The Hyphen Wins A House

Stephens-Howling doesn’t remember when he found out he had won someone a house. Maybe it was halftime in the locker room, he thinks. But he did think, like the Johnsons, it was almost like a dream.

“It was like, ‘How did I just do that? How did I get in a position to do that?’ ” Stephens-Howling said. “First of all, who just gives away a house? But I mean, it was an awesome feeling.”

The Johnsons made appearances on all the local television stations. They appeared on the “Big Red Rage,” the team’s flagship radio show. They were invited to a practice to meet coach Ken Whisenhunt, quarterback Derek Anderson and Stephens-Howling, who stood with them in a press conference and presented them with a signed ball.

“It was like a blur that week,” Johnson said. “It was really fun, but it was sort of a blur.”

The Johnsons never did live in the house they won. With their own house already, the decided to build one near the stadium and rent it out to a friend of Darci’s father. But they enjoyed every minute of the process, putting some of their own money in to make sure the house was upgraded perfectly.

“We’ve done a lot of great promotions,” Ryan said. “We’ve given away cars, we’ve given away season tickets, we’ve given away cash. But we’d never given away a home. And here we are talking about it 12 years later, so you know it was special.”

Stephens-Howling returned two other kickoffs for touchdowns while playing for the Cardinals, but neither could top the one against the Raiders. His children are just old enough now to understand their father used to play in the NFL, and relishes the chance to show them highlights like the play against Oakland.

He’s still mostly quiet, of course, although his TD celebration – which was modeled after fellow Pitt product Larry Fitzgerald after Fitz would make a big play – still made his teammates smile.

“I made a joke in the film room the next day,” said John Skelton, a backup quarterback at the time. “He scores and he does like the Superman thing, and I was like, ‘LaRod, did you even make a sound when you did that?’ He rolls his eyes and looks at me like, ‘C’mon, Skelton.’ I’m like, ‘I’m just saying you are too quiet. I can’t picture you screaming like that.’ “

Stephens-Howling had earned such an emotional outburst. There aren’t many players that have won someone a house, a feat that will link he and the Johnsons forever.

“It’s still a fun story to tell,” Johnson said. “A lot of people still remember it.”

The Hyphen certain does, now…