Dragon ass right now, I feel it. Fuck, I'm tired. I'm almost like a little tired of myself since since you've sat on the bush, you little drink. Uh, how are we gonna? It's it's all we get this. Are we rolling or we're going?
It's nice to see that Bosses picked up as games since I've left. I never sleep well after games, and last night especially it was like a two am piece. I was still up.
I was like at two am, dude, I was up till two am. Dang. I can never sleep after games ever. Noon game. I know you got back up? What time I ate because you ran ran ta o'clock? Now, yeah, we got back like six forty five.
First went off the plane, sprinted to my car, and I'm like boogiying, get kids going treating, Go to the Tomlin house, shout the Tomlins and make it there right after the Dune Tricker treating. So I missed the Tricker treating, but.
I got to see the kids, which was cool.
So were you dressed up? I was dressed up like a guy who just finished the football game. I was a football player.
Halloween.
You know that you put some webs on a dead football player. Dead football player, classic, that classic Halloween thing.
Yeah, you just use the jersey whatever you are, just put death over you.
Just put a little blood on it. Yeah you want to Uh, you don't let the people know about Chevy. Yeah, I love to let the people know about Chevy.
Chevy.
Uh, it's it's it's hard to argue. It's hard to argue it's not it's the greatest vehicle ever made in the history of vehicles.
Am I right?
Yeah, I'm dressed like a Chevy driver. You are just like a Chevy driver.
You know why?
You look durable, you look reliable. That an ankle stability in those boots. Your ankles aren't going anywhere. No, those are Georgia boots.
Yes they are. I'll tell you what. That's it.
That's two for Yeah, that's a two for one special. As Mike Rabel would say. You know, those are beautiful. The Chevy Silverado is the greatest and most affordable, dependable, reliable vehicle in the entire world.
Share we reading this thing.
Silverado is strong, advanced, dependable, and hard working. I just said that, but we're doing it. See. Football season is in full swing. It's time to get your tailgate game.
Uh.
The available multi flex tailgate with six convenient configure configurations. Damn, I almost crushed that with will give you a step up on your tailgate game. There's a damn it.
Dude, there's a.
Don't say, don't curse sorry, Oh yeah, yep them out. There's a primary tailgate which opens with a push of a button on the key fob of the inner gate folds to a large step for easily getting in and out of the bed. Dude, I just I'm thirty and I can't read.
Uh.
There's easy access configurations where the inner gate folds down, allowing you to reach farther into your bed. This just listen to Chevy Silverado does it all right?
There's a ton of grit. That's a beautiful thing.
We are spiraling in about two and a half minutes into this podcast. But I'll be honest with you, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't Chevy. Why because any other vehicle I would have and probably want to start it up, you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, we love Freeland.
What's that?
We love Freeland. We love the boys of Freeland, we love the boys of Feeling.
Now we're not just about Freeland, like us personally it's our favorite, but any Chevy dealership in general just has it right.
Yeah, National, it's a beautiful thing. Am I missing anything? No, you did great. I probably now that when you're reading it. I was thinking to myself like he was cancuss us. We guys, I should probably though about having a teen days since I was knocked out, so.
You know, yeah, Oh, it's good to be back, dude, It's nice to be back. Miss the hell out of you. If you're listening, you're probably like, hey, what's wrong with the boy. I'm just I'm just tired, man. So the energy is gonna be a little lower today. You're gonna have You're gonna have to keep me going here. I'm piggybacking.
I'm riding your coat tails today on the energy train. I think everybody's a little down though, you know what I mean. Like the Boys one, it's it is victory Monday, like we were excited that we're six and two as a ball club. Yeah, it's exciting, it's good stuff, but we lost the boy. Oh until until we get confirmed, Until we get confirmed, we're not here to I have no clue. And for people that are listening, like Taylor and I were telling each other we miss each other.
We really don't see each other a whole lot. No, we don't see each other whole lot. We and this, we put a whole game of phone tag last week. He didn't talk at all. I know, I what did I do? I accidentally called you yesterday like FaceTime, and then I hung up. I said, oh, that's my bad, and you said wow, yeah, and then he goes, we've been playing phone tag all week and week he goes, You've been ducking me all week, is what he said. And so I sent him a screenshot of our calls
to where I called him. He called me, I missed it. I called him twice, he missed it. He called me back. I didn't. I missed it, but I didn't end up calling him back. So who called you last? You called me there?
But so if anybody's in the wrong, you you know what I'm saying, and we're not.
I think we're here to take accountability, like you know, we can both. I'm not here to take account though.
You know I'm gonna run for my problems today. Yeah, what I'm saying, I don't think we need to talk about the boy I don't think it's appropriate for me to speak on his behalf.
Yeah, you definitely can't.
Got going on, right?
What I can say just talk over Taylor? Yeah you can't, but me I will say that.
Uh, I'm looking at these notes here, says Dereck Henry hurt and then the Biscuits is if tru.
OJ might be the blame, what do you say?
Nobody has separated themselves from the next player in their position like King Henry has. And you know, Dickerson and I have had a talk. We discussed a few times this year with seventeen games, if he's going to break his record, Well we got different opinions about that, but we'll just have to wait and see and talk about that a little later. In any event, Hey, guys, wear your masks. If you haven't got your shots, go get it.
Take care.
That's wild man. Hey, listen, OJ, you sound like me talking about Michigan Michigan State. Like, let's just let's just that thing up a little bit. But hey, regardless of what's going on with Derek dude, regardless of it as a football player, of what he was doing that, I mean, he's the man.
We love him. Yeah, he is.
I love that guy and my heart breaks for him. Whatever the situation is. He's the fucking man, dude. So I'm I mean, I'm bummed out for the boy. Man, I'm bummed out when when I talked to him yesterday after the game, but what was going on? And uh, I teared up a little bit, dude. That's how like, not because we lost a back or whatever, just because, like Derek is a person, how hard everyone knows how
hard he works. Everyone sees how hard he works, and it's just tough to see that happen, man, for a guy that doesn't deserve that, And that's a that's a huge bummer, man. But I mean times are six and two. We'll put ourselves in a good little position.
First in the AFC. Yeah, I'm righting high right now. You're right high right now, I'm riting high.
Hey, that little instagram you put up yesterday of you and you in the exact uniform.
Oh, you're right all white. That's funny. Dude, was Will here that day and David Long, who by the way, is playing like a stud. That man is all over the place. Huh.
I do enjoy watching the buntering out there, dude. Yeah, he's just banging that drum over and over again, ripping around.
Yeah, yeah he is. I'm a big big David Long Junior game. I'm a big fan just because of like to like the journey he's had since being in the league, like being a lower round dude, Like he's been somebody who's always who's like had to wait his turn, and even last year. Remember I was on Peace squad. You you had torn your acl by this point, and we
were watching that Thursday night game. Remember he gave up that punt against the Colts, and then you know, everybody like wants to cut him and and do all this stuff. And then he gets COVID during the week that we go to Baltimore and then I get to play in the Baltimore game. Play well, he's probably at home, like like damn, Like I would have got to play this week, Like I would have played well against the Ravens because he did in the playoff game the year before. But
just knowing like how far he's kind of came. I just know, like all the energy he plays with, like you just feel like you know where it comes from, you know what I mean. He's a hungry ass dude. He is dude.
He's yeah, you've said it all. He's a stuck I love the guy to death. Transitioning a little bit from NFL. We've got to hit college. We gotta talk about college foot we got to talk about we got to talk about it.
And I will say, like I do enjoy like I enjoy like. I guess you guys are losing a little bit. But when you guys aren't playing Nebraska, I legit. Hang on, hang on, hang on, now, let me finish what.
You're about to talk. You're like already you started. I enjoy you guys losing a little bit, but and now we're talking about both sides of our mouth. Well, can I explain myself first?
I mean, you can, but it's gonna be the same. I feel like the only reason I guess I enjoyed seeing you guys lose is because of how much division we kind of created amongst ourselves. Dre in the Nebraska Michigan.
You mean, after we said we're mending, like we literally said it's over exactly.
Yeah, So that's what I'm speaking too, That's what I'm speaking to.
But we say it was over right right, So ultimately to the sides of the mouth, but no, no, keep going.
I was gonna say, like, go ahead, and I was gonna say, I do want you guys win like I wanted Michigan went, I want to Michigan to beat Michigan State, beat Ohio State. Start bandwiding with the boys a little. Yeah, only because of you, not the bandwagon. Like I'm a Michigan Wolverine, but like you know, my other half, I want his team to do well. You know what I mean?
Hey, when after Michigan beat the breaks off in Nebraska, I.
Went, come on, be real, though, I do get like we're going back and forth. You guys didn't beat the breaks off of us? Yeah, I mean whatever, we won? Oh yeah, you guys won the game by beating the breaks off the guys.
Okay, after we did dominated Nebraska at Nebraska and we did our little tiff and we mended fences. I followed Nebraska football on Twitter. Why I'm a corn Husker too, Now you know what I'm saying. Yeah, they're my other team when they're not playing Michigan. Now in the locker room last week, was your boy talking.
No question.
I was getting a lot of jaw sets in Yeah, and who did in the press person. Oh yeah, every single person on the Tennessee Titans wanted Michigan to lose this game. Really, yes, they were all praying, your boy took a debt in his pocketbooks.
All right, we took a debt. We are we talking here? Well, you know, per.
NFLPA rules, it was two hundred fifty dollars Max, So I lost dollars.
Let's just say it was a debt. You know what I'm saying.
It hurt a little bit. And then the presser comes up. I'm actually excited to talk about this.
Great job. By the way, thank you. Yeah, great job.
Because when I was walking away and I'll Taylor, we were going to ask you about Michigan, Michigan State. Now before that, Chris Bryant, who is uh he works for you?
Of him?
Now, I actually hosted him on his recruiting visit.
I love it.
His family's amazing.
Uh.
He's a good friend of mine. He asked me ahead, Oh what is my hairline? We're sitting Stephen A Smith. We joked the hairline running away a Smith. You know what I'm saying.
So anyway, I know him. He's a very dear friend of mine. I love his family. Yeah, but bade Chris Brian friend.
Anyway, he sends me a text or a DM He's like, hey, can you make a video to send to Michigan for the Michigan State and how much you hate Michigan State? Which I do hate Michigan State.
Did you know what I'm saying?
Like, We're removed so far at this point it's fun for me to hate on Michigan State. And then I just go back to living my life. So I'm leaving the presser and as I'm walking away, like, hey, we were gonna ask you about Michigan Michian State, I'm oh, I'm supposed to do a video anyway, and actually I'm supposed to do a video on that. And actually the girl who works at the time, she's like, this is the camera right here. So I go on, do my rant Michigan buy a billion?
Whatever?
But yeah, yeah, great, yeah, I don't want to say the effort, but Michigan State, Yeah, Michigan State is our little brother. Now, I know what you're thinking. In two thousand and nine to twenty thirteen when I was there, did Michigan State donkeys? Yes, there's no question, and I'm not here to talk about when I was there. I'm here to talk about now Michigan's number two defense in the country. I'm not here to talk about Gorgia's number
one Michigan. Michigan, the Boys in Blue are the number two defense in the Our offense, yeah, they say we're run heavy, they say we do that, but our past game's really coming along overall. Michigan State is going to get donkeyed at home in East Lansing. Whatever that po dunk count is, they're going down. Michigan's going home taking Paul Bunion and kindly, I'm not gonna say the effort, but Michigan State. You know, I'm saying, not gonna stay the F word, but Michigan State, Okay. And I knew
in that moment when I did that video. Even before I did that video, I was like, if we win, great at age as well. If we don't win now, I'm strictly talking about my video and what I said doesn't fucking matter at all. Why because my Twitter there's a there's still bombs going off on this phone right now.
It's on fire.
Oh, it's on fire, and I just listen, it's not even on right now. Haven't read one comment because these people are burning my house down, my Twitter house down, and I'm sleeping easy, baby.
It don't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. Did you see the young man you inspired?
Oh?
I can say whatever the fuck I want about Michigan Michigan State because I don't go there anymore.
You know what I'm saying. I can say anything I want. But you're you're a Michigan State Wolverine.
I know.
I'm a University of Michigan wolverine.
Yeah yeah, yeah, my boy. Hey listen, d you know what I'm saying.
I'm just saying, like I said, those things people got mad doesn't change my life. You know what I'm saying, Like that's the transition of what happened. So do I apologize for what I said? Nope? Word, no, No. You know what I'm saying, Like, it doesn't It doesn't change my life. It was fun. I got to get in there. People got all fired up on both sides. Michigan guys loved it. Michigan State guys use it as fuel.
It was a great game.
We lost.
That sucks.
My heart breaks for Michigan Wolverines. I will say it seemed like you guys are playing against the rest a little bit oh standard, pretty standard, you know what I'm saying.
Aside from the Nebraska game, Yeah, yeah, exactly, we're playing right.
Yeah it was hard. But I don't know who who this this kid is.
And he said, seems like a good kid. He seems like a great guy.
And you know what, as an athlete myself, if I can go and inspire one young gentleman to play a little bit harder, regardless of what team, I'm an inspiration. I might as well have YouTube videos of motivation coming up. You know what I'm saying, you should look into. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm I might as well start doing that ship because now this guy he took lawan and he's like, I'm gonna play harder because of it.
You've changed his life. I changed his life.
For the better. And I think I saw some redhead cat, some ginger cat ripping around the stadium after the game and he's like staying and they're like, what are you thinking? I think at the end he's like, I'm not gonna say it, but Michigan and I was like, I'm a fucking inspiration, dude. I'm I'm an inspiring individual.
And now you see there's dudes even making remixes to your video, Are they really?
Yeah?
I want to say it was who did I see? Acho Manuel? Oh he did? Oh the funniest ship. Yeah, he like he was chopping up your video. You like would stay a little bit, then he'd play a play of Michigan State beaten Michigan. Then it's a little bit more of your bit than show something else. That's number two defense in the country. You guys getting scored on us like that running back five tons.
Yeah, he's a Heisman candidate, right, Hey, I'm an inspiration.
You know what I'm saying, Like.
My life doesn't change it. I love Michigan and we should have won that game. We should have won that game. That sack fumble that uh Aiden Hutchinson should also be a Heisman candidate. Big fan of the ball falls in the falls in the end zone overturn kick like he should have that should have been a touchdown.
Yeah not no pass interference called the end wild So listen, but hey, what I do?
Went to eat that night like a fucking baby? Oh my god, dude, not on Sunday, And so you didn't sleep that well?
Yeah, I don't sleep well after games.
Well, you go play the Colts, catch it dumb, and so in my life, everything's all good right now, Michigan.
State, you're making waves. When you're making waves like this, it's not it's not a bad feel. I guess I don't like now that you're saying all that. I want to go back on my words. I'm not happy when you guys lose. I think I just enjoy I enjoyed watching all of that unfold on Saturday. Oh yeah, like I'm ready to go. My god, I can't wait see the man. I kind of hope they lose because I just want I want to see stuff like that.
Hat and I mean, people are people are I mean I don't read the comments, but when you go to.
Your or you could, you could read a few.
You're getting a little bit yeah, no, no, no, don't scroll the things just a little a little bit.
It's a little bit. Yeah, not reading all of them, not a little bit.
Ye.
Some guys like you put your fucking foot in your mouth.
Foot in your mouth, You're such an idiot, But you fin like a fucking do fist for saying that. Nope, not at all.
Choke, don't like it.
Yeah, I don't care. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. I could say anything dumb because it doesn't matter.
I know.
I think Krystal Leah said it best. Twitter is, if you're serious on Twitter, fuck yourself right well Chappelle.
Chappelle said it recently too, like it's it's a fake world. Twitter's not real. It's not real, like just just have funny. And I got people saying to kill myself over that.
Oh yeah, did that one's thing of just a tad? No, no, no, a tad. I mean, I'm not gonna say the effort, but no, you know you guys, William Golson. First off, that man has a great u straight like that right that right straight fist and.
Yeah that right there, like he's Aduke and you then.
It hurt physically and emotionally, you know what I'm saying, Like back then, that shit hurt. That's like twelve years ago.
This is new profile, big.
Yeah.
I went to his profile.
He follows me, and he probably subscribes and rates five stars hopefully hopefully I love to have one.
I don't.
He's a boy. He's a boy.
I don't want to month No, William, It actually don't care throwing them on, don't care. I don't want to hurt my feelings. But if he ever comes on and be pissed, no, William, come on, come on the bus dude.
And I can. I'll just sit here and I want him to tell me to myself, you know.
Yeah, we just bring here and I'll just eat verbal punches, not physical.
I'm over that ship, you know.
Yeah, little glass job over here and he starts throwing them bows verbally, let's go. Yeah, because it doesn't fucking matter, dude, None of it matters.
It doesn't.
Yeah, I love it. It's his profile pick. I love the little delete this picture. That's my favorite funny. But it's so hilarious how people just take this so seriously. Now, the rivalry is what it is. Do I like Michigan State?
No?
I don't. When I was there, did I hate him way more than I do now. Yeah, because you're drinking the koolid.
You know what I'm saying. You're drunk on being a Michigan man. Yeah, you guys. Both teams are undefeated. I mean, so it was an all It was a hell of a game. Yeah, it was.
It was everything it was supposed to be. I wish Michigan won, but just once again the video, like.
They are saying Hardball is, what's his record? Two and nineteen against teams in the top ten. I might be misquoting that, but it's something along the basically, it's along those lines of like it seemed like it was going to be different for Michigan this year, but now it just seems like the same old story again because they can't beat the premier teams in the Big ten. But listen, we lost one game, so you think you should be fired?
No?
And the thing is is that no. Yeah, I'm not gonna say the effort, but no, dude, wait when when Portnoy was on here, I said, yes, right, And that's the beauty. And people don't realize that people can just change their minds about shit.
I don't know about that.
Like people think like if you say something publicly, forever, that's your stance forever.
That is in the summertime, Portnoy said, do you think Harbor should be fired? I said yes, oh yeah, and I double fired. Should Harball be fired? No? And I fucking changed my why not?
Hey?
Why not?
Now?
What's your opinion? We've only lost one game? The guy's turning around. He's doing a great job. Now do you think you guys losing four last year? Let's lower the voice, let's just just a little. Do you think you saying we might lose one game this year on that podcast after the Nebraska game, do you feel like that might have played into the loss?
No, not at all, just words. It's just a question.
I'm not playing the game.
I'm not playing.
I have zero effect on anything.
I'm just a guy with a microphone and people subscribe to and we love you to death, We love you to death Tier once and I know you're bringing those tier twos up, and the tier twos are helping with the tier threes. It's like a ladder, all right. We're all just climbing it together. And I appreciate you listening to me say things. But here's the deal. This the words I say fluid. It could change it anytime. If you think I have a stance on something, it'll probably change.
You know, I could just I could say whatever I want to, like in my head, like trying to think of a fancy said I'm like so what about this?
Yeah, And I'm like opposite. Now, even if I don't think I can just say whatever I want. That's a that's a crazy shit about this whole thing, right, I can say whatever I want. People are listening to it. They were either gonna hate it or love it, and then tomorrow I'll change it again and they'll foot flop.
You know.
Life is beautiful. Life is fucking beautiful, dude. But I feel like you're talking at me so heavy.
No, I'm just you know, what is my face like that too? I'm like, the deal is I got here and I was dying, like is he.
Talking about it so much? Or now does it mean something like in here? Like just even more and more?
Like, Hey, it doesn't fucking matter. I think the reason why, the reason why I'm talking like this is because when I got here, I was so damn tired. I was like, how am I gonna even do this?
I am pumped the energies up there.
Yeah, and now like you got it, got my motor running a little bit.
Yeah.
So I'm like, I'm enjoying the banter. I am too, you know what I'm saying. I yeah, I don't want to go and set up already said it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the video. The presser all the fun stuff. This came about from it, all of it. Yeah, it helps the boys, you know what I mean? It kind of oh cool, oh cool? You know yeah? And then I hated it, but I also respected it because it
was a good move on your part. But you're saying I deserve whatever I'm about to get instead of like leaning in and playing in with more people, which I enjoyed doing more. Taylor just ended up said, Hey, I did this, I deserve whatever, go ahead and give it to me. Well, we're on the plane, and I'm like, man, fuck bro, go back and forth with some people a little bit. No blame some people. I love it.
I loved it, dude, and people like, you know, I don't read it, but.
Like, oh he's owing you.
Motherfuckers.
Somebody love some accountability, A straight shooter.
I just don't give a shit, Like God, I had destroyed my Twitter.
I love this guy's accountability. Yes, I don't read it.
I saw it, you know, I don't read it, but I did see a couple Yeah, he clipped on. Sometimes I do like to read it.
I just fued it. I lied.
I'm fucking lie five minutes ago, dude, I just lie that food.
Oh dude.
I I did it.
I flipped in the middle here and it's a perfect example, dude.
And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, doesn't Guy's a straight shooter.
Not really, not.
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I had a conversation about cryptocurrency the other day with Matt Barkley. Apparently the guy's reel into.
The cryptocurrency, well, can you give us something?
I got nothing?
God, dude.
It bothers me that I was using big words, and I got mad at him that he thought he was better than me.
You know, he just kept saying, I'm madumb it down.
If you're having a conversation in every third word, I have to like ask Siri what that means. Then we're lost. Like just say smaller words that I can understand. But really, the whole thing started with the uh nft thing. And he's like showing me these pictures of like monkeys with like stubbles and a cigarette coming out of their mouth, and it's like two hundred thousand dollars like American.
You know what I'm saying.
Domestic, I'm like, I fucking just pay a guy to make that a sticker for me, and I own it physically.
You know what I'm saying. Right, It's just confusing.
And then these NFTs you have a gallery apparently, and people can go and check out your gallery as if you have your own little museum.
There they are.
These things are out of hand expensive.
Some people have them as a profile pick.
What what's the what's the currency the cryptocurrency that you have to buy these with?
Sure? Yes, that is it. That's the one.
What was called ethereum? Okay, I don't understand it at all, but I'm thinking I gotta hear one of these monkeys. Now?
They do look sweet? Yeah? Is that two or fifty thousand dollars?
Sweet?
No?
But I don't. I don't get what makes that valuable. It's like diamonds, Like why are diamonds expensive? And it's collectibles? I guess, yeah, but one thing is the only reason why things are expensive because we put value on it.
What that guy's wearing nineteen ninety four beety glasses?
That's it?
Like, there's nothing special about that it's not even that well done of art. Yeah, just some guys, some guy there is no I just don't fast right now.
I know a lot of people.
I feel like that shit don't make any sense to me. Now.
Do I want a monkey? Yeah? Not physically.
I guess I'll just own it on the internet, you know what I'm saying. But Barkley's all he's all about that ship, He's all about it.
And there's just a lot of NFT stuff happening, like Dez Bryant's doing like a is it Player's Corner Personal Corner where essentially he he's creating n f TS for athletes, so athletes can outright own I guess whatever they're creating in NFTs per Personal Corner didn't. So can we make NFTs? Yeah we can. Okay, let's just do one then. But I that's the thing, I don't know how Well.
Somebody who's listening send us to somebody who can make an FT done.
You know.
Yeah, I would love to get des Bryan on to see what he's actually like, what's going on, because I've seen he was with Max Crosby's making stuff for Max. But apparently his team makes like, say, you're with him. His team makes you n f T s for you to sell. Those things continue to get sold, right, but you always have a piece of ownership in the NFT. So it's not like I have a baseball card, sell you a baseball card. Now the baseball card is yours.
There's still a percentage, Like, there's still ownership that I have forever now, depending on how it goes up, what.
You get a percentage of that resale.
Yeah, so anytime those monkeys get sold, whoever the originator was is going to have that percentage for life. Rad I just don't get it.
I get what you just said, right, It's like that I dont don't get by This is a thing, you know what I'm saying.
It seems like something we want to be in.
I think I think we're showing our age. I think we're just old. You think what we're showing our age a little bit. But there's there's a lot of people I feel like our age. I mean, yeah, I think Steph Curry got one of those monkeys he did bo I want.
To be cool with Steph Currey. Yeah, agree to get one of those dude. You know what I'm saying, You got a lot of animals at the house. You might as well add somebody in the digital world.
As well, might as well, dude, Yeah, well we have next that's the one he got. No, monkey's so stoned.
A little suit on him too, that's dope. How much that one cost? Are you kidding me? I don't know, man, I have like fomo. I feel like we're missing out on something, you know what I mean?
I feel like that every single day with this bus we got to get Uh, I'm missing out with you guys. Fucking miss you guys all the time. Man, we miss you too, bro. Yeah, my opinion can change in five minutes, though, better you better just watch out, dude.
You probably probably you just see the internet and you're probably like all those boys are having a great time. We argue all the time. Yeah, you and JP got a little like a thing. Is easy being around that man. No, look at his face?
Hey, yeah, I peeple been loving your deal of the week.
What was the deal of the week this week? This week? Oh, let's do.
It this week. I've been giving people food the pastor you want to sit in the chair. We want to keep going, we can that's a that's a.
Nervous tailors here home. That's what it is about your nervous tailors here.
I want to come on, man, do your deal the week.
I gotta sit here next to him? Should he sit on the couch? Hey, grab that camera, we'll do some work.
Keeps last week credit walk away from Will? Yeah.
Will had a voice crack last week.
Alright, this should better be legit.
Hey, this is a good one.
Yeah it is.
It is.
So I've been doing food right, Okay, voice crack.
And he's this man's spiraling.
No, no, no, no, no no, I'm not this week the deal of the week.
You know how we were all at AMC movie Theater the other week. So I heard.
Oh yeah mouth yeah, this is no. I do know. It's really I called oh you call does somework? Yeah? Come on.
So movies are expensive.
Right, allegedly? What to produce one? Or to go watch one? To go watch one?
Watch?
No?
Man? How much is a movie ticket?
Now?
If I'm trying, You got your fourteen dollars ticket for a regular.
Oh, god forbid, it's fourteen yeah, usually it's fourteen dollars on Tuesdays at AMC. Five dollars for your movie ticket and five dollars for popcorn and a drink.
That's a hell that's a hell of a deal.
But oh, it's not over.
It's not over. You do have to sign up to become a rewards member. It doesn't cost you anything, but you just got to sign up. Yeah, you just got to sign up and then it's free. You don't have to Yeah, you don't have to use code av ship moneywise on the buzz AMC five dollars movies the O the Week.
Damn, that's a solid one. I would use that. I would definitely use that. Let's go remember week.
Five dollars Fridays he's done ever since the Deal of the week. You're ending ship. Here's the deal. I like his Deal of the Week. He just seemed real nervous when he's talking about it, though.
Yeah, I know he you know, he probably the presence. Well, he needs to have a little presence, you know what I'm saying.
Don't be worried about the presence around you. Focus on your presence, you know what I'm saying. Drink that in, bro, take it in, dude. Hey that's your deal of the week.
That was free.
Nebraska lot. Yeah, I mean, yeah, let's talk about that because I know we got Dennis Kelly. You got to deal with that. Yeah, he lost two hundred to Dennis. The only thing produced God is great aviation school. That's it. That you fight to Purdue, you land in the on the campus. Do you know that you play at Purdue? You never played at Purdue?
No?
Oh really, I think we just host. I don't know if I ever played against Purdue. They were one of those teams where you know, how you play a team like every two years or three years or something. They were one of them. And so it wasn't part of.
My righting the campus other than that. There's nothing the field awful. They have their their paints like burnt into the ground, you hit that, you hit the floor on that thing. Brutal, absolutely brutal. Anyway, that team just beat your team, and that's tough. But I think what was even tougher is that little joker thing you put up saying you're.
Gonna have to yeah, continue to say, with the best three win team in the country. Look, man, what happened. Didn't even watch it. Seems like it was a close little deal. Too many turnovers. Tough, and I love Adrian Martinez, dude. Yeah, I love the guy. You guys refuse to have any quarterback without the last name Martinez. We do, and uh, you know, we just lost, man, we fucking lost. We're we're stuck. You guys got beat? Or do the refs do anything? Was it a special teams thing?
I'm waiting for the excuse.
No, I don't really have an excuse really, because we lost the Minnesota before the bye week.
That's tough.
You're coming against Purdue now, Purdue is not.
Like you lost the Minnesota before the bye week.
That's a tough bye week. That's a tough, right, especially after coming after out of the gauntlet of like you guys, Michigan State and Oklahoma, and we're all feeling like, you know, it's gonna go on our way at some point, like you know, you you think we'll beat Minnesota, will beat Purdue, and then Ohio State toss up. Yeah, but I'm saying the trend that they were doing the way that they were playing all three of you guys in the top ten,
like close, like down to the wire. You beat those two teams like you never know, like Ohio State could just be another one of those top ten teams. Michigan had overcome the refs and your team. But no, no, bro, Yeah we give flip flop that what's done is done. You guys won that game. I think everyone who watched in Nebraska Michigan game knows that we were playing against the refs. But I got nothing, Bro, I mean, we might not win a game the rest of the year. Oh my god, you do what?
What do you?
What do you want me to say? I've done. I'm doing everything I can.
Now he's talking to me like I was just talking to him. You see that yelling you can because it doesn't matter. You know.
It means something to me.
Man, you got you got on me about saying Michigan might lose a game this year, but you guys run defeated. But you just said we might not win a game the rest of the year.
One hundred. I see what you're trying to do. But we have no wins to I have no winds to build on. I have nothing.
Cats are watching this just hoping and praying that they have some support, and you just let them down.
Oh I'm bleeding red till I die. I bleed red and shit corn DoD like I'm ready to go for like digestive I understand corn for real. Yeah, but I'm just saying, like all I meant by that was I have no momentum to build on, Like we we dummy Northwestern. We going to you guys, like I legit thing to be proud of. Okay, we be We beat Northwestern worse than you guys beat Northwestern. Okay, but we still beat the shit out of them. Okay, well we still beat
them worse. Like I see what you're saying. If we were undefeated like you guys were, and we just got them beating you guys and we're a top ten team in the country, I'm not saying. What I'm saying is, oh, we're going to the Natty, not we you know, we'll probably lose one this year. Yeah, why realist? You know what I'm saying, that's just gonna happen. How hard is
to go and defeated, extremely hard, tough. But again, those kids were watching you like, damn, we might lose one this year, and they just creeped in a little bit of doubt creeped in, and the boom they blewed against Michigan State it was.
No will. It could have been no but to go back to me saying leadership like Aiden Hutchinson. With leadership like that, no chance that that team is rock solid, rock solid.
Yeah, big Aiden fan, big Aiden fan.
But also, do you think do you think Nebraska will like when?
When?
Do you think Nebraska will have.
The potential to be a top ten team again next year? Will live in reality, buddy, win a couple of years.
Two, three years?
Possibly? I mean, Adrian's still there next year at the minimum, what's that? Adrian's still there next year? Who's Adrian? Adrian Martinez? Oh that's his name. Yeah Martinez, Yeah, Martinez. Still up and down? I mean, okay, okay, I'm not here for a roller coaster ride. You know what I'm saying. Before this last game, he's like the number one QB in the Big ten. All the numbers, all the numbers. I mean,
I'm pretty sure that's facts. And well I watched he had a couple of turn numbers while he's looking up. All I meant was we might not win another game. Is because we just dropped to Minnesota and Purdue right and next week we have Ohio State, we have Wisconsin and then we have Iowa. Yeah, Wisconsin, just donkey up. Now, I will say we could beat Iowa. I was like this look like Tarzan, play like Jane type of team. Like they snuck in the number two team in the country.
They're all hype. They probably parted their ass off because they knew we're never going to feel this again for the rest of the year. And since they got the number two they haven't won a game. Yeah that's true, that's tough. Yeah, what are they ranked?
Now?
What's our rank? I don't know. They should be out of the top twenty five. Oh like that. It's like it's like I want I would have failed, but I need these Big ten teams to stay in the top twenty five so that way we can claim that they just being superior.
Yeah, how the Mighty have fallen?
Yeah? Bro, they were ranked number two. Bro, what's Michigan nine? Then you lose the Hooper Doe and uh Wisconsin? Where's uh? Where's Nebraska on that? We've had a tough year, man, we had to get we went through the gauntlet, like we had a tough year. Now, if the if the Nebraska team that played against Michigan, Michigan State, and Oklahoma shows up against Oho State, you never fucking know. Yeah, it's according to you.
That's according to you you said, just said, would you say the same thing?
Why not?
Because I think Ohio State's a much more superior.
You think Ohio State's like legit about that life. They just dropped one game.
I mean they've been donking everybody. Besides, they lost that game to Oregon.
Right, Yeah, so you think there You think them is a one lost team, is different, a different look than Michigan's one lost No, I think Michigan can absolutely beat a hot State who you think is gonna win that game? I think Michigans will win that game by a billion. Oh yeah, I forget it doesn't matter. No, no, no, I'm being serious for now, by a billion fucking points.
Dude.
I really think Michigan beats a Hoistate. I'm pretty sure it's it's in Columbus, is it not. No, it's that Michigan by two billion. You know, we're gonna We're gonna beat the ship of that team. And I'm gonna have the Michigan fight song playing all throughout the hallways and make Mike Rabel listen to that the entire time.
Yeah.
I want Michigan win just for that.
Yeah, And you know what the thing about Rabel with Ohio State. Is he acts like he does and care He's like, yeah, whatever we.
Can raybacks Like he doesn't care about pretty much everything everything, but you know he cares about all of it, all of the things. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So I listen rapes come back, who listens ones and probably subscribes. Yeah, we're coming for you. Yeah, and it's gonna be beautiful when we beat that ass.
You guys got Indiana, Penn State, and Maryland, and you guys should I mean, Penn State was kind of like they're kind of like the same as Iowa. They kind of looked like Tarzan a little bit, but you kind of knew, like they went into thirty over times against Illinois Illinois and it was like there were it was like who was trying to fail? Like I forgot Illinois was in the Big ten. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, Illinois Champagne, Champagne Illinois. Nothing says Champagne about the town
of Champagne. No, it smells like manure at the stadium. There make a wish football team.
Okay, I love I love he Every time you like tantling your joke that, I was like, ah, that's the joke that always gets Taylor ed Okay.
Damn chance. I mean, I mean Illinois in Penn State. It's just Penn State frauds, Iowa frauds. Michigan not a fraud. Michigan's no, no, no, you guys are a good team.
Yeah, we're legit. Yeah, you guys are a good.
For Michigan State. They we played that game again. We win that game by a billion, you know what I'm saying.
But see that now, that's that. Now that's fake. Now the lucky like that guy.
Their their heisman guy. I went for one hundred and ninety something yards and five tds. You play that a game, play again, Edgewall, swarm, They're take they're taking it.
I'm sure that's since he's a Heisman candidate. I'm sure that's what they're preaching all week. You do it better than next one, you know what I'm saying. And now now that the coordinators standing up there didn't want to take what we did in the practice field to the field. That's what we teach. That's a tough, tough deal. It's hard. It's hard to see that the boys.
So I was playing against Quitty Pay Quitty Pay yesterday number fifty one for the Colts. He was a first round pick out of Michigan. And there was a play yesterday. It was a pick fumble we recovered. That's in the next play we scored it. Aj you had that fifty seven yard runner or pass.
Yeah.
Well, so they're like getting this dude on the cart or whatever. And I'm talking to Quitty. I was like, hey, man, brutal loss, brutal loss yesterday. And he looks at me then in the.
Eyes he goes.
I cried, like my man cried about that game. That's fucking wild to me. But he's still in it, you know what I'm saying.
Like he's a rookie. He was just in it last year. Oh yeah, he's still that yeah yeah.
And I was like, dude, it's gonna get nothing. You shouldn't care. But it's just like, no, you definitely care, right right. You always get my days not being made or break by someone else doing something, you know what I'm saying.
And I felt I felt for it. Oh.
I cried, yeah, And I was like, well we got I'm about to block you in this next place, so let's put let's go.
You know, keep that attitude, you know, what I'm saying, keep that emotion a dude. Just oh dude.
They were so hot after that too, because they just got a pick.
I was hot, oh because I was playing and sa A Jay and Fantasy.
Oh were you really?
Yes? Bro was like, get the motherfucker out of bounds and give the ball to Derek because he was on my fantasy.
Dog.
I want to aj to do well, just not only wea done to play no Fantasy. I get it, you know, it's bragging rights in those group chats.
Yeah.
Oh, and I'm I've lost every game but one of my fantasies.
Do you care? Do you care about your fantasy though?
The first couple of weeks I do, and then it kind of gets away from me. And then I'm watching Thursday and foot Oh shit, I probably should do my mind up. I got three guys on bye and I gotta you know what I'm saying.
Yeah, now that I'm not playing, I care about it so much. Yeah, yeah, so much like we're friendship. Friendships are riding on the fence after games, Bro, like we argue hard.
I'll tell you what you can't argue about is Georgia Boot. You know what I'm saying, Georgia boot is the world's most comfortable Georgia Boot is America's hardest working boot. For sixty years, Georgia's Georgia's been making boots that work as hard as you do, tough enough for your job, cool enough for everything else. Look at those things right there. You know it goes together. Great Georgia boot and a Chevrolet. Georgia boot makes super good looking and super comfortable boots.
So comfortable and they do the thing again where they do the dash in the able, you never want to take them off.
I have.
Literally I went over to Will's house three days ago. He was taking an app just in his underwear and these boots, and I said, I, oh.
Will, what are you doing?
He goes helps me sleep better because they're so comfortable. Take a blanket over your feet. Yes, it's like a blanket over your feet that you can walk as many miles as you you can go billions of miles. Dude, in those boots. You're gonna die of starvation before those boots break down.
You know what I'm saying. Boot my weight down.
These boots will hold up in any condition without sacrificing comfort and has the control technology of an athlete shoe packed into a great looking boot. Great looking boots that are wildly comfortable at a price you can't afford. It's beautiful, dude, It's a I think he said at once in this podcast, but vrabelism. It's a two for one speci comfortable and affordable couple ale for you. No quesh, let's see. Okay, okay, okay. Every time I wear these boots, people ask me where
I got them. Georgia Boot dot Com. Right, that's probably the easiest way to say it. Now, where'd you get them? I don't know, God from that heaven. This is what I like to say, because how comfortable they are, right, I like a lightning bolt was shot down into my hands or Georgia boots.
That's how amazing it was.
Whether you're working on your feet all day, working around the house, or grilling out with your friends, these boots will in sacrifice comfort or style. Georgia Boots offers the best working boots, wedges and laggers around. Whether you need a waterpoof boot, steel toe, soft toe, square toe, metgard, non puncture shank, non sliptoe, they've got it. Head over to georgiaboot dot Com and use code bussing for twenty
percent off. They're already affordable. Like they're already like if you went and you never listened to bust on the Boys and you went to Georgia Boots because you're using boots now twenty percent off, you're buying two or three pair, because you got a nice little wheelhead.
We're making you money. Yeah, you're welcome. You know what I'm saying.
Your feet are gonna thank you. Your friends are gonna be like, wow, my friends wastiles. They're going to brag about you, like, oh, hey, have you seen Will?
Yeah, but have you seen his boots? You know what I'm saying. It's a beautiful thing. People helping people. That was a great That's a great ad. Read and not to because I know we we we hashed it the last time you're on the pod, but I know you've had a deal happening between that time. But what you can you can read six points? You can you only have to read six of those.
I know I've we've said that before. I like to read them all, Okay, I gotta get better at reading. Hey, I love the fucking account. I love the my fucking helping Georgia but I'm helping my brain out, you know what I'm saying. Especially when you're knocked out for three minutes, you're working like a Georgia boot. I am Georgia boot and Chevy. It's twelve, twelve, twenty two.
I'm out of here. Hey, so Von Miller's to the he's done. Yeah. I thought we were gonna laugh a little more with that. He's just zooming on Taylor's face.
What a right? What?
Oh?
What about because Rabel goes to sports clips? Yeah, Boss is telling me the Rave goes to sports clips. Oh yeah.
Oh, by the way, Rave sniffed out bloss like it was nothing.
That's what guy guy dugg in his phone on the head.
He's that guy guy in the hoodie dug in his phone with a late tat your awareness is a ninety nine on matter. It's gotta be out to stand out at the Oh, we gotta get sport clips on business. There's only YouTube in there. I told Raves, you use a buster and you make yourself nice little deal. Tell him nas for the m v P experience, m VP experience, the m v P experience.
That sounds good. We'll do the we'll do the lad Yeah, all right, well see it. Hey, it's been fun. It really has.
Hey, just because Michigan lost, Oh, I gotta I gotta tweet, even though I don't read them. Uh, Michigan State. Michigan State wants their their own the boys shirts, Like, can we get the boy shirts?
Who was asking you that?
I don't know?
Some random person on?
Well?
Was there several people I saw? I mean, I don't lead him, but I saw a couple.
We're actually looking at doing like rivalry week. Yeah, so Ohio State one, yeah and Iowa one. No, Why let's not do a Michigan State one this year. I'm gonna double down on my stance next year and we can. We'll let people sort it out, not only in the football field, but online as well. We'll see if Michigan wants to outdo Michigan State.
I'm buying the boy shirts.
Yeah, we'll need an ambassador. Maybe it's William Goldsen.
Maybe maybe if he works as hard as he punches, we're gonna be all right.
All right, boys, great sign.
I love each and every one of you.
Yeah, boys, I'm gonna miss you. Do your thing, all right. Taylor just left. It was great to see the boy It was good to see him. The boys are six and two. Like I said, we're all right and high. We're also a little low because the King, as we know, could be battling uh a Jones fracture from what That's just what I'm hearing on the internet. And I also I also heard we're signing AP Is that confirmed? Where's Jack? Is that confirmed?
Jack Jack?
Per Jack McPherson, per Jack McPherson, which is also per Adam Schefter. The boys are signing an AP trade one angry runner for another trade, one goat for another. We reload in this motherfucker, dude, And I think that's what'll happen. Hey, could you imagine because Tannehill had a little bit of a neck deal yesterday, and I do want I want
to clear the air on something. It is hard. It's a little more difficult to talk about tight stuff on the boys on because if I'm talking about even though I can speak for myself, if Taylor sitting next to me, it could it could be perceived or a narrative could be painted that like I'm an extension of what Taylor is, which is not true. So that's why we're gonna wait till he's gone, so we can talk shit or do
you know whatever we gotta do about the boys? Uh No, but for real, like it's you hate kind of talking about injuries and all that stuff with like Derek going down. It does for the boy man, But to to what can I say to like, guess what am I trying to speculate? To speculate? What if the Boys go from the win that they just had against the Colts, Tannehill, Derrick Henry. So we're going next week? We got we got Logan Woodside and we got Jeremy Jeremy McNichols. It's
as gritty as you get, dude, go in La. We're gonna see a good game too, because the Rams are The Rams are beefy, just like the Titans, just like the Boys. Could be a Super Bowl preview because the Rams are gonna come out of the division the NFC West, the NFC West over the Niners, which is I know, stuff for you to say, bloss uh, But yeah, dude, do you know this guy's not falling. It's not like Derek n Ruse, the entire team Jack, how you feeling?
I mean, obviously everyone's upset. Jesus Christ, bro each Monday, my voice gets worse. I thought I thought I was gonna have a break yesterday, but it didn't. By that fourth quarter going into OT it was just yeah, you can hear it in the voice, but it's it's it's.
As a man of the people. What is a state of mind most Tennessee fans are in right now? Like what were you at? Mentally? I want we need to check in with the boy.
I mean, hey, it's a next man mentality thing, you know, next man up. We're just trying to get to each week. I think what they're saying locker room, just week by week, gotta go out there, show them what those eleven guys in the field playing.
It's gonna work out.
You know.
We got a tough matchup probably coming up this week, especially with uh with von Miehler getting traded, scary.
I'm a little nervous.
But so that's confirmed to von Miller's going to the Rams. I know we're joking, Taylor.
That's now, that's that's officially confirmed. So we we got our work cutout for us next week. But I think that I saw a tweet it said when Ryan Tannehill's only game he has played without Derrick Henry. He was like one of his highest QBR passer ratings and three tds. Him and AJ have been linking up the last couple of games. I feel like they're like hitting stride midseason. So that's big, especially I Julio can come back from this this injury and get in there. I think we
shake things up. People think we're always about Derrick Henry. So it's a really versatile moment for our franchise to prove to everyone in the NFL that we can compete without our our king. It's devastating that he's not gonna be with us, but they're saying that there's a big potential he comes back late in the late in the season and if he can be healthy right for the playoff run. I mean, that's the scariest Titans I can think of. We've been playing down the whole whole season.
You know, I've had thirty guys on IR. You know, it's been crazy. So we're just gonna keep running gun and I think, you know, Taylor is sitting here. He seemed pretty confident. Just saw tweet like twenty minutes ago that Tanner Hill is feeling good, which was my biggest concern. With Derek being out. If Tannehill is gonna be out, we'd be really in trouble. But Tanni's just feeling good, So I think I think we just keep pushing forward. Man, it'd be good. Hopefully my voice gets better, I.
Thought, Hey, tz and p s toe your voice. Bro, Hey, that's the man of the people right there. As well said you don't need Yeah, you don't need nothing else.
What happens though, if AP comes in here and is averaging like one hundred fifty yards a game.
What do you mean what happens?
I mean.
About Derek entering what he does? No, I mean Derek, like what man at that size is running twenty two miles an hour out of there.
No doubt.
But I'm saying that would mean he is replaceable.
Then, well, anybody in this league's replaceable, you know what I mean?
Like sure, Like, no, I don't know looking at his numbers, I don't know what looking at.
What Derek's done over the last two years here three.
Yeah, Well, it's like, okay, if a AP comes in and rushes and averages what one forty game for the rest of the season, Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's it's definitely like, oh, shit.
You could.
Yeah, that's best get yeah, because then the boys are rolling if we're talking from the side of like us all being flabber gasped and this disillusion by Derrick Henry. I mean, I don't I don't know. That's a that's a tough little question. You're trying to put the boys in a negative headspace right now.
I'm not negative.
Just something to think about.
Ye, I don't know, man, I don't know. I don't think.
Remember, I'm not a football guy.
Yeah, you're not a football guy, uh, I yeah, I think like say, Derek being a two thousand yard rusher, it's it's that, dude. I mean, if you watch the guy run, he's breaking, he's breaking tackles like his his a yak was number two in the league up to some point, you know what I mean, It's like there
was nobody doing that. There's nobody doing that. I mean, I guess if AP comes back and does it, it's not a question of like, oh, Derek Henry's placeboll It's just like, oh, who is this mad who's got this Benjamin button juice of Adrian Peterson? And is he back to you know, twenty ten form? Whenever he however a long he's played. Also think about it, was it back in twenty ten when he's just wrecking dudes and he's a legend. We need to get him on the bus,
is what we need to do. And now you need to start thinking about do we get Derek Henry as a co host on Busting with the Boys? Yea for the rest of the season if if that's the case, or until he gets back to health.
Well, even to double down on what Derek's done, like, think about how many great offensive lines there have been in this league with you know, strong running backs behind him, and nobody's doing what he's already done so.
Right, and he did what he did last year and that was without the boy, without Taylor and not saying like Taylor is a huge part of that line. That line was bawling out. But you know Derek is he's put up incredible numbers and it's not like he's went untouched the whole time. Like he's one breaking those long runs, he's one hitting twenty two miles an hour. He's won stiffian dudes, what is that one, dude, share It's like a shotgun to the chest. He's deleting dudes with pump shot.
He's out there, as Jack would say, But yeah, Derek's like, he's the fucking king dude.
What else we have?
I was thinking of something before Alex just threw off my little vibe right there with that. Yes, yes, I don't want to butcher CJ's last name Pong, c J Sapong, CJ Sapong, and Walker Zimmerman, two guys for the Nashville Soccer Club Studs. Dude, I'm not gonna lie, I was telling him when they when we got done with the interview, I was like, fellas, I was nervous because I had a little bit of anxiety because I didn't I don't
play soccer. I don't really watch soccer. I don't do really anything soccer related other than watch Ted last so, and I didn't want to look stupid asking certain questions. And there's two of them. Now, was you know, no pause? I was in between both of them, trying to go back and forth. It was it was getting dicey in the mental for a second. But dude, it really was a cool interview. We learned a lot about soccer. They sell kids, apparently they developed kids in this academy and
they sell them off. When they get developed, they groom them and then they sell them. But the business of soccer seems pretty wild. And I had no clue there were so many leagues. I thought Europe was like the lead, Like I thought Europe itself was a league, you know what I mean. They started rattling off Italy, Spain. I'm like, oh, I just thought those were the clubs, you know what
I mean. I did not know those were leagues. So if you're like me and you don't know a whole lot about soccer, or you just know a little bit, I asked some questions to where you're gonna learn a lot about soccer by the end of this thing, And they have some They have some cool stories. I know Walker talked about his time getting traded, getting called late at night and like, hey, we're trading you, and he had no he was not prepared for it, and uh,
what's up? Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, And CJ. CJ is going to be a mental coach of his own one day. It was awesome hearing about him and his mental health, the growth of the sport. I want to say it was in year four when he was like down bad and was getting introduced to meditation, so we have some really good mental talk as well about why both of them's driven and stuff like that. But it was just a really cool interview, and again, I learned a lot about soccer. I feel like all the boys did.
JP.
You're a soccer buff, right, so you kind of knew all about that from your perspective. How do you feel like that went if you're a soccer fan, Like, were you sitting there like, oh, this is good stuff, or you like I already kind of know all.
I think it's a lot of good stuff for people in America because not a lot of Americans are real soccer fans. But getting to hear about what happens when you're traded and that type of.
Thing, balancing the international.
And international, it's just cool to see and to see, like from their perspective, how it changed when they were in high school. They're trying to go to college. Now that these kids are the kids in high school now are trying to get to the academies. Two different crops of players, and just their perspective.
So I thought it was interesting too, Like when he's talking about his mental state when he gets done playing for another team and then he comes back to Nashville and he might not have a day off, or he didn't play a lot in that game so he has more energy, or he did play a lot so he's a little physically exhausted. And how he tried tries some balances playing for multiple teams.
Yeah, I mean, because he could play a game in Costa Rica on Thursday and then have to come back and play for Nashville on Saturday.
That's that's real.
Big this, that's how it can happen. That's not happening this week, but that happens for those players. I'm like tomorrow.
Right now.
Yeah, it's wild I which is ignorant on my part, but like the boys are like going to the playoffs. Yeah, hell yeah, so Nashville A we gotta wrep the boys. I'm gonna start hitting up my man CJS. Yeah, his little no mistake celebration. I like the interview, dude, I thought it was good. Like I said, I was nervous. I just didn't feel like I was gonna know a
whole lot and I didn't want it to. We were kind of alluding to a one point, like how they're sitting in certain interviews at times when people just like aren't prepared, and you kind of just sit there awkwardly, and I'm like, thank god that was not happening, because we're pros over here at bust with the boys. But uh, without waiting much longer, here you go. Here's the interview with CJ and Walker. Go follow the boys, shout the
Boys out this episode. If you're watching on YouTube right now, hey, here's a great time. Here's a great time. Leave a real comment. Tell us maybe how your trick or treating went, your Halloween went, tell us how you support the boys, how you pub Nashville Soccer Club or the Titans. Maybe leave a comment on the whole situation going on, how we're six and two and still rolling. I mean, I do hope we are going to get into the interview.
I just kind of ring a bell on something. I do hope the boys keep it fucking going though, because they are number one. The AFC Raiders are what number two? Three, they're tied for two. The good thing is like, again, this is all business, this is just all it just is what it is. Just like the boys are next men up. Mentality. If something were to happen throughout the year, I gotta be next team up mentality, fifty one is ready,
fifty one's ready, I'm ready to go play ball. And if I'm not playing ball and the boys go down, but the Raider boys come up, like you got to be next team up mentality? You know what I mean? You just gotta be ready at any point to jump ship and go with another team. Is really really laying into that, lean into that like just a fraud? No, I do hope the boy spun crush it. Yeah, look Titans one Raiders too. All right, here's the interview. Well,
I appreciate it. I appreciate you guys coming on. This is my first time honestly talking with soccer players, and you guys will have to teach me as we go. I got to know a little bit about you guys. But like I've watched Ted Lasso and that's about it, you know what I mean.
It's a good start.
Did you guys watch Ted Lasso?
How?
How? How much does this?
Now?
Obviously all the writing evolved, but as far as like the uh, the life around the locker room and everything like that, Like, how does that relate to you guys? Is there similarities?
I think they pick up on, like the really small things that actually do happen and then blow them up to like make it a real storyline. So it's like even guys getting like rookie haircuts or like doing little the types of pranks and the types of jokes they make are pretty similar to what goes on.
But yeah, I think the the inside of like the different culture is really on point because you got different walks of life in the locker room, and like the cultural diffusion is in te Lasso, they really hit the nail on the head.
Yeah, when like as far as the the way Ted Lasso as a coach seems not I was not disconnected, but I guess removed from the coaching side of things to where it seems a lot more player ownership than
it would be in like a football locker room. Like in football, you know you're sitting up there, it seems like when you're coaching soccer as a soccer team, you're kind of like asking your guys like what's the best route to go, or the soccer guys kind of know a little bit more about what to do than like what not saying football guys don't know what to do, But you're really leaning on your coaching and what plans are going to make, what adjustments they're going to make, Like is that is that.
Okay?
I would say, is that a topic?
Let's go. You know, the thing about soccer, like once you get on the field, players have to navigate you know, the game and the adversity and and for the most part, our team I think does very well at managing that.
But I would say, and ted Lasso, that's maybe exaggerated because a lot of coaches want to have, you know, complete control over what they're trying to do, and you gotta be careful if you veer too off, too far off like the path the coach is trying to set, then you know it might be tough for you to to stay in the lineup and to perform, you know, to the exact specifications of what the coach wants.
You know, it's different for every coach too, Like some coaches want to have like it's more of a dictatorship and it's like they have their way, they have the way that their ship wants to sail and that's it, and there's no communication with players. Then you have other coaches who may be like completely player driven to where like they don't want as much responsibility, but the players have a little bit more so then there's there's a fun balance you gotta find.
Are there guys like like what's his name, Jamie Tarr? Are their dudes like the Jamie Tart like? And I know those are like like as an athlete, you know those that role in the show is a little exaggerated. But is that does that happen in soccer? Because I see I could see soccer being a little similar to like basketball in the way that like one player can kind of like be a stud. And maybe you guys can correct me if I'm wrong on that. Again, I'm very new in the soccer world. I don't even play feast.
I mean, they definitely get that stereotype from but they yeah, they give the stereotype that he can like we're gonna let him do whatever he wants, like I know in football, like there's not a dude who can just completely act like that.
Like maybe the only example that might be close that we would have had in recent years is probably like when ab was on The Raiders, right when he goes in and he's like got camera guys around him, he's doing his own thing. He kind of doesn't give a shit like I've heard stories about all that stuff, but is there is there characters like that in the soccer world, I think.
So, I'm trying to think of MLS guys, though I don't know if there's like that many. I think the difference is like in MLS you don't have like the superstars of the world, whereas like NFL is like the best league in the world for the sport. So I don't think you can have guys in MLS who can have like that big, like Jamie Tart type egos because they haven't really made it to the very top of
their sport, gotcha. So yes, you'll have like the arrogant players, but it's not it's not gonna be like Jamie.
Tart, Okay, Yeah, I mean in Europe, I'm sure every team has a guy like that, But in this country, this league a league that's really been built by like domestic players anyway.
Yeah, grinders like guys that are willing to.
It's gonna be hard for for somebody to come from outside the league onto a team, have an ego and then and still succeed, you know. Yeah, a lot of guys will come and maybe the first couple you know kicks, They're like, oh, this is easy, Like I'm about to run shit over here. But after a while, like just the culture of soccer, guys start getting against you, and then once coaches see that, you could be out of the mix pretty quick.
Damn okay, I got you. Where's the where's the MLS? Compared to like getting to is Europe the biggest league? This is how dumb I am. Like, there's probably soccer fans, god damn it, people listening like, God damn it.
Comp This is how you learn though. Yeah, there's so many leagues in Europe.
Yeah, Italy, Spain, England, those are all leagues, their own leagues.
And then they got divisions within the leagues. Yeah, you got like the Bundesliga one, two, three. So where's where's the MLS. Where's the MLS?
Well, yeah, if you ask MLS, they'll say like, uh, probably, I don't know, man, it's the number one league here and I know MLS.
The goal is to be like a top they want league. They would be a top five league. But I think they said twenty twenty four was like their whole campaign like maybe five ten years ago. Yeah, I would say we're we're definitely probably a top ten league at this point, you gotta think EPL. So it's Spain, Italy, Germany. I mean you can argue some maybe a South American or Argentinian.
But the problem is, like some of these leagues have such good top teams, like the top four or five teams are like better than MLS teams would be, but then their lower half are trash. But it's like, you know, is that league really better if they have four or five teams that are probably better than MLS teams, but their lower half is not. It's hard to say, but is that? I mean the quality has improved? When did
you come to the league twenty eleven? Yeah, so, I mean like since twenty eleven I came twenty thirteen, it's night and day different. Like the quality, the types of players they're bringing in, it's it's gotten a lot better.
How do you think they get to where they they they reached the spot to where they're a top five league.
Keep paying, keep paying the players.
Is that pretty much what it is. It's just all the money.
It's got to be the commitment from from ownerships in the league to keep increasing salary cap, keep increasing the money that they're spending because that's going to attract other bigger players, and they're doing it. But you know, if they want the rapid growth that they're talking about, then got a dish out.
Yeah, And I guess to generate the revenue, you kind of just need the popularity of the sport to grow. Do you feel like like America is doing a good job of growing the sport of the popularity in the sport.
Yeah, from again, from when we started till now, I mean, social media has definitely helped a lot too. MLS importing players from different countries, very popular players.
The quality on the field is elevating.
So it's getting to the point where now like a typical fan who's used to watching you know, football, where there's big hits, touchdowns, basketball slam dunks, like, there's crunching tackles. There's like close shots like almost goal scoring opportunities. So it's a lot more exciting. That's that's what the league needs to continue to propel itself forward. It's a good
time for us to be in the league. You know, we've been able to see it grow and I think me and Walker are similar and we're guys that like to just grind it out in battle.
So it's it's chevyes. It's really cool. Yeah, So it's cool to be a part of that. It's interesting to see how far it goes.
But I mean, shit, stuff like this, you know, helping you understand a little bit more, getting it out to more people.
I think it'll it'll just organically continue to grow.
Yeah, just to give perspective, like when I was growing up, or like my high school didn't even have like a soccer team until I was like a senior in high school. And you guys know the whole stereotype two like football players growing up Missouri. Okay, yeah, Missouri, and like, you know, growing up the whole stereotype of like, oh, why would you play soccer when you can play football type of thing.
And I don't feel like I got rid of that myself until I was probably in college and realize, like damn, at the time, it seemed like closet soccer fans, right because they would have the jersey. Some of my teammates would just all about it when the World Cup and stuff will come on. I beg, how are you so into soccer? Like, bro, you're not into soccer? And it just seemed like it was huge to some of these guys. I'm like, where do they even grow up or learn
that soccer is like, you know, soccer is life. And now I feel like now, I fact where we're at now, And like in twenty twenty one, especially with like shows like ted Lasso coming out, and I feel like just the notoriety you guys get a little more, how much more it's publicized. I feel like it's trending the right direction because again, coming from my ignorance self growing up in Missouri, is just like, oh damn, I didn't even know this was like extremely popular like this.
And then the I mean World Cup twenty twenty six is going to be massive when it comes to the US. I think that's gonna be like a huge turning point where everything so far in MLS is kind of building to twenty twenty six, like when the World Cup comes to the United States, and then I think you're going to see an explosion of like even more interest, even
more publicity. Even you look at like Nashville, you know, becoming a franchise, becoming a club, getting the soccer specific stadium will be thirty thousand, which is gonna be perfect you know it's gonna be Homeie, the biggest soccer specific stadium in the country, and you know our fans. Yes, it's great, it's awesome having you know, twenty twenty five thousand fans at Nissan Stadium. But you know, then you
have fifty thousand empty seats. Like when you pack all those people into one place, I think we're gonna have a pretty cool environment. So you're seeing a lot more of those kinds of environments where you know, they're getting specific stadiums and they're selling them out, and so that's what's just gonna keep going. After the World Cup, I think, how.
Do you guys feel about that? Like Nashville, like the expansion team coming to Nashville, because you guys got did you guys get traded here? Did you kind of move with the team?
Well? Traded?
Yeah, you you got traded. I signed as a free agent, so I guess yeah. For me at the time, I just wanted a team, and I wanted a team that would fit my playing style. But also I got a fam so wanted them to be comfortable. And you know, kind of like what Walker's talk about, what's it being a new franchise, new organization.
They're building the right way, you know, and.
It's cool to be a part of something that's getting built where the team itself, we're a very cohesive group. I'm very excited about that. There's definitely an opportunity for Nashville to become a bit of a dynasty in MLS. It just takes a little time, and you know, we're pushing for the playoffs right now. We're in playoffs. We're trying to get some some silverware. That's the number one way you can really propel your franchise to where you
wanted to get to. But yeah, I love Nashville. It's different. I was in Chicago before. It's not as big of a city, but especially from Chicago, Chicago's a great city. Shout out to Chicago, but Nashville definitely.
I like it.
Good for family and like I said, when the experience for us as players, when the experience on the field in the locker room is top notch, it makes it a little easier to you know, get up every day and do it.
Yeah, yeah, you feel the same way.
Yeah, for sure.
You like Nashville, love it.
It's been It's been a great fit. And I think when you look at kind of your life and the transitions that come along. Like the timing of Nashville for me and getting traded, it was like an absolute bomb dropped on me and my wife. We were out in La.
Yeah, I was gonna say, you came super secure like with where we were.
Thought we were gonna be there for a long time. Random call one night out of the blue, and You're traded in Nashville and we were just like what, Like we thought I was gonna be there for a long time. So thankfully it was Nashville. We got here, fell in love with the city, even amidst COVID like not being able to do a lot of.
Stuff, like when was it, when'd you get this?
So I got the call on like basically mid February, So it's like pretty late in terms of trades because we're like in the middle of preseason at that point and we were preparing in La for you know, the first match in ten days I think it was, Yeah, and then I got traded. Call was on a Monday night, got the Nashville on Wednesday night. I was under contract on the house. Saturday, was with the team Saturday afternoon in Tampa for preseason like the second half of preseason.
It was insane. And then we got back. We closed on our house the day that everything shut down in Nashville. It's like March sixteenth or something like that. Yeah, so it was a crazy experience. But now, especially you know everything's opened up again. We're love our neighbors, love our neighborhood.
We're Green Hills. I mean it's sweet. I love how convenient it is too right city, Yeah, every single place, and whereas La it's like we couldn't even drive to the stadium on a weekday game, so you have to take the metro.
Were you pretty pissed off when you got traded?
I was, honestly, I was, like I felt every emotion within like the two day span. It was like anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, Like I mean, me and my wife are just like bawling leaving the apartment. I'm like, it was just I didn't even know what was going on. It's hard.
It's hard for MLS players too, because when we get traded, like we have to take control of so many of the logistics. Like I've heard so yeah, I've heard from like NFL players, NBA players, like when they get traded, like everything is sorted, you get to your maybe you get to the hotel, everything's already set up. You're just worrying about playing, whereas like you got to figure out the moving. Like, yeah, a lot of the expenses get taken care of, but you really have to like take
control of that, and you explaining that. I'm like, I'm just imagining like right before season starting to you know, not only like are the colors of your jersey changing, but you got to go get a whole nother house and.
Then mainly you're like leaving, Like Sally basically got to take care of the whole move and stuff because I go straight into preseason, so it's like now I'm in Florida for two weeks. She's still she has to do all this stuff, and like she's had to do a lot of that. Yeah, you know, it's just like I can't imagine.
Was that kind of the first big thing, pivotal thing that happened in your career.
I had gotten traded from Dallas to LA but that was more of like a mutual thing, kind of knew it was coming in the off season, so we had time to kind of prep it. Then. Yeah, I mean that was really the first. That was the first like big surprise.
That was just like where you just see the teeth of the business. Yeah yeah, like damn, I'm just just a shoe on a shelf, dude.
Going the next day, and like the whole team like obviously they're all surprised too, and you're just like never really seeing them again, right, like, hey, it was real, Like I'll see you guys next year. And then it's like with COVID, we didn't end up playing La right, so like I hadn't even seen that team in like two years.
Bro, you'll like, dad people up and you'll be like, you know, you'll just kind of say the comfortable thing too, like as players like well, yeah, like we'll stay in touch man, or you know, we'll get up in the off season. Yeah, And honestly, like you might not see those dudes in LA ever again.
I was. I was in Dallas. I went to the movies with Kyle Becker, wh wouldn't see a movie on like a Wednesday night. Thursday morning, he comes in, he gets called in the coach's office. Aaron's already out training, so I hadn't seen him yet come in that morning and he left because he got traded that morning. And I haven't seen him since. We went to the movies and I show up at training and he's gone, like he leaves. I haven't seen him since. It's crazy. I was like six years ago, seven years ago.
Business is great. I mean, hell, at the end of the day, they're playing fantasy just like us. Yeah, someone gets hurt on our our fantasy rosters here, you know you're dropping. Yeah, I had to let Derek Henry go.
Dude, I already put my claim in for McNichols, as I think it was the right move.
I think so. I mean, they got they got Adrian Peterson coming, but uh n, McNichols will still mgnick. Are you Are you in a Are you in a PPR league.
Half PPR half PPR?
Yeah, yeah, that's the reason four Lakes. But I mean, if you're in some kind of PPR league like Nichols is never a bad play because he gets all the third down stuff, like they're gonna want a third down back. I need the g I need. I think that you know that could shift a little bit toward ap depend. I mean, at the end of the day, the dude's thirty seven. He can't be the work words. I need to cancel Nichols. I put like thirty one Waiverbucks on
this guy. Really, yeah, because I mean, thankfully, my team's kind of stacked in this league. So I don't I don't really need him, but I want him if he's gonna be the guy he could though, it could be somebody you get and you see for a couple of weeks because he should get a.
Good He's thinking, he's thinking, I'm going to my line up. In my head, I'm like, okay, well do I play gasking over like an ape or I don't.
Know, I mean a p I just don't think he'll be ap coming right out of the gate.
Yeah you know what I mean.
You know, you never know. I hope he is. I'm like, I'm talking business with my man right now.
I want the Boys to win. I need I need Michael Thomas coming back. I've just had him sitting on the bench for yeah season, He's gonna be out in at least another week, but then maybe week ten.
I got Montgomery, bro who I'm waiting on him return from Chicago. I've been waiting on him to come.
Back, dude, just extra It actually makes it so fun now, like thinking about like if we were to play in Last Fantasy, like the fact that you get to like play with all your boys, like you can draft your friends.
Like that, or like just bro, it's so funny. So because I had heard, I.
Drop them and like send them a screenshot like all right, bro, bro, hey.
You Like I remember when I was playing at Washington, I'd go up to Jordan Reid because I'd have Jordan Reed on my fantasy team as a tight end. I go up to Jay Reid like in the middle of the game like, hey, man, I'm gonna need a little bit more. I'm gonna need a little bit more, or when he's hurt, yeah, yeah, when he was hurt. Of hey, so I gotta yeah, I gotta make some decisions.
Now.
We need you, we want on the team. But when I heard about Derek last night, like immediately went to our group chat. I said, Hey, Derek's on the block, I said, I said, He's only got me twenty two points these last couple of weeks, so you know, I'll take I'm looking for a top ten running back and a top ten wide receiver. Gotta uh gotta West trade for Austin Eckler and Mike Williams, and he wanted Derrick Henry and A. J. Green and immediately hit accept the
trade's going through. But right now it's getting beatle because everybodys finding out about Derek now and uh, you know, they think it's slimy in me. But I'm like, yo, shame on you for thinking I'm a high integrity player in this business. Like we gotta make moves, you know, you know, talking to Derek, Like, yeah, man, let me know if you need anything, get on the phone, Like, hey man, Derek's on the block, send him packing. Oh man,
what else we got? Hey, Alice, can you make sure and let Peggy know that we won't do Mercedes Bonteraire biscuits. I'm like fired up Bonteraire biscuits.
Bro.
It's a good day to be a biscuit man because we're winning right now. I'm four and four right now. But our league is built around on four and four. We got a lot of teams in the middle. We got one team that's seven and one. The rest are like four and four, and then you have a couple they are like two win teams are one win team.
So I'm gonna go to five and three in two leagues, I'm gonna go to hopefully six and two and one. That's the that's the Nashville League that right now, the projections is within a point. That's the one where Boswell is hurt and it's Mahomes Butker the other one. I'm gonna go to six and two if Mahomes and Busker put up twenty five.
So you're sitting nice.
I'm in a really good spot. Henry will hurt in this National League. I have some depth, but like that means Gaskins every day starter, and I don't know if that's what I need because Josh Jacobs, like he's he's always questionable, right, Like, yeah, Jones are running backs, you know, like you're you're basically I don't even know if I want to play him as a questionable tag. If Julio Jones is questionable, I'm not playing him. I mean, I love it, I love but how.
Many I love seeing the GM come out of him? Dude?
I mean, how many hours a day would you say you're spending on your not a lot? Not a lot, no, no, no, Sunday Sunday. I am like this, Yeah, just going from team to team I'm not even looking at the TV, like the red zone can be on and it's just this and it's in the charger because it lasts like twenty minutes.
Yeah it is. It's so funny how different you watch the game, like just man, Like yesterday, I was telling Taylor like I was playing. The dude who I was playing against had a J Brown, and obviously I want to Timeans win every game, but when he was going on that long run, I'm like, just fucking push that motherfucker out of bounce, dude, like you want him to, Like,
all right, now, give Derek the ball. The good thing about Derek UNDWN is I also have Jonathan Taylor and he's been playing well recently, you know, or the Titans fans listening, like again, it's just business. It's just been like it is. It's just like it's just the name of the game. Everybody else knows it. Titans fans probably have Jonathan Taylor on the team anyway.
There's no loyalties to actual teams when you're in fantasy football, right, biscuits, Yeah, what are your team's names? So my Dallas League team name is Cooy's Daddy Toys. Daddy KOI was basically a rookie when I was there and took him on my wing and just kind of.
Yeah, so beating him this week, hold the pocket home, my pocket.
Him this week. So taking care of that. Next league injected into my veins. Okay, uh oh yeah? Is another name? Nashville League is milk me. That's great.
The milk mean.
Where do we go from here? Yeah?
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Bro.
Yeah, it's been nuts, man, it's been nuts that we've had a podcast for since mid twenty nineteen, since like June of twenty nineteen. We do like one a week, Taylor and I. When we first did it, the bus was sitting on this gravel parking lot. Everybody start the story. That's like listening. Everyone's like, all right, we gotta hehar the story again. And uh, we backlogged like probably five
to eight episodes. We ran them, and we were only going to do the podcast for the summer, Like we were just going to like because again we're like the first pod where active players are sitting here and you're kind of letting it fly like the way we do. Like we're obviously super nervous and had anxiety about it, but we're like, all right, we'll do this in the summer and then when it's football, like we'll just play football. We won't do the pod because you know, you don't
want like the distractions like all that stuff. Yeah, you guys don't want to talking about And I remember getting on the phone with McAfee, Pat McAfee, who does the Pat McAfee show, And what's up. Well, I'm just saying they he brought us. Do you know who pet is? No, see, you're like dann Will, Will's over here, flex and Will's over her name drop. Uh, well, you know he's got
his show. But uh he was like, if you're gonna do it, be consistent, Like, if you're gonna do one a week, try to get as many as you can, to be consistent all your loan because the name of the game is like being consistent about it. And since that conversation with him, Taylor and I was like, Yo, we need to start getting start getting pods in the
library to last throughout the season. And so that first year, I remember one week we did like twelve pods in one Week'd say, you guys would come on, then we'd have somebody else coming after. We would do like three. We would do like three in a day, bro. And you know how it is like you can only say so many joke, there's only so much humor in jokes on your mind in the day. Toward by the third one, you're kind of just like, what are we laughing about?
And uh, so yeah, we did that, and then once we got into the off season, we were able to do a lot in the off season. Then COVID. Then COVID hit, so then we did started to do zoom. But yeah, it's been wild and then it's it's a weird thing because Taylor towards ACL last year and I was on the Titans as well, and two guys couldn't be on the bus at the same time, Like you
couldn't have two players. You couldn't be seen outside the facility with a teammate because they had all those COVID regulations, you guys know what I mean, Like we couldn't give a guy right home, like if you were Tier one in the building, you couldn't be with him after the facility. So Taylor was the only one that could do the podcast. And honestly, like as far as speaking from busting with the boys, so it was almost like a blessing that he was able to do some pods until I was
able to start doing them again. But we just like kept it rolling.
Dude, that's crazy.
You guys thought about doing a pod.
I've thought about it before. I just don't know that I have the ability to stay consistent, you know. Yeah, especially with a fan you'll be hearing kids screaming in the background. If I could get like a spot that's off site, yeah, Like I would definitely look forward to coming here and just like shooting the ship.
But it's a commitment, bro.
It really is. That's something like you you definitely sleep on. I slept on like coming into Like you think you're just gonna do a show like talk on Mike's How hard could it be? Like let's take our conversations in the locker room and just have them on the show. And then like when you're first starting, I remember tailing I had to redo our first episode like so much because we're like, yo, what are we doing? Like what are we talking about? Like we're forcing our conversations.
And then it's really hit or miss. I did a couple in LA They had me do a couple of different pods. Yeah, and it's like pretty hit or miss with like guests too. Yeah. Then if like if it's not flowing pretty well, you're kind of stressing yourself and you're like, Okay, let me just go to the next question, and it like.
Yeah, and then it becomes at that point it's like yeah, exactly.
It's no good, and then you still have to put it out there because you're like, right'll be consistent with it exactly.
And then you're putting out stuff to where it does It seems like scripted are like now we're actually sitting in an interview and you kind of just feel weird. We hit a block and I was like really anxious about like, oh man, what was my next question instead of just being like where do we go from here?
Exactly?
How about ted Lasso? It's perfect right here, This is great. Yeah, it's probably.
He's got p D life for all of us too, though. That's nice.
Yeah, you guys can pour that a light best best shrink man. It's the adult version of the other store in the store that we don't talk about, not like that, but it's like, instead of saying the other, instead of saying the competitor, the idylight competitor, we just use revital Light, which is like the adult version of the kid stuff you've seen in the grocery store. You know what I mean?
Do we have a Revitalight ad? Well, there you go, revital Light, no free shoutouts, Oh yeah, dat way to put us back on track.
Yeah, okay, I'll start.
Yeah, youth academies when it comes to soccer in this country, I mean anywhere, honestly, that's how teams develop their talent and you know the game, that's where a lot of the profit comes from. You develop players from a young age. They get to an age where they're becoming successful or have a lot of potential, you sell them to another team rinse Jesus.
Yeah, hey that sounds kind of wild. Yeah, so you get to where, oh they have potential, sell them yeah.
Yeah, not like some.
Ten eleven twelve. You have twelve year olds getting paid by academies. You know, they're doing their schooling on site. They are getting paid everything, everything is getting paid for.
On site.
You know, they're getting the best of the best in terms of coaching, training, stuff like that. Uh, and are in this country the academy system is definitely developing to another level. The MLS has already had quite a few players get sold overseas, and I mean the return on investment there is outrageous for them.
So uh, out let what walker you can follow up on that one.
But get sold overseas the provins are yeah the business no, No, it's true.
So It's like it's basically like ten years old, maybe ten twelve years old, the modern like academy system, because it was completely differenthen we were growing up playing you soccer. Now you have MLS teams that have their own academies. Right now, I'm you know, helping out with you U seventeen academy team coach them on the side. So I'm hopeful that you know, we sell them, maybe little bit that comes back, but I don't know exactly how it works, but maybe I put that plug in now rights bro.
Yeah, honestly though that that happens a lot though, Like if a MLS team's academy develops a player and they sell him, if that player gets sold again, they can get kicked back from that next sale too, So.
It's like an NFT.
Yeah, I can come back to the coaches, which honestly, they should put something in their contract, like for every kid that get sold to Europe because they're the ones that actually developed. Yeah, they're the one doing all the coaching. So something to think about, did you guys get sold? No, Like I said that, the system was different for us.
We're talking about selling kids. We'll talk about developing, talk about developing kids and.
Yeah, this is great. Yeah. So the system probably ten twelve years old, so I was kind of borderlined my age group of it was the first year kids were starting to go to academy, Like at you seventeen, I stayed on the team that I was with, like my club team, and then ended up I was already committed to college. I was like, I don't need to go now to this new academy system, and because I was
already committed. But basically all the years after kind of my age group nineteen ninety three's you started seeing the top talents go to these academy teams. And then now it's like MLS academy teams. So you have Atlanta United for example, you have at landa United two, which a lot of their academy kids can then go play for
Atlanta United two. Same thing, Sporting KC, Red Bulls, DC, Philly now Nashville, like all the teams basically have academy teams starting at you thirteen, fifteen, seventeen, nineteen, whatever it is.
And then at some point, if they're like developed really well in those age groups, like they get to where they're going, they could sell them early.
You can either sell them, but majority of the time you're probably signing them to a homegrown contract. And so that means the incentive this seet we're gonna get real wacky because a lot of MLS rules if we go down this road.
So I think, hey, I think it's interesting. So if you see, like, say, you guys are beasts, right, and I'm like head of the academy or this team, and I'm like, you know, these two are savages at what's the youngest age?
Sixteen usually fifteen sixteen would be.
Fifteen sixteen would be the youngest to get into an academy.
Would be the youngest to get where you sign a homegrown contract.
Okay, but if you would do a homegrown if you realize like, hey, these dudes are going to be monsters, like get them under contract now for cheap, and then we got them locked and the perk of the home and the kid doesn't kind of you know, the kid in the family doesn't know because they're finally like, oh, we're gonna finally start.
Seeing a little bit of So now you got the mechanisms of how less works. So now it's like you look at the salary cat. So the incentives for MOLS teams is if you sign a homegrown player, their contract doesn't count against the salary cap. So it's the incentive to then have a roster player that you aren't actually hitting against the cat so to pay them but doesn't count.
Yeah, so how would the team ben How would the other team benefit from from getting Why wouldn't the homegrown team just keep the kid?
They would like, if you sign a homegrown contract, then you're staying with the academy team, like they get your first rights. Okay, So if there's a Nashville kid, he's a baller, they signed a homegrown deal, he has to stay with Nashville. He couldn't even sign with another MLS team because Nashville owns the rights of all academy kids. Okay, so you can't like have a Nashville player be like, oh I can go pro. I'm gonna go play for
LAFC and then just leave. It's like, no, he is owned by Nashville, so they have the first rights to sign him and basically make money out.
What if like another league, like what a europe league wing to.
Sign him, then they could leave, but Nashville would have rights to get a percentage of the transfer feet and all that and MLS and then MLS on top of that just to MLS is single.
Entity, right, so MLS owns basically well, MLS pays all the contracts. So when there's a transfer, I'm not sure what the rule is now, but just in the last CBA, MLS gets two thirds of the transfer fee and the team gets one third. In Europe, if you get transferred, the player gets ten percent of the transfer fee.
Here, nah, you get nothing.
So do you wish there was some uh, like the rules applied that are over in Europe over here in the US.
I mean, like, are there some rules?
You guys look at it like damn that?
You know?
Always in that league.
There's quite a few, Honestly. It's just all we want to see is for a kid that is going to essentially forego their whole upbringing to put the effort into soccer. Perhaps they're trying to, you know, fee the fam I think every dollar counts, and if a kid is able to play their way to a position of having potential to succeed outside of MLS and gets transferred, they should
get a little bit of that. Oh yeah, And then when you're looking at the fact that MLS is getting two thirds of the fee and then the teams are only getting one third. That starts messing with the fee they're willing to accept. So imagine paying a kid sixty thousand and a team wants to pay two million for him. But now everybody's like, well, my two thirds is only this much. Ah, we want three million, you know. So
that's where it can get real, real messy. But ultimately, at the end of the day, these players are in this country are getting an opportunity to maximize their potential overseas, which helps our country develop soccer. And as we're seeing with the men's national team, we're starting to have more and more younger talent develop their way into that squad
and by twenty twenty six we're looking pretty good. And you know, we'll see when that time comes around, it'll be easier to kind of measure where we've gone, you know, from the start of these homegrown wheelings and dealings.
Yeah, no, that's great, covered it all corrupt.
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Is it kind of like like, would you say, kids grow up playing soccer in America, they're wanting to play in the MLS or you trying to go over to Europe.
When I was growing up, it was wanting to go to Europe. But I think now MLS is definitely a good destination. I think the the stigma is like you can't be the best unless you go to Europe. But I'm not sure that that's true anymore, honestly.
Yeah, and narrative is probably shifting a little bit. Like I think if you're a kid and you're always dreaming of like I want to play in the World Cup or I want to play in Champions League, if that's still like the dream and it's true, like then yeah,
you're gonna want to go to Europe. But like, at the same time, you know, the quality of NMLS has gotten so much better that it's gonna be pretty hard for most kids, even if they're gonna become professionals, to just go straight over, Like they have to be really really talented players to succeed right away in Europe. So I could see a lot of especially when you'll get homegrowns, like guys getting a chance to join a great league in MLS, get a lot of minutes under their belt
in a professional environment and then make the jump. Because I think it is a pretty big jump if you're going from just you know, fifteen sixteen year old going overseas, it could be a little bit just because the competition is and then the other factors like okay, now you're just moving away from home, like you're still young kid, Like you don't know how that's gonna affect different kids. Yeah, certain, so there are obviously success stories of kids who do it, but it's pretty rare.
Yeah, are there many? Are there many like Americans that are over in Europe right now?
Yeah, there's a lot of young guys. So within our national team we probably probably have of the last couple of qualifiers, say we have twenty five people in the roster, probably twelve thirteen are guys who are playing in top good leagues overseas. It's probably pretty split in terms of the roster. Gotta get a little bit more European than MLS.
Now when it's worlds, like when you do the big the international, the world tournament or whatever. Do you got to play for the country in which you like grew up in it kind of like the Olympics.
Well you can have it's just what I mean, you can have different passports, right, don't player asking questions? Yeah?
I know. It's because again you have some guys will have a grandmother that is from a certain country, like what you'll see a lot for like Spain, Italy, England teams that are always high in terms of global rankings. It might be harder to get on that roster. But hey, my grandmother's Jamaican.
Also try and manipulator kind of.
So then even though I grew up in England, my grandmother's jam make in and I want to play on the world stage. So I'm just gonna get a Jamaican passport. I'll play for Jamaica. You see like that, that kind of stuff happens a lot. I mean, even with the US, you have guys that grow up on base in Germany and spent maybe a year in this country in their whole life, but they're most likely not going to you know, make the German national team.
So then it's like, oh, well I'll play for the US.
Yeah, I mean a lot of the white dudes in America like German. Anyway. It's like, hey, I'm German for the German team. I can say that because I got some German you know what I mean? You might too, you're blonde, Yeah, you might have some German.
Zimmerman's a German name. I don't know how far back. All I know is I do not qualify for a past So that's that's also a little frustrating. You know, sometimes you if you don't have passports, it's harder for you to go over and play in Europe so based on their work visas and things like that, so it's
easier if you have. So I'm like, man, maybe we should go have our next kid over in Europe and then give him the opportunity if he wants it, to be able to have more flexibility in the Yeah, that career.
But yeah, how does how does college fit into everything? Did you say you went to college? Did you go to college too? You went that route? Yeah?
So how does James Madison?
Oh yeah, yeah, let's go went to a Halloween party there once. So do you guys get down though?
You had a great time?
Yeah? Yeah, JAMU it's a it's a fun, little party school, great school. But yeah, how does college fit in all this? And let's just say, how did college fit into it when you guys were coming up, And how does college kind of fitting into it now?
Yeah?
So when again, when I was coming up, academies weren't that big of a thing, whereas today you're most like, like these sixteen seventeen year olds that are in an academy, they have chances to go to college, but there's usually somebody above telling them, now, you don't want to do that. Just stay here, You're going to get everything you need, you can develop. Whereas for me, I think that was
the best thing that I could have done. Let's go to college because kind of what Walker was saying, for these young kids to like go up through these systems and then all of a sudden be on their own having to manage themselves as a professional. Like the daily things, not having your mom, you know, cook and clean for you.
Those are things that I learned in college, and like sometimes, you know, I've really had to rough it, like learning budgeting, like forty dollars a week, Like am I going to get somewhere?
Or am I gonna get a beer?
Like?
Yeah, you know, those are the experiences in college that I really really enjoyed, and I think looking back, I'm very thankful to have had that experience. I think the kids that are coming up these days, college isn't always the number one you know, for them, If they can sign a homegrown deal at sixteen seventeen, they would rather do that.
Got you, got you, Yeah.
I think that's what some of the problem is is like some kids, yeah, they're probably talented enough to become professionals.
But the problem is, like the top one percent should probably go academy and try and maybe furgo college if they like really have the potential to make it, because it's going to be better training, it's going to be better for their development as a pro athlete or a future pro athlete, because the you know, with the academy system, like that's the goal is to develop guys who are going to probably not even go to college, but guys who go straight from the academy in the first team.
The problem is when you start signing a bunch of homegrown guys and some of them aren't necessarily that good. Now they're risking their college education to go pro for a minimum contract on seventy thousand bucks. Yeah, and they're gonna get cut after two years and now they're like, oh gosh, I gotta find a college. But now that you can't play college because you've already been a pro like So I think it really depends on if you're the absolute like cream the crop. I think you got
to develop academy pro. But for the guys that you know, maybe they'll make it one day, it's like it's a big risk if you're trying to sign a small deal to become a pro and you forego college. So college soccer, I think the quality overall is probably dropping a little bit because you're losing.
Some of the very top talent to the academy.
Stuff to the academies, but it is still relevant in the sense of, like, you know, even Nashville, for example, we got some great draft picks that are really big contributors. So two years ago we drafted Alishir Johnston. He's become a mainstay on the Canadian national team, been a starter
for US for two years. Jack Mayer from Indiana played you know, two years of college and didn't play a lot last year, but now he's played like games this year, so it's like you can still find talent in college that can contribute to you, you know, whether they graduate
early or leave college early. But it's just I'm scared for the guys that are chasing this dream of being a pro athlete and then they choose to you know, they're a little by disillusion with their capabilities and they become kind of washed up, lost in the system a little bit.
You feel like the disillusion comes from, like you were saying, that, people telling them they're better than they might be, their parents, or maybe coaches or trainers that maybe aren't necessarily with the team, but they're trying to make their money as well, saying.
Hey, you need to come, or like imagine being sixteen and you're like, oh my gosh, I can make like a real salary I can get I can get money for my family or like you know, myself.
It seems like sixteen or seventy thousands kind of.
Like that's like the minimum right in the league. So it's like they're pretty much unless again, unless they're like, you know, really really.
Top you're thinking, yeah, I can make seventy is a sixteen seventeen year.
And live that pro life not have to do school. You're gonna that's like super tempting.
Yeah.
The problem is it's not thinking ahead.
Yeah, not thinking ahead, and there's not enough resources available to them that project their whether even if we're just looking at a career, right, yeah, are they being spoken to about Okay, let's just say you play for fifteen years, like you should be saving this much every year.
You know, these kids are right on stock x, ice box and fts now you know, like which, hey whatever.
Like at some level there has to be a little bit of a risk, and you know you're in a position where you can take that kind of risk. But ultimately, like he's saying, sixteen years old, you sign a homegrown deal. You basically some guys they'll just train, right, they don't play in games. They're just training every day every day, two seasons, three seasons, never playing a game, and then boom your cut. You haven't gone to college, you have
no degree. You haven't even thought about what you would do besides soccer because you always thought that soccer was the only thing that was.
You're not like going to like a routine day throughout a routine day of like class or balancing this and hard to go back to literally just training, thinking you're going to do something and then you're.
Then you're done. You're damn that wouldn't What was I thinking? What am I going to do now? You know?
And and again a lot of the teams, they're not sitting there like yeah, you know, you're not with us anymore, but here's some resources for you, like hope everything, nah, peace, thanks.
For your time. You ain't lying. You're not lying, bro, you know, Like that's wild. Whose fault is that? You know? I don't even know?
Yeah, it's like how do you even how do you even try? And like is that like a is that a big thing that happens?
Like there's a lot of kids do There's plenty of cases of guys who problem we should have gone to college and then either played a couple of years and then they probably got cut from the MS team and they're like, well, I don't know what else to do. I'm gonna drop down to the USL, which is like the league below MLS. Now they're probably making closer to like I don't know, twenty five, like something that's on my side. Yeah, you're right, having to juggle two different things to get by.
But you're kind of like in the minors of baseball at.
That yeah, exactly. Then they just become and there's always like the glimmer of hope that they hold on to of like making it back up. And it's just so rare to have guys who drop from MLSUSL and then get back up, very rare.
So shit, yeah, once you college to go pro.
Yeah you can. You can go pro at any time from college. So you could be a freshman and be like, be a freshman, play a freshman season, and you're out. So I mean, did you go? I went?
I went all well, I left after three and a half years, but I played fourth seasons right college. I had an opportunity to maybe go after my junior year, but I was still like, well, hey, I still.
Want to get this degree.
You know.
I put in all this time and effort and I still ended up not getting it. But you didn't get your degree and a half years, but I had three and a half years. I have to, Uh, well, it always.
Comes down and somebody's like, I got two or three classes left, I'm gonna do them online if fulfill my promise to my grandma back in the day.
Basically right, like like if you get it from like s n h U would get.
It because my major switched to a different major in my last year, so Keynesiology switched to sports management. If I was to go to another school, I would have had to like redo like two years worth of credit, which is just awful. But I mean we'll see, you know, maybe I'll go back and get that piece of paper. That's definitely gonna get me a job.
You know, that's definitely gonna get me a job. It's gonna feel good.
How long you've been playing.
Since one twenty eleven, so you're over it, You're like over a decade?
Yeah, yeah, this is my eleventh season.
What is like the average lifespan of a of a soccer player? I got on a football It's like two point eight years playing in the NFL.
Damn that's pretty bad. Yeah, I'd say around like ten to eleven years. It depends on the position you're playing to. Goalkeepers can play for fifteen yeah, no, Forwards, midfielders, defenders, that.
Three point two to three point five is your That's like, I mean, that's not like they're playing career, but that's like saying or like sting MLS.
Right, Wow, congrats bro, Thank you man, like triple career link that I feel good. Damn? How about you? Did you how long did you go to college?
Did you go? I left that to my sophomore year.
Oh big dog? Hey, come on, you guys are both drafting the first round.
Right, yeah?
Big dogs?
So, I mean it's a little different than like NFL first round pick is.
How many rounds? How many rounds are there in MLS?
Basically two and then it's third and fourth or like supplemental draft picks, and like a lot of those picks probably don't make the ross.
Wait wait wait, so there's only two rounds in the MLS draft. Yeah, and then they're they're how many picks per round?
How many?
Eight?
Well?
Fuck, you guys are big dogs? What do you mean?
True? I mean you look at it that way. Relatively, it's it is.
It's kind of like the NBA. Dude, Yeah, yeah, they had so right.
So the process of like the college stuff, there's like a thing called generation of way right Tobe. Uh So there was a thing called generation of didas. It's still going on, and that's like an incentive for another MLS mechanism that they use to help teams draft these players.
But uh.
Every year in college they usually pick like seven eight guys that they identify as like freshmen to juniors who can qualify for like a Generation Adidas basically salary or pick whatever. And so the perk of that is if you draft a player that's Generation Adidas, that MLS will basically again, it doesn't count against the salary cap, So it's incentive for the teams to draft those players. Want to you just sound like you're just trying to have
a reason why you're drafting them. So when you're not is because you know they don't have to.
Yeah, yeah, you're on your nine. Yeah, same nine. Yeah, it's my ninth year. We have this running joke because I'm currently a free agent. I don't know if I'll play the rest of the year, but I always just hashtag like year nine, like I'm in your h The US national team, how do you make it?
Walker can tell you about, Well, you gotta be a beast like Walker first of all, So.
When does it happen?
When?
When does when does like worlds and all that stuff happen to where the US national team, you know, I guess, shows themselves. Is it like every four years World Cup? What am I saying, do you know what the World Cup is? I know what the World Cup is. My brother is obsessed with FIFA. Bro, that dude loves soccer. Yeah, but he loves soccer, like he gets some little jerseys and stuff like that and like he's all about it. But yeah, okay, world Cup my fault. When does the
World Cup happen every like four years? Okay?
So we got it coming up in twenty twenty two. Right now, we're in qualifying. So the big thing was last cycle for the twenty eighteen World Cup, we didn't qualify, and that process this year looks like there's eight teams and you play home and away against every team. Top three will automatically qualify. The fourth wide would playoff against another like region. That's the thing, the tricky part about it.
So the region Conker calf is North America, which is Canada, the US, Central America which is a any different countries, yeah, an so Costa Rica. It is hard to understand, yeah for sure. So we have eight teams right now from that have made the final round of qualifying. We've played six games so far within that, so we have two more next week. Really, we play Mexico and Jamaica, So that'll be eight games in. But right now we're in
second in the table for the qualifying process. But yeah, you have fourteen games because you have seven home, seven away, played six already and.
You guys are sitting in second place. So right now you're right now you're looking to qualify.
Yeah, looking to qualify. So two big games in a week and a half, and then we have basically three at the end of January, early February and three in March, and then it's done. If you're in the top three, you're in. You feel good about it? Yeah, I feel good about it. It's a real young team. We have a lot of inexperienced in terms of like World Cup qualifier or even like you know, World Cup, since they missed the last cycle.
Were you part of that? So I was on the last cycle.
I'd gotten called into some camps, was on the bench for some qualifiers but didn't play any and then, uh, you got to play in some of these the cycle.
But some of them are all of them, some of them played in three out of the six. All right, captain had the captain band.
Oh you're oh, you got the captain band. You break it, you break down the huddle and everything like that, like speech leave, sign the belief, sign up.
Whatever it takes will be lost one zero. So I guess I don't know, guess it wasn't good enough.
Like dream of being like captain, yeah kind of like.
Yeah, no, it's for sure. Obviously, being a part of the national team in general has been a dream come true.
Being the captain another dream come true. I think I told this story like a little while ago on something so interview, and I like vividly remember a time I was training probably before it's probably I was in college in the off season, just training to go back to college or either before my first year in MLS, and I was like working out the YMCA local YMCA back home Snumble, Georgia Lawnceville, Georgia, and I was on like the bike. I was doing like little triathlon type training
for myself just to stay like really fit. Yeah, so I was on the last thing. I was on the bike, and I was like basically just doing some positive self talk, you know, like like drinding. I'm like, I don't even want to just be a part of the national team or the U twenty national team. I want to be on the full national team. I was like, I want to be on the full national I want to be the captain of the full national team. Like and remember like that moment of saying like that is that's the
standard that I want to set for myself. It's like not just being there or being a part of it, but like being a key player, being a captain. And so like when I was the captain of that game, it was it really was like full circle. I went right back to that place and was like, man, all of the hard work, all of that suffering, Like that's how you get to accomplish these kinds of dreams. And so again we lost the game, which was a bummer, but I got to.
Keep the band and gonna have that That's a visualization right there, all the youth speaking attraction.
Man, So gonna have that band up in the room in the house. Uh yeah, the man cave one day and that'll be a good begin No.
I did I love that, bro, because it is it always feels corny to talk about because it's really just like you and yourself and you're just coming up with all this ship. But no, that's that's dope. That's cool that it kind of came full circle. Yeah, it's definitely. You know, it's not corny. You feel that way. You're sitting in front of a couple of dudes. You're like, oh, this is like vulnerability. Vulnerability.
I like it vitalized by the way.
Shout out sport Clips, no free shout outs. This is a a very important announcement. Why why should you care? Because here's why. Mike Vrabel listens to the podcast and Mike Vrabel confirmed goes to sport Clips are produced her Bloss was there the other day, right, Bloss, and he saw Mike sitting in the chair. He was actually getting this haircut that we're about to talk about the haircut experience. But Bloss, you you can. I need you grab the Mike.
I need you to come on and need you to confirm that Mike Rabel gets his haircut at sport Clips. Mike Rabel was indeed at sports Clips this week just before the game. It is confirmed that he comes there every Thursday.
Oh don't say the time.
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just left a Swenish Swedish sauna. Rabel's words, not ours. And to top it off, you get a pinpoint cut stopped by sport Clips today and ask for the MVP haircut experience, or just ask for the Rabel uh, the most vable player haircut experience. It's so ridiculously relaxing. Sport Clips, the pros and men's hair. Oh how do you balance MLS play with international play?
That's yeah, it's it's difficult. I would say normally, if it's not World Cup qualifying, if it's just a friendly, it's I don't really think twice about it, Like you just come back from the camp you're with all of one team, but you're excited to be back with your club team and vice versa. These qualifiers, though, have been different for me, like mentally, like the first window, we had three games, two on the road, when was it at home, and I remember I didn't even play a minute.
I came back to the team and I was exhausted and Ashville, Like, mentally, I think you're so the importance of the games and like the responsibility that you feel of having to get results, like it does weigh on you a little bit and you don't realize it until like you finally get back and you're out of it, and then it's like you finally breathe and you're like whoa. I'm like, I'm exhausted, Like mentally, that was a lot, and so I felt that, and then the second time
round obviously played, so then you're like physically tired. I know, at least in our case Nashville, we got five days off during the international break, but like if you were on an international break like with the national team, you didn't get any of the days off, so like everyone was at the beach, like in New York, like in Miami. It's just like we enjoyed those days.
Yeah, that's.
No. You're looking on Instagram. All your boys are just like all over the country, like just freaking lounging. Marguerite's in hand poolside, and and you're like just on a bus to training, you know, like a normal day. So that's that's where, like you don't get that mental kind of tune up that after long nless season, like you need a couple of breaks here and there to just like really like it was probably great for everyone to
get ready for like the last final push before playoffs. Yeah, whereas if you're involved with the national team, don't get that. But never traded for the world, Yeah, you wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
What do you guys cling to talking about? When you were talking about the lesson that he was given with the vulnerability and stuff like that, what do you guys cling to mentally? Because obviously athletes were training all the time physically, But what do you guys cling to mentally to help kind of keep you from whether you're in a tough mental spot or like overcoming something or just anything in general being a professional soccer player.
Mister NaSTA, Oh yeah, bro, sure me. Meditation meditation and yoga.
Yoga obviously also for the mind, but just physical keeping the body elastic. Obviously playing for eleven years, like I gotta do everything can to you know, keep giving me an edge over these these younger cats coming in. But the biggest thing is the meditation, and I think that comes in many different forms. It comes, you know, when you're training and you need that extra push, you know, to get the most out of your workout. The ability to do that on a consistent basis is not easy.
It's something that has to be practiced, and I think you see with professional athletes, they're usually guys that mentally are strong. But I think if we can move to vulnerability in that space, then you know, you're one going to make sure that you're in the right mindset because we all know it doesn't last forever.
You know.
I've definitely heard of guys after soccer or any sport definitely struggle with you know, whether it's not you know, having value to the world or you know, not having something to take their mind off of, you know, the dark, the deep dark shit that we all have in our heads because we're human. So for me at meditation just kind of increasing my own self awareness. Taking moments to just breathe, you know, and be in silence has definitely helped me a lot.
That's good man. I think you know, for me, a lot of it comes I think from a big faith background. So I think when I think about that and impact has had on my life and my career, it's like wanting to be the best version of yourself and utilize those gifts that you've been blessed with, like on and
off the field. And so I think that kind of framework is a big part of like, you know, doing every rep in the gym, doing every rep outside on the field, like not cutting corners because one, like you want to be responsible with what you've been given, but then two you want to be like, you know, encouraging for your teammates to get the best out of them as well. And so I think we have a really good group in that regard of like guys are trying
not to cut corners for the most part. You always have a you know, a couple of cases here and there that you gotta get on a little bit, but it's it's good. It's a really good group. And I think that's kind of what has been a key to our success is you got guys who take it seriously,
like on an individual level to do their work. But then you also have the guys CJ included, who will like hold guys accountable to you know, even you know, for example, the other game, like we started out in Cincinnati, were playing the team it's one of the bottom teams in the league, and we go down, you know, to zero, and guys are kind of yelling each other in the pitch and CJ's like just positive vibes, you know each other, like team here done like two goals or however many
goals he had later and we went six to three. And it's just like you need guys who can understand situations and find the right balance of like you know, feeling good pulse of the team, when's the right time to push, when's the right time to bring them together. And so I think, you know, we do a really good job of that.
That's awesome. That's really good, especially like when you're talking about awareness and everything else, because guys identify with what they do so much. Especially like you know, if guys retire or they get cut when they're not ready to be cut, they're so you know, wrapped up and oh what do you know, what do I do? Now? I've been this my whole life. I'm letting my family down, I'm letting people down around me, and they kind of like lose their own.
Self defined by stats man. That's what led me to meditation, honestly, because I've.
Always been a good teammate.
Right that was placed on me, and like I always tried to fulfill that, but I was giving aspects of myself to everybody else. And then again like ultimately, if I didn't perform, I wasn't on the stat sheet being a forward, like you want to score. So like the more games you're not on that score sheet, you're like, oh my gosh, Like I'm the lowest person on this earth. It's crazy that how powerful the human mind is, right,
because I found myself in that position. I mean, my first three years in the league, I had an Open Cup, which is a domestic tournament that all American professional teams are able to participate in in an MLS Cup, So you know that in the first three years. Some guys play whole careers and don't get that right, And yet I found myself the next season like getting down on myself because I didn't score, you know, enough goals. And it was from that dark place for me that I was.
I literally just went in Google and it was like how to deal with like depression. And it's interesting because meditation always shows up. I was scrolling past it. Bro I'm like meditation, What I mean to close my eyes and sit quietly for what?
You know.
I want the quick fix, the instant gratification, which I think that's our problem as people. You know, we don't want the slow and steady route. But all I know is I saw Hella Buddhas and people making little stances.
The Noma state. This is literally my celebration now, you know.
And it's an opportunity for me to bring awareness into the sport and also gratitude, you know every time I get a goal and I'm a stay to the fans, and you know, it's definitely uh it allows me to tap into a different different field for sure.
Fuck with that, Like like the fact that soccer doesn't get as much recognition here. You guys don't get as much recognition here respect maybe as soccer players as you would in other countries.
I don't I like being able to just go get some ice cream in my sweatpants, no shape up, you know, and not worry about it because other guys come from other places, and then they're telling us like wait, you guys go out like after you lose a game, like yeah, why Like nah, like we can't do that, you know in other countries. I remember Kaka, he's a famous soccer player.
I don't know if you know.
It's Brazil in soccer players played in World Cups, won a World Cup. He was talking about in Italy after he lost a game. He went out with his fam to go get some dinner, and like he just happened to look outside and there's fans outside literally burning his jersey and like yelling at him. Just out to dinner, you know. So I don't want to know.
I'm fine. I'm fine with it and the sport.
I think eventually we'll get there, but by then I'll probably be just chilling watching everybody else.
Shoot, you'll probably be be a mental leader for a lot of guys. You never know, hopefully, you know, is that something you want.
To do with Yeah, for sure, I'm already building towards that, doing my life coach. I'm getting my life coaching certification. I'm building a digital marketing representation company that focuses on a line endorsements with guys life goals. You know, I think a lot of times, you know, hey, if you're getting paid, well, you'll smile for pretty much anything. But I just want to get in there with the players, and like, again, let's project outward. What are your interests?
Do you have any financial interest? Do you want to start a business? Okay, boom, get all that understood. And then now when we're looking for deals, uh, we're coming from that vantage point, right, We're gonna get you deals that are tied to you know, your life goals. Yeah, hey, there you go shout out, shout out social sports? Sorry, go ahead, club.
Yeah, we just say like, since you're you guys are one of the boys. Like, if it's a boy, you shout them out, they get free shouts. But if it's a brand, you just say no free shoutouts. You're not trying to shout out the brand. But it's coming from him, so he can you can promote whatever you want to promote.
Dude, what is it against social sports?
Is there a website? Is there something that people can check out?
Teamsocial sports dot com?
You got anything?
I'm gonna go check it out. I didn't look at that work.
I gonna go check it out.
I haven't seen the website yet.
I appreciate you guys coming on. Man, you got one of you guys gotta be somewhere to right.
Yeah, So I'm getting my my coaching license through US Soccer because.
You're trying to sell some kids.
I don't know I would be associated with. But you know, if we can work out some kickback you can get in the contract. You gotta pay the new way for coaches. So I have a mandatory coaching call at two o'clock, and uh, it's just one of the things you gotta do. Yeah, allow me to coach college and then hopefully work up and get my a license. But I think college coaching is kind of what what I would end up doing.
So nice man, Well, I appreciate you guys coming on. I am, I am. I need to get to a game. You guys are about to be in the playoffs. Yeah, look at me out of time. That's all right, though. We show up for the playoffs.
One home game left, one regular season game left, one home game, and then we should have a home playoff game as well. So you got like for sure, for sure one well.
Strong chance strong.
That you got a home playoff game to come to as well.
Okay, that's where focus. We got to get on board w bringing the boys to the game. That's what I'm saying. We're bringing the boys, baby.
Sure. So our last regular season game is the seventh next Sunday, and then we're thinking it will be the twenty third of November will be the the home playoff game if we bring your families Thanksgiving week, dude, dude, I'm hosting. It's also kind of why I have to get back. I'm doing a friends giving right now or a name's giving. Got my neighbor's over there, and I was like, I'm hosting Thanksgiving for the first time for my family in Nashville. So my grandmother passed away this summer.
We always went to Birmingham home mom sort of the family. So this year new traditions German household in Nashville. So I got a turkey right now on the tragger that's being smoked.
Wow.
Yeah, because I'm I'm today is the names giving. It's the trial for me.
I say, what kind of ship.
For a week?
No, So I'm trying to think I haven't.
Been at eighty degrees right now. We got a few weeks.
I got a sweet tea of cast role that's in the fridge squash cast role as well. Peanut butter pie I made this morning, So like I got my things. Peanut butter pie.
Yeah, hey, I need to check that out. I have never heard of that.
I love peanut butter he's looking for an invite.
I might have to check that out.
Man.
Yeah, so I got I got a lot of work in the kitchen this afternoon as well.
But all right, I gotta love that. And then also you post a picture that peanut butter pie drop around your story or something, so you know we can do that. We can exchange a little bit, you know what I mean.
Get the recipe. I don't think the recipe is so easy. By the way, I don't give it. Don't give it away. Come on, it's a secret. This is a secret recipe my family.
So all right, well I appreciate you guys. Man, this is a lot of fun. Sure, this is a lot of fun. Photo in front of the bus