The Yak – "We Air Out Our Grievances at the First Ever Hater's Ball"

Date: February 18, 2026
Host & Crew: Big Cat (Dan Katz), KBNoSwag (Kyle Bauer), Nick, Brandon Walker, Rone, Lil Sasquatch, Kate, Steven Cheah, special appearances from Barstool staff & guests

Episode Overview

The Yak crew hosts the inaugural "Hater's Ball," dedicating nearly the entire show to listing and riffing on their most petty, irrational, or deep-seated hatreds. The theme is humorously self-indulgent, cathartic, and highly relatable, inviting listeners to join in sharing their own "hate lists." Participants take turns venting about their biggest and smallest grievances, from foods and public behaviors to pop culture, sports rituals, and the mundane annoyances of daily life.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Setting the Hater’s Ball Mood

[00:39–02:01]

• The group establishes the theme and jokes about "dressing up" for the occasion, with Kate being the only one in costume.
  • Memorable moment: Kate dresses according to the graphic, but nobody else does.
    • “I feel like you all dressed up for occasion and no one else does in the room. That would really, really fucking suck, Kate.” – Panel, [01:47]
• Big Cat assures the group: "I'm gonna hate. Yeah, I'm gonna hate." [02:01]

2. Pre-Hate Banter: Gym Talk & College Fraternity Incident

[03:33–10:11]

• Brief updates on the crew’s "workout group" (and some skipping it).
  • “We’re teetering on a flash mob.” – Big Cat [03:47]
• Lively discussion of a viral Iowa fraternity police video: pledges refuse to take blindfolds off for cops, who try to break the hazing ritual.
  • "This dude is just a huge misunderstanding... His brotherhood means more than anything in my life." – Big Cat [07:02]
  • Ethical debates about showing the video; the humor of the situation.

3. Launching the Hate Lists / Hater’s Ball Proper

[11:20–...]
Participants go around the table sharing and riffing on their lists of things they hate, leading to deep dives, tangents, and raucous group discussion.

A. Food and Restaurant Grievances

• Mangoes:
  • “I fucking hate mangoes. The mouth feel is weird...My kids love mangoes. They try to get me to eat it every night and I say, no, I hate mangoes.” – Big Cat [12:31]
• High-end vegetable appetizers, soup-of-the-day elitism, restaurant specials delivered orally and not on paper, lack of menu prices/pictures, cold butter, market price, and charging for bread/butter.
  • “If you just give me crackers...I came to a restaurant. I want bread.” – Big Cat, [16:20]
• “Charging for bread and butter. Yeah, oh, I mean, this one's not even a debate, but...super cold butter when it's rock hard.” – Big Cat [15:58]

B. Life/Pet Peeve Lists

• Waiting in line, cover charges, reverse loyalty programs, gas-powered leaf-blowers, and “overly friendly”/obstructionist drivers.
  • “I have no patience. It's not even a patience issue. It's just like, I feel like cattle.” – Titus [60:14]
• Bad Uber drivers, menu annoyances, “people who text hey,” automatic car doors confusion.
  • “I hate when somebody texts me ‘hey’. Just say exactly what you want.” – KB [38:38]
• Geese (as an overprotected menace), migratory bird act, group texts, and notifications.
  • “We've made them [geese] too comfortable...Every time I'd walk by, they just hiss at you.” – Big Cat [36:25]

C. Pop Culture/Media/Sports

• Tracy Morgan “not funny," sideline reporters are pointless, Kenny Chesney "just talks not sings," ESPN app, and complaints about trophy designs in sports.
  • “Sideline reporters. They're pointless...What's the point? I don't want to know what a coach thinks after halftime.” – Brandon Walker [19:31]
• The X in X-ray ("We accepted that it's just an X-ray. We should have questioned that, pissed me off." - KB [23:27])
• Pantone color hatred (397), TV remotes with unnecessary buttons, comic grievances about men’s Halloween costumes.

D. Group Participation: Extended Hate Lists

Throughout the episode [starting ~28:32 and again at 59:50, then 104:06 and 105:54+]

• Multiple staff and guests—Danny, Z, Chuck, etc.—join to share their “hate” rapid-fire, including:
  • Thank you cards, fake balconies, car alarms, goose sh*t in parks, NPCs in Pokémon, bad font kerning, Mariah Carey’s “seasonal” boobs, truffle oil in everything, paper straws, muted group chats, forced group texts, and more.
• Open mic for staff and listeners to come share their hate lists at the “podium.”

E. Meta Moments/Reflection

• Many reflect on how cathartic/shamelessly enjoyable it is to vent these trivial and major hates aloud.
  • “Does it feel therapeutic? ...This is actually kind of how I live my life.” – Brandon Walker [23:02]

4. Notable Quotes & Moments

• On hating geese and their legal privileges:
  • “We had to rebuild our lives around this bird just because we can't touch it.” – Danny [35:55]
• On sideline reporters:
  • “They're two minutes behind everything else. What's the point? He's not going to tell you anything.” – Brandon Walker [19:35]
• On group texts and leaving them:
  • “I like leaving the chat though for like inconsequential reasons... Someone just says something you don't like, you just out.” – Big Cat [57:34]
• On certifying your sexuality by age 30:
  • “In life you get to a certain age that you should have to pick which lane you're going in. And you can't just keep switching back and forth in lanes.” – Big Cat [102:54] (delivered humorously)
• On the ESPN app:
  • “Never keeps you signed in...No matter how many times you log in.” – Brandon [20:41]
• On menu pet peeves:
  • “Hand me the specials. Let me see it. When they buzzsaw through the specials, I'm never ordering it.” – Big Cat [14:34]
• On group text side-chats:
  • “I assume every group chat has a side-off-center.” – Sas [58:49]
• On minting cultural knowledge:
  • “Geography...should just be called the world, dude.” – KB [72:40]
• On Reddit:
  • “It’s just a bunch of people bitching all the time. Then they think that’s the majority of people.” – Big Cat [86:28]

5. Lightning Round Hates from Staff and Listeners

[105:54–end]

• Extended open-mic where staff (and listeners) share rapid-fire hate lists:
  • Running shoes with jeans, sharing beds, oblivious sidewalk groups, parents hiding kids’ faces with emojis, open bars closing at weddings, thigh tattoos, umbrella-wielders in NYC, late night Jimmys (Fallon/Kimmel), fast food inflation, QRs replacing real menus, credit scores being opaque, delayed PJ flights ("private jets"), hating manatees, excessively firm handshakes, and dirty showers.
• Several meta picks (e.g., hating people who hate more intensely than they love, people who walk slow, or unsalted butter).

Sample Segment Timestamps

• [12:31] – Big Cat launches his hate list with “I fucking hate mangoes.”
• [14:34] – "I hate anytime they give me the specials via word of mouth..."
• [17:23] – Merge lanes, pickup lines at school, and traffic etiquette.
• [19:31] – "Sideline reporters...pointless."
• [36:25] – Extensive riffing on protected migratory birds, especially geese.
• [54:46] – Hating drawstrings that get stuck in waistbands/hoods.
• [86:28] – "I hate Reddit."
• [95:02] – “I hate passwords...Everything should be facing id.”
• [105:03] – List of listener and staff hate items begins.

Tone & Banter

• Language: Boldly irreverent and honest, filled with the Yak’s signature blend of comedic exaggeration, self-deprecation, and camaraderie.
• Energy: High-spirited, energetic, with group riffs and inside jokes.
• Self-awareness: Many recognizes their own "hate" as irrational or petty, often adding, "This is my hate, make your own list."

Notable Quotes (by Timestamp & Speaker)

• “[I fucking hate mangoes...My kids love mangoes. They try to get me to eat it every night and I say, no, I hate mangoes.]”
  — Big Cat, [12:31]

• “[Sideline reporters. They're pointless. They never find out information. They're two minutes behind everything else.]”
  — Brandon Walker, [19:31]

• “[We had to rebuild our lives around this bird just because we can't touch it.]”
  — Danny, [35:55], on geese

• “[Geography...should just be called the world, dude.]”
  — Kyle (KB), [72:40]

• “[I hate passwords. Everything should be facing id.]”
  — Big Cat, [89:10]

• “[You only get people who waste nuts, right?]”
  — KB, [145:32]

Listener Takeaways

• The Hater's Ball is both a cathartic exercise and a comedic set piece—celebrating the trivial, the irrational, and all the petty annoyances that come with daily life.
• The Yak fosters an environment where participants can openly (and often absurdly) articulate minor and major dislikes, while remaining tongue-in-cheek and giving each other space to riff and push back.
• By the end, the episode is both hilarious and weirdly unifying, as everyone—hosts, staff, and listeners—find something they agree to hate.

Suggested Must-Listen Segments

• [12:31–20:00] – Launching and heated riffing on food, restaurants, soup, and etiquette.
• [36:20–38:00] – The Great Geese Rant / Migratory Bird Act
• [57:34–59:10] – Group text etiquette and leaving chats
• [72:40–73:51] – Geography should be “the world”
• [86:28–88:30] – Reddit: "the dumbest site"
• [104:06–110:00+] – Yas and listeners venting; open hate mic

Summary

The Yak’s “Hater’s Ball” brings the whole cast together in (mostly) good-natured, riotous complaint, inviting both crew and listeners to air their biggest (and smallest) grievances in an annual festival of hate. From mangoes to the ESPNs app, from paper straws to passwords, the range is as broad as it is relatable. In other words: a definitive Yak classic.