AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

July 18, 2002

Tom McCann

MODERATOR: New York City firefighter Tom McCann, one of three New York City firefighters invited to play in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, July 19-21, 2002. The fund-raising initiative is expected to raise $150,000 for the Uniform Firefighters Association Scholarship Fund.

Tom McCann, a devout New York Giants fan, is paired with Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith in Friday's first round.

Q. Tom, what did you think when you first got the call that you were going to be invited to play in this event?

TOM McCANN: Actually, when I first got the call, I thought they were setting me up for a good prank and I couldn't believe it. Then when I realized it was for real, it took me all of about two seconds to say "I'm in."

Q. And we have gone from there to playing golf with Emmitt Smith tomorrow. How did we get from A to B?

TOM McCANN: I don't know, this has been totally unreal. Like I said, the funny thing was I ended up with Emmitt Smith today, and I played with Steve Spurrier, the coach of the Redskins, so they are killing me, as a Giants fan.

Q. What was said to you when the call came? What did they say, that NBC and American Century would do?

TOM McCANN: They said they were going to take us out here and put us in this tournament and play some golf, and hopefully raise some money for our scholarship fund. And I still couldn't believe it until I got out here. This whole week has been a trip.

Q. What happened last night when you guys got introduced at the players meeting?

TOM McCANN: Well, the players did something I thought was rather extraordinary, which shocked us. We went up to the front and they introduced us, and they all stood up at once and gave us an outstanding ovation. It was not like one guy; they all got up together. I had to put my head down, I wasn't going to lose it in front of them, but it was very, very touching.

Q. What kind of sends-off did you get back in New York before you flew out?

TOM McCANN: Those guys were hoping I would kill one right into Lake Tahoe on national TV so they can kill me for the rest of my life.

Q. And when people get serious, they talk about the scholarship fund, and about your deceased brethren, what are some of the sentiments that have been expressed to you from people out here?

TOM McCANN: The people out here mostly come up and say thank you, thank you for your efforts, thank you for everything. They have been incredible. They can't even express their sympathy. You can see it in their eyes. They can't sometimes get the words out either, but just the thank you is great. We are thanking them as much as they are thanking us. A lot of what the people have done for us is a lot of what has gotten us through the whole thing.

Q. The concept of pressure on the golf course, national TV, galleries, there's money at stake, you guys are playing for money, the money that you win goes to the scholarship fund; are you feeling any of that pressure?

TOM McCANN: I think it's more pressure having a microphone in your face, to tell you the truth, than being on the golf course.

Not really, because it's been kind of like a 50/50 thing being out here. Like today, we had another funeral back in New York, and that's been on my mind, too. So I feel a little bit guilty being out here, more than the pressure. But we are doing a good thing and American Century and NBC are helping us help our kids.

Q. What kind of response, what kind of reaction do you expect when you get back into New York?

TOM McCANN: Probably I'm going to get my chops busted. I don't know if that's the politest way I can put it. They will be ragging on me. I'll be like the celebrity for a few weeks, just so they can have fun with it, that's about it.

The Fire Department, there's one thing with us, nobody gets a big head because they take you down right way. So I'll be the target for a little while after doing this act.

Q. Is there any way you can correlate the pressure of playing golf out here and performing, compare that to the pressure that you guys are under in your day-to-day endeavors?

TOM McCANN: No. The pressure here is more like embarrassment of hitting a bad shot.

The pressure on our job -- the first job I ever went to as a fireman, which is almost 20 years ago, three little kids got killed, and I had to help put take them out of there. There's nothing compared to that.

This is just basically embarrassment. It's not anything like the pressure of working.

Q. Is there anything that has happened out here that you're -- what's the thing that's happened so far that you're going to share with the guys back in New York?

TOM McCANN: There's so much that's happened out here since we got here, I don't know if it's just one thing. This place is beautiful. The people have been great. I think probably what I will tell the guys is that standing ovation that the players gave us; and John O'Hurley, who was the emcee last night, really said a nice speech from his heart. He wasn't looking at notes. That's the kind of thing that we appreciate, because heart is what it's all about.

End of FastScripts....