Throwback Thursday: Appreciating The Legend That Is Greg Toal ... All Time Football Guy

This is so niche I had to write it because I still feel like at it's core that is what this blog is all about. It is about a football guy at it's core which people love, so hopefully it hits. Anyway ... 

For those of you unfamiliar, Don Bosco is one of the greatest powers in NJ Football. Just STARS on their team. One of the best games I've ever seen in person was when my Dad took me to Don Bosco-Bergen Catholic on a cold December Friday night in 2004 at The Meadowlands and Bergen (led by Brian Cushing who I watched play like 9 positions that night) take down Bosco. Unreal game. Greg Toal was the coach of that team, and his son Brian (who was a year ahead of the kids in the 04 game) was an All American. 

He would have a great career at BC where he played with Matt Ryan, and Staten Islander Paul "Booney" Anderson who was my aau basketball teammate and one of the best football players I played against in grammar school and high school. 

Bosco and Bergen still is an unreal rivalry, so much so there games have been on ESPN and documentaries have been released. 

Growing up on Staten Island, MSG had a show High School Weekly hosted by Mike Quick, where it was a highlight show of everyone in the tristate area for high school sports like football,basketball and baseball. I'll be honest I only watched during football and basketball season. It was fucking awesome. Every week you prayed your team got featured, they had top 10 lists, and they did games of the week where they broadcasted a game. I was lucky enough to be on the game of the week in hoops my senior year, and MSG was nice enough to cut up a highlight tape for us throughout our playoff run. I later met Mike while interning for the Knicks. Awesome awesome guy. 

Anyway, that show was awesome and we all grew up on it, and when I went to college and roomed at different points with 3 different kids from NJ. Naturally while bored, or fucking around we would overhear someone watching a video on Youtube or be talking about where guys were from while watching a game etc and Don Bosco would come up, and Greg Toal would come up, and that MSG High School Weekly show would come up. Instantly each of those kids would recite the "OKANOWA" line like Toal and we would all light up. It's hard to describe and it's so niche, but something was just hilarious about watching that show and Toal being featured. He's unreal. Just a football guy through and through, and I feel like people from around here hold him in such high regard because he is so unapologetically NJ. Just as hard core football as it gets and a winner. 

When that reel got sent to me the other day, I laughed so hard because it reminded me my college roommate would taunt people with "TOUGH GUYS HIT CUPS" while playing beer pong in college. Little shit like that can really make you laugh all these years later, and we have Greg Toal to thank. FOOTBALL GUY. 

PS- him saying make the weather your friend is an UNREAL football coach line. Just amazing.