Streaming live on the Ihearts Radio AaB. This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty.
Hey, welcome back to my on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera in today with me is Ray Floris from Charles No Charle.
I'll say it for well, we like to say, see Charles restaurant.
See Charles restaurant.
Yeah, okis you have so many well it sounds good with Sea chartle Yes, yes, how many again for eight restaurants in southern Arizona. Oh, and then but you have and then we have stuff in airports and you have them all over the place. That's not a franchise. No, be careful. Franchise is like very government.
Okay, yeah, worgs matter right right, who's at the door.
Yeah, okay, come get me.
Yeah.
Now we have Kobe with breaking news.
Breaking news from last night. The Ravens defeat the Chargers thirty or twenty three in the Harbor.
It was a good game. It was a good game. Did you watch the game first time?
But I heard some commentary today about the parents not being there because it was an anniversary. Oh and they're easy had the game when they played each other, but I guess they didn't go to this one.
Yeah. Okay, well there's important stuff, and thre's important stuff.
Your two sons playing against each other NFL. I gu it's not that important.
Yeah, well that's why they had the anniversary. Now they have the kids, right, let them enjoy it. It was a pretty good game, I thought. Yeah, it was a good game.
Memphis defeats number two Yukon and ot Thriller, giving Dan Hurley and the Husky's their first loss in February.
Yeah.
I think they had won seventeen straight. He went ballistic. Yeah did you see that? No, he went ballistic. They lost for the first time. It was he claims it was a bad call over the top against Memphis. They won today. I think they were winning today. They were playing Colorado. Yeah, so you know they're gonna be good again. We know what happens in November, right, not a damn thing.
Well, but you guys cover sports all the time. Do you like when you know when people get upset, when a coach gets upset over a loss like that.
In our capacity, Yeah, I'm just for the story.
But losing with Grace is that is that a good thing or is it?
Yeah?
Really, should you really be more upset about a loss? Let's talk about that. Who who's part of view conscious of what we're going through right now with football? Like should he be more upset or should he be?
A good question? You know, good question.
You think that he would be rich Rod. I'll give you rich Rod. Rich Rod was kind of like a little brat who lost. And I did that story, he says, because he hated to lose. And he would tell me when he was a kid, he wouldn't talk to people, he'd cry, put a towel over his head, and I got that.
I'm sure you were like that when.
Well, yeah, I was. I know, like I hung out more with the Stoops brothers if anything, because that was a different time and I was I had more time in my life to have kids yet, and so I hung out with those guys a lot. And I know those guys hated to lose. They really did. And you have to beat up each other about you have to.
If you're if you're gonna be, if you're gonna be good at what you do, you have to hate to lose. In fact, the question I always asked when I talked to a new coach, is do you hate losing more than you like winning? And every time it's hell, yeah, yeah.
You kind of wonder right now, do our guys hate losing or are they accepting it?
You're that's the number one question one. And and see, this is what I observe Ray, and I may or may be totally wrong. They're just not playing hard for bread.
I don't know. I mean, I can't speak to the injuries. I don't know enough about football. I don't know about sports. I just I believe that sometimes that feeling that you get from somebody helps motivate you in a way that you didn't even think about it exactly. Like you know, I can tell you right now, my mom, who's our our iconic leader and the boss, still hates to lose, right, I mean, she doesn't like when her food's wrong, she doesn't like when something goes wrong. And she's the nicest person.
Was Oh, she's an angel. Yeah, get her in a room where things didn't go right.
Let me ask you this because I'm glad you kind of went there with you and her. When you go visit your stores, right you go probably shopping around kind of see what's going on the Do the employees that you have do they I want to say, work harder? But do they do they feel different when you're in the room.
Well, I hope not. I mean we hope that there's an intensity all the time about hospitality or whatever. There's no doubt. Then when we walk in a room, you know there is a there is a sure you know, their hair raises up on their back a little bit because we're here and we and there's others who just ignore it. But I think the biggest thing for me that I want to get out of them is like that intensity not to lose the guests, to win on the hospitality side is something that we're trying to get
all the time. And if we accept the failure, then we are teaching them.
That translate into sports and you're good. That's exactly what I'm saying. And I don't know, I don't know if it can can be fixed or not. It's like to me, the absenity landlord or the substitute teacher. Once you lose it, how.
Do you get that back?
Yeah, because you're not the teacher, you're the and I and like I said, I think all these guys now with the nil and what they're dealing with. I can't imagine it, you know, because they can just jump ships so quick, and they've got so many year you know, ear voices in their ears and things on their phone screens. But it's still it's still something that even if we have injuries, and even if we I'd just like to know that they hate losing, you know, I get it. But do they hate losing?
Right, right, because we'll hate with you.
We'll hate losing with you, right yeah.
Yeah, and you change the culture, right, you change the culture, you change them to get it right.
Yeah, I'm sure Brent hates losing.
Yeah.
The thing is, I think that people want to see it.
Yeah, and that may not be a style or maybe they'll get there. I don't know, And it could all be just this wave of things that are happening that we don't know about. Sure, I'm sure as heck know that he he's not. This is not what he wanted to have happened, And I sure I feel for him.
Yeah, if it did, well, he's in the wrong game. Yeah right, you don't plays lose.
I feel for him, go want him to win.
Aaron Rodgers says he's undecided on playing in twenty twenty five, but returning to the Jets would be his first choice.
You you know again, I you know, it's kind of like what they what happened in politics just recently with our president. Sometimes you just got to know when to hang up the cleats too, you know. And and whether it be sports or politics or leadership, you know, you got to turn it. You got to turn it over. And it's hard right to the end. Game is definitely tough.
Well, if again, your mom has been this forever, right, I don't even say her age, but she probably loves doing this.
And you're probably thinking, Mom, you.
Know, well life, Yeah, yeah, I do. I would like for her to do that a little bit more. And she's doing it. But you know what I'm saying. You know, fortunately we own the business we owned can control that destiny. But when you're working for an organization like the Jets, or you're running the country, or you're running you're running a state office, or you're a Supreme Court justice, if you don't get out when you're getting out is right, then you may actually make everything you did worse off.
Legacy change, legacy changes.
Coach prime, Shadore and Travis Hunter all expected to play in the Bowl game.
When they when they play in the play.
That's not a shock. Maybe will they be there? Will will Prime be there next year?
Yeah? Spectacle when he comes around though, right?
I mean, well, he sold out the U of A.
I don't think he's I don't think he's bad for the sport. I think he's a good you know, I think it's good for the sport. Sure you know, did you? I'm sure you? It was sold out here. It was a good game. It was good, It was a good it was a good financial game, right for our for our for the what we do that?
Right?
Hawks find one hundred K for sitting Trey Young in the NBA Cup game.
Okay, okay, I'm not too too I'm not a big NBA guy until till April May.
June.
Auburn's Johnny Brown tipping with one second remaining gave number four Auburn and eighty three eighty one come from behind victory over number five Iowa State Eracing and eighteen point.
Is that today was last night? Okay, okay, we'll go back to NBA. What do you think about, you know, the Lebron and the Browny thing? Because you know, in a family business that I have, it is a f I mean, that's their family.
Business, right, So go ahead, I want to hear this.
Well.
I mean, I think it's kind of unfortunate that he didn't perform well, but I also can't knock Lebron for doing what they did. I mean here, I mean, he surely makes that thing financially work, and I don't think it was a bad financial bet on Brownie. I'm sure to have said some people that he took that he might have took a seat at the table, but hey, you know that that could have been a fault of
an injury, right, or it may have worked out. So it's interesting to me how much anger that's created on the WebSphere if you will.
Oh yeah, well, because you know go there because you said you won't have a family business.
Did you feel some of that too, well?
Sure, I mean, you know, nepotism and favoritism come hand in hands, and my fifteen year old is busting tables right now, and you know they may not like that he's there making money when they may be taking a shift away from them or something. So you know, we tell them like, hey, you got to be conscious that these are folks livelihood. We're not there to take them away. I want you to learn the business. I want you to learn from the ground up. So this is part
of it. But you're not going to get and nor do I want it to oversee you know, his school or his his sports work. But I wanted I want him to learn, right, But it's not the NBA right, Right, and dram positions are different.
I don't think you have to apologize for that, right, it's you, it's your toy, right, let him play. Yeah, Lebron though I'm in different to it. I'm in different to it. But you know, the can the guy played probably at this level, it's not I'm not paying him to play, so it doesn't mean.
Anything to me.
They say that they're playing they're playing him harder than they would They're saying that in the G League he's getting the harder elbow in the chest. But at the same time, if he makes it through that, sure, you know, we can say it's unfair, but we could also say that will prove him.
Yeah, to be the word to go for, Yeah, to see if he is will happen?
Yeah.
Okay.
North Carolina football team has fired their coach Mac Brown.
Yeah.
Do you know he told me worked with him for a while back in Texas. A heck of a good coach. He's seventy three.
Yeah.
Let me ask you something, right, because I always ask everybody who comes out of these the kids, how old is old to you?
I think old is a state of spirituality than at his age, you know, I think.
So when you were a kid, what was old?
Oh well, you know, I think seventies were old when I was a kid. I think now that's not old.
At all as we creep up that, Yeah, yeah.
I think, But I think it's I think it's an energy level measure than anything else.
You know.
Look, some people have you know, i'd cancer once. I mean it's it's you know, things take a toll on you eventually. Sure that may not be anything to do with what you've gone through life or your or anything else. It just could be a genetic issue. But I do think that there is a time that you have to recognize that you may be old for what you're doing. Yeah, right, and maybe that needs to change, you know. I think that there's there's definitely some energies needed differently for different
parts of life. I'd like to see some of these older folks go into more mentorship roles, right and teach, because I think we can learn a lot from them. I don't know if that's something that's available out there often, but it'd be nice to hear from some of the older the older people that are out there as to what you know, did get this country to this point and what.
We learned from Yeah, yeah, I was gonna ask you another coach BA ask you out there.
And this was a day after Brown said he intended to return next.
Right right in the eighties. This is none not coming back. Yeah, okay, anything else, that's probably it.
Right, that's it for breaking news.
Okay, no, cool, we'll just come come back to We got about four minutes before we touch to ben here on the other side, he'll be calling us, I assume, yeah, right, So I was gonna ask you, so you said you're.
How old you feel?
It comes and goes, right, I think when you know, I I when I'm with my children, I feel older. Sometimes when they speak languages I don't understand anymore, or I have to look a word up and definitely feel older. You know, It's funny. I actually felt really old the other day, Uh, I went to a concert. My wife gave me tickets for my birthday.
Was it?
We went to go see Sting in concert.
I grew up.
I grew up with Police band D I loved aadies.
Where was this?
You know?
The Police were like my favorite brand? And where was it in San Francisco?
Okay?
And we had seen him when he played in Phoenix. It was a great show. It was a different venue. Phoenix was a little bigger venue and it was more crowd The venue in San Francisco was smaller, more, more compact, more maybe maybe both in him minute, if you want to call it that, But the crowd was so much older, and I realized I saw people that looked that they
could have been my grandmother out there. And then I realized, like, well, in you know, eighty six, eighty seven, eighty eight, when they were out, I'm you know, I'm in my youth.
I mean, I'm eleven, twelve, thirteen years old. But there were people that liked him at that point when they were in their thirties and forties, and now they're at a show, right, So I'm sitting there at fifty five amongst people that are seventy five eighty and they're they're rocking out and they're doing their thing and they're doing this thing thing. But I mean I felt really old because I was in alignment with them, so it was different.
Well, I'm sure you've been to countrits down here, and I'll simplify it for me. Does ez tops that come to to Ava or the Kansases and stuff like that? And I'm thinking that the people were in their area in a in a being a break and their men obviously with their jackets.
I'm thinking I don't know that old, do I?
Well, you know it's old when like today, I went into one of my doctor's offices and ac DC Dirty D's was one of the background music. So you know, when ac DC becomes background, you've got.
Right and they're trying to make everybody happy.
No, no, I asked that question just to get out of you know, curiosity or whatever. Yeah, so okay, I will talk more about the aresultable obviously, the stuff that how it impacts you're part of that too. Right inside the stadium, nothing changes with the menu or nothing.
Well, well look at that guy. There's a guy that's older and look at snoops and Grandpa and look like you know what I mean. Yeah, there's there's age. Right, he's redefined himself at an.
Older age, and to a degree of he's almost a folk hero today, you know, with so many things.
Are now more people than he was when he was younger.
Right, and a very syvy businessman. Very what what makes that? What makes that?
I don't know. I mean I think he got lucky.
No, no, no, no, no, not just that, because you're here that too. I mean, is it kind of not sleeping you twenty four to seven?
I think you have. I think you're competitive. You know, he may not have been competitive, like in a sports way, but I think he's a sportsman of site, of typewriter. I think he's competitive in his business and his environments that he surrounds himself with.
Yeah, all competitive, All those successful people are like that. Just I think you have to be.
Yeah.
And again we're talking about hating to lose, yeah, or hating to fail, right, But if you do fail, that's what drives you.
Well, Yeah, you've got to like it too, right, You've got to like the game you're in. And that's hard, very much because if the game's static, it's not fun to very much.
So yeah, you hate going to the office. If you don't, yeah, okay, let's come back. We'll reach out to Ben and on the other side in about three or four minutes.
Thanks.
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This is I on the Ball on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I want to take part in the show Call up Steam now at five to two oh four one six seventy four to four D.
Hey, welcome back, Towanam out here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. You're Ray Flotis. Now on the phone. We have Evanchuli, the marketing.
Guy and marketing guy, marketing.
Guy and events manager at the at the Arizonable Stoop Dog.
At the Stoop.
Yeah, the stup Dog Arizona Bawl presented by Gin and Juice, Byre and Snoop.
Yes, yes, I talked to Ray about this. You uh, perfect timing, right. You get this guy and all of a sudden he's already blown up, but then you get him. He's really blown up after the Olympics. And I don't think you guys. Have you guys actually met him.
No, No, we've had when.
I was in the conference, he'd come here Snoop. He used to be able to get Snoop for pretty good money, like under one hundred grand. Now he's like five hundred a day. Really, So, I mean there was a time where Snoop was a value entertainer. Now he's now he's back to being the top dog.
Yeah, yeah, I don't know if you saw my story on the Arizona Bowl of ben in the busins Tucson. But you know, I don't know how you feel.
You have kids.
I do so my lead was a kid of there became cooler because his the daughter thought, you know, she was talking to Snoop Dogg. The same for you.
Absolutely, yeah, my uh my kids have used that in there when they have like their ice akers two truths in a lie and they say, my dad works with Snooth Dogg and it's.
Yeah, they definitely love it.
No, very cool.
Yeah, you got you got almost a month to the day. How are you guys going, and how's how you guys doing it?
It's it's coming up quick, isn't it.
Yeah, it's it's on December twenty eighth.
We are.
We're grinding, We're in that that home stretch now, trying to get ready, trying to put all the final you know, dot the teas and or dot the eyas and crust the t's. But we're excited. We're talking to several schools. Dean, you can definitely feel a different vibe and energy for the Bowl this year. We get there's a lot more interest, a lot more incoming interests for us versus US trying to go out and pitch people to to support the bull.
It's been great.
It's a one of a kind situations, do you because having been in the hospitality haven't been in the food and average business having you know, heck, I wrote a book on tequila, having understood the beverage and spirits business. To get a beverage brand, you know, an adult beverage brand like this on top of the bowl in a community like in Arizona's like a well known state for consumption of things because we're hot and you know, beverages are always It's one of those markets where big brands
go if you do well in Arizona. That's what we need to do. So to have that here, to have this this amazing icon of an entertainer and cultural figure here at a time when really like our town needs it, to be honest with you, you know, right after you know, Christmas, in fact, even right before Christmas. The hospitality trade. You know which Tucson, you know, city of astronomy, one of the best, you know, maybe the best Mexican food, you know, Mexican food capital of the world. All they like to
say of America I call it the world. But you know, we go down, like sales drop big because people are tied up with money from after the holidays or kind of everyone's full. They want to go back on their diets pretty soon, and it's just a stressful, you know, not our sales go down. So to see this influx of visitors, especially when they come from towns that are easy to get to, you know, New Mexico shows up, or if you and LV came or with schools might
be even closer to get to, it's phenomenal. But I think this year they might come from anywhere. I mean, I think I think people are gonna come from far and around to be part of this because of the Snoop Dogg connection.
Then true, yeah, absolutely that ticket sales have been highest that you know, before announcing the teams, uh, the tickets were you know, we're way ahead we've ever been. And that's there's people that you know, it's the stop Snoop effect.
People want to be a part of this because of Snoop dog They want to check out and you know some people that this maybe Snoop Dogg is the one that kind of shine the light on on what we do and they're they're excited about all the different activities and and and the mission of the Bowl and now that Snoop Dogs that tied to it, they want to be a part of it.
So it's it's been really cool.
And he sells merchandise. I mean there's a nice little penny there too.
Oh yeah, he sells merchandise. We you know, we have we have an online store that we're selling shirts, our gear, our give it when we're out at events in the community, we have giveaway gear and that stuff goes really quick.
And he draws viewers.
We have I have people reached out to me. I had a couple of people yesterday reach out to me about trying to find out how to buy ads in the broadcast that's on the CW. And that's a big part of our success too. Is if our TV broad broadcast partners successful, it benefits the Bowl.
Yeah, no question.
Yeah, I think Ben, I think, I know you say it. I don't think people understand. And it just happened.
Uh.
You know, the folks from Tucson Values Teachers, it's a group put together to help, you know, encourage support for our local teachers. You know, they were they had missed the mark to get in on the on the charitable side of the bulls efforts. But you know what the team that you and Kim Dare and Dellarbio and Ali Faring and put together, they're a yes group of people. And when you have a community like Tucson and they know that they get yes answers from something like the
Arizona Ble tell us. Tell Steve a little bit about how much the nonprofit our community benefits from the Bowl.
Yeah, well, you know, we are a nonprofit. We donate one hundred percent and I'm sure you've heard all this part before, donate one hundred percent of our net proceeds.
To local charities.
But we have a community village that is part of a tailgate festival that we have. Nonprofits have an opportunity to come out and showcase what they do, kind of spread awareness to what they do, and celebrate that kind of have a celebration of the community.
A big part of that.
Is a parade that happens inside the stadium. The parade starts at the tailgate, goes to the stadium, and in the quarter break between the first and second quarter, all those nonprofits marched down the fields. Uh, you know, from end zone to end zone with a banner that of their organization that they're proudly representing. So it's really just
a great opportunity. And one thing that's really great with these with the Community Village is it's a great opportunity for those nonprofits to network within themselves that to have connections and and kind of discuss best practices and you know, best ways of fundraise and drive awareness. So it's it's a great networking opportunity for all of the community partners that make up the Community Village.
At the tailgate, let me ask you.
A dumb question, So has him Has he made your job easier or more difficult because of the situation.
Both, if that makes sense both.
No, it's it's definitely it's more fun, that's for sure. And you know, the the crazy thing, like you guys are saying that timing is just incredible that we announced Snoop as our part nerd in May. The Olympics happened, the Voice happens, He's on T mobile, he's on the cover of People magazine, He's all over the place now, and he has a new album coming out in about two weeks. With it, you know, collaboration with Doctor dre Uh thirty years from the anniversary of his of his
first album. So he is extremely extremely busy, which is great. He's blown up, but it's also hard to you know, get get answers on questions on certain things, so that that part's been a little challenging.
But we are.
We're in a good spot and moving forward with weekly meetings with his team now and and kind of in the home stretch here at everyone's kind of, you know, now that they've gotten through the Voice and some of these other projects that seems been working on. It's you know, all the focuses on the Bowl game, well his album.
And the Bowl game.
So so you can break the news here if you like any time. Ben I try to get Kim to do that, you know, and Eric is his partner going to he could be here too, Doctor the Doctor.
I can need.
Confirm or deny that it actually hasn't.
I don't think that's been decided yet, to be honest with you.
Yeah, so it could be a surprise if it is.
Yeah, there's there's definitely some talks of some fun surprises that if they come to Fluition would be pretty cool. So recommend everyone to be at the stadium to be able to kind of check it out and see what these surprises are.
How much it and then if you will, because I think when of the coolest parts is the youth football
team part of it. I know my wife is, uh, she's in youth cheer, and I know there's a big cheer part of this for youth cheer that is I mean she I think they're over full already, like how many Yeah, yeah, I mean the youth cheerleading thing is going to be huge with this with local Tucson kids that are cheer in the cheer system and the cheer teams, and then you've got the youth football teams he's bringing. I mean, this is just it really is going to reach into all kinds of generations.
Yeah, the cheer clinic, we introduced that last year and that was a big success and and I think the popularity a bit last year plus you know, the snoop effect is really ramped that up. I get an email notification every time a registration comes to our website, and my email is just ringing all the time.
So that's gonna be exciting.
They're going to perform at halftime and then yes, there's a youth football component to this. Snoopez his youth football league and does national tournaments. He's actually his youth league is bringing a tournament here to Tucson, twenty four teams
from out US state. There's gonna be a couple from the Arizona competing to out of that twenty four, but they'll be competing the twenty seventh, twenty eighth, and the twenty ninth in a tournament, with the championship game taking place the next day on the twenty ninth on the field at U have a stadium.
One of the things that I think that you're getting so so so much excitement from from the players is that they're going to be paid for this thing too.
Right, the NIL is going to be in a way.
Yeah, that was something that Stupid was excited about and I wanted to reached out to his team reached out to Kim a few weeks, just a few weeks after we made the announcements that he wants to do an ni L deal for all the players, So every player will will get a deal, they'll do a little there'll be some community outreach that they'll do while they're here in town as part of that NL deal that will
connect with with youth football. Uh so, yeah, it's pretty pretty unique for for a bowl game that I have. I think they might be the first one that's announced the full a full team bowl game, assuming the players to.
Opt into it.
Do you think about this, Steve Tucson, Arizona is going to have a bowl game that maybe setting the way that future bowl games that they operate like this is cutting cloth. Other bowl games may actually have to emulate.
To Kim's Kim, that was Kim's hope, I think saying with you, Ben, I'm sure I want to say this, Oh yeah, record it was all Ben, Kim and dell Alie far hanging.
Nothing to do that far.
No, it was all you know, Kim.
I don't know if she shared the deal the story, but I think she she sealed the deal with with a zoom call with with you know, snooping his team by cracking open the gin and juice, you know right right, you know when it's time to wrap it up.
Yeah, I think they were very h Yeah, they loved.
It, so I know that there you have a lot of I think the blue coats, right, blue coats, blue blazers.
Blue Blazers. I'm sorry with the mispronunciation.
Yeah, they're out there trying to sell the tickets hopefully. What are you hoping for in terms of size of crowd realistically.
Yeah, you know, I think we're hoping for forty thousand out there. That would be the lower bowl and that sold out. We're hoping that we have to have a conversation about opening the upper deck on the east side. Historically that's been closed off. I mean, put some sponsored band on the on the seats up there. Hopefully we have to have the conversation with those sponsors saying, you know what, we're gonna have to figure out something else because.
We need to we need to use that deck for the for the seats.
Yeah.
And uh, purchasing tickets, I know I've got mine from some realtors. I think they have a big push there. Yeah, where can they find and maybe the many ways that you're selling tickets, Yeah, Arizona.
The Arizona Bowl dot dot com you can buy those. We have a link to seat geek to purchase tickets. We also have group tickets available for people that want to order fifteen or more. They can get a little bit of a discount and they can inquire about those with an email to info at the Arizona BWL dot com and find out what group ticket options are available.
Okay, there's a couple of other things, you have something, well, yeah, I mean I think there's there's a whole week of activities, right besides the youth football sports, filling hotels, eating out often, the campaign that Kim and Bannon the team there put together for places to be Bowl ready, a lot of local restaurants and to be part of that. And then they've got their New Year's stuff that they do, the pep Rally downtown. So there's a lot of activity, a
lot of good kid friendly stuff. Even though this is you know, a Snoop Dogg thing with a gin and juice, don't ignore the fact that there is a ton of family friendly things going to happen day and day in, day and day out. Yeah, for that whole week.
Yeah, and everything, everything is besides attending the game itself. Everything is free. The pep Rally is free, the Bull Bash downtown is free. So there's a lot of great opportunity to enjoy free entertainment and activity around the Bowl.
You don't have to, you know.
Obviously we want you to purchase a ticket, but there's you know, many ways people can connect and enjoy what happens during Bowl week.
The New Year's party Steve was last year was one of the coolest things I've been involved with in Tucson because it was just this great amount of people. I mean literally the street was full of people downtown. But it was just a great family outmosphere but a lot of fun. It felt like a mini Times Square down in downtown.
To so good weather too, I think.
Good weather, Yeah, good weather. And he did the Taco drop a friend of our Taco Bell Todd. He does his Taco bellt drop, which I'm fine with. I'm let to have it. He can write a bigger check for that one. So good for you. Talk, good for you talk keep doing that. But yeah, the Downtown party, it's a worthy party for even those who are like hardcore party or it's a good party.
Yeah.
Then another thing one of the things that it hits me for Tucson, I'm sure it's not universal to Tucson, is the late arriving crowd to you know, late tickets purchase and so what do you want to do tonight, Mildred, Well, there's a game going on, let's go buy some tickets. You wish that wouldn't happen, but that's something you have to deal.
With, right Oh yeah, yeah, everyone in Tucson. I used to work at the Universus of Arizona that was that was an issue too. But you know, like I said, this is uh, this is a year that we're selling a ton of tickets in advance. So my advice to people is not wait because the seat location that you might think that you'll be able to get last minute won't be there. So let's let's try to get those those tickets sold quickly and go ahead of me.
Yeah. Well, and also, no, go ahead, I've got something I want to tell you about because I think it's important on the ball.
And lastly, well, one of the things I thought is when do you announce the teams? Because those those you know you can't get in your Mexico state this year, or you're talking about the Vegas showed up the local driveable teams.
So when is that announced?
That's announced on December December eighth, Sunday, December eighth, the selection Sunday, we you know, the day starts off with the college football playoff announcing their twelve teams and then everything kind of trickles down to there, so we will be kind of waiting and seeing what happens here and down the stretch. With Boise State, you know, they're in the mix to be in that playoff and that has
an impact on us in the Mountain West side. So it's going to be kind of interesting to see how this how this plays out right your turn, Well, I want.
To say that I think Ben and they have like number one. Job Number one is the Bowl game. Job Number one is for these for these folks to put on as great a Bowl event the Bowl week, get twoson Bowl ready, to get everybody in that stand. Let's let's do fill to fill up that upper Bowl and
set a record. But also, you know the Arizona ble team, the team that's Kim Adair and these folks, you know, they're also helping with other sports activations in Tucson, So they need a you know, golf clap round of applause in this room, and they need to also be supported year round because they are and there's an opportunity here for us to change the landscape of sports and Tucson and the Arizona Bowl is one part of that in correlation with the University of course, and continue to double
down on the bear down like we talked about and things like World Baseball because sports need energy and when there's positive energy, sports starts coming to town and we need that.
Let me give you one more before you say respond. Then you were part of the l Tour this weekend. I'm part of the El Tour obviously, how did that go? And I'm sure you saw the craziness because it was the first year with you guys.
Yeah, no, that was our first year and we loved it. It was great for us. We were at the expo all day on Thursday and Friday, and you know, as you know, a lot of writers from out of town coming in to check out that, you know that to participate in the event. So it was a great way to generate awareness and educate people on on on the Bowl game. And then the day at the race itself
was awesome. We were out with our inflatable helmet. We were near the finish line for the the five k race and the fun ride with a lot of kids around there. So it was awesome just to see all the community pride around the UH THEO on. My hats off to them, but I what a what an incredible event and and a lot of logistics to to coordinate, but it was it was great. We're looking forward to a long term, you know, your partnership with with them to.
Race point two.
Then before that, Uh, you still have jerseys available through you guys with the racing because those are.
Yeah, we're yeah, those are still available.
We have a they're they're.
Running low on on on sizes, but there's still a couple available if you go to El tor de Tucson dot org and go to their shop there, that's where you can buy those and and proceeds about forty of the sales of those jerseys goes to our Heroes ticket ticket program.
Okay, yeah.
And then to raise point with the need for the stuff like this in Southern Arizona, off is always pushing the sports stuff in Southern Arizona.
Someone needs to write.
Yeah, I mean look at their look there what they like you just brought up out tour. They're helped us with World Baseball. Uh, you know they're out there high school football games. I mean, Ben, how many time, I mean every game. You guys are out there every Friday, the helmet with a helmet, you know, championing youth sports and Tucson that's critical.
Yeah, we were there every every week.
We made out to a game and we also went out to I think four or five girls flag football games on Tuesdays and Thursday. So yeah, we're really we're really trying to get out. It's it's the Bowl game is a you know, the game itself happens once a year, but our organization is involved year round trying to make an impact in the community.
So last quick question, Ben, and I don't know what you're gonna have to translate for me because I'm one hundred years old. Some guy text me, not some guy one of our colors. I wonder if they'll have some Snoop Doggie Land stuff from YouTube explain.
So Snoop Snoop has so many different things that he's involved with, but when he became a grandfather, he created a kid's line of content, so kind of like nursery Rhymes, Andy and kids show. So he has like a Doggy Land CD that has uh, you know music, He has music just for kids. So there's a there's a song called the Affirmation Song. You know that it's a it's a nice song that does kind of start your day to get you, uh, gets you in the right state of mind.
Well, are you talking about sharky shark or whatever that shark thing is.
I'm just hoping he's gonna bring the mariachi, I think.
Oh, did you see about the boxing, Yeah, mariachi. Yeah, you're right, Yeah, yeah, Okay, thanks so much for joining us. We will probably talk to you guys as we get closer.
To the event.
Yeah, I appreciate it anytime.
Yeah, thanks a bunch, take care, Thank you. Yes, uh, we're gonna take a break here. And Brizona Man's basketball fan. You know, it's been successful for nearly forty years now. Take a look back at the Ludelsen era in my new book, Lessons from Lut. It was a labor of love through the eyes of twenty five former players, coaches, and friends to give insight to the coach and the man who led them, competed against them, and inspired them. Twenty five chapters for his twenty five years as Arizona's
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Steve Rivera, he's got his eye on the ball on Tucson's sports stationed Fox Sports fourteen fifth day.
Hey, welcome back to my about here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Ray Flutis from Charro. Got Kobe working the board with me. Thank you, thank you, Kobe help me out a few times. We got about twelve minutes, thirteen minutes. You've got a call five to two oh for one six seventy four forty We already had one call Cassic back. Are you gonna go to the Arizona Ball? Have you already got your tickets? Obviously the weather is a factor and it's
always good. It's maybe a maybe a cold time or two before.
Two o'clock game, though it should see it should be.
Sunny time for that. Yeah, Sonny, you've been to most all of them.
I've been involved since day one.
How was that New Mexico State one cold? Yeah, they sold a lot of beer.
They came out, they came out, they drove him. I just had dent lunch with somebody from New Mexico and they were asking me, and you put in a good word. I'm like, I don't think I have any day at all. I just make the talk.
Oh from you and m from the New Mexico because you know I'm from there. Yeah, I'm a nigy. So yeah, okay, good luck with that New Mexico tea. They're better And hey, you guys played them, Yeah, the first first game of the year. Yeah, so we'll see what happens. You're a big You're a big. Uh. Do you get grief for being a big tusonan pusher like you? I don't know if you would, but you know maybe, Yeah.
I think there's a lot of people that you have a lot of transplants in Tucson, transplants to I don't. I don't think. I think people get confused as to the passion that comes from something like supporting the universe. Yeah. I want wins and I want calms, you know, checks in the wind calumn, But what I really want is just for us to support the effort, because I know what it means economically, socially and every to this, to
this community. I see the numbers, I know the math behind it, So yeah, I won't and winning does matter to keep those numbers growing. But if we start from a negative, it even wins are hard, right because it could take us whole season and then all of a sudden we're behind the eight ball. And you made you made a reference. And I think Ben talked about selling tickets in this town. I was in the concert event business for a while in this town, and I always
as I did boxing and whatnot. You know, it's it's not an easy town to sell tickets. I had Van Halen here, it's this story about Tucson. What year this would have been in five? Four oh five? Okay, so the last year they toured with Sammy Hagger was the last year they actually played together. And it was a cool show because Wolfgang came when you just started playing with his father, Eddie. Eddie was you know, obviously still played. We had the last two shows that they were ever
going to play together. Well, they had sold out Phoenix thirteen thousand person venue in like fifty seven minutes. We couldn't sell out a thirty five hundred person venue like Abba. Granted was two days in a row, so call it seven thousand seats, so half we couldn't sell out half. At the end of the day. For the second showing, we were doing two for one seats. Wow, and you know you just go come on two song, like, whether you like it or not, this is the last time these guys played here.
It was.
It was an iconic rock and roll group. We would never have gotten in a normal arena.
So just tough to tell tickets sometimes, Oh, what's the issue, what's the problem.
I don't know. Number One, the media, we all have to always say it. I will always say the media like champion, local, champion events, champion things to do like get out, get out and spend, you know, spending contages, take the wallet out, go out and spend. But I also think it's like there's a thing in two so onwhere hey, are you going to go to that, you know, and then you wait to hear the response back, yeah, I'm going, Okay, I'm gonna go too, And it's like
that's how you almost have to market in twoson. It's almost like pure pressure is more important than media pressure. So maybe we just don't have those densities. Maybe it is very much like a family in a community. Like you know, well, I know, okay, I like that TV show too. I'll watch it too with you. It's funny like that. And that's how selling tickets and two soon is.
Is there a reason why you got out of that business or maybe a side gig or whatever, you.
Know that we were really we were really successful. I had a partner and I kind of had a fall out with the group we were working with, and you know, just change of life, kind of a different you know, wasn't great for the marriage, the first marriage, and it was pretty hectic, and I think at the at the end of the day too, you know, times of change, like being in that business was tough. We were we were kind of at a golden age opportunity, you know.
We had irban A's off come to Tucson, one of the most prolific concert and musician, music minded professionals in the industry, and he came to Tucson. He's the one who brought Van Haalen. He's a reason we had them. We had Dave Chappelle one year who did a show with us. The year that he left County Central. He only did eight concerts that year, and he'd he did one of them with us, so we were proud. But it did the game changed.
Got a call.
Nico.
How are you doing, Nico? How are you doing? Nico?
Hey man, you redeemed yourself?
See how did I redeem myself? I always need to be on the good side of Nico? What's up?
Hey man? First of all, I tried Kanye busy. Oh yeah, he talked with basketball man.
Okay, no, no, no, yesterday we didn't know what the hell was going on with the phones. But but you're here now, give me my give me my kudos. I need to hear something.
Hey man, you were talking too much basketball anesterday man in the desert, come oh.
Come on, we got two more days to talk about football. Basketball was like the crisis the world is gonna end.
Hey man, I get it. Man, you pitch a tent for basketball, Look come out. Then you gotta be fair here.
Okay, I'll take the compliment, and I understand the criticism.
I get it.
What's what's gonna happen, Satary? Tell me what's gonna happen you. I'm sure you and your dad are going to be there. I'll be there.
Man, today is gonna win who It's just gonna happen. I have a feeling.
Okay, Arizona to winner. I got I'll take the eight points.
Then in half t MA is gonna have a game. It's just gonna be good.
Okay, all right, Nico, thanks for calling, continue to listen. Appreciate you, hey man.
And this guy that you're guessed. I know he doesn't have a say in the beer prices, but they need to lower those a little bit.
I don't disagree.
What are they?
What are they? Thirteen fourteen for the big tall to the tall can and you know, like I've talked about it in defense of them, they get they get six or seven football games to make their nut for the whole year. So you know, it's a big investment. So that's why they charge what they charge.
Yeah, okay, hey, then the prize wouldn't be bad if the beers were cold.
Man, Well that that's that's another factory really and again I don't control that. I wish I did, but.
He's gotta uh, he's got to put that in the complaint box.
Well I think you know, again, more seats, more people, so more sales'll they'll keep improving that. The pressure's on to improve right on all facets of that.
If if you were the A D and you've been around long enough and you've known every A D here, I'm sure you're you're talking to Desiree every now and again, what would you do?
What would what were the like maybe top two or three priorities?
Well, I think communication is really important with who with everybody that is on the inner circle and on that fringe it wants to come into the circle, right. I do think that she has her she has her work cut out for that because unfortunately, she came in at a time where it wasn't just the athletics, but the entire university was under the under the you know microscope, right,
the cloud of the finance. So you know, even if she was the most shining star of all, and I think she's a really smart person and she seems like a very good leader in that'spect, I just don't know how you get out from that cloud when the entire university brand has been clouded by that financial situation. So over communicate, right, don't over promise, be honest and over community people know and and real fans know, real fans knew you know, forever with the Chicago Cubs, right, I mean,
but they sold out all the time. Real fans know, real fans will support, and then you build from there and you ask those fans to bring their friends into
the circle and bring more people in. But constantly communicate, constantly tell people what you're doing, why you think it's gonna work, what other risks for that decision, Because it is a it is a community, and it is a fragile nucleus right now, because we have a we have a factor, right, We talked about it all day long on this call, on this show that nil is a factor that we all really don't know yet. We hope it's getting to be some clarity, but they still don't
know everything yet. And so as long as but but keep communicating, I think that's what needs to happen for the university.
Right.
So that's number one. We got about a minute. Give me another one.
Well, I think don't like to lose. I think we said that that's for the teams. Yeah, I think for the team, well, for the for the and for the financial side too, you know, like we don't want to lose money. We don't want to lose we don't want to lose players.
I can't afford to lose this anymore.
No, No, it's a really it's a real business and it needs some It needs real accountability and transparency and communication.
So we got about thirty seconds up the dumb question, how disappointed were you to hear about the finances?
I was disappointed. I was diappointing because it's an education facility and I don't know what message we're sending to the to the kids out there. Then there's crazy stuff going on, right, I mean, you heard think about Macy's today or somebody you know did something regarding one hundred and fifty million. They can't even announce porly financials because
somebody frauded the company of some money. You're about the thing down and down in Nogallas, right where the person that worked in government defrauded the county of thirty some million. I mean, these these are big numbers, and they're becoming smaller in people's minds because they're happening too often.
Right, you know, and that can't happen be normalized if you will, Yeah, okay, thanks rating for coming on in.
Enjoyed it. We'll have you back back again sometime soon.
Appreciate, thank you, Kobe,