April 14, 2022 • 23 mins
New England Patriots star running back Damien Harris loves the Celtics, and he knows what it takes to win. He joins Marc to dive into his fandom of the team and his relationships with Celtics players off the court. Harris regularly attends games and talks about sitting right behind Kevin Garnett at KG’s number retirement ceremony, and his excitement to attend Sunday’s Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets. Harris also gives insight into what it’s like to be a young, professional athlete in New England with pressure to win, he gives his view on Boston’s exciting turnaround this season, and he previews the Patriots’ upcoming offseason workouts.
0:55 – Damien Harris joins the conversation and gives some context on his basketball background
2:10 – Harris talks about being a regular at Celtics games and his relationships with Celtics players
7:30 – Harris comments on playing under the pressure to win that exists in Boston sports
8:50 – Harris talks about Boston’s potential in the Playoffs and its incredible turnaround this season
12:50 – Harris comments on grinding through the tough days to come out on the other side
14:45 – Weight room talk! Harris comments on the C’s postgame lift sessions, and how the weight room helps to bring teams together
17:15 – Guess who was sitting behind KG at his retirement ceremony game?
19:45 – Harris says he’s big on individual handshakes, and discusses the art of them
21:00 – Harris gives an update on his offseason and what’s next for him and the Patriots
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everyone. This is View from the Raptors. It is
my absolute pleasure to welcome in one of the pillars
of this organization. Everybody, forget that oh good one, good one.
Don't go they're not yet. What will we talk about
it in our podcast? You haven't told him he had
just come off the battlefield. I know what a dream
is to work with him, so I must have been
a dream to coach always gonna Lee Green Baby. Welcome
(00:22):
to View from the Raptors behind the Scenes with a
buston Celtic presented by Cardlets. Here's your host, Mark Demiko. Alright, folks,
it's a New England sports crossover day here on the
View from the Raptors podcast. Today, we're bringing in a
man who hails from basketball country down in Kentucky and
a man who loves coming to Celtics games. He is
New England Pages running back Damien Harris. Damien, it's so
(00:45):
good to see him. Man. I appreciate you coming on.
As I just said, basketball runs deep down in Kentucky.
So the first thing I gotta ask is what level
are the basketball skills? Man? Um So I played for
a while. Um I played util I was in high school. Uh.
Once I realized that football was kind of the direction
I was going with my life, I kind of put
it down for a while. But I used to be
(01:06):
pretty nice, So I don't know. Maybe one of these
days I'll get back on the court and show you
all what I got. Hey, we gotta get footage. If
you going one on one with Jason or Jalen, we
gotta see it. Yeah. I don't know about all that.
I don't know about all that, but you've got the speed.
I know they got the length in the hype, but
you got the speed in the power. Yeah. Yeah, they
do got a little bit of experience on me. So
I don't know. We'll see, we'll see. Maybe maybe we'll
(01:27):
get out there and play for fun one day. What
position did you play growing up? Um? So it was weird,
like I was the shortest dude on the court, but
I kind of played every position just because like I
was the most athletic, I was the fastest, I was
the strongest. So sometimes I had to I had to
play one through five, sometimes I had to guard one
through five. Um So I played it all. I did
it all. I was a team guys. Whatever the team
(01:48):
needed for me. That's what That's what I did. Love it.
Do your job right. I know we've all heard that term.
It's been the model my whole life. Just get your job.
You fit in perfectly with the Pats, no question. I
want to know about you coming to the game. So
I know you were really the only Pats player who
was coming to games throughout the pandemic when we were
allowed to have people back inside TV Garden. So what
(02:09):
made you so motivated to come to the games and
why do you love going to the games so much? Um?
I think it's just about, you know, embracing the sports
culture in the city of Boston. UM. I think Boston
is the best sports talent in America. And you know,
I just wanted to do everything I could to go
out and support UM. You know, I try to go
to some Bruins games. I try to go to Celtics games. Obviously,
I try to go to Fenway. UM. I just try
(02:30):
to do it all. You know. I've seen j T
and some other guys that you know, some of our games,
and you know, I think it's just fun that we
all interact. UM. I've gotten to get to know some
guys from different teams, and you know, just being able
to support one another. Um, you know, we're all on
the same journey trying to be the best athletes that
we can be the best men. So, you know, just
embracing the sports culture in this town. Um, and just
(02:52):
you know, going out there and supporting guys that I'm
getting to know and getting to be friends with. So
it's been a lot of fun. Uh, and you know,
I'm definitely looking forward to going to some more games
coming up. Tell me about your relationship. You kind of
touched on it right there. You're getting close to some
of these guys in establishing relationships. Who are you I
don't know if you want to throw the term friends
out there or who do you keep in pach with
from the from the Celtics And you know, how often
(03:14):
are you guys able to kind of link up and
hang out? Um, I know a couple of guys. Um,
you know, I've met a lot of them, and you know,
just developed a lot of relationships. Um. You know, I've
seen j T a bunch of times. The party last
I was, Yeah, he I was fortunate to get that invitation,
so we know we know where I stand. Yeah, somehow,
(03:37):
I'm not surprised that you did not get inviation, but no,
you know, it's just so cool being able to hang
out with those guys and you know, see the human
aspect of it. You know, I think that you know,
people say that about us as football players, but now
I get to see what other athletes. You know, you
see him on the court, you see him on the ice,
you know, you see him at Finway. But then once
you get to like hang out with these guys off
the field or you know, out of their respect to sport,
(04:00):
saying you know, we're all just guys. You know, we
we try to come in here and do our jobs
as athletes, but at the end of the day, we're
all just men. You know, we'd like to have a
good time, share stories, you know, just kind of reflect
on our careers. Like I said, developed those great friendships.
So you know, it's been really cool getting to meet
a lot of these guys. You know, they're all very
humble dudes. Um. That's one thing that I really appreciate about.
(04:20):
You know, the Boston culture is, you know, as great
as some of these athletes are, it's just a very
blue collar, um I guess um vibe around around Boston
and New England as a whole. So you know, everybody's
incredibly humble with a lot of humility, and I think
that that's what allows us all to get along so
well and just you know, have great relationships and continue
(04:40):
to build on those. The interesting thing to me, and
you're talking about this is that you know, when when
the Celtics had that Big Three era, um, when they
had Paul Pierson, KG and Rerayal and Rondo was on
the team. But those guys were like in their early
to mid thirties. Tom Brady at that time was kind
of hovering around that time, so they were little bit older.
(05:01):
But now in the in the Boston sports culture, a
lot of the stars, including you, are younger. You're you're
right around the same age. You're right around Tatum's age,
right around Jalen Brown's age, Marcus Smart right around that age.
How does that kind of help you guys to establish
relationships just like being at the same like stage of life. Yeah, no,
(05:21):
I think it's exactly that. Um, you know, we all
have an incredible responsibility. First of all, we're all very
fortunate and very blessed to be in the positions that
we're in at such a young age, So I think that,
you know, that's just a common denominator with all of us.
You know, we're young guys just trying to um, just
trying to make it and UM, we're just trying to
do everything we can, at least I know that I am.
I'm trying to do everything I can to just you know,
(05:43):
be my best. And I know these other guys who
are doing the same. So being able to you know,
have a level of success and you know, getting to
meet all these people and experience all these things at
such a young age, you know, it's really cool just
because you know, it's uh, we had a long life
to live, and to be able to have these experiences
so early and develop these relationships, develop these friendships, UM,
it's it's definitely super cool. I've talked to a couple
(06:05):
of people who who have been in touch with you,
you know, throughout your time here in the New England area,
and they all told me that you're an intellectual guy.
Like you love to learn, you like to network, you
want to be around people who are successful and learn
from them. That really falls in line with some of
the guys on the Celtics. I'm just curious, have you
kind of picked that up and and having your conversations
(06:26):
with them and getting to know them. Has that kind
of been a commonplace that you guys can can talk
about that, um, you know, I think the in the
intellectual um conversations definitely are there, just because these are
all really smart guys that um you know, like like
I said earlier, just cool dudes. But you know, like
(06:47):
you said, we're all very intellectual. We all like to learn,
we'd like to gain knowledge, you know, we'd like to
go out and meet people, network, um, enhance our brands.
So a reaythink that's what it's about, you know, being
in this great sports town and full of great athletes,
full of great people, um, great people to know. So
it's being able to get out there and network and
meet different people, have different relationships. I think that can
(07:08):
just be beneficial for myself obviously and for everybody else involved.
But you said that it's a sports town, but it
comes with pressures, right, Like, what's what's that like for
you as a as a professional athlete, especially planning for
the Patriots who have super high expectations right right there
with the Celtics. Every year, it's like championship or bust.
What's that like as a young professional athlete to have
(07:30):
that type of pressure. I know you dealt with that
at Alabama as well, so you're kind of used to this.
But what what is that like coming into a city
like this that expects to win. Um, I mean, it
is what, it just is what it is. Like you
just said, there's an expectation. Uh, there's a standard, there's
a level of expectations out there. But you know, at
the end of the day, the way I look at
(07:51):
it is, you know, I got a job to do,
and regardless of you know, wherever I was and what
level of competition it is, you know, and whether it
was in college. Now, you know, I just got a
job to do, and you know, it's just up to
me to go out there and do my job. You know.
I know that there's a lot of expectations. I know
that there's a lot of pressure out there, But instead
of focusing on that, I just like to focus on
doing my job because at the end of the day,
(08:12):
that's really all that matters. Um. You know, it doesn't
really matter what anybody else expects of me, because I
have expectations for myself. It doesn't matter what pressure people
put on me because I put pressure on myself. Um,
and it just comes with being understanding that I have
a job to do and I just gotta go out
there and do it. So all that external stuff doesn't
really matter that much. All right, So we're not going
(08:33):
to talk about pressure on your shoulders, but we are
gonna talk about pressure on the Celtics shoulders. The playoffs.
What about they're starting up Sunday right there, taking on
the nets. We just found that out Tuesday night that
it's gonna be Celtics nets in the first round. What
do you think about where this team can get to?
I mean you've been up close and personal watching them,
you know the guys, where do you think they can
(08:55):
get to this season? In this postseason run that opens
up against KD Kyrie in the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Um, listen,
I'm no, I'm no ESPN analysts. I'm not an NBA analyst.
I don't you know. I don't make predictions. I don't
make uh you know, I think, you know say what
I think is gonna happen. But you know, just watching
this team play, Um, his team full of like I said,
(09:17):
great guys first of all, very talented basketball players. But um,
I think that they've just shown that they can they
can accomplish anything. Um had a great season and it's
been so fun to watch them, and you know, I'm
just really looking forward to being out there and and
supporting those guys. And I've actually never been to a
playoff playoff game in the Garden, so yeah, yeah, I
(09:39):
know that I've heard a lot of stories. I heard
that it's pretty it's gonna be pretty intense, so and
you know, I just love great sports atmospheres and the
Garden has one of the best atmospheres I've been So
without making any predictions or anything like that, I just
want to say that, you know, I support those guys,
and I know they're gonna go out there and play hard, uh,
night in and night out, And like I said, I
(09:59):
believe that, you know, they can accomplish anything. So you know,
good luck to those guys. And I'm would definitely be
their supporting them for sure. Are you gonna be there Sunday,
I'm gonna be the Sunday there you go, alright, I
love it. No, But I mean you talked about it
that this team, it really does feel like they can
accomplish anything. But that's wild to say that now today
(10:21):
in the middle of April, compared to where they were
back in at the end of December. Really, I mean,
can you could you imagine with the Patriots starting out
like two and six through your first eight games and
then going like eight and one over the final nine
like that, It just seems like such a wild turnaround.
What's it been like for you as a sports fan
just being able to see a team rally in turn
(10:44):
around in that fashion, because I've never seen this before.
I've been working in the NBA for fourteen years. I've
never seen this happen before. Yeah. Yeah, it's been great
to watch. Like I said, just being able to support
those guys, um throughout the entirety of the season, at
the beginning of the year, in the middle of the year,
you know, closing out the season. Um, I just love
supporting them and being there and watching them. Um. You know,
(11:07):
they really turned it on at the end of the
year and they got hot, so I think it was
at the perfect time. You Know, one thing I've learned
about sports is it's all about timing. It's all about
being hot at the right time. So you know, the
seed's got hot at the end of the year, at
the middle of the end of the year, and you know,
they really picked it up. So, like I said, sky
is the limit for those guys. Um. You know, I'm
a firm believer that whatever they want to go out
there and accomplish, they can do it. So I'm really
(11:27):
excited to see what how the rest of the season
plays out for those guys. Today's episode is presented by
the Boston Celtics credit card powered by Cardless. You'll be
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(11:47):
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Cardless dot Com Forward slash Celtics. I think confidence is
the other important factor that people just don't talk enough
(12:08):
about in sports. Like, obviously, you guys have your god
given skills that you were born with, that you honed
and created throughout your your athletic careers, but if you
are at your peak in terms of confidence, I think
that just takes players in teams to a whole other level.
We've seen that with this Celtics team this season, right
like when they started to turn a corner, they started
to play with confidence and then they've gone whatever it is,
(12:29):
like thirty three and ten over the last forty three games. Yeah. Um,
but talking about you know, your viewpoint on a team
being able to turn things around, I know there you
said a quote that was something along the lines of,
it's not gonna be perfect every day, but if you
kind of just keep grinding through it, you're you're gonna
figure it out eventually. How have you seen that play
(12:50):
out from your professional experience and then also obviously that
relates to this team that's taken the court with the
Celtics right now. Yeah. Absolutely. Um, you know I think
it showed with us. Um, you know, hearing the Patriots organization, Um,
you know, we didn't start out the year the way
that we wanted to, particularly last year, and um, you
(13:11):
know we kind of had we were at two, we
were two and four at one point, and then we
kind of had to make a decision on you know,
how the rest of our season was gonna go. And
you know that that decision was basically like just put
our heads down and just grind, um, just continue to work. Um.
You know, we couldn't focus on what our record was
prior to that moment, and we couldn't focus on what
the record was going to be at the end of
the year. You know, it's just about showing up every day,
(13:31):
ready to work, ready to grind, ready to improve, and
then just seeing what the results. See what the results are,
you know, see where it takes you. And we did that,
and you know, Grant, we didn't. We definitely didn't end
the season where that we wanted to. But you know,
we were able to accumulate some accomplishments and um, do
some things, win some more games, and kind of pull
ourselves out of that hole that we dug ourselves in
at the beginning of the year. But um, you know,
(13:54):
I don't really know what goes on in the Celtics
locker room. I don't really know the conversations that they have,
but I think it's very evident that at you know,
it's just a group ful of guys that just put
their heads down and work. Um. It's a team full
of talented guys, and you know, their work is still evident.
You know, this doesn't seem like one of those teams
that you know, relies on superstar ability or you know,
things like that. You know, you see guys just the energy,
(14:16):
the passion that those guys play with. You see guys
you see Market's diving on the ground for balls all
the time. You see j T in Tough Buggs, guys
like Grant Ties and I mean all those guys. You know,
they all play so hard, and you know, it's really
great to see, like I said, with this, with this culture,
this this blue collar culture, seeing guys that are having
a lot of success, that are superstars, but still seeing
(14:37):
just the passion, the heart, the love for the game. Um,
you know, it's been it's been really special to watch.
It's been inspiring for me. So um, you know, like
I said, I just I love watching those guys. Man.
It's a lot of fun. They're definitely putting in the work.
They make sure that everyone knows about it too, because
after they win a game, they're all chats, are sending
out Instagram lives of them all in the weight room together,
(15:00):
bulking up, trying trying to reach your level, trying to
try it's not gonna happen. But um, speaking of that,
I mean, I think that there's no better source to
talk to than you of a team being being able
to rally together like in a certain environment. Um, the
weight room is a big place in the NFL. Have
(15:22):
you kind of felt that as well, that like that's
a place where you can really build kind of a
culture and um, you know, just relationships within the team
from player to player. No, absolutely, UM, I think you know,
not to sound like a total meat head, but the
weight room is one of the best places. I mean,
it's one of the best places to be UM. And
especially for us we're about to go into our we're
(15:44):
about to start our offseason program, like a lot of
teams across the league, So UM, you know, that's just
a that's a that's a hot spot for um, you know,
just developing an identity, developing that team chemistry, developing the
work ethic. Come you know, compare um all of us
being connected and building that kind of mentality and work
(16:04):
ethic throughout the offseason program. So the weight room is
definitely beneficial, um, you know, for us, for all athletes.
So UM, it's definitely cool to see those guys going
in there and working out lifting after after games and
stuff like that. I don't really know if I could
do that. I don't I don't know. If I don't
think you should do that, it's not in my card.
I'll leave you gotta you gotta go in the ice
(16:25):
tub after the NFL. Yeah, yeah, I usually gotta do
some other types of some other types of rehab whenever
I get out of games. But now it's definitely cool
to see them in there because, like you can just
tell the bond, the relationships that they're that they're building
in there, and they just continue to get better and
grow the team chemistry. Man, Like I said, this guy's
a limit for him. They used this term with within
(16:45):
the Celtics front office connective tissue. I feel like that's
what they're building every time that they go into that
weight room after a game. And JT is always trying
to say it to everyone, he's the strongest guy in
the room. I don't know if it's true. My money
would probably be on market smart. I've heard that too.
I've heard that. I've heard JT said he's the strongest
of the road. Let's let's get him out of bench
freest next to you. Let's see who comes out on top.
(17:07):
We gotta do that. Talking about you coming to games,
I want to kind of circle back to that. You've
been to a bunch of good ones, one of them
being the KG Number of retirement ceremony. Right, What was
that experience like for you being able to kind of
be up close and and watch that type of like love,
an outpour of support from nineteen thousand people in that building.
(17:30):
It was The energy in that building was nuts. It
was crazy. It was crazy. So I actually sat in
my seat and the two seats that were in front of,
like directly in front of me, were open, you know,
at the start of the game, and I'm like, all right, cool,
you know, I gotta I got a direct view to
the court and everything. Nextally, I know, KG walks beside me.
He just sits down right in front of me, and
a little bit later, right behind him, I was so
(17:51):
I was sitting, so it was KG, and then behind
KG Isaiah Thomas walks around and insisting on in front
of me. So I'm sitting in front of or behind KG.
Isaiah Thomas. You know the coach was sitting there too, right, Yeah,
it's high school coach was sitting there and then you
know it's his retirement game, and you know, just the
energy in there was I mean, I can't even it
was electric. So that was definitely one of the coolest experiences,
(18:15):
just seeing the love and the outpour of emotions and
appreciation for somebody like kg Um. I think it's just
a testament to these great fans and you know, the
New England area and just the love, the the appreciation,
the respect for the hard work and the grittiness because
you know, that's what KG brought to the floor. It
(18:35):
was salented obviously, but I mean the heart, the grit,
the determination, the competitiveness, and that's what these fans, what
these people in New England are predicated off of um,
you know, and everyday life. So it was great to
see that. It was great to be a part of that.
And that was definitely another thing that motivated me, like wow,
like seeing just the love of just seeing like watching
the fans get behind the guy and a team and
(18:57):
just you know it just it definitely got me a
little ready to put the pads back on for sure.
I was. I was ready to suit up during that game.
You seeing KG all emotional and you know, seeing him
just basically um or even the benefits of all of
his hard work. You know, it just it was very motivating.
It's very inspiring for sure. You were right there. Then
when Jalen made slammed home dunk and slapped KG then right,
(19:21):
oh yeah, I was that. That was one of the
moments of that was nuts. Yeah. I wanted to run
out on the court and dap up I did it.
I had to hold myself back, but it was that
was who that was crazy. I was ready to rock
after that. A couple more questions here before we get
you out of here. I know you got you got
a handshake with Mac Jones, right, I do the best handshake?
(19:43):
What what is it that makes a great handshake? Because
I mean I'm sitting there before every NBA game, it's
like every single guy's got a handshake. They do it
right before they walk out on the court. What makes
a good handshake? Um, I feel like it's gotta it's
gotta fit the personality of the relations and ship. You know,
whoever you got your handshake with. It's got to be
real and like indicative of your relationship with the guys.
(20:06):
But it also takes a lot of rhythm and fortunately enough,
Matt Jones got a lot of rhythm. So as soon
as we started, you know, we we made that handshake
and we were in college and I walked up to
him and I just started kind of flowing with the
kind of freestyling off the top of my head and
he just every move, he was right there with it. So, okay,
this kid's got a little sauce to him. You got
a little flavor. So boom, boom boom. We got it done.
(20:29):
And here it is years later, get to do it
on Sundays. Man, it's it was a real full circle moment,
I'll say, before our first game as teammates, you know,
in the league, and we just sat there and looked
at each other and dapped each other up, did our
little handshake, and it's like, man, this is a real
full circle right here. So it's it's, it's, it's it's
a lot of fun. I think having handshakes, I think
(20:49):
it just keeps everybody loose, It keeps everybody free. You know,
everybody gets to um have their own handshakes with different guys.
I got a couple of different handshakes, so I'm a
big handshake guy. You can't all right then. My eyes
are locked on him this season, last one. Before we
get you out of here, got to ask you just
how you feeling during the off season where you at
and um, you know, what are you looking forward to
when the season gets underway here? Um, you know, in
(21:11):
the next four or five months. Man, I feel incredibly blessed,
um for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, you know,
God has blessed me to be in the position that
I'm in, to play this game at a high level,
to be a part of such a prestigious organization. UM,
to be in such a great sports town like Boston,
to be able to develop relationships with guys like j T. Pasta,
(21:32):
you know, some of these other guys, some other athletes,
and Dude, I just feel so blessed and so fortunate
to be sitting here today, even being able to sit
down and talk with you. Man, I couldn't feel more
blessed to be in the position that I'm in. The
First time I've ever heard someone say that about sitting
down and talking with me. Damien, Well, I mean, it's true, man,
it is true. I I live a very fortunate and
(21:53):
very blessed life. And you know, I thank God every
day for putting me in the position that I'm in,
including this chair right now talking to you. But um,
you know there's a lot to be excited about this year. UM.
But I'm one of those you know, one day at
a time, one day at the time kind of guys. Um.
You know, I'm just looking forward to beginning our offseason program,
seeing all of our guys, um, and just going to
(22:14):
work developing those relationships all over again. And the work ethic,
the camaraderie and all those things. You know, that's what
I'm looking forward to the most. I know that whenever
the season gets here, Um, you know, there will be
things for us to look forward to and things for
us to you know, work towards and all that. But
right now, you know, we're just starting to step one.
So that's where that's where my focus is. And you know,
(22:35):
I'm just excited to be back here with the guys
and being back in you know, the weight room, on
the field, you know, doing workouts, all kind of stuff,
and you know it's being able to kick start our
our next season because you know it's gonna be it's
a new season, it's gonna be provided with new challenges. Um.
It's a new team. We got new coaches, new players. Um,
(22:55):
so it'll be it'll be super exciting to have everybody
in here in the building and just get everybody to
get back to work. Hey, this is when you start
building it, right, connected tissue. You can bring that term
over over into your room now. An I'll probably reworded
because I don't want to. I don't want to sweat.
It's good, it's all good, it's all it's New England.
We can we can share terms, all right. Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonn add a little a little twist to it.
(23:16):
We'll see. I love it, all right. Hey, you said
you're blessed. We're blessed to be able to have you
on the podcast today. We really appreciate the time. Blessed
to have you as a member of the New England Patriots.
Second in the league and rushing touchdowns. I'd be remiss
if I didn't mention that after last seas and so
we're expecting big things out of you guys this coming
season and we're looking forward to having you at the
Garden on Sunday for Game one against the Brooklyn Nets.
(23:39):
Damien Harris of the New England Patriots, we appreciate the
time many I appreciate you go sees. Thank you for
listening to view from the Raptors behind the scenes with
the Boston Celtics, presented by Cardless
Welcome everyone. This is View from the Raptors. It is
my absolute pleasure to welcome in one of the pillars
of this organization. Everybody, forget that oh good one, good one.
Don't go they're not yet. What will we talk about
it in our podcast? You haven't told him he had
just come off the battlefield. I know what a dream
is to work with him, so I must have been
a dream to coach always gonna Lee Green Baby. Welcome
(00:22):
to View from the Raptors behind the Scenes with a
buston Celtic presented by Cardlets. Here's your host, Mark Demiko. Alright, folks,
it's a New England sports crossover day here on the
View from the Raptors podcast. Today, we're bringing in a
man who hails from basketball country down in Kentucky and
a man who loves coming to Celtics games. He is
New England Pages running back Damien Harris. Damien, it's so
(00:45):
good to see him. Man. I appreciate you coming on.
As I just said, basketball runs deep down in Kentucky.
So the first thing I gotta ask is what level
are the basketball skills? Man? Um So I played for
a while. Um I played util I was in high school. Uh.
Once I realized that football was kind of the direction
I was going with my life, I kind of put
it down for a while. But I used to be
(01:06):
pretty nice, So I don't know. Maybe one of these
days I'll get back on the court and show you
all what I got. Hey, we gotta get footage. If
you going one on one with Jason or Jalen, we
gotta see it. Yeah. I don't know about all that.
I don't know about all that, but you've got the speed.
I know they got the length in the hype, but
you got the speed in the power. Yeah. Yeah, they
do got a little bit of experience on me. So
I don't know. We'll see, we'll see. Maybe maybe we'll
(01:27):
get out there and play for fun one day. What
position did you play growing up? Um? So it was weird,
like I was the shortest dude on the court, but
I kind of played every position just because like I
was the most athletic, I was the fastest, I was
the strongest. So sometimes I had to I had to
play one through five, sometimes I had to guard one
through five. Um So I played it all. I did
it all. I was a team guys. Whatever the team
(01:48):
needed for me. That's what That's what I did. Love it.
Do your job right. I know we've all heard that term.
It's been the model my whole life. Just get your job.
You fit in perfectly with the Pats, no question. I
want to know about you coming to the game. So
I know you were really the only Pats player who
was coming to games throughout the pandemic when we were
allowed to have people back inside TV Garden. So what
(02:09):
made you so motivated to come to the games and
why do you love going to the games so much? Um?
I think it's just about, you know, embracing the sports
culture in the city of Boston. UM. I think Boston
is the best sports talent in America. And you know,
I just wanted to do everything I could to go
out and support UM. You know, I try to go
to some Bruins games. I try to go to Celtics games. Obviously,
I try to go to Fenway. UM. I just try
(02:30):
to do it all. You know. I've seen j T
and some other guys that you know, some of our games,
and you know, I think it's just fun that we
all interact. UM. I've gotten to get to know some
guys from different teams, and you know, just being able
to support one another. Um, you know, we're all on
the same journey trying to be the best athletes that
we can be the best men. So, you know, just
embracing the sports culture in this town. Um, and just
(02:52):
you know, going out there and supporting guys that I'm
getting to know and getting to be friends with. So
it's been a lot of fun. Uh, and you know,
I'm definitely looking forward to going to some more games
coming up. Tell me about your relationship. You kind of
touched on it right there. You're getting close to some
of these guys in establishing relationships. Who are you I
don't know if you want to throw the term friends
out there or who do you keep in pach with
from the from the Celtics And you know, how often
(03:14):
are you guys able to kind of link up and
hang out? Um, I know a couple of guys. Um,
you know, I've met a lot of them, and you know,
just developed a lot of relationships. Um. You know, I've
seen j T a bunch of times. The party last
I was, Yeah, he I was fortunate to get that invitation,
so we know we know where I stand. Yeah, somehow,
(03:37):
I'm not surprised that you did not get inviation, but no,
you know, it's just so cool being able to hang
out with those guys and you know, see the human
aspect of it. You know, I think that you know,
people say that about us as football players, but now
I get to see what other athletes. You know, you
see him on the court, you see him on the ice,
you know, you see him at Finway. But then once
you get to like hang out with these guys off
the field or you know, out of their respect to sport,
(04:00):
saying you know, we're all just guys. You know, we
we try to come in here and do our jobs
as athletes, but at the end of the day, we're
all just men. You know, we'd like to have a
good time, share stories, you know, just kind of reflect
on our careers. Like I said, developed those great friendships.
So you know, it's been really cool getting to meet
a lot of these guys. You know, they're all very
humble dudes. Um. That's one thing that I really appreciate about.
(04:20):
You know, the Boston culture is, you know, as great
as some of these athletes are, it's just a very
blue collar, um I guess um vibe around around Boston
and New England as a whole. So you know, everybody's
incredibly humble with a lot of humility, and I think
that that's what allows us all to get along so
well and just you know, have great relationships and continue
(04:40):
to build on those. The interesting thing to me, and
you're talking about this is that you know, when when
the Celtics had that Big Three era, um, when they
had Paul Pierson, KG and Rerayal and Rondo was on
the team. But those guys were like in their early
to mid thirties. Tom Brady at that time was kind
of hovering around that time, so they were little bit older.
(05:01):
But now in the in the Boston sports culture, a
lot of the stars, including you, are younger. You're you're
right around the same age. You're right around Tatum's age,
right around Jalen Brown's age, Marcus Smart right around that age.
How does that kind of help you guys to establish
relationships just like being at the same like stage of life. Yeah, no,
(05:21):
I think it's exactly that. Um, you know, we all
have an incredible responsibility. First of all, we're all very
fortunate and very blessed to be in the positions that
we're in at such a young age, So I think that,
you know, that's just a common denominator with all of us.
You know, we're young guys just trying to um, just
trying to make it and UM, we're just trying to
do everything we can, at least I know that I am.
I'm trying to do everything I can to just you know,
(05:43):
be my best. And I know these other guys who
are doing the same. So being able to you know,
have a level of success and you know, getting to
meet all these people and experience all these things at
such a young age, you know, it's really cool just
because you know, it's uh, we had a long life
to live, and to be able to have these experiences
so early and develop these relationships, develop these friendships, UM,
it's it's definitely super cool. I've talked to a couple
(06:05):
of people who who have been in touch with you,
you know, throughout your time here in the New England area,
and they all told me that you're an intellectual guy.
Like you love to learn, you like to network, you
want to be around people who are successful and learn
from them. That really falls in line with some of
the guys on the Celtics. I'm just curious, have you
kind of picked that up and and having your conversations
(06:26):
with them and getting to know them. Has that kind
of been a commonplace that you guys can can talk
about that, um, you know, I think the in the
intellectual um conversations definitely are there, just because these are
all really smart guys that um you know, like like
I said earlier, just cool dudes. But you know, like
(06:47):
you said, we're all very intellectual. We all like to learn,
we'd like to gain knowledge, you know, we'd like to
go out and meet people, network, um, enhance our brands.
So a reaythink that's what it's about, you know, being
in this great sports town and full of great athletes,
full of great people, um, great people to know. So
it's being able to get out there and network and
meet different people, have different relationships. I think that can
(07:08):
just be beneficial for myself obviously and for everybody else involved.
But you said that it's a sports town, but it
comes with pressures, right, Like, what's what's that like for
you as a as a professional athlete, especially planning for
the Patriots who have super high expectations right right there
with the Celtics. Every year, it's like championship or bust.
What's that like as a young professional athlete to have
(07:30):
that type of pressure. I know you dealt with that
at Alabama as well, so you're kind of used to this.
But what what is that like coming into a city
like this that expects to win. Um, I mean, it
is what, it just is what it is. Like you
just said, there's an expectation. Uh, there's a standard, there's
a level of expectations out there. But you know, at
the end of the day, the way I look at
(07:51):
it is, you know, I got a job to do,
and regardless of you know, wherever I was and what
level of competition it is, you know, and whether it
was in college. Now, you know, I just got a
job to do, and you know, it's just up to
me to go out there and do my job. You know.
I know that there's a lot of expectations. I know
that there's a lot of pressure out there, But instead
of focusing on that, I just like to focus on
doing my job because at the end of the day,
(08:12):
that's really all that matters. Um. You know, it doesn't
really matter what anybody else expects of me, because I
have expectations for myself. It doesn't matter what pressure people
put on me because I put pressure on myself. Um,
and it just comes with being understanding that I have
a job to do and I just gotta go out
there and do it. So all that external stuff doesn't
really matter that much. All right, So we're not going
(08:33):
to talk about pressure on your shoulders, but we are
gonna talk about pressure on the Celtics shoulders. The playoffs.
What about they're starting up Sunday right there, taking on
the nets. We just found that out Tuesday night that
it's gonna be Celtics nets in the first round. What
do you think about where this team can get to?
I mean you've been up close and personal watching them,
you know the guys, where do you think they can
(08:55):
get to this season? In this postseason run that opens
up against KD Kyrie in the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Um, listen,
I'm no, I'm no ESPN analysts. I'm not an NBA analyst.
I don't you know. I don't make predictions. I don't
make uh you know, I think, you know say what
I think is gonna happen. But you know, just watching
this team play, Um, his team full of like I said,
(09:17):
great guys first of all, very talented basketball players. But um,
I think that they've just shown that they can they
can accomplish anything. Um had a great season and it's
been so fun to watch them, and you know, I'm
just really looking forward to being out there and and
supporting those guys. And I've actually never been to a
playoff playoff game in the Garden, so yeah, yeah, I
(09:39):
know that I've heard a lot of stories. I heard
that it's pretty it's gonna be pretty intense, so and
you know, I just love great sports atmospheres and the
Garden has one of the best atmospheres I've been So
without making any predictions or anything like that, I just
want to say that, you know, I support those guys,
and I know they're gonna go out there and play hard, uh,
night in and night out, And like I said, I
(09:59):
believe that, you know, they can accomplish anything. So you know,
good luck to those guys. And I'm would definitely be
their supporting them for sure. Are you gonna be there Sunday,
I'm gonna be the Sunday there you go, alright, I
love it. No, But I mean you talked about it
that this team, it really does feel like they can
accomplish anything. But that's wild to say that now today
(10:21):
in the middle of April, compared to where they were
back in at the end of December. Really, I mean,
can you could you imagine with the Patriots starting out
like two and six through your first eight games and
then going like eight and one over the final nine
like that, It just seems like such a wild turnaround.
What's it been like for you as a sports fan
just being able to see a team rally in turn
(10:44):
around in that fashion, because I've never seen this before.
I've been working in the NBA for fourteen years. I've
never seen this happen before. Yeah. Yeah, it's been great
to watch. Like I said, just being able to support
those guys, um throughout the entirety of the season, at
the beginning of the year, in the middle of the year,
you know, closing out the season. Um, I just love
supporting them and being there and watching them. Um. You know,
(11:07):
they really turned it on at the end of the
year and they got hot, so I think it was
at the perfect time. You Know, one thing I've learned
about sports is it's all about timing. It's all about
being hot at the right time. So you know, the
seed's got hot at the end of the year, at
the middle of the end of the year, and you know,
they really picked it up. So, like I said, sky
is the limit for those guys. Um. You know, I'm
a firm believer that whatever they want to go out
there and accomplish, they can do it. So I'm really
(11:27):
excited to see what how the rest of the season
plays out for those guys. Today's episode is presented by
the Boston Celtics credit card powered by Cardless. You'll be
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apply and are approved at carlist dot com slash Celtics,
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(11:47):
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Cardless dot com Forward slash Celtics for more information. It's
Cardless dot Com Forward slash Celtics. I think confidence is
the other important factor that people just don't talk enough
(12:08):
about in sports. Like, obviously, you guys have your god
given skills that you were born with, that you honed
and created throughout your your athletic careers, but if you
are at your peak in terms of confidence, I think
that just takes players in teams to a whole other level.
We've seen that with this Celtics team this season, right
like when they started to turn a corner, they started
to play with confidence and then they've gone whatever it is,
(12:29):
like thirty three and ten over the last forty three games. Yeah. Um,
but talking about you know, your viewpoint on a team
being able to turn things around, I know there you
said a quote that was something along the lines of,
it's not gonna be perfect every day, but if you
kind of just keep grinding through it, you're you're gonna
figure it out eventually. How have you seen that play
(12:50):
out from your professional experience and then also obviously that
relates to this team that's taken the court with the
Celtics right now. Yeah. Absolutely. Um, you know I think
it showed with us. Um, you know, hearing the Patriots organization, Um,
you know, we didn't start out the year the way
that we wanted to, particularly last year, and um, you
(13:11):
know we kind of had we were at two, we
were two and four at one point, and then we
kind of had to make a decision on you know,
how the rest of our season was gonna go. And
you know that that decision was basically like just put
our heads down and just grind, um, just continue to work. Um.
You know, we couldn't focus on what our record was
prior to that moment, and we couldn't focus on what
the record was going to be at the end of
the year. You know, it's just about showing up every day,
(13:31):
ready to work, ready to grind, ready to improve, and
then just seeing what the results. See what the results are,
you know, see where it takes you. And we did that,
and you know, Grant, we didn't. We definitely didn't end
the season where that we wanted to. But you know,
we were able to accumulate some accomplishments and um, do
some things, win some more games, and kind of pull
ourselves out of that hole that we dug ourselves in
at the beginning of the year. But um, you know,
(13:54):
I don't really know what goes on in the Celtics
locker room. I don't really know the conversations that they have,
but I think it's very evident that at you know,
it's just a group ful of guys that just put
their heads down and work. Um. It's a team full
of talented guys, and you know, their work is still evident.
You know, this doesn't seem like one of those teams
that you know, relies on superstar ability or you know,
things like that. You know, you see guys just the energy,
(14:16):
the passion that those guys play with. You see guys
you see Market's diving on the ground for balls all
the time. You see j T in Tough Buggs, guys
like Grant Ties and I mean all those guys. You know,
they all play so hard, and you know, it's really
great to see, like I said, with this, with this culture,
this this blue collar culture, seeing guys that are having
a lot of success, that are superstars, but still seeing
(14:37):
just the passion, the heart, the love for the game. Um,
you know, it's been it's been really special to watch.
It's been inspiring for me. So um, you know, like
I said, I just I love watching those guys. Man.
It's a lot of fun. They're definitely putting in the work.
They make sure that everyone knows about it too, because
after they win a game, they're all chats, are sending
out Instagram lives of them all in the weight room together,
(15:00):
bulking up, trying trying to reach your level, trying to
try it's not gonna happen. But um, speaking of that,
I mean, I think that there's no better source to
talk to than you of a team being being able
to rally together like in a certain environment. Um, the
weight room is a big place in the NFL. Have
(15:22):
you kind of felt that as well, that like that's
a place where you can really build kind of a
culture and um, you know, just relationships within the team
from player to player. No, absolutely, UM, I think you know,
not to sound like a total meat head, but the
weight room is one of the best places. I mean,
it's one of the best places to be UM. And
especially for us we're about to go into our we're
(15:44):
about to start our offseason program, like a lot of
teams across the league, So UM, you know, that's just
a that's a that's a hot spot for um, you know,
just developing an identity, developing that team chemistry, developing the
work ethic. Come you know, compare um all of us
being connected and building that kind of mentality and work
(16:04):
ethic throughout the offseason program. So the weight room is
definitely beneficial, um, you know, for us, for all athletes.
So UM, it's definitely cool to see those guys going
in there and working out lifting after after games and
stuff like that. I don't really know if I could
do that. I don't I don't know. If I don't
think you should do that, it's not in my card.
I'll leave you gotta you gotta go in the ice
(16:25):
tub after the NFL. Yeah, yeah, I usually gotta do
some other types of some other types of rehab whenever
I get out of games. But now it's definitely cool
to see them in there because, like you can just
tell the bond, the relationships that they're that they're building
in there, and they just continue to get better and
grow the team chemistry. Man, Like I said, this guy's
a limit for him. They used this term with within
(16:45):
the Celtics front office connective tissue. I feel like that's
what they're building every time that they go into that
weight room after a game. And JT is always trying
to say it to everyone, he's the strongest guy in
the room. I don't know if it's true. My money
would probably be on market smart. I've heard that too.
I've heard that. I've heard JT said he's the strongest
of the road. Let's let's get him out of bench
freest next to you. Let's see who comes out on top.
(17:07):
We gotta do that. Talking about you coming to games,
I want to kind of circle back to that. You've
been to a bunch of good ones, one of them
being the KG Number of retirement ceremony. Right, What was
that experience like for you being able to kind of
be up close and and watch that type of like love,
an outpour of support from nineteen thousand people in that building.
(17:30):
It was The energy in that building was nuts. It
was crazy. It was crazy. So I actually sat in
my seat and the two seats that were in front of,
like directly in front of me, were open, you know,
at the start of the game, and I'm like, all right, cool,
you know, I gotta I got a direct view to
the court and everything. Nextally, I know, KG walks beside me.
He just sits down right in front of me, and
a little bit later, right behind him, I was so
(17:51):
I was sitting, so it was KG, and then behind
KG Isaiah Thomas walks around and insisting on in front
of me. So I'm sitting in front of or behind KG.
Isaiah Thomas. You know the coach was sitting there too, right, Yeah,
it's high school coach was sitting there and then you
know it's his retirement game, and you know, just the
energy in there was I mean, I can't even it
was electric. So that was definitely one of the coolest experiences,
(18:15):
just seeing the love and the outpour of emotions and
appreciation for somebody like kg Um. I think it's just
a testament to these great fans and you know, the
New England area and just the love, the the appreciation,
the respect for the hard work and the grittiness because
you know, that's what KG brought to the floor. It
(18:35):
was salented obviously, but I mean the heart, the grit,
the determination, the competitiveness, and that's what these fans, what
these people in New England are predicated off of um,
you know, and everyday life. So it was great to
see that. It was great to be a part of that.
And that was definitely another thing that motivated me, like wow,
like seeing just the love of just seeing like watching
the fans get behind the guy and a team and
(18:57):
just you know it just it definitely got me a
little ready to put the pads back on for sure.
I was. I was ready to suit up during that game.
You seeing KG all emotional and you know, seeing him
just basically um or even the benefits of all of
his hard work. You know, it just it was very motivating.
It's very inspiring for sure. You were right there. Then
when Jalen made slammed home dunk and slapped KG then right,
(19:21):
oh yeah, I was that. That was one of the
moments of that was nuts. Yeah. I wanted to run
out on the court and dap up I did it.
I had to hold myself back, but it was that
was who that was crazy. I was ready to rock
after that. A couple more questions here before we get
you out of here. I know you got you got
a handshake with Mac Jones, right, I do the best handshake?
(19:43):
What what is it that makes a great handshake? Because
I mean I'm sitting there before every NBA game, it's
like every single guy's got a handshake. They do it
right before they walk out on the court. What makes
a good handshake? Um, I feel like it's gotta it's
gotta fit the personality of the relations and ship. You know,
whoever you got your handshake with. It's got to be
real and like indicative of your relationship with the guys.
(20:06):
But it also takes a lot of rhythm and fortunately enough,
Matt Jones got a lot of rhythm. So as soon
as we started, you know, we we made that handshake
and we were in college and I walked up to
him and I just started kind of flowing with the
kind of freestyling off the top of my head and
he just every move, he was right there with it. So, okay,
this kid's got a little sauce to him. You got
a little flavor. So boom, boom boom. We got it done.
(20:29):
And here it is years later, get to do it
on Sundays. Man, it's it was a real full circle moment,
I'll say, before our first game as teammates, you know,
in the league, and we just sat there and looked
at each other and dapped each other up, did our
little handshake, and it's like, man, this is a real
full circle right here. So it's it's, it's, it's it's
a lot of fun. I think having handshakes, I think
(20:49):
it just keeps everybody loose, It keeps everybody free. You know,
everybody gets to um have their own handshakes with different guys.
I got a couple of different handshakes, so I'm a
big handshake guy. You can't all right then. My eyes
are locked on him this season, last one. Before we
get you out of here, got to ask you just
how you feeling during the off season where you at
and um, you know, what are you looking forward to
when the season gets underway here? Um, you know, in
(21:11):
the next four or five months. Man, I feel incredibly blessed,
um for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, you know,
God has blessed me to be in the position that
I'm in, to play this game at a high level,
to be a part of such a prestigious organization. UM,
to be in such a great sports town like Boston,
to be able to develop relationships with guys like j T. Pasta,
(21:32):
you know, some of these other guys, some other athletes,
and Dude, I just feel so blessed and so fortunate
to be sitting here today, even being able to sit
down and talk with you. Man, I couldn't feel more
blessed to be in the position that I'm in. The
First time I've ever heard someone say that about sitting
down and talking with me. Damien, Well, I mean, it's true, man,
it is true. I I live a very fortunate and
(21:53):
very blessed life. And you know, I thank God every
day for putting me in the position that I'm in,
including this chair right now talking to you. But um,
you know there's a lot to be excited about this year. UM.
But I'm one of those you know, one day at
a time, one day at the time kind of guys. Um.
You know, I'm just looking forward to beginning our offseason program,
seeing all of our guys, um, and just going to
(22:14):
work developing those relationships all over again. And the work ethic,
the camaraderie and all those things. You know, that's what
I'm looking forward to the most. I know that whenever
the season gets here, Um, you know, there will be
things for us to look forward to and things for
us to you know, work towards and all that. But
right now, you know, we're just starting to step one.
So that's where that's where my focus is. And you know,
(22:35):
I'm just excited to be back here with the guys
and being back in you know, the weight room, on
the field, you know, doing workouts, all kind of stuff,
and you know it's being able to kick start our
our next season because you know it's gonna be it's
a new season, it's gonna be provided with new challenges. Um.
It's a new team. We got new coaches, new players. Um,
(22:55):
so it'll be it'll be super exciting to have everybody
in here in the building and just get everybody to
get back to work. Hey, this is when you start
building it, right, connected tissue. You can bring that term
over over into your room now. An I'll probably reworded
because I don't want to. I don't want to sweat.
It's good, it's all good, it's all it's New England.
We can we can share terms, all right. Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonn add a little a little twist to it.
(23:16):
We'll see. I love it, all right. Hey, you said
you're blessed. We're blessed to be able to have you
on the podcast today. We really appreciate the time. Blessed
to have you as a member of the New England Patriots.
Second in the league and rushing touchdowns. I'd be remiss
if I didn't mention that after last seas and so
we're expecting big things out of you guys this coming
season and we're looking forward to having you at the
Garden on Sunday for Game one against the Brooklyn Nets.
(23:39):
Damien Harris of the New England Patriots, we appreciate the
time many I appreciate you go sees. Thank you for
listening to view from the Raptors behind the scenes with
the Boston Celtics, presented by Cardless
Host
Marc D'Amico
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