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Speaker 1: There's some Dojakat and woman and one or two point

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Speaker 1: seven kids that then we've been talking about that FIFA

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Speaker 1: docu series that is streaming now ex very usually to

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Speaker 1: look back at the history of FIFA. But the FIFA

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Speaker 1: World Cup two starts Sunday, goes through the of December

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Speaker 1: on Fox Sports Networks and the Fox Sports App. Alexei

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Speaker 1: Lalas is joining us right now. He's got his official

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Speaker 1: microphone in his home. He's at a home studio. Uh

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Speaker 1: if home isa quitar, Yeah, I mean, and it will

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Speaker 1: be for the next month, So that's right. You can't

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Speaker 1: just commute overnight. You have to get there and get

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Speaker 1: and get. Well, we have that's a great that's a

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Speaker 1: great connect. Tobs, good job on the Qatar you know

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Speaker 1: states connection here. Um, Alexei, let's just start with what

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Speaker 1: is the mood like? There's a lot of buzz about

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Speaker 1: this World Cup and we'll get to it in a second.

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Speaker 1: What's the what's the moodlight going into it? Yeah, so

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Speaker 1: we've been here a week. We came here to do

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Speaker 1: a little uh pre production and some cross promotion with

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Speaker 1: the NFL. We were out at the there's a military

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Speaker 1: base here in do house. It was wonderful to be

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Speaker 1: out with um you know, all the uh, the folks

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Speaker 1: from the Air Force that we're out there, and it

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Speaker 1: was it was fun. Everything. Everybody's excited. This is a

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Speaker 1: really unique World Cup and it's happening in a country

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Speaker 1: the size of Connecticut, but it's happening in Doha, which

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Speaker 1: is a small city, and everybody is there. Usually you

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Speaker 1: have a World Cup or Olympics and you kind of

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Speaker 1: go to different places and teams go here and there.

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Speaker 1: That's there's none of that. It's this brigadoon ish type

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Speaker 1: of experience. This bubble, if you will, that's going to happen,

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Speaker 1: and so that makes it really really unique. Um. And

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Speaker 1: then you know, from an American perspective, our men's team

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Speaker 1: is back in the World Cup after having missed the

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Speaker 1: last World Cup. So there's a lot of interesting things

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Speaker 1: that are happening both on and off the soccer field.

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Speaker 1: When it comes to this World Cup, where it's happening

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Speaker 1: first time that it's ever happened here in the Middle

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Speaker 1: in the Middle East, and when it's happening in November December,

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Speaker 1: usually we have World Cups in this summer, so some

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Speaker 1: adjustment is necessary whether you're a player, a coach or

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Speaker 1: a fan. All right, let's get to the sport in

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Speaker 1: a second. But what what are people saying the air

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Speaker 1: and how is it gonna have an impact where you've

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Speaker 1: got sponsors, advertisers, fans, athletes just not showing up because

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Speaker 1: of the beliefs they're in Qatar. Yeah, I mean, look,

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Speaker 1: I think that there's some some people that just refuse

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Speaker 1: to watch or refuse to go, and that's certainly they're prerogative.

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Speaker 1: I think there's others that are taken the the tact

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Speaker 1: of we're gonna come here and we're going to make

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Speaker 1: sure that we highlight because of the platform and the

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Speaker 1: power that is that platform, whether it's players or coaches

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Speaker 1: or just teams in general and fans for that matter,

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Speaker 1: um and use the platform and use that spotlight to

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Speaker 1: educate and to make people aware of problems that the

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Speaker 1: problems that they see. You know, the whistle is going

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Speaker 1: to blow at some point and there is going to

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Speaker 1: be you know, the game of soccer. Well this other

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Speaker 1: stuff overshadow it. I don't think so. Because this is

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Speaker 1: the World Cup and whether it's a player or a

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Speaker 1: team or a fan, there's plenty of people that are

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Speaker 1: also coming here because they want to watch the game

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Speaker 1: and they want to watch this incredible, incredible tournament. And

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Speaker 1: that's not to downplay any of the legitimate and and

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Speaker 1: fair um criticisms that are going on and that are

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Speaker 1: gonna continue to go go on. There will be protests,

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Speaker 1: There will be protests when it comes to the players,

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Speaker 1: that will be protests when it comes to the fans

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Speaker 1: going on. But this is all kind of part of

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Speaker 1: this uh, this World Cup, and it will be part

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Speaker 1: of that story that is ultimately told. I don't know

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Speaker 1: what the end of this story is going to be,

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Speaker 1: but on and off the field, it's gonna be something

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Speaker 1: pretty unique. Alright, let's get into, uh, what's happening on

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Speaker 1: the field. So Team USA didn't qualify in they're back

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Speaker 1: this year. What kind of chances they got? So it's

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Speaker 1: the youngest team at the World Cup. And you know,

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Speaker 1: we were all young once, while you guys are still young.

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Speaker 1: But you know when I was thank you, well, back

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Speaker 1: when I was young, I did stupid things. I was,

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Speaker 1: you know, young and dumb, right, and so you make

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Speaker 1: stupid decisions and you do stupid things. Having said that,

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Speaker 1: there's also a youthful exuberance and a youthful swagger that

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Speaker 1: this team has. In that, I think they recognize both

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Speaker 1: the responsibility but more importantly, the opportunity right on their watch.

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Speaker 1: This team qualified for the World Cup on their watch.

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Speaker 1: This is a team that is stacked from top to

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Speaker 1: bottom with depth, with young talent that's playing at some

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Speaker 1: of the best teams in the world. You've got your

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Speaker 1: Christian Polistic who's playing at Chelsea. You got West mc

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Speaker 1: kenny was playing at Uventus. Over in England. You've got

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Speaker 1: Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams are both playing it Leads

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Speaker 1: over the e p L in uh in England. You've

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Speaker 1: got a lot of really really good players, so many

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Speaker 1: that when that line up comes out on on Monday,

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Speaker 1: when the US plays Whales in their first game, there's

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Speaker 1: gonna be some really good talent that's actually sitting on

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Speaker 1: the bench coming in as a substitute. And that's not

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Speaker 1: something we've necessarily had in the past. So I think

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Speaker 1: a lot of people are very excited about this team.

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Speaker 1: You should expect this team to get out of its group.

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Speaker 1: You should expect this team to make you believe as Americans.

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Speaker 1: You should expect this team to make you proud when

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Speaker 1: they go out there with what they do up. That's

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Speaker 1: why he's the best analysts in town. Um. Alright, so

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Speaker 1: Brazil is the team to beat, Uh, how do you

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Speaker 1: look at that? Who do you think will be uh

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Speaker 1: the toughest competition for Brazil or face off against them?

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Speaker 1: It'll probably be their neighbors over there. When it comes

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Speaker 1: to Argentina with a messy possibly in his last World

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Speaker 1: Cup and still not having checked that box yet of

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Speaker 1: winning a World Cup, then you've got Brazil, Like you mentioned,

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Speaker 1: you know you're I think your safe money is either

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Speaker 1: on Brazil or Argentina. Brazil with Neymar and just oodles

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Speaker 1: and noodles of dripping of talent over there. Um, when

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Speaker 1: it comes to maybe you want to make a little

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Speaker 1: bit more money than you're talking about, maybe the Dutch

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Speaker 1: they've been bridesmaids now for a number of times. This

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Speaker 1: might be a pathway where they can find their way

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Speaker 1: through a real kind of cool pick right now is

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Speaker 1: Denmark as one of those dark horses out there. And

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Speaker 1: then if you want to just kind of really win

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Speaker 1: a lot of money, because it probably won't happen, you

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Speaker 1: have teams like you know, I don't know a Serby

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Speaker 1: or something like that. So there's a lot of really

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Speaker 1: really interesting talent. It's eight groups of four. You play

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Speaker 1: round robin and the best top two teams come out

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Speaker 1: of the group and then you go round a sixteen

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Speaker 1: and a single elimination from there. So the US in

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Speaker 1: air group, they have UH, Iran, they have Whales, and

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Speaker 1: they have England. So you've gotta be one of the

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Speaker 1: top two teams. The s U S team should beat Iran,

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Speaker 1: this US team should beat Whales, and you take your

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Speaker 1: chances against England. Look, I would love nothing more than

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Speaker 1: beat England. It warms the cockles of my red headed

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Speaker 1: heart to beat England. Whether it's men's, women's, co ed, naked,

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Speaker 1: I don't care as long as we are beating England.

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Speaker 1: But it's still an elite team and so things can happen.

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Speaker 1: But you got you got those points out there when

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Speaker 1: it comes to UH, Whales and UH and Iran, and

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Speaker 1: then we'll take our chances once we get into the

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Speaker 1: round of sixteen, because anything can happen in one off

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Speaker 1: games and it all starts Sunday. I don't I kind

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Speaker 1: of wish we were sports analyst and broadcasters. Don't you listen?

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Speaker 1: But isn't that what you want to hear every morning?

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Speaker 1: Here to get you going and get motivated is supposed

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Speaker 1: to us to check you guys up, kicked a ball

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Speaker 1: or not? Man, we we got what we are welcoming.

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Speaker 1: We we have a warm, inviting type of game. The

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Speaker 1: tent is big. Come on in, it's wonderful. You don't

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Speaker 1: have to apologize if you've never even watched a soccer game.

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Speaker 1: It's pretty soon ful game. It's a beautiful game, and

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Speaker 1: we will welcome you with open arms. Great to see. Hey,

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Speaker 1: good luck and congrats on the greatest time Alexi Lulas.

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Speaker 1: They're uh covering that. That's Fox Sports Networks, Fox Sports

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Speaker 1: at take care of them. Thanks, I appreciate it. Thanks bye.

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Speaker 1: See that's what the people want. They want a sports

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Speaker 1: guy to fire you up at six o'clock in the morning. Right.

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Speaker 1: I love that. I just I can do that. I

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Speaker 1: mean not talking sport, but I could get that sort

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Speaker 1: of tone of my boys. Let's go Team USA. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: the weekend and so FY next weekend take its stand

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Speaker 1: by