Share & Cinderella & Tell with Lucy Rohden and Rodger Sherman

Summary

Pablo Torre Finds Out

Episode: Share & Cinderella & Tell

Featuring: Pablo Torre (Host), Lucy Rohden, Rodger Sherman
Date: March 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this energetic and irreverent episode, Pablo Torre is joined by college sports aficionados Lucy Rohden and Rodger Sherman for a freewheeling discussion on the culture, chaos, and quirky traditions that animate March Madness—particularly through the lens of underdog teams and mascots. The trio shares personal stories, debates fan bases, and dives into the weirdest and most heartwarming NCAA narratives, blending sharp sports analysis with deeply unserious tangents about vomiting, mascot anatomy, and the feminist history of kangaroo pouches.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Halftime Performers: Red Panda, Chihuahua Guy, and the Rise of Talented Animals

[00:35–04:53]

• Rodger praises “conference tournament season” as peak time for halftime acts, noting Red Panda's grueling travel schedule and iconic performances.
• Lucy raises an important question: “Does Red Panda have a private jet?”
  • Pablo: “Absolutely does not have a private jet, but should.” [01:00–01:10]
• Discussion expands to the “Chihuahua Guy” (Christian Stnev & Scooby), the jump-roping dog act, and “Talented Dog Season.”
• Lucy: “It’s a big week for the halftime entertainers of the world.” [03:30]
• Rodger: “TikTok has flooded the zone with pets doing cool stuff. But I only care if they can do it in the seven minutes in between the end of the second quarter and the team's coming out for warmups.” [04:11–04:21]

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Road Warriors: The Grind of College Sports Reporting

[04:53–06:12]

• Lucy attended 19 games in a season, taking 42 flights—stories of endurance, airports, and one very traumatic stomach bug.
• Pablo compares Lucy’s experience to Tracy Morgan’s infamous incident at Madison Square Garden:
  “Was it a Tracy Morgan at Madison Square Garden situation?”
• Lucy recounts vomiting in a rental car, explaining in vivid detail the ordeal of being “the vomit girl.”
• Rodger: “I do not know you as a vomiter. A projectile vomiter. And now that…”
• Pablo, laughing: “This is the journalism that we all aspire to.” [08:41]

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Selection Sunday & Spiritual Bracketology

[08:47–09:38]

• The crew receives physical paper brackets.
• Pablo: “Your interpretation of how this is going to go from a metaphysical level is actually news I could use.” [09:04]
• Rodger commits to only caring about teams with unique mascots, first-time appearances, or Cinderella odds: “We’re here to talk about the teams that went like 17 and 1 in their conferences…and have a unique mascot.” [09:32]

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College Basketball Fan Culture: UNC vs. Duke Debates & A Childhood Trauma

[09:57–13:28]

• Story of Cooper Flagg’s mom calling out UNC fans.
• Lucy recounts being harassed and shoved by an elderly UNC fan at 16 for cheering for Iowa:
  “He hits me.” [12:22]
  — “You just assaulted a 12-year-old.” [12:35]
• Pablo: “In other words, quote, a big FU to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a-holes.” [13:28]
• Rodger (joking): “I’m just crossing UNC off.” [14:22]
• General consensus: Maybe UNC, not Duke, is the villain after all.

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Mascot Anatomy and Gender

[14:39–26:26]

• The crew’s fascination with mascot testicle size (Ramses the UNC Ram) and the “behind the scenes” mascot world at March Madness.
• Deep dive: the Akron Zips’ explicitly female kangaroo mascot.
  • Rodger: “Akron is the only [FBS football] team with an explicitly female mascot.” [24:04]
  • Lucy: “My favorite thing is when a school just adds 'lady' in front of their mascot.” [26:17]
• Extended riff on male/female mascot design tropes and the awkwardness of mascots with “lipstick” or “apron” designators.

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Cinderella Watch: Trash Can Rituals & Quirky Underdogs

[17:04–20:50 & 21:11–28:00]

• University of Nebraska Omaha’s “trash can” tradition as pregame motivation, and the ritual’s origin story.
  • Rodger: “In December, when they were 4-9, their team started a tradition of just beating the crap out of a trash can…And it worked.” [17:49]
  • The team was even awarded their conference trophy out of a trash can.
• Akron Zips’ mascot and history of “zip” (from zippers made by BF Goodrich and Goodyear in Akron).
  • “Akron primarily produces two things, rubber and LeBron James.” [21:47]
• UC San Diego Tritons, their Greek mythology-inspired branding, and both men’s/women’s teams making their first tournament post-Division II.
  • Rodger: “Their mascot is King Triton…he looks almost identical to the Little Mermaid version of Triton.” [28:56]

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The Glorious Imperfection of College Hoops

[32:02–36:16]

• Rodger champions Wofford’s Kyler Filovich, who switched to “granny style” free throws with only marginal improvement:
  • “He switched to underhanded free throws…he’s still bad at it, and he still persists.” [33:34]
• Pablo on March Madness randomness: “The thing that’s great about college basketball is…these teams from all across the country which are trying weird things, and some of them aren’t even that good at them, and they have this one day to beat a better team…” [34:46–35:13]

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On the Fan Experience: Why March Madness Works Better From Your Couch

[36:26–39:23]

• Lucy argues that attending men’s March Madness games is less fun than watching at home—except for the women’s tournament, where home venues create a better atmosphere.
• “If I was in charge…I think it could be so cool to like, consume all the college basketball that you can [in one city].” [37:48]
• She remembers the COVID year, when all games were in Indianapolis, as the best live sports experience.

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The Iowa Elvis Community

[39:23–41:27]

• Anecdote about “Hawkeye Elvis,” an iconic Iowa fan, and the “Elvis community” in Iowa.
• Lucy’s dad is in the 'Riding Elvi,' a group that bikes across Iowa in Elvis costumes:
  • “My dad and his buddies…called themselves the Riding Elvi.” [41:05]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Red Panda Needs a Jet
  • Pablo: “The list of people who deserve a private jet, number one is Red Panda.” [01:10]
• The Vomit Girl Origin Story
  • Lucy: “I'm covered in vomit. I'm sobbing hysterically…It was a really bad day.” [06:56–07:34]
  • Pablo (laughing): “This is how everyone’s gonna know me, the vomit girl.” [07:37]
• UNC Fan Villainy
  • Lucy: “He hits me. He pushes me back into my seat. I'm like, what?” [12:22]
  • Pablo: “Quote a big FU to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a-holes.” [13:28]
• Mascot Feminism
  • Rodger: “I’m just glad that Akron…came up with this mascot in the 40s or 50s…a vision for female sports fandom that you can be a lady kangaroo and they didn’t lipstick her up or put her in weird clothes.” [25:31–25:43]
• College Basketball’s Beautiful Chaos
  • Rodger: “Some of [these teams] have guys who do not know how to shoot free throws. And…sometimes the weird stuff works. Sometimes the better team wins. And this is…what March is all about.” [35:29–36:16]
• Mascot Testicle Discourse
  • Lucy: “The balls are huge. It’s insane. Like, it’s jarring. They’re giant balls.” [14:41–14:55]
  • Pablo: “I found out that the actual North Carolina ram has enormous balls.” [42:42]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Red Panda & Halftime Entertainers: [00:35–04:53]
• Lucy’s Epic Vomit Story: [06:12–08:47]
• UNC Fan Harassment & Mascot Anatomy: [09:57–15:32]
• Unique Cinderellas & Trash Can Team: [17:04–20:50]
• Akron Zips’ Feminist Mascot: [21:11–26:26]
• UC San Diego Tritons Overview: [27:23–29:11]
• Wofford’s Granny-Style Free Throws: [32:02–36:16]
• March Madness Fan Experience: [36:26–39:23]
• Iowa Elvis Community: [39:23–41:27]
• Roundtable “What Did We Find Out?” [41:45–43:14]

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Language and Tone

True to the Pablo Torre Finds Out style, this episode balances genuine sports reporting with absurd personal anecdotes and affectionate roasting. The vibe is playful, self-deprecating, and candid, with sharp asides and improvisational humor. Rodger offers deep-cut mascot trivia, Lucy’s stories veer between the gross and triumphant, and Pablo plays ringmaster, always steering the conversation back to its strange, delightful heart.

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Summary Takeaway

This March Madness preview episode is as much about the lovable quirks and mishaps on the periphery of college basketball as it is about the tournament itself. Expect impassioned arguments on mascot design, the transcendent magic of Red Panda, vomiting mishaps, and why true NCAA glory is reserved for Cinderella stories, weird rituals, and the fans who make them unforgettable.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre. Today's episode is brought to you by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[B]

This is the first time I've been on this show. This is how everyone's gonna know me.

[A]

The vomit girl, right after this ad.

[B]

You're listening to Giraffe K.

[C]

I've been thinking about this a lot in recent days. And like, the conference tournament season is the number one event for like the third tier sporting arenas besides like AEW wrestling. And it's also the number one week for Red Panda. She does like three tournaments that week.

[B]

I don't know, like, how she travels so efficiently. Does Red Panda have a private jet, is the question. Because she'll be at the Big Ten tournament and the next day she's in Charlotte.

[A]

Red Panda absolutely does not have a private chat.

[C]

I don't know. No, she got, she lost her, her unicycle on the, on the, on the. In transit one time.

[B]

Well, that's why she needs one.

[A]

But the list of people who deserve a private jet, number one is Red Panda.

[B]

I believe so.

[C]

I remember one time the ACC and the Big east were both in New York. The ACC was at Barclays, and Red Panda did both. And I was like, good, good. Polar Red Panda.

[A]

That's just, that's like Deion Sanders.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

No one, no one does it like her. She's a star, should be a Hall of famer. We've tried to crusade for this.

[C]

It's a, it's a.

[A]

We continue to crusade for this.

[C]

It's a Pablotory topic.

[A]

I mean, she's just the greatest.

[C]

And you know something? Every time when I saw her at both the Big east and the acc, both times I was like, this is incredible. This is better than, this is better than the basketball.

[B]

Have you seen the Chihuahua guy?

[C]

You know, he's trying to steal her thunder.

[B]

It is pretty cool though. That dog does crazy tricks.

[A]

So Chihuahua guy. For those who are not familiar with Chihuahua Guy, the Chihuahua does what?

[B]

He just like jumps and like climbs over the person. Like, it's, it's, it's hard to explain, but he's doing like cool tricks. It's like acrobatics, but for a Chihuahua. But the like, but he, the course is the person.

[A]

The guy is the course.

[B]

Yeah, but I think they also have other courses too. I think he brings props.

[A]

I've only seen the guy as the course.

[C]

I saw him last year and I, I tweeted about It. And I was like, for a second, I thought it was just a guy doing, like, gymnastics by himself. And then the Chihuahua came out, and I was pumped. And he. He replied, like, yeah, this is my life. Like, no one is there for me. Everyone's here for the Chihuahua.

[B]

I believe that he went to Illinois State because I have a friend who went to Illinois. This is a deep cut that I had a friend that went to Illinois State. And I'm pretty sure that they have, like, a good circus program. Like, that's something that they have. Like, I know Florida State has a good circus program, but I think that Illinois State does as well. But I'm not positive.

[A]

Christian Stnev, Illinois State Graduate, 2013.

[C]

You know what?

[A]

And Scooby.

[C]

Scooby is the Chihuahua.

[A]

Scooby the. The Chihuahua that sits atop the physical human platform that is Christian.

[C]

You know who's making a Who I've seen in recent weeks, who is definitely at multiple tournaments. There's a woman who does jump ropes, and on the other end of the jump rope is a dog. And then jumping the jump rope in the middle is a third dog.

[B]

What?

[C]

Yeah, she was at multiple conference tournaments. It's a big week for the halftime entertainers of the world.

[A]

It is. We don't really think about that. But you're totally right. You're totally right. That on the calendar, when it comes to monetizing your dog, it's your.

[C]

It's your talented dogs.

[A]

That's right. It's. It's talented dog season.

[B]

That's so cool. Have you guys seen the dog that paints and, like, paints really well?

[C]

Does it do basketball games?

[A]

Yeah, just a halftime.

[B]

I hope it. It's just, like, on Tick Tock. I believe it will become the cool dog, but this dog, like, can, like, pick up a brush with its. Its teeth and actually paint something kind of beautiful. But it also makes me think it's a little fake, because aren't dogs colorblind? How can you tell what the colors of the sky are?

[C]

TikTok has flooded the zone with pets doing cool stuff. But I only care if they can do it in the seven minutes in between the end of the second quarter and the team's coming out for warmups. If you can massage that into something at home and turn it into, like, a video. I don't believe it. I don't buy it. I need to see it in person before the team comes out to shoot some 16 footers.

[A]

Roger Sherman, Lucy Rodin. I am not somebody who goes on the road anymore in the Ways that I want to. But how would you mathematically add up how much time you've spent at college campuses over the last year between the two of you?

[B]

I went to 19 games. I actually did the math.

[C]

So I went to 62 games in the 2023 season, which is nuts. And this season I, I did not do that this season. I slept. That was like a one time bit for me. Lucy has now done multiple seasons of like seeing dozens of games. So we're probably.

[A]

You'll.

[C]

You'll probably catch me next year.

[A]

Lucy's frowning at her cell phone.

[B]

I went to 19 games. I took 42 flights there. And I got the stomach virus one time and that was bad.

[A]

One time. Feels based on the total, pretty good opportunities to get various stomach viruses. Not bad. Yeah.

[B]

It was not good. It was not good at all.

[A]

Was it a Tracy Morgan at Madison Square Garden situation?

[B]

It was a.

[C]

Is he okay?

[A]

I am told so I. I conducted a brief investigation. I am told. Sources close to Tracy Morgan inform me that he is okay.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I've been there.

[C]

You got Tracy Morgan sources, Roger.

[A]

I got sources you never even dreamed of.

[C]

That's incredible.

[B]

Dang. That's really cool. I got the stomach virus in a rental car. So. That was horrible. It was the worst. That was the.

[A]

Okay, not quite courtside at the Garden.

[B]

No, it was the worst. One of the worst days of my life.

[C]

From like a stadium food.

[B]

We were. I don't know what it was from. We were leaving the University of South Carolina and I was driving to my dad's house in North Carolina. So it's like a 3ish hour drive. Easy for me. I drive across the country all the time casually. But we're going and I'm not feeling the best. Not feeling the best. And as I merge onto the highway, there's nowhere for me to go. We're merging onto the interstate. I throw up everywhere. And then. This is so gross. And I don't know why I'm telling people this. So I use my hand because it's.

[A]

You trying to catch it. You're trying to catch it.

[B]

I wasn't trying to. It was an instinct. I'm trying to see the road and so goes everywhere. I have to drive like this. I'm covered in vomit. I'm sobbing hysterically. Hysterically. I had a matcha, so it's all green and gross and it's the worst. I'm just sobbing and I call my dad and he's like, have you been in an accident? I'm like, worse. I Threw up all over myself. This is terrible. I pull over at a gas station. I'm just crying and crying and crying. I'm covered in vomit. And so I have to take all my cloth because I'm covered in vomit. But I'm covered in so much vomit that I'm basically naked in this parking lot. And you can't tell because there's so much vomit on me. It was a really bad day.

[C]

Sharon, tell.

[A]

I apologize for laughing.

[B]

This is the first time I've been on this show. This is how everyone's gonna know me, the vomit girl.

[A]

One quick question. Is there any chance because it was so green that people were like, that that's not vomit.

[B]

I don't know what they thought. Like, it was everywhere. It was in my hair, it was on my face. It was all over my body. And this was a crowded, like, gas station in South Carolina. For some reason, everybody was there, and I was like, I don't care. I will say that father of the year. I got back, I'm like, sobbing and covered in vomit. My dad was like, just go throw up. And he cleaned out all the vomit for me.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

And he didn't get the stomach virus, which that kind of pissed me off. Like, thanks for your help, but you should have gotten it. I should have been contagious.

[A]

Which is all to say that in the time that you guys hung out together, Roger remained unvomited upon.

[B]

No, I never puked.

[C]

I. I do not know you as a vomiter. A projectile vomiter. And now that.

[B]

So bad. It was like the Exorcist.

[C]

I'm really glad we asked her. I wasn't expecting that much detail about the vomit. Like, nor. I thought she was just going to say, yeah, it was bad. And this is.

[A]

This is the journalism that we all aspire to.

[B]

It was so bad. It was awful.

[C]

Tough, tough scene.

[A]

So this is the time when we contemplate. Yeah. The. The cosmic celestial fates of the teams on this bracket.

[C]

They gave us paper brackets.

[A]

We have paper.

[C]

I don't have a printer.

[A]

Paper.

[B]

So excited.

[A]

You guys have spent so much time around college students, college athletes, that your interpretation of how this is going to go from a metaphysical level is actually news I could use. And Roger, I feel like you have done as is your want, as is your substacks, whole deal. A genuinely insane amount of research. So how do you assess the four quadrants on this bracket?

[C]

First of all, I don't pay attention to any. Any of the teams with single digits. You know, there's. There's several teams that are apparently good at college basketball this year. We're not here to talk about those. No, we're here to talk about the teams that went like 17 and one in their conferences. And I believe they can pull the upset. And also they've never been to the NCAA tournament before. And also they have a unique mascot. Those are who I'm honed in on.

[A]

So just for the record, though, so like Duke and Cooper Flag, who. Not interested. But the fact that Cooper Flag's mom is very angry at love her Carolina Lucy is already making noises.

[B]

So my brother texted me that when she wrote like this full Facebook post. Basically being like, carolina fans suck and I'm so happy we beat you and I don't care. Because the worst fan experience I've ever had in my life was at a UNC game. And I know that everything she said is true. Everything. I'll set the scene since you asked. Sixteen years old, a young Lucy full of hopes and dreams. Okay, that's different from me now.

[A]

No more hopes.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Those are gone. This guy took it.

[A]

Just got vomited out in a Nissan Sentra.

[B]

Yeah, pretty much. Bad times. So Iowa was playing UNC in the Big Ten ACC challenge, and me and my little brother went and Iowa beat unc. They never should have. It was one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen in my life. Like, it was genuinely a terrible game, but I'm from North Carolina, so it was super exciting because me and my brother never get to see Iowa play. I believe it was the first time that UNC had lost at home as a ranked team to an unranked team. It was a crazy upset that wasn't even important. It was like a Tuesday in December was the Big Ten AC challenge. Who cares? And we're sitting there and me and my brother are celebrating, and this guy turns around, he's sitting in front of me and he's like, you're the reason you nc loss me, Lucy.

[C]

Like, that's impressive for 116 year old. Yeah.

[B]

And I was like, no, sir, I'm sorry. Like, it was just, you know, you can't win them all. Whatever. I'm 16.

[A]

You realize when you're doing the Lucy 16 year old voice, it's literally the same as Lucy in the present tense voice.

[B]

Yeah, but imagine me looking. I actually pretty much look 16 right now.

[A]

You look 15.

[B]

I looked 12 at the time, which is important for the story, actually. So he's like, you're the reason UNC lost. I'm like, hey, man, no I'm not. I didn't do anything. And I was really nice. Like, I was like, hey, I'm sorry. Like, you know, these things happen. And he was like, who do you think you are, coming to basketball game? Cheering like that. I said, what? I feel like this is the one socially acceptable place for me to do that. And, like, I'm. I'm a kid. I'm like, what? And he's got to be in his 70s. Like, he's. He's got a sweater vest on. And so I'm like, you know, it's. I'm sorry, sir. It's just a basketball game. Like, we never get to see our favorite team. Like, and they won. Like, it's a big deal for us. And he hits me.

[A]

What?

[B]

I know. I was a child. I was a baby. So he shoves me. He pushes me back into my seat. I'm like, what?

[A]

What? I'm sorry I got assaulted. I feel like I am responsible for retroactively filing a police report.

[B]

So here's how that went. So I'm like, what? I was just hit by an old man, and his wife is like, oh, no. But these lovely Iowa fans had come and sat with us during the game. So one of them was a professor of law at Wake Forest. And she was like, hey, man, you just assaulted a 12 year old. Which, by the way, we had been talking the whole game. And I was like, oh, she's thought I was 12 years old this whole time. Like, that really hurts my feelings. And I looked like I was 12 years old. And I was dressed like I was 12 years old. Like, I was dressed way too intensely for a Tuesday night basketball game in Chapel Hill. So they had to go get security because, well, he hit me. So security comes, and my dad's like, we need to get out of here. We have to leave. And I was like, no, we have to. We have to stay with Tiffany. She fought for my honor. And then he was like, no, we have to leave. And I left. And I was like, I will never go to Carolina because that's the school I wanted to go to. And I hate them. So when Cooper Flag's mom was like, yeah, these fans sucked, and they were horrible, I knew she was telling the truth.

[A]

Right. So in other words, quote a big fu to the entire Carolina fan base for being classless a holes.

[B]

Yeah, I bet it was that guy. Well, I bet it was him.

[A]

Our investigation continues.

[C]

Generally, the understanding in the college basketball universe is that Duke is the evil one of the two schools.

[A]

Correct?

[C]

No, it's unc and we just didn't realize it.

[B]

All these years, it was unc. Like, the thing with Duke is like, I do think that they can be. But they, like, really get into the games. They're a very passionate fan base. UNC fans show up. They don't really get into it. They're a very wine and cheese crowd. So for me, 16 year old Lucy, that could have passed for 12 when she showed up and she was cheering and having a good time, it was like the cardinal sin.

[A]

I find it very difficult to disagree with your rankings of who's the bigger based on your personal experience.

[B]

I was hit. I was assaulted.

[A]

Roger's writing down notes.

[C]

No, I'm just crossing UNC off. Yeah.

[B]

When they look. When they. I. It like, created like a life, like right here.

[A]

I'm gonna cross UNC off too.

[C]

I just remembered another place I met you, which was the Duke's Mayo bowl between West Virginia and North Carolina, where we were on the sidelines with the North Carolina Ram.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Ramses. Ramses. Yes.

[B]

The balls are huge.

[C]

Really? You know, they tend to focus on the front with the horns, but there's. It's a ram. It's not a sheep.

[B]

It's insane. Like, it's jarring. They're giant balls.

[A]

You're saying this is the real life ram?

[C]

Yes, yes, yes.

[A]

With anatomically, like, just in real life.

[C]

He has horns painted blue. The costume mascot. No. Testicles.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No, Correct.

[C]

I mean, not that we can see. He's wearing clothing.

[A]

I once went. So I used to cover the NCAA tournament for Sports Illustrated all the time. And I remember going into a bathroom at a regional, and into the bathroom as I was at the urinal, walked Ramses, and he went into a stall. And now I realize if I had peeked into that stall, I would have seen some. Some things.

[C]

Wait, wait, the costume mask? Yeah.

[B]

Not the goat.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I think I could do a photo of this.

[C]

Yeah. That's a fun part of being a college basketball.

[A]

That might also be illegal.

[C]

There's like, if you go to a college basketball tournament and you have a press pass and you're in the behind the scenes area, you will see a lot of mascots, like, with their head off, drinking, like some Gatorade or whatever to stay.

[A]

Yeah. Real Disneyland, Mickey Mouse, smoking a cigarette, vibes.

[C]

I remember I was at the St. Peter's one a couple years ago, and like, at UNC, there must be like 20 guys, like, trying to be the UNC mascot. But, like, the St. Peter's guy was really chill. And I just remember him walking off the, walking out of the area and just being like, hey, where's the pizza? And I was like, I just. He was definitely less of a professional than the other mascots on the scene.

[A]

So just to keep the lost to.

[C]

North Carolina too, it's so you ruin everything.

[A]

We've already talked about a prodigious amount of vomit, an alleged assault, someone being. And then also the mascot of a school that is presumably based on the guy who makes the decision on whether you go to hell or not in St. Peters.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, there's, there's like a lot going on. What's the word you said? Metaphysical? Cosmological. Yeah, there's a lot of that going on.

[A]

But the west region, Roger, sorry. We derailed you in ways that are now too difficult to summarize.

[B]

I was assaulted. It's fair for me to do that. I will not be silenced.

[A]

I can't stop laughing at your general suffering.

[C]

So going region by region here in the west again, once again we're skipping all the single digit seeds. We're here just to talk about the University of Nebraska at Omaha and their first NCAA tournament, the 15. What I love about this team is that in December when they were, I believe, 4 and 9, their team started a tradition of just beating the crap out of a trash can in the, in the locker room before the games. And it worked. They were the best team in the Summit League. They won the conference, they made the NCAA tournament, they got the bid. And I think this is great strategy by them. First of all, they really go at these trash cans.

[A]

I am now realizing that this is what I had previously only known as that trash can team.

[C]

Ye. They really go at these trash cans. I saw a video where one of the guys jumps off like a fridge onto it and does like a wrestling move and he's like a player on the team. And I was like, that seems like a lot of like, like a little risky move just to beat up a trash can.

[A]

So just this is post game and dude walks in and everybody is already in ceremonial trash can destruction circle. Yes.

[C]

It's like, it's, it's a little violent.

[A]

The towel being snapped repeatedly only to set up the elbow drop.

[B]

Trash cans are expensive. That seems kind of wasteful.

[C]

I'm not sure if they're. It's a BYO situation where they're at like a road game. They're going to destroy your team's like.

[B]

Oh, that's a good question.

[C]

I'm not, I'm not sure how they are handling the logistics of the, the NCAA tournament. You know, they're, they're all going to neutral sites.

[A]

Right. So how did this start, though?

[C]

So like I was saying, they were, they were four and nine and the assistant coach decided to do it as a motivational tool. And people are like, it. It turned around their season after that point. I think the actual thing that turned around their season is just that they had a really hard non conference schedule and they were a pretty good team in the Summit League. And then they, they started conference play and they started winning. So like, incredible job by that assistant coach to realize the perfect time to deploy your motivational tactic is when your team has just played like Iowa State and I think like Minnesota and some other, you know, big non conference teams. And then the rest of your season is against South Dakota, South Dakota State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, St. Thomas. So smart thinking by him. I also, there was a quote by. I was reading one of the stories about the trash can situation, and he said he confirmed that none of the trash cans they beat up have mothers and fathers. They're all orphaned. I'm not sure what his point was there. We're just, we're just being orphan.

[A]

We're just whipping these orphan.

[C]

I think he was trying to say, like, there's no one feeling bad on their behalf, but that somehow made it sadder to me.

[A]

This is a real, by the way, just a tremendous reclaiming of trash can beating that I thought the Astros had just totally monopolized. And they're like, there's still, there's still meat left on the bone inside of this trash can.

[C]

The trash kids thought they were safe for a few years because the Astros really made it seem like that was an uncool thing to do. And now everyone's beating up. And what I really liked when they won this, when they won the Summit League tournament. The, the. I'm not sure how this fits into the mythology of it, but they were presented the trophy out of a, out of a trash can. Like it. It. They. They hoisted it out of there, which was really beautiful.

[B]

Oh, did they beat that trash can too?

[C]

It seemed pretty chill with that one.

[B]

Oh, that one had a family, you.

[A]

Know, I don't know what happened. I'm going to guess that they, I'm gonna guess that they eventually also beat that trash can though. The East Region, Roger, as you spin.

[C]

The globe of the teams in this region, the one that I love the most is the Akron Zips. I have come in my Akron Zips.

[A]

T shirt, so That's a kangaroo next to a giant letter A.

[C]

Yes. Are you familiar? Do you know the mascot? Do you know the mascot of the Akron Zips?

[A]

I can only imagine that zip is involved, but no, there's a kangaroo.

[C]

Correct. And do you know any other.

[A]

I know zero other facts about the Akron.

[C]

You know, zip about them.

[A]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[C]

I didn't plan that. Just really funny.

[B]

What is a zip?

[C]

Technically, Akron primarily produces two things, rubber and LeBron James. And at some point in the 1920s or 30s, the rubber companies also produced zippers. And like, this is, like, this was, like, new technology at the time. Zippers are kind of one of those things that I assumed had been around for hundreds of years. But, like, you watch, like, movies set in the 1800s and they all have, like, elaborate buckles and stuff. They're not right. Like, there aren't zippers there. Like, we invented zippers at some point, and it was new technology, and the people in Akron were very excited about it. So much so. And I think it's associated with the rubber. Like, like they were making rubber shoes with zippers on them or something like that.

[A]

The B.F. goodrich company is what this Wikipedia page is instructing me to point.

[C]

Out, which is separate from Goodyear, which is also a tire company based in Akron, Ohio, and they have the Goodyear blimp there. I, I flew in the Goodyear blimp. I'm getting off topic here. When I was in Akron, I, I, they, they let me fly in the Goodyear blimp wearing.

[A]

Of course he did.

[C]

Anyway, so they named the team the Zippers, later shortened to Zips to celebrate Akron's zippers. And they were like, what mascot do we have that we can, you know, signify the zipper? So they decided to make a kangaroo with a pouch with a zipper on it, which this, this pouch does not.

[A]

I don't see a zipper, but originally.

[C]

The pouch was zipped. You know, keep your babies from falling out, etc. But here's what I think is great about this. All the female kangaroos have pouches.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Male kangaroos do not. So they were, I believe, one of two Division 1 schools whose mascot is explicitly female, the other being the Delaware Blue Hens, but which, you know, there's so many Gamecocks and roosters, and the default is to make your mascot a guy, even if it's.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, West Virginia has a literal coonskin cap wearing, rifle toting man, and.

[C]

North Carolina's has some giant balls.

[A]

Huge balls, as established.

[C]

Just big old balls. And I had not thought about this.

[A]

Statistic that the Delaware Blue Hens and the Akron Zips have the only explicitly female mascots.

[C]

I believe so. I know that Akron is the only one in FBS football, like, of the. The top tier. They're. I'm pretty confident there are no other explicitly female mascots out there.

[A]

In men's basketball. Yes.

[C]

Normally when a school has a mascot, it's either male or, like, at some cases, like Florida, they will have, like. Or NC State. They have the male and the female mascot. And there's always a really weird, like, dynamic.

[B]

Yeah, that's a freaky dude.

[C]

Baylor has a male and a lady, like, so. And they have to signify that one of them is male and that one is just, like, a default version of the animal. Like, Albert the Gator just looks like an alligator walking on two legs. Mr. Wolf just looks like a wolf walking on two legs. And then the female version, like, they always have lipstick.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Which. Which is not actually a thing that you put on. On animals.

[B]

And I know that the Mrs. Wolf, she has, like, an apron, I believe.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes. And they're always either, like, there's always, like, a weird backstory where they're, like, either married or siblings.

[B]

Yeah, they always have. Clemson doesn't have, like, they have a regular tiger. They don't have, like, a female version of it. They have, like, a little one that there's. I've asked the relation, and I asked the mascot directly, so he wasn't able to speak to me, but he gave me thumbs up, thumbs down. He said they're cousins.

[A]

The amount of reporting that has gone into these observations you've made is genuinely kind of breaking my brain.

[C]

But I'm just glad that Akron, when they came up with this mascot in the 40s and 50s, were laying out, you know, a vision for female sports fandom that you can be a lady kangaroo and they didn't lipstick her. Her up or put her in weird clothes.

[A]

Right. I wouldn't even know.

[C]

You wouldn't even know. It's just it. It. There's. There's not that many differences in the wild between.

[A]

Although she is. She is gyrating.

[C]

There's something that. That's. I've seen some male mascots gyrate.

[A]

Well, just.

[B]

There's. There's.

[A]

There's something in there. I'm not. Well, anyway, I don't want to.

[B]

Don't look at me.

[A]

Ever since I found out that the kangaroo was female, I've gotten really uncomfortable with my observations about the.

[C]

The kangaroo you into the Kangaroo Papa.

[A]

I'm just saying.

[B]

I'm so happy we've talked about this. Let's talk about all the lady mascots. My favorite thing is when a school just adds lady in front of their mascot.

[A]

The Lady Bears.

[B]

The Lady Volunteers.

[C]

The Lady Vol. The Lady Cox.

[A]

Wait, is it really the Lady Cox?

[C]

No, they go by Gamecocks. But there's. There's merch that says Lady Cox. People say Lady Cox.

[B]

That's pretty cool. I should probably buy one of those.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to say that. That sounds popular.

[B]

I would definitely buy one.

[C]

The really weird one for me is that Central Arkansas is the Bear. The team names are the Bears and the Sugar Bears.

[B]

Oh. Oh, my God. I'm gonna throw up all over again. It's gonna happen.

[A]

The Sugar Bears.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

It's horrible. It's so bad.

[C]

And Akron avoids all of these concerns by just being like, yeah, we're the Zips. Yeah, she's carrying babies in her pouch. She doesn't care. She loves our teams, our 1 in 11 football team, and are extremely successful men's basketball and men's soccer teams.

[A]

Which is to say that you are picking the Akron Zips to upset Arizona in the first round.

[C]

Absolutely. Go Zips. I've. I've. I've been on the Goodyear blimp. I will support Akan until the day I die.

[A]

Let's take your blimp south. Roger.

[C]

I'd like to hone in on the UC San Diego Tritons. First of all, actually a good team. Like, I'm not trying to take away from Akron or UNO. They're like top 40 on Ken Palm. They should not be a 12 seed. They have the guy who leads the nation and steals. They're like two point underdogs against Michigan as a 12 seed. So that's the basketball talk. This is their first tournament. It's their first year of eligibility since they transferred up from Division 2. Both the men's and the women's teams made it into the tournament.

[A]

They were D2 last season.

[C]

They were D2 four seasons ago. And when you transfer up from Division 2 to Division 1, you have to take four years off. And they were not allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament this year. They are. They were incredible. And they are the Tritons. The reason they're named that is because UC San Diego, it's a pretty good school. They're host to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Oceanographic Institute that has, like, made a ton of, like, climate change discoveries. They wanted to honor that. And also at San Diego, it's on the beach. They have water and stuff. So they're the Tritons. Their name, their mascot is King Triton. He's the God of the seas. He's a guy wearing a. I don't know why Poseidon and Triton are pictured wearing the same things that Greek people on land did. Because you think the robes, like the togas, would be not very useful underwater.

[A]

But all I got in my mind is the Little Mermaid.

[C]

The mascot looks the same like their costume. Mascot looks almost identical to the Little Mermaid version of Triton. A five crown cap and he's holding a trident which in the Little Mermaid, like, shoots out like fire and destroys stuff.

[A]

Right.

[C]

But the mascot. Unclear whether or not he can do that.

[A]

I just applaud them for avoiding a lawsuit. Despite the similarities to this.

[D]

Ariel, how many times must we go through this? You could have been seen by one of those barbarians, by one, by one of those humans.

[B]

Daddy, they're not barbarians.

[D]

They're dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snared by some fish eater's hook?

[B]

I'm 16 years old. I'm not a child.

[D]

Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady. As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rule.

[B]

But if you would just listen.

[D]

Not another word. And I am never, never to hear of you going to the surface again. Is that clear?

[A]

I cannot possibly interpret that clip as anything other than an allegory for Lucy talking to her dad at a North Carolina, Iowa basketball game.

[B]

I did not know she was 16 years old in that movie.

[C]

Yeah, that's. I'm. I'm on his side. Like, he was a little bit over the top, but, like, first of all, humans are Bad is like a pretty solid take.

[B]

Yeah, he's got it.

[C]

And like, his 16 year old daughter is going to go marry some, like, the only human being she's ever seen before. Like, she's 16 and she's gonna cut off her tail and have legs.

[A]

Like, yeah, little, Little Prince Eric is.

[C]

Yeah, he's overrated.

[A]

He's selfish, a little desperate on Ariel's part.

[C]

And he's very reasonably, like, chill out. Don't, like, go to the surface where you can't breathe. Can she breathe?

[A]

Before we get to that, Prince Eric also, I'm filing a retroactive lawsuit against you.

[C]

Yeah, what's the age gap there?

[B]

Age gap has got to be huge. Also, we're like, ignoring the fact that, like, he can't talk to her. He doesn't even know what she's like because she trades her voice.

[A]

That feels like the most realistic part of the male female dynamic depicted.

[B]

Yeah, I love it.

[C]

How did that is the most There are some problematic relationships in Disney movies but Prince likely of adult age with 16 year old non talking mermaid. That's really bad.

[A]

I don't know what Atlantis's age of consent is but we are picking UC San Diego to upset Michigan. The Midwest.

[C]

Do you feel like they did a good job with the four regions of our country being east, south, west and Midwest? Like we never talk about like the north but I think that's what they trying to get anyway. I think too I'm thinking too much about the region.

[A]

I would like to see a North versus south side of the bracket. Now that you mention it, I'd like to re litigate that in every possible facet of American life including this tournament.

[C]

My favorite player in the NCAA tournament is in this bracket. He is not likely to win nor is he likely to be successful at the thing which drew me to him. I'm talking about Wofford's Kyler Filovich, center, led the conference in rebounding and field goal percentage. Last place in the conference in free throw percentage.

[A]

How bad are we talking?

[C]

28. At the time he decided to switch from overhand regular free throws, at which he was shooting 28% to underhanded, commonly referred to as granny style free throws. Although I'm not sure how that name I've never seen any grandmothers play basketball.

[A]

It's a reasonable inquiry. Has any granny actually shot granny style as we watch? Yeah. So this dude is is large, I should say.

[C]

He's a big boy. He's a center. He's. He dominates in the paint. So this, this is like I He was shooting 28%. Someone on his coaching staff had a connection with Rick Barry, the NBA hall.

[A]

Of Famer, the patron saint of the.

[C]

Underhanded free throw whose sons, some of his sons shot underhanded. He shot like 90% for his career. He flew to South Carolina to teach our guy Kyler here how to shoot underhanded free throws. He switched in February. It's the last season of his career. He's a fifth year senior. This is his time to shine. It's now or never. He switches to underhanded free throws. The ending of this story that you've.

[A]

Written in your head, an inspirational tale of a mentor and a mentee.

[C]

And the story that you probably cooked up in your head is that he switched, and he's good at it. He's not. He still sucks at shooting free throws. He's shooting 35% from the line since he switched to underhand.

[B]

That's an improvement.

[C]

It's an improvement. In the SoCon tournament, in the first two games, he shot 1 for 5 and then 1 for 5 again. He's really just kind of hucking it off the backboard there. It's not. It's. It's. It's so inspiring to watch him go out there having, like, dedicated so much effort to this thing that can change this last moment of his career. And everyone is yelling at him from the stands, calling him names, telling him he shouldn't be doing this, and he's still bad at it, and he still persists. And he made it to the NCAA tournament. And this is what this moment is all about. These teams from all across the country which are trying weird things, and some of them aren't even that good at them, and they have this one day to beat a better team, and sometimes that weird thing they do works, and we remember them forever, and sometimes it doesn't, and we just move on. It's just. You don't see this in. In any other league where you see the Giants and the. These people trying to figure out how to play basketball for the first time.

[A]

I think this is. I mean, if there's any ambiguity around how different college basketball is from the NBA, just know that there is a center who is shooting 28%, who hired a personal consultant who clearly was dying to be asked to do this.

[C]

Yes, he flew from California.

[A]

No one calls Rick Barry to do the thing that Rick Barry's been waiting for someone to ask him to do.

[C]

You're right. The NBA, everyone has figured out how to play basketball.

[A]

We've optimized everything.

[C]

The teams, the shooting forms. The teams have the same. I'm not saying it's bad. They're very good at basketball. They're extremely good at it. The product is probably generally more entertaining. I'm fine saying that. Even as a college basketball fan. The thing that's great about college basketball is you have these 360 teams. Some of them are playing, like, 1, 31 zones. And sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. Some of them have guys who do not know how to shoot free throws. And. And then you throw them all in this one tournament, and you see what happens. And sometimes the weird stuff works. Sometimes the better team wins. And. And this is. This is. This is what March is all about. And I'm a little bit emotional for our boy Kyler. If he goes out there and he shoots 2 for 4 in A. In a. In a surprise victory, I'm going to cry. I'm going to sit in my house and I'm going to cry because of how beautiful it is.

[A]

Wofford over Tennessee is the pick.

[C]

Yeah, we've got a couple 15 over twos here, but cosmologically it has been decreed.

[A]

Lucy, you guys have been simpatico for.

[B]

Most of this taping because we're childhood.

[A]

Friends, but you have a take, Lucy, that I want Roger to hear. So proceed.

[B]

So Roger and I have obviously both spent a lot of time at sporting events, especially college football, which is such a fun atmosphere. It's very, like, lively. The fans are super into it. I think it's one of the best atmospheres in sports. March Madness is such a great postseason event. It's the best post season in sports.

[A]

I agree.

[B]

It is not a good event to go to as a fan. Except for the women. The women is great because you have home rounds. Going to a, like, men's tournament is not fun. It's not enjoyable. Like, it's a sport meant to be watched on your couch. So I think that, like, if I was in charge, which I'm not, haven't been asked yet, I'm not even in the, like, the rumor mill for potentially being in charge.

[C]

We'll get this aggregated NCA President Lucy campaign.

[B]

Look, no one's really in charge of that thing anyways, so, like, I could easily do it.

[C]

So put Lucy in charge.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. But my, like, experience for this that I really think was so fun was I got to go to the March Madness tournament when it was the COVID year and it was entirely in Indianapolis. And so they only had crowds at like 20, 25%, which, like, obviously changed.

[A]

That sounds like it sucked.

[B]

It was so fun as a fan because the ability to have all of the games taking place within, like, a 45 mile radius. So when you're going to these games, like, I don't mean to be rude, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't think people are going to Greensboro to hang out in Greensboro. Like, I just don't think that's happening. And so ideally, if we could, like, lessen the number of stops of loc, I think it could be so cool to, like, consume all the college basketball that you can. Like, we got to go to some, like, tiny venue in the Indiana State fairgrounds and then to Lucas Oil to watch a game, and then to the Field house to watch a game, and then to Butler to watch a game.

[C]

They had games at iu?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. It was Assembly Hall. It was, like, one of the most fun, like, going to experiences in my life because you really got to consume so much college basketball in a way that, like, everyone was there to support their team. But I don't think anyone had ever consumed so much basketball in person, despite the fact that there was, you know, 20% admissions because of COVID It was just such a cool system. And I wish that they could find a way to translate that, because the women, they kind of have it down. You know, you have the. The host sites for the first round. Like, we were lucky enough to go to Iowa last year, and that was the loudest venue I've ever been to. Right, so you have that, like, fan engagement where. I just don't think the fan engagement works the same for March Madness because, like, you don't. You don't have the ability to travel to a lot of cool places. A lot of the time you're finding out late. Like, I wish it was just, like, in more condensed areas. I wish there were more games happening at different venues in the city because it was such a cool thing to experience.

[A]

Now, you say that, but we were looking at this photograph and this.

[B]

Oh, we lost that game.

[A]

I mean, just to give the visual on this, Lucy, who looks to be 15 and a half, is wearing an Iowa number one jersey.

[B]

Yeah, we were number one.

[A]

Right next to you, though. Well, to your right is a guy who's not nearly into this to anywhere close to the degree that you are. But to your left is. Who is that?

[B]

That's Hawkeye Elvis. He's a really nice guy. Him and my dad are kind of in the Elvis community together.

[A]

What does that mean?

[B]

So Hawkeye Elvis is, like, a famous Iowa fan within, like, Iowa circles. And he just shows up to every game, like, dressed in these, like. Like super awesome Elvis, like, custom Iowa jumpsuits. And it's become, like, his Persona. And he has a bunch of them.

[A]

High production values on the costume.

[B]

They're so nice.

[C]

Does he like Elvis?

[B]

I assume so.

[A]

What a job, though, if he didn't.

[B]

Yeah, it wouldn't be fun if he didn't. It's just a whole personality, like, trapped.

[A]

In a prison of my own devising.

[B]

He's like, when he goes to an Iowa game, like, everybody wants to chat with him because, like, you're dressed as Elvis. There are so many photos of me with him throughout my Iowa fandom. Because, like, you see him am I just like, go get a picture with Hawkeye Elvis. Come on, you gotta go do it.

[C]

What did you mean by him and my dad are in the Elvis community?

[B]

I'm glad you asked.

[A]

Good follow up.

[B]

I am. So let's hope my dad doesn't listen to this. He does not want his business out there, but I'm sharing it. So Iowa has this race that they do in the state every summer. My dad hasn't done it for a very long time, but it's called Ragbright. It stands for the Registers Annual guide Bike ride across the state of Iowa. So basically, a bunch of people will bike across the state of Iowa over a week, and it's actually like kind of a big, fun drinking event. Like, it's a big party. And my dad and his buddies, they used to do it every year, dress as Elvis and they called themselves the Riding Elvi. So the first time we met Hawkeye Elvis, my dad was like, hey, Hawkeye Elvis. I'm Ragbry Elvis. Nice to meet you. And it was the weirdest interaction of my life.

[A]

That does feel like when the mascots of two different schools who are also the same mascot but slightly different, do encounter each other.

[B]

Yeah, it was a weird thing. And you were just like, okay, well, I'm glad you have your hobbies.

[A]

At the end of every episode of Pablo Torre finds Out a show about finding stuff out up, we go around the room and we say what we found out today. Roger, would you like to lead us off?

[C]

I found out that there's someone in North Carolina that belongs in jail.

[B]

Yeah, probably a lot of them, actually. My town's kind of weird. What did I find out today? I found out that there's a mascot called the sugar bear and that feminism has gone back, like, 75 years.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I found out that your friendship, Roger and Lucy, can survive anything, Even possibly a. A, a matcha waterfall of Lucy's vomit.

[B]

Yuck. Still drink matcha every day, though.

[C]

Some people, they. When they throw up from something, they never have it again.

[B]

I love matcha. Good luck. Swimming fire has taken that away from me. You took my dignity, but not my matcha.

[A]

I also found out that the actual North Carolina ram has enormous balls.

[B]

Huge. Did you look it up? It's, like, probably not safe to do.

[A]

On a working computer, but this computer has seen a lot worse.

[C]

And you know what? The name of the stadium where we saw Ramsey's balls and there was a panther ball testicle situation. The name of the stadium. It's BofA. It's bank of America. We saw the testes at BofA and lived.

[A]

I mean, I just want to thank BofA, you guys, for joining me. This has been Pablo Torre Finds Out a Meadowlark Media Production and I'll talk to you next time.

[B]

Sam.