#177 - Our March Madness Bro-cket

Summary

Podcast Summary: Man of the Year - Champions of Friendship

Episode #177: "Our March Madness Bro-cket"

Hosts: Matt Ritter and Aaron Karo
Date: March 24, 2026

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Overview of the Episode

In this special March Madness–themed episode, comedians and friendship experts Matt Ritter and Aaron Karo bracket out eight classic friendship archetypes in a playful "Bro-cket" to decide which type of friend is the ultimate necessity for a fulfilling social life. In classic Man of the Year style, they blend real-life wisdom, banter, and tangential humor — all with the mission to help listeners build better friendships and navigate the so-called "friendship recession."

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bracketification of America (00:19–02:13)

• Aaron and Matt open the episode musing about America's current obsession with brackets—not just in sports but across culture.
• Aaron: “[This] is even more specific than gamification. Everything is bracketed now.” (01:04)
• Matt: “There's something about the visual of it narrowing… just this thing… people like gambling, I guess…” (01:29)

2. The Rise of Prediction Markets and Betting (01:43–04:14)

• Concerned conversation about the proliferation of betting apps and prediction markets, touching on the potential for unethical behavior and lack of current laws.
• Matt: “Is it far fetched to believe somebody would murder someone to just like change the outcome of a betting market?” (02:03)
• Aaron (on insider info): “Is it…illegal…if you’re a writer for the Grammys and the market says Lady Gaga is going to be the first presenter?” (03:48)

3. Friendship Archetypes: Setting the Bracket (04:18–06:51)

• The hosts reference their Audible original "The Buddy System," noting the importance of knowing both your own and your friends’ archetypes.
• Aaron: “You have to know who your friends are so you’re not constantly disappointed by them.” (05:11)
• They agree to come to a consensus for each matchup.

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Friendship Bro-cket: The Quarterfinals (“Elite Eight”) (06:24–25:50)

East Bracket: Steady Eddie vs. The Rich Friend

• Steady Eddie: Consistent, reliable, maybe not the life of the party.
• Rich Friend: Out of touch but picks up the tab.
• Matt: “I’m at the point in my life consistency is very high on my list… In my 20s… I would’ve taken the rich guy.” (07:41)
• Result: Steady Eddie advances.

North Bracket: Hype Man vs. The Vanisher

• Hype Man: Always talks you up, boosts confidence.
• The Vanisher: Disappears for months, then comes back for one epic hang.
• Fun tangents ensue on organ donation and funeral planning.
• Matt: “I exaggerate because they're gonna then cut you down in their mind anyway… anchoring them mentally to a higher level.” (13:08)
• Result: Hype Man advances.

West Bracket: Planner vs. Up for Anything

• Planner: The organizer who keeps everyone on itinerary.
• Up for Anything: Spontaneous, always game for plans at any time.
• Extended tangent on Matt’s failed vacation car service booking.
• Aaron: “[If you have two planners]… If you have two Mats, it's a problem. It's a problem.” (19:46)
• Result: Up for Anything advances (since "Steady Eddie" is already in, they favor adventure).

South Bracket: Connector vs. The “Screwed Up So You Don’t Have To” Friend

• Connector: Knows everyone, can make introductions.
• Screwed Up Friend: Offers wisdom from hard-lived experiences.
• Matt: “Having a connector in your life can really do wonders for you… Being a connector can do wonders for you, but not everybody’s built that way.” (23:03)
• Aaron: “You want someone with their own external POV that is, like, hardened… rising from failures and divorce and, you know, things that went sideways…” (24:30)
• Result: Screwed Up So You Don’t Have To advances.

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The Final Four (25:50–29:59)

• Steady Eddie vs. Up for Anything:
  Debate over reliability vs. spontaneity.
  • Aaron: “Our listeners need steady Eddies. That’s the problem. There’s too many ‘anything’ guys… We need consistency.” (26:48)
  • Matt: “You can find someone to go to the concert with, but it’s harder to find someone consistent…” (27:42)
  • Result: Steady Eddie advances.
• Hype Man vs. Screwed Up So You Don’t Have To:
  Debate over daily enthusiastic support vs. rare valuable wisdom.
  • Matt: “There’s so few people that are genuinely happy when good things happen in your life. And I think hype men are those people.” (28:33)
  • Result: Hype Man advances.

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The Championship: Steady Eddie vs. Hype Man (29:59–32:06)

• Both archetypes have strong appeal—predictability versus enthusiasm.
• Aaron's pitch: “Anyone can be a hype man. Everyone should be a hype man. But not everyone can be a Steady Eddie.” (30:40)
• Matt: “I don’t think life really lives at the highs and the lows. I think life really lives in all the other small stuff during the week… If you have two consistent Steady Eddies in your life, your life’s pretty good, right?” (30:58)
• The winner: Steady Eddie
  • Aaron: “The winner of the first annual friendship bracket is Steady Eddie.” (31:59)
  • Matt: “Consistency is key… the middle is where real friendship is made.” (32:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Aaron on friendship types: “You have to know who your friends are so you’re not constantly disappointed by them.” (05:11)
• Matt, on wisdom vs. connectors: “I think you want someone with their own external POV that is like, hardened and, you know, rising from failures…” (24:33)
• Aaron, summing up the bracket’s lesson: “Consistency is key. It’s not just about being there for the highs and lows… the middle is where the real friendship is made.” (32:09)
• Matt on life’s reality: “I don’t think life really lives at the highs and the lows. I think life really lives in all the other small stuff during the week.” (30:58)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:19 — Bracketification of America
• 01:43 — Betting Apps and Prediction Markets
• 04:18 — Friendship Archetypes Overview
• 06:24 — The Friend Bracket Begins
• 07:41 — Steady Eddie vs. Rich Friend Discussion
• 08:46 — Pros and Cons: Out-of-Touch Rich Friend
• 10:05 — Hype Man vs. Vanisher
• 15:16 — Planner vs. Up for Anything; Vacation Misadventures
• 22:12 — Connector vs. Screwed Up So You Don’t Have To
• 25:53 — Steady Eddie vs. Up for Anything Showdown
• 28:07 — Hype Man vs. Screwed Up So You Don’t Have To, Support vs. Wisdom
• 29:59 — The Finals: Steady Eddie vs. Hype Man
• 32:06 — Takeaway: Consistency is Key

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Tone & Language

The episode radiates the hosts’ banter-heavy, self-deprecating, and deeply affectionate tone. Frequent tangents provide comic relief without detracting from the practical friendship wisdom they deliver. Their chemistry is rooted in decades-long friendship, as evidenced by good-natured teasing and mutual support.

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Closing

The annual "Bro-cket" concludes with “Steady Eddie” crowned as the ultimate friend archetype—emphasizing the undervalued importance of consistency and reliability in our social lives, especially during a loneliness epidemic. Matt and Aaron remind listeners to cherish the “long middle” of life, not just its highs and lows.

Aaron: “Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy.” (33:02)

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Of the year.

[B]

Man of the year. Man of the year.

[A]

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

[B]

I'm Matt Ritter.

[A]

Guys, make sure to go to audible.com thebuddy system to check out our Audible original. Give you plenty of tips on how to make and maintain friends. And please write a review if you've already listened to it. And also go to man your podcast to grab our merch and watch our episodes on YouTube. Matt, it is March Madness time and we're gonna do a little March Madness friendship bracket.

[B]

I love our March Madness.

[A]

I'm just curious what you think about what I'm calling the bracketification of America. First of all, just in sports now, every sport has a bracket. I didn't even. When did this happen?

[B]

Well, I, I think it's probably more commonly thought of as the gamification, but

[A]

this is even more specific than gamification.

[B]

Everything is bracketed now.

[A]

Well, even like when the NFL playoffs were on, when you go to espn, there's a bracket.

[B]

Is it just because, like, psychologically that gets us more excited? They figure that out.

[A]

I love it. And it works on me.

[B]

I mean, we're doing it. We literally fell prey to it. And we're predators. We're making people fall prey to it.

[A]

I love a freaking bracket. I just, I love it. And I don't even do March Madness.

[B]

There is something psychological. I mean, it's gam. Look, people like gambling, I guess, but there's just something about the visual of it narrowing. Right? Like just this thing. This, this. I don't know.

[A]

There's something else I've been meaning to relay that I've been meaning to ask you, Matt, you have been on the forefront of being sort of ringing the alarm bell about betting. Betting apps. Yeah, Over. And I think you've been very prescient. What about the prediction markets?

[B]

Even more dangerous.

[A]

Insane. Right?

[B]

I mean, we're getting to the point where it's like, is it far fetched to believe somebody would murder somebody to just like change the outcome of a

[A]

betting market movie idea?

[B]

Yeah. I mean, scary. I mean, look, obviously, look, you see how high, high reaching the gambling stuff is. I mean, NBA players got arrested who already make millions.

[A]

Right? Right.

[B]

So just think about that. Right? Just think about. Just put this all in context. NBA players who make millions are willing to risk it all for the gambling fix. Think about everybody below them. If there were. If there are a dozen NBA players who got. We're gonna end up getting caught gambling. Trickle that down to college, I don't know, high school, little league. Predicted markets on. I'm gonna. I want to do, like, predicted market on seventh grade student government.

[A]

I mean, I. I think they may, like, have that kind of stuff. But my, My question for you as a. As a disgraced former lawyer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is there an inside information? Like some of these stuff you just know? Like, like Matt Bellamy always talks on the Pod the Town podcast. He could do entertainment best because he knows more than other people.

[B]

Right? Yeah. Well, I don't know, because, you know, again, the securities fraud laws are against trading securities on inside information. Right, but there's still fraud. I mean, there's still federal laws on, like, fraud if it's over state lines or something. You know, I don't know. There's deceptive practices. There's. There's other laws. I don't know what they are, but there may not be laws that catch all this stuff yet.

[A]

But is it. If. If. If the, if the, The. The market says Lady Gaga is going to be the first presenter at the Grammys and you are a writer for the Grammys, is that illegal?

[B]

Right. So I don't know if there are laws protecting against these, you know, new gambling markets yet. Presumably there are. Presumably there are.

[A]

We're just. We're going to hell in a handbasket.

[B]

It's not good. I know where this. I know where this leads.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so let's, let's. Let's turn this frown upside down. Let's talk about the types of friends. Now, in our Audible original, the buddy system, we have a whole chapter which is about the kind of different architect archetypes of friends, and you could be more than one. The prototypical for me and Matt is I'm the planner, he's the fanner. I make the plans, and he's just sitting around fanning himself saying, where do I send the Venmo request? Matt's also a real wild card. You never know what he's. By the way, watch on YouTube. Matt is fanning himself. You could be. Matt's a real wild card. I'm type A, he's type D. In the Audible original, we talk about how, like, it is important to kind of. And I want to know what you think about this to kind of understand both what kind of friend you are, but also what kind of friends other people are because you sort of approach your relationship with them a little different.

[B]

Absolutely. You have to know who your friends are so you're not constantly disappointed by them. Also who you can expect, what From. I mean, it makes your life easier to understand what your circle looks like. So it's like, hey, aren't we going on this trip tomorrow? It's like, oh, nobody bought the tickets. Right. Like, you know, if you're with your planner, you don't have to worry about that. Or like, conversely, if you're with your flaky friend, like, don't make one on one plans on New Year's Eve.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Only to have that text at 11:50, like, oh, came down with strap. You know, it's like, no, you didn't.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we, Matt and I have chosen sort of 8 fun friendship archetypes of people in our lives, and we put them into a bracket, and we're going to kind of discuss the pros and the cons of having these people in our lives. One thing, Matt, we didn't decide was what do we do if we don't agree? Do we have to come to consensus?

[B]

We have to.

[A]

We have to. Okay.

[B]

There's no other way to advance.

[A]

There's no other way. Okay, so in our. Our opening seed in the East, I guess, for no reason, right.

[B]

We're doing east, south, Northwest. I mean.

[A]

Yeah, I think.

[B]

What did I just say?

[A]

Yeah, I don't know what you said, but I just. I just yes you, because I. So, okay, in the east bracket, we've got. We're in the elite eight already. We've got your Steady Eddie. This is a buddy who's, like, very consistent, maybe a little boring. You always know where he's going to be. He's pretty available versus the rich friend who's pretty out of touch, but when you go out, he always pays.

[B]

It is nice. It is nice when you don't have to reach for the wallet. No fake news.

[A]

We. We've got some steady A's. I think our buddy Jeff would be a steady Eddie. Like, very predictable. Not in a bad way predictable. He's there, he's around, you know, he's. He's kind of boring. No, he's not boring, actually. Just pretty. Pretty interesting. But he's.

[B]

He's.

[A]

He's predictable.

[B]

Steady Eddie doesn't mean boring. It just. Okay, it's consist. You know, it's just consistent. It's like it doesn't have the peaks and valleys, maybe.

[A]

Oh, God.

[B]

There's not a lot of drama, you know. Yes, maybe there's a. Certainly like a. A slightly lower. And this isn't about Jeff. You just slammed it for no reason.

[A]

Yeah, I don't know why I'm sorry, Jeff. You're actually pretty excited.

[B]

I mean, I think, you know, some other fans probably feel more exciting in the moment. Yeah. For me, look, I'm at the point in my life consistency is very high on my. On my list of things when my 20s, I'm sure this would have been a no brainer. Take the guy who can pay for my, My. My meals and my trips. I'm going steady Eddie all the way.

[A]

The rich guy. A little out of touch, but pays. You know, you can't change the fact that he's rich. So that's fine. That's great. We do like the fact that someone who shares the wealth.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Especially when not asked. We like that when someone is proactive

[B]

but out of touch. I mean, why out of touch is not high on my list?

[A]

Well, did we. Did we show our hand? Are we implying that everyone who's super rich is out of touch? Are we just saying.

[B]

No, we just use this archetype. This is a. This is a type.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Kind of like flits in, pays for the meal, doesn't know what's going on in your life, doesn't really care.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Isn't that interested in hearing about what's going on in your life? Usually,

[A]

but those mastro's Orange county meals we used to have mastros, pretty freaking good. Listen, you have sushi and filet.

[B]

I like. I listen, I like exorbitance. You know that. But I like it to be on my own dime at this age.

[A]

Okay, I'm gonna go with you because I do. As someone who I think is steady at the adjacent. I. I think it's important. And in long term. Right? In the long term, you want those buddies that you can count on and you would rather be eating Taco Bell with a steady Eddie then.

[B]

I mean, I'm aspiring to be. You know what's funny is I'm aspiring to be both of these things.

[A]

Yeah, that's the goal. I like that. That's the goal is to be a steady rich guy.

[B]

All right, should we. So, okay, so that's Steady Eddie moves on.

[A]

Steady Eddie moves on to the final four. Okay, now in the. Excuse me. In the north bracket, we've got the hype man. This is the guy who's always talking you up. And we'll talk about some of the pitfalls of that, as you and I have discussed previously, versus the guy who disappears for three months, can't get. Get a hold of them, or he doesn't return to your text and comes in for the most epic hang. 10 out of 10.

[B]

Isn't it amazing that the longer you don't go. The longer you go without seeing somebody like this, the more outrageous that one night is when you go out?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, if you don't see somebody for 10 years, you better just know who your organ, like, you know, organ donor is. You know, like, Oregon donor card filled out. And, like, you know, your wife needs to know how to reach you because you're going to be in Mexico now.

[A]

You.

[B]

You an organ donor?

[A]

No. You're getting into this now.

[B]

I'm gonna say no. I think I'm. I'm not. Because of my irrational fear that, like, they're gonna cut me up too early.

[A]

Yeah, I did. In my most recent driver's license. I did it. I did. I am an organ donor because I did a lot of research and it's not. That's not a thing.

[B]

I know, I know.

[A]

I thought you were gonna.

[B]

Maybe I will at some point. I. I have to get over. I have, like, little fears that I haven't been able to get over.

[A]

Oh, that's a very common thing also. I mean, this is. This is the king of the tent of the digressions. You want to be cremated, Buried. You have a preference?

[B]

Try not to think about these things, but buried. I know you want to be cremated.

[A]

I. I am. By. What a. What a crazy friendship we have that, you know, that I. I'm starting to, I don't know, waver a little bit.

[B]

Why? I. I like that you were firm in your conviction about cremation.

[A]

I know, I know. But, like, then there's. There's. Then there's really no shot. You know what happens if something.

[B]

I mean, there is no shot. I mean, the worms are, you know. You know, like, the worms are all over you if you're in the ground.

[A]

You and Jess don't have plots, right?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay. I mean, it's not. Listen, my folks have.

[B]

I know. I guess you got. I guess we got to start thinking about this stuff. Lord, oh, Lord. Really depressing the hell out of me this morning, dude.

[A]

My parents have pre. Prepaid for their funeral.

[B]

Is that. What kind of discount do you get prepaying?

[A]

Oh, I gotta ask them, but they're like, don't worry, we took care of it. I'm like, it's good.

[B]

You should be very thankful. That's a big.

[A]

Oh, I am. I am. But, like, you know, the only thing worse than thinking about your own mortality is thinking about your parents.

[B]

So the best thing a parent can do for you is prepay for their own funeral.

[A]

Prepay. Well, because you. You've told the story of getting upselled on your dad's coffee.

[B]

Yeah, the upsell. The funeral guys. I don't want to take up too much time, but basically, they offer you, you know, to put your most beloved family member into a paper bag for 2000, and then once you're mortified, they go, oh, well, the lowest Cherry Wood is 7,000. And you, of course, choose that one, which is what they wanted you to choose from the beginning.

[A]

Right. Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. Okay, I took us into a crazy tangent. So, okay, Hype man versus the Vanishes for three months. I'm sorry, the hype man is a guy who talks you up. I mean, Matt is a very specific type of hype man that. He hypes me up and stuff. That's not overhype.

[B]

No, but I only. I. Here's the thing. Here's what I. Here's my take. I exaggerate because they're gonna then cut you down in their mind anyway. So if I say, hey, Caro sold 12 books, they're gonna think, he couldn't have sold 12. It's probably more like six, and it's actually, what, eight? So, yeah, you know, it's like, what

[A]

a bizarre way of thinking about things.

[B]

Yeah. I go, he's six feet. They go, no, he's five, two. I'm like, no, he's. Actually, then they measure you five, six. It's great.

[A]

First of all, I love you. You. You think of. Of. Of your hype. Like, you think of coffins. Like, you go high, they go low, and you come down the middle.

[B]

Yeah, well, because. Because I'm anchoring them to. Mentally to a higher level.

[A]

It's pretty clear this is going to be the hype man. Right.

[B]

I'm sorry, what was the other one?

[A]

Hype man is a person who disappears three months and then comes back for the greatest hang of your life.

[B]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I mean, look again. It's a like, man, those are great, but hype man is. You want a hype man in your life, in your. In your regular life. You want. Even though Caro has a. Has a ceiling for how much hype he will allow, he's got a hype ceiling. Imagine this guy was around Little John, and Little John was like, yeah. Carol's like, no, no, don't say, yeah.

[A]

You know, and it's versus. Like, again, I brought up my friend Nikki, who doesn't respond to my text. And then once a year, she's like, you want super bowl tickets. It is good to have.

[B]

Pretty nice. Yeah, they're both good to have, I think, in a day to day living Hype man.

[A]

Okay, so hype man comes out of the north bracket. Now we are headed to the west. Okay.

[B]

Going, going back, back to Cali.

[A]

This is a little bit of a Caro vs Matt thing. Got the planner who we always discuss. This is the planner who like help set up the trip, organize everything, but is very diligent about making you stand the itinerary. Doesn't let you stray versus the up for anything guy. You can call at any time, weekday, weekend, day, night, and be like, you want to do X? And they're like, I'm in.

[B]

Obviously, we know how I feel about this, but can I. Could I do a little tangent here? I have a question for you. Because as the planner. So we went away to Mexico, you know, Jesse and I don't really fight very much. And even if we fight, we resolve it healthily afterwards, which is usually just me apologizing.

[A]

Because. Because she taps the. She taps the mattress, right? Come sit.

[B]

Yeah, no, no, she didn't need to do that. That's only if you've done real, real wrong. Yeah. So we had a, like a car service picking us up from the airport. Okay. And she left it to me to confirm the details.

[A]

Stupid. Dumb.

[B]

That's already like. It's already like, you've already. You've already made the mistake.

[A]

Can I. Can I interrupt you? When you said left it to me, you mean. She said, hey, Matt, can you charge? Are you in charge of this? Or she's like casually mentioned it.

[B]

No, she said, will you respond to the woman?

[A]

Got it.

[B]

It was an email, so fine. And it's my sister's birthday, so fine. So I respond, we're in for the service. It said, this is your flight info. We'll pick you up here. Right. And then she wrote, just confirming, and again said the date in the email. Boom. Twice.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then they sent us the folio receipt. Get to the airport looking for the car. Not there. I call up like, oh, we have you down for tomorrow. I'm like, what? I look at the email says 29th. Second email says 29th. I never opened the folio receipt. The folio Receipt said the 30th. And Jesse's like, you should have looked at the receipt. And I was like, do not do that. That is not nice. I'm like, that is wrong. I'm like, I did the right thing. I'm like. She's like, no, you. You look at. You open the receipt, and you. You confirm all the way through. Now, you're a planner, so I want your objective opinion. Did I. Did I screw this up?

[A]

Can I also just get some color? You've. You've landed in Mexico. You got the. The kids. The kids come.

[B]

No, no. Just. Just.

[A]

Okay. Okay. So it wasn't like you had a harried flight where they're running up and down and everyone's nerves are afraid. This is one where I'm gonna. I'm gonna give you one. Now, I would have looked at the folio, but I think most people wouldn't. And that's an. Understand. That's like you.

[B]

Jesse's like you. Like, 100. She would check the folio, which is why, like, why are you leaving this to me?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's tough because I don't love, and I don't think you do either. I don't love the thing of, like, I screwed this up, but I'm not good at this, so it's your fault.

[B]

No, I agree. But, like, I did check the email twice, and both times that had the proper date and the proper time. So, like, how many times am I gonna check? You know? How many times am I gonna read? You know, it's like, you know, like, I don't always check the receipt. You know, to me, it was like, oh, it was a receipt. You know, Like, I don't even always check the hotel thing after they send it to me.

[A]

While I would have checked it. I'm going to, for a very rare instance, side with you. You did the reasonable checking. Yeah, it was, by the way, the.

[B]

The reasonable man. Right? The re. The reasonable man, like Jesse. And you are definitely, like, you never let anything slip. And maybe that is a good way to live, because meanwhile, we got another cabin. 15 minutes. It was really no big deal, and it ended up saving us 100 bucks because their charter was an extra 100 for no reason.

[A]

Right. And what did they say? Why did they do that? They just screwed it up.

[B]

Yeah, they just screwed up the hotel talking to the. Somebody at the hotel. Talking to that car service.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

All right, Sorry. So off the tangent. So. So planner versus up for anything, obviously. You know, I'm a bit of a yes guy. I love my planners. I think they're super important. But what do most people need? I'm thinking about this objectively. What do most people need in their life? And what's more important for your life?

[A]

I'm.

[B]

I don't want to hear you I want to hear your. I want to hear your. I could be sold. But I think the, you know, a lot of life is like finding people to do things with.

[A]

Right. So that's where I'm torn. So I am the planner. And, and like, you need that. Like, you know, the early origins of the man of the Year dinner came for me because I was keeping track and organizing and making the dinners. And if you don't have that, if you have two mats, it's the problem. It's a problem.

[B]

Yeah, you're up for. You're up for anything but nothing.

[A]

You're up for anything but there's nothing to do.

[B]

Yeah, there's nothing to do with. I don't know. It's a tough one. These people should have met in the finals. Maybe it's an earl. It's one of those, like, somebody must have been injured during the season to get these seeds to be facing each other in an earlier round matchup. It's like when Nadal and, you know, Djokovic would face each other in like the third round. You're like, oh, that's a bummer.

[A]

By the way, this is a major digression. What do you think of the one point challenge, the Australian Open thing?

[B]

I don't even know what you're talking about. I've been really.

[A]

Matt, this is like, this is, this is. Matt, like this is the peak. Matt, what is it? Australian Open, they, before the tournament, they did a one point only. It's, it's a bracket. Everybody from the top to the bottom. It's one point through a bracket. The winner won a million dollars and an amateur won all the way through.

[B]

Hold on. But a bracket. Who, who is competing?

[A]

So everybody from like the, the, like Djokovic to whoever, like the whole field of everyone who was there at the Australian Open played a 11 point match versus each other in a bracket.

[B]

So they separately played an entire one point thing. And, and who won?

[A]

And some amateur won because he got.

[B]

Do you think some amateur won one point in a row versus Djokovic al the first round?

[A]

He played some other amateur then, you know, because if you, if you miss your serve, you're out if you double.

[B]

Also, also when you're playing that way, I could see somebody just like hitting in a 100 mile an hour return.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, like swinging, like crazily.

[A]

Yeah, because.

[B]

Because actually there's an old clip, it's actually a very funny clip of Federer talking about a young Djokovic talking about how he's reckless and he doesn't play like that. Like, this was the first time he lost to Yokovic, and he thought it was just, like an amateur guy being reckless and, like, hitting crazy returns. It turns out Yokovic was, you know, one of the best players of all time. But that's actually really funny. I had no idea. That's awesome.

[A]

Yeah, it's very matte coded. You would have loved it. Okay, so.

[B]

So. Okay, so up for anything versus planner. Two very important roles.

[A]

I'm gonna ultimately vote. Since we have a steady Eddie in here, I'm gonna vote for up for anything. I think you need that to spice things up, and eventually you're gonna do something. Someone's gonna.

[B]

Oh, that's true. We already have a steady Eddie in the bracket. Okay, well, obviously, I'm also on board for up for anything. That's. This is great.

[A]

All right, then. Last in the north bracket, we've got a connector. So this the guy who knows everybody versus the guy who screwed up his life. So you don't have to, because he's got all kinds of cautionary tales.

[B]

So can I just get a little more color? Are we saying that this person offers wisdom because of his. His own trials and tribulations?

[A]

Yes. He's like one of those people who've had 10 different careers.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Five.

[B]

But actually knows things. And he's offering good wisdom, is what

[A]

you're saying a hundred percent? 100.

[B]

Versus, versus.

[A]

The connector, who seems to literally know everybody, potentially has shallower relationships, but, like, knows, like, if knows everyone.

[B]

Can I say, having a connector in your life can really do wonders for you.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

Being a connector can do wonders for you, but not everybody's kind of built that way. But having a connector in your life, like, you ever just have somebody make an intro you didn't even ask for, and it's, like, super helpful.

[A]

Dude, how amazing is it when you're talking to somebody and they're like, blah, blah, blah, and you're like, oh, I know. I know them. I'll text them right now. And they're just like, oh, my God.

[B]

Yeah. No. Because I try to do that for people, and I think I only learned to do it for people because it's been done for me. And I'm like, such an amazing thing to just don't even. You know, you don't. They don't even have to always ask if you know that this person would be. It would be great for them to meet this person. Just do it. Yeah.

[A]

I mean, of course it helps. You need to have the connection in the first place.

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

You know, I mean.

[B]

Yeah. Connector. Okay, sorry. So connector versus somebody who's had the ups and downs of life giving you wisdom. Let's go. Let's delve into that a little more.

[A]

I'm not sure that I can think of an example on our. In our life of someone who's kind of been around, seen it all, you know, but, like, knows a lot. I mean, it feels like it's usually an older person.

[B]

Yeah, it's good. I mean, it's like a mentor, you know, somebody in your circle of trust. It is good to have somebody in your circle of trust who isn't just kind of like talking back at you, repeating things you are saying about the situation without any actual color. You know what I mean?

[A]

Like, basically chat GPT. You want someone who's not that.

[B]

Right, right. Like, I think you want somebody with their own external POV that is like, hardened and, you know, rising from just like you said, failures and divorce and, you know, some. Some things that went sideways where they're like, I know things. Not. Not always from bad things. It's the ups and the downs of life. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, go ahead. A connector feels a little, like, worky. Obviously it's helpful if you're like, my buddy knows a good party or this person is friends with this, you know, can get tickets, but I don't know. You kind of. Your last description of the. Of the. Of the guy who screwed up his life kind of made me, like, feel I want. I want to talk to this person and hang out Also. Makes you feel better about yourself.

[B]

Yeah, I was gonna say, it's like you need somebody who's really looking out for you. And a lot of times the people who look out for you are people who have seen the other side.

[A]

Yeah, I think. Let's go with the screwed up life, guys. Internet.

[B]

I like it. I like it.

[A]

Okay, so now. So our final four, we've got Steady Eddie up for anything. Guy hype man and screwed up his life so you don't have to.

[B]

Okay, so what's the matchup now? So the first bracket or is.

[A]

No, so east, we're going east, west, north, south. So east. West is Steady Eddie versus up for anything, guys. So the guy who's very consistent versus the guy who's just down for anything.

[B]

This is a hard one. This would have been my finals.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

This is.

[A]

This is tough. This is George Mason versus this would

[B]

have been my finals. These are my two favorite architects.

[A]

Steady. What's the difference? A Steady Eddie is consistent, but the upper anything is more available. Like, what's the difference?

[B]

Well, I think when we say like the up for anything person doesn't always have to necessarily be like reliable and, you know, kind of in your day to day life. They just have to be down when you say, hey, I want to do X.

[A]

I feel like our men, our listeners, they need steady Eddies. That's the problem. There's too many of anything's guy flitting about. We need consistency.

[B]

I agree. I'm with you. I think up for anything is great and we need it and it's important. But I agree with you. I think you just hit it on the head. Will our listeners need. And what the country needs and the world needs is just consistent, reliable people in your life. People that you just know where they're going to be. They're going to show up when they say they're going to show up. And I think that's less important than somebody who, you know is always up for the, you know, concert because you can find somebody to go to the concert with, but it's harder to find somebody consistent consistently in your life and, you know, just. All right, we have our Tuesday coffee, you know.

[A]

Steady Eddie advances to the finals where he will face the winner of the Hype man versus Cinderella story. Guy who screwed up his life so you don't have to.

[B]

I love this. I love this. Dicky V is like, oh, my God. No scholarships against a 10 blue chip Duke team. A lot of intangibles.

[A]

You know, a hype man is. Is good. You know, we talk about the Pals test in our audio original. Passion, appreciation, loyalty, support. You want someone who's passionate about you, who appreciates you. It just makes you feel good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Forget about, like talking you up to girls. Like, just someone who's like, yeah, yeah, man. Like, congrats. Screwed up your life so you don't have to man, that wisdom, that wizened wisdom. I don't know.

[B]

Listen, I think the wisdom is important, but I want to go back to what a hype man really is. When I think of friends and, you know, I think of you as somebody who qualifies for this. Not everybody does. And that's like part of why they're not necessarily true. Friend is like, yes, it's good to have people who are there for when you're sad too. But you also really want the people who truly share in your wins, like, truly are happy. There's so few people that are truly genuinely happy when good things happen. In your life. And I think hype men are generally those people. What do you think about that?

[A]

You make a good point. But I mean, like, I just. Like, I'm. I'm flirting with Cinderella. Like, you know, those. This is the rarer breed one who's like, listen, you don't want to do what. I don't make the same mistakes I did.

[B]

Is that as important in your life? I don't know. I know this is a toughie. I don't know. I don't. I'm really torn here. I just. The. I just. I don't know. You know, something about the idea that, like, somebody. I just feel like we all need somebody who's in our lives, pumping us up, first and foremost.

[A]

I tried to. I tried to, like, be contrarian, but obviously it's the hype man. Okay, so now we're.

[B]

We're.

[A]

We're in the finals. Steady Eddie versus hype Man. Steady Eddie versus hype Man. Do you want someone who's. Oh. Who's very consistent, or do you want someone who hypes you up?

[B]

I want both.

[A]

Should we call it a tie?

[B]

No, no. We have to pick a winner. Every year there's one winner, even if the game's in overtime. All right, let's talk this through. So this is the. This is the most. This is the most important of your friends, is the most important thing to have a consistent, reliable friend, even if they don't hype you up? Or is it more important that you have somebody who's in your corner, hyping you up, getting you pumped, helping you, you know, celebrating your little wins?

[A]

Here's my pitch to you, Matt. I think that anyone can be a hype man. Everyone should be a hype man. But not everyone can be a Steady Eddie. Some guys just don't have it in them. But there's no reason that everyone shouldn't be your hype man.

[B]

Yeah. You know what? I'm gonna say this. I don't think life really lives at the highs and the lows. I think life really lives in all the other small stuff during the week. You know, we talk about, like, oh, I get lonely in the afternoons. Like, that's not going to be solved by the hype man, right? You know, like, that's gonna be solved by your consistent Steady Eddie friends. If you have two consistent Steady Eddies in your life, your life's pretty good, right? Man, you may have two hype men, but I don't know what you're doing on a Wednesday.

[A]

Can you imagine it's Wednesday. You know, you're kind of, you're having your afternoon blues and all of a sudden like someone calls you Dan, calls you like, hey, no, ignore that. Of SUNY being.

[B]

I love that. I love it. Yeah. But I more need you to come meet me for the coffee.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Wow. Do we have a winner?

[A]

I think our winner of the first annual friendship bracket is Steady Eddie.

[B]

There's a lesson in there, listeners.

[A]

Consistency is key. It's not just about being there for the, for the, you know, because we talk about in the buddy system the highs and the lows. But it's a good point, Matt. We never talk about the, what we going to call the me. The mean. The median. The everyday.

[B]

Yeah. I don't know, the everyday middle. The long middle.

[A]

Yeah, the, the, the, the, the middle is, is, is where the real friendship is made. The meat. Yeah. Yeah. This was, I wasn't sure because our last bracket was about friendship, pop culture, friendships. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure how this was going to play out. This is one of my favorite.

[B]

Yeah, I really. Actually, this was, this was fun. Let's do this. Every year. Annual we bracketed ties to America and

[A]

we'd love for our listeners to weigh in. Did we make any picks wrong? We didn't. We also didn't give anybody seeds, which maybe we'll do next time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, guys, thank you so much for listening. Always remember, be good to yourself. Be good to your friends. Love you, buddy.

[B]

Love you, buddy.

[C]

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