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Dan Le Batard
You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.
Dan Patrick
Ladies and mostly gentlemen, introducing an industry titan, a man who conquered sports television and then totally reinvented the sports radio. A man whose movie star good looks are only surpassed by his charm and intellectual, a pillar and trailblazer who lights up a room the second he walks into it. Please give a thunderous welcome that properly expresses how eternally grateful we are for this legend's bountiful contributions to sport and society. Here is Dan Patrick and Dan Levittart.
Dan Le Batard
Come on, man. Come on. Come on. Can you hear us okay? Is his mic okay? Is his mic okay? I say this sincerely. What a magical thing.
Dan Patrick
Thank you, Dan.
Dan Le Batard
And you say so. I would also ask you. What is it? Do you know? Do you know? What is it? Do you know what we're doing here? The reason I want to explain what a magical thing it is to you. Do you know what we're doing? Like, really, do you know what we're doing?
Dan Patrick
How many times are you going to ask me if I know what we're doing? No, I don't know what we're doing.
Dan Le Batard
And neither do I. And this is what I would. This is what I would say to you. It's a fairly amazing thing. I know how much gratitude he has for you. I know how much gratitude I have for you. You're here because you trust us. You don't know what this is. You paid money, you made a pilgrimage because you spend hours with us every day, and now you're giving us yet another because you trust us. And this is one of the few people in the industry who is simpatico with me on what his audience is. And he has a value and appreciation for what that trust is because he's climbed to the top of the business, this business, the shout fest that is the ocean of debate with fairness and decency. It's a tough. You trust him to be credible. Everybody hates the media. They don't hate him.
Dan Patrick
You're bringing the vibe down here, Dan. Come on, let's go. Let's have some fun here.
Dan Le Batard
I want to talk to them about radio, though. And I want to talk to them about what your community means to you, because I don't think they understand. They may feel it, but you're a repressed Irish Catholic. You don't necessarily. You might not tell them how you feel, but I know how much he values you. I see it in the care he exhibits and the product he insists on giving you.
Dan Patrick
Oh, is there a question?
Dan Le Batard
Sorry, that's by way of introduction. I really admire him. The second half of his career is more impressive than the first half. And the first half, he changed sports television. So tell me, though, what your relationship is with your radio audience. Because it's more intimate than anything else. And you do a radio show before anything else. TV star. But radio is what, like, that's where the connection is with you guys who are here to see him?
Dan Patrick
Yeah, that was always the important thing that I did. SportsCenter. But I didn't know you radio. I know you. Whether you email, you call, you tweet, even just interactions when I go out to sporting events, that's. That's the friendship that you have. Like, you feel like you're partners every morning. You're watching, I'm there with you. You allow me into your home, into your car. That's as intimate as it can get. I mean, I can't blame some of the ladies if you hear this voice in the morning in your car. Yeah, it's smooth. It's good.
Dan Le Batard
It's good.
Dan Patrick
It's threatening.
Dan Le Batard
It's threatening. It is. It's dulce.
Dan Patrick
I like. I love the relationship there. I got into radio because I loved that ability to be able to talk to somebody, tell somebody, let you. I could say somebody's name or a sport, or it could be a game. You have it in your mind. You create, and I love that. I love that we create together. I give you words, you put them in your head. We visualize together, and we've been doing this a long time, but it's because, you know, you mean something to me as people. Not just a listener, somebody out there in the wilderness there. And I think that my crew, the Danettes, we've really made it a point of making this personal. Every single day I tell Dan, every single day is the Super Bowl. It's gotta be. I don't care what's going on. Even when it's not the super bowl, you gotta make it important to people. You gotta make sure you're thinking about them, and that's imperative. When I left espn, I left sort of a world that wasn't, you know, personable, because I was at the mothership. Then I left on my own. It had to be me talking to you. So I'm very fortunate, thankfully, that you came out tonight. So I appreciate that.
Dan Le Batard
Well, speak to that for a moment, because I don't think this is the vanity business. There's a lot of ego in it. You are grateful that any person would spend any amount of time as I am, listening to anything you have to say you've been doing it for a long time. No, it's an no. You've allowed me to build a business around it. But the power that you've given my voice by listening to it, like I will tell you that I don't know many people in this business. It's bloated with a lot of ego. He's got plenty too. But he's grateful. He is so grateful that you would think him worthy of your time and his work and his opinions. And he cares for it with a craftsmanship. You don't understand how much more difficult what he's doing than what I'm doing is. I have a lot of people, he's got a couple. But he's doing a three hour show by himself and he's been doing it for a long time. It's a harder lift if you would just tell the people who are here from the most meaningful places, people who would come, drive here, spend a Wednesday night to come listen to a man they've listened to for many years. Like the intimacy of the connection, because the gratitude is real.
Dan Patrick
Well, I think that we talked many, many times over the years and I never thought I would be friends with somebody who was a columnist.
Dan Le Batard
No, he's not friends with Greg Cody. He's only friends with me.
Dan Patrick
No, I think that we struck up a relationship that allowed us to kind of unload on each other and we just connected for some reason. I never would have thought that because I didn't know if he would take an interest. But that's one of the great things about him is he truly cares. And Dan said, can you, can you describe me in five words? And I said, I can try.
Dan Le Batard
No, what you said is relax, Larry King.
Dan Patrick
I did. That's what you said. That is true, I did. But you know, when you start to think about friends and how many friends you have in your life in this business, I mean, this is a. We're cannibals. This business is not for the meek. It's not for the young. I mean, if it is for the young, you know, hopefully you get older so you can survive all of the stuff that you go through. And we just had this relationship where we connected and we just spoke about sort of what we do every day. How are we doing it? Why are we doing it? How do you get better? Like, I'm 68 and I'm still every day. I just, I want it to be better than the next day and the next day and the next day. Thank you. And, but, but That's. I can't do it any other way. You know, I just.
Dan Le Batard
There's a cost, though. There's a tax. Like I would say, like, this is not a serious. It's not a serious thing that we do, but it is. If you care about Crash, no matter.
Dan Patrick
What your job is, it doesn't matter. It's how serious. How do you take it when you do, you bring it home, can you leave it at work? All of those things. I never can do that. Never able to do that. When I did SportsCenter, I couldn't. I bring it home and I analyze everything. I did every sports center I did for years. I get the videotape of SportsCenter and I would sit down after I did an hour long SportsCenter and I would watch the entire Sports center to see what I didn't do right every single night. And, you know, the fun part of it is whatever you do, wanting to be great, it's being able to turn that off at times. And that's the toll that it takes. Where I'm already thinking about questions for Joe Burrow tomorrow morning as we sit here. Now, it's not fair to you, but that's how my mind works. You're thinking constantly, and it's hard to turn that off to have quality of life. I didn't have quality of life when I was at espn, but I didn't know I didn't have it. I was working second shift, four kids. I didn't see them during the day, and I still think I've got it made. Until I stepped aside and said, oh, my God, what did I do to my wife for 18 years? And came to the realization of quality of life. And that'll make you better at what you do. But it took me till I was 50 to figure that out. So, you know, but I figured it out, which is, you know, I'm very, very fortunate. We did my radio show in my attic for three, three years. So when people say, you know, guy, you left espn, what happened to you? I went up to my attic, you know, and you just see their faces and they're like. I said, yeah, I'd never had three better years in my life than when we did the show in my attic. Because I was at home, I saw my kids off to school, my wife making breakfast. The Danets came over, we went upstairs, we made a national radio show for three years. And people think, oh, my God, what happened to your career? And I said, the best thing ever.
Dan Le Batard
He speaks very lovingly of his family. We will give him a chance to do that here at some point because he learned that he had to be a better father in here somewhere. And whatever is the obsessive quest to be better than everyone else, because I have met very few people as competitive as he is. He's a bit of an insane person in that regard, but he's also somebody who helped give me permission. I will say flatly, I admire him for a number of different reasons. Makes hard things look easy all the time. Very easy. He was doing it from his attic. It's not easy to do it from your attic. And on top of that, the way that he cares about this thing is super unusual. He should be gliding into retirement. He should be. He should be like he should be. No, but I'm just saying he should get to enjoy the rest of his life because there are things he missed. But he also gave me permission to leave ESPN because I saw that it can be done. I saw what he did. But he made it look easier, the asshole. It looked that way on television. So explain to people the difficulties of it, because I don't think, think they understand what it's like to go from, he was the most powerful thing in sports television. He and Keith Olbermann were the biggest thing in sports television at ESPN's most golden time. He went from that to doing a show in his attic more meaningfully around his family for an audience that he's closer to.
Dan Patrick
Yeah, I think it was ESPN. Those four letters are so powerful. And I was there for 18 years, but I really needed to get my ass kicked. I really needed to kind of see if I could do it on my own, because you can lean on those four letters and they can hold up mountains. And I thought it was time to take a chance. The day I was driving up, I was going to sign a five year contract extension. Kids go off to school. My wife's there having breakfast. She said, are you sure you want to do this? I said, hon, five more years. I love it. There's okay, kids are all going to be gone. They're going to be out of the house. Ah, I'll see them drive up ESPN Boland driveway. Get out, go upstairs, second floor. Walk in at my boss. He said, what's it going to be? Take it or leave it. Boom. My wife hits me, Boom. Like a thunderbolt. I go, I'm going to leave it. And he said, all right, we'll get Danielle. She'll draw up the contra. Wait, what? And I said, I'm leaving. I'm going to Leave it. And I had to say it to myself because I didn't believe it. I'm like, who's the voice saying that? I need to say it again. And I walked outside. Beautiful blue skies. I said, hon, I'm coming home. She said, 15 minutes in crying. I had the under. By the way, I'm surprised I'm not crying already.
Dan Le Batard
I'm the cry.
Dan Patrick
When I cried.
Dan Le Batard
When I cried about my brother's death, the voicemail he sent me to butch up, to toughen up. And he was right. I was right. He was right.
Dan Patrick
I was like, God damn it, come on, you've got to get tough.
Dan Le Batard
Come on, you.
Dan Patrick
You love him. You get tough for your brother.
Dan Le Batard
Come on.
Dan Patrick
I'm so good at other people, you know, telling them to toughen up and. But, you know, it's the greatest advice that I've ever received. My wife just said, they're all going to be out of the house. I have three daughters. My son is our oldest. And I came home. So, you know, it's going to be a big, big deal. I come home, I pack up all my stuff, and I pull in the driveway. And my youngest daughter is nine at the time. And so she comes out to the driveway, she comes out to the car, and I think, God, my wife, she's wonderful. She sent my daughter out to welcome me home. And my daughter, my youngest, goes, dad, should I be honest? And I go, come on, just say you love me. I'm home. Should I be honest? I said, honey, you should always be honest. You swear? I go, come on. And she goes, you got a booger in your nose. So I walk in, I walk into the kitchen. They're all at the table. It's silent. They don't know if it's good news. Finally, my son goes, dad, is this good news? I said, it's great news. Bam. They started banging on the table. So I'm like. And then I realized six weeks later, no one's at home. I got the family dog. And I go, what did I do with my career? Like, where is everybody? It was me and the dog on the front porch. And I called Paulie, my producer, and I go, paulie, I made the worst mistake in my life. And he said, no, you didn't. And he talked me down off the ledge. It was one of those where we would meet at a bar. Eventually, our show was above that bar, but we would go to that bar, and basically I would. It was therapy. I'd say to Paulie, tell me I'm great again. Tell Me, tell me we're gonna be okay. And thankfully, it worked out, but it takes a lot of people. And so when I saw that he was going through what he did with his brother, I'm like, God, I got to be strong for him. But I didn't know. I didn't know how to be strong for somebody who just lost their brother and how important his brother was, how long he stayed with his brother, bedside with his brother, what his brother meant to him. And, you know, you're just like, how do I. How can I be a problem solver? How can I be a benefit to him? And it went back to just being a dad who was a Marine. And you're just like, stop. You're being a baby. Let's go. Let's be tough. Be tough for your brother. He'll be proud of you to be somebody more than what you are. And you were, like, stuck. I kept saying, move, move, move, move.
Dan Le Batard
Move, and still am in some ways. And may I never get unstuck in some ways, because the pain is forever a reminder of the love that won't die. And he is helpful, but, no, I will tell you that he is built very differently than I am. We have built the same thing. It's the same thing. It's a community. But it's built very differently, because around our authenticities, whatever they are, wherever it is that you connect with us, he's buttoned up. He's the drill sergeant. I'm sloppy. I came out here, my wife's cleaning a stain on my shirt because I. I got scallops on my shirt. Because he looks dignified on television. But we do the same thing, which is reveal as much of ourselves to the audience authentically as we can. And daily, no matter what our opinions are or wherever it is that you think we're dumb about X, Y, and Z, you feel like you know us. Cause you do.
Dan Patrick
Well, I think that you. You want to be real to you. That's all. I mean, it's not where. When I was on SportsCenter, you didn't know me. It was just the guy who was on tv. But radio is way too personal and intimate, and that's what's fun about it. But you have to make that conscious decision. And there are radio hosts who are very successful. They don't reveal anything about themselves. And when I left espn, I said, I'm gonna bring you in. You let me in your life. Why did. Why can't I let you in my life that way? Highs and lows, good and bad. Granddaughter, whatever. My dog died. Whatever. We're in it together. You go through the same things. We can share those things. And that kind of synchronicity is what, you know, powered me every day, still powers me every day.
Dan Le Batard
Why do you care the way you do?
Dan Patrick
Well, because you care. So why? I mean, I'm not above it. I mean, I'm. I'm in a. I think sometimes we get caught up in our world, that somehow what we do is more important than what you do or makes me more important than who you are, and it's just not. We should never lose sight of that. We do at times, but I'm grounded. I'm grounded by my family. My wife, my kids, my brothers, my sisters. I grew up in a family of six. You know, they're nothing special. Nobody got anything. I didn't get my driver's license till I was 18 because we didn't have a car. So you didn't need a license to ride your bike. So I'm like, well, why? I rode the bus my senior year in high school. No one rides the bus their senior year in high school. I would stand out there with freshmen, and I would be there. You know, these little guys had pimples on their face. I'm like, I'm a big basketball star. Like, what am I? How did I get here? But I came from a very humble family and keeps you grounded, but it reminds you of that, of who you are. Hey, you handed out super bowl trophy. Great. Go get me a beer. Like, that's. But that's the environment I grew up in.
Dan Le Batard
It was three. Three super bowl trophies, four to be. What did love look like in the household?
Dan Patrick
I never saw my parents kiss.
Dan Le Batard
Old school somebody. Old school somebody.
Dan Patrick
I never. I never saw them kiss. Which, I don't know, sounds mind boggling, but it. It was like, I don't know, you just kind of. Back then, my parents let us do stuff and trusted us, and you got home and you, you know, you, you. I don't know, there was so much leeway, but they also gave you that where you. I had a head start when I got out of college. Like, I'm on my own. I've been on my own. Like, I'm okay. It's. It's. Instead of, you know, let me, you know, be careful holding you in case you fall. But I don't. Love wasn't. Love was there. It was in a different definition of love. My dad would do whatever to always be there. I'm asking my mom.
Dan Le Batard
I'm trying to Figure out why you're as driven as you are. Like, did you enjoy at espn, obviously, you enjoyed the success, you enjoyed the fulfillment, but did you enjoy the doing of it, or were you too busy trying to win that? You. You. Or trying to criticize every broadcast that the. The cost, the tax on what you were doing is that you couldn't enjoy it?
Dan Patrick
I don't think I enjoyed any of it because. No, because I didn't allow myself to stop. I never. My wife would always say, you should enjoy it. I said, for how long? Like, minutes, Like a day. And I couldn't do that. And I've learned, you know, smaller things to enjoy, but I. My career accomplishments. Couldn't do it.
Dan Le Batard
Well, I'd like to explain to you guys, for those of you who happen to be here for us in our community, I hope you get to see Billy and Mike and Lucy and some of the people around what we do. I'm assuming that most of you are here because of allegiances that have to do with the intimacy of specifically radio. And I will tell you again, he's a television star, but the craft, like this. Keith Olbermann's one of the best I've ever seen at television. You rode right alongside him, galloped with him. It was amazing to watch radio. Totally different thing, totally different skill set. I've told this story before, too many times, of him walking up to me in the bowels of wherever the heat played, and I was already doing a local radio show. He was already, like, the biggest star in television. He looked at me, he's like, I can't do what you do. I can't do sit in front of a microphone and give three hours of opinions that make others find me entertaining. But you obviously found a pathway to what I would argue. Kornheiser says it, and I'd agree, this is the best of the mediums. And the reason it's the best is because these people feel like they know me, and I feel like I can tell some of their stories, too.
Dan Patrick
You were willing, like, I was afraid to share myself. And, like, once you get past that, it is very freeing. But I'm. I'm trusting that you'll handle that those stories with care, as I would yours. So I'm sharing things that are really personal. And, like, I told a story just the other day. I'd never told this story on the air. I had a family member who got engaged at my reception. My wife, you know, this beautiful wedding. We just get to the reception. We're in New York this The yacht that goes around Manhattan. It's. The band's there, they're playing. It's just wonderful. And my family member comes up and says, I, I don't mean to upstage you, but I just got engaged. I could have gotten away with murder. I think that day I think I could have, like, pushed him off the. The yacht. But, you know, you tell these stories, and sometimes I'll tell stories, and my kids or my wife don't know the story that I've told. And then their friends will say, I heard what Dan said about you. And my point, four kids. Because nobody wants to hear if your kids are great or they're grade point average or. So I tell stories where, you know, they don't look their best and. But that's. That's being a parent. We all go through that. And my wife is very disciplined, very tough, very loving. One morning, my son was moaning that he wanted a certain amount of. A certain kind of egg. And I have three daughters. They're young. I have four kids under the age of seven. My son wants eggs. My wife finally says, you want eggs? Boom. Right off the forehead.
Dan Le Batard
Yes.
Mike Ryan
Boom.
Dan Patrick
Right off the forehead.
Dan Le Batard
Yes.
Dan Patrick
Boom. Right off the forehead.
Dan Le Batard
I wish my wife would do that.
Dan Patrick
Yes.
Dan Le Batard
With muffins and chocolate.
Dan Patrick
That's why I love her. But you're telling stories that people can relate. You know, I don't want you to, I don't want to say, add courtside seeds for the Knicks. No, I got obstructed view. You know, so it's, it's. It's trying to relate to you. Because when you invest, then we're in this forever. It's not just, hey, we're going to spend some time, and I hope you're with me or how long you're with me. Like, I take it when somebody says, hey, I've been with you since 95. I've been with you since 2002, man. The best thing you can say, because we've grown up together. We've grown up together, and that's what's fun. Different stages in our life, different stages with family, with, you know, grandkids or kids, whatever. Those things are everyday things that you go through in life, and that's what's fun to be able to share now. I take great pride in interviews that we have. I take great priorities. Pride in having fun. The guys that I work with, the Danettes, awesome. But we come in every day and you have fun. You have fun. And I get to go to work. I don't have to go to work. And you have that mentality and hopefully that comes through when you're listening on radio or you're watching on tv.
Dan Le Batard
How do you, how did you feel at start? I'm curious about this. I haven't asked him this. I would imagine from Dan Patrick's viewpoint, right, you're running espn, you've got the popular show. And then John Skipper, the CEO of Meadowlark, he brings in a bunch of journalists. He overruns the place with a bunch of gas bag journalists. He buys all of journalism's watchdogs. He feeds us the candy of, look, you can have fame and you can be on television. And you writers who pretend that you're more intellectual than the TV foofs who comb their hair and are too vain. When the journalist, when the print journalist came and overran the place, you resent it.
Dan Patrick
The only reason why I did is because when you're on tv, you're already a narcissist and your ego and all of those things. And. Yes. Do you care about how you look? Yes, you do. Well, the print guys don't normally. Don't care about how they look.
Dan Le Batard
They don't care about how they look? No, they do not.
Dan Patrick
So when they start, started to come on TV and now they're wearing makeup and they're combing. And I said, you're frauds. Like, I'm a fraud because I'm a narcissist and I'm an egomania. I'm on TV and I comb my hair and wear makeup. These guys would make fun of us all the time. And I go, you're frauds, not us. We sign up for this. You guys are like the print journalist and we're Woodward and Bernstein. And we're going to break the next story. And coming up on 30 for 30.
Dan Le Batard
That's right, that's right. We lost.
Dan Patrick
We're like, how do I look?
Dan Le Batard
They kicked us all out of espn. Yes, America hates us. The media lost. We lost already.
Dan Patrick
And then they did around the horn. A bunch of writers on there wearing makeup and combing their hair. You phonies.
Dan Le Batard
That's right. So, yeah, deep, deep, dark.
Dan Patrick
Shame, shame, shame.
Mike Ryan
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Dan Le Batard
So how did we become friends? Remind me. No, I'm serious, though. Like, how. How did we become friends? I don't. I'm asking you seriously.
Dan Patrick
I think I heard something different with you. You're caring, you're sincere, you're annoying, you're smart, but you're. I was hearing somebody who was different and allowing. Allowing yourself to listen to me, defer to me and take advice instead of, you know, look, were we equal? I never even looked at it that way. And I still don't. I mean, there's an age difference here, a bit of an age difference, but when we, when we spoke, I thought we talked about really, really, really important things. And to this day, when now, I will say the relationship changed. And usually nudity changes a relationship. Big FaceTime guy. Hate FaceTime. Hate. Only with my granddaughter. So he, you know, I just see Dan LeBatard, FaceTime, and next thing I know, I says, join, and I see a pair of breasts. It's Dan. And I'm going. So he's sitting on the couch with his shirt off next to his wife and I, and he's having a serious conversation. I'm like, dude, your shirt's off.
Dan Le Batard
This isn't how we became friends.
Dan Patrick
Oh, yeah, it is. Yes, it is. But, you know, we just got. Then it just became a relationship of. He would call me when he needed to, I'd call him when I needed to. And I think that that was the beauty of it. It was when needed, when necessary, you know, break glass when necessary. And that was kind of the important part of this, of having a friend. I don't have many friends. I don't. I'm kind of a loner. My wife even encourages me to go out and get friends. But I don't know where you get friends from. You know, it's like, where do you go, hun and I. And I think he became sort of that where it was a friend I could lean on. My wife. My wife's texting me right now. She says, let's talk sports.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, fair enough. All right. And he will deflect like that. We'll get closer in future, future times that we try. Whatever this is.
Dan Patrick
Thank you. Thank you, hon. Thank you.
Dan Le Batard
Do you have any regret?
Dan Patrick
How about that Luca trade, huh? How about that Luca train?
Dan Le Batard
You're a good interviewer. You know how to interview. You wouldn't back off right now if you were me. So tell us, tell us about the craftsmanship of interviewing. Explain to me why it is you're so good at it.
Dan Patrick
I thought I was good at it until I took a seminar at espn. It was five days, eight hours a day, one whole week on interviewing. And what I thought I knew, I knew nothing. It changed my life. It changed my career because I learned how to. All you have to do is listen. To be a good interviewer, listen and ask close ended questions or ask open ended questions. I want you to talk. You don't have to have the answer, even if I know the answer, because sometimes somebody will go, hey, what do you think of that Luca trade? Because I think Dallas did pretty well here the first couple of years, but then the Lakers went and what do you think of that Luca trait? Just ask, what do you think of the Luca trait? Having that and being a good listener is really, really important. Because most of the people I speak to don't want to tell you something. They'll be on TV or radio, but they got to be careful with what they're sharing. Unless it's Charles Barkley, all bets are off. But listening, it's amazing what people tell you when they're not trying to tell you something. And I want to get you talking, and when I get you talking, it's amazing what you'll say that you don't even know. You've said. The commissioner of the NBA. The other day when I said, give me the wildest thing that's come across your desk. And he goes, well, here's something I like. Okay, now it's simple question. And then he said, how about we do 10 minute quarters instead of playing 48 minutes, we play 40. Well, it got picked up, it exploded. But it was a simple question at the end of the interview. And you just take a chance on something like that. And you also build up a rapport with people that you interview, that they'll trust you. You can ask a tough question and they'll respect you for asking that. But I think in a way that you ask and listen to what they're saying. And I know it sounds crazy, but if you try this with your kids, or you try it at work, or try it with your wife, when you ask a question, make it open ended. We got to the point where if I said to my son, how's your day? Good. Then I said, tell me what was the best part of your day? Well, then he was talking to me and that's what you need to do. My girls, same thing. I just want you talking. And I think the interviewers who ask a question, you know, why did you, you know, kill that person? You know, then they might say, I don't, I didn't. Or, you know, why do people say that you killed somebody? Whatever. It might be getting people to speak. And I didn't realize it until this guy, John Swatzky, and he was from Canada, we invited him to espn and everybody had to take this seminar. I thought it was weird, wonderful. But it was something so simple that was right in front of me that we're taught differently on how to ask questions. And if you can interview Mike Tyson or Dennis Rodman, go down the list of all the people that I've interviewed over the years that are tough interviews. Normally, if you ask the question in a correct way, you'll get interesting answers. And I didn't know that until later in my career at espn. But we do it every day. We take great pride in the guests. When somebody says, you ask great questions. And I always say, what was the answer? Because it's not a great question unless you get a great answer. And sometimes we in our business get caught up in, hey, I'm asking great questions, or how did that sound? Or I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. How, when, where, why, who. Those are the best questions you can ever ask.
Dan Le Batard
Do you, do you feel like you can, without being too haughty about it, impart career wisdoms here from things that you've learned because the resume is expansive. We're talking about cnn, we're talking about espn. We're talking about on your own as a business venture since 2007. So what is it, 50 years or close to 50 years? When did you start on the path? Because it was an obsession from the very start. Was it not? Like from 18 years old, crazy competitive, I'm gonna be a TV man.
Dan Patrick
No, not TV. I just wanted to do sports. I. I used to go to parties when I was dating my wife. And I wouldn't let you leave the party unless you could stump me with a trivia question.
Dan Le Batard
That's pathetic.
Dan Patrick
Pathetic. It is sad. It is sad. But I would be at the front door late in the party, and my wife would. My girlfriend, at times, she would cringe and she'd go, are we doing the trivia thing? And I go, yeah. So you had to. You had to stump me with a sports trivia question. But I. That's what I wanted to do. I didn't know how to do it, but I knew somehow, some way, that I was. I was going to be involved in it. And there's no clear path. There's parents that come up to me all the time or students. How do I get in the business? And there is no clear path. Internship, volunteer, when somebody else isn't. Volunteer.
Dan Le Batard
You started a school, right?
Dan Patrick
Yeah, broadcasting school in Orlando, Florida. We wanted to give students the answer to the test. That took me years to come up with. And they're so much more advanced. They're 21, 22, and they're working. They're getting jobs right away. I was 27 when I got my first job, and I. I'd lost out on a job in Dayton, Ohio, the local station there. And I almost quit the business because I thought, I, you know, I can't get a job in Dayton, Ohio, doing weekend sports. And I went to Atlanta and I got a job doing headline sports, and I took a $10,000 pay cut, and I wasn't even on TV. Headline sports back then, it's two minutes where you just voice over something. But six months later, they said, do you want to replace a guy named Keith Olbermann in New York as the New York bureau reporter? I covered Baltimore, Boston, Philly, New York, D.C. i covered the Celtics with Larry Bird, Dr. J with the Sixers, the Mets in 86. I mean, I cover. Covered U.S. opens, all of this stuff. And I met my wife at CNN at the time. So it was just. There's no, there's no, there's no strategy to this. There's strategy. You know, it's just. All it is is you got to work. You got to be ready when you get called. And I was. I was very lucky.
Dan Le Batard
Okay, but he's. Okay. Very lucky. He's a lunatic about obsessive compulsive, needing to be better. Where does your competitive come from? Does it come from an insecurity? Have you studied the roots of where your competitive comes from?
Dan Patrick
I. I want to crush you. I want to kill you. I mean, not You. But I. My approach is that I have to win. I have to win.
Dan Le Batard
But why?
Dan Patrick
Why? It's always. It's there, you know, and my wife is not a competitive person. She just knows when I get. And look, it's been called jaw face. When I get jaw face. It's not good. Not good for anybody. But that's the only way I can approach it. You just got to be great. And every single day. And I. I've always had. I've never needed motivation ever. You know, sometimes you got to, hey, that guy needs kick in the butt, you got to get him. I never needed that. Like I. I needed you to say, slow down a little bit, back off a little bit. But I don't know where it came from.
Dan Le Batard
How do you want to punctuate this? Three years you've announced your retirement. I think I can say that people like us get a great deal of their identity from their work. It's not an easy thing to leave behind. You're going to be meticulous about leaving it behind as you become 70 years old. Why did you make this? Decisions you made? And how do you want this to end? How do you imagine it feeling?
Dan Patrick
I wanted to. I wanted to laugh with you, not have you laugh at me. Like, I was concerned about not being great that last day, December 24, 2027. Like, even that day, I better be good. Like I, like, I want, you know, so even if I like in my mind, I know I've slipped some with this, but it's not really something that is percept. You know, the audience isn't probably seeing that or hearing that, but Mike does. But. But I think my producer Paulie knows and he's, you know, he's cognizant of helping fill in the gray area. Sometimes memory, you know, just certain things that I know. But I. It's just, it's. It's got to be great. I was more worried that I was slipping a little bit and I was forgetting names. One day I couldn't remember. He's forgetting names. I'm 67.
Dan Le Batard
I'm 56. I've been forgetting them for five years. I've given up hundreds of dollars in fines. I haven't gotten a name right since 2018.
Dan Patrick
But I care about my career.
Dan Le Batard
Dan, My brother died. I'm broken. I'm broken. He cares about his career. He doesn't care about human grief. It's hard starting a business. I've told you this thousands of times.
Dan Patrick
I couldn't remember Albert Pujols name and I couldn't remember. Tom Izzo, Michigan State Headco I could not remember. And I said to Paulie during a commercial break, I go, I don't know what's happening. I can't remember Albert Pujols name and Tom Izzo's. And he said, don't worry. If I see that you're losing something or you can't remember, I'll help you. And it helped me have a security blanket there if I needed it. And I think it stayed in my mind that I was. I just wanted to make sure that what I was doing was going to be at a level that you expected it, not where you go, gosh, you know, he used to do it. It used to be pretty good. I didn't want sympathy viewers or listeners. I wanted it to be where you go, you know, what did it the right way.
Dan Le Batard
The best thing that I can tell you, the most intimate thing that I can tell you, the most personal thing I can tell you about this evening is that it's been brought to you by Miller lite. Great taste, 90s calories. We got Q and A is what we're doing. Mike Ryan tells me we're going to give away some stuff. If you're not done, we don't have to finish. We're on your schedule, so it's up to you whether we have as much time as you want or we can do question and answer at your leisure.
Dan Patrick
We'll do some Q and A here. Sounds good.
Dan Le Batard
So. But Mike Ryan, where are you with what the prizes are? And we have a couple of things to give to people on behalf of Miller Light that he had a sign in the back.
Mike Ryan
Yeah, this guy keeps trying to seal the thunder. Jimmy Butler did get traded while you were doing that. So what, Dan, what do you think of that trade?
Dan Le Batard
I don't know anything about the trade. You're going to have to inform me.
Mike Ryan
What happened to warriors, but PJ Tucker's back.
Dan Le Batard
Okay. Yeah, we're.
Mike Ryan
We got Miller Light gave us some cool premiums. We got an autograph hat from both Dan's and we also have an autograph bar sign of two beautiful Miller Light cans. So you guys have to deem whether or not the questions are worthy of these two premiums. All right, so the first thing we're going to give away is the hat. I've heard a lot of talking from this side, so I'm going to walk over there. Just, you know, the producer. I mean, I don't know if I can. I just don't trust that side. A little bit. There was one guy that screamed boobies at a certain point. So who's got a question over here? Yeah.
Dan Le Batard
Yeah.
Mike Ryan
All right, we'll go with David. Curiosity, based on the school that you have, Dan Patrick, when it comes to your voice, just it controls the radio. People that don't have your voice, what do you say to the people that want to be the Paulies and the producers of the world? How does that work?
Dan Patrick
Well, when we get with these students, I'm honest with them. My lead professor Gus Ramsey, worked with me at espn. I said, we got to be honest. We don't want your money. We want your money to get you a job. We want you to learn how to do this. And I said, there's people who do this and they're producers, coordinating producers, people who are Dan. Ed's on his staff. They can have a career in this. Not everybody's going to get on TV or radio. We say that to them right away. You got to be honest with people. Because if you're not, I don't want you to be 27 and go, why didn't you tell me? I want, I want you to know this is why it's going to be difficult. As far as your voice, I mean, I'm fortunate that I was. I was born with this. I didn't develop this. I just woke up one day and I didn't have a high pitched voice. You can do it with an annoying voice, too. And that is. But look, I'm with Chris Furman or Dick Vital. Like people who have unique voices, it's not how you sound, it's what you're saying. And that's the most important part. Do you connect with people? Are you saying something in a way that makes them react? And there's a lot of people who are very successful. They don't have a great voice, but they have a great message to deliver. And that's the most important part of all of this.
Mike Ryan
All right, Was that worthy of a hat? Is that worthy of a hat?
Dan Le Batard
Is that worthy of a hat?
Mike Ryan
Hat worthy? That's a good question.
Dan Le Batard
Great question.
Mike Ryan
I'll give you an autograph.
Dan Le Batard
That's a great question. So that I don't know if it's hat worthy or not.
Mike Ryan
All right, we got. Okay, well then, aluminum bar sign coming up next. All right, let's have a good question.
Dan Patrick
I mean, it's your night too, Dan.
Dan Le Batard
I'm here to please.
Mike Ryan
So my dad and I traveled from Tampa just for this event today.
Dan Le Batard
Thank you.
Mike Ryan
We've been watching both the shows. I'm a Patrick fan. He's a Le Batard fan. We've been watching, and we've been debating, and the big debate is who came up with stat of the day first. We've been arguing.
Dan Patrick
See, see, that's. That's a. That's a bad question. Even though you're like, you know better. You know better. You know. You know better.
Dan Le Batard
I. I will be honest here. I will be honest on air, what I have said on air. Okay. I pride myself on being authentic and honest on air. I sit next to a liar, and that. That liar once accused Dan Patrick of stealing the idea of they should do Super Bowl Saturday instead of Super Bowl Sunday. Stugat says he had the idea before Dan Patrick had the idea. And as a retaliatory measure, even though I was pretty sure that Stugats was lying and that it wasn't true in any way that Dan Patrick had stolen it, I said, you know, Dan does have that one good idea with the stat of the day. I'm going to steal that, and I'm going to say that we deserve that as a trade. But, yes, that's just totally stolen.
Dan Patrick
And he did.
Dan Le Batard
Yes.
Dan Patrick
And Dan did tell me that he stole stat of the day from me, which I said, that's fine. I. But I didn't know anything about what Stu God said because I don't listen to the show. That's why. I would have no idea.
Dan Le Batard
That's right.
Mike Ryan
Is that worthy of a bar sign?
Dan Le Batard
Not worthy of a bar.
Mike Ryan
Oh, it's a lady.
Dan Le Batard
Very. Take his hat.
Dan Patrick
In fact, take the hat he's wearing. Turn in your hat to us. Here.
D
I am here. I'm here by accident. I'm kind of here by accident with my husband Steve, who's 63, and his little buddy over here, David.
Dan Patrick
Wait, did you say you're with husbands?
D
No, husband. My husband's. Well.
Dan Le Batard
Oh, well, I'm a. Huh.
D
David wants to be my.
Dan Patrick
Now I'm interested, but.
D
So he's 30. He's 35. Here's a question, though. Like my two young. I have two sons, 35 and 30. Now, they grew up listening to you. Dan Patrick with my husband. And my friend Jane Ann has two sons. Same thing. You're 68. You're 68 now. I'm 63. I still work. How do you stay relatable to younger people? Like, I'm looking around the room, I see the generation that's in the room. How do you continue to stay, and how do you feel about staying relatable?
Dan Le Batard
Some of those are my people to.
D
I'm sorry, is that the older people or the younger people? Would that be the older or the younger? But how do you plan to stay relatable until you retire to the younger people? I mean, you need that crowd, right? We're going to be gone soon, so how do you do that?
Dan Patrick
That got dark, didn't it? Like, we're going to be gone soon. I don't act my age. I will never act my age. I, I, you know, I listen to my daughters with music or my son with music or TV shows. I'm constantly, I read a ton. I'm always looking at what is going on, whether it's the Grammys, whatever, you know, Kendrick Lamar is doing to Drake. And can we, can we mention that on the show? What is relatable? You know, are you mentioning something on Netflix? Is there something that is, Somebody's watching that.
Dan Le Batard
Nothing he's doing is casual. It's not flippant. Like, he's not, he doesn't keep up lazily. He keeps up because he's, forgive me, but, like, because if you call him at 5 o'clock, he's preparing for the next day's show.
Dan Patrick
Like, no, it's important, though, because, but there's certain times where I go, I'm not familiar with that or, you know, Marvin is such a, and he's younger, but he's such a great reference with younger things. And so, so you're, you're able to, I, I just grab information. I'm just listening. I, whatever somebody says something about that I'm curious about, is it relatable? Is it something that you care about? Because there are a lot of things I care about, and sometimes I'm going to make you care about it because you'll hear it in my voice. If I really love a show, I'm passionate about something or music or, you know, we had an artist, Stephen Wilson Jr. Who was on, and nobody really knew who he was. I heard his voice and I said, I can get this guy on the show. Maybe I can give his career a boost. And hopefully you would appreciate that because I'm bringing it to you. And that's what's fun about this. It's, we have three hours, we don't have a boss, we can do what we want. And we go every single day with, you know, are we going to go in this direction or that direction? And we never know. But that's the fun part of it. But having things that are relatable to you instead of being Stuck in the. Get off my lawn. There are times when I do act that way because you know what the younger kids should learn? Get off my lawn. You know, this is how it should be done. You hear me?
Mike Ryan
Is that worthy of a. Was that worthy of a premium? I think we have time for one more question.
Dan Patrick
Timmit.
Mike Ryan
Want to do one more. Was that worthy of a sign or should I give it.
Dan Le Batard
You can ask another question, but I would be remiss if I didn't say to that question and many others, I wouldn't speak on behalf of him. I know he's got a lot of production help, but in my case, we have a lot of people who are helping us stay young, stay relevant in ways that I can't possibly. Because they care about me, they care about what they're doing, and we're blessed to do, like, a really weird thing. I will tell you again and again, it's a. An unusually blessed way to make a living. It's really silly. Like, I'm a bit stunned that we get to sit here in front of you and do this. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Like, it's not right. I mean, it's not. It doesn't get old. You've done this for many, many years. You're used to being famous. You're used to being successful. The idea that people would want to listen to you is like. It's just. I'm staggered in disbelief all the time by it.
Dan Patrick
I said to Dan, is anybody showing up? And he goes, yes, there'll be people that show up. Like, I. I'm forever grateful. You know, that's why I took a picture when I came out. Hey, I. You came to see me, I came to see you, so thank you. Thank you.
Mike Ryan
All right, we got one more question over here.
Dan Patrick
My question's for LeBatard.
Dan Le Batard
If you were to put a percentage.
Mike Ryan
On it, what percentage of Stugatz is bit and what percentage is actual ST Gods?
Dan Le Batard
Yeah, it's not. It's not fit, man. It's not. It's. Okay. So Dirty Secret. The. The. The. The character that rises up and is the strongest version of the character sails on the wings of Mike and Billy and Chris Cody, like, lifting up the puppet character so that I could fight with it. But he's a lying, conniving thief, and I love him, and I often don't like him. I've told this story before. In the original incarnation of our radio show that was going to be on television, the producers of PTI came down and we're going to see how they could televise that show. They came away five minutes, they packed up their stuff and they're left. They can't do that. They're like, they're talking to Jim Brown about his penis size because he was in Playgirl magazine and he was trying to make a woman jealous by posing in Playgirl. We can't televise this on Disney. But the thing that they left with was seeing Stugats in the hallways and saying, it's real. That's. That thing is real. It's not playing a character. It's marching up and down the hallways, trying to pull a grift on somebody. And. And if there's one thing he's doing, he's turning nine and a half, up to 10 on occasion, because Mike Ryan's yelling at him that he's got to. To stop being lazy and turn it up to a 10. He's got some interesting opinions on stugats I'm sure he's never shared with me. He hasn't, like, he hasn't told me anything about stugats, but I can just imagine what he thinks of me needing. Needing the crutch of. Of Stugots in a way. That noble, noble pillar of professionalism, Dan Patrick wouldn't need a Stugotz to run around as a court jester to fool people into making him more entertaining than he actually is.
Dan Patrick
At his wedding reception, Stugots showed up late. He missed the wedding, and he was there for the reception. And then he offered to give me a ride back to my hotel. And then he proceeded to ask me for a job. See?
Dan Le Batard
See, it's real. It's real. It's lovely. It's funny. Thank you guys for coming tonight. And thank you, sir. Yeah, thank you for trusting me with this. We appreciate you making the journey. I don't know the proper way to say goodbye. How do you. How do you. How do we properly say goodbye to you and express our gratitude? I don't know what the greatest compliment is that Dan receives. We often tell people that the greatest compliment that we receive is when listeners come through and say, hey, you helped me during a dark time. You were a bit of medicine for me. I will tell you over the last three years that the audience has been medicine for me during a great deal of pain. And so if I tell you in a vacuum, this over here needed help and was helped by this. This over here needed help and was helped by this. Are those people friends?
Mike Ryan
Pretty.
Dan Le Batard
Pretty close. Pretty close. So thank you. I say with genuine sincerity on behalf of him, I'm as grateful and he's as grateful for what it is that you do for us, supporting our businesses as we are for you. Because it's not. It's not a joke. You make us. You're the reasons we can do this. This is not. It's not normal to have an allegiance and a stickiness. Who wants to come out and listen to us for yet another hour? It's so like, my gratitude is sincere, and I don't think his is any less than mine.
Dan Patrick
No, thank you. This is the reward when you get people to come out and that we do hear what we mean in your life, whatever it is. Sometimes we don't find that out, but sometimes when we do, it's very rewarding because that's what you're trying to do. We're connecting with you. Whatever you're going through, if we can help you through that, we can make you laugh, make you cry, make you angry, whatever we can do to get a reaction out of you, but allow us still to be in your life. Like, I don't get along with my brothers all the time, but they're my brothers and I love them. We won't always get along, but as long as we still believe that we're related, there's a relationship there, we'll be together forever. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dan Le Batard
Thank you.
Dan Patrick
Thank you. Now get stepping out.
Podcast Summary: "Dan Interviews Dan: A Live Show About Love, Loss, and Laughter"
Episode Release Date: February 10, 2025
In this heartfelt and introspective episode of "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz," host Dan Le Batard sits down with fellow industry titan Dan Patrick for an intimate conversation exploring their careers, personal lives, and the profound connections they've built with their audiences. Filmed live at the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, the episode delves deep into themes of love, loss, laughter, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in the world of sports media.
The episode opens with enthusiastic introductions, setting a warm and welcoming tone. Dan Le Batard expresses his admiration for Dan Patrick, highlighting Patrick's transformation from a sports television mogul to a revered radio personality. This segment emphasizes the mutual respect and gratitude both hosts have for each other and their respective audiences.
Notable Quote:
Dan Patrick (00:12): "A man whose movie star good looks are only surpassed by his charm and intellectual..."
Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick delve into the unique intimacy that radio offers compared to television. Patrick emphasizes the personal connection he fosters with his listeners, describing radio as a medium where the audience feels like partners in conversation. This segment underscores the significance of trust and authenticity in building a loyal listener base.
Notable Quotes:
Dan Patrick (03:21): "Radio is what, like, that's where the connection is with you guys who are here to see him?"
Dan Le Batard (05:14): "You are grateful that any person would spend any amount of time as I am, listening to anything you have to say."
The conversation shifts to the personal relationship between Le Batard and Patrick. They recount how their friendship blossomed from mutual respect and the ability to confide in one another. Patrick shares anecdotes about their interactions, highlighting the genuine support they offer each other both professionally and personally.
Notable Quote:
Dan Patrick (09:14): "We connected for some reason. I never would have thought that because I didn't know if he would take an interest."
Patrick opens up about the challenges of maintaining a demanding career while striving to be a present and supportive family member. He reflects on his time at ESPN, the sacrifices he made, and the realization that led him to prioritize his family's well-being over professional accolades. This segment poignantly addresses the emotional toll of high-stakes careers in media.
Notable Quotes:
Dan Patrick (16:17): "There's a cost, though. There's a tax...I have to be a better father."
Dan Patrick (19:20): "I never saw my parents kiss. Which, I don't know, sounds mind boggling..."
Dan Patrick shares invaluable insights into the art of interviewing, emphasizing the importance of listening and asking the right types of questions. He recounts a transformative experience at an ESPN seminar that reshaped his approach, highlighting techniques that foster genuine dialogue and elicit meaningful responses from guests.
Notable Quotes:
Dan Patrick (31:34): "All you have to do is listen. To be a good interviewer, listen and ask close-ended questions or ask open-ended questions."
Dan Patrick (35:46): "There's no clear path...you got to work. You got to be ready when you get called."
The discussion turns to the challenge of remaining relevant and relatable to younger audiences in an ever-evolving media landscape. Both hosts share strategies they've employed to stay current, including continuous learning, engaging with diverse topics, and leveraging their platforms to connect with multiple generations.
Notable Quotes:
Dan Patrick (48:28): "I am always looking at what is going on...Kendrick Lamar is doing to Drake."
Dan Patrick (49:47): "Having things that are relatable to you instead of being stuck in the 'get off my lawn.'"
The live episode incorporates a dynamic Q&A segment, allowing audience members to engage directly with Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick. Questions range from professional advice to personal anecdotes, fostering a sense of community and shared experience among listeners.
Notable Exchange:
Audience Member (43:32): "How does your voice control the radio...how does that work?"
Dan Patrick (43:53): "You have to connect with people. Are you saying something in a way that makes them react?"
As the episode concludes, both hosts express profound gratitude towards their listeners. They acknowledge the impact their shows have had on individuals' lives, particularly during challenging times, and reinforce the importance of the listener-audience relationship in sustaining their passion and commitment to their craft.
Notable Quotes:
Dan Le Batard (55:54): "You make us...this is not normal to have an allegiance and a stickiness."
Dan Patrick (56:28): "It's the reward when you get people to come out and that we do hear what we mean in your life."
Authenticity Builds Connection: Both Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick emphasize the importance of being genuine and authentic in their interactions, whether on radio or television, to foster deep connections with their audiences.
Balancing Ambition and Personal Life: The conversation highlights the delicate balance between pursuing career excellence and maintaining personal relationships, underscoring the emotional sacrifices often required in high-profile careers.
The Art of Listening: Effective interviewing hinges on active listening and the ability to ask questions that encourage openness and honesty, a skill that both hosts have honed over years of practice.
Adaptability Across Generations: Staying relevant requires continuous learning and adaptation, ensuring that content resonates with both older and newer audiences.
Gratitude Towards the Audience: The hosts express heartfelt thanks to their listeners, acknowledging the profound impact their support has on their ability to continue creating meaningful content.
This episode serves as a testament to the enduring bonds formed within the sports media industry and the profound influence hosts like Dan Le Batard and Dan Patrick have on their audiences. Through candid discussions and shared experiences, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the personal and professional dynamics that drive their favorite shows. The heartfelt exchanges about love, loss, and laughter not only humanize these media figures but also reinforce the vital role of community and connection in their lives and careers.