December 18, 2024 • 52 mins
IFL 2024 season finale!
Richard and Malc after a week off to recoup and recover from their weekend in Vegas for the IFL Championship game and have plenty to talk about.
Plus coach Taylor Genuser of the San Diego Strike Force joins the show to talk about 2025!
Richard and Malc after a week off to recoup and recover from their weekend in Vegas for the IFL Championship game and have plenty to talk about.
Plus coach Taylor Genuser of the San Diego Strike Force joins the show to talk about 2025!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Show.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hello everyone, and welcome once again to the one, the only,
the fan show. I am your host is always the
team man, Richard Teman and the man in the other box.
There's one every season. I taught him fantasy football last year.
Now he thinks he's an expert in the sport. It's
father Malcolm, Malcolm McCoy. Welcome, brother, How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm good man, I'm good man. Good to see you, brother.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
You know I'm a bit of a self proclaiming fantasy
football genius now, so I mean, anybody got questions coming
to me, I'd be glad to help.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
So there it is the ego, already one year's experience
under his belt, and he's.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
Like, I got this, I got this in the bag.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Oh man, I did this is episode four hundred and
ninety nine. It is our I guess you would say
ifl season finale. We're still prepping and planning for episode
five hundred. But I had like a few written down
for what I could have said about malk There was
one where it's like, is a press box coach like
(01:37):
a couch coach, but does it from the press box
yelling at linebackers and the defense.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
All game there's another one that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Never challenged him to and All you can Eat sushi
because he can put sushi away like a mofo. Wow,
that was crazy. There's a story for that one. But
these are all, these are all, these are all true
things that happened. I didn't have to make them up
this time. So but welcome everyone once again to another
great episode. We did take a week off Vegas. Was
(02:12):
a lot to recoup and recover from. Did a lot
of running around. It was one hundred degrees all weekend.
I want to thank once again one more time because
they just can't be thanked enough. But the go fundme donors,
you guys literally got us through the weekend, not only
with the help for our flights and paying for the hotel,
(02:34):
but we spent over one hundred and forty eight dollars
and some change on just ubers and lyfts alone. And
we even walked to and from one of the restaurants
that we ate at, So we spent between two of
us eighty and some change on food, not counting the
bill that Malcolm dropped on All you Can Eat Sushi.
(02:55):
But I mean getting around was just half the battle.
And I've walked, you know, to destinations or locations when
I've done this before, but never in one hundred degree
Vegas heat. It's just if you've got a suit on,
or even you've got your suit is a change of
clothes and it's like over your shoulder.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
But you've got an equipment bag.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Even even a mile in that kind of heat is
just unreasonable. So we chose to get rides there. So
that was a good chunk of the GoFundMe. But thank
you all so much. We made it to and from
the airport, had a great time. Really, the thing came
together better than I could have hoped for, given like
(03:37):
what we were working with. We're talking about me being
two years removed from doing this kind of thing. Malcolm's
never done this kind of thing before, and for me
to have to Frankenstein how to get wireless mikes to
work on a phone, to not have any lighting with
me because I didn't have room for it in my suitcase,
and to find lighting sources unconventionally, whether it was a
(04:00):
window in that ridiculously darkened room for media day or
the light that was up in the press box. I mean,
everything that we did went so incredibly smooth. I don't
even know how to describe it, and and Malcolm was
a natural on the analyst side of things and his
questions and really just his overall manner and demeanor and
(04:23):
just attitude. The way that he presented himself was was
a pure class So so good on you, malk you know,
take a bout.
Speaker 6 (04:30):
Hey, Hey, I appreciate it, man, for sure. I was
kind of nervous to see how I would go about
it myself. But uh, you know what I mean, he
made it. He made it easy for me, man. But
I got to give you a lot of credit. So yeah,
I just was kind of trying to follow your lead,
and uh, you know, you didn't make it too difficult
for me.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So man, yeah, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
When the hardest thing that you have to account for
and adjust too is Malcolm's hair, it really makes your
life easy because Malcolm's already taller than me, not by much,
but like you can angle a camera so that you
guys are reasonably of different heights, you know, are reasonably
in in frame.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
He would put his hair up.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
The dreads on top, and that added like an extra
eight to ten inches and it's like, dude, like, at
a certain point, I'm just gonna cut it off, you know,
in the frame of that was literally the one thing
that we had to accommodate for that was the most difficult.
But no, the question that he asked media day bravely
(05:32):
got up in front of those that may love us
or hate us. That was that was something fun between
Media Day and and Game Day. One, nobody recognizes me
with long hair. That was a crazy experience. And then two,
we had so many people come up to us, stop
(05:52):
us and say hello to us. And it was a
very heartwarming feeling because Media Day that's kind of the
day of like, okay, we're testing waters. Two Rattlers fans
actually came up to us, Gary Royle, who I know,
and then Robert Rhodes was the other one. And it
was really funny because you know, they were just like, so,
(06:13):
what's the deal with the Ratlers fans? And you know,
they were giving us a hard time, And as I
explained it, I said, it's not all of you guys,
it's it's the way that the team came into the
league and the attitude that certain fans have had. And
the second that I dropped the two names that I dropped,
they were like, oh yeah, yeah, no, No, that totally
makes sense.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I get it. It's just like, wow, I was not
expecting that.
Speaker 6 (06:37):
It was definitely play to see that for sure, coming
from the ratless fans, knowing how much you love the
rat list, It's it's always play interacting with fans.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
That was a great time for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But yeah, the two days we saw so many friendly faces.
We got stopped on the concourse, like, look, we weren't
the only media there, but we were the only independent
media there to the capacity that we were. I mean,
so media day we saw a rep I forget his name,
from sports Coast to Coast, which is owned and operated
(07:13):
by the girl I've referred to affectionately as Angie the Expert.
We've we've spoken about her on here. She'll hop in
the chat and she's the expert on everything. She's I've
never come across her at any game or event. She always,
like I guess, sends some rep. So he was their
media day. Never saw him at the game, but then
at the game, didn't see beyond the walls, inside the walls,
(07:38):
any of the walls. People didn't never saw any of them.
And then Shady I don't think was there inside the
arena was there, but it was weird because he was
never up in the press box like we were, and
we were getting stopped along by like everybody on the concourse,
and we saw them just kind of passing by casually.
So clearly we have built a brand and established a
(08:01):
presence that is well known and respected by a majority
of people in the league. I mean, Rob Keith ran
me down in the lobby of the hotel on media
day to shake my hand and say, hey, so happy
you're here. You guys have done great work. And you remember,
I was nervous, like how we were like on terms
with Rob Keith when we had Craig the leg on
early in the season. So between you know, the coaches,
(08:28):
Dixie Wooten hadn't seen him in years. Roberson was the
highlight of the whole game. Oh man, Coach Roberson had
jokes man watching him there at halftime just in pain,
like this is the best that East had to offer.
Like you could just see all the different scenarios playing
through his head of probably every play of the game
between mass and Green Bay, like what could we have
(08:50):
done differently to get here instead? But no, he was hilarious.
He was a class act. Julie Pettitt was there. She
was great. So we just got such a warm welcome
from everybody, and it just really begged the question to me,
after everything was said and done, how is it that
we can be kept out of being like an official
(09:10):
part of the league just because of a few right,
Like it's two people maybe that don't like what we
do for whatever reason, but there's so many that do.
Coaches GMS players.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's baffling. But Malcolm kept his composure, not that he
had to worry about anything, but I did pretty well
through the whole weekend until there was a moment after
the game where Malcolm literally put his hand on my
chest and said, hey, you've gotten this far, like let's
just let's bring it home.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Let's bring it home. So that was really funny.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
But yeah, there was a lot of media not present
there that say that they're as good as we are
or better, and they're not or else they would have
been there. I mean, that's my feeling on it. And
the quality of the content that we put out second
to none. So the weekend was great, the championship not
so great. Fifty three sixteen Arizona Rattlers are champions of
(10:06):
the indoor football world for the seventh time. And man,
they just went out there with a purpose. I mean,
malk you were coaching from the press box, calling out
great plays or missed assignments or not so great plays,
I mean, first or second half. I don't know if
there was anything that you had as a takeaway that
(10:29):
maybe not in that moment, but now that you've had
a week to kind of let it soak in and
marinate that you thought maybe mass was just missing or
that Arizona was just doing that much better.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (10:42):
Yeah, And I mean I have to taking a little
bit of time away from getting some space in between
it looking at it unbiasedly. I think the main two
takeaways that I had or three should I say one?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Arizona just football.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
A lot of times, whether it's indoor or uh, just
football period comes down to whoever can make the least mistakes.
You know, both teams are going to have high points
and low points. It's just about who can minimize the mistakes.
And more often than that, that's a team that's gonna
come out on top. Uh. Fortunately for Arizona that was
(11:19):
them on that that they I can't really think of
too many instances where they did they missed assignments. You know,
of course they had they gave up big plays as
any team would in the championship game, but you know,
they they did a great job of minimizing their mistakes,
being where they needed to be pretty much at all
(11:41):
times and capitalizing on Massachusetts mistakes. I can also say
on the on massive side, they just seem to have
a hard time getting going on both offense and defense.
You know, they're they have that that great running back
and Jimmy Robinson, who you know is total is who
(12:02):
some including ourselves, thought would be the m v P.
You know, a thousand yard rusher, a big time player,
making big time plays pretty much all season. He just
couldn't seem to get get fine traction that that day.
And it was it was it was kind of surprising
to see, you know, we really hadn't seen him stifled like.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
That to that point.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
And you know, like I said, Arizona did a great
job of keeping him contained and uh to to masses misfortune,
that was just that was just something that you know
resulted in in some some negative plays, but them also
on defense, man, you know, like you said, I was,
(12:45):
I was screaming.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
At the back is all game.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Man.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
It's hard for me to not look.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
At games from a defensive perspective being a defensive player myself.
And one thing I can see after watching the game
live and then going back to watching a lot of miscues, man,
a lot of missus signmons, you know, the linebacker, and
no disrespecting him.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
He is either great player.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
I know he had some time in the NFL and everything,
but just didn't look like they were playing with the
same passion that Arizona played with. You know, it didn't
really seem to have a sense of urgency up until
the last quarter. And that's unfortunate because you know, with
the game like that, against a team that's coming out
hot and they know what they're working for, you have
(13:27):
to you have to meet them head on. You have
to beat the hammer instead of the nail, and they
were certainly the nail in that instance.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, and we talked about it during that game. Benefield
uncharacteristically off right. I mean, there was I think probably
of the five picks he threw, two or three shouldn't
have been. I mean, he had receivers that had their
guy beat. I mean, if he connects with them their
touchdowns easy, and they turned into picks. And the reason
(13:55):
they turned into picks is because he overthrew and floated
those things so much that the the safety or the
dB from the other side of the field had the
chance to come over and adjust and get it. And
it's just like normally you don't have that kind of
time as a dB on the short field, especially, so
that was weird. Jimmy Robinson never got going. In fact,
(14:16):
you know, I'm not one to get superstitious. I'm a
little stitious, but that fumble, you know, at the very
beginning for Robinson, which was so uncharacteristic of him. Really,
I just don't know if that's something that because it's
a championship game, if that and missed passes or tipped
(14:36):
balls or whatever just starts to really get in your
head and manifest early, and it's hard to shake. But
the whole Mass team, I mean, we had seen them
plow through teams to get to that game, and this
was just one where they were getting plowed by a
team who was very well prepared. But they almost didn't
even need to be as prepared as they were because
(14:58):
they just they had it go. They probably could have
had a few turnovers themselves and still been just fine.
I mean, that's just how ridiculously one sided it was.
But everything that Malcolm I mentioned in the pregame happened.
We talked about, you know, what would what kind of
role would field position play, and both teams had to
go to the length of the field because Arizona's kicker
(15:20):
kept pinning Mass so deep. I mean, the first point
of the game was that rouge because they couldn't bring
it out of the end zone, and that's just great kicking.
And then Arizona had to go to the length of
the field because of a fumble by Robinson at like
the one. So it was just taking opportunities and making
the most of them and finishing off drives, and Mass
(15:44):
just wasn't able to do that in the first half
of the game, which really hurt them. And then there
was the turnover, which we mentioned. You know, like, how
how perfect can these two teams be against each other?
Will it come down to who makes the only mistake
of the gamer, who makes the most and then those
special teams points early it kind of seemed like that
(16:04):
could be a factor the rouge, but then obviously you
look at the final score and they're like, okay, that
was one point of the fifty three that they scored
to their sixteen. But still, I mean, what we talked
about in the pre game, we had that game pretty
well pegged as far as things to look for, and
then the second half was just kind of you were
sitting back being like, all right, is Man's going to
do something? So you want championship games to be closer.
(16:28):
Obviously there's going to be ones like this, seeing a
few Super Bowls like this, but you know, still can't
take anything away from either team that got to the
championship when there's fourteen other teams that didn't so.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Good on them.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
You know, mass I think has got something that they
can work with. I'm curious to see just what changes happened.
There was the joke going around that Rod Miller was
going to be the first coach to go to a
championship and get fired after the outcome. Haven't seen anything
of that, however. In IFL news, there are a few things.
Congratulations to Dixie Wooden, one of our favorite coaches. He
(17:04):
is the official head coach of Fisher's Freight, so he
will be their first head coach in franchise history. I mean,
they they are already making smart moves in Indiana. I mean,
that is a really good get for them. As far
as head coach, I was wondering how long he would
be a coordinator because I just believe that once you're
(17:27):
a head coach and you and you win it all
like you've you've got the stuff, you know. But Keif
and Dixie made it work. On that note, Keith is
returning as the head coach for Bay Area, but I'm
sure that they're happy to have Dixie in the other conference,
as are so many West Conference teams happy to get
Dixie out of there and be somebody else's problem. The
(17:51):
Dakota Bucks got brought up on media Day and they
seem to be the big question mark going into the
off season. And this was something when they played that
indoor Invitational or something in Fargo that I thought it
was a done deal and that was just a formality,
but apparently not. And then we did hear that Fishers
would announce there their head coach. They did, but also
(18:13):
that the AFL apparently wanted to just outright join the IFL,
and there were several that said, nope, not going to happen.
We want to vet you one at a time, because
apparently if it's a merger, then everybody comes across as
a package deal. But if you say no and you
vet them, you have a chance to go over their
finances and all that one by one. And that's smart,
(18:35):
by the IFL I mean, you know, it's very, very smart.
So that was one of the rumors that we heard.
Another one is that the league has a eighteen team
deal with Adidas for uniforms next year. Seventeen of those
spots are claimed. With the addition of Fisher's being what
looks like more and more official by the day.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
But if Dakota is your big question.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Mark, you kind of wonder, okay, if we needed a
filler last minute, like who do you call? I would
think Billions maybe would be a phone call that you make.
Geographically they're the better fit. I know that Albany would
help out Mass and Jack's a little but still like
you've you've got to bring I think two to three
teams over on the East Coast for it to makes sense.
(19:21):
I don't think you can add them one by one.
But that's just me. Mass had the finances to maroon
themselves on an island basically and make it work. And
I don't know if these other teams do that are on.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
The East Coast.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
So that's a few things to keep an eye on
this offseason, which should be another exciting one. I'm curious
to see just how everything plays out, where coaches go,
who's who's leaving, things of that nature. But oh man,
the awards, those were those were fun, Malcolm. I got
like one right, it was Sam Castronova as Offensive Player
(19:57):
of the Year. Somehow San Dieg did not get broadcasts
of the year, NAS did And I posted on the
fan shows Facebook page my unhappiness with this result and
last night, so we're talking like over a week removed
from that post from that game, from the season ending,
and there's a Rattlers fan trying to troll saying, well,
(20:21):
it was a Rattler's announcer that was on commentary, So
what do you mean they brought in the Strikeforce team
to do the broadcast. I'm like, Okay, who's gonna tell him?
And I was like, I guess I have to. The
broadcast team is not just limited to play by play
and color commentator. And Malk was there when the conversation
(20:44):
was had. The Strike Force's whole production crew, from the
camera operators to the studio technicians to the producers got
brought in for this game. In fact, we were watching,
I was hoping, you know, that he was gonna maybe
get run over on a play that the guy with
the hip that does the cool angle where he comes
in behind the quarterback in the huddle. He was on
the field the whole damn game, and I was like,
(21:06):
this dude's.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Gonna get run over.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Man.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So it's just like, I don't know why this guy
continues to try to troll the page, but he does
from time to time. But it's just like you got
to read beyond the headline and do a little homework.
But it's it's whatever. It's the off season and they're
already starting, so.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
It's just.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's why today's fit is brought to you by forty
nine er season. We're officially there, Brock Purty days away
from kickoff. A hat that I had to have in
Vegas because I was able to stay away from the
damn Lego store but I couldn't reason lids and I
needed a new cap for this. And then we're also
drinking Ace pineapple beer because why not. It's episode four
(21:50):
ninety nine and we've done We've done our duty for
the season, So cheers, folks.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
I would have joined you and grabbed a no but yeah, the.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Mug that says not beer on.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
It around But yeah, man, I'm taking a shot with
you experience.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, we we got through it, man. We there were
some challenges and hiccups. Obviously that was gonna be the
case coming back after two years, removed, Malcolm never doing this,
didn't even know what he was doing until I think
five episodes in, and then we just kind of rolled
with it. But like I said, the weekend was great.
(22:34):
I had a great time in Vegas. I felt so
bad from malc because it's like, we're in Vegas, but
we didn't get a chance to like see Vegas. So
I cut him loose, you know, once I left for
my for my flight and we did get to see
some of the strip. White Castle was terrible, Like I
could have lived the rest of my life without ever
having White Castle. But in and out it was delicious.
(22:56):
Is always that sushi spot was was on point. So yeah,
we should have tried Scrambled, but I'm not gonna wait
forty five minutes for bacon and eggs. It's just not
It's not Mother's Day. Come on, this is an I hoop.
So overall, a great weekend. Congrats again to Dixie and
(23:16):
Rob Keith and just everybody that is looking to reload
or in Dixie's case, I don't know, rebuild or just
build from scratch something great in Fishers And that will
be a nice little segue into our special guest, who's
very excited about the twenty twenty five season, has all
the reason to be, especially with a team like the
(23:38):
San Diego strike Force. That's right, folks, fresh off a
great season to say the very least. Unfortunately it did
not end with a trip to the championship, but goals
for next year.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Am I right?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
We've got the head coach of the San Diego strike Force,
Taylor Jenniser, and coach, how you doing, man.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
I'm doing well. How are you guys doing today?
Speaker 5 (24:00):
We're doing well.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Now that we've had a week to recoup and recover,
Vegas takes it out of you, man. I mean, I'm
sure you probably know that all too well, being a
coach in the league and just that whole weekend, but
you know the obvious question for you coming off that
weekend is what did you think of the championship, because
there's a lot of opinions. I know there were some
(24:23):
teams in the East and not that you guys were
in the East that were just like, is this the
best the East really had to offer? You know, everybody
could have done better right in that situation, you.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
Know, I think it was.
Speaker 8 (24:36):
It was one of those things where like Arizona just
got hot, like they went on a streak and got
hot late. Similar to baseball, when you're hitting at the
end of the season, you're probably gonna go win it all,
and when your pitching's doing well, you're probably gonna go
win it all, regardless of what your record says earlier
in the year. And that's kind of how Arizona was
all year. You know, they went through some things early
(24:57):
in the year injury wise, and you know, dropping it,
you know, certain games that I know they didn't want
to drop, but they were able to find a way
to get hot and go on that run. And then
the East obviously I felt like mass lost some games
that they shouldn't have lost, and they were able to
go on a run and and and do what they
did and have to win some games on the road.
(25:18):
But you know, it just came down to it. Arizona
just seemed like they were more in sync than Mass
and they were ready to go. They were fired up,
ready to play, and you know what, It's just it
kind of played out how I expected it to. Not
to take anything away from Mass. It's just seeing Arizona
three times and being in the West and and and
(25:41):
seeing them every week because I'm game planning against teams
that they play, I just had a feeling that Arizona
was gonna be the team that would win.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
You know, me and malk are watching, of course, Malex
yelling at the linebacker because he has won, you know,
saying what they could do or didn't do or whatnot.
And you know, I'm just observing from kind of a
third party perspective, and it just really seemed like I
didn't expect Arizona to like out physical Mass, but they did.
And then to get Benefield so off his game was
(26:12):
just a very rare thing. But uh, you know, that's
that's the beauty of indoor football. In the championship game,
you want it to be a close one. You know,
the two teams to both best represent their respected conferences.
But sometimes like this is this is just the result
in what you get.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Malk.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I know that you love it when we have a
coach on here because it's you know, a rare occasion.
But as a player, you've got some brains to pick,
so the coach is all yours.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
Yeah for sure, man, Like we said, coach, definitely glad
to have you on here. Oh and congratulations again on
It's such a great season man, you guys will be
put it together, so.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
I appreciate it. I'm happy to be on here with
you guys. Do you mind me asking you a question
before you ask me any Malcolm?
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Yeah? Sure? What's going on?
Speaker 7 (26:59):
What you got going on your hand over there?
Speaker 6 (27:01):
Oh yeah, I mean just to kind of uh play
into the championship season and festivities.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
I put on the couple myself.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
This one is from college, and this one was when
I played in the Omaha, so you know, uh.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Definitely no stranger to that championship.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Like man, definitely like the you know, flash of jewelry
right now and then there you go.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
I got my high school season right now, I'm coaching,
so so sitting in front of me where I game plan.
Speaker 7 (27:27):
I got my little mini helmet, yes.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
Uh, and then you know, I gotta I gotta keep
this just to keep my you know, my eyes on it.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
So I'm like, you know what, I got mine in
front of me. I was like, I better ask Malcolm
what he got going on.
Speaker 6 (27:40):
You know, it just srinds what you're working for for sure, man,
but uh.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
For you just kind of uh want to want to
get your take on it a bit.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
We spoke a lot about it when we were at
the game, but uh, you know, with this being the
third year that the Championship was held in Vegas, and
you know, just uh seeing how the league itself is
just kind of singing to catch fire with social media
and you're seeing like Sports Center Top ten plays on
there and all that kind of stuff. How do you
(28:10):
feel about the direction that the league is going in.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
I love it.
Speaker 8 (28:16):
I really feel like social media has helped kind of
improve our game when it comes to viewers, and even
if they're not watching games, they're seeing us trending.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
On social media and all that.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
So I definitely love the trajectory of it, and I
love that we have people in the league who are
willing to use those platforms.
Speaker 7 (28:37):
So, you know, this was kind of fun.
Speaker 8 (28:40):
I had a cousin in town for one of our games,
and usually after the games, I just go home and
kind of watch it on the on the on the
live stream after, but you know, we had an earlier game,
so I went and had dinner at my cousin and
I go look up and I see ESPN and I
see Jordan Cress one handed catch that yeah, was was
an hour and a half ago. And I'm like, we
(29:01):
just made Sports Center and I facetimes. I'm like, Chris,
did you see this? He's like, yeah, I'm phone blowing
up right now. Like so, so it's just cool that,
you know, the Strikeforce are in a situation in the IFL,
in a situation where we are nationally recognized.
Speaker 7 (29:14):
Yes we are a national.
Speaker 8 (29:15):
League, but that doesn't always mean that we're gonna have
national coverage. And we're starting to get it, you know,
with us having the championship game on CBS Sports, that's huge.
But yeah, I definitely love the way it's trending. And
also with with with Todd bringing kind of you know,
the gambling aspect to it, I feel like more people
are are interested, you know, being able to oh, these
(29:38):
are the lines. So with them having to understand the lines,
they got to understand the rosters and the matchups and
all that.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
So to me, that.
Speaker 8 (29:45):
Makes these these gamblers a little more invested in let's
watch the ifl Oh.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Speaker 6 (29:51):
I can definitely say from my perspective, I got a
few friends who are big in a fan duel and
DraftKings and stuff. They tuned in this past season just
to you know, play some bets and make parlays and
all that stuff, and it's really cool to see how
it's just kind of gaining tracks on so many different
platforms and stuff. It's super cool. Like you said, I
(30:13):
do have one more question for you to coach kind
Rich kind of touched on it earlier. How when I
was we were watching the game. For me, you know,
it's definitely hard. I told myself beforehand coming in, I'm
gonna sit back, I'm going to enjoy this game as
a fan, But I mean, once the past started clicking
and clacking and stuff, it's hard to just kind of
sit back and not review it from a player standpoint.
(30:36):
I want to know how it was for you, Like
were you able to kind of like were you able
to sit back and enjoy it as a spectator, or
did you find yourself in coach mode and trying to,
you know, pseudo coach the players as the game was
going on.
Speaker 8 (30:51):
For me, it was it was different than than I've
experienced as we were one game away, so it's hard
for me to just get over that and that shorter period. So, like,
my biggest thing was I was acknowledging that if we
would have prepared better, we would have played better.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
This could have been us, and I'm not living in it.
Should have, would have, could have.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
But my biggest thing is since we were right there,
it's just let's reflect on what we could.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Have done differently.
Speaker 8 (31:19):
Not all could be in this game. We're better than them. No,
it had nothing to do with that. It's what could
we have done and what can we do to move forward.
So to say it was emotional, I'm not going to
say that. It was just it was a wake up
call that you know, we were right there and our
goal is to win one more game than we won
this year and get to that point. But you know,
(31:39):
when the game started, I was able to kind of
settle and have a little fun be a fan. Of course,
there was one player that I'm screaming.
Speaker 7 (31:47):
Challenge and challenge and challenge.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
I won't get then.
Speaker 8 (31:52):
And it's funny because I'm in the I'm in one
of the suites with some of the owners and coaches
and of course Tom Ahead officials like dang it, Tom,
we need to and we're talking rules and all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 7 (32:04):
So I ended up having a little more fun once
the game got rolling a little bit.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
So, Man, that's really cool. That's all I got for you,
coach Man, I have appreciation. Man, Rich, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Well, I was gonna let him know that malcol and
I actually have matching rings from that Omaha season. Mine's
in my suitcase still. I haven't untacked everything just yet.
But anyway, you talked about, you know, the direction that
the league is going in. I do like, you know,
I'm not like a huge gambler myself, but I do
like that kind of being pushed more because it means
(32:37):
that the league is going to have to address certain
like you know, uh leaks, I guess, or holes in
its current format and league. And what I mean is
is that when I watch a game and I tune in,
you know, I'm watching and watching I'm like, oh, I'm
excited to see this player play, but then they're not
suited up and I didn't even know. And you're missing, well,
the transaction page wasn't it's working functional for a long time.
(33:02):
But also you're missing like those sideline reporters that have
like the updates before kickoff, like this person suited up,
or the NFL has like the Fantasy's stardom and sidham
because this guy's playing or this guy's not. And I
feel like once the IFL has a grasp on those
finer details, it'll really be something. But those are just
a few things that I'm glad that you know that
(33:23):
that's the direction and potential that the league has. And
as long as they kind of, you know, address those
little things, I think it could really be something. But
for you guys in San Diego, you're now the only
professional football team in the area. You guys have a
great logo, Your broadcast is second to none. I don't
care what the awards say. You guys are like watching
a professional grade NFL broadcast on primetime and you have
(33:46):
stars like Nate Davis, Arthur Jackson, the third I mean
for you as a coach, that's a pretty good setup.
So one, how have you liked being the head coach
of the Strike Force and what can fans kind of
get excited for come twenty twenty five.
Speaker 8 (34:00):
You know, obviously I have a lot of love for
the IFL because I was able to play in the
IFL and you know when I when I put that
barnstormmer logo on, specifically in the IFL, I took complete
pride in that brand. And the IFL was a league
that I saw players got a lot of opportunities to
move up from and a player like myself where I
(34:20):
got hurt in college and I just still wanted to
play pro ball. The IFL was a platform for me
to play professional football.
Speaker 7 (34:26):
So I've always had a lot of love.
Speaker 8 (34:28):
For the IFL, And you know, when I got the
chance to come out here to San Diego, my biggest
thing is what can I do to to make this
city proud? And what can I do to make the
IFL proum And that's the biggest thing here is kind
of trying to build a culture within our city. Who
you know, they had they had an AF two team
way back in the day, the rib Tide, but they
(34:50):
haven't had indoor or arena football for a long long time,
so this is brand new to a lot of people
in this city. So we're just trying to bring awareness
that we have a fun product that's not in the
NFL season going on, and we actually have a pretty
decent team now too, so come check us out. So
you know, high school football is huge here.
Speaker 7 (35:10):
It's massive.
Speaker 8 (35:11):
I love coaching high school football, and I really feel
like we've gotten a lot of those fans that are
invested in high school football and youth football here turning
into strikeforse fans. And it's been fun seeing us grow
obviously on the field, but off the field too and
seeing consistent fans season ticket holders.
Speaker 7 (35:31):
You know, we're coaching.
Speaker 8 (35:33):
Games and we're seeing fans that we saw the week
before in the same seats because they're coming back and
all that kind of stuff. So I love being a
representative of football in San Diego, So I take complete
pride in it. I'm not from here, but to me,
this is home and I absolutely love love this place.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
That's good to hear man. I mean, I think San
Diego is a great spot. I haven't been there much
a couple of times, just kind of passing through, but
you know, it's that spring and summer football. You can
either be out on a beach in like, you know,
ninety five degree heater. You can be in an arena enjoying,
you know, a live sport. So to me, that kind
(36:11):
of sells itself. But there's a lot to do in
San Diego, just like there is Phoenix and the Rattlers
seem to have cracked the code there because you were
in Iowa and that's where people think, well, you know,
there's nothing else to do but go to a Barnstormer game.
And so there's kind of been the back and forth,
a little bit of fifty to fifty is to what
really you know, which markets really thrive with indoor product,
(36:32):
and apparently they both do. You just got to figure
it out. So for you guys, a San Diego great setup.
Last question for you, and now that it's the off season,
obviously it's a time to kind of relax. You have
another job to get to to bridge the gap. But
we are starting to see player signings things like that,
players coming back. So for you coming off the season
that you guys just had, is is your number one
(36:53):
priority to get Nate Davis back or is it to
look at Okay, so what were our weak spots? Like
how did we lose the games that we were in close?
And how can I fix those? And just kind of
hope that Nate is the kind of guy that wants
to be part of a team that has a chance
to be very successful in the future, like you guys
obviously look to.
Speaker 8 (37:12):
Be, you know, and I think I think even Nate
would agree with that. I'm going to say, to say
that Nate is the number one priority this offseason is
kind of unfair to our organization, but getting Nate re
signed is definitely it is a level.
Speaker 7 (37:27):
Of importance that we would like to make happen. You know.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
If if he does want to sign back, of course,
we may have other players signed before him. I'm not
saying quarterbacks, but we're we're trying to sign our team,
and if Nate wants to to run it back with us,
you know, we got a joke we you know, we
got to run it up and then run it back.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
When Nate sees this, he's gonna know what we're talking about.
That's kind of.
Speaker 8 (37:48):
Sentimental to us in this locker room, and that may
get exposed after this interview.
Speaker 7 (37:52):
So I hope it does, but I'm.
Speaker 8 (37:55):
Hoping Nate wants to run it back with us and
that and that you know, we can get one game
further than we were this year and hopefully win that one.
Speaker 5 (38:04):
Yeah, San Diego was very excited to see your guys' success.
I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Photographer David really well, he's he loves your guys' product
down there.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Nate Davis. I love watching him play.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
He was a former Niner, so naturally that's that's close
to me and my fandom. But yeah, a lot of
exciting things for San Diego and a lot of other
teams around the league. Vegas had a great season, so
you know, I think we saw a rematch for the
first time in a long time this year. But now
I think there could be a lot of doors starting
to open for the league as a whole, and you're
going to be a part of that, and so will
your strike force. But coach, we're very excited for next year.
(38:39):
If you need a linebacker, if you need any help there.
Malk Is on the mend. He's he's currently training. I
think he's pulling like like you know, little trailers, you know,
little wagons of little Kid's not quite sleds yet, but
you know, you know, a little little tricycles or something
on his lawn. However, they do it to get yourself
(39:00):
actually worked up. But that's that's where he comes in
as far as getting ready for the next opportunity. But
thank you so much for taking the time to meet
with us. It was great to talk to you at
the game. You're a real character. We love that about
coaches in any league, especially the IFL. But it's been
great to actually sit down and talk with you.
Speaker 7 (39:19):
Absolutely, I appreciate you guys. You guys do a great job.
Speaker 8 (39:23):
I must ask you, Okay, are you a Bay Area
Panther fan?
Speaker 7 (39:26):
If you're a forty nine er fan, is that your team?
Speaker 2 (39:29):
No, No, I don't really have an IFL dog in
the fight, except for like when I started, I was
covering the Spokane Empire exclusively, and obviously Spokane because that's
where I'm from, doesn't have a team anymore. So you know,
there was a lot of connection to some of the ogs.
You know, I got people in Iowa Green Bay because
(39:49):
they welcomed me, you know when I first went out
and did tours and stuff, So there's some connection there.
But I just love a good quality product. I love
a good team. Your guys' logo is awesome, so I mean,
there's that. But you guys were really fun to watch.
But yeah, you know, being from the Pacific Northwest, forty
nine ers are the only out of state team that
I cheer for. There's a whole story to it, but
(40:11):
that's for another episode. But yeah, don't worry. I'm not
loyal to to Bay Area or anybody in the league.
There's teams I'm just not loyal to. As Malcolm knows, I.
Speaker 7 (40:22):
Just don't want to be on that list. That's all.
Speaker 5 (40:24):
No, it's all good.
Speaker 7 (40:26):
I appreciate you guys.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Yeah, well, hey, good luck this offseason. There's already been
some shakeups. Dixie is going to be head coach again,
but at least he's out of your guys' conference, which
I'm sure makes a lot of people in the West
very happy. But you guys have a very bright future.
Very excited to see what happens with the Strikeforce in
San Diego. So one more time. He is the head
(40:47):
coach of the very talented, very high potent San Diego Strikeforce.
Taylor Jenniser and we look forward to seeing what you
guys do next year. Man, take care and enjoy your
off season. I'd say your summer. You know, same thing.
Speaker 7 (41:02):
Thank you, guys, I appreciate it all right.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
And one more big thank you to coach Taylor Jenniser.
We had to ask for the official pronunciation of that,
but exciting stuff. I love that he's excited about the.
Speaker 5 (41:17):
Future of the league and everything.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Like I said, if they just tighten up a few
of those little things, I would love to see more
sideline reporters with like pregame information, who's in, who's out why,
because it seems like sometimes players just disappear. They go
to the CFL tryouts, NFL camps, whatever, and nobody knows.
And if you're gonna gamble that stuff, you need to know,
is the starting quarterback actually there.
Speaker 5 (41:41):
At that game?
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Right? All right? That's a little important, definitely a little important.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
So we don't have a game to pick.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
I think what we will do is still tossing around
ideas for episode five hundred, But Dan Jay and I's
ten year wedding anniversary is Kickoff weekend. We got married
on Kickoff Sunday Sunday. For those of you looking to
get married or didn't know Sundays are significantly cheaper than
(42:11):
Fridays or Saturdays to get married, so why not just
have people take Monday off instead of.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
The Friday before.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
So we got married, kickoff Sunday NFL themed wedding from
our cake to everybody wearing jerseys and stuff. It was
a great time. So ten years this coming September seventh
and forty nine, ers kick things off Monday Night football,
So I think we'll look at that week. What would
(42:42):
be fun for me and Mouth to do is an
overreaction from week one, just because those are always fun
to do week one, like our biggest overreactions if the
Chiefs lose, Oh the dynasty's over, you know, stuff like that,
which it never is, unfortunately. I know it's always too
good to be try when they struggle out the gate.
(43:03):
But I will ask Malc this, you know, looking back
at this and everything I know, obviously you were recovering
from an injury. Still, are you're gonna start pulling like
you know, power wheels or whatever you guys do when
you're just getting into the groove of things. But you
missed that aspect of the game. But what was your
(43:25):
favorite thing or like the biggest learning curve. Maybe Oh
damn that you had doing this with me for this season.
Speaker 6 (43:35):
Man, that's a great question, Rich. Uh, just just a clarity.
My rehab consists of pulling razor scooters. So I'm coming
along pretty well with it.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
You know. I've worked my way up to two. So
we're making some program.
Speaker 5 (43:55):
But that was good. O.
Speaker 6 (43:57):
No, So I would say, first off, I mean, nobody
plans to get injured.
Speaker 5 (44:02):
You know.
Speaker 6 (44:02):
It's it's never anything that that you you look forward
to or kind.
Speaker 3 (44:07):
Of you know, uh look at fondly.
Speaker 6 (44:11):
You know, it's always a tragedy when you when you
get injured, flurry of emotions just go through your head.
Speaker 5 (44:17):
You know.
Speaker 6 (44:18):
Uh, whether it's like rehab or like you know, will
I come back as good as I was?
Speaker 3 (44:25):
Where do I stand in the eyes of other teams?
Things like that. I mean, it's it's tough, it really is.
Speaker 6 (44:32):
I want to I want to just speak to anyone
who has gone through injury or is currently going through
any kind of injury or something like that. My biggest
advice would be just to stay the course. You know,
you gotta trust the process. Keep those those negative influences
and thoughts away because they will come you just gotta
(44:53):
kind of tune it out and keep those positive influence close,
whether that be you know, your fan base, your fan family,
friends and family that are keeping you up in hath spirits, because,
believe it or not, that will help you power through
the process when it's getting a little bleak. But I'm
(45:14):
I'm I'm not going to say I'm happy it happened,
but I am certainly happy that I kind of had
a chance to step away from the sport a little bit.
I mean, I've been you know, training almost nonstops ever
since my rookie year in twenty twenty one, and you know,
being able to step away and kind of focus on
other things like the podcast, it just gave me a
chance to kind of explore the passions. You know, I
(45:37):
learned a lot about myself in this year's time, really
found a lot of things that I'm that I didn't know,
that I'm passionate about it and that I like and
that I'm good at. But also had a chance to
rediscover some things that I put away and put on
the back burner for a long time.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
So, you know, I'm very fortunate for that aspect.
Speaker 6 (46:00):
When it comes to, you know, sharing this experience with
you and being invited onto the fans.
Speaker 3 (46:06):
So I mean, I can't. I can't be grateful enough.
Speaker 6 (46:08):
Because, like I said to you through text, this is
something that I didn't expect that I would, you know,
find find a passionate. But now I kind of see
this as something that I more than likely can get
into and actually dive into wholeheartedly once I finally decide
to hang in the lese up.
Speaker 5 (46:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Man, Like I said, you were natural at it. Just
the way that you carry and compose yourself. Sometimes that's
very hard to find as somebody who's like is grounded.
But I think what helps is when they experience it
firsthand and realized that it's not like as easy as
people think that it is. Like there was like Malc
(46:52):
got there with just a carry on bag.
Speaker 5 (46:54):
I've got a full on suitcase.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Half of it with you know, my casual stuff socks, underwear,
T shirts, and not the other half with my suit
and equipment. Every time we were prepping to go somewhere,
Malcs just like looking over at my stuff.
Speaker 3 (47:07):
Like what.
Speaker 6 (47:10):
It's not until I saw you lay out everything on
the bed, I was like, okay, yeah, I definitely under back.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
Nearly enough stuff.
Speaker 6 (47:18):
But yeah, man, it's like you said, it's definitely not
as easy as a lot of people would like to think.
It's not just simply walking out and just you know, talking,
It's a lot of prep that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Man. It just helped me find a whole new respect
for what you do.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
Yeah, it was good to get back in the kind
of swing of things, I guess, if you want to
call it that. But I always get place as early
as I can to try to scout them to see
what I'm dealing with.
Speaker 5 (47:44):
And now I can realize that.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
At media Day, we get into this darkened like it
was a restaurant, clearly with a stage, and I'm like,
I'm gonna hate myself for not bringing my studio lights.
But I was like, I didn't have any room for them,
Like there was no room and in my suitcase for
stuff not that would have it would have put it
over the weight limit. And you don't want to pay
one hundred bucks just to bring two lights. And so
(48:08):
I'm looking around, looking around, and Malcolm's like, you looking
for who you want to talk to. I was like, no,
I need I need a spot to do this, and
you kind of like okay, and so I said meet
me over by the window. Everybody that got over there
was just like WHOA, Like yeah, I can I can see.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Like, you gotta work with what you got. If if
life deals you lemons, you got to try to make
lemonade out of it and hope that there's a little
vodka to mix in there and make it better. So
so that is the twenty twenty four IFL season. We
will keep you guys posted on episode five hundred. Keep
(48:45):
those ideas coming because we want to make it a
big thing. I will put it out there right now
that if you want to be a part of it,
but maybe can't devote time and energy to like I
don't know, being being a guest. If we invited you
or whatever, everybody that's ever been part of the show
on it, either as a guest or if they were
a player of the game that I interviewed, You're welcome
to do a video shout out experience, favorite memory, funniest
(49:11):
moment like whatever from the fanchhow you know that you
can recall and then send it and we can put that,
we can include that in the episode. So that's one
thing that we're gonna do. But other than that, man,
I'm just ready to relax enjoy football that I think
I know a lot about, but there's obviously experts that
know much more than I do. Instead of having to
(49:33):
be the resident analyst and expert for.
Speaker 5 (49:36):
A league like the in our Football league.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
And then of course you get to go back to
training and rehabing. But there are some punishments that I
still have to own up to, one that I did
figure out today how to accomplish. So there will still
be plenty of content on the Instagram and on the
social channels. There's going to be all the news that
comes out for staff changes, head coaching, hiring and firing,
(50:01):
player signings, which has already started for the Jacksonville Sharks.
They've announced a few, so there's plenty of stuff to
go around. MALC and I will probably check in whenever
we feel necessary. Apparently the AFL has some big announcement
that they're gonna do the first week of September. I
don't know what that means. Maybe they just come out
and say IFEL decided no, I don't blame them.
Speaker 5 (50:24):
So we'll see.
Speaker 2 (50:26):
But as you guys have clearly seen, if there wasn't
if there was any sort of uncertainty before this weekend
should have been proof that nobody can do this like
the Fan Show. The brand that has been built from
the ground up specifically catered to indoor football, and to
have Malk along with me to just really round out
the whole thing and bring it all together was fantastic.
(50:49):
So hopefully it's the preview of things to come. We
have big plans for next season, which is the tenth
anniversary of the show. We'll see if we can make
that happen. But it's a long offseason, so Malc, I'm
gonna let you get back to relaxing and uh, he's
gonna breathe a side of relief that there's no more
(51:09):
punishments for a while, I got to think of new ones,
more creative ones. But we had a great time. Thank
you again to our donors. Thank you again for the fans. Really,
that's that's one last shout out to give to the
Gary Royals and to the the Robert Rhodeses that we
didn't know were fans of our stuff. That if still
that We're so happy to see us to see the
(51:31):
Fan Show brand be there like it was meant to be.
It was so great Rob Keith coming up to us
and seeing Hassan and Juwad you know, be happy for
us to be there ty night, giving us some time.
So it was overall it was a great weekend. I
avoided the people I didn't want to talk to. Things
(51:52):
went fine. Uh there were no punches thrown, so we
just went. We did our job, great content, great time,
and uh that means that until next time we will
be in touch, so to speak. But Malk, you have
a great night, and I'm gonna go and get to
editing on this. But once again, this has been the
(52:12):
Fan Show, Episode four hundred and ninety nine, our final
thoughts on the twenty twenty four IFL Championship and our
thank you to everyone who made that weekend awesome and possible.
So for Father Malk, Malcolm McCoy, I am once again
and always the team man. Richard Teaman, we will see
you next time.
Show.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hello everyone, and welcome once again to the one, the only,
the fan show. I am your host is always the
team man, Richard Teman and the man in the other box.
There's one every season. I taught him fantasy football last year.
Now he thinks he's an expert in the sport. It's
father Malcolm, Malcolm McCoy. Welcome, brother, How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm good man, I'm good man. Good to see you, brother.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
You know I'm a bit of a self proclaiming fantasy
football genius now, so I mean, anybody got questions coming
to me, I'd be glad to help.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
So there it is the ego, already one year's experience
under his belt, and he's.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
Like, I got this, I got this in the bag.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Oh man, I did this is episode four hundred and
ninety nine. It is our I guess you would say
ifl season finale. We're still prepping and planning for episode
five hundred. But I had like a few written down
for what I could have said about malk There was
one where it's like, is a press box coach like
(01:37):
a couch coach, but does it from the press box
yelling at linebackers and the defense.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
All game there's another one that.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Never challenged him to and All you can Eat sushi
because he can put sushi away like a mofo. Wow,
that was crazy. There's a story for that one. But
these are all, these are all, these are all true
things that happened. I didn't have to make them up
this time. So but welcome everyone once again to another
great episode. We did take a week off Vegas. Was
(02:12):
a lot to recoup and recover from. Did a lot
of running around. It was one hundred degrees all weekend.
I want to thank once again one more time because
they just can't be thanked enough. But the go fundme donors,
you guys literally got us through the weekend, not only
with the help for our flights and paying for the hotel,
(02:34):
but we spent over one hundred and forty eight dollars
and some change on just ubers and lyfts alone. And
we even walked to and from one of the restaurants
that we ate at, So we spent between two of
us eighty and some change on food, not counting the
bill that Malcolm dropped on All you Can Eat Sushi.
(02:55):
But I mean getting around was just half the battle.
And I've walked, you know, to destinations or locations when
I've done this before, but never in one hundred degree
Vegas heat. It's just if you've got a suit on,
or even you've got your suit is a change of
clothes and it's like over your shoulder.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
But you've got an equipment bag.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Even even a mile in that kind of heat is
just unreasonable. So we chose to get rides there. So
that was a good chunk of the GoFundMe. But thank
you all so much. We made it to and from
the airport, had a great time. Really, the thing came
together better than I could have hoped for, given like
(03:37):
what we were working with. We're talking about me being
two years removed from doing this kind of thing. Malcolm's
never done this kind of thing before, and for me
to have to Frankenstein how to get wireless mikes to
work on a phone, to not have any lighting with
me because I didn't have room for it in my suitcase,
and to find lighting sources unconventionally, whether it was a
(04:00):
window in that ridiculously darkened room for media day or
the light that was up in the press box. I mean,
everything that we did went so incredibly smooth. I don't
even know how to describe it, and and Malcolm was
a natural on the analyst side of things and his
questions and really just his overall manner and demeanor and
(04:23):
just attitude. The way that he presented himself was was
a pure class So so good on you, malk you know,
take a bout.
Speaker 6 (04:30):
Hey, Hey, I appreciate it, man, for sure. I was
kind of nervous to see how I would go about
it myself. But uh, you know what I mean, he
made it. He made it easy for me, man. But
I got to give you a lot of credit. So yeah,
I just was kind of trying to follow your lead,
and uh, you know, you didn't make it too difficult
for me.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
So man, yeah, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
When the hardest thing that you have to account for
and adjust too is Malcolm's hair, it really makes your
life easy because Malcolm's already taller than me, not by much,
but like you can angle a camera so that you
guys are reasonably of different heights, you know, are reasonably
in in frame.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
He would put his hair up.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
The dreads on top, and that added like an extra
eight to ten inches and it's like, dude, like, at
a certain point, I'm just gonna cut it off, you know,
in the frame of that was literally the one thing
that we had to accommodate for that was the most difficult.
But no, the question that he asked media day bravely
(05:32):
got up in front of those that may love us
or hate us. That was that was something fun between
Media Day and and Game Day. One, nobody recognizes me
with long hair. That was a crazy experience. And then two,
we had so many people come up to us, stop
(05:52):
us and say hello to us. And it was a
very heartwarming feeling because Media Day that's kind of the
day of like, okay, we're testing waters. Two Rattlers fans
actually came up to us, Gary Royle, who I know,
and then Robert Rhodes was the other one. And it
was really funny because you know, they were just like, so,
(06:13):
what's the deal with the Ratlers fans? And you know,
they were giving us a hard time, And as I
explained it, I said, it's not all of you guys,
it's it's the way that the team came into the
league and the attitude that certain fans have had. And
the second that I dropped the two names that I dropped,
they were like, oh yeah, yeah, no, No, that totally
makes sense.
Speaker 5 (06:30):
I get it. It's just like, wow, I was not
expecting that.
Speaker 6 (06:37):
It was definitely play to see that for sure, coming
from the ratless fans, knowing how much you love the
rat list, It's it's always play interacting with fans.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
That was a great time for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But yeah, the two days we saw so many friendly faces.
We got stopped on the concourse, like, look, we weren't
the only media there, but we were the only independent
media there to the capacity that we were. I mean,
so media day we saw a rep I forget his name,
from sports Coast to Coast, which is owned and operated
(07:13):
by the girl I've referred to affectionately as Angie the Expert.
We've we've spoken about her on here. She'll hop in
the chat and she's the expert on everything. She's I've
never come across her at any game or event. She always,
like I guess, sends some rep. So he was their
media day. Never saw him at the game, but then
at the game, didn't see beyond the walls, inside the walls,
(07:38):
any of the walls. People didn't never saw any of them.
And then Shady I don't think was there inside the
arena was there, but it was weird because he was
never up in the press box like we were, and
we were getting stopped along by like everybody on the concourse,
and we saw them just kind of passing by casually.
So clearly we have built a brand and established a
(08:01):
presence that is well known and respected by a majority
of people in the league. I mean, Rob Keith ran
me down in the lobby of the hotel on media
day to shake my hand and say, hey, so happy
you're here. You guys have done great work. And you remember,
I was nervous, like how we were like on terms
with Rob Keith when we had Craig the leg on
early in the season. So between you know, the coaches,
(08:28):
Dixie Wooten hadn't seen him in years. Roberson was the
highlight of the whole game. Oh man, Coach Roberson had
jokes man watching him there at halftime just in pain,
like this is the best that East had to offer.
Like you could just see all the different scenarios playing
through his head of probably every play of the game
between mass and Green Bay, like what could we have
(08:50):
done differently to get here instead? But no, he was hilarious.
He was a class act. Julie Pettitt was there. She
was great. So we just got such a warm welcome
from everybody, and it just really begged the question to me,
after everything was said and done, how is it that
we can be kept out of being like an official
(09:10):
part of the league just because of a few right,
Like it's two people maybe that don't like what we
do for whatever reason, but there's so many that do.
Coaches GMS players.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
It's baffling. But Malcolm kept his composure, not that he
had to worry about anything, but I did pretty well
through the whole weekend until there was a moment after
the game where Malcolm literally put his hand on my
chest and said, hey, you've gotten this far, like let's
just let's bring it home.
Speaker 5 (09:39):
Let's bring it home. So that was really funny.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
But yeah, there was a lot of media not present
there that say that they're as good as we are
or better, and they're not or else they would have
been there. I mean, that's my feeling on it. And
the quality of the content that we put out second
to none. So the weekend was great, the championship not
so great. Fifty three sixteen Arizona Rattlers are champions of
(10:06):
the indoor football world for the seventh time. And man,
they just went out there with a purpose. I mean,
malk you were coaching from the press box, calling out
great plays or missed assignments or not so great plays,
I mean, first or second half. I don't know if
there was anything that you had as a takeaway that
(10:29):
maybe not in that moment, but now that you've had
a week to kind of let it soak in and
marinate that you thought maybe mass was just missing or
that Arizona was just doing that much better.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (10:42):
Yeah, And I mean I have to taking a little
bit of time away from getting some space in between
it looking at it unbiasedly. I think the main two
takeaways that I had or three should I say one?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Arizona just football.
Speaker 6 (10:57):
A lot of times, whether it's indoor or uh, just
football period comes down to whoever can make the least mistakes.
You know, both teams are going to have high points
and low points. It's just about who can minimize the mistakes.
And more often than that, that's a team that's gonna
come out on top. Uh. Fortunately for Arizona that was
(11:19):
them on that that they I can't really think of
too many instances where they did they missed assignments. You know,
of course they had they gave up big plays as
any team would in the championship game, but you know,
they they did a great job of minimizing their mistakes,
being where they needed to be pretty much at all
(11:41):
times and capitalizing on Massachusetts mistakes. I can also say
on the on massive side, they just seem to have
a hard time getting going on both offense and defense.
You know, they're they have that that great running back
and Jimmy Robinson, who you know is total is who
(12:02):
some including ourselves, thought would be the m v P.
You know, a thousand yard rusher, a big time player,
making big time plays pretty much all season. He just
couldn't seem to get get fine traction that that day.
And it was it was it was kind of surprising
to see, you know, we really hadn't seen him stifled like.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
That to that point.
Speaker 6 (12:24):
And you know, like I said, Arizona did a great
job of keeping him contained and uh to to masses misfortune,
that was just that was just something that you know
resulted in in some some negative plays, but them also
on defense, man, you know, like you said, I was,
(12:45):
I was screaming.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
At the back is all game.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Man.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
It's hard for me to not look.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
At games from a defensive perspective being a defensive player myself.
And one thing I can see after watching the game
live and then going back to watching a lot of miscues, man,
a lot of missus signmons, you know, the linebacker, and
no disrespecting him.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
He is either great player.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
I know he had some time in the NFL and everything,
but just didn't look like they were playing with the
same passion that Arizona played with. You know, it didn't
really seem to have a sense of urgency up until
the last quarter. And that's unfortunate because you know, with
the game like that, against a team that's coming out
hot and they know what they're working for, you have
(13:27):
to you have to meet them head on. You have
to beat the hammer instead of the nail, and they
were certainly the nail in that instance.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, and we talked about it during that game. Benefield
uncharacteristically off right. I mean, there was I think probably
of the five picks he threw, two or three shouldn't
have been. I mean, he had receivers that had their
guy beat. I mean, if he connects with them their
touchdowns easy, and they turned into picks. And the reason
(13:55):
they turned into picks is because he overthrew and floated
those things so much that the the safety or the
dB from the other side of the field had the
chance to come over and adjust and get it. And
it's just like normally you don't have that kind of
time as a dB on the short field, especially, so
that was weird. Jimmy Robinson never got going. In fact,
(14:16):
you know, I'm not one to get superstitious. I'm a
little stitious, but that fumble, you know, at the very
beginning for Robinson, which was so uncharacteristic of him. Really,
I just don't know if that's something that because it's
a championship game, if that and missed passes or tipped
(14:36):
balls or whatever just starts to really get in your
head and manifest early, and it's hard to shake. But
the whole Mass team, I mean, we had seen them
plow through teams to get to that game, and this
was just one where they were getting plowed by a
team who was very well prepared. But they almost didn't
even need to be as prepared as they were because
(14:58):
they just they had it go. They probably could have
had a few turnovers themselves and still been just fine.
I mean, that's just how ridiculously one sided it was.
But everything that Malcolm I mentioned in the pregame happened.
We talked about, you know, what would what kind of
role would field position play, and both teams had to
go to the length of the field because Arizona's kicker
(15:20):
kept pinning Mass so deep. I mean, the first point
of the game was that rouge because they couldn't bring
it out of the end zone, and that's just great kicking.
And then Arizona had to go to the length of
the field because of a fumble by Robinson at like
the one. So it was just taking opportunities and making
the most of them and finishing off drives, and Mass
(15:44):
just wasn't able to do that in the first half
of the game, which really hurt them. And then there
was the turnover, which we mentioned. You know, like, how
how perfect can these two teams be against each other?
Will it come down to who makes the only mistake
of the gamer, who makes the most and then those
special teams points early it kind of seemed like that
(16:04):
could be a factor the rouge, but then obviously you
look at the final score and they're like, okay, that
was one point of the fifty three that they scored
to their sixteen. But still, I mean, what we talked
about in the pre game, we had that game pretty
well pegged as far as things to look for, and
then the second half was just kind of you were
sitting back being like, all right, is Man's going to
do something? So you want championship games to be closer.
(16:28):
Obviously there's going to be ones like this, seeing a
few Super Bowls like this, but you know, still can't
take anything away from either team that got to the
championship when there's fourteen other teams that didn't so.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Good on them.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
You know, mass I think has got something that they
can work with. I'm curious to see just what changes happened.
There was the joke going around that Rod Miller was
going to be the first coach to go to a
championship and get fired after the outcome. Haven't seen anything
of that, however. In IFL news, there are a few things.
Congratulations to Dixie Wooden, one of our favorite coaches. He
(17:04):
is the official head coach of Fisher's Freight, so he
will be their first head coach in franchise history. I mean,
they they are already making smart moves in Indiana. I mean,
that is a really good get for them. As far
as head coach, I was wondering how long he would
be a coordinator because I just believe that once you're
(17:27):
a head coach and you and you win it all
like you've you've got the stuff, you know. But Keif
and Dixie made it work. On that note, Keith is
returning as the head coach for Bay Area, but I'm
sure that they're happy to have Dixie in the other conference,
as are so many West Conference teams happy to get
Dixie out of there and be somebody else's problem. The
(17:51):
Dakota Bucks got brought up on media Day and they
seem to be the big question mark going into the
off season. And this was something when they played that
indoor Invitational or something in Fargo that I thought it
was a done deal and that was just a formality,
but apparently not. And then we did hear that Fishers
would announce there their head coach. They did, but also
(18:13):
that the AFL apparently wanted to just outright join the IFL,
and there were several that said, nope, not going to happen.
We want to vet you one at a time, because
apparently if it's a merger, then everybody comes across as
a package deal. But if you say no and you
vet them, you have a chance to go over their
finances and all that one by one. And that's smart,
(18:35):
by the IFL I mean, you know, it's very, very smart.
So that was one of the rumors that we heard.
Another one is that the league has a eighteen team
deal with Adidas for uniforms next year. Seventeen of those
spots are claimed. With the addition of Fisher's being what
looks like more and more official by the day.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
But if Dakota is your big question.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Mark, you kind of wonder, okay, if we needed a
filler last minute, like who do you call? I would
think Billions maybe would be a phone call that you make.
Geographically they're the better fit. I know that Albany would
help out Mass and Jack's a little but still like
you've you've got to bring I think two to three
teams over on the East Coast for it to makes sense.
(19:21):
I don't think you can add them one by one.
But that's just me. Mass had the finances to maroon
themselves on an island basically and make it work. And
I don't know if these other teams do that are on.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
The East Coast.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
So that's a few things to keep an eye on
this offseason, which should be another exciting one. I'm curious
to see just how everything plays out, where coaches go,
who's who's leaving, things of that nature. But oh man,
the awards, those were those were fun, Malcolm. I got
like one right, it was Sam Castronova as Offensive Player
(19:57):
of the Year. Somehow San Dieg did not get broadcasts
of the year, NAS did And I posted on the
fan shows Facebook page my unhappiness with this result and
last night, so we're talking like over a week removed
from that post from that game, from the season ending,
and there's a Rattlers fan trying to troll saying, well,
(20:21):
it was a Rattler's announcer that was on commentary, So
what do you mean they brought in the Strikeforce team
to do the broadcast. I'm like, Okay, who's gonna tell him?
And I was like, I guess I have to. The
broadcast team is not just limited to play by play
and color commentator. And Malk was there when the conversation
(20:44):
was had. The Strike Force's whole production crew, from the
camera operators to the studio technicians to the producers got
brought in for this game. In fact, we were watching,
I was hoping, you know, that he was gonna maybe
get run over on a play that the guy with
the hip that does the cool angle where he comes
in behind the quarterback in the huddle. He was on
the field the whole damn game, and I was like,
(21:06):
this dude's.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Gonna get run over.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Man.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So it's just like, I don't know why this guy
continues to try to troll the page, but he does
from time to time. But it's just like you got
to read beyond the headline and do a little homework.
But it's it's whatever. It's the off season and they're
already starting, so.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
It's just.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
That's why today's fit is brought to you by forty
nine er season. We're officially there, Brock Purty days away
from kickoff. A hat that I had to have in
Vegas because I was able to stay away from the
damn Lego store but I couldn't reason lids and I
needed a new cap for this. And then we're also
drinking Ace pineapple beer because why not. It's episode four
(21:50):
ninety nine and we've done We've done our duty for
the season, So cheers, folks.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
I would have joined you and grabbed a no but yeah, the.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Mug that says not beer on.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
It around But yeah, man, I'm taking a shot with
you experience.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, we we got through it, man. We there were
some challenges and hiccups. Obviously that was gonna be the
case coming back after two years, removed, Malcolm never doing this,
didn't even know what he was doing until I think
five episodes in, and then we just kind of rolled
with it. But like I said, the weekend was great.
(22:34):
I had a great time in Vegas. I felt so
bad from malc because it's like, we're in Vegas, but
we didn't get a chance to like see Vegas. So
I cut him loose, you know, once I left for
my for my flight and we did get to see
some of the strip. White Castle was terrible, Like I
could have lived the rest of my life without ever
having White Castle. But in and out it was delicious.
(22:56):
Is always that sushi spot was was on point. So yeah,
we should have tried Scrambled, but I'm not gonna wait
forty five minutes for bacon and eggs. It's just not
It's not Mother's Day. Come on, this is an I hoop.
So overall, a great weekend. Congrats again to Dixie and
(23:16):
Rob Keith and just everybody that is looking to reload
or in Dixie's case, I don't know, rebuild or just
build from scratch something great in Fishers And that will
be a nice little segue into our special guest, who's
very excited about the twenty twenty five season, has all
the reason to be, especially with a team like the
(23:38):
San Diego strike Force. That's right, folks, fresh off a
great season to say the very least. Unfortunately it did
not end with a trip to the championship, but goals
for next year.
Speaker 5 (23:50):
Am I right?
Speaker 2 (23:50):
We've got the head coach of the San Diego strike Force,
Taylor Jenniser, and coach, how you doing, man.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
I'm doing well. How are you guys doing today?
Speaker 5 (24:00):
We're doing well.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Now that we've had a week to recoup and recover,
Vegas takes it out of you, man. I mean, I'm
sure you probably know that all too well, being a
coach in the league and just that whole weekend, but
you know the obvious question for you coming off that
weekend is what did you think of the championship, because
there's a lot of opinions. I know there were some
(24:23):
teams in the East and not that you guys were
in the East that were just like, is this the
best the East really had to offer? You know, everybody
could have done better right in that situation, you.
Speaker 7 (24:34):
Know, I think it was.
Speaker 8 (24:36):
It was one of those things where like Arizona just
got hot, like they went on a streak and got
hot late. Similar to baseball, when you're hitting at the
end of the season, you're probably gonna go win it all,
and when your pitching's doing well, you're probably gonna go
win it all, regardless of what your record says earlier
in the year. And that's kind of how Arizona was
all year. You know, they went through some things early
(24:57):
in the year injury wise, and you know, dropping it,
you know, certain games that I know they didn't want
to drop, but they were able to find a way
to get hot and go on that run. And then
the East obviously I felt like mass lost some games
that they shouldn't have lost, and they were able to
go on a run and and and do what they
did and have to win some games on the road.
(25:18):
But you know, it just came down to it. Arizona
just seemed like they were more in sync than Mass
and they were ready to go. They were fired up,
ready to play, and you know what, It's just it
kind of played out how I expected it to. Not
to take anything away from Mass. It's just seeing Arizona
three times and being in the West and and and
(25:41):
seeing them every week because I'm game planning against teams
that they play, I just had a feeling that Arizona
was gonna be the team that would win.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
You know, me and malk are watching, of course, Malex
yelling at the linebacker because he has won, you know,
saying what they could do or didn't do or whatnot.
And you know, I'm just observing from kind of a
third party perspective, and it just really seemed like I
didn't expect Arizona to like out physical Mass, but they did.
And then to get Benefield so off his game was
(26:12):
just a very rare thing. But uh, you know, that's
that's the beauty of indoor football. In the championship game,
you want it to be a close one. You know,
the two teams to both best represent their respected conferences.
But sometimes like this is this is just the result
in what you get.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
Malk.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I know that you love it when we have a
coach on here because it's you know, a rare occasion.
But as a player, you've got some brains to pick,
so the coach is all yours.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
Yeah for sure, man, Like we said, coach, definitely glad
to have you on here. Oh and congratulations again on
It's such a great season man, you guys will be
put it together, so.
Speaker 7 (26:51):
I appreciate it. I'm happy to be on here with
you guys. Do you mind me asking you a question
before you ask me any Malcolm?
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Yeah? Sure? What's going on?
Speaker 7 (26:59):
What you got going on your hand over there?
Speaker 6 (27:01):
Oh yeah, I mean just to kind of uh play
into the championship season and festivities.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
I put on the couple myself.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
This one is from college, and this one was when
I played in the Omaha, so you know, uh.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Definitely no stranger to that championship.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Like man, definitely like the you know, flash of jewelry
right now and then there you go.
Speaker 8 (27:23):
I got my high school season right now, I'm coaching,
so so sitting in front of me where I game plan.
Speaker 7 (27:27):
I got my little mini helmet, yes.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
Uh, and then you know, I gotta I gotta keep
this just to keep my you know, my eyes on it.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
So I'm like, you know what, I got mine in
front of me. I was like, I better ask Malcolm
what he got going on.
Speaker 6 (27:40):
You know, it just srinds what you're working for for sure, man,
but uh.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
For you just kind of uh want to want to
get your take on it a bit.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
We spoke a lot about it when we were at
the game, but uh, you know, with this being the
third year that the Championship was held in Vegas, and
you know, just uh seeing how the league itself is
just kind of singing to catch fire with social media
and you're seeing like Sports Center Top ten plays on
there and all that kind of stuff. How do you
(28:10):
feel about the direction that the league is going in.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
I love it.
Speaker 8 (28:16):
I really feel like social media has helped kind of
improve our game when it comes to viewers, and even
if they're not watching games, they're seeing us trending.
Speaker 7 (28:26):
On social media and all that.
Speaker 8 (28:29):
So I definitely love the trajectory of it, and I
love that we have people in the league who are
willing to use those platforms.
Speaker 7 (28:37):
So, you know, this was kind of fun.
Speaker 8 (28:40):
I had a cousin in town for one of our games,
and usually after the games, I just go home and
kind of watch it on the on the on the
live stream after, but you know, we had an earlier game,
so I went and had dinner at my cousin and
I go look up and I see ESPN and I
see Jordan Cress one handed catch that yeah, was was
an hour and a half ago. And I'm like, we
(29:01):
just made Sports Center and I facetimes. I'm like, Chris,
did you see this? He's like, yeah, I'm phone blowing
up right now. Like so, so it's just cool that,
you know, the Strikeforce are in a situation in the IFL,
in a situation where we are nationally recognized.
Speaker 7 (29:14):
Yes we are a national.
Speaker 8 (29:15):
League, but that doesn't always mean that we're gonna have
national coverage. And we're starting to get it, you know,
with us having the championship game on CBS Sports, that's huge.
But yeah, I definitely love the way it's trending. And
also with with with Todd bringing kind of you know,
the gambling aspect to it, I feel like more people
are are interested, you know, being able to oh, these
(29:38):
are the lines. So with them having to understand the lines,
they got to understand the rosters and the matchups and
all that.
Speaker 7 (29:44):
So to me, that.
Speaker 8 (29:45):
Makes these these gamblers a little more invested in let's
watch the ifl Oh.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Speaker 6 (29:51):
I can definitely say from my perspective, I got a
few friends who are big in a fan duel and
DraftKings and stuff. They tuned in this past season just
to you know, play some bets and make parlays and
all that stuff, and it's really cool to see how
it's just kind of gaining tracks on so many different
platforms and stuff. It's super cool. Like you said, I
(30:13):
do have one more question for you to coach kind
Rich kind of touched on it earlier. How when I
was we were watching the game. For me, you know,
it's definitely hard. I told myself beforehand coming in, I'm
gonna sit back, I'm going to enjoy this game as
a fan, But I mean, once the past started clicking
and clacking and stuff, it's hard to just kind of
sit back and not review it from a player standpoint.
(30:36):
I want to know how it was for you, Like
were you able to kind of like were you able
to sit back and enjoy it as a spectator, or
did you find yourself in coach mode and trying to,
you know, pseudo coach the players as the game was
going on.
Speaker 8 (30:51):
For me, it was it was different than than I've
experienced as we were one game away, so it's hard
for me to just get over that and that shorter period. So, like,
my biggest thing was I was acknowledging that if we
would have prepared better, we would have played better.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
This could have been us, and I'm not living in it.
Should have, would have, could have.
Speaker 8 (31:12):
But my biggest thing is since we were right there,
it's just let's reflect on what we could.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Have done differently.
Speaker 8 (31:19):
Not all could be in this game. We're better than them. No,
it had nothing to do with that. It's what could
we have done and what can we do to move forward.
So to say it was emotional, I'm not going to
say that. It was just it was a wake up
call that you know, we were right there and our
goal is to win one more game than we won
this year and get to that point. But you know,
(31:39):
when the game started, I was able to kind of
settle and have a little fun be a fan. Of course,
there was one player that I'm screaming.
Speaker 7 (31:47):
Challenge and challenge and challenge.
Speaker 6 (31:48):
I won't get then.
Speaker 8 (31:52):
And it's funny because I'm in the I'm in one
of the suites with some of the owners and coaches
and of course Tom Ahead officials like dang it, Tom,
we need to and we're talking rules and all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 7 (32:04):
So I ended up having a little more fun once
the game got rolling a little bit.
Speaker 6 (32:08):
So, Man, that's really cool. That's all I got for you,
coach Man, I have appreciation. Man, Rich, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Well, I was gonna let him know that malcol and
I actually have matching rings from that Omaha season. Mine's
in my suitcase still. I haven't untacked everything just yet.
But anyway, you talked about, you know, the direction that
the league is going in. I do like, you know,
I'm not like a huge gambler myself, but I do
like that kind of being pushed more because it means
(32:37):
that the league is going to have to address certain
like you know, uh leaks, I guess, or holes in
its current format and league. And what I mean is
is that when I watch a game and I tune in,
you know, I'm watching and watching I'm like, oh, I'm
excited to see this player play, but then they're not
suited up and I didn't even know. And you're missing, well,
the transaction page wasn't it's working functional for a long time.
(33:02):
But also you're missing like those sideline reporters that have
like the updates before kickoff, like this person suited up,
or the NFL has like the Fantasy's stardom and sidham
because this guy's playing or this guy's not. And I
feel like once the IFL has a grasp on those
finer details, it'll really be something. But those are just
a few things that I'm glad that you know that
(33:23):
that's the direction and potential that the league has. And
as long as they kind of, you know, address those
little things, I think it could really be something. But
for you guys in San Diego, you're now the only
professional football team in the area. You guys have a
great logo, Your broadcast is second to none. I don't
care what the awards say. You guys are like watching
a professional grade NFL broadcast on primetime and you have
(33:46):
stars like Nate Davis, Arthur Jackson, the third I mean
for you as a coach, that's a pretty good setup.
So one, how have you liked being the head coach
of the Strike Force and what can fans kind of
get excited for come twenty twenty five.
Speaker 8 (34:00):
You know, obviously I have a lot of love for
the IFL because I was able to play in the
IFL and you know when I when I put that
barnstormmer logo on, specifically in the IFL, I took complete
pride in that brand. And the IFL was a league
that I saw players got a lot of opportunities to
move up from and a player like myself where I
(34:20):
got hurt in college and I just still wanted to
play pro ball. The IFL was a platform for me
to play professional football.
Speaker 7 (34:26):
So I've always had a lot of love.
Speaker 8 (34:28):
For the IFL, And you know, when I got the
chance to come out here to San Diego, my biggest
thing is what can I do to to make this
city proud? And what can I do to make the
IFL proum And that's the biggest thing here is kind
of trying to build a culture within our city. Who
you know, they had they had an AF two team
way back in the day, the rib Tide, but they
(34:50):
haven't had indoor or arena football for a long long time,
so this is brand new to a lot of people
in this city. So we're just trying to bring awareness
that we have a fun product that's not in the
NFL season going on, and we actually have a pretty
decent team now too, so come check us out. So
you know, high school football is huge here.
Speaker 7 (35:10):
It's massive.
Speaker 8 (35:11):
I love coaching high school football, and I really feel
like we've gotten a lot of those fans that are
invested in high school football and youth football here turning
into strikeforse fans. And it's been fun seeing us grow
obviously on the field, but off the field too and
seeing consistent fans season ticket holders.
Speaker 7 (35:31):
You know, we're coaching.
Speaker 8 (35:33):
Games and we're seeing fans that we saw the week
before in the same seats because they're coming back and
all that kind of stuff. So I love being a
representative of football in San Diego, So I take complete
pride in it. I'm not from here, but to me,
this is home and I absolutely love love this place.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
That's good to hear man. I mean, I think San
Diego is a great spot. I haven't been there much
a couple of times, just kind of passing through, but
you know, it's that spring and summer football. You can
either be out on a beach in like, you know,
ninety five degree heater. You can be in an arena enjoying,
you know, a live sport. So to me, that kind
(36:11):
of sells itself. But there's a lot to do in
San Diego, just like there is Phoenix and the Rattlers
seem to have cracked the code there because you were
in Iowa and that's where people think, well, you know,
there's nothing else to do but go to a Barnstormer game.
And so there's kind of been the back and forth,
a little bit of fifty to fifty is to what
really you know, which markets really thrive with indoor product,
(36:32):
and apparently they both do. You just got to figure
it out. So for you guys, a San Diego great setup.
Last question for you, and now that it's the off season,
obviously it's a time to kind of relax. You have
another job to get to to bridge the gap. But
we are starting to see player signings things like that,
players coming back. So for you coming off the season
that you guys just had, is is your number one
(36:53):
priority to get Nate Davis back or is it to
look at Okay, so what were our weak spots? Like
how did we lose the games that we were in close?
And how can I fix those? And just kind of
hope that Nate is the kind of guy that wants
to be part of a team that has a chance
to be very successful in the future, like you guys
obviously look to.
Speaker 8 (37:12):
Be, you know, and I think I think even Nate
would agree with that. I'm going to say, to say
that Nate is the number one priority this offseason is
kind of unfair to our organization, but getting Nate re
signed is definitely it is a level.
Speaker 7 (37:27):
Of importance that we would like to make happen. You know.
Speaker 8 (37:31):
If if he does want to sign back, of course,
we may have other players signed before him. I'm not
saying quarterbacks, but we're we're trying to sign our team,
and if Nate wants to to run it back with us,
you know, we got a joke we you know, we
got to run it up and then run it back.
Speaker 7 (37:45):
When Nate sees this, he's gonna know what we're talking about.
That's kind of.
Speaker 8 (37:48):
Sentimental to us in this locker room, and that may
get exposed after this interview.
Speaker 7 (37:52):
So I hope it does, but I'm.
Speaker 8 (37:55):
Hoping Nate wants to run it back with us and
that and that you know, we can get one game
further than we were this year and hopefully win that one.
Speaker 5 (38:04):
Yeah, San Diego was very excited to see your guys' success.
I know you guys.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Photographer David really well, he's he loves your guys' product
down there.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Nate Davis. I love watching him play.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
He was a former Niner, so naturally that's that's close
to me and my fandom. But yeah, a lot of
exciting things for San Diego and a lot of other
teams around the league. Vegas had a great season, so
you know, I think we saw a rematch for the
first time in a long time this year. But now
I think there could be a lot of doors starting
to open for the league as a whole, and you're
going to be a part of that, and so will
your strike force. But coach, we're very excited for next year.
(38:39):
If you need a linebacker, if you need any help there.
Malk Is on the mend. He's he's currently training. I
think he's pulling like like you know, little trailers, you know,
little wagons of little Kid's not quite sleds yet, but
you know, you know, a little little tricycles or something
on his lawn. However, they do it to get yourself
(39:00):
actually worked up. But that's that's where he comes in
as far as getting ready for the next opportunity. But
thank you so much for taking the time to meet
with us. It was great to talk to you at
the game. You're a real character. We love that about
coaches in any league, especially the IFL. But it's been
great to actually sit down and talk with you.
Speaker 7 (39:19):
Absolutely, I appreciate you guys. You guys do a great job.
Speaker 8 (39:23):
I must ask you, Okay, are you a Bay Area
Panther fan?
Speaker 7 (39:26):
If you're a forty nine er fan, is that your team?
Speaker 2 (39:29):
No, No, I don't really have an IFL dog in
the fight, except for like when I started, I was
covering the Spokane Empire exclusively, and obviously Spokane because that's
where I'm from, doesn't have a team anymore. So you know,
there was a lot of connection to some of the ogs.
You know, I got people in Iowa Green Bay because
(39:49):
they welcomed me, you know when I first went out
and did tours and stuff, So there's some connection there.
But I just love a good quality product. I love
a good team. Your guys' logo is awesome, so I mean,
there's that. But you guys were really fun to watch.
But yeah, you know, being from the Pacific Northwest, forty
nine ers are the only out of state team that
I cheer for. There's a whole story to it, but
(40:11):
that's for another episode. But yeah, don't worry. I'm not
loyal to to Bay Area or anybody in the league.
There's teams I'm just not loyal to. As Malcolm knows, I.
Speaker 7 (40:22):
Just don't want to be on that list. That's all.
Speaker 5 (40:24):
No, it's all good.
Speaker 7 (40:26):
I appreciate you guys.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Yeah, well, hey, good luck this offseason. There's already been
some shakeups. Dixie is going to be head coach again,
but at least he's out of your guys' conference, which
I'm sure makes a lot of people in the West
very happy. But you guys have a very bright future.
Very excited to see what happens with the Strikeforce in
San Diego. So one more time. He is the head
(40:47):
coach of the very talented, very high potent San Diego Strikeforce.
Taylor Jenniser and we look forward to seeing what you
guys do next year. Man, take care and enjoy your
off season. I'd say your summer. You know, same thing.
Speaker 7 (41:02):
Thank you, guys, I appreciate it all right.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
And one more big thank you to coach Taylor Jenniser.
We had to ask for the official pronunciation of that,
but exciting stuff. I love that he's excited about the.
Speaker 5 (41:17):
Future of the league and everything.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Like I said, if they just tighten up a few
of those little things, I would love to see more
sideline reporters with like pregame information, who's in, who's out why,
because it seems like sometimes players just disappear. They go
to the CFL tryouts, NFL camps, whatever, and nobody knows.
And if you're gonna gamble that stuff, you need to know,
is the starting quarterback actually there.
Speaker 5 (41:41):
At that game?
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Right? All right? That's a little important, definitely a little important.
Speaker 5 (41:48):
So we don't have a game to pick.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
I think what we will do is still tossing around
ideas for episode five hundred, But Dan Jay and I's
ten year wedding anniversary is Kickoff weekend. We got married
on Kickoff Sunday Sunday. For those of you looking to
get married or didn't know Sundays are significantly cheaper than
(42:11):
Fridays or Saturdays to get married, so why not just
have people take Monday off instead of.
Speaker 5 (42:18):
The Friday before.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
So we got married, kickoff Sunday NFL themed wedding from
our cake to everybody wearing jerseys and stuff. It was
a great time. So ten years this coming September seventh
and forty nine, ers kick things off Monday Night football,
So I think we'll look at that week. What would
(42:42):
be fun for me and Mouth to do is an
overreaction from week one, just because those are always fun
to do week one, like our biggest overreactions if the
Chiefs lose, Oh the dynasty's over, you know, stuff like that,
which it never is, unfortunately. I know it's always too
good to be try when they struggle out the gate.
(43:03):
But I will ask Malc this, you know, looking back
at this and everything I know, obviously you were recovering
from an injury. Still, are you're gonna start pulling like
you know, power wheels or whatever you guys do when
you're just getting into the groove of things. But you
missed that aspect of the game. But what was your
(43:25):
favorite thing or like the biggest learning curve. Maybe Oh
damn that you had doing this with me for this season.
Speaker 6 (43:35):
Man, that's a great question, Rich. Uh, just just a clarity.
My rehab consists of pulling razor scooters. So I'm coming
along pretty well with it.
Speaker 3 (43:49):
You know. I've worked my way up to two. So
we're making some program.
Speaker 5 (43:55):
But that was good. O.
Speaker 6 (43:57):
No, So I would say, first off, I mean, nobody
plans to get injured.
Speaker 5 (44:02):
You know.
Speaker 6 (44:02):
It's it's never anything that that you you look forward
to or kind.
Speaker 3 (44:07):
Of you know, uh look at fondly.
Speaker 6 (44:11):
You know, it's always a tragedy when you when you
get injured, flurry of emotions just go through your head.
Speaker 5 (44:17):
You know.
Speaker 6 (44:18):
Uh, whether it's like rehab or like you know, will
I come back as good as I was?
Speaker 3 (44:25):
Where do I stand in the eyes of other teams?
Things like that. I mean, it's it's tough, it really is.
Speaker 6 (44:32):
I want to I want to just speak to anyone
who has gone through injury or is currently going through
any kind of injury or something like that. My biggest
advice would be just to stay the course. You know,
you gotta trust the process. Keep those those negative influences
and thoughts away because they will come you just gotta
(44:53):
kind of tune it out and keep those positive influence close,
whether that be you know, your fan base, your fan family,
friends and family that are keeping you up in hath spirits, because,
believe it or not, that will help you power through
the process when it's getting a little bleak. But I'm
(45:14):
I'm I'm not going to say I'm happy it happened,
but I am certainly happy that I kind of had
a chance to step away from the sport a little bit.
I mean, I've been you know, training almost nonstops ever
since my rookie year in twenty twenty one, and you know,
being able to step away and kind of focus on
other things like the podcast, it just gave me a
chance to kind of explore the passions. You know, I
(45:37):
learned a lot about myself in this year's time, really
found a lot of things that I'm that I didn't know,
that I'm passionate about it and that I like and
that I'm good at. But also had a chance to
rediscover some things that I put away and put on
the back burner for a long time.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
So, you know, I'm very fortunate for that aspect.
Speaker 6 (46:00):
When it comes to, you know, sharing this experience with
you and being invited onto the fans.
Speaker 3 (46:06):
So I mean, I can't. I can't be grateful enough.
Speaker 6 (46:08):
Because, like I said to you through text, this is
something that I didn't expect that I would, you know,
find find a passionate. But now I kind of see
this as something that I more than likely can get
into and actually dive into wholeheartedly once I finally decide
to hang in the lese up.
Speaker 5 (46:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
Man, Like I said, you were natural at it. Just
the way that you carry and compose yourself. Sometimes that's
very hard to find as somebody who's like is grounded.
But I think what helps is when they experience it
firsthand and realized that it's not like as easy as
people think that it is. Like there was like Malc
(46:52):
got there with just a carry on bag.
Speaker 5 (46:54):
I've got a full on suitcase.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Half of it with you know, my casual stuff socks, underwear,
T shirts, and not the other half with my suit
and equipment. Every time we were prepping to go somewhere,
Malcs just like looking over at my stuff.
Speaker 3 (47:07):
Like what.
Speaker 6 (47:10):
It's not until I saw you lay out everything on
the bed, I was like, okay, yeah, I definitely under back.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
Nearly enough stuff.
Speaker 6 (47:18):
But yeah, man, it's like you said, it's definitely not
as easy as a lot of people would like to think.
It's not just simply walking out and just you know, talking,
It's a lot of prep that goes into it.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
Man. It just helped me find a whole new respect
for what you do.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
Yeah, it was good to get back in the kind
of swing of things, I guess, if you want to
call it that. But I always get place as early
as I can to try to scout them to see
what I'm dealing with.
Speaker 5 (47:44):
And now I can realize that.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
At media Day, we get into this darkened like it
was a restaurant, clearly with a stage, and I'm like,
I'm gonna hate myself for not bringing my studio lights.
But I was like, I didn't have any room for them,
Like there was no room and in my suitcase for
stuff not that would have it would have put it
over the weight limit. And you don't want to pay
one hundred bucks just to bring two lights. And so
(48:08):
I'm looking around, looking around, and Malcolm's like, you looking
for who you want to talk to. I was like, no,
I need I need a spot to do this, and
you kind of like okay, and so I said meet
me over by the window. Everybody that got over there
was just like WHOA, Like yeah, I can I can see.
Speaker 5 (48:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Like, you gotta work with what you got. If if
life deals you lemons, you got to try to make
lemonade out of it and hope that there's a little
vodka to mix in there and make it better. So
so that is the twenty twenty four IFL season. We
will keep you guys posted on episode five hundred. Keep
(48:45):
those ideas coming because we want to make it a
big thing. I will put it out there right now
that if you want to be a part of it,
but maybe can't devote time and energy to like I
don't know, being being a guest. If we invited you
or whatever, everybody that's ever been part of the show
on it, either as a guest or if they were
a player of the game that I interviewed, You're welcome
to do a video shout out experience, favorite memory, funniest
(49:11):
moment like whatever from the fanchhow you know that you
can recall and then send it and we can put that,
we can include that in the episode. So that's one
thing that we're gonna do. But other than that, man,
I'm just ready to relax enjoy football that I think
I know a lot about, but there's obviously experts that
know much more than I do. Instead of having to
(49:33):
be the resident analyst and expert for.
Speaker 5 (49:36):
A league like the in our Football league.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
And then of course you get to go back to
training and rehabing. But there are some punishments that I
still have to own up to, one that I did
figure out today how to accomplish. So there will still
be plenty of content on the Instagram and on the
social channels. There's going to be all the news that
comes out for staff changes, head coaching, hiring and firing,
(50:01):
player signings, which has already started for the Jacksonville Sharks.
They've announced a few, so there's plenty of stuff to
go around. MALC and I will probably check in whenever
we feel necessary. Apparently the AFL has some big announcement
that they're gonna do the first week of September. I
don't know what that means. Maybe they just come out
and say IFEL decided no, I don't blame them.
Speaker 5 (50:24):
So we'll see.
Speaker 2 (50:26):
But as you guys have clearly seen, if there wasn't
if there was any sort of uncertainty before this weekend
should have been proof that nobody can do this like
the Fan Show. The brand that has been built from
the ground up specifically catered to indoor football, and to
have Malk along with me to just really round out
the whole thing and bring it all together was fantastic.
(50:49):
So hopefully it's the preview of things to come. We
have big plans for next season, which is the tenth
anniversary of the show. We'll see if we can make
that happen. But it's a long offseason, so Malc, I'm
gonna let you get back to relaxing and uh, he's
gonna breathe a side of relief that there's no more
(51:09):
punishments for a while, I got to think of new ones,
more creative ones. But we had a great time. Thank
you again to our donors. Thank you again for the fans. Really,
that's that's one last shout out to give to the
Gary Royals and to the the Robert Rhodeses that we
didn't know were fans of our stuff. That if still
that We're so happy to see us to see the
(51:31):
Fan Show brand be there like it was meant to be.
It was so great Rob Keith coming up to us
and seeing Hassan and Juwad you know, be happy for
us to be there ty night, giving us some time.
So it was overall it was a great weekend. I
avoided the people I didn't want to talk to. Things
(51:52):
went fine. Uh there were no punches thrown, so we
just went. We did our job, great content, great time,
and uh that means that until next time we will
be in touch, so to speak. But Malk, you have
a great night, and I'm gonna go and get to
editing on this. But once again, this has been the
(52:12):
Fan Show, Episode four hundred and ninety nine, our final
thoughts on the twenty twenty four IFL Championship and our
thank you to everyone who made that weekend awesome and possible.
So for Father Malk, Malcolm McCoy, I am once again
and always the team man. Richard Teaman, we will see
you next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.