
Hello! It's the podcast that thinks Dottie Henson would never have dropped the ball on purpose. Today, we reach back into the MAILBAG! to answer your pressing questions about the Mt. Rushmore of women's single-game performances, a guide for when it's OK to abandon a fandom, a eulogy for Val Kilmer, gaming, nicknaming, general fan shaming, dueling spousal fandoms, physical violence over air conditioning terminology, and whether it's better to have over-meddling sports team management, or no meddle at all. Plus much much more. BONUS CONTENT! Katie and Isabella's official breakdown of the Skenes-Livvy GQ photo shoot coming soon to youtube.com/katienolan
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Katie Nolan
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Chris
Hey Isabella, did you hear this voicemail that we got?
Bro
Hey, it's Bro from Austin. It's been like four days since the last podcast. I need something to listen to. Can we get like an Isabella yap? I love her takes. At this point I'm really only listening for her.
Chris
So.
Bro
Yeah, can we, can we figure something out in the calendar there? Because that'd be great for me. Appreciate the time.
Chris
Hey bro, get a real name, bro. Hey, bro, get a real name, huh?
Isabella
I love you, bro. You know what's so funny actually is my real bro is named Austin.
Chris
Huh. And there's your yap.
Isabella
Yeah, what would you.
Chris
What do you. What, what could you yap about if you were yapping?
Isabella
Oh, it's funny you say that. I have a lot of things I could yappy about. One, I think I would like football more if it was less popular. Oh, yeah. If it just didn't take up so much space, I think I would like it more. I think that's the thing that like gives me the ick.
Chris
Okay.
Isabella
It's just like. Yeah. So if anyone has any tips on how I can get into football despite the fact that it's everywhere, let me know. Okay? Next thing, after the pandemic, everyone lost their minds and doesn't know how to drive.
Chris
Yeah. Or a lot of things. That applies to a lot of things. Sorry, I know it's your yap.
Isabella
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Be quiet. I don't interrupt your gaps.
Chris
So true. So true.
Isabella
Let's be mindful. I'm kind of over the Adam Sandler joke about how he dresses and how he talks the whole, like, chalamet. Like, I just want him to know that there's so much more to him than just that. You know what I mean? It's 2025. Why hasn't YouTube figured out how to play videos when my phone is locked? What's that all about?
Chris
Yeah, I think if you pay for.
Isabella
It, it does, of course, paywall everything. Okay, where are we at with magic? Because I would love to just snap my fingers and be transported somewhere.
Chris
Okay.
Isabella
You know what I mean?
Chris
Where are we at? Checking back in.
Isabella
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have cybertrucks. We somehow invented wifi. You know, we have devices in our homes where we can command them and say, like, play music. Why can't I stop my fingers and go somewhere?
Chris
Ladies got a point.
Isabella
Okay. And then last thing. Okay. Considering all the MLB talk that we've been, you know, putting everybody through, guys, I really need to be a celebrity someday just so I can do a first pitch. Like, I really, really, really want to do a first pitch. And obviously they don't just pick randoms. So if you guys can help me be famous.
Chris
Well, this is getting you on your way. I don't see how this doesn't launch you into something. We're going to lose you. You're going to get too expensive pretty quick with takes like these.
Isabella
Shout out M B. Shout out baseball. Shout out Shohei Otani. Shout out the mound. Shout out the mound. And shout out pitches. And shout out baseball. I'm gonna do a really good pitch, guys.
Chris
Hi, babies. Welcome to Casuals. Welcome to Casuals, the podcast that's not afraid to open its podcast by saying, hello, babies. And we do sports sometimes, but not today. I'm your host, Katie Nolan. I'm joined by the casualties. We've got Isabella, Brady, and Chris. As usual, Brady and Chris are remote because they don't love us, But Isabella's here in person because that's my girl.
Isabella
Because I love you guys.
Chris
Because that's my girl. This is her podcast now from that cold open. I think it's your podcast now. Today's a mailbag episode is what I meant to say. We are doing. We're doing your questions, your voicemails, your emails that I solicit at the beginning of every podcast episode. When I say that, you can email us@casualswithkatienolanmail.com you can call us, leave us a voicemail. 646-810-0043 and on IG and TikTok, we are CasualsThePodcast. We've got a ton of stuff to go through and get through, as always. First, we start with a little bit of housekeeping. Tuesday afternoon. Sorry about the technical difficulties. Apple podcasts, I'm not going to slander their name. I will say I don't think it was an us problem, but the podcast took a little bit long to get up and it happened to be one of my. I really liked that episode. So if you missed the episode or skipped it because it was posted at a different time than what you're used to, I would urge you to please go back and listen to it, because it's a very good episode. And again, it wasn't our fault. Like, we didn't do anything wrong. What the producers wanted me to say is to make it up to you, we're gonna give you a free mailbag episode today as long as you're subscribed to the show. So you're welcome. Here we are. More housekeeping. This is from Nick from Brazil. I love that. Really? We have listeners in Brazil.
Brady
Of course.
Chris
What do you mean, of course? I don't even. I'm surprised. We have.
Brady
All over the world.
Chris
I'm surprised we have listeners that don't.
Brady
I've never met before got listeners from Brazil, Australia.
Chris
Well, that's two places. And one of them is more obvious than the other, I think, in terms of our listenership. But anyway, Nick from Brazil, he exists because he says so. Last episode, which was yesterday's, didn't have the. You don't see that every day sound drop. It didn't go unnoticed. The poor lady, whoever she was, lost her moment of fame. It's unfair. We need it back, please. Yeah, Chris, what was up with that? When you were editing the episode, you just didn't feel like putting in the. What? You didn't feel like pushing this button that I can push right here where it goes. You don't see that every day. You didn't. That lady. You didn't want to push that button yesterday at all.
Brady
No, it's our subscription to that AI service.
Chris
No, don't do that.
Brady
No, it's not AI. It's earlier. This is me.
Chris
He's lying. It's me. I do it live. Don't listen to a word he's saying. It's not AI. We would never do that to you. It's me.
Isabella
Guys, who's that woman in the corner?
Chris
It's me. What?
Isabella
Who's that woman in the corner? I want you.
Chris
Ah, it's. I was in. I think I forgot a. I forgot we were in that segment yesterday. I had so much I wanted to talk to John Marco about that. I. The podcast was like four hours long. I apologized to him after he left. I was like, hey, sorry, thanks for being so generous with your time.
Brady
And then he sprinted out of the office.
Chris
I know, but it's just like teaching. Telling somebody that funny about sports stuff they don't know about yet is like, I could do that all day. It's just like premise, premise, premise. And just milk him for jokes. Not don't make it weird. I just. The. What was I saying before I said all that? Oh, I just was. I. I forgot we were in that segment. And then on top of that, yeah, I was probably embarrassed to constantly keep going in front of a person that doesn't go here. So, Nick, thank you for speaking up for those that are less able to speak up for themselves. Even though it's me, it's technically a character. And you're right, I need to stick to the bit. It's important. It's an important note. Thank you for sending it. That's very Lebitard. It's an important conversation. I'm glad we're having it. Third piece of housekeeping. It's. I know we're not a video podcast, but I do want to acknowledge as a shout out to the merch that I'm wearing today, I have on a Rocket City Trash Pandas hoodie that is a minor league team, as you can see. I mean, it's again audio podcast. I'm just showing the crew so they know it's a little panda in a garbage can. And they came to Dan's show. They're a minor league team in Alabama, I think, like Madison, Alabama. And so they came to Dan's show and they gave him a bunch of merch. And I don't know why. For some reason I thought that they were Astros team. I thought they were associated with Astro. They're an Angels. Well, I didn't. I don't rep. I don't rep Houston like that, you know, and so. But then I found out they're with the Angels. So shout out to Rocket City Trash Pandas. Thank you for the sweatshirt. I love it. Brady, you wrote a bunch of news in here, but I think we should just get to the mailbag. How many games to low Vetchkin? How many games does he have left to get the three goals to go seven games?
Dan
Seven games, three goals.
Chris
I think he can do it. I hope he does it. It'd be a real bummer to not at this point it would be a.
Dan
Bummer if he doesn't. But like the highest drama would be if he gets to the final game and is one away. Because then he's going to put up that Kobe Bryant 75 shots in his last game trying to get there. Because you don't want to sit on that over the whole offseason when you could be like doing the world tour as the new scoring champion instead.
Chris
How many points did he get on that game? He put up all those shots.
Dan
60. 60, right, Chris? Like a basketball nod. Yeah. Kobe scored 60 in his last game. Yeah, but it was, it was also remember that game was going on the same night that the warriors were setting the all time single season wins record.
Chris
Yeah. What a sports.
Brady
The two screens going up at work, one game in front there, one game in front there.
Dan
Kobe's last game was like I will not be out attentioned.
Brady
Not that day. That's only reserved for the opening day of March Madness, the holiest of days.
Chris
And then there's no other real news that do any of this. Care any of this. Do you care about any of this, Brady?
Dan
I mean I care that the Dodgers went to eight. No. Because everyone loved Shohei Ohtani. Even if you don't love the Dodgers, he just constantly shows up and does superhuman things. And last night the Dodgers were risking losing their undefeated streak to start the season. And they were down to the Braves. And he shows up and they just. He hits a walk off homer, ends it, gets showered as he crosses home plate and beaten on by his teammates. And he's a hero again. And it's like, you know he's going to do it, but it's still amazing seeing him do it every time. He's the greatest baseball player I've ever seen.
Chris
The Dodgers haven't lost. The Braves have not won.
Dan
They won in quantity of steroid suspensions for the 2025 season.
Chris
That's all they've got going so far with one. But you know, that's more than anybody else has. They're in the lead. My favorite thing that's happened in baseball so far this season. It was complete fluke. Right. But I was watching the Yankees played. Where does Aohenio Suarez play now? Is he on the Diamondbacks?
Dan
Yeah.
Chris
And he. They were. The Diamondbacks were losing. I don't remember the score. The bases were loaded, two strikes on Suarez. And I had just started, kind of like looked up and I went, oh, he could easily grand slam right here. And then he did. And I. Dan was like so impressed. It's nothing to be impressed by. It was luck, but I was. I just had this moment of. I'd seen Suarez do that during our Apple baseball season. He was, like, good in the clutch, and I. And then they won that game. And I just love. I love when a grand slam changes the momentum of a game for a team you don't like. It's great. It's a really great moment. A feel good moment, you know, hottest player in baseball.
Dan
Like, that guy's been. That guy's been the hottest player in baseball. Just. I think he's leading the league at home runs right now.
Chris
He's great. Yeah, I love him. He used to have his hair dyed half and half, and I love that. I think that's the Cruella de Vil. I love that.
Brady
Isabella, you know what a grand slam.
Isabella
Is like in tennis.
Dan
Hell, yeah.
Chris
Good call, Chris. Oh, wait, wait.
Isabella
I think I actually did learn this during. When was it the Dodgers and.
Chris
Yeah, it did happen. Yeah.
Isabella
Okay.
Chris
Okay.
Isabella
Yeah, I think I watched that live. Right. Actually, you're not there. Why would I say. Right.
Brady
Yeah. I don't know why you're asking us.
Chris
Because she's searching for the answer. Just give it. Let's have a moment of silence so Isabella can have a thought. Wait, wait.
Isabella
Isn't that when. Okay, wait. It's when the person who's at bat.
Chris
Right.
Isabella
Don't they hit a home run?
Chris
Yes, ma'am.
Isabella
And then that means if the all bases are loaded.
Chris
Yes. I knew it.
Brady
Look at you.
Dan
Yes.
Isabella
Dude, this is good.
Chris
Need to throw in one of us. First pitch.
Isabella
First pitch at the Mets.
Chris
The first rule of a video of a video call podcast is you can't chant because we can't all be at the same time. It's like video game chats when somebody starts singing their song. Yeah, true. All right, so that's all you're saying. No, no. God, no. We've got to get this up by 9:30pm so we've got to get it out. Shout out to Chris, by the way, for that edit. That was a. I really handed him a pile of stuff yesterday. And then Apple said, we also want to make this really difficult for you. Chris edits all our episodes. He does them very quickly, very quick turnaround. So everybody clap for Chris while I take a sip of water.
Brady
Thank you. Oh, thank you.
Dan
Okay.
Chris
Weird that Chris clapped and Brady's.
Dan
We've established I can't simultaneously CL with.
Chris
Chris and Brady did it.
Brady
Only two claps sounds sad. Three people clapping sounds a little bit better.
Dan
Jeb Bush over here.
Chris
Weird. Okay. It's a mailbag. It's a mailbag episode. It's a mailbag episode. That's another drop that we paid money for. You want to just throw them at me?
Brady
Yes. The first one is from Anthony and Anthony was wondering in the wake of Paige Becker's going for 40 in the Sweet 16.
Chris
Time out. You know, I just want to say in the wake of. Is a very funny. It's sounds really sad. It sounds like the wake of something bad that's happened. And so I tensed up and then to hear it's like, what a good thing to be. In the wake of Paige Becker's scoring 40. Continue, please.
Brady
Great performance by Paige. In the wake of that happening, what is your Mount Rushmore of women's single game performances and why does Kylie Lloyd for USWNT versus Japan in the 2015 World cup deserve two president faces?
Chris
Yeah, she. What two president faces?
Brady
Because I guess you gotta find four president faces. And that performance was so good.
Chris
Oh, I get it. The moment Rushmore completely went over my head. Yeah, I, she really. That was. It's a shame that she's frustrated me so much in recent years because that was probably the greatest performance. I remember I was at like a. I think it was at like a barbecue or something. I was in public watching that game and I just kept being like, guys, something's happening. I would also say, I, I don't know. Megan Rapinoe had a, A good get. I don't have a. This is not how my sports brain works. These sorts of questions give me anxiety because I'm like, I can tell you things I remember and that I liked, but I can't tell you the all time and I don't want to google them and just read them to you because that's. You can do that. You know what I'm saying?
Dan
Let's lay out. Let's lay out. Carly Lloyd. First it was the, the World cup final, 2015. So like, we're talking about the highest stakes game possible in that sport, us against Japan. And in the first 16 minutes of that game, she banged home three goals. Yeah, like the game's over. It was four nothing total. Us just. It was not supposed to be this kind of blowout. Her third goal was literally from midfield. Like saw the goalie slightly out of position and just heat checked it from midfield. Scored like the longest goal you're ever going to see at international competition. It was incredible. Incredible. I was home, I was barbecuing, but I was at home, like they were up to nothing by the time I got off the grill and actually do a tv.
Chris
Yeah.
Dan
That's not me flexing on the grill. That's me flexing on her ability to score.
Chris
No, I think it is. I also feel like if we were going with. Well, I. Does it count to say when Serena was pregnant and we didn't know till later that she was pregnant for whatever that tournament was. Remember that?
Brady
Yeah. That counts.
Chris
Yeah. I think that for me, I think that. Imagine I'm.
Dan
I'm impressed by any woman's ability to, like, walk up a flight of stairs while pregnant. Like.
Chris
Thank you, Ally.
Dan
It looks.
Chris
It looks difficult stands with us.
Dan
It's hard to. Yeah. Win things and, like.
Chris
Yeah. At a high level like that. Yeah.
Dan
Like, while there's another human hanging around. Like, that's insane.
Brady
Like, it was at the Australian Open in 2017.
Chris
Thank you. How did she do?
Brady
She won, right?
Chris
Yeah, I thought so.
Brady
Yeah.
Chris
I don't trust my brain, but, yeah. It sounds crazy.
Brady
Yeah.
Dan
Carly Lloyd face 1. Serena phase 2. We got to fill out. 3. We got to fill out.
Chris
Well, he said that she gets two faces, but, yeah, I'm taking one away. I'm taking one away. For personal reasons. I'm allowed to do that.
Dan
Cheryl Miller, drop 105 in a high school game.
Brady
Drop 105 in high school. This is one of my favorite stories. She's told this a bunch of times, but basically, this is Reggie Miller's sister. Reggie Miller.
Dan
No, Reggie Miller is Cheryl's brother.
Brady
Reggie Miller, Cheryl's brother, Exactly.
Chris
I mean, Jesus, he's leaning in. Isabella. He's leaning in.
Brady
After Reggie had scored 40 points in a game. I think it was a high school game. He went home and went to gloat. Right. Because him and Cheryl had this, you know, huge sibling rivalry. So it scored 40 or 39, something like that. Goes home, tells his sister, trying to rub it in. I just scored 40 points. And she's like, I scored 105. And she set the last two minutes of the game.
Chris
That's crazy huge. 106 would have been looming it up. There's not enough time to score that many points.
Brady
Unless you're Sharon Miller and you're one of the greatest female basketball players of all time.
Isabella
I see Katie Nolan, when she was in high school, she was on a softball team.
Chris
That's true.
Isabella
And she.
Chris
Which performance would you say was your favorite? Was it the one when they had to put me in because our starting pitcher was getting rocked and I was decidedly not better than Our starting pitcher. And it was my first time playing for varsity and I think I might have been a sophomore. And I went into the game because they were like, well, it can't be any worse than this. And it was because I got so nervous that I completely forgot how to throw a softball. And I could not get the ball to go anywhere near the catcher's glove. It just kept going. Thank God it was a tall backstop or we would have been there all fucking day. And I was just pan. I just kept looking around to the point where even the girls who were mean to me on the team on the ride back on the bus were like, you doing okay? Because it was that bad. Was that your favorite single game performance?
Isabella
You said it, not me.
Chris
All right, let's go to the next. Do we give enough flowers? Did we do our four?
Dan
No, we gave three. I think Caitlin Clark dropped 41 three times in different elite eights. I mean, she's a candidate.
Chris
Recency bias maybe, but she's also kind of amazing. Yeah, she is amazing.
Dan
Teresa Witherspoon won a WNBA finals game with a half court shot. Yeah, that one was wild. You want me to dig?
Brady
I like.
Dan
You want me to dig deep. 2014 women's hockey gold medal game. USA Canada. US or Canada is down two nothing with four. Four minutes to go in this Marie Philippe Poulain game winner with a minute to go, wins it in overtime. Kind of a big deal.
Chris
It was a big deal.
Dan
And then I, I, I, I threw one on the paper in front of you. Kit Keller throws a four hit complete game and hits a walk off inside the park.
Chris
Home run. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Dan
Game seven of the 1943 All American Girls Professional Baseball League.
Chris
Yes. Yes. And that's the ally pitching a fake lady to be in our Lori Petty.
Dan
Is a real woman of one.
Chris
That's true.
Dan
That was a real big thing for three years in the 90s.
Chris
Surely this is not an exhaustive list. Right.
Dan
I've also not a list of all women ever.
Chris
Yeah. That have ever had a great game. This is why this question makes me anxious. Because I'm like, I don't know. I like. Because I would pick. I mean, I put Midge purse on there for her MVP final game last year simply because I take into consideration. Or not last year, two years ago. I take into consideration the cool factor. And the photo when Midge was named MVP for Gotham when they won the championship is the one of the coolest sports photos I've ever seen. And so I'd have to. I'D put her in that like, pose on the end of the Mount Rushmore.
Dan
Do you worry about not being able to do that pose and her and her hair justice by carving it out of stone? That is risky. Trying to convey that level of cool with a chisel.
Chris
I think that's true of every face, don't you? Don't you?
Dan
Yeah. We're all granite in our own way.
Chris
That's right. And we take that for granted a lot of the time. Yes.
Brady
Can I bring up one more performance?
Chris
Of course.
Brady
I don't think it'll make the.
Dan
Can we guess what continent this happened in?
Brady
No, this, this isn't. This is an American doing something in America. It's not Australian. I'm not going to bring up the many, many different performances of Sam Kerr. He did it.
Dan
He did it.
Brady
But Brittney Griner in her WNBA debut had two dunks.
Chris
Oh yeah, she dunked twice, which was incredible.
Brady
I think it had only been done a handful of times before that in the history of the WNBA. And she did it twice in the one game. As of the end of the 2024 season, there's only been 38 dunks in the WNBA. And again, she had two in her very first game. And I remember that being a huge deal.
Dan
Do you find it weird celebrating the dunk though, in women's game? Like it's cool. It's still worth the same amount of points. It's a part of the men's game, but like it's not a part of the women's game.
Brady
But it's rare enough when you see it. It's exciting and it's fun and it's cool.
Chris
Yeah.
Dan
But I don't know, it's like celebrating. It's like the men do it, but now this woman's doing it. So like, let's celebrate it. It's kind of.
Chris
I think it's still cool. I think dunk is still cool. I don't think I. I think it's weird when people want to like the whole lower the rims conversation about trying to get it to happen more. That's where I'm like, well, we don't need it to be like that. But I don't think it's less cool cuz a woman's d. I'm just like, yeah, I think it's. It's probably not a huge part of the game. It's still cool when somebody does it.
Dan
I can't do it.
Chris
No shit. Don't say so.
Dan
Maybe this is just an envy thing.
Chris
So who's on earth. Now we have to. This is why I hate a Mount Rushmore question. Now I have to give a definitive answer so that people can bully me about it on the Internet.
Dan
I hate it because it displaced the native people of North Dakota.
Chris
Oh, my fucking God. Cheryl Miller. I think we put Shell. We're doing single game performance. I think.
Brady
Yes.
Chris
Cheryl Miller. Carli Lloyd.
Brady
Yep. Midge.
Chris
I. Because I. Because I'm biased. This is a bias.
Brady
This is your list.
Dan
You realize.
Chris
Well, I got to put Midge on the end. We're doing Midge's full body because the way she's sitting on that stool. So Midge has to be a bookend. You can't put her in the middle.
Brady
And then Caitlin Clark. Are we doing.
Chris
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, probably. I get probably or Cheryl Swoops. 47 in a tournament final is big. That feels like a big game.
Brady
It's your decision. Who's the fourth?
Chris
Stop screaming at me.
Dan
Julie the Cat Gaffney.
Chris
Serena. Okay, so maybe we'll do Serena and Cheryl Swoops, and then I'll just tell Midge that I like her and that she's cool. You know what we'll do? We'll take the picture that I love so much and we'll replace this random lady that's on the set in our picture frame that we have yet to put a picture in. We'll just make. There we go. That's what we'll do. That's gonna be that picture image. Somebody print out a five by seven. Yeah. Young people have all said she looks like somebody else. We heard a young Madonna. I believe somebody said it looked like Taylor Swift, which is wrong. Selena Gomez, completely wrong. But now she's gone.
Dan
There's not a human being alive that can look like all three of those.
Chris
At the same time. I know, I know. But now she's gone. It's a picture of Mitch. Okay, we are on the first question still. This is my fear. Okay, 30 minutes in. We're on the first question still. We've got to pick up the pace. Let's go to our next question.
Brady
Next one is from Daniel. Daniel emailed in and said my girlfriend is a D1 volleyball player. Congrats to you, Daniel. We started dating at the start of her last season and her next season will start soonish. All I know about volleyball is what I've learned from her. I think it'd be really cool to learn more about the sport that is such a big part of her life. I'm hoping that you can give Me some advice on the best ways to get into a sport that doesn't get the same primetime coverage as football or basketball.
Chris
Yeah, Daniel, first of all, love you mean it. Thank you for the question. Also, same to Anthony. I didn't say it before, but I meant to. I was distracted. I was stressed out. I think, welcome to the world of being a women's sports fan. I think if you want true advice on how to. How to find out information and become a bigger fan of something like that, seek out women's sports fans. Because it's been a journey of trying to figure out how you can watch and how you can interact with the sport. People underestimate just how much its coverage helps grow a sport. Somehow people still underestimate that. But I think Reddit is probably a good resource. I feel like it's a good place. Anytime I'm like, I need to find fans of this thing and hear them talk. That's what Reddit is for. To me. You can probably find a little gathering of community of volleyball fans. And yeah, there's probably going to be some who are like, so into it that you're like, all right, I don't know all that. But you don't. You can just, you know, kind of browse through, follow a subreddit, and then when it comes up in your newsfeed every now and then, you're just getting served all these things about volleyball, and I think just naturally it will. It will sort of osmosis its way into your brain. Also, support your girlfriend, go to her games. That's probably the best way. You've got a direct pipeline giggity to sport. So, like, go, go to her games. Right. Does anybody else have good advice?
Dan
A really good volleyball documentary out there from, like, 1988 called Top Gun was like a great, great entrance to the world of volleyball. Not a lot of women playing volleyball in that one, but same energy.
Chris
You don't want to say anything. You want to just bring up Top Gun and not say anything you want to give. Would you like to eulogize him? I know you were very upset about this. I want to give you a space to grieve.
Dan
I was upset. I mean, we were kind of planning for this. Val was not in good health.
Chris
Right.
Dan
Val Kilmer could not speak when they filmed Top Gun Maverick. I was very upset that so many obituaries for Val Kilmer said, val Kilmer, star of Batman Forever, passes away at the age of 65.
Chris
That was his credit.
Dan
Yeah.
Chris
Why'd they do that? Was that like their Biggest grow. His biggest grossing movie or something. Why would they do that?
Dan
It couldn't have been his biggest grossing.
Chris
I wouldn't have thought so either. Was it his most prominent role? His biggest. Like he had the most.
Dan
It's like the New York Times Prince. Katie Nolan, host of Crowd Goes Wild.
Chris
I don't know. How are we killing me for? What am I dead about?
Dan
I gave you 95.
Chris
Oh, thanks.
Dan
I don't know, give me tombstone. Like no one's thinking like, oh man, the fourth best Batman passed away. Val did so many things. Val Gilbert, so many iconic roles that he just sank into. Batman Forever was like the one where he didn't become anything else. We were just like, oh, I guess that's what Val Kilmer looks like in real life. Give me the island of Dr. Moreau if you need to like something. That was a little more of a reach for Val Kilmer. That was a role you. You could say he actually tried something.
Chris
Yeah. Thanks for speaking on it, Brady.
Dan
Got a lot of feelings.
Chris
Rest in peace, Val. Next.
Brady
Our next one's a voicemail. Let's see who we got.
Bro
Yo, Katie.
Dan
Carl from Fort Collins, Colorado, walking my dog Cora, currently listening to the quad.
Chris
I wanted to normalize gaming and I.
Dan
Was just curious what your gaming setup was like. What's the monitor situation? What's the chair situation? The headphone situation?
Chris
Yeah.
Dan
Love to hear your gaming setup.
Chris
I love you.
Bro
Mean it.
Chris
I love you and I mean it too. I. Did he say his dog's name was Cora?
Dan
Yeah.
Chris
Did it sound like cuz that I like that when he said I'm walking my dog Cora, she was like, what's up? I'm here. Love the pod. Okay, first of all, I want to normalize gaming. Very funny. I think it's pretty normal. It's normalized. But if what you mean by that is like, because I was thinking about this last night, I'm like, what could he have possibly meant? I think everybody games. If what you mean by that is you want to show that like just regular people who don't talk about gaming all the time do actually game. Because I feel like, I don't know, guys, correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like gamers are seen as a certain thing, especially with like the online community of gamers. And I see them interacting with each other and I'm just like, I play video games, but I don't know any of this. I don't interact with any of this, but I play video games. So when people are like, are you a Gamer. I say, like, well, I play video games, and that sounds stupid, but it's. I just am not. I don't feel always like a part of the gamer community for whatever reason. And so if that's what you mean by normalized gaming, then I'll tell you guys. I play video games a lot. I play video games a lot. I play video games like, every night. It's like, it's at this. I've always hate to be too honest because then someone's gonna psychoanalyze me and I'm gonna learn stuff I don't want to know about myself in a. In front of a crowd. But it's, like, social for me. That's. My brother lives in Chicago, and he. I would never see him. And, like, I don't know. I'm not calling people to talk to them as much. I guess it's so much more fun to, like, log on every night, hang out with my brother for, like, two or three hours and his friends and play video games and then, like, game while hanging out. We could talk about life stuff or we can not talk about life stuff because as anybody with an older brother knows, sometimes that scares them away. And so we can. There's, like, a game to distract us. Now, what sucks is when the game that you play together is pissing you off the way that Call of Duty is pissing us both off right now. Something about this new Call of Duty guys. I don't know if you guys play this video game. Anyone nods, thumbs up. Nothing. All. Oh, Brady nodded.
Dan
Not the new one. Okay.
Chris
Yeah, I played it in college.
Dan
No, I'll. I'll still play Warzone here and there.
Chris
The problem is, like, for dance, kind.
Dan
Of like, if you are not. If you don't have a headset on.
Chris
Yeah.
Dan
Your chances of getting killed go way up. But I also don't want to interact with anyone else.
Chris
Just turn your mic off. Oh, babe, just turn your mic off. You don't have to interact with anybody. You can turn.
Dan
I want to hear them.
Chris
I don't have to. You can mute them.
Dan
That's what I do want to hear expletives that I don't heard in years.
Chris
I don't. I haven't heard an N word. I mute. I mute everybody. There's no chat. The headphones are so that the gunshot sounds don't scare my dog and so that I can tell when somebody's walking to my right or to my left so I know what. Which way to turn. But I turn off the chatting and they never Hear from me. Because as a woman playing video games, the second you speak on a lot, on a open chat, everyone's like, oh, show us your boobs. And you're like, well, you're not. You can't even see me. So what would that do? Just showing my boobs to the room, which I am. I want to also answer this question, but I have to finish ranting a little bit about Call of Duty pissing me off. It's just too. The. All the lobbies now are like, as soon as you're. And not to brag, but as soon as your kd, which is your kill to death ratio, which. So, Isabelle, if every time I'm alive, I kill somebody before I die, I would have a. That's a one. It's a one to one ratio of like. But if you die every time you die, you. Every five times you die, you kill one guy. That's. I'm not doing the math, but that's like, below one. And if you kill two people before you die every time, that would be a KD of two. So it's like, you want to be a positive kd. I worked hard on it, got my KD up. Now I'm at, like, one one something. I don't remember, and I don't want to be wrong, but once your KD is over 1 in this new Call of Duty, your lobbies are just. I'm just spawn. Killed over and over. I spawn. I'm dead. I spawn. I'm dead. I spawn. I'm like, what is this? This isn't fun. Why is this team, like, a professional Call of Duty team? It's ruining my hang with my brother. So to answer your question, what my setup is, I just use a PS5. I don't. The computer gaming stuff is too confusing. I can name you three specific times. I have Googled and tried to start the research of getting my PC gaming set up, and I get a little bit into it, and I go. I already. I don't. There's. I can get away with not knowing words when I'm researching something, but I think once I get to, like, four concepts that I'm holding all at the same time that I don't really know what they are, and I'm looking for clarity. And I go to pick up a fifth thing that I don't know what it is. I'm like, I can't. I don't know what any of this is anymore. So I bailed on PC gaming. I just use a PlayStation. I have a PS5. Which, while we're griping, because I am. What's with coming out with a new PlayStation and not increasing the memory to a lot bigger than what it is? Because my other issue with Call of Duty is you make it so I. You're the only game I can have. You take up my entire PlayStation memory. I play other things. I'm on Assassin's Creed right now. What? Brady.
Dan
You wait till Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out and they are digitally mapping, like, the whole state of Florida, and you're like, all right, I can't load this no matter what.
Chris
Look, I just feel like it's such a big file. Would it kill you to be fun to play? So I just have a PlayStation 5.
Dan
I have eight hours to download it and install it. That's the massive file size.
Chris
Yeah, I have. You got to put your thing in rest mode. It goes quicker. I have two controllers. I cycle between. I have four controllers because two of them have stick drift. But I also don't like to throw things away because I'm like, it's not terrible. Stick drift. So I'll hold on to these until something happens to these, and I can always have these back. These new controllers are a little. I was gonna say the word chintzy, and I stopped and said, where's that come from? Is that offensive? But I don't think it does. Chintzy. They're like. They're cheap. They're like. They fall apart a lot easier. And I. So I have two that are working, and I rotate them because sometimes I'll play games for too long and it'll kill my controller, and I'll have to have another controller ready to go. Luckily, I do. And Dan's PlayStation 5 is in his office, which is just on the other side of the wall that my TV's on and some. And we've. I've got a headset. I don't know who makes headset. It's a. It's green and has a little snake on the side of it. So whatever the company that is. And. And we log into our chat, and sometimes we'll play a Rocket League tournament. Him in one room, me in the other room. You remove the walls of the apartment. It'd look very silly, like I'm just sitting behind him playing a video game with him. But we're on headset, so it's like, okay and fine. That's my setup.
Dan
Anybody who's not in Doom, across the dorm room in the 90s. Like the. Yeah, that's. Yeah, that's different sounds very normal.
Chris
But it's not. Nor you're not normalizing it because you're. The last time you were in a dorm room, I hope, was a very, very long time ago. So I. It's not you normalizing it is going like, yeah, I put my kids to bed and then I play games. Normalizing it is saying that my brother often has to log off and skip a couple games because I can hear his daughter screaming, his baby screaming, trying to fall asleep. And he's like, damn it, Charlie. He's got to go downstairs. And that's normalizing it, putting it in real life, not college.
Brady
All right, let's move on.
Chris
Oh, I sit on a couch. Sorry. He also asked where I sit. I just sit on a couch. It's not ideal, but it's. It's fine. I don't have a gaming chair. Sorry. We live in a New York City apartment. There's nowhere to store anything. I have Christmas stuff stored in a closet. That whole closet is taken up by Christmas stuff. Go ahead, Chris. What's the next one?
Brady
Next question is from Scotty, and Scotty said. Heard your pod about how Tatum, Jason Tatum of the Boston Celtics wanted to be called the Big Deuce and was wondering, what's your favorite athlete nickname? I think former NHL goalie from 43 to 60, Harry Applecheeks Lumley, has to be in the top five. Do you have some favorites, favorite nicknames for athletes, Katie?
Chris
I. My favorite was Ben Jarvis Green Ellis. They called him the law firm that. I loved that because it sounds like a law firm. So that's the explanation for that.
Brady
Why that makes sense.
Chris
Ben Jarvis Green Ellis. It sounds like. It sounds like four last names.
Isabella
Oh, like Smith and Johnson.
Chris
Yeah, you know, sure. Kind of, but without the and.
Isabella
But when it'll be like, law firms always have, like, an and sometimes.
Chris
Sometimes. So, yeah, she's right. That nickname's dumb and I'm stupid for liking it. Does anybody else have any favorites?
Brady
So there was a baseball player who played baseball from 9. From 1880 to 1909. His real name is Ali Latham, but his nickname is the Fre. Or was. I don't think he's still alive, probably.
Chris
You don't have to.
Brady
He died in 1952.
Chris
Great. Not great that he died. Sorry. Great that you got the facts right.
Dan
I don't know a lot of people, you know, Sorry. I'm not sure if it was great he died or not.
Brady
His nickname was the Freshest man on Earth.
Chris
Okay.
Brady
And freshest, I think, in this context. Didn't mean like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air sort of fresh. It was more about him being a prankster. Like a jokester. Apparently. That was his thing. He liked to prank people. And back in the.
Chris
Isabella's out. She's like.
Isabella
No, just meant like, great, fresh. Like that.
Brady
No, like just. You're. You're a prankster, you're a jokester.
Dan
So baseball pranks, basically. Baseball pranks back in the day hit completely different, though. Like the go to baseball prank used to be the hot foot.
Chris
And what's that?
Dan
The bit would be that you would stick a book of matches in the back of someone's spikes and literally light their foot on fire and be like, ha, ha, loser, your foot's on fire.
Chris
Damn. This confirms what I always knew about you, which is that you were alive in the 1800s. Damn.
Dan
Me and old Hoss Radbourne used to pal around Down Isabella. Can I run some sports nicknames by a.
Isabella
Sure.
Chris
Brady's got a bit. Brady's tell. Tell them the conceit of the bit.
Dan
We got a bit. I got 10 nicknames.
Isabella
Okay, let's go.
Dan
Three of them are completely made up.
Isabella
Oh, God.
Dan
Can you determine which of these 10 are. Which of these 10 are completely made up?
Isabella
Okay.
Dan
Breath number one. Former Philadelphia 76ers center Daryl Dawkins went by Chocolate Thunder.
Isabella
I could potentially seeing that being real.
Dan
Chocolate Thunder was a real man who used to destroy backboards. Was a big, burly, dark skinned man in the 80s. Chocolate Thunder was a dude. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis Boyd went by Oil Can Boyd.
Isabella
Oil Can Boyd. Okay, so Oil Can. Maybe he had a really great shoulder for hitting the ball, you know? So that's real.
Chris
You don't have to. It was real, but not for that reason. What?
Dan
That was Oil Can. Literally, they called him that because he drank a lot. Oil Can Boyd was suspended from the Red Sox multiple times during the 80s.
Chris
Shout out.
Dan
World Series.
Chris
Let's party. Sorry. He's dead.
Dan
Former Washington. I don't think he is.
Chris
Is he okay? Sorry. Okay. Extra sorry.
Dan
Now, Oil can, if you're listening to this. No, he's very much alive. He's 65.
Chris
Oh, God, he's not even close.
Dan
Former Washington Bullets guard John Cox went by Chubby. Oh, his name was Chubby Cox.
Chris
Oh, boy.
Isabella
No, that's not.
Chris
Oh.
Isabella
And actually, people were mean. Men can be mean. So I'm gonna say yes, that's real.
Dan
It's very real.
Chris
I don't know.
Isabella
I don't know. People say mean things.
Chris
Chubby Cox isn't mean. Chubby's mean saying somebody has a chubby, doesn't that. Wouldn't that mean I don't. We don't have to keep going, Brady.
Dan
Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher tungsten arm O'Doyle.
Isabella
Wait, is that his real name or is that his nickname?
Chris
Brady. This doesn't count. You can't do this. This doesn't count.
Dan
Philip O'Doyle goes by Tungsten Arm O'Doyle.
Isabella
Oh, my God. Okay. Is that real?
Dan
That is not real. Oh, that is one I had to introduce. Tungsten Armo Doyle is a running bit among Angels fans. Whereas the Angels for so many years had the two best players in the American League and could not win ball games, the headline would routinely read, Mike.
Chris
Otani and Mike Trout. She knows them. She knows them.
Dan
Now Mike Trout hits three home runs and Shohei Ohtani pulls off a feed on the mound not seen since Tungsten Armo Doyle in the 18. And for the 1882 Richmond Spiders, Angels lose 7 to 10. Not a real person, though. Former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson. Randy Johnson went by the big unit.
Isabella
That's real. That sounds like a good one.
Dan
That is a good one. That's good. It's one that was so normalized we forgot how weird the name Randy Johnson is. And to also go by the big unit. Kind of like Magic. Magic Johnson. Like. Like John Marco would have been like his name was Magic Johnson. So I've need outside perspective. Former Cubs third baseman David Handsome John Powell.
Isabella
That's not real. Why would they call him Handsome John if his name's David?
Dan
Damn, you're good at this. That one's made up. Former Buccaneers running back.
Noah
Former Buccaneers.
Isabella
Never mind. Go ahead.
Dan
Former Buccaneers running back Doug Martin went by the Muscle Hamster.
Chris
God, I hated that one.
Isabella
Oh, well, you just said it.
Chris
You hated that one. God, I said it. I hate muscle hamsters so much it makes my whole body cringe.
Isabella
It's just like that makes me a little uncomfortable.
Chris
I don't like it, but it's real. We. I blew it. It's real, Brady. Next.
Dan
Former Tigers first baseman Hank Greenberg, known as the Hebrew Hammer.
Isabella
Oh, my God. I'm gonna say that's not real.
Dan
That is real. Baseball has a very weird tradition of naming every Jewish slugger the Hebrew Hammer. For the last hundred years. Ryan Braun went by the Hebrew Hammer. Gabe Kapler went by the Hebrew Hammer. Pretty sure at some point Jock Peterson is going by the Hebrew Hammer.
Isabella
Do they have numbers at least so that they could tell the difference between.
Dan
Hammer 3, Hebrew Hammer.
Chris
The third.
Dan
They're books of the Torah. Former Cardinals pitcher Wilmer. Vinegar Bend. Meiselle.
Isabella
Vinegar Bend is the.
Dan
Vinegar Bend was his nickname.
Isabella
That's not real.
Dan
That is real. And that son of a served a term in Congress after he played Vinegar Bent.
Chris
What does it mean?
Dan
He comes from a town. He played in a town called Vinegar Bend, Arkansas, when he was young and just collected the name. Vinegar Bend. People, you just call you whatever.
Chris
Yeah, I guess.
Isabella
Okay.
Chris
Can't bend vinegar. It's liquid.
Dan
And the final one? Former Denver. Well, you know what? The bit's dead because I've already said there were three that were made out of it.
Chris
Why would you do that? What kind of producing is that? There's gonna be three fake ones. We're gonna get to the end and you're only gonna have named two. What was the last fake one you came up with just for my enjoyment?
Dan
Former Denver Nuggets center Willie Slick. Willie Nelson.
Isabella
That sounds like it could be.
Dan
That was for the sake of. Yeah, you're too damn good at this, Boo.
Chris
Yeah, you were really good.
Isabella
I'm so. I know everything about sports. I know all the players and I know all their nicknames.
Chris
Yeah, it's so cool. It's my favorite thing about you. I know our state has changed a lot in the last 140 years. We know because Multicare has been here guided by a single making our communities healthier. That comes from making courageous decisions, partnering with local communities to grow programs and services, and expanding healthcare access to those who need it most. Together, we're building a healthier future. Learn more@mycare.org.
Noah
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Katie Nolan
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Chris
If you've been having your McDonald's sausage McMuffin with an iced coffee from somewhere.
Dan
Else, now is a great time to reconsider.
Chris
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Brady
Cool. We have another voicemail. Let's have a listen to who it is.
Bro
Hi, Katie and the casualties. This is Noah from Austin in Texas. First time caller, long time listener. Me and my wife, mostly, my wife just had a baby in December. And of the two things that are happening with said baby, it got me thinking about the first sporting event I would take him to. His name's Bennett. In Austin, we have one professional team and it's a soccer team and we have a minor league baseball team, a minor league hockey team, and a minor league basketball team. I was wondering, the main question is, of those four, which would be the best first sporting event to take a child to? And then what is the best age to take a child to a sporting event? What's the. What's the right age? Love you.
Chris
Mean it, Noah. I love you. And I mean it, too. It said that he said bye and he didn't say bye. That's why I was waiting.
Brady
I did some editing.
Chris
Pre show you cut out the word bye.
Brady
It saved half a second. Thirty seconds on because I was trying to trim from that.
Chris
Noah.
Isabella
Love you.
Chris
And I mean it as well. I also love it. I mean that. You're asking me, what do I know? I've never taken a baby to a sporting event in my life and I don't plan well. Actually. Guess I went to a sporting event with a baby. Chuck came to a baseball game that we went to, but my brother missed half the game because he was walking around trying to get Chuck to stop screaming. So I call her Chuck. Her name's Charlie, her name's Charlotte. But I. The nickname has evolved. So I call the baby Chuck. Does. Does the baby's mom love it? Probably not. Has it stuck? Yeah. Yeah. Yes, it has. I feel like hockey, you and I, you know me, advocate for the sport. Probably not your best bet, just because there's a lot of, especially in the minor leagues. I think we've actually talked about this before. There's a lot of variables like the rink's going to be cold, so it's a temperature thing. Plus, you've got the sounds. It's inside, it's loud. So I feel like as far as comparing other sports for a baby to go to, I feel like hockey would be lower on the list. Should I defer to any of the people here with children? Were there games that you've brought your child to, Chris? We got.
Brady
I took my son to his first minor league baseball game. No judgments when I say this.
Chris
Well, wait, hold on. That's like saying off the record. And then you talk. Because let's all confirm we're not going to judge, because there is a line that I think I might judge. I'm not allowed to judge on my own. Two weeks old.
Brady
Two weeks old.
Chris
What kind of event?
Brady
It was a minor league baseball game. It was a Greensboro Grasshoppers game in the summer. We had been. It was in the summer, but it was at night time.
Chris
Okay.
Brady
We had been cooped up in the house for two weeks. We just wanted to get out. There was a Grasshoppers game. It's cheap. There wasn't a whole lot of people. And we just decided to go and hang out and we had a nice night. And it was sort of, you know, he was sleeping the whole time. He wasn't crying or anything like that. It was. It was a nice way to spend the night. And I know we had a few people look at us in an interesting way while we were there because they saw how small the baby was, but he was fine, didn't get sick, anything like that. So this doesn't count.
Chris
Did you put, like. Did you put, like, headset on him? On or whatever.
Brady
There's like 70 people that don't really need.
Chris
I don't know how to take a baby outside. I can't judge you.
Brady
The thing that we were worried about the most was, like, if we were sitting in our seats and then a ball came towards the.
Chris
You brought a glove, I assume.
Brady
We did not bring it.
Chris
Just lie, Chris. Just say you did. Just say that you did.
Brady
I. I would have thrown my body in front of that ball or just caught it. Really.
Dan
You don't need to throw your body. It's not a bullet. Like, you just reach up and catch it.
Brady
Yeah.
Chris
Yeah.
Brady
That is true.
Dan
Minor league baseball is the right answer.
Chris
Yeah.
Dan
You need to. If you're taking a child to a sports game, I. I don't think, you know, I'm gonna judge. I don't think Chris's answer counts because this child's not gonna Remember this? I think this is. You're taking the child to the game, but this is not like a child's first sporting event.
Chris
Oh, okay.
Dan
I think for the answer.
Chris
I get what you're saying. He's trying to. You're trying to say like for a memory.
Dan
Yeah. I think the question here is minor league baseball is the way to go because you have to resign yourself, Chris.
Chris
You confess for nothing. Is. Is so funny.
Dan
You're not gonna make it in three days.
Chris
Call me crazy. Three days in I. Right after the hospital, I was like, my wife wasn't even ready to leave yet. I left with the baby, took him to a baseball game.
Dan
You're not going to make it to the end of the game no matter what. So you're going for low cost. You're not going to watch this game. You're in a minor league baseball. It's not too loud because the noise really does matter. For super young kids. Like tangent like Jason Kelsey on New Heights this past week. Like they. They popped like they're like brand new baby baby into the. Into the camera shot to say hi. And like they slip the headphones on the baby. Like Jason's headphones on the baby so Travis could say hi. And like that's. Those are not baby headphones. Like any sound coming out of there directly into this baby's too loud. Do not put baby headphones on for Travis Kelsey's voice. For Uncle Trav Point.
Chris
Damn. Damn. He put y'all on notice.
Dan
Blast.
Chris
New heights. More like new lows.
Dan
Ooh. Baseball game. Not too loud. You can get out of there early. Relatively easy parking at most minor league parks. And I'm going to narrow this down. If you're in Austin, Texas, the spot is going to be Round Rock Express. Sunday, June 1st. They're playing the Reno Aces.
Chris
What's happening?
Dan
I'm giving you the spot from.
Chris
You looked up the whole. But this kid is a. Is a.
Brady
He's not going to remember that.
Dan
Kids a week old now.
Chris
Yeah. They just had a baby in December. The kid is four months old.
Dan
Okay. All right.
Chris
You just said that it's for when they're a little older.
Dan
When they had.
Chris
When they were schedule and we know.
Dan
Aces Sunday at 1 o'clock because you need a minor league baseball game because you're looking for a day game. Sunday, June 1, they have Jurassic Ballpark. They're gonna have big dinosaurs walking around the park.
Chris
That's a good idea.
Dan
This would be the spot if this.
Chris
Same guy didn't just tell you that four months was too young to take your baby to a game. You should listen to this guy telling you to take your baby to this game because that would be a good game to go to. Dinosaurs are going to be there. There's always dinosaurs at a baseball game. Hey, old fans. Hey, Isabella. Nothing.
Isabella
I don't get it.
Chris
Well, I said old fans. I explained it, so you had to get it. They have old. It's old people love baseball. Old people love baseball because it's. They like you.
Dan
Baseball is the only sport where anybody will bring an actual score book to the game. I do that for while it's being played.
Chris
I do that.
Dan
I know it's. It's a wonderful old person.
Chris
I like it, but like, it helps me pay attention to write it down.
Isabella
Is that the same thing that the book bookkeeper does? Is that what that is?
Dan
Yeah, well, the official scorekeeper.
Chris
Yeah, Scorekeeper, yeah. Bookkeeper, I think, does the finances, the ledgers.
Isabella
And aren't there like little, like symbols you put on it?
Dan
Yeah, yeah. There's a whole.
Chris
There's a. There's a bunch of different ways to do it. I don't think I do it traditionally, but I have my way. It only has to make sense to me. It's my book. Look.
Dan
But there's a way. There's a scorecard where there's a language to it where you can look at one sheet of paper and tell everything that happened in this entire game at bat, by a bat. And it's kind of all diagrammed out and it's a. Like a language you learn to speak. But if I showed you, it would.
Chris
Look like the position numbering doesn't make a lot of sense until you have. Until you're like, oh, I. I guess.
Brady
Do you keep your scorecards, your old.
Chris
School cards, Katie, like ones that I've taken done of games I've been to? Yeah, yeah, I have them. I keep everything. So it's not like a value assessment. It's like a. That's. I can't throw it away. I wrote it. So check back on that storyline in 20 years when I'm buried under massive piles of paper in a house in.
Dan
The last 20 minutes. New York apartment, not enough space for gaming chair also keeps it.
Chris
Oh, I got an apartment that I bought that I keep most of my stuff. Just got a storage apartment that needs to be renovated that's just holding everything I own. So I've got my life in order. Let's take another question. Let's give out more advice.
Brady
This is from Andrea and Andrea says I'm a die hard 49ers fan, and I'm writing this email on the first day of NFL free agency. Without getting too into the weeds. The Niners have made a series of baffling and, in my opinion, extremely poor decisions all in one day. With no fewer than five of our most important players out of the red and Gold in 2025. I want to have faith, but at 33, my instincts are preparing me for the worst. I survived the dark days of the 2000s as a teenager, the post harbor struggles, Chip Kelly, et cetera. And I have finally felt like we might be out of the weeds. But at this point, I'm struggling to be optimistic. We'll be over.500 this year. How would you recommend a fan who's grown accustomed to success prepare for the transition back into the hard years?
Chris
Oh, Andrea. Andrea. I don't know how you pronounce it. It's always one name that gives me anxiety when I have to say it out loud. So I'm saying both I love you and I mean, it's also, I will tell Dan you said hi. I know Chris skipped that part, but she said hi to dan because they're 49er fans. I don't think there's really. I wish I had a good answer. I'll start by saying that I wish there was like a. Oh, when you see your team's about to suck on the horizon, here are four easy steps you can take to prepare for what that's gonna feel like. I. We knew for a long time when we had Brady and Belichick, we got towards the end there and we were like, so this. We're gonna. It's gonna be dark here for a little after this because you don't get a great coach quarterback like that and then just go do it again. And even still, when it hit those first couple seasons were like, wow, this sucks. Wow, this sucks. I. My advice is going to be controversial, okay? But I need to speak my truth. I believe. And maybe this is. Let me unpack my privilege first. Maybe this is because I. I'm from a city that has a team in every of the four major sports. It's a major sports market. I have a lot of options. It's a big sports culture. Right. I am in my older age now, more willing to move teams within my hierarchy around. Like, I am comfortable with caring the most about the best Boston team and. And kind of bumping, like, when the Red Sox do something that piss me off, I'm like, okay, put my money where My mouth is. I bump them down in my level of care for them. I just invest that care more into. What do they always say? Love is a finite resource, right? So you only have so much. I'm joking. It's an infinite resource. But I like to, I like to, sports wise is you can't care through. Don't abandon them. That would make you a fair weather fan. You have to still, you know, stick it out because the other side of the rainstorm is a rainbow when you come through, suck. We've talked about this before in a viewer, an email question. You have to go through the bad to come out the other side to the good. The thing is we don't know when that good's going to be and that good could be so, so far from now. So I don't think you should feel guilty if you're like, yeah, I, I was a big whatever fan and now I'm just, I, you know, I watch them, but I don't invest my, I don't give them the reins to my emotional well being. And as I'm saying this to you, I'm like, have I imparted this message to the love of my life? And I think I've tried, but he has, he still, you still have that sports fan cope where when something happens, they come out and they go, look, I think we're gonna get this guy and this guy. And look, if the Niners can just win just this many games, that'll be enough to put them in the. He still does that. I don't, I, I try to be like, look, they're going to suck. Any winning they do over the number of zero is a win. It's literally, it's like the great. We got three wins this year. How can we build on that? What are the good takeaways from what's happened here? What can I feel good about? And then the rest of it, I go, well, yeah, they're supposed to suck. You just have to tell yourself they're supposed to suck. Don't expect, I think, is what this all boils down to. Try to temper expectations, get used to not expecting the team to do much. Because the hardest part about the Patriots was that, like, it was just expected we were gonna win the division. We would always be in the postseason. It's, it's weird that we're not not. But it's just part of the ebb and flow of the sports fandom we love so much. So I say don't feel guilty about like moving your loyalties around within your own fandoms and just like turning down giving a a little bit when your team is obviously going to suck.
Brady
I've told this story before, but my football team in Australia has been terrible for as long as pretty much since I was like 10, right. So I was never really accustomed to success. But they were so bad for so long that I just moved overseas. I legitimately a big part of why I moved here. I could not cope having to be in the fishbowl of Melbourne when my team were as terrible as they were. I wanted to adopt other teams. So I, you know, I was a Celtics fan and a Patriots fan and San Francisco Giants fan and a Sharks fan. So I thought, you know what? I got to move overseas, get closer to these teams because now if I have five teams that I can root for, surely at any given time one of these teams is going to be okay and that'll be enough to get me through all the shit with Carlton. And it's still going like they're still, they're still terrible. They've been terrible for so, so long and I don't even know when it's going to change. But I legitimately a big and not an insignificant reason. Part of why I moved over here was because the team was terrible. Terrible.
Chris
Yeah. I think also you, you can find a team. I'm also not against finding a team you can root for in those seasons. You're not fully giving them your loyalties. But if you're like annoyed or at your baseball team or if they're gonna suck, you can pick like a, like if you're an, if your team's an AL team, you can pick an NL team that you're like, I'm not a this fan, but I like watching them. They're young, they're fun, they play the type of baseball that I like. Like, I watch Phillies games. I like Philly Phillies. I'm not a Phillies fan. Okay. But I like the Phillies for now. And that fun little second team, I can move that around based on who's on the team and what the. It's just like something to keep you engaged in the sport and to give you a rooting interest that doesn't feel like DOA and then you just have that. But you're still of this fan tried and true. And I think that secondary type of.
Dan
Relationship or, you know, you're still a Red Sox fan. But the Phillies side piece are a nice little side piece. Beef the Phillies, Bryce Harper doing his quirky thing and Kyle Schwarber having his dad Body dingers and Nick Castellano's homering in the middle of people's apologies for homophobic remarks.
Chris
Yeah, exactly. There's a lot to root for there.
Isabella
What's a.500 mean? What does that mean?
Brady
That's. That's the record of a team. So if you finish with more wins than losses, then you're above like a 50% win loss ratio.
Chris
Like, it's kind of like that, KD.
Isabella
Oh, okay. Okay.
Chris
It's kind of your point, KD. Did we answer the question? I think so.
Brady
I think we did. And we also had a similar question. We got a voicemail in from Robert from Nashville. I don't think we need to play it. But his basic question was, how do you handle your significant other's fandom? And basically we're talking about dan and the 49ers now. So this is sort of a good follow up.
Chris
Yeah, good.
Brady
How do you handle his he's fandom?
Chris
It doesn't directly affect me. They're not like a. The. I think I've said this before. The fandom of his that's problematic for me is the Dolphins, because I'm like, those. They're in my division. This is. You don't even like them. You just like this guy. Oh, what, he's been your friend since middle school? Okay. We're supposed to hate the Dolphins. I've lucked out. Most of Dan's teams are like, not so. I root for the 49ers. I hope they do well. It hasn't been great. Hasn't been. But I hope the best for them. I keep them positively in my thoughts. I also feel like I almost have a. They are my. My husband's. It's what we just. I don't. Fiance, ex, almost. It's like another. It's somebody he gives his heart to. And so I get very like, don't you hurt him again. Don't you hurt him. You guys need to get it together, okay? He's skipping things he wants to do to spend time with you, and you're not giving him anything in return. So it's a healthy relationship I think that I have with my significant other's teams. I. I root for them. I hope for the best, mainly because I think it'll put him in a better mood and I want him to be happy, but I'm sure that would be. Well, I guess I wouldn't date. I would not date a Yankees fan. You couldn't pay me.
Dan
The key is to unite with a common enemy. Like, I am An Orioles fan. My wife is a Red Sox fan. But we can agree, like, we can do the Predator, the Yankees.
Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's still.
Isabella
But what do you do if, like, your partner likes a team? Like, you guys both, like, you know how some cities will have two different teams? So what do you do, though? If it's like, this is literally, like, your enemy team, but you guys, like. So, for example, like, the Giants and the jets are like the Knicks and the Nets. Like, what do you.
Chris
I don't think those are enemies as much. I think, like, I don't think, like, they hate each. I think that a lot of actually New York fans, if one of the teams is out, will root for the other New York team.
Isabella
I will not. No, I will not root for the Nets ever. That's.
Chris
Did you say Mets or Nets?
Isabella
Nets.
Chris
Nets with an N. No, you would never root for them.
Isabella
And my boyfriend would never root for the Knicks.
Chris
Okay. And so you guys are in love.
Isabella
Yeah.
Chris
You guys like each other.
Isabella
Yeah. And every single time. For example, last night, we were watching the Knicks game, and he's just being fucking mean, mean, like, just like, oh, I hope they lose. I hope they lose. And I'm like, shut up.
Chris
Yeah, not good.
Isabella
You know what I mean?
Chris
Yeah, I do.
Isabella
So sorry, that made this question about me.
Chris
That's what the whole point of a. Of this type of a podcast is. That's what a mailbag's all about, baby.
Isabella
So.
Chris
Yeah, well, maybe bro from Austin is single and. And a Knicks fan. I don't know.
Dan
I got a whole list of Round Rock Express games that would let us be.
Chris
I can't believe you looked up the schedule. What else, Chris, what we got?
Brady
All right, the next email is from Nicole, and she says, katie, thoughts on the new Dr. Pepper BlackBerry. Ready? Go.
Chris
Is that the full email? Really?
Brady
Yep.
Chris
I love that. Good email, Nicole. It's like a text. Love you. Mean it. Here's. Okay. I tried to find us some today so that at least Isabella and I could take a sip of it in person. No, couldn't find it anywhere. But I will just say this. When Dr. Pepper comes out with new flavors, like they did a strawberry and cream or something recently. Dan was like, let's try it. And I was like, why? The whole point of Dr. Pepper is that it tastes like the idea of, like, a nostalgic old soda fountain. They mix together all these flavors. I don't. They tell you how many. I don't know. I get it confused with Baskin Robbins. I don't think it's 32, but there's, like, some number of flavors mixed together. Why then are they. When they come out with a flavor, I'm like, so that flavor is just a bigger piece of the pie chart than the other however many flavors. What do you mean it's flavored Dr. Pepper. They're always flavored. And why would I want Dr. Pepper to taste like BlackBerry? I've never once taken a sip of Dr. Pepper and gone, this would be better if it tasted more like BlackBerry. In fact, I don't think I've ever drank a single soda that is BlackBerry. So what are we. What is. Explain that to me. What is this? I'll try it if I can find it, but I don't think I'm gonna like it.
Brady
It's 23 flavors.
Chris
23 flavors. So now it's 24. Or was. Was BlackBerry one of the original 23? And we just turned the volume up on little. I need some clarity if we're gonna start putting out flavored Dr. Peppers. I need clarity on what the flavors that are already in Dr. Pepper are, and they won't share that. That's proprietary information. And please stop calling. That's what they say to me every time I ask BlackBerry Dr. Pepper. Next.
Brady
Next question is from Brett, and Brett says, for context, my last name is spelt G O E T Z. I'm.
Chris
Excited to see how that's good.
Brady
Context, text, but pronounced gets. That being said, my daughter and I love to banter back and forth about things that bother us, often to hilariously chaotic results. If we were to start a podcast, which name would be better, you know what gets me or just gets to the point? We both agree to go with whatever your team says. We like both names, but can't decide which is better. Love you. Mean it.
Chris
I love you, and I mean it too, Brett. And your daughter, who goes unnamed here, but I love her, and I mean it as well. How. How honest should we be team with the get the new Gets podcast? I feel if you're writing into a podcast asking for advice, you want good advice, right? He's asking. He's literally asking for it. Correct?
Brady
Yes.
Dan
Yes.
Chris
Because I don't like either of these names.
Isabella
Out of both.
Dan
If you're gonna go, pun, right, Full pun, right. Get stupid right. Like, don't.
Chris
Here's my thing. Just gets to the point is it takes so long to get just right. Gets to the point or like, if you're doing you know what gets me, just call it what gets me. It's too. You're doing sentences for the so that's how I would edit the two options you gave us and between what gets me and gets to the point. I guess again, gun to my head. I do gets to the point.
Isabella
I think you should I disagree.
Chris
Okay. Gun to your head.
Isabella
I like you know what gets to.
Dan
Someone'S introducing firearms for these bits come constantly.
Isabella
I like you know it gets me.
Chris
Okay.
Isabella
The problem is is that not everyone may know how to pronounce your last name.
Chris
So it's like well, the context I think kind of gives the.
Isabella
I mean yeah, I love that.
Chris
I love the I disagree. And then when asked for follow up just silence.
Dan
If you're going to go pun I would lean towards good as it gets. Okay, that's nice positivity in the vibes. You want to lead with. With good. You want to lead with something that that has you leaning towards a high quality.
Chris
Great.
Dan
Good as it gets. If you want to go full stupid. I go circle gets the square.
Chris
Okay, that's pretty dumb.
Dan
It's pretty dumb. But if you want to lean into full stupid. If you want to go non gets pun but a different rhyming pun. Cool your gets great cool.
Chris
Fine.
Dan
If you're a big Prince fan I'd go gets go crazy.
Isabella
Oh, I like that.
Chris
I don't.
Dan
And then away from the same bun.
Chris
I don't it hurt because this is.
Dan
The Getz family, but it looks like it's pronounced goats. I would lean into the acronym and call it the greatest of every times.
Chris
Okay, that's fun. That's really fun. I think you should call it call her daughter.
Dan
Find people accidentally finding it. It you know, you get into that call her daughter.
Brady
Okay, next question.
Chris
You guys suck. Next question.
Brady
We got a voicemail. Let's see who it's from.
Bro
Hello, casuals, this is Dan from Las Vegas. I have a question to follow up on the question that Nick raised in the mailbag episode. And it's desert specific. So in the summer kind of gets hot here and my ex wife and I used to have this running discussion. If you're in a room and you feel the room's too warm and you want the room to be cooler, do you turn the air conditioner up to make the room cooler or do you turn the air conditioner down? Love your pod and I mean it, Dan.
Chris
I love you and I mean it. I this is an age old question. This has this debate has raged for years. I think not. I wish it was an answer that was like one of the two Options you presented. But have you heard this podcast? I think that's why in these specific situations, you have to use specificity of language to indicate what it is you're saying. Because I think you're turning the air up. You're turning the temperature down. So you. I would say it like that. I say, like, jack the air up, as in, like, we need more air or turning the temperature down, which is like, I want it to be colder. You know what I'm saying? So it's not like A. I 100% agree. Yeah. You can't just say, like, turn the air up up, because then they go like. Do you mean you want it colder or do you mean you want it more air?
Brady
You would say turn the heater up if you want it to be hotter. Turn the air conditioner up if you want it to be cooler.
Chris
Well, I wouldn't say air condition. I don't think I've ever said turn the air conditioner up. That's too much. But you say that if you want it.
Brady
I have a little spitzer on my hands.
Chris
You say turn the AC up, and you mean that you want it to be colder. See, I.
Isabella
Same.
Chris
Even I would say turn the temperature down.
Isabella
Too many words.
Chris
Well, it's the same amount of words as turned the AC down. Too many syllables. Okay. He said air conditioner. He said full air conditioner. You think saying turn the AC down is not confusing? You don't think that means make it not on anymore? The AC is blasting on me. I need you to turn it down. That doesn't. There's Isabella. If you never had this fight with anybody before, it feels like you've never had this fight.
Isabella
Turn the AC down. I would say, oh, that person's implying that it's too cold and they want you to turn the AC down.
Dan
So the difference here is, like, because.
Brady
Turning the AC up is making the room cooler.
Dan
Yeah, I just have the knob that you turn it, and it tells you what temperature the room is. I think that I may be having a different conversation, so I'm gonna sit this one.
Chris
Why? No. What are you talking about?
Dan
It's the same if you turn the nest. If somebody says turn it down, then you just turn it and it makes it colder. But I'm not, like, adjusting, like, the power of the air.
Chris
Yeah. And you don't have the ability to do that.
Dan
No, I just say. I say what temperature I want it to be in the house, and it makes it that temperature.
Chris
Okay. You've never been to a hotel. You've Never interacted with an air conditioner anywhere else. Your. How your car.
Dan
Fair point.
Isabella
I was going to say I. I would understand, like, the difference in a car, because in a car, the wind.
Chris
Is blowing on you.
Isabella
Yeah. That's when I will adjust. Like, can you lower, like, the air versus, like, can you make it colder? Because sometimes I want it cold, but not directly blowing at me.
Chris
Right. Which also you can use. Those little people are always hesitant to close their little vent. Close your vent?
Isabella
Oh, no, I close that. Yeah. I close my van.
Chris
I close the ones that are up on, like, in a van. And if you're in, like, a cab, that's a van or an Uber, and they have those little ones that come down in your head like. Yeah. I think it's just. You got to be more. You got to just be more specific because you have to know that, say, turn it down in. Especially, like we said in a car situation is a tough. It's tough for you. It's all about how you're communicating to the person that you're trying to communicate your message to. So I think just say, like, hey, can you make it colder in here?
Brady
Yeah. Let's use that language.
Chris
Hey, this. This is. This breeze is blowing in my face. Can you turn the air flow down a bit? Look at that. Problem solved.
Brady
We solved it.
Chris
I think I could be president. I don't know. Why not? Next.
Brady
Next question. We got another voicemail.
Chris
Okay, great.
Brady
Let's check in and see who it is.
Bro
Hey, it's Kelsey from Rhode Island. I'm in Chicago for a work trip, and normally I travel with my team.
Isabella
But this time I'm on my own.
Bro
I have some free time in the next couple of days, and I saw that the Blackhawks are playing the Toronto Maple Leafs in a few days. I'm a Bruins fan, but I think.
Chris
It would be kind of cool to.
Bro
Check out the United center and see the Michael Jordan statue. I'm a big basketball fan, but my question is, is it weird to go to a sporting event alone? And have you ever done it?
Chris
Love you. Mean it. Bye. I love you. I mean it. Kelsey. I. I don't think it's weird. I've also never done it, so it's like, I'm a bad. I will say to you that I think it's cool. I think it would be fun. I've gone to movies by myself. That was, like, a hurdle I had to get over, and once I did, I was like, oh, this is kind of nice. But I also sometimes in going out in Public, alone. Sometimes I just get very anxious and it ruins the experience. So that. That's me. But it's something I'm embarrassed of and want to get over. So I would say, do it. Do it. I bet it's really fun. Dan came to games that I. There was a game I worked in Arizona. He was there. Cause we were on our way off to vacation. But it started with a game in Arizona, and I called the game. He went to the game and, like, sat and, like, watched it alone, as always. Must disclaimer. It's easier to do anything alone if you're a man. I feel like. Like it's a thing you guys don't often think about. But, yeah, I think. I think you should do it. I think you should just go and maybe in the second period, you're not having any fun. You just leave. Nobody. You don't have to ask if you can. You just go. If the tickets are cheap enough. I don't know. Bruins tickets are crazy expensive when they came to town here. So I don't know how tickets are in Chicago, but if it's an affordable thing and you want to just, like, see if you can do it, go.
Brady
I also do think this was from a month ago, so. And she should follow up.
Chris
Oh, no. She's like, they didn't get back to me. I let it.
Brady
She's still trying to decide.
Chris
I don't know.
Isabella
She's still waiting outside, like, figuring out, should I go in?
Chris
Should I go in? Do you think they'll laugh at me? I hope you win.
Dan
I play minor league baseball alone a lot, and it's a ton of fun. Because, again, like, minor league baseball, you're like, I don't have to make a full commitment to a game. I can walk around, do whatever. It's not extremely crowded. If there's, like, one player I kind of want to come see. Yeah. Show up, watch what I want to watch and when I want to leave. The freedom to just leave whenever and not have to care if anybody else wants to stay. It's great. Buying one beer at a time. Yeah.
Brady
Cricket. Sort of the same thing. You can come and go as you please. It goes all day.
Dan
It's a different spot.
Chris
All day.
Brady
All day for five days straight.
Dan
It's like Woodstock.
Chris
Yeah. I wouldn't go to that alone. That feels like a commitment. You'd have to, like, where are you sleeping?
Brady
But you don't have to. You don't have to spend the whole time. Like, you can just go for a couple of hours. You're like, I got a couple of hours of my day, so and so's working. I got some time to kill. Let me just go and check out this, you know, the morning session or something like that.
Chris
Yeah.
Brady
Say absolutely do it.
Chris
I say, absolutely do it. Unfortunately, we probably missed the cutoff for you doing it, but if you did it, Kelsey, call us back and tell us about how it went. Tell us all the good and the bad so we can know, so we can present that back to our viewers. Okay, I think we have one more.
Brady
Yes, we have one more email. This is from Caitlin.
Chris
Great.
Brady
Caitlin says hi. Katie, Chris, Isabella, and Brady. First thing, never really cared about sports until about six years ago when I met my boyfriend. Thanks for making sports accessible. You don't want to know how many times I've come home and Vince is watching some YouTube video or podcast deep in the weeds, and I'm like, what? You all do such a great job of giving us what we need to know. And if we wanted to know more, we. We can explore elsewhere. Thank you. Now, my reason for writing in love that you're talking about baseball, because I would say that's where my main fandom lies. As an Orioles fan, you might be able to imagine my frustrations with management for not having any motivation to sign major league talent. Hearing your thoughts about the Bregman Devis situation, I guess my question is, what's worse? Management making an awesome free agent signing that messes up the ecosystem of the team or management literally not caring at all about what fans and teams need, not spending money, and for lack of a better term, half icing roster construction? I feel way out of my league by riding into a sports club, but you all make me feel welcome and excited about sports. It also helps to know Katie has a dance background. As a dancer and dance teacher myself, it feels like we have a connection. Interested to hear about your dance experience and what looks and what that looks like now in your life.
Chris
Oh, Caitlin, I love you and I mean it. I assume. What was the name she said? Vince. I assume that's her boyfriend. Boyfriend that's just made me really happy. And then I think about the question and I'm like, oh, I have to answer the question. Listen, I think it's probably worse objectively when your team doesn't make any effort to sign anybody. I think that's bad. I think it's annoying when you're like, you have all this money. I'm giving you all this money, coming to these games, buying all this garbage merch, and you're not spending on it. Spending it on acquiring talent. That sucks objectively worse. That being said, my wound is fresh currently. And what pisses me off about ownership making a signing that messes with the ecosystem of your team is that the making, the signing, the paying the guy goes way further with the fan base than I think it should. And people make excuses. They turn on watching. Let me just be specific and say what I'm trying to say. Watching Red Sox fans turn on Rafi Devers is upsetting me because it's like, that was our guy, was the only guy who did anything for a while, a lot of the time, and he was great. Was he the best third baseman? No. Was he making improvements? Yes. The situation was mismanaged. I'm glad you signed somebody expensive. I'm glad you signed somebody good. I'm glad you signed somebody everybody wanted. It is weird that our two biggest contracts are third base, that we've got two third baseman. It's weird and like, you can't understand or foresee or expect what the reaction of a player is going to be to forcing him to change his role until you talk to him about it, until it's like, mediated, until the relationship is managed. And it bugs me that fans, friends, don't push back onto management to be like you. It was your job to communicate this to Devers in a way that kept Devers motivated and kept Devers locked in. It was your job to be like, we're gonna sign a third baseman. Wow, I need to get Devers on the phone right now. I gotta talk to him and just like, let him know he's a person. Sports fans are so good at being like, suck it up, dude. We pay you a bunch of money. Play the. You're not as good as him. So play the position we ask you to play. But it's like, well, he. But that was his job. Now if he has a bad day at the plate, he has no way to, like, make up for that elsewhere. He just gets to bat. And like, sure, that doesn't suck compared to other jobs you could have in the world. But it just feels like we have all these people in this sport whose job is to manage relationships. It. And then we don't expect them. Them. We don't blame them at all for the fact that they went out and signed a third baseman, one of the best third basemen. So he's like, okay, yeah, I guess I'm not playing third base because you just went out and signed the best third baseman. There's no expected Loyalty from team to player. And I'm not saying that should go, like, fully all the way. I know it's a business, but it just feels like you signed a third baseman without talking to your third baseman about not playing third base anymore. What is your job then? That makes me mad because now people are like, devers sucks. Get Devers out of here. It's like, wow, that quickly. That quickly. Of course he's having a hard time. He's probably struggling with the adjustment he was not expecting to have to make this season. So it's probably not the worst thing, but it. Boy, does it piss me off. You know, guys. No.
Isabella
Yeah.
Chris
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dan
Somebody's gonna do this with Aaron Rodgers in, like, the next 60 seconds.
Chris
It feels like they're going to mess up the ecosystem of their team to bring Aaron Rodgers in entirely. Yeah.
Dan
I mean, the ecosystem thing and, like, the quality of Rogers as a hang in the clubhouse is the sole reason why he hasn't signed anywhere yet. But somebody's going to do it. Somebody's going to do it, and they're going to have the big, splashy signing. The fan base is going to be able to be excited all the way up until game one. So, like, when your team at least tries and they at least make that splash, you get that period of like, all right, it's going to be the best year after ever, all the way up until you suck. But at least you get that small moment. But then it's just going to crash. Like somebody's going to do it.
Chris
Yeah. I just feel like we bring up team chemistry when a team's doing well that doesn't have a star or something. They're always like, chemistry can take you so far. But then it doesn't. We don't consider it, like, a thing that needs to be discussed or considered when making a sign. And you're just like, hey, now you got the team choosing sides. It's also crazy because the Red Sox kind of did this with no. At the end of Nomar, where they, like, tried to get a rod and, like, I think Kevin Millar on ESPN said, like, we'd prefer a rod to. It just was like a whole thing that blew up in their face. Nomar was, like, completely demotivated. They ended up, I believe, at that trade deadline, shipping them away. And it's just like, we. That's our. Supposed to be our guy. I don't know. Isn't there, like, a single other person out there who's like, that's our guy. Stop being mean to him. He's not doing well at the plate because he's like trying to blow it. He's like, he feels unmoored. Half of the game is over for him and he wasn't expecting that. I don't know. That stinks. Whatever. I'm emotional about it because he's really not doing well and I like him. And I thought we all did that.
Dan
No more wounds. Feels fresh still.
Chris
I mean, a little.
Dan
2004.
Chris
Well, I mean we, it ended up fine. I just felt bad for no more, you know. So like, like I know you're saying it was a long time ago. 2004 wasn't last year. I wasn't in high school last year. You're saying it's been at least. I don't know. I think I was. Feels like I was. Guys, that's the podcast. As always, just to show you a little peek behind the curtain. We had like a thousand of these to do and we wanted to do all of them. And we've been screaming at each other because the podcasts are too long. So please keep writing in and calling. I, I, I don't want to fix the problem. I always want to have too many things to respond to.
Brady
Clearly we them from a fair way back. So if you haven't heard back from us for a while, you think we've forgotten about you. We haven't. We have a master document of all of these emails that we refer to whenever we do one of these episodes. So don't be discouraged. Keep emailing in sending me voicemails.
Chris
If your question hits, you know we're gonna try to answer it. But I will say like a lot of the ones we liked we can't get to. So this has been really fun. Did everybody feel like they learned something about each other? Because that's what this is.
Brady
I think so, yeah.
Dan
I learned the real sports are the sports we made along the way.
Chris
Always said that if you want to reach us Casuals with katienolanmail.com voicemail 646-801-0043 and on IG and tick tock we are at Casuals the podcast. See now even as I'm saying that I'm remembering that I wrote down some of the comments. I'm trying to stay out of the comments. I it's a, it's just a thing. I gotta stay out of the comments because Internet commenting is different now. I don't know if you guys have noticed noticed, but people clips will just get taken into other places, and people will just have full conversations about something that has nothing to do with what's going on in the clip. And as a person who used to, like, engage, you know, in comments, I'm like, I can't do this thing. They're not talking about me. They'll, like, even. They'll pop. The telltale sign is they'll pop in and say, what is she talking about? Like, well, you're commenting on my. It's my post. So she is me. So you could say, what are you talking? But they're not. They're not. They don't think that way. Internet comments are different. I'm trying to stay out of them. I had jotted down a couple that I felt I wanted to rebuff, but. And I. And we don't have time. So now I'm like, we'll get there. We'll get there. It's gonna be great. Everything's great. Thank you for writing in. Thank you for your questions. Thank you for listening. We will see you on Tuesday of next week. So good luck getting through the weekend. Maybe we can get Isabella to drop one of those yaps to tide you guys over.
Isabella
Yeah, smash that, like, button, guys. Hit follow Katie Nolan.
Chris
Yeah. Hashtag Isabella. I don't think we have to give out your last name.
Isabella
No.
Chris
Hashtag Isabella, hashtag Chris, hashtag Brady, hashtag Marissa, who's not here because she has a hashtag, baby, we love you and we mean it. Thank you so much for your questions. We'll see you next week. Bye.
Noah
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Chris
If you've been having your McDonald's sausage McMuffin with an iced coffee from somewhere.
Dan
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Chris
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Brady
Me.
Podcast Information:
Description: "Casuals with Katie Nolan" is a sports podcast that caters to everyone from the sports-curious to the sports-obsessed. Host Katie Nolan is joined by a rotating cast of friends from sports, comedy, and entertainment to discuss the week’s biggest stories, transforming the experience of being a sports fan from "homework to recess." This episode centers around listener mailbag questions, delving into topics like women's standout sports performances, athlete nicknames, and managing sports fandom dynamics.
Katie Nolan kicks off the episode by addressing recent technical difficulties with Apple Podcasts. She reassures listeners by offering a free mailbag episode as compensation and encourages them to revisit previous episodes. Katie acknowledges their diverse listener base, including Nick from Brazil, highlighting the podcast's global reach. Additionally, she gives a shout-out to the Rocket City Trash Pandas for their merchandise support and humorously details past episode editing mishaps, setting a playful tone for the episode.
Question from Anthony ([14:00]-[14:30]):
Anthony from Brazil asks the hosts to share their Mount Rushmore selections for women's single-game sports performances, emphasizing impressive feats akin to Carly Lloyd's record-setting performance.
Discussion Points:
Carly Lloyd's 2015 World Cup Performance:
Brady highlights Lloyd's extraordinary achievement of scoring three goals within the first 16 minutes against Japan, including a remarkable goal from midfield ([16:12]).
Serena Williams' Resilience:
Chris admires Serena Williams for her ability to compete and win during tournaments while managing her pregnancy, showcasing her incredible strength and determination ([16:34]).
Cheryl Miller's High School Dominance:
The team discusses Cheryl Miller's legendary high school game where she scored 105 points, emphasizing her unparalleled skill and setting her as a top contender for the Mt. Rushmore ([17:40]).
Additional Performances:
Brady mentions Caitlin Clark's multiple 41-point games and Teresa Witherspoon's half-court shot in the WNBA finals, further enriching the conversation with historical and contemporary examples.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
The hosts collaboratively select their top four performances for the Women’s Mount Rushmore, celebrating exceptional individual contributions that have left a lasting impact on their respective sports.
Question from Daniel:
Daniel seeks advice on how to deepen his engagement with volleyball to better support his girlfriend, a Division 1 athlete, in a sport that receives less primetime coverage compared to football or basketball.
Discussion Points:
Engaging with the Volleyball Community:
Chris recommends joining online communities such as Reddit to connect with other volleyball fans and immerse oneself in the sport’s culture ([25:27]).
Attending Games:
Brady emphasizes the importance of attending his girlfriend’s matches as a direct way to show support and gain firsthand experience of the sport ([26:55]).
Exploring Media and Documentation:
Dan humorously suggests watching the "Top Gun" documentary (likely a transcription error referring to an actual volleyball documentary) as a gateway to understanding the sport’s nuances and history.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
The hosts encourage Daniel to actively participate in volleyball-related communities, attend games, and consume media related to the sport to build a deeper appreciation and understanding, thereby enhancing his support for his girlfriend.
Voicemail from Kelsey ([28:27]-[34:14]):
Kelsey from Rhode Island, a Bruins fan, wonders if it's unusual or awkward to attend a sporting event alone. She shares her experience of gaming setups and the social dynamics involved.
Discussion Points:
Normalizing Solo Attendance:
Chris reassures Kelsey that attending sporting events alone is perfectly acceptable and can be a fulfilling experience, drawing parallels to going to movies alone ([48:35]).
Hosts' Personal Experiences:
Brady recounts taking his two-week-old son to a minor league baseball game, noting that it was a peaceful outing despite some curious glances from other attendees ([49:06]).
Encouragement for New Fans:
The hosts emphasize the personal benefits of attending events solo, such as flexibility and the freedom to enjoy the game without social pressures.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
Attending sporting events alone is encouraged as a positive and enjoyable activity. The hosts highlight the independence and personal enjoyment that can come from solo attendance, assuring listeners that it is a common and accepted practice.
Question from Scotty ([36:10]-[37:09]):
Scotty asks for the hosts' favorite athlete nicknames, citing Harry Lumley's "Applecheeks" as a top contender.
Discussion Points:
Real vs. Fictional Nicknames:
The hosts discuss various real athlete nicknames such as:
They also create humorous fictional nicknames like "Tungsten Arm O'Doyle" and "Muscle Hamster," debating their authenticity and humor.
Cultural and Historical Significance:
The conversation touches on how certain nicknames reflect an athlete’s playing style, personality, or notable traits, adding layers of meaning and recognition within the sports community.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
The discussion reveals the creativity and cultural significance behind athlete nicknames, blending historical facts with playful invention. The hosts appreciate both the legacy and the entertainment value these nicknames bring to the sports narrative.
Voicemail from Dan ([70:21]-[73:43]):
Dan poses a classic household debate: when a room is too warm, should you "turn the air conditioner up" to make it cooler or "turn it down"?
Discussion Points:
Clarifying Language:
The hosts agree that the phrasing "turn the AC up" can be ambiguous. Chris suggests using more precise language like "turn the temperature down" to clearly convey the intent to cool the room ([74:19]).
Avoiding Miscommunication:
Isabella emphasizes the importance of specificity to prevent misunderstandings, particularly when multiple actions (like increasing airflow vs. lowering temperature) can be inferred from vague instructions ([72:05]).
Effective Communication Strategies:
The hosts recommend describing the desired outcome rather than the action, such as saying, "Can you make it colder in here?" to ensure clarity.
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
Effective communication is key in household settings, especially concerning temperature control. The hosts advocate for clear and specific language to ensure that everyone understands the desired adjustments, thereby minimizing conflicts and enhancing comfort.
Question from Caitlin ([62:04]-[83:16]):
Caitlin, an Orioles fan, expresses frustration with her team's management decisions during free agency. She debates whether it's more detrimental when management disrupts team chemistry with high-profile signings or when they neglect to invest adequately in roster construction and player development.
Discussion Points:
Impact of Management Decisions:
Chris argues that neglecting to sign major talent has a more adverse effect on team performance and fan morale compared to making disruptive high-profile signings. He emphasizes that failing to invest in key players can lead to prolonged periods of underperformance ([75:00]).
Team Chemistry vs. Talent Acquisition:
The conversation explores the balance between maintaining team chemistry and enhancing the roster with star players. Chris notes that unexpected high-profile signings without proper integration can alienate both players and fans, as seen in past examples like the Red Sox’s handling of Nomar.
Fan Loyalty and Expectations:
The hosts discuss how fan expectations and loyalty are influenced by management's ability to build a cohesive and competitive team. They highlight the importance of transparent communication and strategic planning in fostering a positive sports culture ([83:16]).
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
Effective team management requires a delicate balance between fostering team chemistry and acquiring talent. The hosts emphasize that neglecting strategic investments in key players is more detrimental to team success and fan loyalty than making high-profile signings, albeit potentially disruptive, provided they are well-integrated and supported.
Question from Caitlin (continued):
Caitlin also touches upon the lack of loyalty from management towards players, using the Orioles' Bregman Devis situation as an example. She criticizes the quick fan backlash and the lack of effective communication from management in handling player roles and expectations.
Discussion Points:
Loyalty and Communication:
Chris laments the poor communication from management regarding player roles, leading to confusion and frustration among fans and players alike. He resonates with Caitlin’s disappointment, emphasizing that management should prioritize player relationships and transparent communication to maintain a healthy team ecosystem ([82:34]).
Hosts’ Empathy and Shared Experiences:
The hosts relate to Caitlin’s frustrations by sharing similar experiences with other teams, underscoring the universal challenges faced by sports fans in dealing with management decisions ([83:16]).
Conclusion:
The episode wraps up with a reinforcement of empathy towards listeners' challenges in sports fandom. The hosts encourage continued engagement through mailbag submissions and express gratitude for the supportive community, highlighting the importance of open dialogue and shared experiences in navigating the highs and lows of sports fandom.
Brady ([16:12]):
“Her third goal was literally from midfield. It was the longest goal you'll ever see at international competition.”
Chris ([23:30]):
“Imagine I'm... when they come out and they go, look, I think we're gonna get this guy and this guy.”
Brady ([26:44]):
“Top Gun was like a great entrance to the world of volleyball.”
Chris ([39:20]):
“I think 'Chocolate Thunder' was real, he destroyed backboards.”
Chris ([48:35]):
“I don't think it's weird. I've gone to movies by myself, it's kind of nice.”
Brady ([49:06]):
“I took my son to his first minor league baseball game... he was fine, didn't get sick.”
Chris ([74:19]):
“I would say like, hey, can you make it colder in here? That's problem solved.”
Chris ([75:00]):
“I think management not making any effort to sign anybody is worse.”
In this comprehensive mailbag episode of "Casuals with Katie Nolan," host Katie Nolan and the team engage with a variety of listener questions, ranging from celebrating legendary women's sports performances and navigating sports fandom dynamics to addressing household communication challenges. The hosts provide thoughtful, humorous, and relatable insights, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all sports enthusiasts. By addressing both the joys and frustrations of being a sports fan, "Casuals" continues to make sports accessible and enjoyable, living up to its mission of transforming sports fandom from "homework to recess."