The End of the World, Criticizing NBA Player Criticism, and Top Workout Songs with Van Lathan

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Ryen Russillo Podcast – "The End of the World, Criticizing NBA Player Criticism, and Top Workout Songs with Van Lathan"

Release Date: July 8, 2025
Host: Ryen Russillo
Guest: Van Lathan

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1. Introduction and Casual Banter

The episode kicks off with Ryen Russillo joining Van Lathan for a relaxed conversation. They reminisce about past hangouts and set the stage for a diverse discussion encompassing personal anxieties, friendship dynamics, end-of-the-world scenarios, critiques of NBA player fandom, and sharing of workout playlists.

Van Lathan humorously remarks at [00:27]:
"What's up, baby?"

2. Planning a Getaway: Arrowhead vs. Big Bear

Ryen and Van delve into Van’s plans for a quick getaway, debating between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. Van shares a personal anecdote about a past trip to Arrowhead during the pandemic, illustrating his anxiety about global crises.

At [03:17], Van Lathan states:
"We are trying to decide whether or not we do Arrowhead or Big Bear for a quick little getaway. And I was weighing the differences between Arrowhead and Big Bear, and Big Bear is far superior."

He reveals his deep-seated fears triggered by a dream about the world's end, highlighting his ongoing struggle with anxiety.

3. Friendship Dynamics: Men vs. Women

The conversation transitions to the nature of friendships, contrasting male and female friendship structures. Van observes that male friendships often involve larger, more flexible social circles, whereas female friendships tend to have tighter, more selective groups.

Van Lathan explains at [05:43]:
"Sometimes their friendships, they have what we would say, tight rotations on their friendships... Women, they're JJ's first round Tibbs, they got five. And when we talk about going on a trip, they got three, four really."

Ryen adds his perspective, noting that women's friendships often develop rapidly and are built on immediate trust, which he finds both remarkable and potentially risky.

Ryen Russillo comments at [06:05]:
"I've always felt like women can be best friends in a way that's so fast... maybe that's just a nicer way to go about life."

4. The Concept of "End of the World" in Religions and History

Ryen steers the conversation towards humanity's recurring fascination with apocalyptic scenarios. Drawing parallels between historical end-of-civilization events and modern-day anxieties, they explore how religious narratives and societal structures perpetuate the fear of impending doom.

At [12:29], Ryen shares:
"There's the confusion of people feeling like civilization is just around the corner from ending, yet it never actually happens."

Van expands on this, discussing how interconnected modern society could amplify the impact of potential global catastrophes compared to isolated historical events.

Van Lathan remarks at [15:06]:
"Our culture has seeped ideas from religions about end times, making them a part of our societal framework."

They contemplate whether historical lessons on failed apocalypse predictions offer any insights into current societal behaviors and expectations.

5. Critiquing NBA Fandom and Player Criticism

A significant portion of the episode focuses on the intense scrutiny and polarized fandom within the NBA. Ryen draws an analogy between sports fandom and religious devotion, emphasizing how fans often engage in partisan battles over players' performances, sometimes overshadowing the appreciation of the game itself.

Ryen at [28:29]:
"I feel like there's so much NBA stuff that I can't stand. And we're both too online."

Van compares the fervent support and criticism of players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant to religious sects, where fans passionately defend or dismantle each other's favorite players.

At [35:45], Ryen states:
"It's a religion, but it's always kind of a religion of tearing down the target."

They discuss how modern analytics and social media have intensified these rivalries, allowing for constant dissection of players' abilities and contributions, often leading to fragmented fandoms.

Van Lathan adds at [34:10]:
"Basketball is such an individual sport, and the singular player matters so much... It almost lends itself to this over-litigation of every player's usefulness, efficiency, and greatness."

The duo expresses concern over how this environment can deter even long-time fans from enjoying the sport, fearing that constant negativity might erode their passion.

6. Navigating Personal Interests and Cultural Shifts

Ryen introspectively shares his past obsession with the Boston Red Sox, drawing parallels to Van's experiences with basketball fandom. They discuss how personal interests can evolve, sometimes leading to feelings of disconnection or indifference toward activities once cherished.

Ryen reflects at [25:17]:
"I spent three or four years on this, was obsessed with the end of the world until one thing happened. I saw a bra strap in the seventh grade, and that started my obsession with the end of different civilizations."

Van relates by expressing his enduring love for LSU football, contrasting it with his preferences for other sports and how intellectual decisions and nostalgia shape his current interests.

At [40:24], Van shares:
"I prefer college football over any other sport. It's my favorite sport for many, many reasons."

7. Sharing Workout Playlists

Towards the episode's conclusion, Ryen and Van shift to a lighter topic: creating and sharing workout playlists. They exchange song suggestions, blending genres like hip-hop, rock, and metal to curate motivating and energizing tracks suitable for intense workout sessions.

Van Lathan enthusiastically details his playlist at [43:19]:
"Starts off with 50 Cent, then we're going into 'See Murder' by Magic... System of a Down songs are gonna get me through the middle of it."

Ryen reciprocates by sharing his selections, highlighting songs like Pantera's "Walk" and System of a Down's "Toxicity," emphasizing the importance of having diverse and powerful music to sustain workout momentum.

8. Closing Remarks and Lighthearted Interactions

The episode wraps up with humorous exchanges about personal anecdotes, including a fictional scenario involving Ryen's strained relationship with his boss over a shared interest in sports podcasts. They engage in playful banter, reinforcing the episode's relaxed and conversational tone.

At [67:53], Ryen jokes:
"This can't be a reason... I don't think... If you can't do that, is this because I walked in on you in the bathroom?"

Van and the rest of the group laugh off the scenario, transitioning smoothly out of the main discussions with final touches on the day’s topics and playful goodbyes.

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Notable Quotes

• Van Lathan at [05:43]:
  "Sometimes their friendships, they have what we would say, tight rotations on their friendships... Women, they're JJ's first round Tibbs, they got five. And when we talk about going on a trip, they got three, four really."

• Ryen Russillo at [35:45]:
  "It's a religion, but it's always kind of a religion of tearing down the target."

• Van Lathan at [15:06]:
  "Our culture has seeped ideas from religions about end times, making them a part of our societal framework."

• Ryen Russillo at [28:29]:
  "I feel like there's so much NBA stuff that I can't stand. And we're both too online."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast offers a multifaceted conversation between Ryen Russillo and Van Lathan, blending personal experiences with broader societal observations. They navigate topics ranging from personal anxieties and the complexities of friendships to the fervent world of NBA fandom and the cultural implications of end-of-world narratives. The duo balances depth with humor, providing listeners with both insightful reflections and relatable banter.

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For more episodes, visit The Ryen Russillo Podcast on Spotify or YouTube.

Transcript

[Van Lathan]

Foreign.

[Ryan Rosillo]

We're just gonna hang out with Van Lathan and talk shop. Including our playlist for chest day, which he actually got there. He thought I was kidding when I asked for it. One thing that I've been thinking about too specific to like sports and growing out of things. I don't know if you necessarily grow out of things past. Past a certain age, but if there's anything that could get you to not like basketball, there's something going on that I think is at least worth talking about and life advice. And a big announcement for somebody on the podcast. It's that time of year. We're like, what do we talk about? We're like, let's just book Van. So we got Van Lathan here. Higher Learning with Rachel.

[Van Lathan]

What's up, baby?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Twice a week. Newest episode out this morning. I know you're locked into the superhero thing. Lot of debate, lot of controversy, controversy out there. Don't know what to do with it. Maybe we'll get to that. What's up? Can you see it?

[Van Lathan]

What's up, man? What's up? We were just talking about the fact that I expected to see you a couple of days ago, but you did not show up. And it's always a treat when we're able to get Rosillo out of his den, his palace by the beach, and we were right there partying by the beach, and you weren't there. That me and Kyle had to drown our sorrows. We were very upset.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Sounds like you guys got through it all right, so.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, he got through it swimmingly. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because I realized something when I was down there. Manhattan Hermosa is an oasis. It's a paradise. It's a paradise. Now, at this particular time, there were some drawbacks. It was overrun with teenagers going crazy. Hey, Sonya, who cares? I saw you with them. Get outta here.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Wait. High school fights.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, my God, bruh. Because it was overrun with kids in Hermosa on the forest. Kalika and I were walking up, and there was a different soap opera happening every 10 or 15ft. Like, one girl was on her phone. She just kept saying over and over and over again, I didn't do shit. I didn't do shit. I didn't do shit. And I was like, kalika, we have to stop and find out what happens here. But she didn't want to stop. But other than that, beautiful.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Sure, that wasn't me.

[Van Lathan]

Could have been. Could have been. That. Could. She was about to. Yeah, it was. She fit the profile. But no, it was Fun, man. You know, but whenever there's a resillo hang, you know, those are like. Those are like finding a Ken Griffey rookie card in the tops. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, oh, that's. And we thought we were going to get one. We didn't get one.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I don't know. I. I can explain in further detail later on. Do you have any trips coming up this week or this summer?

[Van Lathan]

We are trying to decide whether or not we do Arrowhead or Big Bear for a quick little getaway. And I was weighing the differences between Arrowhead and Big Bear, and Big Bear is far superior. But the last time we went to the lake, we went to Arrowhead. And it was very special because it was during the pandemic, you know, I got it in my mind. I had a dream actually, that it was actually the end of the world, and we were in the woods, so we were safe. And so then I had that dream. I was like, oh, my God. So let's go to Arrowhead and see if the world ends. So I told Kalika, I said, get all your friends together and I'll pay. We'll all go up to Arrowhead. This is how bad my anxiety was. And we went up to Arrowhead and civilization was able to. I just saw you look away, Ryan. I'm right here telling you about something that really, really affected me in my life, and you just. You're losing the plot already. You're like. You're not interested at all.

[Ryan Rosillo]

No, I'm so locked in. I was looking at a book that I'm just finishing, which speaks to your experience, but I want you to keep going, because I was like, yeah, which one is that again? Okay, good.

[Van Lathan]

So we went up there, and literally, it was a very important trip because I was going through it, like, seriously. And so there's a. How can I say there's a. We have a sentimental connection to Arrowhead, but Big Bear is just significantly nicer. So I think we've made the decision to. To go to Big Bear, and now we're trying to decide which friends we invite. During that time, it was pretty obvious, but I don't know if, you know, sometimes the ladies, their friendships aren't as durable, let me just put it that way, without getting hit over the head with the misogynist Sajisaji label. Sometimes their friendships, they have, what we would say, tight rotations on their friendships. And there's a playoff roster that women have with their friendship sometimes, you know how we have pretty loose rotations like, we'll.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The Pacers.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, Pacers, Thunder. We'll play, like, nine, 10 guys. As far as friendships are concerned. Women, they're JJ's first round Tibbs, they got five. And when we talk about going on a trip, they got three, four really.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Reliable players, teams on the floor.

[Van Lathan]

And those players change. They change. So they're constantly opting people out. They're waving them and stretching them, all kinds of stuff. So I have to look and see who's on her roster right now in order to kind of go to Big Bear.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I've thought about this a lot because I don't know that there's a. There's a right answer. It's just different in that how women become friends and how men become friends and the standards that we put ourselves through, Right? Like, I've always felt like women can be best friends in a way that's so fast that I'll be like, how could you. How could you be this close with this person already? But isn't that actually, like, the nicer way to go about it, that you start at this absolute peak, you know, as opposed to men? And also, I think it depends geographically where you're from, where there's this almost, like, test that this other person is going through for you to have, like, buy in. I mean, the idea of going on a trip with a guy you'd met a couple months ago, I don't know at any stage of my life if I would have been like, yeah, unless there were all sorts of co signers on it, where you're just like, no, this guy's great, or whatever, and tons of mutual friends. I think that women get to a place of, like, trust and, like, in a quicker way. That seems almost dangerous to me, but maybe that's just a nicer way to go about life.

[Van Lathan]

I've thought about this a lot, too. I have several different outlooks here. I'm trying to figure out which ones are appropriate to share. But we'll go someplace, right? And it'll be like a party. It'll be somebody else's party. Not even our party. We'll go to a party that somebody else is having. We'll go to a party with a friend, right? Somebody else's shit. She'll meet somebody, and, you know, I'll be with the fellows, we'll be doing whatever we do. And then an hour, two hours later, I'll see Kalika, and she'll be like, I was talking to Cynthia. And I'll be like, yo, who the fuck is Cynthia? I never saw her. I don't know who you're talking about. You're saying, like, I should know who this person is. The reason why I don't know who Cynthia is is because they were in some corner talking for an hour and a half, two hours, and she was like, van, do you know Brian Shaw? And I'll be like, yeah, yeah, I know who that is. I'm just throwing a name out there. It's not the actual guy. He's like, well, that's his ex wife. He has been so terrible to her. Like, let me tell you what happened to them.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You just made up that name.

[Van Lathan]

Because I don't want to run into Brian Shaw. It's not Brian Shaw. It's not Brian Shaw. I'm just making up a name. It's like, do you know what happened to them on their ill fated Cancun trip of 2016? I'm like, no. And then she's like, well, let me tell you, they go down there and they see some girl that he knew from college and blah, blah, and these are the people that you know then these are the people that you know. I'm like, whoa, whoa, like, what are you talking about? Okay, like, what the hell's going on? How did you and this lady go from hi, I've never met you before to this is what happened during my divorce. Then what happens after that is there's a two week best friend relationship. Two week best friend relationship where they are best friends.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's like a seminar. You're there every day, putting in the hours. Like, we're going to get you the credit this summer, not this.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, we're going on walks together. We're going to hang out and work together. We're doing all of this stuff, but this is all leading up to the I can't stand that bitch moment. And I know it's coming. And every single time I try to say, hey, maybe don't dive in this quickly because I know the I can't stand that bitch moment is coming and I just want you to have a little insulation from the time that it comes.

[Ryan Rosillo]

But.

[Van Lathan]

But that never happens. What ends up happening is we careen down the aisle to the eventual moment where the I can't stand that bitch happens. Right? And then I gotta listen to that. It's all worth it, by the way, because it's very entertaining to me. But this is why deciding who comes on the big bear trip is like physics, it's calculus, it's trigonometry, because we got to get the right friend at the right time that's in the right situation, or the I can't stand that bitch moment will happen on the trip, and that is the worst case scenario.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And that could be the end of the world. So I want to get back to that point because I have to tell you, the narcissism of we were at the doorstep of Armageddon and it doesn't actually happen. But if you go through like all these different moments in history, we can go way back, right? Reading about the beginning of civilization, it's like just always right around the corner, right? It's right around the corner and it's yet to happen. Which is good news, right? We should be thrilled by that. But how often there's so many societies that feel like they're just moments away from everything being over. Don't you think there should be some lessons in there? You're like, hey, this thing that everybody keeps thinking is going to happen doesn't happen.

[Van Lathan]

Say more.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Well, maybe it's because I started reading a little bit more about religions and stuff, and I'm not a religious person at all. But if you go back to anything, the beginning of civilization, the stories that get passed down over and over and over again, they're all just kind of the same versions, and then they branch off into other versions. But the core principles, the origin stories, seem to be very similar. And yet there's. I don't know if it's the simplicity of people in the beginning, like, how freaked out people must have been, like, what the fuck is this? We're the only people, we're the only beings that can create some sort of organized civilization. Well, clearly there's something else going on. And a lot of religion was justifying and explaining things that were not explainable at that time with the lack of understanding of science and all these things, right? So there is just mass confusion. And the confusion leads to like, well, this, this can't be. I don't know if it's. This can't be real. But if somebody else is in charge of all of this, if there are these higher powers, then we have to be like, loyal subjects. And you could also argue that it was a way to keep power in the hands of the people that had it by making everybody feel like they were less than. But when you keep going through all these moments in history where you feel like this is the day, the, the days, like the end of all days, and it never fucking happens. I'm just surprised anybody's able to still sell this message. To anyone in the world.

[Van Lathan]

Wow. Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I want to. A little intense on that one.

[Van Lathan]

No, no, no, no, no. This is the type of shit that I love. Okay. So I think a couple of things. I'll take them as they pop into my mind. One, the thing with the religions, the religions that teach about a higher power, a lot of them, particularly the ones that. The Abrahamic religions that we might be talking about, some of the other ones that look at things a little bit differently, they. They talk about a finite human existence. So there is an end times there. There is a time of great peril and a time of. Of great strife that will then lead to something more. Right.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And did you grow up. Did you grow up pretty religious?

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, for sure.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Like, Swagger passed away last week, and it was deeply moving to me because.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Was he on the TV at the house?

[Van Lathan]

Oh, I was there. I was there. I was not just there in terms of, like, me, Marcus Spears, Michael Clayton, all of those guys. We were playing basketball at Ketchum Fitness, and Ketchum Fitness is the gym that. That is on the campus of Family Christian Academy, which is Jimmy Swaggart School. It's right there on Bluebonnet. When you're going down Blue Bonnet, Swaggart owned all of that stuff. So you'd be hooping and you turn around and look up at the upstairs track, and there would be old Jimmy Swaggart looking down there, maybe talking to something a little nice, you know what I mean? Looking down there at you while you're playing basketball. And, like, you know, whatever you guys want to say about Swaggart, I'm sure he has all kinds of red in his legend. You guys have all seen it. Whatever. Whatever. He's a nice man. Eye for talent. Nice man, nice people. We always had a place to play basketball. Like, we always had a place to play basketball. So that part of it is. That part of those religions is very important. It's very formative because there is this all being temporary, this life, this earth, all being temporary in the everlasting hand of God is a gigantic part of why you need to do the things that you need to do while you're here. You're auditioning for something. Precisely.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Right, Right. It's like Santa for adults.

[Van Lathan]

Well, I believe in Jesus, so.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I'm not saying I'm not even, like, getting into, like. Because if. If it came off as, like, fake, and I'm not, like, sitting here as a complete, like, atheist. I just. Yeah, I. I don't really have much of a problem with Anybody being religious, other than them telling me that I.

[Van Lathan]

Need what you should do.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Right, right, right.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So go ahead. If it came off as disrespectful, I. I get it.

[Van Lathan]

But so what all of that does is it. It seeps into culture. Because really, our culture, the entire culture that we're in, particularly here on the west and other places, is really oriented around some of those ideas the way they first started. So it seeps into our culture. So that's one part of it. There's just an understanding of revelation and the second coming of Christ and how things are gonna be when things are really bad. Like where I'm from in Louisiana, I'll just speak for that. Cause I can't speak for people everywhere else. It's just that even the thugs and the guys out there on the street that never go to church, they just have a cultural understanding of man. It's really bad. We in the end times now, so that becomes something that you sort of orient your life around. Second, I think it's the nature of human beings to ask how durable and lasting our condition is. Whatever condition that is, it doesn't matter what it is. Where we're sitting around, we're having a good time. There's gonna be somebody in the group that's gonna go, how long will the good times last? Like, how long will we be able to maintain all of the technology and all of the advancement and just the nature of us as men to destroy the beautiful things that we've been given? People ask those questions, and those questions are philosophical ones. Three, this is the last part of it is the world has ended. It has ended for many civilizations. It's ended for many people. It's ended for many of the groups and peoples that we study. We look back the version of the world that the Roman Empire ruled. That world ended. And then a new world came, the version of the world that existed in the Dark Ages. That world ended. So there have been many different civilizations, many different people, many different cities, many different groups that have actually met their end. They are gone. They no longer exist. Now the human race has continued to. To persevere. But I think sometimes we wonder, as our culture becomes more homogenized and we become more interconnected, is there a greater ending that could affect all of us at the same time? Is there a greater ending because we rely on this country so much, they rely on us. If we do this now, it happens to them. Now it happens to them. Now it happens to them. Now it happens to us. Even if you look at the pandemic, it was like, well, there were structures that existed, or there was. The nature of civilization that existed, like, 100, 200 years ago wasn't as interconnected. The plane can take the disease everywhere. Now because we're connected to a greater degree, will those small endings become greater endings that will really spell the end of the human race?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Wow. 20 minutes in, I didn't expect to be here, but you got me thinking about going to Lake Arrowhead. I like your choice, you know, like, hey, if it's over, let's go buy a lake. You know, if it's going to be over, where am I going? Because you'd like to think you'd have a little time to plan, right? Like, where am I going? I mean, most people, you'd be like, all right, well, I've got to go near family. But can you imagine? Can you imagine going through security at the airport with a week to go?

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You know, you get on the phone, you're like, hey, look, it's just. Airport's a mess. Flights are too expensive. Like, just. Well, maybe we'll FaceTime.

[Van Lathan]

Did I ever tell you the Silverado story?

[Ryan Rosillo]

No.

[Van Lathan]

Quickly. So me and my dad rest in peace. We're watching Silverado. Lovely movie. Lawrence Kasdan western. It's like 87 or 88.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Reading Lonesome Dove right now. Never read it.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, reading.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Interesting. I've only ever seen it on the television. I've never read it before. Fantastic.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. You know, little fiction for the summer.

[Van Lathan]

There you go. So we're watching Silverado. Whatever. It's like late 80s.

[Ryan Rosillo]

One of the prostitutes spent time in Baton Rouge, I believe, in Lonesome Dove. Well, I'm not very far into the book. So it's the first prostitute. She might be the only one.

[Van Lathan]

I don't know what it is about Baton Rouge, but whenever the city gets mentioned in anything, I just hoot and holler, like, Hateful Eight. The Battle of Baton Rouge. Not a great time for my people, but I go, oh, shit, that's us. Love it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

Love it.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I could be messing that. It could have been just a stop in Baton Rouge, but she was a sporting woman. That's a nice way of saying prostitute.

[Van Lathan]

Prostitute. Woman of sporting, woman of leisure.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You don't hear that a lot anymore.

[Van Lathan]

No. All right, anyway, here's the thing. We're watching the. We're watching the Silverado. We're watching Silverado. And my dad goes. I'm like 7 or 8. And my dad goes, the world's gonna end up being Just like this again. I'm like, huh? What are you talking about? He's like, I'm talking about horses, carriages, no electricity, six shooters. The whole nines. World gonna be like that again. And I'm like, why? How could that be? What are you talking about? And he goes, his face lights up. Oh my God. Oh, you don't. Something that the kid doesn't know that my dad would, his eyes would sparkle. He goes, oh, because of the bombs. I'm like, what are you talking about? He goes, son. Oh my God, the Russians have these bombs.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, here we go.

[Van Lathan]

And if they shoot their bombs, and if Reagan shoots his bombs, it will cause a chain reaction across the entire planet and destroy the entire world. And he told this story with such vigor, like he could not wait to tell a seven or eight year old kid this. And I don't think he understood how precocious I was because most kids, you tell them that and it's like, all right, cool. I don't know what he's talking about. Like, turn on. He man, I freaked out, freaked out. Started asking everyone that I could about the end of the world, asking it at church and asked like, what could I do to stop this? What could I do to not make nuclear holocaust happen? I'm watching it everywhere. I'm watching in the fucking little TV movie they have. I'm going crazy. I'm reading books, I'm doing the whole. I spent three or four years on this legitimately was obsessed with the end of the world until one thing happened. Titties, nice titties saved me. I saw a bra strap in the seventh grade. I never forget it. I saw a bra strap and I was like, oh my God, it's titties under there. And the thing that happened was inside of my brain, girls and sports just pushed all of those fears right out of my brain. But that started that story, started my obsession with the end of different civilizations. And that's why I've studied it a little bit.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, great point on that. Because we're close enough in age that if you grew up at a certain time, you just figured you were going to get bombed. And we would talk about nuclear fallout shelters. And I think it's seven or eight years old. You could probably spend your time on something else. And honestly, nine, I could say Charles Barkley saved the world because then I, I cared about Charles Barkley and probably the big East a little bit more before that. Really. Dr. J. Moses the first time for me. But this is a good transition because I was Thinking about this the other day, I watched the Red Sox no matter what, didn't care. Didn't matter what the weather was, didn't care where I was. There's an incredible stat that I've shared before with the audience that. And no one believes it, but there was. There was a stretch of multiple years where I went 162 for 162. It was just understood.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, well, Jee.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Jesus Christ. Yeah, that's what I was gonna do. Loser. Like, really weird about it. And every game, Every game, every game, everybody's just understood. But then I was thinking about it, and I. I was like, does this is that period in your life because you really had nothing else going on? It's like when you really like a band, your friend who likes a band maybe too much, it's because they need something to identify with. And this certainly happens a lot more when you're younger than when you're older. And I was still young enough at the time that I was doing this, that I was like, is this replacing some other void now? If it's just a simple, simple, healthy escape, then, you know, what are you doing? Like, it's your time. What's wrong? But I probably was in a place where, you know, I was heading towards being a loser and not super thrilled with my prospects. And I did actually enjoy it, but then I was holding myself to some sort of standard, like, I didn't miss anything. As if, like, you know, I mean, that's. That's just an insane thing to think. Like, I can't miss anything. I'm telling you. Like, we'd have. If guys invited me to do anything, like during the day, be out of the lake fishing. I'd have a little AM radio going just to make sure I didn't miss anything. And they were just like, you know, you know, so I was. I'm not proud of it, but I'm shocked now, thinking so many years later and going through it that I'm indifferent to it all. This one thing that I cared about so much, and we're talking, like, into my 20s, you know, late 20s, this thing that it was part of my every day for whether or not they made the playoffs. And now it's like, I don't even know the score. I can't tell you what the standings are. Do you think you'll ever get to that point with anything? Like, in sports? Is there anything in sports now? Like, are you established with your routine, do you think? Five years from now, I can't ever imagine you not Caring about lsu, so.

[Van Lathan]

I'm not even going there.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Because I do wonder if there's, like, another stage, whether it's me or for anybody that's listening to this. Where did I OD on the Red Sox? There's. There's an argument to be made on that, too. I was thinking about this because I. I feel like there's so much NBA stuff that I can't stand. And we're both too online.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

But I'll This. There's almost like a skit in my head for this. If there were a sports snl, which probably wouldn't be funny enough to even work because you'd run out of material. But the propaganda machine that exists against certain players, and I. I guess. I guess it's as simple as getting the clicks, because there's going to be somebody that hates LeBron, there's going to be somebody that hates Kobe. There's going to be groups that are like, cool. I want to feel like these guys. It's. It's very political. Hey, I saw the video the other day of LeBron James, and he was doing some drill in the corner. His handle didn't look super tight. And then it becomes this conversation of, like, this is your God. This is your God. Like, look at him fumble.

[Van Lathan]

Is this your king? LeBron has no bag.

[Ryan Rosillo]

He has no bag. And you're kind of like, hey, even if you don't like LeBron, because there's certainly criticisms I would hear, allow, and agree with. But whatever the lack of bag there is, it's. It's worked, folks.

[Van Lathan]

Right? Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay. It's like 20 years of evidence that whatever the limitations are on his stuff, like, it works. And I wonder if there are conventions, these people that just pedal in propaganda if they get together, these conventions. Like, who are you with? We're like, oh, we're with the. We're with the post 16 Durant crew. Like, yeah, he's not top 20. Like, we've been pushing it really, really hard. Like, well, who are you with? Me? Like, oh, we're the. We're the. Kobe's number one or number two overall. No one ever said it while he was actually playing, but we've been making great strides, a lot of momentum lately for Kobe actually being better than LeBron all time. And, you know, we're going for MJ for number one. Maybe a couple years of work, we can get there. But I. I don't know that any of that stuff would ever make me dislike basketball enough, because, I mean, that's a very simple thing to ignore, ignore it, move on, laugh. I don't think I'd ever let that get in the way of enjoying something I've enjoyed for this much of my life. But the Red Sox example scares me that I'm like, would I ever get to a point now it's also my job too. So, you know, make a ton of sense for me to go, hey, now I'm just off this whole thing. So I've thrown a lot at you there, but it has nothing to do with religion.

[Van Lathan]

Got it. So I gotta say one thing about the LeBron no bag thing. The LeBron no bag thing reminds me of when we would be at TMZ and we would get pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio shirtless on his boat. And these pictures would come out from time to time and people would look at Leo shirtless and it would be like, oh, my God. Like, Leo has no traps, no buys, no nothing. Like, oh, my God, Leo throwing a football or something like that. And people would be like, he can't throw the football. Like, and the. And everybody would be like, oh, my God. And I would be like, who fucking cares? Do you see what's on the boat with him? It don't matter. Like, the stats are there. He's the all time leading scorer. The bag, his bag is working. Whatever it is.

[Ryan Rosillo]

A recent example, just to keep it fair, here, the new Sydney Sweeney picture going around where she's a little sweaty out at some late night karaoke. Yeah, right. And why have I seen this picture? What?

[Van Lathan]

Why have I seen that? Why did I know? See what I'm saying? Why have I. I am too, online. You like the Sydney Sweeney picture. I know the exact picture. She's sweaty, she's. That karaoke.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I've seen it 50 times without looking for it over the past two days. Okay.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You know why I've seen it? Is because it turns into a bit of a. Like this. Really? Everybody's losing their minds over this.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Do you realize how good she still looks in this thing?

[Van Lathan]

What do you.

[Ryan Rosillo]

What do you. And again, it's kind of back to the LeBron Leo thing. Maybe it's just tearing these people down a little bit. But the NBA one is very specific. Like, nobody's sitting there running videos of. Well, I'm trying to think of like somebody that's at that level, but is. Nobody post.

[Van Lathan]

No.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Nobody's posting videos of like Barry Bonds striking out.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah. And going. He wasn't that great. You know what I mean?

[Ryan Rosillo]

That's what we're doing. With basketball players right now is that no shit. Like you're going to find some misses from LeBron. You're going to find things that Kevin Durant said that you don't like. We can go through all of it. Oh, Jokic didn't close out on this guy in the corner. This is, this is your God. And you're just like, yeah, we could do this, but we don't. I don't know that we do it with any other sport the way we do it with basketball.

[Van Lathan]

So I have thoughts about that and then I'll come back to what we were talking about the last time. I think basketball is a sport that is. It's so individual. And because it's not as individual, I think the newer generation of basketball fan is waking up to the fact that it's actually not as individual as people thought that it was, right? But the singular player matters so much. And because of that, the game is subject to more context than almost any other sport. If you hit 800 homers, whatever, you hit those home runs, it doesn't matter if you were a bad first ball hitter. It doesn't matter if you swung at pitches out of the strike zone, like Vladdy Guerrero would sometimes swing at balls way out of the zone or whatever. But he was a great bad ball hitter. He hit the fucking ball, you couldn't strike him out. Right? Doesn't matter what his tendencies were. Basketball, sometimes people hone in on players tendencies to put their accomplishments in context. So Kevin Durant, all the points, two times mvp, two time champion, two time finals mvp.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Aha.

[Van Lathan]

But if you look at this and if you look at that and if you look at this and if you look at that, is he as good as you thought he was? Ridiculous conversation to have, but people have it. LeBron James, all time leading scorer, all like top 10 in this top 10 is, aha. But if you look at this and if you look at that, if you look at how he played when, where he played, how he won, who was there, all of that like the sport, particularly with the way that it can be pulled apart now and the way you can analyze all of this different stuff, it almost lends itself to this over litigation of every player's usefulness, efficiency and greatness. Like you ask yourself, hey, this guy is. Cause it's one of the only things to where it's like, if you're in the NFL and you rush for 2000 yards on a bad team, you rush for 1700 yards on a bad team. Yeah, we might look at your Yards per carry. But it's such a grueling, tough sport that people are gonna be like, this is a bad motherfucker. He's actually badder because he ran for all of these yards with no passing game, right? In the NBA, if you average 25 on a bad team and the stats don't matter and they don't equal winning, well, we have to make sure that people know that you're not as good as that number says that you are. So I think all of that has spawned these little religions. And it's funny to me, these little religions.

[Ryan Rosillo]

But that's what it is. It's a religion, but it's always kind of a religion of tearing down the target.

[Van Lathan]

It is 100% a religion of tearing down the target. Like the LeBron people have to tear down the Kobe people. The Kobe people have to tear down the LeBron people. The Steph people have to tear down the Kevin Durant people. The James Harden people are fighting against everyone. Yeah, they got.

[Ryan Rosillo]

They're losing numbers.

[Van Lathan]

They're fighting against everybody. But you know what the crazy thing is, is that's what I actually like about NBA fandom. I don't like, to me, all of that stuff. They're so creative, bruh. Like, they're such fucking scamps and scoundrels and assholes that it's funny to me. It's like, sometimes I watch these. So one time I posted on Instagram, this is years ago, what's the best type of pie, right? Like, is it, you know, this, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Kevin Durant posted under the Instagram, in the comments, he goes, apple pie clears all. The next comment after that was when a real ring, I was like, what? I was like. I was like, what? I was like, what the. Like, think about that. People get mad because he claps back at these people. But I will clap back, too. I'll be like, yo, get off my dick, homie. We talking about bi. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Because when any decision, like, whatever your relationship is with something that you care about, it's really a personal decision. I would never let anyone of this stuff make me go. Now. I don't like sitting at home and watching a basketball game. I can just choose to ignore it. It is hard when you're in it. And it's. I mean, it's what we do. And so you'll see something. It's like, okay, what do you do? And be like, well, I'm a 90s guy and I post, like, a Jordan pool Turnover. Talking about how this era actually sucks. So that's. Do you think that's a fair representation of, like, what the game is today? The guy's like, fair? This isn't about fair. I have an agenda and I stick to it. And, you know, I'm not, I'm not doing this to be liked. I'm doing this because this is, this is what I'm going to do. And I, I, I just would hope that most of those people get to an age where it's like, all right, maybe I don't need to do this all day long. Maybe I don't do. Because there are players that I don't like that I just will see. And I'm like, this is so incredibly unfair. And then I realize I'm like, I'm the one, I'm the dummy. I'm the one that's pretending there are any rules to this game, and there are none. Like the, the, the Hooper versus basketball player that, like, comes up every now and then, you're just like, do you know how fucking stupid this is? So, because Giannis doesn't have, like, just a sick turnaround, baseline turnaround, that he's not like a Hooper has nothing to do with the fact that we've never seen somebody with a body like this basically be a two guard. And that with his strength and his agility, I mean, we could get into the carrying thing, too, like that Kyrie clip that's going around. And Wemby in the All Star Game, the number of carries that are in that possession, and then he misses, so they edit out the miss just because he gets Wemby turned a couple times.

[Van Lathan]

All right. Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And you're like, this is like, who's this for? So it would never, I can say that it bothers me, but it never bothers me enough where I would say, oh, well, I'm not going to watch basketball on a Saturday night.

[Van Lathan]

So, to your earlier point, you don't know what you like until you have options. That's the first thing. You don't know what you like until you have options. You know what you're used to, and those are two different things. Like, if you are drinking Miller Genuine Draft your entire life, there's nothing wrong with Miller Genuine Draft. But if you're drinking that your entire life and you haven't had the other beers, you don't know what kind of beer you like. You know what kind of beer you're connected to. So when you were going 162 for 162, if someone asked you what you liked, you'd have been like, I like the fucking socks. That's how you would have said it. Right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

But close. Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

You had never been to Mykonos. You hadn't gone to Spain. You hadn't been with. You'd never been. You didn't know what you liked, yet you knew what was available to you and what you were into. The older you get and the more experiences you have now, you know, maybe I'm a 30 game guy, and then the other 30, I'm gonna be on vacation. I'm gonna be doing this. Maybe I'm this. Now I will say there are certain things for me that have endured. I realized that I don't like. I love LSU football. I love LSU football just because I've compared the college game, college football to the NFL, the experience of college football to the experience of NFL football to the experience of other sports, and I prefer college football. But it's almost as much of an intellectual decision as it is a decision based upon nostalgia and culture, which is a huge part of it. But now I just like college football more than I like any other sport. It's my favorite sport for many, many reasons. Right. But like with these NBA players, that's a part of it, too. A part of it is that you compare things the players have. There's so many different types of player in the NBA that you can. Your personal aesthetic can be a part of your argument. Like how somebody does something. Right? Yeah, they scored 25 points, but how did they get them? Did they get the points by backing somebody in on the duck end, turnaround, drop step, hook? Did they do it with Kyrie, where it's this blissful display of almost every basketball skill that one could have? And then you go, well, oh, my God. Well, if Kyrie Irvin was 6 foot 6, he'd be the greatest basketball player of all time. Well, if Kyrie Irving were 6 foot 6, he might not need to do all the things that he does right now at 61 to score. So his game might be totally different. But for the power players, you have Shaq or Dwight Howard or whomever. For the finesse players, you have Jokic. Everybody gets to argue. They're not really arguing about the players. They're arguing about the superiority of their aesthetic, the type of basketball that they like to watch.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Last thought before we let you go. Did you do your playlist?

[Van Lathan]

Which playlist?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh, we had a homework assignment. Now, I feel like this is like when Bill will say, hey, did you do Your seven fake trades. We can do this another time. We can do this another time. I don't want you to. I want. You probably thought I was kidding because I usually.

[Van Lathan]

I did.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yep. So that's fine. I asked. Heavy Chest Day eight song playlist. We'll do this.

[Van Lathan]

It's easy, though.

[Ryan Rosillo]

We'll table it.

[Van Lathan]

No, no, no, no, no, no. I can do it. Off the top. Starts off. Heavy Chest Day.

[Ryan Rosillo]

No build to that. Okay.

[Van Lathan]

No Starts off what up, thug 50 cent. All right, then we're going into See Murder magic. See murder, Mr. Magic. Snoop Dogg. I don't know if I could. That's for mine.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah. I saw it at Texas Tech. I've never seen 40,000 people yell that word. And it all sort of makes sense. And nobody was mad.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah. Into it. The third is Ariel's System of A Down.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Okay, now we're.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we got three System of A Down that are gonna be on here because Jet Pilot is next.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Right?

[Van Lathan]

3 System of a Down songs are going on here. And then Toxicity. Those three songs are gonna get me through the middle of it. We're coming. So how many songs are we up to now?

[Ryan Rosillo]

That's three into four. Two system.

[Van Lathan]

Three, two system. And then we're coming back to a little known hot boy song, right? It's called I'm a Hot Boy on the Hot Boys album. That's bg And Juvenile is on the hook. Crazy hard record. Then Mac. Murder, Murder. Kill, Kill. Not the most uplifting song, but I.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Know what you need. It's the end of the pump.

[Van Lathan]

It's the end of the pump. I gotta kill this set. And I'm getting to it. Second to last is interesting because you're not gonna be into it, but it's probably corn freak on a leash.

[Ryan Rosillo]

My Uber driver the other day said they're doing a lot of. They're trying to bring the corn sound back.

[Van Lathan]

Right? I don't know why. He's just like, I like that. I used to like that guy. I don't know why I fuck with those guys. And then, I mean, the last one to me is the hardest record that's ever been made. That is. Hit Him Up. That's the last song. Hit Him Up. The hardest record. The hardest record. If you want to have enemies, if you want. If the song that makes you wish you had an enemy that you could be that mad is Hit Him Up. But I have these songs in my workout playlist. There's other songs on the workout playlist, but a lot of Times the workout playlist gets a little bit more metal.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. So what's yours? I went with Walk By Pantera to know that. Okay, this day. This day is a real day.

[Van Lathan]

Okay.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like, be ready. Like, no. Around. Put the bands away. Then into Toxicity, which I still.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, you have it on yours, too.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Oh, yeah. You could start with Toxicity, which could set the tone the same way Pantera could. Right.

[Van Lathan]

I need it in the middle. No, because I'm starting to. I'm starting to. I'm starting to. I need to. You know what I'm saying?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah. I. I really like my middle song. And then I love my last song.

[Van Lathan]

So.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The first time I heard Toxicity, just the. The first few notes of it. Very few songs have ever stood out where I knew exactly where I heard it. And I went, whoa, what is this?

[Van Lathan]

Boy, those guys are so great.

[Ryan Rosillo]

They're the best. All right, so into H from Tool. I could have done an entire Tool set. We didn't want to overdo it here. Didn't want to get greedy. Then we're going to go way back the middle. Right when you need something a little different, maybe a little bit more melodic. An ode to the orchestra feel Woodpecker from Mars. Faith no More.

[Van Lathan]

Oh, Faith no More.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[Van Lathan]

What was the song that used to play Non Stop on MTV by Faith no More? What was that one?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Epic.

[Van Lathan]

How did it go? It was Faith no More. The guy had, like, one braid or something. I don't know. Whatever.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. That guy's considered my guess by some. Some scholars have argued perhaps the greatest heavy metal singer, hard rock singer of all time. All right, then I'm going something a little newer. Idols Mother. Then Crystal Skull, Mastadon. Inner Vision. System of a Down. And then to close it out, we're going Maston again. Hearts Alive. Now, it's a long song. It's a long song. But what I'd like about this is just when you think the pump is over, it's not. Maybe it's cables. Maybe it's, you know, you're changing the angle. Maybe you're doing 10 reps on them every 15 seconds, you know, 15 seconds on, and you're just fighting it. You're fighting the pump at the end. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. I was going to do liquor, you know, now, but we'll share those playlists later today from Spotify. How's that for sure?

[Van Lathan]

I like you. Gotta bring the corporation into a great job by you, Ryan.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right. Enjoy Superman.

[Van Lathan]

I will tonight. Tuesday. I'll come back and. And tell everybody you know about the movie. I hope that I'm invited back and I hope that I still have a. A significant other after I've talked about her friendship choices like that on the podcast.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Maybe we'll release this after you guys go on the trip.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah, maybe. So maybe it works.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Van Lathan. Thanks, man.

[Van Lathan]

Brother. Peace. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet.

[Ryan Rosillo]

What's up?

[Van Lathan]

I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you can possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So now you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It's life advice. Email address, life advice, rr, gmail.com. all right, Oregon. Kyle. Full group, some accounting. Let's just get it over with and do it now because we could do it Thursday, but Oregon's going to be off, right? You're off Thursday.

[C]

No, I'm here Thursday.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You are. And you're getting married Saturday.

[D]

It's going to be awesome.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I hope. Kyle, you're going.

[D]

I'm going. Shocking as it is for this group seems. But yeah, I'm going.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I'm not. We'll just get it out of the way. I know.

[D]

Keep the streak alive. Dude, that's great. Stand for something. Your fault for anything.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Right? Yeah, I just. Because I know I'm gonna get a ton of for it. That's fine. Morgan doesn't seem to care, so there you go. All right. Silence. Let's transition out of that.

[D]

I'm hoping it wasn't an empty gesture and he's like, damn, Kyle actually is going to this thing.

[C]

No, we're happy to.

[D]

All right. You could just get that out of the way now if that's the case.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right.

[C]

Yeah. My. My student from College is actually SVP's producer, so I got you seated right next to them. You guys can just talk about Ryan Scott the whole time.

[D]

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to do that.

[C]

I wouldn't.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, that's a boring, boring wedding topic. Did you debate whether or not to even bother inviting me? No, it was always like, I have to invite.

[C]

It was. It was like once we were going to invite the work people.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Is Ceruti going?

[C]

No, he's got a family vacation.

[Ryan Rosillo]

He also just had a kid there. I don't. I did not just have a kid.

[D]

But MLB's going like, it's. It's a crazy time.

[Ryan Rosillo]

It really is. Home run Derby around the corner, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I think right oh, man. All right, let's cheer up. Oregon Wargon's Arthur library card reference. 31, 6 foot 185. Once listed as 6:3 in college for hoops player comp is a 2003 Brandon Knight. Good player, no gym stats or question, but wanted to shout out an ignored Wargon reference from a previous pod. I was catching up on the pods after being overseas. Listen to the Rosillo Tuesday, July 1st pod. You're not that far behind. So during life advice library card discussion, Worgon dropped. Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card and it rhymes. So it's kind of a bar. The reference went rightfully unnoticed by Kyle and Ryan, but I want to make sure he got his flowers. As an avid PBS and Arthur fan growing up, I had the Arthur and Friends cassette pictured below for my walkman. Track number two is library card YouTube link. Also involved here listening to it for the first time in 20 plus years because of the big Oregon. Thanks. So that is a song. Those are. Those are lyrics from a song.

[D]

I just assume that was like the National Library department slogan. Like they just bought that should be. I thought it's trademarked.

[C]

Yeah, I guess from Arthur. Did you guys watch Arthur? Kyle, you.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, yeah.

[D]

That's a great intro song. I'm probably up there with top five.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I was a little old for Arthur at the time, so that makes sense.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I did not catch that reference, so I guess a lot of people knew that. And did you have the cassette tape as well, or you just lock.

[C]

I think I had the cassette tape.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[C]

Just. Just on tv.

[Ryan Rosillo]

This guy has the cassettes. Tape still.

[C]

Still is impressive.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I think. Unless he sent us a picture. The picture that he sent it said.

[D]

He threw it in a Walkman, right? Yeah, he probably still got it. You don't just throw away your Walkman.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You don't.

[D]

I don't think so. Do you?

[Ryan Rosillo]

I think.

[C]

I think you might.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I don't know.

[C]

You still have your Walkman?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah. Do you still have one?

[D]

I had a discmin. I didn't really. I had like a.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You know.

[D]

Well, that's a. That's not a portable thing. Like, you know, I get throwing out a VCR player, but you know, if you find your ipod Nano, you're like, wow, garbage now. I don't think so. Also, I couldn't have ipods. My dad was a Microsoft guy, so we always had MP3 players.

[Ryan Rosillo]

There's a good chance you pawned the Discman. So you didn't throw it away?

[D]

No, no. I think that this man is in Poughkeepsie in my house. And I wouldn't have thrown that away.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Like to see you start rocking that again.

[D]

Just never quite fit in the pockets, you know, unless I had like a big overcoat. Wintertime, I had no problems, but like trying to wedge that into a jean back pocket just, you know.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Anyway, yeah, I just remember the skip technology. It was like you couldn't have come.

[D]

Out with the bullshit. Technology you mean? Come on.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, but just from like the beginning. What's this 10 times thing? Where was that a year ago? All right, this one is. Maybe it's not a tough one, maybe it's not a moral dilemma. 36 foot 4, 240 pounds. Let's just say a six minute mile is unachievable for me. Well, you know, 64240. Wife and I recently moved to a new city and home. Our neighborhood is a good part of town. Secluded, completely fence gated around the perimeter becomes relev later. All right, so completely fenced, gated around the perimeter. We closed. What's that? Responsible? All right. We closed on a home a couple months before our official move date and just recently moved in. I put up some cameras around the home before we moved in for security one weeknight in May. Our camera on our side yard patio went off around 2am it shows a video of a young adult male walking along our patio wearing a hoodie, gym shorts and slides. He's casually strolling through our yard patio with his hood down, then is caught by surprise when the camera spots him and throws his hood up and keeps walking through our yard patio towards the front yard street. The video captures a decent image of the guy's face and it's a strong resemblance of our next door neighbor's son. Size build, skin color, hairstyle, face shape, all match up. But I wouldn't say it's conclusive. Our house is second from the end of a cul de sac, on a hill, etc. So nobody would ever unintentionally walk through our backyard. Also, the person who's wearing slides in the neighborhood is gated fence, so I doubt anyone from outside the neighborhood or is coming from a long distance. After debating what to do, my wife and I decided to just let it go. Probably the neighbor's son sneaking out of the back of their house and cutting our yard to go smoke. Right? Yeah, Kyle checks out. We didn't want to cause trouble or jump to conclusions before we really even live in the neighborhood. Now we Fully moved into the home. Been added the neighborhood Facebook group and met some of our neighbors. And as it turns out, that same night our camera went off. Someone wearing a hoodie had attempted to break into a different neighbor's home while they were on vacation. It tripped their security system. The cops are closed called. There are a few videos on the neighborhood Facebook of someone walking around and snooping through yards that same night. And it's pretty clearly the same person wearing a hoodie but with their hood up, so the videos can't identify them. Adding to it, apparently there's been a string of theft within the neighborhood over the last few years. Breaking into cars, porch pirating packages, attempting entering of homes. At one point, someone got into an open window and stole thousands of dollars of cash. Looking at these videos in the Facebook, on the Facebook app, it's almost certainly the same person. They're wearing the same hoodies, same slides have the same build. Ultimately, we only have the video of the individual's face. So they have the only individual video of the guy's face that broke into our neighbor's home and possibly committed other thefts. I think the reason the guy's hood wasn't up in our videos because he was just initially leaving his parents home. Didn't expect us to have newly installed cameras right there in our side yard. Also, all the trouble is occurring for neighbors on the other end of the neighborhood and away from his parents and our house. It's good evidence, but not conclusive. Given the broader context of the situation, I'd say there's a majority chance it's the next door neighbor's son. What would you do in our situation? I want to do the right thing for myself and others since there have been several incidents. But I also don't want to cause a conflict in the neighborhood or with my next door neighborhood. We could be wrong. Plus we own this home and have to live here long term. Kyle.

[D]

Okay, at first I was like, don't jam this kid up. You know, maybe he's just going to get a, getting a dime bag or something and he's got to go the long way. But now I'm thinking you, what you have is like a bit a piece of a puzzle that I'm not saying there's a task force for this neighborhood, but if people are breaking into homes, usually like the, the local cops have got some sort of report. They haven't caught this guy. They'd love to do that. So you could just give your we have a face in this video. I've Talked to some of the neighbors. We think maybe this is a piece of the puzzle. And that's all you have to say. You don't have to say, I think it's Johnny from across the street. You can just say, this is what I have here. And then your conscience is clear. And you've certainly helped whatever their long run investigation is. And you know, and you like. Because you don't want to be a part of a mix up. Told you that I was a part of the mix up with that whole gym locker room thing. That sucked. And the guy was sure it was me. That guy who had his locker ran into and that caused me a huge problem. But so I would just do the good citizen thing without becoming a fucking detective. I think you could totally balance that and feel good about everything.

[C]

I think that's right. You post the picture on like a Facebook group and you let everyone else make those decisions. You're doing the right thing with basically no accountability to yourself. And it's like if someone is breaking into like houses in the neighborhood, like, you don't want to live in that neighborhood. Like, you just became new homeowners. Like, you don't want that for yourselves. So I think you have to get this picture out there. But you also don't want to be like going to the neighbor and being like, is this your kid type of thing.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah, I mean, ultimately I think I land on fuck the kid, because he's the one breaking into people's houses. So what discussion is the question?

[C]

Right? They probably have this grainy picture. You know, the email said it's probably their son, which means that they can't even make that determination.

[D]

But you're not.

[Ryan Rosillo]

You could.

[D]

If the cops think it's him, they could just be like, let's go take a look in your closet. Oh, shit, look at these three hoodies we've seen before. But if it's not that, then it's like, all right, have a nice day. Sorry for the trouble, and you're remain nameless.

[Ryan Rosillo]

But I mean, is there any benefit of going to the family first and saying, hey.

[D]

I don't know, man.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I don't know.

[C]

I think the danger is you don't know the.

[Ryan Rosillo]

They don't know him at all.

[C]

They don't know him at all. Right?

[Ryan Rosillo]

Yeah.

[D]

Also, if it's a kid like that, maybe his parents are like, you know, they're an automatic fuck you mode. Maybe they're just like, here we go, we got to stand up for Johnny.

[C]

Again, not my son.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Who knows? Never who knows? Yeah. If you knew the parents and had the advanced scattering report on them. But there's. There's millions of kids that turn out like this. Some of it is just because the kid's going to be a shithead and has nothing to do with the parents. And I think it's safe to say there's plenty of parents out there that are just so bad at it, and they defend everything. So whenever the kids get into trouble when he was 7 or was 8, was never his fault. It was never his fault. Now the next thing you know, guy's like, he's taking classes online, but he's living here right now. But everything's been great. And he's robbing houses.

[C]

He's doing really well for himself.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And if he's also figuring out who in the neighborhood is, like, on vacation, like, this is what this guy wants to do. My car got broken into when I first moved to the house I'm in now. And they didn't get broken into. So this is where somebody's going to tell me it's my fault because it was a random thing. I didn't lock the car because the garage wasn't empty yet. And it just happened to be like, I had comic books for my brother, which is one of the weirdest things for me to have in my car because I'm not an adult comic book guy. I did like them when I was kids. No offense to Wargon's collection behind him right now. And I had a pair of Pegasus Nike Pegasus that I didn't like that I wanted to return. I just. We're just going to keep moving. And so I could tell. I went to check because I was like, oh, the sneakers are in there. I can return those today. And then I was like, they're not in there. I was like, maybe I move them in. And then when I opened the door or when I went to lock it, unlock it, it was like, oh, wait, it was already unlocked. I was like, what are the chances? The one night. The one night that I didn't do this. So I looked at the camera and, like, I didn't know what to do with it. It was clearly kids because they left golf balls and took comic books and then hoped maybe the Nikes could be returned because I don't think they were going to fit in the size that I had on. And then it was pretty clear, too. Like, there was kids the next couple nights doing stupid around this little stretch of the neighborhood. And then another guy came running out yelling at the kids. And then I was outside trying to figure it out. Then he was like, you guys were last night. So I don't know what happened. There might have been like a kid in town with his cousins and he's the bad seed and we're just getting these guys to do all sorts of reckless shit. So personally I was like, I don't really know that I have enough to go on. When you see somebody just go, all right, I'm going to take it right to X and post this. Be like, hey, do you know this kid? And then you don't even know if you're like, if you don't know that, you're right. You can't do that to a kid on this one. So you're saying anonymously go to the police and say, hey, we have this video. Explain the whole situation. Because if this is your neighbor and it's a kid, he's not like breaking something and being stupid. Like this is really thought out, malicious here, looking for vacationing families. He's going to be doing the same thing to you. He doesn't care. He doesn't have respect for anybody. So maybe the wake up call without you being the messenger is the right thing. Because I, I can't imagine any scenario you're seeing your neighbors like freak out about this thing and you having maybe the best evidence of figuring out what's going on, maybe recovering some of the stuff where you just let it go because you don't want to be disruptive, which I don't think you're even really saying. So I doubt too many people would agree with that method.

[D]

Yeah, I'm, I'm still a shocker. I want to give the neighbor kid the benefit of the doubt, you know, benefited from a few of those in my day. But I think, like, I think I'd even be 50. 50 on telling my hunch. I don't, I don't really think it's an issue if you're just like, you know, to me, you know, I haven't even been there that long. But this kid does this, this figure looks like the guy that I've seen that lives across the street. I'd be 50 at 50 on like pointing him that way. But I think if they've got ring cameras from other people and no one has been able to get the face, this could, this could just do. You're more than doing your part, I think.

[C]

But yeah, I mean, they said he stole thousands of dollars, right? Like over a thousand dollars. Like that's, that's significant.

[Ryan Rosillo]

That sucks.

[C]

I think you sort of lose the benefit of the doubt at that point.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right, foreign, let's see here. Did Bill and Ryan ruin my career prospects? Hi, guys. 62195 game like white Isaiah Hartenstein. That was a revelation. Yeah, it was. Long time listener since the resillo and war gone ESPN days. I recently had a business trip. I know people are like, he's not going to the wedding. These guys go back to Bristol. I recently had a business trip with three other colleagues. I am the most junior of this quartet. Quad squad, of course. I had the old podcast machine playing Bill and Ryan on the flight down. I was also the designated driver of the group. After landing, I hooked up my Google Maps to the Android auto and we were on our way. About an hour into the drive, after the conversation died down, my colleague in the passenger seat, who's also my boss, started searching through the apps on the Android auto screen. Okay, all right. So not through his phone, but it's all connect. Connected, linked up. So I was driving. I couldn't tell who it was looking for until over the speakers, I heard Bill's voice pondering over Kevin Durant's trade value. I was sweating like Ted Stryker in the next 15 seconds, fearing what snarky remark Ryan was cooking up. Luckily, my boss pressed pause before I'd explain who Jeff Green is and why the deep voice guy seemed so convinced he could have been a rotation guy on any recent championship team. Upon pausing, my boss's commentary was simply quote basketball H with a hint of disdain. The next 45 minutes in the car were silent. Silent. Come on. Like Yan. I found his performance both histrionic and meretricious. Tell me about it when he picks him up for Thanksgiving. Greg. No, Nobody. Succession.

[D]

That was a great, great plot point. Like, we're driving from Canada. Take me home. So good.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Upon pausing my boss's commentary. We got that. It's been a few weeks since, but I fear the damage has been done. The communication since has been icy. At this point, I don't know if I should address it or continue suffering in shame. What do you guys say? In two previous trips where I was not the driver, we did not listen to anything, so I did not consider preparing a more suitable playlist for the ride.

[Van Lathan]

What?

[C]

This is crazy, right?

[D]

What the fuck is this, man?

[Ryan Rosillo]

He said imperceptibly icy.

[D]

This has got to be a thinking too much thing. Maybe you're different, you know? Maybe you're the one who's different. Just watching Sopranos when, like, when pussy's talking to skip. And he's like, tony knows. You got to remember you're the one who's changed. Maybe you're the one who's thinking all this weird stuff. I mean, how could it be like, oh, this guy enjoys, you know, thought leaders talking about the second biggest sport in the US what are we talking about here? This is insane.

[C]

Yeah, I mean, you're. You're overthinking it. Like, it's not like they said anything. He just said basketball. Like, you're totally fine, man.

[D]

You have interests.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right?

[C]

Right.

[D]

Wasn't like you were listening to the wrong side of the Israel Palestine debate. I don't understand.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Which is your boss think you're whatever.

[D]

That voice memos on from work? I don't know.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I'm just saying it's all subjective, but I. I don't think that.

[Van Lathan]

I don't.

[D]

This can't be. This can't be a reason.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I don't know if it is. Find a new job. No one could be this difficult. Right?

[D]

No, no, no.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Right.

[D]

It's like, this wouldn't even be, like, a little thing in a curb your enthusiasm episode.

[C]

It's, like, so harmless.

[D]

It's too stupid. It's no way.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So not ruined is what we're saying.

[D]

Not ruined, man.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Not ruined. I mean, could you follow up? It might be worth. Just for your own feelings, it might be worth you just going, I feel like something changed since. No, I don't think. I don't think. If you can't do that. Is this because I walked in on you in the bathroom?

[C]

Right. There's, like, some other aspect that he's just not mentioning.

[Ryan Rosillo]

The door doesn't lock. For the child's safety. Yes. Why don't you just lock the door, man? Pam's over there saying we're pleasant. Like, you watched. You've gone back and watched any seasons. Pam.

[D]

What a crusade you're on. What a crusade you've been on.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I'm off it now. I think you need to talk to somebody else. Be like, this guy hates sports. Who else was in the car Hate sports? I think you need to know, like, you need to figure out where this guy's head at.

[C]

Where even if he hates sports. It's not like you hate everyone who likes sports just because you hate sports.

[Ryan Rosillo]

I'm not in many social settings where I'm just with academics. Yeah, yeah, Right. I need to keep going where I would have to, like, explain what it is I do where the person would just go, what? What do you do? Right. You Make a living doing that. I mean, there's been a couple times where it's like, oh, you can actually make a living with that. Yeah, you can, if it's a good one, if it's considered in the good tier of options that are out there. But I think you need to understand a little bit more about where your boss is. Head at that. Head is at when it comes to sports, just so you can kind of put this one to bed. Yeah.

[D]

Is he one of those guys that says, like, go woke, go broke? That could explain some of it. It's just like, you know, I can't think of any other.

[Ryan Rosillo]

So you disagree with that promise?

[D]

I just can't think of someone who would be upset at the game of basketball unless there's, like, some irrational thing. I don't. I don't know what it could be. This can't. This can't be real.

[Ryan Rosillo]

All right, yeah, hit us up. There's a lot of people that also want to hear back from the guy that went to the wedding. His girlfriend, Jim Rice over there. 14. Wait, what happened? Remember, the guy was like, I basically slept with every girl.

[D]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Wedding.

[Van Lathan]

Yeah.

[Ryan Rosillo]

And he was like, how do I do this? We had a few emailers talking about, like, different strategies as a whole thing. Just like, okay, good luck. Good luck with all the strategies. The strategy does not work if, like, if you don't know who the person is. I mean, that's why this stuff's so complicated at times. It's like, why do you care about this? Because I care about it. I didn't think you would care. You know, Then you meet somebody else. It's like, hey, I need to tell you something. Why would you tell me that? Why would I care about that? You're like, oh, you don't care? Same species, completely different rationale. All right, that'll do it for the show today. Thanks to Jonathan Fras. Thanks to Wargon. Thanks to Kyle. You can check out our podcast on the Spotify app for video as well. Also, subscribe to the YouTube page Ryan or soul podcast Raider. Spotify.

[C]

They were gonna name me Michael Jordan. My dad was like, I don't think he can live up to it. So they named me Michael. Jared.

[Van Lathan]

Foreign.

[Ryan Rosillo]

Must be 21 and older and present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + in present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is there. Visit gamblinghelplinema. Org or call 800-3275-for24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York.