Matthew Toffolo's Weekly Blog - February 4th 2007CLICK HERE AND READ MATTHEW TOFFOLO'S WHAT I LEARNED YESTERDAY COLUMN EACH AND EVERYDAY Matthew Toffolo and his Superbowl prediction It's 2 hours before the Super Bowl as I write this. And I have to go with the Indianapolis Colts in a blowout. I hope I'm wrong as I want to see a good game, but Indy is just a better team and Peyton Manning is on a mission. Matthew Toffolo talks about his appearance on Off the Record I just realized that I have a TV persona and a real-life persona. I didn't mean for this to happen, but it happened. I made my 2nd appearance on the popular Canadian sports program Off the Record on Wednesday. It plays on the US ESPN equivalent Canadian sports network TSN at 6pm Monday to Friday. It is basically a Politically Incorrect sports version where quasi-celebrities and sports figures talk about the recent sports topics of the day. I sort of became the antagonist of the show both times I was on because I really don't agree with what anyone else has to say. And the competitive person that I am wants and needs to win the arguments that occur on the show. I also have issues with the topics they talk about because it's basically sensationalistic news topics that really have no meaning to what's really important, but of course garner better ratings and please the advertisers. And they love me and want me to come on every 4-5 weeks so be that antagonist for them. Meanwhile, I get to promote this site and the festival events while I talk sports which I love. Matthew Toffolo talks about who he really is But what has happened the last two times is that the person most people know me as: a laid back, quiet, lead by example person. Turns into a fiery, no nonsense, stubborn, (grunt, grunt) Man's man, instigator. Being on this show reminds me of when I felt when I used to play sports growing up and in high school. I was a very quiet person in high school as I kept to myself and basically wanted to be left alone. But as soon as I stepped onto the football field, I became a win at all costs, emotionally driven madman who never stopped talking the moment the game started until the last whistle. And when we won, I was content and relieved. And when we lost, I was an uncontrollable cry baby who thought this was the end of the world. I treated the game like it was my life and if I lost life would never be the same again. The truth is I'm more the TV persona that you'll see on Off the Record but I really don't reveal that to anyone. Only the few people in this world who know me, understand that's who I really am. I am a very competitive person and I treat everything I basically do as a game of some kind. It's how I motivate myself to do the things that I do in my everyday life. I really like to keep my emotions in check and stay calm because I realized early on that most people around me will be calm and relaxed too if I'm calm. And that makes for a more positive and enhanced creative environment. But inside I am a total wacko as I try to figure out the goal we're trying to achieve. The Off the Record show allows me to express myself and is good therapy for me. It's like I'm with my therapist and 100,000 people are watching. Matthew Toffolo talks about his process I wake up in the morning and there are over 100 things that I need to do everyday with everything that I'm working on. I prioritize my day into a top 10 list of what's most important and make sure those things are done first. Some of those things take courage and strength to accomplish and it's hard starting those tasks because you have to reach down and fight your insecurities/fears and push yourself. I'm sure all of us can relate to that. But in order for me to tackle a project or necessary duty that I need to do, I psyche myself up to get it done. And how I do that is play with my head and treat it like a game of some sort. And sometimes I am totally guilty in pushing others in my life to do something so I can motivate myself do push myself further too. It's like watching your friend do 20 pushups at the gym. You want to make sure you do 20 too, but also an extra 3-4 just to say your that much better. Then your friend takes it that much further at the next exercise, while you try to top them again. Each time you are pushing yourself because your ego doesn't want to lose, but while that is going on, your becoming a better person. That's why I like sports so much. It prepares you mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically in order to play the game. It's not the most talented who last, it's the ones who want it the most. I always tell actors that your talent is only 10% of the game as 90% of succeeding and getting what you want is all about your frame of mind. Woody Allen is famous for saying that 90% of succeeding is just showing up. And as a fellow madman sports fan (and don't you notice that every highly successful person in the film industry is a bigtime sports fan), what Woody means by showing up is understanding that it's about being totally prepared and understanding the rules of the game. I see all the time the most gifted actors waste their talents out of laziness and fail to understand what it takes to get a long, satisfying career in this business. And then complain why they didn't get this and that role. While I watch actors who aren't necessary born with natural gifts but work their butt off, plug away and learn every aspect of the trade, get the key roles and succeed in this business. It's all about the frame of mind. Matthew Toffolo tells his favorite football story Being that it is the last day of the football season, I decided to tell my favorite football story. Something that happened to me that saved my life. This is a true story and if it wasn't for this moment I definitely wouldn't be where I am today. I had a tough time at the beginning in my football career as it took awhile to overcome the fears of contact. When you think you’re going to feel pain when you make contact with a player in football, then you feel the pain. As soon as you forget about pain, you begin to not feel any pain anymore. And then you begin to want to give the other person pain and when you do, it is one of the greatest feelings in the world. The macho feeling of domination over another person. It took awhile for me to figure that out and I almost quit during my first year. The coaches and my teammates thought I was terrible and wondered how I made the team. But I came around one practise. We were doing half back drills where two linemen face off one on one while the running back tries to follow the block and get by the other lineman. It was a drill I constantly failed at as I was the person trying to tackle the running back. I never came close as the opposing lineman would dominate me. I was lining up waiting my turn expecting another failing. It was a cold, rainy day at the tail end of practise. We had about 20 minutes left in daylight. The coaches were making us do the drill as a punishment because we played poorly at our game the day before (even though we had won 41-16. Our team dominated the league for many years and our head coach, Mr. O’Connor, a man obsessed with Vince Lombardi’s ways wanted us to win every game by 50 points). I was dreading this drill and thinking about quitting the team after practise when this weird wind blew through the field. It was one of those winds that drops the temperature about 10 degrees. It hit the whole team hard and I felt this change of seasons from fall to winter in that one 5 second moment. It was a beautiful feeling and I was teary eyed because of it. It was like the world was in slow motion and I actually got to see it do its spin. It was my turn and I got into my position with the opposing lineman. The man I was facing was the best offensive lineman on our team and a man who had dominated me many times before. He looked at me and figured he was in for an easy time. I was crying when I faced him from the change of seasons I had just felt and my observation levels were at a very high peak. I looked at him back and saw this confident man. But I also saw this insecure, confused teenage boy who’s only time of confidence was moments like this facing me. I didn’t see a strong man anymore. I saw a vulnerable little kid who I could defeat. He made the first move and in that split second of time, I realized exactly what he was going to do to me. We made contact with each other and I pushed him away and then nailed the running back and took him down. As I layed on top of the running back, I heard nothing around me for a long 6 seconds. The team and coaches were stunned. Then Coach O’Connor yelled out a big scream and began slapping me around as he pushed me up. At this time, I was feeling such beauty in the world, I was bawling my eyes out. O’Connor thought I was hurt, but it was the exact opposite feeling. I was overjoyed! The team didn’t praise me but belittled the player I defeated because it was at the time terrible Matt Toffolo who beat him. He lost some confidence that day, didn’t recover for the rest of the season and quit the team after the season as I gained all the confidence in the world. I had made it and it saved my life. I was going to quit the team and run away from home later that day. I was a confused kid who hated everything about life except for some things like football, which I loved, but was terrible at and it made me feel even worse about myself. But I was back in the game and ready to keep on living. I failed 100's on times on the field, but that one time of success changed my whole life. After that I was a top player on the team for my remaining high school years as I gained the confidence that I needed. The next day, Coach O’Connor had me come to his office before practice. He asked if I was okay and I told him I never felt better. He gave me a lecture on how I should always report my injuries to the coaches as he knew I got hurt yesterday because I was crying. I told him I was fine but he didn’t believe me. I was about to tell him why I was crying, but I think if I did he would of kicked me off the team. There was no time for poetry on O’Connor’s watch.
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