“Wide Right” with Tom Papa | Super Bowl XXV: Bills vs. Giants

Today, we have legendary comedian I'm a huge fan. He's the host of Serious XM's What a Joke? Tom Papa and Studio Jack.

Can you op me with my math phone?

We're no, I'm not giving you the answers.

Then I'm in the bathroom on YouTube? How do you add fractions with different bottoms?

We are covering Super Bowl twenty five, the Buffalo Bills versus the legendary New York Giants.

Yeah, this was a stacked team.

Do you ever perform in Buffalo?

Yeah?

What are your thoughts on the city.

I didn't go back this game watching my tiny apartment on this tiny TV. It's just so memorable, and.

It reminded me of every super Bowl I was in.

It seemed like this was gonna be Buffalo's night.

It gets down all the way to those last kick.

No one was in their seat. We were just lying on the ground, holding each other, not looking just so insane. We're gonna lose, like there's no part of you that thinks he's gonna miss it?

No good, Wide Right. Games with Names is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to Games with Names, presented by win Bet. On today's episode, we are talking Super Bowl twenty five. That is right, folks, and I'm not saying that is right. That is wide right, the wide right game with the Giants versus the Buffalo Bills. And we speak with old Tom Poppa. It was good to get his perspective. Lifelong Giants fan had some awesome stories. We get into his

He said he wrote those coattails to the top.

He said he wrote them to the top. Can't blame him. Then to the tippity tippity top. Not a bad set of cotails ride and you can't talk New York Giants without talking Lawrence Taylor LT. Okay, he asked him LT stories in there, and then we wrap it up with breaking down the most heart breaking missed field goals of all time. Top five List to top five. Make sure you check out games with names on YouTube, Instagram, x, Snapchat, and TikTok at games with Names. Subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify,

The New York Football Giants are leading the Bills twenty to nineteen.

With eight seconds left, Scott Norwood lines up for the forty seven yard kick.

This is why Rise b.

E a sports that was awesome. Welcome to Games with Names, present to buy when bet today. We have Tom Papa and studio legendary comedian. I'm a huge fan his latest book, We're All in It Together, So Make Room is out now. He's the host of serious XMS what a joke and catch him on a tour in a city near you. Tom, Thanks for coming to the studio.

Thanks for having me. It's great to be here.

No, and I got to introduce you to Jack and Kyler.

They're part of our almost kids.

Nice to see you.

They're the ones that keep this thing going. You know, what are you up to these days?

Oh, I'm just coming home after the tour. It was it went really really hard from all year, but particularly like September through right now, just slamming everywhere.

How many shows?

Oh?

Man?

You know I never added up. Yeah, because that's my kind of my philosophy in life. Don't do the math. Don't add up how many more days are going to see your parents? Don't add up how many times you're the road. I on my website, I have a map and it puts the little dots of where I'm going. I don't even like seeing that. I just like to knock him off as thing as they come. But from September till now every weekend and then a bunch of dates in between during the weeks. Yeah, So it's been

That life's gotta be tough. I mean I became real close with Sam Morow and we did our first season together of games with names Yeah and scheduling for yeah with a comedian who's full tie. And that's part of your guys job, that's your reps. That's how you guys prepare for when you're getting your big shit. And I've kind of learned that through Sam.

Yeah.

I mean he would go every night to the cellar and then he would go do the tour thing. Yeah, that's a tough way of living. Man. You guys really gotta love it or you gotta be fucked up in the head.

Yeah.

You gotta treat it. You gotta treat it with respect because it Actually when I was kind of really starting to go on tour, I was having that conversation with my uncle and he said a thing which I always kept, which is, you have to treat this like an athlete, Like you really have to do all the things, get your sleep, get your exercise, eat right. You can't just go out there. Then there are guys that do it. They just drink after shows and do whatever, and it's

I mean, it's a way of catching your high, you know, like a comedian loves to get that laugh. Athlete loves the high of competing. And why we're here. We're here to talk about one of the most legendary competitions in the National Football League that springboarded as so many storyries and coaches and like livelihoods of the game. And it's the matchup of Super Bowl twenty five between the Buffalo

Jets Giants, New York Giants.

What are we doing giants?

That's like bizarro world NFL.

Well, it technically was true with Parcels. He was a New York.

Jets didn't go no.

But we are doing the wide right game. Why did you pick this game?

Tom?

Why?

Why are we going this route?

I am a Giants fan, which is very tough to say right now in this current year. I yeah, it is pretty great. It is so great. It actually is kind of interesting, like when we'll get into it, I'm sure, but Hofstetler, who filled in for Phil Simms and takes them to this victory, he's kind of a Dovido kind of a guy, like, you know, knocked around. He's just a sub and then he just finds himself in this crazy fortunate position.

Literally.

So I love the Giants. I was I was out of school. I grew up in New Jersey. I went to school in New Jersey. And this is even before I was a comedian. I think this is like ninety one or ninety two, and I graduated in ninety So I'm living in an apartment with my girlfriend and I'm a Giants fan. And we went to school in like Central Jersey where it was all Eagle fans and Giant fans. So we're all like scrapping and all just like it was.

I mean the Tumblins Super Bowls that he was on the hot seat before both the Sea the seasons literally both times, like it was like a dumpster fire and then they got hot.

Yeah, and then they got hot out of nowhere.

And then they get that toughness. I mean there's something about the New York Football Giants that you know, they they when they turn it on and they got it going, especially with these Parcels teams.

Yeah, you know, like.

They had a formula of how to win and it was displayed in this game especially. Yeah, tough defense, control the game, eat the I mean backup quarterback, use the run game, use the players around us that we know what their strengths are, and not put them in a buying by trying to fucking let's not go five wide

Yeah, I mean the Bills were, I mean, Kelly was so legit. Thomas right, yeah, oh my god. I mean like they seemed like the army that was going to win it, and the Giants are like, maybe something will happen and we'll win it.

And they kind of the Giants kind of sneaked into this one beating my San Francisco, Francisco right forty nine ers on that fumble by Roger Craig. Yeah, we would a three peat. We're going for three peat.

We were going for the three peat fourteen to two, fourteen two too.

And I would always bring that up to Belichick. Yoh really, like in the cafeteria line or something that, you know, when I got gained some courage to talk to him. Huh, Like Bill Man, you know, Roger craiganill fumble that ball, we'd have three in a row. It's a fucking niners. You guys, fast team, they got dudes, hit him, you get all so bad, he's still mad. I'm like, it's twenty sixteen, dude, you guys won you want it all? Right?

How long did it take you to be able to do that with him?

Seven years?

And no, but this is this is gonna be a fun game to jump in, jump into.

Yeah. So it's remarkable when you look at Sorry to cut you off, but it's remarkable when you look at the game in this era. Yeah, it looks so different. It was they just I mean, their body types are different. They just kind of they look like guys that like like truck drivers that happen to play football, you know what I mean.

Like, yeah, I mean the information and the resources and and just the technology of you know, and the money. Yeah, you know, money makes every everything crazier. And with this huge got this huge beast they call the NFL, I mean, it's just a bigger and bigger product. And and you know, guys learned from these guys and then you know, back like I always tell people, it was like folklore to hear about what Jerry Rice did as as a trainer, how he would train in the off season. You heard

Little guys.

Yeah, they make themselves little, you know, it's how it naturally goes.

Yeah, all sport, It's just everything's rising, everything's rising. Amazing.

Now, how did you.

Start your fandom with with the New York Football Giants? I mean, Jersey guy, you're in mid Jersey. I was North Jersey.

So you're near the city, near the city, about a half hour outside the city and in that in that area. It I'm a Yankee fan. My grandfather was a grew up in like Hoboke and like during the Mickey Mantle like the era. So he got me into the Yankees. And I don't know if that's the thing that makes you go this way, but the way it works in the New York metropolitan area is it's Yankees, Giants, Yankees Giants, Rangers. Yeah, Mets Jets on the other side, Yeah, the Long Island

Did you ever see anything?

No, you just hear anything, yeah, like he would.

Just it wasn't We weren't getting any of the dark stuff that came out later.

You thought about you were you I didn't come out. That wasn't out there.

No, that wasn't out there yet, not for us, Like.

If I was like a twelve year old and LT lived on my block. I'd sit like see if he was bringing it, what he was doing, Yeah.

Yeah, Like people would see him like, you know, just stopping in at stores or stuff like that. But he was so crazy dominant. It was just just knowing that he lived in the same town was like all of us walked around like we were LT, you know what I mean. Like it was really so intense. And then my my football coach in high school, he got to work on the staff of the Giants when like I was a freshman, and he always told this great story.

Yeah? I mean I can only imagine those like those New Yorkers and those like those little Borough City people and those Jersey people. They love the Giants. Oh, they they cherish anything those people do and every part of SLLS. What do you think I need a fucking ride home? What do you My coach was like, oh.

I can see him.

I don't know him, but I can see him doing that just through how I know Bill and I've seen them in act.

I can see how.

Smart. How would you describe your football career?

I was a New York Giant when I was in like the league before high school, and uh, we had all the Giant colors and the Giants Gavis uniforms and stuff like that.

I was.

I'm the same size. I was the same size in sixth grade that I am now. So I was. Yeah, so I was for a while. I was a beast, and so I started out on the line. My father was a really good player. He went to Clifton High School back in the day where like the pictures are insane. It's like five thousand people for a high school game, all in hats. And I was very tough and he took them to state championship a couple of times. And he was just like dominant, like strong, strong guy. So

Coach.

He was tough, he wouldn't he not. Yeah, he was tough, but he wasn't like the coaches that get like abusive, like grab your face mask. Yeah yeah. He would just be more like he had this quiet intensity, so like he just came up and was like what are you doing, You'd be like, uh, you know, you'd shake. Yeah, he didn't have to like really go after your dad?

Did that?

Is he a coach for you long time?

I coach my whole life?

Yeah, he it was.

I mean there's some some funny documentary stuff out there.

Oh really, no.

My dad was just very tough on.

Me, and I was like, I was like a wild kid, and I was a very I would if you challenge me, I was going to challenge you back. Yeah, yeah, you know, and I wanted to prove him wrong and like you how to handle me. I needed to be handled like.

That, right right.

He was tough on me.

Yeah, you know, and then you had to be broken down a little bit.

He had to break me, Yeah, had to break me, but he never did. I tried. I charged him ount on him once we were doing VP before a game.

Oh really Yeah, he threw.

At me because I was dipping my shoulder and he threw at me. He hit me like I jumped up and hit my ankle. I threw my bat and out. I went in charge of me. Hit me once, really hit me and I was on the ground.

I'm trying to head butt them and stuff.

That's great. I think I had the opposite, Like my father wanted me to be more like you. My father wanted me to be more intense, and I was. I was also the class clown, you know, like I was a good athlete, but I was also the class I.

Was though I thought it was.

Yeah it was, but I yeah, so it's cool though. I mean overall, did you think the experience of having your dad coach you all those years was.

I wouldn't be where I'm at without it.

Yeah, you know, I mean it was a different time, different generation, had no one to learn from his. He didn't really have a dad, so like, yeah, that's what he thought was right, making it up.

Yeah, and you know.

Like, yeah it was tough, but I had a great life. Yeah, it has a hard worker, great example and.

It's the best. Yeah, it's a cool thing. Like when you know everyone's there on the team, but your dad's there. Yeah, it was pretty He was the worst, the worst.

Like they'd be like your dad as a coach.

I was like, yeah, you can go home and hit me if I don't have a good practice.

Yeah, you guys get to last. You guys get to go eat with normal people.

Will be right back after this quick break. No, you played some sports an athlete, and like you said, you're a class clown. How did when did you know you were a stand up comic? When did you know you were a comedian? When were you going to pursue that.

Like seventh grade. Seventh Yeah, like seventh grade, I got.

You, just loved the laugh made you.

I loved I was funny. I was always funny. And then seventh grade was when I found out that it was a job for adults. That's like when I learned about Steve Martin and George Carlin. Was like, oh my man, like grown people, this is their job. And so at that point, I was just like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that. I just knew it. I just knew I'm gonna I'm going after that. So everything kind of went that way. But I was an athlete too, so you know, I just I played like crazy, and I was also

But Joe Melendez, Melendez, it's called fucking leadership. You gotta get them on their high you gotta cut them down.

They're low, that's right. So I but so I always knew, and like I said, I was this size. So I had pretty decent high school. I ran full back, and but I knew that was it, Like I could have. My father wanted me to play Division III, but I was done. I knew it was and I knew I was going to be a comedian. So I went to a school that didn't have football and uh, but had but had theater.

What's cool? Rider?

Where's that in Jersey? Mid Jersey, said jer Yeah, with all the Eagle fans. Yeah. And the writer I always say is uh. Its distinction is that it's down the road from Princeton. Yeah, you know, it's not the best school, but it was. It was good to me, and they had a theater department and no football. So I went there to get my degree.

Princeton it's like the birthplace of football, Yeah, isn't it? Princeton Yale? I think you're right first football game ever? Was it? Rutgers Rutgers? Rutgers Rutgers in Princeton, Princeton Rutgers the first football game ever?

Wow, I didn't know Rutgers was that old.

So you went, you go to writer any did you did you have any other comedians with you? No, You're the only one there anyone else in the class? Or how does that work?

In?

Like?

You were there to study communications. The agreement was that I would get a degree, and I think it was it was smart because I, you know, meet a lot of comedians that don't know how to make a phone call, you know what I mean? Like it was it was a good deal. And I just dove into the theater. I was just in all the plays and I just took up. I did all my athletics stuff went into theater. So I was just going balls out, getting the leads

You just you get up. You're done with school.

Yeah, got some good parts, got some experience, got to meet some good people, hone down some skills. All right, I'm going to New York City. Let's fucking try it out.

Let's go do it. Let's go do it. Yeah, And that's.

That's you gotta have some faith in yourself, like anyone that has a good story, right, I mean all the I've been blessed, unfortunate enough to meet so many different people in so many different fields. Yeah, and it's about taking that shot. Yeah, you know, and and believing in yourself. That is the common thing that goes into all the stories. Yeah, and it's they're in different ways, but it's it's always good to hear that, you know.

But like you like, looking back and you tell the story, it's like, you know, it seems like, okay, then I win for it. But it just once the idea gets in your brain, you're just like it's just you. Yeah, You're just you don't even think of it, like right, like I'm making five dollars a night doing stand up. In the beginning, I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Yeah, like now this version, thinking back on that is like, how did you survive?

I put it puts you in perspective, sure, just because you know what it took to get to where you're at.

Yeah, yeah, you know all those little things. Yeah, but it's almost like you can't stop it, like what you were that you had to be that.

Yeah.

And I also I'm very thankful because a lot of people, you know, like my passion just so happened to like go with my talent. You know, a lot of people have a passion for something, but they don't they're not necessarily and that's something. They're talent field or they're talented as something, but they don't love it, you know, and that's you know, that's the tough you know, that's tough.

Yeah, you know they never find it.

They never find it. You're on a search for something.

So so how did at what age were you like, Oh, I'm just not going to give this up.

I was in a different situation where I was always like having to prove myself, Like I always thought I was the best dude on the field, and I always like I literally thought that anytime I stepped off field. But like it was always oh there's this guy and then you're not that big, right, and I always ball out. There's always an excuse for why there was someone else, and like so it kind of manipulated my mind not to think.

Of like the future future.

I was like always so focused on like fuck that You're always working at what was on your plate, and every step of the way, you know there was something like that. You know, it wasn't enough to play college quarterback, this didn't have a position in the pros. So there's always something that like tricked my mind into the competition mode where you thought about it, but it gave you a a direction.

To go right just knocking them out as you go along trying.

Yeah, you know, you get knocked out a lot more. You can knock them out. You know, you're out in New York, you're out, fresh out of college and you're hitting these clubs. Life is great, probably in New York nineties, probably crazy fun.

When did when did you.

First have like your first break or or like where someone saw you or you met a friend, or you're in a comedy club with someone and they you know, like there's always that one thing, Yeah, where like that's when you started really making it.

Yeah, it's uh. I always say that my biggest break was when I met Seinfeld.

Yeah.

Yeah, he he came into the clubs after his show was done, and there's this one two day, two night period where I was on stage when he came to check. He was just he came back and he was just checking out the scene before he went up again. Yeah, he was just checking out the club and seeing what it was all about. And I was on stage two

What makes what makes Seinfeld so special? What are some of the things that he may have taught you as a lesson or some of the things you just picked up, like because you said you prepare like him? Yeah, Like

Yeah, it's there's so much. I mean, they're not there, they're not trying to teach you. But if you want to learn, just hang around these guys and you really start picking it all up.

Like if I allow you to hang around, they're teaching you. That's that's kind of yea. Yeah, good, that's what I always That's how I Yeah, when when like a stud, Yeah, because I would always try to. I always hung around with the studs of the team or other players when there's like training areas in the off season. I see where Larry Fitzgerald was.

I wanted to be around him.

I want to see what the fuck he was doing.

Yeah, exactly, Larry Fitzgerald. I have a funny quick story. I got to play in the All Star Game for the Major League Baseball. You know they do the the celebrity and old timers. I guess. So I got to play on the softball team and I had this TV show at the time, and I got to do it, and we played in Arizona, and I'm in the outfield and I'm freaking out. You know, I don't really play baseball,

I'm like, yes, she and that ball come off a bat when you haven't seen it in a while and having to judge it that little thing you probably show, Yeah I got it, I did it.

Oh yeah, it's crazy. So that's a great way to put it, though, if they let you hang around, it really is. So I learned. The biggest thing was that I learned that comedy is this you're funny, and it's so kind of it's kind of like this wild bull. It's like, what is this thing? Like you just kind of like get up and guys. People do it in a lot of different ways. And the thing I learned from him was that, no, this is a craft and you can get better at it, but you got to

I just I just took it all in professional. Yeah, A pros pro.

Pros pro one hundred percent, one hundred percent.

That's that's honestly that.

I remember I went in the locker room one time and or my agent said, you know, don't be heard, be seen. Mm hmm, you know, like, don't don't be heard, just be seen and just try to collect as much as you can from the guys that are in there the longest. Yeah, you know, And and that's and that goes a long way. And especially nowadays, you know, I don't know how young comics are, but young athletes, you know, it's it's a complete different ball game.

Yeah.

You know, they've had a million followers since they were fifteen years old, and they did a backflip and the end zone with their high school game. Yeah, and it's on social you know what I mean. Guys come in naturally like they think there's something Yeah, when like everyone did that in this lucker room.

Right right exactly, and nobody, nobody.

It's it's kind of and I'm sure it's like that for every older generation with the new generation. But yeah, getting back to who are some of the younger comedians that you know, you let hang around you or you you kind of saw and and maybe you've helped.

Yeah, it's uh, it's a lot. It becomes that thing where like you don't And it's funny like when we talk about those guys weren't out to teach us, like, yeah, I wasn't really, but I was like, hey, do you want to open for me? And just taking them around. And then there's this guy Stavros Halkias, you know Stavros.

Yeah, yeah, I just watched it.

He he uh, he opened for me. He was. I was one of the first guys to take him on the road. He was. I just found him at this little Maryland club. I was just doing clubs at the time, and they sent me a tape a YouTube link or whatever to check out this chubby little guy from Baltimore, and I took him under my wing and I just he just did my radio show yesterday, awesome, and he was talking about how much I helped him, you know, during that time. And it's so funny because I just

Young Bucks.

That's awesome.

I mean that's I was an asshole in the locker room. But if I saw a kid that was really trying, really working his ass off, yeah I was, you know, I had to help him out.

Yeah you know, because I remember.

Being that kid.

Yeah, you know, and I needed that.

And there's guys that you know, looked out for me, and there's guys or assholes me. Yeah, you know, but I was more of an accounting I made you accountable, asshole. You know, you were a fucking slap dick, and he thought you're ship isn't sinking the fucking room. I wasn't gonna tell you. All right, dude, we we went before you. We don't need you, you know, right. Yeah, So, you know that's one thing that that you can always you know, you retire and your your guys' field is so much longer.

You guys can do it for so long.

But the one thing even when you guys put it down, is that what you gave back to the game or the community or you know, that lives, that knowledge lives forever. You know, the things that you learn and maybe it helps a younger guy and he you know what I mean. Yeah, it's kind of like it's kind of like your dignity to the for me, it's the game. For you, it's the yeah, yeah, being you know comic Yeah, I.

Mean, we're all part of this whole like lineage. You know, it's the whole thing. Is like you're saying, like the whole game like elevating, like it's all becoming. You know, we're all just parts of this ongoing story.

You know.

And it's cool if you do things right, then people still want to hear about you, you know, as you as you are, like at a different stage your thing is so insane though, because it's so it's shorter, but it's so big. It's so if if you're as successful as you were, it's such this massive.

Yeah, but you don't get to enjoy it. I didn't get to enjoy it as much. No, just because you're so in it.

You're working so hard.

Yeah, you're always having to get better and reinvent yourself. And after you win, then it gets even harder. And every time you win, you just become a bigger and bigger target. There's more and more film of you. You have to constantly change your game and counter things and evolve yourself with the clock the clock of your analysism.

Yeah, yeah, you know.

So, speaking of clock, let's turn back the clock and we got a segment where we go back to January twenty seventh, nineteen ninety one, around the game, the number one movie we talked pop culture Home Alone.

Yeah, that held up.

That held up, I mean it still holds up to this day. Yeah, my kid loves it. Macaulay Culkin just got a star I saw recently.

Yeah, with Catherine O'Hara. Yeah, it was cool seeing them together. Yeah, that's my daughter's favorite Christmas movie.

We were talking backstage here before this, I thought it was a little bit weird. It's still number one movie in American We're.

In January here that it was number one for them a.

Month after Christmas, you know what I mean, because I was thinking of it as a Christmas movie.

Right when did it come out? That's a good question.

He came out November sixteenth, So.

It had a nice wow.

Whoa eighteen million dollar budget mid four hundred and seventy eight mil Wow.

Yep, big horses.

Asses.

That was only I was young.

So when I heard a kid say ass, I was like, hell, yeah, ko Joe PETI, I mean Marv. Well that was a fucking that was awesome. Kindergarten Cop came out around this time. I mean, I love the movie. We were just talking about that with Lily the other night. I know, my daughter was talking about Kindergarten Cop. We saw a picture of Arnold. She goes, oh, he's a police guy in that.

Movie and a teacher.

Dancing with the wolves is basically Avatar. Yeah, yeah, Avatar in the eighties or the nineties.

Yeah, Kevin Costner and then.

The Godfather three.

Oh yeah. Controversy is it good?

Is it not.

It's not, it's not.

Yeah, the golf four started.

That's always nice.

I remember my buddy, my buddy from college, actually the kid who had the season tickets to the Giants, who I watched this game with my buddy, Chris. He made me go to dinner with him and he was telling me, Now, Chris is fat and loud and uh not the brightest guy. And he took me to dinner to tell me that if they if they ask him, he's going to go fight in the Gulf War. No military background. You can knock him over with a feather.

Were you guys thinking draft coming?

Maybe I wasn't. He had some fantasy and he was ready to go, and I was like, I was. I admired his patriotism, but I was like, I think you're gonna be all right.

Yeah, I'm heating fucking lobster tiale wine. Let's go back into the sports world. Baseball Hall of Famer, non Hall of famer Pete Rose. He got banned, Yeah, he got banned. What's your thoughts on that? I love Pete Rose.

I love Pete Rose too. God, he's so dominant.

What was he thinking?

I don't know, you know what is he bored?

Was he bored? Like? What do you?

Because he probably he's such a competitor.

Is that what it is?

I think? So?

Yeah, that's that's a that's a sad one because he was such a fucking tenacious, just just man out there. I mean, who fucking steals home and blows up Catcher an All Star Game? Charlie Hustle Baby, Charlie hus NFL MVP. Joe Montana, that was my guy. My I had a dog named Montana. You did two dogs, Dwighton Montana.

Well, he was dominant.

I mean you guys, you probably hated him though.

I saw LT take him out.

Yeah, he broke his back.

I was at that game. It was in Giant Stadium. Was the first LT?

Was it someone else?

I think it was who's the other linebacker.

Carson O?

Banks? I think it was Banks.

I thought LT took him out.

Someone broke his back, but he got folded.

Yeah, I mean that that was like the downfall of.

What maybe confusing LT with thisman.

He did break thisman's leg.

He broke everybody. Yeah, he was on cocaine.

Note to sell, do not do drugs.

Have you ever see the water boy Bobby Bouche comes to talk at LT's camp and he can't talk and he goes and that's why you don't do drugs. And it's coming from LT. He's the he know for.

Mountains of Cocaine.

Oh and the Red sweep.

The A's in the World Series, man, the A's See you got Oakland, got a bad ticket? Yeah, Las Vegas, here we come. I know you can't change of colors, man, Yeah, silver and black would be tough. Yeah.

Mowing down some casinos to build the stadium, that's.

I mean, that's gonna be cool.

It would be cool.

I mean it's good, honestly. I mean, baseball in Vegas is gonna be fucking awesome. Yeah. For the hours, you probably could have a slot machine at your fucking seat.

Yeah, it's true. You can play Keno on the big board.

Yeah, bingo.

We got it all.

Yeah. Now, what was life like for you ninety one?

Did you say ninety one? You were still in college. Yeah, I'm just leaving college. I'm living with my girlfriend who's still in college. So we went a little north. We picked a place. I was working in northern New Jersey doing advertising, and she was still going to school. So we got this little place, this little tiny place, and we lived together there, and uh, yeah, I wasn't you know. I think I was still acting. I think I went

You couldn't google it.

You couldn't google it, right, you couldn't YouTube it.

You couldn't find anything now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, insane. So I'm just kind of knocking around, getting smoking weed and living with my girlfriend.

That's awesome. Yeah, we'll be right back after this quick break. Games with Names is brought to you by my friends at win Bet. Wind Bet is bringing the excitement of win Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor to online sports betting. Whether you're a recreational player or some serious handicapper, win bet is your ticket to every exciting wager, from straight bets to parlays, teasers, and any prop bet you can

Betting is a team sport.

Join the win bet team and bet with the best.

Must be twenty one or older and present in the state where playthrough win bet is available. Terms and conditions at winbet dot com. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem called one eight hundred five to two to two four to seven zero.

Zero one eight hundred five to two two four seven zero zero, let's uh, let's jack. Why don't we set the stage and get jump into the game. Heck you, we.

Talked earlier about what a wagon. These two teams were thirteen and three verse thirteen and three respectively.

Wow the Bills.

Starting off with the Bills, we got Bruce Smith on a defense one defensive Player of the Year this year set the franchise record with nineteen sases. But yep, Fellow Hockey like Tyler league's best offense as well, So I mean they had getting it done on both sides of the ball. Eight No at home, couldn't be beat up in Buffalo, Jim Kelly, Thurman, Thomas, Andre Reed, James Lofton. I mean it was a it was a star star cast that was a kind of favor.

It sounds like the Buffalo Bills of two years ago when they lost to the the Chiefs, because they had their defense was like a top ten defense.

Yeah, they had.

That's when Dave Ball was still there and they were they were fucking they were lighting it up.

Couldn't beat him at home.

Largest margin of victory of any team in the NFL this season, So, I mean they were they were the odds on favorite here.

Yeah.

You ever perform in Buffalo?

Yeah? Once?

What were your thoughts on the city?

I didn't go back.

That says it all Western New York Buffalo.

It is good. They're good people up there. I was just in Syracuse just similar, and you know, they don't the sun for like nine months. No, but they're they're still happy there.

Yeah.

It's it's they're not like they're more Midwest people to me than they are East Coast.

Yeah, one hundred.

Like it's yeah, because a lot of we used to have a lot of at Kent State. A lot of kids from Buffalo, Western New York would come to Kent State and like these people are from like Midwest is completely different.

Yeah, any place that where the weather is that bad for that long, Like you have to be good people, you do. Like people in Minnesota, Wisconsin. It's like something the greatest people you'll meet.

I would say, lake cold people you get on them coasts. Yeah, those cold people are pretty cold.

Yeah, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, the lake effect la. Yeah, this was a stacked team is dangerous.

Did it like you think two New York teams in a Super Bowl? Did it feel like a like a like was that.

A thing that not? Really?

No, that's not New York, not my New York.

I like that answer.

Yeah, No, I was use.

I was like, oh man, two New York teams, Like, well, someone say it's only one New York team.

I would agree, right, and one Jersey team. I was trying to get that going, but never caught on.

Never never.

See what the giants are looking like the Giant seven Pro Bowlers. We lost Phil Simms in Week fifteen talking.

About the nineteen, the fourteen, and two niners. They were thirteen and three.

I know, but everyone was making the Niners out to be like way better. Lost Phil Simms in Week fifteen against the Bills. That's when Hosteller comes in and writes the ship. Bill Belichick running the defense, Tom Coughlin coaching the receivers. Both these guys would leave after the season. Fewest points allowed in the NFL, and I mean you might as well. You can talk all the names, all the Pro Bowlers, but it's LT's team, LT.

Lt Man, oh Man, LT's team. But Otis Anderson. It was a beast Bavarovar, My god, just money.

I mean, you did a show I did in South the NFL Phil Simms, Oh yeah, called mister Simms. Yeah, he's a he's a firecracker. Yeah, he's a great dude. Here's some of some of those stories that you can tell about lt Man. We're insane?

Yeah yeah. What was he like in the locker room?

What was LT?

Lt? How are you getting ready next to that guy?

I heard a story I won't tell by a source, but I guess LT had like a snake or he had something in his locker and he had like four watches and he had a stack of all his checks that weren't cash ship really and it was like his whole it was like a season and a half. It was probably half a million dollars of checks that he had cash. Oh my god, that was lt like a funny guy. Yeah, and of course it was Bill Parcells. I mean I totally buried the lead there.

And even Tom story also made me think of another Jersey high school football coach that was on this staff, a young Charlie Weiss. Young Charlie Weiss a defensive assistant on this staff or just a coaching assistant, I should say, well was he?

Yeah? Pretty crazy Charlie Weiss. There's an office in our facility called Charlie's office because it was his head. Yeah, he left, it always was still Charlie's office like that.

The Giants used to stay at the Woocliffelake Hilton on their home games because they didn't want everybody to stay at home, right, so you stay at the local hotel and the Woolffe Flake Hilton. It's where I worked as a bus boy, and my girlfriend did room service and she was a tiny little thing. She was like you know, five to four. We were in high school and she did room service and she went to Pepper Johnson's room to drop off a tray and he kind of made a pass at her. He is I think seven times

Old coach. Pep, Pep coach me for a couple of years. He did. Yeah. Pepper Johnson six three man, Yeah.

Rachel was five four ninety eight pounds.

Well, it's time for the Bounty wingman question. Let's do it. Bounty is everyone's favorite wingman because you can't have football without wings, and you can't have wings without Bounty. So this is our segment where because there's always such a mess when you're eating wings, you have a nice Bounty paper towel.

We chew on a wing.

I ask you a question, and even though we're on this beautiful Swede couch, we don't worry because we have paper towels.

All right, you have an eating with me.

Yeah, So we all know Bounty helps clean up the messiest moments. So what's your messiest moment on stage?

M One time when I was starting out. I was working a club in New Jersey that's a good wing and somebody threw a French fry at me and it had ketchup on it. And I was a young comic. I wasn't doing that great to begin with, and someone hit me with a French fry and I looked down and because it had ketchup on it, it just slowly it like stuck to me and slowly went down my shirt. And there's no one funny enough to come back from that. You just have to leave the stage.

Don't you wish you had a Bounty paper towel?

Oh my god, it's funny because when it happened, that's what I was thinking.

Were you well, color shirt white white?

Yeah? Wow, it was pretty embarrassing.

Bounty and Wings my favorite duo. And that was the Bounty wing man question Jack, what about we said the stage of his game? All right?

This was a rematch of the week fifteen game, which the Bills won, knocked out Phil Simms. So the that was late in the season getting him out knocked him out Phil the rest of the season.

Hated to see it.

Hosteller comes in and leads away. After that, Buffalo's path to the Super Bowl, beat Miami in a shootout against Dan Marino up in the snow there in western New York.

Then they rolled the Raiders.

Put up ninety five total points in those two games. So the offense was just clicking, firing on all cylinders. The Giants at a beach Chicago, and then as we alluded to earlier, went out to San Francisco Candlestick and beat Jules's Niners. I got that San Francisco tree, that fumble man, that darn fumble. Giants leaned on their power offense. Bill Parcells always preached a tough defense and a ball control power offense. They could run the ball. I mean,

Yeah.

I mean, I was doing research when we were watching this game, and it reminded me of.

Every Super Bowl I was in.

Really, I mean, to a t let's try to control the clock, right, I tried to have possessions. Now some of them, that was like our game plan going into some of them. You know, we played Atlanta and there fucking we're down twenty eight to three. That kind of game plan goes up door. But you know that was kind of like the blueprint. Yeah, and I mean they executed to a t because with an explosive offense like Buffalo, like the only way I mean they were they were

I mean, when you have that running game, you can just and it gets stronger as the game goes on.

Demoralizes a team when you run the ball down their throat, demoralizes. I'm on offense and if we're getting ran on, this is us all right, you know, because we want to get you out of your rhythm. You want to get out there, and you got a fucking fifteen to twenty minute drive.

Yeah, that's tough.

I mean that, it's really getting cold on the side. It's insane.

And then we're watching before this Bill was saying, like you probably heard a million times in Super Bowls, he was gonna let Thurman Thomas do what Thurman Thomas was gonna do. But they're gonna take away anything deep down the field, play that cover to bring the safeties up, and you got to go across the middle and fight out. And you can take a little four yard catch, but you can take a pounding Yeah.

Yeah.

It would dare you to catch it over the middle when you could actually kill people.

Yeah.

Literally, I think I think I saw knife pulled that one.

We saw the clip of hospital.

It's like buried into the ground and he has smelling salts to.

Like, yeah, he's like, yeah, the three back in there didn't even miss it. Serious, Yeah, his head is just garied in the turf. So there's no new York rivalry. This, this is like New York, like New York, New York Now, no, no, no sub series that.

Like The Raiders. Yeah, Upstate's very different from New York City.

What about uh different? What's your what's your thoughts of Tampa Bay? This was in Tampa Bay.

In Tampa. Yeah, no feeling at all. I'm even trying. Yeah down there no response, Yeah a little bit. Yeah, it's all right. You know, it's a it's a weird place. It's one of those like Tampa, Orlando.

You know, what's the game day Schmorgesborg for a Super Bowl while you're watching this.

When I'm watching this, definitely remember definitely it was we were deep into wings, tons and tons of wings. That's wings and pizza and beer.

That was it.

There was not maybe a bag of chips that was as fancy as we got.

What's the chip back then?

It was probably ruffles ridges. Okay, maybe some maybe some supermarket onion.

Yeah, you know. Now you're sitting there in the first half and before the last the drive before half were the Giants score. Yeah, like you guys are getting played the three. So you're sitting there dipping your chip, you're ruffling in the dip and you're like, are you stressed at this point going in? Yeah, before that last drive into half.

There's no there's nothing about this day that ever lets you off the hook and makes you feel good. It's always nerve wracking. It's always in the first And there was also, you know, going back and watching it, there was that Matt they you know, when the team starts, breaks start happening, you think the mojo's going their way. There was a couple like tip balls and things that were just it seemed like this was gonna be Buffalo's night. It just seems like we're not getting any of the magic.

Then you're sitting in the back of your head. You're sitting there, it's our backup quarterback.

Oh yeah, we don't even deserve to be here used to. There's no way how's that's going to do it. And these guys, Kelly and Thomas is just like Thomas was just but I.

Mean, we watched an interview and Belichick was saying that they were gonna let them run the ball.

They we didn't they we didn't want them.

Yeah, to throw the ball, which he's basically saying, we're gonna challenge him to have to put together these big drives.

And execute in the red area, right, So they were they were cool with that.

I think man nerve wracking. But like there's also though when you watch when you watch Norwood, yeah, his first field goal kind of shanks. He makes it, but it it kind of squibs to the right. It does. It's not like looking back you can see like there was not a lot of something was up. This guy was not. And he was one for like five over forty yards.

Or forty five yards, Tom, you're on the money man, right, one for five on field goal attempts of forty more yards for grass fields forty.

Yards forty or more. So, like I did not feel that during the day. Yeah, I was not not like confident, but looking back, like that first kick is likely over compensate.

That next one. Yeah, that's one of those ones where you sneaked by huh and then you're like oh, and then right before the next one you're like, I can't do that mechanic. It's like that golf shot, right. Oh.

Yes, Norwood was not like a great kicker by any mean. So, like I know, hindsight's twenty twenty here, and everyone gives him the rap of of being the goat. But I mean he was twenty for twenty nine on the year, sixty nine percent ratios.

How about those screw How good they were?

How cool were their face masks? Bring back the single bar, both kickers, bring back the bar.

We need a bar down low so you can see their whole face when they miss.

Now I got the serious, real serious question. It was the Whitney Houston national anthem, national anthem in the history of national anthems.

Of all time. It was insane.

No one comes close.

And Marvin Gay had a good one over at Marvin and Houston at the All Star Game. All Up Star Game was cool because he had a cool, like like beat with it, and yeah, yeah.

But this was stunny.

But this was also we're going to war. We were going to war, and we didn't know what that meant. And even though my buddy Chris, who's there eating wings with me, was ready to enlist, Uh, it was heightened. And she was so beautiful, so on top.

Of her game, she nailed it, nailed it.

Those what do they call those jets? Yeah, airplane, but it was those it was like the new the ones that couldn't be detected by radar.

Oh, stealth bombers.

Stealth bombers. I hadn't seen that before. We're like, what is happening right now?

Do you think that was the government kind of flexing over? Like if anyone's watching the Super Bowl, we got these cool new black things.

Yeah, we're getting ready to go.

That's what I mean. We never seen is that the first time we see the black bombers?

I think so?

I think, so let me double check here, like what is that? It's that star that's crazy.

And she was so oh my god, she was so beautiful and just killed it.

Man.

So halftime, new kids on the block, New kids on the block are there? I don't remember that. I must have been doing Bond hits during that.

Oh so at halftime, the Giants did the last shot kind of situation. Gotta get that touchdown, got it down to a one score game, score game, and then they open up the drive with a ten minute drive, suck off ten minutes of the third quarter, huge score, a touchdown.

Go up, seventeen twelve, seventeen twelve.

Huh, take up?

I mean, as you said, eat up almost eleven minutes o'clock. Then Buffalo comes out, has a big drive to start the fourth, they get up nineteen seventeen, We come down, kick a field goal, go up twenty to nineteen.

How much time? Minutes left? Seven?

So we got time to work with at this point, Tom, Are you like, cause I'm like a pessimistic fan, Oh yeah, and I'm like.

Oh too much time? We're done? Where are you staying on the.

You're just waiting. You're like, they're going to kill us? How are they going to do it? And are we going to do it to ourselves? It's just the knee jerk reaction.

That's a Boston, New York fan.

Yeah right, yeah, same.

It gets down all the way to this last kick. Walk us through step FIRSTEP. If you remember how I remember.

That they had this impressive drive and Kelly, you know a force. They started pretty deep, I believe, yeah.

Believe it started on their nine yard line and.

They put together this drive and I don't remember exactly what like the last play putting him in position for the kick.

Thurmon Thomas run got him down to about the thirty and the minute to spike it.

And then they had to spike it.

YEP.

So how much time was on when they started a drive?

When they started the drive.

There were so we had a couple of three and outs here, So there were two minutes sixteen seconds.

Yeah, from their own ten.

To sixteen and it doesn't feel like today's to sixteen. Like the clock got eaten up right much more.

There's an explosive of the game, right, Yeah.

You have to play old school football and it eats up clock.

Literally.

It was just yeah that all started like five years ago with Patrick Mahomes and Allen right where you know seven seconds was too much.

I mean this one you can actually.

Hit people right exactly. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, so that's a two minute try. But they get all the way down and uh man, I just remember I remember the players like praying. They're just like huddled like giants. The giants were just like on the sideline, like hugging each other just nobody, nobody could look. And in Summerville, New Jersey, in a shitty one bedroom apartment, no one was in their seat. We were just lying on the

Right away? Oh?

Right away? It was pretty quick. It was pretty cool. It wasn't like that much. I mean it really, yeah, it was. It was wide right, It was really wide right. Just tad how I mean, there's nothing more upsetting to watch than a kicker that blow it like that.

That's sad. I feel bad for the kicker, you know, yeah, just because you know, I've been around the guys. Yeah, and you know they're they're usually in their own little world. Some guys don't accept him asselflayer. They know that.

Yep, you know they know that.

People think they only have one fucking job. Yeah, so it's kind of like one of those things where you can't get mad. The guy works his ass off. Yeah, you know. The operation. It's crazy. The aftermath of this game. Oh that kick where it goes the butterfly effect four straight for Buffalo, which is completely different than what the Giants do, and they win their second Super Bowl in the franchise history. I mean it, h that was a spiral that could have been it.

Now let me ask you this personnel changes, why the teams remain the teams?

Like why you know what I mean, Like.

The Patriots are the Patriots. I mean you have eras where you're killing it, and but there's still something in the dna of a team. Everyone's gone, coaches have changed. Is it the building, is it just the what is it that still like makes the Patriots the Patriots?

Well they're not that right now.

Yeah, I know they're not.

I but you got Tom Brady and and Belichick had a template and and he had the law, and Tom went out and the best players in the team would enforce the law. There's good nucleus of guys. And then you know when those that first team kind of got out and there's different guys that kind of went into that area. And but the one the two constants were Tom and Bill, you know. And there's a lot a whole lot of debate going on right about now about all that right now, right but I think a lot of it was both.

Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. I mean up until like the Giants have would have like winning years and then they would just suck and then it's a.

Tough place to play. A lot of expectation, a lot of distraction. The media in New York is very tough. I mean we all know, you know, so it's it it's hard. Yeah, it's it's not easy to win this league. And it's a quarterback league. And I mean this is the time where you know, Buffalo had a really good quarterback and then the Giants did too, and he gets hurt and they found a way. Yeah. You know that that's what depth, good defense, good situational football can do

Yeah, you know, in a good way.

We know what, you know what, we're gonna run.

Yeah, and we run. Yeah.

The the Bills still haven't won a Super Bowl. So if you're a team now, like when they're having a rough yew this year, but yeah, you know, recently they've been contending. And does the history play into it, kind of like the Red Sox or the Cubs, like the curse kind of like you hear in the media constantly like there's something going on, Like, well, for me.

I wasn't a part of the first three Super Bowls or the undefeated season. I was in the second group of three, so it was god, it was uh, you know, there were different generations, so I always we always had to hear about Teddy Bruski, William McGuinness, fucking Kevin Fall, Troy Brown and how these guys made the plays, you know, and you know, you go out win a Super Bowl and.

You're still hearing it.

Well, these guys did it two three, So then you get competitive with it. They wanted to be you know, so I don't know, it could steer you different ways, and yeah, you do think about history.

It is in your head though, you know, but yeah, it was in our head.

It was in my head. I can't speak for everyone, but for me, that motivated me. I wanted to be like them, and I was sick of hearing about them. I wanted to hear about us. Yeah, you know, because they were I mean, they were the first to do it. Yeah, and it was they, you know, it was It's hard when everyone knows about you. It was about him knows about us because of them, so everyone hated us.

Yeah, yeah, you know.

Parcells went on to retire after this year.

His first retirement that was a big fallout, and then Bill even going to take the Browns head coaching job, another cursed franchise, and Tom Coughlin took over BC as a head coach. So those were kind of the big the big departures brain drain from the Giants coaching staff.

Belichick goes to the Browns.

Do you secretly wish Belichick comes back to the Giants?

Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean I never hated on the Patriots. It was very It was very much because of him, and also uh uh took some of the staff also, Crenell orc Yeah, and I love those guys. So you knew that discipline that kind of like we always carried it like is Giant fans, Like we were old school disciplined, real like legit football that it was up in New England. I couldn't I admired it. I couldn't hate on it.

You could always tell when we were in New York playing against the Giants. He loved the Giants. Yeah, you could just tell. I mean it was, you know, a huge part of his start. Yeah, you know how he talked about those teams, how he talked about LT. Pepper Johnson, Philip Sims and the stories of all those, you know, like.

He loved the Giants.

Yeah, you know, yeah, they have kind of similar DNA. I guess because of those guys.

Is this ninety one defense one of the greatest of all time? The greatest of all time or one of the great everyone throws the eighty five bears. No, they don't really get the the cred really if you think about it, who the Giants Giants ninety one defense here?

Yeah, I mean you just asking that question best of all times, Like I didn't never even thought of them in that term. Carson was gone.

I think it was.

Banks and LT.

YEP and Pep Yep and Steve Diassi.

Yeah, I think man if LT is under LT automatically makes some more.

People just think he rushed the pastor that did did everything. I mean, I remember what I remember Bill would throw on we would we would struggle with There's like this trap where they do this double pool and they still run the same damn plays, you know and nowadays back then, yeah, and the defensive end is supposed to you gotta set the edge, but it's hard because you have two guys and they can pop through and they can get through. So you gotta really blow it up. But you can't

Everyone just thinks, you know, yeah, we'll just we'll just be LT.

Yeah, he's one of those guys.

Oh my god.

Now would you rather lose three Super Bowls in a row or not make it to a Super Bowl?

Not make it? I don't know.

I think I gotta lose three? You do? Yeah, well you're you're as a fan, not as a player.

Yeah what about as a player?

As a player, you gotta go. I want to go.

You gotta go.

You gotta at least play in the show. Yeah, you may not win the show, but you're still you gotta go to the show.

Yeah.

See where it stacks up.

This is why you're a great athlete. And I tell jokes about my dogs because I would I'm like, oh, that's gonna hurt. That's gonna hurt so much. Why don't we just not you just have it in you, You're just ah. But I mean, what do you think Bill's fans say.

I don't know they're they're in until one right now? Yeah, Jackie, we have any leftovers.

We had a pretty clean up stod, but we do have a leftover question that we we love to throw out to everybody. Tom, we love great locker room stories, so we were wondering, do you have any great green room stories from touring with Seinfeld back in the heyday?

Uh? Yeah, This was a little later and he was back playing the Beacon, and he's gonna play the Beacon. I'm going to open for him, and then we're going to like Columbus, Ohio or something the next day. And the Beacon has very small tights and old building, tight

Right.

I'm like, oh, hey, I'm just doing a bit. I'm just being funny. And they're like, hey, nice to meet you.

Oh my god, you guys need to ride home.

Anyone I'm going I'm going downtown. Everybody want to share a cab. It was pretty humiliating. I meant the guy job.

And then they come any.

Sleepy, very funny, Tom, very funny.

So let's score the game. The name of the game is wide right. We all know we play call off of it, and we used to have a sign where we'd have the picture of it, like on our tip sheets. We'd have a tip sheet before each game, give your reminders, and we used to have a play call wide right, and on the reminder tip sheet it was the picture of the wide right. Oh really yeah, we'll be right back after this quick break. Score the game presented by

It's gonna be a good one.

Steaks zero to ten decimals. Okay, score the stakes of this game.

Game the steaks. Uh, can it get any higher?

Camp?

No?

Right?

Yeah, yeah, so whatever?

The max is ten, ten, ten for all the marbles. Yeah, we got ten star power.

Oh man, super Bowl, super Bowl and both sides of stars.

We're just throwing tens out for everything. There's different levels of super Bowls, right, like a back to back super Bowl or like an undefeated season super Bowl.

You know, like, it's fine, it's.

Okay, you're saying too many tens.

We've been just handing out ten. We handed out of ten to game five of an NBA Finals, Like, what are we doing here?

Right? Well, you're well, you're right, I mean, to his point, Hostetler, he's got to drop us a couple points. He wasn't a star.

He was a so that steaks are that star power because there is a star power, stakes are super high.

I think staks are.

Ten alright star power, uh star pod.

Yeah, wewight war she.

Yeah, but she wasn't playing football, was she? All?

Right?

Nine point eight.

Gameplay time sucking Giants against the high flyer Buffalo Bills that couldn't score in the red area.

Yeah. I mean, you know, it's kind of like when the Devils would win in the NHL, like they were just dominant but so boring to watch. You know, is this gameplay like the game plan or the entertaining part of watching it?

I would say, like just the gameplay of the game.

The top play was.

A miss kick by the way too, just to put that in firm reference, I was leaning to entertainment value.

It was a grind it was upsetting. I was tense the whole time. Probably smoked way too much weed. Gameplay. Yeah, it was kind of a grindy, dirty game, right, like a seven seven.

So that's fair, that's fair. The name of the game, wide right, If you ask anyone wide right, people know this game.

Yeah for sure, so one zero out of ten, wide right?

Where does it? Where does it?

Go. I would say ten except for your producer, so I'm gonna say nine.

Ky.

Finally, this is up there for all time. This games was named this is thriller in Manila level like I love wide right? Everyone you say, and everyone knows it.

Everyone, everyone knows boys eight point ninety five. Now let's see some of the games we've done with some of the people. Where does the stack up? Oh?

Nice, it's up there.

We were right there in the fourth spot, right below the Yankees Red Sox two thousand and four alc Yes, sorry, Tom.

Was that the Yeah? That was not one for a New Yorker.

Once that, once the the mitt, the catcher's mitt winning a Rod's face, it was over. Yeah. From there, I started thinking about football.

Oh, good old ver Tech.

The captain for Dugo's going to the Yanks.

Yeah, what do you think about that?

I don't like it?

Man. Well, I had a blast with this, Tom so great. Did we did we miss anything about this game? Uh?

Well, my buddy didn't have to go to war that I mean, and he got his victory pieces. So not only was it a great game, not only was it fun to talk about, but in a way we saved his life.

In a way he did. No, we did.

We you and me.

I wasn't. I was four.

Yeah, but I'm giving you credit.

I'll take it.

You're the best.

You have anything to plug other than we got what what is? Uh? He just finished his stand up tour.

You have special The next tour is starting to roll.

Uh.

Just go to Tom Papa on All On All Things and you'll find me Instagram, my website, my mailbox.

That's a great name. To Charlotte, January twelve.

Charlotte, North Carolina.

It is come on the stand up, take your shirt twisted around.

Okay, this is really great.

Thank you.

I appreciate it. So cool.

We have to take a picture. I gotta show, definitely, I gotta show Matt Damon who I was hanging with.

Matt Damon. Yeah, you got to tell him the story about where I was randomly riding my bike in Brooklyn and he lives there.

I guess. I saw Ranon, like, hey man, how you doing.

He's like, oh, yeah, is edel Man. He's it was cool. Yeah, we've met up a couple of times. He's a sweetheart. But at flack. On the other hand, you tell.

Him, yeah, really, you're gonna let him have it. No, I'll tell him anyway, we got some beef.

Someone who want to see a real batman, Come tell me.

I'm on it.

Man. That was an awesome episode. Tom Papa, that was my Jerry Seinfeld for you.

Yeah, id, I got a little Seinfeld in there.

What's to deal with this guy? His name's Papa, but he's not my father? That was That'd be a Seinfeld bit, wouldn't he He'd be like, yeah, I write that down. This is going in the special.

Yeah, I was confused. He said his name was Tom Papa, but he doesn't have a kid. What's to do? No? He was awesome though. That was sick.

No, that was funny.

Was good to hear his his come up and and to hear how he kind of used a little bit of that athlete mentality in his stand up career.

And what was no chicks, no partying, bro, just writing, I mean spiral notebooks.

Come on, bro, day's off, Jack? I know, no days off Jack. I'm trying to party and have fun. Man in the room, It'll come. What did Seinfeld to say? You gotta like, yeah, you gotta do good at invest in the craft, and then the Craft will invest.

And give you a reward or something.

Yeah, something lame like that some time.

No, it was fun, man.

I can't wait to continue to watch him and I look forward to seeing his new stand up Yeah for real.

In honor of the wide right game, one of the most painful endings in sports history, especially for the folks up in Buffalo, we're gonna talk about some of the most painful miss kicks or just botched field goals to end games in.

All of football, all the football. Put together a little top five. What do you think can we come to a consensus? You, me and Kyler. Let's do it. Let's do it.

Starting off the kick six. You got the kick six Bama and Auburn. You got the double doink Eagles and Bears. You got the Romo Botch snap not even a missfield looks to Botch snap in that playoff game against the Seahawks. And then you got I mean, I guess we'll lump these all together. It's almost got to be one for me. When you can, you can put it like a godfather. You got wide right one wide right to those Florida State Miami ones. I don't know those are tough.

We got a couple, we got I think in Florida State Miami. What was that? That's a rivalry game. That's a rivalry game. So but it's and it's also it's college, man, it's college you where do you put them on a lower scale? These kids are pro kickers. Like, that's tough. That's tough for a college Like you know what I mean? This kid probably you're doing a halftime thing where the coach had an audition for fucking some kickoff thing, and all of a sudden they signed them and they hit

What about the.

Do you remember that there's a regular season game.

I think it was the Saints maybe Jags where there was a full on.

Like a lateral kickoff situation with like no time left and they actually had it work like an annex section of Puerto Rico, and it actually worked, and then they missed the extra point to lose the game.

Actually they scored a touch.

Let me look at one.

It's not the Will LUTs one from twenty twenty two.

It was like Carney was, yeah, you know, I'm not one of those guys that sits in berries on killing the kicker after a game losing kick, because the game's not lost or won on that kick. There's about fifteen to thirty other plays that came down to spoken like a true teamer. You know, I feel for my guy. So you know, Steve Goskowski big fault. Those are my guys.

Oh, Kyler alluded to the Rivers City Relay got a name?

Should we?

River City?

Two thousand and three, The Jags were leading twenty to thirteen. The Saints used three laterals to score a touchdown his time expired in regulation. However, New Orleans kicker John Carney missed the ensuing extra point and would have sent the game into overtime, but instead the Jags' short that was pre moving astree r p a t Yeah, prior to making it a football play, as Bill would say.

That hurts, That hurts River City Relay.

What did you say?

Who would say?

What?

Bill?

Bill?

Because he said make it a football play, right, That's why he was the one. I think that lobbied to move the extra point back. It's good, I think, yeah, it makes it more interesting. I think that was a Bill term, make this a football play.

Sorry, so wide rights.

That's the last college putting that fifth?

What about this wide right? Is this one in here?

Yeah, this one's in here. I think this might be number one. Honestly. The butterfly effect Super Bowl, I mean the kick six.

The kick six is wild because usually a miskick is just like sadness, but like the kick six, the sadness led to a great football play.

I mean that changed play calling for that situation one second left because if you if you, I mean, if you think about it, and that's why they do that on those extra long ones. They put those fast guys back there because you got all linemen on there for the kickoff or for the field goal team. It's fucking travesty.

You're done.

That's great gamble. That's gotta be.

That's up there.

That's that's that's number two.

Let's put we got wide right at one three, I think you gotta go. Speaking of butterfly effect, the Romo bought Snap, I mean Dallas hadn't won a playoff game since.

No, they won one last year.

Yeah, they pardon me, double doing.

It's like, oh, that's extra heartbreaking because you got your heartbroken twice.

And and the Eagles went on to win that year.

They did yeah, they beat beat the Pats right that year?

Yeah no, no, no, no, no, that was to repeat.

That was to repeat they won the year before.

Oh okay, okay, yeah yeah. So then it goes three, Romo doubled like four. You think Romo is more heartbreaking or are you going one is the most heartbreaking? Yeah?

You think Romo is more heartbreaking than the double drink?

Yeah?

Dude, this is Dallas Cowboys. Okay, okay, when you when you have that star in your helmet, there's a different standard. Okay, you're America's team.

I guess I feel like I just called called into Jerry's office when I signed with the Cowboys.

I mean, I am eating a fucking egg McMuffin with salt and pepper and extra ketchup on it. Isn't that what he's eating? Even salting down an egg McMuffin. I'm like that man like salt.

Liberal with the salt brother hurt. What's the sodium levels through the roof?

What's the fifth?

One?

Fifth? Let's go after su Miami wide right one through five? Five for the Boys River City? I mean we didn't know by it. And then this is that was It's a regular season game.

Anything related to Jacksonville. Call me ring No, I mean Jacksonville.

I like Jacksonville a year ago.

Our final rankings ready, yeah, wide Rite number one, kick six, number two, Romobot snap against the Seahawks, number three, fourth, the double doing the number five wide right series.

Pretty good list.

That's good.

I think that's painful. What do you guys think? I want? We want to hear in the comment section below, blow us up. I want to hear what you guy. I want to hear arguments. I want to hear replies. Let's see it one episode. Thanks again to Tom Papa for coming on it. Just I like saying his name.

It reminds me of Papa Smurf.

Me to John Popper from The Blues Traveler. Yeah.

That's a good comic name. Good stage name it is.

Yeah, that's been another episode of Games with Names, presented by Win Bett. Remember to follow Games with Names on YouTube, Instagram, x TikTok, and snapchat. See you guys next week. Games with Names is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.