Perspectives - Tony Boselli

In this episode, Brian Sexton sits down with former left tackle, and Pride of the Jaguars member, Tony Boselli.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The following presentation of the Jaguars Podcast Network is presented
by by Star critic Tony Basselli is more than just
the first draft choice in franchise history. He's more than
just its best player. The massive six ft seven inch
offensive tackle owned a blend of size, length, agility, and

(00:26):
intellect the revolutionize the way offensive lineman played the game.
But Selli represented everything Tom Cofflin wanted in a football
player in his football team. He played the game as
he were made for it. This is Perspectives, a look
back at the first twenty five years of the Jacksonville
Jaguars through the eyes of the people who built the
NFL's thirtieth franchise from the ground up. This is Tony Boselli.

(00:53):
It's no exaggeration to say that Basselli was the personification
of the Jaguars. He wouldn't back down on the field
or in the locker room. He knew he was more
than just an offensive tackle. He was the heartbeat of
the jat Wars, a rarity for an offensive lineman. A
few years after his career was over, as he wandered
through the beginnings of a post football career, Dan white

(01:13):
Angie made a life changing decision that actually took them
back to where the journey began. It was interesting in
ninety five when we came here, you know, we made
the decision as a young married couple of Angie and
I that we're gonna make Jack's Far home year round.
We weren't going to do something where we you know,
stayed in the season and then as soon as the
season when was over go back to California where she
was from, or Colorado where I was from. We kind

(01:35):
of made for whatever reason, I can't even remember why. Um,
maybe it's because Tom said you couldn't leave in those days.
But we even before I knew that offseason was important,
we had made that decision. Has something to do with
my wife being from the beach. We lived at the beach,
so she was happy, and you know, we had the
seven years here and then when they put me on
the expansion draft and I left, I said, I've never

(01:57):
come back because I was upset, in ad in angry
and all the different emotions that go into it, and
the whole thing with Houston went and how it did
and shoulder never had better, and so I retired and
I was sitting there, you know, thirty one years old
or whatever I was, and had no idea what I
was gonna do. And you know, normal emotions that you
go through as a player, I think, especially if you

(02:19):
get hurt and sooner you're depressed, you're confused everything else.
So I did a bunch of different things. We lived
in Houston for a while when to Austin was working
for sports Ministry, ended up in Nashville, and through those
all the different stops, we would visit Jacksonville and comes
to friends, the Brunel's and everybody else. And we had
our church here that we had kind of been apart

(02:40):
from the beginning. And I remember we came back one
time after being gone like two and a half years
or so, maybe three, and I was like, we were
renting a house at Jack's Beach. I'm thinking, what are
we doing? And I remember I went back to Nashville
and Angie didn't love Nashville, and we had four kids
at the time, and one day I walked into the

(03:01):
kitchen and said, hey, uh, we're moving back to jackson
but what do you think? And she literally had the
house packed up for sale sign in one week. We
sold the house two days later. It was right before
the housing you know crashes, I go five and we
packed up a U haul and moved back here. And
I think what it was is what I realized, and

(03:22):
what Angie realized, is when we came back and visited
and I saw people, and it was even just for
a weekend or a week at a time that this
was home. It actually became more home to us, especially
for me, than it was when I went back to
Colorado to see my family, or went to California and
saw her family or friends and back to SCA for

(03:43):
whatever reason. Um, we would come back to Jacksonville a
few times we did when we were gone, and this
just felt like home. And I said, what are we doing?
You know, by that time, the emotions and you kind
of realized, as you know, gosh, I feel old down
forty seven, uh, you know at thirty one, early thirties,
thirty three, whatever, that the business part of football stinks.

(04:07):
And what happened wasn't great, but it was business, you know,
and you get over it. And Wayne had reached out
and you know, and you kind of rebuild those relationships
and everything else. And so that I had kind of
healed itself as far as for me, and I love Jacksonville.
We love the area. It was where our friends were,
it was where the church we were part of. It

(04:27):
was just the people of Jacksonville. And there was such
a history of being a part of that first team
that kind of stuck deep at least in me, and
there's roots that it connected us here and we moved
back and it was the greatest thing ever. And I
look back now, I've lived here in Jacksonville with the
greater jackson Area prot of Edra longer than I've lived

(04:50):
where I grew up in both in Colorado, and so
people say all the time where you're from. We were
just I was just on a trip with my dad
and we're in my family and everyone's they asked, where
are you guys from? And they would literally say, we're
all from Colorado. He's from Florida, and like he lives
in Florida, and so this is my hometown. This is
I mean, I grew up in Colorado, went to school

(05:12):
in uh in California. But if you asked asked me
where my hometown is, it's Jacksonville. I mean, we're Jacksonville people. Um,
I hope never to leave. You never know what life brings, Um,
but this is uh. It was a special place, and
it was confirmed after we left. You don't realize that
sometimes in your first year after we left and then
we visit. So this is where we want to come
back to. The choice to leave Jacksonville wasn't Tony's and

(05:36):
he wasn't happy about it. He left hurt and in
disbelief everything he worked for and everything he was planning
on had suddenly been taken away when he left. Neither he,
nor Angie, nor Tom Coughlin or jack War's owner Wayne
Lieber could have foreseen his return. So the emotions of
leaving here were really tough for me. Um. I remember,

(05:59):
you know, I've been the first pick and everything has
gone well, and then I got hurt, and so I
was going through that two thousand one season started the
season and the shoulders work had the surgery and was
rehabbing it and trying to get back, and it was
a tough rehab. And I remember the season it just ended.
It was probably January, so mid mid January, and I
remember it's a Saturday morning and at the time we

(06:22):
had three kids and they're all little, and we're sitting
there and he was actually making breakfast. I remember she
was making pancakes. I mean I can literally remember that clearly.
And we get a knock on the door and so
I gon answer the door and it's uh, it's Coach
Coughlin and he had lived across the street, um kind
of catecorn from us there in marsh Landing at the time.
And he says, hey, can we talk And I'm like, okay,

(06:46):
something's not right here. And we sat on my porch,
on the stairs of my porch outside the door, and
he sat there and he said, hey, listen, UM, this
is the hardest thing, really hard for me, but we're
gonna put you on the expansion uh list. And I
said what He went through the whole cap and all
the different things, and you know, who knows it wasn't

(07:07):
because maybe it says I was hurt. I mean maybe
they knew that. I don't know why, but the reason
it was explained was CAP. And so immediately I remember
walking in to see my wife and I said, you
won't believe this. She was what I said, word leaving Jacksonville.
She was, what do you mean? I said, I'm on
the expansion list, and she goes, okay, and that started

(07:27):
a domino of events. That next thing I know, I'm
traveling to Houston back and forth because I get picked
and the whole long story that didn't work. I mean,
we tried. The shoulder was gone, and that was leading
to that emotion kind of exponentially made it worse because

(07:47):
now I felt like the place I loved let me go,
or let me be picked by the Texans. Texas were
great to me, but now my shoulder doesn't work. In
there's all these emotions. It's like, did they know something,
what happened? Was it a bad surgery, you know? Or
was it just one of those things? And I remember
going through all those emotions and looked at every option
I had, what do I do? And and we went

(08:10):
through the series events, bouncing around and and when we
were coming back, I got a phone call one day
and I almost want to say it was Dan Edwards
who called me and said, hey, Wayne wants to talk
to you. And so I talked to Wayne and he said, hey,
we'd like to for you to come back, and we'd
like to retire as a Jaguar, and we'd like to
put you on the UH in the stadium. Is the
first member of the Pride of the Jaguars and I

(08:32):
was like wow. And it was during that time kind
of the process of me reconciling what happened, and Angie
and I talked and I remember thinking, I said, at
some point, I gotta get over this. And this was
even before the whole Pride of the Jaguars. I said,
I could either be mad forever and look down at
the franchise and blame them, or get mad at Tom

(08:55):
or Wayne or whoever, or I can say that's kind
of how it goes, and be a part of the
franchise that I was the first pick of. And I've said,
you know what, whatever happened happened. I want to I
want to have some connection. And along those lines is
when Wayne called uh. And it wasn't exact timing, but
kind of all this was happening at the same time.

(09:16):
And when that happened, I remember coming back retired as
a Jaguar that day and then now it's I'm gonna
be putting into the Pride of the Jaguars. And in
that time we had started moving back to and I
remember the day when I went in we played the
New York Jets, and I had the whole family there
and you come down and to see them pull the

(09:36):
tarp down and my name was up there was a
little bit surreal for me, because growing up as a
Broncho fan, I remember going to Old Mile High and
seeing like the great Broncos that you would whether before
I was born, that I had heard about or when
I was little watched, And then I saw my name
up there, and I was like, man, this is amazing,
And boy, I'm glad I didn't hold the grudge and

(10:00):
burn a bridge against the franchise that I love it
was a part of from the beginning because of of
slights or emotional reasons or whatever happened, it happened. It
was a business decision that it happened, and I'm glad
it didn't let that affect my long term relationship with
this franchise because now I sit here today, you know,

(10:20):
all these years later and now living here in a
part of it, and have been a part of the
team till at the end of when the Weavers owned
it too. Now with Shot and his family owning at
the cons being a part of the franchise, calling games
and being just a part of the entire fabric, not
just of Jacksonville, but the Jaguar community, it's a family

(10:40):
more to me, means so much to me. I mean,
it's a big part of my identity that I love.
I love being a part of the Jaguars. I love
when I called National Games going on the road and
people look down defending the Jaguars. I mean, this is
part of it. And I think back to the decision
by Angie and I made it says we want to
be a part of this, and then Wayne allowing me
to be the first person, uh in the pride of

(11:02):
Jaguars is a huge honor for me. And you know,
as long as the stadium's up here and my name's
up here, I guess they can't take that away from me.
And that's a it's a huge honor. And uh it's
fun for me. It's fun of my kids they come
to the game and their friends and everything, and uh
so it's pretty special. And and for me, being the
first pick is I've always taken a lot of pride

(11:22):
in that. And I felt the pressure when I was picked,
like I want to live up to being that first pick.
And I remember when Tom said, you know we're picking
needs me the cornerstone and all that stuff, and and
everyone joked about that as you're you know, as you're rookie,
making funny of you and everything. But that meant something
to me. And now to continue to have that legacy
with you know, the having the name up there but

(11:44):
still be a part of it. Now that uh, where
we are as a franchise with the coms onning it
and still being a part of it and needs a
lot more perspectives following this from BI Start Credit UNI.
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to approval insured by m c U. A coming home

(12:27):
meant to return to the place where some of his
best football memories were made more important for Bisselli. Coming
back to Jacksonville rejoined him with many of the most
important people in his life. I think, as as you
look back on and well at least as I look
back in my career, obviously the the games and the
big moments and competing and walking on the field, you know,

(12:48):
or highlights. You know. I always joke people say what
do you miss about football? So I missed about I
missed game Day and pay Day? Those are really pull
two good days if you were here in the NFL.
But the thing I and then I, after joking, I
s so you know what else I'm this is the
locker room, in the relationships that I had in that
locker room. And and as I look, you know, at
the friendships I have now and that of guys I

(13:12):
played with and guys around the league, I mean it's
you're in a fraternity that because you played the game
of football that you have something common with him. And
then there's another level and then you have like your
close relationships. And I look at the you know, you know,
I think it's pretty much no secret in this community
now that you know, Mark and I are very close
and we're best friends. And I look back that the

(13:34):
first year, I don't think we probably said two words
to each other. You know, he was fighting for a
job and I was trying to figure out how to
play a left tackle in the NFL, and we didn't
have a lot of things in common. He had a
much deeper faith at that time than I did at
that stage of my life. And while we were friendly,
we were not friends. And the interesting thing was, it

(13:54):
wasn't football, per se the locker room where we became friends.
It was our lives. So Angie and Stacy became friends.
Angie told me we were going on a vacation with
the Brunel's, and I looked and I said, why are
we going with them? You know, Mark and I don't
really hang out that much. And and she says, we're going.

(14:17):
It's great. Stacy's great. I want to go. And if
you've been married long enough, you understand happy wife, happy life.
And if she says you're going, you're going. And so
I said okay, And we went to an island down
in the Caribbean, and we had a great time and
we really became friends. And through series events, you know,
I talked about the church earlier, Um, what's kind of

(14:38):
birthed out of a Bible study, we were a part
of that. He invited me to him my wife and
I engine I went and deep in my faith and
really became a became a Christian, and at that point
the bond even got closer, and then it just grew.
We ended up driving to work every day because we
lived in the same neighborhood. We ended up going in vacations,
our kids were the same age. We kind of just

(14:59):
did lie together as football players and that never stopped
and so that relationship has grown where we continue to
be really good friends, talk all the time, do do
life together. You know, he was the head coach at Episcopal,
I was the offensive line coach. Um We yell at
each other, we'd make fun of each other, and so

(15:21):
it's a special relationship. And then you look at the
organization greater. I mean I've mentioned you know, you talk.
You can't talk about the Jaguars without talking about Tom Coughlin.
I mean, I remember the first time he came out
to USC to work me out, and him and Mike
Major came and worked me out, and afterwards they said,
we want to go to dinner with you. We wanna
take you to dinner, and they said bring your girlfriend too.

(15:41):
So they must have done the research knowing that she
was going to be my wife, and it was non negotiable.
It's like, you bring her with you, and it was
me him, it was Tom, Mike and uh Rick Reepers,
and we're at the dinner and I remember sitting there
at dinner with Tom and going through the you know,
the whole interview process us and and then playing for

(16:02):
them all those years wasn't easy. It wasn't always fun
playing for him. He was very difficult to play for,
especially those early years, and he you know, he was
trying to make a point, and boy did he make it.
But you know, I look back at the success we
had and a lot of that was, yes, because of
the players that he brought in, we were good, but
because the coach, the job he did as a coach
as a head coach, and his coaching staff, and in

(16:24):
that relationship as can do. I mean, they were neighbors.
I remember all the time I'd come home, you just
so mad and talk bad about Tom, and Angie would
stop me and say, how dare you talk about him
that way? He's such a nice man. Because I'm like,
wait a second, you think he's nice because you see
him on the weekends in the offseason. He smiles and

(16:44):
asked how you're doing. And because his wife, Judy is
a saint, one of the nicest people in the entire world.
That doesn't mean he is nice to me, and she
would defend him. So I'm fighting here with my wife
because of the views we have on the head coach.
But that's a special relationship. That's a relationship that will
mean a lot to me, Um, because of the position

(17:06):
in the place he had in my life as a
young football player and as my head coach, and the
and that we continue to have. I mean, him being
back in Jacksonville and a part of the organization I
think is great. Um. It shows the power of what
happened here early and for him to come back and
have a home here he always did and that would
be a part of it again, I think is really special.
And so relationships are critical to me. I mean, it's

(17:30):
at the end of it. We're all gonna get old,
we're all gonna not be able to play football and
not be athletic, and all we do have is our relationships.
And the memories come from the relationships, in my opinion,
because what if you're by yourself, the memories are useless.
But when you have relationships that you can look back
and laugh. I mean, we will still get together and

(17:53):
laugh and tell stories about the old days. I mean,
I look at the job I have now here on
the radio. I mean, Jeff and I were teammates and
you know in logs, and was the older guy, and
he was the leader of the team. I was a
new guy coming in and I kind of grew and
took that position when he left as one of the
main leaders of the team. And and now to work

(18:14):
with him together, I mean, him and I all the
time and laugh and tell stories, and there's a there's
a connection because of what we did back when we
played here and now we worked together and that's a
that's a special relationship, and that's fun. And in my
hope is you know, I hope Shot and Mark Lamping
viewed the same way as that we do this forever

(18:35):
and we're seventy year old guys covering this team, hopefully
with a couple of Super Bowls by then telling stories
and well everyone listening will be like, oh gosh, here
go Jeff and Tony again and the old guys telling
stories about the ancient days of and in those times.
So the relationships are great, They're very important to me.

(18:55):
The memories I have here, Um are built around those
relationships ups and uh, you know, my best friend, you know,
outside my wife, my best friend is Mark Burnell. And
that's because I played football here with the Jaguars. Tony
instantly bonded with a slightly disconnected fan base turned off
by seasons of losing. He reminded Jaguars fans of the

(19:16):
early years now nearly a decade in the rear view mirror.
So you know, I looked back in that first year
and we're started in Steven's Point and which was just
a brutal camp. And I end up on a rainy day,
you know, Jeff log, my radio partner, decides that he's
gonna be an idiot and bull rush on a rainy day,
and my legs slips and my knee gets put in

(19:37):
a position I dis Okay, my kneecap knocked some cartilage
off and I have to have surgery. And that was
tough because the very thing I wanted to do is
to prove that they made the right pick. And now
in my mind, I felt like, my gosh, I let
everyone down, and having to miss the preseason, it was tough.

(19:57):
But then when I remember walking on the field for
the Houston game and walking out in civilian and just
street clothes because I couldn't play. My knee was still
and it was as exhilarating as it was to see
the crowd, I was as one of the more disappointing
times as well. And it was tough because you want
to be excited for everyone else and you're you don't

(20:19):
want the team to win, obviously, but INDIVIDUAL was like, man,
this is not what I was brought here to do.
I wasn't brought here as a second pick to sit
on the sideline and watch. And so the first couple
of weeks were tough. And uh, there was three games.
You know, you had Houston and then we had went
to the Jets, and then we played Cincinnati, I think

(20:39):
or vice verstaid whatever the role was those three games,
and and then we had a Sunday night game against
Green Bay and my knee was not but I was like,
I'm playing and it was good enough. I got cleared,
I passed the strength tests and but it was still
swelling up a little bit and it wasn't great. And
I remember so I practiced that week and I remember

(20:59):
Tom coming to and he says, you're not gonna start,
and I'm like, what do you mean, I'm not gonna start.
He says, we're not gonna start. Jeff Novah's gonna start
because Jeff had played left tackle, and you talked about
relationships earlier. I mean, Jeff Novak to this day is
one of my best friends. I mean, he lives in
Texas and we talked about relationships. I mean, Jeff Novak
is as close as I am to anybody, and he's

(21:20):
the guy I backed up that first start, and we
used to joke all the time, and you know, and
we still to this day of him being the starting
left tackle for the franchise after they picked me. Those
first few games and and those are the we talked
about memories and relationships. I mean, I can't believe, you know,
Jeff is a guy that I think back to that
first night. I remember I'm sitting on the sidelines and

(21:42):
he's out there and I'm in the I'm all dressed up,
I'm ready to go, and Tom says, you're gonna wait
two series. I don't know why too, but he decided that.
And the whole week leading up to that, I had
watched the tape and everything else, and you got Reggie
White on one side, I'm like, oh my gosh, this
guy is like the greatest ever. And then you know

(22:04):
Sean Jones on other side, at the time, you had
hundred six sacks, a hunter sack. I I'm thinking, my goodness,
I mean, Sunday Night football, hundred sack guy. You know, thankfully,
Reggie White's gonna stay on the other side, I have
to worry about him. And this is where I have
no preseason nothing. Let's find out if you can play
or not. Kid. As I'm sitting on the sideline, I'm nervous,

(22:24):
and I'm watching Jeff. He's out there and he's doing
fine and whatever. And remember three and out, three and out,
And so before i know it, they're saying, you're going in,
and we get the ball, A jog on the field,
and the whole crowd like cheers because they and then
this has probably never happened in the history of the NFL.

(22:45):
The p A guy goes now entering the game at
left tackle, Tony or something like, I mean kidding, I
play left tackle, and the whole crowd cheers, and I'm thinking,
don't screw this up. And remember the first play, go
out there and I'm like Okay, I blocked him, and
I blocked him the whole night, and I'm like, at

(23:07):
that point, it's funny. I'm like, I can play this game,
and I'll be you know, I just knew and early
in the game, I knew I could block him, and
I remember the funny story about that game. So we
were we went. We didn't get a first down at
the first half. People, I mean, I was the most
crazy and not one. We were three and out, three
and out forever. We started getting going a little bit

(23:28):
in the second half and made a respectable game, and
I was so excited we lost. I'll be honest you
I didn't care. I was like, I played, I did
halfway decent, I didn't embarrass myself, and I'm now doing
what I was brought here to do. Um. And so
the next day I showed up to the facility and

(23:48):
we lost. So everyone's down, but I'm feeling Okay. We go.
We're sitting outside and waiting to go to the team
meeting room and you better be there early because everything
is the start earlier. And so I'm they were early
sitting there and um, Tom walks up and he grabs me.
He looks at me says, how do you think he
did last night? And I was smart enough at this

(24:08):
point and I knew him enough not to say I
think I did pretty good. And I said, oh, I
think it was okay. And he looked at me and
he says, that didn't mean anything. That guy doesn't play
every snap and walked off. I'm like, nig can I
get a little bit of love Tom, just a little bit?
And there was no love coming from Tom. He walked off.

(24:30):
You know, the meeting, I sat down and said, okay,
And that was kind of the start of that season.
And I think it was the next week we went
to Houston and we got our first win, and that
was awesome. I mean, that was amazing because, you know,
it was funny because we had played pretty good. You know,

(24:50):
I don't think we really got blown out the Jets
game got a little bit away from us at the
end of the game. It wasn't like just embarrassing, and
but the Carolina Panthers were doing, you know better, and
you know, we were kind of fighting and trying to
figure it out. And we got that first win and
that was awesome. And then the next week we come
home and the Steelers are come in to town, and

(25:11):
I'm thinking, oh, it's the Pittsburgh Steelers and they're one
of the best teams and we beat them. Now all
of a sudden, you're kind of thinking, like, we're pretty good.
Maybe this isn't that hard to do. Well. Everyone knows.
We won one more and then went on a seven
game losing the streets. So but that was a It
was a long first year, and it was a hard
first year for me because of the knee and everything else,
and it was probably the most tired of ever been

(25:32):
after a football season, just from the draft, all the
expectations and injury and one of all the stuff. That
was a tough year. Didn't seem much different at first,
but by mid November, a different win began to blow
and it caught the Jaguars sales pushed them places no
one dared to dream of. When the season began. We

(25:54):
just started winning close games. We win one close game,
another close game, and and I never really thought about
the playoffs because we were four and seven, then we
were five and seven, six and seven. Get the seven
and seven. You're like, okay, we're doing better, and and
then I remember, all of a sudden one day like
they were like we were in the hunt and I'm like,
oh wow, the chance and we got all the way.

(26:16):
One of the most memorable games for me was we're
playing the Atlanta Falcons. We're terrible. We're like, we're gonna
go to the playoffs. All we have to do is
beat the Falcons, who stink we're going to the playoffs.
And we played bad, and it was they were driving
down and it was the worst feeling sitting on the sidelines, helpless,

(26:36):
watching our defense not be able to slow down the Falcons.
And now we've done nothing offensively the whole day. They
played pretty good and then all of a sudden, now
they can't and I'm thinking, we're gonna screw this thing up.
We're gonna lose to the Falcons and not go to
the playoffs. And when Morton Anderson lined up for that
kick and like he's I mean, the greatest kickers ever

(27:00):
not missing it's like thirty some moon yards, and when
he shanked it, I mean, that place erupted. And that
if you think about it, for this franchise and for
a lot of us individually, me included, that shank kick
changed everything because we don't have the run in ninety six,
which I think really built our confidence for the years

(27:20):
to come. If he doesn't shank it, I don't get
to go play against the defensive player of the Year
and Bruce Smith and have the game I did if
he doesn't shank it, which put my career. I mean
I already you know, it was in the Pro Bowl
already as it altered it uh that year, but that
took me to another stratosphere as far as nationally people
are like, wait a second, this guy can play. Um,

(27:45):
you know Mark Burnell like went crazy in the playoffs.
I mean that kind of launched him to another another,
another stratosphere, and that it just kind of kicked everything off.
And that game in the Denver game or two games
that I'll never forget Buffalo because of who I was
playing and the pressure I felt going in the anxiety

(28:05):
of thinking I gotta block this guy, and looking back
now is a huge compliment. But it wasn't like Gilbride
and Major had this great game plan like, hey, we're
gonna let's game plan Bruce Smith. It was like the
game plan is like Tony, you block him and maybe
we'll look over there every once, and we had no
slide protections. We had none of that. The night before

(28:27):
the game, Kevin Gilbert, I will never forget it we're
talking about and he goes at the end of the meeting,
I'm like waiting for someone to say, like acknowledge, like
this is not easy. And at the end of the
meeting says, hey, everyone knows Tony is a tough matchup tomorrow.
I'm like, okay, good, thank you. I'm glad we got
that out of there on the open and he said, hey,
Nate and James, if you get a chance when you're

(28:50):
going out for your routes, take a look. That was
our game plan. And so I always laugh now and
Bruce's oh they had a game plan. They slid, they
did all this stuff. I'm like, you should trust me.
They didn't, and um, but that game meant so much
to me, and you know, it's a longer story of
all the emotions and everything that went into it and
and and what you the feeling walking in the field

(29:14):
knowing what you know, I gotta face him. But the
next week was maybe even bigger for me individually, because
that was my hometown. I grew up a Bronco fan,
I grew up an Alway fan. I grew up going
to those games in rooting for them. My entire family
still to this day lives in Boulder, Colorado. In that region,
I think I had eighty people go to the game,

(29:34):
all of them secretly were rooting for the Broncos to win.
And when we won that game, and I walked off
the field and looked up that corner of just the
Jaguar fans and the Bronco fans, heads down, hung walking out,
it was one of the greatest feelings in sports I've
ever had. And it's just too bad we couldn't finish

(29:56):
it off. The next week. We should have you know,
a team that we very should you should have beat.
We probably no business beating the Broncos as good as
they were, but we did. Um, we couldn't finish it off.
But that was those games back then. We're we're amazing
and it was amazing. It was amazing run and I
look at there's so many other big games. That fourteen

(30:17):
and two season was bitter sweet for me because I
thought we were a team to go to the Super Bowl,
were one of the best teams in the NFL. I
blow my knee out and the game that we had
was over before we're going to the playoffs. I could
I missed that playoff run. So those are bitter sweet moments.
But man, the memories of those games and the emotions

(30:37):
that going to them ups and down. Um, if those
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by n c u A. These days, the man once

(31:21):
touted as a future Hall of Famer, he's still on
the outside looking in, something that frustrates the jag Wars
and their fans, But not Beselli. He's grateful that all
of us care about who he was as a player
and who he has become as a favorite son of
the First Coast. It's humbling, and the Hall of Fame
will will truly be the highest individual honor I can

(31:44):
have as a as a football player, not as a person.
I mean my faith and my family, I mean those
greatly out way the Hall of Fame, but as a professional,
there's nothing higher. And it's an elite of the elite
of the elites of football players. And so for me
individually would mean the world. I can't even describe what

(32:04):
it would mean. But I'll tell you what makes it
even more special for me and why. There's it's not desperation,
but a desire, like a desire more than I ever
would have thought like there was I always I mean
obviously I always knew would be a big honor, but
being a finalist of the last three years, what it's
revealed to me one of the desires for me is

(32:27):
I want to represent this organization and this fan base
because I know it's important to them as well, and
for them to care that much means a ton to
me and to hear fans. I mean just just the
other day, literally like two days ago, I was walking
to the airport and they said, it's some guy that
it happens all the time. A fan walks up to

(32:49):
me says, you are getting in and you deserve to
be in, and I'm like, I appreciate it. You don't
even know what to say. The support from the organization,
everyone from shot Kom to Marko Amping all the way
down Tom Coughlin, I mean, everything that they've done amazing.
Um My teammates that I played with, I mean, my favorite.
I mean I talked earlier about Jeff Novak, one of

(33:11):
my best friends in the world, like watching him on Twitter,
like go after people on my behalf or after I
didn't get in, like just just going after the voters.
I'm like, I'm not sure this is helping me, but
it's like it always feels better when some other people
are fighting for you or you know, because I get like, listen,

(33:33):
my position has always been and it was. Hopefully one
day it won't be this way because I get in.
But the guys who all get in deserve it. They're
great players, and so I'll never talk poorly about anyone
who gets in when I haven't. But to have other
people like beat the drum, I mean, Mike Mazer wrote
a letter to Peter King that Peter King published in
Is call him. I mean that, I mean, come on,

(33:57):
I mean, that's when you're it's like you know that
not only are you love, but they care. People care. Um.
I mean Mark Brunell, who was his was in the
room with me this year, uh, with my family and
everything else and him and his wife's stays. We were
there and one other couple of close friends, Dan Edwards
and Pee Cab and some of the guys here were
filming it. But Mark was in there, and he was

(34:22):
more nervous than I was, and he made me more
nervous because he kept talking and laughing. And I finally
just sat off to the side waiting, because you sit
there and wait, it's likely am I getting in or not?
At the very end, it's like I'm gonna know in
the next ten minutes, and you just cut the you know,
you can feel the tension. And so I get the
phone call and just to give everyone, you know, if

(34:43):
you get a knock on the door, you're in. If
you get a phone call, you're out. And the phone
rings in it's Dave Baker, the President Hall of Fame.
Tell me. He said, hey, listen, Tony, you're close. You
didn't make it though, whatever, And and I look over
and you know, my wife's emotional. You know, everyone's upset,
and I look at Mark and he is emotional, he's upset,

(35:08):
like he's like hurt for me in that And I
remember sitting there looking at him and I said Number one,
me like, thank you Jesus that I have people who
care that much about me and I have friends like that,
because it almost made it easier for me, because as

(35:28):
you look at the big picture of life, yes, I
want to be in the Hall of Fame, it would
be huge, but the relationships that I've developed in this game,
and because through this organization that are that strong trumpet
a little bit over like, it's like it's bigger, it's

(35:48):
more impactful, it's more important. And so to see that
I gave you gave me a perspective. I was still upset.
Trust me, for about two hours. You didn't want to
be around me because they's something. She's like, keep your
mouth shut for the next two hours. You're not allowed
to talk because you're gonna say something. And but it
helped me because I saw a friend there, and I

(36:09):
got phone calls from people and text messages saying this
is you know, they're being mad, this is ridiculous. You
deserve and all the nice things to the dinner I
had with you know, the team afterwards that they planned
with Seoan and Mark and and all the guys, Paul Harden,
all these people that have always supported me from the beginning,
some from the beginning of some sence over the last

(36:31):
number of years being there and being supportive. I mean,
come on, I mean that is so good. I mean,
that's the true richness of life. I mean that you
can't trade for anything and for me, And it's one
of the things that you know, not to get on
a soapbox when I hear people bad mouth the game
of football, and because of whether it's concussions or this

(36:56):
or whatever reason you want, a bad mouth football, it's
like the it's like the thing that it seems popular.
At times, I get upset because I look at my
life and what football has done for me and the
ability to play in the NFL to be a part
of this organization. The richness nothing to do with money.
Everyone says we are You're oh yeah, because you get

(37:16):
paid a lot. No, No No, trust me, that's nice. That's
what I'm talking about, the richness of the relationships, the
memories and the connections that I have because of the
game of football. In This organization is what true richness
and well just wealth of life is all about. And
it's because in because in April, I'm sitting in New

(37:42):
York and Tom Coughlan called the commissioner or however it
worked and says, we're picking Tony Baselli. The rest has
played out and the rest has happened, and I thank
god all the time. I thank god that I didn't
leave early, because people say all the time, would you
rather have played for the Giants? Here? There's time that

(38:03):
someone said this third day, says, if you had to
play for the Giants, where the Cowboys or the Packers
or some of these franchises, even though you had a
short correct that, you'd already be in the Hall of Fame,
don't you. Or you'd have being a big market, maybe
you'd be you know, doing national games or doing X,
Y or Z. And I said, yeah, maybe, but I
wouldn't trade it for being a part of the Jacksonville

(38:24):
Jaguars and living in this community. Tony understands how fortunate
he is and how incredible his football story has been.
He's clearly happy with how things have turned out and
hopeful for where the road before him will lead. He
has no regrets, you know, it's it's such a big
part of who I am. You know, football has always
been a passion of mine, and there was always a

(38:45):
huge identity with that um, whether it was growing up
and when the USC which I close to and love
as university and being the UH to be a associated
with the University Southern California football program. But then this
is UH. I don't want to say it's a yeah,
it probably does surpasses it for me because of the
length of that I've been a part of it. And

(39:07):
when I walked in after being drafted, I remember we
flew down here and Angie and I walked into the
what the team meeting room is now the press conference
to be introduced, and I was a twenty three year
old kid, um was about UH too much from being
married and had no clue. And all I remember back
then is like that, I want to prove to this organization,

(39:31):
to Tom Conflin and to all these fans that they
made the right choice. Like that was all I cared about,
and not off the field as a football player. I
wanted to be really good and and I had no illusions,
or it's not an illusion, but those thoughts of what
this could become as far as the role I have

(39:51):
now and it's been to become even a bigger part
of my um life. And so to say, like now
you're an ambassador. I would never thought of that, because
that's never crossed my mind. But it's something that I
loved playing. If there was a pill to take right
now that I could go play this game again, I
do it right now. You know you're here today all
the time you guys like saying, oh football is too hard.

(40:13):
You know, I would want my kids a player, or
you know, maybe regretting playing the game because of an
impact on the body and everything else. I'm the opposite.
I'm like, sign me up, because that's how much I
loved it and playing for this team. I mean, what
a good life, what a blessed life.