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Travis Holloway
And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the wealthbreak podcast, a real conversation about finance.
Rodney Williams
Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone.
Tudor Dixon
I feel like sometimes being broke is a cycle and that we might have.
Travis Holloway
To revisit that and we're not stopping at success stories.
Terrence Hegarty
What happens when it doesn't go right?
Tudor Dixon
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Rodney Williams
Because wealth isn't just about money, about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same.
Travis Holloway
Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
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Tudor Dixon
Welcome to the Tudor Dixon Podcast. Well, everybody knows it's March, and so that means we are in the midst of March Madness. So for all of you out there that don't know, I'm not a huge sports fan, but basketball is kind of my thing, because when I was growing up, I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs, and the Bulls were winning every year. It was amazing. We had Michael Jordan, we had Dennis Rodman, we had Scottie Pippen. We was like the dream team, right? And then I went from there to the University of Kentucky, and Rick Patino was the coach, and we were winning at Kentucky, and it was just awesome, and I was so excited about it. Now my kids, who are probably the shortest kids in town, are playing. Playing basketball. And even though they're the tiny ones, we just love the game. And I heard this story about an Irish bar in Staten island being the originators of the March Madness tournament bracket, and I was like, I gotta talk to this guy. So I have Terence Hegarty with me. He is the owner of Jody's Club Forest in Staten Island. Terrence, thanks for joining me today.
Terrence Hegarty
You got it, too. Thank you for having me. Yeah. So it's been quite the last couple of weeks, to say the least. Yeah, the AP did a story, and I'm starting to learn a little bit about journalism, too, because I realized that when the AP does a story, it really goes out throughout the whole entire country. So I've had calls from multiple people. So it's been a pretty cool experience to be able to tell my father's story. My dad's not here anymore, so, you know, it's. You know, I'm kind of, I guess, the spokesperson for this right now. So, you know, I'm the youngest of five, and I'm the only one who really wanted to do what he did for his whole life, basically. So I've taken the bull by the horns in a way and, you know, tried to get his story out there as best as I can.
Tudor Dixon
Well, that's actually part of the beauty of this. I lost my dad a few years ago, and my dad was this. He was a steel expert, and his. His thing was rail castings, and I love to be able to talk about his legacy. Your dad is so much bigger than life, I mean, especially in your community. And I think that is really the beauty of your story and probably why you're getting so much attention. Because we're looking for something that is a good story, a feel good Story about a family who works together, but your whole community came together. And I think that honestly I feel like that is the future that everybody is looking for. And the future that everybody's looking for comes out of these stories from the past. And so I want to go into how this happened because I can't even imagine what it was like for you, you guys, as kids. This started up in. He opened the bar in 76 and then the bracket started in 77, right?
Terrence Hegarty
Yes. So we started in, you know, we opened in June of 76, actually in about a year and a half we'll be here 50 years. So we are very excited about that, you know, because we're still running a day to day restaurant bar. It's really a, it's. We've been here a long time. So it's, it's a real. Where I guess we're kind of pillars of the community, I would say. But you know, back in the late 70s, 76, 77. My father was only 27 years old and I couldn't imagine running this place when I was 27. I was not mature enough. He probably wasn't mature enough. But you know, with the helping of my mother's father, they got started in June of 76, like I just said. And in March of that following year, him and his, you know, just guys sitting around, you know, just talking. You know, there was no Internet obviously, so you know, you did a lot of talking back then and you know, there was probably some drinking involved as well. So. So they decided they were going to run a pool, you know, where basically all you had to do was pick the final four. You know, you didn't have to pick every game like the brackets and stuff like that, but you just had to pick the final four, the winner of the tournament and the total points of the final game. Now, easy, right? You know, you would think it was easy. So that first year we had 88 picks in. You know, I always say I Fast forward to 2006 because there's so many stories in between those 30 years, but just the, the, the full scope of it was 88 entries in 77. And then our very last year we had over 160,000 entries from.
Tudor Dixon
I mean that is. But to me, this is the, the most incredible part about this is what people don't think. There was no Internet. This was before. I mean this is just like at the beginning, in the midst of this, you see computers. I mean when they're doing this, it's, you know, not even the Apple Iie that was the first computer I remember, you know, by hand.
Terrence Hegarty
It was all by hand in the beginning.
Tudor Dixon
Crazy.
Terrence Hegarty
And then we got into computers. I would say, like early 90s was when it really got big. You know, I hate, I know you went to Kentucky and I hate to bring this up, you know, 92 was a very big year. That was the year the Leitner shot. So I'm very sorry I had to bring that up, but I, I do remember that it was a Friday night, I was only 10, and I was here and the place was going crazy and it felt like to me as a 10 year old, like, how wild it was. And then after that, it, like it exploded. You know, I put something on Instagram the other day. I don't really talk about it on, like social media and stuff like that. Like, if you came to my place, like, I don't have anything hanging up saying, like, we're the home of the, you know, the pool and stuff. I made some T shirts once. That was about it.
Tudor Dixon
You were saying, you know, that wasn't really your dad's thing to go out there and brag about it and it wasn't really your mom's thing. And you're kind of honoring that legacy by just running the business and not bragging on what was there. But I do think that it is something for the public, for the American public. Like I said, we all look for a feel good story and it's something so unique because I think once you break it down, you know, the first 88 people begin this, but then as you go on and you talk about how many people had to have the brackets and how many people had to be calculating. This became a community wide effort to make sure that the brackets were calculated correctly and the money went out to the winner correctly. Right?
Terrence Hegarty
Yes, it was, it was very much a community based event. We had, I would say in the 2000s, we probably had, I would say, 60 to about 75, 80 people working this one thing. Like we had computers throughout houses. My mother's living room was filled with computers. We had neighbors that would take in computers, women, like my mother's friends. A lot of, you know, a lot of them are still here. And they'll tell me like, oh my God, I remember being at your house for hours on end and my mother would sit in the, sit in the kitchen. She, my mother smoked cigarettes. So my mother would smoke cigarettes in the kitchen. And she was the money person. And we had a computer guy. Now another thing is that, you know, I, I'm happy, I Could talk about this now? Cause on the podcast you could really. I could branch out a little bit, but we had multiple bars throughout New York taking pics. So like, if you went to Manhattan, you could find a place downtown so you didn't have to drive all the bars.
Tudor Dixon
And that's how it got so big.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, that was, that was a big deal. We had multiple, multiple bars in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Manhattan. So we covered three boroughs and you know, Brooklyn and Manhattan back in the day, I mean, it was, it was, it was wild as a kid too. It was just. There was. It's almost doesn't even feel real talking about it now, but it was, it was a reality what was going on.
Tudor Dixon
So does that ever. I know you say it's done, you know, it ended, you're never going back. Now that this has gotten so much attention, is there a little part of you that goes, man, I'd like to see those days again?
Terrence Hegarty
Oh yeah, totally. 100%, 100%. No hesitation, no hesitation. And I used to have hesitation about it because, you know, it's a big deal and it's a legacy that we have. And you know, I know what it would take to do it. But, you know, I worry about certain things. Like, you know, I have a wife, I have three young kids that I really care about. Obviously they're my family. You know, back in the day it was different. Now it's, you know, who knows? But I think it would be pretty cool if I did it. I know it would be a lot of money right away, but I'm enjoying this little ride we're on right now. We're 18 years since we did it and I think it's as popular now as it's ever been.
Tudor Dixon
Well, absolutely. I mean, my daughter came home, my 11 year old came home from school the other day and she's like, so I gotta work on my bracket with Megan tonight. And I'm like, what are you talking about? And I think that's so funny that you have these little kids that, I mean, for them it's just fun. And that's. Some of the people are just doing it for fun. But for you guys, it became a real money machine. But I think the best part about it is it was always just 10 bucks per person. Right?
Terrence Hegarty
And that, that. And that's the most unique thing. It never changed from $10. 77 to $10. 06. You know, people would come up to my dad, you got to make it $20. He was like, no, no, it's 10. It's the fair. Like anybody could be walking down the street and say, hey, I'll walk into Jody's. I'll put a pick in. And you never know, I can be a millionaire. And like, that was reality, you know, so that is.
Tudor Dixon
That was reality. But that sounds crazy because the first one 88 people. The winner took home 880. But then suddenly, like you, you fast forward years later and it was over a million bucks.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, it was over a million. It went. I remember the numbers vividly. I remember in 02 it was like 530,000. And then in 03 it went up like 200,000. And then 05 it was 1.2. And then in 06 it was 1.6. So we were on pace to, like, if we made it to 07, we were going to be over $2 million. There was no doubt about it.
Tudor Dixon
Is there a point when that makes you nervous? Like, did you ever feel like your parents were like, oh my gosh, we're responsible for so much money now?
Terrence Hegarty
100%. My mother was, you know, my mom was obviously the brains behind it. You know, like any good man needs a good behind them. Like I. With my wife especially. Yeah, my mom was nervous. It was a nerve wracking time. It was, you know, because my father was. He was under a lot of scrutiny back then too. Because a lot of people, what they would say is like, that's when like the, the chat room started and like the Internet started growing a little bit, you know, where you could say something and you don't have to put your face to it or your name to it. And there were a lot of hurtful and terrible things being said about my dad. Now, my dad didn't know the Internet, if it smacked him in the face, he wouldn't have known what the Internet was.
Tudor Dixon
Sometimes it does smack you in the face.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, yeah. You know, my dad, he didn't really know a lot of things are being said, but we ended up telling him. And that was a bad thing for me because I was so upset to see such hurtful things said about my dad. Like, you know, like, he's taking money, Jody's. Jody's pocketing all the money, like that, all that stuff. And that was. That couldn't have been further from the truth. It really couldn't have been. You know, he was an honest person. You know, he really cared about the community. He helped run golf programs in Staten Island. He was very into golf. You know, he really did care about the pool. And to see it end the way it did was heartbreaking for him.
Tudor Dixon
Tell us a little bit about that, because I don't think people know exactly how it ended. And after something. I think the important thing to remember is this is something that, like I said, brought the whole community together. Because you're talking about they had people across the whole community with the computers, with the tickets. There were people managing where the money was being kept to keep the money safe. I mean, this was a community effort. So at the end, it sounds like someone. One of the winners was they. They reported their winnings to the irs, and then suddenly he's under this scrutiny. And I. And. And I think if you look at it from the outside perspective, it's like, oh, yeah, you're managing a lot of cash now. We have a lot more cash businesses, especially with marijuana. And I think people understand, like, okay, there are cash businesses, and doesn't mean that people are bad. But this was devastating to you guys.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, it was. It was brutal. It was December of 06. I remember the date so clearly. Like, you know, two agents ended up coming in here from the IRS. You know, scared the daylights out of my dad totally. You know, my father was like a frail man, you know, and he really. It changed him considerably. You know, we had to hire a tax lawyer, which ended up costing us, like, over $200,000 for a lawyer. Multiple hearings we had to go to in Brooklyn federal, federal court. And, you know, my dad had to, like, want, like, the first, like, arraignment. Like, he had to, like, take his belt off. He had to sit in the jail cell. Like, it was. It was. It was brutal for him to go through that. And, you know, they thought that they were going to try and, you know, maybe they thought they were going to find something. They just didn't. He underreported his income taxes for three years, which totaled like, $24,000. So in the grand scheme of things, it was like $8,000 a year that he owned a bar restaurant. So it was. It was hard. It was really hard. But in the end, he ended up just getting off. There was no house arrest, nothing like that. Just had to pay some fines, you know, it really took a lot out of him. It really did. It was. It was really rough. It was rough on myself, my brothers, my sisters, you know, I'll still never forget the day when, you know, when he found out, like, his fate, in a way, like, he could have went to jail and my father would not have lasted in jail. I don't think he would have survived even a day but he ended up getting off, you know, because like we said, like, he was very much part of the community. He was very friendly with, you know, you know, elected officials, you know, judges, everything. So people knew him through the chain. So. So he ended up getting off, which was a blessing. I'll still never forget that. That was a Friday. And, you know, people came in that night and it was like a celebration in a way. You know, it was, it was kind of a sick celebration. But, you know, it was, it was, you know, we were celebrating that he was, he was coming home with us, which was really cool.
Tudor Dixon
And, and that he was a pillar of the community. I mean, people looked up to him.
Terrence Hegarty
He really was. He was, he was something else. He would, he would do anything for anybody. He really was a good man. You know, she was. He had some great lines. He was, he was really funny. He was a character. I took over from him when he passed away and I, I'm. I'm not, I, I'm not. I don't try and be half the person that he was in the community because he was just such a. He had the name too. Like, his name was Jody. Like, you don't hear many males named Jody, but his name was Joseph. But, you know, it's everybody who's just Jody. And it was, it was a tough time, but we did get through it. You know, we've overcome a lot in this business. You know, I've had to overcome a lot too, you know, with COVID and all that stuff. But, you know, I guess we just overcome things.
Tudor Dixon
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Travis Holloway
And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the Wealth Break.
Rodney Williams
Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone. It's not just about saving. It's about investing. It's about navigating systems that weren't built for you, embracing your hustle and relying on your community to create something bigger.
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Rodney Williams
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Tudor Dixon
And I think that that's what people look at the restaurant business and they say, man, it's a really tough business. And especially after 2020 and what we went through with COVID and looking at, I mean even here I look around and a lot of restaurants didn't make it, but your restaurant has such a rich history. And again, this is something that I've been talking to people in Michigan about. I'm like, if we can bring back restaurants, if we can bring back community, I mean that's where the history happens. And I talk about, you know, that's where we go after graduations and for bir birthdays and when we celebrate a promotion or when you have a big meeting, you know, you remember the places that you were because that's what your community is. And when I hear your dad's story, that's exactly what I want to see all across this country is your dad's story is people coming together, realizing that that's the place to meet. I mean, it's like the Cheers story all over again. You know, there's a whole, a whole series. One of the best, most well loved series on television was about a. A place like your dad's.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, it's a lot of people say that it's very much a Cheers type place. Like I said, we're almost 50, 50 years old. And to be able to say that is just. It gives me the chills. You know, I tell everybody when my dad passed and then my mom passed three years later, you know, people tell me, oh, you're doing a good job. And I just say, you know, to me, I'm just keeping an eye on their place. And that's how I look at it. You know, it's. It's a hard working job. Covid definitely changed everything in New York especially.
Tudor Dixon
What was that like for the club?
Terrence Hegarty
Oh, my God, it was rough. It really was, you know, to walk into an empty building basically for a year straight. And then they opened us back up and then they closed us back down. The second closing, I thought was the worst because it was right before Christmas and we knew what to expect at that point. Like, you know, deliveries were only going to get us so far, you know. So, yeah, we got through it. You know, I had to lower my staff and, you know, my sister still works for us. She helped us. My wife was a big help. My wife was still home with our kids at the time. So, you know, we tried to think of. You had to be creative too. You know, you had to come up with like food specials just for people to call up. And then some of the things that they made us do, which is, I mean, if looking back at it, it was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever experienced in my life. Like one examp example, we weren't allowed to sit people at the bar, but I was allowed to build a high top table and put it against the bar and people could sit at the table. I swear it was. So I lost customers because of it. I really did. I remember one guy, we had an outdoor seating and they told us we weren't allowed to have people stand up. They can only sit. The only time they can stand up was to go to the bathroom. But if you stood next to a table and you talked to the person you had to be told to sit down. It was. It was wild. And I lost customers because of it. They're like, are you kidding me, Terrence? I'm like, I don't know. I just want to stay open. You know, it was. It was a tough time. It was a brutal time, actually.
Tudor Dixon
I mean. And I. You were talking about when your dad went through what he did with the IRS and the cost of that. And I think about how. I mean, you guys really, truly are overcomers. Because when I thought about that, I thought, well, I mean, Covid had to have been pretty similar. It had to have been a really significant loss.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, it was terrible. And I joke around with people, too. And I always joke around with, you know, now looking back, and I always say, when I go and I run into my father again, first thing I'm going to say to him is, how'd you like how I handled that pandemic?
Tudor Dixon
That's what I'm sure you're like, what would he be doing right now?
Terrence Hegarty
Oh, my God. I couldn't even imagine. My mother was a tough. My mother was a tough. She was from Irish immigrants. Her parents were from Ireland. My mother was a tough woman. My mother would have said, just stay open.
Tudor Dixon
I love it.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah. But my. My mom, you know, she kind of gets lost in a lot of this, too. She was the real, like, when it got big, the pool, per se. Like, my mom was the one who really ran the pool. Like, she was the money person. She was like, you know, when Mary spoke, people listened. That's how I. That's how I always say it. And we were so proud of what we. We were able to accomplish.
Tudor Dixon
It sounds like your dad was kind of like the. The fun. The guy that everybody wanted to come and see. He was the welcoming. He was kind of the. The personality behind everything. And your mom was business.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, my mom was business. He was the personality, definitely. So if. If people were to say to him, hey, Jody, I never see you here anymore, my father. My father would always say, yeah, tell my wife that. Because my wife would say, I never see you anymore. So it's like he was being dragged in multiple places. You know, we miss them. I love. This is why I love talking about them, because to me, it kind of brings them back for a little bit, and, you know, to think about such great memories we all had together.
Tudor Dixon
Yeah. Yeah. I feel the same about my dad. I mean, it is really hard when you lose someone, but then you get to talk about them, and this is such a cool story. I Think right now. So what are you looking at right now in the bracket? What's your.
Terrence Hegarty
What.
Tudor Dixon
Who do you have winning at all?
Terrence Hegarty
Well, I went to St. John's so they lost, unfortunately, so that kind of took the spirit out of it for me. But, you know, I grew up a Duke fan as a kid. I mean, that's such an insult. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not really anymore. I've grown up a little bit. So realizing. I think I realized I was never going to Duke. So, you know, I like to see. You know, I like Duke. I like. They're very good. I could see them winning the whole thing. You know. They're playing Arizona tonight just over in Jersey, so a buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to go. I don't think I could pull it off because my kids are very young and we're very into baseball right now and other sports.
Tudor Dixon
It's a little tough opening day.
Terrence Hegarty
Opening day. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. Big Mets fan, too, so.
Tudor Dixon
Well, I, of course, my first love is Kentucky. I'll be watching Michigan as well. I'm going to see what happens, but it's always fun. So in Kentucky, I'll just say Kentucky has no national teams. So when Kentucky would win a championship, the entire state rallied around Kentucky. And it was just such a. An amazing experience. I mean, having come from Chicago, where, you know, everybody obviously was excited about the Bulls. You had Louisville and you had Kentucky. So there's this big rivalry right in the state. And when we would win, the university would just go crazy. Like, everybody would go outside and it was just this huge celebration. So. So I watched that and I think, I mean, that is really very cool to me. This is so needed right now because the political environment is. It's just so stressful that when we can focus on feel good stories and sports and that kind of stuff, it just seems like it's a great escape. And I love what you said earlier about there was no Internet, so we were just talking to each other. And this, I think, kind of brings that back. And so there is a selfish part of me that would love to see you do this, this again, because I feel like that would bring that back. You know, even though it would be online, you would still have a lot of people that would come in and that would bring back that sense of community.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah, no, it would. And, you know, I have the name. You know, I have the Jody's name. Like, other places have run pools and they just. They don't succeed. And maybe it's not as honest as it should be. But you know, I'm an honest person. You know, I would, whatever comes in would go out. I really put a big, big, big splash on it. And, and you know, what you said before about the Internet and stuff, like, that's how much the bar business has changed. Like, I remember as a kid coming in here, you know, after grammar school, I'd walk in at 12 and then we'd have a, at 12 years old and we'd walk in and be a full bar and everybody just talking to each other. But now like, you look up and I have a full bar and it's like, you know, I have 13 chairs at my bar. At my bar and like, who's on their phone? You know, nobody's talking to each other. It's, it's just changed so much. Like I, I miss the old days. I think the old days were great. I mean, I was such a little kid back then. But you know, it's life, Life's changing and you know, we have to adjust to the times too, so.
Tudor Dixon
But it is, it is life. And that's what. So I mean, that's kind of been. There's this tug for, I think our generation, especially because we do remember growing up and remember people always talking and obviously not even having phones in school or any of that. And then there's this, there's this drive for us to kind of pull that back. But our kids live in a generation where that is totally different. And their way of communicating is through that phone and through those apps. And there's no, I mean, I can remember being on my parents line in the house all night. You know, my mom would get on the other line and get off the phone. You got to go to school tomorrow, you know. But now it's like there's this drive to pull technology away from our kids, but that is also social for them. So it's, it's a challenge right now to, to balance that totally.
Terrence Hegarty
Like my, my daughter is 10 years old. Like she still doesn't have a, she doesn't have a phone yet. Like my wife and I are waiting till the end of fifth grade for her to get a phone. You know, because once they get on the phone, you kind of lose them. You know what I mean? I don't want to lose my, you know, I like having them around. I like hearing them yelling, yell and fight with each other.
Tudor Dixon
So that won't go away. I can tell you, even once you get a phone, they'll still fight with.
Terrence Hegarty
Each Other, My God, the school drop offs. But it's. It's hope I get one good day out of five. I'll take it.
Tudor Dixon
How many kids do you have?
Terrence Hegarty
I have three.
Tudor Dixon
Okay. All right.
Terrence Hegarty
Two boys and a girl.
Tudor Dixon
I have four girls. And this morning, one of the first things I said was, do we have to constantly pick at each other? Can we just not pick at each other? That's.
Terrence Hegarty
Yeah. Before we go downstairs, I'll say, can we just have one morning go smooth and doesn't happen.
Tudor Dixon
Well, that's real life. That's the beauty of it. And I so appreciate your story. Okay, so tell everybody how they get to your bar, where it is, what they can do, and how they can just continue the tradition.
Terrence Hegarty
Sure. Yeah. We're at Jody's Club Forest for 372 Forest Avenue in Staten Island. We're just a short boat ride over from Manhattan. We're on the north shore of Staten Island. Very much like we've spoken about. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody knows your business before even, you know your business. Yeah, you come into our place and you kind of feel like family once you walk in. Yeah, we're. We're around, like I said, 50, almost 50 years. And I'm going to keep it going as long as possible. You know, we have great food. We have a party room now. We expanded. And another thing we didn't talk about before was, like, when we ran the pool, we were only where this building I am in now. And we expanded to the other side, so we added another, like 1800 square feet. So that's like where we. We used to take the pics over there. And that was a dry cleaner, too. That adds to the story, too. There's just so much to it. But now we're a restaurant. We do a lot of parties. You know, very, very family friendly. Very family friendly. Like, our little league is right down the block. We get a lot of families in after games. And, you know, we're very proud of Jody's and, you know, we're going to keep it going as long as we can.
Tudor Dixon
Well, if I could encourage you a little bit, I would say that if you put up a few pictures or a plaque about the March Madness stuff, I just think that that would be such a delight for all of us from other states to come and stop by and just see where started. So I would encourage you to do that.
Terrence Hegarty
I will. And when I do, you'll be the first to know.
Tudor Dixon
Thank you. Thank you. And thank you so much for coming on today. It was so much fun to talk to you.
Terrence Hegarty
Yes. This is very nice. Yeah. And good luck to you with everything. And, you know, I'll be watching your show and I appreciate you having me on as well.
Tudor Dixon
Absolutely. All right, Terrence Haggerty, make sure you check out the club. It's, it's a place where, like you, he said it's for families, it's for everyone, but it's got a rich history and it's a big part of the community. So thank you so much for coming on.
Terrence Hegarty
You got it, too. You have a good one.
Tudor Dixon
Thanks. And thank you all for listening today to the Tutor Dixon podcast. For this episode and others, go to tutordixonpodcast.com, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and join us next time. Have a blessed day.
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Podcast Information:
In this special episode, Tudor Dixon sits down with Terrence Hegarty, the owner of Jody's Club Forest in Staten Island, to uncover the intriguing history behind the creation of the March Madness bracket. The conversation provides an in-depth look at how a local bar became the birthplace of one of America's most beloved sports traditions.
Terrence begins by sharing the rich history of his family's establishment, Jody's Club Forest, which opened its doors in June 1976. As he notes:
"[05:18] Terrence Hegarty: We opened in June of '76, and in about a year and a half, we'll be here 50 years."
This longstanding presence has made Jody's a cornerstone of the Staten Island community, fostering connections and hosting numerous events over the decades.
The conversation swiftly moves to the genesis of the March Madness bracket. In March 1977, Terrence's father initiated a simple yet innovative pool:
"[05:18] Terrence Hegarty: ... they decided they were going to run a pool, where basically all you had to do was pick the final four, the winner of the tournament, and the total points of the final game."
Initially, the pool saw modest participation with only 88 entries. However, Terrence highlights the exponential growth over the years, culminating in over 160,000 entries in later years.
Terrence emphasizes the community-driven nature of the bracket:
"[08:51] Terrence Hegarty: It was very much a community-based event. We had about 60 to 80 people working on it, with computers spread across houses and support from neighbors."
This collective effort not only managed the increasing number of entries but also reinforced community bonds, making Jody's a hub for local engagement.
Despite its success, the bracket faced significant challenges. In December 2006, Terrence recounts the ordeal with the IRS:
"[15:02] Terrence Hegarty: Two agents came in from the IRS... my father had to go through multiple hearings in federal court, which was brutal for him."
The scrutiny was due to underreported income taxes, resulting in Terrence's father paying fines but avoiding harsher penalties. This period was taxing on the family and the business, highlighting the complexities of managing a large-scale community pool.
Terrence reflects on the evolution of technology and its impact on the bracket's operations:
"[07:17] Terrence Hegarty: It was all by hand in the beginning."
Transitioning to computer-based management in the early '90s marked a significant turnaround, enabling the bracket to handle larger volumes efficiently. The collective effort of the community, including contributions from his mother's friends and local computer enthusiasts, was pivotal in this transition.
Terrence shares heartfelt anecdotes about his parents, underscoring their roles in both the business and the community:
"[17:42] Terrence Hegarty: My mother was the brains behind it... My father was the personality."
He pays tribute to his father's legacy, describing him as a beloved figure who was deeply integrated into the community. Terrence's personal connection to the business adds a poignant layer to the narrative, emphasizing themes of family and resilience.
The pandemic posed unforeseen challenges for Jody's Club Forest:
"[24:51] Terrence Hegarty: It was rough. Walking into an empty building for a year straight... we had to be creative with food specials and adapt to restrictive regulations."
Terrence details the operational hurdles, such as staff reductions and customer loss due to stringent health guidelines. Despite these setbacks, the family managed to navigate the crisis, demonstrating their commitment to sustaining the business.
Today, Jody's Club Forest stands as a vibrant restaurant and community center:
"[33:36] Terrence Hegarty: We're at Jody's Club Forest for 372 Forest Avenue in Staten Island... We have great food, a party room, and are very family-friendly."
Terrence expresses a desire to revive the bracket tradition amidst its renewed popularity, balancing this with familial responsibilities and the evolving digital landscape.
The episode concludes with Tudor Dixon encouraging listeners to visit Jody's Club Forest and support its enduring legacy. Terrence's story exemplifies how grassroots initiatives can blossom into nationwide phenomena, all while maintaining strong community ties.
Terrence Hegarty at [05:18]: "We opened in June of '76, and in about a year and a half, we'll be here 50 years."
Terrence Hegarty at [07:17]: "It was all by hand in the beginning."
Terrence Hegarty at [12:16]: "It was over a million. It went up to 1.6 million. There was no doubt about it."
Terrence Hegarty at [15:02]: "Two agents came in from the IRS... it was brutal for him."
Terrence Hegarty at [17:19]: "He was the personality, definitely."
Terrence Hegarty at [24:51]: "We had to be creative with food specials and adapt to restrictive regulations."
Terrence Hegarty at [33:36]: "We're at Jody's Club Forest for 372 Forest Avenue in Staten Island... We have great food, a party room, and are very family-friendly."
This episode provides a compelling narrative of innovation, community spirit, and resilience. Terrence Hegarty's insights into the origins and evolution of the March Madness bracket offer listeners a unique perspective on a tradition that has become integral to American sports culture.
Listeners are encouraged to visit Jody's Club Forest at 372 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, to experience its welcoming atmosphere and rich history firsthand. Terrence assures that the legacy of his parents continues to thrive, making Jody's a beacon of community and tradition.
This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from "The Tudor Dixon Podcast: The Birth of the March Madness Bracket" episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. For a more immersive experience, tuning into the full episode is highly recommended.