on my dad's farm.”

From football to basketball to whatever he could do, it was all about how to get out of getting up early and working with dad. “It just kind of fell into place after that,” Emtman said.

“Football was always my favorite sport,” the 38 year-old real estate developer said. “I enjoyed every bit of it.”

Although Emtman is closely associated with his days as a University of Washington Husky, he nearly became a Cougar at Washington State.

“I was very close to not even taking my trip to Washington,” he said.

But in the end it was the challenge of being five hours instead of 45 minutes away from home, Emtman said.

There was also the challenge to prove people wrong. People said Emtman couldn't make it in school there.

“That's what motivates me,” Emtman said. He proved them all wrong, playing a key part in a rebuilding effort by coach Don James. “(In my first year) we were 6-5,” Emtman said.

“Two years later we were 12-0.”

Emtman played on two of a string of three straight Husky Rose Bowl teams. They won 46-34 over Iowa in 1991 and 34-14 against Michigan the following year. His 1991 Huskies finished as national champs.

“It was a pretty good group of guys when you look back on it,” Emtman said. “It shows how vital it is to have all the guys working together.”

In college, Emtman became the only player to win both the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman, and the Lombardi Award in the same year. He was also a Heisman Trophy finalist in 1991 among many other awards and honors.

Emtman opted to pass up his senior year at the UW and join the National Football League draft in 1992. He was the number one choice of the Indianapolis Colts and was part of another rebuilding effort.

The Colts had just come off a 1-15 finish, but by Emtman's fourth season Indy made it to the conference championship.

His rookie season holds one of the most vivid memories of his pro career. Against Miami, Emtman became the only person to sack Dan Marino and intercept him for a touchdown in the same game.

Ironically, following a contract dispute at Indy, Emtman would jump to Miami in 1996.

“Of course I went to Mami to win a Super Bowl,” Emtman said.

But it never worked out.

“It was (Don) Shula's last year,” Emtman said. “The Colts kind of jacked me around on a contract deal,” so, he said, “I went to the Dolphins, and, it was a bad experience, I'll just say that.”

True to his belief that sports are all about working as a team, Emtman is critical of his stint with the Dolphins. “We had the most talent in the NFL, but we didn't have a team,” he said. “Everyone was doing their own thing.”

Unlike college where he played basically injury free, the pros were different. Knee or neck, Emtman's career was dogged by doctors.

While knees get most of the blame for ending his career, Emtman said, it was really his neck more than anything that forced him to stop playing.

Then came the turning point that made him really worried. “I played like three games and by the fifth game I couldn't pick a beer up and drink it so I better report the damn thing,” he said with a laugh.

Emtman's days are chock full running his company, Defender Development. He does, however, find time to serve as a volunteer coach with the Spokane Shock arena football team.

“It's always fun being a defensive coach in an offensive game,” Emtman said. He laughs when he says, “Your goal is to hold the other team to 46 points.”

“I've had some coaching offers,” Emtman said, but the enormous time commitment is something he's not ready for right now.

“People have no idea of the hours they put in.”

In his day-to-day business dealings, Emtman remains a team guy. “You get everyone on the same page, whatever you are doing in life.

Everything works better for everybody. Everyone wins.”

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected]