Part 2 Interview with Mike Fox

Kevin M. Neibauer caught up with the busiest man in Philly sports in an effort to update the interview from two years ago. As you will learn, Mike Fox is just as busy as ever. Well, let's have Mike tell you.



KMN- Mike, we did the first interview about two seasons ago. A lot has happened in your life since that time. First off....You have gotten into showbiz, tell us what projects that you have been involved with.

MF-"Well, I worked on 3 movies, “Invincible”, “ We Are Marshall” and a new movie that hasn’t been released yet, “ The Game Plan”. I was given cameo roles for “We Are Marshall” and “Invincible”. I was offered a cameo for “ The Game Plan” but turned it down because they wanted me to stay in Boston for another week so they can shoot the scene".

KMN- What is next? Another movie? Television?

MF-"Laughing, I wish… Coming off the third movie I was offered a sales job at Verizon, and I need a little stability in my life. Funny thing though, on the 1st day I started at Verizon, my phone rang and it was an offer for another movie which I had to turn down. Since I started at Verizon I have been spoken to about another movie and help with a TV series which I had to turn down also. Verizon isn’t the only reason I turned them down. All jobs were away and during the season where I have too much to do with either the Wings or the Barrage.

KMN- So, you are still with the Barrage?

MF "Yes, in fact I am working to get everything ready for the start of the season."


KN- With the filming and movie making, and equipment duties, you must have a 28 hour day....

MF- "It is that way all the time. With the movie, everything I do is centered around the movie schedule. We start with a training camp so I have hours that correspond to the practices. We move into a shooting schedule so my set up and day centers around that time table. Some days my call time will be 4 am and go until midnight, but then I have to have an 8 hour turn around, so I do get some sleep. "

"With the teams and working full time, my week is chock full of activities. I do all the laundry and have the equipment room at my home. After a Wings home game for example I immediately unpack the truck into my garage and start the uniforms in the washer. While the first load is going through, I sort the towels and repack the bags from what I used. By then I can hang up the first load of wash to dry and get into the 2nd load. After I hang that load, I can start the towels and get to bed. This is usually an hour after I get home, and I am constantly moving. As long as we don’t have another game to prepare for, this is pretty much my schedule. If we do have another game that weekend, I repack the truck with the bags I will be traveling with and then try and get a few winks. Usually though, with a Friday night home game and a Saturday night away game, I don’t really sleep until Sunday. I then use time during the week to finish all the towels, fold them and repack the officials locker room bag, the visitors bag and our towel bag. I do around 200 towels a week for home games. "

"I then rely on the free time I have during the week to finish the towels and get ready for the next home game. That free time might be getting up a while before I normally have to get up so I can wash, dry and fold some towels and get them into the proper bag. I try to finish before Wednesday because we practice at night and then I have the practice gear to take care of."

"I would love a few more hours in the day. Sometimes, while I am waiting for the last of the uniforms to come out of the wash, I will sit on the floor and play with my dog."


KMN- Talk about your duties with the US Indoor team, are they basically the same as with the Wings?

MF- "Well, yes and no. First of all I am the equipment manager for the USIL team. That is the same as with any lacrosse team. Secondly, the coaches and general managers have included me in on all the conference calls with the planning etc. where I am a bigger part of the process."

KMN- Do you still involve your kids in your work?

MF -"I will try to do this as long as I can, the teams take so much time away from the family so anything I can do to keep contact with my boys I will do. My sons all grew up on the sidelines, I have worked for Temple football for 25 years. I brought them with me there when they were 8-9 years old. When I started with the Soul there was a job opening and I brought Mike Jr. there. Chris will be back with the Barrage as a water boy. "

KMN-Was it a particularly tough season with the Wings?

MF- "Any season for a professional athlete is tough. When you see these guys who can’t move because they are so beat up from a game get right back into it whether it is a back to back game or getting ready for the game for the following weekend. I have nothing but respect for these guys. "

"I do know what you meant, any time you fall short of the goals you all have set, both individually and as a team it hurts. People laugh when we speak of trainers and equipment people setting goals but you need the entire team working together for the same end and Jen (Massey) and I worked hard for us to reach that end. It hurts, it really does. "

KMN- Do you have a large staff for the equipment duties?


MF- "For the Wings and the Barrage I have been fortunate and have had an intern some of the time, so that helps especially for the home games. For the movies our staff could be as large totally as 7, but that would be for all of football: the actors, the special ability actors (SAE’s), and the extras. I work with 1 other person and we do the actors and the SAE’s. My primary position is to protect the SAE’s, those people who are really doing the hits and stunts. I might have anywhere up to 50 people I handle alone."

"It’s funny, with an NFL team you have a head guy, several assistants and the ball boys that might total 10 people who all work to support 53 guys. With the Wings and Barrage I have @ 24 guys mostly by myself. It was that way with the Soul and the Kixx too. I would love to see some of those guys do what we do and travel like we travel, but that is another issue."

KMN-Do you still work at Jeff Spano's place?

MF- "Jeff is a very close friend of mine and until I started working back at Verizon, it was my job bartending at Brothers in Bryn Mawr. I still help Jeff out with odds and ends… he doesn’t know what a screwdriver is so I go into Brothers’s in Bryn Mawr and make the necessary fixes."

"It was neat to see how the bar has matured in just over a year and how Jeff stabilized the menu to some really excellent choices. Good food and good atmosphere at Brother’s in Bryn Mawr on Connestoga Road.



KMN-How are the players? Is it demanding keeping up with tooth paste, shaving cream and the needs the guys have?

MF-"The guys are great. I know it is cliché but in my years with this team we seem closer each and every year, even with all the changes on the roster. New guys just slide right in and become welcome instantly. I know we all have each others back.
The toiletries box is easy to take care of, I supply whatever the guys need so they can just worry about their job. It is that simple. Yes, I get requests and I even get contributions of supplies from the guys. With the new house, I have a shelf in the equipment room that only has the toiletries stocked on it. "

KMN- If a player gets injured during a game, does Lindsay ask you if he can play? Or is it up to the player and coach?

MF-"Lindsay is a professional. He has been around long enough to see a variety of injuries so he has a good idea when something happens. Lindsay will get a report from Jen Massey, our Head Trainer when someone gets hurt, and that will tell him if they can return immediately or must sit. All of our coaches are good with that. Sometimes, the report will go into detail from the doctors and they abide with that decision.
The biggest this is communication. Some times a guy gets dinged and goes into the tunnel or locker room and Jen will rush to check them out. At that point I will inform Chris Sanderson and he will tell Lindsay."

KMN-Russ Cline,in his blog, mentioned changes. Those changes don't include your staff do they?

MF-"LOL, I don’t have a staff. As for Jen Massey and myself, I know we would both like to be back next year. I have been through numerous coaching changes over the course of my career and have survived most of them so I just know my fate lies in the hands of the owners.

KMN-Which is the easiest to deal with, Professional teams or movies?

MF-"Forgetting about egos, with the movies every day is game day. Everything I do for them is preparing them for the screen. I know what the hits will be, we rehearsed them and have each and every step charted. I have a safety meeting with the trainer and the unit director every morning so we know what hits and stunts are planned, then we come up with the padding to protect the athlete."

"With the teams, I try to protect the athlete to the best of my ability with the equipment given. Although I work closely with Jen Massey we cannot forsee any injury because so many things can happen on the floor. All I can do with these guys is once they get injured, use my knowledge to prevent any further damage."


Thanks agin to Mike Fox....


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