Sam Morril: Why Happiness Hurt His Stand-Up

Breaking Bread with Tom Papa

Comedian Sam Morril joins Tom Papa to discuss how the New York Knicks' recent success inadvertently hindered his comedic edge by making him

Key takeaways

• Sam Morril noted that being in a good mood during the Knicks' run was detrimental to his comedic persona.
• Morril recounted a disastrous set at a Rawlings Gold Glove dinner where he lost an audience of baseball royalty after 10 minutes.

Main topics

• New York Knicks
• Comedy bombing stories

Notable quotes

It really hurt my comedy because I was so happy.

Conclusion

A nostalgic and humorous look at the grit required to sustain a career

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:01) Your Knicks journey during that Speaker 1 (0:03) was so Speaker 2 (0:04) joyous to watch. I've said it before, but it really hurt my comedy because I was so happy. I was just always in a good mood. And it's just not good for your act to be like, what's the deal with God being real? This is crazy. I was so happy, but it was, yeah, it was a ride, man. Speaker 1 (0:19) It Speaker 2 (0:19) was such a ride. When did you Speaker 1 (0:20) get a feeling, like how far into the season did you realize, like, I mean, you always kind of believe, but when did it start to like? The playoffs. Once Speaker 2 (0:29) they annihilated the Hawks in that, in that decisive game, I was like, oh, this team, if they turn it on. So I started collecting the New York Post papers at that point. And I have a giant frame of all the covers on the run now. Oh, nice. Because I just had a feeling. And then you always have a feeling. But yeah, when they turned it on, I was like, it's over, dude. Once they swept the Sixers, I was like, we're fucking good. And then it was the Cavs. And then Speaker 1 (0:52) I was Speaker 2 (0:54) like, God, is it going to be like 99? Are they going to lose again? But you're kind of like, they're really good. And also, they just didn't have a guy like Brunson in 99. who could just, yeah, it was insane. Speaker 1 (1:02) The city was on fire. Yeah. And how many of the games, did you go to all of them? I Speaker 2 (1:07) went to a lot. Speaker 1 (1:08) I Speaker 2 (1:08) flew to a road game in San Antonio, which was an adventure. Speaker 1 (1:11) That's cool. Speaker 2 (1:12) That was pretty wild. Speaker 1 (1:14) It's breaking bread. Good to see you. Good to see you, dude. It's nice seeing you in Los Angeles. I'm in and out. Yeah. Always. You should be. I had dinner last night here in LA with Dave Hill. Oh, Speaker 2 (1:26) cool. Speaker 1 (1:27) And there was another one. It was like. Yeah, you got to get out of here. Yeah, you Speaker 2 (1:32) can just look at us and you're like, that's not an L.A. person. You Speaker 1 (1:34) can Speaker 2 (1:34) just tell. We don't look like it. So, yeah, I like a short trip here, though. Yeah, Speaker 1 (1:40) yeah, come in, see your friends, do some pods. But you must miss New York a little. A lot. Yeah. Yeah, that's why I do come to Papa all the time. It keeps me coming in every month. Yeah, I like it Speaker 2 (1:55) out here. It's just, you know, I like it brief. I'm not equipped. I'm not a driver. I'm Speaker 1 (1:59) not Speaker 2 (2:00) like, Speaker 1 (2:00) you Speaker 2 (2:01) know. But there's a lot of stuff I like to do here. Speaker 1 (2:04) Yeah, but it's, no, you wouldn't be on a billboard for California. No. There wouldn't be like you with floaties. I'm not part of the Speaker 2 (2:14) sales pitch. No. That guy Speaker 1 (2:16) looks really grumpy Speaker 2 (2:17) for how nice the weather is here and how spacious the apartments are. And I would Speaker 1 (2:22) probably live in downtown LA just so I could walk. I'm just not an LA person. I was just in downtown doing some podcasts the other day. And every time I go down, I'm like, this is like it's been here forever. We should live down here. And it's just so filled with chaos and the homeless. mentally ill just like there's so many streets of so bad yeah and it's so glaring because that's all that's there it's not like mixed in with a bunch of other stuff and then you're like nah I should live like in the valley yeah they put me up there once because I did that show is Speaker 2 (3:00) it cake and they were like we'll put you up and I'm like oh cool and then I get there I'm like this is where you put me up a lot of uh heroin foot needles around here not the best place to stay but uh You don't have any money. You're just Netflix. Thanks. The hotel was nice, but then you walk out and you're like, this is crazy. No. But Speaker 1 (3:19) I'd Speaker 2 (3:19) still take walks. I mean, you still got to get Speaker 1 (3:22) out. How we have to go. I mean, you set it up for how's New York doing right now. But your next journey during that was. So joyous to watch. I've said it before, Speaker 2 (3:35) but Speaker 1 (3:35) it really hurt my comedy because I was Speaker 2 (3:37) so happy. I was just always in a good mood. And it's just not good for your act to be like, what's the deal with God being real? This is crazy. I was so happy, but it was, yeah, it was a ride, man. It was such a ride. Speaker 1 (3:52) When did you get a feeling, like how far into the season did you realize, like, I mean, you always kind of believe, but when did it start to like... The playoffs. Just the playoffs. Once they annihilated the Hawks in that decisive Speaker 2 (4:05) game, I was like, oh, this team, if they turn it on. So I started collecting the New York Post papers at that point. And I have a giant frame of all the covers on the run now. Oh, nice. Because I just had a feeling. And then, you always have a feeling. Yeah. Yeah, when they turned it on, I was like, it's over, dude. Once they swept the Sixers, I was like, we're fucking good. And then it was the... calves and it was like yeah Speaker 1 (4:28) and then i was Speaker 2 (4:28) like god is it gonna be like 99 are they gonna lose again but you're kind of like they're really good and also they just didn't have a guy like brunson in 99 who could just yeah Speaker 1 (4:36) it was it was the city was on fire it was yeah And how many of the games, did you go to all of them? I Speaker 2 (4:43) went to Speaker 1 (4:43) a lot. I flew to a Speaker 2 (4:44) road game in San Antonio, which was an adventure. That's cool. That was pretty wild. Yeah, we had a crazy experience. I was sitting behind a guy and I was like, man, that kind of looks like a little bit of a chubbier Chris Tucker to my friend. And I was like, but it's not. And then I see NBA posts. I'm like, Chris Tucker's at the game. I'm like, holy shit, I was sitting behind Chris Tucker the whole game? I love Chris Tucker. Speaker 2 (5:07) Did you wear your Speaker 1 (5:08) colors on the way in? Speaker 2 (5:09) Of course. I was decked out. Nice. I will say the Spurs fans were pretty classy for the most part. They've won a lot in their life. They were an amazing franchise. So they'd ball bust, and I had people come up and take a pic, but then be like. Spurs, let's go Spurs. And I'd be like, yeah, all right. That's cool. But they were like funny about it. But we had a row of Knicks fans. It just so happened. So we were kind of high. There's a part of us on TV just like hugging like a family, my friend and I. Just hugging a family in line. And I got so many texts. They're like, they Speaker 1 (5:40) just showed you. Speaker 2 (5:41) I was like, I'm going to live forever. Game one, the Knicks won. Johnson hit that dagger. And there's a few people on the walkout. The funny part is you're leaving the Spurs arena. these Knicks fans just come together and we all just start like hugging it's Speaker 1 (5:55) so great Speaker 2 (5:55) high-fiving but a few Spurs fans they were like beware for like there's a type of Spurs fans and they were like don't Speaker 1 (6:00) let us find you outside man we're like all right all right we're celebrating Speaker 2 (6:04) quietly one of you but uh yeah I mean it was it was joyful man Speaker 1 (6:09) it was so great and just knowing how much it meant to you because I mean you had been you Speaker 2 (6:14) know Speaker 1 (6:14) the whole time I've known you you've been chanting Knicks and it's been, it was pretty bleak for it. Since I was Speaker 2 (6:19) like four, dude. I don't know why. I mean, I do know why. The 90s Knicks were so gritty and cool that you just, there was no way not to love them. And every kid loved Starks because he kind of was childlike. Yeah, yeah. He had the big cheeks. He looked kind of young. Yeah, the baby face. He was temperamental like a child, kind of. He was exciting. Yeah. I mean, I fell in love with John Starks as a kid and he and Oak and Mace. Harper, I adored that team. Really cool intro. My brother was into it, so that helped. How far did they get at Speaker 1 (6:50) their best? They made the finals. They did make the finals. They lost in Speaker 2 (6:52) seven to the Rockets. So that's like my first sports memory. I was seven. Speaker 1 (6:56) Wow. Speaker 2 (6:56) And they got to game seven? Yeah. Jeez. Stark shot two for 18 famously, really, really rough. But it's like, you know, shooters Speaker 1 (7:04) are going Speaker 2 (7:05) to shoot. Speaker 1 (7:05) So Speaker 2 (7:05) it hurt, but I'll always love Starks. And I met him a few times and he's so nice. He's such a cool guy. And he watched me bomb an NYPD thing I had to do at the garden. I'm performing at the garden. What happened? It's a tough crowd. It's like all cops. And like a lot of them are just like, you know. They're just like, yeah, we're just out. They don't really care. They Speaker 1 (7:27) don't care. And it's Speaker 2 (7:27) mixed comedy and music, which is always tough. I watched John Fogerty not get what he deserved. And I'm like, all right, if you're going to kind of be like Speaker 1 (7:34) whatever to CCR, then that's like, all right, I'm in good company, I guess. But yeah, Speaker 2 (7:40) I went up and I was having kind of a tough. You know, I get pops where I get them, but then it's like, it's hard to hold a. a crowd that big that's not your crowd, that's not particularly a comedy crowd. And then Chris DiStefano went on after me and was like, you guys are heroes. And I'm like, you bitch. The second he came on stage, I was like, you pandering little bitch. And he's like, I was scared. I didn't know what to do. But Starks, after he saw me, was like, he'll hug me. I'm like, oh, this is pretty cool. How long did you have to do with that gig? Too long. Like five would have been good. I did like 15. It was too long. Yeah, yeah. Like Fat Joe went on. Yeah. You know, but Speaker 1 (8:19) Cyndi Speaker 2 (8:21) Lauper did a song. I'm like, this is like a stacked lineup. Like they don't want to see me. Yeah. You know, so it was. It's always hard. I'm happy to do it, but I was like, wow, this is not. Yeah. My set's not great. Speaker 1 (8:32) There's a, I was talking to Sarah Tiana the other day, and there's this Yankees gig, like for the Yankees. Baseball Speaker 2 (8:39) players are the worst crowd. The worst. They're the worst. Everyone I Speaker 1 (8:42) know that did it, and I love the Yankees, and I'll never take that gig. Dude, Speaker 2 (8:46) did I ever tell you when I bombed a MLB gig? Speaker 1 (8:48) No. I Speaker 2 (8:49) did the Gold Gloves dinner for Rawlings, and it's at the Plaza. I'm a native New Yorker. I've never been to the Speaker 1 (8:55) Plaza. Speaker 2 (8:55) I Speaker 1 (8:55) was just like, let me just go. This is cool to be in. Speaker 2 (8:58) Yeah. Speaker 1 (8:58) And Speaker 2 (8:58) it's gorgeous. And I'm like, I'm in there. The people couldn't be nicer with Rawlings. And they're like, dude, we're so happy you're doing this. You're going to. crush and in my head i'm like the second they say that you just you just know you're you're cooked and Speaker 1 (9:14) they're like it's a great room for comedy i'm like it's like Speaker 2 (9:16) cavernous it's like there's like chandeliers i'm like this is not a good room for comedy but like i i prep for it oh dude it's not and i and i uh even wrote jokes for it like i wrote i was like let me sit and write baseball jokes they got a prompter for me yeah i wrote those jokes killed out of the gate i'm killing They want me to do 25, which I'm like, 25 Speaker 1 (9:37) minutes in the middle of a dinner? Speaker 2 (9:39) Yeah. And it's all the gold glove recipients. The only one who didn't make it, thank God, Yankees pitcher Max Fried. I'm like, I don't want to bomb in front of not just a Yankee, but a really good Jewish player. How many of those do we get? We get so few. But everyone else, holy crap, I'm bombing. And so for the first 10, I'm killing. It's going great. Joe Piscopo hosted. He couldn't have been cooler. He's in the wings laughing his ass off once I start losing the crowd. And I see Bob Costas. I'm killing it first. I see Bob Costas in the crowd like this. And I'm like, oh shit, Costas just toasted me. And then it starts going south. Because at 10 minutes, I'm like, all right, well, I'm out of baseball jokes. Let me just go into my act. And it starts, it's okay. I segued it in all right. But it starts kind of, and it was like during the mayoral campaign too. This is where we celebrate. the nastiest hands. Too bad Andrew Cuomo couldn't make it. You know, jokes like that. I'm like zinging, I'm killing. They're all getting pops. And then I finally have to do my act. And it's like, after like 12 minutes, they're like, everyone's like, why is this guy still talking? They're like, the baseball's always fun, but he's still talking. And I'm just like, anyway, and then this happened. About your life. Oh. All your own Speaker 1 (10:48) stuff that no one cares about. It's bombing Speaker 2 (10:49) so hard. And I see Speaker 1 (10:51) Bob Costas after the toast. He just looks at someone like, oh, Speaker 2 (10:55) I lost Costas. And then I'm looking at the crowd. I'm looking into the crowd of like baseball royalty. Because it's not just the Gold Glove recipients. I'm like, that's Dave Winfield. That's Johnny Bench. Oh, no. And the right, I was like, that's Don Mattingly. He was my hero. He was like my first baseball player that I was like, he looks like a baseball player with a mustache and the eye black and the sunglasses. Yeah. And he was so, I kind of got into baseball at the end of his run. But I was like, Mattingly was so cool. The Speaker 1 (11:21) coolest. Speaker 2 (11:22) I still got a picture with him after. I do that sad thing where they're like, will you still take a picture with him? And Speaker 1 (11:27) he's Speaker 2 (11:27) like, yeah. Speaker 1 (11:28) I Speaker 2 (11:29) was like, I got to remember this. I got to remember this night, good or bad. But yeah, they were shocked because I think they were fans. So they were like, how did that go so badly? I'm like, you can't ask me to do 25. And they were like, Chris DiStefano did it last year. He did really well. I was like, shut the fuck up. I texted him. Chris was like, I pandered. Speaker 1 (11:48) He's like, they were all Trump people. I just was like, Speaker 2 (11:50) Trump, Speaker 1 (11:50) Trump. Speaker 2 (11:50) I was Speaker 1 (11:51) like, you bitch. Speaker 1 (11:53) You have to in those situations, though. Yeah, yeah. I really, I was, it's, at this point in my career, it took 30 years to realize those kind of crowds with accomplished people. They don't care about your life. Totally. They don't care about your apartment. They don't care about you and your dog. They care about themselves. Exactly. And if you joke about them, you're going to survive. Speaker 2 (12:18) So you just got to be like. That's why I should have. I did like 10 on them. I'm like, I should have done all of it on them. I should have just had someone help me. I should have just not done it myself. But I felt so bad leaving. Speaker 1 (12:28) And I was in the back. And it's like, oh, Speaker 2 (12:30) my God, get me a Manhattan. They bring me a drink. I had an agent there. And she tried to walk out. I go, where are you going? You're not leaving me to drink alone. Order a drink. She was like, okay. She came back in. I had to just watch me get drunk. Speaker 1 (12:42) Colin made me laugh recently with one of these. We were talking about like corporates that go south kind of thing. And he said he had one recently where... When he came in, they were like, greet him. And the woman was just like, oh my God, we're a huge family. Just love you so much. And it's going to be a great night. It's going to be wonderful. And then he just went down in flames. And then as soon as the set was over, she's like, your car's outside. Speaker 2 (13:05) Yeah. Oh, it's brutal. Because they don't know. We can sense it. We know it's going to be a tough gig. So that's why I'm like, please, like, hey. Yeah, it's just, it's like this nice banter is based on you assuming I'm going to kill. Right. And it might not happen. Like these are, they also don't realize we're not, like how many of these gigs you do where they just are like, so you just go out there. I'm like, you're not going to introduce me? Yeah. Speaker 1 (13:32) I Speaker 2 (13:32) mean, like the smallest thing they don't think of. It's like, I look like a crazy person. I just grab them like, hey guys, what's going on over here? It's like, what? We're eating dinner. Speaker 1 (13:41) I was in somewhere in Massachusetts, maybe. Great Barrington this summer. Yeah. And it was like, I was just waiting for my car, and there was the breakfast at the, you know, the whatever sweets, you know, like little roadside restaurant, and people are making waffles and, you know, doing whatever. And there was an older guy there, and he was talking about the Knicks. This is in Massachusetts. And he said, I'm telling you. We haven't felt this good in so long. This is going to last a couple of years. He's like holding court. He's not wrong. Speaker 2 (14:17) But he really. Oh, I feel that way. Right? Well, it's like a release. I'm a Giants fan too. So when they beat the Patriots that first time, I was like, yeah, I think I'm good for life. I know. I really feel that way. I'm kind of like, yeah, that was so cool that I'm kind of like, yeah, I'll still root and everything. But that was, that's kind of how I feel. Speaker 1 (14:32) That was Speaker 2 (14:32) enough. It was enough, dude. It was like. Speaker 1 (14:34) But I would say, I would argue the Giants have been so bad for so long now that it's... Yeah,