02-17-26 - John's Idea To Have At Least One Regular Joe Fan Play On An NBA Team Each Night - BO

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: John's Idea To Have At Least One Regular Joe Fan Play On An NBA Team Each Night
Podcast: Holmberg's Morning Sickness - Arizona
Date: February 17, 2026
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo

In this lively and offbeat episode, John Holmberg pitches a wild, hilarious idea: What if every NBA team was required to put a randomly selected "regular Joe" fan on the court to play six minutes in every game? The crew imagines both the chaos and the unexpected magic such a spectacle could produce, riffing on the arrogance of armchair athletes, recounting stories about playing with pros, and exploring what this could look like in other sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of the Promotional Idea (01:09–02:31)

• John’s Idea:
  • Every NBA team must randomly select one fan in attendance ("Section 103, Row 15, Seat 15, Come on down!") to play six minutes in the game.
  • The spirit is to settle debates among fans who claim, "I could do that," by letting one prove it.
• John:

  "Every team has to have a fan on the floor at any given time...you get six minutes to play in an NBA game...I wonder how you'd fare." (01:09)

• Brady:
  • Laughs at the idea’s intensity:

  "That's a little heavy. Six minutes." (01:50)

2. Comparing Professional and Average Joe Experiences (02:31–03:26)

• Brady:
  • Remembers playing against surprisingly gifted amateurs—some so good, they seemed pro-level, but still not enough for the NBA.
  • Notes big step ups at each level:

  "Even college levels [are on another planet]." (03:23)

• Brett:
  • Wonders about the dangers, joking about super-physical NBA players like DeAndre Ayton:

  "Can you imagine getting an elbow from DeAndre or something like that?" (03:26)

3. Hilarious Outcomes and the Allure for Fans (03:27–04:21)

• John:
  • Envisions potential chaos: fouling out, clueless play, even getting in fights, but the thrill would draw crowds.

  "You're such a wrench in the game...You just start punching dudes and you get your ass kicked. It would be the most exciting thing ever." (03:36)

• On ticket sales:

  "How much could you charge for tickets?" (04:21)

4. Real-Life Pro Encounters and Embarrassing Fan Moments (04:33–06:06)

• John:
  • Shares his own humbling (and hilarious) experience being dunked over by Kenny Skywalker:

  "He told me to move before he started to drive the ball...there's a big black groin going over my forehead..." (04:41)

• Brady & John:
  • Consider if playing with the team's dance squad would be less embarrassing than on the actual court.

5. Game Mechanics and Further Daydreams (06:10–07:49)

• John:
  • Proposes that both teams must sub in their fan simultaneously.
  • Imagines the humiliation of an average Joe guarded by NBA stars.
• Brady:
  • Reflects on the practical approach if picked:

  "I'm going out there. I'm looking not to throw the ball away." (06:06)

• Life-changing moments:
  • Even a single NBA minute could be transformative.

6. John’s Brush With the Pros – Globetrotters & Michael Irvin Stories (07:49–09:53)

• John:
  • Reminisces about scoring five points in a Globetrotters exhibition and getting hustled by NBA legend Meadowlark Lemon.

  "Meadowlark Lemon handed me the ball...He was setting me up like the dumbest man in the world." (07:50)

• Playing with Michael Irvin:
  • Describes how Irvin would steal the ball and dominate, even against (and with) amateurs.

7. Armchair Athletes, WNBA, and the Limits of the Gimmick (11:09–12:35)

• Calling out the “I could do that” crowd:
  • John wants to put the armchair quarterbacks on the spot.

  "Just like, alright, Dick, let’s see it. Go." (11:12)

• On WNBA comparisons:
  • Brags he could survive and score in the women’s league, but admits that’s a controversial take.

  "Even at 50 with two metal hips, I’m pretty sure I’d be alright in the WNBA for six minutes." (11:16)

• Other sports:
  • Football, baseball, and hockey are ruled out due to danger and complexity.
  • Boxing for regular folks? "Nobody wants to watch Mike Tyson drop an alcoholic in the middle of a ring." (12:29)

8. Could It Work in Soccer or Baseball? (12:35–13:28)

• Brady and John:
  • Soccer might kind of work—but mostly for laughs, and not at the professional technical level.
  • Baseball is a total bust for amateurs facing professional pitchers; one wasted at-bat.

  "At bat against a professional pitcher, I don't care if you used to be good. Without reps and stuff, you're screwed." (13:21)

9. The Spectacle’s Enduring Appeal and Impracticality (13:28–14:09)

• Recalling Bill Veeck’s wild baseball antics:
  • The crew compares this NBA fan idea to legendary baseball promotions.

  "This is what baseball used to do... like, we're gonna put a midget out there today... and it's memorable, like, to this day." (13:08)

• Reality Check:
  • Legal liability would doom the idea, and the NBA “doesn’t want us to actually participate.”
  • John relishes being an "idea man" even if these schemes never take off.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• John Holmberg:
  • "You get six minutes to play in an NBA game...I wonder how you'd fare." (01:09)
  • "It would be the most exciting thing ever that every night for six minutes a fan gets in..." (03:36)
  • "He told me to move before he started to drive the ball...there's a big black groin going over my forehead..." (04:41)
  • "I'm an idea man, Brady. That's what I do. I'll come up with great ideas that no one will ever use. It's worthless. Idea man is what I am." (14:01)
• Brady Bogen:
  • "I'm going out there. I'm looking not to throw the ball away." (06:06)
  • "You play. It would be an awesome experience." (02:55)
• Brett Vesely:
  • "Can you imagine getting an elbow from DeAndre or something like that?" (03:26)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:09] – John introduces the “Regular Joe” NBA player idea.
• [03:36] – Envisioning chaos: fan fights, fouling out, and pure excitement.
• [04:41] – John’s story about getting dunked on by Kenny Skywalker.
• [06:06] – Brady’s humble game plan if picked.
• [07:50] – John recalls Globetrotters prank and unexpected success.
• [08:40] – Hilarious Michael Irvin ball-hog story.
• [11:16] – John claims he could compete in the WNBA.
• [13:08] – Baseball’s history of wild fan promotions referenced.

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Summary

The episode is a raucous, tongue-in-cheek brainstorm on fusing pro sports with fan bravado, as John and the crew weigh the chaos, comedy, and potential magic of letting an everyday fan play real NBA minutes. Their stories—whether being posterized, outmatched, or just loitering on the court—underscore the immense gap between professional athletes and regular folks, even as the idea taps into every fan’s dream of being “called up.” Liability and reality may sideline this promotion forever, but the fun and fantasy make it a classic HMS riff.

Transcript

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[John Holmberg]

The rest of home birth morning sickness. This is the big red radio. And then we just me and my friend Brian, we always have these weird conversations. How do you think you would like? Wouldn't it be great? This would be an awesome promotion to see where and how you fare in a professional sporting event as an average guy. So each team has to have a fan on the floor at any given time. Just pull them randomly. All right? Just like, you know, price is right. Section 103, row 15, seat 15. Come on down. You're next. And you get in the game, the paper lion. And you get six minutes to play in an NBA game. And you sit and I wonder how you'd fare. Like I wonder.

[Brady]

That's a little heavy. Six minutes.

[John Holmberg]

Ah, that's it for the whole game. Once they you're the only one, you're the winner that night. You're on the bench that night. You don't understand what's going on, but you get six minutes of play. Maybe not clutch minutes, but it's just like that rotten kid in little league when they had the Everybody must play rule. And you had to. And Coach Monty would have to find a way to plug your dumb ass into this thing. And if you're cool with it, it's like, I'll play. You're in your shorts and they take you back real quick. And they. And then you're like, you get. Because every. Everybody in the crowd talks about what they could do. Or he needs to do this. What do you set that pick? And then you put him out there and say, all right, let's do this, big mouth. Let's see what you got. Wouldn't work in football because you get killed.

[Brady]

Yeah.

[John Holmberg]

But you just wonder how you'd fare as like every night, tonight's fan gets six minutes and his name is blah, blah, blah, like, oh, man, he's going to kill us. Or maybe some dude just shines and has a great six minutes. How magic would it be? Because you see people lose their minds for T shirts. But how magic would it be if you went out and got like four NBA points and a board? It would be incredible.

[Brady]

You play. It would be an awesome experience. But if you've done it, if you played with one person on the team, like when back in the day we used to play and Miguel Knight, who was, you know, seventh. Sixth or seventh man on the team.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Brady]

And the guy would just light it up. On average Joe, I've played with dudes.

[John Holmberg]

Who are on rec league teams that you're like, how are you not in the pros and not good enough? I'm like, you can fly and you.

[Brady]

Go even college levels. Yeah.

[Brett Vesely]

But can you imagine getting an elbow from DeAndre or something like that?

[John Holmberg]

I can because he's the softest man in basketball. So I can't imagine getting an elbow from a tough guy.

[Brett Vesely]

I'd be Lambert. I'd be.

[John Holmberg]

I'd be. And that's the thing. Maybe you could foul out. Like, you. You're such a wrench in the game. Like, Brett goes up there and he's got two pops in him and he gets called, oh, my God, I get to play. And you run down there and then he's like, I don't know what I'm doing. You just start punching dudes and you get your ass kicked. You just. You would just be a. It would be the most exciting thing ever. That every night for six minutes a fan gets in and then it would shut up. Those people who are like, well, you know. And I say it all the time. Deandre Ayton is a soft. You know, but I'm not seven feet tall. I know for a fact if I was his size, I'd be better than him. That's the kind of crap that I say, and everybody else says it, too. It would be amazing if you had allowed us fans that up. How much could you charge for tickets?

[Brady]

Would be awesome. But after the. You know, the first year, the handicap seating would be huge. People getting just taken out from that game.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, nobody would get that hurt. You'd have some pulled hamstrings and whatever.

[Brady]

One, two, hand tomahawk.

[John Holmberg]

I'm going to block it. Look, I got dunked on by Kenny Skywalker, and he jumped over me. He told me to move before he started to drive the ball.

[Brady]

Move.

[John Holmberg]

I'm like, huh? And I didn't. And next thing you know, there's a big black groin going over my forehead that you move. Then I didn't budge because at that point, if I'd have moved, I'm hitting him in the legs. He jumped over me. And I turn around and look, and his arm is in the rim to.

[Brady]

The elbow stripe the top of your head.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. He almost gave me an Indian dot right there with his B hole. Dude was. And it was in a. He had time to say, move and recognize. I still can jump over this guy. It's not like I'm, you know, five, four. He leapt, right? And it was easy. It was nothing. I'm like, oh, my God. There'd be dunks. Like. Like, the other team would set plays to go past Brady. But then we started to say, okay, how would you. Would you fare better if they did? Fan of the team on the floor playing basketball or tonight's special guest dancer and you get to be in the dance squad all night. Which would you be better at? Which would be a less embarrassing endeavor for, let's say, Brady, you gotta go out and dance with the dance squad. I mean, it would be funnier.

[Brady]

That'd be funnier.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. I think you got laughs dancing, but. And you might go for laughs playing basketball with, like, a granny shot or something. But that would just piss everyone off, though. Oh, the fan shooting.

[Brady]

My thoughts would be, I'm going out there. I'm looking. Not to throw the ball away.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. You know, don't be a jackass. You know? Yeah. Pass.

[Brady]

Maybe try to set a pick for somebody.

[John Holmberg]

Hold your own. Try to execute someone. That's what I want. Brady's setting a pick for on Draymond.

[Brady]

They're running into an anvil. Look, we're the same weight.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. You and Draymond Would be in a fight. Oh, be awesome. This idea is great. And it only works in basketball. It. It's the only game you can pull somebody out of the crowd and say you get six minutes. Not in a row. But you're gonna get six minutes of PT tonight. And the other team's got another teachery.

[Brady]

Of putting that guy in.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, but the. But it has to be when the other team. So it's an agreed upon. If my guy's in, your guy's in. Both these idiots have to play at the same time. One of the greatest promotional ideas of all time. Not getting the ball. Of course not. It's four on four, and they're just gonna move. You're gonna hear that a lot.

[Brady]

Instead of timeouts. It's like six man factor.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah. But you know, eventually a long rebound would end up in. In the dipstick's hands. You'd just be standing there looking around. Where's Chris Paul? Where's Chris Paul?

[Brady]

Get past him.

[John Holmberg]

And they would have accused. And you had Ben Simmons and Kevin Durant just standing there. Time out. That's all I. Time out. These guys are amazing. God forbid you try to dribble or do something like basketbally. But it would be the shooting of.

[Brady]

Three, and the guy blocked it from the foul line.

[John Holmberg]

It would be awesome. Tell me how that would add so much more to it.

[Brady]

Just to give a minute.

[John Holmberg]

Life changing. A minute's life changing. Six minutes is like excruciating pain for everyone, including the winner. It's brutal. And then let's just say you pop. When I hit a three pointer against the Harlem Globetrotters, that's still like a highlight of my life.

[Brady]

Happened.

[John Holmberg]

Meadowlark Lemon handed me the ball and goes. As we come out as well. Coming out of the tunnel. Just chuck the ball at the rim. Even if you're close, it'll be. People go crazy. And I didn't realize there was a weight in the ball. And he was setting me up like the dumbest man in the world. So we come out. All right, let's welcome the YMCA idiots. And I come out like, yeah. And I take the ball he gave me and I go to three court, you know, three quarters court shot. And I watch it kind of just wobbling enough to be like, no matter what I was going to do, it was going to miss by 18ft or more. And it just looked like I just threw it into the front row from. From. And like. And everybody's like, ah, jackass thought he could make that. I'm like, oh, Lemon, we're gonna have us a le. And I scored five points that night. I felt pretty good about myself.

[Brett Vesely]

Well, didn't you play with Michael Irvin, too?

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, that was. Yeah, I had five points in that.

[Brady]

We were great teammates.

[John Holmberg]

He was my teammate and somehow stole the ball from me. Four times I made up. Give me that ball over Tim Kempton. Yeah, Tim Kempton. Yeah, we were.

[Brady]

It was under Tim Kempton.

[John Holmberg]

That's right.

[Brady]

He went up high, and I did the scoop underneath.

[John Holmberg]

I had a three pointer, although I was only being guarded by sports anchors Mark Lewis, who I could blow by at any time. But I was afraid of the other guys in there. But after I took two shots and hit him, Michael Irvin decided someone else on my team is scoring. That's gonna end right now. And every time I had the ball, Michael Irvin was next to me going, give me the ball. We're on the same team. I said, give me the ball. All right. Then you just hand it to him, and then you never saw it again.

[Brady]

Yeah, sometimes no pass.

[John Holmberg]

No, no, no, no. It wasn't a come over and get the ball handoff.

[Brady]

He took it.

[John Holmberg]

He reached into, like, I'm holding it. And I got my. I'm like, wait a second. I got a guy guarding me already. You're on my team. Give me that. And he stole it from me. I said, you're not helping the stereotype.

[Brady]

He had 50.

[John Holmberg]

Stealing my basketball is something I'm going to talk about. Yeah, 100 points, but. And he was good. But I had five. I wanted to play. It felt amazing being on the floor with pro athletes and getting there somewhere.

[Brady]

And the most amazing thing, it was warm ups. It was skywalker.

[John Holmberg]

Oh, Josh McCown. Yeah, McCown. Yeah. It was amazing. My idea is solid, great stuff, like they call the fan of the night. And if you're in the lower level and if you even gave the chance to the upper deck and whatever Gutierrez or Rodriguez came pouring out of that thing and got to play would be ridiculous. Ridiculous. And you'd have to sign up to be, like, available. It's not just gonna be a random draw, but people are like, look, for 100 bucks, you can enter the drawing to be a player tonight.

[Brady]

Sign the waiver. If you have a heart attack, we're not liable.

[John Holmberg]

If you die on the floor, it's because you're an idiot that signed up for. But, like, yeah, they just have a list of people. Like, you sign up. You can play tonight. We might draw your name there. Be how many C notes Would just fly across. Everybody would pay for that chance. This is a great idea. And they get the fans involved in the game and you can actually play along. You get a jersey, pretty great stat line. That would just be awesome. You got NBA minutes. Because I'm listening to people all around me tell like this is what I would do. Or when I used to play, I was a three point guy. I could shoot from the outside. I don't know what I'd do inside. Like, let's find out.

[Brett Vesely]

You'd want to sign up those so called like armchair quarterbacks.

[John Holmberg]

Just like, all right, Dick, let's see it go.

[Brady]

You got game?

[Brett Vesely]

Yep.

[John Holmberg]

All of us can assess the game, stand on it. And I'm not saying that that means. Look, I've always say that the WNBA girls are always like, well you think you're so good play. Let me. Okay, I think I'd hold up. I think I'd be all right. I beat Michelle Timms in a one on one game once and I think she was trying. That was years ago, but even at 50 with two metal hips, I'm pretty sure I'd be alright. In the WNBA for six minutes I put points on the board. I definitely, definitely create some chaos down low. Let me try. Let's see how you do against the girl. Okay, let me in. You, you wouldn't dare. No way the WNB would go for that. Because a dude might dominate for six minutes and like, ah, this was terrible. We look like idiots. NBA's not afraid of it. Couldn't do it in hockey, couldn't do it in baseball, couldn't do it in football, Basketball. The risk of injury is so much lower. Be great, you know, and then, you know, it goes back to you Couldn't do it in boxing either, but all those people, God, take it. Punch for Mike Tyson for $5 million. Well, nobody wants to see that though. Nobody wants to watch Mike Tyson drop an alcoholic in the middle of a ring. Nobody's paying for that. That's stupid. But people would pay to watch the average Joe playing ball in the NBA for sure.

[Brady]

You could pull it off in soccer.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah, maybe you'd be one of the dudes out there just being the idiot running around with his beer in his hand like, I can't believe that's Lionel Messi. Is his name Lionel? Hey, what's up dude? You're like a star. Go stand over there. Okay, I'm going to kick it to you now. I'm probably gonna miss this. I don't know what I'm Doing? I hate soccer. I don't even know why I'm here. Luck of the draw. Anyway, think it through. If you guys want to do this, we'll start our own league. But I think it would be great. This is what baseball used to do. The old Bill Veck days. Like, we're gonna put a midget out there today. Fans are gonna go, no. And they did. And it's memorable, like, to this day. And like that little boy, the midget.

[Brady]

Imagine, you know, you're talking about the armchair quarterbacks and basketball.

[John Holmberg]

Yeah.

[Brady]

Baseball. The guys that I played. Yeah, I played triple A or whatever. It's not.

[John Holmberg]

It's.

[Brady]

You get a time at bat, one.

[John Holmberg]

At bat, and that's a waste of time. Basketball can be an accident. Something could happen where the ball comes to you. If it put you in the field, maybe. But at bat against a professional pitcher, I don't care if you used to be good. Without reps and stuff, you're screwed. They'll brush you back with one pitch and then paint the corner three times. You're just gonna be standing there like an idiot. A it is almost Bill Becker show. It is Bill Beckett. It's genius. But it'll never happen because the NBA doesn't want us to actually participate. And there's liability. Somebody would sue and ruin it for everyone. So, ideas. I'm an idea man, Brady. That's what I do. I'll come up with great ideas that no one will ever use. It's worthless. Idea man is what I am. It's out of control now. It's John Holmberg here from the morning sickness to tell you about the core Institute. People who met me found out that I've had four major operations in the last four years. They're blown away. I've had both shoulders replaced and both hips replaced because I was an absolute disaster before my surgeries. I was in pain. Now no one knows I've had any issues. People who hear multiple surgeries assume they'll never be the same again. It's just not true. I'm better than I've been in 20 years. Stop quitting the things you love and get back to being the pain free you you love. The Core Institute.com It's John Holberg here from the Morning Sickness for Lifechangerloan.com I got a little note from Shane O', Grady, the head cheese over at Life Change alone. He said, this week three wonderful listeners all made the move to Life Changer loan and each of them will be paying off their homes in under four years. That's right. And that's normal too. So many people try to refinance. Go to lifechangerloan.com and see if it's right for you. Maybe you like paying debt off for 30 years and spending $200,000 extra in interest. I don't. I know a better way. And it's not magic. It's just math. Lifechangerloan.com.