September 11, 2020 • 35 mins
Clay Travis asks the crew and listeners to grade the NFL's debut and takes more calls from around the country. FOX's NFL sideline reporter Shannon Spake is in the house, she's headed to Detroit for Week 1, plus she shares her story about 9/11 (she lived in New York at the time.) Clay also gets the crew's Super Bowl picks!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'll kick the coverage with Clay Travis Live every weekday
morning from six to nine a m. E Stern three
to six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your
local station for OutKick the coverage at Fox sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every morning on the
I Heart Radio app by searching fs are you're listening
(00:22):
to Fox Sports Radio. The NFL is back, and it
felt like it might never happen if you were listening
to this program in March. In April, when everybody was
out there with so much negativity raining down, I thought
the game came off about as well as it possibly could.
(00:45):
We have got a poll question out there that you
guys can weigh in on what letter grade would you
give the NFL for last night's season opener between the
Texans and the Chiefs. Just posted this poll uh in
the first five minutes to thou was eno of you
have voted. You can go vote yourself, follow me track
down the poll at Clay Travis. Twenty percent of you
(01:08):
gave the NFL and A for last night, Forty two
percent of you gave the NFL A B, eighteen percent
of you gave the NFL A C, and seventeen percent
of you gave the NFL A D or an F. So,
if I am watching this right now, my poll results,
(01:28):
and I bet somebody in the NFL PR office will
to me that's not bad. Eighty three percent of fans
out there are giving right now in my poll uh, A, A,
B or C grade to the NFL, which if I'm
Roger Goodell, I would take forty two percent of you.
Nearly half of you are giving the NFL A B uh.
(01:52):
And again, these numbers will continue to shift and evolve
as people come in and weigh in what great would
you give it? Danny g I would give it an A. Yeah,
what about you, dub are you giving an A as well?
Do you make it unanimous? Eddie Garcia, I'll be a contrarian.
I'll say B plus. So I mean I would give
it in an A and and and I understand some
(02:13):
people out there like, hey, I'm upset about the players
and taking a stand and the statements and the social
justice warrior and everything else. I get it. I do.
I expected it to be so much more over the
top than it was. I think you said a good point, Eddie.
If you hadn't known about any of it. Would you
have even known there were statements in the end zone
(02:34):
or anything on the player helmets to reflect, Like, if
you just turned this game on and I'm not talking,
I didn't hear or listen. A lot of times don't
to the way that the game is called. A lot
of times I watch games on mute, uh, you know,
football games in particular, because I know what's gonna happen.
I can watch the game. It's not like I'm missing anything. Uh.
And I'll do a couple of other things. I'll you know,
(02:55):
I'll be working or whatever while I've got the television on.
I'm looking up to make sure I don't miss a
big play. But I think you made a good point, Eddie.
And and and it's kind of the way I felt too.
If you didn't know that we were in the middle
of the coronavirus, if you didn't know that we were
in the middle of an unprecedented period of political activism,
you could watch this NFL game last night and you
(03:16):
would not know that either of those things were going on.
Because even with the noise turned I mean, even with
the noise turned down, it would be easier. But you
can hear the crowd cheering, Like when you watched the
game take place on the field, it was almost unnoticeable
that anything was different. And I think that's a win
for the NFL. And that's why I would give them
an A because the NFL has a product people like.
(03:40):
Don't over sell it, don't over analyze it. Just play
the games and people want to watch and we'll see
what ends up happening going forward. But I thought it
was about as well as this could have gone for
the NFL. Eight seven seven nine six three six nine.
We're taking some of your calls. Let me get to
some of those right now. Who's up next? Up? We
(04:01):
got Grant in Kansas City. Grant, what would you say,
how would you assess the NFL's opener. I'd give it
probably a B plus A UM. I was at the
game last night. Luckily I was one of the few
that were able to get it. What was that? Yeah, So,
what was the experience like as a fan attending that
game last night? How did it compare to a normal
(04:23):
game watching the Chiefs play at Arrowhead? It was pretty crazy,
just because I mean there's a few fans they're compared
to normal and it was still electric. I mean it's
still got extremely loud on third downs, and and when
we made that interception, um, it was pretty crazy. But
the big thing that I'm reading all over social media
(04:44):
right now is kind of upsets me as a Kansas
City native and a big time Chiefs fans, is that
the Chiefs fans were doing when all the players lined
up in the middle of the field, and that is
a hundred percent not true. They announced their game over
the loud speakers and asked for a moment of violence
and unity with the players. What people aren't showing is
(05:08):
that twenty seconds before that happened, the Texans came out
of the locker room and then everyone started booing, because
that's what we do here in Kansas City when the
visiting team comes out of the the locker room. There was
there was absolutely no booing. You could probably hear something drop,
you know, thirty sections away. So I just that up
(05:28):
sensed me being a Kansas City native, that the national
rhetoric really right now is that there was a bunch
of Chiefs fans that were booing when these players are
trying to stand up for something. You know, that's kind
of crazy happening in our country right now. By the way.
What was the telgate scene, Like we're people having beers
and hanging out before the game. I don't know, people
(05:49):
sent me some videos. I'm just kind of curious. Did
you see as a guy who went to the game
last night? Yeah, it was so normally you can part,
you know, every single space has taken up, but they
had it kind of like checkerboard style in the parking
lot where every other spaces was filled up, and then
the row in front of you were behind piled up
(06:10):
and they said, like they were on your tickets and stuff.
They said you had to stay in your little pod
when you were tailgating, and like when you were in
the stadium, Um, you're four or six sheets area in
your row, you were only allowed to stay in there.
And then they had the rest of the seats like
industrial zip tied up so you can't even put down. Yeah,
(06:33):
that's interesting. Would you go back based on your experience
in the in the stadium, Like, would you be comfortable
going back for more games this year? Because you know,
even I had a guy that was in my quote
unquote pod who was three sheets to the wind at
halfway through the first quarter and he was still wearing
(06:56):
his mask. They had people walking around like at seeing
people like if they had it down without eating or drinking.
They're asking people to put their mass back on, at
least in the area I was in, and even when
we were walking out and pretty much shoulder to shoulder
every they got to the parking lot. Thanks for the call, Um,
(07:16):
and uh and and thanks for listening. I think it's
always interesting to get, you know, sort of the perspective
of the fan in the stadium. I think Kansas City
has phenomenal fans. I mean, the Chiefs do. In my experience, uh,
you know, just from doing this show. You guys know
I'm a Titans fan. And the number of Kansas City
Chiefs fans who reached out to offer me tickets when
(07:37):
the Titans were playing in the a f C Championship game,
it blew me away. I've never seen anything like it. Um,
And we got a lot of listeners in Kansas City.
And obviously Jason Whitlock spent a lot of his time
in Kansas City when he was writing, and so we
have a big audience in Kansas City without kick in general,
but one of the best fan bases that that I've
had the experience of interacting with um and uh and.
(07:59):
So I think again, a lot of the booing that
is being attributed to all these Chiefs fans hate the
moment of unity. No, they were uh booing the Houston
Texans team uh and And it's gonna be played up
by the woke media that wants to have a reason
to be upset about what happened in the game. But
I don't think there's a lot of substance there. Who's
(08:20):
up next? Up? We got g W and Cincinnati. What's up?
What man, Clay? How you doing? Man? Excellent? Good morning? Hey.
With all the respected Chiefs fan and that's the Bengals fans,
I'll probably be the same way. But they were actually
booing the Texans during a moment of silence. Your colleague
at night, Jason Smith and Mike Harmon was toiling down.
(08:40):
They played the tape and you know the Texans were
already out on the field. But nevertheless, you know, the
fans should have the right to express their opinions because
you and I both know Clay, the players there, I'm
sure we're gonna express their opinions. I love the pregame show.
I actually didn't know that Alicia Case was that fixed?
So I was. I loved watching her. I saw this
symbols on the helmet, I saw the end racism uh
(09:03):
stickers on the end zone pad uh. It didn't bother me. Actually,
it reminded me of the NBA. Once the game started,
everything was everything. And that's another thing, Clay. It was
a great night. I watched Corina lose, I watched the NBA,
and I watched NFL football. I gotta hook up like
you do. It looks like a sports bar in my
basement with all the TV. So I had a great night. Man,
I give them. I give the NFL ape. And it
(09:24):
was only because the fans doing the moment of silence,
but I loved it. They would acknowledge the movement. And
like I said, the game was the game. And it
reminds me like the NBA is probably the best product
we got out there right now. And um, it looked
really good. Be pumped in fan music, um fan uh noise.
I thought that was kind of artificial. But outside of
(09:46):
that no that, I thought it was great. Um. I
didn't think that the fan noise was pumped in did
anybody else like I thought? When I listened, and maybe
the maybe NBC just got me totally tricked. And and
me think that the Chiefs fans who were there were
actually louder than they were. But to me, it sounded
completely like a normal game. You know, on third down,
(10:08):
the noise was more substantial. I know, there's only of
fans there, and maybe they dial maybe they dialed up
the the audio read a little bit. You know, they
have those boom mics everywhere they're getting the crowd noise.
Did they say anything we did? What did they say?
I think you're right about the boom mic placement, because
Al Michael's made a point to say that they were
not adding any noise in the stadium or on the telecast. Yeah,
(10:32):
I I it sounded totally normal to me. And uh,
I mean, look, one of the things that I think
is interesting is if you're one of the tent that
actually gets in, you're probably a pretty die hard fan,
and you also probably are thinking, I gotta make more
noise than I ordinarily would because there's only of us,
and uh and and so I thought the Chiefs fans
(10:54):
brought their a game, uh, in terms of what it
sounded like. Again, if you're just watching the on the
field results and the game itself. I think it's hard,
too hard to tell that it felt very much different
now when they pan back and you can see the stadium,
or certainly if you saw Andy Reid with his face shield,
or you saw the coaches that were wearing the mask like,
you would have an idea that something was different. But
(11:17):
if you're just watching the on the field related results,
there isn't really to me any any noticeable aspect there.
Who's up next? Doub Let's get through the callers, and
then we got a couple of audio clips. Are gonna
play you what you got? Yeah? The last one here,
we got Darren in Nebraska. Darren, what do you think? Hey?
You know what I was. I was prepared to give
(11:37):
him probably a C C minus, but I'd say at
least in a minus. I was. I was surprised. I was.
I was happy with it. Um. And by the way,
thanks for the thanks for taking my call. I appreciate it. Um.
Three quick things I wanted to say is one, man,
what a return to normalcy. Just hearing the sound of
our Michaels that was just yeah, and that was like
(11:58):
music to my ears. Hear that again, is like everything
was okay. The second thing was I was proud of
the Chiefs. I am a Chiefs fan, proud of the
Chiefs for standing for the anthem, and and thirdly, I
just proud of the Chiefs overall because I mean, they
look every bit of champion, you know. And I think
he's said a really good standard for the rest of
(12:19):
the league. I don't think there's any doubt I appreciate
the call. By the way, updated on the poll, and
I think these results will probably stand for a while.
Over five thousand of you have voted in the first
fifteen minutes here pent of you giving the NFL and
A for last night's game, one percent of you giving
them a B, eighteen percent giving them a C, and
(12:41):
sixteen percent giving them a D or an F. Let
me update you on what I'm hearing about the Big Ten,
by the way, because I think I tease that a
little while back. What I am hearing on the Big Ten. Uh,
there's gonna be news that comes out this afternoon on
the Big Ten. I think they are going to release
more in information involving the Nebraska lawsuit. That's what I
(13:04):
have been told, So expect for there to be news
coming out from the Big Ten relating to that Nebraska
lawsuit sometime on Friday. I also believe, based on conversations
that I have had, that as we go into the weekend,
this is a monumentally important time for whether or not
the Big Ten is going to be able to play.
(13:24):
I have been told that by Monday, potentially as soon
as Monday, we could have a new vote in the
Big Ten that would potentially allow the Big Ten to
come back and play a season starting in October. Okay,
so there is a movement of foot as I've been
telling you for a while, to fight for the return
(13:46):
of Big Ten football, and a return in October could
potentially allow the Big Ten to compete in the National
Championship in the playoff. And there is a belief that
momentum is building. They are going to get new health
and safety recommendations. The White House is trying to do
(14:08):
whatever they can to help and assist the Big Ten
in being able to play, and there is a belief
among many that early next week there will be a
new vote based on new health and safety protocols about
whether or not the fall football season can happen, potentially
(14:28):
starting as soon as October. I am optimistic that the
Big Ten could be able to pull this off. Obviously,
time is of the essence because you need to ramp
up the overall workouts in training so that you are
ready for full contact football. And the belief is among
many schools that they need three or four weeks in
(14:50):
order to ramp that up. Well, you can do the
math yourself. A October tenth or October seventeenth start date
are the days that I have heard the most discussion
surrounding and so I think these Big Ten presidents and
chancellors are going to have a chance to revisit the
decision that they made roughly a month ago. By the way,
(15:12):
as we are going to break here, I should also
mention today is the nineteenth anniversary of nine eleven, a
day that for very many people changed the way uh
many of us live and certainly was an unbelievable challenge
and tragedy to a huge number of American families out there.
(15:32):
Uh it's crazy to think that it's been almost a
generation now since nine eleven happened. I am forty one
years old. I remember exactly where I was, like a
lot of you do, I was a first year law
student at Vanderbilt University, woke up and heard that a
plane had hit the building, drove in and I was
in my torts class when they came in and announced
(15:54):
to everybody what was going on exactly. It is a
moment that, certainly for many of us, feels much sooner,
even now than nineteen years ago. I appreciate all of
you spending your morning with us. We will be right
back with Shannon Spake, who is on her way I believe,
(16:15):
are about to be on her way to Detroit to
get ready for the opener between I believe it's the
Bears and the Lions that she has be sure to
catch live editions about kicked the coverage with Clay Travis
week days at six am Eastern, three am Pacific. We
are joined now by Shannon Spake, who I believe is
on her way to the airport to travel to Detroit
(16:35):
to cover the opener of the NFL season. Is that correct, Shannon?
That is correct. It took me about five hours to
pack yesterday because I'm like, it's like a time capital, right,
I'm pulling stuff out of my two case. I haven't
been on the road since we were in Miami for
the Super Bowl. Clay so I mean, like my my
two cases have literally went in the closet and and
(16:56):
and they were there, right, so everything I've had, like
granola bars and and and like all those kind of
food in there. And then I'm like, great, but yes,
I am on my way to Detroit and so Chicago
at Detroit this weekend, and uh yeah, I mean, my goodness,
it's back. I was texting with my crew and with
Jonathan Bilma and Kenny Albert this season, and I was
texting with him last night. As soon as that ball
(17:17):
went in the air. That just NFL back, And I
just think it's a great release for all of us.
Did you feel like I did? And and obviously like
a lot of our listeners did that this felt like
a normal game. And I know normals in quotation marks
because everything is so abnormal in general. But you mentioned
being down Super Bowl and we were down there covering
it in Miami, which feels like ten years ago now,
(17:38):
but you know, the first game played since the Super Bowl.
If you had just been like unaware of anything that's
gone on, let's pretend like you were, you know, in
a time capsule and you suddenly popped back up for
the NFL I think for the most part, the game
last night would have looked normal to you, right, like
obviously when they showed the crowds, or when they showed
Andy Reid and his face mask, uh that well thing
(18:00):
type mask or whatever the heck he was wearing. Yeah,
but it would have looked normal. By and large, it
certainly sounded normal, and I think for a lot of
people it was like, oh, thank God, Like, you know,
we're going to get back to normal at some point,
and the NFL being back is a big part of normalcy. Yeah.
I was really interested to see how sort of like
(18:22):
we would intertwine uh, the XS and OS with all
of this stuff that's happened before we actually got on
the field, between the social justice stuff and and obviously
that the COVID and I thought they did a really
good job. I thought Chris and al when they were
talking about the game, with the exception of the start
of the game, I mean, it was XS and o's right,
and Michelle was able to kind of weave in some
of the bigger storylines that was going on that was
(18:43):
going on in the world. And I thought they did
a really good job of sort of that balance because
I think It's important to tell both stories because both
stories obviously are what we're in right and what we
are moving forward through in this NFL season. I was
also really interested to see how Michelle did her job.
Obviously that's where I will be this weekend. You could
see that she was in the first row of the stadium.
(19:03):
We don't have access to the field right now, and
so I know all of all of the sideline reporters
were watching that very closely to see how it was done.
But hey, there was a time where I wasn't even
in front of the television and I heard the crowd
noise and I thought to myself, Wow, this really sounds
like a real NFL game with real fan I didn't
it didn't miss a beat for me. Now for Detroit,
(19:24):
I don't think they're gonna have fans present, right, So
have you thought about what it will feel like to be,
like you just said, doing your job for maybe the
first row of a totally empty stadium. Yeah, I think, well, yeah,
I don't know how much crowd noise they're going to
pump into Detroit. Yes. Um. I talked to a Keen
Hicks last night on the phone. He obviously played for
Chicago Bears, and I asked, and I actually with carry
(19:47):
On Johnson as well, and I asked them about sort
of that crowd noise that they've been pumping in and
if it was bothering them, because Kyle Shanahan said it
was like human torture to hear that kind of over
the intercom, and they said that they don't actually hear it.
They're so focus us on what they're doing. And every
single guy that I talked to you on the phone
yesterday play they all said that it feels like this
is the week that NFL is back. They said that
(20:09):
their schedule has been so regiment that they are back
on schedule and it feels like game week they have
flipped that switch, and it was it was awesome to
hear that from these guys. But I'll tell you, I
was talking to a team right at eight o'clock when
that ball was kicking off, and I mean, I think
I let out a squeal because it was just I mean,
it's it's back, right, yeah. And And not only is
the NFL back, but you think about this weekend and
(20:31):
all of the activity that we have going on. You've
got the US Open tennis tournament, right, which is going
to be resolved. I think this weekend you've got NASCAR
still going on, right, If I'm not mistaken, you're the
expert there. The NFL is officially back college football. Last night.
I know you grew up in South Florida. The Hurricanes played,
even though it kind of got overshadowed. Major college football
(20:51):
and the Power five conferences officially back. Big twelve in
a c C will be playing. Major League Baseball now
starting to roll towards the tour the playoffs there. The
NBA is in the middle of the playoffs. They're gonna
shortly have the Eastern and Western Conference finals set. You've
got the p G A that's still going Next week,
I believe is the US Open in golf, so you've
(21:14):
got the p G A going on. I'm sure that
I have missed something that is going on out there,
but that's pretty unbelievable, right when you consider all of
the sports options that the average fan is going to
have headed into the weekend, Clay, there's so much going
on in this world right now, with the fires out
on the West Coast and COVID and obviously today being
(21:34):
September eleven, so sending out my prayers and thoughts to
everyone who is directly involved in that day, which are
so many, so many Americans. But yes, to have all
this sports listen, that's what that's why all of us
are sports fans. It's that release. It's that momentary release
from all of the stuff that we have to deal
with on a daily basis, and there's a lot of
it right now and that's not gonna stop. But it
(21:55):
is nice to turn on the TV and see a
see a touchdown from from the Shout Buston and from
Patrick Mahomes. You mentioned nine eleven and we were just
talking about that at the end of the first hour.
At the beginning of the second hour anniversary, I believe
you were in New York City working at the time
of nine eleven. It's a stunting to me now to
(22:17):
think about because there's so many people who are probably
listening to this podcast now, young people who really don't
have much of a recollection of nine eleven. It's been
almost twenty years since it happened. Tomorrow, you know, next year,
when we officially get to the twentieth anniversary, I think
will be just an eye opening moment for a lot
of people that an entire generation has passed since nine
(22:39):
eleven happened for people out there who may not have
experienced it, or may not have experienced it as a
New Yorker, did what was that day like for you?
I still remember it like it was yesterday, honestly. So.
I worked at CBS News, the National News, UM, I
worked for the Early Show, and I remember taking the subway. UM.
I worked between fifty in between ten and eleventh and
(23:01):
I got off that subway at fifty Street on that morning,
and I remember this guy. And that's one thing that
people will tell you a lot. This guy was just
just like brilliant color blue. And I remember I like identifying, like, wow,
this is a beautiful day. I made the turn getting
off the subway and there was literally a person running
down the street of New York screaming that a plane
hit the World Trade Center. And by the time I
(23:22):
got to work, we realized that it wasn't just like
a small plane. That day was crazy. I mean we
didn't know what was going to happen next, from the
Trade Center to the Pentagon to you know, Philadelphia. Uh.
I had to walk um from me the city. I
was living in Queens at the time, so I had
to walk across the Queensboro Bridge to get home that night.
I remember looking back towards the south end of the
(23:45):
of the Manhattan and just seeing that big, huge plume
of smoke and silent um uh ambulances Like the lights
were on, but there was silence, and it was just
the moment that I will never ever ever forget. I
remember all of it, miss we signed. It has directly
impacted my life in so many ways. It's interesting. My
dad is he was an airline pilot, and last night
(24:06):
he sent me a picture of his flight release from
I guess the FAA when he was getting ready to
I don't know where he was that day, but it
basically said it described what was going on, and at
the end it said God bless you all, please be safe.
So I mean sure that that day has impacted me
and who I am and how it was my life
(24:26):
in so many ways, and uh it was certainly. Um.
My kids know about it. Um we've been down there.
I haven't taken them to the museum, but I've certainly
showed them the footprint and the memorial. The museum, if
you've never been there, is is beautifully incredible and so
I highly recommend anyone to get the chance to go there.
And and for people out there who are not familiar
(24:48):
with with that event, it was awful and it was
a tragic day, and the impact of it obviously has
continued to echo for years and years since, not just
for people who lost family, but in terms of the
way that the world has spun since then. The one
positive I would say that came out of nine eleven
was an incredible national unity, the likes of which I
(25:11):
have never seen in my life. And I'm forty one,
um and uh, And you know what I would have
equated for Shannon on some level is probably the way
that America responded. I know you've talked about your grandfather
who fought in in World War Two. There was sort
of a national unity as of common purpose, certainly not
(25:32):
one that we have today, But looking back almost twenty
years now, that is as profoundly and proud I think
as most Americans have ever stood in unity together in
our lifetimes. For you, would that be the positive? And
would you agree that that moment as a New Yorker
but also as an American is probably the most unified
this country has felt in our lifetimes, meaning you and
(25:54):
I were around the same age. It was an incredible
time to be in New York City. I remember before that,
you know, you get on a subway or you get
on a bus, and you'd be isolated. There would be
hundreds of people around you, and you would kind of
be in your own little bubble. And after that, you
knew what every single person on that bus or subway
was thinking. You knew what that when they looked towards
(26:14):
that area, um, what they were thinking. I remember being
on subways with rescue workers that that had like a
piece of metal or something that you knew that they
had just come from the area of the World Trade
Center and they were down there risking their lives and
seeing things that human beings should never see. And certainly
being in New York, you know people on the street
screaming and chanting for the for the New York Fire
(26:35):
Department and for the police department, just in the middle,
you know, the middle of the day, as as that
fire truck would go down the street. It was an
incredible scene to be sort of around that, but obviously
also very horrific and scary. Uh. As I mentioned, I
worked for CBS and so when I would go to
work in the morning, there'd be family members out there
with their missing signs, trying to get a picture of
(26:56):
their loved one on TV outside of you know that,
the national net work, and so you you did have
this sort of these beautiful moments also intertwined with these
really tragic ones. We're talking with Shanon's bank. You follow
her on Twitter. She's in her car on the way
to the airport. Have you flown since, uh, since we
got back from since basically everything shut down back in March. No,
(27:16):
And my husband's like, do you remember how to do it? Like,
I don't know. Are you nervous at all about getting
on an airplane. I'm not nervous about getting on an airplane.
I'm obviously going to take every precaution you should see.
I bought these like onions. I know you if I
send you this picture, you would probably roll your eyes.
You'd be like, I've got a lot um. I'll have
my mask on, and I bought these onion glasses that
are supposed to kind of protect your eyes. I'm gonna
(27:37):
take every precaution. We're getting tested every single week on site,
so we'll be tested on Saturday which I feel really
good about. But obviously I think it's important for all
of us. Fox Sports is having us do that, so
I I think it's important that we would be kind
of are aware that this is still out there, and
being on an airplane is certainly something that can expose
(27:57):
us to those situations. I am going to take every book, Causha,
but I'm not scared. Yeah, I flew back in May,
which is early for a lot of people, but we
went down to the beach, my wife and I and
uh like I would fly now. I don't have anywhere
to go, but if somebody, yeah, if somebody needed me
to be somewhere, I would be fine doing it. But
(28:18):
it is kind of crazy, like when you got back
from the Super Bowl, as you were saying, you would
have never thought that we were going to have the
six or seven months that we have. And now it
does feel like with the NFL coming back, in college
football coming back, and all of the sports being played
right now, that, at least for the American sports fan,
which is obviously a lot of people who are listening
(28:38):
to me right now, things are getting back rapidly to
some form of normalcy. You talked about being at the
super Bowl where you guys had the fans that came
and watched your show and you're high five and people,
I can't even hug my mom right now, and and like,
you know, you think, how like how like? I mean,
how crazy it is the time that we're in People
come over and I'm like, are we allowed to like
(29:00):
other we allowed to high five? Uh so yeah, it's
it's insane. But again, I'm just happy that the NFL
is making this happen. The players have to be given
so much credit for the way that they've approached it.
I know that you have that sat right. I think
I saw one player tested positive when they did their
last COVID. That's incredible. That's incredible, and uh, you really
(29:22):
have to give them a lot, a lot of credit.
All right. On the field, you've got the Lions with
Matthew Stafford coming back after a season ending injury. They
were the Lions offense and Matthew Stafford personally really productive
prior to that. And then also on the Bear sideline,
you've got the ongoing drama surrounding Mitch Drabinsky, who beat
(29:42):
out Nick Foles. How much of a leash do you
think Mitch Drabinsky has. In other words, if he came
out and played poorly in the first half, is this
a quick yank situation based on what you've heard and
what are you hearing about Matthew Stafford and his health
as he returns to until le Stafford good everything I heard.
I mean, listen, this is one of the toughest guys
(30:03):
in the NFL. When he sat out last year and
I covered some of those games that he was on
the sideline, uh, it was it was incredible to actually
have him pulled from those games. He knew he was
in a lot of pain. He was amazing to watch
him on the sidelines last year when he was not playing.
He had a clipboard in his hand, a headset on
his head, He was a coach on the sideline. There
was no sitting around for Matthew Stafford. And I think that, uh,
(30:24):
you know, listen, they respected him regardless. But I mean
I did talk to carry On Johnson and they said
seeing him do that just kind of set another tone
for them. As far as Mitchell Trapisky, I do not
think that if they'll pull him game one, I just
don't think they'll do that. Uh. Was the least short
I also covered a lot of Bears games last year,
and I had to do those halftime interviews with Matt
(30:44):
Maggie when, uh, when Trabisky was not making the plays
and he wasn't very happy at the end of the season.
From everything that I've heard, Travisky is walking a different walk,
He's talking a different talk. Who knows how the quarterback
battle affected him. I talked to one of the players
who said, like, that's the grit that we want to
see out of our quarterback. So maybe it went a
long way. I mean, think about it. Just two years ago,
(31:05):
you know, he was he was lighting it up, went
to the Pro Bowl, right, and last year had the
year that he had. So I do not think it
takes Game one we'll pull him at half time to
be struggling. But I do think the leash is shorter
than it would be for for a normal guy, just
because of how last year went. Shannon will be watching,
have a good flight and enjoy the Bears and the Lions,
and we'll talk to you next week. Okay cool. Fox
(31:27):
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live. All right, I told you
yesterday my picks. I said, Chief Saints and the Super
Bowl Jags are going to be the worst team. Cardinals
are gonna win the NFC West as my out on Olympic,
(31:50):
and I said the m v P of the league,
I thought it would end up being Tom Brady. Uh,
that is my take, all right, So let's go around
rapidly here and get everybody's picks on the record. With
the start of the NFL season, Clay my a f
C champ is my out on a limb, not going chalk.
I took Chiefs last year. This year, I'm saying their
defense was the third best in the NFL last season.
(32:12):
I love the Stefon Digs. Addition, I'm gonna go out
on a limb and take the Buffalo Bill is a
huge limb, yep. And then the NFC champ the forty Niners.
In honor of the Bay Area Central Valley radio legend
Dave Holmes, who passed away on Wednesday, close radio friend
of mine, number one on the air for twenty five years.
He was a huge Dodgers and Niners fan. In his honor,
(32:34):
I'm gonna crown the Niners as the Super Bowl champion.
Uh and any m v P surprise, I'm gonna take
Jimmy g as the m v P. Wow. That that
is a lot of crazy picks from you. You alright,
worst team that's Chalk Jags. Yeah. I don't even think
we need to have that conversation that Jags are going
to be the worst team in the NFL. Alright, what
(32:55):
about you doub who you got? All right? Out of
the a f C. I got the Kansas City Chief's
Philip be good about that one. After last night, NFC,
I'm going back to the well. I think if you
remember last year, I took the Cowboys, I'm taking the
Cowboys again. I think they get it done this year
super Bowl champions. I got Chiefs first, Cowboys, and I'm
going Dallas just because if I'm right, i can be
a genius. And if I'm wrong, no one will remember.
(33:17):
Out on a limb, I got the Browns winning the
a f C North last year. They were probably the
most hyped up team in the NFL. They have the
same roster. The only thing that's changes they have a
way better coach. So why not worst team Jacks and
m v P Mahomes. So those are my picks. What
about you, Eddie, anything jumping out, any craziness. I hate you,
dub I've got the Cowboys over the Chiefs in the
(33:40):
Super Bowl. Uh. Mike McCarthy wants to prove that you
can do it without Aaron Rodgers. I got Dak having
a huge year, very motivated. He's the m v P
of the league. My worst team is the Jets. Uh
and what else was there? I don't know, Limb. I
got the Ravens having a terrible season because Lamar Jackson
is going to get hurt early in the season. Yeah,
you know it's interesting. Um, the expect and thanks for those.
(34:03):
So all those are written down now. Roberto is out.
Do you know what his pick was? Bowl? Let's see,
I have his right here in front of me. He's
got the Chiefs and Saints and the Super Bowl. We said,
the exact same super Bowl as me. Yep, Saints winning. Wow?
Yeah same as you. His out on a LIMB Bucks
missed the playoffs. Yeah that would be a surprise. Worst
(34:24):
team Jags m v P Drew Brees. Uh. Drew Brees
will be interesting because he's never won an m VP
before all right, So that is our predictions as we
roll into the NFL season. We come back, uh to
start the top of our three here, a couple of
different things we're going to dive into, obviously the return
of the NFL, but the absolute latest on what I
(34:44):
am hearing from the Big Ten. We are also scheduled
to be joined by Joel Clatt right off the top
of the hour, so we will be joined by him.
I need to figure out what hotel room he's in
and see if he's actually awake, but we can call
his cell and wake him up. He is called calling
a game tomorrow. He's the lead college football analyst for
Fox Sports, and UH, we will see where he is.
(35:07):
I believe he's in Kansas, if I'm not mistaken. I
think they flipped the game that he is calling, because
the Baylor Louisiana Tech game that they did have was
actually canceled. So college football Power five conferences started last
night with Miami College Football going on. We'll talk to
Joel Clatt, will also continue to break down the NFL
game and what the latest is on the Big Ten.
(35:28):
We'll talk about Joel with that as well. All that's
still to come encourage you to go download the podcast
make sure you don't miss a single minute. Thanks to
all of you for supporting out Kick. As we roll
into the weekend, I hope you guys are having fantastic Friday's.
This is OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. This is Outkicked
the coverage with Clay Travis
I'll kick the coverage with Clay Travis Live every weekday
morning from six to nine a m. E Stern three
to six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your
local station for OutKick the coverage at Fox sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every morning on the
I Heart Radio app by searching fs are you're listening
(00:22):
to Fox Sports Radio. The NFL is back, and it
felt like it might never happen if you were listening
to this program in March. In April, when everybody was
out there with so much negativity raining down, I thought
the game came off about as well as it possibly could.
(00:45):
We have got a poll question out there that you
guys can weigh in on what letter grade would you
give the NFL for last night's season opener between the
Texans and the Chiefs. Just posted this poll uh in
the first five minutes to thou was eno of you
have voted. You can go vote yourself, follow me track
down the poll at Clay Travis. Twenty percent of you
(01:08):
gave the NFL and A for last night, Forty two
percent of you gave the NFL A B, eighteen percent
of you gave the NFL A C, and seventeen percent
of you gave the NFL A D or an F. So,
if I am watching this right now, my poll results,
(01:28):
and I bet somebody in the NFL PR office will
to me that's not bad. Eighty three percent of fans
out there are giving right now in my poll uh, A, A,
B or C grade to the NFL, which if I'm
Roger Goodell, I would take forty two percent of you.
Nearly half of you are giving the NFL A B uh.
(01:52):
And again, these numbers will continue to shift and evolve
as people come in and weigh in what great would
you give it? Danny g I would give it an A. Yeah,
what about you, dub are you giving an A as well?
Do you make it unanimous? Eddie Garcia, I'll be a contrarian.
I'll say B plus. So I mean I would give
it in an A and and and I understand some
(02:13):
people out there like, hey, I'm upset about the players
and taking a stand and the statements and the social
justice warrior and everything else. I get it. I do.
I expected it to be so much more over the
top than it was. I think you said a good point, Eddie.
If you hadn't known about any of it. Would you
have even known there were statements in the end zone
(02:34):
or anything on the player helmets to reflect, Like, if
you just turned this game on and I'm not talking,
I didn't hear or listen. A lot of times don't
to the way that the game is called. A lot
of times I watch games on mute, uh, you know,
football games in particular, because I know what's gonna happen.
I can watch the game. It's not like I'm missing anything. Uh.
And I'll do a couple of other things. I'll you know,
(02:55):
I'll be working or whatever while I've got the television on.
I'm looking up to make sure I don't miss a
big play. But I think you made a good point, Eddie.
And and and it's kind of the way I felt too.
If you didn't know that we were in the middle
of the coronavirus, if you didn't know that we were
in the middle of an unprecedented period of political activism,
you could watch this NFL game last night and you
(03:16):
would not know that either of those things were going on.
Because even with the noise turned I mean, even with
the noise turned down, it would be easier. But you
can hear the crowd cheering, Like when you watched the
game take place on the field, it was almost unnoticeable
that anything was different. And I think that's a win
for the NFL. And that's why I would give them
an A because the NFL has a product people like.
(03:40):
Don't over sell it, don't over analyze it. Just play
the games and people want to watch and we'll see
what ends up happening going forward. But I thought it
was about as well as this could have gone for
the NFL. Eight seven seven nine six three six nine.
We're taking some of your calls. Let me get to
some of those right now. Who's up next? Up? We
(04:01):
got Grant in Kansas City. Grant, what would you say,
how would you assess the NFL's opener. I'd give it
probably a B plus A UM. I was at the
game last night. Luckily I was one of the few
that were able to get it. What was that? Yeah, So,
what was the experience like as a fan attending that
game last night? How did it compare to a normal
(04:23):
game watching the Chiefs play at Arrowhead? It was pretty crazy,
just because I mean there's a few fans they're compared
to normal and it was still electric. I mean it's
still got extremely loud on third downs, and and when
we made that interception, um, it was pretty crazy. But
the big thing that I'm reading all over social media
(04:44):
right now is kind of upsets me as a Kansas
City native and a big time Chiefs fans, is that
the Chiefs fans were doing when all the players lined
up in the middle of the field, and that is
a hundred percent not true. They announced their game over
the loud speakers and asked for a moment of violence
and unity with the players. What people aren't showing is
(05:08):
that twenty seconds before that happened, the Texans came out
of the locker room and then everyone started booing, because
that's what we do here in Kansas City when the
visiting team comes out of the the locker room. There was
there was absolutely no booing. You could probably hear something drop,
you know, thirty sections away. So I just that up
(05:28):
sensed me being a Kansas City native, that the national
rhetoric really right now is that there was a bunch
of Chiefs fans that were booing when these players are
trying to stand up for something. You know, that's kind
of crazy happening in our country right now. By the way.
What was the telgate scene, Like we're people having beers
and hanging out before the game. I don't know, people
(05:49):
sent me some videos. I'm just kind of curious. Did
you see as a guy who went to the game
last night? Yeah, it was so normally you can part,
you know, every single space has taken up, but they
had it kind of like checkerboard style in the parking
lot where every other spaces was filled up, and then
the row in front of you were behind piled up
(06:10):
and they said, like they were on your tickets and stuff.
They said you had to stay in your little pod
when you were tailgating, and like when you were in
the stadium, Um, you're four or six sheets area in
your row, you were only allowed to stay in there.
And then they had the rest of the seats like
industrial zip tied up so you can't even put down. Yeah,
(06:33):
that's interesting. Would you go back based on your experience
in the in the stadium, Like, would you be comfortable
going back for more games this year? Because you know,
even I had a guy that was in my quote
unquote pod who was three sheets to the wind at
halfway through the first quarter and he was still wearing
(06:56):
his mask. They had people walking around like at seeing
people like if they had it down without eating or drinking.
They're asking people to put their mass back on, at
least in the area I was in, and even when
we were walking out and pretty much shoulder to shoulder
every they got to the parking lot. Thanks for the call, Um,
(07:16):
and uh and and thanks for listening. I think it's
always interesting to get, you know, sort of the perspective
of the fan in the stadium. I think Kansas City
has phenomenal fans. I mean, the Chiefs do. In my experience, uh,
you know, just from doing this show. You guys know
I'm a Titans fan. And the number of Kansas City
Chiefs fans who reached out to offer me tickets when
(07:37):
the Titans were playing in the a f C Championship game,
it blew me away. I've never seen anything like it. Um,
And we got a lot of listeners in Kansas City.
And obviously Jason Whitlock spent a lot of his time
in Kansas City when he was writing, and so we
have a big audience in Kansas City without kick in general,
but one of the best fan bases that that I've
had the experience of interacting with um and uh and.
(07:59):
So I think again, a lot of the booing that
is being attributed to all these Chiefs fans hate the
moment of unity. No, they were uh booing the Houston
Texans team uh and And it's gonna be played up
by the woke media that wants to have a reason
to be upset about what happened in the game. But
I don't think there's a lot of substance there. Who's
(08:20):
up next? Up? We got g W and Cincinnati. What's up?
What man, Clay? How you doing? Man? Excellent? Good morning? Hey.
With all the respected Chiefs fan and that's the Bengals fans,
I'll probably be the same way. But they were actually
booing the Texans during a moment of silence. Your colleague
at night, Jason Smith and Mike Harmon was toiling down.
(08:40):
They played the tape and you know the Texans were
already out on the field. But nevertheless, you know, the
fans should have the right to express their opinions because
you and I both know Clay, the players there, I'm
sure we're gonna express their opinions. I love the pregame show.
I actually didn't know that Alicia Case was that fixed?
So I was. I loved watching her. I saw this
symbols on the helmet, I saw the end racism uh
(09:03):
stickers on the end zone pad uh. It didn't bother me. Actually,
it reminded me of the NBA. Once the game started,
everything was everything. And that's another thing, Clay. It was
a great night. I watched Corina lose, I watched the NBA,
and I watched NFL football. I gotta hook up like
you do. It looks like a sports bar in my
basement with all the TV. So I had a great night. Man,
I give them. I give the NFL ape. And it
(09:24):
was only because the fans doing the moment of silence,
but I loved it. They would acknowledge the movement. And
like I said, the game was the game. And it
reminds me like the NBA is probably the best product
we got out there right now. And um, it looked
really good. Be pumped in fan music, um fan uh noise.
I thought that was kind of artificial. But outside of
(09:46):
that no that, I thought it was great. Um. I
didn't think that the fan noise was pumped in did
anybody else like I thought? When I listened, and maybe
the maybe NBC just got me totally tricked. And and
me think that the Chiefs fans who were there were
actually louder than they were. But to me, it sounded
completely like a normal game. You know, on third down,
(10:08):
the noise was more substantial. I know, there's only of
fans there, and maybe they dial maybe they dialed up
the the audio read a little bit. You know, they
have those boom mics everywhere they're getting the crowd noise.
Did they say anything we did? What did they say?
I think you're right about the boom mic placement, because
Al Michael's made a point to say that they were
not adding any noise in the stadium or on the telecast. Yeah,
(10:32):
I I it sounded totally normal to me. And uh,
I mean, look, one of the things that I think
is interesting is if you're one of the tent that
actually gets in, you're probably a pretty die hard fan,
and you also probably are thinking, I gotta make more
noise than I ordinarily would because there's only of us,
and uh and and so I thought the Chiefs fans
(10:54):
brought their a game, uh, in terms of what it
sounded like. Again, if you're just watching the on the
field results and the game itself. I think it's hard,
too hard to tell that it felt very much different
now when they pan back and you can see the stadium,
or certainly if you saw Andy Reid with his face shield,
or you saw the coaches that were wearing the mask like,
you would have an idea that something was different. But
(11:17):
if you're just watching the on the field related results,
there isn't really to me any any noticeable aspect there.
Who's up next? Doub Let's get through the callers, and
then we got a couple of audio clips. Are gonna
play you what you got? Yeah? The last one here,
we got Darren in Nebraska. Darren, what do you think? Hey?
You know what I was. I was prepared to give
(11:37):
him probably a C C minus, but I'd say at
least in a minus. I was. I was surprised. I was.
I was happy with it. Um. And by the way,
thanks for the thanks for taking my call. I appreciate it. Um.
Three quick things I wanted to say is one, man,
what a return to normalcy. Just hearing the sound of
our Michaels that was just yeah, and that was like
(11:58):
music to my ears. Hear that again, is like everything
was okay. The second thing was I was proud of
the Chiefs. I am a Chiefs fan, proud of the
Chiefs for standing for the anthem, and and thirdly, I
just proud of the Chiefs overall because I mean, they
look every bit of champion, you know. And I think
he's said a really good standard for the rest of
(12:19):
the league. I don't think there's any doubt I appreciate
the call. By the way, updated on the poll, and
I think these results will probably stand for a while.
Over five thousand of you have voted in the first
fifteen minutes here pent of you giving the NFL and
A for last night's game, one percent of you giving
them a B, eighteen percent giving them a C, and
(12:41):
sixteen percent giving them a D or an F. Let
me update you on what I'm hearing about the Big Ten,
by the way, because I think I tease that a
little while back. What I am hearing on the Big Ten. Uh,
there's gonna be news that comes out this afternoon on
the Big Ten. I think they are going to release
more in information involving the Nebraska lawsuit. That's what I
(13:04):
have been told, So expect for there to be news
coming out from the Big Ten relating to that Nebraska
lawsuit sometime on Friday. I also believe, based on conversations
that I have had, that as we go into the weekend,
this is a monumentally important time for whether or not
the Big Ten is going to be able to play.
(13:24):
I have been told that by Monday, potentially as soon
as Monday, we could have a new vote in the
Big Ten that would potentially allow the Big Ten to
come back and play a season starting in October. Okay,
so there is a movement of foot as I've been
telling you for a while, to fight for the return
(13:46):
of Big Ten football, and a return in October could
potentially allow the Big Ten to compete in the National
Championship in the playoff. And there is a belief that
momentum is building. They are going to get new health
and safety recommendations. The White House is trying to do
(14:08):
whatever they can to help and assist the Big Ten
in being able to play, and there is a belief
among many that early next week there will be a
new vote based on new health and safety protocols about
whether or not the fall football season can happen, potentially
(14:28):
starting as soon as October. I am optimistic that the
Big Ten could be able to pull this off. Obviously,
time is of the essence because you need to ramp
up the overall workouts in training so that you are
ready for full contact football. And the belief is among
many schools that they need three or four weeks in
(14:50):
order to ramp that up. Well, you can do the
math yourself. A October tenth or October seventeenth start date
are the days that I have heard the most discussion
surrounding and so I think these Big Ten presidents and
chancellors are going to have a chance to revisit the
decision that they made roughly a month ago. By the way,
(15:12):
as we are going to break here, I should also
mention today is the nineteenth anniversary of nine eleven, a
day that for very many people changed the way uh
many of us live and certainly was an unbelievable challenge
and tragedy to a huge number of American families out there.
(15:32):
Uh it's crazy to think that it's been almost a
generation now since nine eleven happened. I am forty one
years old. I remember exactly where I was, like a
lot of you do, I was a first year law
student at Vanderbilt University, woke up and heard that a
plane had hit the building, drove in and I was
in my torts class when they came in and announced
(15:54):
to everybody what was going on exactly. It is a
moment that, certainly for many of us, feels much sooner,
even now than nineteen years ago. I appreciate all of
you spending your morning with us. We will be right
back with Shannon Spake, who is on her way I believe,
(16:15):
are about to be on her way to Detroit to
get ready for the opener between I believe it's the
Bears and the Lions that she has be sure to
catch live editions about kicked the coverage with Clay Travis
week days at six am Eastern, three am Pacific. We
are joined now by Shannon Spake, who I believe is
on her way to the airport to travel to Detroit
(16:35):
to cover the opener of the NFL season. Is that correct, Shannon?
That is correct. It took me about five hours to
pack yesterday because I'm like, it's like a time capital, right,
I'm pulling stuff out of my two case. I haven't
been on the road since we were in Miami for
the Super Bowl. Clay so I mean, like my my
two cases have literally went in the closet and and
(16:56):
and they were there, right, so everything I've had, like
granola bars and and and like all those kind of
food in there. And then I'm like, great, but yes,
I am on my way to Detroit and so Chicago
at Detroit this weekend, and uh yeah, I mean, my goodness,
it's back. I was texting with my crew and with
Jonathan Bilma and Kenny Albert this season, and I was
texting with him last night. As soon as that ball
(17:17):
went in the air. That just NFL back, And I
just think it's a great release for all of us.
Did you feel like I did? And and obviously like
a lot of our listeners did that this felt like
a normal game. And I know normals in quotation marks
because everything is so abnormal in general. But you mentioned
being down Super Bowl and we were down there covering
it in Miami, which feels like ten years ago now,
(17:38):
but you know, the first game played since the Super Bowl.
If you had just been like unaware of anything that's
gone on, let's pretend like you were, you know, in
a time capsule and you suddenly popped back up for
the NFL I think for the most part, the game
last night would have looked normal to you, right, like
obviously when they showed the crowds, or when they showed
Andy Reid and his face mask, uh that well thing
(18:00):
type mask or whatever the heck he was wearing. Yeah,
but it would have looked normal. By and large, it
certainly sounded normal, and I think for a lot of
people it was like, oh, thank God, Like, you know,
we're going to get back to normal at some point,
and the NFL being back is a big part of normalcy. Yeah.
I was really interested to see how sort of like
(18:22):
we would intertwine uh, the XS and OS with all
of this stuff that's happened before we actually got on
the field, between the social justice stuff and and obviously
that the COVID and I thought they did a really
good job. I thought Chris and al when they were
talking about the game, with the exception of the start
of the game, I mean, it was XS and o's right,
and Michelle was able to kind of weave in some
of the bigger storylines that was going on that was
(18:43):
going on in the world. And I thought they did
a really good job of sort of that balance because
I think It's important to tell both stories because both
stories obviously are what we're in right and what we
are moving forward through in this NFL season. I was
also really interested to see how Michelle did her job.
Obviously that's where I will be this weekend. You could
see that she was in the first row of the stadium.
(19:03):
We don't have access to the field right now, and
so I know all of all of the sideline reporters
were watching that very closely to see how it was done.
But hey, there was a time where I wasn't even
in front of the television and I heard the crowd
noise and I thought to myself, Wow, this really sounds
like a real NFL game with real fan I didn't
it didn't miss a beat for me. Now for Detroit,
(19:24):
I don't think they're gonna have fans present, right, So
have you thought about what it will feel like to be,
like you just said, doing your job for maybe the
first row of a totally empty stadium. Yeah, I think, well, yeah,
I don't know how much crowd noise they're going to
pump into Detroit. Yes. Um. I talked to a Keen
Hicks last night on the phone. He obviously played for
Chicago Bears, and I asked, and I actually with carry
(19:47):
On Johnson as well, and I asked them about sort
of that crowd noise that they've been pumping in and
if it was bothering them, because Kyle Shanahan said it
was like human torture to hear that kind of over
the intercom, and they said that they don't actually hear it.
They're so focus us on what they're doing. And every
single guy that I talked to you on the phone
yesterday play they all said that it feels like this
is the week that NFL is back. They said that
(20:09):
their schedule has been so regiment that they are back
on schedule and it feels like game week they have
flipped that switch, and it was it was awesome to
hear that from these guys. But I'll tell you, I
was talking to a team right at eight o'clock when
that ball was kicking off, and I mean, I think
I let out a squeal because it was just I mean,
it's it's back, right, yeah. And And not only is
the NFL back, but you think about this weekend and
(20:31):
all of the activity that we have going on. You've
got the US Open tennis tournament, right, which is going
to be resolved. I think this weekend you've got NASCAR
still going on, right, If I'm not mistaken, you're the
expert there. The NFL is officially back college football. Last night.
I know you grew up in South Florida. The Hurricanes played,
even though it kind of got overshadowed. Major college football
(20:51):
and the Power five conferences officially back. Big twelve in
a c C will be playing. Major League Baseball now
starting to roll towards the tour the playoffs there. The
NBA is in the middle of the playoffs. They're gonna
shortly have the Eastern and Western Conference finals set. You've
got the p G A that's still going Next week,
I believe is the US Open in golf, so you've
(21:14):
got the p G A going on. I'm sure that
I have missed something that is going on out there,
but that's pretty unbelievable, right when you consider all of
the sports options that the average fan is going to
have headed into the weekend, Clay, there's so much going
on in this world right now, with the fires out
on the West Coast and COVID and obviously today being
(21:34):
September eleven, so sending out my prayers and thoughts to
everyone who is directly involved in that day, which are
so many, so many Americans. But yes, to have all
this sports listen, that's what that's why all of us
are sports fans. It's that release. It's that momentary release
from all of the stuff that we have to deal
with on a daily basis, and there's a lot of
it right now and that's not gonna stop. But it
(21:55):
is nice to turn on the TV and see a
see a touchdown from from the Shout Buston and from
Patrick Mahomes. You mentioned nine eleven and we were just
talking about that at the end of the first hour.
At the beginning of the second hour anniversary, I believe
you were in New York City working at the time
of nine eleven. It's a stunting to me now to
(22:17):
think about because there's so many people who are probably
listening to this podcast now, young people who really don't
have much of a recollection of nine eleven. It's been
almost twenty years since it happened. Tomorrow, you know, next year,
when we officially get to the twentieth anniversary, I think
will be just an eye opening moment for a lot
of people that an entire generation has passed since nine
(22:39):
eleven happened for people out there who may not have
experienced it, or may not have experienced it as a
New Yorker, did what was that day like for you?
I still remember it like it was yesterday, honestly. So.
I worked at CBS News, the National News, UM, I
worked for the Early Show, and I remember taking the subway. UM.
I worked between fifty in between ten and eleventh and
(23:01):
I got off that subway at fifty Street on that morning,
and I remember this guy. And that's one thing that
people will tell you a lot. This guy was just
just like brilliant color blue. And I remember I like identifying, like, wow,
this is a beautiful day. I made the turn getting
off the subway and there was literally a person running
down the street of New York screaming that a plane
hit the World Trade Center. And by the time I
(23:22):
got to work, we realized that it wasn't just like
a small plane. That day was crazy. I mean we
didn't know what was going to happen next, from the
Trade Center to the Pentagon to you know, Philadelphia. Uh.
I had to walk um from me the city. I
was living in Queens at the time, so I had
to walk across the Queensboro Bridge to get home that night.
I remember looking back towards the south end of the
(23:45):
of the Manhattan and just seeing that big, huge plume
of smoke and silent um uh ambulances Like the lights
were on, but there was silence, and it was just
the moment that I will never ever ever forget. I
remember all of it, miss we signed. It has directly
impacted my life in so many ways. It's interesting. My
dad is he was an airline pilot, and last night
(24:06):
he sent me a picture of his flight release from
I guess the FAA when he was getting ready to
I don't know where he was that day, but it
basically said it described what was going on, and at
the end it said God bless you all, please be safe.
So I mean sure that that day has impacted me
and who I am and how it was my life
(24:26):
in so many ways, and uh it was certainly. Um.
My kids know about it. Um we've been down there.
I haven't taken them to the museum, but I've certainly
showed them the footprint and the memorial. The museum, if
you've never been there, is is beautifully incredible and so
I highly recommend anyone to get the chance to go there.
And and for people out there who are not familiar
(24:48):
with with that event, it was awful and it was
a tragic day, and the impact of it obviously has
continued to echo for years and years since, not just
for people who lost family, but in terms of the
way that the world has spun since then. The one
positive I would say that came out of nine eleven
was an incredible national unity, the likes of which I
(25:11):
have never seen in my life. And I'm forty one,
um and uh, And you know what I would have
equated for Shannon on some level is probably the way
that America responded. I know you've talked about your grandfather
who fought in in World War Two. There was sort
of a national unity as of common purpose, certainly not
(25:32):
one that we have today, But looking back almost twenty
years now, that is as profoundly and proud I think
as most Americans have ever stood in unity together in
our lifetimes. For you, would that be the positive? And
would you agree that that moment as a New Yorker
but also as an American is probably the most unified
this country has felt in our lifetimes, meaning you and
(25:54):
I were around the same age. It was an incredible
time to be in New York City. I remember before that,
you know, you get on a subway or you get
on a bus, and you'd be isolated. There would be
hundreds of people around you, and you would kind of
be in your own little bubble. And after that, you
knew what every single person on that bus or subway
was thinking. You knew what that when they looked towards
(26:14):
that area, um, what they were thinking. I remember being
on subways with rescue workers that that had like a
piece of metal or something that you knew that they
had just come from the area of the World Trade
Center and they were down there risking their lives and
seeing things that human beings should never see. And certainly
being in New York, you know people on the street
screaming and chanting for the for the New York Fire
(26:35):
Department and for the police department, just in the middle,
you know, the middle of the day, as as that
fire truck would go down the street. It was an
incredible scene to be sort of around that, but obviously
also very horrific and scary. Uh. As I mentioned, I
worked for CBS and so when I would go to
work in the morning, there'd be family members out there
with their missing signs, trying to get a picture of
(26:56):
their loved one on TV outside of you know that,
the national net work, and so you you did have
this sort of these beautiful moments also intertwined with these
really tragic ones. We're talking with Shanon's bank. You follow
her on Twitter. She's in her car on the way
to the airport. Have you flown since, uh, since we
got back from since basically everything shut down back in March. No,
(27:16):
And my husband's like, do you remember how to do it? Like,
I don't know. Are you nervous at all about getting
on an airplane. I'm not nervous about getting on an airplane.
I'm obviously going to take every precaution you should see.
I bought these like onions. I know you if I
send you this picture, you would probably roll your eyes.
You'd be like, I've got a lot um. I'll have
my mask on, and I bought these onion glasses that
are supposed to kind of protect your eyes. I'm gonna
(27:37):
take every precaution. We're getting tested every single week on site,
so we'll be tested on Saturday which I feel really
good about. But obviously I think it's important for all
of us. Fox Sports is having us do that, so
I I think it's important that we would be kind
of are aware that this is still out there, and
being on an airplane is certainly something that can expose
(27:57):
us to those situations. I am going to take every book, Causha,
but I'm not scared. Yeah, I flew back in May,
which is early for a lot of people, but we
went down to the beach, my wife and I and
uh like I would fly now. I don't have anywhere
to go, but if somebody, yeah, if somebody needed me
to be somewhere, I would be fine doing it. But
(28:18):
it is kind of crazy, like when you got back
from the Super Bowl, as you were saying, you would
have never thought that we were going to have the
six or seven months that we have. And now it
does feel like with the NFL coming back, in college
football coming back, and all of the sports being played
right now, that, at least for the American sports fan,
which is obviously a lot of people who are listening
(28:38):
to me right now, things are getting back rapidly to
some form of normalcy. You talked about being at the
super Bowl where you guys had the fans that came
and watched your show and you're high five and people,
I can't even hug my mom right now, and and like,
you know, you think, how like how like? I mean,
how crazy it is the time that we're in People
come over and I'm like, are we allowed to like
(29:00):
other we allowed to high five? Uh so yeah, it's
it's insane. But again, I'm just happy that the NFL
is making this happen. The players have to be given
so much credit for the way that they've approached it.
I know that you have that sat right. I think
I saw one player tested positive when they did their
last COVID. That's incredible. That's incredible, and uh, you really
(29:22):
have to give them a lot, a lot of credit.
All right. On the field, you've got the Lions with
Matthew Stafford coming back after a season ending injury. They
were the Lions offense and Matthew Stafford personally really productive
prior to that. And then also on the Bear sideline,
you've got the ongoing drama surrounding Mitch Drabinsky, who beat
(29:42):
out Nick Foles. How much of a leash do you
think Mitch Drabinsky has. In other words, if he came
out and played poorly in the first half, is this
a quick yank situation based on what you've heard and
what are you hearing about Matthew Stafford and his health
as he returns to until le Stafford good everything I heard.
I mean, listen, this is one of the toughest guys
(30:03):
in the NFL. When he sat out last year and
I covered some of those games that he was on
the sideline, uh, it was it was incredible to actually
have him pulled from those games. He knew he was
in a lot of pain. He was amazing to watch
him on the sidelines last year when he was not playing.
He had a clipboard in his hand, a headset on
his head, He was a coach on the sideline. There
was no sitting around for Matthew Stafford. And I think that, uh,
(30:24):
you know, listen, they respected him regardless. But I mean
I did talk to carry On Johnson and they said
seeing him do that just kind of set another tone
for them. As far as Mitchell Trapisky, I do not
think that if they'll pull him game one, I just
don't think they'll do that. Uh. Was the least short
I also covered a lot of Bears games last year,
and I had to do those halftime interviews with Matt
(30:44):
Maggie when, uh, when Trabisky was not making the plays
and he wasn't very happy at the end of the season.
From everything that I've heard, Travisky is walking a different walk,
He's talking a different talk. Who knows how the quarterback
battle affected him. I talked to one of the players
who said, like, that's the grit that we want to
see out of our quarterback. So maybe it went a
long way. I mean, think about it. Just two years ago,
(31:05):
you know, he was he was lighting it up, went
to the Pro Bowl, right, and last year had the
year that he had. So I do not think it
takes Game one we'll pull him at half time to
be struggling. But I do think the leash is shorter
than it would be for for a normal guy, just
because of how last year went. Shannon will be watching,
have a good flight and enjoy the Bears and the Lions,
and we'll talk to you next week. Okay cool. Fox
(31:27):
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.
Catch all of our shows at Fox sports radio dot
com and within the I Heart Radio app search f
s R to listen live. All right, I told you
yesterday my picks. I said, Chief Saints and the Super
Bowl Jags are going to be the worst team. Cardinals
are gonna win the NFC West as my out on Olympic,
(31:50):
and I said the m v P of the league,
I thought it would end up being Tom Brady. Uh,
that is my take, all right, So let's go around
rapidly here and get everybody's picks on the record. With
the start of the NFL season, Clay my a f
C champ is my out on a limb, not going chalk.
I took Chiefs last year. This year, I'm saying their
defense was the third best in the NFL last season.
(32:12):
I love the Stefon Digs. Addition, I'm gonna go out
on a limb and take the Buffalo Bill is a
huge limb, yep. And then the NFC champ the forty Niners.
In honor of the Bay Area Central Valley radio legend
Dave Holmes, who passed away on Wednesday, close radio friend
of mine, number one on the air for twenty five years.
He was a huge Dodgers and Niners fan. In his honor,
(32:34):
I'm gonna crown the Niners as the Super Bowl champion.
Uh and any m v P surprise, I'm gonna take
Jimmy g as the m v P. Wow. That that
is a lot of crazy picks from you. You alright,
worst team that's Chalk Jags. Yeah. I don't even think
we need to have that conversation that Jags are going
to be the worst team in the NFL. Alright, what
(32:55):
about you doub who you got? All right? Out of
the a f C. I got the Kansas City Chief's
Philip be good about that one. After last night, NFC,
I'm going back to the well. I think if you
remember last year, I took the Cowboys, I'm taking the
Cowboys again. I think they get it done this year
super Bowl champions. I got Chiefs first, Cowboys, and I'm
going Dallas just because if I'm right, i can be
a genius. And if I'm wrong, no one will remember.
(33:17):
Out on a limb, I got the Browns winning the
a f C North last year. They were probably the
most hyped up team in the NFL. They have the
same roster. The only thing that's changes they have a
way better coach. So why not worst team Jacks and
m v P Mahomes. So those are my picks. What
about you, Eddie, anything jumping out, any craziness. I hate you,
dub I've got the Cowboys over the Chiefs in the
(33:40):
Super Bowl. Uh. Mike McCarthy wants to prove that you
can do it without Aaron Rodgers. I got Dak having
a huge year, very motivated. He's the m v P
of the league. My worst team is the Jets. Uh
and what else was there? I don't know, Limb. I
got the Ravens having a terrible season because Lamar Jackson
is going to get hurt early in the season. Yeah,
you know it's interesting. Um, the expect and thanks for those.
(34:03):
So all those are written down now. Roberto is out.
Do you know what his pick was? Bowl? Let's see,
I have his right here in front of me. He's
got the Chiefs and Saints and the Super Bowl. We said,
the exact same super Bowl as me. Yep, Saints winning. Wow?
Yeah same as you. His out on a LIMB Bucks
missed the playoffs. Yeah that would be a surprise. Worst
(34:24):
team Jags m v P Drew Brees. Uh. Drew Brees
will be interesting because he's never won an m VP
before all right, So that is our predictions as we
roll into the NFL season. We come back, uh to
start the top of our three here, a couple of
different things we're going to dive into, obviously the return
of the NFL, but the absolute latest on what I
(34:44):
am hearing from the Big Ten. We are also scheduled
to be joined by Joel Clatt right off the top
of the hour, so we will be joined by him.
I need to figure out what hotel room he's in
and see if he's actually awake, but we can call
his cell and wake him up. He is called calling
a game tomorrow. He's the lead college football analyst for
Fox Sports, and UH, we will see where he is.
(35:07):
I believe he's in Kansas, if I'm not mistaken. I
think they flipped the game that he is calling, because
the Baylor Louisiana Tech game that they did have was
actually canceled. So college football Power five conferences started last
night with Miami College Football going on. We'll talk to
Joel Clatt, will also continue to break down the NFL
game and what the latest is on the Big Ten.
(35:28):
We'll talk about Joel with that as well. All that's
still to come encourage you to go download the podcast
make sure you don't miss a single minute. Thanks to
all of you for supporting out Kick. As we roll
into the weekend, I hope you guys are having fantastic Friday's.
This is OutKick on Fox Sports Radio. This is Outkicked
the coverage with Clay Travis
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