We’ll never stop celebrating the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV championship but there’s no better place to mark time than a quarter of a century after the magic of the first one. Wide receiver Brandon Stokley caught the first touchdown on January 28, 2001 in Tampa and joins Nestor from his sports radio homeland in Denver to talk Sean Payton, Peyton Manning and how life changes but the memories never fade away.
Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokley discussed the 25th anniversary of Stokley’s first Super Bowl touchdown with the Baltimore Ravens. Stokley reflected on his experiences, including reconnecting with former teammates and the challenges of playing in adverse weather conditions. They also talked about the recent NFL game between the Broncos and Patriots, highlighting the impact of weather and coaching decisions. Stokley praised Sean Payton’s transformation of the Broncos and shared memories of his father’s influence as a coach. They concluded with Stokley predicting a Seahawks win in the upcoming Super Bowl, citing their complete team and his personal bias against the Patriots.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Run the ‘cup of soup or bowl’ charity/community week next week, including on-site visits to Fayley’s (Monday), El Guapo in Catonsville (Tuesday), Koco’s in Laurel (Wednesday), Pizza John’s in Essex (Thursday), and Costas in Timonium (Friday) to collect community stories and promote the campaign
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Distribute Maryland Lottery scratch-offs (Candy Cane Cash) and coordinate road appearances with GBMC as part of the charity week giveaways and on-site events next week
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Produce and air Super Bowl coverage on WNST AM 1570 for all of next week as part of station programming
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Bring empanadas and steamed crabs (and an ice-cold beverage) to Brandon Stokley at the planned meetup
Brandon Stokley’s Super Bowl Memories and Current Activities
- Nestor Aparicio introduces the show and mentions various community events and charity activities.
- Nestor Aparicio welcomes Brandon Stokley, highlighting his role in Denver Sports Radio and their shared history.
- Brandon Stokley expresses surprise at the timing of the interview and reminisces about the Super Bowl win 25 years ago.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokley discuss their recent interactions and the upcoming 25th anniversary of Stokley’s first Super Bowl touchdown.
Reflections on Recent NFL Games and Weather Conditions
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokley discuss the recent NFL game between the Broncos and Patriots, focusing on the weather conditions and the game’s outcome.
- Brandon Stokley shares his experience of attending the game and the impact of the weather on the game’s dynamics.
- They compare the recent game to other memorable games, including the Mile High Miracle and the Baltimore game.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokley discuss the challenges of playing in adverse weather conditions and the impact on the game’s outcome.
Sean Payton’s Coaching and Team Dynamics
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely discuss Sean Payton’s coaching style and his impact on the Denver Broncos.
- Brandon Stokely praises Payton’s ability to turn around the team’s fortunes and mentions the financial challenges posed by Russell Wilson’s cap hit.
- They discuss the decision not to kick a field goal in the recent game and the criticism it received.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely reflect on the challenges faced by the Broncos with a backup quarterback and the remarkable performance despite the circumstances.
Coaching Changes and Adjustments in the NFL
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely discuss the impact of coaching changes on players and teams.
- Brandon Stokely shares his experiences with coaching changes, including the transition from Mike Shanahan to Josh McDaniels.
- They discuss the adjustments required when a new coach brings in a different offensive system.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely reflect on the positive and negative aspects of coaching changes and how they can breathe new life into a team.
Brandon Stokely’s Early Football Experiences
- Nestor Aparicio asks Brandon Stokely about his father’s influence as a coach and the impact on his football career.
- Brandon Stokely shares memories of growing up around football, attending away games, and learning the game from a young age.
- They discuss the influence of his father’s coaching style and how it shaped his understanding of the game.
- Brandon Stokely reflects on the benefits of growing up around football and how it prepared him for his professional career.
Brandon Stokely’s Super Bowl Experience and Legacy
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely reminisce about the 2000 Super Bowl and Stokely’s role in the game.
- Brandon Stokely recalls the excitement of playing in a Super Bowl and the preparation leading up to the game.
- They discuss the significance of winning a Super Bowl in his second year in the NFL and the impact on his career.
- Brandon Stokely reflects on the camaraderie with his teammates and the lasting memories of the Super Bowl experience.
Brandon Stokely’s Current Activities and Future Plans
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely discuss Stokely’s current role in Denver Sports Radio and his future plans.
- Brandon Stokely shares his enthusiasm for his radio work and the opportunity to follow in Nestor Aparicio’s footsteps.
- They discuss the upcoming Super Bowl coverage and the various community events and charity activities planned for the week.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely express their excitement for the upcoming events and the opportunity to connect with fans and listeners.
Reflections on the NFL and Personal Connections
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely reflect on their personal connections and the impact of their shared football experiences.
- They discuss the importance of community and the lasting bonds formed through football.
- Brandon Stokely shares his appreciation for the support and camaraderie from his teammates and fans.
- Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely look forward to future opportunities to connect and share their love for football.
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
Brandon Stokely and Nestor Aparicio look forward to continuing their collaboration and sharing more football stories in the future.
Nestor Aparicio and Brandon Stokely discuss their plans for future interviews and football stories.
They express their gratitude for the opportunity to share their experiences and connect with listeners.
Nestor Aparicio highlights the importance of community and charity work in their broadcasts.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Super Bowl XXXV, Brandon Stokley, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Sean Payton, Russell Wilson, Bo Nix, AFC Championship, NFL coaching changes, Mile High Miracle, Super Bowl predictions, football memories, community charity, Baltimore positive.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Brandon Stokley, Speaker 1
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 tasks in Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, positively doing a sort of the anti radio row thing here. We’re doing a cup of soup or bowl all next week. If we get the snow that way out of here, we’re going to be a fadeleys on Monday. I have my Lexington market shirt on. We’re giving away the scratch offs on the Maryland lottery, the candy cane cashiers, as well as our friends at GBMC, putting us out on the road for a good turn, telling community charity stories, feel good stories. I’m visiting with a bunch of people next week, fayley’s on Monday, Tuesday, we we are going to take it over to El Guapo and Catonsville. Wednesday, we’ll be at Koco’s in laurelville. Thursday, we go to pizza, John’s in Essex, and Friday, we’ll wrap things up at Costas intimonium, all parts of the beltway that this guy remembers from 25 years ago. He is the great voice of all things Denver Sports Radio these days, taking after his one time mentor me back in the day, he caught touchdown passes in Super Bowls. He has rings, and he is my ticket collecting pal, and sometimes we we engage in an adult beverage from time to time when we were in the same place at the same time, happy 25th anniversary to you on Wednesday. Brandon Stokely, of catching your first Super Bowl touchdown pass and getting your first ring here, and I called you, and you’re like, Oh, is it this week? Really?
Brandon Stokley 01:23
I didn’t know. I mean, come on, man, like, I don’t know. I mean, obviously, you know, anytime we get close to the Super Bowl, you always have great memories about that year and what we were able to accomplish, it was so cool. Going back to Baltimore this past season, I I hung out with you a little bit, and we had a good time, but, but just reconnecting with the former teammates and doing that was was so much fun, so but didn’t realize that it was coming up and that, you know, the date was, was going to be on Wednesday. So really cool. But I don’t know. I don’t put in my calendar or anything.
Nestor Aparicio 02:01
Dude, I got it right here on the books, man. I got our pictures in here. The whole the hardback, the soft back, all that stuff. Brandon, let’s start talking about Denver for a minute, and then I’ll let you go and whist all about all your Super Bowl. You can put your colts ring up. You can do all that. But the Denver thing this week and the weather, I’m assuming you were at the game. I mean, just a wild time backup court, and how close you come when it’s a fingertip on a kick. I mean, I, I go back to Billy Cundiff, and I know what you guys experienced, you on the other end of the Mile High miracle, the losses this time of year, it’s always we were, we were this close, right?
Brandon Stokley 02:38
Yeah, and that was the thing, you know, I was at the game. I did go, you know, I they played the Broncos played really good. Their defense played great. And, you know, you had a chance to go up 10.2 scores, and you pass that opportunity up early in the football game there, I think, early in the second quarter, and you went for them, fourth and one, and didn’t convert. And that was everything. If you go up two scores and then the weather changed in the second half, the defense was playing great. I think the Broncos went by double digits, and they went for it, and they didn’t convert, obviously. And all the momentum went to the Patriots, and they just made a couple more plays in the Broncos did, but that’s a tough way to lose. You’re right. You know, I’ve been on some good ones, won some great ones. And I’ve been on that, that one against Baltimore, here in Denver, I’ve been on one where we missed the field goal against Pittsburgh when we were I think the number one seed in Indy, in that game, Jerome Bettis fumble, and it was a bad kick by Vander Jack, you know, and it wasn’t even close. So I’ve been on some Heartbreakers, unfortunately, and those are tough in the playoffs, because it felt like watching that game and being there, the Broncos were the better football team, but they just kind of gave that football game away.
Nestor Aparicio 03:55
Dude, you’re an amazing guy, because, like, I’m sitting here, I talk to you sometimes, to forget who you are and what you’ve done and play like I remember being up in New England in a snowstorm, watching you lose a championship game to Brady early in my marriage, oh 405, when you first got there. And I also, like, think about you and iconic cold games or weird games, the Mile High miracle game that you were on the other side of really weird weather in general this time of year. The broadcast, I looked at the Weather app and said, It looks like it’s going to snow in the second half. They didn’t mention it much in the broadcast. Matter of fact, Nancy, we might have some snowflakes here a little later on. And I’m thinking to myself, Denver, sudden, dude, you’ve lived there for a decade, and it like comes on. Were you aware when you left for the game that like were the cut we were, was everybody of the mindset that this thing could really take a turn. Because by the time it got to the third quarter, it looked like, well, the Broncos are going to have the ball and maybe a driver two or three to at least go into that end zone. That kick would have been good too, and that, I mean, probably would have been good if it didn’t touch. So. So, like, there was just so much about the weather in a game that you’ve been in that where it’s blowing in your face, or in the other way it it can’t be shown on television for what it’s like to be on the field in those conditions.
Brandon Stokley 05:13
Yeah, you know, I left the house and it was perfect conditions. I mean, it was awesome. The sun was out, and it was just going to be a nice winter day. And you know, funny thing is, on Friday, we had a weather guy, a meteorologist on and we’ve never had that happen before, but we just wanted to, you know, get the feel of what the conditions might be. And he did mention that there could be some bad weather coming in the second half, and you never quite know for sure, especially on Friday, things could change in a couple of days. But man, it rolled in, and you could see over the stadium and the the it just looked like apocalyptic style, you know, weather conditions were coming in, and then there it was. And man, it it changed, you know, the complexity of that football game. And so certainly, yeah, it was, it was, it was tough conditions for both football teams. And you know, the Patriots had that lead because of that drive that they had there to start the second half. And at that point, you know, no offense, neither offense, was doing much. So Broncos had that chance to kick that field goal and tie it, just got tipped. So it just was like it wasn’t meant to be for him. Brand it’s
Nestor Aparicio 06:27
so clear, as our guest, it’s been meant to be for you sometimes and other times it wasn’t meant to be. But you stick around long. I mean, you laugh about it now, but it is. It’s tough being in Denver today. I saw, even afterward with the Rams, were like, mcvay’s like, mcvay’s, like, I didn’t even think about losing because I just didn’t think we were, you know, I thought, when you get that vibe about you, when you get to this point in the season, of course, you think you’re going to win. That’s why you’re there, right? Um, for Denver and picking up the pieces. Boy Sean Payton is, he’s a Hall of Fame coach. He’s, he has aged, I hope, McCarthy and har ball you played in various conditions for a lot of these famous coaches that this next turn around, it certainly feels like Sean Payton is doing what he’s meant to be doing, and from afar, and I covered him as an OC you played against him in a Super Bowl 25 years ago, this week feels like a different kind of cat, like he’s really mellowed, to some degree, matured in a way where I’m like, Man, that’s a hell of a football coach you got out there.
Brandon Stokley 07:27
Oh, he’s done a great job what this team had been through for the decade previous, after they won Super Bowl 50. It was some bad football, some bad coaching. The roster was depleted, and he has come in here and flipped this thing around. And there’s a different culture, different guys, and he’s done a remarkable job. Plus he had the Russell Wilson, you know, cap hit the last two years. At the time, it was the largest cap hit in NFL history, 80 something million dollars, 50 something million two years ago, and 35 million or so this past year. That’s going to be going off the book, so he had to deal with that also. He’s done a remarkable job. And you know, we’re critical of him, and very critical of his decision to not kick that field goal yesterday, because I believe they would have kicked it. The Broncos, like I said, would have won that game by double digits. But so we’re critical of some of his decisions and but overall, he’s been unbelievable. Yeah, I agree with you. He is a, definitely, a Hall of Fame coach. Boy.
Nestor Aparicio 08:25
The thing was crazy too, playing with the backup. Like, I mean, you, I know you talked about that on the radio all last week in Denver, and what that’s like, a really tough circumstance that they almost overcame, really,
Brandon Stokley 08:37
yeah, yeah. It was really remarkable. You know, you’re talking about a guy that hadn’t thrown the football in a real game in over two years, and you’re dropped to the AFC Championship game. I thought he handled himself well. And, you know, certainly there was a couple plays there that he wishes he had back. But overall, you know, I thought it had been fun to see, you know, what it would have looked like there in the second half if the conditions weren’t what they were. But, yeah, I thought, I thought, you know, and I don’t know that. You tell me, I’ve never seen a situation like the Broncos had a week ago, where you no one even knew that Bo Nix was injured during the game. You know it happened really two plays before, you know, the field goal kick so, and he played both of those plays, you couldn’t even tell that he was hurt. And then, you know, everyone’s fired up about the Broncos going and hosting an AFC Championship game. And what a classic that was against the bills to all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Bo Nix, a season is over. You know, maybe he has a sprained ankle and he’s going to be questionable for this week. Okay, no, he’s having surgery on Tuesday, and his season is over, and I didn’t even know he was hurt, you know, and so I had never seen anything like that in sports to where you know you’re going to that type of game and you’re not even knowing that the guy was hurt. Or two. He’s done for the year. He’s having surgery. That was crazy.
Nestor Aparicio 10:04
Brandon Stokely is our guest on the eve of the 25th anniversary of him catching that pass over Jason seahorn, right in front of me, in front of the ship, right there in the Tampa. It was a lovely night. I wrote a book about it. You should go check it out. We’ll talk about that in a minute. But we get changed here, right? First time in 18 years with the coach you were in, guys were bending my ear out at that modell party when we celebrated the 25th anniversary with all the players in the Steelers game back in December,
Nestor Aparicio 10:33
I would think that that day you didn’t think Harbaugh was in trouble, or the Tomlin would be in trouble, or the McDermott would be fired, or, you know, any of these things that have happened in the league’s weird that way. You played in the league for a decade and a half. You’ve been that guy when someone gets fired and you’ve or steps down, or changes, or where, you know, you played for a lot of coaches. Clear it up for me, for my audience, for people here, being the veteran guy, what is that like to go through that period where the boss changes?
Brandon Stokley 11:03
Well, it’s tough, you know, now all of a sudden, you know, you signed up for one thing, and now it’s going to be totally different. Everything’s going to be different. You know, how you practice, how you go about, just everything. And you’re going to have a new, usually, a new offensive coordinator, you know, for a guy like me, which is a big deal. And if you defensively, you’ll probably have a new defensive coordinator. That’s usually kind of what happens. And certainly that’s going to happen in Baltimore with Lamar.
Nestor Aparicio 11:29
So terminology changes, right? Like, literally, you need to learn different languages, right? Exactly.
Brandon Stokley 11:34
Everything changes. You know how they call plays, how they want you to run certain plays, and so there’s a lot of adjustments and so, but sometimes it’s a good thing, like, Okay, you get caught in a rut, maybe with the same coach and the same system for a long time, and it kind of breathes some life, of, you know, new life into you a little bit. So, you know, I think there’s some positives that can come out of it also, and just but you know, when we change coaches here, from Mike Shanahan to Josh McDaniels. And you know, it was a lot of lot of change. Obviously everything was different, but, you know, it was something new. And so there was, there was a different type of energy around it. And so I think sometimes, you know, Don arball, he’s a great football coach, obviously, did a lot of great things, and there for a long time. Sometimes it’s just, it’s time for change. Same thing with Mike Tomlin, just time for change, you know, and, and I think that’s, that’s what happened there in Baltimore.
Nestor Aparicio 12:29
Tell me about your father as a coach, because I’m always interested Harbaugh and his father, his brother, obviously, and his brother, when he was a player with you back in the day, and the mentor thing, you know, obviously mentors. Father was a sponsor to John Harbaugh and Rex Ryan and Mike Tomlin and a bunch of other people. There’s my dad was a, you know, a coach in an umpire in the neighborhood, and we had all the baseball equipment in our thing. So there was a little bit of that. My father sort of eating brief slate sports when he wasn’t a steel worker, which is kind of my life. All these years later, you had a whole different background, because your dad was like, like, the real deal.
Brandon Stokley 13:09
Yeah, no, it was great. I mean, I grew up around football, you know, my dad was a college coach his whole life. He played quarterback at LSU, so, you know, that’s, that’s the life I grew up in. So it was awesome. You know, you’re just being around the sport, being there, you know, all the time, going on away trips, you know, with equipment managers, loading up on the van on a Thursday, taking off, driving to, you know, Jonesboro, Arkansas, or, you know, college station, all these different places. And then just
Nestor Aparicio 13:40
always the kid throwing a football, with, with, with, with teenagers and adults,
Brandon Stokley 13:45
young adults. Yeah, that’s, that’s all we did, you know. And you’re just running around the facility during, you know, two a days, you’re finding different things to do. You’re there all day, and you’re coming up with games and, yeah, so, you know, that’s, I mean, that’s why I turned out to be the person I was, and to be the player I was, I just, it just was second nature to me, catching the football, but also knowing the game right, because you just grew up around it. So I feel, I feel like I just see the game differently than a lot of people, and certainly that helped my playing days.
Nestor Aparicio 14:16
Did that help you with coaching in a general sense, that Billick loved you? I mean, you know your coaches. I don’t
Brandon Stokley 14:22
know if he did. Yeah, he did. I don’t, I told him at the Super Bowl reunion afterwards. I mean, I never had anyone say so many bad words to me. I mean, really cuss with the best
Speaker 1 14:34
of oh yes and yes in Yes, I just
Brandon Stokley 14:38
like, you know, but, and I understand it, and it made me a better player. But, you know, he was an offensive guy, and we couldn’t throw the ball, and I was, you know, a fourth round rookie, and so, you know, who are you going to yell at and pick on? That was me. I mean, that was me, Nestor, but it did. It toughened me up, and it got me prepared to play for Peyton Manning, which was.
Nestor Aparicio 15:00
Awesome. So I think part of that is, he thought you were a coach. Is he loved coaches, kids. He thought that you, you know, that’s what that did, you know what I mean, like that, I guess that was the way it was, right?
Brandon Stokley 15:10
Yeah, sure. But man, he said some things to me that I can’t repeat on this 25 years
Nestor Aparicio 15:19
later, for him to say some of those things, hey, it all worked out. You got a ring from all of this here. Anything you do want to say, other than Brian, cost a lot. Do you remember about it and the game itself, and catching that ball and the magic of landing and giving the Ravens the lead? Like just, I don’t know what you think about 25 years later, when you think about
Brandon Stokley 15:42
it, just, you know, where that season started for me. I was just inactive, you know, I wasn’t even dressing out. And then Travis Taylor broke his collarbone, I got an opportunity to come in and be the fourth receiver. And, you know, just try to take advantage of my opportunities. And next thing you know, I’m starting in the Super Bowl, right? And the week leading up to it, I just remember, you know, how I was just, we go down to Tampa, and the weather’s warm, it’s like, oh my gosh, you know, you’re back. You’ve been cold for so long in that cold environment, and now you’re just in. My legs felt great. And I was just, I felt so prepared for that game, my receiver coach, the late Milt Jackson, he had us dialed in. Man, we were prepared. I was ready to go. And when they showed me that defense they were playing, I knew exactly what they’re doing. I knew exactly what I had to do to get open. And Trent obviously threw a great pass, a perfect pass to me. So and I just get to never imagine playing in a Super Bowl. You know, I was small school and from Louisiana, I didn’t, I didn’t think I was going to play in the NFL, and to have that opportunity to be able to play in a Super Bowl, and then to catch a touchdown in the Super Bowl, and then to win a Super Bowl. I mean, in my second year in the NFL. I mean, shoot, I was, like, 24 years old, and I won a Super Bowl. It’s just unbelievable. And, and I look back on it, just what a great organization. You know, we Steve basadi, just joined up with with art modell, what the year before, that year, and, and there we are. And just being able to hang around with old Baltimore coach players, Johnny Unitas, you know, having Thanksgiving at his house. Are you serious? And all those other great ones that were always around. And the fan base was so much fun, and they love football. And here we were, the Ravens that you know, we’re back giving them football again. It was just awesome, man. I mean, golly, you look back and how much fun that was, and what a time in my life it was, and to be able to do it in Baltimore. So much fun.
Nestor Aparicio 17:42
Brandon Stokely is our guest. You know, you collect all sorts of things. I have these 1970 medallions, New England Patriots and, well, the Seahawks is a knockoff, because they weren’t around in 1970 but I had these, these medallions, or who’s gonna win the game? What do you got for me in the Super Bowl here, if I, if I had you in radio row next week in the Santa Clara’s Well,
Brandon Stokley 18:01
I’m gonna go with the Seahawks. I know their favorites by about four and a half five points, whatever it is, I think there’s a more complete team. And I’m pulling for the Seahawks. I hate the Patriots. They’ve cost me about two more Super Bowls, so I can’t get over that. I’m still a little bit bitter about that. Did you play in four? No, just, just two. Part of one of the other ones with the Koco. No, never was so had a lot of heartbreak in the in the in the playoffs, and most of it was because of the Patriots. So I haven’t gotten over that yet. So I don’t want them to win. I’m sorry.
Nestor Aparicio 18:36
I’m sorry what we did to you out there with Denver too. The whole Yeah, yeah.
Brandon Stokley 18:40
Thanks. Appreciate that. I just was getting over it, so thanks for bringing
Nestor Aparicio 18:44
it up. 14 years that time you all get over it.
Brandon Stokley 18:46
Oh my gosh. I can’t believe it’s been that long. But yeah, that one, that one hurt. I mean, you talk about Sean McVay saying he’s, he wasn’t ready for the season to be over. That was that season for me, 2012 like we we had such a great team. I was healthy. I’m 36 years old. I’m fully healthy. I could have played another six months, another 10 football games, and all of a sudden, you know, a team that you beat by, you know, double digits, a month before at their place, comes into your place. And you know, on this miracle of all miracle plays, you know, they, they, they win that football game. I was just devastated after that game. So one of the greatest
Nestor Aparicio 19:22
football games I’ve ever with. I mean, I just to be there, was an honor. And I went to a lot of cool football games. You know, I was at the Elway drive game. You and I have been through this. I’ve went to 27 circles that the my line miracle, just from a game of touchdown back and forth, back and forth, kickers, weather cold, over like, just legendary players. Ray Lewis Peyton, Manning yourself. I mean,
Brandon Stokley 19:46
I wouldn’t put me in that category Peyton’s
Nestor Aparicio 19:48
neighborhood, right. I mean, least right. It
Brandon Stokley 19:50
was it was it was it was a fun game, and it was a great environment, and it just didn’t end fun, unfortunately. But yeah, you had some legends in that game with Ed Reed and. Ray Lewis and Peyton Manning. So it was, it was a bummer for me how it ended. But you know, it’s, I think you look at this game, and you look at where Seattle is and how they’re playing, what a great story. Sam darnold, unbelievable. He’s going to the Super Bowl. So, but you know what? This is, what the Patriots do, and you see how they played this year, and Vrabel obviously being a part of some of those New England teams that, you know, they weren’t supposed to beat St Louis, that the Rams when they beat them, that for that first Super Bowl. And you look at this team, and it kind of reminds me of that Brady led team that pulled off that huge upset. So but I’m pulling for Seattle, and I played in Seattle for a year, and really liked that organization.
Nestor Aparicio 20:42
I was at that game too. Our buddy Kim herring was a St Louis RAM who, oh, wow, yeah, yeah. So, hey, I’m getting together with a whole bunch of anything you want to say about seeing your teammates eight weeks other than you and I had to, like, when doe for walked in, we’re like, hey, that’s Trent. Like, well, you know, like, it was kind of a fun thing of seeing people that we I had a great time. That was my, one of my favorite nights of 2025
Brandon Stokley 21:08
seeing you all, yeah, no, it was great. I mean, I don’t get back to Baltimore much, you know, I live in Denver, and that’s a long flight, and I do radio, and so during the season, it’s hard for me to get away and leave on, say, a Friday, and take off on Friday to go to Baltimore. So I don’t get out to Baltimore much. I had such a great time, you know, hanging out with the guys and having some cigars and some drinks and, you know, reminiscing about, I mean, I like that was 20 something year, 25 years ago, like you said. I mean, I was, you know, I’m 2322 years old. I was a baby. I got drafted out of, you know, college, and went straight to Baltimore from Louisiana. I didn’t know anything. And, and a lot of those guys, obviously, they were older, you know, and now you look back and, and I’m 40 something years old, and they’re, like, 50 something years old. So with kids are, all of a sudden, I was a single guy then. And so it’s just, it’s, it was so much fun. It’s such a great organization and such a great place. So, yeah, a lot, a lot of good guys here had a lot of fun reminiscing there a couple months ago for the reunion. You know, what I’d
Nestor Aparicio 22:10
say, the same thing that you just said, a lot of really good people, you know, like, that’s, that’s my takeaway that night my wife wasn’t with me. I went home. I’m like, you know, I like all those people, and they all like me, and five years later, that’s hard to do, so it was really good seeing you as always, and I any excuse once or twice a year that I can find you and make you come on and tell old football stories. But there’s nothing better than the story of 25 years, and the 25th anniversary of me writing this crazy book and you being in my life and winning this silly ring and having a good time and having these memories all these years later. So I don’t know how we get together again after 20 I don’t know if they do a 30 or 30. I think they put it away after 25 they don’t do it again till they’re like 50. I hope that’s not the case, but I will get out to Denver and enjoy some of the thin air I got to get back at the Red Rocks. That’s really my jam. You know that so Red Rocks is great. Minute that happens. I owe you some empanadas and an ice cold beverage and maybe some crawfish. I’ll bring some steamed crabs with me, and we’ll do it up right? Brandon, appreciate you. Man, 25 years later, always the best. Man, thanks, Nestor. Appreciate you buddy. Brandon Stokely, he’s doing radio out in Denver, following after in my footsteps. Why? I have no idea. But we’re going to be doing Super Bowl coverage all next week. It is a cup of soup or bowl is our big charity and community week. And by the way, if you are tuning into the radio station this week and you hear the voice of Tony Sarah gooser, or you hear old chats with John Ogden or old chats with Ray Lewis, it will all be there in our audio vault. It’s all up at Baltimore positive. I’m Nestor. We are W, N, S T AM, 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive.
