WEBVTT - Ep. 13: Tom Mack on playing with all-time greats Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Rams Icon at the podcast that gives our

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<v Speaker 1>fans the opportunity to hear from some of the most

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<v Speaker 1>legendary players in franchise history. I'm DeMarco Farr, and I

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<v Speaker 1>have the honor of being your tour guide on this

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<v Speaker 1>journey into greatness. My next guest really needs no introduction,

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<v Speaker 1>but we're gonna give him one anyway, because well he

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<v Speaker 1>deserves it. The second overall pick in the nineteen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>six draft, he played left guard for thirteen seasons in

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<v Speaker 1>the National Football League of your Los Angeles Rams. Eleven

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<v Speaker 1>of those he was named to the Pro Bowl, which

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<v Speaker 1>is unbelievable, First Team All Pro four times. In nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>ninety nine, I love that. Year two, he was inducted

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<v Speaker 1>into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Please welcome in

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<v Speaker 1>Tom Mack. Hello, how are you, sir? Thank you? I'm

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<v Speaker 1>I'm looking at these your life in pads, and the

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<v Speaker 1>first thing that jumps out is one hundred and eighty

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<v Speaker 1>four games played, never missed a game game due to injury.

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<v Speaker 1>I played a hundred. I missed some games. I know

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<v Speaker 1>how tough it is, But one hundred and eighty four

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<v Speaker 1>games without missing a game. How did you do that.

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<v Speaker 1>That was probably, more than anything, a monumental tribute to stupidity.

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<v Speaker 1>I played more than a few games hurt and in

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<v Speaker 1>all honestly, one game I put myself in one play

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<v Speaker 1>just because I said, oh, hell, I can black for

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<v Speaker 1>an extra point. So I put myself in, and the

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<v Speaker 1>pr guy came up to me right after the game

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<v Speaker 1>and said, hey, next time you do that, you gotta

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<v Speaker 1>tell us. No, kid, you put yourself in the game.

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<v Speaker 1>You just ran in there. You know it was an

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<v Speaker 1>extra point. And I mean I had personally turned ligaments

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<v Speaker 1>at both knees. Oh oh, okay. So when I came

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<v Speaker 1>in in nineteen ninety four, Jackie Slater I think was

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<v Speaker 1>in year eighteen. So he's my link to what it

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<v Speaker 1>was like in the past. And he was a different

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<v Speaker 1>breed of football player than I was used to come

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<v Speaker 1>and straight out of college. I mean, this was a

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<v Speaker 1>full grown man. But it was more than that. It

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<v Speaker 1>was how tough he was, how he worked, and it

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<v Speaker 1>just gave me a glimpse into I guess how you

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<v Speaker 1>guys used to play in the past, and how tough

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<v Speaker 1>you guys were, and how much pride you took in

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<v Speaker 1>showing up every day and being ready to play and

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<v Speaker 1>not missing games. Yeah, that's probably a good way to

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<v Speaker 1>sum up in particular, the two lines, both the offense

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<v Speaker 1>and the defensive line. Guys didn't want to be out

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<v Speaker 1>of the game as sort of as I did. Put

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<v Speaker 1>yourself in if you could. It really was a mark of,

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<v Speaker 1>like I said, either stupidity or toughness. That we'd keep

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<v Speaker 1>playing and you'd keep playing hurt because if you couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>play hurt, you figured sooner or later you'd get replaced.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's kind of how I got my break. The

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<v Speaker 1>fellow in front of me, a fellow named Don Chewey,

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<v Speaker 1>got hurt in a game and he never got to

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<v Speaker 1>come back and play for us. Hey, that's just the

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<v Speaker 1>way it goes. And you're right, it is a very

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<v Speaker 1>thin line between stupid and tough in life, not just football,

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<v Speaker 1>some very fin line, right. So yeah, it's great. And

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<v Speaker 1>I was I looked at some of your your football

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<v Speaker 1>teams and what was it like to line up against

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<v Speaker 1>Merlin Olsen, What was it like to line up against

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<v Speaker 1>when you had Deacon Jones on the outside. What was

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<v Speaker 1>that like in practice for you guys? Well, one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things we did in practice and you don't see

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<v Speaker 1>it anymore because they've changed the rules. We would do

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<v Speaker 1>one on one pass blocking religiously two or three days

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<v Speaker 1>a week, and both the defense was trying to use

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<v Speaker 1>their best moves and the offensive lines were using us.

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<v Speaker 1>So it was it was really a very very serious challenge.

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<v Speaker 1>Guys go on each other. In fact, I actually got

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<v Speaker 1>hurt in a practice, had a guy come across my

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<v Speaker 1>face as I knacked his hand out. He was trying

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<v Speaker 1>to slap me in the head and got me in

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<v Speaker 1>the eye and cut my eyelid down about I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know about two inches where I had to go to

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<v Speaker 1>the hospital. So I drove myself over to the hospital

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<v Speaker 1>and got myself stitched up. Come Sunday I played, So

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<v Speaker 1>it works out that must have blood pretty good. That

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<v Speaker 1>must have been cool looking. Wow, you know, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>something you just had to do back then. But I

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<v Speaker 1>look you guys, you were one hundred and twenty nine

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<v Speaker 1>and forty eight and seven eight division titles. You played

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<v Speaker 1>in four NFC Championship games. I mean, why were you

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<v Speaker 1>guys that good? What made you that good? I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that is dominant, That is a run of dominance there. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>there there were a couple of things that really helped

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<v Speaker 1>that when you look back on it. One, there were

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<v Speaker 1>four of the five offensive linemen starting in sixty six

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<v Speaker 1>we played together nine years. That made a huge difference

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<v Speaker 1>because you had a real camaraderie amongst yourselves, and the

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<v Speaker 1>backs understood what we were capable of doing for him,

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<v Speaker 1>so they could move in and out. Gabriel was the

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<v Speaker 1>quarterback the first four years or four and a half years,

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<v Speaker 1>and then Hadel came and then James Harris, both of

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<v Speaker 1>whom were really outstanding and they had confidence, and that

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<v Speaker 1>really helped immensely. And then we rotated and we basically

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<v Speaker 1>ended up in the next three years a new group

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<v Speaker 1>of guys. So all of a sudden, I was playing

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<v Speaker 1>as you mentioned earlier, with people like Jackie and Dennis

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<v Speaker 1>Harra and Rich Sol, and all of a sudden it

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<v Speaker 1>was it was a new offensive line again, and those

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<v Speaker 1>guys ended up playing together a pretty good piece of time.

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<v Speaker 1>That helps immensely. The defensive line was pretty much the

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<v Speaker 1>same thing in terms of Deacon and Merlin. Originally we

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<v Speaker 1>had Lamar. Roger Brown came in after ros Cy retired

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<v Speaker 1>and filled that slot, and then Dren Talbert and we

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<v Speaker 1>really had some good guys that were comfortable playing with

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<v Speaker 1>each other. Who was on that line with you? The

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<v Speaker 1>guys that were you were together for nine years. Charlie

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<v Speaker 1>Cowen was the left tackle. I was the left guard,

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<v Speaker 1>Kenny Aman was the senator, Joe Shabelli was the right

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<v Speaker 1>guard and the right tackle. We rotated a little bit.

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<v Speaker 1>We had a fellow named originally Joe Carollo, and then

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<v Speaker 1>Harry Shook came in, and then after that John Williams

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<v Speaker 1>so and all three of those guys were good and

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<v Speaker 1>continuous guys. Most of them played more than ten years

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<v Speaker 1>in the league, so it really helped to have that consistency. Wow,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean nine years together. Your families grew up together,

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<v Speaker 1>same coach or different coach, different guys coming in there.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, how do you break into that group with

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<v Speaker 1>the same group for nine years. We had Prohaska originally,

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<v Speaker 1>and then then they rotated and we had a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of guys for two years under pro throw, and then Prohaska,

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<v Speaker 1>interestingly enough, came back and he ended up being the

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<v Speaker 1>coach who was interesting guy, honestly, not my favorite. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>did he make you better? Did he help you get better?

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<v Speaker 1>We went and round with each other and had a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good understanding. But he knew what he was doing.

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<v Speaker 1>He just did understand. Different people were motivated in different ways,

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<v Speaker 1>No doubt that makes sense. Coaches tend to think one

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<v Speaker 1>way and coach one way. So we had our moments

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<v Speaker 1>with each other. But you know, I worked out fine,

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<v Speaker 1>and I ended up playing I guess nine years for him. Well, see,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the thing. When I when I knew that I

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<v Speaker 1>heard we're gonna do Tom Mack, and when I started

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<v Speaker 1>to get into your story and to see how smart

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<v Speaker 1>you are. You're not just the average football player. Most

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<v Speaker 1>guys you know why they're playing ball, So I would

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<v Speaker 1>I guess I can understand why I coach couldn't figure

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<v Speaker 1>out what would make you tick, Like, why are you

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<v Speaker 1>doing this if you really don't have to? If that

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<v Speaker 1>makes any sense, I understand what you're saying. I was

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<v Speaker 1>lucky enough. I was doing something I enjoyed and I

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<v Speaker 1>was pretty good at it, so I figured that, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll just keep working at this and I'll get better

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<v Speaker 1>and better. It's like, oh, people go different directions and

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<v Speaker 1>quite blend quite as well as you know, I got it.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, some of the blood and guts coaches. They

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<v Speaker 1>just don't get certain guys, but it doesn't mean they

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<v Speaker 1>can't help you become a better player. Thirteen seasons with

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<v Speaker 1>the Rams, and you know, I asked us of a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of guys, even current guys, and I guess you

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<v Speaker 1>try to teach if you've been there, what it means

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<v Speaker 1>to be a RAM. So I'll ask you, thirteen seasons

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<v Speaker 1>and horns, what does being a RAM mean to you?

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<v Speaker 1>I think I was very lucky because I was I

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<v Speaker 1>ended up being a fairly young guy on a fairly

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<v Speaker 1>old team thanks to George Allen initially and his approach.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, he really went after veterans and we started

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<v Speaker 1>to see my first year with four rookies and I

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<v Speaker 1>was the only one that even finished the season. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a real veteran team, so you really focused on

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<v Speaker 1>trying to fit in with them. I was very fortunate

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<v Speaker 1>in that I ended up for seven years car pooling

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<v Speaker 1>with Merlin Olsen and we drove about thirty miles each

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<v Speaker 1>way to work and going home, and you started talking

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<v Speaker 1>philosophy and what makes sense with what you're doing and

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<v Speaker 1>what you're not doing, and how do you play the

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<v Speaker 1>game and how do we fit together, and how don't

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<v Speaker 1>we fit together? And same with our other teammates. That

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<v Speaker 1>to me was a huge extra that I got out

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<v Speaker 1>of football. Besides the guy being a dear friend, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>he was also very philosophical about what we were doing

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<v Speaker 1>and why we were doing it. So it was a

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<v Speaker 1>great experience. You mean, like why we're playing football, why

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<v Speaker 1>we're here, that type of stuff. I mean, that's that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like something I'd love to hear you and Merlin Olsen.

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<v Speaker 1>You guys were about to butt heads in practice or

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<v Speaker 1>you just butted heads in practice, and now you're driving

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<v Speaker 1>home together talking about philosophy. That's that's really interesting. We

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<v Speaker 1>were lucky in that we were good at we were

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<v Speaker 1>both good at It was a good growth period, I

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<v Speaker 1>would say for both of us, You and Merlin driving

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<v Speaker 1>down the road talking about philosophy. I would have loved

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<v Speaker 1>have been in that backseat. One day when we were

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<v Speaker 1>going to the airport to a out of town game,

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<v Speaker 1>the highway patrol guy stops us and I was driving,

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<v Speaker 1>and I had a seventy one yellow Porsche and he

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<v Speaker 1>actually knew Merlin, and he pulls us off the highway

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<v Speaker 1>and his first statement as he comes up to the

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<v Speaker 1>car is how do you two get in there? He

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<v Speaker 1>spotted Merlin and he just wanted to talk to us.

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<v Speaker 1>Yellows were driving down the road and the yellow pors.

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<v Speaker 1>So nineteen seventy the merger kicks in. Now you've got

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<v Speaker 1>the Niners, the Falcons, and the Saints in your division.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there one team you look forward to playing more

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<v Speaker 1>than the others? Because I couldn't stand playing the Niners.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's the nineties version of the Rams, how about you? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we played the forty nine ers. Actually, except for the

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<v Speaker 1>last year I played, we played them three times. Every year.

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<v Speaker 1>We always played an exhibitions game against them, used to

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<v Speaker 1>be the last one, and then we played two interdivision games.

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<v Speaker 1>So I figured I ended up playing them. I remember

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<v Speaker 1>counting one time, thirty eight times or something like that,

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<v Speaker 1>down twelve exhibitions and whatnot. It was interesting when you

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<v Speaker 1>went up to San Francisco. That was really a very

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<v Speaker 1>in many ways, a very hard place, partly because of

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<v Speaker 1>the fans, but they were kind of disconnected from football.

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<v Speaker 1>If you remember that was well, I played at TSAR

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<v Speaker 1>number one, number two. It was out in an area

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<v Speaker 1>called hate Ashbury. Yeah, everybody was a little happy no

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<v Speaker 1>matter what. They didn't care what the forty Niners did. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>we had good time and we had a very very

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<v Speaker 1>good record against them during that period of time. I think,

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<v Speaker 1>especially when they had such a good team in the eighties,

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<v Speaker 1>they ended up catching up with us, But I think

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<v Speaker 1>at one point we were way ahead in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>head to head games and how we had done one

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<v Speaker 1>way or the other, no doubt. Yeah, I lost ten

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<v Speaker 1>straight before I actually beat him, so I apologize, but

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<v Speaker 1>they got it back on track. They got it back

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<v Speaker 1>on track. So we do this on Ram's iconic We

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<v Speaker 1>Love This and It's Fun, where we asked the guys

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<v Speaker 1>to kind of remember their favorite play, one play that

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<v Speaker 1>stands out above all others, One of my most favorite

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<v Speaker 1>plays about me. It was a non productive play. It

0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.760
<v Speaker 1>was just the time the game had actually slowed down

0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:45.320
<v Speaker 1>in my mind for me, and it was just one

0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:48.040
<v Speaker 1>of those watershed moments. It actually was in San Francisco

0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:50.720
<v Speaker 1>and I didn't make a play. It was just wow,

0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.040
<v Speaker 1>I can do this, it's different. I became a pro

0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.560
<v Speaker 1>that day. Is there a play that stands out in

0:13:56.600 --> 0:14:01.720
<v Speaker 1>your mind, something you can remember? Interestingly enough? Probably the

0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.880
<v Speaker 1>game that changed what I was doing in terms of

0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:06.760
<v Speaker 1>whether I was going to be a good football player

0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.760
<v Speaker 1>or not. Happen in college, and it happened at the

0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:13.720
<v Speaker 1>Rose Bowl. And the play was I was a tackle

0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:16.560
<v Speaker 1>rather than a guard, but it was a quick pitch

0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:21.440
<v Speaker 1>type of play to what was our fullback at the

0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:25.800
<v Speaker 1>time and kind of a sweep around the right end

0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:30.880
<v Speaker 1>with me and the lead because we had used our

0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:36.520
<v Speaker 1>wide receiver to block down and the play broke. Lanthony

0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.800
<v Speaker 1>was our fullback. I remember him because he still holds

0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.840
<v Speaker 1>the Rose Bowl record. It boy, he ran eighty four

0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.800
<v Speaker 1>yards for a touchdown. I had gotten out in front

0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:50.560
<v Speaker 1>of him and then caught a guy with kind of

0:14:50.600 --> 0:14:53.720
<v Speaker 1>an arm block and knocked him down. So I kept

0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.800
<v Speaker 1>running and I ended up running eighty four yards with

0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:02.760
<v Speaker 1>him and kind of green in down the field. And

0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.320
<v Speaker 1>if there was a game that made a difference in

0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:10.680
<v Speaker 1>my career, probably was that Rose Bowl because all of

0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:14.880
<v Speaker 1>a sudden, everybody noticed, here's this big, dumb tackle and

0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:19.320
<v Speaker 1>he's running faster than the fullback. So it was just

0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.000
<v Speaker 1>like everyone knows who you are and what you can do,

0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.400
<v Speaker 1>not so much that it proved something to yourself. It

0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.800
<v Speaker 1>was like, hey, now you see what I can do

0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:29.480
<v Speaker 1>as a player. You see, we got a lot in

0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.520
<v Speaker 1>common except going the other way. I think I gave

0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.160
<v Speaker 1>up a Rose Bowl record rushing yards when we played

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.840
<v Speaker 1>Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Tyrone Wheatley like ripped three

0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:42.520
<v Speaker 1>big runs on us in the Rose Bowl. That's so funny. Wow. Yeah,

0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:45.800
<v Speaker 1>So your greatest memory is one of one of our

0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:49.240
<v Speaker 1>worst nightmares. So I had Dennis harra On, who's a character,

0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:53.480
<v Speaker 1>Love him. Dennis, and Jackie Slater, who I respect big time.

0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.640
<v Speaker 1>They all talk about you with reverence, but they always

0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.880
<v Speaker 1>talk about what you did after football, what you be

0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.920
<v Speaker 1>came once you left the game. You were in charge

0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.640
<v Speaker 1>of a nucle year plant. Is that what I heard?

0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:09.000
<v Speaker 1>Am I reading this correctly? I have an engineering degree

0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.640
<v Speaker 1>in mechanical engineering, which was why I had gone to

0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:17.160
<v Speaker 1>school figure and I could play football for four years

0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:20.120
<v Speaker 1>and then I finish up, which I did finish up

0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:24.240
<v Speaker 1>and got my mechanical engineering degree. I was fortunate enough

0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:29.840
<v Speaker 1>year after I graduated to do a kind of a

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:35.000
<v Speaker 1>quick business speaking engagement in downtown Los Angeles, and a

0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:39.720
<v Speaker 1>gentleman who happened to be with a big engineering construction

0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:45.880
<v Speaker 1>firm was one of the participants or members of kind

0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.520
<v Speaker 1>of the group that I was doing this speaking to

0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:55.320
<v Speaker 1>the result of all that is in conversations, he offered

0:16:55.440 --> 0:17:00.280
<v Speaker 1>to let me come down to the company and review

0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.960
<v Speaker 1>for a job and see if I was interested in

0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:09.120
<v Speaker 1>working in the off season while I played football. And

0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.280
<v Speaker 1>the deal kind of ended up that we're not going

0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:16.360
<v Speaker 1>to tell anybody you're playing football. You come and you

0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:21.840
<v Speaker 1>become an engineer, and I'll work it. So five to

0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.440
<v Speaker 1>six months after you start. As soon as the season's over,

0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:30.040
<v Speaker 1>I will let you go. You go back to football,

0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:32.800
<v Speaker 1>and then you come back to us and the next

0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:39.680
<v Speaker 1>off season I actually had to quit and get rehired,

0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.960
<v Speaker 1>and I did that nine times while I worked in

0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.679
<v Speaker 1>the off season for this big engineering firm, and the

0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:52.160
<v Speaker 1>company's name was turned out Bechtel. Bechtel is I think

0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.880
<v Speaker 1>they still are the largest engineering construction firm in the world.

0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:59.920
<v Speaker 1>They go up and down in terms of what they've

0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.720
<v Speaker 1>bill but among other things, we built probably half the

0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:07.560
<v Speaker 1>nuclear units in the United States, nuclear power units, and

0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.840
<v Speaker 1>I was a project manager on one of those nuclear

0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:16.520
<v Speaker 1>power units down in Arizona. So I guess after nine years,

0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:18.920
<v Speaker 1>I cut my teeth enough that I kind of knew

0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:22.080
<v Speaker 1>what I was doing and it was a wonderful opportunity

0:18:22.160 --> 0:18:25.760
<v Speaker 1>for me. The result was over thirty years. I ended

0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.800
<v Speaker 1>up working for the company thirty four years. So I

0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:32.920
<v Speaker 1>was very fortunate I had a second career beyond football,

0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:36.320
<v Speaker 1>and lucky that I got to do that. Well, you know,

0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.000
<v Speaker 1>I'm a I'm a big believer in the student athlete,

0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.040
<v Speaker 1>and I think you're proof positive that it is possible.

0:18:42.200 --> 0:18:46.040
<v Speaker 1>Shouldn't we all strive to have second careers, to plan

0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.160
<v Speaker 1>for the future and still be great at football at

0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.000
<v Speaker 1>the same time. It is possible. Yeah, now, very very

0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:58.640
<v Speaker 1>definitely that That was something that my parents interesting left.

0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:02.360
<v Speaker 1>My dad had played professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians,

0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.320
<v Speaker 1>and when he was doing that, they talked to me

0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:09.640
<v Speaker 1>and said, you know, one of the reasons Dad did

0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:14.160
<v Speaker 1>that is he also had gotten an engineering degree from

0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:18.800
<v Speaker 1>a university in Cleveland, Case University, which was a very

0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:23.639
<v Speaker 1>good engineering school, and he ended up not partly because

0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.480
<v Speaker 1>of the Second World War and some other stuff, he

0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:30.879
<v Speaker 1>did not end up finding a home, so to speak,

0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:34.680
<v Speaker 1>for where he could grow while he was playing ball,

0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:38.040
<v Speaker 1>and my parents made a big deal of the fact

0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:41.200
<v Speaker 1>that if I was going to try to play professional football,

0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:46.159
<v Speaker 1>I needed to be sure, I found someplace else in

0:19:46.200 --> 0:19:49.360
<v Speaker 1>the world, so to speak, in the business world or

0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:52.080
<v Speaker 1>something else that I was going to do that I

0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:56.360
<v Speaker 1>could call home and grow. And that's very much way

0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.719
<v Speaker 1>I did. I mean, that's to me, that's the only

0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:01.480
<v Speaker 1>way to play. I mean, it's all consuming. You got

0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:03.800
<v Speaker 1>to be dedicated to play at this level and to

0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:06.040
<v Speaker 1>be great, to be a Hall of Famer, you got

0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.440
<v Speaker 1>to take it up just a notch above everyone else.

0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:12.040
<v Speaker 1>But I mean, you can't be your end all be all,

0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:14.280
<v Speaker 1>you know what I mean. Your life can't end when

0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:16.200
<v Speaker 1>the game ends. You have to be able to move

0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:19.679
<v Speaker 1>on after. And I think you know that better than anyone.

0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:23.440
<v Speaker 1>Your father played second base, right, yes, okay, so he's

0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:27.040
<v Speaker 1>got to be, you know, fleet footed pretty quick, and

0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:32.640
<v Speaker 1>he gave birth to a guard I would put him

0:20:32.680 --> 0:20:37.240
<v Speaker 1>as a better athlete than I was. One of the

0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:40.520
<v Speaker 1>things that nobody knows is I have very bad eyes.

0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:43.280
<v Speaker 1>I have real trouble seeing. I have like twenty four

0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.639
<v Speaker 1>hundred vision. But I solve that problem while I was

0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.960
<v Speaker 1>in high school because I became a swimmer, and you

0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:52.920
<v Speaker 1>can actually swim with your eyes closed as long as

0:20:52.920 --> 0:20:59.080
<v Speaker 1>you know how long the pool is. And so that

0:20:59.200 --> 0:21:02.920
<v Speaker 1>was my best in high school and my swim coach

0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:06.119
<v Speaker 1>still marvels is the fact that I end up playing

0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.800
<v Speaker 1>professional football, so you never know thinks you're going to

0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:12.120
<v Speaker 1>turn out. Wow, Yeah, you can swim with your eyes closed,

0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:15.240
<v Speaker 1>It's just that the learning curve gets a little painful.

0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:20.760
<v Speaker 1>One stroke too many in pow. Good stuff. Hey man,

0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:23.560
<v Speaker 1>I'm so happy and so glad that we got you.

0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:26.280
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for coming on and doing this with us. It's

0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:28.560
<v Speaker 1>real good. I mean, look, we hope this current group

0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:30.400
<v Speaker 1>makes it. If you had to line up in front

0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.440
<v Speaker 1>of Aaron Donald, what would you do well, I'd probably

0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:36.200
<v Speaker 1>do the same thing that I did when I lined

0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:39.240
<v Speaker 1>up across from Merlin or practice or you know. You

0:21:39.359 --> 0:21:42.440
<v Speaker 1>take your licks and sometimes you beat them and sometimes

0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:47.960
<v Speaker 1>they beat you. Amen to that, I would suggest trying

0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:51.119
<v Speaker 1>to cut him first, but just see if that works

0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:53.479
<v Speaker 1>and work from there. But Tom Mack, thank you so

0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:56.320
<v Speaker 1>much for joining us, man, this is really good, my pleasure.

0:21:56.840 --> 0:21:59.159
<v Speaker 1>Thank you very much for having me on. Let's a

0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:02.000
<v Speaker 1>wrap one another pisoda Ram's iconic. I hope you enjoyed

0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:04.600
<v Speaker 1>our conversation with Hall of Famer Tom Mac. Don't forget

0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:07.560
<v Speaker 1>to hit that subscribe button and be so kind and

0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:09.560
<v Speaker 1>go ahead and leave us at review. Let us know

0:22:09.640 --> 0:22:12.440
<v Speaker 1>which Rams legends you'd like to hear from. And there's

0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:14.840
<v Speaker 1>still time to be among the first to experience so

0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:18.399
<v Speaker 1>Far Stadium. To purchase tickets, visit the Rams dot com

0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.959
<v Speaker 1>slash twenty twenty one. That's the Rams dot Com slash

0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:25.040
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty one. Thanks for listening. I'm demarco' far. We'll

0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:27.159
<v Speaker 1>see you next time on Rams Iconic