Tom sits down with legendary barefoot Broncos kicker Rich Karlis to talk pressure, uprights, unforgettable moments, and the evolution of kicking in the NFL. From the 1986 AFC Championship kick that sent Denver to Pasadena… to the infamous double-doinks… to the strike year… to Super Bowl XXI… to why kicking today is completely different — Karlis takes us inside the mind of a kicker and the wild journey that made him a Denver icon. Let them play before they fly! Introducing Golf DEN at the Denver airport. Delays and layovers never felt so good! And perfect for the holidays for your favorite golf buddy, the new Golf DEN gift card - starting at just $20. Shop now at Golf-DEN.com.
In this episode of The Other Tom Green Show, Tom welcomes former Broncos kicker Rich Karlis, whose pressure-packed kicks, barefoot style, and unforgettable moments made him one of the most unique figures in franchise history. Karlis reflects on the famous 33-yard overtime kick in Cleveland that sent the Broncos to the Super Bowl, the challenges of kicking in the old dog-pound end zone, and why the extra point after “The Drive” felt even bigger. He shares the story behind his iconic upright-hitting stretch in 1984, including how those misses affected him mentally and how he found confidence again one week later. Karlis dives into his unlikely path from walk-on punter to NFL kicker, the open tryout that changed his life, and the intensity of Dan Reeves’ daily kicking competitions. He also discusses Super Bowl XXI, modern kicking mechanics, why today’s specialists are better than ever, and his post-NFL career in business, community work, and woodworking. A full, fascinating conversation with one of the most memorable players in Broncos history.
Let them play before they fly! Introducing Golf DEN at the Denver airport. Delays and layovers never felt so good! And perfect for the holidays for your favorite golf buddy, the new Golf DEN gift card - starting at just $20. Shop now at Golf-DEN.com.
00;00;02;15 - 00;00;26;00
Tom Green
Welcome back. Thanks for joining us for another edition of the other Tom Green Show. And today we're going to talk a lot about pressure and what pressure does to players. There are certain players who become famous and highly pressurized moments who maybe aren't that good. Normally I always think of in golf, Ian Poulter, fine player, but put him in a Ryder Cup and he doesn't miss.
00;00;26;00 - 00;00;45;26
Tom Green
He becomes the greatest putter in the world as he's was able to help the European team defeat the American team several times. I think of T.R. Dunn, the great Denver nugget. He was a defensive lock up guy who rarely shot the ball. But if you wanted a guy on the free throw line at the end of the game, T.R. Dunn might be your choice.
00;00;45;29 - 00;01;06;09
Tom Green
Well, certainly one of the highest highly pressurized positions in all of sports is that of a place kicker. We're going to get to talk about that with one man who has made and missed important kicks. Rich Kalas is our guest coming up in just a couple of minutes. I want to let you know about a new sponsor we've just added to the show.
00;01;06;09 - 00;01;26;22
Tom Green
It's called Golf Den. Well, it's pretty interesting because I like to go to the airport early. Well, if you go early, what do you do? You end up just killing time. Well, now golf ten has put in these golf simulators there on the mezzanine level of the A concourse, a terrific way to spend time as you're waiting to make your trip somewhere.
00;01;26;24 - 00;01;46;28
Tom Green
It's a great opportunity for golfers to get out and get a few swings in, play exotic courses, or just practice while you wait for your flight. It's golf. Then it is on the mezzanine level of the A concourse out at the airport. And of course, another way you can save time, especially during the holidays, is by giving someone you love the gift of golf.
00;01;46;28 - 00;02;02;00
Tom Green
Then you can go online at golf dash den.com and buy a gift card. They start at $20. Check it out. Golf debt.
00;02;02;02 - 00;02;04;11
Speaker 2
About a 32 yard attempt and.
00;02;04;11 - 00;02;08;24
Speaker 3
It's all on their shoulders. And the foot bridge cardless.
00;02;08;26 - 00;02;47;23
Unknown
Of course everyone last week thinking a short field goal was going to take Cleveland out of that game early, Moseley missed what was an easy jump shot. I don't think Carlos is thinking about that right now. This concentration total as he prepares to try and end this game for the Broncos.
00;02;47;26 - 00;02;49;01
Unknown
A game that brought.
00;02;49;01 - 00;02;59;27
Speaker 3
Out greatness on both sides ends on a 33 yard field goal by Rich Carlos. John Elway and the Broncos are headed for Pasadena.
00;03;00;05 - 00;03;07;17
Tom Green
And how about it? Rich Carlos is here with me today. Can you believe that? We're closing in on 40 years ago. That's a long time ago.
00;03;07;19 - 00;03;09;24
Rich Karlis
I hate to think about that.
00;03;09;26 - 00;03;12;11
Tom Green
So everyone else was the kick good?
00;03;12;13 - 00;03;36;21
Rich Karlis
I think that, it was good because the. If the referee underneath that post never hesitated. Right. So either he wanted to get the heck out of there or it was good. I have plenty of friends back in Ohio. That's where it was no good. But what people forget about that stadium? Yeah. At the at the one end where the extra point was the dog pound was right on top of you.
00;03;36;21 - 00;03;37;14
Tom Green
Okay.
00;03;37;16 - 00;03;51;26
Rich Karlis
At the other end, there was probably 50 yards of grass behind that goalpost. And so I think the cameras were so far back that you never really got, you know, today they'd have point cameras under each upright. Right, right, right.
00;03;52;00 - 00;03;53;13
Tom Green
Well you think so. But but the.
00;03;53;14 - 00;03;55;13
Rich Karlis
And they've raised the, the
00;03;55;15 - 00;04;14;17
Tom Green
The post the pace types are higher now. Yeah. That kick you know, put you guys into the Super Bowl and it just the pressure that you face as a place kicker. I heard you say you thought the extra point after the drive to get the game to overtime was, was a more pressurized kick to you?
00;04;14;24 - 00;04;27;08
Rich Karlis
Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was. It was there was more pressure on that one. Yeah. Because it was to tie the game and it was at that dog pound end and they were throwing stuff, you know, they let people bring garbage bags a dog.
00;04;27;08 - 00;04;45;03
Tom Green
But of course they did. How did you handle pressure back then? You were a young man. And you'd been kicking for a few years professionally, but was was did did you feel pressure? I mean, was your heart racing or were you able to find some sort of calm and, and just give it a normal kick?
00;04;45;10 - 00;04;53;13
Rich Karlis
Yeah. I didn't really feel a lot of pressure in that game. I don't know why. I mean, I had 50 tickets to that game and Mr..
00;04;53;13 - 00;04;54;11
Tom Green
Ohio, you grew up in.
00;04;54;11 - 00;05;24;19
Rich Karlis
Ohio, grew up an hour and a half south of there. Right. You know, I just, you know, in that game, the field conditions at the, at the end were the, you know, the, you know, the kick in overtime was it was just painted sand. I mean, so the footing was horrible down there. Yeah. And you can't really see it in that clip, but I was trying to, like, create a smooth spot to kick out of and and end up making a hole.
00;05;24;21 - 00;05;33;23
Rich Karlis
And so I pushed it back and I told them like, you know, let's just go with it. And of course, coop says, hey, after you make this, I'm going to jump up in your arms. I'm like, you're way ahead of me, brother.
00;05;34;00 - 00;05;44;27
Tom Green
Well, it's a great picture that you guys made the cover of Sports Illustrated. I'm sure that's a favorite photo of yours, especially, you know, you and Gary Kubiak, but also what it meant to you and the team.
00;05;44;29 - 00;05;52;16
Rich Karlis
Yeah. And, you know, for for me, I mean, it was a kid that, you know, didn't go out for football terms of senior in high school. Right. And went out on a whim.
00;05;52;21 - 00;05;54;08
Tom Green
Just just as a kicker and a punt.
00;05;54;09 - 00;06;14;26
Rich Karlis
Well, you know, I was I played a little bit of wide receiver and safety, but it it was, it became, very clear that I was way behind starting when I was a senior in high school. Right. So they ended up just having me punt and kick. And, you know, at that time I never played soccer. So I, I had really no idea what I was doing as far as kicking.
00;06;14;26 - 00;06;22;22
Rich Karlis
I like the punt. But I wasn't. Yeah, I was, you know, just figuring it out as far as kicking. And I had a shoe on at that time.
00;06;22;22 - 00;06;25;07
Tom Green
I was going to ask you about that. When did the shoe come off?
00;06;25;07 - 00;06;43;18
Rich Karlis
So, you know, and like, even though Willie won one game my senior in high school, it kind of lit lit the match for me that I'm like, I really like this, and maybe I'll try to go to college. And so I ended up, you know, couldn't go to the D-3 schools because I had been in vocational school.
00;06;43;18 - 00;07;09;18
Rich Karlis
Right. So I had no intention to go go to college. And so all sudden I was playing catch up and, ended up at the University of Cincinnati walking on as a punter. And there was a guy from, it was one of the coaches from up by my area that was a position coach. And so he decided to keep myself and Mark householder, who, was also from that area as punters.
00;07;09;20 - 00;07;18;07
Rich Karlis
And then in spring ball, they're like, hey, we got enough punters, why don't you work on kicking? And I'm like, okay, like, figure this out in a hurry and.
00;07;18;07 - 00;07;19;08
Tom Green
Put the shoes still on.
00;07;19;08 - 00;07;34;28
Rich Karlis
And but I'd seen Tony, this is spring football, okay? My freshman year, and I'd seen Tony Franklin kicking barefoot. And so I just tried it. And when I hit it good, it went really far. And when I didn't, it hurt.
00;07;35;00 - 00;07;44;04
Tom Green
But because I never understood it. And I don't think anybody ever is really said, oh, scientifically, it's this or that or whatever, but it's, you know, you don't see it anymore.
00;07;44;05 - 00;08;06;23
Rich Karlis
No. And shoes, shoes are so much better. Yeah. Right. I mean, the guys, they all wear shoes that are like two sizes too small and fit like the glove and. Right. But, you know, back then they, you know, there really wasn't any kind of customization of. Yeah, of a shoe. And then, you know, in hindsight it it's the thing that, you know, stands out about me with people.
00;08;06;23 - 00;08;07;02
Rich Karlis
Yeah.
00;08;07;04 - 00;08;07;14
Speaker 2
Well, you.
00;08;07;14 - 00;08;09;13
Tom Green
Know, I used to see with you, you wear the moon.
00;08;09;13 - 00;08;10;11
Rich Karlis
But I had a moon boot.
00;08;10;11 - 00;08;11;28
Tom Green
That you'd wear throughout the game.
00;08;11;28 - 00;08;14;00
Rich Karlis
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, when.
00;08;14;00 - 00;08;33;18
Tom Green
You talk about the coach giving you the opportunity, head coaches especially, and sometimes position coaches, the kicker, whatever kick or whatever, punt or whatever kick or whatever. And then you watch games happen and you go, yeah, I probably would like to have a kicker or, you know, I think the New York Giants would probably like to have a place kicker.
00;08;33;18 - 00;08;52;03
Tom Green
I mean, they've had like 3 or 4 guys this year have all been terrible. They've cost some games. And then they had young Waku with that crazy kick on Monday night where he just stuck his foot in the ground, whether he meant to or didn't or whatever. Nobody knows what happened there. But is that how you feel? Do you feel underappreciated until they tap you on the shoulder and go, go win the game?
00;08;52;06 - 00;08;55;00
Rich Karlis
Yeah. I mean, you know, everybody wants your job during the week.
00;08;55;01 - 00;08;55;14
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00;08;55;14 - 00;09;03;13
Rich Karlis
Nobody wants it on Sunday. So I mean because, you know, I mean, I remember them. We, Jim Ryan was our the disaster kicker.
00;09;03;13 - 00;09;05;07
Tom Green
Right, right. And he straight on, he had a.
00;09;05;07 - 00;09;11;11
Rich Karlis
Straight on, you know, and, and, he was like, you better never get hurt.
00;09;11;14 - 00;09;16;05
Tom Green
So I'm old enough to remember when the goal came in the league. And that's that's really.
00;09;16;07 - 00;09;17;05
Rich Karlis
Pete and Charlie, right?
00;09;17;05 - 00;09;35;12
Tom Green
Yeah. Pete and Charlie came into the Redskins and the Giants and Ruud came around and it. But it also became that I kick a touchdown where people thought, who were these odd guys from other countries who are going to kick, you know, and have no other job. It used to be you'd see big guys like Lou Gros and Lou Michaels.
00;09;35;12 - 00;09;49;10
Tom Green
Guys could hammer the football straight on, but also played 75 plays on offense or defense. Did I mean, did you see any of the straight on guys? I know Mark Moseley kicked against you in that game in Cleveland.
00;09;49;10 - 00;09;52;28
Rich Karlis
Yeah, he was pretty much the last of it. He and, I think it was Steve Cox.
00;09;52;28 - 00;09;53;22
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;09;53;24 - 00;10;03;24
Rich Karlis
Who was also a punter for the Redskins. You know, it was interesting when I first came in the league, the most accurate kickers were the straight line guys. Yeah, statistically.
00;10;03;24 - 00;10;06;05
Tom Green
Because their ball would, if go straight, it went.
00;10;06;05 - 00;10;15;16
Rich Karlis
Straight because, you know, all the guys that were, you know, the the European guys that came in, we're all used to kicking a soccer ball and putting a lot of movement on that.
00;10;15;16 - 00;10;16;01
Tom Green
Hooker.
00;10;16;01 - 00;10;26;18
Rich Karlis
Face. But it wasn't, you know, within a couple years, you know, into my career, you know, it was all the all the high percentage guys were all soccer guys. Yeah. Soccer style kickers.
00;10;26;20 - 00;10;29;27
Tom Green
Did. Did you have a kicker you looked up to? Was it just Tony Franklin?
00;10;29;28 - 00;10;53;19
Rich Karlis
I loved John when, when I was a little boy, I remember, you know, seeing him kick in for the Chiefs. Right. And I remember him kicking it into the stands on kickoffs and stuff. So that's was my first impression of it. But, yeah, I mean, you know, you know, we I think we talked a little bit earlier, I think like Gary Anderson and and, more Elam.
00;10;53;21 - 00;11;13;04
Rich Karlis
Yeah. Well, Elam had the prettiest swings, right? The most effortless, you know, pure swings. You know, those are the guys I always, you know, like, man, I wish I could kick it like that, but but I, you know, I never played soccer, so, you know, a totally self-taught. That's before camps and clinics and but.
00;11;13;04 - 00;11;24;04
Tom Green
You must have had some success at it as a young man. Were you and or the coach said, or you kick it a lot better than anyone else we got. I mean, especially at high school and collegiate levels were, you know.
00;11;24;06 - 00;11;25;09
Rich Karlis
Yeah. You know, I mean, like.
00;11;25;09 - 00;11;26;06
Tom Green
It's harder to find.
00;11;26;06 - 00;11;46;18
Rich Karlis
Yeah. My accuracy was, wasn't there yet, but like, I ended up my sophomore and junior year just on kick offs. And you know I, you know I could kick it really, really far. And but it wasn't until my senior year in college that they finally put me on scholarship, told me I was going to have a fifth year and then fired the coaches.
00;11;46;18 - 00;12;00;08
Rich Karlis
And I lost that fifth year. But the, you know, I didn't kick field goals until my senior year. So my resume coming into the pros was senior in high school kicking field goal, senior year in college. Kick off field was that was it.
00;12;00;12 - 00;12;09;07
Tom Green
Did you did you anticipate professional football though at that point where you still thinking I might get drafted, or did you think I have to go find a job somewhere?
00;12;09;10 - 00;12;33;03
Rich Karlis
I, you know, I, I gained confidence that I thought I had a chance and I had some encouragement from the one assistant ad at Cincy, and, you know, I my agent knew Eddie Biles, Houston, because they were at high school together. So he talked Eddie into giving me a shot at Houston in 81. And I kicked against don't refresh.
00;12;33;05 - 00;12;36;25
Rich Karlis
Oh, yo. Good kick. Austrian. You know, soccer legend.
00;12;36;25 - 00;12;37;19
Tom Green
Probably 12.
00;12;37;19 - 00;12;56;11
Rich Karlis
Year. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Because he had played at Dallas. Yeah. Before that and then, you know, I lasted like three weeks there and got cut. But Mike Hollenbeck, the player personnel guy when I was, you know, leaving he's like, hey, don't give this up yet. I think, you know, I think you, you know, you got a shot.
00;12;56;14 - 00;13;12;05
Tom Green
What's the most important thing? You talk about accuracy and distance. But I also know there are some guys who elevate the ball more quickly than others. And boy, you know, with the way teams attack, trying to block kicks, especially late in games, you can't. If you kick it low, it's coming back.
00;13;12;10 - 00;13;17;04
Rich Karlis
Yeah. And that I think that's what Reeves because you know I went through that tryout okay I got.
00;13;17;07 - 00;13;18;18
Tom Green
We'll talk about that. I can't.
00;13;18;20 - 00;13;29;22
Rich Karlis
Believe you. I think Reeves fell in love with the fact that I got the ball up really quick. And in those days, the rules were different as far as you could get. A guy running right? Jumping, you know it.
00;13;29;22 - 00;13;31;20
Tom Green
Also, you could you bury the center still or.
00;13;31;20 - 00;13;32;18
Rich Karlis
Oh yeah, they. Yeah.
00;13;32;18 - 00;13;53;20
Tom Green
Yeah, they buried the center on all those. Yeah. Before they protected them. So when I ask you about the tryout, Jim Turner kicked for a long time here, and then Fred Stein for the left footed kicker came in, and I got the feeling, you know, we talk about especially old school coaches and soccer style kickers. We're like oil and water for a long time.
00;13;53;26 - 00;14;02;22
Tom Green
And I definitely got the feeling that Dan Reeves and Fred Steinfort, or at least Freddy's kicking. He I think it drove Dan mad.
00;14;02;24 - 00;14;12;04
Rich Karlis
Yeah, it must have, right. Because, I mean, he, you know, there was, four kickers trying to take Freddy's job in 82.
00;14;12;06 - 00;14;23;16
Tom Green
And you were among them, but you got there via this, this open tryout of legend. How many guys show up for this? There's hundreds of people who think they can play for the Broncos. So this is in spring or summer.
00;14;23;16 - 00;14;25;22
Rich Karlis
This is May 8th in 1982.
00;14;25;22 - 00;14;26;05
Tom Green
Okay.
00;14;26;12 - 00;14;35;23
Rich Karlis
Out at the old practice facility 58, I sent letters to every team. And then those days they just handwrite your name into a mimeograph sheet and say thanks, but no thanks.
00;14;35;23 - 00;14;36;12
Tom Green
Right.
00;14;36;15 - 00;14;56;23
Rich Karlis
But Denver invited me out. You had to pay your own way. So I showed up and I came out like, I think two days early in week. Week. I went over and kicked over at Mapleton High School just nearby, north of the facility. And then we came over, early at like 8:00 that morning. It was a really nice, beautiful day.
00;14;56;25 - 00;15;15;14
Rich Karlis
And they gave everyone a t shirt. Mine was 192, and there was 476 guys that showed up. Some guys showed up, like in full gear, right? Oh no, it was a it was a circus. And they kept them kickers and punters sitting out until like noon. So we sat around for like.
00;15;15;14 - 00;15;16;22
Tom Green
Four other guys run.
00;15;16;22 - 00;15;36;07
Rich Karlis
And jump, and then they brought us in and they're like, okay, we're behind schedule. Get in groups of five. So there's 75 about 75 kickers, right? Getting groups of five, you get to kick some 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards like okay you know I'm like man you know the doubt that tries to creep in right. Yeah. Like how the heck are they going to you know you know.
00;15;36;09 - 00;15;57;16
Rich Karlis
And I'm like do not. You've worked too hard. You know I train so hard in the winter. I used to sneak in the spinny field where the Bengals old practice facility, the kicker, the highway. Yeah. Under the highway. And and, the chain link was broken, so I'd throw my footballs over. And then after about an hour, someone come out and kick me out, and so.
00;15;57;19 - 00;16;06;06
Rich Karlis
So anyway, I mean, we're on that old, turf field, and there was a big warehouse with a net on the top of the roof.
00;16;06;10 - 00;16;10;06
Tom Green
And they they taped it wasn't even an upright. Right. Wasn't that where they painted the.
00;16;10;07 - 00;16;23;11
Rich Karlis
No, no, they had a real they had a post and everything, but and they had a net on top of the warehouse. And so I was the first guy in the second group, and I was kicking them over the net under the roof. And they're like.
00;16;23;13 - 00;16;24;02
Tom Green
That's different.
00;16;24;02 - 00;16;25;02
Rich Karlis
And why do I need to.
00;16;25;03 - 00;16;26;03
Speaker 2
Look for.
00;16;26;03 - 00;16;44;15
Rich Karlis
And post foot to special teams? Differences, I wonder, I need to what's your name like? Where did you go to school? Like how do we not know about you? Right. And and it's funny to talk to the different, people, you know, like Billy Harp and those guys that were there that day and what their memories and psycho's.
00;16;44;15 - 00;17;04;04
Rich Karlis
Yeah. Memories of that. Right. Because I have my memory of it. And then they tried to sign me right away out of that, and I said, you know, I'm going to wait. And, it took like two weeks. And finally, John Beek agreed to give me a $500 signing bonus. And I'm like, I just want to be able to pay for my airfare, right?
00;17;04;06 - 00;17;04;20
Tom Green
I want to break.
00;17;04;21 - 00;17;06;14
Speaker 2
Even know I did.
00;17;06;16 - 00;17;13;11
Tom Green
What are the other kickers? I mean, were they terrible? Were there? I mean, it's probably all over the board. Were there some people who had no business being there?
00;17;13;11 - 00;17;28;29
Rich Karlis
I just don't remember. I remember like I was so into my own world and then it was like two hours later. Then they go, okay, we want to talk to these five guys and you get two kickoffs. So, you know, I've been sitting around for, thank God it was a nice warm day.
00;17;28;29 - 00;17;29;20
Tom Green
Yeah, yeah.
00;17;29;23 - 00;17;35;03
Rich Karlis
And I hit one really good one. So so and they're like okay we want to talk to 192.
00;17;35;06 - 00;17;35;21
Tom Green
Nice.
00;17;35;27 - 00;17;43;16
Rich Karlis
And so all these guys that you kind of shared the moment with they're going to happy for you. But it's like also like the rest of their dreams done right.
00;17;43;16 - 00;17;45;05
Tom Green
And go get into your Vegas and.
00;17;45;05 - 00;17;45;18
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00;17;45;19 - 00;17;52;27
Tom Green
Get on down the road. Yeah. So but all that did was get you an invitation to the professional competition that followed.
00;17;52;28 - 00;17;55;09
Rich Karlis
Yeah. Which had five of us competing.
00;17;55;09 - 00;17;56;20
Tom Green
That was you, Freddie.
00;17;56;22 - 00;18;08;21
Rich Karlis
You, Freddie. Rex Robinson. Okay. Out of Georgia that had been drafted by the Bengals a year before. Yeah. Allen Duncan from Tennessee, that, been drafted by the Eagles the year before.
00;18;08;21 - 00;18;10;05
Tom Green
Drafted. They drafted kicker.
00;18;10;05 - 00;18;15;19
Rich Karlis
Yeah. And, got a kid out of New Mexico. Skip. I can't remember Skip's last name.
00;18;15;21 - 00;18;19;28
Tom Green
But. But you're now facing real kickers. Oh, yeah. As opposed to the. You know.
00;18;19;29 - 00;18;45;17
Rich Karlis
If you remember, like Reaves. I mean, every day was a competition. Yeah. Every day, every kick was charted game. You know, Marvin best, you know, remember Marv was there with his, you know, his stopwatch and they charted every single kick every single day. And so we our first scrimmage was it with Jack. I think it was still called Jackson or it was called Jackson Field in those days at USC.
00;18;45;17 - 00;18;46;24
Tom Green
USC yeah.
00;18;46;26 - 00;19;07;12
Rich Karlis
And, it was the end of the scrimmage. And Reeves is like, Freddie had pulled a groin or something, so he wasn't kicking. So he's like, oh, you guys, you get three kicks each and I know all three of mine. Rex kicks all three of his into the line of scrimmage, because he never could adjust to going from that two inch block.
00;19;07;13 - 00;19;09;13
Tom Green
The block that used to the ground. College. Yeah.
00;19;09;13 - 00;19;33;09
Rich Karlis
So then he was gone. And then Allen, Duncan and Skip were eventually gone. And we we played our first preseason game in Anaheim against the Rams. And I had a I was like, I had a 40 yarder and hit the heck out of it. And it tailed and missed. And so get it's the end. You know, in those days they didn't cut until Monday morning.
00;19;33;09 - 00;19;35;01
Rich Karlis
So this is like Saturday night.
00;19;35;01 - 00;19;35;18
Tom Green
You got to.
00;19;35;20 - 00;19;48;08
Rich Karlis
You're sitting all day and then they they wait until you're walking out of breakfast. And, Stan Jones was the Turk. And you're thinking of ways like, how can I get out of here.
00;19;48;08 - 00;19;49;07
Speaker 2
Without using.
00;19;49;13 - 00;19;50;17
Tom Green
My wherever Stan is?
00;19;50;17 - 00;19;51;29
Speaker 2
I don't want to say so.
00;19;51;29 - 00;20;06;01
Rich Karlis
I'm almost at the door. And he always called me Rick. He says, hey, Rick. I'm like, So I went crazy. Hey, kid, you doing great. Don't worry. But, you know. So I went back, I got on the payphone, called my parents. I'm like, if you want to see me kick, you better.
00;20;06;04 - 00;20;07;18
Speaker 2
Get out of.
00;20;07;21 - 00;20;08;27
Tom Green
The clock is ticking on.
00;20;08;27 - 00;20;09;29
Speaker 2
Me.
00;20;10;02 - 00;20;30;15
Tom Green
But, you ended up out kicking. You get the job. But 82 people you know may not remember or may not have been born yet. Unlike you and me, was the incredibly funky start stop season. And the Broncos weren't good. And, this was the year before Elway. And this was also the year with the strike.
00;20;30;16 - 00;20;32;03
Rich Karlis
And it was Reeves second year.
00;20;32;07 - 00;20;32;21
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;20;32;21 - 00;20;49;00
Rich Karlis
And we played two games. I have a short field goal to beat the 40 niners and make that, and then we go on strike for eight weeks and I'm like, are you kidding me? I mean, finally I get in the league.
00;20;49;00 - 00;20;50;14
Tom Green
Probably didn't have a big contract.
00;20;50;14 - 00;21;00;26
Rich Karlis
But you know what? It was like 25 grand and I may have had 5000 in the bank. Yeah, which was pretty good in those days. But I don't know if I can live the whole year on it.
00;21;01;02 - 00;21;07;28
Tom Green
But then you're on strike. You're not getting paid nothing. And you're wondering, what what is this professional life really like? Is this what it is?
00;21;08;05 - 00;21;12;09
Rich Karlis
And I you know, I play I'm playing pickup basketball at IAC.
00;21;12;10 - 00;21;12;19
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;21;12;26 - 00;21;27;17
Rich Karlis
Over off 225 and Parker come down on someone's foot. Twist my ankle real bad like bad bad. And you know we can't go into the training room because we're locked out, right? So my roommate was Larry Elliott's son.
00;21;27;20 - 00;21;28;14
Tom Green
Who was.
00;21;28;17 - 00;21;44;00
Rich Karlis
Who they brought it in like Larry gave him, but just the assistant job, you know, for the year. And so Tim and I lived together. So Tim was smuggling stuff home from Greek and doing my physical therapy. And in the apartment.
00;21;44;02 - 00;22;11;04
Tom Green
You know what I remember about the strike? More than anything? You talk about playing basketball at the athletic club. We'd go out there and, you know, interview you guys every now and then. And, you know, what do you think? What's going to happen to this, that and the other thing I remember watching Steve DeBerg play basketball and not really in the game, but in warmups or just jacking around, he would take a basketball and throw it exactly like a screen pass and he swish, swish.
00;22;11;09 - 00;22;21;07
Tom Green
I mean, he had a great arm talent, but to watch him with the basketball, it was a screen pass to him to get that nice high arc three pointers. He just flip them in like he was throwing it out to Gerald Wilhite or something.
00;22;21;07 - 00;22;40;13
Rich Karlis
Yeah, he he was such a great athlete in general. I think he was a pole vaulter and stuff. And I mean, he was just a great athlete. And and for me, my rookie year, he was my holder. Yeah. So for the most part he was great. But he loved to screw around and practice. Yes. And you know Reaves would stand after practice Steve.
00;22;40;13 - 00;22;50;17
Rich Karlis
Yeah. Well to Steve would or Reaves would stand behind me in practice and Burgi would love the turn and give me the laces.
00;22;50;19 - 00;22;51;01
Tom Green
Oh, I.
00;22;51;03 - 00;22;56;26
Rich Karlis
Just he thought that was so funny because he knew I couldn't do it. And I'm like, oh, this is going to hurt Ray.
00;22;56;29 - 00;22;59;23
Tom Green
Ray Pinkel wouldn't.
00;22;59;25 - 00;23;03;21
Tom Green
Is he the greatest kicker of all time? Is he the most famous kicker of all time? Ray.
00;23;03;28 - 00;23;04;13
Rich Karlis
Ray think.
00;23;04;20 - 00;23;06;10
Speaker 2
From from pet.
00;23;06;10 - 00;23;26;21
Tom Green
Detective. So let's go through this chronologically. So 82 evolves. You are now the Broncos place kicker. You're going to 83. You've got the job. In theory. And John Elway shows up and everything about the Broncos changes. You suddenly have a spotlight on your team, the likes of which the Broncos hadn't seen since the Orange Crush.
00;23;26;26 - 00;23;28;10
Rich Karlis
Well, you had two newspapers.
00;23;28;10 - 00;23;30;15
Tom Green
Yeah. Oh yeah. And, well, National.
00;23;30;17 - 00;23;51;24
Rich Karlis
They had made. Yeah. And then it, John had signed that $5 million contract with $1 million signing bonus behind it. Right. And I mean it, you know, it was. And even the locker room, I think we're going to, you know, like you guys were like this guy, you know, making a ton of money. And, you know, Burgi, everyone loved.
00;23;51;24 - 00;23;53;12
Tom Green
Burgi. And it was a veteran team.
00;23;53;19 - 00;24;03;10
Rich Karlis
It was a very oh yeah. Yeah, I feel better. Oh yeah. I mean, you think about how many guys were in their eighth, 10th, 12th year and had only been Broncos.
00;24;03;12 - 00;24;03;25
Tom Green
A lot of.
00;24;03;25 - 00;24;17;03
Rich Karlis
Them. Yeah, their whole career. Right. And but you know, all sudden like training camp was just a circus. And the pressure on him was just, you know, enormous, right?
00;24;17;03 - 00;24;17;29
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;24;18;02 - 00;24;20;18
Rich Karlis
And anyway, they had also drafted Koob.
00;24;20;21 - 00;24;21;02
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;24;21;06 - 00;24;23;17
Rich Karlis
And I think the eighth round, if I'm not mistaken.
00;24;23;17 - 00;24;25;21
Tom Green
Mecklenburg arrived back.
00;24;25;21 - 00;24;26;18
Rich Karlis
In the third.
00;24;26;21 - 00;24;27;05
Tom Green
12th around.
00;24;27;06 - 00;24;27;20
Rich Karlis
12th round.
00;24;27;21 - 00;24;29;15
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00;24;29;18 - 00;24;42;29
Rich Karlis
Yeah. So all sudden suddenly, you know, it was, you know, I mean, 83 was still, you know, I had a pretty good year, right? But, you know, John was in and out, you know, and.
00;24;43;01 - 00;24;43;28
Speaker 2
It took a while to get.
00;24;43;28 - 00;24;45;28
Tom Green
The job and then stay healthy, you know?
00;24;45;28 - 00;25;12;05
Rich Karlis
And then Reeves would put him in. He wouldn't play very well. And so, you know, it was, you know, and I think we made I think we made the playoffs that year maybe I think so I remember and, but yeah, I mean, it was it was definitely 83 was a really interesting year. And, you know, I, I'd been at the nuggets game that the night and ran into Reeves and he was leaving.
00;25;12;05 - 00;25;17;17
Rich Karlis
He said, hey, what make sure you watch the news tonight. And that's when they broke that they had, you know, traded for John.
00;25;17;17 - 00;25;35;09
Tom Green
Yeah. And they waited on that press conference because of the nugget game. They wanted all the media to be able to come over. And so was it like a nine, 930, 10:00 press conference when they made the trade? So I want to go to 1984, which may not be some of your favorite memories, but the end of that year was unbelievable.
00;25;35;11 - 00;25;51;20
Tom Green
Let's take a look. Late season pressure pack games three in a row, three weeks in a row. Rich Karlis had this happen to.
00;25;51;22 - 00;25;57;05
Speaker 2
Chris Coleman well put it down.
00;25;57;08 - 00;26;01;02
Unknown
And he missed.
00;26;01;04 - 00;26;15;14
Unknown
Rich Karl was not able to hit the ball from 26 yards away. And the Denver Broncos trailed by three with 35 seconds remaining.
00;26;15;16 - 00;26;24;12
Speaker 2
And the Seahawks will take over at local and lonely for.
00;26;24;14 - 00;26;31;27
Unknown
Everybody is on their feet there I am.
00;26;31;29 - 00;26;49;00
Unknown
Hits the road for.
00;26;49;03 - 00;27;09;02
Unknown
This for the lead a 28 yard attempt.
00;27;09;04 - 00;27;18;16
Unknown
To play for a three today Chris Thomas.
00;27;18;19 - 00;27;20;20
Unknown
00;27;20;22 - 00;27;30;03
Tom Green
There'd been nothing like that. And I'd never seen you hit both uprights two weeks in a row, and then you're asked to do it again. You guys played so many close games.
00;27;30;03 - 00;27;32;16
Rich Karlis
Oh, it was crazy.
00;27;32;16 - 00;27;47;15
Tom Green
Which he came through and hit that one. And you guys were on your way of is a really good football team that I was talking with John Elway about it with Bo Nix in his second year and the winning streak. You guys at one point I think it won ten in a row. And this year's Broncos have done it too.
00;27;47;15 - 00;27;54;26
Tom Green
But the uprights that that became your signature sadly didn't it? I mean, people thought of you as the guy who could hit any upright.
00;27;54;26 - 00;28;02;15
Rich Karlis
Yeah. I mean, Steve Alvarez from channel four came out and said, I bet I'll give you ten tries in practice. I hit it on the first.
00;28;02;18 - 00;28;15;24
Tom Green
Well, there's the great Drew Litton cartoon. Drew is a terrific go sports cartoonist in Denver, and he had this famous cartoon of nothing but uprights. Did you ever did you find that funny immediately, or did it take a while before that felt funny?
00;28;16;01 - 00;28;23;04
Rich Karlis
I opened the paper that day. The Rocky Mountain News, right? And I'm like, he is. So in my head.
00;28;23;06 - 00;28;25;08
Speaker 2
Just like those posts.
00;28;25;10 - 00;28;38;15
Tom Green
Well, it's funny because your relationship with the posts, you know, you hit those 2 in 84. And then of course, the one we saw at the beginning and one in Cleveland where that that post may or may not have been your friend by kicking it up over it seemed to help.
00;28;38;17 - 00;28;43;24
Rich Karlis
So yeah, I'm always impressed with the guys that can bank it off of them and even still go in.
00;28;43;24 - 00;28;49;08
Tom Green
The double doink and all that. Everyone doing. But you were the king of the Doink for a while there.
00;28;49;10 - 00;28;57;05
Rich Karlis
I did not sleep. I've replayed that kick over and over and over. I did not sleep. I mean, you know, it was a short kick.
00;28;57;08 - 00;28;57;28
Tom Green
The first one.
00;28;57;28 - 00;29;21;10
Rich Karlis
Yeah, and I mean five yards. So total confidence I wasn't there was no doubt in my mind. And then that's the second one in Kansas City wins a win. So you could see a pretty strong right to left. And I thought I played it far enough out. But the interesting part about that is I'm in the shower after that game trying to basically trying to drown myself in the shower.
00;29;21;12 - 00;29;28;15
Rich Karlis
And John, because someone pulled me out of the shower and I come out and Lamar hunts with him. Oh, and Lamar Hunt.
00;29;28;15 - 00;29;29;12
Tom Green
Owner of the Chiefs.
00;29;29;12 - 00;29;32;27
Rich Karlis
He's like, hey, kid, you know, hang in there. I mean, owner of the other.
00;29;32;27 - 00;29;36;07
Tom Green
Team felt bad for you. He did well, he knew was your second doing.
00;29;36;12 - 00;29;36;24
Speaker 2
And in.
00;29;36;26 - 00;29;51;06
Tom Green
Seven days it was tough. But you never lost confidence. I mean, you said it was in your head, but obviously you had to short kick to win that third straight week. You planted that one down the middle and you obviously kick for years to come still.
00;29;51;09 - 00;30;11;13
Rich Karlis
Yeah. But it you know it. It's interesting how you know when you're like in a sport right. You you get in the zone and you're not really there's no doubt in your mind there's, you have so much more confidence. Right. And then you have that one mistake and it kind of can rattle you, you know. And I mean, you see it like in golf.
00;30;11;13 - 00;30;28;09
Rich Karlis
You see it. I mean, I remember, the kid Vander jacket. Indy. Right. Who was the car I believe. Yeah. The idiot kicker. Right. And and how that shook his confidence. You think about, you know, I mean, even Gary, you know, Anderson, we talked about earlier with,
00;30;28;11 - 00;30;29;11
Tom Green
That one famous.
00;30;29;12 - 00;30;39;14
Rich Karlis
Miss had not missed for a whole year. Right? So as long as you're cruising along, it's fine. But, you know, it's just that, like. Like, I'm like, I can't believe that happened.
00;30;39;16 - 00;30;56;02
Tom Green
You, we have talked in the past about the shortest field goal, miss, in a Super Bowl, that that game was a funny game in so many ways that the year you played the Giants. Giants were a great team. I thought they were going to win the game. I thought they were, you know, the better team going in.
00;30;56;04 - 00;31;13;09
Tom Green
But you guys in the first half were right there. But for a couple of plays, including one I think many people thought brought about instant replay pass to Clarence K. Yep. But do you also struggle kicking that, kicking the football you had the it was at the time the shortest miss in Super Bowl history.
00;31;13;09 - 00;31;22;01
Rich Karlis
And that was on the heels of, tying your own standards record in the first quarter with the 48 yarder that tied his Super Bowl record.
00;31;22;01 - 00;31;22;28
Tom Green
For the longest. For the.
00;31;22;28 - 00;31;42;07
Rich Karlis
Longest. Yeah. Right. So but I never felt I that game. I, you know, I felt anxious in that game for some reason. I don't know why it's a super. And you know, I really wanted to go out to the Rose Bowl and, and kick, you know, a couple days before. And, you know, they wouldn't let you do that.
00;31;42;08 - 00;31;59;24
Rich Karlis
Right. And, you know, they, they painted the heck out of that field. Yeah. But nonetheless, I mean, we, you know, I get in that game and, you know, I should have had nothing but confidence after making that 48 yarder. And yet I you know, I just I wasn't I don't know I just wasn't settled.
00;31;59;29 - 00;32;00;13
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;32;00;13 - 00;32;05;20
Rich Karlis
And I missed I missed that short one. And and Mike once again I'm like I can't believe I can miss that.
00;32;05;23 - 00;32;07;14
Tom Green
Your record fell though.
00;32;07;17 - 00;32;16;01
Rich Karlis
It did. You know against when the, the 49 ers coach for Mike coffer missed a 19 yarder.
00;32;16;07 - 00;32;19;23
Speaker 2
And I was like, yes.
00;32;19;25 - 00;32;20;20
Speaker 2
Thank you very.
00;32;20;20 - 00;32;21;04
Tom Green
Much for.
00;32;21;04 - 00;32;21;13
Speaker 2
That.
00;32;21;13 - 00;32;23;02
Rich Karlis
The eraser get my.
00;32;23;02 - 00;32;24;15
Speaker 2
Name out there.
00;32;24;17 - 00;32;32;04
Tom Green
How did it end for you in Denver? You were you seem like you had the job and the job was yours. Was it strictly business that saw you leave?
00;32;32;06 - 00;32;52;22
Rich Karlis
Yeah. It was. I think it was mostly business. And then I get, you know, I held out in 89 over some contract stuff, and I'd always, you know, signed one year contracts right before camp, and and it it got messy. And I think, you know, I did not have a great year in 88. You know, we didn't play well as a team and I didn't play well.
00;32;52;24 - 00;33;12;21
Rich Karlis
And I held out which in hindsight, the biggest mistake I made, I should've just signed and gone in. Right. Because it's easy to fall in love with someone if they're there. Yeah. So I think they fell in love with with Treadwell, David Treadwell, because I wasn't there. Right. So they didn't, you know, it wasn't he and I kicking head to head.
00;33;12;23 - 00;33;14;05
Rich Karlis
And, you know, maybe you could see the.
00;33;14;05 - 00;33;16;08
Tom Green
Difference or have a better day and. Well, yeah, I day.
00;33;16;08 - 00;33;23;05
Rich Karlis
So yeah. So it was a big regret of mine was I should have just gone in and competed and let the chips fall and make them cut me.
00;33;23;08 - 00;33;25;06
Speaker 2
Right, right.
00;33;25;08 - 00;33;41;12
Rich Karlis
Yeah. So that was, that was it was tough. And I was I was back at it when Cincinnati when they cut me. And I just felt crushed because I felt like I put so much into Denver. Yeah. And you know, just, you know, you know, that's how you always feel, right? When you get fired.
00;33;41;13 - 00;33;49;22
Tom Green
Right? But you go to Minnesota and you ended up having a terrific year, including a day that tied what was then the NFL record for most field goals in a game.
00;33;49;22 - 00;34;06;11
Rich Karlis
Yeah, tied Jim Buchan's record from 1967. He was seven for nine in that game. I end up my seventh kick in that game was it was against the Rams at seventh was to put it into overtime. Right. So I'm thinking I'm going to get an eighth right.
00;34;06;13 - 00;34;07;19
Tom Green
Yeah we're going to win it.
00;34;07;19 - 00;34;10;10
Rich Karlis
And Mike Meriweather blocked a punt for a safety.
00;34;10;10 - 00;34;12;18
Speaker 2
And we won the safety.
00;34;12;21 - 00;34;15;05
Tom Green
That was nice that that record fell right. Rob Baron has had it.
00;34;15;11 - 00;34;33;16
Rich Karlis
Yeah it lasted a while. He got tied once or twice after that. But he you know he broke it. But Colonel Buehler, who was our PR guy at the Vikings, comes to me one day and he says, hey, the Hall of Fame wants something from you, you know, and I'm he's like, I don't know what we could give him because, you know, how about a.
00;34;33;16 - 00;34;34;25
Tom Green
Cutting board.
00;34;34;27 - 00;34;35;24
Speaker 2
To cut you?
00;34;35;27 - 00;34;43;04
Rich Karlis
And he, so they end up making a plaster cast of my foot. Oh. And, we sent it. And so it was on display. And so.
00;34;43;05 - 00;34;45;16
Tom Green
Have you been there to canton? You're in Ohio, guy.
00;34;45;17 - 00;34;59;07
Rich Karlis
Yeah, yeah, we went for graduations. Yeah. Deal. And we actually made a family reunion out of it. So we went over there and I said to one of the workers there, Mike, a, a long time ago, this happened. And he's like, come with me.
00;34;59;07 - 00;35;00;03
Tom Green
Give me five minutes.
00;35;00;03 - 00;35;14;25
Rich Karlis
He took me down to the basement like they typed in like, oh yeah, we have it. You want to see it? And like, I'd like my family to see it. Yeah. So, they bring it out and they also had the football from the Super Bowl when I kicked the 48 yarder, which I didn't know they had.
00;35;14;26 - 00;35;15;12
Speaker 2
Oh, nice.
00;35;15;19 - 00;35;20;23
Rich Karlis
And, but he handed me a pair of white like gloves. Oh, yeah. The whole, you know, I had to.
00;35;20;29 - 00;35;24;11
Speaker 2
Hold your own foot and the football.
00;35;24;13 - 00;35;36;03
Tom Green
Puts a foot in football. You end up, you know, your career after that kind of wanders to an end. But it's funny because even though you, left angry or left hurt.
00;35;36;08 - 00;35;36;14
Speaker 2
Left.
00;35;36;14 - 00;35;54;11
Tom Green
Yeah. Left incomplete as a Bronco, you're clearly a Bronco. I mean, you remember. So finally here. And part of that was your off field work, a family tree, and so many of the other operations that you let your name too, and let your time to, add, seemed to come as naturally to you as almost anyone I've seen.
00;35;54;13 - 00;36;16;10
Rich Karlis
Yeah. And you know, some of that, you know, the best advice, probably, that I'd gotten from my attorney at that time was, look, have a good time, enjoy yourself. And but find something that's meaningful to you. And you have the Bronco brand behind you and go make an impact. He was always big on like make an impact in your community.
00;36;16;13 - 00;36;17;06
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;36;17;09 - 00;36;37;13
Rich Karlis
And you know the folks from Family Tree came and met with me. And because I didn't really know what that was, I volunteered at Children's Hospital on Fridays and hung out and had a blast. And, but it it it it Ralph really encouraged me. He was the kicker for the Chargers. Sure. Great and real active in the community.
00;36;37;13 - 00;36;58;05
Rich Karlis
He's like and I seen him doing this program in San Diego called kicks for critters because you know he was really involved with the zoo there. And so it kind of you know, I'm like, I had to be able to do this for people. And, and and there was a personal story behind that. You know, I had a sister that went through domestic violence.
00;36;58;08 - 00;37;18;27
Rich Karlis
And so when I got introduced to Family Tree, I'm like, okay, I can put my heart and soul into this. And we started points for people very organically. And you got a lot of help from the media. You know, the a lot of the corporate folks said, you know, we believe in that. And, you know, I think I spoke to every service group.
00;37;18;27 - 00;37;30;22
Rich Karlis
Yeah, in the metro area over those years. And, and that, you know, lasted 20 years, you know, well beyond my career. We did golf, we did roasts, we did all kinds of fun stuff.
00;37;30;22 - 00;37;35;14
Tom Green
And you said yes a lot. You you were famous for being a guy who would say yes. I mean, that's.
00;37;35;16 - 00;37;38;21
Rich Karlis
To this day, I mean, I, you know, I still, you know, I serve on the.
00;37;38;21 - 00;37;40;19
Tom Green
I asked you to come here. You said you.
00;37;40;22 - 00;37;42;13
Rich Karlis
Can't say no to you.
00;37;42;16 - 00;38;02;07
Tom Green
Hey. But also the professional side of you post football was an interesting one. And working with quest and what's now Centurylink. But you had a lot to do with their relationship with many different sports entities, including that giant stadium they built in Seattle. And I know you, you know, it wasn't your name. You were you were hands on.
00;38;02;07 - 00;38;02;28
Tom Green
You were involved.
00;38;03;01 - 00;38;28;19
Rich Karlis
Yeah, I mean, it it oh. When notable it took over after the dark days of Joe Nacchio. He wanted to get back involved in the community, but he, you know, quest was really financially struggling and, you know, so, you know, but he, he my first deal was in, in Omaha with the, the convention center and arena there.
00;38;28;22 - 00;38;52;26
Rich Karlis
So we we did that in 83 or night or 2003, and then 2004. Todd like, wicked comes out and and Dick says, hey, we'll be polite. We're not buying and naming NFL naming rights deal. I'm like, that's fine. But I said, you're going to get a really good pitch from Todd. And hour and a half later, we walk up and Dick's like, we got to do that deal, you know?
00;38;52;26 - 00;39;22;21
Rich Karlis
And so we did the naming rights in 2004, which what then was Quest Field then became? We did it again to make Center Link Field. And then, you know, I left corporate by then and they renamed it Lumen Field. And but yeah, I really that that experience of taking my sports background, my business background and, and doing, you know, NBA deals, MLB deals, you know, NHL deals, Olympic deals.
00;39;22;21 - 00;39;26;05
Rich Karlis
Yeah. You know, had a great run for 20 years there.
00;39;26;11 - 00;39;54;00
Tom Green
So it's funny because now you have this very interesting home product you're working on and you've done, this for at least a couple of years now where you take some of your passion for woodworking and you're making, among other things, cutting boards and all these things. And it's it's pretty interesting when you think of your, the career, well, the careers you've had, but this one seems to be really passion based, like, you like getting your hands on the wood.
00;39;54;06 - 00;40;14;08
Rich Karlis
And unlike the solitude of it. Right. And, you know, I've got a really nice shop and you know, like in 2020, I built I just originally just wanted to build like, a nice farm table for the house and. Yeah. And then I'm like, I've never had an office where all the furniture match. So I made a, you know, a desk and lateral file and stuff.
00;40;14;11 - 00;40;15;23
Tom Green
You already had some of this skill.
00;40;15;24 - 00;40;39;28
Rich Karlis
Yeah. I grew up in my dad's business, so we did a little bit of everything. Yeah, we did, you know, you know, I did gym floors, you know, sanded and repainted and refinished gym floors and, so I was always I wasn't afraid of tools. I was pretty handy, but I had never done anything. Is, you know, from a craftsman standpoint of, you know, the woodwork finer.
00;40;40;00 - 00;40;40;09
Rich Karlis
Right?
00;40;40;09 - 00;40;41;04
Tom Green
Like, yeah.
00;40;41;05 - 00;40;57;17
Rich Karlis
You know, where things have to be perfect. Yeah. And so my, my niece had asked me to do, a lazy Susan for her. And I'm like, I don't know, show me a picture. And because I, you know, I've always been very visual. So if I see it, I can build it. And she's like, you had to do a website.
00;40;57;17 - 00;41;05;23
Rich Karlis
And I'm like, oh, look at do a website. I'm like, what am I going to call it? And Richard, I was going to call it Barefoot Woodworking, but some guy in Indiana had the name.
00;41;05;24 - 00;41;07;23
Speaker 2
Really. I'm like, crap.
00;41;07;23 - 00;41;22;09
Rich Karlis
And so then I researched Barefoot Broncho woodworking and that cleared and I was able to trademark it and, and just use my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. And, you know, over the last five years it's been crazy. I mean, so if.
00;41;22;09 - 00;41;24;24
Tom Green
Someone wants a piece where where do they find.
00;41;24;24 - 00;41;27;01
Rich Karlis
They go to barefoot broncho woodworking.com.
00;41;27;01 - 00;41;48;21
Tom Green
And you're there and they can order online and stuff like that. I want to talk to you about present day football, the Broncos, but also kicking because right now I think kicking is so much a bigger part of the game than it's ever been. Obviously, guys can now make or asked to and will make 60 yard field goals minimum.
00;41;48;21 - 00;42;06;04
Tom Green
And they're guys now stretching that back. We're going to see Aubry kick a 70 yarder at some point. Things like that. And the kickoff rules make it. So the kicker has to have some sort of directional touch too. But let's talk about the field goal. What's changed? Why is it so much, let's say easier now.
00;42;06;06 - 00;42;15;16
Rich Karlis
Yeah I mean we would punt from 35 because Reaves would play coffin corner with you know so that was you know I have a question skill.
00;42;15;16 - 00;42;23;12
Tom Green
I'm trying to remember the rules. If you missed a 40 yarder did they get the ball at the 20. No. They had already moved that they spotted the kick.
00;42;23;12 - 00;42;35;12
Rich Karlis
Yeah okay. But a couple things I heard Belichick talk at length about the dedicated long snapper. Because I would get Keith Bishop for like ten minutes a day and then he'd.
00;42;35;12 - 00;42;36;27
Tom Green
Go but he was a terrific snapper.
00;42;36;27 - 00;42;44;16
Rich Karlis
He was really good. Yeah. But you know it didn't get a lot of time with him. Right. And you know Kubiak
00;42;44;19 - 00;42;46;07
Tom Green
Was we saw Chris, Norm and also.
00;42;46;07 - 00;43;15;06
Rich Karlis
Chris Norman, you know, held but I think the, full time, long snapper then the the fact they let they give every team like 60 balls now that they can use in practice. Right. And break those in huge difference. A kick in, a broken in ball versus one out of the box. Right. And just the overall evolution, like, look, we were better than, you know, kickers in the guys before us.
00;43;15;06 - 00;43;17;06
Rich Karlis
And you know, so the evolution.
00;43;17;06 - 00;43;19;20
Tom Green
Of the athlete as well as the science and technique.
00;43;19;21 - 00;43;39;24
Rich Karlis
And and the the sheer focus that like that's what I want to do and putting all that effort in and now there's, there's all kinds of, you know, camps, clinics, you know, academies, you know, so just that, you know, like any other position, I mean, it just continues to evolve. And who guys are really good.
00;43;39;25 - 00;43;44;02
Tom Green
Who's the best kicker you saw in your career?
00;43;44;05 - 00;43;47;05
Rich Karlis
During my playing days, I would say it was Gary Anderson.
00;43;47;05 - 00;43;48;09
Tom Green
Yeah. And he certainly.
00;43;48;09 - 00;43;54;17
Rich Karlis
Was. I mean, Morton was right there, but I think Gary I think Gary was Gary was really, really good.
00;43;54;24 - 00;43;59;11
Tom Green
And and who who's the best now. Do you do you watch obviously you watch kickers but.
00;43;59;12 - 00;44;05;17
Rich Karlis
It's hard to keep I mean there's so many good ones. I mean Tucker was you know and I know he's not playing right now.
00;44;05;17 - 00;44;07;28
Tom Green
But kid in Dallas seems to be a kid in.
00;44;07;28 - 00;44;13;25
Rich Karlis
Dallas is a freak, right? I mean, he he doesn't even have much of a background, right. You know, just kind.
00;44;13;25 - 00;44;14;22
Tom Green
Of appeared.
00;44;14;25 - 00;44;30;19
Rich Karlis
Obviously. Will Lutz is is money power, right? Yeah. And Sean recognize that early on, McMahon is, you know, Denver has been really spoiled. They've had a lot of good kickers. I mean, Prater, McMahon is Elam. I mean, there's been a lot of good kickers come through here.
00;44;30;23 - 00;44;50;05
Tom Green
And I'm sure kickers want to kick here. Sure. You know, obviously. But I also think, you know, it's the matchup sometimes coaches are more respectful of kickers. Now this year's team you mentioned Will Lutz he's come through it's got to be exciting for you. You've been a great. And the Broncos I think have a great Bronco alumni.
00;44;50;05 - 00;45;06;05
Tom Green
And we see yeah we see it every year. But it's a lot more fun when you're ten and two than when you're struggling along and don't have a quarterback and things like that. But I mean, I know you guys pull hard for the team. It's a lot more fun being a Bronco alum in Good Year.
00;45;06;05 - 00;45;36;06
Rich Karlis
Yeah yeah. And it myths face it there was that drought. Yeah that was really tough. And you know having having new ownership you know that's you know very very focused and has the, the wherewithal to, to make those investments, you know, I mean, Kerry Penner, he's been fantastic with us as alumni. He's involved us in their matching program so that, you know, show match up to 2500 a year in donations to nonprofits.
00;45;36;08 - 00;45;57;15
Rich Karlis
Which to me is always it's super important to me, right. But, you know, they, you know, you know, the ownership, and the, you know, in the team is, is very grounded. And, you know, let's face it, I mean, they're they figured out how to win, like, really close games that, you know, there's it's a flip of a coin, right.
00;45;57;15 - 00;45;58;22
Rich Karlis
It could easily go the other way.
00;45;58;22 - 00;46;17;21
Tom Green
It's a little it does remind me of 84 in that Reeves Elway thing where I mean, the game tends to come down to the last few minutes and a play. And if you make the plays, you're going to win. And 84 that team did it with with Dan and John. And this team seems to be doing it as well with Bo and Sean Payton.
00;46;17;24 - 00;46;23;28
Rich Karlis
Yeah I mean it's they've been very, very fortunate. But they've they've been opportunistic too.
00;46;23;29 - 00;46;29;09
Tom Green
When you guys get together as alumni, how much better are you then than you were back then. Oh yeah. The stories.
00;46;29;10 - 00;46;32;07
Rich Karlis
My had, I didn't miss any kicks.
00;46;32;09 - 00;46;34;04
Speaker 2
Really.
00;46;34;07 - 00;46;35;16
Rich Karlis
Where do you come up again?
00;46;35;21 - 00;46;36;25
Speaker 2
You know, but.
00;46;37;01 - 00;46;55;21
Tom Green
Because so many guys, I, I've noticed that. And I'm sure everyone notices the change is when I got here, you and I got here about the same time, 1982. And the guys who were Broncos had been Broncos and were going to be Broncos. And, you know, there was turnover, but it was very on the edges of the roster.
00;46;55;23 - 00;47;12;13
Tom Green
And nowadays guys spent 3 or 4 years here in 3 or 4 years there and five years somewhere else. And you know, for the most part and so I wonder about that alumni glue and how many people actually live here forever. You know, you go back, you know, New Haven, Moses and all these guys who played in the 70s, they're still here.
00;47;12;13 - 00;47;17;01
Rich Karlis
Yeah. And I think, you know, you think about Peyton Manning choosing to stay.
00;47;17;01 - 00;47;18;00
Tom Green
That Italy.
00;47;18;01 - 00;47;41;13
Rich Karlis
Played for a few years. Right. But he's he's made his home here and. Yeah. You know, there's always that transition period with, with guys when they leave the game. I mean you've you feel hurt. You're angry. Right. And usually 3 or 5 years before guys you warm up and come run. But also like you said, guys, you know, careers may span several teams now.
00;47;41;13 - 00;47;53;01
Rich Karlis
Yeah. So it's like who who do you identify with? I mean do I identify with the Broncos, the Vikings or the Lions. Well I, I you know I relate to the Broncos the best.
00;47;53;01 - 00;47;54;09
Tom Green
They're all seven I was.
00;47;54;11 - 00;48;18;09
Rich Karlis
Seven years right. But I mean I mean I think that you know different you know it's like we're you know and I think that's the challenge they have with, you know, getting guys back and more active is like who who is that? Do they identify with. And, you know, will they come back? And, you know, we had we had a record of guys come back for alumni weekend this year.
00;48;18;09 - 00;48;38;29
Rich Karlis
I think it was like 172 guys or something. Yeah, it was a big one. It was huge. Right. And obviously it was the Super Bowl 50 team and all that. But still you're seeing guys starting to believe in the ownership and the society and the the events they put on our first class events. And guys want that association again.
00;48;39;01 - 00;48;43;22
Tom Green
Do you like this year's team? I do, I mean they do they obviously your.
00;48;43;22 - 00;48;44;23
Rich Karlis
Head scratchers right.
00;48;44;23 - 00;48;45;10
Tom Green
Because yeah.
00;48;45;12 - 00;48;45;25
Rich Karlis
It's like.
00;48;45;29 - 00;48;46;21
Speaker 2
You know.
00;48;46;24 - 00;48;51;21
Rich Karlis
And like you know you don't I guess it's keeping people engaged till the very.
00;48;51;21 - 00;48;55;15
Speaker 2
End. It's a thrill.
00;48;55;17 - 00;49;10;06
Rich Karlis
But I think over time you gain that confidence. Now, you'd like to see them, you know, when they're playing teams that aren't as good, you'd like to see them blow them out, and you're not seeing that. So, you know you know.
00;49;10;06 - 00;49;20;09
Tom Green
Let's try that. Maybe try that against the Raiders. This might be a good weekend to try one of those. Last thing I want to ask you about is kickers in the Hall of Fame, because,
00;49;20;11 - 00;49;23;01
Rich Karlis
Who's in my foot in here?
00;49;23;07 - 00;49;26;25
Speaker 2
You're you're playing. I got a foot in the door.
00;49;26;27 - 00;49;28;23
Rich Karlis
The, you know, John.
00;49;28;25 - 00;49;29;11
Tom Green
Umstead.
00;49;29;13 - 00;49;33;26
Rich Karlis
And, you know, just was such a great choice. You know,
00;49;33;28 - 00;49;34;21
Tom Green
And Morton's in.
00;49;34;25 - 00;49;54;04
Rich Karlis
Morton is in Morton. Morton. Because, you know, Morton would be kicking today if they let him. I mean, I played like 20 some years or something, you know, and I got to believe I can't imagine that Ben Terry, given all the clutch kicks he made. Yeah. The biggest of games. I can't believe he's not in to to.
00;49;54;07 - 00;50;10;11
Tom Green
You think more kickers should be in? Because it's funny to me. I'm watching like the coaches. This year. And you know Mike Shanahan and a bunch of those guys belong in the Hall of Fame. And they're going to take one. It's going to be Belichick. But I mean maybe open the door a little bit more a little bit wider.
00;50;10;11 - 00;50;20;15
Tom Green
I don't know if they're other kickers who come to you know, you think of Gary Anderson might come to mind. But there are other kickers who certainly could make a solid case that they too belong. Yeah.
00;50;20;19 - 00;50;35;10
Rich Karlis
I mean, I think Justin Tucker would have definitely been I don't know, you know, that time time may heal well some of that, right. Yeah. I mean, you know, people that guy's into the Hall of Fame with, you know, with with worse.
00;50;35;10 - 00;50;35;25
Tom Green
Right.
00;50;35;28 - 00;50;47;01
Rich Karlis
Well, but yeah, I mean, I would think, you know, like Tucker and but, you know, he's the one that sticks out, you know, but there's so many good kickers.
00;50;47;04 - 00;51;02;12
Tom Green
Yeah. Well, it's just funny to me because, like, we talk about nobody. Nobody cares about you until everyone cares about you. Like. Yeah, with 14 seconds left and he's going to line it up from 48 yards out. And it's a he's my man.
00;51;02;14 - 00;51;04;14
Speaker 2
He's my god.
00;51;04;16 - 00;51;13;22
Rich Karlis
Yeah I just hope people always have good memories like you know because you used to have like, you know, you're always like, I don't want to meet that gambler who said I lost so much money on you or.
00;51;13;22 - 00;51;24;09
Tom Green
But that was that was nothing back in the day. Now, I imagine that's a real thing now with the volume and the types of bets that are made that the odds of someone actually.
00;51;24;12 - 00;51;25;13
Rich Karlis
Oh, yeah. For sure.
00;51;25;13 - 00;51;35;08
Tom Green
Right. Having a having an issue with you and your last kick. So rich. It's always great to see you. I appreciate you coming down and spending some time and reminiscing about what was a great football career, but.
00;51;35;13 - 00;51;36;12
Rich Karlis
I'm so blessed.
00;51;36;12 - 00;51;37;10
Tom Green
A complete life.
00;51;37;10 - 00;51;49;04
Rich Karlis
Yeah, I've been totally blessed. I mean, things just have always worked out and when I lost interest in one thing, I found something else. And, you know, try to reinvent yourself and find new things you can be passionate about.
00;51;49;05 - 00;51;56;13
Tom Green
Well, I think about you every time I take that steak off the grill and put it on my barefoot Bronco cutting board, it was rich.
00;51;56;15 - 00;51;57;20
Speaker 2
Thanks for this.
00;51;57;22 - 00;51;58;11
Tom Green
Good to see you, man.
00;51;58;11 - 00;52;03;24
Rich Karlis
Yeah, great to see you. Thank you. Thanks.
00;52;03;26 - 00;52;31;15
Tom Green
Quick reminder about our newest sponsor, golf. Done. It's out at the airport. Great chance. When you have some extra time to go out, hit some balls, maybe even play an exotic course somewhere. It's on the mezzanine on concourse A, and it's a lot of fun. You can get out there and try it. Have some fun while you're waiting for a flight or waiting for someone you're picking up from a flight should be a good opportunity to enjoy a few swings in this season while you're out at the airport, but you can also give it as a gift.
00;52;31;18 - 00;53;01;02
Tom Green
Go to golf-den.com and you can order gift certificates. They start at $20. Take a look at that. It's a great way to spend some time. Speaking of a great way to spend some time. Really enjoyed my visit today with Rich Kalas. And when you think of how important some of the stuff we talked about is, how reliant you are as a kicker on people like your long snapper, your blockers, and of course, your holder, to make sure that the, the operation works correctly and gives you a chance to be that hero.
00;53;01;02 - 00;53;19;28
Tom Green
Rich Carlos certainly was a hero for many here years here with the Broncos. Now, when I think of teammates, well, one of my favorite teammates is going to be here to join us next week Kim Christensen. We're going to talk about, our long relationship next week. Hope you join us for the other Tom green show. Thanks.