WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: Tick Tick Boom 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:06.439 I get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:11.320 the Bengals Booth Podcast. The It's too late, It's too soon, 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:15.880 or is it tick tick tick tick tick tick Boom 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.200 edition as we check in with the greatest leader in 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:25.960 Bengals history, former NFL MVP Boomer Asiasin. Plus, it's a 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.720 new round of fun facts with Mike Brown. With the 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:31.960 Olympics going on in Tokyo, would it surprise you to 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.760 learn that the last time that Tokyo hosted the Games, 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:38.880 fifty seven years ago, Hall of Famer Paul Brown was 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:42.600 among the spectators. In between his coaching stops in Cleveland 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:46.320 and Cincinnati. I'll discuss that and much more with the 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.559 Bengals team president. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:54.080 bud Light. Seltzer Refreshed the Game and here's a quick 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:56.240 reminder that you can have the latest edition of this 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:00.279 podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:05.200 subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:10.759 It's the greatest thing since a fast gas pump. There's 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:12.839 nothing worse than when you go to fill up your tank, 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.920 squeeze the trigger and the digits on the gas pump 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:21.400 begin to turn over very slowly. A job you thought 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.119 was going to be quick and easy becomes a pain 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.800 in the you know what. On the flip side, it's 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:31.320 highly satisfying when you begin filling the tank and those 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.679 numbers start spinning so quickly that you feel like you're 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:38.160 about to set a world record. I had that experience 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:42.360 this week at a UDF on Beechmont, av not far 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.480 from the Reeves golf Course. I have dubbed it the 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:50.560 Usane Bolt of gas pumps. Now, let's get to football. 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:53.840 The Bengals open training camp this week and on Thursday, 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.360 about two hours before taking the field for practice, Joe 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.920 Burrow sat down for a TV taping with former Bengals 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.880 quarterback Boomer Assiasin. The producers of the segment came up 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:08.079 with a great idea as the two qbs watched and 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:12.000 discussed each other's game film. I got to listen into 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:14.079 quite a bit of it, and I am sure it 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:17.160 will be a great segment. It will run on Thursday 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.959 Night Football when the Bengals host Jacksonville in Week four. 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:23.799 This was only the second time that the two of 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.919 them have seen each other in person. The first time 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:31.560 they met, Boomer, handed Burrow a Cincinnati Helmett and welcomed 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.840 him to the Bengals family on the CBS pregame show 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.600 the day after Joe won the Heisman Trophy. After taping 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:42.000 their segment for the NFL Network on Thursday, the nineteen 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:46.359 eighty eight, NFL MVP discussed Burrow with me and my 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.440 broadcast partner Dave Lapham. Do you believe in an IT 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:53.919 factor for quarterbacks? And if so, does Joe have it? Yeah? 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:55.880 You know, I do. I absolutely do. I'd like to 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.320 think I had it, whatever it was, But I know 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:00.400 what the in factor is. The effect is when you 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:02.560 walk into the room, there's an immediate respect that it's 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:06.079 accorded you because of the way you carry yourself you're 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:07.799 both on the field and in the meeting rooms, and 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.560 your dedication to the sport, and then of course your 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:14.480 relationships that you have. So think about the way that 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:16.960 he played last year as a rookie. Think about how 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:19.359 he handled the offense and everything else. He's making checks 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.960 at the line scrimmage, he's calling for his own number 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.840 on a quarterback draw when he reads a defense. Ebra 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.680 Flews tried to flush him out with his own blitz 0:03:28.880 --> 0:03:30.680 and he stood in there knowing that he had enough 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.360 blockers and hit T Higgins down the sideline. Those are 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.520 things I was incapable of doing. I just faked it. 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:40.600 But he doesn't. You know, he's the real deal. You 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:42.640 can tell, and you could tell that he has that 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:46.240 part of it physically, and I think his mental game 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.640 is really about as sharp as you know you would expect. 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.720 What's the first time you met him when when he 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.800 came to CBS for the Heisman Trophy, you know, ceremony 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:59.320 type deal, the show. What was your first impression of 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.840 What was it about him stood out to you? I 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:04.440 was surprised how big he was. He didn't look that 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:06.800 big on TV, maybe because he was playing at LSU 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.600 when he's playing against other big teams and he was 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.320 on a big team himself. But I was shocked at 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:12.880 how big he was. I thought he was two inches 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:16.720 smaller than that. And seeing him now from that was 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:19.920 probably about what eighteen nineteen months ago, maybe twenty months ago. 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:23.160 He's a man. Now, he's a full fledged man, so 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.640 he looks great, and I know he was dedicated this 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:30.320 offseason to overcoming the knee injury, which is another part 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.760 of the responsibility of view as a player and of 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.920 course the ultimate leader of the team. So he's dedicated 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:37.800 himself to be ready to go one hundred percent, and 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.400 I think all the players will respond to that. So 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:44.040 with a segment you recorded today, that's the longest amount 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.400 of time you've spent with him so far. What stood 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:50.600 out in that conversation. He's pretty relaxed. I mean, he 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.800 could do TV right now if he wanted to. I'm like, 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.840 what you just did that one? Take hold on. It's 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:57.800 not supposed to be that easy. But I guess this 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:00.920 generation's a little bit more advanced than our generation is. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.880 He knows his stuff. You know, he knows his players, 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.200 he knows where credit needs to be given. You could 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.400 tell that. You know, he wasn't sitting there extolling his 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.520 own virtues. He was talking about a center. He's talking 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.080 about his wide receiver, talking about his running back. Look 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.320 at this block here by this offensive tackle. I mean, 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.680 so he loves his coaches and you could tell that. 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:25.640 You know that part of him that is the biggest 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:29.400 question mark for every coaching staff and every organization is 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:33.320 easibly answered and he has it. He definitely has it. 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.800 The thing that a trait that you and he have 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:41.920 in common. In my opinion, you both have unbelievable people skills, 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.440 and you make everybody feel important, you know. I mean, 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.760 there's not one guy that's involved in the mix that 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.520 you don't make feel like he's the most important guy 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:52.840 and his contribution is the most important. That's a hell 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.320 of a talent to have. Hell yeah, it is probably 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.479 the most important talent. Especially when you're in a huddle 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:00.840 with ten guys games on the line, They're looking at you. 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.359 They know whether or not you have what it takes 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.840 to call the right play, to get the team into 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:07.800 the right play, to make sure you have the right 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.480 pass protection, communicating with your other ten players within five 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:14.320 second sound bites at the line of scrimmage, whether it 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.880 be hand signals, whether it be yelling something at the 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.800 top of your lungs, but just generally leading your football team. 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:26.680 So it's an attribute that you want to be able 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.120 to check the boxes of a player. So he's got 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.040 the size, he's got the arm strength, he can run, 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:35.040 and now he has the most important aspect to who 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.200 he is, and that's the dedication to the game that 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.640 everybody else feeds off of. But he does it in 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.200 a way that is not condescending, which is really important 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:47.039 for a leader to carry himself that way. So, if 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:49.080 I know one thing, he's a better player than I 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.560 ever was already. You know, I can see it. Really, yes, 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.839 I do think it, and he's a much more accurate 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.880 pastor than I was. But he's also fearless. He's not 0:06:57.920 --> 0:06:59.920 afraid to throw the ball down the field, which is 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.440 in today's game, is going to be valuable for them 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:04.880 to move forward and to be successful. I think he's 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.039 going to be. He'll be in the running for Comeback 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:08.880 Player of the Year. I believe even though he played 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.200 ten games, he's still got hurt. He's still had to 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.280 overcome an injury here this offseason, and I think they 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:17.680 have like an underrated, sneaky kind of talent here. I'm 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:18.880 not going to sit here and tell you they're going 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:21.760 twelve and five, but I think that you know, they're 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:23.480 going to be in the mix because these other teams 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:27.920 in this division aren't perfect. They all have scars or 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:32.120 wartz somewhere along the line. And you know, Cleveland is 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:36.240 probably the best team, I think, but that doesn't mean 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:39.360 that Cincinnati can't sneak up on them as well. Ken 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:41.480 Anderson told me last week that Burrow is going to 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:43.720 be better than he ever was. You're saying that he 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.760 already is. I think that might be a little bit 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.760 of an exaggeration, but that's pretty extraordinary that the two 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.080 best quarterbacks in this franchise's history have seen a guy 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.000 play ten games at the NFL level and are already 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.000 saying those types of things. Well, the only reason I 0:07:57.080 --> 0:08:00.640 said that is because Carson Palmer told me that. And 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.680 he's another one. You know, Jordan worked with Joe a 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.040 lot when he was coming out in college, and Carson 0:08:06.080 --> 0:08:08.640 told me, Boomer, this kid is great and he was 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:11.200 not wishing for the Bengals to draft him. And I'm 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.080 sitting there going, wait a minute, he's from this area, 0:08:14.200 --> 0:08:16.400 that he's this is the perfect guy for this team, 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.960 can't miss. And I think we all think that because, look, 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.920 he won a Heisman, won the national championship, so his 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.640 arc of success is far ahead of where we were 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.000 at this time in our and our careers. And I 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.719 think that's why we all feel this way. So it's 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:35.240 it's a good thing to feel this way. There's a 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:37.280 lot of pressure on the young man, but he seems 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.800 like to absorb it. Seems like he absorbs it very 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.959 well and probably fuels him to be even greater, and 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:46.439 hopefully he does. Oh, we all want a Super Bowl championship. 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.640 That would be great, and maybe that would kick off 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.040 this whole new kind of reflecting back on the great 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:57.000 players of this organization, which has been long overdue. When 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:00.839 I played in the seventies and eighties, the game was 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.480 one way. When you guys were playing in the late 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.920 eighties and into the nineties, that Super Bowl era, it 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.800 was a lot different. How different is today's game from 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.960 when you played? More wide open now than ever before. 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.320 You know, the rules are such where offenses really need 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:18.720 to be able to throw the ball down the field 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.800 to big, wide receivers, and this is exactly what the 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:26.400 Bengals have. They're loaded at these positions. Jamar Chase, you know, 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:28.720 has a potential to be a Rookie of the Year. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.240 That's how good. You know. I think that this team 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:33.719 can be offensively, especially with Joe and Jamar in their 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.400 history at LSU. But you know, back an hour day, 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.240 you know, it was more run oriented. I still think 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:42.360 you have to run the ball effectively. You still have 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:44.360 to be a more physical team than the team you're 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.640 playing against. You can only especially in outdoor weather stadiums 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.079 like we have at Paul Brown Stadium. You have to 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:53.000 be able to run the football. It can't always be 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.439 about throwing the ball forty five times and completing you know, 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.600 you know, thirty five passes for four hundred yards, because 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.440 you're gonna up losing those games if the other team 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.200 is controlling the football. So I think there still has 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.800 to be balanced, but there's definitely an uptick in the 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:11.360 big play capabilities of the offense since we were playing. 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.200 Final question for me, what do you think the biggest 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.000 challenge is he faces coming back from his knee injury. 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:19.679 Just trusting that he's one hundred percent, you know that 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.840 first couple of times he gets hit. I'm sure every 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.079 running back will tell you that, every wide receiver will 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:26.679 tell you that. Anybody who's ever played and had a 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.719 knee injury, we'll tell you that. So it's going to 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:32.599 be trusting that it's stable and that he can that 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:34.679 he can take a hit. I think he feels pretty 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.880 comfortable about it just talking to him, but that's probably 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:39.719 the biggest thing, and I bet you he's itching to 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:41.480 get on the field. You know, he sat there and 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:44.040 he told me he watched all of Justin Herbert's games 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:46.640 and how much fun it was to watch Justin Herbert. 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.199 He wants to be that guy again, and I know 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:51.760 he can't wait to get back on the field. So 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:54.520 I think he's going to be ready and rare to go, 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.640 and it's gonna be fun to watch. A quick question, 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.240 I have one more follow up to what you're talking about. Hit. 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.120 Everybody has boxes to check after surgery and getting a hit, 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:05.920 that one hit is the final one. Get up. Yeah, 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:07.880 I'm good. Do you think he should play in the preseason. 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:09.920 He seems like he wants to take some snaps in 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.679 the preseason in the organization doesn't want any part of it. 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:14.160 What do you what do you think? You know? I 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:16.960 think I would think like him. I'd want to play. 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.360 I wanted to play in the preseason. I wanted to 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.920 get hit. I wanted to feel the rush of the game, 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.560 even though the game didn't mean anything. You're still out 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:26.920 there with your teammates. You're calling your plays, even though 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.199 they may be the most basic of plays, but you 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:32.520 still want to feel like you can go out there 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.480 and do it and I hope they let him play 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.360 at some point. I'm not saying that they. I doubt 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:40.920 the third preseason game any starters playing, so it's probably 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:42.920 going to be the second preseason game. I would think 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.360 at least give him a couple series, or give him 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.800 a quarter, or give him two quarters, and just let 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.679 him wet his feet, let him know that that need's okay, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:52.640 and let him take some hits. I mean, it's part 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.440 of the game, that's part of the whole situation. And look, 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.480 he's been out now for what eight months? I guess 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:02.080 there are nine months, yeah, nine months, So I think 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.960 it's he's ready to go. And he's not a running back, 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:07.880 he's a quarterback, and you know he needs to feel 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.280 the pressure and feel the pocket and live hitting. So 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.800 that's why I would want him to play. And I 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.120 know that I would want to play me too. I 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:18.319 mean that's the same thing as a players all want 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:20.720 to They want to get before the regular season starts. 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.040 You want to take that hit and get up and 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.440 say final box checked. Everything's good. All right. My last question, 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.439 I can't talk to you without talking about Gunner and 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.360 we're all Dad's here. What you've done as a father 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:36.480 chokes me up. I mean, it's unbelievable. And your son, 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.840 you've extended his life, You've given him a better quality 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.640 of life. He just got married. I mean, Boomer, it's 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.439 unbelievable what you've done. You know, I will tell you. 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:49.600 It's probably my proudest moment is watching him walk down 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:51.679 the aisle. But right prior to that, a lot of 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.680 people didn't know that it was on Father's Day weekend. 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:56.360 I don't know if they set that up. I'm not 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:58.839 really sure because Darcy, his wife, is really close with 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.160 her dad as well. And the Thursday night before the wedding, 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:04.880 he and Darcy handed me my Father's Day gift and 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:09.560 it was a sonogram in a plexiglass frame, and I've 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:13.000 started bawling. I've never been so emotional in my life. 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:16.280 And the interesting thing about Gunner, because of cystic fibrosis, 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:19.800 if you want to be the biological father, they have 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.120 to go in and they have to take your sperm 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.280 out of your testicles, which is not a very which 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:28.120 is not easy at all. But you have to be 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:32.440 dedicated to do this and he is and obviously is dedicated, 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:34.240 and his wife was going through ivy app on the 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:36.440 other side for the woman, which is not easy either, 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.960 and they had to go through all the genetic testing 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:44.439 and everything else. And they had four eggs. And I'm 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.520 always saying this publicly because they've written about it and 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.080 they've talked about it. They placed one end, they didn't 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:50.640 know whether it was going to be male or female, 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.839 and then after four about four months, they found out 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.800 that it was a baby boy. And I've always said 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:59.679 this about everything that I've ever done in the world 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.000 of the fibrosis, that my only two goals are one 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:05.640 that my son outlived me in the second is that 0:14:05.760 --> 0:14:08.640 he becomes a father himself. And when they handed me 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.800 that thing, I just I couldn't talk. My daughter was 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:15.400 laughing at me, and that whole weekend was like a 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.679 blur to me. And it's everything that I could have 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:21.520 ever asked for. That is tremendous. Yeah, this is such 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:23.000 a treat. Thank you so much for your time. We 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:25.280 always appreciate it. It's fun. It's fun to see you guys. 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.440 Since its inception, the Boomeris Siasin Foundation has raised more 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:34.200 than one hundred and fifteen million dollars to support research 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:37.920 toward a cure for cystic fibrosis. As well as programs 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:42.480 directly benefiting the cf community. The Bengals Booth podcast is 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:46.120 presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:49.520 a hint of fruit flavor. At the beginning of the week, 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.880 just before training camp got under way, the Bengals held 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.280 their annual media luncheon, where Zach Taylor and his coordinators 0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:00.840 discussed the upcoming season with Cincinnati area reporters. It's also 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.480 the one time each year the team president Mike Brown 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:07.760 does an extensive series of interviews, including a few offbeat 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.720 questions from me. Time for a new round of fun 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.720 Facts with Bengals President Mike Brown and Mike As we 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:18.240 record this interview, the Olympics are going on in Tokyo. 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:21.880 The last time the games were there in nineteen sixty four, 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.720 your father wasn't coaching at the time, and he attended. 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.320 Did you ever talk to him about him making that trip, 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.680 what events he watched, people he met, etc. I did, 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:39.120 and he was very impressed with the nation of Japan. 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:45.960 He came back and said how ordered and cleanly everything was, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:53.080 the people were. They behaved towards visitors in a way 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:59.120 that you would want. They won him over and he 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.520 was a guy was in the service during World War Two, 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:10.560 so that just speaks to the Japanese nation. That was 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:15.320 the nineteen sixty four Summer Olympics. In sixty eight, Tommy 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.760 Smith won the gold medal in the two hundred meters 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.040 and famously did a Black Power salute on the metal 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:25.040 podium with bronze medalist John Carlos. Shortly after that, Tommy 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:27.200 joined the Bengals and he was with this franchise for 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.800 three years. His only catch went for forty one yards 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:33.760 and he dislocated his shoulder on that play. What are 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:39.480 your memories of Tommy Smith? I remember him fondly. He 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:46.080 was a nice young man. He was the fastest sprinter 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:51.080 in the world at the time, but oddly in football, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:57.160 speed is majored in a shorter distance and his takeoff 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:04.560 was not as fast his ending spurt, if you will, 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.480 which was phenomenal. Once he got up and running, he 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:12.280 had this mammoth stride and he just ran away from people. 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:17.840 But over forty yards we had a number of players 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:22.880 who could match him, and that was something that registered 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:28.080 with me because it showed how quickness counts in football 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:33.080 we believed at the time, and I believe still that 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:40.120 people have the right to have their say. He did 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.400 what he did. I don't know how much planning went 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:48.280 into it, but it made such an impact. It was incredible, 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:55.440 but it didn't seem hostile. It was more a statement 0:17:55.560 --> 0:18:03.040 about we're here, part of everything, don't forget us. I 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:07.520 took it in that sense, and I can say is 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:12.520 once more as a person. He was a wonderful young man. 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:17.520 I know you love baseball and watch Red's games regularly. 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:21.480 Are there any other sports that you enjoy watching the NBA, golf, 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:27.440 the Olympics, anything else? Pretty much anything I like watching sports. 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:34.080 I watch golf. I find those guys incredible. The pressure 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:42.320 on them is just something that has to be seen 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:46.040 to believe, and they have to bear up under it, 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:55.200 and they do. I watch the NBA games. My prospective 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:09.159 grandson in law affiliated with the NBA basketball and he 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:16.000 on occasions tolerates my questions and helps me understand what's 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:22.680 going on. But they're incredible athletes. They have this huge 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:28.520 ability to run, jump, shoot at the far out distances. 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.879 I don't know how they do it. They're fun to watch. 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.159 We're doing fun Facts with Bengals President Mike Brown the 0:19:35.240 --> 0:19:38.440 Cleveland Indians are in the news for choosing a new name, 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:42.760 the Guardians. The Browns, of course, were named for your father. 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:45.520 Did he like that or did it make him a 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:51.600 little uncomfortable? This one will amaze you. I never talked 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.680 to him about it, and as far as I know, 0:19:55.240 --> 0:20:00.200 neither did anybody else. It was a dead topic what 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:05.440 the name was. And I do know that there were 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:09.280 suggestions by some that it was named after Joe Lewis, 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:14.320 the Brown Bomber, and I don't think so. As all 0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:19.320 I can say there, the story was that they ran 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:23.560 a contest in a Cleveland paper to name the team, 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:27.639 and they came out with the name Panthers as the winner. 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:32.959 My father felt that Panthers had already been taken by 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:38.560 the University of Pittsburgh and he didn't want to have 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:46.040 the same name. Then they paid the guy the award 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:52.000 for picking the winner and chose another winner instead, and 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:57.520 he did that. And if you find out, let me 0:20:57.640 --> 0:21:01.880 know why. Once Cinnati got a franchise, was there any 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:06.280 talk of taking the Brown's name in Cincinnati. Well, it 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:10.360 was in Cleveland at the time, obviously, and what happened 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:16.520 there was unlike what happened in Cleveland recently with the Indians, 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:20.400 where they had some sort of massive study to come 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:24.760 up with the name Guardians for the future. You can 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:29.800 say that's a great choice or not, but ours was 0:21:29.960 --> 0:21:33.960 very simple. There was a luncheon. It was my father 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:41.040 and John Sawyer. Dave Gamble was there and that was it, 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:46.879 and they discussed how to name the team, and my 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.480 dad said, well, someone thought we should name it the 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:56.800 Rhinos because that would tie into the German background in Cincinnati. Rhine, 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:01.360 and it's an animal, big and powerful. And my dad 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:05.560 said his sister, my aunt had called him and told him, Paul, 0:22:05.640 --> 0:22:09.000 whatever you do, don't name that team the Rhinos. A 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.960 rhino is a big, dumb, slow animal, and you don't 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:18.040 want your team known in that way. So they settled 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:23.000 on Tiger. John and Dave both went to Princeton. That 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:26.639 was all right with them. My dad said it was 0:22:26.680 --> 0:22:29.600 all right with him. He had coached the masslind Tigers 0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:31.560 for nine years and he said, I know how to 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:36.560 use that kind of symbol. And since I didn't have 0:22:36.680 --> 0:22:39.000 a vote and was just sitting there, I said nothing. 0:22:39.280 --> 0:22:43.119 So that's how the name came to be. Among your 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:46.720 father's many innovations was the use of game film as 0:22:46.760 --> 0:22:50.159 a teaching tool. You rarely miss a practice. I know that. 0:22:50.800 --> 0:22:54.960 What about watching game film? Is that something that you enjoy? Well, 0:22:55.080 --> 0:23:01.200 I am curious about it. I take time to look 0:23:01.240 --> 0:23:05.880 at our game film. I do it after every game, 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:17.359 and then I go home. It satisfies curiosity. You build 0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:23.520 up false ideas of what really happened, and then when 0:23:23.600 --> 0:23:26.399 you run it back and forth a few times and 0:23:26.520 --> 0:23:30.760 look at it closely, the reality of it comes across 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:37.400