London Fletcher

How you doing? I got a question for you. Why are you already laughing? This is a whole podcast like I'm supposed to have questions. I'll tell you why because I'm on the microphone. You've been coming to regular now coming, you're not backstage anymore. A lot of things happen, man, right, question for you. Have you ever had any weird fan interactions? And and do any any any recent ones? Walk me through, walk us through. I don't think it was. I don't even know what it was. Okay, weird super It was

at the gas station the other day. You were with men, the three of us were in quar together, went inside because the um the pump said please wait, never stick your card inn where it says please wait where fortune cookie. I'm like, no, I'm going inside. So on the side you some money filled up. I thought it was pretty cool.

I didn't know. Pulled up. Hey, let me put such and such on eight h come outside finish because my guess, no guess thank hopping the car from turn on my car and there's a gentleman pulls up in a car. He had his homeboy in the back seat, which was a dog d o g roof dog. Now he doggie dog, but you know, animal his companion and h. I pulled up and said, hey, I got a question. I said yes, and then he goes, oh I figured it out, and pretty much after that I was lost. Mind you, we

have no idea what this question. We didn't ask him a question, so he didn't ask me a question. It was he pulled out. But I thought it was like, come on, bro, let's not play the lost like other dudes. Don't ask other dudes, Hey, you lost? You know? Hey, do you know where? No? I don't. That's my goal to you can ask. I can be I can be in front of an ice cream shop and you say, hey, do you know what the ice cream shopping is? Like, Nope, not from around here. That's my So he rolls up.

He says he figured it out, and says he figured it out. And then so now of course I'm in the back seat, You're riding shotgun and we look over and that we're kind of interested, like because it was a showdown. This guy is quiet. Steve's just sitting there because we don't know what's going on, ueless, and so like there's this five second pause where it's like a it's a showdown. And so then he looks it and

goes looks at Steven goes, you're good. Right now, that ain't the answer when you ask me, am I goodlet's fighting words, thank you? It implies you're not, or that we have an issue. Yes you kids call it. So he says, you're good. I said you're good. I'm good. Now when you say generally, when you say no, that's where the problems started. So for the most part, when someone says you good, it's it's not a greeting for you. What is you? What is you? What is your disposition

on you good? Because I've heard other people go to someone, hey, Y know, what's up? Man? You're good? Is it is it the way that someone says it or is it just the words you're good with a question mark behind it? That generally is a we got problems? Do you understand that? And my answer is yes, and so be I know we got problems. So if I depth you right now, what's up? Maybe you're good? You're taking that we are we good? Because we're friends. Yeah, but if it's okay,

so that help. So Now if I'm a stranger and I say you're good, if you're a stranger, you roll up in your car and I don't know you don't you don't on me? And you say, now that's a that's a whole different context. And you say, hey, yo, you good man? You got what do you got this? What do you got? Shot gun? Right? My response right right is not gonna be yes, It's gonna be you good. So you said you asking me, am I good? And I'm asking? I didn't ask her? Did I? I asked you?

Are you good? Now? What comes out of your mouth after that? That's when they say this fireworkship that sets the table for next step bringing this thing full circle to this individual with you good that we didn't know you pulled up, and so he goes, you're good, Yeah, I'm good, you good? Yeah? Man, And his response after I said you good, this is where because I want to know what his narrative is when he pulled off, because this man's response after Steve said are you good?

Was yeah, and what are you? What do you use to? Like? He here's what happens again? Gerard and I we're you know, we're out with Steve a lot, so we run across situation like this all the time. The most awkward and silly ass individuals for lack of better word, people have a scenario plate out in their mind when they walk up to say Steve. In their mind, they're gonna say, hey, how you doing. I'm good? How are you? Maybe I get a picture, we have a few minutes conversation, we

walk off. This dude had that in his mind. But when the conversation didn't go with hey, how's it going and went with you good, it was an awkward way to get out of conversation. Like he was shook. Because usually Steve is the one that says, yeah, it's fine. I get it all the time, and you know, he's cordial nice and its company. It depends on how you come up to me. Have you come up to me expecting I owe you something? Are you gonna get some old on? Where does this rank amongst you're awkward, fan

or just individual? Well, this one right ranks in the category of this is why stay in the house a lot. I'm used to that, and and because what it generally happened is and I think I've done a better job. But there are times here in Charlotte I'm known for not being very approachable. And a lot of it is because I've you know, I want to say, been burned, but I have been approached at times where it's really

just taken away from what I'm currently doing. Right, And my oldest boy, Peyton, remember we were I broke my leg and Mars like, you need to go do something. So I started coming to his lunch and he was in I think the second grade. The Peyton is twenty two years old. So I was going to lunch and sitting there at lunch and one of these keys I knew who I was, So we had like my rookie or checking year car checking year in the league. You out of the car, he says, Hey, Mr Smith, can

you sign a car for me? I was like sure, and Peyton had this such defeated look. Peyton was in the second grade, second grade. He looks at me says, Dan, are you here to sign autographs? Are you here to have lunch with me? Think about that, Think about how a seven year old connects that, And what it really told me is He's like, I don't care how many damn passes you catch, Bob, I just want you to be my dad. And from there, I've tried to balance that. I don't go to events for your kids. I go

for my kids. And I'm not trying to be rude, but I've been at taking my kids and out of the family and bowling, and people have been upset because I won't stop bowling my family and go over to their lane to be part of their birthday party because that will make their kids today. But I I mean, ultimately,

I understand the responsibility. But ultimately God is gonna judge me on how I tend to my flock before I start going to other mother flocks, how I handle my my kids and my present for and my present for my family. I can't be this great superstar football player for all these other people and be a dirt bag at the house. And so a lot of times when I'm out with my family, I don't have time off. You turned off, I'm off. I'm like the bank. And there are some people who respect it, some people who

get it. And I've had people who because me out. Yeah, you don't have the responsibility to be always being on for everybody. You know why. And here's my philosophy. If the bank ain't open, neither are you. But you know what, though, I'm used to it. Yes, he is who we got coming up on the Cut to a podcast. We've got London Fletcher's sixteen year NFL VET. He's a four time pro bowler. He's an NFL All Pro and he's currently

an NFL analyst for CBS Sports. London Fletcher on the Cut to a Podcast, appreciate you all having appreciate you, appreciate you being on. So our first segment is called get iced up. You know Smitty well, so I have no idea what he has up his sleeve. So Smitty go ahead and give him the first one. You ready, Oh yeah, yeah, I'm ready, right, I'm ready. So what was your first concert you went to back in the day. It was a it was a rap concert. Uh no, actually it was like it was a mixture of rapping

and uh like old school like U t FO. I don't know if you remember those. You might be a little too young to remember. Yeah yeah, yeah, you're a look too. And West coast. Oh yeah that's true too. Yeah. Like see people on the East Coast they know about UTFO. Man, but what is u tm? Oh yeah yeah, fairy tale lover see yeah yeah, see you know on the West coast see oh man, Yeah, you gotta have to google that, Google the man you TFO. So basically your first concert

was Brian Me Night. Is that what you're just telling? Hey, but I did go to a private that concert. Um the crazy thing when I went up that now Roxane Roxanne Now yeah yeah yeah, see you google that, didn't you didn't? Yeah, I know it, but it's but I did do too. But that's that fast forward. Hey, my mother and my mother took me to the concert. That's how christ who's your first concert? Smitty who? I want

to see? Uh he forty language? I know. My first concert was until I was adult, so it was probably it was a West coast concert. Mom was rough Riders Casher. I remember I was, I was fifteen years old. Where were here in Charlotte? The old the old councy were sitting in the very top. So I'm like, what smell funny up here? Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah. Man, Hey, but I'll tell you what. The best concept I ever went to was Prens in Cleveland and the UH Cavaliers Arena. Man,

this was Prince Prince put on the show. Heck of a show. We gotta he got about a ten minute standing ovation after he left, and and he had coming back out of doing an hardcore performance. He was, Man, you talk about a concert, Yeah, that was a bad concert. Another really good concert I went to that. I was just amazed at what he was able to do. Um Stevie, wonder what that brother can do blind? I can't do with tense. And you know they say, Steven really conceive

now with that hairline walking around hairline? So Jack, he gotta be blind somebody, somebody. His praise is at damn near the back of his hand. He got dug. You know he blind because his head he go fuehead skeeball hair man. You know what that might be? You got a good point that that right there as the story Stevie, he's blind. Yeah, and this is how you know it's blind because and he was if he could really see, he put on you know, Oakley got some nice glasses.

That brother be wearing blue blockers. So no, so anyway, blue blockers received. Um. So, what's your favorite item of clothing? Oh? Man, um, golf shirts? Yeah, because I'm I'm always uh, you know, golf, I would say golf clothing. Okay, okay, I know this one, but I had to ask, and I was cheesing the whole time I was typing this up. Do you prefer swimming in the pool or ocean? Pool? Why are you chuckling? I don't tell me why pool man? Scan ocean? Man? Well,

he will mess it. I'm I'm the same way though. No, London is a ferocious linebacker. Man, get his ass that water, that ocean. You don't You don't go further than probably your knees, right man. I I go a little bit fun, but I ain't that a little bit. You can't go further than what you can see. No, me and my so, my daughter, my oldest, she just like me because the rest of the family they want to take cruise. Her and I were like, listen, y'all go do y'all thank

or and I were good, we'll stay back. We'll y'all have a good time. We we we are not with that. We don't want to be in a cruise. I don't want to be out there on that water like that. You got taught that that the same way with my family. And I could swim up, but I just do. Yeah. It's like, would you like ranch your blue cheese? Nita? You don't? And I when I was typing it up, I was smiling, laugh like area know this answer, but I'm gonna ask anyway. So what was your favorite team

growing up? Any sports? Oh? Man? The Browns? Yeah, Cleveland Browns. I love the Browns growing up back when they had Bernie Cole's are Webster slaughter Um shoot Man, the mac Ernest Byner, Kevin Mack. When they were going to ANFC championship games. They went to three championship hip games, lost to the Broncos and all three. I I hate John Elway, still don't like him to to this day. That's uh, that's de grooted right there. I love the brown so much, man.

So you you know how you got You always have that one friend who wants to go against the grain regard, like if everybody likes blue, he's gonna be the one that like red. Yeah. So he was the one guy who all of us like the Browns, but he wants to out of all the players, he his favorite players, John Elway. So we we're going to school one morning. It's in middle school. It's cold in Cleveland, like January. It walking to school, he gets to talking um and

he likes to talk a lot. So you're talking about John l He's like, yeah, wait wait, I said, listen, man, he said, l wait one more time, hitting you and your mouth you say, wait one more time? He say, he said he he didn't get the way out. Man. I hit him right this moth mad dude. Nobody want to hear No John Elway, you can't be You couldn't be a John that Way fan in Cleveland. Now, I'm sorry. That's that's how much I love the Browns back there. So then who was? Who is your favorite athlete that

you admired growing up as acute? Uh, I really didn't have just one guy used to love Eric Dickerson is running back used like a lot more and more a lot of the Browns, but I didn't have you know, Dickerson was probably my favorite guy. Other than that, it was just more like players. Me and you are neighbors. We played off together, are you know you We've come

over each other's house, our kids have played together. But one of the interesting things about um this sit down and cut to it is the London Fletcher that I've played against on the football field and the London Fletcher I played golf with. You know, we walk well, you know, we rolled together, played a lot of sports, played, you know, our kids have played together. But the London Fletcher that I've got an opportunity to do the research of, I

don't know, I'm learning a lot. And so one of the things I kind of wanted to say to you, I feel like I've short changed our relationship man, that really I've learned so much about you that I I think a little bit because I I admire you and see you as a mentor our our our listeners get opportunity and learn about the London Fletcher and how you grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. But also for me, Man,

I get to learn about you. So I'm just honored to be able to do this, but also again say that the perspective I've gained about you, man, is the next time we play golf, bro, I'm just gonna be staring at you because it's like, gosh, you know, so, I mean, I'll just get into it. You know, I said it. You grew up in and the place you're from, your hoteln is Cleveland, Ohio. But how the Cleveland, Ohio shape your perspective of how you see the world today. Oh,

it's should It's shaped my perspective. I mean everything the way I see the world is was shaped you know during my time in Cleveland from the you know, from my early childhood up until when I finally left Cleveland for good. And shoot, I've moved out of Cleveland finally at around two thousand six, I want to say two

thousand seven. But you know, just growing up in the inner city, like like a lot of people in the city Cleveland, you have your different challenges that you face, but you have to, um, Cleveland kind of hard hardened you. It's a it's a blue collar time, but it's also you know, it's uh just a rough city. Um. You have to be mentally and physically tough to five when you walk out of the out of your house. You know, I leave my door and crack people selling crack right

on right on the corner right you know, next door over. Um, a lot of drugs, gang violence. Um, I mean I've seen, you know, a lot of shootings, just all all the things that that you shouldn't have to see as a young kid and have to navigate when you as soon as you leave your house. Um, you know, it's just it was. It was tough. So you had to definitely be mentally tough and physically tough because you'd be challenged, Um, you know physically a lot of fighting things like that.

It definitely tests your metal. So I man, when you think about that as especially as a young kid being um, having to deal with that on a daily basis, it um, it definitely, um makes you stronger. We have to take a break and the morning thing, we gotta pay some bill. You got checks. I love cut to It and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe and you can follow us on social media too. Smithie, where where at that's at? Cut to It on Instagram?

What about Twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr what about online and you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com, where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for, a brother cut to a podcast as that come. I mean, you had a lot of big events impact you, just like, how did you overcome that? Because you know, just as a dad, I

can't look at my kids. When I look at my kids and I see who they are, I cringe at imagining what I've been through, you know, because I know what it's done to me. So I know what it's done me. I'm like, man, I wouldn't I wouldn't want to, you know, if I had the choice. Obviously this is all hypothetical, but I had the choice, Like I really put myself in that position. I go, man, it is it has impacted me. How did you get through it?

You know? Thinking about my kids and and them I was growing up on a country club, and and how I grew up where man, we barely could um. There was times where you know, we didn't have much to eat. Just the contrast and just how how naive they are too to just the challenge is that that people facing in this world. I mean, I man, my from the time I was in UM college, we had a lot of a lot of dash that happened to my family. UM, A couple of suicides, uh you know with my aunts

to two months committed suicide. UM, all within the span of of shoot probably about a year each other. Then my UM when I was in college, my freshmanyor in college, I used to get um when you get it off campus rings, you knew it was like to get the double ring, and UM, I used to always kind of worry about the double rings that you would get off campus. Actually, I'm gonna take you back even further than that because my older sister, So I'm one of five kids. My

mom she had a five kids. I was the middle child to have a have an older brother who's um nine years older than me, had an older sister who was six years older than me. I'm the middle child. Got a younger sister's five years younger than me, and then a sister that seven years younger than me. So when I was eleven years old, my sister who who was not six years older than me. She was murdered at eighteen years so she was right and left dead

by some railroad tracks at the age of eighteen years old. Um, I was eleven years old, and that that had a tremendous impact on on me, my mom, just our family in general. Where you have you know here she is, you know, should be graduating high school and going off to college wood and she was murdered and and uh she was she was into the street life at a at her early age, probably around the time she was thirteen years old. She was you know, uh, hanging out

doing things that she shouldn't have been doing. Um, using drugs, just just something that you wouldn't think of a thirteen year old should be doing. UM. My older brother he was selling drugs in and out of jail, um, incarcerated. Things like that. My mom when my with my sister's death, that had an impact on us. We're all parents or can you imagine if you that we lost the child, what that would do to us and what type of

impact that would have on her. So at UM, a few years after my my sister was murdered, my mom you know, didn't know how to cope with that. She turned to a using drugs and I found out about

that she started smoking crack at it. And when I was like I found out, I was like fourteen years old when when I found out my mom my mom by my mom and her situation, and that just man, that shook me to the core I was and that hurt, Like what just to um, you know that your mom is using drugs and and the uh, the way that that drug what it did to the families would have

did to people, how I destroyed, destroyed family. So it was just a lot of challenges and difficult time to that you start to deal with them that I was dealing with from the time I was eleven years old and um through uh you know, through college. Really just like man, you know, somebody shouldn't have to deal with with these types of situations. And um, freshman year in college had freshman year to my sophomore year in college,

we had you know, four relatives who who died. One was my younger cousin was murdered undied of a heart attack, and two other unstyed of suicide. So it's just like, man, just so much stuff that it can overwhelm you would, um have you question all kinds of things. UM, just some difficult situations that myself and my family we had to go through over over period of time. How do you carry all of that as black men? You know, they don't want you to. You gotta kind of be tough,

not really um, show your true emotions. I went through some in college. I used to like have anger issues that they actually said be in consolate for for uh because some anger issues because you know, I would uh who was playing basketball football. I would definitely had some moments where I I let my frustrations out, you know, on somebody in practice or on the on the court, on the practice field or whatever, because you know, you've

just been carrying that burden around for so long. Um in high school, you know, maybe it's a lot of fights I would get into. It was it was just dealing with those That was my way of kind of dealing with those things, coping with it. UM. I wasn't gonna I didn't cry, um it just like I would just let out my frustrations through fights or things like that.

Being where I'm at now, um, at forty or five years old, I understand how if you let things faster and manifest, how how something's really small could you know, blow up to something bigger? But it was it's not,

it's more of a black product of something else. Um. But not having you know, not how to not knowing how to deal with those things and and really being able to talk to somebody about the I've heard I was dealing with or you know what, especially when you you know, you're fourteen years old and your mom is not the mom that you knew for so many years. She was there physically, but you know, motionally, and and being that supportive person that you needed, that I needed

in my life. That that has an impact on you. You were part of a really unique mentoring program. There was a couple, uh, Charlotte Kramer and Leonard Schwartz. What what was what was that mentoring program? Like? Yeah, so, um, Charlotte Kramer, Mrs Kramer, she she adopted our sixth grade graduating class in this program called the I Averag Dream Program.

It was started by a gentleman named Eugene Lane in New York and he did it did a similar deal in New York City with some kids graduating now from elementary And what she did, she she promised us this is back in nine seven. Um. It was like a quarter of a million dollars that she donated or she set aside for us. I don't know how much that would be in today's money, but it was geared towards

M Yeah. Yeah, we talked. Yeah, So it was a lot of money that was geared towards Hey, this is money for you all to go to utilize for your college tuition or secondary education, UM, once you graduate high school. This was uh, a white Jewish lady who wanted to give back. She had done very well. Her husband was his name was Mr Mr Schwartz. UM. During that time, they didn't just they they didn't just say, hey, here's this money, we'll see you when you graduate. But they

also provided each one of us. It was like seventy think about seventy two kids, so they got each one of us a mentor. And I was kind of Mr Schwartz meant men team because out of default, because I was so bad and like you know, we we we gotta we gotta give a special kid. It was specially once. So I was I was the crazy thing, Like I was like a straight age student aids and bees. But again I had a lot of angerous side of me. So I was you know, I was a child, I

was a challenging kid. So he was my mentor UM and they providers with mentors throughout throughout that um that time frame to help us navigate everything we're going through. Out of those seventy two kids, probably only about fifteen truly took advantage of of the opportunity that was there. Um. You know, a lot of the girls dropped out of

high school, had or junior high or whatever, had babies. Um. You know, the same thing with a lot of the boys, drug chelling, someone uh had early deaths, you know, dropped out of high school or school. Just a lot of different challenges that took place between the time she made that commitment and when it was time to graduate high school. So not only only a small percentage actually took advantage of of what she had there, but she they did so much for me because they not only help me

with my colleague, they also helped me. You know, they paid for me to go to a private high school to be able to utilize my athletic ability. Is like, hey, you know, we're gonna help you with some high school your high school tuition to go to this uh Catholic high school, which that really changed the course of my my life. And and and you know, played an integral party. And while I'm here where I'm at right now, that had to be a little challenging. It's different, uh for

what's the word for a knuckle head? Oh yeah, yeah, it was. It was definitely a culture shock because I transferred to the school and the middle my tenth grade year, so I I didn't I actually transferred in the middle between semesters um and I go from a Cleveland public school to a Catholic high school and just the disciplined, the you know, I couldn't get away with what I was getting away with it at the clean public school, I couldn't, you know, if I didn't show up in

class and clean public school, it wasn't any different. If I you know, didn't, nobody cared. It wasn't called home. If I cut school that day, whatever, nobody called home. Man. If I missed, if I was five minutes late to a class, it was an issue, um at the at that kind of Catholic high school. Um. Not only that I had to take you know, depending I take two buses to school, So I went from walking to school too. Now having to have the discipline to get up early.

You don't know those take those two buses to school. The just the rigger and the discipline. It was difficult that first, uh first semester, major adjustment, just the the type of kids that were there. Most of them had been in Catholic private school for the time, never elementary, so they have been you know, used to this where it's posted where coming in there. From From my background, I'm you know, I was I was rough to say the least I was. I was a challenger. They definitely

you know, had their work kind out with me. Man. It really helped me because you're dealing with I go from dealing with the people who are in the same situation as me, having the same challenges. Um. Just one perspective on the world too. You go to uh So there where you is multi ethnic, um, you know, different socio economic backgrounds. You had you know, some of the wealth, some wealthy kids there and you have to ask them some kids who were poor who needed a financial assistance.

So you had a range, um from from an economic standpoint. But just the it just help me be able to deal with more people, um and understand that you know, the life is just life is not black and white. But how important was sports growing up in terms of collegiate opportunity for you to you know, for you to go off to college. How important was sports for you? Man? That it was ship, It was everything. Even though I knew, hey, you had to go to college in order to play pro,

you had to do this. You had to And I was very familiar with like PROP forty and all that type of stuff, so all the different things that that was going to be required for me in order to, you know, get a college scholarship. I wanted to play college of college sports, college basketball in particular, So I learned very quickly once I got to that school. Hey, I gotta I gotta do right in the classroom. You know. I saw athletics as my way out. I saw college.

I didn't see academics, which is sad. It was, Hey, sports is gonna be my way out of this situation. You say it's sad. Why is that sad? Because we don't emphasize the amount of money that's available to you from a merrit based scholarships or or or academic scholarship. It's not even it's so much more. Athletic money is only like a fraction of what is available to compare to the academic money. That's a bab you you much, you much used far easier to get up your school

paid for academically than it is athletically. You said you had dreams of playing college basketball. Yes, he did football and basketball in high school. You aspired to play collegiately? Which one was your first love? Basketball? Many a London. He has the film of himself playing basketball. He transferred from a VHS cause I got my stuff. I gotta squint.

Now here's the best part, though, let me give you a visual as people London Fletcher London's, I give you five ten London's five ten, two hundred and forty pounds. Not the boy. I wasn't gonna two hundred forty pounds wearing the same exact shorts that John fer and when they were call Jazz, when they were delivering the mail. When when you start that video, though, he was a little bit surprised by skills though you you you thought I was gonna be just a brute out there. Here's

what I like to say. He when he was over in the house and he showed me, I was surprised and like, wow, look at London, but I couldn't give them because me and London are really good friends, but we were competitive. Now like if we playing golf, give me a stroke, now giving you no stroke? Come on me, you should have caught that pass over the middle. Me and London still talk if they show a highlight of me. When I knew it was with Washington on my football life,

there's a player, I'm going across the middle. London hit me, but London actually hit me so hard he knocked himself off of credit, knocked it down. That's if I group text those group of men and like six in the morning when I saw it because I was running. It's like came it was on and I was watching. I was watching work and then doing work. Sometimes the ads come on and it was my football life like and I saw that set the group text like, yeah, look at this man. I don't want to. I don't want

to find I didn't want to. I didn't want to catch a fine. I also know his wife. You know. I was like, I'm gonna take it easy. I would he think when he was trying to knock the snot out of me. I don't want to. I just want to want to lock a Ribblers, but I was really surprised how athletic because he was still a line I'm backer. Yeah, he was a big boned dude. Charlie Ward Robinson, you know who you remind me of if you go back

and watch Charles Barkley games when he was younger. Bro, he could move London, but he just it was surprised he was moving. That boy had him hiding Nick in the in the short shorts. But I was pretty I would say, now on here it's own recording for a middle linebacker, and I believe one of the best ones in the game, who's who has the same amount and slightly better than the former raving London can move And that that was the part that I was really shocked on.

The biggest shocker that London has film of himself playing basketball. That that was the biggest that this dude walking around with this footage. Look look, look. But because of the position London play, I get and I understand it right. And also to the competitiveness of the type of the type of folks we are, Um, we're always going at we I mean, bro, we will play golf and bet who who can finish this whole? Can you not getting right.

It's just just to spend someone else's quarter. We will bet, we will bet around of golf and the person has to buy the wings, like, oh, we're in the clubhouse. Who's buying. Oh I'm not buying in London. I'm not buying because I want. Yeah, but it's a great, healthy relationship. It pushes says. I mean, we were sure when I was first, first retired man. We used to put, we used to walk. Yeah, you know, Steve, you started working too much, man, you stopped golfing. I think I think

he's running from me. I think you're actually running from me. That's what it is. It more than anything. Yeah, you're always talking about you. You're working, you're busy. Now I think you're running. I am running. When the spring come, I'm gonna run up on your ass on the golf course. How about that? Wherever you want to play. I'm always game for some golf cool. I think it's about that time. Just so take a no breathing, good God, getting down to do it. Hey, Gerard, why did you get that

T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com, where we have exclusive merchandise shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. We know London Fletcher, the Super Bowl winning St. Louis, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills. But you on tour the Visual One School, Catholic School and basketball scholarship. Good take us. Yeah. So, um,

as I mentioned, my my first love was basketball. I um, I didn't play football until my senior year in high school. Had did well, had some has some Division once scholarship offers for football and basketball, but I was my heart was set on playing basketball at that point in time. So I ended up taking the taking the basketball scholarship to St. Francis in Pennsylvania. Um, and I get up there, I was. I was after that year high school football. I really just did that too, so I wouldn't have

any regrets when I got older. You know what I should have could have like, I should have did this and all that. So I got to I got to college my freshman year and I'm watching, Uh, I went to a football game at St. Francis and I'm watching these these guys out there playing. Man, I need you playing. I started missing football. I wanted to play, UM, and I actually was like man and me playing football, but

I didn't. UM. I didn't think about playing that same fast because the head coach of the football team was also the athletic director or that I did not did not care for him and he was just not a not somebody. I I liked it all. I didn't want to play for him, so go through, uh stay there my freshman year. I decided to transfer the middle of my sophomore years. I was like, if I wanted to play football, so if you go from a Division one to a Division two three two or three school, you

don't have to sit out. But yeah, I could play immediately, So I went. I Treedferre to John Carroll. And part of the reason why I chose John Carroll was close to home. It was only like twenty minutes from where I grew up. My mom's situation was getting a lot of worse. UM. I wanted to be there for my younger sisters. I just needed to be home. UM. So it was like everything was kind of lining up. My my high school football coach was the defensive coordinator at

John Carroll. My high school basketball coach had had become the head basketball coach of John Carroll. So things were just lining up to where it made sense for me to transfer to John Carroll. Um I did that. I was able to play. Let's just play right away. John Carroll requires you to average a g p A of three point five five three point five five in high school. The average S A T score high is up to twelve eighty. That's only right, checks that Big Steve, here's

the kicker out of high school. I wouldn't crawl up qualified for Carroll. Yeah, first, fresh out of high school, I wouldn't. I didn't. I wouldn't. My g p A would not have been would have needed B OR or s A T not because it's just hey, I wouldn't qualify. But once I got to college at St. Francis, I was for some reason, college was easier, you know, academically for me. I made the honor road days, lift list and everything at St. Francis. So they looked at my

collegiate grades. It was like, oh, he's you know, he can have the work. So I transferred. They they allowed me to transfer based off my college grades, not not my high school transcript. I want to give contact to this to your college something. The notable alumni the late grade Don Shula. Now he's not looking like the great offense coordinator right now with the New England Patriots. But John, but Josh McDaniels. And then you got this guy who just the founder of cable, Chuck Dome. How do you?

How do you? How do you become the founder of cable? I don't know, but here a billionaire, not even because a billionaire. It's not like, oh, you know, let's do this cable right so that that's the college that you transferred to to play football, and we know they're not known for football, but they're a pretty good job. When I went there, playing football professionally wasn't even that wasn't on my radar at that point in time. I was like,

let me John Carroll and great academic school. I was focused on getting my education, graduating college, and being able to have a better life. That was that was my mindset. I wanted, Yeah, I wanted to play sports, but you don't go to Carroll thinking you're about to go to the NFL or NBA or whatever the case may be. It was like, hey, I get to get my degree

from Carol out, I'll be set up pretty good. And um ohio because you know, just I knew that, I knew the connections I would have with the degree from John Carroll. So you know that the other stuff, as far as excelling and making it to the NFL, that was that was icing, man, That was I said, all the stuff I had survived from. You know, man, I I've had a double barrel shotgun pointed in my face at point blank range, you know, gud put on me.

So by the time I got through you know, college, man, all this stuff is just extra now you know the NFL that's gravy house money. Yeah, And if I'm playing with house money means I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be dead. I'm supposed to be in jail. So if I'm not supposed to be it, really I ain't got nothing to lose, right and and and also not even not having anything to lose. You just look at the You look at the situation totally different way

where somebody else that situation she may overwhelm them. A challenge that you may face, a situation that you may face. Um, you just you're You're It doesn't affect you the same way, and you take the situation serious, but you're not going to show the same type of emotions or reactions or the panic that somebody else who may not have had

the same type of challenges growing up. So, you know a lot of times people like even my wife's uh, you know family that man, you're a demeanor is so you know, like your demeanor you're just so even killed and common about certain situations. In my mind, I'm saying, man, this all right, this is the problem. You got it. It has to be solved. Regardless I've gone through something

like this is not something to panic over. Under our last segments called the Deep three, there are three questions that just take us beyond who you are as a football player to get it a deeper level. So Smithie, go ahead and ask from the first one, if you can tell any young kid in Cleveland right now who dreams are playing in NFL but doesn't feel like he has a shot, what would you say? I would say, always believe in yourself. Don't let someone else's uh, you know,

doubt or whatever negativity creep into your mind. But you have to have confidence in yourself. Um, you never know, there's too many examples of guys making it in pro sports regardless of where they comes from. Everybody's not coming from the power of fire confidence anymore. You've had, you know, examples of guys coming from Division three schools like myself or in AI or There's so many different um routs that you can take to be um, to be noticed.

So just just continue to believe in yourself prepared, and when you get that opportunity, be ready to show your to show your skills. But you know, never never, never think you're not gonna get an opportunity. You have a legacy on the field, London, what is the legacy that you are creating? Now? My legacy is with my children.

You know, that's the That's the thing that when we're when I'm done, when I'm gone, that's the thing that I think, you know, I have to be most concerned with this my children, my three children, UM, my two girls, Page and Brooke and then my son. Still, what are they gonna How will they be as adults? How will

they be as um parents? You know what kind of things I can steal with them and steal in them two um to hope that they're better people that they're you know, doing the things that that I would be proud of them. You know. That's that's really the legacy that I think about most. You can write a letter Charlotte Kramer and and the Swords. What would what would

you What would it contain? Well, at first, it would contain just a gratitude, tremendous amount of gratitude and appreciation for them carrying enough to to give back because it

wasn't something that they they had to do. It was something that they wanted to do and for Mrs Kramer too feel the the need to give back and say, you know what, I want to be able to make these kids lives better or help make these kids lives better, just so it would be a tremendous amount of gratitude and appreciation for it for though, because they didn't have to do it, and and she chose to do it, and they chose to do it, So it would just

be a tremendous amount of appreciation. London never missed a game. Now, I know you missed some games, but were there times where you just didn't feel it for whatever reason and you played through it? Oh? Yeah, you feel it all the time. I wouldn't say necessarily because the injuries is like it may be because of the way the season is going. Shoot, sometimes you don't feel it. You start playing and all of a sudden, the game gets out

of here really quickly. You're like, gracious, you look up. Yeah, it's still the first quarter. So do you have to do? You have to fake it till you feel it almost can't. You can't go across the middle faking it, right, That's how you get out, and that's how you get your reaction. Now you you don't, you don't do that. It's just one of those things, just like any other job. Right, It's it's tough, and you got a white Knucklet you gotta figure it out and you gotta problem solve and

go about your day. Um, there are factors on why and how. There's nothing you can do about it. You are a unique person, you are well worth it, you are competent and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Singer, I'm Gerard Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith singor That Is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltol Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio.

For more podcast from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. From Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singer co host Gerard little John, talent and booking manager Joe Fusci, Social media team Wesley Robinson and John Show

from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production manager Sarah Pollock, Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard about it, then we're about to let you know. It's all