Split the Corner Podcast
2 ex bartenders have their favorite bar conversations. Your home for phone down bar discussions on movies, music, sports, history, hypotheticals and whatever else we feel like.
Split the Corner Podcast
Mid-Summer Check-In
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Summer is just over halfway over and with so much happening in the greater Philadelphia area and beyond, Kaz and Kyle thought there was no better time than the present to check in and discuss what has been going on while we've been away. The biggest story of the summer was the World Cup and since Philly was one of the host cities, the boys of STC had a front row seat to the goings on and have a lot to say about the tournament. That was followed up immediately the MLB All-Star Game being hosted at Citizen's Bank Park and of course there was a lot to unpack there as well. And if all that wasn't enough, the 76ers acquired the services of the LeBron James in a truly flabbergasting turn of NBA events. A lot can happen when you're on "vacation" and we are jumping in head first. See you all in September!
Welcome to Split the Corner. What can we get you? What is going on, everybody? Welcome to the Split the Corner Midsummer Classic. My name is Kyle, and with me, as always, is my dearest of dear friends and co-host, Kaz. Kaz, happy midsummer, bud.
SPEAKER_00Happy Midsummer. It feels it feels very Norse, right? Throwing it out to Ehrlich, Erling Holland. I like that you Summer celebration.
SPEAKER_02I like that you said it like we were talking about spelling it right before we came on. You said midsummer. Excellent. Well Ben, man. Haven't seen you in a minute. It has been a little bit. Things have been things have been good, man. I've got the kids at home all day, every day. So I am kind of in the real life adaptation of daddy daycare. And it is a lot. I I used to see things where people would talk about like, oh my god, I can't wait for my kids to go back to school and all this. And I'm like, oh, you're just being lame parents. But you know what? I kind of get it. And I love my children, and I'm glad that I get to spend the time with them that I do. But like they just keep going, dude. They never stop. It's unreal.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, those those homeschool families are different. I don't I don't understand. Kid needs to go somewhere else for a little bit. Everybody needs a break. Um, so so how you decide to do that at home on your on your compound where like the kids are never gonna leave and you're gonna be around them 24-7. I and you gotta think that that turnaround is fair play, right? Like the kids are saying the same thing. They're like, oh my god, I've been around nothing but adults for the entire I can't wait to go back to school. Like, I just want to see my people.
SPEAKER_02I mean, my three-year-old still thinks I'm pretty cool, but you know, maybe the seven-year-old could use some some more friend time. But Kaz this is obviously not a jump back into our regular season play.
SPEAKER_01This is No, it's been a hell of a summer in Philadelphia, and we need to get you guys all brought up to speed.
SPEAKER_02It's been an incredible summer of athletic prowess, of international camaraderie, and like some really crazy surprising things have happened. So Kaz and I decided that before we get back into season two, which will be coming to you all in the first week of September, that we would kind of check in and just go over some of this crazy stuff that has been going on in the greater Philadelphia area and in the world at large. And I think there's no better place to start dear Kaz than with the World Cup.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, let's go chronological, let's yeah, let's let's remember it as it happened, right? So Philadelphia got to host some World Cup games. Um, on top of that, uh the US got to host the World Cup, right? So we were at ground zero for this for this happening of happenings. I remember the one in the 90s that was here. Um, I don't remember it super well. I remember watching the final. I remember Brazil taking it home. I remember that team for the US, the Alexi Lawles' and Claudio Reina. Yeah, Tony Miola, that that whole squad. So I do understand the the scope of it, right? Like I do understand the magnitude of having this sort of thing in your backyard and and hosting it here and and letting the world see what we're doing. I do not and maybe maybe shoot me down if you don't want to start here, but I do not think FIFA did the greatest of jobs uh with kind of bringing it to America.
SPEAKER_03What do you mean?
SPEAKER_01So we knew this was gonna be a capitalist kerfuffle, right? Like you want to see capitalism in its ultimate form bring a World Cup to America and we'll show you how capitalism can capitalize. But it's almost like they didn't go all the way, right? The the tape over the logos for the products at the stadiums, the you know, the the renaming of everything. So so the games in Philadelphia took place at Lincoln Financial Field. That's where the Eagles play. Um however, due to the trademark and promotional things that FIFA put into play, it was not called Lincoln Financial Field, it was called Philadelphia Field. And they did this to every stadium that hosted games all over the country. Levi Stadium was not Levi Stadium, Gillette Stadium was not Gillette Stadium. Like I understand that in other venues of the world stadiums get named that aren't opted to branding rights, but we don't.
SPEAKER_00Like, that's just the name of the stadium. It's Lincoln Financial Field.
SPEAKER_01It's I've never been to an Eagles game at Philadelphia Stadium in my life. It's the Link. Be cool though. Yeah, maybe.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, you got to go to a game, so you had a first hand picture of all of this, and you know, when we talked about it when you were there, you were saying just what you're saying now, that it was, you know, overpriced and and the quality of some of the things that they were giving away, or excuse me, not giving away, but charging an arm and a leg for was not maybe what you thought you were paying for. But is that an is that an indication of just what American sports is or what FIFA's doing?
SPEAKER_01It's gotta be an indictment on FIFA. It has to be. I the look at something as simple as uh the game scarves. They had scarves available. You know, I went to lucky enough to go to Curacao versus Ivory Coast. Um, two teams that fantastic fan bases, just really happy to be here. Um, and every game that the merch tent had, you know, they had a scarf that was kind of split up the middle, and it had both teams on it with like the day of the match, or you could get the scarf of of you know the corresponding nation. So whatever you're choosing. So one scarf says Curacao and Ivory Coast, you know, the date of the match split up the middle, World Cup 26, Philadelphia's got that whole thing. Then there's an Ivory Coast scarf, then there's just a Curacao scarf. I was in line. The the first like the first thing I did when I entered the stadium was go, oh, there's the merch tent. It's not not my first sporting event, not my first concert, not my first. You know, you get in the gates, you find the merch, you hop in line. The scarves were sold out by the time I made it to the to the register. That means that the scarves were sold out before the game even started. That's just piss poor planning. And I would like to think if you would have made enough merchandise that you could have sold merchandise to everyone that wanted it, you wouldn't have had to bleed us dry on ticket prices. You know, instead of $500 tickets and no merch, why doesn't everybody get a $350 ticket and a jersey and a scarf and a like let us spend our money. Trust me, we're gonna do it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, $350 still sounds like a lot to me, but for the sake of easy math. I think that that's I mean, yes, that's a huge problem, I think, just in general. I mean, people are not able to afford to go to games like they used to be. I mean, it's not just an indication of what it is to be in the World Cup, and I think the World Cup deserves to be a little bit more expensive than everything else because it's only once every four years. And the next time it's in the United States, I believe, is like two World Cups from now, I think they or three World Cups from now, maybe.
SPEAKER_01We're I think we're pitching again for the end of 2030. Yeah, like 2038 or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think. But I mean when when when only I mean, I know you got your you got your tickets through from for as a gift, and I think that's amazing, and I think that that's wonderful, but you know, when John and Jane Q public aren't able to just say, hey, like I'd like to go see a game, I mean I think that kind of sucks because no one can afford it. But here's the other thing. We were in a host city, and I would like to know what it is the fans from other countries do for work where they can afford to fly over and then stay here for how many weeks on end and still get to go to the games and all of this. I just maybe are they hiring? I think is what I'm asking.
SPEAKER_00I and this came up in a lot of conversation.
SPEAKER_01I just think the world consumes sports differently than we do in America. Right. I I think you know, curacao. People from Curacao don't go to a Sixers game, they don't go to an Eagles game, they don't go to a Phillies game. Like, their country has a soccer team, and that's what they do. You know, there aren't a whole lot of tours that are setting down on their island over there. It's not like they're blowing their annual summer budget on concerts, like they just watch soccer. Scotland. Great point. Scotland came over in a in a big way. And there was a there was an onion article joking that it's going to take at least four years for the Scottish economy to recover from everybody pulling their money out and spending it on American beer. But they what other sports are Scotland playing? Like the world as a concept, I feel like waits for the Olympics and then waits for the World Cup. Yeah, you'll get some secondary sports in Scandinavian hockey, or you know, I hear Spain is getting really good at basketball. But like, for the most part, soccer's it. You know, these African nations don't have a heck of a lot else going on until their soccer team makes it, and then it's I've waited for this moment forever, let's clear out the bank account.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a really good point. But I think that what I liked about all of these people coming over was just for the first time in quite some time, the United States was not looked upon as a nation in turmoil, shall we say? That for the most part, and I would say 97% of the things that I saw come out from people that were here from other countries was incredibly positive. And I think that that is an amazing thing, you know, that that there were so many people out there that came from other places, and maybe they had this misconception of what the United States was or who the who Americans are, specifically in the climate that we live in right now, and we're not a political podcast, nor are we ever going to get political about anything. But I think it's safe to to say that in general, that the United States image across the world is not necessarily in the best shape it's ever been. So to have people come over and just you know be treated to hospitality and to enjoy what it is to, you know, the things that maybe we take for granted every day on a daily basis because we live here, and to see them enjoying the United States and to see them enjoying, you know, the different types of people that we have here, you know, it wasn't like they were just set in one place for the entirety of their visit. They, you know, the further they went on in the tournament, you know, they had to go see other cities and go see other people and go taste other foods and go do all these other things. And it was just such an amazingly positive experience from everything that I've I've seen that, you know, maybe being proud to be an American is something that we can be again.
SPEAKER_01It did kind of shine a light on the fact that the good news doesn't get out, right? That that no one is no one is reporting the good things that are happening anywhere in the world. I don't even think that's American specific. I would when's the last time you saw good news about something happening in England, you know, like it's it's just the bad news makes it out. And and you hear about, you know, our American problems with this and our problems with guns, and and you start to think that, you know, you develop a picture of what the typical American and the typical American life looks like, and and then you get here and you're completely distracted by our by our food and our cultures and our weather and the the neighborhoods that we live in, and I and I thought it was And Costco. It was the feel-good story of the tournament. And it did. It did kind of it did kind of make me think I I take a a decent amount of things for granted as an American in watching people watching people get all up in arms about the size of the drink that you can have.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, yeah, I do, I do have some large cups.
SPEAKER_01You know, like it's just one of those things. And that you can refill them for free. Right? So so, yes, America, the home of free refills.
SPEAKER_02Like, I'll tell you this. I'll tell you this, man. The thing that got me over and over and over again was the fact that people couldn't get over ranch. I had no idea that ranch was a strictly American dressingslash condiment. I had no idea. Now, here and and here's the other question I have for you, buddy. If we are such a capitalistic nation and we take such pride on utilizing every opportunity there is to expand our businesses, why are the makers of ranch dressing not expanding internationally? Because guess what, gang? The World Cup is a perfect example of the business that you're missing. How is it not gone international? And follow-up question: how long until there is ranch available at every European grocery store across that beautiful, beautiful continent?
SPEAKER_01I mean, unless the people at Hidden Valley are pretty convinced that America is the Hidden Valley, uh, you would think they'd be working on it now. I gotta assume it's not over there because we put too much crap in it. The same way that like the ketchup that we have over here is not the ketchup that they have over there. And the It's different ketchup? It is. Uh if you want to buy European ketchup in America, you have to buy the organic, no sugar added ketchup. Is it gross? No, it tastes pretty much the same.
SPEAKER_02Now, we've both come out on an episode of this very podcast as not ketchup's biggest proponents. So, like, would we would you know the difference? Like, can you you can't taste the difference you said?
SPEAKER_01Is it I mean you can taste the difference, but you're not gonna it's like switching from Heinz to Hunt.
SPEAKER_00Alright, I can take that.
SPEAKER_01You know, like you're like, oh, okay, this is not my usual catch-up, but catch up is catch up.
SPEAKER_02I think I'm waiting for like maybe not next season, but the season after. Man United is wearing Kraft Ranch as their big sponsor on the front of their kits. It's gonna have to be somebody.
SPEAKER_01The entire championship is gonna be a bunch of liquor brands and then ranch. That's right.
SPEAKER_00Who had the best fans?
SPEAKER_01Do you know the X games are still around? No, they're not. They are. I watched them this weekend. So, first of all, and it's a bit of a tangent, we'll get back, but uh, X games happening this summer is also pretty crazy. It wasn't in Philly, it was in New Orleans that I was watching it. Um, Sal Masekela still hosts the whole thing, and I was like, oh my god, is that Sal Masikela? Why do I remember that name? Um, still still dude in charge of the X Games. Um, is he a thousand? He looks exactly the same. I like he might not be real person, anyway. Um overly branded, way overly branded. You're you're watching the Stoke Coffee best trick on the moon, pay crypto, X Games, New Orleans, but just way too branded. And that's what I thought we were getting to bring it full circle. That's what I thought we were gonna get from the World Cup is an overly branded, overly sponsored, and and instead they went the other way, and I think they missed some opportunities there. And shout out to Levi's, who once they once they draped the curtain over the Levi's logo on the stadium. Levi's was like, all right, that's fine. And they draped curtains over their signs everywhere, and it was fantastic.
SPEAKER_02So you're saying that the X games overbranded way. And the World Cup, and the World Cup could have branded more.
SPEAKER_01Hundred percent. They could have offered discounts to Lincoln Financial, to Gillette, to Levi's, to Heinz Ketchup, to all of these brands that they went through and crossed out. They could have just offered them a discounted sponsorship. Look, your signs already up there, so we're not negotiating signs, we're just negotiating broadcasting rights and you know, naming ability, which is what we do here in America is negotiate broadcasting rights, naming abilities. So you really you went so far as to change the integrity of the game by adding a commercial break into the halves, but you won't just tell Lincoln Financial that if they want to keep their name on the sign, it's gonna cost them an extra 10 grand. Just feels weird. Feels like a weird place to go looking for money when you could have found it somewhere else.
SPEAKER_02I think the X Games probably needed to do that because without all those uh added sponsorships, they're not gonna be able to do anything. I mean, when was the last time that the X games were culturally relevant? I mean, those tickets couldn't have been more than 10 bucks to go see some 14-year-old I've never heard of do a kick mick kick flip mcali go smash aboard something 360. I mean I don't know, dude. The X game's just it just seems like such a it's such a 90s concept, it's such a grunge concept that definitely is 20 years, if not more, past its heyday that you have to go get the Stoke Coffee Monster Energy Forever 21 sponsorships, or else you're not gonna be able to put this thing on.
SPEAKER_01But if it if it is that far past its heyday, then why would these people advertise through it? Like it's it somebody's still gotta be watching, or or that I mean they they packed the the New Orleans what what is it Mercedes-Benz arena? No, the uh see again stadiums not named, they're sponsors.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's the that's the Saints Arena. They put they packed this.
SPEAKER_01No, they didn't well not packed, but there were significantly more people than I thought should be there.
SPEAKER_02I would have called if that's a 65,000 person stadium. How many people were in it?
SPEAKER_01Forty. Bullshit. I I'm bullshit. TV blocked out, kind of both end zones, and then fill the rest.
SPEAKER_02Were there multiple events going on? Was it like an Olympics gymnastics competition or curling where they had multiple events going on at the same time?
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah, they had multiple events going on, but it was it was the X games. It was the BMX, it was the skateboarding, it was the Vert, it was the street, it was the best trick, it was But they're all happening simultaneously.
SPEAKER_02What if I'm there to see Vert and the seat that I purchased puts me in front of the street competition? How does that work?
SPEAKER_01Oh, I 100% don't understand the logistics of ticketing. I feel like everybody stands and sits below the levels of what they're supposed to see. And again, like, how do you look into a vert ramp if you sat on the backside? Then what are you looking at? That's my point in time. I for me that'll always be an on-television watch, but it was pretty cool to throw it on on a Saturday afternoon and just leave it on in the background.
SPEAKER_02Was it on ESPN? It was. No shit. You know what? I tell you what, I I I apologize now for the venom that I just spat not three minutes ago about the X games. Because congratulations on continuing to be broadcast on ESPN, but maybe it's an age thing, dude.
SPEAKER_01Maybe I'm just I didn't even know it was on.
SPEAKER_02And ESPN is maybe one of like four channels that I actually watch.
SPEAKER_01Statistically, you're not wrong though, because there was a skateboarder who took a he took three golds, and I don't know which three, um, but what they were saying was he is the first person to get three golds in an X Games since Travis Pastrana. That's a name. And that's that's a name you remember. So like since 2026, it is 2026, since 2006, no one has gotten three golds at an X Games. So, yes, it's been 20 years since this has been talkaboutable. Because if you're not pushing those limits, if you don't have a new Tony Hawk and a new Dave Mira, and a new Bob Bernquist, and a new then then why the hell am I watching?
SPEAKER_00Who's the redheaded guy?
SPEAKER_01Sean White? Yeah. Well, and and again, shout out to the winner X games, too, because they're still doing it. And and my it it my takeaway is if people are still trying to compete, then they're gonna they're gonna need a place to do it.
SPEAKER_02I I agree wholeheartedly, and again, maybe my venom was misplaced, but it just seems like it was such a such a niche competition for such a a small window of time where like people actually gave a shit about this kind of stuff on a scale that made it necessary to broadcast on ESPN because I just don't see the interest level anymore.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's a it's a sport that was born in our lifetime. That's a good point.
SPEAKER_01Like invented and born in our lifetime. You had to invent the thing that the sport happens on and then invent the sport that goes with it, and then so yeah, do you think do you think baseball had this same kind of you know, immediate uptick and then kind of lull where people were like, oh, you're still watching that? I mean, that was cool for a little bit, but like I can't believe you're still watching that. Do you think that happened like with the second World Cup? Like we did the first World Cup and then the second one came around and people were like, We're gonna do it again. Why? It's been four years. Why are you gonna do it again now?
SPEAKER_02Probably not, because you're talking about national pride versus some kid with you know baggy jeans and airwalk sneakers.
SPEAKER_00And they still wear the baggy jeans and the airwalk sneakers.
SPEAKER_02I'm sure they do. It's great. Well, real quick before we jump off of the World Cup and the X games or whatever. Give me your number one fan base for the World Cup.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it had to be Scotland.
SPEAKER_01Scotland had to be had to be the He drank Boston out of beer. And and made Boston love them while they did it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right. Boston, Boston sat there, watched all of their taps go dry, and went, way to go, you pisses.
SPEAKER_01Like that it has to be, it has to be Scotland. And specifically the Scotland-Boston interaction, because Scotland went to Miami, and Miami were kind of dicks to them. Um, but I do I do love the takeaway, and I've never looked at America like this, but it makes a lot of sense from a European perspective that we are a country full of countries. I I have never thought of you know kind of Florida as its own country and Texas as its own country, and you know, maybe Upper New England, New York area as its own country. But if you if you look at the way that Europeans will go from you know Spain to France to Germany to, you know, we're gonna hop on a train and go take a Friday night in Amsterdam, that's what we do. We go from Philly to New York for a slice of pizza and a drunken throwdown, and then we take the train back. Like that's we are we are changing cultural lines, we're crossing, we are a country full of countries.
SPEAKER_02Dude, we live in and around Philadelphia, like Philly is its own country to beat the band, and and and and and I think that emphasizes your point so very well, and that's very well stated. Because go go anywhere else in Pennsylvania. Let's just use PA as an example. Go to Pittsburgh. That's a five-hour drive from Philadelphia. Now go to France. I mean, you can be in five different countries in five hours. Meanwhile, we're still in the same damn state. And Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two completely different things from a cultural standpoint.
SPEAKER_01They could essentially be capitals of of warring kingdoms, for all we know, with like a vast swath of of southern property in the middle.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01It's just it, I mean, that's it's wild.
SPEAKER_02It's wild to me that maybe maybe that's another big takeaway from the World Cup is just the sheer vastness of the United States. And and to your point, the uh a country made up of countries, you know, the the West Coast and the East Coast are two different places.
SPEAKER_01Different food types, different accents, different cultural amalgamations, different different activity. We're five hours different. It's it's half a day away. Right. So it it it it does the the sort of vastness of it all, I I think was very cool. And then and then to go immediately from from the World Cup, which uh can I can I take a minute and put a VAR soapbox down? Go ahead. Um, we've gone too far. Preach. We we have tried to we are messing with things further than they need to be messed with. The human perspective of the game is important, and things like the digital VAR for offsides that we had to watch screw country after country after country based on technology that we didn't ask for to try and make things more perfect than they need to be. I I it it it's such a it's such a a death spiral of of conversation, but as a striker, as a soccer player, growing up off sides is really hard to understand, and we are taught that even is on. If you're even with the defender, you're on sides. And now we're going to start messing with the definition of even. That's what we're doing. We're we're we're we're getting really specific about the definitions of these things in ways that we don't need to. You don't need to slow the game down to the point where you're looking at fractions of a millisecond to find out if that guy is on sides.
SPEAKER_02It completely destroyed the flow of the game. And I don't want to take any time to talk about hydration brakes because they're stupid and they need to be eliminated unless it's going to be 105 degrees. And it was a couple of times, those those hydration brakes were necessary at 105 degrees, and to your point, it's halves, not quarters. We don't need to put commercial brakes in the middle. But the VAR stuff was out of control, and there were some teams that got screwed on it. I'm looking specifically at you, Egypt. I'm looking specifically at you, Czechoslovakia. You got screwed on it, you'll never convince me otherwise. I ran. I ran completely hosed. You will never convince me otherwise, but it's taking uh the fun out of the game, it's taking the human element out of the game. And I think we talked about this during uh a conversation about the Olympics uh a couple of months ago, where we're talking about the subjectivity of of the officials of the of the of the judges in snowboarding or or ice dancing or whatever the case may be, that there's a subjectivity to it where everybody just kind of gets on board and goes, okay, it's just part of the game or it's part of the competition. And while I I think that VAR is not necessarily a bad thing in egregious episodes where there are things that absolutely need to be looked at again. Fucking offside at a millimeter is not one of them. A hair follicle touching a ball does not constitute offside.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the sensor in the ball thing was stupid. That can go dumb.
SPEAKER_02And here okay, and moving moving into this baseball this year has incorporated ABS, which is the ability for a batter or a pitcher or a catcher to challenge a strike or a ball uh that an umpire calls initially. And I was opposed to it as I've been opposed to pretty much any change in baseball as far as balls and strikes or even replay is concerned. I've I've been opposed to it. However, I will say that I have not hated ABS as much as I thought I would this baseball season. And I think it's been fun to a certain degree because there are guys that just absolutely suck at knowing the strike zone. Looking at you, Bryce Harper. Looking straight at you, Bryce Harper.
SPEAKER_01The the fact that there is now a stat that literally tells you their perspective of what they're seeing coming in, right? Because we've always we've always stood behind batters and watched them take a ball, and you and that's the first thing you say, good eye, good eye. That's good eye on that one. Now, if you don't have a good eye, there's a stat for that. And I and I think I agree with you wholeheartedly that I was not for it for the same reason. You're taking the human element out, you know, like getting a bad umpire or an umpire making a bad call is part of the game. It's part of what we yell at from the stands, it's but it's part of what we're doing. We're people playing a game, we're people officiating a game, refs can have good games and bad games, same as anyone, and that's part of it. But what I love about what they did with ABS is that they implemented it in a way that it becomes a strategic thing. If you blow your challenges in the first inning, and then there's a questionable pitch in the ninth, there's nothing you can do about that. And maybe that's the answer to this VAR thing in soccer. Maybe you get two VARs a game, and you have to choose where you use them.
SPEAKER_02See, I don't hate that. But the only problem is then, is that you're kind of cutting the referee's balls off. Like, where does so where does the referee come in? So like each team gets two, but like nine times out of ten, I think it's the referee that's gonna be making those calls, right?
SPEAKER_00It should be. I it should be the referee's.
SPEAKER_02But does the referee only get two? Because then what if he uses his two for one team and then he's left with none for the next?
SPEAKER_01No, I would think, well, no, the ref doesn't get any. We go to VAR if the it's just his call, so it's just his call stands. Oh unless you want to do what football does. And you say coach gets two challenges, but all scoring plays are reviewed. That makes sense. So if the goal goes in, VAR has to take a look at it and make sure that you know it was fine. But other than that, if you want to VAR challenge a foul, or you want to VAR challenge, you know, maybe something that didn't get caught, you use your team challenge for that.
SPEAKER_02So basically what you're saying is that European football could possibly learn something from real football.
SPEAKER_01In the way, yeah, in the way that it uses technology, I I really think so. Um I dude, I don't I don't hate that at all.
SPEAKER_02I think that I think that that that's that's the thing is that there are there are there are so many variables in soccer, and you're looking at so many different people and so many different things that it that I understand the need for it, I do, but like let's just let's just pump the brakes a little. And speaking of pumping the brakes, I don't understand how it is that in the year 2026 that grown men, footballers, soccer players can have their little pinky toe brushed by another man's cleat and then fall over as if they have been shot multiple times by a high-powered rifle in the gut and roll around like their pinky toe has been severed by a ravenous mongoose, and they roll around and they're like, Oh my god, everything hurts so much. I'm in so much pain. Oh my god, brother, you are on international TV. Get your shit together. It was embarrassing to watch a lot of these dudes roll around like they had been lit on fire when their shin collided with another dude's shin. By the way, you're both wearing shin guards. Figure it out.
SPEAKER_01I mean, those shin guards don't do much. I agree with you. That is not the point. That is not the point I'm making. I do think I do think you have to consider in some instances, and it does seem that those some instances are fewer and farther between. These are two grown men running as fast as they possibly can. When something messes you up, it doesn't take much to get you to go down, right? Like if you're sprinting at full speed and somebody knocks you slightly off balance, you're you're probably gonna get all confusticated and go down, right? Like it's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02One word, two syllables, rugby.
SPEAKER_01Those guys fall down all the time, too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and they don't roll around and and cry for their mothers and put tears in their eyes, and dude, it's the slapping of the ground. I think that's what got me the most. Is like, listen, I love soccer. I was a soccer player for a long time. You and I used to have season tickets to the Philadelphia Union together. We have seen a lot of soccer together, we've seen a lot of soccer independently of one another. But this World Cup was the exact reason why Americans who watch a lot of American football or watch hockey or people from, you know, countries that watch rugby more exclusively call soccer players pussies because these dudes are rolling around on the ground like someone had put an elbow through their face when their little tiny toe got stepped on a little bit. Uh boo freaking who get up and play the freaking game. It was embarrassing.
SPEAKER_01I do think the sport rewards the dive too much. Um, and I think the NBA is following suit, which I think is a weird kind of conversation some other time, because it that's it it's very quickly becoming a who flops more debate. Um I I do think the refs did a decent job at this World Cup of telling people no, of being like, no, I'm not a foul, get up.
SPEAKER_02What happened in that first game against uh for the US against Paraguay, where they reversed the yellow card because the dude flopped, they gave him a free kick, and then after the free kick, they decided they'd go to VAR and they checked it and they reversed the yellow card.
SPEAKER_01Well, how how as a sport do you encourage I don't want to say toughness, but like just not doing that. Same thing with you know what drives me nuts when they get tripped and they fall, and while they're falling, they grab the ball. Dude, that should be a handball. We should call that a handball. Absolutely, and you should you should lose the ball for that. Like that should go to the other team.
SPEAKER_02You know that this doesn't happen in the women's game. The women's game is so much tougher than the men's game because the men roll around like a bunch of sissies, and the women take a tackle, they collide with each other, and you know what they do, they pop right back up and they get going again. The men of the soccer world could learn an awful lot about toughness, about grit, about not being a little bitch from the women. Watch a women's game one time, watch a men's game one time, and then compare how many times people roll around on and flop around and slap the grass and call for their mamas in those games. And I promise you that the men will outdo the women in terms of being complete and total embarrassments to themselves 10 to 1.
SPEAKER_01So at what it's probably too deep of a conversation, but where are we losing it, right? Because you you coach youth soccer, you work with the kids at the at the little levels, and we're not telling kids to flop, you know, we're telling kids, come on, get up, keep going, get up, keep going. It's not a foul, you know, like play till the whistle. We're we're teaching toughness, we're coaching toughness, and then at some point we're rewarding weakness.
SPEAKER_02Is it something that's coached, or is it just something that that they see? Like, is there is there coaches out there in the Club level or the international level or the professional level or whatever that are being like, hey, if they look at you funny, make sure you fall over and make sure it looks like you were stabbed.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've had I've had coaches that have said you should have gone down there. And I've always disagreed.
SPEAKER_02You know, like going down. There's a difference between the floor.
SPEAKER_01So I'm not going down. And they say, well, you should have gone down.
SPEAKER_02No, but there's a difference between drawing a foul, which I think is a completely separate issue, and acting like that person put something inside of you that you didn't ask them to.
SPEAKER_01I think your your take of this is the world stage, don't you don't you wanna? I mean, look, if I went to the World Cup and played for my national team in front of 50 million people, and I dove halfway down the sideline and rolled my way towards the corner flag holding my knee, uh someone would bring that up later. Like someone would be like, you uh you went down pretty hard. He you probably didn't probably didn't need to. How's your knee? How's your knee? Your knee all right? Like I like, bro.
SPEAKER_02I watched you run for the next 35 minutes without even so much as a limp.
SPEAKER_01That the the hopping back up. So so maybe that's part of it too, because FIFA tried to do the whole if you go down and then you're down for more than a minute, you have to come off the field and then you have to wait to come back on, which I don't like because I I don't uh it feels like hockey. You know, it feels like you go stand over there for a minute until I tell you to come back on. But if that's what's going to work, then maybe it should be more severe.
SPEAKER_02It was a lot. It was a lot, and because there was an expanded format this year, we got to watch a lot more games, and it just it happened so frequently that my seven-year-old, who was devouring every minute of every game that he could, was like, Dad, are you kidding me with this? He's like, dude, that guy that guy looks like he died, and 35 seconds later he's up and he's running and he's trying to score again. Like, just figure it out. But as we were discussing earlier, multiple things have happened in the Philadelphia area this year, and I think we spent the last almost 45 minutes talking about the World Cup. So let's move on to thing number two that happened because we didn't even have a week's respite in between the World Cup and the City of Brotherly Love hosting the All-Star Game for Major League Baseball this year. So we hadn't even had the last World Cup match in the city by the time that the All-Star banners were going up. And you live far closer to the stadiums than I do. I mean, I work in center city, but you know, you live uh closer to the stadiums than I do. Did you did you get down to anything? Did you go and see anything? Did you did you notice the traffic sucked a little harder for a few days?
SPEAKER_01So it was more it was more center city than it was the uh the stadium district. It was very strange because obviously the art museum is a focal point, right? Everyone that comes to the city wants to run the Rocky steps, and and you know, we had the whole Rocky curse where the that you don't put your jersey on our homie because it doesn't end well. Um but in the middle of watching all of these all of these international visitors come and run the Rocky steps, they built the the draft stage right there. Same place they put up the Fourth of July stage, same place they put up so so a lot of things were happening in the same space, in the same time. It was like banners came down, banners went up. So I like the the all-star village was in the convention center. I thought it would have been, you know, in a tent in a parking lot somewhere by the stadiums, you know, put the village by the stadiums, but they put it in the convention center, same thing that WWE did when they came to town for WrestleMania. So it was more of a center city traffic, like good luck getting anything at Reading Terminal for a month and a half.
SPEAKER_02Trying to get to work was a yeah, it was terrible. But I will say this you I've been very vocal on this very program about my love of baseball and that it's my favorite sport. And I'm gonna I have a hot take on the all-star game, and it is this that the all-star game is very quickly becoming the all-pro game in the NFL. It's becoming very boring. I mean, this year the National League didn't show up, and from the from a from an at-bat standpoint, our very own Christopher Sanchez opened the whole thing and let up three runs in the first inning. But I mean, after that, I mean they're what the what did it end five-nothing, something like that. I mean, that's uh I I think that's the problem with the All-Star game is that that pitching is so good right now that you're not gonna be able to entertain people. I mean, the stadium was half empty by the fourth inning, like nobody stuck around. And I don't know how you change it. I mean, I don't think there's anything you can do about it because baseball is gonna be but is gonna baseball. But like, you've got the best pitchers in the league going up against the best hitters in the league. And to be completely honest with you, pitchers are always going to have the advantage, no matter what the circumstances, a pitcher is always going to have an advantage over a hitter because hitting a baseball is arguably the most difficult thing you can do in all of sports. I mean, I watched I watched four or five innings and went, okay, like I'm I'm bored now. There's there's just nothing to this. And they're they're doing the interviews in the middle of the field, and it's fine, but you know, the baseball players aren't entertaining. The only guy that I really wanted want to listen to ever is Freddie Freeman. Freddie Freeman is incredibly entertaining when he's got the mic on and he's in the middle of the field. But I mean, just for my money, I mean it was great that they had it here, but I don't know, dude. I was just I was super bored.
SPEAKER_01Do they still is there still like didn't it used to be that the winner gets to host the World Series or something like that? Like that's not a thing anymore, to my knowledge. Because that that made that made people care, right? Like the players. That made the players care because there's actually something at stake now, right? And that the location of game seven could really matter if our team gets where they're going, and you're a group of all-stars, so you gotta assume that your team's gonna try its best to get where it's going. Right. So I I there there needs to be some sort of stake. I and I and I agree with you. My money would always be on the pitchers, especially when they only have to get three people out.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I think well, let's just fix it, right? We fixed the World Cup, we fixed the VAR thing. Let's just fix it. Um pitchers need a skills competition.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Cause because what do what do they do, right? Like the like the quarterbacks used to do at the pitchers. You need to make them all throw one right after the other, see who's really throwing the fastest, see who's really the most accurate, see who's really got the most break. You know, it maybe the shit out of that dude. Maybe do a best pitch competition where it's you know, like maybe they've got something forkball. Yeah, right. Bring back a like like I throw a 1920s fork ball. Watch what this thing does. Like this is so so some sort of skills competition um to offset the home run derby.
SPEAKER_02Which by the way, the home run derby has lot lost a lot of luster over the leak over the years because for so long, the home run derby, and I mean you can look at the statistics of it, you can see the guys that have hit the most home runs at the beginning of the year, the guys that go into the home run derby after they go and they swing the bat as hard as they possibly can for an elongated period of time. These guys come out and they're tired for the next three weeks. You know, they don't hit as well. But I think that they they did away with the clock this year, and you got a finite number of pitches to hit the home runs. And it was incredibly entertaining. Now, granted, maybe part of that was because our hometown boy Kyle Schwarber got to the finals, and I knew, I'm telling you right now, buddy, I knew as soon as he went first that he wasn't gonna win. I knew he wasn't gonna win the minute he had to go first. And I think he could have. I think he could have done it, but it just I knew I we're we're we hosted so many things this year. Why can't we just get one W?
SPEAKER_01Right? Can we win one thing that we host, please?
SPEAKER_02But shout out to Kyle Schwarber, man. I mean, he he put on a show and and and and a show a shout out to Jordan Walker who who won the whole thing. Because that dude's facial expression never changed. He looked sleepy for the duration of the competition and just mashed the baseball.
SPEAKER_01Well, and shout out to Jordan Walker's dad, who had the quote of the night when he told his son that they don't boo a nobody. Oh, and I'm I'm peeping that one. That one went right in the back pocket.
SPEAKER_02Isn't that like the most Philly thing to say, though? Like it's the most filly possible thing. Like there, we we boo our guys because we love them and we want them to do better, but we wouldn't boo them if we didn't care. Yeah, they wouldn't boo a no, yeah. Shout out to his parents. And by the way, isn't his dad like an MIT grad and his mom is a Harvard grad? Oh, I have no idea. His parents are incredibly successful and incredibly smart people, and like he's probably super smart too, but he can hit the shit out of a baseball, so that's what he does. But it was I I like that they got rid of the two minutes because now you're not swinging out of your shoes like once every five seconds. Like you can actually take a minute and and maybe these guys aren't going to be super tired, but to be fair, Schwarber's got one home run since the all-star break.
SPEAKER_01Well, I I think the the home run derby has a little bit of the same problem that the dunk contest has. It doesn't give you the matchups that you really want to see. Right. You know, you we didn't get we didn't get Schwarber versus Cal Raleigh versus Shohei Otani versus Aaron Judge. Right. You know, like we didn't we didn't get that. So it does become a little bit of like, I mean, Wilson Contreras, cool, good for you, dude. But how does that fit into the plot?
SPEAKER_02It you know, like we the biggest names in the competition were Philadelphia Phillies, right? It was Schwarber and Harper, and Harper was take about 10% off it.
SPEAKER_01I'm I'm tired of him swinging as hard as he possibly can at everything. You know, so swing smooth is easy and easy is strong, or whatever the hell all those hitting coaches will tell you.
SPEAKER_02But like that's the thing, though, man, is like, yeah, the dunk comp you're absolutely right. The dunk competition was won a couple years ago by a guy who was in the Sixers G League because they couldn't get anybody to come and play or to come and do the dunk competition. So this year in the in the home run derby, you had Schorber and Harper, who were arguably the two biggest names. You had Junior Camonero, who is an up-and-comer, who I think is gonna be really great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and had a big world baseball classic.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. You had Ben Rice from the Yankees, who is potentially gonna be another, he's a young guy with a with a with a big future in the game. But like, give me the days where you had McGuire and Sosa and Griffey and Bonds and Bagwell and Mo Vaughn. Where did those days go? Why are we now getting guys that are a little bit bigger than me? I mean, granted, they're far more talented and much more skilled than I am, but they're not that much bigger than me. Like, I want these guys out there pounding the stuffing out of the baseball. And we're getting Ben Rice. And no disrespect to Ben Rice. I'm sure he's a great dude. And he did not hit the ball very well in the home run derby, and that's what I don't want. I want him to hit the ball real hard, real far, and not pop up every, you know, every couple of balls. I mean, I don't know. I mean, look, the home run derby this year to me was far more entertaining than it's been in a long time. And maybe that's because, you know, I'm a diehard Phillies fan, and one of our guys got there, but I just, I mean, I was invested in the whole thing. I just want there to be guys that are going to be out there that that belong there. Put your big name big hitters in it. And to those guys that are the big name big hitters that don't want to do it because, oh no, you know, I'm I don't want to be tired. Shut up. Shut up and go out there and go out there and hit baseballs.
SPEAKER_01Let me remind you how many hundreds of millions of dollars you're making to play a game.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, go out there and put on a show for the people that are responsible for your contract. Shut up and go hit baseballs. Shut up.
SPEAKER_01Go be tired for a week. You play baseball for a living. We knew what we were getting back then. You knew you were getting Sosa McGuire and you looked forward to it. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02You know, what do I care about Junior Camanero versus Ben Rice? I don't. No, again, it was fun.
SPEAKER_01It was. And and I think we're getting we're getting back to the fun of it. Um, but the the game itself, I'm with you. It needs stakes, and it needs. If you did a pitching competition, then you could it acknowledge all of the pitchers that need to be participating in All-Star Weekend. You could put on the show, but then you could just hand an AL pitcher and an NL pitcher the ball. And you don't switch every inning. You you do it like a regular game. You expect these guys to throw 80-some, 90-some pitches. It's just a day in the rotation. Yeah, it's gonna screw up two teams rotations for the season, but that's what you get for having the best pitcher in the league.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Hell, I'd take it a step further. Let me see some infield skills competition. Let me see outfield skills competitions. Yeah, just you know what? If you're gonna to your point earlier, if if capitalism is gonna capitalism, at least at least give us some other things to watch.
SPEAKER_00You know what else I want back?
SPEAKER_01And I I don't I don't know how official it was in terms of MLB. Um remember the rock and jock softball jam? Oh, hell yeah, dude. I want that back. Yeah, me too. Give me a collection of celebrities and and washed up athletes playing softball on prime time. Like, give me give me that back. What it's not like we don't have enough B celebrities running around trying to find shit to do with their time.
SPEAKER_02They just have they have a show now called America's Dumbest Celebrity or whatever. Like, take those people and put them in softball uniforms, yeah, and let them hit against Bo Jackson and you know I mean what's Ozzy Smith doing nowadays? He could probably still run a little bit. I mean, he's a hundred years.
SPEAKER_00That's the other thing. They used to do a seniors game. I'd watch that.
SPEAKER_01I just saw a clip the other day. 75-year-old guy hit a home run off like another 75-year-old guy. I would totally watch a seniors game. Absolutely. So I I think there's a lot of opportunity there. I I think again you're making us focus on the wrong thing.
SPEAKER_02I'm glad you put it that way because if if these two things had been our only focus today, the World Cup and the All-Star game, that would have been enough. If that had been our sole focus. But this past week, out of left field, something happened that a lot of people wanted to have happen, a lot of people were hoping was going to happen, but a lot of people didn't have on their bingo card. And that was that the Philadelphia 76ers landed the biggest free agent in basketball, possibly the biggest name in the sport, the guy that goes on every Mount Rushmore of the last 35-40 years. This Philadelphia 76ers have brought King James, LeBron James, is putting on a Philadelphia 76ers uniform for the next two freaking years. And the fact of the matter is, my friend, when I started watching Philadelphia 76ers basketball in the early 90s, I think I started in like 92, 93. Barkley was either on his way out or was already in Phoenix. The guy in Philadelphia was Clarence Weatherspoon. And if anybody remembers Clarence Weatherspoon, drop a comment and tell me your favorite Clarence Weatherspoon moment. Because there ain't many. We've been trusting the process for 10 years, 12 years, whatever it is. Trust the process. And the Sixers have not gotten out of the second round of the playoffs since 2002. And even before we signed LeBron James, the 76ers pulled off a trade amongst trades where they decimated all of their first and second round picks for the next couple of years and sent old man Paul George Packin to bring in Jalen Brown. We already had a pretty stack lineup, and you add LeBron freaking James to the Sixers. Kaz. Holy crap, dude.
SPEAKER_01Are the Sixers the most star-studded team in the city now? In the city? In the city.
SPEAKER_02Without question.
SPEAKER_01You'd put them over the Phillies.
SPEAKER_02LeBron James is a name that you could go and say in let's say 80% of the of third world countries in the world and the and and and you would get a response. Like, oh yeah, I knew who LeBron James is. But if you go into those same countries and say Trey Turner or Zach Wheeler or Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber, you're going to get blank stares. LeBron James is an international superstar who chose to come to Philadelphia. And that's the thing that gets me, buddy, is it's not that we traded for LeBron James. It's not that we went out there and decimated our G-League team and we gave away the house to bring LeBron James to Philadelphia. LeBron James saw Jalen Brown get traded to come here. And then he already saw Tyrese Maxie, who is an all-pro. You saw VJ Edgecomb, who's going into his sophomore season after having a killer season in his rookie year. And you see a potentially the most healthy Joel Embiid we've had since Joel Embiid was maybe 11 years old. A former MVP, an Olympic gold medalist. This is the best lineup that we are ever going to see, I think, in Philadelphia. And yes, it is the most star-sided team because LeBron James is not just a basketball player. LeBron James is a brand. LeBron James is somebody who who has outgrown his status as an NBA player. And he's a brand. I think it's going to suck at times because I think that we're not going to hear about anything else other than LeBron James for quite some time. But the Sixers have not won a championship since 1983. And I'd love to see one.
SPEAKER_01I just love that all of our well, four of five are really optimistic and excited about their future.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Four of five. I and the Flyers went the complete opposite direction, and they signed a bunch of children. And I still couldn't be more excited about this upcoming puck drop in hockey season. Right. Like I'm super excited for the Porter Martones and these 19-year-old kids that they got right out of college that are that are looking to set the world on fire. And I think that's what I think that's what LeBron is going to bring. So, like, yes, we have LeBron James and Joel Embiid, but how many games are they actually going to both be on the court together for? So yes, this is all we're going to talk about for most of this winter is Young Flyers kids whose names you've never heard, and the current update on LeBron James and you know, like, but but Edgecombe needs his help. Maxie needs his help. Embiid needs his help. Like, these are these are people that will definitely benefit from his basketball knowledge and his ability to kind of direct traffic as a player coach.
SPEAKER_02Right. And I think you got a guy in Nick Nurse, the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. You got a guy in Nick Nurse who's not going to just let LeBron come in and do whatever he wants. Nick Nurse is a guy that runs his team. And LeBron, you know, part of the reason when this whole thing was going on, like one of my big things against bringing LeBron was kind of tearing down whatever it is that we were doing. Now, maybe that needs to happen because we haven't been able to get out of the second round of the playoffs. But I don't think that you're going to see what you've seen in the past with LeBron, where he comes in and he's like, oh yeah, go get Anthony Davis, go get Kyrie Irving, like bring my boys in. Like, I don't think that you're going to see that. You got a new front office for the Sixers who are responsible for this. And I think that Daryl Morey, who's was the outgoing president of base of basketball operations, that was a guy that was just, he was bleh. And now you've got some younger guys in there. You've got some guys that are out there trying to make things happen. Well, one of the guys said he said he didn't want drains on the Sixers. He wanted fountains. He didn't want players that were drains. He wanted players that were fountains. And the fact that LeBron decided to come to Philadelphia, this is an unprecedented level of success of culture that you're seeing in the Philadelphia sports market where people actually want to come here. Bryce Harper wanted to come here. LeBron wanted to come here. These things don't happen in Philadelphia. They've never happened in Philadelphia before, but they're happening now. And I took a year off of the Sixers. I took a year and a half off of the Sixers because I was so disgusted with the way that this team was being run. And I gotta tell you, in the last three months, I've seen more positives than I have in the last three years.
SPEAKER_01Are we finally getting our flowers for being the sports fandom mecha of the country? Yeah. I would say so. It feels like everyone is starting to see what it looks like when you win here and what it looks like when you lose here, and that this is the place to come. He's been in LA for couple years now. Apart from the late you know, like LA's not a sports city. No, it's not. They've got a lot of teams, they've got a lot of championships, they've got a lot of money, they've got a lot of history, but it's not a sports city in the way that Boston and Philly and even Miami are sports cities.
SPEAKER_02Philly was voted the best football fan base in the country this past year. And I would argue that we have the best baseball fan base in the country. And I would argue that as a city, you will not find a more passionate group of people about their sports teams because there is a there's a Philadelphia mentality. There's a mentality here where it's us versus everybody else. And one of the greatest pieces of sports merchandise you can find in this city is it says Philly versus everybody. And that mentality has bonded us as sports fans of our different Philadelphia franchises. That makes that us against them mentality that much stronger. And I think that what you see in October when the Phillies are in the playoffs, and when you see the Eagles making playoff runs, and what you saw with the Flyers this past year, and what we've been trying to see with the Sixers, I think that athletes see that and they go, I want that. Are you gonna get that in Memphis? Are you gonna get that in New Orleans? Are you gonna get that in Cleveland? Are you gonna get that anywhere outside of Philadelphia? Absolutely not. So if you're an athlete that wants to come in and perform for a fan base who's going to hold you accountable, you come to Philadelphia. You come and you feel that because there's nothing like Philadelphia when the teams are rolling. Absolutely nothing like it.
SPEAKER_01And this year we might have the opportunity to root for all five. We might. Yeah, it's been a long time since we've been competitive on all the stages. Usually it's you know, go birds, go Phils, uh the Sixers and the Flyers are kind of coming along. We'll hope for the best. And have each team having its own collection of superstars feels feels like something that we can finally be proud of. It does. It it takes a little bit of a little bit of credit and a little bit of pat on the back for our fandom, but I feel like we have created an atmosphere that people want to come be a part of. Yeah, I'm sure Jersey sales help. I'm sure all of that marketability. I I'll throw a I'll throw a strange little minor conspiracy theory out there and say that I wouldn't put it past LeBron James to be coming to Philadelphia to help launch his tequila with the PLCB. Because they're notoriously hard to work for and work with and get your product on the store shelves, and that's a million-dollar enterprise all on its own. And LeBron's got a tequila. So, you know, I wouldn't put it past him as a businessman to be like maybe if I go to Philly, I could sell a bunch of tequila on top of all the jerseys and yada yada.
SPEAKER_02Because Lord knows we drink. Oh, it's exciting, man. It's just it's exciting, and I mean, golly, man. It's and that's a generational talent. It's unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01This feels like it could be a generational run.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01It feels like we could be talking about the period between 26 and 30 being the greatest time to be a Philly sports fan of of all time.
SPEAKER_02Agreed. Agreed wholeheartedly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and and I'd be interested in in looking back and seeing if there was ever in Dr. J. Mike Schmidt Bobby Clark.
SPEAKER_02I was just gonna say 79 to 83, probably.
SPEAKER_01Well, the fly and the Flyers run was 75-76, right?
SPEAKER_02I beg your pardon, 75 to 83. So yeah, five world four world championships in in in that frame. The Flyers had two. The Sixers had one, and the and the and the Phillies had one. But the birds were trash. They were such, but I mean, but they went to the Super Bowl in 80.
SPEAKER_01So we might be looking at at the greatest era of sports in Philly ever.
SPEAKER_02Since 2000. Well, I mean, the Phillies started things off in 0. Well, no, the Sixers started things off first championship we saw, or the the I mean, they they they got out of the second round, they went to the the playoffs against the Lakers or the finals against the Lakers in 02. The Phillies won the series in 08. They went again in 09, then they had a strategically horrendous run for the next God knows how many years. Then the Eagles get one in 18.
SPEAKER_01You had a couple of Flyers playoff runs in there in Mike Richards years.
SPEAKER_02It's an unprecedented, I think it's an unprecedented level of Philadelphia sports success across the board. The freaking union went to the the MLS Cup, they've won two supporters shields. I mean, yeah, dude, uh you'd be hard pressed to find a more successful run in the last 25 years than you would in the last 60.
SPEAKER_01Well, and I mean, like summer and like America in the World Cup, let's let's try not to take this for granted.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Let's try not to cause because I know we feel like we've deserved it, and we feel like the whole world should want to play in Philly because it's Philly, but it's not always the case. So let's let's try and God, let's try and go to as many games as we can go to. Let's try and and make sure we're staying on top of this, because this is gonna need to be documented.
SPEAKER_02Agreed, I agree, and thank you, technology, for allowing us to do that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of multi-screens coming up this fall.
SPEAKER_02So many multi-screen, dude. Well, if you're still with us after our midsummer wrap-up at this point, we appreciate it. And like we said at the beginning of this whole thing, season two of Split the Corner is right around the corner. And we're gonna be coming back to you here in September. Uh, we'll be doing weekly uh drops from uh the first week of September through up through Christmas, I think, is what we talked about.
SPEAKER_01And back to our regular schedule every Tuesday.
SPEAKER_02Kaz, what are you uh what are you looking forward to uh with this upcoming season?
SPEAKER_00This upcoming season, I think I'm looking forward to kind of going down a few more rabbit holes.
SPEAKER_01I I definitely want to wrap up the sports movies conversation. I'm really looking forward to seeing what our final list of sports movies looks like, uh, especially with some of the stuff that's coming out and on the on the horizon in terms of sports movies and programming. Um, but I'm looking forward to kind of getting to know each other a little bit better in some of these questions and some of these topics. I I I think season one was a little more telling than I expected it to be, and I'm looking forward to to season two getting a little deeper.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. We've got most of our topics ready to go. We've got some national days that we're excited to talk about, and I think more than anything, we're both just really stoked to just get back to doing this, man. I've missed doing it, and uh, we hope you've missed us. Kaz, any uh any final words before we let the listeners get back to their regularly scheduled lives.
SPEAKER_01Be safe. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
SPEAKER_02We'll see you in September next week's. I got it there first.
