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Speaker 1: Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for

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Speaker 1: the players, by the players. Here is your host, fourteen

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Speaker 1: year NFL veteran and Hall of Famer Anius Williams. In

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Speaker 1: two thousand and eighteen, I hosted a round table at

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Speaker 1: the NFL Draft to discuss the journey of an NFL player.

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Speaker 1: The podcast featured receiver turned broadcast to Nate Burl liston

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Speaker 1: All Time Bills legend Fred Jackson, and Hall of Fame

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Speaker 1: linebacker Mike Singletary. Let's listen in. One of the things

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Speaker 1: people don't realize about the NFL is at a very

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Speaker 1: young age, you suddenly become prominent in your communities. I

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Speaker 1: want to ask you, guys, starting with you made how

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Speaker 1: did you get involved in the community. What was that like?

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Speaker 1: That responsibility? It goes back to what I was saying

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Speaker 1: in the beginning of out that relationship, that woman, the

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Speaker 1: game of football that you fall in love with. You know,

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Speaker 1: just think about any spouse that you guys may have

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Speaker 1: had in your life, is in past or in your

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Speaker 1: life right now. For example, my wife, if I only

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Speaker 1: liked a couple of things about her, it might be

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Speaker 1: easy to be detached or disconnected or even walk away

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Speaker 1: when times get tough. But if you're detailed about it,

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Speaker 1: if you know the color of our eyes, you know

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Speaker 1: the way our eyelashes blink in the sun, the length

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Speaker 1: of her hair, her skin tone, her complexion, the sound

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Speaker 1: of her voice, but more importantly, what she's like when

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Speaker 1: she cries, so you never want to see those tears again.

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Speaker 1: If you know all these small details about the person

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Speaker 1: you're in love with, you're gonna appreciate them more. You're

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Speaker 1: gonna invest more, and you're gonna be willing to put

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Speaker 1: yourself out there more. Now, let's get back to football.

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Speaker 1: It's the same thing. If you go to a city

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Speaker 1: and we know guys like this, We play with guys

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Speaker 1: like this there to collect a check. They don't want

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Speaker 1: to go dive into that city. They don't want to

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Speaker 1: invest themselves in that city, and if there's something going

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Speaker 1: on within that city, it doesn't impact them. But if

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Speaker 1: you play in a certain city and you're willing to

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Speaker 1: invest your heart, your mind, your time, your energy, and

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Speaker 1: you can appreciate all the small details. I played in

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Speaker 1: Detroit at then in my career, when literally a guy

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Speaker 1: in the locker room said, I mean, I thought it

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Speaker 1: was a rumor that you've signed here because this is

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Speaker 1: like the graveyard for guy's careers. And I'm thinking, this

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Speaker 1: is the representation of the team. You suit up on Sundays,

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Speaker 1: they pay you, and that's your ringing endorsement for me

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Speaker 1: as a free agent. The first time you see me

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Speaker 1: in this locker room, and that guy didn't last you

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Speaker 1: got cut, and that guy wasn't in the city either.

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Speaker 1: But me, I started to learn all these things about Detroit,

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Speaker 1: all the surrounding areas, the pretty parts, the Burmah Hands

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Speaker 1: and bloomfields, and then I learned about the hood, downtown

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Speaker 1: Detroit eight mile. Um. I knew what the city looked like,

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Speaker 1: I knew what the city felt like. So what can

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Speaker 1: you do do You remain detached as a player, saying

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Speaker 1: I'm good, I got my fancy car, my house in

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Speaker 1: the hills, like that doesn't bother me. But if you're invested,

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Speaker 1: it does. Though. There's no way you can sit back,

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Speaker 1: collect the check and look at people supporting you and

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Speaker 1: not feel like you need to do something. Not that

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Speaker 1: you have to because it's Tuesday and the pr person

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Speaker 1: saying skill for your image, man, go to that school

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Speaker 1: and go read a book. Not because you might not

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Speaker 1: have time, and you say, you know what, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: make time. Because this means more to the city than

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Speaker 1: it means to me. I'll share a quick story that

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Speaker 1: puts us all in perspective. I'm in Detroit. It's a

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Speaker 1: group of us like me, Calvin Johnson at Stafford and

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Speaker 1: we're going to a Drake concert and we're at the

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Speaker 1: Italian restaurant next door and we're sitting back or eating,

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Speaker 1: we're having drinks. It's a great time. Season is going decent.

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Speaker 1: This guy comes up to the table when he says, Hey, listen,

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Speaker 1: I just wanna tell you guys, um, I appreciate you.

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Speaker 1: I mean truly you guys. You guys come with it

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Speaker 1: every single game. It's a lot different. I mean, there's

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Speaker 1: been some bad years where we literally can look on

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Speaker 1: the field and see guys giving up in the middle

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Speaker 1: of the game. You guys don't like that. It's not

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Speaker 1: it's not necessarily about the results, but just about the effort.

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Speaker 1: And I just want to say, like, I spent every

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Speaker 1: dollar every last time to get those seats. Now they're

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Speaker 1: not the best seats, but I support you guys, and

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Speaker 1: it's your effort. The winds come cool. They don't. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna beat there anyway, And so we're looking at Hil like, man,

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Speaker 1: thank you, so I appreciate it. He walks off and

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Speaker 1: goes downstairs, and we're all looking around. We're like, okay,

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Speaker 1: we heard that before. Man, it feels good though. It

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Speaker 1: feel good that they see us different than teams in

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Speaker 1: the past. And the waitress comes over and we said,

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Speaker 1: excuse me, ma'am. What was the chef's name, the guy

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Speaker 1: that came over when I just talked to. She was

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Speaker 1: like the chef. Remember chef. I'm like, yeah, the older

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Speaker 1: black dude I had a god came over. He was

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Speaker 1: talked to a second ago. She's like, oh, that's not

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Speaker 1: it's like a chef. Uh. He cleans up the kitchen

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Speaker 1: and I'm like oh. She walks away, and for the

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Speaker 1: first time there's jovial night that we're all having fun

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Speaker 1: and cheering silence at the table. So I take off

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Speaker 1: my hat and I was just like, look, y'all have

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Speaker 1: to do anything. I'm just speaking for myself mother to

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Speaker 1: put some has had and I'm gonna send it downstairs.

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Speaker 1: It's not about giving the money. By after like replaying

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Speaker 1: that conversation. In my head, the one thing that stands

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Speaker 1: out is he said, I spent every last time to

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Speaker 1: watch y'all play, and I will never forget that because

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Speaker 1: that next game. I remember talking to my guys and

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Speaker 1: I would always do the pre game. I was a wild,

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Speaker 1: wild guy, and I get these guys going to always

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Speaker 1: speak from the heart. And I said something that I

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Speaker 1: never said before, but it applies to everything you do.

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Speaker 1: And I said, listen, man, we're in Detroit. Got sixty

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Speaker 1: minutes to play some football. For the next sixty minutes,

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Speaker 1: we could determine the happiness for the next seven days

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Speaker 1: of this city. And there's people that are sitting up

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Speaker 1: in these stands that are making pennies and spending those

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Speaker 1: pennies to watch millionaires play football. And guys put money in.

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Speaker 1: We sent it downstairs and it was that moment. It

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Speaker 1: was heavy for us, but it was good for us. Thinking, Nate, Fred,

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Speaker 1: what who motivated you to get involved? Hard to follow

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Speaker 1: my man, Nate with that great story right there. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I want to put something that had now so so,

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Speaker 1: but I mean it was the same way in Buffalo,

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Speaker 1: you know, Buffalo. In Detroit, I said, we're sister we're

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Speaker 1: sister cities, you know, hard working everybody in Buffalo. We

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Speaker 1: could be six and nine and it's forty degrees outside

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Speaker 1: with three ft of snow on the ground. We still

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Speaker 1: got a pack stadium. And I said to myself, I

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Speaker 1: was like, look, man, if these people are gonna come

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Speaker 1: support me like this, the easiest thing I could do

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Speaker 1: is go out into a community and let them know

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Speaker 1: how much I appreciate them for that. I was a

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Speaker 1: big believer in Aaron Williams wrote a great piece on

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Speaker 1: the Players Tribune about me taking him under my wing,

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Speaker 1: and one of the things I told him was, man,

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Speaker 1: learned what community you're playing for, because it fuels you

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Speaker 1: as a player when you're not playing for yourself. When

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Speaker 1: you're out on a football field and you're playing for

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Speaker 1: a community, your game goes from this to the next

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Speaker 1: level like that. One of the things I always wanted

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Speaker 1: Buffalo to no was I was gonna be out there

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Speaker 1: working hard for them, because I know they worked hard

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Speaker 1: during the week to be able to get those tickets

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Speaker 1: to come watch me on Sunday. And anytime you think

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Speaker 1: about that, it makes it easy for you to get

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Speaker 1: into a community and go out and thank those people.

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Speaker 1: And when they come up to you and tell you

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Speaker 1: they appreciate everything you do, you say, no, man, I

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Speaker 1: appreciate you sending those stands when it's three ft of

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Speaker 1: snow out and I'm sitting on the sideline under a

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Speaker 1: coating on a heated bench, you know, every nowaday and

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Speaker 1: I gotta go out and y'all sitting in it the

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Speaker 1: whole time. So, Mike, how did your role as a

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Speaker 1: pro football player lend itself to becoming a civic leader?

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Speaker 1: And for me, the most important leader that I could be.

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Speaker 1: And then the most difficult was to establish my leadership home.

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Speaker 1: And once I could become a leader at home that

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Speaker 1: I knew that I could be authentic, I could be

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Speaker 1: an authentic leader, and from there I could go out

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Speaker 1: into the community and and do it right. I would

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Speaker 1: have to say that it was hardest for me to

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Speaker 1: become a leader at home. And I'll explain by saying this.

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Speaker 1: I I remember maybe it was our third year being married,

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Speaker 1: and I came home and I saw the house and

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Speaker 1: I just kind of noticed the house. I'm like, man,

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Speaker 1: you know, the kids are running around and and uh,

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Speaker 1: it looked like the bomber going off in the house

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Speaker 1: and dinner was burned again, and I'm like, what did

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Speaker 1: she do all day? And so, man, I'm about there

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Speaker 1: getting broken bones and stuff like that, clean up the house.

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Speaker 1: So I came up with a plan. So this's this

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Speaker 1: plan that I came up with was I wanted her

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Speaker 1: to go away for a weekend and letting me have

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Speaker 1: the kids. And she thought I was being nice, but

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Speaker 1: I'm really trying to show us something. So when she left,

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Speaker 1: first of all, she said, are you sure about that? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'm sure I can handle this. You mean to tell

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Speaker 1: me I can go out there and play football and

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Speaker 1: I can't handle these kids. Go So the minute my

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Speaker 1: wife left, the kids just went all over the house.

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Speaker 1: They were all over the house, and I'm like, what's

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Speaker 1: going on? And I'm hearing north upstairs. They're fighting upstairs,

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Speaker 1: they're fighting downstairs, they're writing stuff on the wall, They're

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Speaker 1: turning the fire on and the toilet me and flush, Hey,

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Speaker 1: what's going on in there? After maybe three or four hours,

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Speaker 1: I was in my basement hiding and they were calling me.

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Speaker 1: They were trying to find me. So I'm thinking, this

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Speaker 1: is what my wife does. So when she came home,

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Speaker 1: I met her at the door. Where have you been

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Speaker 1: leaving me here with these kids? What are you thinking?

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Speaker 1: But that was the day. That was the day that

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Speaker 1: my whole thought process changed about what I was doing

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Speaker 1: and what she was doing, and how huge a job

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Speaker 1: that she had, and how I need to pick up

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Speaker 1: my game to help her do that job. And then

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Speaker 1: I could I could really go out, and I could

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Speaker 1: do all kinds of other stuff outside at home, but

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Speaker 1: I had to conquer that one first. When it comes

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Speaker 1: down to being involved in the community. You saw a

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Speaker 1: piece as uh St. Louis is one of the most

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Speaker 1: philing tropic places I've ever lived in my life. And

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Speaker 1: one of the things that uh and Nate touched on

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Speaker 1: this earlier and to remind even the current and players,

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Speaker 1: is the responsibility to how we prepare to play the

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Speaker 1: game is also a part of being involved in the community.

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Speaker 1: So I always want to first with that responsibility. A

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Speaker 1: lot of times you could go outside of yourself helping

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Speaker 1: in the community, but it first starts. And I also

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Speaker 1: like to remind any current players that that will listen

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Speaker 1: to this is I'm fifty years old and one of

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Speaker 1: the unique things now that you're away from the game

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Speaker 1: is when you put the effort in to honor the

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Speaker 1: game and honor the people that were paying the money

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Speaker 1: to see these games. They remind you now that you're

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Speaker 1: a long going from the game and the people come

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Speaker 1: up to you and all of a sudden, now the

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Speaker 1: fifty year old has his son or someone come, come, Come?

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Speaker 1: Are people name their children after you? That's the first

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Speaker 1: part to understand the responsibility of it, because when you're

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Speaker 1: young and the cameras are on you, you have to

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Speaker 1: remind it. And because it's a young league and not

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Speaker 1: as many veterans in the locker room, we remind the

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Speaker 1: current younger players that this game, it takes so many people,

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Speaker 1: including including the fans, for this great game. The other

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Speaker 1: part is I learned to my family there there was

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Speaker 1: it was no you couldn't get out of the commitment

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Speaker 1: as a family that we were going to go collectively

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Speaker 1: to serve in the community and partner with other organizations.

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Speaker 1: You know, so many times guys try to do things

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Speaker 1: on their own and start stuff on their own. I've

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Speaker 1: just learned to connect with the partnerships and the organizations

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Speaker 1: that are already serving in the community, and that's helped

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Speaker 1: out tremendously. And so as we segue from community, one

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Speaker 1: of the things that's had an impact on probably your

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Speaker 1: life and certainly all of our lives, and that's mentorship.

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Speaker 1: And that is what I called mentors. Credible successful others

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Speaker 1: who have on well, what you're attempting to do. I

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Speaker 1: want to talk about two very different kind of mentors.

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Speaker 1: Those who helped you on the field and those who

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Speaker 1: helped you outside of the game of football become a

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Speaker 1: better man. Nate go back to my rookie season, spoke

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Speaker 1: about it briefly with Randy Moss. Randy was like the

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Speaker 1: legend when he walked around, so when he spoke, it

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Speaker 1: was the best player on the field speaking. But one

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Speaker 1: of the guys that will always be at the top

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Speaker 1: of my mind when it comes to mentors is the

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Speaker 1: wide receiver by name and Marcus Robinson who came over

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Speaker 1: from Chicago and played with US in Minnesota, and at

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Speaker 1: the time he came basically to be the robbin to

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Speaker 1: Randy Moss is Batman and I was young and competing

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Speaker 1: for that same spot, and it was awkward because this

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Speaker 1: was the first time in my life where it was

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Speaker 1: obvious they brought him there. They paid him. I'm a

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Speaker 1: young guy still on a rookie deal, and the coaches

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Speaker 1: are saying, if you want that position, go take it.

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Speaker 1: But this guy was befriend to me. So I didn't

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Speaker 1: really know how to embrace that. Because there's some guys

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Speaker 1: that will befriend you and the lead you astray just

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Speaker 1: for selfish reasons, and there's other guys that are very

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Speaker 1: authentic about it, and he was one of those guys.

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Speaker 1: I remember I took the starting job from him. It's

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Speaker 1: like the middle of the season. I was thinking it

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Speaker 1: was going to be awkward, but our relationship got stronger

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Speaker 1: and we're out to eat one night. He used um

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Speaker 1: an analogy that I'll always remember, and he said, you know,

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Speaker 1: there's enough food on the table for everybody to eat.

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Speaker 1: And I thought that was like a powerful statement for

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Speaker 1: the simple fact that once a young guy takes your spot,

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Speaker 1: it's almost at the beginning of the end, because you

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Speaker 1: know that these dudes are younger, faster, and they're cheaper.

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Speaker 1: And I took that with me. Fast forward two different

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Speaker 1: teams from Seattle to Detroit. They brought in two guys,

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Speaker 1: tydis young Ryan Broyle's and they're drafted second round and

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Speaker 1: they're there to replace me, And people are like, what

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Speaker 1: are you gonna do with these young guys? Are you

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Speaker 1: know you're gonna be a mentor to them? Are you

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Speaker 1: just gonna focus on getting your money and making plays?

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Speaker 1: I was like, I'm gonna give them every tool that

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Speaker 1: they need, and so much so. Ryan Boyle's uh, the

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Speaker 1: wide receiver. We're sitting in the locker one day and

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Speaker 1: he's sitting they can I ask you something like I

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Speaker 1: don't take this wrong way, but I just don't get like, like,

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Speaker 1: why you're helping me? I feel like I feel like

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Speaker 1: you're feel like you're leading me to a cliff. And

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Speaker 1: I was like, why would you Why would you feel

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Speaker 1: that way? He's like, because everything that you know about

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Speaker 1: the game, you're telling me and you're helping me. And

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Speaker 1: you've said with your own mouth, if I do my job,

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Speaker 1: you shouldn't be here. And I was like, you're right.

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Speaker 1: If you do your job, you're cheaper, you're younger. They

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Speaker 1: should release me and you should be the next guy

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Speaker 1: out for the contract. He's like, yeah, but why would

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Speaker 1: you do that? I was like, because one, like we're

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Speaker 1: saying football all the time, you gotta pay it for

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Speaker 1: it somebody, an O G older guy shows you love

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Speaker 1: and gives you that to the literal, then you give

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Speaker 1: that back to young guys. But more importantly, which is

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Speaker 1: quite self serving, which is what I try to tell

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Speaker 1: these young guys. Now, if you give the guy who's

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Speaker 1: supposed to take your spot every tool they need, you're

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Speaker 1: honest with them, You're authentic with them, you truly want

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Speaker 1: to see success in them. And it comes to that

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Speaker 1: moment where the coaches say the competition is there and

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Speaker 1: they got to choose the starter, and they say, Nate,

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Speaker 1: you're the starter. In my head, I'm thinking, I still

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Speaker 1: got it, you know what I'm saying. So that was

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Speaker 1: like my way of the approaching the game. Honestly, cream

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Speaker 1: rises to the top and most organizations the best football

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Speaker 1: player is going to be on the field. I did

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Speaker 1: that for eleven years, and then there was a moment

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Speaker 1: where I couldn't be out the young guy and I

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Speaker 1: didn't want to hang on. I didn't want to be

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Speaker 1: that dude stealing money occasionally coming in the game. I

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Speaker 1: literally just walked away and was like and I got

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Speaker 1: a couple of offers to keep playing. But there's a

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Speaker 1: new generation of young players that need this opportunity, that

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Speaker 1: need this money, and it's time for me to move.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Late Fred described the mentor as you had

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Speaker 1: oh man two. Two mentors that stick out to me

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Speaker 1: is is along the lines of what they were saying

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Speaker 1: was Anthony Thomas. He was a train, went to Michigan,

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Speaker 1: came in and the same thing. He said, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna teach you everything I know. And one of

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Speaker 1: the biggest things he taught me was blitz pick up,

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Speaker 1: you know, and he said, look, one of the things

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Speaker 1: I see for you, if you learn how to read

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Speaker 1: blitzes and and pick up blitzes, you can stick around

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Speaker 1: for a long time because I can see you being

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Speaker 1: a great third down guy. You know. He taught me

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Speaker 1: everything that he knew about it, and he was like,

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Speaker 1: eventually you're gonna beat me out. And he was like,

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Speaker 1: and it shouldn't take you long to do it, because,

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Speaker 1: like Nate said, he's like, you're way cheaper. You can

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Speaker 1: do everything I can, and they want to get cheaper

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Speaker 1: and put the younger guy out there. But my my

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Speaker 1: running back coach in Buffalo was one who I remember

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Speaker 1: when I first got there and we had Willis mcgaye

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Speaker 1: he a train, we had Lionel Gates, Shot Williams, all

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Speaker 1: these guys that could that were still great. I got

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Speaker 1: in there and my running back coach at the time

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Speaker 1: was just utterly, in discreetly honest with me. He was like, look,

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Speaker 1: you better do everything they ask you to. He was like,

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Speaker 1: the more you can do, the better chance you have

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Speaker 1: a sticking around on this field. I had never covered kicks,

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Speaker 1: i had never been on a punt team. I've never

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Speaker 1: done this, and he was like, well, you're gonna do

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Speaker 1: it now. He's like, and I'm gonna make sure you

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Speaker 1: do it, because if you want to be on this team,

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Speaker 1: that's the stuff you're gonna have to do. In the NFL,

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Speaker 1: special teams are a big deal, and so you can't

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Speaker 1: just be on special teams just going through the motions.

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Speaker 1: You have to be good at it. And he was like,

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Speaker 1: So he took me after practice and he worked on

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Speaker 1: special team skills with me, not even just running back skills.

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Speaker 1: We got our running back drills in, but at the

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Speaker 1: end of practice he was working on special team stuff

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Speaker 1: with me. And when you got a coach that puts

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Speaker 1: that much time unto you, you know it. Let me

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Speaker 1: know that I was in a great place and had

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Speaker 1: a great coach, and that's Eric Studisville, you know, is

359
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Speaker 1: my favorite coach of all time. Coach Mike, how did

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Speaker 1: your into his? Fuel your career? Jimmy's born Um really

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Speaker 1: taught me how to be the kind of leader that

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Speaker 1: I wanted to be I growing up in high school,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I needed to be a tough, tough leader,

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Speaker 1: and in your face kind of guy. You know, if

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Speaker 1: I said something, that's where I wanted it, Let's go

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Speaker 1: right now. When I got to college, it was kind

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Speaker 1: of the same way, but I grew up a little

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Speaker 1: bit more by time I got to the NFL. Buddy

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Speaker 1: Ryan my rookie year, I remember I came to camp late,

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Speaker 1: first of all, because I was upset that I was

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Speaker 1: I was not a first round pick. I was a

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Speaker 1: second round pick. So I had a chip on my

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Speaker 1: shoulder coming in the wrong way. So I came in late.

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Speaker 1: I stepped in the huddle. They had just cut the

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Speaker 1: guy we talked about mentor, they had just cut the

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Speaker 1: guy that had been there and was Buddy ryan favorite

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Speaker 1: guys middle linebacker. They just cut him when they drafted me.

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Speaker 1: So Buddy didn't like me to begin with. So I

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Speaker 1: stepped into the huddle. I'm a week late. Buddy's telling

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Speaker 1: me what the play is. I get it, and Alan

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Speaker 1: Page and Dan Hampton to Buddy, Ryan's favorite guys are

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Speaker 1: talking and in my huddle. I've always learned from middle

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Speaker 1: school you're the mic linebacker. When you step in that huddle,

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Speaker 1: everything goes silent. So I'm thinking, Okay, Dick Buckers did Okay,

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Speaker 1: he ought to know. Okay, they all understand this. So

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Speaker 1: I'm like, hey, get an addle. Buddy. Ryan says, what

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Speaker 1: did you say? I said, I told them to get

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Speaker 1: in the huddle and shut up. Buddy pointed toward Alan Page,

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Speaker 1: who basically, uh, for sure, Hall of Famer. Do you

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Speaker 1: know who he is? I said, I don't care who

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Speaker 1: he is. He's in my huddle. Okay, that's fine. So

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Speaker 1: Buddy and I didn't get along. I didn't help things.

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Speaker 1: So one day I'm sitting out on the the d

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Speaker 1: to the driveway and Buddy's killing me. Every day he's

395
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Speaker 1: killing me. I can't step right, I can't breathe right.

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Speaker 1: So I made up my mind. I'm getting ready to go.

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Speaker 1: I'm getting ready to go. Ask Buddy for trading I

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Speaker 1: can't take it. Jimma is Born passes by and he says, um, singletary,

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Speaker 1: what are you doing? Nothing? What are you doing, young fella?

400
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Speaker 1: So I'm getting ready to go up right now and

401
00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 1: ask for a trade. I'm not I can't take it anymore.

402
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Speaker 1: This man does not like me. I don't like him.

403
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Speaker 1: I'm ready to go. That's just great, Jim said, Mike,

404
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Speaker 1: you you don't understand. Buddy loves you. I know you.

405
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Speaker 1: You know, Buddy Ryan the god has been killing me.

406
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Speaker 1: How could he love me? Come on, you said, Mike.

407
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Speaker 1: All you need to do is close your mouth. Just

408
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,320
Speaker 1: close your mouth everything that he says. Just say yes, sir?

409
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Speaker 1: Really can you do that? Just one day? I can

410
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Speaker 1: do that. From that day we begin to start a relationship.

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Speaker 1: We begin to start a dialogue. I just said yes, sir,

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Speaker 1: no matter what, no matter what he called me, no

413
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,760
Speaker 1: matter what he said, I just said yes, sir. And

414
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Speaker 1: that's the day that our relationship begin to change. Had

415
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Speaker 1: it not been for that conversation, I know I would

416
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:48,399
Speaker 1: have done something very stupid. So I've always think Jim Osborn,

417
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Speaker 1: because you know, I'm a kind of just I'm gonna

418
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,440
Speaker 1: live or die kind of guy. He taught me something

419
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,720
Speaker 1: that day. Now, Mike, you have to share something and

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00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,240
Speaker 1: mentioned one of guys mentioned pay it forward when it

421
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,600
Speaker 1: comes out of mentorship. Tell the this audience about the

422
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:11,439
Speaker 1: young Ray Lewis when you begin coaching in Baltimore and

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Speaker 1: what happened that first meeting. Briefly, First of all, I

424
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Speaker 1: ain't like ray Lawis. Before I started coaching, I did

425
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,440
Speaker 1: not like Ray Lewis. I said, this brother talks way

426
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,840
Speaker 1: too much to be playing with the lineback. Just go

427
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,159
Speaker 1: just keep just lay the hat. That's all you gotta do.

428
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,080
Speaker 1: Just let me hear you. So you wanted him to

429
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,359
Speaker 1: shut up. Yeah, I wanted him to shut up. Just

430
00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:35,320
Speaker 1: just let the hat man. This guy talks all day.

431
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:41,159
Speaker 1: Come on, baby, wed up, just be quiet. Play. So anyways,

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00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,760
Speaker 1: I get to Baltimore my first day there, and Ray

433
00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,479
Speaker 1: Lewis and I meet each other in the locker room.

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00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,919
Speaker 1: Ray sees me on the other side and he runs

435
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,600
Speaker 1: over to me and he said, coach, go single toy.

436
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,440
Speaker 1: They told me they won't get your man said an

437
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:04,360
Speaker 1: answer the path. I couldn't not wait till you got here.

438
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 1: He said, Look, I want you to teach me everything

439
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,480
Speaker 1: you know about being a man, everything you know about

440
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:15,439
Speaker 1: being a player. Everything. Promised me you'll do that, and

441
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, oh okay, um. Ray and I started

442
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 1: meeting every Tuesday and we would have our Bibles and

443
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 1: he would talk to me about life and we just

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00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,800
Speaker 1: sit there and he would ask me all the questions

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00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:48,520
Speaker 1: that he wanted to ask and we were just dialogue.

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00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,400
Speaker 1: We did that for two years and it was one

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00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:56,919
Speaker 1: of the greatest times that I had as a coach,

448
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,040
Speaker 1: being able to be around someone who was such a

449
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,880
Speaker 1: student not of not of just the game of football,

450
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:10,919
Speaker 1: but the game of life and hungered for wisdom. That

451
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:16,560
Speaker 1: really touched me in in a major way. That really

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00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 1: changed my thought process about how we go about life

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00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,920
Speaker 1: and how we go about serving others that are really

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00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,960
Speaker 1: hungry for truth. It's been tremendous, but honor, and I

455
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,080
Speaker 1: want to say once again to you guys. You know

456
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:35,960
Speaker 1: we tell our stories in the locker room, but each

457
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,520
Speaker 1: and every one of you guys have your own stories.

458
00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,280
Speaker 1: And if you've heard our stories, I know there are

459
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 1: some parallels to this game. And one only things I

460
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,440
Speaker 1: love about the game of football that it brings masses

461
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,240
Speaker 1: of people together, not that the other sports don't and

462
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 1: it brings fans from all that necessities, all socio economic backgrounds.

463
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,199
Speaker 1: We all could be in Texas Stadium, different jerseys, but

464
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,400
Speaker 1: all just cited about this game. So let's we take

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00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,600
Speaker 1: this unique sport that bring people together from all over

466
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 1: what a common vision and has to win. Thank you

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00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,959
Speaker 1: so much for being here and listening. Come on, give

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00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,000
Speaker 1: yourselves a hand. Thank you so much. Thank you coach Mike,

469
00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:22,240
Speaker 1: thank you Fred, thank you, Nate outstandard. This has been

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00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:26,200
Speaker 1: the NFL Legends podcast. To provide feedback or request a

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00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:30,080
Speaker 1: topic for discussion, email us at NFL Legends at NFL

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00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:46,120
Speaker 1: dot com