Men in Blazers LIVE! from Dallas featuring Emmitt Smith, DeMarcus Ware, and Brandon Aubrey

25:48Rog:It was a hot day. I mean, to this day, it's the highest attendance in an NFL regular season. Can you talk about how different that place is compared to other stadiums? I mean, you played everywhere. The old stadium compared to the new one? The new one. Okay. I mean, you look at the old stadium, and let's just go back there. There's the grit. There's the old history that what got the new AT &T stadium built. And so I got an opportunity to walk into the old stadium and see Emmett Smith and Troy Aikman and Michael Irving in the Ring of Honor. And I remember walking into the new stadium where it can hold, and correct me if I'm wrong, probably 120 ,000 people.

26:36Not only 120 ,000 people, but it feels like they're right on top of you. If you are, if you, after you put the pads on, you sort of get that gladiator mentality, they're right on top of you. But not only that, you got 60 yard, a 60 yard screen. So there's not a bad view in the house. And when I say that there's a stage, this stadium is a stage, it's a platform that when the World Cup comes there, you're going to see the epitome of what the ultimate stadium is like because all of their fans are going to be there, not just Dallas Cowboy fans, but all the whole world is going to be there. And I can't even describe to you exactly the feeling that people are going to get when they come over here and they see just the magnitude.

27:34you gotta say it's Jerry's land you gotta add that in there because it is that but it is it is a place where if it's the ultimate fandom and when you go there you do not want to leave

27:49Rog:like me I never want to leave Dallas Texas I gotta be candid I'm totally totally sold on this place and I think the world is going to be sold on this place when it comes to and I want to talk about the world coming Brazil you know, England, Argentina coming here. We're going to talk about them in one second. But what's it feel like? The world's coming. 2026 World Cup, three weeks. The world is going to pile into that stadium. What's it feel like to perform on this stage, in your words? Look up and see a 60 foot tall version of yourself on the screen. Well, for me, I got to see it 130 and a half times when I sacked a quarterback, right?

28:30And it was amazing. It was really like bigger than life. Right. But imagine now when they're they can see themselves when they actually make that goal, when they see themselves celebrating with their teammates. there's not going to be a bigger feeling when they when I talked about earlier coming through that tunnel it's going to be fans on your right and on your left I mean there you can almost touch your fans and as you're going through the middle of that tunnel where there's like glass and everybody I hope you're not the opposing team but you can hear people like boom boom boom get out of here but it's so cool because that that fuels me to now go in to perform in a way to where I've never performed before and then when you come through that stadium and you see that 60 yard screen with your face on it you're like I have arrived like seriously you say I have arrived and for me when I knew I arrived is now in the old in a new stadium I got to see my name in the ring of honor with the Emmitt Smiths and the Michael Irvins and all those guys and that's the coolest feeling for me now being retired and I walked through there and in that ring of honor you see all of that hard work and you asked your name in stone in the Dallas Cowboys for history

29:56Rog:god it's amazing I've just realized if Portugal get into the semi-final here and Cristiano Ronaldo sees himself on that 60

30:08Rog:it's gonna be it's it is it's gonna be like that dog in the fable seeing its reflection in the water with a boat on his head. It's going to be the game is going to stop for him. He's going to fall in love all over again. I mean, here's the teams we know who are here. Brazil, Neymar, Argentina, Lionel Messi is coming here. He's coming here to Dallas. England, Harry Maguire is coming here. He's coming to Dallas. All the goats. I mean, these players have played in Europe. They've played in South America. They've played in the biggest stages in football. DeMarcus, you played so many iconic moments in this city's history.

30:46Rog:How do you think this city can rise up to this moment welcoming the world for the World Cup? I remember when the World Cup came here, I got to meet with a couple of the administrative guys. And when they walked in, it was so cool because they were bringing soccer here. and people don't understand how big soccer is like football is football like football is soccer it's not the same thing but in the United States football is football but soccer to me is the true world game I can never play it I tried I don't know I I needed more fouls I guess I guess what You got three weeks before the U.S. play their first game, DeMarcus.

31:37I'm saying get your crap together.

31:40Rog:We need the center back, right? Go on, keep going. You're in the place. So now you got the world sport coming to the world stadium. Think about it. You got the world sport coming to a stadium that can harbor the magnitude that can, I would say, the ultimate hosting stage for the world sport of soccer. And it gets to come here to the Dallas Cowboys stadium, AT &T Stadium. Make sure. AT &T Stadium. And they get to showcase to the world because everybody's going to be watching what soccer is about. And I think that's going to change the trajectory of soccer even more in this whole world. Demarcus, that's a beautiful, beautiful thought.

32:35Rog:It really, really is. I'm serious. By the way, what you just said is incredibly powerful and incredibly moving. And to hear it from your mouth in this city, a man who knows and has lived and has won and has been a dominant force for sport. And for you to say that, the soccer, you know, football massive here, soccer massive in the world. This moment in Dallas is going to change everything. I find it deeply moving. But I want to ask you two questions before I let you go. Number one, the important one. World coming, one dish, visiting world, have to try. While they're in the big D, what is the dish, the food that everyone needs to eat?

33:13Rog:Where do they get it in Dallas in this incredible restaurant city? Shipley's Donuts. They are so good, aren't they? Shipley's Donuts are good. You got to have barbecue, right? I can't sit right here and steer you to heartache or, you know, the place. You said Bucky's? Hutchins. Oh, hey, yo. Bucky's got it too, right? But Hutchins. It is so much barbecue here in Texas. You got to go to a barbecue spot. What's your favorite barbecue, Marcus? It's a place by the stadium. It's Herbert's. Yeah, Hurtado's. And what are we ordering? Oh, my God. What are we ordering? Hurtado's? Yeah. Oh, my. I mean, the burnt ends that are up in that.

34:03I do say. The macaroni and cheese. What?

34:08Rog:By the way, shout out world if you're watching this. Bucky's. What he just told you, he's giving you the secret to life. But I do want you to know, when Argentinians come to Dallas and they sample Hattados. Yeah, it's right there by the stadium. Yep, they're going to be like, we've been doing barbecue all these years. The wrong way. Last question for you, Demarcus. Although, by the way, I could go on all night. This man, his energy, his joy, his wonder, his emotional, articulate, what life is about. I know from your socials that you are a man who loves an inspirational quote. So, you know, our US men are going to be playing.

34:49Rog:The stakes are always higher for them. They don't just have to win. But if they do well, it's a referendum on the, you know, it lifts the sport up. If you were coming into their locker room before their first game in this World Cup to talk to them, it's in Los Angeles, they're about to take the field in SoFi, what would you say to them as a team talk? What would it be? Leave us with some wind in our sails.

35:16The name on the back of your jersey means something. When you put it on, it's not just a name, it's not just a jersey, it's what you stand for. So when we go on the biggest stage that we've ever played on, it's not just about our team. It's about our sport. It's about who we are. One game at a time, one minute at a time, one second at a time. I need for you to go out and give it 100%. If you do that, we're going to get win after win after win. And at the end, when we're able to hoist this trophy up and say that we are true World Cup champions, not only is soccer going to get the benefit from it, but we are going to be living legends forever.

36:13So who's ready? so who's ready

36:21Rog:I'm going to tell you DeMarcus I love that I don't know if it is going to help our US men win but I'm going to tell you it will make each one of our boys believe that they're going to be able to strip sack all comers and run the ball back 40 yards Dallas let's hear it for your legend an incredible man so it's to DeMarcus Ware

36:48Rog:We're so proud to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa your ultimate guide to the best places to eat, drink, explore and watch the beautiful game across the United States and Canada We know football's more than just a game it's the shared experiences with those you love the pre-game meal at a local diner that halftime pint at the right pub, the post-match cry. I love a post-match cry. And we want to thank our sponsor, Visa, and make experiencing new places as easy as a tap-in. Ball's just sitting there on the goal line. All you've got to do is tap it in. Enjoy this delirious summer of soccer.

37:28Rog:Experience those cities like locals. Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides.

37:37Oh, God.

37:39Rog:Can you imagine if in like 10 years time, NFL teams are bringing like, you know, Tim Remount to give him inspirational talks? What would you say to the Cleveland Browns this season if you're in the locker room? I love that man. I feel so much better about life after being with him. And I think we're only going to a higher place now because the next human being is so deeply inspirational to me. I can't even describe it. He's a human being who became a remarkable professional athlete in not one, but two sports. This man dominated both footballs in his lifetime. All the bloody footballs. First in MLS, where he became a central defender, rising as high as Toronto FC, but then found his true calling.

38:27Rog:As the Gents Sports Illustrated called the undisputed best kicker in the NFL with your Dallas Cowboys. In this story is a true tale of perseverance, failure, self-reflection, grit, rise, betting on oneself, and also having a thunder bastard of a foot. Please welcome one of your own, it's Mr. Brandon Aubrey!

38:55Rog:God, it is good to see you. First things first, we're in Cowboys country, but we're less than 24 hours after a team that you are quite fond of. Arsenal Football Club won the league. How are we feeling? Excited. Brings me back to my childhood days. Grew up a big Gunner fan back in the days when they had a lot of good teams that couldn't quite get over the finish line. So I haven't been paying too close attention nowadays, but, you know, tuned in for the past couple of weeks just to see him get over that finish line. Not tuned in for a couple of years, but the past 24 hours have been unbelievable.

39:28Rog:Let's get into it because we have so much to discuss. I want to be clear. I admire you so bloody much. And not just because of the first 36 straight field goals. This man kicked to start his NFL career. Your whole life story is unbelievable. You know, in football, soccer and in football, NFL, it delights. I've got to be candid. it totally confuses me. Begins in Plano, Texas. I'm going to F this up. Schimmel Fennec Middle School. Schimmel Fennec, you got it, yep. Anyone else here from Schimmel Fennec Middle School? There's a few. Anybody here else support Everton Football Club? Wow, God, I'm always uncomfortable in a room where there's more Evertonians than Schimmel Fennec Middle School.

40:14Rog:But here's the story. You're a wide receiver in the gridiron when you decided, you know what, I'm going to concentrate on the football where the only pads are on the shin, soccer. What was the attraction? What drew you in that moment? Yeah, playing soccer, you're in that flow state. You get the chance to obviously be involved in the game from start to finish as a wide receiver. You know, I absolutely loved going out and making plays, but you got to wait for your turn. The ball's not always coming to you, especially when you look like me out there on the field. I made the choice based on, you know, I probably have a better shot at making it to the professional level as a soccer player than I do as a wide receiver.

40:57Never really crossed my mind that kicker was an actual job that someone does for a living.

41:04Rog:Did you ever think you played gridiron again when you committed to the soccer side of life? Outside of like pick up on Thanksgiving? No. We're going to put a pin in that, people. Spoiler alert, he does. Your football inspirations, I know you love Thierry Henry. By the way, who was your favorite Cowboy? You are a huge Cowboy. Who was your favorite Cowboy? Yeah, you know, you just had the pleasure of talking to him. DeMarcus Ware was always a huge part of why I watched the Cowboys. Just, as you can tell, always interviews incredibly well, works hard, brings the right mentality. You feel like with him on your team, he's always going to get his job done.

41:49If we can just get enough pieces around him, we can win a Super Bowl. So, you know, I was happy to see him go and get the Super Bowl we couldn't get for him here, which hopefully we can get that done soon.

42:02Rog:We've stacked up the guests tonight. So the next guest will say his favorite cowboy all time is Brandon Albrecht. That's why we can believe it. The way we fix crap around here. But you became a central defender on the mighty Dallas Texans. The team who gave the world the great Clint Dempsey. My king. Let's hear it for Clint Dempsey. You then went to Notre Dame for college. You won a national championship casually in your freshman year. 15 goals scored. I want to show you this. 30-yard game winning overtime free kick against Stanford. Roll tape.

42:46I like that.

42:52When did you last watch that? I didn't watch it on the way here, if that's what you're asking.

43:00Rog:Took a day off. By the way, it's amazing. This man is American subversly in many ways, am I right? But what type of player were you? what would the scouting report take us there to peak you as a footballer? Yeah, I was a dominant aerial threat. I would always go up for corners as a center back wearing number 10. So that's where all the goals came from. I got to take set pieces. Just, you know, was the guy who would at the end of practice, stay on the field for an hour and a half, avoid class, and go kick some free kicks until my leg fell off. So just really good in the air. That's probably my strength.

43:39and then hitting a good long ball, picking out those long passes and center backs that want to be strikers, that's about all you can say for me.

43:52Rog:I'm not sure if this is a live show or if I'm actually actively trying to workshop for Mauricio Pochettino, a center back pairing of this man and DeMarcus Ware in the World Cup. Who would like that? I've got to tell you I'm liking what I'm hearing. MLS Super Draft 2017, you went 21st overall to Toronto FC. It was a superstar locker room back in those days. Michael Bradley, Josie Altidore, Italian tiny wonder, Sebastian Giovinko. Team actually went on to win the MLS Cup. But you entered that locker room, and I'm kind of fascinated by this moment because I think it's important for all of us to hear this.

44:33Rog:You talked about, and you've talked openly, how you were afraid of failure. You felt nervous. You were worried. You did not belong. In your own words, you talked about how you felt imposter syndrome. You know, ultimately, you went to the reserves. You were eventually cut. Essentially, Brandon, you were overwhelmed by doubt in your life in this moment. Take us there. Yeah, absolutely. You know, watched MLS soccer my whole life growing up. Watched Premier League soccer, international soccer. So coming into that environment, I just didn't feel like I quite belonged there. You got those names you mentioned, and then you throw Brandon Aubrey's name plate up on the locker room.

45:15And it doesn't feel like it should be with those guys. So going out to practice, obviously playing center back when you're on the ball in a new system, we're going from four in the back to five in the back. And my job as the right center back is to pass the ball to the center center back or the right wing back or the six, probably like five to 10 feet. And you can't really stand out doing something like that. And I wasn't quite willing to take the chances that you needed to to stand out on a soccer field. So anytime the ball came came to me, it's one touch, get rid of it. One touch, get rid of it.

45:55One touch, get rid of it. and then you know I didn't do the things on the field after practice that all the extra work because I didn't want to go out there and show that hey I'm making mistakes I'm making these mistakes and this extra work I just was hiding and nervous the whole time didn't commit to going and getting better when I needed to didn't go and talk to people about what was going on in my head because I didn't know what to do. And yeah, like you said, doubt crept in and I just continued down that path and it turned out to be the path that got me cut.

46:33Rog:This story ends well, people. I won't be candid, but it's an amazing moment to hear you on stage talk about this. I think all of us can relate to these moments in our life where doubt overwhelms us. You were essentially afraid of failure more than you were about seeking that opportunity, the positive mindset. You embraced the negative. And here's where your life took an incredible turn. End of 2018, you retired from professional sports in your mind. Two years, you were a civilian like so many of us. Welcome, Brandon Audrey, to our ranks. Someone became a software engineer. Shout out to GM Financial, not a sponsor.

47:16Rog:There's no need to clap. Bank of America. That's incredible. But you began in that job. You're doing your software. And you began to process, to ruminate on your MLS career. You've talked openly, quite brutally, about how you, quote, embarrassed yourself. Ultimately, this was a moment when you started a process. How you failed and what you needed to do to change it in this moment. Absolutely. Took a deep, deep dive. as to why the MLS career didn't work out for me. Obviously, I worked my whole life to get there and had to do some things right to get there as well. So I wanted to think about what I did right and what I did wrong.

48:01Spent a lot of time at night, sleepless nights, thinking about it. You did. Yes. And, you know, in my software engineering book that I was using to relearn everything that I'd forgotten the past two years, I wrote down, you know, exactly the notes that came into my head in those sleepless nights as to why I failed, committed them onto paper, and promised myself to never make those mistakes again. And in order to hold myself accountable, shared them with people close to me, like my wife and brother and parents.

48:37Rog:They were what? Can you articulate what they were? Yeah, it was what we talked about earlier, being afraid to fail, not committing to doing the extra work that you can see when you have a weakness in your game you need to start improving on those things instead of just trying to avoid them god can i just tell you i'm so excited i have mastered number one on that list fear we're all on who else fear we're on the way to the nfl guys i mean you mentioned your wife she is incredible jen You met her just before college. I love this. You brought her, he's such a romantic man. He brought her a number 88 Des Bryant Cowboys jersey.

49:23Rog:And after retiring from professional sports, you were watching a kicker on Red Zone one day, and Jen turned to you and said some words that changed your life. She said, you could do that. Yeah. Do you remember this? By the way, when she said that, the second she said that, what did that feel like? And really, when that hit, were you like, yeah, I could? were you like oh my god this is crazy just when i thought i was out that pulled me back in no i thought she was absolutely crazy and insane um she'd seen how much uh effort it took me to get to where i was as a professional soccer player and um i told her you know those guys have been practicing that their whole lives so i don't know if i'll be able to outwork 18 to 22 years of not doing that.

50:11So I thought she was insane, but decided, you know, maybe we can go get a ball and go to a field and just try it because I've got nothing to lose. If I look like an idiot, I look like an idiot.

50:21Rog:I mean, this is all, by the way, this is the moment everything starts to feel like a movie. You went out, you brought a football and a tee from a secondhand sporting goods store. Then Googled kicking coach. It's not easy, people, by the way. The coach was a man called Brian Egan. Your first session with him, you lined up alongside middle and high schoolers. This is like a Chris Farley movie. When the pandemic hit, you trained alone in a community park trying to hit light poles. This is beautiful. Or alone in your garage. I mean, I hear your story. I think about how lonely that must have felt working at a day job, training alone having your wife's belief in you I mean my wife believed in me when I thought she was insane um you went out over and over and over what motivated you what what made you think was even possible in these years yeah when I was first starting um I didn't really think it was possible so I was just kind of giving myself something to improve on um I'd had that itch to, you know, get back into some sort of sporting activity, um, recreationally or competitively, just had that competitive itch that wasn't getting scratched as a software engineer.

51:42So I needed to train something, keep myself in shape. Um, but then, you know, pretty quickly on, it became apparent that, you know, I have a, a talent here that if I own that you fell up. Yeah. If I have a, if I have a chance or if I get a chance, I think I could actually do the job. It's just trying to get that job. I have no idea how to do that. So I want to make sure I'm as ready as possible. If that miraculous opportunity comes, I'll be ready for it.

52:12Rog:I mean, this is an amazing, I'm going to have to jump over these years, the years of sacrifice where, by the way, every vacation your wife took for the next three years was to a combine. Eventually you were picked up. At least San Diego. So nice, nice place. He's always selling. Yeah, it's a combine, but it's exactly, there you go. You eventually picked up by the Birmingham Stallions, USFL's inaugural season. By the way, for half of the software salary, again, jumping into the unknown, you won two championships in a row. Then suddenly, this feels like fiction, but it bloody happened. The Dallas Cowboys scouting the globe for a new kicker.

52:52Rog:Ultimately, they scout 100 players. They ultimately choose this man. Take us back to this moment. Yeah, and by the way, this is...

53:02Rog:I mean, this is needling a haystack crap here. This is like me. When I hear your story, I'm like, this is like David Moyes plucking down and being like, I need you, Roger, to be like... We have no striker. We can't score goals. I don't believe in Tieno Barry. I believe in you, Roger Bennett. And I'll be like, what, David? What? I'm ready. Yes, I know. This is your childhood team. This is July 2023. What did that feel like and how did you celebrate? Yeah, it wasn't time to celebrate just yet because it's a roster spot on the 90-man roster, not the 53. Got to go training camp and compete with another kicker to get the job.

53:47But, yeah, I was really excited walking into the star, just looking around. I'd never been to the star. And the facilities are immaculate coming from the USFL, where our facility was eight teams shoved into a Sheraton in downtown Birmingham. So our meeting room was a vacant hotel room. Our weight room was the ballroom with all the furniture stripped out and just throw in some weights.

54:15Rog:Well, you don't tell the guys, you should all be software engineers. Life's much, much better. Pretty much. But no, it was just a huge step up. But I knew the job wasn't done yet. It wasn't quite my job just yet. I want to know, your first field goal, he gets the job. In a 40-0 win over the New York Giants, it was good. How nervous were you lining it up? All those years, you drilled, you drilled, you drilled, park, kids, middle school, all that, rewinding it. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. You're lining up in the NFL. How nervous were you lining up in the game conditions? Yeah, luckily or unluckily, however you want to look at it, my first attempt was an extra point after we blocked the Giants opening drive field goal and took it for a touchdown to start the year off.

55:05So I was sitting there.

55:06Rog:You're a merciless basket, aren't you? The other guy had failed. I was sitting there watching on the sideline, watching my first, you know, on field field goal attempt for in the NFL. It's like, I'll take the moment to enjoy this. But my helmet was, you know, on the bench. I'm on the sideline with a glass of water just waiting, watching. And all of a sudden, oh, I got to go out there and rush to find my helmet, sprint on the field, scrambled, didn't go through the mental process. I practiced a million times and then, yeah, my legs were shaking. I had no idea what's going on and pulled the crap out of it.

55:42Missed it wide left by a good margin. Yeah, not a great start.

55:48Rog:Can you hear the smack that the linemen are shouting at you in that moment? What are they saying? Can you tell us? Yeah, I can't hear it in the moment, but if I go back and replay it in my head, then I can start to hear it. but it's all random crap. Depends on the guys. You have some people on the sideline just shouting your name, people saying, you suck, you'll never make this. Some people try to be funny with it. I can't recall off the top of my head the funniest line, but there's some that make you laugh when you go back and think about it. Toronto FC are a terrible MLS team. That would do it.

56:27Rog:By the way, first kick, good. Next 35, also good. 36 bloody straight nearly doubling the record for consecutive field goals that are good in a rookie career you end the 2023 season top scorer in the NFL this is amazing, this man is essentially Erling Haaland, 157 points did I mention he can nail kicks up to 60 yards what I want to know is what's it like, everything's going great, the music's playing, we're in a montage in the movie. The kicks are flying. Everything's great. All the team's like, you're good, kid. You're like, cool, man. Yeah, chicks dig kickers, all that stuff. What's the 37th kick like when you finally miss?

57:14That was a bittersweet moment. It was actually blocked. We had a protection bust in the A-gap, so the guy was in my lap when I kicked it. You never want to hear a second thud as a kicker. The first thud off your foot, second off of a body is usually pretty bad. So luckily, I didn't get smashed right after it. I had to chase him down, and somebody else made the tackle. But going to the sideline, I'm like, well, I missed, but I didn't really miss. So I was kind of happy.

57:48Rog:All right. Not to sound like Pep Guardiola in his first year, but do you train for the tackles? No. I'm bigger than most of the kick returners. So I should be able to get him on the ground. All right, there's two other kickers in the NFL who play college soccer. Matt Gay at Las Vegas Raiders, Detroit Lions, Jake Bates. There's also quite a good football player, soccer player, who talks about obsessively dreaming of being a kicker like this man. His name is Harry Kane. He keeps hinting that he wants to end his career, not in MLS, but in the NFL as a kicker. What's your message to other soccer players about how the skills translate and what they need to add to their brilliant maybe soccer games in Harry Kane's case so they can really do what you do on the regs?

58:38Yeah, if you want to take penalties, that'll be the first step. That's pretty much the direct translation to, you know, kicking field goals pressure wise. just leg strength is a big limiting factor I think a lot of soccer players strike the ball well but probably don't have the the leg strength I guess to be an NFL kicker but Harry Kane is not one of those men he can definitely do that it's just be persistent in your training figure out your your routine mentally keep showing up to combines compete throw your name in the hat and eventually someone will give you an opportunity. If it takes three years like it did for me, or if it takes one camp, somebody's going to give you an opportunity if you keep showing up and keep showing that you're capable of doing the job.

59:26And then when you get that opportunity, just hold on to it as long as possible.

59:29Rog:This is your advice to Harry Kane, keep going to combines. No, he should keep scoring goals. When you watch him, are you like, he can actually do it? Yes. What would your message be to Harry Kane? Keep scoring goals. play soccer can I say I asked DeMarcus this a moment ago when that ball you own the Guinness this is a Guinness world record holder for the most NFL field goals from over 60 yards he has six which is I mean by the way we'll be in an era where the kickers are redefining what is possible when you hit one clean and true and it's spiraling over the what does it feel like when it leaves your foot what does it feel like when it goes out or is it like the mark is it the like the markers is it like diego full and um it's a sigh of relief for for kickers uh put it that way but also um yeah it feels good i i don't know if i'd go as far as demarcus and diego forl in there but it does feel good you gotta know until you've kicked a 60 yard field goal you've never left is it but when listening to you is it fun oh it's just relief constant relief i'd say uh when you're constantly battling for a job uh it can be very stressful but once you kind of get it locked up and it's it's your job then you can start to have fun with it it's just you know the nature of the job when you're coming in for a 60 yard field goal to send it to overtime um there's not really a whole lot of expectation of success there so those moments are pretty exciting and and fun but um it's like the you're going out for a 27 yard field goal and you're down by one with two seconds left like that that's more stressful in my mind god you know before we just kick i do want to pull this together and i want to talk about the world cup to come um but you have a beautiful ritual that when you do remember it it's highly effective um you have a mantra that you've developed that i do think pulls all of this story so far together you say every time you were about to kick a field goal whether it's from 27 yards or from 60 can you tell us what it is and what it does for you yeah so i'm on the sideline um you can as a kicker tell when your moment's coming everyone in the stadium knows your moments coming, um, when it's third down and, you know, and long and you're kind of across that field goal threshold.

1:02:04Uh, I start telling myself as I take my breathing exercises, um, you've done this a million times. You've kicked the ball a million times. Uh, it's no big deal. Uh, just keep doing that. Uh, you're the best kicker in the world, that sort of stuff.

1:02:20Rog:you do say yes you do say that absolutely before you kick that ball you say you are the best kicker in the world yes and i think every kicker should be telling themselves that by the way every human being should be telling themselves as they approach life tomorrow whatever you're doing in your own life i love this man's story just whatever you're doing just say to yourself, I am the best kicker in the world. 60 yards, Diego Forlan. Look, it's ended well. I mean, you've scored over 150 points in each of your three seasons in the NFL. This man is like the Cleveland Browns in one person. And the New York Jets.

1:03:02Rog:Sorry, I don't want to put you in that position to be laughing at them, but it's true. You were awarded, you became the highest paid kicker in the league. $20 million over four years. He's now a team captain. Your MLS failure taught you to always bet on yourself, essentially. That's what's so powerful. You failed so deeply and profoundly and totally. We were chatting backstage. You told me that you were overconfident and you had to go through this. We have an audience, though, watching this in this beautiful, beautiful space which I'm honoured to be in. we have an audience watching this nationally what advice do you have out there for them for their own dreams their own ambitions their own risks their own approach to life yeah i just say keep believing keep working in it be realistic with yourself at the same time um take stock if it's a competitive job that you're after um take stock of those people you're competing with and if they're better than you find a way to make yourself better than them um see where you're week and I'd say take notes of it mentally and actually on physical paper.

1:04:10And then, you know, what I did was commit it to somebody, um, that, you know, my wife I'm with every day. So if she sees me slacking off, she'll be like, Hey, didn't you say you were going to do this? And I think it's an accountability buddy for the lack of a better term.

1:04:25Rog:An accountability buddy. We all need one. I need to talk quickly about the football. I don't know if you know the world cup is going to be here in just 22 sleeps. And you're going to end up in your own stadium in 25 days. We only ask the hard-hitting questions on this stage. What would you rather do? Would you rather score a 70-yard field goal to win a Super Bowl? Or would you rather score a World Cup winning goal, Brendan?

1:04:52World Cup winning goal, for sure. It has to be.

1:05:00Rog:Again, the Marcus Ware, centre-back. This man, centre-back. We're talking, this is not fiction here. This is fact. I'm making this happen. Stadium you play in will hold a tournament high of nine games. I don't know if you know it. It's called Dallas Stadium. Let me introduce you to it. There's some bangers in there. Netherlands, Japan, England, Croatia. There's a semifinal. Which game are you most looking forward to right now? Yeah, that first one. I've got tickets to the Japan-Netherlands game, so I'm going to be there. And I've never been to a World Cup game in person, so really excited. obviously um don't know many of the players on either team but just gonna go enjoy the the occasion uh hopefully can get back to the stadium and see a few more he's by the way he's scouting potential kicker threats for 90 minutes in that netherlands japan game but i know you're a huge u.s fan so we have to touch upon them which player gives you most hope who'd you look at and say that is who I could have become.

1:06:00Yeah, as a center back who wishes he was a striker, it's Balogun. Seeing the U.S. have a striker who can score goals and he's got a fantastic first touch, can score from pretty much any position you put him on in the box, it's exciting. I like having a striker like that.

1:06:17Rog:What holds us back is just having a player that can kick a 65 yard field goal when we need it. In all seriousness, what will it take for the U.S. to have a good run in this World Cup in your mind? They need to come together. They've got a lot of talent on the roster. They need to find a way to gel and gel quickly. I'm not sure. I've never been on a national team, what that looks like, what that would feel like. Don't do really all-star teams in NFL. I mean, you have the Pro Bowl rosters, but that's more of a vacation than a game. So I'm not sure what it takes to gel as an international roster, but they've got to figure it out quick and then just play together.

1:07:00They need to know where they're going to be on the field at all times.

1:07:05Rog:You are on the national team. The Dallas Cowboys aren't the America's team. I hope the U.S. men's national team will for 39 days become America's team. I want to ask you two more before I let you go. this one is beautiful to me the Cowboys schedule was just released and in September your team will play the Baltimore Ravens at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro it's a temple of football in Brazil I've watched games there, it feels like you feel the history seeping through the terraces there, you feel Pelé, you can still smell this cologne faintly wafting over the place, you're a passionate soccer man you became an nfl player you're poised to play in a footballing temple full circle in many many ways what does it feel like for you the prospect of kicking where so many incredible brazilians are played yeah it's a dream come true in a funny way like you said full circle obviously would be my dream would have been playing a match there with the u.s national team but we'll deal with uh playing for the cowboys there so uh obviously huge footballing nation I don't know how they feel about American football, but they love watching guys kick balls, and that's what I do, so hopefully they like me.

1:08:26Rog:That's amazing. The Brazilians are just going to be so tired the whole game, and the second the kickers come on, they're going to be like, wow! Wait until they see the punters. They're going to lose their bloody mind. Last one for you, Brandon. I want you to know how much of an inspiration you are. I think I speak for everyone in this room right now hearing this story. By the way, I once asked Arsene Wenger, what separates a good player from a great player? And he gave me a speech that we put out every single National Poetry Day where he said, tenacity is the greatest human value, the ability to go from point A to point B without deviation in focus.

1:09:06Rog:You have done that. You are the living embodiment of that. And that's what I love and admire about you. But I want to take you back to that moment. You're in the Toronto MLS room. Michael Bradley's there. Josie's there. Giovinco's there. You're overwhelmed by imposter syndrome. Doubt. We all have it. To be an NFL kicker is to be impervious to doubt. That's what blows me away about you, man. It really, really does. So if I could take you back in time in my hot tub time machine. Sponsored by Bank of America.

1:09:42Rog:what would you say to that kid who was overwhelmed by a sense of failure if you go back in time what would you say to him yeah i'm i'm torn here um i'm either saying nothing and letting him deal with the suffering because i think it's necessary for where i where i am not where i am now or um i'm telling him just to soak it all in um you belong here uh enjoy the experience. It's not going to last forever. So go have fun while you're here. You're going to fail miserably, but that failure is going to lead to great things. Yes, exactly. I mean, that's ultimately it. Yeah. By the way, this man is about to have his second kid.

1:10:24Rog:You're going to be a great dad. Thank you. You are going to be a great, great dad. The honest answer about being silent and letting him suffer and learn from that suffering, it's what we're all living together. It's why I admire you. I love watching the Cowboys every time you line up to take a kick. I hope we're all thinking about this man's story. Dallas, please stand up for one of your own, an inspiration. It's the incredible Brandon Aubrey! Thank you, guys. Thank you.

1:11:13Rog:God bless the man who just caught the Brandon Aubrey shirt I just threw into the crowd. Oh, let us move. Brandon Aubrey's got to go. He's having a baby in like genuinely in about 10 minutes. So to it again for Brandon Aubrey.

1:11:37Rog:That man is a human inspiration. And the next man, just as much in every single regard. Child Rog can't believe I'm about to be on the stage with this man. Because when you think of the Dallas Cowboys, two things come to mind. You think of the blue star that's been on their helmet since 1960. And you also think about the gent who wore number 22 when the Cowboys drafted him. and your former running backs coach Joe Brodsky said he will take your breath away and you might not get it back until he goes down or scores. He kept your crowd breathless, kept opposing defensive borderline asthmatic, to be honest, for 13 sizzling seasons at Texas Stadium, three Super Bowl wins, NFL MVP, and he remains NFL's all-time leading rusher.

1:12:31Rog:please be upstanding for your number 22. It's Deuce Deuce himself. It's Mr. Emmett Smith. What up? What up? What up? How is everybody tonight? Y 'all having some good times tonight? Anybody drinking? I'm going to stick with this water. I've got to tell you, I grew up in Liverpool. I had a poster of you above my bed. Teenage Rod just slightly pissing in his pants right now. You got the pins on? You got the pins on, lads. Let's start going deep. Beginning of your own story. Pensacola, Florida. This is amazing to me. Six years old, this man was watching a Cowboys game at home with his family. And you looked at your dad and you said, is this true?

1:13:29Rog:Someday I'm going to play for the Dallas Cowboys. I said one of these days, I want to play for the Dallas Cowboys. I mean, what kid does not want to play for the Dallas Cowboys? You know, when I was a kid, the Cowboys were my favorite football team. And you learn about the game through the eyes of your parents and through other relationships and family members and so forth. And so this game itself just captivated me. And the Cowboys and what they were doing on the television screen was just one of those things that drew me into it. I want to be clear. You have not played organized football beyond games in the nearby part of Malaga Square.

1:14:05Right. That was it. I played sandlot football. Most people began that way because you're broke and you don't know what you're doing from right to left. But, no, I just played sandlot football and I was taught how to play the positions, different positions, Offensive line, tight end, wide receiver, running back, quarterback, fullback, linebacker, D-in, safety, corners. I was taught all those things before I actually started putting on a uniform. I was taught how to clothesline, how to actual tackle players. All of that stuff happened during Sandlot Football. and my cousins, who actually were the guys who taught me and my brothers and their younger brothers the fundamentals of the game and how to toss the football and everything.

1:14:51All that happened before I actually started playing organized football.

1:14:55Rog:But once you said this, six years old, I'm going to play for the Dallas Cowboys, six-year-olds say and believe incredible things, Emmett. They really, really do. How did things change for you when you spoke those words out loud? Well, they didn't change that dramatically. I mean, like I said, playing sandlot football toughened you up because you were used to playing without any uniform on, not any helmets or cliques and anything of that nature. And so we used to get in trouble because we dirtied up our clothes. And my mom didn't like it, so I used to turn my clothes inside out and get them dirty on the outside and then turn them back in and wear them the right way.

1:15:30So she couldn't quite see what I was doing. However, when I started playing organized football at the age of eight, putting on the helmet for the very first time, uniform for the very first time. Salvation Army mini-mike. Exactly. And Steve Vick was my very first coach. And I went out, played award number 12 just like Roger Starback. And I played quarterback just like Roger Starback. I don't think I threw a touchdown pass that whole entire season. I just ran around and ran for touchdown. That's all I did. And so that was my entree into the game of football. I was thinking I was going to be a quarterback, and I wanted to play that position because they got paid more than everybody on the football field.

1:16:13All the ladies love the quarterback, so why not play that position? That's the position I wanted to play.

1:16:18Rog:First snap, how far did you run? Just ran a lot of touchdowns that year. First snap, 70 yards, it's straight into the end zone. In a way, you never changed. I do want to know, before we dive into your Hall of Fame career of wonder, was soccer ever on the radar emit was it even soccer yeah was it bro no no no on the radar what radar are you talking about i mean that's blasphemy back in back in my day i mean soccer was never the only thing about soccer that i knew was pele that was it that was it i never really paid attention to it. I tried to watch a couple games. And this is as I got older. But as a kid, it was all NFL football.

1:17:05It was college football. That's what it was. And no. Soccer just... The closest to soccer I came to playing was when I was probably in the seventh grade for PE. They dropped five balls on the field. And they had players about six or seven classrooms playing and chasing the balls all over the field. That was it. That's the closest soccer I got to. That was it.

1:17:32Rog:I feel like I'm in an interview for the next U.S. men's national team soccer coach. And by the way, I'd love him to be it. But I love this moment. You went to a new age group, new coach. You became the running back. And the first moment you really understood what football was, an older kid named Billy Spriggs. Yes. Billy Spriggs. What did he do to you? You absolutely leveled your jury in a tackle drill and knocked the crap out of you. Yes, he did. What did you learn from that?

1:18:09I learned how to overcome the spirit of intimidation. And I also learned that size doesn't always matter. But the most important lesson I learned is to avoid contact at all costs. Do you know where Billy Spriggs is today and what would you say to him? I have no clue where Billy is at right now, but I would just say thank you. Because every level, there's a new challenge that we all must overcome. And for me, I was 10 years old playing with 11, 12-year-old guys, and Billy and I collided for the very first time. I was in a drill called the Oklahoma drill. And he was on the other side and I was on the other side.

1:18:54And I didn't think much of it. He was 12. I was 10. And I had to run the ball between the tires. And he and I collided, hit me so hard, saw stars, was dazed. I think I had my very first concussion that went undiagnosed. And I didn't want to play the game at that time. I really, I was like, hell no, this is too much now. And but fortunately for me, I had coaches that encouraged me to get right back up and do it again. And this is one reason why I love the game itself, because this game is a reflection of life. You will get hit by something or someone or something will knock somebody to the knees to where you have no choice but to pray about it and get back up and move forward.

1:19:43And when Billy hit me, I literally considered leaving the game. But my coaches encouraged me to get back up there, and I reluctantly wanted to do it, but they made me do it. And I'm sitting over there looking at Billy. He's smiling at me, and I'm like, what are you smiling for? I mean, I'm not smiling. I'm starting to have tears starting to drop. My bottom lip's starting to quiver. And they said, hut, and I ain't have no choice but to go forward. And when I went forward, I got him at the tires, gave him a little shimmy, and he fell down and I took off running for a touchdown and that's when I learned how to avoid contact at all costs.

1:20:24Right, then and then. And I've been trying to avoid contact at all costs ever since.

1:20:31Rog:Just tell me, if I was a really slick producer now, I'd bring Billy Spence. I'd go, ladies, you have my Billy Spence. And Billy would tell you, I mean, he hit me hard, but he never hit me hard again. Young people watching, honestly, you can make a mistake once, which is learn from it if you make a mistake twice. The same on you. I mean, you're stupid to run back in there again like that. I mean, and what I learned, though, in the whole process, that the game itself has a lot of ebb and flow to it. And you don't always have to take on hits. And you learn how to maneuver your body to where I learned, how to maneuver my body to where I don't always give someone a clean shot.

1:21:15by not giving someone a clean shot give you the chance to leverage yourself off of the momentum that they're bringing and the momentum that you're bringing and if you got good balance then you it's almost like a pinball and so the good thing people used to say well you're not tall enough you're not big enough to play the sport which is fun because good things do come in small package and the taller you are the shorter you got to come down to get to me and the lower you get to me the less leverage you actually have. Now in the playing field, there's a lot even because you're not as strong as you would be if I was to run straight into you and you can wrap me up and pick me up and all that kind of stuff.

1:21:57Who wants to do that? Nobody. So for me, being low center of gravity and having the ability to dodge people, give them a little bit of shoulder here and a little bit of shoulder there and just get lower than others and create leverage for myself.

1:22:14Rog:It's like listening to honestly being on stage with the great late Diego Maradona who was a tiny tiny man but felt that same sense he was less of a target and he felt like he always had the leverage because he had enormous buttocks and incredible thighs we use the words like over here we do twirl never amount to anything we say bum in England proper football people say the word bum buttock say that again that was amazing Emmett's going to get cast in Not Botox, but Buttocks. The next series of Downton Abbey, if he's not careful. But the way you've mentioned it, there was so much doubt around you from the start.

1:22:53Rog:So what I love about you, your height, 5 '9", your speed. You've wrote about it in Game On, which I read before we came on one of your books. You wrote, the doubters were proven wrong because they could not measure the reach of my imagination or the size of my heart. My ability to dream, develop vision for my life, and then make it happen. By the way, dreaming is great. The ability to make those dreams happen, two very different things. This man could do it all. Also could run bloody fast and hit people. But, Emmett, what percentage of your career is because of your ability, massive? What percentage is because of your mental tenacity and your hustle, man?

1:23:34I would say 90 % of my career has been mental. 10 % has been physical and hustle and drive. But mentally, staying mentally tough, being able to block out all the noise and to act like a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby that has blinders on and allow my Lord and Savior to lead me the way I need to go as I run this race. Because at the end of the day, there are going to be doubters. There are going to be haters. No matter how well you do, no matter how well I did in high school, somebody said that he's not going to make it in college. Then you get to college and you do what you do in college, and that's just not good enough.

1:24:19It's always not good enough for somebody. But for you, it's everything. It's who you are. It's who you became. It's who you overcome and how you've overcome it. And what makes you different than others is your belief in yourself. And for me, I was like, yeah, I hear all of that. But, bro, when I look at my body of work, my body of work and where I came from, you can compare Texas to Florida all you want to in terms of football, but Florida produced some great, great athletes just like Texas does. And our football is just as good as it is here in Texas. But we have a smaller, I mean, smaller country, bigger country.

1:25:01And so, but when you put all that together and you just go and compete at the highest level at no matter what level of high school football you play, you compete. Then you learn that it doesn't matter who's on the field. What matters is how you approach it. What matters is how you prepare for it. What matters is do you truly believe that you belong? And there's times where you ask yourself the question, do I really belong? But then once you understand the process, because I asked myself that question when I was a rookie with the Cowboys. I mean, I'm coming out, going on the football field, and I'm learning the playbook, and everybody else is flying around.

1:25:43And I'm, like, moving in, like, quicksand, trying to figure this thing out. And I feel like I'm about to get cut, even though I was a first-round draft pick. And I couldn't figure out what was going on. And then I talked to Darrell Johnson, and I'm learning the playbook. and they said, this is all you need to focus on. And once I start focusing on those things and I start learning my playbook, guess what happened? My mind slowed down. The game slowed down. And everybody on the football field that I was playing against in college is still on the football field, but they knew what they were doing.

1:26:18And I was learning what to do. And there's a distinct difference when you know what to do and you're learning what to do. When you're learning, you're still processing. They're not processing. They're reacting. They're already moving. And I'm learning. And once I learned what to do, the whole game just slowed down. And then I was able to allow my talent to rise. And from that point on, it was my will against their will. And I wanted my will that I'd last any man on the football field that I played against.

1:26:50Rog:I feel like we're just living Arsenal season this season. What is this described? We're also living, by the way, we're living the entire over of the karate kid. We've covered a lot of ground there. I want to recap. When this man was in high school, he blew away records. Still, I looked at the Pensacola local newspaper. The night of your last game, they wrote, Emmitt Smith has one more night as the king of running backs. It's over after tonight, after all you'd done. In college, too, everybody doubted you. and then you get to the Cowboys, an amazing moment for any human being. You ended up, very first game, sharing a hotel room with another future Cowboys legend, playmaker himself.

1:27:33Rog:Let's hear it from Michael Irvin. I love this story. You told Michael Irvin, first night before the game, you said, this team's going to win Super Bowls. By the way, you also told him you were going to become the game's all-time leading rusher. This is the night before he'd even played an NFL game. Emmitt, by the way, let me remind you, the Cowboys were coming off a 1-15 season. Even Michael Irvin, who I think of as, like, the confident end of humanity.

1:28:04Rog:He wrote, I felt the need to remind Emmitt that the Cowboys had won just four games in two years. So I need to ask you, where did that confidence come from? Well, in high school, my high school coach taught us the essence and given us some insight in terms of writing down your goals. And he said to us, it's only a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a goal. And the question that he asked was, what is it that you want to accomplish here at Escambia High School in the next four years that you're here or the next three or the next two? Do you want to become average like the previous teams were?

1:28:55Or do you want to be set apart and win districts, championships or city championships and then regionals and so forth and on and on and become a national champion? At the time, I didn't even realize that there was an opportunity to become a national champion, let alone a state champion. I thought you were in your area, and that's it. I didn't know anything about playoffs. You know, maybe regional or this area playoff or something like that. But he said, so tonight I want you guys to go home and write down your goals. He said, I want you to begin with your team goals. They are the most important things that you can write down.

1:29:32and then writing on your individual goals because what you do individually is going to help the team win. And so we started that process, and the goals were to win championships. Well, we didn't win in my freshman year, but my sophomore year, we won state. My junior year, we won state. My senior year, we were rated number one in the nation and on our way to win a national championship and lose one game. But I saw something in that whole entire process that I began to not only believe in, but to trust. And so spiritually, the word would say, write your vision and make it plain. That's no different than writing down your goals and making it plain.

1:30:18And goals are there for you to have something to shoot after. And if you achieve them, set your standards even higher. And winning one state championship could have been enough. But no, no, no, you got to win many. Winning one Super Bowl would have been enough, but no, no, we got to dominate. You play the game, you play to win, you play to dominate every time. And so goal setting became part of who I am. And so talking to Michael that year, that whole season, before the season even got started, I wrote down my goals. And it was a long list because I'm beginning a football career, not a moment.

1:31:01And I wanted a career to be synonymous with excellence. And so I had to look at who I thought were excellent. Obviously, Walter Payton was at the top of that list, especially for the position that I play. Jim Brown was at the top of that list. On and on, Marcus Allen and Eric Dickerson and many others, Tony Dorsett. All of these guys were at the top of that list. And at the top of that list, I was looking at the top of Mount Rushmore. And I'm saying, okay, Walter, you played 13 years and you rushed for 16 ,727 yards. And you played 13 years. Okay, if I average X amount of yards per year, I can get there in 13 years.

1:31:42That's my goal to play 13 years. And so I need to average this amount. Then I look at all the touchdown categories and everything else and I say, okay, I got to beat the touchdowns. Mind you, I had 108 or 109 touchdowns in high school, and I was the number one guy with the most touchdowns in high school too. So when you start talking about me, I can look at my body at work and say, mm-mm, you're missing something, bro. This ain't over no shabby groups down here. I worked hard for that. So you can say what you want to say, but my body at work says something different. And don't let anybody tell you you ain't special when you already know that you've done work.

1:32:19You've proven yourself. Don't let somebody doubt you and put their doubt on you and you carry that. No, you ain't going to define me. I'm going to define myself. That's the way I look at it. And I'm going to do it on the football field.

1:32:30Rog:By the way, again, if Arsenal had this man speaking to them motivationally, they'd be on their third title win by now. I want to say a couple of cool things. Shout out to your high school coach because you did mention him. Dwight. Dwight Thomas, amazing man. And by the way, I am going to send you. He's 84 right now. God bless that man. I'm going to send off some little cards to the U.S. men's national team to write their goals on right now, right here, right now. I do need to say this. I'm not mocking, but after saying all of this, we're going to get to the good stuff. The next day, after saying all this to Michael Irvin, in your Cowboys debut against the Chargers, do you remember how much you rushed for?

1:33:10Rog:Two yards against the Chargers. It's not a productive start. inch by inch people is what i'm telling you it's not how you start it's how you finish by the way we're gonna get there um very very quick one because i want to talk about how you finish in the great walter peyton who is an inspiration to me and just a joy to anyone that love this game and love remarkable human beings um you've said before you played you try to visualize the whole game in your mind, thinking about what you would do. Mo Salah is one of the greatest strikers to ever play the game. He came on our show and he told me in his best year, he would visualize the exact goals he was going to go out and score.

1:33:56Rog:And many of them would come true. How often did that happen to you on the field? Quite a bit. Quite a bit.

1:34:08And the best way for me to describe it is, you know, being able to block out everything around you and to go into a quiet place with oneself. and to try and visualize each and every play when they call your name or they call your number. You know the plays. You know the scouting report. You know everything else. You know the type of defenses you're going to face, whether it's a 4-3 or 3-4 or over or under or bare defense, cover two, cover three, all of that. You're looking at the defensive line and you're understanding how they're going to slant, where they're going to slant, and they're going to react to you.

1:34:59The question is, are you going to move them enough to make sure that they overreact and lose discipline? My job was to give this illusion that I'm going to do something. But in order for me to give the illusion, I had to purposely visualize it happening before it actually happens. So when it does happen, I'm not shocked. I'm not surprised. Some people may get so shocked and so surprised that they fumble and stumble and fall over themselves and trip. But for me, it played out and it plays out the way that I envision it. Because I'm looking at what my linemen are supposed to do and who they are supposed to block.

1:35:47and I'm giving them 100 % credit that they're going to block that individual the way it is supposed to be done. However, I get to play the game in my own mind. What happens if someone makes a mistake and this guy falls back into the play? Are you going to be quick enough to react and get out of it? Or what happens if the linebacker on the backside overflows too soon? Are you going to be impatient? and cut back right away, or you're going to allow him to get caught up by the wash? Allow him to get caught up by the wash. So the hole is a lot bigger, and it's a lot easier on everybody else. And so for me, playing it in my mind, even when I had to block somebody, understanding that Troy's going to call a play, and it's going to be a pass play, and I got the mic or the wheel on the backside, or I got the wheel and the cornerback, I got to see the corner coming before he comes.

1:36:48And I got to anticipate what's about to happen. So I got to visualize what the secondary is going to do. How they going yo-yo. If that corner is coming, how wide is that safety, does that safety have to be to get over the top so the corner can come? Which means that the defense is rotating the opposite way and this guy is coming on the weak side. And I would see that at times and abort my strong side mission so my quarterback would not get hit in the backside ribs. And I would get cussed out on the sideline by my coaches. I would do it so much that they got sick and tired of talking to me and let me do what I needed to do.

1:37:27Because I would tell them all the time, I'm not going to sit here and watch my quarterback get hit. It's his job to get rid of the ball. What happens if he doesn't get rid of the ball? Why does he have to take an extra shot? That shot can be the one thing that hurt his ribs and he might not be able to throw next week. and I'm going to miss him for a backup or a third rounder or whomever. No, it ain't happening. I need my$15 million quarterback on the football field. And matter of fact, you should be wanting him on the football field too. So I don't even know why we're having this conversation.

1:38:00It just doesn't make any logical sense. And so that's how I would look at things. I would be playing chess while others were trying to play checkers. And I'm looking at this thing and I'm letting it play out right before me And so I was never shocked and never surprised. But what did surprise me one night was when I got 20 carries and I rushed for two yards against New Orleans, I never saw that happening. That was not part of the vision that I went into the game with. So stuff does happen. But you do prepare every week and try to prepare the same way.

1:38:33Rog:Are you good at chess? I'm pretty decent. Next time we're on stage, Emmett and I are going to play chess. But I want to talk about you. not about my fine Sicilian defense with which I will open and destroy all comers visualizing along the way you played 201 games for this incredible team October 27, 2002 was a day you broke Walter Payton's all-time rushing record against the Seattle Seahawks right here in the great city of Dallas in front of your fans many of them are probably here tonight here, right? fourth quarter on a play called 15 lead. You chewed up 11 yards. You engraved your name in history eternally.

1:39:21Rog:And you've said in that moment, I love this. This is so you, man. And I understand it more having spent time with you tonight. You said that you, quote, looked up and thanked God. And then I thanked Walter Payton. Emmett, when you were a kid, you wanted to be that man. You wanted to be Walter Payton. You had his nickname, Sweetener, stitched on your high school varsity jacket. What did it mean for you? What does it mean for you to not have only reached his level but to have surpassed it? It means that I went through the fire to get there. There was no shortcuts. I put in the work. I put in the time.

1:40:04I took care of my body. I remained steadfast throughout the whole entire race. because it's a race of endurance. It's a race of not only endurance, but maintaining quality health for a period of time, but most importantly, being a consistent player for a long period of time. I tell my son, the best ability is availability. If you're not available, I can't play, and you can't play. If you can't play, you can't produce. If you can't produce, well, you're losing your job. And so for me, what it meant was consistency for a long period of time, durability for a long period of time. And when you do that, you become trustworthy.

1:40:52And there's an expectation. And matter of fact, there's an expectation about others, but there's an expectation of yourself that you're going to perform every day and every time you step on the football field. So others are preparing for you. and when they're preparing for you they're preparing not for your greatness they're preparing to stop you from becoming great you have to figure out how to get through all of that and for 13 years that happened and it happened on a consistent basis and that part I am extremely proud of and I would hope that not only I did it the way Walter did it but I did it with a level of class and excellence that he would be proud of because everybody that came before me, I carried with me as I went over that threshold because Jim Brown did it before Walter got there.

1:41:50And then Marcus and Eric and Tony and Franco and everyone else was in between. So every time I crossed over that threshold, give him a high five and every time i got to the closer to the top i give him a high five and i'm fortunate to know and to be blessed to have met all of the guys that i'm talking about Walter, Jim, Eric, Tony, Marcus, Franco, Barry Sanders. Woo, Barry Sanders. Boy, my man. I mean, Batman had to have a Robin, and boy, I needed one myself. So the way it worked out was great because competition is great. and to be able to be amongst them in spite of what others have said, those are things that they can never take away from you because they can say you didn't do this, you had that.

1:42:57Well, we all had an opportunity to be and do the things that we were able to do. I just like to think that I did it very efficiently, I did it productively and I did it consistently for a long period of time.

1:43:14Rog:I mean, it's amazing to hear that you visualized and everyone else would have been visualizing, but your visualization was ultimately the truth. And I love that. And the first tattoo you ever got was the Dallas Cowboys star and the number 18 ,355 number of regular season rushing yards you accumulated in your career. Very quickly, when you look down on that tattoo, What do you, what does it say back to you? Nothing. It reminds me of the pain that I went through to get it.

1:43:49It's just a representation of, it says nothing. I mean, I don't even think about it anymore. The pain of the tattoo or the pain of the yard? Every time I think about the tattoo, I think about the pain that I went through to get it. So I'm like, man, I mean, it was easier running for 18, 355 than it was getting a tat.

1:44:13Rog:So let me ask you the hard question. Where did you put the I won the Dancing with the Stars tactic? Oh. I might get the ball, mirror ball on the other side. I doubt it very seriously. But anyway. Here's a serious question. My hero, the Brazilian icon, Richarlison.

1:44:37Rog:You can't boo Richarlison, guys. You only boo Richarlison if you don't like air to breathe. I want to be candid. This man is an incredible man. He decided he was going to tattoo on his back some of the greatest Brazilian footballers who ever played. And in the middle, he decided to tattoo himself. As a little boy, though. As a young man. Look at that. That's inspiration for us. He's looking up to his idols. He can't even see his own back, though. That's all right. You know what I mean? He left that for you to see. He left that for you to see and post up here like you're doing right now. By the way, this man has never seen Rich Olison play, but he knows he loves to take his shirt off.

1:45:18Rog:I'm not saying you need to get a back tattoo. Don't worry. But if you had to name the Mount Rushmore of Dallas Cowboys players who might theoretically be carved on the Emmitt Smith back tattoo, who would they be? Four players. Four players? Yep. Do I need to include myself or take myself out of it? By the way, I didn't ask Rich Alderson that question before he put himself slap bang in the middle. Rules are yours. The rules are mine? Yeah. Well, I'm going to make it easier. I'm going to take myself off of it. Yeah, I'm going to take myself off of it. I'm going to go with Roger Starback. I'm going to go with Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and I'll go with Tony Dorsett.

1:46:05Rog:The man who invented the initials, TD. I want to quickly talk about the World Cup. You played in front of these Texas crowds for over a decade. um netherlands japan argentina jordan the u.s men's national team are going to play in a semi-final um that's the hope that's the hope anyway i love dallas someone over there that's right and i love whoever that was and i adore you i want to know what will they get from dallas and what do you want the human beings who are going to flood this city to say about this city after they leave it forget the city I want them to think about our country as a country of welcoming people from all sorts of places period because the beautiful thing about diversity and being able to go and be exposed to different cultures is you walk knock down the walls of limitations and the ones that never have gone and experienced things around outside of their current neighborhood or outside of the current city, outside of the state, or outside of the country, they only have one thing in mind and one thing in common, is the limitations of that country.

1:47:18And so for me, by hosting all of these nations and all of these countries into this great city and this great state is a wonderful thing for this state. It really is, because now the whole state is on a global stage, and that's where we should show our best and be at our very best. Because, as my mom said, you don't want to invite people from foreign places to come to your house and your house is not clean. And at the end of the day, you come to Dallas or you come to Texas, you should come here with an expectation that you are about to see something very spectacular and be a part of something very spectacular.

1:47:56Because the fans here support a lot of sports. And sports has a way of knocking down walls of limitations. People put up limitations. Sports is there to knock them down. And show you that we all can participate and be a part of something great and love it and support it in our own unique way. And so to me, I look forward to seeing it. I look forward to seeing the excitement that Texans are going to have around all of these World Cup games. And being able to host something here in this city, it's going to be pretty spectacular.

1:48:37Rog:with emmett smith today for my hotel room in um in dallas i interviewed a great american football soccer coach called pellegrino materazzi who's just become the first american to coach a team to win a trophy in europe um and i said what drives you and he said the quote that america America is too big to be confined by small dreams. Thank you. When I hear you talk about... Thank you. When I hear you talk about what is possible in this will come moment, Emmett Smith, I think about him and I think about this moment and I think about great joy. Small dreams. Get that quote again. Well, America is too big to be confined by small dreams.

1:49:25Rog:I mean, it's a beautiful... Small dreams. Small dreams. You're a man who didn't just dream big dreams. you visualized them, then you made them real. Just like Brandon Aubrey, to be quite candid, who, if there was a fifth player, would be on Emmitt Smith. I'd rather be on his back than his front. The kickers go in the armpit. He's going to give me some more hair. I wonder where Emmitt Smith's go-to meal is in Dallas. If you could send every World Cup visitor, everyone who's going to descend on this city in the summer to one restaurant for one dish. What are you eating? Oh, my goodness. I would probably go to Nick and Sam's.

1:50:08I mean, there's a lot of spots you can go to here in Dallas, but if you ask me for one, I'm going probably to Nick and Sam's. And ordering what?

1:50:19Rog:The dish of dishes should be what? The dish of dishes? Yeah, what should they be ordering? Oh, I'm going to get a bone-in filet. I've got to say there's a lot of people in Japan currently writing down Nick and Sam's bone in filet and they have Emmett they're visualizing the bone in filet One quick question If young Emmett Smith had stretched out instead of the Dallas Cowboys age six I'd say watch the 1978 World Cup instead Is there an alternate reality where you could have become a superstar in the soccer universe like that man? I don't know. I don't know because I was never introduced to it. And, you know, growing up here in this country, it was football, baseball, basketball and track.

1:51:07And so baseball was never my sport. I tried to play basketball. It was too short. Football became my thing. And one thing about tennis, I definitely didn't have enough money to go play golf. so I couldn't beat Tiger Woods. So I didn't even know Tiger Woods existed at the time. They didn't know we had a chance to beat all that. So for me...

1:51:31Rog:I got to say, you are living proof of White Bank of America's soccer in schools program. Thank you. I mean, at this point, there should be a lot of diversity of sport in everywhere, and every kid should be required to go outside and play a sport and be around different kids. because that's the only way you break down the walls of limitations, because through my sport, a lot of my friends are, I got some atheists, I probably got some Christians, I probably had some Buddhists, I had some probably Muslims, and I had some black and whites and Polynesians, everybody. But you know what we all had in common?

1:52:13We loved the sport of football and we loved each other. And at the end of the day, we played for each other. And so when you plan for something different than just yourself, You come to learn the difference between you and another person. And that's a beautiful thing to learn. And that's why sports, to me, is such a great metaphor of life. It just breaks down so many things. And so Daryl Johnson, one of my heroes. One of my heroes. Yeah.

1:52:43Rog:God bless them. I got to say, what you embody and what you've just articulated is love. The world needs more love. it's been a joy I will say I said to you before we came on that whatever happens in the World Cup that I've dedicated my life to waiting for the next 39 days nothing will surpass what it feels like for me as a kid who had your poster on my wall to be on the same stage as you Emmett Smith let's hear it for this incredible moment

1:53:21Thank you.