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The NFC Least of All... · State of Play

0:01
SPEAKER_00: The cowboys suck.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: The NFTE sucks.
0:05
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: That's the joke.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: Run it.
0:13
SPEAKER_00: Welcome, welcome to State of Play, the podcast at the intersection of sports, politics, and pop culture.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: And today we are going to discuss who is a beast in the NFC list.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Like, what the hell?
0:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh, the new Arc Raiders, uh, we do gaming too, by the way.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: The new Arc Raiders update is absolute peak.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: Abdul Asayed is catching straight from Dave Portnoy.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: Jake Paul campaigns with Trump again, which leads us to today's topic, and which is the GOP looks for midterm enthusiasm boosts from Pro Sports.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: But first, did you see that game last night?
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Did you see that game last night?
0:59
SPEAKER_00: Rams vs.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Bills.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: First, shout out Puka Nakua, first of all, first and foremost, shout out Puka for 38 PPR fantasy points.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: Not only propelling me to victoria in two out of my three fantasy teams, but giving and dealing an absolute curb stomping to my opposition.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Puka.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
1:24
SPEAKER_00: Second, look, if you bet on the Bills last night, the over on Calchy, the Los Angeles Rams were favored by 61%, which I thought was absolute lunacy.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: So for what it's worth, I picked the Bills to win this game.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: I did not expect all that from the game.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: Excellent game, by the way.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: Excellent game.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: You knew when you saw the marquee Bills versus Rams that you knew it was gonna be an absolute spectacle of a game.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: And it was.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: Looking like already looking like the MVP.
2:39
SPEAKER_00: I have some reservations about Josh Allen because I feel like sometimes he can't he doesn't see the field.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: But that the last couple of drives, he turned into a possessed man.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: He was running and throwing all over the place.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: And the Rams couldn't do nothing with him.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: We'll see what happens once they get uh once they get Miles Garrett back.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: But for what it's worth, I think both of those teams look like Super Bowl teams.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be surprised to see them meeting the Super Bowl.
3:04
SPEAKER_00: That would be a fantastic matchup.
3:07
SPEAKER_00: Fantastic matchup.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: So I'm uh I'm hoping to see that happen.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping to see that happen.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: Both of those teams are phenomenal.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: You know who's not phenomenal?
3:18
SPEAKER_00: You know who's not good at football?
3:21
SPEAKER_00: Anyone in the NFC East.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: Because after this weekend, I'm convinced that this entire division needs to be investigated.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking full congressional hearings, subpoenas, sworn testimony, coaches on the witness stand.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Somebody needs to answer for this foolishness.
3:42
SPEAKER_00: Let's start with Dallas.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: Dallas, you lost to a rookie who had been filling in for Baker Mayfield in Tampa.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what the percentage in Calci was for that game.
3:57
SPEAKER_00: But I'm pretty sure it was in the 80, 90 percentile for Dallas.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: So Dallas someone needs to explain what's going on.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: You need to explain it.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: Is it the data centers?
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Is it the data centers?
4:15
SPEAKER_00: It has to be the data centers, right?
4:17
SPEAKER_00: Because there has to be an excuse for the nonsense that you put out on the field on Thursday night football at home.
4:29
SPEAKER_00: As some of you can tell by now, I am a Dallas Cowboy fan.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: It's very unfortunate.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: I can't help it.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm a Texan.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: I was baptized into the Cowboys at birth.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: My dad was actually cut as a wide receiver from the Dallas Cowboys.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: When you go to church in Texas, they preach to you using Dallas Cowboy allegory.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: I swear.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: And you would think that moving away from all that into the nation's capital, into DC, living in DC, that this would be commander's country.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: And I would have gotten away from all that.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: And you'd be partially right, but only partially.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: Because guess what?
5:17
SPEAKER_00: DC is also cowboy country.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: I can't even go ten feet without seeing another cowboy fan or another crazed lunatic of a cowboy fan with cowboy paraphernalia all over their car.
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Cowboy flags waving.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: On big trucks, by the way.
5:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: In DC.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: So when I said the Dallas Cowboys are trash, I'm it meant something.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: It means something.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean it from the depths of my soul.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: Down here, down deep.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: When I say the cowboys are softer than a wet, soggy biscuit on defense, I mean it.
6:04
SPEAKER_00: When I say the cowboys look like Swiss cheese, a turnstile, anyone can just come on through.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean it.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: No discipline.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: And it ain't personal.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: It ain't personal.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: And it ain't the personnel.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: They're only missing like maybe what?
6:26
SPEAKER_00: They're missing four starters.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: Significant.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: But it's more than personnel.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: I think they may have made some like what 15 offseason acquisitions and changes and yada yada yada blah blah blah.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: They focus on the defense very hard.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: But let's call a spade a spade.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: That defense, that defensive coordinator, that young brother, scrambling through his notes on the sideline, trying to figure out what the hell is happening and how they fix it.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, Jalen Daniels is throwing to wide open receivers 40, 50 yards down the field.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: It's either that or a penalty.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Feels like he's in over his head, doesn't it?
7:17
SPEAKER_00: Right?
7:18
SPEAKER_00: You know it.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: And no disrespect.
7:21
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna be a great coordinator, some damn sure of it.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Right?
7:24
SPEAKER_00: But the defensive players act like they don't have the fear of God in them.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: They act like they can't be benched, that they're not playing for contracts, they're getting their money.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: They're not there's no passion on that front line.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: They don't play angry.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
7:46
SPEAKER_00: They let that rookie, they let that rookie quarterback stand in the pocket all day long at home.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: And because he also sucks after about 10 seconds of just holding it in the pocket looking for someone to run to someone to throw to, he would just run it.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: The Cowboys made Jalen Daniels look like Jaden Daniels.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: They made JD 10 look like JD5.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: I mean, what the hell?
8:23
SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
8:25
SPEAKER_00: What are we doing?
8:27
SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
8:27
SPEAKER_00: Have you guys seen that uh the the Tucker Carlson impersonator guy on SNL?
8:34
SPEAKER_00: It's very funny.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: What are we doing?
8:35
SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
8:38
SPEAKER_00: But that's what that's what the Cowboys look like.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: That's what in my mind, every play.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: What are we doing?
8:45
SPEAKER_00: What's going on?
8:49
SPEAKER_00: But they made JD10 look like JD5.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Which is hard to do when JD5 is healthy.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: When he's healthy, he looks like Lamar Jackson, but even more accurate.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: But since we are on the subject, the JD5, what the actual hell happened to them on Sunday?
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Did y'all see that?
9:17
SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be the data center.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: Oh boy, it has to be data centers.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: 10 seconds left on the clock.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: All you gotta do is kick a field goal.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: You can do it on second or third down.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: It didn't matter the down.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: There's like eight seconds left.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Just kick the field goal.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Game's over.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Easy money for your kicker.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: Everyone saw what was thought we saw what was gonna happen next, and then we saw what actually happened next.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: And again, it's coaching.
9:50
SPEAKER_00: It's coaching.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Dan Quinn.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm surprised he got to the locker room with that terrible, terrible clock management and terrible decision making.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Not having your guys ready.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: That was absolutely no excuse for that.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: His hot seat is hot, it just got hotter, it's on fire.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh if he makes it through the season, it'll be a miracle because they would have won a division in a very, very, very bad decision because the Eagles also lost.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: They lost, as y'all saw, they lost to the Jaguars in London after Jalen Hurts marched down the field with ease, scored, and all they have to do is stop the guy from running back a kickoff 40, 50, 60 yards.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: And what did they do?
10:51
SPEAKER_00: They let him run.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: They let the Jaguars run a kickoff back to get in field goal range and immediately kick a game-winning field goal.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: And I loved every minute of it.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: It was spectacular.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: The only thing I hate seeing more than the Cowboys lose, the more I think I the more sorry, the thing I love seeing more than anything other than the Cowboys win is an Eagles loss.
11:17
SPEAKER_00: And they lost spectacularly.
11:20
SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: So only thing I can other than my my on the field.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: My takeaway was that if the Cowboys lost, I definitely love seeing the Eagles lose.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: And quite frankly, the commanders, the commies, as I call them affectionately, I love seeing the commies lose.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: Not like that.
11:45
SPEAKER_00: Not out of sheer stupidity.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: But the NFC is an absolute joke.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: The NFC East, sorry, it's an absolute joke.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: They all need to be investigated for collusion.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what they're colluding for to see who's the worst.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Probably making trades to the Rams.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: All of them, all of them are gonna end up trading their best players to the Rams, and then they go to the Super Bowl.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: That's all that's I mean, that's gotta be the reason.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: It is just bad playing and bad coaching all around in the NFC East.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: So maybe they can get their act together.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: I no, nope, let me stop.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: They're not gonna get their act together.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: I think we've seen enough.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: I think it's time for us to transition our attention to the AFC East or whatever the freak it's called.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: North.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Let's call it AFC North.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna focus on the AFC North.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Lamar Jackson needs to get back, get healthy.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, the NFC East is trash, and that is it.
12:54
SPEAKER_00: And it has to be the data centers I have spoken.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's shift focus real quick to Dave Portnoy.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: For those that don't know, Dave Portnoy is the founder of uh Barstool Sports.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: A couple of days ago, Dave Portnoy tweets out this guy really is a terrorist.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: That was directed at Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, Abdul El Sayyid.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Plain and simple, plain and simple tweet.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: For no other reason than the fact that the man is happens to be Muslim.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Hey Dave! Hey Dave! That's Islamophobia.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: That is you listening to and creating a narrative out of nowhere that has no basis in reality.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: You listen to Fox News and you listen to all of these other far right white nationalist outlets spew their nonsense and hate and xenophobia, their homophobia, all their phobias, and then you come out and regurgitate that information to a mass audience.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: It's shameful, honestly.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, to my knowledge, he's never made any mention of ushering in Sharia law or making women wear hijabs or putting the Quran in public schools.
14:25
SPEAKER_00: When in fact it's your boy, Mike Rogers, who wants to put flock cameras on every corner, said so himself.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: That's not hyperbole, that's not me saying it.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: And not to go in too deep into it, but this is the kind of stuff that hits with these audiences.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Everything is fear-based.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: Everything is someone's coming after you or coming after your way of life, and we have to stop them at all costs.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Or America's over.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Football is over.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: What did that guy, Benny Johnson, say a couple of weeks ago?
15:00
SPEAKER_00: Football is right wing coded.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: If you and he sort of inferred that if you let the Libs have a hand in it, that somehow football will be canceled and it'll be over.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: When most of the fans in the NFL seem to skew left slightly, and most of the players skew left.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: So what is he talking about?
15:28
SPEAKER_00: They're trying through sports to get you to feel some kind of way.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: They're trying to co-opt and take ownership of it for their culture and for their tribe.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: But whatever.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: Let's shift gears here for a minute.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Check this out.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: I get confused by the left, the protesters.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: Do they not have to be a bigger thing?
15:56
SPEAKER_01: Carry signs around while we're doing the work.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Who is it?
16:00
SPEAKER_01: This is a union town.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: We love hard workers.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: And we have to put Ohio.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: We face evil.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: We face these people who are willing to do anything to destroy us.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: All they do is talk on Twitter.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: But Twitter fingers never built the country.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: Hate has never built the country.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: And the woke socialist movement that we face has never built Third Reich.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: That was influencer slash athlete slash boxer.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: If you can call it that.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: Jake Paul.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: Cosplaying as a far-right authoritarian political leader of some kind.
16:42
SPEAKER_00: Acting like he's a man of the people, like he works among them, and he's just like them.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Like you do real work.
16:51
SPEAKER_00: But he's not the story today.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: Reason why I'm pinpointing him is because there is a trend going around Magaville where it seems more and more and more and more and more, see the Baltimore Ravens, that he's trying to court men and sports fans in general through sports.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: And I've been warning people about this for a while now.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're starting to listen.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: But be that as it may, there's an article in the Hill this week that I want to give to your attention, point to your attention.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read a little bit of it here and then just comment on it here and there.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: So the article is titled GOP Looks for Midterm Enthusiasm Boost from Pro Sports Stars.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: Steering down a midterm election day that is looking increasingly bleak for Republicans, GOP candidates in President Trump are turning to major names in sports for a jolt of energy and publicity.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: Several current and former pro athletes in recent weeks have stomped for Republicans on the campaign trail, including uh campaign trail or introduce GOP hopefuls to crowds in rallies in states like Texas and New York.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: It comes as Trump has been at the center of a major blending between sports and party politics in recent months.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: The president has sought to capitalize on support from star athletes like New York Giants quarterback Jackson Dart and 60-year-old former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens as he rallies for GOP candidates across the country.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Several former athletes and sports figures are separately showing up on political tickets as GOP candidates, and all of them backing Trump.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: From former New York Yankees first baseman Mark Tashera, who's running for U.S.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: House in Texas, former NFL kicker Jay Feeley is running for U.S.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: House in Arizona's first congressional district, and former sports broadcast Michelle Tefoya is running for U.S.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: Senate in Minnesota.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: All of them have pledged to support the president while seeking to win their own races.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: Trump over the past year repeatedly has tapped into American sports culture in a bit to shore up support with his base, particularly in southern states and among young male voters.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, my phone rang.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: He's uh attended several top-tier college football games, as many of you know in recent weeks.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: He's hosted the gold medal winning U.S.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: men's hockey team at this year's State of the Union address and announced last week that he uh would award the presidential medal of freedom to Clemens, the pitcher who introduced him in moments earlier at a Texas rally.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna stop there.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: So, but you get the gist.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: They're still courting men, and this is their strategy.
19:50
SPEAKER_00: Basically, this is their strategy.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: Democrats, by the way, don't want to do this strategy.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: I have no idea why.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: But they need to reach out.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: I've been I've been very vocal and open about this, but they do need to reach out to men more.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be through the lens of sports, but it does have to be meaningful, real, and uh a direct outreach to that audience specifically.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: But not here to talk about that.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Trump and Republicans are increasingly leaning on athletes and former athletes and coaches and sports personalities to bring some juice into their, you know, unpopular campaign.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Your gas prices are high.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: No one cares if Roger Clemens is coming out to introduce you.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Roger Clemens is introducing people at Trump rallies, but gas prices are too high.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: Former Yankees, first baseman.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Everyone knows them, Mark DeSherr, which I'm actually kind of surprised about.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: He's running for Congress.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: You know, and look, I understand why they're doing it.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: Sports gives you instant credibility with certain kinds of voters.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to explain who Roger Clemens is to a lot of these people.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't even like baseball, and I know who Roger Clemens is.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: You don't need a 30-second bio or a bid or anything like that.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: It's much deeper than an ad or just somebody showing up on camera or showing up at a rally.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: It's deep cultural connection, and that's what they're trying to get to.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: It's not just the visibility.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Democrats do it all the time.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: How many times have you seen a celebrity walk on stage?
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Jeez.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: How many times have you seen a celebrity walk on stage for a Democrat?
21:30
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it used to mean something.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: It used to mean a little bit of credibility.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: Now people don't care.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: They don't give a shit.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: They care about their grocery bills and their gas bill.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: The gas tanks being filled up and not having to spend$75 to fill up your SUV SUV.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that is a personal story.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: That's my testimony.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: But that's what I'm saying.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: They're not using, just simply using the athlete's.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: 'Cause they're famous.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: They're using sports as a cultural language.
22:06
SPEAKER_00: They're trying to co-opt sports for themselves.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Football, toughness, masculinity, competition, winning, losing, being strong.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Don't complain.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: No whining.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: No empathy.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Handle your business.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: No matter who is across the field or the court.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: They have seemed to at least, or at least they're trying, to figure out how to take all that stuff and basically wrap it in politics.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: And this is, by the way, coming from the crowd who constantly bitches and whines about how they don't want politics and sports.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: And Democrats still sometimes approach these same people like, hello, um, hello, um, hello, young voter, uh, hello, young male voter.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Have you reviewed our 14-page PDF on uh economic opportunity?
23:09
SPEAKER_00: And no one nobody wants to hear that shit.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: You need to show up and relate to them.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: Can we all agree?
23:18
SPEAKER_00: Show up, be present, relate.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I'm pointing fingers at Republicans, but I'm equally, I'm an equal opportunity finger pointer.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: I'm equally pointing them at the Dems.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: Do you guys know how hard it is to get people on this show?
23:35
SPEAKER_00: I know I'm not famous, I know we're just a startup.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, hell, Ted Cruz was just on college football Saturday talking about that college football bill, which may or not may not be good.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: I've actually read it, I have thoughts on it as well.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: But partially it's the messenger on that one.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: Not even partially, it's fully the messenger and some of the stuff that's in it.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: So, but we're gonna discuss that in another day.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: But the bottom line is at least they're there and they're present, and their visibility is very high, and Democrats' visibility in sports is very low.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: That's why Benny Johnson says that football is right-wing coded because you see all of the stuff that is seems to be marketed to you know, conservative southern country.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: But the bottom line is that they're trying to make politics, Republican politics itself, feel like it is a part of sports culture, and that's the part again that Democrats don't seem to be looking at or paying attention to.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Because the article says that Trump's support among younger men has actually been slipping, which is totally understandable.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: So this isn't necessarily a victory lap, it's more of a hey, let's just try to short things up.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: This more looks more like Republicans saying, oh, damn, we might actually have to work to keep these guys on our side.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: But instead of actually fixing something, instead of ending the war and getting our prices down, they're like, hey, let me introduce you to this shiny athlete from your estate.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: And they're distracting you with that.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: And instead of trying to convince them with another politician, they're borrowing somebody else's credibility, essentially.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Your favorite quarterback, your childhood baseball player, the guy you watch on television every Sunday.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: That's the play.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: Now, does Roger Clemens telling somebody to vote Republican actually change their vote?
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Nah.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: Not him, not the Baltimore Ravens, or whoever else attends, not Jake Paul.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: Right?
26:00
SPEAKER_00: It's not really the point.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: The point is enthusiasm.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: Hearts and minds, not facts.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: It's all feelings, no facts.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: Jake Paul, of what you just heard a few minutes ago, gave you all feelings.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: It's the woke mind virus are coming to take your take all the stuff and they don't work and they all come on.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: None of that is based in reality.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: It's all trying to get you ginned up using him as an athlete with a platform.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: It's getting somebody who wouldn't normally watch a political rally to stop scrolling for ten seconds because Jackson Dart showed up to give you an intro.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: It's making politics feel less like politics, and that's the point.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: But in this world, I think they have miscalculated and it's not necessarily working.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: But they're trying.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: They are trying, and best believe it's gotta be working to some degree.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: Right?
27:12
SPEAKER_00: Right?
27:14
SPEAKER_00: I mean think about it.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: Sports might be one of the last truly massive pieces of American culture where people who completely disagree about something politically will still sit right next to each other in the same room.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: And Republicans are trying to plant their flag right in the middle of it while nobody is watching.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean they're watching, but they're not watching.
27:44
SPEAKER_00: They're not internalizing, they're not seeing it for what it is, they're not seeing the game inside the game.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: You feel me?
27:51
SPEAKER_00: By the way, that in a game where there's collective bargaining, they don't like that.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: Revenue sharing, what?
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Pearls clutched.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: Unions?
28:04
SPEAKER_00: What?
28:06
SPEAKER_00: Can't like that.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: Guaranteed contracts what?
28:13
SPEAKER_00: Publicly financed stadiums where everyone pays a little bit.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: Sounds like socialism to me.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: And it all ends with teammates from completely different backgrounds, races, and creeds and colors come together for a common goal.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: That's sports.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: That is literally sharing the damn ball.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So you can't tell me that football specifically isn't some sort of perfect metaphor for rugged individualism when eleven dudes have to execute the same play or everybody will get smoked.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: You lose.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Everybody's been doing that.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Sports isn't Republican or Democrat.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Sports is American culture.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: And that's why we do this here at State of Play.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: But by the way, I do believe this.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Whichever side understands culture better is going to have an advantage reaching people who don't wake up every morning thinking about this crap about politics.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: And that's the real story here.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Right now, Dems are bringing up Chris Brown.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: Publicans are bringing up Jackson Darton and other NFL players, especially at their hottest point.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: While their spotlight is the hottest.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: So thanks for joining us me for this episode, and thank you for listening.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: But do me a favor, send this episode to someone who's got an opinion.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Again, because everyone has one.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: That means everyone.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Until then, stay informed, stay dangerous, and remember it's all about the game inside the game.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: This is State of Play.
30:51
SPEAKER_00: See you next time.