#125 - Our Final Episode (April Fools’!)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Episode #125 - Our Final Episode (April Fools’!)

Man of the Year - Champions of Friendship
Hosts: Matt Ritter and Aaron Karo
Release Date: April 1, 2025

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Introduction

In the 125th and final episode of Man of the Year - Champions of Friendship, hosts Matt Ritter and Aaron Caro delve into the dynamics of friendship rituals, the impact of limited-time activities, and the role of pranks within friendships. The episode, released on April Fools’ Day, blends insightful discussion with humorous anecdotes, staying true to the podcast’s mission of fostering meaningful connections.

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Limited Series: Building Friendships Through Shared Experiences

Aaron Caro introduces the concept of "Limited Series," inspired by friendship coach Danielle Bayard Jackson's book Fighting for Our Friendships. This concept involves engaging in activities with friends that have a defined start and end, thereby creating focused and meaningful interactions without the pressure of maintaining year-round commitments.

• Definition: Activities with friends lasting a few weeks or months, such as watching a reality TV series together, participating in a book club, or embarking on a fitness challenge.

• Matt Ritter expresses enthusiasm for the idea, highlighting the flexibility and low-pressure nature of limited series compared to perpetual rituals.
  “I love the idea of a limited series because it puts less pressure on having a year-round thing,” [05:50].

Discussion Points:

• Comparison to Traditional Rituals: Unlike ongoing rituals, limited series allow for bursts of interaction that can strengthen relationships without exhausting participants.
• Examples:
  • Viewing parties for TV shows
  • Book clubs with fixed durations
  • Fitness challenges like training for a marathon

Aaron Caro adds that these series can be a gateway to include more casual or fringe friends, potentially deepening those connections.
“It feels like you can include kind of fringe friends and looser people, and it's a good way to kind of strengthen those,” [07:43].

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Book Clubs and Social Accountability

The conversation shifts to traditional book clubs, with Matt Ritter sharing his skepticism based on his personal experiences and observations.

• Challenges: Consistent commitment can lead to burnout, especially if participants fall behind on reading.

• Matt Ritter:
  “I think maybe the solve for that is like fall book club, you know, just, hey, eight weeks we're reading one book or something,” [09:42].

Aaron Caro suggests selecting culturally relevant or pop culture books to maintain engagement, emphasizing that the success of a book club hinges on the group's interest and commitment.
“I think we have to choose the right books, like that kind of book books that are a little bit more like cultural, like pop culture,” [10:30].

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Pranks in Friendships: Balancing Humor and Respect

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to discussing pranks within friendships, sparked by a listener question about navigating differing attitudes toward April Fools’ Day.

Listener Question:
“I'm someone who loves April Fool's Day, but one of my friends has told me that they don't find pranks funny at all. I want to respect their boundaries, but I also think a small, harmless joke could lighten them up a little bit. Should I avoid pranks altogether with them or is there a safe way to include them in the fight on pranks?”

Discussion Highlights:

• Matt Ritter’s Perspective:
  Emphasizes the potential dangers and unintended consequences of pranks, advocating for caution.
  “Don't, don't, please don't prank me because you might end up dead and I might end up in jail,” [17:07].

• Aaron Caro’s Insights:
  Reflects on personal experiences with pranks, noting that while some pranks can strengthen bonds, they often walk a fine line between humor and harm.
  “If you prank me, there's a chance I could end up in jail or divorced or something,” [17:07].

• Anecdotes:

  • College Prank: Matt recounts moving a friend’s small car to another block, highlighting the prank's impact and the friend's reaction.
    “It was great. Did you?” [22:07]

  • Extreme Pranks: Both hosts discuss elaborate pranks from media and personal lives, underscoring the need for mutual respect and consent in playful interactions.
    “The Sid Finch thing was brutal. That was a cruel prank,” [23:58].

Key Takeaways:

• Mutual Consent: Pranks should only be executed if all parties are comfortable and willing participants.
• Avoiding Harm: Hosts caution against pranks that can lead to emotional or physical harm, emphasizing the importance of preserving trust.
• Alternative Bonding Activities: Suggest engaging in shared projects or limited series as healthier ways to build camaraderie without the risks associated with pranks.

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Alternative Limited Series Activities

Expanding on the concept of limited series, the hosts brainstorm various activities that can foster friendships through shared goals and experiences:

• Fitness Challenges: Training for a marathon or participating in a half-5k run, which encourages support and accountability.
• Creative Projects: Collaborating on building a treehouse or other DIY projects, blending creativity with teamwork.
• Charity Initiatives: Engaging in fundraising or community service projects, providing purpose and a sense of accomplishment.

Matt Ritter shares his personal example of collaborating with a neighbor to build a treehouse, illustrating how limited series can create lasting memories and strengthen bonds.
“I asked my neighbor if he would help me build a tree house because he's got woodworking skills and I am not a woodworker,” [32:11].

Aaron Caro emphasizes the importance of choosing activities that align with the group’s interests and capacities, ensuring sustained engagement and enjoyment.
“Anytime you can include some sort of doing some good for somebody and doing it with your friends, I love that,” [33:03].

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Conclusion

In wrapping up the episode, Matt and Aaron reinforce the value of limited series as a means to cultivate and maintain meaningful friendships. They encourage listeners to explore various shared activities that offer both structure and flexibility, fostering deeper connections without the strain of perpetual commitments.

Final Thoughts:

• Reframing Consistency: Viewing friendship rituals as seasonal or periodic allows for adaptability and refreshes interactions.
• Encouraging Participation: Hosts invite listeners to share their limited series ideas and experiences with pranks, fostering a community of engaged and thoughtful friendship-building practices.
• Closing Quote:
  “Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy,” [34:01].

---

Notable Quotes

• Aaron Caro:
  “It feels like you can include kind of fringe friends and looser people, and it's a good way to kind of strengthen those,” [07:43].

• Matt Ritter:
  “I love the idea of a limited series because it puts less pressure on having a year-round thing,” [05:50].

• Aaron Caro:
  “Don't, don't, please don't prank me because you might end up dead and I might end up in jail,” [17:07].

• Matt Ritter:
  “If there's a group that's practicing, like, not everybody. I always feel like somebody's not on board with it,” [21:14].

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Final Remarks

Man of the Year - Champions of Friendship concludes its journey with an engaging exploration of how structured, time-bound activities can enhance friendships. Matt Ritter and Aaron Caro offer practical advice, personal anecdotes, and thoughtful reflections, leaving listeners with actionable insights to strengthen their own social connections.

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Note: This episode contains humorous and exaggerated discussions about pranks. Listeners are encouraged to approach pranks with caution and prioritize mutual respect and consent in all interactions.

Transcript

[Aaron Caro]

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[Matt Ritter]

Man of the Year.

[Aaron Caro]

Welcome to the number one friendship podcast in the country. I'm Aaron Caro.

[Matt Ritter]

I'm Matt Ritter.

[Aaron Caro]

And make sure to go to manofthe podcast.com to grab our merch and YouTube to watch our clips online. So, Matt, I want you to visualize something.

[Matt Ritter]

Okay?

[Aaron Caro]

You go to the grocery store and you pick out a few items. Maybe you're hosting. You like to host. You got some ice? Whatever. You, you bring your shopping cart back to the, to the car. You fill up your trunk. Do you, Matthew Ritter, return the shopping cart? What do you do with it?

[Matt Ritter]

I return it, but most people don't return.

[Aaron Caro]

So you put it in the, either in the, in the holder thing or bring it back to where you found it.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, we're very, very cognizant to do that.

[Aaron Caro]

I think the people who leave the, the cart out in the parking lot should be hung on the wall like in Handmaid's Tale. I mean, like, there's so little that is holding our society together right now. The fact that people can't bring the shopping cart 15ft back to the beginning of the store. I mean, your errand is done. You're blocking a parking spot. It's a hazard for pedestrians. Just like, do people even live in the world? Are we in Lord of the Flies slowly boiling? We don't even know it.

[Matt Ritter]

Do you know about the guy who puts stickers on people's cars that don't do it.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, I vaguely. I vaguely. But how does he know who did it? He.

[Matt Ritter]

He's just sitting in the parking lot all day, I guess, of a grocery store just to shame people.

[Aaron Caro]

Wow. You get murdered for doing something like that. Totally.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah. He's put stickers on their car. Yeah, you could definitely get killed for doing that.

[Aaron Caro]

Do not do that in la.

[Matt Ritter]

Do not do that. I was thinking, though, right, because I. I watched that guy and I'm like, man, I can't believe how many people did. Then I was thinking, like, do they hire somebody to just retrieve the cards? And so on some level, are all these people, these jerks, are they job creators?

[Aaron Caro]

There is a person who does it, but I think he's just like one of the. Sort of the bus boy, you know, cashier person. I think it's a. I don't think you're, you know, I don't think you're cutting a job by not doing that. I just. I actually like returning the card because it's like, oh, my job is done. I'm bringing it back. I'm a good person. I mean, it's just like.

[Matt Ritter]

It is the completion of the. It is the completion of the grocery store trip, Right.

[Aaron Caro]

If you just leave the cart there, you have it. You didn't go grocery shopping.

[Matt Ritter]

Well, there's nothing more irksome than, like, it being in the middle of a good spot.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, when you. This. We'll call it. I call it a spot mirage. When you're. Oh, my God. I mean, it's just ridiculous.

[Matt Ritter]

Then I gotta, like, get. I have Brenner in the back seat. Like, I can't, like, get out of the car, you know?

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. Oh, man. All right. So that. That just. You know, I. I did a grocery shop the other day. Let me ask this other question. If I'm getting more than, like, three things, but. But not that much. I get a cart no matter what. Even if it's. Even if it's a hand cart, I get the push cart. You know what I'm saying?

[Matt Ritter]

You. You will. You will definitely appreciate. This is such a matte move. I only realize it when I'm literally. I've got things down. There's, like an orange bag on my neck. And then, like, suddenly somebody appears, and they're like, you need a cart? And they bring over the cart to me. I'm like, no, I'm good. I've got, like, a can of beans, like, on my nose being balanced.

[Aaron Caro]

And then they're like, do you want a bag? And you're like, nah, yeah, no, but.

[Matt Ritter]

So I, I, I've stopped doing that. But that was one of my bad traits.

[Aaron Caro]

Guys, people, return your carts. Come on, return your carts. Okay, so I want to talk about Limited Series. So there's a friendship coach who, Matt, we have to get on because she always comes up. I, I don't want to get her middle name wrong, but it's Danielle Bayard Jackson and she has this great book, Fighting for our Friendships. Matt, you're always sending me her stuff. And she was quoted in this New York Times article about suggesting it was about connecting better with your friends, which she calls limited series, which of course is a big TV trend. And basically she describes, is it an activity with your friends that lasts for a few weeks or a few months and has an end. So for instance, you are going to watch a new reality series and you know, every, every week you're going to get together with your friend and, and go and debrief or take a walk or something like that. You know, it could be a book club. It could be like you're going to go to the gym for six weeks and like do buys and tries, but it has an end. What do you think about this?

[Matt Ritter]

I love this, Absolutely love this. And I love that it's called limited series because I, I think I had an idea that I like these things but I didn't know what they would be called because I love the viewing parties and I love that there is a fixed start and end because I think it's too much for people to just sometimes, for a lot of people, it's too much to have something that's year round with all their friends all the time.

[Aaron Caro]

Just to clarify, I believe she's suggesting you're not a watch party. You're watching the show separately and then every, the next day, every week you're calling for half an hour to talk about it.

[Matt Ritter]

Oh, well, whatever. I'm just saying. But you could do a watch party as a limited too, because that is limited in its duration. It's 12 weeks or whatever.

[Aaron Caro]

Do you remember back? Oh, sorry, go. No, do you remember back in the, in the aughts, like people would come over on Sunday to watch Sopranos and curb your enthusiasm.

[Matt Ritter]

Huge sex in the city parties.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. Now it's just like, when is it streaming?

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, no, that, that is true. The, you know, streamers kind of killed the appointment.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

Viewing. Yeah. And by correlation killed also the watch.

[Aaron Caro]

Party hangout, you know, say the business. But yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah. Well, it Killed our entire industry, but also killed the one social aspect which was what you're talking about. Like the Sunday night hangout. That was a big thing. People still do it now for, I think for certain reality shows. We have some friends who used to do it for the Bachelor.

[Aaron Caro]

The Bachelor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think now, like live sports is the only thing people can gather around anymore.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, it's pretty much. But so what other limited series. So I do, first of all, I do like it because I think it puts less pressure on kind of having a year round thing, but it also feels like you can include kind of fringe friends and looser people, and it's a good way to kind of like strengthen those.

[Aaron Caro]

Well, what's interesting, I thought you, you might push back a little bit because, okay, it's low pressure, there's an end date. But our biggest tip of the podcast is creating rituals, which is something that sort of recurs forever, but they don't.

[Matt Ritter]

Have to recur every week. You know, our, our Luger's dinner is once a year. So I think on some level, like as long, you know, you could reframe this notion of, of ritual.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

You know, you could have a fall ritual. You can have a summer ritual. Right. I mean, what is summer camp? Right. I mean, that's not year round. But those are your summer camp friends. Right? It's almost like that in some. On somewhat level.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean. But you're also 10 years old.

[Matt Ritter]

No, but my point is, is just that friendship is just that really, like you don't see them the rest of the year. Your camp friends. You're not really communicating with that.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. It's funny, famously you and I didn't really go to camp. Yeah. Matt is making the, the symbol of we didn't have enough money when we were kids. But you know, our friends had camp friends.

[Matt Ritter]

Yep. Always jealous.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. You know, another, another suggestion here was book clubs, which we've barely even touched on on this. Have you ever been a part of a book club?

[Matt Ritter]

So I never have. My wife has. And I actually think a problem with the book club is it's too consistent every week. People have never read the book and they always end up giving up. So I think maybe the solve for, maybe the solve for that is like fall book club, you know, just, hey, eight weeks we're reading one book or something.

[Aaron Caro]

And like, how's that different than what a book club normally is?

[Matt Ritter]

Well, they're just year round and then people just give up because they haven't read the book. Because there's too much pressure week to week to read the book.

[Aaron Caro]

Do you think? I'm just spitballing here. Do you remember when you, you know, you're very big on the sort of unsolicited gift, so you found this book called Blood in the Garden, which was about the Knicks, and you sent it to a bunch of our friends. Do you think we could do a book club? You think anyone would care?

[Matt Ritter]

No, I think we could actually. I think we have to choose the right books, like that kind of book books that are a little bit more like cultural, like pop culture. Y. Like, I don't think us just going, hey, you know, let's all read, you know, T. Rex, biography of Teddy Roosevelt.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Also, is your, your sister. Is your wife. Wife's book club IRL or irl? Okay. So it's just. It's really just getting the people together for a gab festival.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, it is. It's just. And that's all book club is. But I do think I like the idea of a limited series for the low pressure of it.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, you know what the very.

[Matt Ritter]

I hear what you're saying about, like, does this go against our idea that we want you to have a regular, consistent routine that doesn't go away? But this doesn't go away. It's, you know, comes back every, you know, whatever, every six months.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, I suppose the ultimate limited series is the football season. Know, you get together every Sunday, get together every Monday.

[Matt Ritter]

Right. What is fantasy football if not a limited series? Friendship.

[Aaron Caro]

But you don't get together in fantasy football.

[Matt Ritter]

Some people do.

[Aaron Caro]

Not every week.

[Matt Ritter]

No, suppose not. Some people do. But I'm just saying, even just the fantasy football, like, community that builds up in the fall and it breaks up in January.

[Aaron Caro]

So are you gearing up? I think this will air after March Madness. But are you gearing up for your giant March Madness pool?

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, I mean, by gearing up, I. I do no research.

[Aaron Caro]

Right. You just like, oh, there's got to be a 14 seed somewhere.

[Matt Ritter]

I, I sometimes will text some younger folks who are in the know about that stuff.

[Aaron Caro]

Did you. When we were in high school, did you ever play fantasy with the rest of the guys?

[Matt Ritter]

I don't remember.

[Aaron Caro]

The.

[Matt Ritter]

It wasn't online. We didn't even have, like, online.

[Aaron Caro]

There was no computers.

[Matt Ritter]

Right. So how was it? How did we do it?

[Aaron Caro]

Someone was the, was the, was the. The key master, and they just did it.

[Matt Ritter]

You would get the New York. You would get News Day, and what, you would circle the, the scores well.

[Aaron Caro]

No, I think this was drafting players.

[Matt Ritter]

Right. But I'm saying the stats. Yeah. You had to like. Yeah, you like circle the scores and add them up in the newspaper.

[Aaron Caro]

That's a good point. How do people play fantasy football before hit the Internet, I think they did.

[Matt Ritter]

It with a hat. With a piece of paper and a pen and they add. And they. And a calculator.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, God, that's giving me like weird anxiety.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah. There was something called stratomatic baseball. Remember that was. That wasn't that similar.

[Aaron Caro]

I don't think that it was that. It was like synced to the current le, you know, season. I think it was like almost a. It was like a proto video game.

[Matt Ritter]

It was a. It was a board game. Yeah, it was a. The original fantasy sports game, they call it. Wow. Simulation game. It was a simulation game. How it works, Each athlete is represented by a player card and you roll the dice.

[Aaron Caro]

Right, right.

[Matt Ritter]

It was a combination of their real life stats. So, like if you had, you know, Babe Ruth, you'd have a better shot with the roll of the dice than some scrub.

[Aaron Caro]

God. It was like a weighted thing. Interesting.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah. Wow. Wow.

[Aaron Caro]

Should we. Should we come back to this and take a listener question?

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

All right. We'll be right back.

[Matt Ritter]

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[Aaron Caro]

Okay, guys, this is asking for a friend. If you have a friendship question or ethical dilemma, send it to us on Instagram and we will answer on the show. Okay, this one says, Dear Matt and Cairo, I'm someone who loves April Fool's Day, but one of my friends has told me that they don't find pranks funny at all. I want to respect their boundaries, but I also think a small, harmless joke could lighten them up a little bit. Should I avoid pranks altogether with them or is there a safe way to include them in the fight on pranks? You and I have both discussed this. It was like two years ago. Anti prank, not a big prank guy.

[Matt Ritter]

Most people who are really into pranks, douchebags.

[Aaron Caro]

They're just there just. There's too much opportunity for me to respond in an insane way if I'm pranked. And then like, you know, if somebody.

[Matt Ritter]

Pranks me, there's a chance I could.

[Aaron Caro]

End up in jail a hundred percent. Or divorced or something.

[Matt Ritter]

Something bad. Something bad. Don't, don't, please don't prank me because you might end up dead and I might end up in jail.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, I mean the, the prank industrial complex of like, you know, I saw something in Tick Tock where they like the kids covered their parents kitchen in peanut butter.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah. Oh my God.

[Aaron Caro]

Like if your kid did that, Brenner.

[Matt Ritter]

Would go to one of those camp.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, one of those things that Paris Hilton just got that law passed that bans like, like wayward children homes.

[Matt Ritter]

Oh, where they beat you incessantly.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, like, it's just the pro, but I want to also, like, psychoanalyze this a little bit. She actually. I don't even know if it's. If it's a. It's a woman or not. She says that.

[Matt Ritter]

I don't think women do pranks to each other.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, no, I don't think so. I don't think a woman has ever pulled a prank. Although that could be. That's an interesting. I don't know. Character, I guess. He says. I also think a small, harmless show could lighten them up. I mean, that's. That's making. That's going. That's taking a lot of ground with.

[Matt Ritter]

What is a healthy prank we did. I'll tell you one that we did that was kind of insane. In college, I don't know if I ever talked about this on the pod. Our friend had this little Ford Festiva. I think it was a festive. What's the littlest Ford? Like, the one that's like. It's like a. It's like a toy car.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, the Festive. I remember that. Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

And we. We lifted it up and moved it to another block. Like, it took, like, 15 of us.

[Aaron Caro]

I think you have told me that. First of all, that's hilarious.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, that's hilarious. And, like, fairly harmless. We told him after he thought his car got stolen or towed or whatever.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, that's borderline because, like, how. How long did you let it go?

[Matt Ritter]

We probably let it go too long.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, that's. That's tough.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

You know, on. I. I'm gonna try to find. There are. You know what's good? The harmless pranks.

[Matt Ritter]

Right. What is the line between harmless and I'm gonna kill you. Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, the harmless pranks are. You know, we'll have. I'll have to do a little.

[Matt Ritter]

Is it healthy for a friendship pranks? That's the thing. I. I don't know.

[Aaron Caro]

Well, if you're both into it, I think. I think. I think our personalities also. Like, let's say you prank me.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

And I'm like, well, I'm gonna get you back. Well, now you're living on pins and needles for the rest of your life.

[Matt Ritter]

I know. Who wants to live like that? I.

[Aaron Caro]

It's. We. We talked about this when we talked about pranks again. This was two years ago that, like, on Jake and Amir, one of those guys had a epic prank where. I mean, I think they actually had a show on My True tv. And one of them, which was epic, was they. He he arranged for his friend to get chosen out of the audience at a college basketball game. Did I told you this? He does a blindfold. He does a blindfolded half court shot. And he had the whole audience scream like he made it, but he didn't make it.

[Matt Ritter]

Oh, that's good. But wouldn't you know if you didn't make it?

[Aaron Caro]

No, because he heaves it and everyone goes, oh, my God.

[Matt Ritter]

That.

[Aaron Caro]

The mascot's hugging him.

[Matt Ritter]

He was blindfolded when he shot it.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. And then this other one, you're. This one.

[Matt Ritter]

That's a good. That's a good prank.

[Aaron Caro]

That's epic. And he told them within seven seconds.

[Matt Ritter]

I mean, that requires a million dollars in funding.

[Aaron Caro]

But one of the other ones, which you're not gonna like, one of the guys goes to a Yankee game, and this is. This is thinking about it with his girlfriend on the board. He. The other guy has. Lisa, will you marry me, Jake?

[Matt Ritter]

No.

[Aaron Caro]

Yes.

[Matt Ritter]

That's the kind of stuff you get murdered for.

[Aaron Caro]

Yes. And they get into. And then, like, he goes, I don't want to marry you. Like, I don't know who did this. Like, it's insane.

[Matt Ritter]

And by the way, we're joking. We would never harm anybody. There's no harm being done on this pod.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, if you.

[Matt Ritter]

We've got a. We've got to. We got to tone down our homicidal rhetoric.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, yeah. I mean, just don't pull pranks.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, exactly. Just don't. Yeah, just don't prank me.

[Aaron Caro]

And is there.

[Matt Ritter]

Is there an upside to friendship? I mean, like, I'm just, like, I rack my brain to think of, like, how friendship is benefited by people pranking each other. Because, like, yes, I guess it builds some sort of camaraderie, but I just feel there's so many other healthy ways to do that.

[Aaron Caro]

Well, let me push back on that. We have a very jab. We're jet. We're jabbing each other little jabs.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

All day. Which I find hilarious. That's our love language.

[Matt Ritter]

Yes.

[Aaron Caro]

There are people who do not like that.

[Matt Ritter]

Agreed. Agreed. You're right. I should say there are different strokes for different folks. If there's a group that thrives, their friendship feeds off of. It's the water, it's the, you know, soy, it's the soil, it's the nutrients that sustain their friendship to grow. That's pranks. Good on you. I think that's a rare subset.

[Aaron Caro]

Because here's the thing, Matt. When you pranked your buddy and was at law school or college.

[Matt Ritter]

Or a college.

[Aaron Caro]

So all of you, the other people. The people did the moving. What a fun activity for you guys.

[Matt Ritter]

It was great. It was great. Did you.

[Aaron Caro]

Did you choose him just because he had the smallest car? Because, like, was there another reason?

[Matt Ritter]

He was, like, very cocky, and that was, like, the one thing that he was insecure about. So that.

[Aaron Caro]

His head. That his car was shitty.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

So I don't know. That kind of goes to the listener question. Like, you kind of cut him down. Was he mad?

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, he was mad.

[Aaron Caro]

Huh?

[Matt Ritter]

I think he was mad kind of because he didn't want to be the butt of anybody's jokes.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, you got to choose your prank e. Yeah. Carefully.

[Matt Ritter]

But that's the thing, I think, like, no matter what, if there's, like, a group that's practicing, like, not everybody. I always feel like somebody's not on board with it.

[Aaron Caro]

Right. And that's the person you. I mean, the things where they, like, fill your car with jelly beans. I'm like, I gotta clean this up now.

[Matt Ritter]

Oh, no. I know. I always feel like actors are involved in pranks because they're so removed from normal behavior.

[Aaron Caro]

Really?

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

Like, there's a lot of, like.

[Matt Ritter]

Like Hollywood's notorious for pranksters, and, like, athletes are notorious pranksters. It's because they're so wealthy and so removed from. From normal life that they don't realize that in normal life, you end up getting yourself hurt by doing this stuff to somebody.

[Aaron Caro]

They should be. They should call it April Cruise Day.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. April.

[Aaron Caro]

April.

[Matt Ritter]

You know, there's a famous April Fool's story in Sports Illustrated. The Sid Finch thing, right?

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. Basically, it was a fake article that the Mets found this phenom who could throw 120 miles an hour.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

By the way, that's pretty mean to Mets fans.

[Matt Ritter]

No, it was brutal. That was cruel. Cruel, cruel prank for us.

[Aaron Caro]

Matt. Matt, do you know that our hometown is famous for one of the greatest pranks of all time?

[Matt Ritter]

No.

[Aaron Caro]

In the. I want to say, 2000s, at our high school, Pl. JFK High School, Long Island, a group of unknown students, still unknown, bought a junk car with no wheels, painted it, and put it on the roof of the high school.

[Matt Ritter]

Oh, yeah. How'd they get it up there?

[Aaron Caro]

To this day, nobody knows.

[Matt Ritter]

I assume they. They had a jack from, like, a car mechanic station, one of those that elevated it up.

[Aaron Caro]

Wow. It's actually. It's on Wikipedia. A picture of the class. Class of 2006. So it was about nine years after us.

[Matt Ritter]

Wow.

[Aaron Caro]

And still, a good high school prank.

[Matt Ritter]

Like that, if there's no victim. But then there is a victim. Who's getting it down?

[Aaron Caro]

Who's getting it down? God forbid someone fell off the roof or got hurt.

[Matt Ritter]

Is this. You know, this is a classic prank. Is this a good prank or is this, like, animal cruelty? The one where they always steal the goat or the mascot.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, I'm so glad you brought that up, Matt, because it's, you know, it was just college football season. So how are they not guarding the mascot then?

[Matt Ritter]

I don't know. You know, the.

[Aaron Caro]

You know, the Nate literal.

[Matt Ritter]

How many years in a row is that Go. Just going to be stumbling around with the gate unlocked. Right. This goat is like, guys, it's April 1st. Is there a guard on duty? What? It's almost like that scene in the Godfather when suddenly there's no security at the hospital.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

You know, like, suddenly there's no security by the goat. Now you gotta go get this Baker. Enzo. Hey, Enzo, come here. Guard this goat for me.

[Aaron Caro]

Like, it's like, guys, you have one job. Guard the Georgia Bulldog. You're literally playing the army. Like, they know how to get it.

[Matt Ritter]

So is it that they let them steal it always?

[Aaron Caro]

Like, I don't think so. I think. No, I think it. I just. I guess you have to be really good.

[Matt Ritter]

You hired two armed guards with gloss. Like, you're not stealing a bulldog.

[Aaron Caro]

What about. Have you. You know how, like, they do that thing at Harvard with the Lampoon? The chair, like, the Crimson and the Lampoon have, like, a 200 year rivalry. Well, they'll, like, steer. Steal the throne that's sitting in the lampoons. I'm sure someone from Harvard's gonna say, I got this wrong and one time they stole the throne and, like, send it to China. I mean, these people have unlimited money.

[Matt Ritter]

It's insane. As I said, most of the good pranks are just rich people just flaunting their money.

[Aaron Caro]

Right? Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

Hey, I shipped your car to China. Do you know how much that costs?

[Aaron Caro]

How. How often. How many times a year do you go to get your. Not at your house, but somewhere. Grocery store, whatever, can't find your car and immediately go, oh, my God, I lost my car. Someone stole my car. And then it's like, over there.

[Matt Ritter]

I mean, it happened. Happened to me. Like, you know, my school parking lot, I just was like, what? Florida? I can't remember because they're on the angles. I hate parking lots that are on angles.

[Aaron Caro]

I don't know what that means.

[Matt Ritter]

Like, you know, where like, they're just, like, on. They're not on flat levels. Like, the. Like, the cars are on angle. Like, there's, like, it's in a structure. It's in a structure, and they're on the angle. And you're like, I wasn't on a floor. I was on an angle. Was. Was I up? Was I down?

[Aaron Caro]

So you. What you're describing is the. I'm sorry, I'm cursing so much, the Rube Goldberg optical illusion of a parking structure where you're like, I know I'm there.

[Matt Ritter]

Right? But you're under. But I'm actually under there. Right? Because you're, like, under it. Because there's only one way to get to that. Right. I still don't understand how sometimes I'm like, wait, I was standing right here. My car was right here, and then it's not here. It's. It's underneath somehow, but higher.

[Aaron Caro]

Remember when we went to Lionsgate? We. We got lost because, like, we had to go up to go down.

[Matt Ritter]

Ah, Lionsgate let us back in.

[Aaron Caro]

We can now. We can never go back. We should have stayed there.

[Matt Ritter]

All right, so I think you're a friend. Benefit to pranks. I mean, yes. If I think what you said is right. If that's your cup of tea, if that's your love language of your friendship. Yes. If it's not, don't do it.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah. It kind of sounds like this guy likes pranks and the other person doesn't, so don't do it.

[Matt Ritter]

Right. Do it with. You need to have a crew that's mutually. It's like, you know what it's like to me. I don't know. When I was in high school, I remember there were a couple of friends where I. Not friends. Like, guys from our high school that were very big into wrestling. You like.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, it's the worst.

[Matt Ritter]

It's the worst. You know? Yeah. It is kind of bullying. Right. But, like, they, like, the way that they come up to you is like a headlock person. I'll talk to you offline about who would always do that. So, like. Yeah, you just have to fight your way out of it to, like, say hello to this person.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah.

[Matt Ritter]

And I was just thinking, like, guy only do that with other people that their head. Their love language is headlocks.

[Aaron Caro]

I mean, hurt people. Hurt people, buddy.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah.

[Aaron Caro]

You know. You know what group of guys that we would. Well, I don't think we'd get along with. Maybe you would. Better than me. The jackass crew.

[Matt Ritter]

No, thanks.

[Aaron Caro]

Running around, running around. And the first movie, they're running around with a buzzer and if you like, they would just shave your head without.

[Matt Ritter]

No, no, I hate all of that. Running around with a stapler, stapling people. Are you kidding me?

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, yeah, it's funny. I wonder. God, are we getting old? I, I used to love those movies and I still love Johnny Knoxville and, but like, I don't, I can't watch them the new one, because it's too cringe for me.

[Matt Ritter]

Any, any testicle related injury. I, I, I can't watch Steve O.

[Aaron Caro]

Doing a papercut to his tongue.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, so answer, answer to the listener question is, you know what? There's other ways.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, there's other ways. Listen, and you know, you're saying he should lighten up. I don't know, maybe you should lighten up. No, just no prank. Play it safe. Guys, I was asking for a friend. If you have a, a friendship question or ethical dilemma, send it to us on Instagram at Man of the Year podcast and we will answer it on the show. So, Matt, let's just wrap up on the limited series of it all. Another potential limited series could be something at the gym.

[Matt Ritter]

You know, again, 30 day hard 90 hard 75 challenge.

[Aaron Caro]

Right? And you, you and I have a, I don't love these sort of trendy gym diety things because then you just stop doing it and then it all goes away.

[Matt Ritter]

Right, well, so you're saying hard 75 isn't good because what's hard 75? Well, that's like a specific Instagram tick tock famous 75. Two a day workout.

[Aaron Caro]

Two a day for 75 days. Yeah, I mean, that's not good.

[Matt Ritter]

But I'm saying, like, you know, is there, you know, I think what, you know what you did marathon. Like, I think those are limited series.

[Aaron Caro]

That's true training. That's a great point, Matt. Training for a marathon. Although I didn't train, so I didn't get any social benefit.

[Matt Ritter]

Miss the limited series benefit.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, that's a great. You know what? I think doing a marathon is insane. A half a 5k. I feel like that's a pretty fun thing to do with the gang. You know, you're getting outside, you're getting exercise, you're pushing yourself. What about doing a diet with your friends?

[Matt Ritter]

I mean, I think it's good, it's a good way to stay connected and accountable. That's more, that's more to me an accountability thing than a limited series thing.

[Aaron Caro]

Right.

[Matt Ritter]

You know what I like as a limited theory? Like, I asked My neighbor if he would help me build a tree house because he's. He's got. He's a woodworker and I am not a woodworker.

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, that's nice.

[Matt Ritter]

Like a limited series. We have kids the same age. To me, that's a good limited series, by the way.

[Aaron Caro]

You're gonna look.

[Matt Ritter]

No, no, I'm just thinking of others that I think I like.

[Aaron Caro]

You're gonna love this. So there is, you know, there's the heart. There's 70 hard 75, which is, I think is insane. Twice a day, every day for. For 75 days. So in response, there's a 75 soft.

[Matt Ritter]

That's getting fat. I love that one.

[Aaron Caro]

And it's lit. It's workout 45 minutes a day, one day off a week, and read 10 pages of a book each day. It's very soft.

[Matt Ritter]

Okay, that's. That's pretty soft. I thought you were going to say, like, it's complete opposite. You eat like 5,000 calories a day for 75 days.

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, yeah, you just, you slot.

[Matt Ritter]

What about like, you know, doing some sort of, like, right now, you know, people are still recovering from all the fire stuff, doing some sort of charity thing that like has a fundraising date. Isn't that like a limited series?

[Aaron Caro]

Oh, yeah, I like that. I like that. Yeah. You know, I mean, that's also tied to the marathon. Sometimes you're fundraising, but yeah, gosh, anytime you can include some sort of doing some good for somebody and doing it with your friends, I mean, I love that.

[Matt Ritter]

Yeah, I think that's a good one. So, yeah, I mean, I think the point is, is that there's a lot of benefit to having limited duration activities to maintain and strengthen friendships. And, you know, while we always talk about the importance of ritual and consistency and friendship, I want to reframe consistency to mean, hey, it could be every fall we do this or every year I take on a new limited series.

[Aaron Caro]

I love it. I love it. Guys, let us know what your limited series ideas are, anything that we missed. And also, do you play pranks on your friends? We need to. We need to know about that.

[Matt Ritter]

But I need to know what's a good harmless one?

[Aaron Caro]

Yeah, we need some good, harmless pranks, guys. Thank you so, so much for listening. Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy.