1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,160
Speaker 1: I played football when I was a kid, and you know,

2
00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,360
Speaker 1: eight nine years old, you know, playing the fields, you know,

3
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,440
Speaker 1: just hiking the bottom, playing tackle on the ground and

4
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:09,959
Speaker 1: not the factive. Funny thing is I don't think I

5
00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,039
Speaker 1: could do is hike the ball. They wanted me bund

6
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,440
Speaker 1: the ball. I only hike it. I wouldn't get Nobody

7
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:20,320
Speaker 1: wanted no, but nobody wanted me. Let me be very

8
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,480
Speaker 1: very clear. If you and I have been playing, that

9
00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:24,840
Speaker 1: would have been my rule as well. Let me be

10
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,480
Speaker 1: very clear. I'll toss it to you. I'll stand there

11
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:38,440
Speaker 1: and toss it. This is Eric Diggerson and I'm part

12
00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:47,000
Speaker 1: of the Pony Express, also an NFL Hall of Fame. Hello,

13
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,520
Speaker 1: Punned and all, and welcome back to another episode of

14
00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,920
Speaker 1: Off the Beat, or as I like to call it,

15
00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:00,040
Speaker 1: Off the Beat Sports as I am hoping that you

16
00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,560
Speaker 1: know by now, I am your host, Brian Baumgartner. Now

17
00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:05,640
Speaker 1: remember when I said I was going to start bringing

18
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,520
Speaker 1: on some sports guests to the podcast. Well today is

19
00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,520
Speaker 1: the day. Now is the time I'm gonna start doing

20
00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,440
Speaker 1: some special Thursday editions of the podcast. And there is

21
00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,840
Speaker 1: nobody on planet Earth to better start us off than

22
00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:26,680
Speaker 1: the iconic the legendary Eric Dickerson. Now as a running back.

23
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,679
Speaker 1: Eric played for the l A Rams, the Indianapolis Colts,

24
00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,520
Speaker 1: among others. He has broken countless records since he entered

25
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,640
Speaker 1: the NFL back in and I don't know if you've heard,

26
00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,200
Speaker 1: but Eric is what they call a Hall of Famer, yes,

27
00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:45,960
Speaker 1: having joined both the pro and college halls. As of

28
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,240
Speaker 1: impressive for his career, it doesn't even begin to cover it.

29
00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,559
Speaker 1: So for today's episode, we're going to dive into Eric's life,

30
00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,640
Speaker 1: from his high school career and his alleged controversy involving

31
00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,760
Speaker 1: Pontiac trans am to his favorite moments in the NFL

32
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:10,280
Speaker 1: and what he's learned about our crazy world through football. Plus,

33
00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,359
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about his new book, as well

34
00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,400
Speaker 1: as one major thing that we have in common. Well

35
00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,360
Speaker 1: what are you and Eric Dickerson have in common? You

36
00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,440
Speaker 1: might ask? Well, the greatest university on Earth, s m you.

37
00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,880
Speaker 1: That's right. So before we get started, I just have

38
00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:34,440
Speaker 1: one more thing to say. Pony up, here's Eric Dickerson.

39
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:45,920
Speaker 1: Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeak, Bubble

40
00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,800
Speaker 1: and Squeaker cooking at every month left over from the

41
00:02:49,919 --> 00:03:06,440
Speaker 1: night people. There he is hail to the Red. What's up?

42
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:08,760
Speaker 1: I'm going to see you's gonna see you. It's been

43
00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:13,360
Speaker 1: way too long. You still play a golf. I'm still trying.

44
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,320
Speaker 1: What do you mean, I'm still trying trying to play

45
00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,200
Speaker 1: when I can. Well, I want to thank you for

46
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,960
Speaker 1: being here. I uh as you know, gotten to know

47
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,200
Speaker 1: you some through golf. Always been a big fan. We're

48
00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:32,880
Speaker 1: fellow sm SMU mustangs, which will we'll discuss in a

49
00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,160
Speaker 1: little bit, but I want to start, uh going back

50
00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:42,040
Speaker 1: even further. You were from Texas, see Lee, Texas. I

51
00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:47,280
Speaker 1: understand raised by your great great aunt. Is that right,

52
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,160
Speaker 1: that's right? Yeah, great great nut. And you didn't know

53
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,760
Speaker 1: that this was was not your mom until you were twelve. No,

54
00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,280
Speaker 1: I wasn't twelve. I was younger than that. I was

55
00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:05,040
Speaker 1: about let me see, I was in the fifth sixth grade. Yeah, yeah,

56
00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,240
Speaker 1: somewhere here. Yeah. My my teacher told me. Really yeah,

57
00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,320
Speaker 1: my teacher told me, man, it was because she thought

58
00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,120
Speaker 1: you should know, or because she thought, you know, she

59
00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,760
Speaker 1: was jealous of my mother. She didn't, Man, small times

60
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:20,000
Speaker 1: are different, you know. She didn't like my mom, my

61
00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,440
Speaker 1: real mother, and I thought my real mother is my sister. Um,

62
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,479
Speaker 1: my mother, I mean, my my real mother was. She

63
00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,960
Speaker 1: was a beautiful woman, really good looking, tall six ft tall.

64
00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,400
Speaker 1: So she figured she's gonna tell boy. But it didn't

65
00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,240
Speaker 1: go over well. No, no, I didn't go well at all.

66
00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:38,520
Speaker 1: I mean not for me. It, dude, I didn't. It didn't.

67
00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,320
Speaker 1: It didn't bother me. But my mom because I was.

68
00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,719
Speaker 1: I don't forget. I came from school. She told me.

69
00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,360
Speaker 1: She said, I was. I was at school and she

70
00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,120
Speaker 1: said some did she stay out to class. I'm like, okay,

71
00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,800
Speaker 1: so she's after class. He had me come, she said, so,

72
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,400
Speaker 1: she said, you've seen your daddy. I said, my dad

73
00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:55,120
Speaker 1: at home. She said, no, my boy, your real dad.

74
00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,839
Speaker 1: It's a going as your mom. Who your real daddy?

75
00:04:57,880 --> 00:04:59,560
Speaker 1: So that's not your mom? I said, MS read that

76
00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,800
Speaker 1: kind of my mother, miss read, mr care, that's not

77
00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,400
Speaker 1: your parents. You said, your real mother is Helen and

78
00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,719
Speaker 1: then your dad's name Richard Seals go aster. Who Richard

79
00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,919
Speaker 1: Seals is? So? And I went straight home and I asked,

80
00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,560
Speaker 1: I went, I still remember my mom was standing. My

81
00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,320
Speaker 1: dad was sitting and I asked him, my mom, I said,

82
00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,240
Speaker 1: who was Richard Seals? And if you just saw the

83
00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,200
Speaker 1: look on that what who told you that you know

84
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,719
Speaker 1: my mother and she wanted my my who adopted me.

85
00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,159
Speaker 1: She went off. My dad said, settled down. She said,

86
00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:28,760
Speaker 1: settled down. She said what did he What did she

87
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:30,960
Speaker 1: tell you? I told she told me. She said that

88
00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,000
Speaker 1: you and not my parents. My real mom is Helen

89
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,400
Speaker 1: and some guy named Richard Seals and my mother. I

90
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,000
Speaker 1: was like, oh man, you know so she called my

91
00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,360
Speaker 1: mother next my mother right next door. I was told.

92
00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,080
Speaker 1: I was told she's my sister. She did right next

93
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,120
Speaker 1: door with my with her husband. You know, she was

94
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,919
Speaker 1: consisted with my stepfather. I didn't know it's called him Roberts.

95
00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:53,080
Speaker 1: My mom, my real mother, went to get the gun.

96
00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:54,560
Speaker 1: When to get the pistol, she gonna she was gonna

97
00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:56,360
Speaker 1: really go kill it for real, no joke, She was

98
00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,919
Speaker 1: really going to go kill her for for seriously. She

99
00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:00,960
Speaker 1: wanted to get the pistol on. My My dad raised

100
00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,359
Speaker 1: her to my mother, and my great aunt raised my

101
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,719
Speaker 1: real mom, and my dad raised her to his daughter too.

102
00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,159
Speaker 1: So he said Helen said no, he said, put that

103
00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:11,920
Speaker 1: gun down, You're not gonna kill that woman. So she

104
00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:13,680
Speaker 1: went over to the house because it was only a

105
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,520
Speaker 1: naby like two hundred yards away. You could see the

106
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,080
Speaker 1: house from our house. She went over. Man, she beat

107
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,960
Speaker 1: on the door. Bit you come out of you mother, Man,

108
00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,440
Speaker 1: you tell him about Richard. It was a mess, man,

109
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,000
Speaker 1: But you know it didn't phase me. It answers. It

110
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:30,240
Speaker 1: answers some questions that you know, as a black kid,

111
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,200
Speaker 1: you don't ask your mama no question. They say, boy,

112
00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:33,960
Speaker 1: you don't be asking some kind of question. Yes, ma'am,

113
00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,560
Speaker 1: But you don't think it didn't have any effect. I mean,

114
00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,040
Speaker 1: I mean not for you. No, I didn't have no

115
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,839
Speaker 1: effect because I had, Man. I'm gonna tell you, Brian,

116
00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:45,680
Speaker 1: I had to. I had the best parents ever, man.

117
00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:47,560
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody's feel like their parents are the best.

118
00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,320
Speaker 1: And you know you got a good parents. Nothing like

119
00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:50,880
Speaker 1: having a good parents. Man. I had a good dad.

120
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,880
Speaker 1: My dad was a good Christian man, I mean, a

121
00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:56,599
Speaker 1: true creature, not not not the word of mouth. You know,

122
00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:58,120
Speaker 1: he didn't have to say it. You just knew it

123
00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,760
Speaker 1: by his actions and you know his you know them.

124
00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,280
Speaker 1: And my mother, my mother was. She was a good one.

125
00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,320
Speaker 1: She was tough. Now, she was really tough. She was

126
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,720
Speaker 1: all about fairness, but she was really tough. I grew

127
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,760
Speaker 1: up with with good parents and may not found out

128
00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:12,960
Speaker 1: my mom my real mother was my mother, and we

129
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:14,920
Speaker 1: were like sisterant brother then I we really were, I

130
00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,960
Speaker 1: mean we were we were tight. So it didn't change

131
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,280
Speaker 1: my childhood, you know at all. I just I think

132
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:24,679
Speaker 1: God for having really two moms in a sense. Yeah,

133
00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,000
Speaker 1: that's awesome. How did you find football or was it

134
00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,360
Speaker 1: sports at first? Well? It was our sports, you know,

135
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:32,840
Speaker 1: But I love football. I mean I knew I was fast.

136
00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,760
Speaker 1: I was really fast as a kid and just love running.

137
00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:38,400
Speaker 1: You know, I couldn't play We didn't. We didn't have

138
00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,320
Speaker 1: a tackle football, you know, it couldn't play until we

139
00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:42,960
Speaker 1: got in the seventh grade because we didn't have pop

140
00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,080
Speaker 1: warning it's a little small town. So I had a

141
00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:48,520
Speaker 1: chance to play tackle football and got into seventh grade.

142
00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,920
Speaker 1: But I played football when I was a kid, like

143
00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,280
Speaker 1: you know, eight nine years old, you know, playing the fields,

144
00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,560
Speaker 1: you know, just hiking the bottom, playing tackle on the

145
00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,120
Speaker 1: ground and uh not. The fact of funny thing is,

146
00:07:58,200 --> 00:07:59,960
Speaker 1: I don't think I could do with hike the ball.

147
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,760
Speaker 1: They wanted me bun the ball. I only hike it. No,

148
00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,920
Speaker 1: I wouldn't get Nobody wanted to, but nobody wanted me.

149
00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:10,800
Speaker 1: Let me be very very clear, if you and I

150
00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,000
Speaker 1: had been playing, that would have been my rule as well.

151
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,120
Speaker 1: Let me be very clear, I'll toss it to I'll

152
00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,160
Speaker 1: stand there and toss it in your book, which we're

153
00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,880
Speaker 1: going to talk about. Your first organized football game in

154
00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,880
Speaker 1: seventh grade. You scored six touchdowns. Yeah, and then for you,

155
00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:31,840
Speaker 1: I love fell in love with it. I mean I

156
00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,320
Speaker 1: was in seventh grade. We played the Waller Bulldogs. We

157
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,200
Speaker 1: supposed to play the game on a Thursday, and they

158
00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:38,520
Speaker 1: got rained out, so we had to play on a Saturday.

159
00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,040
Speaker 1: And uh, the first my first testdown was kickoff kickoff return. Man,

160
00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,040
Speaker 1: I was so scared, I mean hard, beating fast. I

161
00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,080
Speaker 1: won't forget you know, it's just the jitters. And got

162
00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,640
Speaker 1: the ball and ran it back. But touchdown and man

163
00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,480
Speaker 1: didn't had another touchdown another one, Like oh, I just

164
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:59,160
Speaker 1: love this. I just I loved everything about it. You

165
00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,160
Speaker 1: can see even when you started playing organized games, nobody

166
00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:04,760
Speaker 1: wanted to nobody wanted to get in front. Man, you know,

167
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,040
Speaker 1: think about it, and I talked about it. I can

168
00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,720
Speaker 1: still see that day, you know, it was it was

169
00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,760
Speaker 1: still kind of overcast that morning we played. Man, I

170
00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,520
Speaker 1: just god, just loved playing it. It was so exhilarating.

171
00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,000
Speaker 1: It was so much fun. It was fun being a kid.

172
00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,760
Speaker 1: And like I said, I just loved it. Yeah, you

173
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:29,160
Speaker 1: continue playing well and you move on to high school.

174
00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,000
Speaker 1: In ninth grade, I understand you. You get a new coach,

175
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,240
Speaker 1: Ralph Harris. I was my freshman in high school year

176
00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,520
Speaker 1: in Front high school. Yeah yeah, Ralph Harris became our

177
00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:41,040
Speaker 1: high school coach. He came from East Texas. And when

178
00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,040
Speaker 1: a guy liked I mean honestly, I mean, I just

179
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,160
Speaker 1: keep it honest. I didn't like him. He didn't treat

180
00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,400
Speaker 1: us right. And not us. I mean, I mean the

181
00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,160
Speaker 1: black kids, the white kids too. Even even even the

182
00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,760
Speaker 1: white kids, they were like, man, he the worst. Even

183
00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,040
Speaker 1: they didn't like him. And they were like, man, that's

184
00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,040
Speaker 1: not right because we couldn't like we like, you couldn't

185
00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:00,000
Speaker 1: have that, Like you had afro. You couldn't have the hair.

186
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,480
Speaker 1: I couldn't touch your ears you have to have it,

187
00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,840
Speaker 1: you know, over your ears. You couldn't have any facial

188
00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,320
Speaker 1: hair and I have facial hair. No way. Couldn't wear

189
00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,760
Speaker 1: gold chains, you know, couldn't have a chain on your neck.

190
00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,520
Speaker 1: I think you could wear a watch. You couldn't wear rings,

191
00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,000
Speaker 1: you know, just just stuff like that. You know, it

192
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,319
Speaker 1: was all targeting black kids more all the black kids.

193
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,760
Speaker 1: And and then I think that the thing that got

194
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,720
Speaker 1: me was is that our lockers. You couldn't have anything

195
00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:26,560
Speaker 1: in the bottom of your locker, like you couldn't only

196
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:28,800
Speaker 1: have your shoes, like you couldn't have a piece of paper,

197
00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:30,960
Speaker 1: a pencil, and nothing in the bottom of your lockers.

198
00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:33,960
Speaker 1: And you know it's your kids. They keep a messing locker,

199
00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,040
Speaker 1: kind of football locker. Right, So then he comes in

200
00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,640
Speaker 1: and he makes all of some run who had stuff

201
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,280
Speaker 1: in the bottom by locker, and it was just bout chance.

202
00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,920
Speaker 1: It was all black kids, all the blacks, no whites,

203
00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,600
Speaker 1: just all black. And look, man, it wasn't even about

204
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,480
Speaker 1: black and white because the thing, the thing by being

205
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,079
Speaker 1: in that my hometown, is that we all knew each

206
00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,040
Speaker 1: other from little kids. You know. It wasn't like this

207
00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,560
Speaker 1: the white kid and it was like that's Kyle, you know,

208
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,160
Speaker 1: that's David, that's Eric. That's what it was. It didn't,

209
00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,320
Speaker 1: it didn't. It wasn't like black and white. But we

210
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,199
Speaker 1: saw what he was doing. And like I said, even

211
00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:07,960
Speaker 1: the white kids said, man, that's wrong. I mean they

212
00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:11,000
Speaker 1: even said it's wrong. And so you know, I forget.

213
00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:12,920
Speaker 1: We had to run, and I mean when I say run, run,

214
00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:14,200
Speaker 1: we have to run with all. I went to Row

215
00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,000
Speaker 1: with our passed on around the tract on the bleachers

216
00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:20,320
Speaker 1: and then finally, uh, guys just one by one star

217
00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:23,240
Speaker 1: quitting and I think I was one. The last one

218
00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,040
Speaker 1: was my cousin Bobby, I think quit right before me.

219
00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,880
Speaker 1: Bobby Buyers and we still was my my favorite cousins

220
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,040
Speaker 1: and they finally I said, man, it's a stupid I'm like,

221
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,880
Speaker 1: I'm not doing this no more. So we all quit. Everybody,

222
00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,960
Speaker 1: all the black kids cuittics. That one guy, Winston Brown,

223
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,400
Speaker 1: he was the only one the stage and we finally

224
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,959
Speaker 1: he came to our house in the summer. That coach

225
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,040
Speaker 1: did RALP. Harris came to the house in the summer

226
00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:46,360
Speaker 1: and talked to us about coming back. Before that, a

227
00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:50,280
Speaker 1: guy named James Abernathy got named shock Shack. He was

228
00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,120
Speaker 1: from the town over called Brookshire Royal and people who

229
00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,559
Speaker 1: hear this, if you're from Texas of Brookshire, Texas, you

230
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,200
Speaker 1: know what I'm talking about. The Row the raw Falcons

231
00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,080
Speaker 1: that well call and he and over. He was a

232
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,800
Speaker 1: big sports guy and uh he always like you know,

233
00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:05,520
Speaker 1: a little bit like he had. The thing was he

234
00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,320
Speaker 1: had a girlfriend and Celie and had a family, wife

235
00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:13,200
Speaker 1: and Brooks. But everybody knew we all knew the girl.

236
00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,840
Speaker 1: Well he passed away. Now so uh he comes over.

237
00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:18,600
Speaker 1: He comes over to the house. One day, he comes

238
00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,200
Speaker 1: over to my house. Something pull up and he said, hey.

239
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,319
Speaker 1: My mother said, hey, shocks Ames Dickson's here. You know.

240
00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:26,640
Speaker 1: She said, you mind if I talk take erican and

241
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:27,880
Speaker 1: talked to him for him, and he said, sure, take

242
00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,520
Speaker 1: it and talk to him. And Jack was big in

243
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,640
Speaker 1: the sports. He loves sports. So, um, I got in

244
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:34,920
Speaker 1: the car when we rode around and he said, Ericson, man,

245
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:36,880
Speaker 1: I heard you quick football. I said, yeah, man, that

246
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:38,760
Speaker 1: man Precice. I don't like him. I said, no, one

247
00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:41,040
Speaker 1: likes him. And so he just listened to what I

248
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,440
Speaker 1: had to say. So, you know, and it's funny how

249
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,599
Speaker 1: older people and thinking about the shack what much. He

250
00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:48,959
Speaker 1: was saying in his thirties. But I'm teenagers, so so

251
00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,840
Speaker 1: he's older than me. So he says, uh, Eric, he says, um,

252
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,520
Speaker 1: so what do you see in this town? I said, Man,

253
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,439
Speaker 1: it's like I don't see nothing. He said exactly, because

254
00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,280
Speaker 1: nothing in this time he see let me tell you

255
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,319
Speaker 1: some son. He's said. We heard about this man, we

256
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,800
Speaker 1: heard you're not doing your kids right. But if you

257
00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,160
Speaker 1: don't want to play here, come play in Brookshire. He said,

258
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,640
Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you something. He said, the talk about

259
00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 1: you is that you want the best athletes we've seen

260
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,920
Speaker 1: in these parts ever. And the funny thing, you know,

261
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,559
Speaker 1: as a kid, I didn't see that, you know, yeah,

262
00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,800
Speaker 1: I don't. You didn't know, not at all. I didn't

263
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:20,520
Speaker 1: see that. I just I was just kid playing sports.

264
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,240
Speaker 1: And he said you should. If you don't want to

265
00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,040
Speaker 1: come play and Celia, come playing Brookshire. We love to

266
00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,480
Speaker 1: have you over here. So when they drove me back

267
00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:27,839
Speaker 1: at home, my mother said, what did he say to you?

268
00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,360
Speaker 1: I told him, I said, he told me that I

269
00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,439
Speaker 1: should go back and Play'd be my way out of here.

270
00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,120
Speaker 1: And she said, she said, he said, I don't like football.

271
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,280
Speaker 1: My mother hated football, sounding like that sport Eric, she said,

272
00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,720
Speaker 1: but I feel like that. Look, I don't like your

273
00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,080
Speaker 1: quitting started something quitting. But if you want to play,

274
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,160
Speaker 1: if you don't play in Celia, I'll take We'll drive

275
00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:45,199
Speaker 1: you the Brookshire every day. Brooks was twelve miles away,

276
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:47,120
Speaker 1: so sah I'll drive you to Brookshire. You know you're

277
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,800
Speaker 1: gonna play over there. I said, well, let me think

278
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,040
Speaker 1: about it. A couple of days later, my best friend

279
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,040
Speaker 1: called me and said, hey, man, it's a rab Harris

280
00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,920
Speaker 1: been by your house and now, I said, coming coming

281
00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,560
Speaker 1: by all the players how they quit, you know, all

282
00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,439
Speaker 1: the black black players, and I want to talk to

283
00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:01,480
Speaker 1: all about me back the next year, I said, okay,

284
00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:04,160
Speaker 1: so shouldn't have. He came by our house talking to

285
00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,319
Speaker 1: my mother and my dad and we listened to what

286
00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:09,839
Speaker 1: he had to say. My mother, my mother was real block,

287
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:11,840
Speaker 1: you know. She said, you know, the way you treat

288
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,000
Speaker 1: these black kids. She says, that's not right, and she said,

289
00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:15,880
Speaker 1: you know, and then a lot of kids are saying it.

290
00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,839
Speaker 1: The parents are saying the black kids parents, and white

291
00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,120
Speaker 1: kids parents are saying it. Well, I WHENNA trying to

292
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:21,720
Speaker 1: do better? Blah blah blah it. Oh you know those

293
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,840
Speaker 1: song and dance. You know, I never coached black kids before.

294
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,280
Speaker 1: He had never coached blacks before. He never had so

295
00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 1: that was you know, and that was I was his

296
00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:31,640
Speaker 1: thing too. I mean, you know, he had never coached

297
00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:33,400
Speaker 1: blacks and we had never had we had white coaches.

298
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,880
Speaker 1: But it wasn't no big deal of us. But so finally, um,

299
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,480
Speaker 1: we all came back and we came back and we

300
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,680
Speaker 1: decided to play. We want to stay championship, you know,

301
00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:44,920
Speaker 1: my senior and never look at was no feel good

302
00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,520
Speaker 1: story when one of them like, oh everything turned out right.

303
00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,680
Speaker 1: But now what one of them stories. I didn't like him.

304
00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,320
Speaker 1: It never matched me and him never matched. And I

305
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,200
Speaker 1: won't forget. He wanted me to go to the University

306
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,920
Speaker 1: of Texas. That was his thing, and I Texas, okay,

307
00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:00,440
Speaker 1: but I didn't. I did were eric and I didn't

308
00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,600
Speaker 1: like the arrogance. And so he told me, look, if

309
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:04,600
Speaker 1: you ain't because you don't consider the University of Texas,

310
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:06,680
Speaker 1: I just tell schools you're not interesting going to college.

311
00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:08,720
Speaker 1: I said, I tell you what, man, I don't need you.

312
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,560
Speaker 1: I said, I don't need you at all. I mean,

313
00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,200
Speaker 1: I said, they want me to come to my house

314
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:14,800
Speaker 1: and get me sure enough. That's exactly how it was.

315
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,200
Speaker 1: Because he would tell him I didn't want to go

316
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:17,920
Speaker 1: to college, and I tell him, I said, well, I

317
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,080
Speaker 1: don't like him. We don't get along, you know, I

318
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,640
Speaker 1: just don't like him. And that's funny. But and the

319
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,040
Speaker 1: thing about it is that a lot of kids. Coaches

320
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:28,400
Speaker 1: have really hurt their careers doing that kind of stuff

321
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,280
Speaker 1: because they do it. They and they and they have

322
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,480
Speaker 1: done it to two kids. And I'm sure some coaches

323
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,360
Speaker 1: listening right now that has messed over kids and kids

324
00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,160
Speaker 1: did know what I'm talking about, that they'd been messed

325
00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,160
Speaker 1: up by coaches or sometimes family members you know, didn't

326
00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,560
Speaker 1: do them right. But luckily, my my, my situation was different.

327
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,000
Speaker 1: I thank god, Um, the coaches came to my house

328
00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:47,880
Speaker 1: talk to me, you know, and I didn't have a

329
00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:51,080
Speaker 1: relationship with him, with with with him, and yeah that

330
00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,680
Speaker 1: was that was You talked about that first football game

331
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,000
Speaker 1: and remembering it. Did he change your love for the game?

332
00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,640
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, oh yeah, Oh yeah I didn't. I didn't.

333
00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:03,560
Speaker 1: I didn't like it as much you know, with him,

334
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,000
Speaker 1: with him, I didn't like it as much. But for

335
00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,480
Speaker 1: my first like say, my first two years with him,

336
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,960
Speaker 1: I didn't like it as much. But after a while,

337
00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,560
Speaker 1: you know, you just kind of forget about him and

338
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,560
Speaker 1: just played because you've got other players, you know, the players.

339
00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,600
Speaker 1: So I loved it. I did love I love playing

340
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:20,800
Speaker 1: high school football. But I'll tell a story even at

341
00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,680
Speaker 1: the end, like with him, this has been about three

342
00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:25,920
Speaker 1: years ago. He just passed away like a year ago,

343
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,800
Speaker 1: and um, I'm at home. The guy knows. He calls me.

344
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:31,680
Speaker 1: See like I said, what's up Dan? Now you know

345
00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,400
Speaker 1: how good Man? I'm good? Man was say blah blah

346
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:34,760
Speaker 1: blah blah. Talk you say, Man, somebody want to say

347
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,640
Speaker 1: hi to you? Like, Okay, get on the phone, say Eric.

348
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,000
Speaker 1: As soon as I heard his voice it was him,

349
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,080
Speaker 1: my heart started beating fast. Just go to show you

350
00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,760
Speaker 1: the effect that that that could happen as soon as

351
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,080
Speaker 1: I and I was eight years old. I say said

352
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:55,000
Speaker 1: hey Eric, I paused, I said, what's up? Ralph? I

353
00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,000
Speaker 1: mean that's because I was I was. I went through that.

354
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:58,840
Speaker 1: I went back to that mode like I said what

355
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,200
Speaker 1: I said, I said, what's up? Man? He said, how's

356
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:02,800
Speaker 1: it going? I say, I'm good. What's happening? I mean

357
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:04,639
Speaker 1: because I was really short with him. He said, I

358
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,200
Speaker 1: just want to tell you, man, I've seen your career.

359
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:08,280
Speaker 1: You had a great NFL career. I want to congratulate

360
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,800
Speaker 1: you on college and everything. I said, thanks, Man, I

361
00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,439
Speaker 1: appreciate it. He said, can I just want to say, Man,

362
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:14,960
Speaker 1: I just want to apologize to you and all the

363
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,720
Speaker 1: guys who I treated you guys. I want to say,

364
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,520
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. You know, I've really screwed it up, I said,

365
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:22,639
Speaker 1: rap I said, man, thanks for saying that. I appreciate it.

366
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,199
Speaker 1: And I was the last concerce. I mean I did

367
00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:29,160
Speaker 1: because you know, as a kid, you think about did

368
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,000
Speaker 1: I do something wrong? Was it me? You know, maybe

369
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,399
Speaker 1: I could have handled it different, but I knew it

370
00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,439
Speaker 1: wasn't right. You know, you know when things are right,

371
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,480
Speaker 1: I need he wasn't treating us right, not just me,

372
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,560
Speaker 1: just a bunch of us. He wasn't treating us all right.

373
00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,920
Speaker 1: And like I said, well, no about to the whites

374
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,359
Speaker 1: do sometimes white kids do, but it was mostly us,

375
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,280
Speaker 1: And so I mean that was that was big at

376
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,760
Speaker 1: him too, to apologize and say that not accepted as apology.

377
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:53,960
Speaker 1: You know I did accepted as apology, but I say,

378
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,000
Speaker 1: pay passed away about it? About it about a year

379
00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,840
Speaker 1: or great passed away? That affect though all these years,

380
00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:04,920
Speaker 1: all of the things that you've accomplished since then, and

381
00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,680
Speaker 1: hearing his boys, hearing his voice, my heart started just

382
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,080
Speaker 1: pounding and I just almost almost like I got nervous,

383
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,280
Speaker 1: but I was, but I was mad at the same time,

384
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,359
Speaker 1: just to hear him, and so because I knew the

385
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:18,720
Speaker 1: You know, it's like when you knew something, you know

386
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,879
Speaker 1: something's wrong and you've been treated wrong, you don't forget it.

387
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,840
Speaker 1: These kids don't forget. You know, you could be a

388
00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,080
Speaker 1: grown man, but you remember. I'm sure a lot of

389
00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,520
Speaker 1: kids remember the teachers that they didn't like, the coaches,

390
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,640
Speaker 1: they didn't like some of the parents. Did. I didn't

391
00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:37,000
Speaker 1: like his parents, and parents didn't like me. Yeah, well,

392
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,960
Speaker 1: you win the state championship, as you say, your senior year,

393
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,560
Speaker 1: you end up rushing in the championship game for three

394
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,520
Speaker 1: eleven yards and four touchdowns. Obviously, that whole year you

395
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,720
Speaker 1: start getting recruited and as you say, the coach wasn't

396
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,879
Speaker 1: doing any favors because he wanted you to go to

397
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,399
Speaker 1: Texas and you start looking at and M. Yeah, and

398
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:10,080
Speaker 1: not really, but yeah, they were looking at Yale. Did

399
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,480
Speaker 1: you ever think you were going to go to an

400
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,080
Speaker 1: M and all honesty, No, I mean they're gonna tell you.

401
00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,040
Speaker 1: And there's a good school too. I'm just taking having

402
00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:22,120
Speaker 1: away from them. They're good school, good, good, good alumni everything,

403
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,959
Speaker 1: But they gonna tell you what they had. I won't forget.

404
00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,760
Speaker 1: I went to the visit, and they had no cheerleaders.

405
00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,760
Speaker 1: It was mostly guys. It's mostly a guy school. Back

406
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,560
Speaker 1: then they had yell leaders. I'm like, oh, hell no,

407
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,280
Speaker 1: I'm thinking in my mind, oh hell no, I ain't

408
00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,040
Speaker 1: going to school with all these guys happy with me.

409
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:42,240
Speaker 1: And then then I didn't like the uniforms. I hated

410
00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:44,080
Speaker 1: them uniform They had the guy with the big chin,

411
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:46,919
Speaker 1: the aggie. I'm like, oh, hell no, I can't war

412
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,119
Speaker 1: at the uniform. That uniforms, you know, and and and

413
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,560
Speaker 1: the thing about it is brown. You know, little stuff

414
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,520
Speaker 1: like that. You'll be surprised, plays a big role in

415
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,760
Speaker 1: the kid's mind, It really does. They played a big

416
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,840
Speaker 1: role to uniform, no cheer leaders. I'm like, oh no, man,

417
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,120
Speaker 1: I can't do this still. I mean, but I said

418
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,320
Speaker 1: good school. I enjoyed my enjoyed my busy there because

419
00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,760
Speaker 1: it was only about and it's only about a d

420
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,399
Speaker 1: fifty miles and Seley, you know, so it was close.

421
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,360
Speaker 1: And I can tell you a story a matter of fact.

422
00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:16,280
Speaker 1: And I went on my trip. So we drove over

423
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,119
Speaker 1: we're driving to win a bank, over to over to

424
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:20,080
Speaker 1: and then going over the and m for my visit.

425
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:23,080
Speaker 1: And then when the baker broke down, and uh, we

426
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,400
Speaker 1: pot about seventy eighty miles out, but we're right close

427
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,359
Speaker 1: to a private airport. And the guy goes over to

428
00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:32,879
Speaker 1: goes into the private airport and he can shot a

429
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,320
Speaker 1: private plane like a plane to fly so over. I

430
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:38,439
Speaker 1: never flown on the plane. So I'm like, you've never

431
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:40,280
Speaker 1: flown on the plane at all. I've never flow on

432
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,919
Speaker 1: the plane ever. And I'm like, you've still never flown

433
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,480
Speaker 1: on a commercial flight, right, Oh, come on, please, I

434
00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:51,639
Speaker 1: fla private all the time. Please. So anyway, so we

435
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 1: go over to the to the private airport. It was

436
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:55,879
Speaker 1: like right like we're broken right right next to it,

437
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,760
Speaker 1: so we can get a private plane. I said, oh no,

438
00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,240
Speaker 1: I said, man, I don't fly. I told her, I

439
00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,040
Speaker 1: don't fly. I gotta call my mama. So I said,

440
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,760
Speaker 1: I gotta call my mom. So I got on the

441
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,359
Speaker 1: pay phone. I called her and she said, y'all got

442
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,639
Speaker 1: there already. I said, no, ma'am, I said, when the

443
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,280
Speaker 1: bagel broke down. She said, they want to fly. But

444
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,920
Speaker 1: she said fly. I said, yeah, Mama, I said, what

445
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: you think? She said, well, then me going? I never

446
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,520
Speaker 1: get said then they going here and pray. So she

447
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,200
Speaker 1: put the phone down. I waited, I said, there and waited.

448
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 1: She came back about I think about three or four minutes.

449
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,680
Speaker 1: She came back. She said, okay, going and get on

450
00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:31,320
Speaker 1: the plane. She said, just call him when you get there.

451
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:33,760
Speaker 1: I said, okay, that's if she just said, don't get

452
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,960
Speaker 1: on it. I said, oh, I'm out. So that I

453
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:37,760
Speaker 1: was the first time I flew on the plane. There

454
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,720
Speaker 1: was a little plane. I we flew over the A

455
00:21:39,800 --> 00:22:00,040
Speaker 1: and M. That was my first life. There were a

456
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:02,040
Speaker 1: lot of people from A and M who believed that

457
00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,359
Speaker 1: that you were going to come a lot of eggs

458
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,240
Speaker 1: because a lot of eggs in my hometown. To see,

459
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,600
Speaker 1: it's a bunch of aggie. That was an aggetown. It

460
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,840
Speaker 1: really was mostly the Aggetown and we had one of

461
00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,359
Speaker 1: the one the big alumni A and M. Booster was

462
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,720
Speaker 1: What's right in Seedy. But like I said, man, I

463
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,800
Speaker 1: enjoyed the trip. I really did. But so how I'm

464
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,440
Speaker 1: not gonna belabor the car thing. But how did you

465
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,880
Speaker 1: then begin to start considering s m U. S MU

466
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,240
Speaker 1: was not at the top of my radar. Okay, the

467
00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:36,000
Speaker 1: school I really want to go to was Oklahoma, right,

468
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,119
Speaker 1: I don't want to go to Curry Switzer Bar Switzer, Right.

469
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:40,000
Speaker 1: I want to go to school there. My mother would

470
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,400
Speaker 1: not allow it. She wouldn't having it. She can't combarrass.

471
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,800
Speaker 1: Came to my house to recruit. My first real visit

472
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 1: was California. The first plane, the real the real plane

473
00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,320
Speaker 1: influence was coming to l A. I came to visit SC. Yeah,

474
00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:53,080
Speaker 1: I came out here to visit the USC was the

475
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,280
Speaker 1: first time I had a real plane, a big flight,

476
00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:57,600
Speaker 1: like a passenger plane. Flew out of the visit SC

477
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:00,440
Speaker 1: loved it. Went to the Rose Bowl when they played

478
00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,520
Speaker 1: at the University of Michigan. They had the Bantom fumble,

479
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:05,840
Speaker 1: you know, Charlie fumble the ball and they gave him touchdown.

480
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 1: I think it was up sell. When they played Michigan,

481
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,399
Speaker 1: I was I was at the game, um, but I

482
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,960
Speaker 1: really want to go to and I like that. See

483
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:14,680
Speaker 1: I really did it. Just too far, That's what it was.

484
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,399
Speaker 1: Too far. And I love the fight song and everything,

485
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 1: but I just couldn't come here. And I went to

486
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,960
Speaker 1: to Owe You and man, I just fell in love

487
00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 1: with oh You. I mean it was close enough to Texas,

488
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: you know, the Boomer Sooner thing. Then I met a

489
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 1: girl over there I met a girl. You know, I'm

490
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,080
Speaker 1: sensing a theme, but yes, all right, you got it.

491
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,880
Speaker 1: Met a girl. Mother was a professor at the University

492
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,480
Speaker 1: of Oklahoma, and she was like, do not come here.

493
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,080
Speaker 1: I won't get it. A mother like, don't come here.

494
00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:44,800
Speaker 1: They treat to play us so bad. Don't come over.

495
00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 1: They don't and they don't have no education. Don't come

496
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 1: here that. She kept saying, don't come here, but I

497
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,280
Speaker 1: want to go there. But anyway, so oh, you came

498
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,680
Speaker 1: to my house. Bad, I said, Barry Switzer, and I committed.

499
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,280
Speaker 1: I committed to him at my house. My mother was.

500
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 1: My mom was there and she didn't say much. I

501
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,440
Speaker 1: won't get she didn't say much. And I want to

502
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,680
Speaker 1: come and and like, okay, we're gonna you know, you'd

503
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,440
Speaker 1: beat number nineteen, blah blah. I don't get. They walked out.

504
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: She said, you ain't going to school. She said, a

505
00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:13,000
Speaker 1: real come just like you ain't going to school. I'm like, Mama, now,

506
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,040
Speaker 1: Erica ain't going to school. I'm like, Mama just told him.

507
00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:18,440
Speaker 1: She said, why are you saying that? She said, I

508
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,240
Speaker 1: said that that man is a liar to my barrats witches,

509
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,240
Speaker 1: he's a liar. And I don't trust it, so you

510
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 1: ain't going there. She said, you're a Texas boy, stay

511
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,119
Speaker 1: in the state of Texas. So man, so boom so man.

512
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,879
Speaker 1: I was confused and because I didn't want to, I

513
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,440
Speaker 1: didn't even like and I didn't like an m. I'm

514
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,680
Speaker 1: like man, and I wasn't sure about because asting you

515
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: wasn't big It wasn't big time enough. They weren't winning enough.

516
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 1: I mean, they had a great, good program, new coach,

517
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,760
Speaker 1: coach Ron Meyer, but you know, it just wasn't big

518
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:47,360
Speaker 1: enough for me. I don't think they were big enough.

519
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,640
Speaker 1: And uh, I won't forget. My mother to sit me down,

520
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 1: and she talked to me, and so she kind of

521
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,640
Speaker 1: talked me into it. You know, I make a long

522
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:56,520
Speaker 1: story short, and she kind of talked me into it.

523
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 1: And I'll say it's the best decision she ever made

524
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,080
Speaker 1: for me. I got. I say, I'm so glad I

525
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:02,480
Speaker 1: went to that school. I'm so glad I went to

526
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 1: sing you my memories. They're the great football team who

527
00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,479
Speaker 1: had the players I had on that football team man

528
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:10,880
Speaker 1: second and none. I mean, I won't forget. I want

529
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,280
Speaker 1: to transfer. When I came back home, I think my

530
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,159
Speaker 1: sophomore year. I think my sophomore year. I want to transfer.

531
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:18,680
Speaker 1: I make my mom wanna transfer out here. I'm like,

532
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,240
Speaker 1: I want to go to I'm gonna get wirst. I

533
00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,160
Speaker 1: called Oklahoma. I called University of Oklahoma Road rotary die

534
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:27,480
Speaker 1: phone Oklahoma football. Can I speak to Coach Switzer? Hold

535
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,560
Speaker 1: on a second. I want to get a secretary's name

536
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,480
Speaker 1: of Susie. The name of Susie, he said, Susie. Blah

537
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,359
Speaker 1: blah blah, because Switter secretary. Who's calling? I didn't say anything,

538
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,040
Speaker 1: So who's calling? I hung up. I see my way

539
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,840
Speaker 1: to get home with him. My mom, I want to transfer.

540
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:42,639
Speaker 1: So I go home and I said, my mom, I

541
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:44,960
Speaker 1: wanna talk to you, she said. She said yeah. At

542
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,919
Speaker 1: this to my dad had passed away. Say my mom

543
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:48,399
Speaker 1: wanna talk to you? I wanna. I don't want to

544
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,880
Speaker 1: go to see you anymore. She said, what I said,

545
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:52,440
Speaker 1: I want to go to OU. She said, boys, set

546
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: your ass down. She took a piece of paper and

547
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: put a line down in the mind to put sing

548
00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 1: you another It's okay, she said, So you have a

549
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,040
Speaker 1: scholarship at SMU. Yes, ma'am, I have a scholarship. Okay,

550
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,320
Speaker 1: that's a check. So you guarantee the scholarship with oh you, well,

551
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,040
Speaker 1: that's an x SO. So you're playing at SMU. Yeah,

552
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 1: I'm playing. That's a check, so you guarantee you're gonna

553
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,960
Speaker 1: play it. Ou, that's an x so. Make a old

554
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,879
Speaker 1: story short. It was all checks on the SMU side

555
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 1: and x is on o U side. And she said,

556
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,840
Speaker 1: we'll take your ass back to SMU. So I went back,

557
00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 1: and you know the rest this history the Pony Express

558
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 1: and I'm glad. I'm glad I went back. I mean,

559
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,680
Speaker 1: your teams were incredible. I gotta ask you. You've come

560
00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 1: clean after a number of years about the car right

561
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 1: now are the cars? Let me just now, let me

562
00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: just tell you this. When I went to s m U,

563
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 1: there was a story. There was always a story. The

564
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:58,480
Speaker 1: story that I heard was you get the trans am

565
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,119
Speaker 1: from an I mean, and this is this is a

566
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,240
Speaker 1: number of years later. By the way, I'm way way

567
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,800
Speaker 1: younger and more handsome than I. So when I am there,

568
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,160
Speaker 1: the story I heard is you have that trans am

569
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,960
Speaker 1: and you drive it up to s I mean, this

570
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,840
Speaker 1: is how things get changed. You're at A and M.

571
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 1: You drive the trans am up to s m U

572
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,400
Speaker 1: to visit s m U. They then offer you a Porsche,

573
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 1: and so you get in your trans am and you

574
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:35,040
Speaker 1: drive it back to m M and somebody picks you

575
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,159
Speaker 1: up from SMU and the Porsche and drives you back

576
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:42,120
Speaker 1: to Dallas. Now that's where the st I know, I'm

577
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,200
Speaker 1: not saying that's true. I know it's not true, but

578
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,760
Speaker 1: I'm saying that's what had happened to the story. That's

579
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,639
Speaker 1: where it happened. So I'm you know, I ended up

580
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,119
Speaker 1: going just a couple of years, a few years twenty

581
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,840
Speaker 1: years after the death medalty, No, just a few years

582
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,760
Speaker 1: after is when? Is when I ended up coming? And

583
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,040
Speaker 1: you know, really what I want to ask you about

584
00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 1: is for a long time you said your grandmother bought

585
00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,879
Speaker 1: it for you and that that was your story, and

586
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,320
Speaker 1: you were sticking with that's the story. Let me tell

587
00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: the stories in this in my book. Yeah, well that's

588
00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,919
Speaker 1: and that's why my my question really is why at

589
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 1: this point of view, you decided to tell the fore

590
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 1: man because who's going to hurt most? Everybody didn't gone, right?

591
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:28,119
Speaker 1: Is that why you you stuck with the story for

592
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,080
Speaker 1: so long, because you didn't want to hurt people because

593
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 1: the story was It's true it's true. My grandmother did

594
00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:34,480
Speaker 1: buy the car. Yeah, I'm gonna tell you had it

595
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,000
Speaker 1: went down. So the lady who raised me is my

596
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:39,840
Speaker 1: great great hunt. People that that's my grandmother, right, that's

597
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 1: not my grandmother. My grandmother lived in Houston with my grandfather.

598
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:45,640
Speaker 1: Grandfather was a crane operated They had it. He had

599
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 1: a really good job. He got a new car every

600
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,880
Speaker 1: couple of years, like every four years, they get a

601
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,120
Speaker 1: new Cadillac. That was that was. That was the thing.

602
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,240
Speaker 1: They said I wouldn't get another. So when I saw

603
00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 1: the car, you know, everybody my familynew, I liked to

604
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,840
Speaker 1: like this car, the trans trans The trans was that

605
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 1: Leo Jonagan, Leo Jenagan chivallet as well. It was where

606
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,880
Speaker 1: it was at. And so I told my mother and

607
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 1: I because I go to I drive down to Houston

608
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:10,960
Speaker 1: my mom's new car. We had old pick up. I

609
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,680
Speaker 1: drive to Houstons and visit my grandparents in Houston. Just

610
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 1: spointed my house away, so they knew were here about

611
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,520
Speaker 1: the translator, and they heard about and m recruited me

612
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: and all the schools recruited me. And so one day

613
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 1: my mother said, we're gonna go to Houston. You want

614
00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 1: to go to Houston tomorrow. I'm going to that car.

615
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,080
Speaker 1: I'll know what car that that trans am Like really,

616
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,160
Speaker 1: I'm like okay. So we go down to Houston. We

617
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:35,760
Speaker 1: go to Leo Johnagan. My grandmother meets me there. My

618
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: grandfather and my stepfather and my mother, my mom and

619
00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:42,080
Speaker 1: two white men. I don't know who these white guys are.

620
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: Still know who they are today. We go in again.

621
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,320
Speaker 1: Never saw him again. That was him again. Go go

622
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,640
Speaker 1: and go to Leo Johnagan talking about the car, talking

623
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: to my grandmother. I take the car, drive it. They

624
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,400
Speaker 1: take me, take out and drive. They're doing all the talking.

625
00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 1: Come back, say the keys, it's yours. I'm like, like

626
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,760
Speaker 1: I would like that. That's how that's our trans That's

627
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,600
Speaker 1: how it went down, just like that. So I asked

628
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 1: my mother. I said, Mama, say why do I get

629
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,920
Speaker 1: that car? She said, don't. Don't you worry about it,

630
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,360
Speaker 1: and it can't ever come back on you. Exactly what

631
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,360
Speaker 1: she said, They can't never come back on you. A

632
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,040
Speaker 1: couple of days later, N C. Devil A shows up

633
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: at Selly High School in my school. A couple of

634
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 1: days later, like like two days literally, like not a week,

635
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:25,800
Speaker 1: like two days later, they showed up in my high school.

636
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,000
Speaker 1: Everybody in here, and I had a new car. I'm

637
00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:32,000
Speaker 1: in lab class and I got to the teacher comes, hey, Erica.

638
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:34,480
Speaker 1: Guys knocks on the door. I go out. He said,

639
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 1: I'm so and so from n C double A, black guy,

640
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: N double A. I want to talk to you about

641
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 1: the trans am that you have. I said, well, I

642
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 1: can't talk to you, so you can talk to my mother.

643
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,840
Speaker 1: I said, at home. I mean she's at home. I

644
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 1: mean I don't know what to tell you. He said, well,

645
00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:51,480
Speaker 1: can you give me your address? I call you my myself.

646
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:52,720
Speaker 1: So I had to go to the office, called my

647
00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 1: mother and tell him this guy gonna come to the

648
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 1: house and talk to about the car. She said, good

649
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,400
Speaker 1: to him, come on to the house. So he goes

650
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,920
Speaker 1: to my house. I get home later and he was

651
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 1: still there, and they talked to my grandmother talked to

652
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:04,840
Speaker 1: him on the phone. To make a long story short,

653
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 1: this man came to our house every day four I'm

654
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 1: gonna say almost two months. Even on the weekends he

655
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,040
Speaker 1: would come. That's how much she came. Talking to my grandparents,

656
00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,480
Speaker 1: talking my stepfather the time, my mom talking to my grandmother.

657
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: My mama, you know what he was talking to neighbors

658
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,960
Speaker 1: and everything else. And finally I didn't see him anymore.

659
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:26,880
Speaker 1: I mean, he was saying so much he's something he was.

660
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 1: He would eat dinner with us sometimes, that's how much

661
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,040
Speaker 1: he was at our house. I was, I can remember

662
00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,360
Speaker 1: that man's name. So finally, I said, Mama said, what

663
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:37,320
Speaker 1: happened to that double A guy? She said, well, your

664
00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,560
Speaker 1: grandmother told him that if she see him again, she's

665
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: gonna suit him personally. And the n C double a

666
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,800
Speaker 1: she said, they an't got nothing on that car. She said,

667
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,959
Speaker 1: nothing on it. She said, she bought that car legally.

668
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,160
Speaker 1: There's nothing they could do. So boom, let's fast forward.

669
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 1: So come to find out, because my mother would never

670
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,240
Speaker 1: tell me. She never told me, so I think I

671
00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 1: was in the pros. I said. Mama said, I said, car,

672
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,840
Speaker 1: come about? She said, you didn't have She said, you

673
00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:04,360
Speaker 1: need you do need to know, but I'll tell you now.

674
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 1: She said, actually, your grandmother bought that car, she said,

675
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:09,600
Speaker 1: everyone a check for it. She said, paid four hundred

676
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,040
Speaker 1: offs for that car, she said, and m gave the

677
00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 1: cash back for it. That's how the car was bought.

678
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,320
Speaker 1: Boom trans and my grandmother bought the car. I didn't know,

679
00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:24,680
Speaker 1: so it is so for a long time you still didn't.

680
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:28,760
Speaker 1: You didn't know, Answering honestly, said Answering. Honestly, I did

681
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:30,400
Speaker 1: not know. I did. I had no idea because she

682
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 1: didn't tell me. I mean but really, and she she

683
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,080
Speaker 1: bought the car, didn't give it the money back. So

684
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,880
Speaker 1: that's it. But the car from smel you know which one.

685
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:49,160
Speaker 1: What's your what's your telling good Man? Good Man? Uh, yeah,

686
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,600
Speaker 1: that's that was that was the story. Let me tell

687
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,480
Speaker 1: you the points. Craig had a post. I didn't have

688
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,800
Speaker 1: a post. See, people don't know Craig at the nine

689
00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,320
Speaker 1: forty four post. Cig got a nine forty four Craig Jane. Yeah,

690
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 1: I mean every everybody had cars. That was the new.

691
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,280
Speaker 1: Everybody had a car. I mean, you know the great

692
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 1: thing about I can say estime with the guys, it

693
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 1: was no jealousy. Every guy was happy for a guy.

694
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,240
Speaker 1: Many let me see a car. Man, did me drive?

695
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 1: You know? Let me let me see it. Almost every

696
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 1: guy had a car, so that's good. Everybody had a

697
00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:27,200
Speaker 1: carr Um the Pony Express legendary Pony Express of the

698
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:33,480
Speaker 1: early eighties. You Craig James Charles Wagoner, all three great recruits.

699
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:37,960
Speaker 1: Charles gets hurt and it's you, You and Craig the

700
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:42,560
Speaker 1: Pony Express. You still feel love for those days memories

701
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,400
Speaker 1: for sure. I'll say this many speaking of speaking to

702
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 1: Charles Wagner, it was it was three. We had so

703
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,560
Speaker 1: many backs. I mean, it went just those three. It

704
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,120
Speaker 1: was me, it was Craig, it was Charles Wagner, it

705
00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,560
Speaker 1: was Idio Brian, it was man. We had like were

706
00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,400
Speaker 1: deeply back from Lynch, Charles Drayden, Craig Jane. I mean

707
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 1: we had like nine ten running backs, you know, all

708
00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:06,880
Speaker 1: highly recruited running backs. And Charles Wagner to me, I

709
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: gotta say it was I think he was. He was

710
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:12,040
Speaker 1: by my size. Charles was about six ft two, six

711
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,800
Speaker 1: ft three one as fast as I was. But I

712
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,239
Speaker 1: think he was ready for college at the time that

713
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:19,880
Speaker 1: I wasn't. I gotta say. He means his body structure

714
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 1: was bigger. He was bigger. But he got hurt on

715
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,279
Speaker 1: a kickoff on playing the Texas Tech Red Reds, broke

716
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:27,120
Speaker 1: a Bonies neck and never played again. We were back

717
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:28,600
Speaker 1: down the back. We were back on the kickoff together.

718
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:31,480
Speaker 1: No one forget it. It kicked off and it could

719
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,279
Speaker 1: have been me just as easy it was him. I

720
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:35,160
Speaker 1: stepped up bout to have you take it, and they

721
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,600
Speaker 1: cut back time. They could cut you, cut you that

722
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:39,560
Speaker 1: your need, it cut me and cut him at the

723
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:41,680
Speaker 1: same time. He came down and broke a Bonies neck.

724
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 1: He never played again. But Charles was man, there's no

725
00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:46,600
Speaker 1: way that all three of us could have stayed there.

726
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,160
Speaker 1: Somebody's going have to leave, you know, That's what That's

727
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:52,680
Speaker 1: what it. It was not enough football as it just wasn't.

728
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:54,759
Speaker 1: It was just facts. But and I hate to see

729
00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,279
Speaker 1: somebody get hurt, especially Charles. Charles is such a good guy.

730
00:34:57,719 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 1: But that's how, you know, the Pony Express kind of

731
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,719
Speaker 1: came to that. But it wasn't It wasn't smooth transition.

732
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,399
Speaker 1: It wasn't smooth. I mean it really wasn't. Because Craig

733
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,040
Speaker 1: didn't like sharing time. I didn't like sharing time. Then

734
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:09,840
Speaker 1: after a while we just kind of got used to it.

735
00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,080
Speaker 1: You know, it would be where like most of the time,

736
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,200
Speaker 1: Craig would start and then I would come in off

737
00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,080
Speaker 1: the bench, and you know, we're just rotating. And you know,

738
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,080
Speaker 1: we did like if you got a serious, if if

739
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:21,360
Speaker 1: we had a drolane drive. Then that was your serious.

740
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:22,680
Speaker 1: If it was three and some time, I say, you

741
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:24,759
Speaker 1: go back in. You know, we just we just made

742
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 1: it work and and it and it worked, it worked

743
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:32,040
Speaker 1: really well. Yeah. So there is Oklahoma, there's Texas to

744
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,200
Speaker 1: some degree, A and M at that time, you know,

745
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,080
Speaker 1: was there any particular joy or good feeling that you

746
00:35:39,239 --> 00:35:42,080
Speaker 1: had sort of elevating a school that had not been

747
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,759
Speaker 1: on that level, like you were blazing a new path.

748
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 1: That's what my mom saying. I'm gonna tell you, man,

749
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,000
Speaker 1: She's mother was so smart. I'm smart like your mom.

750
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:55,879
Speaker 1: But anyway, go ahead, so smart, Yeah, she said, She's said,

751
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,600
Speaker 1: let me tell you some son, she said, go somewhere

752
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,160
Speaker 1: where you can be the first you can start. Say

753
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,719
Speaker 1: you go to these schools. Oklahoma they got their guy.

754
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,479
Speaker 1: You go to USC they got their guy. Go somewhere.

755
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:10,879
Speaker 1: They'll be talking about you off forever. Yes. And honestly, Brian,

756
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,400
Speaker 1: here we are not to talk about it. I mean,

757
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,239
Speaker 1: I wish you'd talk about stuff. Yeah, I gotta I

758
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,000
Speaker 1: gotta give her. I gotta give her credit on that.

759
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,400
Speaker 1: That's credit to her. And she was right. And that's

760
00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,279
Speaker 1: why I said, I'm so glad that I chose my school. Well, look,

761
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:26,200
Speaker 1: and we're about to talk about the NFL as well,

762
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:29,839
Speaker 1: and obviously it's about your college career. But I think

763
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,320
Speaker 1: you're right if you go to oh you we'd mentioned

764
00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:36,200
Speaker 1: maybe a national championship or you know, this record that

765
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:38,759
Speaker 1: you had or whatever. But it's really nice to hear

766
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:42,640
Speaker 1: your feelings about the school because you know, yeah, yeah,

767
00:36:42,719 --> 00:36:44,879
Speaker 1: when I was there, and I know still now they're

768
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 1: still talking about you. They still talk about it like

769
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,480
Speaker 1: like it happened yesterday. And it's funny because I mean

770
00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,400
Speaker 1: it's been so long ago. But we had such a

771
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: great program. I mean, we would dominant. I mean, you

772
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:57,759
Speaker 1: know the thing about it is when I when I

773
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,879
Speaker 1: when they did thirty for thirty and guys that put

774
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 1: younger than me play man Man. I didn't know y'all

775
00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:04,440
Speaker 1: were that good man Man. I wanted to go to

776
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,439
Speaker 1: smutwo Man. I got to death pelling I was trying

777
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:09,359
Speaker 1: to go to SMU. It was so many of those,

778
00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:11,640
Speaker 1: so many of those players as that said that. But

779
00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:14,640
Speaker 1: we would trail blazes and didn't even know it, basically

780
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,000
Speaker 1: because people I didn't know. People knew who the Ponies

781
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,360
Speaker 1: Press was. I didn't know people even knew when I

782
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:21,680
Speaker 1: came to California. But you know, one of my things was,

783
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:24,279
Speaker 1: I said, I want them to know who I am.

784
00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:26,759
Speaker 1: I want them I want to know what a good

785
00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:28,520
Speaker 1: football player I really am, because I don't think they

786
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:30,600
Speaker 1: really know. You know, me and Texas, you know, because

787
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,360
Speaker 1: we didn't get the height that I don't think like

788
00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:36,040
Speaker 1: Alabama and SC and all the other schools guys. But

789
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:37,720
Speaker 1: I guess we were getting them. We just didn't realize

790
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:41,279
Speaker 1: were playing on national television too. Yeah. Yeah, no, it

791
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,320
Speaker 1: was a real thing. And you know the crazy thing is,

792
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:44,920
Speaker 1: I don't think you and I have ever talked about this.

793
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:46,560
Speaker 1: Maybe we did. I mean I end up going to

794
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:50,000
Speaker 1: s m U totally, you know, for for other reasons.

795
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,200
Speaker 1: But I'm from Atlanta. I was a University of Georgia fan.

796
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:59,759
Speaker 1: So well S had the theater department, I mean sm

797
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 1: you you know, they had, as we know, both of

798
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,400
Speaker 1: us know, they have a lot of money, and they

799
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:09,800
Speaker 1: supported their athletics and they supported the arts and and

800
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:12,960
Speaker 1: so that's where I went. But no, so but at

801
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,640
Speaker 1: that time, again, because I'm younger and more attractive, I was,

802
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 1: I was, Yeah, I was going to Athens as a

803
00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:24,960
Speaker 1: as a kid, as a younger kid. Yeah, watching herschel Walker,

804
00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:27,880
Speaker 1: and so I was, it's this weird kind of shift

805
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,560
Speaker 1: for me where I remember me. It was like, oh,

806
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,040
Speaker 1: I don't know if we want to play I don't

807
00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:33,480
Speaker 1: know if we want to play s MU or not

808
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:37,960
Speaker 1: we being Georgia, which then sort of shifted and changed.

809
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:44,000
Speaker 1: It's just interesting. Uh, fifty yards on seven ninety carries.

810
00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:48,680
Speaker 1: You broke Earl Campbell's Southwest Conference record for yards and

811
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:53,880
Speaker 1: for attempts. Forty eight career touchdowns, tied dog Walkers SMU

812
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,600
Speaker 1: record career scoring record, and this was despite splitting time.

813
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:05,359
Speaker 1: You finished third in the Heisman Trophy, voting behind aforementioned

814
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:09,080
Speaker 1: herschel Walker and John Elway. Obviously, you're getting a ton

815
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:13,279
Speaker 1: of attention at this time for the NFL, and I

816
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:18,120
Speaker 1: understand that you were. I did not know this or

817
00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:23,440
Speaker 1: did not remember this. You considered going to the Arizona

818
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:28,520
Speaker 1: Wranglers usfl um and and and was considering between that

819
00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:31,920
Speaker 1: and the NFL. And once again my mother came through.

820
00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:34,240
Speaker 1: I won't forget because I asked us which one should

821
00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:36,800
Speaker 1: I go to? Mom? She so, and so let me

822
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:38,480
Speaker 1: think about it, let me praise the other thing. Let

823
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:40,239
Speaker 1: me pray on it, and I won't. I guess. She

824
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:42,000
Speaker 1: came back later a couple of days. They just let

825
00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:44,560
Speaker 1: me ask you something, Say which one has been around longer?

826
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,239
Speaker 1: I said in n f ALF. She said, go to

827
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,239
Speaker 1: the NFL. They're gonna be there. That's the one you

828
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:51,640
Speaker 1: go to. That's why I chose the NFL. I don't

829
00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:54,840
Speaker 1: even think about the Arizona Wranglers after that they drafted it,

830
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:56,759
Speaker 1: but I never I went on the visit, you know,

831
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,920
Speaker 1: to take by me down to visit, but I wouldn't

832
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:01,080
Speaker 1: go in there. I was going to the NFL. And

833
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,719
Speaker 1: she said that that's seal the deal for me. I

834
00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:09,640
Speaker 1: mean that is a really good decision. Yeah, I mean

835
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,759
Speaker 1: just call me crazy. I think that's a really good decision. Uh.

836
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,359
Speaker 1: You get drafted by the Rams. Talk to me about

837
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:19,800
Speaker 1: that day, just a little bit about being drafted and

838
00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,560
Speaker 1: by the Rams again far away from home. What were

839
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:27,719
Speaker 1: your feelings. Well, I'll say this much here. I want

840
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:31,359
Speaker 1: to come to the Rams. I did after not coming

841
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:34,919
Speaker 1: to USC, you know, watching the Rams on television, because

842
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:36,960
Speaker 1: I'd watched the Rams. I really you know what I

843
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:40,799
Speaker 1: loved about the uniforms. I love the uniforms. I loved

844
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 1: the old uniform. I love the horn. I mean it

845
00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:46,040
Speaker 1: just sucks. Looks so cool, and I make me I

846
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,960
Speaker 1: look so good in the uniform being in l I

847
00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 1: think I've been in l a Hollywood. You know when

848
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:54,640
Speaker 1: I when I got drafted, I was excited about it.

849
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:58,120
Speaker 1: But I got I got the news, Uh, the night

850
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,560
Speaker 1: before you knew I was gonna go. It was it

851
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,440
Speaker 1: was it was Baltimore, the Oilers and the Rams in

852
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,680
Speaker 1: that order. That was the That was the order right there, first,

853
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:10,560
Speaker 1: top three. So it possed me. I said, I was

854
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,520
Speaker 1: gonna go one, two or three somewhere, and you know,

855
00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:15,319
Speaker 1: we know what we're in there, something one or two,

856
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,160
Speaker 1: one or two or three maybe. So what happened is

857
00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:21,000
Speaker 1: the Rams made a trade with the Oilers the night

858
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:23,480
Speaker 1: before the draft, and I got a call that night.

859
00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:25,719
Speaker 1: I can't think it again as a guy's name that

860
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:28,560
Speaker 1: he called me said, um, god, this is someone So

861
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,239
Speaker 1: from the last Angeles Rams is Eric Dickerson. I said this.

862
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:33,680
Speaker 1: Eric Dickerson said, We're gonna draft you in the morning.

863
00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:35,520
Speaker 1: He said, So, I have a flight for you to

864
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,719
Speaker 1: catch it, like ten o'clock out of Dallas df W.

865
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:40,840
Speaker 1: So just let you know we're draft you in the morning.

866
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:44,200
Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, I won't forget it. And that's not

867
00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:47,000
Speaker 1: another drafts. I knew right there. They said, you said

868
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:48,480
Speaker 1: we made a trade with the Houston Oiler. We swapp

869
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:50,040
Speaker 1: with the Houston Oilers. So I'm just letting you know

870
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:52,880
Speaker 1: because Houston was head a second pick. So shoot enough,

871
00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:54,279
Speaker 1: I'm in the car. I'm go away today. Up put

872
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 1: me my best friend, Jack Bogman. That's what called Jack.

873
00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:59,759
Speaker 1: Following the call, We're on our way. They are pulled.

874
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:02,600
Speaker 1: I said, the RAMS make a quick pick, you know,

875
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 1: running back Eric Dickinson, Southern Methish University, blah blah blah.

876
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:08,040
Speaker 1: And they were like, wow, that was really quick, you know,

877
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:10,880
Speaker 1: because they picked me right away, you know, just like

878
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:13,759
Speaker 1: they picked John. That would the same way. So um.

879
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:15,719
Speaker 1: I got to the airport and people who congratulate me,

880
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:17,239
Speaker 1: and I was like, wow, thanks, you know, and I

881
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:18,759
Speaker 1: got to l A. I got here to l A,

882
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:22,920
Speaker 1: to the Rams and had the press conference. For the

883
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,080
Speaker 1: first thing John Robinson said when he saw me, said,

884
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:26,960
Speaker 1: I finally got you because he tried to recruit me

885
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 1: out of highs spool recruit me out of house. Uh.

886
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:32,759
Speaker 1: And that was that was that was funny. And I

887
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:35,320
Speaker 1: won't forget my press conference because you know, they asked me,

888
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,080
Speaker 1: you know, questions, and you know, I've never been big,

889
00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:40,320
Speaker 1: I've never cared for the press much. And one of

890
00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:41,840
Speaker 1: the things was and I was I going to be

891
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:43,800
Speaker 1: the savior. I said, hey, man, look, I said, I

892
00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:45,279
Speaker 1: just came in to play football and just do what

893
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,319
Speaker 1: I supposed to do. Do my job. That's what that's

894
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:49,520
Speaker 1: that's that's what I'm gonna do. And I was excited

895
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:51,000
Speaker 1: about it. But I can tell you this when I

896
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:54,879
Speaker 1: got back, because I flew back that night, got back, um,

897
00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:57,440
Speaker 1: so my best friend picked me up. He said, man, so,

898
00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,960
Speaker 1: so what what number did you choose? I said, I chose.

899
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 1: I chose number twenty five. He's say, twenty five. Why

900
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,040
Speaker 1: do you take that slow number? That SA a slow

901
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:13,160
Speaker 1: ass number. I never forget it, he said, why do

902
00:43:13,239 --> 00:43:16,279
Speaker 1: you take number twenty nine? Like you know, nineteen to

903
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,360
Speaker 1: right num? I'm like, oh yeah, man, Brandon. That night

904
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,680
Speaker 1: I couldn't even sleep. I couldn't. I couldn't even I

905
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:23,360
Speaker 1: couldn't even sleep. I sweat I could. I had to

906
00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:25,480
Speaker 1: call the rams. The next changed my number, so I

907
00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:27,640
Speaker 1: called later in the day, said and I said, I

908
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:30,640
Speaker 1: speak to them, Mr Hewitt, please to equipment guy. So okay,

909
00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,400
Speaker 1: but I said, Mr, what how you're doing? Say Eric

910
00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,360
Speaker 1: is going? I say, and I know I'm I'm number

911
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:38,440
Speaker 1: twenty five, but I don't want to be number twenty five.

912
00:43:38,719 --> 00:43:40,120
Speaker 1: I said, I want to be I wanna switch my

913
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,759
Speaker 1: number twenty nine, he said, Eric. He said, I don't

914
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:44,279
Speaker 1: think men do that. You know you're in l A times.

915
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,200
Speaker 1: Hold up number twenty five. I said, I'll tell you

916
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,799
Speaker 1: what to Hewitt. If I'm not number twenty nine, I'm

917
00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:51,560
Speaker 1: not coming. He said, okay, will you be number twenty nine.

918
00:43:52,080 --> 00:44:14,360
Speaker 1: So that's how I came up in twenty nine. I

919
00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:17,360
Speaker 1: did not know that story. And it leads me to

920
00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:22,960
Speaker 1: a really important question. Do you like most athletes? For

921
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:26,280
Speaker 1: those of you who are not golfers, most professional athletes

922
00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:31,120
Speaker 1: put their their number on their golf ball. Is twenty

923
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,279
Speaker 1: nine on your golf ball? Yeah? Most of them. I hate.

924
00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:35,799
Speaker 1: I hate to lose them. That's the problem. You're losing

925
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,880
Speaker 1: at your number. E D two nine, E D H.

926
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,880
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. People give them him. Here's the problem.

927
00:44:42,640 --> 00:44:47,640
Speaker 1: I'm twenty nine. Also, this never occurred to me, probably

928
00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:50,560
Speaker 1: when we've played at some point in time you've hit

929
00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:54,560
Speaker 1: my ball, you're like number twenty nine. All right, I'll

930
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:57,840
Speaker 1: tell you. I was like, I'm not an you know,

931
00:44:57,840 --> 00:44:59,920
Speaker 1: because you know, you go to Tahoe or you go

932
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:01,919
Speaker 1: in these turns and you gotta have your own number.

933
00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,800
Speaker 1: You gotta you know, it's gotta be different. And I

934
00:45:04,920 --> 00:45:07,320
Speaker 1: was like, I don't have a number. What am I

935
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:10,840
Speaker 1: gonna say? And so I was like, well, let me

936
00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:15,400
Speaker 1: think of something weird, which was not I was nineteen.

937
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:18,320
Speaker 1: I was like, it's a it's a prime number. Like

938
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:20,520
Speaker 1: I don't know, Like I don't I don't think of

939
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:22,880
Speaker 1: any You'll probably think of somebody. I can't think of

940
00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:27,080
Speaker 1: any iconic sports people that have had nineteen. And then

941
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,120
Speaker 1: I started playing real shitty for a couple of years,

942
00:45:30,719 --> 00:45:32,800
Speaker 1: and I was like, I think I I think I

943
00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:38,680
Speaker 1: gotta change my number. So I totally randomly, I was like, well,

944
00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:41,320
Speaker 1: I'll just turn into twenty nine. And that was it.

945
00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:45,680
Speaker 1: So I'm yeah, I'm nine when I was nineteen in college,

946
00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:47,680
Speaker 1: but that's what I had. I was nineteen. There you go,

947
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,960
Speaker 1: Maybe that was it. Maybe that was up following you

948
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:55,920
Speaker 1: from college to the pro. Well, I gotta tell you

949
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:57,120
Speaker 1: to see it too. I could tell you a story

950
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,120
Speaker 1: because people ask me, they say, you know, what's what's

951
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,040
Speaker 1: if you have a regret? Was one thing you regret?

952
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,880
Speaker 1: I see? You know what I really regret. I regret

953
00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:09,080
Speaker 1: not taking theater and drama. I used to love to

954
00:46:09,160 --> 00:46:11,440
Speaker 1: go to s m U or both s m U

955
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:14,040
Speaker 1: and in high school. But you know, back then it

956
00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:17,000
Speaker 1: was like, you know, I'm not a drama guy. That's

957
00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:19,120
Speaker 1: that's the real guys. Don't mean if I at least

958
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:22,200
Speaker 1: don't do that kind of stuff. But do I regret

959
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:24,680
Speaker 1: that to death? Man? Because I used to love to

960
00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:27,439
Speaker 1: go to play, Like man, that's so cool. They become

961
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:31,040
Speaker 1: somebody else, that's amazing. I never knew that. Let me

962
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:33,120
Speaker 1: ask you this. Do you remember what was your dorm

963
00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:35,719
Speaker 1: at s m U. Uh see it was in cock

964
00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:37,759
Speaker 1: when what Cockroll was the other one? Um? Was it

965
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:41,400
Speaker 1: Letterman Hall? No, not Letterman I wouldn't. I wouldn't let him.

966
00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 1: But I moved off Campa. I moved off campus out

967
00:46:43,719 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 1: to my freshman year. Yeah me too, that's kind of

968
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:49,400
Speaker 1: what everybody did. Yeah. No, so I was told Letterman

969
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:51,480
Speaker 1: Hall was the old football dorm, which it might have

970
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:53,959
Speaker 1: been for I got there. But became the became the theater.

971
00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:56,480
Speaker 1: Really yeah, so that's where that was my that was

972
00:46:56,560 --> 00:47:00,160
Speaker 1: my freshman dorm. Okay, yeah, yeah, that dor m I

973
00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:04,000
Speaker 1: believe no longer exists because the President Bush's Library. But

974
00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:06,080
Speaker 1: for those of you who went to school then, who

975
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:12,320
Speaker 1: are listening, that gorgeous just there. It's amazing you. You

976
00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:15,800
Speaker 1: go to the Rams. It must be stated you set

977
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:20,240
Speaker 1: the single season rushing yardage record in a season still

978
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:27,279
Speaker 1: stands today, two thousand, one hundred and five yards um.

979
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:31,640
Speaker 1: Before you, only O. J. Simpson had more, just a

980
00:47:31,719 --> 00:47:35,719
Speaker 1: handful after no one has gotten? Is that Is that

981
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: something you're proud of, very much, very much proud of.

982
00:47:38,719 --> 00:47:40,400
Speaker 1: I think I think the one that I always say

983
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:45,040
Speaker 1: is gonna last longer is the rookie Russian records is

984
00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:48,359
Speaker 1: a rookie of twenty touchdowns. I mean, I didn't plan

985
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:50,719
Speaker 1: on that kind of season. I mean I forget once again,

986
00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:52,400
Speaker 1: me and my best friend and we're talking about my

987
00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,080
Speaker 1: first my first year. He said, we don't know what

988
00:47:54,400 --> 00:47:57,279
Speaker 1: because it kind of trying to make goals. So he said, well,

989
00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,239
Speaker 1: he said, okay, but let's look at Marcus because he said,

990
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:01,360
Speaker 1: I think Marcus had, like he said, level hundred yards

991
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:03,719
Speaker 1: and like eight touchdowns. So he said, well, you bet

992
00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,799
Speaker 1: at Marcus, so he said, and Marcus, my boy, she said.

993
00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:08,320
Speaker 1: He said so. Now he said, so you ought to

994
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:11,120
Speaker 1: have like thirteen hundred yards here, like thirteen or fourteen

995
00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:16,560
Speaker 1: touchdown like can that be a good years? But I

996
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,719
Speaker 1: had eighteen hundred yards and touchdown. So but man, I'm

997
00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:21,640
Speaker 1: very proud of you. Know, when you play a sport

998
00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:24,839
Speaker 1: like like football, in any sport, it's grueling, it's it's

999
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,000
Speaker 1: a grueling sport. It's it's tough on your body, is

1000
00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:29,279
Speaker 1: tough on your mind. But I think the thing that

1001
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:33,399
Speaker 1: that sometimes it's satisfying is when you play against other

1002
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:37,320
Speaker 1: great players and they tell you that you're great or

1003
00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:39,800
Speaker 1: you're good. Man, Erek, you're great. I mean I was

1004
00:48:39,840 --> 00:48:42,840
Speaker 1: tough playing against you. That makes you feel like I

1005
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:45,720
Speaker 1: really did something, I really accomplished something in my sport.

1006
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,000
Speaker 1: When the other great players, because you're him, like my

1007
00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:51,839
Speaker 1: boy lt Or Ricky Jackson, Richard Dent, I say, man,

1008
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:53,360
Speaker 1: you're playing against you. Man, we knew we had to

1009
00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:56,160
Speaker 1: game plan for you and vice versa, like we had

1010
00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,000
Speaker 1: the game playing for Lawrence Tablor with the lame playing

1011
00:48:58,040 --> 00:49:01,640
Speaker 1: for Richard Dent, you know my singletary, you know Ranny Lott,

1012
00:49:01,719 --> 00:49:03,319
Speaker 1: you know, you get the game plan for certain guys.

1013
00:49:03,880 --> 00:49:06,279
Speaker 1: But it makes me I'm very proud of the things

1014
00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:08,160
Speaker 1: that I was able to do in the NFL. I

1015
00:49:08,239 --> 00:49:10,640
Speaker 1: want you to know, because I know I haven't said

1016
00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:15,680
Speaker 1: this to you. It has become truly for me, one

1017
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:21,000
Speaker 1: of the great thrills privileges of my life as a

1018
00:49:21,160 --> 00:49:26,720
Speaker 1: huge sports fan, to truly get to know essentially everyone

1019
00:49:26,760 --> 00:49:29,640
Speaker 1: you just mentioned. I mean, you're talking about Marcus and

1020
00:49:29,719 --> 00:49:31,640
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, I remember, yeah, me and you and

1021
00:49:31,760 --> 00:49:36,200
Speaker 1: Marcus and fly there there, Oh there's dead and you know,

1022
00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:41,120
Speaker 1: watching you guys interact and bringing me into that fold

1023
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:43,719
Speaker 1: in some way or I don't know, trusting me is

1024
00:49:43,760 --> 00:49:45,360
Speaker 1: I don't even know if that's the right word or

1025
00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:48,279
Speaker 1: just we're just hanging out. It's a I consider it

1026
00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:50,120
Speaker 1: a privilege. So I just wanted to say that. And

1027
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,839
Speaker 1: when you mentioned all those other guys, I'm like, yeah, God,

1028
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:58,560
Speaker 1: and everyone's nice to me, like, well believe believe it,

1029
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:00,960
Speaker 1: or that you know, all of guys, all of us,

1030
00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:04,040
Speaker 1: I think athletes, we all was insensible to be an

1031
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,320
Speaker 1: actor too, right, So we look, we look at what

1032
00:50:06,400 --> 00:50:08,719
Speaker 1: you're doing like man, we had all that awsome Like, man,

1033
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:10,440
Speaker 1: how do you do that? You know, make it look

1034
00:50:10,480 --> 00:50:12,160
Speaker 1: so easy? Like people say you're making it look a man.

1035
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:15,080
Speaker 1: I say, it isn't easy, just like acting. It's not easy.

1036
00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:18,040
Speaker 1: It's a job. No, No, it's not. No. And this

1037
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:20,360
Speaker 1: week especially I can tell you fresh sure it is.

1038
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:24,160
Speaker 1: It is not not this my it's it is. It's

1039
00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:29,120
Speaker 1: been a tough week. Um. The Rams you left, which

1040
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:31,600
Speaker 1: we can talk about briefly to go to the Colts

1041
00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:36,359
Speaker 1: eventually the Raiders and you know you had and on again,

1042
00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:41,200
Speaker 1: off again, you know, relationship with some people with the Rams,

1043
00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:44,120
Speaker 1: and you know, to see you the last few years.

1044
00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:48,560
Speaker 1: How has it been for you to really be brought back. Well,

1045
00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:50,840
Speaker 1: I gotta say it was good because he started with

1046
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,600
Speaker 1: john Shaw and john Shaw was the guy who who

1047
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:56,160
Speaker 1: traded me from the Rams, and that that should have

1048
00:50:56,200 --> 00:50:59,160
Speaker 1: never happened. Look, one thing about me was I wasn't

1049
00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:02,400
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have trouble maker. You know, I didn't do drugs.

1050
00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:05,000
Speaker 1: You know, I'm like most guys young keys back then.

1051
00:51:05,080 --> 00:51:07,040
Speaker 1: All it did was go out to go to club

1052
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:10,080
Speaker 1: and chase girls. Thank thank god, wouldn't have cell phones.

1053
00:51:10,600 --> 00:51:13,080
Speaker 1: But like that, Thank God wouldn't have these things. But

1054
00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:15,040
Speaker 1: you know, I wanted to play for I want to

1055
00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:17,640
Speaker 1: play for the team, but you know they weren't paying

1056
00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:20,000
Speaker 1: me right, and they really weren't. I mean, And you know,

1057
00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:22,160
Speaker 1: I got called all kinds of things, Eric, the Ingrade,

1058
00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:23,960
Speaker 1: things I ain't know. I ain't know, the Ingrade Wolds,

1059
00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:27,160
Speaker 1: you know, money hungry. I'm like money, Hu, God, my money.

1060
00:51:27,160 --> 00:51:30,680
Speaker 1: I ain't making no money, you know, Because so I

1061
00:51:30,719 --> 00:51:34,320
Speaker 1: won't forget that. It was my fourth year and I

1062
00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:36,600
Speaker 1: go to meet with john Shaw by my contract, but

1063
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,279
Speaker 1: you know, I'm just so unhappy with it because I

1064
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:41,719
Speaker 1: know I'm getting screwed. I mean, it's no doubt I am.

1065
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:43,560
Speaker 1: I mean, And so when I go to talk to

1066
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:46,279
Speaker 1: him about it, he says, I mean, he says, So Eric,

1067
00:51:46,360 --> 00:51:47,560
Speaker 1: we know, what do you want you to? Said one

1068
00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:49,200
Speaker 1: time of my contract, John, I mean said, man, I'm

1069
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:51,200
Speaker 1: say I'm not getting paid right, I said, you know,

1070
00:51:51,239 --> 00:51:53,759
Speaker 1: I'm most of the offense, and you know I'm I

1071
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:55,719
Speaker 1: left the league in Russian last year. And I won't

1072
00:51:55,760 --> 00:51:58,759
Speaker 1: forget his reply, No, you didn't, Eric want to Payton, did?

1073
00:51:58,880 --> 00:52:01,960
Speaker 1: I said? John? I left the league in Russian last year?

1074
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:06,239
Speaker 1: Eric I mean, so we argue. I'm like, jump, I

1075
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:08,520
Speaker 1: left the league in Russian. Now I'm telling you at

1076
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:12,120
Speaker 1: fourteen touchdown, let me get the book out. I want

1077
00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:15,560
Speaker 1: to slap him with that book. You can bring the book.

1078
00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:18,560
Speaker 1: You like. Oh, I'm like, you know, I want to say,

1079
00:52:18,600 --> 00:52:21,799
Speaker 1: you know I did so you know. So I'm talking

1080
00:52:21,800 --> 00:52:23,600
Speaker 1: to him and I said, John, I said, I'll tell

1081
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:25,759
Speaker 1: you what this is how much I wanted to stay

1082
00:52:25,800 --> 00:52:28,719
Speaker 1: with the team. And I guarantee no other player would

1083
00:52:28,719 --> 00:52:30,960
Speaker 1: have did this. I said, I think I did a

1084
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:33,839
Speaker 1: year I had like thirteen hundred yards because I held out.

1085
00:52:34,360 --> 00:52:36,560
Speaker 1: So I told my said, look, John, I said, if

1086
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:41,560
Speaker 1: if I have over fifteen to sixteen hundred yards, that's

1087
00:52:41,600 --> 00:52:43,759
Speaker 1: a lot of yards. And the NFL, that's a lot

1088
00:52:43,840 --> 00:52:48,040
Speaker 1: of yards. I said, you pay me like Johnny always

1089
00:52:48,040 --> 00:52:50,040
Speaker 1: getting paid. Paid me a million dollars. I was making

1090
00:52:50,120 --> 00:52:54,920
Speaker 1: one fifty one seventy five. And I mean that Johnny

1091
00:52:54,920 --> 00:52:57,640
Speaker 1: always making a million dollars. I'm like, I'm a second pick.

1092
00:52:58,080 --> 00:53:02,279
Speaker 1: How's my money so off? So he said, I said,

1093
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:04,719
Speaker 1: I said, just I said, just pay me, pay me.

1094
00:53:04,719 --> 00:53:05,880
Speaker 1: I want to make all day. I want to make

1095
00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:09,000
Speaker 1: a million dollars. That's what I want to make He said, no,

1096
00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:10,920
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna do that. I said, I put it

1097
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:13,160
Speaker 1: on me, and I'm just like that if I don't perform,

1098
00:53:13,200 --> 00:53:14,720
Speaker 1: I don't say I'll go back to the old contract.

1099
00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:16,200
Speaker 1: And said, no, I'm not gonna do that. And then

1100
00:53:16,239 --> 00:53:18,680
Speaker 1: at that point, I'm like, well it's't gonna work, right,

1101
00:53:18,680 --> 00:53:20,640
Speaker 1: you know, just and just it just st fall on

1102
00:53:20,719 --> 00:53:22,239
Speaker 1: the part at that point. You know, it's a team,

1103
00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:24,200
Speaker 1: and I wanted to be there. And you know, my

1104
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:26,279
Speaker 1: last football game that I played for the Rams and

1105
00:53:26,320 --> 00:53:27,880
Speaker 1: one forget it was to Cleveland Browns and played in

1106
00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:30,640
Speaker 1: Cleveland and I had a hurt thigh. I didn't want

1107
00:53:30,680 --> 00:53:33,080
Speaker 1: to play, but I played. I told him I didn't

1108
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:35,640
Speaker 1: want to start, and so I said because my thy heart.

1109
00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:39,279
Speaker 1: I was so pissed at him. And so Charlie White

1110
00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:41,120
Speaker 1: got hurt one again. He got hurt on a play

1111
00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:42,479
Speaker 1: and I had to go in the game. I didn't

1112
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:44,919
Speaker 1: know what my helmet was to play the game. Find

1113
00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:47,040
Speaker 1: my helmet, Run on the field, Run on the field,

1114
00:53:47,120 --> 00:53:49,360
Speaker 1: run on the field. And the first playoff they they

1115
00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:51,720
Speaker 1: called in the backfield and all the crowd went crazy

1116
00:53:51,800 --> 00:53:54,319
Speaker 1: and they were threw a little short passed the next place,

1117
00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:56,920
Speaker 1: I had a like a fifty yard touchdown run and

1118
00:53:57,000 --> 00:53:58,879
Speaker 1: that was my last run for the Rams. I said,

1119
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:00,880
Speaker 1: I said, I'm done with this crap. I said, Man,

1120
00:54:00,920 --> 00:54:02,800
Speaker 1: I hate this team and I loved him. Man, I

1121
00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:06,680
Speaker 1: just I love my teammates. I just couldn't stand the organization. Man,

1122
00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,399
Speaker 1: it really it was. It was really bad. But let's

1123
00:54:09,400 --> 00:54:13,560
Speaker 1: pass forward. So now I'm retired. Kevin touched Jackie's later

1124
00:54:13,560 --> 00:54:16,000
Speaker 1: a lot. So Jackie comes to ericson. Man, john Shaw

1125
00:54:16,120 --> 00:54:17,600
Speaker 1: wants to want you to call him. I said, call

1126
00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:20,839
Speaker 1: him for what he messed up with me. Man, he said,

1127
00:54:21,239 --> 00:54:22,640
Speaker 1: I said no, I said, I don't want to do

1128
00:54:22,680 --> 00:54:24,279
Speaker 1: with him. He's Eric. He said, he always like you

1129
00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:25,920
Speaker 1: said you stand up. Guys say, hey, we have him

1130
00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:28,719
Speaker 1: called me, so shoot enough. John called me. He called

1131
00:54:28,760 --> 00:54:32,200
Speaker 1: me and he has been having lunch with him. Someone

1132
00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:34,359
Speaker 1: had lunch with him and I don't forget the first

1133
00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:35,800
Speaker 1: thing he said this Eric, Guys want to say this

1134
00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,240
Speaker 1: to you. He says that trade should have never happened.

1135
00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:40,879
Speaker 1: He said, that's my fault. He said you. He said,

1136
00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:42,920
Speaker 1: you're the greatest player I've ever seen. He said, used

1137
00:54:42,920 --> 00:54:44,960
Speaker 1: to be saying that you would be a Ram to

1138
00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:47,279
Speaker 1: me for life. So if anything we can ever do

1139
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,360
Speaker 1: for you, he said, you just call and let me know.

1140
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,239
Speaker 1: And from that point on, you know, for me, I

1141
00:54:52,400 --> 00:54:54,160
Speaker 1: was because I mean, I never want to leave the team.

1142
00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:56,279
Speaker 1: I really didn't, but you know, it was just it was,

1143
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:58,120
Speaker 1: like I said, it was business and it was ugly business.

1144
00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:00,960
Speaker 1: But you know, I'm I'm I work for the team. Now.

1145
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:02,920
Speaker 1: I'm glad to be back with the Los Angeles Rams.

1146
00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:04,719
Speaker 1: I'm going to see my team win. I want to

1147
00:55:04,719 --> 00:55:06,960
Speaker 1: see my team in the super Bowl here in l A.

1148
00:55:07,080 --> 00:55:10,319
Speaker 1: I think it was fantastic. I mean, and we still

1149
00:55:10,400 --> 00:55:11,800
Speaker 1: have a long way to go. We really do with

1150
00:55:11,880 --> 00:55:14,080
Speaker 1: the fans because you know, just be honest, it's a

1151
00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,680
Speaker 1: Raider town. And I said, it's a raider twn's cowboy

1152
00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:20,440
Speaker 1: town nine as I hate the nine as god cast. Okay,

1153
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:25,160
Speaker 1: stand up. I have to ask you this greatest defense

1154
00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:28,719
Speaker 1: you ever played against. You talked about people giving you compliments.

1155
00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:30,799
Speaker 1: You're gonna tell you something people you're gonna thank us

1156
00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:34,719
Speaker 1: that you're gonna thank us to. It's not to Chicago Bettars. No,

1157
00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:37,360
Speaker 1: the great defense. Don't get me wrong, great defense, but

1158
00:55:37,400 --> 00:55:40,440
Speaker 1: the defense that gave me the most problems the New

1159
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:43,880
Speaker 1: England Patriots, and they weren't even make good. Man, just

1160
00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:48,400
Speaker 1: give me fits. I'm serious fits. I mean, I played it.

1161
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:50,040
Speaker 1: I always played well against the Bears. I mean even

1162
00:55:50,080 --> 00:55:52,160
Speaker 1: like at the Indian offices. I played only one game

1163
00:55:52,200 --> 00:55:54,320
Speaker 1: that we're gonna play well. We played that NFCY Championship

1164
00:55:54,360 --> 00:55:56,279
Speaker 1: game and we didn't have a quarterback. He did for

1165
00:55:56,320 --> 00:55:58,719
Speaker 1: fifty yards. I think I ran for fifty yards, but

1166
00:55:59,239 --> 00:56:01,400
Speaker 1: that that was a great defense. But they've ran that

1167
00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:03,960
Speaker 1: defense before. I got that monster defense, and we always

1168
00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:07,719
Speaker 1: ran against it. I had a hundred forty fifty. They

1169
00:56:07,760 --> 00:56:10,719
Speaker 1: were good. But the two defense that gave me the

1170
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:12,960
Speaker 1: most hell was the New England Patriots. Man, they would

1171
00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:15,400
Speaker 1: hit me well, I seem I didn't have a pad or.

1172
00:56:15,480 --> 00:56:17,360
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm like, and I would ask them like,

1173
00:56:17,520 --> 00:56:21,520
Speaker 1: I said, man, why is it that the week before,

1174
00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:24,040
Speaker 1: two weeks before, y'all give up two hundred yards Russian

1175
00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:28,440
Speaker 1: one ninety. Get to me, it's a tough hundred. It's

1176
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:31,200
Speaker 1: a tough ninety yards. He said, it's called Dickerson Week.

1177
00:56:31,360 --> 00:56:34,279
Speaker 1: He said, we got ready for you. Eric. Really you

1178
00:56:34,360 --> 00:56:36,239
Speaker 1: say you say you say we called it Dickerson week.

1179
00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:38,719
Speaker 1: He said, We're ready for you. I'm like, y'all show

1180
00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:42,960
Speaker 1: were man because when I tell you, oh I hated

1181
00:56:43,040 --> 00:56:47,399
Speaker 1: playing them, Yeah, I hated it. Yeah. You called your

1182
00:56:47,719 --> 00:56:51,000
Speaker 1: time with the Colts unfortunate, and you've sort of spoken

1183
00:56:51,040 --> 00:56:54,640
Speaker 1: to it that you didn't ever want to leave nol A. No,

1184
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:58,040
Speaker 1: I want to leave LA. You know, Indianapolis was it

1185
00:56:58,120 --> 00:56:59,960
Speaker 1: is what it is. I didn't want to go to India.

1186
00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:01,600
Speaker 1: I mean the reason I went there was plus of

1187
00:57:01,600 --> 00:57:04,960
Speaker 1: my head coach Ron Meyer. And uh I finally got paid, right,

1188
00:57:05,320 --> 00:57:07,839
Speaker 1: you know you got paid? Oh, I got that here

1189
00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:09,320
Speaker 1: at home. I don't even took less money stay in

1190
00:57:09,440 --> 00:57:11,560
Speaker 1: l A. And look, I'm gonna say this much year.

1191
00:57:11,680 --> 00:57:14,520
Speaker 1: There's some good people in Indianapolis, and it's some bad people.

1192
00:57:14,520 --> 00:57:17,960
Speaker 1: And that's everywhere. That's that's all over the world. But

1193
00:57:18,200 --> 00:57:20,120
Speaker 1: I run across a lot of bad people and some

1194
00:57:20,200 --> 00:57:23,400
Speaker 1: good people to like, you know, my wife's from Indianapolis.

1195
00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:25,440
Speaker 1: You know, my my my in laws. Man, I love

1196
00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:27,520
Speaker 1: my mother in law, my father love. They're good people.

1197
00:57:28,440 --> 00:57:31,000
Speaker 1: But you know, being in Indie, uh, it was some

1198
00:57:31,120 --> 00:57:33,240
Speaker 1: things that I've seen I've never seen, Like I've never

1199
00:57:33,280 --> 00:57:35,480
Speaker 1: seen a clan rally. I mean I saw a clan

1200
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:37,840
Speaker 1: rally on TV. I mean you that on't forget my

1201
00:57:37,960 --> 00:57:40,200
Speaker 1: uncle here. I'm a land in bed on a Tuesday

1202
00:57:40,240 --> 00:57:41,360
Speaker 1: with your off day. You see what you do when

1203
00:57:41,360 --> 00:57:43,040
Speaker 1: I sitting there in the bed, he said, turned TV on?

1204
00:57:43,200 --> 00:57:45,880
Speaker 1: I said, what you see any channel? I turned it on.

1205
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:49,960
Speaker 1: I'm like, what the hell? He said, Yeah, he say,

1206
00:57:49,960 --> 00:57:51,440
Speaker 1: that's one that you know yet, Eric, he said, this

1207
00:57:51,560 --> 00:57:53,320
Speaker 1: is what it is like. It's over here, they claimed

1208
00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:55,600
Speaker 1: at downtime. I read it a big one. I ain't

1209
00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:57,680
Speaker 1: talking about like a couple a hundred people. I'm talking

1210
00:57:57,680 --> 00:58:00,200
Speaker 1: about a big clan rally. I've never seen anything like

1211
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:02,800
Speaker 1: that before. And then I think the thing that really

1212
00:58:02,840 --> 00:58:04,520
Speaker 1: put me over the top of what that place was

1213
00:58:04,640 --> 00:58:07,480
Speaker 1: is that as a player, they hung a banner. Not

1214
00:58:07,640 --> 00:58:10,560
Speaker 1: forget they hung a banner over the rail, a picture

1215
00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:14,280
Speaker 1: of a black baby sitting in like the Indian style

1216
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:18,400
Speaker 1: position with twenty nine with fried chicken on one side,

1217
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:23,760
Speaker 1: stack of money, watermelons eating fried chicken, hanging out on

1218
00:58:23,800 --> 00:58:26,400
Speaker 1: the on the banner with my number on it. I

1219
00:58:26,440 --> 00:58:28,880
Speaker 1: won't forget this. My girl I was dating, she was

1220
00:58:28,920 --> 00:58:31,200
Speaker 1: at the game and we're best friend. We she's my

1221
00:58:31,280 --> 00:58:34,560
Speaker 1: best friend and she she she was crying after the game.

1222
00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:36,640
Speaker 1: I stopped. She camp obvious, she said, she said that

1223
00:58:36,760 --> 00:58:38,640
Speaker 1: was so hurtful. She said that was so wrong here.

1224
00:58:38,800 --> 00:58:40,800
Speaker 1: She said, I can't really let that stay out there.

1225
00:58:41,440 --> 00:58:43,800
Speaker 1: And I never forgot that, and I just can't. I mean, it's,

1226
00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:45,880
Speaker 1: you know, certain things you can't get past. Just like

1227
00:58:45,920 --> 00:58:47,640
Speaker 1: when I heard when I when I heard my old

1228
00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:51,400
Speaker 1: coach's voice. When I think about that situation of how

1229
00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:54,760
Speaker 1: the team that that go on, you don't do that.

1230
00:58:55,160 --> 00:58:57,560
Speaker 1: I mean, you just's certain things you don't do. I mean,

1231
00:58:57,600 --> 00:59:00,360
Speaker 1: and to me, that was disrespectful. I think it was.

1232
00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:04,360
Speaker 1: It was uncalled for me, and that was just and

1233
00:59:04,480 --> 00:59:06,360
Speaker 1: I'm like, I gotta get the hell out of here.

1234
00:59:06,440 --> 00:59:08,880
Speaker 1: I mean, I just that's why I don't go back

1235
00:59:08,880 --> 00:59:11,040
Speaker 1: to Indian appis like and when we promoting my book,

1236
00:59:11,120 --> 00:59:13,200
Speaker 1: they asked me about we want to go to India.

1237
00:59:13,200 --> 00:59:14,880
Speaker 1: I said it in no way. I said, I'm not

1238
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:16,840
Speaker 1: going back there. I don't like going to that place.

1239
00:59:17,080 --> 00:59:19,560
Speaker 1: I mean, and like I said, this good city for

1240
00:59:19,640 --> 00:59:23,000
Speaker 1: certain people, but for me, no, I'm not going back there.

1241
00:59:23,760 --> 00:59:25,840
Speaker 1: I don't blame you. I don't blame you. And like

1242
00:59:25,880 --> 00:59:27,800
Speaker 1: I said, and I'll say it again, some good people

1243
00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:30,400
Speaker 1: in every person is not like that. That's like saying,

1244
00:59:30,720 --> 00:59:36,480
Speaker 1: you know, every parents a good parent. It's not true, right, No, No,

1245
00:59:36,720 --> 00:59:41,480
Speaker 1: things would be decidedly different if that were true. Um,

1246
00:59:41,880 --> 00:59:45,800
Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen, you signed a one day contract with

1247
00:59:45,880 --> 00:59:48,960
Speaker 1: the Rams so you could retire as a member of

1248
00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:53,480
Speaker 1: the Rams. This is eighteen years after you're inducted into

1249
00:59:53,560 --> 00:59:59,680
Speaker 1: the NFL Hall of Fame. That's special. I wonder for you,

1250
01:00:00,680 --> 01:00:02,640
Speaker 1: with all of the players that you played with, that

1251
01:00:02,720 --> 01:00:05,480
Speaker 1: you became friends with, that you played for and against,

1252
01:00:06,040 --> 01:00:09,400
Speaker 1: what did the Hall of Fame mean for you? Well?

1253
01:00:09,880 --> 01:00:11,920
Speaker 1: I think for me. You know, I didn't even know

1254
01:00:11,960 --> 01:00:14,280
Speaker 1: what the Hall of Fame was until somebody when you

1255
01:00:14,760 --> 01:00:17,479
Speaker 1: when I was playing. Yeah, so I had Rickey Jackson

1256
01:00:17,520 --> 01:00:20,520
Speaker 1: was one who told me what it was. Anyway, I

1257
01:00:20,560 --> 01:00:23,960
Speaker 1: wanted to get go into that story. Um. You know,

1258
01:00:24,640 --> 01:00:29,120
Speaker 1: it in a sense solidifies your play as a player.

1259
01:00:29,720 --> 01:00:31,880
Speaker 1: You may think you're a good player, a great player,

1260
01:00:32,640 --> 01:00:36,440
Speaker 1: but when you have other people stamp you is he

1261
01:00:36,640 --> 01:00:39,160
Speaker 1: was one of the best. That's that's that's what that's

1262
01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:42,640
Speaker 1: really what it does. I mean, And it's politics. And

1263
01:00:42,840 --> 01:00:44,560
Speaker 1: let me just tell you that because I won't forget

1264
01:00:44,600 --> 01:00:46,040
Speaker 1: it was a guy that told me it was. It

1265
01:00:46,160 --> 01:00:49,040
Speaker 1: was a writer and he's a sportswriter. He's a writer

1266
01:00:49,120 --> 01:00:52,400
Speaker 1: for the for the Hall. One of the voters, and

1267
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:53,880
Speaker 1: he's Erica said, I just want to take you. Said

1268
01:00:53,880 --> 01:00:56,280
Speaker 1: you were going to be unanimous choice. He said, but

1269
01:00:56,360 --> 01:00:58,320
Speaker 1: one guy wouldn't vote for you. I won't say who,

1270
01:00:58,720 --> 01:01:00,480
Speaker 1: said I'm big. He said, wouldn't vot because you see

1271
01:01:00,480 --> 01:01:03,240
Speaker 1: it because one reason. And I asked him, I said,

1272
01:01:03,240 --> 01:01:05,480
Speaker 1: what he said, because he held out? He said, what

1273
01:01:05,560 --> 01:01:07,560
Speaker 1: they got to do with football? He said, I can't

1274
01:01:07,560 --> 01:01:09,960
Speaker 1: about for a got it held out. I'm like, what

1275
01:01:10,080 --> 01:01:13,560
Speaker 1: they gotta do with football? What they got to do

1276
01:01:13,640 --> 01:01:17,840
Speaker 1: with football? Yeah, but that that's that's what it means

1277
01:01:17,880 --> 01:01:21,520
Speaker 1: for me. But it really does. That's awesome. The new book.

1278
01:01:21,720 --> 01:01:25,479
Speaker 1: I mean, listen there. I mean, there's truly so many

1279
01:01:25,560 --> 01:01:30,040
Speaker 1: stories that I've heard today that are incredible. There are

1280
01:01:30,120 --> 01:01:33,840
Speaker 1: even more in the book Watch My Smoke. The Eric

1281
01:01:33,920 --> 01:01:37,480
Speaker 1: Dickerson's story came out a little bit earlier this year.

1282
01:01:38,280 --> 01:01:42,440
Speaker 1: Eric tells the story about his groundbreaking career and attempts

1283
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:46,840
Speaker 1: to right to kind of redefine your career and how

1284
01:01:47,080 --> 01:01:49,880
Speaker 1: people talk about you. Right, Yeah, Well, you know what

1285
01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:52,800
Speaker 1: the thing is especially back then. You know, we had

1286
01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:57,080
Speaker 1: no outlet, we had no social media. What the media

1287
01:01:57,160 --> 01:02:00,959
Speaker 1: wrote about us, people believed became factor. It was fact,

1288
01:02:01,040 --> 01:02:03,440
Speaker 1: and it was a lot of it wasn't true. I mean,

1289
01:02:03,880 --> 01:02:06,680
Speaker 1: they would make a guy that's truly an ass some

1290
01:02:06,800 --> 01:02:09,080
Speaker 1: guys he was. He was an asshole. Oh and then

1291
01:02:09,280 --> 01:02:10,920
Speaker 1: the media make him a great guy. He's not no

1292
01:02:11,160 --> 01:02:16,880
Speaker 1: great guy. We hated him. He's hated that. But that's

1293
01:02:16,920 --> 01:02:19,040
Speaker 1: just how it was back in and you know, and

1294
01:02:19,280 --> 01:02:22,640
Speaker 1: they vilified me because I just I wanted to get paid, right,

1295
01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:24,880
Speaker 1: That's all it was. And I wasn't. It was like

1296
01:02:24,920 --> 01:02:28,000
Speaker 1: I was asking for ten million dollars. I'm gonna be

1297
01:02:28,040 --> 01:02:31,040
Speaker 1: paid what I thought was correct. Man. That was that

1298
01:02:31,160 --> 01:02:32,520
Speaker 1: was you know, back in them days. It was just

1299
01:02:32,720 --> 01:02:35,040
Speaker 1: it was a bad thing and they made you pay

1300
01:02:35,120 --> 01:02:37,320
Speaker 1: for it, and the media made me pay for it.

1301
01:02:37,840 --> 01:02:39,840
Speaker 1: But still, you know what, you know what I'm proud of.

1302
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:42,080
Speaker 1: I'm really proud of that I did. I stood up.

1303
01:02:42,760 --> 01:02:44,760
Speaker 1: It was a lot of young players that came to

1304
01:02:44,880 --> 01:02:47,120
Speaker 1: me and after, you know, they just saw the thirty

1305
01:02:47,160 --> 01:02:49,560
Speaker 1: for thirty they read my book and said, man, I

1306
01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:51,360
Speaker 1: just want to say thank you. Man, he said, thank

1307
01:02:51,400 --> 01:02:53,160
Speaker 1: you for standing up for us for the for the

1308
01:02:53,280 --> 01:02:56,360
Speaker 1: running back position, and thanks you did, and I didn't.

1309
01:02:56,400 --> 01:02:58,040
Speaker 1: You know, you don't realize that what you're doing. I

1310
01:02:58,160 --> 01:03:00,120
Speaker 1: just did it because I know what was right, not

1311
01:03:00,440 --> 01:03:02,360
Speaker 1: because you said you greedy. I know. I know the

1312
01:03:02,400 --> 01:03:05,200
Speaker 1: difference between the difference between right and wrong, and it's

1313
01:03:05,320 --> 01:03:07,520
Speaker 1: it's wrong. And that's what I was doing it for

1314
01:03:07,840 --> 01:03:09,480
Speaker 1: for other players that I kept out. And they told

1315
01:03:09,520 --> 01:03:11,080
Speaker 1: some of the players and I was drains and saying, man,

1316
01:03:11,120 --> 01:03:14,120
Speaker 1: they keep me underpaid, they keep everybody underpaide, I said,

1317
01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:16,360
Speaker 1: I said, it's just wrong when they treat us. You're

1318
01:03:16,440 --> 01:03:20,560
Speaker 1: taking a pounding. You don't even know. I definitely don't

1319
01:03:20,720 --> 01:03:23,720
Speaker 1: you and you don't want to know. Um, how do you?

1320
01:03:24,080 --> 01:03:27,600
Speaker 1: Are you happy with the reception you've gotten? Almost definitely

1321
01:03:27,840 --> 01:03:30,320
Speaker 1: have with this reception again for the book. Now, it's

1322
01:03:30,360 --> 01:03:33,960
Speaker 1: funny how people call me a legend. I still can't

1323
01:03:33,960 --> 01:03:36,120
Speaker 1: get used to that. That's that's I'm just I'm just

1324
01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:39,160
Speaker 1: a football player. But just I guess the things I've

1325
01:03:39,200 --> 01:03:41,600
Speaker 1: done in the league and the way I played, and

1326
01:03:41,720 --> 01:03:43,320
Speaker 1: you know that my mind is like that. They talk

1327
01:03:43,360 --> 01:03:47,240
Speaker 1: about the Jerry Curll and the glasses knowing the big

1328
01:03:47,360 --> 01:03:50,120
Speaker 1: pads you know it's it's just it's funny, you know.

1329
01:03:51,040 --> 01:03:53,919
Speaker 1: But I'll say, man, I'm I'm glad I played. I'm glad.

1330
01:03:53,920 --> 01:03:56,760
Speaker 1: I'm really glad I played the sport. I love the sport.

1331
01:03:56,800 --> 01:03:59,040
Speaker 1: When I played it, I mean I really did love it.

1332
01:03:59,080 --> 01:04:01,360
Speaker 1: I mean it was time sway. They make you hate it,

1333
01:04:01,400 --> 01:04:05,600
Speaker 1: they really do. But man, all in all, I loved it.

1334
01:04:05,680 --> 01:04:07,480
Speaker 1: I mean I really did. When I first came in

1335
01:04:07,520 --> 01:04:10,240
Speaker 1: the league, man, because it was a smell in the

1336
01:04:10,320 --> 01:04:15,120
Speaker 1: air when football season was coming. Oh yes, football time.

1337
01:04:15,200 --> 01:04:17,760
Speaker 1: You just knew. I just loved everything about it. And um,

1338
01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:19,240
Speaker 1: you know, I have a little I have a little

1339
01:04:19,240 --> 01:04:21,800
Speaker 1: ten year old son. He plays flag football. He loves it.

1340
01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:24,920
Speaker 1: He loves it too, and he's he's gonna be fast. Man,

1341
01:04:25,000 --> 01:04:28,400
Speaker 1: he's fast off. Oh god, he's so talent. I'm not

1342
01:04:28,480 --> 01:04:30,640
Speaker 1: just I'm not saying he gonna play sports. I'm apeddly

1343
01:04:30,760 --> 01:04:32,720
Speaker 1: like that right now. I'm not saying that he's really smart,

1344
01:04:33,480 --> 01:04:36,840
Speaker 1: but man, he is, Brian. I'm telling you, I saw

1345
01:04:36,960 --> 01:04:39,320
Speaker 1: this when he was four years old. I'm not saying

1346
01:04:39,320 --> 01:04:41,040
Speaker 1: he's gonna be no top aflee. I'm just saying it.

1347
01:04:41,080 --> 01:04:43,600
Speaker 1: But I know what I saw. He did something he

1348
01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:45,440
Speaker 1: was in the you know, you know us like you

1349
01:04:45,760 --> 01:04:48,600
Speaker 1: running on the wall like both Jackson did and dove

1350
01:04:48,680 --> 01:04:51,520
Speaker 1: on his bid for him like like, how did you

1351
01:04:51,600 --> 01:04:53,560
Speaker 1: do that? Said, I don't know. I said do it again.

1352
01:04:54,160 --> 01:04:56,360
Speaker 1: So did it again. I'm like wow, I'm like okay.

1353
01:04:57,160 --> 01:04:58,960
Speaker 1: So one day he was in the doorway. He started

1354
01:04:59,160 --> 01:05:01,560
Speaker 1: clowning the doorway, you know, climbed all to the top

1355
01:05:01,600 --> 01:05:04,040
Speaker 1: of the door at four I'm like, hey, boy, you

1356
01:05:04,040 --> 01:05:05,560
Speaker 1: don't get hurt. He said no. I'm not saying no.

1357
01:05:05,600 --> 01:05:07,720
Speaker 1: I can said, come down. I said, do it again.

1358
01:05:08,240 --> 01:05:11,040
Speaker 1: He did it again, Like okay. So I just watched

1359
01:05:11,040 --> 01:05:12,600
Speaker 1: suff people do it, and I tell my best friend,

1360
01:05:12,640 --> 01:05:14,600
Speaker 1: I said, I said, Drake, we went to college together.

1361
01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:16,520
Speaker 1: So I'm telling you man, I said, I think this

1362
01:05:16,560 --> 01:05:18,440
Speaker 1: boy is gonna be better than his dad. He said, Dick,

1363
01:05:18,520 --> 01:05:20,360
Speaker 1: And I'll say that's too that's too much pressure, I said.

1364
01:05:20,520 --> 01:05:23,240
Speaker 1: I said, you just watch watch him, Just watch him

1365
01:05:23,240 --> 01:05:24,520
Speaker 1: for a while and you'll see stuff he can do.

1366
01:05:25,400 --> 01:05:27,480
Speaker 1: And sure enough, one day he's saying that. He said, Dick, man,

1367
01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:29,720
Speaker 1: you might be right. I said, you see it there,

1368
01:05:30,080 --> 01:05:32,560
Speaker 1: he said, he said, yes, I mean right right now.

1369
01:05:32,640 --> 01:05:34,920
Speaker 1: He runs track. He runs track. He's he's ten years

1370
01:05:34,960 --> 01:05:37,840
Speaker 1: old and he's got out like two thousand kids. He's

1371
01:05:37,840 --> 01:05:40,480
Speaker 1: got the best time in the hundred in California, in

1372
01:05:40,560 --> 01:05:42,680
Speaker 1: the hundred to I think the two of these got

1373
01:05:42,720 --> 01:05:44,200
Speaker 1: like the third best time. He had the first best

1374
01:05:44,280 --> 01:05:46,600
Speaker 1: time long job, the first best time first time. I mean,

1375
01:05:46,640 --> 01:05:48,600
Speaker 1: he's just such a good athlete. You know, both of

1376
01:05:48,640 --> 01:05:50,680
Speaker 1: my kids, my daughters, the same way. But you know,

1377
01:05:50,760 --> 01:05:53,720
Speaker 1: as a boy, you know playing sports, you hope do

1378
01:05:53,840 --> 01:05:56,840
Speaker 1: I wanted to play football, yes and no. But I

1379
01:05:56,920 --> 01:05:58,520
Speaker 1: tell him, I tell him this here. I said, son,

1380
01:05:58,600 --> 01:06:01,000
Speaker 1: I said, you like flag. I said, what your dad

1381
01:06:01,080 --> 01:06:03,960
Speaker 1: played tackle. It's just a difference. They said, I understand,

1382
01:06:03,960 --> 01:06:05,800
Speaker 1: I said, but you really don't understand. I said, one

1383
01:06:05,840 --> 01:06:07,120
Speaker 1: day you will. I said, but I want to make

1384
01:06:07,120 --> 01:06:09,240
Speaker 1: sure you love it. I say, if you don't love it,

1385
01:06:09,600 --> 01:06:11,680
Speaker 1: I don't want you playing it. He said, okay, because

1386
01:06:11,680 --> 01:06:13,680
Speaker 1: he said football, you gotta love it. You have to,

1387
01:06:13,720 --> 01:06:16,160
Speaker 1: because he loves track and he loves football. But I said,

1388
01:06:16,480 --> 01:06:18,400
Speaker 1: you said when when you tackle, when they started tackling,

1389
01:06:18,440 --> 01:06:20,080
Speaker 1: not tackling you, I want to make sure you love it,

1390
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:23,560
Speaker 1: and I just want to make sure they get you. Yeah.

1391
01:06:23,680 --> 01:06:29,200
Speaker 1: But well, I truly could talk to you. We can

1392
01:06:29,280 --> 01:06:32,160
Speaker 1: talk forever forever. I do have to ask you this

1393
01:06:32,280 --> 01:06:34,320
Speaker 1: because it it occurred to me when you just brought

1394
01:06:34,400 --> 01:06:37,680
Speaker 1: up again the thirty for thirty. How do you feel

1395
01:06:37,680 --> 01:06:40,320
Speaker 1: about the thought? Did a fantastic job on it? They

1396
01:06:40,360 --> 01:06:42,240
Speaker 1: really did. I mean I didn't have enough time to

1397
01:06:42,320 --> 01:06:44,520
Speaker 1: really lay it all out. They did a great job

1398
01:06:44,600 --> 01:06:47,000
Speaker 1: on it. That is, did a good job directing it.

1399
01:06:47,480 --> 01:06:50,240
Speaker 1: Whoever produced it did a great job. Because when they

1400
01:06:50,320 --> 01:06:52,240
Speaker 1: called me about it, they called me, and I never

1401
01:06:52,280 --> 01:06:53,840
Speaker 1: took the g I wouldn't take his call. You can

1402
01:06:53,960 --> 01:06:55,120
Speaker 1: kind of want to talk about it. You know, they

1403
01:06:55,160 --> 01:06:57,960
Speaker 1: seen you in the death pendem momic, so create a

1404
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:00,000
Speaker 1: comm He said, gotta keep calling me, I said, I said,

1405
01:07:00,200 --> 01:07:02,360
Speaker 1: I don't know who he is. So I think June

1406
01:07:02,520 --> 01:07:05,000
Speaker 1: Jones and comments said Eric the guy and his status,

1407
01:07:05,080 --> 01:07:07,200
Speaker 1: and he's called a couple of times. You called him back,

1408
01:07:07,200 --> 01:07:09,480
Speaker 1: I said, NA said, what does he want? He said,

1409
01:07:09,520 --> 01:07:13,080
Speaker 1: he wants to talk about SMU and talk about what

1410
01:07:13,320 --> 01:07:16,760
Speaker 1: happened and how great y'all were, you know, and how

1411
01:07:16,920 --> 01:07:19,520
Speaker 1: wrong it was. I said, no problem, I'll talk about

1412
01:07:19,560 --> 01:07:23,240
Speaker 1: that right. So that's how I got him, and I

1413
01:07:23,320 --> 01:07:25,160
Speaker 1: thought that I thought he did a family's job. I think.

1414
01:07:25,160 --> 01:07:27,280
Speaker 1: I think what nade me really realize it is when

1415
01:07:27,560 --> 01:07:30,440
Speaker 1: other people like wait, young at me said, man, I

1416
01:07:30,520 --> 01:07:32,720
Speaker 1: didn't know y'all would like that. Yeah, I didn't know

1417
01:07:32,840 --> 01:07:36,040
Speaker 1: y'all good. Yeah, man, I said, we were dominant. Yeah,

1418
01:07:36,200 --> 01:07:38,600
Speaker 1: he said, man, y'all were good. I said, yeah, said man.

1419
01:07:38,640 --> 01:07:43,200
Speaker 1: I love y'all's uniforms. I said, when they sweet, so sweet.

1420
01:07:43,280 --> 01:07:46,720
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you I I actually have SMU on

1421
01:07:46,880 --> 01:07:50,760
Speaker 1: my golf bag. And anytime you know, come across somebody

1422
01:07:50,760 --> 01:07:53,400
Speaker 1: I don't know, or somebody's you know, I mentioned that

1423
01:07:53,480 --> 01:07:56,520
Speaker 1: I went to s m U. At other times, everybody,

1424
01:07:57,000 --> 01:07:59,760
Speaker 1: I mean to a person I've had, never had anyone

1425
01:07:59,920 --> 01:08:03,480
Speaker 1: or you with me. They've said that thirty for thirty

1426
01:08:04,160 --> 01:08:08,200
Speaker 1: was the best one and maybe the best sports documentary

1427
01:08:08,240 --> 01:08:11,480
Speaker 1: of all time. It is. It is just so well

1428
01:08:11,560 --> 01:08:15,360
Speaker 1: done and tell us the story. Well, look, you don't

1429
01:08:15,400 --> 01:08:19,240
Speaker 1: want to be called a legend, but you are. And

1430
01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:22,840
Speaker 1: I appreciate you. I appreciate our time together, and I

1431
01:08:22,960 --> 01:08:27,840
Speaker 1: so appreciate you talking to me again. Watch my Smoke,

1432
01:08:28,360 --> 01:08:33,320
Speaker 1: the Eric Dickerson's story. You cannot tell me that you

1433
01:08:33,400 --> 01:08:36,479
Speaker 1: didn't fall in love with the stories that Eric told today.

1434
01:08:36,720 --> 01:08:39,040
Speaker 1: And I want you to go and pick up the

1435
01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:42,040
Speaker 1: book and read more. I am so happy for you

1436
01:08:42,160 --> 01:08:44,400
Speaker 1: and thank you so much for talking to me. I

1437
01:08:44,479 --> 01:08:46,360
Speaker 1: thank you for having I appreciated good seeing you. We've

1438
01:08:46,360 --> 01:08:49,080
Speaker 1: gotta gotta play golf man, absolutely all right, thank you,

1439
01:08:49,120 --> 01:09:04,320
Speaker 1: all right, no problem, Eric, Thank you so much for

1440
01:09:04,439 --> 01:09:07,560
Speaker 1: coming on the podcast today. You're the best. And I

1441
01:09:07,680 --> 01:09:10,280
Speaker 1: am telling everyone I know to check out your book.

1442
01:09:10,360 --> 01:09:12,599
Speaker 1: Listeners make sure to pick up a copy. I promise

1443
01:09:12,680 --> 01:09:17,200
Speaker 1: you will not be disappointed. And of course, listeners also

1444
01:09:17,320 --> 01:09:21,240
Speaker 1: catch us next week or another episode of Off the

1445
01:09:21,360 --> 01:09:24,960
Speaker 1: Beat in the meantime. Just follow us on Instagram, leave

1446
01:09:25,000 --> 01:09:28,880
Speaker 1: a review. We do look at them. I promise, and uh.

1447
01:09:28,960 --> 01:09:32,679
Speaker 1: I can't wait for next week with another entertainment guest

1448
01:09:32,960 --> 01:09:36,240
Speaker 1: on Off the Beat, and next Thursday as well, there

1449
01:09:36,280 --> 01:09:40,080
Speaker 1: will be another Off the Beat Sports. We'll see you soon.

1450
01:09:46,760 --> 01:09:49,519
Speaker 1: Off the Beat is hosted an executive produced by me

1451
01:09:49,880 --> 01:09:54,800
Speaker 1: Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley. Our producers are

1452
01:09:54,880 --> 01:09:59,479
Speaker 1: Diego Tapia, Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our

1453
01:09:59,520 --> 01:10:03,479
Speaker 1: talent doucer is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is

1454
01:10:03,600 --> 01:10:08,080
Speaker 1: Sammy Cats. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak performed by

1455
01:10:08,200 --> 01:10:11,920
Speaker 1: Hi Great Friend Creed Breton, and the episode was mixed

1456
01:10:12,080 --> 01:10:13,320
Speaker 1: by seth Olandski.