378 - Greg Olsen: Show Your Scars

The NFL and NASCAR combine as a pair of well-known 88's, three-time Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen joins two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the table of truth. Olsen opens up to Dale Jr. and co-host Mike Davis about his journey from a local New Jersey football family to playing in the National Football League. The two athletes met years ago, and forged a solid friendship through shared charitable endeavors.. Thanks our new sponsor Ally, Olsen walked into the Bojangles studio ready to hit the ground running. He detailed the ups and downs of his football life and the values instilled in him by his father that he took along with him every step of the way. Dale Jr. and Greg share their thoughts on the psychology of raising children in a sport and that there is more valuable lessons to be learned by a young mind than just winning a game. Pro football player Olsen is now coach-dad on the baseball field for his children's teams..  Olsen talks about the process of being recruited by colleges during his high school football career and the realities involved in the process. We learn that his father made Greg do something very difficult to let down the coaches from the schools that he wasn't choosing. In doing so he taught some valuable lessons. He also reveals his tenure with Notre Dame and the tough decision to vacate the famed Indiana-based academy for the palm trees of Miami beach and the University of Miami Hurricanes. Curiosity over the combine events that scout college players before they are drafter in the NFL, Dale Jr. gets Greg Olsen to open up about his experience at the event. It's a rare peek into what really happens between player reps, scouts and teams during the NFL Combine. It also lets us in the killer-instinct and mental game that Olsen used throughout much of his football career. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end offers his memories of getting drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round. Then a few years later, one of the worst trades in Bears history sent Olsen to the North Carolina to play for the Carolina Panthers. Olsen saw the majority of his success in Carolina, and gives us a look behind the curtain of NFL locker room life. What was it like playing with star quarterback Cam Newton? Was the polarizing figure a distraction? Olsen also details getting released by the Panthers and the many difficulties he faced in his year with the Seattle Seahawks, from the CoVid-19 pandemic to coaching, that helped lead to his decision to retire from the game. The biggest fight Olsen faced didn't come from a linebacker or a free-safety. It came from within his family. In 2012, he and wife Kara gave birth to twins T.J. and Talbot. T.J. was born with a congenital heart defect that required multiple surgeries, including three open-heart procedures. In 2021, his heart started to fail. T.J. received a heart transplant and is now an active nine-year-old boy. Olsen opens up about the decisions to share the incredibly tough journey with the public. OPEN SEGMENT Before Greg Olsen came into the Dirty Mo Media Bojangles studio, Dale Jr., Mike and the gang unpacked some feelings about the recent news of North Wilkesboro Speedway coming off the Lost Speedways list to host racing again. They explain how it’s now up to the fans to prove that North Wilkesboro, and other small market tracks like it, are viable racing facilities, by showing up to the races. Dale's ready to tailgate, are you? The revival has Dale Jr. so excited, that he is even thinking about hopping in a racecar himself at the historic North Carolina track. Wait, what? It's a revelation that had us all floored. ASKJR presented by Xfinity Hanna Newhouse brings fan questions from @XfinityRacing on twitter about: Dale Jr. joining the Fox broadcast team for the Talladega race. Cruising the Talladega infield The time Dale Jr. drove a Petty-43 Ford at Nashville Fairgrounds Dale Earnhardt's role in the motion picture "BASEketball.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices