April 22, 2025 • 41 mins
If you were watching NFL football in the early ’90s, you know the name Mark Rypien. He’s the Super Bowl MVP who led Washington to victory in Super Bowl XXVI. The first Canadian-born quarterback to start in the NFL. A big-game player with a big arm.
But what most people don’t know is the powerful story that came after the confetti.
In this special episode of Paper Napkin Wisdom, I sit down with Mark Rypien to talk about the journey beyond the game — one that led him through darkness, loss, healing, and ultimately, purpose.
And what did he write on his napkin?
"Success = Preparation + Opportunity."
It might sound like a classic quote, something you’d see on a locker room wall. But when Mark Rypien writes it, it carries weight — not just from the wins he celebrated, but from the battles he’s .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}Mark as PlayedTranscript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:02):
Mark Rippon. Welcome to paper napkin wisdom. I'm excited to have you here today.
Mark Rypien (00:07):
Govind. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here and look forward to our little, you know. Kind of fireside chat, you might say.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:14):
Yeah, absolutely. And listen for people, for people listening and not aware. Mark is in my mind, and well, undisputably the greatest Canadian Nfl player, the only Canadian super bowl, Mvp. Like super Bowl, Mvp. From Canada. So there's a Canadian connection. You're from Calgary. I'm in Ottawa. So this is fun extra fun.
Mark Rypien (00:39):
Yes, oh, Canada.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:43):
Yeah, definitely proud of my heritage, proud of my roots, proud of the
Mark Rypien (00:47):
Our boys losing to U.S.A. In that 4 nation series and coming back and beating them when it mattered. So it was pretty cool. I thought that was also pretty neat for the nhl to have all their superstars play in a game like this, or a tournament like this
during the season, you know. Usually you see it in the Olympics, and guys put their their Nhl careers to the side and go play for their country in the Olympics. Never mind to do it in a 4 Nation series, and it was very popular. I think it showed the pride of Canada. You know. It's still the great.
Govindh Jayaraman (01:19):
Yeah.
Mark Rypien (01:19):
A hockey nation in the world, and and Connor Mcjesus or Mcdavid, I should say, is pretty special, as as is Sid and all those guys who stood up for the Canadians and played so so well amidst a pretty, pretty fun little event.
Govindh Jayaraman (01:36):
Well, we're going to get a little chat about this, but there is something about
generational players like generational talents who elevate their games at certain times. Right? You know, Gretzky did it.
The knock on Mario was for years that Mario couldn't do it. And then, when he played with Gretzky, there's that famous goal. He did it, and then Sid the Kid did it.
(02:00):
And now Connor Mcdavid did it right. I mean, there's there's a
there's a moment, and you had your moment, and you did it. And I think that leads really well into our napkin today, which is success equals preparation plus opportunity.
and the the Greats have a way of elevating right.
Mark Rypien (02:19):
Yeah, but you you need all those things, too. The opportunity. If it wasn't there. 2,002. I was in
Salt Lake City, and I watched the gold medal game with Mario and Joe Sackick, I thought, was absolutely spectacular for Canada in that, and so I had firsthand view of what Olympic hockey was like, and the amount of pride that those had. But there's an opportunity that's an opportunity to play for your your country for gold, and if your preparation coming up to that, and
(02:50):
the success that you have from lack of preparation isn't going to be there. But if you're prepared, and you enhance that with an opportunity of a lifetime to play in the super bowl like I did to be a part of the Super bowl
in 1987, 88. I think that was just as important, even though I prepared differently then for that super bowl, because I wasn't the guy. But I had an opportunity there to learn, see what it was like. And so my success came from a lot of those venues where I just, you know, kind of had an opportunity to look at things, do the things preparation wise. And from that 88 World Championship, where we beat the Denver broncos in
(03:31):
San Diego or Doug Williams is the Mvp. To my chance to do it in 91, 92. The season that we've had was so special and and put it to fruition with a culminating Super bowl championship against the Buffalo Bills in Minneapolis.
Govindh Jayaraman (03:46):
Yeah. So I'm going to ask you, and we sort of get there a little bit later than we usually do. But I gave everybody. The napkin success equals preparation plus opportunity at the top. You've got hashtag, Httr. And I usually ask why you shared that with me. But we've already gotten into that so? But why did you share that of all the wisdom that you have? I mean, you had such an incredible career, and you've been so vocal in football and in other circles ever since. Why was this the message today?
Mark Rypien (04:16):
Well, I just think, Httr for me is I played in an era where we were. The redskins, you know, and Httr hail to the redskins was kind of the model that we had. Httc. Is. Now what happens? Because that's the era that we're in, you know. Hail to the commanders, but I can never say that because I didn't play for the commanders. I played for the Washington redskins, and we are proud to
(04:40):
serve our our team and our ownership and and our community, and also the indigenous and native people, because they were proud of what we did, what we stood for. It's unfortunate what's happened that they've taken that away. I don't want to get into politics or anything like that. But if if the native community would have said that, that would have been deterrent to them, or that they were felt in some way. Then, by all means we should have done it. But it didn't have anything to do with that. And that's unfortunate, you know. If they just invited 2 or 3 of the top
(05:10):
native American indigenous leaders to the table to decide the fate of the name, then I would have been fine. But I support the commanders now, because that's what they are. They're the Washington commanders, and we're on a great
path right now with the new ownership. Josh Harris and his crew have done an amazing job. And, by the way, he's a hockey Guy, too. He owns the New Jersey devils, and and they're having a good year this year. And of course his Philadelphia 76 ers are not having as good a year in basketball, but we're so fortunate and blessed to have Josh and and the Harris group be a part of our.
(05:46):
you know, of our franchise now, and the ownership and magic Johnson being there, Mitch rails and and Mark Inez and the the whole ownership group, along with Adam Peters and and our coach, Dan Quinn. We're on a great path. We have a great culture, and I think you look back on. You know my paper napkin, and what it
(06:09):
fortunate enough to have an opportunity to play with a group of guys and an ownership group is Jack Kent Cook, who, by the way, is another Canadian, and also Joe Gibbs, the leader of that, and and the amount of pride that we had playing for him and our community in Washington, DC.
Govindh Jayaraman (06:27):
How like! It's incredible to me, Mark, when you talk about
all of the greats that you've worked with, played with, trained with, prepared with.
It's interesting that you always mentioned leadership. You always mention ownership. You always talk about the pedigree that it takes right, and there is something about winners that understand that preparation is the quiet silent. There are no lights, there are no cameras. That's the hard part right. And people who do that
(07:04):
do that well everywhere, like Harris, does it? Well, at the devils. That team turned around under his ownership. And we're seeing similar things happen with his other involvements in other professional sports teams, right?
Mark Rypien (07:15):
There's no secret. I mean, he's got a formula, obviously, that works. I always look at it, too, I think, is Govind, and you look back on the bar was very high.
for when I got in there, you know, we had won 2 world championships in the eighties, and we'd lost another one, we probably should have won that. Maybe the the best redskin team that we had
(07:36):
was the the one that we lost against the Oakland raiders. So I think the bar was very high. You're held. There's accountability piece, too, that goes along with all of this, and when the bar is that high you don't want to let your team down. You don't want to let your community down. You know. We also were the last of the dinosaurs, too, when you think about it, there was no free agency.
(07:57):
so there was no chance to move anywhere. You did things on and off the field together, your teammates, your community, you became entrenched in your community, whether it be philanthropy, wise, or or whatever you became a part of Washington, DC. In that what they call the Dmv. The district, Maryland and Virginia. That really enabled you, I think, to be successful.
(08:18):
and I think that I always say the guys that paved the way for me were the guys that played before me. Those are the guys that paved the way, and I'm sure that you always hear, you know, in the hockey arena talking to talk about the guy fleurs and the Gordy Howes and the guys that kind of set the bar so high for the nhl guys, and
(08:39):
and I've had an opportunity over the years to be around some very successful players. Clark Gilley is a really close friend of mine, and I played in his charity golf event for years, and continue to go back to Long Island and Honor Clark and the Islanders, and what they did, and that magical eighties, you know, really kind of taking the bull by the horn and winning all those Stanley cups in a row. And it's almost interesting to hear Wayne Gretzky talk about
(09:05):
what it takes to to be that next group that they were, and he see there's a great story. Him walking into the New York Islanders locker room after they just beat them and won the Stanley cup, thinking they'd be.
you know, champagne and everything this that and the other. He walks in there, and these guys had ice bags on their knees and shoulders, and sure they were excited and happy. But he says that's what it takes
(09:29):
sometimes. And so, you know, it's pretty cool story, and I like to hear stories, you know, from the past, and but I always were very, very grateful for the guys who played before me, and and were the ones that paved the path for me, and as hopefully we did for our commanders. Now that they're seeing the fruits of the labor of great ownership, great leadership, and a kid Jaden Daniels, that really kind of
(09:52):
caught all our attention, and really is amazing, not only off the field, but incredible work, ethic and absolutely incredible talent on the field.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:02):
Yeah. And and you talked about. And I don't want to leave this. The bar was set very high.
you know.
teams, organizations. And I'm talking about companies and and teams that accomplish great things, have expectations, right? Have expectations of how we handle ourselves, have expectations of what our standards are. And that's what you're talking about. When the bar was really high, right.
Mark Rypien (10:28):
Absolutely. I mean, the Yankees are the Yankees for a reason the Dodgers are the dodgers for a reason. Baseball is what I think. We all grew up with. I had baseball in my hand when I was 3, but those franchises essentially, and the Lakers in basketball, you know, and you know in all lessons in the last 20 years the New England patriots, you know, before then the steelers and before then. So it was. You know there's always been a high bar that you know people would
(10:57):
have be held accountable to, and so winning super bowls was the only thing in Washington, DC. That mattered, you know, finishing, losing, winning one playoff game and losing the Fc. Championship game was. It was a good season, but people in DC expected more.
Yeah. They wanted to go the whole way, and so I think that was great, because each one in that locker room had the same feeling that we had a purpose. You know we had, you know, our opportunities and a chance to see where this was going to take us, and if it didn't end in a Lombardi trophy. It wasn't good enough for our people and us as players to go home and feel we accomplished what we wanted to.
Govindh Jayaraman (11:39):
Yeah, it's amazing. You know, the other thing that you sort of talk about the opportunity, the good fortune, that part of it
that plays a role, but you have to struggle long enough. You have to do the work. You have to do the hard in the trenches long enough, and you know, if you do it long enough the opportunity comes. But a lot of people quit before that opportunity comes right, and I'm sure you've seen that. I mean, there must have been a time when you were rehabbing that knee.
(12:09):
when maybe you got a little discouraged, didn't you.
Mark Rypien (12:11):
Oh, yeah, I mean, that's human nature. Sometimes, you know, I mean where you you've done all this preparation, you know whether you start in high school and college, and and you get there. And now you're in the pros. But then there's self-doubt, too, because you you're like, Wow! You're watching the game, and I was fortunate because I didn't have to be thrown in there right out of college. Some of these guys are thrown in right from college, and they want to win yesterday, you know these organizations, but
(12:33):
I had an opportunity, a chance to see Doug Williams play before me and and watch theisman, you know, even though I didn't watch him play when I was there, Doug, I had a front row view of watching him play, and his preparation, and and the type of pro that he was, and my mentor. And so I really looked at that as a chance for for me to grow. But there was also some doubt like, Wow, this game. Is this game faster than
(12:56):
then then I think it is. And for me I was like it. It might be
until until I actually, you know, use all that preparation for the opportunity that I had. And and now Doug has an appendectomy, and I'm thrust into the lineup.
I won't know until that day, and I think there are really good ones. And you talk. I talked to a lot of the athletes. You know that play, especially quarterback. You know. The ones that were able to be successful are the ones that were able to slow it down, you know, because a lot of times what you want to do is you want to get so fast paced that you want to get that 5 step, drop and throw the ball. Well, your receiver might not be coming out of his route, so you have to be able to slow the game down enough to know that the timing
(13:36):
and all those things, the preparation things you practiced during the week and and during the off season, and all of the intangible things that come to that game in itself. If you start speeding it up mentally and physically, you're not going to be able to get it done. You're not going to be able to be successful. So I've learned that
(13:57):
when I was a little bit nervous to get my 1st start in the Nfl. And and then to get actually get actually out there and play and say, Wow, this this.
it's hard, but don't get me wrong. It's not as hard. And I need to kind of process it, slow it down a little bit, do the things that I was taught to do, and and go out and make plays, and so that helped a lot.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:18):
Yeah, I think there's a powerful leadership lesson in that right that as leaders, we need to slow things down, we need to prepare for the moment. That's gonna be high impact. It's gonna come faster than you think it's going to. But you have to make sure you have to slow that play down to see what's happening around you, and that only comes with preparation and practice that only comes with working with your teammates
(14:39):
before you're in the big game, right? I mean.
Mark Rypien (14:42):
One of.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:42):
Get into the super bowl and throw your 1st throw right.
Mark Rypien (14:45):
Yeah, 100%. I tell you. The 1st 3 get 3. 1, st 2 passes the super bowl. I got hit in the ribs, and I'm asking my guys who I think I had 7 sacks out here, what the heck's going on. And they were reassuring, said Mark. Don't worry.
don't worry. We're going to wear them down. Their adrenaline is so high. Right now, you know that we're in the metrodome. They're as high as this metrodome right now their energy level, you know, but we're going to slow them down and take the will out of them, which was great for me to hear that. But it was also awesome to know that. Yeah, okay, good. Then I can relax because I was a little bit nervous. Actually, I cracked a rib on the second throw I made on the second.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:19):
Throw.
Mark Rypien (15:20):
Yeah, second throw of the game. And and yeah, I didn't know it, but they played in the pro bowl, went and got an X-ray in the pro bowl. And that's when we actually had a pro bowl game in Hawaii, and they took an X-ray and saw that I had 2 cracked ribs, and I end up playing in the pro bowl because the adrenaline and also you're there. You might as well do it, you know, and so.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:36):
And.
Mark Rypien (15:36):
It was great. But you know you're still gonna make mistakes. Don't get me wrong. And and the great thing about you know, knowing that the mistakes that I made when I was younger is that I didn't make the same mistake twice.
You know I was. I did some things that were, you know, like, okay, the coach is going all right. You need to stop that. Well, yeah, you don't do it again. And then if you don't do that the coach sees you're growing, and you're, you know, getting into where they would like to be. And then, lo and behold! Here you are in 1991, 92. You put it all together, and
(16:07):
it equals one of the greatest super bowls of all time. When you look at what we did during the season, the playoffs and everything else. From a statistical standpoint we are considered maybe the greatest super bowl team in the history of the Nfl. Because of the stats, and how we beat teams, and how we went about our business, and how we did it.
Govindh Jayaraman (16:25):
Well, I mean up here. It played pretty big because of you, right? I mean, and and this and this. So this is the other thing that I think is really interesting about quarterback, which is different than a lot of other sports where you know in hockey it's a flow game where you can have a Mcdavid and Mcdavid certainly plays with the Puck on a stick a lot, and at a pace that's on fast forward. Compared to everybody else. However.
(16:52):
the quarterback has a very special role in in the game of football, but what's really neat, and I know this because I've had more than one conversation with you, but you always.
I don't think you see yourself as as bigger or better or more important than everybody else. You you really believe in the team like it's not. It's not just lip service, right.
Mark Rypien (17:14):
No, it's well, I mean, you're only as good as the guys up front 1st and foremost. So you take the you take that group of guys out.
Govindh Jayaraman (17:20):
Especially the guy on your blind side.
Mark Rypien (17:22):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, we saw what Patrick Mahomes had to go through in the Super bowl when he's as great as there is amidst amidst pressure and chaos. But when the pressure and chaos is controlled and they're keeping him in the pocket and putting pressure. Even Patrick Mahomes, who, I think is one of the all time Greats, and will be considered one of the all time. Greats, when he's done.
(17:42):
had struggled, and you could just see that I don't care. But if you buy into a system, you're doing what you're supposed to do, and you're doing at a level you're supposed to do it at, you know you can play for a lot of years, and I started 5, 6 years and played 13 years total. But I was so blessed and fortunate, you know, and to come out of the game, and to be amidst a group that I think was the greatest era of football
(18:08):
for the redskins, anyway, commanders now in our history, because in that stretch from 82 to 92, we went to 4 super bowls and won 3 of them. You can never take that away from us, and I'm again, and you can never take the fact that I'm the 1st Canadian born Super bowl and proud to be a Canadian, and we'll always proud to represent my fellow Canadians as yourself, Govind, and all my relatives, mostly on the western side in Alberta and British Columbia, and
(18:35):
just an honor to have done that in the arena that I was able to do it in.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:40):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's so true.
Talk to me about.
I know that you took leadership really seriously. You have then you do now, with all the work that you do
in the preparation piece, how important is it for the leader, for the quarterback, for the the top dog on the team to notice and celebrate the accomplishments of everyone else. Like, what does it do to a team?
(19:04):
Because you guys were a tight unit, and I believe that you had a lot to do with that like you. Just your style had a lot to do with that. The story up here was your Canadianness. You were so nice to everybody and kind to everybody that it made it.
I think that's no God.
Mark Rypien (19:23):
Yeah, I think that what you said is great, because a lot of times that guys did appreciate my own teammates and my community appreciated me more because I never deflected the blame. I was the 1st to say, Hey, I got to get better, hey? I have to do something. It wasn't like. So and so did this, and so and so did that. That was Joe Gibbs to say, Hey, we got to do this better. We got to do that better. I personally went out and said, I, I
(19:46):
I messed up. You know I've got to take care of the football. I got to take care of the football better. I got to make decisions better, you know. And I got to lead this team in a way. And so you do that your guys.
even though maybe some of them felt that they probably didn't do this or did do that. They see their quarterback telling the media and everyone else that they didn't do what he didn't do, what he's supposed to do. So it deflected away from them and their errors, or whatever to hey, this guy's got our back, and I think that's
(20:18):
it only wasn't just me, because I think all guys on our team were held accountable. And and they all, you know. If any of them said, Hey, they got to do better, and we had receivers that were Gary Clark was one of the most vocal ones ever about, hey? He didn't do this, and he didn't do that himself. And so I think we all kind of adopted a little philosophy that take care of your own business, and you know, come on publicly if you have to say that you need to do better, do better. And so that was the
(20:44):
the reason why we, you know and I think guys appreciated me and and I appreciated them is because there's no one.
you know, said put anyone under the bus, or you know, and and said that you know that they're bigger than the the hole in itself. So.
Govindh Jayaraman (20:59):
Yeah, that's that's amazing.
I also, I wonder about in your preparation.
What did your pregame, you know? Again, I think that pregame is, some people are superstitious about it. The Canadian hockey player in you is still probably a little superstitious about you were a 3 athlete. You were a 3 sport athlete in college. You pick football. So I know that preparation was important. But I wonder about your mindset pregame.
Mark Rypien (21:28):
Well.
Govindh Jayaraman (21:29):
What did you do?
Mark Rypien (21:30):
Well, I think here's 1 of the things that I would have to say that everyone on our football team would tell us we were prepared by our coaching staff. They gave us a game plan and we implement the game plan. We're able to do what we're supposed to do. During that each individual player had to
understand their role in what we were doing. You had to watch film. You had to understand the tendencies. We were given a chart, you know, each each a game plan each and every week is about, you know, 8 to 10 pages about you know how fast was their their left corner. How fast was their right corner? What did Deion Sanders like to do? Deion? Sanders loved to jump routes, you know we need to double move him. There's certain things that you knew going in that were going to be beneficial to you, and and gave you an upper hand. And then, in knowing that 3rd and 2 to 6,
(22:15):
3rd down, 2 to 6. They were 90% man to man, and but only
20% blitz. So they played man to man, and they had a safety high or a too deep look. But you knew you had man to man, and so you had routes that you knew. If you were man to man, you could go to the guy that you know you felt would be win, or if they rolled one way, or rolled the other way, which is coverage for the defensive backs. If they rolled the corner on one side and put a safety over the top and brought the safety in the middle and had the other side
(22:44):
what we call the cover 9. Then you would work, maybe the one on one to the to the other side of the field versus the
your ex receiver, who was being doubled by the safety and the and the corner. So there's a lot of tendencies that you had to have and understand what the tendencies of the defense were, in order to be prepared in all those situations, 1st and 10, second, long, second, short, 3rd and long, 3rd and short goal line, red Zone. All the different scenarios that happened during the course of a game and
(23:14):
practice those during practice and understand that, hey? A lot of times. It's just a dress. Practice is just kind of a dress rehearsal for the game, and you go out in the game, and oh, my goodness, they are in this coverage! Oh, my goodness, they are doing this! Oh, my goodness, wow! I just got to make physically make a throw, and sometimes that doesn't work either. You might be in the perfect scenario. You might overthrow a guy. I mean, there are times my college coach said. You know, Mark, you could probably be one of the guys that would could overthrow Noriega.
(23:43):
Hello.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:44):
Yeah, I'm here. Yeah.
Mark Rypien (23:45):
Yep, do that.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:46):
We're no, we're good. We're good.
Mark Rypien (23:47):
Sorry my daughter called on the phone. We're back. Good coach goes, you know, Mark, you were. You know. The thing about you is you're when you're hot you're hot. But the other times I think you could probably be the only guy that could overthrow Noriega, you know, who's at that time was.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Mark Rypien (24:01):
South America was a dictator. So I thought, that was kind of funny. And and yeah, I mean, so yeah, she physically still had to do things, even though you might know exactly where you have to go with the football, and you still physically got to make the throw to make the place to be successful.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:16):
Talk about this idea. I love all of that because you're moving to execution. And this is a question that I had about your napkin. Right? Preparation.
Mark Rypien (24:24):
Yep.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:25):
How
how do you? I know you've heard Federer came out recently, and he said, Oh, on his retirement I I made 52% of the points
that I played 52 people think it's a lot higher, but it's 52. And
and he talked about recovery. And then, right after that, not long after that Djokovic was on 60 min, and he was talking about the gift of his mindset people. The question was, Oh, you're gifted with a great mindset, and he cut the guy off right in the middle of the sentence. Says it's not a gift.
(25:00):
Mindset's not a gift. I recover really fast. I work at it. It's hard, and that's the number one thing. So this is the same thing. You you got cracked ribs. You got hit on your second pass, but you recovered.
How important is it? And what do you do? What are you thinking about when you switch gears? When you, when something bad happens. You get that out of your mind and replace it with fresh thought, so you can focus on the task at hand. Bring your preparation to the moment, how do you do that.
Mark Rypien (25:31):
Well, I think one. It's you know. I mean, I talked before I even got a football in my hand to play my 1st game about self-doubt. And then it's just a matter of okay. I can do this, you know, and believing in yourself has got so much merit to it that it's
you can't measure that. You know the belief that you want an individual has in itself. I think you touched on Federer, and I can even go as far as to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. You know how many shots I missed in my lifetime. Did it keep me from shooting the basketball heck? No.
(26:05):
you know, you know, you still got to go back in there. You still got guys counting on you to to make it work. So I think there's just something that you say. I believe in myself. That's it. I'm simply, I know what I have to do. Sure I made a mistake. I'm not going to do it again, because if I do, I'm not going to be able to play. They're not going to have me in there much longer. If I continue to do what I'm doing. So I believed in myself more so than anything, and and no one could take that away from me. No one could take that away from Yokovic or Federer, or
(26:35):
Lebron, or Michael, or you know anyone that's playing at a high, high level. They believe so wholeheartedly in themselves that nothing is going to get in their way. There's not going to be a divide that's going to say. Oh, gosh! I don't know. No, it's never! It's never! It's always I can. I can absolutely I can, and I will.
(26:56):
So.
Govindh Jayaraman (26:57):
And that I can.
that I can, feeling that I can philosophy that I can. Self-belief that comes out of preparation comes out of work.
That's something that people can tell right like I've heard stories about. When Jaden walked into the into the room at the beginning of camp there was just something different about the kid, right that he had
(27:18):
it in his mind. You could feel the confidence that he had. Am I wrong about that?
Mark Rypien (27:23):
No, not at all. And I think he took the you know the old saying, Bull by the horn, you know, and said, This is my team, and I think there's probably some, you know. You look back at my years of 4 or 5 years coming up to play and winning that super. Bowl 91, 92. I had some great seasons, you know. I split some time with Doug, and him and I were kind of quarterback a quarterback. B, you know. Quarterback, one quarterback 2. We did some wonderful things one year, him and I both
(27:48):
had over 2,000 yards, each of us passing, and we had 3 receivers with over a thousand yards, the 1st ever in the history of the Nfl. Clark, Monk, and Sanders all had 1,000 yards receiving. So we didn't make the playoffs that year. So that tells you something right there, you know. So there's there's a method to what Joe Gibbs did, and what he what he had, and but I also think there's like Matt Millen said. He says, gosh, Mark, you know not that I didn't see it in you, but that look you had in your eye in 91, 92, that
(28:17):
your assertion, you know, and in the locker room and the huddle on the practice field and the meetings. You know we all had. We had a lot of player only meetings, you know, before games. Not that we needed them. That 91, 92 season. But we did have to have one after the cowboys beat us, and we thought we were a little bit. Maybe we thought we were a little bit better than we were, and so they kind of put a little, and we also knew they were going to be good, too, you know they're on the verge of of being pretty doggone good. So they beat us by 3 at home.
(28:46):
We kind of had to reset and get back on track. But we had player only means. I thought those were great, even though our coaching staff was absolutely amazing, and Joe Gibbs is a hall of fame, Guy, that he is, just because of who he is and how he went about doing it. I've never ever seen a guy in my whole entire mind, get so mad at a halftime of a game against the Philadelphia eagles and white
(29:08):
orange slices, and gatorade, knock it all off the table and never swear once. Holy gosh, golly! Geez! Son of a gun! You guys got to play football, but you could see the venom in his eyes, and almost guys didn't know whether to laugh or to like. Oh, my goodness, he's he's ticked! He's.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:25):
Yeah.
Mark Rypien (29:25):
Off. So when that happens, you know, you know, that
this coach is just has as much invested in this as we do as players, if not more so, and they're they're all dedicated to try to make us better. And and I think that's why he was one of the greatest.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:40):
Yeah, and that I just love that that sense of I can. And that confidence. And yeah, it's a really good point that sometimes you can have these great personal years. You talked about the 2 of you putting up 2,000 yards each, and 3 players, 3 receivers with a thousand yards each.
but it didn't win right. And then and and that's the ultimate. I mean, the goal is to win. It doesn't matter. All the personal awards don't mean a thing if you don't win.
Mark Rypien (30:06):
Yep, absolutely formula. There's a formula for that. And when you're throwing the ball that much that means you're behind quite a bit, and that means you're, you know, you're trying to get yourself out of a hole that you shouldn't have been in the 1st place. So yeah, that was yeah. That was pretty pretty unique and pretty spot on, too, on your part.
Govindh Jayaraman (30:24):
So one of the things that I think is really neat. So opportunity, how do you?
So we talked about the preparation and and how a leader, how an athlete, a quarterback, and how you prepared
is everything an opportunity? Or are there some times when you know it's just coming together like? Is there a difference?
Mark Rypien (30:46):
Well, the opportunity 1st comes with, you know, hey? Something's got to happen for you to be in that in that limelight, you know. And then so that opportunity arises. And and your preparation is either I think I've said it before you either gonna get it done or someone else will.
So you have to meet it, you know, and then success equals the 2 of those things together. But first, st you have to have that opportunity, and just being in Washington, DC.
(31:10):
If you're going to be the starting quarterback for the Washington redskins during that era, there's opportunity because we were successful. We were good. We had the tools to to be good. So now it's just a matter of getting out there and and doing what you can do in order to take this team to where it needs to go. But then, you know again, you go back this
(31:35):
to the struggles, maybe, that you might have. And another opportunity arises the following week. You know you're throwing interception. You have an opportunity to go back in there the next series
and make something of it. So it's not like, you know. You have a you have a bad shift, and and you have an opportunity, a chance to score a goal. You miss it, and they come down there. The goalie makes a save. You're on the you know. You're in the
(32:01):
the bench, and you think, gosh, I got to make this happen. That happens really quick in hockey, you know, you're right back out there. Football. It's like, Okay, well, they maybe have a 10 play drive, and you get a chance to say, All right. You're going to sit there and stew over this interception or the fumble. And and now you got to get back out there. It's maybe 5 min later. Well, you got still got a chance and an opportunity to to make amends to what you didn't do before. So
(32:22):
there's opportunities within opportunities, in in sport and in football, especially to to better yourself and also help your team.
Govindh Jayaraman (32:31):
Yeah, absolutely. And I love. I love this. I love. That success is is.
you know, is the quotient right? It's it's the outcome of preparation and opportunity. And and you know you.
you have 2 super bowls right from from experiencing that. So you you know something about that.
But you also talked about the best team you had
(32:53):
was probably one that didn't win right. So.
Mark Rypien (32:56):
Well, not the not my best team, the best.
Govindh Jayaraman (32:58):
Not the best redskins team. Yeah.
Mark Rypien (33:00):
Redskin team ever was the team that had plus 51 plus or minus plus they have plus minus, you know, like in hockey.
they have, plus 51, or something like that turnover margin where they. We got 51 more turnovers than we did turn the ball over, so that season was incredible, and they went to the Super bowl against the raiders, and it was the turnover that
(33:23):
theisman threw a you know. Even Joe Gibbs probably says that maybe it was one of his worst call. At the 3 yard line they throw a screen, pass and square jumps the screen, pass, catches it, and scores a touchdown just before halftime, and they lose a game technically, that they were probably better than the raiders. But that doesn't mean that doesn't mean a doggone thing when it comes to super bowls, because
the bills were favorites and probably should have beat us, or you had had team a team to beat us in 91, 92, because of, you know being there the year before and losing to Scott, Norwood missed field goal wide left, and and then coming in there the second year, 3rd year, 4th year, I mean, they were good, really, really good. But
(34:02):
you know, they weren't good when it mattered the most, and that's unfortunate, because they had some of the greatest pros and players possible.
Govindh Jayaraman (34:10):
Yeah. So I mean, success doesn't come to everybody who shows up. It comes in a special moment.
Mark. This is, I mean, I know that we could go on for a long time. This was such a great conversation. I want to say, Thank you. And there is something that we're doing at the end of every episode right now where we're we're honoring the late great John Ruland, who was a friend of the paper napkin wisdom.
(34:34):
But way back. When we started he gave me a napkin that said, what you appreciate appreciates. So we start. We end every conversation with a little bit of gratitude. So I'm saying thank you to you. But is there anybody that you'd like to shout out and give some gratitude or appreciation to before we close.
Mark Rypien (34:50):
I am always grateful for for my family and friends. You know I'm grateful for my sweetheart Heidi, who's, you know, not only brilliant, but comes with a wonderful sense of humor, loves golf.
I'm very grateful for for that. I'm also grateful for my community here. I mean, you know you go through, you talk about opportunity and
(35:12):
and preparation. No one prepares for the death of their child. And so, when my son Andrew died in 1998 of a brain tumor. You look at that, and you say, Well, what can I do? Where can I go? And how can I help someone? And so you turn that into something positive to honor Andrew and honor all the kids and families of children going through cancer. And so I started a foundation. And so I'm grateful for our community for helping
(35:37):
those kids and their families get through their you know, their their circumstances, and what treatment that they're going through, because we knew what we went through was very difficult, but we had great nurses and doctors, and and all our care. People in this country that are taking care of others, just so grateful for them, too.
Govindh Jayaraman (35:56):
Yeah, that's amazing. And and we're going to put a link into the show notes to the foundation as well, yeah.
Mark Rypien (36:01):
It's called the Community Cancer Fund now, and Ccf. In Spokane and do wonderful work. We joined with my good friend Mark few who ran the coaches versus cancer. Here Mark is one of the great. But speaking of a way of a guy who's had some Canadian come through
Nembard is playing now, Rob. Sockery played. And yeah, you know. So we've had a lot of great Canadians come through
(36:25):
Gonzaga and play basketball. Here. Mark's been an icon in Spokane, and so he kind of ran the community coaches versus cancer here, but saw that the dollars weren't going staying here locally in Spokane. So he started the community cancer fund for the kind of the adult arm of cancer. And we're the pediatric arm. So we joined forces with Mark and and our community and formed the community cancer fund. And now we do our work
(36:49):
through them. And it's amazing, amazing group. So if you could plug the community cancer fund in Spokane. That'd be great.
Govindh Jayaraman (36:55):
We will, for sure. Thanks so much, mark.
Mark Rypien (36:57):
Thank you. Bowman. Cheers!
Mark Rippon. Welcome to paper napkin wisdom. I'm excited to have you here today.
Mark Rypien (00:07):
Govind. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here and look forward to our little, you know. Kind of fireside chat, you might say.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:14):
Yeah, absolutely. And listen for people, for people listening and not aware. Mark is in my mind, and well, undisputably the greatest Canadian Nfl player, the only Canadian super bowl, Mvp. Like super Bowl, Mvp. From Canada. So there's a Canadian connection. You're from Calgary. I'm in Ottawa. So this is fun extra fun.
Mark Rypien (00:39):
Yes, oh, Canada.
Govindh Jayaraman (00:43):
Yeah, definitely proud of my heritage, proud of my roots, proud of the
Mark Rypien (00:47):
Our boys losing to U.S.A. In that 4 nation series and coming back and beating them when it mattered. So it was pretty cool. I thought that was also pretty neat for the nhl to have all their superstars play in a game like this, or a tournament like this
during the season, you know. Usually you see it in the Olympics, and guys put their their Nhl careers to the side and go play for their country in the Olympics. Never mind to do it in a 4 Nation series, and it was very popular. I think it showed the pride of Canada. You know. It's still the great.
Govindh Jayaraman (01:19):
Yeah.
Mark Rypien (01:19):
A hockey nation in the world, and and Connor Mcjesus or Mcdavid, I should say, is pretty special, as as is Sid and all those guys who stood up for the Canadians and played so so well amidst a pretty, pretty fun little event.
Govindh Jayaraman (01:36):
Well, we're going to get a little chat about this, but there is something about
generational players like generational talents who elevate their games at certain times. Right? You know, Gretzky did it.
The knock on Mario was for years that Mario couldn't do it. And then, when he played with Gretzky, there's that famous goal. He did it, and then Sid the Kid did it.
(02:00):
And now Connor Mcdavid did it right. I mean, there's there's a
there's a moment, and you had your moment, and you did it. And I think that leads really well into our napkin today, which is success equals preparation plus opportunity.
and the the Greats have a way of elevating right.
Mark Rypien (02:19):
Yeah, but you you need all those things, too. The opportunity. If it wasn't there. 2,002. I was in
Salt Lake City, and I watched the gold medal game with Mario and Joe Sackick, I thought, was absolutely spectacular for Canada in that, and so I had firsthand view of what Olympic hockey was like, and the amount of pride that those had. But there's an opportunity that's an opportunity to play for your your country for gold, and if your preparation coming up to that, and
(02:50):
the success that you have from lack of preparation isn't going to be there. But if you're prepared, and you enhance that with an opportunity of a lifetime to play in the super bowl like I did to be a part of the Super bowl
in 1987, 88. I think that was just as important, even though I prepared differently then for that super bowl, because I wasn't the guy. But I had an opportunity there to learn, see what it was like. And so my success came from a lot of those venues where I just, you know, kind of had an opportunity to look at things, do the things preparation wise. And from that 88 World Championship, where we beat the Denver broncos in
(03:31):
San Diego or Doug Williams is the Mvp. To my chance to do it in 91, 92. The season that we've had was so special and and put it to fruition with a culminating Super bowl championship against the Buffalo Bills in Minneapolis.
Govindh Jayaraman (03:46):
Yeah. So I'm going to ask you, and we sort of get there a little bit later than we usually do. But I gave everybody. The napkin success equals preparation plus opportunity at the top. You've got hashtag, Httr. And I usually ask why you shared that with me. But we've already gotten into that so? But why did you share that of all the wisdom that you have? I mean, you had such an incredible career, and you've been so vocal in football and in other circles ever since. Why was this the message today?
Mark Rypien (04:16):
Well, I just think, Httr for me is I played in an era where we were. The redskins, you know, and Httr hail to the redskins was kind of the model that we had. Httc. Is. Now what happens? Because that's the era that we're in, you know. Hail to the commanders, but I can never say that because I didn't play for the commanders. I played for the Washington redskins, and we are proud to
(04:40):
serve our our team and our ownership and and our community, and also the indigenous and native people, because they were proud of what we did, what we stood for. It's unfortunate what's happened that they've taken that away. I don't want to get into politics or anything like that. But if if the native community would have said that, that would have been deterrent to them, or that they were felt in some way. Then, by all means we should have done it. But it didn't have anything to do with that. And that's unfortunate, you know. If they just invited 2 or 3 of the top
(05:10):
native American indigenous leaders to the table to decide the fate of the name, then I would have been fine. But I support the commanders now, because that's what they are. They're the Washington commanders, and we're on a great
path right now with the new ownership. Josh Harris and his crew have done an amazing job. And, by the way, he's a hockey Guy, too. He owns the New Jersey devils, and and they're having a good year this year. And of course his Philadelphia 76 ers are not having as good a year in basketball, but we're so fortunate and blessed to have Josh and and the Harris group be a part of our.
(05:46):
you know, of our franchise now, and the ownership and magic Johnson being there, Mitch rails and and Mark Inez and the the whole ownership group, along with Adam Peters and and our coach, Dan Quinn. We're on a great path. We have a great culture, and I think you look back on. You know my paper napkin, and what it
(06:09):
fortunate enough to have an opportunity to play with a group of guys and an ownership group is Jack Kent Cook, who, by the way, is another Canadian, and also Joe Gibbs, the leader of that, and and the amount of pride that we had playing for him and our community in Washington, DC.
Govindh Jayaraman (06:27):
How like! It's incredible to me, Mark, when you talk about
all of the greats that you've worked with, played with, trained with, prepared with.
It's interesting that you always mentioned leadership. You always mention ownership. You always talk about the pedigree that it takes right, and there is something about winners that understand that preparation is the quiet silent. There are no lights, there are no cameras. That's the hard part right. And people who do that
(07:04):
do that well everywhere, like Harris, does it? Well, at the devils. That team turned around under his ownership. And we're seeing similar things happen with his other involvements in other professional sports teams, right?
Mark Rypien (07:15):
There's no secret. I mean, he's got a formula, obviously, that works. I always look at it, too, I think, is Govind, and you look back on the bar was very high.
for when I got in there, you know, we had won 2 world championships in the eighties, and we'd lost another one, we probably should have won that. Maybe the the best redskin team that we had
(07:36):
was the the one that we lost against the Oakland raiders. So I think the bar was very high. You're held. There's accountability piece, too, that goes along with all of this, and when the bar is that high you don't want to let your team down. You don't want to let your community down. You know. We also were the last of the dinosaurs, too, when you think about it, there was no free agency.
(07:57):
so there was no chance to move anywhere. You did things on and off the field together, your teammates, your community, you became entrenched in your community, whether it be philanthropy, wise, or or whatever you became a part of Washington, DC. In that what they call the Dmv. The district, Maryland and Virginia. That really enabled you, I think, to be successful.
(08:18):
and I think that I always say the guys that paved the way for me were the guys that played before me. Those are the guys that paved the way, and I'm sure that you always hear, you know, in the hockey arena talking to talk about the guy fleurs and the Gordy Howes and the guys that kind of set the bar so high for the nhl guys, and
(08:39):
and I've had an opportunity over the years to be around some very successful players. Clark Gilley is a really close friend of mine, and I played in his charity golf event for years, and continue to go back to Long Island and Honor Clark and the Islanders, and what they did, and that magical eighties, you know, really kind of taking the bull by the horn and winning all those Stanley cups in a row. And it's almost interesting to hear Wayne Gretzky talk about
(09:05):
what it takes to to be that next group that they were, and he see there's a great story. Him walking into the New York Islanders locker room after they just beat them and won the Stanley cup, thinking they'd be.
you know, champagne and everything this that and the other. He walks in there, and these guys had ice bags on their knees and shoulders, and sure they were excited and happy. But he says that's what it takes
(09:29):
sometimes. And so, you know, it's pretty cool story, and I like to hear stories, you know, from the past, and but I always were very, very grateful for the guys who played before me, and and were the ones that paved the path for me, and as hopefully we did for our commanders. Now that they're seeing the fruits of the labor of great ownership, great leadership, and a kid Jaden Daniels, that really kind of
(09:52):
caught all our attention, and really is amazing, not only off the field, but incredible work, ethic and absolutely incredible talent on the field.
Govindh Jayaraman (10:02):
Yeah. And and you talked about. And I don't want to leave this. The bar was set very high.
you know.
teams, organizations. And I'm talking about companies and and teams that accomplish great things, have expectations, right? Have expectations of how we handle ourselves, have expectations of what our standards are. And that's what you're talking about. When the bar was really high, right.
Mark Rypien (10:28):
Absolutely. I mean, the Yankees are the Yankees for a reason the Dodgers are the dodgers for a reason. Baseball is what I think. We all grew up with. I had baseball in my hand when I was 3, but those franchises essentially, and the Lakers in basketball, you know, and you know in all lessons in the last 20 years the New England patriots, you know, before then the steelers and before then. So it was. You know there's always been a high bar that you know people would
(10:57):
have be held accountable to, and so winning super bowls was the only thing in Washington, DC. That mattered, you know, finishing, losing, winning one playoff game and losing the Fc. Championship game was. It was a good season, but people in DC expected more.
Yeah. They wanted to go the whole way, and so I think that was great, because each one in that locker room had the same feeling that we had a purpose. You know we had, you know, our opportunities and a chance to see where this was going to take us, and if it didn't end in a Lombardi trophy. It wasn't good enough for our people and us as players to go home and feel we accomplished what we wanted to.
Govindh Jayaraman (11:39):
Yeah, it's amazing. You know, the other thing that you sort of talk about the opportunity, the good fortune, that part of it
that plays a role, but you have to struggle long enough. You have to do the work. You have to do the hard in the trenches long enough, and you know, if you do it long enough the opportunity comes. But a lot of people quit before that opportunity comes right, and I'm sure you've seen that. I mean, there must have been a time when you were rehabbing that knee.
(12:09):
when maybe you got a little discouraged, didn't you.
Mark Rypien (12:11):
Oh, yeah, I mean, that's human nature. Sometimes, you know, I mean where you you've done all this preparation, you know whether you start in high school and college, and and you get there. And now you're in the pros. But then there's self-doubt, too, because you you're like, Wow! You're watching the game, and I was fortunate because I didn't have to be thrown in there right out of college. Some of these guys are thrown in right from college, and they want to win yesterday, you know these organizations, but
(12:33):
I had an opportunity, a chance to see Doug Williams play before me and and watch theisman, you know, even though I didn't watch him play when I was there, Doug, I had a front row view of watching him play, and his preparation, and and the type of pro that he was, and my mentor. And so I really looked at that as a chance for for me to grow. But there was also some doubt like, Wow, this game. Is this game faster than
(12:56):
then then I think it is. And for me I was like it. It might be
until until I actually, you know, use all that preparation for the opportunity that I had. And and now Doug has an appendectomy, and I'm thrust into the lineup.
I won't know until that day, and I think there are really good ones. And you talk. I talked to a lot of the athletes. You know that play, especially quarterback. You know. The ones that were able to be successful are the ones that were able to slow it down, you know, because a lot of times what you want to do is you want to get so fast paced that you want to get that 5 step, drop and throw the ball. Well, your receiver might not be coming out of his route, so you have to be able to slow the game down enough to know that the timing
(13:36):
and all those things, the preparation things you practiced during the week and and during the off season, and all of the intangible things that come to that game in itself. If you start speeding it up mentally and physically, you're not going to be able to get it done. You're not going to be able to be successful. So I've learned that
(13:57):
when I was a little bit nervous to get my 1st start in the Nfl. And and then to get actually get actually out there and play and say, Wow, this this.
it's hard, but don't get me wrong. It's not as hard. And I need to kind of process it, slow it down a little bit, do the things that I was taught to do, and and go out and make plays, and so that helped a lot.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:18):
Yeah, I think there's a powerful leadership lesson in that right that as leaders, we need to slow things down, we need to prepare for the moment. That's gonna be high impact. It's gonna come faster than you think it's going to. But you have to make sure you have to slow that play down to see what's happening around you, and that only comes with preparation and practice that only comes with working with your teammates
(14:39):
before you're in the big game, right? I mean.
Mark Rypien (14:42):
One of.
Govindh Jayaraman (14:42):
Get into the super bowl and throw your 1st throw right.
Mark Rypien (14:45):
Yeah, 100%. I tell you. The 1st 3 get 3. 1, st 2 passes the super bowl. I got hit in the ribs, and I'm asking my guys who I think I had 7 sacks out here, what the heck's going on. And they were reassuring, said Mark. Don't worry.
don't worry. We're going to wear them down. Their adrenaline is so high. Right now, you know that we're in the metrodome. They're as high as this metrodome right now their energy level, you know, but we're going to slow them down and take the will out of them, which was great for me to hear that. But it was also awesome to know that. Yeah, okay, good. Then I can relax because I was a little bit nervous. Actually, I cracked a rib on the second throw I made on the second.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:19):
Throw.
Mark Rypien (15:20):
Yeah, second throw of the game. And and yeah, I didn't know it, but they played in the pro bowl, went and got an X-ray in the pro bowl. And that's when we actually had a pro bowl game in Hawaii, and they took an X-ray and saw that I had 2 cracked ribs, and I end up playing in the pro bowl because the adrenaline and also you're there. You might as well do it, you know, and so.
Govindh Jayaraman (15:36):
And.
Mark Rypien (15:36):
It was great. But you know you're still gonna make mistakes. Don't get me wrong. And and the great thing about you know, knowing that the mistakes that I made when I was younger is that I didn't make the same mistake twice.
You know I was. I did some things that were, you know, like, okay, the coach is going all right. You need to stop that. Well, yeah, you don't do it again. And then if you don't do that the coach sees you're growing, and you're, you know, getting into where they would like to be. And then, lo and behold! Here you are in 1991, 92. You put it all together, and
(16:07):
it equals one of the greatest super bowls of all time. When you look at what we did during the season, the playoffs and everything else. From a statistical standpoint we are considered maybe the greatest super bowl team in the history of the Nfl. Because of the stats, and how we beat teams, and how we went about our business, and how we did it.
Govindh Jayaraman (16:25):
Well, I mean up here. It played pretty big because of you, right? I mean, and and this and this. So this is the other thing that I think is really interesting about quarterback, which is different than a lot of other sports where you know in hockey it's a flow game where you can have a Mcdavid and Mcdavid certainly plays with the Puck on a stick a lot, and at a pace that's on fast forward. Compared to everybody else. However.
(16:52):
the quarterback has a very special role in in the game of football, but what's really neat, and I know this because I've had more than one conversation with you, but you always.
I don't think you see yourself as as bigger or better or more important than everybody else. You you really believe in the team like it's not. It's not just lip service, right.
Mark Rypien (17:14):
No, it's well, I mean, you're only as good as the guys up front 1st and foremost. So you take the you take that group of guys out.
Govindh Jayaraman (17:20):
Especially the guy on your blind side.
Mark Rypien (17:22):
Yeah, yeah. I mean, we saw what Patrick Mahomes had to go through in the Super bowl when he's as great as there is amidst amidst pressure and chaos. But when the pressure and chaos is controlled and they're keeping him in the pocket and putting pressure. Even Patrick Mahomes, who, I think is one of the all time Greats, and will be considered one of the all time. Greats, when he's done.
(17:42):
had struggled, and you could just see that I don't care. But if you buy into a system, you're doing what you're supposed to do, and you're doing at a level you're supposed to do it at, you know you can play for a lot of years, and I started 5, 6 years and played 13 years total. But I was so blessed and fortunate, you know, and to come out of the game, and to be amidst a group that I think was the greatest era of football
(18:08):
for the redskins, anyway, commanders now in our history, because in that stretch from 82 to 92, we went to 4 super bowls and won 3 of them. You can never take that away from us, and I'm again, and you can never take the fact that I'm the 1st Canadian born Super bowl and proud to be a Canadian, and we'll always proud to represent my fellow Canadians as yourself, Govind, and all my relatives, mostly on the western side in Alberta and British Columbia, and
(18:35):
just an honor to have done that in the arena that I was able to do it in.
Govindh Jayaraman (18:40):
Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's so true.
Talk to me about.
I know that you took leadership really seriously. You have then you do now, with all the work that you do
in the preparation piece, how important is it for the leader, for the quarterback, for the the top dog on the team to notice and celebrate the accomplishments of everyone else. Like, what does it do to a team?
(19:04):
Because you guys were a tight unit, and I believe that you had a lot to do with that like you. Just your style had a lot to do with that. The story up here was your Canadianness. You were so nice to everybody and kind to everybody that it made it.
I think that's no God.
Mark Rypien (19:23):
Yeah, I think that what you said is great, because a lot of times that guys did appreciate my own teammates and my community appreciated me more because I never deflected the blame. I was the 1st to say, Hey, I got to get better, hey? I have to do something. It wasn't like. So and so did this, and so and so did that. That was Joe Gibbs to say, Hey, we got to do this better. We got to do that better. I personally went out and said, I, I
(19:46):
I messed up. You know I've got to take care of the football. I got to take care of the football better. I got to make decisions better, you know. And I got to lead this team in a way. And so you do that your guys.
even though maybe some of them felt that they probably didn't do this or did do that. They see their quarterback telling the media and everyone else that they didn't do what he didn't do, what he's supposed to do. So it deflected away from them and their errors, or whatever to hey, this guy's got our back, and I think that's
(20:18):
it only wasn't just me, because I think all guys on our team were held accountable. And and they all, you know. If any of them said, Hey, they got to do better, and we had receivers that were Gary Clark was one of the most vocal ones ever about, hey? He didn't do this, and he didn't do that himself. And so I think we all kind of adopted a little philosophy that take care of your own business, and you know, come on publicly if you have to say that you need to do better, do better. And so that was the
(20:44):
the reason why we, you know and I think guys appreciated me and and I appreciated them is because there's no one.
you know, said put anyone under the bus, or you know, and and said that you know that they're bigger than the the hole in itself. So.
Govindh Jayaraman (20:59):
Yeah, that's that's amazing.
I also, I wonder about in your preparation.
What did your pregame, you know? Again, I think that pregame is, some people are superstitious about it. The Canadian hockey player in you is still probably a little superstitious about you were a 3 athlete. You were a 3 sport athlete in college. You pick football. So I know that preparation was important. But I wonder about your mindset pregame.
Mark Rypien (21:28):
Well.
Govindh Jayaraman (21:29):
What did you do?
Mark Rypien (21:30):
Well, I think here's 1 of the things that I would have to say that everyone on our football team would tell us we were prepared by our coaching staff. They gave us a game plan and we implement the game plan. We're able to do what we're supposed to do. During that each individual player had to
understand their role in what we were doing. You had to watch film. You had to understand the tendencies. We were given a chart, you know, each each a game plan each and every week is about, you know, 8 to 10 pages about you know how fast was their their left corner. How fast was their right corner? What did Deion Sanders like to do? Deion? Sanders loved to jump routes, you know we need to double move him. There's certain things that you knew going in that were going to be beneficial to you, and and gave you an upper hand. And then, in knowing that 3rd and 2 to 6,
(22:15):
3rd down, 2 to 6. They were 90% man to man, and but only
20% blitz. So they played man to man, and they had a safety high or a too deep look. But you knew you had man to man, and so you had routes that you knew. If you were man to man, you could go to the guy that you know you felt would be win, or if they rolled one way, or rolled the other way, which is coverage for the defensive backs. If they rolled the corner on one side and put a safety over the top and brought the safety in the middle and had the other side
(22:44):
what we call the cover 9. Then you would work, maybe the one on one to the to the other side of the field versus the
your ex receiver, who was being doubled by the safety and the and the corner. So there's a lot of tendencies that you had to have and understand what the tendencies of the defense were, in order to be prepared in all those situations, 1st and 10, second, long, second, short, 3rd and long, 3rd and short goal line, red Zone. All the different scenarios that happened during the course of a game and
(23:14):
practice those during practice and understand that, hey? A lot of times. It's just a dress. Practice is just kind of a dress rehearsal for the game, and you go out in the game, and oh, my goodness, they are in this coverage! Oh, my goodness, they are doing this! Oh, my goodness, wow! I just got to make physically make a throw, and sometimes that doesn't work either. You might be in the perfect scenario. You might overthrow a guy. I mean, there are times my college coach said. You know, Mark, you could probably be one of the guys that would could overthrow Noriega.
(23:43):
Hello.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:44):
Yeah, I'm here. Yeah.
Mark Rypien (23:45):
Yep, do that.
Govindh Jayaraman (23:46):
We're no, we're good. We're good.
Mark Rypien (23:47):
Sorry my daughter called on the phone. We're back. Good coach goes, you know, Mark, you were. You know. The thing about you is you're when you're hot you're hot. But the other times I think you could probably be the only guy that could overthrow Noriega, you know, who's at that time was.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Mark Rypien (24:01):
South America was a dictator. So I thought, that was kind of funny. And and yeah, I mean, so yeah, she physically still had to do things, even though you might know exactly where you have to go with the football, and you still physically got to make the throw to make the place to be successful.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:16):
Talk about this idea. I love all of that because you're moving to execution. And this is a question that I had about your napkin. Right? Preparation.
Mark Rypien (24:24):
Yep.
Govindh Jayaraman (24:25):
How
how do you? I know you've heard Federer came out recently, and he said, Oh, on his retirement I I made 52% of the points
that I played 52 people think it's a lot higher, but it's 52. And
and he talked about recovery. And then, right after that, not long after that Djokovic was on 60 min, and he was talking about the gift of his mindset people. The question was, Oh, you're gifted with a great mindset, and he cut the guy off right in the middle of the sentence. Says it's not a gift.
(25:00):
Mindset's not a gift. I recover really fast. I work at it. It's hard, and that's the number one thing. So this is the same thing. You you got cracked ribs. You got hit on your second pass, but you recovered.
How important is it? And what do you do? What are you thinking about when you switch gears? When you, when something bad happens. You get that out of your mind and replace it with fresh thought, so you can focus on the task at hand. Bring your preparation to the moment, how do you do that.
Mark Rypien (25:31):
Well, I think one. It's you know. I mean, I talked before I even got a football in my hand to play my 1st game about self-doubt. And then it's just a matter of okay. I can do this, you know, and believing in yourself has got so much merit to it that it's
you can't measure that. You know the belief that you want an individual has in itself. I think you touched on Federer, and I can even go as far as to Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. You know how many shots I missed in my lifetime. Did it keep me from shooting the basketball heck? No.
(26:05):
you know, you know, you still got to go back in there. You still got guys counting on you to to make it work. So I think there's just something that you say. I believe in myself. That's it. I'm simply, I know what I have to do. Sure I made a mistake. I'm not going to do it again, because if I do, I'm not going to be able to play. They're not going to have me in there much longer. If I continue to do what I'm doing. So I believed in myself more so than anything, and and no one could take that away from me. No one could take that away from Yokovic or Federer, or
(26:35):
Lebron, or Michael, or you know anyone that's playing at a high, high level. They believe so wholeheartedly in themselves that nothing is going to get in their way. There's not going to be a divide that's going to say. Oh, gosh! I don't know. No, it's never! It's never! It's always I can. I can absolutely I can, and I will.
(26:56):
So.
Govindh Jayaraman (26:57):
And that I can.
that I can, feeling that I can philosophy that I can. Self-belief that comes out of preparation comes out of work.
That's something that people can tell right like I've heard stories about. When Jaden walked into the into the room at the beginning of camp there was just something different about the kid, right that he had
(27:18):
it in his mind. You could feel the confidence that he had. Am I wrong about that?
Mark Rypien (27:23):
No, not at all. And I think he took the you know the old saying, Bull by the horn, you know, and said, This is my team, and I think there's probably some, you know. You look back at my years of 4 or 5 years coming up to play and winning that super. Bowl 91, 92. I had some great seasons, you know. I split some time with Doug, and him and I were kind of quarterback a quarterback. B, you know. Quarterback, one quarterback 2. We did some wonderful things one year, him and I both
(27:48):
had over 2,000 yards, each of us passing, and we had 3 receivers with over a thousand yards, the 1st ever in the history of the Nfl. Clark, Monk, and Sanders all had 1,000 yards receiving. So we didn't make the playoffs that year. So that tells you something right there, you know. So there's there's a method to what Joe Gibbs did, and what he what he had, and but I also think there's like Matt Millen said. He says, gosh, Mark, you know not that I didn't see it in you, but that look you had in your eye in 91, 92, that
(28:17):
your assertion, you know, and in the locker room and the huddle on the practice field and the meetings. You know we all had. We had a lot of player only meetings, you know, before games. Not that we needed them. That 91, 92 season. But we did have to have one after the cowboys beat us, and we thought we were a little bit. Maybe we thought we were a little bit better than we were, and so they kind of put a little, and we also knew they were going to be good, too, you know they're on the verge of of being pretty doggone good. So they beat us by 3 at home.
(28:46):
We kind of had to reset and get back on track. But we had player only means. I thought those were great, even though our coaching staff was absolutely amazing, and Joe Gibbs is a hall of fame, Guy, that he is, just because of who he is and how he went about doing it. I've never ever seen a guy in my whole entire mind, get so mad at a halftime of a game against the Philadelphia eagles and white
(29:08):
orange slices, and gatorade, knock it all off the table and never swear once. Holy gosh, golly! Geez! Son of a gun! You guys got to play football, but you could see the venom in his eyes, and almost guys didn't know whether to laugh or to like. Oh, my goodness, he's he's ticked! He's.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:25):
Yeah.
Mark Rypien (29:25):
Off. So when that happens, you know, you know, that
this coach is just has as much invested in this as we do as players, if not more so, and they're they're all dedicated to try to make us better. And and I think that's why he was one of the greatest.
Govindh Jayaraman (29:40):
Yeah, and that I just love that that sense of I can. And that confidence. And yeah, it's a really good point that sometimes you can have these great personal years. You talked about the 2 of you putting up 2,000 yards each, and 3 players, 3 receivers with a thousand yards each.
but it didn't win right. And then and and that's the ultimate. I mean, the goal is to win. It doesn't matter. All the personal awards don't mean a thing if you don't win.
Mark Rypien (30:06):
Yep, absolutely formula. There's a formula for that. And when you're throwing the ball that much that means you're behind quite a bit, and that means you're, you know, you're trying to get yourself out of a hole that you shouldn't have been in the 1st place. So yeah, that was yeah. That was pretty pretty unique and pretty spot on, too, on your part.
Govindh Jayaraman (30:24):
So one of the things that I think is really neat. So opportunity, how do you?
So we talked about the preparation and and how a leader, how an athlete, a quarterback, and how you prepared
is everything an opportunity? Or are there some times when you know it's just coming together like? Is there a difference?
Mark Rypien (30:46):
Well, the opportunity 1st comes with, you know, hey? Something's got to happen for you to be in that in that limelight, you know. And then so that opportunity arises. And and your preparation is either I think I've said it before you either gonna get it done or someone else will.
So you have to meet it, you know, and then success equals the 2 of those things together. But first, st you have to have that opportunity, and just being in Washington, DC.
(31:10):
If you're going to be the starting quarterback for the Washington redskins during that era, there's opportunity because we were successful. We were good. We had the tools to to be good. So now it's just a matter of getting out there and and doing what you can do in order to take this team to where it needs to go. But then, you know again, you go back this
(31:35):
to the struggles, maybe, that you might have. And another opportunity arises the following week. You know you're throwing interception. You have an opportunity to go back in there the next series
and make something of it. So it's not like, you know. You have a you have a bad shift, and and you have an opportunity, a chance to score a goal. You miss it, and they come down there. The goalie makes a save. You're on the you know. You're in the
(32:01):
the bench, and you think, gosh, I got to make this happen. That happens really quick in hockey, you know, you're right back out there. Football. It's like, Okay, well, they maybe have a 10 play drive, and you get a chance to say, All right. You're going to sit there and stew over this interception or the fumble. And and now you got to get back out there. It's maybe 5 min later. Well, you got still got a chance and an opportunity to to make amends to what you didn't do before. So
(32:22):
there's opportunities within opportunities, in in sport and in football, especially to to better yourself and also help your team.
Govindh Jayaraman (32:31):
Yeah, absolutely. And I love. I love this. I love. That success is is.
you know, is the quotient right? It's it's the outcome of preparation and opportunity. And and you know you.
you have 2 super bowls right from from experiencing that. So you you know something about that.
But you also talked about the best team you had
(32:53):
was probably one that didn't win right. So.
Mark Rypien (32:56):
Well, not the not my best team, the best.
Govindh Jayaraman (32:58):
Not the best redskins team. Yeah.
Mark Rypien (33:00):
Redskin team ever was the team that had plus 51 plus or minus plus they have plus minus, you know, like in hockey.
they have, plus 51, or something like that turnover margin where they. We got 51 more turnovers than we did turn the ball over, so that season was incredible, and they went to the Super bowl against the raiders, and it was the turnover that
(33:23):
theisman threw a you know. Even Joe Gibbs probably says that maybe it was one of his worst call. At the 3 yard line they throw a screen, pass and square jumps the screen, pass, catches it, and scores a touchdown just before halftime, and they lose a game technically, that they were probably better than the raiders. But that doesn't mean that doesn't mean a doggone thing when it comes to super bowls, because
the bills were favorites and probably should have beat us, or you had had team a team to beat us in 91, 92, because of, you know being there the year before and losing to Scott, Norwood missed field goal wide left, and and then coming in there the second year, 3rd year, 4th year, I mean, they were good, really, really good. But
(34:02):
you know, they weren't good when it mattered the most, and that's unfortunate, because they had some of the greatest pros and players possible.
Govindh Jayaraman (34:10):
Yeah. So I mean, success doesn't come to everybody who shows up. It comes in a special moment.
Mark. This is, I mean, I know that we could go on for a long time. This was such a great conversation. I want to say, Thank you. And there is something that we're doing at the end of every episode right now where we're we're honoring the late great John Ruland, who was a friend of the paper napkin wisdom.
(34:34):
But way back. When we started he gave me a napkin that said, what you appreciate appreciates. So we start. We end every conversation with a little bit of gratitude. So I'm saying thank you to you. But is there anybody that you'd like to shout out and give some gratitude or appreciation to before we close.
Mark Rypien (34:50):
I am always grateful for for my family and friends. You know I'm grateful for my sweetheart Heidi, who's, you know, not only brilliant, but comes with a wonderful sense of humor, loves golf.
I'm very grateful for for that. I'm also grateful for my community here. I mean, you know you go through, you talk about opportunity and
(35:12):
and preparation. No one prepares for the death of their child. And so, when my son Andrew died in 1998 of a brain tumor. You look at that, and you say, Well, what can I do? Where can I go? And how can I help someone? And so you turn that into something positive to honor Andrew and honor all the kids and families of children going through cancer. And so I started a foundation. And so I'm grateful for our community for helping
(35:37):
those kids and their families get through their you know, their their circumstances, and what treatment that they're going through, because we knew what we went through was very difficult, but we had great nurses and doctors, and and all our care. People in this country that are taking care of others, just so grateful for them, too.
Govindh Jayaraman (35:56):
Yeah, that's amazing. And and we're going to put a link into the show notes to the foundation as well, yeah.
Mark Rypien (36:01):
It's called the Community Cancer Fund now, and Ccf. In Spokane and do wonderful work. We joined with my good friend Mark few who ran the coaches versus cancer. Here Mark is one of the great. But speaking of a way of a guy who's had some Canadian come through
Nembard is playing now, Rob. Sockery played. And yeah, you know. So we've had a lot of great Canadians come through
(36:25):
Gonzaga and play basketball. Here. Mark's been an icon in Spokane, and so he kind of ran the community coaches versus cancer here, but saw that the dollars weren't going staying here locally in Spokane. So he started the community cancer fund for the kind of the adult arm of cancer. And we're the pediatric arm. So we joined forces with Mark and and our community and formed the community cancer fund. And now we do our work
(36:49):
through them. And it's amazing, amazing group. So if you could plug the community cancer fund in Spokane. That'd be great.
Govindh Jayaraman (36:55):
We will, for sure. Thanks so much, mark.
Mark Rypien (36:57):
Thank you. Bowman. Cheers!
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