It’s an old podcast, but it’s still a fun story. Before he was Al Bundy or Jay Pritchett, Ed O’Neill was vying for a spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was undrafted, duking it out with the likes of Joe Greene, so, in retrospect, the prospects of him making Chuck Noll’s roster were low. And lo and behold, Knoll asked him for his playbook. It was on the day of the moon landing, but O’Neill likely didn’t remember it.
He went to a bar and got blackout drunk. O’Neill was a guest on Julian Edelman’s Names with Games podcast in 2024, where he remembers seeing the news of Armstrong on the moon at the establishment, where he thought to himself, “Well, someone had a good day.” Then, he was mentioned as a player who was cut that day; the patrons recognized him, bought him drinks, and before he knew it, he was half-naked with some woman in his car being pulled over by the police.
Ed O'Neill reveals the exact day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, he was cut by the Steelers, got blackout drunk with strangers in a dive bar, and was pulled over half naked by police at 3 AM
— Nichole (@NicholeDelly) August 21, 2026
"I went in the bar, it was like 2:00 in the afternoon and there were a couple of… pic.twitter.com/IMZKaKpMMf
O’Neill was so intoxicated he couldn’t remember his name, but somehow he gave the officer his driver’s license. The officer then recognized him, asked whether he had been cut by the team that day, and later asked the woman whether she could drive him home.
“It was Pittsburgh,” said O’Neill. “Even if you got cut, it doesn’t make any difference,” he added.
“They love them Steelers,” added Edelman. “You’re still part of the team”
O’Neill later said that for decades, Chuck Knoll cutting him was a recurring dream.
Ed O'Neill reveals he finally retired from his 52-year recurring NFL nightmare at age 75
— Nichole (@NicholeDelly) August 21, 2026
"I got cut by the Steelers when I was 23 years old. Every year after that, at least twice a year, I would have the same dream."
"I was back in camp in uniform on the sidelines, and an… pic.twitter.com/bD2ZJmBj9j
