The NFL is Back: Ryan, Channing & Fred talk WK 1 stories, predictions, new faces of the league with 15 black starting quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes over Lamar Jackson, Ricky Pearsall incident, growth and how you want to be remembered in life

"There are 32 teams right now that really believe they can win the superbowl. Yall know that number is about 6... But the fandom is what fuels this game and I love it." On this episode of The Pivot in partnership with Fanatics, Football is back and so are the guys after a whirlwind of NFL training camp shows, and we are ready to dive into the new football season. After traveling from locker room to locker room and off the heels of the opener Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens- Ryan, Fred, and Channing share their thoughts and predictions for the next 6 months! With some NFL mainstays absent from the sidelines this season, there is a lot of excitement around new faces of franchises with the league’s rise of black quarterbacks. For the first time, it's nearly a 50/50 split between black and white starting QBs and the guys discuss how this is long overdue and an exciting shift on the playing field and how the 2 kick off games featured teams with black quarterbacks. The match up between Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson didn’t disappoint and if the first game is a preview of what’s in store for the season, it’s going to be a wild one! The conversation takes a turn as Ryan opens up about the unfortunate shooting of San Francisco Rookie Wide Receiver, Ricky Pearsall, as Ricky is one of RC’s son’s best friends and although he survived, Ryan and guys share their personal perspective and discuss questions surrounding the incident. Understanding how much can change in an instance, the guys reflect on how they want to be remembered and what kind of legacy they want to leave behind as men, husbands and fathers as they discuss the levels of growth and things they do now that they didn’t before or wish they could have done differently. Powerful words shared as vulnerability and accountability are at the core of their conversation. Make sure to subscribe and follow for updates on The Pivot Podcast as we embark on a new NFL season pivoting to different cities and bringing you guests in sports, music, entertainment and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Fellas, it is that time. It's my favorite time of the year, bro. We are finally out of that weird space where I can't watch TV on weekends because I don't watch golf, right? I don't give a care if Scottie Scheffler has joined like the top five people of all time that's won seven tournaments in one year. My daddy's at the house trying to tell me about birdies and eagles and putts and all that. I'm like, "Pop, I don't know nothing about none of that."

• 0:52Channing Crowder?

  Scheffler's special, though.

• 0:53Fred Taylor?

  We've seen your swing, too. We've seen your swing.

• 0:56Ryan Clark?

  That what you call it? That's called a swing?

• 0:58Fred Taylor?

  I don't know what that was, but we saw it.

• 1:00Ryan Clark?

  Well, first off, guys, I ain't got time to be golfing all the damn time.

• 1:05Fred Taylor?

  That is true.

• 1:06Ryan Clark?

  Be working.

• 1:06Fred Taylor?

  You need time.

• 1:07Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, too. I'm stiff as hell now. The other day, man, I was in the house and I tried to see if them hips could move like they used to when I was in high school, and I started creaking. I'm out of there, Coach. I have aged out. I'm into old man sexiness.

• 1:20Channing Crowder?

  How you work your hips? Because I work my hips different.

• 1:24Fred Taylor?

  I want to know, does your shimmy work? Can you shimmy?

• 1:29Ryan Clark?

  I can still shimmy because that's all shoulders. It's not hips, like Chad said. But nah, man, I'm excited.

• 1:41Ryan Clark?

  Fellas, it's the football season, but when you think about the beginning of the season, it's the stupid part of the season where every fan thinks that their team's going to be good, where every team has lied to themselves throughout the entirety of camp that they have an opportunity to win the Super Bowl. What are some of your favorite memories or that one memory that sticks out in your head where you say, "Okay, this is what the beginning of a football season is about"?

• 2:06Channing Crowder?

  Man, it's funny you say that, RC, because we travel all the time. We talk to a lot of fanbases and be around a bunch of fans. There are 32 teams right now that really believe they can win the Super Bowl. Y'all know that number's about six.

• 2:20Ryan Clark?

  Yes.

• 2:21Channing Crowder?

  Maybe six, but the fanbases, the fandom is what fuels this game, and I love it. But you talk about the beginning of a season. And it popped up in my head as soon as you said it. It was my first game in the league. 05, Denver, Jimmy Smith. Yeah, Smooth was there up in Denver. And it was my first game ever playing in the NFL. Starting at wheel linebacker, next to Zach, next to Jason, next to Junior, next to Vani, next to KC, Kevin Carter, all them boys, Mad Dog, Sam Madison out there. It's crazy that that was the game that started the peeing on yourself stuff. That everybody asked me about, the peeing on yourself during games. It was that game that started it because of the fact that that's when the Dolphins and

• 3:06Channing Crowder?

  the Marlins used to share a field. That's when the Marlins used to play early and we had the dirt on the field. And during that game, I went to the dugout to go pee because I used to take Redline and Red Bull and drink all this BS and Vicodin and whatever else, Toradol, whatever else they give for the game. I just wanted to be ready to play ball. And I had to go pee. And I went down to the dugout, went pee. By the time I came back, I think Ronnie B. Black fumbled, somebody fumbled. We went back on defense and I missed that series. And that's when I promised to myself, I'm never missing a series again. So if I gotta pee, I'm gonna pee right there on the sideline. Denver, they ended up going like 12 and 4 that year. They were good as hell, but we beat them in Miami. We beat the hell out of them like 34 to 10 because of the fact that it was 110 degrees

• 3:51Channing Crowder?

  and people can't play in Miami. So that September thing about playing in Miami early in the season is real, but also playing and having to miss a series made me start peeing on myself every game. Denver 05, go look it up. We beat the hell out of them now. Big Money was on it. Big Warren was there, so it was a bunch of guys I know. But my first game ever, I'll never forget it.

• 4:13Fred Taylor?

  They went to the AFC Championship that year. They were a really good team.

• 4:16Channing Crowder?

  Yes, 12 and 4, I believe, that year, yeah.

• 4:19Fred Taylor?

  I'm like you, Chan. Going back to the opener for me, my first game ever, the reason I got into football was the 1985 Bears. Watching Sweetness, watching Walter Payton. Oh, so that was, so the next year, you got to play against your idol? No, but 13 years.

• 4:36Fred Taylor?

  It was actually 13 years later, as a matter of fact. 1998, I want to say it was like September.

• 4:46Channing Crowder?

  I'm laughing. That's my bad, bro, my bad.

• 4:51Fred Taylor?

  Y'all need to stop picking on me, by the way. No, but going back to, it just felt so good to be able to open my NFL career in Chicago, at Soldier Field, a place that, you know, I enjoyed watching Walter run the ball, man. So, it just brought back a lot of memories of me as a child, watching Walter. And then to be able to get an opportunity to get three, I got three carries that game. But it felt good nevertheless, to start my career there. But like you RC, man, a lot of these fans are fantasizing that their team is gonna end up in New Orleans. Some have already booked their hotels or Airbnbs.

• 5:31Fred Taylor?

  Dallas Cowboy fans always read the cancellation policy, cuz they're the ones that won't probably be there when it come playoff time, cuz they're always experiencing first round exit. But this season, I think, will be a special one. We get an opportunity to watch some amazing athletes go out there and do their things like they do every year. So, I'm excited for that. You know, I'm excited to be able to be at home in my office. I close the door, like you say, I throw on my YouTube TV, I got four games right here on the multi-screen that I can enjoy, so it's always dope, man.

• 6:03Channing Crowder?

  We ain't never talked about this because Fred, we laugh about it. Fred drafted first round, know he gonna start. I'm drafted third round, know I'm gonna start. How was your intro to the NFL?

• 6:13Ryan Clark?

  I don't remember. I do not remember whether the New York Giants played their first game in 2002. I don't remember if I was up, if I was dressed out. You know, I know halfway through that season, they put me on practice squad. And when y'all were talking about your first games, I was legitimately trying to remember mine. And I don't. I think, you know, you remember, I guess, momentous occasions? The big occasion for me that year was making the 53, right? But I was a special teamer, I wasn't gonna play, I didn't play a huge role on defense at all in my first year. So, I don't remember that. The game that sticks out to me was the 2006 season opener, Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Miami Dolphins.

• 7:01Ryan Clark?

  It was the first season opener I ever started. Because my last year in Washington, even though I was the starter, I got hurt in camp. So I missed the first two or three games of the season. The year before that, I didn't start until the fifth game of the season. So it was my first time as an NFL player, being the starter on opening day. And you were there, you know what it was like. That's the year after they won the Super Bowl. It's Thursday night, it's damn rockets everywhere and jets flying over the stadium. And it was almost like a college atmosphere. And I walk in there and like, they ain't even talking to me yet. Like legitimately, like it was hard for me to get conversation out of people at this point in the locker room.

• 7:45Ryan Clark?

  And so I win the job, right? Bill Cowher's the coach, right? Steel chin. So me and TC, little pistol starter. That's what we used to call him. We fighting for the position. And they tell me when I win the position, oh, nobody really took a hold of it. We're gonna play Anthony Smith at some point, but you can start this season because we want to start with the veteran. So I already knew Kill Switch was gonna play at some point. So now we playing a game, Ben has an appendectomy before the game starts. So now we got Charlie Batch. I didn't know that Charlie Batch was the greatest backup quarterback of all time. He's a damn Pittsburgh Steeler hero. That's the same game, he throws the 87-yard bomb to Heath Miller. I was out there. Right? Heath Miller scores, but at this point, we in the huddle, we about to go on the field, we gotta get a stop.

• 8:27Ryan Clark?

  Nobody care about me. They got Troy Palamalu, Casey Hampton, uh, James Ferrier. Hot footie there. Aaron Smith, foot dog, right? And so now I'm like, okay, I just gotta go out here and do my job. But I was balling the whole game. I'm smacking people. And TC sits next to me, right before the last drive, and he looks at me and he goes, you should be started. That's the moment I remember from that game. Because at that point in my life, I still had like so many questions about whether or not I belonged. And he became my best friend on the team at that point. And we were fighting for the same position. We did everything together. And they gave him the same spill they gave me. Somebody else is gonna play eventually. And he said, he's like, nah, man.

• 9:10Ryan Clark?

  He's like, you're supposed to be out there. And all I remember is Peasy, right? The meanest human I know. The only thing I knew about Joey Porter at that point very well was that he will throw hands on the field before a game and not care about the repercussions or consequences because fighting and being respected was more important to him than anything in the world. He gets the pick, right? Hall of Fame Coach Bill Cower. Me, to me, should be in the Hall of Fame Joey Porter. And he kisses him on the cheek after. And to me, I was like, oh, it's different.

• 9:43Fred Taylor?

  We kissing now.

• 9:44Ryan Clark?

  In this place. Like, in this place, the toughest men in the world kiss each other after picks. But that was my introduction into Pittsburgh. But it was like truly the start of my career of having a home. You know, and so that's why I don't really remember the other stuff.

• 10:02Fred Taylor?

  Now, I just want to say what's gonna be weird about this season's opener is no Bill Belichick on the sideline. We will see a lot of his face, though. He'll be on the Pat McAfee Show and then on Inside with you. So that's a lot of knowledge that he'll be able to share the week after the games. So, man, he had been coaching since 1975. That's crazy. And not to be on the sideline, it's gonna be kinda weird, man.

• 10:28Ryan Clark?

  That's making me feel old. Nick Saban now, he's analyzing, making me feel old. Tom Brady, we talked about him recently, where the ownership of the Raiders and how much can he work and all that stuff? Tom's now an analyst. I'm surprised how good Belichick is. I watched y'all's show a couple of weeks, well, that last week, man. I am so surprised because everybody thought Bill Belichick was post-game Bill. Normally, we're just, we're just, we're just everybody. Bro, Bill be wide open, man. I'm excited to watch Bill break down these games because I know he is a damn genius. Saban, those guys come from that same tree, man. But it's making me feel old with all these guys going to the analyst side and they ain't, they ain't coaching or playing no more.

• 11:13Speaker 04

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• 11:25Ryan Clark?

  I think we're definitely old. You know, you look at this weekend, you know, someone that we all have a relationship with, sort of, you know, in the sense of our culture. My nephew Ricky Pearsall played for Florida as well. He was shot in a robbery attempt by 17-year-old. And Fred, you know, sends the news across. You're in Florida with your child.

• 11:50Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 11:50Ryan Clark?

  Who, you know, is as young as well. When you see something like that, what are some of the messages or some of the things you think are important when people really try to dissect that situation?

• 12:03Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, man, it hit me hard, man. And I was in Gainesville around all of Gator Nation. We was getting our heads beat off. And then you get the text, there's like, it's a bad day for Gator Nation. Thankfully though, you know, Ricky, he came out okay. You know, because you think for the worse, you hear someone gets shot, that's one thing. Then you hear, well, he was shot in his chest. Like, man, this is, this is crazy. But again, thankfully, he's okay, man. A lot of people sent prayers up. My whole thing about it is, we come into these new cities as rookies, you know, not, not really used to our surroundings and we still want to go out and just be a human being. And it's unfortunate that someone will make a play in your life over a material item. You know, they see a Rolex and say, I want to get that.

• 12:48Fred Taylor?

  Then sometimes they see skin color and say, you know what? This is an easy play. He white, he got on a watch, I'm gonna try him. You know, so it's really bad how people sort of go about handling their business. But my messages to the younger guys, man, you're in these new cities, you know, you got to keep your head on the swivel. You know, go out as a group, you know, making sure that you know exactly where you are. You know how to look and see the leverage in those areas that you are, man. You know, a lot of you guys got these homeboys and these homies, like, make sure they got their heads on the swivel. At least that's how it was for me down in Jacksonville. When I first got to Duval, it was known as the Bang'em. You know, it was one of the highest murder rates in, in the country. But again, I knew that going in.

• 13:34Fred Taylor?

  So I made sure that I didn't end up on certain sides of town. Try and mitigate, you know, the possibility of being robbed, jacked, or whatever you want to call it. So, man, just make sure, uh, you are familiar with your surroundings. Don't venture into certain areas, you know, in those new cities where crime might be a high possibility. But in Ricky's case, he was just walking in a chill area and in broad daylight, someone tried him. So again, man, thank God that Ricky's okay. But young guys, man, just, uh, make sure you know where you are. Keep your head up.

• 14:08Channing Crowder?

  Is it, because I'm, I'm almost asking for these, for these young dudes. Because I'm not a materialistic dude. Like, you know, Jay, y'all got beautiful jewelry and you got the little, I don't even know what them shits is called. The little, the little club brakes and that shit's very expensive. But my whole thing is that, like, I tell people, what is jewelry attracting to you? To be honest, if you had a hundred thousand dollar chain on, that's going to attract, in my mind, this is why, this is how my thought and why I never spend money on jewelry. It's going to attract gold diggers and dudes that want to rob you. Like, those diamonds and jewelry and all, and I know it brings attention, but what attention is it bringing to you on the positive side?

• 14:51Channing Crowder?

  What is it, like, a girl's going to smile at you, but she's smiling at the diamond chain? She's not smiling at you. Then now, that's my whole thing and that's why I'm not real big into jewelry. But y'all know I'm a country dude, but I think the negative attention of what jewelry and having a quarter million, a half a million dollar worth of jewelry on, I don't know if, I don't know if the risk worth the reward, to be honest.

• 15:11Fred Taylor?

  Just push back really quick on you, Chan. On jewelry, yeah, it's materialistic and one of those items that might increase, you know, the possibility of people wanting to make a move on you. But, you know, you have a nice vehicle. Your wife drives a, a nice vehicle. You know, people plot on people, uh, others leaving the grocery store. Because they're getting in a nice vehicle, they assume that you have something of value. Shit, they might just want the car itself so they can go drive it to the nearest chop shop, chop it up, put it on a, in a container and send it overseas to the Dominican Republic. Trust me. So I know how they get down, especially in Miami. So it's not so much all about jewelry. It's just about the act, the, the people committing those acts and how they're feeling that particular day.

• 15:55Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I think my, my pushback on it is we're, we're victim blaming, right? In the sense of it's, hey, you can't do these things because if you do these things, it attracts this level of evil. I think you gotta talk about the evil. I think you have to talk about the way people move. And the situation with Ricky Pirasol and the person who attempted to rob him, it's also the people that are putting this young seventeen year old up to this. When you think about the, the gang violence and the gang-related crime in San Francisco and California for the OG, they say, oh, if you want to be a part of this, if you want

• 16:38Ryan Clark?

  to be a part of this family, you have to go do this thing. You have to go steal, you have to go attack, you have to go shoot, you have to go kill, you have to go rob. Because if you do it, the, the messaging is if you do it, because of the laws in California, you won't be punished as heavily as I will and we all eat, right? Think of the cowardice of whatever person that is, who probably in his culture or wherever he is and his place in whatever organization it is, is seen as the OG. It's seen as the person who has paid his dues so he gets to call the shots. But in calling the shots, you aren't concerned about the young man that you're sending out

• 17:23Ryan Clark?

  to do whatever it is, and you absolutely aren't concerned about Ricky Pirasol. And to me, it draws more attention to the lack of concern for human life, right? Because you're willing to kill Ricky Pirasol, have him killed, have him harmed, have him shot over a watch, and you're also willing to sacrifice this young man who forever now, unless truly rehabilitated, he's gonna see that as a way of life that's okay. And it's not. And the first thing I think of, and some people know this, some people don't, Ricky was my son's roommate at Arizona State. You know, and Freddie T did mention, okay, he may look like an easy mark because of skin color or whatever. Nah, Ricky bought that.

• 18:09Ryan Clark?

  Right, and I'm not saying that you that you were saying that he is, but I'm saying I get the the the knowledge is.

• 18:14Channing Crowder?

  The rookie premier, when we sat down with him, yeah, he ain't he ain't no pushover.

• 18:19Ryan Clark?

  Exactly, and so now Ricky's like, okay, how do I save my life? Which in a lot of times in those situations, because you just won't go because you're not gonna be an easy mark, you put your life in more danger, but that's what we think, it's fight or flight.

• 18:32Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 18:32Ryan Clark?

  And so now, oh, I think her name's Joelle Harrell, she's the cop that gets to him, and he asked her, imagine that, am I going to die? Right? So for me, it's sitting at a game, watching my son, one of his closest friends is now shot, and the first thing I'm thinking is, what if that's my baby? That could be Jordan, that could be Lil' Chan, that could be KT, right? That could be all of our children who are faced with this, because I want Jordan to get a job. I want Jordan to have money, I want Jordan to have the nicer things in life if he wants to, because he's worked for it. Because you've worked for something, and now you have jewelry, or now you have this,

• 19:15Ryan Clark?

  it doesn't mean that you have to be a mark, that's the society we live in, but it's all kind of people who worked their entire life to have things.

• 19:23Channing Crowder?

  RC, I don't want to victim blame, but is the risk worth the reward? Like, I don't understand why I need to have a hundred thousand dollar chain on. You want people to look at you and know you're rich? Because my whole thing is, you even bring up the cars, you know, y'all know I drive an old, big ass, black Suburban. Like, I'm not a flashy dude, I don't get the mentality.

• 19:41Ryan Clark?

  But your wife drives a Tesla.

• 19:42Channing Crowder?

  But I don't, and I don't get the mentality of I need to show that I have money. Why you need to show you have money? You have money and be comfortable.

• 19:51Ryan Clark?

  When you buy a Tesla, you tell people you have money. When you live where you live, you tell people you have money. Now, it may take away the immediate threat of being robbed, or shot, or accosted, or assaulted, because you don't have these diamonds on your neck. That may be true, but the other piece of it is, you can't tell people not to go get those things, if those people have earned those things. It's the same way when we look at, there's always the picture, you know, of whatever old white billionaire is wearing like New Balance khakis and a blue sports coat.

• 20:26Channing Crowder?

  Sperrys.

• 20:26Ryan Clark?

  Right? Yeah, he's wearing that, but he got a mother effing jet and 10 security guards.

• 20:31Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 20:31Ryan Clark?

  You know what I'm saying? He got seventeen houses. You know what I mean? And, and it's, it's like when you grow up with nothing, right? When you grow up idolizing the people around you that have a little something. It's not like when I was growing up, the people who found money, whether it was dope boys, people who worked for it, whether it was athletes, the people who got money bought jets. So I didn't grow up in my life thinking I need a damn jet, right? They bought houses. So the first thing I did when I finally got a little money was I bought a house. Cause I was like, oh my gosh, I got a four by two. Like I'm rich. You know what I'm saying? Like I've made it. And then you look around, it was like, man, it would be so great to have a nice timepiece, right? Because the, when you're growing up, they don't call them watches. Like if you could get a Rolie, if you could get a Hublot, if you could get a Breitling

• 21:16Ryan Clark?

  or Audemars or whatever these watches that Jay-Z's always wearing that cost more than most people's homes, right? It's not about making, it's like that's what I want. That's a, that signifies I now have some form of wealth where I can take care of myself in a way that I felt like my people would never be able to take care of myself. And I get it, it is flashy and you know this too, Chan. People do everything for women. If you were doing growing up, right? You, when, when you get rims, you weren't getting rims for you. You was getting rims so people saw your rims and girls thought that you had money and you was cool and it draw attention.

• 21:52Channing Crowder?

  As a kid, I did it, but now as a grown man, I don't see the reason of drawing out that attention to yourself.

• 21:58Fred Taylor?

  That's totally fine, but again, it, it's the, it's the victim blaming. Like you should be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor, right? Like if you want this stuff, get this stuff. You can, you can have this stuff and walk through the meanest hood and sometimes not be touched or even seen.

• 22:12Ryan Clark?

  Hey, bro, there is no sporting season like the fall. Whether you love baseball, football, whatever it is, and you gotta represent your teams. But sometimes you don't wanna pay everything as once. If you use Klarna and you add things into your cart, you can select a payment plan that allows you to spread your payments out over four payments without any interest.

• 22:33Channing Crowder?

  Man, you download the Klarna app. You can buy now, pay later, spread out the cause. MLS.com, NHL.com. You use Klarna. And you decide when you choose to pay.

• 22:44Fred Taylor?

  What I like the most about it, honestly, is that fans can be fans. You can pay now or pay later over four payments, especially with the price of these venues and the tickets. Clorner is the way to go.

• 22:54Ryan Clark?

  Man, you download the Clorner app. You can buy now and pay later. California resident loans made or arranged pursuant to a California financing law license. I was reading a book, and in the book, it said that we should approach life in the manner that

• 23:12Ryan Clark?

  we see interactions and think of them firstly as what would I do differently? How would I react? Or how would this affect me if I thought, what would this person say at my funeral? I don't know if you saw the movie A Fault in Our Stars, but in that movie, which everybody cries. In that movie, the kid is, he has cancer and he's gonna die. And he tells his best friend and his girlfriend, he's like, let's have my funeral today. And he allows them to eulog- to, is it eulogy? So it would be whatever. Then he listens to his eulogies from both of them. Because he's like, when this actually happens, I won't be alive.

• 23:56Ryan Clark?

  So he gets to hear what they have to say about him before he actually dies. Because what happens is, these people say all of these things after you pass about who you were, your memories and what you were to them. And you never get a piece of it. It's just other people who knew you as well. If you knew, or you made every decision based on,

• 24:19Ryan Clark?

  what do I want my funeral to be like? How would that change how you behave, or would it at all?

• 24:26Fred Taylor?

  That's deep, RC. You, I wasn't prepared for that one. But I would say, I guess the short answer is, you know, I have to live my life as I've been living my life. You know, I always tell people, keep your face clean. And I try my best to be that way with people. I don't expect how I move on a daily basis. I can't please everyone, you know? But I do know majority of people that I've come across, you know, if they had to speak at my funeral, it would- Possibly be, you know, uh, something positive and something truthful from their heart. You know, nothing made up. I don't know if there's a, a, a person in the world that could, um, speak at my funeral and say something bad about me. But then again, I could be wrong, you know, um, but I wouldn't be here to find out.

• 25:11Fred Taylor?

  So it's not even that, it's not even that serious. But I just try to do right and treat people right and hopefully leave a, a lasting impression on them.

• 25:21Channing Crowder?

  That's deep. The, the, the question of would you change something in that, in that scenario or something else? What would you say, I'm like you, Fred? I think majority of people would speak glowingly about me. But if every interaction I had, that person could speak at my funeral, I would have to say I would devalue monetary gain because I'm dead now. And I don't want to set my kids up in 401K. You know what I'm saying? Like you can do that.

• 25:54Ryan Clark?

  Can't take it with you.

• 25:55Channing Crowder?

  You can't take it with you. There's never, there's never been a, a, a Brink's Chuck behind a, behind a hearse. And that thought of it. So when you ask it, the first thing popped in my mind is where I think I, I, I just try to, the next business, the next check, the next thing, the next this. And I might lose some, some personal time. I might lose some fishing trips with Chaz and Chan. I might lose out on some of that and I want to set them up. I want to be able to buy their first house. They got their 529 C3s. We got all the.

• 26:26Ryan Clark?

  They got that too, yeah.

• 26:27Channing Crowder?

  You know what I'm saying? You have, you have your, you have, you have the business side set up, but you're always pushing for more. And when you ask the question, that's the first thing popped in my mind.

• 26:37Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. Um, so when I think about what my funeral would be like, Chan, you mentioned if everybody could speak at your funeral. First thing is, everybody's not going to speak at your funeral.

• 26:50Channing Crowder?

  You got three, two?

• 26:51Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, like everybody, everybody you've come into contact with in your life is not going to even be there. Right? Those people, some people aren't close enough for you to be there, to be there that you've interacted with. I do think, uh, looking back at my life, I would want even those people to have a positive experience with me. I know.

• 27:18Ryan Clark?

  I try to be a good human. I don't always try to be nice. I don't, I don't think we have to live life being nice. I do think we have to live life being as good as we could possibly be to people. If I'm being honest, I would change a lot about

• 27:36Ryan Clark?

  my life if I thought about what my funeral would be.

• 27:43Ryan Clark?

  I'd be, I'd be a better husband if I truly thought about it. I'd be less selfish

• 27:54Ryan Clark?

  if I truly thought about it. I think I'd give people more grace.

• 27:59Ryan Clark?

  I think I wouldn't expect that in these places, I'm a certain way, that other people would be that way as well and hold people accountable for things that don't matter to them as much as they matter to me. I wouldn't hold people accountable for things that they don't know. Right? When, whether it's just people I run into or people I'm dealing with in everyday life, you can't hold people accountable and make them responsible for taking care or being concerned about things that matter to you if you've never really taught them that they matter to you.

• 28:40Ryan Clark?

  Like, I know I've made so many decisions based off of like my wants, my desires, things that, that make me happy in spaces. And I think as you, as you get older, you realize that that temporary fulfillment doesn't keep you whole, full, and content your entire life. You know? I used to run around and be like, man, I don't really care what people think. I'm gonna say and do and be whatever way I want to. And I largely live life like that. But you also adjust those things for personal gain. Right?

• 29:21Ryan Clark?

  I know how to smile in the right conversations, in the right people's face, even when that's not really the feeling I have because I can gain something from it. If I had to do it again, I'd be holistically honest, even if it may keep me from getting something I really wanted. Because I do believe that when you give people honesty, you allow them to make decisions based on having a full gamut of information. And people can't be hurt if they make a decision to do something,

• 30:03Ryan Clark?

  or they make a decision to be somewhere, or they make a decision to be something with all the information that's supposed to be presented to them. Now those people are in charge of their consequences. When you lie to them, you're in charge of their consequences.

• 30:22Channing Crowder?

  It's a bad phrase though, RC. Is it playing the game? The game of life almost, not playing the game with people, but you have to know who you're around and you have to read the room. There's so many different ways to say it.

• 30:34Ryan Clark?

  But my point is this though. It's okay, I think it's okay to play the game with people who are also playing the game with you. Right? And in those spots that we're moving around, where you're trying to elevate life, you're trying to get things, those people in those same rooms are doing the same things with you. But in the places where people aren't, in the places where there's genuine love, in the places where there's genuine care, in the places where there's an actual concern for your well-being, I would go back and be that same way with those people. But if I couldn't, if I wasn't willing to, if I was unable,

• 31:19Ryan Clark?

  which I have been in life, even in certain times where I've wanted to be certain things for people, and I haven't been capable. If I was in that space and I had an opportunity to go back and just do it all over again, from the smallest interaction to the biggest, I'd be honest with those people. It may hurt them, right? And it may hurt me in the end, because a lot of times if I told a lie or if I deceived in any way, it was because I didn't want to lose that person. I didn't want to lose whatever opportunity. I didn't want to hurt that person, instead of just giving them the space to make their own decision based on what they knew about me.

• 32:03Ryan Clark?

  And maybe sometimes I was actually ashamed. Of who I was. I was ashamed of what I wanted. I was ashamed that what my thought was wasn't a societal norm that this person that I actually cared about subscribed to. And I think as I've gotten older, I care less about the perception and more about the integrity.

• 32:31Fred Taylor?

  I just want to say, RC, you can start the day. You know, like I always say, it's never too late to pivot. Anybody out there that's considering, you know, the message that we just shared, it's never too late to pivot. We can always find that moment in our lives where we say, all right, I want to be a better person. You know, I want to live my life as if someone's speaking at my funeral. So.

• 32:55Speaker 05

  Here's your report.

• 32:56Speaker 00

  Oh, thanks, Jane. I wish I could hire someone just like you.

• 32:59Speaker 05

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• 33:15Speaker 00

  Let's do it. You're irreplaceable, Jane, but another you would be great.

• 33:19Speaker 05

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• 33:25Fred Taylor?

  But it is not ever too late to pivot. So that's why I want to pivot. These 15 black quarterbacks, man, crazy. Shout out to Willie Thrower, first black quarterback to play in the modern game. You know, shout out to Doug Williams, first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Shout out to Warren Moon, the only black quarterback in the Hall of Fame. Donovan McNabb, Mike Vick, Randall Cunningham. You know, all these guys, man. Just amazing that right now 15 black quarterbacks are set to open this NFL season. I think it's a beautiful thing. I think it's, it shows how much the game of football has evolved. Yes, the rules have helped, you know,

• 34:08Fred Taylor?

  put these black quarterbacks in position to be able to go out there and start, you know, for these teams now. They still have to deliver results. We understand that the NFL is a.

• 34:19Ryan Clark?

  Production based league.

• 34:20Fred Taylor?

  We understand that NFL is a production based business. So. It's just good to celebrate this moment. We know not all of them will win on opening day, but uh, man, just to be able to sit in these chairs and have a conversation about the one position where they thought wouldn't ever really have as many blacks, you know, have an influence on position. Man, I think that's pretty dope.

• 34:46Channing Crowder?

  And it's, I'm glad you brought up the Doug Williams, the Randall Cunningham's, the, you know, Warren Moons and all those dudes that are breaking down that stigma, because that's what it was, the stigma of leadership, taking over a team, running the huddle, black dudes can't do that. Yes, they can. They're just as smart. They're not, everybody, they're equal. White quarterbacks, black quarterbacks are equal. And it's funny that it's right down the middle now, because it used to not be that way. They're equal. Can a white boy come off the edge? Yes. Miles Garrett is great, and Nick Bosa's great. Is Trent Williams just as good as the best white tackle out there? We just had Jason Kelsey on the show. There's great white centers, there's great black centers. The stigma of that position

• 35:30Channing Crowder?

  was what they did to us for years, what they did to black people for years. You lead the team, you're running the huddle, you're doing that.

• 35:35Fred Taylor?

  Too athletic.

• 35:36Channing Crowder?

  Yeah. And we can do it the same way, we can play all these other positions. We just, bro, we talking about Ricky. Ricky's a hell of a receiver. Wes Walker's a hell of a receiver. I could bring up white receivers all day.

• 35:46Ryan Clark?

  We had Cooper Cup on the show.

• 35:47Channing Crowder?

  Cooper Cup's a monster at receiver. You can't put, and I love it now that you, you don't need to put a race on a position on any sport. An athlete's gonna be an athlete, and I think that's where we're coming to. So half the league, quarterbacks being black, and half of them being white, or Marcus Mariota, Tua Tagovaiola, what the hell, Hawaiian, Samoan, whatever the hell they are. Bro, if you can run a huddle, and you can throw that bitch, let him play quarterback. And that's where I think we're getting to, and that's why I love what these numbers are right now.

• 36:21Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I think it's super dope that, you know, I mean, 15 of the starting quarterbacks are black. And I know the conversation's going to go to, then why do you keep pointing it out? Right, you pointed out because of history and I think now you get to point it out as a positive. You know Fred mentioned some of, you know Willie Thrower, who's the first quarterback. He's only lasted two games. Uh, there's Marlon Briscoe, who started for the Denver Broncos, Joe Gillum. You know, and then you think of what it felt like in the early eighties when Doug Williams won a Super Bowl. That second quarter, that was so fascinating and phenomenal, looking at my father cry because he knew Doug personally.

• 37:06Ryan Clark?

  And seeing what it meant to him, I did grow up in an age where Randall Cunningham was my favorite quarterback. And then we got to see Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick and now the progression to where the best quarterback in the world is biracial. Which is seen as black in this country and Patrick Mahomes. And one of his largest adversaries or nemesis or opposition is Lamar Jackson. Who's a two-time MVP winner, who is so different from what we were taught. Looks like leadership in that position. And so I do think though, you have to commend the John Hall balls. The Ozzy Newsoms for getting behind a guy like Lamar and saying, you don't have to change.

• 37:48Ryan Clark?

  We'll build this around you from off the field to on the field. I think the way the game has progressed, and I don't think we, we talk about it enough. The quarterback of America's team is a black man. And Dak Prescott, the significance of that. And so I do love that now these young quarterbacks, these young black men are seen as faces of franchises. Are seen as intelligent enough to be leaders, are seen as responsible and accountable enough. That I can not only give you the money that represents what it is to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

• 38:32Ryan Clark?

  But I believe you can be responsible enough with the life that comes along with that money, with that spotlight to lead our organization. And I think the biggest piece of this is Thursday night, we had the kickoff game of the season. And it was Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. On Friday night in Brazil, you're going to have a standalone game that represents this league internationally. With Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts. The first two games of the season, which are showcases for the NFL, have two starting quarterbacks that are black. Two years ago, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes met in the Super Bowl, and it was the first time two black starting quarterbacks met.

• 39:17Ryan Clark?

  And I do think we are getting to a point where we won't have to have this conversation in a sense of shock, awe, and achievement. And we will just say, it's just Patrick Mahomes. It's just Lamar Jackson. It's just Jalen Hurts. And I think that's a win for our society. It's a win for the NFL. But it's certainly a win for our community and our culture that we have gotten to this point.

• 39:43Channing Crowder?

  They're just quarterbacks.

• 39:45Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 39:45Channing Crowder?

  They're not black and white quarterbacks. They're just quarterbacks.

• 39:49Ryan Clark?

  Chan, I just got, I have one last question, because we're about to end. Here I am on social media, Chan. You know me, I'm bored, I'm surfing.

• 39:58Ryan Clark?

  And it was like a tremendous moment. You know, I think it's always beautiful when a pastor finds love. When, when the head, when the head, when the head of the church

• 40:08Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 40:09Ryan Clark?

  Have his first lady, now she's gonna wear the big hat, sit on the front row, and say, preach preacher. He proposes to this woman in the church during the ceremony.

• 40:18Channing Crowder?

  That's beautiful.

• 40:19Ryan Clark?

  Unfortunately, Chan, the ceremony was the death of her husband.

• 40:23Channing Crowder?

  What happened?

• 40:24Ryan Clark?

  So, it's the funeral. The wife is at the funeral. The husband is in the casket. And the pastor is on his knee proposing to this lady, and everybody's clapping.

• 40:38Channing Crowder?

  He, he, he was already hitting her.

• 40:43Ryan Clark?

  He was already.

• 40:48Channing Crowder?

  At the funeral that he's at in, in his church.

• 40:50Ryan Clark?

  He's, he's, he's

• 40:52Channing Crowder?

  He's

• 40:52Ryan Clark?

  Leading the funeral. He's the pastor.

• 40:54Channing Crowder?

  He's the one and proposes to the, the, the widow.

• 40:58Ryan Clark?

  Yes. She, she damn near ain't a widow yet, Chan.

• 41:02Channing Crowder?

  She, his, his meat might still be hard. He's dead in the casket?

• 41:07Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 41:09Channing Crowder?

  Man, and he proposed right there to? Yeah, man, he was hitting that lady. I know, I know, I know what goes on at the church. There are some great pastors out there. But there are some guys that have control of large congregations.

• 41:25Ryan Clark?

  Of his flock?

• 41:27Channing Crowder?

  And he, you know, and they take advantage of their flock. That is, that, at the, at the man, the man's right there.

• 41:34Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 41:35Channing Crowder?

  I'm, I'm, propose to your wife while your husband's sitting in there.

• 41:39Ryan Clark?

  Her, her women parts ain't even had time to adjust.

• 41:42Channing Crowder?

  It's, they still warm.

• 41:45Channing Crowder?

  And I'm.

• 41:47Fred Taylor?

  God made him do it.

• 41:51Fred Taylor?

  It was love.

• 41:53Fred Taylor?

  What?

• 41:54Channing Crowder?

  Fred, that's love.

• 41:55Fred Taylor?

  Bro. A pastor gonna always say, "The Lord gave me a vision." And he had thought about it last night. And I can't miss this moment. She needs love. I, I need to make sure there's not a moment that doesn't go by where she's not feeling the love. So I'mma jump out there before the next man jump out there. And what better time than now while this guy's body's still thawing out? Excuse me?

• 42:21Channing Crowder?

  Fred.

• 42:22Ryan Clark?

  Freddie T.

• 42:22Fred Taylor?

  And he jumped out there.

• 42:23Ryan Clark?

  If you.

• 42:24Fred Taylor?

  But he gonna always blame it on the man upstairs.

• 42:26Ryan Clark?

  There's a, there's a, first off, that ain't God. God ain't tell you, God ain't tell you to propose to that woman at that man's funeral. That's not how God works. And you keep saying, and you keep saying he jumped out there? No, he had been jumping in there. He had been jumping inside of that woman and he was tired of, he was tired of living in sin. And he thought to himself, "This is my chance. I no longer have to have an affair. It no longer has to be a church scandal. This could be my first lady." But ain't nobody in that church stupid enough to believe that on his knees that night, when he was writing that man's eulogy, and you know at every Baptist church, what they say? "It's time for you to come to the God." Right? It's time for you to, let, let Willie's death be a sign to you that it is time.

• 43:11Channing Crowder?

  Come on to the Lord.

• 43:12Ryan Clark?

  So here's what, so this is what I know. As we end the show, that man's ending is not glorious. It was not a happy ending.

• 43:19Fred Taylor?

  No.

• 43:20Channing Crowder?

  Mm-mm.

• 43:20Ryan Clark?

  For that young man. But it's a happy start to the season and we are done.

• 43:27Channing Crowder?

  You think when I die, I can tell him to give me an erection in the casket?

• 43:33Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I mean, I'm, I mean, God can perform miracles.

• 43:38Fred Taylor?

  Trust the process.

• 44:06Speaker 06

  Every game day, you show up for your team. Now, it's your time.

• 44:16Speaker 06

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