Must Wins & Media Row: Trolling ESPN and Talking Shop with Matt Hasselbeck

Hi and hello my fellow football Americans, I've come to San Francisco. Why? Super Bowl 60, obviously. Seahawks, Patriots, a sequel of Super Bowl 49, played in the home of the San Francisco 49ers. Which is really nowhere near San Francisco. It's like an hour away. I know it's weird. But let's not get bogged down with nomenclature. Or as I say, we get bogged all the way up. Who's named the most valuable player in society's most watched game does matter, given the degrees of pigskin legend achieved, not to mention, more importantly, the commercial opportunities. Unfortunately, the MVP has been misnamed a number of times in Super Bowl history. Consider Broadway Joe Namath. Yeah, he deserves credit for prophesizing the Jets victory over the Colts, but in the actual game, Matt Snells the guy who ran for 121 yards and scored a touchdown, which is more than Joe Namath scored in the whole game. You are the actual MVP of three. But that's nothing compared to Tom Brady, who's from San Mateo, which is a lot closer to where I am right now than Santa Clara is. But let's not get distracted by that and instead talk about his first Super Bowl win in justice for Ty Law going up against one of the best, if not the best, offense as the world has ever seen. The greatest show on turf, his pick six, is enough to make him the true MVP of that game. He might not even be the worst one Brady got, 28-3 rally. Brady threw for 4-66, but how about James White? He caught 14 of those passes, one went for a touchdown, plus he ran two more in, one that forced overtime and then one that ended overtime. So it's pretty clear he should have been the MVP. You know what I'm talking about, right? Yeah, I know. I'm talking about it. I mean, common sense. And there's Clarence Davis in Super Bowl 11, of course, played just down the coast in Los Angeles. But of course, there was all pale in comparison to the original sin against the man who caught the first touchdown in the first Super Bowl with just one hand. Sure, Bart Starr was great that day, but Max McGee was a trailblazer. Long before Allen Iverson ever high-hatted practice. Or Marshawn Lynch enjoyed a shot or three of Hennessy before a big game. Or before Eugene Robinson went shopping for a friend on the eve of Super Bowl 33. Or Ricky Williams burned tree or Doc Ellis' Trip Balls. There was a 34-year-old bald-headed reserve wide receiver named Max McGee, who on the eve of the first Super Bowl went out on the town with a couple of flight attendants for a twister that didn't end until 6 a.m. when he arrived back at the hotel. Then he went over to the Coliseum, caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Hero, hero. 138 receiving yards is more than half of Starr's total passing yards that day. So obviously McGee should have been the first Super Bowl's MVP. I also advocate for not living life in the rearview mirror, so what's done is done. So how about this? From this day forward, we start fresh. Every Super Bowl MVP starting with 60 through to eternity now wins the Max. I say that the trophy is in that iconic pose of him catching it one-handed, but instead of maybe a football, we put a drink or a flight attendant. Either way, here's to you, winner of the Max. Yes, hi and hello and welcome to Super Bowl 60. My fellow football Americans were presented as ever by our pals over at DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. I'm coming at you now back home in Los Angeles getting ready food and otherwise for the grand game. It's time for the last game of the season. Sad, but what a season it's been for us in part thanks to that trip to San Francisco, where we found out among other things, it is a must win game for both sides. So be on the lookout for that. Also, thanks to DraftKings. They helped us out while we were on media row there. We caught up with Matt Hasselbeck and Ross Tucker and our old pal, handsome Hank Hodgson. That's coming up for you before we get into Super Bowl 60 and those conversations. What's going to happen? Shout out to my guy, Soup Campbell, who was along for the ride there. It turns out that when I opened up my suitcase, I forgot to pack underpants. So Soup took me to Target and he bought me a half dozen, not tidy whiteies. That's what he was encouraging, but I went with my usual boxer briefs. Meantime, Pro Bowl sucked. I think that we can all agree on that. Let's get rid of that. The halftime show is already beyond annoying. I love the people who are super wound up about it. I'll show you, Wilksers. I'm going to listen to Kid Rock on purpose. Sheesh. All right. Don't forget to make the most important bet in Super Bowl 60. I perpetuate this one every year. It is the safety bet right now on DraftKings. 11 to 1. That's something to root for. That's something we can all root for is for a large man to fall on another man in the end zone. Two points. You will win 11 to 1. Hi and hello to you, Mike and Gino. Gino and Mike Fuentes. How you doing, fellas? We're doing great. The Super Bowl is here. My wife is nervous as shit. I am on the train with everybody else. You're all over the Seahawks. I can't remember. You have to be. Everybody's on the Seahawks. No one is picking the Patriots in as far as that goes. Let's do it right now. First things last. I'll announce my pick. I say it's the Seattle Seahawks laying 4 and a half total on the game at the time of this recording. 45 and a half. You get it. 26, 17. Your MVP, Kenneth Walker. How say you, fellas? I actually got 27, 16. So we're like right in the neighborhood there. I'm going to give the MVP to Sam Donald. What is that? That puts me just under, right? In terms of the over and under. Both under. We're parking our cars. Defensive struggle, kind of. Mike Fuentes, how say you? We're all in the same area, but I'm a little bit more high on the Seahawks scoring 31 points and the Patriots getting 17. Drake May throws a pick six, which is the difference in our scores. Okay. So you're going over. I do agree about the pick from Sam Darnold. He is still Sam Darnold. After all, we'll get into the pick six in just a little bit here before we turn it over to the first conversation we had there on media row. Real quick, you guys all set in terms of food? You know, the other day we had a mad dog on LeBatart Show and he said the nachos are the best food. I'll actually be on a cruise for this. So I'll have all my options laid out, unlimited ice cream, pizza, whatever I could possibly want. I'll probably have a nice chilled martinian hand waiting for Benito to come out and give a performance of a lifetime. I feel really bad for a lot of Bad Bunny fans once they realize the whole performance is only going to be about eight minutes. I think they're going to be really wound up for that and then realize, oh wait, this isn't a full-fledged concert. So, but you know, we're upset about Bad Bunny and we're complaining about an old man not getting into the Hall of Fame. I mean, these are the issues of our two old men, two old men not getting in. I'm going straight pizza wings. Yeah, a traditional stance. I like the wings, but the problem is if you're going to be with other people, as usual, it's just going to be me and Jean-Claude Van Dammechek settling into the couch. It's going to be me, the wife and the two little girls because my wife is going to be nervous to shit. She's already told me this. She doesn't want other people around. She wants to be at home and she wants pizza for comfort. That's actually a great point. That's a great point right there. I don't want people around me in my championship games because we all know that championships and championship games are suffering. Right? Well, I mean, I had people here for the UM game, but that's a little different. I'm not like a really huge UM guy like a Mike Ryan or something like that. Oh, I'm sure if this was like two random teams, we would have been at a party. If it was the Dolphins, oh my God, I'd be in pieces. I probably would have told Dave, Dave, I'm sorry, I can't do the show this week. I can't. I'm in tatters. I can't do this. And then so it's just, it's a terrible experience unless your team wins. Well, you're, you're absolutely right. Listen, these guys have worked for the last, you know, half year to get to this point. The least I can do if I'm rooting for them is to, is to sequester myself, shut out all outside noise, draw the shades. And it's just me and, and the fellas. Well, that sounds bad. But anyway, yes, focus in. And this ain't no time for grab ass. And even if you don't care about the outcome of the game, if you're going to a party, wings are a bad choice. Cause then you get them greasy fingers and they get all orange and that's unbecoming. And then if you shake hands, then also if you take a, a glass, then. The glass gets all smeared with that stuff and that's embarrassing. That's why I have to avoid the wings, wings. Vayne Dave always rules. All right. Well, we have a lot to get to here. So let's kick it off here. Starting off with Super Bowl 40 starting quarterback. And as it turns out, a real gentleman, Matt Hasselbeck. Matt Hasselbeck, Super Bowl 40 QB. A lot of people think he deserved a better fate. The entire Seahawks team did. First thing very quickly, I have to commend you. You're a gentleman because yesterday morning I was leaving the hotel coffee shop and a tall drink of water. Matt Hasselbeck opened the door for me and he said, after you, yeah, that's, you know, I didn't go to that coffee shop. Very loyal, a Starbucks person. And this is kind of like Starbucks versus Dunkin Donuts, Super Bowl Seahawks versus Patriots. So I made my .4 mile walk to get my Starbucks protein cold brew. It was well worth it. And so I had a little pep in my step when I opened the door for you, probably. Well, humanity personified here. Very quickly, whose career would you rather have had? Dan Marino's or Eli Manny's? I guess you got to go, man, as someone who doesn't have a Super Bowl ring. Well, because the people do the Trent Dillford thing and nobody thinks I'd rather be Trent Dillford than Dan Marino. But Eli is... Well, no, I would say same question. Trent Dillford or Dan Marino. I think I'm picking Trent Dillford. Hmm. Yeah, I think the whole goal is to win it. And I would say that, you know, the Trent Dillford thing for me as a quarterback, I think Trent Dillford does a lot of things as a quarterback that he didn't get credit for. He understood the assignment. You know, he played with a great defense. He understood what needed to be done. And he took over that year for a really talented quarterback and he said, hey, I know how to get us wins. And then even I would say like Trent, he came after he won the Super Bowl, he came and it was my backup in Seattle for a little bit, was the starter in Seattle. I learned a great deal from Trent on how not to throw for a ton of garbage yards, but how to win football games. And so I ultimately, I think, hoisted that Lombardi, you know, Trent Dillford won the Super Bowl against the New York football giants and they'll never be able to take that away from them. I, people love to sort of turn him into a punchline. I'm with you, man. I'm real good for the Ravens down the stretch. People ignore that. I would say this way, go ask Ray Lewis. Go ask those guys. Go ask those guys what they feel about their quarterback in that run. Ray Lewis doesn't like me. I tried to give him a terrible towel once and we haven't spoken since. Last thing very quickly is you wanted to get that Lombardi, change one play in Super Bowl 40, change one play. I threw a pass down to the one yard line to Jeremy Stevens. We have the best goal line back in football that year, Sean Alexander and the best full back that's ever played in Max Strom. We probably would have punched it in, I'm sure of it, first in goal from the one. They called a penalty on us on that play. I lost my cool. 42nd clock is coming. There's a new play coming. I hadn't hit the reset button and like, calm down. I throw an interception on the next play. I make a tackle. They flag me for an illegal tackle or something. The lesson is you got to move on to the next play. So after that pass down to the one yard line, I should have just taken a deep breath, lesson learn. I think it's a whole other outcome for us, but that's the thing about the Super Bowl. You get one shot. It's kind of like those golfers that say, oh, I can make that putt. You had your chance to make that putt. That second putt doesn't matter. Man, fascinating stuff. Yeah, I remember IT getting you there. We caught two passes. His entire career happened to be the AFC title game and then Super Bowl 40 the week after. All right, you got to run. Go do your stuff. We appreciate the time, Matt Hasselbeck. Thank you. Hey there, my fellow football Americans. Let me tell you, one thing I've done really well in my life is make babies, four of them in fact. And when each of them was born, everything changed for me all over again. There's this overwhelming feeling you get. It's not just love. It's this need to protect them. Every decision you make is about them and their future. The last thing a person wants is to worry about how your family is going to pay the bills of something were to happen to you. Would they be financially prepared? Well, with life insurance from Ethos, your family is protected. 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Not like the producers used to have an NFL network. No indeed. No indeed. They'd be like, oh, Dave, you've been speaking for an hour now and we haven't recorded anything. Well, you hear his voice so you know who is behind it, the Tuscaloosa Alabama Sun. Now what is your title VP of international games for the National Football League? It's close. It is. I am the general manager of the NFL's office in London. Holy hell. That sounds terrific. I don't know exactly what goes into all that, but perhaps over the next few minutes we can find out with our old pal, as old a pal as we have from the NFL days, it's handsome Hank Hodgson. What's the poop, fella? Dave, it is wonderful to be here, kibitzing with you. It's been too long. So I'm very happy that we're seeing each other. Indeed. And these Super Bowl weeks were always something to look forward for me, not so much because of the game, which sometimes was good and sometimes was snoozy, but we always had the gayest time during the week. We had our dinner club. We would go out and eat at the finest restaurants that that football town had to offer. As we look back now, what was your favorite meal? I think you and I, I don't know if it was a Super Bowl one, but you and I, there was a Thursday night game that we went to in Chicago. And you took me into Dave's Chicago. That's right. And we explored, I think, places that have been part of your adolescence, your youth. And grow up in Chicago. I know, but it's still... We should get to know each other. We had a wonderful time. I loved that specifically. That's my most memorable, not just meal, but evening out with you. I think we threw it on real good. We threw it on pretty good. We ate in three different places as well, as far as I remember. That's right. That's right. Yeah, we went to the, what was it, the half shell? The place down in a cellar in Chicago that's a raw bar. Oh, what a great time. And we went to a bar in... Michelob, they had Michelob on draft. We lived like kings back then. Then we went to a bar in... Is it Wicker Park? Wicker Park. Yeah. Yeah. That you had, again, spent some of your adolescence in. Not my adolescence. My adolescence. I don't know what it means in French. I feel like your adolescence went on a little longer than most people's adolescence. So that's what I'm saying. Somebody's being a stinker. We miss our old pals. It would be complete if we had some combo of Matt Money Smith, shout out to him, the voices of the Chargers, Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers, Great, Maurice Jones-Strew, who we just kibbitzed with a number of weeks ago and reminisced again. You did. I watched that. That was great. You didn't watch. I did. I watched it on the social media. Anything that you do and anything that Maurice does, anything that all my old friends from back in the day together, of course, I watch it. It is the 10-year anniversary of one of the high points for us. We were down on the field in Santa Clara, California, Super Bowl 50, and me, you, Ike and Maurice were shooting something in the pregame. For some reason, I remember they wouldn't let me down on the field. Do you remember why? I don't know. I remember that Ike and Maurice did. But they thought it was funny. They did like a lap of the field. This was a new thing. I was with them. You did that. Yeah. They didn't let you on? No, but we were supposed to be shooting live in the part of the Super Bowl pregame show. But for some reason, my credential wasn't let, they wouldn't let me on the field. I was anxious because we were supposed to be live at the time. Ike and Maurice thought it was the funniest thing ever. I'm like, it's not funny. You should be helping to try and resolve this. They couldn't do it because they were laughing too hard. They were laughing too much. Handsome, let's talk about your profession a little bit and what took you away from these United States and back to your homeland in London. This has really been a great success story, sincerely, since you went over. Obviously, the Jacksonville Jaguars that otherwise were traveling over for a London game or two when you got there. How much has it expanded under your watch? I mean, look, I'm certainly not taking responsibility for it myself. But there are three games in London. So we will have normally one at Wembley and two at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Which place is better? If you can only go to one, where would you advise me? Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a fantastic stadium. It's a great NFL, a great, I would say it's probably a top five NFL stadium. Just happens to not be in the United States. I have to interrupt you. I'm sorry. It's not my way, but I'm going to do it here as our old pal Scott Hansen walks by. But he doesn't stop to say hello. Didn't stop to say hi. I mean, he does red zone. He's a man on the move. Yeah, maybe he's on the move. I said, wait, he's not a man on the move, in fact. He just stands there for like eight hours at a time. I think it's weird and anomalous, or not anomalous, but something that you don't see in these United States very much, at least, that I can think of. How many stadiums are there in London? Oh, tons. I mean, that's weird, right? I mean, I could not say that. I think there are eight Premier League soccer teams in London. That must take up a lot of room. Well, it does. But at the same time, the United Kingdom is a small place. It would all fit into, I don't know, Idaho or somewhere. Well, that makes it even weirder. You have a nation the size of, let's say, like South Carolina. In one little place, you have like eight stadiums. It's like, well, it's a small country, so you only get two professional sports teams. That wouldn't make any sense. You still need as many for people. But it means that the rivalries are very fierce, because it's like, literally, as far away as we are sitting, I might be in the zone of one team and you might be in the zone of the other. And therefore, we would, you know, but they do truly have traveling fans. I'm always stunned when there are traveling fans in the NFL, because it's like you've traveled 3,000 miles to come and watch this game. Yeah, I guess that makes some sense. Well, you know, there was way back before you and me walked the planet Earth. There were three teams in New York City, the Yankees, the Giants and Dodgers. I don't know if you heard the move to the West Coast. Right. Who is currently, you know, one of the things that fascinates me is the Dallas Cowboys' claim of being America's team doesn't mean that they actually are, but they like to self-identify that way. Who would you say right now is Europe's team in the NFL? Europe. It's interesting, because I think you can kind of, most people first watch the NFL by watching a Super Bowl. So they, you know, there'll be lots of new people this Sunday. What time is that on, though? In the UK, it's 11.30 p.m. But it's a cultural moment. It truly is. Like, you know, you might not have any interest in the NFL, but you'd be like, well, it's the Super Bowl. Like, this is something that I should be doing. Really? Yeah, for sure. Hmm. So, I mean, that would be awesome as a, you know, whatever, a 23-year-old. Like, let's go, lads. Yeah, let's go. Let's have a couple of pints and watch the big game. Who's playing? Don't know. Let's find out. But so, because the Patriots were in a lot of Super Bowls, I don't know if you remember. I do. I do. Just about a decade ago, they were in all of them. And because a lot of people discuss, and there's no geographical ties or your family doesn't say you have to support this team. So, there are a lot of people who are like, well, the Patriots just won the Super Bowl. I'm going to support the Patriots. So, the Patriots have a lot of fans. And then more recently, I don't know if you've seen... Ironic, though, don't you think? Yes, because of, obviously, their patriotism is actually anti-patriotic to... You know, I talked, I'm media night. I brought that up to a few people. Yeah. A few people in... A few New England Patriots. Did you? And what did they say? Well, the New England Patriots with the capital P are different than American Patriots. The New England Patriots, as you may know, are named after the heroes of the Revolution. Yes. I don't want to bring up a source of that. No, no, it's fine. We're pretty much past it now. Well, yeah, it's not too soon. No, it's fine. So, the greatest that they're named after those revolutionary soldiers who beat back the Brits, King George and all that. So it's weird that when the New England Patriots choose to honor their all-time greats with a ceremony and otherwise, they give them a red coat. Which is, of course, the gear that my team was wearing back at that time. How dumb do you think the audience is that you have to explain? Well, I just wanted to make sure that people... The punchline is red coat. You don't have to... You don't have to gild the lily with it. And by the way... Oh, I did. Do you know... I'm trying to help people out here. Do you know that the Brits wore red coats... Exactly. With their muskets? So, the Patriots are very popular and they're more recently the Chiefs. Oh, Henry was so proud of what you've done. I knew my mom was going to make an appearance here. Yes, it's your dear mom. Henry, we're pleased as punch. We're eating strawberries and celebrating your victory over America. Don't play it, war boy. Win. So, the Patriots are the most popular because... But also now recently the Chiefs. For the same reason. They were in a bunch of Super Bowls. Okay, I would attack your people except that's how Americans do too. They just choose to embrace whoever they can. Yeah, it's the... But you would do that and then you'll... Then, you know, they're going to be surprised. A lot of them are like, Wait, where are the Chiefs? I thought they always play in the Super Bowl. So, for... I know it has turned into a punchline maybe over the last decade or so that the Jags aren't as much Jacksonville's team as they are London's and all of that. So, that just hasn't... That just never took root and is never going to in a more fulsome way. Like the Jags just are kind of the team of London. Well, I mean, they've made the decision to play every year in London, which is fantastic. It means the fans... But I mean, you didn't mention that's why I bring them up. Oh, I... Yeah, I mean, in the UK, you asked about Europe. So, I think those teams... Okay, I see, I see. In the UK, certainly the Jags have made a huge impact because, you know, they've been playing there for 10 years plus. They've been playing at least one game, sometimes two games a year there. So, yeah, that makes a big impact. And the Jags have a lot of fans in London... Well, now they're good. ...as a result of it. And now they're good. And, you know, they've had a couple of moments over that 10-year period. Remember, they went to that AFC Championship game a few years ago, lost to the Patriots. But now, yeah, they seem to be maybe on a growth period. I'm trying to think, is Trevor Lawrence very British or as unbridged as he could be? No, he's very American. He is, huh? Why? Because of the flaxen. The long, beautiful blonde hair and he's very strapping. Sort of like more Nordic, right? Yeah. Yeah, I would say probably some of that. But, I mean, you know, the people of London love him. The people of the UK love him. Yeah, because you guys like him. Yeah, because we like, well, we like a... ...thoroughly American source. Yes. All right. Who is now... So, go through it, though. I... Goodell was up there. Roger Goodell. Yep. Do you call him Roger? I mean, I feel a missed commission. Do you? No, you don't. Do you? Do you like... Roger? Or does he know... Does he know... I imagine he has a couple of layers to get to him on the phone. So probably his assistant says, like, we have Henry Hodgson on the phone for you, Mr. Commissioner. Or do you like... Can you just call him and like start talking? And he's like, I know this voice. I don't think people do phone calls that much these days. What up, Henry? Something like a handsome... Hello, Roger! Roger! I've got a wallet. A wallet of an idea for you. Right? Yeah, something like that. Who is the world's team right now? Because now you've expanded into Mexico. I think the Chiefs... I honestly think it's probably based on, again, the same reason I just said, but the success of a team over a sustained period of time. And then what the Chiefs have done, that's been very... Obviously, they have the... I don't know if you've heard about Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift. He's a big star here. Who's a global star. And so that's brought more people to the Chiefs. But the Chiefs have been very smart about then, how do they do things in all those countries so that the fans can be like, oh, the Chiefs are here, they're doing stuff. So they've done watch parties in a lot of countries. They've put on events in lots of places. They've opened Chiefs' houses. They've done great sort of collabs on Chiefs' merchandise. So the Chiefs are definitely making a big impact around the world. But there's lots of teams doing that in their own ways in different countries. Yeah, I know. My beloved Steelers are big in Mexico. Of course. And I know the Ireland trip was... Big in Ireland. I know that that was a gangbusters trip. And I heard from the account of many people who have been around to a number of those games, hold that one up as maybe the best in terms of vibe. I agree. It was... That was the most... It was most like, and you and I have experienced, we've been lucky enough to experience a lot of Super Bowls. It was most like a great Super Bowl city, which is normally not too sprawling. So you have like the center of the city. I think we were in Indianapolis, probably had a great time there together. It was a little bit like that where like, you couldn't move for truly the black and gold, the terrible towels all across. Dublin is a great city. If you've ever been there, it has a kind of bar hangout center. And the whole place was just alive with Steelers fans, NFL fans. It was amazing. It was a great... That was a... I absolutely have to do it. That was as fun as it gets. You've got to come. There are a lot of faces from our past talking by. From our past. There goes producer Supreme Dick Izzacow, shout out to Ryan Bartlett and M of E.P. and Eddie Spaghetti. They're out there. Did you see them? No, they're not here. I'm just giving a shout out. I thought you just saw them walk past. This is why I'm such a successful broadcaster, Handsome Hank. Because you can take it beyond... I do random shout outs that hit for roughly two people listening. In fact, they probably not even listening. So if they happen to be listening exactly, if they're listening. Then it resonates for them. How come you don't do that for me? Like why am I listening to this guy talk about strangers? I don't know. You know what? I'm going to move on to the next one. Okay. What's the next trouble? I should ask you this out of the gate, since that's the reason we're here. Give me your pick. Super Bowl 60. Do you know what? So I actually normally... Is there one result that's better for you? Yeah, there is. It's like not... So this is a really cool story. So a very good friend of mine, who I started working for the NFL in about 2003. And it was when NFL Europe was around. And during the NFL Europe days, there were local players, British players, but from all over the world, who would get a chance to be part of NFL Europe. And they were obviously football players, and they weren't just pulled off the street. So a friend of mine, a guy who I became very good friends with, we were about the same age, played for the Scottish Claymores, and then the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europe, and we got a chance to play on a couple of better teams as well. Sea Devils, what a terrible name. Not a good name. Sea Devils. I'm very suspect. A devil of the water. Yeah. Like the land somebody else has covered, there's another devil for that. An ineffective devil, let's be honest. It's like, I'm going to really make life hell for these fishes. I mean, it's supposed to be right. Like the devil's whole thing is heat and fire, and like that's not going to work. Yeah, it's not going to work. It didn't, and it didn't work. But so guy's name is Adam Durdy. Hamburgers are good, though. Hamburgers are great. Guy named Adam Durdy. Adam, since then, has then played in the NFL. He led the NFL's international player pathway program, so he's responsible for finding some of the great international players who are in the league now. Jordan Milar, I think the most sort of obviously successful of those. Adam then got hired to be part of the Atlanta Falcons. Coaching staff under Dan Quinn went with Dan Quinn to Dallas and was their defensive line coach. Is now the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks. So this is a guy who's come from the UK, born and bred in the UK, coached football in the UK, was part of a lot of the very successful things that we've done internationally to help develop players, and is now in his own right. You know, he's seen some of his offspring have their big moments. Jordan Milar to winning a Super Bowl last year. But Adam now as defensive coordinator of Mike McDonald's defense is the coordinator for the Seahawks. So I particularly am hoping and expecting that the Seahawks are going to have a great game and they're going to beat the Patriots. Well, one thing's for sure. Well, I say that is so you're rooting against a lot of your countrymen based on what you said, but I could listen to you say, Seattle Seahawks all day. And Confetti is the double T. Confetti is my favorite. That's where we first, David and I first bonded over Confetti. Seattle Seahawks may rival it though, ultimately. Now, your team, the Miami Dolphins. What do you think? Your thoughts? Happy that Mike McDaniel was shown the door. Did you feel he rallied them a little bit? I loved Mike McDaniel and I think that it was telling that the team continued despite having nothing to play for that they played hard through the season. And I think he, I think he, I'm what I'm really interested in. People haven't talked about this very much with regard to him going is his off. I wonder what his offense would have looked like if he wasn't having to play with the constraints of what to a tongue of a law was ultimately capable of doing, which was, you know, like, well, we need to make sure he doesn't get hit. We need to make sure that we don't have to throw the ball too far down the field. He's not very mobile despite being quite, it's like, I wonder what, and I think Justin Herbert is the exact opposite of a lot of those things. So I'm interested to see, because I think people think that was Mike McDaniel's offense, but I think it was Mike McDaniel making, you know, doing what a good coach does, which is how do I make the best of this situation? But I wonder what it would have looked like if it hadn't been. Well, that reality delayed as it is now you're going to find out. And then it had Justin Herbert, so it makes for a fascinating what if. Absolutely. And then I would expect that the answer is going to be, wow, that would have been pretty good with Justin Herbert or with any other quarterback. And actually he'll be head coached somewhere else in a year's time. And I enjoyed him. I enjoyed, you know, there haven't been many. I did, too. There haven't been people who didn't like it. It's like, what's wrong with you? This is fun. This is different. Not everyone has to be cut from the same cloth. That's what you just said. What have we always talked about? Chili is not a soup. It's something better. It's its own thing. Yeah. Mike McDaniel was unique, and that's what you want to do. Okay. The most, well, there aren't shades of unique. There aren't degrees of unique. What's the most distinctive place if there's an American football fan who says, you know what, these European games, these international games, aren't going anywhere. It's fine. It's time for me to go and consume one. Where best to go in 2026? I am good at, I mean, look, I'm biased towards London. So I will say there are three of them. Come visit us. Come. And I'll, you know, let me know that you're coming and I'll make sure that you have a fabulous time. But if you've been to London because the games have been in London for many years now, I'm going to suggest you go to Madrid. Madrid's an amazing city. Spain's a fantastic country. And I think that you will find that you'll have a great time in Madrid. So that would be my recommendation. I've got to make the Spain trip at some point anyway. Maybe I'll be able to meet handsome Hank over there. We definitely do that. Wait, if, can we, if the Pittsburgh Steelers were to come and play overseas again, I know you didn't get a chance to see them in Dublin. Please will you come, Dave? I'm desperate to do it. And I don't care if the Steelers are over there. I'd love to come and visit you and see the way you live. Make your way. We're so proud of you, handsome. I'm proud of you too. I, what, what a great thing was to meet you forever ago now. But since you've moved on, sad to think it's already been, how many years has it been? It's been nearly four years. But you know what I do? I do, you know, I was, I was looking at some, some of the pictures we, we talked about just now. And I was looking at them and yesterday I was looking and, you know, Super Bowls and you and I sitting, doing this kind of thing. I feel unbelievably lucky that I spent however long it was, eight, 10 years with you getting a chance a couple of times a week to sit around a desk and, and talk and do all the fun stuff that we did. So thank you, Dave, for including me back in those days. Because it was, I never, that wasn't what anything I ever expected to be doing when I came to Los Angeles originally, not knowing a single person in, in the whole place. But it was, it was something that was very special to me. Well, I agree. You were very lucky. Um, no, I really, if I had, if I have any talent in this dumb business, it's being able to identify, I don't care what that person's job title is or what, what they're supposed to be doing. I can identify if that person's going to be good or bad or otherwise. And I immediately knew, handsome Hank, why is he not talking into a microphone? We changed that. And I love to hear the story years later that people in London or otherwise will shout out to you while you're walking with a pro football player. It's handsome Hank, a hero. There he is everybody, the general manager of European football games. What was it? That's what you say. I said general manager of the NFL in the UK and Ireland, but it is a little bit of other places as well. I was going to say, I think they need to update it. You're talking about Spain and you're talking about this, that and the other. So I think you've expanded beyond those borders in the meantime. What a pleasure to see you once again. Handsome Hank Hodgson. Thank you, Dave. I got to tell you sincerely, the whole trip was worthwhile just to catch up with handsome. I'm glad to see him doing so well. Okay, let's get into it now. The pick six and let me say first of all MVP, I mentioned it at the very top. It's now the max. We agree, right? Fellas were all in lockstep, Mike and Gino, that Max McGee should be paid tribute for all of time now. I mean, they had a hangover for the first Super Bowl. I'm down with it. Yeah, he can have my vote. Excellent, excellent. I'm glad we all agree on that. And now like I say, pick six presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours. We only have one game. That's the bad news. The good news is, I think there's some juicy options out here. Let me show you the way. First of all, my pal for media night, Jason Myers, who is going to be thinking about Dave Damashek, if he has to go out there for a last second kick to try and win the Super Bowl. I say he's going to go over one and a half field goals. Next, I mentioned at the top Sam Darnold, I think is going to win this game. I think he will perform well enough. I also think he's still Sam Darnold. So I'm going to say he's going to go over half an interception and not just because you can't throw half of an interception. Next, I am going to say Drake May. A big factor that a lot of people pointing to is Drake May. We've talked about it quite a bit. In fact, on the show, Drake May has made a lot of hay on the ground this postseason, all through the season. In fact, with those legs and the issue is, you know, the Seahawks are going to be focused in on preventing him from doing just that air go. I say under 38 and a half rush yards for him. My favorite play among these and in general besides the safety bet that I told you about earlier 11 to 1. Make sure you bet on a safety. That's good times. Kenneth Walker combined rush receiving yards over 99 and a half. That feels like a heavy number until you see how he's performed over the last five, six games. He hasn't come close to not transcending that number. He's consistently in triple digits. The closest he's come, if I'm not mistaken, was in the last game they played and he still got over by 10. Yards the 99 and a half. So I think you should feel good and safe. And I'm going to stop there because we have not won the million dollars. Geno and Mike Mike and Geno Fuentes. So hopefully you guys can fill in the blanks here. We have two more to complete here. How say you? Okay, I think I'm going to go Ramondrae Stevenson here. They have 77 and a half rush and receiving yards. I'm going to go under. I don't think he's going to get much to work with in terms of on the ground and you know, he's a big guy. So maybe not maybe not a lot of receiving yards. I can see a few check downs, but they'll probably be like of the shorter variety just to get out of pressure. Yeah, we've been on touchdowns. I was looking at that same one. Go ahead. Yeah, and I've been on touchdowns all year. We've all been on touchdowns all year to be honest. And I don't want to go the super obvious route and tell you Jackson Smith and Jigba. I actually think Jackson Smith and Jigba is going to have a tough time this game. They know that like he's the grease that gets the Sam Darnold wheel going. So I'm going to take tight end AJ Barnard. He's going to score a touchdown in this game and that's going to wrap up our pick six. All right. There you have it. Best wishes to you. Remember the safety bet. That's the way to go. 11 to 1 everybody. All right. Now let's move on to one more conversation with an old pal of ours. We did it on the Draft King set. It was great to catch up with our guy. By the way, it's a home and home. So make sure you're looking out for your old pal Dave on his show. It's the Ross Tucker football podcast. And here he is. Ross Tucker on football America. All right. Here we go. And before I introduce him, I do observe as we sit here on the Draft King set on media row in front of Super Bowl 60. Of course, this table is optimal for some paper football. Don't you think Ross Tucker? I have not played paper football in a long time. I mean, neither have I. I'm a grown man. No, no, I know. I'm just thinking that is optimal. It's a little too low. Like we're going to do it on our knees. That's true. Yeah. So you primarily play at the cafeteria? Yeah. In between classes, right? In school or like my daughters will play at dinner when they're bored, stuff like that. Really? I forget how you actually make the football for paper football. You don't think you could put together a triangular piece of paper? No. Really? OK. That'd be a good test. In fact, I'm sure I couldn't. Well, maybe we should get a piece of paper and see if you can put one together. Either way, like I say, it is the man, the host of the Ross Tucker, you call it the football program, right? Oh, no. Ross Tucker football podcast. That's right. That's right. Yeah. I knew that. I was just invoking the name of a show you used to visit of mine. How are you, Ross Tucker? Haven't talked to you since I started this Football America. Does the NFL still have the rights to that? I don't know. I don't care. But if you want to take it, it's all yours. Football program. How are you, Ross Tucker? Do a great man. I've been watching your work. You have. I have. I've been seeing the social media clips, especially on the LeBatard show. That's pretty awesome, man. I like how you tag at LeBatard show with every clip. What do you want me to do, friend? No, it's what you should do. You are one of the preeminent self-promoters in the biz. You're looking at me and saying that is that are you critiquing me doing that? Are you counseling me on any level here? No, I think it's smart. First of all, I thought potentially that was just like the arrangement. Right. I just thought that was part of the deal. But if they would repost it every time, I would tag them too. Let's talk about, okay, you know what? We're pretty far in here now. So it's not first things first. Let's start with this Super Bowl and give me your final score. 20 to 17 Seahawks. Okay. A nice tight game. I agree with you that the score is going to be relatively low. You know, it'd be fun to do at some point. Like you were looking for more from that, right? But what if I came on your show? I can be very verbose. What if I just, just the facts, ma'am, nothing but the facts? And I answered your like every question like with like a four word answer. Like what do you think is causing me? 2017's no color, no analysis, just straight. Look, I think it's going to be a close game because I think Vrables an awesome coach and I think the Patriots have played very well. Seahawks are better. I mean, if they played 10 times, Seahawks win seven or eight probably, but that's not what matters. What matters is what happens in the one time they're playing as each other. I wouldn't be shocked if the Patriots win, but I think Seattle wins. I like the Patriots and the points on the DraftKings Sportsbook app. I just don't know where the Patriots are coming up with their points to keep up with the Seahawks. I think their puncher's chance as I keep saying is that Sam Darnold has washed the stink off eternally now. I think unless he has an atrocious Super Bowl, I don't think anybody's ever going to question his ability to show up in big spots after that NFC title game, but he's still Sam Darnold. So the possibility exists that he could throw three picks and that would keep the Patriots in the game and maybe give them a win. As far as I'm concerned, that's about the shot that they have because I don't think the Patriots are going to roll on the ground against Seattle and I don't think they're going to have a ton of success throw. Maybe Drake may get some once or twice in a low scoring game and that could be the margin for him, but... I think they're going to have to take some shots. Nobody likes to do that against Seattle, but I think it's kind of crazy. I was talking to Daniels about this Monday night for Drake may to lead the NFL in completion percentage and also yards per attempt. That's crazy impressive. I mean, that's really hard to do. And so I feel like they have to take their chances. You know, Booty's made some incredible catches and has an incredible last name. Stefan Diggs has made some big time catches as well. I think those guys are going to have to make some plays down the field. And I think Drake may has to run for over 50 yards. I mean, I think he really has to like when in doubt run for a first down. Because I always say, I don't feel like all first downs are created equal. You know, like if your coach schemes up a good play and he beats the decorator and your guys open, like that's great. If your coach, if you get out coached and the decorator calls something great and your guy calls something bad and you get out of it and you still run for a first down, that's like a bonus. That feels like one and a half first downs in my mind. I think Drake may has to make a number of plays with his legs. I mean, I completely agree with what you're sort of getting at there with the gut punch, the emotional gut punch you receive from, you know, you're old enough to remember Super Bowl 25. And I think maybe the best example is the Mark Ingram third and 13 catch where he's going, not the Heisman winner, but his father, the Giants, wide out. When he catches a little pass that had no shot of getting the first down and then he somehow wins his way through the Bill's defense to get the first down, that really is the margin of victory for them. That's what creates the win for, I mean, history is different. The Bill's win, that's Super Bowl 25. And then who knows if imbued with a different level of confidence the next year, maybe they handle Washington and Mark Rippin. When you used Super Bowl 25, I had no idea who was in it. If you said the 1990 Super Bowl, I would have known Giants, Bill's, like, and I know the game was a 91, but like in my mind, I remember the seasons. I don't remember the names of the Super Bowls. How about you? Yeah. Well, once you get up, yeah, right around 25 is when the numbers that Roman numerals start to get weird and you have to look at them, you have to kind of like figure out, like, wait, oh, that's 37. That's, no, 30, well, wait, wait, the one extra dash, no, yeah, 36, 36. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. Yeah, I kind of do that same sort of thing. And I chronologically sort of like, wait, if the Giants beat the Bills in that one, then that means that the Super Bowl after that is the one in which Rippin beats them and then the one after that. And then Akeman gets them twice. And then that's how I sort of follow the Super Bowl era, which by the way, is the proper start. People get confused with this and people, you love history, Dave, don't you? How come you never talk about anything that happened before? Don Hudson, why don't you talk about Otto Graham? Because do you know, Ross Tucker, that until the mid to late 70s, the reigning Super Bowl champ would play a team of college All-Stars. Do you know about that? Yes. I think it's 76 is the last year it happened. Wait, they still did it during Super Bowl era? Oh, yeah. Yeah. There are images you can find moving ones even of they call the game, if I'm not mistaken, the Steelers are playing and Maryland's Randy White sacks Terry Bradshaw in a game, which is fascinating stuff. You know, obviously Randy White sacks. That is not a real thing. He's a Dallas Cowboy and the game got called because it was a torrential rainstorm. I'm pretty sure that they didn't finish it. But either way, that's the last one. But here's how you know pro football had not yet ripened before the Super Bowl era. In 1962, a team of college All-Stars beat the Green Bay Packers. I mean, I don't have to consider a sport in that state at all. Now once we get to the mid to late 60s, things start to turn a little bit. But I mean, if you can't beat much a 19-year-old player, what am I supposed to hold you up against? Well, how do they compare with the 94 Niners? I'm not going to play that game. You know what's fascinating about that? I think I have to look it up. The last Ivy League guy to win the Heisman, I believe was Dick Kazmire. And I want to say it was 62. He did not go to the NFL. He chose to go to Harvard Business School. You know, I think about that. Like, and you end up having a successful career and a bunch of kids and a great life and what have you. But if the Heisman winner is giving the Heisman to the NFL and going to Harvard Business School instead, it's probably problematic for the professional venture. A big update for you, Ross Tucker. A number of years ago, you extolled the virtues when we were doing the Shecky Awards and I was giving out best dessert of whatever year it was. And you made your case for ice cream and I tossed it out like so much melted ice cream. I've come around now. The kids, you know, it's been, I mean, it's been a slow burn to ironic to burn an ice cream. But I didn't, but over the years of going to the ice cream shops and like, can I get a, you know, a little sample here, a little sample there. And then it turned into a scoop and now, you know, two scoops consistently. So I don't know how much you try. What are some of your favorite flavors? Well, it's, it's, that's a good question. Right now, I would say at the top of the pile, what they've really been doing a real good job with and most respectable ice cream houses do this is they'll do a churro. And when you, when you're doing a churro, what you're really doing is you're doing cinnamon ice cream and cinnamon ice cream is very good. Coconut. And then the granddaddy, great one is mint chip. I'll say you. I love that you just said mint chip. Do you know, I believe that mint chocolate chip is the single most polarizing ice cream flavor. That's an interesting, yeah. A lot of people say it tastes like toothpaste. My wife. And they think it's gross. I'm not aware of someone in American society that thinks mint chocolate chip is just okay. They either love it. It's a great point. Or they hate it. They're like, there's a lot of other flavors that yeah, it's pretty good. I got, you know what the best flavor is? This is crazy. Damage X no fence sitter. So that shouldn't surprise you that I'm not sure. This is crazy. Have you ever had, do you know what moose tracks is? I know that you're going to tell me now. Go ahead. It's like a Pennsylvania thing, I think, but it's like a chunky fudge chocolate, peanut butter, like combo. Okay. My favorite flavor is mint moose tracks. And the only company that I'm aware that makes it is Hershey ice cream company, which is where I reside. However, Hershey ice cream company, no relation to the Hershey chocolate company. They're totally separate businesses. And the Hershey ice cream company is based in Harrisburg. I said, where I live, I can't find it anywhere. I first discovered mint moose tracks in North Carolina at the Outer Banks. And I said, where did you get your ice cream from? They said, it's Hershey ice cream. I said, are you kidding? I made friends, of course, with the Hershey ice cream people. They gave me a tub, a tub and somehow I got to fit in my freezer like, like they scoop out of. But I was so worried about it going bad that I had it. My daughters and I had it every day, the entire summer. And it was like seeing it where it up. But anyway, I know we got to stop soon, but mint moose tracks from especially Hershey ice cream. You got to find it somewhere. Ross Tucker, everybody. There goes Ross Tucker. Here we go to real quick while we're still in season. Shout out to my guys, the Fuentes boys, Gino and Mike Mike and Gino. Good luck to Gino's wife, Seahawks and the big one. Soup, Campbell, Danny B, everybody at Meadowlark. Great thanks and thanks to you, football Americans, for being a part of the ride through this season. Stay subscribed on YouTube and wherever you find your audio podcast. Matter of fact, spread the good word for now. Enjoy the big game. And one last word here. Let's get it over to Dave Damashick. Thanks Dave. And by the way, big fan, great work all season long on football America. But as we wrap up here, hate to say it, but after the Super Bowl, that's it for football season. So, I guess I ought to head back to LA. You know what though? Come to think of it. The Combine is in just a few days. And then right after that, free agency. And I got to say that my team really needs some help, but I'm sure everybody's team, you, if you look at your roster, even the team that wins the Super Bowl, is probably going to want to sign some guys. And that'll be great, but then the draft comes around. And that's going to be interesting to see where the Heisman hero Fernando Mendoza goes. I guess probably the Raiders. And that's a decent spot. But man, the Raiders aren't very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good. They're not very good.