In the third episode of Exciting Mics, Gillie Da King (Gillie Da Kid) joins Cooper DeJean & Reed Blankenship to discuss what happened at Shedeur's draft party, his favorite memories as an Eagles fan, Eagles winning the Super Bowl, and more!
Loading summary
Toyota Commercial
Hey y' all. Life's journey is filled with change, growth and exciting new chapters. Whether you're welcoming a new family member, stepping into a new city, or chasing after your biggest dreams, you need a ride that's built with more space for the grand challenges ahead. The Toyota Grand Highlander is made for those who embrace every twist and turn with advanced safety features, innovative tech, and a bold, sophisticated design. It's the SUV that adapts with you with room to spare. This spacious beauty seats up to 8 US, gives you up to 97.5 cubic feet of cargo space, and has a diverse engine lineup. Available in gas or hybrid options, including the powerful 362 horsepower Hybrid Max plus available all wheel drive means you'll have confidence no matter where life takes you. Ready to take on your dreams. The Grand Highlander is more than a vehicle. It's your partner in embracing all life throws at you. From daily routines to unexpected adventures. It's up for every grand challenge. Learn more@toyota.com GrandHighlander Toyota let's go places.
Gilly the King
Craftsman days are here at Lowe's with big savings on the tools you need right now. Get a free SELEC tool when you buy the Craftsman V22 pack battery kit. Whether it's the backyard, the bathroom or beyond, Craftsman has the tools to help you power through and get the project done right because diying is unpredictable. But your tools shouldn't be. Shop Craftsman at Lowe's today. Valid through 618. Wall supplies last selection varies by location. You guys have no idea, right? The information I get on you guys like, y' all have no idea. C.J. gardner is my guy, right? He comes in, he's like, boy, that boy Cooper CD dudes. He like his showing out. Gilly. He showing out Gilly. He like, I'm not gonna lie, he looking better than the first round draft pick, man. I'm telling you, Gilly, this is what he's saying, right? Did he say we put pads on Gilly? I was wrong. Gilly. They both looking.
Cooper DeJean
Welcome back to Exciting Mics presented by Vanda pharmaceuticals. I'm Cooper DeJean.
Reed Blankenship
And I'm Reed Blankenship. We're excited to have you back for a special guest episode featuring trut Philly royalty.
Cooper DeJean
Gilly the King will be joining us to talk all things Philly, his music career, his million dollar worth of game, podcast and media empire, and of course, Eagles football.
Reed Blankenship
Remember to follow Exciting Mics on all platforms like comment, share and subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcast. Let's get Started.
Cooper DeJean
Hell yeah, brother. We're going to start off the podcast with how we do every week. Let's talk about what's exciting the. This week. Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
So we saw the NFL is now starting to allow football players to join the Olympics in 2028.
Cooper DeJean
Is this, this is the first year the Olympics are going to have flag football, correct?
Reed Blankenship
Yeah. Who would be like the top priority?
Cooper DeJean
I mean, Saquon Barkley.
Reed Blankenship
I think you're right.
Cooper DeJean
It's got to be one of the top priorities. I don't know if, I wonder if there will be like a. If teams will allow their players to play in it. I know the NFL is allowing them, but you think like, teams like, you think they'll start putting it in contracts where like, they can't play in the Olympics.
Reed Blankenship
See, I like how you think about the business side of it, man.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
You're a businessman.
Cooper DeJean
Thank you.
Reed Blankenship
Appreciate that to an extent. Yeah.
Cooper DeJean
If they ask you to play, would you, would you play?
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, if it says something in my contract, like a little extra.
Cooper DeJean
Represent the United States.
Reed Blankenship
Represent that. Yeah. Where is it going to be in 28?
Cooper DeJean
LA.
Reed Blankenship
Oh, it is in LA.
Cooper DeJean
In LA. Yeah. Remember Hertz did a commercial?
Reed Blankenship
Oh, he threw the, the football over, I think.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah. Sick. Something else that's exciting. Yeah. Everybody's seems, seems to be enjoying the podcast first episode.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, I guess we were a little nervous on. I was, I was anxious.
Cooper DeJean
I didn't. Yeah. I didn't really know how it'd be taken in, but.
Reed Blankenship
No, it's just two guys talking on.
Cooper DeJean
Podcast, chopping it up, you know, and.
Reed Blankenship
We have special guests here and there. But it's just, you know, the first episode, I think it was good though that we were by ourselves because we were allowed to kind of just talk about our backgrounds and like, I don't know if people understood that where we came from, you know, like, obviously you were from a small town, I'm from a small town. You were drafted and like, I was undrafted, so it's cool to see.
Cooper DeJean
Good for people to get to know us a little bit on the first episode and then we'll, we'll bring on, bring on some guests. Then we got the, the schedule release. The full schedule came out.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah. No back to back home games.
Cooper DeJean
No back to back home games. That's kind of, kind of weird. That's the first time a Super bowl champion hasn't had back to back home games in their following season.
Reed Blankenship
But I mean, you got to think though, we travel well with fans, so it's, I feel like Every game's going to be a home game regardless.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah. I mean, we start off hot with the Cowboys and then the Chiefs, super bowl rematch, second week, then the Rams. So we're starting off hot. Right.
Reed Blankenship
But you know, we're excited for it.
Cooper DeJean
Our boy, Mr. Mr. Blankenship got his. Got his high school jersey retired, which was crazy, though. Pretty cool.
Reed Blankenship
Never hit me, didn't hit me. Walked in our field house and saw some of my old teammates and my old coaches. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like this. It's starting to feel real.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
Then I get out and I hate when stuff is like, about me. Like, I hate being just the center of attention.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
And I started. I had a speech on my phone. You know, I had bullet points anyway, and my phone.
Cooper DeJean
Did you read it straight off your phone?
Reed Blankenship
Dude, no. Well, it was crazy. So you know how sometimes they don't recognize your face, your phone, and it went straight to the password. It did that. I mean, you know what? Screw it. I'm fishing. Just do this from the heart. And I was already tearing up. Yeah, it was from the heart, but it was.
Cooper DeJean
It was always better that way.
Reed Blankenship
It's always better when it comes home.
Cooper DeJean
Heart.
Reed Blankenship
It's home, man.
Cooper DeJean
How'd it go, though? Did you. Did you go without tears? Did you have to take a couple.
Reed Blankenship
When pauses. They started flowing. I say flowing.
Cooper DeJean
I.
Reed Blankenship
They were. I was teary eyed. Voice was cracking a little bit when I was looking at, you know, my family that. My family fiance that in the front row. And I'm like, golly, they have supported me this whole time. And yeah, man, it hit home and then I flew through the rest. I didn't want to say. I don't want to. I didn't want to take anybody else's time, you know.
Cooper DeJean
So is your, Is your jersey like up in the. Dude, is it in the school or in the gym or where.
Reed Blankenship
So my jersey is in the front office, but I have a banner above. There's only two jerseys retired, mine and a girl's basketball jersey. And yeah, we're the only two. We're up there together.
Cooper DeJean
In the gym.
Reed Blankenship
In the gym.
Cooper DeJean
Nice. That's pretty cool. Let's get into the. To the quick hitters today. Let's talk about coach Sirianni getting his contract extension and, and what that means.
Reed Blankenship
That's huge for.
Cooper DeJean
For our team and for the city. Really.
Reed Blankenship
That's huge. I'm glad he's kind of getting her kind of. That he got the respect, you know, he deserves. He comes to Work every day. For us, it's a different atmosphere. And we talked about it, you know, our last episode, but it's like he. He wants that college type locker room.
Cooper DeJean
That's. That's what I love about it.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, it's. It's always that open door policy, too. I mean, it just goes far beyond him as a coach. Like, it's like X's and O's, man, you're. You're trying to teach these young. They're still young guys, you know, they're 21, 22 year olds. I mean. You're 22.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
You know, and I mean, I still have a lot to learn too, on, like the business side and just being a family man and a husband someday. So.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, I think, I think it's cool, like how you can just go up to his office and, like, talk to him whenever you want. And him inviting us into his office and having conversations about what, you know, what we could do better, like, what he can do better and what we can do better as a football team to bring everybody closer together and. And that's the biggest thing about, you know, why our team is so special. I think it's just our ability to connect and that. That starts with him as a leader. So I think it's. I think it's huge for our team, you know, to have him, you know, for another. How many. How many years?
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, no, he. I mean, he preaches what he coaches, I mean, even at home.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
You know, so he's doing everything right and obviously it shows and, you know, we're glad to have him still.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah. All right, Mr. Blankenship. Today we are joined by one of the most influential Philly natives across music.
Gilly the King
I like that.
Cooper DeJean
Sports and entertainment.
Gilly the King
I like that.
Cooper DeJean
Your Philadelphia Eagles unofficial hype man, Gilly the King.
Gilly the King
I like that. Because a lot of people be like, he's the mascot. I'm like, like, I'm not the mascot.
Cooper DeJean
Ain't no mascot.
Gilly the King
A little too far. Like, I don't want to take my guy's job, like, you know what I mean? But I appreciate y' all for having me, man.
Cooper DeJean
How'd. How'd you get the Nickn, Gilly?
Gilly the King
I got it from. I was always little Gilly in the hood of North Philadelphia. I used to be little Gilly from North Philly, but when I started rapping, I was always intrigued by this movie called Young Guns and Billy the Kid, he was a smooth faced gangster that looked like he was young, but he really wasn't that young. And I was very Intrigued by that. So I went with Gilly the kid. When I decided to start rapping.
Cooper DeJean
So it was Gilly the kid.
Reed Blankenship
And then.
Gilly the King
And then I grew up. I had some certain point in time I had to become a man, you know, So I figured I'd change it to the King.
Reed Blankenship
So, like, what was it like growing up in Philly?
Gilly the King
It was rough, man. Philly is one of the poorest cities in the country. You know what I mean? That's why the Eagles mean so much. Like, I don't feel. Think you guys understand that when the Eagles lose, it really feel like a third cousin died.
Reed Blankenship
Wow.
Gilly the King
Like, you don't get over it until Wednesday. Like, Thursday. You're like, when y' all win, oh, my God, it's you. Y' all seen the parade?
Cooper DeJean
Oh, yeah.
Gilly the King
You ever seen anything like that?
Reed Blankenship
Never. Never in my entire life.
Cooper DeJean
Not even on tv. Always at other.
Reed Blankenship
I've always wanted to play for a passionate fan base. Now that it wasn't, I just want people to come to the games, like, be excited.
Gilly the King
All right, hey, these people, the fact that you bulleted the passionate fan base. I'm gonna start this off right here. Cause I do a live stream during the Eagles games. Gilly on sports. And two years ago, I was a little critical on rb. I was. So I'm a man of accountability. I apologize to you several times.
Reed Blankenship
Absolutely.
Gilly the King
I said, you know, play as up to I up, you know. You know, last year, you proved that you were everything that you said you was. So, yeah, I want to apologize to you, cuz. I. I threw a little mustard on your jacket. Two years ago, I. I put a little. Couple stains on your jacket, but you. You clean. You. You cleaned it up. You clean, though. He kept it tied.
Cooper DeJean
Stick on.
Gilly the King
Had to said, I'm sorry. Players up, too. I'm sorry.
Reed Blankenship
I appreciate that, though.
Gilly the King
Yeah, man, but y' all did y' all thing this year, man. Cooper, let me ask you a question. Are you from Iowa?
Cooper DeJean
I'm from Iowa. From small town.
Gilly the King
In college, I played a basketball tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.
Cooper DeJean
Dubuque?
Gilly the King
Yes.
Reed Blankenship
Where's that at?
Cooper DeJean
It's on the other side of the state, but I know where Dubuque is. I've been there.
Gilly the King
So coming from Iowa to a fast city like Philadelphia, like what. Like what was the most shocking thing?
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, I think just the amount of people like that are out here and in the traffic, like, in my. My town, I got 980 people in my town. So you got. You go.
Gilly the King
That's crazy.
Cooper DeJean
You want to go somewhere that's 20 miles away. That's gonna take you 20 minutes. You know, here, Here. It's not like that. Growing up, I played au basketball. So, like, I've been. I've been to a lot of the big cities, been around there. So it wasn't. It was a little bit of an adjustment, but because I never lived outside of Iowa, I've only been to, you know, other. Other big cities. But it was a little bit of an adjustment. But it's.
Gilly the King
When I. When I was. When I was putting out the videos during my live streams and I was calling you Cooper Dijon with. It was like, early in the season, was you. Like, what the is he talking about?
Cooper DeJean
No, I saw it. I mean, I think. I think people started doing it after I got drafted.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, I think so.
Cooper DeJean
And then you started saying it, and then it kind of. It kind of took off a little bit there.
Reed Blankenship
That's sick, though. Yeah, it is.
Gilly the King
But did you know what it. Like, did you have any me thought, like, what. What are they talking about?
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, no, I. I had an idea. We were talking about our favorite Philly slang last time, and we said.
Reed Blankenship
So how do you say it?
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, we were saying John, John, John, John, John, John.
Gilly the King
That could be anything.
Reed Blankenship
Like, John. I got a lot of hate off that.
Gilly the King
You could. That could be anything now. Anything.
Reed Blankenship
Good, bad, John in between.
Gilly the King
Anything. You know what I mean? You could be talking about a girl, you could be talking about a car. You could be talking about this sneak. Show them Jones crazy right there. It could be anything. That's the beauty in it.
Reed Blankenship
How did it start, though? Is it just.
Gilly the King
I don't. That's a. I don't know. Who was the first person that said that?
Cooper DeJean
Is it a word in the dictionary, you think?
Gilly the King
No, it better not be.
Cooper DeJean
That's hilarious. So where in. Where in Philly did you grow up?
Gilly the King
North Philadelphia area.
Cooper DeJean
Like an icon in Phil.
Gilly the King
You know what's crazy is that I've been in the Eagles locker room. If you look two years ago, I was down there talking to the players. I was there talking to radio, everybody. Like, if you go back to when we first won the Super bowl in 2017, 2018.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Gilly the King
I'm crying real tears on Instagram. Like, so my fan base, they been knew, like, Gilly is like the ultimate. He lives and dies about the Eagles. Really. The Sixers, the Flyers, the Phillies, the Wings, the Soul, lasalle, Temple, Villanova, Drexel. I'm a Philly guy, true and through.
Cooper DeJean
Yep.
Gilly the King
You know what I mean?
Reed Blankenship
So, yeah, that's Tough.
Gilly the King
When y' all win, it's like, you don't understand. This was like one of the greatest years of my life.
Cooper DeJean
We were talking to Saquon. Where do you think this team ranks all time?
Gilly the King
This team was definitely the greatest Eagle team.
Cooper DeJean
Not. Not just the Eagles. We're talking like, I don't.
Reed Blankenship
Any team has. Any team that's.
Cooper DeJean
I mean, you think it's top five.
Gilly the King
It got to be top five. Because when you look at what we did in the post season, scoring the most points in post season history, I mean, come on, man. We was putting up 55 burgers on people. You know what I mean?
Reed Blankenship
Makes us feel a lot better.
Gilly the King
And then we get to the. To the super bowl and the great Patrick Mahomes and he is great. You know what I mean? I just got a little. Couple shots out there. He said he was smoking that Philly pack. I never forget that. You know what I mean? But they didn't even get the ball. I don't even think past the 50 yard line in the first half. So when you. And then who really gave us a shot? They said everything but the right things. Jalen hurts a running back. He can never do it. Kiss the. He did it. He did it. So you know what I mean? When you look at that, nobody ever said one of the greatest memes ever is when Jalen is walking into that arena and he walking past that TV and he just happened to look up.
Toyota Commercial
Huh?
Gilly the King
And it all said Kansas City, Kansas City, Kansas City. He said, that was early in the week.
Reed Blankenship
I think that was media night.
Gilly the King
Everything that was crazy. That was. In another thing, that was everything. When Jordan Mulatta was saying, they can't with you, they can't with you, he said, I know. That was cold. That was so legendary. Like, he got aura.
Cooper DeJean
He got so much aura.
Reed Blankenship
Aura, yeah, he got some.
Gilly the King
Let me ask you guys a question. How hard is it to get ready for this year when you already at the top early in your careers too? I'm talking about, man, you didn't even get a chance to taste the NFL. He's a champion.
Reed Blankenship
That is crazy.
Gilly the King
That's crazy. Walked into a ring.
Cooper DeJean
I think it like my mindset, like, it only makes you want it even more. Like one. Another one even more. Like to. To get back. To get back to that moment. Like, especially this city. Like, you don't want to. You don't want to let this city down and just. I think winning it my first year, that's all I know now. And it makes me want it. That Much more like, I think into.
Reed Blankenship
It to get to that point.
Gilly the King
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
But when we were 2 and 2. Yeah, it was, you know, it was like, what, this 23? Well, you know what I'm saying? Go to bye week. And it's just game after game, just practice meetings. We just put that in our mind.
Gilly the King
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
And we face so much adversity. Even though we were win. Like, we were winning, we were on the stretch. That was still challenging.
Gilly the King
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
You know what I'm saying? We get to the super bowl, we do it, we win it, and we're like, I like the climb to get here. Let's do it again, you know?
Gilly the King
Absolutely.
Reed Blankenship
We. I think we're handling, you know, the success part because it's. It's easy to hang. Handle losing and adversity and all that. Like, that's what we are prepared to do. You know, you have a lot of success in your life, you got to flip the script.
Gilly the King
You know what I mean? You said last year was a little quiet. Now you come out there.
Reed Blankenship
Absolutely, absolutely. So where were you that. But no, it's. I'm telling you, it's different.
Gilly the King
It's different.
Reed Blankenship
The locker room, I feel like, hasn't changed.
Gilly the King
And you know what? Watching y' all play last year, what I got from y' all is that you guys enjoyed playing with each other. It was like we had the right amount of young players, medium age players and older players. That was like, y' all, like, every time you get interception, everybody's. Everybody can do something. Everybody. You feel what I'm saying? It's like, you can. We had teams before where it wasn't like that. It would be like somebody was scoring. It would be him and somebody celebrating or everybody else running to the sideline. It was like, you seen the excitement on your face about everything and every play that everybody made. You know what I mean? It's so legendary. When he jumped over, got back with you, you're on the sideline, like.
Cooper DeJean
Like everybody on the sidelines.
Reed Blankenship
I have never witnessed anything like that before. I'm a grunt. Well, I said, I'm a grown man. I've been playing the sport for a long time. I have never seen that in my entire life.
Gilly the King
Right.
Reed Blankenship
But I think.
Cooper DeJean
I think it just shows, like, how much we love watching each other, like, do our thing on the street, have success, you know?
Reed Blankenship
You know, you are living out your dream.
Gilly the King
Let me ask you this cooperation because it's funny that y' all invited me on a podcast and I'm interviewing y' all. I'm More of a fan of y' alls than y' all would ever be of me. Like, you got an interception in the super bowl on your birthday off of Patrick Mahomes and returned it for a touchdown. When the super bowl was over, was you, like, God, like, do I got any more blessings coming? Because, like, you. You gave me all my blessings in one game. Like. Like, bro, there's more. Unbelievable when you think about it.
Cooper DeJean
I know. I don't. I don't even think I've understood, like, the. The magnitude of that. That moment. And I don't. I don't know if I'll, like, be able to understand it until, like, my career is over someday. Crazy. My home is in the hall of Fame. And you look back on that moment, it's just crazy.
Reed Blankenship
The BG with Tom Brady play.
Gilly the King
Yes, it is.
Reed Blankenship
You know, it's gonna be one of those.
Gilly the King
No, it already is one of those.
Cooper DeJean
That and the. The dagger.
Gilly the King
I want to thank you guys because you guys played a major role in one of the greatest moments of my life.
Cooper DeJean
What was your reaction to the new. The news yesterday?
Gilly the King
I mean, I just. I just think that he deserves it. You know what I mean? When you. When. When you've done nothing but win. Like, Nick's been the coach for. We've been to two Super Bowls in three years. Yeah. You know what I mean? And you gotta understand, when you go back to the week when we was two and two, when you go back to week four, right, they was talking about, we need a new coach, man. Think about that. They try to throw that, man, and Jalen hurts in the grave and throw dirt on they asses so many times, but Nick just keep popping about that great off him in jail. You know what I'm saying? So when you got somebody like that, man, you gotta reward him. You know what I mean?
Cooper DeJean
I agree.
Gilly the King
I think, you know, he's gonna get rewarded. You're gonna get rewarded. We got great players. They deserve and great coaches. And one thing about that, people don't speak on, right? Every year since college, Jalen Hurts had a different offensive coordinator, man.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Gilly the King
Imagine how difficult that is playing a quarterback, you a safety. If you had a different defensive coordinator.
Reed Blankenship
Every year, I mean, it's.
Gilly the King
Wouldn't that be kind of.
Reed Blankenship
It gets weird. It gets tough because you. You try to learn all these different schemes, and then you don't have any consistent consistency. And it's like, oh, I gotta learn the playbook again. Like, I don't want to. I don't want to think right. You Know what I'm saying?
Gilly the King
Right.
Reed Blankenship
That's with every position I know. Quarterback or probably be way more intense. But just. Just from kind of my experience, yeah, it's.
Cooper DeJean
It's tough when you're playing in a new defense, too. It takes you a few games to. To get, you know, get used to playing in that scheme.
Reed Blankenship
You want to hear, like, in your head, you're like, okay, what's this? What's the coach about to call?
Gilly the King
Right.
Reed Blankenship
Like, try trying to get on that same page when you don't have any, like, path to follow.
Gilly the King
Right.
Reed Blankenship
That's how I like to do it, then I'm just lost.
Gilly the King
Right.
Reed Blankenship
You know, but if I kind of understand, okay, this is what he likes to do.
Gilly the King
During high school, college, or the pros, did any of y' all suffer because of thinking, like, the playbook come out and you. You. The playbook's new, and you're more thinking than reacting because you're thinking about what you got to do instead of just playing football. Did that ever occur?
Reed Blankenship
I think my freshman year in college and then obviously my rookie year was the two, like, hardest times. But, like, my freshman year in college, I went to Walmart and got, like, a whiteboard. Like a little whiteboard.
Gilly the King
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
And I would sit there and draw plays up. Me and my roommate sit there and draw plays up and just route, match, do, like, calls and everything. And that kind of started, I guess, how I process things. And you learn from that. Like, you find a way to learn things. And that's what I kind of did my rookie year. You know, me and Nicoby Dean would. Would sit in the hotel room, you know, sometimes and try to talk through certain things. And it's a different type. I mean, especially a rookie, it's different. Like, this is, you know, the big dogs. And you're. You didn't really play this in college a whole lot, so it's. It's a whole new learning experience.
Cooper DeJean
But it was the same way for me my freshman year of college, coming in and trying to learn a whole new defense. And I come from, like, a small school, so we play. We play Cover three. We play Maine.
Reed Blankenship
I didn't know what cover two was, whatever it is.
Cooper DeJean
And then you come to college, you're playing all these different coverages, and you got to match things a certain way, you know, But I think once you get that down and you're able to play free, you know, that's. That's the best part about it. And then coming here, it's. It's a little easier Coming to the NFL because you obviously, you had to. You understand how to learn the defense now and the different coverages, so. But I think I. I mean, I struggled a little bit early, you know, last year, just trying to, you know, figure out the position, you know, I want you to give a lot of credit to. Yeah, yeah.
Gilly the King
When you struggle.
Cooper DeJean
I mean, the first four games, I didn't play, so I was. All I was doing was practicing.
Gilly the King
Damn. That's so crazy. He was so good. I don't even remember that. I don't even remember him not playing. I'm like, when did you struggle? Since you came in, you was locked down.
Reed Blankenship
No, he. That's one thing about him, especially. He. He learned it fast.
Gilly the King
He learned it fast.
Reed Blankenship
He asked questions. Yeah, he asked questions in the meeting room. And that's all it is, man.
Cooper DeJean
I think that's all it is. Think about our team last year. Like, we had so many veteran guys in our locker room. Like, I leaned on Avante, you know, because we played the same position, and he. He taught me just about everything I needed to know about playing the nickel position. And that's when he was starting. Like, he was. He was starting, and I'm trying to get on the field and play the same position. He's still teaching me all these. All these things about how to play the position, which was. Which was really cool. And that's a testament to our team, you know, how close we were last year, who you are. Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
Like, we just want to see people have success. Vanda Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company with headquarters in Washington, D.C. leading from.
Cooper DeJean
Our nation's capital, Vanda was founded 22 years ago to develop innovative therapies to improve the lives of many. Utilizing technology including genetics and genomics, to inform drug discovery and development, Vanda's commitment.
Reed Blankenship
Is to challenge the status quo and propel innovation forward in the pursuit of happiness.
Cooper DeJean
From groundbreaking therapies to players making history, we know the excellence is derived from exceptional people coming together as a team.
Reed Blankenship
A true maverick in the pharmaceutical space, Vanda Pharmaceuticals is proud to be the title sponsor of this podcast.
Cooper DeJean
Vanda Pharmaceuticals innovate in the service of people's pursuit of happiness.
Reed Blankenship
Acme is your store from the city to the shore and the official supermarket of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cooper DeJean
Acme saves you time and makes your grocery shopping easier than ever with their convenient delivery or drive up and go.
Reed Blankenship
When you shop at Acme online, you can count on pickup or delivery when you need it.
Cooper DeJean
They treat every online order with care, which means Your groceries are selected and packed with the same attention to detail you'd shop with.
Reed Blankenship
Guaranteed fresh or your money back.
Cooper DeJean
You'll get the same prices, deals, and rewards as in store, so you get.
Reed Blankenship
The groceries you need when it's convenient for you.
Cooper DeJean
And you can get your shopping done without ever leaving the house.
Reed Blankenship
Order for flash delivery or pickup and get your order in as soon as 30 minutes.
Cooper DeJean
Shop now@acme markets.com or in the Acme app. You at Shador's draft party?
Gilly the King
Yes, I was at Shadora's draft party. It was unbelievably unfair, you know, but what was even crazier is the way that that kid handled it when he got drafted, because it could have been easy to be, oh, the angry black man. I got done wrong. I was railroaded. Oh, I finally got picked.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Cooper DeJean
I don't think I heard anything from him.
Gilly the King
No, that man got picked, like, behind the camera, he was dancing like he wasn't in the first round, and that was what was impressive. And that just lets you know that the kid has a solid foundation. And he has some really, really great parents, like my guy over here.
Cooper DeJean
No doubt.
Gilly the King
Some really great parents. This shit, man. Tell my cousins I said, what's up, man? Oh, yeah, you met him in the Super Bowl. I walked up on Mama DeJean, and I was like, you gave birth to a legend. She was like, I don't know about that. Then I walked up to dad. He was like, I did. I was like, that's the attitude. I got a chance to meet him. Man, that's tough. On the field at the Super Bowl.
Reed Blankenship
Betty was still flying.
Gilly the King
Yes, I bet. Mr. And Mrs. Dijon, how they feel about us changing your name?
Cooper DeJean
I mean, I don't think they have a problem with it. I think they just embrace it. They just roll with it.
Gilly the King
They just embrace it. Yeah, they, like, listen, they call you Cooper Dijon, and you're winning Super Bowls. You Cooper the Show.
Cooper DeJean
What do you know about our draft picks that we got? What do you think?
Gilly the King
I know that we have a kid from Alabama that's from Jersey.
Cooper DeJean
He's from Jersey. I didn't know that.
Gilly the King
He's an Eagles fan that I'm extremely excited about. I think his name's Jahad Kim. Okay. And we have a kid from Texas who's a safety who I am also excited about.
Reed Blankenship
They listen, they want to work. That's the crazy thing. Like, they all first round this, that the other man. They came in to work. They came ready, ready to work.
Cooper DeJean
Everybody.
Reed Blankenship
Everybody undrafted. What they Came.
Gilly the King
Everybody came. Ready to work.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Gilly the King
And. And I guess when you get drafted to the super bowl champions, it's like we at the top. We have. We. We. You know what I mean?
Reed Blankenship
Yes.
Gilly the King
We got to try to stay where we're at.
Reed Blankenship
Absolutely.
Gilly the King
So how do you guys feel about the draft picks?
Reed Blankenship
I love them. That's what I'm saying. Like, the big thing for me is just listening. Because I was an undrafted guy and I had slay, you know, James Bradbury, Marcus Epps, like all these old Anthony Harris, all these older guys. And they took me under their wing. They knew I listened and I was going to follow in their footsteps. And that's why I try to do now.
Gilly the King
Right?
Reed Blankenship
And that's what they're doing. They just want to learn. They want to ask questions, and they're not scared to ask questions. And that's the biggest thing. Like, go. Go find that 1, 2. However many people that has been in a league for a few years and just understands the system and just follow them.
Gilly the King
What's so funny is, right, you guys have no idea, right? The information I get on you guys, like, y' all have no idea. Like, you gotta understand, C.J. gardner is my guy, right? So he comes over to the studio probably once, twice a week. He comes in, he's like, boy, that Boy Cooper, CD dudes, he like, his showing out. Gilly. He. He's showing out Gilly. He like. I'm not gonna lie. He looking better than the first round draft pick, man. I'm telling you, Gilly, this is what he said, right? Diddy said we put pads on Gilly. I was wrong. Gilly, they both look. He was like. Quinion was like, I ain't no guy without the pads on. I'm a guy that play in pants. He was like. And he wasn't lying. Gilly, he was like, gilly, you understand? These rookies are serious.
Cooper DeJean
It's our guy.
Gilly the King
CD dudes, he was like, these guys are different, bro. But he said that about you from day one. He had quinon messed up. I ain't gonna lie. I'm gonna keep it real. Quin Yon, he had you messed up. Then he doubled back and said, oh, no, play us up, too. He said, play his mess up. But from the gate, he said. He said, that boy is a dog. I just need one promise from my guys, RB and cc. By the way, let me just do my whole cc, that's the Caucasian cornerback. I just want to tell you. Yes. He never the dap up. He know how to lean with it. Rock with it. I just need one promise from you guys. The first defensive turnover that either one of you guys get. Because I see you guys, y' all be out there kicking it. I just need. Y' all don't gotta do the whole dance. I just need y' all to do the Conor McGregor. So.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, that's this one.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, yeah.
Gilly the King
So I just need y' all to run up. Oh, RB got interception. Oh, you just run up on me. I'll just go.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, we got that. We got that.
Reed Blankenship
We can do that.
Gilly the King
That's all I need is now the other one. Other stuff.
Reed Blankenship
That's what we're trying to learn. Yeah, that other stuff's like.
Gilly the King
But that other stuff gonna get y' all fine. That dance, like, three minutes long. All right, come on. Get the out the end zone now.
Reed Blankenship
We got you on that for sure.
Cooper DeJean
Let's talk a little bit about you and your career and how you got started in music. What made you want to. Want to get started in that? And how'd that come about?
Gilly the King
Honestly, man, I grew up. I had one dream, and that was to play in the NBA. That was the only dream I ever had, the basketball. I always tell my wife, baby, you was the second love of my life, baby. All right. I met you when I was grown. I was 21. Now, come on, now. I met this right here when I was five, six. And that was the only dream I ever had. I never grew up rapping. I didn't even listen to rap music like that. I mean, unless it was on the radio. Cause I didn't have cable TV growing up, so I never seen rap videos. I never. You know what I mean? I grew up poor. So I come home from school, man, I pick that basketball up, I go to the court. You know what I'm saying? I played in all the leagues around the city, things like that. So. So that was really my only dream. And in college, a friend of mine had a little setup in his room. And then one day we was like, let's go write something. And we went. You know, I came back. I was the first one to rap. And when I started rapping, they were sitting there like, bro, what the. Yo, you should be a rapper, yo. You gotta understand. I'm like, dog, stop playing me, man. I ain't no like. Like this how I'm talking to him like, stop. Like, yo, y' all taking. Yo, like, yo, like, chill out, man. I ain't no rapper, man. Like, then is it towards the end of the year, basketball season is over. We Go home. And in the hood, it's like this big cipher, like, going on. So I just walk up, and after a while, I say, man, I got something. And everybody like, ugh. Because they know me for playing basketball. They don't know me for rapping. And then I start rapping. And after every line, they like, oh, oh. And then when I get done, like, they, like, rap again. I'm like, oh, no, I ain't got no more raps. I only got one rap. They like, man, that ain't your. How you that nice? You only got one rap. I'm like, Cause I don't rap. And then wallow. My cousin rapped his whole life. That's all. That was his only dream that he ever wanted to be. He heard my one rap and he set up studio time. And the third song I ever did in my Life was number one on the countdown on Power 99 here in Philly. That's back in the day when the radio meant everything. The third song I ever did in my life was number one on the radio. So it was like, number two, Destiny's Child, and number one, Raggedy Kid from North Philly.
Reed Blankenship
That's insane.
Gilly the King
Insane.
Cooper DeJean
That is wild.
Gilly the King
You gotta understand, like, I start rapping, and every record label is trying to sign me, and I have, like, 11 total raps.
Reed Blankenship
They know that at the time.
Gilly the King
They don't have any ideas. I got, like, 11 total raps. That's not even, like, four songs. Like, oh, my God. Like. And it's like, we got a half a million dollars for you. I'm like, what? Like, this is some shit that I.
Cooper DeJean
Don'T stretch you out?
Gilly the King
No, I didn't even. I was 21. I didn't even take serious because I'm like, I don't rap. But then when I seen the opportunity, I was like, wait, what? They offered me what? I was all in. Then I was like, I'm a rapper. Like, I need a name at 21. Gilly the Kid. And that's how it went, man. And it was kind of the same thing with the podcast. And we filmed everybody from Mike Tyson to Floyd Mayweather to Lil Durk to Miguel to Young Thug to you name everybody.
Cooper DeJean
Who do you think? Some people we need to get on the exciting mics.
Gilly the King
His name is Nick Sirianni.
Reed Blankenship
Oh, he might do it, though.
Cooper DeJean
He might.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah. I don't know why he wouldn't like.
Gilly the King
One thing I told Nick when I seen him, I said, nick, man, don't you ever not be you, man. You embody the Philadelphia Spirit when you turned around and you told that fan, get my mom. That's some foodie.
Cooper DeJean
Make this your best season yet with nutritious 2 minute meals from Factor Eating well has never been this easy. Just heat up and enjoy, giving you more time to do what you want.
Reed Blankenship
Get outside instead of prepping and cooking indoors. Factor Meals arrive fresh and ready to eat. Perfect for any active lifestyle.
Cooper DeJean
With 45 weekly menu options, you can pick gourmet meals that fit your goals. Choose from Calorie Smart, Protein plus Keto and more.
Reed Blankenship
Factor powers your day with satisfying breakfast on the go, lunches, premium dinners and guilt free snacks and desserts. It's easy to savor more this spring. Factor Meals pack in the flavor with none of the fuss.
Cooper DeJean
Get started@Factor Meals.com Exciting 50 off and use code Exciting50OFF to get 50 off plus free shipping on your first box.
Reed Blankenship
That's code Exciting50OFF@Factor Meals.com exciting 50 off for 50 off plus free shipping.
Cooper DeJean
You've been a long time Eagles fan.
Gilly the King
Missed three games in my whole life that I can remember.
Reed Blankenship
So like, what's your like all time favorite Eagles player?
Gilly the King
I can't really pick an all time, like a top. Like you gotta understand, man, we had some great Eagles, man. From Reggie White, rest in peace to Jerome Brown to Clyde Simmons, to man, Deuce Daly, terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb.
Cooper DeJean
Forgot about TL.
Gilly the King
Man, we had some real, some real great players, man. So to just, you know what I mean, Brian Westbrook, you know, man, if I had to pick one, just one of the greatest players ever, it would have to be Jalen Hurts. I mean the kid's been to two Super Bowls in three years. No other player has done that for Philadelphia. So I would have to pick and then if I would have to, you know, put in the top 10, you definitely gotta put like Lane Johnson in there, man. He's the greatest, you know, probably the greatest Eagle of all time, dude. Like not just, not just like, yeah, tackle. No, he's probably the greatest Eagle of all time.
Cooper DeJean
Wow. Lane Johnson.
Gilly the King
Yes. Yeah, I mean, you know what I mean?
Reed Blankenship
I agree.
Gilly the King
Like, you're never going to say that about an offensive lineman, right? But when you look up and you like, man, gave up like three sacks in eight years, man.
Cooper DeJean
He's a.
Gilly the King
You know what I mean? Like, come on, man.
Cooper DeJean
He's a freak. What, what's, what's your top three moments all time as an Eagles fan?
Gilly the King
Oh, top three moments all time as.
Cooper DeJean
An Eagle fan is in there.
Gilly the King
DeShawn Jackson running the Punt back. Oh, New York on the New York Giants. That was like unbelievable. Then, then seeing Tom co ran and then he didn't go to the end zone, he ran around like without a doubt, man. Cooper Dijon in the super bowl getting that interception, man. And I gotta say, without a doubt, Brandon Graham strip sacking Tom Brady to seal that first super bowl, man, that was just. Damn, that was unbelievable.
Cooper DeJean
I'm honored.
Reed Blankenship
Appreciate that.
Gilly the King
Yeah. Because at when you got the interception, it was like, oh, yeah, okay, they might not have a shot today. Yeah, it was like it might be almost over like at this point, like, you know what I mean?
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
And then like what was it the next drive or the next with Devonte? No, well, I'm talking about another pick right after that.
Gilly the King
And shout out to the bald eagle, oh my God. Because I pulled you to the side at the end of the year and bro, I begged you, I said, I give you some money. I begged you. Like I said, whatever they don't get, I try to come up with. Please don't leave. And he stayed. So I love Zack Bond, man, for that, man. And I'm just a person that think when you get to a place and you thrive, thrive in that place, that's where you should be. You know what I mean? He didn't thrive in other places. He was at where he came right here. And for some reason we understood who he was as a football player and what he could be. And he thrived, man. And I just think to come here, be that great and then to leave, to go somewhere else and try to. I didn't want to see him do that, man.
Cooper DeJean
I know. I'm glad we got him back. We needed him back.
Reed Blankenship
Such a great player.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
Great dude in locker room too.
Gilly the King
What was your welcome to the NFL moment when you was like, oh, okay, this at a different speed.
Cooper DeJean
When I was, we were playing Carolina and I was, I was getting my ratted up by Adam Thielen.
Gilly the King
Oh, that was like a wet club right there.
Cooper DeJean
12 year vet just rotting my up. That was a rough game for me.
Reed Blankenship
You remember you texting me after the game?
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Reed Blankenship
Saying I'm like, very good.
Gilly the King
What'd he text you? I was a little frustrated cuz now, now we super bowl champions don't even matter.
Reed Blankenship
He was frustrated, he was like, how'd it look? Cuz I, I was, I had a concussion and I had to watch it from home. I'm like, he's like, how to look, man, I know, I just routed me up like it's just.
Cooper DeJean
He Was just working my.
Reed Blankenship
Working. Yeah, dude, don't worry about it, man.
Cooper DeJean
You're fine.
Reed Blankenship
If that's. If that's the only.
Gilly the King
But let me just ask you a question, though. At the time, was you lying? Like, were you just trying to massage his ego? No, I was trying to get you, like, you got three more weeks of this. You'll be out of job, buddy.
Reed Blankenship
I just try to give confidence, man.
Gilly the King
You know, confidence is to tell the truth. Right. You can't be getting rounded up like that, man. Yeah, you're like, you're fine. You're cool. Don't worry about it. He's home. Like that.
Reed Blankenship
Thank God.
Cooper DeJean
It was terrible. You worked all game, and then he's.
Gilly the King
In his 12th year, but that's a lot of experience, man.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, yeah.
Gilly the King
And you might have needed to see that for later on in the year.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Gilly the King
But that was the only one that routed you up, though, that I could remember.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, he did work me, though. He worked.
Gilly the King
What was your welcome to the NFL moment, man?
Reed Blankenship
Like, the 23 kind of season is how it went. You know, you got.
Gilly the King
He was like 10 and 2, man.
Reed Blankenship
2. And then you have that fall off, and you're like, oh, my gosh. Like, then the fans, you know, start getting into it. You're like, well, you either grow from this or you just walk away from it, you know? But that whole. I guess that whole season in general, just learn a lot from it because.
Gilly the King
You go from being on a high horse. Oh, number one team in the NFL, to, like, yeah, now we like the seventh best team.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Cooper DeJean
No, seriously, out on wild card weekend. Yeah, man, that was.
Gilly the King
But that's how crazy the league is. You start off two and two. We ain't. Next thing you know, we win. Yeah, you start off 10 and 2. Next. You know, you lose.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah.
Gilly the King
Every week, you got to be mentally right, man.
Cooper DeJean
That's gonna wrap it up for our second ever guest on the exciting mics, Gilly the King.
Gilly the King
Man, I appreciate you guys just chopping it up, man.
Cooper DeJean
Just.
Reed Blankenship
It's cool to get to know, like, really in depth who you are as a person. Like, as a fan. Like, you know, like, we. Like, we say we see you all the time now.
Gilly the King
Thank you, man.
Cooper DeJean
Make sure you go check out million dollars worth a game. Gilly and Wallow's podcast, too. Appreciate you coming on again, man.
Gilly the King
Appreciate you all, man. Hey, listen, I want to wish y' all health, wealth, a great year, and I already know you'll be a pro Bowler this year. I know you'll be a Pro bowler this year. But I'll also. No, you won't be at the game. Cause we'll be in the super bowl. E, A G L E s.
Reed Blankenship
Yes.
Cooper DeJean
Hell yeah. We are back with another segment of exciting eats. But we've decided to change the name of the segment.
Reed Blankenship
We listened to our fans and someone.
Cooper DeJean
Suggested exciting bites, so we switched it to exciting bites. So welcome to.
Reed Blankenship
To the segment.
Cooper DeJean
To the segment Exciting bites. Exciting bites. Today we have primo hoagies.
Reed Blankenship
Primo hoagies.
Cooper DeJean
We're gonna try them out, rate them, and let you guys know.
Gilly the King
Hey, what's up, my brother?
Reed Blankenship
What's up, my brother?
Gilly the King
I love it. I love my boys. I like exciting bites. I gotta tell you. All right. Real Philadelphia hoagie. It's not just a hoagie. It's a primo. This is an Italian. This is a turkey.
Reed Blankenship
My boys mangia.
Cooper DeJean
Here we go. With primo hoagies. High bread. High bread.
Reed Blankenship
I like an Italian sub.
Cooper DeJean
What'd you think? 7, 3, 7, 3.
Reed Blankenship
Yes. I like that.
Cooper DeJean
Why, though?
Reed Blankenship
It is very well put together.
Cooper DeJean
It is very well put together.
Reed Blankenship
I like. I. I don't like a sandwich when it's.
Cooper DeJean
You got a pretty harsh scale here.
Reed Blankenship
What do you mean? Look. No, you got to realize my scale, if it's a seven or above, that's really freaking good. Like, eight is dang near perfect. Look.
Cooper DeJean
What? That makes no sense.
Reed Blankenship
How's it.
Cooper DeJean
How is eight perfect? Ten is perfect.
Reed Blankenship
Eight is very. Look, when's a perfect? Like, you know what? You have your own rating scale.
Cooper DeJean
Exactly. I have mine, and I will. I'm gonna give it a 7.9.
Reed Blankenship
I like the difference between my score and your score.
Cooper DeJean
Mine's better than yours. I got a better scale than yours. We're back with the fan. Rapid fire. Q and a. Our first guest today, we have Victoria. Victoria del Elmo. Are you from Philly? You're from Philly. I'm from Reading. So it's like an hour and change outside of Philly. All right, you're from Philly.
Reed Blankenship
Reading. Oh, terminal. Oh, yeah.
Cooper DeJean
Let it rip. Let's hear it.
Reed Blankenship
So my question for you guys is.
Cooper DeJean
Like, what is your why for playing football? Like, what motivates you?
Gilly the King
What drives you?
Cooper DeJean
Like, what's your reason behind why?
Gilly the King
I like that. I like that.
Reed Blankenship
That's a good one to start.
Cooper DeJean
I love that. My why is really my. My family and where I come from. You know, I grew up in a. In a small town, Iowa, and, you know, not a lot of kids from my area. You know, have the opportunity to play college football or play at this level, you know, so being, being an inspiration to the kids back home and, you know, being able to show them that, you know, if you, if you have goals and dreams and you go and chase them, that anything's possible, no matter where you're from. So that's, that's one reason that my parents, you know, all they've, They've sacrificed for me, you know, growing up, you know, they took me to all my AAU basketball, baseball, you know, traveled to all my games for football. You know, I think they only missed two or three games last year, you know, of our season. So, you know, they're a huge, huge part of my why as well.
Reed Blankenship
That's my why. Came from a small town too. Not. I don't even know when the last person to go to college or to the league in my, my high school. So, you know, you go back home to that small town, you're like this, this superstar, the superhero to all these little kids. And like, man, I went to the same high school or school y' all are going to and you know, it feels cool because like you said, it doesn't matter where you are. You can just live out your dream regardless. So, yeah, definitely. Like my family, they push me. They. They drive me to be the best version of myself as possible. And then you meet a lot some more people on the way. Like my fiance, she. She's my rock and she puts up with me during the season. I'm. I'm a stressed stress ball, so she puts up with me so. Well. Thank you.
Cooper DeJean
Thank you.
Reed Blankenship
Great question.
Cooper DeJean
That was a great question.
Reed Blankenship
Thank you for that. I love that you get us emotional over here.
Cooper DeJean
Appreciate you.
Reed Blankenship
Thanks.
Cooper DeJean
Thanks for, thanks for joining us. All right, our next guest for the Fan rapid fire question is Ms. Kayla. She's here right now. Thank you for joining us. Let's hear your hard hitting question that you have for us.
Reed Blankenship
So my question is if you had any other job other than football, what would it be?
Cooper DeJean
Any other job other than football, you go first.
Reed Blankenship
Any other job other than football. Well, what I want to do after I'm done is be a farmer. Would you have guessed that? Yeah, I definitely. I could see that you're from Alabama. You have the perfect little accent for it too. Okay. I just making sure ain't nothing going on, but yeah, definitely a farmer. Yeah, that's about it, man.
Cooper DeJean
That's really simple. That's real exciting. Real exciting.
Reed Blankenship
Yours?
Cooper DeJean
I mean, I'd probably play basketball. Play basketball. Trying to play Basketball another. Yeah, I mean, not that good. That's really all I've done my whole life is play sports. So I'd probably try and play basketball if it wasn't.
Reed Blankenship
Yeah, no, no, don't do no sports. Cuz if I was going to say.
Cooper DeJean
No sports, then I mean, I'd probably be selling insurance with my parents back in Odybolt, Iowa. What do you do right now? What's your job?
Reed Blankenship
So currently I'm in college for early childhood and special education, but during the summer I'm a full time camp counselor.
Cooper DeJean
Oh, wow. That's kind of fun.
Reed Blankenship
Actually respect to you for that.
Cooper DeJean
It's more exciting than, than our jobs.
Reed Blankenship
That we pick, but I don't know what I'm doing. Your jobs are still pretty fun.
Cooper DeJean
Well, yeah, I'm talking about like if we weren't playing football, like our jobs. Outside of that, I don't think it's exciting. As exciting as.
Reed Blankenship
No, you. Yeah, I respect you for that.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, for sure.
Reed Blankenship
That's huge. Keep doing that, man.
Cooper DeJean
Yeah, we appreciate you. Thanks for joining us.
Reed Blankenship
Thank you. Thank you so much. Our Next guest is Ms. Sasha. What do you got for us today?
Cooper DeJean
So obviously you guys get along pretty.
Gilly the King
Well from what I can see.
Cooper DeJean
So I was wondering at what point did you guys click as teammates and was that different from when you guys clicked as friends? I think when I first got here, I was, I was pretty quiet and Reid was kind of the guy who, who helped me open up a little bit. He was always, I mean, he was always talking crap to me in the locker room and trying to get me to lighten up and talk more, you know. So I think, I think really that's when our friendship started. To be honest, I think it kind of went together.
Reed Blankenship
Fish that personality out of him a little bit. And you know, once I finally got it out of him, I'm like, okay, I know, I know who he is now, so I can roll with this guy.
Cooper DeJean
So yeah, now we're best buds and we got a podcast together, so look at that. It's awesome. Appreciate you. Thanks. Thanks for joining us. Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Exciting Mics.
Reed Blankenship
Remember to like comment and subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast.
Cooper DeJean
Drop your questions in the comment section below and you could be joining us on the show next week to ask us live in the episode.
Reed Blankenship
We appreciate your love and support and we'll see you next week.
Toyota Commercial
Hey, y' all. Life's journey is filled with change, growth, and exciting new chapters. Whether you're welcoming a new family member, stepping into a new city or chasing after your biggest dreams, you need a ride that's built with more space for the grand challenges ahead. The Toyota Grand Highlander is made for those who embrace every twist and turn with advanced safety features, innovative tech and a bold, sophisticated design. It's the SUV that adapts with you with room to spare. This spacious beauty seats up to 8, gives you up to 97.5 cubic feet of cargo space and has a diverse engine lineup. Available in gas or hybrid options including the powerful 362 horsepower Hybrid Max plus available all wheel drive means you'll have confidence no matter where life takes you. Ready to take on your dreams? The Grand Highlander is more than a vehicle. It's your partner in embracing all life throws at you, from daily routines to unexpected adventures. It's up for every grand challenge. Learn more@toyota.com GrandHighlander Toyota let's go Places.
Podcast Summary: Exciting Mics Episode 3 - "Gillie Da King on His FAVORITE Eagles Memories, Shedeur's Draft Party & More"
Episode Overview
In Episode 3 of Exciting Mics, hosts Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean welcome a special guest, Gilly the King, a prominent figure in Philadelphia's music and entertainment scene. Titled "Gillie Da King on His FAVORITE Eagles Memories, Shedeur's Draft Party & More," this episode delves deep into the passionate world of Philadelphia Eagles fandom, memorable moments from the Super Bowl, insights into the team's draft picks, and a heartfelt discussion on personal motivations and career paths.
Key Sections
Opening Discussion: NFL Flag Football in the 2028 Olympics
Reed Blankenship ([02:48]): Announces the exciting news that the NFL is allowing players to participate in the 2028 Olympics, marking the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport.
Cooper DeJean ([03:02]): Highlights Saquon Barkley as a top priority for the Olympic flag football team, discussing potential contract implications and team support for players participating in the Olympics.
Reed Blankenship ([03:20]): Emphasizes the business perspective, acknowledging the importance of contractual terms that may allow or restrict players from Olympic participation.
Podcast Reception and Team Updates
Reed Blankenship ([03:40]): Reflects on the positive reception of their first podcast episode, sharing initial nerves and the value of opening up about their personal backgrounds.
Cooper DeJean ([04:40]): Discusses the release of the team's schedule, noting the absence of back-to-back home games—a first for a Super Bowl champion in the subsequent season.
Reed Blankenship ([05:12]): Shares personal milestones, including having his high school jersey retired, and the emotional experience of witnessing it firsthand.
Coach Nick Sirianni's Contract Extension
Cooper DeJean ([07:07]): Celebrates Coach Sirianni's contract extension, underscoring the positive impact of his leadership on the team and the city.
Reed Blankenship ([07:10]): Praises Sirianni's dedication and his approach to fostering a college-like locker room atmosphere, emphasizing open communication and personal growth.
Cooper DeJean ([08:35]): Highlights the team's strong connection and collaborative spirit, attributing much of the team's success to Sirianni's leadership.
Guest Interview: Gilly the King
a. Background and Philadelphia Roots
Gilly the King ([09:02]): Clarifies that he is not the official mascot but plays a significant role as an unofficial hype man for the Eagles.
Gilly the King ([09:35]): Shares his origin story, starting as "Gilly the Kid" inspired by the movie Young Guns, and evolving into "Gilly the King" as he matured.
Reed Blankenship ([09:54]): Asks about Gilly's experience growing up in Philadelphia, to which Gilly responds by describing Philly as one of the poorest cities in the country, highlighting the deep emotional investment fans have in the Eagles' performance.
b. Favorite Eagles Memories
Gilly the King ([10:12]): Discusses the intense emotions surrounding Eagles' victories and losses, comparing losses to personal tragedies and celebrating wins with unparalleled joy.
Cooper DeJean ([10:23]): Expresses admiration for the passionate fan base and their unwavering support.
Gilly the King ([15:02]): Declares the current Eagles team as one of the greatest, noting their record-breaking postseason performance and pivotal Super Bowl moments.
Gilly the King ([16:53]): Recalls memorable Super Bowl plays, including Cooper's game-defining interception on his birthday and Brandon Graham's strip sack of Tom Brady.
c. Draft Party Insights and Player Praise
d. Music Career and Personal Journey
Gilly the King ([33:36]): Narrates his transition from aspiring NBA player to rapper, detailing his unexpected rise in the music industry with his single "Raggedy Kid from North Philly" reaching number one on Power 99's countdown.
Gilly the King ([36:28]): Reflects on his early rap career, the influx of record deals despite limited recordings, and his evolution into "Gilly the King."
Draft Picks Discussion
Reed Blankenship ([29:15]): Commends the newly drafted players for their work ethic and readiness to contribute to the team's success, drawing parallels to his own journey as an undrafted player.
Gilly the King ([29:35]): Emphasizes the importance of players thriving within the team's environment, highlighting specific draft picks like Jahad Kim from Alabama and a Texas safety.
Fan Rapid Fire Q&A
a. Motivations and Career Aspirations
Question by Victoria ([48:36]): "What is your why for playing football? What motivates you?"
Cooper DeJean ([48:46]): Attributes his motivation to his family and small-town roots, wanting to inspire children back home by demonstrating that dreams can be achieved regardless of one's origin.
Reed Blankenship ([49:43]): Echoes similar sentiments, highlighting the role of his family and fiancée in supporting his football career and personal growth.
b. Alternative Career Choices
Question by Kayla ([50:53]): "If you had any other job other than football, what would it be?"
Reed Blankenship ([51:00]): Reveals his aspiration to become a farmer, appreciating the simplicity and connection to his roots it represents.
Cooper DeJean ([51:33]): Shares his interest in playing basketball or potentially selling insurance with his parents in Odybolt, Iowa, if not pursuing football.
Exciting Bites Segment: Primo Hoagies Review
Closing Remarks
Reed Blankenship ([53:44]): Encourages listeners to like, comment, and subscribe to the podcast, inviting fan interaction and participation in future episodes.
Hosts ([54:03]): Conclude the episode with a reminder to follow Exciting Mics across platforms for more engaging sports talk and behind-the-scenes insights.
Notable Quotes
Cooper DeJean ([17:07]): "It only makes you want it even more. Like another one even more. To get back to that moment."
Gilly the King ([15:02]): "This team was definitely the greatest Eagle team. It got to be top five. Because when you look at what we did in the post season, scoring the most points in post season history."
Reed Blankenship ([49:43]): "I don't even know when the last person to go to college or to the league in my high school. So, you know, you go back home to that small town, you're like this superstar, the superhero to all these little kids."
Gilly the King ([14:58]): "When y' all win, oh, you don't understand. This was like one of the greatest years of my life."
Gilly the King ([30:04]): "Everybody came ready to work."
Insights and Conclusions
This episode of Exciting Mics offers a multifaceted exploration of Philadelphia Eagles' culture, the emotional depths of its fan base, and the personal narratives of those closely connected to the team. Through Gilly the King's engaging stories and heartfelt reflections, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the team's dynamic and the unwavering support that fuels its success. The discussion underscores the importance of leadership, community, and personal motivation in achieving greatness both on and off the field. Additionally, the playful interactions during the "Exciting Bites" segment and rapid-fire Q&A inject a lighthearted and relatable tone, enhancing the overall appeal of the episode.
Conclusion
Episode 3 of Exciting Mics successfully blends in-depth discussions about the Philadelphia Eagles with personal anecdotes and fan interactions, creating an engaging and authentic listening experience. By featuring a diverse guest like Gilly the King, the hosts provide valuable insights into the team's inner workings and the broader implications of their success for the city of Philadelphia. Whether you're an avid Eagles supporter or simply enjoy compelling sports conversations, this episode offers a comprehensive and entertaining overview of the team's journey and the passionate community that stands behind it.