The Mother of All Interviews: 20 Questions With Cortland Finnegan

One of the key cogs in last year’s suffocating Titan defense was cornerback Cortland Finnegan. After emerging from the depths of the 2006 draft, Finnegan has provided the Titans with a playmaking, shutdown corner and, after the most recent season, he can add “Pro-Bowler” to the long list of adjectives that describe him.

With the losses of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Titans will rely even more heavily on Finnegan to emerge as a leader of the unit.

To better understand Finnegan, I’ve submitted a list of 20 questions designed to peek into the core of his soul:

1. You obviously haven’t taken the typical path to becoming a Pro-Bowler. Who was most instrumental in helping you get to where you are today?

2. What is the most underappreciated aspect of your game?

3. If a movie was to be made about your life, what actor do you believe should be  cast as you?

4. Your musical exploits for singing “Let’s Get It On” at a Karaoke Benefit for Leukemia have been uploaded to YouTube. What song would you perform at a tryout for American Idol?

5. Hypothetical #1: Let us assume that the Finnegan name will be passed on to a healthy baby boy. Being predisposed to football excellence, he pursues a career in the NFL. Would you rather him be the best kicker in the game or an average cornerback?

6. In the picture attached to this article, what exactly are you looking at? Be honest.

7. Who wins in a thumb war between you and Keith Bulluck?

8. If you could intercept any quarterback from all-time, who would you most like to victimize?

9. What are your plans for life after football?

10. Hypothetical #2: Aliens have launched an aggressive assault on planet earth with the intent to eradicate all human life. Through a miraculous chain of events, we have diplomatically convinced them to resolve our differences over control of the plant through a two-on-two basketball game to 21.  Through various methods of selection, you have been selected as one of the earthly representatives and given the authority to pick your teammate, with the only caveat being that you must pick one of the actors/actresses from the ensemble hit TV show, Friends. Whom would you choose and why?

11. Why did you choose #31?

12. What player have you styled your game most after?

13. What was your backup plan if football hadn’t worked?

14. Name one thing you would do differently in your football career from high school until now.

15. Hypothetical #3: In 5 years, time travel will not only be possible, but it will be commercialized. As such, you are invited to participate in the Laser Tag Championship of All-Time (Sponsored by Budweiser and featured on ESPN 6). Spanning recorded history, name the 3 people you would select for your team and why.

16. Which wide receiver gives you the most trouble and why?

17. If you were a wrestler, what would your ring name be?

18. You and Derrick Mason had a memorable scuffle last season. Which vengeance scenario against him would be more desirable: A throttling hit where he fumbles and a teammate takes the fumble back for a touchdown or stepping in front of him for a long and lusty interception return for a touchdown?

19. What is your favorite defensive formation to play out of?

20. Hypothetical # 4: If, in the near future, your entrance into any restaurant, business, party, etc. could be prefaced by introduction music, what song would you choose and why?