Is the Wedding Industry a Scam? | Oct 23, 2025

Summary

Macrodosing: Is the Wedding Industry a Scam?

Host: Barstool Sports
Main Hosts: PFT Commenter, Arian Foster, Big Cat, Big T
Date: October 23, 2025

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the "wedding industrial complex"—exploring why weddings in America have become so expensive, whether that cost is justified, and all the social, cultural, and economic phenomena swirling around modern weddings. The crew discusses personal wedding experiences, industry markups, cultural traditions, engagement ring myths, the impact of social media, and listener dilemmas—all with their signature irreverent humor and thought-provoking banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Weddings as Social Markers & Status Symbols

• The Arms Race of Weddings:
  • Social media has accelerated the competition for increasingly extravagant weddings, but the desire for grand celebrations isn’t new. Bridezilla culture and elaborate ceremonies have always been around, but platforms like Instagram have ramped up expectations on aesthetics and details.
  • Big Cat (61:06): “It’s always been a big deal… but I think social media has exacerbated the problem a little bit. You want everything to look like it’s perfect.”
• Rise of Wedding Merch:
  • Hats, hoodies, T-shirts, and other branded “wedding merch” are being normalized by influencers. Tasteful and subtle designs (like a hat with a pet’s face) are mentioned as more likely to be reused than bold “event” memorabilia.
  • Mackenzie (63:50): "The merch I’ve seen for weddings, it’s all, like, influencers… but I saw a girl get married this summer, and at their rehearsal dinner, they made hats for everyone with their dog on it.”

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2. Wedding Expenses & Markups: Is It a Scam?

• Brutal Markups:
  • Anything labeled “wedding” comes with a 150–600% price increase compared to other parties. Venues, catering, photography, and entertainment all exploit the wedding tag.
    • Big T (32:18): “Anything that has the word wedding attached to it has like a 150% markup.”
    • Big Cat (126:54): “All the things you’re paying for, if you were to actually get them for a birthday party or whatever, it would be literally hundreds of percent cheaper.”
• The Average Cost Breakdown:
  • National average wedding cost (2025): $33,000 (112:04)
    • Most expensive: Mid-Atlantic ($46k)
    • Least expensive: Southwest/Midwest ($29k)
    • Venue alone: ~$12,000
    • Food price per plate: $80
• Strategies to Save:
  • Some couples try to disguise their “wedding” as just a “party” to avoid markups but risk contract breaches. Venues increasingly require using approved, pricey vendors and can cancel if they find out.

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3. Engagement Rings: The Manufactured Tradition

• Origins of the Diamond Engagement Ring:
  • De Beers and their ad agency (N.W. Ayer) used Hollywood placement, mass media, and slogans like “make three months’ salary last forever” to turn diamond rings into the American marriage standard (86:52).
  • In just three years after 1938 meeting, diamond sales rose 55% (91:35).
• Modern Debates: Lab-Grown vs. Mined Diamonds
  • Younger generations largely prefer lab-grown: more ethical, cheaper, bigger, and indistinguishable from mined diamonds.
    • Mackenzie (95:00): “If I can pay less and get more, why would I not?”
    • Big Cat (98:04): “You’d have to be insane to say, ‘I would rather have this come from someone’s, like, a business empire founded on theft, murder, and slavery.’”

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4. Wedding Traditions: The Ever-Growing “Event Chain”

• Multiplicity of Events:
  • Modern marriage “ecosystem” includes: engagement party, bridal/bachelor(ette) parties, wedding showers, rehearsal dinners, welcome parties, wedding day, after-brunch, honeymoons, and later, baby showers and gender reveals (110:52).
    • Big T (105:09): “It’s a whole ecosystem. That part of the economy would collapse if this disappeared.”
• Cultural Differences:
  • Southern U.S. weddings are more likely to feature a separate “groom’s cake”—a concept some in the group had never heard of.
    • Big T (120:15): “Apparently it’s more prevalent in the South.”

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5. Vegas Weddings: The “No Waiting” Option

• Why Vegas?
  • During Prohibition/Depression, most states required blood testing and a waiting period for marriage licenses. Vegas didn’t, enabling quick and celebrity-propelled weddings (99:58).
• Modern Stats:
  • Clark County hands out ~219 marriage licenses a day.

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6. Listener Dilemma: The Reluctant Groomsman

• Setup:
  • Brooks calls in about being asked (at the last minute) to be a groomsman for a friend’s wedding after only meeting the groom a few times. Turns out it was due to a numbers issue between bride and groom, with the bride’s side having more attendants.
• Resolution:
  • Brooks declines, backs up at rehearsal when one groomsman can’t make it, and attends the wedding; everyone is respectful and the day goes fine, but highlights the awkwardness and social obligation sometimes forced on wedding guests.
    • Brooks (133:37): “It was…a highly religious wedding. Mocktails… it worked out pretty well.”
    • Big Cat (136:40): “If you’re dreading going to a wedding… once you get there, you typically have a good time.”
    • (Full story: 129:10–137:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

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On the Wedding Industrial Complex

• Big T (16:56): “It’s a whole ecosystem. That part of the economy would collapse if this disappeared off the face of the earth.”
• Big Cat (112:04): “Per The Knot, the average cost of a wedding in the United States in 2025 is $33,000. Average cost per guest, $284.”

On the Origins of Engagement Rings

• Big Cat (86:52): “It has been said in media for decades that it is three months salary. And that actually ties back to the start of the wedding ring market here in the United States and how that came to be… The De Beers family also came up with the slogan three month salary.”

On Lab-Grown Diamonds

• Mackenzie (95:00): “If I can pay less and get more, why would I not?”
• Big Cat (98:04): “You’d have to be insane to say, ‘I would rather have this come from someone’s, like, a business empire that was founded on theft, murder, and slavery.’”

On Wedding Merch

• Arian (65:07): “If the merch is crack… you got a dope ass logo of… you know what I’m saying, his and hers, that would be hot.”

On Wedding Traditions

• Mackenzie (107:27): “Bridal shower is girls gone mild; Bachelorette party is girls gone wild.”
• Maddie (121:31): “Over the head is crazy. That’s a, ‘I’m going to ruin your entire wedding dress and your makeup and your hair.’”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [31:42] – Introduction to the wedding industrial complex topic
• [32:14] – Wedding cost markups and personal anecdotes
• [60:29] – Social media and the escalation of wedding expectations
• [63:50] – Wedding merch: free hats, personal branding
• [86:52] – History of the diamond engagement ring, De Beers’ ad campaign
• [94:53] – Lab-grown diamond discussion
• [99:58] – The Vegas wedding phenomenon
• [104:11] – Engagement parties, showers, and chain of events
• [110:28] – Full rundown of pre-wedding and wedding event “ecosystem”
• [112:04] – The real cost of U.S. weddings: geography, time of year, venues
• [121:31] – The cake smash: origins and opinions
• [129:10] – Update from listener Brooks: reluctant groomsman
• [137:34] – Closing thoughts: finding the joy in the wedding despite the costs

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains the familiar Macrodosing spirit: part skeptical, part curious, a little rowdy, but always genuine. The hosts bring a mix of research, personal stories, and plenty of tongue-in-cheek commentary—never shying from poking holes in tradition or calling out pure marketing. The vibe is relatable, lively, and often hilarious, but with enough seriousness to tickle your brain.

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Conclusion

The consensus: the wedding industry absolutely has scammy elements, with prices ballooning due to manufactured traditions, social pressures, and exploitative markups. But beneath it all, people are mostly chasing a fun, symbolic celebration of love—a goal made harder by commercial forces, but not insurmountable with humor and creativity (and maybe a little merch on the side).

The episode closes with encouragement for Big T, whose own wedding is upcoming. The day may cost too much, but “what could be better than a day to celebrate your love?” (137:48)

Transcript

[Big Cat]

Hey, macrodosing listeners, you can find us every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple podcasts, Spotify or YouTube Prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. You are standing inside a secret prison.

[Big T]

It houses the Nazi high command.

[Big Cat]

I'm going to put Hermann Goering on trial.

[Big T]

Sony Pictures Classics presents Nuremberg. Starring academy award winner Russell Crowe, Academy award winner Rami Malek, and academy award nominee Michael Shannon.

[Arian]

Do you plead guilty or not guilty?

[Big T]

Order.

[Big Cat]

Order.

[Big T]

Nuremberg opens only in theaters everywhere. November 7th.

[Big Cat]

You're standing inside a secret prison.

[Big T]

It houses the Nazi high command.

[Big Cat]

I'm gonna put Hermann Goering on trial.

[Big T]

Sony Pictures Classics presents Nuremberg. Starring academy award winner Russell Crowe, Academy award winner Rami Malek and academy award nominee Michael Shannon.

[Arian]

Do you plead guilty or not guilty?

[Big T]

Nuremberg. Now playing only in theaters. I've seen some people with like hoodies and stuff with roman numerals on it of like their wedding anniversary. You could maybe do that.

[Arian]

And think about this though, Mindy, you can make a legal recoup a little bit back, you know, pay for.

[Big T]

Oh, you're thinking about selling them?

[Arian]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Wait, you were thinking about giving them away.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, these are free. This is free.

[Big Cat]

I'm with Aaron, like party favorite.

[Big T]

Yeah, you can. I. I think people would be ma mad if they showed up and you were selling stuff.

[Big Cat]

It depends on. It depends on how sick your merch was.

[Arian]

If the merch is cracked. So you got a dope ass logo of you know what I'm saying? His and her. That would be hot.

[Big Cat]

Welcome back to macro dosing. It is Thursday. It's October 23rd. Today's episode's brought to you, as always, by game time because college football is in full swing. You got tailgates, crowds, the excitement of being in the stands before kickoffs. Everything's here with college football the best time of year. And if you've ever found yourself at a tailgate and decided to grab tickets at the last minute, you know it can be a pain. But that's where game time comes in. The game time app gives you the advantage the fans. It's a hack for unlocking amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. It's so easy to use. The game time guarantee means that you can Trust you're getting 100% authentic tickets on time at the best price. And the fees are always included. What you see is what you pay. This weekend. We got some big matchups coming up. I'm. I'm very excited for this weekend. Slate big T. Do you have any games that you're circling that you're looking at thinking maybe if you want to get tickets on game time, what the price is going to be.

[Big T]

Yeah, I forget which one we looked at the other day. Was it Indiana? I think it was Indiana.

[Big Cat]

I think it was.

[Big T]

Yeah. I've got Tennessee at Kentucky pulled up right now. $53. I can get you into the. The former battle for the beer barrel.

[Big Cat]

That is a great deal. And again, game time is very easy to use. It's what I use when I'm trying to buy tickets for a game. I used it to buy my Monday night football tickets for next week, which I am going to.

[Big T]

I used it to go to the Bulls game tonight.

[Big Cat]

There we go. Yeah, it's a great way to get in. And you can save some money too. I'm going to get you guys a deal. Okay. You can download the Gametime app, create an account, use code macro, get 20 bucks off your first purchase terms apply again, create an account, redeem code, M A c r o. 20 bucks off, swipe, tap, ticket. Go download the game time app today. Well, good luck playing golf today. Aaron. Aaron, do you mind if I just read you something?

[Arian]

Depends on what it is I want to like.

[Big Cat]

Okay. I just want to read something to you and then and get your reaction to it as I read this to you live. Okay, let's do it. Ready? 86, 89, 92, 99, 89. What are your reactions to those. Those numbers, those random numbers I read to you?

[Arian]

86, 92, 90, 89, 86, 92, 90.

[Big Cat]

86, 89, 86, 89, 92, 92, 90, 90, 89, 89.

[Arian]

My original reaction is it sounds like the birth dates of some old like me.

[Big Cat]

Okay, yeah, that, that's. That would add up. Those are like 1989, 1986, etc. Did you have any my takeaways from those numbers?

[Big T]

Are they rushing totals of some sort?

[Big Cat]

They're not rushing totals, no.

[Big T]

You forgot one too. You forgot one of the numbers.

[Big Cat]

What do you mean?

[Big T]

Six, seven.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. That's a good number too. No, those five numbers, those are my last five rounds of golf. So I just wanted to get your feedback on. On those numbers. Those random numbers that I just read.

[Big T]

6, 7 would have been great then.

[Big Cat]

It would have been awesome.

[Arian]

Looks like you're dialing it in, my brother.

[Big Cat]

That's great to hear. It sucks because this is the end of golf season and I'm not gonna be able to play for a while.

[Arian]

That's crazy. You need to take take a visit down to Houston because prime golf season is Just starting.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah, this is a good time where.

[Arian]

It'S like 80s, 70s for a good month and a half month. Yeah, it's gonna be nice.

[Big Cat]

I snuck out yesterday and I went to this nine hole course. I played. I played like back to back nines instead of playing 18.

[Arian]

And you shot 86.

[Big Cat]

It was no yes or 89 on a par.

[Arian]

On a nine hole chord.

[Big Cat]

Well, no, I played twice. I played twice. I played it through twice.

[Arian]

Oh, okay. My fault.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

What course was it?

[Arian]

89 on a par three course.

[Big Cat]

No, it's not a par three course. There's one par three. It's a. It's a low par. Every hole is a par four except for one par three.

[Arian]

Oh, well, you can't count those numbers, my guy.

[Big Cat]

Well, I just did.

[Arian]

Well, you're fooling yourself.

[Big Cat]

Well, I know that they're not actually, like, I'm not actually shooting in the 80s, but. Oh, I. I do know that it's way better than I've been. So like, what? Add. Add like three strokes to that.

[Arian]

Just don't. Just don't do that math.

[Big Cat]

Well, there is, because the US Ghin has a. Has a formula and they've thought of that. The very smart people at the apps.

[Arian]

What is their formula?

[Big Cat]

I don't know. I can't do handicap math. But the bottom line is it sucks because this is like the end of the golf season up here. I went out yesterday and it was like raining and was windy and I checked in at the front and the guy was like, can I ask you a question? I was like, sure. Why are you playing today? I was like, cuz. What do you mean why am I playing? He's like, are you doing this just to say that you played golf in October? And I was like, no. He's like, I got buddies that do that. They're like, oh, I golfed in October this year. I golfed in November. What a great city. What a great time of year. And I was like, no. I just. I think that they might be shutting down the courses soon. And so I wanted to get it in. He's like, okay, that's a fair answer.

[Arian]

Because it's a disease and I'm addicted. Mind your business, guy. That's why.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's hipaa. I refuse to answer.

[Arian]

Exactly, man.

[Big Cat]

But welcome back to Macrodosing. It is Thursday and today is. What is the date today?

[Big T]

October 23rd.

[Big Cat]

October 23rd. Right in the thick of October.

[Mackenzie]

Happy Mole day.

[Big Cat]

It's Mole day. Get your skin checked.

[Mackenzie]

It 10. Wait, it's a scientific thing. It's like 10 times 23 to the sixth power or some shit. We used to do it in high school.

[Big Cat]

What does mole mean?

[Mackenzie]

Scientific mole. A mole is a unit of concentration. It's oh, 6.02 times 10 to the 23rd power. That's why it's on mole.

[Big Cat]

I had no idea that mole was even a thing.

[Mackenzie]

It's also known as Avogadro's number.

[Big T]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

Shout out avocado. Yep. From Mexico, I think. I think that's a made up holiday. I, I Now I'm going to refuse to celebrate Mole day. But I guess if you celebrate, good for you.

[Big T]

They're trying to get in on that Pie Day action.

[Big Cat]

They are? Yeah. I'm a pie day man myself. Mad Dog, hit pie.

[Mackenzie]

3.1415926535897932384626433.

[Big Cat]

That's, that's insane. That's nuts.

[Maddie]

Is that all of them?

[Big Cat]

No, no, it goes on to infinity.

[Brooks]

Okay.

[Mackenzie]

Notably there is no all of them. That makes sense.

[Big Cat]

You could just be like. Yeah, that's it.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

I mean if you just said random numbers.

[Big T]

I know a guy who knew the first like 200.

[Maddie]

That's insane.

[Big Cat]

That's. You got to get a hobby at some point. Let's talk. Yeah, we did an episode about that the other week. Go back in the archive, figure out what Aaron was about to say right there. But didn't. There's some breaking news that happened three days ago.

[Maddie]

It just clicked.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Think about the, the recent episodes that we've done.

[Maddie]

Aryan suspiciously wasn't here for.

[Big T]

I, I, listen, I, I gotta go back. I have no idea what we're talking.

[Big Cat]

It was like, it was like two weeks ago.

[Big T]

I think it was may as well be two years ago.

[Big Cat]

Exactly two weeks ago. We had on a brain scientist, a neuroscientist, big T. We'll have take a.

[Arian]

Lot of time at all.

[Big T]

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[Big Cat]

So we have some breaking news that happened three days ago. This happened October 20th and we did not cover it on the show. It fell through the Cracks broken news, then breaking broken news, current news broken. It's been, it's been broken, but we need to react to involves a recurring guest on macrodosing, somebody, somebody who has been on this show, friend of the program and could be again, perhaps the Nelson Mandela of our time. George Santos has been freed after long, long last. His sentence was commuted by President Trump. He is out of jail. He spent the, the majority of his time in solitary confinement. My understanding is that he asked for solitary confinement to protect him and then, then just complained about being in solitary confinement the entire time. I, I, I don't want to twist. Yeah, I thought he was too pretty to be in, in prison. He was a guy like him. That skin, he's got beautiful skin. George Santos has been freed.

[Big T]

Can I ask why he went to jail for what, a month or two?

[Big Cat]

I think it was a bit longer than that.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

It can't be much longer. Regardless, it was a short period of time. Why, why did Trump, why not just do this preemptively?

[Big Cat]

I think maybe he, I don't know, he wanted to have him suffer a little bit. Well, so we're being honest so that.

[Big T]

He'D be more grateful.

[Big Cat]

Yes.

[Big T]

When he got out.

[Big Cat]

Yes. He wanted him to taste how bad it was and then Trump saved him from it. So thank you, Mr. Trump.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

That's probably for getting him out of prison. Yeah. So he has been, his sentence has been commuted because he was convicted on federal crimes. And so he is, he is a free man. And Trump said that Santos, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated and went on to compare him to individuals in the Democratic Party, Democrat Party, and said that you say what you want about Mr. Santos, but at least he's not foolish enough to go against President Trump.

[Arian]

Call him a criminal, but at least he's not dumb enough to say I'm bad.

[Big Cat]

Well, yeah, Trump's point was that there's a lot of criminals out there.

[Arian]

He's one of them.

[Big Cat]

So why, why are we putting this guy in jail when there's other criminals that are in jail? So he's, he's out. And New York City. You just lost a voter. You just lost a voter. He, Santos tweeted out. Sadly, it seems that my family and I will be departing the city I've called home my entire life. New York City will become a very dangerous place to live if we elect Mayor Mamdani, and that is a risk I'm unwilling to take now that I want to start growing my family. So he's worried for his hypothetical family.

[Arian]

Yes, sir. Look at madame already cleaning up the city with criminals. Look at that.

[Big Cat]

The, the, the debate. By the way, I don't know if you guys saw any the, the New York City debate with mom, Donnie Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. It was, it was so funny. Curtis Lee was just an all time New York guy. New York has always had guys like that, just like these eccentric dudes that, that live and breathe the city and they do things like constantly run for mayor, even though they never get elected mayor. And say what you want about Sliwa, I feel like that's a man. That's a man who is New York up and down through.

[Big T]

Yeah, I mean, he's run for mayor like 10 times.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he's a uniquely New York guy. But that, that debate was very, very funny because you have Cuomo, who doesn't really have a leg to stand on in terms of, like, his track record in terms of anything that he's done, but he's basically up there saying, listen, I'm, I'm not a, a perfect politician, but I'm not this guy. And just pointing at Mamdani the entire time. And then Mamdani's like, yeah, I'm not, I'm not this guy either. Like, you want to, you want to talk about somebody that is going to be dangerous for the city? How about somebody that. Actually, the, the funniest exchange of that debate was when they asked Cuomo about, like, Mamdani's inexperience, and his answer was, this man has never had a job. This man just only worked for his family. This man does not have the common sense or the experience to handle things like a pandemic. And then Mamdani was like, yeah, you, you killed tens of thousands of elderly during our last pandemic. And, yeah, your last name's also Cuomo. So how. How did you get your job, buddy? It's, it was, it was high comedy watching that. And Sliwa, I think they, I think I. They want Sleewa to drop out and they want everybody else to drop out so that Cuomo will win. It just. Cuomo sucks. I don't know why Cuomo, like the Democratic Party in New York doesn't have any other options besides Cuomo that they want to run. Makes no sense at all to me.

[Big T]

Is Mamdani not the Democrat he is.

[Big Cat]

But obviously the established, the establishment Democrats, they don't want Mamdani to win.

[Big T]

Sure. And so, but I mean, he beat Cuomo, so.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, so like the, the, the, the Money and the power behind that party in New York. They're scrambling to find somebody else that they can have. They can run. And they had no other bright ideas besides the disgraced, embattled former mayor that nobody likes in the city.

[Big T]

What a. What a difference five years makes. I remember when everyone was a Cuomo sexual.

[Big Cat]

Cuomo sexual.

[Big T]

Their terminology, not mine.

[Big Cat]

Now, did he actually have the nipple piercing?

[Big T]

I don't think so.

[Big Cat]

Or was that, like a Ryan Day situation where it's Photoshopped?

[Big T]

I think so. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

But would it shock you to know that Cuomo had a nipple piercing?

[Big T]

Nothing would shock me anymore about anything.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

What? Did you see the parade question?

[Big Cat]

I did not see that.

[Big T]

Oh, you. In the debate. No, go look up the parade question. They were like, are there any parades that you would not march in as the mayor? And Cuomo was like, I love all the parades. Every parade is great. And, Mom, Donnie was like, I really haven't given any much thought to parades. And then Sleep was like, we need more parades. We need parades for new things. It was incredible.

[Big Cat]

That's a great answer.

[Big T]

It was. It was like a real SNL skit.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that.

[Arian]

That is.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's a good.

[Big T]

You gotta go watch the parade. We'll cut it, but you gotta watch parades.

[Big Cat]

All right.

[Arian]

Send the link.

[Big Cat]

I can't find it on the description.

[Big T]

Oh, it's so great.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, you could tell Sliwa. I feel like he might have planted that question. He was ready to answer.

[Arian]

He.

[Big Cat]

He was fired up about the parade.

[Big T]

All parades have a right to exist, he says.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I gotta be honest. I haven't really thought about parades. And then Cuomo was actively searching for different communities that he could shout out and suck up to in that answer. Yeah. Good luck, New York. Seems like things are going great for you. What else we got in the news today? Anything else burning you guys up? You teed off about anything, Big T.

[Big T]

Yeah, I need this Tony Vitello guy to just make a decision. I can't believe we're sitting here on Wednesday. He's still. Nobody knows what this guy's doing. He just won't. He just won't make a decision.

[Big Cat]

So I think this is good news for you.

[Big T]

I don't.

[Big Cat]

You don't think he's. He's using.

[Big T]

I think he is haggling with the San Francisco Giants over a couple of sticking points.

[Big Cat]

You don't think he's using the buzz about him being a Major League baseball manager to go back to the University of Tennessee being, like, gonna need some more money.

[Big T]

I think UT has. There have been power players that are trying to make some stuff like that happen, but I. I think he's just going back and forth with the Giants about a couple things that they. They have as sticking points. Allegedly today he, like, has to make a decision is what I've heard.

[Big Cat]

So not cutting time.

[Big T]

So maybe by the time this show comes out, we will know. I thought we'd know yesterday when there was an open scrimmage and, like, people flooded into the baseball stadium and he was out there kind of like everybody thought he was leaving and it was real awkward. And then he walked over to the fans after the scrimmage. It was like, thank you all for coming. We have a meeting to go to. And that's when everybody's okay. So it'll come out in 10 minutes. Then he's gone. And then nothing happened. So who knows? It's very weird.

[Big Cat]

I think he might stick around.

[Big T]

I would love that. Have you seen the. The fake Giants fans Twitter accounts that Tennessee fans have been making?

[Big Cat]

No.

[Big T]

They've been making, like, giants fan. 1, 2, 3. And they're like, we can't have this maga baseball coach. Please do not do this. He's going to make us have Morgan Wallen Knight and we do not support this in San Francisco. Please do not hire Tony Vitello.

[Big Cat]

I like that they're doing like the Calgorithm. Yeah, but in reverse.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

For the Giants. That's good.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Reporting him to the New York Giants front office for not. For not having the appropriate tone after Charlie Kirk was killed. Yeah, we can't have this guy here.

[Big T]

Some of them have been very funny. Oh, here's. This says. Here's Vitello not wearing his mask the right way. This would make all Giants games a potential super spreader event. There's been some good stuff on there.

[Big Cat]

I like that a lot. Yeah, that's good. That's good stuff. Arian, what are you thinking about today? What did you wake up concerned about? Amused by, Upset by.

[Arian]

You know, I don't. I don't have anything, man. I woke up. I'm really fixated on my golf game right now.

[Big Cat]

That's okay.

[Arian]

That's it, man.

[Brooks]

I'm just.

[Arian]

I'm just locked in on that. And this. This golfing season has really commenced in Houston, and so I'm taking full advantage.

[Big Cat]

What about the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series?

[Arian]

I don't care too much about it. I'm, you know, I'll watch, you know, Just because, you know, playoff baseball is fun to watch, but I don't care who wins or who loses. I do think it's hilarious that Toronto and LA is playing because of certain cultural implications that it is funny. That is funny.

[Big T]

I think Drake's gonna go.

[Brooks]

Huh?

[Big T]

Think Drake's gonna go.

[Arian]

I don't see why he would. It doesn't benefit him because, like, one, he has a horrible track record of losing games that he bets on to the. The Avalanche. That would happen again about. He. Oh, I don't know if we talked about that. He lost the. The judge dismissed his case about defamation against umg, and so he lost that case. He lost the battle. He lost the case. It wouldn't make sense for him to publicly be like, let's go, Blue Jays against la. Who just happened to have the most, you know, the representation of the most impactful thing that's happened in my career, arguably. And we just. We just took a L to that. So I don't see why he would. I mean, he hasn't made a lot of good moves in post battle, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. But I just. I would. If I was advising him, I'd be like, man, just sit this one out, man. Let the baseball thing handle itself.

[Big Cat]

It'd be funny if he showed up, though. It'd also be funny if the Dodgers, if they won the World Series in Toronto and went out to New Hoking to celebrate.

[Arian]

Well, you know, that's the funny part. So the Dodgers leaned into that shit. So even before they were playing the Blue Jays. So throughout the season, I noticed this when they played during the regular season, throughout the entire regular season at the Dodger Stadium, you know how they'll do, like the Oregon take me out the ball game in some places, like, so a lot of times in the Dodger Stadium, they'll do that, you know, with it, with the organ in the background. So they did that. They played not like us, like, almost every game.

[Big Cat]

They got to bring that back for this series.

[Arian]

No, they did it the whole time they. They've been doing. They did it the entire Milwaukee Brewer series. They did it. They did it during the regular season, though.

[Big Cat]

That's great.

[Arian]

So it's gonna hit a little harder during this. During this World Series. But yeah, Drake just gotta stay out of it, man. Let this go, man. Because, like, for, like, you know, obviously I'm interested in rap and battle rap in general. So my for you page is interesting, right? My for you page. Like, I don't, like, search for this, but it's on my page and now I read it and it's really funny. There's like this ongoing feud with Drake fans and Kendrick fans that is still going to this day that is wildly entertaining. And it's like you have these stand cultures on both sides. So yeah, you have these. You have these spaces that they have in Twitter. Like these Drake fans have these spaces where they. They just. We gotta get these streams up, man. We gotta. We got. We gotta do more for. It's like what the. Is going on, though, is a. It's a wild set of circumstances, and they're, they're, they're accusing Kendrick of having bots and that's why he's so popular. And then the Kendrick fans, like, but he's on a world tour. It's just. They're still arguing about this and it's like, it's very hilarious.

[Big Cat]

Never give up. Never give up. You haven't lost yet. There's still time for a comeback.

[Arian]

So, like, during the battle, Drake posted that little cartoon meme of the red button. I don't know if you. If you remember that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

And so he was like, that was his ace in the hole. When he hits the red button, all hell was going to break loose. I think that was family matters. His. The track family matters. But since it didn't hit like that, a year and a half later, Drake fans were saying the. The lawsuit was the real red button.

[Big Cat]

Ah, I got it. Yeah.

[Arian]

And then now that he lost that, they're saying the appeal is the real, real red button.

[Big Cat]

It is like. It's like Qanon.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Like the storm's coming. You're looking for all these breadcrumbs. Yeah.

[Arian]

It's wild.

[Big Cat]

Drake is going to arrest all the real pedophiles soon. Just wait.

[Arian]

Right, right when you follow the Lord. It's interesting. Like I said, it's. It's interesting, man.

[Big Cat]

But that, yeah, I'm excited about this world. I think it's going to be more competitive than people think.

[Arian]

There's another debate going on that I'm curious to get Yalls take on. Like, so, like the show Sh. Sh. Otti versus Barry Bonds debate, like, of the greatest of all time. Where y' all at with that?

[Big Cat]

I don't think that you can claim that about sh yet. I think that he's done some stuff that's. That's incredible. But Barry Bonds is the best baseball player to ever live, and he did it for so much longer. I feel like we're a good seven years away. From having that. Having that argument for Shohei.

[Arian]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I mean, I'm new to baseball. I'm just trying to get all the, you know, get on.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. What Barry Bonds did was incredible. Even before the steroid stuff, before he went to San Francisco, he was still the best hitter in the game. He was an incredible, amazing baseball player. And then the stuff that he did after he got to the Giants put him over the top. And it's like this dude is. Is just simply unreal. And Shohei has been amazing for his entire career over here in Major League Baseball. But. And he had the best game ever. I don't think that you can say Barry Bonds ever had a game like that. He's had some incredible games, but what Shohei did had quite literally never been done before. So. Yeah, I. I'd say pump the brakes on that conversation a little bit.

[Big T]

Well, so I'm looking at their. Their two career stats combined. Shohei has played 1018 games. Bonds has played 2,986. So about a third as many.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Hits, Bonds, 2935. Shohei 1050. So multiply his games by three. He got more hits. Home run, 7 62. Which is fake.

[Big Cat]

No, that's real.

[Big T]

And 280 for Shohei. So if he continued on this pace for 24, 3,000 games, he would have over 800 home runs. Yeah. Just outrageous.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

RBI is 1996 to 669. So you go down the list, and if you multiply his games by three, he would have about the same stats on. Base percentage for Bonds is significantly higher because he got intentionally walked all the time. Slugging 607 to 582 OPS 1051 to 957. Then throw on top of it that Shohei is an incredible pitcher.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like he's. He's the most talented player I've ever seen.

[Big Cat]

Now, with Barry Bonds, the intentional walks, the on base percentage, that also goes a long way to impacting how many home runs you have. Goes a long way to impacting how many RBI you have. RSBI you have.

[Big T]

How.

[Big Cat]

Well, if you're intentionally walked, it reduces the number of opportunities that you.

[Big T]

Oh, okay. I see. I thought you were saying in the other direction.

[Big Cat]

No, no, I'm.

[Big T]

So he did get intentionally walk with the bases loaded before he did.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So he has. He has had intentional walk. That's rbi.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but it does. It impacts how many of those other stats you can get.

[Big T]

Sure.

[Big Cat]

So there's.

[Big T]

He was. He was incredible. Didn't need to do Steroids.

[Big Cat]

But also saying, like, if you multiply what Shohei is doing by three, he's on pace. Like that's doing a lot of work right there. Because the pace that he's on is absolutely incredible. It would be a miracle if he held it up.

[Big T]

Yeah. But I mean, and the problem is we missed out on his first five years.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Big T]

Like, so we'll never really know. I don't think he's going to accumulate the same kind of numbers the Barry Bonds did. But also he's a borderline elite pitcher as well. So. Yeah, he's unbelievable.

[Big Cat]

I'd say he's.

[Big T]

However you want to slice it.

[Big Cat]

How many elite pitchers would you say there are?

[Big T]

Eight? Nine, ten?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I would put him probably top ten.

[Big T]

I mean, crochet, scubal, freed skins, sales, skeins. And then there's. Yeah, so there's like that tier and then there's a group below that that you probably put him in.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So I mean, what he's doing right now, he is playing as good as anybody's ever played baseball. We can say that.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

But like, when you're looking at his, his entire career, let's just wait. Let's wait a little bit and see if he keeps it up. I hope that he does because he's so much fun to watch. He actually makes it very hard to. To hate the Dodgers. A team that should be. I. Well, that's the thing about the Dodgers. They've got a lot of fun players. They're just, they just have all of them. It's like, I don't need any individual part of the Dodgers.

[Arian]

Mookie Betts was supposed to go to the University of Tennessee.

[Big T]

He was committed. I think it came down to like the day that he had to decide to be on campus or not. And then he decided to go to the. The Red Sox.

[Arian]

Be like that, man.

[Big T]

He and Cabrian Hayes, who plays for the Reds somewhat, I believe this was at Dodger Stadium. The Dodger Stadium organist must be a real ball knower because Brian Hayes was also committed to ut. Neither one of them ended up going there, but in their series to start the playoffs, Kibrian Hayes, I believe grounded out to Mookie Betts and they played Rocky top right after it happened. So the Dodger Stadium organis knows a tremendous amount of baseball.

[Big Cat]

I think that's another edge for the Dodgers. What does Toronto have that could put them over the top? They've got cool tower, very cool tower. They've got a lot of, a lot of sons on their Team?

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

They've got Vladi Jr good logo. Boba Shet. Where's Bizio?

[Big T]

I think he's somewhere else.

[Big Cat]

Kevin? Yeah, Kevin Biggio. What I love about.

[Big T]

He's with the Royals now.

[Big Cat]

What I love about Biggio is that his old man got hit with a ton of pitches.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And so does he. It's like the art of getting drilled.

[Big T]

Does he also.

[Big Cat]

I think so. I think he's got like higher than average hit by pitch rate. Oh, he's a Notre Dame guy. Did not know that.

[Big T]

He has 28 in seven years. I'd say that's not too high.

[Big Cat]

Well, how many bats? That's what you got to look at.

[Big T]

In 1600 at bats.

[Big Cat]

Max was saying that he. If you took his hit by pitch percentage when he played college baseball and you compared it to Major league baseball players, he would have by far the highest hit by pitch rate in the history of Major League baseball.

[Maddie]

Maxwood.

[Big Cat]

Max. Yeah, Max here at Barstool. He used to crowd the plate like a motherfucker.

[Big T]

I love that.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Max is used to crowded plates.

[Big T]

I wonder if you can find those stats.

[Big Cat]

I shouldn't have said that.

[Big T]

That's me.

[Big Cat]

That was me. Why didn't I think of that when I was. When he said that, my. My initial reaction was just like, yeah, but you got to look at surface area. And so some people are more likely to get hip. Crowded plate was right there. I'm gonna have. I'm gonna have to save that one. Don't put this out as a clip, okay. Because I'm gonna. I'm gonna put that one again in the quiver. I'm a idiot for not thinking of that.

[Big T]

I have Max's 2016 stats here.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Maddie]

Really?

[Big Cat]

Let's go through them.

[Big T]

Yeah. He hit 232 with an.822 OPS, four hit by pitches, only 67 plate appearances. So three homers, 11 RBIs in 56 at bats. Okay, not bad.

[Big Cat]

Not bad. Good job, Max.

[Maddie]

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[Big Cat]

What else we got to get into today? Because we will be talking about the wedding industrial complex and it's a. It's a topic that was brought up to us on Tuesday's show. Arian, I think you missed this voicemail.

[Arian]

Yeah, I did.

[Big Cat]

We had, we had an all time call from a guy that, that had a, a wedding predicament that he was getting into and it got Big T really fired up and Big T's obviously going through it right now with the, the wedding planning and everything that goes along with it and you're finding out that anything that has the word wedding attached to it has like a 150% markup.

[Big T]

Oh, way more than that compared to.

[Big Cat]

If it was just an event.

[Big T]

Yes. Which is my main sticking point with the whole thing. But we'll, and we're going to have that guy on the show, I believe.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

In a little while he's going to give us an update about, about how it all ended up shaking out. But yeah, off the top. I don't know if there's anything else besides the Lakers your are your Lakers in trouble?

[Arian]

Aaron I did not watch this game. I usually don't get into it until 2, 3 months and there's still a lot going on Roster.

[Big Cat]

I agree.

[Arian]

Stuff like that. So it's, it's a lot of. They don't, they don't play hard at all either. So like, like mid season is when I start to really buckle down and watch them.

[Big Cat]

I think opening night they play hard.

[Big T]

Thank you for admitting they don't play hard.

[Arian]

Yeah, 82 games. It's just, it's a lot of games.

[Big Cat]

I think opening night they'll play baseball.

[Arian]

Because baseball thought the season, you know, playoffs come around and shit get cracking.

[Big T]

I think they're giving the same amount of effort in baseball for the most part there, there are certainly times that that's not the case but it's just, it's such a, you can't get caught up in like wins and losses and stuff because it's just too long.

[Arian]

Yeah, but I don't like the same effort though.

[Big T]

It, it, the playoffs are different but I don't think they're like loafing in the regular season. I think it's just a, it's a different game. Like the intensity is different. I think the effort is like they're not out there not trying.

[Arian]

I think, I think it's the exact same thing in NBA. I think the only thing with the NBA it's, it's such a more physically demanding sport that you notice it more.

[Big T]

So like that's true.

[Arian]

You can just stand at a plate and swing. You don't really notice how intense you're locking in or you know, they probably in the dugout, not giving a flying fuck. It probably was. You know, you visit a city, you actually going to see the city, you're going out, you're doing your thing. You know what I mean? But when the playoffs come, everybody locked in.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Aaron, what's your reaction to the story that came out yesterday? It's from a book called A Hollywood Ending the Dreams and drama of the LeBron Lakers. And it's written by a guy named Yaron Weitzman. He was telling the story about how AD got traded. And do you know how AD Found out that he got traded?

[Arian]

I do not know.

[Big Cat]

So there's a Lakers team group chat that's out there. Just a text thread. And that's out there.

[Big T]

Well, he reported this.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he reported this.

[Arian]

That means it's publicly available.

[Big Cat]

No, I think he got access to the. To the group chat.

[Brooks]

How?

[Big T]

I mean, obviously someone told him he's a writer.

[Arian]

Yeah, it means you got a little rat on a boat. But go ahead, I'm listening.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, so. So the group chat was. It was fired up one night and a text came through from Bronnie. Bronnie James sent a link to the Shams Charania tweet saying that Anthony Davis has been traded to the Mavericks exchange for Luca Doncic. He dropped that in the team group chat. And then Anthony Davis wrote back, did these friends just trade me? And then LeBron James wrote back, WTF question mark?

[Big T]

We're all looking for the guy who did this.

[Arian]

Yeah, and he's definitely. He knows.

[Big Cat]

First of all, Bronnie, you got to know your place a little bit. Like, you don't. You don't need to. Everyone's gonna know.

[Big T]

They were gonna know in two minutes.

[Big Cat]

Less than two minutes. Bronnie.

[Arian]

Is. Is young high school, you know?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, you gotta know your place in the group chat, Bronnie. You don't. You don't get to break that news to the. I know there's a rush that goes along with breaking news fixing to say that anytime something bad happens to the. To the Eagles, usually, you know, it's a race in the. Part of my take group chat. To send that link to the group chat. But in this circumstance, it's like, Bronnie, you're the new kid on the block. You need to just not hit send on that. Unless. What day of the week was this? A Tuesday night? Was a Taco Tuesday.

[Big T]

Was he having Saturday?

[Big Cat]

It was a Saturday. Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

[Arian]

So Taco Tuesday.

[Big Cat]

I'm just wondering if LeBron was in the Room with Bronnie when he sent that text.

[Big T]

I, like you said, in fairness to him, it is exhilarating to break news to people.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like, I happen to see the James Franklin was fired tweet, like, the second it went out. And I have a friend who's a big Penn State fan, so I text him like, you're free. And he said, what? And I said, oh, you don't know. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And then I haven't heard.

[Big T]

And I called him and I said, I'm. I'm thrilled to be able to tell you this.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it is. It's a rush. Now, if you're Bronnie and you see the tweet from Shams, do you then, like, I. I would think that the first person you would let know would be your dad. Right.

[Arian]

Of course, to pretend like they didn't know beforehand is ridiculous.

[Big Cat]

And for LeBron to be like, wtf.

[Arian]

That now I'm gonna give him some lean. I'm gonna give some leeway here. That wtf could be, damn, they traded you. Or it could be like, why the. Would you post what I just told you? That could be that.

[Big T]

But you would do that in private, though.

[Arian]

Could have been just a spirit of moment thing. But more than likely, you're right.

[Big Cat]

Could this also be read as like a WTF to his own son? Like, why are you sending this in the group chat?

[Arian]

I'm glad you thought of that. Not me.

[Big Cat]

I. I feel like, as a dad, though, you handle your business man to man. You don't. You don't handle the drama in the group chat.

[Arian]

Did you not hear me and Big T? Big, Big me and Big T's exchange, like, 30 seconds ago. Yeah, that's exactly. That's like, exactly what we said.

[Big Cat]

I guess I. I interpret it a little bit differently.

[Arian]

I got you this guy.

[Big Cat]

I mean, it's. It's a very funny situation that they found themselves in.

[Arian]

I think it's ridiculous. Like, I think this has been the gripe from about LeBron. Like, I don't know him. I met him a few times. I don't know him like that at all. But it's like. Like when he was caught reading the Malcolm X book, clearly has not read the autobiography of Malcolm X. And it's a really good book. He should read it. But it was like, for like a. I don't know how long, but he just kept walking around and just couldn't explain the book. Didn't know anything about the book. Yo, just say you haven't read the book. But I just Started it. I don't know. Got about to get in known historical. I just. Just be honest.

[Brooks]

He. He.

[Arian]

I don't know if he lies a lot, but it's like, he does exaggerate a lot of, like.

[Big T]

And his favorite scene from the Godfather and when he said Kobe was going to score 70 points, and there's a whole. There's a compilation of montage.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

He's the first person to hear Migos and such.

[Big T]

Yes. Before their first thing came out.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

I would be surprised. And I. I mean, we'll never know, right? But, like, I would be surprised if LeBron James didn't know that Dave's gonna trade A.D. yeah, that'd be.

[Big Cat]

That'd be a really strange thing to do, considering all the power that he has with Lakers. For them to just drop that on.

[Big T]

Him, it would be malpractice on the team's part.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like, I don't even blame LeBron unless he, you know, orchestrated the whole thing and then pretended not to know. That would be diabolical, which I think is possible. But for the team to make a trade like that without consulting your best player, who's the best in the history of the game, that would also be insane.

[Big Cat]

I think that there's a pretty good.

[Arian]

Chance AD Is a perennial All Star, probably future hall of Famer. Like, you don't have the respect enough to. To, like, hit him on the phone and be like, yo, man, this is what we think we about to deal, you know, how's he not in on that con? I think that's ridiculous.

[Big T]

I think stuff just moves so quickly now that, like, Shams just had it the second it happened, and they didn't even have a chance to.

[Brooks]

See.

[Arian]

I don't know, man. I think that's the. That's the folly of the business side of the sports world that a lot of the public will never understand because they're never a part of it. But, like, the humanity of that to me has always been disgusting. Like, because it's.

[Brooks]

It's.

[Arian]

It's. I mean, he's fine, you know, but, like, there are a lot of guys who get traded and whole family's got to move and, like, your whole life is uprooted. And it's just. I feel like a dignity. A dignified way to do that is a simple phone call could be like, hey, man, this is what we. This is what we doing. Rather than you have to hear from somebody else. That shit would be whack to me.

[Big T]

But did you ever think there was a possibility, you'd be traded ever. Because the NFL doesn't really. There are deadline deals now, but that's a pretty recent development.

[Arian]

I didn't ever think I was gonna be traded, but I knew I had a joke with my gm, an ongoing joke. And he. When it came down to it, he did what I asked him to do because, like, a lot of times dudes would get cut and they would already be at the stadium. Like, they would be going throughout the day, like, middle of the day type shit. And then they could bring them in and say they got cut. Like, dog, I used to tell him, say, rick, if y' all cut me, do not make me get up in the morning and go work out and do all this. Do not do that shit. Just call me the morning of and tell me what's happening, bro. Do not. I said, bro, I'm gonna be pissed if you do that. He always used to laugh. And then the day that they cut me, he called me like, hey, man, I like, you know what? I appreciate it, man. I appreciate you honoring my. My wishes.

[Big Cat]

Don't come in. Yeah.

[Big T]

How early did he have to call you? You'd go in early, right?

[Arian]

No, it was. It was an off day. So it was. I mean, not the off day during the off season. And so I would. I would get up and go to rehab, like, you know, 9, 10. But he called me like an 8. So I appreciated it. Appreciate them closing my eyes before they. Before they shot me with the silencer.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, if you're, like, in the. In the weight room, getting a lift in. Yeah, we. I've seen dudes getting 6:30 in the morning, bro.

[Arian]

That is the worst, man. It's the worst.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I think that if the Lakers. I think that LeBron had to have known that this was at least a possibility because he's made the last, you know, three to five years really, about the drama of. Is he coming back to the Lakers? How much longer is LeBron going to play? And part of that deal is he has a major say in the moves that the organization makes because he's like, oh, I want to play for a contender. I want to try to win a championship. So they're getting his feedback constantly of what would it take for this team to be in a place to contend for championship. And pretty sure that LeBron's like, we need a second score. We need to have another superstar on the team. You need two superstars to win in this league.

[Big T]

And.

[Big Cat]

And Anthony Davis isn't really able to stay on the court. So, yeah, if we could get a. If we get a legitimate superstar to play alongside me, then I'd be willing to. To part with Anthony Davis. And so if he didn't, like, expressly sign off on this. This deal, I'm sure that he had talked through the hypotheticals with them. And so when they did it, he's like, what the fuck? Like, I guess he's. He's just trying to wash his hands of it. But we all know. We all know what was going on there.

[Brooks]

LeBron.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

And.

[Arian]

And, you know, it's the brotherhood of it to me, too. Like, if you. If you know you getting shot, if you know your man's getting shopped around, I'm absolutely telling my dude. Like, I'm absolutely like, man, look, I'm in these meetings with you. That shit happened to me. Not nowhere near to this extent, but, you know, there was some front office rumblings about. About me and one of my mans that had been bleeding with for, I don't know, four or five years came up to me like, hey, dog, so and so said this. I'm just glad I'm just letting you know. So that gave me the opportunity to confront the situation head up, like, yo, what's. What's going on with this? And I like, that's. I appreciate that from a man. I find it hard to believe that LeBron didn't do that or wouldn't do that. Like, that's. That's weird to me, man.

[Big Cat]

It is strange. And then the stuff about. About Russia, about how LeBron's a fake guy and how he couldn't stand him. That's. That's all very funny to read, too, about how they brought in Will Smith for, like, a question and answer segment.

[Arian]

And then Fresh Prince.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Have you heard about that? Yeah. So apparently the Lakers brought in Will Smith to speak to the team, and then LeBron was, like, asking a bunch of questions, and. And Russ was like this. I'm out.

[Arian]

I was out.

[Big Cat]

Will Smith doesn't want to talk to Will Smith. Just called him a fake friend.

[Arian]

I don't know how talking to Will Smith is. He has a lot of great insight. Why wouldn't you want to talk to Will Smith?

[Big Cat]

You think so? What would you ask him?

[Arian]

Will Smith?

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

Have you ever. Have you ever, like, listened to any of his, like, because he's kind of been open about his, like, mental health or relationship journey?

[Big Cat]

I've heard about the. The entanglement. Yeah.

[Arian]

Oh, so. No, not past that. Like, that's the. That's the Chatty Patty stuff. Like, so, like, his, like, his health journey in general, his mental health journey in general has been. He's been kind of like giving like, tidbits throughout the years. He has, like, really good perspective on life. Like, he has a lot of good perspective about struggle and like, all of this stuff I would love to talk about. Like, what that he's, he's one of them ones. Like, I mean, there's a reason why people are where they're, where they're at for the most part. So picking the brain of somebody who does anything with greatness would always be beneficial to you if you're trying to achieve a certain goal, in my humble opinion. And Will Smith is one of the ones. But if he was fed up with the entire process, I could see why, why Russ wasn't like that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, apparently Will Smith was going to speak and then LeBron just kind of hog the Q and A. And maybe that's the. Maybe that's the problem is Westbrook wanted to ask him more questions and LeBron just hogged the Q and A and was like, I got more questions for Will Smith. Everyone can ask when I'm done. Apparently this, this meeting went on way longer than what we had scheduled.

[Arian]

I can't see that happening either because, yeah, LeBron's a mega global superstar, but Russell Wilson is a. He's a superstar in his own right.

[Brooks]

He's a.

[Arian]

He's a household name in his own right. So I, I can't, I can't. I can't see him not being able to get in a question to Will Smith if he really wanted to.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he just keeps raising his hand and Will Smith just keeps Calling on LeBron. Come on.

[Arian]

Not yet, Russ.

[Big Cat]

I really want to know. I really want to know this. What a valuable opportunity I have, and you're, you're stealing it from me. LeBron so are.

[Arian]

So who are, who are we indicating that gave out the information to this group chat?

[Big Cat]

I don't know that we've indicated anything yet.

[Big T]

If I was purely speculating, I would guess someone who is no longer on the Lakers.

[Arian]

For sure. I think that's all of. It's pretty shitty, but to me, that's.

[Big Cat]

The shittiest part.

[Arian]

Time dropper.

[Big Cat]

I think the guy who's writing this book, he probably has been in touch with a lot of people that were in and around the team. And for this, I don't feel like he's got a single source. He probably has a couple different people that confirmed it. And one of those guys would probably be Anthony Davis. Like, who's got the reason to tell this story? It's AD Being like, look how they treated me on my way out. This is how I found out from Bronnie.

[Arian]

The rookie dropping the bombshell on the whole squad is crazy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Your boy's son told you that you were traded. That would. That would probably piss me off. And I feel like the person that would be likely to be the source would be somebody who felt pissed off about this whole exchange. So I'm gonna. I'm gonna guess it was AD or somebody that is closely associated with AD that was the source for this.

[Brooks]

Damn.

[Arian]

So did you hear about the Kendrick Perkins saying it was LeBron James that persuaded James Harden to leave Oklahoma City to get his own team?

[Big Cat]

I did. Yeah, I did. What do you think about that?

[Arian]

I don't know. It's hearsay, right? And it's obviously hypocritical if that's true because that. That could have been a little. Little dynasty for sure.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

I don't know. I saw a tweet that says, you know, it's interesting that the LeBron James smear campaign is happening now that Michael Jordan entered the news, the. The media cycle.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Yeah. So speaking of Michael Jordan, he did make his debut on NBC last night. A little sit down interview with Mike Tirico. Now is that. I saw a few different reactions to that. I was under the impression that Michael Jordan was going to be talking about basketball and current players and teams and maybe doing like a little bit of analysis, much like the inside the NBA guys, that he would appear on NBC and, you know, not be like a constant mainstay on that panel, but be a pretty big presence. Now, is the entire extent of his contract going to be this one interview that he did with Mike Tirico and then they keep dropping two minute segments of it each week.

[Arian]

I have no idea to the extent of their contract. I hope that's it. I don't want to see Michael Jordan as an analyst, dog. I do not want to see that. Do you want to see that? I don't want to see that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I want to see Michael Jordan on the Young Pups. I want to see him being like in my day. I want to see. He probably has. I mean, the man has insight into basketball. I want to hear his picks. I want to hear who he's betting on.

[Arian]

Maybe this. The little kid in me, though. I don't want to see my superhero turn into the villain. You know, that's that old saying, you either die a hero or live Long enough to see yourself become a villain. He gonna become a villain. People don't love you for you. They love you for what they think of you. You know what I mean? And Michael Jordan's status in basketball is legendary. I don't want him to devolve into like a Charles Barkley. Charles Barkley is a Hall of Fame, one of the best power fours ever played. But you don't think of Charles Barkley as one of the best power fours ever played. Now you think of the goofy ass. You know, he makes me laugh.

[Big Cat]

On tnt with Michael going to NBC, I saw the sit down that he had with Mike Tirico last night. And there's something about Michael Jordan that I think he's done a very good job, maybe intentionally, of not really being in the public eye that much for the last. What, when did he leave basketball? 2003. Yeah, I love that he's done a good job, which makes you want to pay attention to every single word that he says when he does do an interview. And he told a story to Mike Tirico about how he doesn't play basketball. He can't remember the last time he shot a basketball. He picked up a basketball. He doesn't have a basketball hoop. And Mike Tirico was like, well, wait, when's the last time you actually shot a basketball? And he had to admit, yeah, at the Ryder Cup. I was renting a house from a guy and had a basketball court. And he showed up to give me the keys to the house and, and let me in. And he said, we have a basketball hoop out back. I told my son that you'd shoot a free throw for him. And MJ was like, okay, yeah, I'll.

[Arian]

Shoot a free throw.

[Big Cat]

And how he went to the backyard and he hasn't been that nervous in a very long time. Shooting a, shooting one free throw. And Tariqa was like, well, did you hit it? He's like, yeah, you got him, right? I hit the free throw. But just like, that's a relatively boring story. I think like, on a scale of, of 1 to 10, hearing most people tell that story is probably like a 3. But when MJ tells that story, you're hanging on every single word that he says. Oh, yeah. Then what happened, Michael? Oh, yeah, and then you made it. It's like, you know, like it, it's cool to hear Michael Jordan talk about, about basketball, probably about anything. But I really hope that they're going to use them outside of that format where they, we can get some, some live. Mike, Michael Jordan, like get him, get him talking in the moment and not just in like a pre tape thing. That's my thought at least. I hope that you want Michael to be curated.

[Arian]

No, I want Michael to be Denzel Washington mysterious. So when he does say something, means something.

[Big Cat]

I wanna, I wanna glimpse into his like just day to day competitiveness too. Like hearing the stories in the Last dance about how he used to bet the security guards playing the, the quarter off the wall game, all that stuff.

[Arian]

Golf with Clyde Drexler and he always talks about how. And another dude that golfs with them, he always talk about how, how they, how they be betting when they golf. It can get up there, man. Yeah, it can get up there.

[Big T]

I mean, if you're Michael Jordan and you worked your whole life to like be the second greatest basketball player ever.

[Arian]

That's great. Almost. Almost hung up the entire call right there.

[Big T]

I mean, you there, you can't just turn that off. And I understand why he would want to turn off basketball. Like if you do that for 40 years, like I wouldn't want to play basketball anymore either. Yeah, but you've got to find something.

[Big Cat]

To do to channel that outlet.

[Big T]

Yeah. Because you can't just stop like that drive.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I mean he's been, he's been involved in a lot of business. He's been in the front offices around the NBA. Not that great of a, of a gm, I'll say that. Maybe not the best owner in terms of wins and losses on the court, but he made a ton of money off the Hornets. How much?

[Arian]

Yeah, he did like a power move on that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, he is a, he is a savvy businessman, cutthroat businessman.

[Big T]

Arian, if you, if you're interested in that kind of thing, particularly with Michael Jordan. One of my favorite books ever is called the Cost of these Dreams by Wright Thompson. And he has. Yet there's a part about Tiger too, but he like lived with Michael for a week or two and the, it's very, very good.

[Brooks]

Okay.

[Arian]

The Cost of these Dreams.

[Big T]

It's, it's, it's about several people. There's MJ Tiger, Pat Riley's in it. He, he like chronicled several different people about like kind of that drive that leads you to be the best. It's very outstanding book.

[Arian]

How insane you have to be and how you. Yeah, fucking be so locked in that you forget about all parts of your personal life and your family and. Yep, I've been there. Yeah, you have to be a fucking psycho do.

[Big Cat]

And Wright Thompson is maybe the Best American sports writer.

[Big T]

Incredible.

[Big Cat]

I don't know why people talk to him.

[Big T]

I think because if you don't, he will just find everyone that you've ever met, and then you don't have any say in what he writes.

[Big Cat]

I. I think he also. And when I say I don't know why people talk to him, I'm not saying, like, he's a gotcha. He's not part of gotcha culture, as we like to say around here.

[Big T]

Been having problems with that.

[Big Cat]

I think he's a very, very fair writer, and he's a great writer, but he is so in depth with everything that he touches that he. He will get the entire story. He'll find out stuff about you that you didn't know about yourself. And sometimes the. The portraits that come out at the end end up being less than flattering. Like, I remember when he did that. That piece about Johnny Menzel. I think it was when he was still at Texas A M, and he talked about, like, the fit. His family was worried about him. They're like, this guy's a time bomb. He's got a rage problem. He's got this problem. And he will. He will dive deep into your past and to your present and everybody around you. But he does a great job like that. That book that Big T mentioned is outstanding, Aaron. You'd really enjoy it.

[Arian]

Yeah, I'm back there for us. I read it. I'll read a synopsis, though.

[Big T]

The article he wrote after the Cubs won the World Series in 2016 is my favorite thing I've ever written.

[Brooks]

Read.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's incredible. He also just writes books sometimes about his. His passions. Like, I'm going to write a book about whiskey and spend the next two years just drinking bourbon everywhere.

[Big T]

He's the man.

[Big Cat]

He is the man. Do we want to talk about weddings?

[Big T]

Let's do it.

[Big Cat]

Dive into wedding culture in America.

[Big T]

Which is worse, wedding culture or gacha culture? They're both.

[Mackenzie]

I fear. I fear wedding culture is Gacha culture.

[Big Cat]

It is.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Yeah. In a way.

[Arian]

What's got you called?

[Big T]

I take too long to explain. If you have to ask, you're probably part of it.

[Arian]

Let's see.

[Big T]

It's. It's. It's just a recent barstool thing that's been going around.

[Maddie]

It's a. It's a Rico bask.

[Big T]

We have some people that are victims of gotcha culture.

[Big Cat]

When. If Rico does something that others might consider to be unhinged or factually incorrect, if he says something, they will file that away and then use that against him.

[Big T]

Is he here today?

[Big Cat]

He is, yeah. I just saw him, actually. I just walked in the part of my take studio about two hours ago, went up to Rico, was like, what's up, Rico? How's it going? And he gave me this look, like, what are you doing? He was sitting in my chair in the part of my take studio, and he was, like, offended that I came in to talk to him. And then I. Well, he always.

[Big T]

Everything the light touches, it's his.

[Big Cat]

He's got his guard up, so. Oh, nothing about Rico is an act.

[Arian]

I thought. I thought he kind of played to that a little bit. He really liked that. He really liked.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah. Rico is.

[Big T]

I. I'm sensing some gotcha culture starting to form in here right now, and we don't appreciate it.

[Maddie]

And coming from Big T. Yeah, exactly.

[Big T]

Number one rider now.

[Big Cat]

He's. He's always got his guard up. So I walked in, I was like, what's up, Rico? And then he. He gave me this look like, what are you about to spring on me? Because he's. He. He deals with gotcha culture because gotcha.

[Big T]

Culture is on the rise.

[Big Cat]

And I had to let him know as a friendly, I come in peace. Yeah, there's no gotcha, no cameras, nothing. I'm not here to. To trap you in anything, but Rico has put me on a text thread with JMU's head basketball coach, and you should be appreciative. I am. Rico is. Is very active in the text thread, and I feel like I haven't been pulling my weight in that text thread, so I've been. I've been more active to make Rico feel more comfortable with this. And Rico. Rico is a big supporter of JMU hoops. He. He got us our practice facility when we made the NCAA tournament. Rico's a court guy. If you need a basketball court to practice on, he know that's the most powerful phone. Forget about the east coast, like, in America.

[Maddie]

He's like Jerry with reservations.

[Big Cat]

Exactly.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

He'll get your reservations at the best courts.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And he got JMU their court reservation when they were about to play against Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament. And for that, we will always be appreciative of Rico Bosco.

[Big T]

But didn't he wear a Marshall sweatsuit one time when y' all were playing?

[Big Cat]

He did do that, yes. On the day that we were going to be playing against Marshall football Thursday night, very important game for the Dukes. Rico was rocking a Marshall. I believe it was a Marshall basketball.

[Big T]

They tend to.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

And Rico maintained that had nothing to do with the JMU versus Marshall football game. And so for that, I will. I will believe him.

[Big T]

I believe Marshall did win.

[Big Cat]

They did win.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

They did win. Ruin an undefeated season.

[Brooks]

I believe.

[Big Cat]

All right, let's get into wedding culture in the United States. Wedding culture. What should be the happiest day of your life can usually set you back years when it comes to other parts of your life for one big party. And now sometimes the parties are great. Sometimes they're fantastic parties. Sometimes people take it to the next level, and it becomes like a social standing thing where it's like, we got to show off how much money we're willing to spend on this one giant party that we're going to have. And it's actually very interesting to dive into how weddings became, like, an industry in the United States.

[Big T]

Y' all are obviously a little bit older than Mackenzie, Madeline and I. Yo. Just a little bit.

[Big Cat]

Oh, it's true.

[Big T]

Has this. I, I feel like. And this could just be my, you know, youthful inexperience. It's only in the last, like, 10 years that this has become, like, the deal it is now. And I think that's because of social media.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Weddings obviously were a thing, and you could have as big a wedding as you wanted, but I really feel like up until the last 10, 15 years, it was not an arms race.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I would agree with that. I think that.

[Arian]

I don't know if I do.

[Big Cat]

Wedding. They've always been a social marker.

[Arian]

Yeah, we've had a. We used to have a thing. You remember Bridezilla? We used to have that thing that was, that was our era.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

Like, that's always been a thing. I think social media has for sure increased the, the photographers price, for sure. But I think, I think women have always. I don't say all women, but, like, from my perspective, women have always wanted it to. This is what they dreamt about when they was little girls, to be married and they dresses and to have this extravagant flower party. This has always kind of been a thing. I, I, I, I'm out the game.

[Big Cat]

Like, so I'm not even nowhere close to getting buried.

[Arian]

So I don't know. I don't know what the lick read anymore, but it's always been pretty expensive.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I, I think, yeah, Aaron's right. It's always been a big thing. It's been a big deal. And by always, I mean, like, in terms of my lifetime. But I think Big T is right that social media has exacerbated the problem a little bit. You want everything to look like it's perfect. There's a lot of the small details that look like they're probably pretty expensive that you have to put money into if you want this one picture or one vision that you have to turn out perfectly down to, like, even the smallest details of what everyone's wearing, where certain pictures are going to be, what color frosting you want on the cake, all that. I think it's gotten worse. But, yeah, the Bridezilla phenomenon has always. That's. That's been a thing for a long time.

[Big T]

Yeah. It just feels like now every wedding has to have, like, a thing. Like, oh, we have a photo booth. We have a, you know, insert whatever.

[Big Cat]

We got cornhole tables, merch.

[Arian]

Wedding merch would be fired.

[Big T]

Hold on.

[Arian]

Yeah, that would kind of be lit, though.

[Big T]

Hang on. But you're never gonna use that ever again.

[Arian]

What? I have a shirt from my. One of my favorite ramen spots. If one of my homeboys get married, believe he had a merch table.

[Mackenzie]

The merch I've seen for weddings, it's all, like, influencers. So take that with a grain of salt. They. They have to go, like, literally, top of the, you know, craziness. But I saw a girl get married this summer, and at their, I guess, like, welcome party slash, like, rehearsal dinner, they made hats for everyone with their dog on it. And then on the back, it had their initials of, like, W and G, you know, whatever the date was that they got married. And then I've seen. I've seen hats. I've seen, like, T shirts, sweatshirts, whatever. Oh, yeah. Like, I've seen some merch pop up.

[Big T]

So this is the first thing I've heard that has mildly intrigued me because I'm a hat guy. But no. What do you put on a hat that anybody's ever going to use again?

[Mackenzie]

That's. But, like, I think the dog is actually, like, a pretty good one because it. It wasn't, like.

[Big T]

Right.

[Mackenzie]

It was, like, a pretty cute logo, obviously. Arian, I'm not even, like, consulting you in this one.

[Arian]

I was not. That was just the natural. I was.

[Mackenzie]

I know, but, like, obviously for you, like, that's just not going to happen. But, like, the dog on a hat is not some, like, crazy moniker of, like, oh, that's a wedding merch.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. You don't want to put the hashtag.

[Mackenzie]

That's what I'm saying is, like, I think if it's done that way, where it's. I don't know if tasteful is the right word. But like generic. Generic enough where it's like, that could just be from J. Crew.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It could stand alone as its own piece of merch. It's the same thing. Like if you see somebody wearing a pair of sunglasses that have a brand, like a, I don't know, like a fast food brand or whatever written on the side. It doesn't matter how cool the sunglasses are, you're probably not going to wear them that much because it's like, oh, yeah, these are very obviously free swag sunglasses that I got in like a gift bag somewhere. But if you have a generic logo or something that can stand alone. I, I like the idea of a merch table or like, like almost concert T shirts, but for your wedding. I do.

[Big T]

Like, I've seen some people with like hoodies and stuff with Roman numerals on it of like their wedding anniversary. You could maybe do that.

[Arian]

And think about this, though, Minty. You can make a. You could recoup a little bit back. You know what I mean? Pay for.

[Big T]

Oh, you're thinking about selling them.

[Arian]

Oh, yeah.

[Big Cat]

Wait, you were thinking about giving them away.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, these are free. This is free.

[Big Cat]

I'm with Arian.

[Maddie]

I like party favorite.

[Big T]

Yeah, it's a party favor. Yeah, you can't. I, I think people would be mad if they showed up and you were selling stuff.

[Big Cat]

It depends on. It depends on how sick your merch was.

[Arian]

If the merch is crack. See, you got a dope ass logo of. You know what I'm saying, His and hers.

[Mackenzie]

We could do it. We're at your wedding where we all get it for free at the wedding and then we sell it.

[Arian]

I wouldn't be offended if, if my man's advice to it, I, you know, say I gotta travel. And then they have a merch table set up and they try to recoup some of the expenses from the. That makes sense.

[Big Cat]

If it's quality merch.

[Big T]

So now you're selling it at a markup.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

You also, you have to order enough that like, if you're assuming, say half the people are gonna want. And then what if you don't sell it now you're losing more money, then.

[Arian]

You have dope ass merch from your.

[Big T]

Wedding and then you have to just give it out anyway for free. If everyone at the wedding is like, hey, we're not going to pay for this. Just wait till the end. And then they got to give it away.

[Big Cat]

No, then you, then you have to do like a world tour and you have to like go to, you know, maybe you renew your vows on the early side, and then you got your inventory of merch that you can still.

[Arian]

Sell, and you got the OG Merch you like. Hey.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

And we almost sold out. We. We put it back in stock.

[Big Cat]

You could create demand.

[Arian]

This is good.

[Big T]

When she said merch, I was under the impression this was being given away.

[Big Cat]

No, no. Then you see somebody that. Like, that shows up to the vow renewal, they don't have the merch from the original tour, and you're like, oh, you're a fan of Michael and Julia. Name three of their kids. I don't. I don't think you're a real fan. I think you're a fake fan. I got the original. The original shirt.

[Arian]

I was there for their first fight. Buddy.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. At my house when she kicked him out.

[Brooks]

All right.

[Arian]

I. I think it's. I think it's dope. And I think. Think about it, like, you can really, like. Like, if. If.

[Big Cat]

If.

[Arian]

If you're a fan of. Of your. Of your. Of your friends, right? Like baby showers. Think about baby showers. You always show up with a gift, right? More often than not, people have. You have a registry for your wedding. Anyway, I think people in good spirit could understand that. It's costly to put on a wedding. I wouldn't mind. I wouldn't mind getting a. A big T and Mrs. Big T shirt.

[Big Cat]

Mr. And Mrs. T. I just talked to Mr. To somebody.

[Big T]

We're. We're gonna look into this. I said Aryan. Aryan is interested in merch.

[Big Cat]

He's right, though. You need a. You need a great logo. I think a logo would. Whether it's an animal, like cooking.

[Big T]

So I'm gonna make this my project as well. Well. And we'll compare notes.

[Arian]

All right? All right. Yeah, let's do that. I'm. I'm.

[Big Cat]

I'm down for a. Yeah, let's.

[Arian]

Let's converge on a logo.

[Big Cat]

Okay, guys, Thinking of a couple ideas. Big T. Big T. Big. Is there something that we could do with a big letter T? Maybe an orange letter T?

[Big T]

There's one that's copyrighted. Oh, speaking of which, I have some. Some somber news that is just broken. Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello is finalizing a deal to become the next manager of the San Francisco Giants.

[Big Cat]

You were right. I was wrong.

[Big T]

I tell. It will be the first ever to jump from college coach to MLB manager without any professional experience. I got change hats.

[Big Cat]

Diva.

[Big T]

I wore this hat in. In. In remembrance of all the memories Tony has given us. I have this beautiful flag here that I paid Way too much money for right after the national championship. It was. It was a good run. We had a good run.

[Big Cat]

And I'm sure that you're just going to reload.

[Big T]

Yeah. Elander. I assume Josh Elander will be promoted to the head coach. He's. He's been a great assistant. We have a lot of talent, but let's. At least we got one. This would actually really suck if we never won a title. But we got one, so.

[Big Cat]

Got one.

[Arian]

You the.

[Big Cat]

That flag that's going to fly forever.

[Big T]

Correct. I won't be mad until he gets fired and goes back to college and beats us.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. What would be nightmare scenario?

[Big T]

Arkansas.

[Big Cat]

That's last.

[Big T]

Yeah. We've. We've had quite a budding rivalry with Arkansas because that's where he came from. And they were always like, he's going to take over for Dave Van Horn. And better programs than Arkansas tried and failed to get him. But then I don't begrudge him for taking this job. I understand.

[Big Cat]

Did they try to warn you? Who Arkansas fans were like, he's just going to leave.

[Big T]

But they thought it would be for them. Not the San Francisco Giants.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

It's only 30 of those jobs. I get it. All right, let me work on merch.

[Big Cat]

So, yeah, I was saying maybe a giant letter T. Maybe something in. You like to wear orange a lot. So maybe a big orange tea could work. But you pointed out that we might get in trouble. That's a copyright. Okay. So now I'm thinking about your initials. What about just ck, Just letter C, K in like a cool font, like.

[Mackenzie]

Almost like Calvin Mike.

[Big T]

Oh, that's another one for that as well.

[Big Cat]

Damn it. All right.

[Mackenzie]

Can't you just do a big T in a slightly different. Also, wait, if we're not. If we don't sell this. Can't you just do the tea anyway?

[Big Cat]

Who's gonna get mad?

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

I mean, set it low.

[Big T]

Like I'm sure we probably could selling.

[Big Cat]

Tennessee merch at his way.

[Brooks]

Right.

[Big T]

Well, if you just give it away.

[Mackenzie]

Could you do big, big T in whatever font or whatever orange hue you decide.

[Arian]

Do you want T or C?

[Big T]

I don't. I don't know. I'm going to come up with a couple different things.

[Mackenzie]

And then if it's a T, two big T together forever.

[Big T]

See, that's too. But it has to be generic enough that people will want to wear it. Yeah, I. I'm fixated right now on the. The Roman numerals idea.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Big T]

Because I've seen that before. And then people Will be like, oh, what's that? What's that hat?

[Big Cat]

That.

[Big T]

What. What do those numbers mean? It's like if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

[Maddie]

Mysterious.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

I don't want to name any names. I. I recently received a hat in the mail and the hat had a logo I was not. Was not familiar with, but it seemed like it was a pretty well made hat. And I was like, okay, that's a. It was delivered in a very ornate gift box. And it seemed like the hat was a big deal, but it. It felt kind of like just a well made baseball cap. And then I looked it up online and it is like a $200 baseball cap. That's like a new set, a new status symbol. Kind of how you remember the trucker hats that we got back in the day, Aaron.

[Brooks]

I do not.

[Big Cat]

You don't remember the trucker hat craze of like the. The mid 2000s?

[Big T]

I think they're still going strong.

[Arian]

When, when those was popping for y', all fitted caps was. Was popping for us. You know, like the, the over oversized, like. Yeah, NBA baseball, whatever, with all the stickers and on it. Sometimes like you'd have the NBA pat shits where you have all the NBA team. Like that. That was, that was cracking for us.

[Big T]

When I was a kid, people would leave the stickers on the brim of the, the new era hats.

[Arian]

That. That was the vibe back then.

[Brooks]

I.

[Arian]

Think was that was the Sperry's. The Sperry. Sperry side of things.

[Big Cat]

It was. Yeah, like the, the Paris Hilton era.

[Brooks]

Yep.

[Big Cat]

When she was like the, the number one celebrity in the United States for a while. Okay. But back to, back to the merch. I like the idea of this merch. I think that we can maybe make some money back.

[Big T]

I don't think you can sell it. I think if you do merch, it has to be a party favor.

[Big Cat]

What are their shoes?

[Big T]

You're. That's a quite a significant undertaking.

[Big Cat]

They become.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

The what? The go to wedding shoes. Like comfortable. Comfortable enough to dance in. They feel like basketball sneakers.

[Big T]

They.

[Big Cat]

They look like dress shoes. I don't know.

[Big T]

Do those not exist?

[Big Cat]

I'm just thinking out loud that, that.

[Big T]

That could actually be a solid idea. Do those exist? I think there's like dressy sneakers now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, but I mean like a. It feels like a. Like a tennis shoe. Feels like a sneaker that you would wear. But it gives the illusion to the outside eye that maybe these are fancy shoes. Like super fancy.

[Arian]

What's Mrs. T's favorite color.

[Big T]

I think pink. That's what I. That's what I see most often.

[Brooks]

Okay.

[Arian]

I love that. Very poignant and assertive answer. You knew it right away.

[Big T]

I love that big T. Are you trying to. Are you trying to combine colors?

[Arian]

Something of the sort.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

You know, I'm. I'm trying to make it, like, visually appealing, but still, you know, adult.

[Big Cat]

You know, I feel like there can be some. Yeah. Some room to work here with the. The pastels.

[Big T]

Well, also, here's another thing about. About weddings. I'm. I'm told. I think there's, like, a color scheme now for your wedding.

[Arian]

Oh, okay.

[Big T]

What is. I believe. I don't want to speak out of turn. I. I got a couple guidelines on what I could and couldn't say, but I probably should have nailed down more. I think it's, like navy and Carolina blue, I think, is the. The theme for the most.

[Arian]

Okay. I love those colors, by the way.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big T]

I think that's what I'm doing. Instead of, like, a tux, I might just do a navy suit with some.

[Arian]

Carolina blue highlights in this, like, tie. A little puck. Yeah. Tie in a pocket square.

[Big T]

I think that's what I'm leaning towards.

[Arian]

Now we're talking. I don't love.

[Big T]

I don't love a black tux.

[Arian]

I'm with you on that one. Looks very. It's a very baseline. I'm with you.

[Big T]

And also, again, to the cost of things. If I'm buying something and asking other dudes to, like, rent us, rent a tux or whatever, I'd be like, just buy a suit. It's, like, a little more expensive, but then you have it.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like, I rented a tux for a wedding a little while ago, and it was exorbitantly expensive.

[Arian]

Yeah, I think we talked about this, but I. My man's had a 50th birthday party, and it was black tie only, and I ended up just buying it. Buying a suit.

[Big T]

Yeah, you may as well.

[Arian]

Yeah. Because I didn't. I didn't have one anyway, so, you know. Okay, so is it me or is chat G GPT?

[Big Cat]

Is it getting more.

[Arian]

It's getting better. Like, I hate to say this, but, like, used to. I'd be like, hey, yo, make me a blah. Make me a bicycle clown. Right. And it would just make me a bicycle. But now it's like, what kind of bicycle would you like? Would you like a, B, C, D, F, G? Pick one. And you. And you. And you'll. And you'll figure, okay, would you like this? This, this. And it's getting more detailed as to how it wants you to answer or how it wants to, like, definitively get what you're trying to get across. It's. It's getting more intricate.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I. I have noticed that as well. I also saw a story the other day that that chat GPT is going to launch their own browser.

[Arian]

Oh, my God.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. To try to compete with Google.

[Big T]

See why?

[Arian]

Chill, man.

[Brooks]

This is what I'm.

[Arian]

I hate this place. It's always, you got to conquer the whole world. You can't just have a lane. You got to. You got to get it all. You got to get it all.

[Big Cat]

It was the logical next step for him because Google started out as a search engine and then they're like, well, what if we expanded? What if we just handled the entire Internet for you? And now Chachi PT is going to try to do the same thing, and they're probably going to be successful at it. It's. I don't.

[Arian]

Unless Google is so synonymous with, like, looking something up that I don't. I don't know that they could ever break that.

[Big Cat]

That's like a cultural encyclopedia. Britannica used to be synonymous with looking stuff up.

[Arian]

No, they always competed with the dictionary. It was always like looking up the dictionary or let me look it up in encyclopedia. I see what you're going with it, but Google is like, that's where I go to get things. You know what I mean? They outlasted now. They were the king of. The king of the hill. They beat the shit out of Dog pile. Ask Jeeves. What else was there?

[Big Cat]

Lycos.

[Arian]

I never know. I never seen that one. Yahoo. Yahoo. They. They stomped on Yahoo's grave.

[Big Cat]

I got a question for you about Yahoo.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

What is Yahoo's business model now? Because they're still around.

[Big T]

They're more of like a news company.

[Arian]

Do they. That's interesting.

[Big Cat]

Are they. I know that, like, every library that you used to go to would have yahoo.com on Microsoft Internet Explorer as like the main. Your default homepage. And a lot of computers that would be like, okay, yeah, Yahoo's gonna be your homepage. I don't know how Yahoo is making money these days.

[Mackenzie]

They have. Can't you do fantasy on there?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that's. That's.

[Arian]

Yeah, my money league is in Yahoo.

[Big Cat]

The only reason I use it is.

[Arian]

By the way, I'm actually.

[Brooks]

Caught a ball.

[Big Cat]

Oh, nice. Congrats.

[Arian]

Yeah, yeah. Christian McCaffrey. Shout out to that guy. Got me 40 last week. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Great game. Back to Weddings real quick. I think maybe we should reconsider.

[Arian]

Read some litter, draw on the subject. You sure? Fuck it.

[Big Cat]

We should.

[Arian]

You know I got your back like chiropract dick. Now if you play that song at the wedding, Big T. Hey, I totally.

[Big T]

Know what song that is, but why don't you tell.

[Arian]

I'll tell everybody that Don't. Because I know you're so entrenched in hip hop culture. International Players Anthem by outkast ugk.

[Big T]

I've heard that. That the. The name of that song. I don't know how many times I've really listened to in hip hop.

[Arian]

It's probably considered the best feature verse of all time by Andre 3000. I typed a text to a girl I used to see. Whoo. That's great. It's great. It's a great song. Who.

[Big Cat]

Who's the number one feature guy of all time?

[Arian]

I would probably say him. I probably say him. Kendrick, Drake or Wayne. I would say it's between them four. I wouldn't argue with you about any of them. Honorable mention is Rick Ross too. He has some classic feature verses, but more so because of the vibe, less the lyrics.

[Big Cat]

What do you think about Nas?

[Arian]

I think he's an all time great, but I think he's like. He's like, what is it like mocha.

[Big Cat]

Tea, mocha, mocha or that? Yeah, matcha matcha.

[Arian]

And I was close. Clearly I don't drink it. Yeah, but it's like a niche. I think he's like a niche for niche listeners. Right. Like they. They want a certain thing like. And I'm one of them.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Arian]

I love a Nas like. Like, it's one of my favorites in my top 10, for sure. But I don't think he's for everybody. I think a lot of people don't want to sit down and listen and. And think while they're. Or they're consuming music.

[Big Cat]

I got three other names for you.

[Arian]

Shoot.

[Big Cat]

Just as feature artists. Not talking about solo career. Ja Rule, I think.

[Arian]

I think the. What, like the. The most notable songs he's on were his songs. Like, so I'm thinking. I'm thinking. You're thinking like, what would I be without you? Like that kind of.

[Big Cat]

Those kind of things.

[Arian]

The other joint with Ashanti. I think Ashanti was the feature.

[Big Cat]

Featuring Ja Rule songs. Yeah, it was featuring Ashanti.

[Arian]

Yeah, that's that. Yeah. Okay, give me the other one.

[Big Cat]

Other one. I was thinking about.

[Arian]

Luda. He's had some classic feature verses.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

Welcome to Atlanta for sure.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Arian]

But again, I think his most notable songs are. Are his songs. So, like, the reason why I say 3,000, I said it so fast is because I think a lot of his most notable songs are from when he was on a feature of it. Except for, like the shitty with diamond on.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I was gonna say, like, hey, I was crazy. He's had some crazy stuff that he's put out.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

In collab with Big boy as member of Outcast.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Arian]

And then like international players anthem like that. Like, people that don't really like note like that is like a bang. Like, you play that anyway. Everybody knows that word for word, like, and it's a feature. That shit's crazy. That's why I said Drake. Like Drake too. Drake, I think he's just, like, extremely talented melodically. And his features happen to be a lot of people's hooks. And those songs, like, went number one a lot, so. So he's like, definitely up there. And. And Kendrick, not to put it against each other, but like, Kendrick as well. Like, I think. Yeah. Fact check me on this, but I think this just happened. Kendrick. Kendrick's featured verse on Goosebumps with Travis Scott, I think that just surpassed Drake's. God's Plan is like, the most, like, the. Like the most selling of all time. I think saw something like that. Am I correct on that?

[Big Cat]

The most certified rap song in history, surpassing God's plan. Goosebumps is 17 times platinum. God's plan was 16 times platinum.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Arian]

Both great tracks. But I said that. That was just, like I said, a testament. Kendrick's features are crazy, and so I would argue his best feature of all time was control. I don't know if y' all have heard that, but if you're a fan of rap, rap, you know that. And that's. That's literally what kicked off that whole beef.

[Big Cat]

Anyway, I know what you're saying. Like with. With guys like Lil Wayne, if you've got a distinctive sounding voice, maybe their solo stuff isn't for everybody, but when you hear them come onto a song, it kind of like becomes a moment in that song.

[Arian]

Exactly. It brings a whole new energy to the. To the song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's something unique about hip hop that, like, I don't just country have that. When you be like, there's crossovers and you're like, oh, my dude hopped on that track and killed it. Does that happen? I don't listen to enough country, man. Morgan Waller hopped on that George Strait remix and fucking killed that shit.

[Big T]

Yeah, not really. Like, there are collabs a lot, but it's mostly just, like, the whole song, really. It's not like, oh, there's one verse on here that's, you know.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Jelly Rolls dabbled in that a little bit. Right?

[Big T]

There are. There have definitely recently been, like, country rap crossovers where there's some of that.

[Maddie]

Like, there's a Post Malone.

[Big T]

Post Malone has started to do that. Big X. The plug was just on a. Is it a Shaboozi song?

[Arian]

Hey, Big X is. Is so funny. He's like the definition of just bring your hard hat and your pale lunch to work, and you're gonna get it done. He has the same flow on every single song I've ever heard him on every single. It's the same on every stuff, and it's working for him, and I'm happy for him, but that is hilarious to me.

[Big T]

Yeah. It's called Highway.

[Big Cat]

I got another one for you. Kill a mic.

[Arian]

Ooh, now that's. That's another one. I'll be like, that's a niche. That's a niche taste. But I love Killer Mark, I think. I mean, he. I think he deserved the. The Grammy for album of the year. I. I love Killer Mike.

[Brooks]

I love.

[Arian]

I love his politics. I'm a big fan of Killer Mike, but I don't think he's everybody. But, yeah, he's up there.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

But he's a. He's a great feature guy, too.

[Arian]

A who?

[Big Cat]

A great feature guy.

[Arian]

Oh, at the future guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, man.

[Big Cat]

Play I grind my focuses yeah. Roll the line Sleep with the slime Words of diamonds dug out of mind Spit them polish look at it shine.

[Arian]

I catch it be running like Randy Moss. That song right there in itself, I used to love that. I played that so much. Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Speaking of things going. Certified diamonds, let's talk about engagement rings.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

So that's the women in the room.

[Big T]

Do y'.

[Arian]

All. But do y' all believe that a man should spend a certain amount on a wedding ring?

[Maddie]

No, I don't think so.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Mackenzie]

Like, based on, like, how much time you've dated or something.

[Maddie]

No, I think there's, like, a rule of thumb.

[Arian]

Progressive women that I, you know, I like. I like that. That notion. But, like, the more conservative. Not. Not. Not politically, but just, like, traditional, I should probably say.

[Mackenzie]

Right.

[Arian]

The more traditional thing is, like, a man should spend a certain amount of his. You know, like three months.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, the three months of the salary. I've heard that one.

[Maddie]

But I mean, that's absurd.

[Mackenzie]

That's crazy work.

[Maddie]

But no, I think it, as long as it's like something you like, I think it's fine.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, I mean, I want like a nice ring, but I'm not going to be like if you spend less than, you know, $5,000 or whatever the. No, I don't care. I also don't know how much those types of things cost. Obviously. I'm sure once I'm at that stage of my life, I'll know more. But I couldn't tell you right now. If you showed me Mrs. Big T's engagement ring, I could not be like, oh, that probably looks like it's X amount of money.

[Arian]

Yeah, me neither.

[Mackenzie]

So I, I would rather it be something that I like to wear rather than something that is a certain price point.

[Big Cat]

So mackenzie, you were just kind of alluding to the rule of thumb, which I don't know if this is what you're going to say, but it has been, it has been said in media for decades that it is three month salary.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah, that's crazy.

[Big Cat]

Is kind of the, the rule of thumb that you're talking about. And that actually ties back to the start of the wedding ring market here in the United States and how that came to be. So De Beers was a diamond company. They still are a diamond company. And they had their. The son of the founder of De Beers was a guy named Harry oppenheimer. And in 1938, he was 29 years old and he had been tasked with his family for figuring out how to sell more diamonds. And the market that they identified was the United States as being the number one market for diamonds. This is where we can grow. Because over in Europe, countries like Spain, Italy, Germany, they, the idea of a big engagement ring, a diamond engagement ring has never been a part of their culture. And so they didn't really see that as being an easy market to get into. And in Europe there were, they were dealing with the Great Depression, which hit Europe even worse than the United States in places. And they didn't see Europe as being like an explosive growth market. Even in like France and England, the diamonds were for like the kings and queens. Like that's what they wore. It wasn't like a thing for the masses at the time. So they wanted to figure out how to crack into the US Market and how to expand in the United States market. So in order to do that, De Beers had recently hired a advertising firm. NWA was the name of the advertising firm.

[Arian]

Yeah, NWA, yeah.

[Big Cat]

NW Air A Y E R. And yeah, the, the 29 year old Harry Oppenheimer flew to New York to meet with this advertising agency. So the agency had been recommended to the De Beer family by the Morgan Bank. So the Morgan bank was working with the De Beer diamond cartel, the financial group there. And the Morgan bank was worried because the price of diamonds had gone down. And they were like, we need to figure out a way to make us all more money. Oh, you know what? I've got this great friend that leads the air advertising agency. So Oppenheimer flew over to the United States and he sat down and he met with, with this advertising firm. And this guy said that he can put together a plan to make the sale of diamonds and the cost of diamonds go up in the United States. It's going to be a 10 to 20 year plan, but I think it's going to work. And the Oppenheimer family, the de Beer family said, okay, yeah, let's do some business. So what the advertising firm did was they identified Hollywood and motion pictures as being their easiest way to advertise diamonds to Americans. And so they would start to give giant diamond rings to movie stars for them to either wear as props in films or to wear as they're just going around Hollywood getting their picture taken. And then people would see them in the newspaper, they'd see them when they went to the movies, and they started change the attitude of the American people by seeing these diamond rings and these giant diamonds everywhere. And Hollywood made it seem like if you're going to be in love, if you're going to try to win over a woman, you need to impress them with a giant diamond ring, which had previously not really been that much of a thing. So it was not just in movies, it was also in magazines, it was in newspapers. When they would write a story about, oh, this movie star or this famous socialite got engaged, they would write a story that just emphasized the size of the ring. They'd be like, oh, we got all the details about the ring that they got and that would be kind of the COVID story. And, and eventually it caught on in the American public where they increased sales. I believe in this meeting took place. The initial meeting was 1938. It was the initial meeting between the De Beers representative and the head of the advertising firm. In three years, the sale of diamonds increased by 55% in the United States. And it was on a downward trajectory before that meeting. And the price of the stones also went up. And that was the start of like the diamond craze in the United States. And it was all planted in by an advertising agency working with mass media. Isn't that kind of crazy?

[Arian]

It makes sense. I've said for years, love has been marketed to us.

[Big Cat]

Yep. And the De Beer family also came up with the slogan three month salary.

[Arian]

Oh, really? Wow. Yeah.

[Big T]

Evil.

[Arian]

That's kind of evil, though.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So they. They had. They. They wrote it into stories. They had advertising campaigns that just casually referred to it as, like, make three months salary last forever. Three month salary is a wild. Like, that's the price point that they were aiming for. And they're like, yeah, we can sell this.

[Arian]

It was like $60.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

I mean, clearly, because people still have that as like a benchmark in their head.

[Arian]

Yeah. So I don't. I don't hate the idea of. Of having a. A symbolic piece of jewelry to represent one's commitment to somebody. I don't hate that idea. Right. I don't think it's a bad idea.

[Big Cat]

I think.

[Arian]

I think the bad idea came from later on when we infused the government's role in your relationship. I think that's a bad idea.

[Big Cat]

Oh, the government role?

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like.

[Arian]

Like there's.

[Big Cat]

There's no.

[Arian]

There's no legal consequences if. If me and you are best friends. Big, Big T. We're best friends in the world. Right. And I.

[Big T]

Wait, you started to say big T and then you're going to stop and say pft, but then you came back.

[Arian]

Yeah, because I realized I like you better.

[Big Cat]

I saw the rankings.

[Big T]

Okay. Thank you.

[Arian]

Anyway, you know, it's because I said big thing. I was looking at pft, But I was like, oh, I might as well stay here. But keen.

[Big T]

Right? That's what I'm saying. Because it didn't come.

[Arian]

An observation, bro. Jesus Christ. Anyway, like I was saying, I'm an observant guy. We're best friends, Connor. Best friends in the world.

[Big T]

Right.

[Big Cat]

Thank you.

[Arian]

Anybody ever have. And. And I go behind your back and I take money out of your wallet and whatever. I backstab you. I talk bad behind your back. There's no legal okay. Besides the stealing part. That's a bad analogy. If I talk bad behind your back. Right. There's no legal obligation. There's no legal ramifications for me doing that to you.

[Big Cat]

Right.

[Arian]

I just a bad dude. Right. I'm not who I said I was. That's fine. We can part ways amicably and move on about business. If I cheat on somebody that's married or whatever, she can now divorce me and half my shit's gone. Have her shit. It don't make no sense to me. Why?

[Big Cat]

Why?

[Big T]

I do agree, for the most part, but, like, there are things in a marriage that, like, it's kind of impossible at this point to detangle from the government, such as bank accounts.

[Arian]

You don't have to get the same bank account. We've had that discussion before.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

That's a choice you're making.

[Big T]

People do your kids like that.

[Arian]

That makes sense. But that's not a. That's not a marriage thing. That's just. That's just a custody agreement that doesn't have anything to do with. I mean, I also agree that that is. That's a little bit more complicated, but I do. That has to. That probably has to be adjudicated. Yeah.

[Big T]

I agree generally with your premise. I think the government's involved in far too much, but.

[Arian]

Yeah. Nah, I mean, like I said. But I do agree with the notion that there's some kind of, like, symbolic something that you have to represent your commitment to somebody. I. I like that idea. I don't think that's a bad idea.

[Big T]

Ladies, where do y' all stand on lab grown diamonds?

[Mackenzie]

I'm also fine with the lab grown diamond.

[Arian]

Love that. Let's go.

[Maddie]

I.

[Mackenzie]

In my opinion, this may sound.

[Big Cat]

Okay, you tell me a Labrador grew this diamond. Good one.

[Big T]

Mackenzie didn't immediately respond.

[Maddie]

No, I. I was. I didn't want to interrupt. I think they're, like, way better because they're cheaper and, like, you can get the same size, and it's.

[Mackenzie]

They're like, less blood on my hand.

[Maddie]

I think they're more common now. Like, every. Every one of my, like, girlfriends has gotten married. It's been a lab grown diamond.

[Mackenzie]

I'm also gonna say this to make me sound a little bit.

[Big Cat]

More.

[Mackenzie]

What's the word I'm looking for?

[Big T]

Just say it and we'll decide if.

[Mackenzie]

I can pay less. Yeah. Superficial. Thank you. If I can pay less and get more, why would I not. It's the.

[Big T]

No, that's. That's the opposite of superficial.

[Arian]

Yes.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, yeah.

[Big T]

Like, that would be economical.

[Mackenzie]

Okay. But, like, it's like if she wants the big one rather than I want.

[Big T]

Oh, okay. I do so, in a way, I do.

[Mackenzie]

See, but, like, totally. But if I can get a bigger ring and a bigger diamond on my hand and it actually costs less money to my fiance, and it's not from, you know, a poor child. Yeah. Morally more just. I'm down.

[Big Cat]

I'm just gonna say, you'd have to be a psycho to think otherwise.

[Maddie]

It'd be crazy.

[Mackenzie]

I know people personally. Some of my Very good friends who are like, I will not accept a lab grown diamond.

[Arian]

That is a red flag, in my opinion.

[Maddie]

That seems insane.

[Big Cat]

I would rather have children's hands get cut off for my. It means more.

[Mackenzie]

They're like, I want the real deal. I'm like, I. If also I was actually talking about this. I was at a wedding this weekend, and I was talking about it with people that were there. If I get engaged, let's say I get engaged. Oh, my God, happiest day of my life. And I go up to Mackenzie or. And Mackenzie's there. It's a whole thing. And I go, oh, my God, my ring. And mackenzie goes, oh, my God. Is it real or lab grown?

[Maddie]

Yeah, that's a bad day. That'd be so crazy.

[Big T]

I don't think would. If you just told. Now, this would be kind of a crazy thing to do, but, like, if your fiance was like, if you just told her it was real, I don't think you'd be able to ever know.

[Maddie]

There's no.

[Mackenzie]

There's no way to know.

[Maddie]

My friend. My girlfriend went to a place and they showed her, like, the compositions. It's 99% the same.

[Arian]

No.

[Big T]

Well, I keep seeing that they're chemically identical. Like, it's not like a rep. Like, they are. They are the exact same. Same thing. I don't necessarily understand how that works.

[Maddie]

Me neither.

[Mackenzie]

But not my problem.

[Big T]

But that's what I see.

[Maddie]

I'll take their word for it.

[Big T]

Yeah. Like, I don't think you'd ever know.

[Mackenzie]

I just.

[Maddie]

You wouldn't.

[Mackenzie]

I just would rather economically have a bigger ring for less money.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

Sorry.

[Big Cat]

I think that's. I think that's a great way to look at it.

[Mackenzie]

And if my future husband happens to be listening to this right now, you're welcome.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. By the way, I just think that you'd have to be. You'd have to be, like, insane to say. I. I would rather have this come from somebody's like, a business empire that was founded on theft, murder, and slavery.

[Mackenzie]

I just don't care that much then.

[Big Cat]

To have it grown in a lab.

[Mackenzie]

I. I just. I just don't see why I need the one that comes from the minds of the poor, poor children in. Where do they grow? Where?

[Arian]

The Congo.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Arian]

A bunch of different places, but I.

[Mackenzie]

Just don't need that.

[Arian]

This is the Beers. This is the De Beers propaganda still working hundreds of years later.

[Mackenzie]

But even three years ago. That's a different conversation. Like, I feel like it's such a recent development. Three Years ago. That's a different conversation.

[Maddie]

I don't know if it's more personally for me. I don't know if it's more recent or just like more of my friends are getting engaged. So I hear about it. But I do think that is has something to do with it for sure. Like times have changed.

[Big T]

The, the main argument I see on Tick Tock from people talking about this is, oh, well, it has no resale value. If you get a lab grown time, if that's the first thing you're thinking of, you probably shouldn't be getting one anyway.

[Mackenzie]

I would hope it never leaves my hand.

[Big Cat]

I would agree.

[Big T]

But then there are some. I've seen people who are like, listen, yeah, I. I specifically want one that was mined by an African child. It is more rare. And that's the. I deserve that.

[Arian]

Did they come out actually and they.

[Big T]

Actually say that, yes, maybe not African child, but that. That's who's doing it.

[Arian]

That's insanity. Yeah, that's. It's a wild. It's a wild thing.

[Mackenzie]

I just, I feel like, I feel like we've talked about diamonds on here before. I watched a documentary about blood diamond mining in high school. It's so sad. And it's like I just don't have a strong enough pull towards a natural diamond for whatever like, you know what I mean? Like, I just, I'm happy to be. I'm happy to be there.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Let's talk about Vegas and how Vegas is the place to go to get married in the United States, because that's also interesting and how, how Vegas weddings became a thing. Did you know that before the Great Depression, prohibition time frame that you. Most states required blood testing before you.

[Mackenzie]

Got married to make sure you weren't related?

[Big Cat]

No, no, that was, that was cool. To make sure that you didn't have syphilis or gonorrhea.

[Mackenzie]

So they were like looking out for you.

[Big Cat]

They, they claim some states only tested the men because they're like, we're trying to protect the women as they're getting married. We don't want these dirty dog dudes to be rolling out there and they got the clap. And then you get married, pass along to your wife. And so they would. A lot of states require drug or not drug testing, blood testing before you got married. And there were, I think 30 states thought about doing HIV testing and making that a law in the 1980s, but I, I think there are only two that passed. I think Illinois and Louisiana had mandatory HIV testing in the 1980s before you got Married. But yeah, back in, back in the 30s, it used to be mandatory in a lot of states to make sure that you weren't spreading, spreading any venereal diseases. So they would test you before the wedding and, and make sure that you were clean. There was also a three day waiting period. It was like buying a gun to get married. You had to, when you applied for your license, you had to wait three days before you got married. And Vegas did not have that. They did not write that law into effect. And so it became a great place to just run away and get married. Especially if you were in Los Angeles and it was a drive away. You could just make the trip over to Vegas, get married immediately and then get out of there. So they started building wedding chapels in Vegas and, and marketing themselves to wealthy Los Angelenos and to celebrities. So they would make a lot of headlines by having celebrity weddings there. Kirk Douglas got married there. Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow. Elvis got married there. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore got married there in 1987. Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie got married in 2000. And so they've, they've always made a name for themselves like doing these, these flashy celebrity weddings to encourage other people to, to just run away and get hitched there. But there are some, I can also see, like, it's not necessarily a bad thing to have a place where you can go and get married for like 200 bucks.

[Big T]

It's. That's way better than some of what you got to do now.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Arian]

So my mama got married in Vegas. They still happily married?

[Big Cat]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Arian]

It's a fun little getaway, man. Like, it's a cool little getaway.

[Big Cat]

In Clark county, they give out 219 marriage licenses a day, which I, I thought it would be higher than that, but that's still a lot.

[Big T]

That's high.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

219S a day. Yeah, that's a lot. And then they've got a lot of like 24 hour wedding chapels. I think that you can't be obviously intoxicated, but you can. They definitely let you be buzzed for sure.

[Big T]

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[Big Cat]

All right, you want to talk about just like, the costs. I want to talk about themselves.

[Big T]

Yes, but we. We talked about engagement rings. There's something else I'd like to talk about. This just doesn't make any sense to me.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Big T]

The engagement party. How long have these been around? Because I feel like that has to be an event. Social media. Oh, that recent?

[Big Cat]

No, the engagement parties have been around.

[Big T]

For a long but, like, Federa lavish deal.

[Big Cat]

I think that part has probably become a bigger expectation.

[Big T]

It was my understanding that the party gathering of your family and friends to celebrate your engagement was the wedding. Yeah, that's. You're. You're describing a wedding.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Big T]

But now there's. There's a whole separate one. And I sent y' all a tick tock this morning of I think it was 12 grand was what these people spent on their engagement party.

[Big Cat]

That's crazy.

[Big T]

And that's. That's. That's nothing. You get nothing from that.

[Big Cat]

Do you think that's more for. For older people than it is for the youth? Like, if you're getting married.

[Big T]

What do you mean?

[Big Cat]

If you're getting married real young, like right out of college, do you think that the expectation is that you're gonna have engagement party? Do you think all these things are gonna be baked in? Or is that mostly people that are established financially successful that then have to do all these things?

[Big T]

No, I don't think that.

[Big Cat]

What's the difference between the engagement party and the bridal shower? That's. That's where my mind. Because engagement, sometimes the bridal shower, sometimes you got like.

[Maddie]

It's like a baby shower. But you're a bride.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

You get gifts and you celebrate the bride.

[Maddie]

Exactly.

[Arian]

So you got. So you got engagement party, bridal B.

[Big T]

Party, bachelor party, bachelorette party, wedding rehearsal dinner party.

[Arian]

Dog, this is. That's getting out of. That's a lot, dog. Yes, yes, that is a lot.

[Big T]

And this is what I'm saying. Like, it's. It's a. It's a whole ecosystem.

[Arian]

Yes.

[Big T]

That part of the economy would collapse if we. If this disappeared off the face of the earth. I'm dead serious.

[Arian]

So you're like, you get two or six, sweetie.

[Big T]

You get a wedding a thousand percent.

[Arian]

You get two. Is that I can't do all six. That's insane. Dog.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

What's the difference between a bridal shower and a bachelorette party in terms of very, extremely different?

[Mackenzie]

Bridal shower is like your mom usually plans and it's like your whole family is there.

[Arian]

And wait, what's the one where they go and they pick the dress with.

[Mackenzie]

All their homegirls getting a wedding dress?

[Maddie]

No, that's just like wedding.

[Mackenzie]

That's just like wedding dress shower.

[Big T]

But I think people have started to turn that into a thing or TV show about.

[Mackenzie]

But a bridal shower is more low key, like a luncheon almost where it's the bride is kind of just placed in the center of the room and people are eating finger sandwiches. And then there's like mimosa. Yes, totally. And then there's like games. A lot of times there's games of like, who knows the bride better? But it's like an afternoon and then you're done and you get gifts and stuff. But again, afternoon, you're done. Bachelorette party's like weekend. Usually. It's like your bridal party. That's it. Maybe a couple extras. Party, party. Things get loose.

[Big Cat]

Things get loose.

[Mackenzie]

This bridal shower is Girls Gone mild. Bachelorette party is girls Gone Wild is how it.

[Arian]

That got a thing. Remember that girl's gone wild.

[Big Cat]

Oh, that was a wild. That was a wild era.

[Arian]

Gone wild was like. I don't know if it's a tape or a dvd. I don't know how far back it was, but it was like a. It was a compilation of like VHS recordings or just camcorder recordings of like spring breaks or this Miami nights or whatever of like girls flashing the camera. Wild parties things. It was like a little soft porn thing that they sold late night on tv.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it was. It was so predatory. It was crazy.

[Arian]

Yeah, that's actually wild now that I'm thinking about it.

[Big Cat]

That guy's in prison or he went to prison.

[Arian]

Did he really?

[Big Cat]

I don't know what it was related to. If it was. If it was because of. I. I don't know. Because he operated like without getting in trouble with the law for a long time.

[Arian]

Yeah, they used to sell that on tv.

[Big Cat]

Let's see what he actually went to prison for. I forgot about that. Joe Francis is the man's name, so he has been convicted of bribery, false imprisonment, assault, dissuading a witness, and tax evasion. In 2015, he pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution after being convicted for imprisoning three women at his Hollywood home. And assaulting one of them.

[Arian]

Jesus Christ.

[Big Cat]

Bad dude.

[Arian]

Yeah. Walk that guy out. Shoot that.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. Girls Gone Wild was crazy wild era, man.

[Arian]

Wow.

[Big Cat]

It was. So, yeah. In addition, you've got the engagement party, which is both the bride and the groom, I guess. And they have a fancy dinner, I'm assuming, and you get presents.

[Big T]

It's just. It's another wedding.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. It sounds a lot like. Like a wedding. Yeah. Now that we run through it. Then you've got the. The bridal shower. Then you have the bachelorette and bachelor parties. Then you have the rehearsal dinner.

[Big T]

And all of this is assuming you don't do something. Like when you actually get engaged. Like something. They'll have a thing that night.

[Big Cat]

Yep, yep. That doesn't count. Does that count as engagement party?

[Big T]

No, I think most engagement parties now are like several weeks after and they're like a planned.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Like. Or ordeal.

[Big Cat]

This is like an engagement celebration.

[Big T]

Sure.

[Big Cat]

All right, so now you've got the.

[Arian]

So could you consolidate, though? So let's say you certainly could.

[Big T]

You don't have to.

[Arian]

That night.

[Big Cat]

That's a bit.

[Mackenzie]

Oh, see, I would like. I would like.

[Arian]

No, no.

[Maddie]

It definitely depends on, I think the bride mostly if they want to plan something. I think a lot of people still do just like have your friends at a bar after, like immediately after you get engaged. But I think it just depends on the person.

[Mackenzie]

Like, that's what I would. Rather than planning a whole another engagement party, basically, so I don't have to plan it.

[Big Cat]

All right, let me back this up a little bit. So promise ring first.

[Mackenzie]

Nick.

[Maddie]

The Jones brothers.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Then engagement ring, then engagement celebration. The night of, then engagement party, then bridal shower, then wedding dress in between. Wedding dress. I don't know if we want to.

[Big T]

Call that a party shopping day.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Find the dress day.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Then we have the bachelorette party. Bachelor party. Welcome rehearsal dinner. Welcome party, rehearsal dinner. Wedding day. After brunch. Honeymoon.

[Arian]

God damn.

[Big Cat]

Gender reveal.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

The child itself.

[Big Cat]

The child itself.

[Mackenzie]

Baby shower.

[Big Cat]

Baby shower.

[Arian]

Well, the baby showers. Help is you're like. You're getting a lot of help from the baby shower. Yeah, that's the one that makes actually, like, moral and fiscal sense.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

Everybody's coming, say about a bridal shower.

[Big T]

What are you getting at a bridal shower?

[Mackenzie]

Things from your registry, mostly the time, I think.

[Big T]

I thought that was for the wedding.

[Maddie]

I think so. I think it could be for both.

[Arian]

This is why you got to sell merch, Doc.

[Mackenzie]

Or.

[Maddie]

Yeah.

[Big T]

She'S on board with merch.

[Arian]

I love it. Let's go.

[Big T]

She said, I want merch hats, blue frat rope.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Big T]

So that's where her mind's at.

[Arian]

I love that. I love this.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

That's why we love her. That's fun. We need to get a good look still.

[Big Cat]

All right, so per the Knot, the wedding website, the average cost of a wedding in the United States in the year 2025 is $33,000. Average cost per guest, $284.

[Big T]

Wait, real quick. What was that face you made Mad Dog, when he said 33?

[Mackenzie]

Feel like that's low?

[Big T]

I think if. Well, you've lived in big cities, so. In big cities, it definitely is.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

And if that's average, obviously.

[Mackenzie]

Yes. True. That's true. That's true. That's true.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Average. I think a lot of people, you know, courthouse weddings or eloping. Eloping. Sounds fun. Just run away. Just run away and get married. No one has to know. Just us. Yeah. 30, $33,000. Now, if it is a destination wedding in the United States, that jumps the price up to about 39 grand. International destination wedding, up to 41 grand. But it's really broken down by different parts of the country. If you're doing, like, a hometown wedding, do you guys know what the most expensive part of the country to get married in is?

[Arian]

I'm gonna say West Coast, I believe.

[Big Cat]

New York would be. That would fall into the mid Atlantic category. And that is the most expensive. That's $46,000. New England not far behind. 43 grand and the cheapest place to get married. Any guesses?

[Big T]

South.

[Big Cat]

It is a tie between the South. North Dakota. No, it's not. It is a tie between the Southwest and the Midwest. $29,000.

[Big T]

Well, people use the Midwest to mean half the country.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. And this, I think it might be. That might include the plains, probably.

[Big T]

And it probably is North Dakota.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Do you know what the most expensive time of year to get married is?

[Big T]

Summer.

[Big Cat]

Summer. Summer. Yeah.

[Big T]

Really?

[Big Cat]

34 grand. July through September, and then October through December is $32,000.

[Big T]

They're all roughly the same, it looks like.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

I would have guessed fall, though, because that's when everybody seems to want to be doing it.

[Big Cat]

Yep. Do you know the average cost of a venue in the United States? I'm going to guess $7,000, $12,000.

[Big T]

I. From my limited experience in dealing with this, I do wonder if that includes, like, food and stuff or what, because I think generally they'll. They'll tell you you can get the venue for cheap, and then they're like, and here is our included food and beverage package. That is a lot more.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Price per price per plate. What would you put that at.

[Big T]

Average? $80.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, $80. Nailed it.

[Big T]

Really?

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Big T]

I didn't look at that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, there's, there's a lot that goes into it. You have to have DJ or band and then a lot of places have non musical entertainment that goes along with the night. I guess that would be like an mc.

[Big T]

I have been caught off guard with how many different things you have to buy.

[Big Cat]

Photo booth.

[Big T]

So you do photographer. Which does not include any video. I found out.

[Big Cat]

Yep.

[Big T]

Different flowers, food, drinks. Dj. What else?

[Big Cat]

Makeup.

[Big T]

Yes, makeup. Hair, obviously, if you're counting the wedding dress and all that. It's just every single thing is its own entity and they all charge, they all mark it up 600%.

[Big Cat]

Yep. The cake, the cake industry.

[Big T]

I haven't even heard a word about cake yet. I don't know if there's even going to be one.

[Big Cat]

Oh yeah. Get ready to learn cake.

[Big T]

Big T. I'm. Listen, there's going to be a cake. Well, I, it hasn't crossed my desk yet. I'm sure there will be.

[Arian]

There will be a cake, brother.

[Big T]

I haven't. Well, listen, because I'm going to tell you, if I get one thing in this whole deal, I'm getting a small. I'm getting a Neyland stadium cake.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Big T]

I don't know what that costs. I'll pay for it, whatever. I'm getting that because there's a lot of other stuff that everybody else is getting.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Connie gets the Nealon cake.

[Brooks]

Okay.

[Big T]

That will be there.

[Arian]

Just call yourself Connie.

[Big Cat]

Connie.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

T gets the Neil and cake.

[Big Cat]

So in the United States, like we talked about, you know, the, the price for engagement rings went up after the Great Depression. A lot of these other, you know, the wedding industry started really buzzing back in, in like the. I get for the most part Pre World War II, but then it really ramped up post World War II for a little bit. Then it kind of fell off. So much like we're saying, hey, this is too much, too much wedding. The 60s happened, in the 70s happened and the whole hippie movement and counterculture stuff, all the boomers were like, hey, this is, this is getting out of hand. Let's just dial it back a little bit. So the wedding industry actually it, it retracted a little bit in the 60s, 70s and a little bit in the 80s too. But then, you know what happened? Why do you think it came back? Why do you think wedding. The Wedding industrial complex surged back in the 70s. This is the early 80s.

[Big T]

The early 80s.

[Big Cat]

What happened in the early 80s that made people want to spend a shitload of money on their weddings?

[Big T]

The Cold War.

[Big Cat]

No. Any ideas?

[Arian]

It was after. It was right after the Vietnam War, so maybe. I don't know. Hit me.

[Big Cat]

It was the Princess Diana wedding. Yeah. She got married.

[Arian]

Macro economic.

[Big Cat]

We had a royal wedding that took place in England and then everybody watched it, everybody talked about it, and every American woman was like, I want that, I want that. Let's spend some money on the wedding. And that's when it really kicked into high gear and the wedding industrial complex took over. And it hasn't really shown any signs. I. I think it's been on a steady upward growth since then. We didn't really get. I mean, there was the. The royal wedding that happened. What was that, 10 years ago?

[Mackenzie]

It was, I believe, 14 years ago.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, 14.

[Mackenzie]

14 or 16 years ago.

[Big Cat]

Kate and Pippa and Pippa's butt and that. But then that didn't really pop off.

[Mackenzie]

Like Diana did in my. It did in my house. I woke up at 7am to watch that.

[Maddie]

My brother was studying abroad at the time and they, like, went to, like, a big park to, like, watch it on, like a big screen, basically.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

I think you weren't a young woman at that time.

[Big Cat]

That is. That is true. That is factually correct. Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

That was going viral in my house.

[Big Cat]

So, yeah. If the wedding industry ever suffers any setbacks, I do feel like, I don't know when. When the economy contracts and people aren't spending that much money on extracurricular stuff. I feel like that's one of the first things that would probably feel a pinch is like, hey, let's. Let's maybe not do the. The groom's cake at the wedding or.

[Big T]

No, we're doing it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. I think that's like, one place that people would cut back on. But since the economy's been overall pretty.

[Big T]

Good, I found out. Did you know that's kind of a Southern thing?

[Big Cat]

The groom's cake?

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

No, I didn't know that was a thing till you just said.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Yeah. My fiance had never heard of that, and I thought it was very commonplace.

[Big Cat]

I heard of groom's cake for the first time probably 10 years ago because there was an ice cream brand that was called grooms cake. And I was like, what is this? It's got chocolate in it. Oh, okay. That's good.

[Big T]

Yeah, I always thought that was. But. But then we looked it up and apparently it's more prevalent in the South.

[Mackenzie]

Wait, so is it just a cake that only you're gonna eat?

[Big T]

No, it's just, like, you have the big wedding cake, and then the groom gets a little cake. That's, like, something that you like.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, it's like, just one way for the groom to have.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

A little, like, project.

[Big T]

It's a very representative of the whole shebang, really. You get this little thing right here.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Connie's got his project he's been working on. He's very proud of it, and he'd like to share it with you guys.

[Mackenzie]

His favorite football team.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

How do you guys feel about smashing the cake into each other's faces?

[Big T]

Hate it. Hate.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Who started that?

[Maddie]

I don't know.

[Mackenzie]

A man that hates his wife.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, probably.

[Maddie]

Yeah. I think it's, like, funny for a picture, but, like, not actually doing it.

[Big T]

I don't think it's funny.

[Mackenzie]

I paid 600 or whatever I did for this makeup. Do not put cake.

[Big T]

The tradition of breaking cake over the bride's head to symbolize fertility and good luck originated in ancient Rome.

[Big Cat]

Oh, yeah. It's a Roman thing. Yeah, yeah. It's historical, babe.

[Maddie]

Over the head is crazy.

[Big Cat]

Over the head is crazy. That's a. I'm going to ruin your entire wedding dress and your makeup and your hair.

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Maddie]

That was definitely somebody who hated his wife and was like, ah, it's a tradition.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

Let me just face slam you.

[Big Cat]

I very, very rarely get to eat any cake at a wedding.

[Mackenzie]

I was just going to say that.

[Brooks]

Why.

[Mackenzie]

Why don't you give me the cake?

[Maddie]

Oh, Big T. My friend had a cookie skillet dessert their wedding.

[Big T]

I'm adding that to the list.

[Mackenzie]

So good.

[Big T]

You've never been to a restaurant and had, like, they bring out a chocolate chip cookie and, like, a skillet with ice cream on top of it.

[Maddie]

It's like a lava cake, but a chocolate chip cookie, basically.

[Arian]

I'm not. I'm not a sweets guy, remember?

[Maddie]

That's true.

[Big T]

But, like, that's. How do you not. That's. That might be the best dessert that exists.

[Arian]

You know what it feels like to me? Would you want to take a cup of sugar and just dump it in your mouth? No, that's what. That's what I take. That's what I taste like. I don't. I don't taste the gushy yumminess that y' all do, like.

[Big T]

I just like when you eat a warm chocolate chip cookie.

[Big Cat]

Oh.

[Arian]

I feel like I'm dumping sugar into my mouth. That doesn't taste good.

[Big T]

That's crazy.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

What is like the sweetest thing that you like. Do you like like strawberries?

[Arian]

Yes.

[Big T]

Because see those fruits? Because like those are sweet to me.

[Brooks]

Yeah. No.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Fruit.

[Arian]

I could eat fruit all day.

[Big T]

Obviously it's a different kind but like it's still like I eat a strawberry and I'm like that tastes sweet.

[Arian]

Yeah. It's not the same. I don't know what it is. I could like a. Like a cookie is just. It didn't used to be like this. This is a fairly new revelation. But it's just a cookie. It's just. I'm just biting into a sugar. It's wild.

[Brooks]

I don't.

[Big T]

So is there any kind of thing like that that you like sweets wise? You're not going to have any of the Nealon cake.

[Arian]

I will dive when in Rome. That's my. That's my motto as a human. I'm going to get drunk, dance to Morgan Wallen and eat a Tennessee cake at your.

[Big T]

Hell yeah. Hell yes we are.

[Arian]

And so I think the. The most sweetest thing that I'll go back to now is cran Grape juice.

[Big T]

That's crazy.

[Big Cat]

It's just bitter.

[Arian]

It's what?

[Big Cat]

It's a bitter taste. It's not to you.

[Arian]

I don't judge y' all stuff. I just. It's not true. Cran Grape though. That's my. And I don't think. I don't think you've had cran Grape. I think you've had crang berry juice. You ever had cran Grape?

[Big Cat]

I might not have.

[Maddie]

I will say cran Grape is way better than cranberry.

[Arian]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Where did all the grape juice go?

[Maddie]

Or Cran Apple.

[Big T]

Maybe I just you know, turned nine. But like I feel like grape juice it just. It's not out there anymore.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. No, you're right.

[Arian]

Not a thing as it like it used to be. I remember.

[Big T]

That's a solid juice.

[Arian]

This is before yalls time but maybe pft. Remember this. But like you remember like the. The summer park lunch days. The. The lunch trays used to have grape juice boxes in that Joe Them used to be the thing.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Is that Juicy juice?

[Big Cat]

Juicy juice sips.

[Arian]

I don't remember the. The brand. It just came in the. You know the little white tray with the plastic over the top and you'd have your. Your green beans and your grape juice which. With your muffin.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Big Cat]

Where did. Where did the grape juice go?

[Arian]

Where has all the grape juice gone?

[Big Cat]

The. It would be great in cocktail. I Guess a transfusion uses grape juice, which is delicious. It's grown up. We need to use it more.

[Arian]

Big T. It's just.

[Big T]

That's true. Juicy Juice still in business. I'm happy to report downgrade on their logo.

[Big Cat]

But what about Very fine? Is Very fine still out there?

[Brooks]

I've never heard of this brand.

[Big Cat]

We used to have a very fine vending machine.

[Big T]

It appears they're still 100, bursting with flavor.

[Big Cat]

I love that it could. I thought that you were gonna say, like, 100 real fruit juice, but they.

[Big T]

No.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Bursting with flavor.

[Big Cat]

Don't ask what the flavor is. But yeah, we used to have a very fine machine in our school because we weren't allowed to have soda machines. So, like, this is healthy. It's very fine.

[Big T]

It's.

[Big Cat]

It's fruit drink.

[Brooks]

And.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that was probably. Probably worse for you than a lot of sodas out there.

[Big T]

We had a. We had a soda machine, but it was all like, zero. So I got a mellow yellow zero all the time.

[Big Cat]

It's healthy. It doesn't have sugar. It's got aspartame.

[Arian]

You'll love it.

[Big T]

I'm going to get some grape juice. I. I need to see if it still hits.

[Big Cat]

Treat yourself.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Arian]

And then try Cran Grape.

[Brooks]

See the difference?

[Big T]

But then you're just. You're just putting a little bit worse juice into the grape juice.

[Arian]

All I'm saying is try it. It's all.

[Big T]

All right, I'll. I'll get both of them right now.

[Arian]

There you go.

[Big Cat]

A lot of people try to get around paying more for their wedding by not saying that whatever they're getting is for a wedding. Did you think about doing that?

[Big T]

It was brought up, but apparently you get in trouble.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

And they have ways of preventing that now.

[Big Cat]

What. What are the ways?

[Big T]

So a lot of places will be like. Some will say you can only select from this list of vendors that we give you. So, like, the one where we're getting married is not like that. But some will do that. And it's. I mean, it's pretty obvious if you're doing it for wedding. It's just frustrating that all the things you're paying for, if you were to actually get them for a birthday party or whatever, it would be literally hundreds of percent.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

Cheaper.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. But you can. You can get in trouble with the venue. A lot of places can straight up cancel your contract if they find out that. Yeah, you're. You're trying to pull a fast one on us. It's not just a party. It's going to be for a wedding day of they can just take the contract away and be like, yep. You're not actually having that here.

[Big T]

Yeah. Brutal.

[Big Cat]

It is brutal out there. All right, well, good talk, big T. We're rooting for you. We do have an update, very important update from Tuesday's show. We had a voicemail caller. Brooks goes by Brooks. And he had a wedding conundrum that we wanted to get some, some closure on. So let's kick it to Brooks. He's brought to you by Stella Blue and Stella Blue Coffee's new canned lattes. They're now here. They're delicious. I drink usually one a day. Very, very tasty. Really good coffee. And they're made with 100 Colombian coffee. Each can has 190 milligrams of natural caffeine. It's also got protein in there and they've got two smooth flavors. Cafe mocha and my favorite, the espresso sweet cream. It's really good stuff. Really good canned coffee drinks. Whether you're braving your morning commute or you're chasing your pup, Stella Blue cans are for those who are always on the go and for those who care. Stella Blue is more than just great coffee. It's about giving back. Big cat named the brand after his rescue dog, Stella Stella inspired the mission of Stella Blue and that is to help more dogs find their forever homes. Every purchase supports animal rescue organizations. So when you drink Stella Blue, you're not just fueling your day, you're saving a dog's life. Try the new cans today. Taste the difference, make a difference. Stella Blue coffee canned latte is now available stellabluecoffee.com they're very tasty. Very tasty. I drink them all the time. We've had them in the office for the last month or so. We got a little sneak peek before they were available. They deliver great coffee and for a great cause. Check it out. Stella Blue coffee dot com. Their new canned lattes are here. And now here is Brooks. We now welcome on a very special guest to Macro Dosing, a legendary voicemail caller. Sorry it took us so long to get around to reading the voicemail.

[Brooks]

No problem at all. I was wondering for a second if one got to make the cut.

[Big T]

Oh, I mean, it ended up working out better because now we have an immediate resolution, immediate follow up to it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. So what do you want to go by?

[Brooks]

Brooks?

[Big T]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

We can call you Brooks.

[Brooks]

Yeah, I'm Brooks.

[Big Cat]

All right, Brooks, welcome to the show. The voicemail that got big T. I've never seen Big T this fired up about anything.

[Big T]

I was excited to. For that to come through. If anyone has any more things like that, please, those are the voicemails we want.

[Big Cat]

So. So Brooks, can you, can you kind of run through the story again real quick and just get Aryan fully caught up because he wasn't here for that voicemail.

[Brooks]

Yeah. So my girlfriend's friend just got married and they met originally Christmas Eve in 2024. So this has been a nine month condensed window. Anyway, one night I got a text.

[Arian]

Yo, yo, yo. Girl met her friend or the wedding partners met.

[Brooks]

My girlfriend and the bride have been really good friends for pretty much their whole life.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Big T]

Oh, got it.

[Brooks]

So, yeah, so my girlfriend was in the wedding party, she's a bridesmaid. And my girlfriend ended up texting me, hey, by the way, the bride will probably text you to try, you know, invite you to be in the wedding party. Which I didn't love, but that was late one night. The next morning at like 5:30, I got the invite to be in the party. And I didn't say anything for a few days. I want to make sure I said the right thing, to put it delicately, because that's not my kind of thing. I'm more of a introverted guy, especially around people I don't know, so. And a ridiculous ass. Begin with. So anyway, I did end up saying no because that's just not something I'm wanting to do. Yeah, just happened this past Friday. The rehearsal was on Thursday. And. And here we are.

[Big Cat]

Okay. We, we speculated about the different relationships behind the scenes that might have brought you to being invited to, to being in this party to begin with. I think what we ended up on was that maybe the, the groom did not have as many numbers in the wedding party as the bride was going to have. And so with an invitation to be a bridesmaid alongside that came an invitation for whoever the bridesmaids plus one would be to also be a groomsman. Was that kind of how things shook out?

[Brooks]

That did happen. I think there's a total of four groomsmen in the end, and one or two of them were significant others of the bridesmaids. Now the groom is not from this country. He moved here a few years ago from a culture that likes to match their, their couples. So there's a little bit of family issues going on there that I think they couldn't really pull from the men's side.

[Big Cat]

Okay.

[Brooks]

They had some issues. And then like I said, he just moved over. So I want to say these People are great people. I love them. Super nice, smart, all that. So that's kind of what the. The numbers issue was from that side.

[Big Cat]

Okay. All right, Big T, what did you. What did you want to dive into?

[Big T]

So when you said who met last Christmas? The married couple.

[Brooks]

Yes. They met face to face first time Christmas Eve 2024, and got married this past weekend.

[Big T]

That's quick.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Brooks]

Yeah. So this whole thing, they're trying to squeeze everything into one thing and figure out all these problems in just a few month window.

[Big T]

So it was only. You left the voicemail a month ago. So it was a month ago that they asked you to be in the wedding. That was in four weeks, I assume.

[Brooks]

It was probably six to eight weeks ago. And then I was sitting stewing on it and figured out I might call in on this.

[Big T]

Got it. And you said. So you ended up going to the wedding and to the rehearsal dinner, but you weren't in the wedding party.

[Brooks]

Yes. Yeah. So the original maid of honor actually backed out. And so my girlfriend was then the now maid of honor. So I'm going to the wedding. I'm attending it anyway. And like you guys said, probably a little doubly awkward. It was. And at the actual rehearsal was a small chapel, very small party. One of the groomsmen could not make it until about the last 10 minutes. So I stepped in and rehearsed wedding after telling them no.

[Big T]

That's incredible.

[Brooks]

So 10 times awkward.

[Big Cat]

An interim groomsman. Yeah.

[Brooks]

Yes.

[Mackenzie]

After denying it.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Brooks]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

Okay. Yeah. This is an interesting situation.

[Big T]

Did they try to get you, like, even day of? No.

[Brooks]

The mom of the bride was really hyping me up, I think, trying to sway me a little bit. But no, that was a foregone conclusion. I was just. I was just. I was just there to support them, you know, that's what I'm here to do. Support them, support my girlfriend, and, you know, put on a smile.

[Big Cat]

Was there a bachelor party?

[Brooks]

No, but there was a bachelorette party.

[Arian]

Okay.

[Big Cat]

All right.

[Big T]

The. The only other thing I wanted to know was, do you think the groom knew that this was. This request was made of you, or do you think someone went rogue?

[Brooks]

He knew because the text I got asking me to be in the bridal party was the bride and groom. They were all in one small group chat. I don't know if it was his idea or what, but he was. He was definitely made aware that the request was made.

[Big T]

Got it.

[Big Cat]

Did he get you a present that he had, like a. Did he have a groomsman present for you?

[Brooks]

No. Well, I said no.

[Big Cat]

So I just didn't know if he was like trying to make a last second push. He's like, well, I got you this pocket knife. It's engraved.

[Brooks]

Yeah, it would have been nice. I. I did consider, you know, offering, hey, if you guys want to pay for the tux and all that, you know, I, I will stand in. But right after the wedding, we flew. I'm on a week vacation right now, so the money thing's a little tighter than normal right now. So that, that was part of it, along with, I don't know, you and something weird about just being in a wedding of people. I don't know, I just. Some doesn't match with that.

[Arian]

Now maybe you answered this already in the voicemail or just now. Maybe I didn't hear it. But why would they ask you, like, why. Why you?

[Brooks]

That's a good question. Yeah, the groom, just like I say, he's from out of the country, moved here a few years ago. He does have a few friends that were at the engagement party and the wedding that I think would probably be a little more suited than me. I think they started to go the route of, well, if we're going to ask some of the bridesmaids, significant others, let's just kind of go down the line and see how we can added up there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah. Oh, you might be underselling. Maybe you're just a really good hang. Maybe you're just like a. A great dude. And they're like, hey, Brooks, we got to get Brooks. He's number one free agent right now.

[Brooks]

I tried to bring the fun. I always do. But, yeah, I don't know if it's that. Like I said, I've met them at combined three times before this.

[Big T]

So how was the wedding?

[Brooks]

You know, it was actually a lot better than I was anticipating. Long, long ceremony. Like I said it was. It was a highly religious wedding mocktails.

[Arian]

What was the religion after that?

[Brooks]

Christian.

[Arian]

Gotcha.

[Brooks]

Christian. Both sides. Seattle's fun. I mean, everyone got out on the dance floor. It was a good time. I was dreading it for a while, but actually turned out to be a pretty fun event.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, I feel like they usually are. If you're. If you're dreading going to a wedding, it's like, yeah, it's. It might be a pain in the ass to get there, but once you get there, you typically have a good time.

[Brooks]

Weddings are great, especially if you know a lot of people there, but if you don't, and like I said, the combination of that, it Being a dry wedding, I'm just not a very outgoing guy, so I was really nervous for the whole thing, but it worked out pretty well.

[Arian]

All right, ready?

[Big Cat]

All right, well, Brooks, thank you for the update. We appreciate it. I think you just might be a great hang. So if anybody out there is getting married, they need to fill out their bachelor party, hit us up, and then we'll get in touch with Brooks, and. And we might just pimp you out, if that's okay.

[Brooks]

That sounds good, man. Anytime.

[Big Cat]

All right. Have a fun vacation, Brooks.

[Brooks]

All right. Thanks. Appreciate you guys.

[Big T]

All right.

[Big Cat]

All right, well, good luck to you, big T. But think about this. You're in love.

[Big T]

Yes.

[Big Cat]

It's gonna be a big party.

[Big T]

Yes, I'm. It'll be great.

[Big Cat]

It'll be fun.

[Big T]

Y' all will be there.

[Big Cat]

Yeah.

[Big T]

That'll be fun.

[Big Cat]

You're gonna. You're gonna have a great time.

[Big T]

We gotta work on the merch.

[Big Cat]

It's gonna be great.

[Big T]

Celebration.

[Mackenzie]

We have some time, too.

[Big Cat]

We.

[Mackenzie]

We can work on this.

[Big Cat]

A day to celebrate your love. What could be better than that?

[Big T]

Nothing.

[Mackenzie]

And we all get to go home after, which is awesome.

[Big Cat]

That is great.

[Big T]

Walking distance for me and Mackenzie.

[Mackenzie]

And me.

[Big T]

You can walk from there?

[Mackenzie]

Yeah.

[Big T]

All right, then. Yeah.

[Brooks]

Good.

[Big Cat]

Not having to be. Not having to. To, like, worry about going to a hotel. Waking up in the morning hungover. Getting on a flight.

[Big T]

Yeah.

[Mackenzie]

I'm really excited for that.

[Big Cat]

Yeah, that'll be great. We're rooting for you, big T. Good luck navigating this minefield.

[Big T]

Been. Been doing my best.

[Big Cat]

All right, well, that's macrodosing for the week. We will see you guys next Tuesday. See you next Tuesday. Love you guys.

[Brooks]

Sa.