34. Mary Crippen: NFeLementary Co-Creator and TikTok's Favorite Teacher

In this conversation, Mary Crippen, co-creator of NFeLeementary, discusses her innovative project-based learning curriculum that integrates the excitement of the NFL into education. She shares insights on how the NFL draft experience in her classroom fosters teamwork, communication, and life lessons. Mary also addresses the challenges of managing student expectations with losing teams, the role of social media in enhancing engagement, and the surprising recognition she has received from NFL players. Throughout the discussion, she emphasizes the importance of respect, sportsmanship, and the influence of family in education, while highlighting how her passion for teaching has been reignited through this unique curriculum. In this engaging conversation, Mary Crippen discusses the chaotic nature of the current NFL season, highlighting key injuries and team performances. She shares insights on the Dolphins' struggles and future prospects, emphasizing the importance of support systems in both personal and professional life. The discussion also touches on innovative ways to engage students in learning about football, even after the season ends, showcasing the intersection of sports and education.

Follow Mary on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube

Find NFeLementary: https://classclass123.com/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to NFL Elementary and Mary Crippen's Journey
02:12 The NFL Draft Experience in the Classroom
08:57 Managing Expectations and Team Performance
14:21 Surprising Moments and Recognition in the NFL
19:01 Life Lessons Through Football
28:19 The Role of Family in Education and NFL Elementary
33:34 The Journey Begins: From Classroom to Social Media Stardom
38:59 Reigniting Passion: The Impact of Community in Education
42:37 Chaos on the Field: Analyzing the NFL Season
55:10 Dolphins Dilemma: A Critical Look at Team Performance
55:57 The Dallas Cowboys and Troy Aikman
57:29 Jerry Jones: A Complex Legacy
59:31 Mary's Journey as a Dolphins Fan
01:01:12 Finding Balance: Work and Life
01:05:19 Engaging Students Beyond Football Season
01:09:27 Creative Teaching Methods in NFL Elementary
01:11:20 The Future of NFL Elementary and Community Engagement

Transcript

Meet Mary Krippin And NFLementary

SPEAKER_06 0:00

Clama, Clamas.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Today we are joined by Mary Krippin, the co-creator of NFL Elementary, a project-based learning curriculum that uses the excitement of the NFL season to bring learning to life. Mary combined her passion for teaching with her love for the NFL by using football to dive into geography, math, stats, research, predictions, sportsmanship, tackling adversity, team and city history, and even current events in her third grade classroom. Mary has grown a massive following on social media of over 630,000 followers, enrolled 3,000 students in her NF Elementary program, has been featured in People on eNews, NBC, ABC LA, and more. She and her class have been recognized by almost every NFL team, spoken about on the Manningcast, collaborated with Matt Stafford, recognized by Patrick Mahomes, Jameis Winston, and so many more. She's empowered students and social media viewers alike, partnered with Dolphins running back Alexander Maddenston and Manny Brands. She is a creator, teacher, wedding coordinator, and entrepreneur. We all love her content and have seen her be an absolute light. So, Mary Crippin, welcome to the game. Clap it up for Miss Crippin.

SPEAKER_06 1:40

Thank you. Wow, what an intro. Man, oh man, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

I was so excited to write that and then ramble that all off. You have done so much in the last couple of years, and we're really honored to have you. My teacher friends are freaking out that you're here.

SPEAKER_06 1:57

Oh my gosh, I love it. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_05 2:00

I'm not gonna lie, the wedding coordinator kind of threw me off.

SPEAKER_06 2:02

I was like, it throws, it throws everybody off. It's like it's like all these like sports things, and she's a wedding coordinator.

SPEAKER_05 2:08

It's like all enough to do amazing accolades, and then you just hear wedding coordinator. But but let's start. I have so many questions about NFL Elementary because I think it's when I was like really deep diving and like following you this past season, it really hit me and like kind of resonated with me. Like these kids are learning, yes, like math and reading, but they're learning life lessons. And I think it's really cool to combine like the NFL and really make it innovative and a really cool experience for these kids that are gonna remember this for literally probably the rest of their lives. So kudos to you. Really amazing. I want to start right there though. Walk us through the process of how students start out the year going through the curriculum, how they kind of get their teams for those that don't know. Walk us through that process.

The Classroom NFL Draft Ritual

SPEAKER_06 2:57

Well, it starts day one. I mean, first day of school. I mean, I run the first portion of the day as any teacher would on the first day of school. I mean, everybody knows it's like a it's a mix of excitement, nerves, like, oh my gosh, I'm back at school, all of that stuff. And then at the end of the day, I always save my NFL draft for the last activity of the day. Just because I I like to get to know them in the beginning. I like to see kind of just, you know, do the do the rounds of the first day of school. And then after they come back, I'm lucky because my schedule for teaching, I have like their go to special area for an hour. And then after that hour, they come back and it's our final block of the day. So I saved it for that block. So while they were at special area, I kind of set up my back table as like the draft table. I got like the green, like I call it the green carpet, which is just NFL, like the field with that the walk to come pick up and draft their team. They have no idea what they're walking into. I just sit there and I'm like, all right, I hope PE was great, but now it is time for the NFL draft. And half of them are like, excuse me, what are you talking about? Um, and then I just kind of explain to them what each of you are gonna draft your own team that you're gonna follow and track through the entire season. And sometimes I usually preface it in the beginning of the day and sort of introduce them to the NFL through the dolphins because we all I always have them take observations, okay, like we talk about ourselves. Now let's learn about your teacher just by looking at my room. What are some things that you think that I like? And they're like, oh, the dolphins. So they kind of already know that I'm a big NFL fan. And then I call them up one by one. They pick a blank helmet. On the back of that helmet is the team. They don't know what they're picking when they walk up to my desk. So all of them, they pick up their helmet, they look at the team, and then they walk back to their seat. After all of them have picked, then I call it the trade period, where I, because I only have 24 students, there are leftover teams that I have. So I tell them that I'm Commissioner Crippin and you can decide if you like your team and you don't want to trade, you can stick with it. Like you don't have to trade with anybody. But if you're interested to see what else is out there and interested to see what other people have or maybe what is still left at my back table, feel free to stand up, walk around. And then I kind of preface it with you know, if you want to trade with somebody, you can't just expect that they're going to say yes. Like you have to ask politely, hi, I have this team. Would you may we trade? And they could easily say no, and you have to be able to accept that no. I mean, you could come with a good argument, sure. You could try to convince somebody to trade with you, but you just because you asked doesn't mean they have to trade with you. So after during the trade period is probably my favorite because that's when I learn a lot about them. They all hear like, oh, I want this team because my dad is from Kansas City, which is real. Like last year, one of my girls was like, I want, I had the Panthers at my back table, and she's like, Can I take Carolina? And I was like, Oh, why? And she's like, We vacation in Carolina all the time. And I'm like, Oh, okay. So you learn so many like little random things about them through the trading period. A lot of them, if it's the lions, they're as their favorite animal and they love the lions or the color schemes or just the way the logo looks on the helmet that'll attract them to that. But after the trade period is over, they're locked in and that's it. There's no trading, even if your team does not do well.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

I love it. I love that I thought it was so creative that you do helmets down and then you allow them to trade because I was imagining, I was like, oh my God, these kids are gonna be obsessed with who they want to have. And my sister is a trade teacher, and I've been to her classroom a couple of times, and they're second graders, and so they want what they want. And so I love that you do it face down. They kind of get what they get, and then they have to use their life skills to actually trade.

SPEAKER_06 6:33

And the best thing about it is it gets because you know, the first day of school is so formally informal in the sense that you're not doing really real content. You're not going open your book to page this and we're doing a math lesson. I mean, actually we did, but it in general, it's not like it's not like heavy hitting in the content day one, here's our curriculum. So we do so many icebreakers at the beginning of the day, but this really allowed them the chance to walk around and talk with each other without it being facilitated by me. It was totally student driven. So they all by the end of the day had spoken with every single person in the class because of the draft. Like people were going up to each other that they normally wouldn't because it was this period where I want to see what this team is. So they're having conversations with kids that maybe they would have never thought to speak to that morning, which is such a cool thing to see happen.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

Yeah, that's so sweet. I hate like a corporate icebreaker. Like, there's nothing that makes me more uncomfortable than like tell me your walk-up song. I'm like, I don't know, and I'm gonna freeze when you ask me in front of all these people that don't know my.

SPEAKER_06 7:33

And don't ask me my favorite movie because I have no idea.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Like they're uncomfortable every time. And they're also uncomfortable for kids sometimes. So I feel like this is the perfect way to get kids, yeah, like actually talking to each other. Like, why do you want this team? And I saw in one video you were like, you have to pitch your case to me. And I was like, Oh, you're making all the salespeople.

SPEAKER_06 7:53

Yeah. Right away. And then they're that started getting to the point where, like, you know, I had I had probably like two or three kids this year out of the 24 that were already NFL fans coming into the class. And one of them specifically was a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. And I had had his sister two years prior when I was just doing Miami Dolphin stuff in my class. So he was gung ho set on getting the bills. And there was a point where he was not going to get the bills, and we were like almost full tiers, like beat red because he did not have the bills in his hands, and the person who had the bills was not giving it to him. So then I they came over to Commissioner Crippin and I was like, okay, what's happening here? And apparently the kid who had the bills wanted a different team. So he wasn't gonna give up the bills until he got the other team, he wanted the Rams. Three-way trade? So I had to facilitate, I did like a three-way trade. I was like, let's let's find a way to make all three of you happy. So then we we did it. We we facilitated a three-way trade. He went, he went to the bills, he got him at the end. And I I have a clip that I sent to his dad later on in the day. Like, here's this video of him freaking out, FYI. But yeah, they did three-way trades, four-way trades. There was one who probably had picked up 22 teams. Every time I looked at him, I'm like, dude, you got a different like, what are you doing? You have a different team now. Like, let's let's make a decision here.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

He's like, I just like to shop around. He's like, I just ended up with the bears.

SPEAKER_06 9:12

Ended up with the bears and look at him now. Yeah.

Trading Teams And Life Skills

SPEAKER_05 9:15

I was actually curious about like managing kids' like expectations. How do you go into it? And how do the kids go into it? And then when the kids maybe have a losing team as the season goes on, how do you kind of manage their expectations and keep them in high spirits when you know they have a really bad team?

SPEAKER_06 9:35

It's tough. I mean, it's it's it's tough, but it's fun. And luckily, the team that I was modeling with also had a tough season. So they weren't looking at like I was like, listen, we are in this together. Like we, you and me, pal, my team's not doing well, your team's not doing well. Let's ride the wave. No, but I mean, I always say at the beginning of the season, you know, and I compare it to different journeys in life. Just like, you know, when we get a test grade back and sure, maybe if I get an F and Victoria gets an F, our F's might look different. She might have gotten number one, two, and three correct. I might have gotten those ones wrong. Like you still can't compare my F to her F because they're two totally different things. So I talk about that with journeys. I mean, when we were, when I was just tracking the Miami Dolphins four years ago, it was a little more difficult because we were all on the same journey together, tracking one team. But with the NFL, all of them are on their own different journey. And I preface that in the beginning. And I always say, listen, you cannot compare this to that. It's apples and oranges. And so just each week, and they have built a good, I mean, it was tough in the beginning because you know, you get it's it's always high hopes in the beginning because everybody starts off oh no, zero and zero. And I say, listen, all 32 teams have a shot right now at the Super Bowl. And then as the weeks go on and the weeks start going on, you start to see who starts pulling away from the pack. So yeah, I mean, some of them had really great spirits with it. I mean, especially because of the fact that each of their friends drafted a team, they loved playing against their friends. So let's say like the Saints like beat like a random team, but it was their friend. They loved it, even though their team didn't make the playoffs and were eliminated very early. My kid Jose is like loving life right now, being a Saints fan. And it's like, but yeah. So I mean it's it's just it's consistency. And that's the same thing with like all the things I try to teach them about kindness and paying it forward, and that teams don't have to share love that they do. It's continuously reminding them of that message. And now, if you get to like, I just had like my New York Islanders post that I posted yesterday, and I remember I said, A, we didn't, we don't even talk about hockey, B, something like that, and C, and I didn't even get it out. And the student said, they don't have to do this. Like they're now filling in those blanks where I'm not having to teach them those lessons anymore. They're just living it. So it's one of those things that you model from the start. And I think it really did help that the Miami Dolphins weren't doing great. So it wasn't like, oh, Miss Crippin is like living life, and here I am coming in every Monday with a Victory Monday post. Like, you know, so yeah. Maybe one day, but not this year.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Do your kids have social media yet? Like, do any of them follow you on like TikTok?

SPEAKER_06 12:05

Uh I don't know, but I know they see my videos. So I know there's two of my students that have access to social media and they watch like their grown-ups give them more little freedom with social media because they I remember they came in, the Washington Commanders had posted, they posted a box filling for my class. And before the box had arrived to the to my school, they had posted the box filling. So like social media world knew there was a box coming from Ms. Kerbin's class. But my student had no idea there was a box coming for him. So I was like, oh my gosh, I really hope he doesn't because like, you know, I want them all to feel that same surprise and feel that they love getting their moment in front of their classmates, which is such a cute thing. They just love celebrating each other and all of that. But I remember two of the girls came to me and at separate occasions and they're like, Miss Crippin, I need to talk to you. And I'm like, okay, what's happening? And they're like, I saw that the commanders are sending a box. And I was like, okay. I said, Well, thanks so much for telling me. I said, we got to keep this our little secret. I said, because we want Christopher to have his moment. I said, we've gotta, we've gotta keep this on the down low. Like, I don't even have the box yet. Like it hasn't even arrived to school. So we really have to just keep it under the wraps here. And this was two separate times. Both girls didn't know that the other one knew, but they both had come to me about it. And then I remember when he got his moment, they were both looking at me like, we did it. And I was like, We did do it.

SPEAKER_05 13:33

That's so cute.

SPEAKER_06 13:35

Yeah. But then some of them will they'll go home and like the grownups will tell me, like, they'll ask for their phone to watch whatever lesson I did that day. And they'll be like, Oh, you cut out this part. And I'm like, damn straight I did. I did cut that part out where I yelled at you. Like, so yeah, they go home and they rewatch, and I'm like, guys, you were there. Why do you want to see it again? You lived that lesson. You were the one that was calling out. Why do you want to see that again? But they love it. They they love it.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

That's so cute. So you mentioned obviously it's like they have their moment, and there's been all of these like great surprises to the classroom. But what has been maybe your biggest kind of like shock or surprise moment throughout the last couple of years with all of the like growth and everything that you've gotten?

Handling Losing Teams And Mindset

SPEAKER_06 14:24

There's just there's so many because it, you know, if you asked me four years ago or five years ago when I like started doing this in third grade, if I thought I'd be here now, it's no. So I think each year something else comes around that's like more of a pinch me moment where it's when I was first starting out, I remember it was Jalen Ramsey DMing me, inviting me and my husband to watch the Raiders versus Dolphins in his suite with his family. And I was like, what? Like he got a random Twitter DM the night before, like, hey, love what you're doing. Like, I love education, and I have such a big respect for educators. Like, would love to host you and your husband tomorrow for the game. This is before we were even married. And I was like, oh my gosh. So that was a big pinch me moment. That was like the first kind of recognition that I got from a player on their own and not a team setting up like, here's a video from you know, Mac Jones. Like, no, this player sitting there the night before just decided, hey, let's invite this teacher to a game. So that was really cool. I think last year I was invited to attend the NFL annual meeting in Palm Beach, where I got to speak to all 32 general managers, coaches, presidents, commissioner Roger Goodell, and all of them about NFL Elementary, which was really, really cool.

SPEAKER_05 15:38

I saw that some kids came with you too.

SPEAKER_06 15:40

Yes, and some of some of my students got to come and come as well. And it was, it happened perfectly during our spring break. So I kind of did just like a survey of who would be in town. And then I let the NFL decide. I said, here are the kids that are in town, here are the teams that they're represented by. Please, you can pick which ones you want.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

You invite them because I can't do that.

SPEAKER_06 15:59

That that was the only way I saw fit. Like first I did a survey to the grownups who's in town this weekend, and then I put it into the NFL's hands. Like, here are the students that are in town and the teams that they represent. Like, here you guys can decide if you want different representation from different teams, you know? But yeah, I mean, I thought was a big pinch me moment just being in the same vicinity as all 32 coaches, owners, presidents, GMs. Like that was really, really cool. Yeah. I mean, there's so and I had so many opinions about different coaches where I'm like, ugh, I don't really like this coach. But then you meet them and you're like, what? This guy is like Nick Siriani is one that I was not familiar with, how cool of a person he was because he's such, he's portrayed as such a different person on TV and what we see him talking trash and see the way he is. Like he's a total Philadelphia Eagles coach. And he totally represents all of Philadelphia. But then I met him and he was just raving about how he went to school for education. All his family comes from education. He couldn't have been the nice, like he's the nicest guy ever. And I would have never known that if I had I not been in that situation or scenario with him. So it that moment also reminded me to take everything that you see on TV as a grain of salt, right? Because it's like we don't really know who these people are, we just are shown glimpses. So that was really cool. And then the pinch me moments just keep going, you know? It's just like every day it's another thing where I'm like, wow, is this really happening?

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Yeah, I think we forget, like we say all the time, like social media isn't real, and social media is a highlight reel. And we kind of forget that so is TV and so is the NFL. And like we treat the NFL like it's reality TV. And sometimes we forget that like people are just like people and they're in press conferences talking about things that matter a lot to them and their livelihood. And like, of course, they're not gonna say the right thing all the time, or of course they might not like come off as someone who could like be your friend, but you don't know them. Like, we don't know them, but we don't know the players. So we can like watch them and respect them and enjoy the NFL. But we have to remember that like we actually don't know them at all.

SPEAKER_06 18:01

And that's why I felt so bad when it was like, and it was funny because I I was talking to like some people the other day. I was doing a YouTube live, and I asked, like, Eagles fans, are you guys still mad as an Eagles fan, even though you guys have made the playoffs clinched? Which was which blew my mind that Eagles fans were so angry at Philly, even though they were sitting at number one in the East. I get it, they expect greatness. And all of them, it's just like they want the offensive coordinator fired. And it's I feel like, yes, we can feel those things, but I felt so bad hearing the reports of his house getting egged and the death threats. And I think it's just like social media takes it to a point where it's like we forget that these are real people that like we're talking to. These are real life humans, and I think it's just it's wild. It's wild.

SPEAKER_05 18:42

Yeah. I feel like that's one of the biggest lessons that you kind of teach the kids too in your curriculum. I mean, what really resonates with me, and I kind of said this before, but football can teach anyone, not just kids, about life, overcoming adversity, tough decisions, being problem solvers. Um I feel like that's kind of why it works so well in the education space. But what do you feel like? And this might be kind of a loaded question, what do you feel like is the biggest lesson or a couple of the biggest lessons that you've taught your kids through the curriculum of NFL Elementary so far?

SPEAKER_06 19:16

I think it's there's so many, but I think I always try to bring it back to the respect level and with sportsmanship and and having respect for one another. And I think, I mean, I most of the lessons that all the lessons I've learned have been from being on a team and playing sports. So I always try to relay those messages to them, but I always show them, you know, there are gonna be moments of weakness and there are gonna be times when you slip up. I remember the first lesson I had to do this year, not had to, but got to do this year, was the Eagles, Cowboys spitting incident, game one of week one. And it's like, oh, okay, I guess this is what I'm addressing in the intro to and in in the regular season. And that was such a powerful thing of kind of a what not to do with. Jalen Carter spitting, but I went through that lesson as we were exposed to it as fans, so they could see the same reactions that we as fans got to go through. We only saw Jalen Carter spit first, but then when we went back on social media or something, then we see, oh, wait a second, it was Dak that spit first. And then we go to their press conferences. So showing it to them just the way that we were shown. And then also humanizing it. Yeah, Jalen Carter made the wrong decision, but does it make him a bad person? No. And we're gonna make wrong decisions, but know that those decisions that you, those wrong decisions you make, it doesn't mean you're a bad person. You just made a mistake. And those moments don't define you, but it's how you overcome those different types of things. So a lot through those types of moments, but I think the respect and having kindness and respect for all the teams across the league. And it doesn't mean you have to think of them as sunshine and rainbows. I mean, we're competitors. We are athletes. We, I mean, I'm an athlete, we're all probably athletes, and it's we love sports. And that's the best part about the game is the rivalries, right? But we can take those rivals. It depends on how we take those different rivalies. And I tell them, I said, listen, I never want the Buffalo Bills to win. Never. You'll never catch me rooting for the Buffalo Bills. I'll never cheer for them on Sunday, Saturday. I don't care what day of the week it is, I'm not rooting for them. But I have respect for them where I'm not gonna go and shout profanities and wish ill will on them. I can still be a fierce competitor and still show a level of respect at the end of the day. So that's one of the main things that I try to teach them. And I show that. Like, and there's so many good examples of the players coming together and shaking hands afterwards, you know, the things that they that opposing quarterbacks say about each other before a game or after a game. So making sure to highlight those different things for them has been huge. But yeah, really just the respect, the kindness, all the things that you should be teaching in third grade, right? But just showcasing it through the NFL.

Social Media, Surprises, And Boundaries

SPEAKER_02 21:53

I love the lesson on AJ Brown and reading on the sideline and the way that the fans reacted to it. Like that one on respect was like huge to watch and so cute to watch. And then you also had one where your student didn't want to go through his test that he didn't do that well on, or he didn't want to go through his mistakes. And you were like, Well, would Jalen Hurts not want to watch his tape?

SPEAKER_06 22:17

And that was like those were both real, like some people are like, Oh, she's making this up. No, those are real things, I literally say. And it was with Luca, my Eagles student, and Maddox, my Bronco student. And the mom, like, even messaged me after, like, thank you so much. Maddox even told me about how you said this. Um, but it it resonates. And literally with my student, Luca, who drafted the Eagles, I said that, and he was like immediately like, oh, okay, yeah, you're right. Never mind. And I'm like, okay, moving on.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

You're like, yes, that worked. Yeah. Yeah, you got them. I think it you've done such a good job with what you've posted on social media. I know that like the lessons are the lessons because you're creating them to teach your students something, right? Like, it's very clear that you do an excellent job at planning your curriculum through NF Elementary, but that also kind of shows that how you do one thing is usually how you do most things. And so I think that your planning of it has been really great, but you've done a really good job highlighting on social media the benefit of NF Elementary, which was super impressive to me kind of when I was going through as not like a consumer of your content, but as somebody who's gonna interview you, that you can see through social media the benefit of something like this. And I feel like it could have gone the other way. How has the reaction from the school and the parents been? Because I think if you would tell some parents, like, I'm gonna teach your kid about the NFL this year, and they see social media, and people sometimes think that social media is everything, right? They're like, Well, this is all you're doing in my kids' class. So we're a history lesson.

SPEAKER_06 23:49

People will ask me all the time, what do you teach when the NFL season is over? And I'm like, guys, the thing is, people don't realize is when I post these things, it's only like an eight-minute, like it takes like probably like a 20-minute block, and it's not every day. So it's funny, like they forget that no, I'm teaching math, I'm teaching science, I'm doing writing, we're doing all these other things. But I only like, sure, if you want me to post me reading the novel Matilda, I guess I can show you that, but I really don't feel like editing that and and videotaping that. So I'm just like, guys, let's bring it back to reality here. It's only eight minutes you're looking at. Let's let's get back to center. But no, the parents have been, I mean, my my administration, the reason why I've been able to take it to the point that I've been taking it to is because I have such a supportive administration and such a supportive principal, which is awesome. I mean, she loves it. She sees because it also started so small and so organic, like five years ago when I started with just really infusing the dolphins and the wins and losses. And it grew as it grew. It wasn't like this million dollar idea that I took. I let it grow with what I was doing in third grade. So when I first started teaching third grade, I was very because I came from teaching primary, kindergarten. And then when I moved to third grade, I knew that I wanted to incorporate sports. And my mom is the original creator of this program. And I always wanted to do what she did. But when I moved to third grade, I was just like, I can't. Like, A, I need, I need to master what the curriculum of third grade is first before I start adding new things to it, right? I want to get down what I need to teach before I can really find ways to expand on it. So I just started small, and that actually just came because of a random moment of talking about Patrick Mahomes on like the first week of school. So that's how it started. It started small and just then we went to tracking players and then we started talking about playoffs. And then the next year we tracked a player and talked playoffs. And then where I was finally like, okay, I really think this could work because I've A, seen how the kids gravitate towards what I'm doing. And B, when we get to the playoffs, they're so interested in all the other teams and learning about different things and the engagement is on point. I mean, kids even wanted to come to school when I was just talking about the Dolphins. They were just excited to walk in on Monday talking about, oh, did you see Tyree Kill got arrested? Oh, did you see this person got in a fight? Oh, did you see the win? Oh, it was a game. Like they were already talking about it. So I think that's what really helped is because I had grown it naturally in my classroom to where I felt confident taking on this beast that is now NF elementary. But my my administrator has been so supportive and so like, I mean, I'll have random people like, oh, FYI Alexander Madison's coming tomorrow. And she's like, just put it in the calendar. And I'm like, alrighty, on it. And then my the parents in my class, I mean, they've been, they've been awesome. And I think the biggest thing for them is that, you know, I've been getting texts over the break. Like, the kids can't wait to come back to school. Like they're ready for break to be over because they want to go back to school on Monday. Whereas she's like, my fifth grader is like dreading going back and they can see the difference between here are these third graders that are wanting to go back to school. And then there's the their other siblings or other kids that are dreading going back, and they see the desire to just want to be back in the classroom. And I think that's the best thing that NF Elementary has created is the community and getting kids to want to be in school. Cause that's such a big thing now, is kids don't want to go to school. They don't want to be there, they don't want to learn. And that's the best thing is the buy-in from NF Elementary. Kids buy in and they buy in quickly without even having to do much.

SPEAKER_05 27:17

No, I don't want to glaze over this because like we've been talking about like your curriculum and like what you've been doing, but you mentioned your mom. And I actually have been waiting to ask you this because I feel like it's really, really sweet and special. Cause in a post, you said she's the real MVP behind NFL Elementary. So talk to me about her role and building this and like her inspiration on your life, your teaching life, and kind of the brand as a whole.

Pinch-Me Moments With NFL Leaders

SPEAKER_06 27:45

Well, she created it back in 1999, which is insane. I mean, she just, it's like any other teacher would. She had a bunch, she had a bunch of boys that were reluctant to do her math homework and she said, Well, you're gonna do this math one way or the other. And that's how it created. And she sat down and created this curriculum. And I've watched over the years my friends enter into her classroom, and I never realized the magnitude of this curriculum until I got older. When I was in fifth grade, when I was in elementary school, I was not paying attention to what my mother was doing. I just knew she was doing something. I always knew there was something, it was always sports in her classroom. But I didn't really know the magnitude of it. I mean, I'm, as kids, we're also very self-centered. We're not concerned what our what our grown-ups are doing. We're just, we just know that they're there and they make us do things. But when I got into high school and I remember, you know, talking to a bunch of my friends about the NFL, and we were talking about games, and they're like, wearing Chargers gear. And I'm like, why are you wearing Chargers gear? And they're like, because I drafted them in your mom's class in fifth grade. And I was like, you're still a Chargers fan? And they're like, Yeah. So that's when I got older, is when I realized, holy cow, that like she has created lifelong fans here, and she created such a bond. I mean, anytime we'd go to Publix, anytime we go anywhere in the community of where she taught, we'd be stuck there for three hours because everybody was coming, former parents, current parents, students that she had in the past to come and chit chat with her because they loved her. And I just saw all the amazing things that she did in her classroom. But yeah, it created just because kids were reluctant to do our work. And that's where it really began. So I knew I wanted to do some of that in my classroom. I just didn't know how. And her and I are very similar, but we're very different types of teachers. Like we're we're very similar in the sense that we're very outgoing and we can chit-chat and we're very, we can yap, but very, very different on the other spectrum. Like she's type A, she's organized, she's got a plan, she's got this, where I am B type B, diagnosed ADHD all over the place. So it's just like, she'll look at she'll come into my classroom some days and she's be like, oh, what's going on? Like, she'll just clean for me. Like, what do we got going on here? What are you doing? But it helped. I mean, she had the blueprint for NF elementary, but she taught fifth grade. So when I wanted to do when I knew I wanted to finally pull the trigger, and I came to her and I was like, Can I, can I do it? Like I had to ask her, like, is it okay if I take this? Cause can I, can I use this? And she was thrilled. I mean, she couldn't have been happier that I wanted to continue on her legacy, but I had to align it to all of my third grade standards. So I worked one summer, all summer, taking what she did, looking through my pacing guide as a teacher of what I was expected to teach, and aligned all the different sheets that my kids do to the third grade standards. But yeah, she played a huge role. I mean, still, we jump back and forth on different ideas all the time. I mean, but it's so great to have that and to know, like at the end of the day, like I can pick up my phone and I can call her and yap about, you know, complain about something in teaching or share a high or share a win moment where yes, I do the same things with my husband, but with my mom being in the field, she just gets it, you know, and she's able to add her two cents. Or if I'm struggling with something, she can always bring me back down to zero. So it's been such a cool thing to be able to go through this journey with her. Shout out to mom. Yeah, shout out to moms.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

We we love moms. I it's so cool that you guys can continue to bond over it as well. Is she still teaching?

SPEAKER_06 31:10

No. So she retired the year that I started. So she actually got out right before she taught for 38 years. She left and thankfully left right before COVID because I don't know how she would have done navigating the on on the online stuff. But the thing is when I started, I started in first grade and then I moved for two years, and then I moved to kindergarten for three years. So there was five years before I even started doing NF elementary.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Yeah. Okay. Speaking of going online, what tell me about the decision to like post this on social? Was it one of those things where you just like posted one thing because you're like, this is cute and fun? And then actually it was really funny.

Core Lessons: Respect And Sportsmanship

SPEAKER_06 31:52

So when I started, so I I had grown up. I'm I'm I'm one of those kids that I loved making videos. I I was I like sat on iMovie all the time. I was always like as a 15-year-old kid, I remember my brother's high school like asked me to do their baseball banquet slideshow. And I made like graduation, like I was always the one making videos for people and for myself, just for fun. So I remember the first year that I started doing the dolphin thing in my class, I had a really grand idea that at the end of the season, I wanted because I have the board that you've seen where I have the W's and L's. I was like, I really want to put together like a like a video compilation of like W L, W, and L. So at the end of the season, you can see the how the season went. And I remember after the first year, I did it. And it's the first video I put on TikTok, and it's still there, I think, all the way at the bottom. Yeah. And it came out terrible. Terrible. And it's because like I would, I remember I would do it and I would like hold my phone like this, and I'd have the marker, and I'd try to like, you know, I tried doing it on my own. And when I, and then it was off and it didn't, it it, and I'm such a stickler for like transitions and it didn't transition well. And it just, it was a great idea, but it didn't look great. So the following year, I was like, okay, when I do this, I'm gonna have, I'm gonna make it look better. So that was when I started, I had a kid come up and he was like my Nico, my like camera holder. And it was literally, it was only like two minutes that we were talking about the win or the loss. So he would stand there and and hold the camera during the lessons. And I remember during that season, I was each week putting together the video compilation that Nico had made, like from our little lesson. And I would cut out like just where you put the W part and leave the rest of the lesson. Like, I didn't think anybody wanted to hear the rest of what I had to say. I was just trying to make a cute little compilation of W's and L's. And I had was putting it together and it was like week four of the NFL. And my husband and I are on a walk, and I was like, babe, look how good this looks. I was like, this actually looks so good. And he was like laughing. And I remember I put it up on Twitter and I was like, we've been loving tracking the Dolphins wins and losses in our class. When the Dolphins win, we win, we get 10 extra minutes of recess. When they lose, we learn from, we learn from the loss. It's a learning experience. And I posted it and I was very active on Dolphins Twitter, meaning like I followed all the beat reporters, like I was in the know of Dolphins Twitter. And I had like 500 followers from like 2011 from when I started Twitter, like friends. And my mom had called me hours later, and she's like, Mary. And I was like, Yes. She's like, Have you checked your Twitter? I was like, no, why? She's like, you might want to go look. And it was just every time you refreshed, it was like hundreds of thousands of people. And that was big back in the day, like having a even a thousand look views on it. But it was like 100,000 views. Then you'd refresh 200,000 views. And it was like this little video was circulating through Dolphins Twitter and through NFL Twitter. And that's where I was like, oh, oh my gosh. And then it was in that moment that I had Omar Kelly, who is a Dolphins beat reporter, he reposted it and tweeted, you should track Tyree Kill's road to 2,000 yards because that's the way I learned math. And he's been so vocal about getting 2000. And I was like, wait a second, this is not a bad idea. But the reason why I never did it was because I was just a reading teacher at this point. I didn't teach math. So I was like, you know what? What harm could teaching my kids could infusing math in my reading classroom could that do? No harm. So I went back that day. I like researched, okay, how am I gonna make this applicable to my kids? How is this gonna be a meaningful thing that we're tracking Tyree Kill's yards? And then that Monday I introduced it to them and they loved it. And then I remember people were so interested in what I was doing that I was like, okay, I guess I'll sh like show them like some more of the lessons. And this was just basically Twitter. And then after when I showed the Tyree Kill, me introducing the lesson to them, introducing the topic of tracking him, it was Barstool Sports that picked it up. And they reposted, they took it to a whole new light where my I was at in Orlando, my brother was like, Barstool Sports just reposted you. And I was like, oh my God. Like they wrote an entire article about what I was doing. Like Tyreek Hill's doing so well that elementary school students are learning about him, type of thing. So, and then from there, I mean, I had a TikTok, but it wasn't really active, and I wasn't an active TikTok person. But I remember when I would open, I opened the app one day and I saw my video on TikTok, but I didn't post it. And I was like, what? I was like, no, so I was like, oh, I guess I should just start posting them on TikTok too. And then it just started growing. But it, I mean, it's been a long time. It's been like four or five years. So it, you know, at first it was like, I got 10,000 followers and I was like, oh my gosh. And then the next season it was like 50,000, and then it was 100 and 200. And this year it's just totally blown up. And I think it's it's wild. But yeah, the decision to post on social media was literally just because I wanted an aesthetic little W and L compilation. And then I realized how interested people were in what I was doing, which was wild to me.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

The rest is history, the rest is history. I think that a lot of the education system has come under scrutiny over there. I mean, I know that people always have their opinions about the education system, but hearing from teachers, just that there's like a lot of struggles in the teaching profession.

SPEAKER_06 37:10

It's rough, it's rough out there.

SPEAKER_02 37:12

It's exhausting, teachers don't get paid enough, and a lot of the curriculum and the expectations are wild. Yeah, and then you're dealing with now, parents can text you. Like my sister, yes, third grade teacher. I was staying with her for like a month, and she got a text at 6 15 a.m. from a parent. And so there's yeah, so many expectations. 10 p.m. Why not? They have a phone, it's fine, they're they're up, but I feel like this has had to have given teaching in curriculum a new and exciting meaning to you. Like, is that true? And has this ignited teaching passion?

SPEAKER_06 37:50

It it's I always yeah, I mean, it, I mean, I've always loved teaching, but being able to do this, and and I'm so thankful that my mom let me take her curriculum and run with it and kind of make it my own and make it more me, but it's reignited like a fire in me. I mean, I and it's not just because, yeah, the NFL season's gonna end, but it's just we have created such a classroom community, and it is there's no like I don't, I'm I'm looking forward to going back on Monday. Like I don't dread, I dread summers because I love coming to school. I love teaching, I love being with the kids, I love the consistency of going to work, of going to school. Like it doesn't feel like work to me. Yes, like I know so many of the things I see on social media, like and a lot of things I post, I don't really post a lot of the hard times of teaching because I just feel like people know, and that's not why they come to my page is to hear those things. People come to my page because they they want a breath of fresh air in education. Like they don't need to hear me talking about the things that are going on in education. So I just refrain from that. But, you know, it's yeah, it's been it's lit a fire in me and it's it's inspired me and it's ignited a fire because I want other teachers to feel the same way. And I think that's been the coolest thing is with having 350 teachers this year joining in the on in the curriculum. I mean, it's really cool. I almost every day one of the teachers either posts on our Facebook group or sends me a text message just saying how much this program means to them and how much it has changed their teaching career and what they're doing in the classroom. And then that's that's the best part is we forget because of the expectations that teachers have, it's like we forgot why we became teachers. And this program reminds you why you became a teacher, especially if you're a football fan. I mean, it's it's the best.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

Right. And I think the one of the things my takeaways from you in this whole like speaking to you is obviously like the packages are cool. The players coming in, that's like really incredible. But even without that, even if, you know, Rome Jinze isn't showing up on your video board, like the ability to create community in the classroom and get your kids excited to come to school is a completely priceless.

SPEAKER_06 40:01

And that's the best part, is like, and I always and I I love how supportive the teams have been. And it has been so it's been so heartwarming to see all the teams get involved in NFLementary and even support other classrooms too, which has been my favorite, is watching the other classrooms get get some love. But I always remind the kids, social media and the people on like TikTok, like it's not the reason for the program. Like it is like you can, I could the boxes could stop tomorrow. It could have never happened this year. And this classroom community still would have been like on point. And and I think I already I already I don't I don't need to prove it to people, but it's like the kids come in not talking about boxes, not talking about things. They're talking about the games. They, I mean, I logged in on with Zoom on them. Like I zoomed with my kids in winter break, and they were like, Miss Krippen, did you see this? Like they're talking about the games, they're not talking about the swag that they got. I mean, yes, it means so much to them, but like they're locked in because of the teams and because of the NFL. And I you take those packages away and it would be just the same, which is the coolest part.

Parent Support And School Buy-In

SPEAKER_02 41:07

I am finally back in San Diego after traveling for what feels like ever. And I'm so happy that when I opened my pantry last night, I have Kusos in my pantry. I cannot wait. When I tell you, I cannot wait to make lemon pepper salmon in my air fryer literally in three hours. I cannot wait. It is my favorite meal that is super easy. I just make like rice, some veggies, like Brussels sprouts, and then salmon with lemon pepper seasoning on it. It is so fire, it is so delicious, and it is so easy. And like, who doesn't want to have a healthy meal and feel hot and feel so good? And obviously, I'm using Kusos lemon pepper seasoning. So thank you to Kusos for sponsoring today's episode.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

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SPEAKER_02 42:00

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SPEAKER_01 42:15

You know, the girls love to match, so match me with some lemon pepper salmon. Thanks again to Cusas for sponsoring this episode.

SPEAKER_05 42:23

I feel like we've uncovered a lot about the curriculum, and it's kind of funny, and this is the last thing I'll say, you know, about teachers widely using it. You know, there's a thing we say down here in Dallas and DCC, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader World, often imitated, never equal. So even though that the curriculum is greatly used by a bunch of different classrooms, you know, it came from you and your mom, and it will never, you know, it's never equal. I think y'all have been trailblazers in education, and that's really awesome. But I want to talk some ball real quick because Mary knows her stuff and she's serial. So let's talk about the season. Uh, Victoria and I talk about this a lot on our show that the season has been absolute chaos with all the things that have been going on. Victoria's favorite teams. The Lions, right?

SPEAKER_06 43:12

You're a Lions fan.

SPEAKER_05 43:13

I love it. She's a Lions fan, but she loves the Panthers and the Saints.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

Yeah, so interesting. I love Tennessee South. I love the Saints. We interviewed Allie Ridgway. He's a Saints wag, and she's just like fabulous. So we became TikTok friends, and she was our first interview. So I love her. And I started like paying attention to the Saints because of her husband, John Ridgway. But I just think the Saints are way better than anybody gives them credit for. So I love them.

SPEAKER_06 43:41

They have a lot to figure out this year.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

They do.

SPEAKER_06 43:44

And but they they were projected to have one win and they've had five. I know. So, and that's by like they figured it out, and I love how they're still playing for each other. Like, I love how just they don't care they're eliminated. Like, we like they're gonna ball and like watching them play versus the Ty. I mean, I love it. Tyler Shuck, I mean, who would have thought? Yeah, it's been really fun to watch the Saints do it.

SPEAKER_02 44:06

Yeah. And they like rebuilt everything, like they really went from the ground up and to like watch the team come together. And like they look like they're enjoying playing and they're like growing a lot. So I love them. The Panthers, for the last three years, I've been saying the Panthers are better than anyone gives them credit for. Everyone's like, the Panthers suck. And I'm like, do you watch that? Like, are you watching with like if you don't look at the score and you like don't consider what you know about the Panthers on paper? Yeah. Yeah. Like the Panthers have a good vibe. A lot of their touchdowns are insane. Like they make great plays. They might not make enough of them in the last two years, but this year, they're making a lot of great plays. So I love the Panthers, and then and they're such a great organization.

SPEAKER_06 44:51

They're like such a good organization, like from top to bottom, like from ownership down. Dave, and I love Dave Canales, their head coach, like just they're great people, you know, and they give off good vibes. Yeah. And their social media team is A1. Like, love their social media team.

unknown 45:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:05

Yeah. Honestly. What's the guy that sings a song?

SPEAKER_06 45:09

If you You know he they just had him out of the games. Yes.

unknown 45:13

He's playing at the game.

SPEAKER_06 45:16

I wish they would have like maybe let people know. Like I wanted more, like I wanted to see more people in the crowd going and like a lot of people there did not know who he was.

SPEAKER_05 45:26

Not at all. Not at all. He's this random guy.

SPEAKER_02 45:28

You know, now they're probably Googling him. I hope he gets his flowers. It's so funny. He was and then the girls, obviously, were a girls' podcast, so the Colts. So the Colts are my other team that's okay. That's up. Yeah, because Carly Ursay. I think she's just like so.

SPEAKER_06 45:45

They're gonna make a movie about her, just like the blind side. Oh yeah, for sure. Are they released? No, but they will later down the road.

SPEAKER_02 45:53

I mean, Running Point is essentially their family, but with all girls.

SPEAKER_05 45:58

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Running point was modeled after MBA, so like yes, yeah, similar, similar story, but with running point, it was like the girl and her brothers versus like the girls. It's all the sisters, yeah. Yeah, but it's similarities. But what would Mary, what would you describe the season? And like a Wednesday fan. We'll talk about the dolphins in a second. Don't worry, I'm gonna get there. But what how would you how would you like describe this the season?

Mom’s 1999 Blueprint And Adaptation

SPEAKER_06 46:35

Oof. It's hard to describe the season. I think it's it's been very chaotic. And I think there's been so many key injuries this year. There's been so many big injuries this season. I mean, starting us off with like Malik Neighbors going down with the ACL and then the in and out of the Joe Burrow, the turf toe of Joe and Brock, and it's just like bing bong of injuries. And there's so many players that if you look at the list of people who are out, you're like, man, what would the season would have been? I mean, look at the Bengals now. I mean, yes, their defense needs a lot of work, but had Joe been in, would they been able to because the the NFC North was technically up for grabs because the I mean the AFC North, the AFC, like they could have easily been the top of the AFC North because the Steelers, I don't think they're that great. I think that they're just hanging on by a thread and they've been able to pull away with a few wins, and Mike Tomlin being Mike Tomlin of always having this winning record, you know, being this legendary coach. But he missed it. And with Lamar being out and there be starting off shaky, I mean, the Bengals could have been the top of the North this year. So and I really Joe Burrow is such a quirky guy. Like I was rooting for him. But yeah, I mean, this season has been wild, and I would have never thought I love all the new head coaches. Like, I really love uh Aaron Glenn of the Jets. I think he is, and I I feel so sad that the the season has ended up the way that it has for him. And I think it's like the curse of the Jets quarterback, anybody who's gone through the Jets, it's like it's sad. Like, I hope that Justin Fields gets another start somewhere. I hope that he's able to redeem himself. I don't know where that's going to be. Could be Atlanta, could be maybe even Miami will pick him up. I mean, I don't know. But yeah, and the Bears. I think the Bears have been the most fun to watch. They have been so awesome. And I think Caleb Williams has faced so much scrutiny. And I just love how he's so unapologetically himself, and he doesn't let what all the media has to say about him and the way he decides to do his nails or drink his matcha. Like he doesn't give a he doesn't he's gonna go up there and he balled out this year and he's been balling out. And I think it's been so fun to watch their offense. And the Bears are such a legendary organization, yeah. So that's been pretty cool. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, it's been it's been wild. I would have never thought, I don't know, I thought the Bucs would be more dominant than they were. I mean, it's crazy. They started off what, like six and one, and then they've been like one in whatever the last half of the season. I mean, it's nuts. Yeah, but the season has just been wild. And the Patriots, the New England Patriots, I mean, again, Mike Vrabel, I love him. And especially I met him at the NFL annual meeting, and it was funny because he walked up to me and was like, hey, like, my name's Mike Vrabel. Like, I'm so so nice to meet you. And I'm like, I know who you are. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I was like, it was like fangirl, like, and as a Dolphins fan, I mean, he's had our number for being the Titans coach. So it's like, I love what they've been able to do and they have rebuilt the correct way. I mean, if rebuilding, if there was a way to do it, you look at the Patriots because what, 2019 was the last time that they were on top of the AFC East, and now here it is, 2025, and they've reclaimed their position. That's what a rebuild is supposed to be. Four years to get your pieces together, and then and they figured it out. And I think it's it's hard to root against them. I mean, I will never root for them, but I love Drake May. I think he he seems like such a good guy, and Michael May is base bake miss. I feel, you know, like it was awesome. That's why I like them a little bit more. That was the best. It was awesome. I love how the fans have rallied around, like Giselle never did a bake miss for us. Or like, you know, they've really rallied around and Michael May. They really have.

SPEAKER_05 50:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:15

I just think it's it's been a wild season. I would have thought I would have seen the Lions be a lot better than they were, but again, they were riddled by injuries. That really was tough. I've been loving watching Sam Darnold do his thing in Seattle. That's been really cool. And the battle of the NFC West, I mean, the NFC West has probably been the most fun to watch this season. And I think with the 49ers, with how many injuries they've had and the fact that Kyle Shanahan has still been able to keep them top of their division, fighting in the reins, has been nuts. Crazy. I mean, crazy. And I love Brock Purdy. Like Brock Purdy's story. I think that's this is my third year in a row teaching it. It's my favorite story to teach, Mr. Irrelevant.

SPEAKER_05 50:50

I mean, all the way to QB1. Yeah. It doesn't get it doesn't get any better than that. Okay. No. Super Bowl. Let's talk Super Bowl real quick. I'd I will go as far as to say I'm kind of rooting for the 49ers to get in the Super Bowl. Yes, me too. Just because it's in Santa Clara and I think that'd be sick. But what are your two teams in the Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_06 51:13

AFC is tough. I would say it's either between I don't think the whoever goes for the North, I don't think North will be represented. I think I don't think the Bills have enough to make it. I think they really we rely too heavily on Josh Allen in the end and he has to put it on his back. And it's either, even though they have James Cook, but it's just they win and lose with him, I feel like all the time. It always comes down to him. Um it's gotta be the Broncos, the Patriots. I'm trying, I love the Jags though. I I love Liam Cohen and the Jags and Trevor Lawrence. I don't know. I mean, AFC is tough. And my it's funny, my kids ask me this, and this is what I do. They're like, you didn't give us anybody, and I'm like, it's just so hard.

SPEAKER_05 51:54

Um the AFC is hard to choose.

SPEAKER_06 51:58

I don't want I it would be cool to see the Broncos and Bonics. I'm trying to think who else is in the playoffs, Jaguars and all without Travis Hunter. Who else is Chargers? I don't think I think Justin Herbert, he's getting he is like I think he's been the most sacked quarterback this entire season. Like he's getting beat up back there. I don't think they've got what it I don't think their their their longevity is gonna be enough to take them through the playoffs.

SPEAKER_02 52:24

Rams, Seahawks.

SPEAKER_06 52:26

I would love to see the Seahawks. I think I I I think from the from the NFC, I think I'd like to see either the Bears, because I love Ben Johnson, the coach, the Seahawks, or the Niners. Those are the three that I'd like to see.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

Yeah, I feel like also the Texans. I've loved watching the Texans. Like the Texans are the And after all this tea.

SPEAKER_06 52:46

I mean, we could take this out if you want, but after all this tea with Alex Earl and Tom Brady being seen together. Now I'm like, I need Braxton to go to the Super Bowl. I feel like he needs a win.

SPEAKER_05 52:56

He needs a win. I literally, I literally was texting Victoria about we were chatting with us last night, and I and I literally said, I was like, imagine you're Braxton and you see your ex canoodling with the greatest of all time. And where were they? Like in a visa or something, like like literally, we're St. Barts or something. Yeah, same bar. It was like all these like big billionaires were all there. Millionaires. Yeah. So yeah, I'm kind of reading for breath.

SPEAKER_06 53:27

And like I like Alex Earl, but I think it was just because it was so public and so soon. Like, had it been like something that was top secret and nobody knew, like, you go, girl, you get you get your Tom Brady. But I felt so bad once it was like it's Tom Brady, so public just right after they had broken up, and I was like, Oh, I forgot.

SPEAKER_02 53:44

And like you couldn't have just switched sports, like you couldn't have gone like NBA or NHL, like you couldn't just have like gone and flirted with like Ovechkin. I don't know if he's married or whatever, but like I feel like that would have been a really good one, or like any other sport. Like, baseball's not in season right now, so you know.

SPEAKER_05 54:02

Like, like I don't think I don't think it was a sport, I think it was just the fact that it's Tom freaking Brady. Like, if it was any other player in the NFL, it would not hurt as much.

SPEAKER_02 54:14

But I think people know Braxton go out.

SPEAKER_06 54:19

I know people know Tom Franklin. And it's good because his college is in the final four for he went to Miami, so I mean, good things. I hope, but yeah, it's actually been cool. I was telling, I was talking about it with my kids the other day. The Texans started off 0-3, and there's a stat since 1990. Only there's been no team that has started off 0-3 that has ever won a Super Bowl. There's only been four teams that have started 0-3 that have made the playoffs, two that have won their division. But I mean, tech the Texans defense is strong enough. It's just is their offense gonna click? Yeah, yeah. It's click gonna click, you know?

SPEAKER_05 54:52

It's click and click. I mean, if City Shot can figure it out, I think it'd be really special. And Nico Collins is really good. He just has to stay healthy.

Going Viral: From WL Board To TikTok

SPEAKER_06 55:00

Yeah. Which this season I love their mascot. I love, and I love D'Amico Ryan's. Like they're good, yeah, they're good people.

SPEAKER_02 55:06

Yeah, they are like them.

SPEAKER_06 55:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:09

Okay, let's pivot and talk about your team. The dog.

SPEAKER_06 55:16

Honestly, they got a lot to figure out. I'm actually, I'm okay with it. I think it was a nice little a little moment for, you know, benching too. I think he deserved to get benched. I don't think he hit the QB performance player aside, person aside, the type of person he is, I think it comes down to a business decision and you not playing up to the standard. Had this been any other quarterback on any other team, it would have been the same decision. So I think when you separate the human emotion from it, and it's like that's what happens. You next man up mentality. I was shocked that it wasn't Zach Wilson, but I guess I'm actually glad it was Quinn Ewers, just because, you know, he seems like such a good guy too. You and he's so different than Tua when you listen to his press conferences. Like Tua, you don't really get a lot of information from him, but like Quinn, like you're holding on to every word because he's so good with talking to the media and and sharing what his thoughts were and not just like, yeah, we could have done better. No, he's like talking ball with you on the thing, and you're like, oh, okay, like I like that.

SPEAKER_05 56:11

That's that longhorn program, baby.

SPEAKER_06 56:14

Yeah. But they just came out saying that they're they're gonna hire Troy Aikman to be on like the general manager search. I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 56:23

Yeah, wild a uh like a correspondent or something, yeah, to help look for the new general manager, which all right, whatever.

SPEAKER_06 56:32

Yeah, they just they have a lot to figure out. Troy Aikman. I don't know. Did you watch the dot you don't like Troy Aikman and you're a DCC?

SPEAKER_05 56:40

Well, I mean, I like Troy Aikman, but to be like an advisor to find a general manager, like I can I can see the correlation, but I also can't. Right. But I like it.

SPEAKER_02 56:50

I like it. He's been around for so long and knows everyone. That I feel like if you're looking at it.

SPEAKER_06 56:57

Well, and I think Jerry Jones and Steven Ross are good friends. And so Stephen Ross is the owner of the Dolphins, Jerry the GM and owner of the Cowboys. So I think that could have been through that connection.

SPEAKER_05 57:10

Like, hey, I'll help you out real quick.

SPEAKER_06 57:14

He could help you out. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:16

What I mean, Troy Aikman, I mean, he's a legend over here in Dallas.

SPEAKER_06 57:19

So I like Yeah, I mean, I love no hate for Troy. The America's team documentary Jerry was so good.

SPEAKER_05 57:27

So good, so good. Kind of to your point earlier, talking about like GMs. I know everyone hates Jerry, and like as a Dallas Cowboys fan, like are there are there situations and decisions that he makes that I disagree with 100%. But when you look at his story and where he came from, he's actually I I gave a different I had a different level of respect for him.

SPEAKER_06 57:47

And I I just think the way that he is he's been such a pioneer in in the NFL and the growth to it, I didn't realize, you know. Yeah. I think it's one of those things where it's like you have you ever had like a pet where it's like you have to put them down and like at the end, you're like, we maybe have waited, we waited too long. Like we should have, we should have done this earlier. I think that's what it is. Like we waited too long to let him hang up his hat. And I think he's holding on to getting one. My husband said it like getting one more without Jimmy Johnson. Yeah, getting one more without that air, like without that era of him. Like, can he do it on his own?

SPEAKER_05 58:17

He's determined to prove him to prove himself. That's what it comes down to, you know? But I I really do think it's cool with his family too, like putting your family in all those positions of power. Like, that's something that's pretty honorable, too. But yeah, how did you become a Dolphins fan? Is it just because 305, Miami? Florida, yeah. Okay, that's what I figured.

SPEAKER_06 58:36

And I like I always grew up a Dolphins fan, but it wasn't really until I met my husband that he back in 2019, he was going to all the Dolphins games, going to all the tailgates, that when he started inviting me along with like him and his guy friends, that's when I started getting more like really into the Dolphins. Like I was a casual fan, but then tagging along with him to the games and being at Hard Rock, tailgating all the home games. That's where I really was. Okay, when I go to the games, I want to know more. Like I want, and I wanted to keep up with his guy friends. Like, and I always I grew up a little girl being surrounded by boys, having all guy friends, and then lost it a little bit when I went to FSU in college. And then it being with him and his friends reminded me so much of like my childhood that I was like, if I'm gonna hang out with these guys, like I need to, I need to like pay attention to what's going on. And that's when I was really into like the Dolphins Twitter side of things. Um but yeah, but he is the reason that this whole thing is probably blown up because of me becoming a bigger Dolphins fan.

SPEAKER_05 59:32

Oh, I love that. I was actually gonna ask you about your your husband and like the journey that he's seen from his lens, kind of seen you grown into this really awesome person from a teaching perspective, from a personal perspective. How has he been supportive and played a role in that?

SPEAKER_06 59:50

Oh, he's been so supportive. I mean, it's been it's so fun that I have like, you know, my little forever plus one that he gets to come and do all these things with. He's also like it's been fun to like bounce. Different ideas off of him for like content or have him like watch different things, and he'll always give me his honest opinion. And it's funny I'll have I did like YouTube Live when I was on break, and he gets all his friends to join and like get into like the chat. Like it's it's it's fun. I mean, it's it's it's been the best. I mean, what better way to be able to watch sports with your husband? I mean, our favorite time is just watching Sunday football together, you know?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:21

Yeah, yeah, that's really sweet. Okay, I have two questions from teachers, and we'll close it out. So, my teacher friends, I said, Hey, I'm interviewing Mary, what do you want to know? And they said, How does she unplugs in parentheses, if at all, lol. Um, and how do you find work-life balance with like everything that you have going on?

SPEAKER_06 1:00:45

I okay, so the ways I unplug my husband and I are really big homebodies. Like, we're not like we we'll treat ourselves like we'll walk. We live in a great little neighborhood, we can walk to dinner, so we'll like go out and get some dinner together. But like, we love just like cooking. We're watching Sons of Anarchy right now. We like pick a show and we just watch the show together. I'll have like a glass of wine, and that's really how I unwind and reading. I'm a big reader, so I'm currently, I don't know if either of you read. I'm on the last book of the Throne of Glass series. So that's a big way that and it it helps because I read on a Kindle. So it's like my phone goes on my charger at eight o'clock. I think my do not disturb goes on. So my phone goes on the charger. And if we're not watching like a game or a show that I'm reading, and it's so nice to unwind and like not get the constant like buzzing notifications, but sometimes it's hard. I mean, there's there's days where it's like or weeks where it all seems to build up at the same time where it's like there's so much going on all at once. I wake up really early. I wake up probably like five o'clock in the morning for like when I teach, I get to school probably like 6:30 and I knock out a lot of like my teaching stuff. And it's it's a lot of like departmentalization where it's like after school ends, like during my school hours, I do everything that I need for teaching. Like I don't touch anything for NF elementary. I don't touch, I mean, and I mean, if I'm teaching anything with the content, yes, but like I don't touch anything on like my business side of things during the school day. So then after school hours, I'll give myself from like three to five or three to six, really, to like either edit a video, answer emails, chit-chat with teachers in my curriculum, like guiding them through things. So it's a lot of departmentalization going on. But it's tough. I mean, there's even times where like, and it's I'm so grateful that I have my husband where he can put me in check and be like, okay, hello, we're relaxed. Remember, we're on break, we're on vacation, we don't need to do this. And it's I need it sometimes because I'm such a like, oh, oh, this popped up. Like email popped up on my phone. I need to answer it right away. And it's like, no, no, no, no, you don't. Like, take a breath. Uh yeah. And then what was the other part of that question? It was how do you unwind? And then what?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:53

And then just work-life balance.

Teacher Burnout And Reigniting Joy

SPEAKER_06 1:02:56

There's not a lot of work-life balance. I mean, there is, but there's not. I mean, but the thing is I feel like with the NF elementary side of things, I I really love what I'm doing. So it doesn't feel like I'm working, you know? So I think that's the hardest part is balance in a sense where I'm not always feeling like I'm on, where I can disconnect, hang with family, hang with friends. But so much of it, it's like I love doing it that it's like it doesn't feel like work.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:21

It's really the, it's really the stuff from teaching, like the grading papers and the, you know, the typical things that it's like that I have to get done, that I don't want to get done.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:30

I don't know if I necessarily am a believer in work-life balance. Like, I think that balance comes in seasons. And if you're building a business, which you are there is no work-life balance. There's no work-life balance. Like, I was in Hawaii for six days with my family. We recorded two episodes. I worked with our editor, I got social media stuff, I wrote an article.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:52

Like, and it I'm just not a typical nine to five. Like, it's like there are no times. It's like when it when it comes, it comes. And that's with so many of the things that I do with like different brand deals that I'll have or different appearances or things that I'll get to attend. It's like we went on vacation for my birthday, but then we went to the Rams game, and then they wanted to like do stuff. So it's like there's so many different things where it's like, it's wild. But yeah, work-life balance is I think football season is is my toughest season. And then once football season ends is when I'm able to really just because I feel like at first when I started doing social media, I was like, I gotta find a way to keep it up like all the time. And I was like, you know what? Like, no, I don't. Like, who said that I needed to? So it's like, I put, I always want to be authentic. So it's I don't want to just like pump out content for the sake of pumping out random things for people to watch and get views. Like if there's something that I want to say or share, I will. So it's like it's usually when the NFL season ends. I'll still post different things I'm doing in my classroom are football related, but it's not as much, but that's okay. Right. And like just because football's not in season, like when I'm back in the classroom and when the season's rolling, that's when it's like I've got I'm like editing videos for a long time when it's like, okay, these three things happened in class and I haven't edit one of these yet. Like I need to get, you know, so it's taking that. And I think social media is such a big thing where people, you know, a lot of people want to grow their platform, but also I also am just like, I just want to be authentic with it. I don't want just and people are like, well, you should continue doing with N NH elementary. And it's like, no, like I don't like, I like hockey, but not like that. Like, and I don't want to do it just for the purpose of like posting on social media, you know, like anything that I do has to be with intent, not just because purpose for the sake of per putting it on the whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:32

Yeah. Okay. My last teacher question is what's the engagement like after the Super Bowl is over? And how do you keep kids engaged in a similar way after the season ends?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:46

So the engagement is still there. I mean, I constantly reference the NFL after the season ends, but we and we still the greatest and the worst thing about third grade in Florida is that it's a retention year. So when the football season ends, it naturally picks up into our testing season where it's like the kids are tested weekly with something called portfolio. And then after that series of testing ends, it's like June, February, March, April, three months of it. And then May is when they take their big test of pass or fail. Like if you pass the test, you can move on to fourth grade. If you don't pass the test, you cannot move to fourth grade. So there's a lot of pressure on these kids. So it's such a natural ending of the football season because they're really gearing up for their season. And I always take all the lessons that we learn from that NFL season of adversity or different moments that we've seen that are pushing through, and they're now able to apply it to themselves. But I still, they still want to learn about it. So I'm, I always have my Adam Schefter notifications on. So when like trade deadline starts, like I'll always like in the middle of math, I'll look at my Apple Watch and be like, so-and-so just got traded to the blah blah. And it's like, ah, like, you know? And I will always do something for like the combine. So I do a mini combine for them and we they run a 40R dash. They, I have like my the PE teacher helps me out. She does, they she gives me little weights and they do like bench press. And then we set up like a shuttle run, and then we they each list their scores and we have a spreadsheet, and then they'll rank and like graph different scores, like graph them, organize them by least to grace, greatest, greatest to least. What's the average score that our class got for the four for the 40 yard dash? So we'll do that. And then I do a big draft where they'll do a lot of research regarding the draft. They'll get to turn into general managers and they will. And I I never like so they'll draft for their team. So I'll stand up there and they'll get to draft for their team. And it's I always do it based on what the first draft order is before any team trades away, any picks, what what it what the draft order is leading up into the draft, not like day of where it's like Carolina has traded their fourth and fifth pick for whatever. And they'll get to draft players, but because a lot of them don't know college players, we turn it into snacks. So, like the quarterback will be our drink category or like the fast food restaurant, like franchise. The running backs will be your fruit, the wide receivers might be your candy. So, like, we do like over a period of a week, we'll take like 10 minutes a day to rank our favorite drinks, rank our favorite this, and then we'll make an order of like our highest draft pick of a drink or our highest rent like fruit, whatever. So that's super fun and they love it. And then for the leftover teams, I usually let some of the kids that maybe only have like one draft pick if they're the Super Bowl champion, they don't have a lot of first, second, or third rounders. I'll let them take another. But yeah, we do the draft. And then there's so many that this is in the area where I get to expand on the NFO. So during the season is a lot of the same thing. They have their weekly report, they have their research report that they do, and it's a lot of tracking the team and the and the live stats from it. But in the offseason is when I really get to take it to an enrichment level, is when I get to the I'll have them look at a map. Okay, you're Roger Goodell and you're expanding the NFL by two teams, one team in the NFC, one team in the AFC. Let's look at the map of the NFL teams. Where would you put this team? What would the climate be of this? What kind of what kind of stadium would you have? And you have to look at the climate of the area of where would you want it? Maybe you want it in a state that doesn't have a team. Maybe you want a double action up in a in a, you know, so they get to take what they know and now expand on it, which is the best part. Like that's so fun, is when they get to do all those sorts of things.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:19

Yeah, all of a sudden, I want to go back to third grade now. I would love to do that. That sounds so much fun. I'd be like a whole like project on it and like go get like the poster board and like make my team. Yeah.

Community Over Swag: Why It Works

SPEAKER_06 1:09:32

Imagine like creating a team, you get to make the team, the name, the color logo. Yeah. And your jersey, like redesign, and like there's so many little different activities you can do. Like, okay, this year they had the what? The what were those editions called? The rivalry jerseys. Yeah. Okay, create your rivalry jersey. What would your rivalry jersey look like for your team, right? And so and if you look at those videos that the teams put out, so all of the teams, like the reason for the jerseys, there was a meaning behind it. Like the Arizona Cardinals with like the sand speckles is because of the desert, right? So having them do those different types of aspects of your team, like what based on your climate, make sure there's one aspect of your jersey that represents the climate. Maybe it's the snow or the rain or the this. So that's such a cool. There's so many ways to expand on the end of. I mean, I could talk for hours about this, but I'm not going to, but I could.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:22

I love it. Those you you actually hit on my least favorite rivalry jersey.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:27

Those are terrible.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:28

Not my favorite.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:29

I think the Niners one is tomorrow night. We get to see the Niners one in action tomorrow night.

unknown 1:10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:33

That's the black one, right? With the gold around the numbers. That one is so hot. Yeah. I love it.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:38

I like the I actually really like the Bills one, the frozen tundra ones. I like those.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:43

Oh, those are really good. Those are so sleek. And I love we talked about it last week. I love when white jerseys on real grass. I feel like that's like peak, peak, like male athlete.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:56

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:58

Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, Giovanna, do you have any any final questions before we close it out?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:06

Uh don't be surprised when I show up to third grade next year and in your class. That's all I have to say.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:13

Well, tell everyone. So you've expanded NF Elementary so that teachers, every I'm like so convinced now. I'm like, I need my friends to do NF Elementary next year because a lot of my friends, since I've gotten into the NFL, have like been asking more questions about it or have been tuning into games a little bit more.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:31

Especially Yeah, you don't have to be an expert to do NF Elementary. Like, if anything, it grows teachers' fandom more because they're paying more attention because their kids drafted. So it's like, it's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:42

Yeah. And like anything to help my like, like a lot of my teacher friends are burned out and they love being a teacher and they love the kids and they want to feel how they felt when they started teaching or like with a really good year. But you get if you get a really, really challenging class, sometimes it's hard to like keep it rolling the entire year. And I feel like this is such a good way, especially like the middle of the year. Like we're in December. And this is gonna go all the way through, yeah, like mid-February, lead you up to testing. So I'm like, I want all my friends to do it in some forms to be our teacher.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:21

And it's great because it it doesn't take up all the time, like it's it ends in February. So like then you have the freedom to do what else you want with it. Like you can have the creativity to expand in whatever which way form works for your class. And that's the best part, is like, and if elementary isn't like follow the script type of thing. Like, here's what I do. And I always tell, like, these are the things that I do, but you know, it's your classroom. Like, you can take out some things, you can just do one portion of it. Maybe you don't want to go balls the wall and go straight into it. Maybe you just want to track a team first, right? Like, that's the great thing about it. You can adapt it to your classroom, it's not a one size fits all type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:56

Right. I love it. So tell people where to find you. Obviously, you have so much going on right now. You recently started doing YouTube live, so everyone check into those, but people actually.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:05

I was only gonna do it in the break, but then people were like, No, we want more. And I was like, okay, I guess I'll come back and go tomorrow. I know, right? Want to be in your classroom.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:13

Yeah. Like they want to be there because I think I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:16

I think next season I'll start it from the beginning. Like, because there's some people who like love just interacting on an elementary school way and just want to like learn the game in a judge-free zone where it's like fun to talk football and learn.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:29

Like, people want like an easy watch and easy listen. Like that, there's like that TV show, like four seasons, and people were like, What was the point? And it's like literally to like enjoy it, just like have something easy to watch. And so I feel like maybe that's what people want with this. Is they're like, I don't know enough, but I'd love to learn more. And I have this great girl who's like charismatic and energetic and fun and easy to watch.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:50

She's gonna teach me what I get so many messages that are like about how I've taught people the game of football through my posts and like how I've it's it's been so cool. And I was like, really? Wow. Because me teaching my kids is the level that so many people need it. And like so many girls are like, I never like you explained it better than my husband could for 30 years. And I was like, Well, there you go.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:11

Yeah, helping husbands everywhere. They need a lot of help. They do. Okay, so where can everyone find you?

SPEAKER_06 1:14:23

Um, and I think it's Mary's bananas across the board, except YouTube is at NFLementry. And then the website for the curriculum is classclass123.com. I currently have it as sold out because I'm gonna I'm adding more to it, and then I'm gonna re put it, make it available to people again in May. So once like once teachers are like ready to close out the school, like I don't want to stress anybody out with it now. Like, yeah, no, no, no, we'll wait to the end of school year and then we can revamp for the new school year. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:54

Well, thank you so much for being here. It's such a joy to take. Thank you. I can't wait for everyone to hear this. I know so many people are gonna be so excited to hear you in. Oh my gosh.

Season Chaos: Injuries, Rebuilds, Storylines

SPEAKER_06 1:15:04

So I hope I didn't ramble too much. No, you thank you for having me. Thank you. And any anytime I'd love to come back. Anytime you guys need a guest, anytime you guys want to chat ball, I'm your girl.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:19

You a patty, baby. You gotta own it on a smelling grace.

unknown 1:15:24

You better own it on.