Mike Greenberg: I'm just thrown off, because we have a big event tonight.
Mike Golic: You're so nervous!
Greenberg: I'm a little nervous. … (a little about the charity, privileged to be the MC's, we'll raise a lot of money, excited about that) and then there's the little matter of the guest list. I'm going to lose you and I'm going to lose the wife. Bon Jovi's going to be there, so my wife's going to be chasing Bon Jovi around the entire evening. I won't see her all night long. I'm going to lose you because Brady Quinn is going to be there. So I'm going to be without any sort of wingman, any sort of backup, any sort of arm candy; I got nothing with me. And then there's the matter of the other guest tonight. And that will be Bill Belichick. I have no idea what to expect of this meeting. I'm going to go over to him, I'm going to say hello. I've never met him. I've asked him questions in news conferences, and that's always been fine. It was years ago before he became what he is now, which is like this larger than life figure who is known as much as anything as not really answering questions in news conferences. So I really don't have any idea what to expect him to be like.
Golic: You're nervous because you think he's not going to like you.
Greenberg: I think he will not like me, yes. That would be my guess.
Golic: I don't know why you think that.
Greenberg: I've acknowledged on the air I'm a Jet fan … I always root against the Patriots. They're a division rival, it's not a personal thing.
Golic: So what?!
Greenberg: I'm just saying, I'm a little nervous.
Golic: When he meets other fans of the Jets or the Dolphins, does he expect those people to like him? All those people he meets would want the Patriots to lose! You want the Patriots to lose!
Greenberg: Yes, I do.
Golic: What, do you think he's going to think bad of you because you're a Jet fan and want his team to lose?
Greenberg: I do. I'm a little nervous about meeting him. I really am.
Golic: Do you need me to walk up there with you?
Greenberg: Yes.
Golic: Seriously? Seriously? You need me to walk with you…
Greenberg: Yes. Correct.
Golic:…and do an introduction.
Greenberg: Right. And stay there. If Brady Quinn walks by, don't leave me there. Don't walk away.
Golic: You know, when this thing starts, we have to introduce…Tiki Barber's going to be there (etc., etc.). There are a lot of people to introduce.
Greenberg: Right. And you can't walk away from me. Because what's going to happen is Bon Jovi's playing, so this is going to start (plays a Bon Jovi song) and my wife is gone. I lose her that second. … So I need you to stand in, I need you to stand tough. And we have big auction items we have to auction off tonight (etc.) and I need to be at my best.
Golic: We have a little cocktail reception before that. You can't avoid him until the end!
Greenberg: I think I can.
Golic: No you cannot!
Greenberg: Yes I can. And I think I should. I want to do a good job for Charlie (etc.). I really want to do a good job for them tonight, and I will be so thrown off if there was an awkward meeting ahead of time.
Golic: Have Charlie take you over to him.
Greenberg: I don't think that's a good idea either. Because Charlie enjoys seeing me uncomfortable.
Golic: He does. He loves seeing you squirm.
Greenberg: Like you, and Liam, you guys all seem to take some pleasure in seeing me uncomfortable.
Golic: Could you imagine seeing Charlie walking over with you to Bill and saying, 'Hey Bill, this is the guy who rips you on air'? [laughing]
Greenberg:That's what I'm saying! He'd start making things up. I've never said a nasty thing about Bill Belichick in my life except he's the coach of the Patriots and I'm a Jet fan!!! I don't know from anything else. But the point is, I can see him kind of going the wrong way on me. I think he would get a kick out of it. But what he needs to know is that if he does that I will not be able to really…
Golic: You'll be thrown off. This, yet again, is just another test in your life to try and man up.
Greenberg: Mike, I've failed every test for 41 years! Why do you not stop with that?
Golic: I keep hope alive. keep hope alive.
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Monday's Show
March 16, 2009
Mike Greenberg: To conclude the story that we had from last Thursday, when last we were here, the answer to the question is, yes, I met Bill Belichick. So we might as well give you a quick rundown on how everything worked out Thursday night. First and foremost, it was a great event. Charlie and his wife Maura Weis have a charity called Hannah & Friends which they started in honor of their daughter. It is for people with special needs, children with special needs and others. They raised a lot of money Thursday night and it was a terrific event. It's a lovely charity, so we were very happy to be a small part of it that night. So that's the most important thing. But anyway, it was held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. I got down there about 4:30 in the afternoon on Thursday.
Mike Golic: And again, Greeny really thought that Bill Belichick, who was one of the stars that was there as well, was going to hate him.
Greenberg: I just didn't know what to expect.
Golic: You thought he wasn't going to like you! Now, that may be just your defense mechanism that says you expect the worst and then hope for the best.
Greenberg: One way or another, I was – and if you listened to the show Thursday morning [see below!] you are aware – I was a tad nervous about meeting Belichick. So we get there – again, 4:30, quarter to five – and I've got time to go down to the gym and get a quick sweat before we have to go begin our responsibilities. So I go down to the gym. I walk in, there's a long row of treadmills and such, and there's one vacant. One vacant treadmill. And on the next one, the one next to it, to its immediate left, is Bill Belichick.
Golic: Perfect opportunity!
Greenberg: You cannot make this up! Now, he's got the headphones on and he's working hard. He clearly had been on it for a while, he was sweated up, and he's listening to music, or something, on headphones, and he's got a bunch of magazines. They were lacrosse magazines. I knew he was into lacrosse; he played lacrosse, if I remember correctly, at Wesleyan. One way or another, he's got lacrosse magazines. So I'm standing there and my mind is spinning.
Golic: Why?! This is a perfect opportunity. Just go up there. You don't have to do anything! You don't have to tap him on the shoulder, you just jog. If you happen to have eye contact, you just kind of nod and you go about your business.
Greenberg: Here's why I didn't feel comfortable doing that. Because I knew that word would probably have reached him, because I knew already that Charlie was laughing hysterically about it on Thursday morning. My fear was that if I get on there, now it's like if I don't tap him on the shoulder, now it's like I'm trying to avoid him or ignore him…
Golic: No it's not! Not at all!
Greenberg: …or whatever it was. I did the only thing I could think of to do, which is I waited till another treadmill opened up.
Golic: Pathetic.
Greenberg: I waited like 20 minutes in total. But it felt like the only way around this. So I did, I waited, and I finally get on the thing and I do my workout. OK, fast forward. He did not see me and everything was fine.
Golic: Yeah, just how you wanted it.
Greenberg: Fast forward, now it is many, many hours later. Here's the good part of the story. Jon Bon Jovi was the highlight of the evening, certainly much more than the two of us conducting a live auction.
Golic: How about a private concert with Bon Jovi for about 350 people?
Greenberg: Three hundred people and there's Bon Jovi playing a private concert. And he was tremendous. So at one point he's getting set to do Wanted Dead or Alive, which has that very familiar opening guitar. He starts playing that and of course everyone starts cheering and yelling, and he's doing funny banter with the crowd. And at one point he says, 'Boy, what would you give to see Belichick and Charlie come up here and sing this song with me? And everyone laughs and claps and all that, and people start yelling out, 'I'd see $20,000,' or whatever it is. Then Bon Jovi, to his everlasting credit, says, 'You know what? I will donate $50,000 to Hannah & Friends if Charlie Weis and Bill Belichick come up here right now and sing this song with me.' And you don't have to take our word for it, it's on YouTube right now.
Golic: And let me tell you, there was no hesitation by the two of them. They looked at one another and they walked up on stage.
Greenberg: They couldn't have not. I mean, the whole place was screaming and cheering. But they got up there and you know what, they were great. They were great.
Golic: Yeah. Maybe not voices so much but they were great with the way they played along. They got into it, they enjoyed it, they had a good time with it.
Greenberg: Absolutely. Charlie was leading the crowd, clapping, and Belichick was singing. It was very, very charming. It was terrific. It was one of those really, really unique moments. It was one of the few times in my life…in this job we've had the opportunity to do a lot of cool things and see a lot of cool things, and as this was going on I was thinking, 'Boy, am I glad to be here right now.'
Golic: It was really cool. Just Bon Jovi playing, we were all just giddy, and then to see the two of them go up there and sing with him, we were like…first thing, Greeny and I look at one another and say, 'How quick is this going to be on YouTube?'
Greenberg: And it was. And it is. It's still up there. We had a bunch of people say that they've taken it down, but it's not. I just went on YouTube and it's still up there, so you can see it. Anyway, so now the evening is over, they've raised a lot of money, everyone's in a great mood because it really went well and we were all upstairs because Charlie Weis had like a room that he booked for all of us to hang around in, and up comes Bill Belichick. He walks right over to us. We're sitting on couches, the two of us with our wives [and] he comes right over, first to you then to me, shakes hands, 'How you doing? Nice to see you.' Could not have been friendlier, could not have been nicer. I introduced him to my wife, he could not have been nicer to Stace. It wasn't as though we stood there and talked for an hour. It was very late at night.
Golic: And it was just what Charlie said to you. He said, 'You watch. You get him in that situation, he's going to be a very nice guy.' And he was!
Greenberg: He could not have been nicer. It was a learning experience for me. You know, you see people and you build people up in your own mind. You know, here he is, he's just, he's been…I'm a fan of a team in the division. He's been like the enemy for so long.
Golic: You want him to lose all the time.
Greenberg: I have like this horrible… It doesn't mean I'm going to start rooting for him.
Golic: That's right.
Greenberg: But I must say, I liked him. He could not have been more pleasant, friendly, nice. He was having a good time and it was a relaxed environment.
Golic: There's work mode and then there's not work mode.
Greenberg: Yeah. He was just having a good time. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience.
Golic: Oh, yeah. That was a pleasant experience. It was a great, great night, and hopefully we think it raised a lot of money. By the way, Bob Picosi gives us a note that Bill's son Stephen plays lacrosse at Rutgers.
Greenberg: Oh, is that why [he had all those lacrosse magazines]? I believe he was there. One of Belichick's sons was definitely there. He was the kid sitting at his table. I'm pretty sure it was one of his sons. I don't know for sure. Maybe his son plays lacrosse. One way or another, he was reading a lacrosse magazine. Anyway, it was nice. It was nice to have met him.
Golic: I can't believe you didn't go on the treadmill.
Greenberg: You would have done the same thing.
Golic: Oh, I would not have! Wait a minute, you're saying we would have handled that situation the same?
Greenberg: No, I'm not saying that. But you would have done the same thing. You would have handled none of the rest of it the same.
Golic: You are so full of it. I would have went up and ran on that thing, maybe elbowed him.
Transcribed by the webmaster. |
