WEBVTT - Out of My Control with Chad Hennings 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:07.440 Welcome to the Good Stuff. 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:09.720 I'm Jacob Schick and I'm joined by my co host 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:11.039 and wife, Ashley Shick. 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:14.600 Welcome everyone. We know that everyone has a story and 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:18.400 we can all gain something from other people's experience. We 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.280 want to tap into the perseverance and the tenacity that 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:23.720 it takes for people to get through the hard times 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:24.880 to get to the light. 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:27.080 And that's why we're here with you today, bring you 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:29.639 an amazing story that's going to give you inspiration and 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:31.960 perspective to help you get through the day and whatever 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:35.360 it is you're possibly battling. We love doing stories like 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.519 this because we get to draw a light from it, 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:39.159 we use it in our own lives. 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.479 Thank you for listening to the Good Stuff. 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.600 Our guest today is Chad Hennings, who flew forty five 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.960 successful missions with the Air Force bringing humanitarian aid to 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:53.040 Kurtis refugees fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:56.040 aftermath of the Gulf War. He was then promoted to 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:59.840 captain and twice awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal. 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:03.800 Yeah He's also authored three books. He is a three 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:08.280 time Super Bowl champion of the Dallas. 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.040 Cowboys, America's team that's. 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.680 Right, twenty seven years old. It's all he was as 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:16.000 a rookie. Crazy twenty seven. I mean, that's light years 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.600 ahead of his fellow rookies. And I love this guy 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.640 regardless of the fact that he's an Air Force veteran. 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:26.520 I truly love this guy. I first bumped. 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:30.840 Into Chad when I was at Coppel High School in Coppel, Texas, 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:35.800 as a young teen, and we're definitely definitely going to 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:36.759 unpack that later. 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.520 We are so excited to bring you our conversation with 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:40.240 Chad Hennings. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.600 Was the camaraderie close from your Air Force service to 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:55.680 when you transition and made it big time with the 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:56.600 boys in the NFL. 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:58.560 I tell you it was like going from one locker 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:03.120 room to another. Squadron, well duty, Honor Country, Mission orient 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:06.560 It same thing with the Cowboys. It was offense defense, 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.799 special teams, mission orient win super Bowls. It was two 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:12.520 bunch of alpha males in both and guys trying to 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:17.160 get after it. And when games are successful, training or 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:18.480 combat missions. 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:19.839 God, that's awesome here. 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:20.680 Absolutely. 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.320 I think men or men, guys or guys or guys 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:28.480 in high performing units or whatnot, that that cohesiveness, that fraternity, 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:32.160 that is free a corps for any organization to be 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.560 a success of it. And again company professional athletic team, 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:40.040 military unit, they have to have that. It's all about relationships, 0:02:40.160 --> 0:02:42.840 the brotherhood. The brotherhood exactly right. 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:46.280 And clearly that led you to not just being a 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.600 rookie at age twenty seven with the Dallas Cowboys, but 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:53.160 the greatness you achieved while being a Dallas Cowboy, three 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:57.800 super Bowls and an iconic era of Dallas Cowboy football. 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:01.760 You know that was God's providence over that one. I've 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:04.160 never been around a group of guys that were more selfless, 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.640 more dedicated to their craft, wanting to win. Whatever it took, 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:08.359 We're gonna win. 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.880 I love you realize, and I'm sure completely accepted the 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:16.960 fact that, like you're a unicorn, nfler and veteran on 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.400 both sides on military and the NFL, you get three 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:22.800 super Bowls in the first four season, Like you know, 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:25.560 I don't have to give you odds on your unicorn. 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:27.960 Yeah, graduation, We're so thrilled to have you here on 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:31.639 the good stuff. Chad Hennings, air Force pilot, three times 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:34.760 super Bowl champion and friend, and we're thrilled to call 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.480 you friend and how did the two of you meet, 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:37.560 because I know you've known each other. 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:39.520 Why, I lived in Copel for a number of years, 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:41.280 so we may have run into each other when you 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.560 were a young man. You were just a wee little 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.360 lad at back in the day I was. 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:50.240 And I do remember when you guys are still practicing 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:54.280 out at Valley Ranch and Coppel had built that indoor facility. 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:55.680 I remember one day it started. 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:57.760 Pouring rain and we practiced over the yeah. 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:03.520 Yeah, And so coach comes in and he's like, all right, jents, 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:04.800 we're all getting wet today. 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.800 Got the Dallas Cowboys coming. They need to use the 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:08.840 indoor facility. 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.320 And I remember thinking, like, I love you guys, but 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:15.640 what the hell, Like, you're the Dallas Cowboys. You can't 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:19.600 get an indoor facility. You gotta come over to our facility. 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.599 And I remember us walking out, walking out, y'all are 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:27.080 coming off the bus, and I will never forget all 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.840 of us, Like we may not win, but we'd fight 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:30.480 them right now. 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:34.320 Wow, just because like it was Texas football. 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:38.640 Yeah, it was like freaking cowboys, can't get wet. 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.839 We're cowboys too, that's right, Coppell Cowboys. 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:45.279 I'll never forget that Texas football and Texas high school football, 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.719 especially the Friday night lights. It's iconic. And yeah, you're 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.440 probably pissed, like we have to go practice in the 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:54.360 mud now because the Cowboys have to have indoor facility. 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:56.880 I'm telling you, we were ready to fight, and knowing 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.280 we would lose, it was like, this is not right, 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.120 successful friendly. 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.159 Groundwork for eventually what the man that you became take 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:05.960 out all lot No. 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:10.520 Football is huge in our family for generations, cheerleading football, 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.160 it really dominates our life and now our boys both 0:05:13.200 --> 0:05:15.600 play football, and we couldn't be more thrilled about that 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.280 because it's such a great sport. It's such a great game, 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.200 and it lends back to what you talked about the brotherhood. 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:26.880 You've been rewarded for living a life of dedication, focus, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.000 hard work. You've flown a ten fighter planes, You've won 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:34.280 super Bowls. Your accomplishments are legendary. But despite all the victories, 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:36.839 all the accolades, you're actually here to tell us about 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.440 one of the most challenging times in your life and 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.360 events you've ever lived through. And it's the one thing 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:44.719 you credit above all else with making you the man 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.200 that you are today. Being a father, when your firstborn son, 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:51.480 Chase was battling some terrifying health issues. 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:55.960 Yeah. For me, that was the first thing in my 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.240 life that I couldn't control. Right after we won the 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:03.440 third Super Bowl in four years, we beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:05.400 and I had a believers in magic. I had a 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:08.080 Super Bowl record. I was tied. I had two sacks 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.560 in that game. Two sacks in that game. 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.560 Completely believe it, by the way, And then I remember 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:14.000 the JG. 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:15.520 White broke it the next year. I think he had 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:18.159 two and a half sacks. But for a period of time, 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:21.520 I was one of ten guys that had two sacks 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.520 and whatever in the Super Bowl. It was in Phoenix 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.160 and they had a Luke Air Force Base was right 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.400 near there, so I had friends that were stationed at Luke, 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:32.760 So I took one of our days off. Prior to that, 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.719 I took a contingent of guys out to Luke to 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:39.640 fly the tax Sims, the F sixteen sims and or 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.640 my cowboy career. I took guys out on aircraft carriers. 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.039 We took them out to fly tax sims, to go 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.560 out to Fort Worthy Dry Reserve, but JRB to do 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:50.839 a variety of different things so they can get a 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:54.640 glimpse into the experience that we have that a lot 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:56.880 of other military men and women have. 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.800 And most people will never ever be able to get. 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:04.280 Yeah, exactly. Former teammate of mine from the Air Force 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.159 Academy was part of the four ship that did the 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.680 flyover then prior to the game. Look, it's just a 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.840 slew of emotions going through and then you know, win 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:18.800 the game. It was just a high point. Married for 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.400 six years. My son was two and a half. He's 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:24.560 just a blowing and going, let's get after a little 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:28.160 boy that's just tearing things up. And it was good. 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.560 I mean, it was at the peak of life for 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:35.760 us at the game. Yeah, my whole family, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.960 you know, fill up your whole Super Bowl ticket contingent. Again, 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.160 from a life standpoint, making more money than ever thought 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:46.920 I'd make notoriety being a Dallas cowboy in North Texas, 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.880 in Dallas, it doesn't get any better than that. From 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:55.520 a relational business, relational standpoint, beautiful, family life was just good. 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.360 It was cowboy fans. Did they travel? Did they show 0:07:58.440 --> 0:07:58.920 up for that game? 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.240 They always showed up. Cow fans are They're awesome, They're 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:05.160 the best. And the thing about it, we had fans 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.600 from all over the world, you know, warming up on 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:10.400 the sidelines. There's Kevin Costner and here comes Merle Hagger 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.040 singing the national anthem. That was every game. There was 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.680 something for being an America's team, and that was really 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.720 back in the day. It was that way. We had 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:20.760 fans all over the world. 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.160 You played with some iconic. 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:26.160 On that one, you know the trip. It was Troy Emmett, 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:30.160 Michael Dion Sanders, Charles Hadley here, what's will be a 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.400 future Hall of Famer, all the guys that were on 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:38.200 that team. It was just we are teammates, your friends. 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:42.480 It's like your fellow co workers. People put individuals that 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.640 are either in social media now or that are half 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.560 some perceived notoriety because they're on TV. They put them 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.640 on a pedestal, but realize that they're just a normal guy. 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:53.800 They got families, their kids get sick, you know, they 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:56.240 got to pay their same bills. It's just that you're 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.839 in the public eye. But people are people across the board, 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:04.400 and these guys were phenomenal teammates and some of them 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.439 are crazy, but we don't need to get into that. 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:08.520 We had a lot of fun in the locker room. 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:10.600 Awesome. What was it like in the locker room that day. 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:14.280 It was like being a fighter pilot. And I'll describe 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.760 it like this. As fighter pilot. They had that certain 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:20.520 mentality I call it confident arrogancet that I know I'm good. 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:23.360 Every fighter pilot you've probably ever met is the world's 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:25.880 greatest fire pot, and I'll tell you that. But it's 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:28.160 that confidence. I know my craft, I know my job. 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.360 I'm really good at what I do, and I know it. 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:33.160 And that was the same as the Cowboys. When we 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.400 would go on the field, we know we're going to win. 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.120 We knew that we're the best team out there. And 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:40.120 a lot of times the other team do that too. 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:43.280 We win the game before they know. The initial gun 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:44.480 goes off to start the game. 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.800 If you won the mental battle before the first whistle, 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:48.520 you've already won. 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:49.160 That's it. 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:51.800 You have to have that arrogance. And it's not so 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:56.440 much like a conceited selfish arrogance. It's almost like a 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.640 survival thrival mechanism. In those high stress and environments that 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:04.679 you know you're going to enter into, rather be flying 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.960 an aircraft in a combat zone or walking out in 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.760 the Super Bowl. If you don't have an error about 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:15.040 you knowing A. I deserve to be here. 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:16.640 I've earned the right. 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.880 I've put in the work to be here and that 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.480 can't be questioned. And then B. 0:10:25.080 --> 0:10:28.120 We know we're the best. How do you come away 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:32.160 with the highest title in the world not having that? 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:33.880 I just don't think you can. 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:36.720 If you constantly thought abouts I'm thinking it as a 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.480 fier padd and talk it as a fire pound. Now 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:41.440 that if you thought about all the what if what 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.760 if I you know, insured malfunction, what if I'm flat failure, 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:45.760 what if I have gun failure? What if the essay 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:48.040 two site's there? What if you know the essay six? 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.200 What if physiast? What if all these things are there? 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.240 You never accomplish your mission. You have to concentrate always 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.880 on that end goal mindset. It's everything. You have to 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:57.720 have that confidence. 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:00.679 I live with a marine and totally understand what you're 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.400 talking about, and I agree that understands. 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.240 Like you, just like when he was flying on his missions, 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.319 like I can't get too close to those marines, even 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:10.520 though you probably did. 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.880 You being older, the Grand old men when you went 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:15.520 in there rookie. 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:15.640 Of the year. 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:20.240 By the way, do you think your other teammates, even 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.079 some of the vets that you were still older than, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.400 leaned on you a little bit because you were a 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:28.440 little wiser, had more life experience under your belt, especially 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:29.480 because of the military. 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:31.360 I would teach him, Yeah, you know, I had a 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:34.480 real job before I came here, you know, really real 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.679 life work experience. And I was in the same draft 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.960 classes as Michael Irvin and then Ken Norton Junior, who 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:42.719 was with us for the first two Super Bowls and 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.079 he went to UH San Francisco. And here's the thing 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:50.200 that I tell a lot of veterans, those guys on 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.680 the grid iron or those professional athletes whatever, they are 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:56.760 in awe of you guys, you veterans for what you 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.319 do because his kids, as we grew up, where everybody 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:02.600 played cowboys and indiansury, you played army, you played soldier, 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.640 or you wanted to be your favorite professional athlete. We 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.080 all role played on these different things, and those guys 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:11.319 did the same. They're in awe of those active duty 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:15.000 members in the military, whether fight or pilot, whether they're Marine, 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:19.120 whether they're Navy, seal or whatever. Just as much as 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.600 you admire them, they admire you. And these guys would 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:24.880 ask questions, what was it like? Man? They didn't care 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.079 what I did. You know, as an Outland Trophy winner 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.520 at college, my college, they could care less about that. 0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:31.520 Tell me those missions. What was it like to fly? 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.120 Take off out of Turkey and fly Northern roct Tell 0:12:34.120 --> 0:12:36.880 me about those submissions. What's it like to fly that plane? 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.760 But tell me about that. I've been asked many times, 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.680 would you rather do go back play for the Cowboys 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.559 or fly? I said I would go back and fly 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.640 in a harp Cowboys, Been there, done that. I want 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:50.160 to go fly. Still that young boy and me still 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:53.080 wants to go. Let my hair on fire and let's go. 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.520 Because of your real job, because that's exactactly what it 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.880 was being a fighter pilot in the Air Force. You 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.720 walked in the doors with respect that had nothing to 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:10.199 do with football. That's a rarity, you know that. That's 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.440 a rarity in the NFL or any professional sport. For 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:18.439 a veteran, let alone combat veteran, to walk in the doors. 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:21.200 Something tells me that they're not going to say heyo, 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:22.199 carry my helmet. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.079 Yeah, for me though, I still felt that I had 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.960 the personal discipline, call it whatever, the mindset that I 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:31.720 had to earn it. Even though I had accomplished stuff, 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:34.880 that I had to still go out there and prove 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.400 my worst right, same as when I went to be, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:39.520 you know, in a fire squad, you have to prove 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:43.040 you have that gravitas. Rank has its privileges, they have 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.440 to be earned to that point. For me, yeah, I 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.880 did have that reputation, that respect from that, but I 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.640 still for me personally, I did have that mentality that hey, 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:53.200 look at me, look at it I did. I was 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.280 a fighter pilot. No, that's what I did. You know, 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:56.880 what you do is not to find who you are 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.160 from a mindset standpoint. But I still had to go 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:00.400 in and I had to prove that I could be 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:01.160 a football player. 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:03.640 And we mentioned you were older. You were twenty seven 0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:05.920 when you got into the league. And so now here's 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:09.160 Super Bowl three and you're older, but your family's there. 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:10.840 You're a family man. Maybe the rest of them are 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:12.720 going to go out and get drunken party. 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.480 But Jerry owaystill is a great party afterwards where all 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:18.559 the families would come by. Then it's eleven twelve, o'clock 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.000 at night. You just got them playing a game. You're 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.600 spent anyway, but you're still from that emotional high. The 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:28.240 adrenaline is still flowing. Just a chance to decompress with family, 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.800 with teammates, get a picture in front of Lombardi Trophy, 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:33.400 the third one, the third one. 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:34.840 Yeah, in four years. 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:40.600 Take us now to post super Bowl. It's February. You're 0:14:40.640 --> 0:14:45.440 ready to relax, recharge, do family time. Take us to 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:46.000 that period. 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.600 We had been two weeks into our vacation time. We 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.680 had been to Iowa to see my family were out 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.440 in Colorado see and my wife's family. Also the player 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.440 rep for the Cowboys at the time, which meant to 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:00.080 a part of our players Association, and we'd get a 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.000 trip out to Hawaii to Maui every year. So that 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:05.680 was in the first part of March. So kind of prepping, 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.640 laying back, relaxing for that. But then my son Chase, 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:11.640 who was two and a half at the time, just 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.480 woke up with a fever. Didn't feel well. I was 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.160 at the Cowboys facility doing a light workout. My wife 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.840 took him two of the pediatrician and white kids always 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:23.440 get sick on a Friday. I don't know, but this 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.560 was on Friday, so we said just take him home, 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:28.760 will monitor him. But anyway, he continued to get worse, 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.560 high high fevers, rash started to grow all over his body, 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.400 and like, what the heck's going on here, So we 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:37.600 admitted him to the hospital and we spent the next 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.720 week in the hospital where they poked and prod dropped 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:45.000 blood trying to figure out what this is, and bottom mind, 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:48.840 they had no clue. And then we were released. After 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.040 spending a week in the hospital with what they called 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.040 the fever of an unknown origin, his body started to 0:15:54.080 --> 0:16:01.640 attack itself, creating an autoimmune process and went on for days, 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.440 for weeks, so emaciated and depleted, to the point where 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.600 we had to do some emergency medical procedures to keep 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:14.600 him from going on. And it was for me tough 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.120 because this was a point in my life. You know, 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:18.960 at the time, I was the strongest cowboy Jake. I 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.880 could bench five point fifty, I could squat seven fifty 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.440 at Believe me, I intimidated more doctors to stand over. 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.120 I'm like, okay, doctor, fix my son, right, fix my son. 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:30.440 You know, we don't know what's going on. We'll try 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.880 this we'll try this cocktail. That's called practicing medicine. And 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.600 I don't blame the physicians because it's the human body 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.880 is so ornate that everybody is so unique that it's 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:44.080 not a one stop shop to fix or create somebody 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.480 by here, take this pill or keep this medication. The 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:50.640 human body reacts in different ways. It'd be like daily, 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:53.920 his fever would start to go up, and you'd give 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.080 him his children's tile and all or motrin, and that's 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.600 a dose he can only give every four hours. But 0:17:00.360 --> 0:17:03.280 his fever continued to climb throughout a hundred and one 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.199 hundred and two hundred and three. I'm like, okay, now, 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:07.600 what do you do? Draw a type of temperature bath, 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.680 go old school to bring the core body temperature down. 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.360 It was in our master bedroom and my wife was outside, 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.199 no she's crying, and I'm looking at my son and 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:19.960 he's it's like, daddy, Daddy, am I. 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.000 Gonna be okay? You know, realize he's two and a half. 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:24.720 He doesn't know what's going on. And I'm like, yeah, buddy, 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:26.720 you're gonna be good, daddy. What's the matter with me? 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.879 Why do I feel so bad all the time? And 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.439 I'm my son, you can be okay, buddy, and inside 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.080 of me, by guess it's just being torn out. 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:37.800 And again, because I was a guy who was always 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:42.160 performance based, I could fix anything by my work, ethic ability, whatever, 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:44.439 and I couldn't do anything. And this is where I 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.280 came to the end of myself. I pray that three words, 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.360 simple prayer, God help me, because I can't do it. 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:54.080 I can't do it. But this was the one thing 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.520 in my life that I couldn't fix, that I couldn't correct. 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:00.359 And that's where I struggled. I really struggle with that 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.199 aspect of who I am as a man. You know, 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:06.680 why can't I do this? It was either going through school, academics. 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.840 You study harder on the wrestling matter, on the football field, 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:13.280 you practice harder, you put more time in. But this 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.040 was the one thing in my life that I couldn't fix, 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.720 that I couldn't correct. And I started with my fate. 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.360 You know, I ask God why? And also who are 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:25.760 you that you could allow this little boy to be 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.240 able to suffer like this? And I questioned it. Man. 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.240 I during this time, I read, of all people, Nietzsche, 0:18:31.280 --> 0:18:33.199 who had a quote that says, he who has a 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:36.520 why to live, work, and bear almost anyhow. He who 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.800 has a purpose, a mindset, and identity. It came to 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.280 me is okay, not necessarily why did this happen? But 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.400 it became okay, to who am I going through this? 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.639 God doesn't take you out of it. He gives you 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:50.880 the strength and the courage to sustain and to walk 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:54.600 through it. And that's where I learned that truth for me. 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:56.960 And I didn't have anybody around me. I didn't have 0:18:57.000 --> 0:19:00.280 my tribe around me, the guys where you can really 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.600 feel it. You could open up, be honest and say, guys, 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.520 I'm not holding it together today, or guys that you 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.440 know my son had fevered up to one hundred and 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:09.440 five last night, we spent the night in the hospital, 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:11.840 or he was up all night crying and you know 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.800 I can't Or I had to take him to a 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.679 specialist my day off yesterday for Tuesday, and then it 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:20.520 just these things he can't share because at that time 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:22.240 I do want to say, hey, I don't have it 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:25.679 all together, because that was the antithesis of what I 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.359 thought it meant to be a man. You know that 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:30.000 you have to have it all together, you have to 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:32.399 have all the answers that you can't show any chinks 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:35.480 in your armor, that you have to be Rambo or 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:38.320 Jason Bourne or going back to my day, John Wayne, 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:41.919 that's what it means to be a man. And it 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:45.879 impacted my marriage too. And I looked at statistics that 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:49.160