WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.600 I'm not gonna lie. 2 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:03.080 I was hoping for some bagpipes or something, but I'll 3 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:06.000 allow the Cranberrys. They are from Ireland and they are 4 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.679 one of my favorite bands from my youth, from high school, 5 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:11.880 I think in the nineties, so I'll allow it. 6 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.359 Was this you or was this our guy Christopher. 7 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:18.839 In Irish band Yep, really good song, really good radio 8 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.280 bump a guest request. 9 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:25.359 Love it and as you mentioned on the theme, the. 10 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.839 Irish gotta love it, gotta love it all right, we 11 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.359 go to Dublin, Ireland, where we find our guy, Chris 12 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:32.439 Comraddi from the Athletic on a Friday. 13 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:32.799 C K. 14 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:35.240 How we doing man? Set the scene? What's it like 15 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:35.759 over there? 16 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.719 Well, it's nighttime. I'm in my hotel room and I'm 17 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.079 watching Irish rugby on my Telly. 18 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:49.840 Very nice, very nice. What's what's the weather like over There's? 19 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:51.399 What's the weather like to this time of year? 20 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:55.439 It's well, it's been fantastic the last two days, like 21 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.679 I hit the jackpot. It's been sixty five to seventy 22 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:05.920 haven't needed a coat, thorts and a T shirt. I've 23 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:09.159 walked probably over thirty miles in the last two days, 24 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:13.879 just taking in the sights and hitting all the necessary places. 25 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:16.200 It's a treat man like, I wouldn't want to be 26 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.920 here when it's cold and windy and pissing rain, but 27 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:22.840 I am going to take advantage of what I have 28 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:24.280 in front of me, and what I have in front 29 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:25.359 of me is sunny Dublin. 30 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:26.599 Got to love it. 31 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:28.760 So over the course of the past forty eight hours, 32 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:30.319 have you seen the sites? 33 00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:32.000 Have you done the tourist thing? 34 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.799 What's because I know you had some boxes you wanted 35 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:35.560 checked over there. 36 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:36.959 Yeah. 37 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.599 Yeah, I've done a little bit of both, you know. 38 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:43.920 Obviously part of my assignment here is trying to get 39 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:49.000 the flavor of Americana, basically invading Ireland for forty eight hours. 40 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.159 Not only do we have this college football game, but 41 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:56.359 WWE SmackDown is also in town. So I went to 42 00:01:56.760 --> 00:01:59.359 the Three Arena to check out the folks who are 43 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.120 getting ready to go, who were getting ready to go 44 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.719 to SmackDown tonight. It's been a trip, man, to say 45 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.039 the least. But yeah, I got to go see Trinity College, 46 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.319 which was amazing. Got to see lots of cool churches 47 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.280 and one fascinating thing about Ireland is they make you 48 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:18.360 pay for everything, and I'm too cheap to pony up 49 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:22.800 twenty to thirty euros to walk into a church. I 50 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:26.360 can see it from the outside. It's old. I've seen 51 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:28.439 lots of churches in Europe. But I'm just at the 52 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.759 point in my life where i don't necessarily have to 53 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.719 fork over the money, and it hasn't slowed me down 54 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:35.400 in that sense. I've been able to just kind of 55 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:37.479 take some sites in and move on to the next. 56 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:42.919 But it's a really cool city, really beautiful architecture. They 57 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:47.000 blended the old and the new very very well. And 58 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.680 my hotel is, you know, within walking distance of Aviva 59 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.240 Stadium where the game is tomorrow, so I have no complaints, 60 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:54.080 which is rare. 61 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:55.639 That is very rare. 62 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:59.919 K State is a three point favorite over Iowa Stay tomorrow, 63 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.840 so two big twelve teams both in the top twenty five. 64 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.000 Will you be covering the game with a certain angle 65 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.039 in mind? Or are you just trying? Are you just 66 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.439 trying to kind of see what you know? The reaction 67 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:13.879 is to the folks over there to college football? What 68 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.680 how will you what sort of prism will you be 69 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:17.960 watching that game through tomorrow? 70 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:21.039 Well, I'm going to only react and write in the 71 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:23.879 prism that can captivate somebody like you, who is my 72 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:29.039 target audience. So it will be breakdown of you know, 73 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:34.680 very key moments of the game, personnel shifts, motions, all 74 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.680 the types of things that we usually we talk about. 75 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:42.319 We are experts at No, I'm definitely making a very 76 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.680 bad joke. No, to me. The fascinating part of this 77 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.439 whole thing, Spence, is how this has become not only 78 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.319 a routine on an annual basis for college football, but 79 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:54.520 it's going to continue and by all accounts, it's been 80 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:59.800 very successful. I think this is the best matchup that 81 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:02.680 they've had since starting this Classic a few years ago. 82 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.840 It's a top twenty five matchup. They haven't had that. 83 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:07.800 You know, last year they had Georgia Tech and Florida 84 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.680 State that didn't travel very well between the two teams. 85 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.960 It's estimated to be upwards of twenty five thousand fans 86 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.720 who are in Dublin between Iowa State and Kansas State. 87 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.160 And I was at the Kansas State PEP rally today 88 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:24.240 and it was insane, like there are so many people 89 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:28.560 here from both Kansas State and Iowa State. But yeah, 90 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.160 I mean the prison will be like be paying obviously 91 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.800 be paying attention to a top twenty five game. It's 92 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.480 one of the oldest rivalries in college sports. I think 93 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.879 it's one hundred and ninth or one hundred and tenth 94 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:43.199 straight time that they've played played each other, which is, like, 95 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.240 I think, one of the oldest running rivalries in college football. 96 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.800 And just you know, the scenes, and you know, I'm 97 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.360 all about the scenes and the vibes, and you know, 98 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.879 it is unique here to say the least. You know, 99 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:59.120 I stopped by an Irish high school football game tonight 100 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:01.800 because they played here, and you can buy beer and 101 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.240 espresso at the games. A little different than covering high 102 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.839 school football and draper on a Friday night. But yeah, 103 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:13.240 just kind of the dichotomy of what football represents in 104 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:16.399 the States versus the potential growth overseas is kind of 105 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:17.639 what I'm looking at the moment. 106 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.879 Do you know the origin story how this kind of 107 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:23.439 came about. It is a little bit of a random 108 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.600 location for a college football game, and you know, the 109 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:30.560 NFLCK for a number of years has discussed the potential 110 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:33.560 of wanting to capture the European audience, and I don't 111 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:36.079 know if there's anything here as far as drawing a 112 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:39.480 parallel part of it kind of feels similar to the 113 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.160 way folks who believe soccer will catch on over here 114 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.759 at some point. And soccer certainly has its footprint, but 115 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:50.439 it will never capture the hearts and imaginations of as 116 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.000 many Americans as football has. And I don't think there's 117 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.360 any way that football will ever capture Europeans the way 118 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.519 that soccer has or football over there. But are you 119 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:02.480 familiar with the backstory how this game kind of came 120 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.399 to be in the spot that you find yourself in today. 121 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:09.079 Well, if we want to go really far back in time, 122 00:06:09.560 --> 00:06:12.959 the kind of the bedrock of this, the start of 123 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.800 this is when the NFL had its first international game 124 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:18.879 in London in two thousand and seven. That was a 125 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.920 big swing by the league. A lot of people didn't 126 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.600 think it was a good idea, a lot of people 127 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:28.199 didn't think it would work. And you know, I think 128 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:31.240 if we're talking about kind of the one off, meaning 129 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:33.920 like once or twice or even three times a year, 130 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.959 from an NFL perspective, it works, and it has worked. 131 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:41.759 They've played games in Germany, they've played games in London, 132 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.120 they're playing games for a second straight year in Brazil 133 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:52.279 starting the season. So the appetite internationally for a minimal 134 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:57.199 amount of football games is there. From the aer LINGUS 135 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.839 College Football Classic as it is known here. Spence Is 136 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:06.879 organizers with air lingas the airline and folks just approached 137 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:10.279 people in the US and said, like, this is a 138 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:13.199 this is an untapped market. It is a it is 139 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:17.399 a pretty enticing destination vacation spot for a lot of 140 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:21.360 Americans because of obviously we are we have such a 141 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:26.360 deep Irish you know culture embedded with you know, with 142 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:28.959 so many I mean, I'm sure you have Irish ancestry. 143 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.279 I have Irish ancestry pretty much everybody and most people 144 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:36.120 in America have Irish ancestry. So the very popular tourist spot. 145 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:38.519 So they just sold it, say like come on over. 146 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:41.480 And obviously when Notre Dame was here, that was kind 147 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:44.759 of the you know, the bell of the ball. And frankly, 148 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.800 I think they should try to make Notre Dame like 149 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:49.920 part of you know, this rotation more often than not, 150 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:53.079 because it just makes sense. But you know, they approached 151 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:56.199 Kansas State, uh I think it was sixteen months ago, 152 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:58.759 and talked to Chris Climb and the head coach and 153 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:01.560 Jean Taylor, the athletic director, and said, like, would you 154 00:08:01.639 --> 00:08:06.079 be interested in giving up not only a home game, 155 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.319 a conference home game, but a conference home game against 156 00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:14.720 your probably your biggest rival outside of Kansas and sold 157 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.079 them on it. And by all accounts so far, it's 158 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.560 it's been. It's been a hit among the fans that 159 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:23.160 decided to come. And I mean, anytime you can sell 160 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.560 out a European stadium for any sport, it's going to 161 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:30.240 be cool. I think tomorrow will be especially unique, just 162 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:33.039 because the setup of the field. I mean it's they're 163 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:34.960 playing in a Viva stadium, which is where you know 164 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.679 Ireland national teams for soccer and rugby play, so it's 165 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.600 a beautiful stadium. It's just up the road and I 166 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:44.879 think it's going to remind me of like when I 167 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:48.200 was covering the Olympics, like in Brazil. Just I think 168 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:51.320 the vibes there, the setup of stadiums internationally are a 169 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.159 little different. So I'm fascinated to see how it plays out. 170 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.120 Did you pack the sticks? Are you going to play 171 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:00.120 Royal Port Rush? I mean, Ireland isn't far from the 172 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:02.360 home of golf, which is Scotland, and as you know, 173 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:06.559 when the game expanded, it expanded into the UK, including Ireland. 174 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:08.799 Is did did did you have a chance to pack 175 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.600 your your golf clubs and your Antonio Daniel's jersey and 176 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.559 your your farming glove to maybe play some of those 177 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:16.360 courses over there. 178 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.039 Well, I don't know if you know this, Spence, but 179 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:24.639 there's a big body of water between Ireland and the 180 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:28.759 British Isle, which contains three different countries. So if I 181 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:31.080 wanted to catch a train, I couldn't. I'd have to 182 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:34.679 catch a flight to head over to Scotland. Albeit to 183 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:40.000 say I did not pack the sticks, I just I'm 184 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:42.320 not a big fan of these, you know, open courses. 185 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:44.759 I'm more of a I'm more of a tree. I 186 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.240 feel like I need to be boxed in otherwise my 187 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:51.399 depth of vision is too wide. I feel like my 188 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:54.879 my typical slice might slice a little harder if I 189 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:57.840 don't have trees blocking my way. I'm just more of 190 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.759 kind of an old school you know, you Utah golfer 191 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:01.240 as you know. 192 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.639 Yeah, no, no, I know plenty of good courses in Ireland, 193 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:07.200 but maybe your next trip over there, you cannot pack 194 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:07.720 the sticks. 195 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:11.360 All right, let's let's move over here. So for years 196 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:12.159 and years and years. 197 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.559 I certainly have complained about it, and I know other 198 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.240 people have too, and plenty of people that write for 199 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:21.720 your outlet believe that scheduling uniformity should be mandated in 200 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:24.840 college football, and the SEC for years has had this 201 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:28.720 odd dynamic where like Week ten Bama schedules like Troy 202 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:32.279 or something, and it's like a glorified buy well. Following 203 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:34.360 the announcement that the CFP Committee is going to use 204 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.679 these new scheduling advanced metrics to decide who's going to 205 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.320 gain access to the CFP, the SEC has announced that 206 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.279 they are going to go with a nine game conference 207 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.879 schedule starting next season. Brett McMurphy is reporting now the 208 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:49.519 ACC is discussing the same. The ACC is now the 209 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:54.399 only P four conference that doesn't go with nine long overdue. 210 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.159 In my opinion, and I've said this before, I'll say 211 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.799 it again, I believe we're heading in a direction with 212 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:03.519 college football where most of the cake walk games that 213 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.519 are scheduled, if not all of them, are going to 214 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.519 go away because TV partners want the best matchups every week. 215 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:12.360 It's certainly the one thing that college does not have 216 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.000 that the NFL does. The NFL every week. Even though 217 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:16.919 there are teams in pro football that are down year 218 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:19.519 to year, You're still playing a NFL team. You're not 219 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:21.840 playing like a USFL team. You're playing a team that's 220 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.679 supposed to be on your level. So what do you 221 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:25.720 make of the SEC's announcement and do you think at 222 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:28.799 some point we will have some sort of scheduling uniformity 223 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:34.440 in the sport. 224 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:36.159 Art Yes, I think because if the SEC did it, 225 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.679 everyone else basically has to follow suit. It is a 226 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:42.919 fascinating kind of turn of events because I think for 227 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.360 the longest time, the SEC was fairly adamant that they 228 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:49.600 did not want to go to nine games for obvious reasons, 229 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:53.440 just because you're talking about the strongest conference in the country. 230 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:58.000 You don't want your big guys to have a chance 231 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:02.559 to be, you know, suffer a late season upset and 232 00:12:03.159 --> 00:12:07.519 maybe tumble out of a playoff spot that you covet 233 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.360 so highly. But listen, there's been lots of random college 234 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.840 football news in the last you know, seventy two hours 235 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:18.039 since I've gone Apparently the Big Ten is proposing like 236 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.240 a twenty eight team playoff. Now I might my head, 237 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:24.399 you know, man, I'm just trying to be here in 238 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:28.639 the homeland, just just trying to really sink my toes 239 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:32.240 into the sand. But college football fails to stop moving, 240 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:35.240 which which is not I'm not too happy about, to 241 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:35.919 say the least. 242 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:38.559 Well, and I talked about this yesterday. You know, Brian 243 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:42.840 Rolapp front of the show. He is now the commissioner. Well, 244 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.720 no excuse me, he's the first CEO in history of 245 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:49.120 the PGA Tour. He spent twenty two years next around 246 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:52.960 you Goodell at the NFL. Most people believed and maybe 247 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:55.120 this will still be the case whatever Goodell has done. 248 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.000 Most people thought Rolap would be the next commissioner. B 249 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.399 Yu guy, family friend. So I've been able to get 250 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:02.720 to know him a little bit and interview him a 251 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.720 couple different times. He is a very impressive leader, and 252 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:08.879 he addressed the media prior to the tour championship at 253 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:12.519 east Lake and he used the word innovation and you know, 254 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:16.200 being innovative, like four or five different times discussing his 255 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:19.879 vision to capitalize on this moment golf has found itself 256 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.120 in with all this attention worldwide, and to juxtapose that 257 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.159 with the lack of foresight, the lack of leadership of 258 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:32.120 college football. College football just seems to change for change sake, 259 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:35.759 as opposed to innovate to improve the product. And I 260 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:39.320 guess the reality, Chris is that you know the powers 261 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:41.759 of being college football even though no one's really in charge, 262 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:44.399 which I still believe is the biggest issue on a 263 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:47.320 number of different levels, because all these conferences can kind 264 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:48.240 of just go rogue. 265 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:50.840 But they know they've got the consumer. 266 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:54.240 They know that college football fans week in and week 267 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.120 out are going to tune in and consume the product. 268 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:58.320 They know they've got us. 269 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.159 And if you add on the layer that over the 270 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.399 past four or five years, the widespread acceptance of sports 271 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:08.480 betting has even upped the interest level because there's so 272 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:11.360 many degenerates to take out second mortgages on their home 273 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.159 to place a bet on you know, Pharma Geddon or 274 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:14.960 whatever it is. 275 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.600 They know they've got everybody. 276 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:20.000 And so therefore I don't feel like they really feel 277 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:23.399 urgency to actually fix the issues that plague the sport. 278 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:27.080 The twenty eight team expanded CFP is like the dumbest 279 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:29.639 thing that I've heard even thrown out there in years, 280 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.320 and they've thrown out a number of dumb things. It 281 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:37.120 eliminates conference championships, and it diludes Chris the most in 282 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:41.519 my opinion, appealing thing about this sport, which is the prescient, 283 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:45.200 urgent nature of every single game. To me, you have 284 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.720 to maintain that or else you do away with what 285 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:48.720 makes this sport great. 286 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:49.480 Does that make sense? 287 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:52.960 Oh, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I've said on the 288 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:56.080 show often the last couple of years that it makes 289 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:58.720 no sense for the powers that be to relinquish any 290 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.279 sort of power they currently have because what you said exactly, 291 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:06.679 the consumer has shown their willingness to adopt and roll 292 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:10.919 with the punches no matter what. Listen, man, I'm always 293 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.919 going to point to that example of that. You know 294 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:17.159 that massive super league that got proposed in Europe a 295 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:21.440 couple of years ago, and who's fans like boycotted the games. 296 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:25.399 It wasn't the little guys. It was the Manchester United fans. 297 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.679 It was the super the fans of the super clubs 298 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.200 that would have benefited from this. They were the ones 299 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:34.799 that were up in arms. Fandom doesn't really work like 300 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.000 that in the States, So I think so long as 301 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:42.799 the folks who are at the top will continue to 302 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:44.600 stay at the top, I don't think that they will 303 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:47.240 have a problem with it no matter what, so long 304 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:51.200 as they have a chance to compete for a national title, 305 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.120 which has also been part of the news cycle too, 306 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.919 because apparently Auburn decided they've won seven championships or something 307 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.679 too this week. Like, listen, man, I understand that this 308 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:04.960 is a long offseason, but this week has really really 309 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.039 shown us that we just to get to some games 310 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:09.360 because people are kind of acting out, you know. 311 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:12.080 The other, well, not just the other. 312 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:15.320 One of the other reasons why college football needs a 313 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.559 governing body with a commissioner is to put in place 314 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:23.200 a comprehensive media policy that every team needs to follow. 315 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:26.960 So I continue to compare college football to the NFL 316 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.600 on a number of different levels, because I do believe 317 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.759 we are headed towards a model that looks like that. 318 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:36.679 In the NFL, fans can attend practices, media can attend 319 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.919 every practice. There are player and coach availability after every 320 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.200 single practice. The NFL understands that the media is a 321 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.879 conduit to sell the teams and sell the leagues to 322 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:50.200 the consumer. If you juxtapose it to college football, they 323 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:53.440 all act like a bunch of scared children, and they're 324 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:57.240 just terrified at all times, and they want to control 325 00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:02.919 everything they possibly can, and they come across as just 326 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.119 constantly being worried that some bad story is going to 327 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:10.279 derail everything. I mean, you know, Deshaun Foster is the 328 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:14.680 latest UCLA head coach. Utah's playing Week one. He's cut 329 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.519 off access to players and coaches interviews after practice because 330 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:22.440 he's afraid that these practices, or achieve me, that these 331 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.319 interviews are going to be leaked to his opponents and 332 00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:27.799 somehow give them an advantage when they play head to head. 333 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:32.400 Why is it that in college they can't just understand 334 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.319 what the pros understand, and that is media helps sell 335 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:39.640 your program to your consumer, as opposed to having, you know, 336 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.880 just this constant state of fear, this constant state of 337 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:47.119 being afraid that one interview here or one video there 338 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:48.720 is going to blow the whole thing up. If there's 339 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:52.599 a governing body in place, with a commissioner and an 340 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:55.039 entire staff, they put a media policy in place that 341 00:17:55.079 --> 00:17:58.200 everybody asks to handle until they do that, program by 342 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.079 program or conference by conference, can continues to try to 343 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:05.640 exude this monicule of control when ultimately I think it 344 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:06.640 blows up in their face. 345 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.160 Yeah, I mean, listen, man, you're speaking my language. You're 346 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:17.039 playing at Irish flute across across the pond. I'm loving it. Well, 347 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:22.200 there's so many different layers to this conversation. One I 348 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:25.200 think college football coaches would say, because they call them 349 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:29.799 kids kids in quotation marks, they don't know what they'll 350 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:32.599 say if they're prepared to say what they say. But 351 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.039 I don't know what the difference is from a twenty 352 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.960 one year old graduating from college and becoming a twenty 353 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.720 one year old pro. And you know, that's that's part 354 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:43.160 of the conversation as well, like the same they stayed 355 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.720 pretty much the same age. But the other part of this, 356 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.359 and it's just you know, can't be understated enough, is that, 357 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:51.240 like when you become an NFL player, you become part 358 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:56.000 of the players union, a union, and negotiating this type 359 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:01.000 of stuff into union contracts, into these CBA, all this 360 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:05.200 stuff is top of mind for both sides because they 361 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.400 know what they're getting into. And the media part of 362 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.160 this is a huge component of it. But from the 363 00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:13.519 NFL's perspective, they know it makes sense for them and 364 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:17.480 the players, albeit they don't they don't probably love having 365 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.240 people in their locker room all the time, but it's 366 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:25.039 just part of the job. I agree. Like that we've 367 00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:29.200 talked about there's like this sense of state secrets that are, 368 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:33.359 you know, at top of mind every single week come 369 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:35.880 season time. And I know with the advent of the 370 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:39.480 Big twelve injury report like that as you know, a 371 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:41.279 new wrinkle in this whole thing. It was funny. I 372 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:45.480 was at Chris Cleman's press conference yesterday and one of 373 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.160 their beat writers asked him about his thoughts on the 374 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.160 new Big twelve injury report, and he kind of just 375 00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:53.799 laughed and he was like, I know who's out, But 376 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.640 he basically said, like Matt Campbell's not going to go 377 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.039 read my injury report to try to get like some 378 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:03.000 behind in the scenes view of you know who may 379 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.279 or may not really tilt the fortunes of the game. 380 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:11.279 I think it's a good step, but again, everybody is 381 00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:14.200 going to be able to utilize it one way or 382 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:18.039 the other. I'm going to keep referencing things that have 383 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:21.160 happened this week, even though my brain is mud. But 384 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:23.680 Pelly Kyle's not going to release it too deep now 385 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.799 because of the injury report thing too, which you know, hey, whatever, 386 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.079 you know, you got to do your thing. But yeah, 387 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:35.880 I mean it. I think it dilutes the excitement. I 388 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.680 think you just have a huge opportunity to go out 389 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:45.039 there and basically take control of how you can have 390 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:49.440 your sport and how your team can be viewed, kind 391 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:51.519 of the way the NFL does. I'm not saying like 392 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.440 there will be a college football fantasy once, like, but 393 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:58.480 maybe there will be. I mean, like they're who nobody 394 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:01.680 ever really saw the changes of college football coming in 395 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.039 the last five years and as swiftly as they have. 396 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:07.599 But let's just say that there. It isn't as hard 397 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.119 as they make it out to be. And if everybody 398 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:14.440 just cooled their jets and you know, I don't know, 399 00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:19.160 set set masan a little bit, take a breather, everybody 400 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:22.799 could realize that that, you know, it is a game, 401 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:24.839