1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,600 Speaker 1: Last episode, we took a look back at what it 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,880 Speaker 1: meant to be a college football fan in the weirdest 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: year on record. 4 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 2: Last year, I was in on the football and out 5 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 2: on the storylines. You know, like so many of the 6 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 2: storylines were so dour, and I just really didn't want 7 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 2: to follow along. 8 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: I just sort of mailed in my fandom last year. 9 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 3: It was like a weird feeling to get excited but 10 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 3: also keep this part of your mind to that you're 11 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 3: just kind of. 12 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: Like, I don't know if I should be enjoying it 13 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: this much. Now, let's close the book on twenty twenty. 14 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: From the solid verbal, this is a special production, so 15 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: now what Welcome back. My name is Ty Hildebrandt. I 16 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,200 Speaker 1: am joined as always by my co host and friend 17 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: Dan Rubinstein, and on today's show we close the book 18 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: on twenty twenty. We look ahead to twenty twenty one, 19 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: and we talk about what we as fans can take 20 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: from that experience, apply to this coming season and hopefully 21 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: have the best season ever. Dan, how are you? 22 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 4: I'm great, and I'm hoping for the best, because not 23 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 4: just is the world going through hopefully positive changes, at 24 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 4: least the college football world at least this country. Hopefully 25 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 4: everybody continues to move in a positive direction as it 26 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 4: relates to coronavirus pandemic and everything that has been affected 27 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 4: by it. But I'm encouraged that we will have a 28 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 4: relatively normal season, relatively normal season from the fan standpoint. 29 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 4: And I'm curious though, because that's just a short term view, 30 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 4: because as the college football world gets back to quote 31 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 4: unquote normal, it's also an experience that is continually getting 32 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 4: more and more different than what we're used to, right, 33 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 4: like the transferring and the NIL stuff and TV deals 34 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 4: and commissioner going in and out, like it's a sport 35 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 4: going through a lot of changes, the postseason changes, Like, 36 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 4: I'm curious to see if everybody's just going to be 37 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 4: so happy to be along for the ride that they 38 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,239 Speaker 4: just roll with everything. 39 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: My assumption is they won't, because. 40 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 4: That the college football fan experience is very much aligned 41 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 4: with not rolling with everything. So I'm just I'm exceedingly 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 4: curious about how we all ride this wave. 43 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: It will be interesting to see what happens. As we 44 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: said in part one, we had a trusted panel overballers 45 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: with us on a Zoom call to discuss all things 46 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: related to the fan experience, and one of the topics 47 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: that came up was that whole situation of unrest. Again, 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: think back a year. We have a pandemic, we have 49 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: an election, we have social unrest in this country, a 50 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: lot of things going on, and it just sort of 51 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: all spilled out into the college football world on some 52 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: level when it came to are they going to play 53 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: a season or are they not going to play a season? 54 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: Who is the final voice in the room. Is it safe? 55 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: Is it not safe? I thought one of our verbawlers 56 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: put it best. 57 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 3: Will like the vitriol that you saw last fall like 58 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 3: disaster to stick around, because that, to me, that makes 59 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 3: the game itself like less fun. 60 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: It did make it less fun, and it was something 61 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: that we had to deal with as fans to great extent, 62 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: I know for me personally, and this is something that 63 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 1: came up also in our panel. I relied less on 64 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: social media to get my information on game day and 65 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: to build context for our podcasts. In general. I used 66 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: a lot less social because there was just so much 67 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: going on, random infighting because of an election, We've got 68 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: major cultural tensions because of the death of George Floyd, 69 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: and obviously widespread pain and suffering because of the pandemic. 70 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: I tuned out social as best I could, only to 71 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: stay seen and that extended to game days for me. 72 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: And I feel like if we're looking to maybe tune 73 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: out some of that vitriol or some of that conflict 74 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: that we don't need any more of. That is something 75 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: that I'm going to take with me into twenty twenty one, 76 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: maybe focus a little bit more on the game in 77 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: front of me on the big screen, and aser Verballer 78 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: said a little bit less on the small screen. 79 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 4: There's a lot of really positive things about following along 80 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,599 Speaker 4: and the conversation online during games, and people are posting 81 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 4: clips of amazing catches, or people are posting like an 82 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 4: amazing stat that this team hasn't done this since this year, whatever. 83 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 4: There's really interesting context to be had. But with everything 84 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:42,679 Speaker 4: sort of melding together, it's easy to get your brain 85 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 4: scrambled a little bit if you're paying too much attention 86 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 4: to your laptop or your phone. So now I get 87 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 4: where you're coming from that, like you just you have 88 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 4: to be discerning about how you consume on Saturdays or 89 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 4: really any other day of the week. Who you are following, 90 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 4: how you are following how often you are reading that 91 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 4: kind of thing, Like, you need to look out for 92 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 4: yourself as well, and if football is that escape for you, 93 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,720 Speaker 4: let it be an escape. Trust the escape. 94 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 1: Lesson number one for me was to try and tune 95 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: out noise and enjoy the game in front of me. 96 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: Lesson number two perhaps goes without saying. Lesson number two 97 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: is that in a year where it was really difficult 98 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: to focus on some of these topics that would otherwise 99 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: bring us great joy, the fact that it seems like 100 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: we're going to have a level of normalcy in twenty 101 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: twenty one is incredibly exciting. It's incredibly exciting to look ahead. 102 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: We had countless comments from folks who are already starting 103 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: to get into it, maybe even earlier than before this year. 104 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 2: You know, going into the summer, I found myself definitely 105 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 2: following a little bit more closely, you know, outside of 106 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 2: the raw football product, like following a little bit more 107 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 2: on recruiting, Following what they're doing in terms of amenities 108 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 2: for the stadium, you know, seeing what's happening with the 109 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 2: you know, athletic department as a whole. I've definitely found 110 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 2: myself a little bit more back into that, Like I 111 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 2: normally would be. 112 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: And this support something that I think we've been saying 113 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: on the show now for a while that even though 114 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: we had a really goofy twenty twenty, we anticipate that 115 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,040 Speaker 1: it's going to be all gas, no breaks in twenty 116 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,799 Speaker 1: twenty one. People are going to be into it earlier 117 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: than usual. They're going to be following that narrative more 118 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: intensely than ever before. We had a comment hear from Andrew. 119 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 3: I think over the past month, I've really caught the fever, 120 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 3: I guess, and I'm baiyah, I am ready and like 121 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 3: have caught up on all the recruiting. 122 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: We are recording this in May, Dan, and I know 123 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: from looking at our numbers typically May is not one 124 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: of the hot months for college football. I feel like 125 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: I'm picking up that sentiment across the board that May 126 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: is not too early in twenty twenty one to fully 127 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: re engage with college football. No. 128 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 4: I mean, we do this show all year every year, 129 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 4: so you know, it's one of those things we're engaging 130 00:06:57,440 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 4: with the sport all year long, even if the news 131 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 4: that comes out isn't all that plentiful. But yeah, it's 132 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 4: hard to paint an entire group of a sports fans 133 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 4: with a broad brush, because I still think some people 134 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 4: are going to be I think a minority of people 135 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 4: are going to be hesitant about bigger gatherings, be it 136 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 4: watch parties or attending games or traveling to attend games. 137 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 4: But I think, by and large, my hunch is you 138 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 4: are more likely than not to be more engaged than 139 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 4: you were last year around this time or even June July, August, 140 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 4: when there's media days, when camp opens, when more and 141 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 4: more stories are coming out about things that are going 142 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 4: to happen during the season with your favorite team or 143 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,920 Speaker 4: a conference or anything like that. Yeah, I think the 144 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 4: majority of people are ready to exhale and la. 145 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: Loose, even just from the standpoint of paying attention, even 146 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: if it doesn't translate to people going out to the stadium. 147 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: I think there is definitely an element here of not 148 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: realizing what you had until it was gone or until 149 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: was not itself a slim down diet version of itself. 150 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:06,679 Speaker 1: And so I would expect that we're going to see 151 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: just intense fervor for college football in a way that 152 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: we haven't seen in generations. In twenty twenty one. That's 153 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: less than two for me, We did talk specifically to 154 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: that point of are you gonna go out to the games, like, 155 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: what's what's that going to look like? I'm gonna go 156 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: to a big game to the first weekend and I'm 157 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: not looking back like. 158 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 3: I'm head first absolutely all on into the season. 159 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: I feel like it's one or the other. I feel 160 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: like you're going to have a swath of folks who 161 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:46,440 Speaker 1: are not comfortable yet with that, and then on the 162 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: polar opposite side, you're going to have folks like our 163 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: verballer who are just intensely ready to get in there, 164 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 1: go to the stadium, pack it in, cheer for your team, 165 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: and carry on as normal. 166 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 4: Well, think about how much more information we have now, 167 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 4: even a few months after the season, just between vaccinations, 168 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 4: between just more and more science coming out. It's just 169 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 4: it's going to fill people with a confidence that they 170 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 4: just didn't have. So much was unknown, and so much changes, 171 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 4: and so much is added to our our knowledge base 172 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 4: every day, every hour, every week, whatever, and so it's 173 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 4: a huge, huge deal. We were trying to form opinions 174 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 4: with very little known about how to combat travel gatherings, 175 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,359 Speaker 4: you know, masks, things of that nature, and obviously now vaccines. 176 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 4: So the fact that people are armed with so much 177 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 4: more knowledge, I think is just it's beyond meaningful at 178 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 4: this point. The question to me is, it's not like 179 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 4: and this is a broader conversation, we can touch on 180 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 4: it a little. It's not like college football. The sport 181 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 4: was in a great place attendance wise. So maybe this 182 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:05,320 Speaker 4: is a shot in the arm, partial pun intended for 183 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 4: attending games live because we're so desperate to be in 184 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,239 Speaker 4: person with people and to yell in person, and to tailgate, 185 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 4: and to hear a marching band in person, and to 186 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 4: kick the pole at USC and all the fun traditions. 187 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 4: But I wonder if it's short lived. I wonder if 188 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,720 Speaker 4: things sort of go back to the way they were 189 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 4: twenty seventeen, eighteen nineteen in terms of the TV product 190 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 4: has gotten so good, the pain of parking and you know, 191 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 4: finding reasonably priced tickets and going to a stadium that 192 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 4: there aren't enough bathrooms or the catwalks are cramped and 193 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 4: there's no Wi Fi or phone signal or anything like that. 194 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,079 Speaker 4: I wonder if we get back to that less ideal 195 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 4: version of normal as well, or if schools are going 196 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 4: to double down and really embrace the fact that we 197 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 4: prove being together in a stadium more than ever before. 198 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 4: That to me is interesting question wise. 199 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: I think for sure, in the short term we're going 200 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: to see an influx in folks who want to go out. 201 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 1: We're going to see higher than usual ticket prices on 202 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: game day on stub Hub. There will be demand for 203 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: these tickets. And I don't care what school you will 204 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: see demand. What happens though in twenty twenty two remains 205 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: to be seen. Will it go back to the place 206 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: where Dennis Dodd is writing about SEC attendance. What do 207 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: you think? I think eventually it will get back to 208 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: that place. I don't know if it's going to occur 209 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: just after one season. I could see this taking a 210 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: while to get out of everyone's system. 211 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 4: It's a question of the sports health in general, where 212 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 4: people believe playoff participants are kind of a foregone conclusion 213 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 4: right now, where you sometimes you get sort of that 214 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 4: wild car team that isn't used to being in that conversation, 215 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 4: like LSU was a couple of years ago that was 216 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,560 Speaker 4: just lightning in a bottle. But by and large, the 217 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 4: postseason of the top of the sport has looked kind 218 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 4: of similar for a few years now, and I don't 219 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 4: know if it's a direct relationship, is a correlation causation thing, 220 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 4: but depending on what the postseason looks like, depending on 221 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 4: how well schools and stadiums invest in the fan experience 222 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 4: and making things as comfortable as possible, because for a 223 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,559 Speaker 4: long time they didn't have to. People just always bought 224 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 4: tickets and showed up and tailgated and yelled at the 225 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,199 Speaker 4: refs and did everything that comes with the territory of 226 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 4: attending a game. I sincerely wonder and there is an 227 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,560 Speaker 4: opportunity to be had. There's a financial investment needed, but 228 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 4: there's an opportunity to be had as fans come back, 229 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 4: for fans to come back and see how much better 230 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 4: the stadium and in person experience is now. I don't 231 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 4: know if the funds are there for a lot of 232 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,440 Speaker 4: these places to make those investments, but the opportunity is 233 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 4: there right now to double down on how excited people 234 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 4: are about attending names. 235 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,319 Speaker 1: We shall see what happens, but I think that is 236 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 1: one of the other takeaways for me in talking with 237 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: folks that of course there will be some hesitancy about 238 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 1: going back to the stadium, but we are going to 239 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: see a great number of folks who are on the 240 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: complete opposite end, and they are just chomping at the bit, 241 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: champing at the bit, champing to get out there and 242 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: cheer on their favorite teams. What other takeaways do you have, Dan. 243 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 4: That people want to feel okay about watching football. I 244 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 4: think a lot of people felt fine about watching football 245 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 4: last year. But I think if you look at the 246 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 4: totality of college football fans, you know, some people felt 247 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 4: that there should have been a spring season and it 248 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 4: should have been pushed back to where we did know 249 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 4: more and that would have been the safer route to go. 250 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 4: And I think a lot of those people are going 251 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:59,120 Speaker 4: to feel a lot better about watching, engaging with the sport, 252 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 4: going to game games, listening to podcasts, watching game day 253 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 4: things like that than ever before. I am looking forward 254 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 4: to seeing the I mean I mentioned the overall health 255 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,719 Speaker 4: of the sport and just how people feel about a 256 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,439 Speaker 4: sport that's still changing a lot. We're seeing nil laws 257 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 4: across different states and conversations about Congress getting involved, and 258 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 4: I'm curious to see how people once they are fully 259 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 4: back in with the sport and looking at message boards 260 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 4: and you know, making their opinions known among their friends 261 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 4: and online. I'm curious to see what the long term 262 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 4: health of the sport looks like with a lot of 263 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 4: the horrors of twenty twenty behind us. 264 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: I definitely noticed as well that just in talking with 265 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: our panel, even in talking with some of our previous 266 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,920 Speaker 1: interview subjects, that source of conflict was a through line. 267 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: Everybody felt very conflicted about this season. Even the people 268 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: who wanted to play the season felt conflicted about some 269 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 1: element of it. So to be able to go into 270 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one with hopefully most of that behind us 271 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: is definitely a wanted need from the fan base, from 272 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: the college football universe as a whole. People want to 273 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: be past that. They don't want to have to deal 274 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: with that baggage anymore. One of the other big takeaways 275 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: for me, Dan and this goes back to this whole 276 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: idea to do a so Now What series. Looking back 277 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,880 Speaker 1: when we originally envisioned this subject back in late November 278 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: early December, the hope, the intent was that our part 279 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: two would always feature a great deal of lessons learned. 280 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: I don't know if we ever really got there. I 281 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 1: think we found it. On a personal level, people learned 282 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: things about themselves, what it meant to be cooped up, 283 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 1: what it meant to be watching games at home alone, 284 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: away from their friends. But in neither the conference show, 285 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: nor the PAC twelve show where we talked about players 286 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: and coaches, nor the broadcasting show, nor this one, frankly, 287 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: did we learn a whole lot that we can take 288 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: with us into twenty twenty one and beyond. And so 289 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: I guess the big thing that I've learned is that, 290 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 1: more than anything, people just want to forget about this. 291 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: People are just done with this, for better or worse. 292 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 1: That is the sentiment that I think rang the most true. 293 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 4: Yeah, I think a lot of the lessons are probably 294 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 4: going to come out of the fact that we learned 295 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 4: a lot more about the inner workings of the sport 296 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 4: and how administrators and coaches and players are or are 297 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:47,520 Speaker 4: not able to navigate serious challenges. And we saw discord 298 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 4: in the Big ten, and we saw certain conferences much 299 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 4: more on the same page in terms of how things 300 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 4: should operate, whether they should play, how stadiums should be. 301 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 4: And that's a huge lesson about who's on the same 302 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 4: page and who's not. I thought a huge lesson was 303 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 4: knowing that the players had the quietest voice in this all, 304 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 4: that they were able to make their voices heard, And 305 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 4: I think moving forward, that's a huge deal. 306 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence justin fields guys with a lot to lose. 307 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 1: I think it's a huge deal. 308 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 4: I think it's a huge deal that is not going away, 309 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 4: no matter how badly some people want it to and 310 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 4: have the conversation strictly be about football. I think there's 311 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 4: an interesting lesson about players' ability to get message out 312 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 4: that I think is a huge, huge deal that I 313 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 4: don't think is going to go away. So that to 314 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:37,959 Speaker 4: me is also fascinating. 315 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 1: And fans responding to it, frankly, because without the reception 316 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 1: from the college football world, none of it goes anywhere anyway. 317 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: The fact that it was met with the reception it 318 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: was was a turning point in many ways, and a 319 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: good one at that. 320 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 4: Yeah, I think there is going to be a certain 321 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,880 Speaker 4: amount of accountability that didn't exist in the sport before 322 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 4: because of how transparent things can be, both with reporting, 323 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 4: with social media and with just the inspiration to make 324 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 4: certain truths known. So that to me is going to 325 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 4: be an ongoing element of all of this. But yeah, 326 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:22,920 Speaker 4: I mean, there's a lot to unpack with twenty twenty. 327 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 4: Tie that you know is just it's going to play out, 328 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 4: not just over this offseason, but years to come. 329 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,400 Speaker 1: I am ready to close the book on twenty twenty. 330 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: How about you as am? I? 331 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, I absolutely am. It was a year i'd I'd 332 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 4: rather forget in terms of my own selfish personal fandom. 333 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:45,200 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to So Now What, our limited run 334 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 1: series taking a look back and a look ahead. A 335 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: special thank you to our eschemed panel Overballers Andrew Andrew, 336 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:59,639 Speaker 1: Dan Cole, Taylor, Nathan Mark and Squishy. To close the 337 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,720 Speaker 1: book on twenty and So Now What. Head on over 338 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 1: to verballers dot com for our live discord chat on 339 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: Friday night, June the fourth. While you're there, you can 340 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: also find audio and video versions of the interviews we 341 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: use to make this series. Thank you again for your support, 342 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: Stay safe, and as always, stay solid.