The Group Chat Episode 1: Summer Love Connections

So this is just a really weird way to start this, but I'm looking at Perry Fuel. Stick around for the craziness that is about to ensue on our very first episode that starts right now. You've been added to the Group Chat with your friends Caroline, can Max Sensen, and Will Brian. The first one is always exciting. I'm excited, are you guys excited? Don't ever want it? Once there was a pause, and I know why there was a pause, because they take it there. That's Welcome to the Group

Chat everyone. If that wasn't an open I don't know what is. We're excited about this. We rebring in a new look a new name, but I gotta be honest, same people. But we're funny, We're more funny, We're bringing more. We'll find out how funny we are. I guess we're actually still trying to decide, like, who's the funny one. Who's gonna I'm keeping this on some type of track. Apparently you're trying. We're gonna. We're gonna derail you very soon.

And we have already decided that a new element of the show will be people can leave the group chat, just like you can on phones. And our bet is that Will gets kicked out first. There's all these buttons that people can push and all of a sudden I disappear. I don't like that. Yeah, if you don't hear Will for a while. The funny thing. The funny thing was

the group chat. Before the group chat was happening on Slack and we were trying to figure out what time we were going to get together to record this and what we were doing and all that, and Will was just making things way more confusing than they had actually got. So he got kicked out, Well, he kicked himself out. At least you know when to leave. I have good self awareness on Madden. I'm like a ninety nine on the awareness those ratings did just come out. I awareness

for me is pretty low. I didn't even know the ratings came out. I told people were complaining, So my awareness is pretty low. Good old Madden ratings, right, I was a big Madden door back in the day. So I I still get pretty fired up when I see the ratings and I think there are legitimate gripes for guys on this team. Um like, like like Trey Turner is an eight? Is that what he was? He was an eight? Right? The guy's been to the Pro Bowl four times? Not good enough? Yeah, that's I'm now excited.

I always get excited when I see the adjusters on the sidelines because you kind of get something. The guys pick up on it. There's a little side yeah yeah, I mean guys are very proud. Like speed is one like Dante Jackson, of course, you know, is curious what his speed rate isn't mad And I'm sure he feels he should be at I feel like I would be if I got rated. I would just be um offended, more so because I couldn't live up to how fast

they might say I am. People look at me like, oh, you're athletic, Like, oh you rain track like cool, You've got to be pretty. No, I'm not fast, not fast. Volleyball was your game, right, Yeah, but people don't what about yeah, quickness? Like my form I can. I got like form, really good on the fundamentals in the form, but anything else, like just pure athleticism, I feel like people would give me a little bit more on that. The best batter ratings, though, are like the guys at

the bottom of the roster. You have to see that they're like a fifty seven, but then have random things. They're like they're fifty seven, but they're like eighty three in strength and they don't have to do like oftentimes, like the skin tones are not close to what they should be, and they don't look anything like how they actually do in real life. The bottom of the roster guys on Madden are always some of them guys. I'm supposed to keep this on track and already feeling miserably.

This is not a topic that we were going to talk about. But isn't that kind of what happens in group chats anyway. So we're on brand, We're doing well for our first one here, but what we are points for taking this off. I'm pretty sure that all right, we're gonna keep a running track. Good job will you did that one, But for this one to get us back on track, we're gonna take There was just a theme that I believe ran through this off season for

the Panthers as far as off the field goes. So when they were here, we talked about all the football stuff, but off the field, there was this theme of romance. Anyone. Yeah, we got some romance do field. Definitely. It was a hot girl summer. Yeah, we'll just learned about how that might be strike too. You get one more and you're out. We're gonna get dump button. Yeah, now he's muted. Now now he's out. All right, you get one more strike

and then you're out. But there was this sense of roman let's yeah, a lot a lot of examples, right, and then a couple of guys are expecting their d J. Moore and Chris Hogan and his wife we expecting another child. There's uh, we had an engagement, not necessarily of someone on the team, but Greg Olsen was right there paptured love just right there of of that commitment. And then perhaps the best um I there, there's a lot to unpack here with this because it's yet to be confirmed.

But did anyone here um about Christian McCaffrey's link romance link? Anyone out there something about it? Well? You know, yeah, I followed the New York Post on Twitter and they post all these pictures and actually, we should honestly be turning this around and say, did you hear about you know, Olivia Coulpus, Because no one knows who Christian McCaffrey is. When you look at these, are like, we're getting it.

We're like looking up in Google's like who is Christian McCaffrey, Like, that's what's being I know everyone out there listening, you're probably Panthers fans. You're like, well, who is this a living You're googling who she is right now? But no, how like extremely more famous. I don't know. She was a former Miss Universe. I think she's got four million or something. She was Miss Rhode Island, Miss USA and the Miss Universe four point two million Christians. That's more

than the Panther's head has. That that's more than the Panthers Instagram has. Yeah, Panthers have some new fans. Yeah, this is a bit of a different market. I will say we have new fans potentially. This has not been confirmed, so I think a lot of these people they're not sure if they're Panthers fans. But yeah, Christians not even at a million yet. He's he's got some work to do, although this might help him, This might give us some new followers. And that was just not a headline I

was expecting. But there was a lot when it's off the field. We hear about families here about love. We hear about some not confirmed romances. But the way that people found out about this was what on Instagram. They followed each other, liked photos. It's incredible, Hey because of Instagram? Who are you guys linked to? Yeah? Well that was

the look. I mean, we're not going there. The thing we're talking about, though, like was how amazing it must be to live in a world where you could like a photo on Instagram and this this may or not be how it all went down, whatever, whether it was a like, whether it was a d M whatever, and then like Instagram story, an Instagram story, whatever it is, but to be to be famous enough or high profile

enough to do that. And then a couple of weeks later, whatever it is end up in Mexico having a great time being paparazzi photographs, share it on New York posts like that's amazing that that could happen that quickly, Like it's just something that somebody like Will could never just yes, thank you. It's just crazy to think it's just something that has been looks a little like Christian McCaffrey before.

There's a there's a story that our former offensive coordinator, uh coach, I was standing next to Christian yeah, and he's just like, hey, Christian, look it's your doppelganger. And Christians just like looking at me like oh yeah really, And I'm just like, well, thanks, coach, And I'm sorry, Christian, Well are you dating anyone to read linking this day Christian?

Christian made headlines. No, you didn't follow anyone on Instagram lately or like any post I did, but no one's picking up on it in the news media, and I want to keep it that way. All right, Well, there you go, everyone, and go check out his instagram to see if he's linked to anyone. But it has been just crazy to watch this kind of unfold of We literally saw romance right there on the front page, not normally what we read about him or really of Greg

being involved in anything. It's been fun to learn about these growing families. So with this theme of love, I thought, well, with training camp here, let's let's kind of link this back, this romance to the roster. Okay, so I tasked everyone to come up with either a love interest, someone they love or that they want to see. What's a romance on the team that you want to see these guys

really bond? In training Camp. I took it a slightly different round and may have found myself on YouTube googling the dating game and watching Arnold Schwarzenegger find his match in the nineteen seventies. So this is gonna get a little bit weird. But welcome to the group chat, because that's what they're all about. So Will is going to go first. He's going to take this off. Who on this roster are you looking to for romance? See, this is just a really weird way to start this. But

I'm looking at Perry Fuel. Yes, just like let imagine as Perry Fuel is listening to this podcast, he is like, wait what So everyone has been clamoring for new faces in the secondary. This year after the departure of Mike Adams Captain Manlin. You know, who are the Panthers adding

in to get younger, to get faster. And I think the biggest to do into this secondary is the new coach, Harry Fuel And I think to bring it back to the uh, you know, this love affair sort I think he had maybe a little bit of a bad breakup with one Jalen Ramsey. Definitely in Jackson things some things were said, things were said that might have been you know, spur of the moment, you know, out of out of

emotional emotional angst. You know, it will will be reporting this summer, you know on on coach coaches side of this story. Well we'll find out about that later. But anyway, I think I want to see him and I want to see this secondary and I want to see them come together. Um. You know, for for those of you that are Amazon Prime members that have watched All or Nothing already, you've you've taken a look at what this

secondary does to to relate to each other. In last year's group, and Mike and Captain are no longer there, who are the leaders of this group? Now? You know what what is that relationship going to be like what, how are these guys going to come together? Um? And I think that's gonna be really important to start forging and training camp. All I'm picturing right now is that training camp like someone you know the Instagram filter that like zooms in on someone who has hearts around it

totally during that day one that speaking of linking romance. Now, that's how it's going to get started right there on Instagram story, doesn't all? I like that one that is gonna I think a lot of people have a ton of questions about that. Secondary. That was one of the first ones that I was asked about when I got here, was well, you can even asking me? Can I play safety? Yeah? That was everyone's favorite joke for a while. Yeah, I already told you I'm not fast, So you don't want that.

You don't want me to play you got I mean you got some hype though, I mean you can back some balls, not very fast ball. Can you run backwards as fast as you can run as your back pedal? Honestly? Probably? Yeah? Yeah, I got that. Yeah, alright, fine, I'll play safety. But well I do I do like your perry choice. I think you're Jalen Ramsey thing. It's interesting too because it did. They did have kind of a bit of a dramatic breakup, but you can't deny they were really good things. They

were really good for each other. That that secondary was ranked like number one. Have you heard that about a relationship, But they were they were like one of the best, second or on the outside, and it looks perfect. It's like the perfect relationship and nobody knew what was going on. But I think Jalen and the Jacksonville Jaguar's loss is a panther's game. I think Perry Fuel is a darn good coach. He's got coordinating experience. He and Ron know

each other really well. Starting to fall in love too. I like Perry a lot. Getting a chance to talk to him the spring, I think much like Will. I think we're a little smitten. Alright, well that's not yours though, So you're up next. Okay, all right, here's mine. I went with a little bit of a like literal take on this romance because we as we all know, the quarterbacks center relationship is a very intimate one. It's it's intimate, I mean things get you know, yeah, very personal. Uh

and it's got to be a strong relationship built on trust. UM. And you've got a situation in Carolina where the guy who was Cam Newton center. You talk about a romance and a true love for one another. Ryan Khalil and Cam Newton had that um and now Cam has got to move on without him, and that's gonna be a challenge because of what Ryan meant to this team to Again, as Will Men mentioned the Amazon All or Nothing series, what you see in that is what Ryan Khalil meant

to this group. And you see him with the old line at halftime of games. I mean, that's a big, big presence that's gone. Matt Paradise is not Ryan Khalil. He's not going to try to be Ryan Khalil. He's got a completely different leadership style, goes about it in a different way. The similarity is they're both really really darned good centers, um and so we know he can play, but how are he and Cam gonna jail? Obviously the fundamental start to every play on the offense side of balls,

you've got had a good exchange. So they got to get that down and know and and and you know Matt's coming back from an injury himself, so it might take him a little bit of time before we get into camp over that, but I do from an injury. They have something in common. And oh yeah, Ryan, Ryan was camped. As Cam said a few years ago, Ryan was Cam's like hidden Jim. He felt like people didn't really realize how much Ryan men And that's kind of

the thing for offensive lineman. People don't give them the credit they deserve. Then that's something they wear with pride. But having said that, now that he's gone the you know, the spotlight shines on Matt Parritis and it's like, you're gonna need to be Cam's guy now, and not just for Cam, but that whole offensive line. He's directing the

whole thing. And you talk about the secondary people having questions, People got a ton of questions about the offensive line too, because if you want to keep ham Cam upright and that shoulder healthy, you gotta protect him. Um. So that is my connection that I hope really starts to take shape down in camp and the heat of Spartanburg I felt and Cam I just I feel like this is

really gonna work for them. They're coming off injuries. They can just sit and talk about that over a nice meal of what is it white being chili down there, the famous chili. I'm excited about that one. I took a slightly different spin on this, Like I said, I found myself, you know how YouTube as you get on there and all of a sudden you're just in a wormhole. And I found at the end of my little wormhole

a nineteen seventies dating game with Arnold Schwarzenegger. So I'm playing this with the backup quarterbacks because the love connection that I want to see is one backup quarterback really grabbed the attention of Ron Rivera and Marty Hernie and this team because we saw last year that that's important now if you keep him healthy. I was with the Colts last year and Andrew Luck was back and he was healthy. Let me tell you, there was something about

knowing that Jacoby Rissette was on the sidelines. He wasn't Andrew Luck, and he wasn't you know, going to be that franchise guy. But there just was something nice to know that your signal caller has experience, is very trusted, and people are like, Okay, Jacoby can still go in there and win ballgames and do that. So that's what I want for the Carolina Panthers. I want to see this connection, but I I couldn't pick this one. So we're gonna do the dating game introductions. Welcome to the

Panthers backup quarterback Dating Game. Okay, our suitor he's looking up for love at that backup spot, and that is Marty Herny. He's a general manager and ultimately he'll hand out that that coveted spot of a roster spot. So

let's meet our contestants. First. We have a three year old athletic young man from Scottsdale, Arizona, who at one point was the most desirable quarterback in the country with double digit suitors coming out of high school and man this past year, he's been in a bit of a journey to find himself as a new NFL quarterback, but he's proven that he belongs here in the National Football League. And let's not forget that giving heart of his guys.

He volunteers and built homes with the One Mission Organization as a part of the Jesse Rees Foundation, helping to encourage kids fighting cancer. He's carrying. He's talented. He's number seven. Kyle Alan. Yeah, I know he could be all right. Secondly, we have a twenty six year old American football quarterback from Swanne, Georgia. But he's a bit of a wonderlust lover. He's traveled from Minneapolis to New England, so she used in and now it's to the Caroline is all in

search for that perfect match. There's a bit of history here though. This contestant he grabbed the hearts of fans or suffering a heartbreak injury that sent him to rehab, well the athletic training rehab, nothing series, but he recovered and he has fought hard in this offseason to prove his worth in this relationship. And in his spare time, this contestant likes to spend it with his family, which includes a puppy nephew. We all love puppies, and his

name is Rex. He's funny, he's a fighter. He's number six. Taylor Hunting. I'm really digging this, Okay, all right, well this might be the best for last year because finally we have a twenty four year old fresh face hometown boy who has quickly grabbed the hearts of Panther fans and they've really watched him grow up. Just down the road at Davidson Days Day School. He's presumed the fan favorite in this contest, but has it done enough? Has he done about to make Marty Herny fall in love

this off season? His relationship before Carolina it was successful, but will that translate? There are a lot of questions about this contestant, but one thing we know is how much he loves his family and how much he loves Carolina. So he's the hometown boy, the Bearded Beast Number three spill Greer. Oh wow, the Bearded Beast. Yeah, I like that. Yeah.

The applause from the crowd is just unbelievable. I think the YouTube the Dating Game because they sit in these chairs and they completely spin them around, like I need this, I need to do this. During training camp is getting there, so I don't know who was gonna win. Marty. We didn't get Marty on here to answer this, but I I got a spoiler here. We're going to know this

is going to be something that throughout training camp. There are only so many roster spots and there's just no way with a healthy k Am Newton that you keep all of these guys. You have to kind of figure out these three of Okay, you have your backup, maybe a practice squad guy that you throw back and forth on the practice squad to floll roster. But this is the bearded Beast. Uh, he's the he's the new rookie. Everyone likes him. But then there's two with history, there's

two with you. I'm excited to see kind of what happens with that. Are you looking at it? Think Fara Faucett, Michael Jackson and Arnold. Oh that's not the one that I watched, but I like this one. Look at Arnold. Ridiculous. I have to go watch this. I was debt like, I watched a couple episodes. I'm not gonna lie about this. I had to get the you know the announcer's voice, Yeah, is very good. How does the how does the song go? Um? Well, I'm sure it's copyrighted, so I'm not gonna say it

or even hummet, but we've got someone here. I hope you enjoyed what we put in here, because that's our dating game show. Uh oh, look at that. Oh, just you have to go. I'm actually gonna put this out on my Twitter. Just go to my Twitter and please look at this dating. Isn't he a little young for the dating as. I think he's the guest host I feel like he's the guest host there. All right, you can't even see this out there, but it's gonna it'll be on my Twitter. So just go and look at

this ridiculous dating game on YouTube. Guys, that's a group chat. That's it like that. That's all that happens here. It was a long list of things that happened here. It happened, It did happen. It's gonna it's gonna keep happening. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun things planned for this. We're gonna get guests on. We don't even know who the guests are because we didn't pigeonhole ourselves to like what has to be abumni players or we're gonna you know, it sounds

like we got fuel on to be on. So I mean, we're gonna get a lot of different people on this podcast. I hope that you guys like this, um and if you don't like it, don't really tell us. We like to just feel really good about ourselves all the time, So compliments only in the group. We like the good vibes. You're only gonn thumbs up what you say and we can kick you out of the Group Chat, so just be nice to us in the group Chat. But we do hope that you guys enjoyed this first ridiculous episode

of the Group Chat. Thank you so much for joining us, and we will see a lot of you and talk to you all the time throughout this season. So thanks for joining us and we'll see you next week.