transcript
Speaker 1:
[00:00] Hey, Bold American Listeners, you can find us every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Bold American Podcast presented by Barstool Sports. Just me and Rob this week, Ryan is off gallivanting doing Ryan things. So she's going to be the boys, the fellas, the guys, the lads, the dudes, the men. And we're going to take it old school. Back in the ZBT days, we would do what we call the platoon room, we just kind of had like a free-flowing, casual conversation. We have some topics to hit. Tim Cook stepping down at Apple. I want to talk to the sequels, movie sequels. There's a very big sequel premiering this week. There is a veteran that is in need of support for him and his family. We want to talk about that a little bit, I think in last 72. The A10, you know, like the office meme, snip, snap, snip, snap. The A10 was getting retired. Now it's not. Let's talk about the A10. And then we're actually going to take it to a bold take to round out the episode. Before we get to all of that, Rob, last 72, how are you doing?
Speaker 2:
[01:05] Hey, man. Good to see you, Connor. I don't think we've seen each other in a few weeks.
Speaker 1:
[01:10] I honestly, were you on last week or was it me?
Speaker 2:
[01:12] No, no, last week. Man, I can't even remember. Like the days are just going by with the kiddos.
Speaker 1:
[01:19] Can I tell you something? You just said it, dude. For me, now with kids, it seems like a week ago feels like three months ago. And I don't know if that's every parent or maybe just the time in life I am right now with my kids' ages. Yeah. Last Monday, I legitimately, gun to my head. Were you here? Were you not here? I'm not 100%.
Speaker 2:
[01:49] So I got you. Let me bring it back here. My, I knocked out a dual, a double baptism last Sunday. I still had family in town. You just had your son's baptism. So both of our brains with the family, the entertaining, the hosting, the operations, the logistics.
Speaker 1:
[02:06] You still have people at your house?
Speaker 2:
[02:08] Last, no, no, no. Last Monday, I still had family at my house. I couldn't record.
Speaker 1:
[02:13] Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:
[02:15] But I mean, a double baptism, bro.
Speaker 1:
[02:19] So what's a double baptism? Cause you only had, you had both your kids getting baptized? Yeah. Oh, okay. That's cool.
Speaker 2:
[02:25] Yeah. Yeah. Two in one at our, at our nice Lutheran church. It went great. We had 30 people there. And some West Point grads that we both know mutually, like Brian Jensen, Nate Hunterton, like friends out here in Vegas. Dude, the baptism, my son had a full on meltdown though during it. He thought the water was his to drink, to splash on his face. Then he took the candle from our beloved pastor, Pastor Derek, bit into it, cried, threw it down. And then I had to take him out and that was it. And it was amazing. And it was like, it's something we'll never forget. So how was yours?
Speaker 1:
[03:02] It was great, except for the fact that it coincided directly when Mac should have been napping. So he was great. He's very active right now. He's almost eight months. So as far as baptisms go, like a lot of people get their kids baptized younger. There's no real rules in the Catholic Church in terms of you have to get them baptized by this age or whatever. But you try to do it sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, the way it worked out, because also with hosting, we're not going to get them baptized in January, and it's freezing outside, and it's bad weather potentially. We want it to be something where people can be inside, people can be outside. So he was great. He sat there and he had something in his hands that he was chewing on, playing with. He was great. Then when it came time to put his head down to actually get baptized, have the water poured over his head, he let out a blood-curdling scream. And it was scary, because he went from completely calm, docile, to this blood-curdling scream. But then, call it symbolic, call it just, this is what he's used to in the bath every night. As soon as the priest poured the water the first time, he was quiet. So it was like the holy water hit him, he was all good. So we did the holy water three times. And then he was completely fine. And then afterwards, we took pictures, took some nice pictures. It was a nice spring day. And then hosted my family here. I don't know, we had 20, 25 people. And so what's interesting though is, it's just one of those things where people are just willing to come out. And I appreciate that about family. It's, he's not gonna remember his baptism. Certainly not gonna remember who was here.
Speaker 2:
[05:12] Right.
Speaker 1:
[05:13] But it's just nice that when you have family close, because, I mean, you're somebody that, it's awesome that family flew in, but you presumably are not close to a lot of family, proximity-wise. And that's just the way life goes sometimes with where you live. I'm just, I'm very fortunate that all of our, not all, but majority of our family is close enough that they can drive for the day and then come to our house afterwards for a few hours for food and drink. So it was really nice.
Speaker 2:
[05:43] I love that, man. It's the same. Yeah, we had my parents from DC. All my German relatives obviously couldn't make it. But yeah, my wife's family out here in Vegas, we had, it's just a great baptism, man. It's just, it's awesome. It's also happy when it's done because it is, with two little ones, it's a lot of work. Even if you're all hands on deck and everyone's helping, it's still a lot. But it puts things in perspective, especially when the ceremony is done, the service is done. You can all kind of hug it out, take some beautiful photos. And so a quick, quick segue here, speaking of family and last 72, I just wanted to put on everyone's radar and say a collective thank you to everyone who supported with my friend Ben Lemon, who and his family, who's class of 2017, an Army rugby player. Ben lost his son, who was seven years old last month to very rare disease that impacts the mitochondria. And he has two other sons, five and three, who also have that same rare genetic disease. And so we did a full out sprint on social media. Me, you were awesome to support as well. And some other Army West Point accounts helped support putting the word out. I think because of that collective noise and that sentiment that we got out over the weekend, we were able to reach RFK's office. Oh, wow. Yeah, and they saw it. They reached out yesterday via email to me and Ben. And Ben is talking to them this week. Because the issue is that the rare disease that his sons have, that, I don't want to get this wrong, but that drug is not yet in trial. And is not yet in test phase. So it's super premature. But there is one company, Pretzel, I think Pretzel Pharmaceuticals, that is developing the closest drug to then get into trial mode. Obviously I'm not, I don't work in pharma, I don't work in healthcare, but that's to the best of my knowledge, kind of the situation right now, and the children need that drug to eventually survive. So the awareness that we were able to raise got this family the attention it deserves, and the, in front of the right people, across different companies, the right support systems, the right hospitals, the right children's hospitals, the right airlines to provide travel. So just, just an awesome, you know, just an awesome sprint to see how the West Point community, the Army community, the rugby community, social media kind of comes together, right Connor? In times of need to support a family when you know someone's hurting like this, and as young fathers like you and I are, it just like eviscerated me on Friday. But I'm in communication with Ben. He's super grateful and hopefully we can get this going in the right direction after his son Solomon's passing and his two other children. His two other sons are named Lolo and Silas, and they're both five and three. And so hopefully we can get them this drug at some point, so they can go on to be in Cadets at West Point or another academy. But just a wild turn of events over the weekend and how cool it is to see, when we have pages like with huge followers and audiences to put in a good use. So yeah.
Speaker 1:
[09:11] Wow. I mean, certainly you want to say a prayer for their family and continue to keep them in your prayers to lose your child at such a young age. Lose your child, period, as a parent is the challenge that all of us as parents never want to face. So the fact that he and his wife have to face that is deeply saddening. And as I said, important that we pray for them during this time. But to your point about power of the community, the power of social media really is fascinating to see the reach of something. Because I didn't know the part about RFK. So for something to get all the way to DC at that level is actually really impressive. And when you think about getting on a trial drug, I immediately thought of a buddy of mine and people will know his name or some people will know his name, Gunneris Iason. There was a ESPN documentary done on him and his fight against cystic fibrosis. And a handful of years ago, he was put on a trial for a drug. And it essentially turned out, and go watch the documentary because it's fascinating, but the long and short of it is his body took to the drug and he drastically improved. So the idea that his two sons can potentially get on to a trial with a new drug, hopefully that works out. And I'm just, maybe it's because I've been watching The Pit with my wife. Oh yeah. I'm endlessly fascinated by medicine and by science. And some people don't believe in medicine and whatever you believe, I don't really care. I believe in medicine. Clearly, I think it helps people, it helps save lives. But it's just fascinating to me, doctors and scientists, the knowledge that they have to be able to come up with these drugs and then go through these trials that will hopefully save lives. I think it's just really, really impressive. Just praying that everything works out, and happy to hear that the family got the help that they needed, because, gosh, flying over the country, hospital stays for as great as our medical coverage is in this country. It's very expensive. You know, and not to delve too deep into, you know, other countries and how they provide health care, but there's a reason people come to this country a lot for medical needs. And so, fact is, though, it is very expensive, so hopefully he can get things paid for for his family and get the help that they need, because I don't want to have to see that family go through any more sadness and trauma beyond what they're going to have to deal with with the passing of their son, Solomon.
Speaker 2:
[12:17] Yeah, Solomon's end-of-life care was almost over $300,000 in medical bills. And so, when we pushed out the GoFundMe Friday afternoon, we were just over $10,000, $11,000, now we're almost at $326,000, just over. And most of that will go to cover Solomon's end-of-life care. And then, to your point, Connor, you laid that out very well. It's, these children now have to go seek expensive specialists. They have to stay in children's hospitals, go to routine treatments and appointments and travel. And the mental toll all that takes, you know, it's like, and you want to protect the quality of life. So, it's very expensive to do that in this country, but the care is there, and hopefully this drug will be available soon. So, we'll keep people posted. But everyone, thank you so much for your support, and shout out to the West Point Community for the donations. I saw friends of mine, classmates of mine donate $2,200, $1,000, and it's just like, holy shit, like, you just don't expect that. So, it's just incredible.
Speaker 1:
[13:23] Very cool. Very cool. Oh, moving on. Moving on. Did you see that Tim Cook is going to retire from Apple?
Speaker 2:
[13:33] I always call him Tim Apple. Like, I always call him Tim Apple, but yes, Tim Cook is retiring. What a legend.
Speaker 1:
[13:40] Yes, for sure a legend. Here's the question. Who's more impressive? Steve Jobs or Tim Cook? Is that an impossible question? Maybe, but who do you think is more impressive as it relates to Apple, as it relates to the impact on society, on the world? Who do you think you give that nod to?
Speaker 2:
[14:04] I would have to say Steve Jobs, because without him, what he's been able to found across the different operating systems, the hardware, the technology, the branding, it was kind of all him, right? So it's from the late 70s, early 80s, and then he wasn't in charge, he was in charge, he was back in charge. But I think you and me will remember him specifically from the late 90s to the time when you were in the Army, I was at West Point, those 10, 12 years with the iPod, the iPhone, the desktop computer, that was quintessential Steve Jobs, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:
[14:42] Yes.
Speaker 2:
[14:42] Wasn't that him?
Speaker 1:
[14:42] I can remember one of the first times seeing a Mac, when Mac did that release with all the different colored monitors. That was the first time I think I really became aware of Apple, because we had, I'm really dating myself, like in grammar school, we definitely had Apple computers, but they were like the Apple II, or maybe they were like the first generation Macs. It's crazy to think. It didn't click for me that that was Apple. If I think back, maybe I can remember seeing the Apple logo on the CPU, but not really. So, and my answer is the same. I think it's Steve Jobs, because he's the one who, the brain child between him and Wozniak and all the other people who stood up Apple.
Speaker 2:
[15:29] Yeah, that was the other guy.
Speaker 1:
[15:30] He was the brain child that took Apple to a whole different level when he returned after his hiatus away, if you want to call it that. Tim Cook certainly stepped into an impossible role. So the fact that he was able to do everything he did at Apple and his contributions, certainly impressive. But no, I think when you think about pretty much everybody has an iPhone, right? That's wild. iPhone has a share of the market that is unlike any other. I mean, BlackBerry was massive at one point, but basically everybody you know, like how many people do you text every day? And it's a green bubble.
Speaker 2:
[16:19] Dude, I knew you were going to go to this. Maybe the fucking blue bubble, the blue text is more iconic than anything else, Apple. But dude, check this out. So Tim Cook, why he's so skilled and so successful as CEO is because he was an operator and he took the company in terms of valuation. When he took over, it was at $350 billion. Yeah, in 15 years, he grew to $4 trillion.
Speaker 1:
[16:45] Yeah, that's impressive. I'm not saying, Tim Cook, what he's done during his tenure is not impressive because it is. I just think Steve Jobs took it out of nowhere and did things that no one... Think about the iPod, man.
Speaker 2:
[17:01] And dude, AirPods in my ear right now. That was Tim Cook.
Speaker 1:
[17:04] That was my minor. I left them out there charging. That's why I don't have mine. But usually I have mine in the day every day. Yeah. And people will say what they will about AirPods, but I still think they're pretty freaking awesome. But just, oh gosh, in some ways I hate phones and we've talked about this. But in other ways, the aspects of our life that have become immensely more efficient, easier because of iPhones, but just how, what's the word I'm looking for? Oh, not omnipresent. What is the word I'm looking for when something is everywhere? Help me out here. Ubiquitous.
Speaker 2:
[17:47] Okay.
Speaker 1:
[17:48] iPhones are ubiquitous, right? It's just, I think it's just unbelievable. And when you think about people, not just in American history, but history in general, Steve Jobs will be talked about. I think Tim Cook will not be discussed as much. He won't be in those same discussions as Steve Jobs. And again, you're comparing a generational inventor, generational CEO, leader to Tim Cook. So it's just an impossible thing. But I mean, Tim Cook, unbelievable where he's taken Apple. I don't know anything about the other guys taking over, but it's just crazy.
Speaker 2:
[18:31] John Ternes will succeed. Tim Cook is CEO effective September 1st. Tim Cook will become executive chairman. So similar to how Bezos stepped down from CEO of Amazon, but Jeff Bezos is still the executive chairman of Amazon.
Speaker 1:
[18:47] Chairman, he's going to be the chairman.
Speaker 2:
[18:49] Chairman.
Speaker 1:
[18:52] Would you ever want a task like that to be a CEO of such a major company like that?
Speaker 2:
[19:03] I think we would be okay.
Speaker 1:
[19:06] That's not what I asked. Would you want to do it? Could we do it? I don't know.
Speaker 2:
[19:10] Maybe.
Speaker 1:
[19:11] I mean, I don't know anything about it.
Speaker 2:
[19:12] Could we do it? Yes, you could do it. Would we want to do it for a global behemoth like Apple, Mercedes-Benz?
Speaker 1:
[19:23] Think about your day every day, okay? Now, 100x that in terms of how many people want your time, how many people...
Speaker 2:
[19:32] I've seen it at Amazon.
Speaker 1:
[19:34] Right. So you've seen it up close and personal with Bezos. How many people need you in a room? Like your calendar is filled because even if you decide like, okay, I'm not going to that meeting, there's probably three or four other meetings, maybe 10 meetings in the queue that you could also attend at that same exact time.
Speaker 2:
[19:52] It's in fucking sane. When I was at AWS, seeing behind the curtain and seeing Adam Slipsky, the CEO of AWS and Andy Jassy, just structuring a meeting for a document that I needed to be read two months down the line, it took maybe two weeks of communication between 30 different people. Then you have 10 minutes of that person's time, the CEO, and then it's in and out. They go to different meetings, they have their own floor, they have different meeting rooms for different appointments so that they're not bored, so they're moving around.
Speaker 1:
[20:26] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[20:28] It's very impressive, but to your point, what I want to do it, probably not. I think I'd want to be like the VP of Marketing, the SVP of Marketing. I can speak to that transparently and authentically. The CEO, that's a different level. Would you want to do it?
Speaker 1:
[20:48] No. Not right now, at this point in my life with two small children. Maybe down the line, but something I've learned in my time since leaving the Army is just how much I value that, my time.
Speaker 2:
[21:06] Especially when you have children, bro.
Speaker 1:
[21:07] Yes. And at that level, you don't seemingly own your time anymore because everybody else wants a piece. And I think you have to be wired a certain way and built a certain... And that's not to say that CEOs are bad people. I'm fortunate enough to know a handful of CEOs.
Speaker 2:
[21:28] We both do, yeah.
Speaker 1:
[21:29] They're all different.
Speaker 2:
[21:30] Great guys. Great guys.
Speaker 1:
[21:31] They're all different. I just, I don't know if I would want to do that. And certainly to do it on the scale that Apple... I mean, where does Apple fall in line in the world in terms of most profitable companies? It's a top 10 company worldwide. That is global influence. So maybe from that aspect, it'd be pretty cool to have global influence.
Speaker 2:
[21:54] I think you would crush it. And I think at that, at that realm and seeing what I saw for a couple of years, I mean, the opportunity you have as CEO of a global company like that, it's you're doing one of a kind stuff and you do get a red carpet treatment. Now, the issue then comes, Connor, like if you're a public company, I'd say 80% of your day is probably focused on that and the shareholder value and the stock. And it gets, I think you could crush it. I could see you do it in 20 years. Like I could see you.
Speaker 1:
[22:27] I don't know. Maybe we'll see. I don't think I have the necessary business requirements to be in that role. Yeah. Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. But the other thing is too, you always have to wonder, am I getting everybody's most genuine self or am I getting people who are trying to get something out of me?
Speaker 2:
[22:49] Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man.
Speaker 1:
[22:56] It's like what? And then again, what are you doing it for? Are you doing it to have the power influence? Are you doing it because you want a big bank account? Because the other thing is cool. Well, maybe more so now and Tim Cook, as he steps down, you have all this money. If there's 365 days in a calendar, how many of those days do you actually get to yourself where you can say, all right, I'm going to go do something amazingly cool with this money? Or is it, I've just been doing cool stuff throughout the year as part of my job. But then the flip side to that is, is how enjoyable is going to Monaco if you're going for work? Or how enjoyable is it to go to Morocco if you're there for work and you have to go to meetings? And it just all kind of blends together, I think.
Speaker 2:
[23:48] So why, another piece of information I'll offer too, the reason why Amazon is so successful now that Bezos has departed is because the people he installed as CEO to run AWS and Amazon after him were there since the beginning too. So they understand the culture, the needs, the value, the business, they understand the people and what Amazon is. And more importantly, they've worked with Bezos in the trenches. The same thing is going on here with Tim Cook and this new guy. Tim Cook was also a lieutenant for Steve Jobs. So like, and he was in the trenches with Steve Jobs in the 80s, 90s, I think. So like, that's where you...
Speaker 1:
[24:27] Oh yeah, Tim Cook didn't come out of nowhere.
Speaker 2:
[24:29] Yeah, he was there. He was behind the scenes. And so I think that's the kind of caliber person you need for these big behemoth, you know, Fortune 50, 100 companies is you need someone, or for an Apple or an Amazon, you need someone who's been around for like 20 years because they understand the beast, right?
Speaker 1:
[24:50] Right. And that's the other thing too, is now in the follow-on generation, good luck finding anybody who's been in a company for more than five years.
Speaker 2:
[25:00] Oh dude, it's tough. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[25:02] And there's probably some studies that have been done now where, and you see it all the time, people are like, oh, you know, that's the only way to, well, because a lot of it is true. Like the only way to progress in your career a lot of times is to leave and make a big jump. The idea that you're going to stick with one company 20, 30 years is just not the norm anymore, far from it. So, and even, like I said, five years is a long time to be at a company. So, well, just, it'll be interesting to see where Apple goes from here and we can move on from this topic.
Speaker 2:
[25:40] I just think- It's interesting though, because everyone uses Apple products, but we're all kind of like, we dismiss it kind of like, I see it in conversation with friends or other people, or even with like Instagram and Meta, it's like people from both sides of the aisle, people are so easy to dismiss some of these global tech companies, but we're on it, we're using their products all day. And it's just like, it's something that a lot of Americans have a hard time grasping or wrestling with in terms of like their respect for these companies, because they're viewed as these like really evil corporations, right? But like in every fucking day, you're using their systems, their operating systems, their hardware, 20 hours a day. And it's just like, it's just interesting that it's something I've observed over the years.
Speaker 1:
[26:25] And when you compare, like let's just look at us, 30, 40 years, what 30 or 40 years ago looked like compared to today as it relates to these global technology companies, don't get me wrong. Yes, in some ways, things are not better, but in a lot of ways they are. And maybe they are not for the long term. We'll have to wait and see, but I think it's pretty cool that when you're coming home late, if you need a pizza, you can pick up your phone, type in a few things, not talk to a single person, and there can be a pizza waiting on your doorstep when you get home.
Speaker 2:
[27:02] That's true.
Speaker 1:
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Speaker 2:
[28:47] Um, I'm trying to think really hard here. I'm trying to think what Connor likes. I know you like high fashion. Is it something to do with our good friend, fan of the show Anne Hathaway?
Speaker 1:
[29:00] Former colleague of mine, Anne Hathaway. Yes, it is. Devil Wears Prada 2 is coming.
Speaker 2:
[29:08] Tell me, bro. Talk to me.
Speaker 1:
[29:09] Devil Wears Prada is just a good movie. Was it ever going to win Best Picture? No, but it has all the makings of a good rewatchable movie. Fish out of Water, Major Transformation, excellent montage music, great soundtrack behind the montage, the growth, the arc of the character, only to return to her original self and realize that what she needed all along was not to fall into the same tropes of all these other girls at Runway. And you just got a star-studded cast. I mean, in some ways, Emily Blunt has done bigger movies than Anne Hathaway. Anne Hathaway, by no means, has had a bad career. I think she's never fallen off. I think she's had a great career. Emily Blunt has just also enjoyed being in certain movies that might have been more well-received by critics, let's say.
Speaker 2:
[30:11] I think Emily Blunt, I don't want to say she's a plant, and I know I'm going to get some heat for this. I think she's very attractive. I think she's a great actress. I thought maybe she should have been cast in Sicario. I think she overacted there. However, yeah, hot take, bold take. But I think Anne Hathaway is the goat. She's like the LeBron James because she has aged like, oh my God, dude, like she looks so good and she can act well. Anyways, I don't want to like gush over Anne Hathaway, but if she wants to come to Army Navy, my DMs are open.
Speaker 1:
[30:48] Listen, and less, I mean, everything you just said about Anne Hathaway.
Speaker 2:
[30:52] You and I will fight over Anne Hathaway.
Speaker 1:
[30:55] Absolutely. And I'm partial to her because she is a Jersey girl.
Speaker 2:
[30:59] Oh really?
Speaker 1:
[31:00] Yes. As is her co-star, Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep arguably in the Mount Rushmore of female actresses, three Academy Awards, eight Golden Globes, a bunch of other awards. So between those two, I love Emily Blunt. I love Stanley Tucci.
Speaker 2:
[31:21] So great guy.
Speaker 1:
[31:23] I'm looking forward to this movie being just an enjoyable sequel, right? They're going to probably, they're going to have some callbacks to the original. There's going to be an interesting plot of, will they be able to get it done? You know, and how will and clash with Meryl's character? So how will Andy clash with, gosh, now I'm blanking on her character's name, Meryl Streep. Miranda.
Speaker 2:
[31:53] Yes.
Speaker 1:
[31:54] Where will Nigel come into play? What is Emily doing these days? So I'm just looking forward to it, because when I think back on the last 10, 15 years, there's been good movies, but it just seems like we got good movies at a better clip years ago, and maybe that's just recency bias. I don't know, but I was curious, what are your, I won't put a number on, but what are some of your favorite sequels? When I say sequel, and it doesn't have to be like, oh, it's better than the original, just a good sequel. What are some of your favorite sequels?
Speaker 2:
[32:30] Okay. The one that comes to mind is Top Gun 2.
Speaker 1:
[32:35] Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:
[32:37] Like, I know that's probably such a cliche answer, but like, holy smokes, bro.
Speaker 1:
[32:43] They crushed it, and credit to Tom Cruise, who had the foresight to say, no, we're not putting this out on a streamer. We're waiting till people can get back in the theater, and they waited, I think three years. I think it was supposed to come out in 2019, and it finally came out in 2022. I think that's the math, give or take. Regardless, they waited on it for years. Because I kept remembering seeing, like, they would release new trailers, but it still wasn't in theaters. That is a great choice. That was an excellently executed movie.
Speaker 2:
[33:16] And I just love the attention to detail from anything Tom Cruise, and the way he really, like, I think Brad Pitt's kind of the same, but like, there's actors. I think Tom Cruise is one of the few guys where, Matt McConaughey, where you can just tell, they're really putting, like, their life into making this film. And Tom is not just acting, he's producing, he's making sure that everything is good with the Navy. Just like that kind of passion he has for behind the scenes and the filmmaking process, it almost like gives you goosebumps.
Speaker 1:
[33:47] Yes. Well, and listen, Tom Cruise got a bad rap for a long time, and in a lot of ways still has a bad rap for all his Scientology stuff, for jumping up and down on Oprah's couch. Everything that went on with Joey from Lawson's Creek, his ex-wife, Katie Holmes.
Speaker 2:
[34:13] Katie Holmes.
Speaker 1:
[34:15] But Tom Cruise, man, he is a respected actor, rightfully so. And to your point, I've listened to a number of interviews with people who have worked with him over the years, who say exactly that. He just takes such special care to ensure the movie is made as best as it possibly can. And the fact that this guy is someone that says, yeah, I'm all set. I don't need a double. I'm going to do all my own stunts for as well. You know, I'm not expensive, but as valuable as he is to these franchises and movies that he does is absolutely bananas. So I'm not sure how we got on to talk. Oh, yeah. It's sequels. Tom Cruise.
Speaker 2:
[34:59] Sequels. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[35:01] Yes.
Speaker 2:
[35:02] And then one more I got for you. And then I got a really bad one. And then I want to hear yours. Creed 2. I like Creed 2. Michael B. Jordan. There's something about the shape he gets in for the boxing. Sylvester Stallone's in it. This is Creed 2. Sly's in it. Ivan Drago's back in it.
Speaker 1:
[35:21] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[35:23] And then his son. And then like they box. And it's just like, it comes back full circle.
Speaker 1:
[35:27] Dude, anytime you do just the right amount of callback to the original and you do it tastefully and not heavy handed, it's good. They did a good job with that. And Creed, I mean, you could say Creed is a sequel technically to the whole last franchise, although it's the original Creed. But Sylvester Stallone, the fact that he signed on to do that because he was so protective of that franchise, I just think Creed and Creed 2, Creed 3 less so. I didn't like Creed 3 as much.
Speaker 2:
[36:00] Right.
Speaker 1:
[36:01] But they, he would not have signed on to do it if they weren't going to make a good movie. So Creed was excellent.
Speaker 2:
[36:12] Dude, you know what, Sylvester Stallone too, that was his chance to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and they snubbed him. I remember that.
Speaker 1:
[36:19] Who got it that year?
Speaker 2:
[36:23] Oh, man, you might need to clod or Google that one real quick. I don't know, but I thought Sly crushed it, though, because he was sick. He had cancer in that film, like in the character of Rocky.
Speaker 1:
[36:39] Dude, Mark Rylance defeated Sylvester Stallone for Best Supporting. Who? In Bridge of Spies, exactly.
Speaker 2:
[36:47] Oh, that was okay, but it wasn't like... It was a good spy film, but it wasn't anything like Rocky. I wonder if there was some political bureaucratic stuff.
Speaker 1:
[36:56] No, there definitely is. With the Academy, there's a lot of that stuff at play. Because there's plenty of examples where there's actors who have gotten their award finally, and it's not necessarily probably for the movie they should have gotten it for, but they've gotten so far in their career without it that they say, okay, I guess we'll give this person an Academy Award. Like, Leonardo DiCaprio is a perfect example. He finally got it for The Revenant. I believe that was...
Speaker 2:
[37:27] In 2016, right? That same year.
Speaker 1:
[37:29] Listen, there's no shot. You're telling me that's his best movie.
Speaker 2:
[37:33] Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[37:35] It was good, but it wasn't like... So, and then what's your last one that you think is good?
Speaker 2:
[37:43] All right. Just disaster movie. Disaster sequel was Zoolander 2.
Speaker 1:
[37:48] Okay.
Speaker 2:
[37:50] I had to leave the theater. It was so bad. It was just so bad. Yeah. I don't even want to talk about it. But anyways, what's yours?
Speaker 1:
[37:57] What's your favorite sequel? Terminator 2, and that is better than the original. That's definitely up there.
Speaker 2:
[38:02] T2.
Speaker 1:
[38:04] Technically a sequel, but you could also argue it's a follow on, a continuation from the first, evident by the fact that the end of the first one says to be continued and that's back to the future 2.
Speaker 2:
[38:14] Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1:
[38:15] Back to the future 2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2?
Speaker 2:
[38:19] Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[38:21] Although when you compare 2 to 1, it's a very different movie. And that was because they, they being critics and filmmakers, whomever, they deemed the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles too dark. So you'll notice in the second one, they don't even have weapons. They don't have their weapons in the second one. Cause they said it was too violent, too dark, the first one. But the first one was excellent. Although at the end of 2, we get Ninja Rap with Vanilla Ice, and it's amazing. I mentioned that Anne Hathaway was my colleague. That's because I was in The Dark Knight Rises with her.
Speaker 2:
[39:03] Yes, it's right.
Speaker 1:
[39:04] I will call her my colleague until the end of time. But yeah. And then maybe one more that I could scream to.
Speaker 2:
[39:15] I like to scream to. Oh yeah. But now like scream 4, 5, 6, 7, like they're just trash.
Speaker 1:
[39:21] Yes, I just recently watched the most recent one.
Speaker 2:
[39:24] It was terrible. It was so bad.
Speaker 1:
[39:28] The problem is...
Speaker 2:
[39:29] Like Neve Campbell still in it, right?
Speaker 1:
[39:31] Yeah, she came back. But once you get down the line that far in a series like that, to find the plot and figure out who's going to be the killer and have a reason to be a killer, it was all just crazy. I mean, the hardest part about watching that one was realizing that the original was 30 years ago and that her character, Sidney Prescott, can have an 18-year-old daughter. So that's just crazy, but...
Speaker 2:
[39:58] That's true. Oh, and so what do you think about the Fast series, like all those? I think they're like good TV movies.
Speaker 1:
[40:05] I love, and Shout to My Boy Fights at Barstool, he and I have seen three or four of them in the theater together.
Speaker 2:
[40:13] Nice.
Speaker 1:
[40:14] We're just perfectly done action movies.
Speaker 2:
[40:18] Yes.
Speaker 1:
[40:18] The second one is okay, but four, five, that's when they really hit their stride.
Speaker 2:
[40:25] Tokyo Drift was sick.
Speaker 1:
[40:27] I didn't really like that one. And that one I often talked about generally as the worst of the series. But I love, love, love the Fast and the Furious series.
Speaker 2:
[40:40] And like all the different actors, like the random actors and like then you get the Rock and Tyree.
Speaker 1:
[40:45] But the best part about the Fast series is like when you compare what they're doing in the most recent one where there's two dudes flying a car in space versus the original where it's just all street racing and larceny and some weapons and then they're saving the world, that can only exist in action movies and I don't know. So and part of action movies are big explosions. And they're the plane that has been responsible for a ton of big explosions. The A-10, the Air Force's A-10, got another stay of execution because they were gonna, they were gonna chop, you know, stop production of the A-10, retire it. But then the office of the Secretary of the Air Force came out and said, in consultation with the Secretary of War, we will extend the A-10 Warthog platform to 2030. This preserves combat power as the defense industrial base works to increase combat aircraft production. Thank you to the president for unwavering support for our war fighters and quick, decisive leadership as we equip our force more to come. What do you think about the A-10 staying alive?
Speaker 2:
[41:59] I love it. Give me more A-10, A-10 till I die, inject it in my veins. I think every military service member from like my dad's, your group, maybe even the 70s, like everyone champions it, everyone loves it. I think some, sometimes-
Speaker 1:
[42:14] It's reliable, dude. It doesn't break.
Speaker 2:
[42:16] Yeah, exactly. That's it. If it's not broken, don't fix it. Well, yes.
Speaker 1:
[42:22] So a friend of the program, former Congressman Adam Kingsinger, also an Air Force pilot, he said something that I agree with. He goes, this is very good. The A-10 has been a victim of leaders that want newer, shinier and more costly planes since 2000. But in each conflict, they use them, the A-10, because there's no plane more effective at close air support. In fact, I think the Air Force should reopen the line and build new ones. And that's it. It's reliable. But we are in the Defense Industrial Base that says, well, you have that plane, but now I want to put out a contract to get new planes. And my buddies who are retired got to make money. So now we got to commission a new plane. And then look at something like the F-35, which, you know, different type of plane, obviously. But great example of a plane that's supposed to be amazing. It's just rot with problems.
Speaker 2:
[43:28] I know comments on the defense stuff, but on the industry side. But I think there's always room for keeping tradition alive, especially when it's the military. It's the same thing that we talked about last year with the military service horses and the ceremonial horses at military bases, right? Sure, on the bottom line, we could save a couple million bucks across the Department of War and apply those funds to maybe something else. However, ceremony and decorum and tradition is very important in the military. And I think the same thing can be said with lethality in the Air Force when it's something so beloved as the A-10 and that has shown ROI on the battlefield.
Speaker 1:
[44:22] Yes, that's the cool thing.
Speaker 2:
[44:24] Yeah, and it's not just the Air Force. The ground pounders like you and me love it. The Marines love it. Shit, maybe even Navy pilots revere it.
Speaker 1:
[44:32] I don't know.
Speaker 2:
[44:33] But I just think there's something to be said about such a unique aircraft that deserves to still be in rotation. And it's still admired even by our enemies. It's still a fucking force of disaster. And it's like, we need to keep that sucker.
Speaker 1:
[44:50] Think about this. How many of our weapons systems are just known across the military, like the A-10? Everybody who's not even in the Air Force and people who don't fly for any other branch, everyone knows about the A-10. I feel like there are very few weapons systems where people just know what it is and really respect it.
Speaker 2:
[45:22] I think my German mother even loves the A-10. So there you go. Let's keep it. Let's keep building more.
Speaker 1:
[45:31] Can you think of any other weapons systems that are just known by everybody?
Speaker 2:
[45:38] I mean, you'd have to go old school with like an M16, but I honestly, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, which I was in, no.
Speaker 1:
[45:46] No. Abrams Tanks?
Speaker 2:
[45:48] M1A. Maybe.
Speaker 1:
[45:50] Maybe.
Speaker 2:
[45:50] That's a stretch. Maybe like air. It's something like grandiose, like an aircraft carrier, right? It's like, but even then, I think. Shit, when did the A-10, when was that built?
Speaker 1:
[46:07] I think the B-2 bomber.
Speaker 2:
[46:09] Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1:
[46:11] That's enjoyed a lot of pub, doing as many flyovers as it has.
Speaker 2:
[46:16] Yeah, the A-10 really, really, really got nasty during the Gulf War. That's why my dad and that age group loved it so much too. And then the Balkans, yep, it played key roles in Kosovo, where my father was as well. And then obviously Afghanistan and Iraq.
Speaker 1:
[46:28] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[46:29] Which did you ever encounter an A-10 when you were over there? Or did you?
Speaker 1:
[46:33] No.
Speaker 2:
[46:33] Okay.
Speaker 1:
[46:34] I did not.
Speaker 2:
[46:35] I never did.
Speaker 1:
[46:35] Everything I was doing was close quarters. So yeah.
Speaker 2:
[46:41] Yeah. Well, shout out to the A-10.
Speaker 1:
[46:43] Yeah. Shout out to the A-10.
Speaker 2:
[46:46] And it's cost effective too.
Speaker 1:
[46:48] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[46:48] Compared to some of these other like techno planes, you know what I mean? Yeah.
Speaker 1:
[46:52] Think about that. Yeah. The parts have to be less expensive than newer parts. This thing's been around since the 70s, man. There's very few things that in our military that have been rocking and rolling that long, so.
Speaker 2:
[47:07] Yeah. Yeah. And if you just, and hopefully our producer Sands can put up a high resolution photo of an A-10, but when it has the warthog smile on the front by the main gun, oh, dude, like come on. On the 30 Mike Mike, that's right. Yeah, dude. There's nothing scarier.
Speaker 1:
[47:29] Yeah. All right. Let's wrap things up here. Let's do some bold takes. We haven't done some bold takes in a while. I want to do a bold take, because I had a bold take on the internet last week that I got support for, but also crushed for. So my bold take was with regards to youth sports.
Speaker 2:
[47:51] Oh, yes.
Speaker 1:
[47:53] I'm fascinated by youth sports. I don't know why it is. Maybe my history in athletics and the fact that I was able to go all the way through high school and into college and still playing a sport. So by no means am I a professional. Was I ever a professional athlete? But I feel like I have a little bit of cache to talk in a decently educated manner. But also it's fascinating because now I'm a parent and things are different from when I grew up in the 90s playing youth sports. But so this guy who apparently is a very well-respected and this, let me caveat by saying this was not a shot at this guy. He's a personal trainer or he runs gyms and apparently he's very well-respected. And I think it's great that he does a good job with athletes and training them. And don't want to take anything away from his business. But he posted a video and he said, I train kids from every sport imaginable. They all train as quote athletes. If a 7 to 14 year old gets more athletic, they'll get better at their sport. And he posted a video of an 11 year old doing plyometric stuff more or less just running around and jumping essentially. But I quote tweeted this and I've muted it pretty quickly. But by last count, I'm looking at right now is 544 replies. Wow. People are very, very opinionated on this. But I said, if you put your kid in this training at 7 years old, it's nothing more than a fancy daycare. At 7 to 14 years old, your kid doesn't need training or to specialize in a sport. They need to be a kid. Play multiple sports, play pickup sports with your friends outside. Not every waking moment needs to be scheduled for kids. I said, if you disagree with me, then go listen to all the pro athletes who say the same thing. I will add another caveat. I happened to play golf on Friday with a gentleman who was a Super Bowl champion.
Speaker 2:
[50:03] I saw that. Very jealous as a Giants fan.
Speaker 1:
[50:06] Yeah. He agreed because he has children this age and dealing with new sports. He said, there's just so many parents that are outside their mind that he has to deal with. I think that's part of the problem is that you have these people who are selling this as necessary for their kids to be able to play at the next level and be the best that they can be. Listen, if you want to spend your money and send them to the gym to have them run and jump, I think you could be doing all of these things if you're just playing with your friends. I look at what this kid is doing, and I got this video playing. These are all things I just did naturally, playing with friends. Now, I get it. There's a lot of instances now where kids are just not doing these things. They're not going to parks. They're not running in the woods. They're not going to their friend's house and saying, what do we want to play and playing one-on-one basketball or playing home run derby. They're just less of that. Although I do see a lot of it around where I live, so that's a good sign. But I am just of the belief that you as a parent should not be this involved to where you have your kid thinking, they have to do this, and this is the only way to succeed in sports. And that's the way it kind of feels like you're selling to me that a seven year old needs to be doing this. Fourteen, we're getting into high school, like, okay, doing outside training, I get that. I understand, I agree with it. Because I can think about the camps and the outside workouts that I did once I was in high school, got it. But when you look at the statistics for high school athletes who then go play at the collegiate level, specifically division one, full ride, it is, we're talking like 1%. Now, I would never say like, well, it's only 1%. So just, you shouldn't try. No, you should absolutely try. You should absolutely encourage your kid to work hard and embrace a work ethic and a discipline that could serve them to get to the next level. But as a parent, you need to understand the expectations. And you need to not think, well, if I put my kid in this training, boom, full ride, that's not how it works. There's a lot of genetics at play, where you live, where you grow up, the competition you're playing against. There's so many other factors. I just, I don't love, and there was a lot of people disagree, a lot of people agreed. I don't love the idea of putting a 7-year-old in quote unquote training. So that was my bold take.
Speaker 2:
[52:57] I plus one to what you said, and it was actually one of the bold takes I had drafted ready to go. I connected with a 2005 grad. Yesterday, we spoke about this exact thing. First name Ben, double amputee, army lacrosse legend at West Point. We talked about this because his son is a teenager, and I like to pick Ben's brain every now and then and just talk about stuff, and he's become a friend over the years. He was telling me just, especially in South Florida, you probably see it up where you are in Jersey, but I see it in Vegas. I think a lot of it is just like the parenting and this me, me, me-ness of youth sports. I think youth sports to your point is cooked, because we're putting just too much emphasis on the capitalism and the P&L on youth sports, and it's really diminishing, and it's hurting us I think at the international level for soccer, which I'd love to talk about more as we get closer to the World Cup. But looking at it as the father of almost a three-year-old son who is showing fondness for soccer, golf, picking up a football and throwing it in baseball. I can't, it's gonna be tough to afford all those, but I think you can do it right and smartly, and you don't have to drop 10 grand a year when they're six or seven or eight, just to kind of give them a leg up when they could maybe beat the fucking sport and then never play it again, right? And it's like...
Speaker 1:
[54:24] This guy too is like, well, I'm not training for a specific sport, I'm training for athletes. And okay, sorry, I send my kid to your gym, I do all this training, and maybe he's just bigger than other kids at eight. So you're like, well, look, he's doing really well. Well, maybe he just did a growth spurt or he's 10. And yeah, he kind of got bigger. Like I can't remember distinctly in sixth grade. And we're really going back. There was a kid in my class who was just taller than everybody and he was a good athlete. And it was awesome when we were in sixth grade. And then seventh and eighth grade and then high school, everybody else caught up to him. And he, yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 2:
[55:04] You don't want to peak when you're 10.
Speaker 1:
[55:07] No.
Speaker 2:
[55:08] Like you want to peak when you're like 15, 16, 17.
Speaker 1:
[55:11] Right. Right.
Speaker 2:
[55:13] Especially like if you're playing basketball, you'd really want to peak like maybe that first year in college, but, or senior year, but yeah, man, it's just like social media plays into it. Parents are athletes play into it. It's like...
Speaker 1:
[55:27] I know people who very clearly are living vicariously through their kids, because they... Yes. I know they wanted to accomplish things athletically.
Speaker 2:
[55:37] Oh, man, that's so bad.
Speaker 1:
[55:39] And now they're just, there's so much pressure and pushing and pushing. And I just think, again, you know, did I go to the University of Texas and win the Heisman? No. But I made it to that next level. And I think about how my dad was with me. My mom, Jesus, I could throw, I could have thrown in high school three interceptions, three touchdowns. She treated me the same. She was happy as long as I was happy. But my dad, he was he was never one to to to come down on me. He was always very supportive and he was just there encouraging me.
Speaker 2:
[56:21] And I just see some of these parents and it's crazy.
Speaker 1:
[56:27] It really is crazy that they think their kid is going to be the next best thing. And I get it. Like now as a parent, I know that feeling where you want your kid to do awesome. I just I worry for myself. Geez, I got to just what if my kids don't want to play sports? They don't want to play sports and they have other interests? Like that needs to be okay too. As much as I want them to play sports, because I love sports. If they don't, that's okay.
Speaker 2:
[56:54] And I think that's something that's really, I think it's awesome you think like that. I think if we were 100 years ago, we would not be saying that. I think it's like, I think it takes a lot to come to terms with that. Like what if your son doesn't want to play sports? I think he will. But you know, you just have to be a good parent. You just have to support them in that. And I think that's tough for a lot of people. And it's also our culture, man. Like it's just like, we have 20 fucking sports every weekend on ESPN, Fox Sports. Like it's just constantly in discussion. It's everywhere you look. I live in Las Vegas. You can't get away from sports. So.
Speaker 1:
[57:29] Sorry. And speaking, going back to social media, how it's everywhere. Did you see the video of the kid, the 12 year old who hit the home run and had that monster celebration that went viral a few days ago?
Speaker 2:
[57:40] Maybe.
Speaker 1:
[57:41] 12 year old hits a home run, slams his bat, wasn't even a bat flip, slams the bat, is rounding the bases right before he gets the home plate, throws his helmet off. He's thrown a mini basketball and there's a coach holding the hoop like this and he dunks it. And people are like, this is on the parents. Then people are saying, let kids be fun and have a good time. And what's wrong with this? So that's where we're at too, is that it's not one sided. There are people that see both sides or there's people on both sides of this argument that that's okay. And other people are saying, that's not okay. But so much of this is for social media, like I'll tell you after the fact, I'm not gonna air this kid out. There is a kid that both you and I know of, who regardless if the team won or lost, he was very quick to repost. If someone posted his highlight from the game, he would repost it. Dude, I wasn't even, you know, the starting quarterback. When we lost to Navy finally in my senior year, I cried in my locker for 45 minutes. I didn't want to talk to anyone for hours. The idea that I would just be on social media reposting, seemingly to prop myself up like, well, I still had a good game. That just seems so foreign to me. And people say like, well, it's different now. Well, no. The aspect of being a team player is the same now in 2026 as it was in 2006. So I don't buy that garbage that it's just different now. And yes, kids are wired differently. That doesn't make it right in my opinion.
Speaker 2:
[59:33] No, well said. I don't have anything else to add. I think you're spot on. I think that's my bold take in agreement with you. I think youth sports is, and now the World Cup's here. And I think it's something we could probably talk about on more shows. I just think it's something that parents need to get savvier with.
Speaker 1:
[59:51] Well, I'm quasi hopeful that enough parents of our generation have now seen this social media generation of kids and athletes and how they act. And we try to get them to go back more like it was when we played. So that's all we got. Any caveats?
Speaker 2:
[60:13] No, man. Thanks to everyone for supporting the Lemon family. Shout out, CoArmy. Connor, always a pleasure.
Speaker 1:
[60:18] Thank you. I have one caveat. So I grew up, I played baseball all the way through high school. And then when I got to college, I really fell in love with lacrosse. I've never played lacrosse the day of my life. I love the sport. A lot of my friends are lacrosse players. I love the PLL. I think what they're doing is awesome. And I am an avid, avid lacrosse fan. I grow up, right? Excuse me, I grew up, I live now in a town that is massive in lacrosse. I'm talking like not just a good program in Jersey. I'm talking nationally has a recognized lacrosse program. And I'm wondering, is there a chance that my children gravitate to that sport more so than the baseball softball route? And I think about it from a parent perspective, and this was another conversation I was having this past Friday playing golf. Think about going and watching a baseball game with 10 year olds and a lot of standing around versus a lacrosse game, which is at least moving. I think about it from that aspect too. I'm always like, if they play lacrosse, that would be cool too.
Speaker 2:
[61:31] I'm the same way. I think I'm a no baseball softball household.
Speaker 1:
[61:35] We'll see. I don't know.
Speaker 2:
[61:36] We'll see.
Speaker 1:
[61:37] We'll gravitate towards, but.
Speaker 2:
[61:38] We'll see. Good call.
Speaker 1:
[61:39] I'll be cool with that. It was just never introduced to me as a kid, but now I have to imagine based on where I live, my kids will be exposed to the sport.
Speaker 2:
[61:48] It's growing fast, and I have to say as a former army lacrosse manager who had no experience with the sport until I went to the academy, I fucking love lacrosse. It is especially in person when you hear the hits, and you get a couple cocktails, and you're watching the game, and you see some top cheddar. There's nothing like it. It's legit.
Speaker 1:
[62:06] Yeah, yeah. It's a very great sport, so. All right, that's gonna do it for us. Thanks for chatting. Take care. Make it a great week.