Athletics Check with Johnny Stanton IV
Join former NFL player and D&D fan Johnny Stanton IV as he explores the crossover between sports and nerds!
Athletics Check with Johnny Stanton IV
Ify Nwadiwe is a Meathead - Athletics Check Episode 5
Host Johnny Stanton IV hangs with comedian Ify Nwadiwe and discusses redefining 'jock,' blending sports with nerd culture, and personal tales from Ify's journey as a comedian to the mayor of the Hollywood Nerd community. Johnny gets Ify to discuss his love for "Chel" and how he expresses his love for hockey as a "nerd". Along the way Ify turns the tables and Johnny reveals how he manages his dual passions for football and D&D. Plus, join in a special moment as they retire Ify's number '87' and set up his D&D character arc. A perfect watch for sports fans, comedy lovers, and nerd culture enthusiasts!
Ify Nwadiwe:
https://www.ifycomedy.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ifynwadiwe
Twitter - https://x.com/ifynwadiwe
Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/ifdeez
Um, Actually - https://www.dropout.tv/um-actually
Check out our Patreon for bonus content and extra one-shot TTRPG adventures with every podcast guest: https://www.patreon.com/AthleticsCheckPod
Producer: Johnny Stanton IV & Anand Shah
Technical Director, Sound Designer & Editor: Frank Janisch
Executive Producers: Sandeep Parikh & Anand Shah
#comedian #dropout #comedybangbang #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #nerd #jocks
Johnny Stanton IV:
https://www.stantoniv.com/
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@johnnystantoniv
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnnystantoniv
Twitter - https://x.com/johnnystantoniv
Athletics Check Pod
https://www.athleticscheckpod.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@athleticscheckpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athleticscheckpod/
Check out our Patreon for bonus content and extra one-shot TTRPG adventures with every podcast guest: https://www.patreon.com/AthleticsCheckPod
I end up getting a concussion, short term memory loss. Like it was, that's probably like my worst. You woke up and was like, I got to try football. Exactly. I got to hit my head more. I love this. Feel like I got my
Ify Nwadiwe:first I'm ready. Might as well get my second, third, fourth. Yeah, I got, I bounce back.
Johnny Stanton:Welcome back to athletics. Check the show in which we talk to nerds about their interest in sports. And they talk to athletes and people in the sports world. about the nerdy stuff that they like.
Travis Reeves:I like how you're using nerd, but you're shying away from the term jock is if you got an email.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah. I mean, jock is such a word that doesn't like doesn't get used anymore. Like people don't really say like, unless it's a nerd talking about somebody who plays sports. Jock doesn't get used.
Travis Reeves:There's been like a nerd culture renaissance in the past 15 years or so. They're not so much a jock culture.
Johnny Stanton:Right. Cause jock feels so much less, um. Like inclusive, because when you talk about jocks, you're talking about the person on the field doing the thing. Whereas we're talking about people who are like, who like sports or people who are talk about sports professionally or
Travis Reeves:athletes, such as yourself or athletes.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah. It's like in all of those things. And jock just kind of feels a little bit exclusive of that, but I want to. Kind of, uh, reclaim the use of jock, just like the, like the, the use of nerd has kind of been reclaimed by the nerds. I want, I want to, I, I consider myself a jock nerd and I want other people to a knock, uh, all the knocks out there. Hit us up in the comments. Um, but yeah, I think, um, the person we have on the show today is there. It's the jurors anyway. Uh, Somebody who is definitely a jerk is iffy waterway. He's gonna hate that. He's gonna Yeah, if he's on the show Wow, iffy waterway iffy is one of my absolute favorite people He and I have been able to Like hang out and interact like a ton probably more than anybody else in like the D& D world just because if he is Has the same kind of, um, idea of, of just wanting to, wanting to be as big as possible. Physically. Physically. Like, mass. He's got a much bigger personality than me. He's a comedian. Sure. But. He is
Travis Reeves:maybe the most around, iffy is, to my knowledge, the like, honorary mayor of the Los Angeles comedy scene. I love that. Every single person I know, no matter what field of entertainment they're in, knows iffy.
Johnny Stanton:It's crazy. Yeah. I mean, like, dislike. I mean. No, they, they all love it. Everybody loves it. Everybody loves it. Nobody knows him. Yes. Nobody's ever met iffy or watched them something that he's in and he's like, we don't like that guy. No,
Travis Reeves:he's the best.
Johnny Stanton:He's the best. I got to meet iffy for the first time back in like 2021 or something with you.
Travis Reeves:I did not know that was your first time meeting it. Yes.
Johnny Stanton:No, that was my first time meeting. We hung out at a spot in. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, what was it? Culver City. Culver City. Um, we went out with Iffy a little bit and, um, I felt like I was a third wheel for you guys just talking about improv.
Travis Reeves:Well, okay. So this is the thing. I, when I moved to Los Angeles in 2017, I had spent the last like year and a half doing improv. At like a, this is too much backstory, I'll cut it short, like a manufacturing job where I just funneled podcasts in my head about improv because I was moving down for Sketch and Improv. So I had to go through this thing when I started taking classes at UCB and then ultimately doing their work study program, doing tech for their shows in the inner sanctum, RIP. Where like, I would meet these improvisers that I knew everything about, and had to pretend I didn't know them.
Johnny Stanton:You had the most parasocial, specific parasocial relationship ever. And that,
Travis Reeves:flash forward, still, I was a fan of Fifty, and I was like, nice to meet you. Yeah. Tell me about your I know everything
Johnny Stanton:Well, I think we should um, kind of tangent off of that. We should probably talk about what we're wearing.
Travis Reeves:Oh, this old thing?
Johnny Stanton:So I gave this. Oh,
Travis Reeves:oh this old thing?
Johnny Stanton:Yeah, good for the audio. I'm wearing the Stanton Path of the Gridiron Barbarian shirt from Unite the Realm that I had made a couple years ago And
Travis Reeves:what does any of that mean?
Johnny Stanton:Uh, it's D& D stuff. You wouldn't get it. Um, and you're wearing my football jersey. That I gave you like two years ago when I was on the Browns. Hell yeah. And then I think two Halloweens ago when we came over to the neighbor's house, your home, uh, for Halloween, uh, you showed up wearing this jersey and embarrassed me. Yeah, it was you for Halloween. Yeah, it was very kind. Um, especially in a year where I was so sad about football. Anyway,
Travis Reeves:football players have emotions too. We do. And some of them are sad.
Johnny Stanton:Some of them are sad. Some, most of the time we're just kind of like.
Travis Reeves:Yeah,
Johnny Stanton:just kind of
Travis Reeves:what's the vibe? Is everybody just sort of like ready to go all the time?
Johnny Stanton:Uh, no. I mean, a lot of guys are super, um, super relaxed in the pregame. My favorite story. Well, we're going to get into if he's podcasts and we'll get there in a second. My really quickly, my favorite story about, uh, pregame locker room stuff is I was in the locker room for the first time. Uh, before the game against the eagles in 2020, my first NFL game, regular season game ever. And I think my energy was kind of a little bit, a lot for other people where I was kind of just like, I was in kind of in the zone, but also I didn't want to be listening to anything because I kind of just wanted to be in the moment. And. Um, one of my teammates from across the locker room was like, Johnny, you okay? I think we just, yeah, yeah. Um, uh, Joel Batonio, um, all pro guard, super great dude. He's just like, Johnny, you doing okay? And I'm like, yeah, you know, it's. My first game and just a little nervous. He's like, yeah, I'd be nervous too. It's just like, yeah, we're, we're going against the Eagles. You should be nervous. So without further ado, let's welcome on, you know, him, you know, him who's
Travis Reeves:never nervous, never
Johnny Stanton:nervous whatsoever. Comedian, standup writer. He does it all. Mayor of LA and Hollywood, uh, if you want away, welcome to the show if you want away Thank you for joining us on athletics check.
Ify Nwadiwe:Thank you. Thank you for putting up with my setup, you know You usually have your own setup. I'm having
Johnny Stanton:me in your basement. Yeah. Yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:No, no, this is
Johnny Stanton:where the magic happens
Ify Nwadiwe:This is where the magic I mean, yeah this you you you've probably seen the best version of this basement because like I have the TV mounted that we're using as Like, I think this
Johnny Stanton:wall is the only place in your, in your place that isn't covered with Manga. Gundam, like every possible thing. Yeah. That is co that, that you can't, any, like you are, the show is for nerds to be able to talk about their sport. You are a hundred percent a nerd.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh yeah, yeah. A nerd and a maximalist, you know? Yeah, you definitely is that witch, like just like all top to bottom. And really, it was like m who was like, yeah, we're just gonna put it all up. And I was like, okay, yeah. I didn't know you could do that , for real. I was like, didn't know that was, yeah. You know, why have
Johnny Stanton:it if you don't get to put it somewhere?
Ify Nwadiwe:That is very true. Yeah. Because
Johnny Stanton:you're just, I think a lot of us are just waiting to be able to put on like our favorite posters. Our Yeah. You know, your, your, all your gundams. Yeah. Until like, oh, I need a bigger place. Like, well, you could just. Find a place. Oh, you could just build another shelf.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. Yeah, you could you can there's closets There's I've found many a ways of trying to stuff as much nerdy stuff
Johnny Stanton:as many places as I can Let's take on the on the high school stuff. I know you You wanted to play high school sports from what I understand. Oh, yeah, so
Ify Nwadiwe:let's get
Johnny Stanton:in the actual athletics check. Yeah Yeah, I mean we're you you are if you waterway is In my show, a nerd who likes sports, but you're also like an athlete in your own right, which is kind of the whole idea of the show. First off, I want to say before we get to the high school stuff, every episode, I try to remember to get a, uh, a ratio. What is your ratio of nerd to jock? I think, you know, perfect platonic idea of somebody who's well rounded is like half nerd, half jock or like what have you. I want to be able to try to. Manifest myself to a 50 percent nerd, 50 percent jock. What would you say your percentage, what your ratio is?
Ify Nwadiwe:I'd say I'm close to 50. I'm getting close. I'd say right now it's probably 60, 40, maybe even 7, 70, 30 on most days. But I think it's someone on the nerd side. Uh, yeah, yeah. But I feel like someone who goes to the gym regularly. Uh, definitely I follow sports a lot. More closely now Saints fan who that nation. Mm hmm big and do I've grew up in LA. So Kings Lakers Dodgers I'm wearing this This Dodgers King shirt because it's a cool shirt.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah. Yeah, I I'm going to the game and but you're in but you're new Kings Kings fan. From what I understand, you were originally a Long Beach ice dogs.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. Long Beach ice dogs. Yeah. Yeah. I was, you know, ice dogs was the local team and we will go because my mom would always get us tickets. I've always been a Kings fan at heart, but like, you know, when you are picking a team based off of location, you're like, That's my team. I don't have to watch it, but now I'm like watching an active fan. Yeah. Yeah. But funny the, the, the combination, the athletics, check the nerd stuff. I've started playing NHL 24 to try and understand the game more. Yeah. Chell. Well, funny. You should say that because Chell yeah. They like, that's the online mode shells. Oh, is it?
Johnny Stanton:Yes. I just thought that was the other, like the, the, you know, slang for NHL. Really? I did. I was wondering why it was called Chell. Now it makes sense. I think it's just short, shorthand for the three letter phrases of NHL or I guess specifically, specifically the, uh, the video game. You watch NHL, you watch hockey, you play Chell.
Ify Nwadiwe:Okay. So Chell.
Johnny Stanton:Not Chello, but
Ify Nwadiwe:Chell. I play Chell. And boy, let me tell you, I've been offside so many times because learning the rules. Oh, yeah, because, you know, offsides in hockey, a lot of icing. Yeah, the Oh, buddy, because, you know, it makes sense, right? You don't get the puck down there and I'll go get it. And it's like, nah, that's a rule. That's a whole lot about that. Yeah, I remember I started, uh, the first game I started to fight because I took a shot on the goal after the whistle blew. Oh, And they're like, nah, we don't do that. Which is that
Johnny Stanton:against another player online?
Ify Nwadiwe:Uh, no, no. It was, it was in the game. The computer was like, you're catching my face. Yeah, because you know, in basketball, you know, the whistle blow, people still
Johnny Stanton:take a shot, apparently not in hockey. In football, when coach ice is a kicker, a lot of times they follow through with that kick. Yeah. Yeah. They don't tackle somebody after the whistle. Yeah,
Ify Nwadiwe:yeah, you know, which makes sense. But like, you know, hitting the puck in the, you know, I don't think it is. I don't know. Yeah, but yeah, those these are the things I'm learning and you know, I
Johnny Stanton:love the idea of the video game punishing you for just having fun. Yeah. Yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah.
Johnny Stanton:I think, honestly, anytime in any, in, in shell, when you start a fight, that's probably like a victory. Oh yeah. But I lost that fight. I got worked. It's so,
Ify Nwadiwe:and that's, I think what's so endearing about hockey is like your pride is on the line for every sport, but there's nothing quite like getting your butt kicked, you know, you're like, a lot
Johnny Stanton:of, a lot of those fights. Don't end in any kind of clean blows.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh, well, cause it's a lot of like grabbing the neck. Yeah. And I don't know if you know this, they have like a clip on at the, in the Jersey, so you can't pull it over the head. Yeah, but it's, yeah, it's, it is all about positioning. And then like, you got to remember these fellows are on skates. So they're, so you're also just jostling them so they can lose their balance a little bit.
Johnny Stanton:The first time that I ever, I skated when it's probably, I was like, Seven years old. A friend's, uh, remember Pickwick in LA? Pickwick Ice Ring. I don't think they do it anymore. It was famous because Michelle Kwan would like, would practice there. It was also a, you know, I think a lot of people in LA will know what Pickwick is. It's a, it's a When I was seven years old, I was there for a friend's birthday party. Long story short, I fall backwards on my head onto the ice. I ended up getting a concussion, short term memory loss. I come to in the hospital, like it was, that's probably like my worst. You woke up and was like, I got to try football. Exactly. I got to hit my head more. I love this. Feel like I got my
Ify Nwadiwe:first. I'm ready. I bounce back. Yeah, no, it is interesting. Um, I mean, it can't, I mean hockey, they're, they're going for it and you know, something. So, uh, my good friend Mallory O'Meara and Jeremy Lambert, who also great jock nerds, uh, Jeremy. You know, it, he play, he used to play for USC um, hockey and he plays for a local like Riverside team, but he also like plays War Hammer. Amazing. He, um, he writes for the Warhammer book. He's a comic book writer. Oh yeah. So his full-time job is a writer, but for fun,
Johnny Stanton:he still hits the ice and plays. I do love how people don't. Always understand people who aren't like super into hockey. The fact that like the, the, the hot areas, like, I don't know if the South necessarily has hockey, but like Southern California is actually kind of a hotbed for my high school won the national championship at one year because they were both. They were great, but they're, you know, Southern California, Orange County, you know, Las Vegas, obviously he's got the golden Knights. UNLV has their own, I don't think it's NCAA, but it's like their own team. So like hearing that, you know, when you say that USC has a hockey team, it's like, I didn't think about that. I guess it makes sense. Like they're a sports school.
Ify Nwadiwe:Well, Well, it's so funny because I think that, you know, the west coast specifically is so known for, you know, like Polly and their football, basketball systems. So, but it's funny because even then when you think about it, it's really the south has this beat when it comes to like football,
Johnny Stanton:like they're, that is their, I'd take on bridge with that. It's always California versus California. Texas, there's Florida, that's the big fight within, within the NFL, college football, like in high school sports, there is always the conversation of like, who's better, you know, I think California kind of has, has it beat when it comes to coaching. So we make the most of like the, the athletes that we have, but. Man, the speed in Florida, the physicality in Texas, those, whenever those three States, like the top teams play each other, it's always fireworks. Oh yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:I, but I just feel like, you know, and it's something that, you know, I also take umbrage with, but in general, I think when it comes to LA, we are a hotbed of so many things that like, it is often easy to get, like, when you go to like, you know, my mom's sides from Louisiana, you go out there and it's like LSU, and if it's Saturday. You know, it was like if it's Saturday here, like, you know, USC and U. C. L. A. Could be playing against each other. And you only know if you are near those schools. But outside of it is like, Oh, there's a there's too much to the show. Yeah, there's too much to
Johnny Stanton:distract you in L. A. That's why that's why Dodger games. The fans are leaving by, like, you know, the seventh and stretch is because one traffic and it's like there's probably, you know, Something going on later that night that you got to get to it. Yeah, I get it. It's, you know, it gives L. A. a bad name in terms of being like a fan city. Yeah, there is positives and negatives, I think, with every sports city.
Ify Nwadiwe:You know, it's so funny because since I am in a T. V. writer, comedian, actor and in the industry, you know, I often am hearing about my own city from people not from here and, you know, And people
Johnny Stanton:who think they're from here, but like
Ify Nwadiwe:born and raised. Yeah. Oh, yeah. But, you know, you, you, you sit there and you, you listen to him long enough and you, you, it almost starts to infect your brain. But, you know, I've been, uh, season ticket holder for the Lakers and, you know, the way, let them tell it, you know, no one is at these games, but like every, you know, and these tickets aren't cheap and every game it is filled. Top to bottom to the brim with people there. And to me, when I look up in the nose bleeds and see people there, I'm like, those are the like real dollars. Because with me, it's like, if I can't get a good seat, I'm good. You know, with them, they're like, no, I want to be there. I don't, I don't care if it's like, if I'm using binoculars, I want to be just being in the arena just has the energy.
Johnny Stanton:I think what's, what's cool is like, I think a lot of cities, sports cities have their. What they're known for like when I was in Cleveland people love the Cavs people love the the Guardians Indians, but Even when they were bad, everybody would say Cleveland is still a football city. It is still lives and dies by the Cleveland Browns and there's, you know, cities around the U. S. have that same kind of deal with, with L. A. I think it's a little bit different. I think similar probably to New York just because there's so many people here that there, there gets to have, you know, L. A. gets to have people who are diehards. Like, you think about the Clippers, they're like the other L. A. team. Yeah. diehards that are Clippers fans.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh yeah. And they are, and they are mad because the ticket prices have gone up because of all these bandwagon fans when they started having that run, that hot run and it's still on it. Yeah, they're, they're, they're having a hot run, but you're, that's also something to consider too. When people kind of like poo poo us is like, yeah, there are also so many teams. Like if you look at it, like, okay, basketball, we have the, if this is just, we're talking about the city, if we're most. Places. The state
Johnny Stanton:itself only
Ify Nwadiwe:has
Johnny Stanton:a team. But if you make all of Nebraska doesn't have its own. I went to school in Nebraska. They don't have their own professional team. So it's either you and l, you know, corn huskers or when it comes to NFL, they're either chiefs fan or broncos fan. You have to go to another state to be able to be a fan. Whereas, like, that's how that's most of the states. Almost
Ify Nwadiwe:in California. If it's basketball, you have the Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings, the, uh, the Warriors. That's four different teams. And then we had the The 49ers. Everybody's a transplant.
Johnny Stanton:So they have their own from coming from, you know, wherever they're
Ify Nwadiwe:from, you got the Raiders, the, um, the, the chargers, you had, uh, the 49ers and now we have the Rams. You know, it's, it's always like, there's just so many teams too on top of that, but it's funny because yeah, out of all the games, like it's been like pretty packed out with Lakers fan. The only time I've seen like, Oh, This is the biggest divide in a home game I've seen in a while was the Knicks game. I was just at, I was like, Oh, this is just because so many New Yorkers do live in L. A. It was, and we lost. And I'm, and we,
Johnny Stanton:I will say though, because it's, it's, it's a little bit far StubHub or is it still called StubHub? I feel like it's StubHub at this point when the, when the charters played there, I do think that they had the highest percentage of away fans at their home games. Like the chargers, when they play this stuff up and when, you know, it's, it's still tough because chargers, I think all of their fan base is based in San Diego. And for one being in San Diego is basically like a different state when it comes to traveling to LA, but then they're also incredibly bitter. Like they'll watch the games from home, but they're not going to travel for the games. So. When, when you don't have your own fan base, like in your, the city that you're actually located in, it's so easy for, especially when you're in LA, uh, people from out of state to come in and watch the games. And, you know, looking back, I think in the 2019 season or something, when, when you're looking at these chargers games, Like, the Steelers coming into L. A. would just, the whole stadium was black and yellow and just a little bit of blue, which is just tough when you're like, when you're first moving. I felt for those players at the time. Oh
Ify Nwadiwe:yeah, and I mean, the thing is too, is like, you know, the Chargers just was an unloved team in L. A. to begin with. Yeah, yeah. When they flirted with the coming down. They were a San Diego team. Yeah, so it really, it's like, yeah, that's kind of, that's kind of tough for you there, buddy, you know, where, when the Rams came through, we're like, yeah, you know, and they
Johnny Stanton:have the history to the chargers were, I mean, the chargers technically have the history, but in the Rams had the history, obviously way more of like a long history, won a super bowl here, but they were also the second team to get here, which is tough. It's like, everybody is so tough. Stoked for the Rams to get here. And then they go to a Super Bowl and it's like the whole city is becoming, okay, we love football again. We love football again. And Chargers are like, I want to be part of that. It's like, nah, we already got our team. Yeah, I
Ify Nwadiwe:know it's, it's pretty, you know, it's pretty tough. You know,
Johnny Stanton:this episode is brought to you by Hero Forge custom miniatures. Hero Forge is. A free to use online character design application. That basically means if you want to play a DTRPG and you want to have a 3d printed miniature of your character, hero forge is the place to go. You can print them at home. You can print them there and they will ship them to you. They are always incredibly. Crafted and designed and the print process is so exact. It's really impressive. Every time I get to see one of these miniatures, their character design and customization is second to none. You get to 3d model your mini right there on screen, and you can see it as it real time updates to any kind of customization you want. Their facial customization is super impressive. Make sure that you go to heroforge. com to design your custom miniature today. And always check back regularly because they always come back. With the coolest updates, they have new content every week, whether it's a new piece of clothing, a new race, whatever you can imagine, you can make it on hero forge. com. So go to hero forge. com today to start designing your own custom miniature. What's up guys. It's Johnny again. I just wanted to thank you for listening. And to encourage you to join our Patreon at patreon. com slash athletics check pod. You'll have access to all of the little mini adventures that I run for each and every guest. This is about 10 to 15 minutes where I run them through a short TTRPG adventure. And for a lot of these people, especially the athletes, it's their first time running a game like this. So it's my honor to get to be their very first game master. At the higher tiers, you get access to having your name shouted out at the end of an episode, or even getting the opportunity to play in a bi monthly TTRPG game with me or my co host, Travis Reeves. If you're interested in any of that, please go to athleticscheckpod. com or to patreon. com slash athleticscheckpod. Hope you guys are enjoying the show. Let's get back to the action. There's a handful of people I think that, that really Uh, identify already without me, like telling them or encouraging them that they are jock nerds or like the nerd jock kind of false binary that they don't necessarily believe in that. They, they, they, they are already writing that line without even realizing I'm gonna
Ify Nwadiwe:tell you this and I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be all the way real with you. I don't know how people gonna feel about this and I literally don't care. Um, you know, cause you know, when I, I'd say I came on the scene as it is, isn't it? With Geek and Sundry. Sure. That was me stepping on the scene. Like, so I literally kind of came on the scene with Critical Role real time. And then, you know, and then there was Travis and, and all the, yeah, yeah. And all the, all the, all the buff boys there. But I was there too. Like, Hey,
Johnny Stanton:don't forget, don't forget my name. Yeah. I'm one of the buff boys. Put some respect on the
Ify Nwadiwe:name. I'm one of the buff. Cause I feel like there was a level. Right. And I think that's what you're kind of trying to do with the, podcast. You know, everything, everyone has like 2020 hindsight. Everyone looks back at things and say that and like, and it was perfect. Everyone looks back on things. It was like, oh, it's always been good and it's not like we can be real. Like, you know, when, when, um, Escape from the Bloodkeep came out like I feel like people were excited. But people were like, what the hell is this? Where are our intrepid heroes? You know, and, and it kind of had a growing thing. Like we did have to earn that respect, which is natural. Like you've, you've grown attached to these players and you don't know who the hell this big chocolatey man, it was, people knew me, people knew who the cast was, but
Johnny Stanton:there, but
Ify Nwadiwe:it is like, like what's going on here. And then you learn to love it. Um, and I think it is one of those things right where I do feel like there was an element where I felt, you know, and this is just even outside of TTRPG, but when I would be on Geek and Sundry shit, uh, stuff, I don't know if you're cursing. We can curse on the internet. Oh, okay. I've been, I've been. Don't go crazy. I know, I'm not going crazy, but. You know, I would, I would be on, uh, you know, Geek and Sundry and stuff and I would read some of the YouTube comments and people would be like, who is this guy? Like, and it wasn't I've fallen
Johnny Stanton:into that trap. You can't read the comments.
Ify Nwadiwe:But because, but like, you know It was a lot of times people like questioning my nerd cred because it's like you don't understand because you're you've been buff and attractive the whole time I was like actually I haven't I haven't I mean maybe I was but I didn't know you know I didn't take advantage of it and I think um that's always been like an interesting journey for me is kind of realizing that people you know You They'll see us as we are, and especially when they see you as a play, you, you are looked at as this NFL player who plays D and D, and this is something you've always done, and you also happen to be an NFL player. Um, and when people have that, you know, I feel like people think we only have one thing we can offer as people like the whole
Johnny Stanton:thesis of the show is just the multifaceted nature of like you aren't what you appear to be, and it's, you know, that's that can expand to, you know, A million different, uh, you know, like if you're an actor, you're known for this actor, like, you know, you are known for this role. Um, there's just so much that people's perception of you becomes reality and you start believing in that, or you can say, no, let me correct you want again and again, and again, I am more than that. And I am a hundred percent in the. Uh, the population of like, you need to defend, you need to be able to be okay defending yourself, uh, from, from what people want to label you as.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think it's not even, you know, a defense. It's just kind of showcasing.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah. And I, yeah, it's just an argument. It's, it's not like, it's, it's something that you want to be, I think you have a lot of control. Not always, but a lot of times you have control over the way you're perceived. And yeah,
Ify Nwadiwe:well, you know, it's, it's funny. You should say that because when I, I always kind of felt bad, you know, when I was coming up doing comedy and writing for doing so much, I always thought I was spreading myself too thin because it was like, Oh, if I just focus and only do standup and only be a standup, don't do. Geek and Sundry stuff don't just just like get a part time job hit the store hit the improv hit the road Just only do stand up. I'm sure I would get further but because I only put so much in stand up I only put so much in improv. I only put so much in writing It's not gonna pay off for me. And in the end, I think it's made me more well rounded as a As talent, you know, because when things like, you know, Geek and Sundry was starting up, it all started because someone was like, Oh, you're talent, you're, you're, you're on screen improv, comedy, you're talented, funny, and you're a nerd. Yeah. Let's get you in this space. And then, you know, Yeah. I met Zach Eubank and then he hopped in and was working with me at Social Tron and then over from Social Tron, we went, he started Geek and Sundry and he was like, yeah, you got a host and all these things that I was passionate about seemed to have paid off because I get to because all
Johnny Stanton:those experiences got to lead into that one specific skill set. You didn't even know you had
Ify Nwadiwe:exactly. Yeah, it's almost like when you, uh, do a day job. D and D show for the Cleveland Browns fans. You know, I gotta say, I feel like that, you know, we, what we don't talk about enough, um, is how you did that show. And the audience was almost like a wedding where like one half of it was, let's
Johnny Stanton:give a little bit of like background knowledge. Cause not everybody, I think, knows what's going on in 2020. Two was just last year. That's crazy. It was it last year. It was like, it was like 19, 20 months ago, but it was still just last year. 2022 in the spring. I mean, I'm in Cleveland. It was just last year. I know I can brag. Oh, it was because I
Ify Nwadiwe:was dating him. Yes. And oh my God. Yes. Yes.
Johnny Stanton:No. So we were, uh, I wanted to create a, a, a D and D charity event because I thought like I'm learning more and more about the nerdiness that is in Cleveland. And I became, uh, I became cool with Brandon who was our DM. And I'm like, let's make something out of this. Who we want to do this with. And my mind immediately went to you. Uh, my, my mind immediately went to you because you have that prior knowledge of football, you would understand what it's like, I think. What's rare about the fact that you get to play alongside these NFL players. Um, and then we obviously had the absolute blessing of having a Bria who I had not met at that time. Really? She just, she just came out to Cleveland, like just trusting that I wasn't some crazy person. Well, that's so funny
Ify Nwadiwe:because, you know, I don't know if you've had her on the pod yet, but she, you know, she was almost about to be in the Olympics.
Johnny Stanton:She is a freak athlete.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. So it's so funny that, yeah, you had all these like. Jock's doing D and D. Uh, but yeah, you know, in, so we're in this room, it's live stream, but there was a live audience and the audience is split to two sides. Straight
Johnny Stanton:up wedding side. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:With an aisle. And you can tell that on one side it is TTRPG nerds. And on the other side, it is Cleveland Browns football
Johnny Stanton:fans bought their 50 ticket to be able to be within 50 feet of miles. Gary.
Ify Nwadiwe:But like at the end of the day, everyone had a good time. And I was like, and that shows like
Johnny Stanton:even the kid who got pelted by a Bree in the face,
Ify Nwadiwe:just, just beaned at a high speed speaking of athlete. Yeah. That arm. Yeah. She was a thrower. Yeah. Yeah. You know. Which you were a thrower as well. Yeah. Yeah. I went underhand though because I know that. No.
Johnny Stanton:Let's, let's, that was my segue into your background. An
Ify Nwadiwe:actual thrower. Oh yeah. Yeah. I did shot and disc. Yeah. In track and field. Oh yeah. It's so funny because it is definitely, um, a big part of my origin story and almost probably my coach's villain origin story. Because I was like, I got into shot and disc probably 10th grade was JV by the end of the year and was like, you know that, you know, I wasn't, you know, breaking the school records and I wasn't like placing all the time, but I was definitely progressing and I feel like. You know, I feel like any high school athlete will say this, but I feel like if I went that year, that was gonna be the year that I, like, showed out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that was also the year I joined Comedy Sports High School League. And, um, they were at the same time, and my coach was like, you have to make a decision. Either you're gonna play this or you're gonna do that comedy thing. And he was not happy with my answer. It was the
Johnny Stanton:improv version of a high school musical. Yeah, yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, he was, he was not happy with my answer because it definitely was. I'm gonna do this comedy thing because it was new and exciting. And I felt like I was, cause shot and disc was fun. Um, but it's not like, like I had like prospects where I knew like I was going to get a scholarship or anything. And that's kind of how it looked at. It was like, I don't think, cause I feel like. Track and field is even harder because I feel like the top lane for most people is like the Olympics. Like that is where you're going. So if you're not breaking school records and you're not like crushing every meet, you're, you're, where are you going to go? You know,
Johnny Stanton:I think What's interesting is, like, the difference between, I think, track and field with football. And I'm talking on my ass at this point because I never Yeah, we both are. Absolutely. What else? Anytime we have our open
Ify Nwadiwe:mouth open. There's going to be like some local track whole federation that we don't know about that someone's going to tell you about. Well,
Johnny Stanton:I mean, the A lot of it, a lot of high school sports is, is looking at the next step of looking at playing in college and absolutely track and field and, and, and throwing and sprinting and, and all of these different, the different sports that you can get yourself involved in. Like there is a lot of passion that goes into this. What's I think just something that never clicked with me and the reason I, I know not the reason why I didn't do it, but like, I think the thing that shows within me the, for the fact that I didn't do it was. Football is like is is known. It's the ultimate team game.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah,
Johnny Stanton:and when there are events Like in track and field or like if you're looking at tennis or if you're looking at golf Which are like can be can be team sports in certain aspects Uh, and It's a lot of it's like one on one and you don't get to be alongside your teammate unless you're actually competing against them Oh, yeah, exactly So it's something that just didn't click with me that I didn't have the natural like speed or jumping ability or whatever To be able to be part of that or commit myself to it. But, and I, I admire the hell out of all of those track and field athletes, but I think it's just a different type of team sport that I never got to experience and I wish I did, but it's just, it's, it's a whole nother experience that, you know, that I just didn't get to have. So then
Ify Nwadiwe:what'd you do in the, um, in the off season? Yeah.
Johnny Stanton:Well, fall was football in summer and fall is dedicated to football and what I learned my freshman year of high school was, okay, I'm, I love three sports. I love football. I love basketball. I love baseball. I love baseball. Most. I am born and bred Dodger fan. I chose
Ify Nwadiwe:the right one.
Johnny Stanton:Absolutely.
Ify Nwadiwe:Here's the thing. You got to understand this. Um, Yeah. Johnny grew up in Orange County. No, no, no. I grew
Johnny Stanton:up in Burbank.
Ify Nwadiwe:What?
Johnny Stanton:You didn't
Ify Nwadiwe:know this? No. For all this time, I thought you were an Orange County
Johnny Stanton:kid. So I mean, kind of, I grew up in, in Burbank going to Dodger games like 20 times a year, cause we had season tickets. I literally lived like 20 minutes from stadium, stadium way.
Ify Nwadiwe:Okay, so when did you go to Orange County? It was
Johnny Stanton:5th grade is when I, when I, when I moved. Okay, so you
Ify Nwadiwe:did split the diff a little bit. I did split,
Johnny Stanton:but I still like, I can, I can claim both. No, I think you can claim LA,
Ify Nwadiwe:and I think you should. Ha ha ha ha ha. Look, uh, you know, I, this is one of my jokes I always, You know, comics, if we're about to say a joke in a podcast, but make it seem like we're actually going to say it, we always have to call it, we always have to call out that it's a joke because it's hacked to pretend like you're actually coming up with it. But I always say that Orange County is Hollywood for MMA fighters. Uh, absolutely. Remember when Tito Ortiz was a mayor, dude. Oh, I didn't know that. Oh, buddy. We, uh, we'll talk some off stream stuff. I don't want to push away some of the fans. Don't stay with us.
Johnny Stanton:No, Costa Mesa, Newport beach. Like that is central. Like they love training there because it's so cool. And like, they get to do stuff outside of training, but it's actually, I was thinking, I was thinking about something that you were saying with, um, all the different ways that you kind of split your time of, you know, doing stand up, doing improv, doing like this, all this performative stuff where you felt like if you would have committed to one thing, it would have gotten you further. But you know, you feel like your collective experience allowed you to go in a completely different direction that you wouldn't have expected for me. I feel like I went through that in the past and I'm also going through it right now because in the past. You know, I was a high school quarterback I went to I went to call I didn't surprise you didn't know this I was a high school quarterback. It got recruited to Oregon, Wisconsin, Nebraska Washington is a safety actually, but like all these different schools and then I ended up going to Nebraska Committing to Nebraska after I'm sorry before I tore my ACL in high school
Ify Nwadiwe:that I don't remember
Johnny Stanton:going through that process You know, it became very hard to get back to a hundred percent without being, being able to play. Um, it's, it's something that, like, not a lot of people who aren't athletes realize that, like, when you hurt yourself, you have to be able to get back to the speed, to game speed and get into a game and consistently do that, to actually find your, uh, your, your groove again. Yeah. And, uh. Honestly, long story short, I ended up at UNLV and my senior year, I don't have the starting quarterback job. So I asked to play special teams. I asked to play other positions and to be able to just get on the field. And that is what allowed me to be able to get to the NFL. And, you know, obviously I spent time at fullback, but my body type very well could have lent itself to play either linebacker or tight end really well. And. If I, I think if, if there was a time to have switch and this is like, you're saying hindsight being 2020, it's, it's a hard thing to be able to think about because it's not necessarily healthy, but it's also nice to be able to look back and like, okay, this could have a different, this could have been different. But if I had committed myself to, to tight end, it might, my career might've ended differently, you know, kind of tight ends are used, are used a whole lot different than NFL. It might've got, had me give me a different college experience, which it wasn't like, you know, the storybooks college experience that a lot of people hope to have, like I hope to have. Um, but you know, all that being said, Uh, you, you can't necessarily look at the past and think about like everything that could have been because that's what allowed you to become where you are right now. Now I say that all the past is what like it reminds me of the past because all of that reminds me right now because we were just talking in the car earlier, like all the different stuff that I'm doing as well as the fact that I'm still training. I'm still training to be a long snapper in the league. I hope to be able to get a my chance, you know, by the time this comes out, maybe that's all gone. Maybe, maybe, maybe I made a team. Who knows? But I'm, I'm trying to put myself in a position to be in like a million different ways, like different directions at the same time. Hopefully a team picks me up at long snapper, hopefully, you know, the next big TTRBG thing works out for me, but I'm working at all these at the same time and I get worried that like, okay, maybe I should have, maybe I should stick to one, but that would, I think, just be doing myself a disservice.
Ify Nwadiwe:Well, you know, you know, funny, the funniest thing I think I've learned being friends with you and so many like athletes, um, I thought I was your only athlete friend. No, I got, I got a few, you know, I'll be, um, but like one thing I learned is that You know, there is so much similarity between sports and entertainment. And one thing I think about now is, like, how in basketball, really, you need a Instagram, you need a brand before you even go, because you are telling, you're creating the story. And I think even the same way where, I think, um, you know, all this stuff, yeah, you may be a long snapper, you have all this entertainment stuff, but that helps you out because the more that people are talking about you in general, the more people are like, Oh, it's cool having this guy on our team because people care about him, you know, you know, but yeah, no, it's like those things all kind of, you know, it benefits in ways and sometimes it doesn't. But I think that it really is like everyone. At the end of the day, sports on a professional level is entertainment. So the more you can be attached to players outside off of the field, you know, the more you can be, uh, invested in them on it. And you, because you know, I, and also just like one thing I learned because My dad was always so afraid of me getting into entertainment because he was, he thought like you either get to be Leonardo DiCaprio or you don't. And it's over. I think that's the same thing for sports, right? Everyone's like you either are Michael Jordan or you're not. There's so many steps before that. There's a huge middle ground. Oh yeah. And even like when you think about like a lot of like I was, you know, like I said, I'm getting into hockey. And how, like, you know, or even, well, I'll start with baseball, where baseball, when you get drafted, you're not just in the MLB. And I think, I did not know that until, like, I was watching my buddy Carl play MLB The Show. And, you know, they, they have you start all,
Johnny Stanton:yeah, yeah. And it's so much easier in the show, because, like, at the end of your first, you know, double A season, you might get called up to the pros. There are guys who have been, like, spent five, ten years in the minors before they get their chance in the show. And a lot of them don't get their chance.
Ify Nwadiwe:I mean, guys, we met on, uh, nobody asked, which I'm sure is announced by now, but I don't know if your episodes, but like, you know, there was a guy there who's like, he was a triple a guy and he was like, yeah, I think I might get called up sooner. And he was in it like three, four years or hockey, you know, you with the hockey, you're with a lot of minors. Yeah. Yeah. You but it's like interchangeable, like Quentin Byfield who I shout out because you know, he's a black dude on ice. Um, but he's placed for the king, but he was like brought up from the Ontario rain, which speaking of which was the first like all black line. Um, since the forties. Um, it was Quentin Byfield, another guy who went to the caps and actually won the Stanley Cup. And one guy who is still on the rain. And it is like real interesting to see where it's like, yeah, you you yeah. Do a two way contract. You get called up for a couple of games. If you do well, you stay in the NHL. If not, you'll just pop back down for a bit. But like, it's like it isn't over, but it is like, I think, scary.
Johnny Stanton:It's similar to, I think, you know, you can say that college football is kind of the minors for football. There's also the spring leagues, the XFL, the USFL, which now just merged. But then there's also practice squad, which is where I spent most of my time on the NFL, which is kind of like a minor league in itself. You're playing, you're practicing with the guys you're oftentimes just giving them a look at on, on, and on the practice field, you know, on scout team. But it's, it's kind of is its own training ground because there's every year, there are stories of guys who make it off the practice squad and get to get to make a name for themselves, which is amazing. And it's just the same way. Like, you know, a minor leaguer And, you know, help his team, you know, make a playoff run or in the same thing in hockey. So it's, you know, there's such, like you were saying, there's such a huge middle ground. You don't just have to be the Michael Jordan, the Leonardo DiCaprio. There are guys who like the whole role player idea is the fact that you are. You know, being not everybody can be a leader. Not everybody can be the all star, the all pro, the whatever. There are guys who have to be role players or else your team isn't going to win.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, I'm pulling out my phone so I can pull up this actress because there's a actual movie, like an actual like entertainment industry story of that. Who she was in the holdovers. She is nuts because she plays like this older lady in the holdovers, but she is young, um, divine joy Randolph, uh, who is 37, but plays like this, like grizzled old lady. But I was looking her up because like she's in that she was in, um, uh, Rustin on Netflix. And I was like, Oh, you know, someone's like on fire. I'm like, let me see what they're going on. But her story was she was, um, she was the understudy and ghost the musical in London. And, uh, but then was so good. They made it the principal role, you know, so, so it is funny how like, yeah, you can, I think there's a lot of people who weren't so, who can be so caught up in title and position, not knowing that that. That is just an opportunity waiting to happen. And I think that happens more often than not. I mean, even out here when I, you know, I started doing improv. Um, you know, I didn't get on the house team two times. And in the second time I didn't get on was a year. A lot of people was like, if I don't get on this year, I'm out of here. I was like, I'm still gonna do it. And I was on a team. Uh, the big team, but formerly back then were white women. And And, um, yeah, yeah, all black improv team called white women. Uh, but we, you know, we, we kept busting our ass performing and then we got a, a, a monthly spot at the theater. So, you know, it was like, it was like, Oh man, I didn't get this, you know, this spot at the theater, but I kept going and then I still got it. But then I even get it on better. Cause it's on my own terms. It's with a team that I built from the ground up and now, you know, we're off to the races. Yeah.
Johnny Stanton:You know, I love the stories that, you know, requires patience, requires it, like you'd be able to deal with adversity and adaptability. Like there's so much of that, obviously in entertainment and in sports. Um, People, when I tell like my story, it's like, Oh, I tore my ACL. I broke my ankle with the Vikings. Oh, I had practice squad most of my career, but I still, you know, be able to, I consider my career a success because I think anybody who makes it to the NFL. Oh, a hundred percent. But when people say like, Oh my gosh, there should be like a book made or like, it doesn't happen a lot, but it's like, people are being very kind when they say that, but it's like, Oh, this is such an amazing story. It's like 99 percent of. NFL stories are like that. There are the guys who. you know, have their cup of coffee on a practice squad in the off season or in the, you know, on off season roster and don't make a team. And that's still a success. Then there are guys who are, you know, the, the Devon H hands of the world who are like immediately a success. And that's just like a skyrocket. They're in Rogers who are like the top 1 percent of the 1%, but All of the people in between are still such a huge success that like, I'll, I'll give you a cliche that they say that they say in the NFL, um, you know what the most important ability is in the NFL or in football and sports or whatever.
Ify Nwadiwe:Is it going to be adaptability?
Johnny Stanton:It's very, you're right on the same, on the same way. It's availability. It's the ability to be able to be available at the right opportunity. It's the whole idea of luck. It's opportunity meets preparation and you are always one snap away from being the next starter. Uh, one injury, you know, one sickness when you're on Broadway away. from being in the next household name. So being available, being the person who has been working so hard day after day, year after year, who has not quit yet, even though people have been telling you to and you're there at the right opportunity and it could be the next, you know, it.
Ify Nwadiwe:And I think that is just a universal thing. Yeah. You know, it is very, you know, is very low. Like it, I think everyone is just waiting for the opportunity, but they're not getting ready for it. Yeah. And and I, and I, and I'm gonna say that again because I think that's a bar. Just save people back. People, people are waiting for the opportunity, but not preparing for it because, you know, um, yeah, like you said, I'm actually is out. Um, uh, Azeem who might be in the trailer might not, if not, you know, spoiler ze is gonna be in the show. Azeem, if you don't know, is the black wizard kid on TikTok who wears the wizard hat. And I found him because somebody tagged me and was like, he looks like you. And then I did a funny little video where I was like, um, who, who, who's your dad? Because I was like, dad, this kid does look at me. And then like, I followed him and I was like, oh, this kid is funny. He's, he's, he's really funny. He's a young kid. He's so funny. And then I got the opportunity to be the host of Um, Actually. Yeah. And I was like, Yeah, I wanna, I wanna put him on, I wanna, I wanna give him the spot, but it wasn't because I put my hand in the bag and picked it on, or I was cool with him, and I put a, like, it was just his talent, I knew he was funny, and I just wanted to showcase him to a wider audience. Well,
Johnny Stanton:how cool is that for you to be in the position to be kind of like, I think Kingmaker is kind of a weird term, but it's like somebody who gets, gets to put on the next person.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. I, you know, I think it's, it's very important. It comes with, you know, you, you, you try to, you try to be, try to make that happen because, It really is, I think, hard to stand out in these spaces. And when you have a space where you can give people a platform, you want to be cognizant of it. And you, you know, I, you want to
Johnny Stanton:be the person that you didn't get to have.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. But, you know, it's, it's not like, you know, every season I'm gonna be like, here's the one person on TikTok who's funny, you know, but it is like you, it, it, it. Like when you, when you see someone who's like young, funny, interesting with a fun voice, you're, you're, it's hard not to want him to be on your nerdy show. Who's like a prominent funny nerd. Um, and I'm sure there's tons of other ones, you know, don't. Send me, uh, five. It has to happen naturally. It has to. Yeah, it has to happen naturally. Um, but you know, when it does, it's really beautiful thing because to me, it's just like I'm very much a proponent of like, yeah, because I, I, I love, you know, when those opportunities come for me and I, and that's really how it is in the end is anytime I got to work with my peers or people I looked up with, it was lots of times either that they're like, I heard you were funny or I saw you were funny. And I was like, And I, I'm doing this thing and I want you on it. Like Paul F. Tompkins, I used to listen to all the time.
Johnny Stanton:That's awesome.
Ify Nwadiwe:You know, um, when I was like, you know, driving to work at the L. A. County Registered Recorder and hear him on Comedy Bang Bang, Scott too. And so when they're like, Hey, do you want to be on the bottom? Like, yeah, but you know, it wasn't, they weren't just like, Hey, here's a favor. They're like, no, you, All right. I think the pod would be better if you were on it. So let me come on. You know, once you come on, do it,
Johnny Stanton:I'll tell you a little bit of a story that I feel like relates to it a little bit. Um, when I had my opportunity, you know, I'm done with my career at UNLV. I'm hoping to be able to, you know, I just, I'm trying out with the Vikings. So it's a four or three or four day long process of going through rookie mini camp. And I'm coming out as a tryout player to be able to play tight end a position I've never played in my life. And At the end of the practice on Sunday, they asked me to stick around for, uh, for another day to go through, uh, physicals, to go see the doctor. I'm like, okay, this must be a good thing. And I realized that three other players are doing it out of the hundred players or something that were there. So, I'm like, okay, this has got to be a good thing. Like, let's just get through these doctor's appointments and it'll be great, right? So, um, I get to, uh, forget why I'm telling the story at this point. Um, I get to the, uh, go through the process of like, Oh, you know what it was? I go through the, I go through the doctor's appointments. It all went great. And, uh, you you're in this, like, it's like the war room. It's the, this is the draft room. This is where all of the execs, the coaches. Are in these rows at tables and watching the multiple TV screens in front to be able to like, talk about the draft and then, you know, discuss amongst themselves, their cameras facing them and stuff. And we're in that room and we're, we're waiting in that room, all, all four of us obviously passed the physical exam and, um, one of the assistant general managers comes in and says, uh, Congratulations. We want you on the Minnesota Vikings here. We're going to sign you onto the Minnesota Vikings. And like, that is like a similar, like feeling like a similar experience of. You know, all of this, I watched them on, you know, growing up. It's like, you're giving us, you guys want us on your team. And I followed it up with the fact that, uh, about a week or so later, I was helping volunteer for a coach's camp. Like the players were invited on the weekend. Like if you weren't doing anything like, Hey, come coach. And I wanted to look good for the coaches. I'm like, okay, I'll come volunteer. There's a little kids camp. And, uh, I ended up going, there's like next to the indoor facility, which is where we were, where the kids were running around, I ended up going to this little like Gatorade bar. It's our snack bar. We'd have like, you know, nutritional stuff like Gatorade or a power bars or whatever. So I was hungry or I was thirsty. I grabbed a Gatorade and I was walking back to the, to the field and I saw our, uh, our general manager, uh, Spielman and I'm like, I haven't met him yet. I got signed on by the assistant GM. But I haven't met him yet. Let me just introduce myself to him. Like, I feel like it's the right thing to do. This is basically my boss right now, and I haven't met my boss. So I want to, I want to make myself look good. I'm going to interview myself and say, Hey, Mr. Spielman. I just want to say, I like, I kind of tapped him on the shoulder. I'm like, Hey, uh, just want to say thank you for bringing me on. My name is Johnny Stanton. And I just want to say, I appreciate you bringing me onto the Minnesota Vikings, trying to do something like professional kind, whatever. It's like, you don't know who the hell you think you don't, you don't think I know who the hell you are. And I'm like, Oh, uh, okay. Nevermind. So it was, it was one of my, like, uh, it was kind of humbling and like, Also invigorating at the same time. It's like, this guy knows who I am. Like, obviously he hired me, but it's like, but you don't think,
Ify Nwadiwe:yeah, you don't think like, oh, he's been thinking about me, you know? Yeah.
Johnny Stanton:I mean, he's the head honcho. He's like one step below the owner. And he's like,
Ify Nwadiwe:I had to check the box.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah, my name's on the check.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, you, you good. You good. Nice to meet you, bro.
Johnny Stanton:Yeah. It was an interesting, uh, yeah, it was a fun time over there in Minnesota.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh yeah. I know. No, I know. It was cold.
Johnny Stanton:It was cold. Uh, not my first time there because when I, when I got cut or when I got, when I got hurt, it was in the preseason. So it was in August. And they still consider me part of like the, the roster on injured reserve that season. Yeah. And then they cut me after the season when I, when I, when I got cleared. And then it took me all of 2019 getting back, getting healthy again. And in November, they re signed me. And, uh, so I'm back in Minnesota for only two weeks there. And then it's like the end of November, beginning of December. And that's when it was cold. Oh, oh. And that was just like the beginning of the winter, you know, like, but I remember, Oh my God. Getting cut that second time when I was on practice squad, I was only there for two weeks. I didn't set any roots down But getting cut that second time was, was harder because I got cut on a Tuesday like late morning and all, and the rest of that day basically was like, Hey, so we're going to fly you out today. I'm like, I have all my stuff at the hotel. I like all this, like, you know, all the gear in the, in the facility, like I need to get all this stuff together to be able to make a, like a five o'clock flight. Yeah. Um, Just an absolute nightmare of like trying to get everything together. There was so much stuff that I didn't, that I wanted to be able to bring home. They didn't have the bag room for something. Okay. Let's just get a box and ship it home, which costs, you know, a couple hundred bucks or something nightmare. But it's like this whole, this whole time, then I have to go return the rental car. Then I have to go like this, all this logistical stuff getting cut in, or like, you know, they talk about in, in when you get traded and stuff, like it's such a logistical nightmare that like, it's a whole like on top of the fact that you don't have a job anymore. But it's like, it's just this whole thing that is just not fun.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. So also I'm guessing, so they, they, they just cut you and they don't help with any of that. They like, well, they,
Johnny Stanton:they do, they will schedule the flight home for you. They're like, well, of course that, but I mean, they didn't box your
Ify Nwadiwe:stuff up. They didn't give you any. What I didn't know is that they actually do.
Johnny Stanton:They box your stuff up and send it to like in the locker room. Like they'll, they'll box up your locker and send it to you.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh, so you could have just left it, but you're like, I'm sad. I need this sad montage. Like I want to, I want
Johnny Stanton:to keep everything that I had. I will say when I got cut the, or when I got hurt, um, in the 2018 preseason. Usually you're supposed to like buy your jerseys at the end of the season, or if like you, if you trade a jersey or something, you have to, you have to pay for it. It's like usually it's 200, 250 bucks or something. And, um, and same with the helmet, like after the season's over, you can buy your helmet from the team. So I break my ankle and the next day or the two days later or something, I'm, I'm on my scooter. I'm on a crutches coming through the facility and I'm kind of just gathering up the stuff. And I go to these, go see the equipment manager. Um, awesome dude. I think this is his last year actually. I think he just retired maybe. And I'm like, Hey man, do you think I can get that helmet? He's like, I got you. Don't worry. He, he totally hooked me up. Oh, he just gave, gave me the jersey that I got hurt in, and he gave me the helmet that I got hurt in, which was fine. I didn't care. It was just like, I, I liked being able to collect the stuff that I played in for sure. Of
Ify Nwadiwe:course. Yeah. If they would've won. The, the, the, the chip that year and you're in injury reserve. Do you get a ring?
Johnny Stanton:I do. Uh, I'm not a hundred
Ify Nwadiwe:percent
Johnny Stanton:sure
Ify Nwadiwe:that it would've been the same.
Johnny Stanton:I
Ify Nwadiwe:know they shoulda, they shoulda have won that one. Well, you know what,
Johnny Stanton:you know what was frustrating? I'll, I'll tell you what happens when, when you get a ring, I think on practice squad or like, if you're in the building, you don't get the same exact ring. I don't think they put the same kind of diamonds or whatever Yeah. In it, but it looks the same. You know, it's like, uh, I don't know if I, if, if I was on injured reserve, if they would've given me the same ring, obviously it doesn't matter. But that year, the first game of the year. Um, I remember this very clearly, and I'll, and I'll say his name, the kicker who missed because he's an incredibly successful kicker for the Raiders at this point. Uh, Daniel Carlson was in my draft class 2018 and he was like a 5th round pick or something in the draft. It's a kicker. It usually doesn't happen. You don't get, you know, draft kickers very often. And he ended up missing either 3 field goals or 3 kicks, or 3 PATs or 3 kicks. It was like an incredibly bad game for him. I felt bad for him. so bad for me. I think we ended up tying the Packers. It was like first game of the year playing the Packers rivalry game, and he ends up missing all those kicks and causing it to be a tie. And, uh, you know, he ends up getting cut the next day. First game, rookie kicker, missing those three kicks. And, and he gets cut. Now he's, uh, one of the top three, three or like five or so kickers in the league, which is like obviously a huge, you know, impatient mistake by the coaching staff or whatever. Um, But if they hadn't, if they had beaten, if those cakes hadn't been made, the Vikings end up making the playoffs that year. And as somebody who's living at home on the, you know, watching the games on the couch, still considered part of the team, getting my check as like an IR player, which is coming every two weeks, it's just a lower number than I would have gotten if I was on the team. Uh, I would have gotten part of the, I would have gotten the, the playoff check and I wouldn't, I wasn't a part of it. I was like, I was just sitting on my couch at home. I'm like, come on guys, make the playoffs. So I can get that extra check. Yeah. Let me
Ify Nwadiwe:get that playoff check, baby.
Johnny Stanton:You said your mom is from New Orleans. Yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:New Orleans. So that's, yeah, it's so funny. And you know, I was able to beat the allegations because I was, I just love that phrase. Yeah. Because I was. I was connected to it, but I will admit that, like, I did, like, fully lock in as a Saints fan when we won. Yeah. Because, like, it took over our household. Because, yeah, my mom's from Louisiana, but because L. A. never had a football team, I just never even thought about football fans. Everybody in L. A.
Johnny Stanton:had their favorite team outside of the city, if they were a football fan.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. And, like, I just really wasn't messing with the 49ers or the Raiders, especially. You grew up in L. A., the Raiders. Yeah, it was huge. It was huge. It's a certain crowd. Yeah, it's a specific crowd. 49ers, not too far off. Um, Chargers, huh? Well, that's so interesting. So you said when you're in the league, you don't need to be a fan
Johnny Stanton:anymore. No, you're a fan of people. You're a fan of players. People you played with, people you're buddies with. My best man at my wedding. Is a receiver for the Dolphins. So I'll root for the Dolphins.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, that's so interesting. Uh, Do you feel like it's because you know, there are some players who's like, this is my team because it's always been my team. Um, and then there's people who are fans of the team that they're on. So do you think, you know, let's say I'm gonna speak it. We're having this call. You killed it in spring. You get called up to the Saints. Now you've played for the Saints three seasons. Are you now going to be like, Okay, I'm a Saints fan now because I'm
Johnny Stanton:Yeah, it's interesting. Well, first off, last year I remember texting you, my agent. I felt so bad because I'm like, I shouldn't be texting him this. I think
Ify Nwadiwe:because it's you can text me, I'm not going to leak it. No, no, no, no, no. It was, I
Johnny Stanton:got, it's not even a secret. It was just the fact that like, so I got, I had my agent text me and say, Hey, the saints might be interested in you, you know, long story short. And they, you know, they were, but until they're not, you know, like they didn't bring me in or anything, but my, my dumb ass was like, you know, who would be stoked about this as iffy. Yeah. So I texted you and I like, I hope I didn't get your hopes up too much because I definitely got my hopes.
Ify Nwadiwe:So funny. I, I don't, because like, that's one of the, that's a very, Like Hollywood thing is people telling too much people about telling too many people about a thing that is not unsure, especially like I tried to
Johnny Stanton:couch it. I'm like, this isn't like a thing that I knew because,
Ify Nwadiwe:because of that, like, because I, I'm, and then that's why, if you notice, I never like said what happened with that, because I, because. Because you're not an asshole, but I feel like people don't even realize that. Where, you know, you have people who was like, I sold a show, I sold the show, but like, you know, if you don't know when you sell a show in Hollywood, so first you pitch a show and let's say, let's say it's the, it's, it's a scripted show about like, you know, my new power ranger show, but it's like dark and gritty. So HBO max, like I sold it. So I sold the show universe now. Now what happens is we figured out how much I'll get paid as, you know, the EP, the writer. And if I'm in it, the actor, we work that all out up top. And I'm talking about, you work on everything like merch, uh, few, you work on like, like pretty far ahead in advance. You, um, and. You then are tasked with writing the pilot. Yeah, so you sold the show, but you didn't like write the pilot yet So then you're getting paid to write the pilot. So you do you write a draft you send it in you get notes You do another draft you send it in you get notes you get another draft to And you it's already agreed upon how many drafts it is Then you send in the final draft and they make a decision at this point They decide whether or not they want to make the pilot Let's say they do, just for the sake of this. So then they, um, you go ahead and you shoot the pilot, it's great, you cast everyone, you sit there, you're going back and forth with notes, trying to figure out like, oh, okay, um, Is this something that you know, um, that you like you're going back and forth with the, with the studio going over the draft going over and then after that you send in, you have the final part of this. There is a comedian who does a really good breakdown of this. I'll link Johnny so you can put it in the show notes or whatever. But then like, then they show it to like a focus group and then you know it's all for that. And then they decide whether it goes to series or not. And then you sold the show. Yeah, but a lot of times. From that first pitch, a lot of people are going around being like, I sold the show, I show the show, I show the show, I'm gonna do this, this is all the stuff I want to do. Spending money that they don't have yet. Yeah, and then so what happens is then you go through that draft process, they go and they're like, uh, okay, this is good, but we don't really like this show, we're gonna pass on it. So now that show's done. Yeah. Or you can try pitching it around to other networks, but then they have to pay. Lots of times the problem. That happens is like you, you're choosing if you're lucky, you're having a bidding war, right? And you're, um, and like, say, three different places want it and they bid over it nine times out of 10. You're going with the person who's going to willing to pay the most. So if you're going to the person who's willing to pay the most, um, By the time that that show is passed on and you're trying to come to the network, the network is like, well, we already told you we're not going to pay that much. So we're not going to cause cause they have to buy because the network still owns it. So they have to
Johnny Stanton:pay the price that they already paid
Ify Nwadiwe:so that they can get their money back. So there's so it kind of is end up being dead in the water unless there's like buzz behind it or something. Um, but yeah, no, that, so that, so You have a lot of people who will go and they'll do it or even worse. There were people who, which this is like, most people know not to do this, but I've seen this happen before where it's like big meeting and you're in like the lobby of like Amazon or Showtime or something like big meeting, big pitch, send good vibes, send this. And then you got people being like, how'd it go? And then they didn't buy it. So now you got to answer a whole bunch of people who's like, how'd it go? How'd it go? All because you got too excited. You know, it's,
Johnny Stanton:it's definitely something that happens in football. It's like. I get a lot of people asking me like, okay, how's football going? How's football going? And it was, especially last year. It was so, I was just so like bitter about not being part of a team that like, I just didn't want to talk about football at all. I did. I just hated the question. I hated people asking about updates. It's like, if I had an update, I'd tell you. Yeah. Or you'd see it on social media or what have you.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. I remember I had a friend who wrote on a movie and then they made a sequel. And I was like, Oh, did you write on the sequel? He's like, You see me talking about it? I was like, Yeah, I should have used context because also that's very Googleable, right? That was on me. Um, but yeah, it is like, Yeah, it's so funny because, you know, Everybody wants to, like, be in on the exciting news, but it is like, if it's exciting news, you will know. Yeah. And all they want to do is be excited
Johnny Stanton:for you. Yeah, exactly. But the thing is But it's a little presumptive.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, but also it's the thing, right, where it's like, if it was a thing to be excited about You'd hear me screaming it from the rooftops. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Johnny Stanton:Well, uh, Ify, I think we could, we could talk about this a million, uh, for a million hours, uh, which I think we, we should, I want to have you back on as a regular guest. I will say, I want you to be the first person for athletics check to put your number in the rafters.
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh, really? Yeah. We're
Johnny Stanton:gonna I know it's a little bit metaphorical. It's a little bit more, uh, It's something that I want to It's a tradition that I want to start. We're gonna put your number up in the rafters on the top of the screen for when this comes out. And you're always going to be known for this number. So I'm going to, what I'm going to have you do is you have a couple of dice here. We've got a, we've got a D 100 and I want you to find out what your number is. And that's the number that's going to be retired for you. Okay. So we're going to find out what number is going out and going into the rafters for iffy wataway. Oh God, roll this one again. It's going to be 80 something. You're going to be tight end or receiver 87. It's a good tight end right there. So, uh, if you want to wait, number, number 87 up in the rafters, you might, why don't we watch it go be risen up into Staples center right now. Uh, congratulations for that. The next thing I'm going to do, the last thing I'm going to do for, for this, um, which we will be able to do multiple times. So do not worry if it's a low number, I'm going to, I'm going to ask you to roll an athletics check for me. Okay. Uh, so if to finish the show before we do that. If you thank you so much for being on this episode of Athletics Check. Uh, can you give us a little bit of a plug to, you know, tell us about Um, Actually, tell us about everything that you're working on.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah, yeah, definitely. Uh, Hey, if, uh, watching this, uh, you don't already definitely subscribe to drop out, it's a dropout TV. Great platform with lots of great shows featuring Johnny, myself, uh, many of the, of your favorite nerds, but I am the host of the show
Johnny Stanton:you've seen on tick tock. Yeah.
Ify Nwadiwe:Yeah. I'm the host of them. Actually. I'm on game changer this season. Uh, nobody asked, uh, and, and I don't, I'm gonna stop there. Cause I don't know what else is, uh, announced, but by now, you know, Nobody asked is is a thing, you know, I'm on game changer, you know, I'm the host of I'm
Johnny Stanton:actually hell. Yeah Well, this is gonna be a big year for you. I'm stoked for you What we're gonna do next after you roll an athletic check is if you're if you're a patreon listener We're gonna have a little D& D Uh, moment for iffy, but it's not just gonna be a moment like we have in previous episodes because iffy, iffy graciously wants to come back on the show, I think we might as well give him a reoccurring character, a serialized story. So what you're going to see is iffy, uh, creating a bit of his character as well as. Uh, just telling us about his character, and then we're going to get into a little bit of an intro into a little mini campaign. But, uh, for now, Iffy, thank you for being on Athletic's Check, and why don't you roll me an Athletic's Check? Sixteen. That's a good number right there. Yeah. What do you think a sixteen gets you? What is it, what is that?
Ify Nwadiwe:I mean, well, I'm I'm sure, you know, I'm at least anywhere from a 17 to 8 to 17 to 20 strength and that's
Johnny Stanton:what would you say? Like you're squatting right now. What are you putting up?
Ify Nwadiwe:Oh, man, right now. I'm still, you know, dancing around that 405. Burst, uh, too high above it, but
Johnny Stanton:yeah, I think with a, with a 17 to 20, I think you're going to get that PR soon. Yeah. Iffy. Thank you so much, man. And, uh, I appreciate you. Appreciate you. All right. Thanks for listening, everyone. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to rate it and leave us a review. You can find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere else podcasts can be found. Don't forget we do have a Patreon in which we talk to each of our guests about playing Dungeons and Dragons and I run them a little adventure. I hope you guys do enjoy that if you are a Patreon subscriber. Audio editing and music by the incredible co host, Travis Reeves, video production and editing by Frank Janish. And I'm your host. Johnny Stan, the fourth to find out more about what I do. Check out my website, stantoniv. com. This has been an effing funny production. We'll catch you next time. But until then, can you roll me an athletics check?
