Hour 2: World Cup & Talk About It

Summary

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Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 2: World Cup & Talk About It

Date: July 7, 2026
Podcast: ESPN New York – Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the aftermath of another disappointing World Cup exit for the US Men’s National Team (USMNT). The hosts and callers dissect the ongoing struggles of American soccer on the men's side, ask why the US program seems to hit the same ceiling decade after decade, and examine wider issues of player development, youth sports culture, pay-to-play, and why the US continues to lag behind elite soccer nations. The backdrop is a summer in which soccer dominates the sporting landscape, prompting soul-searching about what it will take for the US men to ever make a real breakthrough.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. USMNT’s World Cup Failure and Pulisic Criticism

(Segment begins around 00:44)

• Carli Lloyd’s Blistering Critique: The team opens up dissecting Carli Lloyd's post-game comments about the US team's mentality and Christian Pulisic’s performance:

  • Quote:

    "I felt like they lost the game before they even stepped out onto the pitch…just chasing, tentative, scared, just not confident on the ball." – Carli Lloyd (01:17)

  • Lloyd wanted to see the US’s “big time players step up in big moments,” pointing specifically to Pulisic's lack of presence.
  • The hosts agree she “absolutely nailed it” and note the deadened tone of Pulisic’s own post-game comments, questioning if he or the team ever really believed they could win.

• Psychological Aspect & Historic Patterns:

  • The guys debate whether this defeat simply fits a long-established narrative – years of hope, years of similar results.
  • Alan Hahn notes:

    "...If you're just accepting, well, we weren't going to win this anyway...They never really believe they can win." (02:50)

• Contextualizing with World Cup History

  • Only eight nations have ever won the World Cup – the US being nowhere near that tier.
  • Entertaining banter as they try to name all eight winners (03:25–05:07), ultimately landing on Uruguay as the hardest to remember.

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2. The Developmental Wall: Why Can't the US Break Through?

(Segues from 05:36 and caller begins at 08:45)

• Comparison to Other Sports/Olympics:

  • The hosts wonder if there’s any other major sport/event where the US remains perpetually unsuccessful despite decades of infrastructure and investment.
  • They note in sports like hockey and basketball, when the US made a concerted effort, results followed. With soccer, not so.

• Caller "Danny" from Long Island (08:45–12:26):

  • Played and coached soccer, gives an articulate critique:

    • US looked unprepared for Belgium’s press. Lack of tactical adjustment is a coaching and structural problem.
    • Wonders why, with the vast American youth soccer system, development hasn’t produced world-class talent.
    • Cites pay-to-play and “travel” sports ruining accessibility for regular kids, leaving only a select, often affluent group.
    • Contrasts US approach with Central/South America and Europe, where children are trained from a young age, almost singularly focused on soccer, albeit sometimes at the cost of education and childhood.

  • Quote:

    "You would think with all the Division I soccer teams we have that we’d be able to scoop up the best 15-20 year old kids...But we're never going to be like these other countries...they just play that sport." – Danny (11:05)

• Host Response:

  • The team concurs, suggesting the US faces structural, cultural, and motivational hurdles unique to its diverse sportsscape and economic model.

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3. The Global Model vs. US System

(Caller John, Fort Lee at 12:36 – further explored throughout)

• Lack of Incentives in MLS:

  • Caller argues MLS, lacking the European-style relegation, doesn’t incentivize excellence or risk, limiting the league and player pool’s competitive edge (13:30).
  • Highlights how in Europe, clubs have youth academies providing year-round, club-based training and a direct pipeline to the pros. In US, youth teams are stand-alone travel clubs, often for-profit.

• Women's Soccer as a Contrast:

  • US Women have been world leaders, winning four World Cups.

  • Host questions if the women’s path is easier due to less global competition versus structural brilliance.

  • Caller (John) suggests Title IX, early adoption, and cultural acceptance gave US women a head start; other countries are catching up.

  • Quote:

    "If the same development program, you would think that they'd be at the same disadvantages. Why have they won four World Cups and the men haven't?" – Alan Hahn (15:28)

• Multi-sport Culture and Cost Barriers:

  • Hosts share personal anecdotes about how kids in the US are usually funneled into various sports, unlike, say, Brazil, where soccer is THE pathway.
  • Cost is a huge factor – equipment, training, travel, etc. – as Alan details the extensive personal and family investment needed just for kids to participate at a high level.

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4. Private Equity and the "Business" of Youth Sports

(“Talk About It Tuesday” begins 22:42, big segment from 25:01–34:41)

• Exposé by Alan Hahn:

  • Youth sports has become a multi-billion dollar industry, increasingly dominated by private equity.
  • Facilities, tournaments, teams, and even streaming services for games are now owned by investment funds.
  • Parents pay for everything: training, hotel accommodations (sometimes required to use certain hotels), viewing games (in person or streaming), uniforms, etc.
  • This creates financial barriers for many families, especially for “non-core” sports like soccer, thus killing grassroots accessibility.
  • Memorable Moment: Alan’s incredulity at being forced to pay to watch his son play after paying multiple other fees.
    • "I'm not paying to watch my son play...I find another way in." – Alan Hahn (31:37)
  • Notes a proposed federal bill to ban private equity involvement in youth sports, but admits chances are slim due to America’s capitalist priorities.

• Pay-to-Play & Athletics as “Experience”:

  • Hosts emphasize for most parents, it’s not about a scholarship or going pro, but about their kids having a healthy, social, and formative experience. The system, however, increasingly prices out those not willing or able to pay up.

  • Quote:

    "You can't wonder why we don't get all the best athletes to play a sport like soccer. They can't afford it." – Alan Hahn (33:36)

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5. Culture, Criticism, and the Limits of American Soccer

(Calls and host reflections, 42:12–end)

• Is Criticism the Problem?

  • Caller suggests that US sports talk radio’s tone toward soccer discourages participation.
  • Hosts strongly disagree, noting:
    • Every sport gets criticized.
    • Criticism is a mark of taking the sport seriously, not discrediting it.
    • Youthfully, soccer participation is huge, but the best players often don't develop into elite pros because the system is costly, fragmented, and not culturally singular the way it is in football/basketball (in the US) or soccer (abroad).

• US Multi-Sport Culture:

  • The US doesn’t have soccer built into its national DNA like Brazil (where it's "bigger than a sport, it’s a culture").

  • Kids often dabble in many sports; even for football/hockey, the percentage of youth who ever play organized versions is low compared to soccer and baseball.

  • Quote:

    "It's built into the culture there [Brazil] in a real way...The only comp we have for that sort of thing is American football." – Peter Rosenberg (46:32)

• Summary of Problem:

  • The US will likely never produce a men’s team equal to the world’s powers unless structural/cultural tides turn, but even so, the dream is to see “one real run” to the semifinals.

  • Quote:

    "MLS...can be successful, it can be popular, it can make money. [But it's] never going to compete with any of the major leagues in Europe...I'm okay with them being a dog. I just want them, one year, to, while I’m alive, go on a real run." – Peter Rosenberg (19:09)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Carli Lloyd's Critique:

  "They lost the game before they even stepped out onto the pitch…just chasing, tentative, scared, just not confident on the ball."
  — Carli Lloyd, quoted by hosts (01:17)

• Hercules Gomez Stat:

  "How many countries participate? How many have won? Eight, ninety-six years." — Alan Hahn (03:05)

• On the US "Developmental Wall":

  "We just...we’ve hit a wall and it’s been a 50 year wall that doesn’t feel like we’re ever going to cross."
  — Alan Hahn (17:59)

• MLS/Europe Comparison:

  "Every other major league in the world...have a relegation zone...There is no penalty for losing and being terrible in the MLS." — Caller John (13:30)

• Youth Sports as Capitalist Industry:

  "Youth sports now is all private equity…it’s a $40 billion dollar industry...We are pricing them out before they’re 10 years old."
  — Alan Hahn (26:48, 33:36)

• On Culture Limits:

  "We cannot catch up with that because it's not in our DNA. So…we wait...and hope...but we're never truly gonna take any of these steps. It's not about sports talk radio or criticism. It's about culture."
  — Peter Rosenberg (48:36)

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Flow and Tone

The episode is breezy, candid, and sometimes humorous but ultimately self-critical, mixing sharp analysis with New York sports radio’s irreverence. The personal stories (like Alan’s battles with pay-to-watch policies at his kids’ games) blend seamlessly with big-picture reflection. Listeners will walk away informed, entertained, and with a deeper understanding of the persistent, multifaceted challenges facing US men's soccer.

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Opening, Carli Lloyd critique & Pulisic’s “dead” reaction: 00:44–03:25
• Historic World Cup context, US recurring failures: 03:25–06:21
• Caller Danny on coaching, pay-to-play, development: 08:45–12:26
• Caller John on MLS, youth system, women’s team: 12:36–18:21
• Host reflection – US will never catch up: 18:21–20:00
• Firestorm on private equity & youth sports industry: 25:01–34:41
• Closing about sports culture, structural problems, national obsession: 42:12–end

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Summary for Non-Listeners

The Don, Hahn & Rosenberg crew take stock after another frustrating US World Cup campaign, zeroing in on why the US men’s program always seems stuck in neutral. The episode delves into failures of mentality and tactics, historic context, stark differences between US approaches and soccer nations abroad, and how American youth sports’ mega-commercialization actively blocks access and development for many. Personal stories and passionate calls illustrate why the “pay-to-play” model may doom US Soccer to always be just “good enough”—but never great—while culture and capitalism keep the US men firmly outside the world’s soccer elite. The episode stands as both a diagnosis and a lament for American soccer fans looking for that elusive breakthrough.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

this is the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.

[C]

That sounds like heaven to me.

[B]

Listen live weekday afternoon starting at three on eight eighty ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers 402

[C]

in the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg with you. It'll six thirty. At that point we'll hand it off to the Mets. Looking for their third straight win, they start a series with the Kansas City Royals. We're still talking about the US Soccer situation as the season ends for them. Another World cup of failure. We got tons of calls to get to as well at 1-800-919-3776. But maybe one of the most biting criticisms we got last night on Fox was Carli Lloyd.

[D]

Oh yeah, give it to me.

[C]

Who called out Team USA and Pulisic for what happened last night.

[E]

I felt like they, they lost the game before they even stepped out onto the pitch and I'm not sure why. And I don't know, just from the beginning, just chasing tentative, scared, just not conf.

[F]

Confident on the ball.

[E]

And I think big time players, you, you wanted some of those big time players to step up in big moments. And I got to be honest, you know, I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic. I think whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn't see enough from him in this particular game. And really the whole World cup, little glimpses here and there.

[C]

Yeah, there's the psychological part of any strong.

[G]

All right.

[C]

Sometimes you do get overwhelmed. Sometimes you don't feel like you belong. And I think. And again we played it earlier in the show but if you're just joining us, Christian Pulisic after the loss last

[H]

night, just twisted my ankle and just sprained my ankle. I mean it's just frustrating to end like that of course. But you know, now I got time to rest so hopefully it'll be okay.

[I]

Who does he sound like?

[D]

I'm glad he's got time to rest.

[I]

Who does he sound like? I don't know. It sounds so familiar. I want to say Ryan Reynolds. But it's not Ryan Reynolds.

[H]

No.

[I]

It's not Garrett Cole.

[D]

No.

[C]

Gar Cole is not sure.

[I]

A Jace.

[C]

I can't listen to the cut again because every time. But it makes me.

[I]

Something in his voice that I'm like, this sounds like.

[C]

Yeah, there's definitely an audio for doppelganger in there.

[I]

Yeah.

[C]

But again.

[I]

But it's also very. It's missing any type of. It's like, it sounds so dead.

[C]

Like, no, it's all, well, hey, we lost, and the conclusion.

[I]

But I don't think he feels that way.

[C]

But he's coming off.

[I]

So just.

[C]

But you nailed it. You nailed it earlier. Like, I went after him. Like, I go, any other athlete. Like, do you care? Why does it sound like he doesn't care? He's already moved on. But I think it was just that acceptance of we weren't going to win this anyway. This was going to end at some point and ended up ending now. If not now, it have ended Friday. Like, they never really believe they can win. And listen, we know how hard it is to win. That was an amazing stat that Hercules Gomez gave about how many countries participate, how many have won? 8,96 years.

[H]

Can you boys name them?

[D]

Well, you got Brazil with a bunch.

[H]

Oh, yeah, you bet.

[C]

Give me.

[D]

Give me Italy.

[H]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[D]

England a long time ago.

[I]

It doesn't matter.

[D]

France, obviously.

[H]

Oh, yeah.

[I]

France.

[D]

Germany.

[H]

Yeah. Yeah.

[I]

What are we at now about. What is that, four, five or at five?

[D]

Argentina.

[H]

Oh, yeah.

[I]

All right, we need three. Are there any.

[H]

No, there's. There's only. You said you had six already.

[I]

Yeah, there's only eight. There's only two more. So any outliers? Any, like, you know there's an outlier?

[J]

It's gonna be tough.

[I]

Doesn't make sense.

[D]

There's one that's tough.

[H]

Yeah. They want. They won two in the first four.

[I]

Is that still a country?

[D]

Yes, it's still a country. And I get. We got to go continent to give us a continent.

[H]

South America.

[D]

And they won two of the first four.

[H]

That's right.

[D]

But we wouldn't think.

[H]

And they are not in this World Cup.

[D]

They're not in the World cup even. But there are.

[G]

They.

[D]

Are they considered, like, when we hear it, we go, oh, yeah. Marquee soccer franchise or no?

[H]

No, I wouldn't say that.

[D]

Bolivia.

[F]

No.

[I]

Chile.

[H]

No.

[D]

It's a good guess. I like what you've done. Uruguay.

[H]

There you go, Peter.

[J]

There you go.

[I]

Uruguay. As opposed to Paraguay.

[F]

That was.

[H]

And that was the hard one. Who did you guys. Not.

[D]

That was it. You said you had six and that was two. Oh, it's eight teams. They won twice.

[I]

Yeah, they won.

[D]

Sorry, is the other one Europe?

[H]

Well, what do we have? You've mentioned Germany.

[J]

German.

[D]

France.

[H]

France.

[I]

England.

[H]

England.

[C]

Argentina.

[D]

Argentina. Brazil.

[H]

Brazil.

[I]

Yeah. You said Spain.

[C]

Italy. You had Italy.

[D]

No, we had Italy.

[I]

Italy.

[D]

We didn't have Spain or Portugal.

[H]

Well, there's no Portugal, so Spain and Spain. There you go.

[D]

Spain's lost.

[I]

Oh, we said Spain. Okay, there it is.

[K]

Yeah.

[I]

All right.

[D]

So is that. But that's hard. But that's hard. Think about that. But this is what's so crazy, man. You waited. This was the culmination of, you could say, not just four years.

[I]

So Norway. The big run for Norway, right?

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

There's a big one for Norway.

[I]

This is big.

[D]

Yeah. I'm probably feeling Norway in terms of where I'm rooting.

[I]

You know what? Red, white and blue. Love the star player. Yeah.

[C]

The whole rowing thing.

[D]

Rowing thing is fun.

[I]

That's my team.

[D]

But you really think about it.

[I]

Norwegian wood.

[D]

This.

[L]

That's right.

[D]

We know how you feel about that.

[C]

Forgetting all, eh?

[D]

This is like more than a culmination of four years. This has been a real build because you thought if the US Ever has a shot, it's going to be when they're hosting. And they hosted in 94. We've waited 32 years, and really, we've known that this time was coming for the last 12. So you build for that for 12 years to get your team in position and then to go out in the same place that you've been before, not making it any further and then doing it badly.

[I]

Same ending.

[D]

It doesn't erase the great moments that we had in the tournament because I. I really. I'm going to go back and watch their goals. I mean, the goals were wonderful, but it's still. It's a huge crashing thud.

[C]

I was even thinking, like, of the important. I'm not trying to devalue Olympic sports, but of the ones to really pay attention to. Right. In both the Winter and the Summer Olympics, is there an event that we never win? Imagine, like, never winning in gymnastics, never winning in figure skating.

[D]

Like, of the big ones.

[C]

Of the real big ones. Right.

[D]

Popular.

[C]

Popular sports that we never meddle in. Is there anything like. So that's. That's what's so frustrating.

[I]

We finally meddled in curling is that.

[C]

It seems like when we put our mind to it, eventually we get there. We got there in hockey, you know, to where.

[K]

All right.

[C]

We like, you Said we won in 60, we won in 80. But to now become one of the superpowers.

[I]

And we changed our rules just so we can win again in basketball. Right, right. We didn't like that.

[C]

Yeah, but basketball's our sport, football's ours. We get, we get those. But even in like in the Olympic, is there anything that we're like, huh? We haven't meddled in a thousand years. We're never good at it. It feels like when we put the effort in, we eventually get there. And we haven't been able to do it with soccer. The effort's been there.

[I]

What's key thing that you also shoot? A rifle. What's that called?

[C]

I wouldn't call that one of the

[I]

big events, but we don't, we never win that.

[D]

No, we don't do that.

[C]

Cross country shooting,

[D]

we never, it's sad. We never have a chance.

[C]

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[F]

The shooting and skiing would be biathlon.

[C]

There you go.

[I]

But we knew that.

[F]

And we're also lacking in two man luge. But we won't call that a big one. Okay, couple of thoughts. First on the game because I played up through high school, I coached my kids intramural team. So I know the rules, I know the game. You know, I read earlier in the series or anything that, you know, the scheduling and the group had been, like, slightly advantageous to the Americans. And then when you went on the betting apps, and I saw, like, one of the games, they were like, minus 550, which is, like, overwhelming favorites. And then finally yesterday, it was actually kind of like what we'd call in football, almost like a poosh, as Don would say. It was, like, barely, you know, one team was not significantly small favored. And we play up against Belgium, and we look like we never played soccer before. And the weird thing is, is that I don't. I don't. I watched a lot of the other games that were very exciting. I don't watch it regularly, but I was all in because the games were exciting. Their elimination, a lot of passion. That's what you want to see. But I was interested to see, like, Peter, is that the regular defense that Belgium employed? Because it's not like the game was the next day after the one when you had, like, almost a week or five days to look at this team and say, this is what they're going to do. They're going to play, like, what we call, like, a press defense. And we look completely unprepared to deal with it, which goes back to coaching. I kept thinking, like, when are they going to pass the ball back to the striker or the sweeper, what we used to call it, and he just launches the ball down the field like 50 yards in, like, that mad dash, you know, 30 yards away from the other goalkeeper. And they never seem to do that. And so it was kind of shocked at the lack of, you know, strategy or adjustment to what Belgium was doing.

[I]

That's very fair as far as. Yeah, that's very.

[F]

As far as the. The youth, the future of the sport. I grew up. I'm older than both of you. I remember soccer as a big deal as a kid. We had intramural leagues in Long Island. My kids played soccer all through. Everybody played soccer. If you were growing up, the first sport you played was soccer. Very easy for a boy to understand. Don't touch the ball with your hands or run around. And we all played, and we played up until high school. It was so popular during the cosmos era that Sylvester Stallone started a major motion picture about a soccer game. And we're only World cup stars and Pele winner. It was a big deal. I can't believe that with the amount of. Belgium is about the size of half the size of New York State. So I can't believe in the United States of America with all the travel, soccer now, which, by the way, just like everything else has ruined the intramural level because we used to have 100 kids try out for a soccer team in high school. Now you have the 20 that have already paid $14 million in travel fees, their entire, you know, going up starting at the age of eight. But that's bad for the average soccer kid. But you think that would produce super soccer players because it's worked with baseball, hockey. Like Don said, we have 30% in the NHL, we have these travel hockey. Now we have the under, we have the undercarriage of supporting kids and pushing them forward. And you have, even though we don't have a great league, you would think with all the Division 1 soccer teams we have that we wouldn't be able to scoop up the best 15, 20 year old kids when they're done and say listen, we're going to train and we would be on par with anybody else in the world. But we're never going to be like these other countries if it's true that they scoop kids up like the Dominican Republic scoops up kids and plays baseball. They don't have to go to school, they don't have to worry about the sat. All they do is play that sport. And when they're 18, if they're not good enough, they get sent back to the field to pick vegetables. It's terrible situation but that's what exists in Central American countries. They're not better at baseball than us. They're just basically committing child abuse at some level as far as I'm concerned. So these other countries, if they're taking those kids on the tax pay a dime and sending them to soccer camps, we're never going to have that. If that, that's what we need to compete. We're not going to have it.

[I]

That's exactly it.

[C]

Yeah, I think you nailed it.

[I]

Exactly what's happening. We're going to get deeper into it during talk about it too by the way.

[C]

There you go. That's coming up at 4:30.

[D]

Good job. By Danny.

[C]

Yes, John in Fort Lee. You're on ESPN New York.

[G]

What's going on guys? First I want to just acknowledge Pete's post. It was funny because that's what exactly was meant to be. It's not meant to be some type of.

[D]

It was being sort of silly and tongue in cheek. But thank you for recognizing that, my friend.

[G]

Yeah, I mean like you don't have to be a genius to realize what you were doing. But regardless. So just to paint the picture, I'm a first generation Italian American. I have no dog in this fight, other than, you know, I like to see us do good. With that being said, you know, this was Belgium's bronze generation, let's call it, because the golden generation is gone. They aren't what they used to be. They. But still the worst belgium of probably 15, 20 years is still way better than the best USA of the last 15, 20 years. There's zero development in this country. And the reason, like, you know, you guys have rattled off every reason possible of why it's a problem and how other teams from foreign countries are taking players from here. If you look at every top player on US national team, they are not playing in the mls. The ones that are notable at least now when you look at the rest of the mls, there's no incentive program for it to be a top league. Every other major league in the world, even in third world countries, have a relegation zone where if you're the bottom three team, you get dumped down to the B division and the top three teams from that B division come up. There is no penalty for losing and being terrible in the mls. With that being said, you look at how teams develop in other countries. They have instead of travel teams like we have here. Like the guy was saying previous call, they have just the youth teams. Like it would be like the jets has an under 12 team or you know, the Yankees has an under 15 team and these kids are playing for a team, a real club. And they're also like being trained, they're getting schooling. It's a full blown business. Like this is a wheel like we've never seen here before. The closest thing to compare it to is probably like American baseball and how there's the farm league and everyone gets built up from it outside of that, right? Like you look at the women's national team in America, they're a powerhouse. They have four World Cups. Is there no like communication between like the organizations where they're saying like, hey, we are not capable of producing talent or knowing how to source it. What are you guys doing differently on the women's side?

[C]

Well, we're not doing what I need to know, John, and educate me because you know far better than I do. But like, how open is the women's World Cup? Do more, do less countries participate? Like, is it easier path for the women in the World cup soccer than it is for the men? Like, why? Because if the same development program, you would think that they'd be at the same disadvantages. Why have they won four World Cups and the men haven't?

[G]

So I guess the Difference is maybe the competition might not be as good in the qualifiers versus, you know, men versus women. Like, the, the qualifying groups are more or less the same. Like, because it's a. It's a regional basic qualifier. So they're going to be playing against teams that they play every three years to figure out if they're going to go to the World Cup. And let's say, for someone like me, right, I'm an Italy fan, I've been in the dumps where it's pretty much like the jets of national soccer, right? And. And the unfortunate part is, is what people don't realize is, like, kind of the qualification process has changed a little bit, too, for, like, European teams. So Italy is in a group that Norway is also in. Italy went undefeated during qualifiers, but because they have to go against a man named Erling Haaland that scores goals like other people breathe air, it becomes almost an impossible task to win that group. Now in America, right? Like, you have, you have kids that are great at soccer, and you're coming up. You, you. You get to like, maybe fifth grade, sixth grade. You look around. Every kid and friend that you have in school is playing other sports. I don't have to tell you guys how expensive it is to play sports as a kid in this country.

[C]

Oh, I'm just going to get to it, too. No, listen, I'm seeing myself. It's hard between the equipment and the training and everything that goes into it, you know, but there's. But in some countries, like, soccer is the national pastime, that's all you're going to play. But for my son, for Allen's son, for, you know, if Peter has a boy down the road, they're going to have plenty of options. It can be baseball, there's going to be football, there's going to be basketball. We can play hockey, soccer. Like, there's so many I got. In September, we're going to send Marco to a hockey camp. He just came off a soccer camp. He's got a baseball camp coming up in August. Like, he's going to have options.

[I]

Well, you want to keep him busy. But again, well, you'll get to it

[C]

coming up because we got to talk about it. I don't want to get too much in the weeds with this, guys. I know you're passionate about it, but, like, I don't think there's any real easy answers to why we're in the situation that we're in. We're still good enough to qualify. We're good enough to win a Few games. But we just. We've hit a wall and it's like it's been a 50 year wall that doesn't feel like we're ever going to cross.

[D]

I think the truth is this is, this is a hard truth, but I'm okay with it. It's never changing. Maybe one day an all time great player will come along who sort of changes the level of popularity and is able to be the person. Like imagine, you know, Pulisic didn't sound the way he sounded and was a real star for our team. Like imagine we. I'm not saying, let's be realistic. I'm not saying we had Messi all right. But like Vinny Jr. For Brazil, like some guy who's not. Not literally the best in the world, but we had like a top seven or eight in the world player. Maybe that person could get us through another round. Maybe even they get us to the semis one day and that would be amazing. It's never going to change. Mls, mls, it can be successful, it can be popular, it can make money. Never going to compete with any of the major leagues in Europe. However, in a weird way, guys, and I know this is. I'm angry today and I'm upset with their performance. I'm okay with it in general. Like I'm okay with them being a dog. I just want them one year to, while I'm alive, go on a real run.

[M]

That.

[D]

That's really it. I know we're never. Only eight teams have won the whole.

[C]

Right. You don't need them to win.

[K]

No.

[D]

But.

[C]

But get to the last four. Maybe play in a champ.

[I]

Or at least don't go out like that.

[D]

At least don't do what you did last night.

[C]

Lose one. Nothing kicks right.

[D]

Or they, or they. If they don't give up, if Freeze doesn't make the moronic mistake and they don't give up that goal and they

[C]

just lose 2, 1 and at least

[D]

they're fighting the whole second half.

[C]

There were opportunities to make it 3, 2. Imagine if you won.

[D]

Then you would have been like, oh, but that goal, if that goal doesn't happen, you're crushed by the two goals in the first half. But you can kind of feel like they got away from it, they settled things down. But instead they have that happen. You're like. And then they give up another one.

[I]

He got in the game and you knew this guy's scoring.

[C]

If they lost last night in the way that Mexico lost to England.

[I]

Yeah.

[C]

And we're talking about that game the

[B]

way you guys talked about.

[C]

Then there would have been like, you know what? I'm good.

[D]

Not all losses are equal.

[C]

This was a really you needed to answer and you just didn't.

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[B]

thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[D]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[B]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes you just can't take it anymore. This is let's Talk About It Tuesday with Don Hahn and Rosenberg.

[D]

Ah, talk about it Tuesday. What do you say on a day like today?

[C]

Well, Alan's got.

[D]

Well, you know, it's going to be four more years before you can care about this thing again. I'm going to be a no. Listen, Maya will be the next time there's a World Cup. Maya will be five and a half years old.

[C]

Yeah.

[K]

Yeah.

[C]

Probably into it.

[I]

She'll be in school.

[D]

Whereas yesterday I was trying to get her to we have a little mini stuffed soccer ball and I was trying to get her to understand kicking instead of throwing. She's not there.

[I]

She's all about throwing. She's a quarterback. She's a quarterback. It's the other football is.

[D]

She's throwing it. Exactly. She's throwing it. She's dunking it. But she didn't get it. So it's just, it's just shout out to all the people who really are into this.

[I]

So Real Madrid's not bringing her into camp anytime soon?

[D]

Not in the immediate. No, no, she will not be going to Real Madrid camp. Although you never know where things go. But she watched some with me yesterday. I'm sad she didn't get to see better. And also, I'll just say this in closing and talk about it. We'll maybe go over a little bit more during ENN, but another absolute bonafide classic today. Argentina was down 2 nil against Egypt and they come all the way back and win it in the second half.

[I]

Just even Tom Brady.

[D]

Yeah, Tom Brady Posted well, maybe 283 isn't the best after all. Something like that. I mean, by the way, 23 is still crazier in my opinion than 2 old deficit in the second half. But it's close though.

[C]

The biggest deficit overcome in the World cup is three. So it's not.

[D]

He's right, it's close. But there's only, there's only, you know, so many options.

[I]

It's the dreaded two nothing lead though. We all know that.

[D]

Yeah, it's true. Somehow, somehow when the US was down 2 goals, it felt a little more over.

[I]

Felt like 8 nothing.

[D]

It did not feel, did not feel close.

[I]

31 also felt like 10 nothing.

[D]

And by the way, and speaking of talk about it, Griffin, wherever you are, I'm sorry that I had to be right yesterday. I didn't want to be when Griffin called up and waxed poetic about who Belgium is and what the US has done so far. There's no reason to think the US Won't win. And I just said, young man, I've been around this a bit longer than you. Don't start grading them and expecting things based on what you've seen the last three weeks. You have to keep in mind the last 30 years. And unfortunately the egg that was laid last night was a 32 year or more egg. So that's my talk about it. What do you have, Alan?

[I]

Not enough there. Well, this is part of the discussion which of course is about the development of, of sports in our country and how do we get to certain places and bringing up the fact that we were able to catch up hockey wise in this country to become a world power and everything else. And it's just a dangerous place that I have seen with my kids playing youth sports that a lot of the people can realize. And you know, for my son who's played hockey since he's two Years old, but played organized hockey since he's eight. Travel hockey. Watching what that's turned into, what it once was, where you just played, you know, a local team, then you just played travel with that local team. And how year after year, it started to become this overwhelming industry, or at least it felt like that. Where are we have this tournament? Where is it? It's in this town, Morrow, Massachusetts. Okay, well, we'll just get a hotel. No, you have to stay at this hotel. Why? Well, that's the tournament. That's their choice of hotel.

[D]

All right.

[I]

And then it's. You realize that that area just gets built up bigger and bigger and bigger. And you've got a million rinks now in one facility. And four or five other hotels now pop up and you find out it's all owned by the same person. And this has become an industry. And this has become. And that's not just hockey. It's happening in soccer, it's happening in baseball, volleyball. Everything. Everything that goes on with youth. Youth sports now is all private equity. It's a 40 billion dollar industry. 40 billion dollar industry. Now why would you invest in youth sports if you were, you know, venture capitalist?

[C]

Why?

[D]

Humor me, Alan.

[I]

Because it's a moneymaker.

[C]

Why?

[I]

Because as parents, what are we trying to do? We want to keep our kids active.

[C]

Yes.

[I]

We want the best for them. We want. Maybe, maybe they'll have a chance to go on and play in college. Wouldn't that be great?

[D]

Maybe they'll. Maybe they'll get a scholarship.

[I]

That could happen. That. That's still. The percentages get lower. But the whole point is, what you're just trying to do is you want them to make friends and you want them to play an active sport because it's good for them.

[D]

It's healthy.

[I]

It's better than them just sitting around doing nothing, hanging out that whole thing on a tablet.

[C]

Exactly.

[I]

So you do this so they know as venture capitalists that you know what this is every year. This is a gain. Every year, people, parents are spending thousands of dollars on their kids a year on this. Why wouldn't you invest in this? There's a return every year. It doesn't go away. It doesn't fizzle. And there's new customers that come in every year that push up from 8 to 18, doesn't stop. They own everything. Do you know IMG Academy? You guys have heard of that, right? We have seen a lot of great tennis players come out of there. Yes, we have seen a lot of athletes come out of there. It was just Bought Last year, cash, $1.2 billion by an Asian financial company that just bought into it or bought it and is now running it.

[F]

Why?

[I]

Why would you want that? Because it's an investment. Because parents are willing to spend to send their kids to this prep school that focuses on sports. Blackstone, if you have her played, if your son ever goes to Ripken Baseball and does all that stuff, that's owned by Blackstone, okay? And they run all that stuff. So the hotels. That'll be their hotels. If you want to watch your child play in a tournament, you. You paid for the tournament. You pay for the hotel. The tournament says you have to stay in. You pay, have your kid play. You pay to watch your kid play. You buy a ticket to watch your child play. Think about that in these places. That's new. That's in the last 10 years. Why did that become a thing? Because they know they can. What are you gonna do, say no? Well, you're not allowed in. What do you mean I'm not allowed in? I paid for all this crap. I can't walk in and watch my own kid play? Nope, cannot. Oh, do you want to. Do you want to watch on video streaming? Do you want to watch him play? Or maybe have grandma and grandpa watch him play?

[D]

Costs.

[I]

Guess what? We own that, too. You can. You can do an annual subscription if you'd like, and you can watch in all of our arenas and gyms if you'd like, but you got to pay for it.

[D]

Really?

[I]

Oh, how about this? I want to just video it myself. No, you can't do that. It's illegal.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[I]

In this place, it's only the streaming service. If we catch you with the camera, you will be removed. That's a rule. That really happens.

[C]

And would your kid be taken out of the tournament, too?

[I]

Luckily, I've never had to deal with that. Black Bear. Is this again another private equity that has bought up rinks all across the Northeast, and they have taken over what once was called Live Barn. They have now taken over, done the streaming thing as well. Everything's blacked out. You can't watch your own child play. Let's say I'm working. I can't make a tournament, but I want to watch Zach or Cali play. I got to pay for it. Pay a subscription. But the whole idea is that they give you layers, because now not only do they buy the rink, they now invest in the youth team that plays in that rink. So guess what? Now I got to pay for that. Now I got to pay for the training. It just becomes overwhelming. So when you wonder why some kids struggle. It's an AAU as well. AU basketball. Private equity is everywhere now because youth sports is a mega business, and it's pricing out some kids whose families can't afford it. And it's sad, but that's. That's our country. That's what it's about now. So you can't wonder why we don't get all the best athletes to play a sport like soccer. They can't afford it. We're going to lose those athletes because of it. It's a huge part of it. So you had, like, Harris Blitzer, right?

[K]

Go ahead.

[I]

Juggernaut Capital, TCP Group, Brand Velocity Group. These are all places, if you see that, in control of whatever facility you're in, just understand what you're getting yourself into. There's no escaping it. It's there now. But for me, in all the years when I've had to go to a rink, my son's playing, and they stop me at the door and say, it's $20 if you want to come in. And I look at him, I go, it doesn't cost me anything. I've already paid for this. I paid the fee. I've paid for him. I've paid for the hotel. I'm not paying to watch my son play.

[D]

And what happens?

[I]

I find another way in.

[D]

Oh.

[I]

Oh, I've done that. But now they've put up barricades. No, this sounds stupid, but I'm telling you this.

[C]

You're telling me what I'm probably gonna find out for myself.

[I]

I don't know how they could do it at a baseball field. You're outdoors, so I'm wondering how that works on the baseball side or even soccer. But I knew. I know in volleyball from Gracie, and I know this from my son, and I know now I'm learning it with Cali. Is it hockey and volleyball, the two things that I've experienced. I have not experienced baseball in the AAU level, but basketball, but I've been told that is also now starting to become a thing because they invest so much in these teams now. You're getting, like, great uniforms. You're getting all the best stuff, but you still got to pay for it. And it does price out those who just want to play. They just want to play. So now high school sports, which used to be the thing, football still is, but in a lot of other sports, soccer, your high school soccer, that's for fun. The club team is one that matters, right? AAU Team matters in basketball now, not high school. Your club team matters in hockey more than high school hockey matters. Unless you're in Minnesota. Right. It's just different. Lacrosse, like, it's just what it's become. And this is private equity. And it has become part of this new wave of venture capitalists who are looking at ways to invest properly. And you can make money every year. And we know as parents, we are willing to spend and do whatever it takes. But travel, baseball, used to be, you know, we gotta drive to that town now. It's. We've gotta go here, stay in a hotel, all this stuff, and then come back. Your weekends are basically dedicated to this. And these people know you're gonna do it because you don't want your kid to miss out because other kids are doing it. And so this is your talk about.

[D]

As your talk about it is a long way of saying that we're just the worst because it's kind of.

[I]

No.

[D]

What I'm trying to apply this to everything.

[I]

Well, I'm trying to open eyes to understand. Like when we talk about why in Europe they are finding kids in. They're finding them all over the place. And why don't. Why can't we do it here? Well, it's because we are pricing them out before they're 10 years old.

[D]

But what I'm saying is the reason it is partially also just we're the worst is that whole thing we were talking about of.

[I]

You can't say we're the worst because, I mean, it's basically capitalism, man.

[D]

No, no, but that's. But that's. But if you want to understand, it's

[I]

the foundation of it all. You just got to know what you're getting yourself into.

[D]

But if you want to understand why we can't culturally be on the same level with a sport like socce.

[K]

Right.

[D]

It's because capitalism is more important. And this is fine. If that's how you roll, it's all good.

[I]

I understand.

[D]

Don. You could in other countries in Latin America and Europe. This is crazy. I know. They actually would put the development and

[I]

love of the game and value children

[D]

and the children just being a part of the game above the capitalism. Here we don't put anything above capitalism ever.

[I]

Here's the one thing that can unify us all is the federal bill that they're trying to pass that will ban private equity from youth sports. But good luck winning that one.

[D]

I was going to say right now, I don't love our odds on that. I do not. We are not in an anti private equity moment.

[H]

Yeah.

[D]

So that's going to be tough.

[I]

Yeah. So my talk about it was simply that my experience is basically I've been. It's over 20 of 15 years of youth sports that I've been involved in with three, four children. And it's, it's gotten bigger and bigger and it's gotten more and more expensive. And it's not just the equipment, it's really the other stuff. It's the training, it's the facilities. It's just literally watching your child play. But the alternative is they don't get to play in these types of things and they miss out on experiences and you don't get to see if they can develop into something big. This is not about. I spend this money now so they can be scholarship players. Because we all know you don't know a kid can be a scholarship player to those 16 or 17 you're already eight years in. So it's not that it's the experience part. It's giving them something to do. It's making them feel part of the team. That's great.

[C]

Otherwise I see, I see fans, they lose interest fast. Right. My son loves sports. He wants to play everything. I want him to find something that he likes or decide, I don't like this. I'm not going to do Amy. Yeah, but then you've got some parents. It's like, I want to develop this kid into the next Aaron Judge. Well, that's genetics.

[I]

You're going to tell you whether or not that's.

[C]

But it's just unfair. And then you kind of like all over the place because, like, Declan's on a travel team that wasn't very good. You know how many times we've traveled to a game and because of the mercy rule, he never even got a chance to bat. So what are we doing? Are we training them for being the bigs or. We're sensitive to the wins and losses.

[I]

See what you just see what you're doing.

[C]

What are we doing?

[I]

But that's the, that's the whole point of this is because the teams that aren't maybe owned by a private equity that are just locally run, so they're lower budget, they don't have as much money and all those things, they're not going to attract really good players. So you put your child on that team and then you go play other good teams and you get absolutely smoked and you go, oh, my God, this isn't fun. And you kid doesn't want to play.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. I disillusions them I want. All I'm interested in is for my kids. Even my daughter who loves gymnastics, she went to gymnastics camp and she horseback riding.

[I]

Yeah, it's great.

[C]

And dance. But also want her to do it right. Because what can make it fun is that you're doing it correctly. Learn how so that while you're doing it, I don't know if she's gonna develop into anything. But I want her to do it right. And then that'll let her allow her to have fun.

[I]

Exactly.

[C]

Because then she'll be the maybe. Maybe she won't be good or maybe Mark Marco won't be good. But as long as they're learning to do it right. Yes, that's what I want to see. Forget the wins and the losses. I just want them to learn that they're swinging properly, that they're dancing properly. Of course not sitting there or living vicariously through my child. Because I didn't make it. Now I want. I didn't make it to the bigs, so now I want Marco to make it.

[I]

You get a lot of that now because of the cost. Now you get up.

[C]

Well, I've invested that much money.

[I]

I want to spend all this money. It gets insane.

[C]

But that was great, man. A lot of people want to dive in on the conversation at 1-800-919-3776. And speaking of diving in, Peter's got lots to say.

[D]

Well, I always dive in head first all the way in, Don. You know how I do it. And on the biggest stage in the world, you can still do it. Matter of fact, Switzerland and Colombia are battling in the in a scoreless first half 43rd minute. And if you want to get down with the action, remember you have the super sub option with FanDuel where if your players subbed out, your bet stays in. That's right, your player leaves the match. The bet continues on with the substitute. So you're still in it until the final whistle. Visit FanDuel.com local to get started. Let there be goals this summer on FanDuel21 Fizzly President, New York. For help with a gambling problem, call 8778-HOPE&Y or text open y467369 this episode

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[B]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[D]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[B]

Catch the show on demand whenever you you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[C]

Don on and Rosenberg on 6:30. At that point we will go to Citi Field Mets and the Royals. The revenge of 2015.

[H]

Don, I have to interrupt you. Do you know what is going to be on our air on Saturday evening?

[C]

Saturday evening?

[H]

Yeah, I'll give you a minute.

[C]

You'll give me a minute?

[H]

I'll give you a minute.

[I]

Saturday.

[H]

I have to also find it. So.

[I]

No.

[C]

So. So Saturday is July.

[B]

What?

[I]

11th.

[C]

July 11th.

[M]

Already?

[H]

Really?

[I]

I know it's cray cray. Summer's almost over.

[H]

So you guys know what we do here on the weekends? We have our fantastic weekend shows during the morning in the mid afternoon and

[C]

then at night show on Saturday.

[H]

Ty's got the show Sunday and typically we will have baseball at night.

[C]

Is it.

[D]

Is it Brewers Pirates? Oh yeah.

[C]

Until seven and then we are gonna have the great Brewers Pirates game coming

[H]

up at 7:00', clock, 3:30 right here on 880.

[I]

What are the odds we waited all this time to finally get a Brewers Pirates game on?

[D]

Our dream about like you.

[C]

That was 10 years ago. If there was.

[M]

It was.

[D]

If it was a day.

[I]

No, not 10. Maybe eight.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

Maybe seven.

[M]

Eight years.

[I]

Yeah.

[H]

That was 2019.

[I]

Yeah. Because you were. You thought I was working.

[C]

Yeah, I thought I was. I was gonna compliment Alan, calling him great and I glanced down and. So we're not going Alan the great alot scam.

[D]

Exactly right.

[C]

Can you just imagine a Decision made by. By this company to say, you know what? I'd rather have Brewers Pirates on than Han Solo.

[I]

What are we doing?

[C]

What exactly? What are we doing? 1-800-919-3776. Paul is in Stanford. You're on ESPN New York. What's up, Paul? Hi, Paul.

[K]

Paula, I'm here. Okay, There's a couple of things I want to emphasize for you guys. Okay. So now, in 1991 was when there was a first woman World cup won by the United States. That happens because women's soccer in the United States was not frowned upon. It was something for girls to play. The United States caught the world by surprise, and they won. Women overseas, in Europe, wherever. It was a sexism thing because women were not supposed to play soccer. So when United States came to the to the forefront, girls were already playing soccer in high school, in college, in element, elementary school, all over, because I used to coach little girls in the 80s. All right, it makes sense. So now the men is different, I believe. Early the United States reached semifinals with players that were from all over the world that lived in the United States. The problem we have with the men's soccer right now is not because it's not so much. There's not enough guys, kids playing the sport. It's what we do to the kids playing the sport. Radio hosts. I've listened to this station, other stations, and when soccer got in, we criticized the sport. A lot of I don't like soccer. I don't like this. So those kids that are listening or those parents that are listening, knowing the fact that it is not something the radio hosts are talking about, in fact, they are criticizing the sports.

[D]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, little kids don't listen to sports talk radio.

[C]

Yeah. Nothing gets criticized more.

[I]

I don't buy that.

[C]

I don't buy it at all. You know, my criticism hockey gets. How many hosts really know anything about hockey, and yet we've been able to develop hockey players.

[K]

Well, it's the same thing.

[D]

That's a good response.

[K]

Something earlier. You said something earlier about hockey. Okay. And that was profound when you said, now we have 30% of Americans playing hockey. But hockey doesn't get criticized as much as soccer does. The closest thing we have to soccer are hockey players the way they can manage the stick, which can juggle the puck with the stick. All right? That's what's going to do it. If we put the same effort we're putting in hockey, in soccer and less criticism.

[I]

The minute they start getting good, some

[K]

country is Going to take them, it's going to pull them. That's not. That's not. That's not a bad thing.

[C]

Listen, I. Paul, I wish I had the power to influence the masses like that. It has nothing to do with criticizing the sport of soccer. Tons of kids are playing soccer, but we're not. Develop them. Developing them into superstars.

[A]

All right.

[C]

Like I said, hockey gets criticized, and yet there's tons of kids playing hockey because the kid wants to play. Hi. The kids aren't listening to sports radio going, how come they're criticizing soccer?

[I]

I'll tell you what. I don't know.

[C]

We don't criticize it. We don't talk about it.

[I]

I was gonna say, I don't think anybody's criticizing.

[C]

No, I mean, we don't criticize hockey. We don't talk about it. We're criticizing Team USA for the way that they played. Because I think soccer fans should be like, I'm tired of the whole nice effort we're getting. No, if it's legit, then they should get killed the same way the spurs got killed for losing, the same way that the Golden Knights got killed for losing. The same reason we kill the Mets, because they're lousy.

[I]

Right. Can I also, though, point out.

[C]

Yes.

[I]

That we have seen exponential growth in following international, primarily soccer in this country. It's everywhere. You see it. And I. I actually think the younger generation. You're seeing a lot more kids who are into all of the different teams in those leagues than they're following in closely. Our generation. Don. We didn't.

[K]

Right.

[I]

That's us, though. But I've. Younger generations, all they ever talk about of those teams. So I don't, I don't. I don't agree with this, with that take whatsoever.

[C]

No. I think that that's more an excuse than anything else.

[I]

He's making an effort to come up with a reason why, but I don't think that one hit the mark.

[D]

Yeah, I. Again, I go back to. I think it's just such a deep, like, if you guys. You guys have seen enough about Brazil, you've watched Brazil play enough, you see the way it's talked about to understand that, like, it's built into the culture there in, like a real, real way. The only comp that we have for that sort of in the US and it's not the exact same because not everybody plays. It is like American football. It's built into who we are.

[I]

I think every kid has once either watched a football game or thrown a football in the yard.

[D]

But it's not everybody.

[M]

But.

[D]

Whereas like. But. But you don't. But most kids don't go play football. Whereas in, like, imagine that same thing you're talking about.

[I]

But in Brazil, everybody is closer to basketball.

[C]

See that, that's what's interesting. The thing that's ingrained in our culture is football. Right?

[D]

But not everyone plays it, which is

[C]

not everybody plays it. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say more people play soccer. Did any. Any of the five of us ever play organized football? I'm not talking about throwing the Nerf ball in the backyard. I mean having equipment, playing organized football with a rep. I played until high school. My high school didn't have a football team. So I'm one of five people on this show.

[D]

Communist high school.

[C]

They couldn't. One that couldn't afford it.

[D]

They couldn't afford a football team.

[C]

You couldn't afford a football team.

[D]

A lot of.

[C]

I would say that's what's amazing to me about football and even hockey. The vast majority of people never played organized sport, organized football or hockey, yet people watch it. Way more people played baseball in some way. Everybody was probably in little league. I bet you that's why soccer.

[H]

So shocking.

[D]

Everyone plays soccer.

[C]

I would say basketball. Basketball and baseball have the highest percentage of people watching that actually played it on an organized level, right?

[D]

Yes, yes.

[C]

But it doesn't necessarily translate into, you know, people going out and playing it from the popularity standpoint, because it's not like people are going to play organized football in droves because they love it so much. I hear people like die hard football fans, they never miss a game. They never miss. Never played.

[D]

No, no, they never did, by the way. I just had a thought, though, that lends itself to the argument I'm making about it being more cultural than say, like about having the leagues, the best leagues. Brazil has multiple leagues. Some are obviously really big and have pretty famous teams. Like you would. You would have heard of that when you see their logo. There are like two or three in particular that are known. Right. But nowhere near what the leagues are in Europe. The best Brazilian players, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Vinnie Jr. Now they all go to Europe. Yeah, they all leave. No, no, but my point is, it's just like here, though, in that way they're not. Their dream is no longer to play in the Carioca's league in Rio. It's to go to Europe to play. But it hasn't changed anything about the obsession with the national team, the Celestial as it's known. It has. There's its own word for what the national team is. It's its own thing. It's like Christmas in Brazil. It's built into who they are. We cannot catch up with that because it's not in our DNA. So we can all love it and we can wait for these moments and hope that somehow, like, we famously fought hard and lost to Brazil on July 4, 1994, we lost by a goal. Maybe it's as close as we'll ever get to taking out a giant, but like, we're never truly gonna take any of these steps. It's all it's not about sports talk radio or criticism. It's about culture.

[A]

It's a pastime.

[I]

We don't have it. It's a pastime for us. It's a way of like.

[D]

But it's not the pastime.

[I]

I look at it as cause two of my daughters started out in sports. The first thing they did is they played on a a little soccer team. Of course, everyone does the weigh in.

[B]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[D]

I don't want to know how the

[I]

sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good.

[B]

Hear more of Don Allen and Peter weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 880 ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[J]

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