University of Wisconsin Eau Claire - Periscope Yearbook (Eau Claire, WI)

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Eller winning fifth Super Bowl' by Beth Wagner After playing in four Super Bowl games, Carl Eller, former defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, is competing in his fifth one — and winning. The 39-year-old is recovering from 20 years of alcohol and drug abuse. Speaking about the Fifth Super Bowl before a sparse crowd at the UWEC Arena on Sept. 24, Eller recalled his experiences with alcohol and a $1,000 a week cocaine habit, as part of Chemical Awareness Week. Treatment brought people back into my life, he said. I feel good about myself. Typically, he began to drink in high school, he said, but he wasn't introduced to marijuana until he went to the University of Minnesota. Alcohol was a means of building himself up — just as he built himself up before Super Bowl games, the former All-Pro noted. He had a good time, he was the center of attention and there were no problems, he explained but then he began to rationalize his drinking. I came into my pro career when drugs weren't a very big part of sports, he said. Alcohol was OK but I had to keep my pot use a secret. At this time, he said, he did not associate with team members much and he began to have problems with his marriage. I continued my rationalization, he said. I'm different but there's nothing wrong with me. I wasn't about to admit I couldn't handle my booze. The thing about chemical dependency is denial. I developed the technique as a self-defense mechanism. The point is that rationalization doesn't change the reality of a situation, he said. He had problems with self-esteem, relationships and business, he said. It wasn't that I didn't have the ability to handle all that, he said. It was that drug use had become my main priority. I had to straighten out the real problem — me. Midway through his professional career, Eller began using cocaine, he said. He needed his job as a means of personal security and financial support because much of his income was going towards drugs, he said. Things continued to deteriorate after his retirement in 1979, Eller said. There was nothing left for him to do but pity himself, he said. Referring to the four world championship games he played in with the Vikings, Eller noted that the team went back four times and didn't quit. In terms of failure, losing was hard for him to accept, he said. But, he continued, without failing I wouldn't have tried again. It's OK to fail, but it's not OK to stay there. There's another way to go. I can feel good about myself because I tried. Celebrating six months of sobriety, Eller continues aftercare at St. Mary's Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis where he went through treatment. i

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A whirlwind trip 'round the world PRANCE

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by Cherie Phillips It's the greatest natural high there is, said Jeff Wingad. balloon pilot. As part of Counseling Service's Chemical Awareness Week, the one-minute balloon rides were sponsored to promote the week's slogan, Get high on campus. The purpose was to show that there is more than one way to get high. Some ways, like free hot air balloon rides, are safer, more healthy and probably more exciting. Actually, the rides brought to mind Dorothy and Toto, chants of there's no place like home and dreamy visions of flying away with a magician. Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? ... Students crowded around the balloon's landing strip to take pictures of their friends going up, then handed the cameras over when it was their turn. I wouldn't have missed it for the world,” said one enthusiastic student.