November 7, 2024 • 44 mins
Welcome back to the Vikings Tailgate presented by Ticketmaster - The official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings. Comedian and Hollywood writer Joe Mande joins host Cy Amundson to break down Joe's fandom for MN sports, coining the phrase 'BORTLES!' as a writer for 'The Good Place,' the importance of good sports ownership, working with celebrity athletes, and their love for Adam Sandler. All of this and more is on today's episode of The Vikings Tailgate presented by Ticketmaster - The official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings. Be sure to check out Joe Mande's standup specials and his upcoming show 'Running Point' on Netflix. Also, help us out with a like and subscribe.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unreal is back with their limited edition Vikings drop, so
head over to Narl dot com for more details. Hey guys,
welcome back. Thank you for joining us again on another
episode of The Tailgate. I really appreciate you guys. This
is a fun episode. I know I say that every week.
But Joe Mandy is here. He's originally from Minnesota. I
(00:23):
know we normally do comedians and entertainers and actors from
other teams, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to
have Joe on the show. Not only is he a
fantastic comic who filmed his special here in Minnesota at
the Parkway Theater, He's one of the best writers in Hollywood.
He wrote on Parks and rec The Good Place, a
(00:45):
ton of your favorite shows. It's really fun to have
him on this episode because we're playing the Jags, and
if you watched The Good Place, you know what. He's
responsible from a Jaguars standpoint. We're gonna get into all
that on the show. Because he and I talked more
Minnesota culture. We talked a lot of Timberwolves, you know,
(01:06):
we just talked a lot of general life in sports.
I threw a big chunk about the team and how
we're doing on the front with myself and my producer Jay.
So you're gonna hear about twelve minutes of football breakdown
and talk, and then we're gonna hop into our conversation
with Joe Mandy. So you guys are getting a little
bit of both a little bit of football and a
(01:27):
little bit of fun. Thank you guys for listening. We'll
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
The Recket Recket I here.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to another episode of The Vikings Tailgate,
brought to you by ticket Master, the official ticket marketplace
of the Minnesota Vikings. I'm your host, Si Aminson, and
it is Jaguars Week. You're six and two. Minnesota Vikings,
fresh off a win against the Indianapolis Colts, head to
(02:04):
their last place in the division Division mate Jacksonville Jaguars
to try to start stacking some wins in the first
of what will be a three game road stretch. Now,
normally on this show, we talk to comedians and actors
who are fans of the opposing team. We go back
and forth. It's a lot of fun. This week we
(02:26):
have something kind of fun and special. He's one of
the best comedy writers in Hollywood. And he's just a
huge Minnesota sports fan, but he has a unique connection
to the Jacksonville Jaguars through his writing. If you're a
fan of the Good Place, you know what I'm talking about.
If not, stick around, Joe's going to be joining us
in the second half of the show. But first, before
(02:49):
we get to all of that fun, let's talk about
I'm here with my producer, Jay Nelson. Let's talk a
little bit Jay about where the Vikings are at, where
they are existing in this current moment. Because I am
we talk about this every week on the show. I'm
a psychopath. I get way too dramatic. When we will
(03:10):
win two in a row and I believe we're going
on a twelve game streak, we lose one and the
season's over, I don't I'm not able to I would
be a horrible quarterback. I am not able to even
things out emotionally. But I think these next two games
are perhaps the crucial stretch of the season. I know
(03:33):
that might seem crazy to say, because we've got this
heavy sided division finish, We've got Kirk and the Falcons.
You know, We've got some really tough games coming down
the stretch, and I think a lot of people look
at these next two weeks as a little bit easier
of matchup. Sure, I also understand that two weeks ago
I was telling everybody that the Rams game was the
(03:54):
most crucial game of the year. I think now, looking
back on that, understand that teams our friend Zach Martinez, right,
teams that play the Lions usually really struggle physically. The
next week, it was a short week, Pooka and Cooper
were back. That team looks like it's turning into who
they're supposed to be. I don't know that that was
(04:15):
quite the canary and the coal mine that I was
worried it might be. So let me pitch you this.
We are at this point where six and two. These
are two I think they're gonna be tough but winnable games.
They're both on the road, they're both outdoors. If you
go get these two and you bounce to eight and
(04:35):
two and you build on what you did against Indianapolis,
and that's the key here. That's why I believe it's
crucial because what was important to me about that Colts
game was it felt like maybe the start of this
team building into an identity that you can truly rely on. Sure,
(04:56):
I don't want to take anything away from what we
did in the first part of the season. That was
as fun of a stretch of football to thump the Niners,
the Texans, and the Packers through the first half. Just
like that. It felt like when AP when they were
loading ten people in the box during AP's MVP season,
He's like, what if I carried you guys all to
(05:18):
the end zone like the movie Little Giants.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah, you know. The thing about it, too, is the
beginning of the season was when the pundits and everybody
were looking at it saying, this is going to be
the hardest stretch of the season. Are they going to
be able to survive this? And you aced the course,
you went five to zero through that stretch. Everything felt great.
We were talking about you know, power rankings and all
that kind of stuff, and then we had the hiccup
and now you're hoping that you're getting back on track
at this point.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, it was a lot. The beginning of the season
was kind of like when Tiger Woods won that Masters
where everybody's like, what did he shoot? Yeah, when he
was young? Just an outrageous course record that it's just
not sustainable. Turnovers and sacks and defensive performances at that level,
offensive execution at that level. They were games that were
(06:01):
just completely tilted towards the Viking side. And in the NFL,
it is a lot easier to execute what you want
to do when the game is tilted your direction. I
think what we saw against the Lions and what we
saw against the Rams were pressurized moments where the game
(06:24):
wasn't tilted your direction. And so to have the Vikings
come out in that first half against the Colts and
play I think you know, most people in that locker
room would say about as bad offensively as they're capable
of playing multiple turnovers, they just can't sustain anything, can't
get anything going. They put zero points on the board,
a turnover that leads to points the other direction. To
(06:47):
have that happen and then come out in the second
half and score three times and most importantly score a
dagger touchdown. Like we all know, koc is a fantastic
foot ball coach, But I think the thing that a
lot of us have been waiting to see are these
opportunities for him to define himself in the middle and
(07:11):
later stages of a game and put together exactly what
we saw against the Colts the game was tilted the
other direction, and he and Sam Darnold and the offense
came out and went touchdown, touchdown, crucial game on the line. Touchdown. Now,
the defense helped him out, But that is the universe
(07:33):
in which this team wins really big long term throughout
this season. Is that ability right there, And no matter
who you think the Colts were or how Joe Flacco
looked on Sunday, Jonathan Taylor was back to Forest Buckner
is one of the best players in league. That was
no slouch. That was no slouch accomplishment in the second half.
(07:53):
So that to me, what I'm like, really long windedly
getting up in my colin Cowherd Am radio one man
to a microphone Ted talk, is I view these next
two games Jay as a monster stretch for us because
that vibe, that energy, the thing that KAOC talked about,
(08:16):
like we need to be able to exist during these
struggles and also recognize room for improvement, like that vibe.
Carrying that forward and pairing it with the fact that
we do have the ability to at times do what
we did earlier in the season, that is what makes
a more cohesively consistently built contender. So that that's why
(08:39):
I'm just really aggressively honed in on this week against
the Jags and next week against the Titans.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, it's the idea of you know, building on momentum
and getting back into your mojo, getting back on that
railroad track. And I guess you know, part of it
for me too is I was looking through a couple
of stats and the idea right now that defensively against
the rush you talked about Jonathan Taylor, we are second
in the league giving up eighty one point nine yards
per game like that is something that if you can
make a team one dimensional and force them to be
(09:06):
throwing through the air that kind of stuff against teams
that are, you know, trying to be able to control
the clock, which we did last game. If you are
able to go through with some of these teams and
be able to stifle them in one direction, that is
something that we have shown that we can then let
Flores just really confuse quarterbacks that are forced to throw
and keep up with our offense.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, and if you look at these next two matchups,
you know that you should be favored, that you should
have a chance to their opportunities to come out and
do what's expected of you, and if you do that
to me, it just provides this really cool opportunity. I've
said all season long that this transition away from Kirk
(09:49):
Cousins into the new version of the Minnesota Vikings, it
is not a this year thing, it is a multi
year thing. Obviously, I would like to win as many
football games as possible, so I would love to see
this team playing in the super Bowl. But I think
knowing the cap space that's available in the off season
and knowing what the future holds, if some of these
(10:10):
building like all of a sudden, here comes Dallas Turners
starting to flash a little bit, Jordan Addison starting to
flash a little bit in the offense now that Hockinson's back,
I think, if you can go out and take care
of these next two games, you put yourself at eight
and two, yep, and you have a legitimate, big time
stretch of big boy football to test yourself. And I
(10:34):
don't just mean for right now, the experience that you
can garner by having the Bears are not the old Bears.
They're not They're fourth in our division, but they can
bite you. So you come out and you got to
go two Bears games. You gotta get the Packers again.
You've got to get the Lions again. You got the
Kirk coming for revenge game. The Cardinals are starting to
(10:54):
play really good football. You have six minimum, really difficult
game that you're set up to deal with. Here. I
think it's an opportunity to see where you stand right now,
battle test this new identity that you're building, hopefully that
springboards you into a playoff run. But more importantly, on
top of that, whatever you're doing now and building because
(11:17):
of how young the core pieces are that are locked
into this organization and how much cap space there is,
you just take that and you stack a ton of
more goodness. How's that for a proper an educated phrase.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
You're just gonna stack some goodness on top of it, Jay,
But you just you have the opportunity to pile experience
and you know, just and be a battle test a
team that can build into a very legitimate window in
the next few years.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So I'm really psyched for this Jaguars game, and I'm
really really psyched for the Titans game after it.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Yeah, And I think the thing about it too is
you have this three game stretch on the road, then
you come back home for three games, and then you
kind of go every other at the back end. But
basically you've gone through now your tough stretch at the beginning,
your road stretch is coming up here, and then you
have your home stretch at the back end too. So
like being able, like you said, to stack those wins,
be able to get some of the younger people more experienced.
It's like you're clicking on all cylinders going into that
(12:15):
final week against Detroit in week eighteen, and then who
knows what happens after that. Like I think the team
right now feels like they're starting to get some different
people back. Hopefully cash Men's back here this week, and
I think the Jaguars and the Titans the next couple
weeks are the right type of opponent springboarding you into
the back half of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
What a fun way this season could end if you
are competitive for a playoff spot and you are running
into the Green Bay Packers at home. They're competitive potentially
for a playoff spot, and the Lions look like the
class of the NFC. But let's see how this thing
plays out. Maybe there's a universe where that game really, really,
(12:54):
really matters, and I don't think you can ask much
more as a fan than that opportunity, because that that
is what you want. You want to be the team
that is playing these really that nobody expected to be here.
Everybody thought you were a couple of years away. You
arrived ahead of schedule, and now you're getting these opportunity
(13:15):
to play these crucial games down the stretch. Now this week,
you got to take care of that first, and then
one week at a time. But it's a really cool opportunity. Guys,
that's enough of the football, like peer football, me being
a lunatic about what I think could happen and how
great I think this team could be. Let's get the
guests in here. He's so funny, so talented. It is
(13:39):
really a treat for me. Like I said, it's normally
fans of other teams, so it's fun to have him
on here. Let's jump into our conversation with Joe Mandy.
We are joined by the great Joe Mandy. Joe, first
of all, thank you for being on the show. Second
of all, this is fun for me because I love medians,
(14:00):
but I also love comedians who've been able to find
like long term work as writers. I'm just gonna this
is gonna be like me stacking layers on top of
a contract. But the next layer to that is when
you when you get out to LA, you realize how
difficult it is to get staffed on the worst show
you've ever heard of in your life. That is a
(14:22):
hard thing to do, let alone someone like you who
has written on Parks and rec Good Place, all of
these absolutely fantastic creative shows. So it's really fun to
have you here. And that being said, let's talk about
the Bortles man. Let's talk about the bortles thing. This
(14:44):
is JAG's week, is there. You are the guy who
came up with the bortles idea. You got to tell
the story of coming up with that in the room.
But I also want to know have you done anything
comedically in your career that has hit harder? I mean
that's the sort of like gets shouted on this street sort.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Of yeah yeah, I mean okay, yeah. So I wrote
for The Good Place and was there for its entire run,
which was very special. But we knew very early on
that we wanted the Jason Mendoza character to be from well,
originally it was Orlando, but I had just done a
(15:21):
show with John Mulaney in Jacksonville, and he and I
were just making fun of Jacksonville the entire trip, and
I it was just fresh on my mind, and I
was like, no, this guy has to be from Jacksonville.
It's so much funnier than Orlando. And then you know,
Mike Sure is a huge sports nut, and then you
know it then became like, oh, he's a diehard Jaguars fan.
(15:45):
And as the as the season progressed, there's a part
in one episode where that character throws a a Molotov
cocktail at a speedboat, and on set I pitched that
he should yell the word Bortles, you know, because at
(16:05):
the time, Blake Bortles was the quote unquote star quarterback
of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Mike loved it and thought
it was so funny. But then when I watched the
first edit they he took it. He took it out,
and I lost my mind because I was like, no,
you gotta put Bortles in there, like he's chucking a
(16:28):
Molotov cocktail, like obviously he would yell Bortles. And there's
a long back and forth, and Mike finally uh, we
reached a compromise and he put it in and then uh, yeah,
it just like the people in Jacksonville loved it, and
the people who worked for the Jaguars loved it because
(16:50):
I think it was the first time anyone.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Satirized the Jags.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, exactly, exactly, and yeah, and then we worked it
back in multiple times throughout the length of the show,
and they actually sent me and Manny Acinta, who played Jason,
to a Jaguars playoff game, and Manny's Canadian and not
(17:16):
a big sports head, and it was literally, quite literally
the worst game of football maybe ever played. It was
like two field goals, and like I was kind of
apologizing on behalf of like American sports to him, try
to be like, it is usually better than this. Yeah,
(17:39):
but and yeah, that was right before they replaced him
with Nick Foles, and then they were trying to get
us to make Nick Foles references. But at that point
it was I think we ran our course. But I
definitely remember walking outside of a sports bar in LA
during that playoff run where they made the conference finals
(18:02):
and there were just a group of dudes screaming Bortals
that I was like, I really did something here. This
is really special. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Well, you know when you have satirized a community and
a team and an area and they're like, yeah, that's
you know, that's like perfect, Like you got away with it, right.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah. I mean the only thing I could compare it
to is I don't know if you've seen the second
to last Kat Williams special. I'm obsessed with it. He
is performing on a stage that is dressed to look
like the Oval Office for no particular reason. But he
shot it in Jacksonville, and the first twelve minutes of
(18:44):
his special are local references to Jacksonville, and so if
you're not from Jacksonville, you have no idea what he's
making fun of, what he's referring to. But people in
the crowd are absolutely losing it. He's like, y'all have
too many bridges, and everyone's like, yeah, we do, we
have too many bridges. Uh yeah, So they have a
(19:05):
great sense of humor down there. It goes.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I'm obsessed with Cat Williams. I think he is. He
is easily one of the greats. But when I saw that,
it's it's like when you go when you're doing clubs
and you always have like here's the six minutes on
you you see it, right, let me just say stuff
that's never gonna work anywhere else. And he was like,
what if that was the like an amount of my
special that you really have to be committed to Kat
(19:28):
Williams to get to the regular catwa it goes on
for so long.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
It's sort of obligatory as a comic you do some
local references. And obviously he knows that, but he was
so sure that these were gonna work no matter what,
no matter where you were from, and they you know,
they don't. But then there is something funny just by
like how long he commits to the local references that
I think that in itself is a joke. I mean,
(19:53):
I'm not gonna question the brilliance of Kat Williams. He's
he's on my He's on my Mount Rushmore for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So yeah, there's no pushing back on Kat, that's for sure.
That year that you were talking about where they you know,
people are yelling Bortos they go to the championship, So
that is that is the year that the Vikings also
went to the NFC Championship, almost got to the super
We were talking about this before the show as a
(20:19):
lifelong sports maniac. I identified with what you told me.
But that is the year that essentially broke you, after
a after a life of Vikings fanhood, that it pushed
you over the edge.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yes, okay, So here's the thing is. I was born
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spent the first eleven years
of my life being a sports fan, but in a
region with no professional sports, so all I had was
like the University of New Mexico and a minor league
baseball team. But then my family moved to Minnesota, and
(20:53):
I like embraced Minnesota sports, like in kind of a
sad way. Like I've actually seen photos of myself, like
in sixth grade going to the first day of school
wearing like so much Vikings and Twins.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Rin way too hard.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Yeah, way too hard. But like was so happy to
live in a city with with with sports teams, and
and soon after that, you know, maybe the coolest era
of Minnesota sports. I mean, I can't say, maybe the
seventies were pretty cool or whatever, but like.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Back when you could hardly find what was happening on
TV or the radio in theory maybe.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
In theory, yeah, Killa Brew and Tarkington might have been cool,
but whatever, like like Garnet and Randy Moss that was
the era. Man, that was Like I was so happy.
I went to a bunch of Vikings and Wolves games
and you know there was that like Culpepper, Randy Moss,
Chris Carter era. I remember, yeah, yeah that I mean no,
(21:57):
it was Randall Cunningham. That was the team that.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
That's the team ninety eight.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Gary Anderson missed the field goal. I was at a
friend sleepover and fully like started crying like I took
it like way too seriously. And then uh, you know,
and then they are kind of bad for a while,
and then yeah, that Minnesota miracle game, it just seems
so storybook. I was like, they're gonna do it, like yeah,
(22:21):
they're they're the super Bowls in Minnesota, like like it's
all it's all happening. And then yeah, when it didn't happen,
I was sort of like I can't take this anymore,
Like like I like emotionally can't handle because like like
as a bat, I mean, basketball is my number one
I'm I have to say, but like there are things
in the NBA season called scheduled losses, right where if
(22:43):
you're playing two nights in a row and you're traveling
like you're not expected to win. The team doesn't expect
to win. You like, like you know, you mark that
as a loss going into it, and there's just no
such thing. In football. There's sixteen games. Every game matters,
and it like takes an emotional toll on you, especially
for a team like the Vikings that are so like snake.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Bit it makes every new moment that much worse, you know,
because of you're carrying the weight of every other moment.
It's funny, like I was even worse in that Minnesota
miracle year because if I don't know if you remember this,
but so we're playing the Saints in the game before
the championship. But on the other side it was the
(23:28):
Falcons and the Eagles, right, and nobody everybody kind of
now looks back like they were this force and we
should have known and Foles and this, and but I
think a lot of people win that game, like, of
course the Eagles and Nick Foles are going to lose
to Matt Ryan. Yeah, and the Falcons. And I remember
saying to my The two things that stick out to
me is I remember saying to my nephew that I'm
(23:50):
not sure that I I think I would rather go
to Atlanta and play them and and my nephew just
like win on a irade about how bad Nick Foles
is that I want to get engraved and hung in
his house for the rest he just he deserves.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
It's his fault.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
It's his fault. Yeah, But I had I had convinced myself,
and my breaking point was the far thing when he
in nine, when he threw it to Sydney Rice and
he got up across the fifty into field goal range
and we had Ryan Longwell, I actually, in my brain,
I don't think I even thought it. I think a
voice somewhere went.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
We're going to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
That happened. So I had kind of like had that
breaking moment and slowly built back to this, and then
I convinced myself. I was like, oh my god, not
only is it story like, we're gonna we're gonna beat
New Orleans who beat us in No.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Nine.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Then we're gonna beat the Falcons who beat us in
the Gary Anderson year, and then we're gonna win a
super Bowl. And our build like I bought in so
heavily too.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I was I was sort of protecting my mental health
watching games, he checking scores, and then once it got
to the playoffs, I was like, I'm back, here we
go and then it yeah, then it just it it
was just too much for me. And but but what's
great is my best friend from high school is still
(25:16):
a Vikings super fan, but just as pessimistic and unhealthy
as I am. So he'll he'll kind of give me
recaps of every game, which I find very helpful. So, like,
you know, and I don't really have much context. I
don't know who a lot like, he was so sad
when JJ quarterback, oh JJ McCarthy he got hurt, and
(25:37):
then he was really happy for a while. And then
now I know, an offensive lineman went down, and now
he's like, we're that ruined this season for him, he
knows we're never gonna overcome.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
He's just one of those guys who like hanging on
every single Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Yeah, he's a I mean, yeah, he's a lunatic.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
My best friend, uh, one of my best friends, Chad,
do you know Chad Daniels. He uh, he were like
we have agreed to like we've really had to peel
back our messaging on game day because it's just one
of us being such a about something and then the
other one almost trying to undermine that person as though
(26:17):
they're not, Like you're being ridiculous, You're a child, right,
And so it's just it's just developed into this really
unhealthy dynamic. And uh yeah, when a season goes like
this where it's like you come out of the gate
and you go, oh my gosh, who knew Sam Darnold?
Who is the new MVP? And then you lose a
couple like it's just been nothing in my phone is
(26:38):
good for me.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
I understand that completely. Yeah, And the only other context
I have is Nick Swardson's Instagram stories, which are just
vile at best, just so unhinged that I can't I
can't ever often it's like I can't tell if he's
happy or upset, Like there's so the son used.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
When you develop a healthy relationship with your favorite sports team.
Seeing Nick Swartzon's post is a lot like when you
quit drinking and you go to a bar and you
see somebody asleep on a stool. You like, got it, Yeah,
I got it. That's why I made this choice.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
It's like the ghost of Vikings fandom future. Yeah, he is.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
He Nick is this sort of person who he's so
immersed in Minneapolis, like in the normalacy that he wants
when he's there, Like he's got a bar, he likes,
he's got all the places, because he would show up
to like open mic on Mondays back in the day,
like in the in the early two thousands.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I was there. I remember, Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
And that that was that was wild because you're at
the height of the the Sandler fame and all that stuff.
But he's just turned himself into such a human in
town that he can just like I'll be out of
place and all of a sudden, I'll just hear like
swore and I'll be outside and all of a sudden
somebody will walk by and you go like yeah, ye
(28:04):
scream obscenities and you turn your like, oh, there's Nick.
I wonder what the school. I wonder if the did
the wild just give up a goal.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I don't know how he has the bandwidth.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So you lived in Minnesota from the time you were
like eleven, all the way through graduation and then out
to school and then to La when you back at
all in between that.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Never moved back at all, But I you know, would
come back for holidays and stuff. And I always try
to go once or twice a year for shows. So
and you know, I just take my last special in Minneapolis,
So I go back as much as I can and
try to catch at least a Timberwolves game.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yeah, or how are you? I know this is a
Vikings podcast, But do you buy into Do you buy
into this? Because it's it's not just the Vikings, it
is the timber You want to talk about snake bit
and like we Timberwolves fans own, we have a trademark
on the term snake.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Oh for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Do you buy into this? This thing that has developed
since nineteen ninety one? The curse, it's never gonna happen.
It's always gonna get pulled out from under us. Do
you where where are you at now? As a grown,
older adult man in the Is it possible that we
will get happiness from a title?
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I think so? I think. I don't think it's I
don't think it's impossible, but I do I do believe
in like removing the negative energy at Sage the inside
of the target center, you know, and there's probably.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Something to send some lady from a Dina in there
with a burning like branch to try.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
To fix everything up. That's what we need. That's what
we need. We might need a few few ladies, but yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Just I think sports has come down to your owners.
And I you know, I get people who yell at
me for sucking up to the Vikings owners, but I
truly think that, like I truly think they're trying to win.
I think they put winning a title next to business operations.
And I think, you know, to your point with the Wolves,
there were so many people who were anti a rod
(30:03):
And I'm sitting here in my brain going the rich
guy who's very famous, who's a public facing figure, who
will take all the heat if we're bad, and who's
a competitor. Like to me, it seems like such a
great opportunity, and now the twins are for sale. Like
wherever you go in sports, if the owner actually cares
about winning, it's not a guarantee that you're gonna but
(30:23):
it does. I do think it usually translates to a
better chance than not.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
For sure, Oh for sure. I mean that is. Yeah,
as I've gotten older and realized the like business side
of this stuff, that's that's the most important thing is
who the owner, like it's almost never does a cheapskate
owner win a title, and when they do, it's not
it's not like a dynasty. It's a it's a blip,
(30:49):
you know.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Yeah, it happens once in baseball, every once in a while,
and then four years later they've sold every player they had,
Like it feels like it feels like the beginning of
a major league when they got Pedro Serrano and everybody's
showing up on a motorcycle and stuff like, this was
your plan, yeap for this season.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I yes, Great Reference is one of the one of
the ten VHS movies I owned as a kid, so
I know every single frame of that movie.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I would argue, I was having this conversation with somebody
the other day, I think Major League is not just
in the conversation for best sports movie of all time.
I think it is. And this you can get very
you can push back very hard on this. I think
it's in the best if we're talking fifteen to twenty.
I don't know how big the number has to be,
(31:34):
but it's in the best comedy conversation That one in
Kingpin I think kind of transcend their genre into I
just love them as movies.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah that's fair. I mean I don't I don't think
of either of those movies as just like a sports movie,
which is saying a lot, you know. So uh yeah,
it's up there, probably with Happy Gilmour in that world too.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Are you a Sandler fan?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
I love Sandler. In fact, I've never like yelled at
an agent my agent before. But I was so mad
to find out that the movie Uncut Gems is like
a fever dream. I would have a movie.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I don't know, that's what this is where I was
going with this go.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Ahead a movie starring Adam Sandler and Kevin Garnett. Like
how did I not know this movie was getting made
into It was in the can Like I was like,
I'll I don't even have to be on camera.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Could do punch up for free, just go stand by us.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
A punch up. I would do craft services. I'd make
sandwiches for people just to be there.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I was so mad, Oh my god, yeah I I.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And then you throw ants on the film. I mean
that is uh, that's about as good as I know.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Yeah, So I do love Adam Sandler. And if they
make a sequel to What a Hustle Uh, that was
the name of it, The the Anthony Edwards One. I am,
I am there, I will I'll do anything.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Or more uncut gems.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, it's like uncut uncut, uttered.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Gens, uncut gems to uncutter. Yeah, he is. You know,
he's such a huge basketball fan. I just it's funny
how and I think that's gonna happen with everything you
see it happening with the Office. I'm starting to see
it with It's just really hard to remember what influence
(33:21):
feels like. And it's really fun to see Sandler have
who is not to be corny, but he's in that
category of reason I wanted to do it. You know,
you're we're of the age where Happy Gilmore and Billy
Madison and the wedding singer. You just it's just the silliest,
most fun thing. And I think you forget what, like
(33:41):
how silly it is, like with how movies are made now,
you're like, oh, he just had a culture club dance
scene in the middle and a musical number out of
nowhere with a clown that dies and a penguin.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Well, it's just like they don't make comedies anymore. That's
the that's the bummer is like, you know, especially like
where I'm at in my career, it's just like, yeah,
they it's everything's a comic book movie basically, So like
to get a get a silly comedy made is like
is such a huge win. It's such a triumph. So yeah,
just being able, like he's been able to do that
(34:14):
for what like thirty years now you got to give
it up. And then on top of that, not just
like you know, the movies are very obviously like a
way for he's he's figured out a way to like
get paid to have fun with his friends and exotic locales.
It's crazy. But then you know, his last couple of
specials have been like you're like, oh, this dude's still
(34:36):
like so brilliant at stand up, so good.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Yeah, you know what, I love watching And we're way
off the topic of vikings, but let's we'll I'll wind
it back.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
It's all the weed. It's someone, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Someone cares about that's right. The Twain Award, Like whenever
somebody gets the Mark Twain. If you ever want to
like remember why and how much you love someone, watch
them receive that prize. It's the greatest the saying the
one was the best I've ever seen. It was so good.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Have you ever wanted to because you know Sure is
involved with LeBatard and all those guys and that cool universe.
Do you keep your love of sports? I know you
were just talking about desperately wanting to be on uncut Jet,
But do you keep your love of sports over here?
Or does any have you? Do you always find yourself
kind of trying to write something that lands in the vein?
(35:28):
Have you ever crossed across the two over?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I mean I was doing an experiment last year where
I was doing like an overly complicated live stream on
YouTube where I would have like a comedian friend or two.
We would be live streaming watching a basketball game, but
because we didn't want to get sued for the rights,
the whole joke was that people would have to find
the game themselves and sync it up to our own commentary,
(35:53):
and you know, just too stupid to make it a success.
But it was very fun, and I guess my dream
would be to do something like that. I don't know,
and I think it would work for football too. Definitely
would work for football because there's so much dead air,
so much like Discover But like get comedians to do
play by play just as an option, Like you know,
(36:15):
there's odd like when you are on Netflix, there's multiple
languages do like do Like you know, you have Tony
Romo as one option, then Joe, Mandy and Friends as another.
And it's not like I'm a super expert at basketball,
but I know enough to do that. I'm sure you know,
I'm sure there's you know, I know you had Megan
on last week right like she could do football, like
(36:37):
she could absolutely do you know what I mean. So
it's like I just like I think with technology, it's
certainly an option that should be explored where you could
have different forms of commentary because I would I would
give up my career to do that full time, to
be able to go to basketball games and do like commentary.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
The uh, it's funny. First of all, the people on
you there are people on YouTube who that is they
will during the game, they will live stream. You cannot
watch the football game. You can watch them and it
is it's just no screening. They're like and it's a
run okay, and there is no commentary. There's nothing good
(37:17):
with it. So I think you'd be surprised at how
easy it would be to rise to the top of
that mountain. I think the NBA is a perfect place.
They've always been so progressive and like, let's let blogs in.
Who cares if you show our highlights on social media?
Like there is a universe where I do think it
is hard though, it's like as I learned at ESPN,
(37:40):
and I think a lot of other people when you
bring like traditional like you're a real comic who's been
on the road and written and done the things you've done,
and then you go exist in that world where people
take it like you love it and I love it
and it's fun, but we also can't stray away from
what's the funniest about it. And then you get in
part of this guy goes to make fun of the jazz. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
If you say, if you mentioned certain things about a
player's pass, you could get in trouble or they could
get in trouble. Yeah, so it is like it is.
It is kind of it is kind of dicey, but
that would be great. I would love to figure out
a way to well, I guess I did I I
there's a I worked on the show at the beginning
of the year. That is uh uh Mindy Kaln produced
(38:23):
with is Me by Ike Barnholtz and David Stassen, writing
a show that's loosely based on the owner of the
Los Angeles Lakers, so it's a lot of basketball and yeah,
that comes out on Netflix early next year. It's called
Running Point and uh yeah, Kate Hudson is the star.
So that, like, that was very fun and I was
(38:45):
able to like, it was funny being in a room
where I'm there fundamentally to be a comedy writer. But
there would be sometimes where people were pitching storylines and
I would be like, well, we can't do that because
the salary cap, you know, that's just not realistic. The
team would enter the second April and yeah, yeah, but
I yeah, it was almost like annoying for everyone how
(39:05):
much I knew.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Well, but that is the worst thing in sport. That
is the worst thing in TV. When you see a
guy shoot a jumper and it like You're like, I
don't think that went more than three feet. You know,
you gotta it's nothing shatters the glass quicker than somebody
going it'll be a five team trade and you're like,
that's not a We've never seen one of those before.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You know, ultimately it's an office place comedy, so like
we it was a sort of mandate within the room
to show as little actual basketball as possible because Basketball
fictionalized basketball, and and you know, I guess football is
a little better. I mean, any given Sunday looked good.
I think in retrospect.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
Yeah, the way they can I think, the way they
can chase shots with the action a little bit.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Yeah, and everyone's in pads and you just have to
show people slamming. But like, yeah, there's like, you know,
you can tell pretty quickly if someone's played basketball before,
just by the way they dribble and shoot. You know,
most of the show it was just people in the office,
the front office, just yeah, discussing trades and stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
The one thing that somebody live action thing that somebody
was dumb enough to cast me in was a tennis movie.
And I played tennis in high school. I could really
play tennis. And I don't know that I'm the worst
actor of all time, but you know, for sure, I'm
a bad auditioner.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
And sure, yeah, but easy.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
No, for sure. But part of the audition was you
read the lines and then you go out and you
hit a few balls. On camera and I could really
play tennis. And I think they were having such a
hard time finding a human who could play tennis that
they actually like. They changed a Latin dude to it
(40:44):
was and they named the character for Hayes Davenport. They
switched it to after him. And then I came in
and they were like, man, this guy could play tennis.
And then the first scene they were like.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Oh, no, what have we done? Like, oh, but he can't.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
But they hit I'll tell you what, they hid the
acting and the tennis looks really good. Man.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
You know what that's that's called you you cut together,
That's all that matters. Uh. Yeah. We had a thing
on Parks and rec once where we cast Chris Bosh
to be on the Eagleton basketball team, and he was
so nervous about delivering his line that he would say
his line and then just brick jump shot after jump
(41:26):
and these are like bunnies, These are like eight foot
jump shots that he would make a thousand times out
of a thousand. But he was so nervous about landing
his mark and saying his line that we had to
literally like do a clever editor.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Because Chris Bosh one of the greatest power forwards of
all time couldn't make a jumper.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
So yeah, so you you struck. You have the same
struggle as Chris Bosh.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah. What I've always said is Chris Bosh and I
are very similar.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
We're very in so many ways. Yeah, I was gonna
mention it very similar.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
Thank you. I appreciate you letting it you know, you
letting it trickle out. Just in this late moment in
the show he had that Chris Bosh had that weird,
that weird period where obviously the sad thing happens with
his heart and he's got to leave the league, and
then all of a sudden they were sticking him stuff.
He was in like a kid show, and I remember
being like, and they just introduced him as Chris Bosh
in a fictional world, and I was like, I don't
(42:14):
know that this makes sense, but that is Chris Bosh right.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
There right now. Hero. He rules, He rules. I was
a huge fan of his.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Who is the who is the most fun person in
the sports world that you have crossed with?
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Well, I'm friendly with Blake Griffins. He did a thing
for my first special. So he rules. Uh, Roy Hibbert,
I'm only I feel badly that I'm on this football podcast.
We wrote a thing for Kroll Show years ago that
nom the Awesome Wa ended up doing, and he was
he was great and very funny.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
That's a deep cut, A nom the Awesome Wa cut.
That's a deep cut. Yeah, yeah, it's funny when you
see somebody like Blake Griffin. It's the same thing with
Peyton Manning. You know, we've got a guy in town
here who you know, he just does broadcast and radio
and host like it's he's kind of the Minneapolis version
of oh you got I don't know why I'm explaining
it to you like this. It's Ben Lieber. Liber is
(43:11):
so former linebacker for the Vikings retired. He is so
talented and like in and around media, it's almost infuriat
And that's the thing you always see with Blake Griffin.
You're like, oh, so you just you just were one
of the greatest athletes to ever walk the earth, and
you have this version of comedic timing. It's wild.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
No, it's it's so annoying. It's so annoying.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Uh, dude, I really appreciate this man. Do you have
a We put everybody on the spot. They don't like it.
But okay, the Jacksonville Bortals are playing the Vikings this weekend.
Can I get a prediction from you?
Speaker 2 (43:47):
I think the Vikings will win forty two to three.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
I like forty two to three.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Justin Jefferson will have four touchdowns three hundred yards, four.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Touch three hundred yards, four touchdowns. The great Joe Mandy, Hey,
thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Man, of course, thank you for having me. This is fun.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Thanks again to Joe Mandy for joining the show, and
thank you for listening to our podcast feed. Hey, while
you're here, make sure to give us a subscribe. Maybe
you give us a comment that helps a review. I
think they're called on podcast apps. Also a huge shout
out to Ticketmaster, the official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings,
(44:33):
for helping make this show happen. We will see you
all again next week.
Unreal is back with their limited edition Vikings drop, so
head over to Narl dot com for more details. Hey guys,
welcome back. Thank you for joining us again on another
episode of The Tailgate. I really appreciate you guys. This
is a fun episode. I know I say that every week.
But Joe Mandy is here. He's originally from Minnesota. I
(00:23):
know we normally do comedians and entertainers and actors from
other teams, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to
have Joe on the show. Not only is he a
fantastic comic who filmed his special here in Minnesota at
the Parkway Theater, He's one of the best writers in Hollywood.
He wrote on Parks and rec The Good Place, a
(00:45):
ton of your favorite shows. It's really fun to have
him on this episode because we're playing the Jags, and
if you watched The Good Place, you know what. He's
responsible from a Jaguars standpoint. We're gonna get into all
that on the show. Because he and I talked more
Minnesota culture. We talked a lot of Timberwolves, you know,
(01:06):
we just talked a lot of general life in sports.
I threw a big chunk about the team and how
we're doing on the front with myself and my producer Jay.
So you're gonna hear about twelve minutes of football breakdown
and talk, and then we're gonna hop into our conversation
with Joe Mandy. So you guys are getting a little
bit of both a little bit of football and a
(01:27):
little bit of fun. Thank you guys for listening. We'll
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
The Recket Recket I here.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to another episode of The Vikings Tailgate,
brought to you by ticket Master, the official ticket marketplace
of the Minnesota Vikings. I'm your host, Si Aminson, and
it is Jaguars Week. You're six and two. Minnesota Vikings,
fresh off a win against the Indianapolis Colts, head to
(02:04):
their last place in the division Division mate Jacksonville Jaguars
to try to start stacking some wins in the first
of what will be a three game road stretch. Now,
normally on this show, we talk to comedians and actors
who are fans of the opposing team. We go back
and forth. It's a lot of fun. This week we
(02:26):
have something kind of fun and special. He's one of
the best comedy writers in Hollywood. And he's just a
huge Minnesota sports fan, but he has a unique connection
to the Jacksonville Jaguars through his writing. If you're a
fan of the Good Place, you know what I'm talking about.
If not, stick around, Joe's going to be joining us
in the second half of the show. But first, before
(02:49):
we get to all of that fun, let's talk about
I'm here with my producer, Jay Nelson. Let's talk a
little bit Jay about where the Vikings are at, where
they are existing in this current moment. Because I am
we talk about this every week on the show. I'm
a psychopath. I get way too dramatic. When we will
(03:10):
win two in a row and I believe we're going
on a twelve game streak, we lose one and the
season's over, I don't I'm not able to I would
be a horrible quarterback. I am not able to even
things out emotionally. But I think these next two games
are perhaps the crucial stretch of the season. I know
(03:33):
that might seem crazy to say, because we've got this
heavy sided division finish, We've got Kirk and the Falcons.
You know, We've got some really tough games coming down
the stretch, and I think a lot of people look
at these next two weeks as a little bit easier
of matchup. Sure, I also understand that two weeks ago
I was telling everybody that the Rams game was the
(03:54):
most crucial game of the year. I think now, looking
back on that, understand that teams our friend Zach Martinez, right,
teams that play the Lions usually really struggle physically. The
next week, it was a short week, Pooka and Cooper
were back. That team looks like it's turning into who
they're supposed to be. I don't know that that was
(04:15):
quite the canary and the coal mine that I was
worried it might be. So let me pitch you this.
We are at this point where six and two. These
are two I think they're gonna be tough but winnable games.
They're both on the road, they're both outdoors. If you
go get these two and you bounce to eight and
(04:35):
two and you build on what you did against Indianapolis,
and that's the key here. That's why I believe it's
crucial because what was important to me about that Colts
game was it felt like maybe the start of this
team building into an identity that you can truly rely on. Sure,
(04:56):
I don't want to take anything away from what we
did in the first part of the season. That was
as fun of a stretch of football to thump the Niners,
the Texans, and the Packers through the first half. Just
like that. It felt like when AP when they were
loading ten people in the box during AP's MVP season,
He's like, what if I carried you guys all to
(05:18):
the end zone like the movie Little Giants.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
Yeah, you know. The thing about it, too, is the
beginning of the season was when the pundits and everybody
were looking at it saying, this is going to be
the hardest stretch of the season. Are they going to
be able to survive this? And you aced the course,
you went five to zero through that stretch. Everything felt great.
We were talking about you know, power rankings and all
that kind of stuff, and then we had the hiccup
and now you're hoping that you're getting back on track
at this point.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, it was a lot. The beginning of the season
was kind of like when Tiger Woods won that Masters
where everybody's like, what did he shoot? Yeah, when he
was young? Just an outrageous course record that it's just
not sustainable. Turnovers and sacks and defensive performances at that level,
offensive execution at that level. They were games that were
(06:01):
just completely tilted towards the Viking side. And in the NFL,
it is a lot easier to execute what you want
to do when the game is tilted your direction. I
think what we saw against the Lions and what we
saw against the Rams were pressurized moments where the game
(06:24):
wasn't tilted your direction. And so to have the Vikings
come out in that first half against the Colts and
play I think you know, most people in that locker
room would say about as bad offensively as they're capable
of playing multiple turnovers, they just can't sustain anything, can't
get anything going. They put zero points on the board,
a turnover that leads to points the other direction. To
(06:47):
have that happen and then come out in the second
half and score three times and most importantly score a
dagger touchdown. Like we all know, koc is a fantastic
foot ball coach, But I think the thing that a
lot of us have been waiting to see are these
opportunities for him to define himself in the middle and
(07:11):
later stages of a game and put together exactly what
we saw against the Colts the game was tilted the
other direction, and he and Sam Darnold and the offense
came out and went touchdown, touchdown, crucial game on the line. Touchdown. Now,
the defense helped him out, But that is the universe
(07:33):
in which this team wins really big long term throughout
this season. Is that ability right there, And no matter
who you think the Colts were or how Joe Flacco
looked on Sunday, Jonathan Taylor was back to Forest Buckner
is one of the best players in league. That was
no slouch. That was no slouch accomplishment in the second half.
(07:53):
So that to me, what I'm like, really long windedly
getting up in my colin Cowherd Am radio one man
to a microphone Ted talk, is I view these next
two games Jay as a monster stretch for us because
that vibe, that energy, the thing that KAOC talked about,
(08:16):
like we need to be able to exist during these
struggles and also recognize room for improvement, like that vibe.
Carrying that forward and pairing it with the fact that
we do have the ability to at times do what
we did earlier in the season, that is what makes
a more cohesively consistently built contender. So that that's why
(08:39):
I'm just really aggressively honed in on this week against
the Jags and next week against the Titans.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, it's the idea of you know, building on momentum
and getting back into your mojo, getting back on that
railroad track. And I guess you know, part of it
for me too is I was looking through a couple
of stats and the idea right now that defensively against
the rush you talked about Jonathan Taylor, we are second
in the league giving up eighty one point nine yards
per game like that is something that if you can
make a team one dimensional and force them to be
(09:06):
throwing through the air that kind of stuff against teams
that are, you know, trying to be able to control
the clock, which we did last game. If you are
able to go through with some of these teams and
be able to stifle them in one direction, that is
something that we have shown that we can then let
Flores just really confuse quarterbacks that are forced to throw
and keep up with our offense.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Yeah, and if you look at these next two matchups,
you know that you should be favored, that you should
have a chance to their opportunities to come out and
do what's expected of you, and if you do that
to me, it just provides this really cool opportunity. I've
said all season long that this transition away from Kirk
(09:49):
Cousins into the new version of the Minnesota Vikings, it
is not a this year thing, it is a multi
year thing. Obviously, I would like to win as many
football games as possible, so I would love to see
this team playing in the super Bowl. But I think
knowing the cap space that's available in the off season
and knowing what the future holds, if some of these
(10:10):
building like all of a sudden, here comes Dallas Turners
starting to flash a little bit, Jordan Addison starting to
flash a little bit in the offense now that Hockinson's back,
I think, if you can go out and take care
of these next two games, you put yourself at eight
and two, yep, and you have a legitimate, big time
stretch of big boy football to test yourself. And I
(10:34):
don't just mean for right now, the experience that you
can garner by having the Bears are not the old Bears.
They're not They're fourth in our division, but they can
bite you. So you come out and you got to
go two Bears games. You gotta get the Packers again.
You've got to get the Lions again. You got the
Kirk coming for revenge game. The Cardinals are starting to
(10:54):
play really good football. You have six minimum, really difficult
game that you're set up to deal with. Here. I
think it's an opportunity to see where you stand right now,
battle test this new identity that you're building, hopefully that
springboards you into a playoff run. But more importantly, on
top of that, whatever you're doing now and building because
(11:17):
of how young the core pieces are that are locked
into this organization and how much cap space there is,
you just take that and you stack a ton of
more goodness. How's that for a proper an educated phrase.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
You're just gonna stack some goodness on top of it, Jay,
But you just you have the opportunity to pile experience
and you know, just and be a battle test a
team that can build into a very legitimate window in
the next few years.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So I'm really psyched for this Jaguars game, and I'm
really really psyched for the Titans game after it.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Yeah, And I think the thing about it too is
you have this three game stretch on the road, then
you come back home for three games, and then you
kind of go every other at the back end. But
basically you've gone through now your tough stretch at the beginning,
your road stretch is coming up here, and then you
have your home stretch at the back end too. So
like being able, like you said, to stack those wins,
be able to get some of the younger people more experienced.
It's like you're clicking on all cylinders going into that
(12:15):
final week against Detroit in week eighteen, and then who
knows what happens after that. Like I think the team
right now feels like they're starting to get some different
people back. Hopefully cash Men's back here this week, and
I think the Jaguars and the Titans the next couple
weeks are the right type of opponent springboarding you into
the back half of the season.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
What a fun way this season could end if you
are competitive for a playoff spot and you are running
into the Green Bay Packers at home. They're competitive potentially
for a playoff spot, and the Lions look like the
class of the NFC. But let's see how this thing
plays out. Maybe there's a universe where that game really, really,
(12:54):
really matters, and I don't think you can ask much
more as a fan than that opportunity, because that that
is what you want. You want to be the team
that is playing these really that nobody expected to be here.
Everybody thought you were a couple of years away. You
arrived ahead of schedule, and now you're getting these opportunity
(13:15):
to play these crucial games down the stretch. Now this week,
you got to take care of that first, and then
one week at a time. But it's a really cool opportunity. Guys,
that's enough of the football, like peer football, me being
a lunatic about what I think could happen and how
great I think this team could be. Let's get the
guests in here. He's so funny, so talented. It is
(13:39):
really a treat for me. Like I said, it's normally
fans of other teams, so it's fun to have him
on here. Let's jump into our conversation with Joe Mandy.
We are joined by the great Joe Mandy. Joe, first
of all, thank you for being on the show. Second
of all, this is fun for me because I love medians,
(14:00):
but I also love comedians who've been able to find
like long term work as writers. I'm just gonna this
is gonna be like me stacking layers on top of
a contract. But the next layer to that is when
you when you get out to LA, you realize how
difficult it is to get staffed on the worst show
you've ever heard of in your life. That is a
(14:22):
hard thing to do, let alone someone like you who
has written on Parks and rec Good Place, all of
these absolutely fantastic creative shows. So it's really fun to
have you here. And that being said, let's talk about
the Bortles man. Let's talk about the bortles thing. This
(14:44):
is JAG's week, is there. You are the guy who
came up with the bortles idea. You got to tell
the story of coming up with that in the room.
But I also want to know have you done anything
comedically in your career that has hit harder? I mean
that's the sort of like gets shouted on this street sort.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Of yeah yeah, I mean okay, yeah. So I wrote
for The Good Place and was there for its entire run,
which was very special. But we knew very early on
that we wanted the Jason Mendoza character to be from well,
originally it was Orlando, but I had just done a
(15:21):
show with John Mulaney in Jacksonville, and he and I
were just making fun of Jacksonville the entire trip, and
I it was just fresh on my mind, and I
was like, no, this guy has to be from Jacksonville.
It's so much funnier than Orlando. And then you know,
Mike Sure is a huge sports nut, and then you
know it then became like, oh, he's a diehard Jaguars fan.
(15:45):
And as the as the season progressed, there's a part
in one episode where that character throws a a Molotov
cocktail at a speedboat, and on set I pitched that
he should yell the word Bortles, you know, because at
(16:05):
the time, Blake Bortles was the quote unquote star quarterback
of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Mike loved it and thought
it was so funny. But then when I watched the
first edit they he took it. He took it out,
and I lost my mind because I was like, no,
you gotta put Bortles in there, like he's chucking a
(16:28):
Molotov cocktail, like obviously he would yell Bortles. And there's
a long back and forth, and Mike finally uh, we
reached a compromise and he put it in and then uh, yeah,
it just like the people in Jacksonville loved it, and
the people who worked for the Jaguars loved it because
(16:50):
I think it was the first time anyone.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Satirized the Jags.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, exactly, exactly, and yeah, and then we worked it
back in multiple times throughout the length of the show,
and they actually sent me and Manny Acinta, who played Jason,
to a Jaguars playoff game, and Manny's Canadian and not
(17:16):
a big sports head, and it was literally, quite literally
the worst game of football maybe ever played. It was
like two field goals, and like I was kind of
apologizing on behalf of like American sports to him, try
to be like, it is usually better than this. Yeah,
(17:39):
but and yeah, that was right before they replaced him
with Nick Foles, and then they were trying to get
us to make Nick Foles references. But at that point
it was I think we ran our course. But I
definitely remember walking outside of a sports bar in LA
during that playoff run where they made the conference finals
(18:02):
and there were just a group of dudes screaming Bortals
that I was like, I really did something here. This
is really special. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Well, you know when you have satirized a community and
a team and an area and they're like, yeah, that's
you know, that's like perfect, Like you got away with it, right.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah. I mean the only thing I could compare it
to is I don't know if you've seen the second
to last Kat Williams special. I'm obsessed with it. He
is performing on a stage that is dressed to look
like the Oval Office for no particular reason. But he
shot it in Jacksonville, and the first twelve minutes of
(18:44):
his special are local references to Jacksonville, and so if
you're not from Jacksonville, you have no idea what he's
making fun of, what he's referring to. But people in
the crowd are absolutely losing it. He's like, y'all have
too many bridges, and everyone's like, yeah, we do, we
have too many bridges. Uh yeah, So they have a
(19:05):
great sense of humor down there. It goes.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
I'm obsessed with Cat Williams. I think he is. He
is easily one of the greats. But when I saw that,
it's it's like when you go when you're doing clubs
and you always have like here's the six minutes on
you you see it, right, let me just say stuff
that's never gonna work anywhere else. And he was like,
what if that was the like an amount of my
special that you really have to be committed to Kat
(19:28):
Williams to get to the regular catwa it goes on
for so long.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
It's sort of obligatory as a comic you do some
local references. And obviously he knows that, but he was
so sure that these were gonna work no matter what,
no matter where you were from, and they you know,
they don't. But then there is something funny just by
like how long he commits to the local references that
I think that in itself is a joke. I mean,
(19:53):
I'm not gonna question the brilliance of Kat Williams. He's
he's on my He's on my Mount Rushmore for sure.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
So yeah, there's no pushing back on Kat, that's for sure.
That year that you were talking about where they you know,
people are yelling Bortos they go to the championship, So
that is that is the year that the Vikings also
went to the NFC Championship, almost got to the super
We were talking about this before the show as a
(20:19):
lifelong sports maniac. I identified with what you told me.
But that is the year that essentially broke you, after
a after a life of Vikings fanhood, that it pushed
you over the edge.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Yes, okay, So here's the thing is. I was born
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spent the first eleven years
of my life being a sports fan, but in a
region with no professional sports, so all I had was
like the University of New Mexico and a minor league
baseball team. But then my family moved to Minnesota, and
(20:53):
I like embraced Minnesota sports, like in kind of a
sad way. Like I've actually seen photos of myself, like
in sixth grade going to the first day of school
wearing like so much Vikings and Twins.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Rin way too hard.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Yeah, way too hard. But like was so happy to
live in a city with with with sports teams, and
and soon after that, you know, maybe the coolest era
of Minnesota sports. I mean, I can't say, maybe the
seventies were pretty cool or whatever, but like.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Back when you could hardly find what was happening on
TV or the radio in theory maybe.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
In theory, yeah, Killa Brew and Tarkington might have been cool,
but whatever, like like Garnet and Randy Moss that was
the era. Man, that was Like I was so happy.
I went to a bunch of Vikings and Wolves games
and you know there was that like Culpepper, Randy Moss,
Chris Carter era. I remember, yeah, yeah that I mean no,
(21:57):
it was Randall Cunningham. That was the team that.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
That's the team ninety eight.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Gary Anderson missed the field goal. I was at a
friend sleepover and fully like started crying like I took
it like way too seriously. And then uh, you know,
and then they are kind of bad for a while,
and then yeah, that Minnesota miracle game, it just seems
so storybook. I was like, they're gonna do it, like yeah,
(22:21):
they're they're the super Bowls in Minnesota, like like it's
all it's all happening. And then yeah, when it didn't happen,
I was sort of like I can't take this anymore,
Like like I like emotionally can't handle because like like
as a bat, I mean, basketball is my number one
I'm I have to say, but like there are things
in the NBA season called scheduled losses, right where if
(22:43):
you're playing two nights in a row and you're traveling
like you're not expected to win. The team doesn't expect
to win. You like, like you know, you mark that
as a loss going into it, and there's just no
such thing. In football. There's sixteen games. Every game matters,
and it like takes an emotional toll on you, especially
for a team like the Vikings that are so like snake.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Bit it makes every new moment that much worse, you know,
because of you're carrying the weight of every other moment.
It's funny, like I was even worse in that Minnesota
miracle year because if I don't know if you remember this,
but so we're playing the Saints in the game before
the championship. But on the other side it was the
(23:28):
Falcons and the Eagles, right, and nobody everybody kind of
now looks back like they were this force and we
should have known and Foles and this, and but I
think a lot of people win that game, like, of
course the Eagles and Nick Foles are going to lose
to Matt Ryan. Yeah, and the Falcons. And I remember
saying to my The two things that stick out to
me is I remember saying to my nephew that I'm
(23:50):
not sure that I I think I would rather go
to Atlanta and play them and and my nephew just
like win on a irade about how bad Nick Foles
is that I want to get engraved and hung in
his house for the rest he just he deserves.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
It's his fault.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
It's his fault. Yeah, But I had I had convinced myself,
and my breaking point was the far thing when he
in nine, when he threw it to Sydney Rice and
he got up across the fifty into field goal range
and we had Ryan Longwell, I actually, in my brain,
I don't think I even thought it. I think a
voice somewhere went.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
We're going to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
That happened. So I had kind of like had that
breaking moment and slowly built back to this, and then
I convinced myself. I was like, oh my god, not
only is it story like, we're gonna we're gonna beat
New Orleans who beat us in No.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Nine.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Then we're gonna beat the Falcons who beat us in
the Gary Anderson year, and then we're gonna win a
super Bowl. And our build like I bought in so
heavily too.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I was I was sort of protecting my mental health
watching games, he checking scores, and then once it got
to the playoffs, I was like, I'm back, here we
go and then it yeah, then it just it it
was just too much for me. And but but what's
great is my best friend from high school is still
(25:16):
a Vikings super fan, but just as pessimistic and unhealthy
as I am. So he'll he'll kind of give me
recaps of every game, which I find very helpful. So, like,
you know, and I don't really have much context. I
don't know who a lot like, he was so sad
when JJ quarterback, oh JJ McCarthy he got hurt, and
(25:37):
then he was really happy for a while. And then
now I know, an offensive lineman went down, and now
he's like, we're that ruined this season for him, he
knows we're never gonna overcome.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
He's just one of those guys who like hanging on
every single Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Yeah, he's a I mean, yeah, he's a lunatic.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
My best friend, uh, one of my best friends, Chad,
do you know Chad Daniels. He uh, he were like
we have agreed to like we've really had to peel
back our messaging on game day because it's just one
of us being such a about something and then the
other one almost trying to undermine that person as though
(26:17):
they're not, Like you're being ridiculous, You're a child, right,
And so it's just it's just developed into this really
unhealthy dynamic. And uh yeah, when a season goes like
this where it's like you come out of the gate
and you go, oh my gosh, who knew Sam Darnold?
Who is the new MVP? And then you lose a
couple like it's just been nothing in my phone is
(26:38):
good for me.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
I understand that completely. Yeah, And the only other context
I have is Nick Swardson's Instagram stories, which are just
vile at best, just so unhinged that I can't I
can't ever often it's like I can't tell if he's
happy or upset, Like there's so the son used.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
When you develop a healthy relationship with your favorite sports team.
Seeing Nick Swartzon's post is a lot like when you
quit drinking and you go to a bar and you
see somebody asleep on a stool. You like, got it, Yeah,
I got it. That's why I made this choice.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
It's like the ghost of Vikings fandom future. Yeah, he is.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
He Nick is this sort of person who he's so
immersed in Minneapolis, like in the normalacy that he wants
when he's there, Like he's got a bar, he likes,
he's got all the places, because he would show up
to like open mic on Mondays back in the day,
like in the in the early two thousands.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
I was there. I remember, Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
And that that was that was wild because you're at
the height of the the Sandler fame and all that stuff.
But he's just turned himself into such a human in
town that he can just like I'll be out of
place and all of a sudden, I'll just hear like
swore and I'll be outside and all of a sudden
somebody will walk by and you go like yeah, ye
(28:04):
scream obscenities and you turn your like, oh, there's Nick.
I wonder what the school. I wonder if the did
the wild just give up a goal.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I don't know how he has the bandwidth.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
So you lived in Minnesota from the time you were
like eleven, all the way through graduation and then out
to school and then to La when you back at
all in between that.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Never moved back at all, But I you know, would
come back for holidays and stuff. And I always try
to go once or twice a year for shows. So
and you know, I just take my last special in Minneapolis,
So I go back as much as I can and
try to catch at least a Timberwolves game.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yeah, or how are you? I know this is a
Vikings podcast, But do you buy into Do you buy
into this? Because it's it's not just the Vikings, it
is the timber You want to talk about snake bit
and like we Timberwolves fans own, we have a trademark
on the term snake.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Oh for sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Do you buy into this? This thing that has developed
since nineteen ninety one? The curse, it's never gonna happen.
It's always gonna get pulled out from under us. Do
you where where are you at now? As a grown,
older adult man in the Is it possible that we
will get happiness from a title?
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I think so? I think. I don't think it's I
don't think it's impossible, but I do I do believe
in like removing the negative energy at Sage the inside
of the target center, you know, and there's probably.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
Something to send some lady from a Dina in there
with a burning like branch to try.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
To fix everything up. That's what we need. That's what
we need. We might need a few few ladies, but yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Just I think sports has come down to your owners.
And I you know, I get people who yell at
me for sucking up to the Vikings owners, but I
truly think that, like I truly think they're trying to win.
I think they put winning a title next to business operations.
And I think, you know, to your point with the Wolves,
there were so many people who were anti a rod
(30:03):
And I'm sitting here in my brain going the rich
guy who's very famous, who's a public facing figure, who
will take all the heat if we're bad, and who's
a competitor. Like to me, it seems like such a
great opportunity, and now the twins are for sale. Like
wherever you go in sports, if the owner actually cares
about winning, it's not a guarantee that you're gonna but
(30:23):
it does. I do think it usually translates to a
better chance than not.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
For sure, Oh for sure. I mean that is. Yeah,
as I've gotten older and realized the like business side
of this stuff, that's that's the most important thing is
who the owner, like it's almost never does a cheapskate
owner win a title, and when they do, it's not
it's not like a dynasty. It's a it's a blip,
(30:49):
you know.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Yeah, it happens once in baseball, every once in a while,
and then four years later they've sold every player they had,
Like it feels like it feels like the beginning of
a major league when they got Pedro Serrano and everybody's
showing up on a motorcycle and stuff like, this was
your plan, yeap for this season.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I yes, Great Reference is one of the one of
the ten VHS movies I owned as a kid, so
I know every single frame of that movie.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
I would argue, I was having this conversation with somebody
the other day, I think Major League is not just
in the conversation for best sports movie of all time.
I think it is. And this you can get very
you can push back very hard on this. I think
it's in the best if we're talking fifteen to twenty.
I don't know how big the number has to be,
(31:34):
but it's in the best comedy conversation That one in
Kingpin I think kind of transcend their genre into I
just love them as movies.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah that's fair. I mean I don't I don't think
of either of those movies as just like a sports movie,
which is saying a lot, you know. So uh yeah,
it's up there, probably with Happy Gilmour in that world too.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Are you a Sandler fan?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
I love Sandler. In fact, I've never like yelled at
an agent my agent before. But I was so mad
to find out that the movie Uncut Gems is like
a fever dream. I would have a movie.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I don't know, that's what this is where I was
going with this go.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Ahead a movie starring Adam Sandler and Kevin Garnett. Like
how did I not know this movie was getting made
into It was in the can Like I was like,
I'll I don't even have to be on camera.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Could do punch up for free, just go stand by us.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
A punch up. I would do craft services. I'd make
sandwiches for people just to be there.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You know.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
I was so mad, Oh my god, yeah I I.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And then you throw ants on the film. I mean
that is uh, that's about as good as I know.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
Yeah, So I do love Adam Sandler. And if they
make a sequel to What a Hustle Uh, that was
the name of it, The the Anthony Edwards One. I am,
I am there, I will I'll do anything.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Or more uncut gems.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
Yeah, it's like uncut uncut, uttered.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Gens, uncut gems to uncutter. Yeah, he is. You know,
he's such a huge basketball fan. I just it's funny
how and I think that's gonna happen with everything you
see it happening with the Office. I'm starting to see
it with It's just really hard to remember what influence
(33:21):
feels like. And it's really fun to see Sandler have
who is not to be corny, but he's in that
category of reason I wanted to do it. You know,
you're we're of the age where Happy Gilmore and Billy
Madison and the wedding singer. You just it's just the silliest,
most fun thing. And I think you forget what, like
(33:41):
how silly it is, like with how movies are made now,
you're like, oh, he just had a culture club dance
scene in the middle and a musical number out of
nowhere with a clown that dies and a penguin.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Well, it's just like they don't make comedies anymore. That's
the that's the bummer is like, you know, especially like
where I'm at in my career, it's just like, yeah,
they it's everything's a comic book movie basically, So like
to get a get a silly comedy made is like
is such a huge win. It's such a triumph. So yeah,
just being able, like he's been able to do that
(34:14):
for what like thirty years now you got to give
it up. And then on top of that, not just
like you know, the movies are very obviously like a
way for he's he's figured out a way to like
get paid to have fun with his friends and exotic locales.
It's crazy. But then you know, his last couple of
specials have been like you're like, oh, this dude's still
(34:36):
like so brilliant at stand up, so good.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
Yeah, you know what, I love watching And we're way
off the topic of vikings, but let's we'll I'll wind
it back.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
It's all the weed. It's someone, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Someone cares about that's right. The Twain Award, Like whenever
somebody gets the Mark Twain. If you ever want to
like remember why and how much you love someone, watch
them receive that prize. It's the greatest the saying the
one was the best I've ever seen. It was so good.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
That's cool.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Have you ever wanted to because you know Sure is
involved with LeBatard and all those guys and that cool universe.
Do you keep your love of sports? I know you
were just talking about desperately wanting to be on uncut Jet,
But do you keep your love of sports over here?
Or does any have you? Do you always find yourself
kind of trying to write something that lands in the vein?
(35:28):
Have you ever crossed across the two over?
Speaker 2 (35:31):
I mean I was doing an experiment last year where
I was doing like an overly complicated live stream on
YouTube where I would have like a comedian friend or two.
We would be live streaming watching a basketball game, but
because we didn't want to get sued for the rights,
the whole joke was that people would have to find
the game themselves and sync it up to our own commentary,
(35:53):
and you know, just too stupid to make it a success.
But it was very fun, and I guess my dream
would be to do something like that. I don't know,
and I think it would work for football too. Definitely
would work for football because there's so much dead air,
so much like Discover But like get comedians to do
play by play just as an option, Like you know,
(36:15):
there's odd like when you are on Netflix, there's multiple
languages do like do Like you know, you have Tony
Romo as one option, then Joe, Mandy and Friends as another.
And it's not like I'm a super expert at basketball,
but I know enough to do that. I'm sure you know,
I'm sure there's you know, I know you had Megan
on last week right like she could do football, like
(36:37):
she could absolutely do you know what I mean. So
it's like I just like I think with technology, it's
certainly an option that should be explored where you could
have different forms of commentary because I would I would
give up my career to do that full time, to
be able to go to basketball games and do like commentary.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
The uh, it's funny. First of all, the people on
you there are people on YouTube who that is they
will during the game, they will live stream. You cannot
watch the football game. You can watch them and it
is it's just no screening. They're like and it's a
run okay, and there is no commentary. There's nothing good
(37:17):
with it. So I think you'd be surprised at how
easy it would be to rise to the top of
that mountain. I think the NBA is a perfect place.
They've always been so progressive and like, let's let blogs in.
Who cares if you show our highlights on social media?
Like there is a universe where I do think it
is hard though, it's like as I learned at ESPN,
(37:40):
and I think a lot of other people when you
bring like traditional like you're a real comic who's been
on the road and written and done the things you've done,
and then you go exist in that world where people
take it like you love it and I love it
and it's fun, but we also can't stray away from
what's the funniest about it. And then you get in
part of this guy goes to make fun of the jazz. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
If you say, if you mentioned certain things about a
player's pass, you could get in trouble or they could
get in trouble. Yeah, so it is like it is.
It is kind of it is kind of dicey, but
that would be great. I would love to figure out
a way to well, I guess I did I I
there's a I worked on the show at the beginning
of the year. That is uh uh Mindy Kaln produced
(38:23):
with is Me by Ike Barnholtz and David Stassen, writing
a show that's loosely based on the owner of the
Los Angeles Lakers, so it's a lot of basketball and yeah,
that comes out on Netflix early next year. It's called
Running Point and uh yeah, Kate Hudson is the star.
So that, like, that was very fun and I was
(38:45):
able to like, it was funny being in a room
where I'm there fundamentally to be a comedy writer. But
there would be sometimes where people were pitching storylines and
I would be like, well, we can't do that because
the salary cap, you know, that's just not realistic. The
team would enter the second April and yeah, yeah, but
I yeah, it was almost like annoying for everyone how
(39:05):
much I knew.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Well, but that is the worst thing in sport. That
is the worst thing in TV. When you see a
guy shoot a jumper and it like You're like, I
don't think that went more than three feet. You know,
you gotta it's nothing shatters the glass quicker than somebody
going it'll be a five team trade and you're like,
that's not a We've never seen one of those before.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You know, ultimately it's an office place comedy, so like
we it was a sort of mandate within the room
to show as little actual basketball as possible because Basketball
fictionalized basketball, and and you know, I guess football is
a little better. I mean, any given Sunday looked good.
I think in retrospect.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
Yeah, the way they can I think, the way they
can chase shots with the action a little bit.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Yeah, and everyone's in pads and you just have to
show people slamming. But like, yeah, there's like, you know,
you can tell pretty quickly if someone's played basketball before,
just by the way they dribble and shoot. You know,
most of the show it was just people in the office,
the front office, just yeah, discussing trades and stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
The one thing that somebody live action thing that somebody
was dumb enough to cast me in was a tennis movie.
And I played tennis in high school. I could really
play tennis. And I don't know that I'm the worst
actor of all time, but you know, for sure, I'm
a bad auditioner.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
And sure, yeah, but easy.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
No, for sure. But part of the audition was you
read the lines and then you go out and you
hit a few balls. On camera and I could really
play tennis. And I think they were having such a
hard time finding a human who could play tennis that
they actually like. They changed a Latin dude to it
(40:44):
was and they named the character for Hayes Davenport. They
switched it to after him. And then I came in
and they were like, man, this guy could play tennis.
And then the first scene they were like.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Oh, no, what have we done? Like, oh, but he can't.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
But they hit I'll tell you what, they hid the
acting and the tennis looks really good. Man.
Speaker 2 (41:04):
You know what that's that's called you you cut together,
That's all that matters. Uh. Yeah. We had a thing
on Parks and rec once where we cast Chris Bosh
to be on the Eagleton basketball team, and he was
so nervous about delivering his line that he would say
his line and then just brick jump shot after jump
(41:26):
and these are like bunnies, These are like eight foot
jump shots that he would make a thousand times out
of a thousand. But he was so nervous about landing
his mark and saying his line that we had to
literally like do a clever editor.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Because Chris Bosh one of the greatest power forwards of
all time couldn't make a jumper.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
So yeah, so you you struck. You have the same
struggle as Chris Bosh.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah. What I've always said is Chris Bosh and I
are very similar.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
We're very in so many ways. Yeah, I was gonna
mention it very similar.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
Thank you. I appreciate you letting it you know, you
letting it trickle out. Just in this late moment in
the show he had that Chris Bosh had that weird,
that weird period where obviously the sad thing happens with
his heart and he's got to leave the league, and
then all of a sudden they were sticking him stuff.
He was in like a kid show, and I remember
being like, and they just introduced him as Chris Bosh
in a fictional world, and I was like, I don't
(42:14):
know that this makes sense, but that is Chris Bosh right.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
There right now. Hero. He rules, He rules. I was
a huge fan of his.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Who is the who is the most fun person in
the sports world that you have crossed with?
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Well, I'm friendly with Blake Griffins. He did a thing
for my first special. So he rules. Uh, Roy Hibbert,
I'm only I feel badly that I'm on this football podcast.
We wrote a thing for Kroll Show years ago that
nom the Awesome Wa ended up doing, and he was
he was great and very funny.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
That's a deep cut, A nom the Awesome Wa cut.
That's a deep cut. Yeah, yeah, it's funny when you
see somebody like Blake Griffin. It's the same thing with
Peyton Manning. You know, we've got a guy in town
here who you know, he just does broadcast and radio
and host like it's he's kind of the Minneapolis version
of oh you got I don't know why I'm explaining
it to you like this. It's Ben Lieber. Liber is
(43:11):
so former linebacker for the Vikings retired. He is so
talented and like in and around media, it's almost infuriat
And that's the thing you always see with Blake Griffin.
You're like, oh, so you just you just were one
of the greatest athletes to ever walk the earth, and
you have this version of comedic timing. It's wild.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
No, it's it's so annoying. It's so annoying.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Uh, dude, I really appreciate this man. Do you have
a We put everybody on the spot. They don't like it.
But okay, the Jacksonville Bortals are playing the Vikings this weekend.
Can I get a prediction from you?
Speaker 2 (43:47):
I think the Vikings will win forty two to three.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
I like forty two to three.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Justin Jefferson will have four touchdowns three hundred yards, four.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
Touch three hundred yards, four touchdowns. The great Joe Mandy, Hey,
thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Man, of course, thank you for having me. This is fun.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Thanks again to Joe Mandy for joining the show, and
thank you for listening to our podcast feed. Hey, while
you're here, make sure to give us a subscribe. Maybe
you give us a comment that helps a review. I
think they're called on podcast apps. Also a huge shout
out to Ticketmaster, the official ticket marketplace of the Minnesota Vikings,
(44:33):
for helping make this show happen. We will see you
all again next week.
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