Frank The Tank
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00All right, I'm here with a legend.
00:02The punky QB, known as McMahon, led the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl XX and had a great career.
00:10Of course, this is a great time for Frank Walsh.
00:12He lives his days out in Arizona, so let's take a little walk around Arizona and see
00:16what you're up to today.
00:17Sounds good.
00:18Frank Walsh, Frank Walsh, it's time for Frank Walsh.
00:27Beautiful.
00:29So, I'm looking at your career.
00:31Now, one thing that people don't realize is, and I always knew it, you were born in Jersey
00:37City, New Jersey.
00:38Yep.
00:39I spent my first two, I think two to three years in New Jersey and then moved out to San
00:45Jose, California.
00:46Yes, you know, I spent my first six months in Great Falls, Montana, and I've been in New
00:51Jersey ever since.
00:53So I know New Jersey quite well.
00:55I'm going to be back there in a couple of weeks, actually.
00:58David Wells has got a charity golf event.
01:01Oh, nice.
01:02I like David Wells.
01:03I believe it's for Tunnel to Towers.
01:05Oh, that would be good.
01:06That's good.
01:07David Wells is, of course, from San Diego.
01:10He played the Chargers among other teams.
01:14You know, the Immaculate Grid?
01:17I think I've used you more than any other football player on the Immaculate Grid.
01:20You've got to explain to him what the Immaculate Grid is.
01:21Yeah.
01:22Yeah, what it is, is you've got nine categories.
01:23You have to pick out the two teams they played for, or like a sit-in stat, like Green Bay
01:28Packers Super Bowl winning quarterback, or Super Bowl ring, you could put Jim McMahon,
01:32and a lot of people don't know that Jim McMahon actually was Brett Favre's backup in your final
01:37game.
01:38Yeah.
01:39I got lucky enough to give him another ring before I gave it up, and it was nice to get
01:47a ring from the two oldest franchises in the league.
01:49Who hate each other.
01:50Yeah.
01:51Now, of course, you're known as the Chicago Bear, 1985, the Super Bowl Shuffle.
01:58What was the story about making that video?
02:00Well, that came about Willie Gault was approached by a friend of his in the music business, and
02:05they wanted to do something to help feed the homeless on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
02:11So that was our premise.
02:13That was the reason we all did it.
02:15We thought it was a good thing for Chicago.
02:18We didn't realize that we were doing it four weeks.
02:20We still had four games to play in the season, so it was kind of audacious of us to do it,
02:25but the way it worked out, we looked a little prophetic at that point.
02:30Didn't it come out, like, right after the game in Miami?
02:34Well, they filmed that the day after we lost, yes.
02:40So we got back to Chicago probably three or four in the morning.
02:43Guys had to be at the studio at 9 o'clock, I think.
02:46They were there for about eight hours.
02:49Walter and I didn't go because we told them that wasn't in the contract, which it wasn't.
02:53Yeah.
02:54We were told we were going to make a record, and then all of a sudden now we've got to make
02:57a video, so we didn't go, and there were some problems.
03:03So we ended up having to do our parts in the racquetball court of Hallis Hall one day after
03:07practice, probably about a week or so after they actually filmed that.
03:12And it became iconic because it got, like, the top 40, if I'm not mistaken.
03:18Yeah, we were up for a Grammy.
03:20We had a gold record and a platinum video, so people seemed to enjoy it, and they still
03:26bring it up to me every time I go somewhere.
03:28And it launched, like, every other team wanted to do a music video.
03:31Yeah.
03:32In fact, I just saw the Rams when they did.
03:34Oh, God.
03:35That one's so bad.
03:36I was with Eric Dickerson last weekend at an event, and somebody pulled that up.
03:40I had never seen it.
03:41Ramit?
03:42Ramit?
03:43Ramit?
03:44Ramit?
03:45Ramit?
03:46Ramit?
03:47Ramit?
03:48Ramit?
03:49Ramit?
03:50Ramit?
03:51Ramit?
03:52Ramit?
03:53Ramit?
03:54Ramit?
03:55Ramit?
03:56Ramit?
03:57Ramit?
03:58Ramit?
03:59Ramit?
04:00Ramit?
04:01Ramit?
04:02Ramit?
04:03Ramit?
04:04Ramit?
04:05Ramit?
04:06Ramit?
04:07Ramit?
04:08Ramit?
04:09Ramit?
04:10Ramit?
04:11Ramit?
04:12Ramit?
04:13Ramit?
04:14Ramit?
04:15Ramit?
04:16Ramit?
04:17Ramit?
04:18Ramit?
04:19Ramit?
04:20Ramit?
04:21Ramit?
04:22Ramit?
04:23Ramit?
04:24Ramit?
04:25Ramit?
04:26Ramit?
04:27Ramit?
04:28Ramit?
04:29Ramit?
04:30Before you played for the Bears, you went to BYU.
04:33Yeah.
04:33I've heard that you heard outrageous stories at BYU.
04:36We got this college that's like, it's almost like the town on Footloose.
04:43That's basically how I felt, too.
04:46I just wanted to dance.
04:51It was definitely not what most college people's lives were like.
04:57It was a very different atmosphere.
05:00The athletics was great.
05:02I had great teams while I was there, great teammates.
05:06I actually just got off a BYU cruise.
05:09I was on there two weeks ago.
05:11We went down through Mexico, and it was great to see those guys that I haven't seen in almost 40, 50 years.
05:18Now, the big highlight of that time was the Miracle Bowl.
05:22Right.
05:22Hail Mary passed to end the Holiday Bowl.
05:25I mean, what were you down, 20 points?
05:2820 points with four minutes to go.
05:30I mean, some people call that among the top 10 college bowl games ever played.
05:37Well, the last four minutes was good.
05:39The game itself kind of sucked.
05:41It was bad the whole game, but the last four minutes was pretty exciting.
05:45And, of course, you just mentioned Eric Dickerson.
05:47He was on the other side of the field that day.
05:48Yeah, he mentioned again, we stole that game, or the refs gave it to us or something.
05:53Yeah, we still, every time we see each other, we talk about it.
05:57And it was actually BYU's first bowl win, so it was kind of a, it was bittersweet for the SMU guys, but for us it was great.
06:06Well, that, you helped launch a quarterback caravan at BYU, because you had Young come after you, Ty Detmer.
06:14I mean, we had quite a few.
06:17We had, well, it all started back with Gary Scheide, then Gifford Nielsen, Mark Wilson, myself, then Steve.
06:25Then, what was it, Robbie Bosco came after that, won a national championship.
06:29So, yeah, they've had a good line of quarterbacks, and it's a great offense for quarterbacks.
06:34I mean, if you want to learn offense and football, that's the place to be.
06:37Well, Lavelle Edwards was a great coach.
06:40Lavelle was, he was a great organizer, I think.
06:45You know, he didn't coach much, but he hired great coaches, and he let them coach.
06:48I think that was his secret to his success.
06:51That's the secret to football coaching.
06:53The head coach is more of a CEO than a hands-on guy.
06:56Well, if you're like that, then you're probably going to be successful.
06:59But those guys that like to be hands-on in everything is a little bit much for me.
07:04I mean, Mike Dicta.
07:07There was one.
07:09I mean, what was it like playing for him?
07:13Because this guy was more, I don't know if he was more of a coach or just a wild man.
07:18I think the best thing Mike did when he first got there, it was his first year, my first year as well.
07:25But he wanted guys that wanted to work.
07:29We had some guys that were seven, eight-year, nine-year veterans, starters, that he got rid of.
07:34Because he wanted guys that wanted to work.
07:38And we did.
07:41I mean, we worked our ass off.
07:42I mean, people talk about, you know, why didn't we win more?
07:46I think we just got tired towards the end of the season after seven years of beating the crap out of each other,
07:51three days a week, and then you play a game on Sunday.
07:54So we basically played four games a week.
07:56Everything we had was live.
07:58Everything was in pads.
07:59And then he ran us to death after that.
08:02So I think we just got tired, you know, my last couple years in Chicago towards the end of the season.
08:07That's why we didn't do well in the playoffs.
08:09Well, Charles Martin didn't help.
08:11Well, that didn't help.
08:12But we had our chances.
08:13We went to three NFC championship games in five years.
08:15And the big one, we lost at home.
08:20That was the 88 one.
08:21That one, I still don't know how that got away.
08:24That one was a tough one.
08:24That's the only loss I have ever had to play against Joe Montana quite a few times.
08:29And that's the only loss I have to them.
08:31But that was a big one going to the Super Bowl.
08:33And then, of course, 87, which was Peyton's last year.
08:39I always thought they would make another run that year.
08:42Yeah, we had a chance again.
08:44We had home field advantage in the playoffs.
08:46And we ended up losing to Washington in the first round again.
08:50I think Joe Gibbs was the first guy to figure out how to beat that 46 defense.
08:56You block eight guys and run two-man routes and eventually going to beat us.
09:01And they did.
09:03To me, that Bears team is one of the most iconic football teams of all time.
09:09Just the way you just rolled through the playoffs.
09:13Well, we rolled through regular season pretty much, too.
09:15After the third or fourth game, we struggled early.
09:18But once we got our stride.
09:20Yeah, you had that big Thursday night comeback off the bench.
09:23Yeah, that was a pivotal moment in the season because we were both 2-0 at the time.
09:28And they're in our division.
09:31And so, you know, who knows if they win that game what happens.
09:33But that kind of turned us around.
09:35And then our defense got their stride.
09:38And it was tough to score on those guys after that.
09:42I mean, the one thing I always wish and I always wonder, and it's not a what if for you,
09:49but it's what if I've always had in my heart.
09:51I'm a Miami Dolphins fan.
09:52I would have loved to have seen the Dolphins have that crack.
09:57I would have, too.
09:58I would have, too.
09:59Because I didn't get to play in that Monday night game.
10:01And that would have been, I think, a little bit different outcome.
10:04I don't know.
10:05I mean, it's just the way it happened that night.
10:07I mean, everything kind of went their way.
10:09The balls bouncing off guys' helmets going for touchdowns.
10:13They had their whole 72 team on the sideline.
10:16I mean, it was one of those nice, nothing was going to work for us.
10:21That was actually the game where the tradition of the champagne popping started when the last
10:27team loses.
10:29I didn't know that.
10:31Yep.
10:31That's why they started it.
10:33Because they were all there that day, and they celebrated the Dolphins.
10:37And it's become a major thing.
10:39It's the only thing the Dolphin fans have these days.
10:40Let me tell you.
10:44Yeah, they've had some really good teams.
10:48They've just never really finished it off.
10:52I think one of the dumbest things the Bears ever did was trade you.
10:56I think that, like, took the heart out of the Bears.
11:00Well, I was kind of happy at the time.
11:03I was not.
11:04There was a lot of friction between Ditka and I.
11:07And I think it was the right move at the time to get out of town.
11:12I would have loved to have been able to stay in Chicago my whole career.
11:15I lived there for 28 years.
11:16Even though I was playing for other teams, I would always go back to Chicago at the end
11:21of the season.
11:22All my kids were raised there.
11:25Great town.
11:27That's now the politics.
11:28I'm glad I'm out of there.
11:30Can't blame you.
11:32I mean, then you went and bounced around.
11:34You were pretty much out of backup.
11:35But then you would become a starter, like that one year for Cunningham in Philly.
11:39Yeah, we should have won it all that year.
11:41We had the best defense in the league.
11:43Back with Buddy Ryan at the time.
11:45Yeah, well, Rich Kotak was the head coach at this point.
11:48Oh, that's right.
11:48Yeah, Buddy got fired after 90.
11:51But, yeah, we were 3-5 at the halfway point.
11:55And I said, look, we're going to have to win all eight.
11:57And Rich says, no, you win 10 games, you go to the playoffs.
12:01I said, look, we got the Giants and their skins are ahead of us already in the division.
12:06We've got to win them all.
12:07We ended up winning 7 of 8, 10 and 6.
12:10We didn't go to the playoffs.
12:10Yeah, that's Richie Kotak.
12:13Nobody wanted to play us that year for sure.
12:17We had Reggie White and Jerome Brown and Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Eric Allen.
12:24We had a hell of a defense.
12:25The defense Buddy Ryan built, even though he was gone by then, was one of the best defenses ever.
12:31The Eagles just couldn't get over the hump.
12:35And then you have Minnesota, Arizona, where you now reside.
12:40And, of course, you finished your career off backing up Favre in Green Bay.
12:46Yeah, it was a pretty easy year and a half for me.
12:51Didn't sweat much.
12:53Got to play in a couple of games.
12:54And, actually, Holmgren wanted me to go in in the Super Bowl.
12:59And I said, look, I said, I played in this game when it meant something.
13:03I'm not going to go, you know, mop up for bread.
13:06I think it's the right decision.
13:07I said, either put Doug, Doug Peterson was our third guy.
13:10I said, put Doug in, you know, he's never, hadn't been in a Super Bowl.
13:14I said, I'm not going in a mop enough.
13:16I think it's the right decision.
13:18I think you let the guy who's been there take the last foul.
13:22Yeah, either let him finish or let Doug finish.
13:25I mean, I'm not going to go.
13:26But, what are you doing now?
13:30What are you doing these days?
13:32Well, I've been out here for 15 years in Arizona.
13:35Loving it.
13:36Love the weather.
13:37Today is kind of a little odd to see clouds this time of year here.
13:42But, I love dry heat.
13:45I don't care if it's 120.
13:46You don't sweat out here.
13:47I love it.
13:48I've been in the cannabis business for the last four or five years with some ex-ball players.
13:54Kyle Turley, Ricky Williams.
13:56Oh, Ricky Williams.
13:57That's a good one.
13:59Actually, we're supposed to be meeting with Trump soon and talk about the cannabis business.
14:03So, we get different regulations.
14:06It's still Schedule 1 on the drug list.
14:08Which is ridiculous.
14:09Especially when they have fentanyl scheduled, too.
14:11Which is ridiculous.
14:12So, Ricky and I were back in Congress probably six months ago, walking the halls, talking to senators and congressmen about it.
14:19Trying to open their eyes.
14:20But, Big Pharma, they're very powerful in this country.
14:24And corrupt.
14:25They don't want you taking something that actually helps you.
14:28No, they don't.
14:29That's what they always say.
14:30They want customers, not cures.
14:32Correct.
14:32That's always been the way.
14:34And, you know, the cannabis industry, you know, to me, it's silly that I've seen people who use cannabis in the products like this and stuff.
14:46And they're better off than the alcohol.
14:50And the alcohol has just always been free-flowing.
14:52The alcohol is the worst thing on the planet.
14:53Free-flowing.
14:54And plus, you've been beat up.
14:57Your head has been hit all over the place.
14:59You took a lot of shots in football.
15:02I hear that cannabis is very good at helping people who have CTE and post-concussion syndromes and stuff.
15:09It's definitely better than the pills they give you.
15:11I mean, the pills do nothing but mask pain, mess up your insides.
15:16Cannabis, we all have a cannabinoid system.
15:18We're supposed to be using this plant.
15:20It's not a drug.
15:21It's a medicinal herb.
15:22It's only a drug when a man puts his hands on it, puts chemicals in it.
15:26You know, if you just chew coca leaves, you never have a cocaine problem.
15:29You have a lot of energy.
15:30They do that in South America.
15:31It's always the chemicals.
15:34That's what gets you addicted.
15:36And that's what's bad for you.
15:38I know.
15:39Cannabis is God's gift to us, man.
15:41Well, you know, the founding fathers, they used cannabis.
15:44Well, cannabis was the most prescribed medication up until, I think, the 1920s or 30s.
15:50And then Big Pharma took over.
15:52Well, thank you for joining me.
15:57And you're looking great these days.
15:59And good luck with your cannabis industry.
16:01And this guy's a legend.
16:02I appreciate it.
16:03Good to see you losing all that weight walking around here, bud.
16:06Thanks.
16:07Thanks.