This is an iHeart Podcast. For over 50 years, they redefined rock. The spirit lives on. Today's comes for your meme. Mean drive.
Getty Reed. and Alex Lyson Rush. Live 50-something tour. Fly by night away from here. Sign up.
or pre-sale access at Ticketmaster. Legends don't stop. They evolve. Rush. Sacksaw Fifth is your secret to fashion's most wanted deals at up to 70% off.
On the hunt for designer steels that'll turn heads and leave a trail of envy? Uncover Gucci, Valentino, Versace, Stuart Weizman, and more, with new arrivals dropping weekly at prices too good to stay confidential. Luxe layers, statement booths, and tailored essentials from Sacksoft Fifth will put your wardrobe on the most wanted list. Head to SacksOffFit.com or Sacks OffFit store near you for a style lineup you won't want to miss. Busy work weeks can leave you feeling drained.
Prolon's five-day fasting mimicking diet works at the cellular level to rejuvenate you from the inside out. Providing real results that include fat-focused, sustainable weight loss with no injection needed.
NextGen builds on the original Prolon, with one hundred percent organic soups and teas, a richer taste, and ready to eat meals. Developed at USC's Longevity Institute and backed by top medical centers, Prolon supports biological age reduction, metabolic health, skin appearance, fat loss, and energy. Get twenty five percent off plus a forty dollar bonus gift when you subscribe at prolonlife dot com slash iHeart. That's prolonlife.com slash iHeart. Hey, everyone, it's Sophia Bush, host of the podcast Work in Progress.
Lexis is a company that believes in the importance of setting a standard. For me? A standard that matters to me? Is being a friend, being a person, being a co-worker who shows up. The standard Lexis has set for themselves is to experience amazing.
Lexis's benchmarks are feelings. Things like exhilaration and joy and amazing can only be achieved by knowing people on a deeper level. It's feeling like your car was designed and built. Just for you. A machine that makes you feel more human.
Because a car that doesn't make you feel something is a car that stops short of amazing.
So experience Amazing at your LexisTealer. What if your Bible could do more than just be read? Experience the innovative, awe-inspiring Filament Bible app. When you pair your Filament-enabled Bible with the free Filament app, you'll unlock thousands of study notes, hundreds of videos, interactive maps, devotionals, audio Bibles, and more, all designed to deepen your understanding of and enrich your time in God's Word. Discover more ways to interact with God's Word.
Learn more at filamentbibles.com. And we continue with our American stories. It's been multiple decades since a nine-year-old kid. Shared his Coca-Cola with Pittsburgh Steelers star Ninjo Green. one of the most famous commercials.
in American history. Here's Greg Hengler. with a story. The man known as Mean Joe Green was one of the most feared defenders in NFL history. In 13 seasons as defensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, The 6'4, 275-pound Joe Green was a 10-time Pro Bowler and a 2-time defensive player of the year.
He became an NFL icon in a first ballot Hall of Famer. And then there's that name. Here's teammates Franco Harris and Andy Russell. Is there a better name? Then mean Joe Green.
I mean, that name just flows. And I ask kids about that and I say, mean? And they say, Joe Green. He asked me one time, he said, Andy, why do they call me mean? And I said Because you're mean.
Yeah. Here's Steelers chairman. Dan Rooney. We're playing in Philadelphia. And Philadelphia has the ball.
And if they can make a first time, the game's over. They made it. They made the first time. And he went up. Talk to football.
and throw it in the stands. And I said, My father. This guy's special. If he's that intense, that he's going to do something like that. We've got a guy that we want.
Some people ask that question, well does Joe really mean? Yeah, that was the perfect name for him. He hated to lose. That was part of his demeanor. Easier to win.
He's here to beat that guy across from him. And he's not going to be nice about it. But inside the man who was the centerpiece of the steel curtain defense that led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl championships in six years. was something unseen by the public eye. Here's Joe Green giving us a peek.
When I was a senior in high school, My class. voted me to be class president. And I declined. I think about that a lot. And it was basically because.
I was shy and didn't want to have to talk in front of the class or the student body.
Okay. But in nineteen seventy nine, Green's rugged public persona and life changed dramatically after being selected for a television commercial by Madison Avenue Creative Wizard. Penny Hockey. We were asked to do an exploratory. That is to take the Coca-Cola brand and see where else it could go in its communications.
The guys were sitting there saying, Okay, well, who could we get?
Well, we could get Lynn Swan, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Mingo Green. And I said, Wait, there's a guy called Mean Joe Green. Is he mean? And they said, Yeah. And I said, Well, that's perfect.
We want the most intimidating human being we can find. And boy, did we get it. We wrote about ten different storylines and the very first one that we came up with was let's take kind of a pathetic little kid who's just awestruck over some kind of superstar football hero. The kid has nothing to offer except He has the Coca-Cola. He gives the superstar the Coca-Cola.
The superstar drinks it. Shazam is a changed person. In the commercial, Mean Joe would have a memorable encounter with a trembling nine-year-old named Tommy O'Kan. My mom and my dad were both in television. As to our future weather, well, we expect the rain to be...
My mom was on-air talent. My dad was a director and a producer. I had started doing commercials probably when I was around five or so.
So, by the time we did the co-commercial, I had probably done about 30 or 40 commercials up to that point. Let's go. On the first day when we shot the commercial, there was a lot of downtime because they were doing a lot of work to the set. Because of that, there wasn't a lot to do.
So of course I had brought a football. and went over to Joe and asked if he'd throw a football around and he said, sure. He developed a sweet little relationship with Tommy and made Tommy much more comfortable. Giving the line, Joe.
Okay. Okay. Yeah. They were trying to get him to drink the whole Coke. And they had him maybe do that a couple of times and just said the guy was going to blow up after a while.
He went through an awful lot of soda. He drank 16 ounce bottles, equivalent to two and a quarter gallons. Needless to say, but I started to shoot The first thing out of my mouth was a big burp. Yeah. Hey kid.
Alright, cut. Talk about absolutely perfect timing. Super Bowl programs! Super Bowl souvenirs! Super Bowl pinnitz.
The commercial ran on the Super Bowl. And then they won. And the rest is history. What could be better? Mr.
Green? Yeah. Want my coat? It's okay, you can have it.
Okay. A coat and a snow Makes me feel good. Makes me feel nice around. That's the way it should be. I'd like to sing.
18. World smiling. With me, hold the colour as my class thanks mean Joe. Smile. Joe Green was probably the first black male that was cast in an for a national brand.
It was the fact that he was black and the little boy was white. It was a shock at that time and people experienced it and really resonated to it. I don't know where that jersey went. I don't know if Joe took it back or who got it. I do know that.
That Christmas I got a package and it was a signed Mean Joe Green Jersey. that I uh still have to this day. But Tommy was not the only child whose life would be positively influenced by Joe Greene. Here's Joe's wife, Agnes. I think um It changed our lives a lot.
It changed Joe's personality a lot. Because so many kids were looking up to him, he decided he really wanted to be a role model for other kids. I think me and Joe Green should be called sweet Joe Green because he always smiles and he looks sweet and it's really nice. He appeared with The Muppets and probably Elmo and was on children's TV shows.
Well, you know, I used to be afraid of my own shadow, and then everybody told me that was silly. What are you afraid of?
Well, lots of things. Like the whole offensive line of the Rams jumping on me. We'd be walking around and little old ladies that I know that know anything about football would come up to Joe and talk to him. Listen, you're not a mean guy. He's just a big old taper.
Doing the Coca-Cola spot did change the image. I enjoyed it. I liked it. It made me. More approachable.
To this day, I'm still rather amazed. I mean, it's the commercial that will not die. Although he was known to the world as Mean Joe, He is known to his grandkids as Papa Joe. Yeah. When we went to North Texas and you saw me interacting with the people and you were surprised.
A little bit. Um, I guess just because we know you as grandpa and then all these people are trying to talk to you and coming up to you.
So it's a little new. The father of three and grandfather of seven credits the Coke ad with keeping him in the spotlight since his retirement in 1981. My public life, my football life. has been Kept alive. by the commercial.
I think few people might know me as Mean Joe, but a lot of them know me as But Coca-Cola died. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and scripting by our own Greg Engler. And what a story. Mean Joe Green, 13 season in the NFL. 10-time Pro Bowler, first ballot Hall of Famer.
And there's As we heard in that piece Is there a better name than Mean Joe Green? In a mere minute, it changed his life, as he said, And the commercial made me more approachable. Indeed it did. And it changed his personality. Because as he put it, as his wife said, He wanted to be a role model to those kids.
The best thing that ever happened to me and Joe, possibly. was not only being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. But having a coke commercial which, well, helped him reshape his life. The story of Mean Joe Green and the Coca-Cola commercial. that launched a legend here.
and our American stories. With the new IHOP value menu, six bucks is all it takes to go to your happy plates, where stacks of pancakes with bacon and eggs are just six bucks every day. French toast, sausage, and eggs are, you guessed it, six bucks. And fluffy omelets come with a side of pancakes and only cost six bucks. Go to your happy plates every day at IHOP.
$7 in some locations. Available every day for a limited time at participating restaurants in the U.S. Hours may vary, no substitutions. Not valid with other discounts or promotions. Prices may vary.
It's Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Lifelock is here with tips to help protect your identity, use strong passwords, set up multi-factor authentication, report scams, and update your software. And for comprehensive identity protection, LifeLock is your best choice. Lifelock alerts you to suspicious uses of your personal information and fixes identity theft, guaranteed, or your money back. Start your protection today with a 30-day free trial at Lifelock.com.
Use promo code NEWS. Terms apply. SackSaw Fifth is your secret to fashion's most wanted deals at up to 70% off. On the hunt for designer steals that'll turn heads and leave a trail of envy, uncover Gucci, Valentino, Versace, Stuart Weitzman, and more, with new arrivals dropping weekly at prices too good to stay confidential. Luxe layers, statement boots, and tailored essentials from Sacksoft Fifth will put your wardrobe on the most wanted list.
Head to SaxOffFit.com or Sacks OffFit store near you for a style lineup you won't want to miss. There's a million things to stress about when flying. Overweight luggage, TSA lines, delays, overpriced airport lunches. Your rental car shouldn't be one of them. With Avis First, your rental comes with a personal concierge who meets you at arrivals, hands you the keys to a premium car, and refills it for you at market price when you're done.
You've rented before, but trust me when I say you've never rented quite like this. Welcome to Avis First. Visit Avis.com to learn more. What if your Bible could do more than just be read? Experience the innovative, awe-inspiring Filament Bible app.
When you pair your Filament-enabled Bible with the free Filament app, you'll unlock thousands of study notes, hundreds of videos, interactive maps, devotionals, audio Bibles, and more, all designed to deepen your understanding of and enrich your time in God's Word. Discover more ways to interact with God's Word. Learn more at filamentbibles.com. This is an iHeart podcast.
