Ride Home Rants
Ride Home Rants
Breaking Barriers: Small Town Roots to College Football Dreams
Former college football player Luke Secrist takes us on a journey from the steel mill town of Follansbee, West Virginia, to his decision to hang up his cleats and chart a new course. Growing up in a tight-knit community of just 1,500 people, Luke shares how small-town life shaped him—where "everyone knows everyone and everything about everybody," making it impossible to get away with much mischief but creating bonds that last a lifetime.
The conversation weaves through Luke's experience at Brooke High School, where he benefited from innovative vocational programs that prepare students for trades in communities where traditional college paths aren't always the norm. His football career at Glenville State College reveals the less glamorous side of collegiate athletics—predawn workouts, managing injuries, and ultimately facing the difficult decision to step away from the sport when his passion faded and academics took priority.
Food emerges as a central thread connecting Luke to his roots. The passionate debate about regional pizza establishments (DeCarlo's vs. DeFelice Brothers) soon gives way to a cultural revelation: pepperoni rolls, a West Virginia staple so regionally specific that residents of neighboring states have no idea what they are. "When I moved and asked for pepperoni rolls at pizza shops, they looked at me like I was crazy," Luke laughs, highlighting how food traditions mark our cultural identity.
Between stories of modest sports betting adventures and the notorious "Fast Fiddy Five" segment of random questions, a deeper message emerges about finding your path. "Live life to the fullest, don't take anything for granted," Luke advises. "You only get one life." Whether staying in your hometown or venturing out to see what else the world offers, the key is making that choice consciously—and perhaps, as host Mike suggests, remembering that "you don't only live once; you live every day. You only die once."
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Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is, as always, your host, mike Bono. I had a great guest for us today. He's coming to us, I believe he's right now in Glenville, west Virginia, grew up near in my hometown of Follinsby, west Virginia, but he is also the cousin of former guest of the show, brennan Seacrest, and that is Luke Sechrist that joins the show. Luke, thanks for joining, brother. Hey, thanks for having me man. Hey, not a problem at all. Mentioned it there a little bit. You know you and Brennan are cousins. I think you said first cousins before we got it rolling. So you know, how are you guys really related?
Speaker 2:So pretty much my dad and Brennan's's dad, uh, are cousins. Wait, hold on back this up um my pat and brennan's papa brothers, okay, yep, yeah, okay, so um, yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:It's always fun trying to figure out the family tree, isn't it? You know how it's related.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I mean it always comes up in conversations. But yeah, we're cousins, but I mean we're pretty much just each other's best friends.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's always good to have, uh, family members like that. Um, I wish I had a lot more male cousins than I do. Um, because I I grew up with a lot of female cousins and you know, like you, you know best friends, but it was still funny because we didn't have the same last name. So people would always look at us and be like, oh, you guys would make a cute couple. It's like, well, we're family, so like that would be weird.
Speaker 2:I think that's like the best part of like us being each other's best friends but also having the same last names, like we'll go out to the bar. Like us being each other's best friends but also having the same last names, like we'll go out to the bar. I think, like yesterday we just went out and had dinner and we got a couple beers and our waitress asked your ids and we're like we're gonna blow your mind. She's like what are you talking about? Then she looked down and she saw the same last name and she was like what? No, it's always funny to get people with that. Or like just random people will meet at parties that, like brennan know them but they don't know me, or I may know them and they don't know Brennan, and then, like I don't know, it's just always, it's always funny to mess with people, I guess.
Speaker 1:I said did you ever mess with anybody with the same last name? Tell them your brothers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yes. I told the lady we were twins. I said we're twin brothers and she was like oh, I kind of see it. I was like no, you don't.
Speaker 1:No, you don't Not even close. Don't lie to me. Yeah, it's fun to mess with people that way. But, like I said, you grew up, I believe, near the Falsby area where I'm originally from, where Brandon's originally from. So tell the listeners what it was like.
Speaker 2:you know where you grew up and you know what it was like growing up in such a such a small town. Yeah, so I mean, like I was telling you before, I did originally grew up in Follinsbee up until I was like five or six and then parents split up, mom moved to New Philadelphia, ohio, so for the first I'd say like after the split, I was only in fallingsby on the weekends, okay. And then, um, so I think my eighth grade year is when I moved back with my dads. So I finished out eighth grade through senior year, uh, school there in fallingsby. But I mean the small town vibes. I mean you love it or you hate it. I mean everyone knows, everyone knows everything about everybody and you know we're uh, everything spreads like wildfires down there but I can't get away with shit in a small town, no, you know.
Speaker 2:But I don't know I liked it. I mean there was and I it was such a small town, but I mean, like you know you're from there, we're 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. You know we're not too far from Wheeling, like if you wanted to get out of that for a day, I mean it was, it was easy access.
Speaker 1:Easy For sure. Yeah, I spent a lot of time, you know, going to Wheeling Nails games to get out of Farnsby for a little bit, going up to Pittsburgh catching a Buccos game and stuff like that. It's quick, it's easy, it's not that terrible of a drive, no matter where you go, but I love it. Farnsby, a town of 1,500 people, it's my kind of vibes. A lot of mom-and-pop shops there too as well, love that. But yeah, it's just one of those old steel mill towns for people out there that you know. Just the blue collar town that you know it's. You want to hate it, but you love it. Right, I moved away from it, you know.
Speaker 1:I live in Zanesville Ohio now and been here for about six years now and the wife and I are trying to figure out how we can get back to fallsby, like we never thought that we would want to go back and it's just like, okay, how quickly and how could we get back to to where we know? Uh, everybody and just, we just love the town, we love the environment there and, uh, you went to my alma mater, brook high school. Um, what sports and activities were involved in there growing up?
Speaker 2:so I did football, um I did track for two years, um, I tried out for baseball, uh, one season and it just was not for me. But that's all right. Yeah, I mean those are really sports wise. I was in a few of the clubs there at Brooke mostly spent a lot of my time. I was in the carpentry program there. I did that for four years. I really liked a lot of the high schools around. Pretty much everywhere they have like um I don't know how to explain like one vocational school for like multiple schools to come to and it's separate. I really did enjoy how brooke has that all like attached right there and yeah, they have that uh access to students and whatnot.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that that really, when I was there in the early 2000s, that um, aging myself a lot by that um but yeah, they, they started when they built that new uh gym, the basketball courts, the, the natatorium, the pool and everything. The vocational and all that just kind of fell into that project and it was super beneficial. You grow up in a town like that. They kind of realize there's probably not a lot of people that are going to be going to a traditional four-year college or university. There's a lot of trade workers in that town and it's perfect.
Speaker 1:I mean here, where my son goes to school, they have that, but it's like 10 miles away from where the school actually is, so it's not as easily accessed as Brook is, where it's like oh, I'm going down the hall and into this one wing of the of the high school and I'm where I need to be to learn, where I need to be. You don't have to go to your core classes in the morning, get in your car and then drive somewhere else to get to the, get to what you really want to do in life, what you really want to do in life, and that, and I wish, I, yeah, I wish more schools were were like Brooke and had that just right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, definitely so you're. You're in Glenville, West Virginia right now.
Speaker 2:That's where you're currently going to school, correct? It's where I'm going to school, but as I right now I'm in morgantown, you're more account, okay? Yeah, working up here for the summer gotcha um where.
Speaker 1:What school are you going to right now? Um for college when you are in school and um playing any football in your college um, I played three years of football down in Glenville.
Speaker 2:I actually just hung everything up beginning of the spring. I just decided that. You know it wasn't for me. I enjoyed it while it lasted. You know I had to deal with some injuries and some other personal issues and I just felt that that was best for me, but I mean it was an amazing experience. I mean I know a lot of kids don't get the opportunity to do that, but I don't know how many people are listening to your podcast. Who was in high school were thinking about maybe doing that is probably the most beneficial experience you could do in life.
Speaker 1:If you have that opportunity any college sport 100%, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:I, um, I was a swimmer. I played football and swam at Brook, went to Bethany College and swam there for two years. It was an unfortunate injury a shoulder injury that's kind of the kiss of death for swimmers but loved every minute of it. I'm crazy. I loved getting up at 6 am and being in the water and doing workouts that early. You know it kept me grounded and had me into a routine and I think that's super beneficial for college students For sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, getting into that routine and just OK, you, you knowing, even after the injury then everything like that where I couldn't swim anymore, you know, the next year, like my roommates were like, why, why are you awake right now? Like, why are you up and doing something at 6 AM? I was like, well, basically, since I've been eight years old, I've been up and swimming since at 6 am. So I just, I got into this routine, I get up, I'd get some breakfast. You know I'd go, if I could, I'd go to the gym, you know, get a little run and cardio in, and then by that time it was time to go to classes. And you know I had more done between six and like nine o'clock than most college students get done in a full day.
Speaker 2:Oh sure, for sure. Yeah, I think that was. I mean, I don't think it's anybody's favorite part of being a collegiate athlete, or the 6 am workouts, but I think, looking back on it, like it probably was the most beneficial thing for me. You know, I I think my biggest thing was, I mean, yeah, I had the, I also had a shoulder injury and, um, eventually, what led to me, you know, deciding to hang it up. I just fell out of love of the game, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but those 6 am, like, like you said, I mean you go to bed the night before. I mean I was the type of person where I am a morning person for things I want to do, and like going to bed like the first couple weeks of fall camp be like I do not want to wake up, do not want to wake up in the morning, I want to sleep in. You know, just getting off summer break and everything like that, and then you get up and you do it after the workout. I mean you just feel great, you just want to go and accomplish as much things, as much as you can get done and uh, yeah, definitely super beneficial and that just to get in. Like that schedule, that routine. That's definitely one thing that I missed. That I missed after everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, even like at Bethany College, like we had like swimming you know it's a winter sport and you know there was for Christmas break. We pretty much had all of January off at Bethany, unless you were a winter sport athlete. Then you had to be on campus and it was what we called a j term or january term. It was optional to take a class, um, if you wanted to. It actually would help you graduate early if you wanted to. I don't know if they still offer that now. I would imagine they still do. Uh, but all the athletes had to be there because there were workouts and everything like that. So even though I wasn't taking a class, I still had to be on campus. I still had to be there because there were workouts and everything like that. So, even though I wasn't taking a class, I still had to be on campus. I still had to be up at 6 am and in the water doing workouts. Uh, we'd be done by eight. You know, breakfast after that, then we'd have to be back in the weight room and back in the pool by like noon and again, like I didn't have to be there, it was, it was winter break for me.
Speaker 1:Most kids are sleeping in. They're. You know, we're working off all the holiday food and everything like that. We're just getting, you know, being fat and happy, you know, after the holidays and and I'm in the pool just cooking it. You know, yeah, and it's just, you know it's a lot for somebody who doesn't have that dedication and love the sport that they're doing. I know a lot of people are like, well, I'm going to college because you know they're giving me money and I really don't want to do a sport. But if they're going to give me money to go to school, why not do it? And they just kind of half-ass it and I don't think that's right, you know, I think you just need to call it quits. Um, like you said, you know you fell out of love with the, with the game. Was that partly, partly to?
Speaker 2:you know, just the grind of everything, or I mean I think and I was also I towards the end, I would say like I'd say right around the fall of my junior year, which would have been the start of my last season, I think that's when I was like kind of debating on wanting to hang it up then. But I was like I guess what you said like oh, they're giving me money, I might as well just do it. You know I have good friends. Like, oh, they're giving me money, I might as well just do it.
Speaker 2:You know, I have good friends and I like for a long time hated myself for even like thinking like that, because there's so many people who would kill for an opportunity like that to be in my shoes, and they just didn't, that door just didn't open for them. And then I would just like I would wake up and be like man I, I do not want to go Like, I just not feeling it anymore and I would wake up and be like man I hey, I do not want to go Like, I just not feeling it anymore and I would like just kick myself in the ass, honestly. But it did get to a point where my class schedule just like completely took away football from me because we have.
Speaker 2:I would. I mean I would make the 6am workouts but then I would be in class, uh, pretty much from eight in the morning till 6 in the afternoon, sometimes later, with just my field. So I mean I was missing practices left and right just because I mean, yeah, football it's sport, that's what I went to college to play, but like, in the end and my head, school was more important, so that's just the decision I ended up was really just the final. I guess cherry on top of like okay, this is, you know, it's time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it goes. I don't want to say like unrecognized, but I mean unnoticed or anything like that. But you're a student athlete. Student comes first, then you're an athlete. You're there to get an education to better yourself down the road. Athletics is a bonus.
Speaker 1:I was at a D3 school, you know. So there wasn't I don't want to say there wasn't potential to go anywhere, and swimming it's such a tough sport. There's not like a professional league per se. There's the Olympics every four years, there's the Worlds every two years. Uh, yeah, besides that there's there's not a lot of opportunities past past college, and I know, with football, you know, I mean, what's it like? Three percent of college athletes will even get invited to the draft and 1% of those will get drafted into the NFL. It's a crazy number, like it's just stupid. Um, I mean, unless you're, you know you can do it. I mean studies should come first and I did not think that way. Uh, my freshman and sophomore year, when I was swimming out there because you know, in in my fantastic head it was just like oh yeah, I'm at the olympics, so the hell do I need to go to this class? For I was the exact opposite of you, I was missing classes to go to practice.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that never happened. My freshman year, I think, I went into college with the mindset of I'm a college football player.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like I'm not cause I don't even know, I don't even know when, at what point I like made up my mind that like I wasn't going to go to college when I was in high school. But once I got over that hump and was like, okay, the only reason that I'm going to go is if I get a chance for football. And that's where I was. And then whenever I got there, I was like, okay, I'm in college, I'm a college football player. Like screw school. That was like me the first few months of freshman year and it ended up coming back and biting me in the ass for sure. But yeah, I didn't, I guess didn't really necessarily lock in to my school and studies until my sophomore year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I wish I would have locked in my sophomore year. I still didn't, until after the injury which happened in my sophomore year, which goes back to my days at Brook. I actually separated my shoulder my senior year playing football, um had no place.
Speaker 2:Was it the ac joint? Was it your ac joint?
Speaker 1:no, it was. It was actually completely separated right at the, at the tip, and I had no idea I did it and it was the first day we put pads on at brook and're and we're hitting sleds and I I hit a sled and I push it and I felt a burning sensation go down my arm and into my pinky and I was just like, oh, it's a stinger. First time hitting pads it's a stinger. What? Whatever? Played the whole season Never, never missed the practice, never missed a practice, never missed a game. I was a special teamer and a backup wide receiver and defensive end playing at Brooke and just taking a beating. Oh yeah, didn't find out until I went to swim practice after the season, after our playoff game, and jumped in the pool, went to do a stroke and my arm just wouldn't do the stroke like I needed it to do, and I told my coach like something's wrong, like I I don't know what's wrong, but like I can't. This, this is all I got, this is all I got for the people watching on uh youtube and on my patreon. Like this is all I got, my arm won't go and I can't extend it out. She's like have the trainer look at you all right. So uh, went back to to Mike. He was like didn't you just finish football? How are you already in the training room? I was just like I'm here, I don't know um, and he, he was feeling my shoulder and he was like you in any pain. I was like like I mean I've been in pain, I just finished in 12 game season with making the playoffs and everything like that. So, yeah, I mean I'm sore, but I don't know. He's like you should probably go to the doctors and called my parents. They met me at the hospital and the doctor was just like, yeah, you separated your shoulder. I was just like, when you separated your shoulder, I was just like when it's crazy, the whole season, whole season. You know, just a dumb teenage kid, you know what I mean. Just like, oh, it's pain, I'm young, I'll heal Whatever. Didn't think anything of it. Invincible.
Speaker 1:Lost my senior swim season. So I had a lot of D1. Uh, coming out of my junior year, um, and lost all of those except for bethany college. They were the only ones that kept it. So, uh, what made the decision easy for me? As the schooling I was going to um, but yeah, it was. You know, at that point it was like, okay, somebody still believes in me, I obviously can still do this, even though I lost a year swimming and, yeah, and you know, re-blew it out in the middle of a race, uh.
Speaker 1:And at bethany, my sophomore year, and um got it rehabbed enough that I could, you know, finish the season, go to our conference championships. And then after that I looked at my coach. I said, coach, I'm done, I can't, I can't give you everything I have. This shoulder is not going to hold up. I don't think rehab is going to do it again in the off season. It's probably going to require surgery and I'm not losing another year of swimming, I'm just going to, I'm going to hang up the goggles and the cap and I can't do it anymore and I hate to do it, but I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1:And then, and plus, that also made me realize like, oh crap, now I got to buckle down with this schooling thing. So, yeah, ended up having to do a fifth year option, uh, because basically screwed around for the first two years, that was there, um, so, yeah, it is what it is. You know, you live and you learn, um, but I don't know it's, it's, but I don't know it's, it's yeah For anybody into college athletics or thinking about going into college athletics. Just do it, make the leap of faith, and if it's not for you, then you know, hang it up. You tried. That's the thing I would say for everybody. You know, just just give it a go, and if it's not for you, it's not for you. Who cares?
Speaker 2:Yeah, not right 100%.
Speaker 1:And we got completely off topic with that little spiel and rant there. We started talking about what hometowns and then it somehow got onto college athletics. It's just the way my mind works sometimes. But, like I said, you know we're. We're from an, a near the same town, grew up in the same town, but you're, you're familiar with the area, but a lot of people don't realize there. There's a lot of great food in that area and the you know, Fonsby, Steubenville, Ohio area. Uh, do you have any favorite spots back home? Um, so if you're there, that you, you try to hit up.
Speaker 2:Oh, I mean being so. I'm from, obviously, farnsby's, a small town. You know this. Glenville is an insanely small town where I'm going to school. At, I mean, there's one stoplight, one gas station and two restaurants. So when I'm home I try and go as many places as I can to eat. I don't know, I feel like one of my favorites and I did work there in high school, but I really like the Ionis. The Ionis is one of my. It's one of it's in my top five up there up in weird yeah, the Ionis is great.
Speaker 1:If you like Greek food, it's good. I don't mind it, I don't hate it. It's definitely up in my top five.
Speaker 2:I just gotta be in the mood for greek food, though you know what I mean like it's one of those like I gotta be, like I'm getting great today, like yeah, definitely same here, but I mean, every time I get it it's just delicious.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um pizza wise the carlos I said, this is gonna make or break how the rest of this show goes here.
Speaker 2:Luke, if we don't say to carlos well, and I've been thinking about this one because when I listen to you and brendan's podcast and that got brought up the carlos I'm gonna throw a curveball at you here. Okay, sometimes I prefer defelice brothers over to carlos I'm not mad at that either.
Speaker 1:I'm not mad at that at all um, I get a lot.
Speaker 2:I get a lot of hate for that, but I why? They're both great I don't know. This is good it's delicious it is. I think it's just because it's such polar opposites of what the carlos is. Yeah, I mean thicker, more like sweeter. It's. I love it.
Speaker 1:It's delicious, the sauce is definitely sweeter, for sure, uh, but it's still a phenomenal slice yeah, yeah I mean the carlos, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2:DeCarlo's Go ahead, I think, because DeCarlo's is so. I live on Hoverson Heights and with DeCarlo's being right there, I mean it makes an easy pickup for sure, the convenience factor definitely helps. Yeah, and I definitely think my favorite DeCarlo's is Hoverson Heights, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I, I've had them all. Um, I think we we've gotten the weird and the Hoover's and Heights, one more than, uh, what's at Willsburg? Um, what's your favorite one in your opinion? I got, I got to go weird. I got to go the Hoogerson Heights. Wolfsburg is a little bit more convenient, but I don't know, it's something about weird. I mean, they're both about the same distance from where my parents live. But I'll tell you this though, for you know, student bill area, I'm gonna throw another pizza curveball at you that my wife and I absolutely loved when we were living, uh, in wintersville, um, but, but chelly's I don't even know if I've had that before you shut up man like that is, but I probably have and don't remember it, but I I really don't know.
Speaker 2:I don't spend a lot of time over there in the wintersville area uh, you got to like they.
Speaker 1:Uh, gianna moores was over there. Uh, they recently shut down. Kovid kind of put the kibosh on them, what they've been there for decades and that was you and you, you want a good piece of pizza. Like that was the place to go. Um, but vichelli's man, I don't like when we lived there, like that was the go-to, like we knew. Like payday we're rolling around, it's like friday night's vichelli's night now, like we're ordering out and we're getting some michelli's. Uh, I'm gonna have to try some next time I'm in the area yeah, 100.
Speaker 2:Now I feel like I have to because I love pizza. I do. I mean, who doesn't? Who doesn't love pizza if you? If you don't love pizza, you're a sociopath in my opinion.
Speaker 1:Like get out of here. Like who doesn't love a good slice of pizza? Grow up, grow up, yeah, that's it. Grow up, dude, like just get out of here, enjoy some pizza I'll throw another one at you and I.
Speaker 2:I think they used to be in the student mill mall.
Speaker 1:But rubies, rubies have you do you know what I'm talking about. I've had it a couple times, not enough to probably give them a, a bump, but I know who you're talking about.
Speaker 2:I it's very good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not I don't want to put it over the carlos or, uh, the felice.
Speaker 2:But if I'm over in the stew mill area and it's like the lunchtime, I mean mean you go in. Everything I like about it is everything is like precooked, like fresh, obviously, but as soon as you get it you order it by the slice and they throw it right in the oven, warm it up, get your breadstick, but their sauce with their breadsticks, oh my gosh. I do know I like the steak sauce.
Speaker 1:No, it wasn't Ruzzo's, and I know who you're talking about. That wasn't named because I worked in the student mall right out of college and I lived on that pizza and the breadsticks even their pepperoni rolls with that sauce.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's delicious okay, I gotta, I gotta ask you this too. Um, I found this out moving to where I did um pepperoni rolls, strictly an ohio valley thing. You're in morgantown right now. Do they know what a good pepperoni roll is?
Speaker 2:I don't know if they know what a good pepperoni roll is, but they definitely know pepperoni rolls. I think that it's, um, definitely being so. I don't know if you're West Virginia, begley. Yeah, it's pretty smack dab in the center of the state, yeah, but a lot of the kids and a lot of my friends that go there are all from like either that area or southern West Virginia. And like, when I tell them that people don't know what pepperoni rolls are from like Ohio, like where my mom lives, because it's not a big thing in like the farther north in Ohio, they're like mind boggled by it, I'm telling you from from new philly.
Speaker 1:Just west has no clue, like I said, I moved and I'm in the zanesville area. I'm about 45 minutes from columbus, where where I'm at right now, and a ton of pizza places here, a ton. Not as good as up home, but you know they try. I went into one and you know, stupidly, was just like y'all got any pepperoni rolls. They're just like huh.
Speaker 1:I was like a pepperoni roll. They're like what's a pepperoni roll? I was like that was like a pepperoni roll, like what's a pepperoni roll. I was like you're a pizza place. You have no idea what a pepperoni roll is Like. And then, trying to, I sounded like a psycho. I was trying to explain this to a cook at a little pizza shop here. I was like it's about like maybe like six inches to a foot long, it's basically a pizza. That's kind of just like. It's not a calzone, it's rolled up, it's pepperoni and cheese, a little bit of sauce, and then you get a little cup to dip with sauce and they're just like yeah, we don't have that. They have pepperoni bites is what they got me? I was like pepperoni bites is what they got me. I was like how's this Like? I was like all right, and then I went to.
Speaker 1:I went to every single pizza place here, like when we first moved and asked for a pepperoni roll, like we don't know what that is. I was like I'm, I'm leaving, I don't like this anymore.
Speaker 2:Definitely that's a thing, definitely think that's a thing that West Virginians pride themselves in. And everyone's grandma makes the best pepperoni roll. You talk to anybody, without a doubt.
Speaker 1:Without a doubt, it was funny because my wife and I just got fed up of not being able to find them. So I was like we're just going to make our own at home If we want them. It's probably cheaper than these places. That'll probably upcharge us for not knowing what the hell we were talking about. Yeah, and so my wife was just like curious and she just typed in pepperoni roll recipe. The first option that comes up is West Virginia pepperoni roll recipe. That's the first option. Like I love that. That is like a staple of West Virginia is just pepperoni rolls. I go as far as I think if anybody from the NCAA is listening, I think you need to make a pepperoni bowl and pepperoni roll. That's a hard thing. It's pepperoni roll bowl and have it somewhere in West Virginia.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have a mayonnaise.
Speaker 1:You have a mayo bowl Like why can't we get a? Let's get a pepperoni roll bowl and teach the nation what pepperoni rolls are.
Speaker 2:So I know you said when you were explaining what pepperoni rolls are. So I know you said when you were explaining the pepperoni roll. It's obviously got pepperoni cheese, a little bit of sauce. Have you had a pepperoni roll with hot pepper cheese and banana peppers in it? Yes, cool Dude.
Speaker 1:Game changer Game changer If you like a little heat when you're eating, that's.
Speaker 2:Just a little bit.
Speaker 1:Just a little, it's just enough. You get a little hot pepper cheese, maybe some pepper jack in there. Yeah, a little. I'll go as far as I've had that with a little bit of sweet banana peppers in there. Oh, I made that myself and I was like, yeah, I'm keeping this recipe to myself. This is no joke. If you like a little heat, sweet and heat.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah that'll. That'll change your life that'll change your life.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I could hell. I could talk about west virginia all day. Um, what's the? You know, so we got under that. But what's next for luke here, you know, after, uh, I believe you you have you graduated college yet, or you're finishing up this year, or you know you got one more year. Okay, so what's next for?
Speaker 2:a year. Okay, um next step I it comes back to talking about how you guys are trying to go back to Follensby as quick as possible. It's not that I hate the area. I want to leave as fast as possible. Maybe not for good, but I I know there's more out there 100% you're not wrong.
Speaker 1:I would tell you to do it. I would tell you Anybody that's in any small town you know, venture out. You're not wrong, I would tell you to do it. I would tell you Anybody that's in any small town, venture out. There's a lot out there.
Speaker 1:Don't forget your hometown, because I'll tell you, leaving makes you appreciated that much more, because I was kind of like you Moved away and was like, oh, it's going to be awesome getting out of the small town, small town, going to do big things. Here Columbus has a great comedy scene trying to make it into comedy Like I'll be close to there, yada, yada, yada. Now it's just like, yeah, I miss Follensby, pittsburgh, I miss wheeling and I just I just at the end of the day, that's home. Uh, and you know, being that far away from my family I'm about two hours away from them and it's not a terrible drive but no, no, only seeing them basically every other year on holidays because we have we split it between my wife's family and them, because my wife's family's here, um, so it's, it's tough when you, when you're going home not as often as you would like and, yeah, you, I appreciate it more my parents are always like hey, we know, you live forever away, so if you guys got to get out of here, leave when you want to leave.
Speaker 1:I was like, well, if it was what I want to leave, I'm just going to move back in here. I'm going to have somebody go grab my animals and all my shit in Zanesville, I'm just going to have them move in here. We got enough room here. Right, we're good, we're cool.
Speaker 2:I got a 16-year-old wife.
Speaker 1:We're just going to come in here, we're fine. They're like just go home. I blame that on being Italian too. We're just very family oriented. That's why people are always like, well, you don't see them leaving much. It's just the Italian way. I'm pretty sure every especially Italian boys we stay at home until it's absolutely necessary that we leave home. No shit, I was 27 when I left my parents house 27. Nothing wrong with that. No, there wasn't. I mean, I was. I was working, I was banking money and like, although you think you're a baller when you're making like 30, 40 grand a year and you're just like, dude, yeah, I got so much money to do whatever I want. And then you move on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got a few bills car note, insurance, cell phone bill, that's it. And then like some food like, and then you finally leave and you're just like man, I wasn some food like, and then you finally leave and you're just like man, I wasn't making any money at all. So it's, yeah, but it's, you know, it's, it's just a thing, yeah. To get back there and west virginia, I will say, though this is weird, uh, because there's no pro sports teams, yeah, zero pro sports teams. So who do you root pro sports teams? So who do you root for? I got to ask you, who do you root for in pro sports?
Speaker 2:I got to be a hundred percent honest with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't pay much attention Really. Yeah, I mean like if there's a game on, I'll watch it, but like I don't really have a favorite team.
Speaker 1:No skin in the game.
Speaker 2:No, I mean I got to throw this one out there for my dad because him and my pap both have always been diehard Raiders fans. So because of that I always grew up my family very strongly dislikes the Steelers. I get it. That's just how it always was.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I don't really care. I just really I recently just got in, like the last few years, started doing the fantasy football like this, the leagues, and it's not that I've paid more attention to the games and like the teams out there, but it helped me pay more attention to the players I had on my team, yeah, which then made like focus on like everybody, and that made it like everything interested, interesting for me. But it's really just football, like nfl, I got I caught myself watching a couple, uh couple baseball games. I mean, I would say that the pirates, although they're not the best in the mlb ever, say that. Yeah, I would say the pirates definitely, although they're not the best in the MLB Ever. Yeah, I would say the Pirates Definitely. A Penguins fan, I do like hockey. I love hockey. I can't stand watching basketball 100%.
Speaker 1:I'm with you on that one. I don't root for anybody in the NBA. I watch college basketball. Oh I love it.
Speaker 2:The only college basketball watch is March. Madness, that's it, and I will sit back and I'll just watch every game, cause they're all excited.
Speaker 1:Every now and again I'd watch a WVU game, you know, if it's on before March, madness, and I can catch it, I'll you know. I'll flip it on for a quick second. But I root for all the Pittsburgh teams Steelers, penguins, pirates. It's hard to admit that I'm a Pirates fan. I think that's how you know you're a true fan when you can admit it out loud. But I am a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. I was super young they still had the creamsicle orange jerseys and I saw them in those and I was like dude, those are sweet. I mean I was like maybe four or five and at that time it's just like, oh, that color's awesome, I like orange and I stuck with it. And there's no pro sports team, so like, who's going to be like dude? Why do you like them? Tell me a pro sports team in West Virginia that I could root for.
Speaker 1:You know, like, but you're not wrong with the fantasy football making you follow players more than the teams themselves, more than the teams themselves. I will say this though now that sports betting's legalized in pretty much the entirety of the United States, now gets you a little bit more invested in the games, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree with that. I turned 21, right smack down in the middle of uh football season in november and I got into it pretty good. Yeah, you can you can.
Speaker 2:You can absolutely lose it, sport betting yeah, and what's crazy, I would only ever do it when I was with brennan. Only ever do it. When I was with brennan, shocker brennan, right in his basement and uh, he quit. He quit on the sports betting a couple years ago and he had mentioned it one night and he was like give me your phone, like what do you mean? He was like give me your phone, do you want to bet 10 bucks?
Speaker 1:I'm like sure he'd set it all up, I'd see what it is and then be like, all right, let's do this yeah, I um my wife hates football season for for that reason, because it's like football's like the only thing and I've been, I've been told like by a lot of people I'm they call me a bitch better, um, because I think the most I've ever bet was like 50 bucks. Like I'm not throwing like hundreds at this thing here. You know what I mean. Like I got.
Speaker 1:I got a guy I know he said he put five grand on the Indiana Pacers to win it all this year. I'm like you're dumb. I was like one tell me you're in your 20s, not married and don't have any responsibilities, without telling me you're in your 20s, have no family, no responsibilities, right, I went. If I put five grand on a long shot at best in the Indiana Pacers, I didn't understand if that pays out. Kudos to you for for making that bet. But I was like my wife would cut my nuts off, like that would be the end of me I would have to, like lock myself in my house until I either won or lost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I could not. I couldn't bear the anxiety behind that.
Speaker 1:No, like he was pacing as a guy I work with in my day job, like he was pacing around the office today. No, I'm sure of it, and I'm like dude, game six, what do you wear? How you feeling tonight? Big guy hella burdens out what like possibly, how you, how you feel, how's that five grand treating you? I was just harping on him. I could already tell he had the proverbial knife in his gut from the situation. I was just twisting it. I was just giving him hell all day.
Speaker 1:It was just one of those things that you know it. You like. They said like I I'll do. I'll make my own parlays, though. Um, because you know you bet 10 bucks, you know you do like a, an easy par, like you might win 15.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know you're not, you're not breaking the bank, but I'll make some crazy ones, like some stupid seven-leg freaking parlay that goes from the one o'clock games all the way through Sunday night, and my wife's just like okay, let me try to understand your logic here. You put 10 bucks down, I'm not worried about like 10 bucks, I'm not, that's not what I'm worried about. But you did a seven leg par like she's like I don't know anything about betting, I don't understand it. But so if any of those don't hit, you just lose that money. I was like, yeah, the very first thing I pick could not happen at one o'clock and then just the rest of the games being shit nothing at that point in time, because I'm not going to win. She's like so why would you do a seven leg parlay? Because if that $10 bet hits, it's 200 bucks, because they're all long shots like this is just one of those like let's see, let's throw 10 bucks at this and see what happens.
Speaker 2:Maybe the betting gods are on my side this time and you know I hit one.
Speaker 1:Like it's fun betting when you're not like, okay, that doesn't hit, I'm out 10 bucks. Yeah, yeah, that week we don't get to. You know, order out, uh, one night. We have to cook it home. Oh, no like that's what that's that's what's on the line for me when I'm sports I would do that during March madness.
Speaker 2:this year I think there was like two or three times.
Speaker 2:Oh, I had like I think one time I had like an eight or nine leg parlay and I think I might've put like 10 or 15 bucks on it, and it would have hit for crazy and I think I think I did it three separate times and I think the second time I did it it I was like two games off from hitting, yeah, like I was so close then at that point, like, and it was like the last two, like one of the last two games. Like I'm watching, I'm like, okay, this team won, this team won. Like, oh shit, I'm like, okay, I'm done. Looking, then I go back. I'm like, oh my, I need, I need four more. Then the one back. And I'm like, oh my, I need, I need four more than the one wins. And I'm like, oh, there's no way I want to lose.
Speaker 1:I'm like shit that that happened with me and it was yeah, it was one of the seven leg parlays and one of it was, I think it was like one was like Mike Evan gets a hundred receiving yards Sam Bradford, not Sam Bradford. One was like Mike Evan gets 100 receiving yards Sam Bradford, not Sam Bradford. Matt Stafford throws two touchdowns, christian McCaffrey has like 100 all-purpose yards, so catching and receiving those three were like layups. You know what I mean. That's probably going to happen. And a couple of them were like okay, took the Rams money line.
Speaker 1:And then I think the Sunday night game was like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati or something like that. It was a rivalry game and I bet the spread that Pittsburgh would pull it out and just everything else hit and it was down to the last second and Pittsburgh all they had to do. And it was down to like the last second and Pittsburgh all they had to do was kick a field goal to get into field goal range and they were just outside of balls. Well, range like he gets you, get in across the 50 and this man's hitting it like the dude's a freak and it's just like all right, my wife's like she's like you know, you gotta work in the morning and it's at like 5 am and it's like almost midnight. I was like I don't want to talk about it right now like we're talking about like a huge payout if we can just get to the 40. And balls, balls, automatic from there. And I think, like Najee Harris fumbled or something and we were in range. All they had to do was get to the middle of the field, kneel down, call a timeout with three seconds left, kick the field goal and I would have made it on the spread and everything would have been hunky-dory and I think it was like $10 would have paid out like $500. It was a stupid amount and I'm just sweating watching this. When he fumbled or it was something the fumble, I can'tumbled, or it was something the fumble and intercept I can't remember what it was, but it was something stupid like why are we running that play at this moment of the game? And I just paced the house.
Speaker 1:She's like so you're just not gonna sleep tonight. Is that what I was? Like you have no idea? Like I'm just this was the best coffee and energy drink anybody could have ever had. I'm so mad right now. I've watched from one o'clock all the way through. Everything hit. I needed a give me field goal from one of the best kickers in the league, and I couldn't get that. So, yeah, I get it. Like when that happens, though I am so invested in whatever it is, whatever game it is, I am just honed in on that game. Like I will watch teams I don't even care about, just to watch to see if the player gets what he's supposed to do yeah, sometimes I'll make a bunch of bullshit bets.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I'll do a stupid parlay. I mean like women's tennis. I know I bet, like I really two games I did on that. It was like a weekend of just sports, it's like women's tennis and then like a ufc or something stupid and I just like completely forgot about everything until like the next week when I like went in and checked my app and I like won, and I won like five bucks.
Speaker 2:But I mean hey oh nice, yeah, like one half, yeah paid zero attention to anything that happened. I I was like oh cool.
Speaker 1:That that when, when, um, the fantasy sports really came out like the same, the one day where you could win like some money on it, like kind of the early ages of sports betting, but it was still fantasy, so they kind of got away with it Um, I did some stupid roster for baseball. It was like a dollar to do it and I was just like, well, I mean, what the hell it's a dollar? Completely forgot. I made it, like you, I had no clue. And this was the game.
Speaker 1:Like Max Scherzer pitched like a complete game, shutout, almost perfect game, no hitter. He walked a guy in like the ninth inning, cashed out for 600 bucks Holy shit, on a dollar pay. Like I was just at work, it was slow and I was just like fumbling through stuff on my phone. I was like, oh, let me see if there's anything in daily fantasy that I want to do tonight, clicked on it and I was like account balance 600. I was like what the hell? I was like what the hell? Oh, that's right. Last night I did it's just the guys I worked with like just saw my eyes light up and like what's going on? I was just like dude, I just I hit a dollar bet for 600, like color me lucky. I completely forgot about it and yeah, so like it's fun in that sense, like because, again, what is it A dollar? I'm going to find that in the couch cushions with change, like you know what I mean that's crazy.
Speaker 1:You won $600 off of that and like I was just like, alright, I'm going to have some fun here on DraftKings and just throw some stupid bets out. This is free money right now. Like, so, yeah, I get that for sure. And I think the like you said, you know the, the fantasies and you know a little bit of smartly. Okay, we've kind of went off on a real bad like sports gambling, right right there. But like for people out there that have you done, like, smartly, bet we'll, we'll, we'll preference this. Um, yeah, with that, you know, be smart about it. Um, don't do anything. Like, uh, my co-worker betting five grand, um, on a long, don't do that. And also draft Kings. You know, I will absolutely promote anything. I'm not that proud. I'm always looking for sponsors for the show Love it. Just hit me up anytime. I will absolutely put in any shameless plug anywhere. Luke, we are running down here near the end of the episode. I do have to get this segment in.
Speaker 1:If you listen to Brennan's show, you kind of already probably have an idea what's coming, and it is the Fast Fitty Five. It is five random questions from the wonderful manager of the podcast, Johnny Fitty Falcone. These are kind of rapid fire, but you can elaborate if you need to or want to, and, yeah, if you know, johnny, anybody. For the new listeners out there, these have nothing to do with what we've been talking about for the better part of an hour now. So if you are ready, luke, we'll go ahead and get going. All right, question number one. And we'll go ahead and get going. All right, question number one, and we're off to a great start. What would you be more afraid of? 100,000 angry fire ants or a pissed off polar bear?
Speaker 2:100,000 fire ants are pissed off. Polar bear.
Speaker 1:The mind of Johnny Finney Falcone, everybody.
Speaker 2:What would I be more afraid of? What would you be?
Speaker 1:more afraid of.
Speaker 2:Oh, polar bear 100%. I mean like I don't want to say you can easily escape ants, but like the polar bear.
Speaker 1:It's a bear. At the end of the day, it's a bear.
Speaker 2:A pissed off, very hungry, needs food. Polar bear, you're not winning.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're not winning. That I have to agree with that. I mean 100,000,. You know, if they caught you you're probably in for a little bit of pain, but like a bear, it catches you in night night if I find, if I find myself in the same environment as a polar bear and he wants me. Something went wrong. Something went wrong if I'm in the same environment of a polar bear. Uh, question number two uh, what are your thoughts on grapes?
Speaker 2:Grapes, grapes, they're delicious, they're delicious.
Speaker 1:That's it. Well, I think this one, I mean just based off of what we just the conversation we just had before this segment. But question number three what pro sport athlete do you hate the most?
Speaker 2:I don't even know.
Speaker 1:I don't see you. I mean you.
Speaker 2:Oh no. I don't know if you can count it. Who's the see? This is how much I don't know about football. Who's that dude from Colorado that just Shador?
Speaker 1:Sanders, shador Sanders.
Speaker 2:Not him, the other one, oh, shoot Travis Hunter, yeah, not him.
Speaker 1:Uh, the other one oh shoot, travis hunter. Yeah, I can't, I don't, for some reason I don't like him, I know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wanting to play both ways in the nfl was just crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know I like his. Not wrong, you're not wrong. Question number four what's the best flavor of fudge? Flavor of peanut butter? Oh yeah, that's a solid choice. That's a solid choice. All right, this one might not go over well either. But question number five.
Speaker 2:Better athlete? Rob Gronkowski or aaron judge? Oh gronk, I got it yeah I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't know, though, aaron judge, I mean any baseball player to me like to have that hand-eye coordination to hit a hundred mile-hour ball and crank it 450. Like that takes skill that takes a lot of talent.
Speaker 2:Then you get a guy the size of Gronk doing what Gronk did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would say yeah. But on the flip side of that coin, gronk was a freak of nature as a tight end Like you. Look at just the dimensions of that man and any coach would be like, yeah, that's one of my defensive linemen or that's my outside linebacker. No tight end, yeah, that's a tough one for me. Just on sheer size, I'd have to go grunk. Um, but just the hand-eye coordination, I'd have to give the edge the judge on that one. Yeah, that's good, but that way I mean that was the fast 55.
Speaker 1:I mean he started off crazy with that one um we haven't had a good one like that in a while, though I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Um, johnny is notorious for those questions like the first question, and I've been getting these types of questions since college, because that's where johnny and I met, was at bethany college and like this is this is just an everyday thing for him and the way his mind works Like he'll text me like randomly and it'll just be like a question like that. We wouldn't be like talking about like anything for like a day or two, and then, out of nowhere, so you're locked in a racquetball court with it's you Batman, conor McGregor and a polar bear. You have a road flare, a tennis racket and a set of boxing gloves. Who comes out alive? It's like, dude, I love you to death brother. But like it's eight in the morning on a Saturday, I don't have the mental capacity to answer this question, but he would do it all the time and that's just fitting.
Speaker 1:So one day I was just like yo, what if we made a segment on the podcast and we'll call it the Fast 55 and it'll just be your random ass questions, hell yeah, and he was like love it, love it, it's a fun way to end the show. We've talked to some college admins and some serious people too as well on the show and you talk about some serious people too as well, like on the show, and you know you talk about some serious topics and it's a fun way to just kind of wrap up the show. Um, but, luke, I do give every guest this opportunity at the end of every show. Um, if there's anything you want to get out there, anything you got going on, or even if it's just a good message to everybody, I'm going to give you about a minute and the floor is yours uh, I guess the only thing I'd say is live life to the fullest, don't take anything for granted and live free.
Speaker 2:I guess you only get one life. You only get one life. Don't mess it up, don't have any regrets 100.
Speaker 1:I mean, I love it when people have, you know, messages like that to end the show uh, you have a lot of fun and you know, I'm all for helping people if they have anything going on, uh, to promote that out there and get that out there for. But when it's just a good message, like, I love it. Um, the only thing I would you know, you're right, you do only get one life. I I've coined a different phrase, like everyone all yolo, you only live once, uh, no, you only die once. Uh, you live every day. So that's that's my. I guess it's yodo um for me, um, but that just means, you know, go out and live every day, um, because you don't know, nobody knows when, when, their time is, and it's just yeah, you live every day. Yeah, you don't only live, you live every day. Yeah, you don't only live once. You live every day. You only die once. So go out and and make the most of it.
Speaker 1:But that is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the ride home rants podcast. Again, I want to thank my guest, a Luke Seacrest, for joining the show. A lot of fun to get to sit here and shoot the shit with him and talk about his sports and everything else that we got going on there in that episode. As always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't tell them anyways, they might like it just because you didn't. No-transcript.
