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Before he became The Rock and enthralled millions of people worldwide with his antics on TV, Dwayne Johnson had a rough outing once. The experience left him with a major fright. This took place during his college football days in the early 90s. The incident was shared by Johnson during a chat show appearance on March 24, 2000, over a year before his Hollywood career began.

The Rock is a role model to millions of millions of fans worldwide. But before his status as ‘The Great One’, he did lose

Why did Dwayne Johnson land in trouble?

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This particular incident dates back to Johnson’s football-playing days at the University of Miami. He played as a defensive tackle for the Hurricanes and was part of the team that won the national championship in 1991. Years later, Johnson was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, appearing on the aforementioned date.

While talking to The Great One, the legendary chat show host mentioned his college football career and said, “Didn’t you lose it one time? You know what I’m talking about?” He also looked at him expectantly for corroboration. The wrestler-turned-actor then narrated the incident. He said while playing San Diego State, the two teams got into a fight.

While he didn’t say when the game was being played, Johnson shared that it was broadcast live on national television. But that didn’t stop Johnson from chasing their opponent’s mascot, fueled by the desire to have “a little bit more action”. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that his mother was also one of those TV audiences.

Seeing her son’s act, Ata Johnson rang up the college football player, who admitted that he was left scared. “I scared him (the mascot), but what scared me most was, you know, my mom called me. She saw the whole thing,” Johnson told Leno, adding, “She was watching and she laid the smackdown on me for about 48 hours straight. It wasn’t a good thing.” It’s hard to side with DJ over his mother on this one. After all, which parent would want their children to embarrass themselves on national television?

Read More: Despite Being in His Heart, Dwayne Johnson Reveals Big Reason to Choose NFL Over Wrestling, Years Before the Same Sport Saved His Life

Meanwhile, Johnson recently shared another anecdote from his college football days.

Dwayne Johnson talks about his equation with Mario Cristobal at varsity football

Johnson was a freshman in 1991 when the Canes won the national championship. However, two years prior, they had an encore. Both the teams had Mario Cristobal in it. The Miami Hurricanes legend now works as the head coach of the varsity football team.

It is no secret that Johnson shares a healthy relationship with his former teammate now, but it wasn’t always the same. Johnson revisited his past ‘beef’ with Cristobal while speaking to Dan Sileo on JAKIB Sports. Sileo told Johnson that he had asked the coach about their beef during a conversation prior to theirs.

via Imago

Johnson said that Cristobal and he would be competitive during their practice, with the latter not conceding an inch during preparation. However, in a tweet later, Johnson hailed the spirit of the Canes’ coach and called him the best workout partner and teammate.

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While Johnson’s football dreams didn’t transform into an NFL callup, he was able to make up for it with a legendary career in the WWE and Hollywood.

Interestingly, Johnson also happens to be the most famous personality to have ever played football for the Canes. Now that is something Ata Johnson would be proud of.

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So, were you aware of Dwayne Johnson’s “scary” admission? Let us know in the comments.