So, I was kinda just bumming around online the other night, you know, falling down the usual rabbit holes. Ended up watching some stand-up clips, and this guy Shane Gillis popped up. Funny dude. Then I heard someone mention him playing football, like, for real playing it back in the day. That got me thinking.
Football? The comedian? Seemed kinda interesting, so I figured, what the heck, let’s see what’s up with that. It wasn’t like some big research project, more like poking around when I had some downtime. You know how it is.
What I Did First
First thing, I just started searching, plain and simple. Typed stuff like “Shane Gillis high school football” into the search bar. A bunch of things came up, mostly articles mentioning it briefly or fan discussions.
Then I thought, maybe he talked about it himself? So I started scrubbing through some podcast appearances he did. Listened to bits and pieces here and there, mostly ones where he was just shooting the breeze with other comics. You gotta sift through a lot of nonsense sometimes, but occasionally you hit gold.
Digging a Bit Deeper
Found out he played in high school, yeah. That much seemed solid. I tried to find specifics, like what position. Saw mentions of him being an offensive lineman. Big dude, makes sense I guess. Protecting the quarterback, doing the grunt work. Seems fitting somehow, thinking about his comedy style.
I spent a bit trying to see if there were any old pictures or local newspaper clippings. You know, from back when he played for Trinity High School. Didn’t find much easily accessible stuff, just more mentions confirming he was on the team. It wasn’t like looking up a pro player, obviously. Just some local kid playing ball back then.
- Searched his name + high school + football.
- Listened to podcast interviews where he mentioned his past.
- Tried looking for old team photos or local news bits (mostly struck out there).
What I Pieced Together
So, yeah, he definitely played. Seems like he was decent enough, part of the team, doing his thing on the O-line. He’s told a few stories about it on podcasts, usually making fun of himself or the whole situation. Like how intense high school football felt back then. It wasn’t just a casual thing, sounds like it was pretty serious business in his area, which tracks with Pennsylvania high school football culture, I suppose.
The main thing I got was that it was a real part of his past, not just some throwaway line. He put in the time, wore the pads, the whole deal. Offensive line… yeah, I can picture it. It’s not the glory position, but it’s essential. Kinda like building a foundation.
It’s funny how paths diverge, right? You got guys pouring everything into football, dreaming of the big leagues. Then you got guys like Gillis, who played, probably took it seriously then, but ended up finding this completely different thing, stand-up comedy, and getting known for that instead. Makes you think about all the different routes people take. Just found it interesting, that little connection between the guy telling jokes on stage now and some kid blocking dudes on a high school field years ago. Anyway, that’s what I dug up. Just thought I’d share.
