WEBVTT - Bengals Booth Podcast: I've Been Waiting

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, gain everybody.

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<v Speaker 2>I Dan Horde and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>The I've been waiting audition as we discussed Thursday's release

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<v Speaker 2>of the NFL schedule with one of the people largely

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<v Speaker 2>responsible for putting it together, the NFL's VP of Broadcast Planning,

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<v Speaker 2>Mike North, plus a pair of one on one conversations

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<v Speaker 2>with two Bengals newcomers, cornerback Sidney Jones the fourth and

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<v Speaker 2>quarterback Trevor Simeon. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to

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<v Speaker 2>Alta Fiber. Now here's a quick reminder that you can

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<v Speaker 2>have the latest edition of this podcast delivered write to

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<v Speaker 2>your phone, tablet or computer by subscribing wherever you get

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<v Speaker 2>your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Maons. Cincinnati's Flying

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<v Speaker 2>Pig Marathon took place last weekend, and kudos to everybody

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<v Speaker 2>who managed to cross the finish line despite heavy rain

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<v Speaker 2>and thunder. That includes Evan McPherson's wife Gracie, who ran

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<v Speaker 2>her first marathon, and the Bengals kicker who ran the

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<v Speaker 2>half marathon. In fact, his runner's bib read money.

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<v Speaker 3>Mack.

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<v Speaker 2>My wife Peg is a marathoner who is qualified for

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<v Speaker 2>and run the Boston Marathon eight times. And I am

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<v Speaker 2>truly of the belief that a marathon is the one

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<v Speaker 2>sporting event where every single finisher is a winner. The

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<v Speaker 2>training is brutal, the event itself is brutal, and to

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<v Speaker 2>cross that finish line knowing that you put in the

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<v Speaker 2>time and effort and made it has to be incredibly gratifying.

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<v Speaker 2>So congratulations to last week's finishers, and I hope that

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<v Speaker 2>going downstairs is no longer painful. Now let's get to

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<v Speaker 2>my first guest. Thirty two teams playing seventeen games. There

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<v Speaker 2>are two hundred and seventy two regular season matchups each

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<v Speaker 2>year in the NFL. Putting together a schedule that maximizes

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<v Speaker 2>TV viewership while minimizing competitive imbalance is a complex puzzle.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, there are approximately one quadrillion possible combinations. That's

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<v Speaker 2>the number one, with fifteen zeros after it. Mike North

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<v Speaker 2>is the NFL's vice president of broadcast Planning, in one

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<v Speaker 2>of the league's top executives in creating the schedule each year.

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<v Speaker 2>He was kind enough to join me on Tuesday night,

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<v Speaker 2>less than forty eight hours before the schedule is released. Mike,

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<v Speaker 2>when you joined me on this podcast last year, you

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<v Speaker 2>said something that made local headlines at the time. The

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<v Speaker 2>quote was, the Bengals will have to get comfortable not

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<v Speaker 2>playing Sunday at one o'clock. Getting primetime games is a

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<v Speaker 2>big deal last year. Now it's assumed by Bengals fans

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<v Speaker 2>Spike market size. Are the Bengals at or near the

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<v Speaker 2>top of the list of the teams that the TV

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<v Speaker 2>networks are clamoring for.

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<v Speaker 1>They are. I mean, there's no toys around it. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a success driven league. And certainly there are legacy

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<v Speaker 1>brands and you know, teams that have national appeal almost

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<v Speaker 1>seemingly regardless of their record. But we all follow teams

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<v Speaker 1>with good records, star quarterbacks, playoff appearances, super Bowl appearances.

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<v Speaker 1>There's there's no question the Bengals are going to find

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<v Speaker 1>themselves in a lot of different windows. Not all the

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<v Speaker 1>games at one o'clock on Sunday, those days are those

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<v Speaker 1>days are over.

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<v Speaker 2>Just so people know for sure, what is the max

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<v Speaker 2>for primetime games?

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<v Speaker 1>A club can be scheduled for six, can be flexed

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<v Speaker 1>into a seventh. We've had Sunday night flex since two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and seven. Bengals have been on both sides of

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<v Speaker 1>that equation, getting flexed in and getting flexed out. Monday

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<v Speaker 1>night football flexible scheduling starts this year, and you can

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<v Speaker 1>be flexed into a seventh primetime appearance. And then when

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<v Speaker 1>we get to week eighteen, all bets are off. We

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<v Speaker 1>can do whatever we all think is the right thing

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<v Speaker 1>to do as we sequence week eighteen to ensure that

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<v Speaker 1>we have that cascading waterfall of playoff implications from Saturday afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>in the Saturday night, in the Sunday afternoon, in the

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<v Speaker 1>Sunday night. So you know, quote unquote primetime, it's really

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<v Speaker 1>less about who's playing at night than it is about

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<v Speaker 1>who's playing on something other than Sunday afternoon. So you

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<v Speaker 1>could play on a Monday night, you can play on

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<v Speaker 1>a Sunday night, you can play on a Thursday night,

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<v Speaker 1>you can play on a Saturday afternoon, you can play

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<v Speaker 1>on a Sunday morning at nine thirty am. Technically those

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<v Speaker 1>are all quote unquote primetime appearances. They're just non Sunday

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<v Speaker 1>afternoon appearances. But letter of the law, you can be

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<v Speaker 1>scheduled for six primes flexed into a seventh, and then

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<v Speaker 1>we'll all do whatever we think is right. In week eight, we.

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<v Speaker 2>Are chatting with Mike North, VP of broadcast planning for

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<v Speaker 2>the NFL. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs host the NFL

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<v Speaker 2>kickoff game on Thursday, September seventh. The Bengals have a

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<v Speaker 2>road game this year at Kansas City would obviously be

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<v Speaker 2>a great opener, But the Chiefs have home games against

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<v Speaker 2>Philly that's a Super Bowl rematch. They've got Buffalo at home.

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<v Speaker 2>Their division rivals obviously are at home. Have there ever

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<v Speaker 2>been more enticing choices for that Thursday night opener?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's a great question, Dan, Maybe maybe not. I mean, look,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's Kansas City, and right now they are musty TV.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure you, me and nine friends could play

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<v Speaker 1>Kansas City and that would do a pretty good number

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<v Speaker 1>for kickoff. You know, they are musty TV. And to

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<v Speaker 1>that end, you could make an argument that maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to use a Cincinnati, a Philadelphia a game

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<v Speaker 1>like that in a window where we're all going to

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<v Speaker 1>be so excited for the season to start, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>five months from now or four months from now that

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<v Speaker 1>you know, maybe you don't need your quote unquote best

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<v Speaker 1>asset in that opening window. That's not to say, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're gonna put a quote on quote lesser game there.

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<v Speaker 1>But I'm not sure the Chiefs have a lesser game

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<v Speaker 1>on their home schedule. So you mentioned them all, Buffalo, Sincy,

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<v Speaker 1>Philly would all be great. Anybody in that division would

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<v Speaker 1>be fun. I'm intrigued by Chicago and Detroit also coming

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<v Speaker 1>into Kansas City. You know, Chicago was pretty exciting last year.

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<v Speaker 1>I know the record doesn't necessarily reflect you know, success,

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe that's not worthy of that window. Detroit was,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, maybe the hottest team in the league last year,

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<v Speaker 1>eight out of the last nine or whatever it was

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<v Speaker 1>the last time we saw them. You know, they win

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<v Speaker 1>in a Lambeau and ruined the Packers season. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>any division games would be interesting, right Herbert and the

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<v Speaker 1>Chargers always play the Chiefs tough. The Raiders have a

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<v Speaker 1>new quarterback, they always play the Chiefs tough. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think everybody's gonna be really intrigued with Denver this year

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<v Speaker 1>when you think about the new coach and can he

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<v Speaker 1>get out of Russell Wilson what we're all used to

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<v Speaker 1>seeing from Russell Wilson. I love the options. I love

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<v Speaker 1>the flexibility. Kind of changed our process a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>as we searched through the you know, infinite Most years,

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<v Speaker 1>to your point, there's one or two pretty obvious options

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<v Speaker 1>for kickoff and then you kind of go from there.

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<v Speaker 1>We kind of did it the other way this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes when we solved kickoff was almost the last piece

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<v Speaker 1>of the puzzle. There were a lot of good options

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<v Speaker 1>and pretty sure, whatever we choose, we're gonna do.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, the Bengals have four road games that could at

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<v Speaker 2>least potentially be international games, but I'm guessing those opponents

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<v Speaker 2>don't want to lose home games against Cincinnati. Can teams

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<v Speaker 2>veto certain opponents on the international games, Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>When a club is selected or designated or volunteers. Forgive me,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not one hundred percent sure how the sausage gets

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<v Speaker 1>made with an international team. But when a team is

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<v Speaker 1>designated for international play and it's one of their home games, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they have some rights and some obligations and some commitments,

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<v Speaker 1>and yeah, they can take a look at their home

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<v Speaker 1>opponents and they can work with an international team. We

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<v Speaker 1>generally don't do division games over there. That's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>from a fans to those are always some of the

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<v Speaker 1>most exciting games of the season. To you know, take

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<v Speaker 1>those and move them overseas might not be exactly the

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<v Speaker 1>right thing to do for the fan base and the

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<v Speaker 1>season ticket members. So generally we don't play the inner

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<v Speaker 1>the division games over there. And then you know, if

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<v Speaker 1>there's one or two really big ones, maybe somebody by

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<v Speaker 1>rotation hasn't been there for a while, you know, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe he isn't going to be there for another eight years.

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<v Speaker 1>To take that one away from the fans maybe isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the right thing to do. So there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>back and forth, a lot of give and take, just

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out, you know, how to thread that.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, which of these games make the most sense

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<v Speaker 1>to keep in your home stadium, Which of the ones

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<v Speaker 1>would be really interesting to take overseas. Maybe there's a

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<v Speaker 1>fan base already kind of built in in the UK

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<v Speaker 1>or in Germany for one of your home opponents. But

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<v Speaker 1>you're you're not wrong when you think about, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Kansas City and they think about, hey, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we are hosting Cincinnati this year. You know, on the

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<v Speaker 1>one hand, the Chiefs might say, we'd really love to

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<v Speaker 1>have him here. Then again, you know, all the stuff

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<v Speaker 1>that went on last year with burrow Land, maybe it

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't be abit thing to get the Bengals in another city.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's a lot of give and take. Look, I

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<v Speaker 1>think the really the smartest way to look at it

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<v Speaker 1>is a game like Cincinnati Kansas City, for instance. That's

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<v Speaker 1>my CTV. I mean, you're talking about one of the

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<v Speaker 1>top five games of the year, and I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>nine thirty am in the East six thirty am in

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<v Speaker 1>the Pacific time zone is the right place for us

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<v Speaker 1>to deploy one of our, you know, arguably top games.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'd be surprised if a game like Cincinnati Kansas

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<v Speaker 1>City made its way across the pond. But it would

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<v Speaker 1>be a hell of a statement and it would be

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<v Speaker 1>really fun for our fans over there. But I don't

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<v Speaker 1>don't buy your tickets yet.

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<v Speaker 2>That so, Mike, the last time the Bengals gave up

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<v Speaker 2>a home game to play internationally was a London game

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<v Speaker 2>back in twenty sixteen, so it's been a long time.

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<v Speaker 2>We know they won't lose a home game next year.

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<v Speaker 2>Because they only have eight home games, should we more

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<v Speaker 2>or less expect hosting an international game in a couple

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<v Speaker 2>of years considering the time frame and the fact that

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<v Speaker 2>they'll have nine home games in two years.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean it's certainly gonna come from the AFC.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna draw from the AFC for twenty twenty five,

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<v Speaker 1>so they're certainly in the mix. The resolution that the

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<v Speaker 1>ownership pass basically says everybody's gonna give up a home

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<v Speaker 1>game once every eight years, So there's gonna be four

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<v Speaker 1>games a year every eight years. Everybody's gonna give one up.

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<v Speaker 1>So to your point, if you didn't get it, you

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<v Speaker 1>know this year, you're certainly in the mix for twenty five,

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<v Speaker 1>and then if you didn't get it then at some

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<v Speaker 1>point twenty seven, twenty nine. Yeah, it's it's gonna happen.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of it depends on, you know, where are

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<v Speaker 1>we record wise, where are we with our stars, where

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<v Speaker 1>are we with our international marketing. Some of these international

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<v Speaker 1>cities strangely just you know, kind of adopt NFL teams

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<v Speaker 1>and if all of a sudden, you know, Madrid, Spain

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever else we're considering, seems to be a you

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<v Speaker 1>know Bengals hot spot, then you know, we'd be smart

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<v Speaker 1>to try to make sure we can get a Bengals

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<v Speaker 1>game to them. That's not to say the Bengals wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>be great in London or Germany or Mexico or anywhere

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<v Speaker 1>else we play, but I think those things kind of

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<v Speaker 1>evolve over time, and our international folks work with our teams,

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<v Speaker 1>and the teams will tell us, the fans will tell us,

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<v Speaker 1>and yeah, look, at some point everybody's gonna go certainly

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<v Speaker 1>once as a home team, but that doesn't prevent them

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<v Speaker 1>from going into visiting team either. So maybe not this year,

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<v Speaker 1>but certainly at some point. Yeah, we'll see some games

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<v Speaker 1>over the pump.

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<v Speaker 2>We are visiting with Mike North, the NFL's VP of

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<v Speaker 2>broadcast planning. There are two hundred and seventy two regular

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<v Speaker 2>season NFL games. You often talk about each how each

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<v Speaker 2>one is an asset. How do you determine the value

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<v Speaker 2>of each game? Do you assign it a numerical value?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you give each game a grade? How do you

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<v Speaker 2>go about doing that?

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<v Speaker 1>Uh, it's a part art in part science. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>they I refer to them as assets. They're really not

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<v Speaker 1>like you know, commodities like financial assets. They belong to

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<v Speaker 1>the fans, right and at the end of the day,

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<v Speaker 1>the job is to make sure that the fans get

0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.480
<v Speaker 1>to see the games that are most important to them.

0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:09.319
<v Speaker 1>And obviously all seventeen Bengals games are going to be

0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.240
<v Speaker 1>the highest rated games from a viewership standpoint in the

0:12:12.280 --> 0:12:15.800
<v Speaker 1>city of Cincinnati. But you know where else do fans

0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:18.160
<v Speaker 1>care about the Bengals? Is it your division opponents? So

0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.120
<v Speaker 1>we're starting to build a national brand where heck, even

0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:23.640
<v Speaker 1>in New York, if the Jets are on buy and

0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:25.320
<v Speaker 1>the Giants are on Monday Night and we need to

0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:27.880
<v Speaker 1>pick the right game to put in the number one

0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.200
<v Speaker 1>media market in the country at one o'clock, maybe it

0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.800
<v Speaker 1>becomes a Bengals game. And so you sort of track

0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.880
<v Speaker 1>how the Nielsen ratings and the viewership numbers come in.

0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:40.160
<v Speaker 1>You watch things like you know, fantasy football ownership and

0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:45.120
<v Speaker 1>hats and jersey sales and Instagram followers and secondary ticket

0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:50.360
<v Speaker 1>pricing and you know, legalized sports betting action and all

0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:52.600
<v Speaker 1>the ways that our fans are interacting with us and

0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.280
<v Speaker 1>telling us what's important to them. If it were that

0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:57.480
<v Speaker 1>simple to just simply put a number on it, that

0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.600
<v Speaker 1>would be great, Dan, I would love that. I'd love

0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:02.600
<v Speaker 1>to try to build that model. I'm not sure it's

0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:04.840
<v Speaker 1>ever quite that simple, but there is a little bit

0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:06.320
<v Speaker 1>of science to it, a little bit of Hey, if

0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:10.120
<v Speaker 1>you have a Bengals game, then you've got the Upper

0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:13.720
<v Speaker 1>Midwest covered regionally on a map for CBS at one o'clock,

0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.720
<v Speaker 1>So maybe you don't need a Browns game that day,

0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:17.800
<v Speaker 1>or at least not on the same network. Or if

0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.720
<v Speaker 1>you have a Steelers Ravens game, maybe that's not a

0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:22.480
<v Speaker 1>good time for the Bengals to be playing Sunday one.

0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.600
<v Speaker 1>Why don't we move the Bengals to four o'clock or

0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:26.240
<v Speaker 1>eight o'clock or Monday, or maybe this is a good

0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.679
<v Speaker 1>week for their bye, but their bye has to track

0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.720
<v Speaker 1>with their Thursday game, because you don't want it right

0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.520
<v Speaker 1>before right after, and you're gonna need those two sort

0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:35.480
<v Speaker 1>of breaks. Want to full buy, one a mini buy,

0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.960
<v Speaker 1>so it all kind of ties together. It would be

0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:41.320
<v Speaker 1>great if there were ever one true mathematical formula that

0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:43.120
<v Speaker 1>we could write and just kind of hit the button

0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:44.760
<v Speaker 1>on the computer and walk away for a couple of

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.160
<v Speaker 1>weeks and come back and hey, here's the winner. It's

0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.720
<v Speaker 1>never that simple. There's got to be some room for

0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.600
<v Speaker 1>the humans to kind of guide the search and say, nope,

0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:54.400
<v Speaker 1>maybe a little more of this than a little less

0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:57.880
<v Speaker 1>of that. Soart part science, but yeah, we're trying to

0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.640
<v Speaker 1>build a model where we can sort of actcurreately predict

0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.400
<v Speaker 1>what the value of each of these games is to

0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:04.840
<v Speaker 1>our fans, and then make sure that we deploy them strategically.

0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.319
<v Speaker 2>We've got some changes to talk about this year. Strictly speaking,

0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:14.440
<v Speaker 2>CBS is no longer the primary home of AFC games,

0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:17.520
<v Speaker 2>and Foxes no longer the primary home of NFC games.

0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:20.080
<v Speaker 2>Is that correct?

0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:24.680
<v Speaker 1>They're no longer the default home of anytime the AFC

0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:27.600
<v Speaker 1>team is on the road. So for decades, anytime an

0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:31.040
<v Speaker 1>AFC team was on the road, that game belonged quote

0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.600
<v Speaker 1>unquote to CBS. So then if the league wanted to

0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:35.840
<v Speaker 1>put it in primetime, take it for Sunday night or

0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:38.440
<v Speaker 1>Monday night, then it was kind of taking it away

0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:40.560
<v Speaker 1>from CBS. And you had to manage the number of

0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:43.440
<v Speaker 1>games you took away from CBS and all the kind

0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 1>of back and forth with the numbers and the math.

0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.960
<v Speaker 1>That part's gone on. Every game is a toss up,

0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:52.120
<v Speaker 1>but CBS is still the primary home of the AFC,

0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:55.080
<v Speaker 1>They're gonna have at least twice as many Bengals games

0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:58.920
<v Speaker 1>than any other partner. So more Bengals games than not

0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:03.120
<v Speaker 1>will be on CBS, more Ravens games, more Steelers games,

0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:05.640
<v Speaker 1>more Chiefs games, more Jets games will be on CBS

0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.400
<v Speaker 1>than not. And on the other side, more Cowboys games,

0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.040
<v Speaker 1>more Eagles games, more Bears games, more Niners games will

0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.840
<v Speaker 1>be on Fox than not. Those are still the primary

0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.960
<v Speaker 1>home for at least half their games. But this notion

0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:20.360
<v Speaker 1>of oh, we're taking away this game, that part's gone.

0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:22.240
<v Speaker 1>So every game is a toss up. But when you

0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.600
<v Speaker 1>sprinkle them all in, you're still going to see more

0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:26.600
<v Speaker 1>Bengals games on CBS than anywhere else.

0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.680
<v Speaker 2>So the NFL passed a rule this year allowing teams

0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:33.480
<v Speaker 2>to play two Thursday games after playing the previous Sunday.

0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.160
<v Speaker 2>Is that going to happen to a team or multiple

0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:41.120
<v Speaker 2>teams and how do you handle the inevitable pushback, Well,

0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 2>it's gonna happen.

0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.760
<v Speaker 1>It's not a new rule. It happened last year. The

0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:49.000
<v Speaker 1>Cowboys and the Titans each played two short week games

0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:52.240
<v Speaker 1>last year. The Cowboys obviously always play on Thanksgiving, and

0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.520
<v Speaker 1>they played another short week game later in the season.

0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:58.160
<v Speaker 1>They played the Titans in Week seventeen on a Thursday night,

0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.040
<v Speaker 1>and the Titans played a Week ten I think I

0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.880
<v Speaker 1>think it was Thursday night game at Lambeau. So you

0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.760
<v Speaker 1>had two teams last year playing two short weeks, and

0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.000
<v Speaker 1>ownership voted this year to allow for more than that

0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.800
<v Speaker 1>to play two short weeks. So yes, you are definitely

0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.640
<v Speaker 1>gonna see more than two teams play multiple short weeks.

0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.520
<v Speaker 1>The challenge for us is gonna be first and foremost,

0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:21.440
<v Speaker 1>you know, spreading them out, using the two Thursdays and

0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.480
<v Speaker 1>the bye week to kind of ensure that the team

0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:28.280
<v Speaker 1>that has the multiple short weeks has multiple rest opportunities.

0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:31.440
<v Speaker 1>You know, you might see a Thursday and week five,

0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.120
<v Speaker 1>a bye in week nine, and then another Thursday in

0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:36.680
<v Speaker 1>week fifteen or something like that. Or maybe you see

0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.440
<v Speaker 1>a bye in week seven and a Thursday and week

0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:42.680
<v Speaker 1>eleven and another Thursday late in the year. So we're

0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:44.480
<v Speaker 1>gonna try to spread them out. We're gonna try to

0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:46.680
<v Speaker 1>balance it so that no team feels like, hey, that's

0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.280
<v Speaker 1>too many short weeks all right in a row. And

0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.760
<v Speaker 1>then we're gonna you know, spread them out fairly. If

0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:56.200
<v Speaker 1>you happened to like the Cowboys and the Titans have

0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.560
<v Speaker 1>two short weeks last year, probably not our best schedule

0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.600
<v Speaker 1>if we give you two short weeks again this year.

0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.240
<v Speaker 1>So I wouldn't expect the Cowboys and the Titans to

0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.800
<v Speaker 1>have two short weeks. So it'll be a different mix

0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.639
<v Speaker 1>of teams. Three, four or five teams maybe that are

0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.760
<v Speaker 1>gonna have multiple short weeks, and then see where that goes,

0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.040
<v Speaker 1>see what the feedback is, and see if we want

0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.360
<v Speaker 1>to adjust that moving forward. But this notion that you know,

0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.000
<v Speaker 1>there's a misnomer out there that every team gets a

0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:25.280
<v Speaker 1>primetime game, that that's not the case. That hasn't been

0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:28.520
<v Speaker 1>the case for years, And you know, the commissioner always says,

0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:30.960
<v Speaker 1>you know, you earn your television exposure you play your

0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:33.840
<v Speaker 1>way into primetime. So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to

0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:36.359
<v Speaker 1>see a couple of teams on Amazon more than once,

0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:38.119
<v Speaker 1>and that probably means a couple of teams not on

0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.920
<v Speaker 1>Amazon at all. But if you have a good season,

0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.000
<v Speaker 1>if you're playing your way into primetime, there's opportunities, whether

0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.040
<v Speaker 1>it's the TVD Saturday Pool or flexible scheduling for Sunday

0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:50.000
<v Speaker 1>night or Monday night there's always ways that we can adjust.

0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.160
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, when the schedule comes out in May, you'll

0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:56.520
<v Speaker 1>surely see teams, multiple teams with multiple short weeks for

0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:57.240
<v Speaker 1>the first time.

0:17:57.320 --> 0:18:01.000
<v Speaker 2>Monday night games can be flexed. Moving games from Sunday

0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.600
<v Speaker 2>afternoon to Sunday night or vice versa is one thing.

0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:07.000
<v Speaker 2>Changing days of the week is more challenging. What are

0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.360
<v Speaker 2>the specifics of Monday night flexing.

0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.840
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, the specifics are it's, you know, just like we've

0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.000
<v Speaker 1>been doing for Sunday Night since two thousand and six.

0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.520
<v Speaker 1>If we see a game, you know, about a month

0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:20.280
<v Speaker 1>out that looks, you know, a little less compelling than

0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.360
<v Speaker 1>we hoped when we put it on the schedule in May,

0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.119
<v Speaker 1>we'll start talking to those two teams, We'll look at

0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.000
<v Speaker 1>the other games that weekend, and we'll see if it

0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:29.560
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't make sense. You know, often what we try to

0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:32.600
<v Speaker 1>do with flexible scheduling is you see a game in

0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:35.399
<v Speaker 1>a one o'clock or a four o'clock window on a

0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.680
<v Speaker 1>Sunday afternoon on CBS or Fox, and just by virtue

0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:41.000
<v Speaker 1>of the market sizes and the other games in the window,

0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:45.760
<v Speaker 1>a really good game with playoff implications might only be

0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.600
<v Speaker 1>available in fifteen twenty twenty five percent of the country.

0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:50.439
<v Speaker 1>And that's not really fair to those teams that have

0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:53.119
<v Speaker 1>earned additional exposure. And it's not really fear to the

0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.240
<v Speaker 1>teams to leave them in primetime if you know they're

0:18:56.240 --> 0:19:00.239
<v Speaker 1>seasons slipping away. There's nothing good, there's nothing fun or

0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:02.359
<v Speaker 1>rewarding about a couple of teams just playing out the

0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:06.120
<v Speaker 1>string in primetime. It's not fair to the fans, it's

0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:07.960
<v Speaker 1>not fair to the television viewers, it's not fair to

0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:10.840
<v Speaker 1>the partners that that's just not what any of us want. So,

0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.960
<v Speaker 1>you know, for Sunday Night Flex, we've been pretty judicious.

0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:17.960
<v Speaker 1>One one and a half times a year. Last year

0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:19.680
<v Speaker 1>was a bit of an outlier. I think we had four,

0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:23.159
<v Speaker 1>But most years, you know, Sunday Night is once or

0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.000
<v Speaker 1>twice for Monday Night Flex. Understanding the impact of moving,

0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, teams off days and fans having to change

0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:33.679
<v Speaker 1>the plans, you know, maybe maybe once a year. I

0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:35.840
<v Speaker 1>don't think it's gonna be reckless. I don't think it's

0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.119
<v Speaker 1>gonna be cavalier. This wouldn't be about hey, can we

0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.280
<v Speaker 1>add one hundred thousand viewers? This would be about hey,

0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:43.920
<v Speaker 1>this game is nowhere near as good as we thought,

0:19:44.280 --> 0:19:46.879
<v Speaker 1>and there's another game that weekend that's just sitting there

0:19:47.359 --> 0:19:49.320
<v Speaker 1>right for the taking. And if we don't move it

0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:51.560
<v Speaker 1>into a better window, most of our fans are gonna

0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:53.879
<v Speaker 1>miss it. And that's probably not what we're trying to

0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:57.040
<v Speaker 1>do either. So hard and fast rules, not yet first

0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:58.879
<v Speaker 1>time we're doing it. I think we'll talk to the teams.

0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:00.560
<v Speaker 1>I think we'll talk to our partners. We'll learn a

0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:02.920
<v Speaker 1>lot this year, even if we don't make any moves,

0:20:03.400 --> 0:20:05.320
<v Speaker 1>we'll learn a lot just about talking to the teams,

0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:08.200
<v Speaker 1>talking to the operations folks. You know, yes, there's a

0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:09.840
<v Speaker 1>lot of people that have to change their plans, but

0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:11.800
<v Speaker 1>you know, so do your guys right. You got to

0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:15.520
<v Speaker 1>change hotels and charters and meeting space and practice schedules.

0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.160
<v Speaker 1>And where were they we the week before? And where

0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:19.879
<v Speaker 1>are we the week after? And is it fair to

0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:21.520
<v Speaker 1>put this team now we know a Monday night game

0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:23.600
<v Speaker 1>on the road if the following week they're already scheduled

0:20:23.640 --> 0:20:25.679
<v Speaker 1>for another road game, and you know, those are all

0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:26.840
<v Speaker 1>the things that are going to have to go into

0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.919
<v Speaker 1>our decision making. Again, I don't think we'll be reckless.

0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:32.800
<v Speaker 1>I think we'll be pretty judicious. But it's there for

0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:34.959
<v Speaker 1>a reason, and it's really there to, you know, protect

0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:36.879
<v Speaker 1>the teams that maybe are in a national window that

0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:40.160
<v Speaker 1>you know no longer even want to be, and reward

0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.639
<v Speaker 1>the teams that have earned themselves some additional exposure.

0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.119
<v Speaker 2>You added a Christmas triple header last year when Christmas

0:20:46.240 --> 0:20:49.120
<v Speaker 2>Day fell on a Sunday. It's on a Monday this year.

0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.240
<v Speaker 2>Is the Christmas triple header here to stay?

0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:54.479
<v Speaker 1>It's certainly here for another year. I don't know if

0:20:54.480 --> 0:20:55.880
<v Speaker 1>it's here to stay. It's gonna be a tough sell

0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:59.480
<v Speaker 1>on a Tuesday. But for twenty twenty three, yeah, another

0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:05.159
<v Speaker 1>Christmas Day triple header. It'll be uh CBS one o'clock Monday,

0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 1>Fox four thirty Monday, and then the regular Monday night

0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:12.160
<v Speaker 1>ESPN game at a fifteen that night. So, yep, another

0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:13.440
<v Speaker 1>Christmas tripleheader this year.

0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:16.439
<v Speaker 2>You have added a Black Friday game this year. Do

0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:19.439
<v Speaker 2>you consider it important to have a quote unquote glamorous

0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:23.960
<v Speaker 2>matchup to get that game off to an impressive ratings start? Yeah?

0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:27.399
<v Speaker 1>I mean, yeah, the simple answers, Yes, I think we

0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:30.600
<v Speaker 1>will try to thread that needle, find that right game.

0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:33.760
<v Speaker 1>It's another short week, so you might, you know, have

0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:36.320
<v Speaker 1>to find the team playing. You know, like we said,

0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:39.040
<v Speaker 1>multiple short weeks, maybe playing on a Friday is a

0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:43.160
<v Speaker 1>little less onerous than playing on two Thursdays. But yeah,

0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:45.520
<v Speaker 1>the simple answer is, I think we're gonna test it

0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:47.480
<v Speaker 1>out see if our fans are interested. You know, it's

0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:51.720
<v Speaker 1>not a holiday for everybody, but you know, it's a

0:21:51.760 --> 0:21:53.960
<v Speaker 1>traditional sports day. There's always a lot of sports on

0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:57.000
<v Speaker 1>television that day, and I think an NFL game kind

0:21:57.040 --> 0:21:59.760
<v Speaker 1>of in the afternoon, right there might be a great

0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:02.960
<v Speaker 1>inuation for us for a really fun weekend. You've got

0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:06.240
<v Speaker 1>the three games on Thursday, now on Friday, big games

0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:08.480
<v Speaker 1>on Sunday, another one on Monday. That's a really fun

0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:10.439
<v Speaker 1>weekend of football and it kind of you know, kicks

0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:12.679
<v Speaker 1>off the you know run to the playoffs and the

0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:14.680
<v Speaker 1>and the final quarter of the season, if you will,

0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:17.760
<v Speaker 1>And yeah, I would. I would expect there to be

0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:20.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, maybe not the A plus game, but certainly

0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:23.760
<v Speaker 1>a game that that sounds like a football game for

0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:24.480
<v Speaker 1>Black Friday.

0:22:24.960 --> 0:22:28.439
<v Speaker 2>Last year, the Bengals and Bills obviously had the Monday

0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:31.560
<v Speaker 2>night game that was halted because of Jamar Hamblin's collapse.

0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:34.960
<v Speaker 2>Is there any sort of make good on that from

0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:38.240
<v Speaker 2>the NFL's perspective, whether it's to the media partner ESPN

0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:42.560
<v Speaker 2>or to the teams, any repercussions of following that game.

0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:45.520
<v Speaker 1>Look, there's always conversations going on with the teams, with

0:22:45.560 --> 0:22:48.600
<v Speaker 1>the networks, with all of our partners. There was a

0:22:48.600 --> 0:22:50.399
<v Speaker 1>lot of discussion. You'll remember this. There was a lot

0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:52.879
<v Speaker 1>of discussion last year about should we have finished that

0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:56.479
<v Speaker 1>game and finished you know, for the twenty twenty two season.

0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:00.520
<v Speaker 1>It ended up having you know, pretty significant playoff imp cations.

0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:03.959
<v Speaker 1>It would have been interesting how we decided to you know,

0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:06.639
<v Speaker 1>thread that needle. There was a lot of talk about

0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:09.280
<v Speaker 1>should we let everybody finish the season week eighteen and

0:23:09.280 --> 0:23:11.600
<v Speaker 1>then everybody take a break and the Bengals and the

0:23:11.600 --> 0:23:14.120
<v Speaker 1>Bills come back in week nineteen and kind of finish

0:23:14.200 --> 0:23:17.360
<v Speaker 1>pick up where they left off. There were those who

0:23:17.400 --> 0:23:20.600
<v Speaker 1>thought maybe that would be a little too traumatic, maybe

0:23:21.200 --> 0:23:23.439
<v Speaker 1>a little bit triggering, to actually literally go back to

0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:25.320
<v Speaker 1>that spot in the second quarter and pick it up

0:23:25.359 --> 0:23:30.120
<v Speaker 1>right after Damar had had his incident. You know, as

0:23:30.119 --> 0:23:31.959
<v Speaker 1>it turned out, we were only talking about the two

0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:34.719
<v Speaker 1>in the three seed, and you know, call it karma,

0:23:34.800 --> 0:23:37.720
<v Speaker 1>call it poetic justice. But you know, the Bengals getting

0:23:37.720 --> 0:23:41.160
<v Speaker 1>that win and moving on in the playoffs probably put

0:23:41.160 --> 0:23:43.679
<v Speaker 1>an end to anything that we were gonna, you know,

0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:47.119
<v Speaker 1>think about. Obviously hopeful that DeMar continues to recover, and

0:23:47.960 --> 0:23:50.000
<v Speaker 1>my goodness, this yere seems like he may be playing again,

0:23:50.000 --> 0:23:52.160
<v Speaker 1>maybe even as soon as this year, which is a miracle.

0:23:53.480 --> 0:23:55.760
<v Speaker 1>But surely that the fact that they play again this year,

0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:58.760
<v Speaker 1>it's gonna be a story. And again perfect example of

0:23:58.800 --> 0:24:01.040
<v Speaker 1>you know, call them assets, call them what you will,

0:24:01.520 --> 0:24:03.520
<v Speaker 1>We're probably not doing our jobs. If you put that

0:24:03.560 --> 0:24:05.479
<v Speaker 1>game on a Sunday at one o'clock and it's only

0:24:05.520 --> 0:24:07.639
<v Speaker 1>available in twenty percent of the country, and it's got

0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.040
<v Speaker 1>a Cowboys game and a Steelers game and a Chiefs

0:24:10.040 --> 0:24:12.560
<v Speaker 1>game around it, that's a game that everybody's going to

0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:15.040
<v Speaker 1>be interested in. So I think it's a pretty safe

0:24:15.119 --> 0:24:17.520
<v Speaker 1>bet that that game is going to find itself in

0:24:17.560 --> 0:24:19.680
<v Speaker 1>a national window when the schedule comes out.

0:24:20.240 --> 0:24:24.080
<v Speaker 2>The Cincinnati Reds are home on the NFL's opening weekend.

0:24:24.160 --> 0:24:26.520
<v Speaker 2>Years ago, it seemed like the Bengals never opened the

0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:29.280
<v Speaker 2>season at home. If the Reds were home, does that

0:24:29.359 --> 0:24:31.840
<v Speaker 2>have any impact in this day and age.

0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:34.800
<v Speaker 1>Sure, Yeah, no question. I mean, look like we said,

0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:37.080
<v Speaker 1>it's part art and part science. I'm sure the world

0:24:37.119 --> 0:24:39.840
<v Speaker 1>would keep spinning if we went ahead and scheduled a

0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:42.120
<v Speaker 1>Bengals game at the exact same time as a Reds game.

0:24:42.160 --> 0:24:45.199
<v Speaker 1>But that's not in our best interest. That's not in

0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:48.000
<v Speaker 1>the city of Cincinnati's best interest. I'm sure the you know,

0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:52.320
<v Speaker 1>police force probably wouldn't appreciate all those people downtown. You know.

0:24:52.359 --> 0:24:54.760
<v Speaker 1>I know we've done it for a preseason game, right

0:24:54.840 --> 0:24:56.840
<v Speaker 1>maybe like a game in the afternoon and a game

0:24:56.880 --> 0:24:58.600
<v Speaker 1>at night, and you can make a really fun sports

0:24:58.680 --> 0:25:02.320
<v Speaker 1>day out of it. But I would not expect the

0:25:02.359 --> 0:25:04.600
<v Speaker 1>Bengals and the Reds to be playing at the same time,

0:25:04.760 --> 0:25:07.680
<v Speaker 1>at least as it pertains to the Reds regular season schedule.

0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:11.399
<v Speaker 1>You know, will work around the Reds as best we

0:25:11.440 --> 0:25:13.400
<v Speaker 1>can weeks one, two, three, and four, when at least

0:25:13.400 --> 0:25:16.560
<v Speaker 1>the red schedule is known. Weeks five, six, seven, eight,

0:25:16.880 --> 0:25:19.600
<v Speaker 1>the Red schedule is not known. We have no idea

0:25:19.640 --> 0:25:21.880
<v Speaker 1>which these baseball teams are going to be in playoffs.

0:25:21.920 --> 0:25:24.439
<v Speaker 1>We have enough trouble guessing which NFL teams are going

0:25:24.520 --> 0:25:27.000
<v Speaker 1>to be in the playoff chase, so you know, we

0:25:27.040 --> 0:25:30.080
<v Speaker 1>may find ourselves one of these Octobers where we might

0:25:30.119 --> 0:25:31.960
<v Speaker 1>have to do a Bengals in a Reds doubleheader, and

0:25:31.960 --> 0:25:34.199
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure we'll work with the city. We'll work with

0:25:34.920 --> 0:25:37.879
<v Speaker 1>our friends at the Major League Baseball and try to

0:25:37.880 --> 0:25:40.360
<v Speaker 1>make sure that everybody can you know, have a good

0:25:40.400 --> 0:25:43.439
<v Speaker 1>experience with it. But yeah, whether it's you know, fans

0:25:43.480 --> 0:25:50.200
<v Speaker 1>having to choose, media, having to cover downtown footprint, traffic, congestion, police, whatever,

0:25:50.240 --> 0:25:53.320
<v Speaker 1>it is probably not our best schedule if we have

0:25:53.400 --> 0:25:55.440
<v Speaker 1>to have the Reds and Bengals playing at the same time.

0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:58.200
<v Speaker 1>So we'll avoid it in the regular season. Regular season

0:25:58.200 --> 0:26:01.600
<v Speaker 1>for baseball. Once you know, the Reds make the playoffs,

0:26:01.640 --> 0:26:03.440
<v Speaker 1>well we might have to have a conversation and figure

0:26:03.440 --> 0:26:05.320
<v Speaker 1>out the right way to handle, you know, a Sunday

0:26:05.359 --> 0:26:07.600
<v Speaker 1>in October if both teams are playing at home.

0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:10.520
<v Speaker 2>Will be a good issue for the Cincinnati Yeah, fan

0:26:10.640 --> 0:26:13.600
<v Speaker 2>base to have. All right, final question for you, Mike,

0:26:13.640 --> 0:26:15.280
<v Speaker 2>I appreciate your time. This is a bit of a

0:26:15.320 --> 0:26:19.480
<v Speaker 2>curve ball. Last year's Super Bowl drew a record for

0:26:19.560 --> 0:26:22.159
<v Speaker 2>most total viewers. More than one hundred and fifteen million

0:26:22.240 --> 0:26:26.119
<v Speaker 2>people watch the Super Bowl, but the highest share for

0:26:26.200 --> 0:26:30.480
<v Speaker 2>a Super Bowl game is Super Bowl sixteen Bengals and

0:26:30.520 --> 0:26:35.120
<v Speaker 2>forty nine Ers. With changes in TV viewership. Is that

0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:38.399
<v Speaker 2>record considered impossible to break?

0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:45.000
<v Speaker 1>Good question. I'll never stay impossible, because you know, we

0:26:45.080 --> 0:26:48.600
<v Speaker 1>may well find ourselves one day with you know, the

0:26:48.600 --> 0:26:51.679
<v Speaker 1>best storyline we could imagine, whatever that is in a

0:26:51.720 --> 0:26:54.760
<v Speaker 1>super Bowl. So I'll never say never. But your point

0:26:54.800 --> 0:26:57.600
<v Speaker 1>is valid. When when we talk about, you know, share,

0:26:58.200 --> 0:27:02.320
<v Speaker 1>what you're talking about is people watching television. How many

0:27:02.320 --> 0:27:06.240
<v Speaker 1>were watching you know, that one program. You know when

0:27:06.280 --> 0:27:08.000
<v Speaker 1>we grew up Dan and they were what three four

0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:11.240
<v Speaker 1>channels right, So on the television, you didn't have that

0:27:11.320 --> 0:27:13.840
<v Speaker 1>many choices. And if you're watching television, you were probably

0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:17.040
<v Speaker 1>watching whatever the big event was. You know. Now our

0:27:17.119 --> 0:27:20.399
<v Speaker 1>kids are growing up with hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of channels

0:27:20.800 --> 0:27:22.240
<v Speaker 1>and they don't even have to just go to the

0:27:22.240 --> 0:27:25.720
<v Speaker 1>television to ingest their media. They can follow other things,

0:27:25.720 --> 0:27:29.760
<v Speaker 1>including the super Bowl online. So is that share number safe?

0:27:30.040 --> 0:27:32.800
<v Speaker 1>It probably is. There's just so many options out there,

0:27:32.880 --> 0:27:37.359
<v Speaker 1>so many different, you know, outlets for entertainment. I think

0:27:37.400 --> 0:27:40.440
<v Speaker 1>if anybody were interested in watching the super Bowl, they'd

0:27:40.440 --> 0:27:42.560
<v Speaker 1>be watching the super Bowl. It's not like anybody you

0:27:42.600 --> 0:27:45.239
<v Speaker 1>know forgot the super Bowl was on, you know, all

0:27:45.280 --> 0:27:47.960
<v Speaker 1>the promotion in the marketing and whatever. You think is

0:27:48.040 --> 0:27:51.479
<v Speaker 1>helping drive viewership at least in the regular season, probably

0:27:51.480 --> 0:27:54.200
<v Speaker 1>not necessary at super Bowl time. So those who want

0:27:54.240 --> 0:27:56.080
<v Speaker 1>to watch will watch, you know. It's part of the

0:27:56.080 --> 0:27:58.439
<v Speaker 1>reason why we've you know, changed it into more of

0:27:58.520 --> 0:28:00.639
<v Speaker 1>a you know, family friendly event, if you will. And

0:28:00.680 --> 0:28:03.439
<v Speaker 1>whether it's you know, pregame or the halftime show or

0:28:03.720 --> 0:28:05.720
<v Speaker 1>whatever it is that goes into the Super Bowl. Now,

0:28:05.720 --> 0:28:08.639
<v Speaker 1>hopefully there's something for everybody. Hopefully anybody who wants to

0:28:08.680 --> 0:28:11.800
<v Speaker 1>watch can watch it. But you're probably right. My guess

0:28:11.800 --> 0:28:13.800
<v Speaker 1>would be that share record is safe.

0:28:14.480 --> 0:28:17.280
<v Speaker 2>The outcome of Super Bowl sixteen was not what we desired,

0:28:17.280 --> 0:28:19.800
<v Speaker 2>but it's nice to have the record for the greatest

0:28:19.800 --> 0:28:21.480
<v Speaker 2>super Bowl TV share of all time?

0:28:21.920 --> 0:28:24.679
<v Speaker 1>Wasn't it? Also? Wasn't that game also played during like

0:28:24.760 --> 0:28:25.720
<v Speaker 1>an ice storm.

0:28:26.119 --> 0:28:30.600
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Pontiac Silver Dome with horrific weather that is.

0:28:30.840 --> 0:28:33.679
<v Speaker 1>So nobody could leave their homes. They were trapped and

0:28:33.720 --> 0:28:36.120
<v Speaker 1>there were only three or four television channels. I mean,

0:28:36.119 --> 0:28:38.320
<v Speaker 1>I guess that's how you said a record. If we

0:28:38.360 --> 0:28:41.160
<v Speaker 1>ever find ourselves with you know, a real you know

0:28:41.280 --> 0:28:44.600
<v Speaker 1>blizzard across all fifty states and all the you know

0:28:44.680 --> 0:28:48.280
<v Speaker 1>internet goes out and you know, all the television channels

0:28:48.280 --> 0:28:50.800
<v Speaker 1>go dark except for a couple maybe we could threaten

0:28:50.840 --> 0:28:55.280
<v Speaker 1>that share record, but I think it's probably safe. Mike.

0:28:55.480 --> 0:28:57.880
<v Speaker 2>I can't imagine how busy you are right now, so

0:28:58.040 --> 0:29:00.000
<v Speaker 2>for you to do this less than forty eight hours

0:29:00.320 --> 0:29:05.320
<v Speaker 2>before the release show on TV, I'm really grateful. I

0:29:05.360 --> 0:29:08.320
<v Speaker 2>know my audience loves hearing your insight, and I look

0:29:08.360 --> 0:29:09.920
<v Speaker 2>forward to doing it again with you at this time

0:29:09.920 --> 0:29:10.360
<v Speaker 2>next year.

0:29:10.720 --> 0:29:12.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I always happy to talk about it. I'm still,

0:29:12.840 --> 0:29:16.040
<v Speaker 1>you know, marvel humbled that people are so interested and

0:29:16.760 --> 0:29:18.960
<v Speaker 1>it's become a, you know, one of the tenth pole

0:29:19.000 --> 0:29:21.600
<v Speaker 1>events of the NFL season schedule release. It didn't used

0:29:21.600 --> 0:29:23.120
<v Speaker 1>to be, right, It used to just kind of sneak

0:29:23.160 --> 0:29:25.760
<v Speaker 1>out a little stealth, kind of under the radar on

0:29:25.840 --> 0:29:29.000
<v Speaker 1>a you know, random Thursday in April. But the fact

0:29:29.040 --> 0:29:32.280
<v Speaker 1>that everybody's so interested now, you know, hopefully justifies all

0:29:32.280 --> 0:29:34.520
<v Speaker 1>the hard work that the team puts in. We're we're

0:29:34.560 --> 0:29:38.160
<v Speaker 1>really lucky, We're really grateful. We've got an incredible staff

0:29:38.160 --> 0:29:40.920
<v Speaker 1>that really do give you know, twenty four to seven

0:29:41.160 --> 0:29:44.480
<v Speaker 1>for a good ten or twelve weeks here. This thing

0:29:44.520 --> 0:29:48.520
<v Speaker 1>couldn't happen without folks like Annie Bo's and Charlotte Carey

0:29:48.520 --> 0:29:51.920
<v Speaker 1>and Blake Jones and Lucy Popco and well, we're really,

0:29:51.920 --> 0:29:54.600
<v Speaker 1>really fortunate that everybody works so hard and cares so much,

0:29:54.640 --> 0:29:57.479
<v Speaker 1>and really looking forward to the schedule getting out there

0:29:57.520 --> 0:29:59.960
<v Speaker 1>and hearing everybody's reactions. I know it won't all be posled,

0:30:00.840 --> 0:30:02.200
<v Speaker 1>but like you when we were looking and I were

0:30:02.200 --> 0:30:05.320
<v Speaker 1>saying right before we came on, you know, nobody gets everything.

0:30:05.520 --> 0:30:09.040
<v Speaker 1>Everybody gets something. Nobody's ever going to be perfectly happy

0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:12.560
<v Speaker 1>with their schedule, but hopefully in the sense that anybody's disappointed,

0:30:12.600 --> 0:30:15.080
<v Speaker 1>you know, hopefully it's just a little bit, and hopefully

0:30:15.080 --> 0:30:17.400
<v Speaker 1>it's pretty evenly across all thirty two teams and all

0:30:17.440 --> 0:30:20.200
<v Speaker 1>of our media partners. And then the season will start

0:30:20.240 --> 0:30:22.680
<v Speaker 1>and best laid plans right out the window. We'll see

0:30:22.720 --> 0:30:25.640
<v Speaker 1>what storylines emerge. And like we said, these games belong

0:30:25.680 --> 0:30:27.200
<v Speaker 1>to our fans, and we'll make sure that we can

0:30:27.240 --> 0:30:29.160
<v Speaker 1>move them around as best we can in as fair

0:30:29.240 --> 0:30:31.360
<v Speaker 1>way as we can to make sure that everybody can

0:30:31.360 --> 0:30:32.600
<v Speaker 1>watch the ones they want to watch.

0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:37.120
<v Speaker 2>The schedule release is set for eight o'clock on Thursday,

0:30:37.200 --> 0:30:40.680
<v Speaker 2>with separate shows on the NFL Network and ESPN two.

0:30:41.360 --> 0:30:44.200
<v Speaker 2>The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by pay Corps.

0:30:44.280 --> 0:30:47.880
<v Speaker 2>More than twenty nine thousand customers trust Paycrep to help

0:30:47.920 --> 0:30:52.160
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0:30:52.200 --> 0:30:57.240
<v Speaker 2>paycorp dot com and by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals.

0:30:57.440 --> 0:30:59.920
<v Speaker 2>They're free to play with tickets and side merchandise up

0:31:00.080 --> 0:31:04.640
<v Speaker 2>for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app. The Bengals

0:31:04.640 --> 0:31:08.160
<v Speaker 2>signed three free agents this offseason who already have Super

0:31:08.200 --> 0:31:11.800
<v Speaker 2>Bowl rings. One is Orlando Brown, who won a ring

0:31:11.880 --> 0:31:15.040
<v Speaker 2>last year with the Chiefs. The others are cornerback Sydney

0:31:15.120 --> 0:31:17.640
<v Speaker 2>Jones the fourth, who was a rookie with the Eagles

0:31:17.640 --> 0:31:21.680
<v Speaker 2>back in twenty seventeen when they beat the Patriots, and

0:31:22.120 --> 0:31:25.160
<v Speaker 2>quarterback Trevor Simeon, who is a rookie of the Broncos

0:31:25.160 --> 0:31:29.600
<v Speaker 2>in twenty fifteen when they beat the Panthers. Brian Callahan

0:31:29.720 --> 0:31:33.200
<v Speaker 2>was on Denver's coaching staff at the time. Sidney Jones

0:31:33.360 --> 0:31:37.440
<v Speaker 2>fourth is a former Washington Husky whose teammates there included

0:31:37.480 --> 0:31:40.760
<v Speaker 2>current Bengals Jake Browning and Drew Sample. He's played for

0:31:40.880 --> 0:31:44.080
<v Speaker 2>four NFL teams over the last six seasons, and he

0:31:44.120 --> 0:31:48.560
<v Speaker 2>turns twenty seven. In a couple of weeks. Our first

0:31:48.600 --> 0:31:51.040
<v Speaker 2>opportunity to visit with Sidney Jones, one of the newest

0:31:51.040 --> 0:31:53.640
<v Speaker 2>Bengals after signing, is a free agent this offseason. What

0:31:53.840 --> 0:31:56.960
<v Speaker 2>appealed to you about coming to Cincinnati.

0:31:57.000 --> 0:32:01.800
<v Speaker 4>Playoff team, playoff caliber team, super Bowl opportunity. It's a great,

0:32:01.920 --> 0:32:06.000
<v Speaker 4>great team, great organization. Heard many, many great things about

0:32:06.040 --> 0:32:08.560
<v Speaker 4>this place, so definitely decided to step in the building

0:32:08.560 --> 0:32:09.200
<v Speaker 4>to contribute.

0:32:09.800 --> 0:32:13.560
<v Speaker 2>The Bengals mentioned when they signed you they had great

0:32:13.600 --> 0:32:16.160
<v Speaker 2>reports going back to when you came out of college

0:32:16.160 --> 0:32:19.360
<v Speaker 2>and were drafted in the second round. Did they indicate

0:32:19.400 --> 0:32:21.040
<v Speaker 2>to you that you are a player that they've been

0:32:21.040 --> 0:32:22.160
<v Speaker 2>following for a long time.

0:32:22.800 --> 0:32:26.680
<v Speaker 4>Actually, Uh, before I signed with Vegas last year, they

0:32:26.720 --> 0:32:28.400
<v Speaker 4>got a hold of me. You wanted me to come here,

0:32:29.280 --> 0:32:31.400
<v Speaker 4>but at that point I already committed to Vegas. So

0:32:31.520 --> 0:32:33.920
<v Speaker 4>it's cause like kind of kind of one of those deals.

0:32:33.920 --> 0:32:37.160
<v Speaker 4>I couldn't, you know, break that promise, but it all

0:32:37.240 --> 0:32:40.239
<v Speaker 4>ended up working out, coming coming back full circle. So uh,

0:32:40.480 --> 0:32:41.479
<v Speaker 4>definitely grateful for that.

0:32:42.200 --> 0:32:45.040
<v Speaker 2>Looking at the roster, Chita bea Wuche is coming back

0:32:45.080 --> 0:32:47.440
<v Speaker 2>from his torn ac all everything looks good. They expect

0:32:47.480 --> 0:32:49.600
<v Speaker 2>him to be good to go for Week one. Cam

0:32:49.640 --> 0:32:52.160
<v Speaker 2>Taylor Britt had a very good rookie year, but that

0:32:52.320 --> 0:32:54.480
<v Speaker 2>leaves a lot of snaps for somebody to play on

0:32:54.520 --> 0:32:56.560
<v Speaker 2>the outside at corner. Do you see yourself having a

0:32:56.600 --> 0:32:57.360
<v Speaker 2>significant role?

0:32:57.760 --> 0:33:00.280
<v Speaker 4>Uh, definitely, that's that's always my mentality. All is my

0:33:00.360 --> 0:33:03.200
<v Speaker 4>goal to come in and contribute and do whatever it

0:33:03.240 --> 0:33:04.320
<v Speaker 4>takes for this team to win.

0:33:05.080 --> 0:33:07.080
<v Speaker 2>Tell me a little bit about how you feel about

0:33:07.120 --> 0:33:09.680
<v Speaker 2>your NFL career today, because it looks to me like

0:33:09.720 --> 0:33:13.120
<v Speaker 2>when you've been healthy, you've played well, but staying healthy

0:33:13.320 --> 0:33:14.440
<v Speaker 2>has been the challenge.

0:33:14.960 --> 0:33:17.600
<v Speaker 4>Definitely, an injury is part of the game. You know,

0:33:17.640 --> 0:33:22.760
<v Speaker 4>They're definitely unfortunate. They come at weird times and you

0:33:22.800 --> 0:33:24.880
<v Speaker 4>hope you do everything you can to avoid them. But

0:33:24.960 --> 0:33:27.040
<v Speaker 4>sometimes it's just it's just part of the game and

0:33:27.040 --> 0:33:30.160
<v Speaker 4>it happens. But definitely, when I'm healthy, I know what

0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:31.480
<v Speaker 4>type of caliber player I am.

0:33:31.800 --> 0:33:33.640
<v Speaker 2>For visiting the Sidney Jones, what do you think you

0:33:33.640 --> 0:33:34.600
<v Speaker 2>bring to the table here?

0:33:35.920 --> 0:33:43.560
<v Speaker 4>I bring uh physicality, ball skills, competitive nature, Uh, just

0:33:43.560 --> 0:33:45.720
<v Speaker 4>just everything you're looking for in a football player. I

0:33:45.720 --> 0:33:47.880
<v Speaker 4>think I'm all around, all around, versutil player.

0:33:48.160 --> 0:33:50.160
<v Speaker 2>Did you know anybody here? You got any friends in

0:33:50.200 --> 0:33:50.800
<v Speaker 2>this locker room?

0:33:51.000 --> 0:33:52.040
<v Speaker 1>Jake Browning.

0:33:53.200 --> 0:33:57.560
<v Speaker 4>Drew Simple, you dub guys, I know chiad be Woza

0:33:58.600 --> 0:34:01.040
<v Speaker 4>Little Pac twelve love you played a Colorado up? I

0:34:01.200 --> 0:34:05.560
<v Speaker 4>was that you dubh Who else? Irwin?

0:34:05.800 --> 0:34:06.920
<v Speaker 1>We go way back with it.

0:34:07.160 --> 0:34:09.399
<v Speaker 4>He he doesn't remember me because we used to play

0:34:09.440 --> 0:34:13.600
<v Speaker 4>seven or seven against each other in SoCal He didn't

0:34:13.600 --> 0:34:14.320
<v Speaker 4>he didn't remember me.

0:34:14.400 --> 0:34:16.680
<v Speaker 1>We played against each other at Stanford.

0:34:16.800 --> 0:34:20.359
<v Speaker 4>When I was a U dub two. Uh, that might

0:34:20.400 --> 0:34:21.600
<v Speaker 4>be about it.

0:34:21.640 --> 0:34:24.640
<v Speaker 2>Does Trenton Irwin really not remember you? Or did you

0:34:24.680 --> 0:34:27.400
<v Speaker 2>shut him down so that he is claiming not to remember?

0:34:27.480 --> 0:34:29.040
<v Speaker 2>You never know?

0:34:29.360 --> 0:34:29.960
<v Speaker 1>You never know?

0:34:30.280 --> 0:34:32.600
<v Speaker 4>He got me. I think he used to get out

0:34:32.640 --> 0:34:34.960
<v Speaker 4>for me in high school a little bit, but I

0:34:35.000 --> 0:34:37.960
<v Speaker 4>got after him in college a little bit, so you know,

0:34:38.000 --> 0:34:39.040
<v Speaker 4>a little good trade off.

0:34:39.480 --> 0:34:42.879
<v Speaker 2>How did those Washington guys help? Did they share any

0:34:42.920 --> 0:34:44.640
<v Speaker 2>insight about playing for this team and.

0:34:44.600 --> 0:34:45.160
<v Speaker 1>In this city?

0:34:45.440 --> 0:34:48.320
<v Speaker 4>They say, you'll love it, So let's I trust those guys.

0:34:48.560 --> 0:34:53.160
<v Speaker 2>So what was your impression of the Bengals as a

0:34:53.200 --> 0:34:55.759
<v Speaker 2>player around another team? Looking at how this team has

0:34:56.160 --> 0:34:59.480
<v Speaker 2>you know, grown and become a contender in recent years. O,

0:35:00.000 --> 0:35:00.759
<v Speaker 2>It's great to see.

0:35:00.880 --> 0:35:05.239
<v Speaker 4>I love I love looking at teams and seeing their

0:35:05.280 --> 0:35:09.279
<v Speaker 4>growth and seeing you know, they came from necessarily in

0:35:09.320 --> 0:35:12.040
<v Speaker 4>a non competitive spot to going to a competitive spot,

0:35:12.040 --> 0:35:15.439
<v Speaker 4>and then that's something I really enjoy, uh something about

0:35:15.440 --> 0:35:17.879
<v Speaker 4>my personality. I'll take pride in like just building something

0:35:17.880 --> 0:35:19.640
<v Speaker 4>and wanting to be a part of growth.

0:35:20.640 --> 0:35:22.799
<v Speaker 1>We kind of my time at UDAL was kind of

0:35:22.840 --> 0:35:23.080
<v Speaker 1>like that.

0:35:23.120 --> 0:35:26.960
<v Speaker 4>We're just kind of you know, base, baseline, average, whatever.

0:35:27.200 --> 0:35:29.280
<v Speaker 4>And I feel like I was a part of something

0:35:29.320 --> 0:35:32.239
<v Speaker 4>that grew and and and took it over so that

0:35:32.360 --> 0:35:35.080
<v Speaker 4>we didn't win a national championship, but we finished them

0:35:35.160 --> 0:35:37.799
<v Speaker 4>or fourth in the country, got to the playoffs, and

0:35:37.840 --> 0:35:40.279
<v Speaker 4>I felt like I was part of that growth and

0:35:40.320 --> 0:35:43.719
<v Speaker 4>that whole project of building that. So, uh just I

0:35:43.760 --> 0:35:46.759
<v Speaker 4>love seeing that wherever it's, whatever sport is in.

0:35:47.120 --> 0:35:47.880
<v Speaker 1>I love sports.

0:35:47.880 --> 0:35:52.080
<v Speaker 4>So just watching watching a player or organization kind of

0:35:52.120 --> 0:35:56.520
<v Speaker 4>take uh take its growth and take its course has

0:35:56.560 --> 0:35:58.080
<v Speaker 4>been a good thing to watch.

0:35:59.120 --> 0:36:02.400
<v Speaker 2>It's just a young secondary, especially after the departures of

0:36:02.480 --> 0:36:04.960
<v Speaker 2>Jesse Bates and Von Bell. Do you think your leadership

0:36:05.000 --> 0:36:06.719
<v Speaker 2>is going to be significant.

0:36:07.520 --> 0:36:12.680
<v Speaker 4>Along with Tudo, along with Mike Hilton and Mike t

0:36:14.120 --> 0:36:17.840
<v Speaker 4>I think my experience, I have a lot of experience

0:36:17.920 --> 0:36:21.360
<v Speaker 4>and can shed a lot of knowledge and wherever I

0:36:21.440 --> 0:36:23.279
<v Speaker 4>sit in and as you know, as I grow with

0:36:23.320 --> 0:36:25.719
<v Speaker 4>the team and get comfortable and build trust with the guys,

0:36:25.760 --> 0:36:27.200
<v Speaker 4>I definitely think that will be valuable.

0:36:28.360 --> 0:36:31.960
<v Speaker 2>Jones will wear the number twenty four in Cincinnati. The

0:36:31.960 --> 0:36:34.719
<v Speaker 2>Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health,

0:36:34.760 --> 0:36:37.560
<v Speaker 2>the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than

0:36:37.560 --> 0:36:40.840
<v Speaker 2>one hundred and twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers,

0:36:41.080 --> 0:36:44.720
<v Speaker 2>Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health.

0:36:45.120 --> 0:36:50.320
<v Speaker 2>Visit ketteringhealth dot org to learn more. Up Next recently

0:36:50.360 --> 0:36:54.440
<v Speaker 2>signed quarterback Trevor Simeon, who will compete with Jake Browning

0:36:54.520 --> 0:36:57.759
<v Speaker 2>to be Joe burrows backup. Simeon is thirty one years

0:36:57.760 --> 0:37:00.520
<v Speaker 2>old and has started a total of thirty in the

0:37:00.640 --> 0:37:05.000
<v Speaker 2>NFL for the Broncos, Jets, Saints, and Bears. In fact,

0:37:05.320 --> 0:37:09.960
<v Speaker 2>his best NFL start statistically was against the Bengals because

0:37:09.960 --> 0:37:12.240
<v Speaker 2>he threw for three hundred and twelve yards and four

0:37:12.360 --> 0:37:16.480
<v Speaker 2>touchdowns in a win at Peycorp Stadium in twenty sixteen.

0:37:17.920 --> 0:37:20.520
<v Speaker 2>First day in a new place, describe this feeling. I

0:37:20.520 --> 0:37:22.040
<v Speaker 2>know you've been through it a few times before.

0:37:22.239 --> 0:37:24.640
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's good. It's exciting to get to meet everybody,

0:37:24.719 --> 0:37:26.839
<v Speaker 3>meet my teammates and get a lay of the land.

0:37:26.920 --> 0:37:29.359
<v Speaker 3>So two hours in so far, so.

0:37:29.360 --> 0:37:31.800
<v Speaker 2>Go who did you know? If anybody?

0:37:34.160 --> 0:37:39.760
<v Speaker 3>Not really anybody you know? I know, no Cali, James

0:37:39.760 --> 0:37:43.200
<v Speaker 3>Casey I played with in Denver for a little bit.

0:37:43.920 --> 0:37:46.400
<v Speaker 3>But yeah, just getting to know everybody, shaking hands and

0:37:47.360 --> 0:37:48.560
<v Speaker 3>trying to learn everybody's.

0:37:48.280 --> 0:37:51.160
<v Speaker 2>Names, presenting with Trevor Simmy and based on everything I've read,

0:37:51.160 --> 0:37:53.399
<v Speaker 2>you and Brian Kellen have a great relationship.

0:37:53.719 --> 0:37:58.040
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, CALLI was my assistant coach quarterback coach in my

0:37:58.120 --> 0:38:01.239
<v Speaker 3>rookie year, and we had a Greg Napp uh and

0:38:01.280 --> 0:38:03.480
<v Speaker 3>obviously Peyton was in there in brock Oswiler. So we

0:38:03.520 --> 0:38:05.560
<v Speaker 3>had a good group. And you know, you're something about

0:38:05.560 --> 0:38:08.360
<v Speaker 3>your first year. You allus remember that that kind of closeness.

0:38:08.640 --> 0:38:12.279
<v Speaker 2>Did you get the sense that Brian really sold you,

0:38:12.360 --> 0:38:15.440
<v Speaker 2>for lack of a better expression, to Zach and to ownership,

0:38:15.440 --> 0:38:17.680
<v Speaker 2>as this guy would be the perfect fit on our roster.

0:38:18.120 --> 0:38:18.439
<v Speaker 1>I hope.

0:38:18.480 --> 0:38:22.200
<v Speaker 3>So I don't know, yeah, I hope. So you know

0:38:22.239 --> 0:38:25.080
<v Speaker 3>we've kept in touch, you know, via text over the

0:38:25.160 --> 0:38:29.080
<v Speaker 3>last several years. But uh, yeah, I thought it was

0:38:29.239 --> 0:38:31.240
<v Speaker 3>it was a cool opportunity to link up with somebody

0:38:32.560 --> 0:38:35.160
<v Speaker 3>that I had crossed over with before, and obviously, you know,

0:38:35.200 --> 0:38:36.479
<v Speaker 3>I just want to be on a good team with

0:38:36.600 --> 0:38:37.320
<v Speaker 3>some good coaches.

0:38:37.400 --> 0:38:41.480
<v Speaker 2>So years probably fly by. When you're playing in the NFL.

0:38:41.560 --> 0:38:46.160
<v Speaker 2>You've gone from young starter now to experienced mentor. Is

0:38:46.200 --> 0:38:48.360
<v Speaker 2>that difficult to process?

0:38:49.520 --> 0:38:50.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? I don't.

0:38:50.280 --> 0:38:53.000
<v Speaker 3>I try not to process it now minute. You know,

0:38:53.000 --> 0:38:55.520
<v Speaker 3>every once in a while you kind of figuring out

0:38:55.560 --> 0:39:00.279
<v Speaker 3>what what uh? What's what's transpired? But you know, I'm

0:39:00.280 --> 0:39:02.480
<v Speaker 3>thankful for every every bit of it, every team I've

0:39:02.480 --> 0:39:05.520
<v Speaker 3>been on, every coach, every teammate. It's it's been a

0:39:05.520 --> 0:39:07.839
<v Speaker 3>fun ride. So excited to keep it going.

0:39:08.440 --> 0:39:11.279
<v Speaker 2>The quarterback fraternity is an interesting one. What have been

0:39:11.320 --> 0:39:13.120
<v Speaker 2>your impressions of Joe Burrow from AFAR.

0:39:14.080 --> 0:39:16.120
<v Speaker 3>I love watching him play. I think he's, you know,

0:39:16.160 --> 0:39:19.080
<v Speaker 3>it is a terrific football player, and you know, as

0:39:19.120 --> 0:39:22.160
<v Speaker 3>a quarterback, you certainly appreciate, you know, a couple the

0:39:22.160 --> 0:39:24.480
<v Speaker 3>top handful of guys watching him play on TV, and

0:39:24.520 --> 0:39:26.480
<v Speaker 3>he's he's a guy that you know, I will certainly

0:39:26.560 --> 0:39:28.600
<v Speaker 3>stop what I'm doing and watch a ball game.

0:39:28.440 --> 0:39:31.800
<v Speaker 2>For anything in particular standout, Yeah, I think.

0:39:31.640 --> 0:39:34.400
<v Speaker 3>He's I think he's just got a great feel for

0:39:34.440 --> 0:39:37.560
<v Speaker 3>passing the football. You know, I think, uh, sorts of

0:39:37.880 --> 0:39:42.719
<v Speaker 3>anticipation they can make obviously every throw and there's a

0:39:42.760 --> 0:39:45.319
<v Speaker 3>little bit of creativity in there too. So just a

0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:46.040
<v Speaker 3>fun guy to watch.

0:39:46.480 --> 0:39:49.720
<v Speaker 2>Where does your four touchdown game against the Bengals stack

0:39:50.239 --> 0:39:54.560
<v Speaker 2>is one of your favorite NFL highlights? Uh?

0:39:54.600 --> 0:39:56.640
<v Speaker 3>You know, it's up there. It's fun. It's fun. I've

0:39:56.640 --> 0:40:00.120
<v Speaker 3>always enjoyed winning on the road, so I think all

0:40:00.120 --> 0:40:02.600
<v Speaker 3>the road winds I've had in my career are definitely

0:40:02.680 --> 0:40:07.239
<v Speaker 3>up there. But yeah, it's it's fun looking back at it.

0:40:07.360 --> 0:40:09.320
<v Speaker 3>Cool to be here now playing on the home side.

0:40:09.760 --> 0:40:11.920
<v Speaker 2>You've got a Super Bowl ring, correct.

0:40:11.680 --> 0:40:14.000
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I like to get another one.

0:40:14.600 --> 0:40:16.360
<v Speaker 2>We would like you to get another one. I was

0:40:16.440 --> 0:40:18.960
<v Speaker 2>just talking to Sydney Jones, the fourth who's new this year.

0:40:19.000 --> 0:40:22.480
<v Speaker 2>He has one as a rookie with the Eagles. When

0:40:22.480 --> 0:40:25.279
<v Speaker 2>you've been on a team that's done that, how much

0:40:25.320 --> 0:40:27.279
<v Speaker 2>is it what your appetite to be part of it again?

0:40:28.600 --> 0:40:31.600
<v Speaker 3>Huge? You know? And I was. It was my rookie

0:40:31.680 --> 0:40:34.759
<v Speaker 3>year too, so I was so spoiled in that sense. Uh,

0:40:35.800 --> 0:40:38.440
<v Speaker 3>And it is. It's it's a totally different feeling, and

0:40:38.480 --> 0:40:41.200
<v Speaker 3>it's it's something that you know, when you go through

0:40:41.239 --> 0:40:43.319
<v Speaker 3>the first time, you're like, well, maybe maybe I get

0:40:43.360 --> 0:40:45.360
<v Speaker 3>back again, and you're trying to not take it for granted,

0:40:46.880 --> 0:40:48.600
<v Speaker 3>but kind of seeing what it what it took, and

0:40:48.640 --> 0:40:52.040
<v Speaker 3>what the team looked like, and you know, got to

0:40:52.040 --> 0:40:53.799
<v Speaker 3>get a ball to bounce your your way a few

0:40:53.840 --> 0:40:57.560
<v Speaker 3>times and you got a really freaking good team. So yeah,

0:40:57.800 --> 0:40:59.600
<v Speaker 3>looking looking forward to trying to do it this year.

0:41:00.960 --> 0:41:04.480
<v Speaker 2>Simeon will wear the number nineteen in a Bengals uniform.

0:41:05.040 --> 0:41:06.680
<v Speaker 2>That's going to do it. For this episode of The

0:41:06.719 --> 0:41:09.480
<v Speaker 2>Bengals Booth podcast brought to you by Kettering Health, the

0:41:09.520 --> 0:41:13.520
<v Speaker 2>official healthcare provider of the Bengals, by Bengals Picks and

0:41:13.680 --> 0:41:16.760
<v Speaker 2>Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets and signed

0:41:16.760 --> 0:41:20.640
<v Speaker 2>merchandise up for grabs by pay Core, the official HR

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<v Speaker 2>software provider of the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future

0:41:25.560 --> 0:41:30.399
<v Speaker 2>Proof Fiber Internet elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. If

0:41:30.440 --> 0:41:33.160
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0:41:33.200 --> 0:41:34.680
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0:41:35.040 --> 0:41:39.080
<v Speaker 2>or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us.

0:41:39.480 --> 0:41:42.320
<v Speaker 2>I'm Dan Horn and thanks for listening to The Bengals

0:41:42.360 --> 0:41:48.240
<v Speaker 2>Booth podcast