November 15, 2022 • 37 mins
Chanel Smith, wife of Ravens legend Torrey Smith, mother, educator, coach & philanthropist, joins Cassie Calvert for an episode in front of a live audience at the Under Armour Performance Center.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
What is up, Raven Sans Happy Tuesday. We are just
getting back to the office after a few wonderful days
off for the bye, and boy are they more fun
after a win. I'm so excited to share this week's
Purple Chair Podcasts, where we amplify women in and around
the game with you. I'm taking you inside our first
ever live podcast taping right here at the Castle with
(00:30):
Chanelle Smith, wife of Raven's legend Tory Smith. A mother, educator, coach,
and philanthropist. She is a badass in her own right.
You'll hear the audience laughing and engaging along with you,
and I think this is one of our most unique
episodes yet. Let's get to it. Hello, Hi everyone. If
(00:51):
you guys saw us for being here, I really appreciate you.
I got like three hours of sleep because I came
back with the team from Tampa, So if I don't
make any said, that's why I appreciate you all coming
so much. Thanks so much to Katie for organizing this.
She does a great job with all of our Purple events,
and Shelby's back there in the control room running all
(01:12):
our audio, so I really appreciate her. She helps me
with all of these podcasts. And last but not least,
we have Chanelle Smith, who's our esteemed guests this evening,
So I give it out for her. We'll write her out.
I feel like we need like some music like Ellen. Yeah,
there she goes, I'm gonna do the compet challenge with
(01:37):
me later I said I'd film it, okay, so you
all know her. She needs no introduction round, give her
one anyway. So she's the wife of Raven's legend Tory Smith,
a mother, educator, coach, and philanthropist. So like, once again,
let's give her one last round of applause? Were you
(01:58):
thank getting her? All? Right? Let's get started. So you're
an athlete in your own right. You were an athlete
at the University of Maryland Division one athlete obviously, So
what was kind of your journey to getting to Maryland? Oh?
So I ran tracked my entire life. Am I talking
to the audience or to you? Um? We're all friends here. Um.
So I ran track my entire life basically indoor, outdoor,
(02:20):
cross country, all the things. I hated it, um, but
I was pretty good at it, and so my family,
obviously we didn't have a lot of money, so I
knew I had to get to college and I had
to pay for it UM, and so I suck with it.
In Maryland. I visited one time and I was like,
I'm coming here. So that's how I got there. So
what was it like for you in college? Kind of
(02:41):
balancing being a student athlete and being a student. It
was tough. UM. In high school, I kind of just
got through. I wasn't like the person who was always studying,
and you know, I just could do it and I
just was naturally able to get a's on my tests,
and so it was fine and it was easy. And
then I got to college and we had six am
hills on Mondays and eight am class and I struggled
(03:05):
my first investor. I got my first D ever in
life UM, and then I learned very quickly that I
had to make some real adult decisions and go to
bed early and you know, be responsible. And so after
I got that D, that was kind of a wake
up call because I hated study hall and I was
able to you know, I had knew I had a
job I had to do. Both were equally important. I
(03:25):
had to school and I had to do UM track,
and so I just did what I needed to do,
and that is basically two full time jobs it was.
And then I was working. You know, I was working
at night at the commons. Alexus is here, she knows
what the comments are. UM. So I would work in
the communs at night. Because as a student athlete, we
don't have it nice now or you get money and
you you know, you can do all these things. We
(03:46):
got our scholarships and that was it to like weekends,
we were kind of on our own with food and
all that. So I had to work. So we were working.
I was working running track, trying to do my best
there and then trying to do my best in school.
So you did outdoor and door track right outdoor and indoor,
and we we pretty much trained all year. We were
training in the fall, in the summer, um. So it
was kind of a it was a year round thing. Yeah,
(04:08):
did you have a favorite event? You know, I hate
a track because I'm not alive. None of them, None
of them. I can't tell you that I loved any
of it. Um. I think people can relate to that.
Most people don't enjoy running and yeah, most people don't, UM,
but I will tell you I did. When I was younger,
I had to do long distance and I would cry
(04:28):
the entire three laps my races, but my coach made
me do it. And then in high school, somebody didn't
show up to practice one day or didn't show up
to a meet, and they let me try hurdles, and
I like broke the record on my first on the
first thing, and so I was like, oh, I could
do this. I think the hurdles were kind of a
distraction from the pain, so just up over. Yeah. So
(04:50):
I loved hurdles and and I grew to love it.
And the biggest the reason why I hated I have
bad anxiety, which I didn't know until I was an
adult that I really, like, this is a real thing.
But I would get so nervous that I would like
psych myself out of everything, and so I didn't have
the mental toughness that I needed. But I did my
best practice. I would kill everybody at practice, and then
(05:11):
the meats will come and I would freak out, but
I still it was pretty good. Someone just broke my
record in college last year, so that's that goes down. Yeah.
I tried hurdles one time in high school track, and
I think I like pushed one it's not something that
everyone should try, right. We see some of those YouTube
videos of the girls going down real quickly. So we're
(05:33):
in college at this point. How did you and Tori meet? So?
Tor and I met. I had just gotten out of
a really long relationship and I didn't really like live
my college experience. So I was just calling myself having fun,
and um, I saw him one a at the bar
and I was like, Oh, he's cute, and I was
just like being super extra not myself. Um and then
(05:56):
and uh, I probably made him uncomfortable, but we we
didn't end up talking then. And then, Um, after I
got out of my relationship, I was just out more.
I was living life, and so we saw each other
a lot more. We saw each other at a party
and kind of flirt it. Then he swears that I
was like way more and you know, interested than he
(06:16):
was with his doctor. He's such a bigger So we
just started being like he was at a point of
his life that I didn't know that he was really
struggling with stuff at home. I had just gotten out
of this relationship and so we just were really good
friends and we honestly, probably for five six months we
were together every day, every night, and we swore this
(06:37):
was nothing. Um and Tory would make it a point
to tell me like, yeah, you're on my top five
like he would right. So I kind of like played
into it even though there was no time to be
with anybody else. But that's fine. UM. So I would
just make him like if he called me out, and
(06:58):
make him call me like three times before. And then
we finally were like what are we doing here? And
we made a decision that we'll make it official. So
when did you when you think you both knew like okay,
like this is the one that's a hard one. Um.
So when he was entering and when he decided to
enter to leave school early and enter for the draft,
(07:21):
I was like, oh, yeah, I didn't sign up for this.
I'm not the type of person like I can't deal
with too many things. Um and uh, he made it
very clear like no, I was like I want to
do this. And he met my you know, we went home,
he met my family, UM, I met his family and
then we just just I just asked straight up, like
(07:41):
what what do you want to do? Because we were
at the point then where if we would have split,
I wouldn't have cried it would be like, all that's sad,
but it wouldn't have been like in the world. You know,
it was at that point where it could go either
way at this point, um, and so we just decided
to do it. We we enjoyed each other's company. We
have fun. So so what is that time like then
that there's so many eyeballs, Like you're kind of thrust
(08:04):
into spotlight at that point, like you're going through the
draft process, you're also kind of like figuring out your
relationship together, Like what is that time? Like? It wasn't
as bad for us because we went to Maryland, so
like I had a friends, like my base of friends
were here. I didn't go through the whole like having
to move across the country. We kind of like joke
that if he didn't go to the Ravens, then we
(08:26):
were we would decide because I wasn't moving. I just
started teaching, like it was I wasn't going to uproot
my life and because I had so much going on
and so uh, we kind of like our relationship was
on like ice at that point, like what are we
going to do? And then when he got drafted to Ravens,
were like, oh, this was meant to be like this
(08:47):
is you know, it all worked out so and that
doesn't happen that often, like a Maryland player to the NS.
It was. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. So are
you still dating at that point? We're together at that point. Yeah,
We're definitely together at that point. So when did and
how did he propose? It was in true Tory fashion.
So we had a photo shoot that he had with
our dogs at the time, and this was normal. He
(09:10):
does photo shootes all the time. Um. And so we
had a photo shoot and he told me to come.
I just was coming and my aunt was encouraging, my
friend was encouraged me to get dressed. I'm like, why
am I getta dress for his photo shoot? Um? And
so she was like making a big deal and I'm like,
you know, I don't wear makeup and do all the things.
So I looked very basic that day too. Um. And
(09:32):
so I went to the photo shoot and they're like, oh,
Chanel jump in a couple of pictures, mind you, Tori
has on like a nice shirt at the top, sweatpants
and dress shoes. Like it was. It was like all
the things in one picture. So it was it was
there was no thought in my mind. But the week before,
(09:54):
two weeks before, someone had said and was it's supposed
to obviously said, you know, tor is gonna propose to
you soon. And we were at the point it was
a little It was a little girl. It wasn't an adult.
She didn't know any better. Um, But I remember like
we weren't in the point of our relationship where it
(10:14):
was like this is obvious, like it was. It was
probably a little rocket. We were dealing like a lot
of family stuff and just like new NFL stuff and
all that thing. So I did. It wasn't like the
time that I would expect it. But this little girl
had mentioned it to me at dinner at Jimmy's and
I was like, what, like whatever, you know whatever, I
kept going. So when he did, he did, he even
(10:36):
get down one knee, he did, Okay, So I tried
to walk it out because I was so awkward. I
tried to I tried to block it out. So he
in his sweatsuit suit situation, he got down on one
knee and he just asked me, and I remember being like,
(10:57):
what like, And I think in my head I had
like this little girl had just told me it was
just really and I am awkward with like emotions, so
it was just really awkward. I was just like, what
are you saying? Stop playing? I just koda saying. I
kept saying, and I was probably I think I was
using other words, but I was like, stop playing it.
(11:17):
And then I was like, yes, it was so awkward.
I'm sorry. I was sorry to disappoint you, guys. But
it wasn't cute. It wasn't like I wasn't like crying
and like, oh my gosh, it was I just remember
being because I, like Tori I had it was always
in a relationship, guys. I was a relationship girl. Um,
(11:39):
but that was the first relationship where I felt like
this is like, this is how it's supposed to be.
And it was weird for me that he in this
moment was like asking me to be with him forever,
and I was like, this is not real life, Like
this doesn't happen, you know. And I think at that
time I didn't think that I was like worthy to
be a wife. So I think that was like all
the emotions, which was like it was just real weird
(12:01):
and awkward and like I didn't say like when I
was a little like I'm gonna be you know, have
this wedding and it's gonna be so pretty never that
I just wasn't that girl. So the whole moment was awkward,
but I said yes, and then you know it, did
the little girl actually know? Or did she just like
she did know? So he had told her mom and
(12:23):
she so I guess she was around the rat. I
hope she doesn't see this. I forget I like she
she didn't forgive herself, but I was like it's fine, Like,
well you don't take like something that some little kids seriously.
I didn't take her seriously at all, you know. So
so like as your newly wits and he's kind of
figuring out the NFL and you're figuring out being married,
(12:44):
Like what is that time period like for you guys? Um,
So after we got engaged, I think this is years
than it's been almost ten years going back. Um, after
we got engaged, we were still like setting boundary with
family and like we were like going through real stuff
at that time. Nothing relationship ending, but it was enough
(13:07):
to be like we gotta figure this out before we
even think about getting married. And then I guess I
was getting on his nerves, so he was like, can
we He was like, can we just do that? Can
we just get married this summer? And I was like
what in three months? Like you're crazy whatever, And he
was like, you can spend how much you want on
the wedding if you get we do it this summer.
And I was like okay, and so we got and
(13:30):
so we got married that summer. So it happened. It
happened kind of fast. But you know, he's come from
a single family household. You know his mom, he has
a lot of siblings. He was taking care of everybody.
There were just a lot of things that like when
we get married, like things are are going to have
to change a little bit um. And so that was
(13:50):
that three months quick period was like a learning period
for us. We did a lot of like work, we
did our premarital you know, therapy and all that, and
then we got married. Is great, and we pulled it
off in three months. Pull it off in three months.
It was so lit You'll remember what y'all remember the pictures.
It was it was like that everyone wants people to
(14:11):
say about their wedding. Yeah, so I thought I would
be the person, especially we were both I don't want
to say cheap repruval, but we don't like to spend
a lot of money. So everything we did was like
when did we get married to out thirteen? We won
a super Bowl in two thousands twelve. It just so
happened that we had just won the super Bowl. So
everybody was like, Oh, we'll do this for you, we'll
(14:32):
do this, we'll do this, and we were like, we'll
post it for you, we'll you know, and so it
was like a lot of trade offs. Our wedding was like,
should have been double the price that it was, but
because we had so many connects, so it was it
was memorable. It wasn't like we didn't regret spending that money.
That's quite a year off the super Bowl and then
you get married and then I then we went right
at it and got pregnant. I got pregnant like the
(14:55):
next month. It's a lot of life changes a lot.
It isn't crazy. People honestly thought that we got married
sooner because I was pregnant and I was like, you
don't know how to do Matt. So that's a crazy year. Though.
There's a lot of life changes. So let's go back
to the super Bowl. What was that time, like for you, like,
(15:16):
you haven't he hasn't even been in the NFL for
that long at that point, and he went a super Bowl. Yeah,
I think we kind of were spoiled because the first
year we went, we almost made it to the super Bowl,
and then the next year we were in it. So
we were just having fun, living life, um, and it
was it was a lot. It was hard then too,
because like everybody, we're young. He's young, and he's like, oh,
(15:38):
the whole family comes to the super Bowl and then
like you just learn the second super Bowl wasn't the same. Um.
But we learned just like just so many things with
money and family and life. And at that time, we
were struggling a lot because it wasn't cool to bring
your girlfriend anywhere. It wasn't cool. We were going through
the phase where we came out of college and we
(15:59):
were at the club together party and all the time.
And now it's not cool to bring your what your
your girlfriend to the club. Um, And so we had
to navigate all the new rookie stuff um. And then
we went through a phase of like, oh, when I
first came it was like, oh, everybody wears heels to
the game. Okay, I don't even own the Mary just sorry,
(16:22):
come up your heels as a no. So I did
this for you guys. I don't usually I usually wear deals,
but I remember being like, this is like every week. Um,
So I think it was just it was a cool experience.
The team was great that that super Bowl team was
just like the family forever, but lots of different personalities,
(16:43):
lots of different things. So just Tori finding who he
was in the grand scheme of like everyone has all
these nice cars and all the things. He's in crops
every day, like and if we did go through a
period where we felt like we had to like do
these things. And then I think after the Super Bowl
were like, yeah, this is not us, Like it's cool.
We can just be who we are. And it was great.
(17:05):
From there, it's like a keeping up with the Jones
is kind of thing, like everyone else is doing it,
so what we're supposed to be doing. And then so
like Tori brought a chain his first year, got this
car he's more like twice and we were like, see,
this is this is not who we are. So he
like sold the chain bag. They didn't have to change anymore.
He goes to the practice in Crocks and Mitch it's
(17:26):
really trifling what he does. He's at least I Matt.
When I leave the house, he would come to the
locker room and anything, and the guys gave him a
lot of slack wore it. But well, I feel like
that's part of like becoming an adult, no matter like
who you are is kind of like finding your own
way and like figuring out like who you're going to be.
And that's just kind of on a grander scale when
you're doing it in the NFL. Yeah, And then I
(17:47):
started going back to the club with him. He was
comfortable and so at all it all worked out from there.
So we talked about, you know, coming out of college,
you guys were local, and so obviously it works at
well that you're staying here and with the Ravens. But
what about when he leaves so in free agency, goes
to forty Niners? What is that like? As you kind
of I mean, that's probably about as far away as
(18:09):
it can be, So what is that like? So for
us Um, I think I had just had t j
UM and I had stopped teaching, so we knew we
were the whole family was going. But that was a
critical period for us, where like we were dealing with
a lot of outside stuff and because most of you
guys know Tory was very you know in the community.
(18:31):
We were always in the community, like very accessible. Um,
that break was like lovely and so it came at
a perfect time where it was like we went straight
from college to be in we were didn't have kids yet,
but we were always taking care of someone. Someone's always
with us, and so havn't being across the country and
people have to fly to you and they have to
pay to fly to you. It was It was a
(18:53):
great It wasn't great on the field to your break,
but it was a too good just for our family.
It was a good break because then it's just really
like the three of you. That was it. Yeah, that
was it. That's awesome. So okay, then let's fast forward.
It goes to the Eagles next next big move. Obviously
wins the second Super Bowl there, So what was that
time like in which Super Bowl was better? Tough crowd,
(19:22):
a room. No, y'all are crazy. You're not gonna set
me up like that. So when we came back to
the Eagles, I'm from outside of Philly, so I thought
that I was gonna hate my life because like just
everyone asking for tickets and this and this and this
and this, and surprisingly like I had the best time
(19:46):
in this little tiny apartment in Philly, being able to
see my family every day. I'm coaching track now, I'm
like doing all the things I love. UM. I have
helped with the kids. We have two kids at that time. Now,
UM had help with the kids. The team great. And
the crazy thing is all teams are. All teams are great,
and all the people are great, UM, but there is
(20:07):
something special when you get with a team like that year.
It felt like our super Bowl, Like just the vibe
the teammates, like every everything felt just like this is
supposed to happen with this team and kind of like
the Ravens, where like things were just happening. That was
like this, it was meant for us to go to
Super Bowl this year. That's kind of how it felt
with that team. So it was really cool. But nothing
(20:29):
will ever top the feeling here UM that we had.
So that's awesome. So you mentioned that your family was
expanding at that time and when you were pregnant with Cam.
I believe you had the complicated pregnancy that the two
of you decided that you were going to share publicly,
you know, to share your story to help other people.
(20:50):
So what kind of went into your decision for that
to be something that you decided to share because obviously
it's something you have to share publicly. I think since
we were always so public and the community, like people
always warned us to like not don't put everything on
social media, don't put every but people didn't understand the
connection we had with the community, like, no, these are
people like when we go places, it's not like well
(21:13):
they did say, oh my gosh, Tory Smith, but after
that it was like, you know, just normal interactions. And
so I kind of felt like I was holding it
in a secret, like going through it all. And then
once I think, I don't know what I posted and
something I think someone might have d M me and
said something that they were going through and I was like, crap,
(21:34):
there's and my du t J. The pregnancy with t
J was amazing. I thought pregnancy is easy, like this
is like the easiest thing ever. And so when cam happened,
I didn't. It didn't never dawned on me that things
could go wrong, and so hearing other people talk about it.
I was like, you just never know who else is
dealing with stuff. And once I put it public and
people were, you know, praying for us, and it wasn't
(21:57):
a type of thing where it was like I thought
it was fake. It was I felt the genuine support
And so from there, I think I just had to
keep sharing because more and more people with DM me
like I'm dealing with the same exact thing right now,
or we will meet people like, hey, you know, I
didn't have the same outcome as us, and like, just
sharing those things, you realize people go through it way
(22:17):
more and I had no idea so many people dealt
with it so and it helps other people to see
someone else experiencing something similar. Yeah, it was scary because
we were in grad school at the time and we
were seeing a genetic doctor. And every time my phone
went ring with that four one no number, like my
heart would like, I didn't want to answer the phone
because she was giving me the results of this next
(22:39):
test that we took, and so it was scary. It
was really really scary during that time. But the last
time she called me and whatever the test was, I
can't even block it. Um it was negative for whatever
it was, and I remember just like being so relieved
and like really thinking back to all the hundreds and
thousands of people who prayed for us, and I was
like that, that's awesome. And that's a special part of
(23:02):
that community that you've built because you've been so public,
is that you do have those people supporting you and
behind you at a time like that. That's really special,
really cool. So, like like we're talking, you do share
your lives publicly and fans get to see kind of,
you know, unique perspective at all the different personalities in
your household, and you built this. You have this really
(23:22):
unique community that you feel on Instagram. I know you
guys did a lot during COVID with like zooms and
all that to why was that important to you guys
to do? COVID brought a lot of people together, which
was cool, But in terms of sharing, I feel like,
especially early on, I was also the person who would
go to Instagram and be like, oh my gosh, this
person is the perfect mom and oh my gosh, the
(23:42):
lunches are so cute and the house is clean, and
she spoke to her husband like I was. I thought
I was failing Because you go on social media and
you see all the things and it just looked great,
and I was like this is isn't this? I used
always a story. Why is it so hard for me? What?
What am I doing wrong? And at that time, too,
(24:03):
I thought getting help was like a negative thing, like
being a super mom was like the badge of honor,
and I just was like this is fake, Like I'm
not about to act like you know, And so I
try for me because I know how much I struggle
with it. And it was a process I I had
to grow to be comfortable with, like I'm not the
(24:24):
best cook and that's okay, Like I don't like cooking,
you know, and so, but I'm really good at teaching
my kids and like so I tried to focus on
my strengths and that helped me realize that some people
do have it all together. There are some people who
can do everything. That's cool, that's great. I don't want
to do everything, this is what I realized. Like I
don't want to cook, clean, teach my kids, make cute lunch.
(24:47):
I don't want to do all those things. Like I
want to teach my kids and do the stuff that
I love to do and that I'm good at. And
when I started focusing on that, I started to realize, like, oh,
everybody thinks how with me? People like you are such
an amazing I'm like, I don't know how you do
it all. I'm like, I don't, like, I can't like
do you not? So I thought it was I honestly
still feel that it's my duty to like show it all.
(25:10):
And I'm like, if you watch my Instagram and you
think that I have a perfect life, I'm failing because
I don't know what you're looking at. Um. So you know,
I think that that's important because it is so easy
to get caught up in what everyone else is doing
and comparing your life to other people other people's lives
totally and like they always say, comparisons to Thief of Joy.
Everyone else is highlight real, but everybody. And and that's
(25:32):
because also I knew a lot of people who looked
extremely happy on social media, and I knew like they
were going through crazy stuff, and I was like, oh
my gosh, I can imagine how many people are like
this and everybody thinks it's perfect and it's not even
close relationship relationship goals, Like the people I have relationship
goals where I'm like, they go through the same crap
(25:54):
that we go through, like you know, so and it's
easy just to like want more and think that your
life is not enough because of social media. So totally,
so we're talking about kind of like your social media community.
But you guys have also done really hands on work
and especially in this Baltimore community. You started the Level
eighty two fund together. So how did that come about?
And what does that focus on? So we it was
(26:15):
the Tories Been Family Fund and then we switched over
to the Level eighty two. But we've always been about
really just helping kids. That's where it started, um and
now we're really focused on the entire family. And we
realized we can help the kids all we want, but
if we're not helping, you know, when they go home,
it's the same situation. Who then we're not really doing
our job. And so I had a love from from
(26:35):
teaching and just how I grew up. My family always
needed support. If I didn't have my coaches and my
mentors and all that, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Same thing for Tory, like his family always needed support.
So we just that's God because the two of us
coming together and having that type of passion for it.
It could be a lot like we do. We give
(26:56):
a lot, and I think that God knew what he
was doing when he put us together. But also like
we have to like balance each other because we do
so much for the community, where like we gotta remember
to keep each other. We still have to like deal
with our family too. Um, so it's a it's a
big balance. So now we have Hilt and Wreck in
West Baltimore, and that's kind of like now instead of
(27:18):
doing everyone gives us calls like can you come do this?
You sorry? We have the right center, Like that's where
we do all our work. And it's been a lot
easier to say no to other stuff because we realize
you can do a bunch of little stuff everywhere, but
that's not helping anything if you're just spreading yourself all
over and giving everybody a little bit. Just focus on this,
you know, this one group for now, and then if
(27:38):
we can you know, go from there, we can. And
I feel like an underrated piece of that too is
the amount of time and energy you put in your
own children's programming, like with their youth sports and kind
of like investing in those as well, yeah, so that's
what I'm dealing with. Now. I have two of my
wreck mommies and grandmammy's here. Um, they know summertime we
(28:00):
were so last summer was the first year we did
the full summer program, and I was kind of killing
myself because I'm coaching in Pennsylvania, running the rec center
and trying to be a decent mom and wife, um,
and that kind of like was too much. And then
this summer, I was like, the only way we do
this is my kids can come to camp with us.
So kids came to camp with us. So it was beautiful.
(28:23):
It was great. But now, like I had to make
the hard decision because we were doing the after school program.
I'm like, I have to be home for my kids
after school. So I had to find that balance of
like doing both. And there's certain times when I'm there
every day. In the past what three weeks, i haven't
been there at all, So it's a tough balance to
like take care of home and then take care of
(28:44):
your other home because the other home is my there,
my baby's do it, um. And when I show up,
their kids, Danny and Torell shoot out and it's us
be so happy Um, but it's hard. It's hard to
it's hard to do both. And you can be everywhere
at once, can't be everywhere at once. So I had
some help from my girl Shelby in the back there.
I had her as Tori too three words to describe you,
(29:09):
you said, all I'm like, oh, I'm gonna give his
three for you, and then I want three for him
because I'll likely started thinking about it. So tories three
for Chanelle are selfless, dependable, and indecisive. Is that fair? So? Fair? Fair,
(29:32):
that's fair, fair, It's okay. What what would your three
for him? Be? All right, let me give the good
ones first? Um, he said, I'm dependable. I'm he's extremely dependable.
Um loyal. I feel like I get one bad one
because he gave me one bit stubborn subburn stubborn. Well
(29:55):
y'all saying yes, they know the audience is like a stubburn.
So now that he's like officially retired from playing, like,
how does that change life? You know, I thought it
was gonna be like I had it all twisted because
I really thought that we were just going to be
living life for once, like we were going to be
chilling going on vacation. Sometimes as soon as he retired.
(30:20):
The next month, he's like, oh, we're about to we're
about to buy this building for this rec center. And
I was like, whoa, just like you just got done
last month, like let's let's enjoy life, like let's chill.
And we November we were signing the lease for the
rec center. So like things have gotten we've been the
(30:42):
most busiest now than ever before. Well that's kind of
like you said before, like the two of you so
much want to do everything good that it's kind of
have to, like you gotta really, we gotta have we
need somebody to say no. Like I was the one.
I'm driving to Pennsylvania every week to track for free,
like this is what I'm choosing to do. He's choosing
(31:04):
to do seven on seven and like we're doing all
these things and then the rec center is just so
much that I told him I wish we would have
just paused, if I if we could do it over.
But oh, that's the other word. Impulsive, that's the word.
That's the main word. He when he puts his mind
on something, it's like, we gotta do this tomorrow. And
(31:25):
I'm like, so many people don't know this, but we're
moving and he's found this house. The next like week,
he's like, are you ready? I'm like one week. But
he's when he wants something and he's seen something and
he goes for it and he doesn't listen to me
all the time. They say opposite of tracks. He said,
(31:46):
you're indecisive, and then he's very to meet in the middle.
So that's exactly right. We need we needed, we need
a middle man. Why was Baltimore where you guys decided
long term? Obviously you've jumped around city the city, especially
when he was playing, So why was Baltimore the right fit?
A couple of reasons. One, we this was our base
since we met in Maryland, and then most of our
(32:07):
friends are here and we became adults here. It's midway
between Pennsylvania and Virginia, which is perfect. Parents got to
drive two hours to get to us UM. And then
the main reason was because of the community work. Like
we always said, we weren't going to just start something
leave and then just because we're on a different team,
we're never coming back. So we made that commitment and
(32:29):
we were sticking to it. So that's awesome. I have
one last thing, before you before we take some fan
questions here. This is our little purple hot seat, quick
little game of this or that, so you guys are
gonna grown at this one too. The favorite team Tory
has played on favorite NFL stadium. It could be on
(32:52):
the road, so you can't pick stadium bank. I didn't
go to a lot of away games, so I really
who had the best food? You know? I will say
I did like san Fran. I did like um san
Fran and Carolina only because it took me five minutes
to get there. This traffic. It's not fun. Turps win
(33:18):
or Ravens win, It's not hard, guys. I'm a bad alone,
so I barely watched Turps games. But Ravens perfect and
football or track surprisingly, I'm crazy now that te J's
playing football football all the way. Well, and she said
she didn't really like track. Really, I like coaching it,
(33:41):
but like football gets me like the super exciting love that.
But you know what, I didn't like football when Tori played.
I had because I had really bad anxiety. Anytime flag,
I would throw the ball like long, I knew what
was going to Tory, and I would like close my
eyes worked out most of the time, though, grab these
fan questions for you, gosh, thank you, all right. The
(34:03):
first one, who I like this? What was your favorite
or most memorable charity event you've taken part in? Oh,
charity event? Not an event? But our summer camp is
so lit? Like, I love our summer camp. It's awesome.
Out of all your children, Oh, I like this? Which
one reminds you of yourself? We got Cocoa off here.
(34:27):
Why she's crazy? She has my like she's so goofy.
She's a goofy little girl. She's the only thing she
I don't know where she got this from. She's like
really girly on one side, so that's always a struggle.
But she's super goofy, stubborn, and she's just cool. She's
(34:48):
a dope little girls so cute, all right. And the
last one is what's your favorite memory of the Ravens
outside the super Bowl? Outside of the super Bowl? Outside
of the super Bowl. I don't have like a particular memory.
It's just like the girls were amazing, Like we did
(35:10):
Bible study together, We did so many things together. I
do remember the Halloween party that webb Untilio three. That
was fun. I don't know, I'm bad with that. I
didn't go out much, guys. I really I was bad
on all teams with like participating in activities. I always
I'm a home body. I always stayed home and when
you have kids, it's like and then when they had
(35:31):
the kids, I got worse and worse on h T
All right, well perfect, Thank you so much Chanelle for
the time, do it all, and thank you all so
much for coming. Hopefully we'll do this again sometime. Thank you, guys.
(35:52):
Janelle is so funny. And if you're not already following
her and her family's antics on Instagram at Chanelle Smith
Underscore twenty two, you're missing out. Speaking of antics, want
to catch all up on my favorite road trip of
the year as we were in New Orleans right before
the bye week, a big dub on Monday Night football,
and it was even more special for me because Nola
(36:14):
is where I got my start right out of college.
I interned for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. They
have the same ownership, so their staffs work for both teams.
It was so fun for me right out of college
to a be living in the big easy and b
get experience in the NBA and NFL in one year.
I ohe where I am today to my two bosses,
Alex Rastrepo and Doug Tatum for believing in me and
(36:37):
giving me opportunities both in social and on air at
the young age of twenty two. That organization will always
hold a special place in my heart. My fiance was
also able to make the trip with the Ravens corporate
sales team, so it was extra fun for him to
get to meet my friends and experience the city with me.
And now we're back from the bye week, refreshed and
(36:57):
recharged to finish this season out strong. I'm really excited
about our next guest on the podcast, as we'll be
joined by first year defensive coordinator Mike McDonald's wife's Steph
to talk about the crazy year that they've had and
she's actually a former Ravens cheerleader, so she has a
really unique perspective on the organization. Don't forget to leave
(37:19):
us a rating and review. If you're enjoying the podcast,
subscribe and tell all your friends I'll talk to you soon.
What is up, Raven Sans Happy Tuesday. We are just
getting back to the office after a few wonderful days
off for the bye, and boy are they more fun
after a win. I'm so excited to share this week's
Purple Chair Podcasts, where we amplify women in and around
the game with you. I'm taking you inside our first
ever live podcast taping right here at the Castle with
(00:30):
Chanelle Smith, wife of Raven's legend Tory Smith. A mother, educator, coach,
and philanthropist. She is a badass in her own right.
You'll hear the audience laughing and engaging along with you,
and I think this is one of our most unique
episodes yet. Let's get to it. Hello, Hi everyone. If
(00:51):
you guys saw us for being here, I really appreciate you.
I got like three hours of sleep because I came
back with the team from Tampa, So if I don't
make any said, that's why I appreciate you all coming
so much. Thanks so much to Katie for organizing this.
She does a great job with all of our Purple events,
and Shelby's back there in the control room running all
(01:12):
our audio, so I really appreciate her. She helps me
with all of these podcasts. And last but not least,
we have Chanelle Smith, who's our esteemed guests this evening,
So I give it out for her. We'll write her out.
I feel like we need like some music like Ellen. Yeah,
there she goes, I'm gonna do the compet challenge with
(01:37):
me later I said I'd film it, okay, so you
all know her. She needs no introduction round, give her
one anyway. So she's the wife of Raven's legend Tory Smith,
a mother, educator, coach, and philanthropist. So like, once again,
let's give her one last round of applause? Were you
(01:58):
thank getting her? All? Right? Let's get started. So you're
an athlete in your own right. You were an athlete
at the University of Maryland Division one athlete obviously, So
what was kind of your journey to getting to Maryland? Oh?
So I ran tracked my entire life. Am I talking
to the audience or to you? Um? We're all friends here. Um.
So I ran track my entire life basically indoor, outdoor,
(02:20):
cross country, all the things. I hated it, um, but
I was pretty good at it, and so my family,
obviously we didn't have a lot of money, so I
knew I had to get to college and I had
to pay for it UM, and so I suck with it.
In Maryland. I visited one time and I was like,
I'm coming here. So that's how I got there. So
what was it like for you in college? Kind of
(02:41):
balancing being a student athlete and being a student. It
was tough. UM. In high school, I kind of just
got through. I wasn't like the person who was always studying,
and you know, I just could do it and I
just was naturally able to get a's on my tests,
and so it was fine and it was easy. And
then I got to college and we had six am
hills on Mondays and eight am class and I struggled
(03:05):
my first investor. I got my first D ever in
life UM, and then I learned very quickly that I
had to make some real adult decisions and go to
bed early and you know, be responsible. And so after
I got that D, that was kind of a wake
up call because I hated study hall and I was
able to you know, I had knew I had a
job I had to do. Both were equally important. I
(03:25):
had to school and I had to do UM track,
and so I just did what I needed to do,
and that is basically two full time jobs it was.
And then I was working. You know, I was working
at night at the commons. Alexus is here, she knows
what the comments are. UM. So I would work in
the communs at night. Because as a student athlete, we
don't have it nice now or you get money and
you you know, you can do all these things. We
(03:46):
got our scholarships and that was it to like weekends,
we were kind of on our own with food and
all that. So I had to work. So we were working.
I was working running track, trying to do my best
there and then trying to do my best in school.
So you did outdoor and door track right outdoor and indoor,
and we we pretty much trained all year. We were
training in the fall, in the summer, um. So it
was kind of a it was a year round thing. Yeah,
(04:08):
did you have a favorite event? You know, I hate
a track because I'm not alive. None of them, None
of them. I can't tell you that I loved any
of it. Um. I think people can relate to that.
Most people don't enjoy running and yeah, most people don't, UM,
but I will tell you I did. When I was younger,
I had to do long distance and I would cry
(04:28):
the entire three laps my races, but my coach made
me do it. And then in high school, somebody didn't
show up to practice one day or didn't show up
to a meet, and they let me try hurdles, and
I like broke the record on my first on the
first thing, and so I was like, oh, I could
do this. I think the hurdles were kind of a
distraction from the pain, so just up over. Yeah. So
(04:50):
I loved hurdles and and I grew to love it.
And the biggest the reason why I hated I have
bad anxiety, which I didn't know until I was an
adult that I really, like, this is a real thing.
But I would get so nervous that I would like
psych myself out of everything, and so I didn't have
the mental toughness that I needed. But I did my
best practice. I would kill everybody at practice, and then
(05:11):
the meats will come and I would freak out, but
I still it was pretty good. Someone just broke my
record in college last year, so that's that goes down. Yeah.
I tried hurdles one time in high school track, and
I think I like pushed one it's not something that
everyone should try, right. We see some of those YouTube
videos of the girls going down real quickly. So we're
(05:33):
in college at this point. How did you and Tori meet? So?
Tor and I met. I had just gotten out of
a really long relationship and I didn't really like live
my college experience. So I was just calling myself having fun,
and um, I saw him one a at the bar
and I was like, Oh, he's cute, and I was
just like being super extra not myself. Um and then
(05:56):
and uh, I probably made him uncomfortable, but we we
didn't end up talking then. And then, Um, after I
got out of my relationship, I was just out more.
I was living life, and so we saw each other
a lot more. We saw each other at a party
and kind of flirt it. Then he swears that I
was like way more and you know, interested than he
(06:16):
was with his doctor. He's such a bigger So we
just started being like he was at a point of
his life that I didn't know that he was really
struggling with stuff at home. I had just gotten out
of this relationship and so we just were really good
friends and we honestly, probably for five six months we
were together every day, every night, and we swore this
(06:37):
was nothing. Um and Tory would make it a point
to tell me like, yeah, you're on my top five
like he would right. So I kind of like played
into it even though there was no time to be
with anybody else. But that's fine. UM. So I would
just make him like if he called me out, and
(06:58):
make him call me like three times before. And then
we finally were like what are we doing here? And
we made a decision that we'll make it official. So
when did you when you think you both knew like okay,
like this is the one that's a hard one. Um.
So when he was entering and when he decided to
enter to leave school early and enter for the draft,
(07:21):
I was like, oh, yeah, I didn't sign up for this.
I'm not the type of person like I can't deal
with too many things. Um and uh, he made it
very clear like no, I was like I want to
do this. And he met my you know, we went home,
he met my family, UM, I met his family and
then we just just I just asked straight up, like
(07:41):
what what do you want to do? Because we were
at the point then where if we would have split,
I wouldn't have cried it would be like, all that's sad,
but it wouldn't have been like in the world. You know,
it was at that point where it could go either
way at this point, um, and so we just decided
to do it. We we enjoyed each other's company. We
have fun. So so what is that time like then
that there's so many eyeballs, Like you're kind of thrust
(08:04):
into spotlight at that point, like you're going through the
draft process, you're also kind of like figuring out your
relationship together, Like what is that time? Like? It wasn't
as bad for us because we went to Maryland, so
like I had a friends, like my base of friends
were here. I didn't go through the whole like having
to move across the country. We kind of like joke
that if he didn't go to the Ravens, then we
(08:26):
were we would decide because I wasn't moving. I just
started teaching, like it was I wasn't going to uproot
my life and because I had so much going on
and so uh, we kind of like our relationship was
on like ice at that point, like what are we
going to do? And then when he got drafted to Ravens,
were like, oh, this was meant to be like this
(08:47):
is you know, it all worked out so and that
doesn't happen that often, like a Maryland player to the NS.
It was. Yeah, it was kind of crazy. So are
you still dating at that point? We're together at that point. Yeah,
We're definitely together at that point. So when did and
how did he propose? It was in true Tory fashion.
So we had a photo shoot that he had with
our dogs at the time, and this was normal. He
(09:10):
does photo shootes all the time. Um. And so we
had a photo shoot and he told me to come.
I just was coming and my aunt was encouraging, my
friend was encouraged me to get dressed. I'm like, why
am I getta dress for his photo shoot? Um? And
so she was like making a big deal and I'm like,
you know, I don't wear makeup and do all the things.
So I looked very basic that day too. Um. And
(09:32):
so I went to the photo shoot and they're like, oh,
Chanel jump in a couple of pictures, mind you, Tori
has on like a nice shirt at the top, sweatpants
and dress shoes. Like it was. It was like all
the things in one picture. So it was it was
there was no thought in my mind. But the week before,
(09:54):
two weeks before, someone had said and was it's supposed
to obviously said, you know, tor is gonna propose to
you soon. And we were at the point it was
a little It was a little girl. It wasn't an adult.
She didn't know any better. Um, But I remember like
we weren't in the point of our relationship where it
(10:14):
was like this is obvious, like it was. It was
probably a little rocket. We were dealing like a lot
of family stuff and just like new NFL stuff and
all that thing. So I did. It wasn't like the
time that I would expect it. But this little girl
had mentioned it to me at dinner at Jimmy's and
I was like, what, like whatever, you know whatever, I
kept going. So when he did, he did, he even
(10:36):
get down one knee, he did, Okay, So I tried
to walk it out because I was so awkward. I
tried to I tried to block it out. So he
in his sweatsuit suit situation, he got down on one
knee and he just asked me, and I remember being like,
(10:57):
what like, And I think in my head I had
like this little girl had just told me it was
just really and I am awkward with like emotions, so
it was just really awkward. I was just like, what
are you saying? Stop playing? I just koda saying. I
kept saying, and I was probably I think I was
using other words, but I was like, stop playing it.
(11:17):
And then I was like, yes, it was so awkward.
I'm sorry. I was sorry to disappoint you, guys. But
it wasn't cute. It wasn't like I wasn't like crying
and like, oh my gosh, it was I just remember
being because I, like Tori I had it was always
in a relationship, guys. I was a relationship girl. Um,
(11:39):
but that was the first relationship where I felt like
this is like, this is how it's supposed to be.
And it was weird for me that he in this
moment was like asking me to be with him forever,
and I was like, this is not real life, Like
this doesn't happen, you know. And I think at that
time I didn't think that I was like worthy to
be a wife. So I think that was like all
the emotions, which was like it was just real weird
(12:01):
and awkward and like I didn't say like when I
was a little like I'm gonna be you know, have
this wedding and it's gonna be so pretty never that
I just wasn't that girl. So the whole moment was awkward,
but I said yes, and then you know it, did
the little girl actually know? Or did she just like
she did know? So he had told her mom and
(12:23):
she so I guess she was around the rat. I
hope she doesn't see this. I forget I like she
she didn't forgive herself, but I was like it's fine, Like,
well you don't take like something that some little kids seriously.
I didn't take her seriously at all, you know. So
so like as your newly wits and he's kind of
figuring out the NFL and you're figuring out being married,
(12:44):
Like what is that time period like for you guys? Um,
So after we got engaged, I think this is years
than it's been almost ten years going back. Um, after
we got engaged, we were still like setting boundary with
family and like we were like going through real stuff
at that time. Nothing relationship ending, but it was enough
(13:07):
to be like we gotta figure this out before we
even think about getting married. And then I guess I
was getting on his nerves, so he was like, can
we He was like, can we just do that? Can
we just get married this summer? And I was like
what in three months? Like you're crazy whatever, And he
was like, you can spend how much you want on
the wedding if you get we do it this summer.
And I was like okay, and so we got and
(13:30):
so we got married that summer. So it happened. It
happened kind of fast. But you know, he's come from
a single family household. You know his mom, he has
a lot of siblings. He was taking care of everybody.
There were just a lot of things that like when
we get married, like things are are going to have
to change a little bit um. And so that was
(13:50):
that three months quick period was like a learning period
for us. We did a lot of like work, we
did our premarital you know, therapy and all that, and
then we got married. Is great, and we pulled it
off in three months. Pull it off in three months.
It was so lit You'll remember what y'all remember the pictures.
It was it was like that everyone wants people to
(14:11):
say about their wedding. Yeah, so I thought I would
be the person, especially we were both I don't want
to say cheap repruval, but we don't like to spend
a lot of money. So everything we did was like
when did we get married to out thirteen? We won
a super Bowl in two thousands twelve. It just so
happened that we had just won the super Bowl. So
everybody was like, Oh, we'll do this for you, we'll
(14:32):
do this, we'll do this, and we were like, we'll
post it for you, we'll you know, and so it
was like a lot of trade offs. Our wedding was like,
should have been double the price that it was, but
because we had so many connects, so it was it
was memorable. It wasn't like we didn't regret spending that money.
That's quite a year off the super Bowl and then
you get married and then I then we went right
at it and got pregnant. I got pregnant like the
(14:55):
next month. It's a lot of life changes a lot.
It isn't crazy. People honestly thought that we got married
sooner because I was pregnant and I was like, you
don't know how to do Matt. So that's a crazy year. Though.
There's a lot of life changes. So let's go back
to the super Bowl. What was that time, like for you, like,
(15:16):
you haven't he hasn't even been in the NFL for
that long at that point, and he went a super Bowl. Yeah,
I think we kind of were spoiled because the first
year we went, we almost made it to the super Bowl,
and then the next year we were in it. So
we were just having fun, living life, um, and it
was it was a lot. It was hard then too,
because like everybody, we're young. He's young, and he's like, oh,
(15:38):
the whole family comes to the super Bowl and then
like you just learn the second super Bowl wasn't the same. Um.
But we learned just like just so many things with
money and family and life. And at that time, we
were struggling a lot because it wasn't cool to bring
your girlfriend anywhere. It wasn't cool. We were going through
the phase where we came out of college and we
(15:59):
were at the club together party and all the time.
And now it's not cool to bring your what your
your girlfriend to the club. Um, And so we had
to navigate all the new rookie stuff um. And then
we went through a phase of like, oh, when I
first came it was like, oh, everybody wears heels to
the game. Okay, I don't even own the Mary just sorry,
(16:22):
come up your heels as a no. So I did
this for you guys. I don't usually I usually wear deals,
but I remember being like, this is like every week. Um,
So I think it was just it was a cool experience.
The team was great that that super Bowl team was
just like the family forever, but lots of different personalities,
(16:43):
lots of different things. So just Tori finding who he
was in the grand scheme of like everyone has all
these nice cars and all the things. He's in crops
every day, like and if we did go through a
period where we felt like we had to like do
these things. And then I think after the Super Bowl
were like, yeah, this is not us, Like it's cool.
We can just be who we are. And it was great.
(17:05):
From there, it's like a keeping up with the Jones
is kind of thing, like everyone else is doing it,
so what we're supposed to be doing. And then so
like Tori brought a chain his first year, got this
car he's more like twice and we were like, see,
this is this is not who we are. So he
like sold the chain bag. They didn't have to change anymore.
He goes to the practice in Crocks and Mitch it's
(17:26):
really trifling what he does. He's at least I Matt.
When I leave the house, he would come to the
locker room and anything, and the guys gave him a
lot of slack wore it. But well, I feel like
that's part of like becoming an adult, no matter like
who you are is kind of like finding your own
way and like figuring out like who you're going to be.
And that's just kind of on a grander scale when
you're doing it in the NFL. Yeah, And then I
(17:47):
started going back to the club with him. He was
comfortable and so at all it all worked out from there.
So we talked about, you know, coming out of college,
you guys were local, and so obviously it works at
well that you're staying here and with the Ravens. But
what about when he leaves so in free agency, goes
to forty Niners? What is that like? As you kind
of I mean, that's probably about as far away as
(18:09):
it can be, So what is that like? So for
us Um, I think I had just had t j
UM and I had stopped teaching, so we knew we
were the whole family was going. But that was a
critical period for us, where like we were dealing with
a lot of outside stuff and because most of you
guys know Tory was very you know in the community.
(18:31):
We were always in the community, like very accessible. Um,
that break was like lovely and so it came at
a perfect time where it was like we went straight
from college to be in we were didn't have kids yet,
but we were always taking care of someone. Someone's always
with us, and so havn't being across the country and
people have to fly to you and they have to
pay to fly to you. It was It was a
(18:53):
great It wasn't great on the field to your break,
but it was a too good just for our family.
It was a good break because then it's just really
like the three of you. That was it. Yeah, that
was it. That's awesome. So okay, then let's fast forward.
It goes to the Eagles next next big move. Obviously
wins the second Super Bowl there, So what was that
time like in which Super Bowl was better? Tough crowd,
(19:22):
a room. No, y'all are crazy. You're not gonna set
me up like that. So when we came back to
the Eagles, I'm from outside of Philly, so I thought
that I was gonna hate my life because like just
everyone asking for tickets and this and this and this
and this, and surprisingly like I had the best time
(19:46):
in this little tiny apartment in Philly, being able to
see my family every day. I'm coaching track now, I'm
like doing all the things I love. UM. I have
helped with the kids. We have two kids at that time. Now,
UM had help with the kids. The team great. And
the crazy thing is all teams are. All teams are great,
and all the people are great, UM, but there is
(20:07):
something special when you get with a team like that year.
It felt like our super Bowl, Like just the vibe
the teammates, like every everything felt just like this is
supposed to happen with this team and kind of like
the Ravens, where like things were just happening. That was
like this, it was meant for us to go to
Super Bowl this year. That's kind of how it felt
with that team. So it was really cool. But nothing
(20:29):
will ever top the feeling here UM that we had.
So that's awesome. So you mentioned that your family was
expanding at that time and when you were pregnant with Cam.
I believe you had the complicated pregnancy that the two
of you decided that you were going to share publicly,
you know, to share your story to help other people.
(20:50):
So what kind of went into your decision for that
to be something that you decided to share because obviously
it's something you have to share publicly. I think since
we were always so public and the community, like people
always warned us to like not don't put everything on
social media, don't put every but people didn't understand the
connection we had with the community, like, no, these are
people like when we go places, it's not like well
(21:13):
they did say, oh my gosh, Tory Smith, but after
that it was like, you know, just normal interactions. And
so I kind of felt like I was holding it
in a secret, like going through it all. And then
once I think, I don't know what I posted and
something I think someone might have d M me and
said something that they were going through and I was like, crap,
(21:34):
there's and my du t J. The pregnancy with t
J was amazing. I thought pregnancy is easy, like this
is like the easiest thing ever. And so when cam happened,
I didn't. It didn't never dawned on me that things
could go wrong, and so hearing other people talk about it.
I was like, you just never know who else is
dealing with stuff. And once I put it public and
people were, you know, praying for us, and it wasn't
(21:57):
a type of thing where it was like I thought
it was fake. It was I felt the genuine support
And so from there, I think I just had to
keep sharing because more and more people with DM me
like I'm dealing with the same exact thing right now,
or we will meet people like, hey, you know, I
didn't have the same outcome as us, and like, just
sharing those things, you realize people go through it way
(22:17):
more and I had no idea so many people dealt
with it so and it helps other people to see
someone else experiencing something similar. Yeah, it was scary because
we were in grad school at the time and we
were seeing a genetic doctor. And every time my phone
went ring with that four one no number, like my
heart would like, I didn't want to answer the phone
because she was giving me the results of this next
(22:39):
test that we took, and so it was scary. It
was really really scary during that time. But the last
time she called me and whatever the test was, I
can't even block it. Um it was negative for whatever
it was, and I remember just like being so relieved
and like really thinking back to all the hundreds and
thousands of people who prayed for us, and I was
like that, that's awesome. And that's a special part of
(23:02):
that community that you've built because you've been so public,
is that you do have those people supporting you and
behind you at a time like that. That's really special,
really cool. So, like like we're talking, you do share
your lives publicly and fans get to see kind of,
you know, unique perspective at all the different personalities in
your household, and you built this. You have this really
(23:22):
unique community that you feel on Instagram. I know you
guys did a lot during COVID with like zooms and
all that to why was that important to you guys
to do? COVID brought a lot of people together, which
was cool, But in terms of sharing, I feel like,
especially early on, I was also the person who would
go to Instagram and be like, oh my gosh, this
person is the perfect mom and oh my gosh, the
(23:42):
lunches are so cute and the house is clean, and
she spoke to her husband like I was. I thought
I was failing Because you go on social media and
you see all the things and it just looked great,
and I was like this is isn't this? I used
always a story. Why is it so hard for me? What?
What am I doing wrong? And at that time, too,
(24:03):
I thought getting help was like a negative thing, like
being a super mom was like the badge of honor,
and I just was like this is fake, Like I'm
not about to act like you know, And so I
try for me because I know how much I struggle
with it. And it was a process I I had
to grow to be comfortable with, like I'm not the
(24:24):
best cook and that's okay, Like I don't like cooking,
you know, and so, but I'm really good at teaching
my kids and like so I tried to focus on
my strengths and that helped me realize that some people
do have it all together. There are some people who
can do everything. That's cool, that's great. I don't want
to do everything, this is what I realized. Like I
don't want to cook, clean, teach my kids, make cute lunch.
(24:47):
I don't want to do all those things. Like I
want to teach my kids and do the stuff that
I love to do and that I'm good at. And
when I started focusing on that, I started to realize, like, oh,
everybody thinks how with me? People like you are such
an amazing I'm like, I don't know how you do
it all. I'm like, I don't, like, I can't like
do you not? So I thought it was I honestly
still feel that it's my duty to like show it all.
(25:10):
And I'm like, if you watch my Instagram and you
think that I have a perfect life, I'm failing because
I don't know what you're looking at. Um. So you know,
I think that that's important because it is so easy
to get caught up in what everyone else is doing
and comparing your life to other people other people's lives
totally and like they always say, comparisons to Thief of Joy.
Everyone else is highlight real, but everybody. And and that's
(25:32):
because also I knew a lot of people who looked
extremely happy on social media, and I knew like they
were going through crazy stuff, and I was like, oh
my gosh, I can imagine how many people are like
this and everybody thinks it's perfect and it's not even
close relationship relationship goals, Like the people I have relationship
goals where I'm like, they go through the same crap
(25:54):
that we go through, like you know, so and it's
easy just to like want more and think that your
life is not enough because of social media. So totally,
so we're talking about kind of like your social media community.
But you guys have also done really hands on work
and especially in this Baltimore community. You started the Level
eighty two fund together. So how did that come about?
And what does that focus on? So we it was
(26:15):
the Tories Been Family Fund and then we switched over
to the Level eighty two. But we've always been about
really just helping kids. That's where it started, um and
now we're really focused on the entire family. And we
realized we can help the kids all we want, but
if we're not helping, you know, when they go home,
it's the same situation. Who then we're not really doing
our job. And so I had a love from from
(26:35):
teaching and just how I grew up. My family always
needed support. If I didn't have my coaches and my
mentors and all that, I wouldn't be where I am today.
Same thing for Tory, like his family always needed support.
So we just that's God because the two of us
coming together and having that type of passion for it.
It could be a lot like we do. We give
(26:56):
a lot, and I think that God knew what he
was doing when he put us together. But also like
we have to like balance each other because we do
so much for the community, where like we gotta remember
to keep each other. We still have to like deal
with our family too. Um, so it's a it's a
big balance. So now we have Hilt and Wreck in
West Baltimore, and that's kind of like now instead of
(27:18):
doing everyone gives us calls like can you come do this?
You sorry? We have the right center, Like that's where
we do all our work. And it's been a lot
easier to say no to other stuff because we realize
you can do a bunch of little stuff everywhere, but
that's not helping anything if you're just spreading yourself all
over and giving everybody a little bit. Just focus on this,
you know, this one group for now, and then if
(27:38):
we can you know, go from there, we can. And
I feel like an underrated piece of that too is
the amount of time and energy you put in your
own children's programming, like with their youth sports and kind
of like investing in those as well, yeah, so that's
what I'm dealing with. Now. I have two of my
wreck mommies and grandmammy's here. Um, they know summertime we
(28:00):
were so last summer was the first year we did
the full summer program, and I was kind of killing
myself because I'm coaching in Pennsylvania, running the rec center
and trying to be a decent mom and wife, um,
and that kind of like was too much. And then
this summer, I was like, the only way we do
this is my kids can come to camp with us.
So kids came to camp with us. So it was beautiful.
(28:23):
It was great. But now, like I had to make
the hard decision because we were doing the after school program.
I'm like, I have to be home for my kids
after school. So I had to find that balance of
like doing both. And there's certain times when I'm there
every day. In the past what three weeks, i haven't
been there at all, So it's a tough balance to
like take care of home and then take care of
(28:44):
your other home because the other home is my there,
my baby's do it, um. And when I show up,
their kids, Danny and Torell shoot out and it's us
be so happy Um, but it's hard. It's hard to
it's hard to do both. And you can be everywhere
at once, can't be everywhere at once. So I had
some help from my girl Shelby in the back there.
I had her as Tori too three words to describe you,
(29:09):
you said, all I'm like, oh, I'm gonna give his
three for you, and then I want three for him
because I'll likely started thinking about it. So tories three
for Chanelle are selfless, dependable, and indecisive. Is that fair? So? Fair? Fair,
(29:32):
that's fair, fair, It's okay. What what would your three
for him? Be? All right, let me give the good
ones first? Um, he said, I'm dependable. I'm he's extremely dependable.
Um loyal. I feel like I get one bad one
because he gave me one bit stubborn subburn stubborn. Well
(29:55):
y'all saying yes, they know the audience is like a stubburn.
So now that he's like officially retired from playing, like,
how does that change life? You know, I thought it
was gonna be like I had it all twisted because
I really thought that we were just going to be
living life for once, like we were going to be
chilling going on vacation. Sometimes as soon as he retired.
(30:20):
The next month, he's like, oh, we're about to we're
about to buy this building for this rec center. And
I was like, whoa, just like you just got done
last month, like let's let's enjoy life, like let's chill.
And we November we were signing the lease for the
rec center. So like things have gotten we've been the
(30:42):
most busiest now than ever before. Well that's kind of
like you said before, like the two of you so
much want to do everything good that it's kind of
have to, like you gotta really, we gotta have we
need somebody to say no. Like I was the one.
I'm driving to Pennsylvania every week to track for free,
like this is what I'm choosing to do. He's choosing
(31:04):
to do seven on seven and like we're doing all
these things and then the rec center is just so
much that I told him I wish we would have
just paused, if I if we could do it over.
But oh, that's the other word. Impulsive, that's the word.
That's the main word. He when he puts his mind
on something, it's like, we gotta do this tomorrow. And
(31:25):
I'm like, so many people don't know this, but we're
moving and he's found this house. The next like week,
he's like, are you ready? I'm like one week. But
he's when he wants something and he's seen something and
he goes for it and he doesn't listen to me
all the time. They say opposite of tracks. He said,
(31:46):
you're indecisive, and then he's very to meet in the middle.
So that's exactly right. We need we needed, we need
a middle man. Why was Baltimore where you guys decided
long term? Obviously you've jumped around city the city, especially
when he was playing, So why was Baltimore the right fit?
A couple of reasons. One, we this was our base
since we met in Maryland, and then most of our
(32:07):
friends are here and we became adults here. It's midway
between Pennsylvania and Virginia, which is perfect. Parents got to
drive two hours to get to us UM. And then
the main reason was because of the community work. Like
we always said, we weren't going to just start something
leave and then just because we're on a different team,
we're never coming back. So we made that commitment and
(32:29):
we were sticking to it. So that's awesome. I have
one last thing, before you before we take some fan
questions here. This is our little purple hot seat, quick
little game of this or that, so you guys are
gonna grown at this one too. The favorite team Tory
has played on favorite NFL stadium. It could be on
(32:52):
the road, so you can't pick stadium bank. I didn't
go to a lot of away games, so I really
who had the best food? You know? I will say
I did like san Fran. I did like um san
Fran and Carolina only because it took me five minutes
to get there. This traffic. It's not fun. Turps win
(33:18):
or Ravens win, It's not hard, guys. I'm a bad alone,
so I barely watched Turps games. But Ravens perfect and
football or track surprisingly, I'm crazy now that te J's
playing football football all the way. Well, and she said
she didn't really like track. Really, I like coaching it,
(33:41):
but like football gets me like the super exciting love that.
But you know what, I didn't like football when Tori played.
I had because I had really bad anxiety. Anytime flag,
I would throw the ball like long, I knew what
was going to Tory, and I would like close my
eyes worked out most of the time, though, grab these
fan questions for you, gosh, thank you, all right. The
(34:03):
first one, who I like this? What was your favorite
or most memorable charity event you've taken part in? Oh,
charity event? Not an event? But our summer camp is
so lit? Like, I love our summer camp. It's awesome.
Out of all your children, Oh, I like this? Which
one reminds you of yourself? We got Cocoa off here.
(34:27):
Why she's crazy? She has my like she's so goofy.
She's a goofy little girl. She's the only thing she
I don't know where she got this from. She's like
really girly on one side, so that's always a struggle.
But she's super goofy, stubborn, and she's just cool. She's
(34:48):
a dope little girls so cute, all right. And the
last one is what's your favorite memory of the Ravens
outside the super Bowl? Outside of the super Bowl? Outside
of the super Bowl. I don't have like a particular memory.
It's just like the girls were amazing, Like we did
(35:10):
Bible study together, We did so many things together. I
do remember the Halloween party that webb Untilio three. That
was fun. I don't know, I'm bad with that. I
didn't go out much, guys. I really I was bad
on all teams with like participating in activities. I always
I'm a home body. I always stayed home and when
you have kids, it's like and then when they had
(35:31):
the kids, I got worse and worse on h T
All right, well perfect, Thank you so much Chanelle for
the time, do it all, and thank you all so
much for coming. Hopefully we'll do this again sometime. Thank you, guys.
(35:52):
Janelle is so funny. And if you're not already following
her and her family's antics on Instagram at Chanelle Smith
Underscore twenty two, you're missing out. Speaking of antics, want
to catch all up on my favorite road trip of
the year as we were in New Orleans right before
the bye week, a big dub on Monday Night football,
and it was even more special for me because Nola
(36:14):
is where I got my start right out of college.
I interned for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. They
have the same ownership, so their staffs work for both teams.
It was so fun for me right out of college
to a be living in the big easy and b
get experience in the NBA and NFL in one year.
I ohe where I am today to my two bosses,
Alex Rastrepo and Doug Tatum for believing in me and
(36:37):
giving me opportunities both in social and on air at
the young age of twenty two. That organization will always
hold a special place in my heart. My fiance was
also able to make the trip with the Ravens corporate
sales team, so it was extra fun for him to
get to meet my friends and experience the city with me.
And now we're back from the bye week, refreshed and
(36:57):
recharged to finish this season out strong. I'm really excited
about our next guest on the podcast, as we'll be
joined by first year defensive coordinator Mike McDonald's wife's Steph
to talk about the crazy year that they've had and
she's actually a former Ravens cheerleader, so she has a
really unique perspective on the organization. Don't forget to leave
(37:19):
us a rating and review. If you're enjoying the podcast,
subscribe and tell all your friends I'll talk to you soon.
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