REShow: Gus Johnson - Hour 2

Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only.

This is the Rich Eisen Show. TCU wins. Do you get the sense the playoff committee is itching to get somebody else in there other than you? You know, our guys hear all that stuff.

They thought we were terrible in the beginning and we were not going to listen to them when they start telling you how great they are and how great you are. Earlier on the show, Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson. Coming up, Fox Sports Announcer Gus Johnson.

From Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. Actor Sam Jager. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show on the air. We end at hour one with fireworks. Fireworks I say. So I'm talking about how Michigan-Ohio State is the rivalry in college football and how it will be eclipsed only by the Thanksgiving game between the Giants and the Cowboys in terms of the most watched game this weekend. And TJ's like, I'm not even going to watch it. And my answer to that is, well, it's because all of your teams that you root for in college football are out.

Penn State, both teams, Michigan-Ohio State dispatched with them significantly on my head. I'm just not married to sitting and having college football decide whether I'm going to be in a good mood anymore. Past that point. Unfortunately, I'm in that boat on Saturday. I know.

I'm in that boat and it's usually very, very long, almost four hours. Thankfully, I've got the dulcet tones of Gus Johnson and Joel Klein. Gus is on his way to the Rich Eisen Show studio. Gus is calling the game? Yes, he is. Oh, yeah, I'll be watching it. There you go.

Gus is on his way to the studio. Of course I'm watching it. Mike is, of course, just puffing his fox chest out right now. I'll be mixing the Penn State, Michigan State game, alternate programming.

I'll be watching that one too. See? So there you go.

Alternate programming. There you go. Yeah, I'll be watching. So what? Leave me alone. Okay, very good.

Christmas vacation. There you go. Very good. Good for you. You guys are all being truthful and very, very reasonable.

Well, we are here, Rich. Zach Wilson's been benched. That's how we started the show.

I predicted that last year and got yelled at. If you missed it, you can hang here on the Roku channel. We re-air when we're done.

And if you missed it, there's our YouTube page, there's our Twitter page, there's also the Rich Eisen Show collection on the Roku channel. You could spend all Thanksgiving weekend catching up. Why wouldn't you? I would agree. That's called a rhetorical question. Why wouldn't you?

There's no answer other than the appropriate one. Very good. Sam Jager, who is one of the stars of season five of The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu. He'll be here in studio. Apparently he's an Ohio State fan. We just hung out with Charles Woodson, who is the king of this rivalry from the University of Michigan's point of view. Rich, rough day for 2021 draft class quarterbacks.

What do you got? Davis Mills just got benched. For? Kyle Allen. Kyle Allen, everybody, getting his shot. Kyle Allen.

Kyle Allen, when his first start for the Texans, will have to go toe to toe with Tua Tungovailoa coming off a bye. What is going on today? Here we go. What is happening? Here we go.

Yeah. Trey Lance watching Jimmy G take this team to the heights that he's taken them. Future Texans quarterback? Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence coming off a how dare you. He might be a jet.

Hands off. He could be a patriot. Jimmy G's got a ticket that he might be writing. I'd take him.

How about that? Trevor Lawrence coming off the bye. Jacksonville Jaguars coming off their bye. Taking on the Ravens, good lord, at home.

And then, of course, you've got Max Jones performing for our Thanksgiving evening pleasure. And Justin Fields, all eyes on his non-throwing shoulder. It could be Trevor Simeon versus Mike White.

Bears at Jets. Everybody. Everybody. Even Scott Hansen would go.

Bryce Perkins is taking first team reps for the Rams. There we have it. There we have it. You know, stuff is happening.

Oh my goodness gracious. 844-204 Rich, number to dial. Dave in Redding, California, where I got my start on television and KRCRTV.

Spirit of the North State. What's up, Dave? What's going on? Hey, Rich. Thanks for taking my call.

Yes, I'm in Northern California. And by proxy, I'm a Pac-12 nut. Got it. But Brockman and TJ are crazy if they don't think that this game is relevant every year. The minute Harbaugh stepped back into Ann Arbor, this game is on everybody's radar every year. He's made them relevant. You're crazy if you think otherwise. I can't wait to see the poll results. And by the way, this game means a lot to see if USC has a shot to get in, even with two wins. If this game is one of those double overtime refs or cheaters type games, you know, it would be tough to tell Michigan. You can't you can't make it. Right?

Yeah, I could easily see two from that from that conference going and the Pac-12 just waiting another year. Thanks for the call, Dave. Appreciate it. Say hi to everybody.

I run my old digs there up in Shasta County. I mean, what's wrong with what I said? What's wrong with what I said? When an official gives a first down in double overtime without actually bringing out the chains and then one guy gets his butt slapped by an official. What a mission.

Ohio State got to get a little attaboy as he goes back on the field. OK. I don't think we're crazy, bro. It's my time. Let me just say this. Oh, here we go. Another thing. Another thing. Gus Johnson is here here and he does not lead long for makeup. You know why? A handsome freakin man who rises and fires the minute he wakes up.

Plus, our complexion leads to the fact that we don't need a lot. Ridiculous. That's what CC tells me. All right. Before he comes out here. You ready for it? What do we got? It's a Wednesday. What happens on the show? We get the heckle you even more. And then the acclaim comes.

I never thought I would enjoy Power Rangers as much as I enjoy it. Hit it. Hit it. All right, everybody. I've got one new team on the list, one team off the list, and everyone else has just been reconfigured around.

Yes. This is my power rankings heading into Thanksgiving Day. Twenty, twenty two back on the list song with my own two eyes. And I said, that's a team I've seen before. That's a team that can go to the Super Bowl if they keep playing like this with a running attack and a defense that's buzzing all over the place.

And also and also has a quarterback named Tom Brady. Number 10 on the list. Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back on my power rankings.

Hey, we're back. Let's see what they look like in Cleveland. Rashad White getting it done. That's number 10 on my list. Number nine on my list. Down.

Wait for it. Seven spots. The Vikings. Why are they even still on the list? Because they've got eight wins. They beat like four backup quarterbacks. Just knock them off the list.

They're still on the list. They got eight wins. They're going to have a home playoff game. We're going to see something happen from them down the road. Are we?

Yeah. They're going to host a whole they're going to host a playoff game and lose by four touchdowns. Number eight on my list. Up two spots because they are coached by the MacGyver of NFL head coaches. You don't have most of these people on your fantasy team. The only people you have on your fantasy team are Derek Henry and maybe their defense.

Maybe. Or Tannehill if you need to if you need a float somebody. Tennessee Titans are up two spots.

Tennessee Titans are taking on the Bengals this week. That is huge. Number seven on my list. No change.

No blood. They were off. I got the dolphins sitting there at seven.

That seems a little dumb. They could have moved up. I got the. But they just sent home.

They sent home. You can win by weeks. Number six on my list.

Number six on my list. They won so I can't knock them down a peg can I? Well let you see a couple of teams that won they get knocked down pegs. But I got the Ravens sitting here. I got the Ravens sitting here. Yeah.

And the Ravens as we know have beaten the Miami Dolphins and I'm still sitting there at six. I might have flip flopped. I like Roquan Smith. Excuse me. These are my power rankings.

He did specify. Gus Johnson is now sitting here and I cannot have this. He looks fantastic.

Of course he's Gus Johnson. Number five on this list. Down one spot. I'm a little concerned.

A little concerned. They were roosting at number one forever. But the Buffalo Bills are sitting there at five right now. That's a drop. That is a drop. But they won. I know they won.

You dropped so far and you win. They didn't drop far. They won and they dropped one spot.

Oh okay. I thought they were winning. Because number four on my list I dropped them a spot too. They came so damn close to losing in Indianapolis.

It was almost another Sunday for Saturday. Eagles are number three on my list. I like where this list is going. Number three on my list. Down one spot. Number four on my list of the Eagles. Number three on this list. Up five spots. Five spots. Because they punked the Vikings.

The Dallas Cowboys are number three on my list. Seems a little low. By the way Tony Pollard. Deuces Pollard.

That's my nickname for him. That seems low is all I'm saying. That's number three on the list. Number two on my list. Because I think this team if they play like this they do beat the Dallas Cowboys again. 49ers are up three spots and they're number two on my list. They are powerful in my power rankings. Number two and then number one is the team that I said a couple days ago in my mea culpa that they weren't going to win the division. Kansas City Chiefs number one on my power rankings. That's how I am rolling into Thanksgiving week with my power rankings. Other than three that's a pretty decent list.

Okay thank you. There they are. There they are. The Giants dropped out. Buccaneers in.

And everybody else just reconfigured. Chess pieces thrown in the air and this is how they've landed on my power rankings list. Of course if you're watching this later on anywhere else just go ahead and comment. I've got a fix again don't worry. Am I reading this right?

Thank you very much. Gus Johnson is here. Let's take a break and bring him out everybody. God I love this man and he is here and I'm so psyched about it.

Gus Johnson is going to be live on the Roku channel and so much more when we come back. 2000 2008 2022 when it comes to the economy those are some scary years. Dot com crash housing crash and the roller coaster we're kind of going through right now. One thing is certain it's a dangerous time to not know your numbers. But over 31,000 businesses have the confidence and clarity they need because they rely on NetSuite by Oracle. The number one cloud financial system. NetSuite gives you visibility and control of your financials, inventory, HR, planning and budgeting. So you can manage risk, get reliable forecasts and improve margins. Everything you need all in one place. So how do you prepare for uncertain times?

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NetSuite dot com slash rich pod. The World Tournament of Soccer happening in Qatar is finally here. And with all the weird kickoff times and all the other sports happening simultaneously, it can be kind of hard to keep up. So to make sure you're up to speed, be sure to listen to Qatar Kickaround for the daily wrap up of all the action from the tournament. From the group stage all the way to the final, Andy, Lars and Peter are here for you with recaps and opinions of what happened that day in Qatar.

Everything can be found at the kick around dot com, the Cumulus podcast channel on YouTube or wherever you listen. Gus Johnson, by the way, here in the Rich Ozzenshow studio, our terrestrial radio audience just rejoined us. And then I went back to the dorm and I had all my my gear. Yeah, I put my suit on and my tie on and I went back to the dorm after the game was over. And one of the bison football players who lived in the dorm, he came up to me and he said, hey, man, I listen to you.

Call the game tonight. And I said, oh, yeah. He said, yeah, man. Stick with that.

I think you might have something here. That's all I needed. And off you went.

And off I went. So what was it? What was your biggest break, Gus? Who gave you your biggest break?

My biggest break, I think, was a band by the name of Don Marion in Waco, Texas, when I got my first job at KXXV TV Channel 25. Were you doing the local sports? Local sports.

People turn it on. Just Gus Johnson saying what's going on. I was a weekend anchor, weekday reporter.

Yeah. I got that job right out of college on the air. I didn't know anything. I was I got I didn't know anything. I was. And he gave me a job based on potential.

OK. And also from an affirmative action standpoint as well. Thank goodness. Mm hmm. And I got that job in Waco. And I had a chance to work with a man by the name of Ray Peters that taught me everything, who was my new sports director. Yeah. And that was the greatest experience.

I covered T-ball all the way up to Baylor. And I miss those days. Chicken, fries, steak, Del Taco. Loobies, duty plates. But you travel the country now on campuses.

You must see all those spots every now and then. Some small schools. Yeah. Well, you know, I still go to Waco. Yes. Sure. Kansas State. Yeah. I love Manhattan, Kansas.

I bet you do. It's a long ride. But once you get there, it's perfect. It's heaven. So some of those small schools would still water Oklahoma.

Norman is still relatively small. So you're there in Waco. And then who gave you a call? When did CBS come knocking?

Oh, my gosh. That took a long time. I went to Waco to Huntsville, to Greensboro, to Washington, D.C., to New York with Madison Square Garden Network. That's when everything got real. When you started calling Knicks games, right? Eventually. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I started the Knicks for 13 years. MSG Network, the Big East Network, ESPN 7, 8, 9 and 10. All the ESPN channels I think I worked for. Two great cups for ESPN, 94, 95. Did those go into overtime, too? One of them did, I think. Louis Pasaglia hit the final few.

Louis Pasaglia. For the BC Lions. So when you do realize that there you have a knack or the television and sports gods seem to have bestowed upon you the craziest endings and the tightest games. That if you ever call in a game and somebody is up by 21, you bet you. I heard that during the NCAA tournament years ago. There was a thing because I don't know anything about betting, but I heard that people were betting on my games.

I heard this is true. I was like, wow. They will bet the underdog. Yeah.

Yeah. Because no matter what, whoever was up would blow it or whoever was down would come back if Gus Johnson was on the call. Yo, Rich, man, I had a run for football and for basketball when I was at CBS for the NCAA tournament and for the NFL. I had a run that I would just pinch myself when it was over, when the games were over. I mean, game after game after game.

Do you remember which ones off the top of your head? Football, NFL, Chris Jackson, Chris Johnson versus Maurice Jones drew Jacksonville, Tennessee. We had we had Hail Mary. It was. I want to see that it was Jacksonville in the Texans, Hail Mary, David Garard through Hail Mary.

We had, oh, my gosh, the greatest, one of the greatest games, the Immaculate Deflection. Yeah. Denver and Cincinnati. That Brandon Stokely.

Brandon Stokely. Wasn't that week one? That was week one, right? I don't remember.

I think it was the beginning of the year. Right. Incredible. Incredible.

And then you had one of the best ones, Isaiah Thomas for Washington, the Pac-12 final. Cold blooded. Cold blooded.

One of the best ever. Just cold blooded. Yeah. In those kind of moments, that's all.

You just resort back to the hood. Man, that was cold blooded. So just so many. I mean, Xavier, Ohio State in Lexington to go to the Final Four. I had Matt Sylvester for Ohio State hitting the wing jump shot to beat Illinois. Illinois, I think, was 22 and 0 that year with James Augustine and D. Brown. Darren, it played for Utah, Darren Williams.

Yeah, exactly. He's now the fighter, right? The boxer. Is he boxing now?

Unbelievable. Was he the one who went against Frank Gore, right? The two of them fighting? He knocked out Frank Gore. He knocked Frank Gore out?

Yes. Gus, didn't you do the UCLA Adam Morrison game? UCLA Adam Morrison? Oh, the NCAA tournament. Forget about it. UCLA Adam Morrison. We had Gonzaga when they beat Florida.

The slipper still fits. We had, Lee, who am I talking about? Aye. Isn't it great? It's all of us, really.

It's all of us. Because, again, just hearing you make these calls, honestly, we all feel like we were sitting there next to you. You know, it's very interesting. That's very interesting that you say that to me because I can't. You know, they say, which is true, you never see yourself. You only see a reflection. You've never seen your face. You've only seen a reflection of your face as a human being. You've never seen this part of your back. Right. So I can't see myself.

I would love to see myself during those moments because I sometimes don't really understand the reaction. To me, you know, I'm just watching the game. I'm a fan. I'm a journalist and I take that seriously.

Sure. But more than anything, I'm just a fan of sports. Thank God for sports. I want to write a play. There was this play that I read years ago by Douglas Turner Ward, and it was a satire about what would happen. This is in the 50s. What would happen back then in the 50s?

Take that into consideration. What would happen if all the black people disappear back then? Meaning, you know, you didn't have anybody to cut your lawn.

You didn't. White people didn't have anybody to do their, you know, housework and all that stuff. What would happen if one day sports disappeared? It almost felt like that during the pandemic. Yeah, I know.

There's no question. We had that. You get a little, you know, just think about that. Yeah. And cry.

And then and then sports can play, by the way, is called the day of absence. You should read it. It's hilarious. OK, I will. I will die.

Douglas Turner Ward. And then the fact that we were wondering if fans would come back, we would ever feel that way again. And obviously, thank goodness we do. Right.

And just feeling the OK. So then while we're on that subject, the loudest crowd you've ever you've ever called. I've had so many. I know that there's nothing like a basketball game when Kentucky is good at Rupp. Anywhere in the SCC, anywhere, anywhere in the SCC, anywhere in the SCC.

The SCC is a whole different level. I'll tell you one place that actually is my favorite place to call a football game. That is the University of Washington. That place is loud and it's so aesthetically beautiful. You're right there on the water. And Washington has those cool uniforms with orange.

I mean, with a purple, black and yellow. People taking boats to the game. People taking boats to the game. And it's really, really, really loud. I don't know what it is with the stadiums in Seattle. It's just it's incredible, right? They just they got loud fans.

They got crazy fans. Yeah. And then I mean, we want to talk about iconic. I got Sam.

I got Gus Johnson here on the Rich Isaac show. You you just called Game of the Rose Bowl. I mean, and what a game.

Unbelievable game. Did you watch anything? I was there for. Oh were you? Yeah. Susan, I brought the kids. Wow. We went there.

And I was. How many kids you got? I went three. And how old are they? Fourteen, eleven and nine.

Does a 14 year old talk to you still? My four. I hear choice words. Right. I hear choice words.

You get a pound now. No more hugs and kisses. I got I got I got I got I got some choice words. No question about it.

But it's funny when UCLA went up 14 nothing. I'm like, this is going to be over because Gus is calling. Yeah. I'm like, don't worry about it.

Just just wait. That's also Caleb Williams is I think that kid is a Heisman Trophy winner with everything that's happened. I know C.J. Stroud is great. You've called some quorum games, too.

And I know they quorum is great. Yeah. But this Caleb Williams, he's put up like I want to say out of the last six games, six games he's played, he's put up four bills, five times, five bills this past weekend.

Right. You know, I was getting texts from my boys during the game and they were like, this is Patrick Mahomes. This could be Patrick Mahomes. He's smart. He's just so smart.

He's so clever. You know, Patrick Mahomes comes from that same Lincoln Riley system, that air raid Mike Leach. And and when he played at Texas Tech and this kid, I mean, Lincoln Riley is just he's innovative. He's I mean, think about the quarterbacks he's had. Baker, Kyler, Jalen.

Now, this kid. I mean, it's just so wonderful that USC was able to get him. I know Oklahoma. They were disappointed, but to have him out here with this brand of football, getting ready to go into the Big Ten, it's just I think he's he's just a young special. So if you had a Heisman, I do have.

Oh, you do have one. You're going to see you're going to vote for you'd vote for Caleb Williams as of today, as of today. But we'll see what happens. They got to play Notre Dame this weekend.

That's right. It puts up another big game in Notre Dame. Then I want to see USC's offense against Georgia. Well, you might get that chance. Yeah, I want to see a West Coast team.

I mean, think about it. If we get a USC, we get an SEC team, we get a Big Ten team. And then TCU. So you get a Big 12 and you get a Big 12 team.

I think that might be perfect. Gus Johnson here on the Rich Eisen show. Walk me through what it's going to be like for you Saturday. I mean, you've called Michigan, Ohio State games before, but you have not called them where both are undefeated.

This is your first in that foray, because I'd imagine you were not in the booth in 2006 for that one. So what's it going to be like for you? OK, I'll travel tomorrow, which is Thursday. And my lady lives in Columbus, so I'll have. Thanksgiving dinner at about midnight.

OK, which is important. So the third Friday we get up. Oh, is it midnight?

You haven't. Yeah, because I'm not leaving here. OK. You know, by the time I get there, get my bags out of airport. OK.

So a midnight Thanksgiving meal. Very good. So I'll have that Friday we get up. I'll do a couple of radio interviews. We got to talk to Cleveland. My man Riz. You know Riz? Yeah. But at his ESPN station. But then we go see Ryan Day and the Buckeyes at noon over at their facility.

And they're really nice because they give us lunch and we get a chance to sit down. And you don't wear blue, right? You know that.

I don't ever wear blue. OK. All right. And we sit down with Ryan. We talked to Jim yesterday, Jim Harbaugh.

How do you sound? He's a quirky dude. I mean, I really like him. You know, he's a quirky dude. He's a smart guy. He's he he can be really funny.

Yeah. Once he takes you into his into his fold, he's a really good guy. The two of us have had have a really great relationship. I like him a lot, even though he can be a goofball. But he's I remember asking him not too long ago, I said, coach, how many concussions did you have as a player? He says, I don't remember. So he's had a lot of concussions.

Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Harbaugh. Right. So is Coram going to play? Do you think?

I don't think so. Oh, that's what I read. I mean, and I didn't get this from Harbaugh. I read it. One of the players kind of dropped that as it currently sounds right now.

That's what it said. But you didn't get that sense from Harbaugh. He wouldn't give us anything. He wouldn't give us anything on injuries. OK. He was like, whoever's going to play is going to play.

And whoever doesn't play, the guy behind him has to step up. I mean, but Ohio State's heard, too. You know? Sure. Sure.

OK. So you spoke to Jim. And so you're going to see Ryan Day and Columbus Friday.

OK. And then what game day? What's that like? Like you got a suit picked out already? Got a suit picked out.

OK. No neutral colors. Got it. Because you get. Oh, yeah.

I get killed for that and not even thinking about it. I'm just pulling out something that's clean. That's why I was late today, because that's why I was late today, Rich, because, man, I'm you know, I was I was in Cambridge. Then I went to where was it? Then I flew out here to L.A., did the game.

Yeah. Stayed at the hotel out there in Pasadena. And I live here in Los Angeles. So I needed to wash my clothes. So I'm late.

I'm sitting there washing clothes. You look great. Well, thank you.

You know, just to impress what I'm with a superstar. Oh, stop. You know, going coast to coast. So Saturday, you got the game picked out. And then so when when it's time for the broadcast, I mean, don't this game is going to do a huge number.

It does every year. And just the sense of it. I mean, what's that like? I got Joel Klatt.

He's awesome. So I don't have to I'm like the guy that sits in the back of the class is waiting to go to football practice. And you sit next to Joel Klatt and you make him have one cheek on and one cheek off on his seat.

So you can he'll drop that right shoulder so you can see everything's on his face. That was me. I was that kid. Just help me stay eligible.

I feel that way. Every draft when I was doing it with Mayock and right. You know, I work with Mike Mayock for years.

Sure. And Daniel, Jeremiah and Joel Klatt does our Friday night broadcast as well. When those guys like if you ever saw the movie The Sting, you saw that where they're ready. Robert Redford and Paul Newman. And then where where the guy who Paul Newman is hired to look after Robert Redford's character walks in on the day of the sting. And he sees him like, oh, if I'm seeing you, there's a problem.

And then Robert Redford finally walks in. Everybody's OK. That's the way I felt whenever somebody like Klatt or Jeremiah show up. That's right. Yeah. So I got Joel. And I try to what I try to do is when I when I first started broadcasting, we remember Don Magid and Associates. Of course. I sent a tape to them as a headhunter. Me too.

Years ago. So they will come in and coaches, which I think is just wonderful. And I think that's something that's lost in broadcasting right now, actually having somebody that can teach you because we teach ourselves pretty much once we become pros.

And they used to always say low and slow, start low and start slow so you can build an arc. And then once I studied when I I studied with Marty Glickman. When I was a young broadcaster, the legendary Marty Glickman. Very much so.

I mean, New York City fans that definitely know who he is. Yeah. So Marty used to be my guy. Wasn't that Marv's guy? Yeah, exactly.

When he was an intern at NYU. So Marty used to always say, son, the game is in front of you, not on all that paperwork you got on your desk. So I literally just try to watch the game.

I just want to watch the game and see what's happening in the game. And that will determine, you know, what kind of notes I use or what kind of stories I tell. But I want to make sure that as a point guard, I give I keep Joel's hands full early. I make sure that, you know, I always say to him, all right, big fella, I want thirty five points. Twenty five rebounds coming from you.

Couple block shots as well in this game. And so I'm going to keep your hands full. So don't drop the ball. And I just want to feed him, feed him, feed him, get comfortable. And then. When it gets good, be ready to go. And he understands, OK, this is Gus's time. Let me.

You know, slow my roll a little bit and let him get in, but he has to get it, which is the action, which is the action, which is the excitement, which is the emotion, which is the ebbs and flows of it, which is the storytelling of it, trying to I look for ways to bring people in. Like, for example, Dorian Thompson Robinson went down in that game. And I mean, after the game, I just think about it all night. I think about it all night on Saturday. The broadcast.

Yeah. All day on Sunday. And I finally start really thinking about other the other next game on Monday when I start watching tape. But Dorian Thompson Robinson goes down. This game is scintillating. You know, you got two incredible quarterbacks. You got two black quarterbacks playing for two incredible franchises.

USC, UCLA at the legendary Rose Bowl. The game is close. The star quarterback for UCLA goes down and I sometimes, you know, attaboy myself because in that moment I said, come on, man, you got to get up. Dorian and I go sometimes I even go first person like we're talking to him. Dorian, get up, get up, man. We need you.

You can't. Not finish this game. So I like to work on those nuances of my broadcasting game now.

I'm not so much worried about the mechanics, because after 30 years, that's part of it. I know it now. I could I could call the national championship game if you gave me two rosters.

In 30 minutes. That's kind of how you know, you got to have your confidence. Sure. You can't be a chump when you get up there and that red light comes on because that red light can chump you. You know how it is, Rich. I do. I do. Oh, yeah. Can't be a chump when that red light goes on.

Let the sphincter muscle tighten up. Let's take a break right here on the Rich Eisen show a little bit more with Gus Johnson. I want to just delve a little bit more into your career and what you think the college football season holds. And this is the man who, along with Joel Klatt, will be calling the big game between Michigan and the Ohio State on Big Fox. The world famous Ohio State Buckeye.

That's correct. Gus Johnson, a little bit more here on the Rich Eisen show with him in studio in a moment. Influencer.

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This is the story of the original influencer. This is Elizabeth the first. Elizabeth the first the podcast wherever you listen. Back here on the Rich Eisen show on our terrestrial radio outlets. Gus Johnson is sitting here right now getting set to call the big game between Michigan and the Ohio State on Saturday.

What are you? I mean, my heart's going to be my throat. I know. I those commercial breaks feel like I know you get three hours. Oh, my God.

I just can't handle it. My lady is from is from Columbus. Yeah. She was born in Columbus at the at Ohio State Hospital. Her brother went to Ohio State Medical School. Her father went to Ohio State Medical School. A couple of years ago, when Clemson beat Ohio State.

You know, we were in D.C. at the Four Seasons. And because she's such a rabbit fan, I left the room because I didn't want any parts of it. I go downstairs. The game ends. Ohio State loses. It's New Year's Eve.

Yes. So I'm ready to party and I come back. The whole room is pitch black. She's in bed. Game over. It's eight o'clock.

What am I supposed to do with that? Happy New Year. My plans were foiled by Dabo, sweetie. Oh, yeah. I know the feeling, though. I know. Well, last year was New Year's Eve, Michigan and Georgia, and that did not go well at all. And my daughter, who was eight at the time, came up and gave me these New Year's Eve beads because she saw how upset I was.

And of course, it's, you know, that makes you forget about it for about 90 seconds. Think about me. I grew up a Michigan fan. Born and raised in Detroit.

My father, some of the greatest memories I had as a young kid was playing my Little League football game for the West Side Cubs. Coming home, Mom making Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. And me and my dad and my mom sitting, I'm laying on the floor eating my sandwich, eating my soup. And we're watching Michigan football. And that went all the way through. You know, when I got to high school, it was different because we played. We played on Friday night.

So, yeah, I did the same thing. But, you know, not as a high school kid, I wasn't laying on the floor in my uniform. But if someone had tapped you on the shoulder, then Gus Johnson said, you're going to get to call the big game every year for the whole country to watch. What would you have said to that person? I would have said, you're from Mars. You're from the Kuiper Belt. You're from Pluto.

What are you talking about? I had no idea that, well, I did have an idea that broadcasting existed because my mother, I don't know, for some reason I think that she and Brian Gumbel had a thing because every morning, from 1979, when Brian Gumbel broadcast Michigan State and Indiana State, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and Brian Gumbel came on television with that beautiful smile and being, he was articulate and Natalie attire. From that moment on, in 1979, my mother knew what I was going to do. How fantastic is that? I thought I was going to replace Lou Whitaker.

No, I really did. For the Tigers? I was like, Lou's going to retire, I'm going to go to college, and I'm going to play second base for the Tigers. The Trammell Johnson double play. It was going to be Johnson Trammell, right. That's the double play combination.

Yeah, right. But she knew, and I've been watching, I watched Brian Gumbel from that moment on all the way through high school, remember, because he left sports and went to the Today Show, so he's on every morning. That's why I wound up going to Michigan, believe it or not, that they had a broadcast, either Bryant or Jane Pauley was at Michigan, and the other one was at Brown.

Wow. And my mother was watching it, and she's just like, wow, Michigan is like an Ivy League school? So she started pushing me towards looking at Michigan, so of course I rejected that notion at the end because my mother was suggesting it. And I wound up going to a symposium for Michigan in Manhattan and meeting some of the students there, and I'm like, these people are pretty cool. Then I went to visit the campus. A foot of snow fell on the ground while I was there, and I was over. I went there, even with the snow on the ground, I'm like, this is for me.

And it's one of the greatest things to ever happen to me for so many different reasons, writing for the student newspaper and then going. So this is the sort of stuff I think about when I'm going to be sitting down and watching the game, and then I sit down and wonder why me as a 53-year-old man with three children and a lot going on in my life, as Tom Brady might say, 53 with a lot of ish going on, why does this mean so damn much to me? Why am I so emotionally invested?

Why do I want this so bad? These are questions I think about during those interminably long commercial breaks waiting for you to come back on to call the action, because it's your team. That is, you know, it's your team. We all we all have to have something to hold on to to make life normal. You know, we go through life. And that's why to me it's so important.

People for the last almost 30 years, Rich, have allowed me to come into their homes during their times of relaxation, rest, to spend time with their families. That's important to me. So when I call the game, I don't want to be too controversial.

I'm not trying to be 60 minutes. I just want to delight in the excellence of these young men and women that I have a chance to call, because I know it's so important to them, because it's important to me. It connects you to great moments in your life and in your mind. You see in that foot of snow.

I mean, I could do the play by play for it for your life. You see in that foot of snow when you got there, the feeling that you had walking on the campus, the first time you really paid attention to a Michigan game, the friends that you met when you went to the game the first time. You know, all those things are things that connect us.

And I think things that make us human. And I think it's special. It is. And you're going to be calling that for both schools means so much.

That's incredible. I got to tell you, Gus, I'm getting a vibe here that I want to bring up because I'm sure you have some memories of him, too. And I'm thinking of Stuart Scott. And because I watch you and you and I are talking and I'm just wondering if you got what Stuart got a lot of, which is don't do it that way. Did you get a lot of that in your career? Gus Johnson? Not really.

Nobody ever told me that I was doing it wrong. That's one thing I loved about the CBS experience. At CBS Sports, we had different kind of broadcasters. I mean, our leader back then was and still is Jim Nantz.

He had his own stock. We had Vern Lundquist. We had Dick Enberg there during that time. Don Kricky was there during that time. Not one time did anybody ever tell me that I wasn't doing it right.

Nobody ever said, Gus, don't do it that way. As a matter of fact, back then, we had bosses like Tony Petitti. I remember one time I was doing the Lydanian Tomlinson San Diego game. The Lydanian, because I would get negative criticism when the Internet started.

But not from my bosses and Lydanian. So I said, I'm going to give them a Chris Shankle. I'm going to give them from this point on, I'm going to be Chris Shankle and I'm going to be, I'm going to be understated. So Lydanian Tomlinson goes screaming down the sideline, this unbelievable play.

And I do my best Pat Summerall impersonation. Lydanian Tomlinson down the sideline, touchdown San Diego. I swear, he didn't cross the finish line before the truck lit up with a call from Roast Beef Central is what we call it at CBS. Where all the bosses sit there, watch the game. You call that Roast Beef Central. Roast Beef Central call, it's Tony Petitti on the phone. Tony Petitti says to my producer, I think it was Jim Rickoff, who's superstar producer there now.

Maybe Vic Frank, same kind of guy. He says, he says Petitti says, what's wrong with Gus? So the producer says, Tony Petitti is on the line. He wants to know what's wrong with you. I said, tell Tony Petitti that I was just trying to do my best.

Chris Shankle. Pat Summerall, he said, tell Gus to stop you-know-what and be himself and I don't need to ever have to make this you-know-what call again. So in a way, it was me testing them, not them testing me. OK, I'll give that to you.

How you feel about that? And from that moment on, it was clear, just do, just be you and just have fun and that's what, that's what you're good at. You're not good at being Chris Shankle. Did you, how much interaction did you have with Stewart? Did you ever cross paths with him?

Stewart and I have known each other. His cousin Tony Vaughn's and I went to college together hours. So I've known Stu. I knew Stu from the beginning. And the last time I talked to Stu, we were at the Super Bowl in New York. And I ran into him with his lady in the hotel lobby at about midnight.

And it was just us. And I said to him, I said, man, when you go to bed at night, are you afraid? And he said, no, I'm not afraid when I go to bed at night. But I am afraid that I'm going to miss my daughter's wedding. I'm afraid that I'm not going to see my grandchildren. What a gut punch.

What a gut punch. I had his two beautiful daughters here on the show a few months ago and they're doing great. And he'd be proud of them. And I know he'd be fired up to see your success get even bigger and bigger and bigger every year. He's a special guy. He's just a good man. The guy you saw on the air is the guy that you see in person. And that's usually what makes the great ones.

And all he wanted to talk about was family and love and who you love and are you happy. Be yourself. Now, he was so creative that he was a trailblazer. He allowed all of us to have a poetic license, so to speak. We could be creative. We could bring what our life experience.

We could bring our life experience into journalism, into Brock, into sports. And that was all because of him, because he was such a trailblazer and a trendsetter. Just a good, good dude. Sitting next to him in the middle of the night, you know, he never really felt that way. He didn't. He got a sense. He understood. Certainly towards the end of his life, he knew. But when the two of us were just doing our thing.

3.30 in the morning. You guys did it for a long time. Seven years. Seven years. That's an eternity in what we do, as you know. Well, he called me his TV wife.

That's what he did. And I miss him every day. And I think of him when there's big sporting events and what he would think. And I think that, and tell me what you think about this, because I like doing this. I like keeping the great broadcasters voices alive.

Like, I'll say cooler than the other side of the pillow in the midst of a broadcast. I catch it. Because I want to keep that alive. You should. We have to. We have to.

Because he's gone six years. And I think to myself, sometimes there's some people who are going to just not remember. And I'll say booyah. I might say booyah this weekend. I love it.

I would love if you did that. Is that OK? That's not stealing, right? Only for Michigan touchdowns. Oh. Come on, Gus.

You walked into that one. Gus Johnson, you are the greatest. Thanks for spending this time.

It's travel safe. Have a great broadcast. I'll be there biting my nails down to the cuticles.

It's going to be wonderful. Thank you for having me, man. And I'm proud of you. Thank you. You're doing great.

Appreciate that. You know we need you. I'm here. I'm here. That's Gus Johnson here on The Rich Eisen Show here on a busy Wednesday.

Still have about a minute or so to go here on Roku. Gus, I wanted to ask if I could. You talked about Stewart and his catchphrases, which are iconic, and you have some yourself, obviously. Is that something you preplanned?

Do you work on these beforehand? Or is this just all coming straight off the top of the dome when you're just in the moment? Because there was one time during a game, you said it was so cold. This was amazing that a guy could rob you with a bucket of water. And I was like, that is truly incredible. That is an incredible thought. Like, it's so cold that it could rob you just with the thought of I'm freezing.

You would have just given up all your jewelry. Here's my wallet. You know, I think about these things. I think about I read a lot. I love listening to music, all kinds of music.

I'm a big hip hop head since I was, you know, since Curtis Blow. I just, I'll think about it. It'll come to my mind or I'll see something that I can use that I'll not necessarily always write down. But you'll keep in the back of your head. But I'll just keep it in the back of my head so it can come out organically during that moment.

Gotcha. Plus, you have been robbed by a bucket of water before. I've been robbed before. I have.

A bucket of water. That is amazing. All right, Gus. Thank you for being here.

You are awesome at what you do. Say hi to Joe Klatt and the rest of the crew there. And you'll see Charles Woodson, I'm sure. It'll be a great time. So you're going to be there, right?

Hell no. I've got to work the next day. I'll be I'll be there on the couch watching you. OK, well. So treat me well. You got it.

Good morning. It could be information to change your life forever or the Something You Should Know podcast could just be something interesting. Ramit Sadie talking about being rich. The old definition of rich had a lot to do with how much money you accumulated, but it wasn't about how to spend it. It was more about how to get it. But OK, so once you get it, what do you do with it? In our culture, everybody tells you how to save, but nobody teaches you how to spend it. Something you should know wherever you listen.