FoosTalk Live | Ep 235 | 2024 Recap (with a peek ahead)

[00:00:01] The following is a presentation of Foosball Radio. It's FoosTalk Live.

[00:00:07] Are you talking to me?

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

[00:00:10] Are you going to talk to us?

[00:00:11] Talking Foosball.

[00:00:13] Foosball was how I measured my value as a man? You took that away!

[00:00:16] Players and fans, promoters and pros. Unedited and raw.

[00:00:21] Talk, talk, talk.

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

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

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

[00:00:27] Cool, we'll talk, no big whoop.

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

[00:00:31] Foos Talk Live.

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[00:02:01] And here we are once again live on Foos Talk Live.

[00:02:05] Hey there, it's Tom Robinson.

[00:02:06] It's episode number 235.

[00:02:09] And man, it is nippy here in upstate New York.

[00:02:12] Minus three degrees as we speak at the Foosball Radio studios.

[00:02:18] And of course, we've got a big old episode coming your way tonight.

[00:02:22] We're looking forward to it.

[00:02:23] And well, it's changed at the last second, sadly.

[00:02:28] But, you know, we're going to do fine.

[00:02:30] No question about it.

[00:02:31] At any rate, if we're going to talk about foosball, it's always a great idea if you're going to be talking to foosball with somebody who really, really digs the game.

[00:02:40] And that would be Randy Raposo.

[00:02:41] What's up, Randy?

[00:02:45] Hey, Tom.

[00:02:45] How are you?

[00:02:46] You know, just freezing.

[00:02:48] That's all.

[00:02:49] Yeah.

[00:02:49] Dude, it was like 29 degrees this morning when we got up to leave for church.

[00:02:56] Wow.

[00:02:57] Freezing, dude.

[00:02:58] Yeah, man.

[00:02:58] And the cold's different here.

[00:03:00] It's like really dry.

[00:03:03] I mean, obviously, I'm not going to say like our cold's better than your cold.

[00:03:07] Cold sucks.

[00:03:08] It does.

[00:03:09] Any way you look at it.

[00:03:10] Like, you know, man, I feel it in my bones, dude.

[00:03:15] Like brutal, brutal Buffalo foosball.

[00:03:18] Yeah.

[00:03:19] Oh, yeah.

[00:03:20] Matt McCrory, I know you.

[00:03:21] That guy probably digging himself out to go to work.

[00:03:24] But no doubt.

[00:03:25] Dude, like I'm telling you, man, I got outside this morning.

[00:03:28] Every bone I've broken, it's like it just hurts extra.

[00:03:31] How many bones have you broken?

[00:03:33] Let me just get an inventory here.

[00:03:35] How many bones have you actually broken?

[00:03:38] A lot.

[00:03:39] A lot?

[00:03:40] A lot.

[00:03:41] Because you played hockey for a while.

[00:03:43] So.

[00:03:44] Yeah, double digits.

[00:03:46] Both legs?

[00:03:47] A couple of feet?

[00:03:47] Yeah.

[00:03:48] Like this, my right leg, both bones in my right leg.

[00:03:53] Every one of these fingers.

[00:03:55] Wow.

[00:03:55] This shoulder has been separated twice.

[00:03:57] No kidding.

[00:03:58] Yeah.

[00:03:59] Yeah.

[00:04:00] Yeah.

[00:04:00] It's, there's a few more cracked ribs and stuff like that.

[00:04:04] But this hand, this hand hurts.

[00:04:07] It's like, and then from foosball, right?

[00:04:09] 20 years of food, this thing clicks all the time.

[00:04:12] So it's like when I, when I go outside, my right hand is just, it doesn't want to work.

[00:04:18] It is stuck.

[00:04:19] It takes a minute.

[00:04:20] So, but yeah, man.

[00:04:23] So anyway, cold, you're in the Northeast.

[00:04:25] I know, I know you went and played some foosball yesterday.

[00:04:27] How'd that go?

[00:04:28] That was actually a blast.

[00:04:30] We had a lot of fun hanging out with the guys, you know, the guys there in New Hampshire.

[00:04:34] They're just like our family, you know, uh, shout out to, you know, to, to Kenny for,

[00:04:39] for doing a great job.

[00:04:40] Um, the, you know, the turnout was, was probably, you know, a little disappointing for him, but

[00:04:44] I think, Hey, you know, he, he moved forward and did a really smooth job getting the events

[00:04:50] underway and everybody played.

[00:04:52] And I gotta say, uh, I played with Chuck Dooley in the open and Steve Sussman in the, in the

[00:04:59] DYP and man, I'm, you know, we, we won a couple of, we come on a couple of matches between

[00:05:04] the two events.

[00:05:05] So there's that, but, uh, more about just getting together and, and, uh, just digging it, you

[00:05:13] know, the whole day.

[00:05:16] Of course, man.

[00:05:17] Yeah.

[00:05:18] I heard, uh, Chuck, Chuck and Chris Samaral won the draw.

[00:05:22] I heard.

[00:05:22] Yep.

[00:05:23] Yep.

[00:05:23] And then, uh, Chris Samaral and John Garcia won open doubles.

[00:05:28] Right.

[00:05:29] The bring.

[00:05:29] Yeah.

[00:05:30] And then, uh, I heard Dave, Dave Nickerson, which is a old school name for anybody.

[00:05:35] Listen, he's an old school name from the Northeast.

[00:05:38] I saw a picture of him recently.

[00:05:39] He looks like, um, um, I hadn't seen Dave in a long time, but now he, you know, he's

[00:05:45] a little bit older.

[00:05:46] He's let his hair grow.

[00:05:47] He looks like, um, he looks like he would, could play like a witch in a movie kind of

[00:05:51] thing.

[00:05:51] Like a old scary witch.

[00:05:52] Yeah.

[00:05:53] Kind of, kind of that.

[00:05:54] Yeah.

[00:05:54] So yeah, Dave and Steve Batista split singles.

[00:05:58] So, uh, but everybody that talked to said it was a good time.

[00:06:01] I actually flew up last year to play.

[00:06:05] And, uh, Kenny, I've known Kenny a long time.

[00:06:09] I like Kenny.

[00:06:09] Kenny's always been super cool to me, man.

[00:06:12] Him and Rob, you know, they just run some, some good tournaments.

[00:06:15] And, uh, you know, uh, if I was in the Northeast, I would, I'd try to be as supportive as I can,

[00:06:21] but, um, yeah, man.

[00:06:22] I mean, any, any time you get to play foosball is a good time.

[00:06:26] So it's, uh, yeah, I would say that, you know, the talent pool could have been a little

[00:06:31] deeper, but it's, it's still, it was, uh, there's some pretty fierce players.

[00:06:34] I have to say, I mean, Chris, Chris among them, of course.

[00:06:38] Um, and, uh, really enjoyed, you know, just generally hanging out with everybody.

[00:06:43] That's, that's really the camaraderie.

[00:06:45] It's what it, what it comes down to for me.

[00:06:47] And, and again, you know, um, we were talking to Steve Rogge a bit, uh, and he was talking

[00:06:52] about the old days as he likes to about, uh, you know, back in the day when, when Massachusetts

[00:06:57] and, and, uh, Albany were really, uh, synced up, you know, they really cooperated a lot

[00:07:04] when it came to the time for tournaments, you know, one, one group would do one, one this

[00:07:09] month and next month it would be, you know, Albany's turn or whatever.

[00:07:12] And they would go back and forth.

[00:07:13] They had great communication coordinated and had a really great player base in the Northeast,

[00:07:19] uh, that, uh, you know, and everybody split their attention between

[00:07:22] those two sections of the country.

[00:07:24] And, you know, that's what it takes, right?

[00:07:26] You have to have, uh, promoters who are willing to work together like that.

[00:07:31] Well, and I think, I think Steve was kind of like, he was the linchpin that held the whole

[00:07:37] thing together, you know, Steve.

[00:07:39] So for people that, that don't know, or people that, you know, if you've never been to Northeast

[00:07:44] or just a little bit of history in Northeast Louisville, I, I came into the scene around

[00:07:48] Oh two, and then started touring in Oh three.

[00:07:52] But, uh, Steve had, uh, an incorporated company, New England foosball, uh, NIFA, the New England

[00:07:57] foosball association.

[00:07:58] That's what it is.

[00:07:59] Yeah.

[00:07:59] And, uh, Steve, Steve was a vendor and, but I mean, Steve ran, Steve ran great tournaments.

[00:08:06] Uh, I, I only hear about what happened in the nineties.

[00:08:09] Obviously I only started playing in the early two thousands, but Steve was kind of the guy

[00:08:14] in the middle of everything, uh, making it all happen.

[00:08:17] And, um, when Steve kind of stopped, that's when everything kind of stopped.

[00:08:23] Unfortunately, you know, the areas kind of, they were still there, but they weren't really

[00:08:27] communicating there.

[00:08:29] There was no fluidity.

[00:08:30] It was just people doing their own things.

[00:08:32] So, uh, but I mean, the, the Northeast used to be, uh, I mean, the Northeast still has great

[00:08:38] players, but I mean, the, there were, there were players in the Northeast.

[00:08:42] So, uh, Albany had, uh, they had a ton of really good players.

[00:08:46] And then, uh, Lewis Cartwright used to live in Maine.

[00:08:50] Right.

[00:08:50] Uh, the terror brothers, the terror brothers, the terror name, Danny, terror, Danny, terror,

[00:08:56] Paul terror.

[00:08:57] They were, they were brothers.

[00:08:58] They were a team Portuguese guys.

[00:09:01] Right.

[00:09:01] But really, really good.

[00:09:02] Danny terror was, uh, I remember when I started playing, cause I was kind of a points nerd.

[00:09:06] He was like 23 95.

[00:09:08] It was like five points for master.

[00:09:10] Wow.

[00:09:10] And, um, he, he terror, uh, he terrorized.

[00:09:14] Yeah.

[00:09:15] So great name.

[00:09:15] Really good.

[00:09:16] Terra.

[00:09:16] Yeah.

[00:09:17] Him and his brother.

[00:09:18] Yeah.

[00:09:18] Terra, Danny, Terra, correct.

[00:09:20] T R R a him and his brother were, they were, but they were both, both pro players.

[00:09:24] They were pro team.

[00:09:25] Danny shot a pull shot.

[00:09:26] I'll shot a rollover.

[00:09:28] Uh, but you know, Brian Terman was in Vermont.

[00:09:31] Stan was in Vermont.

[00:09:33] Obviously Roger was in New Hampshire.

[00:09:35] Stan was in New Hampshire.

[00:09:37] Uh, Fuji was in New Hampshire.

[00:09:39] There was, I mean, just the Northeast had a lot of really, really, really solid tour

[00:09:44] players and, um, you know, things, uh, people get older families, priorities, things change.

[00:09:50] So, um, but, uh, foosball has always been there.

[00:09:53] It's always been there, Tom.

[00:09:54] It hasn't gone on.

[00:09:55] Well, so thank you.

[00:09:56] A lot of these guys are finding their way back.

[00:09:58] And I think that, uh, you know, some of the, the, the conversations again, had having,

[00:10:02] uh, some, some fun, but also having some conversations about the future.

[00:10:05] It looks like there's going to be, uh, another push to really bring a scene back like a, like

[00:10:11] a state, uh, tournament, state level tournament, you know, sometime soon.

[00:10:14] Oh, yeah.

[00:10:15] You know?

[00:10:16] Yes.

[00:10:17] Yes.

[00:10:17] Let's go.

[00:10:18] So the, the, the guys are, are really, you know, uh, doing their homework and doing the

[00:10:22] best they can to really come up with a, with a plan to, to, to make this happen.

[00:10:26] So, you know, hopefully by 2026, if not sooner, there'll be something in the works and, and

[00:10:32] solid and ready to go.

[00:10:33] And, uh, uh, a place you can fly into and play.

[00:10:38] Something is happening.

[00:10:40] Okay.

[00:10:41] And, and this is the thing.

[00:10:44] Don't tell me stuff.

[00:10:46] I can't keep a secret.

[00:10:49] So no, but, but in reality, in reality, I, I, this, I'm not, you know, I'm, I'm not

[00:10:55] at Liberty to say, but something is in the works.

[00:10:58] Nice.

[00:10:58] Oh, that's very cool.

[00:10:59] The Northeast, the Northeast.

[00:11:01] Yes.

[00:11:01] The Northeast is starved for foosball.

[00:11:03] There needs to be a tournament.

[00:11:04] And what would be great is if now, again, I, I know New Hampshire is trying to run something

[00:11:08] as a series.

[00:11:09] And, and again, we've seen now, this is two years in a row where they've done this and

[00:11:13] it seems to work well.

[00:11:15] Have, it works okay, but the turnouts are light.

[00:11:19] Right.

[00:11:19] Right.

[00:11:20] Right.

[00:11:20] I mean, we can agree that the turnouts are light, uh, but at least they're, they're doing

[00:11:24] something right.

[00:11:25] I think the, the main issue they're having is the kind of the turf war they have in there.

[00:11:30] Right.

[00:11:30] So, uh, they need to get that sorted out, but that's, that's a different story for a

[00:11:35] different day.

[00:11:36] But I think if, if, if we can get, if we can get something going in New York and then we

[00:11:40] can get something going in Massachusetts, you know, we, we could be doing something quarterly

[00:11:45] in the Northeast.

[00:11:46] And from what I'm hearing with the world foosball tour is that there's potential for something,

[00:11:52] uh, you know, uh, a tour event, not just a state event, but a tour event potentially coming

[00:11:58] to the Northeast.

[00:11:59] So that would be great.

[00:12:00] Fingers crossed, Tom.

[00:12:01] Yeah.

[00:12:02] Fingers crossed.

[00:12:03] One can only hope.

[00:12:03] I'm super excited for what Ryan's got in the works, man.

[00:12:06] I know, I know he, um, I know he just put something out the other day.

[00:12:12] Yeah.

[00:12:12] Like two days ago.

[00:12:13] That was pretty exciting.

[00:12:15] In fact, uh, we have a clip of that.

[00:12:16] We're going to play today.

[00:12:18] Uh, tonight it's, um, yeah, it's, it's, it's runs just under five minutes, but, uh, I think

[00:12:24] before we go any further, we should also mention that, uh, Don Wilson, who was, was, uh, intending

[00:12:30] on being with us, uh, this evening, uh, last minute got, got called out to a tournament

[00:12:36] somehow.

[00:12:38] So, uh, if he checks in, he checks in, you know, if he checks in, he checks in.

[00:12:44] Well, I think, no.

[00:12:45] So actually I think, um, and maybe Lafayette they're having their Christmas party slash tournament

[00:12:53] tonight.

[00:12:53] I got it.

[00:12:54] I remember that's what it is.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:56] Yeah.

[00:12:56] They're, they're doing that tonight and he goes out there and helps them out.

[00:13:00] It's Mark Matarisa's tournament.

[00:13:02] Uh, I've actually been out there to play.

[00:13:04] So, you know, that's a, that's a really tight.

[00:13:06] They're at those people.

[00:13:08] They're legitimately like family.

[00:13:09] So they do, uh, they do their own little Christmas party and they do, um, uh, Clay

[00:13:15] Toomey said he does a pretty good Donald Wilson impression.

[00:13:18] Uh, they do, they do.

[00:13:23] Yeah.

[00:13:24] Don't be shy.

[00:13:25] They do like a dirty Santa and they bring food and they play foosball.

[00:13:28] So it's, uh, yeah, I get it.

[00:13:30] I get it.

[00:13:31] Donald.

[00:13:31] I get it.

[00:13:31] Donald.

[00:13:32] It's fine.

[00:13:33] It's fine.

[00:13:34] Clay Wilson.

[00:13:35] Clay Wilson.

[00:13:37] That sounds like a, like a boxer, Clay Wilson.

[00:13:41] Um, but, uh, so, so what we'll do is we'll, we'll play this clip from, from Ryan and that

[00:13:45] we have a lot to talk about after this one for sure.

[00:13:47] But, uh, standby.

[00:13:48] It's, it's again, uh, just roughly, uh, just under five minutes long, but here's, uh, here's

[00:13:52] Ryan more from the other day on Facebook.

[00:13:54] What is up everybody.

[00:13:56] We're gearing up for TKO.

[00:13:58] We're doing a crap ton of stuff around here.

[00:14:00] Holy.

[00:14:01] It's a lot.

[00:14:01] We're building a new business and it's a lot of fun.

[00:14:04] So a couple of things I wanted to put out there just so you guys kind of have some insight

[00:14:08] on what's going on here.

[00:14:10] This is bigger than anything I thought it would ever be.

[00:14:13] I mean, we are getting potential opportunities that have already came across the plate and

[00:14:20] we haven't even started.

[00:14:21] We haven't even done one tournament.

[00:14:24] So I have pushed off, uh, the opportunity to talk with a couple really big sponsors, uh,

[00:14:30] because the first thing I care about is building the brand, building experience, making foosball

[00:14:34] sponsorable.

[00:14:36] So TKO is a big step towards that.

[00:14:39] Uh, we're, we're redesigning the hotel room.

[00:14:41] We're going to make it look extremely good and we're about to bring in media and we're going

[00:14:46] to have all sorts of different things, uh, where we're, we're tracking players.

[00:14:49] We're watching players.

[00:14:50] We're building the story.

[00:14:51] And my goal is to like, say by world, start having some of these big sponsors come in

[00:14:55] and, and, and show them, Hey, your name can be right next to the world foosball tour can

[00:15:00] highlight the greatest new sport that has been around forever.

[00:15:05] Uh, so anyways, wanted to throw a couple of things out there.

[00:15:08] Uh, we've got a brand new layout there.

[00:15:10] This may be the last time we're at the clarion.

[00:15:13] Some of you love that.

[00:15:14] Some of you are sad.

[00:15:15] I mean, I grew up there.

[00:15:17] So, um, it's, it's, it's, it's a love hate, but, uh, we're going to be a

[00:15:20] We're going to float the tour kickoff around the countries at times is what we're thinking.

[00:15:25] And so we're not for sure the 2026 home, but we may know that by TKO.

[00:15:29] So if you're there, you may know the next home to TKO.

[00:15:32] So if you want to come say bye to Freddie, you know, everybody knows Freddie at the bar.

[00:15:38] Um, and, and, uh, come hang out at the place that, that, you know, was the home of the Kentucky

[00:15:44] State for 24 years or something crazy.

[00:15:47] Uh, come on in.

[00:15:48] This is the first WFT tournament.

[00:15:49] It's going to be big.

[00:15:51] Again, this is going to be kind of a buildup, a buildup to the world.

[00:15:54] So, um, we're really curious to see which players are going to become the best under the WFT brand

[00:16:01] and which players will be the most likely to be sponsored in 2026.

[00:16:08] So I'll go ahead and say it now.

[00:16:09] You know what?

[00:16:09] I wasn't going to say this.

[00:16:10] I'll go ahead and say it now.

[00:16:11] If I don't help you get a sponsor from a big company, then we're going to do it.

[00:16:16] We're going to sponsor you.

[00:16:17] That's right.

[00:16:17] If you dedicate your time to foosball and you push it, then we'll help you.

[00:16:21] Okay.

[00:16:22] So the best players, whoever the best players in the world are, you're getting a sponsorship

[00:16:26] by 2026.

[00:16:27] Whether it's from us, monster, red bull, a couple of other big names that I've already been talking

[00:16:33] to, but I told them stay away for at least a year.

[00:16:37] We're going to do it.

[00:16:38] If they don't do it, we'll do it.

[00:16:39] All right.

[00:16:40] So a couple of other things, the point system, me and Brandon Moreland, he's very, uh, happily

[00:16:47] said he would help me.

[00:16:48] Smart guy.

[00:16:49] We're working on it together.

[00:16:50] Uh, but we're revamping the point system and we are going to, uh, disclose that as

[00:16:56] soon as we possibly can.

[00:16:57] There's a lot of moving parts here, but the first thing we're going to try to figure out

[00:17:00] is one thing we're going to do is we're going to allow some of the lower rank masters if

[00:17:03] they choose to, to go down to pro.

[00:17:05] And we're going to allow some of the lower rank pros to go down to expert and potentially

[00:17:09] both the women's and men's divisions.

[00:17:11] So with that being said, uh, there'll be a lot of new opportunity for a lot of players

[00:17:16] to be playing a lot more events.

[00:17:19] And, uh, the, the point system, how it was designed before, um, uh, move people up a little

[00:17:24] bit quick.

[00:17:25] So we're trying to kind of give people a chance to, to maybe get back to where they

[00:17:29] want to go.

[00:17:30] Uh, so that'll be a lot more on that.

[00:17:32] Uh, we'll definitely fill you guys in on that.

[00:17:34] The other thing is a dress code.

[00:17:36] It's absolutely optional.

[00:17:37] We're getting quite a bit of questions about dress code stuff.

[00:17:40] It's optional in every event except for open singles, open doubles, women's singles,

[00:17:43] women doubles.

[00:17:44] And only if you're in ninth through twelfth place or later on the winners or losers.

[00:17:49] So if you play and say you're a beginner rookie and you don't think you're going to

[00:17:52] make it to ninth through twelfth, then you don't have to worry about it.

[00:17:54] But if you do, yes, you guys have to meet the dress code.

[00:17:57] The dress code is coming out and we're evolving it.

[00:18:00] Uh, pretty much sporting entire college shirts.

[00:18:02] Um, just nothing, nothing outside of the realm, but we're going to have more dialogue

[00:18:06] on that.

[00:18:07] We'll try to have that out to you guys as soon as possible.

[00:18:09] Last thing, get your room booked.

[00:18:11] Uh, we're, we're gearing in the, uh, you know, you only got a couple of weeks left to

[00:18:15] actually book your room for TKO.

[00:18:16] So get your rooms booked, get your flights, get your partners.

[00:18:19] Uh, I'm, I'm excited to be able to release you guys a ton of information.

[00:18:23] The TKO is going to be known for the place where you get to learn exactly what we're

[00:18:27] going to do for the tour for the rest of the year.

[00:18:29] So all of our ideas that we have for 2025 is going to be disclosed at TKO live.

[00:18:36] So guys, girls love to see you there.

[00:18:39] Uh, I'm extremely excited and I look forward to it in the meantime, have a Merry Christmas,

[00:18:45] enjoy your family.

[00:18:46] And we'll talk to you guys soon.

[00:18:48] There's, there's Ryan Moore for you right there.

[00:18:50] Wow.

[00:18:51] He sounds, uh, he sounds pretty excited.

[00:18:53] Gotta say.

[00:18:55] Yeah.

[00:18:55] And, and you have to love the energy, you know, he's, um, um, uh, you know, I feel like he's

[00:19:02] got so much going on and, and, um, I don't know, Tom, I'm, I'm really excited, man.

[00:19:11] I really, like I said, I've been telling, so I'm in several different group texts, you

[00:19:15] know, like multiplayer group texts.

[00:19:17] And I'm just telling them, I'm like, like, you gotta just come out next year.

[00:19:20] Just come out.

[00:19:21] No matter what, show up, come out and be, come out and be supportive.

[00:19:24] Just come out and support foosball because I, I really feel like, um, if Ryan's able to

[00:19:29] implement what he wants to do, this is going to be, uh, I think that's going to be huge.

[00:19:35] I do, man.

[00:19:36] I feel like foosball is really, really going to grow.

[00:19:38] So he's, uh, he's willing to sacrifice his time and his reputation and, you know, financially

[00:19:44] speaking, he's putting his, if you excuse the expression, his ass on the line, you know,

[00:19:49] because, you know, no, there's no guarantees that there's going to be any ROI, you know,

[00:19:54] on, on that, uh, on that money.

[00:19:55] So, yeah.

[00:19:57] And Ryan, Ryan's been doing very well for himself.

[00:20:00] This is not, this is not something he has to do, you know?

[00:20:02] So, uh, the fact that he's willing to, like you said, put his name on it and back it not

[00:20:07] only with his time, but with his finances, I mean, it says a lot.

[00:20:11] So I think for, for players at the top, um, you know, the fact that he's got potentially,

[00:20:17] you know, major sponsors on board is huge.

[00:20:20] I think it's going to really just motivate people to, to be on top of their game to practice

[00:20:24] and be ready.

[00:20:25] Um, and then, um, the fact that he's, so again, this is not a knock on Mary.

[00:20:32] I, I, I, I just, I want, no, I just want to be clear before I make the statement towards,

[00:20:38] towards like the last couple of years.

[00:20:42] Um, now knowing what we know, it almost feels like she was just kind of staying comfortable

[00:20:50] as far as tour stops.

[00:20:52] Right.

[00:20:53] I mean, obviously she went to Vegas and, uh, you know, she, she did what she had to do,

[00:20:58] but you can tell like the majority of the tour stops were within a six to eight hour drive

[00:21:03] from Lexington.

[00:21:05] Right.

[00:21:06] Um, and it just, there, there wasn't like this, uh, you know, I mean, obviously the past couple

[00:21:14] of worlds, she, she really bulked up the payouts and it was nice, but it wasn't like, she

[00:21:18] wasn't really pushing it.

[00:21:19] I mean, the, you know, like the way Ryan is pushing it, she wasn't pushing it.

[00:21:24] It almost feels like she was just like, let me get through these next couple of years retire

[00:21:28] and then let Ryan take over.

[00:21:30] So, um, you know, thankfully the, the players have been supportive.

[00:21:35] We've been coming out.

[00:21:36] I mean, obviously we love foosball.

[00:21:37] We want to play foosball, but I feel like now, uh, I, I feel like the timing's just good.

[00:21:42] The timing's right.

[00:21:43] Uh, Ryan's the right guy for the job.

[00:21:45] Um, honestly, I'm, I'm, I have questions.

[00:21:49] I'm sure most people do.

[00:21:50] I want to know what's going to happen with the points.

[00:21:52] Like I'm really, I'm really curious about the points.

[00:21:54] So there's really, you know, three main things that he discussed here.

[00:21:58] Sponsorships, of course, um, the point system.

[00:22:00] And he also talked about dress code, you know, which is less, less of a, an issue really.

[00:22:06] Um, but, uh, he also mentioned media.

[00:22:09] Yeah.

[00:22:10] So, you know what that means, you know, that time will tell.

[00:22:15] Um, but, uh, you know, certainly, you know, foos talk live foosball radio.

[00:22:19] We certainly want to, you know, keep an eye out and support the, the whole thing.

[00:22:23] I mean, we, we want to have as much conversation about it as we possibly can, but, uh, you know,

[00:22:28] you want to tackle the, the, the, the points thing first.

[00:22:31] I mean, that, I mean, it seems to be kind of, kind of crucial, you know?

[00:22:35] Yeah.

[00:22:35] No, I, so, you know, I think the, um, giving the players the option, uh, you know, low rank

[00:22:45] masters, low rank pros to go down a level.

[00:22:48] I feel like, um, foosball players, again, I, I say, I feel, I feel this is my feeling

[00:22:54] and it is, it's my opinion.

[00:22:56] Yeah.

[00:22:56] But as a player, right.

[00:22:59] You have, when you reach a certain level, you have, uh, like, you know, you, you take

[00:23:05] pride in the work you've put in to get to where you are.

[00:23:08] So when somebody goes, Hey, you want to go backwards?

[00:23:11] It's there's a little, there's a little bit of ego attached to it.

[00:23:14] Right.

[00:23:14] So it's like, do I want to go backwards?

[00:23:17] Right.

[00:23:17] So if you haven't been on tour for 10 years and you're a pro and, um, you know, maybe

[00:23:23] you're, you know, again, you're not a, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh,

[00:23:26] I don't know if he's going to change the, the, the width of the point system, right?

[00:23:31] Like I know Marion Donald, I talked about that earlier this year, but if the points are

[00:23:36] going to stay the same, as far as the number of points you have to earn, if you're a 30,

[00:23:40] 100 point pro and you haven't played in 10 years and you're thinking about coming back,

[00:23:45] um, you know, the option to go down, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[00:23:50] I mean, you get to play more, like you said, play more events, play more often.

[00:23:55] I mean, just, so it's like, it's like, like playing an instrument, right?

[00:23:59] You got to build your chops a little bit.

[00:24:01] If you haven't been playing tournament foosball, it's kind of like riding a bike.

[00:24:04] But if you come out, get a couple of tournaments under your belt, build your chops, you know,

[00:24:08] uh, maybe you go out and, and you do well in an expert event you, and then, you know,

[00:24:14] you come out next time you want to expert event, you go on a pro event, you know, before

[00:24:17] you know, you're right back where you were.

[00:24:19] Right.

[00:24:19] I don't think it's a bad idea.

[00:24:21] Yeah.

[00:24:21] I don't think it's a bad idea, but the thing is, no, if you were good enough 10 years ago

[00:24:25] to make pro, um, you know, there's no reason, you know, unless of course you, you're, you've

[00:24:31] aged out of the sport, uh, there's no reason why you couldn't, you know, work your way back

[00:24:34] into pro that, you know, relatively easily.

[00:24:38] Of course, but I don't think, I don't think the, well, again, giving them an option it's,

[00:24:46] you know, if he's going to personally reach out to these guys and go, Hey, what do you

[00:24:50] want to do?

[00:24:50] What's it going to take to bring you back?

[00:24:52] If he's going to do that and they say, and they say, I just don't want to play anymore.

[00:24:56] Well, that's irrelevant.

[00:24:57] Then you just take them out of the points.

[00:24:58] It doesn't matter.

[00:24:59] Right.

[00:24:59] But if they say, yeah, I mean, I'll go back down.

[00:25:03] If you're going to bump me down, like, sure.

[00:25:05] Yeah.

[00:25:05] I'll, I'll go down.

[00:25:07] If I can come back out, pay less, play more.

[00:25:10] Sure.

[00:25:11] I'll, I'll, I'll do that.

[00:25:12] I'll do that.

[00:25:13] Yeah.

[00:25:13] Great.

[00:25:14] I think, I think that's, I think that's great.

[00:25:16] I think there needs to be a lot more transparency with the points.

[00:25:20] I know Donald tried to do that with the, um, the, the points reports after tournaments.

[00:25:26] And then those kind of fell off a little bit, but, um, I think, uh, as far as how we're

[00:25:35] accruing.

[00:25:35] And again, we've had this talk with Donald, it's eight points above your seed, every seed,

[00:25:40] you know, every place you finish and then the bonus points.

[00:25:42] And, but I think it just needs to be, this is how we do it written out on the website.

[00:25:48] So that way there's no more questions.

[00:25:51] I'm sure there'll be, um, they're going to want to start with transparency.

[00:25:54] You know, that's, that's the initial, uh, you know, initial move when it comes to any

[00:26:00] kind of change in points, let's be transparent.

[00:26:02] Let's just, here it is.

[00:26:03] Here's how it's going to go.

[00:26:05] And, you know, if, if, uh, people have problems with that, then well, that's their problem.

[00:26:11] Well, and the thing is, if, if Ryan's investing this much in it, right, why not just, why not

[00:26:18] have a third party handle the points?

[00:26:20] So that way they have no skin in the game.

[00:26:22] There's no, there's no issue or problem.

[00:26:24] They're just going here.

[00:26:25] We just had a tournament.

[00:26:26] These are the results.

[00:26:27] Take care of the points.

[00:26:28] Yep.

[00:26:29] And let, let me know.

[00:26:30] So that way, because again, players, right.

[00:26:34] We're gonna, Hey man, can you fix my points?

[00:26:37] I don't like where I finished.

[00:26:38] I don't like where I am.

[00:26:39] I want to be here.

[00:26:40] Can you put me here?

[00:26:41] And I don't think Ryan's that kind of guy where he's just going to be easily swayed.

[00:26:45] And, you know, but it's just, it could just be so much, it can be so much easier when

[00:26:49] you go, I don't handle that.

[00:26:51] They handle that.

[00:26:52] They're third party.

[00:26:53] They handle that.

[00:26:53] We don't deal with any of that stuff.

[00:26:54] But, um, I, I like, I love everything that he's doing.

[00:26:59] Obviously he's not, it's not just foosball.

[00:27:02] It's a brand that he's trying to build.

[00:27:03] Yes.

[00:27:04] Like MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS.

[00:27:08] This, it's a brand.

[00:27:09] When people see that, that WFT symbol, those colors, they know that it's the world foosball

[00:27:15] tour.

[00:27:16] It's us.

[00:27:16] It's what we do.

[00:27:17] So, um, I think the, the approach is wonderful.

[00:27:20] I think he's already, you know, doing a great job.

[00:27:23] And he's already, uh, and he's name dropping, you know, some sponsors.

[00:27:27] I mean, we're talking monster and, and Red Bull.

[00:27:31] Um, I mean, that's, I, that's just.

[00:27:33] A match made in heaven, as far as I'm concerned.

[00:27:37] Uh, for foosball players.

[00:27:38] Yeah.

[00:27:39] I mean, that's a, that's an awesome idea.

[00:27:41] Um, you know, and it's, uh, to me, it's like a no brainer in a way because foosball

[00:27:47] players are so dependent upon endurance, especially during a long weekend.

[00:27:51] And I can see the commercial and I can, I can see it in my mind's eye, the commercial

[00:27:57] that could, could be, you know, possibly produced by, you know, uh, an agency to make

[00:28:03] it appeal to an audience that, Hey, you know, you're, it's a, it's a long slog to get through

[00:28:08] this weekend, but you're going to make it because you've got a Red Bull.

[00:28:12] Yeah.

[00:28:13] Yeah.

[00:28:13] And I could see myself starring in that commercial time.

[00:28:16] So there you go.

[00:28:17] We'll sign you up.

[00:28:18] Tell me.

[00:28:19] I'll do it.

[00:28:19] Yeah.

[00:28:19] Whatever guy.

[00:28:20] See, we got talent here, right?

[00:28:21] Right here.

[00:28:22] You know, we got talent.

[00:28:23] We got talent.

[00:28:24] That's right.

[00:28:25] We got to handle.

[00:28:25] For sure.

[00:28:26] For sure.

[00:28:27] But, uh, no, I mean, there, there, there are groups like this or sponsors like this that

[00:28:32] are, of course, uh, national ad campaigns, man.

[00:28:35] I mean, they're, we're talking, you know, top level agencies and that, uh, that do their

[00:28:39] commercials and they're going to be costly, you know, to be done.

[00:28:43] And so they're going to want to see what, what's in it for me, obviously, because they're,

[00:28:48] they're a big business.

[00:28:49] But, uh, I think Ryan is going to be the person who really does introduce them in, in the,

[00:28:55] in the right way to this, this sport, as he says, this new sport that's been around for

[00:29:00] ages.

[00:29:01] Yeah.

[00:29:02] Well, I feel like that's how he's going to, that's how he's going to, you know, that's

[00:29:06] how he's going to basically, uh, presented to them, right?

[00:29:10] Like foosball has been around since the seventies, but the majority of people in this country

[00:29:14] don't know what it is.

[00:29:16] When you say foosball, they go, Oh, this thing where you spin like this, it's like, they don't

[00:29:20] even understand that there's that foosball's played at a tournament levels.

[00:29:25] Yeah.

[00:29:25] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:26] Uh, but they're surprised to hear that they're surprised to hear.

[00:29:29] Like I said, I, I, foosball tournament.

[00:29:34] Yeah.

[00:29:34] Yeah.

[00:29:35] It's like, what you mean?

[00:29:36] You're going to a tournament.

[00:29:37] There's like tournaments.

[00:29:38] That's a thing.

[00:29:39] And there's like people that are really good at it.

[00:29:42] Yeah.

[00:29:43] Something like that.

[00:29:44] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:46] Oh, but you, but you watch cornhole on the end, but you don't know.

[00:29:49] I mean, come on, give me a break.

[00:29:52] I do have to say that, like, like with my coworkers in the recording studio, there's always this,

[00:29:58] this enthusiasm like, Oh, cool, man.

[00:30:00] That is, that is the coolest thing.

[00:30:01] There's always been that, that, uh, really nice supportive.

[00:30:04] Oh, Hey, go into a tournament or, you know, how'd you do?

[00:30:07] They're always curious.

[00:30:08] Um, even though they don't necessarily play, they're still intrigued by the idea.

[00:30:14] So there is, there's, you know, civilians can get into it.

[00:30:18] I think it's just about, okay, how do we, how do we do this in a way that it's presented

[00:30:22] in a way where they can say, Hmm, this, this is pretty intriguing.

[00:30:27] And of course, we've always talked about the story, right?

[00:30:29] The story, what's the story behind the players?

[00:30:31] You know, what kind of, what kind of rivalries exist and what, um, what's the drama that's

[00:30:37] happening on in the, in the play field?

[00:30:39] Cause you know, if you don't know the drama, then why would you watch or why would you care?

[00:30:46] Of course.

[00:30:47] Of course.

[00:30:48] Well, and then, and then the fact that he's talking about sponsorships, which has been just

[00:30:53] huge for like, it's been the thing that foosball, you know, players have been talking about

[00:30:58] for years and years and years, how players in the seventies were able to make a living

[00:31:01] playing foosball from tour stop to tour stop.

[00:31:04] And, and, you know, I think when people, I think that's going to be the main difference

[00:31:09] when people legitimately start taking us seriously is when we get, you know, when we get corporate

[00:31:15] sponsorship and then when pro players are able to make a living off of playing foosball,

[00:31:19] I think that's when everything's going to change.

[00:31:21] I know the guys, uh, yeah, I know, I know the guys from modern foosball, you know,

[00:31:26] Clay and Adam and the guys, they've been putting out these quick, you know, quick, uh, videos,

[00:31:31] uh, on places like, uh, TikTok, I believe, or, um, uh, Instagram.

[00:31:36] And they're getting huge amounts of hits from, from non-foosball players.

[00:31:41] The Sullivan and Samsonite match from nationals, I think has over a million views.

[00:31:47] Yeah.

[00:31:47] A million.

[00:31:48] Right.

[00:31:48] It's freaking awesome, dude.

[00:31:49] Isn't that incredible?

[00:31:51] As it should be.

[00:31:52] Yeah.

[00:31:54] No, it's, it's, uh, balls, just modern foods.

[00:31:56] That's right.

[00:31:58] Modern foods.

[00:31:59] No, but dude, again, Clay, look, Clay, Clay's play.

[00:32:03] So they're dropping a video a day right now on YouTube.

[00:32:06] Um, I think they're, they're in the middle of open mixed at worlds.

[00:32:09] I'm watching those.

[00:32:10] I just watched the Paul Smith, Sullivan, Brandon, Isabel match.

[00:32:14] Right.

[00:32:14] This afternoon.

[00:32:15] Um, and then they're popping shorts out and they're just slowly, you know, building

[00:32:23] an audience out and into the masses.

[00:32:25] But again, the fact that they have, that they're getting a million eyeballs, a million

[00:32:31] sets of eyeballs on, on foosball videos.

[00:32:35] That's huge for us.

[00:32:36] And the, and the comment, the comments that's people like, I've never seen this.

[00:32:40] Yeah.

[00:32:40] Like I've seen it, but I've never seen people play like this.

[00:32:42] This is amazing.

[00:32:43] This is amazing.

[00:32:44] This is amazing.

[00:32:45] This is amazing.

[00:32:46] So, you know, again, I think when the corporate sponsorship comes in and it really starts to

[00:32:51] not only hit, you know, YouTube, but then people start seeing commercials on TV.

[00:32:55] Yes.

[00:32:56] Um, you know, when they start seeing me in a Red Bull commercial going, oh, look at that

[00:33:00] guy.

[00:33:00] That's a fat, fat middle-aged man drinking Red Bull.

[00:33:03] I want to be that guy.

[00:33:04] Foosball.

[00:33:05] How do I get this?

[00:33:06] Just like that guy.

[00:33:07] How do I talk like, I am that guy.

[00:33:09] Who is that guy?

[00:33:10] I am that guy.

[00:33:11] Yeah.

[00:33:11] I'm a fat middle-aged white man.

[00:33:13] I can play foosball.

[00:33:14] Oh, let's go.

[00:33:16] Yeah.

[00:33:18] It's there's hope yet.

[00:33:20] Um, yeah, it's, um, it's funny how the, uh, again, every so often, you know, we're playing

[00:33:25] at the trick shots and, and, uh, there's a lot of pool players in, you know, in the same

[00:33:29] room who come by sometimes and it happens almost every week now where they'll stop by

[00:33:34] and they'll just stand there and watch and go, man, how long have you guys been doing

[00:33:38] this?

[00:33:39] You know?

[00:33:39] And we always invite them to play.

[00:33:41] You know, if they want to play, they can play.

[00:33:42] And, and, and usually after they've watched for a few minutes, they're like, well, never

[00:33:46] mind.

[00:33:47] But they're still curious as to, wow, how do you guys get like this?

[00:33:52] How did you, you know, what did you do?

[00:33:54] Yeah.

[00:33:55] Just lucky.

[00:33:56] Just.

[00:33:57] It's my first time.

[00:33:58] So lucky.

[00:33:59] You know, I just kind of fell into it.

[00:34:01] Um, but no, it's, uh, there is a curiosity and, and of course, tapping into that curiosity

[00:34:06] and then making it so, uh, compelling, uh, in a way, of course, knowing the story behind

[00:34:12] the, uh, the players.

[00:34:14] That's to me, that's, that's where that's at, man.

[00:34:16] You gotta, you gotta, okay.

[00:34:18] You got a favorite player.

[00:34:19] You got somebody that you like to watch, you know, it could be anybody from Sullivan to,

[00:34:23] um, to Tom Spear, who's coming back into the sport, you know, after what is it like,

[00:34:28] uh, 40 years, it's just, you know, could be any number of reasons or stories that, that,

[00:34:34] that could be told.

[00:34:36] Like 20, 25 years.

[00:34:38] Has it been 25?

[00:34:39] I mean, I, I remember.

[00:34:40] Yeah.

[00:34:41] He, he, he, he, I think won singles at worlds in like a one.

[00:34:45] Right.

[00:34:46] Okay.

[00:34:46] It was 2000, 2000 or 2001.

[00:34:50] He won singles.

[00:34:51] Uh, something like that.

[00:34:52] It's been, it's been a hair 20, but a long time.

[00:34:55] It's been a rough 20 years.

[00:34:56] Yeah.

[00:34:57] So, but I heard, I heard he, I heard he just won a local with Todd.

[00:35:02] So, um, he's, I mean, he, that again, this is, it's wonderful.

[00:35:08] It's wonderful.

[00:35:08] And, uh, I think, uh, Mark Torres of Pandemonium did a, did a pretty, uh, from what I understand,

[00:35:13] a pretty, pretty solid interview of Tom Spear.

[00:35:15] Uh, was it last week?

[00:35:17] I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I'm, I'm looking forward to it just to

[00:35:21] see what, uh, what, what the, what it sounds like.

[00:35:24] Well, you know, I don't, I mean, Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark Torres.

[00:35:32] Oh, I'm going to listen to it.

[00:35:34] Cause I want to, I'm going to mute.

[00:35:36] I'm going to mute Mark when he talks.

[00:35:38] I'm just going to listen to Spear.

[00:35:39] So, uh, so, so, okay.

[00:35:42] So points, points.

[00:35:44] And then what was the other two?

[00:35:46] The other two talking?

[00:35:46] I mean, dress code, um, was kind of near the end.

[00:35:51] I'm cool with dress code.

[00:35:52] I mean, why not?

[00:35:53] Yeah.

[00:35:53] I'm cool.

[00:35:54] And he said, it's only, it's only for ninth or better.

[00:35:57] Right.

[00:35:57] Winners are losers.

[00:35:58] So, and I, I think that's cool because if you're a low rank player wanting to play, uh,

[00:36:04] open doubles, the dress code, I mean, unless you make a run and even if you do.

[00:36:08] So again, when I, when I started playing pro players had to call it shirts with their names

[00:36:14] on it and, um, and you could, you knew who a pro player was in the room because they were

[00:36:19] dressed differently than everyone else.

[00:36:20] So I think that's, uh, I think, I think that's positive.

[00:36:25] I think that's positive.

[00:36:26] Yeah.

[00:36:26] I think, I think we need to be, we need to be held to a certain standard.

[00:36:30] It, it, to be taken seriously.

[00:36:32] Right.

[00:36:32] Um, especially when it comes to, you know, if you're, if you're approaching, uh, uh, a sponsor

[00:36:38] and saying, Hey, here's, here's what the field looks like.

[00:36:41] Here's what the players look like.

[00:36:43] And especially at the very top of the field, they, they take it, take pride in, you know,

[00:36:47] what they do and they take pride in, in how they look.

[00:36:49] Uh, and it's, and it's, um, you know, it's all about, um, appearances sometimes, you know,

[00:36:56] I hate to say that, but appearances can make a difference.

[00:37:00] And, um, you know, wearing, you know, wearing your, your randy old grateful dead t-shirt in

[00:37:04] the finals of open doubles is not a great look, dude.

[00:37:09] Sorry.

[00:37:10] I love the den.

[00:37:12] No, no, no, no.

[00:37:14] But when you, when you, especially, you know, uh, open doubles, when you have two teams battling

[00:37:20] and on each side of the table, they're, you know, they're coordinated in their dress,

[00:37:26] they're coordinated, they're coordinated in their play.

[00:37:28] Yep.

[00:37:28] It's much more, uh, it's just much more appealing visually.

[00:37:32] So, uh, I think, I think it's, again, he's not asking us to do pushups.

[00:37:38] Right.

[00:37:38] It's not like, you know, it's just by, just by a shirt, right.

[00:37:43] Just match.

[00:37:44] It's really not that hard.

[00:37:46] I don't think it's a, I don't think it's a big ask.

[00:37:48] So I'm, I'm completely cool and it's only in the open events.

[00:37:51] So I'm cool with it.

[00:37:53] I'm definitely cool with it.

[00:37:54] Okay.

[00:37:54] Um, okay.

[00:37:55] So, okay.

[00:37:56] Dress code.

[00:37:57] And then the moving, was that the other one?

[00:37:59] The fact that, that things are moving around?

[00:38:00] Yes.

[00:38:01] So there, there will be a different venue, uh, especially now TKO tour kickoff, right?

[00:38:10] It's always been Kentucky state.

[00:38:13] So it's always been at the Clarion in Lexington.

[00:38:16] There, there, it stands to reason that if you're going to do the tour kickoff, that it would

[00:38:22] maybe choose a different venue every year.

[00:38:26] And, and I, I'm again, for me, um, I, I don't complain, right?

[00:38:33] The tour kickoff is in Lexington.

[00:38:34] It's the end of the bluegrass parkway.

[00:38:37] It's like six hours and 10 minutes from my house.

[00:38:40] Right.

[00:38:40] It's, and then world is in the same place.

[00:38:43] I know where I'm going.

[00:38:44] I don't need my GPS.

[00:38:46] Uh, it is what it is.

[00:38:49] Uh, but again, I think, uh, now I'm not the one running the tour.

[00:38:53] I have no skin in the game, but there are parts of the country that I think, um, just

[00:39:00] foosball starved.

[00:39:01] And if, if tournaments were to happen there, uh, I would be doing my best to make sure

[00:39:06] that I got there to play.

[00:39:07] So there are certain places that there was a tournament that I've never been, I would

[00:39:13] go.

[00:39:14] I would go specifically for the tournament and to see the place.

[00:39:17] I've always wondered.

[00:39:18] I think it's, I think it's a solid move.

[00:39:20] Uh, and I'm, you know, I was always, uh, wondered about, you know, places like Manhattan, New York

[00:39:24] city.

[00:39:25] Now it's a, it's the biggest town, you know, on the planet nearly.

[00:39:29] There's 8 million people.

[00:39:30] 8 million people.

[00:39:30] It's a big place.

[00:39:31] Downtown New York.

[00:39:31] Why in the world is there no major tournament of any kind, you know, for, for me to tell

[00:39:38] you why?

[00:39:38] Yes, please.

[00:39:40] I can tell you why.

[00:39:41] There's a few reasons.

[00:39:42] And again, Ryan, if you, if you hear this and you, there are other reasons, correct me,

[00:39:48] please.

[00:39:48] I, you know, I don't know everything, but from a, from a business standpoint, everything's

[00:39:53] too expensive.

[00:39:54] You know how much it costs to get in and out of it, how much it costs to get in and out

[00:39:57] of New York?

[00:39:57] Oh, I do.

[00:39:58] Yeah.

[00:39:58] Yeah.

[00:39:59] Okay.

[00:40:00] So you have to pay the park, how much you pay exactly.

[00:40:04] And then, um, now again, everything's accessible, right?

[00:40:09] Like, so if we have, if we have a tournament downtown, you can get food at any, any time

[00:40:13] of the night and you, you know, there's nightlife and things to do and all that, but you're

[00:40:17] talking, you're talking about, you know, $4,000 to go play a week in a foosball.

[00:40:22] So, um, you know, from a player standpoint, what kind of turnout are you going to get?

[00:40:26] Even for the people driving in, right?

[00:40:30] If you take a carload of guys from Albany down, it's going to take you a couple hours, but

[00:40:34] then it's going to cost you $25 to get into the city.

[00:40:37] And then it's going to cost you, you know, $40 a day to park.

[00:40:40] And then you've got a little hotel room and the hotel room is going to cost you 400 bucks

[00:40:43] a night.

[00:40:44] And then a slice of pizza is $18.

[00:40:47] Uh, well, you know, it's that much, but I get, I'm just saying, I mean, a pack, a pack,

[00:40:54] a pack of cigarettes is like $37 for a pack of cigarettes in New York city.

[00:40:58] So then, and then if you do get a slice, no, I, I see the videos on YouTube.

[00:41:04] Yeah.

[00:41:05] People standing outside of bodegas and a pack of Newports is like $18 and 75 cents.

[00:41:10] Yeah.

[00:41:10] It's crazy.

[00:41:10] And then, and then you got to fight a rat when you ride the subway, then you run the risk

[00:41:16] of getting robbed.

[00:41:17] Um, it's just, there is that.

[00:41:20] I mean, it's, it's, it's not quite as, as, I mean, if you're, if you're, let's say you've

[00:41:24] got a decent hotel, let's say just off time square, that's a pretty safe part of the city.

[00:41:30] It's not too bad.

[00:41:31] Um, but you're right.

[00:41:33] I mean, if you're going to go anywhere in Manhattan, dude, you're talking, you're talking

[00:41:37] time square, Tom, you know what a decent hotel costs off of time.

[00:41:40] I do.

[00:41:40] And I've stayed there.

[00:41:42] So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:41:44] I know it's not, it's not foosball friendly.

[00:41:46] Let's put it that way.

[00:41:47] Not foosball friendly.

[00:41:48] No, it's not.

[00:41:49] But I mean, for financial purposes, it's not foosball friendly.

[00:41:52] There's, um, you think about Philadelphia, Boston, New York, even DC, you know, there is,

[00:42:00] uh, there's certainly gotta be something out there that, uh, would make a good location

[00:42:05] that's maybe just outside of those cities.

[00:42:07] That would be a great location and easily accessible by airport, you know?

[00:42:12] Okay.

[00:42:13] So even if we're talking Boston, right.

[00:42:15] Yeah.

[00:42:15] Cause this is a conversation I had with somebody recently.

[00:42:18] Okay.

[00:42:19] Okay.

[00:42:21] Boston, Logan is, uh, Logan's crazy to get in and out of.

[00:42:27] Right.

[00:42:28] Right.

[00:42:28] Right.

[00:42:28] Okay.

[00:42:29] Uh, Boston, beautiful city.

[00:42:31] If you've never been there, I, I tell everybody, go check it out.

[00:42:33] Go in the spring, go, go in the spring, early summer, uh, go to the North end, eat some

[00:42:38] Italian food.

[00:42:39] Um, you know, go, go, go see the water, go to the Boston science museum, take a duck tour.

[00:42:45] You'll see the whole city, everything historical.

[00:42:48] Yeah.

[00:42:49] They'll take you in the, in the, in the Hudson.

[00:42:52] It's the, it's, it's great, great way to see the city.

[00:42:55] Um, but it's, it's, it's expensive like any other big city, right?

[00:43:01] A cheaper alternative legitimately Providence, Rhode Island.

[00:43:06] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:07] Yes.

[00:43:08] Great town.

[00:43:09] It's an hour and hour and 10 minutes from Boston.

[00:43:11] Right.

[00:43:12] There's still a, there's still a pretty heavy mafia influence in Providence.

[00:43:16] So their Italian section is just as good as Boston's.

[00:43:19] Their pizza.

[00:43:20] Oh yeah.

[00:43:20] Is amazing.

[00:43:21] Their food is good.

[00:43:22] They have nightlife flying into PVD dirt cheap.

[00:43:28] Um, they have great hotels around PVD.

[00:43:30] They got plenty of food.

[00:43:32] They've got everything you need.

[00:43:34] The water's right there.

[00:43:35] It's, it's essentially the same experience.

[00:43:37] And if you wanted to go to Boston, you could rent a car and be in Boston easily in a little

[00:43:41] over an hour.

[00:43:42] Yeah.

[00:43:43] Check it out.

[00:43:44] Uh, but it's going to cost you half the money if they were to, you know, if we were to do

[00:43:49] something in Providence.

[00:43:49] That's a really good point.

[00:43:50] It's a really good point.

[00:43:53] Cause even, even driving, driving in and out of Boston versus driving in and out of Providence.

[00:43:58] It's night and day.

[00:43:58] Big difference.

[00:43:59] Big difference.

[00:44:00] Yeah.

[00:44:01] My sister lives in Providence and, and, uh, been there many, many times.

[00:44:05] Wouldn't it be cool to, um, they have a festival during the summer called Firewater, which is

[00:44:10] so cool.

[00:44:11] You know, if you did like a tournament that on one of those weekends, you know, if you're

[00:44:15] not playing foosball, you go out and check out Firewater, which is just incredible.

[00:44:20] It's, um.

[00:44:20] There's, there's so many things to see, so many things to do.

[00:44:23] It's beautiful.

[00:44:24] And then again, like people don't understand if you've ever been to the Northeast, right?

[00:44:27] Newport, Rhode Island is 30 minute ride from Providence.

[00:44:31] Historically, Rhode Island is one of the most beautiful towns in all of America.

[00:44:36] Right.

[00:44:36] This country was founded.

[00:44:37] Like the, the money that founded this country is, is in Newport.

[00:44:42] All the, all the Rockefellers, all the big names that, that founded this country have mansions.

[00:44:47] They built mansions in Newport and you can take tours of these mansions.

[00:44:51] Um, it's the, the church where JFK and his wife got married is, um, is in Newport.

[00:44:59] Uh, the, they have, uh, sailing, like there's boats and yachts.

[00:45:03] And, uh, I mean, there's, it's again, and then you can go down the Cape and eat some seafood.

[00:45:08] The Cape.

[00:45:09] You can, you can go to New Bedford.

[00:45:11] You can go to New Bedford and you can get some heroin and a hooker.

[00:45:14] And it's, I mean, if you really want the Northeast experience.

[00:45:17] Hey, but I'm just saying it's a, it's crazy, but.

[00:45:23] And you can, you can be the tour guide.

[00:45:25] You know, we'll, we'll get there.

[00:45:26] You don't want me showing you around New Bedford.

[00:45:27] I'll show you some spots.

[00:45:29] Rant out Randy Raposo while you're in the Northeast.

[00:45:31] I'll show you the good stuff.

[00:45:32] No problem.

[00:45:33] I'll show, I'll show you where I grew up.

[00:45:35] Yeah.

[00:45:36] Yeah.

[00:45:36] But I'm saying, so it's like, it's like having a tournament in Albany versus downtown.

[00:45:41] Right.

[00:45:42] Yep.

[00:45:42] Yep.

[00:45:43] I mean, there's, there's some, there's some financial differences as far as from a foosball

[00:45:50] perspective, but I, I'm actually now, again, I might end up losing a tournament or two a

[00:45:55] year because things are moving, but I'm okay with that.

[00:45:59] Well, whatever's going to help the tour grow.

[00:46:01] It's nice to, I'm going to do my best to support it.

[00:46:03] To have more choices, you know, when it comes to locations and, and, and locations.

[00:46:08] And of course, times of the year.

[00:46:10] Um, it just seems like there's certain times of the year, obviously around holidays, it's

[00:46:15] difficult to do tournaments, but, um, you know, dead, dead in the middle of summer, you

[00:46:20] know, in July, that kind of thing.

[00:46:22] Not much happening really.

[00:46:23] It was kind of a.

[00:46:25] Yeah.

[00:46:26] Sort of an empty space there.

[00:46:28] But, and the Northeast is beautiful.

[00:46:30] That time of the year.

[00:46:31] Just saying.

[00:46:32] Oh, it's great.

[00:46:33] Yeah.

[00:46:33] It's the best time to go there.

[00:46:35] Yeah.

[00:46:35] Yeah.

[00:46:35] So who knows?

[00:46:37] Well, we'll have to wait and see.

[00:46:39] Well, you know, and, and, uh, hopefully Ryan will have, uh, you know, some, some, uh, at

[00:46:43] least some ideas as to how to support something like that.

[00:46:45] But, um, we're, uh, looking forward to that.

[00:46:48] Um, I would say, you know, overall Ryan just, you know, he intimated that he's in this, right?

[00:46:56] He's in this and he's not messing around and they haven't even started their, they haven't

[00:47:02] had their first tournament yet and he's already like, like, you know, neck deep in this.

[00:47:06] Um, the enthusiasm alone is.

[00:47:09] Well.

[00:47:11] Neck deep.

[00:47:12] There's an industry term we use.

[00:47:14] It's not neck deep, but yeah.

[00:47:17] Yeah.

[00:47:19] So, but again, I, I wouldn't want the guy running foosball to be the other way.

[00:47:26] Yeah.

[00:47:27] I wouldn't want him to be any other way.

[00:47:28] Right.

[00:47:29] You know?

[00:47:29] So, um, it's, uh, you know, the, uh, you know, the, uh, you know,

[00:47:32] the fact that Ryan's, like he said, he's not going to play at the kickoff because he

[00:47:36] really wants to make sure that the tournament runs well.

[00:47:38] He's really focused on the experience for the players.

[00:47:42] Right.

[00:47:42] And I'm just, I'm so dude, again, from a player's perspective, I'm really excited for

[00:47:50] what's about to happen because, you know, I've, I've sunk over 20 years of my life in

[00:47:55] this thing, uh, big investment time finances.

[00:47:59] Uh, yeah.

[00:48:01] Like, you know, I really want to see where this is going to go.

[00:48:04] I really, I really, really do.

[00:48:05] I really do.

[00:48:06] And if anybody can make a, again, if anybody can make a change when it comes to improving

[00:48:11] the player experience, it would be Ryan.

[00:48:14] And, and hopefully he's got enough pull to, uh, to get things going for, uh, for, for table

[00:48:19] parts and, and improve the conditions that we're playing under, you know, we don't have

[00:48:23] to, we don't have to have this talk again.

[00:48:25] No, we don't, but it's still that, you know, that's one of those things, you know?

[00:48:29] Yeah.

[00:48:30] It's a, well, again, being, being, being a top player, not even a top player, being one

[00:48:34] of the best players in the world, one of the greatest players of all time.

[00:48:37] He understands, right?

[00:48:40] He knows.

[00:48:41] So he feels our pain.

[00:48:43] And again, it's like, um, it's like having a boss that leads by example versus a boss that

[00:48:53] just barks orders, right?

[00:48:54] He's, he's done, he's done it all in foosball.

[00:48:58] So it's not like as a player, we can ever go to him and complain about something that

[00:49:03] he hasn't experienced.

[00:49:04] It's, well, he's, he's done, he's done it.

[00:49:06] He knows.

[00:49:07] So he's, uh, he's got, I guess you could say he's got the street cred when it comes to

[00:49:11] doing what he's going to be doing.

[00:49:13] Oh yeah.

[00:49:14] Not, not many people have that kind of credibility.

[00:49:16] So, uh, yeah, he's, he's, uh, so yeah, that's, that's a, that's a, it's a good thing,

[00:49:23] uh, to think about.

[00:49:24] So, but just, you know, it's, it's hard to say in a year's time how, what kind of discussions

[00:49:29] will be happening, but I'm, I have a feeling there's going to be some positivity there for

[00:49:33] sure.

[00:49:33] No doubt.

[00:49:35] Yeah.

[00:49:36] Yeah.

[00:49:36] Well, you know, the, the, the, the sponsorship thing, I, I, I mean, I'm expecting to see some

[00:49:42] crazy foosball this year.

[00:49:43] I'm expecting to see some really, I'm expecting to see the level of play step up because people

[00:49:48] are going to be fighting for limited positions.

[00:49:51] I mean, if these corporations are going to be offering sponsorships, I would assume that

[00:49:56] people are really fighting for these positions.

[00:49:58] Oh yeah.

[00:49:58] Oh yeah.

[00:49:59] Yeah.

[00:50:00] Yeah.

[00:50:00] I can see you just sizing you up for that, uh, that, that beautiful Red Bull shirt that

[00:50:06] you're going to wear with, you know, the collar on it and the name, you know, Randy over the,

[00:50:10] over the, uh, the pocket there, you know, I can, I can see that happening.

[00:50:15] Red Bull.

[00:50:15] I mean, I'll, I'll drive.

[00:50:17] Yeah.

[00:50:18] I'll drive a Red Bull Mercedes.

[00:50:20] Uh, I'll, I'll live in a Red Bull mansion, whatever that's fine.

[00:50:25] Whatever.

[00:50:25] Let's go dog.

[00:50:26] I'll take it.

[00:50:27] I'll take it.

[00:50:27] Pose for the cameras.

[00:50:28] Red Bull.

[00:50:29] Got to do it.

[00:50:30] Right.

[00:50:34] See, I knew we could count on you.

[00:50:37] So before we wrap this tonight and I, and I, and I, again, thanks for showing up, Don.

[00:50:42] Appreciate it.

[00:50:43] Um, but, um, so real quick, I just wanted to run down a list of questions, uh, about 2024

[00:50:50] at about 2025 from you personally.

[00:50:54] And I think I might've, we might've talked about this before, but anyway, uh, five questions.

[00:50:59] Number one, what was your, yeah.

[00:51:03] What was your most memorable moment in foosball in the year 2024?

[00:51:07] What, what was that moment?

[00:51:09] Can you think of one?

[00:51:14] Um, foosball related.

[00:51:16] My most memorable moment this year.

[00:51:19] Um, wow.

[00:51:22] Um, I had a lot of good one.

[00:51:25] Um, 24 was a good year.

[00:51:27] I, I really, um, you know, uh, nothing.

[00:51:33] I mean, I don't probably worlds worlds worlds, uh, worlds as a whole watching, watching Trevor

[00:51:42] win.

[00:51:43] Um, yes, just getting to hang out.

[00:51:47] Uh, getting us again, like, you know, really is my boy.

[00:51:52] I don't only really, I rarely get to see Billy, but getting to spend time with Billy,

[00:51:55] getting to watch Trevor win, um, having, having the best open had at worlds.

[00:52:02] Um, so, and then worlds worlds was good.

[00:52:07] Worlds is probably, and then Sunday was terrible.

[00:52:10] I played horrible on Sunday, but it was good and bad.

[00:52:14] It's, but worlds this year was probably, uh, my most memorable.

[00:52:20] That's yeah.

[00:52:21] My most memorable tournament this weekend.

[00:52:23] I mean, this year, I can't really get to see.

[00:52:25] Yeah.

[00:52:25] Think of, uh, yeah.

[00:52:27] You know, you know what?

[00:52:28] I mean, let me look at my wall.

[00:52:30] I don't think I finished the last year and then the kickoff Chris and I were in the finals

[00:52:37] of pro doubles and we yet 2024.

[00:52:45] Yeah.

[00:52:45] I didn't win anything this year, Tom.

[00:52:47] Oh, I don't win anything.

[00:52:48] Okay.

[00:52:48] I had a duty.

[00:52:49] I had a duty year.

[00:52:50] I had some top three finishes.

[00:52:51] I had some top five finishes.

[00:52:53] I mean, you can't want to, you can't want them all, but, um, you know, I finished the

[00:52:57] year strong, uh, one pro doubles in Mississippi, one pro doubles in Louisiana and 23.

[00:53:04] That's awesome.

[00:53:04] And then 24.

[00:53:06] Well, no, wait.

[00:53:07] So Brandon and I won that Mississippi open early in the year.

[00:53:10] So no, I'm wrong.

[00:53:11] We want, I want, yeah, I won something this year, but not worlds.

[00:53:14] It was worlds.

[00:53:15] Sorry.

[00:53:15] Long, long winded answer.

[00:53:17] No, no.

[00:53:18] I think that's a, that's a reasonable amount of time to think about it because you played

[00:53:22] a lot of foosball.

[00:53:23] Um, and in this kind of answers my next question, which, which would be, what was your favorite

[00:53:28] tournament of 2024?

[00:53:31] We'll say worlds.

[00:53:35] Well, yeah.

[00:53:36] Worlds was up there.

[00:53:37] So worlds, uh, I mean, I enjoy, I, I love them all.

[00:53:42] I always have a good time.

[00:53:43] Look, I'm not going to lie.

[00:53:44] Michigan state, Michigan state was a lot of fun.

[00:53:46] I really enjoyed Michigan state because, uh, a lot of my guys were there.

[00:53:50] My master guys and, um, and Mike Stahl just did a really nice job.

[00:53:55] Uh, but yeah, probably worlds in Michigan are probably like one in one a.

[00:54:00] Okay.

[00:54:01] I gotcha.

[00:54:02] Yeah.

[00:54:02] I was thinking the same thing.

[00:54:03] You know, I would answer it the same way.

[00:54:05] And the most memorable moment for, for me at least, uh, in 2024 was, uh, getting delayed,

[00:54:12] you know, on my flight coming down to, to Kentucky to go to worlds, but, but landing just in time

[00:54:18] to play the first, the first match of open doubles.

[00:54:22] And I had not slept because the, you know, the, the, the flights had been canceled all

[00:54:26] night and people were just laying everywhere.

[00:54:28] But, uh, when I got there, I, uh, got on the table with Mark Jollett, my partner in open

[00:54:33] doubles and the first match was a versus Sullivan Rue and Isabelle Stelly.

[00:54:40] And that's a good time.

[00:54:42] Oh, I mean, and we won the first two games of the best of five series, the first two games.

[00:54:48] And I, I couldn't believe it cause I was so out of it, you know, mentally and physically

[00:54:52] and all, but just summon something that, uh, that got us there.

[00:54:56] And, uh, Mark was killing it up front and, uh, I was passing successfully to him and then,

[00:55:02] and then Sully decided to get into the game.

[00:55:07] Suddenly things changed.

[00:55:09] Um, but it was memorable.

[00:55:11] She does that.

[00:55:11] Yeah.

[00:55:11] Oh, she, she put the hammer down and it was, it was sort of like there was a determined look

[00:55:18] on her face.

[00:55:19] She got, she got very serious.

[00:55:20] And suddenly there was a, there was a whole new, whole new Sully on the table in that third

[00:55:24] game and, uh, things did not go our way ultimately, but you know, it could have happened.

[00:55:30] It could have happened.

[00:55:31] Um, so that was, that would be the most memorable.

[00:55:34] And again, worlds and, and Michigan state, you know, first and second, as far as best tournaments.

[00:55:40] Absolutely.

[00:55:41] Yeah.

[00:55:42] Okay.

[00:55:43] Here's another question.

[00:55:44] If you had a chance, uh, who would be deserving of the player of the year or the best player

[00:55:51] of 2024?

[00:55:52] Who do you think would deserve that, uh, that accolade male and female or just one player

[00:55:59] for everybody?

[00:56:00] Um, I mean, male or female, I guess it doesn't, I mean, that doesn't really matter.

[00:56:05] So it's more, more like one, one for each one for each.

[00:56:09] Yeah.

[00:56:10] Well, so on the male side, uh, player of the year, probably Tommy, Tommy, uh, Tommy, I think,

[00:56:20] I think Tommy, Tommy dominated singles this year and then he won doubles at worlds with

[00:56:25] Ryan.

[00:56:25] So it's, it's either Tommy or Ryan.

[00:56:27] That's the thing, right?

[00:56:28] Like I watched Ryan play matches this year where he just, he has the ability to take over a

[00:56:33] match from the front or the back.

[00:56:35] Uh, when Ryan, when Ryan's properly motivated or when he wants to win, he can just win.

[00:56:42] Um, Tommy, Tommy has, uh, like Tommy has machine like ability.

[00:56:50] Tommy's, Tommy's not Tony, but Tommy is like, uh, similar to Tony and his, you know, approach

[00:56:57] and ability.

[00:56:57] And, uh, yeah, I think, uh, but if, if I had to choose between the two of them, uh, I'd

[00:57:04] probably give it to, to Tommy player of the year this year.

[00:57:08] Yeah.

[00:57:08] Uh, yeah.

[00:57:11] On the female side.

[00:57:13] Um, so, so Sullivan, um, Sullivan had a good year.

[00:57:20] She really did.

[00:57:21] I mean, she won open doubles Illinois with, with Isabel.

[00:57:23] Yep.

[00:57:23] She finished second, uh, second and open doubles.

[00:57:29] I think she got Mississippi state.

[00:57:33] She got second at Louisiana state.

[00:57:34] Like she did really well in, in open doubles this year.

[00:57:38] Um, but, but I'd have to say for females, it'd probably be Hannah.

[00:57:45] Cause Hannah, actually Hannah, Hannah had a really good, like Hannah solid anyway.

[00:57:51] Oh, sure.

[00:57:52] But, um, Hannah, Hannah won, uh, she's won a bunch of women's singles and doubles this

[00:57:57] year.

[00:57:58] Like she, I think she bettered Sully here on the women's side.

[00:58:01] Yep.

[00:58:02] Um, yeah.

[00:58:02] Yeah.

[00:58:03] And then, um, I mean, they're, they're so, their games are different, but they're so

[00:58:09] even, I feel like in their play and their results and their desire to win, but they

[00:58:16] have, they both have, they're both extraordinary desire to win competitive.

[00:58:19] Yeah.

[00:58:20] Yeah.

[00:58:20] They're both super competitive, but I think, uh, for 2024 female player of the year, I'd

[00:58:26] probably, I'd probably give it to Hannah this year.

[00:58:28] Okay.

[00:58:29] Just slightly by a hair.

[00:58:30] I'd give it to him.

[00:58:31] Yeah.

[00:58:31] Yeah.

[00:58:31] Oh, I, I, I would, uh, I would accept that, that answer, uh, all day long for sure.

[00:58:37] Um, okay.

[00:58:38] Got to ask you this question.

[00:58:39] Um, what was your worst moment in foosball in 2024?

[00:58:46] I hate to bring up, you know, drench up old wounds.

[00:58:49] Worst.

[00:58:50] Worst moment.

[00:58:58] Uh, you know what?

[00:59:00] I, I can't really say I had a, a worse moment because even, even through loss or bad play,

[00:59:10] I was still able to learn and grow.

[00:59:12] Okay.

[00:59:13] Um, I mean, off the table, off the table, you know, maybe I cussed somebody out and I wish

[00:59:21] I hadn't done that.

[00:59:22] Okay.

[00:59:22] You know, hindsight being 20, 20, but, um, you know, I, I just, I always try to be a

[00:59:30] good sport.

[00:59:31] I try to treat people the way I want to be treated.

[00:59:33] I really, honestly, Tom, I can't recall something that I was just like, ah, geez, I wish I didn't

[00:59:40] do that.

[00:59:41] You know what I mean?

[00:59:42] Um, if I did, I'm sorry.

[00:59:44] If I cussed you out, I'm sorry.

[00:59:46] But so Clay, Clay wants to chime in on this one by Clay says, uh, Randy's worst moment was

[00:59:51] yelling an apology to me and Adam at nationals.

[00:59:57] Oh, I missed that.

[01:00:02] Oh, I missed that.

[01:00:03] Oh yeah.

[01:00:04] No, I got, I got there and I went in the back to say hi.

[01:00:07] And Clay was just like, he put his, he's like, Nope.

[01:00:12] Yeah.

[01:00:12] That was pretty good.

[01:00:14] Sorry.

[01:00:15] Sorry.

[01:00:16] Yeah.

[01:00:17] I did that.

[01:00:17] Yeah.

[01:00:20] Like I said, I have, you know, I mean,

[01:00:24] I peaks and valleys, peaks and valleys, of course.

[01:00:28] Yeah.

[01:00:28] I try to be consistent, but you know,

[01:00:30] And if you're going to play at the level you do, there's going to be those moments,

[01:00:33] right?

[01:00:34] I mean, just, well, you're intense.

[01:00:37] Yeah.

[01:00:37] I mean, I cussed out a couple of people this year.

[01:00:39] It happens.

[01:00:40] It's not, it's not, it's not purposeful.

[01:00:43] Just don't cheat.

[01:00:44] That's it.

[01:00:44] Got it.

[01:00:45] As long as you don't cheat.

[01:00:46] You can beat me.

[01:00:46] It's cool, man.

[01:00:47] Good luck.

[01:00:47] Just don't cheat.

[01:00:48] No problem.

[01:00:49] Sorry, Clay.

[01:00:49] Sorry, Adam.

[01:00:51] I would say if I were to pick at the worst moment, uh, it would be standing in the, uh,

[01:00:56] you know, on my way to, to Lexington, Kentucky for world standing in the, uh, the terminal

[01:01:02] at Charlotte airport with 5,000 other people who were all stranded at the same time.

[01:01:07] Dude, that sucked.

[01:01:09] That truly sucked.

[01:01:11] Um, and it, you know, and just not knowing how, how this was going to be resolved because

[01:01:17] there were no flights going out and nobody was, was, uh, you know, able to get any answers

[01:01:21] because everything that was canceled.

[01:01:24] So, you know, that's, that's one thing you just hope you can never have to repeat, right?

[01:01:28] It's just, that's one of the, it's kind of a fluke, but no, it's actually more common

[01:01:32] now than ever before.

[01:01:33] So, uh, if you're, if you're flying, you may, you may, uh, end up in that same circumstance.

[01:01:39] Um, okay.

[01:01:40] Final question.

[01:01:42] Yes, sir.

[01:01:42] What do you personally hope, uh, for foosball most in 2025?

[01:01:50] Uh, for foosball, not for me personally, for foosball, I hope Ryan is able to achieve,

[01:01:57] uh, if not all, but the majority of his goals for 2025.

[01:02:01] That's what I hope happens for foosball.

[01:02:02] Cause if that, if he does that, then, uh, foosball is going to be heading in a great direction.

[01:02:08] So that's, I really hope that happens this year.

[01:02:11] I really, really do.

[01:02:12] Yeah, I really do.

[01:02:13] And not even if we're not, um, you know, on ESPN or there's no major corporate sponsor

[01:02:19] for 2025.

[01:02:20] I know he's, he's got something in the works for the future.

[01:02:24] So I just, I'm really hoping that he achieves the majority of his goals for this year.

[01:02:29] That's all I want for foosball.

[01:02:30] Yeah.

[01:02:30] I think there, there's every reason to, to feel that way, right?

[01:02:34] It's just, you know, we want to, we want to be there for him for whatever he needs.

[01:02:38] And of course, you know, you know, Foos Talk Live, Foosball Radio, we want to certainly,

[01:02:42] um, you know, whatever it takes to, to, uh, get the, get the word out and to, to spread

[01:02:47] the word about this positivity that's happening in 2025.

[01:02:51] It's, uh, it's significant.

[01:02:52] This is historic.

[01:02:53] I just have that feeling, you know, this, uh, this next year.

[01:02:56] Absolutely.

[01:02:57] And so, yeah, I concur with you on that one.

[01:02:58] I bet let's, let's, let's, uh, let's work together, make it happen.

[01:03:02] You know what I mean?

[01:03:03] Well, I mean, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do my part.

[01:03:06] I'm going to show up and play and, you know, uh, I'll be right here on Sunday nights with

[01:03:11] you.

[01:03:12] Lord willing, if I can be here, I'm going to be sitting right here talking about it.

[01:03:15] So nice.

[01:03:16] Yeah.

[01:03:17] That's it, Tom.

[01:03:18] Let's see how this goes.

[01:03:19] It's, it's more than just a casual conversation about foosball typically, but you know, that,

[01:03:22] that's, that's the way it should be.

[01:03:24] Um, it's just, you know, here's the, here's my other hope for 2025 that, uh, that we, you

[01:03:31] and I can be in the same room more often.

[01:03:35] Just saying.

[01:03:36] Yeah.

[01:03:37] Yeah.

[01:03:37] Well, um, you know, again, if, uh, if, if we start getting some stuff happening up in

[01:03:43] the Northeast, then I feel like it's, uh, you know, it's going to happen.

[01:03:48] So, um, you know, I, I, if, if, if Ryan's able to put something together, um,

[01:03:55] up around where I come from and where you're at, then I'll be, I'll be making my way up

[01:04:00] there, Tom.

[01:04:01] Cool.

[01:04:01] Um, you know, and again, I know, I know you've got your tournaments that you're going to hit.

[01:04:06] So, uh, we're either either together and we're going to try and make this thing grow

[01:04:13] possibility.

[01:04:14] Yeah, man.

[01:04:14] Try and make this thing grow, bring foosball to the masses.

[01:04:17] So, uh, you know, I, I'd like us, uh, I'd like us to potentially, you know, collaborate

[01:04:23] more with, with modern foosball.

[01:04:25] Oh yeah.

[01:04:25] I like those guys and I love what they do.

[01:04:27] Oh, absolutely.

[01:04:28] So, you know, again, again, I, I really hope Ryan, um, I hope we're in his, uh, peripheral

[01:04:37] going forward.

[01:04:38] Well, I mean, it's, it's, uh, when he mentions media, I mean, obviously you've got, we've

[01:04:44] got, uh, inside foos, uh, modern foos, foosball radio, foos talk live.

[01:04:49] Um, what, uh, five bar of doom.

[01:04:53] I should mention five bar of doom.

[01:04:55] You know, um, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:04:57] His, his name is.

[01:05:01] Yeah.

[01:05:01] It escapes me.

[01:05:02] Yeah.

[01:05:02] I met him in Michigan.

[01:05:03] You did.

[01:05:04] Okay.

[01:05:05] Got it.

[01:05:05] Yeah.

[01:05:06] Nice.

[01:05:06] Nice guy.

[01:05:07] Nice guy.

[01:05:08] I like his, I like his style, you know, and he likes to, uh, is it Mark, Mark Maddage?

[01:05:13] That could be it.

[01:05:14] I think that's, I, if I'm messing up with last name, I apologize.

[01:05:17] Mark Maddage.

[01:05:18] Yeah.

[01:05:18] Yeah.

[01:05:18] I think he is, is he from, is he from Colorado?

[01:05:21] I believe.

[01:05:22] I think he's living in Michigan though.

[01:05:24] I think, uh, these days.

[01:05:25] Or he's in Michigan now, but yeah, good player.

[01:05:28] Good player.

[01:05:28] Yeah.

[01:05:29] And, uh, got a good sense of humor.

[01:05:30] So, um, but yeah, so, so hopefully there, there is, uh, you know, there's a place, uh,

[01:05:36] in this, this bright new future for, for everybody who does media for foosball, right?

[01:05:41] Any fingers crossed.

[01:05:44] Fingers crossed.

[01:05:45] Yeah.

[01:05:45] But as long as you and I can still talk about foosball, there you go.

[01:05:50] That's all that matters.

[01:05:52] I'll be here, Tom.

[01:05:54] Cool.

[01:05:55] Well, I gotta say, uh, it's, it's, uh, Don, Donald was a great guest tonight.

[01:06:00] Don't you think?

[01:06:02] I'm glad he didn't show up.

[01:06:09] Meanwhile, he's having a great time in New Orleans.

[01:06:11] So, you know, he's, he's having a great time.

[01:06:14] Um, but no, uh, one of these times we'll, we'll get Donald to actually show up for the

[01:06:18] show and, and, uh, we'll, we'll put his face all over this thing.

[01:06:21] But anyway, it's, it's, it's always a blast, man.

[01:06:25] Um, what's up for, what's up for Christmas?

[01:06:27] What are you doing?

[01:06:28] Are you, uh, are you staying right there for the, for the week?

[01:06:32] Yeah, we're not.

[01:06:33] Yeah.

[01:06:33] Yeah.

[01:06:34] My wife's home.

[01:06:36] She, you know, she's a teacher.

[01:06:37] So Friday was her last day.

[01:06:38] She's off for till after the new year.

[01:06:41] Um, but I got, I gotta work cause we're cold.

[01:06:45] So I'll be out pumping real estate.

[01:06:47] I'm, I'm, I have no deals going on right now.

[01:06:50] So I kinda, I was like, I'm, I'm done for the year.

[01:06:54] I've got a handful of clients that are waiting to after the new year to get started.

[01:06:58] So, um, so we'll just be, we'll be here.

[01:07:01] We're going to go down to my in-laws and do Christmas and, uh, cool.

[01:07:05] That's it.

[01:07:06] Just try to get a little rest, but, um, yeah.

[01:07:10] What, what do you got going on?

[01:07:11] It's, uh, it's, it's a lot quieter this week than I thought it was going to be.

[01:07:14] Uh, originally, uh, the reason I took 13 days off at the end of my, my, uh, my year this

[01:07:19] year and part of the reason surgery, right?

[01:07:22] Exactly.

[01:07:23] So I could recover.

[01:07:24] Uh, it turns out, uh, as things happen sometimes with, uh, with insurance companies, uh, the

[01:07:30] insurance, the insurance company notified me that, uh, the surgeon, the lead surgeon and

[01:07:34] the anesthesiologist on the, on the, the, uh, procedure are not in our network.

[01:07:40] So it would have been cost prohibitive.

[01:07:42] I mean, so much money that, that would have set us back, you know, decades.

[01:07:47] So we just said, yeah, let's, let's put it on hold till next year, 2025.

[01:07:52] And, uh, we'll, we'll find somebody in network.

[01:07:55] Hopefully, um, to, to do the same procedure.

[01:07:58] And it's, it's, it's a life, it's elective surgery.

[01:08:00] So it's not like an emergency or anything like that.

[01:08:02] So, but, uh, yeah, I was thinking, Hey, you know, tomorrow morning, I would have been

[01:08:06] getting up very early to go in and be prepped.

[01:08:09] And, and, uh, it's like a 45 minute outpatient patient procedure, but it's still ungodly amounts

[01:08:15] of money if you don't have it covered.

[01:08:17] Dude.

[01:08:17] Yeah.

[01:08:18] Thousands.

[01:08:19] No, it's, it's one of those things where you're like, yeah, you go in, they're like,

[01:08:22] we'll do the procedure.

[01:08:23] And then while we're in there, we'll take one of your kidneys, you know, we'll sell

[01:08:27] that collateral, you know, just in case.

[01:08:29] Cause we, we realize, you know, hold on to this until.

[01:08:32] Yeah.

[01:08:33] Yeah.

[01:08:33] We realize you're just, you know, just a low life, just as low life an ounce of guy.

[01:08:38] We just, we'll just take your kidney and you know, we'll call that payment and we'll

[01:08:42] call it good.

[01:08:42] How's it sound?

[01:08:44] Okay.

[01:08:45] We'll keep this on ice until you bring me my money.

[01:08:48] Exactly.

[01:08:49] And then we'll charge you again to put it back in, but Hey, that's just the, just how

[01:08:53] it goes.

[01:08:53] Correct.

[01:08:55] Correct.

[01:08:56] Correct.

[01:08:57] Uh, you, you, you speak in my language.

[01:08:59] Um, but no, it's, it's, uh, we'll put it off till 2025 and, and, uh, we'll, we'll go

[01:09:04] from there, but yeah, it's a, for the rest of the week, it's going to be, you know, I'm

[01:09:09] going to do the man thing tomorrow, get out there and bust my chops to find all those

[01:09:14] things that I, I haven't purchased up until now, you know, for, for my wife.

[01:09:18] Oh, Tom.

[01:09:19] But I do it every year.

[01:09:21] I do it every year, man.

[01:09:22] And it's, and it's always an adventure and I always come up with really creative ideas

[01:09:26] because I'm under pressure.

[01:09:27] You know, that's when, when it really happens.

[01:09:30] So, and, uh, and, and the chief is, she goes, you see the, you see the table, you see

[01:09:38] the table.

[01:09:39] Yeah.

[01:09:40] I keep everything hidden.

[01:09:43] It's hidden and locked in the table.

[01:09:46] That's a great idea, man.

[01:09:48] I'm, I'm so glad you pointed that out.

[01:09:50] She has, she has no idea.

[01:09:51] Yeah.

[01:09:52] She has no idea.

[01:09:53] Can you, uh, can you hint as to what, is it something she's been wanting for a long time

[01:09:58] that you got her or what, what's going on?

[01:10:00] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[01:10:02] Nothing like that.

[01:10:02] It's, I mean, it's like perfume in a bag because again, we, uh, yeah, no, we, like I said,

[01:10:09] dude, we got no kids.

[01:10:10] We, we get whatever we want, whenever we want.

[01:10:13] Typically we don't, we don't do get like, we're like, um, you know, I like last year I,

[01:10:18] I bought a set of drums and, uh, she got a, uh, a Breville espresso maker and we just

[01:10:25] get what we want this year.

[01:10:26] We're like, yeah, it's like, it's like, nah, we're not going to do gifts, whatever.

[01:10:30] But the thing is, I know she's sneaky as hell.

[01:10:34] Right.

[01:10:35] She's probably got a little something cause she wants to one up me.

[01:10:39] So Christmas morning, she's gonna be like, oh, I got you a little something.

[01:10:42] No, no, no, no.

[01:10:43] I got you a little something.

[01:10:45] Something.

[01:10:45] Yeah.

[01:10:46] Yeah.

[01:10:46] Yeah.

[01:10:47] Yeah.

[01:10:48] Yeah.

[01:10:48] Yeah.

[01:10:49] Yeah.

[01:10:49] So.

[01:10:50] I know.

[01:10:51] Yeah.

[01:10:52] It's, uh, I'm always grateful when it's over though.

[01:10:55] I gotta say, I would admit that it, that once the, the crazed consumerism,

[01:11:00] is out of the way, then it's like, I'm, I'm good.

[01:11:02] You know, then new year's I'm, I'm, I'm tight for new year's.

[01:11:05] I love that.

[01:11:06] That's always good.

[01:11:07] Yes.

[01:11:08] Let's go.

[01:11:08] Yeah.

[01:11:09] Let's go.

[01:11:09] New, new year's Tom.

[01:11:10] I'm in bed by nine.

[01:11:12] Love it.

[01:11:12] Let's go.

[01:11:14] Yeah.

[01:11:15] Do you know that Dick Clark is, is no longer around to watch, you know, to watch the ball

[01:11:19] fall with.

[01:11:20] So, you know, man, I'm fine with that.

[01:11:22] I'm fine with that.

[01:11:23] Yeah.

[01:11:24] What are you violent?

[01:11:25] His contract?

[01:11:25] I'm telling you, come on, I'm in bed.

[01:11:30] Like I said, the dog, the dogs usually in bed with me.

[01:11:32] Cause my neighbors are shooting off fireworks.

[01:11:34] Like, oh my God.

[01:11:35] Yeah.

[01:11:36] Scares the crap out of her.

[01:11:37] So she's in bed with me and nine o'clock, nine o'clock.

[01:11:41] I'm asleep.

[01:11:42] Doesn't matter.

[01:11:42] I wait, I wake up and it's a new year.

[01:11:45] 2025.

[01:11:46] It'll, it'll, it'll arrive whether you see it or not.

[01:11:49] Right.

[01:11:49] So that I'm old Tom.

[01:11:52] Oh, dude.

[01:11:53] Yeah.

[01:11:53] Time for this crap.

[01:11:54] Yeah.

[01:11:55] Dude.

[01:11:56] Why?

[01:11:56] Why 2k?

[01:11:57] I can't believe it's 25 years later.

[01:11:59] Why 2k?

[01:12:00] Yeah.

[01:12:00] 99.

[01:12:01] I still remember.

[01:12:02] Right.

[01:12:03] Me too.

[01:12:03] So me, me and a couple of kids, right.

[01:12:06] Me, me and a couple of, I was, I was 18.

[01:12:10] I was going to be 19.

[01:12:11] We were sitting behind a seven 11 at midnight waiting for the lights to go out.

[01:12:17] Oh, we're going to rob this seven 11.

[01:12:19] If all the power went out there like, man, all the power is going to go out.

[01:12:22] Right.

[01:12:24] So we were sitting behind the seven 11 smoking weed at midnight.

[01:12:28] Oh no.

[01:12:29] Waiting for the power to go out.

[01:12:30] Cause we were going to go inside and rob the seven 11.

[01:12:33] The power never went out.

[01:12:34] So it never went out.

[01:12:36] Sorry.

[01:12:36] Like, well, I guess we'll just, I guess we just won't rob this place.

[01:12:41] We'll just keep smoking weed and happy new year.

[01:12:45] So that, that, uh, that was quite a, quite a year.

[01:12:48] I have to say, and we were out, um, till pretty late that night, but it, yeah, we didn't even

[01:12:54] think about Y2K.

[01:12:55] It was like, what, whatever, you know, if it happens, it happens, you know?

[01:12:59] Um, it was just kind of, uh, there was, uh, the local, the local, uh, city where

[01:13:06] we live in Saratoga Springs.

[01:13:07] They had, uh, what's called first night and a lot of great bands and a lot of, and they

[01:13:11] had fireworks at the end and stuff.

[01:13:13] So we were, we were out doing that and didn't really think about Y2K, but you know, what

[01:13:19] can I tell you?

[01:13:21] It's, uh, you got to take it as it comes.

[01:13:23] Uh, this year, I think again, 2025 is going to be pretty amazing for, for, uh, for everybody,

[01:13:29] especially those in the foosball, the foosball field.

[01:13:33] So there you have it.

[01:13:34] Let's go.

[01:13:35] Yeah, man.

[01:13:35] So Merry Christmas, happy new year, all the rest of that kind of stuff.

[01:13:38] And, and we'll, uh, we'll get together before the new year, I'm sure.

[01:13:42] One more time.

[01:13:44] Yes, sir.

[01:13:44] Hanukkah plan.

[01:13:45] Happy Hanukkah.

[01:13:46] We'll invite you Jewish people listening.

[01:13:48] Yeah.

[01:13:48] Yeah.

[01:13:49] Absolutely.

[01:13:49] You know?

[01:13:50] Um, but, uh, so, so we'll, maybe we'll invite, invite, uh, Don back again.

[01:13:57] I don't know.

[01:13:57] We'll see.

[01:13:58] You know?

[01:14:00] Nope.

[01:14:01] Nope.

[01:14:02] See, that's the funny thing about him.

[01:14:04] We don't have to invite him.

[01:14:05] He's just going to show up.

[01:14:06] That's true.

[01:14:06] He's going to just going to pop in.

[01:14:08] Yeah.

[01:14:08] He'll just be here.

[01:14:09] Yeah.

[01:14:10] Hey y'all.

[01:14:11] I just finished feeding my chickens.

[01:14:13] Yeah.

[01:14:14] I just want to come in and say hi.

[01:14:16] Yeah.

[01:14:16] I love you, Donald.

[01:14:18] But yeah.

[01:14:18] Living a good life.

[01:14:20] So.

[01:14:20] Yeah.

[01:14:21] That's it.

[01:14:22] That's it.

[01:14:22] So anyway, Tom.

[01:14:24] Well.

[01:14:25] If I don't talk, do you have a Merry Christmas?

[01:14:27] Everybody listening?

[01:14:27] Merry Christmas.

[01:14:28] Merry Christmas.

[01:14:29] Happy new year.

[01:14:30] And all the rest of that kind of stuff.

[01:14:31] And, and of course we're, we're, uh, we're looking forward to a great year for 2025.

[01:14:34] And if you've been a, uh, a Patreon, uh, supporter of Foos Talk Live and Foosball Radio,

[01:14:41] thank you so much.

[01:14:42] And, and especially for you, hope you have a great holiday season.

[01:14:45] We're, uh, we're so grateful for your support.

[01:14:48] So, uh, and, and for, thanks for tuning in tonight on Twitch TV.

[01:14:52] Uh, Clay, dude, you rock and, uh, have a great holiday season, but, um, everybody else

[01:14:57] who's tuned in Twitch TV tonight.

[01:14:59] Uh, yeah, sorry, Don didn't make it, but there you have it.

[01:15:03] Nope.

[01:15:05] So, uh, let's, let's talk again soon.

[01:15:09] Uh, thanks for tuning into episode number 235 of Foos Talk Live on, uh, Foosball Radio.

[01:15:15] And of course, stay tuned because now we've got Foos Talk Live's tournament beat, which

[01:15:19] by the way, just grew by, by quite a bit today.

[01:15:21] It's a much longer list, but here it comes on, uh, Foos Talk Live.

[01:15:28] Foosball tournaments are everywhere.

[01:15:31] Foos Talk Live proudly presents a weekly update of events near you with the Foos Talk Live tournament

[01:15:38] beat.

[01:15:38] Here's what's up.

[01:15:40] Wrap up your year as 716 Buffalo Foosball proudly presents the Riverworks annual foosball

[01:15:46] tournament, December 27th and 28th, Buffalo Riverworks, Buffalo, New York.

[01:15:51] Looking ahead to next year, don't miss the Central New York Winter Main Event, January

[01:15:57] 3rd and 4th at the Hometown Studios, Cortland, New York.

[01:16:02] East Coast Foosball presents a Saturday foosball tournament, January 5th at Merrimack 10-pin, Merrimack,

[01:16:09] New Hampshire.

[01:16:10] Get set for the Bayfoos New Year's Foosball Doubleheader, January 11th at California Billiards,

[01:16:17] Fremont, California.

[01:16:17] It's the second annual North American Leonhardt Championship, January 17th through the 19th,

[01:16:24] Montreal, Canada.

[01:16:26] 518 Foosball presents the Wild Winter Smashdown.

[01:16:29] January 18th at Trick Shots Billiards and Wicked Eatery, Clifton Park, New York.

[01:16:35] The 2025 Arizona State Foosball Championships, January 24th through the 26th.

[01:16:41] Salt Fire Brewing Tap House, Tempe, Arizona.

[01:16:46] Introducing the World Foosball Tour.

[01:16:48] Make your plans to compete at the $30,000 World Foosball Tour kickoff, January 30th through

[01:16:54] February 2nd, 2025 at the Clarion Hotel, Lexington, Kentucky.

[01:16:59] It's the 2025 South Dakota State Championship, February 21st through the 23rd, Royal River Casino,

[01:17:07] Flandro, South Dakota.

[01:17:09] Take your vacation with the 2025 Costa Rica Summer Beach Tournament, March 13th through the 16th

[01:17:16] at the Amapola Resort and Hotel Jaco Costa Rica.

[01:17:20] House of Tournaments presents Moneyball Northwest, March 13th through the 16th at the Crown Plaza

[01:17:27] in Portland, Oregon.

[01:17:29] The 2025 Wisconsin Foosball State Championship, March 20th through the 23rd, Mad Apple Billiards

[01:17:36] in Appleton, Wisconsin.

[01:17:38] The 2025 Hall of Fame Classic, April 9th through the 13th at Westgate Las Vegas Hotel and Casino,

[01:17:44] Las Vegas, Nevada.

[01:17:46] RK Foosball presents the 2025 Florida State Championships, May 1st through the 4th, Holiday in St. Petersburg,

[01:17:55] Clearwater, Florida.

[01:17:56] The 2025 Minnesota State Foosball Championships, May 2nd through the 5th, Wyndham Garden, Minneapolis,

[01:18:04] Minnesota.

[01:18:05] The ITSF presents the 2025 Tornado World Series and ITSF Gold Series Finals, May 23rd through

[01:18:14] May 26th at the Westin-Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Dallas, Texas.

[01:18:18] It's the 2025 Illinois State Championship, June 5th through the 8th.

[01:18:23] More details coming soon.

[01:18:25] Each week, we do our best to give you the most up-to-date listing of foosball tournaments near you.

[01:18:31] If you have an event you'd like to add, send us all the details at foosballradio at gmail.com.

[01:18:38] Tune in every week for the Foos Talk Live Tournament Beat.

[01:18:43] Foos Talk Live is a product of Foos Ball Radio.

[01:18:46] With gratitude, we recognize our Foos Ball Radio Patreons.

[01:18:51] Our Foos Talk Live sponsor, original-leonhart-usa.com.

[01:18:56] And thanks to InsideFoos.com for use of their audio during the show.

[01:19:01] Tune in again next week for another episode of Foos Talk Live.

[01:19:05] In the meantime, we'll see you at Foosin'.

[01:19:07] Foosin'.