Friday Happy Hour #19

Summary

Laugh With Me: Friday Happy Hour #19

Host: Jeremy Odom
Guest: Eric Larson ("2025 Laugh With Me Guest of the Year")
Date: July 3, 2026

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Main Theme and Purpose

This week’s Friday Happy Hour is a playful, freewheeling holiday episode that centers on laughter, sports, and stories from real life. Host Jeremy Odom welcomes back fan-favorite guest Eric Larson to trade barbs about joke writing, reminisce about sports fandom, and dive into Eric’s recent trip to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City. The mood is light, sarcastic, and self-deprecating, with the conversation moving fluidly from sports commentary to the absurdities of travel, alcohol, and “watching out for cracks in the sidewalk.”

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Ongoing Quest to Be Funnier

• Opening Jitters: Jeremy confesses to feeling nervous about recording, especially with video involved.
• Joke Critique and Banter: Eric roasts Jeremy’s hit rate with jokes, comparing Jeremy’s “batting average” to the infamous Mendoza line.
  • “I think the best way for you to improve your show would just be to say more funny things.” — Eric, (06:35)
• High School Humor Rivalry: The pair jokingly debate who was funnier in high school, acknowledging the subjectivity (07:54).

2. Setting the Scene: From Four-Minute Mile to World Cup

• Eric gives a comically long-winded buildup by referencing Roger Bannister’s four-minute mile before being reined in by Jeremy (10:04).
  • “I’m getting there! This is important backstory.” — Eric, (10:06)

3. Eric’s 2026 Kansas City World Cup Experience

• Getting There: Road trip from Omaha, staying downtown, shuttle bus adventure.
  • Unexpectedly off-course shuttle ride highlighted the quirks of major event logistics (29:28).
  • “The GPS in my phone screwed up.” — Shuttle driver, as recounted by Eric (30:31).
• The Atmosphere at Arrowhead:
  • Big, excited crowd—about 20% each of Austrian and Algerian fans, with the remainder “neutral” Americans soaking it in (16:09).
  • Comparison to NFL games: Soccer crowd more focused, less distracted, whole stadium locked in (15:43).
  • “Anytime anybody would score a goal, we’re like, YES!” — Eric, on American fans (17:26)
• Game Details:
  • Austria vs. Algeria, stakes high—draw meant both teams advanced, otherwise only the winner (14:20).
  • Discussion on the infamous “handshake draw” and how the tension spiked after each goal (16:34).
  • Austrian fans described as reserved, Algerian fans as “going crazy” upon goals (17:12).
• Live Soccer vs. Football:
  • Praise for the non-stop action and visible tactical play in soccer; less downtime and more suspense compared to American football (18:08).
  • Noise level was not on par with Chiefs games but the energy was different (18:37).
• Cultural Moment:
  • On the way to the game, Eric returns a French flag dropped by a fan: “Hey, buddy, buddy, you dropped your flag… He was like, hey, good going, Americano.” (20:17)
  • Noteworthy for Eric’s pride and sense of international camaraderie.

4. Travel, Beer, and Local Color

• Kansas City Logistics:
  • Discussing shuttle, traffic, and city showcase during an international moment (28:19).
  • Commentary on Arrowhead not exactly being “downtown.”
• Beer Pricing and Culture:
  • Shock over $48 for a round of two beers (“a $20 beer!”), contrasting with Atlanta's much-lauded affordable stadium pricing (32:07).
  • “Beer's always there for you after you mow the lawn... at the family reunions, the softball games, the World Cup soccer games…” — Jeremy, in tongue-in-cheek ad read (23:10)
• Wild Goose Chase for Scarves and Merch:
  • No soccer scarves or t-shirts left, stadiums and fan zones completely sold out (33:21).
  • “If you’d had 30,000 scarves, you’d have sold 30,000 scarves...” — Eric, (33:56)
  • The bureaucracy and missed opportunities of FIFA's merchandise control.

5. Absurdist Digressions: The 15-Minute Mile

• Eric’s “Pinnacle of Athleticism”:
  • Running gag as Eric brags (deadpan) about his perfectly timed 15-minute walking mile—Jeremy’s exasperation grows (11:15; 38:33).
  • He ties it to Roger Bannister and other great “achievements.”
  • “You always gotta keep your eyes down… for cracks… for opportunities.” — Eric, (21:09)
  • List of advice: Watch out for cracks, birds, and bikes—“these are the three things that lead to a 15-minute walking mile.” (40:54)
• Gratuitous Analogy:
  • Draws out the metaphor that his 15-minute mile somehow aligns with world sports history, to Jeremy’s comic frustration (41:18).

6. Sporting Predictions and Satire

• World Cup Winner Prediction:
  • Eric connects his random 15-minute walk to the fate of England (and earlier, Roger Bannister), suggesting England will win the World Cup, openly admitting “none of this is probably true.” (42:11; 42:37)
  • “So you’re telling me you watched that game, did your 15-minute mile, and you’re just putting the pieces together…” — Jeremy, (42:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I think the best way for you to improve your show would just be to say more funny things.”
  — Eric Larson, (06:35)

• “Oh, shit. You know, you’re not the first person to say that. And you won’t be the last person to say that. In fact, if anything, the bigger this show gets, I feel like I’m gonna hear that more.”
  — Jeremy Odom, (06:40)

• “I am proud to be called Americano by, you know, a French person in Kansas City.”
  — Eric Larson, (20:33)

• “You always gotta keep your eyes down. You gotta be watching for opportunities. You got to be watching for hurdles out there. …The key to a 15-minute mile is consistency. And you can't get consistency if you're stepping on the cracks.”
  — Eric Larson, (21:09)

• “How many times have I not taken the beer?” — Rob
  “Zero.” — Jeremy Odom, (22:51)

• [On beer pricing]
  “Oh, yeah, it was a $20 beer... I think it was like 48 bucks for a round.”
  — Eric Larson, (32:10)

• “You always gotta keep your eyes open for those, like, little opportunities. …Sometimes I’ll see like a bird, and I’ll take like a snap of it and I’ll say, hey, I saw this bird and I’ll send it to everybody I know.”
  — Eric Larson, (37:54)

• “Who’s Roger Bannister?” — Jeremy Odom
  “He’s the dude that ran the four-minute mile.” — Eric Larson, (39:32)

• “I just found out about the England–Ghana tie today as I was doing the show prep.”
  — Eric Larson, (42:32)

• “Probably not.”
  — Eric Larson, after being asked if his theory was true, (42:37)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:22 — Show begins, Jeremy fumbles his intro, banter about nerves and being on video.
• 03:37 — Eric introduced, banter about America’s 250th, baseball hats, and mascot jokes.
• 05:02 — First mention of the World Cup trip.
• 10:04 – 11:10 — Eric’s elaborate backstory/setup (Roger Bannister monologue).
• 12:41 – 20:00 — Details on getting to Kansas City, the match, and the crowd, including the famous “you dropped your flag, Americano” moment.
• 15:43 — Comparing stadium atmosphere between World Cup soccer and NFL football.
• 21:09 — Eric’s “life lesson” about watching for cracks and seizing opportunities.
• 28:28 – 31:46 — Tales from the event shuttle and entering the stadium.
• 32:07 — Beer/cost-of-living culture shock and stadium economics.
• 33:21 – 36:44 — Scarves sold out, missed merchandise, post-game recovery and hangover confessions.
• 41:06 – 42:39 — Absurdist “prediction” about England winning the Cup, explanation quickly unravels.

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Tone and Style

The episode is decidedly irreverent, filled with dry wit, running bits ("15-minute mile"), self-deprecation, and a distinct Midwestern humor. Both Jeremy and Eric lean into the idea that the real purpose is to laugh together while dishing about sports, life, and whatever random thread comes their way.

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Listen For…

• The show’s signature blend of “hanging out with friends” storytelling, laced with sarcasm and fond teasing.
• An authentic, on-the-ground (and in-the-stands) take on the unique flavor of an American city hosting World Cup soccer.
• The hosts’ ongoing game of one-upmanship and digression, which is as much the point as any actual World Cup analysis.

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For a full flavor of Laugh With Me’s “judge my jokes, tell stories, roast and reminisce” dynamic, this episode delivers the goods—and leaves you wanting to check your sidewalk for cracks, just in case.

Transcript

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[Jafar Jackson Commentator]

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[Michael Rapaport]

Listen to I am rappaport on the iHeartra app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Chuck from Stuff You Should Know]

Hey, this is Chuck from Stuff youf Should Know. And we're submitting our most sciency episodes for your peer review with our new stuff you should know. Doing science playlist out now. You want to know about Occam's Razor? The simplest explanation is usually the right one. We got you covered. Wondered what chaos theory is ever since the first time you saw Jurassic Park. Well, come on down. So distill a nice pot of tea, everybody. Turn down the gas on your Bunsen burner and and slip into your most comfortable lab coat and listen to the stuff you should know. Doing science Playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alec Baldwin]

Hey, it's Alec Baldwin. This season on my podcast, here's the thing. I talk to composer Marc Shaiman.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

It's about the hang. It's the pleasure of hanging out with the people that you're with. You know, Rob and I was always a great hang.

[Alec Baldwin]

And director Morgan Neville.

[Documentary Filmmaker]

Film school teaches you all the wrong things about making documentary. What do you want to say? Documentary is all about your. What do you hear? I feel like my job is listening really, really hard.

[Alec Baldwin]

Listen to here's the thing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Paul Verze]

Oh,

[Jeremy Odom]

Welcome back. It's a brand new episode. This is a podcast. This is the cup. I up my own intro.

[Eric Larson]

You're nervous.

[Jeremy Odom]

I'm nervous. We don't do a lot of podcasts on video.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And then.

[Eric Larson]

Big show for you, man.

[Jeremy Odom]

Here, let me restart. Let me. Okay. Let me capture myself here. Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Is that what you look like? Composed?

[Jeremy Odom]

This is. This is me. Composed.

[Paul Verze]

Yeah.

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When the rent's past due and the car won't start Laugh with me when the only sponsor is my broken heart we're hanging on this janky stream Two weird voices in the glow of a screen if the world won't sing then let it laugh with me

[Jeremy Odom]

welcome back. It's a brand new episode. This is Laugh With Me, the podcast Jeremy, and I'm your host.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Jeremy stares at the stats and shaking over takeout boxes. Johnny's already mapping hotels on a napkin with crazy crosses. They quit jobs. They kinda hate it. Tell their bosses, catch the show. Boss just shrugs. Hope it's funny.

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Johnny grins.

[Jeremy Odom]

You'll never know. It's J. O. And we have the Friday happy hour. Crack open your beers, get ready for the weekend, the holiday weekend at that. We've got our very special guest. He was the 2025 laugh with me guest of the year. He is a giant in the transportation industry. He's a former fantasy football champion. He was once the fifth speaker at Central. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the show, Eric Larson. Thank you. Thank you. Give a round of applause.

[Eric Larson]

Keep that going for America.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Happy 250th.

[Jeremy Odom]

Happy 250. So you're. You are just going to go ahead and hand off that applause as your gift to America? Is that kind of where you're at?

[Eric Larson]

Well, we wanted to make sure we got it in.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did you get America anything?

[Eric Larson]

I've got this. This hat.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, hey. Yeah, you do a red, white and blue Twin Cities Minnesota Twins hat. There you go.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Got the old TC they have a mascot named TC because if they don't, that's a missed opportunity.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Yeah, they do have a mascot named

[Jeremy Odom]

TC do they have two of them? Are they twins? Because that's a missed opportunity as well.

[Eric Larson]

No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Although knowing the twins, they wouldn't want to pay two people.

[Eric Larson]

Yes, yes. Some, you know, some austerity measures going on in Minneapolis right now. They just don't have the budget to stretch to two mascots.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, welcome to show. I know we wanted to end the week strong, have a beer, and you had what was one of the. I would assume is going to be up there in your top sporting events you've ever been to. And you've been to some. You've been to some bangers 100. But this one, I would assume. And I can't wait to hear about it because we haven't even talked about it. I can't wait to hear about your experience at the World cup in Kansas City, Missouri, just a little over a week ago. Dude, I'm hyped to hear, like, about your experience. I had some FOMO when I. You were sending me pictures, you being there. Because I'm like, I could have been there.

[Eric Larson]

You did wait. You waited quite a while before you. You partook. And I was just like, oh, man.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, that guy, that guy, that guy. I mean, a lot of my hesitation in being excited about you being there was that you were. You've been throwing some shade at me in the group chat, so I know, you know, there was some, there was some tension in the group chat, let's just say because you've been throwing.

[Eric Larson]

You've been throwing some shade. It's encouragement.

[Jeremy Odom]

Encouragement?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. You know, kind of like how like during the off season, you know, Kobe would go and learn like a new, like two step backwards jumper. Like, you know, he'd come back each season with some new piece of, you know, his arsenal. And I want you to reach down inside you and I don't want you to just be a regular podcast host. I want you to be the best podcast host.

[Jeremy Odom]

I've been trying to be the best. I'm doing the best I can.

[Eric Larson]

I think the best way for you to improve your show would just be to say more funny things.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, shit. You know, you're not the first person to say that. And you won't be the last person to say that. In fact, if anything, the bigger this show gets, I feel like I'm gonna hear that more. But we're doing our best. We can. At least, at least, at least Johnny is. He, he writes all my jokes. So.

[Eric Larson]

Yep, there you go. And I've seen the statistics. So I know you're batting average for jokes. And, you know, it's, it's a little bit better than the Mendoza line, but yeah, you know, I mean, if you get to where, like, you know, half the jokes land, like, you could be a powerhouse.

[Jeremy Odom]

Could be a powerhouse. Can you imagine? I mean, the ego I would have if half my jokes landed.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. And then you would have, like, you. I mean, the downhill effect of that would be people would be like, this Jeremy Odom, he's so funny. And I would be like, well, I was funnier than him in high school.

[Chuck from Stuff You Should Know]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

So therefore, like, I'm just as funny and I wouldn't need to prove it, like, nobody would be asking me for proof. They'd just be like, oh, well, the math checks out.

[Jeremy Odom]

The math checks out. Yeah. If he's funny now and you were funnier than him in high school. Yeah, we would. We could assume you're probably still on that level.

[Eric Larson]

You maybe sense a little skepticism here.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, I just. I do. I do remember in high school, the battle of who's funnier? And we did it without ever really having any kind of.

[Eric Larson]

Like, it was very subjective.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, there's a mark on it. It was just like, well, I'm funnier than that guy, honestly. I'm going to be honest with you. That's kind of comedy. Anyway,

[Eric Larson]

we're gonna stop talking about this because I feel like next thing we're gonna be like, all right, when's the next high school reunion?

[Jeremy Odom]

We're gonna go there with. With clipboards and just be like, who? All right, who would you say was funnier? Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

All right, I've got five statements here. Tell me how many of these you think are funnier. Like, oh, oh, Jeremy just got four out of five on that one. I'm gonna step up my game.

[Jeremy Odom]

Knowing our luck, Austin Anderson shows up to our reunion, and then it's like, well, yes, you may be funnier than him, but Austin over there has got you both beat. Son of a. Well, we're here to talk the World Cup.

[Jafar Jackson Commentator]

I'm.

[Jeremy Odom]

I'm hyped because I. You know, I was just watching the US Just the other night, and it's like the. The stadiums are packed.

[Michael Rapaport]

I don't know if.

[Jeremy Odom]

I don't know if I was expecting that. I mean, I always watch the World cup in other countries, and they're packed. I. I guess I didn't know what to expect with it being in the US and just the climate of the world right now. And, you know, when people show up and, man, they're excited. So I don't know how. How was your experience? I guess.

[Eric Larson]

Well, first off, let me set the scene, because, as you said, this was, you know, once in a lifetime athletic, monumental performance. So just to, you know, kind of put us in the mode to. To fully let this sink in. I want to set the scene for you, and I want to take you back to a date in history. And that date would be May 6, 1954. A balmy, foggy English morning at Oxford University. The Iffley road track. Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher stand by, ready to be pacemakers.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're.

[Michael Rapaport]

You're.

[Jeremy Odom]

You are referring to the World Cup. Correct.

[Eric Larson]

I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

[Alec Baldwin]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

This is important backstory.

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Wow.

[Jeremy Odom]

You are the historian of the pod. I guess that makes sense.

[Eric Larson]

Roger Bannister stands by.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Ready to do what people had said was considered biologically impossible.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did you prepare a monologue?

[Akilah Hughes]

What is this?

[Eric Larson]

He's about to run the world's first four minute mile.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, no.

[Eric Larson]

Chris Chataway is gonna run with him the first two laps and then give way to Chris Basher. And they're gonna get it done. They're Gonna beat the 4 minute mile by a third of a second.

[Jeremy Odom]

No, they're not. Cause this is not what we're talking about.

[Eric Larson]

I'm setting the scene. I'm getting the people in the mode. Okay, flash forward. June 23, 2026.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, so four days before you were at the World Cup.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, you want to talk about the World cup now?

[Jeremy Odom]

The World cup, yeah. So I don't know what happened on June 23rd, but.

[Eric Larson]

Well, I walked. I walked a really. It was a 15 minute mile. You like a perfect. It took me 15 minutes. Like 15 minutes. No, seconds. One mile. Literally.

[Jeremy Odom]

Not what we're talking about here. We're talking about you.

[Eric Larson]

We're talking about the pinnacle of human athleticism.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, exactly. The World Cup. We, the world is watching. The United States, North America watching. You know, here. All the world's top soccer athletes are here. The best teams. It. This is. I mean, it's typical of their careers.

[Eric Larson]

It's your pod. So I'll talk about whatever you want me to talk about, but I, I think you're, I think you're really missing the plot here.

[Jeremy Odom]

Here's the thing is I'm, I'm just going to very quickly run down what we discussed via text about today's podcast, which was, hey, you know how you were at the World cup on the 27th? You're like, oh, yeah, it was awesome. Well, let's, let's do, let's do a happy hour and let's, let's talk about it like it sounds awesome. I want to hear about it.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Like one of the greatest physical, like, athletic achievements it's ever been.

[Eric Larson]

That's where you're, that's where you're losing me on the, the athletic achievement. Because I feel like what I did was pretty important.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, so what, what did you do? Because the World cup is what I want to hear about.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, it's.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, so a 15 minute mile

[Eric Larson]

on Saturday. Drove down to Kansas City here from Omaha, stayed down downtown by the power and Light went out there. The game that night was Austria and Algeria.

[Jeremy Odom]

And you were there with our friend Sloppy Rob.

[Eric Larson]

Yes.

[Alec Baldwin]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

How was that?

[Eric Larson]

It was great. It was great. You know, it's always good. Like, let's say. Let's say you were playing tennis with somebody. Like, if the person you're playing against a pro, like, it's not going to be fun for you, you know? So it was important that I had somebody who was just as much of a moron about soccer as I am.

[Alec Baldwin]

That helps.

[Eric Larson]

That was why I invited you first.

[Jeremy Odom]

Thank you.

[Eric Larson]

Because I was just like, Jeremy. Jeremy doesn't. He's not a curious person. He doesn't know about World Cup.

[Jeremy Odom]

Here's the thing. Here's what I know about it. I know that depending on what group you get in will basically set the tone for whether or not you have a shot. I know that.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And the United States was in, like, a historically bad group, so, like, we were already set up for success, which makes sense because we're host.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And then I know that once you get out of group, if you get out of group, then you go to the field of 32, and then it's the best of the best.

[Eric Larson]

So that was the biggest, like, drama of our matchup is. So is Austria and Algeria. Both teams were one win, zero losses, and one draw each.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

And this was the last game of group play, so their last, like, chance to. Oh, like, advance.

[Jeremy Odom]

So it was a pretty important game. Yeah, yeah.

[Eric Larson]

And so they knew going into it that if one team won and one team lost, that only the winning team would go in. But if they played a draw, both teams would go in.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

So, like, the game started at. At 9pm that night. Again, it's the last day of that group play. And so you could just feel it in the stadium. Like, it was one of those few. The only other games that I've been to that have ever been like this were the AFC Championship Chiefs, Bengals, that we went to.

[Jeremy Odom]

Amazing game.

[Eric Larson]

And then the first quarter of the 2019 Peach bowl, which I attended, which. That was the LSU Oklahoma game where Joe Burrow threw six touchdowns, like, in the first half.

[Jeremy Odom]

I love you said first quarter. Because it was like.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, he did. He threw like three of them or three or four of them in the first quarter. And then, like, people started going in there. But at the beginning of that game, everybody was in their seat. Every single person is sitting there, like, ready to go. And that's how the World cup environment it was the entire time. It wasn't like an NFL game where you probably got two thirds of the people watching it for most of the game. A third of them are talking or they're in the concourses getting a hot dog and a beer, doing that kind of stuff. It was very. Our section had a ton of Austrian fans in it.

[Jeremy Odom]

So that was my question, because this is the Arrowhead, right?

[Eric Larson]

Yep.

[Jeremy Odom]

So big stadium. I've seen the comments from people coming into America to experience the World cup, and they're like, what do the Americans do with these big stadiums? And we play football. Like, that's. We play football every week. Every Sunday.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, we play football in Arrowhead eight times a year.

[Jeremy Odom]

Eight times a year, yes. But, like, it was packed. Were there. Was it packed with fans from the two teams? I mean, there was.

[Eric Larson]

There was a good percent. I would say maybe like 20. 20% Austrian fans, 20% Algerian fans, and then probably 60% that were like, Rob and I were. You know, I think everybody had their breath held. Like, are they even going to, like, try to score a goal, or is this just going to be like a hand? They call it a handshake draw, where it's just like, hey, we won't push you too hard. You don't push us too hard. We'll both live to play another day.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, we've seen that with chargers Raiders, Week 17 on a Sunday night. Yep. And in overtime. And if they tie, they both go to the playoffs. Otherwise, winter goes on, and it, you

[Eric Larson]

know, took that damn time out.

[Jeremy Odom]

The Chargers took a timeout, Raiders win.

[Eric Larson]

But, like, so everybody, I think, is kind of watching out for that to happen.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yep.

[Eric Larson]

But then all of a sudden, you would have just this spark of offense, and a team would go in and they would score a goal. And then it was almost like you could just feel. Feel the other team just get all uptight because all of a sudden they're like, what's up on the hook?

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Eric Larson]

But that was the thing. It's just like, I feel like there was probably that 20%. 20%. The Austrians, like, stereotypically, I felt like, were like they were very reserved. Like, they were cheering. The Algerians felt like they were going crazy.

[Alec Baldwin]

Right.

[Eric Larson]

Like, when there was a goal. And I feel like most Americans that were there were, like, Rob and I, where they were just like, this is like, anytime anybody would score a goal, we're like, yes. Or, you know, there'd be, like, a staffage of play, and, like, Rob and I would be, like, looking at each other like, what just happened? Well, I'm not sure. Yeah, but I. I can. You know, maybe. Maybe this happened and, like, you could kind of see the other people around us, like, giving us side eyes, like,

[Jeremy Odom]

God, stupid, stupid Americans.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Stupid drunk Americans.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, like, this is what I know about soccer. It is fun to watch live because there's. It's always happened. I mean, the clock's always running. There's always something going on. Even during stoppage, there's something happening.

[Eric Larson]

And you can see the players and how they're spread out.

[Jeremy Odom]

Correct.

[Eric Larson]

Because a lot of it is just they're kicking the ball back and forth, but, like, you can't see that they're setting up basically, an attack. So it's not like, you know, football or hockey or, you know, something like that where this, like, the attack can come. Like, you know, you can kind of for, like, see it happening beforehand. Like, they're hiding it until the last moment where they decide, yeah, the ball carrier is going to go forward and make an aggressive pass.

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, and it's loud the whole time, right? Like, there's. Isn't everybody just.

[Alec Baldwin]

There's just.

[Eric Larson]

No, it wasn't as much of that as, like, I've been to a couple, like, usa, like, pro games, and that is where they're making noise. Like, they're making time. There's chance. Yeah, there definitely was like that, but maybe it just wasn't loud enough to, like, fill the whole entire stadium.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Like, give it that whole, like, heartbeat.

[Jeremy Odom]

Because we've been in Arrowhead and it's been loud.

[Eric Larson]

Yes.

[Jeremy Odom]

Like, many a times we've been Arrowhead and it's been loud. Yeah. I was interested to know if that translated over to soccer, but that's. That makes a lot of sense that the crowd is pretty, you know, divided. It's not a predominant Kansas City Chiefs crowd where they're gonna be screaming.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, it's kind of like, too. You know, I don't know too much, like, about Algeria or, like, any of those countries. So it was like, oh, hey, like, there's a lot of, like, green jerseys here, too. Like, it felt like we were seeing a lot of Austrian fans at first, and then all of a sudden, it was just like, once game time, it's just like, man, there's a ton of, like, green jerseys here. So. Yeah, it was awesome. You know, every. All the fans were great. I mean, had no. No real problems with them.

[Jeremy Odom]

You didn't get kicked in the shins.

[Eric Larson]

Nobody kicked me in the shins.

[Jeremy Odom]

Good.

[Eric Larson]

And I might have, on behalf of the United States, like, covered Us all in glory with a couple of fans.

[Jeremy Odom]

You bought some beers?

[Eric Larson]

No, no, no. So we were walking in, you know, downtown Kansas City. There are two fans in front of us, both with, like, dark blue jerseys. I think it's the French, like, jerseys. And one of them, he, you know, there's a little, like, flags. Those like, little, like six inch flags.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

One of them, the flag falls out of his pocket.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, did you pick it up?

[Eric Larson]

And so I saw it and I'm

[Boost Mobile Ad Narrator]

like, hey, hey, buddy, buddy, you dropped your flag.

[Eric Larson]

You dropped your flag. And so he turned around and I handed him the flag and he was like, hey, good going, Americano.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, you didn't immediately burn it. You handed it back to him.

[Eric Larson]

I. I handed it back to him.

[Jeremy Odom]

Wow.

[Eric Larson]

And I got the American, like. I mean, I. I'm proud to be called Americano by, you know, a French person in. In Kansas City.

[Jeremy Odom]

Kansas City, Missouri. Yeah. That's big time. Oh, that's cool.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. So I mean, kind of.

[Jeremy Odom]

I mean, what were the prices, like, for beers at the stadium during.

[Eric Larson]

I'm not done talking about.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, so talking about the French guy, I mean.

[Eric Larson]

All right, I want to bask in the glory.

[Jeremy Odom]

Talk about the French guy. I would have. Go ahead. It's your show. Go ahead, go ahead.

[Eric Larson]

So the moral of the story and what I really wanted to get to is like, you always got to keep your eyes down.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's your point.

[Eric Larson]

You always got to keep your eyes down.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

And you gotta.

[Eric Larson]

You gotta be watching. You gotta be watching for opportunities. You got to be watching for hurdles out there. That's one of those things. Like, I never step on cracks. Like, if I'm walking, I never step on the crack. I always avoid the crack. And it's not because of the mother's back thing. I've heard the mother's back. That's where I thought you were heading. But the whole entire key to getting a 15 minute mile is consistency. And you can't get consistency if you're stepping on the cracks. Because the cracks could. Like, if there's an elevation shift in there that could trip you up, you can't.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, More with the Friday happy hour and Eric Larson in just a second. But before we do that, this episode of Laugh With Me is brought to you by. Well, beer. That's right. Straight from the brewery, not a craft label. With a guy named Chad explaining notes of oak and disappointment. Just straight beer. You know what I'm talking about here. Sounds kind of basic, cold, wet, somehow. Always familiar with, always at the family reunions. The softball games, the World cup soccer games. Sometimes in the, you know, the trunk of a car in the parking lot at football game. I mean, you know what I'm talking about.

[Eric Larson]

Kind of tasty.

[Jeremy Odom]

Beer's the official beverage of saying, well, I probably shouldn't, you know, and immediately doing it anyway. I mean, that's what we do. I mean, always. How many times has somebody offered you a beer and you were like. And then you took the beer?

[Eric Larson]

How many times have I not taken the beer?

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Zero.

[Jeremy Odom]

Zero. Yeah. Beer's always there for you after you mow the lawn. Beer's there for you when you watch football. Beer is there for you when you do a podcast with a fella who's 43 years old, just learned a skateboard back's broken, and keeps questioning you about your World cup trip.

[Eric Larson]

Who are we talking about?

[Jeremy Odom]

That's me. We're talking about me. Yeah. Without beer, nobody's ever looked at a microphone and confidently said, you know what? This party needs me. Singing Journey. Beer's the equivalent. Beer makes it happen. And Laugh with Me is proudly brought to you by beer. We'll be right back.

[Boost Mobile Ad Narrator]

He's dribbling the ball with everything on the line. He's driving down the pitch. He's facing price hikes and cuts past him. Carrier contracts, tries to block him. Oh, he leaves him in the dust. He's at the edge of the box. He cuts past the knot. Stop. Group chat, trash talk. He clears on goal. He shoots unlimited data for $25 a month.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Forever.

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Visit your local Boost Mobile store today to get unlimited data with a price that never changes. Boost mobile after 30gb, customers may experience lower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost $25 Unlimited plan.

[Akilah Hughes]

Here's something that should not be as complicated as it is getting a racist statue removed. And here's something that should be a whole lot easier than it getting a new one put up in its place.

[Eric Larson]

As long as there's a politics of race in America, there's going to be a politics of remembering the Civil War. To get to school, I had to go down Robert E. Lee Boulevard. To get to the grocery store, I had to go down Jefferson Davis Parkway. If you're a historian and you leave out half of what the history is, you're not doing your job.

[Akilah Hughes]

I'm Akilah Hughes, and Rebel Spirit Season 2 goes deep on both of those things. The fights, the politics, the people who won. And my personal campaign to add something to the Kentucky State House. That's actually worth the wall space.

[Eric Larson]

We are more than our bodies. We contain essence. We contain spirit. How do you represent that? They are just fueling a fire that is really catching.

[Akilah Hughes]

You'll see what I mean. Listen to Rebel Spirit Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Michael Rapaport]

This is Michael Rapoport and my podcast, the I Am Rapoport Stereo podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard. We're a variety show and if you're looking for strong opinions, funny opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now.

[Jafar Jackson Commentator]

This kid, Jafar Jackson is as good as Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. And it's as good as Timothee Shamalay as Bob Dylan. And I say that with love and respect for both of those actors. And I don't know how many Oscar nominations they give out. I don't know if it's 5, 6 for best actor, 150%. This kid, Jafar Jackson should absolutely, positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson.

[Michael Rapaport]

Listen to I am rappaport on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

I am at the board podcast.

[Paul Verze]

Hey, guys, Paul Verze here and I want to talk to you about Paul's best podcast, Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network and I Heart Radio. I sit down each week with a special guest and we discuss the absolute best of things.

[Boost Mobile Global Connection Ad Narrator]

It's that and then there's everything else.

[Paul Verze]

He would just shout one line.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, it would murder.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Marie, lunch.

[Paul Verze]

Let's talk about the best moments that we had on the road.

[Jeremy Odom]

I would love a cocktail.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Dude.

[Jeremy Odom]

Joker get last row, middle seat on

[Eric Larson]

a Southwest Airlines flight.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Joe, how was your flight? It was great. The guy in Penn State, we were

[Jeremy Odom]

on the field and the player thought Joe was his former coach and he

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

hugged him and hugged him and Joe

[Jeremy Odom]

just went with it.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

The guy goes, what are you doing here, coach?

[Jeremy Odom]

And Joe just goes. And you walk in and it is bananas. I mean, it's a feast for the eyes. And I was like, it's like, it's not my thing either, but we're here.

[Paul Verze]

When in Rome, top athletes, chefs, musicians, everybody listen to Paul's best podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeremy Odom]

I want, I want to so badly be like, why are we talking about this 15 minute mile again? But I, I do need to ask, how is the crack in the concrete shift you either way? In your time that I. I so badly want to say, please get back to the Kansas City.

[Boost Mobile Ad Narrator]

Are you.

[Jeremy Odom]

But you.

[Eric Larson]

So you're saying that if your foot fel levels like you weren't thinking about it and one level is an inch higher than the other, you're not. You. You wouldn't kind of like stumble a little bit?

[Jeremy Odom]

Could you use. If you're looking down and you know what you're doing, couldn't you use that as leverage to push off?

[Eric Larson]

But, but imagine if you saw a French flag laying there when you're looking for cracks. You could pick it up, you could hand it back, and you could get a nice job Americano, which is a nice compliment.

[Jeremy Odom]

I'm not taking away your compliment, but it's. It. It is odd that that's your point. That this is a talking. That we're discussing this right now.

[Eric Larson]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Jeremy Odom]

Is this.

[Eric Larson]

Is this not up to the level?

[Jeremy Odom]

This is insane. So, so your downtown, Kansas City. What were you doing downtown? Because the game Arrowhead is. Anyone who's been around, you know, Arrowhead, Kansas City, Missouri. It's not exactly downtown. What. What were you doing downtown?

[Eric Larson]

Well, we were gonna take the shuttle bus. There's a shuttle bus that went from the fan fest downtown, which right by power and light to the stadium.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did you end up taking the shuttle?

[Eric Larson]

Oh, yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

I've heard stories on this. I actually, I saw a tick tock. There was a guy who took the shuttle to the stadium. Then after the game, saw the mass crowd of people trying to leave to take the shuttle. He chose to go Uber. He got back to his hotel probably an hour and a half, two hours later. We have experienced the Kansas City Arrowhead traffic before after a game. Was the shuttle pretty?

[Eric Larson]

It was flawless.

[Alec Baldwin]

Wow.

[Eric Larson]

All right, well, so I guess there is one story I want to tell on the shuttle.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, hold on. Before you tell the story, does everything do with the French flag?

[Eric Larson]

No. No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Perfect, Go ahead.

[Eric Larson]

I've already exit off my ship.

[Jeremy Odom]

Go for it.

[Eric Larson]

Not. You're a Francophobe. That's. That's the term for you.

[Jeremy Odom]

That there's a term?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

For people like me, yeah.

[Eric Larson]

Well, you're either a Francophile or a Francophobe. Kind of like English. Anglophile. Anglophone English. Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

I speak American. It's America. 250.

[Eric Larson]

Anyways, so we get on the shuttle bus and we're like going along and you know, it's a full shuttle bus. Like, you know, everybody's in it. Kind of one of the nicer ones with the nice seats in it that you could do, like, a couple hours. You could be on there. You'd be comfortable.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

So just, you know, mind your own business. Talking, chatting, look out the window and going through some rough, rough areas of kc.

[Jeremy Odom]

This is going to the stadium.

[Eric Larson]

Going to the stadium and kind of, like, looking around, and it's just like, telling Rob. I'm just like, this is. This is pretty bleak. Like, I don't know that this is necessarily the side of, you know, the United States that we want to show our international guests.

[Jeremy Odom]

Right.

[Eric Larson]

And so we keep going, and, you know, we turning left into, like, this almost, like, neighborhood. And then the bus immediately, like, flips around, like, through this big intersection. And the driver comes on the speakers, and he says, the. The GPS in my phone screwed up.

[Jeremy Odom]

GPS in my phone.

[Eric Larson]

And so it took us off course, but we're back on course, and we'll be. We'll be heading towards the stadium now.

[Jeremy Odom]

He was taking you to where the Chiefs are relocating their new stadium.

[Eric Larson]

It's just like one of these, like. I mean, I guess. I mean, it would make sense that there'd be some sort of, you know, tracking and some, like, an Uber would have.

[Jeremy Odom]

Sure.

[Eric Larson]

In there.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

But, yeah, it's kind of a little alarming that, you know, there's 60 people on this bus.

[Jeremy Odom]

You know, the world's watching.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah. So figured out our route.

[Eric Larson]

I think we were, like, the last bus to get to the stadium.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Damn.

[Eric Larson]

And so, like, everybody had already gone through. Like, they had these big corrals for bringing people in and kind of spreading them out so that they wouldn't all hit, you know, the ticket office. But we're like, look it up at the stadium. And it's just like. That's, like 10 minutes till, like, kickoff. Like, we could see the people, like, sitting in there. Like, this wasn't a. You know, we've been to many Arrowhead games where it's just like, oh, we'll wander in at some point during the first quarter. Well, we'll. Oh, yeah, we'll take in the flyby and the anthem and stuff from out here, and then we'll start thinking about heading back in. No, this was, like, 98% of the people were already in their seats. And we're, like, going through this giant maze with nobody in front of us. Just, like, you know, let us in.

[Jeremy Odom]

Did you get a beer before you went to your seat?

[Boost Mobile Ad Announcer]

Oh, yeah.

[Documentary Filmmaker]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, yeah. We missed the anthems, but we got the beginning of the game.

[Jeremy Odom]

So you don't Know who sang the anthem?

[Eric Larson]

Nope.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Eric Larson]

And I probably wouldn't have recognized either anthem.

[Jeremy Odom]

Either anthem. Oh, good point. I was thinking our anthem. And then what was beer pricing like? Same as always.

[Eric Larson]

It was awful. Oh, it was really worse.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, worse?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, yeah, it was a 20 beer.

[Eric Larson]

I think I manually overrode it to just leave a four dollar tip, but I think it was like 48 bucks for a round.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, no, that's. Yeah, you wish you still lived in Atlanta, don't you? Because they, they had their normal very, very like reduced price concession stand prices for the World cup, which kudos to them for still doing that. Yeah. Oh, wow. That's. I have seen that the international travelers have commented on our pricing.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, well, I'm sure. I mean, yeah, the people in the EU that use Euros, they're probably like, this is fine because their money's worth more than ours.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Sure.

[Eric Larson]

But for like Algeria.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

They're probably looking at it like they're going broke. Oh, my God. You want how much?

[Jeremy Odom]

Exactly?

[Boost Mobile Ad Narrator]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

And anybody who, you know, got their own currency, it's like, well, it's not going to measure up to the dollar. But that was the other thing that was surprising. So this was, I think, the fifth game that they played in Kansas City and they've still got two to go. There was not a scarf, like the soccer scarves or like T shirt to be found there.

[Jeremy Odom]

What's up with that? Were they sold out or you just. Oh, they're sold out.

[Eric Larson]

So like, they had a big fan fest, like thing that was in downtown, basically where they did the draft in downtown kc. And so I went to the store there and it was like, man, this is like really, like, low selection. So it's just like, all right, well, no big deal. I want to get a scarf. I'll get one at the, the game. And so at the game, went down to the concourses and, you know, went through with the second store. I just asked the lady, I was just like, am I going to find a scarf like anywhere around here? And she's just like, no, we sold out of them like last weekend.

[Alec Baldwin]

Jeez.

[Eric Larson]

And it was just like one of these things. Like, man, if you would have had like 30,000 scarves in stock, you would have sold 30,000 scarves probably to that, like, crowd you would have. But yeah, there was nothing really like a shirt or a scarf that said,

[Jeremy Odom]

casey, World cup, souvenir cup.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I guess, actually I did get one souvenir cup, actually, now that you mention it. But yeah, I mean, that's not as

[Jeremy Odom]

fun, but you want a scarf?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

And it's probably not worth looking online to get one.

[Eric Larson]

Well, I did find one, so.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, good.

[Eric Larson]

I found one on a large retailer's website even though all of the sporting goods stores around us had sold out for them. And I found one, and so I got a notification yesterday that had shipped from Nevada. So I don't know why there was a Kansas City World Cup. I'm. It might be an adventure just to see what they sent me because it might not be a Kansas City World

[Jeremy Odom]

cup scarf coming from the world of Hy vee grocery stores. That seems like a Hy Vee thing in Kansas City where they would have bought like 30,000 of these scarves and had them for sale for people knowing the major retailers, the actual, you know, the official sellers couldn't do it. But I'll bet. I'll bet they. They didn't have access to it. Like, they probably only had.

[Eric Larson]

That could have been the problem.

[Jeremy Odom]

FIFA probably only said, here you go to certain. Yeah, they're pretty. They're pretty specific to their brand, which. Which is awesome. But.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, well. And I mean, you think about too, like, grocery store. Like, you probably get a lot of that just from people. Like, our first thought was, you know, my friend Rob had another friend of his that was down in KC and he was like, we could stay with them. You know, we could, you know.

[Alec Baldwin]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

And I'm sure there's a lot of people staying with family or staying with friends there to, you know, duck the crowds in the hotels.

[Boost Mobile Ad Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Sloppy Rob.

[Eric Larson]

We decided it was probably better for us to not hang out all day in Casey and then show up at his friend's house at 2am probably, like, point me to the couch.

[Jeremy Odom]

Well, I do know the day after your game, we didn't hear from you until like 8pm oh, yeah. Pretty rough hangover, huh?

[Eric Larson]

It most. Yeah, Dehydration was a big piece of that.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, true. I guess it was pretty freaking hot out.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. So it wasn't too bad during the day, but it was so like, the game didn't start till 9pm and I sweated more at the game than anywhere just because it was so humid.

[Jeremy Odom]

I didn't even realize the game was so late. Yeah, okay. That would make sense because you guys were going at it pretty early.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, we made a whole day. We made a whole day of it. But yeah, it took. It took a little bit of recovery before I. A lot of water drinking and a couple of more hours of sleep once I made it back up to Omaha.

[Jeremy Odom]

Who drove?

[Eric Larson]

I did.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, very nice. Wow.

[Eric Larson]

So I held it together.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're a hero.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

How'd Rob do?

[Eric Larson]

I mean, he seemed. He seemed good.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

I mean, he's, he's, he's in shape.

[Akilah Hughes]

He's.

[Eric Larson]

He's been getting himself ready, you know.

[Jeremy Odom]

He has.

[Eric Larson]

For the fall. Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, well, we need a guy like that. We need him for football season.

[Jafar Jackson Commentator]

So what.

[Jeremy Odom]

What would you say? Like, because you went to, like, the. Was it the fan fest type thing? Was it right outside Arrowhead or where was that that you went?

[Eric Larson]

It was. It was just south of the power and light district, say, oh. Area on there. But yeah, the. The pricing was very similar there the. To the stadium.

[Jeremy Odom]

So,

[Eric Larson]

yeah, you kind of had to. We had to take. You had to look out for opportunities. Like, we found a couple different bars on our way there that were.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, good.

[Eric Larson]

Felt like they were just at normal pricing. Yeah, you know, it kind of. You know, when you. You always got to keep your eyes open for those kind of opportunities. It's kind of like sometimes I'll see like a bird and I'll take like a snap of it and I'll say, hey, I saw this bird and I'll send it to everybody I know.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, I do get those from you.

[Eric Larson]

So you always got to keep your eyes open for those, like, little opportunities. You know, I think I saw a squirrel once. I saw some, like, many, many birds. Even some indistinct objects in the distance that I'm not sure were birds, but that I claimed as birds.

[Jeremy Odom]

With all those people, how are their birds still hanging out?

[Eric Larson]

Oh, no. This is like when I go for my walks.

[Jeremy Odom]

What are you talking about? You're talking about the world cup.

[Eric Larson]

So you keep. You watch out for the cracks and then like, you. But you also need to kind of keep your eyes up for those snap opportunities because people are dependent on me.

[Jeremy Odom]

What is this walk? What is this walk?

[Eric Larson]

I got 15 minute mile, Jeremy. That's not exactly 15 minutes. Like, no seconds either below or above that. Exactly 15 minutes.

[Jeremy Odom]

Where were you? Where were you going?

[Eric Larson]

To the bar.

[Jeremy Odom]

You were walking?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I was walking to a brewery. It was a 1.3 mile walk, and I made the first mile of that in exactly 15 minutes.

[Jeremy Odom]

So were you trying to do this?

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

No.

[Jeremy Odom]

Oh, you just landed on 15.

[Eric Larson]

Such positive, like, momentum and just equilibrium. And I'm able to watch out for the cracks. I'm able to watch out for the birds.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah.

[Eric Larson]

And just steady pace.

[Jeremy Odom]

You're the guy that, when you're pumping gas, if you land on, on even, you take a picture, right?

[Eric Larson]

Exactly what this is, you know, and I think, you know, when you think of me, you think of Robert Bannister, Roger Bannister, and you think of people that got the perfect pump and gas as being kind of on that same wavelength.

[Jeremy Odom]

Who's Roger Bannister? He said, is that your mile guy?

[Eric Larson]

He's the dude that ran the four minute mile.

[Jeremy Odom]

Nobody cares about this guy. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the World Cup. Kansas City, Missouri. You were there?

[Eric Larson]

Yes, yes.

[Jeremy Odom]

Now, you did do a 15 minute walk, it sounds like, to the bar. So did you clock your way back? What?

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, I do. I was after four beers, I was not on the same pace. I was slower.

[Jeremy Odom]

Slower.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Odom]

What do you do when you got a pee and you're on a big walk like that? Do you stop? Do you just walk backwards and let it flow? What's your, what's your strategy?

[Eric Larson]

Walk backwards and let it flow? You think of like a propulsion, like a jet engine. Like, like.

[Jeremy Odom]

Yeah, I mean, if you were, if you were walking forward and peeing, you'd walk into it. Right.

[Eric Larson]

So, see, the problem that you run into, when I leave the bar, it's. It's dark outside. So then I gotta watch out for bike riders because they've got the little, they've got the little light on the front of their bike, but it doesn't, it's not always very powerful.

[Jeremy Odom]

I want to correct you on that. They have to watch out for you. Yeah, you were the walking one.

[Eric Larson]

Well, that, that is true. And there's a decent chance that it might hurt them more to run into me and it would like.

[Jeremy Odom]

That's a good point. So.

[Eric Larson]

Yeah, that's a great point. And I'm glad, you know, watch out for cracks, watch out for birds, watch out for bikes. These, These are the three things that lead to 15 minute walking mile.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, can we go? Let's go back to World Cup. Who do you have winning this thing? I mean, you were there. You, you saw two of the teams. One of them made it into the round of 32. So you might have an idea of.

[Eric Larson]

Well, and that's what I've been trying to get to this entire time. That's what we did the setup for. That's what we did all this for. Okay, so on June 23rd, there was a World cup game. This year, the team's in it. England and Ghana.

[Jeremy Odom]

England and Ghana. Okay, okay. Now we're getting somewhere.

[Eric Larson]

I'm doing my 15 minute mile. They play to a draw, so they both get a, you know, a point. But England advances to the next round. Now 1954 England is in the World Cup.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

Hey.

[Eric Larson]

And they win it all.

[Jeremy Odom]

Hey.

[Eric Larson]

So are you going to tell me that I do this walk, England's in the World cup both times, and that England's not going to win it again this year?

[Jeremy Odom]

That makes all the sense in the world.

[Eric Larson]

Like, all the stars are aligned.

[Jeremy Odom]

So you're telling me you watched that game on the 23rd, you did your 15 minute mile and you were just putting the pieces together and you're like this. This makes all sense. Like, this is who I've got to win it all at the World Cup.

[Eric Larson]

Well, I just found out about the England Ghana tie today as I was doing the show prep.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay, so. So is any of this true?

[Eric Larson]

Probably not.

[Jeremy Odom]

Okay.

[Alec Baldwin]

All right.

[Jeremy Odom]

Thanks, Eric. Dude, I don't know what to say. Do you? You have anything to promote? What are you doing here? This has been. Laugh with me.

[Laugh With Me Theme Singer]

Hit that intro. Go. Laugh with me when the wrench pass due and the car won't start Laugh with when the only sponsor is my broken heart we're hanging on this janky stream Two weird voices in the glow of a screen. If the world won't sing then let it laugh with me.

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[Michael Rapaport]

This is Michael Rapoport and my podcast, the I Am Rappaport Stereo podcast is unlike any one you've ever heard. If you're looking for strong opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now.

[Jafar Jackson Commentator]

This kid, Jafar Jackson, should absolutely, positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson.

[Michael Rapaport]

Listen to I Am rappaport on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Chuck from Stuff You Should Know]

Hey, this is Chuck from Stuff youf Should Know. And we're submitting our most sciency episodes for your peer review with our new Stuff you Should Know. Doing science playlist out now. You want to know about Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is usually the right one. We got you covered. Wondered what chaos theory is ever since the first time you saw Jurassic Park. Well, come on down. So distill a nice pot of tea, everybody. Turn down the gas on your Bunsen burner and slip into your most comfortable lab coat and listen to the stuff you should know. Doing science Playlist on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alec Baldwin]

Hey, it's Alec Baldwin. This season on my podcast here's the Thing, I talk to composer Marc Shaiman.

[Rob (Friend of Eric)]

It's about the hang. It's the pleasure of hanging out with the people that you're with. You know, Rob and I was always

[Alec Baldwin]

a great hang and director Morgan Neville

[Documentary Filmmaker]

Film school teaches you all the wrong things about making documentary. What do you want to say? Documentary is all about your ear. What do you hear? I feel like my job is listening really, really hard.

[Alec Baldwin]

Listen to here's the thing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you your podcasts.