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The Guuuzan Show
S1 Ep17 | Sacha Kljestan: CAPE VERDE SHOCKS THE WORLD!!!
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17s, Your episode today is an appropriately massive one as we join Brad, Joe, and Sacha Kljestan on their journey covering the FIFA World Cup of 2026. Recorded on Group I's debut and what some have called the “Day of Stars” while others the “Day of Death”, this cup is off to a flying start with no shortage of shocking results across the North American continent. Our trio today discusses their thoughts on the USMNT’s recent win and how the country and its many visitors have rallied around this celebration of the World’s game. Does the U.S. have what it takes to make it further than ever before in this tournament? Who will emerge as champions in an expanded cup with daring debutants? Will anyone get past the seemingly unstoppable man between the post of Cape Verde? How did they get that duck in the Mexico kit? Is cereal a soup? All this and more on this week’s episode of the Guuuzan show!
Would you say this is this has been the best part of the uh of the experience, getting to spend all this time with me?
SPEAKER_00No, no, that's the worst part of the experience. The best is that I've got to go to all these World Cup games, have a front row view to all these fans, meet people from different cultures. You are so far down on the list, buddy.
SPEAKER_05You know what? I appreciate the honesty, dude. All right, guys, welcome back to the Goo Zan Show. I'm your host, Breg Zan, with Joe Freihoffer as always, and we are coming to you from the road. We have a very special guest with us. Uh, MLS great national team legend, none other than Apple TV's own Mr. Sasha Kleshn. Sash, welcome to the show, man.
SPEAKER_00Wow, good intro, Brad. Well done. I've been rubbing off on him for the past five days at the World Cup. Good stuff, dude.
SPEAKER_05We're we're on the road. We're in KC. We are gearing up for Argentina, Algeria. Joe, I know you're down in Mexico, man. How are we doing on there, dude?
SPEAKER_03Carnales, here we are. We got the full-on fit. We were just in Tequila, Mexico the other day. Uh, we'll save that for another episode because that's gonna take far too long. But let's just say good times have been had. Uh, the Mexican people are so lovely uh and great to be with you guys talking all things World Cup. Sash, I'd like to ask you what's it been like so far staying with this guy on the road? Is there enough caffeine? I mean, I I know he drinks coffee like a water buffalo. Have you been running out of Celsius? What's going on?
SPEAKER_00I mean, okay, so all of you Atlanta United fans, you guys all think that Brad Gazan is like this mature leader, captain. Like, this is the most immature man I've ever met. It's been wild. But listen, I've known Brad for 20 years now. We played together on Chivas USA US Men's national team, R.I.P. Chivas USA, US Men's national team over the years. Even when we lived in Europe, you know, when I was in Brussels, he was in Birmingham, we would meet in London. So we've been having the time of our lives in all seriousness. This has been super fun. Getting to go to World Cup games, getting to be together, just joke around, have a laugh. It's been super fun.
SPEAKER_05Would you say this is this has been the best part of the uh of the experience, getting to spend all this time with me?
SPEAKER_00No, no, that's the worst part of the experience. The best is that I've got to go to all these World Cup games, have a front row view to all these fans, meet people from different cultures. You are so far down on the list, buddy.
SPEAKER_05You know what? I appreciate the honesty, dude. Uh, in in all seriousness, it's I mean, this is day six of this incredible summer that we're about to about to have in front of us. Um, but how how has it felt? Does it feel like day six or does it feel like week six?
SPEAKER_00It feels a bit longer. It's kind of wild to think that we haven't even seen some of the teams play their first game yet, um, which is awesome. Really looking forward to, you know, by the time this comes out, we will have seen France play, uh, Senegal today, Argentina as well. You got Colombia, Croatia, a couple of other big nations that are yet to play. So uh it's been awesome. Uh bouncing around from city to city has been exhausting, but to be in the stadium for some awesome atmospheres so far, like uh the Brazil-Morocco game in New York, New Jersey was amazing. And then uh the other day in Dallas, Netherlands, Japan, I think that one's taken the cake so far. Obviously, the USA's opener was probably the best atmosphere I've ever seen for a US men's national team game.
SPEAKER_03Everybody was talking about it. Best half we've ever seen from the U.S., arguably in their history, right? You see Gio Reyna get that little travella finish as well for the cherry on top. It felt like that was a dream start for the US. Is it too soon? Is it smoke in the mirror? Kind of can you calibrate our heads right here? Because I was losing my mind. Let's just say the sombrero was off like this, and then some from what were you doing?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was hard not to get carried away by the end of that game and start to like really dream and really believe because the performance for 90 minutes was so good. We won every second ball. We counterpressed and won the ball back. We were in their attacking half. We were getting beyond their back line like relentlessly. So, yeah, seeing the fans, seeing Alexi Lollis cry at the national anthem, like looking over at Thierry Henry and Zlatan, who were on the little stage right next to us, they were like, damn, this is this is sick. Like, I was so envious of the players when they ran out on the field just for warm-ups to hear how loud uh the American support was in Los Angeles. And for a kid who grew up in Southern California and I live 40 minutes from that stadium, I wasn't sure what the reception was going to be like. You know, when we go play in like Columbus or Cincinnati, we know it's a pro-American crowd. LA showed out and it was awesome. And so at the end of the game, I started to even get carried away. And Peter Crouch was like, all right, guys, let's remember it's just three points. It's an important, it's an important start to the tournament, but you want to get better as the tournament goes on. You don't want to have your best performance in the first game. So really good start. Trying to keep my feet on the ground and keep the expectation still at quarterfinal is a successful tournament.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but at the same time, Sash, right? Like they've set the bar now at a uh at a new height. And and now that that hopefully that performance is the the minimum standard in terms of performances going forward, and and they can build on that and and grow. And as you said, as the tournament goes on, they can only get better and better.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but also the the competition is gonna get better, right? Like I think Australia is gonna be a much tougher opponent than Paraguay was. Paraguay laid an egg in that game, and that's that's because we controlled that game. But I think Australia's got a chip on their shoulder, first of all, and second, they're just a much more physical team. They're gonna get in our face, they're gonna make the game harder. So I expect that game against Australia to be much tighter. And then Turkey is also a quality opposition until we get to the knockout stages.
SPEAKER_03Let's go fan bases here for a second. What are some of the things you guys have seen on social? Down here, we got a famous duck whose name is Medlin. This duck is fully domesticated, by the way. Robbie, hopefully we can roll in some uh some shots in here, either in post or uh right now would be incredible too. So, Medlin, he lives in Mexico City. This duck is two years old. Custom Mexico jersey. They got custom sneakers on this guy. So his little feet, and he can just walk around the city. He's been uh in marches with the Mexico fans. There's a whole movement trying to get him to come here to Guadalajara this Thursday. What are some of the craziest things, Sash, that you've seen on the road with Fred in terms of just fan bases and that passion?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think um the US fans, first and foremost, stand out to me. Just getting into the stadium, even you know, getting there two hours before the game, the place was already packed with the red and white striped jersey, which was amazing. Uh, Netherlands fans, the Orania with their like march into the stadium, that was very cool to see. But then at that same game, we were we were kind of sandwiched, you know, in between above us the Japanese ultras, and right below us the Japanese ultras. And there was this one guy who who's been my MVP so far. He was the guy who led the chance for Japan.
SPEAKER_05Sash, can you give it can you can you give us an impersonation, please?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay. So the way he would start the chant, and they they need to work on their chants, by the way, because their chants are very simple. All they would chant is nippon, which means Japan in Japanese, right? And the way he would start the chants is like a like a samurai. He would just go and then they would beat the drums and chant nippon, nippon, and it was the best chant, is very simple, but the way this guy screamed bloody murder, nippon to start the chant was the best. I love that guy.
SPEAKER_05Joey, this guy had a microphone, right? And a megaphone or a yeah, a megaphone on either side of him were three or four drums, right? So that you're surrounded by drums, but then all the the the Japan fans had these blue garbage bags, right? We we know how respectful they are, and how you know when they finish and leave a stadium, they pick up all the trash, they clean up the locker room, and so they have all have these blue trash bags, and then all of a sudden they they fill them up with air and they're they're banging these bags in the air, they're banging the drums. And then when they would take a break, he'd get on the megaphone and be like, nipa. And next thing you know, the entire section was going absolutely mental. It was the coolest thing. We kept asking the producers, oh, is this getting picked up, you know, via the the broadcast? And they're like, it it sounds amazing from from inside the stadium, and we're fortunate enough, as Sash mentioned, to be sandwiched in between them. It was it was pretty special tonight.
SPEAKER_00Argentina, Algeria. We're actually gonna be stationed outside the stadium for the first time this tournament because we couldn't get a platform inside, but we've been here for uh a day now, about a full day, and we've seen like two Algeria jerseys and uh 50,000 Argentina jerseys. So I think today is gonna be maybe the most one-sided supported game uh in this World Cup so far. Like it's gonna be pure Argentina fans, and I think it's gonna be wild.
SPEAKER_03I think that for me, too, has been one of the most beautiful things. Is here in Mexico, for example, the the Korea Republic fans, they've been here for about two weeks now. And where we're staying at the hotel, there's a local taco joint here called El Chino Jr. And the head chef, he's gotta be at least pushing 80 years old. He's grabbing all the toppings by hand. There's no plastic gloves. And you see people from South Korea joining in the line. Then they go to tequila, Mexico, and they're being crowd surfed by the Mexican people. And they're going, Gore. These are the moments like what you just talked about with the the Japan fans, too, just that blending and that love, the crossover of all these different nations coming together that I think is such a cool thing that hopefully for anybody who hasn't hopped on the World Cup train yet, when you see stuff like this, or you see Medline the Duck or the Japanese fans cleaning up after themselves, like what is not to love about this World Cup so far? It has been, I would say, so far, a dream start in terms of how everything is gone.
SPEAKER_00I think it's the the beauty of the World Cup is when you see cultures come together and you see fans come together, and uh you you get to learn very quickly about a country's culture just on the way that their fans support their team and and things like that. Um it really is like if if we think back to 2020 and COVID and what a nightmare that was for our country and for the world, and how Brad and I were still playing then and and we played in empty stadiums, and you scored a goal and it seemed like it didn't matter, right? And then you think about what it's like to play in front of a full stadium of people from your country, people who live and die and who have waited four years for this moment. Like the fans are what make the game great. And so to see all these fans from different countries come to our country or come to Mexico and Canada, and we get to show what North America hospitality is all about, that's the best part.
SPEAKER_05No, it's the it's the beautiful game bringing all these these cultures together. And the the game almost is like uh a little bit of a cherry on top, right? It's it's all these fan fests. I mean, we've we've been able to see the videos and the and the pictures coming from all these fan fests, but uh especially the the fan fest uh down in Atlanta, the the fans that have turned up, the cities turned up. It's been amazing to see the support. And I know they're just getting started down there, uh, but all these other cities around the country, uh around North America, it it's it's been uh fantastic to see. And as Sash said, you know, the the the welcoming of all these different cultures, uh it's been it's been fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Kevin Egan, who's hosting the the fan fest down there in Atlanta, who you know, I'm sure you guys know and I know great friend of the show. He he told me that he told me all the fans knew that you were on the road and they all showed up like so much in Atlanta. They were like, Brad's not here, let's go to the fan fest. Amazing.
SPEAKER_05They're trying to tune into the show, Sash. You're welcome for just upping our ratings. All right, Atlanta.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's talk about Atlanta's very first game in their history and how that went, Brad. Do you want to talk about that one?
SPEAKER_05Sash, this you're not running the show, all right? Just sit back and relax. Sit back and relax. Um, no, listen, obviously, there there have been tons of games going on. You know, the the fact that in Atlanta we just saw Spain, Kate Verde, a huge result for Kate Verde. Um, you know, who who says older goalkeepers can't can't be out there uh hang hanging out with their national team and putting in man of the match performance. Big shout outs to Kate Verde's goalkeeper, unbelievable performance holding holding Spain to a nil-nil draw. Um, Joe, what was the reaction more important?
SPEAKER_00More importantly, have you seen how many Instagram followers he's got since that game? Yeah, yeah. He's over eight million now.
SPEAKER_05Is it eight today? It's it's it's gone, it's it's gone viral. I mean, huge shout out. He he's he's probably thinking, What is happening right now?
SPEAKER_03That's what I was thinking too. Like, can you guys tell me as players? I tuned in last night to New Zealand. Iran, I was exhausted. I had eaten 16 tacos, dog. I could have been three hours deep horizontal in bed, and I tuned in to watch Tim Payne and to watch, okay, how is this right back who's gone from 40k followers and who plays in you know all the way down under, who's now got the whole world watching him? It looks like today he got announced that he's linked to a move to Olympia in Paraguay as well, which is this guy's whole career has exploded off of a streamer. And we'll get to we'll get to iShow speed here in a sec, too. We got a lot to get into. But can you guys put me into perspective of what is this like as a player? Do you think he feels that, Tim Bang, when you go out there and you're like, all right, I just went from 40k to four mil. I bet this is the first touch, but it'd be nice when they switch it over to me right here.
SPEAKER_00Honestly, yeah, I bet he does feel a little bit extra pressure now because he he went from having no expectations to now people are paying attention to him. And I think that can be difficult for people to handle, uh, you know, for sure. That when you get thrust into the spotlight and more people have higher expectations out of you, I 100% think it can affect some of these players. But it also, this is also what the World Cup is. You know, you can go from being a nobody to being a cultural icon in the span of four weeks, and that lasts forever. Like the World Cup lasts forever. Whatever you do in this tournament or in previous tournaments, whatever it is, you become somebody who lasts forever. And so I think it's awesome, especially now with social media, the world is totally different, and it's fun. I think it should be fun for these guys that they're getting all these followers, and maybe they're able to capitalize off it as well.
SPEAKER_05Sash, you say four weeks. This is happening in like real time and like within four hours. It's it's unbelievable. And I know you're you're probably a little jealous of of the of his follower count. You know, you've got me filming content videos for you. You know, Joe knows I'm not a social media guru, and and here you are. You've got me doing behind-the-scenes social media content.
SPEAKER_00You did a good job, it's what the hey, it's what the World Cup's all about. I'm just giving the fans what they need, Brad. They're not asking for it, you know.
SPEAKER_03Josh, can you get this man on TikTok, please? Oh, I'm not on TikTok.
SPEAKER_00That's that's already that's already too far for me, dude. Like, I I barely just started doing Instagram reels, okay? So let's slow down the TikTok talk.
SPEAKER_03You're you're crushing it, dude. You're crushing it. While we're on the socials, Brad, iShow Speed pulls up to the booth. What's the first thing you do? What was that? That was electric, bro.
SPEAKER_05Dude, well, first, first of all, I'm sat next to Peter Crouch and we're on our little platform. And how it was that so far, there's a couple of platforms uh next to each other. And so I'm talking to Peter Crouch, we're watching the US game, and he's he comes back, you know, goes missing for five minutes, comes back, sits down, and he shows me his phone. He's like, Oh, I just went over there, took a picture with iShow Speed, my kids are gonna be buzzing. And I was like, Oh, amazing! Now that's a that's a fantastic idea, you know. Joe, as you know, I've I've been singing his, you know, World Cup. I've been singing this song throughout, you know, the buildup to this World Cup. Um, so I was like, my kids love this guy, they sing this song all the time. I said, let me go over there, you know. And I told Sash, I was I'm trying to take advantage and be present and and really just take in each day here as we're traveling around, going to these games and having this unbelievable experience. And so I said, you know what, I'm gonna walk over there, ask him for a photo. Well, he's got about nine massive bodyguards. He's up, he's up on this platform, and so I'm like, okay, you know, and then the one guy's like, yeah, he's like, Brad, come on up, man, come up, you know, no problem, come up, come on. So I was like, all right, cool. Um, he's got his camera, and I was just like, hey, man, I was like, can I get a picture for my kids? Like, they're huge fans of you. They sing the song, all the things. And he was super, he was super cool about it. Um, but yeah, it it it was it was one of those moments where you know my kids, uh I I sent it to my wife, I sent it to Bree back back home, and she showed the kids, and they're like, Oh my gosh, that is so cool. So I got some I got some bonus points with them. It it was uh a pretty sweet moment.
SPEAKER_03It looks like right now, guys, as we stand, host nations are undefeated when we talk about matches. But now, what will be, of course, yesterday when this episode comes out. Today it feels like it's just we've been calling it the day of death, right? We got France, Senegal, then Argentina's coming out pretty much soon, too. What for you guys have been, would you say, the biggest surprises, maybe? And then the things that you're like, oh, you just knew that was gonna happen so far in this World Cup, Sash, we can start with you.
SPEAKER_00Uh biggest surprise, I think, is is the Cape Verde result. I think um the game looked how we thought it would look, right? That that Spain would have a lot of possession, Cape Verde would defend deep and try to counter, but um Spain. The crazy thing is is Oyar Sabel, the striker, he didn't touch the ball until the 30th minute. Did you know that? That's insane. Like, he's not involved in the game, he doesn't look that dangerous. Like Spain's got some things to figure out, I think. Uh Laminha Mall didn't look that dangerous, so that's the surprise, I think, because they were the betting favorites in this tournament. That they you know, they started a little bit flat. We also saw Argentina start flat in the last tournament, and and it didn't matter in the end. So you know that it is what it is. Um obviously Germany smashing Curacao when you put up seven goals in a World Cup. That's always going to be talked about. But actually, the moment of that game was Curacao actually scoring a goal and going crazy and you know, a tiny island nation that that's that's in it. I mean, everything's been awesome in this tournament. Tunisia firing their coach after one game, like that's insane. Like uh today, today at Fox, we're calling today the day of the stars. Like, with all the stars on the French national team, Erling Holland playing next, Lionel Messi playing in the evening. Like, today is the day of all the stars to come out. I think after four draws yesterday, no one likes to see a draw in soccer. After four draws on uh, you know, on Monday, Tuesday, we're hoping for a bunch of stars to show up today.
SPEAKER_05Which I I think I think they will, Sasha. And I think one of the things that I'm a little bit surprised on, but but I'm glad that I'm surprised is leading up to the tournament. I felt like people were saying, oh, wait, is the World Cup really gonna be as big as everyone keeps talking about and making it as big as as it as it should be? And and is it is it real, right? And you know, we kept comparing it to these multiple Super Bowls, and it's day after day, and it's it's gonna be fantastic. Um, and the average sports fan, I think, was a bit reluctant to to buy into that, but I think it's it goes back to just how fortunate we are as sports fans, right? We had the NBA playoffs, we had NHL playoffs, we've got college sports, you know, you've got baseball happening. And every day it's just uh an idea of what what sports am I going to consume? And then the World Cup kicks off and it starts, and and the the stadiums are rocking, the fan parties are are packed. Um every every sports talk show you put on TV is talking about the World Cup and all these teams and games. And you know, we keep seeing Sash former former teammates, whether it's um, you know, your current, you know, cast mates at Apple or previous teammates, they're on TV talking about the games. And so for me, I I love it, man. That that part is has been amazing to see just how bought in the entire country and and all of North America has become. And we're only we're only six days in, so it's only going to continue to grow.
SPEAKER_00The USA playing so well in that first game has really added a lot of fuel to the fire for casual American sports fans that watch that game and were like, damn. All right, our team is pretty sick. We got some young guys, you know. One of my buddy texted me and was just like, man, that number 20 up front for USA just made his whole World Cup in the first game. And I was like, listen, learn his name. That's Flo Balligan. And he's leading the golden boot race, you know, through six days. So a lot of guys that didn't come into this tournament as household names. Like I said, they're what their lives are going to change forever after this World Cup.
SPEAKER_03That's something I've been wondering with this expanded format for you guys. Of course, 48 nations. What's the total matches for this? 104 or something like that? Crazy. How do you do it when I think I saw a selfie of you guys what on three hours of sleep? Sasha, you were trying to get a little a little video of Brad and he was non verbal at that point. Like, where he was? Like, how do you guys keep track of the matches prepped properly? What on earth goes into that?
SPEAKER_00This, I'll tell you this right here. This packet that we get before every game with all this information from Fox has been has been very helpful. Um it It has been hard with the travel because you know, I'll I'll just a little sneak peek. We did the USA game, you know, when they played in LA and you know did a quick post-game show, right after the post-game show, straight to the airport on a plane. Uh the flight was delayed a little bit, you know. So when we finally got to New Jersey, we landed, I think, around 8 a.m. Got to the hotel around 9 a.m. I went and took a nap. Brad didn't because he drinks too much coffee in Red Bull. So so got, you know, we got to the hotel at 9 a.m. We got picked up at noon to be taken back to the stadium in New York, New Jersey. Did a full day there, straight off of that, back to the airport to fly to Dallas. And so, yeah, the lack of sleep has been a bit of a killer. But as soon as you get in the stadium and you start feeling the fans, the fans give you the energy you need.
SPEAKER_05And the caffeine, Sash. And the coffee. The coffee and energy energy drinks. They they they'll certainly get you going. Um, yeah, Joe, I mean, it's it's been awesome, man. You know, we keep it's it's a bit surreal, it's a bit of a pinch me moment because when you you step back and and you look at you know what we're doing, it yes, from from the surface, it looks a bit chaotic. And and we'll see fans obviously in these cities, and they're like, oh, are you guys here for for the game? Or like we're here for the game, we're here for about 12 hours when we're back on a plane, we're going to the next city. And um, that that in itself is is extremely uh special. It's it's it's very cool to be a part of in this way. And so yeah, we're just trying to to live in the moment and and just kind of be present each and every day and and soak it all in.
SPEAKER_00I gotta say that Fox, Fox is a good company to work for. They're they've taken very good care of us, they're putting us up in nice hotels, putting us on a nice plane. Like it they take care of us. We are pampered, we just have to worry about the game and and our job and stuff, which which is awesome to feel. And then I had never been to a World Cup game before. So, you know, the fact that I've been to like four already in the first six days, and I'm gonna get to go to about 16 more is amazing.
SPEAKER_03I think that's the mindset that so many people in all these host countries and around the world are in, is just that childlike joy, right? You think back to when you were a kid and when you would flip it on, the game seemed bigger than life itself. So, what do you guys think? Sasha, I'd love to pick your brain. What do you think this could do to MLS, right? We got Antoine Griezmann dropping into Orlando pretty soon. Human Sun Sonaldo already plays for LAFC. We're seeing just a career wave take across too. Where do you think this could take our league in our backyard for those who are just getting turned onto the game now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, our hope is that it continues to drive major league soccer forward with uh viewership, with new fans, with players, I think, that are playing in this World Cup and are seeing the infrastructure of the United States from even teams that are stationed at uh universities and how good their facilities are and every facility that that major league soccer teams have nowadays, that playing in the states and playing in Major League Soccer is a really good and big opportunity. And so I hope the the league just continues to grow. I think back to 94. I was nine years old, I watched that tournament, and I was inspired by all that generation of US men's national team players, and uh it made me dream that I could play soccer uh professionally and and make a living out of it. My son now is nine years old watching this World Cup, and I know he's already been dreaming about being a soccer player because he got to grow up with me. But then you see just how big the world's game is when it's right in front of you, and there are 70,000, 80,000 fans in this stadium all cheering for those guys on the field. Like there's nothing better. There's nothing better. The one I can take from my career, there's never a better feeling in life than scoring a goal in front of 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 fans. You can never replicate that again in life, and that's okay.
SPEAKER_05Making a save, Sash, making a save in front of 30,000, 40,000, 50,000. Okay, yeah. So we're clear. So we're clear.
SPEAKER_00You making like a stopping a penalty or something, me scoring a goal, there's nothing that can ever replicate that feeling. But being in the stadium and just watching these guys and now being fans of the US men's national team, this has been pretty fun too.
SPEAKER_03I wanted to hit on quickly on Atlanta, too, Brad. Just what we've seen of the watch parties. I know Kevin Egan has been putting in crazy hours there. Shout out to the Irish action as well. But just that the cultural crossover, did you see the Twitter thread of the guy? I think he's from Germany and he was trying out Waffle House for the first time. Like, in what other timeline does this stuff happen? What's it been like watching Atlanta from before while you guys are on the road?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, Joe, we talked, we we talked, we talked about him actually on our broadcast. And you know, Sash being uh a California guy, you know, we we said once once our tour gets to Atlanta, once we get down down to Atlanta, we're gonna we're gonna be stopping off at Waffle House, we're gonna be stopping Bass Pro. You know, we're we're gonna take Sash to all these places because he's he's just like this guy. He's he's not been to any of these places before. And so um, yeah, it was it was remarkable to see just the influx of the international fans coming coming to to Atlanta, coming to the southeast and experiencing what it's all about. Um it's been remarkable to see their commentary on on just daily life things that that you and I probably do daily or every other day, and and they're in absolute shock with it. Sash, how excited are you for Waffle House?
SPEAKER_00I'm pretty excited, dude. But that's it's been it's been built up pretty high. So the I've got high expectations for Waffle House, but we're also trying to decide like what time of day do we go? Because Brad said that half of the experience of Waffle House is seeing who you see in there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the later the better for sure.
SPEAKER_00Shots, have you been to a uh a Bucky's too by chance?
SPEAKER_03I have I have not.
SPEAKER_05I have exactly document this. I know. I I we seriously, I was like, yeah, uh Buckeys is like an overwhelming experience. Joe, what's what's your go-to Waffle House menu item? What's what's your go-to order?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, a stack of a stack of hotcakes is always good. Um, their chocolate milk, low-key, by the way, guys, hits. I'm gonna just say, don't be afraid that if you're you know, an apple juice sounds sounding good to you all of a sudden, you feel like you're six years old again, no shame. That's what I'm wrong with.
SPEAKER_05Oh, that's amazing. That is amazing. Joe, what's it been like in Mexico, man? How was how was uh the opening uh the opening day of the tournament down there?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's for real, brother. I it's uh been just so beautiful, I think, to get to know a new culture. I've never been to Mexico before, and the people here, number one, super joyous. Uh, number two, they will come up to you in a pre-match setting or tailgate setting with a full bottle of tequila and try and get you to take a shot like that down the hatch. I did not do that pre-match, okay? Contrary to all the time. All business, all business, even though I did have the hat on, exactly, straight business. We were doing a uh stadium hit, so I was getting the crowd hype like this. All of a sudden, I just feel a hat like this come on to me. And it was just a black sombrero from a guy who just literally set it on me mid-shot. People here are so loving, so welcoming, so also passionate about the Mexican game, too. Because, fellas, Thursday, it was a great start for L3. Let's let's not get it wrong. You know, they got that lucky finish for Kinones against uh South Africa, but Thursday is a real deal. This week, it feels like, guys, is where the World Cup starts to get so serious. So uh nothing but love and passion from down here in Guadalajara. Um Toda Madre is what they've been saying. Uh that's just how you say everything is great. So that's how much sign off from today too. A toda madre been amazing.
SPEAKER_05No, I love it. Yeah, this week certainly feels like when when the group stages really start to to take shape and and everyone goes into match day two. And and so it's gonna be exciting to to see the the matchups, the results, and where this tournament ultimately is is gonna be headed. And um, I know Sash, you're you're gonna be keeping a close eye. Uh obviously, I'm gonna be keeping a close eye on you to make sure that you're you're staying focused and not getting too wild. Uh, but Sash, we we appreciate you taking the time and and jumping on the podcast, man.
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah, you're welcome. Thank you very much. Listen, Brad, I have to carry like Brad's passport around to make sure he doesn't lose it. I have to set an alarm on his phone to make sure he doesn't miss the flight. I'm like, I'm his mom, his team.
SPEAKER_05I left all my I left all the my PAs, you know. Uh it's just me. So I appreciate you uh assuming the the role of of so many others. I don't care what they say here.
SPEAKER_03He doesn't know what to do. By the way, before we go, I want to say a massive shout out to all the 17s. Wherever you guys are watching this World Cup, the Atlanta fans. I met three people, Brad, from Atlanta, just by chance in Guadalajara. Two people are like, hey, you're Joe from Atlanta, right? And came up, and we were just talking about, yeah, I flew down with my father-in-law. Um, people in Jerseys, Brad, down here in a World Cup match. Like I've seen I've seen them too. I've seen them too.
SPEAKER_05We've had 17s that are part of the American Outlaws that were at the game at Sofa uh Los Angeles Stadium. Uh we need to properly address the the naming of the stadium. Um, and so yeah, it's it's phenomenal to see so many 17s around the country just supporting the tournament in general. It's been great.
SPEAKER_00I just want to say, I know I made a joke earlier about Atlanta's first ever game against the New York Red Bulls that we won at Bobby Dodd Stadium. But in all honesty, I've said this many times. That's one of my favorite memories as a pro was playing in that first game. The pitch was unbelievable. The fans were packed in the stadium before kickoff even started. Like that was the launch of something really, really cool, which obviously now, 10 years, nine years later, whatever it's been, we can see what Atlanta United became. And to be there for their very first game and how their fans supported them and what kind of club it looked like it was gonna be. We we walked out of the lock into the locker room after the game, feeling like we stole three points and we're like, damn, this place is awesome. And I wasn't even in your home stadium yet. So shout out to all the Atlanta fans. That that's a memory that I always uh keep from my career.
SPEAKER_05Don't backtrack now, Sash. 17 is get this guy when we're in Atlanta. Yeah, we still won.
SPEAKER_00We still took those three points and put them in our pocket.
SPEAKER_05Uh we love it, Sash. We love it. Always welcome in Atlanta, dude. When we get there, listen, we're gonna we're gonna show you the real deal. We're gonna show you what the Southeast and Southern hospitality is all about, man.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I'm excited.
SPEAKER_05Well, Joe, we're on the road, able to bring Sasha into the goose and show. Um, man, we are just getting started with what is promising to be an unbelievable summer ahead with the World Cup and to be in it. You're down in Mexico, I'm on the road traveling all over. Um, it's uh it's it's pretty surreal, man.
SPEAKER_03Very cool to have one of the best mustaches in all of soccer here on the spurse, that's for sure. I also I loved what you said too about like you're trying to stay present because number one, I know how your brain works. I know you move six trillion miles an hour. So to think that you're just trying to make that young you happier, think what would your kids be doing if they're at this match? And it made me think what for you have been some of your if when you're packing in the morning at the hotel, you're getting ready for a broadcast, what are your match day essentials? I'm talking snacks, I'm talking a little mini fan, which by the way, clutch in the Mexican heat, let me tell you. But what are your go-to uh items on hand, would you say?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, honestly, it's you know how how my setup is, is I've got a little carry-on bag, um, you know, and and I've got a couple outfits that obviously as we go from city to city, kind of rotate, rotate those. And then I've got two big suitcases back in LA, knowing that that's kind of home base, and and I go back to LA and in the studio with Fox there, and then at that point, able to do a little bit of laundry, swap out different clothes, uh, get some, get, get some clean underwear, and um, you know, then then repack and and do it all again. And Fox has been great when it comes to to snacks and and drinks and water and trying to stay hydrated and making us extremely comfortable with all the things that um you know we we don't, I guess, think about, whether it's little mini fans to keep us cool, um, you know, chairs, you know. Funny story, we're going into into so uh Los Angeles Stadium. Uh we are we're we're going into Los Angeles Stadium for for the US game. And as I was mentioning, we're on this platform, and you know, we've got Fox TV kind of next to us on another platform, we've got other broadcast stations uh on the other side of us. And because it was the first game, we needed to bring in these folding chairs, so we're we're helping some of our crew out. We're we're carrying these just normal folding chairs in the stadium, but the amount of fans that were like, Oh my gosh, these guys are these guys are bringing their own chairs, you know. We're like, Yeah, of course, you know, we we don't need a ticket. We we we created our own ticket, we've we're just bringing our own seat in, you know. Um, it was pretty funny to to listen to the responses as we're walking through 80,000 fans uh to get in and and we're carrying folding chairs entering the stadium. It was pretty wild, man.
SPEAKER_03Dog, if I put myself in their mindset too, they were probably thinking, like, are these guys about a post up in like the staircase? You know what I mean? Yeah, exactly.
unknownYou're just chilling out there.
SPEAKER_05We bought a standing room only ticket, but uh we opted to bring our own chair in, so so we didn't have to stand for 90 minutes. Um but yeah, man, it's it's uh it's it's it's been wild. And you know, we're uh we head back to LA tomorrow and bring the kids. Um, you know, we'll we'll get to see them. And um, you know, they're excited to see me. And so, you know, when when you're on the road for this long, it it certainly can be difficult, you know, when when you're missing family, missing the kids. Um, but she's holding down everything at home. And um, so big shout out to her. And and the the kids are excited to to come see LA for the first time. So that will be exciting. Um, but yeah, man, it's this summer, it's this is just the start.
SPEAKER_03And it keeps on rolling, guys. The guzan show is gonna keep on rolling right here. We've got a pre-recorded mailbag. This is us pre-traveling all over the world and six million Red Bulls in for matches. So you guys can take a listen. Here we go, all delivered on time, as always, our lovely friends over at the Home Depot. Time now for the Brad Guzan mailbag delivered on time, always by the Home Depot. Thank you so much, everybody, for getting all your incredible questions in, keeping us on our toes as well, because we never know. Speaking of, here we go. We never know what's coming out of the mailbag. Here we go.
SPEAKER_04Oh, jeez.
SPEAKER_03Dave from College Park. Is cereal a soup? Is cereal a soup? You shouldn't have to think about it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna say no. Thank you. I'm gonna say no. Thank you. Yeah, I mean no, that's a that's a no. Like is soup not piping hot. Correct. But how is that? That was my first thought. But there are cold soups. Excuse me. Oh gosh, you didn't know about this?
SPEAKER_03Put me on, bro. What are you talking about? What is that?
SPEAKER_05What is the name? Hold on. Take your time. I'm gonna Google this. Is it not control room?
SPEAKER_03Am I notes for this?
SPEAKER_05There's a name for it. Yes. Gospacho, yes. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_03Hold on, hold on. Gaspacho?
SPEAKER_05Gaspacho.
SPEAKER_03Is that cold soup? Yes. Is that not considered like a puree or a stew?
SPEAKER_05No. I think that's a soup. That is a soup. But listen, cereal is not a soup. Plain plain and simple. Go on, go on. We're gonna cut you to the control room.
SPEAKER_01Thoughts? Alright, look y'all. Look y'all.
SPEAKER_05Oh, there we go.
SPEAKER_01We love you guys. But soup can be cold. It's true. This is a true thing. Oh shot. We have a lot of research going on. We can come right out.
SPEAKER_05Soup, yes, soup can be cold. Correct. I agree with that. But is cereal a soup?
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna say, personally for me, I think this loops back a lot to like the is like a hot dog a sandwich conversation that a lot of people like to have. Um and I'm one for like these kind of ridiculous like food pairings. I would say a soup is probably like soup and cereal, like I kind of feel like they're the same thing. I'm not gonna defense it. I think it's I think a cereal is a soup. No, I think if we go by the brama definition, I think if we go by the Brahma definition, that's Brahma by what soup and cereal are. You can take it off the mic, Joe. You can take off the mic.
SPEAKER_05Thank you, Random. Thank you, bro.
SPEAKER_01You can handle the truth, that's okay. You can handle the truth, that's for you.
SPEAKER_02That is the truth. Serial is more to me like a salad than a soup. Okay, let me use the couple of like the Randomie's mic. Let him cook, let him cook. We gotta get this, we gotta get it. I'm gonna get the mic. What did you just say? Well, it's cold. That's the first thing. Like, so it's gonna be hot for the most part. But then like, I guess you just call it like more dressing. The middle because it looks like a little bit of dressing.
SPEAKER_01No, wait, that's actually okay, wait, wait, but I gotta I got another question here. I got another cushion here. Oh sorry, we'll get back, we'll give the show back to the host in a second. But look, if you put a bunch of dressing in a bowl, and then you put in the vegetables after, like the salad and stuff like that, like the lettuce, is that salad now a cereal or a soup?
SPEAKER_05Nah.
SPEAKER_02Turn turn to money to the soup. What what order are you putting the milk in the cereal in? I think that depends on what it is. Hold on.
SPEAKER_03Is cereal hot or cold? Cold. Can cereal be hot? No. Then it's called cereal. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Salad.
SPEAKER_05Have you ever been a hot salad before? No, Robbie brings up a good point though. The the order of which you you pour cereal, because my kids have done this uh recently and and I call them out on it. I'll go with my preference. And you always put the cereal first, then the milk. Correct. But my kids, obviously, they're learning this thing called life, and they're at a point where like, oh, I want to do it, I want to do it. Okay, great, no problem. Self-sufficient, absolutely. I'll I'm all here for it. They pour the bowl of milk, and I'm like, that's that's not gonna fly. And then they added the cereal afterwards, and I said, guys, just just FYI moving on, like you gotta put the cereal in first. So please tell me what is your order of operations.
SPEAKER_03So my favorite part is when you get the cereal well positioned, too. I'm a big I used to be uh 2% only. My girlfriend put me on whole milk dog.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_03It'll have you ready for bed. Whole milk if you're seven years old. You give it a nice little bath on top, too. You're hitting all the right spots. Yeah, yeah, that's gonna be it. I pick out my first bite as I'm pouring the milk. I know there's more people out there that do this. Tell me if I'm crazy. I'm looking at the real estate, I'm serving. I'm like, oh, that corner looks nice. Yeah, that's a good variation of like Captain Crunch berries. Shout out Captain Crunch. I'm like, oh yeah. Perfect ratio right there. Boom. Spoon.
SPEAKER_05Uh all I learned today was we're cutting Ravi and Chris's bike. That's all, that's all I know. That's all I know.
SPEAKER_03Studio privileges cut. Oh, good. Next one, guys, is from Jackson in Savannah. Shout out Savannah, Georgia, Savannah Bananas. What would the title of your autobiography be? Whoa. Jeez, we just got really deep after talking about salad and cereal for a second. Maybe too. The title of my autobiography.
SPEAKER_05Doesn't it have to be your name? Surely it's gotta be your name, right?
SPEAKER_03Is that the auto or is that a bio? Which one is self-written? The auto is self-written? But that's okay. Right? You can still give your I think you can still, for the sake of for the sake of Jackson's question, you can still give it uh you can make your own title.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Um The Journey of Raggazine. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, The Journey of Raggazine.
SPEAKER_05And if it's already out there, um I'll change it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I was gonna say, do you have anything like that? I don't, I don't, yeah. I didn't eat it. I don't know. Yeah, it's it's it's one of those. I think we can go a little deeper than that, yeah. Of course. You can let it marry. Um is cereal soup braggers?
SPEAKER_05I I don't know if that's it. That's gonna be that's gonna be a multi-chapter.
SPEAKER_03I would say my grandpa used to have a saying in life, uh, don't forget to smell your roses. Uh so I would say smell your roses by Joe Freihoffer. That would be mine. Just kind of like go through every day. Yeah. Uh we all have hardship, we all have difficult moments, but your life is a garden. So if you can learn to cultivate it, pluck out the weeds, you're always gonna have some roses somewhere. Uh and life, uh even when it's really difficult, there's something everywhere, every day, to be grateful for. Those are your roses. So if you can smell them, this show is one of them for me. Smell your roses. I like that.
SPEAKER_05I can't top that.
SPEAKER_03Amazing Joe. Studio, you guys got anything? Or the mic privileges cut? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so now you guys want to talk to me. Well, well, well. Look who came crawling back. If it ain't, um, look, I think for as far as autobiographies go, um I don't know, Robbie, do you have a title? Anything in mind? If you had an autobiography, would it be titled? He has no idea.
SPEAKER_03That's the thing is for for everybody at home, Robbie has lived in how many different places? World traveling. Three different countries. Watch a different stage.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't know.
SPEAKER_05All gearing up for the World Cup. That's true.
SPEAKER_01I don't know. Uh I don't know. For mine, maybe it might just be I don't know. Because that's I I frequently don't know things, and you know, life is a journey of discovery.
SPEAKER_03Oh. And with that, that has been the Brad Guzan mailbag, always delivered on time by the way.
