Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
Welcome back to community and Connections.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I'm your host, Drake Watson, along with Sam joining me
this morning. We are thrilled to have our guest, the
head coach of the Ohio Valley Ironman. I hope you've
heard of him, Manny Matt Sakis coach.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's great to be with you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I've spoken to you a time or two before during
the season, and what you guys have brought to the
community is really a special thing and we hope to
get deeper into that this morning, Sam and myself and
we hope to learn a little bit more about you
and your vision sort of for this new thing in
the community.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, thanks, Drake. Excited.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
It's nice to be, you know, back in the are
I grew up here, so it's fun to just get
back and enjoy bringing out the door NFL rules football
to the Ohio Valley.
Speaker 5 (01:03):
Let's get into a little bit of your background first.
So you are, like you said, you're a native of
the Ohio Valley and you went on to do huge
things came back to the valley. But give us a
little bit of your how do I want to say this,
Your glory days in.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Uniform come on glory days? Well, well, there's a bit
of the whole Ironman thing woven into it. I Originally,
my grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia, and
my dad went to West Liberties and the Hall of
(01:43):
Fame up there as a football player, and he went
on to coach in the Ohigh Valley. He was used
to be the head coach of Powhattan High School, which
doesn't exist anymore. And as a kid growing up in
the nineteen sixties, he used to take me to the
Ironman games on Wheeling Island and to the point where
(02:05):
in the late sixties when they became went from the
Wheeling Ironman to the Ohio Valley Iron and the head
coaches a fellow by the name of Lou Blumbling, and
Lou ended up being one of the top NFL scouts afterwards.
But Lou was also my father's defensive coordinator at.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Powhattan so and he was from Warwood as well.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
So just as a kid just being around those players
seeing that it just sort of like ingrained in my
psyche of what that was like to see these guys
that ultimately a lot of them went. The guys went
on and get Super Bowl rings and uh, you know,
playing the National Football League because we were a farm
team for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But then when my father
(02:47):
moved from Powhattan High School, they merged to River High School.
We moved to Shady Side because it was closer drive
for him, and so you know, that's where I really.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Grew up with Shady Side.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
So I was fortunate had a pretty decent career there
as an athlete's three sport athlete football, wrestling, track. I
was state champion discus thrower and track all State and
Ohio and football. And then I had opportunities to go
into college, so I went to small school in Columbus,
(03:20):
Ohio called Capital University. Was an All American there as
a football player. And then and then all of a sudden,
the ironman thing wove back in because I'm getting looked
at by a lot of NFL teams and uh, Lou
Blumbling comes back into my life. And uh and at
that point, he had been the lead scout for an
(03:40):
organization organization called Blessedo Blesedo stands for Bears, Lions, Eagles, Saints,
you know, just an acron okay, and he would always
come by check me out every year. It was like
this is strange, and then uh then I get drafted
pretty high by the Philadelphia Eagles. And after after going
I played it. There was a league in the spring
(04:01):
called the USFL, so I played down and I was
in Orlando, then Jacksonville, and then my last foray was
with the Indianapolis Colts. It was during the strike season
back in goodness in the nineties early nineties, so you know,
so that that was fun. And then I got into coaching,
and then I've been a college and professional football coach
(04:23):
for over thirty five years and been fortunate to do
be a head coach five times, and professionally, I was
the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers up in Canada,
and just have been at some great places. A lot
of every level of football, from big time programs like
Texas Tech and Kansas State and so forth, and even
(04:45):
some small schools are pretty awesome.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
So what is that world like for a lot of folks?
You know, you see it on TV the pros, and
you kind of have this vision or imagination of what
it is. You know what it is like, but what
is it really like living that lifestyle going from team
to team? You know, management, you know, they all have
(05:09):
different styles.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
That's got to be.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Tough to constantly have your your world flipped upside down
moving from team to team.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I've coached.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I think last I countered at sixteen different places, right, so.
Speaker 5 (05:24):
That's sixteen different bosses.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Well, or I was the boss five times.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
It's one of his crazy things. But I'm fortunately, I mean,
two of my guys. You know, Bill Snyder at Kansas
Day's in the College Football Hall of Fame. You know,
Mike Leech at Texas Tech should be in the College
Football Hall of Fame here.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think I saw they lowered the win percentage requirement
and he should get in here.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
So it should Mike should. Yeah, And you know it's
just you know, I've.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Had really good coaches I've worked with, but it is
I mean, Sam, it's about it's a bit of a
gypsy lifestyle. You know, I can't tell you. I mean,
I've probably bought over I know, these six homes I
can think of, thinking I'm going to be there the
long term, and then a bigger job opens up. You know,
(06:09):
they double your pay and the next thing you're moving
on to somewhere else. And that's the part I've never
really had a chance to establish.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Roots in any of those communities.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
However, what it did do for me is it gave
me a lot of great relationships. You know, when I've
got guys that I mentored that are you know NFL
head coaches now or or top coordinators in National Football
League or they're like, you know, the other day, I
got a call from a guy that I'm not to
say he's a kid, but he's my graduate assistant at
(06:43):
Texas Tech. He's the head coach of Baylor. Now he
called me, would you come down and help us out?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
We need some assistance on some consulting and things like that.
So it's like that's the good part. You know.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
It's like in the old days we had rolodexes. Well,
mine would be really big.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Drake, do you know what that is?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I'm gonna pleaded the fifth here.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
You know, people used to give you a business cards, Drake,
and you would put them in this little thing that's
spun around by alphab alphabetically instead of on our phone.
So but you know, so I think I think that
that lifestyle as fun as it is to you know,
to do things like coaching some really cool places to
be at, place like Texas A and M and there's
(07:23):
ninety some thousand people or play I coached against Ohio
State when I was in Lubbock, and that those are
all cool things, you know, you get, I mean, it's
a fun thing. But in the end, what I've what
I've enjoyed about coaching are the relationships you build with
your co workers and the players. And when I still
(07:43):
hear from players that I coached thirty years ago on
a regular basis, you know, it's hey.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
It's Christmas time, coach. I want to let's get on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Let's I'll do you know, some podcasts with somebody that's
you know, I had a magazine that was, you know,
the the trade journal for football coach, just internationally. And
I've got guys that worked for me as interns at
schools and now they're really high up at Fox Sports
or ESPN and these different places, and it's just sort
(08:10):
of neat to hear from them, and they see what
we're doing with the Ironman right now and they're.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Like, Hey, this is right up your alley. I love this.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I follow you guys, and it's pretty neat.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
We talk a lot of times about community, and we'll
get into that a little bit later as far as
what that means for this area and bringing Ironman football back.
But I want to touch on the connections because that's
obviously the other half of the name of the show.
And you talked about Coach Snider, Coach Leech, and some
of the other connections that you've made along the way.
What's that process like when you're maybe a younger coach
(08:41):
and you know you've got to shake hands and meet
some different people, and I'm sure you know you're about
to meet Bill Snyder. What's that like, developing that relationship
and then kind of keeping that going later on in life.
As you said, the coach at Baylor ended up calling
you recently. What's that like.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
In your mind?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Well, in retrospect, had I known what I know now,
there's some things I would have done differently, you know.
I mean, you're a young kid and coaching and you
think you know everything, and I mean, I'll tell you
what I mean. It's like I've I've now I've realized
that I've forgot so much, you know, about all the relationships.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
But but.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
What what I think worked well for me was, Yeah,
I really a tireless work ethic that your superiors you know,
you're the people you work for.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
They respect you for that. You know. I can tell
you this, Drake.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
There isn't a year that I don't get half a
dozen offers to go do something, you know, like in
this industry. So and it's because of that, you know,
they remember, Okay, you did this. You have a really good,
pretty strong marketing background. Not that I majored in heck,
I'm majoring in biology, you know. So so so I
think that the relationships were built by absolutely not social
(10:03):
media because that didn't exist back in those days. And
even a lot of times I noticed there are young
interns we have that think they have all these relationships
because I've got I've got, you know, ten thousand followers
on social media, and I'm like, okay, how many can
you pick up the phone and talk to and have
a meaningful relationship? Sure, and it doesn't even fill all
(10:24):
the fingers in one hand. So I realize the beauty
of back then was you had to be able to
have conversations with people you had their relationships. Social Media,
for me, later on became great because more people followed
where I was and I could connect with people. Maybe
I did lose touch with at some point. But you know,
(10:46):
when I can honestly say, there's you know, five or
six hundred people over my career that I can literally call,
they pick up the phone right down in there and
I'm not just texting them. That's what connections are. And
I believe it's a in this day and age because
I've got two older kids that are once twenty seven,
one's twenty nine. I got a little thirteen year old,
(11:07):
but they don't they don't get on the phone and
have conversations anymore. And I think that's what's lacking. But
it's there, you know, and people love it. I mean,
how many times have you been, like, sent a text
and it would take you, you know, fifteen minutes to
text it back, but you have a five minute, meaningful conversation.
(11:30):
It's like, and that's what I asked, Like you asked
too much, I'm going to pick up the phone call you.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yea.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Yeah, I've actually had that conversation with a lot of
people in my industry and radio where not to knock
on the younger generation, but the art of communication is
suffering because of things like social media, and like you said,
the part of our show is connections, and you have
(11:57):
to have those communication skills to develop up those connections
and you're you know, exactly what you just spoke about
is a prime example of how it can carry you
within your career.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
It's a bit of a catch twenty two. I mean,
because you get on social media, see these people like
promoting like, hey, you can live in a basically live
in a silo and make you know, crazy money, you know,
doing some online course or something.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You never actually see somebody that.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
But what I think is if you do both and
you balance it out well, and you have meaningful relationships
and people genuinely like or even dislike you, it doesn't matter.
I mean it's like, sometimes it's better to be disliked
because you get a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Of attention from people stand for something.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Right, Yeah, exactly, So I think that's that's the beauty
of it. I mean, there's probably never been a better
time to be in this industry than right now if
you understand the things we're talking about, because if you can,
if you can actualize what what what the past was
and create the future with all of these mediums, you know,
(13:02):
I mean the podcast, you know, the social media, all
this stuff we're talking about, if you can whip that together.
It's a runaway train, I mean, and the people that
do are actually out there making it happen.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, you look at your team right now, I think
is a great example. I think we had forty thousand
plus watch both of the games so far, and we'd
love to have them in the stands, but regardless, they're
still being exposed to the organization that you're leading and
the team that you're coaching, and I think that's a
great thing for the community and almost tying it back
to that marketing background that you said you had, and
(13:34):
I believe you and Carrie, who handle a lot of
that stuff, have done just a phenomenal job of not
only the product on the field, in the stands, in
the concourse, but also the product on Tuesday and Wednesday
when when there is no game, but you're still hearing
about the Ironman, you're updated with the recent player you
guys just signed, or you know your upcoming game. I
(13:55):
think you guys have done a great job on that
and connecting people through that way.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And Dreg I appreciate that, and I think what's starting
to happen, what has been happening throughout the summer as
we played the season out, it's more of a people
are starting to get the notice.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
It's truly a grassroots approach.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
And then all of a sudden, I get a call
and it's like a Quaker steak and loube, Hey, we
want to feed your team, do a meet and greet,
generations de Felice pizza, Let's go over here, you.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Know, stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
And we get out there and then oh wow, and
then they meet the players, and what I have heard,
I mean, if I've heard it once, I've heard it
hundreds of times. People meet our players and say, wow,
they're so nice. They're like they say, you know, a
buddy of mine saw I'm just and he didn't even
say he knew me. And it was like, my goodness.
(14:45):
They say yes, sir, no, sir, he goes. I felt
like they were talking to my dad.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
It's like, but they're so respectful and love the history
of the Ironman. Our players just like anytime I tell
them stories, they're just like at the edge of their seats.
So it's like, I believe we're going to be around
for a long time if we do this right. But
this is not a one man show or me and
Carrie doing it or anything like that, or just us
(15:10):
doing what we're doing. I think it's it's going to
take the whole community to make this happen. And there's
you know, there's you know, there's about twelve counties I
think are the Hires Valley.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yeah, I think and I try to mention it every time,
and Audrey does a great job with our with our
sideline interviews talking to those players after they made a
big play. I mean, they're so invested in answering her question.
They're investing and their answers always consist of, you know,
we're just taking what the defense gives us. We're we're
just doing what we're coached to do. You know, We're
we're letting it go, you know, as it happens. And
(15:43):
they're very respect you know, like you said, very great
people outside of being great athletes.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, they are, Drake, and you know, as you mentioned that,
just the concept it's like, yeah, they're grateful and because
they know the history and I've been ingraining that in
them because you know, these guys aren't all from here.
We've got a handful of players. We've got Chance Knight,
who from Bridgeport played at Linsley and he's a fantastic
(16:10):
football player, and he even he has like an idea
because he'll see old shirts, those retro.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Wheeling Ironman shirts. You know, it's so cool.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You know, it's like, oh, okay, I'm joining something bigger
than me. And I think we have a team of
guys that are generally very not just appreciative, but also
understand that they have to be spokespeople for this and
it's important as opposed to sometimes in certain pro sports
(16:43):
or even other things, these guys they want to point
the finger at them. It's all me, me, me. Our
guys are very very team or in we want to
represent the Ohio Valley.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
And I don't think a single one of them has
failed to mention the community and kind of their overall
sentiment that's why they're doing it is full of people
in the stands.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
It's great that there's a bunch of houses right around
the stadium that they could point up to and say
it's for these folks, the folks that live here and
the folks that have been wanting Ironman football for so long.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Absolutely, So it's a process now, I mean it's something
that you know, my goal is as we head into
the twenty twenty six season. We really are ramping things
up in the fall to make things happen, from season
ticket sales to just appearances, as much media as we
can get out there, and also just you know, get
(17:36):
as many people excited about what's going to happen in
the summer of twenty six, which I think will really
we'll start blowing it up.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You talked about relationships and building relationships, and that is
a huge factor when it comes to talent acquisition, particularly
at the college level of the game. But you've got
to do that, i'd imagine to a certain extent in
this as well. You've got to make sure these guys
feel like they're welcome here and that you know, there's
something that you guys have to offer and there's something
(18:05):
that they have to offer.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
And really building that relationship. What's that like.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And you've gone all over the country and found some
really talented players, what's that like when you're developing that
relationship for a guy that's going to play for you
for at least a season, hopefully more.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, you know, part of it, Drake is we have
to get the forty players on our roster. I've watched
video on well over three or four hundred players, so
we had to taper down. Then I'm calling their high
school or college coaches or where they've played. And that's
why I believe we have a good fit here and
(18:39):
they understand that. Hey, you know what, I'm very fortunate
because look at how many guys in essence beat out
of the funnel of all the players to get who
the iron men are. So I think that that's a
piece of it. You mentioned relationships and connections. It's like
knowing a lot of agents, knowing knowing many many college
(19:02):
coaches that will call me and say, hey, I got
a guy for you. This guy would fit what we
want because they know I don't.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
See, there's a relationship with you, so they know what
you would want and they know the player as well.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Absolutely. Yeah, So that that I love about this.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
I think that's why people are always just like, man,
you guys are so good. How in the world did
you get those players here to the Ohio Valley? And well,
you know, I can't control the other teams out there,
but I can control how we've prepared. And even though
we were the very last team that entered into this
(19:39):
you know, minor league of football, you know, which is
basically what it is. I mean, it's it's not like
semi pro indoor ball, you know, it's you know, these
guys get paid, we put them up in a hotel
and really nice situation for them. But I mean we
didn't start this thing to last November. Most every team
we played has been around for years and and and
(20:02):
even the ones that are newer to the game had
twelve over two years to prepare and get their marketing up.
And I think the broadcast that we do, you know
with when you know that you obviously do with Channel seven,
has been really strong and I think it's it's the
best at this level. And I'm looking forward to making
him better. And it's like I keep telling, you know,
(20:25):
Audrey and the you know, I say, don't be afraid
get out here on the field, to get out here
and talk to people in that regard, she's really sharp,
you know. So I like the experience that she's getting
and I know she'll be super successful down the road.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
Well, and you mentioned community a little bit earlier. How
how has the community embraced you, Because when you think
of the Upper Ohio Valley, we're we're a proud area,
and there's so many different things historically that weave the
fabric of who we are. You mentioned the coal mining
(21:00):
industry and your father. We have a you know, huge
history with that industry. But then you talk about the
iron men. They're part of that fabric also. So have
you had folks reach out to you, past players, family members, all.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Of that, Yeah, quite a few.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
I mean it's interesting, you know, I've gone to so
many different places. One of the more unique stories I
can tell you, Andrea, I mean Sam, Sam. One of
the most unique stories I can tell you is, you know,
one day, I'm a buddy of mine, doctor Angelo Georges,
who's wheeling been in the area. We both grew up
(21:38):
together in Shady Side, and he calls me on a
Sunday and says, hey, all right, I'm taking you to
the Elks Club. It's one of the oldest Elks clubs
in the United States.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's number seventy five.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
It's called the Panhandle Elks Club, right, And I'm going
in there and I'm talking meeting people, and.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
It was like one of.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
The food of fab by the way, it was, you know,
it was a back it was a father's day thing
that they did, and I'm meeting these guys and it's like, hey,
my dad played for the Ironman. I sit down for
well over an hour talking to a gentleman that's eighty
nine years old that you know, grew up here in
Wheeling and went to there was like a Lincoln High
(22:20):
School maybe or something or they in Wheeling.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
It's like, is that Warwood?
Speaker 4 (22:25):
It was downtownel Lincoln, Lincoln School. He called it, right,
and and he's telling about the Ironman and and how
cool it was. But when when I start looking back,
they're giving me stories that just like chill gave me chills.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
One guy who's going to be we have an Ironman
Ring of Honor, right, so we're bringing the retro the
stuff in the sixties back here and we honor them,
you know, at our games. And uh, one guy's name
is John Embry. Okay, and John Embrey played for the
Iroland sixty seven sixty eight sixty nine, went on to
play for the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Was a great.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Receiver, you know, about a six or four to two
hundred pound guy, and it was just dominant, you know.
And it's like, you know, so he's he's a member
of the Ironman and and you know that's a ring
of honor guy, obviously, But I mean I think that
those types of stories when I get out and talk
to people, it never stops.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I mean it's constant.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Once they hear like, hey, this is the coach and
and all that, I get something like, you know, one time,
you know, I was this lady met me. I was
at an indoor game where the Miners, the indoor team
that plays. I was there and then I shot up
and these these ladies were like ushers at the game,
and I go, oh, yeah, my dad had this farm
(23:44):
up in Marshall County and the iron they used to
clear the field and the iron and could practice there.
I mean stuff like that. And then and then where
I grew up in Shady Side, there used to be
a community poll up there at the top of the
hill right and then the baseball field is right below it, so.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
The Ironman used to there was there.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
There's a couple of years they practice on the outfield
of the baseball field and they dressed in the swimming
pool locker rooms.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know, It's like those are the things that like
what you know, but.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Just those random I mean, what are the chances of
you running into those two women at the usher, you know,
the ushers that, what are the chances of that happening?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
It's like I think there must be some energetic force
that brings these people together. And I feel blessed for
that because there's dozens of situations like that, and you
know that you see.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Well, those are the stories you don't find in the
record books. Yeah, you know, those are the you know,
the feel good stories.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
And and you know along the fellow that flipped the
first coin for opening game against Cincinnati, Doug Huff, you know,
a longtime sports writer here in the Sports Writers Hall
of Fame, you know, And he gave me a stack
of old newspaper clippings that were writing about the Ironman
and the stories and it's just, you know, it was
(25:03):
always front page back in those days. And uh, and
then I'm visiting with There's so many, but I'm gonna
tell you one other, really good one that I really enjoyed.
I'm visiting with. It was Nick Sparshane, right, and Nick
is talking to me. We're at the Alpha and he's
(25:23):
telling the story like you know, he used to sell
game programs at the arm and games.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
But but he said.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Then later on he is he's riding coach on an airplane, right,
and of all people, this is not in the first
class session.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
This his coach.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Art Rooney is sitting across the off from him, you know,
the chief, I mean, like the right. So he tells
him he's from Wheeling, you know. He goes, you know,
arts like conversation, you know, and I think it was
he was smoking a cigar on a plane, which you
could do in the sixties, you know, stuff like that,
and uh, and he goes how he goes, You're from Wheeling.
(26:01):
He goes, how are my Ironmen doing? You know, stuff
like that. It tells you that that we have something
something special to bring forward. So you know, it's gonna
be awesome seeing our guys make it to that next album.
Maybe we'll get some guys playing for the Steelers to
be pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, football is so huge in the in the valley,
whether it's you know, Pittsburgh Cleveland. On Sundays, you've got
Ohio State, WVU pitt Uh, and then you have you.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Can't say that.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Come on, man, you know how many times I'll bring
up pitt Like I know, Audrey's going to Pitt for sports, right, Yeah,
so I like it show say hail Pitt like quietly because.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
She knows that it's all State fans. But go ahead,
Oh there's a couple.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's a couple of outliers, Audrey included.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
But yeah, I mean you've got Patriot football, Red Devil football,
big red football, Tigers and Huskies of course, uh and
the Ironman are so woven into that. And every time
you hear stories like that, that's got to be so
much more validating that they are really a strong piece
of the of the football foundation in the area.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Well and as you say that, Drake, one of the
things that resonated with me to make this happen in
the first place was, goodness, gracious years ago. It had
to been, oh my goodness, in the mid early two thousand,
mid two thousands. So I moved back to the area
(27:23):
and I started a football magazine. Okay, because I've been
in that industry, So I started a local football magazine.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Now, what were you covering in that? Was that high school?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Was that you know you see like in the summertime,
Well it was all football, but it was all Ohio
Valley football and pro teams that people follow around here
in college, you know. So it was a about one
hundred and ninety six page magazine, really big, like as
nice as, if not better than an Athlon's or Street
(27:57):
and Smith that comes out in the summertime. It was
really nice and they sold out everywhere in the Ohio Valley.
And I would do color commentary on games of the
week and just sort of and I have my own
show on a couple.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Of TV stations in the area.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
And so what I noticed was if you drop a
pin on let's say Wheeling is let's say the hub
of the area, and you say, say, here's the Ohio Valley,
they're back.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
There's over fifty teams in the Ovacure and on a
weekend Friday nights, Saturday afternoons or whenever they're playing at
bel Air that was used to play Saturday afternoons, and
there were well over one hundred and twenty thousand people
that attended high school football games on any given weekend
(28:44):
and every weekend. I mean little town like Shady Side,
Oh yeah right, I mean I'll go there. I mean
good or if not good, I mean they'll have twenty
five hundred people to gain.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
That shady side Bridgeport game gets pretty you know, that
draws a crowd.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Yeah, and it's one of those things like, ah so,
no wonder these things sells out, you know, because a
high valley football is huge, so we would tie it
all in.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
It was really amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
And even one year I had like a weekly magazine
that was going out, you know, like a sports illustrated
type thing one year and it was like and I
think the newspapers run got a little upset at me
because they were everybody was like grabbing ours and they
couldn't compete with it because it was color and it
was nice and all that. So, you know, but in
the end, I think the market is always going to
(29:30):
be strong here for football because of the history and
and what you mentioned earlier, Drake. Our players love to
engage the young fans. They sign autographs after the games,
they get out and they meet people. They're very gracious
with all that because they realize that they look up
to them, you know, the way when I was a kid,
(29:50):
I looked up to the great players of my era.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Right.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So one way I look at it sometimes is when
you see all those all those little boys on the
sidelines or in the stands and wherever they maybe in Catus,
we had a big grass patch behind the home stands.
You're always throwing football with your buddies and everything, and
you know you're worried that you trip over them sometimes.
But also those are potentially the most important people in
the stands because those are the future. Yeah, and it's
(30:15):
so important to get that, to get that exposure.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
But it's funny.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
I was asked like, well, who's coming to your games?
How does this work? You know, I mean, what are
your demographics?
Speaker 3 (30:23):
And it is.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Remarkably the one demographic that blows me away are the
grandparents that come and bring their grandkids. I mean it's
like two extremes, right, yeah, and they just tell stories
and I think that I mean, think about it. Let's
say you're seven eight years old, you come to an
Ironman game and your grandpa's talking to you about it.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, sim do you have anything.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
Well, I was just going to add when it comes
to football, I mean just myself personally, It's been a
part of my life since the day I was born.
I was born on a Sunday, like I had no choice.
My dad and literally rolled a TV into the room. Yeah,
and by god, I was going to be a football fan,
but it's become it's a set date. Whether you're in
(31:09):
a High State fan on Saturday, you're a Browns fan
on Sunday, and it's it's family. It's it's the backdrop
of family gatherings. And I think, you know, we we
you know, it's about the teams and it's about the game,
but it's a coming together of people community.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Some of my best football memories, you know, the first
thing I think about, I think of the play and
then I think of the people I saw the play
with in my uncle's basement, because we're all there watching
the game, and it's it's such a community thing.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
My grandparents' house up on the farm that being a
Browns fan didn't where. They weren't carried around here. But
I remember we used to make my brother go stand
outside and turn the antenna. I mean, it'd be December.
My brother doesn't care for football, by the way, and
I think it's because of this, but so we could
pick up a Youngstown station to be able to watch
(31:58):
a Browns game. So you know, those memories tie in,
and that's with bringing back the iron Men. Yeah, you know,
it's bringing those stories back for folks.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Yeah, I love it, excited about it. And then we
just feel fortunate.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
To have the opportunity and have a great time moving forward.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Well, we feel fortunate to have you on. We appreciate
your time and being so generous with it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
This is coach Manny Matt Sakis of the Ohio Valley Ironman,
here to stay in the Ohio Valley for Sam.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
I'm Drake Watson on Community and Connections.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Thank you for listening and have a good one.
Welcome back to community and Connections.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I'm your host, Drake Watson, along with Sam joining me
this morning. We are thrilled to have our guest, the
head coach of the Ohio Valley Ironman. I hope you've
heard of him, Manny Matt Sakis coach.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
It's great to be with you.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
I've spoken to you a time or two before during
the season, and what you guys have brought to the
community is really a special thing and we hope to
get deeper into that this morning, Sam and myself and
we hope to learn a little bit more about you
and your vision sort of for this new thing in
the community.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, thanks, Drake. Excited.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
It's nice to be, you know, back in the are
I grew up here, so it's fun to just get
back and enjoy bringing out the door NFL rules football
to the Ohio Valley.
Speaker 5 (01:03):
Let's get into a little bit of your background first.
So you are, like you said, you're a native of
the Ohio Valley and you went on to do huge
things came back to the valley. But give us a
little bit of your how do I want to say this,
Your glory days in.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Uniform come on glory days? Well, well, there's a bit
of the whole Ironman thing woven into it. I Originally,
my grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia, and
my dad went to West Liberties and the Hall of
(01:43):
Fame up there as a football player, and he went
on to coach in the Ohigh Valley. He was used
to be the head coach of Powhattan High School, which
doesn't exist anymore. And as a kid growing up in
the nineteen sixties, he used to take me to the
Ironman games on Wheeling Island and to the point where
(02:05):
in the late sixties when they became went from the
Wheeling Ironman to the Ohio Valley Iron and the head
coaches a fellow by the name of Lou Blumbling, and
Lou ended up being one of the top NFL scouts afterwards.
But Lou was also my father's defensive coordinator at.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Powhattan so and he was from Warwood as well.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
So just as a kid just being around those players
seeing that it just sort of like ingrained in my
psyche of what that was like to see these guys
that ultimately a lot of them went. The guys went
on and get Super Bowl rings and uh, you know,
playing the National Football League because we were a farm
team for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But then when my father
(02:47):
moved from Powhattan High School, they merged to River High School.
We moved to Shady Side because it was closer drive
for him, and so you know, that's where I really.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Grew up with Shady Side.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
So I was fortunate had a pretty decent career there
as an athlete's three sport athlete football, wrestling, track. I
was state champion discus thrower and track all State and
Ohio and football. And then I had opportunities to go
into college, so I went to small school in Columbus,
(03:20):
Ohio called Capital University. Was an All American there as
a football player. And then and then all of a sudden,
the ironman thing wove back in because I'm getting looked
at by a lot of NFL teams and uh, Lou
Blumbling comes back into my life. And uh and at
that point, he had been the lead scout for an
(03:40):
organization organization called Blessedo Blesedo stands for Bears, Lions, Eagles, Saints,
you know, just an acron okay, and he would always
come by check me out every year. It was like
this is strange, and then uh then I get drafted
pretty high by the Philadelphia Eagles. And after after going
I played it. There was a league in the spring
(04:01):
called the USFL, so I played down and I was
in Orlando, then Jacksonville, and then my last foray was
with the Indianapolis Colts. It was during the strike season
back in goodness in the nineties early nineties, so you know,
so that that was fun. And then I got into coaching,
and then I've been a college and professional football coach
(04:23):
for over thirty five years and been fortunate to do
be a head coach five times, and professionally, I was
the offensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers up in Canada,
and just have been at some great places. A lot
of every level of football, from big time programs like
Texas Tech and Kansas State and so forth, and even
(04:45):
some small schools are pretty awesome.
Speaker 5 (04:47):
So what is that world like for a lot of folks?
You know, you see it on TV the pros, and
you kind of have this vision or imagination of what
it is. You know what it is like, but what
is it really like living that lifestyle going from team
to team? You know, management, you know, they all have
(05:09):
different styles.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
That's got to be.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
Tough to constantly have your your world flipped upside down
moving from team to team.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I've coached.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
I think last I countered at sixteen different places, right, so.
Speaker 5 (05:24):
That's sixteen different bosses.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Well, or I was the boss five times.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
It's one of his crazy things. But I'm fortunately, I mean,
two of my guys. You know, Bill Snyder at Kansas
Day's in the College Football Hall of Fame. You know,
Mike Leech at Texas Tech should be in the College
Football Hall of Fame here.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think I saw they lowered the win percentage requirement
and he should get in here.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
So it should Mike should. Yeah, And you know it's
just you know, I've.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Had really good coaches I've worked with, but it is
I mean, Sam, it's about it's a bit of a
gypsy lifestyle. You know, I can't tell you. I mean,
I've probably bought over I know, these six homes I
can think of, thinking I'm going to be there the
long term, and then a bigger job opens up. You know,
(06:09):
they double your pay and the next thing you're moving
on to somewhere else. And that's the part I've never
really had a chance to establish.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Roots in any of those communities.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
However, what it did do for me is it gave
me a lot of great relationships. You know, when I've
got guys that I mentored that are you know NFL
head coaches now or or top coordinators in National Football
League or they're like, you know, the other day, I
got a call from a guy that I'm not to
say he's a kid, but he's my graduate assistant at
(06:43):
Texas Tech. He's the head coach of Baylor. Now he
called me, would you come down and help us out?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
We need some assistance on some consulting and things like that.
So it's like that's the good part. You know.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
It's like in the old days we had rolodexes. Well,
mine would be really big.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Drake, do you know what that is?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
I'm gonna pleaded the fifth here.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
You know, people used to give you a business cards, Drake,
and you would put them in this little thing that's
spun around by alphab alphabetically instead of on our phone.
So but you know, so I think I think that
that lifestyle as fun as it is to you know,
to do things like coaching some really cool places to
be at, place like Texas A and M and there's
(07:23):
ninety some thousand people or play I coached against Ohio
State when I was in Lubbock, and that those are
all cool things, you know, you get, I mean, it's
a fun thing. But in the end, what I've what
I've enjoyed about coaching are the relationships you build with
your co workers and the players. And when I still
(07:43):
hear from players that I coached thirty years ago on
a regular basis, you know, it's hey.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
It's Christmas time, coach. I want to let's get on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Let's I'll do you know, some podcasts with somebody that's
you know, I had a magazine that was, you know,
the the trade journal for football coach, just internationally. And
I've got guys that worked for me as interns at
schools and now they're really high up at Fox Sports
or ESPN and these different places, and it's just sort
(08:10):
of neat to hear from them, and they see what
we're doing with the Ironman right now and they're.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Like, Hey, this is right up your alley. I love this.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I follow you guys, and it's pretty neat.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
We talk a lot of times about community, and we'll
get into that a little bit later as far as
what that means for this area and bringing Ironman football back.
But I want to touch on the connections because that's
obviously the other half of the name of the show.
And you talked about Coach Snider, Coach Leech, and some
of the other connections that you've made along the way.
What's that process like when you're maybe a younger coach
(08:41):
and you know you've got to shake hands and meet
some different people, and I'm sure you know you're about
to meet Bill Snyder. What's that like, developing that relationship
and then kind of keeping that going later on in life.
As you said, the coach at Baylor ended up calling
you recently. What's that like.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
In your mind?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Well, in retrospect, had I known what I know now,
there's some things I would have done differently, you know.
I mean, you're a young kid and coaching and you
think you know everything, and I mean, I'll tell you
what I mean. It's like I've I've now I've realized
that I've forgot so much, you know, about all the relationships.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
But but.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
What what I think worked well for me was, Yeah,
I really a tireless work ethic that your superiors you know,
you're the people you work for.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
They respect you for that. You know. I can tell
you this, Drake.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
There isn't a year that I don't get half a
dozen offers to go do something, you know, like in
this industry. So and it's because of that, you know,
they remember, Okay, you did this. You have a really good,
pretty strong marketing background. Not that I majored in heck,
I'm majoring in biology, you know. So so so I
think that the relationships were built by absolutely not social
(10:03):
media because that didn't exist back in those days. And
even a lot of times I noticed there are young
interns we have that think they have all these relationships
because I've got I've got, you know, ten thousand followers
on social media, and I'm like, okay, how many can
you pick up the phone and talk to and have
a meaningful relationship? Sure, and it doesn't even fill all
(10:24):
the fingers in one hand. So I realize the beauty
of back then was you had to be able to
have conversations with people you had their relationships. Social Media,
for me, later on became great because more people followed
where I was and I could connect with people. Maybe
I did lose touch with at some point. But you know,
(10:46):
when I can honestly say, there's you know, five or
six hundred people over my career that I can literally call,
they pick up the phone right down in there and
I'm not just texting them. That's what connections are. And
I believe it's a in this day and age because
I've got two older kids that are once twenty seven,
one's twenty nine. I got a little thirteen year old,
(11:07):
but they don't they don't get on the phone and
have conversations anymore. And I think that's what's lacking. But
it's there, you know, and people love it. I mean,
how many times have you been, like, sent a text
and it would take you, you know, fifteen minutes to
text it back, but you have a five minute, meaningful conversation.
(11:30):
It's like, and that's what I asked, Like you asked
too much, I'm going to pick up the phone call you.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yea.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Yeah, I've actually had that conversation with a lot of
people in my industry and radio where not to knock
on the younger generation, but the art of communication is
suffering because of things like social media, and like you said,
the part of our show is connections, and you have
(11:57):
to have those communication skills to develop up those connections
and you're you know, exactly what you just spoke about
is a prime example of how it can carry you
within your career.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
It's a bit of a catch twenty two. I mean,
because you get on social media, see these people like
promoting like, hey, you can live in a basically live
in a silo and make you know, crazy money, you know,
doing some online course or something.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
You never actually see somebody that.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
But what I think is if you do both and
you balance it out well, and you have meaningful relationships
and people genuinely like or even dislike you, it doesn't matter.
I mean it's like, sometimes it's better to be disliked
because you get a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Of attention from people stand for something.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Right, Yeah, exactly, So I think that's that's the beauty
of it. I mean, there's probably never been a better
time to be in this industry than right now if
you understand the things we're talking about, because if you can,
if you can actualize what what what the past was
and create the future with all of these mediums, you know,
(13:02):
I mean the podcast, you know, the social media, all
this stuff we're talking about, if you can whip that together.
It's a runaway train, I mean, and the people that
do are actually out there making it happen.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, you look at your team right now, I think
is a great example. I think we had forty thousand
plus watch both of the games so far, and we'd
love to have them in the stands, but regardless, they're
still being exposed to the organization that you're leading and
the team that you're coaching, and I think that's a
great thing for the community and almost tying it back
to that marketing background that you said you had, and
(13:34):
I believe you and Carrie, who handle a lot of
that stuff, have done just a phenomenal job of not
only the product on the field, in the stands, in
the concourse, but also the product on Tuesday and Wednesday
when when there is no game, but you're still hearing
about the Ironman, you're updated with the recent player you
guys just signed, or you know your upcoming game. I
(13:55):
think you guys have done a great job on that
and connecting people through that way.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And Dreg I appreciate that, and I think what's starting
to happen, what has been happening throughout the summer as
we played the season out, it's more of a people
are starting to get the notice.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
It's truly a grassroots approach.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
And then all of a sudden, I get a call
and it's like a Quaker steak and loube, Hey, we
want to feed your team, do a meet and greet,
generations de Felice pizza, Let's go over here, you.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Know, stuff like that.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
And we get out there and then oh wow, and
then they meet the players, and what I have heard,
I mean, if I've heard it once, I've heard it
hundreds of times. People meet our players and say, wow,
they're so nice. They're like they say, you know, a
buddy of mine saw I'm just and he didn't even
say he knew me. And it was like, my goodness.
(14:45):
They say yes, sir, no, sir, he goes. I felt
like they were talking to my dad.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
It's like, but they're so respectful and love the history
of the Ironman. Our players just like anytime I tell
them stories, they're just like at the edge of their seats.
So it's like, I believe we're going to be around
for a long time if we do this right. But
this is not a one man show or me and
Carrie doing it or anything like that, or just us
(15:10):
doing what we're doing. I think it's it's going to
take the whole community to make this happen. And there's
you know, there's you know, there's about twelve counties I
think are the Hires Valley.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yeah, I think and I try to mention it every time,
and Audrey does a great job with our with our
sideline interviews talking to those players after they made a
big play. I mean, they're so invested in answering her question.
They're investing and their answers always consist of, you know,
we're just taking what the defense gives us. We're we're
just doing what we're coached to do. You know, We're
we're letting it go, you know, as it happens. And
(15:43):
they're very respect you know, like you said, very great
people outside of being great athletes.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, they are, Drake, and you know, as you mentioned that,
just the concept it's like, yeah, they're grateful and because
they know the history and I've been ingraining that in
them because you know, these guys aren't all from here.
We've got a handful of players. We've got Chance Knight,
who from Bridgeport played at Linsley and he's a fantastic
(16:10):
football player, and he even he has like an idea
because he'll see old shirts, those retro.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Wheeling Ironman shirts. You know, it's so cool.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
You know, it's like, oh, okay, I'm joining something bigger
than me. And I think we have a team of
guys that are generally very not just appreciative, but also
understand that they have to be spokespeople for this and
it's important as opposed to sometimes in certain pro sports
(16:43):
or even other things, these guys they want to point
the finger at them. It's all me, me, me. Our
guys are very very team or in we want to
represent the Ohio Valley.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
And I don't think a single one of them has
failed to mention the community and kind of their overall
sentiment that's why they're doing it is full of people
in the stands.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
It's great that there's a bunch of houses right around
the stadium that they could point up to and say
it's for these folks, the folks that live here and
the folks that have been wanting Ironman football for so long.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Absolutely, So it's a process now, I mean it's something
that you know, my goal is as we head into
the twenty twenty six season. We really are ramping things
up in the fall to make things happen, from season
ticket sales to just appearances, as much media as we
can get out there, and also just you know, get
(17:36):
as many people excited about what's going to happen in
the summer of twenty six, which I think will really
we'll start blowing it up.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
You talked about relationships and building relationships, and that is
a huge factor when it comes to talent acquisition, particularly
at the college level of the game. But you've got
to do that, i'd imagine to a certain extent in
this as well. You've got to make sure these guys
feel like they're welcome here and that you know, there's
something that you guys have to offer and there's something
(18:05):
that they have to offer.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
And really building that relationship. What's that like.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And you've gone all over the country and found some
really talented players, what's that like when you're developing that
relationship for a guy that's going to play for you
for at least a season, hopefully more.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, you know, part of it, Drake is we have
to get the forty players on our roster. I've watched
video on well over three or four hundred players, so
we had to taper down. Then I'm calling their high
school or college coaches or where they've played. And that's
why I believe we have a good fit here and
(18:39):
they understand that. Hey, you know what, I'm very fortunate
because look at how many guys in essence beat out
of the funnel of all the players to get who
the iron men are. So I think that that's a
piece of it. You mentioned relationships and connections. It's like
knowing a lot of agents, knowing knowing many many college
(19:02):
coaches that will call me and say, hey, I got
a guy for you. This guy would fit what we
want because they know I don't.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
See, there's a relationship with you, so they know what
you would want and they know the player as well.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Absolutely. Yeah, So that that I love about this.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
I think that's why people are always just like, man,
you guys are so good. How in the world did
you get those players here to the Ohio Valley? And well,
you know, I can't control the other teams out there,
but I can control how we've prepared. And even though
we were the very last team that entered into this
(19:39):
you know, minor league of football, you know, which is
basically what it is. I mean, it's it's not like
semi pro indoor ball, you know, it's you know, these
guys get paid, we put them up in a hotel
and really nice situation for them. But I mean we
didn't start this thing to last November. Most every team
we played has been around for years and and and
(20:02):
even the ones that are newer to the game had
twelve over two years to prepare and get their marketing up.
And I think the broadcast that we do, you know
with when you know that you obviously do with Channel seven,
has been really strong and I think it's it's the
best at this level. And I'm looking forward to making
him better. And it's like I keep telling, you know,
(20:25):
Audrey and the you know, I say, don't be afraid
get out here on the field, to get out here
and talk to people in that regard, she's really sharp,
you know. So I like the experience that she's getting
and I know she'll be super successful down the road.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
Well, and you mentioned community a little bit earlier. How
how has the community embraced you, Because when you think
of the Upper Ohio Valley, we're we're a proud area,
and there's so many different things historically that weave the
fabric of who we are. You mentioned the coal mining
(21:00):
industry and your father. We have a you know, huge
history with that industry. But then you talk about the
iron men. They're part of that fabric also. So have
you had folks reach out to you, past players, family members, all.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Of that, Yeah, quite a few.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
I mean it's interesting, you know, I've gone to so
many different places. One of the more unique stories I
can tell you, Andrea, I mean Sam, Sam. One of
the most unique stories I can tell you is, you know,
one day, I'm a buddy of mine, doctor Angelo Georges,
who's wheeling been in the area. We both grew up
(21:38):
together in Shady Side, and he calls me on a
Sunday and says, hey, all right, I'm taking you to
the Elks Club. It's one of the oldest Elks clubs
in the United States.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's number seventy five.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
It's called the Panhandle Elks Club, right, And I'm going
in there and I'm talking meeting people, and.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
It was like one of.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
The food of fab by the way, it was, you know,
it was a back it was a father's day thing
that they did, and I'm meeting these guys and it's like, hey,
my dad played for the Ironman. I sit down for
well over an hour talking to a gentleman that's eighty
nine years old that you know, grew up here in
Wheeling and went to there was like a Lincoln High
(22:20):
School maybe or something or they in Wheeling.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
It's like, is that Warwood?
Speaker 4 (22:25):
It was downtownel Lincoln, Lincoln School. He called it, right,
and and he's telling about the Ironman and and how
cool it was. But when when I start looking back,
they're giving me stories that just like chill gave me chills.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
One guy who's going to be we have an Ironman
Ring of Honor, right, so we're bringing the retro the
stuff in the sixties back here and we honor them,
you know, at our games. And uh, one guy's name
is John Embry. Okay, and John Embrey played for the
Iroland sixty seven sixty eight sixty nine, went on to
play for the Denver Broncos.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Was a great.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Receiver, you know, about a six or four to two
hundred pound guy, and it was just dominant, you know.
And it's like, you know, so he's he's a member
of the Ironman and and you know that's a ring
of honor guy, obviously, But I mean I think that
those types of stories when I get out and talk
to people, it never stops.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I mean it's constant.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Once they hear like, hey, this is the coach and
and all that, I get something like, you know, one time,
you know, I was this lady met me. I was
at an indoor game where the Miners, the indoor team
that plays. I was there and then I shot up
and these these ladies were like ushers at the game,
and I go, oh, yeah, my dad had this farm
(23:44):
up in Marshall County and the iron they used to
clear the field and the iron and could practice there.
I mean stuff like that. And then and then where
I grew up in Shady Side, there used to be
a community poll up there at the top of the
hill right and then the baseball field is right below it, so.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
The Ironman used to there was there.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
There's a couple of years they practice on the outfield
of the baseball field and they dressed in the swimming
pool locker rooms.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know, It's like those are the things that like
what you know, but.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Just those random I mean, what are the chances of
you running into those two women at the usher, you know,
the ushers that, what are the chances of that happening?
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
It's like I think there must be some energetic force
that brings these people together. And I feel blessed for
that because there's dozens of situations like that, and you
know that you see.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Well, those are the stories you don't find in the
record books. Yeah, you know, those are the you know,
the feel good stories.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
And and you know along the fellow that flipped the
first coin for opening game against Cincinnati, Doug Huff, you know,
a longtime sports writer here in the Sports Writers Hall
of Fame, you know, And he gave me a stack
of old newspaper clippings that were writing about the Ironman
and the stories and it's just, you know, it was
(25:03):
always front page back in those days. And uh, and
then I'm visiting with There's so many, but I'm gonna
tell you one other, really good one that I really enjoyed.
I'm visiting with. It was Nick Sparshane, right, and Nick
is talking to me. We're at the Alpha and he's
(25:23):
telling the story like you know, he used to sell
game programs at the arm and games.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
But but he said.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Then later on he is he's riding coach on an airplane, right,
and of all people, this is not in the first
class session.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
This his coach.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Art Rooney is sitting across the off from him, you know,
the chief, I mean, like the right. So he tells
him he's from Wheeling, you know. He goes, you know,
arts like conversation, you know, and I think it was
he was smoking a cigar on a plane, which you
could do in the sixties, you know, stuff like that,
and uh, and he goes how he goes, You're from Wheeling.
(26:01):
He goes, how are my Ironmen doing? You know, stuff
like that. It tells you that that we have something
something special to bring forward. So you know, it's gonna
be awesome seeing our guys make it to that next album.
Maybe we'll get some guys playing for the Steelers to
be pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Well, football is so huge in the in the valley,
whether it's you know, Pittsburgh Cleveland. On Sundays, you've got
Ohio State, WVU pitt Uh, and then you have you.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Can't say that.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Come on, man, you know how many times I'll bring
up pitt Like I know, Audrey's going to Pitt for sports, right, Yeah,
so I like it show say hail Pitt like quietly because.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
She knows that it's all State fans. But go ahead,
Oh there's a couple.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
There's a couple of outliers, Audrey included.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
But yeah, I mean you've got Patriot football, Red Devil football,
big red football, Tigers and Huskies of course, uh and
the Ironman are so woven into that. And every time
you hear stories like that, that's got to be so
much more validating that they are really a strong piece
of the of the football foundation in the area.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Well and as you say that, Drake, one of the
things that resonated with me to make this happen in
the first place was, goodness, gracious years ago. It had
to been, oh my goodness, in the mid early two thousand,
mid two thousands. So I moved back to the area
(27:23):
and I started a football magazine. Okay, because I've been
in that industry, So I started a local football magazine.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Now, what were you covering in that? Was that high school?
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Was that you know you see like in the summertime,
Well it was all football, but it was all Ohio
Valley football and pro teams that people follow around here
in college, you know. So it was a about one
hundred and ninety six page magazine, really big, like as
nice as, if not better than an Athlon's or Street
(27:57):
and Smith that comes out in the summertime. It was
really nice and they sold out everywhere in the Ohio Valley.
And I would do color commentary on games of the
week and just sort of and I have my own
show on a couple.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
Of TV stations in the area.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
And so what I noticed was if you drop a
pin on let's say Wheeling is let's say the hub
of the area, and you say, say, here's the Ohio Valley,
they're back.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
You know.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
There's over fifty teams in the Ovacure and on a
weekend Friday nights, Saturday afternoons or whenever they're playing at
bel Air that was used to play Saturday afternoons, and
there were well over one hundred and twenty thousand people
that attended high school football games on any given weekend
(28:44):
and every weekend. I mean little town like Shady Side,
Oh yeah right, I mean I'll go there. I mean
good or if not good, I mean they'll have twenty
five hundred people to gain.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
That shady side Bridgeport game gets pretty you know, that
draws a crowd.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
Yeah, and it's one of those things like, ah so,
no wonder these things sells out, you know, because a
high valley football is huge, so we would tie it
all in.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
It was really amazing.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
And even one year I had like a weekly magazine
that was going out, you know, like a sports illustrated
type thing one year and it was like and I
think the newspapers run got a little upset at me
because they were everybody was like grabbing ours and they
couldn't compete with it because it was color and it
was nice and all that. So, you know, but in
the end, I think the market is always going to
(29:30):
be strong here for football because of the history and
and what you mentioned earlier, Drake. Our players love to
engage the young fans. They sign autographs after the games,
they get out and they meet people. They're very gracious
with all that because they realize that they look up
to them, you know, the way when I was a kid,
(29:50):
I looked up to the great players of my era.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Right.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So one way I look at it sometimes is when
you see all those all those little boys on the
sidelines or in the stands and wherever they maybe in Catus,
we had a big grass patch behind the home stands.
You're always throwing football with your buddies and everything, and
you know you're worried that you trip over them sometimes.
But also those are potentially the most important people in
the stands because those are the future. Yeah, and it's
(30:15):
so important to get that, to get that exposure.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
But it's funny.
Speaker 4 (30:18):
I was asked like, well, who's coming to your games?
How does this work? You know, I mean, what are
your demographics?
Speaker 3 (30:23):
And it is.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Remarkably the one demographic that blows me away are the
grandparents that come and bring their grandkids. I mean it's
like two extremes, right, yeah, and they just tell stories
and I think that I mean, think about it. Let's
say you're seven eight years old, you come to an
Ironman game and your grandpa's talking to you about it.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
It's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, sim do you have anything.
Speaker 5 (30:49):
Well, I was just going to add when it comes
to football, I mean just myself personally, It's been a
part of my life since the day I was born.
I was born on a Sunday, like I had no choice.
My dad and literally rolled a TV into the room. Yeah,
and by god, I was going to be a football fan,
but it's become it's a set date. Whether you're in
(31:09):
a High State fan on Saturday, you're a Browns fan
on Sunday, and it's it's family. It's it's the backdrop
of family gatherings. And I think, you know, we we
you know, it's about the teams and it's about the game,
but it's a coming together of people community.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Some of my best football memories, you know, the first
thing I think about, I think of the play and
then I think of the people I saw the play
with in my uncle's basement, because we're all there watching
the game, and it's it's such a community thing.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
My grandparents' house up on the farm that being a
Browns fan didn't where. They weren't carried around here. But
I remember we used to make my brother go stand
outside and turn the antenna. I mean, it'd be December.
My brother doesn't care for football, by the way, and
I think it's because of this, but so we could
pick up a Youngstown station to be able to watch
(31:58):
a Browns game. So you know, those memories tie in,
and that's with bringing back the iron Men. Yeah, you know,
it's bringing those stories back for folks.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Yeah, I love it, excited about it. And then we
just feel fortunate.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
To have the opportunity and have a great time moving forward.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Well, we feel fortunate to have you on. We appreciate
your time and being so generous with it.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
This is coach Manny Matt Sakis of the Ohio Valley Ironman,
here to stay in the Ohio Valley for Sam.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
I'm Drake Watson on Community and Connections.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Thank you for listening and have a good one.
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