Introducing "The Isaiah McKenzie Show" at Go Long!
Get to know one of the most authentic players in the NFL right here at Go Long. Football. Pranks. Dogs. BBQ. Life in South Florida. Anything goes with Isaiah McKenzie through our 10-episode season.
I can still remember the moment we all collectively spit up our beverages of choice.
It was April. Here at Go Long, we were recording one of our “Happy Hours” with Isaiah McKenzie. The topic: Pranks. As everyone at One Bills Drive knows, this 26-year-old wide receiver loves yanking your chain. But his No. 1 prank of all-time? He paused for a moment. He gave it some deep thought. And McKenzie’s mind raced back to when he was 11 years old. One day, he covered himself in ketchup and pretended to be dead. He let Grandma call 9-1-1, waited for the cavalcade of medics and police to arrive and then… Young Isaiah stood up and smiled.
No, Grandma was not pleased.
The idea for this all was rooted in that conversation, when McKenzie was refreshingly authentic.
And the idea for this all was also rooted in a feature story we had last January, when McKenzie shared gripping pieces of his raw life story. Growing up in Miami Gardens, Fla., he saw the razor-thin line between (real) life and death and detailed how he blossomed into the playmaker everyone loves today in Buffalo. A touchdown machine in 2020, McKenzie is now the player lifting you out of your seat at Highmark Stadium as the Bills’ primary returner in 2021.
Now, my hope is for everyone to get to know Isaiah McKenzie on a completely different level.
Thrilled to share here that we’re launching “The Isaiah McKenzie Show” at Go Long. This season, we’re collaborating with Mister’s Bar and Lanes in East Aurora, NY to bring you as close to this game as possible. For 10 episodes — five of which will be LIVE at Mister’s — I’ll chat with McKenzie for an hour. Live in or around Western New York? Come on out. Order some food, a brew, bring your family on out and have a great time.
Live elsewhere? No sweat. All 10 episodes will be free and shared right here at GoLongTD.com. To get all episodes, just sign up to our email list right here:
“The Isaiah McKenzie Show” will also be shared on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.
Reservations are required to attend with seating limited at Mister’s, so Go Long paid subscribers will get first dibs at a reservation. We’d love it if you upgraded your subscription at the button above! Just make note of it in the “special request” section online so we can confirm.
Below are the dates we’ll be hosting the show at Mister’s, located at 206 Main Street East Aurora, NY 14052:
Monday, Oct. 4 (6 p.m.-7 p.m.)
Monday, Oct. 25 (6 p.m.-7 p.m.)
Monday, Nov. 1 (6 p.m.-7 p.m.)
Monday, Nov. 22 (6 p.m.-7 p.m.)
Monday, Jan. 3 (6 p.m.-7 p.m.)
(Dates are subject to change.)
The other five episodes will be recorded via Zoom through the season — depending on McKenzie’s schedule — and dispersed as well.
Have a question for McKenzie? Paid subscribers to Go Long can ask the Bills receiver whatever is on their mind at golongtd@gmail.com and we’ll get to them at the end of each episode.
There is so much more to this sport than cliched press conferences and names we plug into our fantasy football lineups. That’s why we launched Go Long last November — to peek behind the curtain. When you subscribe, you’ll continue to get full access to all longform stories, columns, Q&As and podcasts. This show will hopefully add a completely new element.
It’ll be fun. It’ll be unscripted. It’ll be a chance for you to hang out with a player through the ridiculous ups ‘n downs of an NFL season — a vehicle that brings you closer to the real NFL.
Each episode, McKenzie and I will discuss the previous week’s game and certainly dig into some needed X’s and O’s. But for the most part, we’ll juke and spin and juke some more all over the spectrum. The Bills. NFL topics. His BBQ restaurant down in Florida. His hardscrabble roots in Florida. Future pranks he has planned. You name it.
Along the way, Go Long readers and listeners can gain a true personal connection with No. 19 on their screen.
I cannot wait to get started.
Hope to see you Monday night.
Interested in supporting Go Long? Become a subscriber right here! We’ll continue our kickoff special, too. When you become an annual subscriber, right now, you’ll also get a FREE Go Long t-shirt.
As a subscriber, you get access to everything at Go Long — all stories, all columns, all shows and all of Bob McGinn’s content, including his series on Brett Favre this week:
Catch up on some of our recent features below, too, ICYMI:
So the live events are recorded and sent out later, correct? There is no zooming in for those ones? For a hot second I thought Sam could be the coolest coach ever and have his team pop in for a few minutes during practice :)
Thank you , see ya later