Pardon My Take – Episode Summary

Date: November 5, 2025
Hosts: Big Cat & PFT Commenter
Main Guests: Johnny Fanta (NBC Sports)
Topics: NFL Trade Deadline, Jets’ Fire Sale, CFP Rankings, College Ball, Hot Seat/Cool Throne, Listener Takes

Episode Overview

This jam-packed episode captures peak sports chaos: the NFL trade deadline delivered rare blockbuster trades, including the New York Jets blowing up their roster and their dedicated fan Memes processing the carnage live on air. The crew dives into the first College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, debates college basketball’s opening chaos, and welcomes NBC’s Johnny Fanta (“Johnny Football/Basketball”) to analyze both seasons. Along with quick-hitting Hot Seat/Cool Throne takes and classic “Pardon Your Takes” from listeners, this episode stays unpredictable, hilarious, and sharply opinionated.

Key Discussion Points & Timestamps

1. NFL Trade Deadline Mayhem – [03:31–23:38]

• Jets Blow It Up:
  • Real-time reactions from Memes about the Jets trading Sauce Gardner (to the Colts for two 1st rounders) and Quinnen Williams (to the Cowboys).
  • Memes: “They turned two players into potentially six. It’s just sad because you want people to come into your organization. You want them to be Jets for life.” [05:12]
  • The group processes: Can the Jets hit on these picks? Is this déjà vu of the last failed rebuild after the Zach Wilson picks?
  • Notable Quote: Big Cat sums up why the reset is necessary: “You’re one in seven with them. The Quinnen Williams record, unfortunately on the Jets, was like 30 and 61 with zero playoff appearances since he was drafted.” [06:01]
• Jerry Jones & The Cowboys:
  • Big Cat calls Jerry Jones “the loser” of the deadline for overpaying for Quinnen Williams and not maximizing Micah Parsons’ value. “It feels like Jerry Jones should have gotten more for Micah Parsons… Double loser for Jerry Jones.” [07:49]
• How It Feels to Be a Jets Fan:
  • Memes’ arc: from stunned silence to trying to muster optimism over future draft capital: “This is a huge two-year plan. It’s just about vibes now.” [10:44]

2. Wild Tangents – Stadiums, Wind Turbines, and Vibes – [01:59–11:04]

• Stadium quirks (pirate ship in Tampa Bay, “weird stadiums”).
• Extended debate about wind turbines’ impact on the ocean and whales, a signature PMT tangent.
  • “I don’t know enough about any of this to give you a confident take. Can I just say that?” – Big Cat [09:53]
  • Zach on wind turbines: “The ones in the ocean are bad. Indiana ones might be bad.” [10:56]

3. College Football Playoff (CFP) First Rankings – [23:48–29:08]

• Rankings: OSU, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia in the top 5.
• Main controversies: Notre Dame ranked over Texas/Oklahoma, Miami low despite beating ND, ACC likely left out.
• Quote: “It doesn’t make sense to me why Notre Dame is ahead of those two teams. But again, it doesn’t really matter—it will all figure itself out.” – Big Cat [27:06]
• Fun at the “what-ifs” of possible playoff teams and cannibalization scenarios.

4. College Hoops Is Back! – [29:08–39:09]

• Red Panda performing at United Center is a major moment.
• PMT crew debate when Red Panda “actually came back.”
• Johnny Fanta teases big college hoops storylines—“Freshman class is the biggest story in basketball this year.” [124:15]

5. Monday Night Football & TV Streaming Rant – [45:16–54:11]

• YouTube TV/ESPN carriage disputes: “It’s absolute bullshit. ESPN, fuck you.” – Big Cat [46:07]
• Rant about how hard it’s become just to watch football: “Sports should be free. That’s my take.” – PFT Commenter [47:51]
• Cowboys’ failed aggression, Cardinals’ play-action clinic, and musings on Kyler Murray’s future.
• “We’re just living off the high of never being more correct than when we said we still believed in Baker and Darnold in 2021.” – Big Cat [51:08]

6. Packers’ Coaching & PMT Circular Logic – [55:08–58:48]

• Packers in crisis, Matt LaFleur’s “brokenness,” and whether back-to-back losses doom them.
• Circular debate: who wants to win certain games and how ties would settle hypothetical arguments.
• “We will beat you down, make circular arguments that make no sense, and then we will win.” – Big Cat (arguing with Max) [60:33]

7. Johnny Fanta Interview – College Football & Basketball Deep-Dive – [93:34–142:04]

• Big Ten Dominance: “There’s a real national championship contender in Bloomington. That’s really cool. Coach Signetti has changed everything.” – Johnny Fanta [94:16]
• Is Indiana a Football or Basketball School?
  • “Indiana will always be a basketball school first.” – Johnny Fanta [98:42]
• Dabo Sweeney’s Future: Could he pull a “Calipari-to-Arkansas” move and leave Clemson? “The marriage has run its course.” – Johnny Fanta [101:50]
• CFP Subjectivity: “The playoff committee is going to like Notre Dame—even if Miami beat them head-to-head.” – Big Cat, teasing NBC homerism [108:13]
• Big Ten Prediction: “Ohio State has absolutely dominated—best defense in 25 years.” [113:34]
• College Basketball Top 3: “Purdue, Houston, Arizona—reward them. Purdue has all the pieces to finally do it.” – Johnny Fanta [118:57]
• Freshman Phenoms: Cameron Boozer, Darren Peterson, and a stacked class could reshape the tourney landscape.
• Big East Rivalry Is Back: “This UConn vs. St. John’s thing—there’s real tension. It’s about to explode.” [128:09]

8. Hot Seat/Cool Throne – [69:47–92:09]

• Hot Seats: John Morant (“lost his joy”), Mick Cronin (“I’d like to fire myself”), sports podcasters (fear of AI hot-take robots).
  • “When this [AI] comes out, we’re going to have to John Henry vs the machine.” – PFT Commenter [78:06]
• Cool Thrones: Tom Brady cloning his dog, college kids in Hawaii, outdoor YouTube heroes returning from retirement, Kevin Stefanski off the hook for Browns play-calling.

9. Listener “Pardon Your Takes” – [146:36–151:55]

• Creative or hot listener-submitted sports takes dissected by the crew.
• “Comebacks aren’t that impressive—it’s your fault for falling behind.” – Listener take [149:07]
• “Why don’t two-point conversion stats count?” [150:09]

10. Notable Quotes & Classic PMT Moments

• “We just got to sell more beer and maybe get some more players.” – Big Cat, on Wisconsin football funding their NIL with record stadium beer sales [86:47]
• “Johnny Fanta, do you hate the Big East, and do you hate Italians?” – Max, needling the interview [125:27]
• **“I have not yet begun to be wrong…Anything we say that’s wrong from here on out, it’s to get AI off the scent.” – Big Cat, on AI hot take robots [80:19]

Notable Listener/Host Interactions

• Live, Gutted Jets Fan Reaction (Memes):
  • “They had him signed till 2030…They got two first-round picks. That’s a lot, but…this means everyone is available. That’s not good.” [143:15–144:44]
• Max’s Jealousy over the Mullet: A classic PMT tangent: “Jealous of your balls.” – Max to PFT, after he debuts a new mullet [42:15]
• Wind Turbines, Clones, and Golf: The crew detours into everything from the environmental impacts of wind turbines to Hugh Freeze allegedly preferring golf over coaching. [9:35–12:32, 83:00–84:43]

Recurring Themes & Running Jokes

• Draft pick “hopeium” vs. reality
• Hot/Cool Takes about Packers' fandom, circular arguments about who should want which NFC teams to win
• Deep, sincere sports misery (Jets, Browns, Commanders)
• PMT’s signature: jumping from sports breakdowns to bizarre, hilarious asides (stadium pirate ships, cloned dogs, outdoor boys’ YouTube content, etc.)
• Back-and-forth about College Football Playoff committee’s hypocrisy and narratives

For First-Time Listeners:

This episode captures the essence of Pardon My Take: chaotic sports news, strong and wrong opinions, emotionally invested fans (especially Jets and Browns), irreverent humor, and an ability to pivot from deep-dive analysis to ridiculous sidebars with zero warning. The Johnny Fanta segment delivers NCAA coverage with heart, while the first half leans into NFL heartbreak, trade drama, and PMT’s eternal optimism about future picks.

Timestamps of Importance

• [04:22] – Memes' evolving reaction to the Jets trades
• [07:49] – Jerry Jones as deadline loser
• [23:48] – CFP rankings analysis
• [45:16] – Sports streaming rant
• [93:34] – Johnny Fanta Interview (CFB & Hoops)
• [146:36] – Listener takes and outro

Tone & Language

The show trades in locker-room camaraderie, sarcasm, and passionate rants. When guests are present (like Johnny Fanta), the PMT duo let their genuine curiosity for college sports shine. Throughout, the banter is fast-paced, self-deprecating, and referential to deep sports lore.

Memorable Moment

“You just have to go off vibes. Vibes. I’m gonna say wind turbines are good, but I don’t know…now I’m thinking they’re bad.”
— Big Cat, [10:44]

“This is actually the start of a bad...yeah, this is not gonna be good.”
— PFT Commenter, as Memes learns Sauce Gardner's been traded, [143:21]

"When this comes out, we're gonna have to do a John Henry vs the machine against this AI bot to prove that humans are still superior."
— PFT Commenter, [78:06]

Bottom Line

If you want big NFL takes amid real-time chaos, college ball intrigue, deranged tangents, and hilarious sports fan pain, this episode delivers.