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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Tom Osborne

Aired November 08, 2003 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for college football fans, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Tom Osborne conjures up thoughts of Saturday afternoon battles and national championships. You know, after 25 years, though, the Nebraska faithful rewarded their coach with a solid second career.
Now Congressman Osborne gets to join Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're in the rotunda of the Canon (ph) House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., talking to Congressman Tom Osborne, Republican of Nebraska. He is a member of the College Football Hall of fame on the basis of 25 terrific years, head coach, the University of Nebraska.

Tom Osborne, do people here and in Nebraska still call you coach?

REP. TOM OSBORNE (R), NEBRASKA: Probably more than they call me anything else. They used to call me a lot of bad names when we lost a game. But, you know, for some reason, "coach" still sticks with me.

NOVAK: Of course, you didn't lose that many games. But you're in your second term as one out of 435 House members. You used to be the most visible, most important man in the whole state of Nebraska. Is that a big difference, a big adjustment?

OSBORNE: Well, it's a big difference between being a head football coach and being a member of Congress, as you well know, because as the head football coach, you set the agenda, you know what time you're going to practice, you know who is going to play quarterback.

And around here, you're not even sure when you're coming in or when you're leaving until the leadership tells you, don't know what bills going to put on the floor. So you're really almost like a player.

NOVAK: Does that mean there is a lot less pressure in that role, or is it, or is it, in a way, is it more pressure?

OSBORNE: Well, I would say, as compared to being a head football coach in Nebraska, there's less pressure here. Some of the decisions that you're making affect the whole country, though.

NOVAK: There's a lot of rumors around Capitol Hill that you're in your second term, you're a little bit frustrated, and that you're not going to be a lifer here, and you're going to pack it in after a while and do something else. Is that -- is there any truth to that?

OSBORNE: Well, I'm not particularly frustrated, Bob. Being a lifer here when you're 66 may not be very long, as you know. So it's possible I might do something else. But I do plan to run again this next December -- or rather, next November. So I would plan to go for a third term.

NOVAK: As you said, you represent a very big rural district, agricultural district. Do you see your primary role as being a spokesman for the farmers?

OSBORNE: Well, that's one of them. And I spend a lot of time on agricultural issues, rural economic development, getting broadband into areas, trying to keep young people, entrepreneurship, those kind of things. And I've also been really concerned, Bob, about what I saw happening to young people over 36 years of coaching, because I saw families deteriorate. I saw the drug problem escalate.

And so I'm really concerned about the culture. And I spend a lot of time dealing with issues that have to do with mentoring.

NOVAK: You know, a lot of people who are not farmers, and the number of farmers in this country keeps declining, feel that farmers are getting too much of a break in subsidies and help from the government. Why shouldn't farmers have to make it on their own just like the rest of us do, huh? How do you respond to that?

OSBORNE: Well, the -- we spend about 9 percent of our income in this country on food. So we have a cheap-food policy. And we have a choice. We can export our food production, our agriculture, overseas, like we did petroleum, and the price of oil went down to $12 a barrel, we can no longer produce it here. So now we're 60 percent dependent on foreign oil, OPEC.

ROBERTS: You have been very critical of the betting on the Internet on high school and college games, and you want to make that illegal. If the players are clean, and are not touched by the gamblers, what does it matter if people are betting on them?

OSBORNE: Well, it exerts tremendous pressure. You know, as a coach, you had to win twice. You had to win on the scoreboard, and then you also had to win -- beat the point spread. And these kids, the players that you're coaching, go back to the dorm, and they're surrounded by people who are betting on the games. And some of those players can easily get into debt on the Internet, particularly, because all you need is a credit card and a computer.

And so once you get down $10,000, $15,000, the bookie can say, Well, there's one way you can get even, and that is, you just drop a pass or you miss a free throw or here and there.

ROBERTS: Are you also interested in legislating on the question of steroids taken by athletes?

OSBORNE: Well, primarily steroid precursors, androstenedione, which was popularized by Mark McGwire and others. And some of these are substances that can be bought over the counter by seventh and eighth graders. And they're not steroids per se, but once you ingest them, they become steroids in your body. So they do the same thing. They cause cancer, cause heart disease, they cause mood fluctuation.

And we think they're very, very dangerous.

NOVAK: Title Nine, which is tended to provide and has provided an opening for women in intercollegiate sports on scholarships, but a lot of athletic directors feel it has led to the abandonment of nonrevenue sports, wrestling, gymnastics, fencing. But the Bush administration has decided to make no major changes in Title Nine. Think that's a mistake? Are you disappointed in that?

OSBORNE: I'm in favor for progress for women athletes, but you hate to see men's track, men's swimming, men's wrestling disappearing. And it's largely because these folks simply can't come up with the funds.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Tom Osborne.

There's one job where you have a lot more control, almost as much control as you had when you were the head football coach at the university of Nebraska, and that's governor of Nebraska. Are you considering that?

OSBORNE: Well, what I've told people who have asked me the same question is that I wouldn't rule anything out. In Nebraska, that's still three years off. So it isn't like next year. And, you know, you're 72, I'm 66, and sometimes we're just glad to get up in the morning and feel well. So you don't project too far ahead in the future.

But if it's OK with my wife, and if I feel good and I have the energy, and the people in Nebraska feel like I'd do a good job, I might take a shot at it.

NOVAK: Tom Osborne, thank you very much.

And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 8, 2003 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for college football fans, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Tom Osborne conjures up thoughts of Saturday afternoon battles and national championships. You know, after 25 years, though, the Nebraska faithful rewarded their coach with a solid second career.
Now Congressman Osborne gets to join Robert Novak in this week's edition of The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone.

We're in the rotunda of the Canon (ph) House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., talking to Congressman Tom Osborne, Republican of Nebraska. He is a member of the College Football Hall of fame on the basis of 25 terrific years, head coach, the University of Nebraska.

Tom Osborne, do people here and in Nebraska still call you coach?

REP. TOM OSBORNE (R), NEBRASKA: Probably more than they call me anything else. They used to call me a lot of bad names when we lost a game. But, you know, for some reason, "coach" still sticks with me.

NOVAK: Of course, you didn't lose that many games. But you're in your second term as one out of 435 House members. You used to be the most visible, most important man in the whole state of Nebraska. Is that a big difference, a big adjustment?

OSBORNE: Well, it's a big difference between being a head football coach and being a member of Congress, as you well know, because as the head football coach, you set the agenda, you know what time you're going to practice, you know who is going to play quarterback.

And around here, you're not even sure when you're coming in or when you're leaving until the leadership tells you, don't know what bills going to put on the floor. So you're really almost like a player.

NOVAK: Does that mean there is a lot less pressure in that role, or is it, or is it, in a way, is it more pressure?

OSBORNE: Well, I would say, as compared to being a head football coach in Nebraska, there's less pressure here. Some of the decisions that you're making affect the whole country, though.

NOVAK: There's a lot of rumors around Capitol Hill that you're in your second term, you're a little bit frustrated, and that you're not going to be a lifer here, and you're going to pack it in after a while and do something else. Is that -- is there any truth to that?

OSBORNE: Well, I'm not particularly frustrated, Bob. Being a lifer here when you're 66 may not be very long, as you know. So it's possible I might do something else. But I do plan to run again this next December -- or rather, next November. So I would plan to go for a third term.

NOVAK: As you said, you represent a very big rural district, agricultural district. Do you see your primary role as being a spokesman for the farmers?

OSBORNE: Well, that's one of them. And I spend a lot of time on agricultural issues, rural economic development, getting broadband into areas, trying to keep young people, entrepreneurship, those kind of things. And I've also been really concerned, Bob, about what I saw happening to young people over 36 years of coaching, because I saw families deteriorate. I saw the drug problem escalate.

And so I'm really concerned about the culture. And I spend a lot of time dealing with issues that have to do with mentoring.

NOVAK: You know, a lot of people who are not farmers, and the number of farmers in this country keeps declining, feel that farmers are getting too much of a break in subsidies and help from the government. Why shouldn't farmers have to make it on their own just like the rest of us do, huh? How do you respond to that?

OSBORNE: Well, the -- we spend about 9 percent of our income in this country on food. So we have a cheap-food policy. And we have a choice. We can export our food production, our agriculture, overseas, like we did petroleum, and the price of oil went down to $12 a barrel, we can no longer produce it here. So now we're 60 percent dependent on foreign oil, OPEC.

ROBERTS: You have been very critical of the betting on the Internet on high school and college games, and you want to make that illegal. If the players are clean, and are not touched by the gamblers, what does it matter if people are betting on them?

OSBORNE: Well, it exerts tremendous pressure. You know, as a coach, you had to win twice. You had to win on the scoreboard, and then you also had to win -- beat the point spread. And these kids, the players that you're coaching, go back to the dorm, and they're surrounded by people who are betting on the games. And some of those players can easily get into debt on the Internet, particularly, because all you need is a credit card and a computer.

And so once you get down $10,000, $15,000, the bookie can say, Well, there's one way you can get even, and that is, you just drop a pass or you miss a free throw or here and there.

ROBERTS: Are you also interested in legislating on the question of steroids taken by athletes?

OSBORNE: Well, primarily steroid precursors, androstenedione, which was popularized by Mark McGwire and others. And some of these are substances that can be bought over the counter by seventh and eighth graders. And they're not steroids per se, but once you ingest them, they become steroids in your body. So they do the same thing. They cause cancer, cause heart disease, they cause mood fluctuation.

And we think they're very, very dangerous.

NOVAK: Title Nine, which is tended to provide and has provided an opening for women in intercollegiate sports on scholarships, but a lot of athletic directors feel it has led to the abandonment of nonrevenue sports, wrestling, gymnastics, fencing. But the Bush administration has decided to make no major changes in Title Nine. Think that's a mistake? Are you disappointed in that?

OSBORNE: I'm in favor for progress for women athletes, but you hate to see men's track, men's swimming, men's wrestling disappearing. And it's largely because these folks simply can't come up with the funds.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Tom Osborne.

There's one job where you have a lot more control, almost as much control as you had when you were the head football coach at the university of Nebraska, and that's governor of Nebraska. Are you considering that?

OSBORNE: Well, what I've told people who have asked me the same question is that I wouldn't rule anything out. In Nebraska, that's still three years off. So it isn't like next year. And, you know, you're 72, I'm 66, and sometimes we're just glad to get up in the morning and feel well. So you don't project too far ahead in the future.

But if it's OK with my wife, and if I feel good and I have the energy, and the people in Nebraska feel like I'd do a good job, I might take a shot at it.

NOVAK: Tom Osborne, thank you very much.

And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com