TAMPA - Defensive tackle Warren Sapp may have met his match.
Sapp shot a cover photo with Poncho, a 750-pound, 14-year-old male African lion that was being fed meatball snacks to keep his attention.
"I can't believe I did it, but I did," said Sapp, who described Poncho's mane and head as four times the size of himself. "I can't believe I risked my life for the Miami Herald. I'm less than 365 days from a nice payday; this is a risk I really don't have to take. ... (I told them) if this cat growls, snarls or anything at one of these people who work with him on a day-to-day basis, the shoot is over before it ever begins."
Sapp said Poncho and his Orlando-based trainer proved early in the shoot that they were professionals.
"That cat stood up and came out of the cage just like a soldier," Sapp said. "I swear to you, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. He's trying to get this lion to lay on this one spot. He missed it the first time, so they had to pick him up and walk him back around again and lay him down again.
"So that cat laid his feet out and rolled himself to a perfect spot. My spot is about two feet off. My heart is still pounding. I'm thinking, if I can give them four or five shots, I'm out of here."
Sapp said he was nervous, particularly when the photos were being taken.
"I'm looking at the cat and thinking, "Are you kidding me, the strobe light bothers me and I'm a human, this is a wild animal.'
"They're feeding him meatballs and I'm thinking, I'm a lot more meatballs than those little meats they're giving him out of the pot there. This cat might decide, "I'm going to take a bite out of the big fella.' I'm looking at the headlines, The Lion maims the Bear (Sapp's nickname in the locker room)!"
The scariest moment, Sapp said, came when the trainer asked for a personal photo, then backed away to take the shot.
"I'm standing there by myself, just me and him, two feet away," Sapp said. "I started feeling a little faint."
While the photo will not be available to the public until closer to the start of the season, Sapp gave one to coach Jon Gruden.
Gruden said he was not worried about Sapp.
"I was concerned for the lion a little," Gruden said. "It's a great picture. Two living organisms that are very alike, very courageous, a lot of pride. ... I don't know, the lion is more dangerous although Warren on Sundays is a pretty dangerous dude."
When told that on the African plains, a lion's roar can be heard 7 miles away, Gruden responded, "There are a lot of similarities."
