Hour 2: Cheddar Fred (feat. Fred Warner)

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Hour 2: Cheddar Fred (feat. Fred Warner)
Date: February 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

Live from the Elser Hotel in Downtown Miami, Dan Le Batard, Stugotz, and the usual cast dive deeply into their trademark blend of sports talk, irreverent humor, and pop-culture tangents. This hour features a blend of Super Bowl chatter, Olympic hot takes, an extended and playful interview with All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner (plus his cheese doppelgänger), and some pointed discussion about NBA star James Harden’s legacy.

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1. Opening Banter & Super Bowl Week Antics

• Super Bowl "Shilling" Joke:
  The show makes fun of the annual tradition of Super Bowl coverage featuring athletes "shilling" sponsored products.
  • Stugotz teases that Fred Warner will soon join, joking:

    "We make fun every year of the fact that these guys come on and they're shilling something. We'll find out together what what Fred Warner is shilling." [00:38]

• Bit Creation:
  They brainstorm ways to update Stugotz's long-running "single most important thing to do to win the Super Bowl" bit, possibly by inserting random team names to see if guests notice.
  • Dan:

    "I want to add an element to it by just throwing Patriots in there in somebody else's voice... and see if everyone just answers the question or whether somebody stops in their tracks..." [01:25]

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2. Winter vs. Summer Olympics: Popularity, Relatability & Nostalgia

Key Discussion Points:

• Greg Cody Drops a Bomb:
  Greg surprises the group by announcing,

  "The Winter Olympics start tomorrow." [02:10]

• Are Winter Olympics Popular?
  Greg claims they're as popular as the Summer Games—everyone else disagrees. Argument hinges on ratings versus "word of mouth."
  • Stugotz:

    "That's ridiculous, what you're saying. The only...-way to measure popularity is ratings." [02:49]

• Relatability of Olympic Sports:
  Dan and crew note that Summer Olympic sports feel more familiar, but some Winter sports become favorites when an American dominates.
  • Dan:

    "Winter sports are not as relatable... At least in the Summer Olympics, I'm watching Usain Bolt, and I'd be like, 'I can do that.'" [04:21]

  • Stugotz:

    "If America had the most dominant skeet shooter, we'd be like, I love skeet shooting." [05:35]

• Gymnastics & Figure Skating:
  They debate which sports are truly the most popular—track & field, swimming, figure skating, or gymnastics.
  • Stugotz on Olympic icons:

    "[Michael Phelps] got us to wrap ourselves in the flag and care... If somebody was doing that in skeet shooting, we'd like skeet shooting." [05:16]

• How Do Athletes Get Good at Dangerous Sports?
  Stugotz marvels at the training necessary for dangerous sports like the squirrel suit or the pommel horse:

  "How do people get good at that?...You don't get a second chance to practice that." [06:15]

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3. James Harden: Chasing Legacy or Chasing Contracts?

[08:00 - 12:28]

• Harden's Public Statements vs. Actions:
  Dan reads James Harden's quote from September 2024—"I'm home. I don't plan on going anywhere else. I want to leave a legacy..."—then reflects on how quickly Harden reverses course for contract demands.
• Harden as NBA Cautionary Tale:
  • Dan:

    "James Harden is a cautionary tale of what can happen if you lean too hard into mercenary, if you don't care to play defense, if titles aren't a thing..." [09:24]

• Rewriting Legacy with a Few More Made Shots:
  Stugotz brings up Harden's infamously poor Game 7 shooting versus the Warriors (2-for-13 from three, team was 7-for-44), mulling a "what if":

  "If five more threes go in... is Harden's legacy any different?" [11:00]

  • Dan:

    "Yes, because he's got to have a title too...His legacy is a guy that maybe could have been a champion, but didn't care enough to...help his team get better." [11:41]

• Role Players & Historical Parallels:
  The group points out that even Kobe and Wade benefited from timely role player heroics.
  • Stugotz:

    "Everybody needs role players, though... Mike Miller, Shane Battier." [18:03]

• Harden's Impact vs. Westbrook, KD, D-Wade:
  Ultimately, they contrast Harden’s legacy to other all-timers, questioning whether stats, style, or rings define greatness.
  • Dan:

    "I think he's third of those triplets they had in OKC... They won't say the same things about Westbrook that they'll say about Harden. They won’t. That guy was a dog." [18:23]

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4. Fred Warner Interview: "Cheddar Fred" and Grit

<div style="margin-bottom: 12px"></div> #### **A. The Cheese Connection** [**20:20**] - **Product Placement with a Smile:** Fred Warner appears with a *block of cheese shaped like his head*, promoting Tillamook. - Fred, embracing the silliness: > "We call this Cheddar Fred right here. This is insane, man. I'm actually seeing this for the first time myself." [20:38] - Stugotz jokes: > "Are you carrying it around? How does this work?" [21:51]

B. Football Toughness & Personal History

[22:53]

• Toughness and Team Culture:
  Stugotz asks about Warner’s pain tolerance and the culture of the Niners as “lunatics.”
  • Warner:

    "You have to have something a little off upstairs to be able to go out there and say, hey, I'm going to willingly go into multiple car crashes every single play... it's a melting pot of different guys who have gone through hard things to make them tough." [24:29]

• Respect for Trent Williams:
  • Fred:

    "Anytime you got a guy who's over 300 pounds and has the feet of a ballerina in the midst of a grizzly bear... you definitely don't want those things getting on you." [25:09]

C. Heritage, Dreaming Big, and Drive

[25:24]

• Mexican Heritage & Family:
  • Warner laughs about his Spanish ("Espokito. Espokito masomanos.") [26:08]
  • Shares about his family's culture, grandmother’s influence, and growing up in LA.
• From Third Rounder to NFL Star:
  • Warner:

    "My dream was to make it in the NFL... When I got here and realized I could do it... I just continue to see different doors open for myself on the field... Now, I feel like there is no limit." [26:25]

  • On realizing he belonged:

    "I looked up and it was week one...I was the starter at mike linebacker with the green dot..." [27:19]

D. Career Milestones & Gratitude

[30:03 - 32:52]

• Becoming the Highest Paid Linebacker (Twice):
  • Warner, on receiving historic contracts:

    "...It truly was moving to tears both times. And my gratitude is through the roof...you kind of see your life flash before your eyes, of everything that it took to even get to that point." [32:15]

• On NFC Championship Comeback:
  • Fred details how close he was to playing:

    "We were one game away... the safest way... was to come back for the NFC Championship Game...I was on that field in practice... that is a huge blessing in itself." [33:08]

E. Quick Hits Before Exit

[34:59 - 36:01]

• Rams vs. Seahawks:
  • Warner:

    "At the end of the day...it's not about who's the better team. It's who plays the best for 60 minutes...I've had plenty of instances where I thought we were the better team...we just unfortunately weren't the better team for those 60 minutes." [34:59]

• On Sam Darnold’s Career:
  • Warner:

    "I'm proud of him...obviously a 49er at heart. Even though he has to wear that, that disgusting blue jersey now." [35:36]

• Will Cheddar Fred Be Eaten?:
  • Warner:

    "I think the latter. I think the longer that it sits out, just like most dairy products, you don't want to partake." [29:41]

  • On mispronouncing "replication":

    "Little replication, whatever that word is." [29:56]

  • Show teases Fred about "replification" for minutes after.

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5. Post-Interview Debrief & Show Hijinks

• Stugotz on Interviewing:
  • Admits to pushing Warner for emotional answers:

    "I'll ask you four times how emotional that was for you." [37:53]

• More Joking About Cheese and Mispronunciations:
  • "Replification" becomes a running gag.
    • Chris Cody:

      "He called himself out for that. He would have had fun with it." [38:31]

• Shaquille O’Neal & Fear Factor:
  • Cody and Jeremy delight in recounting a tense/funny moment where Shaq, very seriously, says he wants to "kill" Dan.

    Shaq: "Dan, I'm kill you when I see you." [41:18] Chris Cody: "We're all scared he's going to kill our boss." [41:40]

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Notable Quotes

• Dan Le Batard:

  “James Harden is a cautionary tale of what can happen if you lean too hard into mercenary, if you don't care to play defense, if titles aren't a thing…” [09:24]

• Fred Warner:

  “…You have to have something a little off upstairs to be able to go out there and say, hey, I'm going to willingly go into multiple car crashes every single play…” [24:29]

• Stugotz:

  “Do you know how rare it is to be a joke with that as your resume? Those three things?” [17:36]

• Fred Warner:

  “It truly was moving to tears both times. And my gratitude is through the roof in both instances…” [32:15]

• Fred Warner (on cheese sculpture):

  “This is insane, man. I'm actually seeing this for the first time myself. …We call this Cheddar Fred right here.” [20:38]

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Key Timestamps

• 01:25 – Invention of new Super Bowl bit
• 02:10 – Winter Olympics break-in
• 09:24 – Harden as a cautionary tale
• 20:28 – Fred Warner interview begins
• 22:53 – On toughness and injury
• 26:25 – On NFL dreams and exceeding expectations
• 32:15 – Contract milestones and gratitude
• 34:59 – Rams/Seahawks playoff discussion
• 35:36 – On Sam Darnold
• 41:18 – Shaq says he wants to “kill” Dan

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Bottom Line

This episode delivers classic Le Batard: sharp sports debates, loving ridicule of Super Bowl promo culture, candid and engaging athlete interviews, and high-calorie audio nonsense (including the debut of “Cheddar Fred”). The segment with Fred Warner stands out for its blend of sincerity and silliness, and the James Harden legacy chat is a thoughtful meditation on stardom, contracts, and the blurry lines between greatness and punchline in pro sports.

Transcript

[Dan LeBatard]

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[Stugotz]

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[Dan LeBatard]

The stakes are high, the pressures are through the roof, and your team is out there struggling against impossible odds while all you can do is just watch, that's hard. But paying with Venmo all playoff long, that's easy. Whether you're catching a ride to the.

[Stugotz]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Stugotz]

Terms and exclusions apply.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats podcast.

[Stugotz]

We are going to begin our real super bowl coverage for real, for real in a few minutes here when Fred Warner shows up with whatever it is he's shilling. We make fun every year of the fact that these guys come on and they're shilling something. We'll find out together what what Fred Warner is shilling. We won't do this now, but can we do this later in the week? Can we alter stug annual super bowl question? Just throw in somebody's voice saying Patriots and Seahawks instead of what's the single most important thing that Stugatz always says somebody has to do to win the Super Bowl? It doesn't. You don't have to do it for Fred Warner. But for future guests, I'd like to establish the bit right now to see.

[Chris Cody]

If anyone Bears win or the packers.

[Stugotz]

Lose on the diff. Ooh, that's not bad. But we need the team teams in the Super Bowl. We need to see if somebody before. The way that we've done the bit is and it's always worked. Stugatz appears to be coughing something up and no one comments on the fact that he sounds horrible. They just answer the question of what's the most important thing somebody has to do to win the Super Bowl. I want to add an element to it by just throwing Patriots in there in somebody else's voice and Seahawks in somebody else's voice and see if everyone just answers the question or whether somebody stops in their tracks and says, why was that question asked that way?

[Dan LeBatard]

I believe given the recent super bowl history of that franchise, we probably only have to edit one of the team names.

[Stugotz]

That's probable, actually. So Fred Warner will join us here in a little bit. Also, Greg Cody, I can't believe that he revealed to me moments ago, hey, Dan, the Winter Olympics start tomorrow. Did not know that. Was unaware that the Winter Olympics were starting. The Olympics every year fairly big thing. Everybody Pays a lot of money every time to get any kind of Olympics. Even though I don't think the Winter Olympics are as popular as the Summer Olympics. I may have that wrong.

[Greg Cody]

I think they are.

[Stugotz]

Are they? In terms of ratings?

[Greg Cody]

I don't know about ratings, but I think they.

[Stugotz]

Well, how else would you measure it?

[Greg Cody]

Just general interest.

[Dan LeBatard]

Word of mouth.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, word of mouth.

[Stugotz]

Ridiculous. I think that's ridiculous, what you're saying. The only. Put it on the poll at LeBatard show. Are the Winter Olympics as popular as the Summer Olympics? Yes or no? And also put on the poll. Is RA the only way to measure the popularity of the Olympics? Because I don't think there's a second way.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I think figure skating and hockey are the money sports for the Winter Olympics to me. But the thing that interested me is that the opening ceremony is Friday. They're in Italy, but the competition begins tomorrow. And so literally, the Winter Olympics are starting, like, tomorrow, and everything is being buried by super bowl week and. And to a lesser extent, by the NBA trade deadline. It's just a weird circumstance.

[Dan LeBatard]

I think that happens every Olympics in the summer, too.

[Chris Cody]

It definitely happens.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's stupid. Oh, yeah, we're doing the skeet shooting. But wait, the. The opening ceremony six days away?

[Greg Cody]

Like. Yeah. No, I think there have been times when the overlap hasn't been as great. I think there have been times when the Winter Olympics have started, like before super bowl week or after or something. It's.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's weird.

[Chris Cody]

Like, what have you lose in your.

[Dan LeBatard]

Competition before the opening ceremonies? And then it's happened.

[Chris Cody]

And then they trot you out and.

[Dan LeBatard]

You'Re, like, waving your flag.

[Stugotz]

This loser.

[Dan LeBatard]

He's already out. It's happened.

[Stugotz]

Do you guys think that Greg Cody is correct when he says. And he's not wrong about figure skating, but when he says the Winter Olympics are as popular as the Summer Olympics, he is wrong. He's wrong.

[Dan LeBatard]

He is wrong. Okay? He has to be wrong.

[Greg Cody]

Check. Somebody check the ratings. Somebody who's.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't even know if it was happening. You just. Winter sports are not as relatable. Like, all the summer sports are completely relatable to the general public. The winter sports. Like, what the hell is that going on there?

[Greg Cody]

When's the last time you threw a javelin?

[Dan LeBatard]

No, I understand, but at least it's. But I'm watching Usain Bolt, right? And I'd be like, I can do that.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, Right.

[Dan LeBatard]

Figure skating. Nope. Where am I going to find the ice? But probably a little Haiti. When's the last Time you were in a bobsled.

[Greg Cody]

Go to sunrise.

[Stugotz]

I do think, though, that Greg is right, though. If he were to nominate figure skating as the single most popular Olympic sport, I'd go track and field. I go gymnastics. But figure skating would be up there. Right. Like, if I. What. What else do you put in that discussion? Swimming. Less. So.

[Dan LeBatard]

Swimming's very. Swimming is very popular. People love the swimming.

[Stugotz]

Yeah, but I. So if I.

[Dan LeBatard]

If I made our country's greatest Olympic.

[Stugotz]

Hero go, yeah, no, it's Michael Phelps swimming.

[Dan LeBatard]

He swim.

[Stugotz]

But. But it's because he's our. He got us to wrap ourselves in the flag and care. Swim in it. Gold medal in it, too. Can you. He made us feel like winners, and so therefore we cared about swimming. If somebody was doing that in any sport, if they were doing it in skeet shooting, we'd like. If we had.

[Chris Cody]

If that's our guy.

[Stugotz]

If America had the most dominant skeet shooter, we'd be like, I love skeet shooting.

[Dan LeBatard]

We all love skeet shooting, but we do remember the guy that was you sat there. I don't know, the Turkish guy or whatever he was with the gun, and he just sat there. Raw dog.

[Fred Warner]

No.

[Dan LeBatard]

No eyewear, no nothing of just shoot. If that guy was American, that guy would be amazing. He might run for president. I like that guy.

[Chris Cody]

Don't forget the pommel hors guy.

[Stugotz]

I already forgot.

[Chris Cody]

We all love the pommel horse guy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Billy. Gil.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah. When Snoop Dogg, like, we all got into pommel horse.

[Dan LeBatard]

Not all of us.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. See, we. We can't relate to summer Olympic sports any more than we can Winter Olympic sports. And the pommel horse is a good example. Nobody does all this stuff except athletes. Right.

[Stugotz]

Well, the thing that is funny to me, the, The. The pommel horse is one form of gymnastics that is interesting. But remember the. I was talking to you guys and I. And I said to you, the squirrel suit that people use, they put a GoPro on their forehead and then they just jump off a mountain and they, you know, they just slide next to the mountain for a lot of minutes, just falling to what could be their death at a high rate of speed. I asked the question, how do people get good at that? Because you gotta get that right the first time. You don't get a second chance to practice that. The gymnastics of running, hitting the beam and then doing several flips and landing correctly, sticking it. Yeah. I've never understood how people get good at the first parts of that, because it seems like it would be something that would injure you on the way to getting great at it that you would just have to fall with a great deal of violence.

[Dan LeBatard]

Today's day. We're going to try it.

[Stugotz]

Today's the day. That's your, that's your explanation out there. So give me, give me the most popular Olympic sport period. You have to pick one. Put it on the poll at Le Batard show. Most popular Olympic sport period. Figure skating, track and field, swimming, gymnastics has to be. Or gymnastics track and field. Those. Those are the gymnastics. You go ahead and select from among what it is that you want. I wanted to get back to before we get to Fred Warner here, this quote from James Harden in September of 2024. So that is a year and a few months ago. A quote from James Harden I'm home. I don't plan on going anywhere else. I want to leave a legacy on why he re signed with the Clippers and I understand why Zsasz is complaining and why it is most sports fans would be like you have a contract for this year and next year. How is it that you could possibly already want out of there and want an extension? And yet I'm surprised at what is the new normal even though it's James Harden. I'm surprised that we're already here with this when that's the quote in September of 2024. Like your words don't mean anything at all. Like you don't actually care about anything that resembles the professionalism of this. And I ask you guys, does he have to like if a player sees Jimmy Butler set the precedent of just go ahead and make a mess the year before your contract comes up even though you're contract because the end result is and we can't question this, okay, Jimmy Butler won here. Jimmy Butler got what he wanted for throwing the temper tantrum. It was rewarded. He got to cash his guaranteed money right before his body broke down and he feared that Pat Riley and the Heat organization was going to make his body break based on how it is that he had to play in the bubble and elsewhere because the playoffs were taking a great deal out of him.

[Dan LeBatard]

James Harden gives off that he is completely comfortable with what his legacy will be. And as just Joe sports fan, James Harden is a cautionary tale of what can happen if you lean too hard into mercenary, if you don't care to play defense, if titles aren't a thing, you're always going to be brought up as a dude that is careless, especially on one end of the game. And I like he seems happy with it. He's got his jersey retired at that gentleman's club in Houston. He did it. A half a billion dollars. He's made a lot of money. Well, and he's been a joke in terms of playing in this era that was defined by its superstars and the chase of trying to take them out. He never really figured into the equation. Disappointing.

[Stugotz]

You say he's a joke. Okay. But an MVP has never really been one of those generally when.

[Dan LeBatard]

Until now.

[Stugotz]

Okay, but hold on. When he says, I wanna leave a legacy. Okay. I want to go back to the conversation that we were having about sort of imperfect measurement systems because James Harden played in a game seven that would have defeated those warriors game. That's, that's as. As much as those great Warrior teams were challenged and took on all comers, there was a Game 7 that the Houston Rockets played at home against those Warriors. And if not for the fact that that was the one day that somehow they went something from three, that never happens. Like they play a million different games, the Rockets of James Harden, and they don't go from three.

[Dan LeBatard]

What?

[Stugotz]

They somehow went from three in that game. If they just make like five more threes in that game that they would normally make. What were they from three in that game.

[Dan LeBatard]

So then I told that horrific. Yeah, I pulled up the box score. The warriors won 101, 92. James Harden himself went 2 for 13 from the three point line. The Rockets in totality as a team went 7 for 44. I think at one point they missed like 25 in a row. It was like a joke at one point was like, oh, they're just, they can't miss. Like they can't make a ball.

[Stugotz]

And so the thing I wanted to ask you guys about imperfect measurements as it applies to this. If for some reason they had made five more threes in that game and won and then won the championship, is Harden's legacy any different?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, because he's got to have a title too. Like, this is not a tiny thing. And that's isolated.

[Stugotz]

That's not an isolated game.

[Dan LeBatard]

They have a lead in that series too. No, his, his legacy is a guy that maybe could have been a champion, but very clearly didn't care enough to do the things either physically or on one side of the ball to help his team get better there. It's like win with what I'm giving you. I'm not going to tap in some extra reserve. You're not going to see it on my face. I'm not going to be a meme. I'm James Harden. I at my pace, I do what I want. And that's his legacy, which is why I think he's going to be a cautionary tale for superstars. Yes. Absolute superstar. Yes. Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players of his generation, will never be talked about in a flattering fashion and has been an especially poor big time postseason.

[Chris Cody]

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[Dan LeBatard]

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[Stugotz]

Don LeBatard.

[Greg Cody]

He has been great. He's made great hires.

[Dan LeBatard]

I said all we've said.

[Greg Cody]

Everyone has.

[Dan LeBatard]

The first time I heard any of this.

[Stugotz]

Greg, everything you're saying, it's all been said, okay?

[Greg Cody]

You got to understand one thing. St. Me maximum.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's right.

[Greg Cody]

I say it, it hasn't been said, okay? Understand that until I say it hasn't been said.

[Stugotz]

Me maximum. Me maximum. Me Maximo.

[Dan LeBatard]

This is the Dan lebatar show with the St Gods.

[Greg Cody]

If I'm James Harden, I don't want anybody to feel badly about my legacy. I mean, he's won Olympic gold. He's one of the best shooting guards in history, 11 or 12 all star teams. He's going to be a Hall of Famer, filthy rich, maybe at the top of the list. That's fine. Not everybody can be a champion, okay?

[Stugotz]

But I just want to frame this conversation slightly differently because he didn't make those five threes and they didn't make those five threes, but if Trevor Ariza had made them 12 for 44 from 3 instead of 7 for 44 from 3. The thing that I want to frame for you about James Harden, when the quote is From September of 2024, I'm home. I don't plan on going anywhere else. I want to leave a legacy. The thing I want to frame for you is do you realize if five more threes go in and possibly the Houston Rockets win the championship, that year that you'd be saying that his legacy is a joke, even if. Because I do think he'd still have a legacy. Legacy that was a joke even if he was a champion, an mvp. And then the third one, the holy trinity of how you leave a legacy and also entirely change the game with how it is that he played because he's the centerpiece of. We're now going to take 53s because when Mike D' Antoni got him, he said to James Harden, you're going to take a bunch of threes and you're going to have to 15 assists a game. And James Harden looked at Mike D' Antoni and said, coach be tripping. Like he said, there's no way that I'm going to do what it is that that man is asking of me. Do you know how rare it is to be a joke with that as your resume? Those three things?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yes. Which is why it's a provocative talking point. Because he is, you know, who doesn't need a Trevor or reason to be great? Dwayne Wade like that.

[Stugotz]

That's who we're looking at.

[Dan LeBatard]

No, but you say most sports fans of this generation might take James Orton at shooting guard over Dwayne Wade and give me Dwyane Wade's career a million. Everybody needs role players, though. Mike. Shane Battier and Mike Miller had six threes in those finals that if they didn't make those shots, the Heat wouldn't have won. Yeah. And Dwayne Wade would still be a champion. Three championships.

[Stugotz]

Okay. And. And Kobe as well. Kobe would have other championships, but he did need Ron Artest to bail him out when he was 6 for 24 in a Game 7 against the Celtics at home. That they would have lost if Ron Artest had bailed him out.

[Greg Cody]

Right.

[Dan LeBatard]

And he still has a three peat that.

[Stugotz]

No, that's correct.

[Dan LeBatard]

It's just like big insult.

[Stugotz]

James Harden's not Kobe Bryant.

[Dan LeBatard]

He doesn't make it to the final. He doesn't make it to the final. Like he went early in his career and we were saying all those guys like, wow, if they keep this together now. They didn't. But quite honestly, I think he's third of those triplets that they had in okc. I think he's third in terms of what they've accomplished and the legacy they'll leave behind because they won't say the same things about Russell Westbrook that they'll say about James Harden. They won't. That guy was a dog.

[Stugotz]

But what they won't say about Russell Westbrook. That they will say about James Harden is he can shoot, like, change the game, revolutionize the game, because he was playing something that was not aesthetically pleasing but absolutely changed how everything was done in the NBA because 50 threes a game starts with James Harden and Mike D'. Antoni.

[Chris Cody]

It just.

[Dan LeBatard]

We're looking at it through a prism of, like, James cares about what his legacy is, right? Like, I. He doesn't. So, like, it's kind of a moot point because, like, D. Wade's better than you. Okay, fine. What did I do? I made $625 million.

[Greg Cody]

Okay?

[Dan LeBatard]

That's how he lives. I'm good.

[Stugotz]

I'm good.

[Dan LeBatard]

I don't care about where you see me. Totally comfortable. He's totally comfortable with that. I do think that people will look like you don't want to be that kind of superstar.

[Greg Cody]

Well, look, rare is the perfect legacy, right? If you ask me, is James Harden an all time great quote, unquote? Of course he is. He's an all time great player. Is his resume perfect? No, it isn't. But if I'm James Harden, I got no problem with where I'm at in my career right now.

[Stugotz]

You guys say this, though. You say he doesn't care about his legacy. But the last words of the quote I just read to you was, I want to leave a Legacy.

[Dan LeBatard]

Like, I 20, 24. And then the most recent thing that I know is get me out of here so I can get two more years.

[Stugotz]

And that's the legacy. Fred Warner has sat down and I just saw a photograph. This made me happy. I just saw on the camera just Fred Warner. I saw a block of cheese that looked suspiciously like Fred Warner. I want to know what that block of. Where that block of cheese is, what you're doing with that block of cheese. I want to welcome you to the show. These guys were talking about. These guys were raving about Talamook cheese.

[Dan LeBatard]

Big Fred Warner.

[Stugotz]

I can't have that. Well, Fred Warner.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm a big Fred Warner guy.

[Stugotz]

You were raving about Fred Warner, but you got caught in the air there because you didn't know I was going to say you were raving about Talamook cheese.

[Dan LeBatard]

I'm a big Talamoo cheese guy, too.

[Fred Warner]

Hey, aren't we all, man? We love Tillamook cheese around here. It's my go to game day snack, man. Of course. You see here that we call this Cheddar Fred right here. Cheddar Fred. This is insane, man. I'm actually seeing this for the first time myself. So I will say this is unbelievable that they were able to pull this off right here. But, yeah, whether it's. Man, my favorite cheeseburgers, of course. Dips, nachos, myself.

[Stugotz]

Is your mouth watering? I hear your mouth water. Is your mouth watering right now?

[Fred Warner]

You know what, man?

[Stugotz]

I don't, I don't know how long.

[Fred Warner]

This has been sitting out. So it, you know, it'd be tough to really take a slice out of this one. But I, I will tell you, my son, God bless him, he might turn into a block of cheese with how much he eats on them. Little sharp cheddar.

[Dan LeBatard]

Those are fire. Yeah.

[Fred Warner]

My wife. My wife loves. My wife loves the vanilla ice cream. Tillamook, man. It's amazing, man. We love it.

[Stugotz]

Does that block of cheese. Let me see it again, please. Look more like. Taking a look more like Fred Warner, then Dwayne Wade Warner, then Dwyane Wade. Statue looks like Dwyane Wade, because anything does.

[Fred Warner]

Yeah, right. It looks pretty good, man. I love it. I love the dreads. You know, we got a nice little smile on there. Looks great, man.

[Stugotz]

Are you carrying it around? How does this work? Are they taking it from place to place for you?

[Fred Warner]

Just like this, man, Just like I'm at a five star dining restaurant, man, I carry it around on the. On the silver platter.

[Stugotz]

What more can you tell us? Because I'm always fascinated when we start super bowl week of how it is that some of these partnerships start. Can you take us behind the scenes on where it is and when it is that you get the calls of? Hey, Fred, we want you to go around the super bowl and we know that you're probably better at what you do than just about anyone in football is at what they do. We would like for you to wander around with a block of cheese that's £20 and, and very much looks like you.

[Fred Warner]

Well, man, you just mentioned it. You know, when you're the best of the best at what you do, you want to work with other people that are the best of the best at what they do. And that's why Tillamook is the best of the best, you know, at all dairy products, whether it's cheeses, you know, different sour cream, butters, you know, all the. All the different little things, man. They are premium in everything. So only working with the best.

[Stugotz]

I have a number of different questions to ask you. I associate your team with toughness, and I associate you specifically with toughness. Can you please give me an example of people not possibly understanding what your pain Threshold is.

[Fred Warner]

I mean, it's hard to really verbalize because when you think about everything that we go through, not only on game day, but in my situation, you go through a horrific injury, something that I saw throughout the league, even growing up, guys sustaining this type of injury. And it's like, oh, gosh, it's just so such a one that you, you never think will happen to you until you're actually in it, right? But you know, the mental toughness to make it through something like that, right? You see guys all the time, they tear the ACLs, they tell their, they tear their Achilles and they got to come back and they're expected to be better than they were before, man. And having that, that toughness to be able to grind through injuries, being able to grind through a 17, 18 week game season. So, you know, these guys are true gladiators on the field, man. And so it truly is an honor to be a part of the NFL.

[Stugotz]

Forgive me for pressing on this, but I don't feel like I have a better understanding of just how tough you are. And I'm not. It might be a bad question because I just don't think you're a normal human being. I think that your team is filled with lunatics and you have some sort of strange culture there that allows you guys to be more violent at a violent sport than others are. And so I really, really do crave a sort of understanding of how you became that way, man.

[Fred Warner]

I mean, I think you, you talk about everybody who is in the NFL, they all come from different, different upbringings, right? Different hardships that you have to endure when you're growing up and you have to have something a little off upstairs to be able to go out there and say, hey, I'm going to willingly go into multiple car crashes every single play, you know, every single week. And how does that, how does that develop over time? I don't know. I mean, everybody has this edge to them about different things that they went through in their life that now they're able kind of like get out, get out of themselves and onto that field. So it truly is just a melting pot of different guys who have gone through hard things to make them tough.

[Stugotz]

Is everyone in your locker room a little afraid of Trent Williams?

[Fred Warner]

I'd say so, yeah. Anytime you got a guy who's over 300 pounds and has the feet of a ballerina in the midst of a grizzly bear, you know, you definitely don't want. Don't want the things getting on you, I'm glad he's on my team.

[Stugotz]

You. Your mother is of Mexican descent. Do you have much Mexican culture in your childhood?

[Fred Warner]

Oh, absolutely, yeah. And all my Mexican family is in la, and we would go up there all the time and have different parties and stuff like that. And you know, my grandmother, she is French Canadian, but her husband, who is my mom's father, is from Guadalajara. And she, you know, may he rest in peace, but he passed away when my mom was really young in a car crash. Right. And so my grandmother was the one who had to instill all the Mexican culture into us and me and my siblings.

[Stugotz]

Your Spanish is okay? You speak Spanish?

[Fred Warner]

Yeah. Espokito. Espokito masomanos.

[Stugotz]

Okay. I did not. I was not aware of that. You were drafted in the third round. If were I. I sidled up next to you then and said, what do you imagine your career is going to be? What it. How big do the dreams look? And have you exceeded them?

[Fred Warner]

Oh, my gosh, have I. I mean, my dream was to make it in the NFL, Let me just say, like, that was for sure the dream. You know, I think when I got here and I realized I could do it, you know, then it was like, all right, well, how far can I take it? Truly, you know, and it. It really just took a bunch of dedication, commitment, the hard work. And I just continue to see different doors open for myself on the field. And you asked the question, have I surpassed that? Absolutely. But the thing is, now is I feel like there is no limit. You know, I feel like I've never made it. I feel like there's always another. Another thing to achieve. There's always another step to take. And so I'm always just trying to grind and. And be at my best at all times.

[Stugotz]

Do you have a point that you remember on remembering when and how you figured out you could do it? Like, when did you go? Just want to make it into this league to. No, no, I. I belong here.

[Fred Warner]

I think making it through my first training camp, you know, I came in and I was probably third on the depth chart. And then, you know, I looked up and it was week one and in on the road in Minnesota against the Vikings, and I was the starter at mike linebacker with the green dot with the responsibility of getting everybody lined up. And I had guys like Richard Sherman out there at Corner and DeForest Buckner up in front of me. And these guys are in the huddle and they're looking at me dead in my eyes. And these guys, guys have. Have played high level football, right? Richard and won a Super Bowl. And so I'm. I'm the one that's tasked with giving them the call. And so it just meant the world to me to even be. To have that responsibility, you know, and being out there that first game, making a few plays, I'm like, okay, I can do this, right? And I think that was the moment that I kind of realized that.

[Dan LeBatard]

Is it weird when the center is always pointing at you and shouting pre snap and yelling that you're the mic.

[Chris Cody]

You ever try to hide from him?

[Fred Warner]

Yeah, exactly. I'm like, no, I'm not the mic. I'm the Will, you know, or I'm the Sam. But yeah, it is a little different. You're right. Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

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[Stugotz]

Don LeBatard, what is the worst part of the life?

[Dan LeBatard]

Stu? The worst part of the life of what? This is the Dan Levatar show with the stuff.

[Greg Cody]

Fred, the difficult question has to be asked here. The cheese sculpture of your head, will that eventually be eaten or is it meant just to be perpetually enjoyed?

[Fred Warner]

Visually, I think the latter. I think the latter. I think the longer that it sits out, you know, just like most dairy products, you don't. You don't want to partake, but it is. It is a beautiful, beautiful replification of me.

[Greg Cody]

Aren't you tempted, though? Aren't you tempted to just be a.

[Fred Warner]

Little replication, whatever that word is.

[Stugotz]

I'm glad for that mispronuncification that was fun. Appreciate that you did that. You didn't need to.

[Dan LeBatard]

Correct.

[Fred Warner]

It's early. It's early.

[Stugotz]

So you go. You end up going to byu. But the hopes and dreams of making in the league, once it is, you get to highest paid linebacker in the league. Last year, is there any specific emotion that you associate with that the. The day you signed and became the highest paid linebacker in the league?

[Fred Warner]

Absolutely. I mean that, that's another one of those. Those dreams of yours is to ach like that, you know, to be outright the. I guess from a paid standpoint, like the best in the league and I think in league history as well. So it was something that was a huge marker for me and my family to help provide for my family, my children and future children that may come and just to have that security as well. Playing for the best organization in the world and the San Francisco 49ers, for them to have that trust in me. And it truly happens not just by my own, my own efforts. It's a group effort. You know, the players that I've been able to play alongside, the coaches that I've had the opportunity to learn from and different mentors. Like all of that goes into account when things like that happen, it's not just the person who is receiving the contract.

[Stugotz]

Fred, I think in the history of the league, Fred, I think. Fred, I think in the history of the league.

[Fred Warner]

Yeah.

[Stugotz]

You know, in the history of the league, you know very well that you're the highest paid. You were the highest paid linebacker in the history of the league. Was there emotion. Was. Was there. Like where is the gratitude in that emotion, given that that's the look. Everybody plays for different reasons. And it's clear from the way you play, you play because you love the sport. But to arrive at I'm one of the best and this league is being forced to value me in a way that proves it and in his store is historic. I would imagine that the gratitude of that given the entirety of the journey could move even a tough man to tears.

[Fred Warner]

Yeah. You know, and I will say I. I was blessed with the opportunity to be highest paid twice in my career. Right. I got to sign the highest paid contract back in 2021, I believe. And it truly was moving to tears both times. And my gratitude is through the roof in both instances. And you know, it's a culmination of everything. You kind of see your life flash before your eyes, of everything that it took to even get to that point. Right. And you know, you sign the deal and Then now it's like, man, it's right back to work. And that's where I'm at, and that's where I'll always be, regardless of the situation.

[Stugotz]

It was reported by many people that you were very close to coming back for the last game of the 49ers season. And my response to that was, there's no way he can be coming back. How in the world could he be coming back? How close were you to coming back?

[Fred Warner]

I was a game away. You know, the idea all along for within our building, you know, amongst the trainers and team staff and everybody that was involved in my recovery process, was that, you know, the safest, I guess, safest way to not be safe, which would be coming back early. Right? But the safest way in doing that was to come back for the NFC Championship Game. And so, you know, we were one game away. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it done in Seattle. And they've gone on to be, you know, in the super bowl this year. But the fact that I was even in that position to ultimately make it back only a game away was, I think, a success in itself. You know, the fact that I was on that field in practice on that Thursday, the week going into that game, and I'm asking him, I'm like, hey, like, you know, is there a chance that I can. I can play in the divisional game? Like, the fact that those were conversations being had, I think that is a huge blessing in itself.

[Stugotz]

If the next game had been a Thursday night game, would you have played in it? Like, if. If, like, how were we. Were you day. Were you days away? Literally days away from being able to tough that out?

[Fred Warner]

Yeah, you know, it was. Well, I don't know if, you know, Thursday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, I don't. I don't know the logistics of all that, but it truly was just a week, like a week away. Right. I think they wanted to just try to hold everything off as long as possible because every single day mattered a ton when it came to doing. When it came to healing from my injury.

[Stugotz]

So Seattle, because you guys had just gone to Philadelphia, Seattle ends up smoking the 49ers, who, like you were broken at the that point physically. A lot of guys. Do you have an opinion, given how close the games were between the Rams and Seattle, when it is that you look at Seattle in the super bowl, do you see an appreciable difference between who's better between those two teams?

[Fred Warner]

Between the Rams in Seattle? Yes, well, of course the Seattle's better because they Won that game. Right. And at the end of the day, you know, these games, especially in the playoffs, it's not about who's the better team. It's who plays the best for 60 minutes in that ball game. Right. I've had plenty of instances where I thought we were the better team going into a certain game, especially in, in multiple Super Bowls. And we just unfortunately weren't the better team for those 60 minutes. So that's just how this game is, man. It's not. There are no game seven, seven game series, you know, best of seven situations. It's one game.

[Stugotz]

Has Santa had. Has Sam Darnold surprised you?

[Fred Warner]

Yeah, I think so. I think he surprised a lot of people. And I have somebody telling me that I gotta go, but yeah, man, I, I, this is what I'll say about Sam Darnold real quick. Quick is I'm proud of him. He's obviously a 49er at heart. I know he is. Even though he has to wear that, that disgusting blue jersey now. But, you know, I'm all respect and love to Sam. I'm super happy for him and hope the best for him this Sunday.

[Greg Cody]

We have to wrap.

[Stugotz]

Okay, thank you. We appreciate your time. Tillamook cheese is an excellent cheese I'm not allowed to have because it's got dairy and we have to. I have dairy. I know. I got it. Fred, thank you for being on with us. We appreciate the time, guys. Yes, sir.

[Fred Warner]

Appreciate it.

[Stugotz]

Yes, sir.

[Dan LeBatard]

Dan is the quarterback of the defense. I wanted to see if the defensive play calls are as challenging as the offensive play calls. And then I saw his, his white panda Rolex and I wanted to ask him about that.

[Greg Cody]

We have to wrap.

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, exactly.

[Stugotz]

That's what happened. Right. He had to go. I, I saw Cody chomping at the bit. He wanted to get in there.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I, I was gonna. Maybe this is not the right question, but I had to ask him about the speculation, not the right 49ers injuries are linked to the electric substation. I want to. On a scale of serious to silly, how does he process that?

[Stugotz]

I feel like if we had more time and I was able to ask one more follow up, I couldn't have gotten him to say the Rams are just as good as the Seahawks. It was better. It was a two point conversion. And if Seattle in the second game doesn't, doesn't get the two point conversion at the end of the game.

[Greg Cody]

Damn right.

[Stugotz]

That would have been a better question, actually.

[Greg Cody]

It would have been. Yeah. You could have followed up with him.

[Stugotz]

No, I. That was former journalist. I regret. We asked a bunch of questions about the cheese. I asked a bunch of questions about him crying. Finally got one. Finally got one. That was big. Huge. A little awkward there, Fred.

[Chris Cody]

I didn't like that answer to this question, so I'm gonna re.

[Dan LeBatard]

Ask.

[Stugotz]

Keep asking, keep asking. That's what we do over here. Well, the. The question that was most awkward, though, was the. The four follow ups I had on you think you were the highest player in the league. That was a wither. That's strangely.

[Chris Cody]

I'll ask you four times how emotional that was for you.

[Greg Cody]

Long pause there from Fred.

[Stugotz]

Whoo. He was. He was. That was a withering stare that he gave to me. I thought the connection had dropped. It's just it. And then. And then he plays the trump card of, well, I believe that happened twice. I believe I was the. The highest paid player in the league.

[Fred Warner]

Replification.

[Stugotz]

That. See, Chris Cody told me. He whispered in my ear, I have that for you at the end. I'm like, have you not seen where it is? I want to be careful here. Like, Chris Cody had something. This is. This is the same.

[Chris Cody]

He called himself out for that. He would have had fun with it.

[Fred Warner]

Replification.

[Chris Cody]

Do you think maybe he was, like, disciplining himself? He's like, why'd you make that mistake? You said a word wrong.

[Stugotz]

His inner. His inner monologue.

[Fred Warner]

Replification.

[Stugotz]

Chris Cody.

[Chris Cody]

Radio row, baby.

[Stugotz]

Yes. Well, Chris Cody, I love a handler.

[Chris Cody]

Being like, we gotta go. We gotta go.

[Stugotz]

Chris Cody showing the same judgment there that he showed earlier in the show when we played. The face that he and Jeremy made when they walked away from Shaquille o'. Neal. Just delighted because Shaquille o' Neal said, not joking, serious face, not fooling around at all. I want to kill Dan LeBatart for some reason. Can we get that sound again? Just so that everyone can see how it is that Jeremy and Chris Cody, both of them delighted in something. You understand how that this is serious. This is a real thing. How would you feel if you were me in this situation? All of this was happening. These are human beings that are paid for by Meadowlark Media to help support me in whatever it is our endeavors are around here. And the most giant man that they've ever seen. Right, Jeremy, Both of you have never been in the presence of someone. Someone this size before, even though both of you have been in basketball locker rooms before. This is the biggest human being either one of you have ever been next to. Correct?

[Dan LeBatard]

Yeah, for me, I mean, the closest thing is Embiid. And I know in Chris's experience in.

[Fred Warner]

The locker room, it probably is similar.

[Stugotz]

I mean, I think he's about 50 to 75 pounds heavier than.

[Dan LeBatard]

Although he did. He had Pat Riley come over and he goes, hey, you can check body weight percentage. That was a fun little moment that.

[Fred Warner]

We didn't get in the video video.

[Stugotz]

Isn't he, though? If I had to guess, I'm gonna. I'm gonna guess. How much does Embiid weigh? 275. Like the three. You think 300 bull guy.

[Chris Cody]

He's a three bull guy.

[Dan LeBatard]

I got him at 280.

[Chris Cody]

Got to be three per Google AI.

[Dan LeBatard]

Which means it's probably wrong.

[Stugotz]

Well, having stood next to both of them, Joel Embiid is not to me as physically, Shaq is definitely bigger than Joel. But I'm. I'm thinking it's not just that he's definitely bigger. I think he. I think he might be £75 bigger.

[Chris Cody]

Joel Embiid would probably hold the mic if I offered it to him.

[Stugotz]

So let's. I want to play this for the people here as the closeout here. And again, Zaz, I want to ask you how, like, am I supposed to be okay with Chris, Cody, and Jeremy because of how delighted they are Shaq, serious. He's not. He's not. That's not. That's not a joke that Shaq is making. Okay?

[Chris Cody]

Hell yeah, man. I love that our boss, Dan Levitar, thinks that you hate him. How right to see.

[Stugotz]

I do hate him. However, I will never disrespect him. If I seen him with his family, I'm going help be like, hello, Mr. Dan. But if we're in a place where we can go at it, we can go at it. And, Dan, I'm kill you when I see you.

[Chris Cody]

There's a little nervous laughter going on there.

[Stugotz]

It's infuriating. It's. It's legitimately infuriate.

[Chris Cody]

I'm a little scared, too. We're all scared he's going to kill our boss.

[Dan LeBatard]

That's not.

[Stugotz]

That's not the favorite.

[Greg Cody]

Sophia.

[Stugotz]

Look at the two of you.

[Dan LeBatard]

It was pretty delightful.

[Stugotz]

Look at you. That's so Jeremy.