Defying all Odds with Former Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale

[00:00:00] John Boruk: All right. It's the podcast that provides a different perspective to youth sports, how to create a better environment, even with better coaches and better parents. And improving the game for everyone involved. You can always keep up with Raising a Champion by subscribing to us wherever you listen. You can find us on Spotify, apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.

It's much appreciated. So if you could subscribe to us, give us a review, we would certainly appreciate that and goes a long way. My guest today is a Philadelphia icon, a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Back in the late 70s, he joined the team on an open try. By invitation from Dick Vermeil and later went on to become one of the captains of the Philadelphia Eagles, and his story inspired the movie Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg.

Welcome Vince Papa/e to Raising a Champion. Vince, thanks for joining us. 

[00:00:52] Vince Papale: Hey, it's great to reconnect. You, John, we had some, had such a great time when I saw you. It's awesome. Yeah. I'm real excited to [00:01:00] be here. I don't know about Icon. That sort of freaks me out a little bit. I was just a kid shaking his, chasing his dream.

[00:01:06] John Boruk: And you did that and it is a phenomenal story and a lot of people obviously weren't familiar with the movie, which by the way, came out in 2006 and here we. 16 years later it it's really almost hard to believe it's been that long.

[00:01:19] Vince Papale: Yeah, I know. It seems like it was yesterday.

I was out doing an event, charity event yesterday for the police and a bunch of the guys came up and they, they said, Hey, when did the movie come out? We just saw it. It's amazing. Yeah, it came out right around Labor Day in oh six. And you know what, I, what I really think keeps it alive is it's a timeless kind of a piece that's dated because it goes back to the seven.

But it's Mark Walberg. Mark is one of the, if not the hottest male out there in Hollywood. Now he is living out in Vegas and anytime he gets up, he's doing a promo for his movie going through the junket, which was part of the process that I went through. He talks about Invisible as one of the first movies where he had a leading [00:02:00] role.

And so Mark, as much as anybody's been keeping it. It's got that great Disney tag it's working pretty good. It's side, John, it's pretty crazy. 

[00:02:10] John Boruk: So as part of Invincible and obviously the main character in that movie, talk about what. How you were able to really build a brand off of that.

You used that for sponsorships. You've, you, you really, you created a whole company when it pertains to motivational speaking. So get into to some of that, your motivational speaking and the message that. You send across when you do get up there and you talk to people from all different realms of, of society?

[00:02:36] Vince Papale: First of all the word or the term invincible is a generic word. It's almost a Kleenex, and so I couldn't copyright the word invincible, but I do have a copyrighted kind of a logo. It says it's got the invincible with the 83, and it's in the shape of a. But you know what it is the Invincible brand is nothing more the way I look at it, John. It's all about the dream, and I, you can go to my website, vince [00:03:00] paple.com and I've written a couple of three books. I've got some stuff that they sell, with the invincible tag on it, those kinds of things.

But, I really use it so much for that. If anything I use this invincible brand, so to speak as a launch pad for speaking. And still 16 years later, the message is still the same. Basically. It's overcoming obstacles, impossible obstacles, impossible odds, and what it takes to get.

And I've gotta talk a little bit about how it happened and Mark Walberg and some of the funny things that happened and, some of the experiences I had with Philadelphia, but beyond that, and going all the way back because the movie, when people see the movie and they think they've got a pretty good a piece, pretty good idea as to who I am, but it really doesn't show, it shows.

In my life, at a specific bid when they picked up the script and decided to take it when I was working as a part-time bartender and school teacher, a substitute teacher, and then they picked [00:04:00] it up there, but they didn't go back. They didn't go back to my parents not getting beyond the eighth grade with one of nine.

They didn't go back to my mother's mental illness. And being in and out of mental hospitals didn't go back to the mentors, to the people that made a tremendous impact in my life. Yeah, and they're the kinds of things that I fill in the gaps, I'm talking, 

[00:04:19] John Boruk: And that's what we're here for is I wanted to go back a little bit because you were your parents.

First generation immigrants who came over from England and Italy, correct? And your father, your grandfather, they were farmers. They, they were blue collar, hardworking kids. Your mother became sick a lot for a lot of your childhood, right?  

[00:04:38] Vince Papale: Yeah. She was just one of those things that happened.

She was, oh my God, my mother was a fantastic athlete. That's the side and her father, my grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania railroad. And she was one of nine, but they never got beyond the eighth grade because of the Great Depression of World War II. But everybody knows that movie be the great movie if it's called a League of their Own.

My mother [00:05:00] was in of her own only, they were playing hardball and they had icky pant stripes and traveled down the East coast and they had a male catcher and a male pitcher and playing hard. And then my dad never got beyond eighth grade. His father settled with 13 acres in those farmlands.

It used to be back there by the Philly international. And he had a we call it a pig farm haw for him. It's basically how they sustained themselves during the depression and prior to World War II. And, mom and dad never got beyond eighth grade, my mother was such a giving person.

She was a candy striper local hospital on suburban Philly, and she was in the oncology ward. And every time she'd come home crying all the time because one of her, one of her patients, one of the kids would pass, We're trying to find some way, somehow to treat leukemia back in the 50s and 60s and it wasn't working real well and it had an effect on her. And then she got tetanus, tinnitus, ringing of the year. And then she was like, she was the fixer in the family of those nine. And she took it on a [00:06:00] little bit too much. And I came home one time and I saw her being taken out in the strait jacket. You. Went on 12 or 13 years old and I’m telling you it was pretty impactful.

And what did they give her for treatment there, electric shock for crying out loud. That's how they were treating it back then. And she was in and outta Haverford State Mental Hospital and I'm coming apart at the seams. My dad's working at Westinghouse. They're on strike half the time.

We're running out of money. Because of the drugs she had to take and eventually they were giving her all kinds of stuff to take. She pretty much became to prescription drugs and and my dad's trying every, my dad's as well as could be, love to death, but never telling us were loved.

Really my sister and I were a little bit crazy and my school teachers at Roxborough High School where I even eventually wound up going back to teach they were the ones that, that took me under their wing and they mentored me and got me into sports. Wouldn't let me wouldn't let me feel sorry for.

And you could use it as an excuse, but I use it as not even a crutch. I [00:07:00] use it as something that just gave me strength. And if I was able to overcome that, I can overcome just about anything, including a Dick Vermeil training camp. It, but I wish the movie had gone there because it, back then, to use the word mental illness, it was just, oh, just you didn't talk about it, and now it's out there all the time, and all kinds words on social media, the mainstream media, people are talking about it. And it's something that really needs to be addressed right now because what's going on with COVID had gone on with. 

[00:07:29] John Boruk: So the school system essentially saved you because of some of the hardships that you were dealing with at home and you needed structure. Structure was important. And it didn't sound like that you were getting that at home, and that's where the school system stepped in. 

[00:07:44] Vince Papale: Absolutely. And I still need structure, and my son did, he's a ball player in the fl my daughter Gabriela, Very successful now, 28 years, worked for the Sixers for five years and we all need structure, but it's great because in our household, I married a [00:08:00] past athlete, a gymnast, Janet Cantwell, my wife now of almost 30 years, Janet, and she's a coach and she's an athlete, and this kind of structure that we have in our house that I think, Keeps us going and, enables you to overcome any obstacle adversity that you face.

But back then it was the school system and it was a whole different ballgame, though, it's not the way education is now. We weren't controlled by the unions and, we weren't controlled by social media. What, trying to make everybody feel good back then, you either were. You wonder or you're lost you in between.

And there certainly weren't any safe zones. They weren't for me anyway, but my safety zone school, my safety zone was sports and was contact. I loved being physical even though I was such a little kid. And wound up working to my advantage when I got to the NFL because, its pretty much a headhunter.

Yeah. The way I grew up, it was survival, man, you 

[00:08:56] John Boruk: And we're, and part of that, that, that [00:09:00] survival. Technique that you had, you were playing in these Philadelphia bar leagues, which by the way I don't believe you really started playing organized football until high school. Is that correct?

[00:09:08] Vince Papale: Yes. Yeah. I played junior high school football one year and my dad was my coach for the Glendale Indians in Glen Old and Pennsylvania and Delaware County. I'm looking my Delco hat now and and anybody from the Philly area knows about. But yeah, my dad was my first coach and I played little league little league weight football.

I tried soccer, but I kept . I kept getting yellow carded and red carded cuz I was I just wanted to hit people and and eventually I got a chance to play junior high school football for one year. Went to go out for the high school team my sophomore year. I was just over five feet, a little bit over a hundred pounds.

And the coach looked at me and he was a former marine sergeant, and he said, now you're gonna get killed out here. And then eventually my mentor of my life George Cor, with my high school, junior high school p ed teacher, got their head coaching job at the high school. And he reached [00:10:00] out for me and says, come on out.

I. We don't normally take first year seniors. He said, but come on out. I want you to be part of the team. And and then when he saw, that I could catch the ball, I was a pass hit on the team. He actually redesigned offense to, to feature a passing offense. And our quarterback, Jim Haney actually got set all the passing records at Westchester when he went there and got drafted by m.

And and that's all because of this man, and the impact that he made on our lives and made us feel important. But yeah, John, make the short story long. I got that one year in high school football. But then, when, what I was doing, what I was doing, I wasn't on anybody's radar.

And so I played basketball, got a letter in basketball, and then coach came up and he says Hey I just got the head track coaching, the head track coaching. And he says, I love you to come out. Come on coach. I, I'm done. I'm, he said, please. He said, just come on out for the team. So I went out for the team and when, when I wound up getting a scholarship to St. Joe's in the pole vault, And I was a foot and a half up to world's record [00:11:00] outta high school. I never pole vaulted before, it's just, there was this pole and, it just happened. It was just like a, it was an organic progression.  

[00:11:07] John Boruk:. But, yeah but here's what's really cool is St.Joe's didn't have a football team at the time. So you may be one of the few athletes, a few NFL alumni that has NFL football experience without playing collegiately. However, when I look when you tell your story, the thing that, that you, we, we have to touch on is what prepared you for the NFL.

And I think if you go back to those rough touch football games that you played in the Philadelphia Barley . You explain explain this rough touch football league, because from my understanding there was, it was more rough than touch because you had an ambulance. Yeah. That was always out there in the event that somebody needed medical service.

[00:11:52] Vince Papale: Oh yeah, there was, yeah. Yeah. We played in this field right behind the T bar in Del County, in Ridley Township. It was called on Thursday [00:12:00] nights. And I played at another league on Sundays and I would actually, after getting get on playing a game on Sunday morning at nine o'clock to 10 o'clock, would jump in a train and go watch the Eagles play in my rough touch uniform with my buddies.

When the Eagles playing at Franklin Field. I was a season ticket holder, and I was teaching at the same time, so there was always that love for the game. But hey, those rough touch games there, there was also usually a cop, there was always a fight that broke out and somebody wound up getting splattered.

And if you saw the movie it was pretty touch the way it was in the movie, we were supposed to just touch, it wasn't the flag. We didn't know anything about it. It was a flag football back then. They threw a flag on you, but it wasn't for football. And it was great.

But hey, the quarterback, my career back was John Waller for crying out loud. And he went on and the Temple University and set all Temple University's passing records. And then after he got outta Temple, we didn't get any NFL. He winds up semi pro football and I. After the rough touch thing, I had [00:13:00] wound up playing for the acid nights in the Eastern Seaboard League.

And I prayed for a six pack of beer and a pair of Adidas shoes, no insurance. It was sick. They were the fun things that I really wish that the movie had gone back, but, but the point they picked it up, they did a great job. So I'm very thankful for that and, for the investment they made in me.

So it's been quite it's been quite the interesting experience. 

[00:13:24] John Boruk: What gave you I guess the mental and physical edge to go from? Like I said, these bar leagues were really your only and what you just described was your only organized football that you had played until. The tryout for the Eagles.

And then you came out on the tryout I think ran a 4 5 40, which, which really at that time was blazing speed. Now, lineman running 4 5 40 s but a 4, 5 40. And you got a contract, but then you still had to make the team, is that correct?

[00:13:52] Vince Papale: Yeah. I thought to make the team, I thought to get through training camp. It's funny when you say the four five, because somebody asked me yesterday, [00:14:00] I was at an event actually, I played at a golf tournament. For the police of survivors of foreign police officers. And we were playing at Trump International and this guy asked me, he says, Hey, what was your time in the 40?

I said I'd ride a four or five. I said, but on grass. I said, here, want you to do something? I said, just. It run about 10 or 15 yards cuz there was grass, right? Where all the, where the carts were. And he ran it in grass. Behind the carts was turf. I said, I run say 10 or 15 yards in turf.

And he said, wow. He said, it's a lot easier, you know there's a bus to it. I said, so you take that four, five. And put it on turf, it's, it equals about 4.3, 4.4. And that, that, that was fairly legit. And cuts all it, this is the coolest thing though, John that it didn't, again, it didn't appear, but, Disney gave me the opportunity to write a book and guy by the name of Chad Milman who worked with ESPN, and we filled in all the blank.

So after that tryout, which says, do this, do that. And after the tryout, I'm in the Eagles [00:15:00] locker room. And, thinking, hey, I had a pretty good deal, got a couple passes and coach looked at me and hey, nice job. And that conversation in the movie where, how old are you?

Where'd I told 'em I was 24. I told 'em I went to Temple. I thought, I didn't know Temple, didn't have football, so they didn't have football. But I got called up the coach's office 15 minutes after the tryout was over, and then he said, Hey, the general manager Jimmy I. wants to see you.

And I signed a contract for 21 Grand, 21,000 and I had two season tickets for 10 years. I said, do I have to give the season tickets? Can I give 'em up now? He says don't be too premature. You still have to make the team. But this was the caveat. He said, but now you are officially owned by the NFL in terms of your playing rights and stuff like that.

And he said, that means you can train. I said, what do you mean? He says, yeah, we have a training facility downstairs. He said, you can train here. So what I did is I started training and I was able to work [00:16:00] around my whatever, substitute teaching and everything else. And who the heck am I throwing the ball with or catching for it?

Roman Gabriel, for crying out loud. He was a quarterback for the Eagles then. And there's Mike Schmidt and there's Carlton. And these guys had this guy by the name of Gus Hoffling. Strengthen and conditioning coach, and he fell in with me and he took me under his wing and got me ready for contact football.

And, between what Gabe taught me between working out with these guys I was, and then my track, my track experience and decathlon experience and that kind of thing, wasn't, it was nothing for me to run two or three miles just to warm. Because I knew how to create that base because I had to be ready for all the sprints that I was gonna be doing in in training camp.

I had been something similar to that before in the World Football League. So I was ready, and, but the thing was, am I really gonna get the shot? That was the key, am I just this guy that he put in there a hundred hours a week to coach Rami to come to Widener training camp.Just the lengthen the [00:17:00] lines a little bit cuz he knows he's gonna, he had a say, nobody ever drowned and sweat me. We sweat a lot. I had to get through that. And I did. And I did. Yeah. 

[00:17:09] John Boruk: So how did you get in that environment? Considering you didn't have college experience. You did play a little professionally as you. And not be intimidated not be overwhelmed and not feel like do I belong here? You were able, those mental aspects you were able to overcome. How were you able, how did you do that? Because it, it'd be really easy. 

[00:17:30] Vince Papale: You, you probably are the first guy, John, that's ever asked that question, and let me tell you. I got intimidated, but it was not when I first got to training camp cause I'm the old guy, and I got G for the ball to me and I'm going against, they had no draft picks, if you remember. Cause Bergie swallowed up about 15 first round picks when they got him from Cincinnati, if you remember that.

My mayor Bubba Bergie. And so the, I'm going against all free agents and, other [00:18:00] guys that they're bringing in and they're all in their twenties and 20, 22, 23. And they found out that, first of all, nobody told me serious. I thought I was writing a book I was there for, because the Paper Lion had just come out and there were a couple reporters that would jump into training camps, and try to tell the inside story. So nobody really took me for took me seriously. And so that first week I was killing it. I was, anything that had a different color jersey I took out and we were allowed to hit 'em below the base.

And Sure. I, and I made sure that they felt it when I hit 'em, they get pissed off and really, what do you do, man? I said, I'm just trying to make the team. Then guess what? The veterans. And I was mentally, not physically intimidated, but mentally intimidated because now there's Billy A, there's Bill Bergey, there's Harold Carmichael, you know this, John Bunning, Frankie Lama, all these guys that, that, Tommy Sullivan, silky Sullivan.

These guys are my idols. I'm a seasoned motor, John. And I said, shit, shoot I can't hit them the way I'm hitting these knuckleheads that were here [00:19:00] last week and I backed. And coach Vermeil grabbed me and he says, what's going on? You're not the same Vinny. I said coach. I said, these guys are my idols, he says, your idols.

And he written me a new one, your idols, Jesus. We were three in whatever last for two and 10. Two and 12. They had a 14 game season. He said, only give you two more weeks. Get your head outta your butt, and let's go. And I said and there you go. So then I got Roman Gabriel throwing a ball to me.

And then there's lines, A wide receiver line is, 10, 15 guys in line. So I'd run a rep and I'd catch a pass. I'd run downfield. Everybody would cheer because there were wides six miles from where I grew up. All everybody from my school, my Tufts teams and everything else were coming to watch.

And then I would jump right in front of the line again because the guys, they were all tired. They were such an alga. And so when they get to the film at night, here I am, I'm running 12, 15, 20 routes. I'm on film all the time and Gabe's getting a ball out to me. And then I wound [00:20:00] up, believe it or not, after six preseason games leading the team in receptions and touchdown and touchdown receptions.

And I had have been pretty pissed off if I didn't make the team after that, but I knew what Coach was looking for. He was looking for that role. The role was he needed somebody to replace Bobby Picard, who got picked up in the expansion draft when Seattle got picked, came into the league. So Picard was gone and he was looking for that Bobby Picard, and I was the guy.

Coach had me earmark for that. I didn't know that. I found out later, but I was the guy and, but in my mind I thought, I could be a Bobby Picard and I guess I was, because, I made the team well. 

[00:20:41] John Boruk: And what's really cool is when you see success stories and see people coming from really long odds, there's something that motivates them.

It's something that they take from their past where they've been told you can't do something, you're not gonna amount to something you're. You're not gonna contribute. And that was the case with you and it is part of the movie.[00:21:00] When your first wife left you a note where essentially it said You're never gonna go anywhere, you're never gonna make a name for yourself and you're never gonna make any money.

 [00:21:14] Vince Papale: And you use that to say, you know what? I'll show you. And that's all the motivation I need. And I had a couple of other motivations, and one was actually from my coach and then I'll give you this great quote that I use it all the time when I go out and speak. But the other motivation was my real love too, aside from football, is I was qualified for the Olympic trials and it de Catalan and I tried to get into the Penn Relays decathlon, and I couldn't get.

And I knew the coach, I used to be, I knew the coaches at Penn and little as I know at that time that, that my wife Janet was the head gymnastics coach at the University of Pennsylvania. I should have gone. But anyway, and then I tried to get into the Drake relays and Drake relays wouldn't let me in.

So my path to getting into the Olympic trials, because I thought I had a score that would get me there was blocked.[00:22:00] And so that was a major motivation, and then that's when I had the tryout and yeah, that, and so they, I got a letter actually from somebody that basically who do you think you are to try to get into our prestigious event and this blah, blah, blah, blah, so I kept those two letters and I framed it. And every day, I would wake up every morning and I'd see that. But here's the real thing is, I was getting, Hey man, you're, you can run this. You can you good guy in a rough touch and all this stuff, you're never gonna make it.

You're too old. You were playing, you didn't play college football, it's never been done before. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I coach, I go to my mentor, my coach, the. George Coryell and I, you think Coach? I said, should I say listen? He said, what do you mean? Should you do? Of course you should do it.

I said, but you think I'll really get a shot at 30? He said, just what do you got to lose? And I had nothing to lose, John, because I was gonna go back. If I didn't make it, Interborough would say, get this football crap outta your mind. You got a job waiting for you when it's over. So don't have, don't worry about getting a job.

You'll come back and be a [00:23:00] teacher again, and you'll finish up your masters and do that and do the other thing. That's basically, that was all I needed. But here's this quote that Coryell gave me and this is what I use and I use this as a centerpiece when I go out and speak. And it went like this.

Happier the dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true. So you got three things here. You got three layers, you got the dream, you have a coming true right in the middle sandwich in. Is the willingness to pay the price. Are you willing to be focused? Are you willing to sacrifice?

Are you willing to give up other things in order to get to where you want to go? If you don't, you're posing, you're fooling yourself. You're fooling everybody. You're wasting people's, you're a lot of people's time. And that was that. That's my message, and that's what he gave me. And I said, all right, coach, I'll give it a.

And you know who reminded me? I'll tell you this. You're gonna love this. I don't tell too many people. This is I stopped using it for a while. I don't know why. And then Jay Wright. Jay's my good buddy. We all know Jeff from going over, the greatest, one of the greatest college coaches [00:24:00] ever.

Yeah. I, 

[00:24:00] John Boruk: Jay, I'm trying to get him on the show. Yeah. I've been trying to get him on the show and 

[00:24:04] Vince Papale: Yeah, I'll get him on the show. I'll get him.

[00:24:07] John Boruk: okay. Yeah. 

[00:24:10] Vince Papale: So Jay, this guy's ready from college and says, Hey man, I give a speech to my high school, wherever. And and I said, here, use this quote.

And it was that happy or those, and he built his whole speech around that. And 10 or 12 years ago, he says, Hey, you still using that quote? I said, you know what, I'm not, he says, you might think about. He said, people need that right now. That's it, that's the one that was a big motivating factor.

But now when, when you, your significant other tells you , you don't have what it takes. But I use that as well because we've all been given that message at some point. And what are you gonna do? You're gonna feel sorry for yourself. You're gonna get pissed off and then improve them wrong. So my, my thing was I got po.

I, I'd do everything I could to prove 'em wrong, and I did. 

[00:24:51] John Boruk: So do you still have that note? Because that was what, 1971 we're talking? That was 50 years ago. No. 

[00:24:56] Vince Papale: You got rid of it. No. Yeah. Yeah. [00:25:00] That my divorce paper . Yeah. . But yeah it's okay. But it's in my mind, it's out there. Come on man.

 [00:25:09] John Boruk: So all this, yeah, so all this experience and it really created the person that you are today who, you're motivated by being in the NFL and now you have a son in Vinny, Papale who's I think at, a lot of your genes.

He's a wide receiver. Had a very successful career at the University of Delaware. I think he tried out went to the Canadian Football League and that didn't pan out because of COVID. Now he's in the USFL, but not take it as a standpoint that you're a father and now you have all these life experiences.

How did you share those? How did you incorporate those into Vinny's life to where he could be a successful athlete? 

[00:25:48] Vince Papale: I just try to be consistent with him, and just be a role model for him. Not so much as an athlete, but as a person, to how you treat other people. How do you approach a specific obstacle goal or dream, [00:26:00] those kinds of things.

I, I was coaching him and showing. I was convening through the jewels that I was when he was six years old. Find out loud and I'm a firm believer in fundamentals and I think one of his strengths is he's so fundamental sound, but and it's the same thing for our daughter Gabriela.

And Abby was a pretty good athlete. She wound up cheering Bishop Eustace and Syracuse University, goes back to, and she did a lot of great stuff for the 76ers and for the NBA. And it now came down here to Florida with us and she's working with my wife. But we tried to, and Janet and we tried to instill because Janet was remarkable in what she did and how she got on the USA team.

And we just try to be consistent and show them that there are certain paths and rules that have to be followed in order to have that path. Not be a rocky, but also be a little bit smoother and, have those dreams and not that you're not gonna have setback. Like he's, Vinny injury, he was about ready to be picked up and they find a sports hernia, a double fricking sports hernia for crying out, not [00:27:00] just one, but two.

And he was playing his senior year at Delaware. He never complained about it, it was minor, it kept him out of the captain and he's still banging it out, trying to give it a shot and he just re-signed the USFL. And he is got a guy that coach in the NFL that reads in Vinny.

So we'll see how it goes. It's like anything, when you're raising children, you have to be consistent and allow them to go out on their own and, test the waters, give 'em a little bit of rope. And see what happens. And, I call the current effectiveness training and, make mistakes.

You don't rip 'em apart or you don't find a, you don't find a nice quiet room, with soft music. So you can suck their thumbs and feel sorry for themselves. You pick yourself up and hey, listen, if you get knocked down nine times, you better get up 10 times, and I stole that and my buddy last night passed Eddie Fernandez, who's a pro golfer, he's 52 years old. And he gave me that quote and I said, I'm gonna use it the next time I tell somebody. But that's what it is, John. You gotta have structure and people that believe in you and know our kids [00:28:00] how much we believe in them.

And so far, been quite successful. I actually have a, I'm doing a podcast. We've already done a couple other can, we're ready to release it and it's my daughter and I and it's the it's Gabby from her 28 year old point of view and it's gabbing with invincible. So there goes that invincible brand and so we're having fun with that.

So that'll be coming out right after the holidays. That'll I, we try to get Jay right too. How's that? 

[00:28:24] John Boruk: Yeah. Good. Hey, let's I'm gonna keep my eyes and ears open for it. What's the name of the podcast 

[00:28:28] Vince Papale: again? Gabbing. G A B B I N G, gabbing. Her name is Gabriel. Oh, perfect. Gabby is her nickname.

Gabb with, yeah, gabbing with Invincible. And she's been in front of a camera. Yes. Matter of fact, yesterday she was interviewing all these. Pro athletes and the PGA players that we were playing with in this outing for the police. She's getting her experience and it's pretty cool.

Just, it's so cool, man. I didn't have my first kids til 47, wow. And it's just so great. They keep you young. Yeah. Gabby's Twenty's 26, you can do your math and it's just so cool. [00:29:00] Now to see them grow up and mature and being responsible and, and struggle a little bit too, I always tell 'em, I said, man, when I grow up I wanna have a dad just like me.

like you. Being the kids wasn't easy, and I'll just leave at that. 

[00:29:15] John Boruk: So when the movie came out, Vinny would've been 10. And how old was Gabriel? 

[00:29:21] Vince Papale: Huh Gabriela. Vinny was not 10. It was, it came out at six. Yeah. Vinny was 10. That's right. He was when it came out.

But when it was being filled Vinny, Vinny was six, eight and Gabrielle was 11, 10 or 11. So yeah, that that's when about happened. And then, they're going to go from a public school to a private school. And there was a lot of, there was cyber bullying going on and Vinny was bullied by the football team and, cause one of the seniors was afraid that Vinny coming in as a freshman, he just, he was sound, and they, so they took, they went after him was when he was a 14 year old little boy, had 17, 18 year old kids.

On the football team not treating him the way anybody should [00:30:00] be treated. So it was rough. 

[00:30:03] John Boruk: So when the movie came out and obviously you probably took your kids to the premiere of the movie which I'm sure was a great experience, but once they, so Yes.

Yeah. So once they saw the movie though, did they look at their father a little differently? Did they say? That was your story and to see it, in a Disney movie like that were you able at that point then the, that they were able to probably listen and process the life messages that you had been teaching before that?

Now they probably said, okay, now we'll start listening to you, dad, now that there's a Disney movie based on your life. 

[00:30:37] Vince Papale: Maybe, yeah, maybe. I'll have to ask that for Gabrielle when we do our next podcast. That's a good question. I think. And it's really cool because, when you see the movie put together, and I know you've been on set for movies, and they do it piecemeal, and nothing's it's all, it is, it face like the pieces of a puzzle.

And, the final picture is right on the cover. These pieces are all over the place on the table. And then eventually [00:31:00] the the director and the editor, this guy was a genius out there in Santa Monica. I watched how he created a couple of scenes. It was so in. And he puts it together.

So the kids never really saw the movie and I, and Janet and I really don't talk a lot about her past. It's out. And but when we saw the movie for the first time, this was before the premier came out and the Zinc fell theater in New York City. We had a screening up in New York with with Disney with the NFL and a bunch of sponsors and stuff.

And it's Mark and Gabby and Vinny are sitting right next to each other. And then it's, me and Chad had a couple rows before and they're back there. I'm looking at the movie saying, wow, look how they did that. I never even really saw my story there. I was looking, cause I'm that, like you a TV guy, I've done a little TV.

I was just so amazed at how they put that stuff together. But then at the very end they had that black and white piece and it turned and band I broke down and then behind me, Vinny and Mark they're [00:32:00] something you know, and then you. Oh man. Oh my God.

This is our story. This is my story. And that's what really connected. So I think that's what had a great connection. But I'll tell you what, real quick. This is what really made a great impact. And it was different mill. It was different mills induction into the Hall of Fame. And we all went out. We all went out to can, Ohio coach invited us and we were at a hotel, best Western Canton, and it was the Eagles Hotel.

There were senior 20 alumni. And every night we closed the common area, with stories and you've been there. So you understand what I'm saying? Yep. It's almost like the event we were at with firefighters, it was so much fun and, but you know what? They started telling stories and saying, Hey guys, let me tell you about your dad.

And they were still telling them stories. I think that more than anything, even now, it's just a couple months. And in June July made a greater impact than the movie was to hear what my teammates thought of me back then. Because, John, I didn't even know that they felt that way. I just, eh, just, [00:33:00] it would wasn't, the movie was okay, couple guys were a little pissed how come they made a movie about him?

I don't know. It just happened. Yeah. But, to have that happen I think really had a great impact on my kids. 

[00:33:10] John Boruk: That's great. And what I, I think there’s an element that we can really take out of your story is and something that I think is lost in our current generation. Because you see participation medals, you see how everybody's gotta be successful is you really learn about yourself in losses and you learn about yourself in failures and when things don't go your way and dealing with adversity.

In fact, that's gonna be our quote at the end of the show. We'll get into that. But you can probably testify to this more than anybody that I've had on these shows about staring failure in the face, dealing with adversity, dealing with long odds that overcoming when things break down. To really peel yourself back up and find a way to plow through because it, it's everything about that's 100% mental.

And [00:34:00] if you don't have that, it's really hard to be successful. And no matter if you were a professional athlete in the eighties or professional athlete now.  

[00:34:07] Vince Papale: it's, yeah, you're absolutely true. And, the mental side is so very important. Once you, first of all, you have to separate the mental from the physical.

You know that I knew that I had the skills to do it, but my thing was is you can't get. That's the one thing, you just can't be hobbled up there. So now I put the injury thing aside, but then with all the other things and when I go out and speak and I do PowerPoint and video, I got some really cool videos, and stuff.

But one of the things, what does it take to be invincible? And one of the first is, is tenacity. And you've gotta be able to pivot. You have to be able to have your audibles and perseverance and communication. And it all comes down. And being part of a good team and making sure that you, that always say teamwork makes the dream work.

And who do you have in the team? And are they trustworthy? Can you trust them? And more importantly, can they [00:35:00] trust you? You put all those things together and you can just about get through anything. And my dad used to come every day to every practice to west from Westinghouse in his Westinghouse Blues with his name King on his shirt.

And he would come and watch the end of the afternoon practice and then we'd all go out and he'd come out with my teammates. We'd all go out. This place at Widener, right there in Chester and have a couple beers. And my dad would just come there with me and just sell me down, just to have him there and knowing what he had to deal with, with my mother's mental illness, with all the things he had to deal with was being one of mine.

And, what it was like to grow up and all that. And he didn't say a lot, but he was just that calming influence. And to have him there like that and to see him smile and be so happy and so proud of me. Cause I didn't realize how proud he was of me. He was proud of me, whether I play that team or not.

And, I was a school, I was successful school teacher coach at inter, just had a reunion with our Del Track championship team and, but it, you [00:36:00] have to have all those things and you hit it right on the head. It's more mental than anything. It assumed that, the physical side was a given.

I knew I had the. But I wasn't quite sure without ever be yet get ready to go through the stuff when I was, and I surrounded myself with some good people. And Dennis Franks, my, my dear friend Dennis Franks, God bless this, so I lost him this past October. And oh man, you know him.

But without him, I couldn't have done it, could not have done it.

[00:36:30] John Boruk: What when parents come to you and say, give me some advice or something that I should share with my kids, maybe they want you to impart some of your wisdom because you have a lot of it. I really think that people born in your era, your generation are built a little bit different.

And you just see it over the years. It's, we don't have the distractions. That you did have the distractions back then that you have. And but what do you tell parents, maybe CEOs, I think that, when you're speaking on behalf of companies, CEOs that come up to you, how do I inspire my, my [00:37:00] coworkers?

How do I inspire my colleagues? What do you try to impart in that situation?   

[00:37:04] Vince Papale: First of all, I think consistency is a certain key and I have to be consistent. And everything you do and you know how you're raising your child, how you go about doing business, how you go about a leader, being a good example, I wasn't a real rah-rah guy on the field, but I led by example.

Nobody worked harder than me. And I'll I dare anybody on emails when I was there that could, that said they worked harder than me and Danny Franks, so that, that was the one. So it's being an example thing. Yeah. I have a lot of people up and, I get texts or calls from people all the time, Hey, would you do a 15, 22nd video Sunday?

They got a phone game. They got this going. They're going through a tough time. I know you're a cancer survivor. Hey, could you talk to this person? They just started chemo. And I do that all the time, but more than anything, it's just that, you gotta, you really have to be strong.

Mentally and have a good attitude and surround yourself with the right people. And with parents and kids and all my[00:38:00] children today, these kids, I feel so, I tell my kids, thank God you're beyond them. I know where you are, but it's not gonna be an easy path for you because of the way you think about certain things.

And you better be. Those blind sight are the ones of the worst. Cause, you can't prepare for 'em in life. The one prepare is just believe in yourself and make sure you surround yourself with a good team and be consistent and listen and communicate.

Yeah. And, be trustworthy. Yeah. And, there's just, let, letting them be able to trust you. 

[00:38:32] John Boruk: You have a good, that's how I look at it. Yeah. And you have a good team. Your wife Janet was a member of the US gymnastics team. And in fact, I think you're the only married couple to have been that you're both inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

So what I think that the message there is. If you are married and, your situation was different as a kid growing up, but the importance of having a unified front and you guys shared a common bond and you, it took you a while to find that special person that [00:39:00] shared the same values that you had. 

[00:39:01] Vince Papale: Yeah, it did. And it wasn't easy. And and I might have been just as bad as anybody, in that, And just when you don't, when I thought maybe I don't know if that person's gonna be out there. She disappeared speaking in she's trying to get on me.

But anyway, it is what it is and I luck out, as I say, I'll outkick my coverage. And I just see how strong she is. What a great example, how caring she is. And, I call it the SPCA, for the society, for the prevention of human beings. She just brings so many people into our life and so giving, and she's a great example to my kids.

And now, we have our, the PAL group, and it consists of my children. They're all realtors now and in three states and quite success. And we're forming a team around the East coast and that's another one of, it's just, here we go. I'm in my 70s, Janet is getting up there a year or two.

And but we're starting a new dream and what, we want this to be the legacy for our kids, but they see it, [00:40:00] they see it. They, they don't roll their eyes when people come up and say anything with me, and actually people say, Hey, can I get a picture with you?

My daughter, Gabby or Vin will say, Hey, I'll take it. That's the way they are at first. It's the role. They're all how they're used to it. 

[00:40:12] John Boruk: I, and I didn't even mention you are a colorectal cancer survivor. Overcoming that and the importance, I'm sure that you tell people of getting colorectal screenings especially as you get into your fifties.

What's your thoughts though now on, on the game of football? Know whether it's the NFL but more on, on the youth level, because there. You're starting to see a decline, I think, in participation. The concerns over long term brain injuries and things pertain to that. Yet here you were , I'm sure you sustained a few injuries in some of your rough touch football games in the Philadelphia Bar League, but what's your take on youth football?

Because you had a son that's gone through it. The way that it's implemented are we right in, in, in terms. Holding back, some of the physical element of the game tackling, or have we gone about it the wrong way? 

[00:40:57] Vince Papale: I think some of the rules that they changed in the [00:41:00] NFL, I'm not all that crazy about it.

I, calls and I just think that was just, that was kind part of the way we played the game. And now because there's so much an investment, there's a lot more that's going on in the game than the game. They're allowing corporate to, they're allowing politics. They're allowing all these things to creep into the game other than just, Hey, let's go and let's go out and play this game.

Win or lose and this is what the rules are gonna be on the field. But, that's changed and that, but, for youth football, sports, now of course the big rage is soccer, which is great. If anything, I, I, they, I don't think. If they went to that next level have to play youth football, they, they could survive with another sport.

And then eventually as they get older, getting in the high school level, if they have good coaching and capable people around them they can survive, but yeah it's, you've gotta be careful now with all that's going on and, with the head entries and there's a greater awareness of that.

As it should be. And you can see it in the NFL. A guy takes a big hit, the referee can't see [00:42:00] it at real time speed. But then Hollywood will call in after they've seen it a couple times and say, Hey, this guy keeping another planet, now his belt has got wrong. You know back in our day, John, you know what they do?

We take a couple smell salts and we put it in our nose and take a couple sniffs, and then somebody would come up and say, how many fingers do I have out? And they'd have two. We'd say five. And hey, what day is it? It's Tuesday. Yeah, you got it. What's your name? Albert. Okay, you're fine. Two. And you go in. And I'm not, that's just the way it was, and, but now there's a greater awareness of this and I think rightfully you just gotta find that balance. But right now, I don't think we found that balance. It's coming. Everybody's gotta be patient, and hang in there, but you gotta take care of the kids. That's more important than anything.

Yeah. 

[00:42:44] John Boruk: And really take care, taking care of long term health. I hate to see NFL athletes who absolutely put it all out there, suffer from something so debilitating like CTE and Lu Gehrig's disease because, they have such a full life. And the thing is that they know what's [00:43:00] happening to 'em.

Can't do anything about it, and it's just so painful and just so devastating to watch. And I really hope that the, that's where the Lee continues to make strides because to, as far as I'm concerned, you can't do enough. Do, I think protect the health. Look, the athletes know, and it's unfortunate that when you go down or you're out for, an extended amount of time, an extended amount of time that somebody's gonna step in and take your job.

And that's, that happens in all reals, corporate life, everything. Not at the expense of somebody's health. And so that's where I think we hope that everything improves. 

[00:43:36] Vince Papale: I remember when I first got into the league and I went to, this was back in 76, and I went my first NFL players association meeting him where we were and I forget who the president was, but he played for the Oakland Raiders and he says, you either retire, you get injured out, or you get retired, which means you get cut from the.

But the none of us, because you've not used the [00:44:00] word invincible, when you're out there, you're feeling invincible, and that's the last thing you want to think about. And there was, back then there was that certain amount of pride that you felt because you paid through an injury, you're always hurt, and it's a hundred percent guaranteed that you're gonna be paying with an injury. Those days are gone now. And I think especially with head injuries and stuff of that sort, and look, man, I just came right from here. I just came from a chiropractor, , I marvel, Oberg, get a chiropractor from that one head he took in the movie

Yeah, you gotta take care of your body, man. And I'm doing the best I can. Take care of mine right now. I got a lot of, I got a lot of fun watching my kids grow up. 

[00:44:40] John Boruk: And you're down in Jupiter, Florida, so you gotta take care of that body cuz you got a lot of golf to be played.

[00:44:44] Vince Papale: Oh man. I'll tell you what it was. It was we, I played that international yesterday, my God. And I played with a pro Owen Owen Brown, and oh my God, I just watched watch him swing and you know how beautiful it is. Yeah it's fun down here. So there's [00:45:00] a lot of great athletes here. I almost wish that maybe it would've been a little bit different way we raised our kids down there.

What an edge they had with all the beautiful facilities. And the weather here. It's unbelievable. 

[00:45:11] John Boruk: Yeah. All right. Vince Papale, the movie Invincible came out in 2006. If you have a library of movies that you want to show your kids someday to really inspire them put invincible on the list.

I, I have that up there along with Miracle, the Blind Side, the Rookie some really good movies. The natural I love is a classic as well, but Vince Papa Poll a captain of the Philadelphia Eagles back in the late seventies the. The legend. There's no myth about him. He's nothing mythical. It's all it's all legendary.

As it pertains to Vince Papale. Vince, thank you so much for joining us on Raising a Champion. I really appreciate it and love talking to you. We do, any chance we get the chance to connect, I really just love to pick your brain on, on everything.

[00:45:52] Vince Papale: I appreciate reconnecting.

That was so cool to get to see you last month when I did our event up there. [00:46:00] Yeah. So it was in Bucks, so it was great. And when I, John Bo oh my God. Oh, please. You were a mainstay with back there. So anyway. Hey, it was great to reconnect. You're making a difference. Yeah, and I'm gonna be giving, I every week I do this thing, it's called Invincible.

And you can get it@atatthis.com and I say something and one of it is giving back. And that's what you're doing right now. You're giving back, especially right now how important it is in our time with all that's going on. And also with the holidays cuz there are gonna be a lot of people, there are gonna be a lot of pain because they've lost loved ones and don't forget them. Don't forget 

[00:46:35] John Boruk: them. Yeah. It's a good message. And as we like to wrap up every show with our quote of the week this week, most people don't expect adversity. Then they get surprised by adversity. And as a result, they're defeated by adversity. A better approach, expect adversity, prepare for adversity, overcome adversity.

Adversity is guaranteed what you do. It's up to you. All right. Thanks for joining us on Raising a Champion. Remember, please [00:47:00] subscribe to us wherever you listen. Spotify Google, Amazon Music, Apple, iTunes. You got it. It's all out there. Thanks for listening. I hope you'll join us next time.