Episode 13: Michael Irvin

On the thirteenth episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by his Pro Football Hall of Fame brother and Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin (06:56 – 54:32). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll), who got engaged over the Thanksgiving holiday! FreezePops fills Morten in on how it all went down (01:28).We then move to our interview with Michael, where he discusses a wide array of topics: being diagnosed with COVID-19 after a trip to Mexico, and dealing with the excruciating headaches (08:12); the dangers of not having a routine as a “one hundred percent-er” (12:02); growing up as the 15th of 17 children in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (13:24); why he sometimes likes to eat his cereal with water instead of milk (17:42); being recruited by Howard Schnellenberger to play college football at Miami during his one season of high school football for St. Thomas Aquinas (18:57); playing for Jimmy Johnson at Miami, and how Michael almost got kicked off the team on his first day as a Hurricane (22:46); the key to Miami becoming a major power throughout the 1980s and beyond (26:25); why Michael Irvin “cringes” when thinking about the championships he should have won at both the college and pro levels (29:09); what Miami being “back” actually means, and if he feels like they’re there yet (30:15); thoughts on D'Eriq King, and why he’s so happy to see Miami with a great quarterback again (31:21); the importance of hiring Ed Reed as Chief of Staff for the Miami program, and why Ed is better suited for the job than Alonzo Highsmith would have been (32:30); having the honor to play one season under Tom Landry (34:04); why he refused to be drafted by the Green Bay Packers (35:19); the heads-up he received from then-Miami coach Jimmy Johnson that made him feel good about being drafted by Dallas (36:19); the culture change that needed to happen in Dallas for the Cowboys to become the dynasty of the 1990s (37:14); his first impressions of both Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith (39:50); why one night in Dallas was all it took to convince Deion Sanders to sign with the Cowboys (43:48); the origin of the nickname “Playmaker” (46:53); why he doesn’t think Dak Prescott’s injury will hurt him in the wallet as much as you think (47:42); his thoughts on CeeDee Lamb, and the incredible lineage of the number 88 with the Cowboys organization (49:33); why Jason Garrett had to go, and why Mike McCarthy has struggled so much in his first year with Dallas (51:23); and his relationship with Jerry Jones, and why it was so important to Michael to have Jerry be his presenter at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony (52:33).Then, TommyFreezePops is joined by Brian Edwards for his weekly check-in with the experts from VegasInsider.com (55:27 – 01:02:43). The guys take a look at the Browns-Titans match-up set for Sunday, as two of the best running games in the NFL face-off (56:44). They also preview the struggling Eagles heading to Lambeau Field to take on the surging Packers (58:53), and the Las Vegas Raiders heading to East Rutherford to take on the 0-11 New York Jets (01:00:36).Finally, we close things out with Morten’s “Game Winner” – a weekly segment where Morten monologues his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, he talks about what makes Michael Irvin the “Playmaker” (01:02:43).