Q+A: Billie Joe Armstrong
SI: Do you think Red Sox fans feel that your American Idiot is about their team?
Armstrong: Well, Johnny Damon has a book out called Idiot, so maybe they do. It's kind of funny because we also have a song called 86, and it took them 86 years to win another World Series. The day after the Series a radio station in Boston played all those songs. It was pretty cool.
SI: Is there an athlete out there who, when you see him, you think to yourself, That's a Green Day kind of athlete?
Armstrong: Ricky Williams. He runs hard and bulldozes his way through, but he is also totally graceful. And he took off and did his own thing: Quitting football was a bold statement.
SI: What's the one thing you wish you could do in sports?
Armstrong: I would love to be a catcher and throw out somebody attempting to steal second base. My father was a minor league catcher, and my brother was a catcher. Throwing someone out at second base is just a power move. It's so fast and furious and such a challenge, the best play in sports.
SI: What athletic feat are you proud of?
Armstrong: I'm going to be in the next Tony Hawk video game. For somebody who doesn't know how to skateboard, I'm going to be ripping it up.
SI: Have you met any athletes who are die-hard fans of the band?
Armstrong: Jon Ritchie [who was just released by the Eagles]. I was looking for something for my wife for Mother's Day a couple of years ago, and he was in the same jewelry store. He ended up coming to shows and hanging out. Two years ago we went to the Super Bowl when he was with the Raiders. They got blown out, and afterward Jon was like, "There ain't no way I'm getting on that plane." So he came back with us on a bus we rented, and we played video games all the way home. --Richard Deitsch
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STEVEN TACKEFF/ZUMA PRESS, INC. (ARMSTONG)
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KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE.COM (ARMSTRONG WITH GUITAR)