FoosTalk Live | Ep 225 | Michael Stahl P 1

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER_06]: The following is a presentation of Foosball Radio

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_06]: It's FoosTalk Live

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_06]: You talking to me?

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_06]: Compelling and lively banter

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_06]: Are you gonna talk to us?

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Talking Foosball

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Foosball was how I measured my value as a man

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_00]: You took that away!

[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Players and fans, promoters and pros

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_06]: Unedited and raw

[00:00:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Talk talk talk

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Living in the moment

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_06]: We have a lot of important things to talk about

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_06]: All while practicing social distancing

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Cool, we'll talk, no big work

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's get this thing started

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_06]: FoosTalk Live

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_06]: Hi, this is Tom Robinson

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_06]: And I want to personally thank our Patreon pillars for their support

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Of Foosball Radio and FoosTalk Live

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_06]: Here's to our newest member

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_06]: St. Louis Foosball

[00:00:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Also thanks to Randy Raposo

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_06]: Thomas Dyke

[00:00:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Mike Vite

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_06]: Rob Cutler

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_06]: Ernie Bischoff

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_06]: James Sparky Castillo

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_06]: Alicia Bilges

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_06]: Carl Fleischer

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[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Brian Schmid

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Cameron Burroughs

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Jimmy Love

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[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_06]: Hey it's Tom Robinson

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_06]: It's FoosTalk Live Episode Number 225 Tonight

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_06]: It's a promoter's profile

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_06]: With the great Michael Stahl Jr

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Of the great state of Michigan

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_06]: He's about to put on a The Great Lakes Classic

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_06]: We're going to talk to him a lot

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_06]: About promoting Foosball tonight

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_06]: And of course if you're talking about Foosball

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_06]: It really helps to have somebody else

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Who wants to talk about Foosball

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Who would be Randy Raposo

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_06]: Of the great state of Alabama

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Hello Randy

[00:02:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey Tom, how are you?

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm just keeping up man

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_06]: That's pretty much all I can do at this stage

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_06]: But how about yourself?

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_06]: What's happening there?

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Have you had any residuals from the storm?

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_03]: No no no no

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a little bit weak

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Wednesday we got a little wind, a little rain

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Okay

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Thursday, Thursday a little wind, a little rain

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Friday a little wind, a little rain

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean nothing really

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_03]: It wasn't bad

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Cool

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_03]: It wasn't bad at all

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_03]: So you know I know it was unfortunate

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_03]: For some people in Florida

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_03]: And some people down on the Gulf

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_03]: But for me I'm in Central Alabama

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Right in the middle of the state

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_03]: And

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_06]: So good to go

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah yeah

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Well it's worth saying that

[00:03:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Florida State or the master's open

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_06]: Is underway

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_06]: It is happening this weekend

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_06]: And even though we're recording this tonight

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_06]: On a Saturday night

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Because we have crazy schedules this weekend

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_06]: This Florida State is still happening

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_06]: And we might even hear a couple of reports

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Who knows from Mike Green

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_06]: Sometime over the weekend

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_06]: But we'll wait and see

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Anyway it's great to know that

[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_06]: That you're okay

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_06]: And everything worked out there

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_06]: I know a lot of the people along the coast

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_06]: There were having some issues

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_06]: But yeah

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm always gonna be okay

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean I'm listen

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_03]: We knew that

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_03]: I can swim

[00:03:46] [SPEAKER_03]: I got guns

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm good too

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_06]: That's always a good thing

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_06]: It's always a good thing

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And listen as long as me and my dog

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Are okay

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And my wife

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Is okay whatever

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_03]: As long as the dog's okay

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_06]: Does your wife like listening to

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_06]: What the foosball

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_06]: To foos talk live by any chance

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_06]: And just wondering

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Doesn't matter

[00:04:12] [SPEAKER_06]: I'll call her in here and tell her right now

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh man

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_06]: Well hey you know it's

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_06]: It is great to see that Florida State is under way

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_06]: And kudos to everybody who's playing

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_06]: I guess

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Well your bro

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_06]: Chris Amaral is playing this weekend

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So Chris Amaral

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_03]: My boy he was on here a couple weeks ago

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Shout out to Chris

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Won amateur singles

[00:04:36] [SPEAKER_03]: And then he's sitting king seat in amateur doubles

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh two

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_03]: And he's super excited

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Because thanks to our guest tonight

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_03]: And his win in Florida

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_03]: He got a package to the Great Lakes Classic

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03]: So he's super pumped

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_03]: He was already planning to go anyway

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_03]: We got a team together for the team event

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Which we're looking forward to playing on Sunday morning

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_05]: Yep

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_03]: This is gonna be my first time going

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm super pumped to go

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_03]: So uh but uh yeah yeah

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Shout out to Chris

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_03]: So there was a bunch of guys from northeast

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_03]: That were gonna go and they all bailed

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I guess flights were issues

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_03]: And but you know you know Chris

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Man Chris is uh

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Committed I guess

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Is the word

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah he's dedicated to winning

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Dedicated

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Can see it

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_03]: No just just playing

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Just playing

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Dedicated playing

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Winning is just uh

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_03]: You know he's his game is improving

[00:05:30] [SPEAKER_03]: He's uh you know as the more he plays

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_03]: The more his brain is starting

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_03]: To kind of figure it out a little bit

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Right

[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_03]: He's got a nice little five

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_03]: He's got a nice little shot

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_03]: And he's uh he's definitely coming along but

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_03]: He's he's uh he's having a good weekend

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And um and then in a couple weeks

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_03]: We're gonna be

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_03]: We're gonna be in Michigan

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Great legs classic

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's go

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_06]: With our guest Michael Stahl Jr.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_06]: Who is a great host by the way

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Always puts on a great tournament

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_06]: This is gonna be my third year in a row by the way

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_06]: So yeah man it's

[00:06:00] [SPEAKER_06]: This is I look forward to this old all year long

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_06]: So Michael you know welcome once again to uh to Fuseluck Live

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_06]: We got a lot to talk about here

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Thank you Tom

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah you're welcome man

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah man

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_06]: And so

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_06]: Forget about it

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_06]: Forget about it

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_06]: It's all right

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Um so yeah

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_06]: Now when it when it comes to uh you know this this tournament coming up

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Obviously you got a lot going on

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_06]: You know there's tons of stuff in your way

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Life work etc

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_06]: But man you're still finding time to really kill it

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_06]: With Fuseball Clubs USA

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_06]: What is up man what how was how's that going by the way?

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Dude yeah man it's just been fun

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_04]: It's been a really cool journey

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh we just closed like 15 or 16

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_04]: I think 16 clubs in the last 30 days

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_06]: Just 15 or 16 clubs

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_04]: People contacting me

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Really?

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah it's been it's been crazy

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Since Worlds like

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know man uh there's just been a shift

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And people have been either contacting me

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Or people I contacted are finally coming around

[00:07:02] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh yeah I've signed like 16 new deals

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_04]: To get to get tables in uh in different locations

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_06]: That's fantastic

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_06]: What what's uh what what uh we're talking like mostly high schools middle schools

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_06]: What are we talking

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_04]: So like 90% of the places that we get Fuseball in our schools

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's our biggest goal uh is to place tables and schools

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_04]: And to get students playing

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_04]: But really anywhere the youth is we have like that is our mission

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_04]: To get it and I feel like um putting them anywhere we can

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Eventually they'll make their way into the schools in those locations

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_04]: So I'll always try to go and get the table in the school or the club in the school

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_04]: But um you know that's the biggest goal but if you can't then try elsewhere I guess

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_04]: That's kind of been our our MO

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_04]: It's worked out

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_06]: It's uh I just don't we don't know where you find the time you sleep when again

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Dude it's I've got a crazy schedule working uh my corporate job

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh it's it's tough like I work

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_04]: For a second and I don't even know a second and a half shift

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't I don't I work pretty late sometimes but um you know it's

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_04]: It's a pretty wide range of hours so I do not get as much sleep as I'd like

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_04]: It's it's been cool

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_04]: It's been cool still

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_03]: No no you've got to take care of yourself bro you're a young guy you've got to take care of yourself

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Get some rest

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_03]: No

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_03]: No

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Listen to the difference

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Listen

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_03]: How about how about putting a table in a senior center? I would love to just beat on

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Dog I've been talking to clay to me about getting uh tables and prisons

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And like using foosball as therapy for like prisoners and stuff there you go

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_04]: So i'm hoping that that starts to catch on and I've talked to trey at uh valley dynamo and he digs the idea

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_04]: It's it's all about like I feel like having the nonprofit organization having that legitimacy behind

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Pushing a foosball effort is like the most fruitful and smooth way to do it because people have money

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_04]: And they want to get something for their money, right?

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_04]: And if it's a good cause or there's a big tax benefit like it just makes sense and then everyone wins so

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, I think that's the key. Yeah in my mind. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's a good approach

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_03]: That's a really good approach. Yeah

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Just just use your imagination and where people gather

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_06]: Where people tend to spend a lot of time

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, even I mean somebody somebody locally was just saying hey, you know, there are these local indoor

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_06]: soccer clubs. They have these

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_06]: Locations and some of them are these big blow-up buildings are really large

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_06]: But they go in there they play soccer indoors especially during the inclement weather

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Why wouldn't you put a table in a place like that?

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, yeah, yeah, I actually have been in contact with a lot of different people that

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I've been lucky with some of the the contacts I've come across. There's a CEO of of say soccer in Ohio

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_04]: That's the name of the company. Okay, I think it's a nonprofit. I'm pretty sure they're fully funded

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Fully vested like such a great organization and they they basically bring soccer fields and clubs to schools

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Nice, and uh, I've kind of been talking to this guy. Um, and he's a foosball player

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_04]: um, a little bit about just kind of like replicating that model and uh, you know

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Kind of doing the same thing and so that's kind of like that was months ago

[00:10:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I think I feel like we're seeing some success

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_04]: And a lot of it is attributed to the people the quality people that have kind of come to me or found found my way

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I found my way too. And uh, so yeah, that's really been a lot of it now

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_06]: I think there is something to be said for

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, we look at the european model and I think we talk about this quite a bit but the european model

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_06]: Being most everybody knows about foosball or at least you know is aware of it because most

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Workplaces in germany have tables in their in their break rooms

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_06]: And that's like a that's crazy like a common thing

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_06]: So, you know if we can we can spread the fire

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_06]: So to speak uh in in places like that

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_06]: um

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_06]: It's I

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_06]: Who knows who knows how many people we could have in the sport in 10 years

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_06]: We're fine. It's crazy, man. You know

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_06]: That would be so cool

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_06]: So I got to ask you the question now of course, uh, you know foosball clubs usa

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_06]: um

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_06]: There's there's some new things on the horizon with the world foosball tour, of course

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, ryan morris taking over from his mom who's retiring from the ifp

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_06]: He's a super smart dude and

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_06]: What kind of foosball clubs

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_06]: USA relationship will it be with a world foosball tour?

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I'm I'm hoping a very strong one

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_04]: I talked to ryan and he's been super receptive to a lot of the things that I hope to do

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh, I think he'll be a great partner man. He's he's a super smart dude and

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_04]: He's taken on

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_04]: A mountain and he's determined and I'm going to try to support him any chance that I I can

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_04]: In my my power. So as a player too, of course, you know, I'm just really excited like foosball right now

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_04]: It's it's a great time

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I agree

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, I mean mary. I know mary was super supportive of foosball clubs usa

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_03]: And yeah extremely correct me if I'm wrong, but

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, like amazon prime. Is there something connected with amazon and foosball clubs? There was

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, so there was a there was a program. I think it's called amazon smile and john o brian actually set it up

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_04]: So that and she would push people to go to amazon and set it up so that way I did you did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, so

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Go ahead. I'm sorry. No, it's cool

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_04]: I was I wasn't really involved with foosball clubs when that was a thing

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_04]: I thought it was still a thing when I joined and I quickly found out that it stopped maybe like six months or a year before

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_04]: I joined

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_04]: But it actually brought in some good income for

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_04]: You know for the organization and mary pushed that a lot. She also

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_04]: For a number of years now ran the national championships and did the team event the nac and would give the proceeds from that event specifically

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_04]: To foosball clubs as a donation which is super awesome and helped a lot

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I think this year she gave us a couple grand that was that was raised from that so that I mean that was that's a big deal

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_06]: Man, yeah, seriously. That's great

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_06]: What what so far? I mean as far as your your operating budget. Have you uh been able to increase that at all or

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_06]: What's going on?

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, so we uh, I've been trying to spend money. I've been trying to spend the money we have available

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_04]: to try to try to either

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Purchase tables outright and send them to schools and we've talked about a budget and

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_04]: We just don't have enough funding. I feel like to do some of the things that I want to do

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Of course, we've got some money coming in and it's been great

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_04]: We've held on to some money, but I don't want to hold on to money

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to spend it

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I think the more we spend it the more we'll see it come back. Yep. And so just working with the board on

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_04]: you know

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Really just like sharing my vision for what I want to do and then like gaining their trust for them to be, you know

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Intrigued by I guess my ideas and they've been really responsive. It's it's been cool. Cool, man

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_04]: You know nonprofit isn't just one guy, uh, you know making decisions. No, it's that's very satisfying

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah, things kind of have to be voted on and it's it can be tough sometimes

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_04]: And they're a little bit careful with and I'm super happy they are

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, but mostly really supportive and responsive to kind of the things I want to do

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_06]: If there's anything we can do is as a media outlet is foosball radio foos talk live

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_06]: There's anything we can do for you man, you know, just say it and uh, yeah, man for sure. I'm excited

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh, Noah told me that you'll be helping us out with the foosball ad for foos clubs for michigan. Just finish it yesterday

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Yep, that's awesome, man. Right on. That's great. Yeah. He uh, he has some direction for me

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_06]: Which is what I need. I mean, I can't yeah, I can't do it by myself. I need a producer and uh, he he was great

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_06]: He's just you know, it's like, okay, that was good, but let's try it this way. So I think the yeah

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_06]: The end result is going to be better than than would it be if it was just be moment me and me myself and I

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_06]: You know

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_04]: He's super intentional and has such a great rich like vision for things and I've worked

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_04]: I've been you know honored to work with Noah a little bit and uh,

[00:15:40] [SPEAKER_04]: He's done some video editing for me and has been super helpful. Um, so you know, I love that dude

[00:15:46] [SPEAKER_06]: Those who don't know Noah no now it's rosin steen or rosin stein

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's rosin stein. Um, you know, he's he's also a pretty awesome promoter too out in california. Yep

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, but I think that's what you were gonna say. Well, he's also a top notch videographer in hollywood

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_06]: Yes, yes, it's like okay guys got some cred

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, I think he just did like a people's choice awards or something like that like don't quote me but something big

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah, yeah, so he's busy and but he has enough time to you know to to donate his time to foosball clubs and has been super

[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Amazing. Yeah, and gee he comes from new england. Go figure. Yeah

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_03]: He's got ties to the northeast. No, I like Noah. I love all those northeast guys, man

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, we we have a flavor. Let's put it not all of them

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, I just like the directness man, it's like a part of your guys' culture. You like I'm just like give it to me like

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, no, no, it's when I moved to alabama. It was like

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_03]: um

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_03]: People could only handle me in small doses

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Because

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I just I just tell them and they're like, are you joking? I'm like, no, I'm not joking like this like

[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_08]: This is it

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, because they're so you know people down here are and and people ask me like how was it down there

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm like the weather's consistent. The gun laws are loose. I'm like

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER_03]: It's it's a nice place

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I said the people are nice to your face and they are for the most part

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Everybody you're not going to meet somebody who's going to be like mean or aggressive

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_03]: but you know

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_03]: They might go home and be like, you know, you heard

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, Billy Bob got drunk and broke his arm again. What a dummy

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_03]: But when they see him they're gonna be like, oh, Billy Bob, we love you. You're the best, you know

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_03]: It's just how they are and I'm not saying that to be derogatory. I love where I am

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_03]: I love these people. I love this way of life where I come from. It is just rough

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_03]: It's it's just how it is. Yeah, this

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Hey, I'm gonna

[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm gonna honk at you. I'm gonna give you the finger

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_03]: You're gonna know what's going on like that the hell out of the way

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, yeah, it's uh, there's a there's an old saying I prefer it that way

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_06]: Me too. Well, you can carry a little for a little too far. I mean, I'm in a resort town called sarah took a springs new york

[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_06]: And we have a thoroughbred racetrack here with you know, the horse racing happens every year

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_06]: And of course there are 50,000 new people that come to town every year just just to go to the races, you know

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_06]: So there's a motto among those especially

[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_06]: I show we say

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER_06]: upper tier top one tenth of 1 percent people who own horses this kind of thing number one the vehicles they drive

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_06]: Are very expensive, but they don't come with turn signals apparently

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, and and their attitude is basically me first

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_06]: everyone else 10th

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Okay, so yeah, you know, that's just the thing I know some people that could fix that real fast. Yeah, right

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh, it's uh, it's it's unique, you know

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_06]: But generally speaking, I think you know people everywhere are decent. It's just there's just a certain

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Cultural thing that takes place that that's different in in some ways

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I got a cousin. I got a cousin that drives an 87 Chevy Cavalier

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_03]: And it doesn't matter if you drive a Rolls Royce

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_02]: He'll he'll he'll pull you over and pull you out of that car and

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Beat the daylight

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, let's go and he's still walking free. That's good to know good to know. No, no

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_03]: He doesn't even have a driver's license. He don't care. Wow

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_03]: No, he's like if I get pulled over my insurance won't go up

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_02]: He's like I spend the night in jail. I get bailed out and I go home. It's not a big deal

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_04]: I've got a friend like that too

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_02]: I know someone oh man. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Does he play foosball?

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_02]: He used to

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_02]: He used to cops pull him over. He's like I'm going I'm going right there. I'm really you're gonna do

[00:19:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, it sounds like an episode of uh, of uh, what are they what used to call it? Um

[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, oh cops remember the show cops episode of cops, right?

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_06]: Episode of cops that's right there. Why are you all?

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Pull me over. Why else sweaty? Why else sweaty? I was watching cops

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Dude, I love watching cops man, right? Oh, they need to bring it back. Yes, they do. They do

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_03]: They could literally just yeah, they could just film cops in florida. That's it. There you go. There you go

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_06]: That plenty plenty of ammunition there. No, I

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_06]: Some day somebody is going to do it now. Joe Hesslinger who did foosballers

[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, somebody's going to take it to the next degree and say hey, we got him to a reality show about foosball, man

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_06]: Playing it simple dude

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_04]: So it's funny you mentioned that uh, I don't plan on doing this by the way

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_04]: But it's funny you mention it because when I was 18

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER_04]: I interviewed for mtv and uh, they interviewed they yeah, they were looking at take taking a shot at a foosball

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Reality show really and they were trying to like yeah, and they were trying to get like

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_04]: They interviewed a bunch of younger foosball players like in their 20s early 20s

[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_04]: 18 and up and they kind of wanted it to be a take like that

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh, I had super bad food poisoning that day and I actually lived in california with brendan flaherty

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And I was at the wow I was at his um

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_04]: I was at his his place, you know where they they sold golf clubs and

[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_04]: He had like two massive buildings one where they did foosball sales and I think they made foosball tables

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_04]: And then another spot where they just sold golf clubs out of like a like a sales floor basically wow and uh

[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, dude. It was crazy. Um, I don't

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Still I tried out I tried out for real world once did you really?

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I mean I I had I was I was dating a girl

[00:21:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I've been dating this girl for like four or five years and she's like real world

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Auditions are in boston and we all got in a car went up there and we just smoked a bunch of that was high as a kite

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm just sitting there. I'm just sitting there goodness

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_03]: And they're they're interviewing people around the table and this one girl. I still remember her going

[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm just real i'm just real and i'm like in the back of my mind

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I was like I was like just I was like just cuss her out just cuss her out

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_03]: But but i'm like but i'm just like i'm like i'm in boston i'm high i got weed on me

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_03]: I was like i'm not gonna say probably not a good idea

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_03]: And then after the fact I was like man if i'd custer out i probably would have got picked to go on the show

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Right so you need that that's that's a thing

[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_06]: Right

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Think about this though when it comes to reality tv right you have you always have

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, I mean it's it's like it's a scourge of our society, but it's still

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_06]: It it sells right? It's like a a thing people can't they can't not watch the train wreck. They have to see it

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, right

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_04]: So it's just like the negativity that almost has to it almost has to be about something like well

[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Confrontational there has to be confrontational people want to see that that's the formula right so well

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_04]: There could be there could be like a like a wholesome version of that that I think there is a place for I don't know possibly possibly

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean nobody wants to see wholesome

[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, it's it's um if you want people to keep coming back to see what's going to happen next

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_06]: You have you know dynamic personalities that are that are coming to loggerheads over stuff, you know

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_06]: And it could be simple things

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_06]: But the whole idea and no matter what story you've ever seen as a movie or read a book or seen a tv show

[00:23:29] [SPEAKER_06]: There are all the same thing you start out with

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_06]: A scenario whatever it might be let's say a place where people play foosball every friday night

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_06]: I don't know let's take trick shots

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_06]: But every friday night the same crew shows up and there's a couple people in that crew that are really cool

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_06]: Very good players. They're they're great. We like watching hang it. You know, they hang out

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_06]: They have a good time and there's one or two people in that crew. They're like

[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_06]: idiots or or jerks

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_06]: And start trouble every single week

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Mike you know tom's got tom's got people in mind

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Dude, there's one or two guys in every foosball scene that's like that like I went to locals

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Like pretty much all over the country and I've I've had new experience

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_04]: There's a guy in Chicago that I'm thinking of right now. There's a guy and even lancing that I just

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Dude, but uh, you know, they're everywhere man. Yeah, yeah

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_06]: It's tough. You have to have it though if you're gonna have a good formula when it makes you a better player too

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah, yeah, honestly. Well like if someone's gonna talk crap to me

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_04]: I've gotten better because of those guys

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Right, you know who who try to pick at you and like personal insults and

[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And I've also been on

[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_04]: The not so great end of it too where I respond and I'm like dude. I shouldn't have said that or you know, like it's

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_04]: It's just not worth it most of the time

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_06]: You'll learn you'll learn sportsmanship

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_06]: But at the same time you got some guy who pulls you aside, you know

[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_06]: When you miss a block and they they they say to you

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_06]: I want to win this how about you?

[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_06]: What's the matter with you?

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_06]: Dude, it's a dog fight. I've had conversations like that. I want to win this. Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay, dude

[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a four team dyp. Are you serious right?

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Right, you know, there's a memory that I've got

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I took on like I used to smack talk like when I was younger and I used to say some not so nice things

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_04]: I was kind of a bad sport at one point and I've gotten way better so much better

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_04]: but

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Now I like the intensity of saying something to your opponent and like almost being like an intense like not like a jab

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_04]: But just like some kind of like back and forth. I was playing uh

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I was playing okana and kenneth dale

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh at nationals for king seat and then in the finals of pro doubles me and mike weight rowski

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And I was just like I was like these guys are so good

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_04]: And I was just like almost like saying nice things but in like an angry intense way

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_04]: And like it was just like it was it was kind of funny but like at the same time like

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm like I gotta play my best if I beat these guys

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Almost talking like crap slightly but not I love it. So I took that on it didn't really I don't know how

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Cool it was but no, it's a it's a form of psychological warfare

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, you have to yeah, you've got to wage warfare

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_06]: You're you're only two and a half feet away from your opponent for god's sake. So yeah, look at the greats

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Right, johnny horton

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean the guy he was warned over and over again by the refs, you know

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_06]: And and I still remember what was the one video

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_06]: I forgot who's playing now might have been it might have been tommy adkison or one of those guys, right?

[00:26:38] [SPEAKER_06]: And he kept saying i'm reading him like a book

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_04]: And yeah, I love I love like those like uh almost like mature not like

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Derogatory comments that like people can make sometimes tommy

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Probably makes too personal of comments sometimes, but I've seen him say stuff like that where it's like right

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not personal. It's like friendly like that kind of foosball

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_04]: I think has has a big place in like the culture today. Oh, yeah

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I think I think I think it was because I think I remember watching this match

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_03]: It might have been a doubles match against bobby deas

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, you're right and he said i'm reading them like a book and the ref warned them and he said what?

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_03]: I said i'm reading like a book

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_04]: I love it. That's so perfectly fine to say. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it's just little things that

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah getting under the opponent's skin just just needling a little bit, you know, that's

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, as long as it's not personal right right right right now like ah this guy looks like he tucks his t-shirt into his underwear

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, look at him

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh this wise guy

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_04]: I gotta remember that one

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_04]: That's right. That's funny man

[00:27:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh god

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_06]: no, it's uh

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Sportsmanship let's talk about sportsmanship now

[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_06]: I think there there is uh, there is an element and you know

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_06]: And I get the impression some in some cases like uh with ryan more because he's taken over with the world

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Foosball tour

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_04]: He wants to encourage that i'm curious how that changes this game by the way

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, it does affect it or if he has a different approach

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Like being the promoter you almost have to be like the super nice guy. I guess yep and like yeah

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, but not on the table. No, you know, this this is the one thing i'll say about ryan and I don't know ryan like person

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, I've known ryan since he was like

[00:28:31] [SPEAKER_03]: 12 or 13 but I don't like ryan. I don't call ryan. We don't talk like that

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Right, but ryan on the table and ryan off the table two different people. Oh, sure. No question

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Ryan ryan is one of the nicest guys you'll meet he'll stop and talk to you. Um

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_03]: On the table, he just wants to he's just competitive. He just wants to win

[00:28:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, he just wants to win and and if anybody if that hurts your feelings then you need to reevaluate

[00:28:55] [SPEAKER_03]: What you're doing? Yes, yes 100 percent agree. We're competing right? He's not making it personal

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_03]: He's he's he's I feel like he's playing

[00:29:05] [SPEAKER_03]: The heel like he's he's playing a role and and on top of playing this role

[00:29:09] [SPEAKER_03]: He's just really really good at foosball. Yep. So, um and and on top of being the promoter

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I love it. I love it. Mm-hmm

[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_04]: It's I agree dude

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I asked him if anything changes, but I don't think I don't know if anything will well

[00:29:24] [SPEAKER_04]: I asked him the question. I hope it gets worse. Yeah

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_06]: I asked I did ask him the question when we talked, uh at worlds at the world

[00:29:32] [SPEAKER_06]: I said hey listen, you're gonna be a

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_06]: You're gonna be really involved in in this world foosball tour

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_06]: You know what how's this going to affect your game?

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_06]: and he said well

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_06]: He goes I don't want to you know, I'm not gonna speak out of turn here, but I do have to tell you

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm not going to be playing as much

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_06]: And he said I'll do some regionals and I'll do some state tournaments, but I'm not going to be

[00:29:54] [SPEAKER_06]: You know out there like I am now

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm like, oh because I hate to disappoint

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_06]: But at least for the first year or two till I get things really in place. I probably taking it serious man

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, yep, so

[00:30:06] [SPEAKER_06]: There you go. I mean that that makes sense though

[00:30:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Especially if you if you want to win if you want to not just a good approach

[00:30:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, yeah, yeah

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_04]: So like my my biggest priority for like this tournament that I'm running in a couple of weeks is the people that show up

[00:30:21] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not even my own game and that's that's been a big focus and it's tough to balance it

[00:30:25] [SPEAKER_04]: That's been a big approach that I've I've taken the last couple years

[00:30:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, and I don't I don't know I and it almost makes me play better

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_04]: It's weird. Yeah, because I don't I'm not so concerned with

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I don't know it's strange like I'm focused on the people and the experience and like these people are taking money out of

[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_04]: You know their bank accounts coming to my tournament spending it

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Giving me their time like I have to be

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_04]: I have to in my mind

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_04]: I need to like put on a really great experience for these athletes and like that's the biggest focus

[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_04]: It should be right like that's the number one priority

[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_06]: That's that is certainly something that that uh to maintain what you have and then to increase it each each year

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Year on year

[00:31:11] [SPEAKER_06]: That's the only way to look at it

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Because there's a lot of help that goes on too. Oh sure sure sure

[00:31:17] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, well, you've got it. You've got a great staff there. You got great people helping you out

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_06]: There's no doubt about that

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm excited man

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_04]: We we uh and my family this year is more involved than ever and and that I'm excited for that like

[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_04]: My brother is going to be on the setup crew. My sister is going to be on the registration staff nice and uh

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_04]: You know my whole family plays both my brothers my dad my mom my mom's a state champion

[00:31:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Damn, and uh, you know, she won women's doubles and mixed when she was pregnant for me in like 96

[00:31:50] [SPEAKER_04]: So like it's been kind of like a family affair and it's it's developed over time. It was my first tournament

[00:31:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, you know, it's it's where I met Tony and and Ryan and Todd and all those guys

[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, Billy and I met Rob Ather there too. Like, you know, like yeah, it's just crazy

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_04]: It's it's cool to see like where it started and kind of where it's developed to and I

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It's a big responsibility for me to like do my best for you for the people that show up

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_06]: Can I ask you the question? I don't take that lightly. So yeah, yeah for sure

[00:32:20] [SPEAKER_06]: We've always known you as michigan state. What's um now it's it's the the great lakes classic just uh, yeah, what's going on with that?

[00:32:28] [SPEAKER_04]: so

[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, it just kind of developed um

[00:32:33] [SPEAKER_04]: One of the guys that has been a big mentor of mine his name is jim chanler and uh

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Him and my dad and a couple other guys ran the michigan state championships back in the day

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_04]: And jim always did things like a little bit differently. Um, he had some pretty like cool ideas that were different

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_04]: and uh

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_04]: He didn't get a chance to try and he told me about like the great lakes classic and making it like a regional thing

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And this was like in the 90s like late 80s early 90s

[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:33:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Because my dad had ran it a few years and jim had ran it a few years and then eric trombly and rick moeller ran it a few years with

[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_04]: mary

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, and and that's kind of been the history. Um before that like ts days and dynamo there was michigan state as well

[00:33:14] [SPEAKER_04]: But different promoters. So um, I just think it's cool. I think that

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_04]: It kind of came at the right time with with lose ball clubs. Um

[00:33:23] [SPEAKER_04]: You know have doing the tournament as a nonprofit and then just

[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, it's easier to get sponsors this way and then having a cooler name

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's cooler like michigan state

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I don't know it just doesn't like I love michigan like the the name

[00:33:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Change is really for sponsorship opportunity. Okay, just to kind of be bigger or greater than just michigan state

[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, it's like a regional vibe. I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I like I like it

[00:33:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I like it. You're taking it. It's not just michigan. It's the the surrounding states

[00:33:53] [SPEAKER_03]: The great lakes like you said it's the region of a regional a regional than just a state

[00:33:59] [SPEAKER_03]: and I mean

[00:34:00] [SPEAKER_03]: For me, I feel like that's that's a little bit more prestigious

[00:34:05] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah

[00:34:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Not no disrespect to the state of michigan

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_03]: But I mean like if we if we were to hold a new york state or massachusetts state as a

[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_03]: You know as opposed to like a new england classic

[00:34:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, like new england, right?

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_03]: And i'm i'm throwing that name i'm throwing that name out there for

[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, maybe maybe some things in the works. Who knows but i'm just saying

[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, I I get it. I like the sound of that. Yeah, I mean dude

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_03]: Foo's but like you said foosball isn't a good place man. I like where it's going. I'm super excited about it

[00:34:37] [SPEAKER_03]: um

[00:34:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, it's it's a lot like the energy go ahead. Sorry. No, no, no, you're good man. Go ahead

[00:34:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, so it's a lot like uh like florida state kind of transitioned into the masters open, right?

[00:34:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Like things are becoming like like we're just getting better as promoters all over the country. You're seeing different things

[00:34:56] [SPEAKER_04]: and uh, you know it sponsorship appeals a big deal and

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Having the nonprofit status kind of like we talked about throwing that around a little bit

[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_04]: It adds it adds more legitimacy to you know, these individuals that want to get involved

[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not just like you're donating to people drinking beer playing foosball right now. It's like okay. You're supporting like a grassroots effort

[00:35:16] [SPEAKER_04]: uh, you know that is kind of

[00:35:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Spreading over the country like we've got over 50 foosball clubs right now. Yeah, that's awesome fantastic

[00:35:25] [SPEAKER_04]: registered programs and you know like 30 of them have happened in the last like

[00:35:30] [SPEAKER_04]: 12 months so it's it's it's kind of like it's catching on and it's it's pretty cool. I think uh, a lot of people know that

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_04]: we're working really hard and

[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_04]: We're doing it for the love of the game, you know, like it's therapy for these kids

[00:35:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And so when you come to the great lakes classic like you support that effort and so I think people are gonna

[00:35:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, like I'll go out there. I'll support mike and that's a great cause, you know

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER_04]: So it's just it's something different. It's a different dynamic

[00:35:58] [SPEAKER_06]: It's um, you have to continue to allow yourself room to grow

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_06]: So with great lakes classic it seems to me like, okay

[00:36:06] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, michigan state's good. It's always going to be a great tournament, but how does it grow? How does it get bigger?

[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_06]: So now with great team event

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, is a big deal too for it. Yeah, you know, I was gonna say now with great lakes classic

[00:36:20] [SPEAKER_06]: You can have this these additional

[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_06]: events within the within the tournament without necessarily having to uh, you know

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_06]: Stretch the imagination. I guess is the best way to put it. Yeah now it makes more sense because hey

[00:36:33] [SPEAKER_06]: We got this this cup race and we have this other thing. This is really cool

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_06]: And by the way, we here in the northeast are trying to put together a team

[00:36:41] [SPEAKER_04]: That'd be sweet, man

[00:36:42] [SPEAKER_06]: But uh, you know so far we don't have any ladies to to to put on our teams

[00:36:47] [SPEAKER_06]: So we're um, you don't need a lady to put on your team. Okay, don't okay

[00:36:51] [SPEAKER_04]: So the way the way that the format I kind of um was really inspired by like the world cup

[00:36:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And I know it's a little bit different because it's men's and women's

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_04]: I wanted to to let everyone just decide there's no restrictions. No geographic restrictions. Okay, no gender restrictions

[00:37:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, it's just rank restrictions, right? Like and you can have like a pro lady player play in the pro spot

[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, okay, uh, it's either

[00:37:17] [SPEAKER_04]: So this is how we broke it down. It's a master and a pro or two pros

[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Um on the high side you have to have an expert play at all times

[00:37:26] [SPEAKER_04]: And you get an alternate so there's there's eight players. There's four low and four high

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:37:32] [SPEAKER_04]: You have to have a beginner or rookie actively playing in the low tiers

[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, so it it almost it spreads it out a little bit so that you know, you're

[00:37:41] [SPEAKER_04]: I guess your more experienced guys can share with with the newcomers and and the guys who are just kind of coming along

[00:37:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Like the rookies and amateurs. So it's it just brings us all together and you know sometimes

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_04]: foosball can be a little clicky and uh, it's just it's cool to have that like camaraderie and like

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_04]: To spread it out and to have these guys play in the same team. So i'm excited. I got my lineup set up

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Nice

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, let's hear the geographical restrictions was huge

[00:38:11] [SPEAKER_03]: So

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, so who do you got? Who do you got? Yeah, I want to hear the lineups here

[00:38:18] [SPEAKER_04]: so um

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I've got like a so

[00:38:22] [SPEAKER_04]: So

[00:38:24] [SPEAKER_04]: My team and I'll even say it

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Some of my

[00:38:27] [SPEAKER_04]: The coach of the team doesn't want me to talk about who we have yet

[00:38:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Because they don't they don't want

[00:38:34] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not even the coach. I'm the captain. So you got a coach and a captain. I'm going to play the political response real quick

[00:38:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, and divert to something else

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_04]: The coach and you have to have a coach and a captain the captain kind of like inspires the team

[00:38:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And then the coach kind of picks a lineup

[00:38:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Um and out of respect for the coach. I'm not going to say exactly who I have

[00:38:52] [SPEAKER_04]: But I wanted to make sure that we had like 50 junior players

[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_04]: on our team

[00:38:58] [SPEAKER_04]: And that was that was like you got

[00:39:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, and I do for sure. That's good. He kids playing good. He just won amateur doubles at worlds

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_04]: He's he's nasty and he's also uh someone that I've been trying to mentor a little bit and spend a lot of time with

[00:39:13] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:39:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And he's just such a great kid. Uh, his dad Mike has done such a great job

[00:39:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[00:39:20] [SPEAKER_03]: uh junior players i'm trying to think uh, yeah

[00:39:24] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:39:25] [SPEAKER_04]: So one of the best junior players in the world

[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_04]: And best pro players in the world is on our team too

[00:39:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I thought so

[00:39:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Could be balcos

[00:39:34] [SPEAKER_04]: You can have an alternate as a third pro

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, let's just say that

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I thought Jacob wasn't I thought I heard Jacob wasn't going

[00:39:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Jacob I don't know if Jacob's going. Oh, you got sam

[00:39:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Interest so

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not gonna say who else we have but we've got some really you can't take sam. Sorry he's spoken for

[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_03]: They they they snaked they snaked your pros, bro. We snaked we we snaked the east coast foe show

[00:40:01] [SPEAKER_04]: There's there's a couple different east coasts

[00:40:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Um thefts that has gone on

[00:40:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Um

[00:40:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Um

[00:40:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, you're playing you're playing you're playing pro doubles with sam, right?

[00:40:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh, so I I have always played pro doubles with sam. Um, but my my dad, uh, i'm playing both of my dad man

[00:40:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, cool. I'm open with my dad. Okay. I'm really excited

[00:40:26] [SPEAKER_04]: He's been uh, he took one of my tables

[00:40:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I have two tornadoes down here and I have the guys out we play and stuff here

[00:40:33] [SPEAKER_04]: But about a month and a half ago

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_04]: I had him come pick the tornado up and so he's he's had his own table for

[00:40:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to say like seven weeks and he's been putting some time in and I said dude

[00:40:43] [SPEAKER_04]: If we're gonna play both you got to have a table for at least a month and so he's like, all right cool

[00:40:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh, you know, so I'm excited to play with him. Yeah

[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_06]: But you took sammy you can't do that man

[00:40:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah

[00:40:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Sam is legit one of the coolest

[00:41:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Human beings and the kid has been through a lot. He's such a smart dude. He's so wise beyond his years

[00:41:06] [SPEAKER_04]: He is dude like I can't say enough good things about sam. Yeah sam tonight. I love samsonite his dude his dad

[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_03]: I love his dad man. They're good people dude. I love nino. Mm-hmm more sure nino

[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_04]: He's uh, you east coast guys man. It's in your family, you know

[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Look, nino. Nino solid

[00:41:24] [SPEAKER_04]: He is man. He's done such a great job with his son. Oh my god

[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_04]: and uh

[00:41:30] [SPEAKER_04]: You know shameless plug, uh, but you know me and sam won classic at worlds and so we're qualified for spain

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_04]: and

[00:41:38] [SPEAKER_04]: I got a same in I uh, I've been trying to qualify again for almost two years and

[00:41:44] [SPEAKER_04]: It was my last chance. I thought and then we picked up qualifiers at michigan

[00:41:48] [SPEAKER_04]: But i'm already qualified for for one event. So i'm really, you know, grateful for that

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, and now we get another chance to qualify in michigan

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_04]: The usdso donald was really gracious enough to um, you know, give us some qualifier spots

[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Unfortunately, you know, colorado kind of fell apart and they you know, they decided not to run a tournament this year for whatever reason

[00:42:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Which is you know, really unfortunate, but sure

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, we were able to pick up some of those qualifying spots and

[00:42:14] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, we get some of the best players in the country out and so, you know, these these spots are up for grab

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_03]: What what are they? What are the qualifying spots?

[00:42:22] [SPEAKER_04]: So we got qualifiers and open doubles open singles open mixed

[00:42:27] [SPEAKER_04]: women's doubles, um

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm pretty sure women singles and then

[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Junior doubles junior singles. It might just be women's doubles. I gotta look but um, you know, quite a few qualifying spots

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_04]: We didn't get any senior qualifications

[00:42:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Which is kind of a bummer because

[00:42:47] [SPEAKER_04]: But i'm just really grateful man to be able to offer the players that

[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Awesome. Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, let's go. So let's go baby

[00:42:56] [SPEAKER_06]: What uh, who of you who can you confirm as far as pro masters and pros what who's going to be there for uh for the open?

[00:43:03] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, um, brandon has been a big supporter. Munoz comes out. Um

[00:43:09] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh, tomie or said that he

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_04]: He told me he was going and then he said hey

[00:43:14] [SPEAKER_04]: I've been playing too many tournaments lately. I might not come

[00:43:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, so he may not be there. Uh, but I noticed he wasn't in florida. Um

[00:43:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Unless is he yeah, he is in florida. I just didn't see him in singles. Yeah, he was already down there

[00:43:25] [SPEAKER_03]: He wasn't there for singles, but I think he's playing with brandon and doubles. Yeah, he got there late. Okay

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm looking at the doubles bracket right now

[00:43:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, it looks like uh, tomie yore and brandon munoz are physics right now the winners

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Nice team team team no defense, right bro. That's

[00:43:42] [SPEAKER_03]: All offense

[00:43:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[00:43:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Full odds kind of offense. Yeah team all gas. That's that's that's insane though. That's insane, bro

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER_04]: The best defense is offense, baby. Let's go right

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah

[00:43:55] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, I mean, I think the you know it worlds obviously, you know, we were talking we talked about this quite a bit with ryan and

[00:44:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Tommy together. I mean come on seriously, you know, we're looking at even odds here

[00:44:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I joke team no defense. Tommy's Tommy's five bar d is is pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, it is superb

[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, and brandon's quick. Yeah, brandon. I think brandon's playing goalie. Uh, honestly, okay

[00:44:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I would yeah

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_03]: That's who we got that's who we got for our team we got brandon you did that's sick bro. That's sick

[00:44:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm so I'm doing i'm so pumped brandon's my boy. I love brandon. So I he's a great dude, man

[00:44:35] [SPEAKER_03]: No, he's a good. He's a super good dude. I asked him to play he was like, oh

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Jacob asked me to be on his team and then he said jacob wasn't gonna make it. So he's like

[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_03]: I'll be on your team. I was like, all right, so

[00:44:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Uh, we we worked out we I talked uh, we we got it situated

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_03]: But uh, we we're putting a pretty decent team together out of uh out of southeastern mass

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_03]: So and then that's beautiful, bro

[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Brandon and I are gonna jump in and see if we can't uh

[00:45:01] [SPEAKER_03]: See how far we can go with this thing. So we're pretty excited. So

[00:45:04] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's exciting. Yeah

[00:45:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm I'm like I said, I I I had an opportunity to go and I'm

[00:45:11] [SPEAKER_03]: This has been a tournament that I've been wanting to hit because it's just it's just been getting better every year

[00:45:15] [SPEAKER_03]: My my guys from home drive over they go. They love it. They said

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_03]: You guys do a tremendous job. Your staff is amazing the hotel's wonderful. So I'm just super pumped for

[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_03]: I can test to that man

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Absolutely, it's it's a top notch and the food is good. It just you know

[00:45:31] [SPEAKER_06]: It's just a great place to hang for the weekend, you know, yeah, they do drive 16 hours one way man. Right. They're

[00:45:38] [SPEAKER_03]: That's amazing. Yeah

[00:45:39] [SPEAKER_06]: That is beautiful. Oh, yeah, it's worth it. It's definitely worth it. I did a lot of venues pretty sick

[00:45:44] [SPEAKER_04]: The Hilton is is really gracious and um, you know

[00:45:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Michelle the manager has been really nice and we worked out a really good contract

[00:45:53] [SPEAKER_04]: for the players and

[00:45:55] [SPEAKER_04]: um, you know, she's kind of like given me a couple extra things that

[00:45:59] [SPEAKER_04]: I've been asking for especially this year making it a little easier on us and

[00:46:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Cool, you know, it's just a big deal to have a good location. Um, I

[00:46:07] [SPEAKER_04]: I would like it to be closer to a more

[00:46:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Net like regional airport. I guess like Lansing is an international airport, but it's expensive

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER_04]: It's a few hundred bucks to fly in

[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Right compared to Detroit a lot of the time depending on where you're coming from so

[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_04]: And then you got an hour drive from Detroit or Grand Rapids

[00:46:24] [SPEAKER_04]: But you know, it's worth it man. If you know for folks if they want to you know, if you're listening and you're on the fence, man

[00:46:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Come off that fence do it. Go to Michigan. Do it. Yeah, man. Yeah

[00:46:34] [SPEAKER_03]: No, highly recommend it

[00:46:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no, I can't wait. I mean after the tournament obviously we're gonna come on here and talk about it. So

[00:46:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Like I said, man, I'm I'm pumped so anytime I get to play foosball, man. It's it's foosball

[00:46:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, especially in a really swanky place, you know to play

[00:46:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, bougie wait, it's bougie for real bougie like like when you drink water. Do you do it like with your pinky?

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Allow me allow me. I grew up on the ghetto side of Lansing. So

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, it's nice to have it's nice to have nice things

[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I love having nice things. Yeah, it's a good area. Of course

[00:47:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Of course, it's a nice

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_04]: It's a nice neighborhood and and the biggest thing for me that I'm most excited about is just sharing

[00:47:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Kind of the work that we've done the last since I've been involved

[00:47:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Kind of the progress and the work that we've done like I'm I'm currently working on a new curriculum

[00:47:27] [SPEAKER_04]: That I think is gonna be

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_04]: One of the best things we've done as an organization

[00:47:32] [SPEAKER_04]: As far as material wise goes and just guiding the kids along a really easy to follow path

[00:47:39] [SPEAKER_04]: To foosball and just to share, you know, you can have an identity you open this book up, right?

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And there's parts about sponsorship that

[00:47:48] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, josh sarpy has really inspired sarpy is really inspired and has

[00:47:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Integrated into what we call our playbook and we'll just be sending these to the school

[00:47:58] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it's gonna be great man. I think organizing and just

[00:48:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Revamping the curriculum. We've got a really cool curriculum that kids can follow and foosball can be taught as a class in school

[00:48:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Like our curriculum satisfies the emotional and social piece behind state regulated

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_04]: You know classroom to be taught as a class. So that's awesome

[00:48:19] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm hoping at some point it picks up and you know, as far as I knew we had like two different places that it was actually being

[00:48:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Taught in it's tough. It's mostly like a lunchtime activity for for a lot of the clubs, but

[00:48:32] [SPEAKER_04]: I see that as the future of what we're doing, you know, like kids can pick foosball

[00:48:37] [SPEAKER_04]: That's how you play the seed

[00:48:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to be a foosball teacher, right?

[00:48:42] [SPEAKER_04]: That'd be awesome. Right man. Seriously

[00:48:44] [SPEAKER_04]: We can get a

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, you know

[00:48:48] [SPEAKER_04]: There's there's a lot of club facilitators and you know, some of our clubs around the country that are just foosball players

[00:48:53] [SPEAKER_04]: that show up and they teach the kids how to play and

[00:48:57] [SPEAKER_04]: There's staff at the schools that really help kind of move it along too

[00:49:01] [SPEAKER_04]: But I think our most successful clubs are like foosball players that just donate their time. Yep

[00:49:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Yep, get the get out there and just just show them how it's done

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_06]: um, so

[00:49:15] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, this this is kind of hanging over the the the sport right now and I hate to switch gears too radically here

[00:49:21] [SPEAKER_06]: But when it comes to the change

[00:49:24] [SPEAKER_06]: The ifp is no more. So mary more has retired officially

[00:49:29] [SPEAKER_06]: And ryan more is picking up the mantle. He's he's carrying the torch now

[00:49:32] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, but to continue the family the family tradition of running what's now called the world of foosball tour

[00:49:40] [SPEAKER_06]: um, michael as a promoter I want to ask you the question

[00:49:44] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's say if we look out a year maybe two

[00:49:48] [SPEAKER_06]: What's the number one thing you want to see change?

[00:49:52] [SPEAKER_06]: With the world foosball tour

[00:49:55] [SPEAKER_04]: If there is one thing

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Um

[00:50:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Like like a change from ifp to world foosball tour. Yep the wft like clean slate

[00:50:10] [SPEAKER_04]: That's tough. I feel like uh, the point system would be my biggest thing that I would like to see change

[00:50:16] [SPEAKER_04]: I think that uh, it'd be cool to see an independent. Um

[00:50:20] [SPEAKER_04]: You know just someone run run the points and then someone run the tour. I think the point should be independent from the tour

[00:50:27] [SPEAKER_04]: um

[00:50:28] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's it's tough like it's tough to be perfect when you're doing this kind of work and juggling both, right?

[00:50:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, um, I think ryan could handle it if he decided to do the points and I think it might be a little different but

[00:50:41] [SPEAKER_04]: um,

[00:50:42] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know it's it's

[00:50:43] [SPEAKER_04]: It's interesting how how the point system works and sometimes can change and

[00:50:49] [SPEAKER_04]: You know no criticism to mary at all like she's done a phenomenal job

[00:50:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, sure. Um, but yeah, I would like to see maybe someone else take up the points or

[00:50:58] [SPEAKER_04]: I think david should just run the points. I think house of tournaments should do it

[00:51:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, um, you know, he's doing streaming and he runs an independent tournament once a year. He doesn't really

[00:51:07] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, he loans his software out, right? But he's not like, uh,

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_06]: It's not the same. I don't I don't think he's not an integral promoter

[00:51:15] [SPEAKER_06]: He doesn't have a vested interest in just promoting

[00:51:18] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think the the hot points are more legitimate than the ifp points

[00:51:23] [SPEAKER_04]: I could be wrong, but I mean just how he runs a system and I've talked to him and how he takes an account for things

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's it's more legitimate. I don't know

[00:51:31] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, I mean in this debate is going on, you know on a regular basis now

[00:51:37] [SPEAKER_06]: So you look at the number of of levels beginner

[00:51:40] [SPEAKER_06]: rookie amateur expert

[00:51:43] [SPEAKER_06]: pro pro master

[00:51:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, you know, there was a time when there was what two maybe three

[00:51:50] [SPEAKER_06]: Basic levels of professional football

[00:51:52] [SPEAKER_03]: It was it was it was novice and pro

[00:51:56] [SPEAKER_03]: And then it went to rookie

[00:51:58] [SPEAKER_03]: semi pro pro and master

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_03]: And then when mary took over it was beginner

[00:52:04] [SPEAKER_03]: You know what it is now. Um

[00:52:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Beginner rookie amateur and then and then at one point there was um, what was the one between pro and master

[00:52:13] [SPEAKER_03]: There was another elite

[00:52:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, yeah, elite. There was there for a couple years and that went away. Um, so I think

[00:52:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Reset everybody back to beginner start from scratch. Let's all just play beginner rookie amateur expert pro and open everybody

[00:52:32] [SPEAKER_03]: on

[00:52:33] [SPEAKER_03]: When tables and let's go

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER_06]: There you go. I was uh, that's fun. In fact having this this uh conversation last night

[00:52:41] [SPEAKER_06]: We had kind of a slow night at our dyp. So uh, uh, kevin walker showed up and we're you know, just we had a lot of time

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, kevin man. He's just walkers. Awesome. Such a great guy

[00:52:51] [SPEAKER_06]: So we're just chatting. I said hey man, you know

[00:52:53] [SPEAKER_06]: if you think about this because he was um

[00:52:57] [SPEAKER_06]: He was actually a pro and then turned pro master in 2015

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, and then just stopped touring just stopped going because it was no longer worth it for him necessarily

[00:53:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, you know, he said i'm gonna i'm gonna pay more and play less and have less of a chance to win because now

[00:53:13] [SPEAKER_03]: I can only battle the top players so make sense

[00:53:15] [SPEAKER_06]: That clearly, you know for him was was a was a you know, it was a stomp in his career

[00:53:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Now of course, he's back at it again. Now I said to him. Okay. Now. Here's a great example. We've got him right here

[00:53:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Sammy Dijon

[00:53:27] [SPEAKER_06]: He's 16 years of age. He turned pro at the age of 13

[00:53:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Since then he's beaten

[00:53:35] [SPEAKER_06]: The bigs right so he's beaten brandy milios. He's beaten

[00:53:39] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, he's beaten blake robertson

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, atha. He's beaten atha. He's beaten billy. Todd and yet he's still a pro

[00:53:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Why don't he he's beat rob. He's beat all those guys. Why why is he still a pro?

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Because the points are yeah

[00:53:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Look look at hot points though. Like is he a master on house tournaments? Yes

[00:54:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay

[00:54:04] [SPEAKER_03]: So I mean, I think that's more legit right? I like the house of tournament points, right because it's and I think it's you can go up and down

[00:54:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Right, like you yeah

[00:54:13] [SPEAKER_03]: I love the house of tournament points because it the way he does it is I feel like it's just

[00:54:18] [SPEAKER_03]: It's from tournament to tournament from event to event. I feel it's I feel like it's a lot more accurate

[00:54:23] [SPEAKER_04]: You can accumulate master points and still be a pro player due to consistency

[00:54:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Right. Yeah, like you you have to consistently meet the requirement

[00:54:33] [SPEAKER_04]: For master like I think it's like three tournaments in a row. Okay. Um

[00:54:38] [SPEAKER_04]: And and I think that's what gets you to that level of master and I agree with that

[00:54:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Like i'm still a pro on there and I've got like 100 points over master right now

[00:54:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Right. I haven't I haven't seen it but last time I checked I had master points and doubles there

[00:54:51] [SPEAKER_03]: But I was still a pro

[00:54:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, it's it's it's baffling because of the fact that if you're consistently

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_06]: matching, you know matching

[00:55:00] [SPEAKER_06]: Ball for ball with people like a brandon munios who's what considered in the top eight players in the world

[00:55:06] [SPEAKER_03]: On tornado. He's probably top five top five

[00:55:09] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, if you're if you're actually going toe to toe with a guy like that and you're still

[00:55:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Ranked less. I mean, I'm sorry, you know

[00:55:19] [SPEAKER_04]: In a world right like in a perfect world where like we pick up a massive

[00:55:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, we pick up like big sponsors and we pay super deep and open

[00:55:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, I think the whole debate about like guys like kenneth dale not being a master

[00:55:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I know we talked about this before and I heard you guys he's like michael stahl said you punch someone

[00:55:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I didn't say that by the way

[00:55:42] [SPEAKER_04]: I didn't actually mean it. It was a joke but uh

[00:55:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Like like arguments like that. I feel like are more more like void

[00:55:51] [SPEAKER_04]: I feel like and if the money's there then and like you're still like I place like third and open doubles at this tournament

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_04]: And I I paid from my weekend and paid my cable bill when I got home

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Like oh like if if the money was there it wouldn't be such a debate. I feel like right. I don't know

[00:56:08] [SPEAKER_06]: I suppose

[00:56:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, you know one of the things that that ryan mentioned he has a he has uh four phases that he wants to go through

[00:56:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh phase number one is to take care of the pros and pro masters to improve that

[00:56:21] [SPEAKER_06]: situation

[00:56:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, and he does have ideas as to how to gain sponsorships for pros and pro masters that would be right

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_06]: You know a pool of money that would that would come into the this sport now

[00:56:31] [SPEAKER_06]: He personally is actually investing quite a substantial amount of money for just just for marketing's sake

[00:56:37] [SPEAKER_06]: In the first that's what I heard too. Yeah first year. It's quite a lot of money

[00:56:41] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, that's what needs to happen man. Yeah, but I know what's happening and phase two is

[00:56:47] [SPEAKER_06]: Bringing everybody along for the ride in other words if you play foosball and you want to go to a tour

[00:56:53] [SPEAKER_06]: You're gonna have a blast

[00:56:54] [SPEAKER_06]: You're you're and you're gonna be taken care of playing simple

[00:56:57] [SPEAKER_06]: You know you're you're gonna be there and you're gonna feel wow. I really got value for my dollar here

[00:57:02] [SPEAKER_04]: You know he's a salesman man, but he actually like he does what he says he's gonna do a lot

[00:57:08] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh

[00:57:10] [SPEAKER_04]: So people trust him I think oh sure sure sure

[00:57:12] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean nobody's perfect and you know, it's a brand new venture in a way

[00:57:17] [SPEAKER_06]: You know kind of like again wiping the slate clean and starting over

[00:57:21] [SPEAKER_06]: That's that's a challenge and of course things happen

[00:57:24] [SPEAKER_06]: So

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_06]: But you know, you got to give the guy kudos for saying okay

[00:57:28] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm gonna do this dammit and I'm gonna do it to my best best ability. So

[00:57:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, you know again, he is a top player

[00:57:34] [SPEAKER_03]: And and and he knows what like Mike you're a pro. I'm a pro right? I know for me

[00:57:40] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm as a consumer when I go to a tournament, right? I just want the tables to be consistent

[00:57:46] [SPEAKER_03]: I want the balls to be consistent, right? I want to just I want to I want to play

[00:57:51] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't want there to be a ton of conflict. I don't want to have to play till

[00:57:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Dude, I don't want to play till midnight never mind two in the morning. Yeah, like I don't I don't

[00:57:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't mind starting at nine or ten. That's not like I'm an early riser anyway, but like

[00:58:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Just structure it in a way to where we can just go and compete and play our events

[00:58:10] [SPEAKER_03]: And when we're done we can be done at a reasonable time and then maybe like your hat

[00:58:14] [SPEAKER_03]: Dude, great likes classic. You're having this tournament in this wonderful hotel

[00:58:17] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm not going to enjoy anything besides

[00:58:20] [SPEAKER_03]: My room in the bathroom because yeah

[00:58:23] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm not saying I'm just saying right like if I'm playing 100 I agree

[00:58:26] [SPEAKER_03]: From 10 in the morning to 2 30 in the morning

[00:58:28] [SPEAKER_03]: When when am I going to be able to do anything else? Right and again?

[00:58:32] [SPEAKER_03]: I know I'm coming to a tournament like I'm going to play foosball

[00:58:34] [SPEAKER_03]: But at the same time it's like if if if you want me to

[00:58:38] [SPEAKER_03]: If you want me to shell out money and come play four five six seven tournaments a year

[00:58:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Like my wife has been really

[00:58:44] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean she's super supportive because she knows how passionate I am about foosball

[00:58:48] [SPEAKER_03]: But I would love to bring her along and go. Hey, there's a tournament. It's in this place

[00:58:53] [SPEAKER_03]: It's at a super nice hotel. There's things to do. Let's go. Yeah. Hang out like do your thing

[00:58:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to go play. I don't have to worry. We're all good. So, you know and again

[00:59:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I feel like ryan and he said I heard him I heard him on the interview with you tom where he was like

[00:59:07] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, we're gonna try to do these types of things and and I I really hope that you know

[00:59:13] [SPEAKER_03]: He seems like he's a man of his word and he's legitimate. So I really hope there's there's some follow-through there because if he does

[00:59:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean there's

[00:59:21] [SPEAKER_03]: There's no end to where this thing could go. Oh sure. Yeah, yeah ball could just really take off

[00:59:26] [SPEAKER_06]: It's um, it does have to happen and then of course having the the the wear with all to to make sure that this sport is recognized

[00:59:35] [SPEAKER_06]: From the outside, you know

[00:59:37] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, he mentioned and I and I just actually just finished writing an article for tavern players magazine

[00:59:43] [SPEAKER_06]: Where I quote ryan a few times one of which he found this

[00:59:48] [SPEAKER_06]: um

[00:59:49] [SPEAKER_06]: I think it's called fan brands, but he found this this imaging company

[00:59:54] [SPEAKER_06]: It's like they do graphics and and imaging for the major league sports sports teams

[00:59:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, and he's got these guys on board. They're gonna be doing the the imaging like the the the logos and all the hear that too

[01:00:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, that is pretty sick. So wait, so so like do they want to use my face?

[01:00:14] [SPEAKER_06]: Of course

[01:00:16] [SPEAKER_06]: They need an image. Yeah

[01:00:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's go

[01:00:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Let's get it

[01:00:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I'll be the face of foosball. I'll do it

[01:00:25] [SPEAKER_06]: It's uh, it isn't it isn't interesting though like he's like out of the gate saying

[01:00:29] [SPEAKER_06]: I don't want to just go for for mediocre or or half best

[01:00:33] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm going full full in with this this this organization this group fan brands

[01:00:39] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean they're they're considered the top of the field when it comes to making images for for professional sports

[01:00:45] [SPEAKER_04]: So yeah, I've I've heard of them too before

[01:00:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, and it's not cheap to to have quality designers work on your stuff man. It's it's expensive. Yep

[01:00:56] [SPEAKER_03]: The logo right out of the gate the logo is going to be like

[01:01:00] [SPEAKER_06]: Eye-catching it's gonna be sick. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this is this is what but it's all about it's again

[01:01:07] [SPEAKER_06]: You're you know, if you want to be visible if you want to be credible as a sport you got to look at

[01:01:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it's true absolutely

[01:01:19] [SPEAKER_04]: So yeah, I think there's a lot of buzz with with what he's doing man

[01:01:21] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm really psyched to see kind of how it plays out. Oh, yeah

[01:01:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah, I'm hoping that foosball clubs can kind of work with Ryan and what he's doing and

[01:01:31] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know. I would love to

[01:01:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Somehow help him in some way if I ever come across the opportunity and there's something I can do to

[01:01:39] [SPEAKER_04]: assist him in any way or

[01:01:41] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, I would be totally full on down to help, you know with whatever he's got

[01:01:45] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know if it would work or I've got a couple ideas

[01:01:50] [SPEAKER_04]: You know like offering, you know some of these kids in the schools like when they do kind of advance long enough

[01:01:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And we get some players like that are actually starting to kind of come up and are interested in the tour

[01:02:01] [SPEAKER_04]: That there could be a way to to work with some sponsors on just getting these kids like paid trips to go play

[01:02:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I I started touring when I was like 11 years old

[01:02:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I went to my first out of state tournament in Ohio new tran actually from Canada from Toronto

[01:02:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[01:02:23] [SPEAKER_04]: He drove through michigan and picked me up, um, you know, I always joke with people

[01:02:27] [SPEAKER_04]: And and talk about like how i'm like southern canadian and like

[01:02:32] [SPEAKER_04]: You know being from michigan were really close for four hours from kind of the Toronto area and uh, we're right down. So it's

[01:02:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, man, like

[01:02:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Those it's the canadian invasion man. The states has always been that way

[01:02:45] [SPEAKER_04]: So, you know, the canadiens have always been really good friends of mine

[01:02:48] [SPEAKER_04]: I got a ton of great friends from there, but um, he came down pick me up took me to Ohio

[01:02:53] [SPEAKER_04]: That was my first big tournament

[01:02:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Very outside of michigan. I was 11

[01:02:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Wow, I had a permission slip from my mom and uh nutrient caught me with cigarettes and he threw him away. He's like, what are you doing?

[01:03:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Like, oh

[01:03:05] [SPEAKER_06]: Seriously, yeah, you were smoking. Yeah

[01:03:06] [SPEAKER_04]: I was a troubled kid, man

[01:03:08] [SPEAKER_04]: I was I was doing some silly stuff when I was a little bit younger and hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on

[01:03:14] [SPEAKER_03]: What kind of cigarettes were they were brand new? They were new ports, man

[01:03:16] [SPEAKER_04]: At that point in time, but I smoked marbor reds and I swear 27s for a long time

[01:03:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Damn

[01:03:21] [SPEAKER_03]: So basically you were just whatever you could get your hands on at that time

[01:03:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Basically, man, I smoked misties bro. Those like old lady cigarettes

[01:03:30] [SPEAKER_04]: I would steal from my buddy's mom. I was a bad kid man. Like I was I was doing silly stuff

[01:03:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I always imagined like those tasted like potpourri when you smoke them

[01:03:42] [SPEAKER_04]: They were fancy, man, I do not recommend or can do in cigarette smoking at all

[01:03:46] [SPEAKER_04]: It actually makes me sick, dude

[01:03:49] [SPEAKER_04]: You're like fancy with the pinky out

[01:03:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, I look at one point. I was smoking like three packs a day, dude. Marbor red. Yeah, dude. Yeah. Yeah, Marbor red

[01:03:58] [SPEAKER_04]: My mom smokes marbor red 100s. She still does to this day

[01:04:01] [SPEAKER_04]: And uh, I would sneak into her cigarette pack and steal cigarettes from her

[01:04:04] [SPEAKER_04]: But I'm glad that uh, you know, I learned my lesson and stopped doing that

[01:04:08] [SPEAKER_04]: I stopped like at 16 and it was actually like

[01:04:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Playing foosball like the guys around foosball were like, what are you doing kid?

[01:04:14] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not gonna let you come with me to a tournament. You're smoking cigarettes

[01:04:17] [SPEAKER_04]: That's why like stop. Well, stop that

[01:04:19] [SPEAKER_06]: Here's the thing and this just occurred to me that hey, you know cigarette companies back in the day

[01:04:24] [SPEAKER_06]: They knew their their shit if you're

[01:04:28] [SPEAKER_06]: Pardon my expression. They knew their stuff because they got kids

[01:04:32] [SPEAKER_06]: They got kids to say hey, that looks cool

[01:04:36] [SPEAKER_06]: I wanted to do that

[01:04:37] [SPEAKER_03]: And so Mike Mike you want to know how you want to hold tom is tom

[01:04:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Did you have a cigarette vending machine in your high school? Uh, yes

[01:04:45] [SPEAKER_06]: That's right. Well, I'm better. Yeah, I'll do you one better

[01:04:49] [SPEAKER_06]: We had two college campuses in my hometown, right? So two schools one state one one private

[01:04:55] [SPEAKER_06]: On the private campus you could go to any dormitory on campus

[01:04:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Just go in the the end of door. They were always open

[01:05:02] [SPEAKER_06]: You walk into the stairwell and there was a cigarette machine 75 cents a throw

[01:05:06] [SPEAKER_06]: Three quarters crazy, bro, and it gave me matches

[01:05:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Dude, I let's say right my dad used hey, hey go to the store buy me cigarettes when I was like

[01:05:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, seven eight years old. I'd go down to the corner store. Uh, mob or reds

[01:05:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Right. Yeah, here you go. Yeah, it's for my dad. All right. Yeah, they did

[01:05:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Now they got nothing here. They gotta like scan your license or something now, right? Like, I don't know

[01:05:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I don't know. Okay 21 in michigan and I think in parts of detroit

[01:05:33] [SPEAKER_04]: They're trying to ban cigarette smoking and

[01:05:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Like you can smoke vapes. I'm pretty sure and even parts of lansing

[01:05:40] [SPEAKER_04]: They've actually they're trying to pass it which honestly like

[01:05:44] [SPEAKER_04]: I hate to be prejudiced towards cigarette smokers, but I would I think the world would be a better place without cigarettes

[01:05:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Like all together like smoke of ape. That's cool. But like

[01:05:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Either way, I come into the times man smoke of ape if that's if you're gonna smoke

[01:05:57] [SPEAKER_03]: I had an aunt. I had an aunt. She was so bad like she she's passed

[01:06:01] [SPEAKER_03]: But she was a chain smoker like a bad bad chain smoker and then she ended up getting she ended up getting lung cancer

[01:06:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, she quit smoking went went through chemo went into remission and then as soon as she went through remission started smoking again

[01:06:14] [SPEAKER_03]: Chances came back spread to her brain

[01:06:18] [SPEAKER_03]: She ended up she ended up passing but she she just couldn't she couldn't she couldn't stop

[01:06:22] [SPEAKER_03]: She couldn't stop. It's an addiction piece man. It's so bad

[01:06:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Look she I remember right she would sit in front of her computer and she had

[01:06:31] [SPEAKER_03]: It was it was an ashtray, but it wasn't it was like a bowl, right?

[01:06:35] [SPEAKER_03]: And and and she would smoke and she would leave about that much of the cigarette left and she would put it in there

[01:06:40] [SPEAKER_03]: So that way whenever she ran out

[01:06:42] [SPEAKER_03]: She would have go back through the bowl, right? Because oh, yeah, dude

[01:06:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Yep. Look look she one time she sent my cousin out

[01:06:49] [SPEAKER_03]: To the store. She gave him money. She was like go to the store get me a cotton of smokes, right?

[01:06:54] [SPEAKER_03]: She calls me she calls me. She's like, you know where he is. I'm not gonna say his name

[01:06:57] [SPEAKER_03]: She's like, you know what he is. I was like, no, why she said I sent him off a cigarette three days ago

[01:07:03] [SPEAKER_03]: I

[01:07:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I call him I said I said, where are you and he was at this trash hotel

[01:07:10] [SPEAKER_03]: He's like, ah, I'm over here with these I'm over here with these two chicks. I said, what are you doing?

[01:07:13] [SPEAKER_03]: He's like, um, my mother gave me some money to get her cigarettes. I took it. I'm over here with these two girls

[01:07:19] [SPEAKER_03]: I said bro. I said, I think I think your mom's gone through her ashtray. I think you're gonna need to go to the house

[01:07:25] [SPEAKER_03]: So

[01:07:26] [SPEAKER_06]: With the cigarettes

[01:07:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, she yeah, she she couldn't stop

[01:07:30] [SPEAKER_03]: She just couldn't stop. It's terrible man. It is machines, dude

[01:07:34] [SPEAKER_03]: I still remember those machines you put the quarters in you pull the slot. Yeah. Yeah, that's what it was

[01:07:39] [SPEAKER_06]: That's what it was that simple that simple. No, and here's the point. I'm trying to make is if we could make

[01:07:45] [SPEAKER_06]: foosball that accessible and that addictive that addictive

[01:07:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, you want to you want to you want to make foosball like nicotine? Yeah, let's go make it addictive, right?

[01:07:55] [SPEAKER_06]: So make it like you cannot get through a day without you know, smoke every time

[01:07:59] [SPEAKER_03]: Smoking a couple of bullshits every time you walk into it. We stick a nicotine patch on your arm like that

[01:08:05] [SPEAKER_04]: I think in a way I think in a way, um

[01:08:09] [SPEAKER_04]: In a small way foosball kind of is like that right? It is. Yeah, you know, you

[01:08:14] [SPEAKER_04]: What do you think when you're stressed? What do you do and you're a smoker?

[01:08:17] [SPEAKER_04]: You you pull out a cigarette you light it and you smoke and it's like your way to escape

[01:08:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Uh and for me for a long time foosball has always kind of been like therapy

[01:08:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, like where I'll just jump on the table. I'm pissed. I'll jump on the table something bad happens

[01:08:30] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, I'm I'm gonna want to go play foosball

[01:08:33] [SPEAKER_04]: I was like that as a teenager and

[01:08:34] [SPEAKER_04]: You know went through a lot of stuff. I didn't understand and that's what I would do

[01:08:38] [SPEAKER_04]: So in a way it kind of is but if we can we can package it

[01:08:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Like right therapy if we can if we can have that frame around it and and just kind of sell it to these people

[01:08:50] [SPEAKER_04]: And say hey, this is good for you. I've got a great

[01:08:52] [SPEAKER_04]: I got a great way and that's what cigarette companies did like back in the day

[01:08:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Like when they were first coming out like it was the cool thing to do

[01:08:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah

[01:08:59] [SPEAKER_04]: It's taking this thing and then integrating it into popular culture

[01:09:03] [SPEAKER_04]: And then telling people hey, this is fun. This is cool. Your friends are doing it. You should too, you know like yep

[01:09:10] [SPEAKER_04]: That's that's I think how we make foosball like big again

[01:09:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Every night every night before I go to bed. I have to touch like I touch my table. That's how I unwind

[01:09:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I get on my table and that's how I loosen like I stop my brain from everything for the day and I just shoot balls

[01:09:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And I can tell your game is amazing. Well, thank you. I mean

[01:09:29] [SPEAKER_03]: You're not as good as you are but I it's just I touch my table every day. I have to it's therapeutic for me

[01:09:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Just like you said really is an addiction

[01:09:37] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm up at five. I do my job. I come home. I do more work

[01:09:41] [SPEAKER_03]: I have so many things I have to do so many things i'm responsible for so when i'm finally done

[01:09:45] [SPEAKER_03]: It's like, okay. Now I can just shoot some balls

[01:09:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, you have this this one thing in front of you and like in life. You may not be able to control everything

[01:09:55] [SPEAKER_04]: And like

[01:09:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, like these four handles I can kind of manipulate and move and and you know, you can be engaged in something

[01:10:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Your brain and your your focus the focus is I think that's where it's at right

[01:10:07] [SPEAKER_06]: So you have to focus on that and you can't focus on anything else

[01:10:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Right, you have to you have to focus on it. You can't just casually

[01:10:14] [SPEAKER_06]: You know walk up and hit 10 pull shots. You just can't casually do that necessarily

[01:10:19] [SPEAKER_06]: You have to focus on it and you have to do it in a way that that you're training your brain to do that

[01:10:24] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, I've got a great slogan by the way

[01:10:27] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm going to borrow from when cigarettes used to be advertised than tv and radio, right? So we'll use it for foosball, right?

[01:10:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Four out of five doctors recommend

[01:10:38] [SPEAKER_06]: foosball

[01:10:40] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah

[01:10:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I remember advertisements with doctors in there in their code. Yep, just sitting dude

[01:10:46] [SPEAKER_03]: I listen I was again, Mike, you're born in 96. I was born 81. Tom was born in 24

[01:10:51] [SPEAKER_03]: so

[01:10:52] [SPEAKER_03]: I I remember going into like the pediatricians office in the 80s and him just sitting there talking to my mother

[01:11:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, right. Yeah, I think I think your kids delayed

[01:11:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah

[01:11:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Like forest gump or something

[01:11:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, big ass tray just like yeah, yeah, that's how it was a social thing for a lot of people man when I was quitting smoking

[01:11:22] [SPEAKER_04]: I

[01:11:23] [SPEAKER_04]: I kind of approached it like uh

[01:11:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Like it was a social thing like I changed the people that I was going around

[01:11:29] [SPEAKER_04]: And and for me like I was doing other things like it was right like I said right around the time

[01:11:33] [SPEAKER_04]: I started playing foosball and I had like it's almost like if you have something you have to

[01:11:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Like it's routine

[01:11:39] [SPEAKER_04]: You have to throw another routine in there to kind of like block that one and then pick something different up

[01:11:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Right, and they've talked about cigarette smoking and in the psychology behind it

[01:11:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's one way that a lot of people quit. Oh sure

[01:11:52] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, just just giving your your brain something else to focus on because you're you're amygdala

[01:11:57] [SPEAKER_06]: The the pleasure pleasure center of your brain is activated every time you you take a hit of nicotine

[01:12:03] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, it's it's a it's the same thing if you drink alcohol or or gamble

[01:12:08] [SPEAKER_06]: It's the same part of your brain that's being a serotonin release. Yeah, right?

[01:12:12] [SPEAKER_06]: And when you hear the back of a gold bam, you hear that

[01:12:16] [SPEAKER_06]: It activates the same part of your brain

[01:12:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Now and I think that's one of the main reasons like why

[01:12:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Like we talk about foosball addiction, right? Like when I first started playing foosball

[01:12:27] [SPEAKER_03]: I was in my early 20s

[01:12:29] [SPEAKER_03]: And I was

[01:12:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I was doing a lot of drugs. I was doing a lot. I was doing a lot and and I got cleaned up

[01:12:37] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I I I started going to church started changing my surroundings

[01:12:41] [SPEAKER_03]: But the one thing that never changed was foosball like I was really early

[01:12:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Really early in my foosball career, but foosball I took like when I say I was

[01:12:51] [SPEAKER_03]: I had a drug bar. I mean like I was I was a mess and and I I had to separate myself from those people and those things

[01:12:58] [SPEAKER_03]: And then like you Mike like I was just foosball and foosball and foosball and I think that's why now

[01:13:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm you know 20 almost 25 years in I'm 43 years old and it's like

[01:13:08] [SPEAKER_03]: I won't go back to those things but foosball is just like

[01:13:11] [SPEAKER_03]: I feel like foosball is going to be a part of me for the rest of my life, you know

[01:13:15] [SPEAKER_03]: It's part of your identity. Yeah. Yeah, and I've and I've explained this to my wife

[01:13:18] [SPEAKER_03]: It's like eventually I'm going to hit an age where I'm not going to be able to play

[01:13:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe maybe not who knows right?

[01:13:23] [SPEAKER_03]: But I said there's going to come a day where I'm physically not going to be able to do this anymore

[01:13:27] [SPEAKER_03]: And when that day comes I'll deal with it. But until then I want to play foosball

[01:13:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Right. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. I want to play foosball like I dude

[01:13:35] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't look I don't drink. I don't do drugs

[01:13:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Unless my doctor prescribes it to me I

[01:13:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Work I work seven days a week. I work hard. I you know, I provide for myself and my wife

[01:13:46] [SPEAKER_03]: I do whatever I got to do

[01:13:48] [SPEAKER_03]: This is the only thing I do

[01:13:50] [SPEAKER_03]: It's the only thing I do

[01:13:52] [SPEAKER_03]: That's beautiful, man

[01:13:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Um, I just want to there. I just want to play foosball man. That's it

[01:13:57] [SPEAKER_03]: So if Ryan finds if Ryan finds a way if Ryan finds a way to where I can make a living playing

[01:14:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, you're good enough too, man

[01:14:06] [SPEAKER_04]: You're good

[01:14:06] [SPEAKER_04]: I've seen your game. You've only gotten better man

[01:14:11] [SPEAKER_04]: And I I watch a lot of players man and there's there and I don't ever like shy away from wanting to play a really good player

[01:14:18] [SPEAKER_04]: You're like on my list for I want to play this guy

[01:14:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Like the guys that start making noise and their games look really good

[01:14:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And you can tell they're dedicated and they love it. You could see it's in their their heart and in their eyes

[01:14:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Like those are the kind of guys that I want to play and I want to get better with

[01:14:33] [SPEAKER_03]: You know what I mean? Like so I'm gonna I'm gonna see you in a couple weeks, buddy. I'm gonna see you in a couple

[01:14:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh, yeah, I'm excited man. This is gonna be uh me too. I can't wait

[01:14:42] [SPEAKER_06]: We're gonna have this same exact conversation at the tournament by the way

[01:14:46] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, we're gonna sit down the three of us and and do this. It's a tradition

[01:14:50] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh, it is it is a tradition and welcome to it brandy because we'll get used to it because it happens every time

[01:14:57] [SPEAKER_06]: It may be a little later in the day, but you know

[01:15:01] [SPEAKER_04]: You've added a pretty sick layer to like this talk show randy and I really like a lot of the

[01:15:07] [SPEAKER_04]: The work you've been putting in bro. Like oh, thank you

[01:15:10] [SPEAKER_04]: You're promoter you're promoter just like me and like some people don't see that 100% or like it's you're like low key

[01:15:17] [SPEAKER_04]: You know like I there's a lot of guys that make foosball better and you're one of them

[01:15:21] [SPEAKER_03]: No, dude. Thank you. Yeah, I'm pretty not man. Don't make me start crying. Come on

[01:15:27] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm serious now, dude because again like I anything I

[01:15:31] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I I don't see it that way, right? I'm just I just come on here and I you're humble man

[01:15:36] [SPEAKER_03]: And I talk oh man. I just I just joke around talk smack

[01:15:39] [SPEAKER_03]: I love foosball like anything I can do to make foosball better

[01:15:41] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to right because it's something that I love and I want to see it grow

[01:15:45] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to see it grow for everybody, right? Like for the for the guys at the top

[01:15:50] [SPEAKER_03]: The guys that have dedicated their whole life to this thing

[01:15:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, like they they deserve so much more. They do and that's that's the idea. That's the whole philosophy

[01:16:00] [SPEAKER_03]: You know like dude, I'm

[01:16:03] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm realistic, right? I'm never like I'm never gonna be

[01:16:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm never gonna be Tony. I'm never gonna be Ryan. I'm never gonna be Billy

[01:16:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm never gonna be Brandon. I'm never gonna be Tommy the list, right? I'm never gonna be one of those guys

[01:16:14] [SPEAKER_03]: I I I get that I'm never gonna be able to dedicate my whole self to foosball

[01:16:19] [SPEAKER_03]: I have a good life. I'm blessed. I have a beautiful wife. I have a beautiful home

[01:16:23] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm comfortable and there are a lot of guys out there like me that that just that grind and but we just love to play foosball

[01:16:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I want to see how I do against the best guys today

[01:16:35] [SPEAKER_03]: And and but I feel like the guys that have just given their whole life to this thing they deserve

[01:16:41] [SPEAKER_03]: They deserve everything they get not not the not the you know, thousand bucks

[01:16:46] [SPEAKER_03]: And again, I'm not I'm not saying this to be nice. I'm not believe me man. Look Mary Mary is she's

[01:16:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Don't curse herself into this thing, right?

[01:16:54] [SPEAKER_03]: But if if if Ryan's able to find people to really back this and we can make this thing huge

[01:16:58] [SPEAKER_03]: The guys at the top the guys at the top deserve everything they do man. Yep. No question about it

[01:17:05] [SPEAKER_04]: I I grew up looking up to these guys like they're heroes to me and

[01:17:09] [SPEAKER_04]: like a lot of them are really good friends and

[01:17:12] [SPEAKER_04]: They don't like we don't make what we should as pro foosball players and master foosball players

[01:17:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Like the time and dedication the effort the long hours like the sacrifice

[01:17:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Like in my life to be a promoter to work 50 hours for

[01:17:26] [SPEAKER_04]: You know corporation and to to have a side business and to do all these things it takes sacrifice, man

[01:17:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Yep, absolutely. Like I it's you got to give somewhere like it's not going to be perfect everywhere. And so

[01:17:37] [SPEAKER_04]: You know lack of sleep or like mental health sometimes like it can take a back seat

[01:17:42] [SPEAKER_04]: But if we can get into this place where these guys they're putting in the work and they're getting

[01:17:48] [SPEAKER_04]: A lot out of it. Like, you know, you can pay your mortgage playing foosball someday

[01:17:52] [SPEAKER_03]: That is a beautiful thing man. Man. That's absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You know again

[01:17:58] [SPEAKER_03]: A guy like you mike you've been doing this a long time man your second generation fuzzer

[01:18:02] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, I'm sure you've seen your dad go through it. It's like like you said he was a pro in the 90s. Yeah

[01:18:08] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, man. Again, you you work

[01:18:11] [SPEAKER_03]: A full-time job you run a non-profit you do so much for foosball that people don't see behind the scenes like guys like you

[01:18:20] [SPEAKER_03]: deserve

[01:18:21] [SPEAKER_03]: More I mean dude, you're putting on one of the biggest regional tournaments in the country

[01:18:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yep, thank you, man. You do a great job. Don't make me cry, bro

[01:18:28] [SPEAKER_03]: No, dude

[01:18:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Come on guy. So but it's like a if you're listening to this and you're on the fence

[01:18:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Get up there man support it. Here's my hand, bro. I'll help you down

[01:18:39] [SPEAKER_04]: It's a safe trip down. Yeah, it's nothing but up from here

[01:18:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Hey, hey, if you're in canada, hey

[01:18:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Come on. Hey

[01:18:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's go the canadian invasion is a real thing bro brace yourselves gentlemen. I love it

[01:18:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Because these guys are incredible players man from toronto and we get some players that don't tour like like it's tough

[01:18:58] [SPEAKER_04]: It's expensive to come from canada of the u.s. It is this is a cheaper trip for some of these guys

[01:19:02] [SPEAKER_04]: And you'll see some different players that you may not normally see like in kentucky or vegas or florida

[01:19:09] [SPEAKER_03]: So dude, it's it's very competitive. Yeah. Yeah. No, dude canadians man. Look I um

[01:19:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I was like four months shy of being born in canada. Thank god four months. That's crazy

[01:19:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, because my dad grew up in toronto. He was smuggled into toronto when he was like

[01:19:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no doubt

[01:19:28] [SPEAKER_03]: But I got family up there man like as a kid

[01:19:30] [SPEAKER_03]: I used to go up there all the time play hockey and I mean I I'm a leaps fan. Unfortunately. I'm a toronto dude

[01:19:38] [SPEAKER_03]: So it's like let's go. I have roots in canada, man. I have family there

[01:19:43] [SPEAKER_03]: You know, so like I love the canadians dude. I love those guys are all great. Yes good dudes

[01:19:49] [SPEAKER_03]: So i'm looking forward to seeing them in a couple weeks, dude. I mean look we're

[01:19:53] [SPEAKER_03]: We're what two weeks out, right? Yeah, that's yeah from today next weekend and then the weekend after yeah, dude

[01:19:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I can't wait my wife is going away next weekend. I sent her away. I bought because I had to

[01:20:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I had to do a rig. I had like I had to pull some strings to be able to go so

[01:20:08] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sending her away next weekend, right and

[01:20:13] [SPEAKER_03]: So

[01:20:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I was like you and your mom go down to the beach. I got your hotel great

[01:20:20] [SPEAKER_03]: So while she's gone, I'm gonna have some dudes over to the house. I got a new table and we're gonna practice for the tournament

[01:20:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Dude, yeah, there you go. It's all worked out man. I can't I'm just

[01:20:29] [SPEAKER_06]: By the way, here's that that's exciting man. Here's a weird connection

[01:20:33] [SPEAKER_06]: I don't know if you're aware of this Michael, but uh randy has purchased

[01:20:38] [SPEAKER_06]: A table from my roommate from last year at michigan state

[01:20:43] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, scotty scott. Oh nice. Yeah, dude

[01:20:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Yep, so I know I know from Alabama too. Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I know you know Scott so unfortunately scotty

[01:20:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Has decided to hang it up. Yeah

[01:20:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Scotty's retiring. Um, scottie got a new table a couple years ago. Yeah. Yeah, I love scottie. He's a good dude, but um

[01:21:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I I grabbed scottie's table. He's got a nice. He's got a nice

[01:21:07] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a black one of those matte black wrap tables and those just they play

[01:21:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Those are beautiful tables. Yeah. Yeah, I got his table

[01:21:15] [SPEAKER_03]: because um, I um

[01:21:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I had a talk with my wife and I uh, like dude, I'm trying to like you man

[01:21:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Like I I aspire to be a master and I know that in order to do that

[01:21:26] [SPEAKER_03]: It's gonna be work like I just broke 4 000 points and doubles

[01:21:29] [SPEAKER_03]: That's beautiful, bro. Yeah, so I mean, I'm trying to catch you, but I see you man

[01:21:35] [SPEAKER_03]: So so I need I needed the equipment and then um, I just started working with uh, Dana mar

[01:21:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Um, dude hit Dana mar, dude. Yep. He is a master class

[01:21:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so I've been doing some sessions with Dana shout out to Dana. He's a good dude

[01:21:50] [SPEAKER_03]: So he's helping me that's sick man. Uh, it and so uh, I can't say the crews I think

[01:21:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, he's california

[01:21:57] [SPEAKER_03]: So i'm uh, I'm looking forward to you know, seeing if I can put it together in a couple weeks and see how I do

[01:22:04] [SPEAKER_03]: That's sick, dude. I mean we're bruce welton my good friend bruce welton bruce bruce is cool, man

[01:22:09] [SPEAKER_03]: He's the best good dude. So uh, we we took uh, we took a fifth at uh

[01:22:14] [SPEAKER_03]: At the masters last year fifth and open doubles and we got third in mississippi state and open doubles

[01:22:19] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's there you go. Yeah trying to see if we can put a dent in this bracket

[01:22:24] [SPEAKER_03]: I know it's gonna be tough man a lot of good good teams good players. So

[01:22:28] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, man, i'm excited dude seriously. I mean, uh

[01:22:32] [SPEAKER_03]: I appreciate you taking time out. I know it's saturday night. You probably uh, probably got a p y t spend some time with

[01:22:38] [SPEAKER_03]: so

[01:22:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, yeah pretty p y t

[01:22:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah, I do man. Michael jackson by the way. She's a great woman, dude. She's she's awesome

[01:22:50] [SPEAKER_04]: She holds me up. I'm a lucky dude. Uh

[01:22:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, so she she's having a girls night tonight

[01:22:56] [SPEAKER_04]: But you know, so I got time but uh, yeah, it's cool, man

[01:23:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Like it's it's tough juggling a relationship too and like giving that like the most you can and and also kind of being

[01:23:06] [SPEAKER_04]: a business person and working other angles there too, but um, it's all about balance, man

[01:23:11] [SPEAKER_04]: like

[01:23:12] [SPEAKER_04]: It's

[01:23:12] [SPEAKER_04]: If you love something you're gonna work hard at it and if if you uh, if you want to make an impact and and change things

[01:23:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Then you're just gonna make the sacrifice. Yep. There you have it part one of michael stahl's interview

[01:23:25] [SPEAKER_06]: He'll be back again next week for part two of that same interview

[01:23:30] [SPEAKER_06]: And thanks for tuning in to foos talk live now. Let's head to florida for report with mic green

[01:23:35] [SPEAKER_06]: Hey, welcome once once again. I'm tom robinson from foos talk live

[01:23:39] [SPEAKER_06]: What a night we've had so far with michael stahl talking to us from michigan

[01:23:43] [SPEAKER_06]: Getting us ready for michigan state which is coming up as this year is called the great lakes classic

[01:23:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, lots of exciting things happening by the way you'll hear the second half

[01:23:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Of michael stahl's interview next week, of course, that'll get us even more ready for the great lakes classic

[01:23:58] [SPEAKER_06]: But in the meantime, we have to we have to find out what's happening at florida state and the master's open

[01:24:04] [SPEAKER_06]: and so through the magic of

[01:24:07] [SPEAKER_06]: Of uh of technology we're suddenly in the hotel room of of mic green mic. Welcome to foos talk live. What's up, dude?

[01:24:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Been a crazy weekend tom. I was gonna say no, it's a good thing. It's probably a good thing

[01:24:22] [SPEAKER_00]: You didn't come to this one at least for the fight

[01:24:26] [SPEAKER_00]: It all worked out well man. It's been a good time. I mean, you know, I gotta give rob kato some props

[01:24:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, yes, I like to talk bad about rob a lot but

[01:24:37] [SPEAKER_00]: We're in lindsay and everybody this I mean they want it with 125 players here. Oh good. Yeah. Yeah

[01:24:42] [SPEAKER_00]: misery and

[01:24:44] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean just even have this thing. I didn't happen right 125 players

[01:24:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Right, we have 40 miles of beaches where we're at and uh, they're just

[01:24:54] [SPEAKER_00]: With tourists and they're basically all wiped out right now. No kidding. Yeah

[01:24:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Now, I know there is a really

[01:25:01] [SPEAKER_06]: interesting video that's gone viral of

[01:25:04] [SPEAKER_06]: a gentleman near tampa bay and he's in his living room

[01:25:10] [SPEAKER_06]: And there's two and a half feet of water in his living room and he's riding around this living room in a kayak

[01:25:16] [SPEAKER_06]: And i'm thinking well, there's an indication of what happens when the tide comes in and and of course the the hurricane helps helps the tide

[01:25:24] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, uh to its to its high. I think it's maybe the tide went up to like eight feet in some places

[01:25:29] [SPEAKER_06]: so

[01:25:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Pretty scary stuff. Oh, yeah, it was uh

[01:25:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Further north again by the time I got to north florida was up to 20. Wow

[01:25:37] [SPEAKER_00]: No kidding between 15 and 20 feet. I had a friend of mine some friends of ours that live

[01:25:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Because you go across the last bridge in the same p beach

[01:25:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Right on the intercoastal there

[01:25:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And they had four cars in their front yard and they all floated down the road

[01:25:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow from the tide that's incredible coming through man over five feet of water in our house here's some people that

[01:25:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Me and my wife and I've been coming to the tournament basically spending the last two days going to friends houses

[01:26:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Trying to take them food help them out. Yeah good

[01:26:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they got our church treats them right and we had 30 people show up at this our friends house

[01:26:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And they were tearing dry while i'll put it back together. Okay. Yeah, so the rebuilding begins everybody doesn't have that

[01:26:15] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, mm-hmm. Anyway, let's get on to something more. Yeah, no question

[01:26:19] [SPEAKER_06]: So, you know the master's opened 125 players really considering, you know, that's that's a pretty good turnout

[01:26:25] [SPEAKER_06]: um

[01:26:26] [SPEAKER_06]: and sitting right beside you there might to your right is

[01:26:30] [SPEAKER_06]: Someone who uh, I guess you could say

[01:26:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Won the lottery this weekend

[01:26:35] [SPEAKER_06]: And it feels like it to me. That's for sure. Yeah, we know him as rob cutler rob cutler. Welcome to food stock live

[01:26:41] [SPEAKER_06]: I knew you're a patreon

[01:26:44] [SPEAKER_06]: Supporter and pillar and man

[01:26:46] [SPEAKER_06]: We're so glad to have you as a patreon

[01:26:47] [SPEAKER_06]: But I you got it you got to tell us what happened this weekend when you played with ryan more as your partner

[01:26:53] [SPEAKER_06]: In the open doubles. Um, so let's let's go there. Let's let's talk about that first of all

[01:26:59] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, when did you first find out that you were going to be playing with ryan more?

[01:27:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, I think I was sitting with my family. It was an evening. He was doing the drawing online on facebook live and

[01:27:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Going along and ryan was doing a spiel and I think he he

[01:27:17] [SPEAKER_01]: He it was a drawing he had set up

[01:27:18] [SPEAKER_01]: So if you were taking lessons with him you got to enter into the drawing and he had a couple

[01:27:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I think there was multiple drawings five or six and the ultimate prize was to go play with ryan more at florida state. Wow

[01:27:29] [SPEAKER_06]: That's incredible

[01:27:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I want and then I'd like well, I want to pump to go but my wife is uh, that's just another thing

[01:27:38] [SPEAKER_01]: I gotta go do I've just gone to world for the first time. They're pretty close together

[01:27:42] [SPEAKER_01]: I was like and i'm pumped but I gotta get my wife on board right

[01:27:46] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh, it's there's always the the family life. I mean

[01:27:49] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, I hope you explain to your wife that hey listen, you know, we're we're a family, you know, however

[01:27:56] [SPEAKER_06]: foosballs also a family

[01:27:58] [SPEAKER_06]: So it's like you got to split a little more evenly between the two families, but it's only fair, right?

[01:28:06] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like having your favorite your all-time favorite band say hey, you want to come on stage and get

[01:28:13] [SPEAKER_06]: That's essentially it. That's exactly it. Yeah

[01:28:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah 100% and she knew that and she she couldn't hold me back on that nice. She wanted me to go and uh,

[01:28:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Very cool. Yep. It happened and then with a hurricane coming like man, I have this great opportunity and

[01:28:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't seem like it's gonna come through right and then my flight never got delayed and came straight here

[01:28:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Really and you flew out of charlotte that where you live in north carolina, correct?

[01:28:37] [SPEAKER_01]: Yep. Yep. Yeah 20 minutes from there. Wow major hubs. What what day did you arrive?

[01:28:44] [SPEAKER_06]: Friday Friday, okay in the hotel, of course before that was closed anyway

[01:28:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, I kept getting the updates from rob kataly was doing a lot of you know, foos Facebook live

[01:28:54] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh updates saying hey guys not gonna open till friday morning at nine

[01:28:59] [SPEAKER_06]: But you know, it looks like it's gonna happen. We're gonna do this and and uh,

[01:29:03] [SPEAKER_06]: I gotta say that must have been touch and go for a bit to see what what really was going to shake out from the storm

[01:29:08] [SPEAKER_01]: but absolutely and I'll be honest I

[01:29:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Really, I I thought I had like a 90 chance that just wasn't gonna happen

[01:29:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I was no way I was gonna get down here. Yeah, and it just it all kept working out

[01:29:20] [SPEAKER_00]: That's great. Yeah one of our players one thing. I was very surprised that

[01:29:25] [SPEAKER_00]: You know people I mean they do have a tendency on social media to complain talk bad about what's going on

[01:29:32] [SPEAKER_00]: and uh

[01:29:33] [SPEAKER_00]: They're like, oh, you know, but I didn't hear which was shock from shocking to me because good. All right guys

[01:29:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Here's you know, I'm waiting for the guys call this is all this is what happens, you know

[01:29:44] [SPEAKER_00]: But you know what and I'm gonna take up Rob again and he thought he was told that we would be in here thursday

[01:29:52] [SPEAKER_08]: and

[01:29:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So that they were setting up tables the whole Wednesday the whole nine yards

[01:29:56] [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to be able to come in that thursday or whatever

[01:30:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And the hotel there's no rain. No nothing going on at all. Huh? And they said now

[01:30:04] [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna just shut it down until uh

[01:30:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Until friday morning, right?

[01:30:09] [SPEAKER_00]: But then Rob has to go back on and

[01:30:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And i'm just like, you know, honestly if i'm that guy coming from out of town

[01:30:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna be like, I don't know about all this

[01:30:19] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a hotel gets stuck for two days and oh

[01:30:22] [SPEAKER_00]: But I mean that just also goes to show you that I mean the base of florida foosball is

[01:30:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's pretty dang incredible. Oh, of course. It'll show it up

[01:30:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but like last year you gotta realize there was a hundred and five people on amateur

[01:30:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh singles

[01:30:38] [SPEAKER_05]: There was only 125 people here all together grand total storm right. Yeah. Yeah

[01:30:43] [SPEAKER_00]: It's um, even your guy kevin walker was supposed to be coming some of the guys were supposed to be coming

[01:30:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, I saw I saw kevin walker on friday evening. He showed up for our dyp saying hey man

[01:30:53] [SPEAKER_06]: I just can't get there. I there's no I have no choice. I can't make it

[01:30:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh because i'm not gonna drive because that would that would be a uh, you know, would be counterproductive. So

[01:31:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, yeah, it was a great disappointment for him and I know a lot of other folks who just couldn't make it

[01:31:08] [SPEAKER_06]: So, you know what? It's uh, it is what it is. But the fact that it happened. I think that's fantastic

[01:31:14] [SPEAKER_06]: So rob, let just give us another quick idea here. What uh when it came to playing the open with ryan

[01:31:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, what kind of instructions did he give give you before you started your first match?

[01:31:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we took each and we went match by match every match we played we

[01:31:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh looked at the bracket

[01:31:32] [SPEAKER_01]: See who we were playing. Um broke down the players what they could do what their strengths and weaknesses were and uh

[01:31:38] [SPEAKER_01]: some doing what we could to uh

[01:31:42] [SPEAKER_01]: to play to their weaknesses and uh

[01:31:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Along his lines so so he was playing forward mostly

[01:31:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Yep, he only got in the back a couple times. Uh, yeah, I took the the number one goal in the world and put him up front

[01:31:58] [SPEAKER_06]: Hey as long as don't don't make him work too hard, right? That's the that's the important thing

[01:32:02] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, uh clearing the ball for him and getting getting him the ball and letting him do the rest

[01:32:08] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, I mean he is he's uh, he's a he's a vicious forward as well, right? So there's so yeah

[01:32:14] [SPEAKER_06]: It's just uh, you don't have to worry about that. How many how many matches in uh, did you guys go?

[01:32:20] [SPEAKER_01]: We got I think we came out seventh eighth. Okay

[01:32:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Nice. Yeah, we were we were chugging along until we got to uh,

[01:32:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Tommy you're brandon munoz

[01:32:31] [SPEAKER_01]: and uh, we still gave him we gave him a good fight and uh

[01:32:35] [SPEAKER_01]: I would see him again in the finals, but uh, we got a couple more matches along and then

[01:32:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Couldn't get through it price understood. I got to watch raw play. I was definitely a fan. Check it out

[01:32:45] [SPEAKER_00]: This I thought it was really cool. What was going on and yeah play great

[01:32:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah play great. He did I mean I'm watching him and I'm going I'm thinking in my head

[01:32:54] [SPEAKER_00]: This is what he needs to do and I'm you know, I'm not blaming. I would never say hey, right

[01:32:58] [SPEAKER_00]: You know your guy needs to do trust me but in my own head

[01:33:01] [SPEAKER_00]: But he's doing what he should have been doing. He's looking for an open hole to pass

[01:33:04] [SPEAKER_00]: He's yeah, he said a nice bull. I see I love this one where

[01:33:08] [SPEAKER_00]: He sets it up and shoots the pull hits the guys man

[01:33:10] [SPEAKER_00]: It comes back to Ryan and Ryan looks bad. I'm good back. I'm like like yeah, that's right

[01:33:14] [SPEAKER_00]: There you go. Well, you should have done there, you know, you know

[01:33:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But I'm gonna have to say something because I ain't afraid of Ryan more

[01:33:21] [SPEAKER_00]: There's a couple of times that uh, you know, they could have put the some matches away and uh

[01:33:28] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you just expect it, you know, right that guy it's like it's over and then you know

[01:33:33] [SPEAKER_00]: But hey, it was a lot of fun watching them. I'm sure Rob had a ton of fun. Oh, yeah

[01:33:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's ready for the world

[01:33:40] [SPEAKER_00]: No doubt he was already a celebrity there you go. Hey, there's Ryan's partner and everybody's hanging out

[01:33:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Uh, how quick is this cool man? I mean what a great idea

[01:33:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And oh that just leads into what's next with we know with Ryan taking over right right exactly

[01:33:58] [SPEAKER_00]: The tournament I mean just how his mind works and it's just amazing and he's um, he's old about the plan

[01:34:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I know how we talk for three minutes to somebody about some and of course, I'm eavesdropping because I'm too cheap to pay for a lesson

[01:34:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That makes sense that he said get out of here does this for free kid. Yeah, right

[01:34:17] [SPEAKER_06]: He knew what you're up to he knew what you're up to no, it's um, it's exciting

[01:34:21] [SPEAKER_06]: I know because uh, especially when we went to tornado championships

[01:34:25] [SPEAKER_06]: We had a chance to chat with ryan about his plans. Uh, he's got several phases

[01:34:30] [SPEAKER_06]: I believe four phases he wants to go through

[01:34:32] [SPEAKER_06]: Number one phase is to take care of the the pros and the pro masters, you know get get the game

[01:34:37] [SPEAKER_06]: Um to the level where more pros and pro masters want to stay in the game

[01:34:42] [SPEAKER_06]: And then of course the next level is to take care of all the players

[01:34:45] [SPEAKER_06]: You know make sure everybody who goes to an event has a great time

[01:34:49] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, uh, they they feel like they get their value for their dollar

[01:34:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Which is you know, not to say people aren't getting their value for their dollar now

[01:34:58] [SPEAKER_06]: But make it even more so and I'm I'm excited to see what those changes are going to be

[01:35:02] [SPEAKER_06]: He of course can't get specific yet, but you know within a year or two

[01:35:07] [SPEAKER_06]: You know once those once he gets through those first couple of phases that could be really exciting

[01:35:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I've gotten to know ryan. We wouldn't had a steak dinner the first

[01:35:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, right afternoon when we got here and nice and rooming together and just hearing the way his mind works and how he

[01:35:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Big picture on everything. It's it's pretty amazing stuff. He's

[01:35:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm telling mike. He's such an organized guy

[01:35:30] [SPEAKER_06]: It's he's pretty impressive. Oh, yeah a lot going on there very successful business person

[01:35:35] [SPEAKER_06]: somebody who's who's uh, you know, this is not his first rodeo

[01:35:39] [SPEAKER_06]: So to say that that he comes from a legacy of a foosball promotion obviously is an understatement, but you know, it's now okay

[01:35:48] [SPEAKER_06]: So where do we go with this thing? This world foosball tour?

[01:35:52] [SPEAKER_06]: um

[01:35:52] [SPEAKER_06]: One of the things that I was we were talking about earlier during the show as well

[01:35:56] [SPEAKER_06]: Is that he actually decided to to invest a lot of money just in marketing

[01:36:02] [SPEAKER_06]: So he found this company that that does a lot of major league sports

[01:36:08] [SPEAKER_06]: What they call imaging or they do the graphics for the the big league, you know sports teams

[01:36:14] [SPEAKER_06]: They're called

[01:36:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Fan, I forgot exactly now

[01:36:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Something something up fan brands fan brands and their uh sounds right. Yeah a pretty big company

[01:36:27] [SPEAKER_06]: And they've been at it for a long time

[01:36:29] [SPEAKER_06]: They work with a lot of major league hockey and baseball and and uh basketball

[01:36:34] [SPEAKER_06]: And they've they created some amazing images and that's where ryan went

[01:36:37] [SPEAKER_06]: He went to those folks and said hey, we need this branding for foosball

[01:36:43] [SPEAKER_06]: And i'm thinking now that's that's that's that's putting your money where your mouth is

[01:36:48] [SPEAKER_00]: For the most part man. That's a big picture. Oh, yeah

[01:36:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so well, yeah, I mean here's a perfect example of that in florida we have

[01:36:56] [SPEAKER_00]: He's a grocery store is called public's right. Mm-hmm

[01:37:00] [SPEAKER_00]: They're just a grocery store, but they came out with the brand. We're shopping as a pleasure

[01:37:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Ah, yes years ago. Mm-hmm and he always had it clean and they always had people being very helpful

[01:37:11] [SPEAKER_00]: It's it's just unbelievable. Oh, yeah people know that store by that crazy little brand absolutely

[01:37:17] [SPEAKER_01]: You know

[01:37:18] [SPEAKER_00]: We're shopping as a pleasure, you know or you know, it's just funny how all that stuff works in ryan

[01:37:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Like I you know, I'm always fast. They were ryan. He just always gives me dirty looks, you know

[01:37:31] [SPEAKER_00]: He knows I like it so I give it back to him. Yeah. Yeah playing the guy

[01:37:34] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I don't even mind taking a beat when you're having fun, right? So he's got fun

[01:37:38] [SPEAKER_01]: That's his number one thing. No having fun always have fun up beat. Yeah

[01:37:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Because you know, you're gonna back guys is you like that you know

[01:37:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I'll talk a little smack. I like is everybody else just kind of gets quiet because you just shoot back at me

[01:37:49] [SPEAKER_00]: That's not a bad, you know, it's a great guy

[01:37:51] [SPEAKER_00]: But uh, well, yeah, I mean it's funny because let me ryan said this publicly he said it on social media

[01:37:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It's nothing, you know, yeah, he's never said his mom was wrong. He just said he's just got a different idea

[01:38:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Right and you know fresh perspective and and having a fresh perspective

[01:38:06] [SPEAKER_06]: And of course coming from the point of being a top pro

[01:38:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Master in the in the field, you know in the echelon of the top five players of all time really

[01:38:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Coming from that perspective that's that in and of itself gives him so much more

[01:38:20] [SPEAKER_06]: I wouldn't say I won't not gonna use the word credibility, but I would say more more

[01:38:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Gravitas, right? So we we are expecting better things, of course

[01:38:30] [SPEAKER_06]: And and that's a lot of pressure, but I think he's up to it. You know, no doubt about that

[01:38:34] [SPEAKER_06]: He loves pressure. Oh, right. That's what he thrives on that

[01:38:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, the thing that like to ryan, I mean, I would never tell ryan what to do, but you got people now like

[01:38:43] [SPEAKER_00]: You imagine, you know, everybody's like, oh, we need to go into schools. We're gonna go to schools

[01:38:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, some guy like me shows up right they're gonna take my picture for a little wall

[01:38:50] [SPEAKER_00]: back in here

[01:38:52] [SPEAKER_00]: You need a young person going in there. You know, you got Sullivan rude. You got

[01:38:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Isabella, you know

[01:38:58] [SPEAKER_00]: You know and Brandon and these guys are all good-looking, you know people young kids got that charisma

[01:39:04] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that's what you need and right knows that I mean, you know

[01:39:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there's something gonna happen along those lines and you know, you got to make it younger again

[01:39:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I tell you all the time when I played the average age of a world champion was 22

[01:39:17] [SPEAKER_06]: No kidding

[01:39:19] [SPEAKER_00]: 22 35 and older was the old man's event. Ah

[01:39:23] [SPEAKER_06]: That's changed

[01:39:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it was 35 and older is when you've got the

[01:39:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Now you were separated from open and they that was like the seniors back then was

[01:39:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Interesting. Wow. That's I had no idea that was the case

[01:39:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Um, but yeah, you go to t.s. It was even younger. I mean, you got, you know, 17 18-year-old guys

[01:39:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Winning world championships and doing these things right right right and you know now you got

[01:39:46] [SPEAKER_00]: You've got dinosaur. LaFredo, you know, he's 700 years old

[01:39:51] [SPEAKER_06]: Hold on like

[01:39:54] [SPEAKER_06]: Hold on a second. Todd LaFredo is younger than me. So what does that make me, you know

[01:40:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Radioactive dust or something

[01:40:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't mean to like that. I just mean it's just funny like like in my mind, you know, I

[01:40:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I used to you know, this is how weird this is. I used to have a poster. Todd Tom spear on my wall

[01:40:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah stars. Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep. I mean, they're still rock stars

[01:40:17] [SPEAKER_00]: But now even you know, you get people now you say hey, what about Frederico and they go who?

[01:40:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The greatest player to play the game, you know, that was in the 2000. Yes

[01:40:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Not that long ago generation separated for nobody remembered who you are who your family. I mean basically, right? Well, and that's

[01:40:35] [SPEAKER_06]: That's you know, this is the time moving forward and of course

[01:40:39] [SPEAKER_06]: Now everything's so instantaneous and if you're big today

[01:40:43] [SPEAKER_06]: Well next week

[01:40:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Who knows who you are, right? That's that's kind of like the attention span of uh of most fans now

[01:40:51] [SPEAKER_06]: So I wanted to shift gears here real quick because Rob, you know, you're you're joining us for the first time in Fooz Talk

[01:40:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Live I gotta ask you the question

[01:40:59] [SPEAKER_06]: um when

[01:41:00] [SPEAKER_06]: When was the first time you saw a foosball table?

[01:41:03] [SPEAKER_06]: What kind of it what kind of table was it and how old were you at the time?

[01:41:08] [SPEAKER_01]: I've thought about this because I'm I'm a obviously a big follower of foos talk live foos talk radio

[01:41:15] [SPEAKER_01]: um

[01:41:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And the very first memory I have is just a k-mark table or whatever some chintzy table with a super hollow

[01:41:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Aluminum rods. Mm-hmm my house and my buddy said oh, I'm good at foosball

[01:41:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And I probably was

[01:41:29] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know

[01:41:30] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm 10 11 somewhere in that range gotcha said oh man not you're not that good and we went and knocked it around

[01:41:37] [SPEAKER_01]: But then not not too long after that into my early teens

[01:41:41] [SPEAKER_01]: My neighbor

[01:41:42] [SPEAKER_01]: All right, well my best friend growing up at the time

[01:41:45] [SPEAKER_01]: They had a foosball table they put in their garage. It was a little nicer table

[01:41:49] [SPEAKER_01]: um

[01:41:50] [SPEAKER_01]: And then across the street

[01:41:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Or some uh older guys like bar guys

[01:41:55] [SPEAKER_01]: That had a glass top table and a pinball machine and they played horseshoes, but watching them play I was like oh my gosh

[01:42:02] [SPEAKER_01]: But we split my best friends in the garage with his parents a lot

[01:42:06] [SPEAKER_01]: not a lot but

[01:42:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Pretty memorable that we'd go out there and play him in battle. I thought I was good

[01:42:11] [SPEAKER_01]: But it was just hacking the ball around rice and then

[01:42:15] [SPEAKER_01]: that carries over towards

[01:42:17] [SPEAKER_01]: When I got into college or when I went to ecu

[01:42:21] [SPEAKER_01]: um

[01:42:21] [SPEAKER_01]: Some of my friends at home started playing

[01:42:24] [SPEAKER_01]: and I was like wow, I love foosball and uh

[01:42:28] [SPEAKER_01]: um

[01:42:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Actually, let me back that up. My first job at king's chicken and barbecue my manager

[01:42:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Um was talking about foosball and he just got a table delivered from charles macintosh

[01:42:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So after work I went over and he showed me the pole shot

[01:42:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And he said that uh charles macintosh when he delivered said you only need two shots

[01:42:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh the pole shot you need to go you can go straight middle or long and you can beat anybody and uh

[01:42:54] [SPEAKER_01]: In a good pass and that's all you need

[01:42:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And uh, I saw them playing on I was like amazed and uh, that's kind of where the tornado side took over

[01:43:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, and then then you fast forward to and then I played just a handful of times with him

[01:43:08] [SPEAKER_01]: and then you fast forward to college

[01:43:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And uh, I got a I bought a table from charles macintosh and uh

[01:43:14] [SPEAKER_01]: A guy I'd kind of known in passing

[01:43:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I saw him at a pizza joint and I was like in my apartment

[01:43:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Was right next door and as soon as he came off he came over to start playing and we became instant best friends

[01:43:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Nice, we played for the

[01:43:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Next couple years all the time but that was about the only person in town

[01:43:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I knew to play foosball. Wow, so we knocked it around for a while and uh

[01:43:37] [SPEAKER_01]: And then I had some friends at home that played

[01:43:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'd go home on weekends and play and that was just a couple year run and then it kind of went away

[01:43:45] [SPEAKER_01]: And then in 2019

[01:43:49] [SPEAKER_01]: um

[01:43:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I had uh, I was at a 40 year

[01:43:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Hurte party for my wife and we went out afterwards and charles it is actually

[01:43:58] [SPEAKER_01]: In high point area of north carolina. I think charles macintosh still had some some change tables out and usually in a bar table

[01:44:04] [SPEAKER_01]: It's not in good shape right tables are in great shape

[01:44:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Huh and there were some fraternity guys there and they're like, oh, they were good and I was just crushing them with my bullshot

[01:44:13] [SPEAKER_01]: The next morning my wife and I were riding home from high point

[01:44:15] [SPEAKER_01]: I said

[01:44:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And I knew there was a scene in charlotte a big scene because I was excited when I had moved there a while back

[01:44:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I am getting back foosball and from 2019 on I that's what what I've been doing. Wow

[01:44:26] [SPEAKER_06]: That's great. And you what is your rank now?

[01:44:30] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm still rookie. Okay got it. Gotta got it. Yep. Yep

[01:44:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, who knows maybe you and I'll end up playing together

[01:44:37] [SPEAKER_06]: Because we're there we go. Yeah, of course. Are you are you considerate forward? Is this you like to play forward?

[01:44:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, so when I started out, I was always in the back and then uh, you know

[01:44:48] [SPEAKER_01]: When you have two backmen someone's got to play forward

[01:44:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So I kind of got shoved up front a couple years ago

[01:44:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Okay

[01:44:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And uh in my five bar and I was kind of had a pole shot

[01:44:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean it wasn't

[01:44:58] [SPEAKER_01]: I've had a really good hard long pole shot and anything I've done in sports

[01:45:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I always try to do every like hit a golf ball the hardest I played soccer

[01:45:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Take a soccer ball the hardest and you know the pole shot. You just gotta smash that thing, you know, right?

[01:45:10] [SPEAKER_01]: But to lower ranked players it's very effective, but it's just never been the smoothest thing

[01:45:15] [SPEAKER_01]: but uh where I've really where I really lacked was the five bar and then

[01:45:19] [SPEAKER_01]: A year ago july around july 4th. I blew out my shoulder. So I said well

[01:45:23] [SPEAKER_01]: This is the perfect time to figure out my five bar. Yes

[01:45:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And uh, I made a lot of progress on that for four months straight all they did was five bar and I do the brush series

[01:45:31] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh nice. And and now you've got all this extra ammunition because you've had these lessons with uh with uh with ryan

[01:45:38] [SPEAKER_06]: So I have you seen a change in your game already

[01:45:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh 100 and and initially the very first few lessons it was instant change

[01:45:49] [SPEAKER_01]: But then as more information this is I'm

[01:45:52] [SPEAKER_01]: I follow all things foosball or try to what I can get in and uh

[01:45:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And you so at some point you get information overload and and I think the key thing and foosball at least for me is to simplify simplify simplify

[01:46:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Right, right a

[01:46:05] [SPEAKER_01]: tournament style foosball. What's that's not always the most fun

[01:46:09] [SPEAKER_06]: But what what's the most effective? Right exactly and execute uh perfectly each time. That's you know, well

[01:46:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And then that's another thing with me a consistency execution

[01:46:21] [SPEAKER_01]: every single time

[01:46:22] [SPEAKER_01]: So

[01:46:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm working on that as well. Yeah me and rob were talking in the beginning and he was talking about you know, ryan and what they've been doing and

[01:46:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And I was like I would never give you advice when ryan war is teaching you but the bottom line is

[01:46:36] [SPEAKER_00]: You have a power forward. You don't have to you don't have to win games

[01:46:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Right and I said, I know ryan's told you the same thing

[01:46:43] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I and I've said it on this show before even ryan is ryan and is the best

[01:46:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Goalie period and the best shooting goal I ever seen absolutely

[01:46:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And even ryan does these things to be a hero and they come shoot back in his own hole

[01:46:57] [SPEAKER_00]: When you got got I mean, it's true and like I was you know, we were talking about you know, it's just when you have a power forward

[01:47:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Playing and of course ryan's a different animal. He might score seven from the back

[01:47:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you something. I mean I watched him a lot. I told you I watched a lot of matches and

[01:47:13] [SPEAKER_00]: He probably doesn't even realize yet when he gets home

[01:47:17] [SPEAKER_00]: He's gonna realize that I mean I watched him play and I watched your confidence ryan's confidence

[01:47:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Growing like hey, this is actually working. You know, yes, this is happening. You know what he's saying

[01:47:28] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you know, that just makes it more impressive

[01:47:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Because I you know anybody can have talent anybody can have a lot of things but

[01:47:35] [SPEAKER_00]: To get that knowledge that's like, you know, have you know, like people who are second generations whose parents were good

[01:47:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're getting that information at a young age, but when they're still forming, okay, you know

[01:47:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, the bottom, you know that to me that was what I thought was really cool about the whole thing

[01:47:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Because I like I said I watched him and I seen his game progressing

[01:47:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah through the matches and that's why I ain't gonna lie when uh when I seen ryan miss a couple uh

[01:48:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Bull shots being the jerk. I am maybe a couple beers. I almost said

[01:48:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm glad I got to this one, but

[01:48:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I played really good, you know, no, no you're playing great. You know that just you know, let's just you know, he's uh

[01:48:19] [SPEAKER_06]: I don't think there's um, I think for ryan. I don't think there's an off switch necessarily

[01:48:23] [SPEAKER_06]: I think he's he's always on

[01:48:26] [SPEAKER_06]: And it comes down to a matter of degree. I think somebody used the the um the idea of the gas factor

[01:48:33] [SPEAKER_06]: You know gas factor and that's you know, I get that it's I'm sure there are moments where he's

[01:48:39] [SPEAKER_06]: Preoccupied with other things going on, but I think generally speaking he always always wants to win

[01:48:46] [SPEAKER_06]: So that's uh, that's the more

[01:48:48] [SPEAKER_00]: About ryan is when ryan one thing I'll say about ryan and very few people have this

[01:48:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean the top top echelon player does and ryan just don't think he doesn't think he can lose

[01:48:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no matter what happens, right? Right. That's just who he is. Yep. I think you have to have that

[01:49:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you gotta be and like, you know, I'm selling the shoe in us

[01:49:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Be one time did you ever play a match? He thought he was gonna lose like that. I didn't think anybody could beat me

[01:49:12] [SPEAKER_00]: It didn't matter what they could or not in my end

[01:49:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they weren't gonna win

[01:49:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And uh, but ryan just takes it to a new level because he has none. He doesn't have that but he has that skill to make it happen

[01:49:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he can back it up. Yeah, get back up to talk and he just happened, you know, right?

[01:49:28] [SPEAKER_00]: I gotta forget this. I want to make sure I say this

[01:49:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I gotta give a shout out to my old good friend scato hara scato hara. Yes

[01:49:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Came into town

[01:49:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And unfortunately, like I said, there wasn't a lot of televised stuff

[01:49:40] [SPEAKER_00]: We finally got a little something going but weren't able to actually do

[01:49:44] [SPEAKER_05]: The coverage

[01:49:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Commitating. Yeah

[01:49:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But uh, we want to come to town just having fun and why I'm getting second and open singles. Whoa

[01:49:52] [SPEAKER_00]: That's great. And uh

[01:49:54] [SPEAKER_00]: He played also played also. Yeah, he was just like he tells me he says all right, Mike

[01:49:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But again, what they haven't seen in a while and I go and he goes just a little fun

[01:50:02] [SPEAKER_00]: But some smack talk

[01:50:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Talking

[01:50:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Back in the day, you know

[01:50:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And uh, he did and I gotta tell you he executed it perfectly

[01:50:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Did he get people

[01:50:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Broken laughing and then he realized that they were in trouble and all of a sudden they're trying to come back

[01:50:18] [SPEAKER_00]: He's like, it's really that simple. Mike isn't really that simple. We were having a blast

[01:50:22] [SPEAKER_00]: That's awesome. It was a good time watching him have fun playing

[01:50:25] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, he's a heck of a player man. Yeah. Oh, no, no question

[01:50:29] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, you know, he's stuck in the uh, what is the Black Hills of South Dakota now?

[01:50:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Um with his his new gig there, but he has that the table set up and I've forgotten the name of the place now

[01:50:40] [SPEAKER_06]: It's like the only hotel in the town where he lives and deadwood. Deadwood. That's it. Deadwood

[01:50:46] [SPEAKER_06]: And uh, he has it signed beat beat the uh beat the owner and and when it was like a hundred bucks or something like that

[01:50:53] [SPEAKER_06]: He's some kind of a challenge

[01:50:55] [SPEAKER_06]: So

[01:50:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, right

[01:50:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we might have room service. Let me go see what's going on. He's got somebody knocking real quick, but I'll say that uh

[01:51:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's room service coming in but anyway

[01:51:10] [SPEAKER_06]: So what what about uh, what about bobby deez? I'm sorry

[01:51:14] [SPEAKER_00]: You gotta do a tennis player here want his chair back? We had to borrow a chair

[01:51:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get confused you can cut this part out bob, but anyway, okay, I can add it basically, uh

[01:51:28] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll get back to the park so

[01:51:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean for me, obviously the highlight of this whole thing was uh, you know the hall of fame

[01:51:37] [SPEAKER_05]: Mm-hmm

[01:51:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Bob deez came and right I good buddy

[01:51:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You know even rob knows my buddy chris star and he never met him because I talk so much about him

[01:51:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But okay, I always say he was the best player ever in florida

[01:51:49] [SPEAKER_00]: People might have done better outside of florida. You come to florida. You've got to beat star and uh, yeah

[01:51:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But it was great seeing him and then lives hill obviously going in a lot of people surprised

[01:51:58] [SPEAKER_00]: They didn't realize she's from florida. Oh

[01:52:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I was fully aware buddy carl passed away this week. Unfortunately, you know, oh a lot of fun to share this sorry to hear that

[01:52:07] [SPEAKER_00]: obviously, but

[01:52:09] [SPEAKER_00]: bob played uh

[01:52:11] [SPEAKER_00]: He was funny. He played his first right in a second round to chris karson out of jacksonville him and tom lost

[01:52:17] [SPEAKER_00]: no kidding and uh

[01:52:19] [SPEAKER_00]: larry

[01:52:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Blake blake which I really don't know that well, but they played great. They do play great. That's yeah

[01:52:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's that soft as well. Yeah, but they you know, but you saw bob

[01:52:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's you know hard first of all he's sitting there and he's got all his family there

[01:52:33] [SPEAKER_00]: He's got like 18,000 kids right now all lined up, you know, he's like remember my kids

[01:52:37] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like wait your kids are only like this big and he goes no they used to be that big

[01:52:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, you can see bob as he went along confidence start coming back timing start coming back. Yes

[01:52:48] [SPEAKER_00]: They wound up fifth place or something like that, but that's great. I played booze in five years

[01:52:53] [SPEAKER_00]: He was really moved by the whole thing and of course

[01:52:56] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we have a good friend of ours and I hate to go negative

[01:52:59] [SPEAKER_00]: But you know that passed away a few years ago. That was bob's best friend

[01:53:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Started the vending business at 16. So I was like, oh man, I don't want to cry for everybody, you know

[01:53:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Right do that and

[01:53:09] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a blast. I mean, you know, he started just telling funny stories and

[01:53:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm looking at him and I'm thinking man, we could do this for like 10 hours

[01:53:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Stories on the road food ball stories playing pranks on each other, you know, and that's the best

[01:53:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Right down the road the guys cars there, you know, you got a bag of flour

[01:53:26] [SPEAKER_00]: You throw it out doing 40 miles an hour to make it look like the car exploded

[01:53:32] [SPEAKER_06]: It's uh, it sounds uh fraternal let's put it that way

[01:53:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, you know Florida guys are always I said sort of like the prison gang, you know

[01:53:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Yep, we all hung together, you know, we all did dirty tricks on each other

[01:53:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Seeing all those guys was uh, it's a lot a lot of fun to me. Yeah, I've known starf since I was probably 10 years old

[01:53:53] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we cheese we actually used to practice in his bedroom had just enough room for the food ball table

[01:53:58] [SPEAKER_00]: We'd be up

[01:54:02] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, you know where there is a will and there's a table you're gonna play

[01:54:07] [SPEAKER_06]: Oh, yeah, you know regardless of what

[01:54:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean I would say overall once we got past Friday, which was a little slow people weren't in sure coming in late

[01:54:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean Saturday and today were already were a blast. I good good good good

[01:54:21] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that um, and you gotta figure we're gonna do this thing again like in april, you know

[01:54:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Right. So so florida state I was gonna say is going to be rescheduled for next year

[01:54:31] [SPEAKER_06]: And and april is the date? Is that the time rob's thinking about summer around? I mean the deal was yeah

[01:54:37] [SPEAKER_00]: It's always april but the hotel just said, you know, for whatever reason this year

[01:54:41] [SPEAKER_00]: They had somebody come in and take the whole hotel. Okay. Okay

[01:54:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And and there was no shame about it before all this weather

[01:54:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And their hotel was booked solid. There was nothing left interesting. There should have been probably 350 players here

[01:54:56] [SPEAKER_05]: Right, right, right, you know what?

[01:54:59] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's all great finding dandy, but it is a spectator

[01:55:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean the open doubles was loaded. Yeah, no kids were here

[01:55:08] [SPEAKER_00]: There were still maybe eight or ten masters here

[01:55:10] [SPEAKER_00]: On the top pros. So the guys that were here that played open there was 38 teams and I would say

[01:55:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean 20 of them at least

[01:55:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Were, you know heavy-duty hitters and you know, the rest were good players

[01:55:22] [SPEAKER_00]: But there was a tough tough event to play

[01:55:24] [SPEAKER_06]: There's a great 38 open doubles. You know, there's some great battles. No doubt. No doubt

[01:55:29] [SPEAKER_06]: What's whose favorite to win the uh the open doubles?

[01:55:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'd say Tommy and Brandon they already won the winners bracket. Yeah, okay, but uh, you know those guys at that level

[01:55:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean anything can happen. They're playing uh, bowcos, you know, he's a kid on fire

[01:55:45] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, oh sure. You don't even know how good he is yet. You know, that's the scary part about him

[01:55:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And then he's playing with my good old buddy, you know, honor your old

[01:55:54] [SPEAKER_00]: What's his face there? Uh, Eric

[01:55:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Hilder Eric Hilder

[01:55:58] [SPEAKER_06]: It was a fun

[01:55:59] [SPEAKER_00]: You didn't get to see the match for 30 played Dylan and Paul Smith and

[01:56:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Dylan who never talked smack, right?

[01:56:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Like the nicest human being you ever met in your life

[01:56:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And we can't get him to talk smack. We told him that he got to talk a little smack has some fun, man

[01:56:16] [SPEAKER_00]: He played better

[01:56:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And he gave it to him. Yeah, he did. Yeah, it was fun to watch. I mean in a funny polite way

[01:56:22] [SPEAKER_00]: He never would curse at people but he's telling me, you know, he calling us

[01:56:26] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they call me the ice man boy

[01:56:30] [SPEAKER_00]: Is his wife now is looking at him going and he just got very recently

[01:56:34] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you know that or not, but no, Julie

[01:56:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay together for a long time

[01:56:38] [SPEAKER_00]: It was like who is this person? Yeah, you guys created a monster like who's this guy?

[01:56:43] [SPEAKER_00]: But it was a blast to watch and

[01:56:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And they finally beat a meatball and of course Eric is going oh, they were in the bar

[01:56:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And you know and Eric, I don't know if you know but Eric and Paul Smith are from the same area

[01:56:53] [SPEAKER_00]: They were good friends. Okay. Good friends, right? And of course big Paul Smith is mad as always

[01:56:59] [SPEAKER_00]: You know what Eric's like. Will you just realize there's just some people life you'll never beat Paul

[01:57:05] [SPEAKER_08]: Oh

[01:57:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, they could just go on and he goes I did it with this little kid

[01:57:10] [SPEAKER_00]: And Eric's not very uh, uh, what's his name? I'm not Erica Jacob

[01:57:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Jacob's like, how'd I take it pulling?

[01:57:18] [SPEAKER_08]: I didn't say a word

[01:57:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Here you know when right this stuff so everybody's fair game playing it simply you're gonna you're gonna play with the big

[01:57:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So you got to get your story one singles. Okay, random one open singles. They played uh, here got second

[01:57:34] [SPEAKER_00]: and uh

[01:57:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I tell you what I watched oh hair play Dylan and Dylan's a hard man to beat and

[01:57:40] [SPEAKER_00]: He must have scored in the three out of five ten points from the back. Wow

[01:57:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. Oh here was playing on I mean he's always shot great out of the back

[01:57:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm and just having fun. He goes, you know what he can score and say

[01:57:52] [SPEAKER_00]: You know why I scored that Dylan because this rust is just too slick

[01:57:57] [SPEAKER_00]: It just came on you man, you know

[01:57:59] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a fun tournament gotta remind me old school terms a little bit people having a good time

[01:58:04] [SPEAKER_06]: Right. Well, you know when you're you're faced with this kind of challenge, you know with the hurricane coming through

[01:58:10] [SPEAKER_06]: Nobody can control that so you know, you can't you can't just wallow in it

[01:58:14] [SPEAKER_06]: You have to say, you know what so what we're still gonna have a great time and uh, and and lo and behold

[01:58:20] [SPEAKER_06]: Something happens and everybody gets into it. Yeah

[01:58:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. I'm making up this number. I'd say between maybe 20 25 juniors. Oh, okay late in the junior event and uh

[01:58:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Vicky munger guy from george have been around forever his son won

[01:58:37] [SPEAKER_00]: He won the juniors. Oh cool

[01:58:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Ryan wilkie I can never remember his daughter's name. I feel bad, but anyway, she got second place

[01:58:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Excellent. Unfortunately, we wanted to interview them and stuff, you know, and yeah

[01:58:49] [SPEAKER_00]: But we didn't have any way of doing it. You know, we had the mic set up and yeah

[01:58:53] [SPEAKER_06]: but

[01:58:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, there's a lot of fun to watch

[01:58:56] [SPEAKER_06]: We're giving as much media coverage as we see as we can possibly do in the after in the aftermath here

[01:59:02] [SPEAKER_06]: So that's uh, there at least there's that

[01:59:05] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, I I was wondering about women's the women's division. What what was that like women's open? Uh, who won that?

[01:59:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I believe I know uh

[01:59:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's over isabella and liz hill won goddess

[01:59:19] [SPEAKER_06]: That that's not surprising and isabella took first in singles right women singles singles, right?

[01:59:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and i'm not gonna lie beat i beat isabella

[01:59:29] [SPEAKER_00]: In one of the events and uh, I was quite happy about that. I was not

[01:59:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I was very nervous about playing her

[01:59:35] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I don't want this girl does this little tiny cute girl's gonna beat up on me and smile at me

[01:59:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Man, I can't thank you. She's good. She's really good. She's incredible. Yeah, that's absolutely incredible great goalie

[01:59:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I think she just started playing that my first uh, north carolina state

[01:59:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, three or four years ago and how far she's come in such a short time is crazy

[01:59:55] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, it really is. Is that stat? I mean, it's really roughly two and a half years that she's been playing now on a

[02:00:01] [SPEAKER_06]: At least on the tour and to to see where she is. It's just extraordinary, you know

[02:00:07] [SPEAKER_06]: Um speaking of north carolina state. Are you going to be there this year, ron?

[02:00:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I I think i've been to the last three and uh, this should be my fourth

[02:00:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Excellent. I wanted to get her singles. I think two years ago there. Okay. Um

[02:00:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Yep, i'm i'm looking forward to going. Usually I peel out on friday. They have a lot of the

[02:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, and I don't play till saturday just because I don't like to travel and play in the same day

[02:00:30] [SPEAKER_06]: Right, right. Yeah, so are you uh, are you have you uh, um plans for for partners? Are you gonna play like, uh

[02:00:38] [SPEAKER_06]: What would be amateur doubles and open and expert? What are you gonna play?

[02:00:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Usually I try to play everything possible, but like I said, I usually travel on friday and

[02:00:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe i'll play something late on friday

[02:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: But that they usually put the earlier events the rookies and the amateurs like um, right

[02:00:55] [SPEAKER_01]: They even have events on thursday. Okay the way I can get away from family on Thanksgiving day

[02:01:00] [SPEAKER_05]: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah

[02:01:03] [SPEAKER_01]: I just play all the events that I get in usually, uh, but

[02:01:06] [SPEAKER_01]: So at worlds I played eight events and I was just pooped man. Yes realize I got to get a better shape so

[02:01:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying to play less events these days

[02:01:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Even though I I think the more events you play the the more experience you get and then

[02:01:20] [SPEAKER_06]: And I think that's a game but fair to say

[02:01:23] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, eight events. That's a lot

[02:01:26] [SPEAKER_00]: That's a that's a lot of foosball. I can tell you that that north carolina Thanksgiving tournament

[02:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: My family didn't see me on Thanksgiving. I think you just

[02:01:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Because I was always in north carolina playing with charles macintosh ran the term was right

[02:01:40] [SPEAKER_00]: It never means one of the best tournaments of the year. He just never missed. Yeah the tournament, you know and

[02:01:46] [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of times we were just traveling around on one of bagels

[02:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So we'd head from one and head to north carolina and my mom says

[02:01:52] [SPEAKER_00]: Are you gonna make it home this shit?

[02:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah for Thanksgiving

[02:01:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Don't set a plate

[02:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's you know tournaments. Uh, when do you get to michigan?

[02:02:04] [SPEAKER_06]: Michigan state i'm gonna be arriving on friday just before noon

[02:02:09] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, actually what where do you find it through? I'm flying into uh, into lansing

[02:02:14] [SPEAKER_06]: So I was able to get uh relatively I used the term loosely cheaper flight

[02:02:20] [SPEAKER_06]: From albinate to lansing. Uh, they were outrageous in most cases

[02:02:25] [SPEAKER_06]: So I just found this one flight that's very early in the day

[02:02:27] [SPEAKER_06]: I leave at 6 a.m

[02:02:28] [SPEAKER_06]: And land, you know roughly just before noon

[02:02:31] [SPEAKER_06]: In lansing and so, you know a bit of a layover in detroit, which is no big deal

[02:02:36] [SPEAKER_06]: But uh, yeah, I was very lucky because all the other flights were 200 more than what I found so

[02:02:42] [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, i'm looking forward to it. Tom are probably gonna head up there. Oh you are

[02:02:47] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh very cool, but we were checking it out. I mean the flights are crazy like if we've tried to find a lansing

[02:02:53] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like yeah, you gotta there's no straight-to flights are like 600 bucks. That's it. That's exactly right

[02:02:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we're probably gonna have to fly we're gonna fly out of st. Pete, but

[02:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Then we got to figure out how the heck do we I mean we don't

[02:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I think somebody said that the grand rapids was the closest airport. I'm not sure

[02:03:11] [SPEAKER_06]: I think detroit is the closest detroit is probably the closest

[02:03:15] [SPEAKER_06]: So if you fly into detroit and uh, I've done it before I had to take an uber from detroit to lansing

[02:03:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Which wasn't bad though because it was like 80 bucks grand total

[02:03:25] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, so that that to me if you sounds pretty cheap, you'll be out there like this

[02:03:33] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, exactly

[02:03:34] [SPEAKER_06]: But detroit usually is cheaper just to fly in there because it's a bigger

[02:03:38] [SPEAKER_06]: It's a bigger, you know more major airport in a hub

[02:03:40] [SPEAKER_06]: But um, yeah this time it wasn't that wasn't going to be the case. It was only maybe

[02:03:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Maybe 40 or 50 dollars cheaper to go into detroit. So I thought you know what for the extra 40 or 50

[02:03:51] [SPEAKER_06]: I'm just gonna go straight to lansing and uh go go from there crazy part though from here

[02:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Is it doesn't matter where you even from Orlando or Tampa would usually have great flights everywhere?

[02:04:00] [SPEAKER_00]: No matter what you gotta go

[02:04:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Somewhere for for a stop and then you know, there's always a layover

[02:04:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there's no choice. I don't like layovers. Yeah, no time up one time down

[02:04:13] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, there's always

[02:04:15] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what else I mean that you want to talk about but well, I think we uh, I mean

[02:04:21] [SPEAKER_06]: We've covered the gamut here for sure

[02:04:23] [SPEAKER_06]: But um, so so Rob besides north carolina stated anything else you're gonna be doing this year

[02:04:28] [SPEAKER_06]: That you want to make note of when it comes to playing

[02:04:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh

[02:04:33] [SPEAKER_01]: No, I've always said what we used to have battle the mountains in ashville as well. Yes, which ashville

[02:04:39] [SPEAKER_01]: It's experienced some rough stuff right now at western north carolina got

[02:04:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Getting back on this on the storm. We're all right, right my my parts out to everybody in western north carolina

[02:04:49] [SPEAKER_01]: They yes floods up there tremendous and catastrophic damage to everything man

[02:04:55] [SPEAKER_01]: The battle the mountains hasn't happened in the last couple years and it used to be north carolina state

[02:04:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Out of the mountains and I've always said I wanted to go to worlds for the last three years and this is the first year

[02:05:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I made it but yeah

[02:05:06] [SPEAKER_01]: I've got three kids and that's that's

[02:05:09] [SPEAKER_01]: what I do so

[02:05:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Any, uh, I focus on any of your moment

[02:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: As they get older, I'll I'll try to hit all the tour stops

[02:05:19] [SPEAKER_06]: Right now, what if you're uh of your your progeny your kids are they interested in foosball?

[02:05:26] [SPEAKER_01]: I like it. Um

[02:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Actually, the two elders have had a lesson each each of them have had a lesson with ryan more which was

[02:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, there you go

[02:05:35] [SPEAKER_01]: Basically went through the whole game of what you can do on a foosball table with them and it's all stuff

[02:05:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I know I could show them but they're when I tell them

[02:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: The best player in the world is showing you their their eyes a lot of

[02:05:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no kidding when the dad's wow that that is cool

[02:05:49] [SPEAKER_06]: And uh, you know a fringe benefit here, of course playing with ryan

[02:05:53] [SPEAKER_06]: But but now you've got a basically a coach and a friend for the rest of your life

[02:05:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. Yeah, it's it's been an amazing experience. I'm

[02:06:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Very honored and thankful for it and uh, yeah

[02:06:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Yep, I think ryan's doing big things with foosball and uh

[02:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Just hanging out with him seeing how it works. I'm very excited for the future foos. Got it

[02:06:15] [SPEAKER_06]: One more question before I let you guys get back to it. Um, so rob you're a patreon

[02:06:22] [SPEAKER_06]: First of all, thank you

[02:06:23] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, we are so uh, gratified that that you like it not like us enough to uh to hang in there as a patreon

[02:06:31] [SPEAKER_06]: Um, what would you like to see change and you can you can be honest?

[02:06:36] [SPEAKER_06]: You know, what do you what do you want to see change when it comes to foos talk live or foosball radio?

[02:06:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I'll tell you one. I I'm very thankful for everything you guys have done. It's been uh, especially during covid. I found you

[02:06:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I think it was still foosball radio at the time

[02:06:52] [SPEAKER_01]: But you had already been going for a year because I got back in in 2019 and then 2020 came along

[02:06:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Covid happened and I

[02:07:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Found foosball radio and I've been glued to you ever since uh,

[02:07:03] [SPEAKER_08]: cool

[02:07:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Very thankful for everything you do. I think I've learned so much about foosball

[02:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Just from foosball radio and foos talk live through all the history and cool. It's in turns you guys have taken and

[02:07:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Um, what would I like to change? I

[02:07:18] [SPEAKER_01]: I just like to listen man. I I think you come up with great stuff every time

[02:07:23] [SPEAKER_01]: um, I know you knocked it back to an hour

[02:07:26] [SPEAKER_06]: And I I like the longer episodes to be honest. Oh interesting. Well, you'll get your you'll get your wish

[02:07:33] [SPEAKER_06]: You'll get your wish this time because we've got uh, this this segment and of course, uh, michael's michael stahl's first half of his

[02:07:40] [SPEAKER_06]: His interview together. So uh, you got your wish this week

[02:07:45] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, and also I love when when you have a colored commentator on there and who you've got on now randy

[02:07:52] [SPEAKER_01]: He's all yeah, right randy him at worlds a great guy. So you got randy in one corner

[02:07:58] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna kill the guy

[02:08:00] [SPEAKER_06]: So you got randy in one corner. Then you got mike green over here in the other corner saying, you know, you know back in the day

[02:08:07] [SPEAKER_06]: And that's that perspective. You can't beat that right? You got the you got the more contemporary

[02:08:13] [SPEAKER_06]: kind of a uh, how do we say

[02:08:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Uh, a little rougher around the edges kind of guy and randy is such a he's so funny as a person

[02:08:22] [SPEAKER_06]: And of course he thinks of it as no big deal

[02:08:24] [SPEAKER_00]: the true professional

[02:08:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'm sitting back

[02:08:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Being a long time listener, I think you've loosened up a little bit over the years not not saying

[02:08:38] [SPEAKER_06]: No, no, I think you're right. I think I've learned to uh

[02:08:41] [SPEAKER_06]: Put away some of my my old tricks of the broadcasting because broadcasting you tend to get into a certain pattern of

[02:08:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Of doing things in a specific way

[02:08:51] [SPEAKER_06]: And one of the things that that's really kind of along the way is the different people personalities that have come and gone on

[02:08:57] [SPEAKER_06]: On foostock live and foosball radio

[02:08:58] [SPEAKER_06]: I've really kind of you know what I can just relax and just do this and be myself and not have to worry about being

[02:09:04] [SPEAKER_06]: Perfect all the time so

[02:09:05] [SPEAKER_00]: when you're uh, like

[02:09:09] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, if you grew up in a country like me as they say everybody's a different animal

[02:09:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah, baseball players are definitely a different animal. Oh my oh that is for sure

[02:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: People who like the game they just have this tendency to go in these directions. I mean their own cell

[02:09:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Todd LaFredo said it better than everybody ever

[02:09:30] [SPEAKER_00]: He's like foosball players

[02:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Are a little different and we give each other

[02:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: That room to be different and it's okay. There you go to be who you are

[02:09:41] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and I've noticed over the years that people who play this game and um

[02:09:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Matters much even high level people really get into this game because I think it's that competition

[02:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh that yep. Yeah, I like he was saying I mean I played baseball. I played football

[02:09:55] [SPEAKER_00]: But there was nothing like it even as a kid. I'm believe it or not, you know me now pretty well tom

[02:10:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I was like 15. I was beating these good players and I couldn't look at them

[02:10:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I was

[02:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Like shaking her hand like this because I'm like I felt like I was beating up on my big brother

[02:10:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Changed after a little while though, but yeah

[02:10:14] [SPEAKER_00]: But it's just fun. I love people's personalities and

[02:10:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I won't say who there was a almost a little

[02:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Little craziness this week a couple guys got into it, but well, that's you know what that's gonna happen sometimes and

[02:10:28] [SPEAKER_06]: Especially when you've got a just a diverse group of players

[02:10:32] [SPEAKER_06]: And everybody's having fun and sometimes people have a little too much fun

[02:10:36] [SPEAKER_00]: It's gonna happen. Yeah, well, I know of course somebody says to me because they're gonna go might go

[02:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Up that match at these guys up, you know, I'm like

[02:10:43] [SPEAKER_00]: How you going a guy? I like I know just shut up and play the

[02:10:47] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean people get all tense, but

[02:10:52] [SPEAKER_00]: To me that's just the spirit of winning. Yeah. Oh, yeah, you don't gotta be a jerk sometimes, you know

[02:10:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Good sportsmanship, you know my saying tom. I mean it's a little different now

[02:11:01] [SPEAKER_00]: But I always felt like, you know, you're trying to take what I want

[02:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: On the table, you know when I take a personal, you know, yep

[02:11:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I can't come back later and be your best friend and hug and buy you a beer

[02:11:10] [SPEAKER_00]: But at the moment I don't want to sit there and hang out and have a conversation with you

[02:11:13] [SPEAKER_06]: Well, right

[02:11:14] [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, you're you're only two and a half feet away from your opponent and you want them to hurt you want them to

[02:11:19] [SPEAKER_06]: Not just beat him but make him hurt

[02:11:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Why would you do me please your mom? I said like to rest on my step on her neck till I'm done

[02:11:29] [SPEAKER_00]: How may I go that far but you know, well, I can say some all

[02:11:32] [SPEAKER_06]: I think that that's pretty accurate though

[02:11:35] [SPEAKER_06]: For sure, especially from your era, but yeah, it's it's um, it is it's a competition. It's fierce

[02:11:41] [SPEAKER_06]: It's meant to be that way. So if you don't have the killer instincts, I doubt it

[02:11:46] [SPEAKER_06]: You're gonna make it to the top echelon. This is not gonna happen

[02:11:49] [SPEAKER_06]: So if you're if you're if you're uh, like you say

[02:11:55] [SPEAKER_06]: So

[02:11:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Is that ryan more

[02:11:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's ryan. We're just calm. Come on. Just hang out for a second

[02:12:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we were just having conversation about what you guys did how awesome it was and what's up ryan

[02:12:13] [SPEAKER_00]: We are being pre-recorded

[02:12:15] [SPEAKER_06]: We're we're we're taping you. Um, but hey, it's uh, it's great to see you

[02:12:22] [SPEAKER_06]: Yes, so uh, and and uh, great great c2

[02:12:27] [SPEAKER_06]: Rob is now willing to give his his next born to you

[02:12:31] [SPEAKER_06]: In return for playing with him this weekend

[02:12:41] [SPEAKER_00]: He's all set

[02:12:42] [SPEAKER_00]: But all right, let me get out of ryan's room. We invaded here man. I mean, uh,

[02:12:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's a lot of fun hanging out getting to be rob having some conversation about this whole thing and uh

[02:12:55] [SPEAKER_06]: And thanks again rob for for thank you so much for being a patreon and and being on board with us

[02:13:01] [SPEAKER_06]: And and we look forward to uh, uh giving you as much of the the content as we possibly can hope you enjoy and

[02:13:06] [SPEAKER_06]: And uh looking forward to this next year because things are going to be

[02:13:10] [SPEAKER_06]: Well different

[02:13:14] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not about that. Thanks for all you do and thanks for having me on you bet man steak dinner, man

[02:13:18] [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, oh, I don't want to keep a I don't want to get in the way of mike green and his food. So let's uh

[02:13:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't eat this belly

[02:13:27] [SPEAKER_06]: All right, well, thanks again mike and thanks again rob and uh and and ryan for poking your head in but uh,

[02:13:33] [SPEAKER_06]: There you go. There it is our report from florida state and the master's open for 2024 an episode number

[02:13:40] [SPEAKER_06]: 225 stick around now. We've got foos talk live in the tournament meet coming up next

[02:13:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Foos ball tournaments are everywhere

[02:13:48] [SPEAKER_06]: Foos talk live proudly presents a weekly update of events near you with the foos talk live

[02:13:55] [SPEAKER_06]: Tournament beat here's what's up? It's the louisiana open battle in the bayou october 4th through the 6th

[02:14:03] [SPEAKER_06]: at sam's rocket arcade in crownly louisiana

[02:14:06] [SPEAKER_06]: Introducing the 10 000 great lakes classic featuring the michigan state foosball hall of fame

[02:14:13] [SPEAKER_06]: October 10th through the 13th at the helton garden in lansing michigan

[02:14:18] [SPEAKER_06]: music city nashville presents the foosball classic

[02:14:21] [SPEAKER_06]: october 12th that moxie vanderbilt hotel in nashville, tennessee

[02:14:27] [SPEAKER_06]: It's the grotto's first foosball tournaments in partnership with tavern players magazine october 19th

[02:14:34] [SPEAKER_06]: At the grotto plimith new hampshire ono of foos presents the 2024 fall foosball super doubles and team event

[02:14:41] [SPEAKER_06]: october 25th through the 27th the tailgaters in ottawa, canada

[02:14:46] [SPEAKER_06]: two gun productions present the 2024 halloween open october 31st through november 3rd at maghuse in Tulsa, oklahoma

[02:14:57] [SPEAKER_06]: The virginia state foosball championship with bonzini november 7th through the 10th at peabody's nightclub virginia beach virginia

[02:15:06] [SPEAKER_06]: It's the 2024 north carolina state championships november 28th through december 1st at the crown plaza in ashville, north carolina

[02:15:16] [SPEAKER_06]: 518 foosball proudly presents the annual turkey day smashdown saturday november 30th at trickshot billions at wicket eatery clifton park new york

[02:15:28] [SPEAKER_06]: The 2024 louisiana state championships

[02:15:31] [SPEAKER_06]: December 5th through the 8th at the clarion hotel in kenner new orleans louisiana

[02:15:36] [SPEAKER_06]: Looking ahead to next year. It's the second annual north american leonhardt championship

[02:15:42] [SPEAKER_06]: January 17th through the 19th montreal canada each week

[02:15:47] [SPEAKER_06]: We do our best to give you the most up-to-date listing of foosball tournaments near you

[02:15:51] [SPEAKER_06]: If you have an event you'd like to add

[02:15:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Send us all the details at info at foosball radio dot com tune in every week for the foos talk live tournament beat

[02:16:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Foos talk live is a product of foosball radio with gratitude

[02:16:08] [SPEAKER_06]: We recognize our foosball radio patreons our foos talk live sponsor original dash leonhardt dash

[02:16:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Usa.com and thanks to inside foos.com for use of their audio during the show

[02:16:21] [SPEAKER_06]: Tune in again next week for another episode of foos talk live in the meantime. We'll see you at foosin