Latest / Sid & Friends In The Morning / Owen Pataki | 06-22-26

Transcript

Owen Pataki | 06-22-26 · Sid & Friends In The Morning

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Own a Pataki, former Cornell Big Red football player, but
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: now our ambassador to football in Ukraine. Tell us, are
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: they loving American football in Ukraine even amidst a warlike situation?
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Hey, gentlemen, I heard you're talking about traffic issue. Sorry,
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: we're driving through central Ukraine right now. Receptions a little spotty.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: But yeah, they are. They're enthusiastic, They're they're good at it.
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  Speaker 2: They love the sport. It's not as popular as soccer obviously,
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  Speaker 2: like most European countries, but they've got a really enthusiastic
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: league and some pretty great young players coming up through
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  Speaker 2: the through their ranks.
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  Speaker 3: Owen the Ukrainian guys that play football, Are they the
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  Speaker 3: same size as the football players in the United States
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  Speaker 3: or are they bigger, stronger?
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  Speaker 2: So they have they have flag leagues as well as
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  Speaker 2: tackle football leagues. The tackle one has been muted since
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  Speaker 2: the war for MS reason. A lot of the guys
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  Speaker 2: joined the army. I've met and I know a lot
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  Speaker 2: of the tackle guys, and they're definitely as big as
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  Speaker 2: your average American football player. They've got some big guys,
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  Speaker 2: they've got some skill, finesse, skill position guys as well.
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  Speaker 2: They're definitely big boys over here. They can they can
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  Speaker 2: definitely you know, throw throw the pads around. They're not
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  Speaker 2: afraid to hit for sure. So yeah, I mean if
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  Speaker 2: they went on an NFL or NGA a workout training regimen,
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  Speaker 2: i'mretty sure they could definitely hold their own with sli
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  Speaker 2: American football players.
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  Speaker 1: Oh and I want to ask you about in a second,
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  Speaker 1: about the fact that, of course this is an important
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  Speaker 1: deal for America financially because you know, the NFL's interest
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  Speaker 1: in Europe is well documented. They're going to play even
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  Speaker 1: more games in Europe this year. It's a very big
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  Speaker 1: good But before I do that, because I don't want
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  Speaker 1: this to get to only talk about the sports aspect
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: of it, how have the Ukrainian How do you feel
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  Speaker 1: that the Ukrainian people feel about the United States now
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  Speaker 1: four years into the war with Russia? Is their resentment?
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  Speaker 1: Is their gratitude? Is are you helping via football and
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  Speaker 1: other things, helping to keep this relationship going because at
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  Speaker 1: some point this war is going to end and we're
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  Speaker 1: all gonna have to reassess where we are in the world.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I don't. I don't want to speak for
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  Speaker 2: the entire country because you know, there's there's differing different
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  Speaker 2: opinions depending on where you go, where you talk to
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  Speaker 2: you but from the Ukrainians that I've spoken to, they're
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  Speaker 2: definitely they they love America. That they do. They do
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  Speaker 2: like us. They appreciate the sport we did give, they
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  Speaker 2: appreciate a lot of the you know, there's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of private sector to our own interest and investment in Ukraine,
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  Speaker 2: and there's a lot of morale support from from YouTube
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  Speaker 2: personalities and American media figures like there there's still a
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  Speaker 2: spotlight on Ukraine from certain parts of American society. So
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  Speaker 2: I think Ukrainians they still like us. They're they're still
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  Speaker 2: grateful and appreciative, but I think they they'd love to
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  Speaker 2: see more engagement from US. I do think there is
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  Speaker 2: a you know, they they do want to hear from us.
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  Speaker 2: They do, they do need our support, they do want
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  Speaker 2: our support. So's I'd say it's a mixed bag in
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: that sense. But they're they're they're optimistic. They've been through
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  Speaker 2: a lot, and I think it's true to say they're
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  Speaker 2: they're tired. Collectively as a country. They've been through a lot.
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  Speaker 2: They've been through four years of brutal war. If you
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  Speaker 2: live in a city like Teeth. You're getting bombed or
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  Speaker 2: missiles strong most nights, if not every other night. So
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: they are tired and they want the work to end.
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  Speaker 2: But I personally haven't seen any resentment towards America or
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  Speaker 2: anything like that. But I do think these kind of
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  Speaker 2: trips from American groups and from groups like the BATTACKI
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  Speaker 2: Center or the NFL or whoever, do you think they're meaningful?
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  Speaker 2: I do think it shapes that kind of that soft
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  Speaker 2: power and keeps that diplomatic and that human channel between
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  Speaker 2: our countries, keeps it open and alive, which is what
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  Speaker 2: we want, I think.
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  Speaker 3: Owen, I have a question for you this, Fernando Matteo.
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  Speaker 4: I'm a very good friend of your father's a very
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  Speaker 4: big supporter of Governor Pataki.
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  Speaker 3: Aren't you nervous being Aren't you nervous being in Ukraine
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  Speaker 3: right now? With what's going on? I mean it.
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  Speaker 4: Takes bravery to actually take a flight and go out
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  Speaker 4: there to you know, promote sports or football in this
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  Speaker 4: particular case. How do you feel personally? Do you feel safe?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean the cities we're in for the most part,
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  Speaker 2: we're avoiding, you know, obviously going anywhere farther to the
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  Speaker 2: east or a major city like Kiev. We just came
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  Speaker 2: from Leviv. We're going to Venezia. We're aware of how
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  Speaker 2: dangerous it is and how violent some of the last
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  Speaker 2: few weeks and months have been. This is personally, this
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  Speaker 2: is my eighth trip to Ukraine since the war started,
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  Speaker 2: and this is the tow Tacki centers. I've lost count
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  Speaker 2: they're probably upwards of twenty of Pataki Center missions over
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  Speaker 2: to Ukraine. So at this point it's not our first trip.
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  Speaker 2: We've been here before, you know, and I think about it,
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  Speaker 2: but I think about our Ukrainian friends who live in
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  Speaker 2: this They live in these cities, they live this life,
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  Speaker 2: and they can't leave. They're here every day, and so
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  Speaker 2: anything bad that happens, they're seeing it, or their families
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  Speaker 2: are feeling it, or you know, people they know are
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  Speaker 2: are hearing the missiles or the drones come into Kiv
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  Speaker 2: or other big cities. So yeah, I mean, we're aware
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  Speaker 2: of that. It's a dangerous place, for sure. I'd be
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  Speaker 2: lying if I said we weren't cognizant of it, of
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: the danger. But yeah, we're we're busy here, we're traveling,
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  Speaker 2: we're staying too relatively as the spots as safe as
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  Speaker 2: you can be. So yeah, it's it's we're you know,
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  Speaker 2: we're not we're not scared to be here, but we're
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  Speaker 2: definitely aware that a dangerous part of the world for sure.
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  Speaker 5: Oh and it's Judge Richard Weinberg is one of your
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  Speaker 5: father's admirers and colleagues. I want to command you and
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  Speaker 5: your father for everything you do. I have two questions
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  Speaker 5: for you. First question is what motivated you and your
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  Speaker 5: father to do this in the first place, to go
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  Speaker 5: into a war zone, to do this to support the
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  Speaker 5: people Ukraine. And the second thing is what's the sense
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  Speaker 5: that you have of the morale that people have these
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  Speaker 5: four years of war.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's it's a broad question, and then we
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  Speaker 2: could we could talk about for a while. I think
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  Speaker 2: I think one of the first things was just how,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Ukraine did not ask for this war. Putin
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  Speaker 2: in Russia invaded Ukraine and it was unprovoked and it
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  Speaker 2: was unjustified. And I think we just thought that, you know, Ukraine,
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  Speaker 2: they want to have to share our values, they want
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  Speaker 2: to be part of a free democratic, uh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: Western world civilization, and proven wants to keep them under
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  Speaker 2: his you know, under his thumb. And so we just
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  Speaker 2: felt like the Ukrainians they shared our values, they share
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  Speaker 2: the vision for the future that we and the Free
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  Speaker 2: West have and are lucky to take advantage of. And
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  Speaker 2: the Ukrainians showed so much bravery, they showed so much
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  Speaker 2: willingness to fight, willingness to defend their country, and it
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  Speaker 2: reminds I tell the Ukrainians, it reminds me of how
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  Speaker 2: America started. America started with an imperial power, Great Britain,
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  Speaker 2: who didn't want us to exist. They've wanted us as
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  Speaker 2: they colonists, to the to the king, and Putin is
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  Speaker 2: kind of acting the same way to the Ukrainians. So
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  Speaker 2: we see a lot of echoes in Ukraine struggle for
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  Speaker 2: their own independence and liberty, like the American Revolution. So
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  Speaker 2: there there's there's a lot that we have in common.
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  Speaker 2: And the Ukrainians, you know, like I said, they're they're tired.
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  Speaker 2: I think they're exhausted for more. They definitely feel it,
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  Speaker 2: but they're not going to give up there. They are
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  Speaker 2: very resilient and they know what they're fighting for. They
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  Speaker 2: believe in it. So they're nowhere near ready to to surrender,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: to give up uh, you know, the country or even
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  Speaker 2: lands at this point, they're they're they're going to keep fighting,
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  Speaker 2: but they aren't tired.
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  Speaker 5: In a very real sense. What the Ukrainiers have done
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  Speaker 5: in this war is a revolutionary warfare with their drones.
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  Speaker 5: They're on the cutting edge of this and this is
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  Speaker 5: going to shape future wars. Regrettably, we have to have wars.
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  Speaker 5: These there are the necessary wars, but this is going
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  Speaker 5: to reshape how both sides fight and technologies and AI
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  Speaker 5: is going to be the future.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and there they have so much experience at this
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  Speaker 2: point that they're teaching NATO's troops, they're teaching American troops,
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  Speaker 2: They're they're sending anti drone technology to the Middle East
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  Speaker 2: against Iran. So, I mean, Ukraine definitely has earned their
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  Speaker 2: place among you know, the kind of powerful, influential nations
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  Speaker 2: of the world for sure. I mean they've they've earned
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  Speaker 2: it through four years of sacrifice and war. But they're
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  Speaker 2: they're definitely like you said, they they've they've learned a
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  Speaker 2: lot and they're they have a lot to teach us
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  Speaker 2: in the West. That's that's for sure. Well.
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  Speaker 1: Owen Pataki, thank you so much for reference as someone
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  Speaker 1: who is a very big advocate for youth football, you know,
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  Speaker 1: regular football. Youth football here in the United States going
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  Speaker 1: through kind of a crisis, a lot of parents not
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  Speaker 1: letting their kids play football. It's a very, very great
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  Speaker 1: character building sport. It's a big teamwork sport. There's a
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  Speaker 1: lot of positives for it, and the safety concerns about
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  Speaker 1: football are being addressed more and more every day. That's
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  Speaker 1: my little advertisement for youth football. But I'm glad you're
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  Speaker 1: doing this in Ukraine. Whatever we can do to spread
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  Speaker 1: the American truth, justice in the American way overseas. If
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  Speaker 1: it has to be football, if it's entertainment, whatever it is,
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  Speaker 1: I think it's a great thing. So thank you so
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  Speaker 1: much for what you're doing there, and say hi to
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  Speaker 1: your dad for us. That's Owen Pataki who's over in
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  Speaker 1: Ukraine trying to promote American football over there. And boy
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  Speaker 1: do they need a pastime there other than war. That's
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  Speaker 1: for sure.
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  Speaker 5: Be safe for me.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Owen right, Oh, take care of yourself, my friend.
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• 8:56
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• 8:59
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