Latest / The 3Ts: Tables, Tailgates, and Toploaders / Why Are We Here?

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Why Are We Here? · The 3Ts: Tables, Tailgates, and Toploaders

• WEBVTT 00:00:11.559 --> 00:00:14.220 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome into the very first 00:00:14.220 --> 00:00:17.699 episode of my brand new podcast tables, tailgates 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:21.940 and top loaders. I'm your host TB, AKA Tim Beardsley. 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:24.519 Now, whether you're a wrestling fan or what they 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:26.960 call a mark, if you will, a member of the Bills 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.160 mafia, or whether you're a cardboard enthusiast, 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.579 you have come to the right place. I'm here to 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:36.320 merge all three. of these awesome hobbies together. 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:38.399 Now you're probably asking, what the heck am 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:40.420 I getting myself into? Well, let's start off 00:00:40.420 --> 00:00:43.079 by talking about what this podcast isn't going 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.079 to be. Now, usually if I'm given a choice between 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.200 do you want the good news or the bad news, I 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:51.719 will always opt to take the bad news first. So 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:54.539 right off the bat, here we go. This is what it's 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:56.460 not going to be. If you're here for the latest 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:58.579 analysis, let's say, hey, guess what? The Bills 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.460 just signed Elijah Moore. How many balls is he 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:04.140 going to catch this year? What's his 40 time? 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:07.170 Blah, blah, blah. This ain't the place for that. 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:09.510 I have no idea what the answers to those questions 00:01:09.510 --> 00:01:13.590 are. Is he good? Is he bad? We shall see. If 00:01:13.590 --> 00:01:17.010 you're here for me to give you a detailed breakdown 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:20.090 of every single episode of Raw, SmackDown, NXT, 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:24.450 Dynamite, Collision, TNA, the list goes on and 00:01:24.450 --> 00:01:28.430 on and on, New Japan, you won't find it here. 00:01:28.709 --> 00:01:31.329 In case you haven't checked, there is so much 00:01:31.329 --> 00:01:34.079 wrestling out there and I don't have time. to 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:36.640 watch it all. In fact, there's probably 12 plus 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:41.000 hours a week of your main shows. I don't have 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.000 time for that. If you're looking for information 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.780 on whether I can give you intel on what NBA sixth 00:01:49.780 --> 00:01:51.760 man you should be buying in the card market so 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.439 you can flip it in six weeks and make X amount 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.620 over what you paid for it, I don't have that 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:00.719 information for you either. So... If I'm not 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.340 here to break down film, analyze plays, dissect 00:02:03.340 --> 00:02:06.599 matches, or yell about grading cards and conditions, 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.219 what am I doing here? Well, I'm here to talk 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:13.139 about these three awesome aspects of my life. 00:02:13.580 --> 00:02:17.139 Three ridiculous passions of mine that make me 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:20.139 feel stuff. Yeah, that's right, feel. That's 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:22.340 what this podcast is about, feelings. And you're 00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:25.759 like, what? Happening right now. I am a grown 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.479 -ass man about to talk about feelings and maybe 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.580 some of you are already to turn this podcast 00:02:30.580 --> 00:02:34.240 off Just give me a second hear me out these passions 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.280 these hobbies these parts of our lives Guess 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.800 what? They're supposed to make you feel something 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:42.840 if they don't Then why are we doing any of them? 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:45.759 Why do we watch? Why do we go to games? Why do 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.159 we collect the things we collect lesson? I do 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.800 these things because I want to be a part of something 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:54.270 I go to Bill's games because Think they're freaking 00:02:54.270 --> 00:02:58.189 awesome Being in a stadium being a part of an 00:02:58.189 --> 00:03:01.370 awesome fan base When that place is rocking, 00:03:01.370 --> 00:03:04.710 you know as they say where else would you rather 00:03:04.710 --> 00:03:07.990 be then right here right now? Wrestling I watch 00:03:07.990 --> 00:03:11.449 wrestling because it's fun. Frankly. I want to 00:03:11.449 --> 00:03:13.449 feel something. I want to enjoy something I want 00:03:13.449 --> 00:03:16.610 to try to separate myself from all the negative 00:03:16.610 --> 00:03:19.729 crap that's going on in the world today That's 00:03:19.729 --> 00:03:22.139 why I love wrestling because it's always there 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:24.759 for me. It always gives me an outlet. It gives 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:28.800 me something I can watch for two, three hours 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.659 and completely take my mind off of the things 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:34.020 that are going on in the world. That's great. 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:37.599 Why do I collect cards? I collect cards because, 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:40.419 like I said, they make me feel something. It's 00:03:40.419 --> 00:03:43.379 fun for me. There's no pressure. It simply makes 00:03:43.379 --> 00:03:46.219 me remember what it is like. to be a little kid. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:48.360 And that's what I want this podcast to be about. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.659 I want to be a part of something. And I want 00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:54.500 you all to join in with me. Now each episode, 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:56.479 I'm going to spend some time on each of these 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:59.000 three topics. So the Buffalo Bills, greatest 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:01.659 football team on the planet, professional wrestling. 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:04.099 That's right. I said professional wrestling and 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:05.780 the world of card collecting. Now, sometimes 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:09.120 we will discuss current events. Sometimes we're 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:10.900 going to take trips down memory lane. because 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:13.680 that's what this is all about. And I sure hope 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.220 you will join me for this ride. So what's the 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:19.959 first segment going to be of episode one? Well, 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:22.759 how about this? How about we do a little history 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:26.420 of myself and how about we just talk about what 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:29.879 it's like to be a Buffalo Bills fan? Because 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:33.800 unless you're invested in this team, it's hard 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:36.339 to really explain it. So a little bit about myself. 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.279 I'm 46 years old, born and raised upstate New 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.910 York. But I've been a Bills fan since about as 00:04:41.910 --> 00:04:45.089 long as I can remember. And if there's one team, 00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:48.629 if I had to pick all the sports, and I am a sports 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:51.110 fan, but if there's one team I simply put all 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:54.709 my hopes and dreams into, this is the team. Now, 00:04:54.709 --> 00:04:57.470 I remember growing up a Bills fan, and there's 00:04:57.470 --> 00:05:01.170 a lot of stuff that you don't see today. Blackouts, 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:04.889 watching, trying to sit down and watch a Bills 00:05:04.889 --> 00:05:10.100 game in the early 90s. Not too many people know 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:12.459 what blackouts are because we have this Sunday 00:05:12.459 --> 00:05:16.480 ticket and we have YouTube TV and we have so 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:19.439 many options of watching a game but back when 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.319 you're a kid Dealing with TV blackouts was a 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.399 real thing. I Remember cutting out player pictures 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:28.839 from the Rochester DNC Democrat and Chronicle. 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:32.199 That was a local paper back then and Basically 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:34.540 plastering my walls with these pictures pictures 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:37.740 of football players Articles, I would tape them 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:40.279 all over my wallpaper. I'm sure my parents loved 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:42.639 it, but they never said a word So I remember 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.339 it all I remember growing up. I remember listening 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:48.980 to games on radio I remember so many things going 00:05:48.980 --> 00:05:51.160 to the stadium. My first game was against the 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:54.759 Steelers. I remember my dad taking me there Like 00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:57.800 you had vivid memories of these things. So to 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.620 be a Bills fan, there's two words I would use 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:05.259 To describe what it's like those two words loyalty 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:07.649 and heartbreak. It really comes down to those 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:10.310 two words, as far as I'm concerned. Now, when 00:06:10.310 --> 00:06:13.610 you're a kid, like I said, 46, so I was born 00:06:13.610 --> 00:06:17.149 79. The team was really getting good in the late 00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:20.930 80s. And they hit their stride, obviously, with 00:06:20.930 --> 00:06:23.310 Jim Kelly and company. So the K -Gun, the high 00:06:23.310 --> 00:06:25.930 flying offense, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, so 00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:28.990 many players. I mean, literally, it was kind 00:06:28.990 --> 00:06:32.970 of an abundant of riches looking at those early 00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:36.180 90s teams. That team was awesome. So as a kid, 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.300 you're flying high. The team was always great. 00:06:38.579 --> 00:06:41.759 The list goes on and on. 1991 comes around. I'm 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:46.019 11 years old. The Super Bowl against the Giants. 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.699 That's when 11 year old me learns what the word 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:51.839 heartbreak means. And I know you're thinking, 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.759 well, come on, you can't learn what the word 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:56.439 heartbreak is from a football game. Well, that's 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.879 not true, because I vividly remember watching 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:01.879 that game. The Bills lose. Two words. Everybody 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:05.889 knows. They're embedded. the history of the team 00:07:05.889 --> 00:07:08.230 wide right if you don't know what right wide 00:07:08.230 --> 00:07:10.449 right is Google it because I'm not gonna go over 00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:13.350 that right now but as an 11 year old kid sitting 00:07:13.350 --> 00:07:15.810 in the couch watching him miss that kick and 00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:18.250 then just bawling my eyes out using a pillow 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.769 to cover my face and just trying to hide the 00:07:20.769 --> 00:07:24.250 emotions of your favorite team losing that's 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:26.910 what heartbreak is and so that first Super Bowl 00:07:26.910 --> 00:07:31.279 loss well it paved the way for guess what Lost 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:33.699 number two, lost number three, lost number four, 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:36.339 it was brutal. Year after year between the Cowboys, 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:39.139 the Redskins, it was crazy. Yeah, the AFC East, 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:41.939 or no, I'm sorry, the NFC East, they had us time 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:44.620 after time, four straight years, brutal. And 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:46.639 there's not a single other fan base that has 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:49.800 ever experienced that before or since. It's kind 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:52.920 of unreal if you really think about it. The team 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:54.759 would go on, they would still be competitive 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:59.459 on and off during the 90s until 1999. And that's 00:07:59.459 --> 00:08:01.600 when the loyalty portion of the program kicks 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:05.579 in. Because that's when things really kind of 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:08.819 took a turn. That was the start of the 17 -year 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:13.300 drought. And it was mediocrity after mediocrity, 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:16.120 quarterback after quarterback, mix in a few terrible 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:19.399 teams here and there. But there were a lot of 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.439 uninspiring, un -awesome, if that's a word. I 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:24.139 mean, you look at the early 90s team and those 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:26.100 teams were awesome, player after player, hall 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:28.689 of famer. Yeah, there were a bunch of bums on 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:32.669 these teams in the 2000s and it felt like it 00:08:32.669 --> 00:08:36.190 never ended. 17 years is a long time. I look 00:08:36.190 --> 00:08:39.450 at my kids now. My son is 18. He's been a Bills 00:08:39.450 --> 00:08:43.809 fan. Thank God. And imagining to have your whole 00:08:43.809 --> 00:08:46.909 life where you don't see a single playoff game. 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:50.789 That's crazy. But that's such a big portion of 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:54.389 Bills Mafia and Bills fan base. So 17 years is 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:58.870 a long freaking time. And Heartache didn't really 00:08:58.870 --> 00:09:02.490 even enter in the equation then because it was 00:09:02.490 --> 00:09:06.909 just blah, it was just mediocrity and nothing 00:09:06.909 --> 00:09:10.549 was happening. And then 2018 came around. Obviously, 00:09:10.629 --> 00:09:15.389 we broke the drought 2017, but then 2018, we 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:18.029 draft a man who many consider to be not only 00:09:18.029 --> 00:09:20.629 the savior of the team, but the savior of the 00:09:20.629 --> 00:09:22.950 city of Buffalo. And that sounds crazy to say, 00:09:23.129 --> 00:09:25.690 but People believe this, and that man is Joshua 00:09:25.690 --> 00:09:29.090 Patrick Allen. Yes, that's right. Joshua Patrick 00:09:29.090 --> 00:09:31.370 Allen. If you want to know how I feel about this 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:33.950 man, just know that my kids bought me a life 00:09:33.950 --> 00:09:36.470 -size cardboard cut out of him for Christmas 00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:39.730 a few years back. And since that Christmas, he 00:09:39.730 --> 00:09:43.090 has been guarding my basement on patrol, on watch 00:09:43.090 --> 00:09:45.669 duty. He's not getting taken down anytime soon. 00:09:45.889 --> 00:09:51.200 He's up there, and it's glorious. But... Despite 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:53.240 Josh helping to turn the page for the entire 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.799 organization Heartbreak always seems to creep 00:09:55.799 --> 00:09:58.679 back in and we talked about wide right and there's 00:09:58.679 --> 00:10:03.000 also music City Miracle words that are iconic 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:07.179 and Heartbreaking for Bills fans and then we 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:11.419 get another one and that's 13 seconds 13 seconds 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:14.299 that game one of the most amazing games I've 00:10:14.299 --> 00:10:16.720 ever seen probably ever will see and despite 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.610 how amazing that game is coming out on the heartbreak 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:22.690 end of that game is painful. It's painful, painful 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:25.950 because of all the other history there. So don't 00:10:25.950 --> 00:10:28.289 even talk to me about Patrick Mahomes. I don't 00:10:28.289 --> 00:10:30.009 want to hear it. I don't want to hear how great 00:10:30.009 --> 00:10:33.190 he is. I dealt with Tom Brady for 20 freaking 00:10:33.190 --> 00:10:35.970 years and how he's the goat and this and that. 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:38.950 And I don't care. I don't care about Patrick 00:10:38.950 --> 00:10:42.029 Mahomes, but for some reason they get us in the 00:10:42.029 --> 00:10:44.509 playoffs and that is what the word heartbreak 00:10:44.509 --> 00:10:47.190 means. It's time after time. It's getting your 00:10:47.190 --> 00:10:50.850 hopes up and having them come crashing down year 00:10:50.850 --> 00:10:54.789 after year. So to remain loyal to this team is 00:10:54.789 --> 00:10:57.009 kind of what being a fan is all about. So those 00:10:57.009 --> 00:11:00.210 two words, loyalty, heartbreak, that pretty much 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:02.730 sums it up. We're going to dive deeper and deeper 00:11:02.730 --> 00:11:05.850 into this team as we go forward, but that's the 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:09.769 basic intro for me when it comes to my passion 00:11:09.769 --> 00:11:12.549 and my fandom for this team. And now let's talk 00:11:12.549 --> 00:11:16.000 about the world of professional wrestling. And 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.360 I made a point earlier to call it professional 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:21.080 wrestling. This is not sports entertainment for 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.340 me. I can't stand the way they use that label. 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:28.059 I think it cheapens it if you ask me. These are 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:29.679 athletes. These are some of the best athletes 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.960 in the world. And like I said, I'm 46 years old. 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:35.720 It still bothers me when someone calls wrestling 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.840 fake. And for some reason, I always feel the 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:41.419 need that I have to stand up and try to defend. 00:11:42.200 --> 00:11:46.419 the WWE or AEW or whomever to people who call 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:49.200 wrestling fake or who laugh at me or make fun 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.620 of me because I am a wrestling fan and it's not 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:54.580 like these billion -dollar companies need my 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.399 help defending them when somebody calls wrestling 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.539 fake but you know it bothers me because I have 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:04.820 vivid memories again of Wrestling dating back 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:07.220 to when I was a little kid. I remember going 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:12.019 to the Rochester War Memorial and seeing these 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:14.779 larger -than -life characters play out in front 00:12:14.779 --> 00:12:17.860 of me. If you all remember the Bushwhackers, 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:21.919 I remember watching as they would, you know, 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:24.019 grab the little kids in the front row on the 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:27.820 gate on the barricade there and lick their heads 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:30.799 and I'd just be like, what is this craziness? 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:33.659 I would always go over to my friend's house now. 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:36.870 My friend had a dad who loved wrestling. which 00:12:36.870 --> 00:12:40.070 didn't really seem to fit his persona. But for 00:12:40.070 --> 00:12:41.990 some reason, he loved video games and wrestling. 00:12:42.049 --> 00:12:44.230 They always had the newest video game consoles, 00:12:44.230 --> 00:12:46.309 which I never understood. And he always would 00:12:46.309 --> 00:12:49.370 order the pay -per -views. Now back then, in 00:12:49.370 --> 00:12:53.210 the early 90s, late 80s, there were only four 00:12:53.210 --> 00:12:56.110 pay -per -views a year. So you had your Royal 00:12:56.110 --> 00:12:59.870 Rumble, you had your SummerSlam Survivor Series, 00:12:59.909 --> 00:13:02.570 and of course, WrestleMania. And I remember this 00:13:02.570 --> 00:13:04.509 was where I had to go to watch my wrestling. 00:13:05.789 --> 00:13:08.559 Watching... Hogan Ultimate Warrior. I have memories 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:11.980 of watching WrestleMania 3, obviously, Pontiac 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:14.379 Silver Dome, Hulk Hogan slams Andre the Giant. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:17.039 Everybody knows that moment. I remember seeing 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.240 it. I just can't remember like the context around 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:24.460 it. But the first true memory I have was watching 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:28.559 Ultimate Warrior versus Hulk Hogan and just thinking 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:32.250 this is the greatest thing ever. You know, when 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.090 you're a kid, you're practicing wrestling moves 00:13:34.090 --> 00:13:35.809 on your stuffed animals. You're doing all kinds 00:13:35.809 --> 00:13:39.549 of stuff. And, you know, it's just crazy to think 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:42.610 about what it was back then and where we are 00:13:42.610 --> 00:13:46.110 now. So, like I said, you know, wrestling made 00:13:46.110 --> 00:13:48.370 me feel something as a kid, and that kind of 00:13:48.370 --> 00:13:51.309 carried with me throughout my life. Different 00:13:51.309 --> 00:13:53.230 from the Bills, wrestling would kind of come 00:13:53.230 --> 00:13:55.789 and go at various stages. You get out of it for 00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.440 a little while. You dive back in. It's not like 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.559 I was consistently watching every show for 40 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:05.000 years, but I always had an idea of what was happening. 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:07.320 I always knew who the players were. There might 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:09.480 be months where I would step out because things 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.039 got busy, but you would always dive right back 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.039 in. You know, people compare it to a soap opera. 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:18.200 And that's a pretty accurate description of what 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:20.850 it is. You could always... miss a couple weeks, 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:23.450 a couple months, dive back in and within a couple 00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:25.529 hours have a great idea of who the good guys 00:14:25.529 --> 00:14:28.330 were, who the bad guys were, that kind of deal. 00:14:28.750 --> 00:14:31.129 And it's like you never miss the beat. So there 00:14:31.129 --> 00:14:33.509 would be portions of my life where I would step 00:14:33.509 --> 00:14:35.990 out of it for a while and then dive right back 00:14:35.990 --> 00:14:39.389 in. And it always made me feel something. And 00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:41.690 these were things that I would share with, you 00:14:41.690 --> 00:14:44.409 know, friends growing up, like my best buddy, 00:14:44.610 --> 00:14:47.289 you know, lifelong friends. Him and I actually 00:14:47.289 --> 00:14:50.690 share Bill's season ticket. Season tickets and 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:52.789 huge wrestling fan. Hopefully he'll be on the 00:14:52.789 --> 00:14:55.950 podcast one time but like we would always talk 00:14:55.950 --> 00:14:58.929 about football and wrestling and You know, I'll 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:01.110 talk about it here in a minute But we both enjoyed 00:15:01.110 --> 00:15:02.850 collecting sports cards when we were a kid These 00:15:02.850 --> 00:15:06.009 things make you feel something and so wrestling 00:15:06.009 --> 00:15:08.210 was always there It was always something that 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:10.350 I could come back to despite being away for a 00:15:10.350 --> 00:15:14.110 while come back in feel a sense of comfort and 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:17.610 just like I said earlier in the intro just remove 00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:20.929 yourself from life, sit down, see these larger 00:15:20.929 --> 00:15:23.929 -than -life characters, how they could do some 00:15:23.929 --> 00:15:27.950 unbelievable things. And this is what frustrated 00:15:27.950 --> 00:15:30.250 me about people saying it's fake. Like, these 00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:32.870 men and women, they're doing awesome athletic 00:15:32.870 --> 00:15:35.450 things. Just awesome stuff. For someone to tell 00:15:35.450 --> 00:15:39.049 me that the stuff they're doing is fake is just 00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:42.320 a load of crap. And so... I don't know whether 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:45.120 it's the 6 to 8 year old, the 10 year old kid 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.539 in me that is like trying to defend these people. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:49.480 It's just always stuck with me. I think what 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.139 they do is crazy. It's super athletic. I think 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.039 they're more athletic than a lot of the professional 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:56.580 sports teams we see. But that's a whole other 00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:58.779 topic. But you know, I'll give you another example. 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:02.059 My wife and I were privileged enough to be able 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:06.399 to go see Metallica recently. Now Metallica, 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:12.269 that is a bucket list. band to see one time in 00:16:12.269 --> 00:16:14.649 your life. Super excited to go see Metallica. 00:16:15.049 --> 00:16:17.309 Well, one of the bands opening for them was none 00:16:17.309 --> 00:16:21.370 other than Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit. Now, Limp 00:16:21.370 --> 00:16:25.350 Bizkit, you know, they had a run of some awesome, 00:16:25.529 --> 00:16:28.450 unbelievable songs. It's been probably a decade 00:16:28.450 --> 00:16:30.870 since they were, you know, really, really big 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:33.870 in the music scene, at least. But when they hit 00:16:33.870 --> 00:16:36.370 the scene and they were putting out banger after 00:16:36.370 --> 00:16:38.169 banger, shout out to Seamus, when they were putting 00:16:38.169 --> 00:16:40.759 out banger after banger, Those were some hits 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.399 and that was some good times and they were opening 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:46.759 for Metallica. They come out Fred Durst looking 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:50.539 like John Daly. If you know who that is looking 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:53.500 like, uh, you think Santa Claus is overweight. 00:16:53.779 --> 00:16:56.139 John Daly looks rough as hell, but here comes 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:59.200 Fred Durst with a bucket hat. Now no longer rocking 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:02.179 the backwards baseball cap. He's wearing a bucket 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:05.880 hat, sunglasses. He's got the full white beard 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:09.890 rocking and they come out. they start playing 00:17:09.890 --> 00:17:13.150 my way. Now if you know this song, if you are 00:17:13.150 --> 00:17:16.710 a wrestling fan, you can literally play the first 00:17:16.710 --> 00:17:19.869 five seconds of this song and I am instantly 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:24.609 transported to WrestleMania 17 and probably what 00:17:24.609 --> 00:17:28.230 I consider to be the greatest wrestling promo 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:31.650 package of all time. This is Stone Cold Steve 00:17:31.650 --> 00:17:35.569 Austin versus The Rock and this video montage 00:17:35.569 --> 00:17:40.980 is clip together using the song My Way by Limp 00:17:40.980 --> 00:17:45.900 Bizkit. And it is timed and produced flawlessly. 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:49.140 If you don't know what I'm talking about, pause 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:52.720 this podcast right now, jump on YouTube and type 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:58.660 in WM17 or I think it was X7 at the time. So 00:17:58.660 --> 00:18:02.599 WrestleMania 17, My Way promo package. And you 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:07.079 will see one of the coolest videos of all times. 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:09.700 Stunner after stunner, rock bottom after rock 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:13.460 bottom. There's beer flying everywhere. It's 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:18.160 pure madness and it is one of the greatest things 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:22.619 you will ever see. When Steve Austin hands the 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:26.319 rock a beer and they're drinking beer and he 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:29.259 smashes the other beer out of Rock's hands and 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:32.519 beer's flying everywhere and just as the song 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:37.180 is picking up, Steam to get to the chorus and 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:40.759 they time it perfectly. So the first punch connects 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:46.259 with a face on This time mama, I mean so needless 00:18:46.259 --> 00:18:49.599 to say Olympus get takes the stage and the first 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:53.579 song of the set is my way and I'm taking back 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:56.779 to when I'm like 20 years old and well probably 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.940 no a little a little older than that, but we're 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:03.180 talking a long time ago and The first five seconds 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:06.220 of this song transports me to a memory I will 00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:08.599 never forget every time I hear this song I think 00:19:08.599 --> 00:19:11.440 of that I think of that promo package and this 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:15.579 is what I'm talking about wrestling sports Hobbies, 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:19.079 they're supposed to make you feel something and 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.160 if you can't have these emotions and these can't 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.279 carry with you as You're trying to enjoy and 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:27.140 participate in these things. What the heck are 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:31.369 we doing? Like this is what it's all about So 00:19:31.369 --> 00:19:35.349 there's a little bit of my professional wrestling 00:19:35.349 --> 00:19:38.930 history as well It has stuck with me since I 00:19:38.930 --> 00:19:41.549 was a little kid and like I said 46 years old 00:19:41.549 --> 00:19:44.309 still love the product and we'll dive in in future 00:19:44.309 --> 00:19:48.250 episodes WWE AEW all that stuff. There's a lot 00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:50.890 of crazy stuff going on a lot of awesome things 00:19:50.890 --> 00:19:53.190 we can dive into and talk about but I just kind 00:19:53.190 --> 00:19:56.390 of wanted to give you a general a general overview 00:19:56.390 --> 00:19:59.950 of where I'm coming from as a fan and then finally 00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:03.549 The third T in this podcast, top loaders. Now, 00:20:03.589 --> 00:20:05.849 some of you might not be into car collecting. 00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:08.329 You might not know what the heck a top loader 00:20:08.329 --> 00:20:10.750 is, but a top loader is essentially a practice, 00:20:11.049 --> 00:20:14.470 a plastic protective sleeve that you put over 00:20:14.470 --> 00:20:16.849 your car to protect it. When I was a kid, there 00:20:16.849 --> 00:20:21.450 was no such thing as a top loader. You got your 00:20:21.450 --> 00:20:23.490 cards, you throw them in a shoe box, you threw 00:20:23.490 --> 00:20:26.490 them under your bed, you left them here, there, 00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:28.920 everywhere. Because you had no idea that they 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:31.019 could possibly be worth any amount of money. 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:33.700 And you saved up money. You went down to the 00:20:33.700 --> 00:20:38.339 store. You bought a pack. A pack of cards. And 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:40.799 that pack of cards had a terrible piece of bubblegum 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:42.920 in it. And you thought it was the greatest thing 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:45.220 ever. Because not only do you get a piece of 00:20:45.220 --> 00:20:47.940 bubblegum, but you get to open some cards. And 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:50.440 some of these cards have, at the time, people 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:53.079 that you consider your childhood heroes. People 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.279 you collect. Teams you collect. Names you know. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:57.710 Baseball is a lot different. back then as far 00:20:57.710 --> 00:21:01.210 as the way that you could ingest the product. 00:21:01.349 --> 00:21:03.589 So what do I mean by that? There was no MLB extra 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:06.089 innings. You got certain stations that played 00:21:06.089 --> 00:21:08.589 certain games and you had your Saturday game 00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:12.170 and you kind of took what you could get. So you 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.049 still knew who these players were, but you didn't 00:21:14.049 --> 00:21:16.529 have as much access as you do now. So opening 00:21:16.529 --> 00:21:19.609 these packs was kind of like a magical portal, 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:22.829 if you will. I know that sounds stupid, but as 00:21:22.829 --> 00:21:26.700 a kid, like these cards transported you and gave 00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:29.160 you almost a sense of connection to the players. 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.480 I collected a lot. I collected a ton of baseball 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.819 cards, and believe it or not, I collected more 00:21:34.819 --> 00:21:37.140 basketball cards than anything. I was a huge 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:39.339 basketball fan when I was a kid. Now, obviously, 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:43.160 this is all tied to who I consider to be the 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:44.960 GOAT, the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan, 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:48.400 number 23, Chicago Bulls. Can still hear the 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.759 Chicago Bulls entrance music, but I loved basketball 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.529 cards because basketball was like... Awesome. 00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:59.150 It was the Bills, but then I had what was cool 00:21:59.150 --> 00:22:02.589 about basketball at the time was The bond I had 00:22:02.589 --> 00:22:05.970 with my dad watching Michael Jordan play it was 00:22:05.970 --> 00:22:10.089 almost must -see TV I remember watching pretty 00:22:10.089 --> 00:22:13.710 much every Bulls game ever every playoff run 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:17.869 every championship Everything we watched it all 00:22:17.869 --> 00:22:22.940 so I was a huge Bulls fan, and I collected Basketball 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:25.960 cards because I loved the sport back then so 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:30.420 skybox NBA hoops Those were the the the brands 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:35.299 back then 1991 1992 are those cards worth anything 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:39.400 now probably not I still have a ton of them They're 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:41.019 in much better shape than my baseball cards. 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:46.319 My baseball cards were shoved in this round Circular 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:49.880 plastic baseball looking container that you know 00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:54.079 the cards towards the outer circle would get 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:57.079 caught on the lid of the container every time 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:59.940 you closed it and they just Got beat to hell 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:02.420 and so we didn't really take care of our cards 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:06.579 too much But yeah, just having then having that 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:09.440 fun that connection to the players didn't really 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:11.460 collect too much football or anything else But 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:13.779 it was baseball and basketball back then and 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:16.480 so I collected for a good portion of my childhood 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.099 And then for whatever reason I kind of got away 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:23.029 from the hobby until the beginning of 2024. For 00:23:23.029 --> 00:23:27.190 some reason, I got the itch to dive back into 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:32.430 collecting. I really was getting back into baseball. 00:23:32.609 --> 00:23:35.990 I started doing a little more research on cards 00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:40.009 and I was blown away by the amount of changes 00:23:40.009 --> 00:23:42.109 that had happened in the car collecting hobby. 00:23:42.670 --> 00:23:47.059 I mean, probably 25 years, if not more. that 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:48.940 I had been away and I hadn't collected anything 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:52.980 so I dove back in when now every year tops releases 00:23:52.980 --> 00:23:56.180 a flagship product so your flagship would be 00:23:56.180 --> 00:23:58.339 top series one two and then they come up with 00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:01.779 an update and they release these at different 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.660 times during the year so at the beginning of 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:09.559 last season I decided to open a box of tops series 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:13.400 one and then I decided to try to launch a YouTube 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:18.500 channel and make videos of me opening packs of 00:24:18.500 --> 00:24:21.220 cards because I was having a blast. It instantly 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:25.660 transported me to when I was a kid. And the feeling 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:28.579 of opening these packs and seeing the pictures 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:31.960 and reading the backs of them, it made me feel 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.339 like a kid again. And that's what it's all about. 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:38.680 So I decided to go on an adventure and try to 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:42.049 start a YouTube channel and document. card openings 00:24:42.049 --> 00:24:45.490 and things like that. And it's been extremely 00:24:45.490 --> 00:24:48.250 unsuccessful so far. But no, I mean, it's been 00:24:48.250 --> 00:24:52.089 a slow growth over the last year, but it's been 00:24:52.089 --> 00:24:54.390 fun. And this is what I talk about in my videos. 00:24:54.390 --> 00:24:57.509 It's like, I'll open a product, I'll review it. 00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:01.950 My YouTube handle was RealTBrips. So shout out 00:25:01.950 --> 00:25:06.430 to my YouTube channel. RealTB, by the way, for 00:25:06.430 --> 00:25:09.750 Bills fans, my buddies would always call me TB. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:14.200 And my one buddy was a huge Michigan fan, so 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:16.799 he loved Tom Brady. And I would always tell him, 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:19.119 look, I'm the real TB. So that kind of carried 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:23.059 over when I decided to start a YouTube channel, 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:26.700 that I would be the real TB. Because I hate Tom 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:30.680 Brady. But anyway, back to the cards. Yeah, I 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.079 was noticing and finding that I was having a 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:36.839 great time opening cards. And it brought me such 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:41.059 a feeling of nostalgia. That's something that 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:45.180 you can't just find anywhere. So I started getting 00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:47.700 into it more and more. I started really diving 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:51.319 back into the hobby and things like that. And 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:55.220 so I branched out into wrestling cards. This 00:25:55.220 --> 00:26:01.720 year, Tops had Tops WWE Chrome 2025. I was lucky 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:04.220 enough to get a hobby box and open that up and 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:07.779 just remember having a blast. And, you know, 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:11.099 as a 46 year old man, like Having fun opening 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:12.839 some of these cards and looking at some of these 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:16.160 cards and literally Screaming like a little kid 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:19.619 when you get a cool autograph. I remember pulling 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:23.480 a Mike Trout autograph and then opening the WWE 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:27.329 cards getting a Shawn Michaels Hall of Fame Redemption 00:26:27.329 --> 00:26:29.369 card. I just you know, it's the coolest thing 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:31.910 I look I'm not in it to make money and we'll 00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:35.170 talk about more specific stories and the card 00:26:35.170 --> 00:26:38.130 hobby business and industry as we move forward 00:26:38.130 --> 00:26:41.569 but to just give you a general background of 00:26:41.569 --> 00:26:44.450 where I come from with these three passions of 00:26:44.450 --> 00:26:48.529 mine like it's another one that just invokes 00:26:48.529 --> 00:26:53.230 just pure emotion and Feelings and to get back 00:26:53.230 --> 00:26:56.009 to the point of this podcast That's what we're 00:26:56.009 --> 00:26:57.930 supposed to be doing. There's a lot of crap in 00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:01.069 this world. A lot of negativity. A lot of bad 00:27:01.069 --> 00:27:04.289 stuff. And you turn on the nightly news and it 00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:06.609 seems like it's negative story after negative 00:27:06.609 --> 00:27:09.710 story. I don't want to be a part of that. I am 00:27:09.710 --> 00:27:12.589 trying to bring and talk about things that I'm 00:27:12.589 --> 00:27:14.789 passionate about. Things that bring me joy. Things 00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:18.130 that make me feel something good. The Bills. 00:27:18.589 --> 00:27:21.309 I love this team. Wrestling. It will always be 00:27:21.309 --> 00:27:24.460 a part of me. I love it. It makes me feel like 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:27.519 a kid and I love having fun. And then collecting 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:30.880 cards. Yes, there was a huge gap in my life when 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:34.779 it came to collecting, but it's like I'm back 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:39.220 and having more fun than ever. And so these three 00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:41.180 things I want to share with other people. I want 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:44.480 to talk about them. I want to participate with 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:47.440 other like -minded individuals. So this is why 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:49.960 I welcome everybody. This is going to be a good 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:52.039 podcast. We're going to talk about a lot of stuff. 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:54.220 But at the end of the day, it's about what we 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:56.839 feel and how we feel when we do the things we 00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:59.160 love. And that's what it comes down to. I can't 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:01.359 wait to dive into this journey with everybody. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.619 It's going to be fun. It's going to be exciting. 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:06.180 We're going to have a good time. And that kind 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:09.519 of sums up episode one. So I wanted to have episode 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:12.759 one be more of a standalone podcast where I kind 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:16.079 of speak in general about these three passions 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:19.279 of mine. and not really time stamp it with anything 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:21.940 current. I want people to be able to go back 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:25.559 to episode one and listen to this and say, and 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.759 hear why we're here. So yeah, that wraps it up. 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:32.599 That completes episode one. It is officially 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:35.920 in the books. I cannot thank you enough for joining 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:40.000 me for this first episode. And I look forward 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:45.619 to what we have in store. So until next time. 00:28:45.769 --> 00:28:48.049 Whether it's ripping packs, breaking tables, 00:28:48.390 --> 00:28:50.730 or dropping elbows, keep doing what you love. 00:28:50.950 --> 00:28:52.829 And as always, Go Bills!