Latest / Johnny's World / Episode 27-Steve Robertson
Transcript
- 0:02SPEAKER_00: Coming to you live from the Johnny Packer Eyewear Studios in fabulous Dark Vegas, Mississippi, please welcome our co-host, the best iDoc this side of the Mississippi, BW.
- 0:18SPEAKER_00: And now, welcome a true hero, a CF Warrior whose favorite motto in life is just keep living.
- 0:27SPEAKER_00: Here's Johnny.
- 0:42SPEAKER_03: All right, we're here with another great edition of the Johnny's World Podcast.
- 0:46SPEAKER_03: I'm uh I'm Johnny here with my co-host BW.
- 0:49SPEAKER_03: What's going on today, BW?
- 0:51SPEAKER_01: Oh, not much, just another Maroon Friday here.
- 0:53SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm I'm glad to say we we slipped by with that victory last weekend.
- 0:58SPEAKER_01: Um glad we're glad we're talking about winning that game instead of losing it.
- 1:01SPEAKER_01: And um spent a little time in Starkville last weekend.
- 1:04SPEAKER_01: We got we got to connect, see each other for a little while, and so that was good.
- 1:07SPEAKER_01: And got to check out the Mississippi Eyewear where they've got the Johnny Packer glasses in stock now.
- 1:13SPEAKER_01: So saw they had the the ribbon cutting there yesterday, and then um last night on on Dog Talk, uh the glasses were sitting right next to Mike Leach.
- 1:22SPEAKER_01: We didn't get him to put them on, but he was he was sitting next to him, so that's good enough for me.
- 1:27SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that would have been cool.
- 1:28SPEAKER_03: It was so awesome.
- 1:29SPEAKER_03: Listen, I was in the in my car when I heard that, and then I saw it on Facebook, and yeah, that was really cool.
- 1:36SPEAKER_03: It would have been funnier if uh if Leach had put them on.
- 1:38SPEAKER_03: That would have uh, like I said, that would have been great.
- 1:40SPEAKER_03: But just the fact that they mentioned it was really cool, just a really cool deal to uh they were getting the word out, you know.
- 1:47SPEAKER_03: I mean, every every little bit people that hear about it hear about my fight with CF and what I go through and and uh hopefully people will go stop by the store.
- 1:58SPEAKER_03: I mean, the store is brand new, they've done a great job with it, and uh lots of uh designer frames in there.
- 2:05SPEAKER_03: It's just so cool that our our eye wear line is in there with freaking Oakley's and Ray Bans and Costas and Maui Jim's, all sorts of big name brands.
- 2:14SPEAKER_03: And there's Johnny Packer, it's just really a cool deal.
- 2:18SPEAKER_03: Uh so yeah, we're we're happy about that.
- 2:20SPEAKER_03: So um, yeah, if you're in Starbucks this weekend for the game, um stop by they're right there on Main Street by uh Mo's and uh in the book mart right there.
- 2:31SPEAKER_03: I think you right walked right in, and our our glasses are right to the right, and uh yeah, stop by.
- 2:37SPEAKER_03: It might be uh sunshine again.
- 2:38SPEAKER_03: Great time to get your shades.
- 2:39SPEAKER_03: And cool thing about it knowing it's going towards a good cause and spreading awareness about my fight with CF.
- 2:45SPEAKER_03: So really good things, uh, good things happening.
- 2:48SPEAKER_03: So thanks a lot.
- 2:49SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 2:50SPEAKER_01: Well, you want to introduce our guests with us?
- 2:52SPEAKER_01: We've got a special guest here on the Maroon Friday.
- 2:55SPEAKER_01: Talk a little bit about maybe some Mississippi State stuff.
- 2:58SPEAKER_03: Yes, indeed.
- 2:59SPEAKER_03: We've got a great guest lined up, uh, special on Maroon Friday.
- 3:03SPEAKER_03: Couldn't have a better one.
- 3:04SPEAKER_03: So uh yeah, you might know him from uh from Jean's page.
- 3:07SPEAKER_03: From uh he's written a lot of books, and um, he's just a well-known uh person in the Mississippi State community and a great friend of ours and a friend of the show.
- 3:16SPEAKER_03: So uh without further ado, I'm gonna introduce our guest, the one and only Steve Robertson.
- 3:21SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the show, Steve.
- 3:22SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
- 3:23SPEAKER_03: Glad to be here.
- 3:24SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, well, first of all, uh we we uh I guess we'll talk a little bit about the football season right now, and then we'll get into your your uh your upcoming project that you have, your your book.
- 3:35SPEAKER_03: So um, I guess just let's just dive into it.
- 3:38SPEAKER_03: What do you think?
- 3:39SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, all these state fans out here are griping and complaining, but guess what?
- 3:43SPEAKER_03: End of the day, we got the win.
- 3:44SPEAKER_03: We got the win.
- 3:45SPEAKER_03: There's a W on the board, and that's all that matters right now.
- 3:48SPEAKER_03: What what's your thoughts going into the end of the weekend?
- 3:50SPEAKER_03: How do you see the season uh turning out?
- 3:53SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, I said from the beginning, I thought that the over or under for us is probably seven and five.
- 3:58SPEAKER_02: And uh if we're still on pace for that, we're getting the win over Louisiana Tech.
- 4:02SPEAKER_02: And yeah, Louisiana Tech is a little bit better team than uh I think we anticipated due to all the transfers that you know, quarterback-wise, they were probably light years of what they were a year ago.
- 4:13SPEAKER_02: But uh, you know, listen, we didn't play well.
- 4:14SPEAKER_02: You know, it wasn't necessarily about what they did.
- 4:17SPEAKER_02: You know, we turned it over four times, they turned it over a couple times too, but you lose a turnover battle, and uh a lot of those were short side of the field and uh were drive killers for us, and so yeah, you gotta eliminate mistakes.
- 4:28SPEAKER_02: NC State obviously is a better team.
- 4:30SPEAKER_02: You know, they've they've been to several bowl games, uh, you know, and then to to along those lines, Louisiana Tech's been a seven straight ball games.
- 4:37SPEAKER_02: You know, a lot of people don't fully appreciate how good a program they are, even for a G5 team.
- 4:41SPEAKER_02: And so NC State is a team that's gonna have uh more skill, and they're gonna be a team that's got more talent.
- 4:47SPEAKER_02: So we we're not gonna be able to make those same mistakes and expect to win a ball game.
- 4:51SPEAKER_02: So uh I thought we played really well at times and really poorly at times.
- 4:56SPEAKER_02: We just got to be a little more consistent.
- 4:57SPEAKER_02: I I think we can win the ballgame.
- 4:59SPEAKER_02: Uh matter of fact, I had picked state to win.
- 5:02SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's gonna be uh it's gonna be interesting.
- 5:10SPEAKER_03: Great to have a night game and people for the first time in a couple years.
- 5:13SPEAKER_03: I hope for the atmosphere be really good.
- 5:15SPEAKER_03: We can bring that into the get the players' feet off the crowd.
- 5:19SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and you know, and for a lot of people, it's their first time to go to a ball game since 2019.
- 5:24SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, we you know last year we had limited attendance, and yeah, I was a little disappointed in the crowd last weekend.
- 5:30SPEAKER_02: You know, it was a hot day and and uh it's early in the year, but uh yeah, we've got a quality opponent coming to do to Davis Wade Stadium this weekend.
- 5:37SPEAKER_02: So I hope we have uh yeah, a much bigger crowd because as you mentioned, the atmosphere is a big part of the Mississippi State experience.
- 5:45SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
- 5:47SPEAKER_03: Well, uh, yeah, we'll we'll we'll uh I'll be looking forward to this game coming up in the season, how it how it uh progresses uh under Mike Leach.
- 5:54SPEAKER_03: I think we're we'll be in for some surprise.
- 5:56SPEAKER_03: I can see us upsetting some folks along the line, but uh but but switching over, let's uh let's talk about your new project coming up.
- 6:03SPEAKER_03: That's why we wanted to get you on there.
- 6:05SPEAKER_03: You know, we we're still, I mean, I still can't believe it.
- 6:08SPEAKER_03: You know, I wear these shirts every day.
- 6:10SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's just amazing that we have won a national championship.
- 6:14SPEAKER_03: And we just want to hear how that came about.
- 6:16SPEAKER_03: The book, I can't wait to get my hands on it, read it, and just uh, you did such a great job with the other books, and it's just uh it's an awesome experience.
- 6:23SPEAKER_03: So just tell us how you got started with uh uh is it dogpile?
- 6:27SPEAKER_03: Is that the name of it?
- 6:28SPEAKER_02: Yeah, dog dogpile, and it's available for for pre-order at dogpilethebook.com and that's d-a-w-g, dogpile the boog.com.
- 6:36SPEAKER_02: That that link went live earlier this week.
- 6:38SPEAKER_02: But uh, you know, how it really all started is you know, a few years ago, you know, states play in Notre Dame in the women's NCAA tournament, and my agent said, Hey, if if Mississippi State wins, we want you to write a book.
- 6:49SPEAKER_02: And I just felt so woefully unprepared.
- 6:52SPEAKER_02: I was like, you know, I wish I had all the interviews I'd done throughout the year because you know, when you write books, you got to go interview people, and you know, it's nice to have the comments about things as they happen.
- 7:02SPEAKER_02: And so for the last two baseball seasons, I have kept every interview just in case.
- 7:07SPEAKER_02: I was like, you know what, I'm never gonna be in a situation again where state finally wins something, and then we've got to go back and kind of recreate history.
- 7:15SPEAKER_02: So I kept every interview throughout the season, and uh, as it got closer to Omaha, I said, hey, listen, if we win this thing, I want to write a book about this.
- 7:24SPEAKER_02: And you're like, oh, absolutely.
- 7:25SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, if state wins it, it'll be a timeless treasure that people want to keep forever.
- 7:30SPEAKER_02: And so I saved every interview and then uh went back and wrote a chapter about every week of the season, and then I interviewed uh Ron Polk.
- 7:38SPEAKER_02: I did I wrote a chapter about the history of state baseball leading up to Polk, interviewed Polk, and that was uh that was a joy, to say the least.
- 7:46SPEAKER_02: And uh learned a lot about Ron Polk and about Mississippi State baseball that I didn't know.
- 7:50SPEAKER_02: Like he almost didn't take the job at Mississippi State.
- 7:52SPEAKER_02: Most people don't know that.
- 7:54SPEAKER_02: You know, people think, oh, well, you know, he's such a part of the Mississippi State baseball family that you know that was just such an easy undertaking.
- 8:01SPEAKER_02: It really wasn't.
- 8:02SPEAKER_02: Uh, there was a possibility he would have actually stayed at Miami.
- 8:05SPEAKER_02: But um interviewed Polk and then interviewed John Cohen about uh, you know, his experiences as both the player and an athletic director as well as a coach.
- 8:14SPEAKER_02: And that kind of led us up to the hiring of Chris Simonis and then interviewed Chris just kind of about why it was important to take this job, how Mississippi State is a destination job, and what his expectations were for the season.
- 8:25SPEAKER_02: And then uh you know, came back with another chapter at the end about you know kind of what it all means.
- 8:30SPEAKER_02: And so uh I worked really hard on it, I didn't get a lot of rest.
- 8:33SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, we're in the final stages now of getting everything over to the printer, and I'm eager to get that done just so that that's just one less thing to worry about.
- 8:42SPEAKER_02: You know, the sooner you get it done and get it off to a printer, then you get a delivery date and you can start telling people uh, you know, when they can have it in their hands, but also too, you know, there's bookstores out there that are still trying to recover from last year.
- 8:54SPEAKER_02: And so you want to help the Mississippi merchants as much as you can.
- 8:57SPEAKER_02: So the sooner we can get that book on the market, the better.
- 9:01SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Steve.
- 9:02SPEAKER_01: I mean, one thing I always enjoy about you know, listening to your podcast and everything is how detailed you are about recapping every game and everything like that.
- 9:12SPEAKER_01: Do you have a system?
- 9:13SPEAKER_01: I mean, during the game, are you taking notes?
- 9:15SPEAKER_01: Are you going back and watching film?
- 9:17SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you remember all of these details about every single game like you do?
- 9:22SPEAKER_02: Well, it's kind of all the above.
- 9:23SPEAKER_02: Like uh every game, football and baseball, I do a play-by-play article.
- 9:28SPEAKER_02: And kind of, you know, it's funny that you mentioned that kind of stuff too.
- 9:31SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, I'm writing these books about Mississippi State history, and uh, I wish they had done a better job of kind of detailing things out.
- 9:39SPEAKER_02: And so in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking, you know, if someday, you know, 20, 30, 40 years from now, there's gonna be somebody sit down to write a book or write an article about Mississippi State history, and I want to be a resource for those guys too.
- 9:50SPEAKER_02: And yeah, obviously things are a lot different now with the internet, but you know, if we've got a written record of things about more than just the score and the box score, about what actually happened in the ball game.
- 10:01SPEAKER_02: Uh so I went back and used some of those old notes, and then I went back and watched a lot of the games again, and that's a big part of it, is like, you know, what watching the games without the emotional entanglement of the moment, you can be objective, but also too, it kind of paints the picture a little bit.
- 10:18SPEAKER_02: And so I probably watched those uh College Royal Series games probably four or five times apiece and went back looking for different things and writing notes and just kind of making sure that uh, you know, I captured you know the moment, not just the at-bat and that sort of stuff.
- 10:33SPEAKER_02: But you know, there was one instance in particular that I think maybe gets lost, but in the the regional final game against Campbell, Houston Harding gets into a bases-loaded situation with nobody out and then strikes out the side, and we've kind of forgotten about that.
- 10:50SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like if we lose that situation there and the game gets away from us because they had their their best pitchers going that day, and then all of a sudden we have to go play a loser, a winner takes all deal to get to the supers, who knows what kind of conversation we're having today.
- 11:04SPEAKER_02: And so I think that was a big part of it too, is just going back and just kind of capturing the moment in those big moments that really defined our season.
- 11:14SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's what makes your writing so good too, is that you do you capture the not only just the play by play, but the emotion of the moment.
- 11:22SPEAKER_01: And you know, it kind of really takes you back to that place about like I remember how I felt when that happened.
- 11:27SPEAKER_01: I remember exactly that that base of loaded situation you were just talking about in that camel game.
- 11:31SPEAKER_01: And said, Oh man, if we if this if we mess this one up, we're we're in trouble.
- 11:36SPEAKER_01: And so we really appreciate that about about everything you do with that as well.
- 11:40SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, speaking of the emotion, um, what was it like for you to be there in the stands?
- 11:47SPEAKER_01: I I know your son was there with you, and you know, when we finally capped that off, what was it like for you?
- 11:53SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, I'm always in a press box, you know, because you know, game day is a work day for me.
- 11:57SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like even with football, everybody's like, hey, why don't you come to Upgate with us?
- 12:01SPEAKER_02: You know, listen, our our work day is eight to 10 hours on a typical football game day.
- 12:06SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, baseball is a little different uh because there's not as much fanfare and pregame, and you're not doing pregame videos and things like that or radio interviews.
- 12:15SPEAKER_02: But I'd made my mind up, you know, when I when I left my house and turned on the 82, headed to Omaha, I really felt like we were gonna win even before I left Stargold.
- 12:24SPEAKER_02: I said, This is I think this is the year.
- 12:27SPEAKER_02: And so I'd kind of hinted around to my son and and his wife.
- 12:30SPEAKER_02: I was like, you know, listen, if we make the finals, man, it'd be great if you guys could be here.
- 12:35SPEAKER_02: And so once he said, Yeah, we're gonna definitely be there.
- 12:38SPEAKER_02: And I told him, I said, hey, if it's an issue of money, don't worry about it, we'll figure it out, you know, between uh me and you.
- 12:44SPEAKER_02: And so I had decided, you know, if we win this thing, I'm gonna spend the night dinner with my kid, you know, and he's a kid, but he's you know, he's uh he's married with a kid of his own now.
- 12:53SPEAKER_02: But uh, you know, he's the guy that was my traveling companion all those years as we travel all over the southeast to go watch Mississippi State play football and baseball.
- 13:01SPEAKER_02: And obviously he became a college baseball player himself, and so uh it was important to me, and I and I I tweeted that out that that ninth end, and I wasn't gonna be providing updates.
- 13:12SPEAKER_02: I wanted to go be a fan for just a little while, but also be a dad.
- 13:16SPEAKER_02: And so I went and uh got a chance to hug him as we won, and it was very emotional.
- 13:21SPEAKER_02: And it's like, you know, in your mind, you build all this stuff up and you think, man, if we win it, I don't know how I'm gonna react.
- 13:27SPEAKER_02: And then then when it happens, it's like, well, this is what this feels like.
- 13:30SPEAKER_02: You know, it's like all these years, you know, we've been to Omaha and uh we thought we would win it, and we thought that uh we had a chance to be the best, but I think there was always that that doubt, you know, that maybe perhaps that we were cursed or something, or you know, like the Gene Morgan stuff in '85.
- 13:47SPEAKER_02: It's like we just never seemed to be able to get over the hump.
- 13:50SPEAKER_02: And then once we did, it was it really kind of changed, I think, our our feelings as a fan base at Mississippi State.
- 13:56SPEAKER_02: It's not just an also ran type school that we are capable of doing some great things and we won an Afro Championship.
- 14:02SPEAKER_02: And I was really glad to be able to share those final three outs with my son.
- 14:07SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, the the last thing I'll really say about that is is is I appreciate, you know, since I've been listening to your podcast, I was one of those guys that I always thought we were gonna lose.
- 14:17SPEAKER_01: I was like, you know, we're gonna figure out a way to blow this.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: And I just wouldn't watch it because I didn't want to make myself mad.
- 14:23SPEAKER_01: And listening to you, you said, you know, we got to stop with that attitude and and and um not not think that anymore.
- 14:30SPEAKER_01: And so I would make myself watch all these games, and I'm so glad I did because I saw these moments that I would have missed out on had I been just sitting over there in the corner waiting on us to screw it up.
- 14:39SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate that.
- 14:41SPEAKER_02: Well, the bottom line, too, is I think it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- 14:45SPEAKER_02: You know, I think there's a firm belief in life.
- 14:47SPEAKER_02: There's two kinds of people.
- 14:49SPEAKER_02: Um, there's those who think they're gonna make it and those who think they're not.
- 14:53SPEAKER_02: And the funny thing is, they're both right.
- 14:55SPEAKER_02: And so I think we as a fan base have got to expect more.
- 14:58SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think it's okay for us to believe.
- 15:00SPEAKER_02: Like there's so many people who's like, oh, well, they'll find a way to screw it up.
- 15:04SPEAKER_02: You know, I wish we could kind of get that out of the fan base.
- 15:06SPEAKER_02: And my hope is after winning a national championship, that maybe we've turned the corner a little bit as a fan base.
- 15:11SPEAKER_02: And now we've had a relapse here as of late after that Louisiana Tech football game where we're kind of back to this whole poor old Mississippi State mentality.
- 15:19SPEAKER_02: My hope is that my generation and and we can uh we can see some grand days where perhaps the expectations for Mississippi State Athletics uh continues to improve.
- 15:31SPEAKER_03: Well, well, Steve, it's just like when you're I bet when you were writing that book, was it just like surreal kind of?
- 15:38SPEAKER_03: Because you know what you're just talking about right now, you know, we've just been waiting for this moment, waiting, winning.
- 15:44SPEAKER_03: There's always been something, Gene Morgan, you know, there's always something that we did it.
- 15:47SPEAKER_03: We finally did it.
- 15:48SPEAKER_03: Was it just surreal when you're writing the words that Mississippi State, we are a national champion?
- 15:52SPEAKER_03: It's just uh I was sitting in the stands and just looking up at the jumbo chron, I was just getting chills and just the emotions, you know, just like I can't believe that this is happening, seeing that on on it's something that we've longed for forever, you know.
- 16:05SPEAKER_03: Mississippi State baseball is is a national brand, and and that one thing that we did not have, one thing that everyone said, Oh, y'all don't have national, well, we got it now.
- 16:14SPEAKER_03: And and the fact that we capped it off and finally did it, and just like I can't imagine what it was like writing the book about that.
- 16:22SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was it was a lot of fun, but uh, you know, it's also too there's these big moments that happened where it almost makes you feel like we were the team of destiny.
- 16:30SPEAKER_02: That you know, it's like I remember going to the pep rally before the uh the first ball game, and you know, there was just this belief among the fans that were there that this is our time, we're gonna find a way to do it.
- 16:41SPEAKER_02: And then we beat Texas, you know, and it's like, okay, and I remember saying on my show, whoever wins that first ball game is gonna end up playing for a national championship.
- 16:48SPEAKER_02: Because I really felt like that Texas and Mississippi State, you know, had enough pitching that if they ended up going against somebody in an elimination game, that they would be able to pitch at a high level.
- 16:58SPEAKER_02: And and uh by winning that ballgame, we felt so great about life.
- 17:02SPEAKER_02: And then you know, Virginia was kind of new money in many respects.
- 17:05SPEAKER_02: They they had not had a great season, but got hot at the right time.
- 17:09SPEAKER_02: And so we beat one of the hottest teams in baseball.
- 17:11SPEAKER_02: And at that point, you begin to think, you know what, if we can just get there, you know, we'll see how things look.
- 17:18SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, Vanderbilt's kind of been an arch nemesis for us the last several years.
- 17:22SPEAKER_02: But I think after that, and that was one of the things I enjoyed writing about was that trip to Nashville.
- 17:27SPEAKER_02: You know, we took one up there, but I think we all felt like we were the better team, and we just blew it on Sunday.
- 17:33SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's the bigger part of it too, is like we exercised some old demons.
- 17:38SPEAKER_02: You know, we we took care of Texas and we took care of Vanderbilt, you know, that the our historic nemesis in Texas and our SEC nemesis in Ole Miss, and it had to be that way.
- 17:49SPEAKER_02: You know, in order for us to really feel validated about a championship, you know, we we we couldn't we couldn't beat somebody based on a bunch of upsets.
- 17:57SPEAKER_02: We had to do it the hard way.
- 17:59SPEAKER_02: That's a Mississippi State way, but I think it really helped us build some self-esteem and respect that, you know, if we had played NC State, and I and I don't I don't know that that Vanderbilt beats NC State.
- 18:11SPEAKER_02: I mean, you don't know how that thing turns out, you know, with all that's happened, but that had nothing to do with us.
- 18:15SPEAKER_02: You know, it wasn't on our side of the bracket, we didn't get any breaks, and ultimately we ended up playing the one team that has had our number the last couple of years, and then we dominated them and kind of removed all doubt about who the best team in college baseball was for 2021.
- 18:29SPEAKER_02: And I think it makes it that much more rewarding because we did.
- 18:33SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
- 18:35SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
- 18:35SPEAKER_03: It's just uh it had to be Vanderbilt like that.
- 18:38SPEAKER_03: Like you said, you know, we we you know, they they seem to have gotten the easy way by having not having to play that game again NC State and then ends up biting them at the end because we were the better team, and and uh it just it just kind of went full circle in my opinion on that with what you just said, you know, beating Texas, who's always had her number and beating Vanderbilt, and uh and doing it.
- 19:00SPEAKER_03: So and I think that that added to it, made it extra special knowing that that's who we ended up beating to do it, and uh, you know, the emotions that go through it, you know.
- 19:08SPEAKER_03: My uh I enjoy listening to your uh podcast, and and especially when you talk about moments with your dad, that brings up memories of me and my granddad, and and uh just brings I always feel like they they'd be good friends because of the similarities that that you talk about and uh with him and uh see it in my granddad.
- 19:27SPEAKER_03: And uh so my granddad was the reason why I was a state fan, and and uh he always believed he always said, wait till next year, Johnny.
- 19:33SPEAKER_03: That's what it was always saying, wait till next year, wait till and then next year is finally here.
- 19:37SPEAKER_03: It's just you know, we finally did it.
- 19:39SPEAKER_03: So um seeing that what you were talking about being there with your with your son in that special moment in my mind, that's where I was with my granddad.
- 19:47SPEAKER_03: Something special happened where uh a relative of ours happened to be right in front of me that hadn't seen it in 35 years, and I know that was that was a God thing right there.
- 19:56SPEAKER_03: And my granddad was orchestrated and all that.
- 19:58SPEAKER_03: I truly firmly believe it.
- 20:00SPEAKER_03: And and uh so yeah, it just goes back to where it's just uh it's the memory that we always have, the fact that it happened and we did it.
- 20:13SPEAKER_03: It's just I don't know if I'll ever get off this high.
- 20:15SPEAKER_03: And we're all these months later, it's still I'm still thinking about it every day and so thankful that we were able to be a part of it.
- 20:20SPEAKER_03: So really looking forward to reading the book to recapture the memories that that you shared in your book.
- 20:25SPEAKER_03: Now, now when I know you said you put up the link now, when will it be available for purchase?
- 20:29SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you can pre-order it now, and uh you know it'll be released sometime in early November.
- 20:34SPEAKER_02: We were hoping for late October, but due to supply chain issues with the printer, you know, we're we're telling people, you know, early to mid-November, but we'll definitely be out for the holidays.
- 20:43SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
- 20:44SPEAKER_03: Good deal.
- 20:44SPEAKER_03: And and uh on a personal note, I just want to say thanks for what you've done with uh with me and Brandon with Johnny Packer Iowa on your show because I feel like that's gotten gotten the word out to uh the star of a community, you know.
- 20:55SPEAKER_03: Now people have it in the we have it in the store and people know about it, but we can't tell you the amount of people that Brandon has told me that people have called in or went online and said uh they listened to your show, The Boneyard, and we want to check out the Johnny.
- 21:08SPEAKER_03: So really cool deal there.
- 21:10SPEAKER_03: And uh so very, very thankful for for uh for you being able to uh promote it and getting the getting it off the ground because it was actually Brandon.
- 21:17SPEAKER_03: I meant to say this.
- 21:18SPEAKER_03: I I looked on my Facebook uh September 24th of last year is when I posted a video saying we have this thing called Johnny Packer, so we're almost at a full whole year into it, and uh and it's just kind of taking off every year's every month.
- 21:31SPEAKER_03: It seems to be getting big, bigger and better.
- 21:32SPEAKER_03: We're doing doing it on Steve's thing, and then now we have it in town.
- 21:36SPEAKER_03: And it's uh the the I think a lot of people know about it now and know about my flight with CF, and hopefully we're making a difference in people's lives by by doing that.
- 21:46SPEAKER_03: And they get cool, cool uh sunglasses to wear in town and and at games and stuff like that.
- 21:51SPEAKER_03: So it's kind of a win-win deal.
- 21:53SPEAKER_02: So dogs help, just dogs helping dogs.
- 21:56SPEAKER_03: That's why I absolutely I love how you say on your show, uh, you like to do business with bulldogs, man.
- 22:01SPEAKER_03: And that's that's how it is, man.
- 22:03SPEAKER_03: Exactly what you said, dogs helping dogs.
- 22:05SPEAKER_03: Yep, for sure.
- 22:07SPEAKER_01: Well, this has been great, Steve.
- 22:09SPEAKER_01: We're really looking forward to the book, and um be sure to, you know, we'll we'll be sure to promote it as much as we can.
- 22:15SPEAKER_01: And um, good luck with everything.
- 22:16SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, you'll end up back on the bestseller list again, Mississippi bestsellers list.
- 22:20SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I got I got a pretty good feeling that's gonna work out for us.
- 22:23SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think so too.
- 22:25SPEAKER_03: Well, well, Steve, uh it's it's an honor to have the good friend and host on our show.
- 22:29SPEAKER_03: It's it's really cool, it's something we've been looking forward to.
- 22:32SPEAKER_03: So glad we got known.
- 22:33SPEAKER_03: I think a lot of listeners are gonna enjoy this episode and uh hopefully they'll go ahead and pre-order dog pal and get it, and we can relive these moments for the rest of our lives, winning the national championship.
- 22:44SPEAKER_02: So and and that's the better part of my Steve.
- 22:46SPEAKER_02: That's the better the better part of writing the book is just knowing what what it all means to everybody else.
- 22:51SPEAKER_02: And you just want to have something that people can kind of reference and go back to and kind of you know put their hands on.
- 22:56SPEAKER_02: And and uh it's been my honor to write it, and I'm uh really excited about it.
- 23:01SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
- 23:01SPEAKER_01: We're looking forward to this.
- 23:03SPEAKER_01: All right, thanks, Steve.
- 23:05SPEAKER_01: Go dogs.
- 23:05SPEAKER_01: You go, dogs.
- 23:07SPEAKER_03: See you, buddy.
- 23:11SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the Johnny's World Podcast.
- 23:15SPEAKER_00: Please help us spread the message about CF and support our cause by going to jonypacker.com.
- 23:22SPEAKER_00: You can also reach us at Johnny PackerIwear at gmail.com.