Waldorf Gridiron Club Podcast
Waldorf Gridiron Club Podcast
"YOU WILL" Do Well Here
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This week on the Waldorf Gridiron Club Podcast, get to know Coach Grant Ewell as we get ready to roll against Concordia.
Hey there, Gridiron fans, Troy Thompson here with all the details on how to register for this season's Cash Prize for the Ball Lies Contest. Now, last year, the Gridiron Club awarded a thousand bucks in cash prizes to our fans who registered for the Cash Prize where the Ball Lies Contest. This season we're doing it again, and it's even easier to register than ever. All you have to do is click on the link in the show notes and register for one or more random yard line assignments. Now there are five home games this season at Bullstore Field, and at the end of every quarter, wherever the ball is placed when the whistle blows, that will indicate who is the winner of $50 from the Gridiron Club. Winners will be announced at the end of each quarter, and if you're present at the game, you can come to the press box to collect your prize. If you're not at the game, no worries, we'll send your prize to you. There are 20 chances to win this season, and registration is just $25 per yard line. Now there are only 100 spots available, and you can buy as many yard lines as you want, but you have to act now because those yard lines get snapped up fast. Yard line assignments are on sale right now, so go to the link in the show notes and register, pay, and get ready to win with the Warriors. Once you complete your registration online, you'll receive a receipt in your inbox. If you are buying yard lines for more people than yourself, say family members, friends, whatever, well, if you're doing that in one order, you want to be sure to include each person's first and last name in the additional registrant box and how many yard lines each person is to get. Register now in the show notes by clicking on the link. All proceeds do go to support the Waldorf University Football Program, folks. It's never been easier to register, so do it today. All transaction fees associated with the registration are included in the price. The Waldorf Gridiron Club is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the Waldorf University Football Program, the best small college football experience in America.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to this episode of the Waldorf Gridiron Club Podcast. Yes, boys, here we are talking about the Gridiron. Troy? Please?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Welcome to the Gridiron Club. Once again, it's still on you, of course, because I haven't changed anything over here. But now it's on me, and we don't want to get sued by the NFL, so we're just gonna tune that music down. Here we are once again. This was not my idea. Ah, listen, Andy. What? It's it's creativity. It's what's happening. We think of it in the moment and then we just do it. We steal something that somebody else created and we make it better.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah. Okay, so I still don't like it.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Well, better than the NFL.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I suppose. Um, at the end of the day, everything's better than the NFL, isn't it?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. See, every time I push my button over here, guys, I have to like change the the whole cue. This is how the back nobody sees how we should have a camera just on the back of the entire studio to see how this actually works. But this is what's happening. We've got a big game. It's the opener of the season coming up, and it's in Seward, Nebraska. Yes, and it starts tomorrow.
SPEAKER_03Seward. Remember back in the day when we made fun of Seward, they do not have the world's largest time capsule anymore, Troy. Is that right? Well, they opened it in 2025, July 4th, and they weren't there. They had a Chevy Vega in there with the motorcycles, a bra. Uh, I think it was a bikini. Was it? I don't know. Is there we'll come back to that question? Is there not a YouTube of them opening that? So you guys, you gotta be on that. Why do you just seriously? Nobody wants to look at this. I don't hi. Hi, yeah. Are you doing good? Well, it's kind of like talking to my granddaughter on, you know, like, hey, how are you? And she just babbles along.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. All right. Well, we do have a show. We have last night uh what we did is our actually we're recording this on a Thursday, which is per usual. I wish we would do it earlier in the week. We got to work on that. But I did um uh we did, of course, our first Warriors live show. Yep. We had the opportunity to talk to Coach Callaway, Coach Gales, and Coach Rumbaugh. But we've got m another coach that we haven't met, and so we want to make sure that we have the opportunity to do that before we roll into our first game. And we've got the safeties coach with us, Andy. Well, secondary coach, really.
SPEAKER_03Let's be honest. Defensive backfield, if you will. Coach Grant Ewell, our guy. Um He's right there. Right there from now you're on. Right from uh, well, your last stop was Arkansas, right, Coach?
SPEAKER_00Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_03So, okay, tell us a little bit about what got you Wait a minute, the University of Arkansas?
SPEAKER_00Arkansas Pine Bluff.
SPEAKER_02All right. UAPB. I've been to Pine Bluff.
SPEAKER_00Okay. How'd you like it?
SPEAKER_03So you're gonna have to talk. So we just drove through little people. We talked a little bit about how um you know that you you started in Oregon and then you ended up at UAPB, and now you're in Fort City, Iowa. Talk about your journey. How did you go from Oregon to UAPB to Fort City, Iowa?
SPEAKER_00Uh I grew up born and raised Portland, Oregon. Uh lived there for about 20 years. Out of high school, I went to a division two called Western Oregon. Um as a freshman, I didn't really take care of my business. So I had to go to JUCO, went to JUCO in North California at Butte College, then got a call, got a full ride to go to Arkansas Pine Bluff. Um played there two years, team captain. Um, didn't have the most success, but graduated, got my bachelor's, uh, actually played for Coach Callaway for uh my senior season and then after I graduated, I had the opportunity to get my master's degree. So coach a year with Coach Callaway, and then just finished up my master's uh this last spring. Then got a call in the spring. I reached out to Coach Callaway. He was looking for a looking for somebody to come take over the secondary, reached out, and now I'm here. So that's that's how I got to Forest City, Iowa.
SPEAKER_03Seems pretty simple.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03The same thing with me. Um you started in Oregon. Well, Woden. I mean, that's west. It's like 17 miles west of here.
SPEAKER_02It is west. Yeah. You got that right.
SPEAKER_03For sure.
SPEAKER_02Woden. Have you ever been to Woden? Coach. You been to Woden yet?
SPEAKER_00No, where's that at? That's west of here, 17 miles.
SPEAKER_03Keep going west. Yeah, you run into it. Yeah, maybe. So what okay, um, and and we'll get to our our fourth guest. Yes, folks. Four guests. Well, no, two guests. Two guests. Andy and I are old hats. Man, we're something. Um, have you been to any small towns around here yet, Coach?
SPEAKER_00Um stayed a couple weeks in Bloom and Prairie, Minnesota. Oh, that's right. With my with my aunt. So actually, my my great-grandparents are from Algona, Iowa.
SPEAKER_02Well, there you go, friends.
SPEAKER_00Um after my great-grandpa got back from World War II, they moved to Bloomin' Prairie, had a farm, still have the farm there. My grandma grew up there. So it's just interesting. I I mean, I never thought I'd be over here.
SPEAKER_02I love that there is a algona to southern Minnesota connection.
SPEAKER_03The Blooming Prairie Blossom. Yeah. Is that not the best nickname for a team? Um, it is not the best if you're a football team.
SPEAKER_02If not if you're a football team.
SPEAKER_03Why? That's I mean, that's uh blossoms. That's kind of tough, right? The blossoms? Okay. Well, maybe not. Um, there's worse nicknames out there. Estherville Lincoln Central. I mean, that's a little cringy.
SPEAKER_02Uh the Estherville Lincoln Central Midgets. I don't know if you're aware of that or not, but that is their name, and we can say that because it's their they've got it trademarked. And then we have um the uh orabs over in Sheldon. Yeah. High school team. They just didn't, they just combined the colors that they had, which is orange and black. So they're just orange and black. Or Ebbs. Welcome to Iowa.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there you go. That's how we do things around here. That's how we do it, coach. Exactly. We name pretty much all our towns after Native American stuff, you know, like Titanka, Titanka. Um yeah, all those different things. Put that on you. So go ahead. Yeah, that's great. So I can just talk for a few minutes. Yeah. Um, I don't know what you're doing. Don't worry about what I'm doing. Oh, so anyway, um Don't worry about what I'm doing. What? Okay, so you've been here how long?
SPEAKER_00Uh I got here April 6th.
SPEAKER_03So you haven't been here a super long time. Yeah. What's the biggest culture shock so far?
SPEAKER_00I mean, Pine Bluff was a little small town, obviously a little bigger than this, so like I'm used to small town. I mean, I grew up in the city, so obviously not necessarily prefer the city, but that's what I'm used to. Um biggest shock. I mean, it was pretty cold when I got here, but not as cold as it's gonna be.
SPEAKER_03So when did you get here? April.
SPEAKER_00I got here in April.
SPEAKER_03April's not too bad. Yeah, that's usually the time that most of us start wearing shorts and sweatshirts.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. I plant uh I plant uh I plant oats in April. Okay. And get her right out there and do stuff like that. Grandpa, I would appreciate that from Booming Prairie. All right. All right, so you got here in April. It wasn't that cold, but it was still colder than where you came from. Now my next question is uh well, did why why did you come to Waldorf?
SPEAKER_00Um, I mean, I was graduating, I was finishing up my masters. Uh really needed someplace to go, and I was I was kind of contemplating if I really wanted to coach. Um, but I'm glad Coach Calloway gave me the opportunity to come out here and um really figure out if I do want to. And since I've been here, I've enjoyed it. And it's growing on me, and I enjoy just being around the kids, helping the kids and giving back, especially how the people I've met have given back to me when I was playing. So now how old are you? I'm 26.
SPEAKER_02So when you say kids, younger guys, you have a lineman that's older than you are.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Still kids though.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, in a way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Well, but when it comes to playing. Yeah. Right. I'm I'm with you on that. Um, so if you um you had the opportunity to play for Coach Callaway, and I mean, he's got a dynamic. We saw that on the Warriors Live show. We've seen it obviously on the podcast. And um what was it? What is it about Coach Callaway?
SPEAKER_00Um I think for me, Coach Callaway always had myself and the rest of my teammates, he always had our best interest. Um, you know, he wants us, and even the kids now, he wants us all to succeed outside of football. Like he always talks about football is the only sport that's gonna retire you. I got retired, everybody else coaching got retired. So I mean, and you always have to have those you always have to build up your toolbox so when you leave football, you can succeed in life, or you face adversity in football, the same thing in life. Um you gotta work hard when you play football, same thing in life. So I think just using football as a way to reach people and a way to develop people and kind of give back. Um, and I know Coach Calloway's done a great job. I mean, he kind of helped me to grow when I was playing for him, and then even when I started coaching, he helped me as well, just making sure I'm on the right path, making sure I'm on the right going in the right direction. So I mean, he cares for you as a person before being a player, so I think that's that's very important.
SPEAKER_02I it is important, and I'll give an example because uh, well, this is the first time we talked about it on this program or anywhere else, but um my son Jack uh played corner. Uh he was number four, um, had some G Pack honors uh in his first year as a freshman, uh, and then last year uh was struggling with a shoulder injury, played throughout the season. Turns out he tore everything, everything, the whole entire labrum, uh his whole labrum was was gone uh uh on his left arm. And uh we went to the doctor and he was trying to play it cool, and he was like, I was like, Yeah, sometimes my shoulder comes out of socket. I was like, tell him the rest of the story. He's like, well, at that time he was mowing at the golf course. Uh and he said, Well, sometimes I'll be mowing and I'll sneeze, and uh my shoulder will come out of its socket. That's not funny. It is it is it is funny as a dad because I'm sitting here with this now and and uh this is a great surgeon, and he was like, That's a problem. And so he did have to have surgery. We got that done uh right away in January, and and uh we really really were hoping that you know um he could get you know get back to health. But the ri truth of the matter is is that um you know here we are in August and um I think he's he's finally done with his um uh you know treatments and all of that uh and and and physical you know aids and all that, but uh the reality is he's not back and he's not strong. And he knows that. So in June, we're like, well, if you gotta make a decision, what are you gonna do? So he's like nervous because he likes Coach Callaway. And he's gotta go and he's gotta tell him he's like, I don't think I can play. And he's also uh a cool thing about Forest City is that they they have the opportunity to go to Waldorf when they're seniors in high school, so he's gonna graduate this spring. And so so essentially, if he doesn't play this season, he's done. He still has eligibility, but he's done, and he also has to think of his future, and he's nervous. And we're like, just go and talk to Coach. And Coach Callaway handled it perfectly uh because he went in there and he said I don't know exactly what he what was said because I wasn't there, but the brass tax is he said, I'm not where I need to be. I can't do what I used to do. I think my other shoulder's going. I'm 20 years old and I need to get this fixed. What do you want me to do? And Coach Callingway was like, I'm surprised it took you that long. Because he knew about it in January, obviously. He had surgery. He's like, I mean, we're gonna support you and do whatever you can, but that's not an injury you usually come back from. You know? So he was very uh that was a huge relief to Jack. So for everybody watching this, we know we're talking about Jack in the last couple of years and everything like that. Um, well, Jack's done playing football and everything like that, but Coach Callaway made it very clear that there's a whole life after football. So it's great when you talk about, you know, football retires you and I think that's true. And unfortunately, uh for Jack, it happened you know a couple years into his playing career and everything like that, but he's you know, uh still you know supporting the team and helping out in in in the ways that he can. But um, that was a huge relief. And so I guess that's a good example of like I I think that a lot of times college football just can chew up players and spit them right out. Definitely. And um, I didn't see that from our new coach. So so thanks, Coach.
SPEAKER_03Who wants to talk next? Sure, we'll we'll go on. So um I I told you that we had two guests. Yes, you know, we have Coach Ewell that's uh that that's here tonight talking a little bit, and we'll we'll keep talking to him, but um, he brought um his personal manager with him, yes, which is I mean, come on, super important. Most of us don't have that kind of support structure in our life, but um right out of UAPB soccer. I ain't kidding you folks. Say that again? UAPB.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And also a goalie. Yes. And if you could think of a if you could think of a saint that you wanted a saint that I wanted that you wanted Ru Brees. No, not well, I forgot that you were I forgot you're a Saints, man. Let's pretend it doesn't have anything to do with football. Let's just say in general, in like church history, if you wanted to have a saint, yes, who do you think it who do who do who do you come up with? It's always Saint Michael, right? Right, Saint Michael. Saint Michael's got it. And the feminine version of Michael is Miguel. No, I is that I thought you said Spanish. Feminine version. Michaela. You got it, and there we have her.
SPEAKER_03Michaela Reedel. That is right straight from actually not straight from UAPB. You are you're East Coast right now.
SPEAKER_01East Coast girl. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03East Coast? Where?
SPEAKER_01West Coast at heart. I currently live in Boston, Massachusetts.
SPEAKER_02That's my favorite big town. Really? It's my favorite. It is my favorite big city. Okay. I love I love Boston.
SPEAKER_03So what's it? What are what are you doing here?
SPEAKER_01So I'm here visiting Grant, supporting him as he has his first game post grad. Um flew down a couple days ago, and I've just been here ever since.
SPEAKER_03You're flying to Des Moines or Minneapolis.
SPEAKER_01I was in Minnesota. He had to take he had to take a little drive. But he loves me that much, I guess.
SPEAKER_02So that's good. I think that's a better airport, to be honest with you.
SPEAKER_01It wasn't bad, actually. It was nice. I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_02I'm all about the Minneapolis airport and the Minnesota Vikings. And not so much about Minneapolis.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, back to the story. Jude Spring Sorry. Yeah, here we go. So, okay, talk about so you grew up in Southern Cal.
SPEAKER_01I'm from Southern California, yes. Lived there my whole life, then moved to UAPB to play soccer. Um I picked UPB because I have a twin sister, and my parents are obviously paying for our college. Got a full ride, so I packed up 24 hours away from home.
SPEAKER_03Wait, you left it 24 hours away from California.
SPEAKER_0124 hour drive.
SPEAKER_03Did you drive?
SPEAKER_01My freshman year, yeah. I drove up with my family. Okay. Um, a couple years I would drive my car back and forth. And your sister also went to No, my twin sister went to school in California. So we were apart. But yeah.
SPEAKER_03First time had to been rough.
SPEAKER_01First time, yeah.
SPEAKER_03So um your sister's name is Sierra. Michaela and Sierra. All right. What's the significance of those two? Just the mountains?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, yeah. My dad named my sister after the mountains. We grew up backpacking, doing the whole nine yards, and my mom just picked my name. She liked it.
SPEAKER_03Who patron saint?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I gotta ask, who showed up at whose college first? You to her or she to you?
SPEAKER_01She came to mind first for homecoming. We had a big couple big games, so my family flew out and yeah.
SPEAKER_02And you made it clear to your team that you had a twin sister?
SPEAKER_01I didn't. I I told a couple people, um, but we had some confusion with the trainers.
SPEAKER_02They were like, why is she why is she in the stands?
SPEAKER_01Why is she not in the goal? Yes. But yeah, that'll do it. That'll do it too. I'll play a trick for sure.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Fantastic. All right. Well, uh, I was wondering about that because that would be some fun play. Like you could just like what you know, whoever didn't know, go to the others college for sure.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So identical?
SPEAKER_01Identical, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Is that a problem, Grant? What? Go ahead. You do your thing. Okay. Um, hey people. I I don't know what my thing is anymore, Troy. You've got me confused.
SPEAKER_02I just want to see. There we go. We go to Grant Grant's. He had moved his microphone. It was too much in front of his face. It's just a pretty face. We want to see it. So I'm looking at I'm looking at what I see and what they what the viewers see. I mean, hey, you want to do that? I don't know, Michaela. What do you call his face?
SPEAKER_01Handsome.
SPEAKER_02There you go. All right. Well, it's a handsome face, and I wanted to make sure that he had it.
SPEAKER_03How long have you guys been? I I don't want to say involved. I don't know what your relationship is.
SPEAKER_01If you're just friends or well, we've been together like three years now, coming up on three years.
SPEAKER_03Very good. And this is your first time visiting in Iowa?
SPEAKER_01Yes, first time.
SPEAKER_03Yep, small town Iowa. Um and okay, you said you're doing your master's?
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. My master's. What's your where in Boston? At Boston College.
SPEAKER_03DC. I've heard that. Did you probably see it? Eagles.
SPEAKER_01My master's is in sports administration.
SPEAKER_03Okay. What are you gonna do with that?
SPEAKER_01There's there's a couple avenues actually. I'm looking in, I think I did some recruiting at our school before for the football program. I was involved in our like athletic training program. Um, I'm interested in like ticket sales, athlete development, whole lot of avenues. But yeah, I'm definitely interested on the recruiting side.
SPEAKER_03Very, very good. What was your master's in?
SPEAKER_00Uh physical education.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Yeah, absolutely. I mean So I mean that uh honestly, what a great opportunity that you would have. So if if you've decided, you know, after a few years or a year, 10 or 20, like, you know what, I think I want to go teach gym class. You could do that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right.
SPEAKER_02That was not a long enough answer for me to switch the camera over to the game. Sorry, I thought that I will tell you this. Um I did not uh respect my gym teachers until after I graduated from high school. And then I went to the army and I didn't have a hard time as far I mean everybody has a hard time in basic training and everything like that. But when I came back um many years later as a recruiter, usually the people that I worked w were the PE instructors. And I got the opportunity to work with my old advisor, my football coach, and um and he was he was the PE teacher, which was Craig Van Syck. Oh, psych, love him. And yeah, so I got to, you know, I and I told him that I actually apologize because I was kind of a dank, you know, when it I was like, how important is this? But what I've learned in the last, well, I'm retired now, but for the last 30 years, is that recruiting people into the military from the general population is incredibly difficult because you want the star athlete, you want all of those people that have that physical capability. They also have to pass the test mentally, and they also have to pass their criminal background check. Um so it was, yeah, there's a lot. Yeah, and then at the same time, uh, you find out that, well, there was um a lot to the instruction of P and getting people motivated to make themselves physically better and healthy. And I appreciated what he did. I especially appreciated what Craig Johnston did over at Central Springs, which is a neighboring town about 20 miles away. And he actually came from the University of Upper Iowa and had been their head football coach when they were D3. And he was an amazing trainer, and he had those kids locked in to a weight set and a routine. And I think you could go to that, I don't know if it's the same thing today, it's been a while since I've been in that game, but you could go to that school and it was like there were no I would say there were no fat kids. Like they were all doing their thing, and he had them motivated in Central Springs, wow, good for Spain. At Manley, Iowa, yeah. Now that was a while ago, and I told that to Craig.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_02And you know what he said? He and this is a guy who I think I think he is Sylvester Stallone. I think he thinks he is Sylvester Stallone, and he goes, I was like, how'd that happen? He goes, Well, a lot of times the kids ask me, they go, you a college coach in football? And I was like, Yeah. He was like, How did that go? And I say, Well, I'm teaching PE at Central Springs High School, you know. But I mean, like, they were all incredibly fit, and you saw the turn. I remember when they were never anything in volleyball or in football, and all of a sudden in baseball too. Uh, and they became very successful. So a lot of respect for PE, but it came unfortunately after I was in high school because I thought, how important is this? We're just we're just we're learning we're learning badminton. And Andy, you've got some insight into this because I think you went to college for that. Not for PE, not for PE, but it was something like that. Uh recreation and park management. Absolutely. Yeah, that's a degree. I mean, I I believe that's a degree. My degree's in history, so I'm not making fun of it.
SPEAKER_03Well, you should. I literally had to take an outdoor recreation class. We had one week where we had to do canoeing. Yeah. I told my it was my advisor and the instructor, and he goes, We're gonna do canoeing this week. And I said, Do you mind if I go home and get my canoeing merit badge so I don't have to be here this week? He's like, Oh, come on. I'm like, I'm I'm not gonna be here all week. And he's an Eagle Scout, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay, I could respect that.
SPEAKER_03Legit, yeah. Yeah, back in 1986. You guys weren't alive in 86, probably not. No, okay, it wasn't even a thought.
SPEAKER_01Definitely not a thought.
SPEAKER_03No, all right. Um, so okay, let's let's talk a little football. Yeah, let's do that. All right, Grant. So um how similar is it uh with with Coach Callaway as the headman versus just like because was he DC down at yeah, he was a defensive coordinator at Pomblow. What are some of the similarities or what do you see as differences um in Callaway, his program, how how he um deals with different things, you know, because you're gonna know better than anybody else.
SPEAKER_00Um, I would say he does a good job just trying to get everybody on the same page and trying to build from the ground up. Uh he's not a fan of skipping steps, you know, he just wants to go one, two, three, four, five, six. He doesn't want to jump from one to five or anything like that, and just he's a real uh stickler on just teaching, um, getting our guys to understand what we want from them and just see the game in a better way so that they can be successful, so that when things happen in the game or when we need to make adjustments, they're able to do that. Um but I mean he's I mean he just does things the right way. Um keeps us on schedule, keeps everybody going in the same direction, wanting the same outcome, and just focusing on the progression of getting there. Um so I think I think he does a good job just trying to get us successful and then trying to just I mean I know Waldorf hasn't had a lot of success recently, but October 14th, 2023.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. That was the last time that we won a football game.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I was still playing then. But he just wants to teach the kids like what it what it takes to win, like why it's important to do the little things and um just focus on little things because little things win and lose games.
SPEAKER_02They absolutely do. Coach is not a well part of it, he doesn't own that record. He owns what that comes out of that record. So he's not ashamed to pronounce the fact that, well, we're we've got a losing record that is pretty impressive when it comes to one of the longest in the nation right now, if not the longest. Uh that's not something that's not a goal that Waldorf wants to uh achieve, and and certainly the players don't like that, and the the coaches don't don't like that. So the opportunity to flip that, and I believe that we will this year, which is exciting, and to break that code in the G PAC is a huge, it's a huge thing for us. And other schools that have joined the G PAC or have been a part of the G PAC but have not had success and then found that have all experienced the same thing. You don't just roll up into the traditional, you know, powerhouse of of NAIA and go, We're probably gonna win some games.
SPEAKER_03And we thought we would, but we didn't thought we would, and we we had opportunity, we had opportunities, and and again, you can we can talk about that, but it's like it's a new day. You know, we've got a we've got an all-new staff. Um, you know, really we have some returning dudes, but you know, you got like Nico Page helping with defensive line, you know, he was a player last year. You got Keegan Handel. Yeah, um, he's coaching linebackers. He was he was a player last year. You got Coach Noak that's been a student coach for two or three seasons now, and so there's some of the same guys, but it seems like everybody's really bought into to what Coach Callaway is putting down.
SPEAKER_02And you know, and again, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna sit here and I don't know if that's hard to do if you've came through as a player, you know, and and I think but what's interesting, I think, too, is like Gales is in 100%. Coach Gales. I mean, like that's a that's I would say we talked about it on Wednesday on the on the coach's live show. They don't see themselves as competitors, they saw themselves as peers because I don't think they technically played each other. Um they coached against each other. They coach uh you know what I mean? So yeah, whatever the difference is there, but to me it's all the same. But the fact that that respect exists there. Now, Gales is associate head coach and all of that and everything, but it's like the fact that those two guys are rolling this show, you got offense and defense on the same page, it is kind of fun.
SPEAKER_03And I've said, I've said ever since this new coaching staff got here, especially with um Coach Callaway, he's what 51? Is that right, Troy?
SPEAKER_02Yes, he is uh my age, right? Very, very young and and attractive age, I feel, Andy.
SPEAKER_03Well, and that was gonna be the next thing I said, very attractive. Um, but the reality is is that I've had like Coach Donadio when he came here, yeah, he was like 32 or 33. He was the old coach that was the oldest coach. Yeah, I've been part of the program for seven years. I'll be 57 in November, and like trying to talk to dudes that are like in their 20s, like they're in their 20s, and that's great, Coach Ewell. Um, but at the same time, it's one of the I had I had nobody, you know. It's like, but now I've got you've got Coach Rumbaugh. Yeah, I'm older than all of them. I understand that, you know, coach Callaway, Coach Gales, and it's like they're closer in my age, you know.
SPEAKER_02So it's like I think once you get over 50, though, Andy, like at that point, like we're all the same age. I heard that once a dude gets over 40, you can say what you want. You can say what you want, and also women don't see you anyway, so like you're invisible. So like you including your wife, yeah. Just do she doesn't watch this whatever you want, you know. So I don't know if that's true or not. I'm over 50. Yeah, you know, as are you. I didn't realize it was that like six years, really. Is that right?
SPEAKER_03So here's the thing I've always said that okay, when it comes to ages, and you guys tell me where I'm wrong. Um like they don't know they're in their 20s. It starts in your 20s. So when you're 20, 21, I forgot, you're in your early 20s, 24, 5, and 6, mid-20s, 27, 28, 29, late 20s. Same for each one of the decades of your life. So I'm literally moving into a new phase in the next couple months into my late 50s. Oh my god. You know, but I was born in 1969, so technically this is a great year. If you really want to think about it. Now I was only alive for like six weeks, but at the same time, child of the sixties. That's amazing. All right, yeah. So, okay, Michaela, um yeah, I'm gonna put you on the spot.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03And if you don't want to answer, that's fine. But what has Grant told you about Waldorf and Forest City?
SPEAKER_01He honestly, because he came here before we graduated, both of us, so I think that he had a little more time to experience it. Um he's I feel like he's done a good job of kind of like adapting, I think. Um, like as soon as I got here, he's like, oh, the the Chinese spot. He knows about the lunch special.
SPEAKER_03Um what is the golden chopsticks?
SPEAKER_01We went to the house. That's right. Yeah. I liked it. All right. Um, I think he's like done a good job of adjusting. Like he tells me the kids always see him walking everywhere because he's trying to familiarize himself. Um, but I think this program compared to UAPB, I think has given him a lot more freedom, like a lot more creativity, which I think has kind of helped him like develop and blossom as a coach, which is nice to see, like on the outside perspective, I guess, at UAPB. Um he definitely didn't have as much creativity. And I think it's nice to see him adapt and adjust and kind of grow with the kids. I think it's important to him to make an impact.
SPEAKER_03And Pine Bluff, is that FCS or D2? FCS. It's FCS school. That's what I thought. And and that's such a different level. You know, I've got a buddy that's coaching um at at East Texas AM, and it's like, you know, he said that you fear for losing your job every season. Like you have to produce, you know, because there's you got a fan base and everything like that.
SPEAKER_01I played for three different coaches in my four years in my school. Yeah. Just to put that into perspective.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and that's kind of one of the things that we've experienced here. Um, you know, usually our head guy is around for about three years is what classically it's been. We've also had coaches that were here for a very long time that were still highly unsuccessful. But um back in 20 what year, Literal 17? Something like that. Literal came in in 2017.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 2017. Kent Anderson left in 16, uh, and Literal came in for the 17 season. Uh actually, I don't know if uh anybody noticed, but at the Warriors Live show, uh, Kent Anderson uh was back in town and visiting. He was actually at the uh at the bar, uh having a good time. Uh ordering food is what he was doing. Uh didn't stay for the entire show, but that was before we had Warriors Live. So we had uh so Kent Anderson was there. Um and then yeah, Lettral came in in 2017, yeah, and started the whole Warriors Live show and the Gridiron Club in a lot of ways and uh other things, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So Coach Ewell, what's what what's your expectations of the year? Um, what do you think, you know, your hopes and dreams? I realize we can't predict the future, but what are some of the things that you see happening here at Waldorf? And I I also would like a little bit of your perspective um on well let's talk we'll talk facilities too after it. We'll talk first about expectations uh the upcoming season, and then we'll talk a little bit about facilities as well.
SPEAKER_00Uh just continue to grow, continue to get better every day. Um, continue to develop these guys. Um just take it one day at a time. I mean, we got practice tomorrow in the morning before we hit the road. Um just help them grow, help them see things outside of football as well, like just academically, you know, in their personal life, uh in their future. Just trying to see every day as an opportunity to get better and to improve, and just know that if something bad does happen, it's not the end of the world. Like everybody has their own stuff, everybody's dealing with something just to know they can always improve, they can always get better, and you know, life's life's gonna life. But um, yeah, I mean, just just help them grow really, help them help them develop.
SPEAKER_03Good. Now, one of the things that we don't appreciate what we have at Waldorf. And I don't know if it's good or bad because I know Waldorf and you go to some, especially GPAC schools. There's I mean, there's a lot of old money in some of our GPAC schools. Um, so you start comparing yourself and you kind of felt like, oh, remember those days. Um, but we've always compared ourselves like, man, we are so behind the eight ball. And then you talk to Coach Callaway and you talk to Coach Rumbaugh, and then you talk to Coach Gales. They're like, You guys have this is great. And coming from an FCS school, that that I mean to me, when you think FCS, that's high level, highly competitive, obviously better athlete. I shouldn't say better different athletes, um, but at the same time, um, what are some what were some of your first impressions here?
SPEAKER_00Um I think I think Waldorf does have a lot of nice things, a lot of I mean they have a great weight room. I mean, um they have a good a good the DJAC is a good facility. Um good offices in there. I mean, players are not just good, the team room is good. Um I mean the whole field house is really good. I mean, we just got new turf. Turf is new and improved. Thank God. I mean, I think I think we have a a lot of good things here at Waldorf. Um, I think a lot of times people do um take them for granted. I mean, at the end of the day, you gotta use what you have. Um I haven't been to as many stops as a coach, but I mean every place has their things and every place has things that they need to improve. So I think I think Waldorf is going in the right direction. Um I think I just think we need to take advantage of the things that we do have because I mean we have we have everything we need to be able to succeed.
SPEAKER_02I think I think that's true. Um we won RC Cola Bowl champions, uh championships back to back uh in with with essentially the same facility, minus the track, which doesn't play into football at all. Um however, since we brought him up, you know, I asked directly. Back then we had we did the Waldorf Gridiron Club did not exist in 2016, and uh I was head of the uh Waldorf Warriors Boosters Club, and we were part of the interview process, and when Kent Anderson came in, I guess that would be 2012 or something like that. I'm like, why are you coming here? And he had come from Germany. Well, he yeah, he had come from Germany, but there was and he'd played German football and all that, but I think there was like I can't remember what the school is, it's like Southeast Iowa, you know, like something like that. I don't even know if they have a football program anymore. We might have played them. What was the one that went out of the way? It might have been. Yeah, they close. Yeah, yeah. And he said, Well, your facilities are great. And as boosters, you're like, Are they? Like, are they? I don't feel like they are. Like, we feel like we have so much to do. But even back then, he was like, Oh, I yeah, there was like no question, you know, and so the weight room has gotten significantly better since then, and obviously our field is great, and uh our warrior boosters have uh all of the gridiron club has made it possible to have that W in the center of the field where it should be, and on and on and on. And you know, we have a good partnership with the community school district, and so it's it's it's very good. And actually, I noticed from traveling around these last three years to the GPAC, a lot of I mean, these are not huge schools, they might be in bigger cities. You know, Sioux City is one of the bigger cities that that is out there. They have the smallest that two, yeah. We are the smallest city at the same time. I don't think that comparatively speaking, per capita, we're doing I think we're doing pretty well. Uh so it is, but sometimes as a booster, it's a little bit hard to go out to some place and go, oh my gosh. How do you have all that? And you're gonna go to Concordia tomorrow. Ooh. And they've got a beautiful facility. They've got the fancy lights. They got to they just got those two years ago. Yeah, that was a new thing. Now they're celebrating their 100th year in football. Welcome. I mean, it's nice that you finally joined us. We've been around for 105 years, so that that's cool. But um, yeah, they just note you know, it's it's so that's gonna be a big game. What do you feel about Concordia?
SPEAKER_00Um, I think I think they do they do a lot of good things offensively. Um they're a pretty sound team. Uh they tempo, but I don't think I don't think it's anything that our guys can't handle. Uh we just gotta focus on doing our job, um being where we're supposed to be, just taking it one step at a time and not allowing the highs and lows of the game to take us out of where we're supposed to be.
SPEAKER_02So they have a roster of 140 players and uh in that range anyway. And they get they're just 30 minutes down the road from University of Nebraska Lincoln, they pick up a lot of their drift-offs, and uh, I don't know if that's the proper term, but I mean that is correct. Um but if you look at their starting offense and defense, if you look at their too deep, they're still playing 60 players. You know, so like every NAI school, they they want to have as many players as they possibly can. They have to support their budget and do all of that. They have um this is gonna be their hundredth year, and I think we were there two years ago, and they had f forty or fifty senior players. Forty-one. Yeah, something like that. So um but they've also been in contention in the top four for the last several years.
unknownYep.
SPEAKER_02So they're uh I mean, they're a legit school. I mean, and they have big linemen and they have a quarterback that can uh obviously pass very well, and he can maneuver on the field if he needs to. So as a safeties coach in the backfield for the defense, what are you looking at?
SPEAKER_00Like I said, they do do uh a lot of good things on offense, but as long as we do our job, as long as we tackle, read our keys, just take it one step at a time, I think I think we'll be in a pretty good spot. Um, make the plays that we're supposed to make. And just play as a team and just take it one quarter, one play at a time. Just not try to rest, not try to try to look too far ahead. Just take it slow as the game comes to you. And then when we need to make adjustments, make adjustments. But I mean, we they can only play eleven at one time. So yeah, they may have all these people and all this extra and all that, but still got to put eleven on the field.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a lot of hoopla. I mean, obviously the the roster helps the college, but at the end of the day, you're still playing the same number of players that you're traveling with. And it comes down to who's going to be the best team on the field that day and who can get things done and accomplish them like they're supposed to be accomplished. So uh there's a lot of discipline that comes with uh the Bulldog program. And uh I think Ladage is no, is that do I have the wrong who who's the coach?
SPEAKER_03Is it uh Jamrog? I I didn't know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, I mean we'll come back to that. He's been there for oh this is this is a great warrior. This is like a little almost it's almost making fun of them.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, by not no, it uh coach Ladege used to be at Briarcliff University. Yeah, yeah. That's right, I had the wrong one, yeah. Yeah, he left. So he did. Yeah, he did. So one of the things that's gonna be important, uh, you know, we're getting we're encroaching on the hour. Now the most important most important part of the podcast we want to know. Um, and when Troy figures this out, he'll he'll have to tell us. But what do you do? I know right now, this part of the year, coach, there's no such thing as free time because you guys go, go, go. But when you do get free time, what do you like to do? Daber.
SPEAKER_02Dabrika. Patrick Dabrika. Sorry, been there for 20 years nearly. All right, yeah. Great.
SPEAKER_00Most times in my free time, um I try to I try to let the football stay at the office, but uh read some of my Bible. Obviously, talk to my girlfriend. Uh my second older sister just had her first kit. Oh. So call my family, see the baby a little bit. Because I haven't had a chance to get back home yet. Um play a little Xbox.
SPEAKER_03What do you play on Xbox?
SPEAKER_00Uh play play some Halo. Old game, but I mean, that's what I like to play. I figured it was new. Yeah, I don't I don't play as much as I used to, but I mean You don't have time to do it right now, do you? Yeah, not really. And then just really try to focus on being in my Bible a little bit more than that. Uh go on a walk around the city. Uh I mean, not a big city, so doesn't take long. Yeah, don't gotta walk in circles a little bit. But yeah, that's that's really what I do.
SPEAKER_03I noticed on on your cleats today that uh you have Adidas cleats, is that right? Yes, sir. Yeah, and then uh on each one of the stripes that you have different verse, and my favorite my favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 41.10. And I'm like, oh, it's my guy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I got a few on there. Uh Isaiah 41.10, uh Romans 8.31, John 3.16. I mean everybody knows that one. Uh what else I got on there? 1 Timothy 6.12. I think I got James 4.8 on there, and I know I got one more.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, I mean, just Did I see an Ephesians on there?
SPEAKER_00Thing in Ephesians is on there. Uh, but I mean just try to be a light to other people, especially these kids. Um proper direction, or you know, they just look, they looking for the right thing to do or the right way to live or things like that. So just try to be a light. Don't try to be don't try to be negative about or condemning them, but just try to show like, hey, like to me, uh, I believe in Jesus, obviously. Like Jesus is my savior. I know what Jesus has done for me and my life, so just try to let that sign to other people so they can come to Jesus as well. But don't want to be don't want to be forceful about it.
SPEAKER_03No, absolutely not. Meet people where they are, um, when they need to be met. And and for for you folks that you know, we Troy and I have talked for years about we are a Christian college, and sometimes we don't necessarily act like it. And um most every morning, our head coach, Coach Callaway, will send out just a little daily devotion, just to kind of remind you, and that's that's part of my morning, and I absolutely love that. But why don't, Coach, would you tell them like a lot of times teams finish up their practice and coach will have some inspirational words, and um you everybody puts their hand in the air and shouts family or team or anything like that. What does Coach Callaway insist on um that we close practice every day?
SPEAKER_00Uh every practice, uh well, before before we get together, we do a little box, a little stretch, then we get together. Coach Callaway gives his updates for the next day, you know, how practice went. Uh, if we have anything that night that the kids need to get done. Uh, if any other coaches have have anything, then we get together and we all say the Lord's prayer together, which I think is just another avenue of you know, getting people closer to Jesus or seeing Jesus and things like that. So that's what we do every practice. Um, I mean everybody has their own path and their own way, but I think it's I think it's great to shed light on that. Uh my former school, we did the same, not the Lord's prayer, but we would always pray after practice. Uh, you know, everybody prays before games, everybody does their own little prayer before games, but I think it's I think it's good to have that be a part of our environment because it's it's the most important thing in our life.
SPEAKER_03Re raised in the church is something that that's always important to you, or did you come to it later?
SPEAKER_00Um you know, I was I was raised growing up like pretty much before I was 10. I was in the church a lot, and then so I grew up Seventh-day Adventists, I went to church on Saturdays. Yeah. When um then when I kind of started playing football, I stopped going to church as much. Um and also, you know, my dad, my dad grew up going to church, his whole family, and just kind of some of some of the stuff, not necessarily him personally, but seeing how you know, there's never a perfect Christian. Um, you know, a lot of people, especially with myself, I'm guilty. A lot of us think we're perfect or better. And um, you know, he saw stuff or saw people that were kind of pushed away, and he didn't want he didn't want that to happen to his kids. So he wanted us to have a choice, which you know, we all have a choice. Yeah, like I can't God can't force you to love him, or else we wouldn't have a choice. So we had a choice um growing up. I mean, as I got older, just kind of saw myself as, you know, I need I need help, I need a savior. Uh, I can't save myself. So that's um, I mean, it was always in me. I never, I never doubted, I never questioned like Jesus or God, never in my life, even being a kid, like never questioned it. And as I've gotten older, you know, I've seen the world differently, I've experienced my own things, so you know, I just I know I know I need help, I know I need a savior. So just come to Jesus, try to get closer, try to be, try to be the example he set for us. You know, it's not always gonna go perfect, but it's sometimes hard to try to fathom or grasp God's love for us. Like to think and understand that like he chose us because he loved us. We can't we didn't choose him.
SPEAKER_02A lot of people view um the church as uh a hospital.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_02It's the hospital for the soul. Uh that's where you go to correct yourself and yeah, exactly everything that you're talking about. So it's um especially significant with a team, you know, that has the opportunity to work together, get to know each other, and uh experience all of the difficulties of the game, the life, and everything together. And I think that the church uh provides that and should provide that for the rest of the uh person's life, however that may be. So um yeah, the church is a hospital. That's really what it's meant to be. You know, you're not coming in perfect, you're getting you're getting uh corrected, you're getting um fixed as as that goes. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, that's good. Sorry for this is this is the young man leading young men. Yeah. It's good to see you. And the whole time that that you were talking, Grant, um, I couldn't help but look over at Michaela and just the the there's a bit of pride in in having I think that there and there as where the well there should be that um that this is the kind of person that that for at least right now you've chosen to hook your wagon to. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he stuck with me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. And what so what do you like to do in your spare time?
SPEAKER_01Honestly, now that I'm in Boston, I don't really have a lot of spare time. I work 40 hours a week. I serve um at like a little upscale Mexican restaurant. Um, but now that I live with my twin sister, my best friend, a lot of my spare time spent with them. Um, I don't know. I like to go to the beach. The beach is on the east coast, though, not up to my standard, unfortunately.
SPEAKER_03There's a beach in Boston.
SPEAKER_01We there's I mean there's a coast. A coast, yeah. I would say it's a coast.
SPEAKER_03From a California girl, the call it a beach. Go up to Cape Cod, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I like the Cape. Yeah, Cape's good. But yeah, I spent I spend a lot of my time with my family. Um, it's really important. I think like this is our coming together, me and my sister being apart for four years. So we're always together. Grant Grant calls me, we're together. We're all talking. It's a three-way conversation. Nice. But yeah, I like to spend my free time. I listen to music. Grant's kind of got me into a different side of music, so I do my best to branch out. Um what's that?
SPEAKER_02What's that? Yeah, I know you.
SPEAKER_01He's got a he's got an uh an interesting taste. I don't know if you want to share a little more about that.
SPEAKER_02Let's do that.
SPEAKER_03Oh, we'll see it.
SPEAKER_00Well, first off, I listen to a lot of gospel. Um that's good. I grew up playing uh trumpet in like middle school and high school. Talking about uh just in middle school, um, I listened to like a lot of Louis Armstrong. Yeah, I like jazz. Uh I listen to a lot of classical music.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00Um I listened to some country.
SPEAKER_02You're a Winston Marsalis guy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, that's about that's about it. That's usually what my music consists of.
SPEAKER_03You know, when I was at Waldorf, um my freshman college roommate, uh, Dean Cyfus. Um, Dean just retired uh as a police officer for 30 some years. Okay. Great dude, but he and I had the same tastes in music. Um, and we were still young college kids, so we were into shenanigans. And yeah, the two things that we loved, well, what the we love to play chess.
SPEAKER_01Grant loves to play chess too. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03We loved to play chess and we would listen to Glenn Miller orchestra. Really?
SPEAKER_02And so we we're I like this story. I don't know where it's going.
SPEAKER_03We'd be banging out some Glenn Miller over a chess board drinking Milwaukee's best. Yes, of course, the beast. Like our friends would be like, what do you guys what are you guys doing? Like like we college guys, we're doing what college people do, playing chess, listening to Glenn Miller and Montavani. I mean, string of pearls is a banger. Doesn't everybody love that? So uh and and we're sitting there drinking crap beer. Yeah, because I mean we're college kids. Yeah, that's what you're supposed to be. You're supposed to be poor, yeah. But yeah, so my gosh, so yeah, I love I was hoping it'd get more like, well, you're like into a you know, something that's not weird. I mean, that's not I mean it's different.
SPEAKER_01It's different for sure, I think, for our like our age group, I guess.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02When when uh when my wife um when she met me, uh there were two things that struck her as odd. Uh probably more than that. So if you we need to get her on this program. Yeah, yeah. She uh two things. Sure. One was that uh if you went into my bathroom where I do a lot of reading, um, it was the New Deal.
SPEAKER_03You read the New Deal. I did, yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then and then the other thing that she thought was interesting uh and weird uh was that I listened to The Rat Pack.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I love 'em. Yeah. You know, I love that. Frank Sinatra and you know, uh everybody, you know. So so like that whole oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So um that whole thing was a little different deal. And it's like two generations before um I was even born.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, before you, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_02But I mean, if you're into Marsalis and things like that, I mean, you it's not well, I guess that is two generations before you know, for you.
SPEAKER_00A little bit, yeah, a little bit, yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I also have to know um each one of you what is the coolest place you've ever visited individually, and is there the coolest place you've ever visited together?
SPEAKER_01I feel well, do you want me to answer for I'll answer? Yeah, go ahead. I think um I've been very blessed. I will say. Um, my sister and I have visited like 12% of the world or something like that. I've been to 49 states, like that was kind of my like thing as a child. My dad's very serious about traveling. Um, he lived in China when I was a little kid, like just stuff like that. I think my favorite place probably I really like Italy. I've been there a couple times. Um, but maybe I guess I was telling you earlier about my winter sports. We went snowboarding in the Alps in Switzerland, probably my top together. We went to Florida last year, and it was just like it was cute, it was sweet. I enjoyed it. We were at a good beach. We were having a good time. We were with some of his friends, like some of his year. Oh, that was this year. Yeah, some of like his closest college friends. I don't know, felt like last year, but yeah, I enjoyed it. Cool. We went to Mexico.
SPEAKER_02Very good. So yeah, we're we're doing we're doing it. Uh well, bonjourno, come on. Yeah. And what do you think, Grant?
SPEAKER_00What was the question I got?
SPEAKER_03So the coolest place that that you've ever been, you know, individually, you know, without Michaela, and and would you concur with her assessment of the coolest place that you guys have been together?
SPEAKER_00I have not been out the country outside of Mexico, but I do enjoy Mexico. I'll be there this December. All right.
SPEAKER_03Like where specifically? You go to uh East Coast, West Coast?
SPEAKER_00Played El Carmen.
SPEAKER_03Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah. Uh a little bit of Cancun, but mostly Playa del Carmen. Um, we went to Mexico. We won the volleyball tournament.
SPEAKER_01We won the volleyball tournament.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um, I won't say any names, but some people get a little too competitive.
SPEAKER_01I blacked out. I was being mean to him on the volleyball court, but I couldn't help it.
SPEAKER_03Do you ever watch Big Bang Theory?
SPEAKER_01I have, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay, so the um, I can't remember what's the name of the characters. The the little blonde scientist girl. Sure. She's like ultimately competitive in people when they're doing stuff. So yeah, are you like that's definitely me?
SPEAKER_01Okay. I had to apologize after. That wasn't me. It was just it was my evil twin sister that jumped out. Yeah. Your evil twin switch could she could be watching this. You actually have it.
SPEAKER_03No, she's real sweet. She's real sweet. She's she's really sweet. Your kind of your alter ego. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01But we won. So that's all that matters in my book.
SPEAKER_02But we won. But we won. And that is a good place to wrap this show up. We've got a uh an out uh an outstanding game coming tomorrow. Um we're looking forward to seeing the Bulldogs again. Um last year they were seven and three, I think, was their season score. Um they're always a tough competitor. They have a very good program, they're well financed, they've got good fans and all of that. I don't think that they have the same tailgating community that Waldorf University has. I think that's the difference between that. No, I think you're right. Yeah, yeah, absolutely right. We don't um even Morningside was like, what is all of this? You know, and it's it's uh well, like it's a Saturday afternoon in Forest City, you know. So we want to have a good time. Um, but we want we do want to win. And I know you guys are uh dedicated to making that happen. So let's do that. And uh what uh what what I guess as the fans listen to this, uh whether it's audio, I guess they could be watching it uh on video, on YouTube. Um, but if they're on their way to the game on Saturday, what do you have to say to them, Coach?
SPEAKER_00Uh we appreciate your guys' support. Um we're gonna do our best to put the best product out there that we can. Um you know we still gotta take care of tomorrow, take care of package tomorrow, take care of travel. Then 7 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday, it'll it'll be time to roll. So we just appreciate the support. Um, we're gonna continue working, we're gonna continue going one step at a time. And um, yeah, we'll we'll we'll deal with it when it gets here.
SPEAKER_03All right. All right, and Michaela, we're gonna give you the last word. Um, we're just gonna let a lot of times what we do on these podcasts is that we just say, hey, is there anything you want to say to anybody? Uh anything you want to say, whether it's Waldorf or Boston College or folks back home or anything like that, because they get to see you.
SPEAKER_01They'll see me.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'll just say go Warriors. Let's win.
SPEAKER_03There you go.
SPEAKER_01I'm ready for it.
SPEAKER_03Simple.
SPEAKER_01I'm like great, nice and easy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, absolutely. Well, it was great. I'm glad. I'm glad that you both came out um tonight so that we could kind of glimpse a little bit about, you know, and folks get to the games. Um got to pull for our Warriors. You know, we're super excited. The season is that close. Just that close. I can't wait. Um super excited to see what uh what these guys have uh been able to put together and how it translates to the field. So it's gonna be a great season. So I agree. All right. Well, that's gonna do it for this episode of the Waldorf Gritiron Club podcast. Thanks everybody for joining us whenever you happen to be doing this. But uh yeah, it's gonna be a good time. We're gonna we're gonna get after it. So for Troy Thompson, this is Andy Buffington and forever and always go warriors.
