July 6, 2026 • 36 mins
Stu and Taylor tell their story of getting into Lake Tahoe. Soccer broadcaster Roger Bennett joins the guys to talk about the World Cup. Plus, the guys say good bye from Tahoe.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to ste Gotson Company Live podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from three to
five pm Eastern noon to two pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio. Find your local station for Stugotson Company Live
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Speaker 2 (00:20):
Let's give this if you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Roger Bennett to join us at about fifteen minutes get
us ready for tonight's game. Got an interesting text here.
We're out in Lake Tahoe. We'll be out on the
driving range tomorrow talking to many of the participants, players,
celebrities that are out here. We come here every year.
We love it here at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort. Taylor
is currently in a tent right outside the media center
(00:48):
because I'm in the media center and our MIC's were
too close together. But I did get an interesting text here.
Over the fourth of July weekend, we all did in
a group text from mikey A might need to play
hand up early this week. Just did something I am
both embarrassed and extremely proud of myself for doing. And
it was It was set with a picture of Mikey,
(01:10):
I believe at a beach on the fourth of July.
So Mikey A, we don't have time for hand up,
but we do have time to hear this story about
you being both embarrassed and extremely proud of yourself for
doing You didn't break into someone's house and tickle anyone,
did you?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I mean, no, no, no, I didn't do that.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
But I was, like I said, we were at the
beach and a bunch of the kids were out on
floats and they're having a good time, and there was
one kid who was somebody's who lives down the blocks,
grandson or whatever, and.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
He was how do I put was he was.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Not a well behaved child.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And this kid was he had a water gun and
he's shooting my kids in the face with it, and
they're going, all right, stop, and I'm like, all right,
come on, leave him alone, leave him alone. And it
got to the point where the kids started like they
were on paddle boards and he was knocking them off
the paddle boards. And I'm like, okay, now now I've
had it a few drinks, yea. I swim on out
(02:11):
there and I said, I'm just going to go out
and tell the kid to stop.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
And I got out there and I flipped his raft.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
And I'm thinking about it now, Yes, And I don't
think I'm embarrassed anymore. I think I'm just proud of myself.
I just went out there and flipped the kid's raft.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yes, but you went out there and did the thing
that you were upset that he was doing to everyone else.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
I mean, he was being a bully. You know. He
happens when you were a bully. There's always a bigger bully.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You get flipped over on your paddle board, right, you
fight fire with fire, I guess. I mean, you know, Taylor,
how do you feel about this?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Do something different?
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I know, But you went out there and you went
out there with the idea of let me talk to
this kid, let me talk to him rationally, let me
teach him a lesson, let me tell him why it
is he shouldn't be doing what it is that he's
doing to all these other kids. And I'm telling you,
the kid being a kid, and there's always that kid
who's going to do that kind of stuff. You went
out there with good intentions, and when you got out there,
somehow those good intentions turned into you being a kid
(03:10):
being the kid that you were angry at, being the
kid that you despised in that moment, Yes, Taylor, If.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
I was that kid's parents and I saw mikey A
flip my kid, no matter what my kid was doing,
mikey A is about to catch these hands.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
First off, nobody saw it because I did it stealthily.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I did it from right, Okay, so I did it stealthily.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Secondly, the kid was spoken to several times by several people.
The whole rational be becind that went out the window
once once you started flipping my kid in the deep end.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Right right. But I guess Taylor's point is, hey, don't
parent my kid. I'll parent my kid. And your response
to that would have been, hey, well then parents, done that.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You done it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
We're all telling him to stop, and you're the only
people not telling him to stop. You're encouraging it. Yes,
you want to know what happens. It doesn't matter if
your kid is entertained, and if entertaining means flipping other
kids over on paddleboards and your kid's not bothering you
on the fourth of July at the beach, you're okay
with it. As the parent.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
It's and you're absolutely right, and that you also have
to be okay when another father comes out there and
flips that kid on the raft.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Do you have to be But I mean, that's really
the genesis of all of this. But those parents not
baroning their kid is they were happy for the first
time all afternoon. Their kid was finally leaving them alone.
And they don't care what the kid is doing. They
don't care if the kid is breaking into a house
at tickling. People just leave us alone. We're having beers
at the beach. And therefore they weren't barning their kid,
(04:43):
and you decided to go do it. For that, I'm
proud of you. Mikey.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Hey, my kid.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
And by the way, Taylor, my kid is seven and
this kid was like twelve. So we're not talking like, oh,
this is two eight year olds having a good time.
We're talking like, okay, this is this is borderline psychotic here.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yes, Taylor, what happened to you last night? Because we
had an interesting scenario where you're trying to get into
a hotel. Now, listen, we don't want to bash anyone
here out in Tahoe. We love it here. We're invited back.
There are very very few media entities that are invited
out here. We've been coming out here forever. There was
a time where it was just me in a local
(05:22):
radio station in Kansas City, and now it's grown just
a little bit. Dan Patrick's going to be out here.
He's got a big set. PFT and Big Cat are
going to be out here. Part of my take. So
everyone is going to be out here in Lake Tahoe.
I kind of enjoyed it a little bit more when
it was just us because you know, the guests would
(05:43):
come on more frequently. It was easier to get guests on.
But last night we got in here. It's a tough
place to get to, especially from South Florida Reno, Nevada.
You have to take at least two flights to get
out here, and then once you take those two flights,
it's like a forty five minute drive. And I got
out here early yesterday. I'm at the edge with Tahoe Resort,
a very nice resort, in a beautiful room, and I
(06:04):
might have a second room for Taylor, depends on my
wife and what she decides to do. But Taylor, what
happened last night with you? Because you got to your
hotel and apparently your hotel. And the only reason I'm
asking is I woke up, had to go to the
bathroom about one o'clock in the morning, which is four
Eastern time, okay, And what I saw on my phone
terrified me. Mikey. What I saw on my phone was
(06:24):
four misscalls from Taylor in seventeen texts coming from Taylor,
and I didn't know what to do because I was
exhausted and I just needed to sleep. Taylor, what happened
last night?
Speaker 6 (06:35):
So I have a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Denver.
I have a layover in Denver and then Denver to Reno.
Then I have the Uber drive, the hour plus Uber
drive that Stull is talking about, to get from Reno
to Lake Tahoe. By the time I get in it's
ten thirty. I've been traveling for ten plus hours. At
(06:55):
this point, I just want to smooth experience when I
get to the hotel. I get to the hotel and
I say, hey, I'm here to check in Sunday to Saturday.
They're saying, hey, we see your name. You're not supposed
to be here till Tuesday. And I go flatly, that
just can't be right, that just logistically cannot be right.
(07:16):
So they're looking and they're double checking, and the manager's
coming over. And then the manager comes over and says, Okay,
we figured out a way to get you in today.
You're gonna have to check out Tuesday, then go to
your original room assignment Tuesday, and then check out Saturday.
Because everything was moved in the reservation by two days,
(07:36):
so they had me checking in two days later and
checking out two days later. They say, we could get
you in this room. Stude the price they gave me
because the room the room rate had changed. The price
they gave me was not a price that I could afford.
So that's when I'm texting Scott Shapiro. I love Scott Shapiro,
(07:57):
does a great job helping us out here.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
President.
Speaker 6 (08:00):
iHeart. I'm texting the the the contact he gave me,
the third party of the person who did the booking.
I'm texting both those people. But now at this point,
it's eleven pm out here. Yes it's even later on
the East Coast with the time change. So now I'm thinking,
I don't know what to do right now. So I
finally think, hey, let me just call Stu Gots and
(08:21):
see what Stu Gotts has to say, Yeah, Mikey, I call.
I called Stu Gotts. I called Stu Gots. I text
you Gots, I text you Gots. I'm just sitting in
this lobby thinking I can't get a room right now.
I don't know what to do. I don't know anybody
out here. Let me let me call Stu Gots. Because
Stu Gotts is a mentor of sorts. He could at
least help me. He's less than a mile away. Stu
Gotts goes, why are you? Why are you reaching out
(08:44):
to me? That was basically the response I got from
Stu Gotts when when he woke up. I'm not in
charge of your room handling. I'm like, hey, I need help, buddy.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yes, I had visions of Taylor. I was going to offer.
I was going to offer for him to sleep in
my room. Which at have I offered for you to
sleep in my room? If you had a choice sleeping
right next to me in my room or sitting in
the lobby and just sleeping in a chair, which one
would you have chosen?
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I mean.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
I probably would have taken the chair.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean, what did you want me to do? I
texted you at nine o'clock last night, which is midnight Eastern,
that I'm exhausted that I had to go to sleep,
and I went to sleep. I don't know what you
want me to do.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
I mean, stude the second you texted me at eight
thirty Lake Tahoe time, I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep.
I'm looking at my phone, my ETA saying ten thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I go.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
If I even run into a slight hiccup, I know
I am in trouble because Stu Gotts is out for
the count.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Okay, here's my question.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Yeah, Taylor, if roles were reversed, how is Stu Gotts
handling that situation and you are a mile away?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Huh?
Speaker 6 (09:58):
If Stu Nutts is deploying the Navy seals to try
to get me waking up to come down to whatever
hotel he's at, he.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Would have he would have.
Speaker 6 (10:10):
He would have found my location, broken the door down,
dragged me out, tickled you to help.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And now that's what I would have done. I would
have gotten a key from the person at the front desk.
I would have broken into his room and just started
tickling him. Hey, teller, it's me Tom a week let's
go I'm sorry. So what happened? Like, so listen, they
had you right where they wanted you because you're a
sad person. You've traveled a long way, you're tired, you're exhausted,
(10:37):
you're sitting in the lobby looking sad, and so of
course they jacked up the prices on you. I mean,
so what happened? What was the end result here?
Speaker 6 (10:45):
The end result was luckily Scott Shapiro, our boss, waking
up and having the credit card authorization form for him
to fill out and get over, which he submitted in
the first place. Somehow, so again in this mess up
by the hotel, and something got lost in translation in
(11:05):
terms of the actual dates that I was supposed to
be there. It all got figured out. I got back
to the room at I probably got into the room
at midnight, so what time? That's probably two o'clock Eastern.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I was very tired. Yes, so Scott Shapiro came through.
But Scott is saying he originally did the reservation correctly.
I know he did. He showed it to me right.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
So I was in all the original emails. I saw
the original emails. Everything was squared away. I saw when
Scott Shapiro put in the dates of Sunday to Saturday.
So that's when I got there and they said you're
not supposed to be here till Tuesday. And I'm looking
around and thinking it's eleven o'clock PM. I don't think
I have much luck contacting anybody right now.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Now, only twenty five hours to go till Tuesday. At
that time.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Our next guest has become one of the most influential
voices at soccer, helping millions of Americans fall in love
with a beautiful game. As the founder and CEO of
men in Blazers Media Network, he's covered World Cups, interviewed
the biggest stars in the sport, and brought his trademark
wit and storytelling to fans everywhere. And with the twenty
twenty six World Cup captivating North America, he's been at
(12:30):
the center of the conversation, connecting fans to the game's
biggest moments. How do you feel about that, Roger being
one of the most influential voices, maybe the most influential
voice in the beautiful game.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
A lot have you say nice things about me on
your show. I like to think of myself more as
the last thing holding football back from getting over the
top in the United States.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 7 (12:52):
It's a crazy time to be alive. If you love
this game millions do, and you love this nation. I mean,
this is the movement that so many of us have
dreamed of when I moved here. Ahead of the nineteen
ninety four Men's World Cup, there was a study that
came out that said that soccer was the sixty seventh
most popular sport in America and tractor pulling was number
(13:13):
sixty six. And I know you go deep on tracks
of pulling on this show, so I won't denigrate it.
But now the economists just came out of a study
that showed that football is the third biggest sport in America.
I just did the A Rod Show and he just
kept asking me over and over again.
Speaker 5 (13:30):
Like, wins sucker going to take off? Dude.
Speaker 7 (13:33):
I'd be like, well, it kind of has, man, it's
third biggest. He'said, where's baseball as at number four?
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And so this is.
Speaker 7 (13:38):
Kind of where we are. It's a crazy days to
be alive. And I'm just so happy that the world's
falling in love with America right now. You know, Scott's
drinking Boston dry, the Norwegians rowing up Times Square, and
America's falling in love with football. It's really quite a
remarkable time.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, it's been awesome. Roger Bennett is with us. His
most recent book is We Are the World Cup in parentheses.
Tell us about the book, real quick, Roger.
Speaker 7 (14:06):
The World Cut. I wrote it politics. If I had
to get all my World Cup stories, the World Cup
is like an alternate way of understanding my own biography.
I think millions and millions of people around the world
feel the same. The Super Bowl is enormous. Two hundred
million people a year watch it. Five billion people watch
the World Cup final. It's just an ecstatic moment of unity.
(14:29):
The World Cup is been compared to an eclipse that
sweeps the planet for the entire duration, blanketing the planet
in nothing but football suite football, and so it's a
very profound because it's once every four years. It's just
a profound moment that as opposed to someone that's just
a steady diet and so I can kind of map
(14:49):
my life by World Cups. And I know that there's
so many Americans who are coming to football and you
and I wanted to write a book. So I almost
had the backstory you know on Game of Thrones when
you in season four, you know, just telling you in
kids you missed the last four seasons.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
That's what the book is.
Speaker 7 (15:06):
I wanted you to know feel like you had lived Maradonna,
that you'd live sit down, that you'd live the great
and if you had lived them, that would make your
memories kind of come afresh again. But it's also the
story of the growth of the game in the United States.
When I moved here, football was deeply unpopular. You know,
the biggest games in the world were not shown live
(15:27):
on American television. Now, I believe there's no better place
to be a football fan than the United States. You
can watch more live football on the Premier League weekend
in New York City than you can in Newcastle. You know,
there's this young, incredible audience who've grown around the game.
And so that's probably one of the greatest themes in
the book. I'm so elated to have witnessed it, to
(15:49):
have lived it and now it was speaking on the
either the US men's national team playing a knockout game
around a sixteen game, and it's complicated.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
The gated time in the world.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
But I will say watching the United States when this
team does well, watching the scenes postgame from sea to
Shining Sea, from you, do you see thousands of people
in San Jose, thousands of people in in Kansas City,
thousands of people in in New York City understanding the
(16:24):
simple pleasure of football, which is to stand with strangers
and throw your beers in the air and just get
soaked and just savor every single second.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
Roger, you mentioned people falling in love with the US
this World Cup. It feels like that has kind of
taken a pause with the flow balgain reversal of the
red card.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
What did you make of that decision?
Speaker 7 (16:46):
So flu ball again, I'd say it's fairly unprecedental. It
is unprecedented. It's a shock. When I first found out
about it, I thought it was kind of manufactured and
internet meme. It has never happened since nineteen sixty two.
Is the only example or where the Brazilian government put
pressure on the organization FIFA two to have one of
(17:06):
their players who'd been dismissed in a semi final allow
him to play in a final. So this is not normal.
It's complicated. Everything's complicated in our day and age. When
sports fuses with politics, I mean, it just becomes deeply,
deeply fraught and you can separate it out. You're asking
me as an American fan, and I am for your
listeners who don't know me. I adore the United States,
(17:30):
you know, with the passion that Bruce Springsteen adores the
United States. So I ride with that team when they
play England. I support the United States of America. I
am all in or those giants, and I root for
them with all my heart. So the American fan in
me and many American fans are like, yes, this is
our you know, this is our man, this is our guy.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
He's our goal scorer.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
It's great that he's back. Should go further and say,
was it just sending off? It probably wasn't. If it
was quite a crazy decision, that doesn't mean what's happened
the outcome is good. The process is unprecedented, having a
you know, the leader of a state call FIFA and
the man that the player be allowed to play. It
(18:13):
creates a precedent that is almost impossible to ignore what
happens when I mean England last night had a player
sent off in Mexico in a valiant performance. Because England
are between prime ministers, are they now f do they
now have nobody to make the call, you know, to
make the threat to do the thing. It creates a
sense of and this is you know in America that
(18:36):
I say, half the fans are elated. Half the fans
are like, not like this, not like this. We could
have been We could have been Belgium. I agree with them, man,
this is a great team. We are a great team.
For the first time in my lifetime. We can play
swaggy football. You know, you world going to remember, like
Animal Mixtape Tour. It's like the Professor is playing at
(18:56):
times when the United States have been playing nutmegs, swag
buccaneering football, cut from our dreams. We could have done
Belgium tonight. So that's how I feel, really like.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
This without you're saying, yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
We could have done it, man, these boys could have
done this. This is an old team. It's an aging
team that like the New York Knicks and the Patrick
ewing in the final seasons, Mace John Starks.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
You know they were meant to win it. They never
did win it.
Speaker 7 (19:21):
They're coming together to commit one more crime, but they're
not going to be able to pull it off. Our
boys are young, hungry, too athletic.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
We're going to outrun them.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
But it doesn't matter now because in the eyes of
the world there will be an asterisk against it, like
this is not how it's done. Heads of state don't
call in to make these things happen. So there's a
certain sadness. But the wonderful thing about sports guys is
is the emotional and the rational. And I do know
if Baligan plays tonight, I'll root for him with all
(19:53):
my heart once that whistle goes, and will root for
him with all of my heart. And that's of where
we are. There is that cognitive dissonance. So that's how
I feel. It is deeply, deeply complicated. It's deeply, deeply unprecedented,
and I think, simply put, you could make the case
it's right outcome, but the process, it's just it's not
(20:14):
the right process.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
And the agony is we didn't need it.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yes, So Roger, there's you know I would say, half
of the American fan base is saying, hey, FIFA is
always corrupt, it's about time they're being corrupt on our behalf.
And then the other ones are thinking along the lines
like me, who are thinking the way you're thinking. I think,
which is, hey, let's do this the right way. If
we're gonna win it, if we're going to advance, let's
do it the right way. This is unprecedented. It's never
(20:38):
happened before. I'm torn on it. I have to be
honest with you, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
I mean I could have done. We could have done,
we could have done. I mean, I think it's fascinating.
It's also an amazing time. Look, we're traveling across the
nation and men in blazes on a bus. The spirit
of John Madden is written large with us. We're doing
these college game days, broadcasting out to the nation, you know,
from these cities. We're in Atlanta right now before Lionel
(21:04):
Messi plays tomorrow. We're going to do a live show
with Killer Mike tonight. So it's a wild time to
be alive. And there's just a surging new audience finding football.
It's beautiful. Every single World Cup has left a bigger
and bigger audience like Flotsam and Jepson on the beach.
That audience is now massive, but it is a new audience.
(21:25):
It's a crazy to him, it's beautiful, Like there are
people many people who did not know the name following
Balligan and three weeks ago who are now they're WhatsApp
sports chats are just like, we must have this man.
We are doomed without him. We must by all means necessary.
And I think part of me thinks that's beautiful, man,
and part of me thinks it's deeply, deeply fraught and complicated.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
But it is what it is. Now.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
The whistle will go, the US will play, the world
will judge, and you know, ultimately, the frustrating thing for
me is we could have done irrespect for this, We
really really could have done them.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Roger, and the lead up to this, I was trying
to get the guys excited about the World Cup and
Team USA, and I was telling them the Golden Generation
flow Balgain, and they just kept saying, you know, I'm
not listening and we need to see it happen. And
then they see flow Balgain play and they were like, hey,
you were right. Flow Balgain's the difference is Floawbalgin the
best number nine that this USA team has ever had.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
I mean, he's the best, most productive, pure number nine
that we've not had. The history of men's football in
World Cups in our nation is we'd love a dream team.
This has been a dream on team. Yeah, for far
too long. It is crazy to me that we who
you know, we put a man in the moon, We
invented animal style in and out burgers. We can put
(22:47):
a mind to anything in the United States. Look at
the world right now driving across America being like, oh
my god, BUCkies, it's amazing we did all that stuff.
And one of the few things we can't do is
produce a men's team that can make any noise World Cup,
Men's World Cups crazy. Our women kick ass and take names.
So it has been deeply frustrating. It's been a history
(23:09):
of big dreams and shattered dreams. And so this is
the most talented man for man, a group of individuals
that we've been able to call upon. And the question
is always what do they what culture do they forge
when they come together? And the journeys at World Cups
have been all too fleeting. We've had one knockout win
(23:29):
in previous World Cups. Our whole nation, three hundred and
thirty million people. It's crazy, you know, we just had
one knockout win, but they've created an extra round. So
it's kind of like it's it's kind of you know,
it's it's a nice thing. Tonight's game is massive, Like
to get into a quarterfinal for the second time in
our nation's history is to really make noise and weave
(23:50):
yourself into the tapestry of the tournament.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Roger tell people about Belgium. Are they good enough to
beat us?
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Belgium are.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Full inventors, their waffle pedalers, their waffle merchants. You know,
this team had a golden generation of their own that
they beat us in twenty fourteen. Many of you fans
may dimly vaguely remember Tim Howard making save after save
after save in a valiant game which is ultimately led
(24:20):
to defeat in Brazil in twenty fourteen. Incredibly, four of
the stars of that team still playing on this team.
It's a bunch of unks at this point, incredibly talented unks,
youngs who have underwhelmed and then just created magic in
moments when they needed The World Cup, though is a
crazy tournament. It is a tournament of moments, so they're
(24:41):
not to be underestimated. But the US have this athleticism,
the US have youth. The US have not traveled very much.
We've not played in heat, we've played indoors in so far.
We've played in Seattle, where it's beautiful. So you know,
our miles, our dometeros pretty bloody good. It's why ultimately,
(25:02):
going to to to tonight, we should win this game.
They are very beatable, they're vulnerable. Just don't know how
pissed off they're going to be with all of this madness.
Man talk about locker room, locker room motivation, whatever you know,
locker room, bulletin board material. We've given them a little
bit in the past twenty four hours. So I'd say
that's the one intangible that makes me mildly quake.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
We seem spoiled and a title we do. I mean, anyway,
go ahead, Mike yar.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Roger.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
I'm one of the one of the Johnny come lately
is to this American team like most of and like
most of us, I've now watched the game twice and
I want to change all the rules. So let me
ask you this as you gave us your bona fides
for this American team, take me Home, Country Roads.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Is that a good song for us to have here?
Or is this kind of like too specific? Wolf?
Speaker 1 (25:53):
What way?
Speaker 5 (25:54):
In what way? Is country read too specific?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
West Virginia?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I mean the America has never been to West Virginia.
Speaker 7 (26:02):
So they've got a beautiful, romantic notion of it. Then
don't they don't destroy the romantic notion of West Virginia.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
I mean it's beautiful.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
I will say, you know, a game the other day,
at the end of the game, every every team has
chosen a song. Ours is Country Road. England has chosen
Wonderwall by Oasis, and it's incredible to at the end
of the game they beat Congo in Atlanta and at
the end of the team walk up to their hardcore fans,
(26:32):
human beings who love the taste of their own blood
in their mouth. You know who They've seen things, these men,
they've been to battles, you know, in the old hooligan days,
and the team huddle up, they've won the you know,
they're victorious, and then on comes Nolan Liam and everyone
starts sobbing. It's really quite amazing and growing men and
(26:53):
women just absolutely sobbing in these moments. It's Country Road
number one. I don't think anyone listens to lyrics anymore,
which is why you know Creden's clear Water Revival, Fortunate
Sun and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA are used
at political rallies still because no one's listening to the
bloody lyrics and Country Road. I think it's a deeply
(27:16):
all encompassing song. I think the fact that all our
players know the words, and our players are so diverse,
they're so eclectic that from everywhere is very beautiful, and
you just want a song, and the song becomes if
you win games, that song becomes louder and prouder, and
it feels more right with every telling. I just hope
we get to hear it a couple more times this
World Cup.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
We'll get you out of here in a second, just
two quick ones. Was Mexico England? The best game you've
ever seen?
Speaker 7 (27:42):
Was Mexico England? The best game I've ever seen. It
was the best game I've seen last night. It's the
best game. It's the best game I've seen since Argentina.
Cap good was that twenty four hours earlier? It feels
like it was four years ago. This World Cup is amazing.
That's what's been so great. Yes, this is the stakes
for this moment. Man, it's been amazing. Watching the world
(28:05):
fall in love with America and America fall in love
with global football has been the joy of my lifetime.
This World Cup has been It's surpassed my expectations, my
highest hopes.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
It's been delirious.
Speaker 7 (28:16):
And as part of that, and only part of it,
the football has been ecstatic. You're watching Lionel Messi, that
tiny little ew, walk amongst us as a demigod. By
the way, if this was old days, we would be
worshiping him as a as a leader of a evangelical cult.
And I'd be all in on it, man, and I'm
not a very religious man. Earl In Harlan would be.
(28:38):
You know, he is a Viking come alive in our
day and age.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
It's quite majestic. What was see?
Speaker 7 (28:42):
These are not normal sporting feats. Killian and Bappe. That
speed merchant, I mean, well, who's the guy? Is the
Braves game? The flash who runs around the track. It's
the Flash has got another skill other than just speed.
He can kick the football. England have a god. Harry Kane,
he's this guy out a spit fire.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
It's still warm. It's the Battle of Britain.
Speaker 7 (29:02):
She's deciding to deliver goals to go into the Azteca.
This fortress, this vaunted fortress where there's only one truth,
which is Mexico, do not lose and deliver a tenacious
beatdown was exquisite. I don't support England. I'm objective when
I watched them, but it was very, very very profound
on a human level. And the on this sad truth
(29:23):
is they will be so gassed now. They left their
you know, they left their souls on that football field.
They're going to go to Miami. They'll play Norway, and
I think they're just going to fling their dead carcasses
on the field and see how Like nineteen.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Minutes Roger, last question, sure of the remaining teams here
in the World Cup, which team winning it would surprise
you the most.
Speaker 7 (29:48):
Of the remaining teams. Which team can answer that? In
many ways Argentina, because it's so hard to go back
to back in this tournament. I think the NHL is
at the hardest.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Sport all interested in it. But yeah, it's pretty tough.
Speaker 7 (30:02):
Yeah, so there you go. In that case, just may
do it. I think England will probably be my proper answer.
You know, I'm American now, I ride fully with the
wearers of stonewashed an Him. But England, all I know
is England dreaming, England believing, England, falling in love with
(30:22):
its team, and then its team turning around and just
shattering a nation's hearts. So just because of that pattern,
which is so well defined, we have John Oliver come
on our show and we were laughing that England alike
Charlie Brown running out of football with Lucy holding, you know,
just again and again and again. But John said, what
(30:44):
if we've got that all wrong. What if Charlie likes
the pain? What if Charlie likes the humiliation. What if
Charlie loves just that feeling of devastation And it's actually
him saying, Lucy, let's do that thing that we do
where I pretend to kick it and you yank it
away and I fall on my ass. That's what the
English football team did. It's almost like the fan base
love that shattering feeling of their hearts breaking in real time.
(31:08):
So that would probably be the one that surprised me,
it would thrill me, mostly from my family you know
over there in Liverpool, who deserve a little bit of
love and a little bit of joy. But it won't happen.
And what thrills me the most is that you're all
falling in love. You're all going on your own individual journeys.
You'll find in your own memories, especially Big Mikeya, who's
(31:29):
just just loving every single second and making memories, which
is the best thing. It's lovely to be with you.
You are a legend. I think you know that you
are an icon, your wonderful human being. It's a joy for
me to be with you. Big Stu Gotson, huge, huge
love to you, Thank you so much for having me on.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of Stu Godson Company
live weekdays at three pm Eastern twelve pm Pacific.
Speaker 6 (31:56):
Trying to push past the pain. Not athletes, just people
trafficked every day right here in the United States, sometimes
by someone they trusted. During the World Cup, help us
break the silence. Visit Blue campaign dot gov slash World
Cup to learn more.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
All right, we are wrapping it up here from Lake Tahoe.
We'll be out on the driving range tomorrow and Wednesday
and Thursday and Friday. They are nice enough to have
us back every single year. We love it here. For me,
this is better than Super Bowl week. Last year was
Taylor's first year, his first year here. And by the way,
I will tell you guys, there's an engineer here who
(32:33):
set me up with the comrades, got us all situated
here luckily. And he asked me, what set are you
going to be on tomorrow? Is it that big set
out to the right of the driving range? And I said, no,
that's Dan Patrick. We are slumming it in a small
little tent on the left side of the driving range,
right by the players. But that's where we like it.
That's where Taylor likes it. But Taylor last year was
(32:55):
here for his first year last year, and he realized
that when you try to peg someone down like Colin
Jos on the driving range and he says, hey, let
me finish hitting this bucket of balls. I'll be right
over to your table, you can't leave them once he
says that to you unless you stay with him until
he's done with a bucket of balls and walk them
over to the table. He is going to figure out
(33:16):
a way to get out of that interview and I
would yell at Tailor, last year, you just got josted.
And so I am wondering, have you learned your lesson
from last year? And if so, what is your plan
of attack for this year? Because it is a who's
who of celebrity out here, it really is. You'll hear
from all types of celebrities throughout the course of the week.
(33:36):
Go ahead, Mikeye. Before we get Taylor's response on that.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Big question, I need to know, is Colin there? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:45):
A coward or joke going.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
So part of me wonders, if I go up to
Colin jos well he remember me? If I go up
to him and I say, Colin, remember we were at
the Player's dinner and we were talking about out how
great North Carolina basketball is when we connected over a
common country club that we both have played at before.
Part of me wonders, do just Colin Joe's remember me?
(34:10):
But also part of me knows my feelings get hurt
very easily. In Top, where I'm trying to I'm trying
to be a great guest booker. It's a book I'm
trying to grab people. People are coming up left and right,
Baker Mayfield. I go up to Baker Mayfield, I say, Baker,
you want to come on the show? Baker Mayfield, to
Baker Mayfield's credit, he just looked at me and said, no,
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Well that's Baker. Yeah, that's Baker for you. I'll tell
you how he feels if he doesn't want to come on.
What upset tail it was? He heard him on part
of my take, like fifteen minutes later you got josted.
So I think my.
Speaker 6 (34:47):
Plan of attack here is I just have to be
more I just have to be more aggressive trying to
go in for asking people. Let me, let me try
to get in get in here for this interview and
stay with them and bring him to the table because
we I do have to be better. I'm gonna put
my hand it up right here. My goal, my goal
(35:07):
this year in Tahoe, We're gonna get some great guests.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Okay, So listen, last year was fine. We had Matthew
get Chuck on, we had Gary Sheffield on, we had
Joe buck on. We had a good week out here,
and we're gonna have a good week again this year.
But I am wondering because I am told of a
white Whale that you had lined up for this week
that somehow, you know, fell off the line. He is
no longer going to be a guest on the show. Jo, Yes,
(35:34):
he got josed What happened? Tell me?
Speaker 3 (35:37):
So I didn't.
Speaker 6 (35:38):
I did not get joseed in this situation because I
try to use some of my connections and say, hey,
what guests could I get before we even get to Tahoe? Stu,
I had Drake May.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Oh wow, wow, Wow, you got him through Mac. You
finally called up Mac and asked him to help me
out with Drake May.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
Not even through him Mac, I know, the person who
runs Drake May's found And I was like, hey, we
could really promote this foundation and if we get Drake
May on. And Drake May was confirmed and then Drake
May had to pull out of the field because the
timing just didn't work up for him this offseason. He
was supposed to make his first appearance in Tahoe. He's
(36:16):
not making an appearance in Tahoe.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Wow, that's unfortunate. We could still promote the foundation if
he'd like to come on. But Mikey, what can you
say about Drake May? I mean, when you have to
prepare for the jets two times a year. You don't
have time for golf. We'll be live at the Driving
Rage tomorrow with a host of guests except for Drake
May
Thanks for listening to ste Gotson Company Live podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday from three to
five pm Eastern noon to two pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio. Find your local station for Stugotson Company Live
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Let's give this if you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Roger Bennett to join us at about fifteen minutes get
us ready for tonight's game. Got an interesting text here.
We're out in Lake Tahoe. We'll be out on the
driving range tomorrow talking to many of the participants, players,
celebrities that are out here. We come here every year.
We love it here at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort. Taylor
is currently in a tent right outside the media center
(00:48):
because I'm in the media center and our MIC's were
too close together. But I did get an interesting text here.
Over the fourth of July weekend, we all did in
a group text from mikey A might need to play
hand up early this week. Just did something I am
both embarrassed and extremely proud of myself for doing. And
it was It was set with a picture of Mikey,
(01:10):
I believe at a beach on the fourth of July.
So Mikey A, we don't have time for hand up,
but we do have time to hear this story about
you being both embarrassed and extremely proud of yourself for
doing You didn't break into someone's house and tickle anyone,
did you?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I mean, no, no, no, I didn't do that.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
But I was, like I said, we were at the
beach and a bunch of the kids were out on
floats and they're having a good time, and there was
one kid who was somebody's who lives down the blocks,
grandson or whatever, and.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
He was how do I put was he was.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Not a well behaved child.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
And this kid was he had a water gun and
he's shooting my kids in the face with it, and
they're going, all right, stop, and I'm like, all right,
come on, leave him alone, leave him alone. And it
got to the point where the kids started like they
were on paddle boards and he was knocking them off
the paddle boards. And I'm like, okay, now now I've
had it a few drinks, yea. I swim on out
(02:11):
there and I said, I'm just going to go out
and tell the kid to stop.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
And I got out there and I flipped his raft.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
And I'm thinking about it now, Yes, And I don't
think I'm embarrassed anymore. I think I'm just proud of myself.
I just went out there and flipped the kid's raft.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yes, but you went out there and did the thing
that you were upset that he was doing to everyone else.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
I mean, he was being a bully. You know. He
happens when you were a bully. There's always a bigger bully.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You get flipped over on your paddle board, right, you
fight fire with fire, I guess. I mean, you know, Taylor,
how do you feel about this?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Do something different?
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I know, But you went out there and you went
out there with the idea of let me talk to
this kid, let me talk to him rationally, let me
teach him a lesson, let me tell him why it
is he shouldn't be doing what it is that he's
doing to all these other kids. And I'm telling you,
the kid being a kid, and there's always that kid
who's going to do that kind of stuff. You went
out there with good intentions, and when you got out there,
somehow those good intentions turned into you being a kid
(03:10):
being the kid that you were angry at, being the
kid that you despised in that moment, Yes, Taylor, If.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
I was that kid's parents and I saw mikey A
flip my kid, no matter what my kid was doing,
mikey A is about to catch these hands.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
First off, nobody saw it because I did it stealthily.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I did it from right, Okay, so I did it stealthily.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Secondly, the kid was spoken to several times by several people.
The whole rational be becind that went out the window
once once you started flipping my kid in the deep end.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Right right. But I guess Taylor's point is, hey, don't
parent my kid. I'll parent my kid. And your response
to that would have been, hey, well then parents, done that.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You done it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
We're all telling him to stop, and you're the only
people not telling him to stop. You're encouraging it. Yes,
you want to know what happens. It doesn't matter if
your kid is entertained, and if entertaining means flipping other
kids over on paddleboards and your kid's not bothering you
on the fourth of July at the beach, you're okay
with it. As the parent.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
It's and you're absolutely right, and that you also have
to be okay when another father comes out there and
flips that kid on the raft.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Do you have to be But I mean, that's really
the genesis of all of this. But those parents not
baroning their kid is they were happy for the first
time all afternoon. Their kid was finally leaving them alone.
And they don't care what the kid is doing. They
don't care if the kid is breaking into a house
at tickling. People just leave us alone. We're having beers
at the beach. And therefore they weren't barning their kid,
(04:43):
and you decided to go do it. For that, I'm
proud of you. Mikey.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Hey, my kid.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
And by the way, Taylor, my kid is seven and
this kid was like twelve. So we're not talking like, oh,
this is two eight year olds having a good time.
We're talking like, okay, this is this is borderline psychotic here.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yes, Taylor, what happened to you last night? Because we
had an interesting scenario where you're trying to get into
a hotel. Now, listen, we don't want to bash anyone
here out in Tahoe. We love it here. We're invited back.
There are very very few media entities that are invited
out here. We've been coming out here forever. There was
a time where it was just me in a local
(05:22):
radio station in Kansas City, and now it's grown just
a little bit. Dan Patrick's going to be out here.
He's got a big set. PFT and Big Cat are
going to be out here. Part of my take. So
everyone is going to be out here in Lake Tahoe.
I kind of enjoyed it a little bit more when
it was just us because you know, the guests would
(05:43):
come on more frequently. It was easier to get guests on.
But last night we got in here. It's a tough
place to get to, especially from South Florida Reno, Nevada.
You have to take at least two flights to get
out here, and then once you take those two flights,
it's like a forty five minute drive. And I got
out here early yesterday. I'm at the edge with Tahoe Resort,
a very nice resort, in a beautiful room, and I
(06:04):
might have a second room for Taylor, depends on my
wife and what she decides to do. But Taylor, what
happened last night with you? Because you got to your
hotel and apparently your hotel. And the only reason I'm
asking is I woke up, had to go to the
bathroom about one o'clock in the morning, which is four
Eastern time, okay, And what I saw on my phone
terrified me. Mikey. What I saw on my phone was
(06:24):
four misscalls from Taylor in seventeen texts coming from Taylor,
and I didn't know what to do because I was
exhausted and I just needed to sleep. Taylor, what happened
last night?
Speaker 6 (06:35):
So I have a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Denver.
I have a layover in Denver and then Denver to Reno.
Then I have the Uber drive, the hour plus Uber
drive that Stull is talking about, to get from Reno
to Lake Tahoe. By the time I get in it's
ten thirty. I've been traveling for ten plus hours. At
(06:55):
this point, I just want to smooth experience when I
get to the hotel. I get to the hotel and
I say, hey, I'm here to check in Sunday to Saturday.
They're saying, hey, we see your name. You're not supposed
to be here till Tuesday. And I go flatly, that
just can't be right, that just logistically cannot be right.
(07:16):
So they're looking and they're double checking, and the manager's
coming over. And then the manager comes over and says, Okay,
we figured out a way to get you in today.
You're gonna have to check out Tuesday, then go to
your original room assignment Tuesday, and then check out Saturday.
Because everything was moved in the reservation by two days,
(07:36):
so they had me checking in two days later and
checking out two days later. They say, we could get
you in this room. Stude the price they gave me
because the room the room rate had changed. The price
they gave me was not a price that I could afford.
So that's when I'm texting Scott Shapiro. I love Scott Shapiro,
(07:57):
does a great job helping us out here.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
President.
Speaker 6 (08:00):
iHeart. I'm texting the the the contact he gave me,
the third party of the person who did the booking.
I'm texting both those people. But now at this point,
it's eleven pm out here. Yes it's even later on
the East Coast with the time change. So now I'm thinking,
I don't know what to do right now. So I
finally think, hey, let me just call Stu Gots and
(08:21):
see what Stu Gotts has to say, Yeah, Mikey, I call.
I called Stu Gotts. I called Stu Gots. I text
you Gots, I text you Gots. I'm just sitting in
this lobby thinking I can't get a room right now.
I don't know what to do. I don't know anybody
out here. Let me let me call Stu Gots. Because
Stu Gotts is a mentor of sorts. He could at
least help me. He's less than a mile away. Stu
Gotts goes, why are you? Why are you reaching out
(08:44):
to me? That was basically the response I got from
Stu Gotts when when he woke up. I'm not in
charge of your room handling. I'm like, hey, I need help, buddy.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yes, I had visions of Taylor. I was going to offer.
I was going to offer for him to sleep in
my room. Which at have I offered for you to
sleep in my room? If you had a choice sleeping
right next to me in my room or sitting in
the lobby and just sleeping in a chair, which one
would you have chosen?
Speaker 3 (09:10):
I mean.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
I probably would have taken the chair.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean, what did you want me to do? I
texted you at nine o'clock last night, which is midnight Eastern,
that I'm exhausted that I had to go to sleep,
and I went to sleep. I don't know what you
want me to do.
Speaker 6 (09:27):
I mean, stude the second you texted me at eight
thirty Lake Tahoe time, I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep.
I'm looking at my phone, my ETA saying ten thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I go.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
If I even run into a slight hiccup, I know
I am in trouble because Stu Gotts is out for
the count.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Okay, here's my question.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Yeah, Taylor, if roles were reversed, how is Stu Gotts
handling that situation and you are a mile away?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Huh?
Speaker 6 (09:58):
If Stu Nutts is deploying the Navy seals to try
to get me waking up to come down to whatever
hotel he's at, he.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Would have he would have.
Speaker 6 (10:10):
He would have found my location, broken the door down,
dragged me out, tickled you to help.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And now that's what I would have done. I would
have gotten a key from the person at the front desk.
I would have broken into his room and just started
tickling him. Hey, teller, it's me Tom a week let's
go I'm sorry. So what happened? Like, so listen, they
had you right where they wanted you because you're a
sad person. You've traveled a long way, you're tired, you're exhausted,
(10:37):
you're sitting in the lobby looking sad, and so of
course they jacked up the prices on you. I mean,
so what happened? What was the end result here?
Speaker 6 (10:45):
The end result was luckily Scott Shapiro, our boss, waking
up and having the credit card authorization form for him
to fill out and get over, which he submitted in
the first place. Somehow, so again in this mess up
by the hotel, and something got lost in translation in
(11:05):
terms of the actual dates that I was supposed to
be there. It all got figured out. I got back
to the room at I probably got into the room
at midnight, so what time? That's probably two o'clock Eastern.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
I was very tired. Yes, so Scott Shapiro came through.
But Scott is saying he originally did the reservation correctly.
I know he did. He showed it to me right.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
So I was in all the original emails. I saw
the original emails. Everything was squared away. I saw when
Scott Shapiro put in the dates of Sunday to Saturday.
So that's when I got there and they said you're
not supposed to be here till Tuesday. And I'm looking
around and thinking it's eleven o'clock PM. I don't think
I have much luck contacting anybody right now.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Now, only twenty five hours to go till Tuesday. At
that time.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Our next guest has become one of the most influential
voices at soccer, helping millions of Americans fall in love
with a beautiful game. As the founder and CEO of
men in Blazers Media Network, he's covered World Cups, interviewed
the biggest stars in the sport, and brought his trademark
wit and storytelling to fans everywhere. And with the twenty
twenty six World Cup captivating North America, he's been at
(12:30):
the center of the conversation, connecting fans to the game's
biggest moments. How do you feel about that, Roger being
one of the most influential voices, maybe the most influential
voice in the beautiful game.
Speaker 7 (12:42):
A lot have you say nice things about me on
your show. I like to think of myself more as
the last thing holding football back from getting over the
top in the United States.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 7 (12:52):
It's a crazy time to be alive. If you love
this game millions do, and you love this nation. I mean,
this is the movement that so many of us have
dreamed of when I moved here. Ahead of the nineteen
ninety four Men's World Cup, there was a study that
came out that said that soccer was the sixty seventh
most popular sport in America and tractor pulling was number
(13:13):
sixty six. And I know you go deep on tracks
of pulling on this show, so I won't denigrate it.
But now the economists just came out of a study
that showed that football is the third biggest sport in America.
I just did the A Rod Show and he just
kept asking me over and over again.
Speaker 5 (13:30):
Like, wins sucker going to take off? Dude.
Speaker 7 (13:33):
I'd be like, well, it kind of has, man, it's
third biggest. He'said, where's baseball as at number four?
Speaker 5 (13:37):
And so this is.
Speaker 7 (13:38):
Kind of where we are. It's a crazy days to
be alive. And I'm just so happy that the world's
falling in love with America right now. You know, Scott's
drinking Boston dry, the Norwegians rowing up Times Square, and
America's falling in love with football. It's really quite a
remarkable time.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, it's been awesome. Roger Bennett is with us. His
most recent book is We Are the World Cup in parentheses.
Tell us about the book, real quick, Roger.
Speaker 7 (14:06):
The World Cut. I wrote it politics. If I had
to get all my World Cup stories, the World Cup
is like an alternate way of understanding my own biography.
I think millions and millions of people around the world
feel the same. The Super Bowl is enormous. Two hundred
million people a year watch it. Five billion people watch
the World Cup final. It's just an ecstatic moment of unity.
(14:29):
The World Cup is been compared to an eclipse that
sweeps the planet for the entire duration, blanketing the planet
in nothing but football suite football, and so it's a
very profound because it's once every four years. It's just
a profound moment that as opposed to someone that's just
a steady diet and so I can kind of map
(14:49):
my life by World Cups. And I know that there's
so many Americans who are coming to football and you
and I wanted to write a book. So I almost
had the backstory you know on Game of Thrones when
you in season four, you know, just telling you in
kids you missed the last four seasons.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
That's what the book is.
Speaker 7 (15:06):
I wanted you to know feel like you had lived Maradonna,
that you'd live sit down, that you'd live the great
and if you had lived them, that would make your
memories kind of come afresh again. But it's also the
story of the growth of the game in the United States.
When I moved here, football was deeply unpopular. You know,
the biggest games in the world were not shown live
(15:27):
on American television. Now, I believe there's no better place
to be a football fan than the United States. You
can watch more live football on the Premier League weekend
in New York City than you can in Newcastle. You know,
there's this young, incredible audience who've grown around the game.
And so that's probably one of the greatest themes in
the book. I'm so elated to have witnessed it, to
(15:49):
have lived it and now it was speaking on the
either the US men's national team playing a knockout game
around a sixteen game, and it's complicated.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
The gated time in the world.
Speaker 7 (16:02):
But I will say watching the United States when this
team does well, watching the scenes postgame from sea to
Shining Sea, from you, do you see thousands of people
in San Jose, thousands of people in in Kansas City,
thousands of people in in New York City understanding the
(16:24):
simple pleasure of football, which is to stand with strangers
and throw your beers in the air and just get
soaked and just savor every single second.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
It's beautiful.
Speaker 6 (16:34):
Roger, you mentioned people falling in love with the US
this World Cup. It feels like that has kind of
taken a pause with the flow balgain reversal of the
red card.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
What did you make of that decision?
Speaker 7 (16:46):
So flu ball again, I'd say it's fairly unprecedental. It
is unprecedented. It's a shock. When I first found out
about it, I thought it was kind of manufactured and
internet meme. It has never happened since nineteen sixty two.
Is the only example or where the Brazilian government put
pressure on the organization FIFA two to have one of
(17:06):
their players who'd been dismissed in a semi final allow
him to play in a final. So this is not normal.
It's complicated. Everything's complicated in our day and age. When
sports fuses with politics, I mean, it just becomes deeply,
deeply fraught and you can separate it out. You're asking
me as an American fan, and I am for your
listeners who don't know me. I adore the United States,
(17:30):
you know, with the passion that Bruce Springsteen adores the
United States. So I ride with that team when they
play England. I support the United States of America. I
am all in or those giants, and I root for
them with all my heart. So the American fan in
me and many American fans are like, yes, this is
our you know, this is our man, this is our guy.
Speaker 5 (17:52):
He's our goal scorer.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
It's great that he's back. Should go further and say,
was it just sending off? It probably wasn't. If it
was quite a crazy decision, that doesn't mean what's happened
the outcome is good. The process is unprecedented, having a
you know, the leader of a state call FIFA and
the man that the player be allowed to play. It
(18:13):
creates a precedent that is almost impossible to ignore what
happens when I mean England last night had a player
sent off in Mexico in a valiant performance. Because England
are between prime ministers, are they now f do they
now have nobody to make the call, you know, to
make the threat to do the thing. It creates a
sense of and this is you know in America that
(18:36):
I say, half the fans are elated. Half the fans
are like, not like this, not like this. We could
have been We could have been Belgium. I agree with them, man,
this is a great team. We are a great team.
For the first time in my lifetime. We can play
swaggy football. You know, you world going to remember, like
Animal Mixtape Tour. It's like the Professor is playing at
(18:56):
times when the United States have been playing nutmegs, swag
buccaneering football, cut from our dreams. We could have done
Belgium tonight. So that's how I feel, really like.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
This without you're saying, yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
We could have done it, man, these boys could have
done this. This is an old team. It's an aging
team that like the New York Knicks and the Patrick
ewing in the final seasons, Mace John Starks.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
You know they were meant to win it. They never
did win it.
Speaker 7 (19:21):
They're coming together to commit one more crime, but they're
not going to be able to pull it off. Our
boys are young, hungry, too athletic.
Speaker 5 (19:29):
We're going to outrun them.
Speaker 7 (19:31):
But it doesn't matter now because in the eyes of
the world there will be an asterisk against it, like
this is not how it's done. Heads of state don't
call in to make these things happen. So there's a
certain sadness. But the wonderful thing about sports guys is
is the emotional and the rational. And I do know
if Baligan plays tonight, I'll root for him with all
(19:53):
my heart once that whistle goes, and will root for
him with all of my heart. And that's of where
we are. There is that cognitive dissonance. So that's how
I feel. It is deeply, deeply complicated. It's deeply, deeply unprecedented,
and I think, simply put, you could make the case
it's right outcome, but the process, it's just it's not
(20:14):
the right process.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
And the agony is we didn't need it.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yes, So Roger, there's you know I would say, half
of the American fan base is saying, hey, FIFA is
always corrupt, it's about time they're being corrupt on our behalf.
And then the other ones are thinking along the lines
like me, who are thinking the way you're thinking. I think,
which is, hey, let's do this the right way. If
we're gonna win it, if we're going to advance, let's
do it the right way. This is unprecedented. It's never
(20:38):
happened before. I'm torn on it. I have to be
honest with you, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
I mean I could have done. We could have done,
we could have done. I mean, I think it's fascinating.
It's also an amazing time. Look, we're traveling across the
nation and men in blazes on a bus. The spirit
of John Madden is written large with us. We're doing
these college game days, broadcasting out to the nation, you know,
from these cities. We're in Atlanta right now before Lionel
(21:04):
Messi plays tomorrow. We're going to do a live show
with Killer Mike tonight. So it's a wild time to
be alive. And there's just a surging new audience finding football.
It's beautiful. Every single World Cup has left a bigger
and bigger audience like Flotsam and Jepson on the beach.
That audience is now massive, but it is a new audience.
(21:25):
It's a crazy to him, it's beautiful, Like there are
people many people who did not know the name following
Balligan and three weeks ago who are now they're WhatsApp
sports chats are just like, we must have this man.
We are doomed without him. We must by all means necessary.
And I think part of me thinks that's beautiful, man,
and part of me thinks it's deeply, deeply fraught and complicated.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
But it is what it is. Now.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
The whistle will go, the US will play, the world
will judge, and you know, ultimately, the frustrating thing for
me is we could have done irrespect for this, We
really really could have done them.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Roger, and the lead up to this, I was trying
to get the guys excited about the World Cup and
Team USA, and I was telling them the Golden Generation
flow Balgain, and they just kept saying, you know, I'm
not listening and we need to see it happen. And
then they see flow Balgain play and they were like, hey,
you were right. Flow Balgain's the difference is Floawbalgin the
best number nine that this USA team has ever had.
Speaker 7 (22:25):
I mean, he's the best, most productive, pure number nine
that we've not had. The history of men's football in
World Cups in our nation is we'd love a dream team.
This has been a dream on team. Yeah, for far
too long. It is crazy to me that we who
you know, we put a man in the moon, We
invented animal style in and out burgers. We can put
(22:47):
a mind to anything in the United States. Look at
the world right now driving across America being like, oh
my god, BUCkies, it's amazing we did all that stuff.
And one of the few things we can't do is
produce a men's team that can make any noise World Cup,
Men's World Cups crazy. Our women kick ass and take names.
So it has been deeply frustrating. It's been a history
(23:09):
of big dreams and shattered dreams. And so this is
the most talented man for man, a group of individuals
that we've been able to call upon. And the question
is always what do they what culture do they forge
when they come together? And the journeys at World Cups
have been all too fleeting. We've had one knockout win
(23:29):
in previous World Cups. Our whole nation, three hundred and
thirty million people. It's crazy, you know, we just had
one knockout win, but they've created an extra round. So
it's kind of like it's it's kind of you know,
it's it's a nice thing. Tonight's game is massive, Like
to get into a quarterfinal for the second time in
our nation's history is to really make noise and weave
(23:50):
yourself into the tapestry of the tournament.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Roger tell people about Belgium. Are they good enough to
beat us?
Speaker 5 (23:57):
Belgium are.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
Full inventors, their waffle pedalers, their waffle merchants. You know,
this team had a golden generation of their own that
they beat us in twenty fourteen. Many of you fans
may dimly vaguely remember Tim Howard making save after save
after save in a valiant game which is ultimately led
(24:20):
to defeat in Brazil in twenty fourteen. Incredibly, four of
the stars of that team still playing on this team.
It's a bunch of unks at this point, incredibly talented unks,
youngs who have underwhelmed and then just created magic in
moments when they needed The World Cup, though is a
crazy tournament. It is a tournament of moments, so they're
(24:41):
not to be underestimated. But the US have this athleticism,
the US have youth. The US have not traveled very much.
We've not played in heat, we've played indoors in so far.
We've played in Seattle, where it's beautiful. So you know,
our miles, our dometeros pretty bloody good. It's why ultimately,
(25:02):
going to to to tonight, we should win this game.
They are very beatable, they're vulnerable. Just don't know how
pissed off they're going to be with all of this madness.
Man talk about locker room, locker room motivation, whatever you know,
locker room, bulletin board material. We've given them a little
bit in the past twenty four hours. So I'd say
that's the one intangible that makes me mildly quake.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
We seem spoiled and a title we do. I mean, anyway,
go ahead, Mike yar.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Roger.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
I'm one of the one of the Johnny come lately
is to this American team like most of and like
most of us, I've now watched the game twice and
I want to change all the rules. So let me
ask you this as you gave us your bona fides
for this American team, take me Home, Country Roads.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Is that a good song for us to have here?
Or is this kind of like too specific? Wolf?
Speaker 1 (25:53):
What way?
Speaker 5 (25:54):
In what way? Is country read too specific?
Speaker 3 (25:57):
West Virginia?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I mean the America has never been to West Virginia.
Speaker 7 (26:02):
So they've got a beautiful, romantic notion of it. Then
don't they don't destroy the romantic notion of West Virginia.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
I mean it's beautiful.
Speaker 7 (26:10):
I will say, you know, a game the other day,
at the end of the game, every every team has
chosen a song. Ours is Country Road. England has chosen
Wonderwall by Oasis, and it's incredible to at the end
of the game they beat Congo in Atlanta and at
the end of the team walk up to their hardcore fans,
(26:32):
human beings who love the taste of their own blood
in their mouth. You know who They've seen things, these men,
they've been to battles, you know, in the old hooligan days,
and the team huddle up, they've won the you know,
they're victorious, and then on comes Nolan Liam and everyone
starts sobbing. It's really quite amazing and growing men and
(26:53):
women just absolutely sobbing in these moments. It's Country Road
number one. I don't think anyone listens to lyrics anymore,
which is why you know Creden's clear Water Revival, Fortunate
Sun and Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA are used
at political rallies still because no one's listening to the
bloody lyrics and Country Road. I think it's a deeply
(27:16):
all encompassing song. I think the fact that all our
players know the words, and our players are so diverse,
they're so eclectic that from everywhere is very beautiful, and
you just want a song, and the song becomes if
you win games, that song becomes louder and prouder, and
it feels more right with every telling. I just hope
we get to hear it a couple more times this
World Cup.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
We'll get you out of here in a second, just
two quick ones. Was Mexico England? The best game you've
ever seen?
Speaker 7 (27:42):
Was Mexico England? The best game I've ever seen. It
was the best game I've seen last night. It's the
best game. It's the best game I've seen since Argentina.
Cap good was that twenty four hours earlier? It feels
like it was four years ago. This World Cup is amazing.
That's what's been so great. Yes, this is the stakes
for this moment. Man, it's been amazing. Watching the world
(28:05):
fall in love with America and America fall in love
with global football has been the joy of my lifetime.
This World Cup has been It's surpassed my expectations, my
highest hopes.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
It's been delirious.
Speaker 7 (28:16):
And as part of that, and only part of it,
the football has been ecstatic. You're watching Lionel Messi, that
tiny little ew, walk amongst us as a demigod. By
the way, if this was old days, we would be
worshiping him as a as a leader of a evangelical cult.
And I'd be all in on it, man, and I'm
not a very religious man. Earl In Harlan would be.
(28:38):
You know, he is a Viking come alive in our
day and age.
Speaker 5 (28:41):
It's quite majestic. What was see?
Speaker 7 (28:42):
These are not normal sporting feats. Killian and Bappe. That
speed merchant, I mean, well, who's the guy? Is the
Braves game? The flash who runs around the track. It's
the Flash has got another skill other than just speed.
He can kick the football. England have a god. Harry Kane,
he's this guy out a spit fire.
Speaker 5 (29:00):
It's still warm. It's the Battle of Britain.
Speaker 7 (29:02):
She's deciding to deliver goals to go into the Azteca.
This fortress, this vaunted fortress where there's only one truth,
which is Mexico, do not lose and deliver a tenacious
beatdown was exquisite. I don't support England. I'm objective when
I watched them, but it was very, very very profound
on a human level. And the on this sad truth
(29:23):
is they will be so gassed now. They left their
you know, they left their souls on that football field.
They're going to go to Miami. They'll play Norway, and
I think they're just going to fling their dead carcasses
on the field and see how Like nineteen.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Minutes Roger, last question, sure of the remaining teams here
in the World Cup, which team winning it would surprise
you the most.
Speaker 7 (29:48):
Of the remaining teams. Which team can answer that? In
many ways Argentina, because it's so hard to go back
to back in this tournament. I think the NHL is
at the hardest.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Sport all interested in it. But yeah, it's pretty tough.
Speaker 7 (30:02):
Yeah, so there you go. In that case, just may
do it. I think England will probably be my proper answer.
You know, I'm American now, I ride fully with the
wearers of stonewashed an Him. But England, all I know
is England dreaming, England believing, England, falling in love with
(30:22):
its team, and then its team turning around and just
shattering a nation's hearts. So just because of that pattern,
which is so well defined, we have John Oliver come
on our show and we were laughing that England alike
Charlie Brown running out of football with Lucy holding, you know,
just again and again and again. But John said, what
(30:44):
if we've got that all wrong. What if Charlie likes
the pain? What if Charlie likes the humiliation. What if
Charlie loves just that feeling of devastation And it's actually
him saying, Lucy, let's do that thing that we do
where I pretend to kick it and you yank it
away and I fall on my ass. That's what the
English football team did. It's almost like the fan base
love that shattering feeling of their hearts breaking in real time.
(31:08):
So that would probably be the one that surprised me,
it would thrill me, mostly from my family you know
over there in Liverpool, who deserve a little bit of
love and a little bit of joy. But it won't happen.
And what thrills me the most is that you're all
falling in love. You're all going on your own individual journeys.
You'll find in your own memories, especially Big Mikeya, who's
(31:29):
just just loving every single second and making memories, which
is the best thing. It's lovely to be with you.
You are a legend. I think you know that you
are an icon, your wonderful human being. It's a joy for
me to be with you. Big Stu Gotson, huge, huge
love to you, Thank you so much for having me on.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of Stu Godson Company
live weekdays at three pm Eastern twelve pm Pacific.
Speaker 6 (31:56):
Trying to push past the pain. Not athletes, just people
trafficked every day right here in the United States, sometimes
by someone they trusted. During the World Cup, help us
break the silence. Visit Blue campaign dot gov slash World
Cup to learn more.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
All right, we are wrapping it up here from Lake Tahoe.
We'll be out on the driving range tomorrow and Wednesday
and Thursday and Friday. They are nice enough to have
us back every single year. We love it here. For me,
this is better than Super Bowl week. Last year was
Taylor's first year, his first year here. And by the way,
I will tell you guys, there's an engineer here who
(32:33):
set me up with the comrades, got us all situated
here luckily. And he asked me, what set are you
going to be on tomorrow? Is it that big set
out to the right of the driving range? And I said, no,
that's Dan Patrick. We are slumming it in a small
little tent on the left side of the driving range,
right by the players. But that's where we like it.
That's where Taylor likes it. But Taylor last year was
(32:55):
here for his first year last year, and he realized
that when you try to peg someone down like Colin
Jos on the driving range and he says, hey, let
me finish hitting this bucket of balls. I'll be right
over to your table, you can't leave them once he
says that to you unless you stay with him until
he's done with a bucket of balls and walk them
over to the table. He is going to figure out
(33:16):
a way to get out of that interview and I
would yell at Tailor, last year, you just got josted.
And so I am wondering, have you learned your lesson
from last year? And if so, what is your plan
of attack for this year? Because it is a who's
who of celebrity out here, it really is. You'll hear
from all types of celebrities throughout the course of the week.
(33:36):
Go ahead, Mikeye. Before we get Taylor's response on that.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Big question, I need to know, is Colin there? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (33:45):
A coward or joke going.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
So part of me wonders, if I go up to
Colin jos well he remember me? If I go up
to him and I say, Colin, remember we were at
the Player's dinner and we were talking about out how
great North Carolina basketball is when we connected over a
common country club that we both have played at before.
Part of me wonders, do just Colin Joe's remember me?
(34:10):
But also part of me knows my feelings get hurt
very easily. In Top, where I'm trying to I'm trying
to be a great guest booker. It's a book I'm
trying to grab people. People are coming up left and right,
Baker Mayfield. I go up to Baker Mayfield, I say, Baker,
you want to come on the show? Baker Mayfield, to
Baker Mayfield's credit, he just looked at me and said, no,
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Well that's Baker. Yeah, that's Baker for you. I'll tell
you how he feels if he doesn't want to come on.
What upset tail it was? He heard him on part
of my take, like fifteen minutes later you got josted.
So I think my.
Speaker 6 (34:47):
Plan of attack here is I just have to be
more I just have to be more aggressive trying to
go in for asking people. Let me, let me try
to get in get in here for this interview and
stay with them and bring him to the table because
we I do have to be better. I'm gonna put
my hand it up right here. My goal, my goal
(35:07):
this year in Tahoe, We're gonna get some great guests.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Okay, So listen, last year was fine. We had Matthew
get Chuck on, we had Gary Sheffield on, we had
Joe buck on. We had a good week out here,
and we're gonna have a good week again this year.
But I am wondering because I am told of a
white Whale that you had lined up for this week
that somehow, you know, fell off the line. He is
no longer going to be a guest on the show. Jo, Yes,
(35:34):
he got josed What happened? Tell me?
Speaker 3 (35:37):
So I didn't.
Speaker 6 (35:38):
I did not get joseed in this situation because I
try to use some of my connections and say, hey,
what guests could I get before we even get to Tahoe? Stu,
I had Drake May.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
Oh wow, wow, Wow, you got him through Mac. You
finally called up Mac and asked him to help me
out with Drake May.
Speaker 6 (35:56):
Not even through him Mac, I know, the person who
runs Drake May's found And I was like, hey, we
could really promote this foundation and if we get Drake
May on. And Drake May was confirmed and then Drake
May had to pull out of the field because the
timing just didn't work up for him this offseason. He
was supposed to make his first appearance in Tahoe. He's
(36:16):
not making an appearance in Tahoe.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
Wow, that's unfortunate. We could still promote the foundation if
he'd like to come on. But Mikey, what can you
say about Drake May? I mean, when you have to
prepare for the jets two times a year. You don't
have time for golf. We'll be live at the Driving
Rage tomorrow with a host of guests except for Drake
May
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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