Michael Strahan tackles Broadway gig in 'Elf'

Michael Strahan passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and walked through the Lincoln Tunnel to make his Broadway debut in Elf.

The former New York Giants defender played a number of small roles in Wednesday's matinee, including a police officer and a Salvation Army Santa Claus. He played himself in the second act, where it was revealed that he asked the real Santa for a Red Schwinn bicycle with a bell shaped like Miss Piggy for Christmas 1980.

Strahan said he was nervous on stage and forgot his first line.

The lines just left me," he said on Thursday's Live with Kelly and Michael. "They hung in there with me and said 'if you mess up, just go with it.'"

So they were taking dives to let Strahan look good? Brett Favre fully supports that move.

"It's a little nerve-wracking because so many people depend on you, you want to get your line across and you have to play to the crowd," he told the Associated Press. "It's a lot more intricate with everyone hitting their marks. You don't want to be the guy that messes everyone up."

It's not the first acting gig for Strahan. He has made numerous guest appearances on TV shows, starred in the short-lived Fox sitcom Brothers and has to act like he finds Terry Bradshaw's jokes funny every week on Fox NFL Sunday. Oh, and let's not forget about that "sack record."

"I'm grateful for everything that happens," he said. "I'm having fun."