Transcript of Herculez Gomez On The Biggest USMNT Match EVER | Hour 3

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Hercules Gomez, as I was saying earlier before I was rudely interrupted by Giannis shrugging in Greece, is going to join us here in a little bit to talk about the biggest game in more than 20 years.

Biggest game in 20 years.

More than 20 years. It's been— I don't— I mean, I don't—

20 years.

I can say it's the biggest U.S. soccer game that's ever been played. And you can disagree if you want, but it isn't hyperbole. This will be the most watched and most anticipated U.S. soccer game that there's ever been. Correct? Because we've never had this kind of promise in the tournament, even if they've advanced to this stage before. It's not looking the way that they have in this tournament so far, where they announce themselves with authority upon arriving. They win 4-1 against the team that you just saw, France. Uh, the France, the favorite of the tournament, France that had looked very impressive right up until they ran into Paraguay, which the United States beat 4-1. Uh,— you can say that U.S. soccer has never felt better than it does feeling going into this game, which creates expectations, which is not something that the United States has played with very often.

For the men's side, I understand being swept up because '02 did not feel this way, but they played Germany, who ended up going to the final. They had a spot at the semifinals on the line against Germany in '02. They looked pretty good. They beat Mexico 2-0 on their way to that. They had a great performance against Portugal. And if Rings doesn't have that handball, maybe the whole footballing world looks different with the United States in the semifinal there. But it also happened at 3:00 in the morning. It was not easily— it was not accessible. You don't think that they talk enough World Cup soccer on daytime programming now? Nonexistent back then. I think I had to watch that World Cup on Telefutura. I think the World Cup was on tape delay. Here in the United States on ABC when it was Brazil-Germany. So this is, this is big. This is huge. I think the last time they played Belgium in a knockout round where Tim Howard stood on his head was also pretty huge. There would have been a Fourth of July matchup, I think, potentially against England that everybody was getting excited about.

But yeah, given the numbers that we've seen, which are just bananas on both languages, this is the biggest game in U.S. men's history.

Let's talk about this with Hercules Gomez. And that's a good correction on the difference between the men and the women, because I am just talking about the men here. And speaking of both languages. Hercules has an assortment of shows that have Spanish title. Ahora, let's see if Zazz knows any of the Spanish titles. Ahora o Nunca, do you know what that means, Zazz?

Yeah.

Ahora o Nunca.

I already said yeah.

Yeah, but what does it mean?

Now or never.

Oh, you do. Fútbol Picante, do you know what Fútbol Picante means?

It means giant football.

Not giant football, spicy football. Football picante.

Spicy football.

That is a spicy football. Gigante. Yes. He's also a 17-year veteran of soccer, and I'm guessing has never met another Hercules. I think I asked him this last time we talked. You've never— nice to see you, Hercules. You've never met another Hercules, correct?

I have never met another Hercules. I used to work at a bank, and I actually inserted in the database, see if there was another Hercules. I've never met or heard of another Hercules in my life. But ahora o nunca is now or never. In español, and we're on 5 days a week, all sports, but glad to be on with you guys. How are you guys doing?

Uh, good, thank you. Put it in context for us. You played in 3 World Cup matches in 2010. Uh, is this the biggest game in U.S. men's soccer history?

Without a doubt. Mike was referencing 2002, and that is in the modern era, as far as the U.S. men's national team has ever gotten to. People forget how that happened. They stung the world. They surprised the world in beating a very good Portuguese generation in that game, 3-2, to tie the host country in South Korea and actually lost to Poland. It was South Korea beating Portugal again for the second time in that group phase that backdoored the US men's national team as a second place team to that round of 16 game against a CONCACAF nation, which was Mexico. And both teams, Mexico and the US, loved that idea of playing somebody they knew. You've never had a situation where you're the protagonist. You were one of the tournament darlings. When you go back and look at the good performances in this World Cup, France versus Sweden, you go back, Mexico versus Ecuador, you go back to the run of performances. Everybody's going to go back to that first opening game, the US Men's National Team versus Paraguay. That is still today referred to by many outsiders as a staple of a team that could surprise in this tournament.

So you've never had this goodwill like you have now.

Let's play for Hercules the sound of Tim Howard saying something different than other people like Zlatan are saying. When Zlatan says it's not ridiculous to think that the United States can win the World Cup, Tim Howard begs to differ. The US cannot unequivocally win the World Cup. The US will have to play the greatest game they've ever played 3 times in a row. Sorry, 4 games in a row.

Round of 16, quarterfinals.

Yeah.

Semifinals, finals. It is literally impossible for the US to win the World Cup. That's going to come across crazy. People are going to say, them, whatever. That's just the reality. But we're super excited for this ride we're on.

Well, I feel great now.

Hercules, what are your thoughts there?

I tend to agree more with, uh, Tim Howard than do Slotin. Listen, Slotin works for a network that is trying to get you to tune in, to trying to get you to jump on the train and see how far the US Men's National Team go. That's great, you're selling something. The World Cup is different. It's an almost 100-year competition in which only 8 countries have ever won. And by the way, The newest country to break that barrier was Spain in 2010, and that generation won €2 Championships and a World Cup and had the most ridiculous collection of world-class players that you could ever assemble. The US men's national team has arguably 1 or 2 players that you could say are world-class, has never gotten past the quarterfinals in the modern era, was in a semifinal in 1930 when there were 8 teams. And what Tim is alluding to, he's absolutely right in terms of the gauntlet that they will face. Let's say you get past Belgium. After that is going to come a quarterfinal versus a team like Spain or Portugal. After that, you could get in the semifinal a perennial power and my tournament favorite in France, only to maybe, let's say, face an Argentina and Lionel Messi in the final.

It is a gauntlet unlike any other. But the problem here is, Dan, Mike, guys, that it almost feels un-American to say it, but you shouldn't be afraid to say it. We're not favorites. The US is not favorites in this game. We can dominate the majority of things around the world, but not, not this. This isn't ours. And until you prove that it's yours, it's a ridiculous statement to make.

But do they have to— like Tim Howard, they're saying they have to play perfect games from the round of 16 on. Do you believe that they have to be like perfect games?

I do. I do believe they have to be perfect. The U.S. men's national team has a certain skill set that I think lends itself to be very competitive in this tournament. Athletically, they are as good, if not better, than anybody. They can match up with the best teams in the world. And I think that's going to give a team like Belgium a ton of problems. They have a good core 11, maybe 13 players that you could depend on. But if you test that depth and we saw versus Türkiye, you could be in trouble. Last night, the Mexican national team showed us how perfect you have to be. They dominated England. They dominated England. And on the network that shows the games, there's this momentum map, and you can see the peaks of momentum for the Mexican nationals. There are two dots in that first half that England has. Those are the two goals they scored. Like, you have to be perfect against these teams or you will be punished. Mexico has a clear home field advantage. Clear advantage in terms of altitude, the smog, the people, the Azteca, the, the lore, the, the myth. And yet they lost this game against a 10-man England.

You have to be perfect in this World Cup as you advance because the competition is that much better.

Herc, now the, the Flo Balogun thing has become highly controversial, only more controversial because politicians are getting involved. We should say it's not without precedent. Uh, we all are surprised and shocked by this, especially how late it came, but entering the tournament, Ronaldo had a 2-man match ban lifted. Uh, Tarek Salman from Qatar also 2 matches lifted. Otamendi and Moises Caicedo has had— they both have had other red card suspensions lifted. But the timing of this seems unfair. The optics are bad. What did you make of the decision to overturn a suspension that, lost in the discourse, was unjust?

I love that you brought up precedent because, um, there is no World Cup precedent for this. You brought up players that had their sanctions reduced that were pre-World Cup. Now there's going to be the, the brainiac who says, well, what about 1962, Herc Garrincha? I don't think you want to be associated with that precedent. That was a red card, uh, before there was a red card suspension of an automatic one-game ban, when the rules were different. The implementation that came in 1970. And by the way, The only reason that Garrincha, the talented Brazilian playmaker, was allowed to play is because mysteriously the linesman who saw the incident disappeared afterwards. There was bribery scandals, there was all types of corruption, there was all types of, of, you know, scenarios and theories of why he fled the country. So I don't think you want to bring that as an example of light here. Uh, back then there was also political pressure. So I think it's sad because, um, Folarin Balogun is used right now as a political puppet, and he's anything but. He's a talented player who, who for the first time the US has a player they can rely on up top to this magnitude.

Landon Donovan has the CONCACAF, uh, all-time World Cup goal-scoring history. That's at 5. Folarin Balogun has 3 in this tournament. He's gonna play more tournaments. He could break that. And he's being used politically here. It's sad because the US men's national team for America gained so much goodwill. I do believe they were tournament darlings. And now, unless you're an American, you don't see this for what this is. Nobody is saying that the red card wasn't right. I don't think it was a red card, but I do acknowledge that it's a polemic play. FIFA is not saying they got this wrong. They're not saying they rescind the red card. They're saying they suspend the suspension. All they're saying is they're going to allow him to play. And Belgium, Belgium, they're not even appealing. Belgium's saying we just want a transparent explanation of what's going on. And it's FIFA who is saying, okay, you are appealing. The optics here are so terrible. Everything that I've heard about this, what this World Cup would be, the ticket prices, the, the, the, the host countries for both the United States and Mexico, the fears. That went away once the tournament started and we became likable.

The United States became likable. Mexico became likable. This— the optics here are anything but.

Which means what? Like, what have you read? What has been interesting to you? What does the real collateral damage of optics mean?

Well, in the grand scheme of things, it'll mean nothing because that's what FIFA is going to make it, you know, mean. I mean, the US men's national team is not at fault because they get their— one of their best players back. And the news cycle will go by if they advance versus Belgium, and many will say there's an asterisk behind the win, but the US won't care. And you should not care. You can only control what you can control. But this is murky waters for FIFA. This is murky waters for the game. If there can be political pressure— and it's not my opinion, The president of the United States has come out today and said that he had phoned Johnny Infantino. If there could be political pressure to correct, if that's the word we're going to use here, scenarios in this game, what's going to stop other politics from doing the same? This is very murky.

When you say the name Johnny Infantino, does that sound to you like a mafioso's name?

I wouldn't be able to tell you there, Dan. You know, listen, my name is— I'm no—

stereotypes. Exactly.

I'm nobody to defer to anybody's name here. What I will tell you, Dan, is history— or FIFA has a history of these unsavory things. And the United States men's national team does not deserve this. Fowler Ombalogun does not deserve to be the poster boy of this. It is downright ugly what he's being used for. And it doesn't sit well with me.

What are the advantages the United States has tonight?

Well, uh, you guys like the, the betting odds. This was a pick 'em in the eyes of Las Vegas before the Follarin Balogun, uh, being allowed to play decision. Now that he plays, this tilts the odds, I think, in the US men's national favor. And I think Vegas feels the same. Athletically, they match very well against Belgium. Belgium's a little long in the tooth. In certain positions. We spoke about the 2014, you know, last time they played. Tim Howard, FIFA record 16 saves. He was the hero in that game. That was their golden generation. Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku— they're still on this team. It's not the same team right now that beat the US men's national team in March, you know, 5-2. This team physically has a lot of limitations. Mentally, they're not where they where many thought they would be. Athletically, I don't think it's a good matchup for Belgium. I think the U.S. men's national team can run this team into the ground. They could still lose because individually Belgium has players that are probably more technically gifted and individual better players. But I do think the U.S. men's national team matches up very well athletically versus this team.

When you mention Belgium being older, can you walk me through as a 17-year veteran what the cost is of playing in this kind of weather and playing the game that Belgium just played against Senegal. How much carryover is there to having to win the game with 3 goals, uh, 80th minute on when you got people cramping all over the place, the heat is unreasonable, and you're an older team? Explain to me the body's drain, uh, on Belgium specifically.

Yeah, great question, Dan, because before the World Cup was always considered a young man's game because it was a game every 3 to 4 days in the group stage. This World Cup is now a game every 7 days, but as you advance from the round of 32 to the round to 16 and so forth, you're going back to that 3 to 4 day format. And as you're an older player, well, it takes its toll on you. And FIFA, unlike any other seasons of the past, has congested the schedule in a way where these players are feeling the effects today. And it doesn't matter who you are. If you're a player like Kevin De Bruyne, who's not used to playing in this extreme heat, not used to playing a day game, even if it is 5 o'clock Pacific time, not used to travel in a country of 360 million where you can go from one time zone, you know, the East Coast to the West Coast and go 3 hours and it's a 6-hour flight and all these different things that come into play. It takes a toll on the body and the opposition. The US men's national team is so athletic, they can run you into the ground.

They will compete with you on all levels physically. That's going to take you to a place that you've never been, a depth that you've never been. Um, as a player, once you get older, those limitations become much more evident on the field as you advance. That's where Belgium is today. Belgium doesn't have the physicality of a US Men's National Team. They have the tactical know-how, but they just experienced 120 minutes versus Senegal. Well, yes, the US Men's National Team played, you know, with 10 men for about 25-30 minutes versus Bosnia, but that was over 90 minutes. They didn't have to play 30 more minutes in those type of conditions. That takes you to a different place, both physically and mentally.

Hercules, can you explain from your experience in the past playing in Estadio Azteca how difficult what England did last night was?

Yeah, I was so impressed. You knew of the talent of the English national team, but they've always been a team that would let you down, let themselves down, because emotionally, mentally, they wouldn't be up for the moment. Playing in Estadio Azteca is unlike anything that I've ever experienced. You're at over 7,000 feet altitude. There's a smog cocktail with that altitude that comes into play where it's very difficult to breathe. Your head is telling your muscles, your legs to do something, and your legs are saying, hold on, not right now. Um, and the opponent, the Mexican national team, if anything, is a very good possession team. So they're going to make you run, they're going to keep the ball. And as you saw, England got dominated for long stretches of that game. They had to go to a depth mentally, physically, that I've not seen them go to. And you can hear it. I don't know if you guys heard Harry Kane's postgame when he's talking. It was like one of the Muppets or the Sesame Street characters. He could barely get the words out. His voice had changed from the mental and the physical, you know, just toll that that game takes on somebody.

It's unlike anything I have ever experienced. And the moment they got off that bus and walked down the tunnel, it's a long corridor, corridor, that tunnel. And you're looking at the artwork., you know, as you walk down that tunnel and they're gonna see the hand of God, Diego Maradona, 1986 versus their national team. They're gonna see a picture of Maradona between 8 English players in the goal of the century. They're gonna know the history and where they are. Pelé lifting up the World Cup trophy. That could be daunting. And yet it wasn't. They overcame. It was one of the most impressive victories I've seen. And, and the first time anybody has beaten the Mexican national team in World Cup history in that stadium.

Yeah, Judenmesser.

My voice is gone.

Yeah, she, she dragged him through a very long interview where he kept answering follow-up questions. We had to fight. He had nothing left. Hercules, thank you for being on with us. Last question on your way out the door. Give me the teams in the tournament. Name them that have been more impressive so far than the United States.

Uh, the French national team, number one. Uh, there's a gulf between France and everybody else. And in that everybody else, I would include the US men's national team. But that have impressed would be France. And honestly, maybe 45 minutes from Norway versus Brazil, maybe a cameo impression from the Argentine national team, Colombia versus Portugal. But there's a massive gulf, which is why I think the US men's national team can make a run and go far because of the difference here. But it's France and everybody else, honestly.

Yeah, I've just been sitting in there.

Hercules, good seeing you. Thank you for being on with us. Always appreciate the time, sir.

Saludos. Take care, guys.

Gracias.

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Tony, you know that moment at a party or a tailgate where everything just sort of clicks?

I know it well.

It's usually when I show up, everybody goes crazy.

Yeah, you usually take all the credit for it, but It's because Tony usually walks in with Cuervo. I walk in like this.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cuervo is a thing that turns hanging out into this is the night.

It has that effect on people.

It does. You usually take the credit for it, but again, it's the Cuervo effect. It's like that moment in a big game where everyone in the crowd just starts standing up, hooting and hollering. Keep it Cuervo!

Keep it Cuervo, baby.

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Dan Levitar. Ahoy, it's Captain Slappy.

Jonathan Sasslow.

Is this Chum Bucket?

This is the Dan Levitar Show.

Where are we, Zazz, on making sure that everything escalates here to the proper intensity? I told you that What is happening in my neighborhood is very loud, but the quietest day that I have had was the United States playing at night. That's the quietest that it was downstairs because of the foreign infiltration that there has been here. And I'm guessing that most United States fans are watching at home instead of serenading us in the streets the way that the, uh, the foreigners are doing here in South Florida.

That's That's my plan. Like, Chris, I know you went out with your father and you watched the last US game at a bar. Are you going out tonight? I'm planning on watching at home.

I'm actually doing the Zazz move. I haven't watched a game yet with my daughter, and she's into this, so tonight I'll be going over to my dad's house to watch it with the family.

I just like how Dan is saying foreigners.

I am hoping though we get to the next one, we get that Friday afternoon match, and then that's when the boys will play.

Did you enjoy, Chris Cody, seeing, uh, the rich man's vegetable, broccolini, being stuffed into the in awe of Woody Harrelson as he sat next to Chris Rock. And how do you guys generally feel about all of these people like Nick Wright and Chris Rock suddenly showing up in their Brazil gear out of nowhere, like wearing, wearing Halloween costumes because they're, uh, Nick? So what's happened here with Nick? He shaved the beard some is what's happened, right? It's not just that that hat is ridiculous, uh, on its face, and it's also that that face is ridiculous on his face.

He said he was wearing the glasses too because he doesn't want to be— he doesn't want to be recognized, so he's got to wear the glasses inside the stadium.

I got a bunch of people tweeting me about broccolini, the rich man's vegetable, because if they— I could just picture that suite that they're in, that little spread you got back there. I mean, I don't know if I'm going for the broccolini, but you know it's there looking fancy, probably a little garlic.

Did you guys cover, uh, or take any interest in the, uh, Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift, uh, nuptials?

I was all over it this weekend. Dan, not a joke. I was on ESPN all weekend, so I was all over the Kelce-Swift wedding Friday.

You're working a lot as ESPN is working you a lot. What was your coverage of the Friday wedding? They shut down some streets. Some people are upset that some taxpayer dollars are being spent. I don't know how Jeremy felt about this as our biggest Swiftie fan around here.

He shifted big time. Now she can't do anything positive.

Former.

Yeah, this is tacky. This whole thing, all of it, everything she's done for like the last 3 years has just been like, it's finally jumped the shark for me.

And I love— her albums were great.

I love a lot of her music, but these last few albums have all kind of stunk. And the songwriting is trite. And so is the way that this has all kind of come together. I mean, what's George Stephanopoulos doing at this wedding?

I know what's going on. It's the guy that's overseeing the detention centers going, that guy you peeved.

I mean, we all had to have those, like George Stephanopoulos, that was a great one of like, Why is he there?

You got— you were about to say his last name.

George Snuffleupagus?

The Snuffleupagus.

Why was Dean Blandino at this wedding?

That's the one that I'm looking at! When are they sitting down putting the list together like, "Hey, hey, we gotta make sure we invite Dean." So if you met Travis twice, you're there.

I'm gonna make this the royal wedding.

Like, come on.

Well, give me some of the details because I've managed, and this was a Herculean feat, the most Herculean feat of this entire segment, is that I consumed exactly zero information on this, so I don't know a single thing about any of the details. You guys are informing me that George Snuffleupagus was there. You're also informing me that Dean Blandino was there. I do not know who was there, how many people were there.

Thousands.

Like a thousand.

Everyone in the world.

Like, I'm telling you, name a football player.

Yeah.

And I, and I will tell you he was there. Name a country music star, name an actor, and they were there.

I mean, Dan, you, you had Pablo Torre officiate officiate your wedding, which was great. All right, did you hear who they had officiate their wedding?

I don't know anything about this wedding.

All right, so that's a no, right?

Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today.

Is that Adam Sandler? Adam— wait a minute, that can't be. You guys are joking, right?

Not at all.

No, that can't be true. Adam Sandler. Wait a minute, Adam Sandler officiated this wedding? He was the spiritual— put it on the poll @LebatardShow. Do you think of Adam Sandler as the spiritual center of love? Punch-Drunk Love is one of the great romantic stories told in film.

Travis, if you accept, please say shibbidi-doo.

Dan, Paul McCartney performed I Want to Hold Your Hand for the first time since The '60s!

Stevie Nicks performed.

She walked down the aisle to her own music. I mean, what are we doing?

They didn't have any bridesmaids or groomsmen. It was just Jason as the best man and Taylor's brother as her man of honor.

That was cool.

Uh, but you guys sound like you're hating a little bit.

I'm just like, I was honestly into all of it until you just saw the lit— like, the fact that the next morning Robin Roberts, Strahan, and George— George S. Where they're like, yeah, we had a great time.

Thanks.

It's just like, why is George Sniffalopovis there? Like, seriously. Mike Vrabel was there.

Like, that's, that's not what made news. It was who Vrabel was with that made the news.

Oh, terrible look for Vrabel. Terrible look.

Going with his wife?

No, no.

There was video of him coming out of the hotel. There was a car waiting right outside the hotel.

He's got it.

And they're filming him coming out of the hotel.

He's—

not only is he walking like 3 or 4 steps in front of his wife, doesn't even hold the door for her. He just walks right into the backseat of the truck, and then the wife goes in. That's a terrible look.

That's who you want at your wedding?

Dan, that's a terrible look.

Put it on the poll, please, @LebatardShow. Do you walk 3 or 4 feet in front of your wife or husband?

That's an odd thing for us to call out, like, "You should be 2 feet away from her!" Well, no, you shouldn't be, though.

I— The door thing, just with the optics of everything going around, you're right, though.

You got to do the door.

I get it.

I get the logic in it. I don't want to be photographed and give the paparazzi that as I attend Taylor Swift's wedding. Don't want to be seen. Don't want to be snapped in the same frame. But this seems like a pretty good party.

So 1,000 people were there. Madison Square Garden. I did read beforehand that they were going to go castle. They were recreating some sort of—

in a garden.

It was a forest.

And Did you see a lot of people complaining about it and taking interest in it? Because, uh, there aren't a lot of weddings like this that could take place in America that would feel like this. I don't even know who it is that you would put on this list, but Taylor Swift getting married at Madison Square Garden would be very high up on my list on whatever pop culture marital love moments you can have involving any two people.

It's not even the biggest wedding that took place in Madison Square Garden, 1991 SummerSlam, Macho Man, Miss Elizabeth. Match made in heaven.

Uh, put it on the poll at Levitard Show: was Macho Man's marriage or wedding to Miss Elizabeth at MSG bigger than the Taylor Swift '91 SummerSlam? Travis Kelce. Uh, this union once upon a time was quaint, and then as with anything, there is an oversaturation, oversaturation that makes people instinctively sort of recoil. I don't think a whole lot of people, uh, dislike Travis Kelce, although he has a bit of Neanderthal in him and has a couple of incidents with Andy Reid, the lovable Andy Reid, that involve a physicality that we usually don't tolerate from employees with management in sports. But Taylor Swift, to Jeremy's point, has written some very heavy-handed songs during her union with Travis Kelce. But for all the Haters, they got to a finish line here many of you didn't think they were ever going to get to. And whether you think it's manufactured or whether you love to make your assessments about what love is real and not real, this is an underdog story. They got there. Like, that's— it is a surprise that they got to the wedding because everybody was doubting, and all the heartbreak of her songs, whether or not this was real.

And I think no one's disputing that it's real, right? No one's disputing that these two people are in love, that this this isn't manufactured for attention, that this isn't a publicity, uh, this isn't clout chasing. Most people have been wrong about what this union was, correct?

I think the relationship is great. Like, I think it's awesome that these two people found a way to get to this stage, get married, have one of the great love songwriters of all time in Adam Sandler officiate their wedding. Look, I Want to Grow Old with You from The Wedding Singer, one of the great love songs ever. But when you're dealing with this type of show, when you have the, the privacy of Madison Square Garden, which is important because everyone's wedding is spied upon, but then you have the Just TNT Married— that, like, by the way, we could have workshopped the logo. Like, that, that logo is just— this is not great. But when you have the privacy, yet it's also heavy-handed with everyone who's going to be there, It's that part that's the bit of the turnoff to watching this all unfold. Happy for them. Go live your life. That's beautiful.

But it's all just a bit corny.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here this day to join Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in holy matrimony.

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Dan Levitar. Jonathan Saslow. This is the Dan Levitar Show. What do you think? Who finished second place? Like, if Adam Sandler had said no, or did someone else say no before they landed on Adam Sandler? Is just a super unusual choice, would you not agree?

All right, we're going to play a game. It's called Guess Which of These 4 People Wasn't at the Wedding. Okay, Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke, Elizabeth Banks, Abby Wambach. Who was not?

I think this is a trick question. I'm gonna say all of them.

Elizabeth Banks is a good actor. Yes, very good.

I'm dead serious when I tell you that if you had said to me, hey, hypothetically, pick the most ridiculous person as the officiant of the wedding. Adam Sandler would have gotten votes. Who knew that, that either of them had a relationship with Adam Sandler?

They don't, apparently. Apparently they're not even friends with him.

I think there was a lot of that going around, stuff that went through agency. All I know is that Pablo Torre was pissed he didn't get an invite.

Pissed. That can't be true, Zaslow. You're not telling the truth that Adam Sandler has no relation relation to either one of them? That can't—

Travis Kelce was in Happy Gilmore too. Of course they know each other.

I'm just— look, I was all over this this weekend, Dan. Adam Sandler, there's no prior relationship.

Why is Joe Buck at this wedding?

Who else was there?

Give me some of the people who were there. And, uh, 1,000 people sound small to me, uh, just given who they are and given how much territory they occupy on the cultural landscape. If you tell me there's a wedding for famous people at Madison Square Madison Square Garden. I think it's going to be more than 1,000 people. Am I a fool there in thinking you don't, you don't need Madison Square Garden for 1,000 people? It is— that seems like a terrible venue to have a wedding in. I suppose that event— Kushner was there— event planners could do anything with the heat, good with the space, I suppose. But, uh, that doesn't seem like a great— I don't think of a romantic place having nearby urinals. That have been used, or, or a urinal trough that is used by, uh, the City of New York during Knicks games. That's not what I associate with the height of blissful symbolic love.

Do you think it was hard to— when they're making the guest list and putting together, you know, where everyone's sitting, who you put in the middle of the row and who got the aisle seats? Like, that'd be tough, right?

On the list, there was, uh, Bibi Dubi. Of course there was Bibi Dubi. And doobity-doo.

I— And Laura Dern! She's good.

Big Little Lies. She's good.

What other ridiculous details did you enjoy while covering it this weekend on ESPN Radio, covering it better for the worldwide leader than anyone else was covering it?

Very controversial, Dan. Of all those people, all those ridiculous names you saw were invited, most notably Dean Blandino. Head of officiating, or former head of officiating, Blake Lively. Snubbed. Not invited. Remember, they've been really close friends for a long time. Taylor Swift has supported Blake Lively during that lawsuit she had with the director from the movie.

Those details are crazy, incidentally. Like, if you have not read about everything that Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and everything that's happening in their life in that lawsuit, the details are just totally nuts.

Not friends anymore. She was not invited.

Who other— what other snubs were there that are controversial?

Mike Gusecki made the list. Don't worry about that.

Really? Uh, the— is he still— who—

if you're a tight end, you got invited.

He was the— he was with the Bengals last year, right? So everybody from the tight end—

I'm telling you, if you just met him—

she plays concerts for tight end day. Yeah, the thing. Julian Edelman got in there. Joe Buck.

I mean, I mean, I mean, Joe Buck belongs there more than Mike Gusecki.

Dean Blandino had to be like, like, this is a joke, right? I can't be invited to this.

It's even more of a UFL thing than an NFL thing because they own a UFL team, the Kelseys.

Do you think when Dean Blandino shows up to the Garden, he's still kind of wondering, all right, is like, is this real? Am I actually—

am I gonna get in?

Are they letting me in?

Why are you saying Joe Buck like that? He's the voice of the NFL. He's the face—

like, he's one of the— like, you to invite— that's like some— that's like a colleague. Yeah, he's interviewed me a couple times. Like, are they friends?

The dude from Train made it.

Yeah, that kind of makes sense. A lot of musicians, a lot of country.

Train's so underrated. Yeah, yeah, they're super underrated.

Drops a Jupiter all time.

No, that's a Jupiter's all time. But no, man, like, look out the top 40 hits. There really isn't a lot of precedent. Like Aerosmith, you know, like, you don't get to be top 40 played when you're that age.

They got a little Nickelbacked.

Nickelback, I think, is aging gracefully too.

I agree.

But so we think that's going to happen with Train sometime soon. You're out ahead of it.

Look, a lot like Rice-A-Roni, a San Francisco Great.

Put it on the poll, please. Is Nickelback aging gracefully? And oh, Zazz made a sour face as if he was smelling something bad. Not aging gracefully. Let's kick it up with a minute left in this hour.

Biggest game in 20 years.

Kick it up.

Biggest game in 20 years.

Bigger.

Biggest game in 20 years. Bigger. Biggest game in 20 years.

Who's ready around here to not be disappointed tonight?

That's how you do it. Yes.

Who's ready to not be disappointed?

Who's ready to hope?

Who's ready to believe? Those Belgians are old and tired. Who's ready to say, "Thank you very much, Mr.

President." Make me a waffle.

Donald Trump, savior, saving the American dream.