Hall of Fame Defender Bruce Smith Is Now a ‘Family Feud’ Legend, Too
He’s already at the top of the list for sacks in an NFL career, and now Bruce Smith has moved to the No. 1 spot in a television category. Smith gave the all-time greatest answer to a question on Celebrity Family Feud, causing host Steve Harvey to completely lose it in the middle of a taping.
Bruce Smith was the best at bringing down quarterbacks
It was obvious six years into his career that Bruce Smith was on his way to induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame once his playing days were over. Drafted No. 1 overall out of Virginia Tech in 1985 by the Buffalo Bills, Smith proved to be a destructive force at defensive end almost from the outset.
Smith posted a modest 6.5 sacks in his rookie season, then averaged 14 sacks a season over the next five years. He hit his career peak in 1990 with 19 sacks during the Bills’ unprecedented run of four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl.
A knee injury limited Smith in 1991, but he returned the following season to begin a string of seven straight years in which he posted double-digit totals in sacks.
Smith would finish his career with four years with the Washington Redskins beginning in 2000. His five sacks in his final NFL season have him an even 200 for his pro career. That put his two ahead of the legendary Reggie White, who had retired after the 2000 season, for the all-time NFL lead. That mark still stands.
Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility. He is also enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Bruce Smith is now a game-show legend thanks to ‘Family Feud’
Despite a brilliant NFL career, it’s probably difficult for an average NFL fan to recall a signature moment in Bruce Smith’s football career. There will be no such issue recalling the defining moment of his career as a game-show contestant.
Smith appeared on Celebrity Family Feud on Sunday, July 12, as part of the NFL Hall of Fame team alongside Cris Carter, Kevin Greene, Michael Irvin, and Orlando Pace. They were taking on a “Rising Stars” team of Marlon Humphrey, Aaron Jones, Darius Leonard, Courtland Sutton, and Damien Williams.
Smith proved clutch in giving an answer in sudden death that advanced the Hall of Famers to the bonus round in which they would play for the chance to win $20,000 for charity.
Needing 72 total points from five answers to win, Smith was asked, “If Captain Hook was moonlighting as a handyman, he might replace his hook with what tool?”
His first answer was a hammer, but that had already been used by his teammate. Asked to try again, Smith hesitated and seemed to panic. After a brief pause, he blurted out, “A penis.”
The outlandish answer didn’t seem to register with host Steve Harvey, who started moving on to the next question before the proverbial light bulb clicked on over his head.
“What the (expletive) did he say?” the host blurted out, interrupting himself.
That brought down the house. His teammates erupted in laughter and Smith completely broke up. Harvey apologized for the profanity and went on to tell Smith that the answer was destined for YouTube infamy.
“You’re gonna be the greatest clip ever played,” he said.
Steve Harvey has a history with football stars
What is it about Steve Harvey and football players?
NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski appeared on Celebrity Family Feud with members of his family in 2015. There was a great exchange between Gronk and Harvey when it came time to answer the question, “Name something that can be inflated or deflated.”
With “Deflategate” fresh on everyone’s mind, Gronkowski bailed on answering.
“I don’t even want this one,” he said, “Then I’m gonna have to answer questions all the time. I’ll let you have this one.”
Replied Harvey: “Yeah, stay away from this one, kid.”
Fast forward to the New Year’s Eve show on Fox hosted by Harvey six and a half months ago. Gronkowski was a guest and got carried away, slamming a beautiful Lego bust of Harvey to the Times Square stage.
“Are you serious?” Harvey asked in disbelief. Turning away from the tight end, who recently came out of retirement, he added, “I don’t wanna work with him no more. Why is he here?”
