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Well Done, My Son
As rookie, Pats' Klecko makes big game that eluded dad
By Ken Berger
Staff Correspondent
January 29, 2004
Houston -- After all these years, Joe Klecko finally is going to the Super Bowl. He will arrive today, flanked by family members, proud as a father could be.
Who would have thought that one of the greatest defensive linemen in NFL history would land on the sport's biggest stage as a spectator? Klecko, who came close but never got a chance to play in a Super Bowl during his 11 years with the Jets, will be in the stands Sunday to watch his son Dan, a multipurpose player and fan favorite for the Patriots.
"It's outstanding, because I know what it was like to try and get there," Joe Klecko said. "To see Danny do it, boy, as a father, it does your heart good."
You might see rookie Dan Klecko, No. 90, on the field as a defensive tackle or linebacker against the Panthers. Or you might see him line up as a fullback in goal-line formations. Klecko was the lead blocker on five of the Patriots' nine rushing touchdowns this season.
"I always wanted to play offense," his father said.
It's been a whirlwind year for Dan, the son of perhaps the best defensive lineman in Jets history. In a matter of months, the younger Klecko went from playing in front of a few thousand fans at Temple (dad's alma mater) to being a focal point during Super Bowl week.
A fourth-round pick, he played in 13 regular-season games, making 18 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks while earning respect for a work ethic than runs in the family. "The one thing that Danny always had was his ability to listen," Joe said. "I guess he figured out early that I kind of knew what I was talking about when it came to football."
It would be easy to assume that his father pressured him to play defensive line, attend the same college or wear the Klecko standard-issue No. 73 jersey there. But that's not how it all happened.
The journey began when little Danny started hanging around the Jets' practices and locker room at the age of 4 or 5. "I can remember messing around with Marty Lyons and Kenny O'Brien," Dan said. But Joe didn't even let his son play football until he got to Marlboro (N.J.) High. He feared that overbearing Pop Warner coaches would dampen his son's love for the game.
"I chose to wear his number," Dan said. "I chose to be a defensive lineman. I wanted to follow in his footsteps."
With 10 sacks, 23 tackles for losses and 4 forced fumbles, Klecko was named Big East defensive player of the year as a senior in 2002. On draft day, the Klecko family gathered at their Colts Neck, N.J., home to find out where the football journey would lead next. But instead of leading the cheering section and adding to the pressure on his son, Joe Klecko was out running errands.
"My dad had to take my grandmother to the dentist," Dan said. "She had a bad toothache the night before and he wasn't even around."
When Dan was on the phone with the Patriots, who were about to take him with the 117th pick, Joe beeped in on call waiting. "He was calling on the other line for a prescription number or something," Dan said. "I thought it was another team. I said, 'Dad, I'm on the phone with the Patriots!' And I clicked off."
Joe's best chance to make it to the Super Bowl ended with the Jets' infamous, 14-0 loss to the Dolphins in the 1982 AFC Championship Game known as the Mud Bowl. Dan, barely 2 years old at the time, said, "I just hope he can live this a little bit through me."
"There was never really any pressure on him from me, or from anybody else, to be me," Joe said. "Danny did what he did best, and he was able to block that out. Plus, he grew up around professional football. It was not like it was something foreign to him."
Though undersized at 5-11, 283 pounds, Dan developed the same sort of freakish strength and leverage that made his father one of the most fearsome defensive linemen ever to play, and the only one to make the Pro Bowl as a tackle, nose tackle and end.
"I have tremendous respect for Joe Klecko," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "He had that power rush that nobody had before, and nobody's probably had since."
Father and son shared a moment after the AFC Championship Game. Dan tried to give his father a baseball cap commemorating the conference title, but Joe wouldn't take it.
The fact is, his son earned it.
"I love my dad," Dan said. "I think it's a blessing to be his son. I'd never, ever take that as a hindrance or a burden."
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
The Kleckos
Well Done, My Son As rookie, Pats' Klecko makes big game that eluded dad
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