On this episode of On Deck, Ben Askren is joined by wrestling vigilante Canaan Bower and revered hall-of-fame wrestler and Superbowl Champion, Stephen Neal. Bower, a 16-year-old from Las Cruces, New Mexico recently went viral across the country for a video showing him storming into a gas station and physically taking down an alleged kidnapper, pinning him down until the police arrived. Bower is a district wrestling champion for Mayfield high school. Neal, a 2x NCAA Champion, 1999 Hodge Trophy Winner, World Champion, and 3x Superbowl champion, started his wrestling career relatively late, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most revered athletes in the wrestling community. He and Askren discuss everything from the importance of participating in multiple sports to how he applied what he learned in wrestling to becoming an offensive lineman for the New England Patriots.
Show Notes
0:00 Show Introduction
0:41 Canaan Bower
7:33 Stephen Neal
10:48 Specializing in More Than One Sport
14:54 California High School Career
16:18 Getting to Cal-State Bakersfield
17:17 Winter Sports Played in High School
19:28 Playing Football in College Too?
23:23 Reacting to Tom Brady’s Move
24:52 CSU-Bakersfield Contributing to Success
30:31 NCAA Titles
33:23 Freestyle Career
36:38 Goals for 1999
43:48 Lessons Learned in 2000
46:20 NFL Career
Introducing something unprecedented to the wrestling community, On Deck Podcast with host Ben Askren. On Deck is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top athletes, coaches, and personalities of the wrestling world discussing current events, life stories, and everything in between.
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