Patrick Willis: 49ers Legend & NFL HOF Linebacker + Team USA Dominates Winter Olympics | Bussin'

Summary

Bussin' With The Boys Podcast

Episode: Patrick Willis: 49ers Legend & NFL HOF Linebacker + Team USA Dominates Winter Olympics

Date: February 24, 2026
Hosts: Will Compton & Taylor Lewan
Special Guests: Patrick Willis, Delaney Walker

Episode Overview

This episode is a two-parter: the first half brims with energy and patriotism as the boys break down Team USA’s stunning performance at the Winter Olympics—most notably the landmark hockey victories over Canada. The second half features an in-depth, revealing interview with San Francisco 49ers linebacker and Hall of Famer Patrick Willis (joined by Delaney Walker), diving into Willis’s upbringing, NFL career, challenges, and life after football. The hosts’ signature banter and irreverence add spice throughout, making it engaging even for non-sports fans.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Team USA’s Dominance at the 2026 Winter Olympics

(02:15 – 41:00)

A. U.S. Men’s and Women’s Hockey Beat Canada

• Historic sweep: Both men’s and women’s teams brought home gold, ending a 46-year drought for the men.
• The pod breaks into jubilant trash talk, especially aimed at Canadian superstars (Connor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon).
• Host 2:

  “For the next four years, the United States…can claim that we are the greatest hockey country in the world. And there's nothing anybody can say about it.” (03:46)

B. American Pride & The Canadian Rivalry

• Stories from the hosts’ visits to Canada and subsequent cross-border banter.
• Host 2 spending time “behind enemy lines”:

  “All week they're like…we're going to dominate. We got McKinnon. We got McDavid…And then we start winning.” (04:03)

• Multiple references to Americans’ “victory lap” and protracted celebration, paralleling dominant college football programs’ fan bases.

C. Game Analysis & Memorable Moments

• Overtime tension: Disbelief that U.S. pulled through in 3-on-3 OT, given Canada’s intimidating front line.
• The clutch performance of goalie Connor Hellebuyck repeatedly highlighted.
• Five-on-three penalty kill:

  “Five on three is like an automatic. Like, you have to score…Canada has the best players in the world. They couldn't score.” (12:43)

• Fun banter about Canadian excuses (“Didn’t have Crosby”; “Power play was off”; “Goaltending unfair”).

D. Hockey Culture & Camaraderie

• Extended reflection on the unique brotherhood in hockey.
• Moments of joy: players including the late Johnny Goudreau’s children in celebrations.
• Guest 4:

  “USA Hockey brotherhood is…truly something.” (21:16)

• “Hockey culture is one of one, man.” (21:22)
• Jokes about celebrating, drinking, and locker room bonding.

E. Other Olympic Highlights

• Figure skater Alyssa Liu’s phenomenal performance and personal journey.
• U.S. women’s team winning gold and stories about player connections (e.g., family traditions, married athletes).
• Humorous takes on bobsled, biathlon, curling (“they cheated!”), and the weirdest new events.

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II. Interview with Patrick Willis

(63:45 – ~188:44)

A. Patrick Willis’s NFL Resume

• Hosts read an exhaustive list of accolades: seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All Pro, NFL All-Decade team for 2010s, college awards (“you have to scroll to see all the awards”).
• Host 1:

  “Anybody who’s a backer, a defensive player or a football [fan], you know who Patrick Willis is.” (63:49)

B. Upbringing, Motivation, and Overcoming Adversity

• Growing up in rural Tennessee—poverty, no running water until age 8, single-parent household, playing outdoors, dreaming big.
• Willis:

  “I just want to be special…I wanted to be a genius.” (110:20)

• Facing skepticism from teachers (“less than 1% make it”); resolves to be that 1%.
• Key moment: Choosing Ole Miss after Tennessee declined to recruit him.

  “I cried three hours of a five-hour drive home…my foster dad said, ‘Go play at a school that plays against them.’” (105:32)

C. NFL Draft and Early Pro Career

• Few offers, underdog status: Three-star “athlete”, not even recruited as a linebacker.
• Drafted 11th overall by the 49ers; first linebacker taken.

  “When it’s all said and done, I will be the first linebacker taken.” (119:20)

• Early NFL insecurity (“I thought I might be cut after my first minicamp”) (122:45)
• Learning curve transitioning to 3–4 inside linebacker; rookie confusion leads to a “come to Jesus” moment with coaches (epic story at 134:14 – 139:05).

D. Locker Room Culture & 49ers Brotherhood

• Willis and Walker recall legendary Niners parties, team chemistry, and memorable teammates (“the best teammates to have”).
• Hilarious and wild stories about Justin Smith (“Cowboy”) headbutting Joe Staley and burning his furniture (“prison rules: walk in, beat up the biggest guy”).
• The importance of accountability and having Pro Bowl–caliber people in your professional and personal circles.

E. Playing Through Pain and the Choice to Retire

• Constant injuries—especially debilitating toe injuries (“equivalent to ACL tear in the big toe”), multiple surgeries, daily taping routine.
• “Pain and Suffering”: nickname for tandem with NaVorro Bowman.

  “My feet, my body was my vehicle, and my feet were like my tires…barely on treads.” (143:07)

• Retired at 29 after 7.6 seasons—a mix of relief, grief, and acceptance.
• No regrets about retiring early: “Had I not [quit], and I kept going, I don’t know how it would have been.” (153:24)

F. Life After Football: Business, Challenges & Vulnerability

• Honest reflection on three difficult “dark” years after football.
• Significant financial loss: A failed tech investment with an unscrupulous business partner (“come to find out he was living off the money…like it was his”) (164:20)
• Realized he needed to be “an adult”—learned to audit advisors, ask smart questions, surround himself with “All-Pro” professionals, not just “jags.”
• Emphasizes the importance of financial literacy for athletes and being vulnerable early: “Don’t wait for something major to happen…go do it now.” (157:41)

G. Super Bowl XLVII and Final Thoughts

• The infamous power outage in Super Bowl XLVII (“we needed it, they were whoopin’ our ass”) (177:10)
• The pain of not running the ball at the goal line in the closing minutes; harsh on Harbaugh’s decision-making.
• Retrospective on what he’d give “anything for”: “That one Super Bowl…would be my Bud Light.” (187:01)
• Missed out on Defensive Player of the Year; doesn’t dwell, “it’s all personal stuff.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On USA Hockey:

• Host 2: “Our fourth-best sport in the United States beat your number one sport in the country.” (15:28)
• Guest 4: “That’s a clean take right there…an iconic image that will define US Hockey for a generation.” (19:49)
• Host 1 (on watching Alyssa Liu): “It was like, romantic watching it.” (31:35)

On NFL Career:

• Patrick Willis: “With all due respect, I guess I’ll be in that less than 1%.” (116:04)
• Patrick Willis (on pain): “Every play you guys seen, it was me understanding I don’t know how long I had to do this.” (145:29)
• Delaney Walker (on auditing): “If [your financial advisor] gets mad, they doing something dirty. I tell people: audit.” (172:25)
• Host 2 (on post-career advice): “You have to have the right people in place and be willing to ask those questions. If there’s ever a lack of transparency, that should be the red flag.” (170:25)
• Patrick Willis (on what he’d do anything for): “To get that Super Bowl, that would be my Bud Light.” (187:01)

On Locker Room Antics:

• Delaney Walker: “You walk up to the biggest person and you beat him up when you knew on the team. Prison rules.” (85:12)
• Patrick Willis (on 49ers defense): “A lot of people don’t realize, even though we were not winning, we didn’t give up a hundred-yard rusher.” (127:02)

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Important Timestamps

• Team USA Hockey Victory Rant: 02:15 – 22:00
• Olympic Highlights (Women’s Hockey, Figure Skating, Curling): 21:59 – 36:41
• Hosts’ Hockey Growing Pains and Beer League Aspirations: 44:15 – 53:05
• Patrick Willis Interview Begins: 63:45
• Willis’s Childhood/Motivation: 109:05 – 117:26
• Willis’s NFL Draft Journey: 118:04 – 121:51
• 49ers Locker Room, Party Stories: 78:38 – 87:26
• Playing Through Pain/Retirement: 142:16 – 153:38
• Post-NFL Finances and Adulthood: 160:32 – 169:55
• Super Bowl XLVII/Lights Out Discussion: 177:02 – 185:29

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Summary: Why Listen?

This episode is much more than a sports podcast. It’s an energetic celebration of American underdog triumph—and a deeply human look at life inside and after a successful professional football career. The conversation with Patrick Willis is raw, honest, and full of hard-won wisdom, while the hosts’ Olympic recaps are hilarious, nationalistic, and irreverent. The pacing is lively, the stories pop, and both the sports and life lessons resonate.

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For First-Time Listeners:

• You don’t need deep hockey or football knowledge to enjoy the banter, behind-the-scenes stories, and real talk about vulnerability and success.
• If you’re an athlete (or advising one), the financial literacy segment is a must.
• If you love tales of overcoming adversity, Patrick Willis’s story will move and inspire you.

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For more info, stories, and updates:
Follow Bussin' With The Boys on your podcast platform of choice and on social media.
Go bowling. Audit your advisors. And—according to the boys—never let Canada forget 2026!

Transcript

[Host 1]

The postseason is upon us and there's really nothing like it. But the postseason can be stressful. Crushing losses, wild upsets, your unhinged six game parlay falling apart at the literal last second. Things can get rough and it can leave you feeling a little sour. But you got to look at the bright side. Once your team is out and headed to decompress, you can finally relax. Now you can actually enjoy the postseason with all of the heart palpitations. That's why we're partnering with Jim Beam. We want to help you turn that lemon of a loss into delicious, tasty Jim Beam and lemonade. Because it's really the perfect bevy for the offseason. It's refreshing, it's got the perfect sweetness and a little bit of tang on your tongue. Best paired with stress free watching when your team is out. So gather the boys and grab some Jim Beam and lemonade to make the rest of the postseason just a little bit sweeter. Refresh your season with Jim Beam and lemonade best enjoyed together. Please drink responsibly. Jim Beam Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. 40% alcohol by volume 2025. James B. Beam Distilling Company, Clermont, Kentucky.

[Host 2]

Wasn't that delicious? So good. Your bill, ladies.

[Patrick Willis]

I got it. I got it. No, I got it.

[Host 2]

Seriously, I insist. I insisted first. Don't be silly.

[Patrick Willis]

You don't be silly. People with the Wells Fargo Active cash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Okay.

[Host 2]

Rock, paper, scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors. Shoot.

[Patrick Willis]

No, the Wells Fargo active cash credit card. Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms applied.

[Delaney Walker]

All right, we're good.

[Host 2]

Be like busing with the boys, hanging with the fellas,

[Patrick Willis]

betting on a game. No woman's gonna tell us what you do. And I've been over here just drinking beer and making that noise, baby. I'm hanging with the fellas, busting with the boys, bro.

[Host 2]

We're gonna do our best. Are we rolling? Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a very free, very patriotic episode of Bust with the Boys. This is episode three. 369. Lots to go over. We got an incredible interview that we will talk about and get into in just a minute. But the one of the most amazing things in American history took place. First time in 46 years. This country, America, United States of America, is the dominant powerhouse in the world in men's hockey and women's hockey. You're at applause. Absolutely. Got the brooms out and took it to Canada. We'll get into all that. But as always, buzz from the boys. Presented by fanduel Sportsbook. America's number one sportsbook. Fanduel is putting you in control right from tip off. That's right. You get to choose your Reward. Either a 50% profit boost token to use on the same game parlay or two. Not one, but two 25% profit boost tokens to use on any bet. Play it safe. Go for it, boys. Feeling bold. Go crazy. Whatever your style, you are in control. So whatever. Whatever kind of better you are. Shot caller. A strategist. Strategist. Going for a layup. Strategist. Thank you, jp. That's why you're on the bus. That's why you're on the bus. Going for layups or pulling up from half court. No matter how you play. Fanduels giving you the power to choose your reward on your own game this NBA season. Head to FanDuel.com Buston to make your choice now.

[Host 1]

Hey, great day to be an American. Great day to be an American.

[Host 2]

For the next four years, the United States of America can claim that we are the greatest hockey country in the world. And there's nothing anybody can say about it. There's nothing another individual from any other country, especially the ones just above our head.

[Guest 3]

Especially McKinnon.

[Host 2]

Especially McKinnon. His overrated ass McKinnon. Dude, I'm telling you. So I spent my week last week in Canada, in British Columbia, in foreign soil, behind enemy lines, which, by the way, is a great movie. Owen Wilson, shout out him. And the whole week they're like the. The chirps are starting and we put a couple of bets out with. Some guys are also from Canada, but my wife's family, everybody, everybody's just saying, hey, we're going to listen. This has been fun for you guys to be the same thing as the Four nations tournament. We're going to dominate. We got McKinnon. We got McDavid. We got all these guys. We. We are so much better than you. All the place. Oh, and then. And then we start winning. We get to the goal. They're like your path to the gold was so easy. We're going to body bag you guys. And I told them all week, hey, you guys are going to lose. It's okay. It's time for your time as the hockey powerhouse is over. It's done. McKinnon guy's overrated. McDavid guy is over. I'm just letting you know I'm. Hey, I watched the film. You guys seen me on skates. Sherm's got it up right now. Like, that's natural. That's natural for me on those skates. I understand the game. I can tell that these guys are a little overrated. What happens Connor McDavid in that game? Breakaway has separation. We can't even get the puck off. It's like the guy can't even get the puck off of his stick. McKinnon pass over the middle. A goal. Literally bigger than this bus. Wide open. Can't even put his stick on the puck. And then I call. I call Quinn after my brother in law. My sweet, sweet, tiny little brother in law, Quinn Galler. I call him and he won't answer. Three hours later, call me, no answer.

[Host 1]

Oh, he was ghost.

[Host 2]

Finally. Finally get him on the phone. Got my fake teeth right there at the screen. Smiling, I go. He's like, dude, whatever. You don't.

[Guest 4]

Whatever.

[Host 2]

Dude, we. We should have beat your ass. Should have been five, one team sport, man. And what are you mad about? He goes, what do you mean? We lost? I was like, yeah, but you knew.

[Host 1]

So Derek, he's complaining because we just had a great goalie.

[Host 2]

Yeah. I don't think.

[Host 1]

Can it truly sue us? Yeah. We have the best goalie, the best player in the game.

[Host 2]

Yeah. And also he plays. He plays for a Canadian team, the Winnipeg jets, and. Which is even better. And it's just like, Quinn, he. What are you mad about? I. It's like someone saying, hey, this is going to happen. Someone telling you. I told you last week, America is going to win. I told you. McKinnon and McDavid are. They're overrated. They're going to. They're going to soil their pants when the time comes. And sure enough. Sure enough, they did. You prophesied. Yeah. They actually made fun of the Hughes, Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes. They made fun of them last week. That's who you guys have.

[Patrick Willis]

All right.

[Host 2]

I was like, oh, Auston Matthews, like, oh, he sucks. Like, that's where. He's the captain of your Toronto Maple Leafs original 16, Scott. He's from Scottsdale, along with the Chuck brothers. Had to hear all about how the Chuck brothers are dirty and they play, don't play the game the right way. So, you know, you guys don't like standing on business. Guys don't like standing on business. So how do we feel? So I've talked enough. I love to just keep. I wanted to get that out. I just wanted to get that out because I've had to sit there for the last week and just hear all of this nonsense, all this. All this mainstream Canadian propaganda. Just shoved in my face over and over again. Love the country. Love, love the people. But my God, you guys need to get better at hockey. You guys need to get better.

[Host 1]

It's been fun seeing the, the rage that the Canadians have because we've obviously like America, like we're doing it's victory lap Tuesday. It's going to be victory lap for the next four years.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And just like, you know how anybody feels like, whether it's the Patriots winning or, you know, who else in like college football. Alabama.

[Host 2]

Alabama, Georgia, Michigan.

[Host 1]

Like when those arrogant fan bases do their victory laughs like they have all of America now to deal with because we are like, on like such a united front. Like Team usa, the hockey team, both men's and women's, brought our country together. Like, as we're watching on Sunday morning, when the men's take the, the Canadians down, it's like our entire country's together. And now they have to deal with the Americans for the next four years.

[Host 2]

Four years. That's the shitty part.

[Host 1]

And here in, like, it's, it's not even our best sport. It's like our fourth best sport. And just, they're just going to have to take it.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

It's fun to watch. The part of me does feel bad because Canadians are such nice people.

[Host 2]

Great people, great people.

[Host 1]

But to see him, just to trigger them a little bit, to kind of touch their pain, it's. I've enjoyed the entertainment and America being

[Host 2]

like instigators kind of just as a general populace, we are going to. That's going to happen for the next four years. And it does pain me that I know I have to go. I'm going back to Canada on Thursday and I'm going to have to, you know, go through customs with a full red, white and blue outfit on. And it's not. I don't.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

What's in your bag? You open it up. It's just a folded American flag.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Like, I, I don't want to, but I have to. I have to.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And all these areas, I gotta send a few of these to a few family members.

[Host 2]

Yeah. All these arrogant fan bases you talk about, like the Alabamas, the Georgia's, the Michigans, when they win.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

They kind of do their victory lap. That's one year. And then they. Then something, you know, next year, usually somebody else.

[Host 1]

What happens. What happens in the. If they beat us in the four nations next year?

[Host 2]

Yeah. You can have the four nation. This will. We're talking about the Olympics.

[Host 1]

No, in there. Like, like Hockey. They'd rather win a. What is it called? Not the World Series. The Stanley Cup. Stanley cup. More than they would the gold. Gold medal.

[Host 2]

I'm sure there's some people with that.

[Guest 3]

Guys that aren't on the.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Guys who got. Yeah. Guys who got silver.

[Host 1]

Guys that aren't on the squad by the.

[Host 2]

And I know, like, we're. I know we're giving a hard time to Canada. McDavid's a good player. McKinnon's a good player. But when they were handing him the silver medals and it shows their faces, and then they hand them the little stuffed animal also. Just put it in their locker.

[Host 1]

Yeah, that's when.

[Host 2]

Yeah, look at this. Like, what the is this, man? At the same time, they go through with all the metals, and then they come back through and they're like, sorry, I have to do this, but here's this little stuffed animal. And then the handshake after the stuffed animal, it's just like, all right.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Like, this is.

[Delaney Walker]

We are.

[Host 2]

We are.

[Host 1]

Hey, great work today. Hand him the little stuffed animal.

[Host 2]

But, dude, best feeling in the world.

[Host 1]

I'm sitting there watching. Then when we go into ot, I hit the group chat because, again, I. I don't watch hockey. And I'm like, do we have a shot with the 3 on 3? And then Porter was like, oh, Canada's way better. They got a way better starting.

[Host 2]

I was thinking the same thing, because that's what.

[Host 1]

It's not like. It's not even close. If you want a starting three. Like, Canada's got, like, the three of the best.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

I'm like, oh, that's.

[Host 2]

They have, like, top three of, like, the top five best forwards in the

[Guest 4]

world and probably of all time.

[Host 2]

Of all. Yeah, yeah. Like. Like, McDavid.

[Guest 4]

McKinnon leads and goals this year, right?

[Host 2]

McKinnon. Yeah, he leads and goal is still overrated. McDavid, obviously, he's like, what the next, Sidney Crosby? And I don't know if I'm throwing out the right thing here, but these guys are unbelievable. Unbelievable.

[Host 1]

Dude, our goalie is insane. Even in that first period, like, when we were up. When we were up 10 and they kind of were down around our net like a Matt again. This is. This is a. I'm a football player talking about. Trying to talk about hockey, but they're sitting there peppering our goalie, peppering our guy. I'm thinking, dude, this could be a long. I can't believe that they're not scoring more on us, because they were just. It Seemed like they were in attack the whole time, especially in the third period, too. It seemed like Canada was just taking over, but they just couldn't score on us.

[Host 2]

Yeah, dude.

[Host 1]

And. Oh, boy. Has the. Has a shot right there on the Open.

[Host 2]

That's McKinnon, who leads the league in goals, apparently legitimately.

[Host 1]

Felt like when I'm sitting. You're sitting there playing NHL for the first time, you're trying to figure out the controls. You get your first breakaway, and you don't know what button to pull.

[Host 2]

That's me. That was McDavid. Yeah.

[Host 1]

It's kind of like, fuck, dude. I was pushing X. I was pushing the whole time. So this game sucks.

[Host 2]

Yes. Yes, exactly. Dude, it was nuts to watch that second period. They outshot us, what, 19 shots to eight shots. And it got to a point, the last 10 minutes of that second period where they'd be in our zone. So the blue line, that third, they're in our zone the whole time that we're just literally dumping it so we can make a line change just to get fresh guys out there to once again take on the onslaught of Canada. And so sorry. We killed a five on three.

[Host 1]

Dude.

[Host 2]

Dude, that five on three was crazy.

[Host 1]

Score on the five on three.

[Patrick Willis]

When they.

[Host 2]

When they had the penalty, I'm like, that sucks. And then they. Then we get, what, high sticking? Yeah, yeah. Hughes got the high sticking. Jack Hughes, which is awesome that he lost every part of this. No, no, he was in the box for high sticking.

[Host 1]

Well, who's the dude that lost teeth?

[Host 2]

Same guy.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Different high stick.

[Host 1]

Different high stick. Okay. Different stick, different team, different moments.

[Host 2]

He got a guy with a high stick, which put them in a five on three. So we're hitting this, like, triangle. Triangle defense. Just like, hey, hope to God this works out. And the fact that they killed that

[Host 1]

hit the triangle, the flying V with

[Host 2]

as good as Canada is how they have the best players in the world. They couldn't score on three.

[Guest 4]

Guys, five on three is like an automatic. Like, you have to score on a five on three. In hockey, everybody scores.

[Host 2]

Especially when you have the players that Canada has even. I mean, even a regular power play. You should. They should be.

[Guest 4]

They were getting too cute. They wouldn't shoot the puck. They were trying to find, like, the wide open net. And they were getting too cute about it.

[Host 2]

You know, we talk about, like, red zone efficiency and stuff like that in NFL. America's power play efficiency, I believe, was 100% in the Olympics. So every time we got a penalty and a guy was in the box. We're playing one man down. No one scored on us.

[Guest 3]

And that's what I loved about overtime, too. Because what you want to see is best on best, right? They have the best players in the world. Trim the fat, drop the other two players. Give me three on three, our best versus their best three. What did we find out? We had the best, right? Connor, McDavid, McKinnon, whoever else is out there. No, they're nobodies. They're nobodies. We had three on three. We saw it with our own eyes, and we saw what happened.

[Host 2]

Hey, who's it. Who's the cat for the Blackhawks? Is it Connor Bedard?

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I wonder what's going. Is it Bedard?

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I want to know what's going through his mind, because I was. When I was really trying to dive into the. The Olympics and the teams, and everyone's telling me about Canada, and I kind of have a. Somewhat of a pulse on America, and I hear that Connor Bedard didn't make the team. I started looking into it. Apparently, he had, like. He's this prodigy kid, right? Comes in at 18. Ultimate prodigy. He's supposed to be the next Great one, the next Wayne Gretzky type of individual. Has an underwhelming first two years, which is actually good. But just because of the expectations, the kid wasn't great this year. He's been lighting it up. Am I. Am I correct in saying that? Been lighting it up. And he got snubbed for the Canada team this year. And this kid is apparently electric, the one. Yeah. To make. If you're a Canadian, you're watching the show right now, you probably gotta be thinking to yourself, would it have been different if the one was on the team? Well, they had.

[Guest 4]

They had Celebrini.

[Host 1]

I guess we'll never know.

[Host 2]

I guess we'll never know.

[Host 1]

Never know.

[Host 2]

And do them bitching about, oh, Cindy Crosby didn't play. Oh,

[Patrick Willis]

yeah.

[Host 1]

What does that even mean?

[Host 2]

Cindy Crosby.

[Host 1]

I know because he, like, took us down and what.

[Host 2]

He's undefeated with Canada. When he plays, they're like 29.0or something like that with a. I know he's

[Host 1]

a monster, but why. What do. I don't. I don't understand the bitching. Like, oh, we didn't have Sidney Crosby. It's like, well, he's getting old.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Like people. Oh, you have the best goal. It's like, I don't understand some of those complaints. Those are, oh, you're playing beat us because you had the better quarterback.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Or you had LeBron James on your three on three team back when LeBron was in his prime.

[Host 2]

Yeah. No, you. What you're saying is just. You're just pointing out loser mentality arguments. That's like, hey, we beat you. McKinnon sits there and he's like, you tell me who the best team on the ice was. It's like, well, the best team on the ice is the one that scored more points. Yeah. Our fourth best sport in the United States. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Beat your number one sport in the country.

[Host 2]

And listen, we've already. I love Canada. I. I'm going back up there. I love it. But you guys got to take this out.

[Host 1]

Three people.

[Host 2]

You got to take this. L. It's tough because, yeah, we have the best goalie maybe in the history of the world. It is funny, seeing. I didn't know goalies, period. Sports, soccer, all of it. Yeah, we have the best goalie of all time, Connor Halbach. To your point about Canadians having to put up with us, they just need

[Patrick Willis]

to delete Twitter because they don't know how to handle it right now.

[Host 2]

They're falling for everything, dude. It's.

[Host 1]

So I was saying, they're hanging their flag at half mass. And it was the pride. It was the pride flag. Just like, yo, they're going to have to deal with it. They're going to have to deal with America for. Oh, they're going to hate themselves.

[Host 2]

And if. Let's just say we go to a four nations tournament next year and they

[Guest 4]

win, we're not playing, dude.

[Host 2]

It's not even a. It's not even going to hit us.

[Host 1]

It's like, oh, you don't have the Olympic gold.

[Host 2]

Oh, you guys. Do you think in this little prize, little all star prize.

[Host 1]

Yeah. We kind of sat our best players. Yeah, they weren't even trying.

[Host 2]

Exactly. It's just. It's beautiful, dude. And my phone between first and second period blowing up. Hey, we're going to get you all these things. After. Between the second and third, it was an onslaught of just wait, you guys are gonna fold. We're Gonna beat you 4 1. When that game ended, I tried calling all those people back. No one would answer.

[Host 1]

You are sitting there watching, like, damn, when are they gonna get one of these? They were just on attack the whole time.

[Host 2]

People are talking about McEvoy's save, though. Yeah. Halibut gets whatever pulled out of position. Our demon steps in and just takes one in the chest and keeps it

[Guest 4]

out in the crease.

[Host 2]

He's like, yeah, bro. There was a Time Auston Matthews was in there, just holding this chest out, ready to take one on the chin, take a cold puck in the face for his country.

[Guest 4]

This. This was truly like, that's hard. As, like a kid growing up in America, you hear about, like, Lake Placid, 1980, I got to play a tournament there, like, the history. And then like 2010, we're starting to knock on the door, like, USA Hockey's coming, but, like, all the Canadian guys, like, it's never happening. And like, you start to see it slowly, slowly, like, these Americans are coming up. We win world juniors, we win worlds, but we're knocking on the door. And then for like 46 years, we are. We are just holding on to this 1980 victory. The Canadians. Oh, it's over. You guys are never coming back.

[Host 1]

We just got the movie. The miracle. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

All you have is miracle. It's not the 80s anymore. 2026. Loaded. American team. Jack Hughes.

[Host 1]

Jack.

[Guest 4]

Jack Hughes.

[Host 2]

46 years to the day, that little post.

[Guest 4]

46 years to the date when we beat Russia.

[Host 2]

And when he gets on the mic with the reporter after the game and he goes, I love this country. We're a team. Like, this is about the flag. I'm sitting there and I'm like, how do you not just have incredible pride of where you're from?

[Host 1]

Yeah, it's just wearing the colors, bro.

[Host 2]

Wearing the colors. Having and I. Those, like the throwbacks for the 80s or was.

[Guest 4]

Was this. They honored the 1960 squad, Buddy. When they have 1960 team, those uniforms,

[Host 2]

those are flying around. And I thought to myself, like, what is the coolest? What is like, would be the coolest thing as an athlete, and it's representing your country and something like the Olympics.

[Guest 4]

And to beat that has got to

[Host 2]

be the coolest thing.

[Guest 4]

How they beat us in 2010. And OT, who's the dude too, who's

[Host 1]

like a third generation.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Brock Nelson. His. His uncle was on the 80 team and his grandfather was on the 60 team. The. Both teams that won the gold and he. Yeah, he's on.

[Host 1]

How badass is that?

[Host 2]

Yeah, unreal, bro.

[Guest 3]

He's got a son, too.

[Host 1]

What Olympics will he be a part of? Will his boy be a part of? Probably like the 40s.

[Host 2]

The expectation on that kid is insane.

[Host 1]

Yeah, it is.

[Host 2]

That's what. Yeah. Pressure makes diamonds.

[Guest 4]

Losing your teeth.

[Host 1]

Yo, my grandpa and my uncle both won the Olympic gold, and now I have one that is badass teeth.

[Guest 4]

And then.

[Host 2]

And then when they ask you about your teeth, you're like, I live in America, we have great dentists.

[Guest 4]

And then you come home to Tate McCrae, a Canadian who's dating fella. Unreal fella.

[Host 1]

I got tear talk on.

[Host 2]

What is this? Jack Hughes is already the Sportsman of the Year. No one else needs to apply iconic image that will define US Hockey for a generation.

[Host 1]

That's a. That's a Kevin's Natural Foods clean tape.

[Host 2]

That's a clean take right there.

[Guest 3]

It needs to be on Mount Rushmore. Bro Car.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yes.

[Host 1]

Let's see the caption again, Sherm. So the Kevin Zachary clean take, it's come from William the 18th. Dogs. William on X. Jack Hughes is already the Sportsman of the Year. No one else even needs to apply iconic image that will define US Hockey for a generation.

[Host 2]

Clean take.

[Host 1]

Clean take by William the 18th.

[Host 2]

When we're. When we us America is taking photos with our gold, and two guys skate away and they start talking about, is it Goodreau? Johnny Goudreau who passed away in a car accident. These two guys who are technically these kids. Uncle. So Johnny Goujo has two kids, goes to the stands and grabs those kids with the jersey and brings it over so those kids can be a part of something that their dad would have been a part of. I mean, I'm borderline getting choked up just talking about the video. Once they first touch the ice and they have the kids and you see the whole team just start going nuts for the kids.

[Guest 3]

I mean, dude, the daughter's smiling like,

[Host 1]

oh, I know, man. That was.

[Host 2]

It's too pure. Yeah, it's too pure.

[Guest 4]

He was, like, a pioneer for USA Hockey. He was like.

[Host 2]

Was he really?

[Guest 4]

Yeah. Like, he was on Boston College. 18 years old, won the Heisman for hockey. He's like 5 foot 7, 130 pounds, winning the Hobie Baker, the Heisman, he's, like, one of the pioneers that got USA Hockey, like, back into the mix. He should have been on the team. He's been on worlds. He's been. He played world juniors. And so, like, Dylan Larkin and can Chuck, like, grabbing his daughters and his son and his daughter, like, yeah, that was amazing. It's unreal.

[Host 2]

Larkin, Michigan.

[Guest 4]

USA Hockey brotherhood is. You just can't beat it. Like, it is truly something.

[Host 1]

You can't beat the hockey camaraderie.

[Guest 4]

No.

[Host 2]

Hockey culture is. Is one of one, man. You know What? You got 25 guys on a team.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And they all just ride together and roll day. Like, when I was at Michigan, we talked about a bunch of these hockey guys would just roll in packs and they would they were always together and they just would play poop dollar and oh, every always do their thing.

[Guest 4]

Getting weird.

[Host 2]

It was getting weird. Laughing, but just having fun. Doing really, just having fun. Yeah.

[Host 1]

The video of the Volboy, you posted it, but he's like, I'm getting fucked up tonight. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Vincent Trojan getting fucked up.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Just looking at his wife basically being like, don't wait up for me. Like, this is going down or do you know? Yeah, get weird. That Compton wedding night vibe. That Whiskey D Rose Sparks implementation.

[Host 1]

All right, we interrupt this episode to bring you guys Jim Beam. Listen, boys, as you all know, we have now entered what could be the worst time of the year. That's right, football is over. What are we supposed to do on Sunday or Monday or Thursday? So much time, so little football.

[Host 2]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now. Just because football is over, the hang doesn't have to stop because believe it or not, there's still a ton of stuff to be excited for. We're talking basketball, hockey. We just talked about that quite a bit. Tennessee. Tennessee. Tennis, baseball, and that big soccer tournament right here in the good old US of A. All to be enjoyed with a crisp, delicious and oh so refreshing Jim Beam and lemonade.

[Host 1]

It's like taking the lemon of football being over and turning into lemonade.

[Host 2]

Correction. I'm taking the lemon of football being over and turning into Jim Beam and lemonade. Because Jim Beam and lemonade is always the right call. It's light flavor, it's refreshing and so, so delicious no matter what you and your boys are watching.

[Host 1]

Dude, you're so right. Because at the end of the day, no matter what the sport you're pivoting to this offseason, it'll be best enjoyed together.

[Host 2]

Drink smart Jim Beam Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. 40% alcohol per volume. 2026 James B. Beam Distilling Co. Claremont, Kentucky. We're also brought to you by True Classic. If you like the way these pants are fitting me or the black shirt you always see me wearing, that grabs that shoulders, grab the chest, leaves you a little in the middle because you've been a naughty boy in the winter seasons. You can hide a little bit because you still feel great about yourself. You can find True Classic at Amazon, in Costco, Sam's Club and Target nationwide. Or go [e-mail] Bussin look good, feel good and play it good.

[Patrick Willis]

Dude.

[Host 2]

Yeah, it was incredible.

[Host 1]

You had a bet?

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

You had a bet with Kyle from. From Milk Boys.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

So Kyle, he's full blooded Canadian.

[Host 2]

He's a Full blood. He's pure blood. He's pure blood Canadian. And I was.

[Host 1]

Maple syrup.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Yeah. Was it Jack? You, me and Demon, we're in Vegas. We're at the sports book, putting one in for the ufc. And he's there. They're putting something in. And I was like, hey, Olympics are coming up. We should, like, do a fun bet, like, for content or whatever. And he's like, oh, yeah, I'm in. Blah, blah, blah. A couple months go by, hit him up a couple times. Really no response. Kind of doing whatever. Then all of a sudden, I use. He was nervous. I get a DM from him and his boy who's always with him every time I see him. And he's like, whatever you want to do. It's in the. One of the videos that Matt did. Let's actually give a round of applause for Matt. He did a lot of content for me this week, putting together videos.

[Patrick Willis]

Matt.

[Host 2]

And Matt was like. I would call him. It would answer in the first ring, and then he'd be like, hey, I'll eat dinner and I'll get done. One hour later, that. That's fucking done. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Hopping the twin bed after toes out. Wiggling.

[Host 2]

Yeah. So Kyle sends me a nice little selfie video. Be like, whatever you want to put on it. Action money. We can do whatever. You can't even tie skates. Proved him wrong. You can't skate. Proved him wrong. So he's like, whatever you want to do, we can go and do those things. So Matt and I were talking about it. He's our hockey guy. Like, we got to figure something out. Matt had a phenomenal idea of the loser, which was Canada in this instance. So Kyle has to fly to Washington, D.C. in front of the White House in full U.S. hockey year. Has to wear a sign. Matt's words. I don't know puck. USA hockey is number one. Am I correct?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And within 90 days of yesterday. So he has 89 days. And when you're watching this on Tuesday, 88 days. He has to come on bustling with the boys.

[Host 1]

Are we able to get him to put in parentheses below the. What is it? Don't know puck. Kennedy doesn't know puck.

[Host 2]

I don't know puck.

[Host 1]

I don't know puck.

[Host 2]

I don't know Puck.

[Host 1]

Below in parentheses, could we get. And so was busting with the boys. America is number one.

[Patrick Willis]

So is busting with.

[Host 1]

Sure.

[Host 2]

I mean,

[Guest 4]

add on. Yeah.

[Host 2]

We're saying. You can say is no.

[Host 1]

I saw him trying to come after your winnings. Yeah, he was he was trying to

[Host 2]

come after those wins, so he came after the winnings. He's like, next. Next gambling. I have to donate to some sort of candy Canadian Hockey League or whatever. And so I was like, all right, if USA wins, you have to donate a hundred thousand dollars to Michigan's nil fund. And he's like, let's just do the first two.

[Host 1]

Let's just keep it fun.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah, let's keep it fun. Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Because I was kind of like, damn, I really don't want to do that, but if he wants to. Yeah. I've listened to what Tate McCray. Well, on a stream for 24 hours straight. And I took it out. He's like, what happened to Tate McCray? And I was just. I honestly was like, dude, 24 hour stream with two kids and one on the way. I don't. I just don't want to do that.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Like, if. If it came down to the worst of it, which it didn't. Didn't have to. This would have to. I'd have to get rid of this. So once that happened, he's like, let's just go back to the original bed. I'm like, all right, all good.

[Guest 4]

Well, the best part of that video is he was like, at the end of it, which I didn't see till last night, I was editing, was like, hey, like, Jack Hughes sucks, by the way. Like, Tate McRae's like, living in his head.

[Host 2]

He did.

[Guest 4]

And then Jack Hughes gets the golden goal. Like, dude, he called out F off called.

[Host 2]

You know, Jack saw it. Oh, yeah, you know, Jack saw that. I checked his profile last night. You know who he follows?

[Guest 4]

Jack is Verda.

[Host 2]

Yeah, none of us, but it's all good. He probably saw it on his algorithm.

[Guest 4]

He probably rolled over the bed next show Tate the video and was like, I'm gonna score the game winner. And did it.

[Host 2]

What was it? Quinn Hughes. Did you see that thing with Quinn Hughes? Like, went over to his room or texted Jack Hughes and was like, you up? He's like, yeah, just dreaming about scoring the game winning goal or the gold. Gold medal goal.

[Guest 4]

That's so nails. That's so nails, buddy.

[Host 2]

That's so electric.

[Guest 4]

They're just scheming and I don't understand the hate.

[Host 2]

Like, when I'm up in the great White north, people are like, the Chuck brothers. They're not even good. Like, they put up the stats after. Like, Matthew Kachuk was plus seven.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And had like what, nine assists or something like that in the Olympics, Remember?

[Guest 4]

It's chirp to Connor McDavid. No, but tell me, always, what is it? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Because he's beaten Connor McDavid the past two Stanley Cups and then beat him in the gold medal.

[Host 2]

Oh, my God.

[Guest 4]

Never the bride.

[Host 2]

I'll tell you what. So this game. This game was incredible. The only thing that I would. I wish was different was right before the Olympics started, or this is when I heard it. You couldn't fight in the Olympics.

[Guest 4]

Oh, yeah.

[Host 2]

There was no fighting allowed. And I. That pissed me off because I wanted a first puck drop.

[Host 1]

Like the Four nations. Right? Then exactly.

[Host 2]

How many.

[Host 1]

How many fights went off?

[Guest 4]

Three fights in like six minutes.

[Host 2]

Three flights in the first 18 seconds.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

They disrespected the national anthem.

[Guest 4]

They booed the nad.

[Host 2]

That's crazy, bro.

[Host 1]

I kind of hear entertainment for wwe. I kind of mess with it.

[Host 2]

Oh, I kind of love them booing up.

[Host 1]

Them booing the national anthem.

[Host 2]

Look, you got to tread lightly on that.

[Host 1]

You gotta trust where you're going, watching the moment, the stage and everything else.

[Host 2]

Like, I want war, like Canada.

[Host 1]

I want hate. I want rage, right?

[Host 2]

Because America won this gold because of the Four nations where. Where the NHL is right now. It's in the best spot it's ever been in the history of the sport. And it's only because of the United States of America.

[Guest 4]

I mean, that for game. Like,

[Host 2]

That's a bar.

[Host 1]

Hey, so. Hey. So again, not. Not in the weeds with all the Canadian stuff. They cheated in curling.

[Host 2]

Oh, bro. Yeah, do you see that?

[Host 1]

Hang on. Remind me. So they cheated.

[Host 2]

Yeah. The rule is when you let go and it's in a forward momentum, you can no longer touch. Especially the. The stone. Can't touch the stone. Buddy touched the stone. That's an impression. Hey, just a tip. Just for a second. He gave it a tip moment. I hope she feels good about this tip.

[Guest 3]

Look at that.

[Host 2]

Look at that. And then he starts on national television.

[Guest 3]

And the Swedish.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Oh, you want to call me out there, boy?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

No, no, that was so crazy because

[Guest 3]

the Swedish guys, apparently people were scheming like, hey, you guys got to make sure there's a camera. They've been doing this all year. And then sure enough, he tells me, he goes, oh, yeah, we could watch the film back, bud, and you'll see what you did. Bud. Budded him.

[Host 1]

Hit him with a butt.

[Host 2]

Hit him with a Swedish cat. Him with the. Bud.

[Guest 3]

Ran the tape back, but what I'm trying to figure out is we have the tape. How are they Allowed to compete and then be able to hold the most faulty gold medal of all time.

[Host 2]

You know why? Because they knew what was coming. In hockey, you got to give a kid.

[Guest 3]

Had to. And then I don't know, if you saw the Photoshops of the guy with the pockets has him poking McKinnon's puck out of the net off when he missed the wide.

[Host 1]

I was gonna say that meme is gonna be generational. But to your point, though, like, yeah, I don't get that either. If we got all the cameras and we got the footage and everything else, how are they getting. How are they getting wrapped with the gold medal?

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

You know what I mean?

[Host 2]

I mean, I don't know if there was a, like, any sort of discipline enforced, but it definitely is, like, from what I could see and what Chat GPT told me is, like, that's against

[Host 1]

the rules, but they don't do any, like, reviews. I was trying to watch curling for a little bit, but it got a little. Got a little boring.

[Host 2]

What I learned about curling is.

[Host 1]

I'm sorry. I was. I was. I was in the watching. Yo, the figure skater. What's her name? Alyssa. Alyssa. Asian chick, bro.

[Host 2]

The one that goes, let's fucking go.

[Host 1]

Yes, dude.

[Host 2]

Yes.

[Host 1]

She was badass. Like, the perfection of her performance. Like, we're sitting there watching because Charles was super into it. Rue was into it. And I'm watching this shit go, and it's like the. The confidence. It seemed like she was just fully immersed in enjoying her performance, which I thought was, like, I don't know. I feel like you. You rarely witness something like that. Usually people are in there. Like, there's a level of focus that I feel like everybody has, even when they're winning and dominating. But she seemed to be having so much joy during that performance where it was like.

[Patrick Willis]

I don't know. I was.

[Host 1]

It was like. It was, like, romantic watching it.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Like, floating.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Like, everything seemed effortless. You're basically explaining the last lap of F1, and I agree. 100.

[Host 1]

Great movie.

[Host 2]

Great, great movie. Watch it six times. So good. Figure skating needs that edge, though, that edge factor. I think it's gonna bring a lot more guys like us. Like, damn. Yeah. Like, let's just get. Dude. Blades of Glory showed us that. Yeah.

[Host 1]

She said, like, some swag about her. Like, she's having fun.

[Patrick Willis]

She's smiling.

[Host 2]

She retired from the Olympics from figure skating and then came back for the Olympics, and then she wins two gold medals, and afterwards, they're like, you're gonna retire again. She's like, probably. She's literally just in it for the love of the game. Love of the game, man. Go to college. She's like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Just hanging out, you know, like, the

[Guest 3]

full backstory on her.

[Host 1]

No, it's.

[Guest 3]

It's crazy.

[Host 2]

She was adopted. No.

[Guest 3]

Yeah, not adopted. Her dad is Chinese.

[Host 2]

Got you.

[Guest 3]

They grew up in China. He bit. He fled the country because he's, like, fighting for democracy in China. So they kick him out.

[Host 2]

Respect.

[Guest 3]

He's also a psycho dad. And, you know, like, extremely hard on her. All the things. Horrible, miserable childhood. Like, she's getting dropped off at ice practice, and her coach are saying she's just showing up right when she gets dropped off, she's balling, crying, because it's too much. Too much pressure, all the stuff. Then she gets really good at skating. China tries to pay the family millions of dollars to come back, hey, compete under the Chinese flag. They say no. She competes in the Beijing Olympics, doesn't get a medal, decides to walk away. When she takes this break, she, like, hikes some of Mount Everest, enrolls in, like, a couple classes at ucla. And then she was skiing one time, and she kind of, I guess, got the. The rush again and was like, man, I think I want to go back to figure skating. But she showed up to her coach. She calls her coaches, and she has, like, all these different stipulations. Like, nobody tells me what to eat. Nobody tells me how often I practice. Nobody tells me what music I have to skate to. I get to do every single thing my way. And then her way got her the. Got her the gold medal.

[Host 2]

That is me up, bro.

[Patrick Willis]

This was, like 20 months ago, too.

[Host 2]

Retiring from figure skating just to climb Mount Everest as an 18 year old. I mean, fuck you, Canada.

[Host 1]

Clean tank.

[Patrick Willis]

Clean.

[Delaney Walker]

Hey.

[Host 2]

Hey. Chuck Gallagher's pissed right now.

[Host 1]

Sorry, Chuck.

[Host 2]

Rem. Fun Run. Fun.

[Guest 4]

Can't forget the women's team, too, dude.

[Host 2]

And, hey, the captain of the women's team, Michael Schofield, Michigan man. Played football with him.

[Host 1]

Yeah, you're talking about women's team.

[Host 2]

Yeah, the women. The captain of the women's team is married to Michael Schofield, who. Nope.

[Guest 4]

I said that.

[Delaney Walker]

You didn't say that.

[Host 2]

I'll show you the tape. I'll show you the tape later, bud. Okay, Go ahead.

[Host 1]

It's gonna be the. It's gonna be with it.

[Patrick Willis]

Definitely did not say that.

[Host 1]

Yeah, definitely did not.

[Host 2]

Shut up, Mitch.

[Patrick Willis]

I think the.

[Host 1]

Hang on, hang on. Do we need to test this Captain

[Guest 4]

I think the captain is Hillary Knight.

[Host 2]

Well, she's lesbian. Damn it. It's all right. Thought everything was going my way in 26.

[Guest 4]

Nasty goal.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Dangled him.

[Guest 4]

Yeah. Keller. I forgot her first name.

[Host 2]

Morgan or Megan Gold. Megan Keller. Good call.

[Host 1]

Bobsled team was kind of a let down.

[Host 2]

Hey, that's okay.

[Host 1]

I watched one where they're like 17th and start.

[Host 2]

You watch skeleton.

[Host 1]

I was like. I was fascinated watching the bobsled because as they have the running clock going, they're always showing in the red or green, you know what I mean? Like every little checkpoint they have, It'll be like 0.06 seconds behind. And you just get locked in on the times of everything.

[Host 2]

And you're wondering, like, how do they. They're like trying to explain to you how it gets better. Like how you get better in your race.

[Host 1]

One of the events I got really confused about. Not confused, very self explanatory. But running a mile in skis, uphill.

[Guest 3]

That one guy. Six minute mile pace.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Hey, buddy, why don't you just take the skis off and go try to run the mile? World record time. Just run on flat land and not make it hard.

[Host 2]

Was it cross country skiing?

[Host 1]

I have no clue.

[Patrick Willis]

I think that was it.

[Host 1]

It was going viral. And I was like, I mean, yeah. How many people actually go out to do this event anyway?

[Patrick Willis]

I think it's a newer. It was like a new event added this year.

[Host 2]

Do we win?

[Delaney Walker]

No.

[Host 1]

Oh, no. This was like. This was a different cab, but he was. Stupid event.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Dumb as hell event. It's similar to that where they have to stop or they have to stop and snipe some of those targets. Okay, that's badass with that. To be able to like move 6 minute mile pace and then stop your heart rate just to hit the target.

[Patrick Willis]

That's this big.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Like four times.

[Host 2]

And then you're just like, I'm out. If you miss the target too, you have to do another lap around this track. So imagine your heart rate just spike and then you miss a target. 100 meters. You just got to go right around to the track again. Jesus.

[Host 1]

Oh, this is like.

[Guest 3]

It's like a dad. It was probably the father of a skier that like, wasn't that good. He wanted his kid to be an Olympian so bad and this was his punishment. And somebody saw it and was like, we're going to turn that into an event.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Guest 3]

It sounds like torture.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

Do you know what?

[Host 1]

It's always number one in the world. He's been number one for the last five years. Like. Yeah, who else does the sport?

[Host 2]

You know what's crazy? The. The just the skiing, like, X Game stuff they do. But it's gotten. They've gotten all so good. I have no idea what's good anymore. You see them do like, that might

[Guest 3]

have a clean tape half pipe is crazy.

[Host 2]

It's crazy. It's like they're doing like Back to back. Nine hundreds, whatever. 2200 on the super pipe. And I'm like. I'm like, that's amazing. But, like, how are we grading this now?

[Guest 3]

So.

[Host 2]

Because it seems like everyone just rips.

[Patrick Willis]

There was a trick that had never been done before, never landed. Like, it's been attempted, but it never been landed before. I think a US Guy did it and landed it. And like, it's unprecedented. Never, never been done before. And one of the judges was like, Norwegian. And there was a Norway guy who was already in first. That Norwegian Judge scored the U.S. guy lower than the Norwegian guy.

[Host 2]

So, like, like, oh, tomfoolery is taking place a little bit. They're saying, got a silver. Damn, that's crazy. But, dude, watching them like spin and flip and then it's like, how do you even. How do you even look at that and go nine, you know? Yeah. It's just nuts.

[Host 1]

How many more events are there?

[Host 2]

Dude, the men's. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I think closing ceremony was yesterday. Right? Which. Great time to do it. Yeah. What a way. The. We had the men's figure skater, the guy who's like the best in the world, but he just kind of fell apart at the end. Yeah, yeah. He did like the first seven back to back quad axles or whatever. It was like. He's like the man. He, like, fell apart and lost, but he. I'll tell you what he did do is lose with grace. Like the way he handled that. L was so American. And he helped the team figure skating. So romantic.

[Host 1]

We won gold for the team event, which is sick.

[Host 2]

That he was a part of. Broke my heart, dude. The way that he just spilled out, like, yeah, dude.

[Host 1]

But he did lose with grace.

[Host 2]

There's something to be said.

[Guest 3]

There's a conspiracy too, that that end of the rink had some faulty things going on.

[Host 2]

You're lying. Why are you being real?

[Guest 3]

That's what I heard.

[Host 2]

So people tried to cheat America maybe. Which I could see. I could see that, but whatever.

[Guest 3]

Are they all skating on the same ice rink? Yes. But did it affect him the most?

[Delaney Walker]

Yes.

[Host 1]

Both can be true.

[Guest 3]

Both can be true. Both can be True.

[Host 2]

Do we feel the question, how do we feel about Russia not competing in the Olympics? I mean, if Canada can cheat and curling, let them back in.

[Host 1]

So what happened with Russia? What's the story?

[Host 2]

I think it's the Russia, Ukraine thing. Yeah. When they're in a war, they won't compete in the Olympics.

[Guest 3]

Every day is a war.

[Host 2]

Every day is an award. Jp, you're correct.

[Host 1]

To me, the doping thing, you get

[Guest 3]

kicked out the war side of things. It's the same thing in, in tennis where they, you know, like they drop the flag of all the Russian players, but they're still out there competing.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Guest 3]

And it's kind of like the, the players are outspoken, like, hey, we don't want this war to be going on. Like, we don't want people to be dying. And I feel like if the doping thing is true or it is true, then you get suspended. But if it's only the war stuff, it's like, I think you gotta let those people compete. I think removing the flag is kind of dumb anyways, cuz like they removed it 2018.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Guest 3]

But it's like everybody knows where you're from.

[Guest 4]

It's like the people of the republic.

[Patrick Willis]

Look around.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's. That feels like that's getting into weeds that we don't know a whole lot about. But it would just be awesome to see the Russians compete because team would have been stacked, they would have definitely gotten bronze. Right. They would have definitely medaled.

[Delaney Walker]

How would they.

[Host 1]

How would they have been? How would their hockey team have been?

[Host 2]

They would have been. They would have been.

[Guest 4]

They would have been nasty.

[Host 2]

It's all. It's the Russians, the Canadians. Finland too, dude. Like, Finland barely got away with losing. They lost a candidate overtime. And everyone, like, even when I was up, up north, like there's a couple guys are like, Finland can beat us. Like, that's how good they are.

[Guest 4]

Finland has won the world Juniors isn't

[Host 2]

the goalie for the preds. Isn't he? Yeah, yeah. Soros, he was the goalie. Hell of a game. 35 shots to 13 in that game, dude. Because that's exactly what he had. That like the game that we watched, the, this gold medal game is kind of the similar game we, that we saw in Finland, Finland and Canada. Except for Soros just happened to let one through in overtime. Clean. It was, it was that close. And someone you know, I think Cody the exposed, he's like, hey, hopefully you make it. When they beat Finland and we dusted some team, I can't Pronounce for, like, six to two. Just killed Slovakia.

[Host 1]

Powered by Kevin's. Natural foods.

[Host 2]

Powered by Kevin's.

[Host 1]

You know, they're healthy to do.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Get your protein.

[Host 2]

Gotta get it, dude.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

I see what's highlighted right now. What?

[Patrick Willis]

You know you can't say that.

[Host 1]

Oh, I didn't know until I was saying it. I didn't know until I was saying,

[Host 2]

that's fair, that's fair, that's fair. Once I was saying it. That's a clean day. Sometimes you don't know what you're saying till you're saying it. Okay, that's a clean tape.

[Host 1]

Just drop the volume when I say that. Yeah, so we. We still get that. I can't.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Gotta be better about that. What else are we missing? America's the best

[Host 1]

clean take.

[Guest 3]

Unrelated to the Olympics, I'd like to give this. This clean take to Punch the Monkey. Punch the Monkey.

[Guest 4]

He.

[Guest 3]

He finally got the hug that he deserved his entire life. And he had to go through some of the hardest trials and tribulations to get that hug. But to see Punch the Monkey be embraced by the other monkey community was truly heartwarming. And I just want to. I wish we knew the name of that monkey that gave Punch his hug, man.

[Host 2]

Clean. Tech. Clean. I don't even know about Punch the Monkey, but Clean.

[Guest 3]

You don't know Punch the Monkey?

[Host 1]

Is this the little monkey I was getting tossed around and went and hugged a little stuffed animal. Oh, bro, he got so.

[Guest 3]

I got accepted.

[Host 2]

I'm almost happy I didn't see it.

[Host 1]

Yeah, you don't want to see it.

[Guest 3]

No, but Punch Monkey, like, he keeps going. He keeps showing up.

[Host 2]

Oh, he does?

[Guest 3]

Yeah. Like, he's a grinder.

[Host 1]

He's from the mud.

[Host 2]

Similar to that penguin that was doing his thing. I know about that penguin now. Yeah. He was kicked out of his family as a young kid, and he uses a stuffed animal monkey as his, like, partner. And he's in this zoo. None of the monkeys want him around. They're pushing him around. But, dude, like JP said, he grinded. He kept going. He's pushing the rock every day up the hill. So the story ends good for Punch the Monkey. Yes.

[Guest 3]

And I've also read that when Harambe was murdered almost 10 years ago, that sent us into 10 years of despair. Punch the Monkey. Surviving and getting this hug and winning with love has now given us 10 years of fortune.

[Patrick Willis]

Wow.

[Host 2]

Hey, what happened to the penguin? He's still out there. He's still.

[Guest 3]

Is he waddling around?

[Host 2]

The guy who's Speaking over the screen said certain death.

[Guest 3]

That depends on how you heard it.

[Host 2]

Okay. Maybe the old color. Do you see?

[Guest 3]

Maybe it was the old him that was dying.

[Host 2]

I'll mess with that. JP Came out of Vacation flowing right now. Yeah, he is.

[Host 1]

Dude, how was vacation? How's Canada?

[Host 2]

It was awesome, dude. I really. I really enjoy it. Every time I go up there, it's awesome. We went to a place called Big Big white. It's like 45. That's, like an hour away. And it's like a little ski resort. Resort. And the kids wouldn't ski. What? Just hilarious. Big whites with the Ski Mountain. Ski Mountain. And dude, it's like. Have you ever. You've seen the movie Out Cold? Yeah.

[Host 1]

Nope.

[Host 2]

Gee. You've seen the movie Out Cold? How cold? Out Cold? Zach Galifianakis puts his penis in a Jacuzzi. It's a ski. It's a snowboarding movie.

[Host 1]

Sounds kind of weird.

[Host 2]

Guy comes in, tries to buy up the whole town. You guys have not seen Out Cold Tub Time Machine with a hot tub? Okay. Watch the movie Out Cold, and when

[Host 1]

you watch the movie, just never even heard of it.

[Host 2]

You've never seen Out Cold? No.

[Guest 3]

Does he get.

[Host 1]

Does somebody get sound off in the comments?

[Host 2]

Huh?

[Guest 3]

Does somebody get stuck on a ski?

[Host 2]

Yes.

[Host 1]

With welfare or.

[Host 2]

No, it ain't Will Ferrell. Basically, these snowboarders and these skiers take. Or the snowboarders take down the skiers who take down this, like, billionaire guy who's trying to buy up the whole place and monopolize the town into, like, a tourist town when Willie. They're just trying to keep it. Keep it all local. But there's anyone.

[Host 1]

Sounds like Yellowstone.

[Host 2]

Okay. Yeah. Yo, this is okay. Yellowstone.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

So this. This the big white place we were at. It's like, people ski into town like you're on this mountain, then you ski into, like, restaurants and the lodge and these bars, and there's one called, like. It's like Snowman Sam or something like that. And apparently, like, the place just gets super rowdy at night, and people are just, like, falling all over the snow and stuff like that. It was. It was awesome. And then watching these skiers kind of rip by, I'm like, this.

[Host 1]

Did you go skiing?

[Host 2]

Hell, no.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Guest 3]

Lesson.

[Host 2]

No, no, no, no, no, no. I found my new hobby, and it's ice skating. I. I loved it when I went ice skating. But just being up there and seeing how, like, dude, when I grew up, every winter, my friends would go to, like, Flagstaff or Durango all These places, I've said this, and they come back in, like, boots or slings or a castle that looks terrible. And then being done with football, it's like, I've already got enough bumps and bruises from the game of football. Why, like, add to this? In my older age, you could do,

[Host 1]

like, the small slopes.

[Host 2]

I ain't trying to small slope.

[Patrick Willis]

I wanna.

[Host 1]

I'm saying, if the kiddos are getting ski lessons, I love it.

[Host 2]

Ski. Yeah, dude. You just. You send the kids off with an instructor. I'll see you in three hours. And you hang out, chilling, have a little coffee. Yeah, yeah.

[Guest 3]

I tell you, no tube, dude.

[Host 2]

Snow tubing. Yeah. Talking about tubing.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

We miss tubing. We missed. You know why? We played. We had a catan marathon. Me, Quinn and Taylor. We played, like, four hours of catan use.

[Host 1]

Moving around in the ice skates, bro.

[Host 2]

You see that, though, right?

[Guest 4]

Time.

[Host 1]

Since eight years old.

[Host 2]

Since eight years old. And I remember, we. I rented the skates. The skates. I got. Quinn's like, you better not post any videos. People are going to kill you for those skates. I'm like, that's even better reason to post a video.

[Guest 4]

My fault.

[Host 2]

I get to the edge. What?

[Guest 4]

My fault for posting the video.

[Host 2]

No skates. No, no, no. I'm about it. I get to the edge of, like, the snow, where, like, the rubber is, and you're about to walk onto the ice. And I'm legitimately terrified, like, I'm going to eat shit on this ice. So I call Quinn over. He, like, gives me the arm like a dad. Like a father. And I grab his arm and hold on to him for a little bit. And I started skating around. I'm like, this is so much fun.

[Host 1]

It's like riding a bike.

[Host 2]

It's like riding a bike, but not really. But not really.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Well, like, look at you skating around. Like, that's. Since that's kind of nice.

[Host 2]

And I went through Quinn's legs right there, too. People look at this.

[Patrick Willis]

Boom.

[Host 2]

That's between his legs.

[Host 1]

Like, you picked that up very easy since not doing it.

[Host 2]

You see the crossover? Look at this pink. That's nothing. That's nothing. That shot. But I did. I did make that shot. And then I don't know if this is in the video as well, but I kind of hit the. The. The top bar well barred out. Yeah. I hit the top on the mini goal. And, like, Quinn was like, hey, that's actually kind of nice. Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Why don't you come to play a

[Host 2]

little beer league with dude I'm kind of into the idea.

[Guest 4]

My mom's a skating teacher too, so we can get the family out.

[Host 2]

Two days after I made this video, I went and bought my own. I have skates now and I am legitimately down to learn how to play hockey.

[Guest 4]

I think that would be hilarious if I took.

[Host 1]

Seems like, you know, bro, look at that.

[Host 2]

I'm. Look at that. Yeah, look at that. That's one handed. That's one handed.

[Guest 3]

Dominate that league.

[Guest 4]

We're in the playoffs. We need you.

[Host 2]

You don't need me right now. When does the next league start?

[Guest 4]

March. Like it's like year round. Like it's just.

[Host 2]

I need to, I need playoffs. I need like a six month season.

[Host 1]

Next year or next month.

[Guest 4]

Yeah, I mean you can. We have a summ league and you

[Host 2]

know what's so weird to me? And this is, this is, this is gonna be a very dumb comment. But hobbies kind of rip clean, take clean. I know that's ridiculous. They're really cool but like there's more to life than just work and hanging out with your kids.

[Host 1]

Clean take.

[Host 2]

My kids got skates. We're gonna rip.

[Host 1]

Hobbies are fun.

[Host 2]

Hobbies are fun.

[Host 1]

Hobbies are fun.

[Host 2]

I'm gonna skate now.

[Patrick Willis]

Dude.

[Guest 4]

It's an escape at a 10:30 at night hockey game.

[Host 2]

Yeah, man, 30 night's a little too late for me. Do we have like a 7pm?

[Guest 4]

Yeah, we usually have prime time. We kind of got screwed last night with a 9pm puck drop.

[Host 2]

But here's, here's my goal.

[Guest 4]

Our ref suck too. I was like, this is a 9pm Crew them.

[Host 2]

Here's my goal. I would like to have a tryout for the Predators one year from now. I'd like to try out for the Predators. Just go and skate with the boys at Bridgestone. At Bridgestone. That's what I would like to do.

[Host 1]

They do tryouts every year.

[Host 2]

I would, they need to smoke Roman. He wouldn't stand a chance, right? He's old. We talk about gold medal. I got a gold medal.

[Host 1]

Roman Yosi.

[Host 2]

Philip Forsberg.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Are you older than him?

[Host 2]

I think so. Yeah. No, no, definitely. How old, how old is Roman Yossi?

[Guest 4]

4. He's like 30, 32. 30 or 34.

[Host 2]

But I've talked to, I've talked to one of the guys from the Predators before and he's like, if you ever get on skates, it'd be hilarious for us to go out there and do some content with them. And now that I've gotten on skates, I'm like we should actually try to make the team. Yeah. He's 35. Is way older than me out there.

[Guest 4]

He's friends with George Kittle.

[Host 2]

Friend of the show.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

You'd be nice at being a goalie. Get you out there. Goalie. Goalies are weird though.

[Host 1]

Just stretching on every time out. Taking a sip of water.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Pull the thing out. Honestly. A goalie's like warm up at the

[Patrick Willis]

beginning of a game is one of the best things.

[Host 2]

Goes hard.

[Host 1]

Bro.

[Host 2]

And they're just the legs back and forth. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Hitting that side to side.

[Host 2]

It's. Dude. Disgusting. I would like. Yes. I would legitimately like to try to sharpen these skills and just go out and play with them one day. Maybe there's like the preseason. I can go play a preseason game with them.

[Host 1]

Yeah. Maybe.

[Host 2]

Or we'll find out. Or are you challenging the Natural Predators to a game bus Inverse. The Predators. Game over. Junior. You gotta wear a full suit.

[Host 1]

We'll be next to each other. Holding each other up.

[Patrick Willis]

Hey.

[Host 1]

You got the buck. Get it.

[Host 2]

It. You do need to be coach. Should we. Should we Challenge the Predators 3 on 3? Do it right now. Look back. We're. We're busting with the boys. Is officially challenging the Nashville Predators in a three on three exhibition game. For fun. Okay. We'll do it for charity. We'll do it for charity. Will play goalie.

[Host 1]

I play. Whatever could be nice with the stick. We just. We don't know. I haven't really tapped into anything.

[Host 2]

We gotta get out there. Dude. Dude. Go Old School. 4v4. We need one more body out there. Okay. We'll go 4v4. 4v4. Should we take one of their guys?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

3v4. We're on a power play. The whole game.

[Patrick Willis]

We're on a power play.

[Host 1]

I was gonna say we should have an extra 3v4. Yeah.

[Host 2]

5v3. Yeah. They gotta hit a triangle on us. Dude. See if we can't get through. All right. 5v3. US first. Is it you?

[Patrick Willis]

Me?

[Host 1]

Shoot it.

[Host 2]

You mean Matt and who's our. Who's our fourth?

[Patrick Willis]

Dude.

[Host 2]

I played in high school.

[Patrick Willis]

Did you really?

[Host 2]

I picked up hockey halfway through my junior year of high school. School. Just cuz hobbies. I was like I want to see if I can do this. And in our first game we played our rival and I missed basically a goal similar to Canada.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And everyone was rated dead fish on the ice. It's one of the biggest mistakes in my life. But I would like some redemption. So I got a whole bat. I Still got my whole gear set up, you know.

[Host 1]

Jackson, really?

[Host 2]

You still got skates? Yeah. X 60s, man. Dude, we need. So the three of us. You need to be a part of the. We got to go skate. Definitely the goalie, right? And boys got the reaction time. Exactly. Yeah. You guys, this is. This is some busting lore between me and Will. This is. This is busting lore between me and Will. Will is. He's really good side to side. He's good at changing direction. That's. That's your.

[Host 1]

I'm good inside the box. Yeah, you get me from B gap to B gap.

[Guest 3]

I'm.

[Host 1]

Nice.

[Host 2]

Nice.

[Guest 4]

I get my mom. She worse at the rank.

[Host 2]

We'll just.

[Guest 4]

We'll rent out a little sheet of ice for an hour and just. Practice hour.

[Host 2]

What, Three times a week.

[Guest 4]

Three times a week.

[Host 2]

Three times a week.

[Guest 4]

I'll get you guys.

[Host 1]

Three times a week.

[Guest 4]

Three times a week.

[Host 2]

Oh, we got it. We got to practice going.

[Host 1]

Just going back.

[Guest 4]

We got to skate.

[Host 2]

We got to skate if we're gonna.

[Guest 4]

If we're gonna play the pre. Like, I mean, we gotta skate.

[Host 2]

Let's do a quick exhibition game. Yeah. For charity, Gary. One fight per period.

[Patrick Willis]

Have to.

[Host 2]

Have to fight once per period.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Dibs.

[Guest 4]

Yeah, That's.

[Delaney Walker]

You.

[Guest 4]

That's.

[Host 1]

I'm not a.

[Host 2]

Hey, I'm gonna get my ass knocked out. You know what they're gonna do? They're just gonna go and just fall back.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Full pads. Full pads.

[Host 2]

I might have to go full Happy Gilmore. Just take my skate off, Try to get them. Yeah. Shiv a couple guys.

[Guest 3]

Like, there's no way that five people that never played hockey could beat one H.1 NHL player in one NHL goalie.

[Host 2]

Oh, we could for sure beat them.

[Guest 3]

I don't think so, dude.

[Host 2]

Absolutely.

[Guest 3]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Flying around us. Flying around. I'm gonna trip the out of them, dude. Hey, one thing. I got wingspan. I will take their legs out.

[Guest 4]

We'll just get. You're like. You're, like six feet tall.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Just sit in front of the net and get tips. Six, seven.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah. Six feet.

[Guest 4]

I didn't want to say six.

[Guest 3]

Seven.

[Guest 4]

Seven, but, yeah, farther than that.

[Host 2]

Like, who? They got Philip Forsberg. Never heard of him.

[Guest 4]

Like, sick sign.

[Host 2]

Soros. He's all right. Stamkos.

[Guest 4]

Stammering.

[Host 2]

The old Samkos is old.

[Guest 4]

He's on it. He's on a heater, though. He's on a heater.

[Host 2]

That's okay.

[Host 1]

5v1.

[Host 2]

Look at all these photos. Look at all these photos and just look how handsome Roman. Yosi.

[Patrick Willis]

Is.

[Host 2]

He's so hot.

[Guest 4]

He's a hot guy and he's finished. Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah. I mean, Roman. Top five looking dudes out there. 100% Forsberg's.

[Host 1]

Let's calm it down. Let's calm it down. Let's calm down.

[Host 2]

Hey, let me put my eyes on Forsberg. Scoot it over.

[Guest 4]

Like all the PR are just like hot guys.

[Host 1]

Mustache.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Iconic. Yeah. The bucket doesn't do anything. Oh, dude, we gotta get you need up full pads.

[Guest 4]

Busted. Hockey jerseys, Joe.

[Host 2]

For helmets, dude. Old school. Russian helmets.

[Patrick Willis]

Pants.

[Guest 4]

No visor.

[Host 2]

No, I'm going dark visor.

[Guest 4]

Tinted visor. I have a chrome visor if you want it.

[Host 2]

I want tinted visor. Hey, also, did you find a USA Hockey jersey? No. If there's anyone out there listening, I went to U.S. uSA hockey jerseys. Please tap in.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah,

[Host 2]

we'll make bus in jerseys, sweaters, whatever they're called. Get the cool lace in it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We'll all be number 69. Hey, new shores. He season too badass. I know. This is the last one. Dude, that'd be fun to put. So shorzy that. That crew, they do like a. A charity hockey game too. We'll take them down after we take the Preds down. But right now we gotta take the Preds down.

[Guest 4]

Yeah, we have like a tournament with everybody.

[Host 2]

Well, we can't do a tournament because we won't last very long.

[Host 1]

Isn't Matt, take it easy.

[Host 2]

Isn't there like a NHL all star

[Host 1]

celebrity game though, that like Taylor you

[Host 2]

like if you worked up your skills in it? Yeah, Beaver's in it.

[Host 1]

You could play in that. You and JB represent America.

[Host 2]

I would hit check the out of Beaver. Dude, you could play in that. I don't know. Dude, he's quick. Bieber's clean on skates. I bet he's nice. He's Canadian.

[Patrick Willis]

We have to steal that relationship.

[Host 2]

Yeah, but Austin Matthews, you know where he grew up? Scottsdale. So Scottsdale's kind of the Mecca of hockey right now, though. Let's get him on here. Yeah. Got to. Toronto Maple Leafs captain. Captain us.

[Host 1]

All right, we got. We got P. Willis coming up. What's the rose Sparks? We got a rose. Spicy tear talk Will hitting a Mitch

[Host 2]

on us right now.

[Host 1]

Well, I'm just saying, where we've been, we've been rocking.

[Host 2]

We've been rocking.

[Host 1]

You got a road. Spicy tear talk brought to us by Roe the boner pills. Best household chores to do to earn brownie points

[Host 2]

with your wife.

[Host 1]

With your wife.

[Host 2]

With your wife Or Partner or partner.

[Host 1]

Best household chores.

[Host 2]

I'm thinking dishes. Rip like the whole you cook, I clean type of thing. Like, everyone's a good one. Everyone's bellies are full. You say, hey, go ahead and sit down, relax, digest a little bit. I'm gonna pick up these plates.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Handle business.

[Host 1]

How about. How about all the household chores? Mama, you. You go out of town. I've been rocking solo with the two kiddos since Saturday. Charles. Flight got canceled because of snowstorm out in New York. So I'm rocking with them going until she gets in tomorrow. But maybe just you do all the household chores and mama can leave town. You'll take care of the entire operation.

[Host 2]

So we got dishes and all of them.

[Host 1]

All of them. Got to feed them.

[Host 2]

That's right too.

[Host 1]

Gotta. You gotta put them to bed.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Guest 3]

I think number one, gotta cut the

[Host 1]

foods, order the foods.

[Guest 3]

Number one w. Household chore you can do for your wife is if they're out or doing whatever and they had already started their laundry and say it's already in the dryer and you have clothes folded before they're back.

[Host 1]

That's a good one.

[Patrick Willis]

That is a.

[Host 1]

That's a good one.

[Host 2]

You know, JP's gonna be married forever. That's just kids dialed off the top like that.

[Patrick Willis]

My from the hip mine that I

[Host 2]

love to do back in Texas during the the summer months is you put a long sleeve shirt on when it's hot so that you are covered in sweat. Do a little bit of yard work. Lift the mower, tilt the mower a little bit when you go over some tall grass. So you just spray your legs with

[Host 1]

a bunch of that grass dude it

[Host 2]

out to when she's coming home. You're out there and you just do the hat off and you do one of those. Dude, just. That's an American.

[Host 1]

Yo.

[Host 2]

That's an American movie. 95% chance you're getting a fresh lemonade. You. You will need some rose sparks. Just let. Yeah, let me say that.

[Host 1]

Yeah, you will need some rose sparks. Or when mama's just out, maybe she's at dinner. She's just out of the house. She comes back to a decluttered house. Pick up around the living room, clean up the kitchen, get everything nice, spic and span. She walks in. Oh, my God. Did you do this?

[Patrick Willis]

This? I did.

[Host 1]

Daddy did.

[Host 2]

Daddy did.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

What's this on the counter? It's a row sparks.

[Host 2]

Why is it empty?

[Host 1]

It's in my system, babe.

[Guest 3]

You didn't clean the counter. Oh, no. That's meant to be there.

[Host 2]

Yeah. What's it say? Rose Sparks. How long has it been? About 15 minutes.

[Host 1]

Lasts up to 36 hours.

[Host 2]

Yeah, that's what, you know, Marathon City. Nice. Should we get a P. Willis?

[Host 1]

Let's get into P. Willis.

[Host 2]

Great pod. Delaney Walker. Huge dub. I think Will gave Delaney A call 10 minutes before the show started. Yeah, 10 minutes before. Then he's like, yeah, I'll be there. Goes through San Francisco traffic, has no idea where he was at, shows up before P. Willis. P. Willis is actually on time. And we rip, what, two hours?

[Host 1]

Yeah. It's a phenomenal episode. This is Patrick Willis. This is one of the greatest linebackers ever step on the ground.

[Host 2]

Him talking about his. His upbringing.

[Host 1]

Yeah. What? He didn't have toes, didn't have running water until 8 years old.

[Host 2]

Crazy. Just nuts, man. It's a great podcast. Hope you guys enjoy it.

[Host 1]

Big hugs, tiny kisses. We love you. We appreciate you. Leave comments. All right, boys, before we get into the interview, let me explain why guys keep talking about Roast Sparks. You hear stories about dudes saying once they start taking it, their confidence went through the roof and suddenly date nights felt a whole lot different. It dissolves under your tongue, and in 15 minutes, you get hard. 15 minutes on average. That's fast. No planning the whole day around it, and it lasts up to 36 hours. That's also why guys on Roast Sparks report their partners were more satisfied in bed. Confidence changes everything. So if you want to get hard fast and be sex ready for up to 36 hours, you've got to check out Rose Sparks. Thank you to Rose Sparks for sponsoring this video. RO connects guys with a medical provider that is 100 online and if approved, treatment ships directly to their door. If prescribed, new sexual health patients get 15 off their first order of Sparks on a recurring plan. Connect with the provider at Rode Co Bussin to find out if prescription row Sparks are right for you. That's Ro Co Bussin for 15 off your first order. Sparks is a compounded drug product. Compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety effectiveness or manufacturing review. For full safety information, go to Rode Co Safety info.

[Host 2]

This interview is brought to you by Bud Light. Bud Light is the official beer sponsor of the NFL, the NFL draft tight end university. With our partner, George Kittle, the UFC Bud Light partners include Peyton Manning, George Kittle, Baker Mayfield, Emmett Smith, Shane Gillis, Post Malone, and Dustin Poirier. Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Stock up on Bud light. Head to www.locator to find a store near you.

[Host 1]

The postseason is upon us and there's really nothing like it. But the postseason can be stressful. Crushing losses, wild upsets, your unhinged six game parlay falling apart at the literal last second. Things can get rough and it can leave you feeling a little sour. But you got to look at the bright side. Once your team is out and headed to decompress, you can finally relax. Now you can actually enjoy the postseason with all of the heart palpitations. That's why we're partnering with Jim Beam. We want to help you turn that lemon of a loss into delicious tasty gym beam and lemonade because it's really the perfect bevy for the offseason. It's refreshing, it's got the perfect sweetness and a little bit of tang on your tongue. Best paired with stress free watching when your team is out. So gather the boys and grab some Jim Beam and lemonade to make the rest of the postseason just a little bit sweeter. Refresh your season with Jim Beam and lemonade. Best enjoyed together. Please drink responsibly. Jim Beam Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey 40% alcohol by volume 2025 James B. Beam Distilling Company Clermont, Kentucky so do you

[Host 2]

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[Host 1]

Look at the, the, the awards and the accolades that this man.

[Host 2]

Yeah, you have to scroll to see

[Host 1]

all the awards Anybody who's a backer, a defensive player or a football, you know who Patrick Willis is. But for the people who don't, that might be tuning in. NFL defensive rookie in the year in 075 time first team all pro, second team all pro one. He got that in 087 time pro bowler two time NFL solo tackles leader two time NFL combined tackles leader NFL 2010's all decade team buckets award winner in 09 all rookie team in 07 San Francisco 49ers hall of fame Buckets award winner in college Jack Lambert Trophy in 06 SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 06 Consensus All American American in 06 First Team All American in 05 Two Time First Team All ACC in 05 and 06 ACC or SEC SEC.

[Host 2]

Hey, let's give it up for Patrick.

[Host 1]

Patrick Willis.

[Patrick Willis]

Hey, I appreciate it. I appreciate it.

[Host 2]

If you, if your team's like, hey, you only have 10 minutes with Patrick was like, literally the intro for all your accolades is like seven of those 10 minutes.

[Host 1]

When you get sad, do you ever just get on your Wikipedia page and just look at the achievements and accolades?

[Patrick Willis]

No, I don't, man. I truthfully, it's only moments like this right here where, you know, I really even pay any attention or just hear much about it or whatnot, because I don't really go and look myself up or look at the. Look at the stats, but moments like this, listening to it, I'm like, wow, that was some work put in.

[Host 2]

Yeah, some work put in. And any of those, like, were you a cat that ever had let doubt creep in or what was the thing that kind of was the biggest warrior for you when you were playing? Was it like getting ready for the game? Was it the worry of like an imposter syndrome? Because it seems like there's no, There was no hesitation anywhere.

[Patrick Willis]

I would say, man, the fear of failure, the fear of just not making it out, wanting more for yourself. And so I feel like everybody, every opportunity was a chance to prove that I belong and that I could do it, do that which I set my mind out to do.

[Host 1]

You talk about the fear of failure and fear of making out. We will get into all that because your story is insane. You were in College in what, 03, 06? So I'm in high school. So I'm sitting here learning about Patrick Willis in college. You were a North Star for every linebacker that generation. Before we get into it, like, what's got you at the super. I see you got go bowling on NFL alumni. What kind of work are you doing out here?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. So I'm excited to be an ambassador of Go bowling. We are here. What's going down tomorrow at Lucky Strikes. It'll be myself, Tom Rathman, Doug Peterson, Shawn Alexander, Jason C. Horn, and we'll be partnering up with attendees in attendance and we'll just be competing. But it's all for a great cause. You know, all the proceeds will go back to the NFL Alumni association and the former players, which being former players, you know, that like, man, we, we all, at some point in time or some more than others, you know, need those helping hands. So it's a great cause to be here. And also, man, Go Bowling is giving out a free game of Boland on behalf of Super Bowl 60. And so if you go to go bowling.com, sign up, download the app and you can get you a free game of bowling. But yeah, just here doing this and man, just enjoying the week of Super Bowl.

[Host 1]

So all people got to do is go to Go bowling dot com, Go

[Patrick Willis]

bowling dot com, download an app and

[Host 1]

you get a free game of bowling.

[Patrick Willis]

Download the app, Register. Register, yeah.

[Host 2]

Put an email, all that stuff. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Ain't no financial, financial exchange, but just put in your email.

[Host 2]

Yeah, it's free, right? It's free to sign up. Free to sign up your suit in the back. Who's the best dressed guy? Hit me with it. It's free.

[Host 1]

Something we might have to do too is like we might just have to let the cat out the bag that will that Patrick Wills is going to be on. And so that way we can get the clip out there to let people know when he says tomorrow, they know it's actually tomorrow. So they're not listening.

[Host 2]

A couple weeks.

[Host 1]

Oh, we forgot the free ball bowling. That's good, that's good, that's good.

[Host 2]

Definitely get that out there.

[Delaney Walker]

Okay, so the end of the month

[Host 1]

free bowling goes to the end of the month, the end of February.

[Patrick Willis]

All right.

[Host 1]

All right.

[Delaney Walker]

You can sign up at

[Host 2]

Coming soon, the goat, Patrick Willis. Also free bowling if you want.

[Host 1]

I. I can't keep this secret in anyway. No, like, this is, this is a Mount Rushmore type.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

When we're going through the list, like super bowl, you're trying to get these big time guys, these hall of fame type cast sets, and your name slid across. It was, I'm Wilson. Behind me, my shoulders, he's like pulling my shoulder. Hey, we could get this guy. You think he'll come? Yes, dude, I think so. Get him, make sure it happens. And then Delaney, you're Staying at the. Down the road.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Willie hits you up. Is that. Hey, we're about to have Patrick Willis on.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And you.

[Host 2]

He's like, send me the address. I'll be there in five minutes. So this is. That's how bus with the boys. Planning.

[Delaney Walker]

Yes.

[Host 1]

We don't do it 15 minutes ago. He's like, send me the location.

[Host 2]

Yeah. That's why you need guys like the Lady Laney, that are just ready to ride.

[Patrick Willis]

Talking about riding, I was literally just thinking about, man, my. What? Second year in the league. I come into practice. You know, this is my. No, remember my rookie year? It could have been my rookie year, but I come into practice, come into the facility, and then I'm still trying to get to, you know, know everybody. It could have been the second year or off season going, oh, second year. And. But, you know, you're not really. Some of the guys have, you know, those. Their bike. Bikes and motorcycles and stuff, whatnot. And I walk in, and I know Delaney had a nice black one or whatnot, man. I come in one day.

[Host 2]

President. Don't worry about that. I come in one day, he's worried about go bowling. He's like, you told me there's free bowling.

[Patrick Willis]

I come in one day, and this guy right here, man, is walking like this, right? I'm looking, I'm like, man, what's up with him, man? Like, where's all his skin at? Oh, yeah, this man wrote it. You said, bite. It made me think about him riding his bike all night.

[Host 1]

Microphone, microphone, microphone.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, this man's skin. All his skin was. Was missing. And I'm like, yep, He. They either gonna get rid of him or he's not gonna be around. Cause ain't no way he gonna be able to practice like that, man. You believe that? That afternoon, this man was out there practicing. When I tell you guys, like, he didn't have no skin on his body, though, man. Like, all his forearms, knees, and everything was gone but toes. So I remember that day.

[Host 2]

Oh, yeah. Motorcycles. This is like pre.

[Patrick Willis]

This is.

[Host 2]

This is before you and me. Cba. The guys could ride motorcycles.

[Delaney Walker]

He let the cat out.

[Guest 3]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

But we're kind of breezing over. Like, he. All his skin was going.

[Delaney Walker]

I got to let Patrick bring this up. Since he let the cow to bat, I told the 49ers something else happened.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, sh.

[Delaney Walker]

It's okay. I don't play.

[Host 2]

Hey, you guys are retired for a second.

[Host 1]

Oh.

[Host 2]

Oh, my God. What are you. Fine.

[Host 1]

That was a real reaction, too. Pass. Oh, my bad.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, man. Yeah, my fault.

[Delaney Walker]

I was on a dirt bike and slid out in the neighborhood, but I was actually on the one on one and crashed on the freeway and slid about 60 yards and that's it. Ripped all my skin off. Yeah, he's telling the truth. I came in looking white forearms, everything. They had to skin graft me. They scrubbed me and skin graft me that day and I practiced. Cause like he said, I thought I was getting our ass cut. I'm like, I'm getting cut. If I don't practice, I'm getting cut.

[Host 2]

So they bought it. They're like, hey, you were just outside.

[Delaney Walker]

Oh yeah.

[Host 2]

And you just slid out on your dirt bike. You're missing 40% of your skin.

[Delaney Walker]

Motorcycles to practice, dirt bikes to. I would back then.

[Host 2]

Yeah, that's old Delaney.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, that's old Delaney up in a motorcycle to practice.

[Host 2]

Yeah, that is crazy. What was, what was Delaney like as a, as a team when you were a rookie?

[Host 1]

What year were you, you your second second year, say? Okay, so you're relatively young.

[Host 2]

You guys are both young. I met, I met Delaney what year? Eight, nine, something like that. And this is like Delaney Walker goes to the Titans. He's like, he's a receiving threat now. He's not a core 4 guy anymore. So he had a different attitude about him, I'm assuming.

[Patrick Willis]

Man. No, I truthfully, believe it or not, not just because he here, but man, Delaney is one of the best teammates like that I, I've had. I, I wouldn't, they asked me earlier the best ones I've had. But as I'm thinking about it now, and I'm literally not saying it because of you here, but one of the things I love most about him was just his, his work ethic every day. And then on top of that, man, he just embellished the roles that he had and was a difference maker. I, I, I haven't said many, I haven't said this to you and I haven't said it to, to many, but a few that Delaney, the year that Delaney left or whatnot, I knew, I said, man, the offense is not going to be the same no more. I said he was our X factor to me, scanning the offense and though we had a bunch of players that were like, like badasses, he was the corporate, he was the X factor because he could do everything you see in Kyle Juszczyk do now, from being fullback to being the U to being the F catching routes and all that. I was like, man, this guy here is really what makes our defense Go round. Cause everybody else you can kind of key in, but it's always that extra, the extra guy or that guy. And he was one of those guys. And man, like I said, he just show up every day and part of the Tony Montana squad. And yeah, he just heck of a teammate. So when he left, left, I was happy for him that he was going to go, you know, do his thing and get his rightful shine.

[Host 2]

So yeah, get paid. The whole thing

[Delaney Walker]

means a lot. Yeah. And then we got to play them and he was covered.

[Host 1]

He was trapping you up, wasn't he?

[Delaney Walker]

Nah.

[Patrick Willis]

Well, I think. I don't know how many you got. One catch on you? Yeah.

[Host 1]

On you?

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, same.

[Host 2]

He only had one catch on me too.

[Host 1]

Hey, one catch club.

[Delaney Walker]

He may have only guarded me once.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

But hey, I do remember pretty strong. But. But I, I had to compete against him and Vernon, that's another thing, man. I had to compete against him and Vernon and both of you guys. What we see now with all the, the. I mean there's nothing new in the NFL, just maybe that which has been forgotten. But man, him and Vernon doing a one on one. He cats were here, man, we're moving. Vernon already was like fast, but Delaney was fast, but Delaney had like shiftiness to him, whatnot. And me having coach seeing the way these toes were set up, I used to dread. I used to be like, God dang it, man, these one on one. So I'm like, I can't wait till we get the team drill, Cate. At least I can now see past and just different stuff that you could pick up on. But nah, man. Heck of an athlete and was a heck of a teammate, so definitely.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

How does it make you feel, Danny?

[Delaney Walker]

Makes me feel good.

[Host 1]

Say something nice about Pat.

[Patrick Willis]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[Delaney Walker]

You gotta look at it like when you got Patrick Willis, Navarro, Bowman, Tequil, Spikes, and you going against these guys every day like and, and they already at the top of their game. Like Patrick, rookie of the year. What? No. Yeah, rookie defense, rookie, defensive rookie of the year. I mean like so you seeing these guys come in, it's like, like we got to compete with them every day. When they call that tight ends and linebackers, it's like, damn, put your mouthpiece in because they head hunters, you know what I'm saying?

[Host 1]

Spikes at that neck too.

[Delaney Walker]

We doing blocking drills first. Then we like, okay, they gonna win that one. We gonna win this pass.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah. We used to do like one on ones like offensive line would do. What is that not the Most drill of all time.

[Delaney Walker]

We hate it, bro.

[Host 2]

Would you guys start from depth or would you start in the line of scrimmage?

[Patrick Willis]

We would. Would it? Would. It would. Depends. Outside. We running three, four. So outside linebacker, they would start at the line. But then me being off the ball, you know, I have to catch him. I play off the ball.

[Delaney Walker]

Off the ball.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And it's the most unfair thing ever. They do that with the running backs, too. I would watch it, like, from a distance while we're doing one on ones. Like, I hate doing one on ones, but I look over, be like, these poor running backs, dude. Just like 10 yards away, and the guys are sprinting. He's like.

[Delaney Walker]

And it's getting ready. Like, not fair, T. They put the bag right behind you. He not about to juke you. I'm about to just. He run right through.

[Host 1]

That's what the coaches tell you to do, though. They say, hey, try to work moves. Don't just run through them.

[Delaney Walker]

They say that, but y' all. Don't y' all just come downhill. That first one always. Boom.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

We gotta let you know, like, that's, that's how you. That's how you shock them, because then they're gonna be setting light or they're gonna set heavy, and that's when you can put the moves.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Then, dude, one thing. One thing I'm realizing is, like, the 49ers now, like, with Kittle, CMC Warner, Trent, seems like their locker room, like, you'll look at, like, from a distance. Like, that locker room right there seems like one of the best locker rooms. They're just hearing the way you guys talk, talk. It seems like one of the best locker rooms ever. In that situation. Do you think it has anything to do with the, the 5G satellite thing right next to you as facility? Do you think there's.

[Delaney Walker]

I knew he was going to that.

[Host 2]

Do you think there's something like, it gets your brain or something like, hey, we got to be bros? Like, is it a bro satellite? Is what I'm asking.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, I like that. I like that it's a bro satellite.

[Host 2]

Softish issues come with it. But also, we're all bros.

[Patrick Willis]

I, I, I love, I love the team that, that we had. I mean, I was when I came in in 2007, yeah, we didn't have the, the, we didn't have the best of squads, but, man, the, the teammates. But then that 2011, 12, and 13, even 14. 14 was like a. That was a crazy year for me. But 2011 to 2014. Man, these were the best teammates to have, from offense, defense, to special teams. And to just see how each and every day, like, we would show up for one another, like it was. It reminds me of, you know, the last two years I've been able to be in the 49ers locker room from an ambassador and also football operations. And I'll say like, that. That squad that they have, they have that same. They have that same connection in their ways. And that's the kind of stuff when people like, man, you could come back and play. Look at you. And I'm like, man, I don't have the same guys. Like, it's something about the guy that you. You show up with every day and you build with. And I had Kim. I played, what, seven years with Delaney. So I played most of my career with these guys. And so to come back and not have the same guys, I feel like you had to start all the way back over. And then now it's a different, different league now. You say something where they looking at you like, I'm not. I'm not going that hard. I'm not gonna do that. And that would just mess me all the way up, you know? Cause the guys we had, we gonna show up each and every day. And I honestly, I'm thinking about it now. Delaney, he was a heck of an athlete. But I was thinking, I didn't realize you was drafted where you were drafted. And now I'm thinking, I'm like, is that why you was. Every day, man? You was just. I mean, he showed up every single day as if it was like his life was depending on it or something. But you would have never known that, because I would have. I feel like he should have been. Been paid like, you know, like the top dog, because the way he was showing up or whatnot. But I say all to say, yeah, I loved those teammates that I had to. Went to battle with each and every Sunday, I would say.

[Delaney Walker]

And, you know, he probably speak on this too. We used to have parties.

[Host 2]

Did that.

[Host 1]

Here we go. Now we're getting into the fight.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey. Hey. Alden Smith parties.

[Patrick Willis]

No,

[Delaney Walker]

he never went.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, I had. What I would do is I would have mine at.

[Host 2]

Got him.

[Patrick Willis]

So we would have, what, July. I'm sorry. Right before camp. Camp. I would always have something at. For two or three years, I would have something in my house, nice house. And they would come out and whatnot. And it was a great time, man. Cause we had a chance to just. Just bond, man. People from. Yeah. Come all over. We had the taco trucks and it was special time. And then, then when we was like, started winning and we what in January when we had that, we ended up getting to buy a couple times and my birthday was the 25th. And so we would have like that whatever that little window was in there, we could have another little gathering in. So, yeah, we just, man, we had some good times.

[Delaney Walker]

We all did. And I mean, everybody from Cowboy, Justin Smith, I mean, I mean everyone on the team, Joe Staley, we all in the area just vibing, eating food, having good time. And I think that's what made us so good. Like, even after games, it was just like what we doing. We all knew we was gonna be together. It was just like a close group.

[Host 1]

Man, if you're trying to find a party, you're hitting up Delaney. So Delaney, these parties were like that.

[Host 2]

It was the same way the Titans too.

[Host 1]

Like top tier.

[Host 2]

If you ever wanted to get into something on the weekend, weekend, it's like, hey, what's the way you're doing?

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, I mean, I learned it from. I learned it from being with the Niners. I mean, our. The parties we throwing was top tier. At his house would be crazy. At Ray McDonald House would be like lit.

[Patrick Willis]

We're good. Crazy in mind. Yeah, it was good. Yeah, we're good. Crazy of mine, at the mother, when they talking about that, that's the one you fall back. I would be there. But you come for a little bit and you, you knew like, all right, after. After hours. So I said, I'm gonna get on up out of here. Yeah, don't mess around. Be too much fun or whatnot. But it was. It was awesome.

[Delaney Walker]

Patrick used to have his alcohol at the top. He used to check that we be drinking.

[Host 2]

He be like the dad that puts

[Patrick Willis]

it wasn't just any bottle. It was a bottle that I got for my birthday of a friend. Lady of mine had got it for my birthday and it was. It was the Louis, but it was. Was like the big bottle, it cost some money. So I was like, man, I'm gonna wait until we win a Super bowl or something. And that's when I'm gonna drink it, man. After it was 2000. I don't know if it was year that we went to the super bowl or when it was, but I just know I had had to party at my house. I come in, I see this rookie, the fullback, drinking it. Yeah. Had the bottle in his hand and I see him. I see him drinking out the bottle and I see Just a little bit left. And right away, my chest dog start going. I was like, what the hell? And he look as he.

[Host 1]

He.

[Patrick Willis]

That look you just got right there.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

I'm thinking to myself, my God, that's how he looked.

[Patrick Willis]

That's how. That's how he looked at me as I was looking at him. And then all of a sudden, I saw him look at Cowboy Justin, and he was like. He told me it was okay. And Cowboy ain't nothing but some alcohol. You can get you another bottle. I'm like, no, that's not the point. Justin too. So you like, all right. Yeah.

[Host 2]

So did he. You make Cowboy or this young cat get you a new bottle and make sure you had the. The mic just a little bit higher.

[Patrick Willis]

No, I didn't. I didn't.

[Delaney Walker]

Cowboy would have got.

[Host 2]

You sound like a really solid leader, teammate type of guy. Delaney make everybody pay for that.

[Delaney Walker]

I swear to God, Cowboy would have brought him one if he. If he would have said anything. Cowboy would have brought. Cuz. When he said Joe Staley furniture on fire. He brought Joe Staley.

[Host 2]

Let's. Let's take a quick pin. What happened?

[Host 1]

Cowboy boy, AKA Justin Smith. And also Joe Staley's furniture on fire.

[Host 2]

I'm so happy you're on this podcast, because you can tell. Pat's like, all right, yeah, I'll do. I'll do some media this week. Go bowling. It's a great cause. Comes in great guys, good teammates. I bring up the self cell tower. You're like, we had a great squad. Like he said, somebody's house on fire.

[Delaney Walker]

So like I said, we. It depends on who house was hosting a party. Usually it was the dudes with the most money. Money. You know, Joe Staley, Patrick Willis, they got big houses. So Joe Staley throw a party. Justin just.

[Patrick Willis]

He.

[Delaney Walker]

Justin Smith literally just get to the team. Like a week or two weeks, he gets to the team, and we had Joe Staley house. He got like a bonfire thing in the middle. And if y' all ever seen Justin Smith with a few natties, he's. He's scary.

[Host 1]

Yeah, he can be an aggressive type.

[Delaney Walker]

He can be an aggressive, like, where

[Host 1]

you get a little uncomfortable.

[Host 2]

Comfortable.

[Delaney Walker]

You got to either fight or wrestle. It's either or.

[Patrick Willis]

That's.

[Host 2]

That's big guy mentality.

[Delaney Walker]

That's big guy mentality.

[Host 2]

That's big guy mentality.

[Delaney Walker]

He goes like, after. I'm going, just tell the story. So he. Joe Staley and him had had a little argument. He head buns. Joe Staley breaks his Nose.

[Patrick Willis]

That's why his nose keep bleeding all the time. Every time you see Joe with that.

[Host 2]

Yeah, he's got that little. That little split right there.

[Patrick Willis]

I did that. Head buns him.

[Delaney Walker]

Jesus. Breaks his nose. I don't know what. What happened after that.

[Host 2]

Yeah, you do.

[Delaney Walker]

No, I don't. I went in the house, and then I came back out and Justin Smith was throwing his furniture in the fire.

[Host 2]

So Justin Smith headbutts Joe Staley at Joe Staley.

[Host 1]

Staley's having a bonfire. Justin Smith, brand new to the team, but.

[Host 2]

But also Delaney goes, this is a good time for me to go get into.

[Delaney Walker]

I don't.

[Host 2]

Cuz.

[Delaney Walker]

Because for some reason, cowboy like to pick on me, bro. Anything I have, he want to mess with me. My chain, my earring. I'm like, dude, I. I'm gonna shoot you, bro.

[Host 2]

I know I can't beat you up.

[Delaney Walker]

I know that. I didn't see you whoop so many dudes that I was like, maybe we have a problem and you whoop them so good.

[Host 1]

Kind of first guy you hearing Delaney be a little scared of.

[Host 2]

But hey, it's. It's also going into the way. Like when I got to the tie ins, you see Delaney, the way he talked to younger cats, like, I'll know your name when you make the roster.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Justin Smith made that all happen. So he said like a sweet boy. And Justin Smith ruined you.

[Delaney Walker]

No, he. Yeah, Justin Smith is the nicest dude until he drinks. So after. After all this happened, he burns Joe Staley furniture. I think he even pushed him through a fence. Right.

[Host 2]

How did it go? No, how did he get it get to that? Did you ever do some reconnaissance work where you're like, hey, by the way, how did they get to the point where they burned his. His furniture?

[Delaney Walker]

Well, he said. So I. Come on, I'll tell just. I said, damn, man, why you do Joe like that? He said, cuz you walk up to the biggest person.

[Patrick Willis]

Person.

[Delaney Walker]

And you beat him up when you knew on the team, prison rules. That's what he told me. He said, so Joe Staley, the biggest person on the team, I beat him up.

[Host 2]

Are you there? Are you at this party?

[Patrick Willis]

No, I'm not at this party. But speaking of. What just. So the first time I meet Justin Smith, the first day we sign him, that night he's at sign. He's at Sino. So I heard. He's at Sino. And I'm standing down on Santana Row at the time. It's kind of like a rodeo drive. So there's Buildings on top, like apartments and stuff. I walked down immediately. No, just, you know, trying to be the. You know, it's my second year, second year, so I just want to go in and, you know, hey, man, what's happening? I'm Patrick. You know.

[Host 2]

You know, the.

[Patrick Willis]

The. I'm one of the. You know, one of the team.

[Host 2]

Yeah, we're boys now, man.

[Patrick Willis]

I walk up to him. I walk up to him to shake his hand, and he don't shake my hand. He just. He looks at me. You can tell, you know, I had a couple of them. He looked at me. He was going. I said, hey, I'm Patrick. He kind of like. He was just like, oh, I'm sorry. But that's how it was. And he did it in, like. He did it twice. And then on the. After the second time, I said to myself in my head, I was like, man, I'm have to tell him. He going to have to stop hitting me. Hit me one more time like that. We going have to fight. And we just. We just getting to know each other. But come to find out, I asked him, I said, hey, man, not. Not that they was like, later on, I say, hey, why would you slapping me like that? He was like, oh, I had to see if he was tough or not.

[Delaney Walker]

I promise you.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

He said, where's he from?

[Patrick Willis]

That's what he said.

[Delaney Walker]

Missouri.

[Host 2]

Russia. Like original.

[Delaney Walker]

That's crazy, dude. He. He was. He was one of those dudes.

[Host 2]

That's what they called the show me sting. Yeah, you gotta show me you're tough.

[Delaney Walker]

He was one of those dudes. I. I ain't gonna lie. When I met him, I said, okay, he is football, smoke cigarettes, drink beer and can play in the game every day. He'll smoke packs of cigarettes.

[Host 1]

So why did he end up burning Joe Staley's furniture?

[Guest 4]

Yeah, that was.

[Host 1]

He already accomplished.

[Delaney Walker]

I think he just got to the point where he broke Joe Staley nose and then he threw him through the fence or some joke. You can. You can tell us, did he push you through the fence or did you fall through the fence? Something happened. Joe Fe. Through the fence and he. And like I said, Justin gets to the point where he's blacked out. He don't. I don't think he knows what he doing. So then he just. That's. He just start throwing his furniture in the fire and started off. But then the next day he brought him all new furniture. He had it delivered to his house.

[Host 1]

Jesus Christ.

[Host 2]

We try to call Joe Staley right now.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah. Ask him how that story. Ask him why he did that. Ask him why.

[Host 2]

I hope this is the same number.

[Patrick Willis]

You know, man, Justin got a son down too. That's. Man, that's a thoroughbred. Yeah, he tall. He taller than.

[Host 1]

Well, Justin is a monster, bro.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, he taller than Justin. Only 11th grade. What? Yeah, and like one of the high prospects. Dn high prospects for. For a popka.

[Host 1]

Wow.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. In Florida. Like, look, he looks like a young.

[Host 1]

You know, he's telling his boy too. Like, you find the biggest some on the team.

[Host 2]

Yeah,

[Patrick Willis]

He would always say. He would always say too. We used to joke with him because it's one of the things that amazes me today is like, I don't have any kids of my own, but a lot of the guys when we was playing, they had like little ones. Now they're not little some more now a lot of them, like, man, they either taller than I am. And so I remember when Justin was young, I mean, when Justin's kids were being born, especially his first one, we'd always be like, justin, you gonna raise your kids in California? He's like, I ain't raising my kids no Damn, California. Like, it's too soft right here. I'm taking them back to the South. I'm talking back to the Midwest. And he literally did that, man. He built a big old mansion in Missouri, and when he retired, he took him back to Missouri.

[Host 2]

You guys keep up with him? Yes, I do.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, I just talked to him. Yeah, I just talked to him. What?

[Host 1]

Last week, it was some dude just got that mentality. I remember like Trent Murphy and then our kicker, it was Dustin Hopkins. They were like playing in the locker room or Dustin was kind of messing with some. Playing with them or messing with them to where they were wrestling a little bit. And I was watching and Trent got this look in his eye to where he started like choking him or doing something. And it kind of got a little. Was like, hey, what's going on? I just remember asking Trent, like, hey, what was that all about? He's like, as serious as possible. He's like, it's. It's a food chain in here.

[Patrick Willis]

I was like, bro,

[Host 2]

Comment goes so hard.

[Delaney Walker]

That goes so hard.

[Host 1]

I'm not even going to lie here.

[Host 2]

Something. I Wish I was 10 years younger right now. I don't think he does.

[Host 1]

He's just the nicest dude. He's the kicker. He's just having some fun. I'm like, but hey, all right, all right, big dog.

[Delaney Walker]

I'm be honest.

[Host 1]

One of my boys too. I Made sure to keep him close.

[Delaney Walker]

I'll be honest.

[Patrick Willis]

If.

[Delaney Walker]

If you play with Cowboy, he would have tried you. If you was. You was the dude on the team,

[Patrick Willis]

the big guy, they would have tried your nose.

[Host 2]

Tell me. I got. Hey, for real, though. His mindset of, like, the prison, you got to find the biggest guy, fight him immediately. Like, I. I had that I thought process at Michigan, and then my first day at OTAs, like, Kevin Coogler, he was getting all crazy. So I was like, I gotta fight this guy in practice today so people know, like, I'm for real. And I would. I fought him, but I was like, this dude would have beat my ass. Yeah, Kevin.

[Patrick Willis]

Carl.

[Host 2]

Sorry.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah. Kevin was a fighter. Carl, Carl.

[Host 2]

Carl. Iowa kid.

[Delaney Walker]

Iowa kid, Yeah. I fight every day.

[Host 1]

Every day.

[Host 2]

He would just try to fight a practice, and they were like. The first day he, like, got in a fight, and no one really did anything about it. And then he, like, shoved me after. He's like, you do that again. Something. I'm like, next play, dude. The next play. Like, he was a three technique. I went to cut him off, and I grabbed his face mask. I brought him down, like, yeah. And I wish to God the coach pulled me in the office. He's like, why would you do that? I go, it's a food chain out here. I wish I could have.

[Host 1]

Trent had me one time. He made me delete a photo or a video off my phone because he was. He was wrestling again, like, in. It might have been with the Houston Bates. They were wrestling in the. The weight room. And I caught him in, like, a little gay position. So I was like, you know me. I'm just being me. I'm like, I recorded. Or I take a photo or something like that. And Trent, like, corner corners me. He's like, hey, you got to delete that photo. And I was like, are you being serious right now? Because we. Trey and I were like, we're boys. We joke all the time at meetings, all this stuff. He was just saying he had. He must have just been in a mood. But he was like, you're gonna delete that photo. He's, like, standing over me. He goes, I was like, bro, I'm not gonna. Like, I'm just messing around. And he goes. He walks to the door. He shuts the door. Because I've been like, the training. We're in the training room, and I think I'm in one of the. The trainer's offices, and he shuts the door and locks it, and he's like, you got A minute to delete that photo. And I was like, hey, hey.

[Host 2]

Being like, your boy.

[Host 1]

Boy. He's my boy, bro. I mean, he, like, he spoke at my wedding. Yeah, he, like, said a little prayer at the wedding. But, yeah, Trent is my. He's my bro. But he, like, comes over.

[Host 2]

Viking stuff.

[Host 1]

Yeah. And Trent, you know how big he is. He's also the runt of his family. There's like six or six big seven.

[Host 2]

Big Arizona big ones, dude.

[Host 1]

And he's like, the runtime, and he locked stories like, you got a minute to delete that photo? And I, like, pulled out, like, here you go. Delete. I was like, I deleted it. And I set the phone back on the. On the desk, and he's like, go to your deleted album. And I was like, hey, listen, man, I'm not trying to delete it.

[Host 2]

The fact that you guys made it out of that and you invited him to the wedding.

[Host 1]

Yeah, bro. Like, we ended up talking, like, you know, apologizing to each other, like, having a. You know, having a. A vulnerable moment with each other.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

But I remember he had the fear of God. I mean, when he shut. He, like, slowly shut the door locked in. He's like, you got 60 seconds to delete that pic, to delete that photo. I'm like, jesus Christ.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, he can be 10 sometimes,

[Host 1]

some of them D line and big white D lineman, bro.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. I'm gonna say it ain't many. It's not many of.

[Host 2]

Yeah, they're psychos, the white guys in general.

[Patrick Willis]

Did you play? Did you play with. You said Michigan. You played. You played in Michigan?

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Did you play with the. The left tackle that was drafted to Miami? No.

[Host 2]

That's my hero, though. Talking about Jake Long.

[Delaney Walker]

Jake Long?

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

I always wonder what happened. Yeah, he was. I think he was. We was in the same draft.

[Host 2]

Yeah. 2008 was. He was eight. You were seven?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, I was seven.

[Host 2]

Got you. Yeah, he was the first overall in eight. And, dude, he's like, the reason why I went to Michigan, because I was in. I was in Arizona, and I transferred schools my senior year because this kid was like, the number 68 end, and they're like, hey, you should play offensive line. You kind of have that build where you can, like, really grow into it. And my dad's like. My dad's from the Midwest. He's from Minnesota. He's like, hey, there's this cat who's a left tackle at Michigan. He wears number 77. He's gonna be the first overall pick next year, like, you should wear 77. That's a badass number. I'm like, yeah, okay. And literally just watching him, dude, he came in the league. He was all pro his first year.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

Four Pro Bowls in a row. And then just injury after injury kind of just took him out. But that's my go.

[Patrick Willis]

When you just said that, it just made me think about. I was like, man, I wonder whatever happened. We had the same agent.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

And whatnot. It was super, super cool guy. We hung out a couple times in. In Vegas. Like, his money was. His money was different. His money.

[Host 2]

I heard some stories about him in Vegas. Like, he would go to the table. I don't want to put him on blast, and he would lose whatever, and he'd be like, whatever, and walk away. And just being at the tables in general, we've all been there. Like, you lose a dollar, you're like, like, how the do I get that dollar, man?

[Delaney Walker]

He was at a time where when you got drafted, overall, they gave you 35 million, bro.

[Host 2]

He got 64 million dollars before that

[Host 1]

C. Before you even start, touch the field.

[Delaney Walker]

$64 million.

[Host 2]

I got. I got offered by Utah State my. Going into my senior year, and I'm like, that was when I was like, oh, I'm going to go to the league. Like, my path is clear in my head. And then I see him sign that. I'm like, oh, my God. In my brain, I'm the first overall. This is going to be. What's it gonna be then? And then, like, 2011, a new CBA. It's like, first overall pick. It's 15. It's like. It's not 65, but. Okay. Yeah, yeah, but now the money's back.

[Patrick Willis]

You drafted eight, 2007. 11 overall.

[Host 1]

What was your same.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, let's go, man.

[Host 1]

Hey, he was pre cba, though.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

Trust me, I understand the bread,

[Patrick Willis]

man. You look back on it now, I can see how. I see why them old heads used to say what they would say when they would come around and say, like, you. You youngsters, y' all making that kind of money. If I made that kind of money when I was playing, I didn't know, you know, you young, see, But I'm like, all right, man. Y' all just, you know, you respect him. But. Yeah, yeah, now, I said the same thing. I'm like, man, when I signed, I think it was my signing Bonus was like, 5, 6 million, and it was like, 11. I think it was like, 11 something overall, like. Or maybe 12 million, like, total contract. But, man, I look back on life now and I'm like, what they're getting? Yeah, that. But then I just think about, like, how, yes, it was a lot of money, but I almost feel like it wasn't really any money when you started, like, taxes and everything.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

You start breaking it all down.

[Patrick Willis]

And so you started.

[Host 1]

Because the top backers now are getting what, between like 15 and 20 on the inside.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah. So I. When they was. They started talking a little bit. They was like, man, I think, look at you, man. Like, you could come back. And first of all, as I said, I'm like, man, I ain't have the same teammates. My feet, body. My body has been long past that. But at the same time, I'm like, boy, if I could somehow get some. Get some important juice and somehow, like, get myself, like, perfect. I'm like, man, you two year deal, like, you good, man. I was like. But at the same time, like, nah, nah.

[Host 2]

It's crazy though, because every generation, like, like you, if you're able to get paid in the league, everyone's like, hey, congratulations, all this. But then you get five years removed and it's like middle of the pack, guys are making what used to be like, holy shit money. Yeah, it's just. That's called inflation, boys.

[Patrick Willis]

I feel like that happened to me right after I signed my extension, man, I was the highest paid at the moment. And then next year, I think Sean Lee, the Cowboys, either. Sean Lee, I think it was a beast. Yeah. He end up crushing the deal or whatnot the following year. And I'm like, well, that's. That's how it goes.

[Host 2]

You enjoy for that six month.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

Right to March.

[Delaney Walker]

That's why you never want to be the first one, though, to get a new deal, because Right.

[Host 2]

If you get it early in the cycle.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

That's when people start jumping like this past year with like Miles Garrett and Crosby and all these defensive ends. Like, everybody wants to be like the highest paid non quarterback in the league, and they get it. Three months later, someone get 500,000 more than 500,000 more. It's all this little game. But, like, hey, you were the team top for seven days. Like, you were the top cat, dude. I mean, obviously making a lot of money in the league is awesome, but you were doing all right at Old Miss, weren't you? Oh, boys. I thought we were. I thought we were having fun.

[Host 1]

You know whose coach was too?

[Host 2]

Who?

[Host 1]

Coach O.

[Host 2]

No, Coach O was.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, my last two years, my junior.

[Host 2]

Last night before you Lie to me. We had Coach O. And he had a question quote. It's like, it's not. We. We used to just go in the back door. Now we get to go in the front door when he was talking about nil. So it's out there. He didn't bring your name up, but I know that sec.

[Delaney Walker]

No, I.

[Patrick Willis]

Well, I would. I didn't get that. I didn't get nothing. Like, a matter of fact, I got suspended for 40 bucks and a meal after my. Yeah, 40 bucks and a meal. Because somehow it got out or whatnot that I had a. It was at our bowl game my freshman year, Eli. It was like the Cotton bowl, man. We had a successful year. It was fun. So I just thought, like, man, just a little simple dinner. And next thing you know, I get called into the office next in the spring, and, like, and they tell me they heard that I done took a meal and a little bit of money. I'm like, man, it's about 80 bucks. And so when I say, like, man, guys were getting paid, like, money, I would just have my stifling. And maybe every blue moon, you might get a handshake of, you know, 200 bucks or something. But, man, I heard about what some other guys supposedly allegedly got, and I'm like, man, what did y' all know that I didn't know? Like, how are y' all getting money, dude? How are y' all getting money?

[Host 1]

Like, they needed him.

[Host 2]

I'll take the SEC guys in the league. And they'd be like, I remember I was talking to, like, a coach, and I was like. They were like, how much did you ever get? And I was like, dude, the most I ever got was I got a. A sandwich and French fries at the Brown Jacket Jug. And I went to go pay the bill. Like, it's all good. I thought, this is living. Hey, I'm living right now. But then the SC guys are like, you just didn't ask the right people.

[Host 1]

Like, you didn't.

[Host 2]

You didn't make enough of a fuss about it. Because I just thought, like, we had Dinar Robinson. We had a bunch of. We had a bunch, like, high caliber college football players, but no one had, like, a nice car or nothing. But you look at, like, LSU and these other schools, guys like Camaros and these nice things, and it's like, is somebody gonna, like, tell me, like, am I gonna get the Illuminati? Like, how does this work, work? Never saw a dime, man.

[Patrick Willis]

They said that Ole Miss. Was it junkins? I think it was junkins at the time when he was at Ole Miss. But one of them was driving, like, a Bentley. Like, we're driving like a Bentley or something, like a real nice vehicle whatnot on campus. And I'm just thinking to myself, I'm like, man, I remember the closest they got to, the closest I saw something like that was my rookie year with some of the seniors. One of the guys dad was a politician, and so he had this Range Rover. But next thing you know, he went from having 22s to having 24s. Another cat that was a running back, he ended up went from 22s to 26s. And they had, like, these really nice vehicles. And so right away, everybody's kind of like, yeah, those ones getting, like, getting taken care of. But no, I didn't get lucky like that, really. Which probably was probably a good thing, because I think about it now, and one of the things I, you know, one of the things I think about a lot is how the young guys are getting all that money now. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm like, unless they are absolutely just beyond me, way smarter than I am, I say, boy, boy, boy. If we can get into the league and get money, then. And we don't experience that, the downfalls or until after it's gone, I can only imagine what these cats now that are young, making this at 18, getting this kind of money, and then at 22, if you didn't do it right, man, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a shell.

[Host 1]

You make a good point, too, because it's like the whole. Whether it's 30 for 30 or whatever, it is like 70 to 80% of guys go broke within five years of playing.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 1]

And we're talking about grown men, adults, guys with families. It's like, yeah, you could put some of this money in the hands of even younger, younger cats. Cats in college.

[Host 2]

Like, it's not even guys in college, too, because, like, these five, four star recruits that are juniors in high school.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, yeah, they're getting deals.

[Host 2]

Yeah, they're getting deals. They have nil. So they're making hundreds of thousands of dollars, allegedly. I don't know the exact number. Like, at 16 years old, which is just.

[Host 1]

You just hope they got the right people in the corner.

[Host 2]

And like, Delaney knew me early in my career at the Titans. If I was getting paid money at Michigan, I would not be here today. It was.

[Delaney Walker]

Oh, definitely.

[Host 2]

That's what I'm saying. Like, how did these cats not just go nuts? Because I, I, I, I Firmly believe I would have been one of those dudes.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah. There's no question.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, you're a different. Yeah, you definitely a different person now. When I first met you, I. Yeah, you can have money already. If you had money already coming in. Oh, my God.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Host 1]

How the parties would have been crazy.

[Host 2]

You grew up in Tennessee.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, crazy. All right.

[Host 2]

What. When you started to, like, really come on. From a high school standpoint, what were like your top five of schools you were looking at that you're probably gonna go to?

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, man. You asked me a question that I wasn't even fortunate enough to even be. Have that kind of options.

[Host 2]

Really?

[Host 1]

You were what, a two star?

[Patrick Willis]

Three. Three star.

[Host 1]

Three star.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, Three star. And I. And I. And I was. And I was recruited as a. As an athlete, so not even as a. As a linebacker. So it was almost like you couldn't really like, all right, is he a linebacker? Cause I really, I had to learn how to play linebacker. Like be a line. Yeah, you play the position. But I had to learn how to be a linebacker. And really, I still didn't learn much until after I got to the NFL with Coach Singh. But I say, I would just say growing up in Tennessee, Man. Ut vols. So growing up in. I was born in 85, early 90s. You always see Tennessee Vols, Ohio State, Nebraska, they would always be on tv. And I used to just sit and I would watch and I'm like, man, I can just get to one of those schools. Like, I know I can get to the next next level. And so just as I began to grow, I went from like in Ohio State, Niles Digg, Andy Katzumorga, to now I'm like, man, we have a Tennessee Vols right here. Like, if I can just play good enough ball, I can get up there. And here I am my junior year. And I went up there. I'm sorry, My senior year. Now we had a guy. My junior year, we had a guy who was being recruited a running back. And so we went up there on unofficial visit and I was like, that was all it took. I was like, man, I gotta. This is cool. If I can just get up here and get around this, you know, I was just tagging along my senior year, I'm out there busting my tail. Like I'm running all over the field. I'm later on become the first person ever in history to be nominated for both offense and defense. Mr. Football and one the of play football in Tennessee.

[Host 2]

No way.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

That's crazy.

[Patrick Willis]

Playing both sides of the ball. And so here I am now. So that happens later. But during the middle of the season, I, I take two unofficial visits up to UT DeVos. And my dad used to always tell me when I was younger, he said, boy, a closed mouth don't get fed. He would just say that in general, like, want something? So I'm up here and I noticed the coaches. My second time, I noticed all the coaches are talking to everybody else and. But nobody's coming over and saying anything to me. And I'm, I'm like, I just ran for three touchdowns. I just had 16 tackles, like interception. And I'm not even getting a conversation. So I asked the coach, Coach Berry at the time, I said, coach, why is nobody not speaking to me? He says, truthfully, we're recruiting two other linebackers. And those two other linebackers were damn good linebackers. And they played at five. They played five, eight ball. I only played one, I played one eight ball. And so five, eight is the biggest you can play. And so they was recruiting Daniel Brooks and Ernie Sims. Sims.

[Host 1]

And you know what I'm saying?

[Patrick Willis]

But hey, but I felt like being. I always, yeah, I come from, it's like you always had the underdog mentality where it was kind of like, you come from a small town, slaves look up on you. So in my mind I'm thinking, listen, I don't care if they go to a father here. Not just put us in a room and let's see who walks, like, walks out. Yeah, prison rules.

[Host 2]

It always comes back.

[Patrick Willis]

So he, he tells me, he tells me, he tells me, he said, so we, we not really interested in you. And we also don't know if you're going to take and make your ACT scores. So three hours, four of a five hour drive home. Three of those hours I cried. I was like, man, I've been told I'm not wanted. Like, how could I do, how could I be balling out like this? And they not interested in my foster dad said. I said, why don't you wipe up those tears and go play at a school that plays against them? And at that moment, I, I was like, yeah, I can do that. But then the only thing was, and then right at the same moment, I was like, but wait, ain't nobody really recruiting me. Nobody's recruiting me that plays against them other than conference, other than Memphis Tigers and mtsu, because they would play them as pickup games. I was like, well, maybe I can go there and we play them as a pickup game when they pick us. When they pick to play us as a pickup game. I said, maybe I can show them then. And that's what I was thinking. But then I ultimately said, you know what? I'm just gonna control what I can control. I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna stay focused in school, on the football field. And then out of nowhere, Ole Miss pops up. And coming from where I come from, anybody just. I don't wanna say anybody, but just getting some love from a bigger school, people that showed that they were interested and that they was willing to stand behind you, because I did. I'd done my schoolwork, I went to school. But, man, it was something about taking those big old team. I had a hard time taking them. And so I had to take it five times. But within me taking those five times. I remember the scout from Ole Miss coach, Matt McIntyre, he said, you know, regardless of whatever, regardless of what happens with this, he said, we're going to stand behind you. Even. Even if you had to go to a juco, we'd be there for you when you get out. I didn't understand how recruiting and stuff. I just felt like, man, they really about me. And so I end up getting my ACT scored. And at the same time, the SEC had just changed the grading scale from an 18 to a 17 that. That year. And that's when I was like, man, it must be fate on my side, but went to Ole Miss, and if I had to do it all over again, I would go back to Ole Miss. Man, that's how much I really enjoy being an Ole Miss. I mean, it was absolutely amazing. I knew the day that I was going to go to Ole Miss was on my official visit. We walking across and they had this, what they call Walker Championship champions. So something like they do at Tennessee, maybe walk across that walk with champions. And my gosh, it was so much beauty there. It felt like the campus didn't feel like it was humongous at ut, I walk across the campus, I'm like, I'm gonna be late. I'm like, how do you get from there, way over there? And then I. And then I. So I go to. I go to Ole Miss, and everything is like, boom, boom, boom. And now. And you guys have heard his saying, when you know, you know, I don't know if you guys ever had that in your moment, I mean, in your life, but I've had a couple moments where when you know, you knew. And I remember I walked across that campus and I heard him say, we love you, Eli. We love you, Mike. And I Was, man, as we walking across, I'm like, man, this could be them saying this about me. And I remember I said, man, I'm coming to school here. And like, I said, if I had to do it all over again, I would go back to Ole Miss. So I say all that to say I only had. I didn't really have that. I had NAIA schools, but no real big schools that were interested. And so maybe that was just more fuel for the fire.

[Host 1]

When did you know that Division 1 football in a future in football was a possibility? Because you mentioned your foster dad, obviously. Like, if anybody who caught your E60 back in the day kind of understands the upbringing that you had, were you. And how many siblings did you have?

[Patrick Willis]

It was four of us.

[Host 1]

Four of you guys. And then you. You leave your dad's place to go to your foster dad and live with. That was your coach right? Like, is it. Was that the transitional time to where you kind of knew. Knew this family is looking out for you to get. To get out? Because you spoke very early in the episode where you talked about the fear of failure, the fear of, like, getting out. Was that kind of the transitional moment to where it's like, hey, I can be something more than where I'm at right now?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, I would say it was. I always kind of had something inside that was like, man, I just. I want more than this. I think there's more I always had. Imagine my imagination was just big. Like, growing up in the south is. You guys know, been in Tennessee, like, it's just nothing but woods. I didn't. I wasn't around the city or whatnot. So just a town and pretty much spent most of my time in the woods playing running, jumping ditches and saying, I'm Michael Irvin. I'm Emmett Smith. I grew up a Die Hard Cowboys fan, and so that was pretty much me. But it was always something inside that I felt like, man, like, I wanna. I wanna be special. Like, I don't know if it was just watching, like, Colombo or Matlock Talk, but they just seem like they were special to me or just those figures that you would watch on tv. Like, man, that's a cool guy. Yeah, I can just be like, you

[Host 2]

go to a movie as a kid. Yeah, you're trying to be the main character for next three days.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, so. So I told myself I was like, man, I just want to be. I just want to be special. And not only that, I also wanted to be a genius. I don't know if y' all remember that. That Movie powder. Yeah. The guy that. That was super smart or whatnot and got struck by lightning. Yeah. And was like, I thought so as a kid.

[Host 2]

It sounds like a. Sounds like there's an age gap here.

[Host 1]

Yeah, man.

[Host 2]

Well, I could just tell me. Yep. Through this one, man.

[Patrick Willis]

No, so I say that to say, like, so as I wanted to be special, whether it was an engineer, whether it was just. I didn't want to just be a guy that could play football and then not have any. Not have any brains. And so again, given just wanting to be special. And then also my situation growing up, you know, single. Single parent. My parents split when they were. When I was super young, but growing up mostly with my dad and my brother and then just having the feeling like maybe it was object. What do they call it? Object poverty or whatnot. You know, you're looking outside and you see other people have. Have, you know, other things. You don't have running water until you're 8 years old. And I just like, man, maybe if we just had more money, you know, things would be. Things would be better. And so I just remember being in the sixth grade. This. This was. This was the moment. I was in the sixth grade, sixth and eighth grade. I was in sixth grade, and I heard my teacher talking about retiring. And I was like, man, like, you inside, you got the nice weather. My dad, them. They outside, they working, they logging. I was like, man, what can I do to where I can cut down the time to where I can, you know, so what can I do in life that will be able to allow me to take care of my family and have a good life when I grow up? And I just remember thinking, I was like, man, as much as I like coming to school, this school stuff is hard, man. I don't know how. I don't know how they doing this one. I don't know how they this smart. I was like. So I started doing process elimination. I said, but, man, this sports thing. So I was like, I tend to be able to pick this up, like, pretty well, and I can figure it out, you know, like. And so I was like. So I gave myself two options that day. I said, if I do it right, I can play. If I do it right, I can become this professional athlete and I can save my money. And then by the time I'm 30, I'll be able to retire and I still have life to live. I was like. Because I didn't understand how you be 60 or 70 and you retire. Then I'm like, ain't you about to die. I'm like,

[Host 2]

hey, that's so real, though. It's like you work forever and then all of a sudden it's like, what do I have next? Like five years maybe?

[Patrick Willis]

As a kid, you know, it just wasn't adding up, you know, it took my imagination. I was like, man, something just ain't right. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna give everything I have in this first one. And if I fall short, I said, man, I know how to get it. I go get me a job. And I said, I will work it as hard as I can and to be the very best I could be. As if I was a football player. And guess when I'm 60, 70, I'd be able to retire and get me a John John boat and fish the Tennessee River. I say, but if I do it right, man, I'm gonna be able to get me a nice boat and then buy 30. And so fast forward at 29, I was able to retire, had more money than I could, you know, think of. I went and bought me a boat, I fished a little while. And then real life jumps on you. So all that to say, like, man, it was just. Yeah, it was just moments in time where you just feel like you. You wanted to be something special and you wanted more. And it was like, what do I need to do? What can I do to do that? And the other, the one last thing was 8th grade year. My goddess counselor, she's. You know, you had to pick the curriculums. Are you gonna go university, dual or. Or vocational? And. And I remember everybody raised their hand. It was only so in my class. I graduated with 40 people. 42 people was my in my senior year. And my school was K through 12. And so I had a small K through 12, K through 12, all one building.

[Host 2]

I just think about the way Pat lived his life, man. He was living like 1947, like gas lanterns and stuff like that.

[Patrick Willis]

Walking around, it felt like that, like where you look around. Like I said, everybody else would have, like, central heat, but we still. Like I said, I didn't have running water until I was 8, so we were still. Didn't have like, you know, running water at times. And so I'm in eighth grade. We doing the doing. Having to pick the curriculums or whatnot. And I never forget she asked all 40 of us, and it's only in the class of 40, it was only like five black kids in my. And I noticed when she asked about vocational, all them raised their hand. All but me raised my hand. Because I wanted to look. I wanted to see, like, all right, like, who's gonna pick what? You know, what's the best one? Because I wasn't privy to. I knew. I always knew about being a hard worker and those things, but I didn't know these different paths you could take. I saw her say something about duel. Then all of a sudden, I saw university, and I saw most of the white kids. All them raised their hand, and I was like, but wait a minute. I want to go to college, too. Like, I want to. I want to be able to go, you know, get an education and be smart. And so I asked the teacher, I said, excuse me, can you explain which one of these. Can you explain each one of these to me again? And then she just asked me, she said, well, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, well, first, I had two answers, but she didn't give me a chance to say the second one. I said, well, first, I want to be a professional athlete. And I said, first, I want to be a professional athlete playing it. And before I can even get that out, she was like, well, you know, less than 1.1percent makes it. And. And at the point. And at that time, I felt like she was kind of. I don't know, kind of, I don't know, squashing. Trying to. I ain't gonna say trying to squash.

[Host 1]

You got no shot.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, but kind of trying to sound like a dream that you're. Yeah, but. But now that I'm older, I understand these statistics. I understand, like, how significant, like, less than 1%. Like, you gotta be in to, like, you know, achieve that. And especially looking back now on, like, the past. But I sat in front of the whole class. When she said that, she didn't give me a chance to even say, well, second, you know, if that doesn't work, then I'll just be a firefighter or a police person. And, you know, I'm gonna give everything I have. And so when she's. So anyways, when she says that I sit in front of the whole classroom, I said, because my dad. I had to say it, right? Because my dad. I grew up with a dad that you got to be respectful to all your elders or whatnot, no matter what. Right, Wrong. Indifference. Like, you don't talk back. You don't be smart. Smart mouth and all that kind of stuff. And I said, well, with all due respect, I guess I'll be in that. Less than 1%. I said it in front of all 40. All the little 40 we had but I remember when I said that, how convicted I was when I said it, but how I knew I had to stand on it. And so from that point on, I already went harder with anything we did when we was young, because it was just what it was. But from that moment on, everything I did did was to take me to where I said I was going to go. So that's why when it came to the act, when they say, like, we don't want you, I was like, man, but y' all don't understand. I have this vision. I saw this vision when I was younger, and there was another moment. But I won't bore y' all with those.

[Host 2]

But, yeah, nobody bore us. No, no, no, no. Literally everything you're saying, you hit the bar.

[Host 1]

With all due respect, I'm sitting there feeling like I'm watching a goddamn movie.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah. I'm thinking, what is this teacher?

[Delaney Walker]

How.

[Host 2]

What's her reaction to that? Yeah, that's all happening.

[Host 1]

It just gets quiet.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Some of the kids probably snicker in the back, like, making it, like, oh, yeah, sure, buddy, whatever. There's always gonna be a doubter here and there, but, yeah, that's the start of the movie.

[Delaney Walker]

How many people went to the NFL or from college to. Went to a university from your school, high school, that you know of before you or after you, they went to a university or made it to the NFL? Are you the only person that made it to the NFL from your high school?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, only a person. But then. Then that. But I'd always hear. Before that, I would always hear there was one other guy who. One other. One or two guys who had. Went and they made, like, the practice squad, but they were only there for, like, a moment. And I just remember saying, like, man, like, I'm gonna be that one. Like, I'm gonna do it. And a lot of had to. And a lot of it, I felt like, too, like, you carrying the weight of so many others who. I wasn't the most talented. I wasn't. I wasn't the fastest. I wasn't the biggest. Like, there was other guy that you saw. Then you'd be like, yep, he's going. You look at me and be like, ah. He. You know, he goes hard. He tries hard. But you talking about in high school. Yeah.

[Host 1]

Just coming out of the draft.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Oh, oh, development head. But you see you in pads, you'd be like, jesus Christ. No, but even playing the same sport.

[Patrick Willis]

No, even the draft, though. Even coming out for the draft, man, they had. I never forget. They had talked bad about me. I call all the scribes, all the scribes and pundits, they were saying, was saying, like, he's not a. He's not an every down backer. You know, he can't play third down.

[Host 1]

Can't play third down.

[Patrick Willis]

Who we got?

[Host 2]

Just so you know, the movie's over, he's won. I don't want to spoil this one for you, but he did pretty good.

[Patrick Willis]

And so, yeah, so they, they were saying that. And then, then at that time, you know, you had guys like Paul Pesney, John Beon, these are all, I mean, they, they're good players. But I remember, like, it was yesterday being an API and I remember saying to myself, after hearing, like, all them say what they were saying, he's not this, he's not that. You know, we getting ready for, you know, getting ready to start training. And I remember I said to myself, I said, when it's all said and done, I will be the first linebacker taken. And every single day, I work to be just that. Even to after the combine was over, a lot of guys, I'm gonna rest, I'm gonna go, you know, go back to my hometown. I went right back to API and I kept on working. So when I went to my pro day, I knew I was like, primed and ready. And when they called my name on draft day and I was the first linebacker taken, those were moments where I was like, man, I said I was going to do it and I did, did it. And so it's just been, yeah, we just. Moments like, like those.

[Host 1]

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[Patrick Willis]

As, as, as I wanted to be all like excited. It was more like, man, now it begins. Right, right now it begins because I didn't want to be one of those, I didn't want to be one of those guys that you get drafted and, you know, you don't do nothing or you think getting drafted is just enough. I was like, nah, now we got to go, we gotta go make something happen. And when it's all said and done, I want to be, you know, I want to be a good linebacker. But the greatness part didn't come until after our rookie training. Well, my rookie training camp. Well, the first day of practice. I've told this story before, but the first day of practice was one of the roughest days that I had had up to that point. I've grown up and had some tough times, maybe not the roughest, but it was a tough day. To the point to where by the end of the day I thought I was going to get cut. I was like, man, they f, They f cut me, man.

[Host 2]

Talk about rookie mini camp.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, rookie, Rookie Min Camp.

[Host 1]

11th overall pick.

[Host 2]

Is it crazy like saying that knowing like there was no shot and see,

[Patrick Willis]

I, I didn't, I, I didn't, I didn't know that it wasn't a shot and not getting cut.

[Host 2]

Same. I be otas my rookie year and be like, yeah, bet. Be like, I might not be here.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Then you like go talk to an older guy like, hey, you think I'm good? They're like, you're an idiot.

[Host 1]

Hearing them sit there talking tay back same. I'm thinking, what are these guys doing?

[Host 2]

But it's, it's so real. Cuz you're just.

[Host 1]

But it's not real.

[Host 2]

No, it is in your mind. You, because you get drafted super high and you're like, what an amazing moment. But then you immediately go into this. Then there's all expectations, all the coaches. You go from what you were Saying where Tennessee's like, we don't need you because we have these five A guys to now. Like only people want to talk to you because you're the first round pick. Then you go to the first practice and you're not good in the first practice. You kind of get thrown around a little bit and you're like, oh my God. They just think they made the worst investment ever and they need to get out of here as fast as possible. It's like it's a. It's a different type of paranoia because

[Delaney Walker]

at this time too rookie minicamp, some of us is there the dudes that got to get bad, better gotta go show up to the Mickey rookie minicamp. So I will be some. I was one of those guys. I had to show up because they like, yo, you said, yeah, you second year guy, you ain't no starter. You know, we had Billy Bajima and then Vernon Davis still at tight end. So it's like, come on, hey, show up.

[Host 1]

So as a second year guy, bro, I had to do the second year minicamp too, bro. I was tight, bro. But it was honestly one of the best things, things that could have happened, honestly. Yeah, because they focus on you. Like the coaching staff that's there, they're

[Delaney Walker]

like, hey, you know everything.

[Host 1]

All they drafted was Trent Murphy, who's an outside pass rusher. So the coordinator, linebacker, coach are like, hey, we ain't drafting. You get the. Yeah, you get all the refs, all the reps.

[Delaney Walker]

So when, when camp do start, I'm on point. On point, I'm on point, I'm crisp.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

It's just mind blowing to me that. Just knowing the career that I knew with you. You're a cat that had to go to a second year mini rookie, mini camp. Yeah.

[Host 1]

That's nuts.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Delaney was like the only guy when I got to the Titans like you, you was. Your roster was solid. When you guys got there, you had a good team.

[Host 1]

Oh, buddy. Their roster.

[Host 2]

Yeah. You guys were dialed. I walked in.

[Delaney Walker]

We wasn't as dialed when you first came in.

[Patrick Willis]

It was a lot of veterans.

[Delaney Walker]

A lot of veterans.

[Patrick Willis]

A lot of veteran guys.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, we had Brian Young, Brandon, Larry Allen.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

Jonas Jennings, Chris Smiley. We had a gang of vets when we came in. I mean, we were surrounded by eight year dudes. Eight, nine year dudes.

[Host 2]

That's our point. When I got to the Titans, there was you and Michael Ruse and that was like, there's your vets.

[Delaney Walker]

Big country still there?

[Host 2]

No, big country.

[Delaney Walker]

Let's before you Got there. So. Yeah, it was only like three. Three. Cuz Rob Baroness was there. Yeah, yeah. So it was three of us. Three like older dudes, bro.

[Host 1]

How about the defense that you got to play with, like looking back like you remember when they're breaking down? I remember watching on like whether it was Monday Night Football. You guys were playing a primetime game. They talked so highly. How? Well, because I got to play for Tomsula Minuski in Washington.

[Delaney Walker]

Okay.

[Host 1]

Minuski was our D coordinator and Tom Sulu was our de line coach. Obviously. Legends.

[Delaney Walker]

Legends.

[Host 1]

And how they played to where you know the edge. Like you're setting the edge. So as a backer you never, you know, as Tom Sula said, you never get your. To the side.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, you do that.

[Host 1]

You turn around and tell your linebacker because you watch, you watch film as a front seven together. You tell the D lineman to turn around and say, look at Patrick Will. Look at Will and just tell them you. Because you're giving up the edge. And now they got to look stupid trying to chase the sideline. But they would always talk about how you guys could stop the run with the two shell. Look, I mean you had. I. You said the name earlier. Ray McDonald. Justin Smith. Alden Smith. Navaro Bowman. DeShawn Golson.

[Host 2]

Hitner.

[Patrick Willis]

Hitner.

[Host 1]

Chris Cully.

[Delaney Walker]

Chris Cully.

[Host 2]

Yo.

[Host 1]

That defense was insane.

[Delaney Walker]

Insane. Rogers. Carlos Rogers.

[Host 1]

Yes.

[Delaney Walker]

Other side. Oh my God.

[Patrick Willis]

I. I think the, I think the foundation of it though was built in those years that we were not winning.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Because a lot of people don't realize even though we were not winning, we didn't give up 100 yard rusher. And in those four seasons, it wasn't until 2011 when Marshawn like got, got 106 yards on us, whatnot. And that's when we kind of lost that because we, we somehow we got the name Steamrollers. Because like, I don't know. I don't. Honestly, I don't even know where it came from. Where it came from. But that's how like tight was. But we worked on it every single day. Like everything we did, like from the fits and everything you said, we knew, like, we knew from. If something got wide, we knew who didn't hold the. We knew who didn't hold the point. If, if, if them double teams were not coming up. If them double teams were not coming up, Justin, when he would, he would, he would come to the sideline, he'd be like, you ain't moving, are you? Like, that's like what you mean behind

[Host 1]

Them for too long.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, sometimes it depends on who you playing, man. You gotta, you show we playing against Chris Johnson, man. Playing against him.

[Host 2]

God, you're not gonna go into a hole. Yeah, you gotta wait.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, you gonna mess around and he'd be going or whatnot.

[Host 1]

So.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, so we, man, it was. That's what I was saying earlier is that to be able to like to come back now and just, you know, just show up and be like, yeah, you might go out there and make a tackle and stuff. But it's nothing like playing with a group of guys who truly understand what like the fit and understand like how significant it is to like not just run around to say, I'm just gonna do this for me, but really understand like, man, I'm gonna have to stick my neck in here and hold this double team or come off this edge and like smack this guy so it don't. So it doesn't get wide for our guys. And that's why I'll always have respect for man, especially those guys early on. Manny Lawson. Manny Lawson. Ahmad P. Town. R.P. p. Town. Just that whole defensive front because again, like man, we was. A lot of people don't talk about it, but we were stopping the run. So for four years we didn't allow 100 yard rusher and we did that with a seven man box.

[Host 1]

Seven man box. So when I'm talking, I've talked to you at times about in the 2gap system, like being so dialed, you being in it like you would sit there. Any coach I had you. We never had had front seven meetings, like true front seven, where you're kind of meeting a few like multiple times a week under Manuski and Tom Sula was the only time where it's like you have the defense sitting in there watching run fits and watching everything to where everybody understands everybody's job to where if P. Willis is reloading a front or moving guys over, a lot of the times you don't even have to do that because the D line is so in tune with if they're in like an ace pair trips look. Or if he's tanked or if he motions over the D line knows, okay, I'm going to go from a tight three to. I might go into a 2Y and it's literally, it's literally just like on the stripe. It's not like a loose 3 to go into a 2Y. You're just moving one little step and they have to get their hands on. They have to punch or hit that little drop Step when they take on a power and the backers, the backers have to press a gap to get guys eyes to come up. So hey, if he comes up now, you're clear to fall back. The edge is got to be set. But the entire operation was because like again Manuski, Tom Su. Those coaches that we had which I know were with your staff shout out

[Patrick Willis]

to both of you.

[Host 1]

You're sitting there watching like as a defense together. And when somebody would up, you know Tom Sula, he was a massive jokester. He's awesome. He's Italian guy. I got the chains, got the umbud and everything. Talk about you want to know a way to double your money. He'd pull out his money and then just fold it in half and be like now you put it in half and you just put it back in your pocket. Eat a hoagie, some pizza, beer. They'd be in the locker room at the practice, you'd have a cold beer with them. But you would watch everything as a defense together. And that was like the only time where I felt like as a defense that was the only staff to where we did that. And everybody kind of knew what everybody's job was man.

[Patrick Willis]

It. It may. It made a difference.

[Host 2]

Accountability. It sounds like it's.

[Host 1]

It was. It was nuts, man.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Was it with those four years things not going well. You're not allowing a 100 yard rusher guys when they would up. Was it very quick to people being like that's on me because you know already I'm going to be exposing this meeting before. So guys are more quick to.

[Host 1]

For sure.

[Host 2]

Hey, I'll fix that.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Game adjustment. Which obviously bred to you guys going to the Super Bowl.

[Host 1]

It felt like it breeded too. Like even after games like you'd have your few guys where you just be watching. You would d line me. You just watch them together. Before you get into that defensive meaning to where guys kind of just already know what's happened. I mean ours wasn't near as good as what their defense was. But to execute that defense with a light bottle. You also you obviously you gotta have horses but you got. Everybody's gotta be able to like play like that second level of IQ and that's everybody across the board.

[Patrick Willis]

And that's what I see in today's game where I feel like I see much more individual ball being played that you can see certain stuff you like man, you know he got that. You know he got that run on you because Buddy is too wide. He needed squeeze down like there's no need for him to be playing a trick. True 3. If you got like a. A pair wide, you know over here, like why are you so far back here? Squeeze it and which stuff we would. We had calls. I want to say I'm on on here but we had calls. I'm sure you know these calls.

[Host 1]

Yeah, clip it. I love.

[Host 2]

That's the second time that's like thought the NFL's gonna you removed enough now

[Host 1]

like the Niners gotta play the tomorrow.

[Host 2]

You know how it is, man. He's about to play the Patriots. He got the door locked.

[Host 1]

Everything that is so the three tech goes to like a full ride.

[Patrick Willis]

They know how to squeeze it down tighter. Cuz then now that that helps that that helps me because if he stand out, if he stand out wide or not and they do, they do do a stretch or a 26 where they do what they call it now I'm going to have to play the A gap that much wider where if he squeezes down to the Texas three and squeeze in a little bit more. Now that kind of condenses how much more I need to. To get rocked back but also how much I need to rock back. But also too man, I saw, I've seen it. Like I'm not a fan of four threes. Like I don't know about you guys, but I can't stand. When I was in college I played in a 4 3. But after I, when I got to the league and this was part of like that first day of, of training camp that had me frustrated. I didn't, I wasn't familiar with a 34 defense and I was like man, these suckers going to draft me. So I had 12 visits and San Fran was not one of them. But I did have him in the Senior bowl that weekend. That was a brutal week, man, me and Coach Singletary. But I said, man, I said they going to draft me and they going to put me in the middle. Like. And it's not even a true middle. I'm like, I'm on the right. I'm on one side. I'm used to being right in the middle where I can go left, right?

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

I said they gonna draft me and put me on one side. I was like, man, they must not want me to be successful this time. This was going to my right. I'm like, I'm like. And it's a 3 4. You would think they would, you know, put you on the outside or something and whatnot. And I never forget, man, that night meeting Manuski walks in, coaching asks, you know, he said, so how's everybody feeling? And I thought I took it as personal. I thought he was asking us personally, like, how you feeling? Like, you know, everything. How's everything going? Like, at home? Like, I thought it was personal. I didn't know he was talking about how we feeling from today's practice. You know, this is. Again, I'm just a rookie, so I'm still trying to learn the dialogue. So I'm like, nobody raised their hands. I'm like. And coach looks at me. I notice he looks at me kind of like, why are you raising your hand?

[Guest 4]

You a rookie.

[Patrick Willis]

What are you raising your hand for?

[Host 1]

Is this Manuski?

[Patrick Willis]

No, Singletary.

[Host 1]

Okay, okay.

[Patrick Willis]

But then as soon as I raise my hand, Manuski walks in. And I'm like, oh, man, this is fate. I'm like, now I get a chance to he. Coach Scene just ask us how we feeling? Minuski just walked in. I'm like, I finally get to say everything I wanted to ask. I wanted to say I've been frustrated for the day. They had me in the middle. Like, Coach Scene cuts me out. I said, why y' all draft me? I swear it's a true story.

[Delaney Walker]

Man.

[Host 2]

Is this rookie mini camp?

[Patrick Willis]

This is rookie. This is. No, this is day one training camp. Day one. No, just. This is just linebackers. Yeah, but Minuscule is walking through to go upstairs, and he just decided to walk into. To the middle line to the linebacker, middle linebacker, because the outside was with Tarver whatnot. So it was just all middle. And I said, why y' all draft me soon? I said, why you draft me? I was. I felt something. I felt somebody doing this right here to my chair, but I thought they was like, man, like, okay, like, you know, keep. Keep going like that. And I. But I come to realize he was trying to give me the show, but so I said, I was like, why y' all draft me? Why y' all draft me? And y' all put me in the. Put me in the middle. I said, I thought y' all would draft me to be a playmaker. Y' all draft me because y' all need someone to make. Make plays for you. I said, y' all draft me, and y' all put me in the middle. And Manuski just looking at me, he was like. I can only imagine what was going through his head, but he was just looking at me as if, like, is he really Ask. Is he really having this conversation? Is he really talking like this right now?

[Guest 3]

Now?

[Patrick Willis]

And he Says, well, you know, but as I'm looking at Manuski, I also look at Single Taste like, you know, you got that, that, that peripheral vision he's looking at here. And I see Coach Singh as I'm saying this, like, asking these questions. I see Coach Singh take his glasses off. He sits on the table like that. I'm like, oh, man, he might be really feeling me. Like, I, I, I, I'm like, mind you now, I haven't took a visit or nothing here.

[Host 2]

So I'm like, I really just changed his scene, man.

[Patrick Willis]

I saw him take those glasses off like that. And I still feel this right here, right, man, seeing gets up and walks out of the room, and I'm first. And when he gets up and walk out of the room, I swear, God, this is real. He gets up and walk out of the room, and I'm thinking to myself, like, that's very disrespectful. I thought you just asked a question and I'm answering it. And you just get up and you walk out of the room. And then manuscript says, well, you know, Ray played in a, played in 3, 4, and he was an all pro. And he started naming off these guys. I was like, yeah, but I thought Ray played in a 43 when he was doing all that, you know, wrecking habit and whatnot. And I was just going back and forth with Minuski, whatnot about. He was like, well, Junior Sayad. I was like. And then finally he said, pat, I don't know, just play ball. And I said, I said, when he said that, I feel like I heard my dad say, you know, it don't matter. Just get it done, you know, like that. And I was like, you know what? At the end of the day, I'm here and shit. That's. I know how to go. I know how to go. Get it done. Like, you know. And so that was. So when Uske walked out of the room, as Manuski walked out of the room, Singletary still outside, Hannibal navies, Brandon Moore, all them started laughing and going crazy. They was like, boy, you so crazy, man. I was like, I was looking at that. I'm like, what you mean? I was crying. I was like, for real? Like. Then he was like, man, what you, what made you say all of that? I'm like. He asked, how are you? How we doing? How we feeling? He was like, he's like, he's like. Brandon Moore said, fool. He was, he was talking about, like, how practice went. I was like, well, why didn't he say how Practice. Why didn't he mention practices? You know, going through my head. And so I'm going to shorten it down, the story. They leave coaching, walks back in, he kicks me. Co sing walks back in. He tells me, pat, get out. I'm like, holy, man. Like, my first day of training camp, now I'm outside in the hall, and I'm like, well, maybe I go to the bathroom. You know, the old. I had. The old room was set up. I was like, maybe I just go to the bathroom because I want people to see me just standing out here in the hallway. Well, that. They don't think I'm a rookie. They don't think I'm that kind of rookie. Where I'm like, man, this guy already skipping meetings and all this stuff. But so I'm standing out there in the hallway, I was like, no, I better stand here in case he called me. Next thing on, the offensive lineman walked through, and I see him looking at me kind of like, what you doing? You know, out here? But I'm thinking. They think in their head, like, man, he's just being one of those guys. He gonna be gone. He's already getting cussed out at practice. And they don't mind you now. They don't know that ain't got kicked out of the room. Eric Co singlet, the other linebackers, out. They come out, they all laughing at me. Cough me back in there. I never forget, man. He called me back in there. I'm sitting down in my chair. He's. He's walking around. Yeah, he know how you walk.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, he walk.

[Patrick Willis]

I'll see him thinking and whatnot. I'm thinking to myself, like, man, what's going through his mind? And all of a sudden he says, pat, I cannot believe you had the audacity, because he already had. He had this. This voice that carries, like, real deep. And I swear it sounded. It sounded just like this, like, pat, I cannot believe you had the audacity to ask some kind of question, son. You talked about being great. Greatness is earned. Nobody's gonna give you greatness now. I don't know where you was going. And the whole time I head, I'm thinking to myself, like, man, I don't know what it is about the bass in your voice right now, but it sounds like you. It's like you either want to fight or that you might be mad. It just. You know, I grew up with a dad that, you know, he only had to say something once. And so you can tell the tone of people's Voices, when they speak, like, you know what they meaning. But the way he was talking like that, and I was like, man, he really sounds mad. And he said, but when he said, greatness is earned. And you gotta, you gotta. He said, greatness is earned. You gotta put in the work every day. Nobody's gonna give it to you, man. I never forget. I went home to my dorm, got on my knees, I said, God, I don't know what it's gonna take, take. I said, but whatever I need, I said, just bless me to have it. And I'm going to give it everything I have. And when it's all said and done, I just want to be one of the best linebackers ever have played this game. And I promise you guys, I woke up the next morning and something was different. I remember I went out there underneath them tarps, and mind you, now these boys be laughing at us because our individual drills be so hard. Like everybody else going through their individual. And our individual drills be. When you finish, man, your legs shaking like, you finish, have to go to one on one and cover a guy like this. Your legs are like this right here. All because coach singing like, we gonna walk, we gonna walk. And so when I tell you, like, my stance and everything was really built from every day we worked just like that to the point where it was like a joke. Everybody. Yep, they finna get killed today. And so I went out there and everything was just different, man. I was underneath the shit. Shoot. He was coming underneath there to try to not my, like, knock my feet, you know, loose and all that kind of stuff. I was punching his. I was trying to break his wrist. I ain't gonna lie to you. I was like, he gonna. He gonna know today. Like, I'm. I'm here and I'm not going nowhere. And so, yeah, man, it was. I don't know how he went on that, that tangent, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it was just after that day, after that night. Yeah, I didn't. I didn't look back at. And here we are. Well, it's crazy to think I've been retired now. Would it be 11 years this year?

[Host 1]

That is nuts.

[Delaney Walker]

Damn.

[Host 1]

Did you play how long?

[Host 2]

Seven, eight.

[Host 1]

Eight years?

[Patrick Willis]

Well, it was like 7.6, 7.6, 7.6.

[Host 2]

How'd you get the point six?

[Patrick Willis]

Because I played six and a half games. Seven games. And they give you. I think you get credited something like that. And so that's why I'm like that. Like, if you ask me how tall I am, I won't say I'm 6 2. I say I'm 61 and 72 inches. Like, I, I. Well, I just say I'm 6 1. Like, I, I'm not one of the ones that just inflates, so. Yeah, me neither. It says I had eight, but.

[Host 2]

So,

[Host 1]

so it. When you retired, it was. It had to do with your feet.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, that.

[Host 1]

That was because when you retired, I'm, again, as a backer, it's kind of like a superhero's gone.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a straw that broke the camel's. Camel's back. I mean, I had had so many injuries like, like, through, like, from surgeries. And you all know, like, it's not just when you have the surgery. It's now you got to get back to where you were. You got to get back to just being healthy, and then you gotta work to. To get better. Because my mindset was always like, man, I gotta be better today than I was yesterday. So I. I could feel it, like, after every surgery, you could feel like, man, like, you would tell yourself, I'm gonna come back. I'm gonna be better than I was. But you. I begin to realize how much energy, how much. How much force it takes to, like, really, like, be that and, and do that. Because, like I said, you couldn't stay the same because you, you have youngsters breathing on your neck. Yeah, you got, you know, you got other. Other people.

[Host 1]

Like, Like Chris Borland, when he was.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, bro.

[Host 2]

He came in. Yeah. What do you play two years?

[Host 1]

Something like that.

[Host 2]

140 tackles. His rookie. It was crazy.

[Host 1]

Bowman was hurt. So I just remember watching film, like, whenever y' all played, played, I want to say it was maybe the Giants because he picked off Eli a couple times. But I remember because he was like, he was a great backer in, in my draft class. So seeing him, I'm like, oh, man. He's going into a room with Patrick Willis and Navarro, Bowman. And then, yeah, when Bowman was certain he's filling in the play, it's like, yo, he's out there.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, no. So. So, so Bowman. So he actually filled in for me after I got injured, but Bob Bowman was hurt. Bowman got hurt during that 2013, so he wasn't playing that season, but I thought he came in for me, but that was it. But I was already at that point, though, to where I knew that I didn't have much longer to play because my feet were. If I can give context, it was equivalent to, like, NASCAR. So, you know, you have a NASCAR, they go what, 30 laps or whatnot before they can change their tires. Well, my feet. My toes felt like I was just barely on treads. And when you grew up, you know, not having much, you know, know what treads can look like sometimes on your tires or whatnot, when it gets real thin. You like my dad. Yep. But I get a new tire for this tire blew out or whatnot. Or you see the tires start poking through a little bit. And that's how I would equate it with, like. That's how my feet were like. My feet. My body was my vehicle, and my feet were like my tires. And I was like, man, I would say it often, and I would say, I don't know how much longer I have to play this game. I would say it to my. My feet family. I would say it to my teammates, and I would say it for years. Like, I was probably standing after my. Probably after my third year, I was probably starting to, like, be more vocal about it, because that's how bad they was hurting. It was to the point to where I had to put numbing cream on my toes, just on my big toes just to go out and have walkthroughs. I used to dread walkthroughs. I was like, man, I do not want to get on these feet until it's time to go prepare. But I knew. But I was also the type of. Type of athlete that I had to do the reps to get better. Some people can just see it and just go do it, but I had to rep through it or whatnot. And so, yeah, it was a. It was a feat that. That they said, all right, it's time.

[Host 2]

What was, like, the diagnosis from the doctors?

[Patrick Willis]

So I tore the tendon, so it was, like, equivalent to ACL in the. In the big toe.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Patrick Willis]

And it was on the outside, and they had to go in and, like, man, tighten his joint. Joint down and pull this tendon, like, back across. But I already have flat feet as it is, and so my toes were already, like, pushing to the side and all that stuff. And for so long, I had asked for so long, I mentioned about, like, man, why can't I just get surgery on these things and just, you know, get them right? And they was like, nah, nah, it wouldn't be good, because if you have surgery on, it may not be the same and all that. And I was like, well, shit, I don't know how much if y' all were talking about keep me around for a long time, like. Like, I'm not gonna have that. So every plays you guys seen, it was me understanding that, like, man, I. I don't know how. I don't know how long I had to do this. I would love to get 10 if I can, but I don't know if my toes gonna be able to last that long. However, when they do. However, when it ends and they look back on every play, and that's what I would say today is, man, just go turn on the film and just. Just watch. Whether it's practice or games, it wasn't at a day that you didn't see me giving it everything I had, because, again, I knew that it was going come at some point and sooner than later. And if it did, they would be able to measure me based on, you know, what I had done. And so that's why, like, in the eight years I was, I. I. I didn't go into it like, yeah, I got a few years. I can, you know, pass by the time because I'm gonna play this long. I was like, it's no guarantees, and I don't. And where these toes are. And I didn't say this, but part. The doctor actually told me after I. After pulled me after I had surgery on this toe, he told my friend who was with me, he said, make sure you let him know that. No, I'm sorry. He had told me. He said after I had surgery, I was kind of, like, coming back to a little bit. Well, I was already back too, but they was pushing me out. And he said, first, I just want to let you know, like, I don't know how you lasted as long as you did did with your toe like that, because it was starting to turn white on the inside or whatnot. Like, he said, well, it was so inflamed that it was like, had all the joint in there, as if it was like, not really a joint in there. And I'm like, listen, Doc, I was trying to tell people, like, how bad my feet were hurting and whatnot. And they just looking at me like, what you mean, it's just your feet? And I'm like, no, man, y' all don't understand something wrong with these things and whatnot. And so. So then he told me, he said, and also, your right one is just as bad. And so at some point, whether you do it, why are you playing? Or when you finish, you're gonna have to have surgery on that one as well. And that's when I was like. I said, nah, nah. I said, the game has been good to me. I've been fortunate Enough to be able to, like, do some things, like put. Put myself. I've been able to do the things that I said I was going to do. And. And at 20, I remember when I was 22, 23, I see guys come back and they would talk to us and the hands would be like this and they walk and they look fragile. And I'm thinking to myself, at 22, 23, I'm like, man, is that what we have to look forward to? So now fast forward, I go through my years, surgeries. I done had, like, I had what, five surgeries on this one hand, one over here. And now here I am going into year eight, and the only thing I'm thinking, I'm like, I can see them same guys when I'm. When I was 21, 22, and they come back in their hands like this. And I was like, man, I don't want to come back in 10 years or 20 years. And that's me. I was like, so how do I do. How do I go out or how do I do enough to where I don't take that. I don't. I don't use all my life force to where I can't. Like, I don't have nothing to come back from or whatnot. And so, yeah, so I. All that together was. Yeah, it's time to make. Time to go figure out something else.

[Host 2]

So how quickly was that decision?

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, it didn't happen. It didn't happen overnight. It was like I. I'd been thinking it for a while going into it last year. I'll tell you guys that going into last year, I knew it's probably gonna be my last year because I was getting to the point to where I. I didn't have it in my feet to, like, compete like that. I didn't have anything even to. To work on the things I knew I needed to work on to be better. But I couldn't do the things I needed to do to be better because I didn't. I didn't have my toes to be able to stick, you know, do certain moves. I had to just do the same on, like, you know, catch you, like, you know, get you, make you think. I'm gonna use my speed to go ahead and then just get an edge on you, and then I'm just gonna track you. Like.

[Host 1]

Yeah, I'd imagine it felt like it's like pain and fear and having the thought process of, like, the joy you have playing football turned into. The joy was gone and I have to do this versus I get to do it.

[Patrick Willis]

That's exactly what it started to feel like. If I. Man, you just hit it around the head. Me and Navarro, somehow we. They ended up giving us a nickname of pain and suffering. I was pain and Navarro was suffering and. But literally that's how I played one night. Like I felt like I was in. I feel like it was. It was joy, but man, it was so much pain. But I feel like I had to suffer through it just long enough to be able to do what was needed to. I guess, man, be where I am.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Today.

[Delaney Walker]

Like, I remember they used to tape your big toe down like that, right?

[Host 1]

And then tape it and like curl, like curl it and tape it like pull.

[Delaney Walker]

They will get a white thing, put it on top and pull it down

[Patrick Willis]

to try to keep it like so it could. So it could stay like firm. Because if not, like, man, it gets loose and you, you like, you didn't have no big toes. They be like you having your thumbs and you just only have these. But even these right here wasn't. Wasn't working good because they got so used to being this way. So yeah, man, my feet were. And without my feet, I feel like I couldn't do much.

[Delaney Walker]

You should have saw the tape job. It was like 30 minute tape job like every day. Like every day.

[Patrick Willis]

Every day. You guys should see my cleat, man. See my cleats. I kept. I wore a new pair of cleats every. Almost every other day or every week. Every game I had a new pair. I had to wear a new pair of cleats because when they got loose, I feel like my. It's gonna put pressure.

[Host 2]

Yeah, they feel snugged in there.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

If you look in the bottom of my cleats, you were literally looking at. Be like, man, who's living in here? I literally have like, like toe, toe things here. I got the little spat pads you would put here. All trying to get. Give my feet like some kind of balance to so I could grab it felt like my feet were. I feel like my feet were on ice inside of my shoes.

[Host 2]

That is so weird. Kind of sounds like gout.

[Patrick Willis]

So.

[Host 2]

I'm a survivor too, man.

[Host 1]

Yo, that is brutal.

[Patrick Willis]

But hey, but we all, we, we all, we all went through something or faced something. I remember cowboy would say, Justin Smith, he would say, man, if we only play this game when we felt good, we would never play. And so. And that was real because there was times where I did. I had joy for competition. I had joy for like, you know, sports. But God, Dang, man, the way my body would feel. I literally. I was just saying. I said, man, one day I'm not gonna have to do this, and I'm gonna better, like, relax and better do what I want to do when I

[Host 1]

want to do it.

[Patrick Willis]

And for the most part, I get to do that. But like I said, life, you realize there's more to life and there's things. You have to get set up right in life. But all in all, though, like, yeah, I just. I try to give everything I have because so I could be where I am today. So the person you see today is a person that I've been working to, like, to get to. I wanted to be able to, like, be at a place where it feels like, man, look at you. Like, you can still move. You look well. You look fine. I'm like, thank you. But I had to make that decision back then, and it's taken me 10 years to really, you know, get myself to this person that, you see. Had I not. And I kept on going then I. I really don't know if I. I don't know how it would have been. I just know that it didn't. It didn't add up to, like, it had been a positive.

[Host 2]

So how was it for you when you made the decision to retire in those first couple years? You're sitting there and you're still in your 20s, and you're watching the boys play, and you see it. I know there's a moment you're feeling good on the couch and like, bro, I could go do this again.

[Patrick Willis]

No,

[Host 2]

it was a dumb question.

[Patrick Willis]

It was more when I was looking at it, like, when I retired, man, I feel like you always heard, like, y' all ain't nothing but football players, and. And that's all y' all know. And that's, you know, we're just the same. And you hear people all this rhetoric and some of the stuff that they say. And so in my head, I was like, man, I gotta go and get into something that's just as. Just as good, or it looks as if it's better than football. And at that point in time, ever since I was a kid, I always been into technology and the fact that I was drafted to the Bay Area, and now I'm out here in the Bay Area, Hub. I was like, man, it's gotta. Again, it's gotta be fake working on my side or something. Like, what would be the chances? Like, I would be in a place of. Be in a place of the same things I was. Have always been Intrigued with or whatnot. And so, man, I jump from one frying pan to the next. And if I could give any recommendation that I would always say, whether it's relationship or whatever type of relationship it is, give yourself a little bit of time to kind of dissect and, yeah, see some things. And I didn't do that. And I just jumped straight into the. This tech business right after I retired. And I was like, man, it gave me that sense of purpose because of what I realized, like, not having football, I was like, shit, man, I gotta do something. Not doing nothing is not an option. And then, like I said, just. I was like, all right, let me go get into tech. I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to think I can build a. You know, I think I can be a part of something. We just work really hard and, you know, you will build it up and you gonna make millions, you know, and all that nonsense. And excuse my lady, I won't say nonsense, but you come to learn there's a lot more. A lot more to it. But I still have to say, man, I got in this, ended up after a year. I remember is after a year was September 24th, the 25th, I get this call, and my business partner, man, shit was just crazy, and it was not sounding good, and he knew more of what was going on than I did. But the fact that he was. He was going crazy with acting like he was going crazy and everything, I was like, what the crap is going on, man? Like, wait, you can't go crazy. I got my money invested in this whatnot. And lo and behold, man, it was almost like, come to find out, it was like Tyson catching me in a dark alley. Tyson and Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes, all of them catching me in the alley and just going, hey, going ham on me. Catch me one of them Tennessee alleys on Broadway up there and going ham or whatnot. Because, man, when I tell you, it really humbled me to the 10th degree to say, I was like, man, I feel like I'm in a world right now to where what the fuck have I just done? And I'm saying this to say I can see how when they say guys after five years of being in the league, how they can end up being broke because you trying to find something in nine times ten. We probably don't know the right people at that point in time to really put us in a. You know, to help us be in a better situation. Because I've learned, because now I am. But then I wasn't so I still like to say in those three years, man, I would probably say those are probably tougher than football and life itself, like, before, like anything, whatnot. So it's been a journey. It's been a journey. And I'll say, man, every person goes through that dark night of soul in some form of fashion or whatnot. And depending on how much you've been through in your life, that's how much you're gonna have to, like, go in and like, get to working on and get better at or whatnot. And so this is. This is where I am today.

[Host 1]

When you're talking about those three years, like, if you. You were. Whenever you go and probably. I assume you probably speak to players or speak to guys about stuff, whether it's post life, post career, what's like a. In that story, what's like a regret that you speak to. You're like, hey, learn from this mistake that I made or do this extra due diligence, whatever it is.

[Patrick Willis]

Be, I would say be vulnerable early. Don't wait until something happens. Don't wait for something major to happen to you. Like, even if you see, like, small things that you know you want to work on or get better at, like, go do it like now. Don't wait until it happens. Because I feel like that's the thing with, with football is what I mean with me retiring, I felt like if. If you wait. If you wait too long, it may not be good. What was I going. I would just say whatever you need to work on, get started on it, like now. And use. Use while you. While you. While you have that shield on your back while you're wearing that helmet, like, use that to leverage you. But the only thing is, like, it's like you talking to youngsters. It's like you talking to, like, little kids. It's gonna go in one end at the other because you don't know what you don't know yet. And when you think it's gonna be forever. Yeah. When you're in that game, it's like you think you just gonna keep on, like, doing your thing so somebody come back and they say something to you or not. It's almost like, I can see when you say stuff to the guys, some guys, guys you can see, like, they kind of. They listen for a statement. They see some guys like, you just tell, as my dad used to say, all right, boy, don't let it go in one area and after other. And you can see it going one area and out the other. And then you just realize everybody's gonna have to have their. Go through their own journey, and you just be there for them when they. When they need you or you just speak life. And then just like, anything, when it's gonna be a moment to where they're gonna, like, have a. When they processing, I'm like, you know what? Such and such was actually, like, telling me about this or blah, blah. And then that's when they come back. Because other than that, I don't speak or I don't say anything that I can't stand behind or that you won't be able to come back to me later on and be like, hey, we're talking about this. What do you mean? And I'm able to, like, share, but, yeah, and that's also. It took me a while to come back around the team because I felt like I didn't have any sustenance. I felt like, yeah, I can come back and talk about X and O's and. And how to tackle somebody. I'm like, but y' all got coaches, like, for that. Like, what do I really possess that's different? And it took me to go out into the world. I call. Into this ocean of a world or whatnot and have some bumps and bruises, to be able to come back. Now when I'm in there and I'm like, listen, I don't know everything there is to know, but I know I had to get my shit straight or whatnot. And if there's something I can help assist or just, you know, give you some kind of light in some form of fashion, like, you have to walk the walk, but I'll share with you, like, what I know and going through what I went through, like, yeah, man, it's made me. It's made me a lot. A lot stronger. Like, it's way beyond, like, just, you know, tackling somebody at this point. And so, yeah.

[Host 1]

Are you able to share what did happen? What, in with the three years, the three dark years. That was probably the hardest moment.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was just. Man, it was one of the things. You go to your shit, you go to your account, and you realize, like, man, a lot of money is not there. And you like, what the hell is going on? Like, why is the money not there where it was supposed to be, Doing the things that. But then you realize the onus that you have to take.

[Host 2]

Take.

[Patrick Willis]

And so I went through a little bit of financial. Like, it wasn't. It wasn't in a sense of, like, man, just, I lost everything. But it was at a point when You've had a lot, and you get hit pretty strong. You like it kind of. You have to make you readjust, meaning, like, you comfortable. But then something happened in life, and you like, oh, wait a minute. It caused you to. It. It would actually probably save me because had I not had. Had to go back in a couple weeks of, like, figure out what's going on, know what's going on, I would have just been thinking, like, I mean, everything is Kumbaya. Like, you know, you just setting on money, but you just only sitting on it. You didn't. I didn't know anything, but because I had to go through. Because I lost some, and I had to really, like, figure it out. And I spent about two years thinking, like, man, I can figure this out myself. Like, I know I can. Because you was embarrassed to, like, talk to anybody or share anything to anybody. And then. And I remember I was talking to one of my teammates and him, and I was having a conversation and told you the hardest thing sometimes to do is be honest with yourself. And he was asking me some questions, and I couldn't answer the questions. I was like, well, I'm getting some residuals. He's like, yeah, but what's your number? What's your passive. Like, things I should have known when I was playing, but I was making good money, and I knew that, like, as long as I don't. As long as I just mess with my endorsement money or whatnot, like, that's just simple as. Like, you only spend what you. You. What you have or not, and then you just put your football money away. But he was asking me questions that I didn't. I couldn't answer. And so I remember reaching back out to him. I was like, hey, what you mean when you talking about passive income? When you talked about dividends? Like, you know what. What is all that stuff you. You talking about? And he was like. He said, let me. I'm gonna connect you with my guy. He gonna send you some questions to send to your guy. And that was the moment. And that was like, three years ago. And that was a moment that really, like, things started to, like. I was like, okay, I gotta. The guy. After I got the information back, the other gentleman broke it down to me. And when he broke it down to me, it was as real as this. You can be the nicest person in the world, but if you don't know what you don't know, you'll be broke too. And so. And I said it as a statement, because when he broke it down to me, I was like, wait a minute, minute. See me, tell me even though I got this nest egg whatnot, you don't have this nest egg. And X, Y and Z, like this could still happen. He was like, yeah, because this is how finances work. And when he broke it down to me, I said, holy, I see how guys run out of money. Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

So he had your money and high stake, high stocks, high risk accounts.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

Like what stocks that you can take big risk on? Pretty much. Is that what you said you talking

[Patrick Willis]

about with the, with the tech guy? That was.

[Delaney Walker]

No, what you, like when the one

[Host 1]

dude started to like, educate you, you're. You're getting some questions answered. He's like, you send it to your guy, you're thinking, okay, is he going to be able to give him information back? That makes sense. And that's when you started to kind of put the puzzle together that you could have been in a bad spot with the, the gentleman you were working with.

[Patrick Willis]

No.

[Delaney Walker]

So this is from the tech company?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Guest 4]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Well, well, so some matter of fact, I kind of went rambled through. So when I talked, everything happened with the tech guy first. Like, that's. So my money was in. This was with the tech guy and him and I was doing business or whatnot. But come to find out he was living off the money. Like it was like it was his.

[Host 1]

That you invested?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, that I invested. And so what end up you're investing,

[Host 2]

getting some sort of percentage?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, and I see him living. Yeah, and I see him living his, you know, he'll see him living the life. But it was all the things now, had I understood how to do, had I done my due diligence, like ask a question, get the background check, I would have. Would figure it out right away. And I still had one person, two people that was like, man, you sure he kind of strange and duh, duh. But I was so in my ego, I was like, so like, nah, I can do this. Like, just work really hard, like I'm smart enough. And you realize like, man, you need people that are smarter than you. Especially like in this realm. It's. So after all that happened, I spent those three years just trying to like. So I went through arbitration and got everything back. And when I got everything back, and I think it was around 2017, because the things that were like, like had assets here, different things, whatnot. And that's when I, I realized. So I retired 2015, 2017 is when I realized, like, man, this freedom stuff, you got, you got responsibilities. Like you have to, to like, uphold. You gotta, like, take care of or not. And so that's when I was like, just. I just kept it bare, minimal. I come from much of nothing. So I was like, all right, I know I got. You know, I got a little bit, but this ain't enough to. I keep having to pull from this a little bit. And I was making some. I was making some money here and there, but I just noticed something wasn't. Something just wasn't right, man. I was like, how do. How do people get this. This living thing that they. I don't know. I didn't know what I was even trying to ask myself until I was having a conversation with Dante. And they say. And this is saying that when the Buddha. I mean, when the teacher is ready, the student. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And I was at that place or not. Like I said, I was just having a conversation with the teammate and him, and I was working out, and he just started asking me some questions because he had already. He had had to go through something similar or whatnot. And so that's how he was able to ask me. And that's when I was like. I realized, like, man, I need some. I need to get this right. And so when. When. When his guys sent me the. The list to send to my financial guy that I have at the time, because I fired my very first one right after I retired, I got rid of everybody. That's probably another reason or two that got me. I just felt like everything was off. Nothing was what it was supposed to be. Now they were bad. It just. I wouldn't. I wouldn't in tune to it like I should have. And so I thought when I was hearing anything, it just like, dang, this is off. And so I was like, we don't know what to do. I just get rid of everybody, you know, and so.

[Host 2]

Just nuke the whole thing.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, just nuke the whole thing. But I say it to say what I. What I learned was the guy that I was. That I had currently. So I still have him. I still. I have two, actually. And what I learned was that this person was not doing anything bad. It was just these firms and stuff, you realize that they are the middleman, and they will put you in funds, but they'll get their money right off top. They get their money right off top. And then there's other ones who. They only make money if I do or whatnot. And so what I realized was this person was not doing anything bad, but he was just putting me in These very expensive funds. Yeah, I'm getting returns, but he's getting. Each time he put me in one, he's getting a killer return right off top. Like 6, 20, like 40,000, like 60,000 of his money. So that's why he want to put me in him. And he don't watch anything. He just kind of just.

[Delaney Walker]

They'll be all right. Let him sit. It'll be all right.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah. Just like letting them see. Said it was not there. Mature. I forget what they were. It was. I should know this, but grow some.

[Delaney Walker]

With the words.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. And he. And he. Yeah. So I just.

[Host 2]

I just realized something with the words.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. So that. That's all it was, man. I just. So those three years of that was just me, like, really getting all. Getting taken on the full responsibility of the things that I had always put on. Allow others to. To do for me or whatnot. And so that was my first real, like, calling my adult. I had to freaking turn into an adult, man. Like, I was like, holy shit. Like, this whole time I thought I was an adult because, you know, you could go wherever, you can go spend some money, you can go buy whatever. But now being a truly full, responsible. A responsible adult is everything that you say is supposed to be yours. Like, you are taking care of it. Like, you are responsible for it. And so, yeah, so after I did that, went through that three years or whatnot, that's when I ended up meeting this new guy, whatnot, who really, man, it feels good to be able to, you know, sleep.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

And you see, you know, and sleep. And then every month, you know, you see that. You see that residual, you know, dividend, like, come in and see them different, like, you know, avenues of, you know, streaming, like. Yeah. Revenue streams. And you, like, man, this was supposed to be like. And then in my mind, like, just don't it up. Yeah, yeah, Just don't. Like, just don't be being a knucklehead or getting too egregious with stuff. Just keep it simple. Just get base hits. Like, man, I played baseball. I love baseball growing up. So I understood the. The. The dynamics. I understood the scheme of it or whatnot as far as just. Yeah, man, like, if you can get a home run, that's awesome. But it's very hard to get grand slams out here unless you just know the top, top ones. And so, yeah, that's. Yeah, so I was rambling, but yeah.

[Host 1]

Earlier when you said, when you're ready to be the student, the teacher will appear, I was like, my God, that Is a bar.

[Host 2]

Just walked into a faithful workout and came out being like, it's time. It's time to figure out my becoming an adult.

[Host 1]

I appreciate you sharing that too.

[Host 2]

I think a lot more athletes go through that than they want to admit to and just be trusting somebody or just being like, okay, I'm doing this in the field. They'll handle everything else off the field and just be like, hey, I know what my contract says I make, so I gotta be good.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And then as soon as you pull the veil back a little bit, you have to have the right people in place and then be willing to ask those questions as well.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Like, hey, I need to see all these things. And if there's ever a lack of transparency, that should be the red flag right there to those guys that are affected.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. And I would. And I would recommend, man, to guys, too, that if you. If you are a business. When I was in school, I didn't take. I don't. I don't. I can't remember if I took any business class. I took a political science. I took political science. I majored in criminal justice, minor in English. So I took all those, but I didn't one time take a business class or whatnot. And now I sit on a family office board in Palm Springs Velvet Hummer where we buy small to medium. Small to medium sized businesses. And just sitting in there and listening to all the dialogue and whatnot. I'm like, man, if I was an athlete, I would most definitely. Like, I'd probably even get. I'd probably even take business. But I would make sure I get some business classes just so I can get the.

[Host 2]

You're absolutely right. I look back at college and it was like I was a general studies major. Hey, general studies. So I was like, yeah, I had. I took a hula class. I was the one white guy in African American studies. And the black guy be like, white people suck. I'd be like, oh, all right. Hopefully I can get a C. And I look back and I'm 34 and I have two kids, and I'm like, dude, if I wish I understood, like, what was in front of me enough to be. Be like, I would have taken my education so much more serious to where now I'm 34 and I'm trying to, like, do other things extracurricularly outside, like, just educate myself on more things. But it's like that time is you can always get better. But I had such a opportunity.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Being in school to do all that.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Now I'm just doing a podcast.

[Patrick Willis]

I used to have that gal before. No, I. When I.

[Delaney Walker]

That's why I always tell, you know, the younger guys and guys that even retired that I talk to. Audit. Audit. Everyone.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

They can't get mad. If they get mad, they doing something dirty. Okay. If they got an issue with you auditing, giving them an audit, they are doing something dirty. I tell people. Audit. I think I even audit. I was doing. I was talking to my audit auditor on a show.

[Host 2]

Auditor.

[Host 1]

Doing a podcast with my auditor.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, everyone. I mean, why not, right? Because like he said, I didn't go.

[Guest 4]

I'm.

[Delaney Walker]

I'm. My financial literacy is very low. I. I don't understand stocks. I don't understand the dividends and revenue that comes in off a percentage of stocks that I have my Roth ra. I don't understand that. So when I. It sends me messages and I'm like, oh, this up. But I don't know what that.

[Host 2]

I know, but that's finance. Doing different things, like calling things base points.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Like, oh, that's 20 basements. You mean 2%. Just say.

[Delaney Walker]

Just say.

[Host 2]

Just say a number, man, so I can know what it is. Base points. What are we talking about?

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah, they want to talk that language to make us seem like we need this.

[Patrick Willis]

Them.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

You know, like.

[Host 2]

Oh, yeah, we do.

[Delaney Walker]

We do. Yeah, we do. I'm not going to sit here.

[Host 2]

I'm not out there looking at the market today, going n. I'm not either.

[Delaney Walker]

No, I'm not either.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

But I will audit your ass.

[Host 2]

If you work with Del Delaney once a year, you. He'll text me and be like, send me all our text messages. I make sure you and I are good.

[Delaney Walker]

Y' all may be coming soon.

[Host 2]

I'm getting to that market. I do appreciate you telling that story. There's a lot. There's a lot of guys out there that might be going through it right now, might not know that they're about to go through it or have been through it. And it takes a lot of courage to, like, talk about it publicly.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

You know, if I can. If I can leave. Leave anybody with anything. If I can leave this. Sports, guys with anything. Athletes. I don't know where I was going with that, man. I might be. Oh, oh, I know what it was. I know what it was. Make sure. Just like any of us know at this point, when you got a team full of just guys, when you got a team full of Pro Bowlers, when you got a team full of all Pros like, the difference in how it. How the team is and the reason why this made sense. And now I loved it because my financial guys that I have, the last one I have now he. Him. And I was talking and he was like, pat, he said, you got to get Pro Bowlers around you. He said, you got to work with Pro Bowler. He said, you a Pro Bowler. You have to work with Pro Bowlers. He said, because if not, and you're just working with just guys. He's like, yeah, they might go hard, he said, but they're not going to understand, like, what. How you need to be or the elevation. It was what he was putting. And he's like, and if you can get. Get an All Pro, you know, those are special. And that's no different than us being on any team when we've been on teams where you don't have nobody on the team to make the Pro Bowl. Usually your team is not very good. Very good. Yeah, you know, you get Pro Bowlers or whatnot. Now you. You get into the playoffs or whatnot. And then you get some All Pros. You like, man, you getting close to you maybe making an appearance at the super bowl and different things. And so that's what I would recommend. Any athletes said, man, if you're all American in college, make sure you get your all American finance, like, person. And also make sure your taxes like them. Them taxes too. People don't want to talk about them.

[Delaney Walker]

Nil deal taxes.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, so. But no, man, it's been a journey. But each day, I would say, regardless of how crazy life is, though, if you're able to wake up and open your eyes and you breathing, man, you can do something about your situation. It just. It's a mentality, it's a mindset. And so that's why part of you want to feel sorry. That's why I couldn't necessarily feel sorry. And that's why it took me so long to I call, like, be vulnerable, because I was like, I was hard on myself. I was like, ah. But sometimes I. But now I realize, like, sometimes being vulnerable is being strong in certain aspects or whatnot. And so.

[Host 1]

So, yeah, dude, we appreciate you coming on.

[Patrick Willis]

This has been.

[Host 1]

Oh, okay. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

[Host 2]

We had time. He brought up one thing in that last statement about the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah, he went to the Super Bowl. Lights going off, lights cut off. Both of you were there. I would love to hear your perspectives.

[Patrick Willis]

Was that.

[Host 2]

Was that the NFL Illuminati? Was that what was going on there?

[Delaney Walker]

I'll Let him give his side of the.

[Patrick Willis]

On it first. Honestly, it was crazy because that was twice in the same year that we had lights go out in some form of fashion the year. I mean, earlier that season, we was playing Pittsburgh Monday night, and the lights went out in Candlestick and I was like, what? Like, y' all would be on everything. The lights go out. And I try not to be one of them weirdos, but I watched too many movies growing up, you know, and then when you're in the country, you got nothing but be outside your mind, you know, can go to many places or whatnot. And then all of a sudden we go to the super bowl and we. In all places, we're in New Orleans, you know, all the. The weird stuff to be down in New Orleans, a lot of strange stuff. And so I said to say, whatever, Whatever happened that day, we needed it because they was whooping our ass, that at first they was whipping their ass all the way until them lights went out or whatnot. And I credit that to say they don't always say if you've been there before, like the team that's been there before, like they usually gonna be the team. Like, they have a little bit more like, calmness. Like you can tell they've been there before. Man, I couldn't feel my. I couldn't feel my feet. I couldn't feel my body. I feel like I was having an out of body experience all week. And when that game, when the games, when the ball snapped, I still felt like I was like, like, holy crap, man. I was like, is it that many eyes watching? I just feel like I was. I feel like I wasn't even there. But I still had to say they was whooping our tails. And then when them lights went off, we was able to go in there and get a little. Get a revival. I don't know how, where it came from, but we came back out and, man, we played our kind of ball. And I'm like, man, this is actually what we were supposed to been doing the whole time, but so. Yeah, I don't know what that was. I thought it was crazy though.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah. Like, my theory on it, like, I obviously, like, he said they, they were blowing us out, but Vegas, the odds, the odds. People need to go back and look at the odds. Yeah, look at the odds.

[Host 2]

Hey, like, what did the odds say?

[Delaney Walker]

I'm just saying, like before the lights even went out, I saw dudes with suits. You didn't see the dudes, dudes with the suits, like, coming out on the field before the lights went out, all the NFL suits, because offense was out often. We were. We were up. We were up on offense, was out there. When the lights went out, we was just. We was on offense and the lights go out. But I'm sitting on the sideline because I'm. You know, Vernon is in. It was. I think it was Vernon and Bruce Miller. They were in. So I'm on the sideline waiting, and I started seeing suits walk up, and I kind of thought that was weird. Then it. Boom, Boom. Remember how it kind of like, boom.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

It went like that, and then it didn't go out. It went, like, slow. Remember, it was, like, light still going, and it wasn't all. It went dark. And then the lights came back on, like, a little bit. And then we went in the line.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, it was, like, real dim. Yeah. Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

It's like they dimmed the lights.

[Patrick Willis]

I. Bro, I. I don't.

[Delaney Walker]

It was weird.

[Patrick Willis]

See, See, when they get to have.

[Host 1]

Saying something.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. When you get to have a conversation, then I start. Now my mom, like, man, what was. The eyes. I still don't know how to. I be thinking. It's amazing. I'd be seeing you do your. When I be seeing you guys, I'll be checking. I'll be watching y' all show, too.

[Host 1]

Let's go.

[Host 2]

Let's go.

[Patrick Willis]

But when I be seeing you guys do the. The betting and different things of that nature, I'm like, man, how they. How do you know the point spread? How do you know all that? I'm like, see, that's too confusing. That's why I'm glad I never. That's why I'm glad I did not get into the whole betting thing, because.

[Delaney Walker]

Don't.

[Patrick Willis]

I don't understand how it works, and I don't. I'm glad I don't. But now I'm kind of curious. So what.

[Host 1]

I'll shoot you a parlay. What was going on?

[Delaney Walker]

So. So I think the odds. I think it was like. It was probably the.

[Patrick Willis]

The spread.

[Delaney Walker]

The spread was the Ravens was plus three and a half, I think.

[Host 2]

So that means you guys. That means the 49ers were favored to win by more than three or at three and a half points.

[Delaney Walker]

No, no, I'm sorry. The 49ers was plus three and a half.

[Host 2]

Okay. So that Ravens was dogs.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

So.

[Delaney Walker]

And they were blowing us up out. It was like, what, 21 3?

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, it was like.

[Delaney Walker]

At the time, it was like 21 3. And we was. It was second. The second quarter, like, Eight minutes left before we had went into the half. Boom. Lights go out. Literally, like, he just. Jacoby takes a kickoff return back. He takes that kickoff return back.

[Patrick Willis]

Rip.

[Delaney Walker]

After we kick a field goal, he takes it back. We like, damn. We going offense. The lights go out. I promise you. People start coming out. Lights go out. They let us go in the locker room. We go in the locker room for a second, for a minute, for a minute. We going over plays, all this, right? We come out, the Ravens are hyping up. They crowd, they dancing around because like I said, it's like 21 3. We stretching. We start doing our stretch lines. We doing our individual O line. You know how we do the O line, run defense, do they say we do all like, if it's a new game again.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Delaney Walker]

And then the lights pop back on. We like, out of nowhere, lights come on. They like, all right. Oh, let's start where we was at. They dropped the ball. I think Frank Gore busts on the first play. And then the momentum switch, and then we, the defense, y' all start shutting them down. Then we start scoring points. We going to halftime. We like, this is what we always been. We come back, kids. We always come back. We know we got this game. They owe. You know, we in there is like, they owe. They getting tired. They jumped on us quick because they've been here before. Like he said, we come out there, we. We get back to the game. We down, what, four?

[Patrick Willis]

That's. That's why I was. That's why I was going with it. When you said what. What the point spread was, I was

[Delaney Walker]

like, whoa, we lost by four. And what the refs do at the

[Patrick Willis]

end, we end up losing.

[Delaney Walker]

Like, we end up losing. They called. They didn't call no PIs.

[Patrick Willis]

I still.

[Delaney Walker]

They. We didn't run the ball. We was on the four yard line. We ain't gonna get too much. Anybody that look into it, but look into it. Look into it. We throw three passes. They hug us every pass. Don't even let us get off the ball. They never throw a flag.

[Patrick Willis]

And I don't. And I still to this day don't know why we didn't run it. I know because, again, I'm gonna say this to you guys, man, and I've said it before, for a while, I didn't want to necessarily talk to Harbaugh after that game. And I wouldn't put it on him because we lost as a team. But the fact that we didn't run that ball. Rewind the training camp when we was in training camp and Harbaugh got up and he talked about how we had the best offensive line. He was talking about the whole team. And then he went into the offensive line and he said, we have the best offensive line in all of football and, and arguably, if not the best, one of the best power slash runners the game has ever seen in Frank Gore. Fast forwarded. We on the freaking five or four yard line. And I think we run the ball the first time with the running back. Mike.

[Delaney Walker]

Mike.

[Patrick Willis]

We run, we run it the first time with him and then Morgan.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

And then, and then three play and then three times after that. We don't give the ball to the best with the best offensive line. Lodi Onada was not coming out, was not coming off the ball anymore. Ray was not even coming down. He was barely even able to come downhill.

[Delaney Walker]

He had one tackle the whole game.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, he barely able to come downhill. And we don't, and we don't run the ball. And so I, I, I didn't know if that was a, I didn't know what that was. I just said, man, this, if this is a hardball moment where he just want, he want his guy like to score or something. Like, man, I, I don't know. I didn't know how to, I didn't know how to take it. I still to this day you can't do nothing about the past. But it's just like shit.

[Delaney Walker]

You know how I seen it is he wanted Kaepernick to get MVP of the game. And that was the mindset I think that he had when he thought about throwing the ball three times. Because if you do go back and you look at our run game, they couldn't stop Frank. They couldn't stop Frank. And I don't know if you remember this, but after the game, game, Jim Harbaugh comes in and go, that's on me.

[Patrick Willis]

Oh, see, I didn't see that. That's on me.

[Delaney Walker]

I messed that, that's on me. Because he, he, you know, he realized we probably should have ran that ball at that moment.

[Host 2]

And just all the hardball you've seen since then. Yeah, everything's run game. Passing is like, oh, you want that as well? Yeah, we had, I guess the entree tonight is running the run.

[Delaney Walker]

Yeah. And you know, I, it's just because if anything, Frank probably would have scored that touchdown. Frank was going to be the MVP of the game definitely.

[Patrick Willis]

And he rightfully should. It reminds me of the 85, 85 bears when they didn't give the ball To Walter Payton. Yeah. I was like, man, it felt like that kind of moment. And then a year later or two years later, we see what happened in Seattle and I was like. I said, man. Which makes me wonder. I'm like, man, is something. What the hell going on, man?

[Host 2]

Right. Man, I wish we'd keep you longer. I know you. You probably got a boogie out of here. Oh, we had to do Bud Light question.

[Host 1]

Oh, Bud Light question. P. Will you know how everybody would do anything for an ice cold Bud Light? What is something that Patrick Willis would do anything for?

[Patrick Willis]

Wait, ask me.

[Host 2]

So Bud Light. Yeah, but Bud Light.

[Host 1]

People do anything for a Bud Light.

[Host 2]

They would.

[Host 1]

What is something that you would do anything for?

[Host 2]

Can't say. Can't say. Family.

[Host 1]

Not a Bud Light. But what is your Bud Light in this scenario? What would you do anything for? Can be ambition.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

A boat John boat.

[Host 1]

Accolade.

[Delaney Walker]

Toes back.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Yeah. Having Frank Gore run the ball.

[Patrick Willis]

You know what?

[Host 2]

Maybe not speak up in that team meeting.

[Patrick Willis]

You know what? Hey, I would say this personally. It have been nice to, you know, have a defensive player of the year just to be able to say, like, I was the defensive player of the year, but nothing still sounds better other than the hall of Fame induction. Nothing sounds better than hearing like. Like super bowl champion and hall of Famer, like such and such. And so I would probably say, man, to barely get that super bowl, that one, that's the only one I went to. I can't sit and say, oh, you know, it'd been nice to go to that one and. But I would probably say the one we played in to get that super bowl would have been. Yeah, that would be my Bud Light.

[Host 1]

Is there a year that you felt you got snubbed as defensive player of the year?

[Patrick Willis]

No, I won't. I won't. No. I want to say that I could. Looking. Looking back on it now and understanding like how much goes into it, but I feel like I. Maybe my. Either my third year or maybe fifth year in there somewhere, like I was. They had talked about it. Like it was like being discussed. But then when it came to the honors or whatnot, I. I don't know if I was even even considered up there or.

[Host 1]

Finalist.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah, the finalist. Or had. They didn't even. Or I wouldn't even. But I know they've been. They was having conversations about it. What not. But I just feel like that would have been something good to do. Sorry. I feel like that have been something good to. To have.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah. I mean, it's all personal stuff though man.

[Host 2]

So I love it bro.

[Host 1]

We appreciate you man.

[Patrick Willis]

No, thank you guys for coming on.

[Host 2]

You are a legend, dude. The stories incredible. This is an awesome pop.

[Patrick Willis]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Appreciate you coming too. Delaney, of course. I'll tell you what, having Delaney here

[Host 1]

set it on fire.

[Host 2]

Always people come to watch you, man. That's what they do. You trying to play all the time.

[Host 1]

Hey, go bowling.

[Patrick Willis]

Yes. Yes.

[Host 2]

Go bowling.com oh yeah. 21 plus and present in select states

[Patrick Willis]

for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18/ and present in D.C. opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See [e-mail] Gambling problem.

[Delaney Walker]

Call 1-800- Gambler or visit rg-help.com Call

[Host 2]

1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Chattinconenetic Hope is

[Patrick Willis]

Here Gambling helplinema.org or call 800-32755 for four 20247 support in Massachusetts, visit www.mdgamblinghelp.org In Maryland, call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY 467369 in New York the

[Host 1]

postseason is upon us and there's really nothing like it. But the postseason can be stressful. Crushing losses, wild upsets, your unhinged six game parlay falling apart at the literal last second. Things can get rough and it can leave you feeling a little sour. But you got to look at the bright side. Bright side, once your team is out and headed to decompress, you can finally relax. Now you can actually enjoy the postseason with all of the heart palpitations. That's why we're partnering with Jim Beam. We want to help you turn that lemon of a loss into delicious, tasty Jim Beam and lemonade. Because it's really the perfect bevy for the offseason. It's refreshing, it's got the perfect sweetness and a little bit of tang on your tongue. Best paired with stress free watching when your team is out. So gather the boys and grab some Jim Beam and Lemon lemonade to make the rest of the postseason just a little bit sweeter. Refresh your season with Jim Beam and lemonade best enjoyed together. Please drink responsibly. Jim Beam Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey 40% alcohol by volume 2025 James B. Beam Distilling Company Clermont, Kentucky Having MG can make cooking difficult, but over the years

[Host 2]

I found some really helpful tools and

[Patrick Willis]

tips that I'm excited to share. How hi I'M Alicia. I think cooking should always be fun,

[Guest 4]

creative and of course, delicious.

[Host 2]

These Black Bean Burgers are hearty, full of flavor and MG friendly. You're gonna love them.

[Host 1]

Check out Alicia's Black Bean Burger cooking

[Patrick Willis]

Video and other recipes full of tips and tricks for managing common MG symptoms

[Host 1]

while cooking only at mg-united.com Ready?

[Patrick Willis]

Let's cook.

[Delaney Walker]

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[Host 2]

Subscription terms apply at cvs it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe, believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit [e-mail] or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.