Danny Dives: Interview with Two-time Super Bowl Champion Alan Branch

If you know me, then you know I am a big fan of football. While I am not a Patriots fan, I am a diehard fan of the game. So, I was more than excited to ask two-time Super Bowl Champ Alan Branch some questions while at the ribbon cutting at True Value North last week. Oh, and if you don't know, Branch is New Mexico grown — and Rio Rancho born.

Football career

Branch played high school football for Cibola High School in Albuquerque and dominated during his time there. His long list of accolades includes being named a Gatorade Player of the Year in New Mexico for the 2003-04 season and being selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Branch was regarded as a four-star prospect and chose to play at the University of Michigan over offers from schools like Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arizona State and Washington State.

While at Michigan, Branch played defensive tackle and defensive end and was part of the one of the top defenses in the 2006-07 college football season. At the end of the season, he was named First-team All-Big Ten and was a Second-team All-American.

In the 2007 NFL draft, Branch was selected 33rd overall by the Arizona Cardinals and enjoyed a 11-year career in the NFL. During his time, Branch played for the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots. During his NFL career, Branch had 284 tackles, 10 1/2 sacks, 14 pass deflections and played in 146 games.

Interview

Q: Mason Graham, defensive tackle for Michigan, is the projected first overall pick in the upcoming draft. What do you think about that? Especially since he also plays defensive tackle.

A: I never watch football! So, I have seen maybe one game recently. I mean, all the luck to him. I always definitely wish all Michigan alumni luck, but, I mean, it is defiantly a grind to, you know, play out in the NFL at that position because you're in the middle of the trenches. From what I have seen, and what he did last year, I think he's got a good chance.

Q: When you were playing, was there any player's tape that you would watch just to see what another guy was doing?

A: No. I did not watch anyone's tape at all. There wasn't too many people like me. I was a guy that was like 330 pounds, and I was able to run a 4.8 40 [yard dash]. There wasn't as many people as athletic as me, so I kind of just did my own thing.

Q: One of your former teammates, Jerod Mayo, is now the head coach of the [New England] Patriots. Can you talk about what it was like to play with him?

A: Honestly, I only played one year with him. When I did play that year, he was hurt the whole season. Well, the tail-end of the season. Playing-wise, I only knew what I heard, which was that he was a smart player.

*Interview stops momentarily as True Value owner George Meyerson Jr. asks Branch if he would like Turtle Mountain IPA or lager beer.

Q: Do you have a favorite beer around town?

A: I'm not a beer drinker, really. Honestly, all that beer stuff started getting popular when I left — so I left in 2004, and then all the breweries started popping up. Then in 2008-ish, the first one I went to was off of Jefferson or something. The one over there ... but, whatever is there, I'll sip on.

Q: Are there any food spots that you miss around here?

A: Just Dion's. That turkey with the Greek sauce is my go-to every time. Even if I come for only a couple of hours, I got to get a sandwich from there. It used to be, when I was high school, Little Anita's. I used to leave first period and go get some Little Anita's burritos and bring it back for the second-period teacher and for some friends. I mean, it was good times.

Q: Are you a red or green chile guy?

A: I'm more so red but I have Christmas all the time, too.

Q: Are there any teammates at Cibola or Michigan, or any team during your NFL career, that stick out as some of your favorites?

A: I can't even answer that because I will definitely forget some. I would say ...

*True Value owner George Meyerson Jr. puts a beer on Branch's table.

A: [to Meyerson] I appreciate that, and this Turtle Mountain beer. This Turtle Mountain is delicious. [Branch makes an approval gesture towards the recorder] Oh, there wasn't a camera; I don't know why I did that! Haha. Anyways, it is not about my favorite teammates ... it's the thing I miss most are my teammates. It's not being on the field playing in front of thousands of people, it's more so, like ... When you watch a game, it's, like, two hours out of the week, but it's a job that requires six days a week. You're literally there seven, eight hours a day. So, you spend a lot of time with those guys, get to know them. The cool part about being in the NFL was seeing a lot of cultures throughout the country. We had guys from the South, and then experience stuff in the big cities. Me being from New Mexico, you know, no one knew anything about New Mexico. Just being in a mix like that is pretty cool. That was probably my favorite part.

Q: What is your favorite movie or at least some that pop to mind?

A: "Happy Gilmore" has got to be up there. Uh ... oh, "Life"! "Life" with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.

*I told him that I haven't seen it.

A: That's a damn shame. You get on that. It had the biggest comedians at that time, and all in one movie. So, it was a good movie.

Q: What's your hype up song?

A: I listen to R&B. I don't listen to crazy metal or rap. R&B is usually the thing that will settle me down and get me out there. I didn't play hype when going on the field. I liked softer music, like, I loved listening to Whitney Houston when I played for the Patriots.

Q: What do you have to say to any up-and-coming Rio Rancho athlete who's trying to make it where you have?

A: For any athlete anywhere, more so, people just need to follow their own path. Everybody kind of worries about everybody else outside of themselves. So, if you just worry about yourself, you don't know how far you can go until you fully commit through that path. When I grew up, everybody thinks it was just my size, but when I was in high school my dad, he helped me out, working out. We used to wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning go to the Cibola football field, run a mile, do various workouts. We did that for, you know, four maybe three months out of the year. So, it wasn't like it just happened. It was a lot of grinding that happened with it. Sacrifice, and a lot of help from Dad, and a lot of different people. My dad sacrificed his sleep as well so that he could take me out there and show me some things that I needed to work on. It takes a lot, but honestly, it just takes perseverance and not wanting to stop.