Ep#2 Bullies, Damone’s, and That One Roided Guy Who Headed Butt Me For No Reason At Franchine’s On A Monday
Joe's back for Episode 2 of Road Back to Philly, and this one goes deep into the two characters that defined growing up in Cherry Hill, NJ — the bully and the Damone. If you don't know what a Damone is, producer Dan didn't either, which tells you everything you need to know about the generational divide between South Jersey in the 80s and Utah in 2026.Joe shares three personal bully stories — a Marine ex-boyfriend, a Billy Zabka lookalike with fingerless gloves, and a roided-up guy who headbutted him at Francine's nightclub for absolutely no reason. Listeners call in with their own stories, including one involving a pencil stabbing, a mom who literally organized a neighborhood fight, and a bully whose father allegedly brought methamphetamine from Germany to Philadelphia after World War II. That one took a turn.On the Damone side, Joe breaks down his real-life version: his friend's older brother Chris, who had Corvettes, gold chains, missed 77 days of senior year, and still graduated. By the end of the episode, Joe lands somewhere honest — Damone never actually had it figured out. Rat got the girl. Be who you are.Also in this episode: Philly sports check-in, a bowling alley fight Joe probably should have walked away from, life advice from a Jewish mob dad, and Dan revealing his own Damone was a guy named Dalian who closed on every girl Danny warmed up.Timestamps0:00 — Intro & Philly sports check-in: Sixers, Flyers, Phillies, and why Joe's wearing an Eagles hat13:59 — Joe introduces the episode theme and explains what a Damone is to a 34-year-old who's never seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High15:13 — Joe's real-life Damone: his friend's older brother Chris, the Corvette, the gold chains, and 77 missed days of school~32:00 — Bully #1: Tracy's Marine ex-boyfriend who followed them on a date, and why Joe grabbed the baseball bat and then just... went inside~40:00 — Bully #2: Danny S., the Billy Zabka lookalike with fingerless driving gloves, and a headlock fight outside Cherry Hill East~48:00 — Bully #3: Dave Triplett, the unprovoked headbutt at Francine's, and a guy who seemed to be at every club every night of the week56:09 — Listener voicemails start. Al Kaz opens with a reunion roast and a wild story about the origins of meth in the United States1:00:15 — Andrew Steiner's bully-turned-Damone-turned-bully-again story1:03:03 — Chris stabs his bully with a pencil. They become friends. Rest in peace, Scotty.1:07:35 — Joe's bowling alley fight, a missed kick to the groin, and the advice a Jewish mob dad gave him afterward1:19:27 — Jerry Rowan took a 45-minute detour for weeks to avoid a bully who didn't even remember him. His Damone explains the numbers game.1:23:30 — Joe wraps it up: Damone didn't have it figured out. Rat got the girl. Don't pretend to be something you're not.
