Blocking Out The Noise

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Playing, you know, playing football, it's gonna be a lot of naysayers, a lot of doubters, and a lot of things that, you know, you know you may not like. A lot of people say some stuff that you may not like, but you know, it's social media, they got that right to say that. So what I do is just I just block it out because people are gonna say stuff regardless. So I just block it out and then go out there and then uh and and perform on the football field to basically shut them up. You know, I'm just basically just proving myself right.

Retirement Tribute And Throwback Setup

unknown 0:25

I'm a dust boy, I can do that. I'm a bad boy, like a dog, I do, I'm a dad boy, like a dog, I don't do that, I'm a dust boy like a dog, and I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_03 0:37

Welcome back to a special episode of the burn. A huge congratulations to my friend, my brother, and a man who inspires me, Levante David, on his retirement from the NFL. 14 years. One of the most decorated linebackers of all time. A leader, a captain, a Super Bowl champion. Levante, you did so much for this game, and you've done so much for this world. People see all of the tackles and the accolades, but it's the family man that you are. It's everything that you have made the choice to do off the field with Boys and Girls Club of America, and so many things philanthropically, and donations and giving of your time in order to make the world, the state of Florida, a better place. I wish you nothing but continued growth and success in your retirement. To have the opportunity since we met at Will Compton's football camp 13 years ago to be in your corner, to share a little fire, to make Sundays even more special. It has been a true honor. You are one of one, Levante. You are a Hall of Famer. And it's not just showing up as a Hall of Famer in Canton. People will recognize that you are a Hall of Famer in life. Continue to write your story, and I wanted to share this special throwback episode with all of our listeners and all of our followers. We're so grateful for all of you who tune in every single week. And this episode takes us back pre-season. Right when Tom Brady made the decision to come to Tampa. Before they knew, they had a vision. They knew that it could happen. They had a feeling it would happen, but they didn't know that they would be Super Bowl champions together with an amazing team. So enjoy this episode, pre-season, when Brady made the announcement before the season began that led to a Super Bowl championship. Levante, once again, congratulations on an unbelievable career. I will always be in your corner. Much love, brother. The best is yet to come.

How Levante And Ben Met

SPEAKER_04 3:02

Welcome back to another episode of The Burn. Man, this one is exciting for me because my guy Levante David, man, I have wanted to get him on the bird for so long. We've done like 50 episodes. And man, I wish we could have done this like in the beginning. But the problem is, is like the world, man, before it went virtual like this, we were doing everything in person. And the last time we were together last year in Nashville, it was earlier on in the year. We hadn't even started the burn yet. So, like, you got to do what you got to do. And right now I can't get on the uh the plane and get down to Tampa. And so, like, for me, man, I'm thinking like how exciting it is that we're finally able to, you know, get on Zoom like this. So uh welcome to the show, Levante.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Appreciate you. Thank you, man. I'm ready to talk about the burn, baby.

SPEAKER_04 3:52

Well, you know, what's so interesting is Levante and I go back seven years, and he had just come off his uh, I think it was actually actually after the first year in the league, because it was your second, Will's first. And so we met down at Will Compton's football camp. And here we are, we're both coaching at the football camper. And as Will and Levante can attest to, I'm only allowed to blow the whistle and motivate. I can't tell you anything, anything actually football related, but I'm allowed to motivate. And we got in the car, and man, it was fun just to bond and to talk. You know, you and I just rolled just the two of us, and I really got to learn so much about you and your mindset and your level of discipline. And, you know, Will had already told me so much about you from playing together in Nebraska and the success that you guys had there. But I really learned so much about you in the car, and I'm gonna speed forward, I'm gonna pull back, and then I'm gonna give it to you. But it really wasn't until four years after that. We always got along great, we always stayed connected, but it wasn't until the loss of your mother, to where, even though we talked a little bit about it, but not a lot. But I feel like it's just once you went through that, me having been through that, I was like, man, like Levante and I, it's a different bond now. It's just different. And so I know that the burn for me is living to continue to write my mother's story every single day. So maybe tell us a little bit about what has fueled you throughout your life, and then maybe how that burn changed for you uh when your mom did pass four years ago.

Carrying His Mother’s Legacy

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yeah, uh well, basically full fuel me throughout my life with just the the uh the ambition to be great, you know, uh just wanting to do whatever I do, just wanting to be great. And all the time I had my mom and my dad always there, you know, encouraging me and pushing me to do the best thing I best I can be, and whatever it was I put my mind to, they was there behind me and they pushed me. And, you know, they instilled that discipline into me to where, you know, wherever I set myself my mind on something, you know, yeah, I gotta be disciplined enough to not go off course and not, you know, try to do something to, you know, mess up my goals. And, you know, that's they basically what they instilled in me, and I I definitely appreciate them to this day. And uh, you know, like you said, not until you know four years ago when I actually lost my mom, me and you really, really, you know, kind of hit it off. And to this day, you know, I still look at the messages that you send me every morning, they motivate me, and then especially on game days when you I always remember the last thing you always say, you know, legacy, carry on your mom's legacy. And I take that to heart every time. And, you know, her last name is David. We have the same last name, and I I gotta know every time I walk out the door, I carry her last name. So I gotta I gotta be able to, you know, represent it the right way. Every time I wake up in the morning, I walk out my door before I actually need the house. It's a picture, and and like right before I get to the door of her, where I kiss it and you know, just thank God, and I just remember her before I walk out the door to know that I'm wearing her last name, and I gotta I gotta try to honor that, honor that the best way I can because she did so much for me in my life, and it was so much that I want to do for her. So even though she's not here, I'm still doing what I can for her because you know she she she raised me the right way, and it's a a lot of stuff that I have to accomplish. Also simple fact what you know she put me in a position to do.

Sponsor Message Q Logics

SPEAKER_03 7:17

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Environment And Daily Discipline

SPEAKER_04 8:39

Well, you know, I I know that your mom is looking down on you, and uh our our mothers are up there having a nice little party, and on uh on game days, they're watching you make all those tackles. And you know, a lot of people they don't they don't realize what it takes to get that C on your chest.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 8:57

And I think a lot of people take that for granted. And I everybody knows on the show, man, we don't get a lot into statistics, but there's just one thing I have to mention because it is very important. I mean, you've played eight seasons, you're heading into your ninth, you went over a thousand tackles already in your career.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:14

I mean, you are one of the premier linebackers in all of the NFL, and you've been doing it year after year after year after year after year. I mean, it's like every year.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Right.

SPEAKER_04 9:24

And what I'd really love for you to speak to, and you already mentioned it with your mom. I always talk about the importance of environment. So you've created an environment where like your kids and your mom on the way out the door to like remember what's important. So, how important has environment been, not just for the mental side, like to remember your mom like that, but what are some of the things on the physical side, some of those disciplines that have put you in position to be this successful for this long, and a position for a lot of guys, man, it wears down the bottom.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Yeah, I mean, you know, from the environmental side, you know, it's just having the right people around me, you know, uh, people like, you know, you and people like Will Compton, who I talk to, you know, most of the time and then kind of encourage each other. And then, you know, friends who I grew up with, you know, kind of separating those friends to where, you know, ones who want to push you and motivate you and the ones who, you know, just want, you know, hang out and uh want to have fun and do certain things. And uh that's just you know, happen having, you know, separating that type of environment, you know, for people who, you know, don't sometimes might not have the same dreams, same may not have the same goals. It's not that you don't have to be friends with them, but most of the time, you know, some some of the stuff that you involved in, they may not you may not want to involve them in it because it may hold you back. But you know, just you know, the off-scale stuff, just you know, eating right. You know, just don't you try you know, trying to have a a lefty a healthy life, a healthy spiritual life. And uh just have a healthy relationship with uh with with great people around you so it won't hold you back and uh you know, prevent you from uh wanting to do what you want to do. And um you know, basically just having a uh having a certain edge about yourself, just being disciplined and you know, knowing what you want to accomplish and whatever it is that you want to do and just going out there and basically taking it because you know it's gonna be it's right there, basically it's right there. All you gotta do is just go take it. So, you know, that's basically my mindset every time, you know, I step out the door and not try to, you know, gear off and and do things that I know, you know, my mom wouldn't be proud of, or the people who's counting on me, the people who's looking up to me won't be proud of. So that's the type of discipline things that I think about every time I, you know, I walk out there, walk out the door and you know, the type of environment that I want to keep myself around.

SPEAKER_04 11:42

Yeah, it's so important. You know, I think you know, before we hopped on and hit the record button when we were just you know catching up and you know, we talked about just working out, right? It's like it's different right now. Like you can't you can't go to the facility. So, like, what are what are some of the things that you've done now just to keep yourself motivated, to keep yourself focused? Because I have found that it's the guys like you, they recognize, like, man, there's an edge and distance that you create because the guys like you are the ones willing to keep working when other guys are like, man, I'm gonna take a break. Like, this is not a time for a break, is it?

SPEAKER_01 12:17

It's not a time for a break at all. It's I mean, it doesn't actually the best time to get the most work in that you as you can because you know, I'm not getting younger. You know, I'm going to my ninth year. You got some young guys coming to this league, coming to take over, they come, you know, come basically following our footsteps. You can kind of like lead the fast path that uh we laid this as the players before it did. So, you know, you gotta be disciplined. It all comes down to discipline again, discipline enough to work out, keep on your workout regimen, and um, you know, trying to understand, you know, what's going on, but you know, uh it all could be over what's going on in the world, it all could be over, just like it could be over soon. So you gotta be able to, as soon as that's over, you gotta be able to, you know, carry over what you've been doing and getting back to your you know, regular-to-day life. And that's you know, for me, an instance is you know, going getting ready to play football, being ready for the football game. So that's my basically my my attitude right now. I just I gotta be in great enough shape for myself to be able to know that I can walk out on the field and be able to play full four quarters the way I know how to play it.

Social Media Detox During Season

SPEAKER_04 13:19

That's such a great point. Be able to play the full four quarters right now. Yeah. I mean, you talk about that mindset is huge. And you mentioned the word discipline, yeah, and this is one of the things that blew me away. So that first ride where we where we really spent all that time together, you we talked about social media, yeah, and I couldn't believe like you practically like during the season, yeah, it's you almost completely turn it off, and you talk about the world we live in today to shut down your social media. Like, why do you do that? And what's the importance of that? And kind of what's your philosophy? Because there's so much noise out there these days.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's so much noise out there, and in uh social media, they don't make it no better. You know, uh just playing, you know, playing football is gonna be a lot of naysayers, a lot of doubters, and a lot of things that you know you know you may not like. A lot of people say some stuff that you may not like, but you know, in social media, they got that right to say that. So what I do is just I just block it out because people gonna say stuff regardless. So I just block it out and then go out there and uh and and perform on the football field to basically shut them up. You know, I'm just basically just proving myself right, you know, just going out there dominating and doing I doing the best that I can to help my team win. And that's all I can do, you know. So try to be the best leader I can be, try to be the best football player I can be, and try to dominate this game as long as I'm in it. And at the end of the day, I want to be one of the best players to ever play the game. And I walk away, I want people to talk about me in a positive manner. And know that every time I step down on the field, I did what I did, and then also when I'm off the field, I was a great leader, you know, and I I I I held people accountable and people help me to keep me accountable and I, you know, you know, just did whatever I could to to represent the name on my back. You know, when they say like, you know, Vontae David, he's the he was one of the greatest to play, but also he was one of the greatest, you know, teammates of all time too, as well. So, you know, that just try to put the stuff that I, you know, think about things like that. But you know, social media is on his own demon in itself, and I don't want to be, I don't like to be involved in it, you know, I mean during the season and stuff like that, because you know, you can kind of get sidetracked by that. You could, you know, somebody could say something about you, you could be thinking about that, and it can kind of get you off your game, you know. So try not to, you know, uh uh uh be involved in it as much. But at the same time, like I said, people gonna talk, they gonna talk, you know. So it's just all you gotta just do your part to shut them up. And that's not fine for all the time, you know.

Tom Brady Joins Tampa Bay

SPEAKER_04 15:51

Which and and I'll tell you, you you've been doing it year after year after year. Yeah, you got a lot of teammates with a lot of talent. And so let's talk about a little change that took place on the roster, but I want to give some credit, you know, because obviously I I pay attention, you know, every week locking in on what's going on with you and and the team every Sunday. But I think, yes, Tom Brady's coming to Tampa, you know, you know, and TB, NTB, and it's gonna be a special thing. But I don't know if there's been enough credit given to the special pieces you guys already had. No doubt it's gonna be great to have Tom Brady there. But maybe tell us a little bit about your excitement about having Tom Brady there, but but maybe some of those pieces that have been overlooked, because Tampa's got a good thing going.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yeah, man, honestly, since I came to Tampa, man, it's been there's been team after team that's been that had we had awesome pieces in in place to, you know, get us to where we wanted to go. You know, we we had the Jeremy Corps, we had the Cornell Tenders, we had the Michael Bennett's, we had the Darrell Reaves's, we had the Sean Goldstones, we had the uh who else? We had uh Vincent Jackson's, we had the Mike Williams, we had a whole bunch of talent coming in and out of Tampa. You know, uh TJ Ward, we had Major Wright, we had a whole bunch of guys that come in and out of Tampa, but it just never got there. We just never got there. But for some reason, you know, I never felt the much confidence that I felt, you know, in the seasons I had in a long time because, you know, all the bad things that went on the year before last year, 2019 season, we was actually a pretty good team. You know, uh we was actually pretty, we ended up going seven to nine, but we a lot of stuff earlier in the season that kind of set us back. And then on the middle or you know, the second quarter, second half of the season with everything picked up when we was rolling. But, you know, we knew that we could be a type of team that can get over the hump. And now this year, we already, you know, honestly, before, you know, TB came in Tampa, we already had the mindset of like this is gonna be our year, this is gonna be it. And then voila, you know, this guy already uh pops up and he's on our radar and he's looking to come to Tampa. And you know, uh that's even more better, especially a guy like him with his uh with his attitude and his you know uh his mindset and his winning pedigree, you know, and with the ad with the hunger of the guys in the locker room, you know, that's definitely gonna, you know, you know, uh, you know, put us where we need to be and uh basically try to exceed our expectations already.

Will Compton Stories And Brotherhood

SPEAKER_04 18:27

So you just you just mentioned the excitement of Tom Brady coming. He's arguably the certainly the greatest quarterback of all time, maybe the greatest player of all time. You also mentioned some other Hall of Fame talent that you've played with. One of the things I love about you is you are humble, so I'm gonna say it for you. You are going to be a Hall of Famer. And but but here's what I gotta bring up. We gotta just talk about real quick, the greatest player that you ever played with it's gotta be Will Countham, right? I mean, hands down, it's gotta be.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Uh Compto, it's basically a dream vibes right now to get the get the chance to play each other in the league, man. Play with each other in the league. You know, uh me and Comfto played together at Nebraska, had fun times there, great times. He was my roommate when we were in uh games, away games, and uh man comfto got a lot of stories, as you know already. You know, that's my boy, man. Yeah, he definitely goes down as one of the greatest people players I play with for sure.

SPEAKER_04 19:28

Well, you knew you knew I had to get that in there because uh we we both love him to death. And uh, you know, I think that's the beautiful thing about life and relationships. You know, if it wasn't for Will and both of us going and giving back to those kids at his camp, which is so cool that he continues to do that, man, we would have met somewhere along the line, but it's just I I can't tell you, man. I just I appreciate all the times, whether it's it's the phone or whether it's in person. It just continues to impress me, just how you go about doing what you do in your life. And uh I just I appreciate you. I appreciate you taking this time to share your burn, your fire, your passion, the disciplines. And man, you know I'm always in your corner.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Yeah, most definitely. And then you would say when you say Hall of Famers, I don't know how I forget, but I also got the chance to play with Ronday Bob in my rookie year. So that was an awesome experience in itself, getting the chance to you know talk to him and learn from him. So uh he's upcoming uh, he's becoming he's gonna be a Hall of Famer very, very soon. And you know, oh yeah, he's gonna be real proud to see that, you know, I played with a guy who's in the Hall of Fame. That's gonna be awesome. But you know, as you know, man, uh I'm always here, you know, I always you know how much I respect you, man, how much I uh respect your dedication, you know, your your fire that you give me, you know, um just just the messages and the voices you leave me on game days, you know, that that that gets me going. That's a part of you know my birthday.

SPEAKER_04 20:54

I never talk about that stuff, so you're giving people the secrets now. My bad, my bad, my bad, my bad, my bad.

Respect, Motivation, And Closing

SPEAKER_01 20:59

I just I just want you to know how much I appreciate you, man.

SPEAKER_04 21:02

Well, I appreciate you too, and uh, I know there's a lot of people they've got doubts, they've got uncertainties right now, but man, football is going to be played, and before you know it, I'm gonna be leaving you those messages again. And uh, man, thanks for taking the time, and uh, I love you, and I can't wait to see you during the season.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Uh, most definitely, man. Appreciate you, man. Thank you. 54 gonna be on the field soon, hopefully. Yes, sir.