WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 67: Brad Hoover 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.760 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:23.239 Christian Balboni, Will Bryant, and Darren Gap And welcome to 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:27.520 the Happy Half Hour podcast for super Bowl Week. And 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.000 I would ordinarily say it's two thirds less happy because 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:35.440 both Kristen Balboni and Will Brian our own special assignment 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:38.760 this week. I think Will's out trying to get himself 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:41.200 on the Swiss Olympic team or something at the moment. 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:45.800 But we got special guest baby, and they are special. Indeed, 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:48.760 I have called in the big guns for Super Bowl Week, 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:54.560 none other than Panthers legend Brad Hoover. Brad, how are you? Man? 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.280 I'm all right right out of the top. When you 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:59.279 walk through the Harris teeter, do people see you and go? 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:04.280 Who know? Most people have no clue, which is great. 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:08.120 I found that impossible to believe. I mean, somebody who 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:11.240 played here as long as you did, you know, to 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:13.600 to be able to walk around in anonymity is that 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.920 a real thing? It is? Uh. What's even funnier is 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:19.920 my my oldest daughter had jersey Day yesterday and I 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.160 asked her how it went. She wore my my old jersey, 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.440 and nobody believed that I was her dad, which is 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.600 even funnier. Oh man, this man had a long NFL career. 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.680 How many years? Ten years? I mean, that's one of 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.320 the most amazing things, Brad. I mean, when the average 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:40.080 and length of a career is less than four seasons, 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:41.760 to be able to get ten out of it is 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:44.520 just amazing. I mean, and you know, a testament to 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.080 your work ethic to your talent as well. And I 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.200 kind of tease you a lot of times about that talent. 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.200 I mean, you're you're still one of Jackson County Community 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:57.240 College's greatest athletes of all time. Um, that's Western Carolina 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.120 for you if you're not familiar. But Brad all So 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:03.960 has the great distinction in Western Carolina football history of 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:08.359 actually beating Appalachian State one time. So it didn't happen often, 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:11.360 but Brad made it happen. So now it was a 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.320 good time. You're right, it doesn't happen very often, but 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:18.079 I got to enjoy it one time, and uh, I 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:19.920 have a lot of time memories of it, no doubt, 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:21.959 no doubt. Well, listen, no one had start off the 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.360 show just kind of talking to you about your role 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.880 and your your title here with the Panthers. Alumni affairs 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:30.679 in turn. And I mean, just if you could kind 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:33.720 of walk us through a how you came to be 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.640 back with the organization and be what you do in 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.720 the alumni affairs department. Uh, well, how I got back 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.600 to the organization. UM, I really didn't think I would 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.120 probably step back in this building, to be honest with you, 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:49.720 other than visiting. And um, you know, between Riley Fields 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.200 and David Monroe, which is two guys that have been 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.600 around here for a long long time and that I 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:58.680 have good relationships with, they kind of proposed this idea 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.360 of you know, bringing a player back in to help 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:05.080 with the alumni fair side of of the table within 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.000 the organization, and you know, I thought about it for 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:10.160 a little while, and you know, I was like, I 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.000 could do this. I mean, I've got a lot of 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.880 good connections with guys not that I play with, but 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:17.600 also guys before me and a few guys after me. 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:22.600 So like, uh, trying to bridge that gap between you know, 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:25.440 as a former player, of bringing guys back, keeping guys 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:28.160 in the loop. And uh, you know, it's nice to 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.000 be back in the building and it's been really nice 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.360 to catch up with some guys. What what kind of 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.320 stuff are you trying to keep guys connected for Because 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.840 I was having a conversation with Steve Smith's several weeks 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:43.000 back and he talked about when he went to Baltimore, 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:47.240 he realized, then, Okay, you see old guys walk through 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.920 the building. You see former players always there, and it 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:55.160 makes a difference in terms of not just the business 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.920 side and keeping fans engaged and that kind of stuff, 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.200 but really even down into the locker room, I mean, 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:02.280 what do you what do you guys hope to do. 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:05.280 What's kind of the goal of keeping guys connected? Well, 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.600 I think the big thing is is for me is 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:11.280 just to re engage with these guys and let them 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.440 know that A I don't want anything from you. All 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:15.880 I want to do is be able to help you 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.520 and whatever way being able to help you. I know, 0:04:18.600 --> 0:04:21.840 for me personally, when I've kind of retired from football 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:26.000 and walked away, you know their benefits out there and 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.560 and stuff that the league does, but you have no 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:30.600 clue of what it is. And for me, I had 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:34.440 no no one to really rely on. So it was 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:36.320 just kind of through trial and there that I found 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.040 a lot of these things and so really sharing that 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:43.000 experience of you know in in the league, the different 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:46.440 programs that the NFL has and two former players and 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:50.280 that could benefit former players falls in a lot of 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:55.160 buckets now, whereas there there weren't maybe ten twelve years 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.600 years ago. And so you know, just keeping people and 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:01.640 you know informed and bolbed and just know that I'm 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.719 here as a liaison to try to help guide them 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:06.880 on the right path. I've never claimed to have all 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:09.840 the answers, nor am I ever going to, but like, 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.680 if I can help in any way, that's kind of 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.960 my role here, right, That's cool. How many guys would 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.720 you say, in a regular week you have contact with 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:22.000 our email or talk to on the phone. Ah, It varies. 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:26.440 It really depends on what we're trying to get accomplished. 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:28.600 I mean, if it's a low week, I'm I'm just 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.880 trying to check in on guys. You know, it might 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:34.640 be in season or an off season that we're looking 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:38.360 for guys for events. So I'm definitely having more contact 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:41.680 to try to get them to commit to something. But 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.279 I don't say there's a set number. It's just it's 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.000 just good to connect when we do connect, right, And 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.279 I know I mean, for instance, I mean Greg Olsen 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:54.120 is always around here doing events, you know, charity events. 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.880 He's one of the more visible alumni around here. And 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.200 I know it's great having a guy like Greg around 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.159 the organization. And I mean, what are you kind of 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.240 what's the goal in your mind in terms of keeping 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:08.320 these guys connected. I mean, is it you know, just 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:12.280 showing the community, keeping everybody mindful of the guys who 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.880 used to be here, reaching out. What's what's kind of 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:16.840 your vision of it. I think it's a little bit 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.840 of both. Uh, you know, guys who have spent all 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:23.760 you know, i'd say a good portion of their careers 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.960 here in some way somehow, and uh, just showing that 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:31.720 that there's somebody with this organization that has been in 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:35.000 their same spot, you know, in a locker room and uh, 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.560 you know, on a game field and just say hey, 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.320 I'm here to help. And you know, there's a lot 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.600 of guys that call Charlotte home and you know, do 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:46.120 a lot of good things. And so it's it's just 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:51.000 trying to keep communication lines going. I don't think we 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:54.480 won't anything from these guys other than hey, how can 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.560 we help you? What can we do to kind of 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:03.320 facilitate things between the wordization than you and just you know, 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:07.000 just be there as a liaison to help them in 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:10.560 some way. Got so cool. And like I said, I 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:14.000 do think it's it's neat for an organization, you know, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.320 to realize that it is beyond the scope of one 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:20.520 season or any any particular. You know, seasons are gonna 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:22.920 go up, seasons are gonna go down. But you know, 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.440 the Carolina Panthers are always going to have a Brad Hoover. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.760 The Carolina Panthers are always going to have a Steve 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:29.920 Smith or a Checked Along and those kind of guys. 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.520 And and I think it's cool having that connection because 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.440 it does bridge the generations and you know, their kids 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.560 growing up. We've kind of hit the point where there 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.680 are generations of Panthers fans and people who grew up 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.680 watching Brad Hoover, you know, and that's pretty cool to 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.640 think about. You know, really when the organizations as young 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:51.520 as this one is. Yeah, and I wouldn't say I mean, 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.800 I know we're still young, but we're over twenty five years. 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:59.280 I mean, it's hard to believe back. You know, I 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.440 started my career two thousand five years in so I 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:07.640 mean the organization, John, I'm old you're You're slightly less 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:13.000 old than me, Brad, but still very still occupying a 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.520 vital role. I think here in the organization, it's cool 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:17.960 having you back in the building. It's it's just neat 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.600 being able to walk down the hall and seeing intern 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.000 Brad as I like to tease him, you know, sitting 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.920 at his desk. I mean, it's it brings back a 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:29.480 lot of memories on a regular basis. Speaking of memories, 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.480 it's Super Bowl week. You played in one of those, 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:35.920 didn't you. I did. I did have fund memories of 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:38.959 the OH three you and really OH four super Bowl, 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.880 so pretty cool. I was mentioning this in in a 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.520 piece I've written for the mail Bag that we're gonna 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.960 run later on today, which you should absolutely read on 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:52.640 Panthers dot com. But I talked about how in that game, 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:56.240 the Cincinnati team right now kind of reminds me of 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.440 you guys, because a you weren't supposed to be there. 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:02.000 Be you had kind of struggled a couple of years 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:05.000 leading into it and turned things around quickly. But I 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.400 remember in OH three, there was there was no sense 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:11.320 among you guys that you weren't supposed to be there. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.240 There was kind of an earned confidence that you guys 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.840 build up along the course of that season. When was 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.079 the moment when you kind of figured out, hey, this 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:27.320 team might actually be pretty good. Huh, that's a good question. Um, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:31.600 I don't know. I I think for us, we it 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:34.000 was a combination a lot of things. I mean, and 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:37.160 I look at each NFL season like, you have to 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.280 stay healthy, you gotta be a little lucky, and you 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:43.600 gotta be good. Um. And in particularly that team probably 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.360 wasn't the most talented team I've ever played on, but 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.679 we kind of hit that. You know, there's three things 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:54.360 at the right time. And uh, you know, I think once, 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.800 I think it's like every year, once you get into 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.280 the playoffs, you got a chance. And for us, it 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:04.080 was just yeah, because I was on you know, a 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.880 two thousand team that would it was okay, oh one 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:11.440 team it was horrible. Um, and I don't mean horrible 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.359 in a lot bad way before horrible from a record standpoint, 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.240 one fifteen that counts bright and and then two thousand 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:19.360 two you're kind of building to it, and then two 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.319 three we just took off. And I'd say about halfway, 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.160 a little over halfway through the season, you starting to 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.480 feel Okay, we're starting to put this together. Uh, and 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:31.400 then it just keeps rolling and rolling and rolling. Then 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.760 you get into the playoffs and you win pivotal games 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:37.160 and you're like, holy smokes, were good. We just gotta 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:40.160 keep it going. And we we wrote it all the 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:42.760 way to the Super Bowl. Yeah, one of the things 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.160 that happened along the way. And and I wanted to 0:10:45.200 --> 0:10:47.200 kind of get your memories of it because it was 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:52.360 such a kind of cornerstone moment for the franchise before 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.600 that Dallas playoff game when when Sam Mills gathers the 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.400 team up out on the practice field day before the 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:03.720 game and of the speech, the keep pounding speech. I mean, hey, 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:07.720 what do you remember about that day? And be did 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:09.960 you realize what you were hearing when you heard it? 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:15.000 I think looking back now you appreciate it more. At 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:17.520 the time, you're just kind of going, Okay, I know 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:22.040 what this. You know this guy, that um, that coach Mills, 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:23.760 And that's how I respond to him. But that as 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.600 a player and a coach for us, what's going through 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:29.000 We knew what he was going through, but not to 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:34.160 the extent of you know, the keep pounding matra and uh, 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:38.280 kind of that mantra become the rallying cry for this organization. 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:41.400 At the time, I don't think you experienced that, but 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.800 looking back, you go, holy smokes. You know, I got 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:49.480 to sit in firsthand on an experience that not many 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:53.040 people got to experience, and uh, you know, I really 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:56.640 think that was kind of the the rallying cry for 0:11:56.760 --> 0:12:00.440 us that year, was you know, fighting now only for 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:03.960 ourselves and professionally, but also for an organization. And then 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:08.840 coach Mills and himself um to motivate. And one of 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.679 the things players who were there have told me was 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:13.840 that they were kind of impressed. I mean, Sam Mills 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:18.160 is continuing to coach while going through cancer treatments and 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.600 you guys knew that. It wasn't a secret or anything. 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.680 But several guys have told me over the years that 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.680 Sam's big thing was he never wanted to make it 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.960 about himself. And and how do you how does that 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.600 come across? I mean, how is that delivered in terms 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.520 of you know, here's what I'm going through, put and 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.200 putting it into the context for the team to become 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.040 kind of a motivational message as opposed to poor me, 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:47.240 and I don't you know, for me I look back 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.880 at it, and it's it's just Sam being real. I mean, 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:55.439 just you know, because I I look at football teams 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:59.520 like extended families. I mean, we're around each other more 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:02.840 than we are our family sometimes, and you know, he 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:05.320 was just being honest with us and upfront with us, 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.520 and you know, and and really telling us how he felt, 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:14.640 and for us as family members or team members to 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.480 kind of rally around that. That's that's what I remember 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:23.040 about it is you know, you never saw him walking. 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:25.560 You never saw him philossur for himself. I mean, he 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.000 was running somewhere. He was always positive, and you know, 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.720 I've never met a guy that was kind of going 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:34.880 through the situations that he's going through. I don't know 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:36.719 if I would feel that way. I would, you know. 0:13:36.760 --> 0:13:38.559 I don't want to say I feel sorry for myself, 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:40.839 but I don't know if I would be in a 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:44.440 jovial mood all the time. And you never saw him not. 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:49.120 He cared more about others than he did himself sometimes, 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:54.080 And I think that's important to be recognized. Is in 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.080 society this day and age, that doesn't always happen. No, 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:01.160 it does not. And that was a special time, you guys, 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:05.280 thus inspired continued that run all the way to the 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.400 super Bowl. We're down in Houston, it's Super Bowl thirty 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.880 eight and here come the New England Patriots. Are Are 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.320 there things that stand out in your memory now that 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.800 about the week leading up to the game, the setting, 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.520 the scene, all the extra stuff that goes with being 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:25.560 in the Super Bowl. H I mean, it's just foreign 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:28.320 to a lot of us at the time. That's you know, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:31.680 whereas uh, you know, New England and had already kind 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.000 of cause you know, they've been there, so they had 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.920 some experience with it. For us, it was just it 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:39.560 was kind of like going on I don't want to 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:41.560 say a field trip, because it wasn't it was a 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.680 business trip, but like it was just new fun experience 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:47.000 and we were kind of you get caught taking it 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:53.960 in sometimes. Um, you know, just how the Super Bowl structured. 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:57.840 You know, you go from N season, preseason, n season 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.240 to even playoff games. You're you're I have have one day before, 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:04.840 two days before, depending on location, super Bowl, you're there 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:07.480 a week until you're living there. You're you know, it's 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:14.040 a different environment. Media's constantly involved, where you don't you 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.480 you dealt with media on a daily basis. Uh, in season, 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.760 but you know, you weren't dealing in national media. It's 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.080 one thing having me wandering around the locker room. It's 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:26.680 another thing having a couple of thousand of my friends 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:32.760 coming with me. Bra Yeah, yes, sabotage, right, But I 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.240 mean it was a cool experience. It's just it's just 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:39.240 it's a break or where all creatures that have it. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.480 So like the players, I think we like consistency, and 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:44.840 that breaks it for you, you know, because it brings 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.520 in a different environment. As far as the game itself, 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:53.280 I mean, I think as time passes and you look 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.640 back on it now, you realize if you were there 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.040 or you saw that game, that was one of the 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.480 great Super Bowls ever. I mean, people might not necessarily 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.800 think about the Carolina Panthers being involved one of the 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:09.200 NFL's all time games, but that was a great game. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.720 Back and forth, scoreless first quarter, slow starting, boom slow, 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.520 third quarter boom, and that fourth quarter was just back 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.080 and forth. What's it like for you guys when you're 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:24.080 in the middle of it and going through that game 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.040 against a guy who has done it before, and Tom Brady, 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.880 well he's done a lot a lot after that, so 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.920 you know, it's hard to say, but you know, for me, 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:38.360 I've never been a person who has got real nervous 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.960 about games. And I remember that game specifically like almost 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:46.680 hyper ventilating the whole first quarter. I mean, you just 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.120 right that there's that much of an emphasis put on this, 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:53.640 and it could change the way this team was viewed, 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.840 the way you, as a player of his viewed, you know, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:17:00.080 have winning one and you know, just being extreme and 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.080 nervous and then you kind of settle, in which I 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.160 think that's how the game played out. It is kind 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:11.719 of how we were riding the high or dealing with circumstances, 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.560 uh that we were all kind of nervous and then 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:16.800 had to calm down. And when we calmed down, it's 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.080 kind of when we hit our stride. And it was 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.040 back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, and 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.600 unfortunately at the very end it was just wasn't our time. 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.520 But I felt like that day it could have been 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:30.119 coin flip. It could have gone either way, and unfortunately 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.439 we didn't. What one more minute on the clock, a 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:35.879 little more time, you know, any anything. There were so 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.840 many points in that game where it could have broke 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:40.760 either way, and and it does. It does amaze me 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.359 sometimes when you think back on it, just how close 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.879 you guys were too pulling off not what would have 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.480 necessarily been an upset because the way we think about 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.600 the Patriots now, it wasn't necessarily that way then. But 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:56.200 you know, looking back on it now, after that guy 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.760 stacks up another five super Bowls after that one. I mean, 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:03.399 it's just insane to realize, but one of one of 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.720 the classic games of all time. Are there any other 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.919 memories you have of whether it's that we can Houston 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.040 the game itself, that are always going to stand out 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.720 to you? Uh, there's always parts of my career that, 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.879 um you know, somebody asked me what are the three 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:22.960 things you remember about your career? And you know, definitely 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:25.119 Super Bowl is is one of those. I have an 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:26.800 opportunity to play in the Super Bowl and I had, 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:30.240 you know, come close to playing another, but I only 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:33.560 had an opportunity to playing one, and I remember that. Um, 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:37.440 then it's how on my list? Um? Yeah. The other 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:40.400 one is probably my rookie season, the Green Bay game. 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:44.720 That's probably one thing that good or bad. I think 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:48.200 it kept me around for my career. And uh so 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:53.320 it's when I remember a lot and kind of look 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:56.760 back on. And the third is the year that both 0:18:56.840 --> 0:19:00.240 Jonathan and D'Angelo both went over eleven or yards. Those 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.320 are kind of my three highlights of the career. Was 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:07.160 Super Bowl being the one up top. Pretty good highlights. 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.520 Pretty good highlights for an undrafted rookie who defied every 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.520 odd to get I mean, and I do, I I 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.320 say this, and and we kind of joke about it sometimes, Brad. 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.360 But the most impressive thing to me is a guy 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.439 who can play in the league in ten years or 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.080 four ten years, because anybody can have talent, but you 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.520 can be unlucky, you can get in a bad situation. 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:31.600 But no matter if you're a first round pick, a 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:35.320 seventh round pick, undrafted, to make it in the NFL 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:38.760 ten years is an incredible testament. And I think your 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:41.119 work ethic and what you put into the game and 0:19:41.160 --> 0:19:44.320 your passion for it is a lot of that. I mean, 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:48.960 nobody was more passionate on the sidelines, nobody, and nobody 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.640 was more prepared, and nobody worked at it the way 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:56.439 you did. But uh, it's an incredible achievement. Um. Wanted 0:19:56.480 --> 0:19:59.160 to take us out on a little bit lighter note. 0:19:59.280 --> 0:20:04.120 Wanted to ask you Super Bowl questions? Do you have 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.560 parties to watch the Super Bowl? Are you a guy 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.440 who watches the game by yourself? I don't say I'm 0:20:10.480 --> 0:20:14.320 I'm a big party guy. Um, I have been, and 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:19.280 I don't say I'll watch it by myself. But I've 0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:24.480 always watched football differently than maybe a fan watches for 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:30.800 so I'm watching the little things that make difference. So 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:35.280 even when I'm watching the game, even if people are around, 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:38.480 I'm kind of glued in. I might be paying attention 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.200 to a conversation, but I'm still looking at it and 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:44.480 and viewing it in a different light than maybe other people. 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:50.879 What's the perfect football food for Brad Hoover? Ah, that's hard. 0:20:53.560 --> 0:20:57.000 I don't't say the perfect football food, but like, uh, 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:59.920 the food I what I love my wife to fit. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.000 So I call it liquid gold. But it's twice baby 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:08.639 tatoes and just it's it's on fire when she doesn't. 0:21:08.720 --> 0:21:13.159 So anytime I can sweet talker into making something to 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.920 that that extreme, I'm on. That's the go to recipe. 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:18.719 I think it's good to lay down a good starch 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.720 base for a good Super Bowl Sunday, and that's important. Uh. 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.520 And here's the last thing I got for you in 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.840 terms of Super Bowl memories? Did you realize Janet did 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:35.720 that we had no clue until after the game, and 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:40.320 that it just adds to the mistake of the game 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:42.960 we played with super Bowl thirty eight. But no, I 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:45.320 had no clue until after the game was over. And 0:21:45.480 --> 0:21:48.880 not only do we have Janet Jackson flashing America during 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:51.560 the halftime show, there was a streaker during that game too. 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:53.439 Were you on the field for that? I was not 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.800 on the field, but I remember kind of chuckling when 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:01.440 the Patriot got tackled and it took him down. But 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.640 it's kind of funny. It is wild. That game had 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:08.560 it all. It had Janet Jackson, it had a streaker, 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:12.720 and it had Western Carolinas on Brad Hoover. How cool 0:22:12.840 --> 0:22:17.840 is that? Oh? Yeah, I never in years thought I'd 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:20.960 even be playing in the NFL. But also to play 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:23.560 as long as I was able to play and then 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:25.679 have an opportunity to play as to both. So I'm 0:22:25.680 --> 0:22:28.800 extremely blessed. Yeah, and we're blessed to have you back 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:32.440 in the building on a regular basis. That is Panther's legend, 0:22:33.240 --> 0:22:39.080