Speaker 1: It's time for a Happy half Hour with your friends
Speaker 1: Kristin Balboni, Miles Simmons and Will Brian. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: Happy Half Hour podcast. I'm Kristin Balboni here with my
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say it my good buddies, Miles Simmons and
Speaker 1: Will Brian. But of course the jury is still out
Speaker 1: on if you guys are good buddies with each other.
Speaker 1: We'll do a check in on that. Like, I think
Speaker 1: it's just going to be a weekly thing. Um. But
Speaker 1: I'm safe and secure in my friendship with both of you,
Speaker 1: I hope. Um, So how are you guys doing? Miles,
Speaker 1: I'm fantastic. You know what, I never better. My my
Speaker 1: belongings are still in route. You know, still was that
Speaker 1: the plan? Well? I was initially told that my things
Speaker 1: would be here is today, which is Tuesday as we
Speaker 1: record this. Um, but now that's not going to be
Speaker 1: a dull Thursday. So you know what, We're just gonna
Speaker 1: keep living. I don't know. So I'm fantastic. I've never
Speaker 1: been better in my life. You have the car though,
Speaker 1: That's the important thing I do with my car is here,
Speaker 1: so like there and there are many, many, many worst
Speaker 1: things that you know could happen to me. And yeah,
Speaker 1: on the bright side, no one's going to notice if
Speaker 1: you're wearing the same clothes over and over again because
Speaker 1: we're doing everything by Zoom. Not only that, nobody has
Speaker 1: seen me except for you guys. So I think, God,
Speaker 1: I think we're okay. Your two best friends in birth Carolina,
Speaker 1: my one best friend that's you, Kristen, and then you know,
Speaker 1: we'll can well can be my friend this week. But
Speaker 1: I don't know if I call him a good buddy yet.
Speaker 1: Your casual acquaintance and coworker will Brian. I will take friends.
Speaker 1: I will absolutely take that. I'm running with that. I'm
Speaker 1: glad you guys are doing well. Um, I'm excited that
Speaker 1: we're doing that this this week because we have something
Speaker 1: that is just huge in terms of of Panthers. I
Speaker 1: don't know if you want to call it news, because
Speaker 1: we would you call it well Panthers news, Panthers content.
Speaker 1: Something that really really exciting is coming out on the
Speaker 1: day that we're releasing this podcast on Thursday, and that
Speaker 1: is the Oh three Reunion Zoom that a big group
Speaker 1: of that two thousand three that incredible team did together
Speaker 1: and it is it's just so amazing. I can't wait
Speaker 1: to talk to you all about it, and Will, I'm
Speaker 1: so excited to talk to you about it because you
Speaker 1: were really one of the main reasons that it happened,
Speaker 1: and you were really there from beginning to end, and
Speaker 1: I would love to know, first of all, how did
Speaker 1: the idea start? How did it all come together? Well,
Speaker 1: I think as we were starting to kind of build
Speaker 1: out these these Zoom ideas back in in April, in
Speaker 1: in late March when the quarantine started, you know, we
Speaker 1: had these ideas for the draft and the schedule the show,
Speaker 1: and it just seemed natural that, like, of course, we
Speaker 1: should get this particular group on, especially as we were,
Speaker 1: you know, putting out all these videos about kind of
Speaker 1: old classic games. You know, what better than to get
Speaker 1: some of the original people that were, um, you know,
Speaker 1: involved in those. And I think I was a bit
Speaker 1: surprised myself by how well it came together. I reached
Speaker 1: out to Kevin Donnelly, who of course has been doing
Speaker 1: you know, so much of our content for our video
Speaker 1: channels over the last several years, and you know, it's
Speaker 1: incredible how how quickly he can just send a text
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, you have all these guys
Speaker 1: that are all in and he's like, he sent me
Speaker 1: a text. He's like, hey, should I text John Fox?
Speaker 1: Should we just have him come on too? And I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: but don't tell anybody about it. So as you see,
Speaker 1: when when Coach Fox just appears there like fifteen minutes
Speaker 1: into it, it was a complete surprise, Like those guys
Speaker 1: had no idea that Coach Fox was going to be
Speaker 1: on it. So that was really cool to kind of
Speaker 1: see how all that came together and just you know,
Speaker 1: the way the whole thing flowed, and how much love
Speaker 1: you know, is between those guys. You know, I don't
Speaker 1: think that that particular group, um, you know, with Mike
Speaker 1: Minner and Mike Rucker on the defensive side, and Moose
Speaker 1: and Smitty and Kevin Donnelly and Jordan and Jake. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously some of those guys were in the Hall of
Speaker 1: Honor last year, so they all saw each other. But
Speaker 1: the rest of them, you know, they all have had
Speaker 1: you different things going on in their lives. You know,
Speaker 1: Coach Fox was on TV and coaching for the last decade,
Speaker 1: So I don't think they had all really gathered like that. Um,
Speaker 1: which was a really cool thing to kind of watch
Speaker 1: that happen. It really was, and that's one of the
Speaker 1: things that I think we've learned with Zoom. And I
Speaker 1: just hats off up to you for for thinking about
Speaker 1: doing this. It's I think that if we were in
Speaker 1: normal times, it would be incredibly hard to get all
Speaker 1: of those guys together, you know, and you might say, well,
Speaker 1: we're not going to do it on Zoom because you know,
Speaker 1: it looked better in person. We'll see if we can
Speaker 1: figure something out at a game or something like that.
Speaker 1: And that's just the beauty. I don't know if that
Speaker 1: would have ever happened if if if we weren't all
Speaker 1: of our content exclusively on Zoom. We get all those people,
Speaker 1: you get the surprise of John Fox. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't think it could have been any better. I absolutely
Speaker 1: as a fan, Um, I could not have loved it more.
Speaker 1: I mean, in the first five minutes you get John
Speaker 1: Fox surprising everybody, which is just the best in that
Speaker 1: voice and just like his personality coming through immediately. It's
Speaker 1: so good. Miles. I'm curious with you know, Will and
Speaker 1: I grew up as Panthers fans. Um, what did you
Speaker 1: think watching it, um and did you learn kind of
Speaker 1: about this team a little bit by watching this this reunion? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, it was very educational and it's interesting as
Speaker 1: sort of as background on more about the OH three Panthers,
Speaker 1: because as a football fan, and when you grow up
Speaker 1: a football fan, you know which teams are good, right,
Speaker 1: you know which teams are in the super Bowl, and
Speaker 1: you understand why those teams are in the super Bowl
Speaker 1: on the superficial level. But I went on YouTube, and
Speaker 1: you know, you you can go to YouTube and find
Speaker 1: all kinds of things, and so there was an NFL
Speaker 1: film special on the OH three Carolina Panthers. So I
Speaker 1: watched that and it really I thought, painted this picture
Speaker 1: of why they were good, which was their defense. They
Speaker 1: could really run the ball really well, and so I
Speaker 1: thought watching it, then when you see all the results
Speaker 1: that and as it translated, and of course they go
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl and win the NFC Championship game,
Speaker 1: right like that, you then see the players and the
Speaker 1: humans that they are. When you see the humans that
Speaker 1: they've become, and you see why, I think you see
Speaker 1: why that team was so good. And they talked about
Speaker 1: this in the piece. They were such a connected team.
Speaker 1: And I think when you see teams that go on
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl or teams that win the Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: those players always talk about how connected they were as
Speaker 1: a team and how good the chemistry was on that team.
Speaker 1: Because look, all of the teams in the NFL have talent,
Speaker 1: that's why you get that saying any given Sunday. But
Speaker 1: the teams that go on to win Super Bowls, the
Speaker 1: teams that win you know, conference championship games, those are
Speaker 1: the teams that are very, very connected. And so I
Speaker 1: thought that was really interesting just to hear them talk
Speaker 1: specifically about that, because in my experience covering the league,
Speaker 1: that's exactly what it takes in order to get to
Speaker 1: that level. I think that Sorry, yeah, that that video,
Speaker 1: Like I actually used to watch it every sun like
Speaker 1: every week one before like Week one kicked off for
Speaker 1: like fifteen years. Literally, I just imagine watched it every year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: kid will in his house in Charleston, just like getting
Speaker 1: pumped watching that thing. Did you did you put the line?
Speaker 1: I know, every single line of that thing, like starting
Speaker 1: with with like Foxy and the Redskins preseason game. Hey Coop,
Speaker 1: you're ready, I'm ready. All smiles, here to there, like
Speaker 1: I know every single line of it. And now and
Speaker 1: now the rest of this podcast is just going to
Speaker 1: be Will doing a dramatic recitement of the NFL films.
Speaker 1: Did you plut okay question as you watch that? I
Speaker 1: love that you watched that to get ready for the season.
Speaker 1: Did you put on I Black at your house to
Speaker 1: get yourself hyped up? Um? I can neither confirm nor
Speaker 1: to us to watch that when I was in high school.
Speaker 1: I love. We gotta get that. We gotta get a
Speaker 1: full dramatic reading or um reenactment at some point, no
Speaker 1: doubt about it. Uh, We're gonna hold you too that.
Speaker 1: I do want to talk though, about something, Miles, that
Speaker 1: you just said about how connected this team was. That's
Speaker 1: something that I picked up on, you know, even watching
Speaker 1: the team in real time and hearing, uh, some of
Speaker 1: the players talk to each other and you know, reminisce
Speaker 1: about that oh three season, but seeing them all together,
Speaker 1: you can still feel the chemistry. And it was something
Speaker 1: that Kevin Donnelly said that I really like tonight. I
Speaker 1: think you're hitting the nail on the head Miles when
Speaker 1: he said, you know, I played for more talented teams.
Speaker 1: You know, bigger names, better talent, but when you talk
Speaker 1: about how connected this team was, you couldn't find a
Speaker 1: team that was more instinct more connected. And I thought
Speaker 1: there was another great point, and well, you've seen so
Speaker 1: many Panthers teams. I would love to get your take
Speaker 1: on this where they said and you saw it really
Speaker 1: in this OH three reunion that there was no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. John Fox was very tough. I mean listening
Speaker 1: to them describe those training camps, especially that first one,
Speaker 1: I mean they just sounded absolutely brutal. But then you
Speaker 1: turn around and then the rookies do a show for
Speaker 1: the Vets where they're all making fun of everybody, and
Speaker 1: it's just they knew exactly went to lock in, and
Speaker 1: they prepared, and they were competitive and they were so focused,
Speaker 1: and you know, Fox did not go easy on them
Speaker 1: at all. But then in the same breath, they could
Speaker 1: turn around and crack a joke, which I absolutely love.
Speaker 1: And I think that's something that kind of intangible quality
Speaker 1: that goes into not just having a connected team, but
Speaker 1: just you know, I think that's another element and having
Speaker 1: a great team, a team that wants to to fight
Speaker 1: for each other. I think there's there's some interesting generational differences. Um,
Speaker 1: and you know, I'm gonna sound like the old man
Speaker 1: on his front lawn saying this, but you know, there
Speaker 1: there's such a difference. Now you go in the locker room,
Speaker 1: and I'm not saying that one is better or worse
Speaker 1: than the other. But all these guys everyone has their
Speaker 1: cell phone. I mean, just like all of us. We're
Speaker 1: on Twitter, run social media. You know, we're connecting, we're texting,
Speaker 1: we're connecting with people. Like back then, I guarantee you
Speaker 1: in two thousand three, half of those guys didn't have
Speaker 1: cell phones in that locker room, you know. And when
Speaker 1: they talked about like all the pranks they used to pull,
Speaker 1: you know, like Jake emptying out Kevin Donnelly's shampoo every
Speaker 1: time we walked by his his locker, or like people
Speaker 1: dumping water on whoever was in the stall. Like that's
Speaker 1: that's what they had to do, and that's how they
Speaker 1: spent their time. They spent all day when they weren't
Speaker 1: practicing or studying film thinking of ways to prank each other.
Speaker 1: You know. So it was just a different it's a
Speaker 1: different scenario and like a different way the technology or
Speaker 1: people interact with with each other. That's just a little
Speaker 1: bit different. Now, yeah, that's a great point. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: but if we're talking pranks, I was going to get
Speaker 1: to this a little bit later, but can we talk
Speaker 1: about Rod Smart running naked on the treadmill? That was
Speaker 1: just kind of dropped in there out there. Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: so many moments like that when they all were trying
Speaker 1: to just like fit in just a random story, like
Speaker 1: wait a minute, No, we need another ten minutes just
Speaker 1: on that. Yeah, we need to rank the top we
Speaker 1: need them all getting together again to rank the top
Speaker 1: ten pranks of that oh three season. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: loved the the water when Steve Smith said that he
Speaker 1: could aim and pour a bucket of water on someone
Speaker 1: and get the toilet paper holder and the person at
Speaker 1: the same time. I was just like, that is I
Speaker 1: knew the guy was talented, but that is really talented
Speaker 1: another level. Um. But I love I loved all of that.
Speaker 1: I loved I know I mentioned it. I loved the
Speaker 1: Rookie Show. I thought that was I just think it's
Speaker 1: a great you can tell how much fun those guys had.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, there was no denying the
Speaker 1: respect for Foxy. There was no denying, um, just how
Speaker 1: hard they wanted to work. And I thought that was
Speaker 1: just a really interesting thing. That was kind of the
Speaker 1: through line that they all brought up of that team
Speaker 1: that entire season was just we we play hard, we
Speaker 1: work hard, you know, we have each other's backs. Um.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I just I really liked the lightness
Speaker 1: and you can tell how much all of those guys
Speaker 1: still really care about each other, no doubt. And you
Speaker 1: know what I really thought was interesting too was how
Speaker 1: they said training camp and stuff was under John Fox,
Speaker 1: and how when John Fox came in everything sort of shifted.
Speaker 1: The mentality had to shift because he said, I think
Speaker 1: it was a mentor that was like, you know, when
Speaker 1: you've lost, you have no choice. You have to shut
Speaker 1: up and listen, right, And that was my favorite line
Speaker 1: when he's Jot Fox said, listen, anyone who was on
Speaker 1: this team last year, if they lose fifteen games, row
Speaker 1: shut up, like I don't want to hear it. What
Speaker 1: it's tone to set it was, and then you know
Speaker 1: you had Smitty talking about you know magic, the antagram
Speaker 1: magic with with the T at the end of it.
Speaker 1: So yes, magic magic. Um. But then it's interesting though
Speaker 1: because then, you know, Steve Smith also was talking about
Speaker 1: how the CPA got changed because of coaches like John
Speaker 1: Fox because Donaldi is just cutting people out here in practice,
Speaker 1: which is just not something is absolutely not something that
Speaker 1: you can do in practice nowadays, and I probably back
Speaker 1: then right like, it just was not something that was fun.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, it was one of those
Speaker 1: things where you can change the mentality of a team
Speaker 1: because you have to be tough in practice and then
Speaker 1: you have to make that translate onto the field. So
Speaker 1: and obviously, like one of my favorite things to say
Speaker 1: in like the NFL is there's so many different ways
Speaker 1: that you can win. Um, so because of that, it's
Speaker 1: so they're just so many different ways that you can
Speaker 1: get to the top. So look, especially now, people aren't
Speaker 1: doing that to get to the super Bowl. But obviously
Speaker 1: back then for the Panthers, it worked. So that's why
Speaker 1: I think you still see coaches today like, man, they're
Speaker 1: limiting how much practice time they don't have because that's
Speaker 1: what they're used to and they've seen it work before.
Speaker 1: So I thought that was really interesting. I would love
Speaker 1: to get both of you guys opinion on this, because yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, they started out. You know, I thought they
Speaker 1: were going to, of course spend time on the regular
Speaker 1: season the postseason, which they did, but I would say
Speaker 1: the first gosh, if it's if it's almost fifty minutes
Speaker 1: long or forty minutes long, I would say the first
Speaker 1: third was really devoted to training camp and kind of
Speaker 1: building that chemistry and what training camp was, like you
Speaker 1: guys have covered I've never covered a training camp for
Speaker 1: a team. Um I've covered him from you know, the
Speaker 1: studio and and covered a few different teams and that
Speaker 1: kind of stuff, but I've never been up close and personal.
Speaker 1: And they all really um I was kind of like
Speaker 1: you said, you know, it's not the way it's always
Speaker 1: done now, but they all really felt like that training camp,
Speaker 1: how tough they played, how hard Fox was on them,
Speaker 1: all the things that they were doing, you know, cutting everything.
Speaker 1: I mean, that really set the tone for the season.
Speaker 1: What do you guys look for in training camp or
Speaker 1: have you ever seen a training camp where you go, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: this team, I see it here or is that something
Speaker 1: that maybe you can romanticize a little bit like these
Speaker 1: guys might have. You know, because the season went well,
Speaker 1: they say, okay, it all started at training camp. Like,
Speaker 1: how much stock do you put when you see a
Speaker 1: team go through a full training camp? Well you want
Speaker 1: to take this first? Sure? Yeah, Like I I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's hard to say, Um, it's hard to at
Speaker 1: training camp to say what's going to happen as a
Speaker 1: result of it. You know, you have guys, you know
Speaker 1: every year that you know you're you're kind of like
Speaker 1: your training camp heroes that just have ridiculous training camps,
Speaker 1: always make plays every game, you know, or every practice,
Speaker 1: and then you know may not actually you know, have
Speaker 1: the same level of production in the season, um, for
Speaker 1: for whatever reason. But I think when when seasons do
Speaker 1: come together like that one, you know, it's you can
Speaker 1: look back and you can kind of see moments that
Speaker 1: that made sense because of what happened in training camp.
Speaker 1: I think that there's a especially it wafered, especially in
Speaker 1: Spartanburg and that heat, um, you know back in two
Speaker 1: thousand three when they had two days, and there's just
Speaker 1: something that those three weeks are the longest weeks of
Speaker 1: your life. And shoot, there long if you're not actually
Speaker 1: playing football, if you're just there and you're you know,
Speaker 1: at every practice, you know, you don't forget any of
Speaker 1: those moments and you know you're you're just so emotionally
Speaker 1: connected to the people around you, to people you know
Speaker 1: next to you in the huddle, next to you in
Speaker 1: the locker room, next to you running sprints. Um. You
Speaker 1: know when you're when you're in the hot tub and
Speaker 1: you can't feel anything or the cold tub or whatever
Speaker 1: it is. You know. So I think that there is
Speaker 1: that you know, that's what training camps do. They kind
Speaker 1: of bind you together. Um. And I think for for
Speaker 1: the team to end up really being successful, you know,
Speaker 1: there there's something that they look back on and realize,
Speaker 1: you know, how close they became and how strong those
Speaker 1: bonds became. You know, I think, so we're having covered
Speaker 1: the rams as long as I did. You know that
Speaker 1: I covered six and ten team, you know, seven, nine, um,
Speaker 1: and then what their four and twelve and sixteen. Then
Speaker 1: Sean McVeigh comes in and their eleven and five, and
Speaker 1: then they go thirteen and three and they go to
Speaker 1: the super Bowl. And so I guess the biggest difference
Speaker 1: that I feel like I saw between the Fisher years
Speaker 1: and the McVeigh years is how crisp things are practiced.
Speaker 1: And so I guess it's almost easier to tell if
Speaker 1: a team is bad than if a team is gonna
Speaker 1: be because if a team is bad, then you're gonna
Speaker 1: see drop passes, you're gonna see them have to repeat plays.
Speaker 1: You're gonna see one unit dominating the other unit, whether
Speaker 1: it's defense to offense or offense. If a defense is bad,
Speaker 1: then the offense is gonna win every day. You want
Speaker 1: to see things be more balanced because looks sometimes, especially
Speaker 1: after a couple of weeks, where the defense starts to
Speaker 1: really get to understand what the offense is running because
Speaker 1: they've been doing it since O T A S or
Speaker 1: if they've been going against the same players, And then
Speaker 1: you have a couple of weeks of camp, and especially
Speaker 1: if you get a few practices in with pads, the
Speaker 1: defense starts to understand the way the offense is going
Speaker 1: to attack. Practice and attack a day, so the defense
Speaker 1: starts to get an advantage, and then maybe one day, look,
Speaker 1: the defense is just going to dominate, but then the
Speaker 1: next day the offense will dominate, so it starts to
Speaker 1: level itself out. But if one unit is dominating over
Speaker 1: the other the entire time, that is a bad sign
Speaker 1: because it just means that one unit probably isn't up
Speaker 1: to snuff at all. So I think, like I said,
Speaker 1: it's probably easier to tell if a team is bad
Speaker 1: than if it's good. But I think about that teen
Speaker 1: training camp that the Rams had, and it was crisp.
Speaker 1: You know, you had guys like Jared Goff just delivering
Speaker 1: a really accurate cris ball most of the days, you know,
Speaker 1: and you know he's got all these receivers and Brandon
Speaker 1: Cooks and Cooper Cup and Robert Woods, and they knew
Speaker 1: what they were doing because at least in the case
Speaker 1: of of Cup and Woods, they've been with Goffer year already.
Speaker 1: They've been in that Sean McVeigh offense. Brandon Cook slid
Speaker 1: in very well and nicely, so you can kind of
Speaker 1: tell when things are working from an offensive standpoint, and
Speaker 1: then on defense that you're you had Aaron Donald who
Speaker 1: actually wasn't in training camp now that I think about it,
Speaker 1: because of that contract is right, you guys like Marcus
Speaker 1: Peters a key to leave, right, they were developing chemistry
Speaker 1: in the back end. So I think from that standpoint, yeah,
Speaker 1: like the Rams, you knew that they were supposed to
Speaker 1: be good, and they looked like they could have a
Speaker 1: really good team, but at the same time, you don't
Speaker 1: quite know until you get out there. And if you
Speaker 1: get on a hot start, you know, like that Oh
Speaker 1: three team did where you win a few games in
Speaker 1: a row to start the season, then it's like, yes,
Speaker 1: training camp was what we thought it was. It clicks
Speaker 1: and then you're like, all right, let's keep this thing rolling.
Speaker 1: But it's it's interesting. That is interesting. It kind of
Speaker 1: feeds into it. Like you said, if because they got
Speaker 1: off to the hot start, it all kind of is
Speaker 1: proof of of what you're trying to do, right, like
Speaker 1: a training camp becomes more successful in your mind afterwards
Speaker 1: because you got off to the hot start, so you
Speaker 1: know what, you really forms something special there and you
Speaker 1: really practiced your butt off there, and then you start
Speaker 1: winning and then the last win feeds into the next one.
Speaker 1: And that's another thing those guys talked about was the
Speaker 1: belief that they had in every single game. And I
Speaker 1: thought the the stat I mean, I wentn't back and
Speaker 1: looked at it because it was so wild to me.
Speaker 1: Um and well, your your Panthers stack guy. But um,
Speaker 1: five overtime games on the road and they won four
Speaker 1: of them. I don't know if I've ever heard of
Speaker 1: anything like that. That's that's crazy. They had seven wins
Speaker 1: by three points or fewer. They won four road overtime
Speaker 1: games before the one in Atlanta where Jake was killing
Speaker 1: on Jordan for that overtime interception, and and then they
Speaker 1: became the first team to overcome an eleven point deficit
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl of the fourth quarter, like, I mean,
Speaker 1: they just I mean, it was funny because Smitty like
Speaker 1: made the joke, but it was kind of true. It
Speaker 1: was like, all right, fourth quarter time, He's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: because they wouldn't let to do anything on offense for
Speaker 1: the first always got to call back and make it dramatic.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean it really was. You know that
Speaker 1: that's the power of you know, believing that you know
Speaker 1: that that offense, that that group, you know that that
Speaker 1: John Casey, you know, in clutched moments, Jacob Steve, that
Speaker 1: the defense could come up and make plays. You know,
Speaker 1: they like whenever they just whenever they need to stop,
Speaker 1: they got to stop. You know, that defense was so good.
Speaker 1: You know when when they needed you know, the running
Speaker 1: game to to move them down the field. You know,
Speaker 1: Stephen Davis and Shaun Foster. You know, all those guys
Speaker 1: just had such critical roles in you know, in the
Speaker 1: in both the defense and offensive lines. You know it
Speaker 1: that that group was was so elite with Brenton Butler,
Speaker 1: Chris Jenkins, Mike Rucker, Julius Peppers. Peppers was in his
Speaker 1: second year, you know, like all all those guys were
Speaker 1: just so good. Absolutely, and I think watching this one
Speaker 1: of the things that I loved so much was getting
Speaker 1: to hear them relive all of these stories. We live
Speaker 1: times like those, you know, hearing Steve Smith say, yeah, well,
Speaker 1: we know it's gonna be a fourth Quarner time because
Speaker 1: you never let us do anything, and just hearing all
Speaker 1: of that kind of stuff, all of the um, the
Speaker 1: insight and the inside jokes. And I think that that's
Speaker 1: something that you can't get unless all these guys are
Speaker 1: talking together. And we got so many great stories off
Speaker 1: of it, And that's something that I'm very conscious of
Speaker 1: as a host. That's what you hope for, you know,
Speaker 1: And I don't think that could be. We wouldn't have
Speaker 1: gotten nearly the stuff that we did if it wasn't
Speaker 1: just all of those guys who were players and and
Speaker 1: Kevin leading the conversation, talking together, and I think that's
Speaker 1: the kind of stuff that as a fan I absolutely love,
Speaker 1: and as a host you hope to recreate all the time,
Speaker 1: but sometimes you just cannot. You cannot get to the
Speaker 1: heart of everything unless it's just the players talking. And
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful that they let us in. Uh and
Speaker 1: that will you You came up with the idea because
Speaker 1: it's so cool to get a snapshot from their perspective
Speaker 1: of everything. But I gotta say, we've been talking about
Speaker 1: this for twenty minutes and we haven't even gotten to
Speaker 1: the best part bar one the last five minutes. I
Speaker 1: may or may not have teared up watching it, um
Speaker 1: and just hearing Steve Smith talk, and you know, everyone
Speaker 1: was was getting off the call. Kevin was kind of
Speaker 1: wrapping everything up, and he said, wait a second, I
Speaker 1: want to say something, and he just went into an
Speaker 1: incredibly heartfelt speech and and well, I'd like you to
Speaker 1: kind of describe it for anyone who hasn't seen this yet,
Speaker 1: because it's just so I mean, it really did. It
Speaker 1: moved me two tears. So you know, Steve essentially said,
Speaker 1: you know, guys, you know I'm one of the youngest
Speaker 1: people in this group. And you know, you guys taught
Speaker 1: me how to be a man. You taught me how
Speaker 1: to grow up. I wouldn't have been on the Panthers
Speaker 1: for as long as I had been if it weren't
Speaker 1: for you, um. And you taught me how to be
Speaker 1: a father. And I think like that speaks so much too,
Speaker 1: his his relationship with those guys, his relationship with with
Speaker 1: that team, their relationship with each other. Um. And I
Speaker 1: think it's to how time can can change things. You know,
Speaker 1: when when Steve was released by the Panthers back in
Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen, I think, you know, it wasn't it
Speaker 1: wasn't pretty, and it wasn't completely amicable at that moment.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think time and graciousness and humility
Speaker 1: by so many people involved, you know, can bring people
Speaker 1: back into family and can kind of reconnect family. And
Speaker 1: I think that that's what felt so real about that moment.
Speaker 1: And I mean really the last twelve months, you know,
Speaker 1: with with that Hall of Honor class and with Steve
Speaker 1: being back in the fold and you know, unveiling its
Speaker 1: jersey last October, and you know, I think this is
Speaker 1: another another piece of just how great it is to
Speaker 1: kind of allow time in space to really bring you know,
Speaker 1: bring all that home. And I think that that was
Speaker 1: so cool for me to watch. Yeah, I completely agree. Um,
Speaker 1: he is barn On, one of my favorite Panthers and
Speaker 1: just to see him open up like that, and like
Speaker 1: I said, it was I mean, everyone was getting off
Speaker 1: the zoom and and he stopped everything to tell all
Speaker 1: of them that, And I just thought it was just
Speaker 1: an incredible moment. Um, And you're right, it is almost
Speaker 1: cathartic as a as a Panthers fant to see him
Speaker 1: back in the fold and doing these kinds of things
Speaker 1: and reliving these moments with us. Um, it's it's just awesome.
Speaker 1: I absolutely loved it. Um, I did get a little
Speaker 1: choked up at Miles. I'm curious to know what you
Speaker 1: made kind of because well, and I obviously have a
Speaker 1: very emotional attachment to it, But um, what did you think?
Speaker 1: And you know how I guess how have you viewed
Speaker 1: Steve Smith over the years and what did you think
Speaker 1: of seeing him open up like that? Well? Sure, you know,
Speaker 1: first of all, I think when you think of the
Speaker 1: Panthers and they the Panthers are younger than me, right,
Speaker 1: like that, which is a weird thing to think about
Speaker 1: the same. Yeah, um, but especially just you know the
Speaker 1: way we think about football in this country, in the
Speaker 1: NFL celebrating a hundred seasons last year. But because of that,
Speaker 1: when you think of the Panthers, there are not necessarily
Speaker 1: that many people that you think about that you would
Speaker 1: put on the proverbial Mount Rushmore of players who have
Speaker 1: been a part of this franchise. And Steve Smith Singer
Speaker 1: is no doubt one of those players, right. So I
Speaker 1: think the fact that you know as well said it
Speaker 1: was pretty public. I think you know when um Steve
Speaker 1: Smith was released and then he ended up going to
Speaker 1: the Ravens that you know, everything was not necessarily sunshine
Speaker 1: roses between him and the franchise. And so to see
Speaker 1: him back to see one of the people who is
Speaker 1: on that Mount Rushmore of Panthers players, Um being emotional
Speaker 1: and talking about how those members of the organization really
Speaker 1: helped shape his life, I thought that was awesome to see.
Speaker 1: And the other thing that I really thought was awesome
Speaker 1: was how he said, hey, guys, in a couple of years,
Speaker 1: there's going to probably be a ceremony in Ohio that
Speaker 1: we'll all get together for and you know, he's talking
Speaker 1: about putting on gold jacket and being trying to the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame, which he doubtably should be, you know,
Speaker 1: if not in the first classroom, he's eligible, And forgive me,
Speaker 1: I'm not exactly sure when that will be, Um, then
Speaker 1: within the first couple of years, because he's one of
Speaker 1: the best receivers to ever play the game, and he
Speaker 1: did it at such a high level, so consistently for
Speaker 1: so many years. So yeah, it's as even as somebody
Speaker 1: who did not follow the Panthers as closely as you
Speaker 1: two did, I think just as a fan of football
Speaker 1: and a fan of the sport and a fan of
Speaker 1: this league, like it's it's really cool to see somebody
Speaker 1: connect with their teammates and the former coach like that.
Speaker 1: I absolutely loved the entire thing. Um. But before we
Speaker 1: move on, and of course, you know, I'm assuming that
Speaker 1: you if you are listening to this, you have watched it,
Speaker 1: but um, if you haven't, you got to go out
Speaker 1: and watch it immediately. It's so incredible. But before we
Speaker 1: wrap up the conversation, will since you had such a
Speaker 1: big part of this, is there anything that we haven't
Speaker 1: touched on that was a favorite moment of yours. I mean,
Speaker 1: I had to get Rod smart running on the treadmill
Speaker 1: out there right off the bat. But I want to
Speaker 1: make sure that you've got a chance to share your
Speaker 1: favorite moments as well, since you're so heavily involved. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think we we touched on most of them, and
Speaker 1: you know, I think what what's funny is that group
Speaker 1: could have kept going, you know, and it was almost
Speaker 1: like there was this there's this feeling that like no
Speaker 1: one really you know, everyone kind of understood you know, hey,
Speaker 1: you know we everyone has something to do and we've
Speaker 1: got different things we need to get going to. But man,
Speaker 1: can we just stay here and just keep doing this
Speaker 1: for hours and hours and hours? And you know, I
Speaker 1: think that like that's what's so cool and special about
Speaker 1: those guys, and and to be able to have a small,
Speaker 1: very small hand in getting them all together, um, you
Speaker 1: know what was really cool as well. So hopefully, you know,
Speaker 1: hopefully Panthers fans, you know, both new fans and old
Speaker 1: fans will kind of be able to connect to that.
Speaker 1: You know, I think that season, you know, there's there's
Speaker 1: points and times in your life where you know, something
Speaker 1: that you're a big part of, you know, really has
Speaker 1: has an impact. I know a lot of new Panther fans,
Speaker 1: you know that season going to the super Bowl going
Speaker 1: fifteen and one is something they'll never forget, you know.
Speaker 1: For for a lot of Panthers fans, that two thousand
Speaker 1: three season was kind of that, you know, that first
Speaker 1: real Panther experience, and you know they've been fans ever since.
Speaker 1: So hopefully this UM can kind of uh you know,
Speaker 1: b be like a nice memory and a nice reminiscence
Speaker 1: of that. Absolutely, I'm so happy we have it on
Speaker 1: the record, UM, and thank you for all you did
Speaker 1: to to make it happen. And yeah, if if if
Speaker 1: fans are watching and you want to tweet us any
Speaker 1: of your favorite moments that that we forgot about, let
Speaker 1: us know, because I'm sure there's i mean, there were
Speaker 1: so many good pranks in there that I'm sure that
Speaker 1: we're forgetting a couple. Um Okay, but we're gonna leave
Speaker 1: that there for now because we have got to move
Speaker 1: on to what we are now calling our weird Question
Speaker 1: of the Week, and it is inspired by Will, who
Speaker 1: last week asked us to UM, what was it the
Speaker 1: best music video that is associated with a movie and
Speaker 1: the music video still holds up, but the movie doesn't.
Speaker 1: Am I essentially getting the plot points of that one right, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Specific And we had such obviously you know, the song
Speaker 1: way out class the movie that it's somehow got associated
Speaker 1: with absolutely Miles and I chose seal Kissed by a Rose.
Speaker 1: You had, Dave Matthews. It was great, It was so
Speaker 1: much fun, and so we decided to make this kind
Speaker 1: of a weekly segment, and Miles, you came up with
Speaker 1: the question this week, I did so, and it is
Speaker 1: as follows, if you were to create a perfect three
Speaker 1: course meal or four or whatever, however many courses you
Speaker 1: wanted to be, but it's a dinner. If you were
Speaker 1: to create the perfect meal, what would it be? I
Speaker 1: think this is a no brainer for me. I've really
Speaker 1: thought about going candy, candy, candy, um, just because if
Speaker 1: it's my three course meal, I get to pick whatever
Speaker 1: I want. But now, look, I'd say, well, I kind
Speaker 1: of also looked at it as if this were like
Speaker 1: my last meal too. I mean, I guess it could be,
Speaker 1: you know, any meal, But isn't that kind of how
Speaker 1: you think, like, you know, no consequences after the fact.
Speaker 1: I don't want to worry about, you know, if the
Speaker 1: candy is gonna, you know, make my stomach herd or anything.
Speaker 1: But I'm gonna go. And I would say this, I've
Speaker 1: had some pretty great meals, some pretty fancy meals I've
Speaker 1: I've had the good fortune to travel. I'm gonna go
Speaker 1: with this one. And I cannot wait to see what
Speaker 1: Miles thinks, because from our first podcast, I know Miles
Speaker 1: like you don't eat cereal. Um, yeah, so I think
Speaker 1: yours is gonna be pretty fancy. I'm gonna go. First course,
Speaker 1: my grandma, my nana her butter milk biscuits. They're the
Speaker 1: secret recipe, the absolute best. I mean, I could even
Speaker 1: four if if you know, I just I didn't have
Speaker 1: to save any for anybody else. There the best homemade
Speaker 1: biscuits I've ever had. Tons of butter, I mean, just
Speaker 1: like fresh out of the oven. That's gonna be. That's
Speaker 1: gonna be first. I'm going fried chicken and and whatever
Speaker 1: else you want to put on the sides. We could
Speaker 1: do some potatoes, we could do some green beans, some okra,
Speaker 1: all of it. Like a true Sunday dinner, the kinds
Speaker 1: that I used to have. Yeah, well, I grew up
Speaker 1: I mean here in North Carolina, we had Sunday lunch
Speaker 1: every every Sunday at my grandmother's house. Um, and that's
Speaker 1: always just been like my favorite. Like if you were
Speaker 1: going to say what meal would make you the happiest,
Speaker 1: would be this one. I'm going to follow it up
Speaker 1: though I do love desserts. I'm going for it full
Speaker 1: cook out, Oreo milkshake, fancy shake is what I believe
Speaker 1: they're called for the dessert. That's my perfect meal. I
Speaker 1: stand by it. Well, what is so my mind is
Speaker 1: just a whole array of unhealthiness. And I don't think
Speaker 1: I never put this whole thing together because I would
Speaker 1: immediately be dead by the end of the night. But
Speaker 1: this is an exercise in this, So let's do it.
Speaker 1: Start with bacon, how Apo poppers wrap haw Apo poppers?
Speaker 1: Have you guys had those? Absolutely? Yeah, So you start
Speaker 1: with that and then obviously you know it's going to
Speaker 1: go downhill or uphill from there. Uh, A Porterhouse steak
Speaker 1: with like some some grilled like from the grill, like
Speaker 1: grilled vegetables around it. Um, and then finish with a
Speaker 1: key line pie, key line pie. Great choice. Well, I
Speaker 1: have so much. Well, you know what, we're definitely friends
Speaker 1: now because you're not actually very good good, Well, I
Speaker 1: have to ask you this question. Well, I'm not going
Speaker 1: to stay. I didn't hear Miles say anything about mine,
Speaker 1: but that's fine whatever. Alright, well, how would your steak
Speaker 1: be cooks? We could just move on from that. That's slight.
Speaker 1: I mean there's there's only one answer to that. I
Speaker 1: mean right, there's only one good answer, I mean medium. Okay,
Speaker 1: all right, you were so we were making for a
Speaker 1: well done guy, for a well done guy. Now if
Speaker 1: you if you had said well done, all of that
Speaker 1: progress that we had just made on our just been lost.
Speaker 1: So you did. Congratulations, you passed at all. Right, let's
Speaker 1: just say week three, Yeah, week three, thirty minutes into
Speaker 1: the episode, we have gotten miles first declaration that willis friend.
Speaker 1: Will of course be checking on that next week. Alright, Miles,
Speaker 1: I do got Will. That is a that is a
Speaker 1: great meal. I love the key Lampie, Miles. What is yours? Um?
Speaker 1: So I would have to start with some sort of
Speaker 1: a mouse bush and I don't necessarily know, like it
Speaker 1: could be kind of anything. How are you going to
Speaker 1: ask the question, and not happen. Okay, But you can't
Speaker 1: ask the question and then say it could be anything,
Speaker 1: because no, because look, the mouse bush is not really
Speaker 1: a course, right, That's just how you that's how you
Speaker 1: tease your mouth. That's literally basically what it is in French.
Speaker 1: It's a mouth teaser. So that's how we start. Like
Speaker 1: something like a little shot of a bloody mary that
Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily of alcohol, you know, like a little piece
Speaker 1: of bacon or whatever that you put in there. That'd
Speaker 1: be interesting. Um. I would probably then go to the
Speaker 1: first course with it would be probably seafood, probably a
Speaker 1: good shrimp cocktail. And I don't know about you guys,
Speaker 1: but I totally love the shrimp cocktail that you get
Speaker 1: at Saint Elmo's and Harry and Dizzy's in Indianapolis. Now,
Speaker 1: I once went to another Indianapolis establishment that said, oh, like,
Speaker 1: you can get the shrimp cocktail here, you can still
Speaker 1: taste the rest of your food after. I won't name
Speaker 1: the establishment because that was really rude. And also, if
Speaker 1: you can't handle the heath and just don't get the
Speaker 1: shrimp cocktail, like it's really really good. I love the
Speaker 1: fact that it clears out my sinuses. Then I would
Speaker 1: follow that up um with the main course, which would
Speaker 1: be a beautiful filet mignon, absolutely cooked medium rare and
Speaker 1: probably on the rare side of medium rare, with a
Speaker 1: side of green beans. Now, to me, steak and green
Speaker 1: beans is just the absolute perfect dinner. I don't necessarily
Speaker 1: need mashed potatoes, I don't need a starch. Just give
Speaker 1: me protein and the vegetable and we're good. And to
Speaker 1: finish that off with the dessert, I would say I
Speaker 1: would love to have a pineapple cake. Not necessarily pineapple
Speaker 1: upside down cape, but the best thing I've ever had
Speaker 1: in my entire life was a pineapple cake that I
Speaker 1: had McCormick and schmick. Now this is probably ten to
Speaker 1: fifteen years ago when you had it for dessert in Baltimore,
Speaker 1: and I will never forget because it was the best
Speaker 1: thing that I've ever tasted in my life, bar none.
Speaker 1: So that would be my perfect meal. And actually we
Speaker 1: put aside of vanilla bean ice cream, preferably actually vanilla
Speaker 1: bean gelato from to Lindy, I think that would make
Speaker 1: the perfect meal. Can we just quickly say about how
Speaker 1: Miles very subtly tried to dunk on us by saying
Speaker 1: how much of a Combine aficionado he is? Yeah, he
Speaker 1: was saying, Elmo's just right up there. My various trips
Speaker 1: up there, Jerry Jones, And yeah, when Jerry Jones I
Speaker 1: sit in the back room, we always into shrimp cocktail
Speaker 1: and the best bottle of red wine. I will say,
Speaker 1: though I have heard so many things about to animals,
Speaker 1: I've never been to the Combine, So I am looking
Speaker 1: forward to one day um having that shrimp cocktail. Miles, if, if,
Speaker 1: if you'll allow me to join the very fancis, I
Speaker 1: promise I won't order fried chicken. I do have a
Speaker 1: more refined palette. But if I'm going for my favorite meal,
Speaker 1: that's what it's going to be. But I'm not trying
Speaker 1: to say that like your meal was bad. I like
Speaker 1: it just wouldn't have my favorite meal. It's a little
Speaker 1: heavy for me. But like fried chicken and oakra like,
Speaker 1: that's great. I love it. Biscuits for to start now,
Speaker 1: I bet your grandma's biscuits are delicious. They're the best.
Speaker 1: They are absolutely the best. Guys, this was so much fun.
Speaker 1: Biggest takeaway go watch the Oh three reunion. If you haven't,
Speaker 1: and Will and Miles are officially friends at least for
Speaker 1: right now. Okay, we'll see, we'll see what happens. Is
Speaker 1: one of my favorite desserts, so that's what look keilam pie.
Speaker 1: If you don't like ke lampie, I don't know what's
Speaker 1: wrong with you. So um alright, well we are going
Speaker 1: to wrap it up here. Thanks everybody for listening to
Speaker 1: Happy half Hour. We'll see where Will and Miles stand
Speaker 1: next week in their friendship, and we'll talk to you later.
Speaker 1: Sho sho