Holmberg's Morning Sickness – The Sports Thing Podcast

Holmberg, Hellestrae, and Nash (w/Fill-In Guest Brady Bogan) – Episode 5

Date: September 5, 2025
Host: John Holmberg with Dale Hellestrae and Brady Bogan

Episode Overview

The panel (John Holmberg, NFL alum Dale Hellestrae, and fill-in Brady Bogan) kicks off the 2025 NFL season with a wide-ranging, fast-paced conversation blending football nostalgia, locker room insight, and sharp observations on today’s NFL culture. They discuss the evolution of fan engagement—especially among women, the impact of celebrity and personal lives on team dynamics, preseason routines, and make some bold predictions (and warnings) about surprise teams and underachievers for the coming season. The tone is irreverent, witty, and occasionally self-deprecating, with the hosts poking fun at themselves, each other, and the sport’s soap-opera elements.

Key Topics & Insights

I. Football Nostalgia & Arizona Super Bowl Stories

• The group reminisces about early Super Bowl years in Arizona, including tales of season ticket holders feeling “robbed” (05:00), difficulties in accessing tickets pre-Internet, and the long history of Dallas Cowboys/Cardinals "rivalry" (06:04).

  • Memorable quote:
    Holmberg [05:36]:
    “Did you guys make the playoffs last year? ... They hosted the Super Bowl. Remember Bill Bidwell used to like think that other teams’ accomplishments were great for him.”

• Dale shares how Cowboys’ visits to Arizona felt like home games for Dallas and describes a notorious incident:

  • “Alvin Harper went out on the field and started to hype the crowd on a kickoff. The place went crazy.” (06:13)

II. Locker Room & Team Chemistry: Wives, Girlfriends, and the "Yoko Effect"

• The hosts unpack how team dynamics are influenced by players' spouses and significant others.

  • Dale [13:30]:
    “... there was a lot of snarking between the wives because they saw the younger wives coming in with their younger husbands and younger husbands knowing they're gonna take their...husband's job.”

• Discuss stories about Troy Aikman’s dating life and recognize how high-profile relationships/attitudes affected teammates and locker room trust (14:08).

  • “She would stand up for herself. And I think Troy just wanted somebody who's a little more milk toasty personality.” – Dale [15:02]

• Debate if a coach’s girlfriend on the sidelines (ref. Belichick at North Carolina) is a distraction or sign of changing times.

  • “If I was his son, yeah, I wouldn't be real happy about that. … That's not a good step for the media...” — Brady [28:54]

III. The NFL as Soap Opera: Taylor Swift, Fantasy Leagues, and Women Fans

• Explores how the league and media have consciously courted women, expanding football’s audience through fantasy leagues and pop culture stories.

  • Dale [13:35]:
    “...fantasy football...both my daughters are in multiple leagues, and they have girl groups. ... that's soaked the women in.”

• Discussion on the Swift-Kelce phenomenon, Taylor Swift’s draw, and Brittany Mahomes’ “belle of the ball” status in KC. The hosts joke about female fans' engagement and how it changes the NFL social dynamic.

  • “The soap opera of the NFL is by design, 100%.” — Holmberg [33:36]

IV. Preseason & Practice Insights

• Dale provides an insider’s look at joint practices, explaining how scrimmages against other teams are often more intense than preseason games (17:17). He describes the only time he “ever screamed” on a football field when a teammate fell on his knee during a drill (19:05–20:34).

V. Bold Team Predictions & Over/Underachievers

• Panelists pick AFC/NFC teams likely to surprise or disappoint in 2025:

  • Surprise Picks:

    • Chargers (Brady, 37:22) – “Harbaugh experiment goes...solid running backs.”
    • Raiders (Dale, 37:49) – “I think Pete Carroll kind of has been an underrated coach...I think the Raiders are going to surprise.”
    • Patriots (Holmberg, 39:20) – “Vrabel’s an amazing coach...Drake May is the one everybody keeps talking about...the Patriots are a team that can spoil some things.”

  • Overachievers:

    • Cardinals (Dale, 44:20) – “I think the Cardinals have a chance to win the NFC West. I like the coaching staff. The GM. Kyler Murray is a little better than people give him credit for.”

  • Potential Underachievers:

    • 49ers (Brady, 46:07) – “I just think they’re so hyped up...people are almost rooting for them to be great.”
    • Lions (Dale, 47:00) – “You’ve lost both coordinators...the head coach is rah-rah...I don’t know how much lasting power that has.”
    • Jets/Steelers (Holmberg, 40:54) – “Steelers are being overlooked…Aaron Rodgers...his arm is still strong.”

VI. Notable Quotes & Banter

• On football’s soap opera and the media’s influence:
  Holmberg [33:36]:
  “The soap opera of the NFL is by design, 100%.”
• On sideline distractions and football marriages:
  Dale [35:56]:
  “If a coach had his girlfriend on the sidelines before the game…I'd be looking at him going, ‘What in the hell’s going on?’”
• On women at football parties:
  Holmberg [16:19]:
  “I've had parties at my house where some of the girls say they know everything and then prove that they don't. And they've got a lot of arrogance, and they can't take it when you're like, you're an idiot…You say that to a girl, they start crying. Now all of a sudden, you're a jerk.”

VII. Fun Bets & Season Props (57:30–58:50)

• Hosts go through quickfire over/unders:
  • Micah Parsons: 13+ sacks?
    • Dale: “No.” Brady: “Yes.”
  • Aaron Rodgers: 3,500+ yards?
    • General consensus: Over, if healthy.
  • Saquon Barkley: 2,300 yards from scrimmage?
    • Dale: “I’d take the under.” Brady: “I’ll take the over...barely.”

VIII. Betting, Pools, Fantasy Fatigue (60:04–63:47)

• Holmberg and Dale express exasperation with complex fantasy and betting pools (parlays, survivor, auto-picks).
  • Dale [63:09]:
    “The biggest winner for Vegas is parlays. Oh, huge...that’s why everything you see is parlays.”

IX. Closing: "Lunatic With A Bullhorn" (The Moon Landing Conspiracy) [65:11]

• The obligatory end-of-show segment: Brady presents his argument (tongue-in-cheek, lacking "enough compassion" for Dave Nash’s lunacy) that the moon landing was faked for the US to win the space race.
  • “Because the moon rocks, where are they?” — Holmberg [65:27]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Arizona Super Bowl Memories & Ticket Stories: 04:50–07:00
• Cowboys/Cardinals “Rivalry” History: 06:04–07:46
• Locker Room Wife-Girlfriend Dynamics: 13:30–15:51
• Women Fans & NFL As Soap Opera: 11:09–16:39, 33:36
• Belichick & Sideline Drama: 23:35–31:00
• Practice / Preseason Intensity & Fights: 17:02–20:34
• Surprise Team Picks & Prediction Roundtable: 36:59–48:07
• Over/Under Rapid Fire Season Props: 57:30–58:50
• Betting/Fantasy Fatigue & Vegas’ Parlays: 60:22–64:03
• "Lunatic With a Bullhorn" – Moon Landing Debate: 65:11–69:03

Memorable Moments

• Dale’s "Scream On the Field": [19:05–20:34]
• Soap Opera NFL & Taylor Swift Effect: [33:36–34:19]
• Holmberg Poking at Belichick Son Nepotism: [28:42–30:10]
• Panel’s Endearing Self-Roasts & Banter on Attractiveness: [34:08–34:31]

Tone and Style

The conversation is rapid-fire, funny, and steeped in insider knowledge of both the game’s technical side and its colorful cultural dramas. The hosts slide smoothly between nostalgia, serious football talk, and self-aware lampooning of themselves, the league, and fandom.

For New Listeners:

This episode distills the passion, absurdities, and high stakes of football season—both on and off the field—with playful sidebars on everything from conspiracy theories to fantasy football burnout. Even for those less familiar with the show or the NFL, it’s a lively, accessible glimpse into how football culture is evolving, and why it generates such heated, humorous debate.