Go With Your Palate
Joe Wagner, 5th Generation Winemaker, presents the podcast "Go With Your Palate." A podcast about wine, entrepreneurship, and whatever the F else. So buckle up - this isn't your normal wine podcast.
Go With Your Palate
E97 Daryn Colledge | Joe Wagner
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He grew up in North Pole, Alaska, won a Super Bowl with the Packers, served in Afghanistan, and now owns a wine company.
Daryn Colledge has lived about three different lifetimes - and somehow he's just getting started.
This is one incredible story of leadership, reinvention, and saying yes to the next challenge.
🎙️ Go With Your Palate: Daryn Colledge | Super Bowls, Black Hawks & Three Fat Guys Wines
This week, we’re joined by a man who’s lived enough adventures for three lifetimes - Daryn Colledge: Super Bowl XLV Champion, Army National Guard veteran, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Three Fat Guys Wines. From growing up in North Pole, Alaska (yes, the real North Pole... and yes, Daryn knows Santa) to protecting quarterbacks in the NFL, serving overseas as a UH-60 Black Hawk Crew Chief, and eventually finding his way into the wine business, his story is anything but ordinary.
We dive into Daryn’s incredible journey from Boise State to the Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl run, the challenges he faced along the way, and the lessons learned both on and off the field. He shares stories from his playing days, memorable fan interactions, and what leadership, accountability, and teamwork look like when the pressure is at its highest.
But what makes Daryn’s story so compelling is what came after football. We talk about his decision to serve in the Idaho Army National Guard, his deployment to Afghanistan, and his ability to continually embrace new challenges - even when most people would be content slowing down.
Today, that same drive fuels Three Fat Guys Wines and his work in the restaurant world, where quality, hospitality, and creating unforgettable experiences for guests are at the center of everything he does. Whether it’s a bottle of wine or a meal shared with friends, Daryn believes great experiences are built the same way great teams are - through passion, preparation, and people.
And because this is Go With Your Palate, we have some fun along the way: Alaska stories, mentorship, leadership lessons, and Daryn’s latest challenge - somehow agreeing to run 50 miles because apparently winning a Super Bowl wasn't difficult enough. (Thanks, Steve. You'll understand when you tune in.)
It’s inspiring, hilarious, and packed with lessons on service, reinvention, and making the most of every chapter life gives you.
Grab a glass and join us for one of the most remarkable life stories we've had on the podcast yet. 🍷🏈🇺🇸
All right, here's another segment of What Your Palette. We got a very special guest on the podcast today. Special is the right word, right? Darren College. Uh his list of accomplishments is absolutely astonishing. We uh got we got into some great stories from your time being in the NFL, uh winning a Super Bowl, time in the National Guard, now a restaurateur, working in uh in fine wine with uh three fat guys, the brand, uh raising a family, moving around the country. I I mean it just it goes on and on. Yeah, that was all that was nothing. Felt like we had more. But if you if you want to hear a story about uh accomplishments, what motivates people, this is it. Great story. Thank you for being here. It was a true pleasure talking to you. Oh, thank you guys. It was a lot of fun. I feel like we could have gone longer. I think we I think we got on three hours. I think we got on three.
SPEAKER_02I think we might have to have you back, man. That's cool. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Episode two. I'm thinking remote. We do one boys. There you go.
SPEAKER_02Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00I'll put us on the raft and we can shoot it on the river. Yeah, I'm down. Always work out as part of my normal life, do a lot of rucking, do all that kind of stuff, but was really um eating and drinking and like filling my life with the stress and uh only getting stronger and bigger in the gym and was getting back to fighting weight. And I was like, okay, like maybe that's not gonna work out for my life. And uh so took a big dive in January to be like, hey man, like you only can control what you can control. So I'm gonna I'm gonna get into something else. And I wanted to get into something that I that I'm terrible at and know nothing about, so I could be a rookie again and learn those things.
SPEAKER_01You seem to reinvent yourself every few years. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think life's full of chapters is like, you know, to find something. And I think I think the one thing is like getting to pick your heart and getting to pick the things that are challenging you in life, are really, really and endurance sports is one of those things that I'm not built for, right? At 295 pounds or 300 pounds, depending on when you caught me when I played, or 315 pounds when I played, like you're built for like 30 seconds of work and about five minutes of like just rest. And uh, so the idea of going on sustained runs, like the military put that in me. The military made me in really, really great shape. So I was kind of like, okay, how do I get back to kind of that world? And also, how do I do something that none of my old talents help me for? The only talent that I have that helps me from football in endurance sports is like I don't mind pain and I'm dumped. So I'll like, I'll just keep going. Um and so my buddy and I, I've got a really good friend Michael, uh, who happens to also be my neighbor, and uh, we kind of challenge each other every year with a little bit of a Masoge, this idea of something that you're, you know, better than 50% chance of failure, but it's a physical thing. And I was digging through some stuff, and we found this 50 mile ultra marathon. Now, neither one of us ever ran over a half marathon in our life. I'd rucked more than the 20 miles, like through the military, all that kind of stuff. But to run, the idea of a sustained run for that far, and it was literally 51 days from the race. And I was like, if we start training tomorrow, we have 50 days to train for 50 miles. And I'm like, can we can we do it? Yeah, and he's like better than 50% chance of failure, so let's let's go. Let's do it. And built out a program and started training from there, and that really kind of kicked off the uh the endurance protocol. And now I've got a triathlon in July, I've got another 30k race coming up, I've got a half marathon with my wife coming up, and and then I've got a full mare uh my full triathlon in Olympic length um in October. And I'll tell you what, I I've realized I thought I could, but I realized I can't swim.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I was just gonna ask about like a FUD mutter or like or some of those other um Nope.
SPEAKER_00Nope. No mutters, no, nothing like that. Literally, no, literally trying to do try like trying to swim actual distance. Like I'm in the pool at the YMCA uh uh a lot of mornings now with a bunch of people somewhere between the ages of I don't know 75 and 150, um, in much much worse shape than I think that I'm in. And they uh destroy me daily in the pool. I mean, I watch these people swim by me and I'm like, I don't know what they're doing that I'm not doing. Um, it's a body type, right? Yeah, I mean for my own emotions, like that's how I'm trying to sell it. I'm trying to be like, I'm trying to be like, oh, it's because I got too much muscle mass. I'm too heavy, I'm too lean, oh, my feet. I look like a boat. Like, I look like I'm on a plane trying to go through the water, and these people look like they I mean, I've been in the water with manatees, they're graceful and they move, and you wouldn't think it. And there's a guy that swam next to me the other morning, looked like a manatee. He was beautiful in the water, huge human being, and just beautiful in the water. And I'm like, I don't think I'll ever swim that well. Yeah, you just sunk my battleship. Yeah, I'm like, like, I'm emotionally like devastated. I'm like, I eat red, I work out, I do all these things, and then I go in the water and I look like a rock. I'm like, this is not good.
SPEAKER_01I've always been the same. I always thought it was like my body hair that dragged me though. That's what I blamed it on. That that and that and broader shoulders. Your body hair dragged you down? We're just we're a bick away. We just got a lot of drag. Uh that's it. Okay.
SPEAKER_00All right. Shave the hair off my legs and maybe they'll float a little bit better. Well, so you did your 50-mile run. I did the 50-mile run. What did that take, man? How long was it was that run? Um, it took me just,
Power training to Endurance training: 50mi run, let's go!
SPEAKER_00I'd have to double check the time. I don't remember exactly anymore, but I think it took me just over 10 hours to finish up. So I uh I was just curious if it was less than a day because I don't know. No, yeah. I had really set aside like a day and a half, right? The race started at 6 a.m. for the early starters because we had a we had a uh us run solo. There was a small group of us running solo, and then everybody else was running a relay. And so they let anybody who was going solo start at six, and then all the relays started at eight. So you're getting caught by people, right? And then they realize you haven't got one of the wristbands. So at first they they reel you in because you're the target, right? You're like, they're like another victim, another body, right? When passing people, they're feeling really good about themselves. Then you look down and realize you don't have the yellow wristband on, which means you're going solo, and then the humility all of a sudden like comes way down. You're like, hey, hey, you're doing great. Keep it up. Like, we're really, really excited for you. We're proud of you. And you're like, Great, awesome. Yeah, like that's awesome. But I'm also dying at the same time. And uh I stopped once to once had to have a bathroom break, and then I stopped once at 32 miles to see my wife and my kids. And I admit that if my kids hadn't been standing at mile 32 with my wife and holding up signs, I didn't know they were gonna be there. Um, they had signs. If they weren't there, I would have quit. Dad would have quit. But I was like, you can't quit in front of the kids. So once the grandparents took the kids, I I thought about quitting at 42 once they left. I was like, honey, I'll meet you at the bottom of the bottom again. And you just case you pick me up in 41, just in case this isn't gonna work out. And then at 41, I decided I was gonna be able to finish, I was gonna be able to kind of get through what I was going through, which was like tight, everything, everything kind of falling apart, and um got got to the end, which was like really, really tough because everybody else in the oddly, all the relay people, their race ended at 46 miles, but they won a 50 mile race for the ultra marathoners because they were for whatever reason, because they're narcissistic. I have no idea. And they're like, so you had to run past the finish line two extra miles back down the road and then come back. And you're you pass the last aid station, and it's a girl who's like, Oh yeah, you're solo? Cool. Hey, here's some more water, here's some more gels. Uh, there's a guy named Steve, two miles down the road, he's gonna tell you when to turn around. And you're like, awesome, right? So everybody's leaving, everybody's getting high fives, everybody's like, they're all done, and you're like, oh God, I gotta go two more miles. So now I'm running, and this is in the Green Belt. This is downtown Boise. Like the Green Belt is just an amazing, amazing thing, but it runs right into like the districts where there's the food and the drinks, and we got a place on the river where people surf. So everybody's out on this Saturday night having a great time, and you're the only one who's doing the worst thing in the world, right? All the things I want to be doing, fishing or drinking or enjoying my friends or having a slice of pizza, like, no, I'm I'm like going through misery, and all I'm doing is trying to find Steve. And I got no idea who Steve is. Steve is Waldo, right? He's just a sea of people, right? And I'm just jogging and I'm like, I'm mad, I'm upset, I'm in pain. I just ran into a friend of mine, uh, my and she's having cocktails with another friend of hers, and I'm like, I want to have a cocktail. And I all of a sudden jog kind of past all of them, and here's his dude just sitting on a rock by himself. And I'm like, if this isn't Steve, I'm jumping in the river. Like, I'm done. Like, I'm done. This is absolutely it. And I and Steve gets off this rock, and I'm expecting Steve to be like, hey man, you made it. Turn back, you got two more miles, you're done. No. Steve is a godsend. Like, Steve is my mother, Teresa. He gets off this rock with this energy that's just like, hey, you're awesome, right? You need some water. He's pouring water on me. He's like, You need a snack. He's like, hey, man, you got two more miles. Hey, this is your moment. He's like, take it in, enjoy it, and shoves me back the other way, and I'm like half crying. I'm like, I love you, Steve. I'll finish these last two miles for Steve. Like, I don't even think about my kids anymore. My kids are gone. I'm like, no, it's it's me and Steve, two more miles. That's all we got to do, and I'm finishing up for Steve. And uh like, Steve, can I get your autograph? I got done. My wife and I have this running joke because my wife loves doing um 5K's and 10K's, and she's getting ready to do her half marathon. So she loves to rock, she loves the outdoors. She's a big, she's a big outdoor activities person, but running's not her thing either. But she does these 10Ks every year and these 5Ks, and you know, so this year she's playing for this half marathon. But what she loves about them is you get finisher medals. She's a huge fan of finisher medals. She thinks everybody in the world should have one, which I agree. Like, I think it's great. You go out and you do the work. Hey, here's your medal. And uh, so I get the end, and I've literally been telling myself for the last 25 miles, like, I'm doing this, I'm getting a badass finisher medal. Like, I'm gonna be like, yeah, this is it's all worth it. And I cross through that finish line and I am done. And I'm like looking around, I'm like waiting for the crowd. My wife hugs me, my buddies there, and all the whole nine yards. I'm like, yeah, we did it. And I'm like, where's my finisher medal? There's no finisher medal. They hand me a hat, and it's the same hat everybody else got that ran it solo or ran it as a team. We all get the exact same hat, doesn't say anything special. And I was the most deject, I walked straight to the river and I just sat in it. And I'm like, I need the next 30 minutes just to like recover from the emotional disaster of I'm not getting a finisher medal.
SPEAKER_01I'm just gonna drop a gift hint to your wife that she can make a custom finisher medal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. If it hasn't happened yet, you know, hey, maybe you know, it's so funny that you say that because she would absolutely like that, would be like something that'd be like I'd be like, oh man, that's super sweet of you. And she'd be like, absolutely like, you didn't earn this one though. Like, like, I want the medal from them that says I finish your race. Like me giving her a participation trophy and her handing me one, and like it is just the total opposite of what my wife would be all about. She'd be like, no, this is this doesn't this means nothing.
SPEAKER_01Like, oh man, that's awesome. Well, well, congratulations on all that. But I I mean I think I'd like to introduce you,
Welcome the legendary Daryn Colledge!
SPEAKER_01but right now you are you're you're in endurance sports. That's your well, I'm participating. Participating, okay. You've also you got a you got a wine brand, three fat guys. Uh started that. We'll get into that. But prior to that, you've lived a number of different lives. So you're a veteran, you were uh in the National Guard, served in Afghanistan. Yeah. Um, let's see, you also uh the the small piece I think was that you're a Super Bowl champion. Right. Yeah. Very small.
SPEAKER_00And and I was supposed to bring my ring and I didn't bring it. Like I was I and and this is the joke, like, right? Like I don't even know where it is half the time. And if my wife doesn't tell me when to take it, like she she I literally go to kids' events and they're like, hey, Super Bowl champion's coming in. She's like, hey, do you have your ring? And I'm like, they don't want to see the ring. They're like, they're inviting you as a Super Bowl champion. Like you, that's the kind of the that's the the niche. Like you you need to fill it in.
SPEAKER_01And uh God, what else? Let's see. Oh, also you were a coach at Boise State? No, I worked for our uh alumni association. Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I worked for our alumni association. That was in between that was in between the garden runner restaurants.
SPEAKER_01Okay. And and you're a restaurateur.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01So today we got a special guest final introducing you. We got Darren College here. Uh, so you know his roster of accomplishments. It's a pleasure to have you on Go with Your Palette. You got me, Joe Wagner, co-host, Chris Fat Mario Rubio. Don't ask why his name is Fat Mario. I didn't make up that name, but uh we can get into that after the podcast. Will we? I think we'll dive in.
SPEAKER_00I can tell you some stories about nicknames in the NFL. So, like for but for one, you don't have to each pick your own. Because we'd all have the same one. And they were gonna keep the podcast clean, but we'd all have the same we'd all have the same nickname if we got to pick our own.
SPEAKER_01So yeah. Well, welcome. Pleasure to have you. Uh, excited to be able to share your story with our audience and have people, you know, just get motivated by it, understand that that, you know, I I love how you just started off with just you've got an idea, an accomplishment you haven't achieved, something you think you might be able to do, put your mind to it and just fucking do it. I mean, that's that's a mindset I think a lot of people, especially the younger generation, don't carry yet. And maybe that's because they don't carry a lot of accomplishments because of the participation trophy era that you know so many of them went through. But uh, once you get those first accomplishments, even in adulthood, it becomes an addictive uh element uh for most people. So, I mean, why don't we start there? Like your upbringing, you were you were born and raised in was it Alaska?
SPEAKER_00Well, really, I really raised all over the West Coast.
Growing up in the North Pole, and a friend of Santa!
SPEAKER_00So born in Fairbanks, uh, because there's not a hospital in North Pole. So born born in Fairbanks. Uh my dad's work took us down to California when I was probably around four years old. Um, worked for a small company down there that turned into a huge company called TC Construction. Um, my mother's job took us back up to Washington. Um, she started a scratch agency for state farm um insurance, and we started that out of Cashmere, Washington. Um, we lived in the basement underneath it, like literally um lived off the old mac and cheese and tuna on toast uh kind of deal, lived off fruit from our friend's orchards, kind of, I mean, came from not a lot of money, right? Made a lot of sacrifices to help start my mom's business. My dad and my mom made huge sacrifices to do that. And my mom fought through that agency and and built something really, really great there, and then um had the opportunity to take over another agency up in North Pole, Alaska, and move us back to home. Well, really for for home for the two of them. So that job took us back up to North Pole and lived there for our for the majority of the formative years, back and from middle school and high school, and uh then finally left to college in Idaho. But yeah, Alaska um up until um a while ago was really, really home for me. And it'll always be my original home. But I've been in Idaho now for 25 years, the longest I've been anywhere, oh coming on 26 years now. And it's really, really become our um our second home. I love Alaska. I think it's an amazing place. It's a I'm super blessed to be from there. I know all six people that actually still live there. Um State is uh it's a different place, and I think it breeds a certain type of person. I think that's an awesome, awesome thing. And uh, I get back as often as I can. Um I love it, but I tell everybody go twice, um, see it once this summer, then go back once when it's 65 below, and realize maybe you're not built for that because it takes a special person.
SPEAKER_01That does take a special person. That's that's wild. So and literally six people in North Pole.
SPEAKER_00No, no, we actually we have more than that, but it feels like it's about six sometimes. It's one of those things where um I think it's obviously probably changed a little bit, and I think COVID, we had a mass exodus, but it was one of those things where North Pole, the actual city of North Pole itself, you know, we're surrounded by two military bases. We have Island Air Force Base and Fort Wain Wright, and then you have Fairbanks, which is your major metropolitan area, which is the second largest city in the state. Um, but a lot of people live in the North Pole area is the suburbs, but the city limit inside of it, I believe, was about 1600 when I was in school or 1200, right? Somewhere in there when I was in school. Um, so when school was in session, the population of the actual city downtown, I think, doubled. Okay. When the when the school when the high school, middle school, and uh elementary schools were all in session, I think the population kind of doubled, which was similar to the Packers, because it's super funny because the Green Bay was the same way. Like when Packers were playing, uh, I think it became the third largest city in the state of Wisconsin, and then everybody would go home. I've heard that. Yeah, that's wild. Yeah. So yeah, different place. Candy cane light poles the whole nine yards.
SPEAKER_02That's that's what I was wondering. If you got like a lot of those Santa Claus jokes, well, it was it was it was really a joke.
SPEAKER_00Like if you look at North Pole's history, it was one of those things where they were trying to draw a toy factory into the city to be built there and to bring this, you know, this industry into uh the area. So they renamed it. We did the candy cane light poles, and the the toy shop never even showed up. And but North Pole bit on it hard and the community supported and got behind it. We've got the Santa Claus house, we've got reindeer, we've got a registered Chris Kringle and Mrs. Claus kind of deal uh in the city. Um, like people come in and and they want to see it, and you know, you can still write letters from Santa um at the at the Santa Claus house and have them sent down to to family members, and the community still gets behind people that mail letters up and they'll have community signings where neighborhood businesses will go out and people will respond to the letters and like it's it's a great community. It's one it's uh you know, it's one of those communities every every every place has got its own signature, but it's still one of those places where people still help each other. It's a place where people still care about their neighbor and take care of each other. And you know, when you live in a place that's you know 30, 40, 50 below, you know, if your car breaks down, people pull over because you'll die. So it uh again, it's a a special place. I still love North Pole and Fairbanks, and it's why I try to get back and it's why we randomly, it's why we do three fat guys things up there almost every single year, just because it's a good place full of good people.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's the plug for North Pole. So go visit there and oh yeah, absolutely. You're gonna make me jealous here. I'm gonna ask you a question about northern lights. How many times have you seen them? Too many times.
SPEAKER_00Too many times. I'm not that when they come out now, I'm not like, oh man, I gotta like, you know, every once in a while we'll get them in Idaho, right? The the light will be just right, the angle, the sun, the solar flares, whatever it might be, just gets it right. So like if you'll drive eight miles out of town, you can get up on a hill and you can kind of see them if you go out at midnight. And I'm like, no, I'm good, man. Like you've seen it enough? I've seen them, I've seen them at their best and I've seen them at their brightest, and it's awesome. Now, if I still do get up there for the winter and I still get to see it, like there's something about seeing the northern lights with no wind at 30 or 40 below, because the whole world goes still at those temperatures. I mean, it's like there's just nothing when it when it does that. There's something about being up in that place in the desolate and uh getting to see them is still special up there, but it's also like getting to see things in you know, Ultra HD right now, and then trying to go back and watch videotapes of me playing, like in high school. You're like, it's kind of greeny. I think there's a game happening out there.
SPEAKER_01So like Well, I've I've chased the Northern Lights to Finland, Iceland, Northern Canada, and only seen them faintly once. Yeah. So I'm like, yeah, it's just one of those things. Like every every New Year's, that's where like the hey, let's go out and where are we gonna go this year? And yeah, they're all the all all the areas that like it's dark, you know, 20, 22 hours a day. But man, it was a it was a blast, and you get to see the cultures and experience.
SPEAKER_00You know, if you need a hookup, yeah, you know, I'll call I'll call my people up there and we'll get you, we'll get you out to China Hot Springs, and you can stay at the ice hotel up at China Hot Springs, and you can go out and see the Northern Lights, hang in the hot springs, watch the Northern Lights, sleep in the igloo, get the drinks and the and the ice glasses and turn around and come back.
SPEAKER_02Can we also give him a tour? I think you'd like to see Santa Claus too. You know, we can get you a tour. Oh, we'll get you the tour.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, that we always, you know, three fat guys, we always bring up a bottle of wine for him because you know, we we're trying to stay on the good list. Like we're not we're not messing around, right? Like, you know, we're gonna scratch you thing, we're gonna rub you stone, we're gonna look for every four-leaf clover, but we're not gonna play games. When we go up there, we're dropping off a little something nice for Mr. and Mrs. Claus because it's one of those things where it's like, yeah, just in case you need to stay on the nice list one more time.
SPEAKER_01Call it superstition or whatever you want, but always be on the nice list. I think that's it's a good way to live life. Uh, so in
Football Career started in Alaska with 11man not 8...
SPEAKER_01in Alaska, were you able to play football there?
SPEAKER_00Yes. Uh, and unlike uh my coaches, who I assume actually never actually watched me play football because he tried to make a joke that we were playing eight-man all the time. We actually played eleven-man football. So we played normal traditional football um that everybody expects and you see on a daily basis. Now, you know, I live in small town Idaho, there's small town California, like there's plenty of people who play eight-man football out there and see those kind of things. Uh, we played full 11. Uh, we only played eight games, and it was a good chance it was gonna snow by the end of the season almost every year. So, but I actually, to be totally honest, I only played one year of high school football. Oh, I played as a freshman, and uh I had Osgood slaughter in my knees, grew up really, really fast over my eighth grade, ninth grade year, and I was a much better baseball player than I was a football player. And my knees were getting all messed up, and I went and saw our doctor, and he was like, Hey, he's like, You can keep going. He's like, but they're gonna be hurt and they're gonna be sore all the time. He's like, and it might threaten your baseball season. And I was not in any mood to like mess with baseball. Like, I was just doing football for fun, and I lived in a small town. You'd played every sport because they, you know, when there's only so many kids, everybody plays. And I decided I was gonna walk away from it. And then I went back and played my senior year uh only because I was dating a cheerleader. So she was like, hey, you gotta come play. And I was like, okay, like cool, you know, you do what your girlfriend says. I was like, all right, cool, man. Like, I'm gonna go play football. And uh they needed guys to play, and I became the offense, starting offensive lineman, starting defensive lineman, and somehow the punter all in the same season in my junior year. You gotta play almost every play. I my only plays off were kickoff and kickoff return. I got a water break. And then anytime there was a timeout, like so they would run water out. Like my coach was like, hey man, like you kick off and kickoff return, you don't have to be out there. But field goals, field goal block, kickoff, or you know, or I mean offense defense, and then you're punting. It's like, okay. Like But you're high school, you don't you don't know any different. You're like, Yeah, you want to be on that field as much as you can. Yeah, I wasn't thinking about college football at the time, I was just thinking about like something to do. And my my parents kind of had a rule like if I was playing sports, I didn't have to have a job and they would support me. But if I didn't have sports, I was working. So most of my high school career, I was half sports, half job. And you know, I'm not the smartest kid, but I you know, two to two together. Like, so by my senior year, I was playing five sports because I was like, I don't gotta work. Like, I got the system rigged. Like, I'm like these kids now at the NIL. I'm like, I had parent IL. I was like, hey, like they're paying for gas as long as I'm playing sports.
SPEAKER_01This is this is that's how you bake the system. Yeah, that's a good way to do it, man. So so from high school, then
College Football Recruitment Experience: Perseverance with a hint of Ronald McDonald...
SPEAKER_01you went into uh you went to college. Yeah. Was there a recruitment process for that?
SPEAKER_00Or at Nick's. Yeah, awesome recruitment process. So I actually got uh a couple offers to play baseball, um, but none of them were full scholarships. They were all like three quarters, they were all small Midwest schools. I was a good baseball player, but it wasn't great. So I wasn't gonna be going, you know, nobody was calling up me to play, you know, USC or anything like that. But they, you know, I had some small Midwest schools that were like, hey, we can give you a scholarship offer. My parents had gotten divorced while I was in college, um, blue collar family, um, doing white collar work, but you know, there wasn't a college fund, there wasn't a trust fund. Like I was paying for school and I was really, really thinking about joining the military. Now, obviously, with Fort Wainwright and Isles in there, um, you'd seen recruiters, you knew the option, and I knew I wanted to go to college. My mom had instilled that in me, but every male in my family didn't go to college. They became blue collar labors and And I had learned that trade. Like I learned my family builds fence. Um, that's what they do. Every every male in my family has built fence since my grandfather. And I learned that trade when I was in high school and I I worked that job because I always knew I could fall back on that. I always knew I could do that job and would always have that skill. Um, but I knew I wanted the opportunity to go to college. My mom had instilled that in me. So I was like, okay, how do I get school paid for? And the military was gonna be the easiest way to do that. But had a couple coaches who believed in me. So, you know, the baseball offers kind of came and my football coach was like, hey man, I think we could maybe find some money for football. Let's check into it. And I'm like, I mean, I played like one year. Like I get it. Like I'm a I'm a pretty good athlete when I look around the table, but I'm not like I'm thinking of what's out there in the world, right? A kid that's played football for 15 minutes, and he's like, you know, let's let me let me compile the videos and uh put your name out there. So we, you know, I went and showed you know, I did the recording. Hey, this is Darren College, I'm really excited. I would love to play for your team. And I did that recording, we built all the VHSs and put all my highlights on it and sent it out to the 50 schools. And I got my first letter back like three weeks later from Michigan. And I'm like, the Wolverine sent me a letter. That's pretty awesome. And I responded to it, and I think they got the wrong Darren because they didn't even they didn't even respond to the letter that they sent me. They spell it with an I instead of a Y.
unknownThat's true.
SPEAKER_00And then I told you I was I was I spent some time in Washington. So I grew up watching the Cougars and the Huskies play, and Alaska's an football team. So I was like, you know, I'd love to go be a Cougar and Husky. I loved Washington, love my time there. So they were the only two coaches that I wrote personal letters out to, and you know, and um I think we had uh email in that that era. Like I sent emails out like, hey, from Washington, spend some time there. Would love the opportunity to come to come be a part of your program. They also never wrote back. So I don't know if those are in their spam folder or what. They might want to dig into that. Um missed opportunity. Missed opportunity. I got my first legitimate recruiting offer from Oregon. The Ducks called me up and I was like, this is perfect because I just called Washington and Washington State and they didn't write back. And I'm like, I heard you guys play them. I would love to, I would love to take that out on them. And they're like, okay. And I'm like, awesome. Committed to them, said I want to come play. They called me up two weeks later and said, Hey, we got a blue chip we didn't think we were gonna get. Uh, your scholarship doesn't exist anymore. Oh, and I was like, oh, but they're like, if you could walk on, we could we'll have a scholarship for you next semester because one of our seniors will come off. And I'm like, I'm doing the math in my head, I have zero money. So walk on means I'm paying for school. My parents got a little bit of money, they could probably help me with that. But the bigger question was like, if I get down there and I suck, like I'm not good, I'm I'm North Pole good, but I'm not good enough for you guys. Like, you guys all of a sudden realize I'm not what I'm supposed to be. Like, that offer doesn't show up. Then I'm I'm SOL, right? I'm just stuck. And Boise State called me up right after they did and said, Hey, we want to have you down for a recruiting trip. And uh I hand to God, I told, Hey, could you give me a few dates? Because tickets are really expensive and we're gonna have to like get the money together. And and they like they laughed, they thought I was making a joke. And I'm like, no, I mean, no, tickets are really expensive out of Alaska, plus I'm in basketball season. They're like, No, no, no, we pay for the ticket, it's a recruiting trip. And I'm like, oh, well, I can leave whenever.
SPEAKER_02Like sign me up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but mind you, I also had macaroni and cheese hair color at that time because I have the brownest hair ever, and uh our basketball team was on a little bit of run, so everybody dyed their hair with the cheap stuff from the from the uh grocery store, which turned my hair like orange, so I look like Ronald McDonald. So my mom actually forced me to go down to the like the local stylist to like make my hair brown again so I can go on this recruiting trip and actually look respectable. Had a great visit, fell in love with the place, fell in love with the city, fell in love with the community, but more importantly, they took a chance and they they had an offer and they paid for my school. And that's why I ended up there. And my only goal to go down there was to not embarrass my family, not embarrass the state of Alaska, and just outwork everybody. Like I thought I would be special teams, I thought I'd be the backup defensive end because that was where I that was my best position. Uh my all my accolades uh in the state were on uh defense. So I was like, I thought I'd go down there. I was kind of looking at them 250 pounds, I'm 235 because I'm in basketball season. I'm like, okay, I can come down this roster and like I'll be a backup, but I'm like, I'm just this kid from North Pole. Like, and it turned into all those things.
SPEAKER_01That is awesome. Yeah, and did you stick in the defensive end?
SPEAKER_00No, I became an offensive lineman uh pretty much after the first month, which I I kid you not, I showed up at like 235, 240 because I was coming out of basketball season and working that summer when I came down in the uh in the fall for my very first season. And I thought it was gonna be defensive end. So I was like, okay, I'll put on 20 pounds. I've got you know four years, get big and strong in the gym. Like they're gonna actually feed me. Like this is gonna be really good. And uh they're like, hey, we like your athleticism, we think you're raw, we think we can just teach you this other position. I was like, what's this other position? They're like offensive line. I'm like, do you realize in high school, like we ran like just man? And my my other tackle, because I missed camp for baseball, uh, for the first two weeks had to tell me it was a pass or it was a run, and I just blocked the dude in front of me. Like, that was how that pass run. I mean, that was it until I learned all the plays up for the first uh you know, first couple weeks. And they're like, no, no, no, we can make it work. And I kid you not, I walked by a guy named Rob Vine, who was a junior at that time, and I was a true freshman. And Rob is 305 pounds of huge human being. And here's me at 235, and I'm like, You want me to be that? Like that is just never, ever, ever gonna happen. And uh, but it did. I uh I got a redshirted and and ate everything I could find and lifted every weight I could and and bothered everybody in that room until I learned the job and started as a redshirt freshman and uh didn't give it up for 53 games straight. God, wow, what a story.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then and then moved into uh you got drafted.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's
The Draft to the NFL (Green Bay Packers Love!)
SPEAKER_00kind of the same story. Like thought I'd be there about 15 minutes. Like told the wife, like, hey, let's pay off the credit card debt, let's pay off your school debt, and if we get out of here with like an apartment, like this is gonna be a win, right? You know, show up, don't embarrass Alaska, don't embarrass your family, don't embarrass Boys State for you know sending you there. And um leg that out into a nine-year career and started everywhere I went. Didn't miss a single game until my ninth season, won a Super Bowl, had an amazing experience, met some amazing people, one of the best part-time jobs in America, right? Like you had you had summers off. Um felt like a teacher. Um and I loved every minute of it until I didn't. Like they the NFL has some amazing things and some amazing joys and some some highs of highs, but it's a job and it becomes a job, and it becomes an extremely cutthroat job, right? You kind of think it's gonna be the same thing as college football. You think it's gonna be this brotherhood where everybody's on the same page, and then you find out that's only during the playoffs. The rest of the time, it's a lot of people like looking for a paycheck and trying to feed their families and get the next big payday and take care of themselves, and that's coaches and players involved. And sometimes you run in some great people, like I've got Jason Tony in my life, awesome people, and I've had awesome coaches in my life, but it is a business and it's a billion-dollar business. And uh when you uh when you finally realize that that takes a little of the shine off.
SPEAKER_01So people are actually looking to get traded to make a bigger buck. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, that's that's kind of like all right, oh yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00You're climbing that ladder just like corporate America does. Just like corporate America, man. You're looking for your next payday. When you're locked into a contract, you know, and you know, the things have changed in the NFL. Like players have more power than they've ever had before. Like everything's you know, everything's changed and it's evolved the other side. It and we have it, well, I had it way better than the guys in the 50s and 60s, right? You talk to some of those dudes that played, and they had they were working second jobs, right? Yeah, yeah. And they were fighting for free agency, and we had all that stuff. Um but there's a certain group of people that are doing that job because it's a job and they're gonna make as much as they can, they're gonna get done. There's certain guys that are going out there trying to win championships and they're willing to sacrifice everything for the team. Um, and then there's a bunch of guys right in the middle, they're kind of doing a little bit of both. Um, but most guys are taking care of themselves right up until the playoffs start, and then everybody's on the same page because everybody's making the same amount of money and everybody's trying to win a championship. But up to that point, you're trying to get that next deal because you just don't know. Like, and that's it's it's not their fault. It's not the problem. That's the business that we've created, right? The average NFL career is less than three years. Like you have a small window, and uh a ton of it, a ton of it is is the the work you put in every single day and working harder than the next guy. The separation between guys is one to two percent all the time. A shit ton of it's luck. You gotta be in the right place at the right time and and and hope the guy in front of you fails, or hope that you don't fail and he's waiting behind you, right? Like I got replaced by a guy in Green Bay, like I thought I'd be in Green Bay forever. I got replaced by a kid behind me named TJ Lang, and I was the guy and he was the backup, and I thought, like, I'm good to go. Like, they're gonna resign me. And they offered me a small contract to go because they were willing to take a chance on TJ. And I was like, all right, good luck with that, right? TJ proved himself, turned into a pro bowler. It was a great choice by them. He turned into an awesome player, right? He he got the best end of that coin, right? I stepped away, he got his opportunity, and he made the most of it. And I got nothing against TJ. He's an awesome kid and turned in, like I said, a pro bowler, a great player. Green Bay did what it did. Um, have they won a championship since I left? No. But that's because uh I put a hex on the house. Yeah, so I'm I'm bitter. It's only fair. I've got my little doll I picked up while I was traveling, and I got the pins in it. I'm thinking about pulling them out this year, so the Packers may be back this year for two years.
SPEAKER_02The Packers are on the naughty list, right? Yeah, exactly. Nobody's delivering me wine. Oh, you fucked with the wrong guy. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00The Packers organization is great. I love it. I go back there every year. I was actually just back um supporting the Lombardi Foundation this last week, and the the Packers are a special organization. And I've I was you know, as much as I want to be a Packer my whole life, it was actually really, really great to go out and see and play in other organizations and learn how each one works. The Packers to a to a fault, they treat everybody like they're Bart Star, right? Like they treat every guy that comes back like they're a Hall of Famer, like they they treat you well, you know. So I imagine how they actually treat the Hall of Famer guys. I'm sure they probably treat them really good, but they always make us feel like when we come back, like we're like we're important, like we did something. And I think that's a special, special organization. And uh I wish nothing but success for them because you know, being the only program that doesn't have an owner, special fan base, you know, the the you know, it's just it is one of those spectacular things.
SPEAKER_01I've not been to Lambeau Field, but uh once you've got to go once. I mean, done enough research on it to know that it's it's a whole different spectacular, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, whole different experience. Gotta go back like early fall when the leaves are changing, you're starting to get that cold nip in the air. Like you don't want to go back when it's like temblow, don't do that. But go back in those early fall games, get yourself a beer, watch a game. And I I mean the stadium's in the middle of the community, you know, the houses are right across the street, they're all party houses now. It's it's turned into a little bit bigger than it was when I was there, but it's still it's still a special place. It's still the place where you know the the regular people run into the the Packers at gas stations and at local restaurants and and all that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_01And you know, and it's it's the only team that is owned by the fans.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00The only one. It's very that's it's such a cool concept. Unlike the Bears who are actually owned by the Packers.
SPEAKER_01Oh shots fired.
SPEAKER_00Or wait, are they the Indiana Bears now? Is that what it is? Is that what it's gonna be, the Indiana Bears? Like, is it gonna be like nostalgic to get like old Chicago gear? Like, are they gonna be like, oh man, I got vintage Chicago gear, but it's you know it's from 2025 and 26. Like two years from now, like that's vintage. Like, I remember when it was in Chicago, that was super cool.
SPEAKER_01That's like San Francisco 49ers, like it pisses me off. To get to the stadium, it's from San Francisco, it's no traffic. You're an hour. Yeah, I mean, it could be three hours, but it's like that's not San Francisco. It kind of ripped the core of like San Francisco, what San Francisco was uh out of out of that team. But I hear they may be coming back into the city and they've they've really done a good job. But yeah, you lose that sense of community. Yeah, obviously, Lambeau Fields, that's never going anywhere.
SPEAKER_00It's you know, it's tough. Obviously, I played, I did those things, and we were kind of talking about this before we even started. Like the way money changes the I mean, these are billionaire corporations, billion-dollar corporations, they're looking for tax relief, they're doing all these kind of things. They're rich people that are gonna stay rich, right? They're trying, but you know, you look at like what happened with St. Louis, you look at what happened with Oakland, you look at all these other cities and all along the way that have been these communities have had their teams tore out of them and stuff like that. And it's it's tough, it's hard. And I, you know, to to be a fan and accept those things and realize you have no control over it, and your only control you have is your eyes and your dollars. And I got a feeling eventually one of these days, somebody and the fans and everybody's gonna get tired of it. But again, uh I think viewership was up to a new record this year again as it was last year. So was it? Yeah. So I think it's just one of those things where it's like I keep saying that you know, maybe things will change, but eh, maybe maybe they'll never change. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. So you went you went from uh you went from Packers to Cardinals or the Dolphins and then the Dolphins.
SPEAKER_00Wrapped up with the Dolphins.
NFL Life and Learnings
SPEAKER_01Wrapped up with the Dolphins after how many seasons you said, nine? Nine.
SPEAKER_00Nine, right? Yeah, they offered me a tenth. Um, I was in Italy and I was out of shape and I knew I wanted to retire, and I I called my coach up and called him back and said, Hey, I appreciate the offer, but I didn't want to do it anymore. I got injured my ninth year, got another big concussion, got a back injury, and I was laying on my couch and I'm 310 pounds, and I couldn't pick up my four-year-old daughter or my two-year-old daughter. I was like, I was that messed up, and I was just like, dude, what am I doing? Right? Like, am I really doing this because I want the money, need the money, don't have any other options in my life? Or like was watching more of my friends break down. You know, you have less and less friends on every single team. You're starting to be an old guy. When you're nine, you're nine years in the league, like a bunch of your buddies have already bounced out of the league. You're hanging out with the young guys, you're trying to figure it out, but you're in a totally different place than they are. You're raising families, they're trying to start families, or they're trying not to start families, right? It's one of those things where it's like you don't know what, you know, it's just a different life. And I realized that I wanted something different for myself. Plus, the humidity was like 150%. I'm like, I'm too fat to be out, like running around this heat anymore. Um, so yeah, retired after nine years. The the car, you know, the the dolphins were kind enough to give me 10. At that time, I thought about really playing to 10. It was kind of this like weird outside goal I had. And then I just realized I wanted something else. I didn't want to uh use my face as a battering ram anymore. And uh maybe wanted to save my brain. Did you have a favorite of uh those three locations?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Or organization as as a whole?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think that I think the Packers organization is extremely hard to beat. They, you know, without an owner, they their ability to support those players and give them everything they want, the nicest, the nice, and the and the fans, it's a special, special place to play. I had no kids when I was there. So it was like a unique time for me and my wife to just grow up in the league and learn those things and and and be part of the NFL. And being a small town kid, a lot of my success, and the reason I made it nine years, I think, is because I went to Green Bay. Like when I went to Arizona and saw what a real NFL team in a big city looked like and how that life changed, like I can understand why a lot of these kids get in trouble, why they don't have success or why they blow all their money. It's like, you know, when you're in Green Bay and the third nicest place in town is the Olive Garden, you're like, not you're not gonna go through your paycheck. You're like, you're making pretty good choices. There's not a Ferrari dealership in the state. You're like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. You know, I bought a new Ford. Um so there were some things about that lifestyle that really fit me and really fit me in that place. In Arizona, man, I played with some awesome dudes and another really, really good organization. Um, and had a great time there and got my first big contract there and was making good money and really got a chance to take care of my family and me and my kids. And I enjoyed that time and and and having the two kids there and and and and raising a family and doing that was different. And then Miami was just fun. Like my coach called me up and said he needed a veteran to come and be the vet in the room. And we knew we were only gonna be there one to two years. I knew I was gonna retire after 10 years no matter what. Like we had already kind of put that goal in our mind. Um, so we rented a little furnished place right on the beach so our kids could be by the sand every day while I was at work because it was gonna be, you know, we were gonna be there for you know maybe one half season. So we kept our house in Arizona knowing we'd go back there, and we really just got to live this like, hey, we're on the beach lifestyle. Um, the problem with those two places, Arizona and Miami, um, is the fan base. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean it as in you have so many other professional sports and so many other cool things going on in the city. If you're not giving the fan base what they deserve, which is wins, for them to support you, your fan base isn't gonna be there, right? Like the Steelers come into town and you're the Dolphins. It's not a fickle fan base as much as it's like there's just a lot going on, right? It's like when you got when you've got 10 options on the table and the buffet is like, hey man, you want to go watch the NHL team, the NBA team, you want to watch the NFL team, you want to go watch a soccer team, you want to go watch a show. Like people are drawn to all these different things. And in the real world, in the real economy, not everybody's a seasoned ticket holder, right? You're you're kind of picking and choosing which things you get to go to. Now, if the Miami Dolphins or the Cardinals are making a long run and they're a playoff bound team, man, those fans come out in force, right? But if you start putting up five, six, seven losses in a row, they're like, well, I'm not gonna spend my hard-earned money on you. I'd rather go watch the coyotes, or I'd rather go watch the, I'd rather go watch the Heat play or something, right? And I I totally get that, right? We're in we're an entertainment-based business. That's that's exactly what we are. And if we're not giving the fans what they deserve, this shit's not getting any cheaper. Yeah, like you're asking people three, four, five hundred dollars to come out and have a couple beers and bring their kids to a game. I mean, that's totally unrealistic, right? And if you're not gonna give them a win, then you know? Wow. Yeah. And then, you know, you could be stuck in somewhere like Cleveland where they're just yelling at you the whole time, but they got nothing else to do. They're like, hey, well, it's it's it's watch you suck or watch those guys suck. So it's like they're gonna just chew into you all the time. Oh, you're gonna throw Chicago in there. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I was I was wondering if you had any like crazy fan interactions.
SPEAKER_00Dude, you know, it's I make fun of Cleveland
Love for the Wild Fans!
SPEAKER_00only because like it's an easy target, obviously, because they're championship drought. But those fan bases, you look at places like that, you look at places like Philly and places like Cleveland and Kansas, like there's some places that have just some really, really special fan bases that they support those teams dead in. So I make fun of them because I didn't play for them. But God, what a what a place to play. Like those guys, they are diehards. They love their fan base. Man, I've gotten, I've gotten egged in, I've gotten egged in uh Philadelphia. I've gotten yelled at from um Like during a game. Like Oh, well, oh yeah, we got as you're coming. We used to get our buses egged on the way into Philly. We used to have people yelling stuff at us all the time on the Philly Philly, like Cleveland have had people like this, the uh Pittsburgh, like, oh man, fans will come after you. They don't care. Oakland, uh, you know, I'm pretty sure somebody got stabbed once while I was in Oakland. Two of the times I played two of the times I played in Oakland, somebody got stabbed and somebody got shot in the parking lot. Like both times I played in Oakland.
SPEAKER_02Imagine an everyday thing. That checks out.
SPEAKER_00That checks out. But I want to know how many people have been stabbed in Vegas since they started playing there, right? Like, what's the just the statistical average of people getting stabbed after a Raiders game since they've moved? Like, is the average dropping, is the crime rate dropping for that team?
SPEAKER_01That's a that's a good question. I would imagine I would imagine it has the Bay Area historically has a lot of uh a lot of issues uh with with that California in general.
SPEAKER_00But there is some I mean, there is some awesome fan bases. You know, people are always like, oh yeah, you know, Paula, what's your favorite place to play? And I tell them like anywhere where the fan base is good, like I love being on the road in a hostile work environment. I've it because what it does is it draws the doors down and it just forces the team to be in that team and to go in those places and play and try to have success. It's just a different, it's a different thing. It very much brings teams in a you versus the world situation. Yeah. And when those fans lean into you, it's it's hard. I mean, like I've gotten cussed at, uh you know, yelled at people are spitting and throwing stuff at you, like even in person. Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, well, they're up on the wall and you're doing it. I was gonna say you're a big dude, they're doing it. Yeah, and they're they're also 30,000. So yeah, yeah. I promise you, I'm not fighting any fans from Philly, right? Because four brothers are gonna come over the wall, like four guys who live in the exact same house that like still live with their mom and dad because they're supporting them, and you know, they're all steelworkers, like they're coming over the wall. Like they I yeah, every one of them, you're gonna get every bit of that fan base. So you just smile and you wave, and you hope you you play well enough to show them some respect and be like, hey man, I respect what you guys do, and and these fan bases, because some are really tough. And then you go to some places and nobody's ever there. Yeah. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01I I think that's that's a really uh cool point you made, though, about going into like the Lions Den, right? And and you're you got a your team rallies together, and then you've got all of this kind of animosity in the stands, the passionate fan base that's totally against you. Yeah. Um, and I think that's I mean, we kind of see that in wine as well. Like our our competitor is the small year to a large degree. Yeah. But but uh but you know, I I like being in that in that. I feel like I get more motivated when I've got somebody who's either talking trash or trying to poke holes, whatever it is, and you can sit face to face or team to team and just drill into whatever in in your case, you know, put points on the board and block them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, life's really easy when everybody's patting you on the ass. Like everybody's telling you you're doing a great job and you're awesome, you're the best things to slightly. That's a really easy life to go through. Yeah, it's a lot more of a challenge to go out there and put yourself in a situation where everybody's rooting against you and everybody wants to see you fail.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And that's uh that's a tough thing. But but I'll take that and I'll take passionate people over people that don't care, right? Like give me, give me passionate people, even if they hate me, right? Especially in that game, like giving those passionate people, because that's what motivates me. Like shutting a crowd up, that's something. Like going on a drive, going on a drive and punching one in for six and like telling the fan base to shut the hell up. That's like there's not much like that. Like I loved playing in Seattle because they are like they are the most diehard fans uh in the last 10 years because nobody was there when they sucked. But all of a sudden they win a championship and they've come out of the woodwork. So Seattle, like that's awesome to see all you Seattle fans because they're brand new. They brought a ton of money in the NFL uh because they were never fans before this. Because I I used to watch Seattle, and when they were in the silvers, nobody cared. Uh, but now you know they got Russell and you know, they win a little championship. They're like everybody's a dire at Seattle fan. So that place used to be like an 11 every time we'd go into it. Man, the the the 11th man would or the 12th man would be going, you'd be down on like the 12th man end zone side, and you're like, I mean, your eyes are vibrating, it's so loud. Okay. And um, and you'd punch one in, that place would go quiet, and you're like, Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That's awesome. But also lost.
1st and 2nd Welcome to the NFL (Eagles Territory)...
SPEAKER_00There once like 62 to 7. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh shit. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well we got we got Chad in the sound room over here. He's a big uh he's a big Seahawks fan. Yeah. Yeah. Right, Chad? Oh no, that's the other bird that nobody cares about, the Eagles. Sorry.
SPEAKER_03Oh so I got my first welcome the NFL moment in uh Philadelphia.
SPEAKER_00Uh got two of them actually in the same game. Um I so in the old days, we also used to run out just like the the offense or the the home team did. We used to run out like if they chose offense, we got defense and it would rotate, right? And they would announce your starting lineup. And in 2006, uh we all used to still run out individually. So they'd be announcing us to start the game. And I'm in the tunnel, right? And the wide receiver goes out, left tackle goes out, and you and the guy's sitting there going, all right, you're next, you know, you're next. He's showing you. You can't hear anything. You're in the tunnel, crowds going crazy. And uh I run out and he's like, All right, you're good, go. He sends me out now here. And starting left guard, Darren Cullage, and the whole stadium goes, sucks. Like at one time. And I like I almost buckled. My knees almost buckled. Like I was like, they they know. They they know I'm not very good. Like, I'm like, I'm like in my fourth game, third game ever in the NFL. I'm like, they I do suck. Like, and I'm like, so that's like that's rattled me. So after that game, the rules at Green Bay, we never ever ran out solo ever again. That game changed, like the the the Philadelphia Eagles changed football for the Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers have never ran out of the tunnel solo at a road game ever again.
SPEAKER_01They were hitting every single player, every single player, and and we couldn't hear it.
SPEAKER_00We didn't know in the tunnel. Now, maybe some of the vets knew and nobody told me, like they wanted to see me buckle, like, but I was like, Yeah, it sucks. Oh and we're like, I think it was a Sunday night game. It was like my first primetime game, too. And uh yeah. So then I was like, well, that was welcome, the NFL. Like, okay, yeah, like they know you suck and they're gonna watch you do it. And uh, so then I'm I'm I'm playing, and uh I get like my first chance to really like go up against like some some all pros, pro um, uh pro style, like you know, just some guys, like just some dudes. And I'm running around the uh I'm running around the pile and I kick a hit so hard in my face from the linebacker who I didn't see until he was like already below me. My helmet ripped off my head, and I ran down the field for like another 10 yards, like just trying to feel space and try to and try to come back. And I was just like, this is like I I shouldn't be here. Like, this is a terrible place to be. And that was my first and second welcome the NFL moment. Uh the third came like two weeks later, um, when I gave up my first multi-sack game, and I was like, okay, these dudes are built different, right? Hadn't given them a sack in like three and a half years, you know, in college football. I hadn't given one up since I was a freshman, and I was out here playing against guys, and I'm like, okay, like it's like this is gonna be different. These dudes are all all really, really, really good.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, what you what you said earlier, was it the like one to two percent difference? Oh, right. I mean, every everybody's top of it on the third.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it might have been seven percent at that time. Yeah. A long way to go.
SPEAKER_02Is the is the is the shit talking on the line real? Like, is there is there a lot of that going on?
SPEAKER_00There is quite a bit of it. Um, there's quite a bit of it at certain times in the game. It's not traditionally the fat guys up front, right? Like, we're spending most of our day trying to like breathe up all the oxygen in the stadium. Like, you don't got time to like you're in such a fight with a bunch of people who are overweight and really, really strong that you don't have time to talk. And I don't and I definitely was not a talker. Like, I didn't say anything to anybody because like you just didn't know, right? Like, and the guys who were really good never had to say anything. But if a dude caught you, like you'd hear about it, right? Like, they when I got my helmet knocked off, like somebody walked it back to me and had a couple words to say to me about it. And like, I'm like, okay, like, hey, I get it. I guess it was to KO Spikes hit me in the face, you know, whoever it was. It was, I think it's spikes. I can't even remember this day he hit me so damn hard. Um, and I think he had a few words to chirp at me. But the the problem is in the in the NFL is like you're gonna catch somebody sleeping, like somebody's not gonna be paying attention. There's 11 dudes out there, right? And like you're like, okay, I'll wait. But third or fourth core is gonna come around, you're gonna be sitting next to a pile, and I'm gonna find you, right? Now, they've protected these guys a little bit more now, and you know, we we're not peeling back anymore, we're not taking pile shots, you know, they're they're protecting quarterbacks more than they ever have. So the game's getting a little, little bit different, but there's still those words. But the funniest thing about the NFL is like you play long enough, you play with so many guys, you know, like the rivalries that fans have, some players never have, right? You may be best friends with somebody from the other team that you're like, or you've they've played with you, or you're like, oh my god, like I would never be a bear. And they're like, Well, the bears just sent me a $30 million contract. Hey, can't wait to be a bear. Uh, super excited, bear down. I'm in. Um, and then you end up on a different team or a different coaching staff. And and and then you see it's so funny, like it's just this, it's this blood-on-blood fight all the time, and you're tooth and nail, and it's elbows and it's knees to the groin, it's fighting for every single yard, and it's all this dirty stuff you'd see. And then at the end of the game, it's like, hey man, how's the family? Everybody good? Cool. Hey, we'll see you in a couple more weeks because we'll be you'll be coming our place, or we're going to yours if it's a you know, if it's a divisional game or whatever it is. And you're just like, okay, cool. And I was like, you know, I everybody in college, I hated everybody in college. I was like, I've talked to a single person on the other team. I could all burn, die. I don't care. I wouldn't pee on and put out a fire. And then in the NFL, like we got done the game, they're like, hey man, it's great to see you and dab it up. We'll see you. We'll see in that three more weeks.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, you definitely see that on TV too, which is which is good to see. I think that's good for people to watch. It's like, oh yeah, they you know beat the hell out of each other on screen or on the field all day long, and now they're shaking hands. Yeah. And now everybody's all mic'd up, which I love.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, that's the that's the funny thing. Like, I'm always like, now that they're mic'd up, like the stuff that you hear, like that's the that's even the funnier stuff. It isn't even all the shit talking man, it's the stuff people say to each other. Like half the time you're just making fun of people or you're talking, or you're like, I I used to talk to the refs all the time. Like, I'd be in their ear chirping all the time. Like, I'm like, hey man, 77 over there's just cheating, dude. Like, he will not stop grabbing me, or you know, you're just trying to stay in the street. I'm like, ref, don't let him talk to you like that. You're just talking to him. And then when we had the year of the lockout refs,
The Year of the Lock-out Refs was lit mayhem!
SPEAKER_00and we got the like, we got the the the um scab refs or whatever you want to call them that came up from college that were kids in the pro game. That was the best year ever. I was a card getting away with everything. Oh, I was it was you could talk them in anything because they didn't know they they had just gotten there like two weeks before. Like they didn't have all the rules. I'm like, that's 15 yards. What are you talking? That's not 10. This is in college. All right, 15. No, I can't do that. We were we were spearing piles. There was late hits, dudes are pulling people down. They I mean it took them weeks to figure out what the hell was even going on.
SPEAKER_01Gaslighting the fuck out of the revs.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, you can't do that. You can do that. Like, I'm like, oh my god, that's only five yards. What are you talking about? They were trying to figure it out as they can start huddling up. Like TV timeouts and the ref timeouts were taken forever. Games were slow, but it was hilarious. We were out there just dying. We're like, okay, like they're just trying to figure it out, but we didn't make it easy on them. Hell no. Oh, that's great.
SPEAKER_01It's hilarious. So, yeah, before we move on from football, we gotta we gotta just hear the story about you know the feeling of winning a Super Bowl and the the kind of the journey at the end of the season, getting through all that, everybody coming together, just you I mean, I'm sure you've told it a million times, but no, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, it's it was it was really surreal. I mean, it was awesome. We we did not. Is this really the end? Unbelievable. Find out next week.