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Speaker 1: The volume. This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. What

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Speaker 1: is up straight firefam, It's me Jason McIntyre. Straight Fire

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Speaker 1: for Friday, July twenty first end of the week, we're

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Speaker 1: going out with Style. Oh my goodness, Women's World Cup starts.

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Speaker 1: Leon Nell Messi's debut in the MLS. We don't know

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Speaker 1: how long he's gonna play. A half twenty minutes, five

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Speaker 1: minutes with Inter Miami that's tonight. However, it's so exciting,

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Speaker 1: I decided to bring on a soccer guest talk a

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Speaker 1: little messy, a little MLS. So we'll talk to Paul

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Speaker 1: Tenorio from The Athletic a little later in the podcast,

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Speaker 1: just breaking down messy MLS. Listen, it's an exciting summer

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Speaker 1: of soccer now that Messi's here, Women's World Cup, good times.

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Speaker 1: Let the good times roll. But first I thought we'd

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Speaker 1: do a little NFL And because I saw a rookie

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Speaker 1: get popped doing one hundred and forty miles an hour,

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Speaker 1: I believe in a fifty five mile hour zone. Jordan Addison,

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Speaker 1: the speed demon. Ha ha See what I did there?

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Speaker 1: From USC, I mean just absolute buffoonery. Camp hasn't even

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Speaker 1: started and you're doing stupid stuff like that, like Rook

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Speaker 1: get a clue. Not great, not a great look. So

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Speaker 1: I thought, because of that news and all this Justin

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Speaker 1: Field stuff. I'm sure you guys are watching the Herd

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Speaker 1: this week. Cowherd just drilling Justin Fields. I gotta step

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Speaker 1: in and defend Justin Fields.

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Speaker 2: You know, I like him.

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Speaker 1: So I thought we would do an NFC North preview

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Speaker 1: sponsored by Quarterback Out now only on Netflix. NFC North

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Speaker 1: was chaos last year. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. After

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Speaker 1: winning the division twice in a row, Rogers the MVP

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Speaker 1: twice in a row. They slink back and they are

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Speaker 1: passed by Yes, Sir Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings.

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Speaker 1: Thirty teen and four unbelievable season for the Vikings, well,

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Speaker 1: regular season, that is, they go eleven to zero in

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Speaker 1: one score games. Guess what not happening again, Kirk Cousins.

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Speaker 1: I believe had eight game winning drives last year. Let's

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Speaker 1: be real. I said this, unheard, I've said it all

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Speaker 1: last season. The Minnesota Vikings were the luckiest team in

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Speaker 1: the NFL last year. Absolutely not going to duplicate that.

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Speaker 1: I do not have them at the top of the Division. Now,

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Speaker 1: the most interesting team in the division is the Detroit Lions.

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Speaker 1: You guys know when the world zigs, your boy likes

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Speaker 1: to zag. Well, guess what. The Detroit Lions, according to

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Speaker 1: bet MGM, are the most bet team to win wait

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Speaker 1: for it, the NFC. That's in terms of handle and bets.

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Speaker 1: Everybody sharps and the general public all over the Detroit

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Speaker 1: Lions to win the NFC. And a lot of that

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Speaker 1: has to do with what they did last year. Remember

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Speaker 1: they swept Aaron Rodgers, they won in green Bay, the

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Speaker 1: defense hounded Rogers think he had two zone picks. And

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Speaker 1: then they won in the season finale, defeating Green Bay

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Speaker 1: in Green Bay. Very impressive win. Jared Goff at quarterback

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Speaker 1: for both of them. I say at quarterback, I didn't

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Speaker 1: say won both those games because, frankly, the defense won

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Speaker 1: both those games and Detroit defense was not good last year.

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Speaker 1: We're talking like a bottom five to six defense in

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Speaker 1: the league. And there is a lot of optimism that

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Speaker 1: this team's gonna make the leap. And folks, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: be clear, I very much like the Detroit Lions. I

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Speaker 1: actually have the Detroit Lions to win, Yes, win the division.

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Speaker 1: The Detroit Lions will win the NFC North. I don't

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Speaker 1: think it'll be easy, though I do believe this will

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Speaker 1: be the toughest division in the NFC. I don't particularly

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Speaker 1: think it's close. The NFC East is good, but I

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Speaker 1: have the Detroit Lions winning the division by a little

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Speaker 1: I am concerned a little bit about the defense because

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Speaker 1: they didn't really get better a couple moves in the secondary.

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Speaker 1: They do have a good defensive line led by Aiden Hutchinson,

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Speaker 1: who's a beast. You're just gonna have to wonder can

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Speaker 1: they do just enough. So the offense, which my guy

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Speaker 1: Adam Chronoff, who has been on the pod, will have

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Speaker 1: him on here in August. He had a great stat

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Speaker 1: that I believe they took sixty five percent of their

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Speaker 1: snaps last season. The offense did when trailing. It's a

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Speaker 1: lot easier when you're trailing in games and the quarterback

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Speaker 1: drops back look at a pass and the defense is

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Speaker 1: looking to protect leads a lot of prevent d a

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Speaker 1: lot of we know what you're doing, which is gonna

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Speaker 1: keep everything in front. So Detroit t able to have

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Speaker 1: a field day because they were playing from behind. And

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Speaker 1: I like this team. I don't love them. I've got

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Speaker 1: them winning the division narrowly over the Vikings. I've got

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Speaker 1: the Vikings too. It's tbd on if I have the

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Speaker 1: Vikings in the playoffs as of now, and again this

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Speaker 1: is being done in July. People are gonna throw this

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Speaker 1: in my face in the first week of September if

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Speaker 1: if I change my mind. But I'm telling you right now,

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Speaker 1: the Chicago Bears will not finish in the basement. And

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Speaker 1: I think the Bears will push the Vikings. Yes, push

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Speaker 1: the Vikings. For second. A lot of it has to

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Speaker 1: do with the continuity in Chicago, Okay, just to feel

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Speaker 1: young quarterback, two different offensive coordinators, two different systems. Now

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Speaker 1: he sticks with the guy they had last year. GETSI.

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Speaker 1: I think ebra Fluch going into year two was able

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Speaker 1: to remake the defense a little into more what he

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Speaker 1: likes now. I don't particularly like spending money on linebackers.

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Speaker 1: He did that and the Bears essentially are linebackered up heavily.

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Speaker 1: But that worked for him in India. If you guys

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Speaker 1: remember with Indianapolis the Colts defense, ibra Flus's scheme was

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Speaker 1: one of the best. Remember famously slowed down Mahomes and

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Speaker 1: read on a Sunday Night football or Monday night football

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Speaker 1: in case that was the one that really put Ebraflus

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Speaker 1: on the map. Matt Iberflus knows defense, and the schedule

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Speaker 1: is favorable. The real question is can they protect justin

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Speaker 1: fields Like I know he had eleven hundred jars rushing,

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Speaker 1: I believe the second greatest rushing season in quarterback history

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Speaker 1: of the sport. But fields cannot sustain that. I think

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Speaker 1: he had four carries over fifty yards. The guy's electric,

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Speaker 1: but the hits he's taking, you're not gonna last the season, dude.

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Speaker 1: So they get DJ Moore in the trade. I really

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Speaker 1: like this team a lot. Making the lead. Listen, it's

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Speaker 1: not hard to go from three wins to seven or eight. Okay,

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Speaker 1: given the free agent money they spent young quarterback, I

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Speaker 1: think they can leap up to seven or eight wins

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Speaker 1: and challenge the Vikings, who.

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Speaker 2: I do think.

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Speaker 1: Pull back and listen. People don't want to talk about it,

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Speaker 1: but the most underplayed story for the Minnesota Vikings right

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Speaker 1: now is what's gonna happen with Kirk Cousins. We know,

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Speaker 1: as Kevin Clark said a couple weeks ago on this podcast,

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Speaker 1: Shanahan and McVeigh absolutely love everything about Kirk Cousins. Kirk

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Speaker 1: Cousins has a new GM, a new coach, They've now

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Speaker 1: been there a couple of years. But you have to

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Speaker 1: wonder do they want to keep Kirk Cousins. They did

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Speaker 1: just draft a quarterback. Can they do a quarterback on

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Speaker 1: the cheap because the defense has nothing. Kirk Cousins is

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Speaker 1: getting paid very handsomely as quarterback should and the defense

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Speaker 1: is abysmal. Flores will keep it palatable, but they're not

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Speaker 1: gonna be good. They're gonna hemorrhage points. And then you're

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Speaker 1: hoping that Jefferson, Jordan Addison, they lose Dalvin Cook, they

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Speaker 1: got Alexander Madison. I'm just saying, listen, there's a world

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Speaker 1: where Justin Jefferson the best receiver in the league by

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Speaker 1: a lot of metrics. If Justin Jefferson goes down for

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Speaker 1: four or five games the way Jamar Chase missed a

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Speaker 1: few games last year, where does the Vikings offense get

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Speaker 1: popped from? Like Alec Dinner, Madison solid as a backup,

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Speaker 1: good fill in guy. Can he carry the team the

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Speaker 1: way Dalvin Cook? Could you know Adam Thieland is now gone.

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Speaker 1: Jordan Madison rookie just got popped for a go one

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Speaker 1: hundred and forty miles an hour. There's just a lot

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Speaker 1: of unanswered questions on Minnesota. They exceeded all expectations last year.

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Speaker 1: I love Jefferson. I think this team regresses from thirteen

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Speaker 1: probably to the neighborhood of seven eight nine wins and yes,

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Speaker 1: pulling up the rear rob g the Green Bay Packers.

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Speaker 1: I've read all I can about Jordan Love. He's got

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Speaker 1: I believe, eighty three pass attempts in his career. And

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Speaker 1: you know, a lot of what you read in the NFL,

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Speaker 1: you know, you hear stuff and you're like, huh, interesting,

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Speaker 1: and you just you don't want to overreact in the offseason.

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Speaker 1: But we've had at least three people in the organization

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Speaker 1: try to get everybody to pump the brakes on this

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Speaker 1: Jordan Love hype train. Okay, Jordan Love bottom lines, we

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Speaker 1: don't know if he's gonna be ever your quarterback. Nobody

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Speaker 1: has any clue, not even the people in Green Bay.

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Speaker 1: But what we can do is look at their actions

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Speaker 1: and sure or false, they restructure Jordan Love's deal so

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Speaker 1: he's making a little less money in his fifth year Okay,

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Speaker 1: so they don't have a massive commitment to Jordan Love.

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Speaker 1: They just signed the USFL MVP to be the fourth

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Speaker 1: quarterback and compete in camp. There's a lot of questions

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Speaker 1: at quarterback. Now listen, maybe Jordan Love sitting behind Aaron

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Speaker 1: Rodgers for a long time. Hey, he picked it up.

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Speaker 1: He's gonna come in and surprise everybody. That's possible. I

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Speaker 1: do believe this will be a run heavy attack. Aaron Jones,

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Speaker 1: who took a bit of a haircut, will pay decrease

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Speaker 1: to stick around. You got Dylan, you got kind of

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Speaker 1: mostly a veteran offensive line, and you've got uncertainty at

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Speaker 1: receiver with two young guys who you know, maybe didn't

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Speaker 1: click with Aaron Rodgers early and then Watson and Rodgers

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Speaker 1: kind of had a connection. They're mostly yak guys. Go

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Speaker 1: look at Jordan Love's throws last year. Not a lot

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Speaker 1: of stuff down the field. Again, small sample size, but

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Speaker 1: there's just a large unknown quantity to Jordan Love and folks.

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Speaker 1: Green Bay fans may not want to hear this. There's

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Speaker 1: a range of outcomes from about five wins for green

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Speaker 1: Bay to like nine or ten. I would say, on

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Speaker 1: the surprising end, would be nine or ten Jordan Love's

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Speaker 1: lights out. But I think more likely we're looking at

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Speaker 1: a five to six win team and the Green Bay

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Speaker 1: Packers go back to the basement where they have not

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Speaker 1: been in goodness gracious since I guess the early days

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Speaker 1: of Brett Farv, or maybe even before Brett Farv and

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Speaker 1: Don the Magic Man Mkowski. So to recap the NFC North,

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Speaker 1: I've got the Minnesota Vikings falling from number one to

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Speaker 1: number two, the Detroit Lions leaping up, leaping up and

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Speaker 1: winning the division, number three, that Chicago Bess. I don't

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Speaker 1: know if there's a start of something nice. I am

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Speaker 1: more a little higher on justin fields than I am

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Speaker 1: some of the rookie quarterbacks in this class, and pulling

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Speaker 1: up the rear for the first time probably sits pre Farv,

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Speaker 1: maybe the Magic Man Don Mkowski. It feels to me

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Speaker 1: like the Green Bay Packers are probably a six win team,

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Speaker 1: and folks, you start to wonder, hey, we had a

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Speaker 1: good twenty year run, maybe twenty five with Farvan Rodgers.

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Speaker 1: What do we do now? That wraps up the NFC

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Speaker 1: North preview sponsored by Quarterback from Netflix, and let's get

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Speaker 1: to our guests now. Paul Tenorio from the Athletic. You

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Speaker 1: know a guy Jason likes to think he knows everything

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Speaker 1: when it comes to sports. I know what sports dance wants,

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Speaker 1: but for.

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Speaker 2: Everything he doesn't.

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Speaker 1: He knows a guy who does.

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Speaker 2: Let's just say I know a guy who knows a

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Speaker 2: guy he knows another guy.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's welcome into straight fire. A writer for

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Speaker 1: the Athletic. He's now going to be on the Leonel

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Speaker 1: Messi beat Paul Tenorio, Paul, how are you man?

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Speaker 2: I'm doing well.

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Speaker 3: You know, I've been putting in the airline miles, chasing

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Speaker 3: Messi around, going to the All Star Game, back down

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Speaker 3: for Messi's debut, but you know it's a grind that's

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Speaker 3: worth it.

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Speaker 2: Right now, it's an exciting time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say the most exciting moment in MLS

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Speaker 1: history since the league's inception. I know Wayne Rooney was

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Speaker 1: massive and there's been a lot of expansion, but Leonel

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Speaker 1: Messi won the World Cup Trophy what like seven months

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Speaker 1: ago for Artidina maybe six months, and now he's in

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Speaker 1: the MLS. It's almost unbelievable. He's expected to make his

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Speaker 1: debut tonight for inter Milan. As we record this Thursday,

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Speaker 1: He's making it Friday into Miami. I'm sorry, goodness, gracious,

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Speaker 1: inter Milan. I don't know the path to get here.

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Speaker 1: It's like the MLS was negotiating against Saudi Arabia. How

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Speaker 1: the hell do we pull this off?

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Speaker 2: Paul, Yeah, you're right.

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Speaker 3: I mean it was a crazy few months and years

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Speaker 3: really of recruitment for Inner Miami. When they first started

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Speaker 3: speaking to Messi and his representatives, really Jorge Messi, who's

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Speaker 3: his father, who serves as his agent as well. It

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Speaker 3: was four years ago in September of twenty nineteen. Jorge Moss,

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Speaker 3: the owner of Inner Miami, along with David Beckham, who also,

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Speaker 3: of course is an owner and founder of the team,

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Speaker 3: and a few other representatives, they sat down with Hojge

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Speaker 3: Messi in a hotel room in Barcelona just to kind

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Speaker 3: of get to know you, a meet you session, and

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Speaker 3: from there that relationship started to build. But when we

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Speaker 3: got down to these final few months of Messi's contract

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Speaker 3: in PSG, I still don't think many people considered Major

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Speaker 3: League Soccer and Inner Miami to be a true contender

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Speaker 3: to sign Messi. You had Barcelona, which of course had

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Speaker 3: the emotional connection of Messi, going back to the club

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Speaker 3: where he spent the vast majority of his career. PSG

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Speaker 3: still wanted to keep him at that time, it was

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Speaker 3: before the relationship got a little dicey in those final weeks.

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Speaker 3: And then you had Saudi Arabia, which has made a

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Speaker 3: huge push to sign players, obviously Christiano Ronaldo in January,

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Speaker 3: but several big name players in recent months as the

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Speaker 3: PIF has taken the top four teams in that league,

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Speaker 3: private guys like Kareem Benzema and golocante Roberto Fermino. And

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Speaker 3: the main goal was to sign Messi, and reports had

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Speaker 3: that offer at one point six billion dollars for three years.

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Speaker 3: I mean money that you know, we just don't hear

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Speaker 3: of in sports contracts for playing on the field at least.

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Speaker 2: And what did Miami do to get him?

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Speaker 3: I mean they had to put a package together that

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Speaker 3: could entice him away from that type of money, And

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Speaker 3: there were a number of factors. One I think they

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Speaker 3: played on the idea of family. Messi had a home here,

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Speaker 3: his family liked being in Miami. The proximity to Argentina.

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Speaker 3: To Rosadio, Argentina, where Messi is from, it's a nine

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Speaker 3: hour flight, closer than Barcelona, closer than Riad as well.

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Speaker 2: They also talked about longevity.

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Speaker 3: Could they put a contract offer together that would pay

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Speaker 3: dividends for Messi beyond the two and a half or

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Speaker 3: three and a half years that he played here in

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Speaker 3: the United States, And that's where things got interesting. Basically,

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Speaker 3: Miami and MLS created a package that was, to use

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Speaker 3: the term Don Garber said, creative. The commissioner, it was

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Speaker 3: a creative offer, and I think in a few ways.

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Speaker 3: One they offered equity and inner Miami. So this is

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Speaker 3: a team that, before Messi was signed, was worth five

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Speaker 3: hundred and eighty five million dollars according to Sportico. We

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Speaker 3: expect that to be well higher than that after signing

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Speaker 3: Messi and opening a new billion dollar stadium in a

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Speaker 3: couple of years. And then they had partnerships with some

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Speaker 3: of the biggest companies that work with Major League Soccer, Adidas,

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Speaker 3: Fanatics and most notably Apple, and those are partnerships that

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Speaker 3: are going to be lasting, ones that can go beyond

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Speaker 3: just the playing days, where he is essentially getting a

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Speaker 3: stake in the.

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Speaker 2: Growth in American soccer.

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Speaker 3: And at the end of the day, that whole package

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Speaker 3: was compelling enough for Leo Messi to say yes, I

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Speaker 3: want to go to MLS.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the package I'm assuming from Riod was essentially, hey,

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Speaker 1: here's a billion dollars. We're just going to try to

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Speaker 1: money whip you into propping up our Saudi Arabian League,

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Speaker 1: and Ronaldo took that. I don't have the numbers in

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Speaker 1: front of me because it's a little tougher. But you know,

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Speaker 1: Messi has made a lot lot of money in his

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Speaker 1: life playing soccer. I mean astronomical figures. I'm assuming probably

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Speaker 1: over a billion dollars. Is that safe to say.

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Speaker 3: I mean, look, let's put it this way. He's going

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Speaker 3: to be quite comfortable no matter which contract he signed.

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Speaker 3: I don't think money needed to be the most motivating

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Speaker 3: factor in this decision. Of course, you know, it's easy

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Speaker 3: for us to say, like, oh, Link turned down one

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Speaker 3: point six billion dollars, you don't really need it. But

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Speaker 3: certainly he's been incredibly successful for a very long time,

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Speaker 3: not just with the contracts he signs on the field,

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Speaker 3: and he's had some of the richest contracts in the

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Speaker 3: sports history to your point, but also he has a

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Speaker 3: lifetime contract with the Didas. He's you know, one of

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Speaker 3: the biggest brands in the world. So yes, he's done

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Speaker 3: very well for himself economically throughout his career.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, after I was so into the Messy run at

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Speaker 1: the World Cup, you know, besides betting on Argentina rooting Messi.

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Speaker 1: Obviously after the US my wife had got me a

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Speaker 1: Messy jersey. I nearly wore it for this interview, but

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Speaker 1: I thought the producers might nix that and say, Jason,

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Speaker 1: a little homer Ish on your part at any rate,

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Speaker 1: So I'm curious Messi the person. You know, A lot

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Speaker 1: has been written about him. I feel like I don't

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Speaker 1: know him that well, though. What's the media access like

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Speaker 1: so far? Is he giving one offs? I'm assuming you know.

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Speaker 1: Book publishers are company you Hey, you're covering Messi. We

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Speaker 1: want a book. What's the media surrounding inter Miami like

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Speaker 1: now with Messi on board?

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Speaker 2: Well, the media side of it is crazy.

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Speaker 3: There were five hundred around five hundred credentials issued for

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Speaker 3: his unveiling last Sunday, two hundred people at the first

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Speaker 3: training session. They had to cap it at two hundred

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Speaker 3: people for security reasons. So the interest is through the roof.

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Speaker 3: But Messi is not a talker and there's this odd

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Speaker 3: disconnect that exists when you talk about soccer or football internationally.

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Speaker 3: There is no real access in the rest of the

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Speaker 3: world the way there is here in American sports. If

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Speaker 3: you cover the NBA, you can go into the locker

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Speaker 3: room after games and you can talk to Lebron James

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Speaker 3: after any game. In Europe, it doesn't work that way.

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Speaker 3: It doesn't exist that way, and so we've found over

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Speaker 3: I've found in my career it takes some time for

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Speaker 3: some of these players who have been in Europe to

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Speaker 3: adapt to the media access side of things. Messi hasn't

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Speaker 3: had a press conference yet. He was supposed to have

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Speaker 3: one on Monday. It got postponed. We'll see if it

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Speaker 3: ever actually is held. And he hasn't done any one

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Speaker 3: on one interviews yet. He spoke at his unveiling event

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Speaker 3: on the microphone, but that's it. So there is clearly

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Speaker 3: an adjustment period. And I should note also Leo Messi

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Speaker 3: is an introvert. He doesn't really love to do this

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Speaker 3: kind of stuff. He spoke during the World Cup. He

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Speaker 3: did press conferences in the lead up to Argentina's game.

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Speaker 3: Obviously he was the captain of Argentina. He felt an obligation.

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Speaker 3: This was a part of his legacy. I don't believe

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Speaker 3: though that he spoke in the postgame press conference after

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Speaker 3: he won the World Cup.

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Speaker 2: Who was really going to.

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Speaker 3: Make him stop his celebrations of a game that cemented

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Speaker 3: his legacy. But again, you know, this is a mix

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Speaker 3: of the cultural differences and the reality of the fact

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Speaker 3: that that Messi is not has never really been kind

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Speaker 3: of a media forward person. It just doesn't really mix

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Speaker 3: with his personality. And so it's one of the more

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Speaker 3: intriguing parts of this experiment is going to be how

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Speaker 3: much does he put himself out there? Because when you

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Speaker 3: look at when you compare other signings like David Beckham,

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Speaker 3: when he came in two thousand and seven, he understood

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Speaker 3: that he was an ambassador for MLS. He did media

359
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Speaker 3: left and right. J Latan Ibrahimovitch of course, we saw

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Speaker 3: him on all the late night shows. Even when I

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Speaker 3: was in Orlando covering Orlando City in twenty fifteen. Kaka,

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Speaker 3: who's a former feed for Player of the Year, did

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Speaker 3: media every once in a while, not as regularly as

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Speaker 3: the other players, but he got in front of a

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Speaker 3: microphone every couple of weeks. I don't know that it'll

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Speaker 3: be that easy with Messi, but I expect at some

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Speaker 3: point he's going to have to come answer some questions

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Speaker 3: from us, hopefully.

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Speaker 1: It's interesting. I'm just trying to think, like you think,

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Speaker 1: if I say Lebron James, you know what he sounds like.

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Speaker 1: If I say Curry, you know him, Patrick Mahomes. I'm

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Speaker 1: trying to think even even internationally Federer, the tennis great,

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Speaker 1: I think Switzerland, like, you know what he sounds like.

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Speaker 1: I'm just trying to think. I don't think I know

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Speaker 1: what Leonel Messi sounds like that that's crazy. He just

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Speaker 1: doesn't give a lot of that's the upside for him

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Speaker 1: giving interviews like.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.

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Speaker 3: I mean, he is one of the biggest brands in

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Speaker 3: the world and you want to talk about his impact.

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Speaker 3: Inner Miami had about one million Instagram followers the day

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Speaker 3: before Messi announced he was going to join the team.

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Speaker 3: Right now, which is about a month later. A little

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Speaker 3: bit more than a month later, they have nine point

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Speaker 3: eight million Instagram followers. There's only three professional teams in

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Speaker 3: the United States with more Instagram followers than Inner Miami.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, you're.

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Speaker 3: Talking about a person who doesn't need to do media

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Speaker 3: to expose himself to fans. He could just use his

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Speaker 3: social channels. And that's that's the reality of the world

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Speaker 3: we live in now, That's how things are changing.

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Speaker 2: But certainly, yeah, he's spoken before. Like I said, I think.

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Speaker 3: In some instances, like with Argentina and Qatar at the

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Speaker 3: World Cup, he felt that obligation existed to be a

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Speaker 3: spokes as the captain and the leader of the team,

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Speaker 3: to be at those press conferences. But yeah, he picks

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Speaker 3: his moments, and I think again, I think there's a little.

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Speaker 2: Bit of grace.

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Speaker 3: They're giving him a bit of grace here to adjust

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Speaker 3: to a new culture and new expectations in this country.

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Speaker 3: And you know, hopefully at some point we get to

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Speaker 3: hear a little bit from him about being here and

403
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Speaker 3: how it's been and kind of the transition. I actually

404
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,520
Speaker 3: think the press conference in a month with MESSI will

405
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Speaker 3: be more productive in terms of learning what things have

406
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Speaker 3: been like for him, rather than the one when he

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Speaker 3: first gets here and you know, everything is still new

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Speaker 3: and he hasn't really experienced anything yet.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm curious, like you saw the messy photos at

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Speaker 1: the grocery store in Florida. Obviously he couldn't do that

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Speaker 1: in Argentina. Now I don't. I'm assuming none of that

412
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Speaker 1: was staged. I had a buddy saying, wait, there was

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Speaker 1: security somewhere around him. What's Messi's life like currently in Miami?

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Speaker 3: I think the Cynic in all of us as Okay,

415
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Speaker 3: Public's is a corporate sponsor of Inner Miami. Maybe it's

416
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Speaker 3: not quite the accident that he ended up shopping in

417
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Speaker 3: that store, but you have to acknowledge that, yes, life

418
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Speaker 3: is going to be a little bit different, or often

419
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,000
Speaker 3: is for players who come to United States who couldn't

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Speaker 3: walk around in Europe through the streets and go unbothered,

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Speaker 3: and they can here. And we can rattle off the

422
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Speaker 3: names who have talked about that aspect of their life.

423
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Speaker 3: Tierry Henrie, who has a home in Manhattan. He can

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Speaker 3: walk down the streets in New York and people don't

425
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Speaker 3: bother him.

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Speaker 2: Caca Orlando.

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Speaker 3: I saw him several times where coincidentally bump into him

428
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Speaker 3: at a restaurant and no one's bugging him. He couldn't

429
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,440
Speaker 3: do that in Italy and Milan or in Brazil. Messi's

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Speaker 3: a little bit of a different animal. He actually was

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Speaker 3: in Miami last year and there were some videos of

432
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 3: him trying to There were some videos of him trying

433
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:30,320
Speaker 3: to go out to eat at restaurants and there were

434
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 3: hundreds of people.

435
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:33,920
Speaker 2: Waiting outside the door for him. Wow, he's not your

436
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:35,000
Speaker 2: normal celebrity.

437
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,879
Speaker 3: He is going to have people waiting for him and

438
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,720
Speaker 3: bugging him and even But what I do love is

439
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,400
Speaker 3: that he's doing these things. So his first night here

440
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,680
Speaker 3: in Miami after landing in Fort Lauderdale, he went out

441
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,080
Speaker 3: to eat at a restaurant in North Miami Beach, in

442
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,720
Speaker 3: Little Buenos Aires neighborhood, obviously a huge Argentine community year

443
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,840
Speaker 3: and he went and had dinner with his family. And yes,

444
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,280
Speaker 3: he went out the back door and tried to sneak out,

445
00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,840
Speaker 3: and yes there were dozens of fans waiting for him.

446
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,119
Speaker 3: But I think those little moments do sell players on

447
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,720
Speaker 3: the ability to come here. Because there might still be

448
00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,880
Speaker 3: people waiting for him outside of these restaurants. He might

449
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,639
Speaker 3: still need security any hands. Yeah, so far, but it's

450
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,080
Speaker 3: not to the degree that it would be necessary in

451
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,480
Speaker 3: Argentina or even in Paris or Barcelona.

452
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:21,480
Speaker 1: I'm trying to put Messi in some context for MLS,

453
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 1: Like you know, I don't know if you know, I'm

454
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,920
Speaker 1: like a minority owner in a Liga MX team and

455
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,040
Speaker 1: we're playing in the Legua's Cup coming up this month,

456
00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,160
Speaker 1: and I'm doing research on the teams we gotta play

457
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,080
Speaker 1: Dallas and Charlotte. I'm like, all right, we got a

458
00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:37,879
Speaker 1: shot in those games. And I'm looking at MLS standings,

459
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,919
Speaker 1: if you will, and power rankings, and inter Miami is

460
00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,240
Speaker 1: pretty much the worst team in the league. I mean,

461
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 1: maybe these were from a couple of weeks ago, but

462
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,680
Speaker 1: it's not like Messi's going to a contender or even

463
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,480
Speaker 1: a middling team to put over the top. Like, he's

464
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,120
Speaker 1: going to a pretty bad team right now. Is there

465
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: any context for what he could possibly do? Like, might

466
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,120
Speaker 1: we not see Messi in the MLS postseason?

467
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,359
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's a very distinct possibility. Right.

468
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,320
Speaker 3: They are the worst team in the league, and it

469
00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:08,760
Speaker 3: actually creates kind of a cool experiment. I think, to

470
00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 3: take the best player of all time, drop him into

471
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,280
Speaker 3: the worst team in the league, and see how much

472
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 3: better he can make them. It wouldn't be fair to

473
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,640
Speaker 3: really cast it that way, because this team is going

474
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 3: to look significantly different by the time Major League Soccer

475
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,680
Speaker 3: restarts on August twentieth, after the League's Cup.

476
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,840
Speaker 2: You have Sergio Busquetz who has joined along with Messi.

477
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,919
Speaker 2: Jordi Alba has signed a contract and joined along with Messi.

478
00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:31,600
Speaker 2: They're going to.

479
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,280
Speaker 3: Sign three young players under twenty two. Initiative is something

480
00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,320
Speaker 3: that Major League Soccer uses to entice teams to sign

481
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,440
Speaker 3: younger players. They're expected to sign three more players. They've

482
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,960
Speaker 3: already inked one of them to help the roster. Two

483
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,680
Speaker 3: of the top players for Miami who have been injured

484
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 3: are back, not full training, but are getting out there

485
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,560
Speaker 3: on the field and starting to work rehab where they

486
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,120
Speaker 3: could be back for the back part of the season.

487
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,600
Speaker 3: So they have a new coach as well, top to Martinez,

488
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,560
Speaker 3: who coached Messi at Barcelona and Argentina and won an

489
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 3: MLS Cup with Atlanta. So it's going to be a

490
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,480
Speaker 3: very very different team when they take the field again

491
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,439
Speaker 3: in Major League Soccer play. That being said, they have

492
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:08,280
Speaker 3: a huge hole that they have to climb out of.

493
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,320
Speaker 3: I believe they're twelve points out of the last playoff

494
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:12,800
Speaker 3: spot right now in the Eastern Conference.

495
00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,400
Speaker 2: That is a significant gap to try to make up.

496
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,000
Speaker 3: They're a little bit fortunate Major League Soccer this year

497
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,439
Speaker 3: expanded their playoffs to include a knockout game. So now

498
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,240
Speaker 3: nine teams in each conference makes the playoffs. It is

499
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:26,399
Speaker 3: not the biggest challenge in the world to do that,

500
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:28,680
Speaker 3: but I do think it's going to be a fun.

501
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 3: Part of it is like, is Messi so good, so

502
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,359
Speaker 3: transformative that he's going to take the worst team in

503
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 3: the league and get them to a playoffs in a

504
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,560
Speaker 3: very limited amount of time. I wouldn't count them out,

505
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:41,479
Speaker 3: certainly not when you look at the firepower that has

506
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,320
Speaker 3: come in and let's see how this team comes together.

507
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:45,760
Speaker 3: They won't have a lot of time to do it,

508
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 3: but I think it's definitely possible.

509
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,880
Speaker 1: There is a narrative as I'm sure you know that

510
00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,879
Speaker 1: European stars come to the MLS to take a last

511
00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:00,560
Speaker 1: paycheck when they're kind of washed, if you will, I mean,

512
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 1: I hear that, and I understand you know, the financial

513
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:09,200
Speaker 1: aspect of it. It's tough for me. Now, I didn't

514
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,200
Speaker 1: watch a lot of PSG here post World Cup. It's

515
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,480
Speaker 1: tough for me to conceivably think that Messi is washed

516
00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,400
Speaker 1: or even close to it. If you watch a level

517
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,280
Speaker 1: he played at just seven months ago, I don't know

518
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 1: where are you Unlike? This is just like not long

519
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,680
Speaker 1: term great for the MLS, but like in the short term,

520
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:27,840
Speaker 1: it's a huge like jolt.

521
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:29,480
Speaker 2: Yeah.

522
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:31,320
Speaker 3: I mean, first of all, there are just certain players

523
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:33,199
Speaker 3: where it doesn't matter how old they are, if they

524
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,199
Speaker 3: want to come play in your league, they play in

525
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,160
Speaker 3: your league. The fact that Barcelona was trying as hard

526
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,879
Speaker 3: as they were to sign Messi and you know, I

527
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:42,760
Speaker 3: think is indicative of the fact that he is not,

528
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 3: you know, out of it, right. This is a guy

529
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,359
Speaker 3: who had twenty goals and twenty assists last season in France,

530
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 3: one of the only players in Europe I think, maybe

531
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,600
Speaker 3: the only player in Europe to do that in one

532
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,200
Speaker 3: of the top five leagues. He is still very productive.

533
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 3: As you said, he won a World Cup seven months ago.

534
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:57,760
Speaker 3: Not only did he win the World Cup, he won

535
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,320
Speaker 3: the Golden Ball as the top player at that World Cup.

536
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,600
Speaker 3: So you know, this is a transcendent player. Major League

537
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,920
Speaker 3: soccer has changed a lot over the years, the focus

538
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 3: on the DP spots, the designated player spots, the rule

539
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,680
Speaker 3: that was initially created to bring Beckham. It went from

540
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,479
Speaker 3: those bigger name stars that we've discussed before to this

541
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 3: really this huge push to sign younger players, and I

542
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 3: think the average age of the players who have come

543
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,920
Speaker 3: in as designated players and MLS has dropped significantly from

544
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:26,400
Speaker 3: way above thirty two, I think, like twenty five years

545
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 3: old or something like that. So it's not like this

546
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,359
Speaker 3: is a league where you're seeing constant a constant flow

547
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:34,320
Speaker 3: of kind of players in their late thirties coming over anymore.

548
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,560
Speaker 3: That being said, inner Miami is kind of going in

549
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 3: that direction right now. Right they have Messi's late thirties,

550
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,520
Speaker 3: Busqttes in his late thirties, Geordia Alba again, though Jordia

551
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,600
Speaker 3: Albo very productive last year in his career, still playing

552
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,199
Speaker 3: at a very high level. Busquttes will be interesting to

553
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 3: see how he transitions to the league. I think he's

554
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,760
Speaker 3: maybe the one that I've got the biggest question marks on.

555
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 3: But Bousquetes is a player whose abilities, his vision is

556
00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 3: technic that's not going to go away. It's a matter

557
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 3: of will the players around him be good enough where

558
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,439
Speaker 3: you can fully see his skills set take advantage. I

559
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 3: think it's an interesting question is where does MLS want

560
00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 3: to go. How do they leverage this situation with Messi?

561
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,719
Speaker 3: You know, they have growth that they still need to accomplish.

562
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:17,719
Speaker 3: I do think MLS is at a higher level than

563
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,639
Speaker 3: people realize, both domestically here the audience here in the

564
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:21,720
Speaker 3: US and around the world.

565
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:22,880
Speaker 2: But they still do have.

566
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 3: A long way to go to become the They're not

567
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 3: better than League A Mechi's right now as the best

568
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,439
Speaker 3: team in the region. They're not equal to the European teams.

569
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,200
Speaker 3: So what's the best way forward? And you know, there

570
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,080
Speaker 3: is a big debate now about changing some of the

571
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 3: roster rules, giving owners more flexibility and how they want

572
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,560
Speaker 3: to spend, And as part of that, I think it's

573
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:42,959
Speaker 3: about do you want to target some of these players

574
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,440
Speaker 3: who are in there early to mid thirties and kind

575
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,679
Speaker 3: of go back a little bit to that philosophy, or

576
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,119
Speaker 3: is the focus still on younger players. I think ultimately

577
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:53,840
Speaker 3: the goal from Mida League Soccer should be let every

578
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,320
Speaker 3: team have their own philosophy, give them a little bit

579
00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:58,359
Speaker 3: more freedom to spend the money as they want, and

580
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,720
Speaker 3: the ultimate goal should be let's get the product on

581
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 3: the field as strong as possible. And for some teams

582
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,400
Speaker 3: it's going to be guys like Messy older in their careers.

583
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,280
Speaker 3: I mean not like Messy, but you know what I mean,

584
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 3: later in their careers that can help you. And there

585
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:13,960
Speaker 3: are some teams that are gonna say, no, we want

586
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,879
Speaker 3: to try to find the next young star and develop

587
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:16,320
Speaker 3: them here.

588
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,680
Speaker 2: And that's okay. It's okay for teams to have different philosophies.

589
00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:23,200
Speaker 1: It's a great discussion. I like that breakdown. I guess

590
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,560
Speaker 1: from my point of view, again, does League MX, like

591
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,040
Speaker 1: the coaches want to stay employed? How do you stay employed?

592
00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:31,120
Speaker 1: Not by playing the young guys. You know, you got

593
00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 1: to play the veterans who help you get to the

594
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,080
Speaker 1: playoffs and people keep their jobs. But for the long

595
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 1: term growth of the club, you need to develop the

596
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: seventeen eighteen, nineteen year olds, get the academy going because

597
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,320
Speaker 1: guess what, that's where the real money is. When you

598
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,440
Speaker 1: could sell twenty two year olds to Europe for top

599
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:50,680
Speaker 1: dollar and then you just bolster everything. So it's that

600
00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:55,400
Speaker 1: healthy mix of veterans, you know, aging stars if you will,

601
00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:57,920
Speaker 1: and the young guys. But it's a lot of it.

602
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 1: From my point of view, come down to the coaches.

603
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,280
Speaker 1: Do they want to play the young guys? You know,

604
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 1: I think in this case like Beckham is going to

605
00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:10,880
Speaker 1: definitely play Busquet's Alba MESSI those guys are starters from there,

606
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:14,280
Speaker 1: there's no question. But I guess my question is, like,

607
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,160
Speaker 1: five years from now, what is Inter Miami going to

608
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 1: look like? And my guess is Bavid becka wild look

609
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,120
Speaker 1: at you and Paul and be like, I don't know,

610
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,440
Speaker 1: We'll worry about that in five years.

611
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,360
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. I think sometimes these

612
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,720
Speaker 3: problems are ones you confront down the road a little bit.

613
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:29,320
Speaker 2: But they do have some good young.

614
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 3: Players who are playing, and like Ben Kromashi, who is

615
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 3: eligible actually they play for Argentina, has played for the

616
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,080
Speaker 3: US youth national teams as well. He's going to be

617
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 3: playing minutes next to heroes of his And you're right,

618
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 3: it does come down to a balance. How do you

619
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 3: fit all of these pieces together. The ultimate goal is

620
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 3: to win games, but there's the business side of it

621
00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,000
Speaker 3: as well. There are the revenue streams from selling players.

622
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:51,800
Speaker 3: Of course, there's no one that's going to bring in

623
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,920
Speaker 3: more revenue for this team than MESSI. We know that commercially.

624
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,320
Speaker 3: He's changed the game for Inner Miami and certainly for

625
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 3: Major League Soccer, So there are different ways to try

626
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,320
Speaker 3: to boost revenue, for sure. But yeah, there's always this

627
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,760
Speaker 3: constant give and take for I think every team around

628
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,760
Speaker 3: the world, and again, each club will make a decision

629
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:11,480
Speaker 3: on who they want to be, what their focus wants

630
00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,600
Speaker 3: to be. FC Dallas in MLS has been the team

631
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,000
Speaker 3: that's been selling the most players. They don't have any

632
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,360
Speaker 3: trophies during that time that they've been doing that, but

633
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 3: they have produced Western mckennie, Ricardo PEPPI go down the

634
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,080
Speaker 3: list of all the players that have come out of

635
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:28,120
Speaker 3: Chris Richards and made a lot of money selling those players.

636
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:29,760
Speaker 3: So who do you want to be? How do you

637
00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 3: best want to go about running your club? What's the

638
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,680
Speaker 3: ultimate goal going to be? Again, I think the goal

639
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,120
Speaker 3: for Major League Soccer is with this two and a

640
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,000
Speaker 3: half years, you have maybe three and a half years

641
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 3: with Messi.

642
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,080
Speaker 2: He does have an option on the back end of

643
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 2: that contract. How are you going to grow things? How

644
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 2: are you going to grow your audience? How are you

645
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:49,400
Speaker 2: going to entice people to tune in to these games?

646
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 3: And I think the message shouldn't be about Hey, the

647
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,280
Speaker 3: way MLS has gone about it before, it has been like,

648
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,240
Speaker 3: let's control how you're spending, let's focus you on finding

649
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,920
Speaker 3: younger players and doing things like that. That control has

650
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 3: to be let go and say, let teams find their

651
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,040
Speaker 3: own philosophies. Our goal just needs to be to be

652
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,920
Speaker 3: as strong as possible on the field to try to

653
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,800
Speaker 3: get some of these fans who're tuning in to watch

654
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 3: MESSI to stick around.

655
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess. I for a final question, let me

656
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,760
Speaker 1: zoom out for a sec. And if you look at

657
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 1: what happened in nineteen ninety four, the World Cup comes

658
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:24,560
Speaker 1: to the United States, It's massive and basically the MLS

659
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,120
Speaker 1: is berthed out of that. They because it was in

660
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 1: the United States, soccer was huge. Blah blah blah. Okay,

661
00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:32,800
Speaker 1: so the World Cup's coming back here in twenty six,

662
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,120
Speaker 1: the MLS has, I guess two and a half years

663
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,720
Speaker 1: before it happens again. Maybe a leading question on my

664
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:44,080
Speaker 1: part now that I'm in Lega MX, but what do

665
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:49,520
Speaker 1: you foresee for MLS. A lot of rumors about MLS

666
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,640
Speaker 1: and Lega MX in some way shape or for joining

667
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:56,280
Speaker 1: forces to create a super league that would rival the EPL.

668
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,160
Speaker 1: I know relegation and promotion is kind of hyped by fans.

669
00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: I don't know where you stand, but I do know

670
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,960
Speaker 1: owners have zero interest in that for obvious reasons. I'm

671
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 1: just soccer in America seems to be on the up

672
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,560
Speaker 1: and up and it's gonna get massive. The US team

673
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,760
Speaker 1: is I don't want to say stacked, because you know,

674
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 1: we got to make a semifinals first, but the US

675
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,600
Speaker 1: team is probably as strong as it's ever been. I

676
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,800
Speaker 1: know it's very young, but everything seems to be pointing up.

677
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 1: What do you think for the MLS here going forward,

678
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:26,120
Speaker 1: heading into the World Cup in twenty six.

679
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there are there's a lot of momentum

680
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 3: right now around American soccer. You have Messi here in

681
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 3: Major League Soccer. Now next year you have the Copa

682
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:37,920
Speaker 3: America being played on American soil, which is another huge

683
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:38,800
Speaker 3: moment for the game.

684
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 2: You've got the.

685
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,680
Speaker 3: Club World Cup, the first ever Club World Cup with

686
00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:43,560
Speaker 3: FIFA that's going to be played in twenty twenty five.

687
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:45,680
Speaker 3: Then you've got the twenty twenty six World Cup, and

688
00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,480
Speaker 3: then potentially the Women's World Cup in twenty twenty seven.

689
00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:51,360
Speaker 3: So yeah, there's a lot going on right now to

690
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:55,320
Speaker 3: advertise the sport, and you're right, soccer itself has grown

691
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,440
Speaker 3: in popularity in a significant way in this country. The

692
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,480
Speaker 3: sport for me League soccer, the equation is a little

693
00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:04,440
Speaker 3: bit different it's how can we compete with England, How

694
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:06,160
Speaker 3: can we compete with League A Meckis, which is the

695
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 3: most popular sport on television in the United States. What

696
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:11,040
Speaker 3: do we have to do to get a bigger chunk

697
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 3: of this growing fan base around the sport. And you know,

698
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,280
Speaker 3: I'm not sure that they know what the answer is yet,

699
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,480
Speaker 3: but for the sport itself, yes, you have to look

700
00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,560
Speaker 3: at twenty twenty six as a springboard, as a moment

701
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:25,800
Speaker 3: to grow the way we did in nineteen ninety four

702
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 3: when the World Cup came that founded Major League Soccer,

703
00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,760
Speaker 3: in nineteen ninety nine, when the Women's World Cup happened,

704
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:33,600
Speaker 3: and obviously the iconic women's national team in the Rose Bowl,

705
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,800
Speaker 3: the penalty kickshoot out and all of those things that

706
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 3: grew participation in the sport that helped to grow the

707
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,160
Speaker 3: women's game, and WSL is in the strongest place it's

708
00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,000
Speaker 3: ever been. And so when you think about twenty twenty

709
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,040
Speaker 3: six and potentially twenty twenty seven, yeah, the idea has

710
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,360
Speaker 3: to be, how do we take these moments and use

711
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,320
Speaker 3: them to be something that can be a game changer,

712
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,040
Speaker 3: not incremental.

713
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,960
Speaker 2: Growth, but a huge push forward.

714
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,240
Speaker 3: And I think that Major League Soccer's owners are thinking

715
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,120
Speaker 3: about it. I'm sure League got Mechi's owners are thinking

716
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,200
Speaker 3: about it. The League's Cup is a way to try

717
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:06,880
Speaker 3: to do that. The Apple television deal the Major League

718
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,440
Speaker 3: Soccer signed ten years, two and a half billion dollars

719
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,560
Speaker 3: to try to make its product visible.

720
00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:12,920
Speaker 2: No matter where you are around the world.

721
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:16,440
Speaker 3: All of this is leading into this moment, and you

722
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,759
Speaker 3: know what they do with it, that's what we're all

723
00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,120
Speaker 3: waiting to see. And I hope that they don't miss

724
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:23,400
Speaker 3: the moment. And I do think there are some ways

725
00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,480
Speaker 3: that they can change the league to make it stronger,

726
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 3: to make it more compelling, and they have a very

727
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,880
Speaker 3: small window to do that in order to capture the

728
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,439
Speaker 3: audience that's going to be there in twenty twenty six.

729
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:34,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, Paul, we'll get out of here on this.

730
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,640
Speaker 1: Does Messi score a goal in his first game for

731
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: Inter Miami, I don't know.

732
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:41,839
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a tough one. I don't know.

733
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 3: If he plays six minutes or if he plays thirty minutes,

734
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,000
Speaker 3: the answer is very different. I expect he's going to

735
00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,239
Speaker 3: play somewhere in between that, you know, maybe like a

736
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:52,279
Speaker 3: good twenty minute stint by the way, It's going to

737
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,839
Speaker 3: be incredibly hot here in Florida for his first game,

738
00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:56,839
Speaker 3: so that might end up dictating how long he comes off.

739
00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,160
Speaker 3: And as we talked about before, Miami's not very good.

740
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:01,920
Speaker 3: So what's the score line going to be when he

741
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:02,760
Speaker 3: comes off the bench.

742
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:04,880
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say, I don't know.

743
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:06,839
Speaker 3: You know, when you think about players who have come

744
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,440
Speaker 3: moments that have happened in this league. You had Beckham

745
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:12,680
Speaker 3: whose debut was kind of a dud. His ankle was injured,

746
00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:15,480
Speaker 3: he only played like seven minutes total for the Galaxy,

747
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,560
Speaker 3: and a friendly against Chelsea. You had Zlatan who came

748
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,279
Speaker 3: on on national television and scored one of the best

749
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,600
Speaker 3: goals in Major League Soccer history. I think that Messi

750
00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,760
Speaker 3: is going to have some moments that excite us, dribble

751
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,480
Speaker 3: some guys, make some nice passes, but I don't think

752
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,080
Speaker 3: he'll score a goal. I do think, though, that he

753
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 3: is going to score a lot of goals in Major

754
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:35,760
Speaker 3: League Soccer.

755
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:37,160
Speaker 2: I do think he is going.

756
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,040
Speaker 3: To change the game for that team, and I think

757
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,000
Speaker 3: the back half of the season is going to be

758
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:43,840
Speaker 3: a lot of fun to watch his games because I

759
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 3: just have a feeling that he's going to come in

760
00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:49,000
Speaker 3: and have a point to prove, to say, I'm not retiring.

761
00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,400
Speaker 3: I do want to be competitive. I do want to

762
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,520
Speaker 3: play for Argentina at the Copa America. So the goal

763
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 3: might not not happen the first game, but stay tuned.

764
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:01,280
Speaker 1: You said that he might not start. Is that determined

765
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:02,920
Speaker 1: yet or he's definitely coming off the bench or what.

766
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:04,759
Speaker 2: He's definitely coming off the bench.

767
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:06,840
Speaker 3: I mean he's coming off of a couple weeks vacation

768
00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,400
Speaker 3: in the Bahamas. You know, he's had a lot of

769
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 3: time off since the last time he played. Like I said,

770
00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,319
Speaker 3: it's going to be upper nineties in Fort Lauderdale with

771
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,800
Speaker 3: the heat index up above one hundred and ten.

772
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,239
Speaker 2: Degrees for most of the day. Is that a getting

773
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:19,880
Speaker 2: his fitness?

774
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,360
Speaker 3: No, thankfully, kickoffs at eight pm, so it'll have dropped

775
00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,520
Speaker 3: off a little bit. But that's what he's been training

776
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:27,480
Speaker 3: in in the mornings. He's got to get his fitness.

777
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:31,200
Speaker 3: At the press conference ahead of the game, Sergio Busquetz said,

778
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,520
Speaker 3: it would be impossible for me to play ninety minutes

779
00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:36,160
Speaker 3: right now. We're just not fit enough. So you know,

780
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:38,560
Speaker 3: somebody asked him, are you are you debating? He was

781
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 3: sitting next to the manager Tata Martinez, are you are

782
00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,400
Speaker 3: you debating with the manager to be able to start?

783
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:44,320
Speaker 3: And he laughed and goes, look, we're not going to

784
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 3: start it. We're not there yet physically. But they'll get you.

785
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,239
Speaker 2: They'll get a good stint in the game.

786
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:50,600
Speaker 1: The tough part is, you're right, what if it's three

787
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 1: nothing and you know, six sixty five minutes in, do

788
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:55,440
Speaker 1: you even bring in MESSI? I mean you have what

789
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:56,200
Speaker 1: I don't know.

790
00:36:56,239 --> 00:36:58,279
Speaker 3: You have to start building that fitness somehow, right, you

791
00:36:58,320 --> 00:36:59,879
Speaker 3: have to start building that game fitness somehow.

792
00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:01,600
Speaker 2: And so it's kind of like a preseason.

793
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,880
Speaker 3: You start off with the guys getting twenty minutes, then

794
00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,400
Speaker 3: you work up to forty five, then you get to sixty.

795
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,839
Speaker 3: So I think we'll maybe see I'm hoping to get

796
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,640
Speaker 3: maybe twenty minutes out of him on Friday. We'll see

797
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:13,719
Speaker 3: him again a few days later. Maybe that pushes to

798
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,600
Speaker 3: a half an hour. What'll be interesting is if they

799
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 3: don't advance in the League's Cup, they're going to have

800
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:20,759
Speaker 3: a month off before their next game. That could be

801
00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:22,799
Speaker 3: a blessing in disguise, just to let the team get

802
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:25,920
Speaker 3: some time together to gel. But you'll miss out on

803
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,080
Speaker 3: moments to get some of that game fitness. So it's

804
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:30,360
Speaker 3: kind of a give and take here, But you know

805
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:31,319
Speaker 3: it'll be interesting to see.

806
00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:32,239
Speaker 2: I'll tell you this much.

807
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:34,840
Speaker 3: No matter if you play six minutes, twenty minutes, thirty

808
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:37,320
Speaker 3: five minutes, there's gonna be a camera on every single

809
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:39,399
Speaker 3: touch he makes. When he's on the bench to start

810
00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:40,840
Speaker 3: the game, there's gonna be a camera on him the

811
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 3: entire time, every movement he makes. Whatever, poor guys sitting

812
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:45,560
Speaker 3: next to him on the bench better I'll be picking

813
00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:47,960
Speaker 3: his nose because the cameras are going to be locked

814
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,399
Speaker 3: in on Messi.

815
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,799
Speaker 1: I listen. I know it's about the team and all that,

816
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:53,440
Speaker 1: but I wouldn't hate and I will be getting the

817
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,319
Speaker 1: Apple package just to see Messi games. I wouldn't hate

818
00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:59,080
Speaker 1: it if they had like a camera on Messi and

819
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:00,799
Speaker 1: they had it on you're in the game, like in

820
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,640
Speaker 1: the upper right corner, here's Messi just sitting on the bench.

821
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,319
Speaker 1: I'm not honestly, I wouldn't mind watching that interacting with

822
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:06,640
Speaker 1: the guys.

823
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:06,920
Speaker 2: I think.

824
00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:12,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, Apples come out and said they're gonna have eighteen cameras. Uh,

825
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,080
Speaker 3: They're gonna have a skycams three slow mode cams, so

826
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,640
Speaker 3: there's gonna be a camera locked in on him, and

827
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:18,680
Speaker 3: I would not be surprised to see, you know, that

828
00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:22,239
Speaker 3: little box in the corner. Everyone's tuning in to see

829
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,520
Speaker 3: MESSI play in this first game. And actually, what's interesting,

830
00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,320
Speaker 3: the first game is also going to be on Tudaya

831
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:29,719
Speaker 3: for Spanish speakers because of the deal that they have

832
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:33,040
Speaker 3: in for League's Cup. So yeah, wait, so I don't

833
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:35,360
Speaker 3: even have to get not for the first game, for

834
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:38,080
Speaker 3: the second game. Yes, but it's a good chance for

835
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:40,520
Speaker 3: for MLS to have a little bit more national exposure,

836
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,360
Speaker 3: and especially to a market that you're involved in with

837
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,880
Speaker 3: League A. Mechi's to a market that MLS needs to

838
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:48,080
Speaker 3: grow in and so it's a good opportunity in that

839
00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:48,680
Speaker 3: way as well.

840
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:52,560
Speaker 1: All right, good stuff, Paul tan Orio, remember follow him

841
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,840
Speaker 1: and at the Athletic he's going to be basically the

842
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,600
Speaker 1: messy beat reporter. Looking forward to your stuff, Paul, thanks

843
00:38:57,600 --> 00:38:59,680
Speaker 1: a lot, man, Thank you.