Latest / TDUK / 3RD & 99 Episode 18 - Season Finale

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3RD & 99 Episode 18 - Season Finale · TDUK

0:00
[music]
0:16
Hey, [music]
0:23
[music]
0:24
hey, hey.
0:28
>> [music]
0:33
>> Hey, [music]
0:38
[music]
0:54
we're back again. We finally done it. We
0:56
finally done it. We made it to the very
0:58
end of the season, guys. And I can't
1:00
wait to bring it to you. I'mqwame joined
1:02
by Tom to my left, to my right, to my
1:04
that way, whichever device you're
1:06
looking at. Now, let's get it started.
1:09
Let's get it started. The final week has
1:11
finally been and done has come. We've
1:13
got some surprises. Yes, we do still
1:16
have surprises, or at least a surprise
1:18
to finish the season with.
1:21
But before all of that, we had one more
1:23
game of football. And this game was the
1:25
game that a lot of people have been
1:27
anticipating,
1:30
but it didn't really look like that.
1:32
Looking at the final score, it seemed to
1:34
be a bit of a a bit of a mess. This one
1:37
here, this one here didn't really seem
1:39
like the final we were all anticipating,
1:41
even more one-sided than the last final
1:43
we saw.
1:44
>> Yeah.
1:45
>> Did anyone expect that at all?
1:48
>> I think, come on. Ultimately, I think we
1:52
expected the team who won to be the team
1:55
who won. But not like that, man. Not
1:59
like that at all.
2:00
>> Not like that. Not like that.
2:03
No,
2:06
>> not like that at all. Um, for a 73 73
2:11
point thriller,
2:14
you would expect something closer to 36
2:16
37. You know, I wouldn't mind that. Both
2:19
teams scored 30. I wouldn't mind that.
2:20
But the Panthers didn't even score a
2:22
touchdown.
2:24
Their offense didn't make it to the end
2:26
zone.
2:28
They scored a field goal and pick two.
2:32
>> They got close a couple of times,
2:35
but
2:37
the Vikings red zone defense, isn't it?
2:39
It's something we've been talking about
2:40
all year, but we just saw it on
2:43
>> They were
2:45
They were strong.
2:46
>> Yeah,
2:47
>> they were insanely strong. I mean
2:51
from what I saw Tom I have to ask you is
2:54
would you put the entirety of that on
2:56
the Vienna Vikings defense or would you
2:58
give some of that fault to the offense
3:02
is surely surely would you put some of
3:05
that on Jameson Wang being flaccid and
3:08
just not throwing touchdown just just
3:11
not I mean I can't say not throwing
3:13
touchdowns but throwing the ball to the
3:14
other team how many time what five times
3:17
it
3:18
Yeah, look, it was [snorts]
3:20
considering he considering he got given
3:22
the MVP
3:24
you a matter of hours if not days before
3:27
kickoff. It's
3:31
he the offense just shot themselves in
3:33
the foot time and time again. It was a
3:36
game of missed assignments and missed
3:39
blocks and bad reads and Wang Yeah.
3:43
taking too long in the pocket when he
3:45
was under pressure and rushing himself
3:48
artificially when he had the time and it
3:50
was just
3:52
everything that could have gone wrong
3:54
did perfectly.
3:58
>> Yeah. Just seemed to me like Yeah. Vera
4:01
had their perfect day. Everything went
4:03
right. I mean, have you ever played in a
4:06
final or a big game that you thought was
4:08
going to be close and the score ended up
4:10
being like this? Honestly,
4:13
I mean, it's fun for the first two
4:15
quarters. Yeah, you're winning. But then
4:16
the rest of it is just like, all right,
4:18
cool. Fun's over now. Can we go home
4:19
now? Can we just lift the trophy
4:20
already? Cuz this is not the game we
4:22
came for, but I'd imagine people on both
4:25
sides. I mean, I'd imagine there's some
4:27
disappointment on both sides, but a lot
4:29
less on the Vikings camp. I mean they
4:33
finished with the W, won the
4:34
championship. Cannot complain with that
4:36
at the end of the day. Surely.
4:38
>> Sure. Absolutely not. I mean what you
4:41
were saying about frustration. Um you
4:44
could see that on both sides um through
4:48
the game. I mean by the end the Vikings
4:50
were as you said just seeing it out. Get
4:53
me my ring. Get me my medal. Let me go
4:56
home. Um but you saw it with the
4:59
Panthers as well.
5:01
They could have kept that score down a
5:04
lot. Not going to say they could have
5:06
won the game because I think it became
5:08
apparent midway through the first
5:10
quarter that that wasn't going to
5:11
happen. But they could have kept that
5:14
score line down if you know heads were
5:17
dropping in the secondary. The open
5:18
field tackling through the second half
5:21
was atrocious. [snorts]
5:23
>> Bad. Very bad.
5:24
>> The worst I've seen it in a long time.
5:27
And that's before we talk about, you
5:29
know, this is a professional team.
5:32
>> I wanna I want to bring up a point
5:33
actually specifically about tackling
5:35
because I know this point has been made
5:37
multiple times by multiple people who
5:40
are
5:42
eyes into the league. You know,
5:45
>> the tackling, the open field tackling is
5:48
noticeably poorer than
5:52
college football and rugby in this
5:54
country. Rugby in Europe typically is
5:57
where the tackling comes from. Right? A
5:59
lot of people say guys who start playing
6:00
rugby and then go to play American
6:02
football typically grasp tackling before
6:05
anything else. And usually in my
6:07
experience watching guys come from rugby
6:08
to American football either really good
6:10
or really bad. You're one of those two
6:12
camps. There's no there's no in between.
6:14
It's either you get it really quickly or
6:16
you don't. And for there being a lot of
6:19
people who have come from rugby to play
6:20
American football in Europe,
6:22
particularly in the UK, um I'd imagine
6:24
France as well and some other countries,
6:26
but
6:28
for the standard of tackling we see in
6:29
rugby, the tackling American football in
6:31
Europe has not been the greatest, at
6:34
least this season, should we say.
6:36
>> I mean, from a from a coaching
6:38
perspective, um I'm a northerner. I'm
6:42
from rugby league territory. Um, when
6:46
you coach somebody how to tackle in
6:47
rugby league because it's because it's
6:50
two lines that of players that are heads
6:52
up on each other, there's less pursuit
6:54
tackling to do. Line breaks happen, but
6:57
there is generally less pursuit tackling
6:59
to do. And you're taught that the first
7:02
guy is to make contact and hold the
7:05
rusher up and then it's actually the
7:07
second guy in that makes the tackle. Um,
7:11
you don't get that opportunity in
7:13
American football. If you're a safety,
7:14
you're expected to make a tackle. If
7:16
you're a linebacker on the backside
7:18
chasing an outside zone all the way
7:20
across, you're expected to make the
7:21
tackle. And I think that's where the
7:24
transition from
7:26
rugby countries to American football.
7:30
I think that's where it gets lost in
7:32
translation a little bit. If
7:34
>> if you're going in and your muscle
7:35
memory is I'm going to hold the guy up
7:37
and somebody else is going to come help
7:39
me make the tackle
7:43
they won't cuz the second guy into the
7:44
tackle's the offensive lineman pushing
7:46
the running back over the top of you and
7:48
he's just going to keep going.
7:50
>> That's interesting. Do you know what
7:51
being someone who has never really been
7:54
into rugby with all due respect, no
7:56
disrespect to the sport, I've just never
7:58
really been into it. Right. And I've
8:00
only ever played rugby when it was for
8:02
the school because I'm fast. I'm an
8:04
athlete and they were like, "Go on the
8:05
wing, we'll give you the ball, you can
8:06
just run out of the way and whatever."
8:07
Right? That's my entire experience of
8:09
rugby. So to hear that from someone who
8:13
has at least at the very least a little
8:15
bit more understanding of rugby than I
8:18
do is eye opening because I never
8:20
thought about it like that. I never I
8:21
just thought it as you know I've played
8:23
rugby before like to tackle people and
8:25
now I've got a helmet so my head ain't
8:27
going to get messed up whilst I do it.
8:28
So for me it was like yeah cool I can go
8:31
diving into tackles now also on the flip
8:33
side is also playing as a corner now
8:36
having played offense and you see a lot
8:37
of running backs run towards the corner
8:40
sometimes the corner is the one player
8:41
who's not blocked especially on the back
8:43
side right so knowing that and knowing
8:46
that a lot of offenses and a lot of
8:48
running backs see you as essentially the
8:50
physical weak point on the team because
8:51
you're the least huge you're not a
8:53
defensive line you're not built like a D
8:55
line you're not built like a linebacker
8:56
and saf are usually bigger And usually
8:58
in the middle you got to get past two
9:00
you got to get past two lines your D
9:02
line and your linebackers before you get
9:03
to the safeties. So a lot of runbacks
9:04
run towards the corners. So then that on
9:07
top of that a lot of corners can't
9:08
tackle.
9:10
So if I'm coaching a young corner the
9:12
first thing I'm getting them to do is
9:13
learn how to tackle. Learn to tackle in
9:15
the open field. That's one of the
9:16
biggest things that will make a
9:18
difference for not just the secondary
9:20
but the entire defense. You know your
9:22
secondary has to all be able to tackle
9:24
and it's not always the big highlight
9:26
real tackles. It's not always the smack
9:27
into a guy. Sometimes it is the
9:29
shoestring, hold on to a guy's ankle as
9:31
he's running away just to slow him down
9:33
enough for another guy to catch up.
9:35
Sometimes it's the really messy ones,
9:36
but those are the ones that made the
9:38
difference sometimes. And I've not seen
9:40
a lot of that in Europe this season.
9:41
I'll be honest with you.
9:43
>> No, I think there is also something to
9:45
be said about
9:47
the cornerback position. Not just
9:50
corners, defensive secondary in general
9:53
at the grassroots level because
9:56
ultimately very few if any of the
9:59
homegrown guys who played will have, you
10:02
know, gone to the States and played
10:03
college ball and they'll be grassroots
10:05
guys that have been promoted through.
10:07
Um, vast majority of corners and
10:11
defensive backs and safeties that I see
10:14
at this level
10:16
are guys that were receivers at 18 and
10:18
couldn't catch. You know, we're dealing
10:20
with guys that you have to teach to not
10:24
be contact shy. And deep down in their
10:26
soul, they still want to be a receiver
10:28
and they're still a bit contact shy. And
10:32
that's a whole other thing to talk
10:34
about. It's a weird concept actually
10:36
because the way you say that DBs, a lot
10:39
of DBs are failed receivers. It is true.
10:41
Not all DBs, don't get me wrong, not all
10:42
DBs. But the same way people say in
10:44
football, you know, I'm going to do this
10:46
again. The same way people do say in
10:48
football that fullbacks often are are
10:51
failed wingers.
10:52
>> Yeah.
10:52
>> Because people say, "Oh, you know, the
10:53
fullback, they're just not they're just
10:55
not skillful enough to get past the guy.
10:57
Now they can now they can play fullback
11:00
and not let anyone get past them, but
11:01
they've got the speed of a winger. Now
11:03
you've got fullbacks that are
11:04
overlapping and going into center mid.
11:06
It's it's the way the sport develops and
11:08
changes. But no, it's definitely it's
11:11
interesting the way you say it.
11:14
It's [gasps]
11:16
but
11:18
bringing it back to the game we're
11:20
talking about. The corners weren't the
11:23
the corners tackling weren't the
11:25
problem. The corners getting lost in
11:27
coverage was the problem.
11:29
Mhm.
11:30
>> It the problem in terms of tackling was
11:33
the big boys in the middle. It was the
11:36
defensive tackle that had arm that had
11:39
both arms around the running back who
11:41
then just ran through him and into the
11:43
end zone. It was the linebackers who
11:45
came down and filled the gap and lost at
11:48
first contact.
11:50
It was constant and it was all game.
11:53
>> It really baffles me. It really baffles
11:55
me how because for someone like me
11:58
playing on the defense, I'm usually
12:01
in terms of actual body mass, I'm
12:04
usually one of the lightest people on
12:05
the field. So I know as a corner I have
12:08
to go in full pelt or I'm getting
12:09
trucked into next time zone. So now I
12:12
see DBR receivers who can't catch, of
12:14
course. So now
12:17
I made lose my thought. Now I'm seeing a
12:21
big lineman or a big linebacker, hefty
12:23
guy, 6'5,
12:25
200 kilogram. Okay, maybe not 200. You
12:27
get the point, right? Big big big guy
12:30
runs in, fills the gap, can't make the
12:32
tackle. And I'm like, look at the size
12:33
of you and you can't make the tackle.
12:35
The running back is half the size of
12:36
you. There's some some of these guys are
12:38
built like units. I was about to swear
12:40
there. Some of these guys are built like
12:41
units.
12:43
But I I don't know what it is. It's just
12:45
like where have you learned to tackle?
12:46
Where have you not learned? cuz some of
12:47
the skill, some of the technique that
12:49
I'm seeing, and I'm not a professional
12:51
athlete,
12:52
but you can see it's night and day the
12:55
difference between some players you can
12:56
tackle and some players you can't.
12:59
>> But
13:00
it's what we came back it, you know,
13:02
taking it back to what we started this
13:04
conversation with. It was heads
13:06
dropping. It was two picks in the first
13:09
quarter, four by halfime.
13:13
the the defense was working on a lot of
13:15
quick change.
13:18
There'll have been on at least one
13:20
occasion, I absolutely promise you, I
13:22
wasn't on the sideline, but I absolutely
13:24
promise you there'll have been a quick
13:25
change call at one of the turnovers
13:28
while the defense were in huddle making
13:30
an adjustment and they'll have gone back
13:32
out there not 100% sure what they were
13:34
doing, conceded again, and it it just
13:37
spirals and it dominoes from there. And
13:41
yeah, it's not happened to me in a
13:42
final, thank goodness. But we all h
13:45
we've all been on a sideline where
13:46
that's happened.
13:47
>> Have you ever played defense?
13:49
>> No. Thank the Lord.
13:52
>> The worst feeling in the world, I'll
13:53
tell you now. The worst feeling in the
13:54
world is defense have come on. We we've
13:58
enjoyed a long drive. The other team has
14:00
driven down the field. Finally. Finally,
14:02
we get a stop. Great. Cool. We've just
14:03
come on right into the coach's huddle.
14:06
As soon as the last player gets into the
14:08
huddle, coach starts speaking, right?
14:10
Defense back on the field already you're
14:11
taking the mick. There's no way. Enough
14:15
times has happened to me enough times.
14:17
And as a corner, especially as a corner
14:20
when you know the other team's going to
14:21
run the ball at the middle and they keep
14:22
salving in a new wide receiver, new wide
14:23
receiver, new wide receiver, and all
14:25
they run is fade, fade, fade, fade,
14:27
fade. So you've got me sprinting that
14:28
way, sprinting back, sprinting back that
14:31
way, sprinting like a cartoon at this
14:32
point. I'm absolutely gassed. I've come
14:34
off the field, can't even find my water
14:37
bottle. We're back on the field again.
14:39
There's no way. Like, there's absolutely
14:41
no way. So, yeah, you add that into not
14:46
getting the full message across with
14:47
with like a potential adjustment, not
14:49
everybody being on the same page. You
14:51
add that on top of that, your team is
14:53
getting absolutely destroyed. You're
14:54
getting slaughtered on defense. There's
14:56
no way that you can that you can do
14:58
something. It takes a lucky pick or a
14:59
lucky fumble to then give yourselves
15:02
more time. And even then, the offense
15:03
has to slow it down and give you enough
15:06
time to even get your talk, get your
15:08
team talking. And if you can't do that,
15:10
well, wave the game goodbye.
15:12
>> Yeah, there was there was so many
15:16
moments in the broadcast of the game.
15:18
Shout out to the guys who did the
15:19
broadcast. It was a really good,
15:20
well-run stream actually for the final.
15:23
Um, there were so many sideline shots
15:27
while the Panthers defense were on,
15:30
slogging it out, doing their absolute
15:32
best.
15:34
There was so many shots of Jameson Wang
15:35
just like sat on a Lucas aid cooler
15:38
looking like he'd been slapped. And it's
15:43
how many times as a quarterback can you
15:45
put your guys in that position
15:49
and not like show the fact that it has
15:54
your own performance has upset you.
15:56
>> Um
15:58
>> I coach I coach quarterbacks. It's what
16:01
I do. But
16:03
if you're putting your team in a
16:06
position where they've gone behind
16:08
because you've thrown a couple of picks
16:10
and then you can't slow down when you
16:12
need to to at least give your defense
16:14
time to breathe because you're just so
16:16
preoccupied about forcing the ball
16:18
downfield
16:20
into double, triple, whatever coverage,
16:24
you're just you're creating your own
16:26
problems.
16:29
>> Absolutely. Absolutely. It needs to it's
16:32
an effort from all three sides of the
16:34
field at the end of the day. Of course,
16:35
special teams is a lot less prevalent
16:38
than offense and defense. And of course,
16:40
your defense can only do so much, but if
16:41
your offense doesn't give them time to
16:43
actually rest and breathe,
16:46
>> well, you're just cooking yourself at
16:47
that point, you know. And um when it
16:49
comes to the quarterback for example,
16:50
the leader of the team,
16:53
there is no team that I can play for
16:55
where I can look at my quarterback
16:57
sitting down on Walker with his head in
17:00
his hands and then look at the rest of
17:03
my offense and look at the rest of my
17:04
defense and say, "Right, guys, we've got
17:05
the confidence to go win this game."
17:07
There's no way it's not happening. Like
17:09
as soon as I see my quarterback dropping
17:11
his head, he's supposed to be I mean
17:12
it's not always that the quarterback is
17:14
the leader of the team, but the
17:15
quarterback is the leader of the team,
17:17
right?
17:18
>> Back though, he has to be.
17:20
>> There you go. Even if you have more
17:21
senior members on other units, if all
17:24
your wide receivers are senior guys and
17:26
and the main club captain is your
17:28
offensive lineman and your defensive
17:30
players are all whatever, cool. But if
17:33
your quarterback is not playing up to
17:35
scratch, there's nothing you can do. And
17:37
yeah, I watched a really interesting
17:39
Pton Manning interview um through the
17:42
week um and he basically said he was
17:45
talking about his time at college, you
17:47
know, came in as one of the most highly
17:49
recruited quarterbacks out of high
17:51
school like ever and then went straight
17:54
in as a freshman at college. And he was
17:56
saying that as a young guy, as a
17:58
quarterback, you've got to lead with
18:00
your play rather than verbally, but you
18:03
still have to lead because you're the
18:05
quarterback.
18:07
Mhm.
18:08
>> And
18:09
it it pains me to say it, but that's
18:13
where the Panthers failed in this game.
18:16
There was there was no onfield
18:18
leadership. There was no point where any
18:21
of the any of the more senior guys just
18:23
pulled Wang and told him to breathe. But
18:26
there was equally no moment where Wang
18:29
just sort of said, "Okay, I've got this.
18:32
Everybody chill out."
18:34
they let themselves spiral and it was
18:37
awful to watch.
18:39
>> Yeah. Um I look at it and genuinely you
18:42
know you're absolutely right. There's
18:45
nobody on the field to pick them up at
18:47
the end of the day and I've been in a
18:48
situation where I'll be honest with you
18:50
sometimes I play corner and you line up
18:53
against the other wide receiver and
18:54
you're looking
18:56
you're looking at and you're like man
18:58
I'm getting cooked man I'm really
18:59
getting cooked today. Thankfully, the
19:01
quarterback hasn't looked my way because
19:03
goodness me, I'm holding on to his
19:05
shirt, giving away flags, everything,
19:06
whatever. Right? Sometimes it's like
19:09
that. You're getting absolutely burnt
19:10
like toast on a on a toaster that's been
19:12
whatever. Cool.
19:15
You still got to keep your head up. Even
19:17
if your head is down, you've got to give
19:18
off the impression that your head is up,
19:20
right? Cool. You just been burnt for a
19:22
60 yard touchdown, right? Head up. I
19:24
don't know. Just
19:27
Just Right. It was on me. My bad. It
19:30
won't happen again. Cool. Keep your head
19:31
up. Cuz as soon as you start dropping
19:32
your head, other people start dropping
19:33
their head, right? You're the starter in
19:35
your position. You drop your head. Bear
19:37
in mind, if you're the starter, your
19:38
backup is almost certainly not going to
19:40
be as good as you.
19:42
>> So,
19:43
>> yeah, it,
19:44
>> you know, if you're not playing your
19:45
best, who who else is going to step up?
19:46
Cuz somebody needs to do it.
19:50
It's
19:52
It was really really frustrating to
19:54
watch all the way through because,
19:58
you know, we're making it sound doom and
19:59
gloom. We're making it sound like it was
20:01
an absolute blowout from the first
20:04
whistle. There were moments, you know,
20:07
midway through the first quarter, start
20:09
of the second quarter before the score
20:11
started to get silly where
20:15
the Panthers could have swung the
20:18
momentum. You know, it was late, but the
20:22
the um PAT return, special teams, I
20:26
think the best play of the day, that was
20:27
absolutely electric, but that could have
20:31
been a momentum turner. We've seen
20:33
crazier things at that point. I think
20:35
they were only I say only but they were
20:37
like 24 25 points down at the time.
20:41
We've seen crazier things but
20:43
>> it wasn't ridiculous
20:44
>> on the
20:45
>> Yeah. But on the possession that but on
20:48
the following possession they came out
20:51
and it was really clear that mentally
20:53
they were trying to win the game
20:56
every single snap. it was I've got to
20:58
score on this snap and he was they were
21:02
forcing the ball into some crazy
21:04
positions rather than just trusting that
21:07
run game that we know is so good. This
21:11
is one thing and I'm going to come to
21:13
that run game in a second because um
21:15
this is one thing I've noticed with a
21:16
lot of teams especially usually the
21:18
bottom fielders in the league whether it
21:19
is the AFL whether it was the ELF in the
21:22
past but sometimes what you get is the
21:25
quarterback is constantly trying to
21:26
force the ball to their American
21:27
receiver as far down the field as
21:29
possible which that's not the way to go
21:32
in Europe if you want to win stuff
21:34
because the end of the day yes everybody
21:35
knows the American receiver is talented
21:37
but you've got to use your brain at some
21:39
point you've got to think okay like
21:40
we've got to have some sort of variety,
21:44
you know? You can't just have the same
21:45
thing over and over again. We're just
21:46
going to beat you with our fastest
21:47
athlete over the top because I mean
21:50
quite frankly, the guys who play this
21:52
sport in this continent, yes, they they
21:54
are educated, right? They're not just
21:56
guys who are just going to turn up and
21:58
make the same mistake over and over and
21:59
over and over again. They're going to
22:00
learn. So, you can't keep you can't run
22:02
the same basic gimmick and expect to
22:04
score from it because by this point in
22:06
the league,
22:07
no idea what that was. By this point in
22:09
the league, by this point in the season
22:12
as well, guys know, okay, American
22:14
receiver over there, all these other
22:16
threats have not done anything. Let's
22:18
just double cover, triple cover the
22:19
American guy. Quarterback's not going to
22:21
throw it to their native
22:23
>> wide receiver three who's dropped every
22:25
pass this season, you know.
22:27
>> Yeah, let's just look at how um the you
22:30
jump over to the other league for the
22:32
sake of conversation. Let's look at how
22:34
the Nordic Storm ran their offense in
22:36
the final when they pretty much when
22:39
they did a re similar thing to the
22:41
Munich Ravens. It was they they mixed it
22:44
up. It was a lot of the time it was FS
22:46
going downfield and um the American
22:49
receiver Bolio was running perimeter
22:52
screens and
22:54
just just moving them around the
22:56
formation regardless of changing the
22:59
play or whatever. just moving your a
23:01
import receiver around the formation
23:04
opens up so many possibilities
23:08
and it just felt at times and the
23:10
Vikings knew that. The Vikings did it
23:12
really well, but at times it just looked
23:14
like the Panthers were hitting their
23:16
head against a brick wall hoping
23:17
something would change. I think a lot of
23:20
the time as well, like you said, with
23:21
moving your wide receiver, moving your
23:23
American import receiver around, I mean,
23:25
uh, with the Nordic Storm, for example,
23:28
a blueprint of a good offense, typically
23:30
to stereotype it, yes, you have your
23:32
American quarterback, American wide
23:33
receiver, you'll have a homegrown
23:36
uh, wide receiver who's talented enough
23:38
to be up or talented enough to be an EM
23:40
import somewhere else. You'll have maybe
23:42
an EM import running back or homegrown
23:43
running back who's good enough. You
23:46
might have a homegrown or European tight
23:49
end as well and that's pretty much your
23:51
offense. Of course, you need a strong
23:52
offensive line, but you don't need to.
23:55
There are other guys. You need to have
23:57
other talent other than your American
23:58
receiver essentially other guys who can
24:00
take some of the load. Otherwise, it's
24:02
just one-dimensional offense. You see
24:04
American guy thrown to American guy and
24:06
you have nine homegrown players on the
24:09
field who don't touch the ball and
24:10
basically watching which is incredibly
24:13
easy to beat right now to go back on Ros
24:17
Panthers' run game. Remember we've been
24:19
saying their run game is very has been
24:20
very strong all season.
24:23
Remember last week they only managed 18
24:26
yards outside of their quarterback. I
24:29
believe it was outside Jameson Wang only
24:30
managed 18 yards. remember they had a
24:32
lot of passing yards and uh we did say
24:35
look if you're the Panthers
24:37
your passes your pass is going to be
24:39
strong. Don't forget about the run
24:40
because don't get me wrong the Vikings
24:41
have a good strong run a good pass but
24:44
we kind of predicted that most of their
24:46
success would come through the air. Now
24:48
with that being said the Vikings did a
24:51
great job in shutting down the run game
24:52
of the Panthers but they also shut down
24:54
the passing game. Now, we already
24:56
mentioned that Jameson went through five
24:57
picks, but listen to this for a stat
24:59
line, right?
25:01
He actually made more completions than
25:03
Ben Holmes. So, I'm going to quickly go
25:04
to Ben Holmes. Ben Holmes was 14 for 14
25:07
for 18 for 331 yards, six touchdowns, no
25:10
picks, and a sack. Right.
25:13
Jameson Wang completed 15 passes out of
25:17
26. So, more attempts, but also more
25:20
completions.
25:21
only 92 yards, zero touchdowns, five
25:25
interceptions, and also added 73 rushing
25:28
yards and a sack on 13 carries.
25:32
>> That is, if I'm absolutely honest, that
25:35
is perfect blueprint of how to shut down
25:39
a passing game and a run game. You know,
25:41
they had 92 rushing yards outside of
25:44
Jameson Wang. So, it's a bit more than
25:45
last week,
25:48
but overall to shut down their passing
25:50
yards by that much, I think they managed
25:53
over 300, possibly 400 last week. So, to
25:56
shut down that much, it's night and day.
26:00
It's night and day. Honestly,
26:02
>> it makes you wonder if honest, it it
26:06
really does make you wonder whether
26:07
there was somebody on the Vikings
26:10
sideline that knew all of the Panthers
26:12
hand signals and they were calling the
26:14
plays into the defense because it it
26:16
looked like they had 13 guys out there
26:18
on some plays. It was every everything
26:24
bro called Vienna had an answer to
26:27
absolutely everything.
26:30
And I've I've not seen anything like it.
26:37
300
26:39
over 300 yards.
26:42
It was
26:44
300 and something yards more. I want to
26:47
say like 300
26:50
316 I think it was
26:54
yards fewer that they had this time
26:55
around compared to last week.
26:58
>> Yeah. went from 404 down to 92.
27:01
Hopefully my maths is right cuz uh I did
27:03
pretty decent in maths in school. So if
27:05
I got that one wrong, you might as well
27:07
just kick me off the show at this point.
27:09
But yeah, I mean what a rotten day for
27:13
the Panthers. What a rotten day for
27:14
their fans.
27:16
Yeah, great for the Vienna Vikings. But
27:20
for a final,
27:22
>> for a final,
27:24
do you know what? I'm going to go ahead
27:25
and say what people are going to say.
27:26
people, a lot of people want to see
27:27
Vienna Vikings against Nordic Storm. I
27:29
know it won't happen this year, but if
27:33
we had that would if we had that with
27:35
the current import rules, of course,
27:37
Vienna have a lot more import than
27:38
Nordic Storm. Do you think that would be
27:40
a fair fight to say whoever wins is the
27:42
actual champion of Europe?
27:49
>> The it it comes down to the imports. I
27:51
mean, I know we're we've had lots of
27:53
conversations about um the Americans and
27:56
the imports. They're not they're not the
27:59
be all and end all. You can't win a team
28:02
with just them. But having extras, it it
28:07
skews it. It really does skew it. Um
28:11
before this game, I was really on the
28:15
side of, yeah, it'd be an easy even
28:17
game. It'd be fun, but
28:21
>> I don't think you can have fun playing
28:24
the Vienna Vikings at the minute.
28:26
>> Yeah,
28:29
>> it's a tough one because with the
28:30
Vikings, the the the level of homegrown
28:32
talent they have, and I'll have to be
28:34
careful here because I don't want to
28:35
fall into the category of insulting them
28:37
for being too good because that's never
28:38
what I want to do. It's always it's
28:40
always praise and if anything, it's more
28:42
of an
28:43
>> it's more of a call for other teams to
28:45
get better, right? I did the same thing
28:47
with the London Warriors. I did the same
28:50
thing with the UEI Bullets and they went
28:51
ahead and blocked me. So, uh I don't
28:52
root for them anymore. And uh come on
28:56
Bruno Alburners week one. So, um yeah,
28:59
it's all about, you know, we want to we
29:02
want the other teams to match the best
29:03
team. We don't want the best team to get
29:04
worse to match the other teams, right?
29:07
>> And the Vikings is that they have some
29:09
of the best homegrowns, but then they're
29:11
able to scoop up some of the best
29:13
imports as well.
29:15
So when Madrid brothers went out of
29:17
business, obviously the AFL introduced
29:19
the three Spanish solidarity rule.
29:22
>> He signed three Spanish imports.
29:24
I'm pretty sure the Vikings signed three
29:27
of the best
29:30
and essentially everyone else was left
29:32
with
29:33
>> the next tier, the next tier, right? Of
29:35
course, now players can choose where
29:36
they want to play. It's not the NFL or
29:39
you know, we're not contractually
29:40
obliged to play for certain teams and
29:42
stuff. So fundamentally, if you're a
29:44
good player and the best team wants you,
29:46
you're going to go to the best team,
29:47
make the best team even better.
29:49
>> Yeah. We need more to incentivize
29:51
players to want to play for the lower
29:52
teams, more to incentivize the best
29:54
players to want to play for the most
29:56
struggling teams, you know.
29:58
>> Yeah. I
30:01
I just want to say on the realm of, you
30:04
know, it's all praise. We look on the
30:07
positives for everything.
30:10
on the Rotswave side of this. That is a
30:13
team that have been on the cusp for a
30:17
couple of years now
30:20
and they made it to the finals. Say what
30:22
you will about the split. Say what you
30:24
will about
30:25
one league, another league, who's
30:28
actually good, what the
30:31
this is a massive step forward for
30:32
Otwave. They will be stronger moving
30:34
forward because of it. They can now, you
30:37
know, in terms of the recruitment and
30:40
going out, they can now say they were
30:42
finalists. They've gotten over that
30:44
hump. Now, the next hump is winning it.
30:47
I think they are now in a much better
30:49
position to do that.
30:52
>> Interesting position as well.
30:54
>> Yeah,
30:54
>> it's a very interesting position because
30:56
for them to do it,
30:58
not only they're going to have to prove
31:01
that yes, they're the best team in
31:02
Europe and they've wanted to be the best
31:03
team in Europe for at least 6 years.
31:05
Mhm.
31:06
>> But now they're going to have someone
31:08
out there to prove that they might not
31:09
even be the best team in Poland.
31:15
>> Company. They're going to have company.
31:16
And before the graphic world, as the
31:19
graphic comes up, it's it's it's the
31:21
worst kept secret over the past week.
31:23
>> Yeah.
31:24
>> The Eagles are joining from the capital
31:26
of Poland, from also the capital of
31:28
Poland.
31:30
The Eagles are joining the AFL for next
31:32
year. Um, and the first thing I want to
31:34
say is
31:36
the Rosa Panthers, their comment, they
31:39
didn't say, "Welcome to the league."
31:40
They didn't say, "Oh, we can't wait to
31:42
face you guys." You know, you know what
31:43
they said? Good luck.
31:46
>> Yeah.
31:46
>> They said good luck. So, uh, I can't
31:49
wait till I can't wait to find out more
31:52
information. I can't wait to see if they
31:53
play against each other, what happens,
31:54
if they play against each other, where
31:56
they play against each other, how they
31:58
play against each other. This is
32:00
Football Heritage. Shout out, Mourinho.
32:01
>> Yeah. I I might be wrong. I And please
32:05
if somebody knows the Polish League and
32:08
I'm wrong, please do correct me, but I
32:11
believe there is history between the
32:13
Warsaw Eagles and the Rosav Panthers
32:15
domestic team.
32:18
>> I imagine there would be.
32:20
>> I believe that is two teams that have
32:22
competed at the top level of the
32:25
domestic league for years.
32:29
To my knowledge, the Panthers were
32:31
dominant before they joined the ELF
32:33
and then the Eagles pretty much became
32:35
one of the more dominant teams the past
32:37
few years. I think they've won like the
32:38
past two or three.
32:40
Uh what's the Polish final called? I
32:42
have no idea.
32:45
>> Probably be something I can't pronounce.
32:47
I'm trying to learn Polish in a minute
32:48
and it's a nightmare.
32:50
>> I just about learned how to pronounce
32:51
Tachinsky the other day.
32:55
We're getting there. We're getting
32:56
there. There's one word that I know and
32:58
it's not a word I can say on this stream
32:59
unfortunately but I learned it in school
33:01
so you probably get what it is.
33:03
>> Yeah, it starts with a K. Yeah. Yeah.
33:05
[laughter]
33:07
>> Um
33:08
>> but yeah, that's the news. And um there
33:10
will be at least well
33:13
at this moment in talking there will be
33:15
nine teams in the AFL and seven teams in
33:18
the I personally would prefer
33:22
even numbers in both leagues.
33:24
Now, for that to happen, that then
33:27
brings up the question, does there need
33:29
to be another team in each league to
33:31
even out the numbers? And of course, the
33:33
elephant in the room is who's that going
33:35
to be? And people have been talking
33:37
about, I want it to be this team. I want
33:38
it to be that team. I think it could be
33:40
this team. I think it could be that
33:41
team.
33:43
But based on,
33:46
bear in mind, it says British,
33:48
but
33:50
we expand it to are we including Ireland
33:52
as well? I think we
33:55
>> do we have to teams from not just
33:58
British, not just from the UK, but the
34:00
entire British Isles. So that includes
34:02
Belfast, Dublin. I'm not too
34:04
knowledgeable about football in that
34:05
area, but as as a destination, as a
34:10
venue, I can see a likelihood in the EF
34:12
in the AFL putting a team in one of
34:14
those places to say, "We want it as a
34:16
location." And then they'll think about
34:17
the players afterwards cuz they're I
34:19
think the EFA is much more likely to
34:21
say, "Right, show us the team. Show us
34:22
the players. shows us you've got this,
34:24
this, and this in check. Whereas the
34:26
airfield is much more likely to say, we
34:28
like this place. We'll stick a team
34:29
there. Show us you got here's the money.
34:31
Bring us the players. Bring us the fans.
34:33
Bring us all that. Here it is.
34:35
>> Yeah. I think there's a really I came
34:38
across a really interesting point
34:39
through the week that um the London
34:43
Guard are
34:46
ostensibly by first appear appearance
34:49
the natural successor to the London
34:52
Monarch's NFL Europe team.
34:54
>> Yeah. And if that is
34:57
the way we're thinking about it,
35:01
there hasn't been a pro team in Scotland
35:03
since the NFL Europe collapsed.
35:06
>> The Scottish Claymore around.
35:08
>> I went to the first London Warriors game
35:12
against the Ross Panthers. I'm pretty
35:14
sure I saw someone wearing a Scottish
35:15
Claymore jersey. I might be wrong with
35:18
this. I might be projecting, but there
35:19
was definitely a London Monarchs jersey.
35:21
I'm pretty sure I've seen some Scottish
35:22
Claymore jerseys. And I know in the days
35:24
of Barcelona Dragons, the Claymore fans
35:27
were going over to Barcelona to watch
35:29
the Dragons and support them. So there's
35:33
definitely a lot of Scottish Claymore
35:34
fans around.
35:36
Um there is a huge community up in
35:40
Scotland. Honestly, I think it this is
35:44
my hot take for the episode Quams. If
35:47
the Claymores came back, whether they
35:49
baseed themselves in Glasgow or
35:51
Edinburgh, they would have an easier
35:53
time putting a regular fan base together
35:55
than either of the London teams do.
35:59
Actually, you know what? I don't doubt
36:00
that simply because
36:05
the f I feel like the further north you
36:07
go, the more happy and bubbly people
36:08
get. You down south, everything is uh
36:12
you know, I went to hole last week for
36:14
the first time ever. was at Stagu and um
36:18
everyone there is all like yeah hi how
36:20
you doing whatever like well talkative
36:22
and everything right
36:24
>> you come down to London you come down
36:25
south you walk next to someone you say
36:28
one thing to them you say hi to someone
36:30
you're like why why is this guy even
36:31
talking to me why who the hell does
36:32
suspect person think they are like you
36:34
don't want to talk to people don't want
36:36
to talk to each other especially in the
36:37
winter right and also there's an element
36:40
of
36:43
people feel like
36:45
people are trying too much down south.
36:49
There's always a case of nah this guy's
36:51
doing too much. You know, this guy
36:53
thinks he's American because he wants
36:54
everyone to come watch him play American
36:56
football, whatever. Whereas up north, I
36:58
feel like people would just be like,
36:59
yeah, let's go watch the team. That's my
37:01
impression. I might be wrong. I might be
37:04
wrong. I've not been up north enough.
37:06
What?
37:07
>> Right.
37:07
>> When I'm gonna I'm gonna give a shout
37:10
out to one of the absolute staples of
37:14
the Britall community. Right. I don't
37:16
know her name, but if she's watching,
37:19
mega shout out. Every time I take a team
37:23
up to play against the East Killilbride
37:26
Pirates, and I've done it with three or
37:28
four teams now, every time I go up
37:31
there, there is one woman that sits in
37:34
the stand with a cowbell and just
37:37
screams, "Let's go Pirates!" every sort
37:39
of first or third down.
37:43
And it's just
37:45
that's what we want sort of in a really
37:48
s you know a lot of guys make a lot of
37:50
jokes about all of the above but
37:54
it's just passion for the sport.
37:57
I mentioned her. She's a pirate. She's a
37:59
legend. Pirates. Cowbell super fan.
38:03
Should we call her super,
38:05
>> right? An absolute legend. And that's
38:07
just the general vibe of Scottish fans.
38:13
>> That's what you want at the end of the
38:14
day. I would love to be able to go to a
38:16
Britall game and feel an atmosphere like
38:20
I'm at
38:23
an Eastern European football game or
38:25
basketball game. the way those fans the
38:28
flares and the t look we don't have if
38:32
you can get enough fans into an American
38:34
football game
38:35
>> right we don't have the reputation that
38:37
like football football has in this
38:39
country where there's hooliganism and
38:40
stuff right you go to a rugby match
38:42
there are stadiums where you can still
38:44
stand in the terraces you can't do that
38:45
in football in the Premier League you
38:46
can do it in like lower leagues I think
38:48
exercise is like the biggest um extor
38:51
has like the biggest um terrace stand
38:53
out of all football teams in England
38:56
But American football doesn't have that.
38:58
So you can still have like a massive
39:00
atmosphere. You can still do all the
39:01
things that like they don't let you do
39:03
at football. You can bring your drink to
39:04
the seat and drink whilst the action is
39:07
happening. I'm pretty sure you can
39:09
probably bring a flare to the stadium. I
39:10
mean, it's it's a you're watching guys
39:12
kick a ball around and chuck a ball
39:14
around on a field or in some turf.
39:16
You're standing outside of the cages.
39:18
You can do whatever you want.
39:20
>> Yeah.
39:20
>> I'm pretty sure I've seen people bring
39:22
fireworks to a game before. You can't
39:24
bring fireworks to a stadium, right? So,
39:27
there's an opportunity here to create a
39:29
real electric atmosphere, a real like
39:32
ultra style atmosphere and everything.
39:35
But the first thing we need is numbers.
39:37
>> Yeah.
39:38
>> You know, big props to um
39:44
we didn't even make a name for it. We
39:45
didn't even get a name, but the girl
39:46
with the cowbell um the super fan from
39:49
Pirates, right? Big props to her because
39:51
it takes a lot to do it on your own. If
39:53
anybody knows who the lady with the
39:57
cowbell at the Eastil Bride games is,
40:00
tag her, please. I need a name. I talk
40:03
about this woman just in Brit
40:05
conversations way too much to not know
40:08
who she is. [laughter] Post on your
40:09
bedroom wall. Do you know what? Do you
40:12
know what? Whoever see this, reach out
40:14
to reach out to us cuz I would love to
40:15
get her on the show. I would love to get
40:17
on the show. Even if it's a year, two
40:20
years down the line, whatever. because
40:22
if we get a team in Scotland,
40:24
she's the first person who's coming on.
40:26
She's the first person who's coming on
40:27
live. So, uh, let's make it happen.
40:29
>> Let's make it happen.
40:32
>> Now, um, with that being said, who can
40:34
we see in European? What do we want to
40:37
see in European football? Aside from the
40:40
Scottish clay wars, do you think there's
40:41
anyone else who could join?
40:45
I mean
40:48
there is a good system in and around the
40:51
Irish Wolf Hounds if they were going to
40:53
find a regular base and
40:57
you know if the Irish Wolf Hounds were
40:59
going to play out of you know let's say
41:01
Dublin and base themselves out just
41:03
there because have you have you been to
41:06
Dublin?
41:08
>> Uh it's one of my places that is still
41:10
on my wish list to go. I missed the
41:13
chance to get tickets for the last
41:14
year's NFL game there. It was actually
41:16
on my birthday and my team was playing
41:18
>> and the tickets came and they went, they
41:20
were gone and I didn't even manage to
41:22
get into the line before they were gone.
41:23
So, um, still on my wish list. I want to
41:25
go. I haven't been yet. Now,
41:26
>> when you when you go to Dublin, there
41:29
are the there's this chain of, you know,
41:32
merch, touristy merch shops called
41:35
carols, right? And you know, you can get
41:37
all of your Guinness baseball caps and
41:41
whatever else in there. They sell Irish
41:44
Wolf Hounds American football jerseys in
41:47
tourist merch shops.
41:48
>> That is impressive. That is impressive.
41:51
>> It's It's incredible.
41:54
>> Can you imagine going to London on like
41:56
a touristy day out right past you
41:59
walking past Big Ben and all your tax
42:01
scene and everything
42:03
>> and you're seeing London Guard jerseys
42:05
being sold. You're seeing London
42:07
Warriors jerseys being sold. Like
42:10
if we were, if this was a proper
42:12
country, we'd have London Blitz jerseys
42:13
and Wembley Stallions jerseys being sold
42:16
at like JD Sports.
42:20
>> That's where we should be. We're not
42:22
there yet. We're not there yet. This is
42:24
the thing. No, there's not really anyone
42:27
that does fan jerseys. Everyone does it
42:29
independently, but they're not like real
42:31
jerseys, if that makes sense.
42:34
You don't get
42:39
there is the culture for it small scale.
42:42
Um but yeah, we're talk but if there's
42:46
but the next team to come up it's going
42:48
to be you know a rerun of the Scottish
42:50
playors. It's going to be some variation
42:53
of you know the Belfast Trojans/Irish
42:57
Wolfhounds.
42:59
I can't see one, you know, now we've got
43:02
two London teams.
43:05
I can't see another one popping up in
43:08
England for at least a good while. Yeah,
43:12
and I'm going to get flack off from, you
43:14
know,
43:16
pet from some Aztecs fans who are
43:17
wanting to see that happen, some Titans
43:20
fans who want to see that happen.
43:22
I just think both leagues are more
43:25
interested in expanding
43:28
into new markets rather than sapping the
43:32
markets they've already got. I can see I
43:35
can see them going back for another
43:36
Estanbul team.
43:38
>> I see the AFL being more likely to do
43:40
that.
43:41
>> Yeah, I I can really see, you know, I
43:45
can really see another team popping up
43:47
in Spain. I don't off the top of my head
43:50
I don't think I'm pretty sure we've
43:52
never had a team based out of Portugal.
43:54
>> Never had a team in Portugal.
43:56
>> No, I I I couldn't
43:59
>> the only teams that were previously in
44:01
the NFL Europe or instead of teams I'll
44:04
say locations because obviously London
44:06
Guard wasn't in NFL Europe. They were
44:07
the Monarchs, but you know,
44:08
reincarnation essentially, whatever you
44:10
want to call it. The only locations that
44:12
were in NFL Europe that aren't in that
44:14
haven't been in the ELF, AFL or EFA
44:18
are
44:21
Amsterdam and Scotland. When I say
44:23
Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, where were
44:25
they based? I think they were they split
44:26
their timing between the two. I think
44:29
Glasgow is bigger and has more stadiums
44:31
or something. [clears throat]
44:33
>> But there are something else that would
44:34
need to be worked out, but I agree with
44:36
you. I see it more likely being someone
44:38
somewhere else as opposed to another
44:41
team in England in our city. Although,
44:43
like you said, they have the potential,
44:46
but I think it needs a few more years. I
44:47
think it needs more years of development
44:49
and more time to let perhaps we need to
44:52
let these two teams develop and build a
44:54
rivalry with each other. You know, who
44:56
knows? Maybe the next two or three Brit
44:58
Bulls Brit bowls could be Aztecs be
45:00
titans with maybe the Blitz having a
45:03
have a having a shout in there as well.
45:05
Y
45:05
>> it could be a three-way that way of, you
45:07
know, the three strongest team. I'm not
45:09
I'm not going to say that the Blitz are
45:11
going to end up going into Europe
45:12
because I can't imagine any city having
45:14
three teams when New York and LA don't
45:17
even have three teams, you know. I can't
45:20
I can't imagine, you know,
45:22
but I think there's a potential. But the
45:25
things we want to see in European
45:26
football, anything else other than
45:29
Scotland, Istanbul, I mean, aside from a
45:32
merger, because that's the obvious.
45:34
Yeah,
45:34
>> obvious
45:38
>> in terms of, you know, bringing it back
45:40
to cities that I want to see them
45:41
expanding into, you know, while we while
45:45
we're still in a position to be talking
45:47
about expansion.
45:49
What would be electric is Buddhapest.
45:52
Give me a Hungarian team.
45:56
Give me a properly done Hungarian team
45:58
because the drone had potential.
46:01
>> But that's all it was. It was just
46:02
potential, potential, potential for
46:04
every year until they left.
46:06
>> But now, but we're in the realm, you
46:07
know, with the guard and, you know, the
46:09
lights and the Rams and we are talking
46:12
about a league, you know, we're talking
46:15
about leagues that aren't scared of
46:18
setting a team up
46:21
and if we're talking about a world of
46:24
this is a location that I want a team to
46:26
be in, they don't exist yet. Let's make
46:28
it happen.
46:30
you the sky's is your limit at that
46:32
point. You can just start throwing darts
46:33
at a map and say that would be a cool
46:35
city to have a team in. Let's make it
46:37
happen.
46:38
>> Absolutely. I mean, I think with Nordic
46:39
Storm, for example, you can use you most
46:42
people could say that they didn't think
46:44
Nordic Storm would have the talent to be
46:46
one of the strongest teams, right?
46:49
>> But they took their time. I'm sure they
46:51
were announced before they became a
46:53
team. So, they were already having talks
46:54
and everything. They did their studying.
46:57
They did their work. and they had a big
46:59
launch and obviously it helps that they
47:01
signed Glenn Suna and Jadrien Clark from
47:03
Ranfire. You know, it helps that they
47:05
signed Yeah. two of the best players in
47:07
the league from day one, but they've
47:10
always been a force and Denmark has
47:13
never been Denmark and Sweden are not
47:15
countries where people think, oh, you
47:16
know, American football in those
47:17
countries is light years ahead of
47:18
everywhere else.
47:20
>> This is the first time we've ever had a
47:22
champion from a non-Germanspeaking
47:24
country.
47:25
>> Yeah. because all the others previously
47:27
were
47:29
Germany and Vienna Vikings literally it
47:34
to see the sport to see them doing well
47:37
suggest to me that yeah there are places
47:39
that don't have teams that could still
47:42
do some damage you know we'd be having a
47:44
different conversation about the London
47:45
Warriors if they'd had their imports
47:47
from the start of the season if they
47:49
were planned from the year before and if
47:52
they were able to fill their entire
47:54
import slot
47:56
their entire import roster. We'd be
47:57
talking, we'd be having a very different
47:59
conversation about them at the end of
48:00
the season. They could be the ones
48:02
playing against the Rose Panthers, you
48:04
know, if it was different circumstance.
48:06
So, I think it all comes down to
48:07
preparation as well.
48:09
>> Yeah, massively. Um there's just in
48:14
terms of building teams and building the
48:16
profile of everything though, um there's
48:18
a bit of news through the week sort of
48:21
not related to European football at all.
48:23
Um, Roger Goodell signed a new contract
48:26
with the NFL
48:28
and he's made it pretty clear in the
48:31
last few years that he envisages in the
48:35
next sort of 10 years or so a team based
48:39
out of Europe that plays in the NFL.
48:43
Any things that we want to see in
48:44
European football? For me, not that.
48:47
>> I think he's smoking car exhaust.
48:50
>> We're trying to build
48:53
>> [laughter]
48:54
>> We are trying to build something here
48:57
>> and what we're building is really
48:59
exciting and it's young.
49:02
>> But if it if the NFL just dropped an
49:05
actual NFL team in continental Europe,
49:10
>> you're absolutely judging.
49:11
>> It'll just it'll just swallow all the
49:13
interest. The fans will move on.
49:15
>> The fans I mean there's two or three
49:17
points I want to make. I mean number one
49:20
nobody in their right mind cuz look in
49:21
this country I know quite frankly um the
49:24
generation
49:26
of people that's
49:28
sort of what 10 20 30 years older than
49:30
us there's a lot of 49ers fans right
49:34
>> there's a lot of Eagles fans in this
49:35
country there's a lot of Patriots fans
49:36
there's a lot of quite a lot of Steelers
49:37
fans in this country a lot of Dolphins
49:40
fans in this country
49:42
and I think there's one other team that
49:43
I'm forgetting that is quite well
49:45
represented in this country but
49:47
nonetheless
49:49
You have lost your godamn mind if you
49:51
think that people are going to stop
49:53
supporting whatever team they've been
49:54
supporting for years and years and years
49:56
to start supporting London whoever who
49:59
have just been propped into the NFL or
50:01
relocated from Jacksonville because
50:03
nobody wants them over there. There's no
50:04
way people are going to be I'm going to
50:05
abandon my team and start supporting
50:07
these guys. It's not happening.
50:09
>> Two, all of the fans over there will
50:12
will stop because they've lost their
50:13
team now, right? Think about what
50:14
happened to St. St. Louis Rams when they
50:17
lost their team, those guys start
50:18
supporting. So if you take a team away
50:20
from American City, let's say for
50:22
example the Jags or people say oh
50:24
they're not very good or whatever. Take
50:25
them away suddenly who are all those
50:27
guys going to support you know um
50:29
American sports are very different
50:31
because they're because of the franchise
50:32
system teams move around a lot more. Now
50:34
you can't really do that in Europe
50:35
because lo and behold it doesn't work.
50:37
This is why nobody likes Milton Keons
50:40
right because it just doesn't you can't
50:43
do it right. So for them to suddenly
50:46
just pick up a team and plop them over
50:48
in in Europe, it's not going to work the
50:49
same way. You have to have teams
50:50
organically develop in
50:54
in the community essentially, right? You
50:56
have your um you have the Euro League,
50:59
the Euro Basketball League, and this is
51:00
essentially the same thing, right? They
51:02
have a Real Madrid of basketball, they
51:04
have a Red Star Belgrid, they have like
51:07
teams that are football teams that have
51:09
other sporting departments. So they have
51:11
some maybe some of the same fan groups,
51:13
but then you have teams that are based
51:14
in the area. They've been in those areas
51:16
for a long time. You know, this is why
51:19
Vienna Vikings do well. They've existed
51:21
since the 80s. They've built their fan
51:23
base slowly, right? Um Ryan Fire is a
51:25
unique one because they they're new.
51:28
They're still a new team. Yes, they
51:29
existed in NFL Europe,
51:32
but they're a bit of a unicorn case. All
51:35
the other teams that have good strong
51:36
fan bases have been around for a time
51:39
either in this current incarnation or
51:42
previously in a different format. Right?
51:45
So it takes time to build these things.
51:47
Now if you just suddenly have all of us
51:49
are in Europe taking our time to build
51:52
these
51:53
build these connections, building a fan
51:55
base, building the strength of the team,
51:56
getting this getting the team culture
51:57
and support, building up all these years
51:59
and then suddenly Roger Gell goes, "Oh,
52:01
here you go. There's an NFL team. you
52:04
you've just undone all the work that
52:05
people have done and guess what there's
52:07
no guarantee that this team is here to
52:09
stay. So now um what you have now is I
52:13
think it's what two games at Wembley and
52:14
a game at Tottenham or vice versa or
52:16
whatever. There's one game this year in
52:18
the in um at Tottenham that's struggling
52:20
to sell because they're putting more and
52:22
more and more games over. Eventually
52:24
everyone who wants to see a game,
52:25
they'll see a game, they'll see see
52:27
another game, they'll see another game.
52:28
People get tired because some people
52:31
>> people don't want to see the Jags every
52:32
year, right?
52:34
>> I was just about to say the game the
52:36
game that they're struggling to sell
52:38
is the Jags game.
52:42
>> The the games that they sell every year
52:45
is the game is the Jags divisional game.
52:49
to which this year is the Texans cuz
52:51
that's the one [snorts] I'm going to and
52:54
whichever the other game is.
52:58
They they are beginning to struggle
53:01
selling the second Jags game because
53:03
there's just a fatigue of it. It's how
53:08
of how often
53:10
can you know every year we're paying
53:14
daft money as fans to go down and watch
53:18
Trevor Lawrence be a bit mid for a few
53:21
hours have a few n beers
53:24
>> and you know the standard is not the
53:26
standard it is in the NFL because all of
53:28
the players are jetlagged they're
53:29
playing in the cold they're playing
53:31
early in the morning and they probably
53:33
just want to go back to America
53:35
>> [laughter]
53:36
>> So really and truly, you're giving us
53:39
technically speaking a worse a
53:41
suboptimal product and you're charging
53:43
us more for it over the gimmick of it
53:44
being international and everything. I'm
53:46
not saying international series is a bad
53:47
thing. Don't be wrong. It's great,
53:49
right? But there comes a point where,
53:51
like you said, the fans start to get
53:52
fatigued. The quality of the game drops
53:56
>> and to be quite frank with you, yeah,
53:58
it's easy to draw 60 to 90,000 fans once
54:02
or twice a year. to do that week in week
54:05
out like for a whole season becomes a
54:07
different problem. Now if you bring a
54:09
team to London right because they talk
54:10
about oh you can't just have one team in
54:12
London and the rest of the league over
54:14
there. So then they start talking about
54:16
okay a team in London a team in Paris a
54:18
team in Munich a team here wherever.
54:20
Well let me tell you something else.
54:22
When there's an NFL game over in Europe
54:25
30% or a third of the fans come from the
54:28
country that the game is in. So NFL
54:30
London you'll have a third of the fans
54:31
coming from the UK. A third of the fans
54:33
will come from other places in Europe. A
54:35
lot of it is Germany and a third of the
54:37
fans will come from America. So you now
54:40
have that
54:42
60,000 seat stadium at Spurs full of
54:45
20,000 Brits, 20,000 other Europeans and
54:48
20,000 Americans.
54:50
Now you're going to move an NFL team
54:52
over to the UK and expect those same
54:56
Brits to fill out those stadiums week in
54:57
week out. It's not going to happen.
55:00
You're going to those numbers, right?
55:01
Whereas make it a European league. We
55:05
have a European league, right? The
55:06
tickets aren't 200 quid, 300 quid,
55:08
whatever. The tickets are £10,20, maybe
55:12
30. The beers are cheaper. The
55:15
atmosphere is obviously a lot smaller,
55:17
but it's so much more. You might know
55:19
players directly. I went to uni with
55:22
that guy. I used to play ball with that
55:23
guy over there. You know, I used to run
55:26
routes with this guy. and whatever it
55:28
is, right,
55:30
is a lot more closer because you know
55:32
people. It's it's it's almost like going
55:33
to watch non-league football compared to
55:35
going to watch Premier League. You're
55:37
more likely to know the players or be
55:38
closer to the players who are lower
55:40
league, right? And essentially what it
55:42
is, you have that non-league aesthetic
55:45
or that non-league vibe to it and this
55:47
is our local league. Let's go and
55:49
support our local players and push our
55:51
players onto the next level.
55:55
And that's what I think we need. We
55:56
don't need Roger Goodell saying we're
55:58
going to prop a team here because people
56:00
will see the gimmicky side of it and
56:02
then it will very quickly wear off and
56:05
we will see how barren it really is to
56:08
be fair. It's not the same as it's not
56:10
the same as doing it once a year. Yeah,
56:13
it's Yeah, but as soon as the NFL London
56:18
especially because it's three games now
56:22
so heavily relies on the gimmick of
56:27
the guys from the the people from the
56:29
States can come over, do a Fortnite
56:33
exploring London
56:36
and catch two games while they're here.
56:38
>> Mhm. It's it's so heavily built on the
56:42
gimmick, but then if you put a team
56:45
here, you got they got you got all of
56:47
the boring logistics of, you know, do
56:50
they have to stay at home for a month
56:52
and play four consecutive home games and
56:55
then go over there and play four
56:56
consecutive away games. You've got all
56:58
of that going on under the surface as
57:00
well. But just in general of
57:03
building interest, I I've not spoken to
57:07
a single person who's even a little bit
57:10
interested with an NFL team over here
57:12
because of what it would do to our
57:15
European leagues that we love so much.
57:18
>> Absolutely. I also think that
57:23
for a lot of people, I'm going to forget
57:24
what I was going to say. I'm going to
57:26
completely forget my point here.
57:30
You've got to be careful with it. That's
57:31
all I'm going to say is essentially you
57:33
just you've just got to be careful with
57:34
it because
57:36
like you said, we have a product. You
57:38
cannot dilute that product. You know,
57:40
you cannot
57:43
It's the same way. It's in the end of
57:45
the day, it's their sport. That's what I
57:46
was going to say. Fundamentally, it is
57:48
their sport. We play it. We love it. We
57:50
enjoy it. We talk about it all sorts. We
57:51
love when they come over here and play
57:53
games.
57:55
But in order for us to have a strong
57:58
enough league, in order for there to be
58:00
a team that is even good enough to
58:01
potentially for that to even happen, we
58:04
need to develop our leagues. We need our
58:05
leagues to get stronger and stronger and
58:07
stronger until more players, more youth
58:10
players start going over to college.
58:12
That's the first step. More youth
58:13
players have to go over to college until
58:15
eventually it gets to a point where some
58:17
of those players come back and then
58:19
eventually you have more than one NFL
58:21
academy in this country. Then you have
58:23
colleges in the UK who can coach players
58:26
almost as good enough as colleges out
58:28
there. It might only be D3 level, but
58:31
it's something, right? Once we once our
58:33
domestic level gets closer to their
58:35
domestic level, then we can start
58:37
talking about [snorts]
58:38
>> competing against the NFL. And even
58:40
then, you know,
58:43
>> we don't have that money.
58:45
>> That's a good point though. How electric
58:48
would it be? you know, because for you,
58:50
I cover and follow every level of
58:55
British American football as closely as
58:57
I physically can,
59:00
but I fall out of touch with what's
59:02
going on with the NFL academy. Um, how
59:05
electric would it be if IMG opened a
59:08
rival school within the M25?
59:12
>> That'd be insane.
59:13
>> Something like that. That would be
59:14
electric on be insane.
59:18
That's what that's one thing that's
59:19
needed. The NFL Academy is great for the
59:21
UK.
59:23
But who who do they compete with in the
59:26
UK? Everyone they play against has to be
59:29
abroad.
59:30
>> Well, who do they compete against? You
59:32
SGS is sick for like
59:36
>> too easy. It's it it's not I'm I'm
59:40
working with the under19's regional
59:42
program at the minute and we get these
59:45
insanely talented under 19 ballers come
59:49
in but I get four camps with them. I
59:53
get, you know,
59:56
12 16 hours of field time
1:00:00
and then we've got to play two games.
1:00:02
>> It's not enough. There isn't the
1:00:04
structure
1:00:06
for bringing our young lads and ballers
1:00:12
to the level of,
1:00:14
you know, their high school recruits.
1:00:17
It's [gasps]
1:00:19
it's frustrating, but we are getting
1:00:22
there. It's a real slow process because
1:00:25
for everybody involved, it's a labor of
1:00:27
love, not a labor of capital. Mhm.
1:00:31
>> We don't get paid for this just yet.
1:00:33
We're not at the level where we can in
1:00:35
America. They can pay a coach half a
1:00:38
million a year or more. Couple million a
1:00:40
year to go do whatever. Right? You're a
1:00:42
good coach. We're a bad school. Give us
1:00:44
some wins. Here's 10 mil. Do what you
1:00:46
need to do.
1:00:47
>> It would never happen in the UK. Not at
1:00:49
that level. You would never get a D2
1:00:52
Brit team where all the guys finished
1:00:54
getting
1:00:56
smoked 50 nil. Everyone's like, "Let's
1:00:59
go to the pub."
1:01:02
You're never going to change that
1:01:03
overnight to a performance team. It will
1:01:05
take time. You need to to a program. It
1:01:07
will take years and years and years.
1:01:08
I've experienced it at uni. I've seen
1:01:10
teams who uh people I know have played
1:01:14
for them, people I know have coached for
1:01:15
them. They weren't a program. Then they
1:01:17
decided one year to lock in. It takes
1:01:19
forever to get that program off the
1:01:20
ground. Unless you have a massive influx
1:01:22
of students one year that are all on the
1:01:25
same page and then continue that trend,
1:01:28
it it's just a never- ending battle.
1:01:31
>> Yeah,
1:01:32
it's
1:01:35
right.
1:01:38
Our wonderful producers changed the
1:01:40
slide and we've been yapping about
1:01:43
the NFL Academy [laughter] for about 20
1:01:45
minutes now.
1:01:46
>> I have a habit of doing that. My bad.
1:01:48
Don't worry.
1:01:48
>> We We get carried away. We do this. It's
1:01:50
the last episode of the season. We're
1:01:52
allowed some grace. But European team of
1:01:55
the year, who have you got? And if we
1:01:58
say the same thing, we are we're going
1:02:01
to get smoked in the group chat.
1:02:04
>> You know, I was going to go by player,
1:02:06
but I really really really
1:02:08
I can name some honorable mentions for
1:02:10
players. I was going to go gimmicky. I
1:02:13
know I know it's so easy to pick the
1:02:15
home option, but I was going to go
1:02:17
really gimmicky and say London Guard for
1:02:18
being the team that's announced. and we
1:02:20
finally we etc etc etc right but I'm
1:02:25
going to give honorable I'm going to
1:02:26
give a multiple honorable mentions out
1:02:28
right first of all shout out to Ross
1:02:30
Panthers for making the final for making
1:02:32
their first final
1:02:33
>> again shout out to the Warriors for
1:02:34
making the playoffs when nobody thought
1:02:36
they would um shout out to the Prague
1:02:40
Lions for getting it together um when
1:02:43
everybody thought at the start of the
1:02:44
season everyone thought they were going
1:02:45
to struggle for bringing it back and
1:02:47
give us an entertaining finish to the
1:02:49
Same as the two Raiders. Shout out to
1:02:51
them for getting their marbles together
1:02:53
and making it work. Shout out to the
1:02:55
Nordic Storm for just being the Nordic
1:02:57
Storm. I mean, at this point, I'm going
1:03:00
around the whole league, you know, to be
1:03:01
fair. But
1:03:04
in terms of individual players, I mean,
1:03:07
every
1:03:10
British import, I guess, shout out to
1:03:13
them for
1:03:16
putting Britain on the map, letting some
1:03:18
people, the people who knew, people who
1:03:19
believed in us first, letting people
1:03:21
believe that Britain could do something.
1:03:22
And of course, the Warriors came in,
1:03:24
started the trend, and the Guts have an
1:03:25
opportunity next season to continue that
1:03:27
and show how much better British
1:03:30
American football can be.
1:03:32
Um, shout [clears throat] out to all the
1:03:34
guys at TD UK for making this possible.
1:03:36
You guys are the real MVPs because
1:03:38
without you guys it wouldn't be
1:03:39
possible. Um, shout out to Tom. Shout
1:03:42
out to Simon. Shout out to Mattail.
1:03:44
Shout out to Jess. Shout out to Elliot
1:03:46
who joined us. Shout out to Nomi. Uh,
1:03:48
who else joined us? Shout out to James
1:03:49
and Steph from London Warriors.
1:03:52
I know there was someone else who joined
1:03:53
us that I've forgotten. Um, there's a
1:03:56
couple more names out there. Shout out
1:03:57
to Lee as well. He joined us for one
1:03:58
week as well.
1:04:00
I mean, shout out to all you guys, the
1:04:02
viewers. You guys are the main ones, the
1:04:03
one the main ones that make it happen
1:04:04
because without you guys, it would not
1:04:06
be possible. So, uh, that's my team of
1:04:09
the week, team of the season. That's my
1:04:11
team of the season. Pretty much
1:04:13
everybody, to be fair, we all make the
1:04:14
team. Teamwork makes the dream work. And
1:04:16
there's no INT team. There's no I in
1:04:19
team.
1:04:21
So, that's my answer.
1:04:24
>> I don't even know what to do with that
1:04:25
cuz I was just going to say the Warriors
1:04:27
and be quiet.
1:04:29
>> [laughter]
1:04:32
>> No. Um,
1:04:34
look, this is
1:04:37
this has been my first sort of jump into
1:04:41
doing all of this. I've written about
1:04:43
Brit Ball for years. I've covered Brit
1:04:46
Ball separately for a couple of
1:04:49
different channels, publishers, whatever
1:04:51
you want to call them. And I text Matteo
1:04:55
one afternoon
1:04:57
about doing the Uniball show and the
1:05:00
next thing I know I'm on here with you
1:05:02
guys and it's been great and we will be
1:05:06
back. Next season is happening. Don't
1:05:09
know what the league's going to look
1:05:10
like. If it's league plural, if it's
1:05:12
league
1:05:14
>> whatever.
1:05:15
>> Could be one league, could be two
1:05:16
leagues, could be three. We just hope
1:05:17
it's not zero.
1:05:20
Honestly,
1:05:22
don't even put three out there. I
1:05:25
>> I don't want it to be three less. If we
1:05:28
have any more than one, I will be
1:05:29
disappointed. Two, I can understand
1:05:31
because we have two now, but three, oh
1:05:33
my, the ELF comes back. If ZK comes back
1:05:36
like, "Yeah, boys, we're just going to
1:05:37
have Hamburg Sea Devils against Collins
1:05:39
Centurions for like 12 weeks in a row
1:05:41
and then they both make the final."
1:05:43
Yeah, I'm not buying it. I'm not buying
1:05:46
it. Oh, look, I'm not buying it, but I
1:05:51
didn't buy that we were going to get a
1:05:52
second league until, you know, 48 hours
1:05:55
before it happened. It's it's the wild
1:05:59
west out here
1:06:00
>> and we do our absolute best to cover it,
1:06:04
but it is what it is, and it's what it
1:06:08
is is never boring.
1:06:10
>> It's been a it's been a great year. I
1:06:11
mean, honestly, uh there have been some
1:06:13
games that have been boring.
1:06:16
There have been times where I've watched
1:06:17
games and I'm thinking, you know, I want
1:06:18
to I really I could do a better job than
1:06:20
some of these guys. And there's game
1:06:21
there's always going to be games that
1:06:22
are boring. But overall, the whole
1:06:24
season talking about it all. There's fun
1:06:26
parts. There's parts you don't want to
1:06:27
talk about. There's parts that we want
1:06:28
to avoid. There's parts that we wish
1:06:30
there's things that we wish teams didn't
1:06:32
do or did better or we call teams out
1:06:36
for doing the wrong thing. That's one
1:06:37
thing we'll never stop. I'll never stop
1:06:38
doing that. As much as I I'll always
1:06:41
praise what's good, I'll always call out
1:06:43
what's bad as well because the end of
1:06:44
the day, we all have to hold each other
1:06:46
accountable because we're all hit in it
1:06:47
for the same goal at the end of the day.
1:06:49
Even though the ELF, not the EF at the
1:06:51
moment, but the AFL and the EFA, even
1:06:54
though they have different
1:06:55
understandings and different goals of of
1:06:57
how to get there, they still want to get
1:06:59
to the same destination. They still want
1:07:01
to
1:07:02
>> a thriving league with teams all over
1:07:04
Europe that's strong here, strong there,
1:07:06
and strong everywhere. Now, with that
1:07:08
being said,
1:07:11
there's going to be a long offseason.
1:07:12
There's going to be a lot of questions
1:07:14
being asked for both leagues, a lot of
1:07:15
questions to answer, a lot more things
1:07:18
to iron out. There's going to be some
1:07:19
new teams. Hopefully, no teams leaving,
1:07:22
but there's going to be a lot more
1:07:23
action next year, more games, more fire,
1:07:25
more players, more energy. We can't wait
1:07:27
to cover it all. I can't wait to be
1:07:29
there. It's going to be absolutely
1:07:31
legendary. There's going to be so much
1:07:33
more stuff. I can't wait to show you
1:07:34
guys. I'm already I've already started
1:07:36
planning for next season.
1:07:37
>> Yeah.
1:07:38
>> But yeah, it's going to be an absolute
1:07:39
blast. I cannot wait personally.
1:07:42
>> Well, it's a long off season for you.
1:07:45
For me, this off season is about two
1:07:49
weeks cuz we start covering Uniball.
1:07:52
Good and proper.
1:07:55
>> A lot sooner than I thought it was
1:07:57
actually. Oh my goodness.
1:07:59
>> I mean, uh I may or may not I may be
1:08:01
there. I may be in the vicinity. I mean,
1:08:03
I'll be always watching and supporting
1:08:04
my Bruno
1:08:07
every day of the week, every week of the
1:08:09
year. I'll be supporting that team and
1:08:11
I'll never stop supporting them. Call me
1:08:12
bias, but it is what it is. I mean, I
1:08:14
can never stop being a fan. Now, I'll be
1:08:18
there rooting for my boys and I'll be
1:08:19
there planning for next season.
1:08:21
For me personally, it's going to be a
1:08:23
long winter. I'm probably going into
1:08:25
hibernation and just rehabbing because
1:08:27
right now I've got this shoulder rehab
1:08:29
to focus on. So that's going to be me
1:08:32
>> just getting back, getting stronger to
1:08:34
next year. And I cannot wait. We cannot
1:08:36
wait to bring you more football, more
1:08:38
European football. And hopefully next
1:08:40
year we have two, if we do have two
1:08:42
finals, hopefully they're both go down
1:08:44
to the wire. Hopefully both go out to
1:08:46
the wire because that's what we want,
1:08:48
action.
1:08:49
>> And if we do have two finals,
1:08:53
I want an agreement between the leagues.
1:08:55
Whe two final winners,
1:08:58
>> whether it's just a random friendly that
1:09:00
they play for the sake of playing or
1:09:02
whether there's medals on the line and
1:09:04
they do it properly.
1:09:05
>> At this point, I actually don't mind,
1:09:08
but it needs to happen.
1:09:10
>> Just give us something. [laughter] And
1:09:12
with that, I think that's the perfect
1:09:14
way to end season one.
1:09:16
>> Yep.
1:09:16
>> We'll be back after the hiatus. We back
1:09:18
for season two. It's going to be way
1:09:20
bigger, way more flashier, way more
1:09:21
funnier, way more energetic, way more
1:09:23
happier, and there's going to be a lot
1:09:25
more football and hopefully a lot more
1:09:27
guests, a lot more action, a lot more
1:09:30
just football. I cannot wait to bring it
1:09:32
to you guys. For me personally, I'm
1:09:34
Kwaame. It's been a blast. I've enjoyed
1:09:36
the season. It's been an absolute
1:09:38
pleasure. Going to have to love you and
1:09:39
leave you guys. Thank you for watching
1:09:41
season one. It's been an absolute blast,
1:09:43
guys, fromWame and Tom, whichever way he
1:09:47
is.
1:09:49
We'll see you guys next season.
1:09:52
>> See you later, guys.
1:09:55
>> Thank you very much for watching this
1:09:56
episode. It's been sponsored [music] by
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