Kordell on Camera

Kordell Stewart, starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and new endorser for Midway's hot arcade game NFL Blitz, is in Santa Clarita, Calif., today at the College of the Canyons. He's wrapping up the shooting of one of two TV commercials he's doing for the game.

The commercial shot here will have Stewart "practicing" throwing the football. He turns to his coach at one point and says, "Haven't missed one all day." Then, as the camera pans upward and over his shoulder, it is revealed that Kordell is using members of the marching band for target practice.

GameSpot was there to watch the filming of the commercial and we got a chance to sit down with the young star and ask him a few questions about NFL Blitz and his involvement with Midway:

GameSpot: How would you describe NFL Blitz?Kordell Stewart: Very physical. It's obviously the total opposite of what the real world presents to be; referees, flags, you have eleven guys on the field on each side of the ball. In you have seven players and 30 yards for a first down. You can body slam guys, bump somebody on the ground, throw them out-of-bounds on the wall, have the whole team jump on top and bust them on the neck, but then the quarterback just gets back up and does the same play again.

GS: If guys were allowed to body slam or hit after the whistle in the NFL, which one of your Steeler teammates would be most into doing that?Stewart: Which one? All of the above. I don't think one guy probably wouldn't be that way. Nah, guys don't really play like that. You obviously realize that we're all human, and guys would get hurt if you do some crazy stuff like that. You just play the game for the fun as opposed to the actual trying to hurt, or I guess you could say, kill someone. So we probably would never do something like that. Maybe the guys on the other team because they want to beat us up bad. I would never do that.

GS: If Kevin Green were still playing for the Steelers, he would probably do that.Stewart: Kevin Green, if he were still , would probably body-slam or suplex a few people.

GS: What do you think is the coolest feature in NFL Blitz?Stewart: The capabilities of not getting a flag, being able to hit guys, and them always getting up afterwards.

GS: If pass interference were allowed in the NFL like it is in NFL Blitz, how might that change your strategy or style as a quarterback?Stewart: Well, I wouldn't have any wide receivers left to throw to because they'd all be hurt. I think the pass interference call is something that's obviously good for the individual players, for the team, and also for the quarterback, the guy that's trying to throw the ball to a receiver.

GS: Why did you choose to work with Midway and become the spokesperson for the game?Stewart: They chose me, obviously because of the game being a very versatile type of a game .