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Exciting Mics
Chris Long on Super Bowls, Eagles Dog Mask Story, & More | Exciting Mics Ep. 7
01:04:27
Chris Long joins Cooper DeJean & Reed Blankenship on Episode 7 of Exciting Mics to talk about the Eagles Super Bowl, Eagles dog masks story, & More!
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- [00:00]
Chris Long
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- [00:09]
Ryan Reynolds
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- [01:16]
Chris Long
After the new England Super Bowl, I was relieved. After the Philly Super Bowl, I cried like a baby, man. It was everything that I ever could have wanted. It was like a movie, man. I always say this. I'm sure you guys might ask this question at some point, so I'll answer it now. I think y' all beat us pretty easily, but we'll always be the first, boys.
- [01:35]
Cooper DeJean
Welcome back to Exciting Mics presented by Van the pharmaceuticals. I'm Cooper DeJean.
- [01:40]
Reed Blankenship
And I'm Reed Blankenship. And thanks for joining us for our first remote episode of the show. We're excited for a very special guest today, a former Philadelphia Eagle and Super bowl champ, Mr. Chris Long.
- [01:51]
Cooper DeJean
Stay tuned for that and remember to follow exciting mics on all platforms. Make sure to like, comment, share and subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's get it started.
- [02:04]
Reed Blankenship
We're excited to welcome an absolute legend to the show. He's one of six players who wins a Super bowl back to back on different teams, including one Philadelphia Eagles.
- [02:13]
Cooper DeJean
He's the former NFL Walter Payton man of the Year winner And host of the Greenlight Pod. Please welcome La Flama Blanco, AKA Chris Long.
- [02:24]
Chris Long
What's up, y', all.
- [02:27]
Reed Blankenship
Baby?
- [02:28]
Chris Long
Well, not much, man.
- [02:30]
Cooper DeJean
Hey, what's the story behind La Flama Blanco? How'd that come about?
- [02:34]
Chris Long
Yeah, so you know what that means. Are you bilingual, Cooper?
- [02:38]
Cooper DeJean
I took Spanish in high school for four years, but I couldn't tell you what it means.
- [02:42]
Chris Long
Well, it's been a while. It's only been like six years since you were in high school, so. No, it's the White Flame, which, honestly, that's pretty fitting for either one of y'. All. But if you. Have you ever seen Eastbound and Down? Kenny Powers. Oh, you guys are young, bro.
- [03:03]
Cooper DeJean
Have you seen it?
- [03:04]
Reed Blankenship
No, I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't think so.
- [03:10]
Chris Long
Hey, you guys got to go back and watch Eastbound and Down. It's one of the greatest. I mean, this is your homework. You got to go back and watch. It's one of the greatest shows of all time. Watch. Start with the season in Myrtle Beach. That's my favorite season. But Kenny Powers is like a washed up baseball pitcher and he decides to go back to the minors. And his nickname is La Flamo Blanca. And It's. It's Danny McBride, who you would know if you saw him, I promise. But you got to go back and watch it. All your listeners are like, come on.
- [03:39]
Cooper DeJean
I know the name. I feel like I know the name Danny McBride, but.
- [03:42]
Chris Long
Yeah, look it up.
- [03:43]
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, you'll like to check it. Check that out. So you were born in la, Los Angeles, California. Moved to Virginia.
- [03:50]
Chris Long
Yeah.
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Cooper DeJean
Your father's the NFL. An NFL legend. Howie Long.
- [03:54]
Chris Long
He sure is, dude. Yeah. What was it.
- [03:59]
Cooper DeJean
What was it like growing up, you know, with. With him as your father? And do you have. Do you have any siblings? What was that like growing up?
- [04:07]
Chris Long
Yeah, so I'm one of three. I'm the oldest. My. The middle brother is Kyle. He played in the NFL for a while. I think he did nine years. He's enormous. Like, I'm a pretty big guy, but Kyle's like 6, 7, 3, 30. And then my younger brother, he lives in Vegas and he was a college athlete, played lacrosse and, you know, but he has that, like, normal height, so he didn't end up in the NFL. But, yeah, no, it was cool. Like, a lot of pressure, for sure. I mean, you know, everywhere you go, you kind of got a target on your back. And there's a ton of positives, too. Like, you know, as I rose in the ranks of football and played in the NFL and that sort of thing. You know, when you. After a game, you want to know how you played, right? Like, and usually I feel like you see your parents in the concourse, and they're like, you play great, honey. Like, you know, for the most part, or, you know, your mom will say that, or your dad will be like, I was great when you did that one thing. But, like, my dad knew everything. Like, he knew everything that I was thinking coming out of a game. You know, I come out of a game where, you know, everything went right for me. Had three sacks or something, but I. I was sweating a couple plays I didn't make, or, you know, there were. There were some times I was close. And, you know, there are games where you didn't do anything statistically, but you played maybe the best game of the season. Yeah, and he would know that thing, you know, and so that. That, for me, was very cool from a football standpoint, but just from, you know, growing up and learning to be a man like my dad, he worked for everything he had, you know, kind of came from nothing, built a life for us through football, and, you know, he raised us all to be hard workers, and he raised us all to. To. To really just bust our asses and. And that paid off in. In the long run. But, you know, also a great friend to me, and my brother's, like, still one of my best friends in the world. I still call him just to bs and, you know, it was a lot of pressure, for sure. And. And it also keeps you humble because anything you do, you come home to the dinner table, that person's done that and more, you know, so, like, you never get full of yourself. You know what I'm saying? And so. So there's a lot of positives to it. It also, you know, was a challenge at times, but, you know, it was an awesome ride.
- [06:23]
Cooper DeJean
What's your favorite memory that you have from growing up with. With your dad? And was there. Was there any NFL players that you kind of grew up around or that that impacted you throughout your journey?
- [06:36]
Chris Long
You know, I remember little things. Like, my favorite things about going to training camp was they had the Gatorade cans.
- [06:42]
Cooper DeJean
Oh, yeah.
- [06:42]
Chris Long
Like, oh, dude, if you've never had a Gatorade can, that's the best possible version of Gatorade that there is. And, you know, like, just little perks of being at the facility like that, you know, friends of his, and he used to always downplay it, but, like, one time I can remember in my Kitchen. I was like, hanging out with my dad and like, Bo Jackson's there, you know, like, like that kind of thing is super cool. And my dad was always somebody that, that reinforced to us at home that, hey, like, this is just what I do. It doesn't make me special. You're not special. We're not special. This is what I do for a living. And so it kind of, at times when I was a kid, I didn't. I didn't make a big enough deal about it, you know, like, and so recently I was at the super bowl and I got to interview Barry Sanders, and I was like, blown away. He's like my favorite running back. And I was like, dad, it would have been so cool to meet Barry Sanders. Like, I'm so psyched about this. And he was like, dude, you did meet him. You got his autograph when you were a kid. Like, you just don't remember it. So, you know, it was one of those things. Like, he retired when I was 8, and then we moved to Virginia. We left California. And so it was a chapter of my life that was very early. But what was cool for me as a, as a player is I kind of got to. I kind of got to lay my life out the way I wanted it and learn from what my dad went through. Because my dad has been real straight up about this. Like, hey, listen, I'm sorry that at times it was hard for me to turn the switch off when I came home, you know, and I might have been a thousand miles away, but I'm in the room, you know, And y' all know this. When you come home after two, after Wednesday practice or a tough film session or a bad game, you know, it's hard to flip that switch and be present at home and, and not take work home. And. And my dad was very desperate. You know, he came from a desperate place. So for him, he didn't have a road map. You know, his dad was there and he wasn't and that sort of thing. So my dad was winging it and he did a fantastic job and he didn't put pressure on me. He didn't. Like, that's another thing. Like, he never was like, yeah, he never, he never was like, he never was like, you got to be a football player. He was like, if you're going to be a football player, you're going to be the hardest working football player. You know, if you're going to be a doctor, you're going to be the hardest working doctor. Whatever it was, he gave me a Lot of freedom to do what I wanted to do and he didn't put too much pressure on me. But the non negotiables were going to be the non negotiables.
- [09:02]
Cooper DeJean
You said he didn't put any pressure on you, but did you, do you feel like you put pressure on yourself because of who he was?
- [09:09]
Chris Long
No question.
- [09:10]
Cooper DeJean
Even if he didn't.
- [09:10]
Chris Long
Yeah, yeah, it's unavoidable, man. You know, like, and, and it's something that follows you your whole career. I mean, like, listen, like when your dad's in the hall of Fame and you know, I was a good player and everything but you know, I'm not going to the hall of Fame. That, that is, that's just something that's going to be hard to live up to and, and you know, I take a lot of pride in, in, in weathering that storm and being able to put together a career of my own. And this didn't take away from other guys who are second generation. But there's not a ton of second generation guys that play a long time in the NFL at a high level. There are those guys. But if you ask them like, was it easy? I don't think they tell you it was easy. I think sometimes it, it could make it a little harder because of the expectations and so, and sometimes they are self imposed expectations. You know, it's, it's very natural to, to measure yourself against your dad or your older brother that sort of like my younger brother Kyle, when he got in the league, he had to live up to my dad and he was also, you know, living up to me. And so it was hard on him and at times hard on me. But you're right though, the way you put it is right, like that's self imposed pressure, all pressure is self imposed because you have a choice of what and I think it could be good for you, but you gotta have, you gotta develop a healthy relationship with pressure. And I think eventually through my career I figured that out and now as a 40 year old man, like, listen, like it's all in the rear view, but it's definitely self imposed, a lot of it. But it's also people, you know, like you're just always framed in, in the conversation of what, what was your dad like? You know, like me and my dad were different players. Like we didn't really do the same things. We put, he played up and down the line. I was more of an edge player. But we get compared incessantly, you know, and that's just something you got to live with and for me being able to play 11 years, you know, have some of the individual success, I had some of the team success, it really just write my own chapter and I'm very blessed to be able to do it.
- [11:09]
Cooper DeJean
What would you have done if you weren't playing football?
- [11:11]
Chris Long
I actually own a river rafting company here in Virginia. Wow. And it's where I spend most of my time is out on the water. And so I think I would end up like one of these river guides, man. I would have been out west, paddling to Colorado, probably watching y' all on tv, not doing, not doing what I did. Like it was football. I wasn't a great athlete. Like I played a lot of sports. But I'll tell you this much. Like, I'm not one of these guys that. But I'm just. Because I'm in a family with Howie Long and Kyle Long, bro. Kyle Long, brother. Read, read. I'm telling Ask Lane. Am I a great athlete? Ask Lane. So I just put it this way. On a spectrum of guys that have like incredible talent and guys that, you know, are more gym rack kind of guys. Like, I'm definitely at the very least in the middle, not to the right towards like freak athlete. Especially when you get up in the NFL, you realize that y' all know this. Like when you get up in the NFL you're like, damn. Like, everybody is the best player I ever played. I wasn't one of these guys that just picks up random sports. Easy. Like, I can't dance, bro. I can't. Like, if you try to get me to play ping pong, it's going to be embarrassing. Like Kyle, my brother could he, he went to Florida State to play baseball, right? And then he was like, ah, I don't think I'm going to play baseball. I'm going to go to juco and try football. A year later he's at Oregon and then a year later he's a first round pick. Like he's one of those guys that just like. So of course when I say I'm not a great athlete, I just mean relative to what?
- [12:48]
Cooper DeJean
Just comparing yourself.
- [12:49]
Chris Long
Yeah, comparing. Yeah. And the thing is like usually guys, guys before they play in the NFL, they are the best athlete within a 10 mile radius. Right at my dinner table there's two guys who are more athletic than me. And then I get up to the NFL and I'm like, damn. Like, it's just so I don't think of myself as a great athlete, but I definitely made it work.
- [13:12]
Reed Blankenship
You're humble you're humble.
- [13:13]
Chris Long
It's a team. It's a team game, man. And that's the thing about, like, listen, I did. I'm one of six players, you guys. By the way, you guys are fantastic at the intros. You. You guys are some of the best young podcasters I've ever seen. Hey, but here's the deal, man. Like, y' all know this. You got. You guys just got done doing it, and certainly you guys were stars of the team and that sort of thing, but, like, when I got to be on winning teams for the first time in my career, I was now a vet. And, like, yeah, I still was a good player, but I wasn't, you know, raising hell. 25 years old, 13 sacks in a season. Like, my prime wasn't. Wasn't on those teams. So it was easy to stay humble. And then when you win a championship, people are like, hey, you know, hey, you're a world champion. You won two. Two Super Bowls back to back. That's literally just good. Good forecasting. That's literally just me making the most out of my. My first shots at free agency. And what's funny is, like, when I won in. When we won in New England in 2016, it came down to Atlanta and New England for me. I had been on one team my whole career, got IR two years in a row, got cut, you know, went from captain to cut within two, and that's the reality of the league. And then I got to earn my way on a new team, and it came down to Atlanta and New England, and I'll never forget making that decision. And then at halftime of the Super bowl, it's 28 to 3 or whatever it is before we made that comeback, and I'm sitting on the bench next to my boy Ninko, thinking, I really didn't. I. Like, I just didn't want to play in a four eye. Literally. Dan Quinn was like, we want you to be our Michael Bennett down here. And I'm like. And my smile went to, like, a. Like a frown because I was like, oh, that means I got to play inside. The irony is, I went up to New England, and they stuck me to three technique after the third game. But, you know, so it's just. It's like being a champion, just everything has to go right and the people around you have to play well. And, like, the same thing with us in 17. Like, we just. We just caught lightning in a bottle, man. So, you know, you got to be humble when you win a championship. Unless you're, like, the quarterback of the team or you're Saquon Barkley or unless you get like some dramatic pick six to close out the first half, you know.
- [15:30]
Reed Blankenship
Exactly. Dramatic.
- [15:34]
Chris Long
It ain't about you. So I. So I don't really, like, ever take that. When people are like, yo, you're a two, two time champ. I'm like, yeah, I was in the right place at the right time. You know, I had some individual success and everything, but I played with a lot of guys who were really great players in St. Louis, but never got to see the. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you know what I mean? And they got cut like me at some point or they got traded or they left and then they. They went to some team and kept losing. So I like to walk around a little bit of humility about what I got to enjoy at the end of my career.
- [16:06]
Reed Blankenship
Which one was, like, sweeter between the two wins?
- [16:10]
Chris Long
I always explain it this way, you know, being a part of the Patriots at that time and considering my role in the team, which was, you know, by the end of the season, I was a third down rusher and that was it, because we played a reduced defense and I was 265. And for most of the season, I was like playing three. And I'm okay with shoveling ship, but it just ends up being a thing where you're a part of the machine for sure. And, like, it was a huge relief for me. I, like, I don't know how y' all felt when the confetti came down, but, like, for me in New England, it was a relief. It was like, I can. I can go out now however I want because I've cashed in on my career and I'm part of a machine. This is like a tradition, right? Like, you come to New England. Anything less than that is a disappointment for the Tom Brady led Patriots. And so it was really cool. You're walking into a building where just everybody knows right down to the parade route how to do this thing. And they've done it a bunch of times before. And so when you win and you're a part of that thing, you take a lot of pride in, like, being able to stick with the Patriot way all year, like, play your role, be malleable. I played different positions. I did things that made me uncomfortable. And then the Philly one was like, hey, I want to finish my career when I left New England, and a lot of people were like, what's wrong with you? Why would you ever leave New England? Because I wanted to Finish playing on my terms and play the way I played when I was younger. And, you know, I remember sitting in the hotel getting ready for Atlanta and watching Philly play Atlanta on a cut up, and I was watching BG and Vinny Curry and Fletch and all those guys, and I was like, man, I want to play with those. Not in my head at the moment, because I'm getting ready for the super bowl. But. But when it got into free agency, I was like, man, remember how they were flying around? And that was Schwartz's defense. So it was more, you know, nine techniques and hit it and get it and create havoc. And I wanted to go back because I was a part of a group in St. Louis that. I mean, we had, like, 53 sacks one year. We had. Robert Quinn had 20. You know, I had 13. You know, we had a couple guys with eight, seven, six. Like, we were a dominant group. And it felt good being a part of a group that went out and hunted like that. And I wanted to be a part of a group like that again. And so when I got to Philly, it was like, all that. And I didn't quite expect us to be that good. It was really just an individual play on my part. Like, hey, this team would be fun to play for. I'd like to retire playing the way I know how to play. And we were picked to be probably bottom third of the league. And so when we started rolling, man, like, you think about everything that happened, and all Philly fans know this thing, but, like, the. The Carson getting hurt, you know, the dramatic playoff kind of run we went on, the fact that it was the first super bowl in the city, like it for me, after the New England Super Bowl, I was relieved. After the Philly Super Bowl, I cried like a baby, man, because it just. It was everything that I ever could have won. It was like a movie, man. It was like living in a movie. And. And listen, like I always say this. I'm sure you guys might ask this question at some point, so I'll answer it now. I think y' all beat us pretty easily, but we'll always be the first boys.
- [19:30]
Cooper DeJean
That is true.
- [19:32]
Chris Long
But y' all were. Hey, y' all are so good, man. I mean, like, we weren't that kind of team. We. We were a team that got hot. Y' all were a team that. And I agree with Saquon when he was on your. Your show. I don't know too many teams that are hanging with y'. All. You know, it just is one of the best teams I ever saw. We were good, but. But it was one of those things where, like, when Minnesota came to town for the NFC championship and we came out there for warm ups and they. They put on dreams and nightmares and we're jumping around in the end zone, I looked around, I'm like, it doesn't fucking matter who we play night. Yeah, tonight it doesn't matter who we play. We play teams. Nine out of 10 times, we might lose that team, but we just had that magic. And so that's what that super bowl felt like to me. So Philly was sweeter, but I totally appreciate my time in New England. It was. It was a joy, man. Like, I had some amazing teammates there and in Philly as well.
- [20:31]
Reed Blankenship
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- [20:37]
Cooper DeJean
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- [20:51]
Reed Blankenship
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- [20:55]
Cooper DeJean
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- [21:04]
Reed Blankenship
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- [21:10]
Cooper DeJean
Vanda Pharmaceuticals innovate in the service of people's pursuit of happiness. Reid, I walked into my garage yesterday and it felt like a sauna.
- [21:18]
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, bro, this Philly heat, no joke.
- [21:21]
Cooper DeJean
So I got like 10 bags of ice and made my own ice bath just to cool off.
- [21:26]
Reed Blankenship
Coop, why don't you just turn on the ac, dude?
- [21:29]
Cooper DeJean
Because I was trying to be energy efficient. You know, go green, go birds. Right?
- [21:33]
Reed Blankenship
Or instead of icing yourself out, you could just check out Pico's energy saving rebates. They've got deals on energy star cooling equipment that can actually work and cut your bills.
- [21:43]
Cooper DeJean
So no more ice N man.
- [21:46]
Reed Blankenship
Unless it's ice around your neck.
- [21:48]
Cooper DeJean
O that's what's up.
- [21:50]
Reed Blankenship
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- [21:57]
Cooper DeJean
That's pico.com backslash ways to save. Welcome back to exciting mics presented by Vanda Pharmaceuticals. What's the story behind the meat mansion?
- [22:10]
Chris Long
Who have you been talking to?
- [22:13]
Reed Blankenship
The meats.
- [22:14]
Cooper DeJean
I mean, wow, bro, it's wild.
- [22:18]
Chris Long
I mean, it's definitely wild.
- [22:20]
Cooper DeJean
I wanted to hear the story.
- [22:21]
Chris Long
It was basically. It was basically the biggest dudes on the team all lived in one house. It was like the biggest and best dudes on the team lived in one house. And it was. We. We basically rented out an entire like duplex and just took it over. It was like it was occupied, right? And we just. And it was just kegs of beer. I mean all. It was like a football movie. It was basically like, like whoever the biggest meatball like that.
- [22:46]
Cooper DeJean
It was like on state type thing or no, a little bit more the.
- [22:49]
Chris Long
Program minus the steroids. But that's again, like that might be before your time, but it was like it was just the biggest meatballs in one house. And we were an impressive group of dudes, man. We used to do midnight lifts and shit like that. You know, we had one of those big ten strength coaches that came, came in named Matt Bayless and he used to have us in there. He was at Notre Dame a couple years ago. We used to be lifting weights till 2, 3 in the morning. Like, dudes were just totally, singularly focused. And so they, they called it the meat mansion, man. It was just a bunch of big meatballs there and it was a lot of beer. It was a lot of. It was a lot of partying, a lot of, A lot of getting ready to play football. I mean it was. We were so singularly focused.
- [23:34]
Cooper DeJean
How many dudes lived in, lived in the house or the duplex?
- [23:38]
Chris Long
One year we had 20 just stacked on top. Like we'd have four on the floor level. And then as you went up the stairs, it was just like football, football, football. And we used to like, we'd have like a beer bong, right? And. But we get like a 30 foot one and we would bong hurricanes off the top, off the roof. So, you know, like, it was just, it was savagery, but it was good clean fun and nobody got hurt. And you know, by senior year, I think at any point there could be 10 to 14 guys living in that, in that duplex. Because there were certain guys that would just come and live there, you know, indefinitely. You know, like, can I stay on the couch for a little bit? Or whatever. So yeah, it's still here. We, me and my buddy John tried to go knock on the door a couple years ago to be like, hey, we used to live here. And they opened the door and they were like, we were waiting for them to invite us inside. And the guy was like, all right, have a good night and shut the fuck. No, they're regular like now it's like regular people, dude. And we were like, let's. They'll definitely let Us in. They'll know who we are. And we rolled up, and they were like. And they just shut the door, dude. So, yeah, the Meat Mansion is still here. Shout out Price Avenue.
- [25:02]
Cooper DeJean
What was your welcome to the NFL moment, dude?
- [25:04]
Chris Long
Honestly, it was playing at the Link. It was so my first game as a pro, ironically, was at the Link. And this is when they had Westbrook, Trey Thomas, Runyon McNabb. And I remember, like, it was so hot, and we were so bad. Like, Stephen Jackson. Y' all remember him, the running back? Just enormous dude. Like, my size. He was 6, 3 2, a little lighter. He's probably 245, but he's just. He's like a GI Joe, and he's one of the. The better running backs of our generation. And he. He scared the out of me in camp. It was like, you know, like, we're thudding up, and I'd thought him up, and I'd be like, damn, dude. Like, what's going to happen to the guys that aren't thudding him up? Like, this is going to be. I'm like, do they tackle this guy up here, like, And. And I remember the first damn quarter we go out there, it's like 100 degrees, and I think he catches a screen screen pass in the. In the flat. And Eagles fans are gonna remember this guy. I think his last name, Shepard, I. I'm not sure, but he decapitates Steven Jackson, and his. His helmet goes 30ft in the air. And I thought. I was like, surely he's dead. I mean, like, I've never seen a hit this hard. The crowd goes nuts. You know, Link goes crazy. Yeah. Steven gets up with his helmet off, and Steve used to look like, you know, just brahma bull. Like, he was. He's, like, breathing fire. And he stood up and signaled first down without his helmet on. And it was like, I'm eating that, bro. And I just remember thinking to myself, like, golly, these fucking dudes are unbelievable. Like, I'm rushing against Trey Thomas. Like, I was just. I was just a college player. Thomas, Runyon, Westbrook. Like, it was an incredible welcome to the NFL. We lost 34 to 3. You know, it was like, it wasn't even close. So that was definitely a welcome to the NFL moment for me.
- [27:04]
Cooper DeJean
When you were in St. Louis, was. Was Aaron Donald there when you were there?
- [27:07]
Chris Long
Ad my boy was.
- [27:09]
Cooper DeJean
What was he like? What was it like getting to know him? And when did you kind of know that he was. He was going to be the player that. That he eventually became?
- [27:18]
Chris Long
Well, he will tell you this. You guys should get Aaron on your show at some point. He is, let me say this about Aaron. He has a fantastic amount of talent. He's a very unique player. He was 258 in the Super Bowl. He told me when they beat the Bengals, like, so you're talking about a guy with that kind of strength playing at that weight, as explosive as he is, the whole thing. Like there's, there's only one Aaron Donald. In my opinion, and this is with all due respect to anybody else, I think he's the best. He's possibly the best defensive lineman all the time. The other guy's Reggie White. I mean, and if you're going to count Lawrence Taylor, I think he's, he's more of a, an edge guy backer. But like Aaron Donald to me, and if you ask a lot of O lineman now is the best D lineman that ever played. And Aaron Donald, when he showed up for camp his rookie year, I think it was like my second to last year there, whatever it was. And he'll tell you, me and William Hayes, who was a good buddy of mine on the team, walked up to the GM like day two and we go, I know this isn't how it works but you need to make him the highest paid defensive player in football. We said, we said he's going to the hall of Fame. And we, we were saying that to local reporters in St. Louis. And as the year went on, people were like, damn, dude, he really might be. I've never seen a guy play with more violence than Aaron. And by that I mean like the quickness and the hand violence that you can't teach match with an insatiable work ethic, right? So like I would come, I would come to the D line room after practice and I would watch film and usually wait till everybody was gone in camp, like 8 o'. Clock. One of those nights where you get out a little early and I try to watch some film. And I remember coming in the D line room and one day after the next I'd come to D line room, open the door and we only had one damn monitor. Aaron would be in there every time and he's a rookie. He's riding the bus back to the hotel like he didn't have his car there or anything yet. So this guy was always a worker. You pair that with his natural violence. And then the third most important thing is he's a great person and a gentle human being. But if you cross him on the field, get out of the way and get your. Get your will in order.
- [29:43]
Cooper DeJean
We heard about a prank war that you had when you were in. When you were in St. Louis.
- [29:50]
Chris Long
Yeah.
- [29:51]
Cooper DeJean
Were you a big prankster? What's the craziest prank you pulled?
- [29:56]
Chris Long
Yeah, we used to pull a lot of pranks. Me and my boys used to pull a lot of pranks. D line was a lot, like probably the D line in your room where it's like, hey, don't mess with those guys. They got a lot of money and their children. That's just a crazy combination. We were the highest paid guys in the building and the most immature, and we stuck together. But Jeff Fisher was our coach and Fish is the man, dude. And like, Fish liked pranks, right? And so like, you know, it was kind of like, hey, just don't take it too far and I won't get in the way, you know, whatever. Don't get in any fights over pranks. And the dbs, you know, how y' all do, were instigating. And one day, one of the DBs, we were about to go to Seattle for a two day trip and one of the DBs, after our walk through, came in the D line room, or walked by the D line room, opened the door and threw ice at us. Just started throwing ice at us like, like children. And so I said, all right, I got this. And I came up to our equipment manager, Jimmy Lake, before we got on the bus. I say, I need, can you get me a carpenter and can you give me a tow truck driver? Can you give me these two things before we take off? And he's like, let me call my boys. And so everybody gets on the bus. I go on the bus, act like I forgot something. We get the DB's keys, put them in a pile, and I get this carpenter on call. So while we're gone, what he's going to do, because across from our building there's an industrial park with a lot of open grass. And I said, hey, can you build little houses? I'm going to get the cars towed in the, in the, in the field. And can you build houses around their cars, like just plywood? We don't need windows or anything. I just need them to be houses that are structurally sound enough that they're going to be really hard to take apart. And I need it done by Sunday night when we get back from Seattle. He said, no problem. So we constructed what was called DB Ville. And we had like eight cars and eight little houses and they had mailboxes with the guys numbers on them. And they had Christmas lights around them because it was the dead of winter and that's where we put their cars. So when we got back Sunday night and we rounded the corner, DBs were like, no, no, no, no, that's not, that's not my car in there. There's no way. There's no goddamn way that's my car in there. No way we get in the parking lot, their cars aren't there. They go out in the, in the field, they see the numbers on the, on the, on the, the damn mailboxes. And these guys had to call and get somebody to chainsaw their cars out. And it took all night. So yeah, so it was like. It was a great prank. I wish I got more photo evidence of it because I'll never forget when we pulled around the corner, the Christmas lights and the whole neighborhood feel over there. It just was really, it was, it was an idyllic little neighborhood and. And the DB's never Christmas lights up over there. Oh yeah, we had Christmas lights and everything, bro. It's fact.
- [32:55]
Reed Blankenship
Somebody agreed to do that though.
- [32:58]
Chris Long
Well, you know, it's. Subcontractors need work. And. And the other one was we put 10,000 crickets in James Larinaitis car. He had to turn his Audi in, he had to give his Audi back. And he actually tried to get my truck shipped to London to show up on the field. When we were practicing in London, it was going to be one of those situations where I was like, now you got to get it back. So we had a lot of great pranks, man. You know, Courtland Finnegan, who was a db, put all the linebackers cars on a car carrier and pulled it up on this hill across the ravine. During walkthroughs, the guy saw where the cars were. After the, after practice we heard a shhh. And it was a city bus that came to pick the linebackers up and take them home. So, so we definitely, we had some fun, man. And we didn't win a ton of games, but our defense was real tight and we played pretty good defense and we played a lot of pranks on each other.
- [34:04]
Cooper DeJean
And now a word from one of our sponsors, my fitness pal. Alright, Reed, we know you're getting married soon.
- [34:09]
Reed Blankenship
I'm aware.
- [34:10]
Cooper DeJean
Here's a question for you. What's more motivating for you to get fit? The wedding or the season?
- [34:17]
Reed Blankenship
Yes. The answer is yes.
- [34:19]
Cooper DeJean
Good answer. So you know the app, my fitness pal?
- [34:22]
Reed Blankenship
I know you use it.
- [34:23]
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, it helps me track what I eat. Check this out. You set your Goals like, are you trying to cut weight, build muscle, whatever. Then MyFitnessPal helps make sure you get the right amount of protein and carbs.
- [34:35]
Reed Blankenship
Yep.
- [34:36]
Cooper DeJean
They've got this meal planner in the app where you tell it your fitness goals and what you'd like to eat, and it builds a whole meal plan for you, like, every meal.
- [34:44]
Reed Blankenship
So basically, a nutritionist right at your fingertips.
- [34:48]
Cooper DeJean
Here's a few things about it. It's got over a thousand recipes. You can sync it up with popular grocery delivery apps. So all the food you need goes on your grocery list.
- [34:58]
Reed Blankenship
Okay, that's slick.
- [34:59]
Cooper DeJean
And it's easy to log your food. I can open the app and say, like, chicken burrito bowl, extra guac, and it tracks it. Or get this. You can just scan your plate with your phone, and the app can tell you what you're eating. Wow.
- [35:14]
Reed Blankenship
Super easy. Probably saves a lot of time. You know, with the Eagles, we have these great chefs nutritionists that keep us on track. So I can see that app being.
- [35:23]
Cooper DeJean
Handy, like, in the off season.
- [35:25]
Reed Blankenship
It's like a coach and a chef and a nutritionist in your pocket.
- [35:29]
Cooper DeJean
Big pockets. All right, everyone, download MyFitnessPal and get fit for your wedding, the season, or just life.
- [35:36]
Reed Blankenship
Taking care of my health so I can perform on the field is my top priority, and that includes my oral health. I want to introduce you to my other favorite team, the do that dental group. They make sure I have the most advanced dental care and, of course, a great smile.
- [35:50]
Cooper DeJean
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- [36:08]
Reed Blankenship
In fact, I'm working on getting ready for my wedding next month with Ron Goldenberg at the center city location, Walnut Street. Smiles. When I was younger, I was in an accident that severely damaged the front tooth. But for my wedding next month, I want to look and feel my best and just updated my smile for the big day. Visit my dentist@philadelphiaeaglesdentist.com and see what they can do for you. Smile like the birds.
- [36:32]
Cooper DeJean
Welcome back to Exciting Mics, presented by Vanda Pharmaceuticals. You were in New England for the. For the infamous 283 comeback against Atlanta. What was that like in that. In that locker room during. During halftime?
- [36:46]
Chris Long
Well, you always imagine Bill had some, like, crazy, dramatic speech, but honestly, he just came in and made it about execution. You know, he Said, hey, we're going to. We're going to climb back in this game one play at a time. You know, that's the thing about Bill, or, you know, coaches in general. Like, it doesn't do any good sometimes when the building's on fire to scream, the building's on fire. Like, right? And just like, you guys know that, we know that. Like, this is terrible. We've been waiting our whole lives, me personally, to play in a Super bowl, and all of a sudden, we're down three scores. Like, I was on nickel, right, like, at that point. So I wasn't first and second down, and I barely saw the field the first damn half. Like, we couldn't even get to third down. Like, that's how bad we were playing, bro. So it just ended up being a thing where we needed a break or two, and we needed Atlanta to feel, you know, that thing where you're like, is it happening? Right? And the minute they felt that, they. They started. They started pissing down their legs, and I'm. That's just the way it goes. Like, when you play New England or a team like that, you can't. You can't attach all the legacy stuff to the team you're playing, right? Because it makes them scary. And the minute Tom leads you on a drive, like, all of a sudden they're puckered up and they're thinking, oh, is he going to do it? Like. And I think that's what happened. Like, we beat them. But I also think it was a thing where they were like, damn, here they come. And they played tight, and. And I think Bill knew that. I think Bill knew if we came out strong and didn't waste any time in the second half, we'd be able to climb back in that game. Edelman was a guy who was talking about it at one point in the locker room, was like, hey, we're going to come back. We're going to win this game. But you know how it is. Like, dudes are looking at the board there. You guys are figuring out how you want to leverage something, or, you know, we're figuring out who's forcing some or, you know, how. What kind of stunt we want to run into a run. Look like we're not doing the movie speech, you know, I think a lot of football fans think the movie speech is happening, but what's happening is execution is the only way out. So we were so in the moment, but I remember Daron Harmon got up and was like, we're gonna win this game. We're gonna Win this game. And I remember my head thinking, like, let's just get a stop. Like, shall we? Because we haven't gotten a stop yet. And so, man, we came out, and I'll never forget Rob Ninkovich, one of my good buddies, who was the other one of the linebackers, he was like, hey, I'm just telling you, this is leading up the game. He said, winning the super bowl is the best day of your life. It's gonna be the best day of your life. And I was like, oh, yeah. And he goes, yeah, one more thing. He goes, losing the super bowl, you're gonna wish you went 0:16. Cause at that point we played 16 games. And it stuck in the back of my head. I, like, giggled. I was like. And then at half, I looked at him, I'm like, this is what you're talking about. And me and Rob were not convinced we were going to win that game. We thought we were going to lose that game. I'm not one of these people who, if you ask me, did you believe? I did not believe. And I think part of that is I came from a losing team. And I think the guys that. That are used to winning, there is a confidence about them that that improves the team. So when you build a culture and you've been there and done that, it makes you even better in the moment.
- [40:00]
Reed Blankenship
Yeah. After the Patriots, you signed for the Eagles on your 32nd birthday, is that right?
- [40:06]
Chris Long
Yeah, it was. It was.
- [40:08]
Reed Blankenship
So how was that? Like, how was, you know, going in the field? Obviously, that's the only team I've been on, so, like, embracing the city of. For who they are, you know, like, what was your first impressions? Because I'm sure it was probably two totally different, you know, fan bases.
- [40:24]
Chris Long
Dude, there's just something special about this place, man. You guys are there. You know, it. I mean, like, it gives me chills thinking about it, man. Like, I remember being in training camp and looking out the navy yard, the little hotel. I don't know if y' all still camp there, but, like, looking out the window and seeing the link lit up, you know, I just meeting people in Philly, like, they have, like, they wear their emotions on their sleeves. Like, they got big hearts, man. They're. They're passionate people, right? And I think it's a tough city. Like, it's a blue collar city, man. And. And what I loved about it was you could tell right away that if you played a certain type of way and you conducted yourself a certain type of way, people are going to respect you for who you were, right? Like, now I'm lucky. I never was on a bad team in Philly, but at one point, defending a title, we were 4 and 6. So I've seen the other side of it. I've seen the side of it where, like, you're puckered up when you take the field because the fans are getting ready to boo, and they should, right? But I love Philly because it's like looking in a mirror. What, you know, what you give is what you're gonna see. You know, it's, it's, it's. What you give is what you get. And. And they're not gonna bullshit you. I just remember thinking the first practice of the stadium, like, looking up and saying, wow, like, look how many people are here, you know, for a training camp practice. And. And I'm not somebody who played, quote unquote, big time college football, right? Like, two of us here and, you know, Reed and I. I mean, like Iowa I think of as like, big time where it's. That's what's going on, dude. You know, like, and I'm not being self deprecating, but, like, playing in Virginia, there's a lot of other stuff going on here and there's a lot of other stuff going on in Philly, but when you're playing for the Eagles, it feels like you're on a damn. You're on one of those teams where it's the only thing in town, right? Like one of these SEC schools or something. So that was a totally new experience for me, man. And New England gave me a taste of that. But. But I just love the city, man. I never lived in a city like downtown somewhere. I love living. I lived in. In by the art museum and then I lived on Walnut street. And I just love living in the city for like a couple years. That was a different thing for me. I love going to all the games. Like, all the damn sports complexes are in one place. It ain't like that everywhere. I love, I love Philly, dude. Like, and I love coming back, dude. Fans are. Fans are so cool. They're so passionate, but they're also, like, cool about when they come up and meet you. I feel like I remember pulling in during our playoff run, like, down whatever the name of the road is that goes to the facility. I'm just forgetting Broad Street. Yeah, Packer. A Packer or something like that. Yeah. And I was coming in that way and. And the trash guys were out there. It was like seven in the morning and it was like we had Just started our playoff run, and I pulled up to a light, and the guy saw me, and they all just started, like, they were just like, let's go. Like, they were, like, throwing. There. They were throwing around like, they were throwing the trash bags. And. And I opened my window, I was like, let's go, bro. Like, we were. It just felt like. It felt like the fans were, like, a part of it. And. And they. When you saw, like, somebody at a restaurant or, you know, the doorman at a hotel or something, like, the handshake was always like, bro. There was, like, a bond there. It was like, we got this, and it is, like a real we thing. So I love Philly.
- [43:53]
Cooper DeJean
During that playoff run, you guys had, like. Like the underdog. It was like, a big underdog theme mentality. And so didn't someone. Wasn't someone wearing, like, a dog mask?
- [44:04]
Chris Long
Yeah, yeah, Lane. Me and Lane and Beau. So what happened was every question in the media. And again, this kind of starts as a being a ball buster thing again. This is, like, where I come in being the guy keeping it light, right? Like, yeah, so. So. So every question in the media is like, do you guys know you're underdog? Do you know you're picked up? No one's picking. Do you know? I'm like, all right, Lane, here's what we need to do. We're going to play Atlanta this weekend. We're going to beat them. And this is like a Wednesday. We were sitting on the training table, and I said, we need to get some dog masks and just start fucking with the media. So, like, after the game, we come in and take our interviews in dog masks, like, you know, since you all want to ask us so much about it. And he's like, that's a good idea, son. And. And I'm like, lane, I'm like, how quick can we get these dog masks? And he started getting on Amazon, and we were just like. We ordered them, and I think they came in, like, at the last possible minute. Like, they almost didn't happen. And I can also say this. And Bo. Bo Allen was like, I want to get involved. And he was late, so he had to order one. He got, like, a saluki or some dog like that. Like, he looked like. And we were like. We were like German shepherds. And he was like a saluki. But the funniest thing was, like, I. After the Atlanta game, when we put them on, there was a moment in my head where I was like, there's no going back. I was like. I was like, bro, if we get. If we get. If we get drugged this week, like, if we get our asses kicked this week against whoever it was, Minnesota or something, I go, we're never gonna live this down. I started picturing they were doing crying Jordans at the time. Do you remember crying Jordan phase? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, they're gonna cry in Jordan the dog. Like, they're gonna cry. And Jordan, me and the mask. When you do something like that, you gotta back it up. And at first, we were just having fun, but I'll never forget the gravity of the situation when it caught on like wildfire. And then the next week, the whole stands, there were people with damn masks. And I was like, what have we done, bro? I was like, we gotta win this thing. We have to win the Philly, bro. That's.
- [46:19]
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, that is feeling.
- [46:20]
Cooper DeJean
All those fans just love that.
- [46:22]
Chris Long
And the coolest part is we got our super bowl ring. And on the inside of the super bowl ring, there's a little dog, a little German shepherd. So for me, that's probably my proudest, you know, proudest association with the. The team was like, me and Lane sat in there, and we were just messing around, and it turned into this thing, man. Like, and. And so I think it's so cool.
- [46:42]
Reed Blankenship
What was it like? So, like, go to the super bowl again. What was it like facing the Patriots?
- [46:48]
Chris Long
You know, same thing. It's like, man, double whammy. If we lose this game, they're gonna cry, and Jordan, me in the dog mask, and they're gonna be like, you idiot. You never should have left New England. Because if you know anything about Patriots fans, like, they love to be like, why would you not want to play here? Like, and for a guy to leave on his own accord, you know, in free agency, you know, people were like, you idiot. And it wasn't just me. It was LeGarrett blunt, too. And me and L.G. me and L.G. i'll never forget calling L.G. and being like, bro, like, it's awesome here. Like, I've been talking to these people. I just signed. Like, you need to get down here. And. And he was like, you know what? Like, there's a chance. And I'll never forget the day I was working out in the weight room, and he walked in the waiting room, and I was like, bro, we're reunited. And he was like, let's see how. Let's see how it goes. And like, a year later, we're playing our old team. It was just crazy. And I don't Know if y' all saw this, but they played the Jaguars in the AFC championship and there was a bad call in that game where, like, Miles Jack picked up a fumble and they said the ball, the runner was down. Like at that point, Jacksonville had like a two score lead or something. They would have had a two score lead in the second half with the ball. Like, we would have played the damn Jags. And I'll never forget, like, sitting in Dom's office. You know that office where Dom sits? Yeah, yeah. And. And he's got his little tv and like, you know, I'm glued to it. Like, come on, Jags. Like, I don't want to play Tom Brady. I don't want to play Tom Brady anyways, because I'd rather play Blake Bortles. No offense to Blake, who was a good player, but, like, we're going to, like, Tom's going to get that ball out, so we're not going to get any sacks. And there's the. The embarrassment factor of what if we lose to our old team. So I'll never forget, like, the, The. The nerves that week.
- [48:36]
Cooper DeJean
What was your perspective on the. On the Philly special during. During the Super Bowl? Where were you watching? Did you know that was going to be pulled out or did they practice it against you guys throughout the week?
- [48:47]
Chris Long
So two things. Number one, like, when we went and practiced, you know how you have your walkthroughs and shit and you go to the stadium. Y' all probably did that this year. But I'll never forget we were running all these weird plays, and I was like, what is that play, bro? Like, I went to, like, Lane and Brooks and I'm like, what are you. And they were like, dude, we're running fake plays. They're like, you know, New England, Spygate, the whole thing. Like, they might be up here, you know, like, so we were running fake plays in. Walk through that. We don't even run because we were worried somebody was camped out up in the upper deck of this stadium and that's how, like, protective we were. That's how tight everybody was getting ready to play the Patriots, right? So it was one of those things where I think I was standing next to like, Al sh or not Alshon. It was somebody who went on the field and they were like, who tricked us out? They're like, come here. They're like, check this out. Like, wait. Just, you know. And so like, I slid over and they were like, we're about to do this. This pretty cool trick play, I think maybe. And because It. Because they came out of the coaches and foals met, right? Everybody knows you want Philly. Philly. And Doug's like, let's do it. And then everybody run over the sideline. And so, you know, there's like. There's like a. There's like. You're just curious of what they're going to do. And I remember guys were kind of crowded around, trying not to be too obvious, but, like, you'll watch this play, like, as if I'm not going to watch the play. It's like a. Damn. It's like a very impactful play before the half in the Super Bowl. But I'll just. I'll never forget watching it and thinking, like, that's got to be the toughest catch in the world. Like, the. And you guys probably tell me this. When you get a pick that's just thrown right to you, is it tougher than, like, the hardest thing?
- [50:32]
Reed Blankenship
It's the hardest thing ever.
- [50:33]
Chris Long
Yeah.
- [50:34]
Cooper DeJean
Just to focus, to watch it in. Because you're. You're not expecting the ball, so you gotta. You gotta focus.
- [50:40]
Chris Long
And. And Nick's expecting the ball, but he's not a wide receiver. And you're. You're also thinking to yourself, like. Like, I'm wide open. And so I just remember thinking, the ball hung in the air for, like, 30 seconds, bro. But it was such a big play for us because what it did is it signaled that we were, like, not afraid of them, you know, and that we kind of. We kind of just didn't care. Like, we were willing to play with the points before the half. So I think that set a tone going in the locker room that, like, hey, number one, we don't care. We're not afraid of them. And it was obviously big on the scoreboard as well.
- [51:16]
Reed Blankenship
How was y' all celebration? Like, where did it start? Like, the locker room or on the field or. When did it start?
- [51:23]
Chris Long
It was my favorite thing in the world was the parade, bro. Like, to me, the parade is the. Like, when I tell guys, like, hey, you're gonna win, and the confetti and everything's gonna be amazing. But the parade's just. It's just the only time in your life, unless you get to win another one, where you're just like, hey, there's a million people out here, and I can do whatever I want. I mean, like. Like, you couldn't get arrested today, you know? Like, I'd like to see somebody try. Dude, when we showed up to the parade, man, I'll never forget seeing Kelsey the first time in his Mummer suit, you know, seeing different guys. Fits, man. Like, I went to Mitchell and Ness to get a bunch of jerseys for guys. Like, there was a Reggie White, and, like, a couple people were like, yo, let me get that. I'm like, nope, that's for Fletch. So there was, you know, it was just. It was. The build up was so fun. And when we showed up, like, super early that morning, it. You just knew, like, everybody showed up and you're like, this is going to be the best day ever. And coaches, players, like. And then by the. You know, halfway through, guys are so wrecked, you know. Yalls parade, though. Howie Roseman getting hit in the face with a beer. I mean, that was just like, the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. But the beers. The Beers, they fly, don't they?
- [52:47]
Cooper DeJean
Oh, my God, they're flying everywhere. I. I caught, like, five. Probably five. At least five. Some of them.
- [52:54]
Reed Blankenship
My hand was freezing.
- [52:55]
Cooper DeJean
I was dipping, duck, dodge, dive, you know, all that.
- [53:00]
Chris Long
But fireball shots, too.
- [53:02]
Cooper DeJean
I shotgun, like, at least five to ten beers. It was. It was awesome.
- [53:07]
Reed Blankenship
But then you get to spray it all over the place, so.
- [53:09]
Chris Long
And. And the sad thing about the parade, though, is this. There are going to be guys that you're not going to see anymore. You know, like, you might see him at the ring ceremony, but, like, bro, like, when that parade ends, like, that exact team will never be together again. And. And, you know, y' all are going to go through a lot of changes this year. There's going to be people. And part of winning super bowl is guys go and get paid elsewhere and guys leave and pursue opportunities, and that's great, but it is your last time, in my opinion, to be together as that group. And. And it's bittersweet. Like, in the moment, it's all sweet, but when you look back at it, it's like, man, I was on the float with Timmy Jernigan, and me and him had, like, a whole bottle of Casamigos, and we were just. We were on top of the world, dude. We were doing news interviews. Like, John Clark came up, and I have no idea what we said. And I just look back at, like, the. You know, because I didn't make it out that night. Like, I don't know about y', all, but, like, I was at the house with, like, some doordash, and I didn't get out to the post festivities. But it is kind of sad because there's some guys on that team that you're like, man, I have not seen those guys since. You know, I maybe saw him at the ring party, but. So that's a very special time, man. I think that that parade is something else. I've never seen a million people in person, and that's what they said was there. And then I remember we went up to the Rocky steps, and they were like, hey, Lane, Kelsey, you gonna talk Selleck? You know, a couple. Oh, I got me couple guys. And Lane was like, I want to go up with you. And I just remember, like, when Kelsey started going, we were in the back, like, oh, my God. Like, he was ready for this dude. Like, and then we're supposed to go, and I'm like, we can barely speak. Like, this is. This is absolutely insane. Like, I'm gonna think of something to say impromptu, and then they'll. They'll send me up, and I'm forgetting things that I thought 15 seconds ago, so. So, like, just to get the words out when you get up on the steps. But I'll never forget standing up on those steps and seeing all those people is a. It's, like, truly the experience of a lifetime. And. And, you know, because you're like, when you retire, like, I'll never experience, like, some Something like that again. And. And it is amazing.
- [55:25]
Cooper DeJean
It was. I think it was you passed down the fur coat. Was that you in the fur fur coat?
- [55:33]
Chris Long
That was me. So that was. My. Sweaty J was wearing my fur coat because Sweaty J was my rookie, and. And Sweaty J will tell you. He'll tell you this. He said, chris is one of the first people that believed in me. I knew he was going to be a dog, and so I always looked out for Sweaty J. And seeing him turn into the player that he turned into, man, like, he was a real force for y'. All. And, I mean, your whole D line was awesome, but I just took a lot of pride in seeing Josh play the way he played because he was our rookie, and now he's all grown up, and he's getting the bag, and he's dominating in the Super Bowl. And I'll never forget after getting the text from him that said, like, hey, you still got that coat? And I was like, bro, I do, and I can have it to you very fast. I said, just don't lose it. I said, please don't lose it. I'm gonna get it to you. So I brought it up to Jersey doing inside the NFL, and he came and picked it up, and. And that was cool for me, man, because, you know, like, hey, when the smoke clears, it's over, bro. Like, we're old news. We're washed. Seeing you guys get to go through it and feel the pride, like, you know, Coop, I never really met you. I met you maybe at camp one time. Me and Reed have met before, but there's guys on the team I don't even know at all, and we're a part of a brotherhood, you know, it is. It's cool. I take a lot of pride in being a part of that team. And now I take pride in seeing y' all play and to see Josh be like, hey, I want to throw that thing on. I was like, man, that's fucking cool. Because he bridged the gap between the two teams. And I hope the next time y' all do win it, somebody else might wear the coat like that. That, for me, would be cool. And. And I did get it back in one piece. It does smell a little funny.
- [57:26]
Cooper DeJean
What inspired you to start your own. Your own podcast? The Green Light Podcast.
- [57:31]
Chris Long
Yeah. Who's.
- [57:32]
Cooper DeJean
Who's some of your. Your favorite guests that you've. That you've had on. On your show?
- [57:37]
Chris Long
I've been going about six years doing it, and we do two a week during the off season and three a week during the season, so it all kind of runs together. What started for me was honestly the fear of, like, sitting still in retirement. Because I'm a worker, man. I'm a grinder. I've always liked work. Like, I like work. I'm a bit of a workaholic. I've had to conquer that in. In post football, so just wanted to stay, you know, stay around the game, do something where I feel like I got buddies that, like, we're a part of a group, you know, come into work, we can BS like we used to in the locker room and that sort of thing. And. And so we got this little group here that consists of a couple guys I grew up with, couple guys I played football with, including Bo Allen, who played for the Eagles. Nate Collins, who was my. A guy I brought, brought on his visit way back in the day, and then he played five, six years in the league. And so he. We talk ball every Monday, and my real estate agent works with me, and, like, so it's just kind of a ragtag group. And I think what. What inspired me to do it is, like, I want to do something where I can talk about whatever I want to, and we'll have pods where we don't talk at all about football. Probably, like, y', all, sometimes, you know, you're just talking about Whatever the topic is, and that can be fun. And then, you know, talk about the game. And the main thing for me is. And is like. And it's hard. Is like, I don't want to be too critical of the guys that are playing, but I want to be honest about what I'm seeing on the field. And I think that's the biggest challenge is, like. And you guys know this from watching TV and consuming media. There are guys that probably take it too far where you're like, bro, don't forget you played like, you used to fuck up. Like, you know what I mean? And. And then there's guys that I think do a really good job of respectfully and educationally analyzing the game so that fans have a better idea of what's going on. What used to drive me crazy is coming out of a game and hearing fans talk or reading discourse and being like, that's not at all what happened. But fans can't help it sometimes. And so I think it's on the football media to do a good job of educating fans on the game. Not to say they don't know the game, but you all know there are levels to know in the game. And it's also helped me learn. Like, I've learned a lot about. About the back end since I started. You know, when I played, y' all might come down and tap me on the hip because you're coming on a pressure. You, you know, you be. You tell me who the force is. But beyond that, I didn't know what cover three. Who cares? You know, All I knew is, hey, man, we need. Yeah, we need good rush lanes. We're in, man. Or this is a pressure. Or, you know, this is an area where they're going to take a shot or this formation of the run game. But in the passing game behind me, I've learned a ton, and I think that's been a lot of fun for me personally. So I'm continuing to grow and learn the game, and I still have fun doing it. We've had some great guests. Who's my favorite guest? We had Saquon the other day right after y' all had him. What a nice dude. Like, right? Dude, like, so down having the bro, like, have the. Imagine having the world by the balls like that and just being nice like, he's the man. He is. We had Ocho Cinco last week. That was great. I've had some really good podcasts with my dad where it's just me and my dad shooting the. Shooting the breeze, man. There are Too many to even. Oh, Matthew McConaughey was sick.
- [61:07]
Cooper DeJean
Oh, that is sick.
- [61:09]
Chris Long
Yeah. Freddie Gibbs, the rapper. I like Freddie Gibbs a lot. Maxo Cream. Shout out to Maxo Cream. So we. We've got rappers. We have, like, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been on. You know, we've had all types of people, but we have a lot of football players.
- [61:25]
Reed Blankenship
What's some advice you can give us? I mean, this is new to us, so, like, what if you want to give us advice? I know you're one of those guys that will, so.
- [61:33]
Chris Long
No, I mean, people want to hear you talk like you would when you're just sitting around shooting the shit with each other, man. Like, yeah, like, to me, like, they want to be a fly on the wall at. In the lunchroom where it's reading Coop, eating lunch, you know, and there's going to be topics where you can't go there, and there's going to be things where you're like, I'd like to do that over. But just try to be authentic and be yourselves, man, and. And just let it rip, dude, because people. People, they want to be like, yo, they're normal like me. You know, they're having normal conversations or what have you. So I, you know, it's pretty weak advice, but I would just say just be yourselves and messy is okay, dude. Like, have some messy podcasts. Talk over each other, like, argue about stuff, you know, have fun, man. Cuz. Cuz that's what it's all about, man. Congrats to y', all, dude, and appreciate the great work doing this, man. I'm. I'm psyched to see y' all's success got off the ground. Smoking, man.
- [62:34]
Cooper DeJean
We're back with the fan, Rapid Fire Q A. Our first guest, Mr. Colin Ewing. Is that how you say your last name?
- [62:43]
Chris Long
Ewing?
- [62:44]
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
- [62:44]
Chris Long
Ewing.
- [62:45]
Cooper DeJean
Ewing.
- [62:45]
Reed Blankenship
What's up?
- [62:46]
Cooper DeJean
Welcome to the show, brother. Where are you from? I'm from northeast Philly, actually. Northeast Philly. Sick. What do you got for us? You got any. You got a. You got a hard hitting question for us?
- [62:56]
Chris Long
Who do you think is the most.
- [62:57]
Cooper DeJean
Famous person in your contacts in your phone right now? Most famous person in my contacts. Outside of our teammates?
- [63:05]
Chris Long
Yeah, probably. Yeah.
- [63:06]
Cooper DeJean
Outside of your team.
- [63:07]
Reed Blankenship
It's gonna be tough. I don't. I don't think I have any celebrities in my home, bro.
- [63:11]
Cooper DeJean
I say the same answer every single time.
- [63:13]
Reed Blankenship
Well, everybody knows the answer.
- [63:15]
Cooper DeJean
I'd say Caitlin Clark probably, if not Caitlin Clark, though, since I say that every time, I'd say Michael Chandler. Oh, the UFC fighter.
- [63:25]
Chris Long
Yeah.
- [63:26]
Cooper DeJean
That's a good one. Yeah.
- [63:27]
Reed Blankenship
I think the only, like, famous guy got is probably either Jalen or aj. You got.
- [63:32]
Cooper DeJean
You got Coop's number? I'm not that excited.
- [63:34]
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, I don't care about.
- [63:37]
Cooper DeJean
Who'S. Who's the most famous person in your phone. Nah, not. Not one person.
- [63:41]
Reed Blankenship
You want. You want Coop's number?
- [63:43]
Chris Long
Say my mom.
- [63:47]
Cooper DeJean
Your mom. Your mom.
- [63:48]
Chris Long
That's.
- [63:48]
Cooper DeJean
That's always good.
- [63:48]
Chris Long
I love that. I love that.
- [63:50]
Cooper DeJean
Appreciate you, brother. Thanks for joining the show. Sorry.
- [63:52]
Reed Blankenship
Sorry to have you celebrities, man.
- [63:54]
Cooper DeJean
Our next guest on the Fan, Rapid Fire Q A is calling from the United Kingdom. We have Corey Brown on the episode. Welcome to the show. Corey Brown from the United Kingdom. That's sick.
- [64:09]
Chris Long
Thanks for having me, guys. Much appreciated.
- [64:11]
Cooper DeJean
Absolutely. What do you got for us? You got a question for us?
- [64:14]
Chris Long
I do indeed. Yeah. So. So my question would be if the exciting mics are exciting, whites are going to a couple's costume party together.
- [64:23]
Cooper DeJean
Who are you going as?
- [64:24]
Chris Long
Is it. Is it a bit of Mario and Luigi or Ken and Barbie? No, no, no, no.
- [64:29]
Reed Blankenship
Dumb and Dumber, bro. Dumb and Dumber. Dumb and Dumber.
- [64:32]
Cooper DeJean
Dumb and Dumber Harry. What about stepbrothers?
- [64:35]
Reed Blankenship
Or stepbrothers?
- [64:36]
Cooper DeJean
What about Step brothers?
- [64:38]
Reed Blankenship
We could do that.
- [64:39]
Cooper DeJean
Step Brothers. You ever seen the movie Step Brothers?
- [64:41]
Chris Long
Yeah, of course.
- [64:42]
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, but he's my type of guy, man.
- [64:45]
Reed Blankenship
It's my favorite movie. I say every episode is my favorite movie, bro.
- [64:48]
Cooper DeJean
If not Step Brothers, I'd say Maverick and Goose from. From Top Gun.
- [64:53]
Chris Long
Oh, yeah, that's a good show as well.
- [64:55]
Reed Blankenship
I couldn't grow a stash, so I definitely.
- [64:57]
Cooper DeJean
I definitely have to say step Brothers, though, just because that's. That's Reed's favorite favorite movie.
- [65:02]
Chris Long
And if it was Top Gun, who. Who's who?
- [65:04]
Cooper DeJean
Who's Who's Maverick? Maverick. I'm Maverick. Goose.
- [65:09]
Reed Blankenship
I guess I'm Goose.
- [65:10]
Cooper DeJean
Reed's Goose. I'm Maverick. Thanks for joining the show from the United Kingdom. That's sick. Thanks for listening. Appreciate you, brother. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Exciting Mics.
- [65:22]
Reed Blankenship
Remember to, like, comment and subscribe on YouTube or wherever you watch your podcast.
- [65:27]
Cooper DeJean
Drop your questions in the comment section below and you could be featured on the next episode.
- [65:33]
Chris Long
And as always, we always love the.
- [65:35]
Reed Blankenship
Support and we appreciate y' all for tuning in. See y'.
- [65:38]
Chris Long
All.
- [65:43]
Reed Blankenship
Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds at Mint Mobile.
- [65:45]
Chris Long
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Chris Long
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