Dan Bernstein Unfiltered — Blackhawks Host a Great PRIDE NIGHT | Murakami Gets His Bidet

Podcast: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered
Host: Dan Bernstein, with producer Matt Abbatacola
Release Date: February 3, 2026
Episode Theme:
A two-pronged episode blending Chicago sports culture and societal progress: Dan’s firsthand experience at the Blackhawks’ transformative Pride Night—heavily influenced by the LGBTQ-themed hit series "Heated Rivalry"—and the lighter, entertaining saga of White Sox star Munetaka Murakami’s new contract perk: a bidet. Extended, unfiltered musings on stadium nostalgia, Bears stadium politics, and food culture round out the show, all delivered in Bernstein and Matt’s signature irreverent, conversational style.

1. Blackhawks PRIDE NIGHT & the "Heated Rivalry" Phenomenon

[00:59–21:19]

Blackhawks Embrace Pride Night — With a Twist

• Dan attended the Blackhawks’ Pride Night, unexpectedly joining his wife’s “Heated Rivalry fan club” comprised of friends from SoulCycle (01:44).
  • “Sweetheart, love of my life, it is by its very definition what you have and what is going to the Blackhawks game is a heated rivalry fan club!” (Dan, 01:23)
• "Heated Rivalry", a Canadian hockey romance series (originally from the Crave Network, popularized by HBO), is driving new, passionate, LGBTQ-friendly fan bases to hockey and making waves in the NHL.
  • Quick primer: It fantasizes about a romance between two NHL rivals—a plot that’s captivated non-traditional hockey fans and even drew commentary from the real NHL commissioner.
  • “Heated Rivalry is kinda loosely fanfiction based on if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin…had become secret lovers.” (Dan, 02:27)

PRIDE Tape & Personal History

• Dan discusses the emotional pull of Pride Tape, rooted in his son’s experiences with inclusive hockey coaches and a bar mitzvah project for the You Can Play team.
• "I would love to have seen Blackhawks players have Pride tape, at least for warmups.” (Dan, 04:55)
• Reminisces about inclusive Blackhawks events: “Adam Raghavin and Tommy Wingles… part of everything, the social media campaign and the hashtag campaign to raise awareness for inclusion, inclusivity and open arms in the world of hockey.” (Dan, 05:46)

Pride Night Vibes: Inclusive, Joyful, Uniquely Contemporary

• Club music, Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus performing Cher covers, photobooths—an atmosphere far removed from the old days of Blackhawks hockey at Chicago Stadium.
• “If you’re going to dare people to dance and put on banging club music, people will dance… and they’re going to take their shirts off. And they did.” (Dan, 07:34)

From Nostalgia to the New Arena Experience

• Dan and Matt contrast the old rough-and-tumble hockey nights (“fights and cigars and weed and beer being spilled on you,” 09:00) with the new, more entertainment-driven experience.
• The vibe now: “It just wasn’t what I anticipated… because it wasn’t what I was familiar with.” (Matt, 08:33)

Easter Eggs & Fandom Inside Jokes

• Blackhawks’ production referenced "Heated Rivalry" throughout—Tommy Hawk (the mascot) prepared a blueberry-banana smoothie (nod to Scott and Kip on the show), a tuna melt (in-story food).
• “Everybody who was kind of into it loved the fact that one of the Hawks’ goals was scored by Ilya Mikhayev…because the main character played by Connor Story, the Russian—the sort of Ovechkin-ish guy—is Ilya Rozanov.” (Dan, 10:54)
• “It’s the first time I’ve been at a hockey game where every time they showed a picture of one of the players, like out of uniform… everyone around me had thoughts. The eavesdropping was a lot of fun.” (Dan, 11:56)

Hockey Family & Rediscovery

• Ties to Dan’s family’s hockey life: His wife’s deep engagement in running his son’s youth hockey club, missed community connections—“She really missed it…for that not to be in our lives right now, I kind of felt it all come back.” (Dan, 14:08)
• Nostalgia over old jerseys (14:58), inside jokes about custom team swag.

2. Murakami Gets His Bidet — International Player Amenities & Japanese Influence

[33:24–45:12]

White Sox’ New Star: Munetaka Murakami

• Munetaka Murakami—power-hitting Japanese import, two-year, $34M deal (“He swings out of his shoes…a cool-looking lefty swing,” Dan, 34:24).
• Notable contract request: a bidet in the locker room.
  • “Murakami had a contract request… he asked for a bidet in the locker room.” (Dan, 35:59)
  • “One thing that stood out… we didn’t have a bidet in our locker room. That’s something that’s new to him. We’re putting one in.” (Dan quoting Sox exec Chris Getz, 36:01)

Japanese Player Marketing: New Frontier or Recent Trend?

• Discussion about growing Japanese influence in MLB marketing—broadcasting games back to Japan, sponsors like Hankook Tire.
• “Are we erasing Tadahito Iguchi and Shingo Takatsu?…[Iguchi] hit a three-run homer in the Red Sox series that changed everything!” (Dan, 37:24)

Dodgers’ Bidet Arms Race

• The Dodgers reportedly have eight state-of-the-art, heated-seat, Japanese-style bidets to accommodate Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki et al.
  • “Eight bidets. And the Sox had none. Who’s falling behind? The bidet arms race.” (Dan & Matt, 40:36)
• Playful speculation: Will the Sox clubhouse know how to use the bidet? Jokes about new amenities being mistaken for drinking fountains, and ranking White Sox history by "cleanest crack".

Bidets, Music Gifts & Marital Banter

• From bidet comedy to anniversary presents—Bernstein riffs on wedding gifts, considers composing a love song instead of buying crystal: “Music? Yeah… I’ll get her a hammer dulcimer… Actually my brother-in-law is a steel guitarist, a virtuoso in fact. And a luthier. He could actually build… an instrument.” (41:56–43:25)

3. Chicago Sports Odds, NBA Trade Whispers & Stadium Politics

[21:20–33:24 / 49:14–35:07 / 55:26–59:02]

NBA Trade Deadline Chatter

• “Two big shoes to drop… James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.” (Dan, 25:26)
  • Possible destinations and implications—Giannis, Harden, Anthony Davis, Bulls' asset movement.
  • Bulls continue to dance around the edges of trades, collecting picks and being opportunistic as a “facilitator.”
  • “Bulls continue to…recoup a couple of second round picks which school?” (Dan, 26:05)
  • Brief musings on smaller stories: Yuki Kawamura—shortest player in Bulls history (“He’s out there trying really, really hard…what else does somebody 5’7” have to do [to] belong in the NBA?” — 29:22)

Bears Stadium Drama & ‘Keep the Bears in Illinois’ Billboards

[52:53–59:02]

• Bernstein and Matt dissect “mysterious” billboards urging fans to keep the Bears in Illinois.
  • “Does not say who paid…does not say who actually said, ‘put that billboard up’…I think it’s the Bears.” (Dan, 53:06)
• They suspect not genuine grassroots sentiment, but top-down astroturfing spearheaded by the Bears' own PR.
• Sharp critique of “tax certainty” language—a rebranding of demands for tax breaks.
  • “Don’t fall for their language when they say ‘tax certainty’…It means tax cuts is what it means. It means free money.” (Dan, 55:54)
  • “It’s all bullshit. All those studies are PR. They’re not scientific…If Indiana wants to fall for it, let Indiana fall for it.” (Dan, 56:43)

Bears' Ownership & Timeline

• Questioning the realism and politics behind promises of a new stadium by 2025.
  • “Kevin Warren said he’d have a shovel in the ground before 2025 ended…So at what point …what would you imagine for the McCaskey family? [59:02] No answer—just speculation on public/private negotiation games.

4. Nostalgia, Food, and Comic Interludes

Throughout

Food & Chicago Culture

• Tangents about food—from tuna melts (“Where are you on tuna melt with bacon?” — 13:07), to raw vs. grilled onions on burgers, to Omaha Steaks (32:36).
• Bernstein’s candor: “Are you going to burger-shame me? I ate four burgers!” (33:09)

Growing Up With Hockey

• Miraculous 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey memories—documentary recommendation ("Miracle: The Boys of 80") and the emotional impact of that team (“You should have seen the walls of my bedroom…cutting out collages of everything.” — 18:24).

Smart, Cynical, True-to-Chicago Tone

• Trademark Bernstein candor and local color: critical, playful, always straight-talking.
• Memorable lines:
  • “If you want to give subsidies to billionaires somewhere other than Illinois, go ahead. I don’t care.” (55:13)
  • “All those studies are PR bullshit…all kinds of academic papers full of evidence to prove all these estimations of jobs and economic impact. It’s PR bullshit.” (56:43)

5. Notable Quotes & Segments (by Timestamp)

• 01:23 — “Sweetheart, love of my life, it is by its very definition what you have and what is going to the Blackhawks game is a heated rivalry fan club!” (Dan)
• 04:55 — “I would love to have seen Blackhawks players have Pride tape, at least for warmups.” (Dan)
• 07:34 — “If you’re going to dare people to dance and put on banging club music, people will dance… and they’re going to take their shirts off. And they did.” (Dan)
• 10:54 — “Everybody who was Kind of into it loved the fact that one of the Hawks’ goals was scored by Ilya Mikhayev…” (Dan)
• 35:59 — “Murakami had a contract request… he asked for a bidet in the locker room.” (Dan)
• 40:36 — “Eight bidets. And the Sox had none. Who’s falling behind? The bidet arms race.” (Dan & Matt)
• 55:54 — “Don’t fall for their language when they say ‘tax certainty’. It means tax cuts…free money.” (Dan)
• 56:43 — “All those studies are PR bullshit… It’s PR bullshit.” (Dan)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:59] Blackhawks "heated rivalry" Pride Night
• [04:00–08:30] Old vs. new stadium hockey atmosphere
• [10:30–12:00] Heated Rivalry’s embedded in-game references
• [14:00–16:00] Family hockey nostalgia
• [25:26–27:30] NBA trade deadline overview
• [34:24–41:30] Murakami’s bidet request & Japanese baseball influence
• [52:53–59:02] Bears stadium saga and political commentary

In Summary

This episode captures the evolving intersection of sports, culture, and business in Chicago—showcasing how fan communities are changing, how teams are adapting, and how unfiltered, candid commentary on politics, amenities, and nostalgia can turn even a discussion about toilets into comic gold. Dan and Matt deliver their signature mix: deep sports insight, lived experience, skepticism toward PR spin, and the everyday color of Chicago fandom.