0:00

This is the Wow Show, the first

0:02

all female sports podcast produced

0:04

and supported by an NFL team. Join

0:07

co host Jade Kenny and Janine

0:09

Samuel's as a welcome guest, ranging

0:11

from authors, to athletes, to public officials

0:14

and their families. All to inspire, motivate,

0:16

and make change within ourselves. We keep

0:18

you up to date on all things Washington

0:21

football, plus discussing topics

0:23

that matter most to women. Our goal

0:25

is to connect and empower women through sports

0:28

by sharing power packed strategies to help

0:30

you level up your mind, body, and

0:32

soul, all while rooting on our Burgundian

0:34

goals. The twenty twenty one Washington football

0:36

team schedule has been released. The

0:39

rookies are in town, Rookie camp was

0:41

last week, and OTAs are underway

0:43

this week. Lots of Washington football to talk

0:45

about all summer long, and I cannot

0:48

wait. This is the Well brought to you

0:50

by Fresh Fine Wine. We have an incredible

0:52

woman here today that we are going to dive into that interview

0:55

with. Yes, today, we

0:57

have a truly incredible guest

0:59

with us. She's actually been a part of the Washington

1:01

football family for many

1:03

years, and we really just want to take

1:05

full advantage of not only getting to know her,

1:08

but getting to know the man that

1:10

really rides right beside her as well.

1:12

So joining us here today on the WOW is

1:14

the USO of Metropolitan Washington

1:17

Baltimore President and CEO,

1:19

Lisa Marie Riggins. And if you haven't figured

1:22

out by her last name, she is also the wife

1:24

of the legendary John

1:26

Riggins. Hello, Lisa Marie, how are

1:28

you today? Thank you so much for being here. I

1:31

am well, Janine, Thank you for having me.

1:33

This is so exciting to just talk to

1:35

you again and bring you

1:38

to our WOW community. But we really wanted

1:40

to just get things kicked off with just a fun

1:43

game of Instead of this or

1:45

that, we wanted to do a game called him

1:48

or Me. Basically,

1:52

we're gonna just ask you a couple of questions and

1:54

you just have to let us know if this is

1:56

you, so you would say me or your

1:58

husband John Riggan. So super

2:01

fun. Um, don't don't even think about

2:03

it. Just whatever your gut answer is, go ahead

2:05

and respond that way. So we'll go ahead and kick things

2:07

off, if that's all right with you. Okay, I

2:09

feel like I'm gonna splashbox and I'm gonna fall

2:11

in the water. If I answer the wrong way, go ahead.

2:15

But you know what, no one will know that's true.

2:17

That's true. Okay, start throwing all

2:19

right. So who rises the earliest in

2:21

the mornings? Him? This

2:25

is like rapid fire. I

2:28

am not a morning person, never have been. So

2:30

it's definitely him. Who

2:33

is the loudest at kids sporting

2:35

events? Me? He

2:38

doesn't say a word and

2:42

he sits off on a hill away

2:44

by himself. He doesn't like to be in the

2:48

in the crowd. Yeah

2:51

all right, So who likes to have a cocktail

2:53

more? It used to be him?

2:56

Now it's me, true,

2:59

but the honest we had

3:01

a slipt amen.

3:05

Yeah, who

3:07

came up with the idea to get married and

3:09

married Leanni's office? Him?

3:14

All right, yeah there's a story. Yeah,

3:17

yeah, we're gonna die for sure. Way

3:21

to get into that stories, we were kind of just doing some

3:23

research to get ready for today. I

3:25

was like, oh my gosh, she like literally is not

3:27

only a powerhouse now presently,

3:30

but she has some amazing stories to share.

3:32

So into

3:35

all of that in a second. But we really just wanted to kick

3:37

things off by getting to know you. Looking at

3:39

your bio um so so impressive.

3:42

First of all, you're an army brat born in

3:44

Germany. Um, the Washington football

3:47

team's first round pick. Um.

3:49

You know, you know, we're getting

3:51

into the draft and we're doing all of that right now,

3:53

but really just thinking about you and

3:56

what you have quite an impressive bio

3:58

and resume. So actress, criminal

4:01

defense attorney, state prosecutor,

4:03

founding president of the nonprofit

4:06

Fairness of Athletes and retirement, which we're definitely

4:08

going to talk about. And now president and CEO

4:10

of USO Metro. What literally

4:13

do you feel like we're your keys to success, to

4:15

being able to do all of the things

4:18

and still come out on top. Wow,

4:20

that's a loaded question, but I'll try to be articulate

4:23

and and and this is truthful. I think

4:25

the irony truly is it was growing

4:27

up as an army brought because there

4:31

was a resiliency that you had to have. You

4:33

had to be so adaptive to change.

4:36

Um. I grew up in a very

4:39

tough, strict environment. There

4:41

was no whining, there was no victimhood.

4:45

So and I think also because

4:48

you change so much and you move so

4:50

much, and survival

4:53

relied on being adaptive.

4:56

Once I got out on my own, I

4:59

don't know how I'm press of it is that I've had so many

5:01

different career choices. But I think I

5:03

use this word, it's a big essay t word.

5:06

I was parapatetic. I want

5:09

to change, right I got

5:11

I would do something, I'd figure it out, I'd

5:13

do it for a while, and then I was ready for a change.

5:16

I thought acting was going to be a

5:18

great way to support that need

5:21

because it's always change. And I

5:23

did it for ten years, but then I

5:25

think I kind of grew up and wanted a different change.

5:27

So I would say the military experience

5:30

is really what put

5:32

me into a lifetime of constantly

5:35

changing and trying something else. I

5:37

was going to follow up with that. We're

5:40

talking about our first round draft pick, jam And Davis.

5:42

He is also from a military back parents

5:45

parents were military also coach Ron Rivera. It

5:47

comes from a military background, and since it is Military

5:49

Appreciation Month, we should celebrate all year

5:51

through, not just this month. When I'm that, but

5:54

how do you think for being from a military

5:57

background or military family prepares you

5:59

for leadership like the one that you're holding. Um,

6:03

well, let me just say too about the Coach

6:05

Rivera and and your first round draft choice.

6:07

It's funny whenever I find out that people

6:10

are military brats. And LaVar

6:12

Arrington, who was one of our veterans,

6:14

who I think was a first round draft choice in two thousand,

6:16

second draft pick in the draft or first,

6:19

I can't remember, he's an army brat. There's

6:21

a kinship, there's like an unspoken

6:23

kinship because there's a similar

6:25

way of living and growing up. And maybe

6:27

we never even say that to each other, but I always

6:30

I already feel a kinship to those two. I may

6:32

never meet them, but I

6:34

already feel like they're my people right

6:36

that we are connected, I

6:39

think. I think one of the things that

6:41

for me is so profound in growing

6:43

up in the military is you can't grow

6:46

up and not be humble. There's a humility

6:49

that is endemic to growing up in the

6:51

military. There's a protocoll, there

6:53

is um. You really understand

6:56

order, You really understand that it's

6:58

not about you, You really understand

7:01

it's always about something bigger. When you're growing

7:03

up at a parent that you

7:05

don't know as a child but could always go

7:08

away and maybe not come back or

7:10

go away and is doing great things for

7:13

security, there's a humility in that,

7:15

and that's what really, So

7:17

I think leaders, the

7:20

best leaders have humility Coach Rivera,

7:23

you know, I mean, I would be shocked

7:25

if he didn't have the same level of humility and

7:29

accessibility, if you will, And that's probably what

7:31

inspires his players. You saw

7:33

how he handled himself during the season with his

7:35

illness, right, he didn't whine, It

7:38

was not about victimhood. He showed up, he

7:40

didn't make it about him, And look at how

7:42

everybody rallied around him and supported

7:45

their leader. Yeah, most

7:47

definitely. And he even talks very similar

7:49

to what you're saying, is that he really feels like

7:51

growing in that military environment made

7:53

him who he is right now, and he uses a

7:56

lot of what he learned in the military in

7:58

the locker room, yeah, to

8:00

his players. So you brought up a great

8:02

point just about you know, you being a military

8:04

bread, having to travel and move a lot, having

8:07

a lot of career switches and choices

8:09

like you have to be adaptable, you have

8:11

to make adjustments, and

8:14

the military helps you do that. So for people

8:16

out there though that don't necessarily

8:18

have a military background, but maybe they're stuck in

8:20

a position or a job that they're just not happy

8:22

in. Sometimes it's frowned

8:24

upon. And even you mentioned it about

8:27

having so many different careers and switching

8:29

things like that. What advice would you give to someone

8:31

that just knows that they need a change,

8:34

but is maybe afraid and doesn't know how to

8:36

make that switch. God, that's a great

8:38

that's a great point because and I'll bring

8:40

up my husband. You know, we had two extremely

8:43

different lights growing

8:45

up. He lived in a small town in Kansas

8:48

with a town of five hundred and lived

8:50

there his whole life. And I lived I think I moved

8:52

seventeen times, right, So he doesn't

8:55

like change at all. The

8:59

thought of acting or changing

9:01

or moving it

9:03

gives him hives. For me, it's

9:05

like, let's go, right, let's go. And

9:07

and that's been a part of our marriage.

9:09

I think I've moved him

9:12

into different situations that he never would have moved.

9:14

And so having married somebody

9:16

who doesn't understand or

9:19

appreciate or even want to deal with

9:21

constant change, it's

9:23

been interesting for me to see how my psychology

9:25

works. And I would

9:28

say that if you're in

9:30

a rut, and if you're in a dead

9:32

end situation, there's

9:34

no where to go up, nowhere

9:36

to go but up. If you

9:38

make a change, just stalemating

9:42

and going down. It's not an option,

9:44

right. So I think mother

9:46

Nature smiles on courage, and

9:49

I think mother Nature smiles on

9:51

risk. And if

9:54

you do it with just a

9:56

quiet sense of faith and whatever that

9:58

is to you, you just have to trust it.

10:00

But you can't grow without

10:03

change, and you owe it to yourself to

10:06

not stagnate. You owe it

10:08

to yourself. I would have never known that I

10:10

would be the CEO and president of the USO. If you talk

10:12

to me as the girl who was in the

10:14

American Academy and Dramatic Arts in New York City

10:16

at age twenty two, completely clueless,

10:19

right, you have to just jump.

10:22

Obviously, our listeners mostly

10:24

are a lot of women just like us, some

10:27

moms, and we wanted to get your advice

10:29

on doing it all. I mean, you're such a powerhouse.

10:32

You clearly got a lot going on. I

10:35

like to say serial overachieve or just like to constantly

10:37

keep going. That's what I tell myself too. But

10:39

what is your advice for raising young

10:41

women and how do you balance it all? Well,

10:44

you know, going back to what I just said about risk and courage,

10:48

you can also get very comfortable in your situation,

10:50

which is good, you know, being comfortable and secure

10:52

and supportive. I've had years like that. Thankfully.

10:55

I think to my husband and what he was able

10:57

to bring to the marriage. But during those kind

10:59

of comfortable times, don't

11:02

get don't get soft. You

11:04

got to keep thinking about moving

11:06

the ball. And as I became a mom, it's

11:08

interesting when I had my daughter was shortly

11:11

after I got married, and I had spent a decade as

11:13

an artist. Right, I'd been living in La New

11:15

York, I was on MTV, I was, I

11:17

had that fun life. Then all

11:19

of a sudden, I had this little girl, and

11:21

I had a very successful husband who

11:26

who was going to be able to take care of us?

11:28

However, I don't know if it's the military

11:30

background. I thought, my god, here I have this living

11:33

person, and if something happens

11:35

to him, And that's probably the military life, right,

11:38

never really having that sense of guarantee

11:42

that your dad was coming back or he was

11:44

always going to be there. I thought, if something

11:46

happened to my husband, how would

11:48

I take care of this person? Right? I

11:51

couldn't take care of them as on a caterer's

11:53

salary, because that's what I did, calligraphie

11:56

and catering. You know, she deserved a quality

11:58

of life he was able to bring

12:01

and I needed to sustain that. So I say

12:03

that at the height of my comfort, insecurity,

12:06

both income from my spouse, living

12:09

a life in New York City, baby

12:11

in love. I enjoyed

12:13

that for four years. But then I hustled

12:15

and thought, I got to do something where

12:18

I need to be able to earn more than eighteen bucks

12:20

an hour. Right, so

12:22

I went to law school. I went to law school

12:24

at the height of being secure. And

12:27

now there are women out there. They go

12:29

to law school and they're struggling, they're working

12:31

a day job, they've got children. I

12:34

bowed down to them all day long. I

12:37

had support, I had financial

12:39

support. I could do it, but there was still a commitment

12:42

intellectually, emotionally, and psychologically

12:44

after being out of school for fifteen years going

12:46

into law school. Right, So,

12:49

I think I forgot the first part of your question. But

12:52

because I went on and on, it's important

12:54

to always actualize, Always

12:56

see the next thing, see the next

12:58

thing, see where you need to be.

13:01

That doesn't mean you don't enjoy the moment, but don't

13:03

ever get placid, don't

13:05

ever get so comfortable. So I know

13:07

my four year old, who is now a twenty four year old,

13:10

she would sit in bed with me. Why I would study? She

13:12

would, you know, I have stuff where her little cartoons

13:14

are always her watching TV while mommy's studying.

13:16

Mommy's studying, mommy's studying. I

13:18

hope that inspires her. I

13:21

do, because she

13:23

could see firsthand that it's you

13:25

know, you have to be comfortable being

13:27

uncomfortable, and for you to

13:29

just say you know, because they're you know, the

13:32

easier option and the comfortable option would

13:34

have obviously been to just stay doing what you were

13:36

doing. And I just love that

13:38

you were forward thinking enough to say, no, I

13:40

need to be more, do more so that I can provide

13:42

just in case. Again, like you

13:44

said, just from you know, having that military

13:47

background, in that mindset, and

13:49

in kind of researching and just learning

13:51

more about you. There was a Washingtonian

13:53

article February of twenty nineteen,

13:55

and the headline like literally stopped me

13:57

as I'm scrolling on Google. It said

13:59

bad news for the NFL. John

14:01

Briggins wife is a lawyer. Riggins

14:05

fight against the NFL's shabby treatment

14:08

of older retired players. And

14:10

this was another situation where you were

14:12

not going to allow status quo to

14:14

remain, and you weren't going to allow you

14:17

know, people that were really uncomfortable,

14:20

that didn't have you know, good pensions,

14:22

you know, you know, retired NFL players

14:24

to continue to be uncomfortable. So

14:26

can you just talk a little bit about fair?

14:30

Yeah? Wow, you said it better than I did. And it's

14:32

funny. Um um, Jennine,

14:34

when that when that article came out, I

14:36

almost winced because I thought, oh, no, NFL.

14:39

You know, I'm not Johnny cochrane. You don't have to

14:41

you know, I'm not coming after you with pitch sports.

14:43

I swear I'm a reasonable, you know

14:46

person. But

14:48

um, yeah, I guess you're

14:50

one hundred percent right. And and and back

14:52

to Jade's question where you said, how do you do it?

14:54

You got to take care of yourself through the way, all right. You

14:57

have to. You have to pay attention to where your body

14:59

and your mind are down and you're grinding

15:01

the gears, and you have to pay attention

15:03

to that. I got really

15:05

and there's a there's a link to fair. Um.

15:08

I was really grinding myself down

15:10

after I moved here. I took three bar exams,

15:12

right, and I had a four year old and a ten year old

15:14

bar exams, you know, and I was an older lady.

15:17

Then I started working in the in the in the bowels

15:19

of criminal defense, not an easy thing state

15:21

prosecutor. So I was grinding down

15:24

and I could feel it. I was losing

15:26

my hair. So I backed

15:28

off and did a lot of self care. By

15:30

that, I mean I did intense yoga. I

15:32

started meditating because I knew I wasn't

15:34

going to be good to anybody or anything with no

15:37

gears left. That period

15:39

of time gave me kind of the

15:42

the awareness and the openness to see

15:45

some of the suffering in the community that my

15:47

husband had come from our friends, fellow

15:49

players, and that I

15:51

couldn't I couldn't take it anymore. But I had

15:53

the strength from that taking

15:55

care of myself moment to get back

15:58

on the horse and do some thing

16:00

that was really gratifying to me. So

16:04

Fair was an inspiration both

16:06

by the former players that were in my life

16:09

and the time I took to get strong

16:12

again and go back in

16:14

there. And I have to tell you bad news for the

16:16

NFL. I I wanted

16:18

to come to them as somebody

16:20

who was saying, I'm not fighting you, I'm

16:23

not here to shame you. I'm not here

16:25

to embarrass you. I'm here to educate

16:27

you. And I believe that if you get the

16:29

right facts and you see what's happening,

16:31

you will be moved to fix this. And

16:34

so they were, and so

16:37

they were, and it was one of the most gratifying experiences

16:39

of my life. And I also got on board

16:41

with that. And to you know, I didn't get I

16:43

didn't want to take any income for it because I wanted

16:45

the trust from the players. I wanted

16:47

them to know this wasn't a money grab for

16:50

somebody who was, you know, supposedly

16:52

going out to support them.

16:54

I needed to earn their trust because

16:56

there's been a lot of people that have tried to help them, but

16:58

it hasn't turned out right or for the right reasons.

17:01

And I've made more special

17:04

relationships and in that foxhole

17:06

with former players that you know, I was enriched.

17:09

I actually was enriched. And

17:12

I sleep well every night knowing that they've got

17:14

a better pension. Absolutely, I love what

17:16

you've said about you could feel that you

17:18

weren't your best self,

17:20

and you knew that you couldn't give back Because we say

17:22

that all the time, you cannot help others unless

17:24

you're you know, your tank is full. And I'm

17:27

just like all of our listeners, take that advice.

17:29

You've heard it from someone else other than just me and Jamine

17:31

preaching it. Yeah, but before we

17:34

switched gears and talk about your relationship,

17:36

we've got to talk about the USO and

17:38

Metropolitan Watching in Baltimore, all the great

17:40

work that you are doing. Jeanine and I

17:43

both, like she said, were former a cheerleaders for the

17:45

Wahington football team. We've been on military

17:47

tours and it is by far one of the

17:49

most rewarding and humbling experiences. So

17:52

we just want to talk about the OSL. Yeah.

17:54

No, I appreciate, and I know we're winding

17:56

down on time, so I'll try to be really succinct with that

17:58

too. I have come back home, you

18:00

know, and I and Fair was a gift for me.

18:02

I trusted Fair. I had the courage to do fair.

18:04

And this is kind of how you can see the long tail. Fair

18:07

is what really brought me to the USO, Because

18:09

had I not gotten into that nonprofit space

18:12

and really rolled my sleeves up and understood

18:14

that was more gratifying than lawyering,

18:17

lawyering was great. I wouldn't have moved into

18:19

to the USO. So for

18:21

me, it's coming home. My office

18:24

is on Fort Myer. I lived on Fort Meyer in the second

18:26

grade. People.

18:29

My biggest challenge, and I'm ready to do

18:31

it, is to educate

18:33

again and create increased

18:35

awareness for the civilian population

18:38

of who our military is and what they do, because

18:40

the USO is often perceived

18:43

as Bob Hope, as airport

18:45

lounges, and we are so much more

18:47

than that. And we've been around for eighty years and

18:49

we know we're more because we're in it with the

18:51

military. Right I'm on basis every day,

18:54

I'm seeing what they're doing. I'm seeing what we're providing

18:56

for them. We have installations, we

18:58

have we support them with food, support

19:00

them with the training after

19:02

they get out of the career. We support their children, we support

19:04

their wives. It's we're

19:07

the full service nonprofit.

19:10

And one of the one of the enviable

19:12

things about the USO is

19:14

we've always had the right to get on base

19:16

with our installations, so we have access

19:18

to these to these service members, and that

19:21

is a privilege and a jewel. So we're

19:23

always working with them and we're always responding

19:26

to their needs. So my biggest

19:28

challenge is we are now in a generation, I think for the

19:30

first time where you don't have somebody

19:33

you know or a friend or a relative that served

19:35

in the military. So it should

19:37

never be obsolete. It should never

19:39

be obsolete because while we're carrying

19:41

on our lives, these troops, these

19:44

soldiers, these airmen, these and

19:46

there's so many women now in the military.

19:48

I mean, it just warms

19:50

my heart when I see all these women. I was at

19:53

a Quantico Marine base. There were women

19:55

out there at the basic school training,

19:57

I mean bivouacking. I thought, you, oh

20:00

girl, wow, you know so

20:03

um. That was a long winded

20:05

way of saying. It's one thing to

20:07

say thank you for your service and never forget it's

20:09

another thing to take action

20:11

and show that that respect and that

20:13

appreciation. And you can do that by

20:16

supporting the USO. We've been there for

20:18

them for eighty years and the reason

20:20

why is because we do it well. You know, I just think

20:22

it's it's so humbling

20:25

what you're doing, and a lot of

20:27

times they just want to thank you, but

20:30

then being able to take the extra steps

20:32

is even more important. So obviously, you

20:34

know, whow we're here to support every single

20:36

step of the way, So keep us in mind for any events.

20:38

We would love to come support and hell ab out as

20:41

well. I know that's one of the things that I missed the most

20:44

about my time as a first Lady of football.

20:46

So you know, thank you for you know, everything

20:48

that you do for the community, you

20:51

know within the military. So oh well, thank you,

20:53

Janie. I'll be knocking on your door. We got to find

20:55

us. We got to keep the military and the Washington

20:57

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22:21

All right, so shifting gears a little

22:24

bit because you know, obviously your your

22:26

husband just you know, such a legendary

22:28

player within the Washington football game at

22:31

the opportunity yesterday to attend

22:33

the Darryl Green Celebrity Golf

22:35

Classic, and one of the items

22:37

that was up forbid in the auction was a

22:40

John Riggin's jersey and so

22:42

a lot of people know him from

22:44

the great plays and what they saw on the

22:46

football field, but you know him from the inside

22:49

out. So if you can just share

22:51

maybe something that the average person just

22:53

would not know about him. John is a real

22:55

loaner and and

22:58

you know NFL Films did a on him, I think in two

23:00

thousand and five, and one of his coaches said the same

23:02

thing, or journalist said he was a loner, but he

23:05

liked the attention. So there's that's

23:07

a very interesting dynamic. When he got

23:09

the attention and when he played.

23:11

I look at him now and I look back on his career, he

23:14

raised his level of play. John was one of those

23:16

people that you could put in at the highest level

23:18

of competition, playoffs,

23:21

and that's when he really that's when he really

23:23

came to his top, right,

23:25

his best self. But yet outside

23:28

of those moments, he's a loner. John

23:31

is happiest. He's

23:33

a farm boy. You know, I'm the social

23:35

one. I'm the one who likes to meet and greet and do

23:37

and be that Army Brett right, constantly

23:40

trying to find my way in a new school. He's

23:42

happiest outside digging

23:44

holes, you know, for hours

23:47

he's more entertained by his own his

23:50

own self, so I

23:52

guess I say that say he had a very public career,

23:55

He had a very social

23:59

career just by virtue of who he was. He was

24:01

always the life of the party. Now that's

24:03

a key point too. We couldn't go anywhere

24:05

and John was the life of the party. But yet in

24:08

his deepest soul, he's a real loner. You

24:11

light up when you talk about him. It's it's great.

24:14

I'm just scaring at you, and it's just great.

24:17

We had a great We've had a great run. He

24:19

has not disappointed me. He has not

24:21

disappointed me. I'm

24:25

even more of a fan of him now that he's treating you right

24:27

o. Great. Yes, And I like

24:29

to say to Jake, he was a He was a much

24:31

better husband than he was a boyfriend. So

24:37

yeah, yeah, he was an all day lollypop

24:39

as a boyfriend. But as soon as we got that

24:41

ring on, he

24:43

uh he was he was

24:46

solid. Yeah.

24:48

Well, speaking of that, how did you guys need

24:51

Well, the quick version is John

24:53

which we haven't said, but he has always been a big supporter of

24:55

the military. So um, even

24:58

before I met Hi, Riggos Rangers you know, that

25:00

was his deal. He didn't serve in Vietnam, he didn't

25:02

get drafted, he had his number, but he's always felt

25:04

bad about that, and he's always looked up to

25:06

those men as his true heroes.

25:08

And so he

25:11

happened to be at a bar here in Washington,

25:13

d C. And he was I'd like to call him mister

25:15

January. They had just come back from their second Super

25:17

Bowl, so he was white hot, and

25:20

they were doing some kind of promotion for John

25:23

Riggins forward truck and my

25:25

dad was there and my dad was a ranger.

25:28

So I came in to beat my dad,

25:30

and thankfully

25:34

John thought I was somebody that was He

25:36

was with a bunch of people, and I think he was dared to

25:38

send me a glass of champagne. So

25:41

I accepted the glass, and

25:43

my father and I walked down, and honestly, it was

25:46

he and my father who bonded over

25:48

the military and my father being a ranger

25:50

and thanking him for his service, and I

25:53

just got to enjoy the collateral. So

25:55

that's that's how we met, and I think we left

25:58

six hours later. Wow,

26:00

that is amazing. And then you fast forward

26:03

and we have to talk about it because We mentioned it at the top

26:05

of the show, but just talk a little bit

26:07

about the conversation about marriage

26:09

over pasta at an Italian restaurant

26:12

and somehow it started there and

26:15

into the marriage and at the time

26:17

Mayor rooted Giuliani's office. Well,

26:20

yeah, so John h was

26:22

he went. He moved back to New York City after being

26:24

here again, he kind of wanted to just be h

26:27

not anonymous per se. But you know, he had done

26:29

the riggle thing. He had done the Washington DC.

26:31

He was kind of in the spot, like I think he kind

26:34

of just wanted to tunnel on his own. So

26:36

he went back to New York City. I was living there

26:38

because I'd gone up there to be an actress. So we had a long distance

26:40

relationship. But he u because I

26:42

wasn't going to just hang around, right, I wasn't gonna

26:44

just hang around. I needed to pursue

26:46

my dream. So he went

26:49

up to New York City because he played for the Jets, so

26:51

he had he had roots there. And

26:53

again he h

26:56

he's a farm boy. He doesn't make decisions

26:58

quickly. So we had been dating

27:00

for a while and just

27:03

one night we were having dinner, he'd moved into

27:05

Hell's Kitchen. Wasn't the safest

27:07

part of town at that time, and

27:09

we had dinner at this macaroni pasta

27:12

restaurant on Hell's Kitchen, ninth Avenue

27:14

twelve at midnight. Because we were late night people

27:16

as New Yorkers. Nobody else was in

27:18

there. It was like a scene out of Sopranos. They had the red

27:20

checked, you know, tablecloth, and the pats were

27:22

banging in the background, and it was lots of pasta.

27:25

So it was John and I and we thought we were going to be the

27:27

only ones in there, and then

27:29

incomes this cup This freesome

27:31

was Mayor Giuliani and two of

27:33

his staffers. I don't know who they were, and we were like, holy

27:36

count, here we are in the middle of Hell's Kitchen

27:38

at midnight and the mayor

27:41

is in here with us. Right. Giuliani's

27:44

a sports fan, he knew who John

27:47

was. We talked to him briefly.

27:49

It was great. Then we went back and then John

27:52

asked me to marry him. So I didn't know

27:54

that that was going to be the night, and I think he thought

27:56

we were going to have the place to ourself, our

27:58

soprano place, So we just kind

28:00

of thought Giuliani was our good luck charm. You know,

28:02

he was our good luck charm. So John, who's

28:04

always kind of a showman and has

28:06

great ideas, said why don't we have him marry us?

28:09

So quick quick adage on that we sent

28:11

a facts back then, it was just factsing

28:14

to his office to ask him, and he thought it

28:16

was a joke. He thought it was prank. So he never responded.

28:19

And then I had a friend who worked in the Mayor's office

28:21

and she said, by the way, you

28:24

know my friend who's getting married

28:26

with like it. So fast forward, we were in his office

28:28

and he married us, and he

28:30

was incredible. Giuliani was incredible at

28:32

that time. At that time, he had really turned

28:34

New York City around. So that's how it

28:36

happened. Macaroni Factory to the Mayor's

28:38

office. Well, before we let you go, is there

28:40

any advice you would give to marriage

28:44

advice if you will. Oh,

28:48

God, that's a huge question. That's

28:51

a huge question. Make sure,

28:54

I mean depends on your taste. Chemistry

28:58

is really important in the beginning. Laughter

29:00

is really important to sustain

29:03

it um and

29:07

that I feel like your spouse really does have

29:09

to be your confident and your best friend. I mean

29:11

it's I love going out with my girlfriends

29:13

and seeing them, but I always miss my husband. Not in a

29:16

syrupy way. Um, he's

29:18

just my base, right, And

29:21

marry somebody ideally

29:23

that you can trust as a person

29:25

and you know, doesn't

29:28

have an agenda and you know that they're

29:30

who you think they are. There,

29:32

they are who you think they are at all times.

29:35

I know that's kind of a convoluted thing

29:37

to say. But chemistry

29:39

and laughter, I guess is the is

29:42

the recipe for I think longevity.

29:45

Yeah, and really, you know, enjoying

29:48

the person for who they are, ye,

29:50

sitting up like you light up when

29:53

Yes, I know it's kind of

29:55

silly, right, I'm kind of like a schoolgirl

29:57

still. But I

30:00

saw him when I was like eighteen on the

30:02

screen and I went, wow, he's

30:04

like a combination of all those rangers

30:06

I grew up with. But you know

30:09

he's also Yeah, he was just like he

30:11

was the combo. Yeah. Well, and speaking

30:13

of which, and then I know we have to let you go. But is

30:15

there a particular play because

30:17

I know that you weren't necessarily a huge football

30:19

fan at the time, but was there a particular

30:22

play of John Riggins that kind of just sticks

30:24

in your mind, is like the all time great for you.

30:27

You mean, that wasn't one that happened

30:29

before me. But while he was actually playing, while I

30:31

was, while I was, or any anyone

30:33

that you can think of that you were like, Wow, this this

30:35

guy is the real deal. Yeah.

30:38

It's funny because I see photographs of some of

30:40

his stuff that he's done, and I'm and and

30:42

and video and I'm like wow,

30:45

um yeah, and this is

30:47

kind of this is kind of bittersweet because John

30:49

never liked you know, the other thing that people don't know about

30:51

John, he didn't like hurting people. I know that seems

30:54

really hard to understand it. He did

30:56

not like hurting people. He just

30:58

wanted to get through right, get over

31:00

the goal line, and sometimes people got hurt

31:02

in that process. That he did not enjoy

31:05

hurting people. There's an NFL clip

31:08

where he lowers his shoulders. This

31:10

guy flew like eight

31:12

feet and landed on his dairy

31:15

air. But I just and John

31:17

just it was like he was just going to the mailbox,

31:19

right, and I was just like, holy cow,

31:22

you know that is energy

31:24

in motion. I wouldn't want him

31:26

to have hurt that dB but

31:28

god, it was like the guy flew

31:31

it's and so I just look at that and I

31:33

go power and motion. Wow yeah

31:36

yeah, power motion, Power couple, power

31:38

woman. Just love that you

31:40

were here with us. I'm spent some time with our

31:43

viewers and listeners. We really appreciate it. But where

31:45

can people kind of find out more about

31:47

you USO to support? Where

31:50

can we send them? Well, obviously, the

31:52

USO is, it's famous. It's anywhere

31:54

usou USO.

31:57

Metro dot org is our website.

31:59

We're merging with our parent company soon,

32:01

so we're gonna just be one big USO.

32:04

Anytime you support the USO, I

32:06

promise you you are supporting a

32:08

service member, So just keep that

32:10

in mind. You are gonna make a difference, I

32:13

promise you. Well.

32:16

Thank you, Lisa. Marian has been nothing short

32:19

but amazing and able. It

32:22

has been a true pleasure getting to know you

32:24

and your husband, And you know,

32:26

I admire all the work that

32:28

you do and the ability to adapt

32:31

and to change and to have that grit encourage

32:33

and also I just love that you light up when you speak about

32:35

your husband. So thank you so much. We

32:38

thank you. Jade and Jennine. I hope you get to see you guys

32:40

in person now that we're opening up. Yes,

32:42

so we'll figure it out very

32:45

will. As my ranger father used

32:47

to say, you call all hall. A

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You can hear every Washington football team game

33:25

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33:27

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33:29

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33:31

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and favorite the Team nine eighty today to

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33:47

are heading into while overtime brought to

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you by Fresh Fine Wine. Lisa

33:52

Marie was just lighten me up

33:54

this morning. She is just such a

33:56

breath of fresh air and was just like a go getter.

33:59

And I like it before, but I love how

34:01

much she just was in all of her husband

34:03

and how she spoke of him. I think it's

34:06

just such an amazing quality to

34:07

see someone just being not only

34:09

obviously in love, but respect and have the admiration

34:12

for their life partner. And she said it, you know, it

34:14

really is about having that foundation in that face

34:17

and they can be each other's cheerleaders. You know, it's

34:19

not only about the legend of who John

34:21

Riggins is. That also her having her

34:24

her joy and her life and her purpose and then

34:26

them complimenting each other. So she she's

34:28

amazing and I really can't wait to be more involved in the

34:31

USO. Yeah, most definitely.

34:33

And you know there's that whole saying that you're the average

34:35

of the five people that you're around the most. And

34:37

so if your mate, your partner, your significant

34:39

other brings you that much joy in happiness

34:42

and you all are able to support one another in the

34:44

way that they do, then you can't go

34:46

wrong, right, And so it just gives me a little bit of hope

34:48

because I'm not married yet, I'm waiting and

34:50

holding out for a John Briggins right

34:53

now, especially right that it is

34:55

possible to have that type of lasting

34:58

relationship even years and years

35:00

after marriage. The other

35:02

thing that really just I loved about, you know,

35:04

what she said, and of course all

35:07

that she's doing for USO and everything,

35:09

but just the fact that she really wanted to forward

35:11

think and say to herself, Okay, if something

35:13

were to happen, I need to be able

35:16

to support my family, just as John

35:18

is supporting us right now. And her deciding

35:20

to step outside of her comfort zone,

35:23

and because she could have just been and

35:25

not just because being a housewife

35:28

or a mom in and of itself is a

35:30

full time job, but she decided to take

35:32

on an entirely different career and go to

35:34

law school and continue her education

35:37

to become a lawyer and then to take those

35:39

skills to do something very meaningful

35:41

to you know, for the friends that she met

35:43

through John. So just an amazing,

35:46

amazing journey that they have lived

35:48

together and really exciting conversations. So

35:50

shout out to her again for joining us on the

35:52

WOW. I know I really

35:55

did feel like girl talk. We were joking about that when

35:57

we stopped reporting with her, but it did. It just felt

35:59

like, you know, just hanging out with your girlfriends

36:01

and then learning more about each other. And

36:04

also kudos to her for just pivoting

36:06

into changing She said it like she

36:09

wasn't. She would accomplish something and be like,

36:11

what's next. And I just love that it doesn't matter

36:13

you know where you are, what

36:15

age you are at, like you can always take control

36:18

of your life and you can always flip it. And it's just

36:20

such a good message to hear. You

36:22

know, we hear it a lot, but to also just hear it from

36:24

come from someone who's lived it and has been successful

36:26

at it. I want to give a

36:28

huge shout out and thank you to

36:31

all of my WOW women and WOW members that

36:33

joined me at the XS and O event last

36:36

week brought to by The Washington Times at FedExField.

36:39

It was so good to be back in person,

36:41

to be at the stadium. We had

36:44

Washington football alumni John Springs

36:46

there along with

36:49

the Special Teams coordinator Nate katz Or,

36:51

and it was just I told

36:53

Stevir producer engineing earlier this week

36:55

on a planning call. But I was shocked

36:58

at how much football. Not that

37:00

you all know my WOW members, and not that I

37:02

doubt you, because I do not, but it's just the

37:05

questions that you were asking, the

37:07

details and the quality like you. I

37:09

mean, even Sean was like, Wow, these women know

37:11

their stuff and it was just really fun

37:13

to all be together. And we look forward to more events

37:16

like that coming up as football

37:18

season gets back underway. So make

37:20

sure that you're following all the a Wow

37:22

social media accounts. Wow. If you're not

37:24

a WOW member, make sure you're signing up to

37:26

know what else is going on so that you can hang out with me

37:28

in Janine at future events. And

37:31

also just to do a shameless plug, make

37:33

sure that you're following me Janine on social media.

37:35

My Instagram account is jjde dot

37:38

Kenny k e n and why dot wow

37:40

Wow. Send us

37:43

guests that you want to see on the show. Just send

37:45

them, we'll see if it's a possibility. You

37:47

know, dream or wildest dreams, We'll see if we can have them

37:49

on the show. And also just send us some topics or questions

37:51

that you have. Yeah, most definitely

37:54

and you can follow me and connect with me at

37:56

Janine G E n I E in

37:58

and E with UG

38:01

so Janine with the G and

38:03

like Jade said, this is

38:05

for you, like our WOW show is for

38:08

you, and so we really want to make sure that we're having

38:10

the conversations and we're asking the questions and we

38:12

were doing all of the things that you want

38:14

to hear that you want to discuss, you know,

38:16

So whatever topics are kind of on your

38:19

brain on whatever questions you have about the Washington

38:21

football team, it could be anything

38:23

self care, empowerment, health,

38:25

fitness. We just want to know what you want

38:27

to know. So be sure to connect with us DMUs

38:30

either on our personal accounts or on

38:32

the Wow accounts so that we can make sure that this

38:34

show is everything that you want it to be,

38:36

because like I said, we are here for you, right

38:41

and that's going to do it for us. Thank you so much

38:43

for joining the Wow where we connect an empower women

38:45

through sports. Huge thanks for our partner a

38:47

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