Loading summary
Sarah Spain
This is an iHeart podcast.
Unknown Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
Jake Hofer
We need to embrace this community.
Unknown Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow on the iHeartRadio app at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Spain
Get fired up, y'. All. Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people, an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe, to the show and we had a blast. Take a listen. Sue and I were like riding the lime bikes the other day and we're like, whee. People ride bikes because it's fun. We got more incredible guests like Megan in store, plus news of the day and more. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network.
Jake Hofer
I'm Jake Hofer and this is Back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eater's Podcast Network. Each episode I'll be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access?
Unknown Guest 1
Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand.
Jake Hofer
Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
Unknown Guest 1
Thank you for coming back. Part two is underway. I think all the things that we did growing up, it definitely the work ethic, but I knew I didn't want to clip onions for the rest of my life. I knew I didn't want to bail hay. I didn't want to load watermelons. I don't want to do tomatoes. I don't want to pick up pens. I don't want to crop tobacco. I don't want to catch chicken. I don't want to pour concrete. I don't. I don't want to lay asphalt. I don't want to work on that.
Unknown Guest 2
I'm looking at your face, man, you saying that and I'm looking at this thing right here. I'm like, this dude is angry and was like, I'm determined not to do that, bro. And that's good, that, that.
Unknown Guest 1
But that served you oh well, bro. I remember you were in college. Now I'm working in Savannah For Richard and for Maurice Bland. Now I gotta be. We gotta be on the job at like six. Savannah's an hour away.
Unknown Guest 2
That's right. Yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
I got to get up, wash my face, get down there. And we're not getting off the job until like 5:30. I'm like, man, I don't want to do this. So we, I mean, they right there. We have no ride lumber. We pushing. We cutting 2 acre, 2 acre lawns and 3 acre lawn, we're pushing more. We building burns. We man, we lay asphalt for parking lots and putting down cross ties. I said, nah, man, this ain't for me.
Unknown Guest 2
I mean, look at this. But, but the thing was, I did that too. I left college during the summer for the two months, month and a half that I had off, and I'm back in the field with Mr. Joe or I'm back in Savannah, lay inside landscaping with Richard Golden. I'm doing all that too, because in college I don't need a lot of money, but I need some, right? But it's not. It's just means to an end. This dude is like. I mean, he like, man, I ain't. I don't want to lay railroad ties and clip onions.
Unknown Guest 1
I'm like, no, I know. I didn't want to do that.
Unknown Guest 2
We looked out of the same window and saw two totally different things. And yet, and still at 60 and at 57, we end up in the exact same place. I'm like, look, I can't make this story up. I can't. I ain't never look at this or never. I can't make this up. But for us to end up where we are, seeing two totally different things, obviously that's your life. There are many like it. That one is yours. And you use what you saw and what you wanted and didn't want to your advantage. I commend you for that.
Unknown Guest 1
People ask, man, how do you develop your work ethic? You ain't got no choice.
Unknown Guest 2
Wait, hold on. See, the thing is, is their work ethic is, do I want to do it right, when you got no choice, you're gonna do it. Yeah. And you are going to do it better than anyone else does anything else. Right? And so you. It ain't like, oh, you know what? I'm gonna half ass this job because I don't. Oh, no, no, no. Because, see, you ain't doing this for him or him, because everything you do goes home. This represent Mary Porter right now? Yep. Mary Porter is at the house. And I don't want Joe Tatum or Ms. Joanne Tatum or Tiny Tatum going back and telling Mary he work, but he don't do it very good, Right? No, no, no, no. Everything you do goes home. And I've had this conversation about the hall of Fame. I'm like, the hall of Fame ain't for me. Oh, that's for Mary Alice and Libby and if Mary Porter was here, and for Shannon and for William hall and for Buddy McCall. That's for them. Because, see, everything I did is a reflection of everything they gave me. And people don't understand that because they look at. They live in the here and now. So I'm working for you, and I don't want to work for you because I want to. I really want to do real estate. So I'm working to get my real estate license so I can get away from you. Right. Instead of understanding that, guess what? I'm working for you. Because what I'm doing is a reflection of who I am. And so they get caught up in the wrong thing, because everybody is. And I'm not saying it's right, wrong, or indifferent. I'm just saying that there's a better way to do it.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah, obviously you learned. Papa learned. You let you learn how to drive. He let you to say, okay, just follow me. We learned. I learned how to drive it. Tobacco field. I was five or six years old. And none of the big kids wanted to go get the car all the.
Unknown Guest 2
Way down there, which was. Which was like. And we're talking about like 60 yards. Yeah, we ain't talking about a mile. So the truck is 60 yards. And they be like, hey, who want to go get the truck Gone.
Unknown Guest 1
I'm five or six years old.
Unknown Guest 2
Hey, all right, Just be careful, peewee.
Unknown Guest 1
So Lanny pressing the gas. Cause I can't see over the steering wheel.
Unknown Guest 2
So Lanny got. He working the steering wheel. I work in the steering, and he working the steering wheel like there's no tomorrow. So he liked it, Lanny. So the truck is going like this, and it's like. So imagine what that looks like coming down a row about this wide. It's hilarious. But that's how we learned how to do things. The.
Unknown Guest 1
You mentioned that sports would like. You didn't get an opportunity to play until, like, you're would not have gotten.
Unknown Guest 2
A chance to play if Barney Border doesn't. If. If Papa doesn't die. And I'm not going to say die in 77 or 79 or 81. If he doesn't die, I never play football to America. Who's going to see this greatest day of my entire life. Because all I ever wanted to do was play football.
Unknown Guest 1
Cause everybody tells, everybody would say, man, your brother's so fast, he could play football. But because of what transpired with my uncles, because our high school coach coached my uncles. Yes, he also coached my mom. My mom graduated in 60. So that lets you know just how long he's been a coach. And he let him pop out, let my uncles and them play. He said, but wait, who broke that leg?
Unknown Guest 2
James.
Unknown Guest 1
James broke his leg. Thurman broke his collarbone.
Unknown Guest 2
Broke his collarbone.
Unknown Guest 1
And he said, now, if anything happens, who gonna help me in these fields?
Unknown Guest 2
Who gonna told Coach Follow, who gonna pick mine?
Unknown Guest 1
Well, he told Coach hall that, Coach hall didn't tell Coach Follow that Papa had told him that. So he let Coach Follow, take the.
Unknown Guest 2
Boys home, and then they're like, who gonna pick my backer? Coach Follow was like, ain't gonna be me.
Unknown Guest 1
He said, holding 10.
Unknown Guest 2
And that's it. And that's it. So it wasn't gonna be no more football. So, and I know how it sounds, I, I, I know how it sounds. But I want you to understand. A guy, an older gentleman, told me one time, he said, you know what a dream is? And I said, no, sir. He said, a dream is a gift you give to yourself. It's the only dream I ever had, it's the only gift I've ever given myself, was to play football. That's why nothing ever bothered me. That's why having being red shirted my second year, which was at the time the greatest year the University of South Carolina ever had, never bothered me. That's why leaving the NFL, you know where people would say, dog, you are not in your prime. You are coming into your prime, bro. My last year catching 90 something passes for a thousand yards and 18 touchdowns and never play again, never bothered me because I had accomplished my dream. I had given myself that gift that I could give to myself, man. I was, you know, and a lot of people don't understand that. But let me tell you, coming from where we coming, come from, right? How he came, I got no problems and got no complaints.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah, I wanna know why you, you cut me with that knife, man.
Unknown Guest 2
Okay, hold on. Where'd I cut you?
Unknown Guest 1
On the thigh.
Unknown Guest 2
Where'd you cut me? It's still there. It's right there.
Unknown Guest 1
Well, this way.
Unknown Guest 2
Wait, hold on. I wanted to see how sharp the knife was. Cut through his jeans. Cut his leg, two pair of jeans.
Unknown Guest 1
That was short.
Unknown Guest 2
Hold on. He threatens me, so I got to Let him cut me. If you notice where my cut is, and you probably can't see my cut, it's right here. Two centimeters to the left. I ain't here, I bleed out.
Unknown Guest 1
Look, it cost him a cut back and a couple of, you know, a couple of silver dollars.
Unknown Guest 2
Couple of silver dollars.
Unknown Guest 1
I gotta tell Papa, but I don't want to tell.
Unknown Guest 2
I gotta tell. If you don't let me get you back, got you got in jail.
Unknown Guest 1
And then you wouldn't have been here.
Unknown Guest 2
And then I still wouldn't have been here. So I'm definitely where I'm supposed to be. There ain't no doubt about that.
Unknown Guest 1
Who do you think we got the athletic athleticism from, mom or Dad?
Unknown Guest 2
I honestly don't know. And the reason I say that is, is I don't know. I, I know my mom did something and I know my dad did something, but I don't know. I, I mean, the thing is, I, I'm going to step outside the box and talk about athleticism because I think a lot of people think, oh, because of LeBron, Bronnie and all these other kids are going, no, what is your determination? I, I don't think you got to where you got to because, oh, you got your athleticism from your mom and you got your smarts from your dad, or vice versa. No, I think because of your circumstance and what you saw in that thousand block cinder block house made you develop speed, strength, skill, stamina, and more importantly, determination that I have to make this work because I don't want that woman, Mary Porter, living like that anymore. Right? And I don't think athleticism is inherited or passed down. I don't believe that. I don't. Because I don't think you need athleticism to be successful in sports. I think you need timing, luck, grace of God to put you in a position. Let me tell you, if I go to New York, if I go to Texas, I go to California. We are not sitting here having this conversation. Right? If you go to class and you are straight A student, we are not sitting here having this conversation. If I don't have to tell, come home and tell you, bro. You going to Savannah State. We ain't going to Army. You going to Savannah State. We ain't having this conversation because of the circumstance and the way things fall gives you an opportunity to grow that which you need to do. That which you need to do. That's all I. That's what I believe.
Unknown Guest 1
What do you think your best sport was in high school?
Unknown Guest 2
Track 100, 200 four by one, four by four, long jump. I think track was my best sport. Football was the easiest because as Buddy McCall used to say, the reason why you run the triple option so easy is you don't care about your stats. The triple option is trust. The triple option is. I'm reading. I'm riding the fullback and I'm reading the tackle. And then after I read the tackle, at some point my eyes have to go to the end. So I approach the end and I have to approach his inside shoulder. And I have to determine if I can get there or if I need to pitch it. I never cared about keeping it. I never cared about numbers. Like, I can't tell you. The one game I can tell you in football was the one game I didn't play against Montgomery county my senior year. The only game I've ever missed because I. I got cut and it got infected right here. And I didn't. I. I was in the hospital all week. I got out Thursday. I didn't play Friday. That's the only thing I can tell you about. When I look at track and field, I had battles, man. Ladon, Greg Stafford, Herschel Walker, you know, going 23, eight in the long jump at the Georgia Relays. Winning that, you know, against people in schools that I'd never heard of or didn't know. Track was probably my best sport because 100, 200 4x1 relay, 4x4, and long jump, yeah, I was probably. I was in the top two in the state nose for a long time.
Unknown Guest 1
Do you wish you had focused more?
Unknown Guest 2
No. Football is what I wanted to do. I wanted to play football, but I was going to be a football player. Come hell or high water, I was going to be a football player. If I had to murder two people, I was gonna be a football player right? Now, if I play, if I got in the NFL and got cut, I'm fine with that because I got there, right? I got my chance, got my opportunity. It's all I wanted. So. No, football was what I wanted. That's where I wanted to be. That's where my growth and development was from.
Unknown Guest 1
You get a scholarship and you go to the University of South Carolina, but that's not where you really wanted to go. You wanted to go to Clemson.
Unknown Guest 2
I, I did until they told you. I. No, no, no, I. I went to South Carolina because I knew everyone, right? You know, Dominique Blasting game and Quentin Lewis from Bradwell Institute, which was in Hinesville. I had, you know, run track against Thad Johnson, right? Johnson County. I knew most of the guys that were at South Emory Baker, my cousin, was at South Carolina. So I knew, say there was 100 guys on the team. I had either played football, basketball, or ran track against 80 of them. So that's why I. I felt comfortable going to South Carolina. Right. If.
Unknown Guest 1
You mentioned that you got.
Unknown Guest 2
But the only reason I wanted to go to Clemson was because of Homer Jordan.
Unknown Guest 1
You would. You was number three. He was number three.
Unknown Guest 2
He was number 3. But. But, you know, they wanted you to play DB. They wanted me to play DB, and I was like. Like Georgia and. And I was like, oh, I need to have the ball in my hand. So. But, you know, my favorite player was Conjured Holloway at Tennessee. Homer Jordan wore number three, so of course I gravitated to him. But Conrad Holloway? Yeah, man. Look.
Unknown Guest 1
What do you remember most about your playing days at the University of South Carolina? What made that so special?
Unknown Guest 2
Because I can't get to the NFL without it. I can't get there without South Carolina. But just growing, man, just being there and figuring it out. I almost flunked out of South Carolina. I was a knock on my door and our academic advisor going, sterling, you know, hey, I don't want to bother you, but, you know, next semester, if you don't have a 4.0 or 3.6, you're gonna flunk out. You gotta go back to Georgia, man. Ride a tractor. Oh, we ain't doing that.
Unknown Guest 1
I ain't never had that problem at Savannah State. You know me. I'm just saying, I got my work, got my work, got my work, bro.
Unknown Guest 2
We'll come back it out. But. But South Carolina gave me an opportunity to grow, develop, and more importantly, take what I had gotten from Glenville and. And administer and empower that in Colombia, that's what it did.
Unknown Guest 1
But at the university, you played, a lot of you didn't play quarterback.
Unknown Guest 2
They wouldn't let me. But go ahead.
Unknown Guest 1
Wide receiver, running back.
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
I think one year they tried to put you at db.
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah, they were out, but. But in today's situation, kids will transfer. Yeah, in my situation, I just want to play. So if you want me to play defensive tackle at £212, let's go. You want me to play defensive end at 212? Let's do it right, you know, because I just wanted to play. And I think. I think a lot of young people get sidetracked. And I'm going to say young people, a lot of people get sidetracked. And what I want and where I am is the same thing. What I wanted to do was play where I was. You know, being at all these different positions wasn't the same thing because eventually it was going to work its way out and now I'm going to play. So whatever that was, you know, if it was db, fine. If it was quarterback, fine. If it was running back, fine. And it just turned out to be receiver, and that's fine too. But I never got sidetracked or caught up in someone else controlling my destiny. Right.
Unknown Guest 1
They retired your number at the University.
Unknown Guest 2
Of South Carolina while I was still playing.
Unknown Guest 1
While you're still playing. There have been a lot of guys come and ask you, man, can we wear that number two? Why wouldn't you let anybody wear that number two?
Unknown Guest 2
The only guy that I considered was Deuce Staley. Kid's name Deuce. The reason why I won't is once you un. Retire it, now everybody can wear it. Yeah. And the university thought so much of me that they were like, not only are, are we gonna, we're gonna let you wear it, but we don't want anybody else to wear it. And I thought, you know what? I'm, I'm doing this more so for them, a little bit for me, but more so for the University of South Carolina because they thought enough of what I did and how I did it that they were like, we don't want anybody else to wear this number. Wow.
Unknown Guest 1
Why you pick the number two? Cuz you had 85 years.
Unknown Guest 2
I wanted number three, but skip, mean, we didn't know if he flunked out, was going to transfer or if he was coming back. Right. I wanted three because I wore three in high school. I wanted three. So I went in and talked to Coach Morrison. I said, coach, I, you know, I want to get number three. And he goes, well, I don't know what Skip's gonna do. So he blows me off this way. Oh, hell, why don't you just take number two and the rest is history. He was like, okay, it was a single digit number, right? And the rest is history. Right. That, that's how it worked. I, I have been blessed to be led by a spirit that if I just get out of my way, it usually works out. I end up in Green Bay. When I took my photo being the first round draft pick, I. I was holding up the number 37, not number one, not, oh, we're going to put you in number 84 or 82. Number 37. When I got there, they gave me 84. Fast forward to email addresses. You got to come up with an Email address. My email address is throw to, you know, coming out and I'm like, I can't make this up, right? So if I just stay out of my own way, usually it works out.
Unknown Guest 1
You get to go to the East West Shrine Game, which I followed you in that one, and you go to the Senior Bowl. When you came out, what was your expectations? And you playing those two bowl games and now you go to the combine. The combine was vastly different then than when it was when I come out and what we see today.
Unknown Guest 2
East West Shrine Game, I got a chance to meet guys from the west coast that I know. Eric Allen, who's going into the hall of Fame this year. He and I met and became really good friends at the East West All Star Game. We would talk about, he was a defensive back, I'm a receiver. We talk about technique. One, he had never seen a receiver as big as me, right? Two, I didn't know they played football. Plaster Mason Dixon line. So we got a chance to learn something about each other. The Senior bowl was work, and I say work. Jim Moore was our head coach. Jim Mora and he Saints head coach at the time. And Jim Morrow was all about banging and physical. Two things that never bothered me. Hitting and being physical never bothered me. The combine, I did nothing. Got height, weight, wingspan, and I went home because it was like, hey, you're going to be a first round pick. There were six of us in the first round. Tim went six, I went seven, Mike went 11. Anthony Miller, Aaron Cox and I want to say Ernie Jones and I could be wrong, but I think some six of us went in the first round, right?
Unknown Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
Jake Hofer
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like you're building a team from scratch. And so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile. Pouring rain. Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.
Unknown Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Spain
Get fired up, y'. All. Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance sue, bird watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Never take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just, you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar Az Foot. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well, so make sure you listen good. Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.
Jake Hofer
I'm Jake Hofer and this is Back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eater's Podcast Network. Each episode I'll be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access?
Unknown Guest 1
Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand.
Jake Hofer
Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Unknown Guest 2
So I just went and did that. Came back, ran, did the lifting in my pro day and the rest is history.
Unknown Guest 1
When you got the call, did you know Green Bay? You wanted to go to Tampa?
Unknown Guest 2
I thought I was going to Tampa only because they had drafted Vinnie the year before, right? And, and, and Ray Perkins, the Tampa Bay head coach at the time, was like you, Vinnie, we got that combination set for the next 10 years, right? I could either have gone one to Atlanta, four to Tampa, seven to Green Bay, 11 to Dallas, right? Green Bay wanted Michael Irvin. If Green Bay takes Michael Irvin, there's a chance I slide. The only place I knew I wasn't going was Oakland because Tim Brown and won the Heisman and Al was going to take the speed. We ain't. We ain't going there.
Unknown Guest 1
Okay?
Unknown Guest 2
So it didn't have. I didn't have much of. I wasn't gonna be around long if I didn't go to Green Bay itself, right?
Unknown Guest 1
Get to sign the bonus. You get that big old check.
Unknown Guest 2
What does my brother want? I'm like, my sister goes, I want your car. I'm driving a Nissan Maxima, two tone brown and. And. And gold on the bottom. That's yours. I'm driving around in a 300 ZX. Yeah, bro is like, yeah, I can roll with that. I take that. Bro gets that. I get to Green Bay, I get an endorsement deal within a car company. I'm driving a Jeep the next year, 1989. My brother is like, oh, dog, you've seen them new, new 300E Mercedes? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
Because, you know, cool. Modi say he driving a BS 190. I'm driving a BS 300.
Unknown Guest 2
I'm like, no, I ain't. I ain't see that. Yeah, man, I like that. So I'm like, well, bro want to see he. And he's still in Savannah State. I'm like, so we get the 300e. But now he done seen somewhere in some magazine that you can put skirts on it.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah, that thing I had the kid.
Unknown Guest 2
18 inch star, five star wheels, you.
Unknown Guest 1
Know, put a tail on it.
Unknown Guest 2
You know, put a wing on the. Got a wing on the back.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah, yeah.
Unknown Guest 2
He rolling in a Mercedes 300E in college.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah, yeah, I like it.
Unknown Guest 2
I'm driving a BMW M3 that's about the size of this glass, but that's just the way it was. Whatever he wanted, he was gonna get. I was gonna make sure that you paid.
Unknown Guest 1
You were basically paying all my bills. Until summer.
Unknown Guest 2
Until summer was born. Yes. Yeah. And when. When Summer was born, I was like, bro, I got to let you go. Because now my focus is this right here. Y. You know, her. Her well being, of course, taken care of. But college and. And all that other stuff, I'm like, bro, you. You on your own. I mean, I remember you calling me going, man, I can't get a place. And without a cosign. Bro, you're in the NFL. Yeah, but I ain't got no credit. Your first credit card to go. The gold American Express.
Unknown Guest 1
I had a Texas. I had a. Man, the college what got me, though. And you know, I passed them on the buck. I buck. I gotta put you out there. But, you know, all the belt and JCPenney credit card, the gas card, Texaco, she ran them up and then cut him up and then tell me she ain't pay them up.
Unknown Guest 2
You know, I really should have murdered my family a long time ago, but I didn't. But no it was that. That the thing was, is, man, you were. You were it for me. You know, everything I did athletically, I did for you. You know, I never did anything for public consumption. I did everything for you. I wanted to make sure I tried my best. That if you said that you wanted a role model, you didn't have to look past our table to find that that was. That was.
Unknown Guest 1
Man, you remember I called you from.
Unknown Guest 2
Daytona when you junkyard My. My sl. Yeah, I had the first one in the state of South Carolina. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you junk. Yeah, man, I junkyard. I jumped yard your man. Wait, what? Wait, what? I'm sorry. Yeah. So he and Emmett. Yeah. Were riding and he.
Unknown Guest 1
I had a white. Well, I had a white. Had your wife when Emmett had a burgundy one at the time, burgundy emblem.
Unknown Guest 2
And wasn't paying attention and ran into the trailer hitch of a car.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah.
Unknown Guest 2
And yanked the Mercedes emblem out and been up the front. Yeah, I remember that. Those the days. Those were the days, man. You're rookie.
Unknown Guest 1
You.
Unknown Guest 2
What.
Unknown Guest 1
What is it about your rookie year that you remember most? Because a lot of people that how hard it was. It was hard.
Unknown Guest 2
The verbiage Ripley is 80 slide. I'm rip lizzing. 80 slide. I'm running the bubble. I go in motion, come back, I'm running the bubble. 28 lead. I'm always going right unless I'm told to go left. Harold's in the backfield, 28 lead. When I got to Green Bay, they were like, two flip wide, short 90, Y option X max. I was like, wait, I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? Yeah, okay. Two flip wide. So that tells you to go in the slots. Short 90. That's the protection for the offensive line. Why option if you're outside an option? Because remember, we're in flip slot wide, tells the back to get outside the tight end. You outside Y option, you run a hinge at 13 yards. X is outside of me running a smash. So you come off the ball real slow. Inside a smash, you run a corner. So. Oh, hold on. Most of the defenses were 3, 4. So the blitz read was one defensive back plus the outside linebacker. I'm. I'm thinking the verbage. Yeah, I. I could not. The first six weeks of the year, I was just like, you know what, man? I should have been a plumber. Two outside short, 90 extern choose. Oh, this is a 43 defense. So instead of one plus the OL being a three, four, it just takes one. Oh. When we play New York, the OLB is Lawrence Taylor. But we don't want our back blocking Lawrence Taylor, so we're going to make him down. Wait, what? So he's coming 90 of the time, right? We don't side adjust off him.
Unknown Guest 1
So now it takes two.
Unknown Guest 2
What? Hold on. This dude's standing right here getting ready to strangle me, and I'm thinking, he ain't thinking. That was the hardest part by far was the verbiage and understanding blitz side adjust and blitz reads.
Unknown Guest 1
And then you got a situation with the media. They came down pretty hard on you.
Unknown Guest 2
No, no, they. They didn't. They were unfair to me only because they didn't ask me. They came to me and they were like, hey, Lindy said this. Lindy was my head coach.
Unknown Guest 1
Lindy and Ponti.
Unknown Guest 2
What am I supposed to do? Say Lindy's crazy? Then you don't know what he doing. You don't know what he's talking about. Right? So they always led me into a headache. And so it was kind of twofold because, remember, you and I worked out in 89, getting ready for the 89 season. And I'm like, first of all, now I got it down, they're gonna want to talk to me, and I'm not gonna say anything, right? I never told them no. I would always say, not right now. And so. Because they never asked me about me. What are my struggles, right. What am I going through? Everything was leading. Well, you know, coach guy said this. You know, buddy, you know, Lindy and Fonny, coach and Fani said this. So it was never just, what do you think? What are you going through? What are you dealing with? Right? And I. So it was kind of that. And I was like, they're gonna want to talk to me, right? And I ain't gonna have anything to say. And I ended up leading the NFL and catches the next year in 1989. Yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
Report.
Unknown Guest 2
Did you come in?
Unknown Guest 1
So what was your weight from the time that you left the University of South Carolina and then your rookie year at green?
Unknown Guest 2
I was 206. When I got to. I was between 2:05 and 2:12 my junior and senior year in college. Okay. Because remember, you and I, we were all about weights. We were all about throwing that iron. We were all about benching, squatting, power cleaning. We were throwing weight. Well, all our lives, what we wanted to be was the 46 club. Yep. Bench 400, squat 600. Yep. That. That's all we did. So I was a solid. But you also got to remember, when I came in the league, corners didn't Go to the huddle. Because they were standing at the line of scrimmage because they were like, I got you. Yep. I don't care what the defense is, I got you. So they said, Green Bay said I was too big. Granted, they drafted me at 212, so I went from 212 to 190. I couldn't walk from here to the door without cramping. So that was a problem trying to deal with. Okay. I don't have any body fat or salt or anything to be able to. So whenever the temperature got up, bro, I cramped. Like in college, I never came out for warm up because it was so hot in South Carolina. I never came out for warm up. So it was like I never really, you know, so it was all new to me in Green Bay. And, you know, they had a way of doing things, and I had to adjust and adapt to that way of doing things.
Unknown Guest 1
They. The injuries. You played through a lot of injuries. You played the broken ribs, you had the turf toe that you never practiced. You just shot the toe up during the season. And then after the season you end up having. You had surgery on that. How difficult was it for you? Because you're not getting the cardiovascular. And man.
Unknown Guest 2
You like, you, you, you. You know, the thing is, is if I play, don't treat me like I'm injured, right? I'm playing and all the injuries I went through, if you look, it was almost like I wasn't hurt. Right. You know, they. So my whole thing was, is I just need to be there on Sunday. Right. I understand now what to do on, you know, Wednesday through Friday. I just need to be there on Sunday. Right. And I was for enough to. To be in a position to be able to perform. Being nicked up in a way that I couldn't practice.
Unknown Guest 1
After your rookie year, you come back, you lead the league in catches, you're a first team all pro. And then 92, 93, you're the first receiver in NFL history to go back to back 100 catches. First team all pro. How gratifying or satisfying was it to you to like. I knew I had. I knew I could do this. It's just. Now what.
Unknown Guest 2
Had no idea what it was I was doing. I'm just doing it. Hey, you calling a play, you know, you and you know the system as well as anybody. You know, change right, C left, waggle right, double out, you know, two Jet Dino. Why shallow cross, you know, Fox 2, XY hook. Yeah, I'm just running the play.
Unknown Guest 1
Cause you had to coach. Now you Could. Because at that point in time, you have the coaching change. Now you got.
Unknown Guest 2
I got Mike Holmgren, who coached, who came from San Francisco with Jerry. With Jerry Rice in that organization. So I'm not thinking about the numbers. I'm just like, hey, man, I'm running the plays. And they were like, hey, you know, in 92, it wasn't a thing. So I'm in the. In the MVP race. And I'm like, man, I don't want to be an MVP race for the middle of life player of the year. I don't know what this is. I don't know what. Leading the league and catches, yards and touchdown. I don't even know what that is. Steve Young, I think, won the MVP.
Unknown Guest 1
That year in 92, then Emmett won in 93, so.
Unknown Guest 2
And then in 93. Yep. So I don't know what that is. Right. But I'm just running the plays. I got no expectation on number. The only time I ever paid attention to numbers was a dude in Denver was like, I'm better than you, Sterling. You know I'm better than you. Yeah, I bet you 20 grand I have more catches then you have more yards and more touchdown. And I was like, bro, don't do that. So the dude in Denver bet me that.
Unknown Guest 1
But they stalled me out, man. Coach Reed stalled me out.
Unknown Guest 2
I never once paid attention to the numbers. I never did. I just was. They called the play. I ran the play to the best of my ability, and the numbers just added up.
Unknown Guest 1
Before you got the Triple Crown, did you know what the Triple Crown was?
Unknown Guest 2
It wasn't a thing. I didn't know the Triple Crown was a thing until Cooper. The year Cooper cup did it, the Rams called me and asked me if I would send a video message to them that they would play during a game that. I don't know if it was a playoff game or a regular season game for Cooper Cup. I didn't even know it was a.
Unknown Guest 1
Thing because I think Jerry had done it in 90.
Unknown Guest 2
Jerry did it first, yes. And then I did it in 92. And remember now in. In. In 89, I had led the league in catches and touchdowns. Right. So didn't even know what that was. Just. I'm playing. All I'm doing is playing. So I had no idea the magnitude of what that would turn out to.
Unknown Guest 1
Be, being the number one option. Because it doesn't matter what defense they throw. You know, every Wednesday when they go in there, they circle you. We've got to stop him. You're going to get their best you're going to get the Eric Allens, you're going to get the Deion Sanders, you're going to get the Neil Williams, you're going to get the Daryl Greens, you're going to get the best. And to be able to go out there every single week and function and do your job. Did you feel any added pressure?
Unknown Guest 2
No. Because guess what? They got a job to do and I got a job to do. But guess what? Just like I'm over here, if. If quarterback sees what he likes, I may get it. If he doesn't, he goes elsewhere. My whole thing was, I just want to be in the right place at the right time, and if you need me, you throw it to me. And the only thing I ever said to our quarterbacks in the seven years I played was before we went out on the field or before introductions or whatever the case may be, where I had that moment, I would always say to our quarterbacks, let it. Let us help you. Just let us help you. Let us help. But I. I try to explain this to people to the best of my ability, man. I never cared about numbers or rankings or any of that. I was doing what I wanted to do and playing. And when I got Mike Holmgren In 92, I did understood. I understood what I got, right. I got a system that would allow me at the receiver position to end football games. And I was like, that's. That's a lot. Because when you can end for you, you know, usually. And you would notice playing for Mike, who was in San Francisco at one Shanahan, at one point, you throw to get the lead, you run to keep it. Yep. So we're going to get the lead and then we're going to turn it over. In your case, td. Yep. We threw to get the lead, and we threw the end of the football game. And I was at the beginning and the end of both of those. Right? That is. And that. Which is really ironic because of all the debating on who's the greatest, you know, Michael or LeBron, and you go, michael had the system to try and go, yeah, but, you know, he's Michael Jordan. Well, then you look at la and Kobe had the triangle with Phil, and there's five out there. And then you look at Steve Kerr and Golden State, there's four there. We know what San Francisco did in the system. When I got that system, which allowed me to not have to change. Mike never once carried about If I weighed 221 or 224. The system allowed me to end football games. Oh, that was different. And if there was one thing that I would like to change is I would like to check play one more year in that system, selfishly because of what that system provided for me to do.
Unknown Guest 1
John Gruden, who. I think Gruden was your position coach.
Unknown Guest 2
Wasn'T it was my last two years, yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
He compared you to Michael Jordan. He said, the more time Sterling touches the ball, the better chance we have to win. It's no different than when the Chicago Bulls rolled Michael Jordan to three champ, three championships. What was Gruden like?
Unknown Guest 2
The F. Oh, okay.
Unknown Guest 1
Was he always that animated?
Unknown Guest 2
Yes. Extremely intelligent. I'm not going to say smart. He was extremely intelligent. He's always looking. You're on first down. He's like, well, I'm third and two. I'm going to do this. He's always there. John was always the kind of person that would be like, hey, can you stay for a minute? I want to show you something and build my game. I had three outstanding position coaches. Buddy guys, Sherm Lewis, John Guru, and they all took my game as high as they could before I got the next one. So it wasn't like, you know, buddy for four years, he couldn't take me any higher. Sherm for two years, charm for a year. And then I got Gruden for two years. And what John gave me, he was energetic, intelligent, and he was always thinking two, three moves ahead, which benefited me tremendously.
Unknown Guest 1
Those years with Jerry and Michael, that was kind of the competition. Although Andre rising as far as going.
Unknown Guest 2
To the Pro bowl and who thought better and all that, from 92 to.
Unknown Guest 1
94, you had 314 receptions, 3,854 yards, 42 touchdowns. That same timeframe, Jerry had 292, 4,203 and 38 touchdowns. There was that competition, well, who's really the best receiver in the NFL currently right now? Is it Sterling Sharp and Green Bay or is it Jerry in San Francisco?
Unknown Guest 2
If you say so. That I didn't know that. Like I said, I just rolled out, put my helmet on, rolled out there and tried to, you know, put up some. I was playing, man, I'm playing football. You know, all that other stuff is the fan. That's the fan stuff, right? Enjoy that. I'm playing football. And. And so. But like I said, when I got Mike Holmgren in that system and I got Sherm Lewis and John Gruden and Mike Holmgren calling the plays and talking to me like you and I are sitting here talking, he gave me something that. That I never, ever had before. And Buddy McCall tried to give it to me, but I didn't understand it. I had ownership. I had ownership. Usually when you're the quarterback, yes, you're going to have ownership. I was a receiver and I had ownership of our offense. Wow. And that was something that had never. I didn't understand, but I went with it. Right. And that was really cool. Having Mike Humgren talk to me during games and be like, what are they doing on. What do you see on third? And this, you know, what do you like? Oh, well, you know, because I had ownership, it was really cool to be a part of that system in that office.
Unknown Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
Jake Hofer
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like, you're building a team from scratch and so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile. Pouring rain. Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.
Unknown Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the Flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Spain
Get fired up, y'.
Unknown Guest 2
All.
Sarah Spain
Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance Sue Bird, watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final. And the locker room. I really, really like you. Just, you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Foote. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.
Jake Hofer
I'm Jay Kofer and this is Back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network. Each episode I'll be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access?
Unknown Guest 1
Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand.
Jake Hofer
Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
Unknown Guest 2
Thanks for the length of time I got to play in it.
Unknown Guest 1
Have you ever thought about your Mount Rushmore receivers? Had you? Had, had you. Continue. Let's just say you play another four, five years.
Unknown Guest 2
It's unfair. And I, I, I have constantly shied away from it because no one's going to have Don Hudson first. Don Hudson had 99 touchdowns when they were throwing the ball twice a game. 99 when they were throwing it two times a game. No one's going to add him. No one's going to have. When I mentioned Charlie Hennigan, nobody's going to mention them last all work. No one's going to mention Lance, you know, no one's going to mention Raymond Barrett. And I'm like, how fair is it? Because you're only going to talk about what you see. I'm not going to do that to those guys because they were actually hella receivers in their own right.
Unknown Guest 1
Do you think anybody's going to break Jerry's record? That one?
Unknown Guest 2
Which?
Unknown Guest 1
197 career touchdown catches. He has 207 total 22,000 yards.
Unknown Guest 2
It'd be hard to say no because.
Unknown Guest 1
The, the adding game and the rules.
Unknown Guest 2
That are set up for them to do it. Yeah. So do I think someone will do it? Yes. Only because of the way the game is going. Remember when in our day defenses could impose their will on you? Yes. They could deter you from six catches and four touchdowns a year. They can't do that now. The players don't want to do that now. Right. So, yeah, somebody will break that eventually. Somebody will break it.
Unknown Guest 1
Jim Brown had a quote, rest his soul. He said he could play in any era.
Unknown Guest 2
Greatest, greatest compliment I ever got. Athletic. Greatest compliment I ever gotten athletically.
Unknown Guest 1
How different is the game today than.
Unknown Guest 2
When you played other than the defenses imposing their wills? And you don't have to be a technician. I prided myself in being a technician and getting out of my break with the best of them. Dion was a lot faster, but. And I'm developing a counter to his speed, a counter to Dion. And we're using Dion because he's one of the greats. I'm using prime Dion speed. I gotta counter it with power. There ain't no sense of me and you running 40, 50, 60 yards. You're probably gonna win that one. Okay. Else this will be doing. But I tell you what I will do. Let's see what you look like after eight catches and you got to make six tackles. Let's see what you look like after eight slants, eight hitches, eight comebacks, eight curls. Because now I'm putting him in what I feel and got nothing to do with him. I'm putting him in what I feel. His uncomfort zone is Hanford Dixon and Frank Manyfield, Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross, Karl Lee and Najee Muhammad. Straight up bump and run corners. I got.
Unknown Guest 1
And watching the Lionel.
Unknown Guest 2
Yes. I gotta. I gotta counter what you do well. What in encountering what you do well, I'm bringing power. I'm bringing £220 and I won't contact. You know, back then they didn't have smoke, but I wanted that smoke. I want to see you make this tackle because that was my way of imposing my will on them.
Unknown Guest 1
Andy Reid said if you didn't get hurt, you would go down as maybe the greatest receiver to play the game. How was Andy as a coach? Andy was a tight end. Coaching, yes.
Unknown Guest 2
Fun loving, outstanding. Yeah. Very intelligent and really in tuned with the team. What Mike Holmgren did was prepared all those guys to be head coaches. Yep. He did a really good job of that. I love Mike to this day because he was a lot like I try to be. He just gave it away. You want information, here it is. Right. You want money to a default, here it is. You want time, here it is. And Andy Reid is a spitting image of Mike Holmgren because he just. You see how Patrick Mahone plays without restriction. Just give it away. Go ahead and play your way. I'll adjust. Wow. Love the way Andy was with me in Green Bay and how he's doing now in Kansas City.
Unknown Guest 1
Who's the toughest corner you played against?
Unknown Guest 2
Ricky Reynolds in. In Tampa, Don Griffin in San Francisco and in my division also, I would say Carl Lee, Ricky Reynolds and Don Griffin were technically sound as fast as me. Wanted to make every tackle. Yeah, Carl was difficult because he was long. He had really good speed. He wasn't above average in speed, but he was long and he was Technically, probably the most dominant corner, technically, that I played against because he was all about the positions. Because if I hit my positions, I put you in the positions I need you to be in, right for me to cover you. So he. Those three guys, because I played against Don, he was in my division every year, and then I played against Carl, who's in my division every year.
Unknown Guest 1
Because you only. You face time, what, once or twice.
Unknown Guest 2
Twice here, once in Fulton county, once in the Dome, right?
Unknown Guest 1
And time say he ain't want no problems. He said you just too strong to Only.
Unknown Guest 2
Only because of what he brought at the time, what he brought to the table in Fulton County. He was everywhere. Inside, outside. He followed me. When we played in the Dome was the. Probably the only time I remember. Timakai hey, man, what you doing here? Ain't going. And ain't going to end well for you. And only because that's how I talk. I was. I was trash talking. Friendly but personal, right? But those three guys, Carly, Don Griffin in San Francisco, Ricky Reynolds in Tampa, technically, were the three, probably when you said, I can cover and tackling. Because you had to block them, right? Because they were. They wanted to make the tackle on the running back, or so you had to block them. They were probably the three technically most sound guys I played.
Unknown Guest 1
Who's your favorite player to watch when you standing on the sideline and you watching somebody?
Unknown Guest 2
Anthony Carter, by far. And I'm not talking. I probably can't tell you a catch Anthony Carter made in the NFL, but when I saw number one in Michigan, I was like, that's it right there. Yeah, that. That right there is what I want. I know what I want to be now. I want to be that right there. Anthony Carter was my favorite player, and I met him once in the airport after he and I were both done playing. Anthony Carter, when he was at Michigan, ain't nobody better.
Unknown Guest 1
What's your. What was your favorite route?
Unknown Guest 2
Smoke, man.
Unknown Guest 1
You just want to catch a hit.
Unknown Guest 2
Yes, sir. If you throw it 40 yards and I go 70, you know, if you throw it 15 yards and I go 40. But if you throw it behind the line of scrimmage and I run over two guys and pick up 14 yards, they remember, you remember. And so I just wanted the ball in my hands. So when I got Mike Holmgren and he called Smoke, Thunder, and you know, yeah, Smoke, Thunder, Omaha, man, three step, Lion, Lion, Denver, Colorado. You know, when we got those where we were just running hitches, slants, stops, post, slant goes, get it in, get it to me as quick as possible.
Unknown Guest 1
Do you have a pre game routine?
Unknown Guest 2
No one could touch my hands. So I was never a high five nobody because I said if nobody can touch, nobody can touch my hands. Nobody can get in my head. But my pregame routine was when I came, when I got one in the NFL because remember I didn't come out in college in the NFL was just to come out and just to be out. Enjoy looking around stadium fans, see friends that you developed. I got a chance to spend time with you on the, you know, during free game playing, maybe when I was.
Unknown Guest 1
In the line at Tampa. Y' all on the road to Tampa.
Unknown Guest 2
And I was in the pregame high five. And that's when we came out and Lindy was like, who the hell is that? I was like, it's my brother.
Unknown Guest 1
They invited me to come back. Cause you showed up.
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah, sure did. But no, I didn't really have a pre game routine. I was just more of I'm ready to go, let's go. Right.
Unknown Guest 1
You played with T crew Terry Crews. What was T Cruise like?
Unknown Guest 2
Man, I, I thought and it just showed, you know. Terry was one of the guys that showed me. I didn't know what I was looking at, right. But I. He was fun. He. He worked hard and I say he really wanted the NFL, right. He put in the time, he put in the effort and I was really. I, I can say I could. I was disappointed when Terry got let go because I thought with his size, his strength and his speed, he would.
Unknown Guest 1
Definitely make our right the playoffs. You had a couple that. Your first playoff game, Detroit, three touchdowns, the game winning touchdown. What do you remember about that game.
Unknown Guest 2
That I was trying to come out on the game winning touchdown. I was trying to come out of the game because of my, my did that turf turtle. We ran flanker drive and the guy fell on it. And I'm. Robert Brooks is standing from me to you and I'm trying to tell him to come in the game. And Mike is telling Brett the play. 25, 25, double square out.
Unknown Guest 1
Yep.
Unknown Guest 2
Mark Clayton. So we as the receivers made the decision we're not going to switch sides. Right. What we're going to do is, is Ed west goes left. Mark. Now as the X, you're the flanker. Step off. 25, 25, 25. Kevin Scott standing right there. I know the safety's coming over the top. So it's three cloud. Brett takes his drop, looks at Mark Clayton. There is no one within a hundred miles of Mark Clayton. No one Brett could have underhanded the ball, and it would have been a catch, and Mark would have probably gotten to the 13 cloud corner squats. Everybody rolls over. Safety's right behind me. I'm running. I run to Kevin Scott kind of drifts. Well, our tight end, Ed. I think it was Ed west, pops wide open on the basic cross, and the safety that was supposed to be over the top jumps him. And Brett goes. It's the only time I've ever seen his eyes. I've caught a lot of deep balls from Brett, but usually, you know, when you run a deep route, you look up, right? So it was the only time. And it was almost like he was like, clayton, no, I'm gonna move. And he just let it go. Game, set, match. Tracy Austin.
Unknown Guest 1
The contract. You had some. Some contract issue with the. The Packers. They promised you one thing, and then it didn't happen. You go through training camp, you do everything, and then the night before the.
Unknown Guest 2
First game, which is how it's supposed to be done. Yes. And I'll say this worked out well for me because after that season, I never played another down. So with that, those monies, I was able to secure most of my future because I got to increase my insurance, not knowing. I got to secure my family's future based on that decision of holding out of the first game. I was going to miss the first game, and I was going to do it, but it worked out.
Unknown Guest 1
Your final season, you have 94 catches, 11, 19 yards. The 18th touchdown is still currently tied for third most touchdowns in a single season.
Unknown Guest 2
When there's only one person happier, two people than me, that my career ended, and that was the two specialists that said you should never play football again. They were happy. They, you know, they were like, hey, based on what we see, you shouldn't play football again. I hopped off the table. I was like, okay, appreciate that information. And because, remember, all I wanted to do was play, right? I wasn't playing for a length of time or status or to be on someone's Mount Rushmore or be considered one of the great. I just wanted to play right? And I did that. And so when my. When it was time for me to find something else to do. The American dream was you go to college and get your degree and allows you to compete with anyone for a position or a job. I had my degree, and I. I was like, I couldn't. You know, I. Once I get out of this neck breaks, I'm going to be able to compete. And lo and behold, I ended up in tv. But in my Career, My job ending ended the way it was supposed to, because I would probably be still trying to play if it wasn't. If it didn't.
Unknown Guest 1
What do you remember? Because I remember watching the game and I saw you blocking your former teammate Brad Edwards for the Falcons, and then you just, like, collapse.
Unknown Guest 2
What you don't see, what you didn't see being in Denver was I had been having episodes in 1989. My right. My left side went, no, okay. Just standing here talking to the guys at practice one day, left side went numb. In 1991, my right leg, left shoulder would just go numb. The end of 91, I could control my hand, but I had no feeling in it. So I started having symptoms, and then I started having a lot more. My last season, you know, holding my head down, I could feel my spine vibrating. And when you hit your spine, it feels like you're on fire, right? And I would be like, oh, that burns. You know? So I started having In. I started having episodes, and I kind of had an idea what it was, right? But you go, you know, you still can do everything. So I keep doing it.
Unknown Guest 1
Lying on the field, you laid there for, like, three minutes. And I remember you telling me, I was trying.
Unknown Guest 2
I was. I was trying to get up.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah.
Unknown Guest 2
But I could. I had no strength to get up. And then Andre Risen, one of my best friends, Andre Risen, is talking to me, and he is making me laugh. So Andre and I. I'm laying on the field. I can move, but I can't control. Right. My movement. Right? But I'm laughing with this fool, right? And then Brad comes over and he's like, ster, are you okay? Are you? I'm like, yeah, yeah. I just need to, you know, because I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Why can't I can move, but why can't I get. Get up? Right? And then all of a sudden, the feeling came back, and I was fine, right? And I remember before that, I caught a touchdown pass on the right side. Well, the corner hits me, and I turned my left ankle so bad that I tore the tape. And I used to get taped to my skin, right? So when you tear that tape, that's severe.
Unknown Guest 1
Yeah.
Unknown Guest 2
And my ankle was about this big. And in hindsight, that was the signal for me to be like, shut it down. Right? But I'm like, no, re. Tape it. You know, take that back up, right? And we'll make it go again. And so I knew after that game that I probably was not going to.
Unknown Guest 1
Play again, but you played the following week because you go to Tampa.
Unknown Guest 2
Only because we needed to have a home playoff game, right? And I told Mike, I said, hey, if you gonna get it to me, you better get it to me early, because I don't know how long I'm gonna be in this game, right? And I had this thing was about that big, and I don't practice all week, right? And I ended up with. I don't know the particular numbers, but.
Unknown Guest 1
I have a buck 32 and three touchdowns. That was the last time you ever caught a pass in the NFL.
Unknown Guest 2
But I knew if you're gonna get it to me, you better get it to me early, right? I don't know how long I'm gonna be in this.
Unknown Guest 1
You Re. Injured the neck when you Re. I think Thomas Everett glazed you as he went by.
Unknown Guest 2
Didn't even. You know, the thing was, is. Is like I said, the episodes that I was having. I remember one day, one night, laying in bed and. And Luger, my rock bark. And I jumped up and hit my spine and fell back and was like, what the. I could move, but I had no control over my move, right? So I had had symptoms for, like, nine weeks. That was, you know, leading up to this is it, which made it easier for me because I, you know, it wasn't like one hit. That's it. You know, I had enough telltale signs that it was like, this is it.
Unknown Guest 1
Did you ever think about coming back?
Unknown Guest 2
No. I can. I think I can say this now. It's been enough time. Jerry. Jerry Jones called me at ESPN and asked me, sterling, could you play? And I said, yeah, but I. But, Jerry, I'm not gonna play football anymore. When I was doing TV in 1995, asked me if I could play, right? But no, I never considered coming back because that. That I'm. What am I coming back for? Because I did what I wanted to, right? And that would be moving the goal post on God. Because I asked him that to let me play. And if I come back to play, I'm moving the goal post post, which is unfair, and I didn't want to do that.
Unknown Guest 1
When the packers waved you, did you have any emotions where they're like, bro, I mean, y' all give me a chance.
Unknown Guest 2
No, I understood. Well, I knew. We knew. We knew. I wasn't. Here's the only thing that the packers did that bothered me, right? Not one person called to say, how'd your surgery go? Because they're fixing my spine, right? I could walk. I could roll out of there and never Walk again, right? I could die on the operating table. Not one person from the organization said, hey, you know, how'd your surgery go?
Unknown Guest 1
Not the coach.
Unknown Guest 2
Not one person from the organization was like, hey, look, man, God, we're pulling for you. You know, let us know if you need anything. Not one person in the organization checked. That was the only thing that I was. I wasn't bothered. I was.
Unknown Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
Jake Hofer
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like, you're building a team from scratch. And so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile pouring rain. Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be my game, but it was going to be my life.
Unknown Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the Flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Spain
Get fired up, y'. All. Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance sue, bird watching, former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just, you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Fudd. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.
Jake Hofer
I'm Jake Hofer and this is Back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network. Each episode, I'll Be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access?
Unknown Guest 1
Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand.
Jake Hofer
Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
Unknown Guest 2
Disappointed in. You don't owe me anything. But I as men, a common decency, common courtesy and the fact that that was life altering. Not one. Not one person from the organization. I don't think you understand that. Player, trainer, front office coach.
Unknown Guest 1
Damn.
Unknown Guest 2
No one. That's the only thing that bothered me.
Unknown Guest 1
Not one player.
Unknown Guest 2
Not one player. And I got no problem with that because, hey, look, man, we understand how cutthroat the business is. The season just ended. We just lost to Dallas in the divisional round. I think it was for a chance to go to the NFC Championship game. We all. This is happening. And so I get it. You leaving Green Bay, getting out of the cold, you're trying to figure out some got contracts, babies being born. Hey man, life happens. But not one person from the organization was like.
Unknown Guest 1
How did the thing go?
Unknown Guest 2
Yes. And that the bother was. That's odd. That. That a common decency. And I'm saying a comma. Yeah, a common decency.
Unknown Guest 1
That's not asking too much.
Unknown Guest 2
No, I'm. I didn't ask. Hey, look, I understand organization wise, you got to find. Do you have the receivers in the room that we can go from where we are and keep going upward. I get that. What pieces are we going to bring in to help us? I get that. Not one person trainer. No one bothered me to the point I was okay, man. I'm like, as soon as I got out of my brace, Doc said, your neck is solid. I was like, okay, I'm good. And then, you know, everything fell into place with espn. I was off and running. And it was so funny that I never thought about it until the hall of Fame happened. And when the hall of Fame happened, Now I start to hear from people in the organization and I'm saying to myself, how do I feel about that? Honestly, like, you know what? When I was at my proverbial lowest, never heard from him what you would perceive as my highest. I really don't need to hear from y'. All. I'm not mad. I'm not disappointed.
Unknown Guest 1
It's just none of the people that.
Unknown Guest 2
You can't have one without the other right now, granted, there's a lot of change and turnover. All change from all change and turnover from when I was there until now. But still, you know, it was.
Unknown Guest 1
Still stings a little bit.
Unknown Guest 2
It not sting it. It doesn't have the value it should. Right. And I was just like, you know, you know, the Green Bay packers were gracious enough to throw me a Hall of Fame party at the hall of Fame and, and I did everything on my camp that I could to get them not to because I'm like, I don't feel comfortable accepting that feeling this way about me. Oh, you know, but, but, but Kathy and the Green Bay packers have been wonderful. This group of folks have been.
Unknown Guest 1
How many, how many from the, the former packers, like when you were there, your organization, do you think will be at the ceremony on Saturday?
Unknown Guest 2
I have no idea. I do know Don Makowski. I will say I believe Ron Hallstrom, but I really don't know. I'm not that guy. I'm not nostalgic, man. I live 20 something miles from the University of South Carolina. I ain't never been back to watch again. I've never been to alumni weekend in Green Bay. I'm not that guy. I mean, I did what I wanted to do and man, have at it. I'm just not built that way to be. I think of my teammates. I probably talk to two, maybe three. Keith Woodside, Perry, Kemp, Clanche Weathers, Dom Makowski. Every now and then he. And I'll link up, I'll see him somewhere. But I, I don't, I mean, I loved all my teammates. I love playing with him. Leroy Butler, who was a Hall of Famer. But I don't, you know, I don't talk to a lot of, when you.
Unknown Guest 1
Leave, you don't play 95, you retire. And the next two years the packers go to the Super Bowl. They win one, they lose one. Did you like, Damn, no.
Unknown Guest 2
I didn't play football to go to the Super Bowl. Didn't play football to go to, to the hall of Fame. Didn't play football to be an all Pro. Didn't play football to go to a Pro Bowl. I did know that the first year I went, I took living and I wanted to go back so I could take you. And then the next time I was like, the next time I go back is when he plays in one. If he don't play in one, I ain't going back. The next time I went, you made it. So I'm not. Like I said, I'm not built that way. You know, Green Bay going, at least I had an idea. A lot of the Guys were still on the team of what they were going through to get there. Andre Risen slid into the number 84, called a touchdown. I was extremely happy for him in that success, but, no, it never bothered me.
Unknown Guest 1
Now we're less than a week away from going into the Pro Football hall of Fame, and what they're. 382. 383.
Unknown Guest 2
I'm 382.
Unknown Guest 1
But we're the first set of brothers.
Unknown Guest 2
Yes. That's cool.
Unknown Guest 1
Of 20, over 25,000 men that have played, that's coached, owned, general, managed over 25,000 men. We're the first two brothers.
Unknown Guest 2
Wow.
Unknown Guest 1
Have you thought about what that meant?
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah. Yeah. Two little black boys from Glenville, Georgia, that didn't have a male figure in the household after age 11 and 13 or 10 and 13 that was pretty much predominantly raised by women that didn't live in a house with running water until 1988. Absolutely. It's just, you know, it's God's gift to being on a path, not deviating from that path, not trying to alter that path and not trying to change. You know what? We could always get there from where we were. Right? Yeah, man.
Unknown Guest 1
Who reminds you? What receiver reminds you of you today?
Unknown Guest 2
None. Anquan Bolden.
Unknown Guest 1
That's what I was gonna say.
Unknown Guest 2
Was. Was probably the one to, you know, To.
Unknown Guest 1
But you met Tio before I knew To.
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah, yeah. To. And I go way, way back. I want to say to. Was in high school when I met To. To kind of in a. In a way. I don't know if he is as. Then I'm going to say physical in a sense. I don't think he loves contact like I did. Right. But to maybe Debo Samuels, who's a South Carolina Gamecock also. Debo just gotta stop getting hurt, man. I need you every day, Debo. But Debo reminds me a lot of me. Yeah.
Unknown Guest 1
If you could play with any quarterback currently playing today, who would you like to currently play? Currently playing.
Unknown Guest 2
Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow. And I'm gonna say Joe Burrow because I would like to say. I would like to help him. I'm not. Hey, Jamar's done, you know. Yeah. Hey, man, that cat's. That cat's special. But I think Joe Burrow just in. From what I have seen since he's been in the league, since he left Ohio State, actually went to lsu. What I've seen, I think I'd like to play with him just to see what he sees and hear what he says and. And how he talks. You know, playing with Patrick Mahomes be like playing with Brett. You know, I've. Hey, here, you know, or. Or. And, you know, believe it or not, Patrick Mahomes has a lot more Mike Tomczack than he does Mike Brett far. Really. T. Zack will flip it to you, throw it behind his back, you know, call a running play, miss the handoff, roll out and be like, here's a flip, you know, touchdown right here. Lamar. I'd like to play with Lamar. Lamar Jackson, too, you know, and I go back and forth because I've had this conversation with myself. Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson are the two I think I'd love to play with just. Just to get a feel for their game.
Unknown Guest 1
And what they see, you left the game. And I think the thing is about golf is that I don't think I'm off base saying this, that you love playing golf more than you ever love playing football.
Unknown Guest 2
By far. I make, on average, 74 decisions around, and ain't none of them right. Ain't none of them right. Whether it's the right club or the right line on this putt or the right shot, shape to hit, or the right club. 74, 76 decisions, and they're all wrong. But you know what? You accept them. And remember, you ain't doing this for Tiger or Scotty Scheffler or Jack Nicklaus. You out here playing for you. It's the exact same way and the exact same parallel that I had playing football. So if I shoot 78, ain't nobody happier than me. If I shoot 68, ain't nobody happier than me. Because I'm doing this. I'm playing this. I'm out here for me and me alone, so it's wonderful. Like I said, I love. I love the fact that I got to make a decision, and I got to support and live with that decision, and don't nobody care about the decision I make but me.
Unknown Guest 1
You have played against Jordan, Golf.
Unknown Guest 2
Not against him. No, not even with him. I played behind him and in front of him, but not even when he would go into Tahoe. Not even with him. Right.
Unknown Guest 1
If y' all played, you think you beat him nowadays?
Unknown Guest 2
He would probably. You know, I. I have lost a lot, man. I. You know, I. I. Which was wonderful. We haven't talked about my eye surgeries. I. I've had enough eye surgeries that my life and game has changed. Yeah. And I have. My body atrophied, lost strength, distance, you know, I don't know how much Mike is Playing with small kids. And, you know, I. I don't know how much he's playing, but I can still get it around. It just, you know, it's different. Yeah, it's like, you know, driving a car, but it's not a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but it'll take you and get you where you need to go.
Unknown Guest 1
You mentioned the surgery and since you brought it up, you had a very.
Unknown Guest 2
Serious eye issue three and got another one. You know, I had a retina that, that was detached, that tore, that had a cataract removed and now have a hole in my retina as I'm sitting here right now. Right. So I am going. I was supposed to have surgery the Monday after the hall of Fame induction, but I was like, will I be able to fly to green bay on September 11th to get my ring? And he said, oh, that's cutting it close. And I said, well, is it possible to postpone the surgery until after September 11th? Because we know it tore somewhere between July 3rd and last week. So my surgery is pushed, postponed until after September 11th, but I'm going to be face down, ready surgery, gas bubble, face down for X amount of hours a day for 14, 16, 18 days. Again. So it's. It takes a lot out of you because, and I think I said this to you, I've never contemplated suicide, but because of what I've gone through since October with this eye. Oh, I got a great understanding of it right now because when you go through the four drops four times a day, you got three drops three times a day, you got two drops five times a day. And each one of those drops got to be five minutes apart. So when you are tired and you jump into bed, wait a minute. What's your drop regimen? When you get up and you got to get back face down, what's your drop regimen? And remember, each drop has to be five minutes at least five minutes apart. So you get to a point where you're like, man, the hell with these drops. But I'm doing everything I can to try and save my vision and my eye. And so it is taxing. It is trying it because of my eye. I probably have not enjoyed being a and select each of the Pro Football hall of Fame as much. Because if you asked me in in November, I'll give you a choice. I'll give you back sight in your right eye as you had it, or I will make you a Pro Football hall of Famer. I would have chosen my right eye every day and twice on Sunday. That's that's how. Where I am with this, because it's.
Unknown Guest 1
You just had a surgeon driving to can.
Unknown Guest 2
Yeah, I just had a cataract removed July 2. July 1. And. And let me tell you what's really crazy is you're like, I'm never. It doesn't seem like I'm ever gonna catch. This might be the first time I lose. This might be the first time I lose, lose. And when I say lose, I'm not in control. I. I don't know the outcome. I'm not prepared for the outcome. I'm like, this eye, and there's no pain. This might be the first time I lose, which is really not difficult, but hard to understand and to carry.
Unknown Guest 1
Why is family so important to you?
Unknown Guest 2
It's all I had when I had nothing. I had you guys. When I got what people thought was everything, I had you guys. And so when you look at family, you look at people that may not care that you are a Hall of Famer. That's great. You look at people that may be really excited that you're a Hall of Famer. That's great. You look at people that like to talk a lot. Outstanding. You look at people that don't talk. I mean, I go home to see Libby, and we may say 15, 20 words a day, you know, and people are like, but really, I mean, you and I used to be together, and we would say, hey, man, what do you want to eat? Hey, you want to go to the movies? Yeah. Okay. I mean, we didn't. It wasn't like there were a lot of verbiage. So, you know, family is everything, because you don't have to do and be a certain way to be around them or with them.
Unknown Guest 1
Bro, Congratulations.
Unknown Guest 2
Thank you.
Unknown Guest 1
One half of the first brother in the Pro Football hall of Fame, the.
Unknown Guest 2
Best half of the pro first brother in the Pro Football hall of Fame.
Unknown Guest 1
The lady at sweet and savory atl, she said, I want to do something special for your brother. I said, well, his favorite cake is. At last I checked, it's probably red velvet or German chocolate.
Unknown Guest 2
Ain't no problem.
Unknown Guest 1
She said, I can do. I can do. I said, can you get it done? She said, I would love to get it done.
Unknown Guest 2
Oh, man.
Unknown Guest 1
She made this. This is a sweet and savory Atlanta.
Unknown Guest 2
Sweet and savory. Oh, thank you. I think I. I think I DM'd her.
Unknown Guest 1
Yes.
Unknown Guest 2
About one of her cakes she had online. I think I was like, oh, I need to get one of those. Yep. So. But no, thank you. Very much sweet and savory. Atl. Yeah, we gonna. This here, he got.
Unknown Guest 1
He got a sweet tooth. The half of that'll be gone this year.
Unknown Guest 2
Might not make it back to Columbia. Yeah, this here, we gonna knock a hole in that right there. All my life, been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price Wanna slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life all my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price Want a slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding.
Unknown Host
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.
Unknown Soccer Analyst
San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this region is been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
Jake Hofer
We need to embrace this community.
Unknown Host
Listen to San Diego FC behind the Flow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarah Spain
Get fired up, y'.
Unknown Guest 2
All.
Sarah Spain
Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people, an incomparable soccer icon Megan Rapinoe, to the show and we had a blast. Take a listen. Sue and I were like riding the lime bikes the other day and we're like, wee people ride bikes because it's fun. We got more incredible guests like Megan in store, plus news of the day and more. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network.
Jake Hofer
Jake I'm Jake Hofer and this is back 40, a limited series show on Wire to Hunt, part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network. Each episode I'll be asking eight whitetail hunting pros a focused, thought provoking question about hunting and land management. How do I hunt the best part of the farm with less than ideal access?
Unknown Guest 1
Should you? That's what the real question is. Stand without good access is not a good stand.
Jake Hofer
Listen to Back 40 on iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.
Sarah Spain
This is an iHeart podcast.
Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay - Sterling Sharpe Part 2
Welcome to a detailed summary of "Club Shay Shay - Sterling Sharpe Part 2," an engaging episode of the popular iHeartPodcasts series hosted by NFL legend Shannon Sharpe. In this episode, Sterling Sharpe, a revered NFL wide receiver, delves deep into his illustrious career, personal challenges, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Below is a comprehensive breakdown capturing all the key discussions, insights, and memorable moments from the conversation.
Sterling Sharpe begins by reflecting on his upbringing in Glenville, Georgia, emphasizing the strong work ethic instilled in him from a young age. He recounts early work experiences and his determination to avoid repetitive, unfulfilling labor jobs. This foundation of discipline and perseverance shaped his approach both on and off the field.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [04:13]: "Wait, hold on. See, the thing is, is their work ethic is, do I want to do it right, when you got no choice, you're gonna do it. And you are going to do it better than anyone else does anything else."
Sterling discusses his high school athletic prowess, highlighting his achievements in track and football. Despite excelling in multiple sports, football remained his primary passion. His decision to attend the University of South Carolina was influenced by familiarity with teammates and a sense of community, rather than the allure of rival schools like Clemson.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [07:35]: "A guy, an older gentleman, told me one time, he said, 'A dream is a gift you give to yourself.'... That's why nothing ever bothered me. I had accomplished my dream. I had given myself that gift."
Upon entering the NFL as a first-round draft pick for the Green Bay Packers, Sterling faced significant challenges adapting to the professional level. He details the complexities of understanding playbooks, adjusting to different coaching styles, and overcoming physical demands, especially as a receiver transitioning from college to the NFL.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [36:19]: "I just want to be in the right place at the right time, and if you need me, you throw it to me."
Sterling also highlights the influence of key figures like Coach Mike Holmgren and position coach John Gruden, who provided strategic guidance and fostered an environment where Sterling could excel.
Sterling compares his career achievements with those of his contemporaries, notably Jerry Rice. While acknowledging Rice's superior statistics, Sterling emphasizes his own dedication to executing plays effectively within the system. This segment underscores the friendly yet competitive dynamics among top receivers of his era.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [43:40]: "I just was running the plays to the best of my ability, and the numbers just added up."
A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Sterling's battles with injuries, particularly chronic issues that eventually led to his early retirement. He candidly discusses the physical toll of the sport, the lack of organizational support during his struggles, and the emotional weight of these challenges.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [69:25]: "The only thing that bothered me was that no one from the organization bothered to ask about my surgery. Not one person."
Sterling also shares poignant moments from the field, including memories of teammates' support during critical injuries, emphasizing the importance of camaraderie and resilience.
In the latter part of the episode, Sterling reflects on his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame alongside his brother, marking a historic moment as the first set of brothers to receive this honor. He delves into how his achievements were driven by personal dreams and the unwavering support of his family, rather than external accolades.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [75:19]: "Two little black boys from Glenville, Georgia, that didn't have a male figure in the household... It's just, you know, it's God's gift to being on a path, not deviating from that path."
Sterling also touches upon his post-football endeavors, including his transition to television and personal life challenges, offering a holistic view of his journey.
Sterling concludes by highlighting the profound impact of family and personal integrity on his life and career. He emphasizes that his accomplishments are deeply intertwined with his roots and the sacrifices made along the way. This heartfelt reflection serves as an inspiration for listeners, underscoring the value of perseverance, humility, and familial support.
Notable Quote:
Sterling Sharpe [83:57]: "Family is everything, because you don't have to do and be a certain way to be around them or with them."
Conclusion
In "Club Shay Shay - Sterling Sharpe Part 2," listeners are treated to an intimate and comprehensive exploration of Sterling Sharpe's life, from his challenging beginnings to his triumphant NFL career and beyond. Sharpe's honest and introspective narrative provides valuable lessons on resilience, dedication, and the importance of staying true to one's dreams. This episode is a must-listen for fans seeking deeper insights into the life of one of football's notable receivers.