Adrian Peterson would "give it all up..."

You never know what you're going to get when you sit down to interview a star.

You might catch them on a good day, or a bad day. They might have something else on their minds. They might like, or not like, something you've written about them in the past. They might not have anything to say, or go into the interview with the intent of getting through it without saying anything notable.

I visited Bud Selig in his office after he threatened the Twins with contraction. He gave me an hour. For an hour, I tried to get him to admit some culpability in the situation, to offer some details about the Pohlads' willingness to have their team contracted. He deflected every question.

Yesterday, I sat down with Adrian Peterson after practice. I prepared questions on five different topics, hoping he would be interesting on at least one of them. I started him with questions about being around other celebrities at the celebrity softball game at the All-Star game at Target Field.

Then I started asking football questions, and he offered up all of the interesting stuff that is in today's column: That he wants to break Emmitt Smith's record, that he considers Barry Sanders the greatest back of all time, that he wants to be the greatest player who ever lived, that he wants to retire as a Viking, and that he thinks Norv Turner's offense will be the best he's played in.

I'd like to take credit for masterfully dragging all of that out of him, but I can't. Peterson was ready and willing to open up, and I was lucky enough to be there.

I've always found him to be a remarkably engaging and approachable superstar. Here are a few of the things he said that didn't make the column:

-The importance of winning a Super Bowl: ``One thing people will be shocked to hear me say is, I'd give it all away for a Super Bowl. I'm not a selfish player. I've never been a selfish player. It's not about me. I set my goals, but if we win and I'm rushing for 75 yards and helping us win, I'm happy. This is a team game and the ultimate goal is a championship.

``Any way I can help, in the passing game or a running game, I'll help. It might take 200 yards rushing. It might take catching the ball. Whatever it takes, I'm all in. I want to hold the ultimate trophy up, and look at all the guys I played with, and know they can't take that away from us. That's what I'm all about.''

-His willingness to set dramatic goals for himself, like rushing for 2,500 yards this season: ``You only live once. Why limit yourself?''

-What it was like playing in the All-Star game celebrity softball game at Target Field, and having Jenny Finch throw a couple of fastballs by him: ``That was fun. It was a great experience to be around some different people. That was my first time experiencing the celebrity all-star game. Hopefully I'll be invited back. It was cool to be around some of the legends who play baseball, and Nelly, and the celebrities out there.

``And Jenny Finch? I knew she looked athletic and a lot of people were talking about her, but you thought, `A woman? Shouldn't be too bad.' She proved me wrong. It was fun. It was for the fans, and I enjoyed it.

-Being a low-profile superstar, who had other stars bowing to him: ``I know! I noticed that, too. I thought, man, I guess I have some pull. My friends tell me this all the time – the way you react, you don't realize the type of star ability you have. It definitely stood out in that setting. Being around them and still getting recognized, it was cool. I just enjoyed blending in.''

-Being a star who doesn't seek every endorsement or photo op: ``That's definitely by design. It's just my mentality. That's my vibe. I've always been that kind of low-key, solo-type guy. I really don't like too much attention. That's the way I've always been. I've been dealing with it since Little League, and then I had that little blank area of my life where I got off-track, but then in high school, my junior and senior year I was the No. 1 player in the nation. There was a lot of recognition that came with that. I've always shied away from attention since that.''

=On entering a season as a 29-year old at a position where being 30 is dangerous: ``It just means that time flies. But, to be honest, I feel like I'm a different breed than 99 percent of the running backs in the league.''

--------------

I'll be on 1500ESPN at a different time today, 11:15 instead of 12:15. Back to regular programming after that.