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Bengals Booth Podcast: On Top Of The World · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for downloading
0:06
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast the because I'm on top of
0:10
Speaker 1: the world. Hey, I'm on top of the world. Eh. Addition,
0:15
Speaker 1: as the Bengals announced the final two members of their
0:17
Speaker 1: initial Ring of Honor class. Coming up, you'll hear from
0:21
Speaker 1: a pair of Ken's quarterback Ken Anderson and Ken Riley
0:25
Speaker 1: the Second, the son of the legendary Bengals cornerback. The
0:29
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light Seltzer. Refresh
0:34
Speaker 1: the game, and here's a quick reminder that you can
0:36
Speaker 1: have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write to
0:39
Speaker 1: your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher,
0:44
Speaker 1: Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing
0:48
Speaker 1: since a great book. I don't read as many books
0:52
Speaker 1: as I would like to or should, but I generally
0:55
Speaker 1: knock off at least one when I'm on vacation. I
0:58
Speaker 1: read a couple of books most recent trip, including The
1:02
Speaker 1: Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. It's not new,
1:06
Speaker 1: it came out in two thousand and three, but it's great.
1:09
Speaker 1: It's non fiction and describes two things that were going
1:13
Speaker 1: on at the same time in the eighteen nineties, the
1:16
Speaker 1: Chicago World's Fair and the first modern serial killer who
1:21
Speaker 1: lived nearby. So if you're looking for a good book,
1:24
Speaker 1: try The Devil in the White City. And even if
1:27
Speaker 1: you're not, Hulu is reportedly developing a TV series based
1:32
Speaker 1: on the book. Now, let's get to this week's guests.
1:36
Speaker 1: In April, the Bengals announced the formation of a Ring
1:39
Speaker 1: of Honor to pay tribute to players, coaches, and individuals
1:42
Speaker 1: who have played a significant role in the team's history.
1:46
Speaker 1: The first two members of the four person inaugural class
1:49
Speaker 1: were announced at that time Pro Football Hall of famers
1:52
Speaker 1: Paul Brown and Anthony Munio's the game's most innovative coach
1:57
Speaker 1: and the player considered to be the greatest left tackle
2:00
Speaker 1: of all time. Then in May, the team announced a
2:04
Speaker 1: Ring of Honor ballot featuring seventeen former players and season
2:08
Speaker 1: ticket members and suite owners were given about a month
2:11
Speaker 1: to select the final two members of this year's class.
2:15
Speaker 1: They have selected Ken Anderson and Ken Riley. Ken Anderson
2:19
Speaker 1: spent a team record sixteen seasons in a Bengals uniform,
2:23
Speaker 1: highlighted by an MVP campaign in nineteen eighty one, when
2:27
Speaker 1: he led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance.
2:30
Speaker 1: The four time Pro bowler holds the team record for
2:33
Speaker 1: career passing yards and was the first quarterback in the
2:36
Speaker 1: Super Bowl era to complete more than seventy percent of
2:39
Speaker 1: his passes in a single season. Here's Bengals president Mike
2:43
Speaker 1: Brown on the third round draft pick out of tiny
2:46
Speaker 1: Augustana College. My brother Pete was scouting director. We were
2:54
Speaker 1: always talking about players. He said to me, well, there's
2:59
Speaker 1: this guy out at Augustana. He said, Augustana, where it's that.
3:06
Speaker 1: I guess there are at least two of them. There
3:08
Speaker 1: may be more. But this was right on the Mississippi River,
3:13
Speaker 1: a Quad Cities area, and Pete had heard about the
3:18
Speaker 1: guy from another scout in a conversation. He wasn't especially
3:25
Speaker 1: well known by the public, if known at all. I
3:29
Speaker 1: went out there and watched a game. He was accurate.
3:37
Speaker 1: He threw the ball with what I call a classic motion,
3:40
Speaker 1: which was a tight motion the way you would draw
3:44
Speaker 1: it up, and his release was close to perfect, meaning
3:49
Speaker 1: the ball came off in a dead spiral. He was athletic,
3:54
Speaker 1: he could move around, he could find people down feel him.
4:00
Speaker 1: Of course, in that league, the people downfield might have
4:04
Speaker 1: been five foot tall. There's a story of Kenny later
4:11
Speaker 1: in life. He would get together with his players, Sam Augustan,
4:15
Speaker 1: and I remember seeing him with the offensive tackle on
4:21
Speaker 1: that team who came up to Kenny's shoulder. But you
4:27
Speaker 1: could tell it didn't matter what the level of competition was.
4:32
Speaker 1: He showed that he was special. We brought him in
4:35
Speaker 1: after we drafted him, and I sort of took pride
4:39
Speaker 1: in his being our pick. We were out at Spinning Field,
4:45
Speaker 1: our old practice facility, and the first day Kenny was there,
4:50
Speaker 1: they put him out in the field, the coaches to
4:52
Speaker 1: see what he would could do, and it was just dreadfully.
4:57
Speaker 1: He couldn't he could hit this of a barn. Everybody
5:04
Speaker 1: dad looking at me. This process unfolded, but nothing was said.
5:12
Speaker 1: We went forward and the he occursed to reverted to
5:16
Speaker 1: form and it became a great player for us. Mike
5:21
Speaker 1: Brown is called Ken Anderson the most important player in
5:24
Speaker 1: franchise history. I spoke to Ken about being voted in
5:29
Speaker 1: to the Ring of Honor. Ken, congratulations on this richly
5:33
Speaker 1: deserved honor. I think most of us assume that you
5:36
Speaker 1: are allowed to get voted in. But what went through
5:38
Speaker 1: your mind when you got that phone call. Well, i'll
5:42
Speaker 1: tell you what one Mike called me. It was just,
5:46
Speaker 1: you know, a great feeling. And I think it was
5:47
Speaker 1: special because last weekend we're at a family reunion and
5:52
Speaker 1: my uncle Gary was moving from his house in Chicago
5:55
Speaker 1: to retirement apartment in Milwaukee near his daughter, and my
5:59
Speaker 1: aunt Nancy doesn't throw anything away, so they brought me
6:02
Speaker 1: a big box of programs and articles. So it just
6:05
Speaker 1: started reading through that and seeing everything from the early
6:09
Speaker 1: seventies all the way through my career brought back so
6:12
Speaker 1: many memories. Then, you know, to get the call after
6:15
Speaker 1: that was unbelievable. Was that box strictly Bengals stuff or
6:19
Speaker 1: did it go back to Augustan or even before that. No,
6:22
Speaker 1: it was strictly Bengals stuff, So it was you know
6:26
Speaker 1: some things. That's gonna be good for the grand kids
6:28
Speaker 1: to see some of those articles and start scrapbooks. So
6:31
Speaker 1: I was really appreciative of that. Is the ring of
6:34
Speaker 1: honor really important to the former players? I think so.
6:39
Speaker 1: And the reason I think so is, you know, sometimes
6:42
Speaker 1: in today's age, people forget about the rich tradition the
6:46
Speaker 1: Bengals have, you know, starting in the sixties going through
6:49
Speaker 1: the seventies of the early eighties, we were as good
6:53
Speaker 1: a football team as anybody in the league. I think
6:57
Speaker 1: if you look back and over a decade or so,
7:00
Speaker 1: we had by far the best record against the Pittsburgh
7:03
Speaker 1: Steelers of anybody in the league. And you know, the
7:07
Speaker 1: great players that we had from you know, the Bob
7:10
Speaker 1: Johnson's to the Bob Trumpies, to the Mike Reads, to
7:15
Speaker 1: the Bill Bergies to the Chip Myers. I mean, we
7:19
Speaker 1: had great players back in that era. And so I
7:23
Speaker 1: think that to start this process, all of a sudden,
7:26
Speaker 1: the focus goes back on some of the older guys
7:30
Speaker 1: and realizing how good we were back in the seventies.
7:34
Speaker 1: For visiting with Ken Anderson, you are part of an
7:36
Speaker 1: initial Ring of Honor class that includes Paul Brown, Anthony Mulnios,
7:40
Speaker 1: and Ken Riley, and I'd like to get your thoughts
7:44
Speaker 1: on each of them. Paul was your first head coach
7:47
Speaker 1: in the NFL. He was the head coach for your
7:49
Speaker 1: first five seasons. What made him one of the best
7:52
Speaker 1: head coaches of all time? Well, you know, I think
7:56
Speaker 1: it was the organization that he had. I mean, the
7:59
Speaker 1: way pro football is today. I think It's well documented
8:02
Speaker 1: the way it's run is because of Paul Brown and
8:05
Speaker 1: how he started things. But certainly he was an icon
8:08
Speaker 1: when I got there. I was in awe of him
8:10
Speaker 1: from from the beginning. But I think the thing I
8:14
Speaker 1: learned maybe most from him is that he was good
8:16
Speaker 1: at hiring very good assistant coaches like a Bill Waltz
8:20
Speaker 1: and let him do their job. And so just to
8:23
Speaker 1: be a part of that, you know, and to play
8:26
Speaker 1: for him, And I always said, I wish I could
8:29
Speaker 1: have played for him when he was a little bit younger,
8:32
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit more active in the game planning.
8:34
Speaker 1: Anthony Munio's arrived in nineteen eighty, you were the NFL
8:37
Speaker 1: MVP and went to the Super Bowl the following year.
8:40
Speaker 1: What did Anthony Munio's mean to you in the franchise?
8:45
Speaker 1: I think it's pretty obvious when he came into the
8:47
Speaker 1: turnaround that we had. You know, when you're playing with
8:51
Speaker 1: the best left tackle in the history of the game,
8:54
Speaker 1: you know, it gave you so much freedom and what
8:56
Speaker 1: you do because Anthony was the X factor. You know,
8:59
Speaker 1: he's got his guy and now you've got you know,
9:02
Speaker 1: four other guys in the offensive line, so you can
9:04
Speaker 1: get some double teams created in there, and you know,
9:07
Speaker 1: just his his athletic ability, you know for a big guy,
9:11
Speaker 1: his football knowledge and just being a great guy who's
9:16
Speaker 1: just an honor to be his teammate. The other player
9:19
Speaker 1: voted in by the fans was Ken Riley, your teammate
9:22
Speaker 1: for thirteen seasons. Were you hoping he would be recognized
9:26
Speaker 1: this year? No question about it. You know, Kenny was there.
9:31
Speaker 1: You know, he came in the sixties and he was
9:33
Speaker 1: there with you know, the first playoff team in nineteen
9:35
Speaker 1: seventy and got to be with other playoff teams along
9:38
Speaker 1: the way and go to our Super Bowl. So I
9:40
Speaker 1: had a great career fifteen seasons, if I'm not mistaken.
9:44
Speaker 1: But you know, when you look at his numbers and
9:46
Speaker 1: what is it, like sixty five interceptions he had in
9:49
Speaker 1: his career, I think there are only four cornerbacks in
9:52
Speaker 1: the history of the league that have had more than
9:55
Speaker 1: he has. They're all in the Hall of Fame. Back
9:58
Speaker 1: when we played, you know, we didn't throw the ball
10:01
Speaker 1: as much. We've played fewer games. You know, if quarterbacks
10:04
Speaker 1: were throwing twenty twenty two times a game, that was
10:07
Speaker 1: a lot. And for him to put up those numbers
10:10
Speaker 1: under those conditions is truly unbelievable, and why he's not
10:13
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame. I can't imagine. The Bengals
10:16
Speaker 1: are going to recognize this year's inductees at the Thursday
10:19
Speaker 1: night football game against Jacksonville in late September. Is there
10:23
Speaker 1: anything in particular you are looking forward to that night?
10:27
Speaker 1: I think being on the field and so my grandkids
10:31
Speaker 1: never got to saw me play, and so maybe they
10:33
Speaker 1: could see Grandpa on the field one more time and
10:36
Speaker 1: bring back some memories and we'll bring out some old
10:38
Speaker 1: videos on old videos. I know my grandson, Henry likes
10:42
Speaker 1: to watch some of them on YouTube, so he's familiar.
10:44
Speaker 1: So you know, I think just to celebrate with them
10:47
Speaker 1: will be amazing. Ken last month, more than two hundred
10:51
Speaker 1: Bengals fans travel to Canton for the Jungle to the
10:54
Speaker 1: Hall rally to make the case that there should be
10:56
Speaker 1: more Bengals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What
10:59
Speaker 1: did you think of that and do you think it
11:01
Speaker 1: will make a difference. I don't know if it will
11:04
Speaker 1: make a difference, but just the appreciation for those people
11:08
Speaker 1: to do that and to try to create awareness, you know,
11:12
Speaker 1: for some of the guys that I think are deserving
11:15
Speaker 1: of being in the Hall of Fame. And you know,
11:17
Speaker 1: like I said before, I think you know it starts
11:19
Speaker 1: with Kenny Riley, number thirteen, the Rattler. And when you
11:22
Speaker 1: think about it, coming out of Florida A and M
11:24
Speaker 1: as a quarterback, making the transition to cornerback and then
11:28
Speaker 1: becoming a great player is unbelievable. Of your many accomplishments,
11:34
Speaker 1: NFL MVP for passing titles, the completion percentage record that
11:38
Speaker 1: stood for nearly thirty years. Is there anything in particular
11:41
Speaker 1: that you're proudest of? I think it's seventy five with
11:45
Speaker 1: the Man of the Year award, and because that not
11:48
Speaker 1: only encompasses what you did on the field, but what
11:52
Speaker 1: you did off the field. And I think that's one
11:55
Speaker 1: of the traits of the NFL even today, is the
11:58
Speaker 1: amount of great work that they do. You know, with
12:02
Speaker 1: NFL charities, each team does a great job. So many
12:05
Speaker 1: players work very hard at that aspect in their career.
12:09
Speaker 1: I mean, just the quarterback now, Joe Burrow, what he's
12:12
Speaker 1: done and makes a difference and knows what his platform
12:15
Speaker 1: can do to make a difference. So you know, I
12:18
Speaker 1: think that's probably the most the thing I'm most proud of.
12:21
Speaker 1: And you have the Ken Anderson Alliance, which has done
12:23
Speaker 1: remarkable things for adults with disabilities. Anthony Munio's has his foundation.
12:28
Speaker 1: He's helped more than forty thousand kids. The Ken Riley
12:31
Speaker 1: Foundation helps financially challenge kids go to college. What's it
12:35
Speaker 1: say that the first three players schedule to go into
12:39
Speaker 1: the Bengals Ring of Honor have dedicated their pro their
12:42
Speaker 1: post football lives to helping others. Well, hopefully that maybe
12:47
Speaker 1: we got a little bit of class in this class
12:50
Speaker 1: that's going in. And you know, I know Anthony does
12:53
Speaker 1: such great work in the greater Cincinnati area and Kenny
12:57
Speaker 1: Riley most of this stuff is done down in Florida,
12:59
Speaker 1: and you know, with our alliance, I think we're making
13:02
Speaker 1: a difference with adults with disabilities, you know, in the
13:04
Speaker 1: Cincinnati area. And it just goes to show that, you know,
13:08
Speaker 1: besides being good football players, we had a lot of
13:11
Speaker 1: really good guys playing back then very well. Put now,
13:15
Speaker 1: the Ring of Honor is not the only honor that
13:17
Speaker 1: you are receiving. This month, sixteen Lots Brewing in Mason
13:22
Speaker 1: has announced that they will come out with Kenny's day
13:25
Speaker 1: drinking lager in August, with a portion of the proceeds
13:28
Speaker 1: benefiting the Ken Anderson Alliance. As a fellow beer lover,
13:33
Speaker 1: you must be getting a kick out of having your
13:35
Speaker 1: own brew. Well, it really is nice because I remember
13:39
Speaker 1: when they first called me about this and that they
13:43
Speaker 1: wanted to give a portion, you know, to our foundation,
13:46
Speaker 1: and it was substantial, and I said I had to
13:49
Speaker 1: stop him right there, and I said, you know, I
13:51
Speaker 1: have a tough time going to micro breweries. I don't
13:54
Speaker 1: like IPAs. I don't like a heavier beer. I don't
13:57
Speaker 1: like a darker beer. I don't like some of the
13:59
Speaker 1: after taste ahead of those. He says, Oh, I know
14:02
Speaker 1: you like Keystone Light, and so we've made a beer
14:05
Speaker 1: that is very light. It is a low alcohol content.
14:09
Speaker 1: So literally, if it's stayed drinking Logger, that means you
14:12
Speaker 1: can drink it all day. It's going to be great
14:15
Speaker 1: for a tailgating beer. And gosh, I hope we get
14:20
Speaker 1: it into the stadium, you know, for the Ring of
14:21
Speaker 1: Honor ceremonies. That would be something you can log in
14:25
Speaker 1: there because you got to start early because it's going
14:27
Speaker 1: to be a night game. When I talk to your
14:30
Speaker 1: former roommate and my broadcast partner, Dave Lapham, and we
14:34
Speaker 1: talk about you. It sounds to me like he's describing
14:38
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow extremely accurate, very mobile, tough as nails, extremely smart.
14:45
Speaker 1: At the risk of being immodest, when you watch Joe Burrow,
14:49
Speaker 1: does he remind you a little bit of yourself? Well,
14:51
Speaker 1: I think he's No, he's probably a little bit better.
14:54
Speaker 1: I think he's going to be the best quarterback in
14:55
Speaker 1: Bengal historian. You know, I think if you look at
14:59
Speaker 1: when I played in had success, when Boomer played and
15:03
Speaker 1: had tremendous success, you know, the common thread is, you know,
15:08
Speaker 1: what were our teammates around us like? And we had
15:11
Speaker 1: very good football teams. And I go back to my
15:14
Speaker 1: draft class. The number one quarterback in the draft was
15:17
Speaker 1: Jim Plunkett, and he went to New England without much success.
15:21
Speaker 1: He went to San Francisco without much success, went to
15:24
Speaker 1: Oakland and won a Super Bowl with good players around him.
15:29
Speaker 1: You know, Archie Manning was the number two pick in
15:31
Speaker 1: the draft, and you know, unfortunately in New Orleans and
15:34
Speaker 1: I think he might have been with Minnesota for a year,
15:36
Speaker 1: Houston for a year, never had that team around him
15:39
Speaker 1: to let him excel. So I think Joe's got all
15:42
Speaker 1: the qualities to take the Bengals where we need to go,
15:46
Speaker 1: and I think we just got to get all the
15:47
Speaker 1: parts around him to let him do his job. Well.
15:50
Speaker 1: I don't know if he'll be better, but if he
15:52
Speaker 1: is close to Ken Anderson, the Bengals are going to
15:55
Speaker 1: be in great shape for the next decade. Congratulations on
15:58
Speaker 1: this well deserved honor. The Ring of Honor would not
16:00
Speaker 1: be complete without you in it, and on behalf of
16:03
Speaker 1: all Bengals fans listening. Welcome to the initial class for
16:07
Speaker 1: the Ring of Honor. Boy, I can't wait. I'm looking
16:10
Speaker 1: forward to that night. And you know, jeez, you know
16:14
Speaker 1: I said when I got the call from Mike was
16:16
Speaker 1: I'll never forget that moment. Ken has been a finalist
16:19
Speaker 1: for the Pro Football Hall of Fame twice, and here's
16:22
Speaker 1: hoping the Senior Committee gets it right this year and
16:25
Speaker 1: makes him the second player known primarily as a Bengal
16:29
Speaker 1: to receive a gold jacket. The Bengals Booth podcast is
16:33
Speaker 1: presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with
16:36
Speaker 1: a hint of fruit flavor. Two years before selecting Ken
16:40
Speaker 1: Anderson in the third round of the draft. The Bengals
16:43
Speaker 1: picked a quarterback out of Florida A and M in
16:46
Speaker 1: the sixth round, Ken Riley. He was moved to defensive
16:50
Speaker 1: back in training camp and went on to have a
16:52
Speaker 1: brilliant fifteen year career. His sixty five career interceptions are
16:57
Speaker 1: basically twice as many as any other player in team history,
17:01
Speaker 1: and only four players in the history of the NFL
17:04
Speaker 1: have more. Here's Mike Brown on the rattler. Kenny came
17:11
Speaker 1: here as a quarterback and we had Greg Cook. This
17:16
Speaker 1: was before Greg got injured. Training camp and the quarterbacks
17:21
Speaker 1: would stand and pretty much watched Greg, and it was
17:24
Speaker 1: obvious who was going to be the quarterback. Greg was
17:28
Speaker 1: the best player we ever had, and Kenny was standing
17:33
Speaker 1: there when my dad came over about the third day
17:36
Speaker 1: he had been in camp and said to Kenny, you
17:40
Speaker 1: go over there, And that was the extent of the conversation.
17:44
Speaker 1: Over there was with the defensive backs, and Kenny went
17:49
Speaker 1: and proceeded to play for US. I don't know how
17:52
Speaker 1: many years, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, whatever it was, it was forever.
17:57
Speaker 1: He was player with great composure. He could play the
18:04
Speaker 1: ball in the air, all his poise, knew what was
18:07
Speaker 1: going on, was in position as he should be on
18:10
Speaker 1: every plane, and even though he was somewhat slight and billed,
18:17
Speaker 1: he was a firest tackler, one player. One maneuver he
18:22
Speaker 1: had that was his alone. I've seen other guys do it,
18:27
Speaker 1: but not not do it as a regular routine, or
18:33
Speaker 1: they would do it just on occasions when it happened
18:37
Speaker 1: without thinking, can you do it purposefully? He would come
18:40
Speaker 1: up on these guys who caught the ball in front
18:44
Speaker 1: of him, and as he were catching the ball looking
18:48
Speaker 1: back towards the line of scrimmage, he'd come from behind
18:51
Speaker 1: and hit him right under the rump and they would
18:54
Speaker 1: go for a cart wheel in the air, literally, and
19:00
Speaker 1: not all of them kept the ball. When that went on,
19:05
Speaker 1: he would dislodge the ball from them. But it was
19:09
Speaker 1: a maneuver that was routine for him, and I've often
19:13
Speaker 1: wondered why others didn't pick it up and do it
19:17
Speaker 1: as just a regular way of play. It didn't seem
19:20
Speaker 1: to hurt anybody. They went for a ride, but they
19:23
Speaker 1: all came down in a heap and got right back up.
19:27
Speaker 1: It wasn't injurious, It was just enough of a blow
19:32
Speaker 1: that it caught their attention, and it would catch your
19:36
Speaker 1: attention if you saw it as well. So Kenny had
19:39
Speaker 1: the ability to be rough and tough as well as smart,
19:43
Speaker 1: and he's so deserving. Everyone knows that he should be
19:49
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame, and why he isn't as
19:51
Speaker 1: a mystery, but certainly he'll be an Arming of Honor
19:56
Speaker 1: soon enough. Sadly, Ken Riley passed away last year at
20:01
Speaker 1: the age of seventy two. I spoke to his son,
20:04
Speaker 1: Ken the Second, about his father's inclusion in the Bengals
20:07
Speaker 1: First Ring of Honor class. Ken, can you describe what
20:12
Speaker 1: this honor means to you, your mom and the entire
20:14
Speaker 1: Riley family. It's definitely a great honor. I know my
20:19
Speaker 1: father and I had talked about it, you know, some
20:22
Speaker 1: time to time about you know, something like this happening,
20:25
Speaker 1: and just to have it come into fruition is a
20:29
Speaker 1: great honor and my family I really appreciate it. The
20:33
Speaker 1: other members of the initial Ring of Honor class are
20:37
Speaker 1: Paul Brown, Anthony Munio's and Ken Anderson, all key figures
20:41
Speaker 1: in your father's life. Did he discuss those guys with
20:45
Speaker 1: you over the years, Well, of course, they would come up,
20:48
Speaker 1: and every time we would visit Cincinnati, I would either
20:52
Speaker 1: run into Ken Anders or Anthony Munios. So definitely they
20:58
Speaker 1: are great Bengals and it's definitely a privilege and the
21:01
Speaker 1: honor to be pumped that first ring of Honor class
21:05
Speaker 1: because I know that there are many great players have
21:09
Speaker 1: played and come through Cincinnati, so it's definitely a great honor.
21:13
Speaker 1: We're chatting with Ken Riley the second Since your dad
21:16
Speaker 1: passed away last year, Ken, I think there's a renewed
21:19
Speaker 1: appreciation for just how incredible his career was. Do you
21:23
Speaker 1: feel the same way. I don't know. I renewed because
21:27
Speaker 1: every time we actually visited Cincinnati, it was just great
21:31
Speaker 1: to see the fans the love and support that that
21:34
Speaker 1: they've shown they showed him, So I guess since it's
21:37
Speaker 1: passing though, it's just been more come to light, especially
21:41
Speaker 1: now that I actually you know, on social media, and
21:44
Speaker 1: it's great to see some of the younger fans who've
21:46
Speaker 1: never even seen him play, you know, to have that support.
21:50
Speaker 1: So it's definitely been the Cincinnati Bengals organization, Bengal Gym,
21:57
Speaker 1: just to name a few. They've been right about keeping
22:01
Speaker 1: my father's name out being the support they've been given him.
22:05
Speaker 1: So it's really great to see and it's definitely appreciated
22:09
Speaker 1: by myself as well as my family. My fifteen year
22:13
Speaker 1: old son Sam is among those younger fans that your referencing.
22:17
Speaker 1: He was born after your dad's playing career was finished,
22:20
Speaker 1: but he was among the folks who proudly voted for
22:22
Speaker 1: your father for the Bengals Ring of Honor. Last month,
22:26
Speaker 1: more than two hundred Bengals fans travel to Canton for
22:30
Speaker 1: that Jungle to the Hall rally to make the case
22:32
Speaker 1: that more to Bengals, including your father, should be in
22:35
Speaker 1: the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Do you think that's
22:37
Speaker 1: having an impact? Well, I hope it does. You just
22:42
Speaker 1: never can tell with you know, it's still up to
22:44
Speaker 1: the voters at that time, and I know that it's
22:48
Speaker 1: a lot of deserving other candidates, but to only have
22:52
Speaker 1: one in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with all
22:54
Speaker 1: of the grace that have come through the Ken Anderson's,
22:57
Speaker 1: Isaac Curtiss, Lamar Parish is it's a discredit And I
23:01
Speaker 1: do believe it's time that, you know, we get some
23:04
Speaker 1: more Bengals in there. And like I said, it's just
23:06
Speaker 1: been great to see the support from all of the
23:09
Speaker 1: fans and you know, to have over two hundred to
23:13
Speaker 1: Canton to support the former players, former glades. It was great.
23:18
Speaker 1: H William Anderson too, I knew he actually attended that,
23:24
Speaker 1: so it was it was just great to see. When
23:26
Speaker 1: people discuss your father's career, the first thing they typically
23:30
Speaker 1: mentioned is that incredible interception total sixty five career picks,
23:34
Speaker 1: tied for fifth best in NFL history. Do you think
23:38
Speaker 1: that's what he was proudest of or was there something
23:40
Speaker 1: else in his pro football career that you think meant
23:43
Speaker 1: the most to him? Well, I think that, of course
23:47
Speaker 1: he was definitely proud of that, But I also knew
23:50
Speaker 1: that he was proud of being able to play for
23:52
Speaker 1: one team and proud to just but you know, played
23:55
Speaker 1: for Coach Brown and the Cincinnati Bengals. And then to
23:59
Speaker 1: the longevity and the consistency. You know, he actually finished
24:04
Speaker 1: with you know, eight interceptionss last year at all pros.
24:07
Speaker 1: So just being able to be consistent throughout the years.
24:11
Speaker 1: And I know he took pride in always being in shape.
24:14
Speaker 1: Even at the age I said, at age of thirty six,
24:17
Speaker 1: he was still on the top of his game and
24:19
Speaker 1: He always said that he wanted to go out on
24:22
Speaker 1: his own terms and felt that he had people felt
24:26
Speaker 1: that he had more left than the tank. So I
24:28
Speaker 1: think he was more proud of being able to do
24:30
Speaker 1: that and go out and finish his career, you know, leading,
24:34
Speaker 1: you know, leading to a FC and interceptions and you know,
24:38
Speaker 1: still being able to play at a high level and
24:40
Speaker 1: a couple of pick six is as well that final
24:43
Speaker 1: season at the age of thirty six. When former teammates
24:47
Speaker 1: discussed Ken Riley, they tend to focus on his smarts
24:50
Speaker 1: and his leadership. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate in college.
24:54
Speaker 1: Chris Collinsworth says he learned more from your dad than
24:57
Speaker 1: any other coach or teammate that he ever played with.
25:00
Speaker 1: Your father was a captain in the final eight years
25:02
Speaker 1: of his Bengals career. How important do you think all
25:04
Speaker 1: of that is to his legacy. Uh, It's very important.
25:08
Speaker 1: And because even growing up he always coached you know,
25:12
Speaker 1: student athlete. You know you're you're a student first, So
25:14
Speaker 1: he definitely and even when he was coaching, he made
25:20
Speaker 1: sure that we were always students first and then athlete second.
25:24
Speaker 1: And I think it just carried on even on the field.
25:27
Speaker 1: He was a student of the game. You know, he
25:28
Speaker 1: was my coaching college and he always you know, peached
25:31
Speaker 1: about you know, being a student and studying. So I
25:36
Speaker 1: know that he kept a little black book of all
25:39
Speaker 1: of the arm receivers that he went against. And that's
25:42
Speaker 1: why it was so hard to beat him fights. And
25:43
Speaker 1: he beat him once, you know, and he definitely his
25:46
Speaker 1: homework and make sure it is and get beat again
25:48
Speaker 1: on that move. So and I think it served it
25:50
Speaker 1: will to play for fifteen years and like I said,
25:53
Speaker 1: continue to play at that high level. Paul of famers,
25:56
Speaker 1: Mel Blunt and James Lofton recently did videos to make
25:59
Speaker 1: the case that your father should be in the Pro
26:01
Speaker 1: Football Hall of Fame. What's it mean when those legendary figures,
26:06
Speaker 1: and there are others as well, speak out in favor
26:09
Speaker 1: of your father. I mean, it's a great honor. It
26:13
Speaker 1: really makes you feel great. And like I said, Mel
26:17
Speaker 1: Blunt and James Blounton are awesome guys. I mean I
26:20
Speaker 1: have the utmost suspect for them, and my father did
26:22
Speaker 1: as well. But just to hear other Hall of famers
26:25
Speaker 1: and here his peers speaks so holly of them. Like
26:27
Speaker 1: I said, It doesn't get any better than that, and
26:31
Speaker 1: we really really appreciate that support, and it really does
26:34
Speaker 1: mean a lot because they carry a lot of weight
26:37
Speaker 1: because they were his contemporary peers and you know, for
26:40
Speaker 1: to have them, and they all Hall of famers and
26:43
Speaker 1: had Hall of Fame careers, So just to hear others
26:46
Speaker 1: speak so holly them, it really means a lot. The
26:50
Speaker 1: initial Ring of Honor class is going to be honored
26:52
Speaker 1: when the Bengals host Jacksonville on Thursday Night Football September thirtieth.
26:57
Speaker 1: Anything in particular you are looking forward to when you
27:00
Speaker 1: and your family come to Cincinnati for that ceremony. It's
27:03
Speaker 1: always just great to be there. I've never missed the
27:06
Speaker 1: game when they've had something, specially my followers invited back,
27:09
Speaker 1: so it's kind of really speak but always love the
27:13
Speaker 1: city of Cincinnati. That's actually where I was born at.
27:16
Speaker 1: I came two months early, so I guess it was
27:18
Speaker 1: destined for me to be born to Cincinnati. But we
27:22
Speaker 1: just look forward to seeing Ken Anderson, who's definitely well
27:27
Speaker 1: deserving of this honor, as well as the Pro Football
27:30
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame and Anthony Munios and it's going in
27:33
Speaker 1: with Coach Bowl Brown who you know drafted my David
27:37
Speaker 1: dad a game that the first opportunity is such a
27:40
Speaker 1: great honor and we just look forward to always look
27:43
Speaker 1: forward to come to Cincinnati and it's a Thursday night
27:46
Speaker 1: primetime game, so very exciting. I always I follow the
27:50
Speaker 1: Bingles state, you know, now in root for him. So
27:54
Speaker 1: very excited about the upcoming season, and I think it's
27:56
Speaker 1: going to be a great year for him. Your father
27:59
Speaker 1: was famously nicknamed the Rattler. Does the Riley family love
28:04
Speaker 1: that nickname? I definitely love it, you know, just growing up.
28:09
Speaker 1: You know, the more I thought about it, just like
28:11
Speaker 1: it fit him perfectly. And it's a pretty cool nickname,
28:15
Speaker 1: the Ratlers. So I remember his uh one of his
28:19
Speaker 1: favorite cards, he had Mercedes Mercedes Bins and on the
28:24
Speaker 1: dash she had Ken Riley the Ratler. Somebody had gave
28:27
Speaker 1: it to him, So that always just sticks out in
28:29
Speaker 1: my mind, you know, just you know, the ratlet. He
28:33
Speaker 1: perfect name for him and a perfect selection to be
28:37
Speaker 1: one of the four people going into the Bengals Ring
28:39
Speaker 1: of Honor in the first year of induction. Congratulations on
28:43
Speaker 1: this well deserved daughter. I appreciate your time today and
28:46
Speaker 1: look forward to seeing you as part of the celebration
28:48
Speaker 1: on September thirtieth. Thank you, and like I said, it's
28:52
Speaker 1: truly an I think all the fans and you know,
28:55
Speaker 1: the season ticket holders for you know, voting your son
28:58
Speaker 1: tell you something than you, like I said, someone even
29:01
Speaker 1: a younger generation who have never saw him play supporting him.
29:05
Speaker 1: So it's definitely honored to go on with all the
29:08
Speaker 1: other grades to Ken Anderson's and Anthony Munios and coach
29:12
Speaker 1: Paul Brown. So right, honor, thanks for the time and
29:14
Speaker 1: all can said thanks for the support. I thanks to
29:18
Speaker 1: Ken Anderson and Ken Riley the second and that's going
29:20
Speaker 1: to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast,
29:23
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29:27
Speaker 1: If you haven't done so already, please subscribe and if
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29:36
Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde, and thank you for listening to The
29:38
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast