Okay, guys, weak Side Podcast time. Jenny Rernis is here, Connor Ore is here. That's me and uh. We are taping on Monday afternoon, after a lovely summer weekend here um in the Northeast. We're gonna get to more mail bag questions since we had such a good time and uh and and a nice little overflow in the inbox. I was, I was very pleasantly surprised by everybody's uh um eagerness to write in questions and everything like that. So we're going to get to more of them momentarily. But we're gonna start, I think, with something fairly significant that happened over the weekend. And before we get into this, I do not want to confuse what I'm about to say by complimented. We're gonna talk about Baker Mayfield and j J. Watt, who both um shutdown fans over the weekend on social media who assumed that um, they were against kneeling or that they wouldn't kneel um, And I don't want to confuse their actions with the bravery of someone like Colin Kaepernick, or someone like Kenny Stills or someone like Eric Reid who put their livelihood on the line. UM. This is different. Uh. And I think if we've learned anything over the past few weeks, it is much easier for someone like J. J. Watt or Baker Mayfield to come out and say what they said UM this past weekend then, you know, than the the other players and what they actually did um. You know, whether it was a couple of years ago or last year whatever. So. But here's why I think it's significant. Throughout this entire process, we've talked about UM being good allies, UM, and what it means when the tide starts to turn. And I think Baker Mayfield told a fan this weekend to get his head out of his you know what, and that you know, I think it was your darn right, I'm gonna be kneeling for the national anthem. J J. Watt told a fan not to speak for me and that if you still equate kneeling with a disrespect for the military, that you haven't learned anything. Um. And while I wish that the focus all along was on Colin Kaepernick's message and what he was trying to point out, I think for a lot of people, the awakening or the understanding of the message, the digestion of the message doesn't happen until now, um, when their favorite white players say it. And you know, this is just a reality of our society. It's what a reality of what the world we're living in. Bill O'Brien, the head coach of the Houston Texans, said he was going to kneel um this past week, um if his players had wanted him to. Um. So we're reaching the tipping point. Uh, through various channels however you want to say it happened. But I don't know, Jenny. I think that hearing from those two guys was significant. And again I don't want to compare what they did to what Eric Read, Colin Kaepernick, Kenny Stills did, but I don't think it's an insignificant maneuver on their parts to be so public about this. Yeah, I agree, Connor, and I think the way you laid it out is exactly right. There's less that they're risking at this point in time, yes, but it is still significant for a couple of reasons. I think, first of all, when you see white players joining their black colleagues and teammates and peers in making sure that the message gets delivered and received, I think that's important. They are they are taking the message that they're black colleagues have put forth and raised awareness on, and you know, really drawn so much attention to and they're essentially making sure that message gets delivered and not distorted. Which is why I thought it was important when you see like white players joining correcting fans who may be misinterpreting a message, that was significant. And I also think it's in line with the whole Black Lives Matter movement, where basically white people are supposed to be guests, right, you're there to support the movement, support the requests and the message and the demands of the black leaders of the movement. And so I think the fact that they're saying Baker said I will kneel. J. J. Watt didn't commit to kneeling, but certainly said he was in support of kneeling, basically they're saying that we're here to support whatever our black colleagues say is necessary to draw attention to this issue. I think for too long we debated like what was the right mechanism for delivering this message. And that's why I think this is significant because they're saying, if certain players are saying kneeling during the national Anthem to raise awareness to for racial injustice in our country, and police brutality is the best way to deliver this message is the best way to raise awareness, then we are going to participate in what they determined to be the best way to deliver this message. And so I think there's a lot of power and meaning in that, Yeah, no doubt. And I think it was I think maybe surprising for some fans be because it's almost like everybody gets an idea of who someone is or what they stand for, um in their own heads. And you know, there were people tweeting at Baker Mayfield or instagram posting whatever Baker Mayfield and J. J. Watt like, you know, these are my friends, you know, and and these are the people who agree with me. And the quickness of the assumption, I think was startling to me. And that like a fan would immediately snap and say, well, J. J. Watt wouldn't go for this. I mean that's how embedded, uh, these ideas are I think in a lot of people's minds, right is like it's so deep that you can't even consider the fact that maybe some of your favorite white players are going to empathize with their black teammates, and I, you know, is this the start of something. No, I think the start of something was whatever it was four years ago, two years ago, um, three weeks ago. But I think this is just it's pushing, pushing the rock up the hill a little bit. And it's nice to see the weight of the burden be shared, I think at a at a very public level. So I guess, good on those guys, you know. Yeah, And it was interesting also to see them make the commitment now, you know, several months in advance of the season, and say that this is a moment in time when we're asking white people to participate and to take this message seriously and to join in making sure the message is heard. And so instead of players saying, oh, I don't want to get involved, or this isn't something that affects me, or I don't I don't know enough and I don't want to weigh in, we're now seeing white players sort of understand a little bit more of what being an ally is and trying to take on some of that work themselves. And yeah, so I think it's it's definitely worth the point of discussion, and you know, it really reinforces that when the season opens, it's going to be I think we're going to see a lot of interesting messages, interesting shows of support of across the NFL and UM. I think there's a lot of anticipation for how players continue to draw awareness and continue to make sure that the issue of racial inequality is not forgotten, that this is not just a fleeting moment in time. You had talked about the nebulous nous a few weeks ago of the owners projected money losses if they had supported causes like this, or if they had supported Colin Kaepernick from the beginning. Here's a great window into what whether or not these numbers were full proof or not. Exact same political climates that were in possibly even more ramped up than it was four years ago in an election year. Players in early June saying that they're going to kneel um uncertainty surrounding games. We don't know when season tickets are going to you know, any of this stuff. Okay, let's see how right you were then. How many people are not going to come to the games because of this? How many people are not going to buy jerseys? Here you go, I mean, here's the live test run of all the things that you thought you were afraid of, and you know, I think that it's remarkable how silent all these owners have remained on this for for a large part, you know. I mean, I think that there's been a couple of statements that have been put out obviously, but um, I mean, they're the ones that are still running and hiding, and uh, it's gonna be a really fascinating time, I think for them, in particular to see, um, how they handle this and to see what they do if they realize that all the things that they were afraid of, we're we're wrong, and that there really wasn't anything to be afraid of, and that it's okay to come down on the right side of history and just support generally good things like a quality. Yeah, it's interesting too. Last week on our Friday wrap up, I think Mitch mentioned he watched the documentary which I had a chance to watch over the weekend, and the final scene is very powerful, and one of the people interviewed in the documentary says, you always hear people saying like, I can't imagine what slavery was like. Of course I would have stood up against that if I lived in that era, or of course I would have stood up against Jim Crow laws or segregation or whatever it may be through history. And the point was we are living in this time still and the question is what are you doing now? And I think maybe more than ever, that seems to be that point seems to be landing with with white people. Yeah. Absolutely, UM, so interesting show, I think, UM, And we're going to touch on some of this, I think a little bit later on UM in the mailbag question. Uh, mail bag question portion a lot of good um, thoughtful comments again written in so we appreciate it. And if you guys ever have anything on your minds, I mean, this platform is just as much yours as it is ours. Where a weak side pod at gmail dot com. That's weak side pod um at gm L dot com. Um, Yes, so let's get into it. Um. Our first question comes to us from Dave in Perth, Western Australia. Very cool. Uh, there's a YouTuber that I watch that lives in Perth, Western Australia. That's weird. I wonder if they know each other. UM who says that he is a huge fan of the NFL. He also likes Carter's dad jokes, which is great. Uh, thank you, Dave. You are one of one and says that Jenny has the best accent, which we need more information on, Dave, if you're listening, I don't know, can you describe this. I've known Jenny for ten years and an accent is not something I've ever picked up on. Uh, but very interesting take. We are not aware that Jenny had an accent, so I always go to have a new perspective. Dave writes, My question for you is, with the current temperature regarding your president and some of the owners being huge donors as you mentioned recently, do you see change? Do you see this changing and these owners provoking their support and would players refuse to play for owners who openly support racism? Great question, Dave, and I think interestingly, like um, not a totally similar political climate, but it's always fascinating to hear perspectives of America from people who don't live here and digest it in a different news climate than the one that we currently live in. So we appreciate that for sure. Yeah. Absolutely, definitely an interesting perspective to here, and I think it's a great question moving forward. I mean, there are certainly some limitations on your ability to choose where you play, right, you know, you can't choose where you're drafted. A team holds your rights for x number of you know, four or five years after you're drafted. Um, teams can control your rights through other ways like the franchise tag. And now we're seeing this reckoning after a period of free agency, right, so perhaps this is something that we'll see become an issue in one free agency when players are picking teams. And I don't know, I mean, it's it's an interesting thing to consider because if there were an impact on a team and an owner's ability to assemble the best team, then you might actually see a shift. Like I'm I'm very interested to see how team owners handle the election because many of them have been very public, very supportive donors of Trump. And do they shift that at all? And then if they don't, yeah, like, would that be the thing that would get owners to kind of reconsider some of their political stances If players said, hey, I'm not going there, I don't have a chance. Now, that is also a big burden to put on players who are looking for the best deal, looking for the biggest market possible to you know, maximize earnings in a short period of time that they can play this game. So that does kind of put an unfortunate onus on players, which is something that I'm always thinking about that players are the ones that take on the risk and push forward the issues, but they do have a lot of power. So I am interested to see if that comes up. I think that if it is one player, um who doesn't and says I didn't play here because I feel like the owner sports racism, there's always the possibility. We've seen how the NFL, you know, news cycle operates, there's gonna come a leak from the team that we weren't interested in signing that player anyway, and he's just going out and doing this blah blah blah blah blah blah. Um, you know we know how that stuff works. Um. But I would say, if it's two players, if it's three players, if it's four players, then I think that's interesting. And again, I mean, you want to be careful not to say, you know, start playing with somebody's money and making judgments for them, but you know, I think that would be fascinating and it would finally have force some people to to reckon with that situation. And you know, I think we're in the right time. I mean, there are a lot of brave people, a lot of brave people playing in the NFL right now, a lot of brave souls that have come out and spoken their minds UM and put their own livelihoods on the rich at risk. And uh, I don't know. I think we're in the right time for that. I would be interested to see how this goes. But is not going to make these problems go away. Twenty twenty is going to accelerate. I think everybody's opinion of what's going on and their awareness of their employers and people around them and all that stuff. And I think we can include a link in the UM. We can include a link in the show notes for the donor um pages for all the owners. Um. We did that before the midterm elections, and uh, i'd like to think we'll do that again, um before November here gets going. So um, yeah, be on the lookout for that. But yeah, great question, Thanks for sending that in. Yeah, and I you know, we've seen, certainly in the college ranks, players kind of seizing the power that they have and using it to stand up against injustice in ways that they hadn't never done before maybe didn't feel comfortable or the risk was too high. So I do think we're shifting into even an era where even more players are willing to do that. I'm also interested to see if this comes up in regards to the Washington NFL team name. I mean, that's a topic we've seen bubbling up a lot more in recent weeks. I remember in it was a big topic of conversation, the name change, and then it kind of totally fell off the NFL radar, and now it's back on the radar. And is that something that players push for, coaches push for, um, could they use any influence to make strides that way? You know, basically all along it's come down to no one has pushed Daniel Snyder to do it, and everyone always thought that the you know, money would be the thing that would force him to push. Uh if if there was a tangible impact, for instance, on business because of the name, that would be the one thing that could finally force Snyder to do it. But what if? What if? Player or coach pressure is another thing. So that's another want to kind of throw in that conversation to see if there could be movement on that front as well. Yeah, definitely, all right. Should we read question number two? Yep? Alright. Our next letters from Anthony, who says he is a loyal weak side listener. Thank you, Anthony. Anthony also says he aspires to write at the level that Connor does, which is great, Anthony. I agree with that. You say that I come across as pleasant, which I would say I probably don't agree with, but Connor agrees with. And Connor also says that he learned to write from Jenny, so you should aspire to right at the level of the Jenny writes that, because so you know, do it that way right like Jenny, don't write like Connor. Well, one thing we all agree on is that we'd love to have a conversation with you as well about sports in life, and we especially love the question that you sent in. Here's what Anthony wrote. Now that the NFL is quote unquote woke, I think they should allow the players to play with the names of slain black people on the back of their jerseys in regular season games. I would love to see Patrick Mahomes with Till on his back on a national broadcast, Watson with Martin on his etcetera. The NFL has put on for so many causes, and it is time for them to put on for this one. I would also like to see the jersey sold online or auctioned off, with the proceeds going to black causes. What are your thoughts? I love it. I mean, I think that there's certainly some optics to be worked out there, you know, I don't you know, you would have to get you know, maybe the family isn't comfortable with the usage of the name in a certain way, shape or form. But if you get a buy in from the family like that, I think that there's no better way to just to create an awareness, right Like you think about the power of Patrick Mahomes wearing Till on the back of his jersey during a national broadcast, and what happens The people who are neutral, third parties who have no idea what's going on, who this person was, are going to sit there and they're gonna look it up, and they're gonna learn about it, and the announcers are going to talk about it, and they're gonna drive attention to it. And I think that that at least goes a partial way to fostering some understanding. I think that's the second time in two weeks that we've had a mail beg question that contained a legitimate suggestion for the NFL that I I think would be a phenomenal idea. Yeah, I think this is really brilliant. I think it's smart. I think it's something that NFL should consider. Like Connor said, get the family's permission and then go forward with it. I think it does a bunch of things. I mean, one, it's forces anyone who's involved with the broadcast or anyone who's watching to educate themselves. Right. You're forcing the people who are in the broadcast booth to be able to talk articulately about Emmett Till or to describe those events, you know, like that there's a learning that goes on for the broadcasters, a learning that goes on for the audience. Um and I think yeah, Like you mentioned Anthony, the idea that the proceeds could go to black causes, it seems like a win win. I remember the U S women's national team in a tournament in twenty nineteen. They picked inspirational women that they wore on the back of their jersey, so Beyonce, Serena, my Angelou RBG. They picked a variety and I think there were some names on there that people didn't know much about and took the opportunity to learn about. And so, um, I think it's a great opportunity for education. And I think as we see players have some reservations probably about going back to the playing field, we certainly saw those conversations being reported about in the NBA rights the players are a there's a safety issue with coronavirus still ongoing. And then be there's all of these important conversations about racial injustice in America that players want to be a part of. And I think this would be a way for you know, if the NFL season does proceed this fall, this would be a way for players to feel like they are doing that at the same time as continuing to stand up against racial injustice in our country. And this would be a really seamless way for them to do that. It reminded me of and again I'm equating these two, so so please don't think I am but Michigan a few years ago. UM, I think it was before Jim Harbaugh was there. Uh, they unretired all their numbers and they allowed their captains to wear the number of the of the retired player um and then there was like a patch on the jersey that commemorated the player whose name was retired. And for some reason, like I remember watching two or three Michigan games that year and learning more about retired Michigan players that I previously did not care about in the least. And and that's just college you know, that's a meaningless slice of college football. Imagine the power of doing that was something that is actually important in our society. Figures that should be uh thought of in our daily consciousness, in our in in in the historical kind of presence in our society. I think that there's a tremendous value in that. And I think that just the avenue with which it sparks curiosity, discussion, learning, all that kind of stuff. I mean, it's great. And I love the point that you made to Jenny that you know, everybody's gonna have to learn how to talk about this because it's not working anymore to say I don't like to talk about this. This makes me uncomfortable. Well, you know, imagine what it's like then for all the you know, for everybody else that has to live with this on a daily basis. And so I don't know, I think it would be great. Anything that that fosters those conversations, I think is is so valuable. And I don't know what a great idea I think it was last week too. Um what was the great mail bag idea that we were raving about? Um? Oh, the I think a more inclusion with owners and like having when you bring a new owner in Rudy rule for yes, interviewing an owner candidate, brilliant guys. I mean, you know, these are really good suggestion. Streamlined the week Side podcast into three Park Avenue, I mean, honestly, right, I mean, and I think this also kind of gets to where that video that the players participated in was so powerful where they said I am George Floyd or I am Michael Brown and they kind of went through And that's also another focus of the Black Lives Matter movement is to humanize black men, right or humanize black people who have been murdered by police, and to basically remind people of something that should be part of our conversation anyway. But the fact that you have to take this extra step to try to humanize the people who have been who have been killed is sad. But I think that's what something like this also does. Right when you wear that person's name, it really adds that extra layer of humanity and forces people to consider and makes people, you know, uncomfortable that with the reality that there are so many black people in our country murdered, who names can then be on the backs of Jersey. So I think it's really powerful in a lot of different ways. And I had a friend that that made a good point I saw online the other day that you know, we associate so much of what's going on now with uh with just in general like black suffering, right, and what they're going through. But this is also an opportunity to, like you said, humanized, to teach people about the lives that they were actually living and the joy that they were bringing to the world and what we actually lost and not thinking about it in this kind of cloud, right, and to learn about the individual and the accomplishments, and that whatever it is, the love that they had shared with their families, the love of their families had for them, etcetera, etcetera. I mean, so, I don't know, I I really uh, I really like the idea, and you know it is um it's at the point now where the NFL has all the institutional administrative stuff. I mean, they have all the task forces and all the people in here that should be able to make something like this and do it well and do it in a timely manner. But we'll see, I mean, we'll see what they have. They can't go into this season as unprepared and off the rails as they've been in the past. I will say that much. Yeah, they need to be more thoughtful, and they need to follow through on whatever promises Roger Getell made in his video. He needs to follow through on those definitely. Um So, question three comes to us from West. I love the name Wes. Uh I have a friend named Wes and uh so it's just as a good name. West who has really made us think with this one. West writes, how would the NFL have handled COVID nineteen if it happened in two thousand? Great question, Wes. We had a fun time debating this before we started on the show. Um My take would be that they would if it was the nineties, they would have steamrolled through and they would have completely ignored it. A because the access to information was not as good um back then, especially in the early nineteen nineties. So I would say that they could have downplayed it. They could have made it seem like it wasn't really happening. Uh, they could have told the players not to talk to the media about them being sick. Um. And I think it's one of those things that we may probably wouldn't have found out about until like five or six years later, like uh, like almost like a steroid scandal or something like that, Like it would take a whistle blower and all that kind of stuff. We I think we take for granted how fortunate we are to learn about a lot of things in real time at this point. And while it seems overwhelming, sometimes I think it's better than, you know, having people have to deal with that and in silence over a long period time. But I think it was the nine nineties, they would have completely just blown right through it. I think if it was two thousand dentif and being quite honest, I think we would have had a better handle on the pandemic by now. Um. But uh, that's just my thoughts. So I don't know what do you think, Jenny, Yeah, I mean my first inclination was to say there would be no video calls, you know, the working remote only wouldn't have been as possible, So maybe things would just have shut down, right, Like, maybe they would have said it's not possible to do any kind of pre draft visits. You know, we can't even do a pre draft zoom call with someone, so let's just shut everything down. But I think your point is a smart one, Connor, and I would lean that way. Now. You know this basically we have with with with everything in society right now, we have the ability to be a little bit more of a watchdog on things. And you know, obviously we've seen that with racism and camera phones, and certainly we're seeing that too with like how different places are handling the pandemic and who's wearing masks and who isn't. You know, in New York City we saw these videos of people gathered outside bars and restaurants on this nice June weekend, and you know, Cuomo has pushed back on that. So there is definitely more of a watchdog element right now in our society that can be helpful, and so I do think that holds institutions a little bit more accountable. So yeah, I think you're right on this one, Connor. But I was kind of trying to think like, how what interviews have been conducted? And I was like, well, I mean, like, you know, we have these like Monday sometimes, you know, if you're covering a beat and the team as a game and they give the players Monday off, you still have your availability on Monday, but it's like over the phone. So probably just would have been a lot more conference calls instead of zooms or whatever, or maybe they would have been less accommodating to the media in general. But yeah, probably just would have steam rolled through and some players would have gotten sick and then it would have just kind of I don't know, I'm uh, but it's it's interesting now that everything gets out immediately, Like we're sitting here Monday afternoon, and Ezekiel Elliott is upset that the news of his positive COVID test had broke in, you know, and that there was a lot of discussion about that. So we do seem to know everything. Yeah, we Uh, It's it's so strange, like, I mean, well, to even think about covering football in the night teen nineties. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I just turned thirty two, so that I would have been four or five years old or two years old at the time of that happening. But um, just looking back and thinking about, you know, what life was like back then. I mean, you know, if you talk to people who had covered the sport back then, uh, you know, they would always say how much better access was and how much more time they got to spend at the facility. And I could just walk into a coach's office and sit down and tell me about the game plan for the weekend. And who knows, I mean in the middle of a pandemic like that, maybe uh, maybe they wouldn't have had such such a such a good time in there. I don't know, but I think we would have ended up with it, Jenny, I'll tell you that. You know, we'd be we. I don't think anybody you know, because back then, right, it was so much more about being a being a And I'm putting this in quotes. I'm not saying this is a good thing. This is just a phrase, but being a tough guy, right, you know, And you know I'm not gonna let a little flu like symptoms stop me from playing football. And you know that's what the rallying cross I would have been at that point. In times, we need to go through this, you know. I remember, um, when I was covering the Giants, I remember Tom Coughlin bringing Bill Parcels into camp, and a couple of months later I asked a player, like, what did he talk about? And the entire speech that Bill parselves game was about how to like basically not tell any when you're injured and just play through it, you know. And this was a mindset that existed in two thousand fourteen, you know, when Odell Beckham couldn't get on the field because of a hamstring injury. Like just the backwards nous of six years ago. Imagine twenty six years ago, how backwards that would have been, and we would have had players. You know, God, it's it's almost scary to go down the wormhole and think about what they would have been doing, like funneling chicken soup and then just smashing into each other. It's a very, very weird. For Yeah, I think I think you're analysis as usual here is spot on Connor, but you're yeah, you're referring to the right can't make the club in the top uts of ourselves, m right that everyone's still I mean, we definitely heard that. I mean I think I did a story like when I covered the Giants in about like the difference between being hurt and being injured, and like, I mean, yeah, like this is definitely like it was not that long ago that, like, I mean, it's still true. It's still a pervasive culture, but I think there is more efforts to kind of shift things. But but yeah, what was your best playing hurt moment as a beat reporter? Do you remember? Oh, definitely, this one's easy for me, Connor. I had an allergy attack, like for me personally playing Okay, Yeah, I had an allergy attack in Miami the season finale of the Jets season in eleven. Like I don't know what it was. It was like my eyes were like swelling shots and um, like I was having trouble, Like my throw was was okay, I was but still able to breathe, thankfully. But yeah, my my face puffed up and I would just like was super fogging. So they gave me like this very strong Bena Drell type thing in the press box and I was like falling asleep during the game because of the Bena Drell. It happened to be New Year's Day, so everyone probably assumed I went out the night before, but I actually didn't. I didn't go out. I stayed in. UM. But yeah, I had this horrible allergy attack, and I remember at halftime just eating a bunch of food thinking that it would help me stay awake. And that, of course, which we've referenced on the podcast several times before, was the Santonio Homes got benched, he got like kicked out of the huddle. When that was the same day. That was the same day, So basically I'm like falling asleep at halftime and then this very dramatic, you know, end of the game happens, and I just had to cover it like while feeling like I've been like, you know, just like hit by a bus. I'm going to figure out a way to put your story from that day in the show notes, because you had like the best stuff out of anyone. I remember what because I was your backup but we couldn't afford to travel to people. And I remember watching Jets postgame live and like trying to transcribe stuff and send it down um or like to you, and then I remember the story was incredible, Holy smokes, I didn't know that was the same day. Well, I don't know about that Connor, but it was good. It was the same day. How about you playing hurt uh this the year before, I think it was our first year working together when the Jets made the A f C Championship game. I think it was the first open locker room of the playoffs after they made the uh A f C Championship games. So it was like the Monday before the whatever, the first access of the of the championship game. And I don't know what happened, like I got food poisoning or something, but I'll never forget like you were like running point on everything. And because you know, for people who don't realize, like back when they were fully staff newspapers, right, and you know this Shanar law that we experienced ten years ago, like when one local team makes the playoffs, every reporter comes to help, right, the net sky is there, the column the general columnist is there, the golf writers there, and for Jenny, who is the beat writer at the time, it's so much traffic directing to make sure that everybody's going in the right direction, nobody's stepping on anybody's toes. And I remember like not telling anybody, and I was like, you're like primary helper assistant and just leaving the facility like immediately after access and like I had like ten miss calls from everybody and I was just yakking and then uh, and then I think we finally caught up like two hours later. But I felt bad about disappearing that day. That was I don't even I still didn't even know what happened. That What a weird experience. That was probably ate something bad on your way back from Foxborough or something, maybe something bad rest stop food, because they would have been, right, they would have beaten the Patriots. And then yes, they would have beaten the Patriots. That's right, right, So that was the I think that, yeah, that we have that year, right, I think, right, yeah, we once. Uh speaking of which and bad food. I don't know why this reminded me of it went the year after that, UM, when I was covering the Jets with Mike Vorkanoff, we decided to do the entire Patriots trip in one day. So I picked him up at his house at like six thirty in the morning. We drove to Foxborough. Uh, we covered the night game. I think it was like a I want to say it was like a four o'clock game or something like that, and then we drove home and Mike was sitting there with like he was like collecting gourmet menus and he was like, We're gonna order to like a sit down dinner and we're just gonna eat it in the car from takeout containers. And I was like, Mike, this is just not possible. And He's like, yeah, we're gonna pick it up in Provably, It's gonna be fine. And I told him like no a million times, and so we ended up just settling on a Wendy's and it was awful. I just remember like riding home and like feeling sick and we had the windows. It was like winter and we had the windows down and the a C on so we could stay awake. Never doing that again. Oh boy, Yeah, that sounds brutal. Connor, that's playing hurt too, that's play lots of late night drives after games and such. Yeah. Well, uh, I love the mail Bag episodes because I feel like we're, you know, everyone that's listening has something on our minds and we can talk about it and we can bring them into the process. So please again, we have uh shown show email address at weak side pod at gmail dot com reach out. We'd love to hear from you, questions, comments, anything, so thanks for thanks for making this a fun, fun thing to do. Absolutely we love the reader feedback and we will be back soon later this week. The MMQB week Side Podcast is Me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royce in Science. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody Ben Eagles, Director of Editorial Projects and product Mark murrayvik is emeritus Executive director of the mm QB. Keep up with our entire lineup of podcasts five days a week by subscribing to the mm QB NFL Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts. And while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a rating and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, Stitcher, s i dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

Okay, guys, weak Side Podcast time. Jenny Rernis is here, Connor Ore is here. That's me and uh. We are taping on Monday afternoon, after a lovely summer weekend here um in the Northeast. We're gonna get to more mail bag questions since we had such a good time and uh and and a nice little overflow in the inbox. I was, I was very pleasantly surprised by everybody's uh um eagerness to write in questions and everything like that. So we're going to get to more of them momentarily. But we're gonna start, I think, with something fairly significant that happened over the weekend. And before we get into this, I do not want to confuse what I'm about to say by complimented. We're gonna talk about Baker Mayfield and j J. Watt, who both um shutdown fans over the weekend on social media who assumed that um, they were against kneeling or that they wouldn't kneel um, And I don't want to confuse their actions with the bravery of someone like Colin Kaepernick, or someone like Kenny Stills or someone like Eric Reid who put their livelihood on the line. UM. This is different. Uh. And I think if we've learned anything over the past few weeks, it is much easier for someone like J. J. Watt or Baker Mayfield to come out and say what they said UM this past weekend then, you know, than the the other players and what they actually did um. You know, whether it was a couple of years ago or last year whatever. So. But here's why I think it's significant. Throughout this entire process, we've talked about UM being good allies, UM, and what it means when the tide starts to turn. And I think Baker Mayfield told a fan this weekend to get his head out of his you know what, and that you know, I think it was your darn right, I'm gonna be kneeling for the national anthem. J J. Watt told a fan not to speak for me and that if you still equate kneeling with a disrespect for the military, that you haven't learned anything. Um. And while I wish that the focus all along was on Colin Kaepernick's message and what he was trying to point out, I think for a lot of people, the awakening or the understanding of the message, the digestion of the message doesn't happen until now, um, when their favorite white players say it. And you know, this is just a reality of our society. It's what a reality of what the world we're living in. Bill O'Brien, the head coach of the Houston Texans, said he was going to kneel um this past week, um if his players had wanted him to. Um. So we're reaching the tipping point. Uh, through various channels however you want to say it happened. But I don't know, Jenny. I think that hearing from those two guys was significant. And again I don't want to compare what they did to what Eric Read, Colin Kaepernick, Kenny Stills did, but I don't think it's an insignificant maneuver on their parts to be so public about this. Yeah, I agree, Connor, and I think the way you laid it out is exactly right. There's less that they're risking at this point in time, yes, but it is still significant for a couple of reasons. I think, first of all, when you see white players joining their black colleagues and teammates and peers in making sure that the message gets delivered and received, I think that's important. They are they are taking the message that they're black colleagues have put forth and raised awareness on, and you know, really drawn so much attention to and they're essentially making sure that message gets delivered and not distorted. Which is why I thought it was important when you see like white players joining correcting fans who may be misinterpreting a message, that was significant. And I also think it's in line with the whole Black Lives Matter movement, where basically white people are supposed to be guests, right, you're there to support the movement, support the requests and the message and the demands of the black leaders of the movement. And so I think the fact that they're saying Baker said I will kneel. J. J. Watt didn't commit to kneeling, but certainly said he was in support of kneeling, basically they're saying that we're here to support whatever our black colleagues say is necessary to draw attention to this issue. I think for too long we debated like what was the right mechanism for delivering this message. And that's why I think this is significant because they're saying, if certain players are saying kneeling during the national Anthem to raise awareness to for racial injustice in our country, and police brutality is the best way to deliver this message is the best way to raise awareness, then we are going to participate in what they determined to be the best way to deliver this message. And so I think there's a lot of power and meaning in that, Yeah, no doubt. And I think it was I think maybe surprising for some fans be because it's almost like everybody gets an idea of who someone is or what they stand for, um in their own heads. And you know, there were people tweeting at Baker Mayfield or instagram posting whatever Baker Mayfield and J. J. Watt like, you know, these are my friends, you know, and and these are the people who agree with me. And the quickness of the assumption, I think was startling to me. And that like a fan would immediately snap and say, well, J. J. Watt wouldn't go for this. I mean that's how embedded, uh, these ideas are I think in a lot of people's minds, right is like it's so deep that you can't even consider the fact that maybe some of your favorite white players are going to empathize with their black teammates, and I, you know, is this the start of something. No, I think the start of something was whatever it was four years ago, two years ago, um, three weeks ago. But I think this is just it's pushing, pushing the rock up the hill a little bit. And it's nice to see the weight of the burden be shared, I think at a at a very public level. So I guess, good on those guys, you know. Yeah, And it was interesting also to see them make the commitment now, you know, several months in advance of the season, and say that this is a moment in time when we're asking white people to participate and to take this message seriously and to join in making sure the message is heard. And so instead of players saying, oh, I don't want to get involved, or this isn't something that affects me, or I don't I don't know enough and I don't want to weigh in, we're now seeing white players sort of understand a little bit more of what being an ally is and trying to take on some of that work themselves. And yeah, so I think it's it's definitely worth the point of discussion, and you know, it really reinforces that when the season opens, it's going to be I think we're going to see a lot of interesting messages, interesting shows of support of across the NFL and UM. I think there's a lot of anticipation for how players continue to draw awareness and continue to make sure that the issue of racial inequality is not forgotten, that this is not just a fleeting moment in time. You had talked about the nebulous nous a few weeks ago of the owners projected money losses if they had supported causes like this, or if they had supported Colin Kaepernick from the beginning. Here's a great window into what whether or not these numbers were full proof or not. Exact same political climates that were in possibly even more ramped up than it was four years ago in an election year. Players in early June saying that they're going to kneel um uncertainty surrounding games. We don't know when season tickets are going to you know, any of this stuff. Okay, let's see how right you were then. How many people are not going to come to the games because of this? How many people are not going to buy jerseys? Here you go, I mean, here's the live test run of all the things that you thought you were afraid of, and you know, I think that it's remarkable how silent all these owners have remained on this for for a large part, you know. I mean, I think that there's been a couple of statements that have been put out obviously, but um, I mean, they're the ones that are still running and hiding, and uh, it's gonna be a really fascinating time, I think for them, in particular to see, um, how they handle this and to see what they do if they realize that all the things that they were afraid of, we're we're wrong, and that there really wasn't anything to be afraid of, and that it's okay to come down on the right side of history and just support generally good things like a quality. Yeah, it's interesting too. Last week on our Friday wrap up, I think Mitch mentioned he watched the documentary which I had a chance to watch over the weekend, and the final scene is very powerful, and one of the people interviewed in the documentary says, you always hear people saying like, I can't imagine what slavery was like. Of course I would have stood up against that if I lived in that era, or of course I would have stood up against Jim Crow laws or segregation or whatever it may be through history. And the point was we are living in this time still and the question is what are you doing now? And I think maybe more than ever, that seems to be that point seems to be landing with with white people. Yeah. Absolutely, UM, so interesting show, I think, UM, And we're going to touch on some of this, I think a little bit later on UM in the mailbag question. Uh, mail bag question portion a lot of good um, thoughtful comments again written in so we appreciate it. And if you guys ever have anything on your minds, I mean, this platform is just as much yours as it is ours. Where a weak side pod at gmail dot com. That's weak side pod um at gm L dot com. Um, Yes, so let's get into it. Um. Our first question comes to us from Dave in Perth, Western Australia. Very cool. Uh, there's a YouTuber that I watch that lives in Perth, Western Australia. That's weird. I wonder if they know each other. UM who says that he is a huge fan of the NFL. He also likes Carter's dad jokes, which is great. Uh, thank you, Dave. You are one of one and says that Jenny has the best accent, which we need more information on, Dave, if you're listening, I don't know, can you describe this. I've known Jenny for ten years and an accent is not something I've ever picked up on. Uh, but very interesting take. We are not aware that Jenny had an accent, so I always go to have a new perspective. Dave writes, My question for you is, with the current temperature regarding your president and some of the owners being huge donors as you mentioned recently, do you see change? Do you see this changing and these owners provoking their support and would players refuse to play for owners who openly support racism? Great question, Dave, and I think interestingly, like um, not a totally similar political climate, but it's always fascinating to hear perspectives of America from people who don't live here and digest it in a different news climate than the one that we currently live in. So we appreciate that for sure. Yeah. Absolutely, definitely an interesting perspective to here, and I think it's a great question moving forward. I mean, there are certainly some limitations on your ability to choose where you play, right, you know, you can't choose where you're drafted. A team holds your rights for x number of you know, four or five years after you're drafted. Um, teams can control your rights through other ways like the franchise tag. And now we're seeing this reckoning after a period of free agency, right, so perhaps this is something that we'll see become an issue in one free agency when players are picking teams. And I don't know, I mean, it's it's an interesting thing to consider because if there were an impact on a team and an owner's ability to assemble the best team, then you might actually see a shift. Like I'm I'm very interested to see how team owners handle the election because many of them have been very public, very supportive donors of Trump. And do they shift that at all? And then if they don't, yeah, like, would that be the thing that would get owners to kind of reconsider some of their political stances If players said, hey, I'm not going there, I don't have a chance. Now, that is also a big burden to put on players who are looking for the best deal, looking for the biggest market possible to you know, maximize earnings in a short period of time that they can play this game. So that does kind of put an unfortunate onus on players, which is something that I'm always thinking about that players are the ones that take on the risk and push forward the issues, but they do have a lot of power. So I am interested to see if that comes up. I think that if it is one player, um who doesn't and says I didn't play here because I feel like the owner sports racism, there's always the possibility. We've seen how the NFL, you know, news cycle operates, there's gonna come a leak from the team that we weren't interested in signing that player anyway, and he's just going out and doing this blah blah blah blah blah blah. Um, you know we know how that stuff works. Um. But I would say, if it's two players, if it's three players, if it's four players, then I think that's interesting. And again, I mean, you want to be careful not to say, you know, start playing with somebody's money and making judgments for them, but you know, I think that would be fascinating and it would finally have force some people to to reckon with that situation. And you know, I think we're in the right time. I mean, there are a lot of brave people, a lot of brave people playing in the NFL right now, a lot of brave souls that have come out and spoken their minds UM and put their own livelihoods on the rich at risk. And uh, I don't know. I think we're in the right time for that. I would be interested to see how this goes. But is not going to make these problems go away. Twenty twenty is going to accelerate. I think everybody's opinion of what's going on and their awareness of their employers and people around them and all that stuff. And I think we can include a link in the UM. We can include a link in the show notes for the donor um pages for all the owners. Um. We did that before the midterm elections, and uh, i'd like to think we'll do that again, um before November here gets going. So um, yeah, be on the lookout for that. But yeah, great question, Thanks for sending that in. Yeah, and I you know, we've seen, certainly in the college ranks, players kind of seizing the power that they have and using it to stand up against injustice in ways that they hadn't never done before maybe didn't feel comfortable or the risk was too high. So I do think we're shifting into even an era where even more players are willing to do that. I'm also interested to see if this comes up in regards to the Washington NFL team name. I mean, that's a topic we've seen bubbling up a lot more in recent weeks. I remember in it was a big topic of conversation, the name change, and then it kind of totally fell off the NFL radar, and now it's back on the radar. And is that something that players push for, coaches push for, um, could they use any influence to make strides that way? You know, basically all along it's come down to no one has pushed Daniel Snyder to do it, and everyone always thought that the you know, money would be the thing that would force him to push. Uh if if there was a tangible impact, for instance, on business because of the name, that would be the one thing that could finally force Snyder to do it. But what if? What if? Player or coach pressure is another thing. So that's another want to kind of throw in that conversation to see if there could be movement on that front as well. Yeah, definitely, all right. Should we read question number two? Yep? Alright. Our next letters from Anthony, who says he is a loyal weak side listener. Thank you, Anthony. Anthony also says he aspires to write at the level that Connor does, which is great, Anthony. I agree with that. You say that I come across as pleasant, which I would say I probably don't agree with, but Connor agrees with. And Connor also says that he learned to write from Jenny, so you should aspire to right at the level of the Jenny writes that, because so you know, do it that way right like Jenny, don't write like Connor. Well, one thing we all agree on is that we'd love to have a conversation with you as well about sports in life, and we especially love the question that you sent in. Here's what Anthony wrote. Now that the NFL is quote unquote woke, I think they should allow the players to play with the names of slain black people on the back of their jerseys in regular season games. I would love to see Patrick Mahomes with Till on his back on a national broadcast, Watson with Martin on his etcetera. The NFL has put on for so many causes, and it is time for them to put on for this one. I would also like to see the jersey sold online or auctioned off, with the proceeds going to black causes. What are your thoughts? I love it. I mean, I think that there's certainly some optics to be worked out there, you know, I don't you know, you would have to get you know, maybe the family isn't comfortable with the usage of the name in a certain way, shape or form. But if you get a buy in from the family like that, I think that there's no better way to just to create an awareness, right Like you think about the power of Patrick Mahomes wearing Till on the back of his jersey during a national broadcast, and what happens The people who are neutral, third parties who have no idea what's going on, who this person was, are going to sit there and they're gonna look it up, and they're gonna learn about it, and the announcers are going to talk about it, and they're gonna drive attention to it. And I think that that at least goes a partial way to fostering some understanding. I think that's the second time in two weeks that we've had a mail beg question that contained a legitimate suggestion for the NFL that I I think would be a phenomenal idea. Yeah, I think this is really brilliant. I think it's smart. I think it's something that NFL should consider. Like Connor said, get the family's permission and then go forward with it. I think it does a bunch of things. I mean, one, it's forces anyone who's involved with the broadcast or anyone who's watching to educate themselves. Right. You're forcing the people who are in the broadcast booth to be able to talk articulately about Emmett Till or to describe those events, you know, like that there's a learning that goes on for the broadcasters, a learning that goes on for the audience. Um and I think yeah, Like you mentioned Anthony, the idea that the proceeds could go to black causes, it seems like a win win. I remember the U S women's national team in a tournament in twenty nineteen. They picked inspirational women that they wore on the back of their jersey, so Beyonce, Serena, my Angelou RBG. They picked a variety and I think there were some names on there that people didn't know much about and took the opportunity to learn about. And so, um, I think it's a great opportunity for education. And I think as we see players have some reservations probably about going back to the playing field, we certainly saw those conversations being reported about in the NBA rights the players are a there's a safety issue with coronavirus still ongoing. And then be there's all of these important conversations about racial injustice in America that players want to be a part of. And I think this would be a way for you know, if the NFL season does proceed this fall, this would be a way for players to feel like they are doing that at the same time as continuing to stand up against racial injustice in our country. And this would be a really seamless way for them to do that. It reminded me of and again I'm equating these two, so so please don't think I am but Michigan a few years ago. UM, I think it was before Jim Harbaugh was there. Uh, they unretired all their numbers and they allowed their captains to wear the number of the of the retired player um and then there was like a patch on the jersey that commemorated the player whose name was retired. And for some reason, like I remember watching two or three Michigan games that year and learning more about retired Michigan players that I previously did not care about in the least. And and that's just college you know, that's a meaningless slice of college football. Imagine the power of doing that was something that is actually important in our society. Figures that should be uh thought of in our daily consciousness, in our in in in the historical kind of presence in our society. I think that there's a tremendous value in that. And I think that just the avenue with which it sparks curiosity, discussion, learning, all that kind of stuff. I mean, it's great. And I love the point that you made to Jenny that you know, everybody's gonna have to learn how to talk about this because it's not working anymore to say I don't like to talk about this. This makes me uncomfortable. Well, you know, imagine what it's like then for all the you know, for everybody else that has to live with this on a daily basis. And so I don't know, I think it would be great. Anything that that fosters those conversations, I think is is so valuable. And I don't know what a great idea I think it was last week too. Um what was the great mail bag idea that we were raving about? Um? Oh, the I think a more inclusion with owners and like having when you bring a new owner in Rudy rule for yes, interviewing an owner candidate, brilliant guys. I mean, you know, these are really good suggestion. Streamlined the week Side podcast into three Park Avenue, I mean, honestly, right, I mean, and I think this also kind of gets to where that video that the players participated in was so powerful where they said I am George Floyd or I am Michael Brown and they kind of went through And that's also another focus of the Black Lives Matter movement is to humanize black men, right or humanize black people who have been murdered by police, and to basically remind people of something that should be part of our conversation anyway. But the fact that you have to take this extra step to try to humanize the people who have been who have been killed is sad. But I think that's what something like this also does. Right when you wear that person's name, it really adds that extra layer of humanity and forces people to consider and makes people, you know, uncomfortable that with the reality that there are so many black people in our country murdered, who names can then be on the backs of Jersey. So I think it's really powerful in a lot of different ways. And I had a friend that that made a good point I saw online the other day that you know, we associate so much of what's going on now with uh with just in general like black suffering, right, and what they're going through. But this is also an opportunity to, like you said, humanized, to teach people about the lives that they were actually living and the joy that they were bringing to the world and what we actually lost and not thinking about it in this kind of cloud, right, and to learn about the individual and the accomplishments, and that whatever it is, the love that they had shared with their families, the love of their families had for them, etcetera, etcetera. I mean, so, I don't know, I I really uh, I really like the idea, and you know it is um it's at the point now where the NFL has all the institutional administrative stuff. I mean, they have all the task forces and all the people in here that should be able to make something like this and do it well and do it in a timely manner. But we'll see, I mean, we'll see what they have. They can't go into this season as unprepared and off the rails as they've been in the past. I will say that much. Yeah, they need to be more thoughtful, and they need to follow through on whatever promises Roger Getell made in his video. He needs to follow through on those definitely. Um So, question three comes to us from West. I love the name Wes. Uh I have a friend named Wes and uh so it's just as a good name. West who has really made us think with this one. West writes, how would the NFL have handled COVID nineteen if it happened in two thousand? Great question, Wes. We had a fun time debating this before we started on the show. Um My take would be that they would if it was the nineties, they would have steamrolled through and they would have completely ignored it. A because the access to information was not as good um back then, especially in the early nineteen nineties. So I would say that they could have downplayed it. They could have made it seem like it wasn't really happening. Uh, they could have told the players not to talk to the media about them being sick. Um. And I think it's one of those things that we may probably wouldn't have found out about until like five or six years later, like uh, like almost like a steroid scandal or something like that, Like it would take a whistle blower and all that kind of stuff. We I think we take for granted how fortunate we are to learn about a lot of things in real time at this point. And while it seems overwhelming, sometimes I think it's better than, you know, having people have to deal with that and in silence over a long period time. But I think it was the nine nineties, they would have completely just blown right through it. I think if it was two thousand dentif and being quite honest, I think we would have had a better handle on the pandemic by now. Um. But uh, that's just my thoughts. So I don't know what do you think, Jenny, Yeah, I mean my first inclination was to say there would be no video calls, you know, the working remote only wouldn't have been as possible, So maybe things would just have shut down, right, Like, maybe they would have said it's not possible to do any kind of pre draft visits. You know, we can't even do a pre draft zoom call with someone, so let's just shut everything down. But I think your point is a smart one, Connor, and I would lean that way. Now. You know this basically we have with with with everything in society right now, we have the ability to be a little bit more of a watchdog on things. And you know, obviously we've seen that with racism and camera phones, and certainly we're seeing that too with like how different places are handling the pandemic and who's wearing masks and who isn't. You know, in New York City we saw these videos of people gathered outside bars and restaurants on this nice June weekend, and you know, Cuomo has pushed back on that. So there is definitely more of a watchdog element right now in our society that can be helpful, and so I do think that holds institutions a little bit more accountable. So yeah, I think you're right on this one, Connor. But I was kind of trying to think like, how what interviews have been conducted? And I was like, well, I mean, like, you know, we have these like Monday sometimes, you know, if you're covering a beat and the team as a game and they give the players Monday off, you still have your availability on Monday, but it's like over the phone. So probably just would have been a lot more conference calls instead of zooms or whatever, or maybe they would have been less accommodating to the media in general. But yeah, probably just would have steam rolled through and some players would have gotten sick and then it would have just kind of I don't know, I'm uh, but it's it's interesting now that everything gets out immediately, Like we're sitting here Monday afternoon, and Ezekiel Elliott is upset that the news of his positive COVID test had broke in, you know, and that there was a lot of discussion about that. So we do seem to know everything. Yeah, we Uh, It's it's so strange, like, I mean, well, to even think about covering football in the night teen nineties. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I just turned thirty two, so that I would have been four or five years old or two years old at the time of that happening. But um, just looking back and thinking about, you know, what life was like back then. I mean, you know, if you talk to people who had covered the sport back then, uh, you know, they would always say how much better access was and how much more time they got to spend at the facility. And I could just walk into a coach's office and sit down and tell me about the game plan for the weekend. And who knows, I mean in the middle of a pandemic like that, maybe uh, maybe they wouldn't have had such such a such a good time in there. I don't know, but I think we would have ended up with it, Jenny, I'll tell you that. You know, we'd be we. I don't think anybody you know, because back then, right, it was so much more about being a being a And I'm putting this in quotes. I'm not saying this is a good thing. This is just a phrase, but being a tough guy, right, you know, And you know I'm not gonna let a little flu like symptoms stop me from playing football. And you know that's what the rallying cross I would have been at that point. In times, we need to go through this, you know. I remember, um, when I was covering the Giants, I remember Tom Coughlin bringing Bill Parcels into camp, and a couple of months later I asked a player, like, what did he talk about? And the entire speech that Bill parselves game was about how to like basically not tell any when you're injured and just play through it, you know. And this was a mindset that existed in two thousand fourteen, you know, when Odell Beckham couldn't get on the field because of a hamstring injury. Like just the backwards nous of six years ago. Imagine twenty six years ago, how backwards that would have been, and we would have had players. You know, God, it's it's almost scary to go down the wormhole and think about what they would have been doing, like funneling chicken soup and then just smashing into each other. It's a very, very weird. For Yeah, I think I think you're analysis as usual here is spot on Connor, but you're yeah, you're referring to the right can't make the club in the top uts of ourselves, m right that everyone's still I mean, we definitely heard that. I mean I think I did a story like when I covered the Giants in about like the difference between being hurt and being injured, and like, I mean, yeah, like this is definitely like it was not that long ago that, like, I mean, it's still true. It's still a pervasive culture, but I think there is more efforts to kind of shift things. But but yeah, what was your best playing hurt moment as a beat reporter? Do you remember? Oh, definitely, this one's easy for me, Connor. I had an allergy attack, like for me personally playing Okay, Yeah, I had an allergy attack in Miami the season finale of the Jets season in eleven. Like I don't know what it was. It was like my eyes were like swelling shots and um, like I was having trouble, Like my throw was was okay, I was but still able to breathe, thankfully. But yeah, my my face puffed up and I would just like was super fogging. So they gave me like this very strong Bena Drell type thing in the press box and I was like falling asleep during the game because of the Bena Drell. It happened to be New Year's Day, so everyone probably assumed I went out the night before, but I actually didn't. I didn't go out. I stayed in. UM. But yeah, I had this horrible allergy attack, and I remember at halftime just eating a bunch of food thinking that it would help me stay awake. And that, of course, which we've referenced on the podcast several times before, was the Santonio Homes got benched, he got like kicked out of the huddle. When that was the same day. That was the same day, So basically I'm like falling asleep at halftime and then this very dramatic, you know, end of the game happens, and I just had to cover it like while feeling like I've been like, you know, just like hit by a bus. I'm going to figure out a way to put your story from that day in the show notes, because you had like the best stuff out of anyone. I remember what because I was your backup but we couldn't afford to travel to people. And I remember watching Jets postgame live and like trying to transcribe stuff and send it down um or like to you, and then I remember the story was incredible, Holy smokes, I didn't know that was the same day. Well, I don't know about that Connor, but it was good. It was the same day. How about you playing hurt uh this the year before, I think it was our first year working together when the Jets made the A f C Championship game. I think it was the first open locker room of the playoffs after they made the uh A f C Championship games. So it was like the Monday before the whatever, the first access of the of the championship game. And I don't know what happened, like I got food poisoning or something, but I'll never forget like you were like running point on everything. And because you know, for people who don't realize, like back when they were fully staff newspapers, right, and you know this Shanar law that we experienced ten years ago, like when one local team makes the playoffs, every reporter comes to help, right, the net sky is there, the column the general columnist is there, the golf writers there, and for Jenny, who is the beat writer at the time, it's so much traffic directing to make sure that everybody's going in the right direction, nobody's stepping on anybody's toes. And I remember like not telling anybody, and I was like, you're like primary helper assistant and just leaving the facility like immediately after access and like I had like ten miss calls from everybody and I was just yakking and then uh, and then I think we finally caught up like two hours later. But I felt bad about disappearing that day. That was I don't even I still didn't even know what happened. That What a weird experience. That was probably ate something bad on your way back from Foxborough or something, maybe something bad rest stop food, because they would have been, right, they would have beaten the Patriots. And then yes, they would have beaten the Patriots. That's right, right, So that was the I think that, yeah, that we have that year, right, I think, right, yeah, we once. Uh speaking of which and bad food. I don't know why this reminded me of it went the year after that, UM, when I was covering the Jets with Mike Vorkanoff, we decided to do the entire Patriots trip in one day. So I picked him up at his house at like six thirty in the morning. We drove to Foxborough. Uh, we covered the night game. I think it was like a I want to say it was like a four o'clock game or something like that, and then we drove home and Mike was sitting there with like he was like collecting gourmet menus and he was like, We're gonna order to like a sit down dinner and we're just gonna eat it in the car from takeout containers. And I was like, Mike, this is just not possible. And He's like, yeah, we're gonna pick it up in Provably, It's gonna be fine. And I told him like no a million times, and so we ended up just settling on a Wendy's and it was awful. I just remember like riding home and like feeling sick and we had the windows. It was like winter and we had the windows down and the a C on so we could stay awake. Never doing that again. Oh boy, Yeah, that sounds brutal. Connor, that's playing hurt too, that's play lots of late night drives after games and such. Yeah. Well, uh, I love the mail Bag episodes because I feel like we're, you know, everyone that's listening has something on our minds and we can talk about it and we can bring them into the process. So please again, we have uh shown show email address at weak side pod at gmail dot com reach out. We'd love to hear from you, questions, comments, anything, so thanks for thanks for making this a fun, fun thing to do. Absolutely we love the reader feedback and we will be back soon later this week. The MMQB week Side Podcast is Me, Jenny Rerentis and Connor Or. We are produced by Shelby Royce in Science. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody Ben Eagles, Director of Editorial Projects and product Mark murrayvik is emeritus Executive director of the mm QB. Keep up with our entire lineup of podcasts five days a week by subscribing to the mm QB NFL Podcast for free on Apple Podcasts. And while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a rating and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot com, Stitcher, s i dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.