Greatest Sports Cities with Michael Joyce

Bubble every week. But um, but yeah, that's all I wanted to say. I'm C J Toldano, and this is a very fun episode. Oh I don't like this already. We're sharing a mic back and forth, even though our guest who lives eight minutes away, so I have mikes. There we go. I hope you caught C Digo. No. Um, it's just really hard not to interrupt, and I know that that's something that I need to work on. So I guess this episode not only will it be informative,

it'll also be a chance to watch me not interrupt people. Hope. Boy Um, our guest, very dear friend just launched his new podcast doing my best. Okay, great, Um, dear friend originally from Cleveland, I know that's going to come up by way of Chicago and New York. Give it up for Mike Joyce. Hello, hello Michael. Also, I don't want to miss a credit. You co produce a very fun stand up show. When that existed with me, we were every Thursday night. Yeah, me, you and Megan go way back.

We started comedy together in Chicago. What what year was this? Two thousand, two thousand and I'm trying. I moved there in two thousand and nine, okay, a little before you. I mean such good friends that when you and your wife moved from Chicago to New York, you gave me your open mic and we threw you going away party where we said that you and your wife were ore twin Towers and that we would never forget you. Um. Well, I'm just see you can't say you can't go, Megan, no,

because I have the mic right now. It's almost like we're in I've never been to marriage counseling despite Michael, Michael, thank you for being here. You guys are missing so many I rolls like. It's too bad this is a podcast format because I just love doing rolls. But Michael, so you are a father, you are a two very beautiful children, a lovely wife, beautiful wife, and I got

the whole. We got to take offense. So yeah, but this is a sports podcast, so I do want to just like I want to align the audience with where your allegiance stands. That would be all things Cleveland sports. Um, I am sort of a psychopath when it comes to that. I would I would put myself on Megan Gaily Indiana, I put you, Um, I would put you maybe over me Wo's that's an honor. But I'm also kind of scared. I mean, do you think this is a phenomenon that's

kind of like specific Cleveland in some ways? Though I don't know any passive Cleveland fans. No, I don't either. We are We're a strange breed. We truly live and die by it. And I try to get excited for other sports, but but nothing like I can't get in the hockey because there's no Cleveland team. It's it's there's something that's broken in my brain. But um, I don't know.

I mean, yeah, because most of my friends growing up Cleveland, like for a lot of our friends a lot of Cleveland fans, and it almost is I guess, uh, Stockholm syndrome or just like the more they lose, the more you guys love them and believe in them. Yeah, it's fatalism. You know. The Browns are five and two right now, and Cleveland fans don't know how to act. In fact, they're upset that because we lost two games kind of badly, but they're like they're angry, and I'm just I feel

like it's the last two years of Lebron. It's like, can we just enjoy this, like it's not gonna last forever? Remember how terrible it was? So you I mean, and and that's sort of like an interesting fan thing where like I wonder, like next year, if the Jets are five and two at this point, are their fans gonna be like, why do we lose those two games? Like do you? It's almost as though, like psychologically we're not able to be like this is great because you still

want more. You want to be seven, to know even though you've been oh and seven many many times. I think nothing matters to us until the Browns win a championship and the Indians win a championship. Um for for myself, I think Lebron and Seen lifted that weight off my shoulders, and I'm no longer in the Cleveland is now the city of champions, and that's how I like to approach my sports now. Um, but that's not I find I'm in the minority. I I text with all my Cleveland

friends and they're pretty miserable right now. And I just don't understand what I mean O b J went down. I was going to ask about so od I mean, so what I want to first say, I saw that firsthand, and we had a text thread with our friends Zack also Cleveland guy, and you were a pretty celebratory I was like, ce, like I thought, I was, you know, you inviting you guys to glow, to celebrate a little bit, and you did a little bit. But then our friends Zack was just like, no, this is the worst team

I've ever watched, the worst Brown Sees. It's not. It's by far one of the best teams we've ever watched since he's he was four years old. So I don't want to hear it. Zach, how you're listening? But what is that it is? You know? I don't know. It's some it's some sort of fatalism. Maybe we enjoy being losers more than we enjoy being winners. It is it was happening with Lebron. Like at the last year of Lebron, there were people on sports radio who would be like,

let's just trade Lebron and get what? And I'm like, are you kidding me? And I soak up every second of this because he's the greatest ever to do it and I want to enjoy myself. So would anyone fall for that? Would anyone fall for trading for Lebron with a one year left? I guess it's Lakers, Yeah, the Lakers. But there was intention. Yeah, it just seems like that when it was not in cleaning. Yeah, he probably will. It seems like all those baby Lakers make their way

through there. What's what's the like club and Street, sixth Street, he'd be at Liquid or whatever. I feel like as as the King of Cleveland would be amazing. Um. This kind of brings us to our topic today, which is greatest sports cities. C J and I were having a bit of a discussion about this before you got here, and just sort of like what we were using as our criteria. My criteria sort of ended up being events that that city can offer overall vibe, sensitivity to social issue.

I mean, there are there are some cities that I was like, listen, you're not on the list anymore. Okay, there's been no I'm saying for my list. There's been enough UH players on home teams and opposing teams that have been like I got called this name there so many times that it's like, I do think that that you don't get to be on the list. Then if that's something that's a habitual issue, I mean, um so, I mean and you hear that across the board, you

hear that hockey, I think it's harder to hear. And there's not a lot of black NHL players even though there I think there's gonna be a lot more. But like in when football probably less too. But in in basketball and baseball you hear from players that Boston. It's just I mean, I think it's part of the reason Mookie is not there anymore. And so that does end up being an issue for me. If you if you're not nice to your own players, then I don't think

you're a great sports town. I would agree with that criteria. I think I took it from more of a like who's got the best fans kind of and yeah, because if you're looking from sheer championship volume, that's that doesn't impress me at all because that just that just means you have yeah s Meigan's going to say the joke into the micro phone, Shanaia Twain, baby, that don't impress

you much. Now you don't get it back. I was once talking to a Boston guy in the airport in and he's like and we're just like talking sports, and he's like, yeah, I'm actually rooting for the Calves. I'm like, oh, yeah, why, he's like Kevin Love's He's like a good white players hitting me makes sense? Get out mookie well. And I would just like to say the reason that fans is fans can be something that takes away from you in my criteria, but it doesn't really add you. I mean,

sports fans are bad. We're stupid. Were and I'm saying this is me. I'm stupid, I'm emotional. I don't I'm not fact based. It's all sort of like how do I feel and what did my dad tell me? You know, Like, so it's not you can't even like sports fans are so bad and so fickle that they don't even get a voice in my domin in my nominees. Well we can get up. I just put Michael. I know you said, that's how you're define define it how you want to define it. Don't let you know. We're gonna have different

several different reasons, whether it's debate events. Yeah, this is what the show is, a spirited debate where audience members, they say, Megan yells at me. Too much spirited debate, spirited. Yeah, So okay, what are we? How are we on time? Okay? So temper so well, yeah, let's just go right into it. How it works. We're gonna have three picks each descending orders. Still haven't figured out if it's descending or sending, but you're gonna do your third pick, and they we're all

gonna end on our greatest number one pick. So why don't you kick us off with your number three pick for greatest sports city? Okay? Um, well, clearly like New York Boston, they're all out because they're they're terrible. Yeah. Well, okay, did you see how many people wore Mets hats who were formerly Yankees fans when the Mets went to the

World Series. I don't respect that. Uh. I actually to respect White Sox fans because they've they've they ride hard well when they should have been Cubs fans, but they aren't. But yeah, Boston racism. Also, they pretend like there's some oppressed sports team, but they've won so many in the last twenty years. It's like that it's over. You guys are just you know, New York Yankees with like worse accents. I do like Fever Pitch and The Town, which both have iconic scenes at fent so I will say that

that's true. Was a Fever Pitch, the one with Jimmy Fallon, Yeah, where they were like were losers, were losers and then they won and then they're like we got to reshoot the end of the movie. He's like, yeah, I remember, what a what an opportune time. It's almost like, why didn't Jimmy have a movie career after the Red Sox one while making a Red Sox movie. Well, I think Jimmy is okay. I don't know if I think he's okay. I think he likes this gig. We love you, Jimmy.

Do you know the family at me oh wow, wow, Okay, now give us your number, So number three, I am gonna can I go. I kind of want to give it to you can do whatever you want. Minnesota. I'm sorry, well then my apologies, but like Minnesota Vikings, you know, yeah, Minneapolis. Um, and I kind of want to lump in Green Bay with that because they tailgate very hard when it's cold. I'm just very impressed with how much they go out

in the cold. The shirts are off. I mean, I'll give like Chicago honorable mentions for the shirts fat men in the cold. Um, So I highly respect that. I feel like you're Joe Biden right now. You're like, I love Minnesota love. It's like bringing home, not home. Um. I fully agree and co signed on this. I mean, Peckers fans own their teeth and that's really cool, very amazing. And the Twins they always have good attendance, no matter how bad the team is or how good they are.

They always sell out even when it's cold. Like no one goes to Cleveland games in in the spring because it's freezing, but like people show up for Twins games. So I have a lot of respect for that fan base. They like jump into ice cold water. It's it's a lot of weather based things. But but I I do believe there aren't any fair weather fans up there, and they're just there. There's no fair weather because there's no

good weather. No. Yeah, Megan and I went to well, we went there for the Super Bowl Minneapolis, spent a week there and we went to a Timberwolves game where a child ran away and Megan, yeah, assaulted. What it was like? This was this was a toddler was like running around Is it the target center? I knew it was.

He's like running around the charge. I mean he's too he had a diaper on, like this is like a baby toddler, okay, still in a diaper, and he's fully like I'm like looking around at people being like is he and no one is coming for him? And so I start he's just running but he got a little short baby legs, so I just start following him. And now we're like eight sections away from where we started. I mean we're a quarter away around the massive stadium. So I'm like they're not coming, and so I go up.

I'm like hi, and he hits me and then I'm like are you okay? And then he kicked me, and then another you know, white lady do good or she's like what's going on over here? And we're both like trying to find like get a security guard. At one point he pushed open the door to the outside and was like leaving, and then some fucking idiot barreled up. A man, the massive man came up, where have you been? And just took him by the hand and walked away.

But the man, I'm like, where did you comfret? We were? We were sitting behind the backboard, and now we are behind the bench like we've we've traveled around the stadium. And I think the kid was just so bad. They weren't They didn't really want him back. Maybe it was like that Bugs Bunny cartoon where it's actually an old man dresses a baby who robs banks. Oh yeah, maybe

was he smoking a cigar? Yeah he was. He almost had teeth that looked like they had been ruined by nicotine, like his kids looked like he lived hard, alright, That's why when he hit me, I was like, the fun I don't even I don't know if you have your shots. I don't know if you're gonna bite me, like you seem like they dragged you out of the damn wilderness. And this is some sort of make a wish. But just for a little billy bob kids to come and

watching basketball, Oh my god. Not a plus for Milwaukee. Megan's doing time and between the picks. Um. No, I did want to add to that. Lombardi leap is maybe the most like I feel like when people do that in other stadiums, they still called the Lombardi leap. Right, It's like such, it's so Lambeau lambe leap. Sorry, why am I saying why did you let me say that for so many times? Lambeau? Yeah, my bad, the Lambo leap? Um.

But yeah, it's like it's so iconic. Um. And then snow snow like Brett Farve and he's not a great person, but he's Rogers who person. I'm not gonna say anything about Aaron Rodgers. I'm just gonna give um Michael more evidence. I also think college sports factor into this, and they are oh my god, you get a Wisconsin person saying go Badgers. They love it. They love the Gophers up there. I mean they ride really hard. My brother lives in Madison, and it's like that's a great town. They really they

do sports nice up there. I think that's a good and two states we really need to get back. Okay, come on, blue baby. Alright. So for my number three pick, I don't give a funk what anybody says. I'm picking Indianapolis and here we go. They host said a super Bowl. For you to even be on the list of cities to host a super Bowl is a really really big deal. They have the Pacers, the Colts. They also host the

largest sporting event in the world every single year. I don't really care about it that much, but two people come to Indianapolis every year to see a race car thingy, a race car race. Can you say that? Um? And I think that that's a huge deal. And sports college wise, we've got Butler in the city. You've got Purdue an hour away, You've got i You an hour away. I mean the Notre Dame isn't two hours away. You are kind of in like Big ten Heaven there. People ride

really really hard for those teams. The Final Four comes to Indianapolis every like third year. It's the n C Double A headquarters. It's the home of basketball. I just I think any day in in the if you want to see a sporting event that's like cool and fun and will be in a venue that is unique. You have that possibility. Now. I will also say there is gonna kind of a time when these small markets are going to have to appeal to athletes, and the way to do it is not by saying, please shut up,

we don't care about your political views. And I see a lot of those comments, and it's like, if you want Victor Ladipot to stay in Indianapolis, you need to be nicer to Victor Oladipot. Like that's just kind of common sense. And if we want to have any black athletes at all in any of these shitty cities, they've got to start fucking acting nicer to them. So your number three pick, but your number one thing to ask

them is to not be racist. I'm gonna say that to every single city that's on my list, because every single city that's on my list has racist people as sports fans that are really loud and really annoying and really hateful and dragged down the rest of the city. Yeah, I think that's a problem in the entire world. Um for his sports, it's yeah, and and even in like you know, soccer and European soccer. There's some horrible things. I have said a single thing, but but I agree.

Pacers are always good, cults are always good, like they're good sports, and you're right people from Indiana. I love college sports. I have mad respect they love high school sports. Is crazy? What was like, Oh, I was just gonna say, my other two cities are in blue states, and this is my This is a blue city in a red state. And I do think, like, as fans, you've got to start being more conscious of how the people are just

being treated. These are these are not entities, these are human beings and you have to be good to them on a human being level for them to want to stay in any of these cities. Yeah, it's no longer we own you. And that just started. I mean it was probably with with the letter Dan Gilbert wrote yes,

and people are like, oh, thank God. And I've heard rumors that Lebron and his crew want to buy the Calves and I pray for that because not only for Lebron, but for players to end, like you know, still the prime of their career to like be able to buy the team, like yes, they made do the money in the first place, like like the Calves are as big as an organization operating organization because of Lebron, Like, so you should have every opportunity to buy that when you

know when he has the money. When he left, he not only like the dollar amount that the franchise, uh like was valued at dry I can't remember the exact number, but it was, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars. And not only that, it was like the income of the city, like it is in incalculable because we have proof because Lebron left and then came back, Like there are numbers that show, like this, Lebron is worth so much money to the greater Cleveland area. It was he

was insane. Yeah, alright, my third pick um, I was having trouble where to put this. Uh it might be the wrong order, but I'm gonna say, Los Angeles, why do you say that way? I'm saying that way because I we live here. I love the sports here. L A is notoriously a bad sports town. Yeah, I mean my entry point is basketball. I think it's like, it's basketball, it's baseball, It's okay, it's the Lakers. And I will say nice. I'm not gonna say that many nice things

with Lakers. We all know why. You know, it's a historic franchise, seventeen championships. Um, the best basketball team in the city. Uh, but the Dodgers to despite the Someone recommended a book and some some reading about how Dodgers Stadium is h was bad for the Echo Park community,

and yeah, absolutely bad. Um. But you know, I think there are a lot of transplants come here from you know, these these other cities that we're talking about, and they are able to experience sports, like coming from Erie, Pennsylvania and living here, like, I love that I can go to any major sporting event and for the most part,

they've been pretty good. Football, Like I saw the greatest football game NFL game of like the last ten years, that Kansas City Rams game, and it was in the Colosseum, not a great pro football stadium, but incredible and like the vibes of it was kind of like an even split. It was like half Rams fans, which maybe every Rams fan to ever exist l a Rams fan in the Chiefs,

which a lot of transplants from Kansas City. It was awesome also to a lot of my friends who liked the Clippers, who weren't basketball fans came here and are now diehard basketball fans because the Clippers games were affordable and they have some got season tickets. Some just went more often, and that team has had some historic lineups. Lob City, this current one, and also the Olympics. Uh,

the Olympics. We were supposed to have the second it was it was it the second Yeah, was supposed to be Oh wait, that's yeah, and then the eighties is that when the last one was yeah? So yeah. Most athletes live here in the off season because it's a mixture of like, you know, the weather is nice, the top like trainers and doctors are out here. It's just it's yeah. I mean I think every player is like, if I'm gonna live and if I can live in any city, I'm gonna pick Los Angeles. Yeah. We now

have two football teams, and which is wild. It's very very strange, and I feel bad for San Diego City. I don't like UM, but I do think it's sucked up UM. And also the sparks and also the King's We went to an l a King's Amos. So, I mean, hockey is people say it's the best sport to see in person and to be able to see in person at Staples Center. It's it's cool, Like I do love seeing hockey in the arenas that we get to see sort of the Star Sports Center and Staples Center is

really cool. Like the lighting they do, you can tell like, oh, this is a Hollywood production. It definitely beats Cleveland's laser light show. You know, we got the flames, but that's about it, well, they said, And I think it was the Forum with the Lakers that they lit that thing like a Broadway play. It was, you know, the court was the only thing lit and everything else was dim like a show. And they do some iteration of it

a little bit. Again, like the lighting in my opinion, is better at the Lakers and the Clippers, but like a lot of stadiums are adopting that, and I think it really kind of makes it a real cool experience for sure. I I would only disagree because there LA is kind of a ship football fan town, but I really admire I admire any baseball town, and l A is a sneaky like I didn't realize how much people

love the Dodgers. It's not just because they're good. Every year you see kids, little kids in their front yard playing baseball and don't see that at least. I grew up in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana. That was all football, basketball, maybe basketball, you know, some baseball, but like they like and there's a lot of Major League players who are from southern California. So the Murals has the best sports murals we've lived in the other cities. It's like, I

don't never remember seeing a sports mural in Chicago. Biggie gets all the good murals in New York. Yeah, Chicago. Chris Farley like raw, Yeah, I want to go make one of him. Yeah, in a bear like doing the Bears on the side of Second City. Yeah. You know what's wild? Suit l A just got this incredible probably the most beautiful stadium in the world, and we haven't even seen it yet. I mean I thought of it because they're playing in it right now Monday football. Like,

I can't wait to go to so Fi. Oh boy, we're gonna get crunk at so Fi. I can't wait. Let's take a quick break and then we'll be right back. Okay, and we are back with our number two picks for greatest sports cities. Michael, you start us off this round too, Okay, I am gonna go with Philly. Okay, so they are terrible people, um, but I admire their passion, right like you were here the stories about like how you know, some international soccer team would accidentally score goal on themselves

and then that guy would get murdered. I feel like if it happened in America, it would happen in Philadelphia. And I kind of admire that they throw. They throw, they throw really good riots when they win. Um, their psychic. Like Charles Barkley is a thick skin, great dude, and he were like, yeah, Philly fans are assholes, like like it's so hard to get under Charles barkley skin, and like so in some you know, and I know I was, you know, ragging on Boston and New York earlier, but

I don't know, there's I have a respect Philly. They are delusional, but he also realistic. I think the seventy sixers are iconic. The Eagles are iconic, and um, and and even the Phillies you know, yeah, no, they're they're the Flyers. They definitely that's a great pick. They deserve to be on this list. Are there fans insane? Yes, like every truly fan, I know that is their identity, that is like what their reason for being is. And

it's scary. Like I've you come across Philly fans on Twitter, it's scary, but like, man, I'm a front runner myself, and I like, yeah, they've stuck through their teams through some dark times and yeah when they want, you know, I'm gonna let Megan bring up which he loves to bring up. Oh yeah, I mean, my favorite story out of Philly is the man who ate over the man who ate horsepoop off the ground. When they were celebrating

the Super Bowl. I felt the thing is, no one else has ever heard this, so then it's like did I make it up? But it is my favorite story. But Philly fans they really scare me there. It's like so two and the super Bowl that we were at in Minnesota was Patriots Eagles, and so we were all rooting for the Eagles whole stadium except for like the actual Patriots fans there just because you want the Patriots

to lose. But I was like, oh my god, thank god among these people's side, because they do they we I mean I went to one Eagles tailgate at an Eagles game because I was shooting something there and it was like two weeks after the election, and they saw like the camera go up and the whole parking lot started chanting Trump. So it's like, it's not a crew that I want to hang with. I'm sorry, guys, it's

just not I would wear. I would wear an imposing team was Jersey pretty much anywhere, but not not not to a Philly game because I just would not want that. Yeah. No, I mean we saw what it was a clip last week of them fighting a Ravens and it's like during COVID they're still fighting people. They're insane where they wearing a mask when they thought, yeah, there's no I mean this, this goes for a baseball and we'll probably go for

basketball since that's coming back too early. Now. It's so funny that they did everything right and then they're still gonna That's how long this thing has been going on if they're coming back too early in their second season

during COVID. But uh yeah, Philly fans are just I mean iverson, uh just him being kind of this this outsider like breaking all the rules, which was so cool to me, like kind of put in like their other like Edry Brian Dawkins, all the like the best Philly athletes just reinforced how fucking raising and badass all their fans have become so so Yeah, I mean Philly is a great choice, but I'm scared of them. Yeah, they're they're uh, you know, it's better to be feared than

than loved, you know. Yeah, I think the boxing legacy obviously, like they excel at other sports that are outside of the major four too. Okay, great pick. My I'm happy someone put Philly on the list because it's like, I really don't want to be murdered in my sleep, you know. Um My second pick is a change from what I was going to do. And I'm gonna say the Bay just as a whole. They ride hard too. I Mean you see forty Niners stuff everywhere we went to Disneyland

last year. I was like, is Jimmy Garoppolo here, Like it's the number one football team that I see on like traveling, and obviously they love the Giants so much. Yeah, I mean the Warriors were in Oakland when and they were bad and everyone supported them, and then it sucks that they would like went back to San Francisco. So like, I like Oakland's fans a lot better. I think this season of Last Chance, you like, really gave us a

window into them loving football that I didn't realize. And they also seem kind of scary, like I wouldn't want to fuck up the Giants fans Raiders were still the Raiders, I probably would have put the babe right. And and them not having it it's horrible. I mean, and you still see Raiders stuff up there, like they love that team. They were taken from them. I don't like it, and Vegas is definitely not gonna make anyone's list. But yeah, a Raiders fan is the scariest fan you could ever

think of. I think, like those guys that and that, just the outfits and the change colors, like the silver and the black like they I think that was a giant San Francisco Giants. Oh yeah, actually there maybe I'm thinking of the fight that happened. I believe it was Dodgers Giants baseball who knew? I mean, life for death?

This ship is crazy, but yeah, I just it's so beautiful up there and you and maybe it's because I was there last week with your wife, but you just see forty Niners stuff everywhere, and you see Warriors stuff everywhere, and and it's a like a big kind of rich city is what we think of it as techy and Silicon Valley esque, but it's like, no, this is like a gritty, cool ass, badass sports town too. And I love when they hit home runs the Giants that goes into the bay and the guys go out in the

canoes to get it. And my uncle, he's a sample, he's a forty nine fan and he just has an entire room with forty niners and like he doesn't even You just like walk in like nothing, no other inclination in the house. And you walk in and it's like, you know, a statue of Jimmy Garoppolo and You're like, what the That's what I want my room to be with every team Lebron has played for. If you want to set you of Jimmy Garoppolo in our house, and I'm all for it. I find you fucking Jimmy statue

of Jimmy Garoppolo. I'm not gonna do anything. I'm gonna go have the chain on it, have fun. Let the statue pick up the kids, all right, should do my pick? So my pick, my second pick was going to be Philly. So and I'm trying to pick one that I don't want to steal on your guys, because I know you could do real research. That's what I was gonna pick. Actually New York. So Megan said she gave up New York and is kindly as a is a nice beautiful wife, gave me New York City or New York. Um New

York as a whole. Well, I mean, okay, so I'm missa in New York City. But what teams play in New York City besides the next The Rangers do play there, right, yeah, yeah, so the Knicks in the Rangers. But yeah, New York. I'm just gonna say New York. I know it's best cities. But like in New York they have what the Knicks, the Rangers, the Giants, and the Islanders which play at Barclays Now they did they moving it back because people were not liking it. The Islanders game there in yeah,

which are in Neutral the Nets are in Brooklyn. But like it's it's historic, Like we have so many famous athletes now who were born in New York and that was their life. They have just on like a recreational level, like if you want to play basketball, you walk two feet outside your house, there's a court. You come up on that court like West fourth Rucker all like basketball, football is big. Like the thing is like none of

these teams have been good. And again it's like filling all these other teams even though the equals one, like they are right or die for, you know, And for the last decade. I apologize that they've had to go through a lot of this stuff. But yeah, the fact that like uh Next games still almost sell out and and I would say MSG is probably when people people were like before I ever went there, there like it is like church, and when you walk in it, it

really you just get this feeling. And I was watching a Bowls uh next game there, which wasn't a good matchup that year, and it was awesome like this, you look up at the ceiling, it's beautiful. They have like the first couple of rows or celebrities, like that's still a thing, celebrity row, and you walk to it, you get on the subway. It's a whole experience that like any sports fan, uh, I hope that they can experience it. Yeah, yeah, I respect that they still love the Knicks even though

they have been terrible for a long time. It's the Yankees who really spoil it for me, because I do not like the Yankees. They do a very loyal fans they and their fan base is massive. I mean you'll find Yankees fans all over the world. Mets fans are extremely loyal, all we know. I feel like I know more Mets fans than I know Yankees fans, and they're always like, I don't know why to do this to me, and then their kids in it, and you're like, oh ship um. Also, the US Open is there every single year.

I mean, it's a really incredible event. New York throws events, probably better and in more of a headache fashion than anywhere else. But yeah, definitely for all of those teams to exist there and Broadway and music and like every single thing you could ever want to do is in that city and the next still draw people. That's fucking insane. I mean, I feel so bad. This is a whole another episode, But I was just thinking, in my head,

maybe the greatest sports hat is the Yankees. Maybe that's not that's not even the sports to me, I would go, yeah, Yankees in and Dodgers are like the those are the most recognized where iconic sports, and people get scared aired of the Yankees just because of their uniforms. I know that was from Catch Me if you can, but it's true because like the Indians always get eliminated those pinstripes. Baby, Okay, we'll take one last break and then we'll be right back. Okay,

and we are back. So now we are up to our number one pick. I'm worried we're gonna have the same. Um. I guess I was going to have an honorable mention, but it was New York, which I was so generously gifted to c J. And so my number one is Chicago. Okay, okay, sorry, c J. Well we can share it since we share this, Mike, Um, I find Chicago sports fans to be totally insufferable. UM cannot handle them, don't want to be around them. They

annoy me. But I do think when you talk about the big boys sports, you got the Bears the black Hawks. You have two baseball teams that are always like in the news. You know, they're not always winning, but they're always like kind of important. I wish more people went to White Sox games. And then do you have the black clocks. They say them, who are who are an original? Six? Iconic? The Bears original? I mean Chicago sort of is a town that is defined by what's happening in their sports

and defined by they're just sports identity. The Bears is so big. But yeah, I think their fans suck, and I think where the United Center is, they gotta get better public transportation to it, and where Soldier Field is, they gotta get better public transportation to that. Okay, that's what I was gonna say, Michael, are you going to say, Yeah,

Soldier Field is in the middle of nowhere. I know, but it's it's huge, and it's beautiful, and it is beautiful parks there so gorgeous when nobody goes to them. Why does Us' Field face Indiana and not Chicago? That's just that's just an architectural thing. I think it's the highway. Yeah, it's the highway. And it can't be that close to Wrigley. I'm not talking about moving the location. I'm saying it. Yeah, it faces into northwest Indiana, which is truly just take

to America, turn and look at a beautiful skyline. But what do you mean face like a stadium? Can face facing. Okay, yeah, I was also gonna add to it. I don't think that about the fans. The fans are wonderful. I mean spoiled. Yes, the nineties Bulls spoiled everyone. But I just think that also to like the teams just by again their uniforms. This is like another episode, but like Iconic Classic, never changes.

Sometimes they do some weird alternates. But the Bulls, the Cubs, the Socks, the Bears, Blackhawks like well, I don't know, but I don't know what what the ethics are on that. I think it's okay because it's the black Hawks and it's like a specific tribe. But I could be very well, now people want to I think you're You're probably right. I'm sure there's some issues, but I know the black

Hawks have come out and said we're not changing yet. Well, I've been the black Hawks games and they don't usually have protesters, and I've been to Indians games and there's usually protesters. Um, but also too, it's just like it's smack dab in the middle of this country, and you know, everyone always says you've got a cater to the Midwest, and I don't know. Yeah, there's something about you know, you got your your New York versus l A or even your Boston in New York. But like the fact

that they're in the middle. Like I grew up in Iowa and we got w g N, which showed all the Chicago sports, and like I talked to people in like St. Louis and all this other stuff, and they all love a lot of people love in the Midwest just love Chicago sports, and so like they almost make up for way more of a region than any of these other teams. So yeah, they're a great sports city. Um. You mentioned St. Louis, and I just want to make sure I clarify You're a terrible fucking city St. Louis.

I respect that they like baseball so much because that doesn't happen a lot. But other than that, Um, but no, the Cardinals are cute. I like the Cardinals. I just hate that city. Uh. And I also just Megan made fun of me because I was gonna say, Erie, this is an honorable mention. Then we get to your at number one, Erie, Pennsylvania, because you can root is where I grew up and you can root for within two hours.

Are the Browns, the Steelers, the bills and yeah, and then also whatever probably got w g N Chicago is like the Cubs are so famous because of the g N, because forty States saw their games growing up. I almost feel proud of myself that I didn't become a Cubs fan as a child. I was like, I see you ramming it down my throat and I don't like it. Um. One honorable mention that I know that we will want to both say is Buffalo. That's I mean, they will go out in a blizzard. They love the Sabers. They

really they invented Buffalo wings. You know, like we we wouldn't even that's for every sport, every team. We would think about how bad our lives would be if we didn't have those start. That's where the Clippers started. Um yeah, so Buffalo, we love you, and I don't maybe get another team and then and then you can make the list. That's it. Nobody can hear you. Okay, Michael, Okay, Michael, you bring us on with your number one pick. Now I know what it is. I can't believe I thought

we were going to have oat. Well, you know, I do respect Chicago, but I I saw a lot of people hop on the side expandwagon, which rubs me the wrong way. And I find a lot of them insufferable, but I do respect how much they love it. And plus, my wife grew up a block away from Wrigley Field, and I think it's really cool that there's like the stadiums like in the city you like, and like that's very unique. Um, but no, my my number one is Cleveland.

Cleveland everyone. Um, Okay, So I'm just gonna say, we have all the major sports teams. We got baseball, we got basketball, we got football. Um, We've been long suffering and yet we still love our teams. We've had the heartbreak, which I think makes us kind of lovable. It also gives us perspective. I've read some study that like, people who have bad sports teams actually are better at dealing with problems when they become adults because they've dealt with

with heartbreak. And I've spoken with bulls, like kids who grew up in the nineties, and well they're just like, oh, I never, like, I never realized your sports teams loose. Yeah, yeah, it's gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. It's like no, you need to cry for five years straight. Yeah, and oh god, and then that championship was just like it

took a lot off my shoulders. Let me just say, okay, So there's also I mean the Browns we have, the dog Pound, we have, I mean, the Browns fans are. I will put them toe to toe with any insane fan base, isn't There's something that like there's more Browns designated bars around the country than any other. That could also mean a lot of people leave Cleifland. That is very true, and that it has one thing like the Indians, we don't have good attendance anymore. In the nineties, we

sold out for like four years straight. You had a major movie series based on the team. You gotta imagine that helps sell some tickets. But now, yeah, people have moved away, but we still but our television ratings are always like top like five. I'm making that up, but it's it's it's up there. It's it's up there much higher. Like we're we are the Cleveland diaspora. Our championship parade was like insane. Just the sheer amount of people who like came back, traveled from all places in the world.

Like Trump when he says, like, look, how many people showed up to Cleveland from my rally. He takes pictures of that, and they've used it several times. They were saying for the RNC when it was in Cleveland. And then everyone's like, why is j R. Smith? Why she next to Jericho? Why next to Jered Gush? It's just JR. Kevin Love but zoomed in Yeah, I mean wait, wait and can I also, I just have to bring up ten cent beer Night because I don't know if anyone else,

So okay, ten ten cent beer Night. We were, um, I can't even remember. I think it was the eighties and maybe the seventies for ten cent beer. So Cleveland was pretty bad. It was that old Municipal Stadium, which is was our football stadium and our baseball stadium, so we could fit way too many people in there for for baseball, Like it was a terrible like all the

baseball players hated it. And we had actually just gotten a fight with the Texas Rangers like a week or two and they started like the Rangers players were like shifting on Cleveland. So then they had ten cent beer Night. Rangers were in town. You could they like put a cap on it like six beers in person, but nobody cared. We got like ten thousand more fans than typically come

to games. They just came to drink. So like in between innings, people are running on the field and and things kind of turned south because, um, we were down five one, so fans start throwing stuff on the field. Mike har girl who actually went on to be when our manager, he was playing first base, he's, he's. He said that, like people through must must have been like twelve pounds of hot dogs at him. He there, people were chucking. He got an empty jug of wine. It

was like thunderbird wine. They threw that at him, right, They still didn't They still in camp to the game until the ninth inning, Cleveland actually had tied up five five. A fan and like a twenty year old, runs onto the field tries to take the hat off of one of the Rangers outfielders. But the guy they but the from the dug out. The Rangers dug out. They thought he was attacking him, So the fucking the Rangers grabbed their bats and they run out to like protect this guy.

And then the fans they started ripping out the seats and they jump on the field and they're like starting to YouTube videos document it was like worse moments his story. I mean, you guys also had a river catch on fire. Yeah, okay, listen Cleveland. There was a lot of rivers that caught on fire in the in America during that period. But but you know, Kyahaga was was a big one. So yeah, it was a great Actually, the Cleveland players went to defend them and then they like went back in groups

in the clubhouse. Anyways, big riot, And the best part was the announcers were calling it from the booth. They're like, this is horrible. I mean, it's like the Palace. Yeah, and that wasn't even our only one. We have Bottlegate. That's why they don't. They don't do glass bottles at stadiums and make someone's going to get it to that and that. But you know what, those rests deserved it because they cost us a game and the playoffs. There's your Cleveland also, I mean, oh god, Ohio State fans,

and nobody rides harder than those people. All you also hate all of the surrounding states because we have like rival We're not actually Indiana, I'm sorry, but we yes, um, but we hate Michigan. They looked down on us. That's why they don't hate us. Yes, Um, Michigan, we hate Pittsburgh and then thus most of western Pennsylvania we don't well, you know, affiliate. But um, but so anyways, that's that's

manually at Lebron Lebron. Yeah, he's coming back for it's gonna be his feral Season's going to be in Cleveland. I was gonna ask Michael, because I love hearing when you when the Cubs and Indians were in the World Series and I still can't get a read on how real it got. But your wife again grew up block and World Series. I mean, two teams that really deserved it. Um, what can you describe what that week? That was hard? So my dad is um, he's been a season ticket

holder for you know, a long time. So he gave me two tickets to the World Series game. So we were living in New York at the time, and we had it. We had our very young child. But we're just like, all right, Caroline, our friend can you watch watch Frances. We're going We're gonna drive watch the game, drive home. So I go and yeah, eight to ten depending on traffic. Um, outside of New York. So we go and you know, people are was all fun. It

was all fun. You know at the beginning, we were having a good time, and like, you know, Cleveland people be like, oh this happened, because it would be like I was like with my Cubs fan wife and something happened that day. Well, first of all, the part that really hurt is that a lot of the Cleveland people sold their tickets to the Chicago fans because well, Chicago's just got a lot of money. My my dad sold two of his tickets and unfortunately, I mean they were

Cleveland guys, but they were like executives. They were looking at me for for cheering too loudly during the World Series. I drove them away because I was going insane. That's on them. It's the World Series. I'm gonna scream until I have no more voice. But it was I mean, like you know, Bill, I saw Bill Murray and McConaughey and like, there's seven games, so it was game it

was game five. Really, I mean, I've been too cults playoff games where the seats surrounding us have been sold to Steelers fans and Jets fans, and you're like this is one game, and what were you getting for a Jets Cults playoff series? Hundred and four dollars Like the Cubs people were paying like basically people could pay for their entire season tickets with by selling like one game's worth of World Series tickets. So I get it. Cleveland's

not the richest town. So um. And then we lost that game and went on to lose that World Series. And let's just say, I don't think I said anything for that entire eight and a half hour drive back to New York. I was just very sad. So when the Cubs won, what was what was that? Like? What went down? I still don't know if we fully healed from that. I just don't talk about it, and I mean it, you know, it was in some ways it

was it was it was fun. I mean like that game seven was like, I think, one of one of the great baseball games I've ever watched. Um, But to be on the losing side of that, and I just remember as a child losing seven and then I think it was ninety it was seven when we lost in the bottom of the ninth, they literally had the champagne in our locker room. And then Jose Mason starts giving up like two runs and they're like, oh, we gotta

clean up this year. Like so, so that's the problem when things start going bad in Cleveland, people Yeah, and then people just remember it's just we don't we don't we like to lose in an excruciatingly heartbreaking manner. Even when we were like the Browns were bad, we would just like some guy would take his helmet off and then the other team would get to kick the field goal again and they win, and like a raff once threw a flag into our our offensive lineman defensive line blind.

Remember who was I think was it Johnny Manzel who went like likeell? I mean, that was a fun time. But when I was reading about Baker today because we we talked about it earlier, but O'Dell is out torn a c L maybe the one of the worst injuries you can get in sports. But would you call it a bitch ass? As everyone is now making T shirts

and hats and profiting off of my genius. But but the thing is, like people say, like Baker when he is he needs to get the peak of the doubt against him or like have a chip on his shoulder, And that's when he's at his best and so oddly I'm like, shit, now he's almost like he lost Odell. There might be like a little bit of a run here. I mean my opinion. He had one of his best

games last week. It was against the Bengals. He but you're right, he he performs the best one his backs against the wall and Cleveland fans it just can't be happy, especially Browns fans. Um. So yeah, he will always get a lot of criticism until he wins a super Bowl. And he also doesn't like he plays Joe Burrow. He doesn't like that like Joe Burrows the new hot kid on the street. So he released from Ohio. You know it?

Burrow is from Yeah, well he he was on Ohio State for a year or two but then transfer because but he grew up in Ohio. I can't remember where. I think they said like an hour and a half from since So what's that that's like Kentucky. I don't know, I don't know. I know, I think it's like further further North Dayton. Yeah, it's a tough divisions. Yeah, it's the only undefeated team of football is in that division.

So that's tough. That's an uphill battle that you guys were five and two and we're and we're clearly not as good as the You gotta win. You have to get the wild card, and that's tough. But I'll be happy. We haven't made the playoffs since two thousand. We're all rooting for it is the Browns median for the postseason. I I wish the Browns so much success. I would love for them to make it to the playoffs. I think they have a better chance of making it the

playoffs if Ohio goes blue. I agree, that's kind of the important thing. And I will say that we won our championship. Lebron won the championship on my first Father's Day ever, so it was like it was just a big day. So yeah, I mean, I forget what because now I'm like it doesn't make sense. But like the Lakers, Lebron winning for some reason is like for me, it's the first big logical win, like a win that everyone

can get behind. And I feel like that's what we're looking for right now, is a win we can all get behind. But then again, I was like, oh yeah, dude, that's sixteen. That was maybe the last good thing that happened in the sports. But yeah, we we love we love Cleveland. We always for Cleveland. I like again, I once the pandemics over, I really want to visit Cleveland. That's like in my tops, we really want to go to Cedar Point. I just started following the great sports there.

You know you can throw empty milk carton. I mean that's classic sports turkey legs there. Yeah, um yeah, you guys, Michael, thanks so much for coming by from Yeah plug the pod. Oh yeah, I got I have a podcast called Doing My Best with Michael Joyce. Basically, it's it's like a fun parenting podcast. I get cool people who have kids or just people with kids in their lives. So you know, I'm gonna have some some nanny and some maybe some fun and episodes coming up. But it's it's really fun.

And check it out iTunes, Spotify, you know the deal. Yeah, what are your handles? Yeah, I am at not Mike Joyce on Twitter and Instagram and the pod is at Doing my Best Pod. You can go to Doing my Best Pod dot com as well. Hell yeah, check that out. Michael is such a good dude, a good friend fellow pod member. Um, so you and your family has got us through a lot of this pandemic. So shut out to you guys. At you guys, um and and yeah, I'm at CJ toldno, I'm at Megan Gaily. Is that it? Yeah?

That and you guys were one week away from the election, very very exciting. All I did yesterday was lay in bed and get high and root against the Titans and donate money. So if you have any money to donate, please act blue. Just you know who I want you to give it to. So give it to the good guys and not to the bad guys. Listen. You can rate this in the review. I don't care, Um, and be safe. Wear your masks. She's gonna get crazy out there, so be good to yourself, be good to your family. CJ.

I love you, Michael, I love you. Go Colts, go Browns, Go Dodgers. Okay, we'll see you next week. Bye bye. The Greatest is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.