WEBVTT - Straight from the Source 0:00:04.813 --> 0:00:08.733 Come Back Stories is a production I've Inflection Network and iHeartRadio. 0:00:11.173 --> 0:00:13.733 Welcome back, everyone to another episode of come Back Stories. 0:00:13.893 --> 0:00:15.853 I'm one of your co hosts. My name is Darren Waller. 0:00:16.013 --> 0:00:19.053 I'm joined by my friend, my guy, my brother, Donnie Starkins. Donnie, 0:00:19.053 --> 0:00:19.653 how you doing, man? 0:00:19.893 --> 0:00:22.133 Feeling great, man, Solwa's a good day when we get 0:00:22.133 --> 0:00:23.013 to jump on the pod. 0:00:23.413 --> 0:00:23.973 Absolutely. 0:00:24.013 --> 0:00:26.733 I'm super excited about the guests that we have on today, 0:00:27.133 --> 0:00:30.173 a man whose name is a household name as far 0:00:30.173 --> 0:00:33.373 as in the NFL world, you don't see any breaking 0:00:33.413 --> 0:00:36.933 news happen without this man's name attached to it most times. 0:00:37.533 --> 0:00:40.373 But we're excited to show a human side of the 0:00:40.413 --> 0:00:41.973 man everybody knows is Adam Schefter. 0:00:42.093 --> 0:00:42.413 Adam. 0:00:42.413 --> 0:00:44.853 Welcome to the show, man, Darren, Donnie, nice to be 0:00:44.933 --> 0:00:47.413 with you, and Darren, let me be one of the 0:00:47.493 --> 0:00:49.493 last to officially welcome you to the New York, New 0:00:49.573 --> 0:00:52.493 Jersey area. But nice to see you in our neck 0:00:52.533 --> 0:00:54.733 of the woods here. And I hope it turns out 0:00:54.733 --> 0:00:58.293 to be a tremendous chapter in what has been a 0:00:58.293 --> 0:00:59.413 great career for you so far. 0:00:59.893 --> 0:01:01.173 Oh Man, thank you so much. 0:01:01.213 --> 0:01:01.373 Man. 0:01:01.453 --> 0:01:03.373 It's a blessing to hear that from you. 0:01:03.453 --> 0:01:05.893 I mean, I've known you for a little while now 0:01:06.253 --> 0:01:07.973 got to connect with you a little bit and connect 0:01:08.013 --> 0:01:12.013 with your daughter, and to be able to connect with her. 0:01:12.053 --> 0:01:14.613 It's just just really cool moments. Man, So grateful for 0:01:14.733 --> 0:01:16.653 your time and you willing to come on and talk 0:01:16.693 --> 0:01:17.013 to us. 0:01:17.213 --> 0:01:19.573 Well, it is my honor. You were incredibly kind to 0:01:19.573 --> 0:01:22.293 my daughter Dylan for a show that she does for 0:01:22.373 --> 0:01:27.173 Nickelodeon each week, Slime Time. And again, my interactions with 0:01:27.213 --> 0:01:30.173 you have been great. I have great respect for everything 0:01:30.213 --> 0:01:32.213 that you've done and everything that you've been through and 0:01:32.253 --> 0:01:34.933 all that you do for people. So anytime you call, 0:01:35.013 --> 0:01:37.253 anytime you message, you know, I'm there for you. 0:01:37.773 --> 0:01:38.333 Man, Thank you. 0:01:38.333 --> 0:01:41.333 But we love to dive right in and we want 0:01:41.333 --> 0:01:43.093 to know as we paint the picture of your story, 0:01:43.133 --> 0:01:45.173 like was what was growing up like for you? Where'd 0:01:45.173 --> 0:01:47.413 you grow up? What was the environment like? What was 0:01:47.653 --> 0:01:48.773 the environment inside of you? 0:01:48.893 --> 0:01:49.933 Like? Take us through that. 0:01:50.213 --> 0:01:53.933 Oh, well, growing up? You know, I grew up in 0:01:53.973 --> 0:01:57.773 a middle class neighborhood on Long Island, the south shore 0:01:57.813 --> 0:02:00.693 of Long Island, right by Jones Beach, a place called 0:02:00.693 --> 0:02:03.933 Belmore JFK or Belmore was the name of the city, 0:02:03.973 --> 0:02:05.853 but Bellore JFK was the name of the high school. 0:02:06.173 --> 0:02:12.173 High school that produced, amongst other luminaries, Amy Fisher, who 0:02:12.213 --> 0:02:16.693 shot Joy Butterfoogo's wife in the face, Steve Levy, the 0:02:16.733 --> 0:02:22.213 great ESPN sports anchor, Michael Coors, the fashion designer, amongst 0:02:22.213 --> 0:02:24.453 many of the people that went to our high school. 0:02:25.173 --> 0:02:27.053 And you know, I grew up as a guy that 0:02:27.213 --> 0:02:33.133 loved sports. I watched everything. I loved reading the newspaper. 0:02:33.733 --> 0:02:38.133 I loved reading the newspaper and finding little pieces of 0:02:38.173 --> 0:02:41.893 information to tell my father when he got home from work. Oh, Dad, 0:02:41.893 --> 0:02:43.813 you're not gonna believe this. The Knicks might trade for 0:02:43.853 --> 0:02:47.013 this guy. Oh the Yankees might sign this guy. Oh 0:02:47.213 --> 0:02:50.253 the Jets are gonna hire this coach. Like I love 0:02:50.373 --> 0:02:53.173 that stuff. I never thought I could make a living 0:02:53.253 --> 0:02:56.813 doing it. Honestly, I thought, Okay, I'm going to go 0:02:56.893 --> 0:03:01.053 to law school or business school. You know, my parents 0:03:01.053 --> 0:03:03.533 had a five and dime type store on Long Island. 0:03:03.533 --> 0:03:07.133 Maybe I'd worked there. And I went to the University 0:03:07.173 --> 0:03:11.293 of Michigan and in September nineteen eighty five, is a freshman, 0:03:11.333 --> 0:03:14.093 I wanted to get into this fraternity and I didn't 0:03:14.093 --> 0:03:16.373 get in. And when I didn't get in, I'm like, well, 0:03:16.373 --> 0:03:18.773 I got to do something to keep busy. So I 0:03:18.773 --> 0:03:20.653 went down to the football office to see if they 0:03:20.693 --> 0:03:23.493 needed somebody to pick up jockstraps and hand out water bottles, 0:03:23.533 --> 0:03:25.853 and they didn't need anybody. And so went to the 0:03:25.853 --> 0:03:28.013 basketball office to see if they needed somebody, and they 0:03:28.053 --> 0:03:30.533 didn't need anybody. And so when I got rejected from 0:03:30.573 --> 0:03:34.613 the fraternity, the football office and the basketball office like, well, 0:03:34.653 --> 0:03:36.253 I don't even know what I'm gonna do. You know what, 0:03:37.173 --> 0:03:43.773 let me volunteer for the student newspaper. And literally that's 0:03:44.133 --> 0:03:49.453 how this started. And if the fraternity had ended an 0:03:49.453 --> 0:03:52.453 imitation to me that freshman year, there were about fifty 0:03:52.493 --> 0:03:55.373 guys going out for about ten spots. I think I 0:03:55.373 --> 0:03:58.293 would have been very happy just being in the fraternity, 0:03:58.413 --> 0:04:01.693 being one of the guys hanging out with the ladies. 0:04:01.773 --> 0:04:04.373 Like I never would have gone to the newspaper, and 0:04:04.573 --> 0:04:06.333 I never would have gone to this business. It would 0:04:06.333 --> 0:04:09.293 have been something that would have been beyond my wildest dreams. 0:04:09.933 --> 0:04:15.213 And so this was born at a rejection. This was 0:04:15.293 --> 0:04:18.693 born out of people telling you no. And what I've 0:04:18.693 --> 0:04:20.973 come to learn is there are a lot of people 0:04:20.973 --> 0:04:23.613 in a lot of walks of life every time somebody 0:04:23.653 --> 0:04:26.693 tells you no, that just creates an opportunity for you 0:04:26.813 --> 0:04:29.253 somewhere else, and it's up to you to take advantage 0:04:29.253 --> 0:04:32.453 of that. Now. I never would have known that as 0:04:32.493 --> 0:04:34.773 an eighteen year old freshman at the University of Michigan 0:04:35.453 --> 0:04:38.693 in December of nineteen eighty five. But you learned these 0:04:38.733 --> 0:04:41.613 things over time, and then you work hard to make 0:04:41.613 --> 0:04:45.093 the most of it. And that, to answer your question 0:04:45.173 --> 0:04:48.853 in a roundabout way, is basically the start of this 0:04:49.013 --> 0:04:51.213 and kind of where I came from growing up in 0:04:51.253 --> 0:04:54.533 belmore Long Island, going to school at Michigan, and winding 0:04:54.613 --> 0:04:55.053 up doing this. 0:04:56.333 --> 0:05:00.253 It sounds very clear that you had a dream from 0:05:00.253 --> 0:05:04.653 the start and ended up living that dream out. And 0:05:04.693 --> 0:05:09.133 you talked about some rejection along the way that could 0:05:09.173 --> 0:05:13.493 have easily deterred you from wanting to achieve your goal. 0:05:13.653 --> 0:05:16.893 Was there was there any thing like growing up, like 0:05:16.933 --> 0:05:20.813 when you were in school, that that you had struggles 0:05:20.853 --> 0:05:24.293 with that early on could have deterred you, Like for me, 0:05:24.413 --> 0:05:27.053 it was I dealt with like not being black enough, 0:05:27.813 --> 0:05:30.653 insecurities of just kind of who I was on the inside. 0:05:30.693 --> 0:05:34.053 Was there any type of pain or confusion that you 0:05:34.133 --> 0:05:35.613 dealt with as a as a young man. 0:05:36.093 --> 0:05:41.333 Well, you know, honestly, you mentioned a dream like you 0:05:41.373 --> 0:05:43.293 know I had. I didn't have a dream like this 0:05:43.413 --> 0:05:46.373 was this is so far beyond my dreams, you know. 0:05:46.453 --> 0:05:49.893 And I think back to my childhood and you know, 0:05:50.013 --> 0:05:53.253 my grandfather who I was very close with, you know, 0:05:53.333 --> 0:05:55.333 he told me that I was making a mistake going 0:05:55.333 --> 0:05:57.573 to college, that I should just come to work for 0:05:57.653 --> 0:06:03.733 the family business. And you know, it was a case 0:06:03.773 --> 0:06:08.413 where again, this is so far beyond anything that I 0:06:08.453 --> 0:06:12.453 could have imagined. You know. The adversity that that happens 0:06:12.493 --> 0:06:15.413 along the way is all the rejection that comes your 0:06:15.453 --> 0:06:20.013 way and trying to pivot from that and figure out 0:06:20.013 --> 0:06:22.053 what you could do. Like I didn't go to Michigan 0:06:23.293 --> 0:06:25.733 with the goal to work for the student newspaper. That 0:06:25.773 --> 0:06:28.013 wasn't what I set out to do. It just kind 0:06:28.013 --> 0:06:32.813 of happened. And even then I spent a couple of years, 0:06:32.933 --> 0:06:35.573 you know, on the student newspaper. Like wait, wait, there 0:06:35.573 --> 0:06:37.573 are people that do this for a living. I had 0:06:37.613 --> 0:06:41.493 no idea, Like I thought, it'll sound strange, but I's 0:06:41.533 --> 0:06:44.253 that these were jobs that other people did, like that 0:06:45.173 --> 0:06:48.293 you weren't good enough for them, so that other people 0:06:48.293 --> 0:06:51.173 would do them. And what I came to realize is 0:06:51.213 --> 0:06:53.933 that people can do anything they want if they set 0:06:53.973 --> 0:06:56.613 their mind to it. You know, if they want to 0:06:56.613 --> 0:06:59.893 become the President of the United States, go work to 0:06:59.933 --> 0:07:01.573 make that happen. You want to become a center or 0:07:01.573 --> 0:07:04.333 a congress person, go make work to make that. You 0:07:04.333 --> 0:07:08.133 want to make it to the NFL very hard. Some 0:07:08.213 --> 0:07:11.653 people are kindacholetically blessed, like myself, but you work hard 0:07:12.293 --> 0:07:15.613 and you do your best. I actually now think, in hindsight, 0:07:15.693 --> 0:07:19.813 knowing what I know, that had the Michigan football team 0:07:19.893 --> 0:07:23.413 or basketball team giving me a job back in the day, 0:07:24.933 --> 0:07:26.693 I think that I might have made my way in 0:07:26.773 --> 0:07:29.453 that particular field. I don't know what I would have done, 0:07:29.933 --> 0:07:33.533 whether it would have been as as a great equipment manager, 0:07:34.533 --> 0:07:37.933 somebody that was a director of operation. I have no idea. 0:07:38.533 --> 0:07:43.773 But I was placed to the newspaper by accident, through default, 0:07:44.373 --> 0:07:45.933 and then just tried to make the most of it. 0:07:46.013 --> 0:07:49.213 And so when you asked for the setbacks, and you know, 0:07:49.253 --> 0:07:52.453 the opposite, like it was all that like. I had 0:07:52.493 --> 0:07:55.133 so many rejection letters when I was trying to get 0:07:55.173 --> 0:07:58.293 a full time job at a Michigan It took me 0:07:58.333 --> 0:08:00.653 two years to get a job, and I always tell 0:08:00.693 --> 0:08:02.573 people there was a bar on the Michigan campus called 0:08:02.573 --> 0:08:05.733 Dominic's that would give you a drink for every rejection 0:08:05.813 --> 0:08:08.293 letter you had. I tell people, I forget about a drink. 0:08:08.333 --> 0:08:09.973 I could have owned the bar if I wanted. That's 0:08:09.973 --> 0:08:11.213 how the projection letter I had. 0:08:11.733 --> 0:08:16.773 I appreciate you painting that perspective and just how you 0:08:16.813 --> 0:08:19.093 grew up. And I'm going back to where you would 0:08:19.093 --> 0:08:23.573 read your those little like the possible transactions, like if 0:08:23.573 --> 0:08:26.893 that's where your eye went to. I was thinking back 0:08:26.933 --> 0:08:28.933 to where my eye went and it was always like 0:08:30.333 --> 0:08:33.413 statistics and the you know, the top ten batting leaders. 0:08:33.453 --> 0:08:35.853 I was at college baseball player, so I was fascinated 0:08:35.893 --> 0:08:39.573 with the newspaper, but it was more around standings and statistics. 0:08:39.573 --> 0:08:44.733 But yours was actually in these possibilities of transactions. Looking back, 0:08:44.893 --> 0:08:47.093 like where do you think that came from? And that 0:08:47.293 --> 0:08:48.933 that was where your focus was. 0:08:49.413 --> 0:08:53.573 Well, I did love sports, I mean there's no doubt 0:08:53.573 --> 0:08:56.493 about that. Like I used to watch and listen to 0:08:56.533 --> 0:08:59.413 every pitch of every Yankees game, you know, I'd watch 0:09:00.453 --> 0:09:02.373 all the football games. I mean I was I was 0:09:02.373 --> 0:09:05.693 a sports junkie. That that's where it came from I 0:09:05.693 --> 0:09:11.013 couldn't get enough sports as a kid, but you to 0:09:11.053 --> 0:09:13.413 read the newspaper. I don't know, It's just something that 0:09:13.453 --> 0:09:17.373 I loved it. It transported me to a world that 0:09:18.053 --> 0:09:19.973 I really got a lot out of that that it 0:09:20.173 --> 0:09:26.453 just I don't know what it was, you know, I 0:09:26.493 --> 0:09:31.093 it was something. Everybody's got hobbies, everybody's got days, everybody's 0:09:31.093 --> 0:09:33.853 got something they love. Some people love music, some people 0:09:33.853 --> 0:09:37.413 love movies. I love sports. So the more I could 0:09:37.653 --> 0:09:40.413 immerse myself in that world, whether it was reading the 0:09:40.453 --> 0:09:43.653 newspaper or watching TV or listening to the radio, the 0:09:43.733 --> 0:09:47.173 more I would do and the happier I was. So 0:09:47.293 --> 0:09:51.333 that that's all that that was, and it again turned 0:09:51.373 --> 0:09:55.413 out to be my professional calling, though I had no 0:09:55.533 --> 0:09:56.933 idea that that would be the case. 0:09:58.773 --> 0:10:01.973 That's so cool that you painted that picture, because you know, 0:10:01.973 --> 0:10:06.173 and you said, transported you to a world of possibility. 0:10:06.733 --> 0:10:10.453 And it's almost like the possibility was the possibility of 0:10:10.533 --> 0:10:13.133 the trade or the transaction that was going to happen. 0:10:13.853 --> 0:10:16.173 And for many people, I think they have this gift. 0:10:16.173 --> 0:10:18.973 They have these passions when they're younger, and as they 0:10:18.973 --> 0:10:23.453 get older, they lose those passions because society says we 0:10:23.533 --> 0:10:25.533 need to do this, We need to be this job 0:10:25.653 --> 0:10:29.493 title to be successful, and oftentimes it's parents and it's 0:10:29.853 --> 0:10:32.173 the upbringing that says you need to go be a doctor, 0:10:32.253 --> 0:10:34.013 you need to go be a lawyer, and then we 0:10:34.133 --> 0:10:36.533 forget and we lose our gifts, and many people get 0:10:36.533 --> 0:10:38.653 to the top of the ladder and they end up 0:10:38.813 --> 0:10:41.813 realizing that they're leaning up against the wrong wall. They 0:10:41.853 --> 0:10:44.573 have all the success, but they're miserable. And it's just 0:10:44.613 --> 0:10:47.853 so cool that it's the setbacks and the rejections that 0:10:47.933 --> 0:10:50.693 actually led you to this point, because it is all 0:10:50.733 --> 0:10:54.013 about perspective and how it's not the actual event that happens, 0:10:54.573 --> 0:10:56.813 it's the meaning that we attached to it. And I'm 0:10:56.853 --> 0:10:59.253 so grateful that you were able to I was able 0:10:59.253 --> 0:11:00.813 to hear that story, and others are going to be 0:11:00.853 --> 0:11:03.893 able to hear that that is what led you to 0:11:04.093 --> 0:11:06.413 what you get to do today. It's just really cool 0:11:06.453 --> 0:11:06.693 to hear. 0:11:07.013 --> 0:11:10.573 Well, you know, here's the thing. I never considered myself 0:11:10.613 --> 0:11:15.773 overly intelligent or articulate or gifted in anyone area. But 0:11:15.813 --> 0:11:20.093 the one thing that I was I was driven, and 0:11:20.173 --> 0:11:24.133 I was ambitious and I was determined, like I wanted 0:11:24.213 --> 0:11:28.293 to be a sports reporter in the worst way. Once 0:11:28.333 --> 0:11:30.933 I got a taste of it, like it mattered so 0:11:31.093 --> 0:11:33.893 much to me that at the age of twenty three, 0:11:33.933 --> 0:11:38.093 I'm sending applications all across the country and wherever a 0:11:38.133 --> 0:11:40.533 newspaper called to offer me a job, whether it was 0:11:40.573 --> 0:11:44.373 South Dakota or Georgia or Louisiana, I was gonna go, 0:11:44.733 --> 0:11:46.693 Like it didn't matter. I was leaving my family, I 0:11:46.773 --> 0:11:50.413 was leaving my friends. I was going wherever they offered 0:11:50.413 --> 0:11:52.853 me a job, And it just happened to be that 0:11:52.893 --> 0:11:55.973 it was Denver, Colorado. They called and offered me a job, 0:11:56.573 --> 0:11:58.533 and I flew out there at the age of twenty three, 0:11:58.693 --> 0:12:01.413 really didn't know very many people at all, and started 0:12:01.453 --> 0:12:05.773 a new life where I began writing for the Rocky 0:12:05.813 --> 0:12:08.613 Mountain News, which is now basically out of business, and 0:12:08.653 --> 0:12:11.453 their assignment to me was as a general assignment reporter, 0:12:12.253 --> 0:12:14.453 and I got to do a lot of stuff with 0:12:14.533 --> 0:12:19.413 the University of Colorado and the Denver Broncos and again, 0:12:20.173 --> 0:12:25.493 more accidents, more craziness. Right when Colorado was awarded a 0:12:25.533 --> 0:12:29.173 baseball team, a Major League Baseball franchise in the early 0:12:29.253 --> 0:12:32.733 nineteen nineties, I went to the newspaper and begged them 0:12:33.213 --> 0:12:37.253 to let me cover the Colorado Rockies, and they hired 0:12:37.253 --> 0:12:40.173 this experienced baseball writer by the name of Tracy ringles Bey, 0:12:40.213 --> 0:12:43.533 who was a legendary baseball writer, and he wanted to 0:12:43.573 --> 0:12:45.093 cover the beat, and he wanted to bring in one 0:12:45.133 --> 0:12:47.613 of the people that he knew as an established baseball 0:12:47.653 --> 0:12:50.333 writer named Jack Eckin, And so there was no room. 0:12:50.773 --> 0:12:53.453 So I couldn't cover the baseball team. I couldn't do 0:12:53.453 --> 0:12:57.093 what I wanted. I was forced forced to stick on 0:12:57.133 --> 0:13:00.613 the football beat and cover the Broncos. And so I 0:13:00.653 --> 0:13:03.773 covered the Broncos there for almost sixteen years. And I 0:13:03.813 --> 0:13:07.613 tell people I went to the University of Michigan undergrad, 0:13:08.173 --> 0:13:10.853 I went to Northwestern Grad School, and then I got 0:13:10.893 --> 0:13:14.533 my masters in football from the Denver Broncos. Because I 0:13:14.613 --> 0:13:18.533 just hung around that building for almost sixteen years, dealing 0:13:18.573 --> 0:13:21.933 with the players, the coaches, the front office people, and 0:13:21.973 --> 0:13:24.573 you learned what was acceptable and what wasn't, and what 0:13:24.653 --> 0:13:27.533 worked and what didn't, and what people were good with 0:13:27.573 --> 0:13:31.413 and what they were and you know, I was I'm 0:13:31.453 --> 0:13:33.493 grateful to the time that the Rocky Mountain News and 0:13:33.493 --> 0:13:37.173 the Denver Post gave me being around the NFL, and 0:13:37.213 --> 0:13:39.293 again like I said, didn't sit out to do it, 0:13:39.413 --> 0:13:41.773 was stuck doing it, and it led to where it did. 0:13:42.413 --> 0:13:43.773 All this is pretty accidental. 0:13:44.613 --> 0:13:47.253 This is this is amazing because I feel like what 0:13:47.293 --> 0:13:51.613 you're saying is as long as you have a love 0:13:51.653 --> 0:13:54.173 and a hunger for your craft and the process of 0:13:54.213 --> 0:13:58.093 that craft, as opposed to the results or where you 0:13:58.093 --> 0:14:00.213 may end up or a job being exactly the way 0:14:00.213 --> 0:14:03.293 that you wanted, doors are going to open for you. 0:14:03.453 --> 0:14:05.893 Like you just showed up with passion, like I love 0:14:05.933 --> 0:14:08.933 to do this. I'll do this wherever it takes me, 0:14:09.253 --> 0:14:11.693 whatever the role is, whatever they're paying me, I'll take 0:14:11.733 --> 0:14:15.813 it as opposed to having demands or thinking like oh 0:14:15.853 --> 0:14:17.493 I got to make this much or I need to 0:14:17.493 --> 0:14:19.413 be riding here, I need to be But you're showing 0:14:19.493 --> 0:14:22.733 up and these opportunities just happen to fall in your 0:14:22.813 --> 0:14:25.893 lap because the love and the passion is there. And 0:14:25.933 --> 0:14:27.853 I feel like a lot of people may have that backwards, 0:14:27.893 --> 0:14:30.613 like in the year like twenty twenty three, they want 0:14:30.613 --> 0:14:33.653 things to be great when the time that they show up, 0:14:33.693 --> 0:14:37.053 as opposed to allowing the process to take time, allowing 0:14:37.533 --> 0:14:40.693 me to develop, allowing situations in doors to open for 0:14:40.773 --> 0:14:43.773 me at the perfect time that they should, and my 0:14:43.933 --> 0:14:47.093 skills and my character will be developed enough for me 0:14:47.213 --> 0:14:48.893 to succeed in these roles that come. 0:14:48.933 --> 0:14:50.533 But people don't necessarily get that. 0:14:51.133 --> 0:14:53.653 Well, you know, Jarren, think about your NFL journey and 0:14:53.653 --> 0:14:56.813 your just a unique journey, right, But you think about it, right. 0:14:57.693 --> 0:15:00.573 You didn't come into the league right away and light 0:15:00.693 --> 0:15:04.573 the league on fire. Right, It didn't happen. And there 0:15:04.573 --> 0:15:07.533 aren't a lot of people that just step in and 0:15:07.653 --> 0:15:12.493 dominate their profession right away. It takes time, it takes training, 0:15:12.533 --> 0:15:17.653 it takes work, right, Like, so I spent sixteen years 0:15:18.213 --> 0:15:21.533 in Denver learning how to be around a football team, 0:15:21.893 --> 0:15:26.813 you know, becoming a newsman, and that's the education. And 0:15:26.853 --> 0:15:29.133 by the way, the way I felt was if I 0:15:29.173 --> 0:15:31.533 had covered the Denver Broncos for the Rocky Mountain News 0:15:31.533 --> 0:15:33.893 and then the Denver Post for the rest of my career, 0:15:33.973 --> 0:15:36.413 I was good with that. Like, I loved it. It 0:15:36.493 --> 0:15:39.773 was great. Now it evolved into a job eventually at 0:15:39.853 --> 0:15:42.013 NFL Network for five years, which led to a job 0:15:42.373 --> 0:15:44.693 at ESPN, where I've been since two thousand and nine. 0:15:44.733 --> 0:15:47.853 So it's over almost fourteen years now. It feels like 0:15:47.853 --> 0:15:53.893 a lifetime. So I think The point is is that 0:15:54.373 --> 0:15:56.653 people might have an idea of what they think they 0:15:56.693 --> 0:15:59.093 want to do, but the idea is just to do 0:15:59.133 --> 0:16:03.613 good work with whatever it is that you're doing, give 0:16:03.693 --> 0:16:06.933 people your all and let's see where it goes. You 0:16:06.933 --> 0:16:09.733 don't know where it's going to go. Like people may 0:16:09.773 --> 0:16:11.893 sit out to become a doctor and may become I 0:16:11.933 --> 0:16:16.573 don't know, like a medical expert on TV. Things happen. 0:16:17.253 --> 0:16:20.093 You can't lock yourself in. You just have to work hard, 0:16:20.133 --> 0:16:22.533 do good work, and then you see where that goes. 0:16:22.893 --> 0:16:23.853 Adam, how do you? 0:16:23.933 --> 0:16:24.053 So? 0:16:24.133 --> 0:16:26.253 I wanted to I know we have a limited amount 0:16:26.293 --> 0:16:27.933 of time and maybe we'll have to get you back 0:16:27.933 --> 0:16:31.733 on for a round two, but with and one of 0:16:31.813 --> 0:16:33.573 the things I wanted to do acknowledge you for is 0:16:33.613 --> 0:16:35.773 beyond like being you know, ahead of the game and 0:16:35.813 --> 0:16:38.733 breaking the news, is just there's a way that you 0:16:38.733 --> 0:16:43.053 your communication style and how clearly you articulate things, and 0:16:43.093 --> 0:16:46.013 that obviously comes with just being in the work for 0:16:46.053 --> 0:16:48.253 so long that you've been doing, but so one I 0:16:48.253 --> 0:16:50.293 wanted to acknowledge you for that because as I watch 0:16:50.333 --> 0:16:52.693 you on TV or hear you, I'm like, he's so 0:16:52.973 --> 0:16:56.173 clear and concise on the things that he's saying like 0:16:56.213 --> 0:16:58.653 he knows what he's talking about. But I also just 0:16:58.693 --> 0:17:02.493 wanted to ask you, like with with the hustle and 0:17:02.493 --> 0:17:05.613 the bustle and how hard you grind, how do you 0:17:05.653 --> 0:17:08.293 find balance? And what does balance look like for you 0:17:08.333 --> 0:17:09.133 in your life today? 0:17:09.373 --> 0:17:11.533 Well, first and foremost, thank you for the con words, 0:17:11.573 --> 0:17:14.613 And I would say this that you know, I think 0:17:14.653 --> 0:17:20.573 that being in newspapers trained me to think efficiently and 0:17:21.413 --> 0:17:23.213 train me to think in a way not to be 0:17:23.373 --> 0:17:29.493 worthy and to her bos. So you're always thinking you know, what, where, when, how, why? 0:17:29.693 --> 0:17:34.853 Like bam in a fentence, and that training to write 0:17:34.893 --> 0:17:39.093 a strong lead in a short amount of time became 0:17:39.173 --> 0:17:41.133 so ingrained in my thinking from all the writing that 0:17:41.253 --> 0:17:44.733 all I do now is I'm just doing it in 0:17:44.773 --> 0:17:48.213 a verbal way on television. So when a text comes 0:17:48.213 --> 0:17:51.093 in that Darren Waller's traded to the New York Giants, 0:17:51.573 --> 0:17:54.813 I can quickly just formulate that in my mind and 0:17:54.853 --> 0:17:58.493 be like moments ago, the Las Vegas Raiders trade Darn 0:17:58.573 --> 0:18:01.573 Waller the New York Giants for a third rem whatever 0:18:01.613 --> 0:18:05.933 it was, and it just my brain has been trained 0:18:05.933 --> 0:18:09.013 and wired that way from newspapers. Now, as for the balance, 0:18:09.453 --> 0:18:11.613 my brain isn't wired as well as it should be. 0:18:11.653 --> 0:18:14.373 I think, I think everybody in any line of work 0:18:15.573 --> 0:18:17.613 struggles with that to a certain extent. You do the 0:18:17.613 --> 0:18:22.293 best you can, but you can't dine in all areas 0:18:22.373 --> 0:18:25.373 all the time. If you give more time to your 0:18:25.373 --> 0:18:28.773 professional career, there's no way that your personal career can't 0:18:29.213 --> 0:18:30.853 suffer some If you give all your time to your 0:18:30.853 --> 0:18:33.773 personal life, there's no way to your professional career. The 0:18:33.813 --> 0:18:37.773 trick is to find that balance, and it's different for everybody. 0:18:37.813 --> 0:18:42.893 Some people five for different things. Everybody's got different goals 0:18:42.893 --> 0:18:45.253 in life. It's all about what makes you happy. I 0:18:45.293 --> 0:18:47.533 know that, you know, it's important for me to be 0:18:47.613 --> 0:18:53.493 around my family and my daughter, my son, my five 0:18:53.613 --> 0:18:57.133 dogs that we have. You know, I love that. But 0:18:57.213 --> 0:19:00.253 it's also there are times when work is busy, and 0:19:00.733 --> 0:19:02.773 you know, I have a friend who's very successful. I 0:19:02.813 --> 0:19:05.253 was with him this week and telling me about how 0:19:05.253 --> 0:19:08.133 his wife was really getting on him for not being 0:19:08.213 --> 0:19:10.533 present at all times. And I'm like, oh, I've heard 0:19:10.533 --> 0:19:13.373 that many times. You know, many times, And I'll bet 0:19:13.413 --> 0:19:17.693 you that we are hardly in the minority of people 0:19:17.733 --> 0:19:22.693 who have heard that. People who are passionate, dedicated, committed 0:19:22.733 --> 0:19:27.293 to their jobs probably carry it with them a lot 0:19:27.333 --> 0:19:29.813 of the time. And so while you're sitting there having 0:19:29.853 --> 0:19:33.853 dinner with a boyfriend or a girlfriend a spouse, now 0:19:33.893 --> 0:19:36.773 you're thinking, have I gotta check on this, or what's 0:19:36.813 --> 0:19:37.933 going on with that? Or how am I going to 0:19:37.973 --> 0:19:41.813 handle the situation? And that's just natural because that's what 0:19:41.933 --> 0:19:46.453 it takes sometimes, and so people don't always love that, 0:19:46.733 --> 0:19:51.693 but reality is your brain's all over the place. I 0:19:51.733 --> 0:19:54.773 try my best to have a balanced life, and I 0:19:54.813 --> 0:19:58.213 think I often do, but I'm sure that sometimes I 0:19:58.293 --> 0:20:01.773 fall short, just because that's the way it is, right, Like, 0:20:02.493 --> 0:20:04.773 you just can't be all things to all peop people 0:20:04.853 --> 0:20:07.653 at all times. It is very hard to do that 0:20:07.813 --> 0:20:08.653 in all areas. 0:20:09.093 --> 0:20:10.053 That's a fact, man. 0:20:11.573 --> 0:20:15.893 I'm interested how since that you've grown such a large 0:20:16.773 --> 0:20:20.533 profile and following and everybody knows who you are and 0:20:20.573 --> 0:20:25.293 everybody can tweet at you or comment on your posts, Like, 0:20:26.213 --> 0:20:29.453 was there what was it like adjusting to that? Was 0:20:29.493 --> 0:20:31.693 there a lot of pressures you're putting on yourself? Was 0:20:31.733 --> 0:20:35.053 there anxiety to perform? What kind of things were you 0:20:35.093 --> 0:20:39.453 dealing with when things kind of blew beyond your wildest dreams? 0:20:39.973 --> 0:20:42.573 Yeah? I do think it's an adjustment. It's a blessing 0:20:42.573 --> 0:20:45.413 and it's a burden. It's both right, and I think, 0:20:46.613 --> 0:20:49.213 much like when you're a professional athlete, Darren, you just 0:20:49.933 --> 0:20:52.773 have to just do the best job you can focus 0:20:52.813 --> 0:20:56.293 on that and try your best to tune out the noise, right, 0:20:56.373 --> 0:21:00.693 And so I think I think I'm pretty good at it. 0:21:00.853 --> 0:21:07.773 I'm probably not perfect at it. I rare read comments. 0:21:08.053 --> 0:21:10.013 I really just try to avoid it. Of course, I'm 0:21:10.093 --> 0:21:13.173 human every now and then. You know, you see some things, 0:21:13.573 --> 0:21:17.933 some things you're proud of, some things bother you because 0:21:17.933 --> 0:21:23.413