USFL 2023 Detroit + Canton HUBS Confirmed! XFL Guardians Preview, CFL’s Victor Cui, XFL’s Luis Perez

alien, here we are, it's the I want to have the scrolling text of Star Wars and episode five of All Football Wars. The USFL strikes back if you knew the power of the dark side. The USFL Making Waves this week announcing not one but two. centers, one in Canton and one in Detroit, we have all the news covered, we have Tony Paul, the Detroit News man, he told the story of the Detroit

usfl

Hub that appears on the show giving us all the details and I don't know, look, I want say. I am not a spokesperson for the SFL.

I don't know how this is going to work. It may be a failure. It may be a great success. I have no idea, but if there's a time to come to Detroit and try to generate interest and attention, it's Every now and then, we have another great CFL guest arriving this week for the second time here on the show. Victor Quee, president and CEO of the Edmonton Elks, stopped by even better than his first appearance, it was possible to talk everything you want to know with Victor. The man behind the rebuilding of the Edmonton Elks back in Canada we're talking about CFL television rights deals in the United States.

What kind of competition is the USFL and the XFL with the CFL? Lots with Victor. I don't know if you'll ever be able to work for an organization. where you have enough money, everyone wants more money to do whatever they want and there are every legitimate business reason to ask for more money, but the fact is that's not the situation the league is in, we're not in it. a position where we can outspend any other league or competitor in terms of dollars, that's not who we are, that's a fact, so if you can't outspend your competition to win, then you have to find other ways of win. value that you bring to society to the world that makes the organization unique and strong and then heavy XFL content this week deep in training camp Louise Perez I call it the alternative football Forrest Gump coming to the show taking the time of the upcoming training camp about Luis Perez telling us about his journey and his thoughts on am I giving away? right now, you know, give me some advice, you know, and we're constantly, you know, just the back and forth dialogue helps me get better, you know, and I think we have 278 years of coaching experience on our staff, so what I mean, yeah Just imagine how much football and how many players they've trained, so all I want to do is be a sponge around these guys and then a lot of XFL Orlando Guardians talking this week Shane Matthews, courtesy of the team coming up, the quarterbacks coach who works in Arlington. getting the full rundown of the

guardians

offensive scheme heading into this season and then the

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had their two press conferences.

The XFL also has one that's not as exciting, but we're getting the full recap from WFTV's Alex Walker and then Kyle Nash. from the three point conversion is to join the program, we're talking about the poop press conference type press conference and then delve even deeper into the Guardians rosters during training camp, how many guests do we have this week six, should be a good show and I have even more scheduled for next week Hey guys, welcome to the cast Mark here Reed we are really at the peak of the alternative football wars, Star Wars and now we are at one episode, five, right, The Empire Strikes Back, the usfl Strikes.

Back to usfl, uh, big time, you know, dominating the airwaves this week, it's exciting to see and then you know, like I said, the XFL, hey, we're going to have a press conference and uh, that was interesting, yeah , it was very interesting, but to say the least, very much. Of the things that are coming to you this week, I'll get right to the point, I don't want to preface too much, I really appreciate Tony Paul coming, like I said, Tony was the one who broke the story, I think Monday, I think Tony is outing you. Get to know the whole football world here and Twitter and everything else.

I'm sure he is very overwhelming with the Detroit Hub news. We also have the Canton announcement this week, so Canton Ohio will host the New Jersey Generals and the renowned uh Pittsburgh Molers black and yellow, black and yellow and then we're going to have the Michigan Panthers and the Philadelphia Stars in Detroit at Ford Field, very exciting. You know, I think the USFL probably ultimately didn't want to go to Canton for the Hub. I think they like it. that for the playoffs and the championship game, but you know you have to look at the options and it just didn't seem like it would work anywhere in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, so now we're in Greater Pittsburgh in Canton Ohio for Game 4 of the USFL .

Hub should be exciting Tony has a lot of ideas. I like giddy people like Tony on the show because Tony doesn't know this world well, we all live in this every day and then yeah. Tony likes what you think about this and I just think you get a little bit more like oh yeah, this is good or this is not good or whatever and I'll let you listen to what Tony has to say, but you know, I think that Tony is optimistic. I think then he is optimistic. uh really excited I took it out of CFL media day we're really excited.

I already have it scheduled, so I didn't want to bother the CFL offices about it. Victor Qui comes to sit with Victor. I really appreciate his time. I know the work that all the team owners in the front office and the league executives do for the CFL even in the off-season, so I really appreciate that Victor and I recorded last week fresh out of the league meetings, so what you will get Victorious. Thoughts: I'll say the same thing I said with Randy Ambrosi, even if you're not like the most important person in the CFL, Victor you know went and built Brands across the seas and Victor is very in tune with digital rights and TV rights and all that kind of stuff, so Victor is a great person to ask about the American television deal, you know, the CFL television deal and then you also know what Victor thinks about the XFL here, uh, season one, season two from usfl, a lot of stuff there with Victor, so I hope you check it out and then a lot of XML content this week at training camp, always up in the air scheduling the time you're going to have someone.

I've got Shane Matthews in something like uh at The Lark this week and Andy over there was very kind to help set him up, but I had Brian Scott lined up, apparently the timing wasn't right so we got Luis Perez, very excited to talk to Luis, anyway, the Currently, only one official here in the AF and the Spring League. I put my Spring League jousters shirt on Louise. I'm really excited to talk to Louise here in the middle of training camp and be able to hear her thoughts and everything we have. We'll try to get Brian, you know, Brian Scott, friend of the show, rescheduled, we'll try to see him, but anyway, he's very appreciated.

You know the Vipers team and you know Luis, who you know for taking his time as a quarterback. in the over you. you know Jordan Palmer, everything related to that, you know who the Guardians quarterback is, are we rolling with DeAndre Francois, good stuff at that time, Alex Walker, uh, the sports directory on WFT V, you know, I lined up all this Orlando content, hey, are we in? We'll get the championship announcement, whatever it is, we wanted to do a deep dive for the Guardians. You know, we did the Forsaken last week and we did the Vipers and the sea dragons, so we went deeper with the Guardians.

We have Shane Alex Walker and then Kyle. It was a nice surprise to connect with Nash and meet him online. I really appreciate the energy Kyle brings, as well as talking to the Guardians a little more. We dig in there so we know the press stuff and the Danny Garcias of Orlando and then we fit into that and take you into the night, crazy show this week, a lot of stuff, so like and subscribe if you appreciate the work we're doing , we are about 60 away from the 2,500 with whom, coincidentally, Brian Scott signed with football. that he gave us, so take us to 2500 fast approaching here at the start of the XFL season and then next week, and I'm looking ahead, a crazy, crazy show, next week.

I already have two interviews recorded with Chris Jones, head coach of the Edmonton Elks, you won't want to miss that if you're a CFL fan or just a football fan, Chris, you know Coach Jones is talking a lot about influence American here with these leagues and the CFL, we also have Christian McFarland from the USFL. There are many good things to come so please like and subscribe. I'll see you at the end of the show and take good care of yourself. This is the big week of USFL news. The biggest week of USFL news we've had in a long time.

Here we have the Canton Hub. announced and we have the Detroit Hub, we have Tony Paul here, who somehow published the story. I guess it was Monday, it's been rumored for a long time that the Detroit Hub Tony came out with the Detroit news with that and then it all snowballed, Tony, how are you sir? Very well thank you. for welcoming me, first of all, how was your introduction to the world of spring football? Because I imagine that suddenly there were a lot of people there, yes, it was like that. They had an event at Fort Field today, um, I guess.

I don't know what I expected, but I was quite impressed with the level of production, the intro value and a lot of important players from the city of Detroit were there, even the governor and lieutenant governor shouted. outs, so apparently this is something that a lot of people have been interested in bringing to Detroit and, yeah, there's a lot of optimism that if the USFL is going to pull it off, it's going to be because Detroit is a success story for the league. We will know soon. There was much debate. Are they going to do Ford Field?

Are they going to college? Is it the Emu? What is Eastern Michigan? I like, uh, thoughts on Ford Field hosting the games. Yes. I think Ford Field is a big win for them. It's obviously a state-of-the-art facility. It's an NFL facility. I think that's the biggest thing that really intrigues me with this whole thing going on a little bit. There is a curveball here, but obviously there is no official partnership between the USFL and the NFL, but there is also no great resistance between the parties, there is actually some behind-the-scenes kindness between them and I think that is one of the main reasons why the Panthers ended up at Ford Field um Rod Wood, the president of the Lions, was instrumental in making that happen, which obviously Fox Sports is a big partner of the NFL and their largest shareholder in the USFL, so that It brings some synergy, so I think coming to the Ford.

Field is at least a great validation for the legitimacy of the league, uh, in year two, I think just having a year two validates the league properly. I mean, we've seen spring football the last few years and it doesn't even come to the end of the season. One, this league was crowned champion last July and is now having a second season, so it's a great validation, but I think just as great is the NFL's willingness to be, if not, an official partner, at least a friendly face. to help, I guess, and I think you're seeing that in Detroit in terms of the only concern I have and I don't know the inner workings of Ford Field, but you know, in the smaller stadium in Birmingham and they had to deal with the city that you know rent for Ford Field the size of that for what it's going to be you know the high expectations of you know how at the highest level of attendance it probably won't be overwhelmingly full of thoughts about that and how maybe they can mitigate that and the cost of renting that place, yeah, I don't know the cost yet, I'm not sure we'll get those details, we'll certainly look into what the agreement is between the city of Detroit, I think so.

I believe the Wayne County Authority technically owns the building, but the Lions operate the building. The Lions and Ford Field will set their concession prices. I know, so there is money to be made there, but I'm not sure exactly what the deal is yet. As far as ticket sales go, they're not going to draw 65,000 people, which is what seats at Ford Field. I mean the Panthers back in the day at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1983, for one playoff game they drew over 60,000 um and uh so the popularity of the Panthers is a big reason why I think Michigan was chosen as one of the centers, you know, to tap into that nostalgia a little bit, but you know, in 1983 we didn't have the entertainment options, probably that we had.

We have to compete for our dollars in

2023

, so they won't attract 60,000 people. They hope to get fifteen thousand. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a definite curiosity factor in the first two games and they deliver. tie in the 10,000 range uh still won't look very good on tvJones and the rest of the coaches, giving him the support he needs to reinvent our team, which is really what we did last year. We know we had more transactions than anyone else. another team and it was just like it's not working, let's break this up and try to put it back together, so that was that year and we went through all those changes, which is huge for the organization.

I think we only had like five or six. Returning veterans, they know our entire roster, so it's a whole new team. I would say that off the field, our organization really embraced innovation and a lot of new challenges, and that's what we needed to do, so last year was a little bit Well, let's try this and let's innovate here and work on some different things and some worked well, some didn't, so this year it's about taking the things we did really well last year, doubling down on them and continuing to grow that and that side of the business.

You know, I've talked here before. I think it's the biggest strength and weakness of the CFL sometimes is the fan base that is so loyal that they love and this is our league and all that, but then it's very difficult to come in and implement changes when it's like you've been doing this the way I did it. Over 25 years or however long, did you feel like you got a lot of pushback or how did you make it with the fans there trying to do these new things? I think I'm talking about our overall fan base across the league.

I would say it may be conservative, uh, but I, my feeling was that there was an openness to innovation, from the fan base, from our staff, from the league organizers, as if everyone, in 2022, is fine , what should we try differently?, as we explore. I'm not saying we will. I'm not saying it's going to work, but let's take a look at it and that definitely made everything we were looking at easier to implement. What you like most. bless you I'm sorry it's okay you know we're tracking and you know I'm seeing singles nights and really innovative stuff which I think is great like you said you know if you at least try and if it doesn't work favorite things you know that you tried or things that were out of the ordinary are you glad that at least you tried well um most recently we launched this guaranteed win ticket that you know people were They were saying um, you know, whispering about our record and our performance in the field and I said, look, it's a fact, it's like we want to do better, but it's a fact, so let's accept it, see what we can do and try to keep trying. bring new fans through the door and that's what we did with these guaranteed ticket releases, like buy your ticket, come to the first game of the season and then have that seat until we win a game, you know, and the media They really supported him. the fan base supported him and that's really the battle we're fighting right now.

I don't expect things to change in one season. It's a process that will take us three seasons, you know, two or two. Three seasons to get it right, but the battles we are trying to win is that every game we bring new fans into the league and we understand what these fans want, how we can entertain them because not all fans. want to entertain yourself by purchasing a season ticket, you know, a ticket suitable for 10 games throughout the season, there are different ways to attract our fan base, do you feel like it? And then we talked about this last year and you know a lot of the new voices and you and the mardoman and stuff and yeah, I know Gary Stearns trying to do things like do you feel well supported at the league level?

Hey, we're open to these things and you do what you need. I definitely think the league with our partnership with Genius Sports and the creation of this new business entity called CFL Ventures, which takes all of our combined business assets across the league, are all really big, bold steps that we've taken and not diving into a history lesson or anything like that, but implementing all those things that we did in the last year, which is a change from the way things have been working for decades, it really is a huge change, so you have to give that.

The timing of settling in didn't go perfectly, but no one expected it to, so now these changes have been implemented and it's really okay, how are we maximizing what we have to make the most money possible? But to your question, it's absolutely The league has been very supportive, you know, Randy as commissioner is very approachable, we just had a whole week of meetings, this last week and it was a great, great discussion, yes, I would have them, In fact, I don't think they allow me to. participating in a lot of that remote stuff I would have told you too, but I knew we had this whole thing set up, but I thought, hey, even a little thing like that, like, let's entertain this American podcast or organize some people. like you know, I mean, that just speaks to hey, you know they don't need to do that right, that's totally outside the realm of things that they need to do there, well, that's good, well, that's because you're a major media, that's why um.

In terms of cool sports, just to reflect on that, you know anyone you talk to hears different things and if what does that mean to you and the partnership with geniuses that the CFL is making, how do you see that? Well I think. that it is not a hypothesis to say that this world of sports is going to change significantly with sports betting um that is already what it is, it is a clear fact, so now it is a question of how we adapt to it and implement it for our best benefit. You know, and the challenge in Canada is that the games are controlled by each province, so each province knows at their own pace how they want to implement this.

Now it's clear that it's going to be rolled out to some degree across the country, so we have to know that it's like you're building a bridge from opposite ends and you're just trying to make sure they're in the right space, so you've got government regulators and then you. You have to know the sports fan and then you have what we're building and you're trying to make that mesh. The sports geniuses are some of the best people in the industry when it comes to understanding that side of the data and sports business and where the future of sports is going, so we have great partnerships, a great partnership established with them. .

Each of the teams has a game plan that you know based on the government regulations of how we can maximize. this opportunity and then the league is overlaying their national plan, so I think there's a lot of room to grow there, but this year 23 is about taking the foundation we're on and overlaying it. that this is a process that is going to happen in layers, how challenging it is with the CFL and where you have nine different ones, you know they are all of these competing and you know some private and some public and then you go Randy fixing the mixer and the board. of Governors all these things like to implement or do something, how challenging is that from an outside perspective of someone you know, a casual fan, it's a big challenge because there are three types of ownership in the league, corporate, private and then community, like us and So, everyone moves at a slightly different pace, has different tools to work with in their toolbox for the success of their organization and also different strategic priorities so you know that our mandate is to improve our community and how We grow our community. as a community on one team, so that's always our mentality: yes, of course, the business fundamentals of sustainability, profitability and all those kinds of things are important, but it's not about profits for the sake of profit. profits, let's say if we were a corporation or entity, you know.

Where's really what initiatives are we doing that are in line with our values ​​as a community-owned team? We spend a lot of resources supporting local charities and active in the community and that is a priority for us, so it is a challenge with the different types of property, but since the year I have been here, I think I have already seen this progression of trying to put on the league hat when we meet and what is best for the growth of the league. So I'm seeing a lot more of that throughout, you know, as each month goes by, you know, I felt like you came in, you know, when you came in like a big head of steam, all these ideas, everything, do you still feel the same? what us?

When we're hitting, we're going to say, how do you maintain that kind of energy level and that motivation? If you still feel that way, here you are, oh absolutely, I think it's taken us a while too to understand, do you know what we do? Realistically, I can do it within a season and understand the pace at which we can push ourselves, so it was a big learning lesson for me, but I think now we have this game plan for

2023

which was better because I have this will. It's going to be my first kind of full cycle where I've had the opportunity to develop the budget and identify our priorities and direct resources into the right space, so I'm looking forward to, as you know, Coach Jones, everything happening that way. you know, on the field, you just know from where you sit and kind of an overview, cool, cool, Coach Jones.

I mean, do you feel like he did it, how do you feel like he did it this year? I think Coach Jones and the football operations team he's assembled is exceptional, world class and really at the core of his philosophy. Beyond doing what we can to win, he really takes care of our players and that's important because I'm also an athlete-centered leader. I understand the challenges he faces. The professional athlete has to go through that and I empathize with that and ultimately what the coach sees as a player is not just the performance on the field, but that he is a good human being that is contributing to our city, to the community and the world, and he likes it.

He brings together good humans and that can be seen in his coaching staff, that's why you know that they are people who come to work for the passion of working together and being on this path to win it this Christmas vacation. I would say it was a big challenge for us with the death of Christian Salisbury. um you know I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and you know at least they caught the guy but his funeral was just this weekend and Um I won't I won't be shy about it it was really very challenging talking to his mom, you know, and an athlete who was so promising and who was really a big part of our locker. room culture um so it made this Christmas break pretty bleak uh no and you just know it's been a few weeks I mean uh horrible and that's someone that everyone in the football community I mean I lo we tracked through you know, fan. control football like I remember when his mom was criticizing me like my son was doing CFL tryouts and things were fine trying because she's always trying to make him like it uh you know uh you know pimp it's like we're always trying to promote like my mother would.

Same for me, hey she, you should look at my son, but how committed was she to that. I can't imagine how difficult that situation must be for everyone up there, yes, yes, well, and I think we have worked. It's hard to provide proper support for your teammates, um, and we'll do a proper memorial celebration or something in the season, we haven't figured out exactly what we want to do yet, um, but we'll do something there, well, yeah, I said, uh , horrible, and you know, the transition, you know, outside of that, but I'm glad at least that I got at least a little bit of closure at this point, I mean, like you said that never. it really goes away, but at least being able to have that for the team and the organization up there, that's right, that's right, in terms of Coach Jones, do you think he has unfair expectations?

Yes, I see many things like what we needed. better right now I mean, do you think he comes in and it's just because of the success he's had before? How do you see that and the burden that the fans put on him? um, I think the load. It's fair, that's the fact of our business that we're in, if you want to be the head coach, if you want to be the president and CEO, this is the burden of responsibility and it's to carry this kind of torch of hope for the fans, right? I think that's part and parcel of the role that you get, you understand that and you want to win, but you also know that this is a process that is going to take time and that's what we're working towards, but you also realize that we're a performance-driven organization and we have You have to deliver results across the board and that's important, so I think you have some freedom in your first year as a coach and in your first year as president, where you're like. okay, let's change what we can, let's figure things out, some things are going to be wrong and some things are going to be right and you know, there were also things that as a coach he inherited, our quarterbacks as an example and it's not like when he invests both incertain players that you can't just get rid of on day one.

You have to show some respect to the decision makers before that and be okay, let me try to understand what you're trying to do here. because we were, there are some costs that we have already invested, can we do something with that? So those first four weeks, four or five weeks, are a little bit of that too, and I'm really excited about our ability to hit the ground running for the season. There was a quote that he had, I have it here in um, well, in 1260, that Coach Jones had talked about the salary cap to coach properly and be able to bring in or us.

We have money tied up and there seems to be a lot of talk right now in the CFL as a whole that we need to be able to have more money to spend to bring in quality coaches or retain coaches, what do you think about that? I don't know if you'll ever be able to work for an organization where you have enough money, everyone wants more money to do what they want, and there are legitimate business reasons to ask for more money, but the fact is that's not the situation you're in. the league, we are not in a position where we can outspend any other league or competitor in terms of dollars, that's just not who we are, that's a fact, so if you can't outspend your competition to win then you have to findOther ways to earn What is the value you contribute to the world's society?

That makes your organization unique and strong. Those are some of the things we have to figure out as a league, but it's also what we work very hard on as a team, I think the players want to play with Coach Jones, one because they're going to learn, two, they know they're going to be under a great leader and thirdly, they will be in an organized nation that takes care of its players and takes care of them, so I think those are also other factors that influence the journey of an athlete and the talent that we acquire both on and off the field.

I asked this to all the people last week during the CFL media days, how do you see the level of coaching right now in the CFL I think we have a lot of talent there is um uh maybe a little bit by design, you know a lot of people who move internally because they have experience in the uniqueness of our game uh and our and and what, and you know, the style of play that we have here, I think this topic of recruiting and talent was a very important topic this last week, With all of us we recognize that we have some problems, don't you know that we need to improve. and this is actually not something unique to our league, every industry and every company is facing this type of hiring crisis as people have come out of the pandemic re-evaluating their priorities: working from the home office, everything this work-life balance, this kind of All things are putting different kinds of pressures on organizations in recruiting and our business is no different in terms of competition and obviously we cover all the different leagues with the which I also had here, you know, Coach Jones, we talked morally with Scott about, you know, we. that the or whatever, how do you view it and I know like the CFL in general, you respond like well we've been around for about 100 years and they've got it and I get it, but how do you view the new leagues that can now pay the personnel to stay in the United States to be able to afford uh Talent that you know in the field to stay in the United States I think it's a big challenge, it's definitely a big challenge and I don't see that answer in the same way or that as in oh we, we're the old man on the block, we're grandfathered, we've got history, everyone likes it, okay, oh right, that's part of how I like to build our plan.

I assume that my competitors will be faster, more agile, more resourceful, more intelligent and I assume that those two leagues are going to win, that they are going to be successful in what they are doing because they have people who are much smarter than me working in their businesses, That's what I assume. I don't count on your failure. the probability is that it could be that some people say oh there are two leagues, both are not going to survive, one of them is going to go down, okay, that could be the case, but that's not where I build my plans, I assume it in everything I do.

Is everyone smarter than me and has more access to information and resources than me? That means I have to stay up longer. It means I have to work harder. It means I have to innovate faster in ways other people don't. Thinking that's the Mind space that we try to take our organization into and I think that's how long-term success is built. Do you realize that you are alone? Do more people think like you or more people in Seattle think? like, oh we don't have to worry about that, uh, no, I wouldn't say that people in the league say no, we don't have to worry about that, I don't think there's a barrier in the arena mentality, um, definitely everyone recognizes the challenge and then, but I think where we are is in the perception that everyone has of the threat, the level of the threat is different and the level of action that we want to take is different, that is a challenge to make everything come together aligned, but you know, like I said this last week, we were really frank about some of the weaknesses that we have and the challenges that we face as a league in how we want to approach this and that's the first part of You know, recognizing, okay, we have a recruiting problem, okay, how do we address the challenge of coach and player talent, etc., etc., and put all of our solutions on the table to see what works?

I have it right here, I'll get you out. from here, we are here, I promise, yes, I appreciate your time, the big issue for us and our audience is obviously based in the United States and you know we have Canadian listeners in the United States, but you know our television agreement with the CFL and we tried. to expand that way and you know if it's on ESPN Plus or wait what the hell how important or how do you see trying to get more exposure for the CFL in America on whatever platform is here with this rumored deal that you know he's talking about Ambrose.

About yes, I want to say that the agreement has been in the works and the league has been working hard on it. I would say I'm lucky, I'm lucky because you know I've done deals with media around the world, uh, dozens of times. There are millions of dollars in deal structures that you know and you have and everything from monopolies to competitive industries, um, competitive industries, uh, in different countries and, um, I think the challenge that we have as a league in the United States is that it's a such a sophisticated business market. a fan base where, every month, every week, new properties are coming out that are actually very strong and valuable, whether it's Ultimate Frisbee years ago or today, pickleball, you know, new things that are coming onto the scene.

You have to figure out how they fit into the competitive environment. I think the deal so we can expand the reach of the league to bring in new fans and bring in new eyes is really important to finding the right partner that wants to invest. For us to expand that reach is also very critical, so if we get wins on those two things in reach and more fans, that's a big winner ready for the league. The last thing you guys are looking forward to this year, I'm talking about the biggest goal. or more importantly, uh, you're excited about a home game win.

I want to start there, yes, just one step at a time. I want to open the season with a win and then focus on the next one, right after them, uh, well, really. I appreciate your time today and you know the Elks office organized this and everything else, it means a lot and you took all the time. I really appreciate it and I know our listeners do too, so thank you, it's always my pleasure and it's good to see you sporting that CFL cap. Thank you. I have one. I have an Edmonton flag hidden in here too.

They were. You know that we. I hesitated now with the BC Lions, but yes, no, Dave Campbell. I said it was Dave. Campbell was the first CFL media person to say he was going to his program, so I'll always have a special place in my heart for Dave at Edmonton Oaks, so that's good, yeah, well, BC . I mean Nathan Works sure moved far away. How is it possible, you know, but I'm happy for him, it's a great new step in his chapter. Do you think I asked him the same question I asked Ambrosia last week? I'm talking about the CFL's biggest star now signing. with the NFL team it has been a good thing for the league, it is a double-edged sword.

You know, we understand that many of our players that is what they want to do and you know that our contracts give a small window for a solution. opportunity for our players to do that, so we recognize that I think, on the one hand, it wasn't unexpected for everyone, so it's not like it took anyone by surprise. I think what it brings to light is that we have a lot of talent in Canada that can compete with the best in the world and that makes me excited about our level of play. Of course, we want to retain talent as long as possible.

That makes sense, but. The other side of the coin, how can you not be excited for someone who is young and taking advantage of a completely new opportunity and the opportunity to provide for their family and fulfill their dream and not have been a part of that journey? It's kind of exciting, yeah, it's just hard, I mean, we all read the statement yesterday, we always say, you know, I appreciate my time in the CFL, it was a detour, I always wanted to play in the NFL, it's like you're hard. As someone who likes to watch the game, I think I love Nathan and everything, and he's been on the show and everything, but it's hard to say that's okay, I mean, that's the truth, so it's not like we have to go through another.

Rabbit Hole here, but it's not an interesting conversation at least yeah, sure, sure, uh, basically, I promise I'll get you out here. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. No problem. Thank you so much. It's okay, take care. great week ahead well I just went and put on my spring league jasters jersey here we have the Spring League Legend now XFL Vegas Viper squareback Luis Perez how are you doing sir are you doing well, how are you doing? I have, I was thinking about this. You really are like the Forest Gump of spring football, has anyone ever called you?

No, no, no, Forrest Gump, that's the first one for sure, but you know it's remarkable here, the career you've had, the places you've gone, the steps along the I mean, when you sit here Now, you know, January 2023, how does it feel? Where are you? Yeah, you know, I'm very lucky, man, that's, I'm blessed and lucky, you know, all these leagues just happened. Coming up since I left college, you know? If I had come out five years earlier, you know who knows what I would be doing, but I am grateful for every opportunity that every coach has given me in all of these. leagues and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of it again uh we're sitting here now Las Vegas Vipers in the middle of training camp how's the week going?

How is everything? We're in Arlington, what's it like? uh, it's going well, you know, this whole spring. The leagues are pretty similar, you know you have to catch guys quickly, right? I think the best offense is going to be the one that gets everyone on the same page as quickly as possible, and that's what you know, I'm trying to do. do every day you don't meet with guys trying to get them on the same page, you know, telling them, you know, certain looks on defense is what I want to do and you know, etc., but yeah, no, I think the most important thing?

Are you on the same page? Now that everyone is there in Arlington. What is the situation like at the Hub? The guys are supposed to do it right now, yeah, it's a good setup, you know, really nice hotel, all the players are here, our meeting point is literally a minute away, we take a bus every time We meet and no, it's good, it's great. I mean, it's all you can ask for, you have a place to stay and if you're here for the football, then I'm not really talking about all the glamor and stuff. I'm here so you know, give me a bed and give me my playbook that's all I need are you used to it now? that I just couldn't imagine the emotional and physical stress and everything I had to do to keep doing this, you know, year after year, week after, what it's like and how you psych yourself up.

I mean, I love the game. I love it. this is what I feel like I was born to do um and again too, you know I'm so close to the end goal, the end goal is obviously to build an active roster, make a living in the NFL and win Super Bowls. ultimately that's the goal but you know when you're that close you can't stop you can't stop and I'm so close you know I was back in the NFL this year with the Rams and you know I didn't. Have a fair chance, you know,so I'm just waiting for an opportunity, you know, and again, obviously, it keeps coming.

You know how I can't be a part of this? Compare, you know, we're actually about 3.0. Now, compared to your time in Mexico 2.0, what is it, in terms of ownership, management, League executives and everything else? Yeah, I would say it's pretty similar, you know, it's pretty much the same setup that we had at the hotel. all of our meeting spaces, you know, we get the meals and everything I would say is pretty similar. The structure here. I really like how Coach Woodson coaches. You know, the whole structure. Our practice schedule. Our meeting schedule. Everything is just professional.

Is very. professional and, you know, again, everything else is secondary. I'm here to play ball, like I said, all I need is a bed and my playbook and I'll be ready, uh, yeah, what's the coach like? What is Coach Woodson like? I mean, he's one of the guys you know the most about Ambassador, it might be that cover, I got the sea dragons. Jim Haslett is a little bit less, you know, he abstained from, uh, what do you like about him and how does he help you get around? guys, yeah, no, he's amazing, I mean, throw in the pitcher, Super Bowl champion, I mean, I want to pick his brain as a quarterback, you know, he was the defensive back that he was.

I ask them questions all the time trying to be a sponge with them. Do you know what you're thinking here? What tendencies do I have? You know, I'm giving away right now? Know? give me some advice. Know? and we are constantly. Know? Simply the back and forth dialogue helps me improve. You know, I think I have 278 years of coaching experience on our staff, so I can only imagine how much football and how many players they've coached, so all I want to do is be a sponger with these guys. What do you like about doing Taylor? and the offense they are working on.

I love the office. I really like the system a lot. I really like the scheme. It has a little bit of everything. I don't think we're one-dimensional at all. I can not say it. too much, but the only thing I'm going to say is it's going to be fun and I really like the offense, uh, in terms of you know, we got the quarterback video last week, you know the QB Jordan Palmer action and everything type of job. around you guys off the field, uh, how was that there? Have you been enjoying that experience? Yes, in fact, I had two Encounters with Jordan.

I came on the scene a little late. Later than usual, but yeah, no, Jordan has been amazing. you know I've been talking to him and Mike White you know we've been talking you know just talking about fundamentals talking about coverage talking about how to study you know again those guys that have been around I just want to hear be all ears and just try to get all the information I can from those guys and they have both been a great help. There's been things that can happen between you and talking to other quarterbacks that Jordan has been helpful with in terms of whether it's you know how to read different things or you know how to process things.

I think the most important thing right now is that Jordan's preaching is like being able to use our body efficiently, without wasted movements, being able to use the ground with great force, you know, being able to rotate. you know, rotational athletes and I think that's one of the biggest things that I think maybe I was missing before, you know, I never really thought about that, you know, projecting yourself off the ground, you know, sprinters, the sprinters who are faster, the ones who can put their foot up and down and push off the ground how hard they can push.

It's something similar. Obviously not to that point, but it's pretty similar to playing quarterback when you know you're moving in the pocket and you can't waste too much. The movements when you come out of the pocket you have to create force on the ground to come out, you know, and all these different things, like I said, although they have been great, do you feel over your years and all the different coaches? you've been able to work with you you've been able to bring that into Osmos and take some of that as you go along the way certainly, without a doubt, yes, no, I've been very lucky to have great training, over and over again.

They're like tools, you know, sometimes you use others, sometimes you don't, but you like hearing all the information they give you and, again, I've been very fortunate to have great coaches in my career and I'm excited. having another one in Dwayne Taylor and coach Woodson uh now obviously right now it's the best experience you've ever had but if plus XFL by three points are like highs along the way you know what some of your I know some moments have been. key that you have enjoyed in recent years. You know, many years. It is difficult to identify the ball that plays correctly.

I just enjoy playing football. You know, and every team is so unique. I have been part of each one. You know each individual locker. The room is different, but I have enjoyed each one of them. I can't pinpoint one, but I'm very excited about the group we have now and excited about what's to come. You know, we're getting to that point. We're not there yet. but we're getting there and I think it's 23 days away so hopefully we'll get there by then. What's it like for people who aren't used to this? The Spring League, you know, a quick rise right where.

You know, we have four or five weeks here, we have everything, we have everything ready to go. How hard is it to go in and do that? Obviously, you've been through that system, you know it before and you've experienced it, but how challenging is that. coming together as a team, yeah, it's definitely a challenge, it's different, you know, it's like you said, I'm used to it, I've done it for the last six years, but the most important thing about my job is catching other guys. Well, it's how fast can they learn if I learn the whole system, but everyone around me doesn't, that's no use to me, so I have to go out and meet with these guys and you know, try to ingrain certain things and Again along the way I've figured out ways to do it to speed up the process and again I think our guys are on the right path.

Do you consider yourself someone who can impart that knowledge to people who just have it? I've been through this with so many different tweaks and iterations, you know, yeah, I mean, I have the right experience. I wouldn't say knowledge, you know, I just have the experience and I know what to do right now. Well, you know, I've had my ups and downs in every spring league and I'm starting to see a pattern, the more you experiment, you start to see patterns and you start to figure out what works and what doesn't. How do you feel like you could personally grow from it and learn from this experience this time?

Where do you think you need the most growth? Ah, I think you know what's most important. I want to go out and show people that. that I'm a complete quarterback, that I can do it all, that I'm not just a pocket guy that can just throw the ball accurately, right, I want to show them that I can make plays off the shelf. I can run for a couple first downs in a game, you know, I might be able to run the ball on a quarterback run here and there. I wanted to show everyone that I'm a complete quarterback and I think in this game I hope I can do that.

You will be able to show it when you found out that you would come back for this. You know this version, you know? I would say it's bigger, more bombastic even than 2.0, and you know, between the red bird and, obviously, Danny and DJ, everyone else without likes. uh, excitement, what was that? You know you were going to be a part of this version of this. Yeah, no, it's exciting, it's really exciting. You know, I had the decision to let you know if I was going to come back to usflor here and um. Ultimately, my heart was here in the quarterback you know it's a little difficult to come in right before training camp and then learn a system and be able to compete, you know here you have some time to go through the OTAs after the season and read and learn a playbook so that You can actually compete, especially as a quarterback, you have to know what you're doing before you compete, uh, in terms of you know, some of the players that we were curious to see jumped, you know, we had you and Kyle slow. over there. it was a group of you, you know the non-quarterback position, uh, thought process for coming to the XFL, it was just the timeline, it was ownership, it was management, what was it, it was a little everything they know, the timeline, Coach Woodson was able to know.

I see from defensive head coach Dtroc's perspective, you know we've talked and you know his system was really great. I really like his system, but like I said, it was just a little bit of everything that tied together in terms of I saw the one article you had talking about the moment you came in, do you feel like getting out of the USFL as late as you did it? That kept you from being able to hang on there, especially with the Rams this time, um, personally, A little bit, I wouldn't say too much because I already ran that system because I was with the Rams in 2018.

So it's a pretty much similar offense, just a little bit more innovative and you know they added some things so I kind of knew the system but again I was lucky enough to be with the Rams. If I had gone to another team, I'm sure it would have hindered me a little more, but do you prefer the February schedule, the April schedule, or the April schedule? June just in terms because we had coach heimbach last week with the Renegades trying to compare and contrast both leagues, you know, setting up the opportunities for players after the season, yeah, I would say yeah, the timeline here is better What are you waiting for here?

We have a couple more weeks. I'll let you go here in a minute. I swear, I will prepare you to begin, what are you most looking forward to? uh it's coming in the future yeah getting gas on the same page we're on the same page learn the offense trust the system the DT system is awesome so guys just buy in and you know executing at a high level, knowing your assignments and just executing and again my job as a quarterback is not only to perform but to prepare those guys, who are some of the guys you've enjoyed working with the most so far, man, we've got a lot of guys, we've got many. guys, uh, Martavius ​​Matt Sexton, you know Jeff, but dad, you know CQ.

I can go on and on. Rod at running back, our tight end group is incredible. Rod Smith J. I love you. You know I can continue with the Tour de under tour. I mean, I can go on. I can name everyone right, but no, I'm just excited about all these guys because all these guys are hungry, they're hungry for the opportunity to go out and just compete and show the world what they can do and this. That's what it's all about, yeah, being able to see these guys, you've got stretchy guys and you know the AF guys and you know we get to see all these people together now, what's that like on these relatives? faces, yeah, you know, and all these ladies that I played with, you know, against a lot of these guys, I played against a lot of all these defensive coordinators, you know, some defensive coordinators were my head coaches before and it's just a cycle constant of guys, so again.

I've played with a lot of guys before so we already have something there, but yeah, no, it's just fun, it's fun to go out and meet new people and again our goal is to win a championship and my job as a quarterback is to do that. Everyone together and participate so we can do it. The Spring League jousters uniform is widely regarded as one of the best in alternative football. Do you like wearing the purple and white uniform? What do you think of the jousters? Brandon. I liked. I was proud and I wore the purple and shoot, you know, we came up short in the championship game but we didn't go our way, but no, I really enjoyed it, I really enjoyed uh wearing the purple, what was the Mega Bowl?

Mega Ball like against Lyman uh it was good it was good um I mean I'm sure I don't know if you saw the game or something but it's different it was a different setup you know how the league was run. It was too developed I only played the first half of each game. You know, it was just a little different. Different configuration. Do you think you would be Mega Ball if you had played the entire game? in all of that, but I mean, I remember it was like a thing at the time, I remember it was like the hot takes, it was like man, this was the world we were in back then, but it was like rebuilding the mega bull, play by play.

Well, you know, I think if Perez had played the whole game, he probably would have won. I'm not going to get into that, but it was fun, it was fun playing Spring League. Well, you know, I'm excited for you, are you excited? For this reason, it will take a long time to get, you know, to see you, yes, with this for a long time, good luck here, good luck, and I hope to see you on the field and it should be exciting times, I appreciate that. no, thanks for inviting me amazing thanks man, I really appreciate it.

I'm excited today, happy nowI always say that I can get on at the moment. Notice here we have Shane Matthews, quarterbacks coach for the Orlando Guardians, how are you sir? You're doing well, how are you? We're ok. I apreciate it. We're in the middle of training camp. Here you are at your hotel. It feels like you're in the Georgia swamp. One week. I guess three guys from here too. They're in pads and everything, how's everything going for you guys in Arlington? Good days, bad days. I mean, it's a work in progress trying to narrow down your list.

I have to eliminate a lot of people here next week. sort of, but you know, it's an acclimatization period, trying to learn about the players on your team and what they can and can't do, and from there, hey, how strange or accustomed to this concept, I mean , it's such a quick timeline coming. I have to imagine it's kind of a ramp-up process for the players and the staff and everyone, right, yeah, there's no doubt it's similar. I mentioned that it's a unique situation and I'm sure that's what everything is going through, I mean you. You've seen draft players film them, but you don't really know if they fit into your system until you have them in the meeting rooms and on the practice field, so it's not like the NFL where you have a system in place.

When you're in the draft or college football, you run a certain type of system and you look to recruit those types of players. You know you have to figure out what you have and then figure out what you have to do. you can run on offense or defense with the here a couple of weeks ago yeah you know the quarterback position is a little different it was kind of the team designated people so there wasn't much evaluation on that but you know it was a draft on all the other groups of positions and, uh, there are some good players, um and So you know you used to see it in NFL camps, there are a lot of good players that get cut, so as a coaching staff and organization you have to figure out who is going to be part of your list of 50 men.

There are a lot of people and you have to work out how many you are going to keep in this position group, how many in that one, and once you start crunching the numbers, it's quite difficult. This week we saw Mitch Kidd get released among a couple of others on the Guardians roster, uh, you guys are rolling with two quarterbacks now is that the plan or what happened with that, I mean, that's, ya you know, Mitch is a good player, very smart, uh, I think he'll be a Coach one day I really liked him, smart, intelligent kid um yeah, right now we have two um there's always the possibility of hiring someone else you never know why that's what the Personnel people do in the main office, that's their job.

Look, you know where the Canadian kids are, the NFL guys that have been on practice squads that weren't re-signed. I mean, it's a trend transition period on a daily basis, so I, as a quarterbacks coach, will coach who I have. as hard as I can and see what we can do in terms of knowing DeAndre Francois, we follow a lot and our audience knows him through fan-controlled football and all that in terms of the group of quarterbacks that you guys have now, I would say That people are perhaps the most curious about what's going on there, how do you feel about the level of talent you have between the two players right now?

Well, like you said, we have Quentin dormity and DeAndre Francois. um, you know, I think they probably have the least amount of experience of any of the players in the league, so, and we don't have a starter right now, it's a battle, we're trying to put competition at every position and we'll see how. everything works. As it plays out, we still have a couple more weeks before it starts and we'll see who performs better for those who may not be familiar with the two quarterbacks, what do you see and you said there won't be a lot of experience in what?

Do you like it? That impresses you about both. Well, DeAndre, you know he played at Florida State and Howard. I think he played in the Fan Control League, which I'm not familiar with at all. You know he's got a good arm, it's a little bit. he's pretty athletic, he's got some tools there, Quentin's a big kid, he's got a good arm, you know, he played at Tennessee, he also played at Central Michigan, so I think he was with the Titans in training camp or on the team of practice, so you know, there's not a lot of pro experience, you know some of the other teams have guys that you know on practice squads or in training camps of NFL teams that played in the usfl OR played in the old XFL um so it's like I said it's a work in progress we'll do everything we can to put a good product on the field.

Do you like him better as a quarterbacks coach? Have a little more Rod Talent that you can work with or let this guy have been through six different ones. you know you gotta break it, I think Coach backed up the battle Hawks was talking about, right, maybe we have some bad habits we gotta break, do you like having more Raw? Well, I wouldn't say they're wrong, yeah. They, they, they, you know, at this age, I mean, from a fundamental standpoint, hopefully you have your fundamentals down. I mean, it's hard to change, you know, we don't have a lot of time to work on fundamentals and change, you know, footwork and throwing mechanics and you just don't have time, those things take months to become something else, so that we just have to see how guys process information when bullets fly and, that's the bottom line, you know you can look pretty in shorts. uh, shooting seven on seven, but that's not football.

You have to be able to make quick decisions. Throw the ball with precision. Get ahead of yourself to be a productive quarterback. We watched and obviously we've been following Jordan Palmer and all this and we watched the great video. last week on the qbx uh thoughts on bringing Jordan into this and developing him as kind of a QB development guy well I think Jordan met him, I played with his brother Carson in Cincinnati, I think he does a job tremendous. in what he does, but the problem is that you know Jordan works with them for a day or two and you can't change and learn that kind of stuff in a day, it takes months, so that's like a program that I create. from a quarterback's point of view, when the season is over, if they're going to work with a coach or that type of thing for six months, then you'll benefit, but it's good to have him involved and we'll see if it pays dividends, whatever you can .

I would say right now there is substantial growth or whatever you've seen, that people can apply now. I'll be honest, I don't know what Jordan did in these camps, you know, like I told you, there are three things that What we look for in a quarterback is decision making and information processing, the second is precision and anticipation and the third is It's physical and mental toughness, that's what we're looking for and that's what we're hoping to get from our quarterbacks now that we've gotten to sort of joint practices and we're doing a lot more things on the field.

How do you feel about the offense? You know, the quality of the Guardians. I mean, we've only had one check-in practice against another team we have. some more to come, but I thought we did some good things, um, obviously, you know, hey, he's not in the barn, we've got a lot of work to do, I thought we ran the ball really well, so you know, we'll see, we've got Once again, it is difficult to evaluate because you still don't know who will be on your soccer squad. We're trying to update it on a daily basis and improve the players we have here in terms of play calling and offense so distribution between you and Robert for this, do you have the opinion that he's handling that?

How does this work? Coach Ford. He's been coaching football for longer than most of us have been alive. He's great to be around. I think our players love being around him. I will communicate with our quarterbacks during the game. But yes, I have many ideas. I love the intriguing part of football. So yes. I mean, he's heard some of our ideas, some have been included, some haven't, but he's the guy in charge and you guys know that's why he's the OC in terms of this being a unique situation, right? and you're in Arlington and the Hub and it's spring football and it's five weeks.

You have general thoughts like how you feel. I mean, it has to be uniquely different from anything else you've done. Yes, it is very unique. You know you have to move on. a bus and drive 45 minutes to practice every day uh that's just one way we practice, I think farther than any other team for some reason, um, but the facilities have been great at these high schools in Texas, uh, It has been first class, the food has been excellent. The hotels we've stayed at have been fantastic, it's been a lot of fun and you know, we're getting to that point now, like when I played in the NFL, once you're in training camp for about a week, it's time to move Let's get started and start playing, uh, but we still have almost a month until we play, but we can't wait to get started and I'll let you guys go here soon.

I appreciate your time in terms of leadership, everyone. There I was talking to Jonathan Heimbach last week and he said, "You know, Rush Brandon is walking around talking to people like how do you feel about the leadership and management of the league right now? Oh, I think it's great, ya You know, with Danny Garcia and Dwayne Johnson." and the Rift Capital group. I think they've created this, it's not easy to put together a lead and we know what's happened with spring leaves in the past, but you know the leadership group has been exceptional. I was with the Buffalo Bills when Russ was managing the bills, so he's been top notch and I can't wait until we start the season playing games.

I think the fans will be excited. Last question, what do you want? What should fans do? of the Orlando Guardians, which is kind of Danny's team. I don't know if you know that well. That's kind of her team. Do we get special treatment since we are your team? Well, you know, I know, I mean, but you know here and maybe. We may have other announcements this week that we might know that we'll talk about on the show when it airs, but what do Guardians fans do? What are they going to see from you when you enter the field?

Well, you know our head coach. Terrell Buckley, Florida State Hall of Famer, my old high school teammate, safety from Mississippi, you know we're going to play smart, fast, fearless football, and we want to try to be very open offensively. , now we have to find out. who we will be in the coming weeks, but we want to score many points. I think this league with the rules, how they're set up, it's something that favors the offense, so you know we're going to play some football, have fun. We are not going to be boring to watch. I can promise you that in terms of the rules, whatever excites you the most, the double forward pass, anything else, yeah, I mean, it's hard to get used to.

I'll be honest. with you you know it's the punting rules they're a little strange where if you kick a ball out of bounds within 35 it comes back to 35 you can't pin them down you know there's no more coffin corners uh so you have point one point three and wait what is it, although I don't know one two three one two and three yeah from the three or two yard line the five yard line and the ten yard line so you know I know, it's going to be different for people, uh, but it should be a lot of fun, uh, well, we're very excited.

I appreciate you coming here and making the time and, like I said, there's no busy week for Guardians and everything else. I really appreciate it, thank you so much man, I appreciate it, take good care of yourself, I appreciate this here that we have, we really didn't know what to expect, we'll realize today we have Alex Walker here, WFTV in Orlando, or have you ever. meeting at work and then you feel like it could have been an email it feels like that, uh, welcome to the show, how are you doing first? I'm great, uh, everything is fine in Sunny Orlando, ready to start this here.

In about a couple of weeks, it's an exciting time and we'll see what happens with XFL 3.0, yeah, so we were talking a little bit off camera. You know, we had this press conference. I felt like something was coming. The USFL is also having press conferences this week announcing their

hubs

that we've been following and it seemed like we were getting championship game announcements and playoff announcements about what you did because obviously you used to work at the News 2 million years ago like you know that you receive the press. briefing hey, let's go out, we're doing this, what were you guys thinking about going out?

Yeah,We knew it was something we needed to be there for. I mean this is one of those things where we've been tracking the , we just assumed it was a greeting, welcome to the mayor of the city who would be there. and Danny Garcia is coming, show her face, she's an Orlando resident, so she's close, so I think it's more important for you guys to know that this is who we are, this is who we're going to be, we want you to come and we. I thought maybe there was going to be something like oh, also while we're here we'd like to announce in white if it's going to be the playoffs or if it's going to be something related to the games to drum up excitement for ticket sales, but no, it was like that.

It was pretty much just an introduction to the city, the mayor was there, there was about 15 or 20 minutes at 10am. yesterday morning or Monday morning and it was one of those things where yeah, it's like it could have been an email. but I understand from their point of view that at any moment they can rally some city leaders with Danny Garcia, who everyone here knows and everyone they know across the country knows if they are connected to the XFL and I believe that. It was just one of those hey, a month away, okay, come out and support this new team, welcome to town, here's a ball game, senior coach, that was it and I wanted to go out like I was just you.

Orlando's reception to the league here, but like it's Danny Garcia seeing around town it's like oh dancing in the grocery store I mean, it's like she's like it's that on a level like I don't know what level celebrity Danny Garcia is on. at local Orlando uh she shows her face, I mean, I haven't been here long enough to know if she's like you see her at Publix, you're like Danny, how are you? Yeah, I don't know about that yet, but people like her and obviously, when she showed up yesterday before. Alright, it's nice, you know, when she was in that press release, people were very excited and she said, you know, being from Orlando and being a resident here.

I don't remember how long she said she's lived here, but her daughter is here and she said. You know this was an obvious site like we've been planning and building, we're bringing a team to Orlando, we're trying to figure out the rest in a moment, but this was for sure, one of their main goals was to bring at least one of the teams here to Orlando again, what do you think about Orlando XFL 3.0 being in Orlando? Well, first of all, you know I'm a big believer and if something ain't broke, it ain't, you don't have to fix it right. when the they are full. their stadium and they had a lot of fans because of the rage, uh, if you remember, it was something that people when you don't have an NFL team in your city and people love football, I mean, you have Florida, you have Florida State, it was a big UCF fan here, you have a lot of Buccaneers fans, a lot of Jags fans, a lot of Dolphins fans, we're in this weird epicenter of Central Florida football, but we don't have that pro franchise, so what when you have an XFL.

The team starts a week after the Super Bowl, there will be fans because people have that thirst for football and longing for football and this is a city in Camping World stadium where they host some pretty big football games, they had the cheese. Bowl, they had the Citrus Bowl at their house. LSU Florida State is starting the year in September so people are used to seeing high quality football so I think there will be a thirst and a lot of fans once this happens. uh this season starts here in a few weeks. Yeah, you were saying you've had, you know, Coach Buckley at the station and then he interviews everyone, do you feel like there's a good appetite here?

Have you been feeling well? We get the reaction from the segments that you guys are doing and that's interesting because we can track, you know, we'll track views on articles and stuff that we publish, whether it's the Magic football team or Orlando City and all that and our XFL articles. they've been jumping off our lists and especially the press conference, although nothing was actually announced, people were just interested, just to see what was going on and, you know, I was talking to their ticket managers and them. I've been very, very happy so far with the people who have been buying season tickets and getting tickets to the first game on February 26.

I think I think against San Antonio and I think there's a thirst for it uh when it's pretty easy. Sometimes, to say it on the local news, if you're doing something and people don't care, you can feel it and find out, but with the XFL we're getting a great reception. Hey, we like the coverage, it keeps coming and obviously they. Are they excited to be on camera, showing their faces and talking about their teams? So I think when the first game is here on Sunday at four o'clock in Orlando against San Antonio, I think it's going to be a fantastic meeting.

Obviously, you know if the team is horrible, I think that's going to affect sales, but if they're competitive, which I think they will be under Tyrell Buckley, then I think people are going to go out and watch the games, uh, yeah. Spoiler alert Orlando is, I think it's in the bottom eight here out of eight in terms of yeah, I'm not always the For me, Orlando might not be too good, so I just want to solve your problem. You said you talked to the people who sell tickets, you know we go to Ticketmaster and we're looking for tickets and you know Camping World, they.

We're only selling the bottom section type if you're looking at, you know, aerial view down, like it's the WWE House show, like we want to pack one side. How was your conversation with the ticket people and what? Have you done anything about ticket sales? Yeah, and that's the thing: when we were watching an old video before and when they were when the rage was here and those are the targets they want there. to fill that lower bowl and at least have that atmosphere surrounding the field level, you're not going to sell 60,000 tickets to an XFL, you just don't know, maybe if they host a championship game there and have an incredible run. of you know, 10 weeks or whatever, maybe start popping, you know, popping a couple of people in there, but I think you just want to make sure that it's not just a complete like, oh, like no one came, eh, etc.

They've been, they've been, they've been excited about selling tickets and they've been out in the community doing town halls at places like Topgolf and they already know places around town to shake things up. interest, but I think the funny thing is that no. I'm seeing a lot more Orlando Rage gear in town than Guardians gear because people who were old fans have been very adamant with me at least as if we were just going to be. a new fan and we're going to get our team and then we're just going to pick it up like we never left town, so I think they're really catering to that old fan base as well and at the same time people who are new to this area, you know, people are moving to Orlando at an aggressive pace.

I think they're also catering to a younger fan base, UCF college students trying to get them to say hey, come on a Saturday Sunday 20 minutes away. the road and the tailgate and have a good time and come to our games and so they've been, they've been very good at getting out into the community and trying to spark interest. One of the ones I saw that there is a kind of media scrum. then I have a quote here, it's from my sports floor that I think was part of the subsequent scrum with Danny Garcia, she says, uh, focus on the long-term success of the Guardians, where other leagues may have realized that the sale According to García, the league is in 80 years according to the plan and the agreement with the media.

She mentioned XFL Disney. She believes they have the right investment partnerships that allow them to carry the league's load for three to five years. I just think about that and like you know. Year one is the most important in these spring leagues and you have to go in, you have to start how you feel, you know long term, you hear it in any of those thoughts about that quote, for sure and the last thing we had once La press conference was over, we had two separate media meetings, they had the TV cameras and they had the writers and bloggers and all that and then Coach Buckley and then Danny changed their mind and the last question we asked him was just yes, straight up , like what is it? the staying power here, that's what everyone is interested in, it's like, yeah, yeah, it's fun to enjoy a season, but what's being done differently this time so that everyone believes there's staying power and that it won't be a One Year and even a Two Year League there will be staying power and she said one of the things she mentioned, like that quote you just mentioned, is yes, when you have a partnership with ABC, Disney, ESPN and FX.

I think the other network their games will be on is powerful. I mean, it's a place where people know to go watch and it's not like you're, it's not like you're going to be on some weird platform that you know. where people say: how can I get ESPN plus again? um and the fact that it's on a major network and especially here in Orlando, there's a big tie-in with Disney, so they're excited to have that partnership with Disney and myself. I don't know what that entails in terms of whether they're going to work with Disney to bring a bunch of people to the games and have those kinds of partnerships, maybe um, but Danny seems to think that with the capital backing and the They have backing. investment obviously with her you know I was calling Dwayne but she called him DJ but having Dwayne there and her there and the people you know there's a lot of capital and I think they have the right TV rights deals , so I.

We'll see, I mean we'll see, but it seems like there's enough steam behind this that they at least have a chance and that's all you can really ask for with these spring football leagues, last year before you let go because Yeah, we kind of pontificate the line work and then this works, but I always think it's interesting that we've done checks with reporters like in Las Vegas and everywhere else, in terms of obviously you guys and, like I said, I worked locally. news doing that work of carrying segments doing things like that, any other marketing that you've seen outside of, like local interviews and stuff and social media, like if we get billboards, do we get any kind of signage anywhere?

I've seen it, I've seen some signs here and there, like when I was driving on International Drive, by Universal. I was seeing similar things in similar yards, not big billboards, there may be, I'm not aware of that, uh. At this point, but another has been an outreach effort at some of the local universities and speaking to get people there and just let them know that this is happening. I mean, obviously on our website and other websites people know this is happening and you on our social media pages you know people are sharing ticket information and ticket links, but I haven't liked driving down the I -4 and it's like I joined the bus.

I may not have seen it in person yet, but I mean, I think. maybe that's something that will happen in the future and I'll add this quick note. I was talking to Terrell Buckley earlier. I think one of the biggest things about the XFL that's important is and I think you. I would also agree with this, maybe don't tell me if I'm wrong here, but I think one of the biggest things about this restart is the teams will be practicing in Arlington, but the games will be in the actual cities. when you have a spring football league where all the games are played in Birmingham or something like that where you have team , I don't think it's a great strategy, so it would actually be nice for the teams to practice here, but for fun, you know, it makes more financial sense to have them in Arlington, send them to the games and you actually have that investment with the community, like, hey, we know that every weekend our team is going to play in our stadium and you get the community design, so I think they're doing that part right about at least cities being the

hubs

of the games and not like throwing them in Somewhere diverse like Shreveport or something like that and have them play, something that's going to make people upset, yeah, because this year they're expanding, because it was all Birmingham last year and now. they're playing in Memphis, do the right thing, they announced Canton Ohio and they still don't even have a Canton team, I mean they havePittsburgh, so like you can, you could be in cities and still not even have anyone on your current teams playing there, but yeah, no, I agree, you just know we're like a lesson.

I mean, I keep saying we're a month away, we're like three weeks away, so three weeks anyway, uh Alex, I appreciate WFTV, uh, anything else before I quit. See, we're just letting you know chicken salad with whatever today, so that's good, yeah, no, that's all I have. You only know if you're watching this at some point and you and you are in Florida. and you want to be a Guardians fan, the last thing I'll say about the team is you know if they're going to be good or not, not good, not competitive, the only thing they've done that I think is good is that they.

At least we've tried to pepper the roster with guys from Florida that played college football here that people know DeAndre Francois Florida State um they have Terence Plummer was a big cigar for UCF on the defensive end so at least they're doing an effort to say Hey, if you don't know, if you don't really care about the team, necessarily, if you care about a player, come out and we'll see, um, you know the roster. I think it may be okay, I don't look. on the roster and he says man like that, talk to your XFL stuff, but we'll see, we'll play the games and we'll watch them, we'll have fun, that's what it's about, yeah, interesting, talk to uh.

Shea Matthews according to Mexico this week on the show, so you might see some interesting things. I really appreciate Alex, thank you so much for your time today, thanks man, take good care of yourself. I'm excited that today we have Kyle Nash's Three Point Conversion Podcast. among other things, he was searching his Twitter for some pretty prolific coverage, uh, you know, sports coverage here, how are you doing today, sir? I appreciate it, hey, listen, read. I am excited to be part of the board. This is my first official visit as a guest covering the Guardians as well, so yeah, adding that to the repertoire will be fun.

I love it from a viewer standpoint that the XFL will start right after the Super Bowl to keep us in line and keep us on our medicine, but while I. I'm in Arizona to do all that, during the day I'll go to events and then at night I'll study my playbook for XFL stuff like I used to do when I played semi-pro baseball, so I mean it's going to be busy. but it's a good busy read, I just hope my kids remember what I look like, oh that's good, that's good, I appreciate it well. You know, we had coverage here on Southern today.

We had Alex Walker, who is one of the athletic directors there in Orlando as well. Yes, we will have wall to wall coverage. all these things press conference a little bit of poop we'll talk about that we'll talk about roster stuff because we're doing it we did the rough network or we did the Renegades we did the Vipers we're doing something deep dives into all these things so first of all you were there there, I saw your shared videos, you know the media scrum with Danny Garcia and all that, what did you do with the Orlando press conference, so I know and you mentioned it was a bit poopy?

I talked about that, you're a little off base here and how there was an element of disappointment because you were expecting more announcements from me and maybe I maybe maybe because I'm trying to use up so many plates at once. I thought they basically did what I thought they were going to do right because I understand Orlando's history here with this right, um, Orlando Rage with the initial 1.0, Vince McMahon XFL was among the most successful teams at that time. Serando is like, yeah, you know that. They were very excited about it and it was probably the main reason why two things happened.

You got reinventions with the arena football league with the Predators, which was incredibly bitter. I don't want to tell you how laterally that meant. I am aware of some. of the craziness that happened with that, we'll leave it at that, it became, I will say, quite questionable and then on top of that you have the aaf who again fully embraced Spurrier, came out of retirement from him, a fun guy to talk to. the way former UCF USF players played together in a peaceful and productive side-by-side action that many people in Central Florida wouldn't necessarily have predicted, I say that jokingly and by the way, speaking of which, the former also yells AAF left tackle Aaron.

Evans, who painted that interpretation of mine back in my day, so you know, I always like to show his work when I can read, thank you for accommodating me, so not only do they have to fight those local stigmas in Orlando and have been hurt. before Reed is what I'm saying and then they snub them for the Vipers being in Tampa plus the fact that you're wearing the colors of the USF Bowl in Orlando where UCF Reigns Supreme and college stuff that you spit in their faces, it's already pretty bad. Now I'm sure they have an elandra team but there is still a trace of that green slime that the Orlando locals are going to comment on but that being said they are trying to let the public know that this is not a One-Shot. okay you're going to get at least a full season and hearing Danny Garcia talk about it is long term and this is the message they needed to hear mayor friend Dyer was there they needed him there to approve it I know from a national standpoint it seems which wasn't a burger, but I think it was more for the locals and to get them involved and listen objectively, it's good that they're seeing something being done. kind of local marketing like that, I'd like to see it more frankly as someone who wants this league to be successful, you know, so yeah, what do you think and we'll do it?

You know, we'll get into the list and stuff here, but what do you think of that? Are they seeing enough of what's happening there and, in Central Florida, do they have people who even know about it? I mean, it's three weeks, so the start I'll do it, I'll put it in, I'll put it in. Well, this way, Reed likes it for me. I assume they will make a lot of their corrections because they are leaning into television right now and making it a national product locally. Well, that's the reason I say that's the strategy. I'll put it right, you know, I mean, because even at Camping World Stadium, we're only selling out, as you know, the bottom half of the bowl, at least it seems like it looks more like WWE now, you know, we've got the cameras pointed at One Direction towards the right, we do not want to show emptiness.

I mean, I don't know how that's going to play on TV. I mean, are you worried that we'll turn on the TV and it'll be like? What the hell is going on in Orlando? Oh, absolutely, but any startup league has that problem, right? I think when you look at that, well, I don't even have to go to the Starter League, like we come back again and again. I hate to keep you. I know how to shout, uh, USF and the Bulls, they're not a star, but they play Raymond James, so even if they have a bigger crowd, going green isn't something that typically happens and you know we'll get it.

There's a lot more physicality as they've had a lot of physical things going on and they're trying to get their own stadium and that's been a challenge, that's not what I'm getting into, but it never looks good on camera to have that. a lot of empty seats, that's what the Apollos got right by going to the bounce house, not to mention, I mean I can mention the link where UCF needs the money anyway because they're jumping to the Big 12, that could have been a good um, how do you say marriage, maybe at least temporarily? So you know you get a base and then you go to Camping World.

I would have preferred to have seen that to answer that question, read it, but for my money, yes, that is if it is a concern. It's absolutely valid, do you think they were smart? I mean, obviously, Danny Garcia and Hometown and wanting, and you know one of the team and she tried to buy the Guardians in 2020, that was apparently the story of bringing the team to Orlando. you know in vain about the AF and all that is a good decision, yes, I mean again with the success that rage was the first time, the fact that she can be part of the uh, how do you say, part of marketing just by showing up, you know, uh.

I think a lot of that is a good move. I think Orlando is the best place you could have that doesn't have all the new amenities. I mean, if you're going to highlight it, Orlando as a place is the only one. The real problem at this point is the appropriate stage for the context. Camping World uh Stadium, also known as the Citrus Bowl, as I know it in my age group and my dad would have known it as the Tangerine Bowl. She would be a little Asian, you know, and me. I know they did a renovation, I think after the UFL and the fangs, oh yeah, I forgot to even mention that catastrophe, my god, there is so much pain here in Orlando.

I'm forgetting things, Reed, do you see why they did that? pressure, you know, but I think with that in mind, whether Orlando or the XFL makes sense because as much as Orlando wants to host a Super Bowl for the NFL as a non-NFL city, they don't have the facilities. and if they could actually get the local Embrace of a football team and that's going well enough, then they could get money to upgrade the facilities. I'm going to go here long term with what the vision might be. I'll put it that way. there are a lot of things that's where the whole link with Orlando comes into play, you have to think that everything is part of that and let's not forget the Mouse Empire that is a little further away, they are also in the sports game, you may remember that en Well, yeah, nobody, I mean, can you give us the quote?

I ordered it before you, it's a three to five year plan and Danny and we're not worried about ticket sales right now, okay, I don't know. I mean, the general consensus of XFL people who are skeptical of the league is that you know they're going to run out of steam and money here before you hit that three to five year mark that they is talking. Well, certainly history tells you what is right again. I know we go back to the aaf, we go back to the arena football league with the same concept. I think it's a little different in this case because they have some of the television accounted for, right when they broadcast games on ESPN and we're doing it without making the mistakes of some of the leaders from last spring that we've seen right when the springlings who passed the Freshman year, so to speak, they start to fall apart, man, when they fight the NFL directly and I know they won't.

To make that mistake, I'm going to go out on a limb and say are we looking at the big picture like we did at the beginning of um. I forgot about the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. I think it was the sixth day they had the Arizona Roadrunners. and someone playing there's a drop for you um and they said oh this League has been around forever and the quarterbacks are making millions let's pretend they make that point. I'm not going to say they will. I will understand the skeptics who argue that, but I don't. I don't see them making that mistake again until at least ownership changes due to lessons learned, so again all skepticism is valid.

I've avoided going down that path myself because I just like covering football, you know, this is what I do. Yes, but, yes, any skepticism on that front is certainly well founded in my mind as well, history has shown us that we are right, so from the Guardians here as a whole in the field, as I said, the people that we I'm talking, football people, you know, down. eight out of eight here, you know, in the Southern Division, Texas versus the world, the way we have it set up here with whatever you know, it's like a new if what are your general thoughts on that, uh, we're I'll still make cuts, but the Guardian list has been assembled so far, so looking at it, I think your skepticism is somewhat justified, but by the same token I also have other questions, so for one, we'll talk before we leave. live, you know, the quarterback situation is not ideal, it's not great, Bob, you know, if you're just looking at it at face value, you're also looking at it, and I've met head coach Terrell Buckley, an amazing guy to talk to with a great pedigree of an NFL Player, you know, Super Bowl winner, 14 year veteran, that's all great, but we don't know that's a question mark as a coach, so certainly He's not someone who's been around long enough to be recognized as a Whisperer quarterback or any of that, but what I'm wondering is if some of the other coaches in the league are still stuck in the NFL of the past, read as if I would have had conversations broadcast on the student debate game podcast that I host every week or other places I've been even with head coach Gus Malzahn.

I have asked the question at UCF. You know, the mobile quarterback is the wave of the future for football, not just NFL college football if some of these other coaches who aren't. New guys like Terrell Buckley don't accept that they could be left in the dust because at the end of the day you have to think that this is a recruiting league and, like the university, they are going to start modeling what the NFL is looking for. because maybe even more, you know, and also mobile quarterbacks put butts in seats, that's what you're looking for in the introductory league, so I guess whatWhat I'm saying is that Terrell Buckner, having no experience as a head coach, has his challenge.

I understand why people would criticize that, but I also wish veteran coaches would warn people about what I would call Joe Gibbs syndrome or anything like that where the game could have overlooked some of these cats and still are in the old ways, where defensive lineman in general, especially talking to Orlando Guardians offensive coordinator Robert Ford, are bigger and faster than ever up front, so running the ball conventionally with a stationary quarterback is much more difficult. It was weird to me so last week if you saw they had the special big quarterback the XFL came out without Jordan Palmer and he's a Whisperer quarterback and you know the guys have been working with him and you know the whole pedigree that Jordan Palmer has.

So on the same show that's going to air, you know, these heirs, I talked to St Matthews, who's the quarterback coach? You already know Orlando, right? And I asked him, I said, do you know what you think of Jordan and all this stuff? I don't know what he's done with those players, I don't know, and me, speaking as older coaches, it seems like a disconnect, even when we bring in someone, maybe a veteran like Shane Matthews. There we have the football guys who control the fans and maybe they are not the highest professionals, it just seems like something is missing, a PIN to log in or whatever, where we have Jordan Palmer working and then the quarterback coach Campo says, well, no, I don't even know what that did or what they were doing there, yeah, no, and that's a great point, I mean, and this is not an attack on Palmer, I think this is a change that happened recently. and it happened, it happened quickly, listen, I know.

There's a lot of criticism surrounding the Ravens right now and it doesn't extend to, say, Lamar Jackson. I know I'm going off the deep end there, but the concept is that at least they had the foresight to draft him when they did and also leaned into the mobile quarterback trade name me a top five quarterback other than al At least a little mobile in the NFL and don't tell me more Tom Brady, he wasn't in the playoffs either with a losing team winning a garbage division, okay? that's it and that's the new wave, so in the case of Jordan Palmer, he could teach you some basics about how to read this or do that, but what does he know about teaching running pitching?

It wasn't his style. I'm not going to call. he, you know, but I think there are things to learn, but that's the disconnect, I think we're on good terms, so I mean, is that worrying you here? I mean, we're sitting there, we've got, you know, these two Clinton dormany quarterbacks. and then deandreFrancois, you said you knew you knew Francois from Florida and all that, like you know, actually, Matthew it's like you guys, let's bring someone else? Well, obviously we're going to keep our eyes open, as if he doesn't feel that way. There is a big concern here that we need to get this position right.

I mean, when don't you always go to your quarterback for any group? I mean, maybe there are some universities that don't do it well. I'm pretty sure Stetson was safe in Georgia, for example, but we also live in a world where Joe Burrow didn't land at Ohio State right away either, so with Francois, I think if they go with him, I'm sure the animals they will say. well he's just an athlete who plays quarterback okay that's the day in the life you know as someone who covers UCF regularly with the black and gold banner of John Rice Plumley to break in an example local gets all the flak from fans because he's not the best passer, but the game right now sometimes depends on an athletic quarterback.

According to some coaches and philosophies, right is better than you think, having someone who can't shoot, stay still, you know, at least you have the lottery ticket of a mobile game and I think that's what could bring that type of quarterback that we've seen in Francois, for example, do you think that too because here it's like the We don't know that the defense is going to be ahead and we need the offense to work, that plays into that too, oh absolutely, and listen to defensive coordinator Tony Carter of the Guardians. He would tell you exactly the same thing.

I think he just said the same thing or he reiterated it. I should have said it yesterday when I spoke to him on the Zoom call. You know, the defense is a little bit ahead. Coach Ford, the offensive coordinator, said the same thing in At least twice now the defense is a little bit ahead, that's the nature of it because generally speaking, and this is how Coach Ford put it, the defense is trying to attack the ball while the offense is still trying to learn all their little things properly and listen. Kamali Matthews' center can tell me all she wants about how the chemistry is developing, but it's also been like two weeks, so there's only so much chemistry you can do. the glass explodes when you put a drop in it, no, you have to let this marinate a little bit in terms of, you know, running onto the field, I mean, it's a concern that you have in spring football in general, right where it is needed like us.

We're trying to make a big splash. It takes three four five weeks. I mean, it took many weeks for the USFL to get to where people thought it was acceptable football, like how do you fight? I'm talking about the XFL trying to do the five weeks. here, but it seems like in the first two we were just instilling philosophies and breaking those habits. I think Coach Beck said about one of the things about him, yeah, yeah, well, and um, Terrell Buckley, Coach Buck said the same thing, you know, going into it. You have to admit it and this is what I found interesting.

The 14-year veteran who is a coach. I asked him what was different about this camp compared to others he has been to and the first thing he said was the safety of the players, they care about the players. Like, it was mind-blowing to hear that, but you know, that first week of preparation when they were making sure the guys were safe and ready to play football and the fact that they have the complex is basically what I'm going to do. Call it Arlington, where everything is very centralized, not only was it a good fiscal move, of course, but I think you're getting certain other logistical advantages, to get things set up quickly.

I will say this for the aaf the football alliance that had the Apollos they got a lot, they were lucky on many fronts, a couple of teams did very well quickly, the Apollos here in Orlando was one of them, the San Antonio team. whose nickname commanders commanders thank you I'm trying to get that out of my head, you know, the Washington team doesn't call themselves the Red Tails, they're in the NFL, so you can understand why my mental block came up, anyway, um, but, um. Yes, They are. I don't know how they did it exactly. I wasn't as locked in with that group as I was with some of the others I cover, but it was a blessing that they took off and got going quickly.

I have a good point, Reed, uh, in terms of some of the receivers and things like Andrew Chamillo, you know, some of these names were, I think Francois, it feels like they drafted guys that maybe Francois knew or with the who was familiar, like any other person who stood out from you. from the offensive side of the ball here in uh in Orlando look what's hard is I'm not in Arlington I'm not watching practices and coach Ford has been pretty secretive about naming names um I just know about uh. Kamali Matthews because he was introduced as the center and the zoom call, so that goes beyond that, like they've been pretty secretive, but everything we've heard a lot about Coach Buckley said he's very proud of the groups of position. tied and running back and Coach Ford has maintained that that versatility of guys that can block moves and catch are in both cores now, if I'm a guy that's reading the tea leaves, you've specifically told me that about the story that I told the coach Buckley you're going to throw the deep ball eight times a game and you talk to me about tight ends or running backs and I've heard about you and the offensive line struggling against the defensive front and you've given me There's no language surrounding your quarterbacks field or your receivers.

I'm not trying to be a conspiracy guy, but that's a message. Sometimes what is not said and read is a message, but again we know nothing until we see the product in the field and maybe Buckley is. A coach Buckley is playing 4D chess, you can't rule that out, but you also know, let's keep it simple here so they can just be a team that's trying to punch you in the face and play good defense, who knows, last question for you today. and I'm just generally curious about this because you know I'm a wedding videographer and you know this is a fun hobby, whatever as someone who covers, you know Real Sports like you do here, what do you think of what the XFL is like?

So far he has handled information about training camp media availability only from someone who actually does this. I think so for me and I had a bit of an unfair advantage because I haven't had an existing relationship with Sid and the head of that department. here with the guardian, so my point of view was a little bit biased, so take that as you will, but the accessibility digitally, um, and I'll reach out again to um, you know, being very accessible once you know who to turn to, it certainly has been at least locally from my point of view.

From my point of view, the best part, I've already been on six Zoom calls, almost a seventh and I talked to two players who were here in Florida when everything was happening in Texas, so I have a lot going for me, right ? I've seen it if you've followed it on Twitter at the time, you'll see it on my Instagram and I have a lot of that, so that shows how open, they've been in the media to get involved, now it's adoption at the right level, but I'm sure they want more and then, by the way, another side note was read.

So that press conference said again that nationally it didn't get all the attention, but you better bet that local TV was available and available for that um where they haven't been so ubiquitous on zoom, who knows, maybe it was a decision that was made to bring local television to the work. I'm back. That's me, skeptical or not, sorry, not skeptical, but more like speculating, um, but they've done that part. I think relatively well if I were to say something about how they could improve that outreach, like there are too many events that involve the surrounding staff. their draft and stuff like that I found out after the fact on social media like they need to have done a little better job to be ahead, but I would also if I was reading the team leaving as well.

Of that was that they were still growing their capacity and their workforce to some extent, the real judgment read will be what they will do in year two once they have their foundation in place and how they work to improve. There you have it. I appreciate what you have Colin Nash here three point conversion everything else you know Orlando Florida Football I really appreciate it anything else before that you disconnect or anything before you take off oh yeah I definitely want to point out oh I didn't even mention Terence Plummer of Of course, the former UCF linebacker, I talked to him yesterday, he spread it today on social media and of course you'll see that part of the coverage on the black and gold sign about who I cover UCF, there It's where that drop of evil came in. so I definitely want to throw those screams uh those screams check it out also on the Black Eagle Banner YouTube channel and also the three point conversion YouTube channels where you'll find all my coaches interviews there and then I I'll personally be reading the text on Twitter and Instagram and the game student on Facebook, so yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

I'll be in Arizona with a three point conversion and a7b in sports in Arizona, so expect that in the next few weeks too, man. but I still burn the candle at night to stay up with the XFL action and the Orlando Guardians too well, yeah, I mean, I think you know, I think the league you know realizes sometimes where they fall in that order hierarchical, right? A lot of the people I talked to are covering other things and then also the output dropped because it's a passion or because it's something that you care about and you want to incorporate it, so it's nice, I mean, it's nice that we're all doing this, but I always think that you shouldn't forget that there are many other things that you are doing and that may be paying the bills a little more here, yes, exactly, too much, uh, incredible, well, thank you very much.

I appreciate your time Hey man, I had a great time reading looking forward to the next friend, a big special thanks to all of our guests today coming up. You already know,Tony Paul, what is the world I'm in now? All football comes. podcast I really appreciate that with Detroit News Adventure Queen everyone agrees with the Edmonton Elks for scheduling that interview and pleasing me that everyone at the XFL Vegas Vipers, uh, prepared Luis Perez, like I told you, you know, they took the time to come. on the show I really appreciate Louise. I can't think of anyone who has experienced as much as Louise, you know, in her life and seeing all that, it's just all the different leaks and experiences, uh, you know, I don't know if that's the case.

You imagined your life when you were 20, but when you look back, I think it's been a pretty extraordinary journey you've been on. I really appreciate Andy and everyone at Orlando Guardians for setting up Shane Matthews and then Alex and Kyle. Also, really, just to bow to this at the end of the episode, very, very, pleasantly humble and kind to all the help that the XFL media people have received. I tweeted it and I'll follow it from the XFL Guardians, that's halfway there. I'm halfway through my Thanos Gauntlet to get all eight teams to follow the housing brand on Twitter, but it's certainly not, it doesn't go unnoticed, you know the work they're doing, the social people and the team managers, ya You know, the media and everything.

Those things to set that up, you definitely don't need the humor, the XFL usfl mad man podcast, so I really appreciate everyone in the league for doing all that. I think that's it for today, this should be long. I haven't put it all together yet, but I feel like it's long, we have six guests here, so what do you know? Just another, just another, normal Mark, Friday, so like And subscribe, it should be good, as we move forward here towards the start, as we move forward. start there uh see you soon thanks foreigners