The Football Odyssey with Aron Harris

Cody Alexander is the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Mesquite Horn High School and the author of five defensive football books.  In this episode, Cody and I discuss his journey within the game of football, how the game has evolved over time and his book Hyrbids: The Making of a Modern Defense.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagr...

Chris Setticase is a former college football player from Robert Morris University. Currently, Chris works as an actor and as a football stunt coordinator for feature films and television series, with credits on projects such as Necessary Roughness, The Dark Night Rises, Paterno and Safety.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootballod...

Bob Rider and Phil Schaaf are the directors of Don't Quit: The Joe Roth Story. The documentary looks back at the former University of California, Berkley quarterback and 1976 Heisman trophy favorite Joe Roth, who lost his life to melanoma in 1977, but despite his diagnosis, continued to play his final season and never allowed his disease to break his spirit. In this interview, Bob, Phil and I disc...

Tom Henschel is one of the three remaining members of the Never Miss A Super Bowl Club. Having been around football for 80 years, Tom reflects back on his grassroots passion of the game that began with his father, growing up as a Steelers fan, and his memories from his 55 year tradition of attending every Super Bowl.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https:...

Phil Tuckett is the former Vice President of Special Projects for NFL Films. In this interview, Phil tells the story of how he went from being a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers in the 1960s to becoming one of the first employees at NFL Films and tells many behind the scenes stories of the greatest NFL Films productions that involves Hank Stram, Bum Phillips and Dick Butkus. He is currentl...

Angelo DiBello is a New York Giants fan of nearly 65 years and has witnessed some of the greatest players, coaches and moments in NFL history. Angelo and I discuss his history as a Giants fan, the greatest players of the 50s and 60s, the iconic legacy of Vince Lombardi, and much more. https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/...

Charlie Engleka is back on the podcast as our first recurring guest of the show. In this episode, we discuss the 2020 NFL season, including the long awaited post season success of the Buffalo Bills, the evolution of football strategy, how the playoffs have been thus far, who we think will win Super Bowl LV and much more. https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://...

Robert Andrew Powell is a journalist and the author of three books. His first book, We Own This Game: A Season In The Adult World of Youth Football, chronicles the season of the Liberty City Warriors, a Pop Warner team in Miami, Florida. His book explores the youth football scene of Liberty City, where the sport is looked at as a celebration of their culture, but also where children take the first...

In Part 2 of this interview, Joe and I discuss the legacy of Kevin Greene, his book about the unlikely success of the 1972 Green Bay Packers season, the challenges he faced writing a book about Willie Lanier, and much more.  ***This interview was conducted on 12/22/2020. The mention of Kevin Greene's passing refers to Monday, 12/21/2020.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/  https://twitter.com/Fo...

Joe Zagorski is an author and a member of the Pro Football Researchers Association. Since 2016, Joe has published three books that focus on players, teams and trends of the National Football League in the 1970s: The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important Decade, The Year the Packers Came Back: Green Bay's 1972 Resurgence and America's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall...

Arnie Chapman is the producer and host of The Football History Dude podcast. In this episode, we discuss Arnie's memories as a Detroit Lions fan, his experience doing the podcast, some of his personal favorite episodes and our favorite football eras.  https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/ https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://sportshistorynetwork...

Number One is a 1969 drama directed by Tom Gries and stars Charlton Heston in the leading role as Ron Catland, an aging quarterback for the New Orleans Saints that struggles to accept the reality that his playing days are all but numbered, and the impact it has on his personal life.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodys...

Jim Steeg is the former Senior Vice President of Special Events for the National Football League. In his 26 years with the NFL, Jim was responsible for overseeing the Super Bowl, the Prow Bowl and the Draft from 1979 to 2004. In this interview, we discuss Jim’s journey within the NFL and how he transformed the Super Bowl from being just a championship game into a media and fan phenomenon that has...

Shane is the founder of Pigskin Books, a website where football fans can discover a wide variety of vintage and contemporary football books about a multitude of topics ranging from the history of specific teams, playing strategies, the business of pro football and much more. Shane and I discuss his roots as an American Football fan growing up in the United Kingdom, the background behind Pigskin Bo...

American Football in Japan may sound like a novelty, but in reality, the gridiron game has been played in the Land of the Rising Sun since the 1930s. Against the backdrop of World War II, and through many international games against American opponents, the sport developed and created a niche following for itself, entering another chapter in The Football Odyssey. If you'd like to watch any Japanese...

Jack Gilden is the author of Collision of Wills: Johnny Unitas, Don Shula, and the Rise of the Modern NFL. The book looks back at the complex relationship between Shula and Unitas during their time as a dynamic head coach- quarterback duo with Baltimore Colts, and is set against the backdrop of 1960s America when the country and professional football was rapidly changing.  https://www.instagr...

Jim Thorpe: All American was released in 1951 by Warner Bros. and focuses on the athletic endeavors of the legendary Jim Thorpe. We’ll look at the film's strengths and weaknesses, as well as some background information on how the film came to be. Subscribe and share! https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/

Ben Ball is a Packers fan born in Chicago and raised in Charlotte. In this podcast, Ben and I discuss his history as a Packers fan, ranging from the best and most frustrating times he experienced as a fan to the sense of community that comes with rooting for the for one of the NFL's oldest franchise. https://twitter.com/home https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/

Charlie Engleka is a former Division III defensive lineman from Alfred University and a Buffalo Bills fan. In this podcast, we talk about Charlie's experiences and lessons learned on the gridiron, as well as discussing what the Bills franchise means to the city of Buffalo, and much more.  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com/ https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc https://www.instagram.com/thefootbal...

Today on The Football Odyssey, we'll look back on how the game was played in what is recognized as the first intercollegiate American football game.   Links mentioned in this podcasts: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/705376360379381473/  https://www.instagram.com/thefootballodyssey/  https://twitter.com/FootballOdyc  https://www.thefootballodyssey.com

This is The Football Odyssey,  where I document the iconic, forgotten and obscure people and events in America Football's journey from a third rate college pick up game to a larger than life American obsession.  This podcast will include segments categorized into six different sections; Anatomy of a Game , derived from the book of the same name by former University of Delaware head coach...