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LA The Sportstown, Big Ten Football

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August 31, 2026 4:58 pm

LA The Sportstown, Big Ten Football

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August 31, 2026 4:58 pm

The Jim Rome Show HR 2 - 8/31/26 As a SoCal lifer, does Jim think LA is a diehard sports town? Of course not, but if USC continues to win their games, we wouldn't have to have the conversation anymore. Then, Big Ten Network Analyst Dave Wannstedt joins the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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All right, so we move into our number two. Good afternoon. What's good? I'm Jim Rohm. The program is brought to you by FanDuel.

Of course. Starting this second hour, I've got Dave Wonstead coming up in about twenty minutes. Coming up next hour, Josh Donaldson, a former American League MVP, will be joining us. You know all the different places where to find me because I'm not hard to find. But let me start you with a new topic for a new hour.

I want to talk about my beloved Los Angeles.

Now, full transparency, I left Los Angeles a couple of decades ago, but I don't live that far away. We're in Orange County. But I am an LA native, so let me talk about my beloved Los Angeles because it's under fire once again. What else is new? Thankfully, it's not on fire.

Even with absurdly high temps every single day. But the city is definitely under fire. Or at least the LA sports fan is.

Social media is having a field day, dunking on LA SportsFan thanks to USC's home opener. And the tens of thousands of people who showed up dressed like empty Coliseum seats. On Saturday. Look, I'm not going to deny that doesn't look good. If you're seeing it, If you're seeing it on The picture, if you're seeing it right there.

on the stream. I mean, you can count the people in the stands practically. I'm not going to deny it. The place is half empty. It's more than half empty, it's completely empty.

If you saw any of the picks from Saturday, you'd be like, damn. Even for a spring game, that would be embarrassing. But that wasn't a spring game. That game mattered. That game counted.

And that looked like a ghost town. And remember, this is a big year. It's a year where they've got the top recruiting class in the country. This is a year where Lincoln Riley was finally going to get them into the playoff. This is an enormous year for USC.

So that's our opener. I'm surprised there weren't tumbleweeds rolling across the field.

So USC seeing the heat. Was quick to announce that the attendance was actually over fifty thousand people. Looking at that picture, you know that's not true. Nobody bought that.

Now, maybe they sold 50,000 tickets. They might be playing that game. I don't know what happened to the people who bought the tickets, but they were nowhere near the Coliseum. I mean, it doesn't even look like there are 5,000 people there. They can say more than fifty thousand showed up, but you know.

That they know things are bad when they've got to put out a statement. about their own lack of attendance. When have you ever seen that before? Quote We understand the factors that impacted Saturday's attendance. We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program.

We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the year season. End of quote. Right. You don't want to crack the 500 people who did show up. Don't blame them.

You don't want to lose them too. Electric is not the word that I would use to describe that atmosphere. But thank you very much for the word salad. That helped. If by helping we mean giving the internet a brand new reason to dunk all over this program and the entire city.

Of course, as a result of all of this, a new round of social media discourse about L A Sports fan has started, and of course, it's just mostly people from outside Outside of LA, crapping all over LA sports fan and saying there are no hardcores in LA and that LA is not a great sports town.

So As a native Angelino who has spent his entire life. In California, and most of my entire career in Southern California, I have to set the record straight once again, even though we've been over this so many times. The Internet says LA is not a great sports town and people are too distracted by other things to be true hardcore. Guess what? For once, The internet got it right.

I agree with the internet. I am not disagreeing with this because it's my take. It's always been my take. This is what I've been saying for years. The second I cracked open a mic, I would say this.

This is what people do not understand about the LA sports scene. This might not be a traditional sports town. But it's still an amazing town, and it's the best town of Frontrunners ever. They will always go where the best party is, where the best team is, period. This is how it's always worked.

It's freaking Hollywood. Wake up. There are a million things to do in this town, sports and non-sports related. It's competitive as hell. It's not like where a lot of you live and there's only one show in town.

There are a million shows in this town. It's a very, very competitive environment. To quote the legendary fictional character Tad Allagash. There's a better party and we're not at it. That's the mentality in Los Angeles.

If it's a million degrees outside, And USC is opening against San Jose State. And the team has been pretty much ass the last couple of years. They will pick beaches. Over football every single time. Until USC gives them a reason to go back to the Coliseum, they won't.

But I assure you, as soon as the Trojans do anything worth showing up for, people will show up once again. Because that's what LA Fan does. They go where the best party is. Like all of you rushing up in here saying, there are no hardcores. This is not a great sports town.

Nobody's saying it is. I'm from LA and I've never said that. I understand this. Just don't tell me that it was too hot. I mean, yes, it was hot.

It was hot as hell. But that's not all it is. If the team was worth showing up for, and ultimately they might be. But they haven't won their fans back. They haven't earned their respect yet.

We need to see it. Their fans need to see it. It doesn't matter how hot it was. Case in point. the following clip that I'm about to show you on the stream.

Shows an absolutely packed Coliseum for opening day back in 2009 against that same San Jose State team. 90 plus degree temps. Go ahead and roll this. Look at it. If you're watching on the stream, that joint is packed.

Pact. To the very top of the stadium, same ninety plus degree weather, same San Jose State team. One difference, not the same Trojans. See that day USC fans forgot to dress as seats for this game. I guess because I can see people absolutely everywhere.

And I've got a guess as to why there were more than 80,000 at that 09 USC home game against San Jose State. It's because the 08 USC Trojans went 12-1, and they won the Pac-10, and they won the Rose Bowl. It's because the team was in the middle of the speed-talking gum assassin era. And the relationship to build during course of the team. And the team was great.

Don't forget. Period. Period. The team has not been great. In quite some time, period.

As soon as they prove that they're great again, people will show up once again. Period. Peer, period, not that complicated. This town is not like your town. I'm not saying it's better than your town, although it probably is.

I'm saying it's different than your town. There are lots of other options. Why would you pick option F? If you have option A, why would you pick a Saturday afternoon to spend your day doing something? You really would not rather do.

There are other things to do. They're picking the beach over the Colosseum all day long until they're given a reason to believe otherwise. And again, I say this as somebody who was born in LA. I spent most of my life in and around LA. I'm agreeing with you.

It's just that I said it first. I've covered this topic a million times. And one more thing: given how much. How many of you hate LA?

So many of you have come to LA and never left. If you hate L A, why do you keep coming in by the thousands every single day? But yes, I understand this. It's not a great, great, great sports town. I could give you a number of other towns that are better sports towns.

But It's a major metropolitan with so many entertainment options, not just sports. And yes, lots of other sports. and lots of other things. Mountains Ocean. Sports Entertainment.

Man, it's it's LA, it's Hollywood. Hell, even the pool. Jump out the pool on that. Like you all of a sudden came up with this great new revelation. LA sucks.

What a crappy sports town. No hardcore is there. When they win, LA Sports fan will come out. Right, Rome, you're not a good sports fan. Mm.

I'm not saying they are. I am. I are the manager. I'm not saying it. I'm owning it.

I know this. What do you think? You're roasting us? There are other things to do. The Trojans have to win their fans back.

They haven't been to the playoff under Lincoln Riley. They need to see it before they go out there in 250-degree weather against San Jose State when they're 32.5 point favorites. They will find something else to do. And they did.

Now, the good news is, things will definitely get better for USC.

Now that the world has seen those Trojan beer swords. You know, people are going to be buying up tickets and showing up now to try out the most inconvenient way to slam a beer ever. Have you seen this? If you're watching it on the stream, what an idea. If you're watching on the stream, look at that beer sword.

Yeah, let's do that. Let's serve beer up in a plastic sword. With a pointy tip. That's both impossible to drink from and impossible to put down. And that's reason enough to go to the game, isn't it?

Who wouldn't love that? If USC just marketed the beer sword instead of the football team, there'd be no issue at all right now. That game probably would have been sold out twice over. Hey guys, great statement about the attendance. But where is the statement?

About the pier sword. There it is. Fight on. Fight on, or one of our famous alumni will use this plastic sword to cut off your heads. Fight on.

Fight on. Fight on, all forty-nine of you. All 49 of you in the stands, fight on. a beer sword. Look.

It's not 2004. Reggie Bush Linda White and Matt Leinert. Ain't walking through that door. Larry Bird's not walking through that door, fans. They have more sanitized door and rotten parish is not walking through that door.

And if they were, they'd all be like middle-aged or stabbed. They'd all be middle-aged or stabbed or drunk. No, they ain't walking through that door. But but get your beersword Get your beer sword Get it now A beer sword. All right, when we come back, Dave Wanstead joins us.

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Mike Gullock Jr. here. Labor Day weekend is back, and so is football. The tailgate's set, and everyone's ready for game day. But once the final whistle blows, there's one decision you can't afford to get wrong.

If you've been smoking marijuana, don't get behind the wheel, period. It's illegal and driving high could get you a DUI. When you're on the field, the game needs 100% of your attention. Research shows that marijuana impairs motor skills, lane tracking, and cognitive functions. You're putting yourself and everyone else on the road at risk.

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So huddle up and call the right play before kickoff. Plan a safe ride, call a ride share, or crash on the couch. You can be the MVP this time. Because the only smart play is the safe one. Drive high, get a DUI.

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HMN is Monday to you. Former American League MVP Josh Donaldson joins us a little bit later on. But first things first, we are joined right now by somebody who spent 39 years as a college coach and a head coach. He was the head coach of the Chicago Bears for six years, coached the Miami Dolphins for five years. He coached Pitt in college for six years.

He is a Big Ten network college football analyst, as well as an analyst for the official Bears post-game live on Marquise Sports Network and 104.3, the score radio in Chicago. Of course, I'm talking about Dave Wanstead. Dave, it is so good to see you, my guy. How are you doing, Dave? Hi.

I'm good. I didn't, God, that's a long time, 39 years, you know? It is, but you earned it, my guy. You earned it.

So great to see you. Thanks for making time. Why don't we jump in and talk college football? It got underway this weekend with the week zero matchup. It included North Carolina upsetting TCU and Ireland.

Given that you were a head coach both in the NFL and college, what is your overall view of Bill Belichick coaching college ball? And then, Dave, secondarily, do you see his team any differently coming out of that game than you did going into that game? Oh, 100%. You know, you can, as a head coach, and let me just back up and just say that. Anybody that would question Bill's X and O and the philosophy part is, you know, they're not thinking straight.

To me, the biggest question was: could Bill get the players and recruit them and deal with the NIL and all everything that goes along with college football in today's world? And, you know, the quarterback that he has now, this kid, from doing Big Pen shows, I remember him when he was Billy Edwards. He's around, he was a quarterback, and I thought he was a pretty good player at Maryland.

So, what he's done is he's got a very young football team, but he's got a veteran quarterback that's played a lot. And I thought that that was the difference in the game. And, you know, they created turnovers, they look better on defense. And you can preach to your blue in the face as a head coach about this will win for us if we do this, and this will win for us if we do that. But until you actually go out and win a football game.

And then the players start buying into your system and they start believing you more, and you can get some real momentum. And I think North Carolina will this year. I really do. That's how you get buy-in. Dave Wance joining us.

So, Dave, the Big Ten has three teams ranked in the top six, with Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana looking to defend its national championship. Assuming all three do what they should do, which school do you think might have the best shot of giving the Big Ten a fourth team in the playoff? I think it's USC. I'm all in, and I coached, as you know, I coached in the Trojans in the late 80s. And the thing about USC that's been a little bit frustrating for me is.

You know, when I was there, that we were coming off probation, and in three years, we went to the Rosebow and beat Ohio State.

So it's one of those types of programs that, because of the tradition, the history, on and on access to players, you can get it going quick. I was a little disappointed that Lincoln Riley hasn't done that faster, but I think the hidden, everyone can talk about quarterback coming back and 15 starters coming back. But I'm telling you, Jim, the real key, the best hire that Lincoln Riley made was getting Gary Patterson. People aren't talking about, in my opinion, now this guy enough. When he was at TCU, I was working for Fox College Football, and I was doing Big 12 games.

He was number one on defense three or four times in the nation at TCU. And so I think his addiction, and he not overcomplicated. But boy, he gets fundamentals taught and the kids respond. And this guy is a heck of a football coach. I think that was a real coup for Lincoln Raleigh and for the USC Trojan football family.

Now, I'm glad you said that, Dave. I couldn't agree more. Like, they did get that top recruiting class, and player procurement is always going to matter. But Gary Patterson was a great ad, a great ad, a great grade coach. I agree with you, Dave Wansted joining us.

So, there's also a Big Ten connection to a primetime matchup on Sunday with Wisconsin taking on number four in Notre Dame at Lambeau. Pretty interesting game. Do you think the Badgers, Dave, have what it takes to hang with the heavily favored Irish? I don't know. I mean, last year and Luke Fickle, I mean, I think he's a heck of a coach.

Obviously, it hasn't happened there at Wisconsin. That's been very disappointing for everybody. And I'm pulling for the guy. I mean, I want him to have success and win there. But God, they have changed offenses, Jim.

As you know, they have changed quarterbacks.

So, in today's world, I'm going to be sitting there like everybody else, saying, Okay, what does this, what's Wisconsin bringing to the table? We know what Notre Dame is going to bring to the table with, you know, obviously with the quarterback and coming back in the nucleus of their team, and they're well coached, and they recruited good, and now they're spending money in the portal. It's going to be a tough game for Wisconsin. And I say that because I'm just not sure what Wisconsin is going to bring to the table this year. Last couple years, there's been just a lot of changes here in a lot of different areas.

Dave, having sent our son to Wisconsin, having built a home in the state of Wisconsin to vacation at in the summertime, it pains me to agree with you, but I agree with you. It's been really disappointing, and it's too bad because I love that hire so much when they made it said as much as well. Dave Wonstead joining us. Dave, what about Ohio State? Like, obviously, we know Ohio State is wide receiver you with the Buckeyes being selected in.

The first five or in the first round of the last five NFL drafts as wideouts. Having said that, is junior wideout Jeremiah Smith might he go down as the best of them all? Yes, he definitely could. And it's just amazing. And Ryan Day has done a great job with finding ways to get him the football.

I mean, because if you're playing Ohio State, I mean, you know, and Tate obviously picked up. They'll always have a receiver that can pick up the slack and the tight end and running backs.

So Ryan Days does a great job with coaching a young quarterback. This kid was a freshman last year. People lose sight of that. And uh, and still getting Jeremiah Smith to football, so I don't see that changing. You know, they had 11 guys drafted, as you mentioned, last year, but everyone says, 'Oh, well, they lost all those linebackers, and they and they lost the safety for Matt Patricia.' Matt Patricia was.

To Ohio State, in my opinion, what Gary Patterson will be to USC. And the thing about Patricia, he's been with Belichick. And when I was at the Dolphins, we faced them twice a year. One week it was the 3-4, the next week it was 4-3. One week they're covering, the next week they're blitzing.

So Matt Patrician's got plenty of defense. That he can go into the bag and pull out to fit the players that they have to make them successful. But Ohio State's going to be right there. You know, they do have a new coordinator. They do have a new coordinator with Arthur Smith.

And if you look at Arthur's background, you know, when he was at Atlanta, everywhere he's coached, he's a run guy. He'll use two tight ends, three tight ends, a lot of movements with the quarterbacks. Is that going to be the new offense? How much input is he going to have with Ryan Day?

So there is a little bit of question mark as far as the offensive philosophy compared to where it was last year with the Buckeyes. Yeah, I'm an Arthur Smith guy, but you're right. That's going to be interesting to see. I want to see how that plays out. Dave Wanstead joining us.

Dave, as you do every summer, you spend time at Bears Training Camp. I'm curious, how does Caleb Williams look to you both physically, because he looks different physically, and then how he's operating in Ben Johnson's offense now that he's had time in that scheme?

Well, when I was up there, Jim, because usually in training camp early in July. You'd like to think that every team that I've been associated with as a head coach and assistant. If your defense isn't pounding your offense early, there's reason for concern. And when they went out there and when Ben reached out to me, because he knows I'm not going to go up and watch him in shorts, he says, hey, this is going to be a good one. We're going to go live tackling the grind.

They have physical practices, which is so unusual for the NFL coming with the players they got and the season they had. And I went up there and when they went ones against ones, I don't think the ball didn't hit the grind. I mean, Caleb was hitting it. Swift was running. Loveland, the tight ends, they were finding ways to get them the ball.

The offense was operating at a lot faster pace this time, this year, than they were last year. And I think it's a combination of knowing the system, Caleb, understanding where everyone's supposed to be and what he's supposed to do, and just a level of confidence in this offense.

So I was impressed. And you're right. You know, it's funny, Caleb walked by. And when I first looked at him, I mean, you could see it in his face that the guy has lost weight. Everybody says that.

Heck, even coaches. I used to say that, oh, I lost some weight coming into training camp. But what the reality is, and this kid has done it. And he has been, boy, he has been great here for Chicago. With all the hype going back to his college days, think about it.

The Heismans and all the pats on the back, number one draft pick. This guy worked his tail off in the offseason. And I think he'll have a great year. Hey, listen, being a QB in the NFL is not easy no matter what, one of the hardest jobs in the world, but being a quarterback in that town is really hard.

Now, if you're good, there's no better place to be a great quarterback, but that can be really, really tough. What about that defense?

So you mentioned the defense. What about the defense? It gave up the fourth most yards in the league last year, but they were able to compensate because they turned so many people over. What are your thoughts about the defense coming into this year? You know, they got 33 takeaways last year on defense, you know, fumble recoveries and interceptions.

Um, history generally, and I went back and looked at it because in 2019 when Vic Fangio was a coordinator for the Bears, they had 38 takeaways. That's the year they won the division and went to the second round of the playoffs with Matt Nagy. And the next year it was cut in half. I think they had like 15 or something, maybe it might have been 16, basically cut in half.

So if history proves correct. And the Bears cut these turnovers in half. Uh, that easy field position and extra possessions for the offense isn't going to be there. You know, the defense has really got to make their stops and you know, by stopping people, not by counting on the turnovers. And it that's tough to do, Jim.

You can talk about it, everybody works on it.

Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't with the same players.

So, uh, the defense is the key. And, you know, getting to the passer.

Now they got defensive backs hurt, kind of where they were last year. When you're going to blitz, which Dennis Allen loves to do, the coordinator, you got to play man coverage. To play man coverage, you got to have good defensive backs. You know, they got Gordon, they got they obviously lost Bryant to safety. They're banged up in the secondary.

So now you got to rush four. And that's where they were at last year. You couldn't get home.

So it'll be interesting to see what happens coming out of the blocks with that defense. Dave wants to add for another couple more moments. Speaking of getting to the passer, Dave, the Rams made it official. They signed Aaron Donald to that one-year deal. Obviously, an all-time great, but somebody who has not played in two years, realistically, what are you expecting from him, and how do you think they'll use him?

Well, they're going to use him how he knows wherever he wants to. I hate to say that, but you know, and I know you know this, Jim, because we talked about it. This is how much I know about Aaron. I recruited Aaron Daughter. My last recruiting class at Pitt.

And I called him in as a freshman and I sat him down and I said, now listen, Aaron. We're going to redshirt you this year. I want you to learn from these upperclassmen. And in the next couple of years, you're going to get your time will come. He said, yes, sir.

Yes, sir. The second week of training camp as a true freshman, we had him in the game, you know, week one.

So, I mean, don't underestimate Aaron Donald. I mean, the guy, he has overcome his size and height and all those intangible things his whole career. And I'm not betting against him now. Dave, you have been around the best of the best. And we mentioned how many years you've been in this thing, both on the pro level and the college level.

Is there any other athlete you could compare him to that you were around? We're like, man, dude, that dude's a freak. That dude's different. He is uncommon amongst the uncommon. There's nobody like him.

He's one-on-one, on and on and on. Anybody that you could compare him to?

Well, we had a, and unfortunately, he passed away. His career was cut short, but we had a guy at the University of Miami that I had for a couple of years, Jerome Brown, was a number one pick by the Eagles. And Jerome Brown could dominate a game. And the thing that people need to understand is dominating a game from a defensive tackle position. I mean, you know, Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, there's a lot of those great ones, Richard Dent, a lot of guys on the outside that I had were great players.

but they're kind of in space a little bit where that can happen when you're a defensive tackle like donald is You're always between two guys and for him to come up with the plays and the sacks and everything that he does, it's just remarkable. It's Reggie White type numbers. David, one last, one quick follow-up on that, because I've done this long enough. You and I have both been around this game long enough, and I used to interview guys that played with Jerome, and they would all speak with him or speak about him like in such unbelievable terms. What made him that?

You know, aside from his length, the bend, the athleticism, how much of that was his personality, his competitiveness? What made him so unique and special and beloved? Yeah, he had all the intangibles, but the thing you knew about Jerome, that every day in practice and the games, this guy showed up and worked. And he worked and he worked. He loved football.

And it showed up. He didn't wait till Saturdays in college or Sundays in the NFL to play and work on his craft. He was doing it all week long. That's the thing that I remember most about him and respected. He was a former coach of the Chicago Bears, the Miami Dolphins, also at Pitt.

And you can watch him with the Big Ten Network where he's an analyst, Dave Wansted, joining us. Dave, so good to run you down. Thanks for making time for me yet again. Great to have you on the show and really good to see you. Dave, thanks so much.

All right, Jim. Good talk to you. See you again. You too. Take care, Dave.

Love Dave Wanstead. He's so good. 39 years as a head coach, not like 39 years in it, but 39 years as a head coach. Not even counting years as an assistant coach. And he did win a ring with the Cowboys.

When he was on Jimmy Johnson's staff, he got one ring, Jimmy got two rings, Jarrah has got three rings, and then they stalled out and they stopped. All right. Great conversation. Your reaction to it. You have your telephone number.

You can find me in the chat. You can find me on X. You can find me on email. Still ahead. Daekwan.

Daquan the scammer. Talk about him. Dijon, my bad. And Josh Donaldson. Former AOMVP.

And if you want to get up in here on the phones, go ahead and do it. 1-800-636-8686. I think I'll take a break right now. Javi, we're good, right? Stay tuned.

We'll come right back. You're listening to the Jim Rome Show. Hey, y'all, it's Charlie Starr from Blackberry Smoke. Y'all know our fans are like family to us, and family watches out for each other, especially when we're out riding.

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Soccer Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Klingerberg. And after interviewing so many dudes during this Men's World Cup, I'm so happy to be back with my U.S. Women's National team players. I know the U.S.

Men's National Team has changed how I think about myself, how I think about being an American, how I think about being on a team. It's one year out from that World Cup, and we're going to talk about the brightest prospects in U.S.

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Alright, some quick reaction to Well, everything we've been doing so far. And now we'll get to Deja and the Conman. Gawain Valencia is in. Gail writes in the chat: USC isn't used to being the little kid on the block. UCLA is taking their place.

A lot of that. I'm seeing a lot of that. We're not there yet. And I love Bob Chesney. I love the hire.

I love the guy. I love the energy. I loved it. You could see it. I'm like, there's life back in the program.

You see, like, boosters coming around, putting some money into it. I absolutely love the hire. No, are they about to blow right by USC? Not yet. I'm not saying it's gotten to that point yet.

But you know what? The energy's better. Because any energy is better than no energy. And there was no energy against San Jose State. But again, this is what USC fan is dealing with.

They're not convinced. They've been let down too many times. Lincoln Riley should have had them in the playoffs already and hasn't.

So, no, they're not going to show up again. If it's 200 degrees. And it's a Saturday afternoon. And you're playing San Jose State. And you've got your doubts about your team, and you're already beaten down, you're not showing up.

Now, that's not just they're not showing up because it's hot. I played you that video from 09. Also, the opener, also against San Jose State, and about 80,000 people there. But they were good then. That's that whole thing about how there's a better party and we're not at it.

Except that was the best party. Even if San Jose State led 3-0 at one point in that game. That then was the best party. And that that's how it is. Especially in this town.

It's a front-running town. If you win, they will come out and they will support it in numbers. But they're not coming out for trash. They're not coming out if you're not competitive. It's a competitive market and not just in sports.

At finish W. LA fans are choosing other Trojans. Which other Trojans? You mean. Rubbers those Trojans?

I'll just say it for you, bro. How's that? Does that make it any more clear? Yes. Let me ask you.

Do you want to go to the Coliseum? To see USE play when it's 200 degrees out, or would you rather stay indoors? where the temperature is perfect and get nice. Seems like a pretty easy choice.

So I agree with you. At finished W? Nice nice nice nice Saturday. Of course, Halvey had his finger on that button. Courtney Miller, twenty six eighty.

That's what we need to be asking ourselves. Why is there so much urgency? on Lincoln Riley to win when there's not even fans at the game. Did you not just answer your own question? There are no fans at the game because there's so much urgency for Lincoln Riley to win.

And the reason there's so much urgency is because he hasn't yet. Complacency and mediocrity at a place where they're not going to tolerate it, in a town where they're not going to tolerate it. Believe me, they didn't hire Lincoln Riley to come here and win eight or nine games a year and never make the playoff. That's why. That's why.

At Joey11, quote, that SC attendance was sad. Not going to beat around the bush. It was. It was. I'm not saying it wasn't.

I'm just explaining it. It it it's not an indictment. on this town. Can ears. But not any more than any other example of any other team that's not good.

They will come out if you dominate. It's Hollywood. They're going to the best show. They're going to the best party. You want to be seen.

You want to go see and be seen. And frankly, nobody wants to be seen at a Trojan game yet. Why is this why we go over this every single year? I've been over this a million times. Gregory Wright, DH, 9RH in the chat.

San Jose State is not a premier home foe. Folks aren't drinking your Kool-Aid anymore, SC. Oh yeah! I don't even understand that. What does that mean?

They didn't come out because nobody gives a damn about San Jose State. Or they didn't come out because nobody's drinking the Kool-Aid anymore, SC. I guess the answer is yes. Again, I keep going back to that video. I'm not saying this.

Is then, I'm saying then it was a similar situation. San Jose State, not a premier program. about eight hundred degrees, and the place is packed. Why? Because USC was the best show in town.

At that point. What's changed?

Well, LA was a good sports town then, but not now. No. They're going to go where the show is. Miano Pan's in. You forgot All of us on your LA options jimbo.

Yours below. hookers, Botox, Auto theft, face carving, chest enhancements that look like water balloons. What's your point? Yeah, all those things do sound better than a Saturday afternoon. On the surface of the sun against San Jose State.

Now, Of those. 50,000 that didn't show up. Let's ask ourselves.

Okay, because they said officially there were more than 50,000. It looked like there were 5,000. Let's just give or take 40,000. Of the 40,000 that we're holding. That did not show up.

How many of the forty thousand chose Blow over the Trojans? I'm gonna say none because you probably could have done both. You probably could have done both. You don't have to choose one or the other.

So that doesn't work. Of the 40,000 that had tickets but chose not to attend, how many chose hookers? over that. I don't know. Two or three?

Total. There might have been a few jet porks. There might have been a few that chose jet pork. or chose to go ched pork. Over that, like, damn, man, it's gonna be hot.

It's gonna be hot. Tay be a good day to be jed pork. instead of a Trojan fan.

Alright, so there's that. Botox. I've been here long enough to know people are not scheduling Bo Talks on Saturdays unless it's out of the trunk of a car.

So that doesn't work. Auto theft. I I don't know. Maybe steal a car, drive it to the Coliseum? Face carving.

See above what I said about Botox. Yeah. They're not getting that done on Saturdays unless they're getting it out of the back of the trunk of a car. Chest enhancements. These things don't happen on Saturday.

These these quote doctors Are not working on Saturday. They don't need to. Nice try with that, Miano Pan. Stop jumping the curb and running your car into homes. Anybody else want to try?

Can anybody make it better? That's all I'm asking. Deja. Man, this dude. This story.

I'm actually glad that this did not go away. I thought that this might not have the legs that it does, but it was so absurd. It was so absurd this time. And because it showed up on social, these toys show up all the time. On network TV.

Like I said, have you never seen an episode of Dateline? Have you never seen an episode of 48 Hours? Have you never seen an episode of American Greed? By the way, American Greed to me is so disappointing. Like, I want to love that show so much.

Hey, feel free to mix in some new episodes. And not episodes from 2014. Stacy Keech narrating will only get you so far. That's a show with so much potential, and it never lives up to it. Anyway, That show, well, number one, every single episode of that show is a Ponzi scheme, like we always know.

But there's a lot of impersonators that are hooking people. And they never seemed to have the legs. You needed something like this to A, show up on social where people see it. And number two, you had to see a guy that was so absurd that all this guy did was walk around everywhere with a forty nine or helmet. Like, dude, did you go to Big Five and buy a forty nine helmet?

Or dicks. and buy a 49er helmet and just all of a sudden decide you were Jerry Rice? And and just tell everybody. And even worse, it worked. It worked.

People are so lonely. Mm. and frankly so naïve. And if you're not a sports fan, There was no way if you were not a sports fan and you were desperate for love. And you thought that not only did you find a handsome professional athlete that, for whatever reason, has an interest in me.

and and can take my money. He went with that famous line that Normally, my investment advisor only works with people that have. Equity worth X. But in your case, we'll make an exception. Give us your five hundred bucks.

Just Anyway, he got a lot of people doing that. And you know why? He targeted people that knew nothing about sports. If you knew anything about sports, you would know that that guy was not a pro athlete. Just by looking at his route tree, by looking at his route on the sand, the routes that he was running.

Mm-hmm. These poor gals didn't know any different. We'll get into all of that. Josh Donaldson also coming up at 220. Don't go anywhere.

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