Transcript of Kyle Busch: A Tribute To The NASCAR Legend | Hour 1 New

This is the Dan Levitan Show with the Stugatz Podcast. This episode of the Dan Levitan Show with Stugatz is presented by DraftKings. DraftKings, the crown is yours.

So I did afternoon drive on ESPN Radio yesterday. I'm doing it again today. And I don't know, it was around like 6 PM-ish or a little bit before 6 PM. I saw while on air, I'm scrolling around on Twitter or whatever, and I saw Kyle Busch passed away. See a lot of RIP Rowdy trending. I guess that was his nickname, Rowdy. I didn't even know that.

And from Days of Thunder.

And I saw NASCAR, saw the tweet from NASCAR that they actually put out, you know, how they're saddened and heartbroken that Kyle Busch has passed away at 41 years old. And so we went to commercial break on ESPN, and I said to the producers, I go, I go, hey, This is not my wheelhouse, but are you guys seeing the— this Kyle Busch news? Because this is a pretty massive deal. And so we had to mention, of course, Kyle Busch passing away at the age of 41 years old. Details are still very sketch. We don't really know what happened out there, but I will tell you, someone who doesn't know NASCAR very well at all, I know who Kyle Busch is. Like, I know Kyle Busch. I, I know that name. I know he did a lot of winning. I know he was like, he was like a bad boy, you know, he was very controversial, and which of course I'm sure makes you very, very popular. So even someone who doesn't know a ton about NASCAR, I knew right away this is a really big deal, this guy passing away. Mike, you are a resident gearhead here on the show, and, uh, do we like, like, do I have it right there, the little that I know about Kyle Busch?

This is a guy who who did a lot of winning and also was a very polarizing racer.

Yeah, and I think, uh, I kinda came around on Kyle Busch during this stretch of his career where he was this surly veteran that still had the same kind of competitive fire, uh, fire, same kind of abrasive attitude.

When he was young, he was like crazy, right?

But he was also super successful, and he's a bit of a vagabond. He's, he's raced for a lot of different teams. Um, though he's most remembered for the iconic number 18 M&M's car. That's where he did his— the majority of his winning, a 2-time Cup Series champion. But I like this whole storyline that was around him over these last few seasons. It's been a while since he's won a race. What can he do? And he had such bad luck, um, for long stretches. Something would always go wrong with him, but he was also taking up these rivalries with young brash drivers that were kind of replicating his style and was cool to see. He had a great rivalry, a war of words with Denny Hamlin this season, an iconic rivalry with Brad Keselowski when he was at the height of his powers as well. And this was truly heartbreaking. Denny Hamlin made the comparison to Kobe Bryant. Our sport lost its Kobe Bryant, and that is a bang on comparison when you consider the winning and the ability to wear the black hat. Kyle Busch would often quote this famous saying about, "To lead an orchestra, you have to be comfortable with turning your back on the crowd." And he kind of embraced this villain role.

There was this great bit of merch. I took a picture of it when I was in Talladega. It's very popular. "Kyle Busch is a Douchebag." It was There's a shop, there's a whole Facebook group. It's a big meme. Kyle Busch is a douchebag.

That's on the merchandise.

Yeah. And there's all these funny clips like, "Why do I hate Kyle Busch?" "The same reason I hate Nickelback. The internet tells me to." Kyle Busch was asked about Kyle Busch is a douchebag and he loved it because he gets people caring. And when he would often invoke that cliché about leading an orchestra, turning your back to the crowd, there was a point in time where he cared about what people thought, and then he was super successful winning all these races, and he reveled in being the bad guy. He had his sarcastic bow, um, celebration after he won many, many races. And this is really sad. I remember yesterday Tony was standing next to me. I'm like, wow, that's weird, this news of Kyle Busch's severe illness. That sounds bad. He's, he's not racing at Charlotte this weekend. What's happening here? And then my heart sank when I saw the news, like any NASCAR fan, because this is an active Cup Series driver, a legend comparable to Kobe Bryant in other sports. This is a great personality too, one of the iconic personalities in the sport. So many iconic moments where it's spinning out Dale Earnhardt Jr., uh, getting in physical altercations, crashing with his brother.

He had a rivalry with his brother. Things happen on the track against Kurt Busch that they wouldn't speak together, they wouldn't speak to one another for almost a year.

Have we heard from him yet over the last, you know, not heard from, from 24 hours?

Um, so like all of this is super eerie, and like you mentioned, this is a 41-year-old man who loved his son Braxton so much. He has a daughter too. Um, his son Braxton started racing at 5 years old, and there's so many great heartwarming videos of, of Kyle and his son Braxton together. In fact, Kyle was go-kart racing with Braxton just 2 days ago. Kyle wasn't feeling well over these last few days. And there was this interesting tidbit from the race broadcast at Watkins Glen about 11 days ago where he says this over the comms. Kyle Busch has been suffering from a sinus cold all week, lost 5 spots on that pit stop. He has asked to have medical attention available after the race.

Here's his radio.

Can somebody try to find Bill Heisel?

He's the Hendrick doctor guy.

I need him after the race, please.

Hey, do you want Mr. Bill at your car or at your bus after the race?

Bus. I'm going to need a shot. Copy. He's going to— he'll be at your bus.

Now, what does that mean? Going to need a shot?

I don't know. He needed medical treatment. He was feeling odd. Now, again, this is—

but when he says that, going to need a shot, it sounds like he's telling you that he knows he's dealing with something.

He's dealing with something. And they say on the broadcast, they speculate it's a sinus type of headache. You have to keep in mind, if you have any kind of sinus issues or anything going on in your head, the, the G-force that these drivers deal with, all that G-force compressing on your body, on your head, it's got to make all those things so much worse. Now, Kyle, despite not feeling well at Watkins Glen, he raced a full slate last weekend at, at the Monster Mile. He even won a race a week ago, a Truck Series race. Uh, and this was Kyle Busch, and now in this post-race interview had an iconic quote. This is going to be one of the quotes that he's remembered for.

And a bow in front of the fans that are all on their feet down here at the Monster Mile. And Michael Waltrip said earlier in the race that a confident Kyle Busch is a dangerous Kyle Busch. Your 69th victory in this series, your 5th right here.

Why do these moments never get old, Kyle?

Because you never know when the last one is. All right, that's ominous.

That's chilling. Uh, yeah, I just got goosebumps listening to, to that. Now I've been watching all these videos back, and he's— he had been making regular appearances. NASCAR drivers often have their week, you know, loaded with promotional appearances, and you could tell like he's not feeling well, keeping his distance a little bit, putting a hand up. And the latest report is Again, this is a very murky story right now, and there's been a lot of crazy rumors on the internet. The best I can tell so far from the internet is that, um, he was driving a simulator yesterday and was found unresponsive. He passed out and something happened. Now you piece that together with the sinus pressure that he was feeling in his head, the suddenness of all of this, and the working reports out there from some reputable people, but again internet land that he might have had an aneurysm, and that would just make the signs of the pressure in his head make a little bit more sense. And that's how you can piece together how does a 41-year-old man, still active in his career, pass away so suddenly, so tragically. I wept last night.

This is a great personality. My buddy College Mike caught beads from him in Talladega when he was out at the Talladega float party on Friday having the time of his life. He was a great character, a great villain. So much so that, you know, you're a wrestling fan, sometimes you end up rooting for the heel. You come around. This guy's such a badass. This guy's so comfortable being this, this guy that I was one of those people. I came around. I'm wearing my Rowdy Busch shirt right now. This is really, really sad, and it's been a while since an active icon in the Cup Series has passed away. Going into this weekend, the story in motorsports was it's Indy 500 week. And Katherine Legge is going for the double. And now everything has changed. I saw the, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway already has a tribute to Kyle Busch. Kyle's brother Kurt was one of the now 6 drivers that attempted the double in one day, racing the Indy 500 and then the 600 in Charlotte. NASCAR typically lands these moments. They're really emotional. The show does go on. In that sport. This one is probably the biggest loss this sport has felt since Dale died, uh, because of him still being active and such a big personality.

And the videos of him and his son are just so touching and now heartbreaking. And you knew that Kyle Busch was going to be around the sport for decades to come, even after he retired, because he's such a great personality. And you knew his son was going to come up through the ranks, and now that has taken away from his son, his family, and NASCAR fans too. And it's kind of weird when you're talking about a guy who was known for being this jerk and would always go at the fans, that the fans never had an opportunity to tell them how they actually felt about having this bad guy in their life, this personality in their life. And now it's too late.

To that point, like when you made that, I think it was Denny Hamlin, you said, made the Kobe comparison. We got to see Kobe post-career, um, get to be someone who, who was the family man, you know, coaching his daughter, um, you know, who also, gosh, tragically passed. And it was one of those things where it was so shocking because you did have these people who viewed Kobe as this jerk competitor, and then you turn around and at least we had a few years where people got to appreciate the softer side and to have someone who was still actively in the midst of the career like this. I mean, someone who— I don't know anything about NASCAR, but Kyle Busch is a name and even a personality that I know just through like watching SportsCenter as a kid. And so I like— I knew immediately when I saw the news, let me text Mike, because as someone who cares about the sport, like this is something that was going to hit in a very, very real way. It's such a tragic tragic loss.

You know, for a guy that had been around the races for so long, his rivals actually didn't like him. You know, they respected him, but I thought the statements from guys like Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, um, Carson Josefvar, who just won at Talladega, who is thought of as this aggressive driver, well respected, but he was never really tight with that. But on the other side of the token, there were drivers that he brought under his motorsports banner that he nurtured. Guys like William Byron, uh, Bubba Wallace had a really painful to read caption. He was Bubba Wallace's mentor, and when Bubba was going through his stuff during COVID Kyle Busch was right there by his side. So he had his tight-knit group there, but when he had a beef with somebody, that, that maintained. Like, that wasn't just a a work, you know. He kind of lived it. Again, this is a guy that didn't speak to his brother for months because of things that happened on the racetrack, and you kind of miss that intensity. People like that type of intensity. He takes his job home with him. He takes that beef, that rivalry, home with him.

He cares the way that sports fans care, and now that's gone from the sport. He's like a throwback type of dude, and I'm really gonna miss him, and I'm really, really sad about this. I will watch the races this weekend. I'm sure Indy will do something. I hope Formula One does something when they're in Canada. And I know NASCAR is going to knock it out the park in Charlotte. This is a truly tragic situation and my heart breaks for his family.

Yeah, I mean, Star Wars is terrible without Darth Vader. And so somebody has to step into that void and fill it. Mike, is it accurate? My guy Jesse Marshall, Marshall described it as this generation's— the Kobe comparison is apt as far as this goes, that Dale Earnhardt was one thing and the successor to that vibe, to that bad guy role, was Kyle Busch. Is that an accurate depiction? Sort of like Kobe took over for Michael Jordan, chip on the shoulder, you know, willing to play a villain to some percentage of the fans.

Yeah, I mean, you had Jimmie Johnson doing his thing, right? And Jimmie Johnson is this, you know, classic good guy. He was dominating the race and you needed a couple of villains. The Busch family kind of slotted in that. And Brad Keselowski, when he was at the top of his form, that rivalry was really intense. And you can tell that there is still some, some heat between the two, even in Brad's statement that he put online. Yeah, dude, I need bad guys. Motorsports is better for it. And I, I root for the Heels in wrestling. I'm a Dale Earnhardt guy. I like Carson Josefvar. I like what Kyle Busch was bringing to the table here at the latter parts of his career. Also, my favorite car is the 5 car. Kyle Busch raced under the 5 car for a little bit, so I've always had—

you root for the Hurricanes?

Yeah, well, Hurricane Josefvar. Yeah, I root for the Miami Hurricanes. Um, yeah, I like guys that wear the black hat and are comfortable in that, and it doesn't feel like a put-on. Right. In combat sports, you know, that's how you make some money. But sometimes it feels like such a put-on and it's ham-handed. Kyle Busch wasn't a super nice guy. In fact, I think this is one of the first times we're going to play a hangup where Dan's a person hanging up on a guest.

Right.

Because Kyle Busch did join our show and Dan, in typical Dan fashion, was always asking about what Kyle Busch was known for, which was these altercations. Kyle Busch didn't have time for it. And then Dan met that moment. What was the most memorable brother fight that you guys had? You guys had to have good brother fights. No.

Oh yeah, yeah, there was definitely times where, uh, you know, it came down to maybe a little, uh, throwing match or screaming match, whatever.

But, uh, really can't remember the exact subject it might have been over.

So all in all, you know, it's just no different than any other brothers, I'd say.

But Kyle, you're always fighting. I am? You're not? Not that I know of. You haven't fought with a bunch of people like Kevin Harvick and that old guy that you fought, Childress? Yeah, all right, well, just keep bringing them up. Who else you got? Well, okay, no, that's my list, but it's a lot with Harvick.

It's right, it's not, it's not one or two with Harvick, it's a lot with Harvick. No, I don't know.

All right, Kyle, good talking to you. We're done here. Thanks, buddy. I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

What happened there?

Dan was in the wrong. Dan was in the wrong there. What happened there? Dan was absolutely in the wrong there.

You would have thought you were talking to someone who was a Boy Scout.

You can hear the trademark Dan Le Batard double clap. To wrap it up there. Yeah, the blackjack dealer saying good night. All right, Kyle, good talking to you. We're done here. Thanks, buddy. I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. Yeah, not a gearhead, Dan. Anti-gearhead.

Uh, terrible, uh, terrible loss for, for the sport, for the sports world yesterday. Uh, Kyle Busch passes away at 41 years old. I'm sure, um, I would imagine sometime in the next couple days we'll get more clarity on what actually happened, but, uh, Don't know if it really matters. Uh, 41 years old, a wife, two kids, passes away. NASCAR icon Kyle Busch. The NBA playoffs are here, and DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner in the NBA, brings excitement to every game all postseason long. When the lights get brightest, the best players in the world show you exactly who they are. Playoff stars turn it up round by round And DraftKings turns it up with them from the first round through the finals. Bet player props, bet live, stay in the action the entire time. New DraftKings customers, bet just $5 and you'll get $100 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app, use code Dan so you're ready for the moment. That's code Dan. Turn $5 into $100 in bonus bets Instantly. In partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. New York, call 877-8-HOPE-N-Y or text HOPE-N-Y.

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For weeks, months even, during the regular season, I wondered aloud what Kevin Stenlund did. And then about 3 weeks ago, it hit me. Stugatz. He gives him one of these and he gives him one of those.

This is the Dan Levitard Show with the Stugatz. With, uh, with no, no good way to segue, we will try. During the basketball last night, whoo, Dave Dameshek, I did some good hate watching last night, man. I'm watching, so in the Zaslo Mansion family room, I'm watching with my son, my younger son Jordan, and he knows I want the hockey on the big TV, but he wants the basketball. So we got the basketball on the big TV. And I got the hockey on the small one. And so every time something happens in the hockey, I point. I do like the DiCaprio. I'm pointing to the small TV every time something happens.

What was it?

20 seconds into the game, Carolina— 33. 33 seconds into the game, Carolina goes up 1-0. I'm like, damn it. And then just a ba— an avalanche! A barrage of goals! They're playing in the Western Conference, by the way. That's right!

Yeah, don't talk avalanches. They'll get confusing for the audience.

A barrage of goals! For the Habs, and all of a sudden, don't look away, it's 4-1 before you know it. And the Canadiens, they got a little bit of that pushback in the second period from Carolina, but the Canadiens, they respond, they blow out Carolina 6-2. And a tale as old as time, the Carolina Hurricanes, they cruise through the first round of the playoffs, which are divisional playoffs, the first two rounds, and They cruise through the divisional rounds, and then you get to the conference finals and you play a real team. Alright, the Panthers, who sweep that ass, or win in 5, and now you got the Canadiens, who take that ass last night. Dave, that was excellent hate-watching that was going on in the Zaslo Mansion family room last night.

Yes, I was living vicariously through your social media feed watching that game, and it also occurred to me watching that alongside with the— what's going on in MSG and the Wemby v. emerging dynasty battle in the West and all of that. And once again, I'm reminded that even though— and I've made the case already, and I've seen some other high-profile people jumping on with me, parking their cars in the same garage with me— that the NBA playoffs this year once again have largely stunk.

Yeah, not great.

And the Stanley Cup playoffs have been compelling as usual. So through 2 rounds at least, the, the hockey has been way better. And yet you get the sense that the sports gods just like basketball better, because now what you're about to get is the Knickerbockers, the New York Knickerbockers with Ben Stiller and all the famous people sitting courtside watching the generational freak that is— or I shouldn't call him a freak, I should call him the alien, because again, we don't want to confuse these things. Um, playing against Wembley or the aforementioned perhaps Dynasty and OKC. And in the meantime, you're gonna get a Canadian team playing maybe Vegas. The best team in the NHL, the Avalanche, may not make it because their great defenseman, Cale Makar, the best in the business, didn't play in Game 1. Things are murky going forward there. If you get the Golden Knights, who have no business making a deep run here, against the, against the Habs it's going to be kind of unsatisfying if you have been watching NHL this NHL season, right, Roy? I mean, it kind of feels like, how did these two teams wind up in the final with all the high-end teams that we've been watching this season?

Yeah, the Hurricanes are 1-17 in the last 5 conference finals series, including last night's loss against Montreal. I get where Dave is coming from, especially when you apply the context of this season, right? But You mentioned the Habs and the Golden Knights making the Stanley Cup. That's happened this decade, you know, we've seen that. Carolina's always losing in this round. They're 1-16. They got that streak going for them in this round right now. They're not like the Habs that have made it to the Stanley Cup Final this decade. So Carolina's got a real thing going on right now. Roy, are these people just playoff format capitalist. They're just constantly capitalizing on this weird, kooky format.

Yep.

That has 7 and 8 playing in the first round. Flat track bullies.

Put it on the poll. Are the Carolina Hurricanes capitalizing from this kooky format?

I keep mentioning that this format is old. They did this before 1994 in the National Hockey League. It's divisional format. And let me tell you something, I've done this 3 seasons in a row. Daring people to clip me, to finally have this player shut me up, and he's been disappearing this entire postseason. Aho, where are you, pal? But wait, I know that there was a classic vintage spot for you to get one of those trademark goals when you're down 6-2 yesterday. This guy is so overrated, he goes into a shell. If I'm a Carolina Hurricanes fan It's now or never. We are going to flip you for somebody else. This guy just goes in hiding every time it gets tough. What a terrible guy to have at the— as the face of your franchise. He doesn't ever rise to the occasion. Come on. He's a fraud.

Well, I do think you can relate to this as people steeped in Miami Dolphins stuff. Tua, just because the Dolphins chose to pay him like a franchise QB doesn't turn him into one. You're trying to position Aho as somebody who is, uh, on par with the true superstars. That's what's ailed the Canes all the way here, is that they don't really have that high end. You know, they are— they will overwhelm you. And I do, by the way, I'll go all in here right now. I don't know if this is a hot take, I still think the Canes are going to win that series, um, but I, I just think that they lack for that, that singular superstar leading the way who's going to make the difference. You can position Ajo there because, you know, he's the long-tenured, you know, borderline star of that team. I don't think he—

you're making my point—

rises to the level.

You're making my point. He is because he has been the face of their franchise. They're always in this round. You would think a face of the franchise that finds himself always in this round would do something for them in the postseason, but that's not what Sebastian Ajo does. Sebastian Aho, when the going gets tough, he gets going.

You ever heard that phrase, Dave?

I don't think that—

I've heard it, but I feel like Mike is making it into something new.

I did.

Go out the door. He was going out the door.

Wave bumper brick.

That's why I did it for emphasis. I took my thumb and I threw it behind me because he's impossible.

Out of the pressure cooker, right?

Out of—

yeah, right.

I mean, the only time they can get anything out of Jarvis is postseason when they move him off of this guy's line.

Now you see, he's a bad hockey player.

Whoa, he's a bad hockey player.

Jesus.

And I've been doing this for 4 years running. I've been begging this guy, come on, shut me up, do something that isn't a goal when you're down 4, lead your team to victory with an iconic performance, give me 3 dimes in a huge game that your team needs. That's not what you do, Sebastian Aho. And I hate to be the one that motivates. I hope you see this reel. I hope you find it inside you some way, somehow, to finally answer the bell. How are the Florida Panthers winning again? Because of Sebastian Aho being out on the ice.

Yep. Now Dave, you know, like you say—

Oh, his hate's turned you ugly.

Oh, I love it. He's a bad hockey player. I love it.

You cannot build around this guy.

I love it. These Carolina Hurricanes fans in my mentions on Twitter, you think you're so good. Because you get through that Metro Division gauntlet again, alright? You get your ass kicked and you like it. Every round, every year in the Eastern Conference Final. Now Dave, you do mention it'll be a Canadian, or could be a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Final, and that is gonna get overshadowed by the NBA, which it will, but like, we're not just talking about a Canadian team, we're talking about THE Canadian team. Like, it's—

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge!

The Canadian team. It would, it would be a monster if Montreal is back in the Stanley Cup Final with a real chance of winning the Stanley Cup. Of course, they were the last Canadian team back in 1993 to win the Stanley Cup. I can't wait for those Games 3 and 4. Game 2 is tomorrow in Raleigh. But New York, like, if it's New York and Oklahoma City too, but if it's New York and San Antonio in the NBA Final that'll do a number we probably haven't seen in a really long time.

Yeah, you know, first of all, it might sound counterintuitive, but I've advocated over the last couple of decades that the NHL probably would be better served acknowledging that they're just a regional sport, not trying to win over the Sun Belt. Now, I'll Jerry Orbach it and say when I'm wrong, I'll say I'm wrong. And because I feel like it has now fully— I mean, obviously you guys down there in Miami can confirm this— I feel like it has taken roots. The Florida Panthers are a thing for generations to come. So too are the Dallas Stars. And there are a few franchises, you know, below the Mason-Dixon line. I do ultimately hear what you're saying, Zazz. I don't think it's bad for the sport. You know, the weird 21st century sports fan thing. Of caring about the ratings is generally odd to me, except I feel like the NHL fans— and Roy can attest to this— it's a little bit like your favorite band being off-label. You feel like you have to tout it a little bit. I do, though, think even if the ratings aren't great because it's a Canadian-based team, it ain't bad if it's the— it's not a Canadian team, it's the Canadian team getting into the Stanley Cup Final.

I think it gives the sport a certain shine.

Dan Levitar.

My algorithm on Instagram, it's— Dan, it's all boobs.

Stugatz.

It's a good algorithm. This is the Dan Levitar Show with the Stugatz. Mike, what is the greatest hate watch you've ever had?

Ooh, I got to tell you, I was pretty raw about LeBron leaving. So, so, so that first year, 2015 Finals was a great hate watch. I remember screencapping Juwan Howard from the Heat bench when the Heat won on Christmas.

Like, oh, that was, that was the Danny Granger game.

Yeah, I, I, I really enjoyed, and then I I, you know, I lamented the nation and how they treated the Miami Heat when LeBron was on our team. And then when LeBron left the Miami Heat to go back to Cleveland, I totally got it. It is fun. It is really fun.

Previous to 2015, NBA Finals was an incredible hate watch.

In soccer, there's a lot of hate watching for me. And I got to admit, like, a little part of me died watching Arsenal finally not bottle something and win the Premier League. I—

well, that's why I thought Greg Cody was nuts the other day when he says it'd be the best story for the NBA for the Knicks to win the Finals. There'd be so much hate-watching that goes out the window if the Knicks were to finally win the championship.

As if you were to ask me to list like my top 25 sporting events that I ever just sat down and had a ball watching, the Orange Bowl between Georgia and FSU after FSU got shut out of the Natty where it was like 70-3, right? That was so great. That was— I was howling.

I'm surprised that you guys, AFC East people down there, Dolphins fans presumably—

no, you're gonna, you're gonna say it and it's mine. Go ahead. Yep, go ahead.

Oh, okay. The undefeated Patriots losing to the Giants.

Yeah, that's my greatest hate watch. Yep.

The thing to keep in mind with that one as we get further and further away from it in history, we'll sort of forget about this detail, is The Giants were not that formidable. I mean, that, that's why they were a wild card team, right?

Yeah.

Well, they, they, I, I'm trying to think if they, I don't know who would have won the division. Was it that, was it, or the, was that Romo's Cowboys winning the division that year? Um, either way, yes. I mean, the, what, what, what is, uh, satisfying to anybody who hate-watched the Patriots and kept watching them win Super Bowls with Belichick and all that, and the inflated footballs and the videotapes, uh, of practice and all of that, um, you know still that for all the achievements, for all that they accomplished together and individually, that they're never going to get that moment back. And it has to drive them crazy that no matter what else they did, you knew in that moment, and you knew Tom Brady and Belichick knew it too, whatever else we do from this moment forward, we're never going to be in this spot again. 18-0, right? About to become eternity's greatest team, and we blew it against Eli Manning, no less.

No, that's my great— that's my greatest hate watch is is that '07 Super Bowl. I had, uh, I had probably 5 or 6 friends over my house. This is before I had kids. Had 5 or 6 friends over to my house, all of us Dolphin fans, to watch that, to all hate-watch it together. And I'll never forget, I never cared more about a game that did not involve one of my teams. I was never more emotionally invested than I was that night And I'll never forget, we're all sitting on the couch, and when Eli Manning escaped the pocket, when he escaped the grasp— not when Tyree made the catch, it was when Eli escaped the grasp and he rolled out— all of us as a collective unit leapt off the couch and inched closer to the television, because everybody knows the closer you get to the TV, the more important the play is. We all leapt off the couch an inch closer to the TV, and when Tyree makes the catch, we were jumping around the room. Oh, it's my greatest hate watch. Roy, your greatest hate watch, in which Penguins Stanley Cup Final was it?

No, it was actually the, uh, 2000, uh, national championship when Oklahoma beat FSU because Miami should have been the national champion.

Ah, how about that? I didn't see that coming. Good job out of you there, Roy. Uh, Jeremy, greatest hate watch?

For me, I, I'm— I want to agree with you guys on going anti-LeBron. I was happy when McBob was signed by the Miami Heat. Um, but for me, I was just talking with Mike about it back here. I actually think the final few games of the 2017 college football season, watching Miami collapse after starting 10-0— because down here I was the lone UCF fan shouting into the void, this UCF team is so much better than this—

was that the year UCF was undefeated?

The, the first of the two seasons in which UCF was undefeated. And It was the year we ultimately rightfully claimed our only undefeated national champion. And as I was watching all season long, I was working at WSVN hand logging every play of Miami's season. So I was watching both of these teams intimately and going, man, I don't know about this Miami team. This Malik Rozier is not a very good quarterback. I don't know why all of you were talking like this team is better than UCLA.

They beat Notre Dame.

And ultimately, yeah.

Cool. They, they were—

and they wanted FSU. Yeah, it was a big deal.

We were fraudy.

Like, they were a little fraudy, and it was fun, but they gave us great memories that year.

Yeah, right.

And everything you're talking about and all of the bravado that existed around what felt like a fraudulent team to me as I was being talked down to about the greatness of my team made it for the ultimate collapse to be delicious for me.

You were rooting against FSU in that game. Like, correct me if I'm wrong here, but Miami famously beat FSU that season. There there were Miami players in the stands because the hope was, had FSU defeated Oklahoma, Miami could claim a national title, and the AP was probably positioned to hand them their title.

Interesting.

You had the BCS and the AP, and in that era it wasn't uncommon to split a national championship. So Miami would have won a national title, I think, provided FSU beat that Oklahoma team.

But you know what, I could see Roy's point because even if what you're saying could have possibly happened, we'll never know for sure, but FSU getting their shit kicked in that game, 13-2, pathetic, by FSU getting their shit kicked in that game, it just increases the arguments that didn't belong in Miami.

No, but Miami also would have beaten the crap out of that Oklahoma team. Absolutely. They would have beaten the crap out of that team. One of the biggest fights I ever had with Bomani where he's like, no, Terrence Marshall and them boys and Josh Hypel and them boys. Ah, Josh Hypel.

He coached the second straight season of UCF being undefeated.

That Miami Hurricanes team in the Orange Bowl would have destroyed Oklahoma.

Tony, greatest hate watch.

Interesting.

Sorry, Dave.

Sorry, go ahead.

Go ahead, Tony.

No, no, please.

No, you.

No, you. No, guys, let me go.

I think greatest, greatest hate— let me just interrupt you real quick.

Go ahead, Dave.

Tony, you're gonna go?

Yeah. No, Dave. Roy? No, no, Louis, you go.

All right.

Damn it, Sheck. Toss it to Tony.

Take it away, Tony.

Alright, Tony, you go.

Alright, Dave.

So, one of the best hate watches for me was when the old man Warriors—

nobody thought that they were gonna be able to get back to the mountaintop.

Who they see? The young Celtics.

This is the next team, the destiny team, the dynasty team, and the Warriors take care of business. That for me was watching Steph And I remember Mike saying like, Steph has to do it here because if not, he's been a passenger this entire time. He answered the bell. Unlike Sebastian Aho, he answered the bell.

I don't know who that guy is, but I agree with you.

And then all of a sudden we saw that team turn back the clock one last time, defeat a Celtics team that everybody thought this was the next dynasty of the future, and then derail them even though they won a championship after that.

Do—

oh, Dave, sorry, Tony cut you off there.

Dave, I was just going to point out, I apologize. Do you guys feel it in the Sunshine State that it's a weird energy? That all the rest of football America, with the rise of Jimmy Johnson and then Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden was kind of likable, but ultimately Florida State is not likable. I think the other 49 football-loving states just dislike all three of those teams for sort of jumping what we knew to be the blue bloods of college football about whatever it is at this point, 30, 40 years ago.

It's interesting that you say that because yesterday, uh, like I said, I did ESPN Radio yesterday and we were talking about —based on the Oklahoma City Thunder, we were talking about teams that went from likable to the villain in such a short period of time, and a caller brought up the Hurricanes, the Miami Hurricanes. I mean, eff the Carolina Hurricanes. The Miami Hurricanes, how they—it's actually the opposite now with the Hurricanes, where they're likable. And I didn't—I wasn't so sure about that. I don't know, like, are the Canes or the Miami Hurricanes in a spot right now because they're kind of back where— until they actually do some winning, are like, do people like them?

I think last year was probably the only time that you could argue that. And unfortunately for them, in the championship game, there were this great underdog story. They vanquished Notre Dame. I think most people wanted to see Notre Dame beating Ohio State. It's good to be beating Ohio State, the reigning champion, as a big underdog.

Like, that's something everyone's probably rooting for Ole Miss.

And then as Dave is always so ready to point out they ran into the greatest underdog story possibly ever in the history of the sport. So we were kind of outmatched there.

Yeah. Yeah. I just thought that was interesting that the, the Canes maybe not as hated as—

well, it's sort of what Mike was talking about with Kyle Busch ultimately becoming the guy you root for, even though he positioned himself as, as the bad guy. And I guess it goes back to Donald Sutherland's line, which I can't summon in Animal House about is it more fun to be the devil than it is to be an angel and all of that kind of stuff. It is interesting that when you consider what the Canes are, which they're positioned as the bad guy in two major instances. First of all, uh, Catholics versus convicts. I think as you look at that, I think it's probably a 50-50 split. People hate the Pious, the, uh, the, uh, the, the, the team that resides up on Mount Pious, AKA South Bend Notre Dame. They're more loathsome than the Canes are. And then The other one.

Hold on, Tony. Go, Dave. Sorry, go ahead.