After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

Halfway through what is the fourth show of the workweek, I long ago lost track. I don't know what it is about this week. I still feel like I'm climbing out from underneath football. Even not traveling last week for Super Bowl week. There's just been a lot to catch up on. I kept telling myself last week as we were doing different interviews and of course our Super 6 video series. If you haven't seen it, they're spread out everywhere. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter.

Easy to find. But it was just a lot to try to coordinate and keep up with. And then of course the game on Sunday. Want to hear something crazy? I was listening to the radio a ton over the last three days. Tom Brady's podcast. Aaron Rodgers podcast.

I'm sorry. Pat McAfee's podcast. It feels like it gets commandeered by Aaron Rodgers on Tuesdays. And then two hours nearly spread over the course of my workout, my dinner, and my getting ready to leave. My house last night.

I was listening to the Kelsey brothers. Still kind of a mop up from Super Bowl weekend. And so for three days. Monday, Tuesday, all day Wednesday.

So we're talking about 72 hours since the Super Bowl. I did not turn on the TV. I do that over vacation. I take time away from TV. In fact when I go visit my mom like I'm going to do in a couple weeks.

Two weeks from Thursday actually. We rarely watch TV. Now we have a couple of shows that we're going to binge because my mom and I love the PBS stuff.

The Victorian England shows. Don't tell what happens if you know. We never watched season two of Sanditon. We watched season one and we were so upset by the end.

I'm not going to say anything about it. If you haven't watched it, it's great. It's based on an unfinished Jane Austen novel. And so mom and I binged Sanditon. We've done that with some of the PBS versions of Pride and Prejudice.

So the ones that are not, that weren't the movie that you saw or whatever. So we love the Jane Austen stuff. We love Victorian England or period English literature and the different shows that come out of that.

And so we'll do that. But there are times, over Christmas for instance, other than football, two years ago when I was in Houston for two weeks, we watched nothing else on TV. We sometimes read books. We do puzzles and I get a break from TV. But this is pretty rare. In my own house when I'm working during a week to go 72 hours without turning on the TV.

So there's a lot more radio, a lot less TV, a bunch of writing. I just want to say one more time thank you so much for all of your kind words in response to my latest blog post. Been inundated with your responses. Thousands of people have replied. And I'm grateful for your support. Thank you so much.

That challenge is coming up this spring. If you haven't seen it, it's on my Twitter so easy to find. Twitter or Facebook. Anyway, turning on the TV for just an hour on Wednesday evening with my dinner. I just wanted an hour to watch an episode of NCIS. That's all.

I just wanted to watch something that had nothing to do with sports, that had nothing to do with an athlete's podcast, that had nothing to do with anything except for mindless crime drama, which I really enjoy. So I was able to do that. But yeah, here we are heading into Thursday morning and it feels like I'm still kind of climbing out.

Just trying to catch up, I say, on emails and phone calls. I made a couple of phone call appointments for this afternoon and then I realized I'd already signed up for a yoga class. So now I'm not sure what to do. I might bag the yoga class.

I don't know. Just the weekend is coming. It'll be nice to kind of take a deep breath and maybe reset again. Although I will not be with you on Sunday night.

So Jay is out all of next week. He's taking his, well, family vacation, but a nice reset after football season. And then I, as I say, have a visit to visit, have a visit to visit, dummy. I have a trip to visit mom in Houston in a couple of weeks. I'll be taking a long weekend of sorts.

But on Sunday night, I'm not with you. I don't know who's filling in, but neither Jay or I will be here because Monday is my, say it out loud, it's kind of crazy, is my speaking engagement at Syracuse. It's my first opportunity ever to be a guest speaker at my alma mater, the same school, the Newhouse School of Public Communications, where I receive my master's in TV and radio. They've invited me back to be a guest speaker. And I got to meet the dean and meet the sports media director who has hired me as an adjunct professor.

Just incredible stuff. And so a lot of my focus is on going to Syracuse. It's a seven hour round trip on Monday. Easy peasy. That's nothing. That's not even to my brothers and I, which I've done multiple times in one day before for things like my niece's concert or some, my niece's play, things like that.

I've done the up and back in one day before. So I'm not with you Sunday night. I will be back Monday night. And I would just ask that you would send me some prayers, some good thoughts that people will show up. Students will show up because if I do a speaking engagement in an auditorium and no one shows up, Syracuse might reconsider the adjunct professor gig that they have given me. I'm so nervous. My friends and family are laughing at me, but I keep thinking, what if no one shows up? Maybe, just maybe the professors who are teaching classes in the department this semester will threaten their students, show up or else. I want to do that. In a show of solidarity, when I begin teaching, hey, there's a guest speaker, show up and you'll get extra credit.

That's what I'm going to do. And so they've told me, the sports department, sports media department has said to me, it's casual. Now for students, do you know what casual means? Sweatpants, yoga pants, hoodies. I know because Jay's not a student, but he dresses like one a lot of the time, not at work.

Oh, you do too. You wear hoodies and hats. That's what you wear. I don't wear sweatpants to work.

I didn't say to work. In fact, I just said you don't wear sweatpants to work, but you wear hoodies and hats. So very casual, very laid back. And that's what most students wear.

Yoga pants. I know because my nieces were students for, you know, most recently for four years each. And so I know it's much more casual than when I was attending school. And so now I'm trying to figure out what casual means. I'm not wearing jeans. I do not do speaking engagements in jeans. I do not show up to professional engagements in jeans. And so I'm trying to figure out what to wear so I don't completely look awkward and out of place as they're all in their sweatpants and their jeans and their yoga pants, hats and hoodies. And I'm up there in heels and a suit.

Probably not. I don't want to scare them. So I've got to figure out what to wear. Maybe some just basic black pants and a nice top or something.

I don't know. I might wear heels though. I don't very often get to wear heels and it's kind of fun. So we'll see. But that's coming up on Monday, so it won't be with you on Sunday night. We've got a good weekend of sports coming up. It's the NBA All-Star game, the NBA All-Star break.

So if you loved the skills competitions that you saw at the Pro Bowl games, let's see if I can remember. Five million people or so watched the Pro Bowl flag football festivities on Sunday. I think that was the Sunday number. I'm sure the numbers for Friday and Saturday will go up. Those numbers for Friday and Saturday were not as high because those are not two days and nights when people watch a lot of television, typically. So Sunday's got much more eyeballs on the TV sets for a variety of reasons. Yeah, the numbers were okay.

Not great. But the NBA All-Star game is usually a party. It's usually full of celebrities, if that's your jam, if that's what you love. The NBA All-Star game itself is much more of a showcase for offensive skills.

But every now and then, you'll get guys who are playing together that you don't typically see, which is, it's fun, I guess. I've already told you, I do not watch All-Star festivities. The only game that I watch, the only All-Star game I watch is baseball because it actually resembles a game. I did have the Pro Bowl games on TV last Sunday, or the Sunday before last. But I wasn't really paying attention. Half the time the sound was off because I didn't want to hear the commentary.

Every now and then I would look up and I wanted to see Derek Carr and his swan song there in Vegas. But I was writing the whole time. I was prepping. I was not really paying attention. So I won't be watching the NBA All-Star game more than likely, but I do know that a lot of people enjoy it because you've got a mixture of celebrities and musicians and NBA players and big time superstars. And I thought that was interesting, or it is interesting, in light of what's coming up, which is this big party. The NBA rolls out the red carpet, really, for any celebrity, for any musician that wants to be there.

And this one will be in Salt Lake. Rory McIlroy was actually talking about how the PGA needs to do a better job and actually look at the NBA when it comes to promoting its big names, its high profile athletes. You look at the NBA's growth trajectory over the last 20 years. They've built that league around their best players and their stars, not around the 12th guy on the team.

But because they've built that league up around the stars, the 12th guy on the team does way better than he used to. So that's sort of the way I've been trying to tell it. He makes a great point. He's got some real insight there, and Rory's become the de facto face of the PGA these days, which is not a bad thing. We were doing our Valentine's Day finish the sentence on the show last night on the hump show, and you guys cracked me up.

Some of them were very inappropriate, but some of them were funny on our Twitter and Facebook page. And one of the things that I said, kind of to give you an example, was find someone who loves you as much as Rory McIlroy loves the PGA, because he is all about touting the PGA's values and its worth over the live tour, to the point where he's even gotten nasty about Greg Norman, about the golfers who've left. So he's now the de facto spokesman for the NBA, and he's still on his tour, even as the live has launched forward as well, and there are some more golfers that are leaving, not high profile yet this season, but more who are joining live. And he's saying the PGA needs to do a better job of promoting its stars. I will say this, it was easier when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were at the highest heights of their game and at the highest kind of profile of their careers, because it was easy, right? Tigers in the field, well, this is easy. We've got Tiger highlights out the wazoo. Phil Mickelson's in the field with his thumbs up and his kind of fist pump and his crazy short game.

Well, we've got highlights out the wazoo, right? So that was easy, and you could almost twist it into a rivalry, and they didn't like each other for the longest time. I don't know what their status is now, considering that Phil left for the live tour, definitely burned a bunch of bridges on his way to live. But for a while, they became friends and kind of recognized that their winning, their victories, their rivalry, their presence in the majors was good for the PGA, which meant it was good for them, and they'd made a lot of money kind of playing in the same era. Now golf needs to promote its stars.

The problem is, who are they, right? I mean, you have such large fields for all of the majors, and how many times have we seen the biggest golf tournaments, the majors, now with first-time winners, first-time winners, first-time winners? And it's good for golf because it's so competitive, but it also makes it harder to hone in and to promote one superstar. So I would say Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rory, certainly.

But like Dustin Johnson, he's gone now. He's on the live tour, so you can't promote him. Phil, you can't promote him.

Tiger's not the same, though he is playing in this Genesis Invitational this weekend near LA. So that's part of the issue is who are the stars? Who are the ones that are household names? Who are the ones, besides Tiger and Phil and a couple that I mentioned, that people know by face recognition? Jake and you, I know you can think of other golfers, but do you have a couple of names or faces that you think fans know just by seeing them?

Because that's part of the deal. We see LeBron, everybody knows who LeBron is. Everybody knows who Jason, well, okay, everybody, I apologize. The majority of sports fans recognize Jason Tatum. LeBron's a worldwide, he's a global superstar.

He's not the only one. In the NBA, there are faces that are recognizable even outside the world of basketball. Giannis, obviously, global superstar.

And so it's easier for the NBA because these guys are household names and because they transcend their sport. But that's not always the case in golf. So you can name a few, Rory, Justin, I assume that most people know who Justin is, Jordan Spieth, but outside of that, other than Tiger. Maybe Rickie Fowler might get on that list. Maybe, but he's never won a major. I know, but I see him in commercials sometimes, that's the only reason.

It's true. It's good for American golf that we have so many good Americans. But even when it comes to promoting the Ryder Cup now, you don't have the same superstars anymore. Not that these guys aren't great golfers, it's just not the same situation. So Tiger will be teeing it up on Thursday.

That's always good for golf. People love to see him. Speaking of superstars, I've always said Major League Baseball needs to do a better job promoting its superstars. Well, Shohei Ohtani is about to be in the spotlight again.

Now this season, it will be for what he does on the mound, for what he does in the batter's box, but it's also going to be for his future. How do the Angels get Shohei Ohtani to stay or do they? And if they expect him to go somewhere else, do they trade him before that happens because they want to get something in return? That always becomes the issue in sports, right? If you are fairly certain or you even think that there's a strong possibility that your superstar is going to walk when he becomes a free agent, teams go ahead and trade him away because they want to get something in return.

They don't want the entire investment to be for naught. Now Mike Trout is a superstar in his own right, but we haven't seen him in the playoffs since 2014, 13, 14. That's a huge void for Major League Baseball and certainly a major reason why the Angels have this conversation going at all. If they were a perennial playoff team, well then I don't think you'd be talking about Shohei Ohtani leaving. Yes, they've sunk a lot of money, guaranteed money, into Mike Trout and he gets promoted all the time as one of the best in the business. But the October stage is a different stage and the Angels have not been there in years.

It's almost been a decade now. Trout gets injured and misses good chunks of the season, though what do we hear from him? Oh, if we were competing for the playoffs, I'd still be out there, but that's not been the case. So it becomes a lot harder to entice a Shohei Ohtani to remain with the Angels long term, though Mike Trout certainly hopes that this season he can be part of the committee that convinces Shohei. He's got to do what's right for him and what he feels right. That's all up to him. If he feels that staying in Anaheim is the right move, he should do that.

He thinks otherwise I'm going to do as much as I can to try to convince him to stay. He's got to really sit down and think about it. It's a big decision for him.

It's probably the biggest one of his life. It's a difficult decision because it's for him. It's different if he does stay or if he doesn't. I don't even like saying it if he leaves, but it's going to be different for him. New atmosphere, new people, new teammates.

Like I said, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep him here. Just an interesting twist in kind of weaving that superstar theme in and around various sports. The NFL is brilliant at promoting its superstars. In fact, we get so inundated. Some of you tell me you're tired of seeing the face of Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelce or Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers or Jalen Hurts or Justin Fields now becoming a huge superstar in his own right. You tell me you get tired of seeing these people over and over sometimes.

I think you're being cheeky. Plus, sports hate is really just jealousy because you want your teams and your superstars to be part of that. But the NFL is brilliant with its marketing and the NBA, brilliant with its marketing.

Golf can be more like that, but who do you promote? And I think baseball has dropped the ball in this respect. Baseball is a much more regional sport now. It does not transcend the country the way that football does.

Meaning, I was just explaining this to a new friend of mine recently, why we talk so much NFL. Because people in Phoenix care about what's happening in New England. People in Dallas care about what's happening in Seattle. People in, and of course, care about what's happening in New York and Philadelphia.

People in Florida care about what's happening in Northern California. Oh wait, they don't have a team anymore. In Las Vegas. Sorry. Well, they have San Francisco 49ers. I was thinking Oakland. Oakland doesn't have their team anymore. Sorry, Niners, I just slighted you.

I'm sure I'm going to hear about that because we have a huge station in the Bay Area. Don't slight me. Don't slight me.

I apologize profusely. All that to say, NFL, NBA, brilliant at their marketing strategies and that's why they are nationwide. Baseball lags behind. And part of the issue is they don't hold up their superstars enough. Prop them up. Make people sick of seeing them.

I mean, that's what you should be doing. It works for the home run derby. It works for the All-Star game because it's a collection of stars. But this is one area where baseball lags behind. And so with Shohei Ohtani going into the final season before maybe he could be one of the most expensive free agents in history. Maybe his contract exceeds Mike Trout's because Shohei, he had a little bit of injury earlier in his career. But these days, even when he's pitching, he's hitting.

And he rarely takes a day off. We're talking about a two-way star. And the numbers right now, people whispering about 500 million plus. So this is a big deal. Can the Angels keep him? Well, not if they stink again.

They can't. So that's one of the major storylines as we head toward full spring training. Pitchers and catchers, they reported their talking.

Rob Manfred was speaking on Wednesday, so we'll hear a little bit from him before the hour is up. I want you to hear the Kelsey brothers because they're wacky and yet it's totally worth hearing their podcast because you get them in a different space. I heard them laugh. I heard them curse. I heard them make fun of each other. I heard them cry.

And I mean, as in crying so hard they couldn't speak together on their podcast on Wednesday. Thanks for hanging out with us. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We've got our YouTube channel, JSD Broccoli, when we get to 4,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel.

His birthday's coming up, so now's a good time to make him eat broccoli. Phone number 855-212-4CBS. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Oh, whoa, dramatic pause, dramatic silence.

It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. And Shohei Ohtani sure to be all the rage in 2023, but will he or won't he stay with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? And will they or won't they keep him until the very last second hoping to work out a deal knowing that if he walks, they're left high and dry with nothing in return? And trust me, he's the type of guy that you could get a lot for in return if you chose to trade him. But if you do trade him, I mean, your chances, let's just say you're middle of the pack and you're still in the running, I would hope that you wouldn't ship him somewhere else before the trade deadline. But even if you would be out of the running, a lot of your fan base would just be done with you, as in peace out. Because we know last year whenever he pitched and whenever he was scheduled to be on the mound to be in the lineup that the ticket sales, well, the numbers of peeps in the stands spiked. And when he goes on the road, people want to see him. So he's a huge draw for the Angels. Do they take that into account? A lot of it's going to see or going to be based on how they come out of the gate and whether or not they can sustain it.

We've seen them start hot before and just, just fizzle or fall off the proverbial cliff. It's After Hours on Facebook, on our YouTube channel, also on our show, Twitter, After Hours, CBS. Coming up following the update, my trip through new heights, my trip to new heights, the Kelsey brothers.

I was sending, Jay was still sleeping, I was texting him furiously everything that I heard that I liked from Travis and Jason Kelsey on their podcast. And again, it's one thing to have these guys in interviews, which is great, but you still don't get them the way you get them. Unfettered, uninhibited, comfortable with one another. And so this is the Super Bowl through their eyes. And a lot of the critical moments, you'll get the laughing. We're not going to include the cursing, but you're also going to get the flat out crying.

I mean, that's part of it as well, because it was a really emotional experience for them and for their family. So that's coming up. But I promised you a little bit of your favorite sports commissioner.

I know you love Rob Manfred. This is becoming actually a storyline. Let me just set it up for you, because it has to do with the trend more and more towards sports being broadcast on streaming outlets. So Amazon, Apple. Remember last year how Apple had games on Friday nights and they would be exclusive to Apple?

Apple Plus, I guess it's called. And when they were on Apple Plus, they wouldn't be available in their own markets. And fans were so enraged by that, they would have to find it on radio and even going along with Aaron Judge's home run pursuit to set the new AL record. Apple was supposed to have some of those games right when he was on the cusp. And I think what they ended up doing is coming to an agreement where the games would also be broadcast either for free. They were for free, right? They'd be available for people who didn't have Apple Plus because they were worried, the baseball was worried that that iconic moment would happen on a streaming service.

So they're kind of one foot in, one foot out. But we know Amazon's paying billions of dollars for the NFL rights, which means other leagues are going to follow suit. And it's not just Amazon. Their NFL Sunday ticket is moving to YouTube, right? So also a subscription service. So it's becoming a very real element of broadcast rights because of the money.

So because of that, okay, so keeping that in mind, and I know a lot of you have a love-hate relationship with streaming. Keeping that in mind, there are companies out there, broadcasting companies out there who are struggling because of the advent of streaming, because of the advent of podcasting. You've got regional sports networks that are in dire straits and in some cases are bankrupt. Like the parent company Diamond Sports Group that owns the Bally's regional sports network. So for wherever you are in our country right now, many of you, you get your favorite teams on Bally Sports Network. There are 19 regional sports networks and the company that owns them is going bankrupt. And so this question becomes, how will baseball handle its team broadcast? How will this affect the fans and their ability to watch their teams if the regional sports networks, he calls them RSNs, that's what they're called in the business, if they start missing payments or if these Bally regional networks get shut down? It's hard to escape the reality that the change in media consumption has been particularly hard on the RSNs. Obviously we want all of our broadcast partners to be successful.

We don't want them to have financial difficulties. And we have been spending a lot of time and effort trying to work with Diamond to figure out exactly where they are. Obviously our first choice would be that Diamond pay the clubs what they're contractually obligated to pay them. But because I guess I'm a contingency planner by nature, we are prepared, no matter what happens with respect to Diamond, to make sure the games are available to fans in their local markets. We think it will be both linear in the traditional cable bundle and digitally on our own platforms, but that remains to be seen. As I said, our first hope is that Diamond figures out a way to pay the clubs and broadcast the games like they're contractually committed to do.

And so this is a smaller microcosm of what I was saying about rights. Amazon pays the NFL billions of dollars for the rights to carry Thursday Night Football. Exclusive. Nobody else can carry it except for in the local markets where they're available on their local networks. And that's what happens, that's what Rob Manfred is talking about with Diamond who owns these regional sports networks. They're contractually obligated to pay the baseball teams for the rights to carry the games.

So if Diamond is bankrupt and Bally doesn't have the money to be able to pay the clubs, are fans going to lose the access to the games on their local networks? So there's that question. He's reassuring, hey, we have contingency plans. Contingency plans.

Try to say it too fast and it comes out something completely different. We have contingency plans. If we have to, we will pay, but we hope that's not the case. It's happening everywhere in the media industry as it is in most other corporations. And you've heard lately, I'm sure, what's happening in big business is that tech companies who overestimated their earnings power, their staying power, really overestimated their reach during the pandemic when so much of what we did was online and everything was connected, you're starting to see fewer people are subscribing now.

Netflix feels like it's reached its peak. Amazon is no longer really pursuing subscribers, also feeling like they've maxed out in that area with new subscribers. Google has laid off thousands of people. Facebook has laid off thousands and thousands of people.

And those are just two examples. Amazon, again, cutting back in different ways. So a lot of these tech companies are having to scale back.

But it's not just that. It's media companies as well. Sports Illustrated laying off more people or SI. I think their parent company is Time. Don't quote me on that, but their parent company laying people off with Sports Illustrated. And so the crunch is everywhere. We've seen it here with our own parent company where you've got fewer and fewer employees who are doing more and more of the work.

It's just it's a really nasty cycle. I know it's not exclusive, excuse me, to media, but media is living through it. Media companies are living through it the same way as every other industry is living through it.

And we know that all too well. So it's not going to affect your access to games. But it is a concern because at some point it could if a network shuts down or if this particular company ends up wiping out its regional sports networks.

And then what? Right. So thank goodness for radio. Thank goodness for radio broadcasts.

All right. You can find me on Twitter. A law radio coming up. I enjoyed the Kelsey's podcast and I want you to enjoy it, too. They laugh, they cry. All of that in talking about Super Bowl fifty seven.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Mahomes in the pocket, floats a pass nearside, Kelsey over the shoulder. He's got the catch. He's got the touchdown. Kansas City, a beautifully thrown ball as Mahomes to Kelsey, 18 yards officially. And the 14th time that Patrick Mahomes has found Travis Kelsey for a postseason touchdown, second in National Football League history.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The Kelsey brothers went over every moment. They come through every moment of Super Bowl fifty seven.

And I listen to it all because I find them to be really entertaining. And I wanted to see and hear the Super Bowl through their eyes. It's kind of funny. Travis really downplayed catching a touchdown, though he did talk about the stanky leg and where that came from. That was a celebration. And his brother Jason on the New Heights podcast said, for some reason, everybody found it really fascinating that I was eating a protein bar on the sidelines while you were scoring. He's like, I'm not sure why that was a big deal, but we saw it over and over again. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Forge Radio.

Mitch Holtus is the play by play voice on the Chiefs radio network. They were celebrating their big championship on Wednesday with the victory parade. You'll hear some of the funnier moments, the lighter moments after the top of the hour.

But I really well, I was blowing up Jay's phone. I really wanted you to hear some of what the Kelsey brothers had to say about the Kelsey Bowl. It was history, but also these two have become household names and they are really interesting. Their brothers, yes, they absolutely adore one another. They're huge fans of one another. But they were trying to cause the other one harm and pain, well not harm, but pain on Sunday. So it's strange dichotomy for anyone who has siblings.

I would rather my brother win than I win. So I kind of understand that tug of emotions. The Williams sisters, they've talked about that before too.

The Watt brothers, obviously. So anyway, we'll give you as much as we can here and then we'll get to some more after the top. But they went all the way back to their emotions during the national anthem, so they really went chronologically. Though Travis couldn't say the word chronologically because in his exact words, he was still bleeping hammered. So Jason Kelsey was trying to maintain his composure as they were getting out there on the field. Running out of the tunnel, I was just kind of like, maybe I think I was trying to do what your strategy is. I was like, don't let your emotions get too high right now.

Just go out there. And dude, it didn't work because as soon as Chris Stapleton started singing the national anthem, it hit like a ton of bricks. And it was game on after that. That was by far my favorite national anthem that I've ever heard in my life. Actually, I watched the rerun of it and it was every bit of emotional and the drama in it. It was awesome.

Chris Stapleton absolutely killed it. I always get emotional during the anthem, but I think Chris did an unbelievable job. And for me, you're just thinking about how, man, you're in the game. Everything that it took to get there all season long, all your teammates, everything that they've been through, all the things that the city's been through to get to that moment, like all that stuff's just running through your head.

And you think about how thankful you are to be in the country that you live in. And it's just it's crazy the emotion that hit for, I think, everybody in that moment. And Chris didn't make it any easier with the way he's saying that thing. Jason called it the best national anthem that he can remember at a Super Bowl. So as they're going on through the pregame, they get to the coin toss.

Now, remember, there were captains out there, but there were also honorary captains who were the Pat Tillman Foundation award winners. Then there was this cast and crew of what felt like a hundred people, stage managers and guests and the officials. And they showed the overhead view and it it looked like a sea of people out there at midfield. Well, apparently during the commercial break, there was something else going on. They had us out there standing there and we're standing there staring at each other while it's at a commercial break. And during the commercial break in the stadium, they have a host to the show, which was Cam Jordan. He was on there with a few others. And the first segment that they were doing right before the coin toss was the segment with Donna Kelsey, our mother. And they were they were doing a which brother is this? And they would say something. And my my my mom had a face with Jason and a face with me and would say, oh, Jason's the fattest. Oh, Travis is a crybaby. And I didn't realize that it was only like in the stadium.

I thought that was on like the actual broadcast. And I just felt like when I looked in your eyes, I mean, you kind of looked at we were like, this is getting a little bit too much. This is this is a lot.

This is a lot. This is where we're trying to stay away from. But it definitely felt awkward. And really, the only thing that made it feel on awkward was Pat Mahomes saying, oh, man, starting this thing off with Donna. What better way to make light of this situation made me feel better about this path. So they they're joking about it, but they're like, oh, my gosh, are you kidding me?

We're everywhere. So even if you thought you were tired of the Kelsey's last week, that's when it hit them that it was too much. So they love their mom. Wait until you hear what they have to say about their mom and their dad and them being in the spotlight last week. But at that point, it felt like it was over the top and it was awkward except for Pat's out there on the field, too. And could you hear Travis kind of gather himself to do this? Patrick Mahomes imitation. It's so great. I can't do it. People made fun of my voice for my entire life.

Right, right. The Kermit the Frog voice. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Jason Kelsey said multiple times on this podcast there was one moment, one play that he regrets more than anything. He actually told Travis he believes that was the turning point of the game. And I looked back on my notes.

They they obviously they lived it, so they recognize it. It was right after Kadarius Toney had given the Chiefs the 28-27 lead. It was the first playoff deficit of the season for Philadelphia. And what happens? The Eagles turn around and go three and out. And that is the play that Jason rues the most. Short yardage situation. Call a play action. Steve Spagnola dials up a zero blitz saw. You know, typical pressure in that situation.

You know, 6-1 defense. And, you know, in hindsight, wish I would have called out. I mean, this is the one that keeps living rent free in my head because I had control of this and it could have been easily handled with just simply having the tackle go out on the backer.

I elected to keep it inside and, you know, the backer went unblocked and it was truly frustrating because if we go out there, I think we've convert that. And, you know, that's a big play that I'm kind of thinking about over and over again. So, yep. Turn the ball over, essentially punt it. And you guys have an amazing punt return.

K.T. Yeah, setting you up on the five yard line. Kadarius Toney. Kadarius Toney, the former giant who joined the Chiefs not quite midway through the season. But yes, sets the record for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. 65 yards and apparently Travis had been hearing from a bunch of people who are not huge fans of K.T.

as he calls him. I tell you what, who might not have appreciated that punt return more than you guys and that's New York Football Giants fans because Kadarius Toney was sitting on the roster in the middle of the season. Not really doing much and he was a first round draft pick the year before and we got him for definitely not a first round draft pick in terms of compensation, like what you would get for a first rounder. And he has been nothing but the best teammate, one of the best football players, one of the most electric guys with the ball in his hand.

And everybody, you know, from the Giants, you know, fan base has just been coming at me because I've said I've said some nice things about him. He said, yeah, but wait, just wait, just wait until he gets he's he's always injured. He never plays. And the guy has been in the treatment training room doing everything he can to make sure he stays out on the field. He's gotten banged up just a little bit, but he definitely didn't miss this one, man.

We we love him for it. Yeah, they were talking about specific plays and moments and it was fascinating to hear their reflections of what was going on, even as we're watching it through our eyes, they're living it. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. This I thought was really interesting because it was clear that the first half and the second half were completely different for the Chiefs, the momentum they had coming out of that halftime locker room. So Jason said to Travis, did you guys make adjustments?

And Travis said no. And then he said, wait a minute, actually, we adjusted our mentality. He said we adjusted mentally and get this. He said it was Eric the enemy and Patrick Mahomes who had strong words for the Chiefs in their halftime locker room that they fired him up. And he said one word they used over and over was strain, as in strain for the extra yard every play. Do your job for the guy next to you. Figure out a way to win your individual battle every single snap. And if you don't do it for you, then do it for the guy who's next to you. And he said those words from Eric and Pat really focused them and gave them just this laser focus to go out there and change the momentum in the second half. We'll have more of this next hour. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio.