An Army of Normal Folks - Don't Be A Turkey Person

Episode Date: November 16, 2023

We've launched a campaign called “Don’t Be A Turkey Person” to challenge all of us this Thanksgiving and holiday season, and it isn’t about not eating turkey. Coach Bill Courtney shares one of the most important life lessons he's ever learned and it was from one of his 17-year-old football players.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody it's Coach Bill Courtney with an Army of Normal Folks. With Thanksgiving and the holidays coming up, we wanted to bring you a bonus episode from our special campaign, don't be a turkey person that currently, believe it or not, has a billboard in Times Square in New York City. And guys, this isn't about eating turkeys. It's one of the most important life lessons that I've ever learned, and it was one I learned from one of my 17-year-old football players from inner-city Memphis.

The story will likely change the way you look at philanthropy. At least it did for me. We'll bring it to you right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors Hello, I'm Chelsea Peretti. Do you feel chronic existential dread but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me my podcast is relaunching Subscribe and treat yourself to sound effects like this and this have you ever been attacked by a bear? Yeah And moments like this I have an awful sleep in front of the space here.

No. And my whole leg from my knee down in my foot burnt into a squelting big bubble. And this, kale chips are delicious. They're too oily when I go. They shouldn't be soft at all. They should be really crispy. That's what I said every single time. You are yelling at me.

And this. Do you want to go to the Clipper game with me tonight? Do you have 25 references of mutual friends that can tell me that you're not a murderer? Um. And this? Hold on, I got to open some peanut butter pretzels. Listen to Call Chelsea Paredion, Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Daniel Tosh, host of new podcast called Tosh Show, brought to you by iHeart Podcasts. Why am I getting into the podcast game now?

Well, it seemed like the best way to let my family know what I'm up to instead of visiting or being part of their incessant group text. I'll be interviewing people that I find interesting, so not celebrities, and certainly not comedians. I'll be interviewing my plumber, my stylist, my wife's gynecologist. We'll be covering topics like religion, travel, sports, gambling, but mostly it will be about being a working mother. If you're looking for a podcast that will educate and inspire, or one that will really make

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My name is Payne Lindsay, and just like pretty much everyone else on the internet, I make podcasts. Throughout my career, I've had the chance to travel all over the place, investigating true crimes, researching the unexplained, I've been able to meet some of the most truly interesting people, and I've decided to sit down with them and pick their brains. We're going to talk about life, death, unsolved crimes, Bob wrote the cadaver note in his own words, he had murdered Susan Furman. Why do they were so obsessed with dark people like that?

It's maybe part of human nature. The supernatural, there's something here, truly something going on. Our biggest fears, mental health, pop culture. Just a adrenaline being on a film set is incredible. And honestly, just whatever the hell is on our minds. Wait a minute, you should be very happy with it. This is Talking to Death.

New episodes of Talking to Death are available now. Listen on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When I got to Manassas, their previous 10 years record was four wins and 95 losses. 495, they'd won four games in 10 years. Terrible, awful. I'm in my first season and we were three and three midway through the season. And while I think three and three is pretty average, when you've won four games in 10

years, that's pretty good. And the kids were buying in. But the other thing we found out is, we had to coach other things. Basic fundamentals and tenants, like character, commitment, teamwork, the value of hard work, the importance of just being on time. Basic stuff that your grandmother taught you

at a kitchen table one day. Half the team is doing what we're asking of them, but the other half the team, while yes or no, so on the football field, they're still engaged in some of the same destructive behavior in the streets that kind of got them to 4.95 in the first place and the 4.95 is kind of a metaphor, the losing, that the decades long losing in football, it's kind of a metaphor for the generational losing that's been going on in some of our most disadvantaged communities.

And so I was frustrated. So I went to my guy and every coach has a guy and my guy that yours Bobo and went to Bobo and I said, hey man, how do I get that half the team to buy into the important stuff like your half the team? Bobo was the guy who would never ask a question about the culture or society or history of the neighborhoods around Manassas or Manassas itself would always kind of tell me the down low, the real story. And so when I asked him about why these kids

were part of the important stuff, Bobo just kind of dismissed me, said, all coaches, keep doing what you're doing. And that frustrated me a lot. And I'm like, now man, real talk. And he said, coach, I don't wanna hurt your feelings. I said, Bobo, one more time, straight talk. Why?

Well, that half the team buy into the important stuff, like you're half the team. And he said, Coach, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'll tell you, and I said, OK, is it coach you're trying to figure out if you're a turkey person or not? And I said, Bobo, turkey person, with the hell is a turkey person. He's like coach every Thanksgiving and Christmas people come into our neighborhoods and they give us

hams and gifts and turkeys. And we take them because we ain't got none. But then they leave and we never see them again. It kind of makes you wonder if they're doing that because they really care about us or they're doing that to make themselves feel good. He looked me dead in eyes and he said, Coach, what the hell are you really doing here, man? And I'm going to tell you something, that pissed me off. Bad. The truth was, I was waking up early in the morning like four, driving to work, getting my work done. Didn't take a lunch break because I spent my 45 minutes at lunch going to Manassas to make sure the guys were doing what they're supposed to do. Went back to work, then hustle up and got to the practice field at 330.

Practice football from 330 to 530 or 6th at Monassus. Then I would get my car and drive to the suburbs to coach my kids in football because the deal was if I'm going to coach Monassus I'm still going to stay involved with my kids. We were paying for ACT prep classes, pre-game meals, helping kids with clothing. We were there every day, spending our time, our money, and our resources on 18 hours a day, and we did that for seven years. And this kid wants to look at me and ask me

if I'm a turkey person. That's bull, man. I mean, honestly, my thought was, okay, here's the experiment. I've dove in, I've given it my time and my effort, my money, and they still want to see if I'm a turkey person. I'll tell you what I thought, you can't help these people. You can't help these folks. I mean, if everything I'm doing right now, in enough, you can't help these folks.

I wasn't gonna quit during the middle of the season, but I'd pretty much made up my mind that I was doing. Like I said, I coached my kids out in the suburbs, and I would show up to practice at my kids' practice, and they were young, they were in third and fourth grade, and I'll catch a hospital ball, and I'd show up in my menaceous gear, because I didn't have a chance to change from menaceous

practice going out there. And guys were walking up to me and saying, Bill, what's this menaceous stuff you wear? And I'm like, you know, it's, I'm coaching at menaceous, it's like menaceous, they're terrible. This is not an exaggeration. Two weeks after Bobo told me the turkey person story, the commercial pill, which is the daily newspaper in Memphis, not the sports page, the front page. I had a picture, a eight-by-eight picture of me, and the title was Manassas Miracle, because we'd turn around Manassas, me. And so, these practices, people walk it up and say, and Bill, it's amazing what you're doing at the NASIS.

Tell me more. I'd be like, well, I got a MACD prop classes. Wow, Bill, what else are you doing? Well, you know, I got a winning football games. What else? Well, instead of going up and down the cold road, these fall nights on the other school buses, we're riding on charter buses that we're providing.

Man, that's amazing Bill, what else are you doing? Well, I got them doing their homework. What else are you doing? Well, you know, I got them being respectful in classes and the point is anybody, anytime anybody asked me anything about everything that was going on on the analysis, I was happy to tell them everything I was doing and getting backslaps and kind of elevated me among my contemporaries in my neighborhood and in my society. And it felt good. Meanwhile, you may not know why kids in the hood sleep in tubs. And it's because most of the neighborhoods in the hood, most of the homes are old and the tubs are cast iron. And the reason people lay their children and babies down to sleep in the tubs at night is because if there's a drop by shooting, they'll survive the night. Many of these kids didn't know where the next meal was coming from.

Many of these kids were doing homework for the first time in their lives, and their friends were calling them chumps. Many kids were getting called cell outs because of an asses, all the players, all the students are African American and I was white. There's like, this white guy got nothing for you, man. What you doing hanging around with this white coach. And these kids, to be part of one positive thing in their life, fought their own friends,

some of their own cultural differences, started doing things that other people saw them as chumps for doing. They were getting beaten out of gangs to be able to be part of the football team. They were doing all of these things. And starting to the first time in their life be part of anything that had a positive winning thing in any time anybody asked me about Manassas, I was all too happy to tell them everything I was doing. If you serve soup at soup kitchens

or you give away turkeys on Thanksgiving or gifts at Christmas to children who don't have them, it is a beautiful thing. Do not misunderstand the purpose of by sharing this story with you. There's not only nothing wrong with doing those things, there's a great things to do, and I think we're called to do them and should do.

But what's your motive? What's your motive? Are you doing it because it makes you feel good? Are you doing it because people in your family, your friends around you and your business say, oh, it is nice what you're doing. And they're giving you backslaps. Are you doing it because your company has a philanthropy

that everybody gets around and you're just kind of called to do it because it's the right thing to do in your business. And maybe even it helps you when the next promotion talks come up. What's your motive? If you are not motivated to do something for the simple edification and exaltation of another person who is not as blessed as fortunate as you and you're motivated by what it does for you, then you are in fact a turkey person. And what a turkey person is is a fraud. And I can say that to you

because I was one. My son was sitting at the kitchen table and he looked at me, not long after the turkey person story and the menace's miracle article came out and he said, Hey, dad, I know everything you're doing at menaces, but what are your players' names? Out of the mouths of babes and eight year old boy shocked me when he revealed to me that I'd been telling everybody everything I was doing but people didn't even know the kids' names who were actually doing the work. I reversed course immediately. I started giving credit where credit stood. I started stepping back and allowing them to have the the illumination of the success and this crazy thing happened,

that group of kids that weren't buying into the important stuff started buying in, because what they saw was a servant, not a fraud. We need to create an army of normal folks that do things all over our country and their communities and their neighborhoods and say, hey, I have a need, I can help. I know governments are never going to get it right, and I know the fancy people on CNN Fox are just devoidness. But I see a need, I can fill it in my neighborhood

and community. We need an army of normal folks saying, hey, I can help, but we need to be motivated properly, too. Because we can do more damage than good if we go into areas of need and do it for ourselves. We need an army of normal folks, motivated properly, not turkey persons, servants. The searing need and fills those areas and needs for the right reasons, for the right people. And if we did that, we literally can change this country.

And that's a lesson that was taught to me by 17 year old black kid from the hood, my first year at Manassas. Alright y'all, thanks for checking out this bonus episode. I hope you'll consider sharing it with family and friends over the holidays. And if you want to check out or share the video version of this story, go to turkeyperson.com. It's on the homepage. You can also join the Army of Normal folks there and gosh, I hope you will.

Together guys, we can change this country but remember it starts with you. I'm Bill Courtney I'll see you next week. Hello I'm Chelsea Peretti. Do you feel chronic existential dread but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me! My podcast is relaunching! Do you fear wild, dangerous animals to the point where you're constantly watching attack videos and reading articles about wild animal tech survivors or those who succumb to attack? Call in! We can also discuss reality shows and emergency room footage.

Listen to Call Chelsea Paredion, Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. My name is Payne Lindsay. Throughout my career, I've had the chance to travel all over the place, investigating true crimes, researching the unexplained, and I've been able to meet some of the most truly interesting people, and I've decided to sit down with them and pick their brains. We're going to talk about life, death, unsolved crimes, the supernatural. There's something here, truly something going on.

And honestly, just whatever the hell is on our minds. Wait a minute, we should be very happy with you. This is Talking to Death. New episodes of Talking to Death are available now. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Daniel Tosh, host of new podcast called Tosh Show. I'll be interviewing people that I find interesting, so not celebrities.

And certainly not comedians. We'll be covering topics like religion, travel, sports, gambling. But mostly, it will be about being a working mother. If you're looking for a podcast that will educate and inspire, or one that will really make you think? This isn't the one for you. Listen to Toss Show in the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.