SAD NEWS : Spurs legend Matt Bonner confirm dead at 43 From a fatal accident

NBA veteran Matt Bonner defends JJ Watt’s zing at fellow redhead Andy Dalton

“It kind of blows my mind this is what I tell everyone it blows my mind the amount of circumstances that had to come together for this to happen,” Matt Bonner said, when I called to ask him about an iconic Texas soda ‘Big Red’ honoring his 10 years in San Antonio with limited edition packaging. It was supposed to be an easy question, one that I expected the answer to be somewhat of a joke about being a red head, but Bonner’s actually thought about this a lot.

“I had to somehow make it to the NBA out of New Hampshire,” he said. “I had to somehow stay on the same team for 10 years as a role player in the NBA which is pretty lucky.” Which is pretty remarkable. And of course, he had to have red hair.

The interview below has been condensed.

FTW: Are you a big soda guy in general? I know a lot of NBA players try to avoid it.
Bonner: I’m not a huge soda guy. I like it once in awhile like if I’m having a burger, I like to have a soda. Maybe once every week or two. San Antonio has a lot of burger spots.

FTW: Where do you think your soda fits in the realm of celebrity sodas? Have you tried Shaq’s? Or Russell Westbrook’s?
Bonner: My soda bottle is really unique in that it’s kind of a Texas cultural iconic brand in my mind. I came from New England and I had never heard of Big Red before until I got to San Antonio and people in Texas love it. It’s a huge part of growing up in Texas so it’s really cool to be a part of the local lure associated with the brand.

FTW: What sandwich does it go best with? (Note: Bonner has a blog about sandwiches on the NBA’s website.)
Bonner: I think it goes really good with a burger or I like it with a hot sandwich … any grilled sandwich, like a panini.

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FTW: Is Gregg Popovich a big soda person? I have this image, with no factual basis, of him popping open an old-fashioned Coke at the end of practices.
Bonner: No I’ve never seen it, but I can see what would make you think that.

FTW: As a fellow redhead athlete who is now celebrated by Big Red in part for your red hair, I was wondering if you were offended at all by JJ Watt’s jab at Andy Dalton when he said the Texans made the Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB Gun?
Bonner: Honestly I think that’s a pretty good zinger. I think when you grow up with red hair you learn to have a sense of humor. There’s a ton of redheaded stand-up comedians.

FTW: After this long in the league, do you still get trash talked about your red hair?
Bonner: No one really trash talks to me on the court … fans like to heckle but usually it’s not about the hair as much as about ‘Hey Donner get a tan.’ And it’s like I can’t really get a tan, I’ll get a sunburn because I have red hair so your insult doesn’t make sense.

FTW: There’s always spray tans.
Bonner: With the advancements in spray tans I guess that is an option …