Latest / The Guuuzan Show / S1 Ep25 | Matthew Bergeron: RISE UP ATLANTA!!!

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S1 Ep25 | Matthew Bergeron: RISE UP ATLANTA!!! · The Guuuzan Show

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_03: Drake London is a premier elite trash talker.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_03: I like he he got he got elite hands.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: He's an elite trash talk.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: All right, guys.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to the Gooes Joe.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: I'm your host, Bragg is dad with Joe Freihaufer, as always.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: And listen, we have got a very special guest because we are on the road.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: We are here at Flowery Branch.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: None other than Atlanta Falcon Zone, Mr.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Matthew Bergeront.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Matthew, thank you for joining us, man.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's a pleasure to have you on the show.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Appreciate you guys.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Appreciate you guys for having me.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: I hope you had a good time today.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: It was hot, but y'all had a great time.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: How are you, Justin?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: How's Camp been?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us all the things, man.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Congratulations on the new extension.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: That's amazing news.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: We are excited for you to now be able to call Atlanta home and stay here for foreseeable future.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: How are you feeling?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: How's everything?
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, Camp was good.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_04: Obviously, you got the extension, so I mean, could couldn't be better.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_04: But uh that always helps.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_04: Outside of that, I mean, I feel like we we've done a good job of just, you know, going at it, practicing, competing.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: And it's been like an intense camp.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like we're we're good we're on the right path of, you know, kind of getting everything uh going for the season.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, and listen, anytime you're in preseason, right, in in training camp and you're gearing up for for the real season, the real thing, how good is is that feeling to then be able to hit someone else?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: You're not far away from being able to get out there and stop hitting your own teammates and say, you know what, uh, we'll get to the city.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: You might do it to you, bro.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: You see what I mean?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, listen, I know I'm nervous.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: I keep my distance.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_04: No, but it's definitely gonna feel good to go out there in preseason, actually hit somebody else.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_04: And they're just kind of getting rhythm because it's a long season, and you know, the football season is short when you think about it.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_04: Like, you know, we we get done in January.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_04: You don't start and play another game until September.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_04: So it's the anxiety is there, like, damn, can I still do it?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I mean?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_04: So, but I'm I'm very excited to go out there and uh get ready and uh get geared up for the season.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: Does that uh on the back of that, right?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like, because the season is short, like does that change?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: Does your mentality change going into week after week after week in terms of games?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: Or or like what does your preparation look like from a Monday to Friday, knowing that, hey, listen, we only have X amount of games, right?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and you know, we got to make sure we we capitalize on each and every one.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I think that's why football is so great, uh, because every game, you know, players are out there giving it their all, like it's the last game, and uh we have 17 chances and the opportunity to get to the postseason.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, that's why just football is so great.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_04: Like you'll see guys just giving it their all uh on the field.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah, it's great.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_04: And uh the like the routine you talked about, uh, you know, it always depends on when we're playing.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_04: Uh let's say we're playing Sunday at one.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_04: I mean the routine is you know, Tuesday is the day off.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Wednesday we'll practice full full uh full pads, then you'll go shells, and then uh Friday it's usually like a walkthrough, depending on how teams do it.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_04: And then Saturday it's another walkthrough meetings, and then yeah, Sunday you just wake up and go, man.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_04: Games at one, you eat breakfast, and yeah, at noon you're ready to go.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Shells is the vibes too, right?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's when you got just the pads on top, shorts on the bottom.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, oh, I can feel the breeze today for what space is it?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Can we do this every day?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, today was awesome.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh yeah, with the shorts and stuff is great.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Birds, let's go back to the very beginning, right?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to your mom, by the way.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: If we go all the way back to the beginning of your football career, we were doing some research before the show, and it turns out what you guys got a flyer at your house that was announcing there was a local football program in the neighborhood.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're already pretty big, not as big as this, of course, but you were a bigger kid, yeah, and your mom was like, What?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: We got to get this kid out of the house and doing something with the size, right?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: How did you get into football?
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so we we got the flyer, and I remember we she she came up and talked to me.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_04: I was playing like video games or something, and she was like, Do you want to try football?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, eh, I don't know.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I what were you playing by the way?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: What was the game?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_04: You said what?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_04: What were you playing?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_04: I was probably playing like GTA or something, something you know what I'm saying?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_04: Like just yeah, and uh she came up to me and she was like, You want to try football?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, I'm not sure.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I my I wanted to play basketball.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_04: That was my thing.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_04: No way, I was kind of scared of content.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_04: You got the hype for it, bro.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like dual sport, Latin Hawks, give them a call.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_04: The cardio wasn't there.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_04: Uh but yeah, so so we I tried it, and I honestly, what kept me in football at a young age was the the friendship, the friendships I've made through football, like my friends and just the locker room vibes and stuff like that.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_04: Because like they threw me, they threw me in a like on I was a guard.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_04: I was a guard in the tackle.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_04: So like my friends were getting shout-outs on the the papers and stuff for tackles, touchdowns.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I was the only shout out I would get was after a flag.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_04: So like it was boring at first, but I grew to love the position, and I take pride, and I I do think that offensive line is one of the best positions in all sports because it's like you don't see the ball, you don't touch the ball, right?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_04: But your sole purpose is to protect the quarterback and the running back, and I think that's what's great about being an old lineman, and I take you know a lot of pride in that.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: You talk about pride, you should have it because of your story, right?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: So you get through high school, but tactically you didn't have any offers until you got to a camp, right?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, somebody from Syracuse spotted you and said, Hey, we got a spot for you, you want to come play for the team?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: How did you go from no offers to being one of the top offensive linemen in the NFL?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: How did that happen?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, I showed up, Syracuse didn't have to do anything.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_04: So I just I love Syracuse.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_04: Easiest recruiting that everyone it was the easiest thing.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_04: I showed up.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_04: I I went to camp.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_04: They they brought us down.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_04: They were like, uh, because I was going to high school in in Canada, and we're like, hey, we want to do something like, you know, you guys had a good year.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_04: We want to take you guys down to Syracuse.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_04: It's only a six-hour drive.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_04: Like you, you guys will be able to see like a college campus, how they do things, and how they do things, and just compete, right?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_04: And learn, you know, from experience.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_04: So we saw that as like a uh a field trip, you know, and I went in there, competed, and they were like, Whoa, who is this kid?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_04: And after practice, they gave me a tour, the facility, and stuff.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_04: And a couple days later, I had an offer, and then uh uh I had another one from Buffalo, and I ended up going to Syracuse, and yeah, so like coach called me, was like, Hey Matthew, we're giving you an offer.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_04: And I was like, So how does this work?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: Like, like my mom was like, So what do we have to pay?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_04: Like, is there something we have to pay?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_04: And I told her, I was like, he said nothing, you know what I'm saying?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_04: Like, they'll take care of everything.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_04: And she was like, All right, okay.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_04: And then we went to the official visit, and it was just amazing.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_04: It was just an amazing experience.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_04: They took a great care of me uh throughout my career there at Syracuse, and we had an awesome experience.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: But but we were chatting a little bit off camera before we started, right?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: So you get to Syracuse, but French is your first language, and so now you roll up on a campus and and and what you're learning English, you're you're you're now in the thick of it.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: What what was that experience like?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so my first class was uh it was a lecture class, and dude, I couldn't understand the words she was saying, uh, because she had like a very thick accent.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_04: She had like a Boston accent.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_04: Like I couldn't understand like the the words she was saying.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, it's it's it took a long time for me to get adjusted.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_04: Uh like I used to mess up the three and tree.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_04: So like I would talk to my teammates, like, hey, what time is practice or walk through?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and uh I would say like tree.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_04: And they were like, What is he talking about?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_04: You get a bit of Irish to him, bro.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_04: What is he talking about?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_04: So so yeah, I had a yeah, I had I had a kind of get through it, and uh, it was an awesome experience.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_04: And like I said, foot that's what football, football is so great, because I could rely on my teammate.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_04: Like I would always ask my teammate, like, what's she saying?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_04: What does that mean?
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_04: And and yeah, now I'm like, people don't even realize uh I have a you know French Canadian background.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about it there for a second too, but football has also not just taught you the English language, but football itself has a language.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: We were out here at training today.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Shoot, bro, they were yelling 11 can, you know, like what is even how do you follow what any of that means, let alone in English?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: How did that come about of flipping your vocabulary over to American football in English vocabulary?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_04: No doubt, because a lot of Canadian football terms is you know, they vary, uh especially French Canadian football, they vary a lot from American football.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_04: So I I just had to, you know, take my time, learn.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_04: And it was a lot of studying, it was a lot of late nights just staying up, you know, looking over at the playbook, asking my asking my teammates a lot of questions and stuff.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_04: And it wasn't easy.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like I, you know, it my story might make it seem like it was an easy process and stuff like that.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: But it was hard.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: There was some times where like I wanted to quit, you know, because I was like, it's a different culture, it's a different country, like you know what it is, you know.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_04: So it was hard, but you know, I pushed through it and it it paid off.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I relied on my teammates, my friends, and my family.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_04: And they they they they were there the whole time for me, they supported me, and yeah, now I'm here having a great time.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I love the US, you know.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: No, I love that.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: And and listen, it's uh as a former athlete, you know, and playing at the highest level, right?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's not always rosy, right?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's not always like, oh, this is this is such an easy and beautiful life.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's hard, you know, it is hard work, and all the sacrifice you made through Syracuse allows you then to go and get drafted by Atlanta.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: I remember my draft draft night, and ours was in Buffalo, but the the night that that you were drafted, what what do you remember from that night to say, you know what, okay, now I'm gonna I'm gonna be entering the NFL, I'm going to the Falcons.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: This is this is the next step of the journey.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: What was that like for you?
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I it was an awesome night.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it was back home in Canada in my hope in my hometown, and uh all my friends and family were there, and we we celebrated.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it was just great, you know, getting a phone call.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_04: I didn't really know what to expect.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, if I was gonna go in the first round or second round, and so it was a lot of anxiety kind of building up because I didn't really know what was going on.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_04: And when I got the call, I kind of felt like the you know, the the pressure was was lifted off my shoulders, you know.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_04: It was great, and just being able to celebrate that moment that moment with my family, it was it was awesome.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_04: And uh like like we talked about, it was a lot of sacrifices that that went into that.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_04: And uh, you know, four years later, you know, I'm still making a lot of sacrifices to to keep pushing through because you know it's it's it's never enough.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_04: You gotta keep grinding, you gotta keep pushing, and yeah.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_04: How intimidating is an NFL locker room for a rookie.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_04: It can be pretty, yeah.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_04: It can be pretty uh, yeah, especially like because I as a rookie, like you you're just trying, you're like, I feel like I would for me at least, I was like stumbling all over.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, all right, what time is meeting?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_04: All right, I gotta look, I I got do I have time to look at my playbook?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, what was what was that call on the play again?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, what's that can?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: Like, there's a I feel like there was just so much going on into my head, like, and also I I had a start.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_04: So it was like it was a lot of pressure and a lot of anxiety with that.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_04: Like, damn, in a couple weeks, like it's it's it's gonna be real bullets.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I'm I'm you know, like I remember my first game was against Carolina at home, and I was like, dude, how am I how am I gonna do this?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_04: I remember being at practice, like the the the the number one D-line would kick my ass every day at practice.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_04: But I feel like that's that's what made me uh uh the player I am today.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you gotta go through that, you gotta go through the hard times.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, when you're at where I'm at right now, you gotta look back at those times to make sure like you remember where you come from and you keep pushing.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: For sure.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: I I mean listen, we're out there today watching watching you guys practice and the size of the old line.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_02: We talk about like a team within a team, and it's similar to like a goalkeeper and in a back line.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's this it's this team within a team, and and the the sacredness of of what that means.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: You talked about it earlier of protecting the quarterback, protecting the running back.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but when you when you think about you know what it means, right, when you're you're out there and you're you're playing in this this team, you know, what what does that mean to be able to represent that group in terms of being on the on the line and and going to the trenches and that brotherhood of the O-line?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, especially for us because we've been playing together for like four years now, like we have that real connection.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_04: And I mean, it's it means the world, and I I'll do anything for those guys, right?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's on the field or off the field, and it reflects on how we play and just how we finish, like even after the play, after we're done, after we're done blocking, like I'll be we'll Chris and I and the other guys will be the first one to go pick up Bijan, to go pick up Kyle, to go pick up Mike, because like it's just who we are, just it's just how we're why we're wired.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_04: Like we're just team guys, and I feel like that's what's great about the position.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's very like, yeah, I don't know how to explain it.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's just it's just uh yeah, it's just great position.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: Any any nicknames out there?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: For what?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like just the O-line or like you know, the you're you guys in general as a group or or individual.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_04: We have this saying the O-line room is speed off the ball.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, it's like no matter what, just come off the ball.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_04: You know, you don't know the play, just speed off the ball.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you don't know what's going on, just speed off the ball.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_04: Smash the guy in front of you.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_04: Smash the guy in front of you, for sure.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: He was practicing his three-step drive.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, speed.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, I'll show you a little bit.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_04: And it's uh it's a life lesson.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_04: Like you, you don't, you know, outside of football, just speed off the ball.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_04: Like you don't know what to do with it, just speed off the ball, man.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_04: Just take it head on.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: What was your what was your welcome to the league moment?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_04: Ooh, uh I would say, so what happened with me is week one uh of my rookie year, it went it went very well.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_04: And I was like, all right, like I'm I'm I'm decent, like I can hang with those guys.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_04: I deserve to be here, yeah.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_04: And then week two was a disaster.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_04: So it was like, you know, NFL is a very humbling uh league.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_04: Like those guys, week in and week out, no matter who you play, what team you play, uh, you know, their rankings or whatever, like it can happen like any given Sunday.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_04: Like the worst team can beat the best team like any given Sunday.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like that it was it was a good lesson for me.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_04: And uh from that moment on, like, I treated every week like it was the last week, and I'm gonna take a head on.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_04: I love that attitude.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about the competitiveness of the NFL.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Him and I before the show today, we're literally watching videos of have you seen Christian McCaffrey and his new training method that he does?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen clips on it, bro.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man, yeah, yeah.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like sitting down like this, like knuckles against like a pipe.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And he's got a guy behind him saying like Zen type things, just something just different world.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: What is some of the craziest stuff that either you have incorporated into your match day preparation or that you've seen some teammates do too?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because it seems like, bro, we got Aaron Donald out here training with real knives.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: You've seen that?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm not on that level.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, I have a pretty normal training uh, you know, schedule.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_04: But uh for my routine, I would say for me, the weirdest thing I do is I I eat the same meal uh the night before the game and uh the morning of.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_04: So like for 17 weeks straight, like the Saturday night, I'll eat the same meal and then the Sunday night.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Sunday morning, I'll eat the same meal.
• 14:10
  unknown: Yeah.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_02: I was I was the same.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: And it was like it's not that you just love that meal.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's just like yeah, I know how my body's gonna react.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: I know I'm not gonna get any stomach aches or anything like that.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's gonna give me the energy I need, it's gonna allow me to go and perform at my best.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: And no doubt.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's just that comfort level of knowing, you know, that's one less thing I have to worry about.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like I don't need to worry about having to run to the bathroom during the second quarter or anything.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, all good.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, obviously you're not a rookie anymore, right?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: But but I've been in numerous locker rooms over the years, and we've got a thing within the soccer kind of an environment atmosphere.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, rookies that come into the team, right?
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: They've got to stand up, do a little karaoke in front of the staff and the players.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: What what what what's what did you have to do as a rookie?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: And and are you still making the the rookies kind of do the same thing to the day?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we got a little rookie show going on right now.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I remember mine.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so my so I had to go twice because my first one was atrocious.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_04: Oh no, don't tell us that.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Come on now.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: It was like, what happened, bro?
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: It was so bad.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh listen, let me let me let me tell you.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: I've I've seen someone get up on a chair in front of the entire meal room and freeze.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I I felt bad for I said, Come sit down.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: Come sit, come sit down because this is I I feel bad for you.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna we're gonna talk you into this.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna go back again and try again.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: But what happened?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_04: I should have froze, honestly.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_04: It would have been better.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so I went up there and I had no confidence at all.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_04: I was sweating, and I tried to sing All of Me by uh John Ledger.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_04: John Ledger.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I couldn't hit the notes, and I like it was just I was it was bad.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_04: It was just bad.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_04: So I got booed off.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_04: And uh a couple weeks later, uh, they made me go again, and I had more confidence.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_04: I knew I saw some of the guys do it.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, all right, like I know what to expect.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_04: And I went up there and uh sang the uh Canadian anthem in French, like the French version of it, you know, and it was I had some music going.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_04: It was I had the the the Canadian flag in the background, and I just had I was I was more prepared and more confident, and uh yeah, it went well.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: We when when guys would get booed off, we'd everyone would take the napkins from the table and just start just start throwing throwing the napkins at us.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Whoever's just getting PTS from it.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: That might make it work for sure, for sure.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: Back back to on the field, man.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh listen, I I think it's so fascinating when when I watch American football.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you talk about the old O-line unit and going against a D-line and and your first week one going against uh, you know, you're gonna be going against the best you know, D line in the league at some point.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: What's being said in the trenches?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: What is what is being said?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_02: Uh is there trash talk being happening in in those when when when both teams are up at the line of scrimmage?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like it depends on the on the at what point you are like within the game, like if if it's tied and if we're running the ball well and you know if we're getting after him.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so it depends.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_04: It it depends on on the week-to-week basis.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_04: Uh I feel like I'm more of a trash talker than the rest of the O-line.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, yeah, I'll get it going a little bit.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Does that get does that get you going?
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: Or is it more to to kind of interrupt the opposition, or is it more about you like psyching you up?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_04: And you you know who's a good trash talker?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_04: Drake London.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_04: Drake London is a premier elite trash talker.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: I like he got he got elite hands, but he got it, he's he's in the elite trash talk.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_04: It just gets it gets everybody going.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_04: It just brings the energy up.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_04: And I feel like you need people like that who are just ready to go.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I feel like when it's tied up and it's time to run the football or to throw it downfield, like you, you that that's that's the mindset you want to have.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: For sure.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're out there and Drake is lining up, can you guys hear him going at a DB?
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_04: Like you'll be about to get ready, and he's like, your mind's this is this is raps.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_04: I I won't I won't hear him from from from that far, but like when he catches a ball and he goes crazy and he'll I'll go pick him up and stuff like that, and I just hear him like talk.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it gets me going.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_04: Like it gets me fired up right now.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm excited for the season, but it's just awesome to see plays with great energy and it it brings everybody along and it's it's it's it's awesome.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: We obviously have uh you know one of the one of y'all's Falcon's helmets here, right?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: But you guys are the amount of gear and equipment you guys have on, right?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_02: To obviously protect yourselves.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: How heavy is that?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I've tried this helmet on, I had it on while I was in here down and my three-point stance and all the things, but like talk me through what what that's like.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm sure over time it becomes just normal, right?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's like a second skin.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, that's what it is.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like I don't, I don't, I don't even realize how heavy it is.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like you'd be in the better position to tell me what did it feel heavy when you put it on.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, I feel like I'm a bit of a bobblehead.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_04: Bobbing around.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know, but then I feel like you're you're getting smashed out there.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like we're out there watching and like that that's a that's a friendly practice, right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like O line going in the C line and like you're not full head gear, bro.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I'm saying.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_04: All the tape, the thumb caps, and stuff like that.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_04: And that's why the equipment room is the I in my opinion, one of the most important part of the uh you know football team.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_04: Because like we'll go and play Madrid or Germany, and the the the the field is different.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's it's more slippery, so you gotta adjust your cleats.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_04: You have a different you gotta have a different pair of cleats, and those guys do a great job in there, and they just have us prepared.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_04: And like when I go out there, my helmet is tight, my shoulder pads are tight, it feels good.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_04: It feels like it's part of my body, and that it's because those guys do an amazing job in there.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_04: So I feel like the EQ room is uh one of the biggest parts in you know football.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: Big big shout out to the equipment staff.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: I always say like the equipment room, the medical room, yeah, and the admin folks that like make everything kind of happen and make it just easy for players to go about and worry about what's on the field, like and those three departments, unbelievable.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and also being an old lineman, got a shot at the cafeteria.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_04: They they do a good job in there.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: The food is awesome.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Have you had a like thank you, mom moment yet?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you signed your first deal into the NFL and you think back to her just signing you up at random to get you off a GTA and 22.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like, have you gotten her anything nice as like a thank you mom or anything cool that you've done once you signed your first NFL contract?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, my mom is she she put her two weeks in, you know, recently.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_04: So she'll she'll be there.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_04: Big shout out, love that.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_04: She'll be able to, you know, come down to Atlanta uh, you know, come come and see us more often.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_04: And also she'll be able to go see my siblings and stuff to you know, go to their games because my younger brother is a left guard as well in high school.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_04: So he he's going through that.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_04: My sister plays basketball.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_04: And so, yeah, she'll be able to support them, support me as well.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_04: And that was uh the main thing she had.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_04: That was honestly the only thing she asked was.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_04: She was like, Yeah, I want I want to come down to Atlanta more, be a you know, be around you, be be able to, you know, go to the bands.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_04: Because I mean the bands is one of the best stadiums out there.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_04: The food's great.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, obviously she's coming down for me, but the food and the the the fans and the atmosphere is just awesome.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_04: So she she she loves it down here.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_04: Atlanta became home to my family.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, it was just it's just great that I'll be able to be here for the next four years.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: I love it, I love that you say that, man.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like I'm the same.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: I had never spent time in Atlanta until 17.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: We come here, and now you know my wife and kids.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we call it home and we we love it.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's been unbelievable.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of that, what are some of your favorite parts around Atlanta?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Spots that you hit, spots that you didn't expect.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: I know you said you had some of your best poutine you've ever had in your life in Atlanta.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Is that true?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it was.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_04: So they uh they brought cheese.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_04: It wasn't a restaurant.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_04: So a chef came in and uh at the house and he brought cheese from like Wisconsin and made the cheese and uh made the poutine and I uh it was outstanding.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_04: It was great.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: I have you tried it?
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: You've been to Canada?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: I've no I mean I've been to Canada numerous times.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_02: I've not, it's not my favorite.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, you know what I mean.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: But it's my favorite meal, so like, yeah, but like it.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like we need to come back and we're gonna we're gonna get so we're gonna bring in this chef and we're gonna we're gonna try it the proper way.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go with it.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_04: But yeah, no, like I really adopted the culture here in Atlanta.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_04: It's been good.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_04: Like the food's great, the sports team, the Atlanta United.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_04: Y'all pack out the they pack out the bands uh all the time.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_04: The Braves and uh my favorite thing, honestly, is to go to the Hawks game.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think they're awesome too.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: That's good.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, they need to be calling you, you know what I mean?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we got a few Canadians on the team.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, let's go.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, listen.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you you've you got a diverse background with French Canadian roots, Congolese background.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: We just finished a summer of world football, soccer, as we call it here in the United States.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, who are you pulling for in the World Cup?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: We we I know we spoke off camera.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: You went to a few games, but but who were you who are you cheering for?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: Canada, man.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_04: Canada those guys.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, we we had a good run.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_04: We had a great run.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it was awesome.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_04: I got to see their game again, their game against South Africa.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_04: We won.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, dude, I was I was I was a fan of there.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_04: I was I was screaming.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_04: I was I was into it.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_04: So it was it was a good time.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_04: We had a great time.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_04: We were up there in uh sofi and Los Angeles, and I got to see also uh Spain against uh Saudi Arabia and uh Morocco against Haiti.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_04: So I got to see some uh Lamin Yama's first goal in the World Cup.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_04: That was uh the stadium was was was loud.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_04: It was wild, huh?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was fun.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_04: It was it was a fun experience, honestly, just seeing it all the different cultures coming together, and I feel like the soccer fans are just great.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_04: Like they there's I feel like there's no like like there's just no tension, like hostility, yeah, for sure.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_04: I agree, I agree.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, because I I I didn't know much about like the rules and and and and then the culture and stuff, and they kind of people will kind of just bring me along and teach me about the game and you know in the stands.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_04: I had a great conversation, so it was just it was just awesome.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_04: It was an awesome experience.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: That's the that's the beauty of sport.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: I've got to put you on the spot.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, they the US men's national team just announced their roster or their schedule coming up in the fall.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're gonna be playing Canada.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think in the end of September, October.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think it's up in Minnesota.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, who are you taking?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, man.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, come on.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_04: Listen, I love the United States, but I'll I'll never switch up on Canada.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: Love that.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Love that dedication.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Love that dedication.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: Was that, by the way, was that Canada's first World Cup goal that you got to see?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it was the first one.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_04: It wasn't the first goal, but it was the first one too.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_04: It was towards the end.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_04: I think I think it was like the the first time we we got past uh the group stage.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, first time.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: That was what I wanted to ask you too is how cool was it to be able to be a fan, right?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: Not just a fan, but also at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because you never get the chance to know.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_04: It was awesome.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_04: Just uh being able to, you know, bring 20 bucks and you leave with a big old plate of chicken tenders, food, you know, uh sodas and stuff.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_04: So I had a good time, ate good, and yeah, it was my first time being in being able to, you know, sit in a stand and just be normal, you know.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_04: It was great.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_04: I had an awesome time.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_04: So I and uh Atlanta won the best venue, right?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_04: Sure did.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, world class.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: Big shout out Mercedes-Benz Stadium, world class, no doubt.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: Best place to view any sporting event, whether American football, global football, any concert, phenomenal.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: No doubt.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: So it was great.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Let's switch back to American football for a second.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: We were doing some research as well.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: At Syracuse, you had a trick play where you were supposed to catch a ball, right?
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Can you take us to a moment when you were closest you've ever been to scoring a touchdown?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: Would it have been at Syracuse when they were running that play?
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: And how nervous were you, bro, heading into that game?
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Did you think they were gonna run it?
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_04: I still they should have called it.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_04: Well, it's all good.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_04: So it was not too late, but it was the fancy.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_04: If you're seeing this, he's ready, he's ready.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_04: I got hands.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_04: Uh so it was supposed to be at Clemson, my senior year.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_04: We were playing there.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_04: It was it was a big game, too.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_04: And throughout the week, we ran the play.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_04: The first time we ran it, I dropped it.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_04: And then uh uh Wednesday and Thursday we ran it and I caught it.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_04: So I was I felt pretty confident about it.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_04: You gotta the timing and stuff.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_04: We're working way into working your way into the game.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that was a work in progress.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_04: And we got to the game, they never called it.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_04: So, you know, I'm I'm still waiting for my first touchdown ever in football.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_04: So hopefully one day we'll we'll get there.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what would the celebration be?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: Because I as a goalkeeper, right?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like I always talked about like if I come up and this happened maybe a handful of times.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: I was not you talk about not wanting to do the cardio of basketball, right?
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's why I played the other way down.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't trying to run all the way down there and then like scoring Columbus Crew 2024.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: You ran all the way.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: This is true.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: This is also true.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: And then I had an unbelievable tackle, but then we I got I got done on it the other way too.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think we played national demands.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_02: Goalkeeper caught it through it.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, oh, I gotta go all the way back and go, they end up scoring.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: But I always said if I if I was the celebration would be wild if I ever scored.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: What what did you have a celebration of mine?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_04: To be honest, not just moved your head, just go mint it.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_04: Dude, I just I I was so focused on catching the ball.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_04: I was like, dude, like I'll just celebrate with the guys after.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_04: But uh yeah, never got never got a chance to do it.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_04: So hopefully one day I'll come.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: Love that.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh listen, obviously, uh as an athlete, right?
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: You've got your pre-match routine and you talk about eating the same food night before, morning of.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, without naming names, what's the craziest, you know, pre-match ritual that you've seen, whether teammates yourself or or anyone that you've come across?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: Ooh, uh, that's a good question.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_04: I have I don't have one in mind.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh are you a superstitious guy?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_04: I am.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_04: Shower before I head to the stadium.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_04: Like, no remote.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_04: Like, I'll shower in the morning and then before I leave, I'll shower again.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_04: Just just to make sure I have that that shower like out the way.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, yeah, same meal, uh uh clean.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_04: Um I I gotta I gotta they clean the compression shorts.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I got the same ones, uh the um gloves and stuff, cleats.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm super like I have the same stuff.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it feels comfortable.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Do you trust the equipment staff like with your stuff?
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: I know some guys, yeah, yeah.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: There's there's guys I played with, they're like, oh, I'm bringing my own cleats, I'm bringing my own goalie gloves, I'm bringing all my own stuff to the stadium because I don't want anyone touching anything.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: You good with them?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm good with them.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: They do a good job.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_04: I'm always like, hey, make sure, make sure you get it.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly, make sure 100%.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_04: Especially when you have a long trip where you go to like, I don't know, Madrid or Germany.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you want to make sure you have your stuff.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: Listen, obviously, we talked about how great the the Benz is as a fan, right?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: But how excited are you to get back in there as a player and get back starting the season and and hearing that fan base and that atmosphere in that stadium?
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, dude, I'm I'm very excited, especially after hearing like how loud it was for soccer, just being able to be on the field and actually like going out there and just giving it my all with the guys, my brothers, and stuff, and be able to be out there with the fans.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's gonna be awesome.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_04: And we we got a lot of good games coming up in the bands, and I think it's gonna be great.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew, we're gonna hit you with some rapid fire questions here.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: You ready?
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Go ahead.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: Are you putting me on the spot?
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: All right, I'm ready.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Favorite team travel essentials.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: What do you take with you?
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh, iPad.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Scariest player you've ever had to block.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_04: Uh that's uh that's a that's a trick question.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not gonna answer that because I like it.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_04: Can't give him the advantage.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_04: I like it, can't give him the advantage, the mental advantage.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_04: Love that.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_04: No doubt.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody, he's not afraid of nobody.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: You hear that?
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_02: When I retire, we'll we'll come back to that.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: We'll come back to that.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: In 25 years.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've got a long time.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: A song you listen to always before a game.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_04: Ooh, summer 16, Drake.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_04: Canadian.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Go to prematch meal.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_04: I don't think you said it.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, uh, so my uh uh the night before I'll eat uh pasta, I'll eat uh Alfredo with uh chicken and steak, and then eight barbecue wings.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, big meal.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: If you could try out professional soccer, what position would you play?
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: Goalkeeping.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, let's go.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: I like that.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: I like that hell yeah.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_04: Just for PK's.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like I get I could get a good feel for PK's.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_04: I'm not saying it's easy, hey.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_04: It's one of the hardest things to do, but I like it.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_04: I like that.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: Three-step drop and then goalkeeping.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: Let's try it.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: Let's try it.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_04: Your favorite memory as a Falcon?
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_04: Ooh, uh going to Philadelphia on Monday night football, it was their own uh their home opener, and we beat him last second.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Drake London touchdown to beat him at home.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_04: It was great.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_04: A personal goal for you this season.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_04: Ooh, get to the playoffs.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I feel like you know, uh Ben and Menace since Atlanta has been in the playoffs, and I feel like the fan, the fans and in our venue, the Mercedes-Benz, and also the guys, my teammates and stuff.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_04: I feel like we we deserve to be there, but obviously it's not gonna get handed to us.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_04: We have to work for it.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_04: It's gonna be a long season, but the goal is definitely get to the playoffs.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_02: Love that, love that.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_02: Listen, we're all behind you, the city's behind you.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, to close this out, what does this game mean to you?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's it's my life, dude.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_04: Like I it means the world to me.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it means the world to my family.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it's just I I I get up and uh I breathe football, dude.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_04: This is what I do, it's my identity.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_04: And I I think I'm gonna have a hard time when it's all said and done to kind of step away, but I feel like I'm always being involved in football, but it's me, it's what I do.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_04: It flows through my vein.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_04: That's just it's a hard, it's hard to explain it, but yeah, I I love it.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_04: I get it, I get it.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm right there with you.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_02: I I love hearing that, man.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: He when it's in you, it's in you, right?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_04: And I'm so grateful that I got the opportunity, like my mom just threw me in football, and I got to, you know, play one of the best games ever made.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_04: So it's all for sure.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you've had an unbelievable uh journey to this point, and we know greatness and success is is on the horizon.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_02: We wish you nothing but the best.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: Can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast, man.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_02: And like I said, we uh we're we're gonna be in the bins.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna be what we're gonna be watching you guys every step of the way.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, big shout out to our uh Atlanta Falcons, get on Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: Check out the season, check out this guy as he continues to rip the heads off of the opposition.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, yeah, appreciate you, man.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_04: Appreciate you guys, appreciate you coming through and uh let's do it, man.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_04: Rise up, rise up.