Each week, I get to sit down with different 49ers players and alumni for the team's only player-focused podcast, discussing the upcoming game week and leading players through fan-submitted questions about football, life and everything in between. Former 49ers left tackle Joe Staley joined the 49ers "You've Got Mail" podcast presented by Manscaped to share more about his favorite 49ers stories and discuss his off-the-field interests.
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to stay up to date with the latest episodes of the 49ers "You've GotMail" podcast presented by Manscaped.
Here are five things we learned about Staley:
Staley made the most of his Bye weeks during his playing days, opting to spend the time with friends and family. He even got married to his wife Carrie during the team's Bye week of the 2013 season.
Staley: "I looked forward to the Bye week. I even got married during the season on a Bye week, talk about unplugging. My wedding anniversary was yesterday. Nine years ago on November 2nd, I got married. We had a Bye week, and I was like, 'Let's do it!'"
In addition to his tremendous play on the field, Staley is fondly remembered for his social media segment called "The Joe Show," so he shared a little background about how the show came to be.
Staley: "I don't even know how it started. I think Scott Kegley, who at the time was running video for the 49ers back in 2010, just came to me one day and was roaming around the locker room. I think he was going to ask me a question, and I may have just grabbed the mic. I just started asking other people questions instead of him. He was like, 'We could do this as a show if you want to do this,' and I was like 'Sure, let's just do it.' The next week we came in and actually shot a show."
Now that Staley is watching 49ers games as a fan, it's difficult for him to be "low-key" amongst the Faithful who are longtime fans.
Staley: "I went to the Denver Broncos game in Denver with a buddy and was there pregame, hanging out and then went to the stands. That was fun. It was my first game actually being in an NFL stadium in the stands, and that was a trip. I didn't think it through. I had seats that were on an aisle, and everybody in the section was like, 'Holy cow! That's Joe!' I was watching the game, and everybody that passed by was like, 'Can I take a selfie?' or asking me questions about the team. I didn't really watch a whole lot of it."
Staley played in a lot of games in crazy weather conditions during his 14 seasons in the league, but there is one that stands out above the rest.
Staley: "The one that I hated the most - we played a night game in New England against the Patriots in 2012, and it was like 33 degrees and pouring rain. I ended up finishing the game with icicles on my facemask because it had obviously dropped below freezing throughout the game. It was just annoying. The rain was so cold. It was windy. You couldn't really get warm because it was so wet. That was probably the worst as far as, I was really noticing the elements in that game."
Excitement surrounding the recent addition of running back Christian McCaffrey is not limited to the Faithful. Staley was impressed by what he saw from McCaffrey and the 49ers against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, and he believes the potential of this team is high heading into the second half of the year.
Staley: "I thought the 49ers were going to go into that game and definitely get back on track. What was most exciting was the way they utilized Christian, also how quick he took to the playbook."
