Nick Lachey’s Bengals Love, Chargers Ejection & USC tryout... Plus: Sports’ Unbreakable Records

Speaker 1 I actually went to the league office and met with the vice president of operations on behalf of Bengal fans and said, Whoa, what's happening to the Bengals fan base is an absolute travesty.

Speaker 1 We've supported this team sell out year after year after year, and the ownership's not doing anything. And that's when it kind of turned around.
So, you're the reason.

Speaker 1 You know, I don't want to take credit for it, Matt.

Speaker 2 All right, welcome to another episode of Throwbacks, everyone. Thank you.
How are you taking in the show? We appreciate it. We're in person.

Speaker 1 In person. Different look.

Speaker 2 Throwing you a different look. Don't forget to subscribe on YouTube.
Follow us on Apple, Spotify.

Speaker 2 Leave your comments on the show's YouTube page and follow us all on our social platforms at Throwback Show. Email us feedback at Throwback Show.
I could even remember that one.

Speaker 2 Matt, it's good to be here, man.

Speaker 1 Welcome back to the best coast, bro.

Speaker 2 You know what I love? Like in Ohio, the weather was just starting to break and we're starting to get some nice days. It snowed the day I left.
Did it? Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2 I was just texting Brie, like, ha ha ha.

Speaker 1 It's by the way, it's beach season here in California already. It's like,

Speaker 1 yeah, it's been the whole week, has been super nice.

Speaker 2 I forget, and every time I get here, I'm just like, this really is the best weather.

Speaker 1 When you touch down in LA, don't you just miss it, right? It just gives you a little tingle.

Speaker 2 You know what? Now, since I'm gone for a few years, I miss it and I immediately get thrown back to the time when I moved here. I remember stepping off the plane in LAX, getting onto

Speaker 2 a super shuttle and going to my first apartment in Burbank. And I get thrown into that.
Was that with Max?

Speaker 1 That was your apartment? No, no, no.

Speaker 2 Max came in the picture like a year in, a year.

Speaker 1 Well, it's good to have you out here, man. Got a big week.

Speaker 2 Big week, big guest today.

Speaker 1 Big guest.

Speaker 2 You have a very eclectic group of friends, I must say. I do.
And

Speaker 2 when you proposed this guest, I was like, how do you know him? And you're like, that's one of my good buddies.

Speaker 2 Nick Lachey, everybody, from 98 Degrees, from Love is Blind, which is an absolute monster show.

Speaker 1 He stole all those ladies' hearts about 20 years ago.

Speaker 2 And he never gave them back. And he never gave them back.

Speaker 1 And now he's stealing hearts on, as he's like the it reality TV show host now, him and his wife, Vanessa, which has like got to be the greatest thing of all.

Speaker 2 I can't wait to talk to him about because it just does seem like a great gig. I always look at stuff like that.

Speaker 1 Like, what's the work life?

Speaker 2 Obviously, we love the product. People love the show and watch Love is Blind and all those shows.

Speaker 2 but then i i always try to see like what's the workflow the production they enjoying it and it does look pretty pretty light awesome location pretty light gets to work with his wife and they get along well and it doesn't seem like they're not in the whole episode like for an hour they they pop in well love is

Speaker 1 yeah i actually want to ask him because love is blind is like their big the big part of that for them is the reunion at the end which is just you watch the whole season unfold and then you get to talk about are these couples going to make it or not but he's yeah he we gosh gosh, man, we go way back.

Speaker 1 Definitely want to tell the story of how we met, which is pretty funny. And then, yeah, I mean, and big sports guy.

Speaker 2 Big sports guy.

Speaker 1 We've, gosh, we've been to multiple Super Bowls together. We've like he was, uh, he sang at my wedding, which is actually a really cool story.

Speaker 1 Like, that's how close we're like, I used to get him made fun of all the time when, cause we were boys. when I was at the tail end of college.

Speaker 1 So then when I went to the NFL, like Nick was a big supporter, came out to Arizona all the time.

Speaker 1 But like, all my boys were like, you know, the whole, like, they, they, they loved him when they met him, but like the whole boy band like perception.

Speaker 1 I'm like, guys, like this dude is the greatest, the most guy guy you'll ever meet.

Speaker 1 Lots of, lots of fun times together, man.

Speaker 2 Were you stressed when like you asked him to perform at your wedding?

Speaker 1 That's not like a small favor.

Speaker 2 You're asking like someone who's sold. You know what?

Speaker 1 I wanted to ask him. I wanted to ask him because

Speaker 1 the way, and I'll save it, but the way it was done was really, really emotional. And

Speaker 1 it was really special for, it was a surprise for Josie, essentially, essentially is how i did it okay um he did he did sing at our first dance but there was another part of the wedding that i surprised my wife with with nick singing and i i we can get into it but it was it was truly like it meant a lot to me and he knew that and he and i when i asked him i think it was just like he's like dude of course whatever you need me to do i'd be honored and like it was cool i feel like him and i will get along well because i do all from all things i've heard whether from you and i've i know other people who are friendly with nick that he is a pretty big psycho sports fan He's a director.

Speaker 1 Like it's not

Speaker 2 a surface. And anytime you see someone rocking like a Cincinnati Reds hat,

Speaker 2 that's not for style purposes. Like you are.
It's like being a Clipper fan.

Speaker 2 If you're rocking the Cincinnati Reds starter satin jacket, like you are a real fan. That is not a fashion choice, even though it is a dope jacket now.

Speaker 1 He's a big, big sports fan. He was a USC fan.
Bengals. Yeah, he's he's awesome, man.
He's.

Speaker 2 And how I always knew, like, how I always separated boy bands, I always be like, oh, that's the jack dude.

Speaker 1 Nick was.

Speaker 1 I mean Nick was a Nick was a I'm like that's the jack dude and I feel like I was cool with them because I'm like oh that's the dude that's the jack dude we can also ask him about his his really cool sun tattoo that he has on his arm too that was really that that was the the butt of a lot of jokes where it's just a random sun tattoo yeah it's like 98 98 degrees bro it's do you have any you're not you're tatless right i'm tatless i've been debating getting a tat though what would you get that's a good question because you can get like a high there's so many ways you can go you can get your kids here's the thing if i had if i had like a body to get get a tad, I would.

Speaker 1 Or like muscles, but I don't.

Speaker 2 But you're such a beach guy. You can show them to get it on a leg.

Speaker 1 You got good legs. You got good size.
You got skinny legs, bro.

Speaker 2 That's because you're tall. That's because you're tall.
Anyway, well, Nick's coming up in a second. So right now we are going to get to.

Speaker 1 We're off the rails already. We're off the rails already.

Speaker 2 Fresh moves of the week brought to you by Wendy's. Go to Wendy's, taste the difference.
I think this is a pretty easy fresh move for me. We saw a pretty big record get broken recently.

Speaker 2 One that I really didn't think would ever get touched. Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's goal record.
Gretzky was there. I mean, I really, I still remember Ovechkin when he was like a young player.

Speaker 2 So now to think he's come this far, it was pretty.

Speaker 1 Did you see, like, he's obviously one of the greatest to ever play? Did you see him after he's, so he had a beer after his pads are off? His, he, he's so gray. Yes.

Speaker 1 He looked, he looked like, I was like, he looked like a mechanic or like a construction worker. Like he just got off.
He sweat. Longshoreman.

Speaker 1 And I'm like, this dude has has literally just broke the great one's goal record. And gosh, I mean, top five of all time at least.
Oh, he's maybe the greatest.

Speaker 1 I mean, like, I was dying laughing because I'm like, this dude. And then, like, afterward, he's just like, I think he went out and had a party.
Like, it's just kind of cool, man.

Speaker 2 Well, it brought up some interesting topics and thoughts in my head. That was one of the records that I even remember being younger saying that one will probably never get touched.

Speaker 2 And then you start thinking about some of these records because obviously the games have changed so much. We saw LeBron broke Kareem's record.

Speaker 2 So a lot of these records that we thought like our childhood's kind of getting shattered a little bit. It was always Kareem.
It was always Gretzky.

Speaker 2 It was always these records, but there's got to be some.

Speaker 1 There's a lot, man. All right.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Let's throw a few that we think won't be broken.

Speaker 1 Won't be broken.

Speaker 2 All right. Do you want to go first? Do you want me to go?

Speaker 1 Well, I just pulled it up. I mean, this one we didn't talk about.
Ricky Henderson's stolen bases. Never going to be over 1,400 stolen bases.

Speaker 1 Rest in peace, by the way, to Ricky Henderson. I got a chance to meet him at an autograph signing for the Raiders, but he was there.

Speaker 1 It was like Mark, it was a couple of raiders. I don't know.
It's like I played for the Raiders one year, but I was a Raider. But Ricky was there.
He was awesome. And I actually got it.

Speaker 1 I got his rookie card signed by him.

Speaker 2 The Ricky Henderson stories were amazing.

Speaker 1 Anyway, yeah, Ricky Henderson.

Speaker 2 I got one for you that's never going to be touched. And it's baseball, too.
No one's ever touching Joe DiMaggio's 56th card. Really?

Speaker 1 Who is that?

Speaker 2 The guys don't even bat 300 anymore.

Speaker 1 Your boy Aaron Judge bat like 340 last year.

Speaker 2 The whole Yankees 1990s.

Speaker 1 You don't need the rest of their battle. You can't bat 300 to go one for four.

Speaker 2 300 implies more hits. So it'll be less walks, strikeouts, and home runs, and more hits.
Like you saw that thing, Raphael Devers in the first, like, three games of the season struck out 15 times.

Speaker 2 Tony Gwynn one year struck out 15 times the whole year.

Speaker 1 He's maybe the greatest shit of all time. I mean, I think the one, I mean, Kyle Ripkins, most consecutive games.
That's why like LeBron playing 20 years, like any longevity record.

Speaker 2 Will Chamberlain has some stats and records that you can't even quantify because who knows how they kept him. Here's one.
Also, two masters starting literally any minute.

Speaker 2 If you look right now while you're listening to this, the masters are probably underway. Jack Nicholas, 18 majors.
We thought for a minute there Tiger would have had a shot years ago.

Speaker 2 He ain't going to touch it most likely.

Speaker 2 I don't see any other player that gets to 18.

Speaker 1 Well, I got one for you. You ready? Yep.
Michael Phelps. Oh,

Speaker 1 yeah. I don't know.
I think Simone Biles, too. Simone Biles.
No, Michael Phelps has.

Speaker 2 That could be touched. Do you think so?

Speaker 1 28 Olympic medals? You got to be in like four Olympics and then be in multiple events. Like a smaller one.

Speaker 2 You don't think anyone will ever do that in the history of the Olympics again?

Speaker 2 I'm not saying the odds are good, but compared to like a Cal Ripken streak that you just, they won't even allow a player to play in that many times.

Speaker 1 I'm just saying, I don't think anyone's going to win 28 Olympic gold or Olympic. I think Simone Biles had 24 gold medals.

Speaker 2 Either way, shout outs to Mr. Ovechkin.
That's a great record. Any other ones you want to name before we get to

Speaker 1 Emmett Smith career rushing yards,

Speaker 1 a little over 18,000.

Speaker 2 Again, because the game is now different. The running game is different.

Speaker 1 There's more games, but they're, which obviously could be

Speaker 1 a detriment for three back situations. Three backs.
It's more of a passing sort of, you know, that one might not get. There's a ton.

Speaker 1 I mean, records are made to get broken, but that's why, I mean, the Ovechkin, gosh.

Speaker 2 That's a crazy one. That might be the last big one that we see.
That is our fresh moves brought to you by Wendy. Shout outs.

Speaker 2 And now let's bring in one of Matt's most eclectic friend group members, Nick Lachey.

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Speaker 1 How did you guys get? Did you always know each other? How did you guys get connected?

Speaker 2 Everyone says that.

Speaker 2 We speed dated on the phone but yeah that's kind of how like matt and i when we decide like when we were talking about doing a show and we had this like phone call speed date thing like hey do we want to do a show together and that's why it sort of became throwbacks because like you go back to like 03 04 sc i'm i just got like cast an entourage 23 year old kid i knew nothing about la we were running around and like kind of like similar circle like we were at similar places we never met but we never like formally like hey i'm matt i'm jerry good to meet you love us

Speaker 1 never happened I only met Connolly, Kevin Connolly. Yeah.
I used to run into him quite a bit.

Speaker 1 We probably ran into him together.

Speaker 1 Well, back in those days, he was with Nikki, right? So we were all kind of like

Speaker 1 hanging together. And yeah, it was a small group back then.
And then, um, so then when we were, Sinclair was talking to him about doing a show. I was kind of talking about doing this other show.

Speaker 1 And a couple of guys were like, fuck, why don't you guys do this together?

Speaker 1 And we literally got on a phone last summer and we talked like we would when you talk to your first, you know, like on a first date for like an hour and a half.

Speaker 2 Does he FaceTime you all the time?

Speaker 1 He's he's the worst.

Speaker 2 I don't get this. And do you FaceTime your friend?

Speaker 1 No, I don't.

Speaker 1 And you think he'd get them, you know, get the hint. I never pick up.
He continues to do it. I don't either.
Dude, so the other day I FaceTimed Jerry. I had something important to tell you though.

Speaker 1 I fade him all. And by the way, I did this.
I used to say I was with Josie. I go, you know what, dude? I'm going to FaceTime his wife.
And Brie answered.

Speaker 1 And then you were there. You were there.
You went over my

Speaker 1 boss.

Speaker 1 You know who, this is super random you know who hates who makes fun of me more than anybody lane kiffin i will i random i will randomly face time him just because he pisses no well he's my coach but he he gets so upset about it and well it's dangerous face time in lane yeah

Speaker 1 you never know where lane's gonna be

Speaker 2 he could be on a boat somewhere i don't know what he's doing um thanks for coming on man we appreciate it yeah man yeah but more importantly how do how i was like joking with matt when we did like an intro for you like matt has a really interesting group of friends.

Speaker 2 Like I said, it's like Lane Kiffin. It's Nicholas Shea.

Speaker 2 How do you two kind of become friends?

Speaker 1 Well,

Speaker 1 no, we first met. I mean, I was back in those days, I was doing, I was doing Newlyweds.
So I was on TV all the time. Huge SC fan.
I went to SC.

Speaker 1 So I was always on TV in SC gear, always, you know, watching the game. And he'd obviously either seen it or heard about it.

Speaker 1 So we happened to be at the same bar one night and, you know, just got introduced. These dudes are like the first time.
Do you remember the name? the

Speaker 1 LA? What's that? Do you remember the name of the bar? It was guys. Guys, yeah.
Remember, guys?

Speaker 2 Guys, I do remember guys. I feel like I got kicked out of guys for guys.

Speaker 1 Sunday night was like big jazz. Was it Sunday night? I don't think it was a Sunday night we were there, but I was with the spot.
Shout out Braun as a mutual friend.

Speaker 1 And I remember we're sitting there, and I was, gosh,

Speaker 1 I think I was 21. I might have been 20, 21.
And he goes, dude, the Shays over there. And I tell a story.
I've told him this.

Speaker 1 My high school girlfriend had a poster of them up in his room that's a big flex i know i've since apologized i swear to god i was like i was like so like obviously i knew who nick was but braun's like dude he's a huge sc fan you should go say what up and that was literally how we met i think i went up to him said dude huge fan and then i think we hung out like i think i came to your house back like we hung out and then it was just like we're boys ever since and back in those days man it was just the best at sc because you know you get on the sideline and it was just I mean, they were unstoppable.

Speaker 1 The whole atmosphere was just unstoppable. It was awesome.
So it was so good.

Speaker 2 So you went to SC. So then growing up, though, you didn't have any, because I always go through this.
I don't have any college football affiliations. Like, I grew up in New York City.

Speaker 2 I didn't really go to college. So I love college sports.
I just don't have a team. I'm like a guy without a country.
So did you have any like college fandom before?

Speaker 1 Or once you got to SC, you were like, this feels right. Yeah.
I mean, growing up in Ohio, I'm one of the few that's not an Ohio State fan.

Speaker 1 Everyone knows this. I just do not like Ohio State.
I'm a Cincinnati bearcat.

Speaker 1 But anyone who's followed Bearcat football at all knows that they've been terrible for the majority of my life. So yeah, I was more of a Bearcat basketball fan, SC football fan.

Speaker 1 And then obviously when I went to school there, you know, then I really became a fan. But I was always a, I was always kind of a closet, you know, SC fan,

Speaker 1 even back in the, you know, I remember like the Rodney Pete days. Oh, yeah.
And yeah, it was, it was when Notre Dame and SC were one and two, and you had those battles going on.

Speaker 2 And so yeah, I was always kind of a closet sc fan but it didn't really kick fully in until i went there you know all right let's do some all-time adventures driven by nissan take adventure to new heights in the all-new 2025 nissan armada go to nissanusa.com slash armada to learn more i don't think a lot of people know this but you did you walked on you attempted well tell us that story it is it is on record you tried to walk on at usc that's a credit to you

Speaker 1 yeah walking on is a very loose term Like, anyone can walk on to the field. Did you put pads on?

Speaker 1 No, because it was, you know,

Speaker 1 it was the involuntary, voluntary spring practice where you're not even allowed to throw footballs yet. You have to throw softballs.
Like, you're not even supposed to be practicing, but

Speaker 1 everyone's out there. So I was a theater major, right? So every day on the way to my to dance class, I would pass the football team coming out of Heritage Hall.
Man, that looks cool.

Speaker 1 And then I'd go past them.

Speaker 1 And so that was the year that Larry Smith got fired and John Robinson had just come out.

Speaker 1 So they brought John Robinson back. There's a lot of hype.
So one day I'm passing the football team on the way to dance class. And I said, hey, coach, you think I could play for you?

Speaker 1 And he said, are you fast? It sounds like Rudy. It sounds like the opening of Rudy.
And keep in mind, I never played a... down of organized football in my life.

Speaker 1 I went to a performing arts high school and shout out to you actually.

Speaker 2 I said, you need to be an athlete, though.

Speaker 1 I've literally never put pads on. I've never played football.
So I said, yeah, I'm pretty fast. He said, well, you can play in my backfield.
So I said, mom, you got to send me the cleats.

Speaker 1 I had one pair of cleats. They were stark white Joe Namath.
I need the Joe Namath low cleats. She sends these to me.
And I said, I cannot go out there on the field like this. But I took the physical.

Speaker 1 I did the whole thing. And then I went out there and Charles White, you know, legendary

Speaker 1 Heisman Trophy winner is the running back position coach. And I have no idea what I'm doing.
I'm out there in basketball shoes. I look total.

Speaker 1 You can tell who the real guys are because they have team issue stuff on. I'm out there in like basketball shorts and a total scrub and Charles is just screaming at me.
You are pathetic. You suck.

Speaker 1 I was like, this is the greatest thing ever. I'm not wrong either.
I'm out there just soaking it all.

Speaker 1 It was literally the only time I've ever played football. Did you have a, did you have like a dream to play football? Like, you didn't play growing up.
So like, what prompted you?

Speaker 1 Just like, oh, shit, this could be pretty cool. Always wanted to play.
And my mom, my mom said, you can't play till high school.

Speaker 1 So she said, and I went to, I started going to this performing arts school, and then I just fell in love with that and didn't want to leave to go play play football.

Speaker 1 So yeah, I mean, clearly it was the right move for me.

Speaker 1 What, like, you know, the what ifs? What if you actually ended up playing?

Speaker 1 Do you think that would have? I would have been killed. No, but like you played, you got the kind of the bug.
Would that have changed your course of you know, that's a good question, man.

Speaker 1 I, I think a lot of the, a lot of the reason I felt, uh, a lot of the reason I felt confident enough to move from Cincinnati to LA and start a band and do all this stuff is because I went to a performing arts school.

Speaker 1 Like they made you feel like, okay, you're, you know, you've got talent, you've got potential.

Speaker 1 So if I hadn't done that, I'm not sure I ever would have like had the balls really to come out and do that.

Speaker 2 Funny thing, I just thought I was, because Matt did mention that you might have, and Matt just tells people, like, oh, he tried to walk on at USC. Your story gives a lot more context away.

Speaker 1 And by the way,

Speaker 1 I'm skipping dance class every day. The best part of that is I'm walking on my way to dance class and I asked the coach, hey, do you think I could play for you?

Speaker 2 That one might get clipped for social.

Speaker 2 So when I was just doing a little, you know, I know a lot about you, obviously, but I'm kind of just funny like the shit Wikipedia says, but it does say about your bandmate, Jeff, who had like gave up his aspirations.

Speaker 1 This says on Wikipedia, hold on.

Speaker 2 He planned on a career playing football in the NFL, but then in 95, he sang at a college party, three friends, and got a positive reaction.

Speaker 2 So the way Matt's, it's like, so Nick's pursuing college football. Jeff's wants to beat you.

Speaker 2 You guys just were like, you know, let's hang up this football thing and start a band. If like you didn't know the context of the story.

Speaker 1 You know what? We'd be in the Hall of Fame if we hadn't given it up for a boy band. You know, I'm confident.
You know what?

Speaker 2 I wanted to ask you, too, growing up in Cincinnati, because for me, with acting, growing up in Brooklyn, New York, no one I knew was in any performing arts, anything.

Speaker 2 I'd go pick, I'd go play pickup hoops in like the schoolyard, and then I'd leave and lie and say, I got recruited by this other AAU team to play, and I take the train to the city to take acting class.

Speaker 2 Were you like kind of black cat in Cincinnati doing that? Or was it, do you have people and peers around you you where it wasn't like, oh, you know, Nick wants to be a singer or performing arts major?

Speaker 1 What was that like? Well, the school that I went to is called the School for Creative and Performing Arts. So literally, it was the cool thing to do at that school, right?

Speaker 1 So we didn't have sports, but like if you got the lead in the big fall musical, that was the equivalent of being like the starting quarterback.

Speaker 1 I mean, it was, that was what was cool in our school. So it was a great place if you were into the arts, it was a great place to go to school because every day you're just totally immersed in it.

Speaker 1 It is the cool thing to do. You're getting, you know, you know, better and better at it.

Speaker 1 So yeah, it was, it was not like in some schools, you know, it's like the nerdy glee club or what, nah, that was like, we were, you know, if you were, had the lead in the, in the, it's a big deal in the, in the musical, or if you had a solo in the song or what, you know, that was, that's what you aspired to, to do and to be.

Speaker 1 So it was cool. It was cool.
Our, our, uh, so throwbacks are the thing, and we always throw back to like nostalgic times and obviously 98 degrees in the boy band.

Speaker 1 How did you guys, because you guys all grew up in Ohio. You and your brother were there, obviously the other two.
how did you guys meet what was the first because i don't know if i know the story like

Speaker 1 hey let's just do this out of our garage or you know it was a guy it was a guy i went to school with he was a year ahead of me and he'd already moved out to la he met jeff and uh and out of nowhere just and we weren't like especially close even but out of nowhere he just hit me up he said you should come out to la and join this this uh this band and i had since transferred from usc to miami ohio I was taping ankles.

Speaker 1 I was an athletic trainer. I'm like, this blows.
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 I'm in on your athletic career, bro.

Speaker 1 I'm in. We can make a movie about it.

Speaker 1 I got as close. And I tell you this all the time, that the four coaches, I was the trainer for men's basketball, right? And we won a tournament game that year.
We had a good team.

Speaker 1 The four coaches were Herb Sendek.

Speaker 1 Sean Miller, who now just got hired to Texas.

Speaker 1 Thad Mata, who's at Butler, used to be at Ohio State. And then Charlie Coles has since passed.
So there were four D1 head coaches on that one staff.

Speaker 1 It was an awesome, like little Miami, Ohio had an awesome little thing going. But anyway, I wasn't super excited about taping ankles the rest of my life.
I

Speaker 1 had a potential internship with the Bengals to like be on their athletic training, you know, staff or whatever. But then this guy calls me.
He's like, hey, there's this opportunity in LA.

Speaker 1 You know, you should think about it. And I was like, you know what? My girlfriend and I had just broken up.
Wasn't crazy about school.

Speaker 1 Everything just kind of lined up. So I took a chance and came out here and joined these guys.
So they were already formed? So Drew was already part of that? No. So it was this, it was Jeff.
Just Jeff.

Speaker 1 This guy, John,

Speaker 1 Jeff's brother, Mike. And then I was the fourth.
And within, I'd say, three days of me being here, Mike quit.

Speaker 1 So now he's here, and one guy's already here. So yeah, he was, it literally took 48 hours, I think.
And he was like, I'm done. I can't do this.
And then, so I said,

Speaker 1 I got this great bass singer that was, I was in a band in Cincy at the time. So I said, let me call my boy Justin.
So I brought Justin out.

Speaker 1 And then

Speaker 1 about four months later, this guy John, who initially called me, got a bit part in Sweet Valley High. You guys remember Sweet Valley High? Sweet Valley High? Sweet Valley High.

Speaker 1 so he got a part in that uh it was just a one one-time guest guest role but he was convinced at that point that that he needed to be an actor and so we kind of said hey man we're all out here to do this band like either you're in or you're out we're not gonna like if you get a gig we're not just gonna sit here and i was delivering chinese food at the time i'm like i'm not you know this is not my future so we actually you know he said oh i need to act and he left the group and that's when i brought my brother in Drew.

Speaker 1 So you were delivering Chinese food? Yeah, man. Jesus, dude.
How many jobs did you have? Walkfast.

Speaker 2 Walkfast? Dude, I was fired from every restaurant in the San Fernandez.

Speaker 1 My first ever job was I was parking cars at South Coast Plaza. My brother, I was valet.
My brother ran the, he knows my brother. Actually, he's got a sense of my brother.
I got it.

Speaker 1 Yeah, my brother's crazy. So I was parking valet.
Long story short, it's Christmas morning. I kid you not.
South Coast Plaza is open. I, I fucking crash a Ben's.
in a pole in an open parking lot.

Speaker 1 I shit you not. Open parking lot.
I don't, I just was like going. It was like, you know, an open parking lot and they had like little things coming out.
You kind of go around.

Speaker 1 I just ran right Christmas morning.

Speaker 1 I can't make this up. I get back there.
I start crying, dude. And my buddy Mike Gizzano, I remember Mike Gizzano.
Like, it was just us two there. And I'm like, Mike, my brother's going to kill me.

Speaker 1 I was like, I was literally bawling. He's like, go, I'll handle it.
I get home. My brother comes home later in the day.
He's like, you fucking idiot. You're fine.
He fired me.

Speaker 1 My brother fired me from gallery parking.

Speaker 1 By the way, have you ridden with me? He hasn't gotten any better. Stop.

Speaker 2 I, you know, it tracks like the FaceTimes.

Speaker 1 And then, then, like, you know, I would, I would, by the way, I stand by my not a great driver, though. But that's a great mailbag question.

Speaker 1 I always, I always say, is it, is it okay, one, for dudes to FaceTime other dudes, but in general, is it just okay to FaceTime? I think it's great.

Speaker 1 You FaceTime, I'm sure you FaceTime your kids, wife and kids, sure.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean, families, you know, like your kids, obviously, it's different than your boys. I don't know.
I just don't FaceTime the guy.

Speaker 2 How weird at that would you be if we like exchanged numbers? Hey, Jerry, look, go Bengals with text in like just two days.

Speaker 1 Yeah, but like, FaceTiming. It's less about Matt.
It's like, who's Matt with? What's Matt doing right now? What at what time is it exactly?

Speaker 1 I'll go on a heater when I'm drunk or drinking. Exactly.
Yeah, that'll be like, I'll just start FaceTiming 20 people on my phone. Like, let's see who's going to pick up now.

Speaker 1 And then I'll just hang up before saying bye. All right.
Okay, real quick. When did you guys first know? It was like, oh shit, we're like, like, because that was, was Insync formed?

Speaker 1 A new kid, were they all formed at that time?

Speaker 1 No, Backstreet was. We actually

Speaker 1 kind of original. We had a gig to sing the national anthem at the Washington State Fair in Paallup, Washington.
So we drove 24 hours up I-5 to sing the national anthem at this fair.

Speaker 1 And we get there, and

Speaker 1 we have a crazy story, man. Like, we went through some gnarly and gnarly stuff.
Like we sang backstage at a Boys to Men concert to try and meet them. Didn't meet them, but we met this girl.

Speaker 1 She's like, hey, I think my dad might be able to help you guys out. He's got a record label.
Oh, cool. Let's exchange numbers.
Next thing I know, we're pulling up in Compton, and it's Mike Concepcion.

Speaker 1 I don't know if you know, Mike Concepcion started the Crips. Yeah.
So all of a sudden, we're like four white guys in Compton, and we're singing. He's like, I'm going to sign you, boys.

Speaker 1 Fill out these forms, social security numbers.

Speaker 1 And I'm like, yeah, we got street cred. Let's go.
Let's sign with this. And the guy who caught me, John, the guy who initially caught me for the group, was like, I'm not signing it.
I'm not doing it.

Speaker 1 I'm not signing it. And thank God.
Yeah. What happened? Thank you.
Thank God he didn't do it.

Speaker 1 You know what? I have no clue.

Speaker 1 I mean, I don't know how our future would have been but it would have been it would have been so where'd you sing at when they so that was at a boys to men so yeah so so that was at a boys men concert and you just you know you sing around la we'd sing at taco bell for free tacos we'd sing at you know fat burger for you'd sing it for yourself we'd sing at cedi walls you know just start he really did start from the bottom yeah i mean like back in those days there was no like youtube there wasn't there wasn't even american idol like if you wanted to get discovered you just you have to kind of pound the pavement and

Speaker 1 so we would just sing for anybody and we'd sing a cappella and they'd be like oh you guys got good harmonies here's the card maybe you know So eventually somebody gives you a card that leads to something, leads to something.

Speaker 1 And we finally got signed. But Backstreet was, we met them at that fair is the reason I was saying that.
And they were actually formed. That was 1995.

Speaker 1 And they tried to come out here and it didn't really work. So they went to Germany and blew up in Europe.
So that's it. And then it came back.

Speaker 2 And then they came back already with like the European crowd built.

Speaker 1 So, yeah, but NSYNC wasn't, they weren't even formed till after that. And then how long from that Washington did you guys get signed? And then you became like this phenomenon, obviously.

Speaker 1 So that was like September of 95. We got signed in May of 96

Speaker 1 to Motown.

Speaker 1 And then they moved us to New York and we did our first record, which came out in 97.

Speaker 1 So, you know, like lived in New York, all those studios in the village, you know, Electric Lady and Hit Factory and all. I mean,

Speaker 1 we had a good time in New York. That was, and they wanted us to move there to give us a little bit more, you know, a little bit more grit.

Speaker 1 You know, we were four white guys from Ohio and we were on Motown. So like, hey, we need you to be in New York and, and, and get a little more, a little more street.

Speaker 1 Does that wear the camouflage pants? Yes, sir. We're all the fat farm.
And yeah, we were, we were, uh, it was a different time, man. Isn't that crazy that, like the baggy jeans?

Speaker 1 You guys were like Timberland boots, the wife beaters, the, the camo pants,

Speaker 1 you have the earrings. I know, I don't think, I think I was wearing Timberland boots when I met you.
I got it. I've never stopped wearing Timberlands.

Speaker 2 Nothing says New York like a pair of Tim. That's a, like, people play pick up hoops in New York and Tim's.

Speaker 1 The fresh Tim's are, that's a look. I've never owned a pair of Tims from Orange County.

Speaker 1 You don't even wear it.

Speaker 1 No, I respect Tim's, but I never, but you wear police toes shoes on the plane. You're all

Speaker 1 sandals. I wear sandals on the plane.
I think that's like a fireable offense. And board shorts.
I wear sandals in Ohio right now, dude. That's all I got.

Speaker 2 At any point, so when things start to really blow up, you know, because we were talking about like, you know, you played sports, you love sports.

Speaker 2 Like, there's always like a competitive nature to it, right?

Speaker 2 Like when you love sports, it's just, even if it's healthy competition, at any point as it's all just coming to this massive wave between groups and stuff like that, or even within, is never competitive, not even necessarily a bad way, like F those guys, but like, are you scoreboard watching at all?

Speaker 1 Is it like that natural thing? I mean, like, it's the TRL era, right? Was like, and we've said this. What a great time.
I think we've all said this.

Speaker 1 I mean, like, you watched to see where you were on your account, right? Absolutely. It was legit.
Like, you knew how successful you were at that moment because of where your video was on the

Speaker 1 MTV Spring Break and TRL. You guys performed at MTV Spring Break.
Yeah, man.

Speaker 1 We were at Spring Break the first year, like when Kid Rock came out and Eminem. I remember being at Cancun.
I'm like, who is this kid? Eminem. Next thing you know, he's freaking blowing.

Speaker 1 I mean, like, it was just a special time in music, man. And MTV was just the.
Didn't Vanessa host MTV Spring Break? Uh, later, after later, right, yeah, like more like early 2000s.

Speaker 1 I remember I used to get home from school because, like, so like, yeah, I was probably in high school when you guys were on your trajectory.

Speaker 2 And I would come home and watch like TRL was the thing it was trl then when spring break came i would i don't think my parents would even let me watch it but i'd sneak it like then you had the beach house in the summer oh it was yeah it's so hard to like hear now like obviously like does mtv get sold but no one wants it's like man like there's still got to be amazing ip you could mine from that era because that era we won't ever see that era again It was, I mean, it was, you know, the internet kind of killed all that.

Speaker 1 But, you know, back in those days, if you were into pop culture and you were into music, like you ran home from school and you put, that was your, that was your connection to what was happening in pop culture.

Speaker 1 It was, and, and for the artists, I mean,

Speaker 1 the opportunity to go on there and like the crowds outside and Times Square and promote your stuff. And we actually did a promotion with MTV called Fly 2K.

Speaker 1 Like, we went, I remember, I remember we went overseas, like Finland, I mean, like some really crazy, cool shit that, yeah, to your point, it's just the brand is always the brand, but it just doesn't, it doesn't have any legs anymore.

Speaker 1 They can't make it work. What's the, what's the one that you could tell? What's the craziest story?

Speaker 1 Just,

Speaker 1 I don't know. Maybe he's one of your guys, or you can be like, no, I can't tell that.
No, I mean, it's like fans.

Speaker 1 Like, I just like, I, I was telling Jerry before he came, I'm like, dude, I, I've been to your concerts now, like a couple years ago, where they're still torn.

Speaker 1 And like, that, that demographic now is all like the 30 to 50 year old ladies who loved you guys, and they're psycho still. Oh, yeah.
So I can only imagine one of them. Well,

Speaker 1 they're, now they're drinking too. You know, it's like

Speaker 1 yelling. And it's a whole other thing.
Is there like just a crazy fandom story that sticks out between you guys that you guys like maybe had like a stalker or something?

Speaker 1 The craziest fans we ever came across, and it's interesting because we're going back there

Speaker 1 in late May, is like Southeast Asia, like the Philippines. Really? Absolutely, I mean, chased out of a mall, down the street, like you like picture the Beatles back in the day.
That's awesome.

Speaker 1 I mean, that was as manic as it ever got for us is over there. And they will follow you all day.
They're incredibly loyal.

Speaker 1 I don't know where they get the money from, but like, literally, they just, no one has jobs. They just follow you around in taxis all day.
Wherever you go, they go. You go to the airport.

Speaker 1 It's absolutely nuts. But they're, I mean, the most passionate, hardcore fans you can imagine.
So we're psyched to get back.

Speaker 2 You're going there in May?

Speaker 1 Yeah, we were supposed to go back in 2020. And then obviously COVID happened and it canceled that trip for obvious reasons.
But yeah, we're finally going back in May.

Speaker 1 We haven't been there since.

Speaker 2 2001. It's got to be a good feeling

Speaker 2 because I can only identify with like, you know, it's been been now years since like entourage whenever me and the guys will get together or go do something together or present in the awards somewhere it's like it just feels like it never ended you just slip right back into like you almost have to stop yourself and say wow i can't believe that we're doing this still do you get those feelings now because you guys are on tour you go on tour still yeah we still we still get to do and by the way i mean you know exactly how it feels because you guys were part of of pop culture i mean like it was literally that show was so groundbreaking i actually auditioned for that show did you yeah Wait, let me see what I can get.

Speaker 1 Well, Vince or you, Vince or you,

Speaker 1 you would have been a great Vince. Nah, it was, it would have been a totally different like take on the character.
He was perfect.

Speaker 1 But yeah, I mean, it was like that, that show was so iconic in that moment. Like, it was.
Everyone loved it.

Speaker 2 And we, we definitely had some crazy, like, cool fan experiences, but even just talking, it's like, we were never chased out of them all, you know?

Speaker 2 Like, it would, if anything, it would be, blurred lines like, oh, like Johnny Depp watches the show, but he actually thinks Adrian is Vince, which is so cool.

Speaker 1 Were you ever like in not in character, but like we talked about, like, like you went out to the nightclubs. Did the group of you guys go out together?

Speaker 2 I know Connolly was out, but like we would go out and it would be almost like people thinking it was an ad we were shooting.

Speaker 1 I was going to say, like, do you play that up? He was pooping out all the time. Oh, well, he was out.

Speaker 2 For sure. I mean, Thursday through Sunday.

Speaker 1 You could count on that. Spider.

Speaker 2 Teddy's. Of course.

Speaker 2 I just always remember people, maybe it's because as a character, I just always felt like people would get disappointed once they actually met me because it would be a lot of like, we got to go smoke a joint, right?

Speaker 2 Turtle, my buddy, I'm not going to smoke. You're strange.
I don't even know you, man. I am sorry.
It was like, really?

Speaker 2 Like, just the disappointment on their face when they would realize, oh, this is just a show. This isn't real.
So I've disappointed a lot of people.

Speaker 1 But you know, it's hard to, it's hard to do what you guys did so well

Speaker 1 is.

Speaker 1 appeal to guys and girls, right? Like it was a show that you could watch.

Speaker 1 Like, you know, we get drug into watching stuff all the time as dudes, but like to have a show that you can watch and your girl likes and you guys watch together.

Speaker 1 I mean, it was, it was, uh, yeah, you guys had a home run, man. You guys said you're touring and you have a new album coming out.
We do, yeah. We have a new album called Full Circle.

Speaker 1 Comes out May 9th. So it's five new songs and then five re-records of the

Speaker 1 last week. Are we allowed? Do you have a little I do, a little una noche? Yeah.
We got, let's see, Invisible Man, I do, Una Noche, Hardest Thing, and

Speaker 1 what am am I? Because of you, or the five re-records, and then five new songs. So, freshie.

Speaker 2 How does that is that like whose idea is that? Does someone come to you guys, or do you guys get together and you're like, We got some inspiration? Let's go lay somewhere else.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean, we, you know, we've been we've been touring and performing together. So, and honestly, we have more fun doing it now than we ever have because it's just like it's different now.

Speaker 1 It's like there's not stupid pressure, you know, back in the day, you just couldn't even enjoy it because you're so worried about losing your grip on it, right?

Speaker 1 So, now it's just like, let's have some beers and have some fun and go out and do a show. And so yeah, we're like, let's, you know, let's make some new music.
I, I wrote a song.

Speaker 1 My brother wrote a song.

Speaker 1 There's three other songs that were like submissions from people. And yeah, so we're super proud of it, man.
It's,

Speaker 1 I think, I think, honestly, in some ways, I think we sound better now than we did

Speaker 1 back in the day. A little

Speaker 1 wilder. It was really awesome.
Like 20 years later, just with your boys. doing something you love.
It hurts, though, man. Does it? I mean, you know, you get hip replacements.

Speaker 1 But you guys aren't moving a lot on stage, dude. I mean, we're no professional football players, but our bodies are

Speaker 1 taking a toll on us.

Speaker 2 I can imagine that it's not like just coming out.

Speaker 1 You guys are known.

Speaker 1 I've never asked you this. Because now your kids are older, you have three.
Like, how do they,

Speaker 1 how do they see you when you're on stage? Because it's just like, I don't know, it's got to be pretty cool, right? Or they don't know.

Speaker 1 That's one of the coolest things about still being able to do it is that now your kids can appreciate, you know, it's not just a story you tell.

Speaker 1 It's like, no, we actually can see see dad up there doing it. But my kids, the only time my kids thought I was even remotely cool was when I won Mass Singer.
That was

Speaker 1 like a big deal. That was like

Speaker 1 the highlight of their young lives. You know, they could, you know, care less about 90 degrees doing a show, but a pig gets on stage and sings, then they're all about it.

Speaker 1 Do any of them have the singing bug? Yeah, what's funny because my oldest dude, Camden in Brooklyn, just did the school musical. And I said, to Vanessa, I said, it's going to go one of two ways.

Speaker 1 Like, they're going to either hate it or they're going to get like they're going to get in front of that crowd.

Speaker 1 They're They're going to hear the applause and it's going to, let's go, I got a goosebump shit. It's going to strike something in them.
And they definitely both

Speaker 1 both loved it. Oh, shit.

Speaker 1 I think we're on top of

Speaker 2 my, my wife signed our five-year-old for like a summer play.

Speaker 1 And I'm like, let's wait a little. Let's see.
What did your wife act to do?

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 2 Maybe I'm too G. I'm like, let's slow down here, even though I don't think the local Cleveland theater is going to necessarily give them that same pop.

Speaker 1 It is funny, man. Like, as much as I would have loved to have been a football player, I mean, it's just not in my genetics.
you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 Like, you look at Cole, who's like, I mean, an absolute stud. It's just, and you see it all the time.

Speaker 1 Like, my kids, yeah, I would love for Camden to play football, but he's much more likely to be a singer or an actor, you know, something else. Then it's just the way it is.

Speaker 1 I'm so jealous because I retired when Cole was six. So, like, he, I think he vaguely remembers, like, you know, going to the games and like, but like, I didn't really play that much.

Speaker 1 So it's just like, it's, and then he's 18 now, not really just until recently. And you know, Cole, it's like, he just never really looked at me that way.

Speaker 1 And all his friends were like, dude, your dad, you have seen this and that. And like, I'm like, it's not a big deal.

Speaker 1 But finally, as now he's in this journey, I'm like, I'm like, dude, like, I did play at the highest level. I went through a lot of shit.
I had good and bad. Like, I've seen it all.

Speaker 1 Like, let me help you. But it's just funny.

Speaker 2 Like, well, I don't know if any of you deal with, like, my kids want nothing to do with me coaching them at anything.

Speaker 2 Like, any advice or offerings I give, it's a coach they could get through, but me, not like they don't, they tune it right.

Speaker 1 They know how to do it. I remember back in the day,

Speaker 1 I was co-hosting Best Damn Sports Show.

Speaker 2 Oh, yeah. That's a lot of fun.
Yeah, that was a fun show.

Speaker 1 And Joe Montana was on, right? And he was on there and talking about Nick, his son. He's like,

Speaker 1 he doesn't want to listen to a thing because to him,

Speaker 1 I'm just dad. Like, I'm daddy.

Speaker 1 And he doesn't want to listen to dad. And he's like, to him, I'm not the greatest, you know, quarterback that's ever played the game, you know, arguably.
He's just dad. Didn't want to listen to him.

Speaker 1 Remember when we were at your house? And remember when, I think, was it when Cole fell and he like did that perfect push-up? This was like super human.

Speaker 1 I used to have a, which is funny because it was like, he ended up being a great great year, like eight, I don't know, maybe seven.

Speaker 1 Yeah, we were out by the pool, and I had these steps that went down to like the bar.

Speaker 1 And you know, he and I are just sitting there shooting the shit and not really paying attention to Cole. I mean, was he one and a half, two? I don't know.
What was he? No, he's probably four or five.

Speaker 1 Was he? I think he's even young.

Speaker 2 Anyway, he's probably bigger. We're not paying attention.

Speaker 1 He just goes off the steps, and I'm thinking he's going to rip his face.

Speaker 2 Teeth out.

Speaker 1 All he does is put out his hands and go,

Speaker 1 push it. I mean, full officer.
Superhuman. He's like, dude, that's not fucking normal.

Speaker 1 It wasn't. I was like, maybe I should have my eyes on him.
Built different. Built way different.
I was like, wow, that kid is strong.

Speaker 1 Gosh,

Speaker 1 we were telling stories. I mean, gosh, Cole damn near grew up.
Like, I used to take him back in those days to the house, like with him and Vanessa. Like, Cole kind of grew up in that old house.

Speaker 1 That house was awesome. Yeah.
That was right when you met Vanessa. That was your bachelor pad.
Yeah, I had it. I had a sick, sick bachelor pad.
Oh, dude, that was the sickest place.

Speaker 1 It should have been on Entourage. It was that.
It was

Speaker 1 unreal. We had some good times.
I've never been in a house where you you walk through the front door and the pool is the very first thing you see.

Speaker 2 That's right.

Speaker 1 I feel like I've been there before. You probably have.
Like, what have I? You may have.

Speaker 1 Since I sold it, I think he throws some good parties up there.

Speaker 1 So I just obviously had my baby girl, Camila.

Speaker 2 I'm under a lot of stress.

Speaker 1 He needs some, he needs some.

Speaker 2 I have two. I have almost six, almost four.

Speaker 2 I've talked about it a little bit on the show. Brie, she knows I could talk.

Speaker 2 I have permission to talk about this, but talk about a full court press for baby number three yeah i'm 45 years old and i'm just terrified i'm just like i'm like we're not that we're on easy street but we're we're the system is now in place you have boys girls two boys two boys so she's they're the same age as case and can't like five and four five and then my my new best friend who facetimes me all the time baby number beautiful baby girl and i'm i just i don't know if i'm going to be able to hold it off but i just feel like that transition from two kids to three especially now mine are a little older it's like i'm just scared man it's 100 legit different two to three i mean you you've spaced yours out enough that it's like i don't know if you're from man to but like i mean

Speaker 1 it is somebody told me once you if you have three you might as well have five and there's definitely like some truth that like once you once you lose i'm trying to stop once you lose the man on man to man yeah

Speaker 1 you're uh but dude i mean there's nothing boys are awesome i love my boys but man having a little girl as you i'm sure feel right now i wanted to ask you like because brooklyn's what how old is she now 10 she's 10 10.

Speaker 1 wow great name by the way three boys and we didn't find out for this last one and um you know i i mean i was like when cannon came like was a boy i was like super bummed dude i just felt bad about him now he's like my favorite i was like tell what my girl and we didn't know if we're gonna have another kid and then this one we did we did surprise and when she came out literally i've told this my boys like I was bawling.

Speaker 1 It was just like the greatest moment that we had together that we shared because it was just like, there was a lot of pressure and kind of buildup and everybody wanted us to have a girl and everybody taught like we have friends like every like one of our best friends has three girls like everyone's like oh it's different man if you ever met right now and i and i i wanted to ask you but like i felt it instantly like the protector the love just everything different than all my boys and and it's just it's it's a crazy feeling is that i imagine that's it for you especially now brooklyn is it's just totally different i mean i love my boys don't get me wrong but your relationship with your boys is different than with your little girl.

Speaker 1 It's like she always will be. And I tell this, I say, you'll always be my little girl.
I still to this day, she's 10 years old. I pick her up out of bed and carry her downstairs in the morning.

Speaker 1 I'll do it until she tells me, Yeah, you can't do it anymore. Like, I'm going to hold on to every moment.

Speaker 1 She literally just wrote a whole poem about dad at school and parent-teacher conferences, and I'm just bawling, crying, like, my dad loves me so much.

Speaker 1 I mean, it's just, it's just way, way different. And you, you talk about how, like, in the

Speaker 1 delivery room,

Speaker 1 they had to give me the oxygen. That's how I, like, the doctor said, take it off your face.
It was on Vanessa. I said, put it on him.

Speaker 1 Cause I was about to, I was so overwhelmed by having a little girl. Like, it was just, it's just, did you guys find out with her? Oh, yeah, we found out way.

Speaker 1 So I was, so it was when, when, because, so Josie got a C-section, she's talked about it. So, like, the baby came out.
And I, you know, immediately, my eyes go straight down.

Speaker 1 Like, am I having a boy or a girl? And I was like, I double took because I had never seen that before. I was like, I looked at the doctor.
I said, is that a girl?

Speaker 1 girl she goes yeah and i that's when it was like

Speaker 1 i was like wait if i have a girl like it was just it was a shock and i i'll never forget dude like i started bawling i looked down she's and like she's like like i'm looking down at her and i go it's a girl and she goes no like she started just bawling crying if it were to have been boy we would it would just i think it was different man it's like and you know i feel like your boys you'll always be close your boys i love they're gonna get older and they're gonna leave and they're gonna find their own girl and they're gonna go off and and i feel like your little girl will always come home

Speaker 1 little girl will always stay clear

Speaker 1 and i i tell brooklyn all the time i said you're gonna have to change yeah i changed your diapers for yours at some point at some point you're gonna change dad's diapers depends coming back well i want to thank you guys because if if my wife is watching right now i you guys just put me in an even tougher situation it's only a matter of time it's only a matter of time yeah see me if two i i always knew we'd have a third yeah i always knew we'd have like the oops baby i just didn't think it would come you know right in line with the other two right i always gotta be like 10 years down but i'm so glad we did because i got three you know all together and and plus you got the boys to protect your little girl and look out for one of them definitely for sure well one of those how's cam as a big brother to her because he's he's what 13 12 he's 12 yeah so like i

Speaker 1 remember the middle school like when cold like that was when they start the attitude starts it just changes oh yeah it's coming they're kind of like they're kind of little dicks and like he's kind of he doesn't want daddy anymore he's already pushing the see how much he can get away with it's a slippery slope dude it happens really like i grabbed him the other day and he grabbed back i was like oh we're here now okay who's gonna dude that's you had to put the kick the dad's strength into into gear and show him whose boss a little bit unfortunately my son is bigger than me and i can't the dad's strength like i i always tell him i said dude because he he always he you could still tease cold you know what he says he this is what he says he goes he goes bruh dad bruh bruh with the years old i'm 6'4 215 like you got two new hips i will kick your ass i'm like i'm like you're gonna have to kill me to kick my ass then because once you switch but still but he's but he's just so big and strong now.

Speaker 2 It's like he is a big boy, man.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I've got friends too. They're like, yep, it's uh, it does.
It's it's it's the baton's been passed. I know I can't take him anymore.
I gave up on one, like one-on-one. I can't basketball.

Speaker 1 I can't guard. I just have given up on a lot of things.
Like, I'm like, what are you guys? He's like,

Speaker 1 he's like, dad, let's go have a dunkie contest. I'm like, buddy, like,

Speaker 1 I can't fucking dunk anymore, dude. Like, you're like windmilling.
I can't do it.

Speaker 2 Conversations I've never had. Dude,

Speaker 1 how's it going to be covering a game on Saturday that Cole's playing in?

Speaker 1 Dude, that's

Speaker 1 happy, man. Well, I hope we do.
Like, I hope we get.

Speaker 2 I mean, it's bound.

Speaker 1 It could happen.

Speaker 1 I can already, yeah, it's going to be crazy to talk about, especially if he ends up. I don't know.
Like, his path is going to be, who knows what's going to happen, but

Speaker 1 to be on our show and maybe him playing later. And we do a topic.
Actually, the craziest thing was like, we had Prime on last year. We had Deion and we're doing a live interview with them.

Speaker 1 And this was right when Cole committed to SMU. And Dion just puts me on the spot.
He's like, hey, man, why don't you let me start recruiting your kid?

Speaker 1 I'm like, what? And it was the funniest thing. And I'm thinking, like, holy shit, this is going to be my life like the next, you know, four or five years, three years, whatever it is.

Speaker 1 It's pretty surreal. Like, it doesn't, it's, it's just dad mode.
Like, it's just like, I'd love, I just, I can't wait.

Speaker 1 You know, I don't get a chance to see his high school games because I'm on the road, which is, it just kills me every Friday night. So I stream it.
Typically, I'm in Ohio or Michigan.

Speaker 1 I'm just like up till 2 a.m. watching.

Speaker 1 But it'll be really cool. It's been really,

Speaker 1 it's funny, Nick, because like the middle school is tough. And even with girls, I've heard it's harder.
And then it like goes back and then they kind of hate you again.

Speaker 1 And now I'm seeing kind of the 18 phase work. They come back and it's like, it's like your, your buddy again.
Like they just appreciate you a little more.

Speaker 1 They start to, they mature and they start to realize like, oh, maybe you do have some advice and wisdom on life, you know? So it's pretty cool. But I mean, it's got to be, think about it, man.

Speaker 1 It's crazy. You're Matt Leinert's kid and you play the same position.
I mean, that's, you know, he's like, he's handled it really well. He's handled it really well.
He's had tough times for sure.

Speaker 1 Like, I don't want to do this. Like, I just always try.
Like, this is your own journey. Like, you just try and, like, right.
I've never forced, I've never forced him to play football growing up ever.

Speaker 1 He played flag football, but it's just like, I kept telling him, I said, dude, something tells me this, like, you're just, your God-given abilities. This is what you're going to do.

Speaker 2 From his exact house, from the steps, from that moment, I think everybody saw he's a different athletic

Speaker 2 when he did a push-up at three and a half.

Speaker 1 And even though he never got the chance to see you play, I mean, the fact that he gets to see you every Saturday, right?

Speaker 1 Yeah, you know, on an incredibly cool show talking about, you know, the sport he loves. I mean, it's still,

Speaker 1 throw. We were at El Camino College like last month, and it was like, he was training, and it was like 10 receivers.

Speaker 1 So a lot of the Juco kids and a couple of kids came out and like, we needed another arm. And I had shoes on.
And my arm feels great. It's just, and actually my hips feel great.

Speaker 1 So I was like, I was taking full drops, throwing some dimes still. And I, and honestly, part of me was like, I was kind of like proud of myself because like Cole saw me, Cole saw me throw.

Speaker 1 We played catch, but like I was really throwing routes and like the receivers were like, you know, like, I'm just on that like

Speaker 1 era of like, who are you?

Speaker 1 Oh, Reggie Bush is quarterback. Yeah, like that, I get a lot, but it was like, some of them were SC fans.
They grew up in LA. So it was like, it was kind of cool.

Speaker 1 It's like singing in front of your kids. Like, hey, I still got it.
Like, you know, like, daddy can do this. It's pretty freaking awesome.
That's a good thing. Outsource shit.

Speaker 2 Watch me throw these dimes on these routes.

Speaker 1 Like, I just step in. I don't have much left.
Dude, one of my favorite memories is obviously at the Orange Bowl. Oh, yeah.
Beat Oklahoma national championship. And Matt's got it it going.

Speaker 1 Was it Kimmel? I think, or yeah, it was Kimmel. And he's like, I come on the show with me.
I don't want to go on by myself. Come on with me.
So I was like, so I rode the team charter back.

Speaker 1 And by the way, I always thought the team charter was like these incredibly luxurious was it not? We were just like coaches. It was commercial planes, but we were all coach.
Yeah, like these gigantic

Speaker 2 beings sitting like this.

Speaker 1 If you were mind, if you were a, at least at USC, like I remember seniority, maybe captain, whatever, starter, like you were in the back.

Speaker 1 And it was because I was, I think I was in the row with Reggie. You had a middle seat that was open.
Even, by the way, even in NFL, that's how it was too in Houston. Like, we had, yeah,

Speaker 2 I thought the same thing as you. You thought it was like this luxurious.

Speaker 1 Yeah, like he had nice space in me. Dude, giant human beings slammed in the cupboard.
I sat in front of Sebastian Janet Kausti and Shane Leckler on planes in Oakland. He bastards rough.

Speaker 2 Still afraid of him.

Speaker 1 But that was awesome, man. I mean, coming off the high, winning the national championship, and then flying with the team.
I probably was, we were probably still drunk the next day. Easily.

Speaker 1 So you literally had a a front row seat to the to that run thanks to this guy yeah like i remember on a couple games i remember man that cow game you were on the field when i was on the field and rogers went four and out at the they were on the goal line like there were so many times that season it almost almost slipped away did you go to the texas game yeah you were probably there too oh yeah that's right yeah that was a whole different by the way

Speaker 1 my mj story nick was there

Speaker 1 the banner club

Speaker 1 i was headbutting everybody i probably headbutted everybody included Included. I took one.

Speaker 2 This was after the game.

Speaker 1 That when you I think it was two nights after we all went out

Speaker 1 the night of the game, it was crickets. Like, no, it was so, it was like somebody had died.
It was really, really depressing.

Speaker 1 But a couple nights later, this guy needed to let off some steam for obvious reasons. And we went to the banana club.
It was, I was sad. We were, it was me, you,

Speaker 1 it was a bunch of the crew. And then that's what I said.
Like, Oakley and MJ were like three tables down. And Oakley called me over.
Hey, MJ, and I took my brother.

Speaker 1 And me and my brother sat with MJ and Oakley for five, 10 minutes, whatever, had a shot. MJ was at the game.
It was awesome. And I left and I was like, I got so drunk.
I started headbutting people.

Speaker 1 I actually, no, by the way, so I got a concussion in that game. Like I got, I got banged up decent.
Like I still played. And then, so it wasn't that bad, but then I was an idiot.

Speaker 1 I had a concussion all of my draft prep, dude. I was concussed.
No, I didn't. I told Steve Clarkson, my quarterback coach, I'm like, dude, I'm like, this is not good.
And I dealt with that

Speaker 1 for six weeks. So it was like, no, I mean, it wasn't, I was still lifting, but I was like concussed for a long time from a night out.
I woke up at the Peninsula Hotel. No clue how I got there.

Speaker 2 Any idea how we got there?

Speaker 1 I don't think I made it to the Peninsula.

Speaker 1 Shout out to my boy JJ. I know JJ, I'm going to, I'll send him this clip.
He, he says he carried me from the club and got me in a taxi at the time.

Speaker 1 Cause we were, I don't know how far Cabana and Peninsula were, but it's probably right there. I think it's like the Renaissance Hotel now or whatever, but it's right there.

Speaker 1 And he put me in my my room, put me in bed. I woke up the next day, like, holy shit, what happened?

Speaker 2 Where am I? What happened?

Speaker 1 And I think he came back in and he goes, bro, he just started laughing.

Speaker 1 And I remember the cab ride home. I went back with my brother to Newport, threw up in the whole cab home on the back.
It was a van. I'll never forget.
I was like, oh my God.

Speaker 1 That's what you had to deal with all these years. This guy was always good for a little vomit in the shower the next day.

Speaker 1 My guest bathroom took some hits over the Vanessa was not happy with me on that one.

Speaker 2 Well, I feel like we opened the door for sports a little bit here now that we're segueing in. Obviously, I forgot about that one, by the way.
You know, I got to get your initial gut reaction.

Speaker 2 Your Bengals made some signings. The offense is coming back.
Yeah. How are you feeling going into the next season?

Speaker 2 Knowing that you got the offense intact and defensively, maybe just figure out.

Speaker 1 The defense is in trouble. Yeah, I mean, I'm going to state the obvious.
We're going to have to score a gazillion points.

Speaker 2 Which you can.

Speaker 1 Which we can and we'll have to because yeah the d's i mean i hopefully we have enough to to sign hendrickson you know i don't i don't know how that's gonna play itself out but you know that's the problem right you go you can't let these guys go then you look like you're not trying you're not trying to stay competitive but obviously all our eggs are in one basket and and uh and so the defense is going to be and people forget man i always remind people this like when we made our super bowl run that year The D stepped up.

Speaker 1 We almost lost in the wild card game to the Raiders. We had a goal line interception.
I mean, we almost didn't even make it it out of the wild card round.

Speaker 1 So, the D, while they didn't have the, you know, many of the marquee players, they definitely made plays. And, like, and I think, in my opinion, Lou got a little bit of a bad rap this year.

Speaker 1 I mean, the guy was

Speaker 1 head coaching finalist two years ago. You know, now he didn't forget how to coach.
And we didn't have any talent on him.

Speaker 2 His personality was defensive.

Speaker 1 So, you know, I think as a Bengals fan, I'm excited they're making the efforts to keep talented players together.

Speaker 1 So, I think that's, you know, as a fan, that's all you can ask for is that, is that the ownership's trying, you know?

Speaker 2 And there's just such a slow start, Lash.

Speaker 1 I really win that to the Patriots game. Yeah, if you win the game, you're in the playoffs, and no one wanted to play the Bengals in the playoffs.
It was like, you don't want to play a team like that.

Speaker 1 That's football, though. It's just bad situational football, in my opinion, a lot of times last year.

Speaker 1 Yeah, like there were just bad calls at the end of the, like coaching calls, in my opinion, at the end of games that

Speaker 1 we left some wins out there that we should have had. And we should have been definitely in the playoffs.
We were hitting our stride. but yeah, why we start so slow is you know, it's beyond me.

Speaker 1 I guess you got to play more in the preseason. I don't even know what to do.
Did you go to the Super Bowl when they went? Were you there for it? Oh, I was there, yeah.

Speaker 2 Yeah, how'd you? I mean, I know how you took it, but are you? I feel like you're, you and I are similar. Like, I get disgusted with losses.
Like, I can't even listen to like sports radio.

Speaker 1 I think Nick's a lot more emotionally louder than you. Oh, in the game.
I've watched a Knicks. I watch, I mean, this is the only time I've watched a Knicks playoff.
He's sitting in the corner.

Speaker 1 He's like, he's just like this, like, just like fucking laser focused. Don't talk to me, but he's like super invested.
I feel like you're throwing shit at this.

Speaker 1 He's a little more emotional because I've been with you. In that game, I was, I was, oh, you were.
It was, you know, in a normal game, had a few, getting a little mouthy. Super Bowl, you weren't.

Speaker 1 But Super Bowl, I was like,

Speaker 1 locked in, man. And I, just the fact that Chase was so open on that last play, and he just had one more second.
Aaron Donald, man. Oh, my God.
And I didn't. And it was in L.A., too.

Speaker 1 And I've never, why didn't P. Ryan lay out for the ball? It's fourth and two.
Like, he just watched it fall. Like, at least dive.
At least make me feel like you care about winning this damn game.

Speaker 1 Exactly. But you know what, man? Hey, I'm not just saying this.
The Rams have always been my other team for as long as I can remember since ED was with the Rams and I was a little kid.

Speaker 1 So any other year, I'd have been ecstatic. And I love Whitworth, you know,

Speaker 1 good Bengal guy. So I was, you know, happy for him.
Walter Payton, man of the year. He goes out beating his old team.
I'm like, we can't script this stuff, man.

Speaker 1 And then the next year, you guys went to lost in the playoffs, right? That was tough because our mayor was mouthing off. I remember that.
That was like, I don't like when the mayor's getting involved.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Like, come on now, guy.
What are we doing? No, Mike Hilton, something about Burrowhead. No, just, just play the game.
Dude,

Speaker 2 their trash talk is so bad.

Speaker 1 It's bad. And also, you don't trash talk Mahomes.
Like, you just don't do that.

Speaker 2 That's what I'm saying. Yeah, there's some guys you don't want to even just like, don't even make eye contact.

Speaker 1 Kelsey call him out on the stage, too, right? Or whatever. Yeah, not a good look.
We call him a Jabroni. That's right.
You fucking Jabroni.

Speaker 2 There's only one person who could call someone a Jabroni. It's the rock.

Speaker 1 After that, like, you should. It was actually really funny.

Speaker 1 I don't know, man. All respect, Travis Kelsey.
He's a bearcat. We can't talk any trash on the Kelsey brothers.
Bengals. They rub the bearcat.

Speaker 1 I like

Speaker 1 for the Bengals. I love Joe Burrow.
So you a Giants guy, too?

Speaker 2 I'm a big Giants fan. Like, and I remember, like,

Speaker 2 different than you, when they played the Patriots that first year in Arizona, I got... And I was invited to go.
I had a bunch of friends going.

Speaker 2 And I, I just, I guess deep down, I didn't think they were really going to win I wasn't quite sure and then I just didn't I couldn't go I didn't think I could handle it yeah that's why I asked you if you went I did not like Connolly

Speaker 2 Connolly went Kevin Dillon went so many of my friends went and I was just like guys I have to watch this at home for so many reasons well that was the that was the undefeated patriots team too so it was like a foregone conclusion they're going to finish this thing off and and then we're hanging out superstitious so then they get back two years later in in indie versus the pats and i'm like well i stayed home last time and they won so now i can't go again because i'm a superstitious motherfucker.

Speaker 2 And I stayed home again. I skipped both of them.

Speaker 1 Well, hey, maybe I should start skipping them.

Speaker 2 Start skipping, man.

Speaker 1 Start skipping. No,

Speaker 1 I took my oldest Camden to the Super Bowl. He's like, because he was there.
Oh, he was in shambles and tears. Oh, really?

Speaker 1 Because he was there, it forced me to actually try and set a good example and not

Speaker 1 lose my shit when we lost. So I actually kept it together just to try and be a good

Speaker 1 example. Poor guy, you've made him a Bengals fan.
He's going to be just.

Speaker 1 He's got good, he's got, but it's so hard to win. He's got good teams.

Speaker 1 So years ago, when the Bengals were like literally terrible and not spending, they weren't spending their, you know, their money. It's just Smith territory.

Speaker 1 They just spent money. Yeah, they just didn't spend.
And it was before you had to spend a certain percentage of your cap. Like you had to, now they've changed it.

Speaker 1 But I actually went, I actually went to the league office and met with the vice president of operations on behalf of Bengal fans and said, whoa, what's happening to the Bengals fan base is an absolute travesty.

Speaker 1 We've supported this team sell out year after year after year and the ownership's not doing anything. So he said, hey, in full disclosure, this new rule is coming in where they're going to

Speaker 1 by rule have to spend a certain percentage of the. And that's when it kind of turned around.
They started actually having to spend money.

Speaker 2 For the reason when you went to the league office on behalf of Bengals fans, was that on your own idea?

Speaker 2 Or was this like, was there like a consortium of Bengals fans that were like, no, someone needs to speak for us. You know who?

Speaker 1 Nick Las Sheck. So I, so 90 Degrees had performed.

Speaker 1 I had a relationship with the head of entertainment for the NFL because we performed at like the Pro Bowl halftime and done all this stuff with the NFL.

Speaker 2 So you knew the right, you knew the people.

Speaker 1 So I hit her up. I said, hey, this is right when Roger Goodell was hired.
He hadn't been in office, but two, three years. And I said, hey, I'd love to meet with the commissioner.
And she said,

Speaker 1 you're not going to meet with the commissioner,

Speaker 1 but I will set up a meeting for you. And I was like, hey, I'll take it.
So I literally walked in there, tried to, you know, put on my best professional. So what do they say to you?

Speaker 1 You're like, yeah, Mr.

Speaker 2 Shaw.

Speaker 1 They have to hear you out, they hear you out, but they're like, He said, First, in full disclosure, I represent Marvin Lewis, he was coached to them. I said, No, no, I got no problem with Marvin.

Speaker 1 It's not right, he's he's turned he's not the turn the bangles around to an extent.

Speaker 1 It's not his fault, I'm not here to bash him, but what yeah, because it's really, I mean, you have these die-hard Bengal fans, you know, hard-earned money, man, and they're spending it at Bengal games, and the ownership's not doing anything to put a winning product on.

Speaker 1 That makes sense, so somebody had somebody had to fight the good fight.

Speaker 2 I once went to the like a year ago, went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, right? Short drive from me now. And I was let into this vault of archived stuff that no one's ever seen.

Speaker 2 It's not really ever on display and walking around so much cool stuff. But then I get to this one section that just says Cleveland Browns.
I'm like, okay, this is interesting.

Speaker 2 And then they basically, they say the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame has every letter, not every, most letters that every fan of the Browns wrote after the team got moved to Baltimore.

Speaker 2 And I was like, Can I read some of these?

Speaker 1 They're like, Sure, what? I opened them up.

Speaker 2 I'm reading, and the stuff was like heartbreaking stuff. Like 80-year-old men, like, I can't believe you fucking did this to yelling at me.

Speaker 1 Like hardware, they're spending their hard work.

Speaker 2 Like, these letters should be published into a book. Some of them were like heartbreaking, some were like optimistic, some made you angry as a fan.

Speaker 2 Like, yeah, what would I do if all of a sudden I woke up? It's like, yeah, the Giants are leaving.

Speaker 2 They're going to San Francisco, something like that.

Speaker 1 So, I mean,

Speaker 1 aside from the Cavs winning that one finals when lebron came back look at ohio professional sports like loyal fans beyond belief but like no champion i think the reds in 1990 were like 90 i love that red were like the last favorite teams i mean it was an incredible year but like you know cleveland hadn't won anything forever heartbreak i mean the fumble the drive you know we got him twice talk about this the most like what was it the heartbreaking like minnesota like just torture tortured fan base i think and for a long time ohio State was the same thing, like good, but never quite lived up to expectations until Urban came back and got a couple for him.

Speaker 1 So like Ohio sports fans are tortured, man.

Speaker 2 I feel like that's how I knew you were a big sports fan.

Speaker 2 At some point, I saw you publicly rocking a Reds hat, I want to say. Oh, yeah.
And I'm like, no one rocks a Reds hat unless they love that team.

Speaker 2 And that 90s Reds team is one of my favorite.

Speaker 2 I have like a weird obsession with Barry Larkin.

Speaker 1 I think Eric Davis.

Speaker 2 Eric Davis, Paul O'Neill, Chris Sabo, Sabo,

Speaker 1 Mariano Duncan, Mariano Duncan.

Speaker 2 That is a great team.

Speaker 1 Was Larry Walker on that team? No. He was after.
But they had the nasty boys. It was Rob Dibble.
Rob Dibble. Randy Myers, Norm Charlton.

Speaker 1 Once you got to the seven, they didn't forget it. You were.
It was very loud.

Speaker 2 One of my favorite teams of all time. And that's when I really got into baseball.

Speaker 1 Wire to wire, man. They first placed the entire.

Speaker 1 Yeah. It's like my Dodgers now.

Speaker 2 Before we let you go, we have to talk love is blind. We just have to.

Speaker 2 Because I'm obsessed with, I look look at things like man that just looks like a great job and I hate to call it a job right I just look at it like that looks like just a great especially you got a family so it's not something like you're gone for like 11 months like it just looks like not only is the show great and people love the show and I'm sure you get amazing fan interactions with the show it just looks like a great time

Speaker 1 it we I mean, look, it's probably the greatest gig in Hollywood, honestly, because that's what he said. He's like, Nick's got the greatest job in the world.

Speaker 2 If you ever want to take a year off, I will happily sub it. Just one year, one and done.
If you ever want to say, hey, we're going to take one year off, Jerry, please think of me.

Speaker 1 No, we're very lucky.

Speaker 1 We always think about how lucky we are to be hosting that show. And the first season, we were a lot more involved.

Speaker 1 You know, it was like, you know, you don't know how shows are going to work in your first year. So we shot the whole thing in Atlanta.

Speaker 1 We were interviewing them when they came out of the pods on their dates. Like, we were really like, we go to their apartments.

Speaker 1 And then I think they realized, you know, Kinetic realized, hey, this is really about their journeys. It's not the case.
It's not so much about the formula. Yeah.

Speaker 1 So, you know, it's great to still be involved in the show, but

Speaker 1 obviously it's like we kind of feel like we want to be more involved, honestly.

Speaker 1 And then the reunion comes around, and that's more you have to realize.

Speaker 1 That's like your Super Bowl, right?

Speaker 2 The reunion is.

Speaker 1 Which no one's ever happy with. It's always like you could, if you go in too hard on people, they're like, you're being so mean.
Why are you going?

Speaker 2 You don't push hard enough.

Speaker 1 You don't go in on them.

Speaker 1 They got a free pass. You took some slack for that, right? Or something? Yeah, the reason.
Every single year.

Speaker 2 Are you that you're too firm or you're not, you don't push hard enough?

Speaker 1 It It depends on the year.

Speaker 1 Why are you passionate? All the men are getting passed. You're not passionate enough.
You can't make everybody happy. And I always say,

Speaker 1 it's kind of a, you know what I always think about? I remember this poll back in the day on Sports Center.

Speaker 1 The favorite. anchor and the least favorite anchor was Stuart Scott.
Yeah. On both of them.
So that's how you know you're doing something right. If people either love you or hate you,

Speaker 2 they can't turn away.

Speaker 1 So love is blind, man. It's like, you feel like

Speaker 1 you can't keep everybody happy, but that's kind of like, I think, a byproduct of just having a successful show, right?

Speaker 1 I mean, it's like, well, I know you weren't happy with that, but you were, and what are you going to do?

Speaker 1 What is like, because this is what, eight seasons now or nine? We just aired eight, yeah. That's awesome.
We've had 14, 14 marriages in eight seasons.

Speaker 1 Well, one, I was going to ask, what's the success rate? And pretty.

Speaker 1 That's a good rate.

Speaker 1 12 of those are still married. So we had two divorces, but damn, that's pretty good.
I feel like with those shows, it's like either hit or miss.

Speaker 1 And obviously, there's like, what is the secret sauce of love is Like, you probably can't even say, honestly, I don't know, but like, why do people, why are people so enamored with it?

Speaker 1 I think, man, it's just like, you know, thank God I don't have to know about this, but like the dating world now and all the apps and swiping and all these things, I think this is like a throwback to old school, like dating, like getting to actually know somebody.

Speaker 1 So I think there's, you know, I think these are people for the most part who, who haven't found what they're looking for. And this is a different way to go about doing it.

Speaker 1 And the chance to get to know somebody. Like we've had multiple people say, I never would have dated that person in the real world.

Speaker 1 Never would have even talk to them but once you fall in love with them emotionally you know and then you see them it's like wow my eyes are open to something i never saw coming it's it's so i think it's authentic and that's why people are drawn to it it's like there's an authentic heart to it it's an authentic you know love story to it that uh it still you know resonates with people what are the uh what were the odds of you and vanessa making it on that show

Speaker 1 of finding each other yeah i honestly think we would have i mean i'm i'm not just saying that like as lip service i think like we because that's kind of how, I mean, obviously we knew what each other looked like.

Speaker 1 And that was

Speaker 1 she was hot as hell and still is. So I was, I'm not going to pretend like it was love as blood.
That helped.

Speaker 1 You had her in your music video, too.

Speaker 1 But we did a lot. She was in New York.
I was in L.A. We did a lot of like

Speaker 1 four-hour phone conversations, just like getting into like all the, all the roots of it, man. Like asking the questions that people, I think.

Speaker 1 in today's dating world just don't you don't get to anymore like so there's some similarities i think we would have found each other i think we're enough alike um

Speaker 1 that we would have you know we would have connected and and found each other in the pods i stand by it i got a few quick hitting stuff and then we'll let you go number one wait you sang at his wedding right did is this true now

Speaker 2 what's matt's approach like to you i feel like he's not asking you like hey nick cut up and say a few words like hey could you sing at the wedding that's a pretty solid favor that's i'll be honest it's one of the most nervous moments of i you know i get it i get sung on national television i've sung i sang the anthem at the World Series once.

Speaker 1 That was really intimidating. Which series was that? Who?

Speaker 1 Yankees. Yankee.
Yankees Marlins.

Speaker 2 Oh, that one didn't end well for me.

Speaker 1 So, yeah, no, so I was sitting there and I had a little pitch pipe, and I'm like, got the first note in my head because you don't want to start the anthem wrong, or then you're screwed.

Speaker 1 And I'm sitting there, and I knew Aaron Boone from when he was with the Reds. And so he and I go way back.
And so he started, he comes up to me, starts talking to me. I'm like,

Speaker 1 get the the fuck out of here.

Speaker 1 I'm so nervous about to sing the national anthem. And I'm like, I'm scared we'll lose the pitch because I'm talking to Aaron Boone.

Speaker 1 Anyway, but no, that was one of the, one of the most nervous moments of my, of my singing life because it's, you know, someone's like, people experiment in their life. Yeah.

Speaker 1 It's like, and I've been like hired to do weddings and stuff, but when you're like emotionally invested, you're, you know, it's. Well, that, that was, so the first, so our first dance.

Speaker 1 So actually, Josie's best friend wrote the song and he sang it. So that's actually a little more challenging.

Speaker 2 Oh, so he he even had to learn a new

Speaker 2 one.

Speaker 1 It was like two of our closest friends were intimately involved in that.

Speaker 1 And then the one that just obviously means the world to me still is like my mom had just passed away like a year and a half earlier.

Speaker 1 So she got to see like Josie's wedding dress in a picture when she was in the hospital and then she was gone.

Speaker 1 And so, and Josie's dad had passed the year we met, which he had been passed for maybe five or six years at that point. But like, so we, so she didn't, she didn't get the father-daughter dance.

Speaker 1 I didn't get the son dance so i had an idea of like

Speaker 1 i asked nick i was like hey i like my mom loved um

Speaker 1 billy joel so we did billy joel like a little mashup of billy joel and frank sinatra was her dad

Speaker 1 so nick so i kind of told nick and nick it was perfect so like we danced together i danced with her mom she danced with my dad to this little mashup and it was a surprise to josie actually it was a surprise to everybody but me and nick she just made the little hair i know so it was like it was that that was it just an incredible moment.

Speaker 1 We have the video. I should actually send you the video.
We have the video. It was just, it was just an amazing moment.
And I just, I was like, dude, thank you.

Speaker 1 You know, and then, and then the, well, not to switch from emotional, but then the best part was we were all getting hammered and he was dancing member. You were singing.

Speaker 1 Nick just took the mic, started singing like karaoke with

Speaker 1 superstition. No, you said

Speaker 1 superstition. I have no pitch, but like riding's on the wall.

Speaker 1 And then we had Josie's mom come up and they were on, and they were, it was so, it was so, that was a great after party it was so much fun yeah it was a great great weekend that's when that's when i mean now true or false for you rookie hazing

Speaker 1 you had to sing i told him i had to sing what did you sing well i had to sing two songs

Speaker 1 i had to sing parris hilton song oh okay and then i had to sing uh i sang one of them nicks probably what's left of me at the time was it right 2000 yes

Speaker 1 so i had to i had to sit i had to stand on top we were in flagstaff i had to stand stand it's pretty easy they i mean it's like now they do like the whole, like you see on Hard Knocks.

Speaker 1 I was in the cafeteria, Leiner, you got to sing and you got to sing your boy Lache song. And I was like, all right.
So I just sang it for like a minute and that was it.

Speaker 2 Last one. And you know what? You could just say true or false if you don't want to get into it.

Speaker 2 You got kicked out of a Chargers game? This is coming from your boy Maddie Ice right here.

Speaker 1 You could just say true or false if you want to get into the story.

Speaker 1 Well, you know, the Chargers no longer play at Qualcomm. So I'm going to say this is the San Diego Charger.
You're out of the Blackboard. You're not in the Blackboard.
No, we were sitting there.

Speaker 1 It It was a big group of us went down for the game Bengals Chargers game and and this guy sitting in front of us like literally we just sat down chargers get a first down He turns around and goes first down right in my face.

Speaker 1 I'm like, oh man, it's gonna be one of these days. So, you know, it just escalated.

Speaker 1 So then the whole, you know, and there's a group of like 10 of us. I'm like, dude, you don't want to do this.
And it just escalated.

Speaker 2 Do you have a jersey on? Was he rocking a jersey?

Speaker 1 So the best part of it is we call it the Olshansky game because he had an Olshansky jersey. I'm like, where the hell is Olshansky? So we started Olshansky.

Speaker 1 So we started going in on him about Olshansky. Was that Igor Olshansky, right? The D-lineman? I think that's what his name was.
Oh my gosh. So yeah, it was...

Speaker 1 And everybody in that section is like, he does this all the time. He's so obnoxious.
They were on my side, but it didn't. I think you got kicked.
Well, you got banned from the stadium, right?

Speaker 1 All of you?

Speaker 1 I did not. A couple of the guys in the group were referred to anger management

Speaker 1 in terms of getting let back in the stadium.

Speaker 1 The officer who came, she was super nice. She's like, I actually dated your cousin in Oxford, Ohio.
I'm like, oh, so as I'm getting kicked out of the stadium,

Speaker 1 can you help me? But no, but we won the game. I was like, Bengals won.
Bengals won.

Speaker 1 Pulled it out. We'll do it.
Thank you so much. Oh, thank you guys.

Speaker 2 Your friendship is real. Like, I've now, I've gotten the full, I see it.

Speaker 1 Like, the history you guys.

Speaker 1 I always say this, like, it's years, 20 years since 03 or 4 we met.

Speaker 1 And like, the way, like, there's just like everyone used to always say, like, oh, like, you know, you, like a boy band member gets a narrative perception.

Speaker 1 I had, obviously, a perception of the way I played, but like, we were like, we're genuinely close, close friends.

Speaker 1 So, and I've always told people, I was like, dude, when you meet Nick, you're going to love the dude. Like, he's just one of us.

Speaker 2 What could have happened if Nick Lachey walked on to USC?

Speaker 1 The greatest line I've ever heard Nick say.

Speaker 2 Might be talking highs, but we might be a whole different conversation.

Speaker 1 I mean, on my way to dance class,

Speaker 1 that's I want to go play football.

Speaker 2 Just so you know, that's going to get clipped. It's going to be on, that's going to be on Instagram.

Speaker 1 And that same, that same week, I remember I was in here at a tall and Rob Johnson was like, hey, man, do you know where the key is to the weight room? I was like, he thinks I belong here.

Speaker 1 This is great. He thinks I'm on the team.
They shattered your dreams so fast. Awesome.
That's amazing. Thanks, buddy.
Thanks, Nick. Appreciate you guys.

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Speaker 2 All right, it's time for a full focus presented by NHTSA. Using your phone while you're driving could kill someone, put the phone away or pay, paid for by NHTSA.

Speaker 2 This is something where we are going to spotlight someone or something that we think is fully focused. The Masters, as we air this, is on right now.
We had the pleasure of talking to Justin Thomas

Speaker 2 last week. I'm going with Justin Thomas fully focused because I love what he said in the interview when talking about Augusta.

Speaker 2 He said, basically, you know, guys get there Sunday, Monday, they play all these practice rounds, all this intensity. By the time they get to Wednesday,

Speaker 2 they're like pumped and ready to go. And then Thursday morning, they're exhausted.

Speaker 2 And he said this year he's trying something a little different where he's just going to be a little more casual, get there a little later, play a little less.

Speaker 2 So to me, that's a different kind of focus.

Speaker 1 Well, I mean, it's the old thing, like when I was in, we played a national championship games or a Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 It's like you just kind of treat it like it's a normal game because if you, you know, try and study a little bit more, you over prepare or, hey, I'm going to, I'm going to lift weights a little harder.

Speaker 1 It's just like you get out of your routine. And I think for him, like, he's played it so many times.
Like, you can't control the weather, the elements of this course.

Speaker 1 You just go out there and you give your best. He's playing great golf right now.
But yeah, I like that. I like the mindset.
I think I might throw him a Texas weekend.

Speaker 2 Wait a second. Well, what he said, too, that got me was like, he said, no one's ever lost the Masters because they didn't know Augusta.
They didn't know the Course. Like, you know, the Course.

Speaker 2 You've played it a thousand times. Wait, did you say you're going to throw him a Texas?

Speaker 1 I'm going to throw him a Texas weekend. Why not?

Speaker 2 One of the best thing that's come from doing throwbacks since Matt helped facilitate getting Justin Thomas on the show was that we are now in a group text with Justin Thomas, which for me is a big treat.

Speaker 1 You cannot text Justin Thomas on Masters.

Speaker 1 Jerry,

Speaker 1 did you answer texts when you're shooting a big scene on the entra on entourage when you're done when you're in your trailer eating craft services yes bro yeah but it's just different like if what if he's leading so you're telling me if he's like in the lead or in the final pairing after sunday's round after saturday's round going into sunday what are you texting you think that's some athlete stuff i don't know you think if he if he's leading sunday morning right so you don't find he's got a text from his boys saying let's go

Speaker 1 his boys now hell yeah we're i don't feel like we're there yet maybe that's why I don't feel like me and Justin Thomas are there. By the way, do you want to know what I did on a game day one time?

Speaker 1 Monday night football, the Bears game. Do you remember that? Yeah, of course.
Okay, so

Speaker 1 that was a night game. Do you want to know what I did that Monday morning? True story? Oh, no.
The Monday morning. I played a Monday night game against the Bears

Speaker 1 starting. And I actually played well that game.
I played 18 holes on my golf simulator at Kapalua Bay in Hawaii with two other my teammates

Speaker 1 on Monday night football.

Speaker 1 Now, is that like a a stress reliever are you trying i was just like let's go play 18 we don't have to be at the stadium until like one o'clock or 12.

Speaker 1 i literally got up i went upstairs i had a golf simulator which was pretty badass at the time and i played 18.

Speaker 1 i used to play i think it's kapalua bay yeah it's in hawaii because it just was pretty on the simulator and it was like the you know the palm trees in the ocean right there and i played 18.

Speaker 2 i don't know how long that took me you had your own golf simulator How are you still like not even into golf and you shoot in the 90s?

Speaker 1 I made some dumb purchases when i was younger that was probably it wasn't a dumb purchase but i