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

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

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

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Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast. I'm in

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Speaker 1: Us Williams. It's Pro Bowl week and we're joined by

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Speaker 1: the NFL Legends captains of the Pro Bowl. First question

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Speaker 1: I got for I even get it to your names,

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Speaker 1: do y'all do you guys get the money based on

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Speaker 1: who wins? Do y'all? Were bowed us up a couple

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Speaker 1: of dollars that we win, So it is important to

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Speaker 1: money for the skills comp money, It's important to win.

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Speaker 1: I got always win, no doubt, no doubt my family.

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Speaker 1: I got a lot of miles of feed, a lot

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Speaker 1: of exactly let me introduce this cruise. See that to

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Speaker 1: my right hand and not by accident. You always want

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Speaker 1: the heavy hit us till you're right right, and I

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Speaker 1: got the incomparable Bruce Smith. He's also on the one

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Speaker 1: hundred year Anniversary Team, all time cycle leader Buffalo Bills

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Speaker 1: four Super Bowl appearances. I don't care what they say.

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Speaker 1: Being on one of the greatest teams that ever be

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Speaker 1: in the National Football League. Walcome, Bruce, so glad that

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Speaker 1: you hear gold Fellow gold jacket as well. And then

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Speaker 1: I got the man coming here with shorts on. You

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Speaker 1: guys heard it. It's Super Bowl m v P. Terrell

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Speaker 1: Davis also fellow gold jacket. Uh to my right. And

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Speaker 1: then as I go to my left, man ironically a lefty.

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Speaker 1: How about that the left is in the league. And

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Speaker 1: that is the incomparable Michael vick Man that really revolutionized

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Speaker 1: the game. And I'll talk about a little later. We're

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Speaker 1: seeing all these duals really truly will threat quarterbacks who

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Speaker 1: cannot only throw the ball but can run legit so good,

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Speaker 1: which is one of if you played defense, always remember

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Speaker 1: one of the greatest challenges was a guy that can move,

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Speaker 1: extend the pocket, run, but can throw the ball in

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Speaker 1: the cities casts now is amazing. Now, the loudest guy

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Speaker 1: around the table is a little We can't he's seven

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Speaker 1: he's seven six, exactly, he's seven six heavyweight. He's probably

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Speaker 1: the fastest man that is ever. I'm sorry, I'm sorry

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Speaker 1: I said I was kind of giving a little jick

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Speaker 1: something kudos to something that possibly that was close to you, right,

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Speaker 1: I just wanted to. I just see it, saw everybody

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Speaker 1: down beaute, insulting people. You're telling the truth. It's about

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Speaker 1: who also also made and was selected for the hundred

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Speaker 1: year anniversary teams. So we're literally at the table another

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Speaker 1: fellow Hall of Famer, one of the guys that I

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Speaker 1: looked up to and watched this game that encouraged me

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Speaker 1: to actually have a vision. So welcome all of you

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Speaker 1: guys that were you one. How many Super Bowls? I

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Speaker 1: want to one to, went to, went to three, played

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Speaker 1: with great Joe Gibbs. So glad to hear you guys.

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Speaker 1: This is a podcast about the Pro Bowl. And all

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Speaker 1: of you guys have had your veterans. So you noticed,

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Speaker 1: like Bruce, what was your first Pro Bowl? Like, what

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Speaker 1: was it like when you got the news? Man, I was,

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Speaker 1: I was elated. Um the first year that I was

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Speaker 1: voting into the Pro Bowl. I remember by uh first year, Um,

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Speaker 1: as a rookie in the league can do very much.

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Speaker 1: I won Rookie of the Year. But I knew I

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Speaker 1: had some challenges I needed to overcome and I had

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Speaker 1: to I had to work to put in my second year,

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Speaker 1: came back and and um um I put that work

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Speaker 1: in but I wasn't a balanced player. I was playing

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Speaker 1: well against the past, but not against the run. So

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Speaker 1: that's where I had to to step my game up.

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Speaker 1: I ended up h third and league in sacks my

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Speaker 1: second year and didn't make a Pro Bowl. Wow, what

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Speaker 1: that me off? And that's all I needed to to

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Speaker 1: to get me to to to do the little things

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Speaker 1: that were necessary during the off season. So I came

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Speaker 1: up with these these little details that that I implemented

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Speaker 1: into my workout ethic. After the season was over, I

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Speaker 1: found it was a lot easy or to stay in

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Speaker 1: shape than it was to get in shape. I dropped

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Speaker 1: thirty pounds, so I had the endurance to play all

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Speaker 1: four quarters and even if if it extended into overtime.

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Speaker 1: And my quickness, my agility, my speed, endurance, Uh, it

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Speaker 1: just all came together and I became a student of

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Speaker 1: the game in knowing how to break down the opponent,

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Speaker 1: the offense and get these little tips that would give

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Speaker 1: me that competitive edge when I walked out there on

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Speaker 1: the field. So your motivation, got your juice is going

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Speaker 1: that passion even more next level third insects and didn't

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Speaker 1: make the probom didn't make the Pro Bowl. That bothered

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Speaker 1: you bothered me, and you were the first first the

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Speaker 1: first player picked in the dray right, what was it

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Speaker 1: like for you? So, yeah, I went to my I

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Speaker 1: went to the Pro Bowl my first actually my second year,

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Speaker 1: and listen, man, everything you have to understand, that's where

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Speaker 1: I can't a from and how I got into the NFL.

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Speaker 1: Every single thing that I accomplished. Man was like, wow,

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Speaker 1: I wasn't the first round draft pick. You know what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying. What I was a six round draft pick.

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't even expected to make the team. I was

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Speaker 1: seventh on the depth chart and training camp my first year,

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Speaker 1: and so everything that that I experienced wasn't like I

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Speaker 1: was expecting it to happen. But when it happened, I

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Speaker 1: was like I had a great appreciation and gratitude for

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Speaker 1: So after our first year, we were eight and eight.

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Speaker 1: Second year we went thirteen and three, lost to Jacksonville

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Speaker 1: in the first round. I remember going to the Pro

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Speaker 1: Bowl and being voted. First time hearing your name being

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Speaker 1: voted Pro You know, coaches come and said, hey, man, listen,

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Speaker 1: these guys were voted to the Pro Bowl. And I

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Speaker 1: heard my name. I was like, you gotta beat forgetting me.

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Speaker 1: You weren't expecting it that year, I think. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I had had a fift yards. But again, the mentality

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Speaker 1: was I was just entering. I was just getting into

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Speaker 1: this NFL thing. Really, you know what I'm saying. I

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Speaker 1: wasn't used to the accolades and accomplishments and all that stuff.

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Speaker 1: We were three, Yeah, but the things started coming and

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Speaker 1: like something about Pro Bowl. You think about big name probole.

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Speaker 1: I don't know big name man. Look at me, I'm

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Speaker 1: looking around. You got Emmitt Smith, you got Barry Sanders,

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Speaker 1: you got Thurman Thomas, you got you know, Drone Bettters,

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Speaker 1: you got I mean, all these names, and here I

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Speaker 1: am all David's the Pro Bowler. You got to be.

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Speaker 1: I'm like, you kind of be kidding me. So then

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Speaker 1: we go to the Pro Bowl. Yeah it was cool, man.

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Speaker 1: So I was like it all the entire time I

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Speaker 1: get down there and the first time I'm able to

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Speaker 1: be there with all of these Pro bowlers. Everybody kept

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Speaker 1: asking me about my damn room number, man, and I'm

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Speaker 1: like what yeah, And I'm like saying, man, every conversation,

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Speaker 1: he man, what you at? Man? So then he got

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Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl. When I realized after ie in my hotel,

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Speaker 1: they were feeling everything. The bar, you're on the drink,

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Speaker 1: every mill's going to my room. And I didn't even

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Speaker 1: know it the game and I found out the hallway

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Speaker 1: and I was like, okay, so that that was cool.

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Speaker 1: What about you, Michael, your first your first one? What

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Speaker 1: was my first one? It was my first year starting

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Speaker 1: in two thousand two. I got elected to the Pro Bowl.

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Speaker 1: So the season was difficult and I hurt my foot

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Speaker 1: during the year and I'm like, damn, man, you know,

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Speaker 1: season is over. I want to get some rest. And

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Speaker 1: this is what I learned to have appreciation for the

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Speaker 1: Pro Bowl and you know what it stands for, Like, no,

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Speaker 1: I'm not going to hurt. I could have went, you know, Hawaii.

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Speaker 1: I just want to relax. I didn't go. The next year,

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Speaker 1: I get hurt. I didn't make it through the season.

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Speaker 1: My fourth season, my fourth season started, had a good year,

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Speaker 1: made the Pro Bowl, and I'm like, man, I'm going

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Speaker 1: this year and make sure I go. And when I went,

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Speaker 1: all I can remember was just being around the rest

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Speaker 1: of the guys, you know, around the guys that you

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Speaker 1: amya Donovan McNabb and like at the time, it was

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Speaker 1: Mark voj quarterback, and Joe Horn and a bunch of

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Speaker 1: different guys, and I was like, man, damn, I missed

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Speaker 1: this experience in in year too. You know, this is

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Speaker 1: my first year here, and I never take it for granted.

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Speaker 1: So it was like being able to be there with

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Speaker 1: all the guys and and just enjoyed the moment and like,

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Speaker 1: this is what the NFL is all about, this is

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Speaker 1: what I worked for my entire life, and that I

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Speaker 1: just enjoyed the week. So I never forget that experience

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Speaker 1: from not going in year one when I first made

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Speaker 1: it to going to the second time I got elected

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Speaker 1: and saying, wow, you know, I never take advantage. I'll

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Speaker 1: always take advantage of anything. That why you know, I

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Speaker 1: worked hard for so no credit to my teammates forget

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Speaker 1: me there, but it was it was just a good experience. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and I know you're gonna degreen next, but to your point,

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Speaker 1: I end up doing the same thing, but in reverse.

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Speaker 1: I went to my first two and my third one.

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Speaker 1: We just came up the Super Bowl and I was

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Speaker 1: I was tired, but I also started seeing people who

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Speaker 1: were going down to that little Hawaiian village and uh

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Speaker 1: in Hawaii and I was like, you know what, this year,

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Speaker 1: I'm just gonna I'm gonna skip the pro Bols. I

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Speaker 1: went down there, but I pulled out right, and I

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Speaker 1: was went down there and just hung out there the

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Speaker 1: whole time a week because here's what I thought. I thought,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna be at more these Probos. I'm like, man,

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Speaker 1: I did my third one. I'm gonna be eight more.

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Speaker 1: So I'm gonna take this one off. That was my

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Speaker 1: last Pro Bowl And I always tell people I regret

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Speaker 1: not going to that one. So no, we're gonna take

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Speaker 1: you for granted. Do not take it for granted. I

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Speaker 1: do regret not going to my last one. I really do.

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Speaker 1: I went to every one on you always look like

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Speaker 1: you enjoyed it when it was almost like to me

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Speaker 1: every time I saw you, yeah, it was like your

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Speaker 1: first one. But but we got the Elder States went

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Speaker 1: over here. Had they started playing Pro Bowls. I would

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Speaker 1: like you to share, because you share with me your story, right,

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Speaker 1: you get drafted small Texas school, Texas in right, and

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Speaker 1: then I don't want you coach de coordinator. I found

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Speaker 1: this out by his next neighbors, like, yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: Richie said he didn't want to drip out and so

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Speaker 1: then the g the GM who went into the Pro

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Speaker 1: Hall of Fame last year, Beth that confirmed it, and

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Speaker 1: he said, no, I'm taking this kid, and uh, you

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Speaker 1: know I was you know, I wasn't seven ft three

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Speaker 1: at that time when I came out of three quarters,

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Speaker 1: and so I could see what he was saying. I

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Speaker 1: was five eight three quarters a hundred seventy three pounds.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know I was gonna end up being seven

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Speaker 1: ft six. So I get into the league and uh,

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Speaker 1: they just want the Super Bowl. They beat Miami, and uh,

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Speaker 1: so I came in and we went fourteen in two

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Speaker 1: my rookie year, and about the eighth week of the season,

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Speaker 1: I mean I was probably a Pro Bowl player, and

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Speaker 1: so I had made I made the Pro Bowl my

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Speaker 1: second year, but uh, and I was run up, you know,

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Speaker 1: kind of a uh two guys want to you know,

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Speaker 1: me and somebody else won Player of the Years rookies

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Speaker 1: and Bruce talked about But first of all, how did

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Speaker 1: I get here? You know, I'm not I'm all the

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Speaker 1: way throughout my whole career. Really, it's like pinched myself.

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Speaker 1: How in the world do you get I was in

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Speaker 1: JV in eleventh grade. I walked on in college, dropped

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Speaker 1: out the first semester, walk went back, and first first

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Speaker 1: round draft pick three years later. So my whole life

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Speaker 1: has been a blessing. So it was fortunate for me.

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Speaker 1: But the two things that in the Pro Bowl that

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Speaker 1: impressed me when I got on the bus, it was

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Speaker 1: Ronnie Lott and it was Keenan Turner, Keenan Keenan Keenan Turner,

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Speaker 1: and and right right was a corner too, and they

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Speaker 1: just dream out like they knew me and I was

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Speaker 1: their friend. I was like, what, I'm nobody. Walter Payton

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Speaker 1: don't know me from a chicken said, hey, you and

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Speaker 1: your wife, come on take you out to dinner. I

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Speaker 1: was like joy walked to pay Staking, I STI dinner,

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Speaker 1: was like so those are the things that impressed me.

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Speaker 1: People don't You just don't see that all the time.

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Speaker 1: So that was the most impressive thing to me. And

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Speaker 1: my first Pro Bowl was how them battering me and

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Speaker 1: treated me. Who was just a guy. I mean, I

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Speaker 1: was just trying to make it. You know, Michael, who

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Speaker 1: are your NFL heroes growing up? Who did you look

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Speaker 1: up to? I looked up the kind of Randall Cunningham, Uh,

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Speaker 1: Steve Young, Warren Moon Um, Vince Evans, Andre ware Um,

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Speaker 1: you know guys who stepped out there. And then you

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Speaker 1: know it was mobile as I viewed myself as a

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Speaker 1: mobile quarterback. You know a couple of I was African

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Speaker 1: American because it gave me hope, you know, because of

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Speaker 1: the stereotypes. When I was wrong, I feared into it.

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Speaker 1: I believed it in. I'm like, damn, man, you know

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Speaker 1: I should change my position why, you know, while I'm

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Speaker 1: young and then you were thinking about this. Yeah. And

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Speaker 1: then it was a DV from Virginia Tech when I

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Speaker 1: when I committed to Virginia Tech head came down to workout.

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Speaker 1: He was playing International Football League. I won't say his name,

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Speaker 1: and uh, he asked when his friends were position I

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Speaker 1: played because he found out I was going to Tech

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Speaker 1: and and I was like, I played quarterback. He looked

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Speaker 1: at me, he said, you'll be a dB and right

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Speaker 1: then and there, like as a senior in high school,

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Speaker 1: we kind of killed my confidence. And I was like, man,

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Speaker 1: So then I'm thinking about all the guys who came

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Speaker 1: before me. And you know, I'm watching Syracuse at the time,

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Speaker 1: and Donovan mcnabez on the rise, and I'm like, you

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Speaker 1: know what I can do this? You know those is

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Speaker 1: my heroes. Bruce, was that anybody that you patted your

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Speaker 1: game after me and Joe Gray? I mean, who's when

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Speaker 1: you when you saw that commercial commercial and so forth.

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Speaker 1: I think every particularly African American kid look at that

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Speaker 1: commercial and just said wow, you know and and it

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Speaker 1: was we were start dreaming and envisioning what the potential

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Speaker 1: of any of one of us could become. Uh, just

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Speaker 1: from seeing that image, uh in a positive light of

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Speaker 1: an African American that was on top. Everybody admired him.

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Speaker 1: Deacon Jones as I got to know him as a player,

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Speaker 1: I would sit down and pick these cats that play

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Speaker 1: Pride or my era, pick their brain and find out

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Speaker 1: the history of what took place. And I shared this

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Speaker 1: with with T d and And and Dee green Law earlier. Man,

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Speaker 1: I would be a sponge just listening all this information

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Speaker 1: and knowledge he was and the history of the game. Uh.

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Speaker 1: Back when Deacon and some of the others first came

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Speaker 1: into the league and they couldn't stay at the same

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Speaker 1: hotels with their teammates, the white players got got a

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Speaker 1: chance to stay in the hotels. The black players would

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Speaker 1: have to stay in churches, and they would have to

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Speaker 1: stay in in people's homes, and then game day they

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Speaker 1: would come together at the stadium and play. Just imagine

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Speaker 1: if those individuals, those African American players didn't stay the

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Speaker 1: course and keep fighting to have the same equal rights

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Speaker 1: and opportunities. And then finally, when the white players saw

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Speaker 1: the contributions they were making, they were making out on

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Speaker 1: the field to help them to be successful, they stood

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Speaker 1: up and said, this is not right. We're a team,

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Speaker 1: we should be together. And that's when the players started

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Speaker 1: having an opportunity to stay in the same hotel, to

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Speaker 1: really act and be like a team. Look, this is

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Speaker 1: the greatest return of the in sports. Playing in National

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Speaker 1: Football League and to see how this game has evolved,

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Speaker 1: I'm so humble and elaid it and so proud. But

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Speaker 1: there's still some work to be done. But having said that,

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Speaker 1: I I've I've admired and still do the former players

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Speaker 1: like Deacon Jones, me and Joe Green, Jim Brown, Leroy Sulman,

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Speaker 1: and so many others. Bruce Wait was history is so

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Speaker 1: important to you. Well, to know where you're going, you

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Speaker 1: gotta know where you came from I know when Deacon

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Speaker 1: was telling me these stories along with Elijah pitts Uh

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Speaker 1: and some of the others, I said, I would be

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Speaker 1: negligent if you're passing this knowledge on to me and

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Speaker 1: it stops here. It's my responsibility to pass this history

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Speaker 1: and and and the the sacrifices that were made before

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Speaker 1: me to the next player. But if we let it

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Speaker 1: die after it's been told to us, we're not being

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Speaker 1: responsible with that valuable information to keep passing it on

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Speaker 1: to the next generation. That's heavy, man. But yeah, that's good.

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Speaker 1: We just celebrated doctor, and you probably hit it home

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Speaker 1: um through the oral communication and how important it is

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Speaker 1: to pass it on and to pass it on to

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Speaker 1: a generation. I think differently from us. I'd say this

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Speaker 1: before you go t D. When I first came into

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Speaker 1: the league, Bruce took me under his wing when I

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Speaker 1: was young. I remember we hung out a couple of

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Speaker 1: times and he always invited me to events, but spent

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Speaker 1: more time talking about what was to come then with

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Speaker 1: I had accomplished, and I thought that was very very

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Speaker 1: interesting just to hear from him. You know, he was

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Speaker 1: a veteran. I looked up to him and Bruce Try.

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Speaker 1: I don't remember this, but I've seen them at a

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Speaker 1: football camp when I was like in the seventh grade

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Speaker 1: and men, my boy was walking and look, I said, man,

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Speaker 1: that looked like Bruce Smith. So I man, I ain't

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Speaker 1: Bruce Smith. And I called you. I say, Bruce and

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Speaker 1: he looked and looked back and he waved, and it

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Speaker 1: meant so much to me. Then they meet him, you know,

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Speaker 1: ten years later, when I'm in the same position and

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Speaker 1: from taking me on this wing, I was like, that's

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Speaker 1: what you just explained. What we're talking about is what

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Speaker 1: took place back then. So this real cool moment. So

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Speaker 1: I can tell you guys, for some reason getting emotional.

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Speaker 1: Here's why, because I know a lot about you guys story,

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Speaker 1: our opportunity as mentors now this week to share with

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Speaker 1: them and they may not ain't be looking for it.

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Speaker 1: They could be excited, but now I'll find a way

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Speaker 1: to get information that they don't even know they need

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Speaker 1: to know. So this is going so well. We're going

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Speaker 1: to do a part two to close this out, all right.

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Speaker 1: This has been the nf fell Legends podcast. To provide

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Speaker 1: feedback or request a topic for discussion, email us at

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Speaker 1: NFL Legends at NFL dot com. Yeah. Yeah,