Men in Blazers Countdown Tour LIVE! from Houston, featuring JJ Watt, Hakeem Olajuwon, Yazmeen Ryan, Jane Campbell, and Shane Kimbrough

13:28Rog Bennett:Serious question. There's something called the Fermi paradox. Contradiction that it's likely intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. We've encountered no sign of it. I think Arthur C. Clarke once wrote two possibilities exist. either we're alone in the universe or we are not and both are equally terrifying i'm asking for a

13:53Jane Campbell:friend where do you fall on this i feel like this is a trap um there's no right answer or there's no wrong answer i'm not sure i hope there's something out there of course i haven't seen anything um any indication but we you know we at nasa and humanity in general wants to continue to explore to find out things, answers to questions like that. So I don't know where I am on that.

14:18Rog Bennett:2017, a really moving story, transporting a soccer ball that survived the Challenger explosion, and you took it to the International Space Station. That ball originally gifted to astronaut Ellison Onizuka by his daughter's soccer team in 1986. I found this so unbelievably powerful and moving. Anybody that has a kid who plays football, when you think about the power of this story, it's really stunning. 30 years later, you had that ball in your hand. Can you talk about how your life intersected with it, Shea?

14:53Jane Campbell:Yeah, I'm very honored to be a small part of this story, but as you remember, Challenger, it was a bad day for them back in January 28th, 1986. I know exactly where I was that day, and those of you that were around probably do as well. But all astronauts in general get to take kind of a small box of private items, personal items with you to space. And Ellison Onizuka at the time, like you mentioned, his daughter's soccer team at Clear Lake High School down in southeast Houston here, they signed this ball for him to take up in space. And so obviously, you know, shortly after liftoff, things didn't work out so well on that day.

15:32Jane Campbell:but they found this soccer ball literally washed up on the beach in the wreckage several days later. And it eventually got returned to the Onizuka family. And Lorna Onizuka, Ellison's wife, always felt, and she told me this, that that ball had more life in it. It had more to tell. It had more of a story to tell. And so she actually gave it to the high school, and they kind of had it in a trophy case for a while. Then it kind of got pushed back because other trophies came in. It was kind of forgotten. Before I flew my second mission, my kids were going to that same high school at the time. And so I went to the principal and asked if there's anything I could take for the school.

16:13Jane Campbell:And at first she gave me a couple little medals and stuff. And then a couple days later she called me back. She was like, hey, do you have room for a soccer ball? I'm like, what? And so I got a chance. It was all tattered. And you could still see the writing on it, like good luck shuttle crew and things like that. and the signatures of the young ladies on the team. And so we carefully deflated it, fit it in my little bag that they got to take, and then I just had the honor of getting it to its original destination, which was microgravity and floating around. So I flew that thing through every module of the space station, videotaped it, and sent it back down.

16:50Jane Campbell:The most moving part for me was when we came home. We got to present that back to the family at a halftime of the high school football game, and the whole 1986 women's soccer team that signed that ball was in attendance. And I knew this was powerful, but when I gave it back to Lorna Onizuka and her daughter Janelle, who was on that team, it really hit me how incredible this was. It was closure for the family in a way, and it was super special. I got to do that for them.

17:31Rog Bennett:it's one of the most powerful football stories um that we'll hear in this world cup year what what did it mean to you to complete that circle i mean a circle of life you know it's a circle of death and a circle of life again yeah i mean anytime there's an accident

17:49Jane Campbell:there have been a few, of course, in NASA's history. Those of us that come on after that, we want to do anything we can to honor them, the ones that have had the bad days, so to speak, and their families. And so for me, this just did all of that. And even though I was just a small part of it, super lucky that Dr. Engel, who was the principal at the time, she was the one that had the idea. And it just kind of this whole story came to life. And again, it was such a cool thing for me and our crew, our entire crew on the space station, really had a good time honoring the Onozuka family.

18:25Rog Bennett:I'll just say, the time we have here is finite, making memories, making every moment count. It's incredibly profound. It's really, really beautiful. But I do need to return to this planet, back to this great season. I mean, NASA is just one way that Houston's been uniquely shaped. It is, we've discussed already, an immensely eclectic city that you all live in. Food, music, science, sports, yes, space. Of all the things you've seen in the galaxy, to you, Shane, what makes Houston Houston?

19:03Jane Campbell:Oh, gosh. People stand out. The hospitality of the people. You already mentioned food. Food's an amazing part of this city, the diversity of the city. Most people don't think Houston's a very diverse town, but it really is. And I think that drives the incredible culinary culture that we have as well. Of course, it's rodeo season, so that's a huge, huge month for us here in Houston, right? So we've got to get these guys out to the rodeo so they really understand Houston.

19:28Rog Bennett:It is my first rodeo.

19:33Rog Bennett:Last question for you, you incredibly beautiful human being. I'm very moved by this story. I'm also blown away that you wore chinos in space, which is like the most American thing I've ever seen in my life. Look at it. By the way, did you really need that huge belt buckle?

19:52Jane Campbell:I should have brought a Texas belt buckle, but I didn't. The pants not stay up on their own instead. No, they kind of float around, so you need something to keep them in place.

20:01Shane Kimbrough:I do.

20:02Rog Bennett:I've got to tell you, I don't know if NASA has a Dockers sponsorship deal,

20:05Shane Kimbrough:but my God, get on it with your Dockers.

20:08Rog Bennett:You talk about the International Space Station. You talk about it drawing colleagues from around the world. Everyone brings elements, objects from their unique cultures, their unique backgrounds to the station. If you were going to go up again and bring to that space station one item that is uniquely, quintessentially Houston, Texas, this great city in one artifact, what would it be?

20:33Jane Campbell:It'd have to be a J.J. Watt bobblehead, right? I mean, that'd be an easy one.

20:40Shane Kimbrough:It would be the biggest giant bobblehead you've ever seen in your life.

20:45Rog Bennett:I'm not sure they would get it onto the International Space Station, but I love it because in the theatre they call that foreshadowing people. Shane, I've got to tell you, I love you. I'm inspired by you. We're blessed to go around the nation and have so many incredible human beings on stage. so many of my staff were so excited to meet you, to listen to you, to hear your story. There's a tremendous science in what you do. There's a tremendous athleticism that we weren't able to get into. It's the emotion of your storytelling that ultimately is the wonder of being with you and everything that you do.

21:22Rog Bennett:You embody the best of this great city. Houston, let's hear it for one of your own, the incredible Colonel Shane Kimber.

21:36Thank you.

22:03Rog Bennett:Houston's unique place as a sporting city. Really thrilled to bring up to the stage two pillars of Houston's modern, vivacious football reality, soccer reality.

22:16Shane Kimbrough:One, an ever-present between the goalposts since 2017.

22:21Rog Bennett:An iconic player who is, as Ray Hudson would say, a gladiator goalkeeper. She's a leader of your team, leader of the community, and leader of a sizable pack of dogs she's rescued over the years across this city. Our other guest, one of my favourite footballers to witness on the field, source of endless energy, versatility, audacity, triggering one of the fiercest high presses in the league.

22:48Shane Kimbrough:From your own high-flying Houston Dash, welcome Jane Campbell and Yasmin Ryan!

23:15Rog Bennett:Jane, Yasmin, we are 10 days away from the NWSL opener. You've just been out in Coachella for like a great week. tell us how you both mentally feeling this moment before the first ball rolls Yasmin?

23:30Hakeem Olajuwon:We're feeling great we're so excited for the season to get started I think specifically for our group we've we're a new group and I think the club and the dash have laid a new foundation that we kind of started last year and so we're really building on that this year and we have such exciting goals and yeah just things to execute so we're really excited to get started.

23:55Rog Bennett:Does this season feel different to the seasons past, Jane, or do they all kind of rumble into one?

24:00Hakeem Olajuwon:I think every season's a little different. Like I said, we've laid some foundation last year, but this year we've added a lot of young talent. The team is bringing tons of new energy and I'm really excited to see how it all gets pieced together as the season starts.

24:16Rog Bennett:I want to talk about the city of Houston with you both as a sporting city, get to know it through your eyes. I do need to start with this because I love that you are the owner of no fewer than six dogs, which thrills me. Look at that. That's just two of them. The first one you got, going to go deep on this, Tinkerbell, right?

24:39Hakeem Olajuwon:Yes, Tinkerbell. She's the blonde one.

24:42Rog Bennett:Tinkerbell's the blonde one. I love this. you googled the following small dogs in houston and hours later you met a man selling puppies out the back of a van in a home depot parking lot and when i heard that story i was like jane campbell clearly does not watch enough true crime shows but then i also realized like the essence of you before i met you goalkeepers they simply don't feel fear like the rest of us i guess i

25:09Hakeem Olajuwon:I should have felt a little fear in that moment, but I brought a teammate with me. So it was either both of us were gonna go or, you know, we got the dog, so I got Tinkerville.

25:20Rog Bennett:Tell them, I mean, everybody now that finds any kind of a dog in the greater Houston area, it's like, Jane will take it.

25:26Hakeem Olajuwon:Just about. Yaz is also a new dog owner herself. She rescued a dog at a park last year. The park in our neighborhood, yeah. Did you just see a white van?

25:36Rog Bennett:Was there a white van circling in your life? pretty much tell us about yes come on get in the dog come back oh yeah um my partner's also

25:46Hakeem Olajuwon:obsessed with dogs and so she was on her way home from training and the first dog that she sees wandering around without a collar um was the first opportunity she took to to take this dog um we did try to give it back to its owner but she was meant to be ours honestly she's a perfect dog Her name's Alaska.

26:05Shane Kimbrough:Let's hear it for Alaska. We're going deep on Houston as a dog adoption city.

26:11Rog Bennett:But Yasmin, I love watching you play. I said that in the introduction. You have poetic ferocity. You cut and thrust. It's like watching a great fencer. And when I look at your career, it's almost in chapters. You know, the emerging talent in Portland, in New York, consistency week on week. and then you arrived here January 2025. What does Chapter 3 of Yasmin Ryan's NWSL story, what does it focus on for you?

26:40Hakeem Olajuwon:I think it really focuses on just piecing all of those together. I think just piecing my experience together. Now this being my sixth season in the league, I'm kind of entering that veteran world, and it is new and it feels kind of weird. But, yeah, I think just piecing all of my experience that I've had, the players that I've been able to play with, everything that I've learned so far, and bringing that into kind of like a leadership role and helping share my experience with a lot of the young players that are coming in. And so, yeah, I think that's my plan.

27:16Rog Bennett:Is that really it? It's like leadership for you. It is. Yeah. Now you feel you are in that locker room leading, sharing, demanding.

27:25Hakeem Olajuwon:Yeah, I mean, I think that's something that I have to do. I mean, like Jane said, we're a young team and we have a lot of young talent. And, again, I'm entering into this sixth year, and so it is my role and my duty to kind of bring that into the locker room and help lead the way for anything that this team and the goals that we want to execute and how we want to play. So still show up as me, still be who I am. But yeah, I think sharing that leadership and experience is key.

27:57Rog Bennett:Ten seasons. It's like yesterday I watched your rookie season. I cannot believe. I mean, life goes incredibly fast. You're on a short list of NWSL players who are one club legends. You have been in Houston with a long look at this team's evolution. You've seen fire and you've seen rain here in Houston. but I love listening to you because again you taught in incredibly poetic description you're asked to describe this city and you said the team reflects the city or aspires to reflect the city on the field this is your your quote you said we're gritty we're hard-working we're blue collar we're a fight to the end kind of team that's what we aspire to be can you talk about how the actual City itself has informed the standards that you're trying to inculcate with this team?

28:52Hakeem Olajuwon:I think the big thing about Houston, as all the Houstonians know in this room, is the heat here is just kind of unbearable if you're not used to it. And I think for us, we really embrace that here. There's players who aren't from Houston at all, and they come here and they're like, whoa, the heat is really tough. But I think for us, it's such a moment for us to embrace it and say, okay, come on to our oven and we'll just beat you to death kind of thing.

29:18Shane Kimbrough:So, um, like I said, Houston's a welcoming city.

29:24Hakeem Olajuwon:Yeah, I think it's great. I think, you know, year after year there's been turnover and change and all that. But I think every year we always try and make it just the hardest game you can play against us. And it might not always be pretty, but, um, at the end of the day, we know we're going to work as hard as we can and it's going to be an ugly game for the other team. and we're really, really proud of the city in that regard. We're really proud to represent all the Houstonians here who cheer us on. And I think we just want to make sure that the game is, of course, entertaining, but we always want to win.

29:55Hakeem Olajuwon:So I think the grittiness and the blue-collar-ness comes from all of our fans and us wanting just to be better and to give you guys more.

30:02Rog Bennett:I mean, Yasmin, what James just said. I mean, by the way, I came from New York where it's like minus 100. I'm going to Chicago tomorrow where I think it's even worse. when I arrived at the airport today, I was wearing my big puffy coat, and three people laughed at me before I'd even got out of the car. People genuinely pointing at me and laughing, which is a reminder. It gets bloody hot in your city. I mean, it's a different kind of heat. It is swampy hot. You have the occasional summer downpours mixed in there. Temperatures climbing to the upper 90s. By the way, I need a sip of water just thinking about what it must be like for you guys to play in it.

30:44Rog Bennett:Can you describe, Yasmin, I mean, you have been here since January 2025, so still evolving. Is it mental or physical the greatest challenge to play football here?

30:56Hakeem Olajuwon:I think mainly it's mental, but of course it's physical. You have to prepare your body to play in that type of heat. It's brutal. There's no way around it. There's no getting used to it as much as maybe they tried to convince me when I came here that it would be fine. It was not fine. But, yeah, it's definitely a mental. And I honestly just try to bring myself back to when I played at TCU in Fort Worth. And it was that felt hot. And so I think I just tried to in my brain be like, OK, I've done this before. I can do this every week and just get through it. But like Jane said, I think when teams come here and play in this type of heat, we then embrace it because they're not prepared.

31:44Hakeem Olajuwon:They don't train in it every day. We get to train in it every day, and we get to kind of acclimate to it in a way. And so the way that we can kind of flourish what other teams are just trying to survive is definitely our tactic.

31:58Rog Bennett:It's so interesting. We once had a tennis player, Medvedev, come on our show. and he loves five set games. And I said, what's your strategy? He said, I just know I can suffer more than my opponent can.

32:13Shane Kimbrough:He said, I need to drag us both into a world of hurt as I'm listening to you. It's like, what did he say? Oven, and we're going to, what was your phrase?

32:22Hakeem Olajuwon:Just play a good game of soccer.

32:26Shane Kimbrough:Oh, God bless.

32:28Rog Bennett:We remember it was kick the crap out of you or something. I don't know. What is your advice to the teams who are coming here to play World Cup, you know, to handle that sticky, soupy heat? Because I'm worried the Germans are going to melt.

32:44Hakeem Olajuwon:I mean, again, always prepare your bodies and prepare mentally. But the stadiums that are here are so beautiful. And I think that the crowd and the environment and the atmosphere around in those stadiums while you're playing, you do kind of forget about the heat. And knowing that everybody is in it with you, especially the people watching those games, I think just makes it that much better. And it kind of makes you forget a little bit. So my advice to them is just to embrace it because it's not going away. Nothing's going to change. And try to find that distraction to get you out of that.

33:22Rog Bennett:Just remember, barbecue, meat sweats are the best sweats. Questions for both of you. a couple of them actually. I'm fascinated by Houston. I love being here. It feels like the kind of city where there's just mysteries to be uncovered everywhere. Like, who is that guy in the white van handing out dogs? To another show. But I have just discovered today, you have a world-class collection of rare minerals at your

33:48Shane Kimbrough:Cullen Hall of Gem Science Museum. Houston, I love that you clap, your science museum. That's why I

33:57Rog Bennett:love this city but because look at that i was there today and it is humanly magnificent um question for both of you what is the one place you would both read the world is about to descend upon houston millions of people are going to arrive in your city what would you say to them you have to see this one place to understand the soul of our being the visiting world needs to know

34:22Hakeem Olajuwon:where would you both recommend jean i would definitely say the rodeo but the world is going miss that unfortunately um so i guess if i had to choose something i would say to visit museum

34:30Shane Kimbrough:district and go to all the museums so cullen hall of gems yes it's hard to choose just one place

34:39Hakeem Olajuwon:because um i have been here for just a short time and um i would say experience the food scene and the herman park i think is beautiful so um experiencing the nature scene that you might not think is in houston but houston has it all so by the way i think this is what is going to be

34:56Rog Bennett:the legacy of the World Cup, like Atlanta with the Olympic Games, they put Atlanta on the map. I think in this World Cup, the world is going to leave Houston and be like, that is the spot. I think like in, you know, five generations' time, when rodeo is massive in Germany, and children are like, why are we really into rodeo? And everyone will be like, oh, there was a thing in the World Cup in 2026. It drove us all crazy. And I cannot wait for the world to discover Houston as we have. But I do know I couldn't be a world-class athlete in this city, mostly because I can't be a world-class athlete, but your culinary scene is so unbelievably ecstatic and bold and self-confident and joyous.

35:41Rog Bennett:I mean, I've been to a number of places today, Houston. I want to be completely clear.

35:46Shane Kimbrough:I went to a place called Crawfish and Noodles. and I texted my wife that I would like to be buried there

35:56Rog Bennett:but it is it's amazing and they like crawfish and noodles it is the incredible intersection of so many of the country's best culinary influences why the the barbecue place I went to took Vietnamese influences and mix them with the the central Texas barbecue tradition and it was it was incredible what are your favorite restaurants what's your favorite dish if you wanted i'm essentially wondering where i'm going to head in a couple of hours but if you the visiting world portugal cape verd you know kazakhstan german fans where should they eat and what should they be eating barbecue and i would go to killings killings we all i wish i could name all these places now and you could like all cheer them up like you did Rice Owls and Arsenal.

36:43Rog Bennett:How is Blood Brothers by the way? How did I do?

36:46Shane Kimbrough:Blood Brothers. Can I get a Pinkerton's rating? There you go. One person. So when I ask at the shows, does anyone here support Everton? That was. Is Pinkerton's the Everton of barbecue? Pinkerton's. God bless. Number one, the freekins. Get stuck in there, baby. Yaz, last question

37:09Rog Bennett:for you before i lose the plot this city is massive uh you could fit this is incredible to me you could fit philadelphia baltimore chicago and detroit within the 640 miles square miles of this city um i mean there's a couple of nwsl expansion cities in there i think i mean this city is a constellation so this summer when these fans and there will be hundreds of thousands of them coming to Houston. What do you hope they'll leave and say about this place in the wake of the World Cup wonder?

37:42Hakeem Olajuwon:I think that they're going to leave this place recognizing, understanding how diverse Houston is, diverse in its people, diverse in its culture, diverse in its cuisine, and then just the activities that you can do around here. Like you said, Houston's incredibly big and I think Houston just encompasses pretty much anything that you can experience in the U.S.

38:06Rog Bennett:I mean when we spoke you talked about coming from Oklahoma going to college in Texas there's something deeply familiar about this place the welcoming the warmth I mean in your own words what would those values be of this city?

38:21Hakeem Olajuwon:Oh that's a good question.

38:25Hakeem Olajuwon:um yeah i mean just because texas as a whole is so welcoming i think the values of the city is um just that just like welcoming and warming but also as a space that allows you to be yourself and as a space that allows you to also do things your own way and i think that that is so important in this world and um something that houston has to offer like

38:51Rog Bennett:on when you do that in the city, when you do that on the football field in every regard. I've got to tell you, I was just on NPR today and they asked me a question and I answered it and then they said, I've got to push harder. And they tried to follow up and I just sounded like Yasmin for a second when they asked me that. She answered it a hundred times better than I did on live radio and I love and revere you. But Jane, last question for you. You are, I mean, you are a one club warrior. It's an incredibly rare thing in NWSL where there is so much movement, so much growth. You're joining a group, an incredible group, Megan Rapinoe with the rain, Christy Sinclair in Portland, Marta in Orlando.

39:30Rog Bennett:It's incredible companies, an incredible company to be in. I mean, each of these human beings is a sporting institution, and you are right in there. But to be candid, nobody's done it like Jane Campbell's done it. You're the only goalkeeper in NWSL history. No one has hit 600 saves. No one has hit 15 ,000 career minutes with the same club apart from you. You're the only human being in human civilization that's ever done that. And I want to know, talk to me about being a one club player, not just a one club player, but in this city of Houston, Texas. What does it mean to you to have a sporting legacy ultimately tied to this city?

40:14Hakeem Olajuwon:I definitely don't think I anticipated my career to be here. Not that I'm angry about that. I just, you couldn't have told me my rookie year, I'd be here 10 years later. So I think when I was drafted here back when the draft existed, my first thought was, okay, this city took a chance on me. You could have looked at the draft board and said that I probably shouldn't have been drafted to Houston at that time just because of the roster. But they took a chance on me and I thought to myself, okay, there's a chance that I can give back to the city who wanted me in this draft for some reason. And I know all these years it hasn't been smooth sailing and it hasn't been the prettiest, but we've also had our high moments.

40:54Hakeem Olajuwon:And I'm so thankful for every moment, every coach who's came and went, every player that's came and went. And, you know, the amount of people who have told me to leave this place has been astronomically long. And I just tell myself and I tell them that why would I give up on a place that took a chance on me? and I'm so thankful that the city embraced me and I know I'm a transplant, I'm from Atlanta, but Houston is home to me and I've always felt like everyone here has welcomed me with open arms. I'm sure there's people here who have watched my career for 10 years, which I think is incredible and I'm so thankful for all the support.

41:30Hakeem Olajuwon:So.

41:33Rog Bennett:You just define it. It's about loyalty, tenacity and that welcome that you receive. May that never change to both of you. You're incredible in your own right in every regard. You are lucky to have them. I'm lucky to have them at this desk tonight. Be upstanding, Houston, for your Dash duo, Jane Campbell and Yasmin Ryan.

42:02Shane Kimbrough:What a duo. It's very hard to follow those two. But we're going to try. and I have been looking forward to this so unbelievably deeply because joining me now, a Houston icon, a man that defined sport for me when I first moved to the United States.

42:21Rog Bennett:So many of us, when we think about the 90s, you think of high tops, you think of Walkman, you think of this gent, bobbing and weaving with a Zen-like focus, a serenity on the basketball court, destroying all comers, proof you can be a superstar and a deeply noble spirit. New York Times called him simply the sport's most complete player,

42:47Shane Kimbrough:its most valuable player, and in Shaq speak, the man. Houston, be upstanding for your legend, two-time NBA champion, the dream, to Mr. Hakeem Olajuwon.

43:24Thank you.

43:38Shane Kimbrough:Well, thank you.

43:41Rog Bennett:I moved here to Chicago in 1993. And the day I got here, Michael Jordan retired for the first time. You pushed him out.

43:57Shane Kimbrough:There was only room for one of us, you know what I mean? I felt so guilty. I felt terrible. I felt like I'd done it.

44:04Rog Bennett:and then I watched you dominate the beauty of your play. You won back-to-back titles. For those who are too young to have seen you play, number one, I ache for you if you did not see this man on the court, but how would you describe your style of play in your own words? Because it was beautiful. Wow.

44:29JJ Watt:Thank you. Thank you for the compliments. Well, growing up in Nigeria, you know, everybody played soccer, football. And I think the way people describe my game is the footwork, which is the coordination, you know, the dream shake. It's just the face, the body movements, which is derived from soccer.

44:56Rog Bennett:you were essentially everyone else's mistake was to be playing basketball and you were playing soccer

45:02JJ Watt:grew up playing soccer then I found out I was too taught to play soccer this man was playing chess and everyone else was playing checkers but I have the height advantage as a goalkeeper then they started giving me some low level shots

45:25JJ Watt:I have to switch to basketball

45:28Shane Kimbrough:You were a goalkeeper when you were three-up and you thought you were world-class and nothing could stop you and then people realised gravity if they kept it low

45:39Shane Kimbrough:You're like, I've got to get myself a second career here, man I do remember you

45:45Rog Bennett:during warm-ups in the NBA you used to, every game, juggle that basketball and you'd occasionally often try and like bank it into the net. How good were you as a soccer player? Most of my teammates

46:00JJ Watt:they love to watch the basketball they want me to demonstrate some soccer players so I was lucky one time jogging the ball and I kicked then they went in. That was luck that was luck and they were like

46:18Rog Bennett:Hakeem, you're probably actually, in all seriousness, you're probably one of the top ten soccer players in the United States of America on the men's side back in the 1990s.

46:29Shane Kimbrough:I say that with an incredible sadness. Your signature move, you've talked about it, the dream shake. The New York Times, I'm doing a lot of business for them tonight. I think it's like the 12th time I've quoted them. They described it as spins-off pivots,

46:47Rog Bennett:pivots off spins the world had never seen moves like this before i want to be serious we have joel mb on our show a lot he grew up adoring football too and he learned to play the level of basketball he said hakeem's footwork is what he aspired to have and he said he saw you learning how to play basketball through soccer like he did. Can you say, what did football teach you that prepared you for the legendary NBA career that you had?

47:23JJ Watt:First of all, the coordination. Coordination. You know, you can't touch a ball. It's foul. So you have to do everything with your feet. So the coordination, the competitiveness, the body movement, the fakes, which is all basketball. So if you look at it, basketball, ball landing skills, spin, all that gives you that foundation. That was the foundation for me. So when I started playing basketball, then you start to see the movement, the creativity, you know, just crossing over. You cross over from football to basketball with a similar movement.

48:06Rog Bennett:I just realized why I love watching this man. He was just playing soccer in which you could actually handball the whole game. I mean, you must have thought, wow, this is easy, guys. You talked about how you were a goalkeeper as a kid, and you became one of the great shot stoppers basketball's ever seen. You blocked 3 ,830 shots.

48:32JJ Watt:Wow.

48:33Shane Kimbrough:Look at that. When you look at that, what do you see, Hakeem?

48:41JJ Watt:You know, in soccer, they say goalkeeper. In basketball, rim protector, which is the same duty. Same thing.

48:49Rog Bennett:But they can't shoot it low in basketball. I mean, this is an amazing... When you look at that photograph, really, look at the faces. I don't know who the balls player is, but just look at the faces. What do you see in that photograph? It's incredible, man.

49:09JJ Watt:you know in order to block Michael Jordan's shots because of his creativity so the timing he was shooting that ball coming down hanging that's why you see how to stretch from the weak side see how to stretch that's just to give him the compliment how creative normal shot blocker we just jump first and he can still shoot over yeah so Jordan and I and we play a mind game against each other.

49:47Rog Bennett:But can you describe the joy you... I ask soccer players, football players, when you score a goal, what do you experience? And it's an incredibly beautiful answer. It normally is some kind of euphemism for an orgasm. Can you describe the joy you experience blocking a shot because you're denying joy to others. I mean, that is the part of the game I enjoy the most.

50:17JJ Watt:Why? Can you explain? And also, if I get my shot blocked, I hate it the most. So you give a shot blocker his own medicine, you know, but not often, you know.

50:33Shane Kimbrough:What does it feel like to do that?

50:35JJ Watt:It's incredible. especially to the greatest player in the world. So that's, yeah. You don't see too many of that.

50:44Shane Kimbrough:I mean, by the way, Shane Kimber only went to space nine times and looked down on the earth. This man blocked Michael Jordan.

50:54Rog Bennett:I saw you back on the court. This video has gone viral, age 61, recently. This has just gone out. It was on ESPN. Everyone's losing their minds. looking at this man, Hakim, on the basketball court. Let's take a look. Look at this. I've got to tell you, it is incredible. 61 years old here. Look at this hops you've still got. The joy, the stiff arms, the movement. You're still destroying or killing.

51:24JJ Watt:Thank you, thank you.

51:27Shane Kimbrough:I look at that. You look like you could still pour in 20 points an eye alongside KD. Look like, Mono.

51:36JJ Watt:but once you have the footwork you don't lose it you don't it's like riding a bike

51:43Rog Bennett:yes exactly that's what it feels like right it feels free actually i was uh i took my son to a

51:51JJ Watt:camp there so they forced me to show them something that that was that video show us some moves how you do it so they gave me basketball that was what happened there you destroyed all the country. Next time I saw it, it was viral.

52:08Rog Bennett:I want to talk about this city for a moment. You arrived here as an 18-year-old. By the way, we've not even talked about it. You'd only first touched a basketball a year prior to arriving. Yes. You'd already been drafted. You were coming to play in college here.

52:25JJ Watt:Yes.

52:26Rog Bennett:I mean, it's amazing. You were like, I can use my hands. I'm here. What was it like arriving in Houston for the first time? What was your first impression of this city?

52:35JJ Watt:Well, I first landed in New York and it was freezing. So my next stop was Houston. So as soon as I came out of the airport, the weather reminded me of Nigeria. So I was comfortable from the beginning.

52:59JJ Watt:then I started to meeting the people you know how friendly people in Houston and the city seems very open I felt very comfortable right away met the coaches they didn't know I was coming so I have to take a taxi from the airport young people

53:24Shane Kimbrough:this is before they're even Ubers guys this is a sacrifice yes

53:29JJ Watt:so that's since and I was very lucky also to stay in Houston most of the players when you go to the university you get drafted by a team in another city but to play at the University of Houston and be drafted with Houston Rockets so I've been in Houston for all my life I've ever seen

53:57Shane Kimbrough:do you ever think I was going to ask you so the draft is with a coin it's with a coin flip and it was just a chance that that coin dropped so that you could stay in Houston between Portland and Houston do you ever think there's like an alternate future where the coin

54:15Rog Bennett:flipped up into the air landed on the other side

54:18JJ Watt:it's two-headed coins

54:21Shane Kimbrough:is that right no no do you ever think there's like an alternate future hakeem you we could be in portland right

54:32Rog Bennett:now exactly and you'd be like yeah i love like grunge i love like life out here there could be a very different future you think about that or do you just think it's what it was meant to be this is what god's journey was i mean i felt comfortable thinking i think this is the best

54:47JJ Watt:opportunity for me to stay in Houston. So I came out of college.

54:51Rog Bennett:I think it's a two-sided, one-sided, double-sided coin. You did thrive, spoiler alert, two MVP in the finals, two years in a row. I watched it. It was magnificent to win this. It really was. You and Clyde in particular. It was humanly beautiful, man. you know if Tony Kukoc couldn't win you know I was so happy that you could win because I'm big hearted like that

55:23Shane Kimbrough:by the way Houston's first ever championships in any sport which is wild wild the Texas Monthly I love this quote they said that Hakim carried the team and an entire bedraggled

55:39Rog Bennett:city on his shoulders you know after your career you've done remarkable things in this city we could talk about that hours alone you brought a foreclosed bank and turned it into downtown Houston's first mosque I mean you've really made yourself just like a feature of this city here's what I want to know how do you want to be known Hakeem for what you did on the court or for what you did for this city can you repeat that again? I can because it's an important question how do you want to be known how do you want people to talk about hakeem ala juan as a man who did incredible things on the nba court or as a man who did incredible things for the city of houston i mean if you look at my story you know it's like a dream so they call me the dream so

56:35JJ Watt:they would say that is not real because everything seems so everything is just so right came to the right city grew up in Houston

56:48JJ Watt:be part of the community and to show the the love that the city has shown me and also to be a good citizen being positive encouraging the kids It's just adding value to the community, basically. So, in a other way, how I want people to remember me is up to them.

57:18Shane Kimbrough:This is amazing to have on one stage the dream and the nightmare.

57:25Rog Bennett:United here by football. I want to ask you two last questions. One about Houston and one about the world. um the world is about to come to houston en masse for the world cup you love world cups

57:39Shane Kimbrough:backstage my god we went off on world cup memories and i loved it what do you hope they see

57:47Rog Bennett:about this city what do you hope they they take away from being in this incredible place houston

57:54JJ Watt:well you seem to take pride of being an international city you know and i think that we enjoy different restaurants in Houston.

58:11JJ Watt:Houston have hosted a lot of big events. So I think we are ready for it. I think we have a good experience.

58:22Rog Bennett:What Hakeem means is world, when you're here, go to Bucky's and get yourself some beaver nuggets. Buc-ee's.

58:32Shane Kimbrough:You love Buc-ee's, don't you?

58:33JJ Watt:I love Buc-ee's.

58:34Shane Kimbrough:You love Buc-ee's? I know. Look at you. Look, look at this. What should the world order in a Buc-ee's, Hakeem? That's you in Buc-ee's.

58:52Shane Kimbrough:I love Buc-ee's. I know you love Buc-ee's.

58:55JJ Watt:What do you love about Buc-ee's and what should the world eat in a Buc-ee's? Yeah, I just look forward to stopping, you know.

59:07Shane Kimbrough:What should we get in a Buc-ee? If we're in a Buc-ee's together, what are we ordering?

59:15Some gas and some beaver nuggets.

59:21JJ Watt:Everything is good. The quality of the food and also just the environment. Just going inside, they welcome you. Also sometimes the reaction of the people. They don't expect to see you at Berkis.

59:46Shane Kimbrough:By the way, this is the highlight of my life, talking to Hakeem, the dream about Buc-ee's. But last question. I want to ask you a serious one.

59:56Rog Bennett:I loved you. I had a poster of you above my bed. I loved the way you took on. You destroyed people, and you smiled, and you brought joy, and you killed them again. And you were asked, after you'd won your second title and your second MVP, you asked about your life philosophy and you said something beautiful hakeem you said i'm secure within the key is just to live my life to be a good citizen a good family man to enjoy the journey right now we talked about it the world is so crazy what's the secret to enjoying the journey that we're on, Hakeem?

1:00:41JJ Watt:Wow, that's a very good question. I think it's to treat people the way you want to be treated. You know, just me. Yeah, it's just simple. You talked to me earlier, you said the world needs more kindness. More kindness, yes. I mean, I think, you know, the maturity, the responsibility of leaders, to cultivate the next generation to be more kind. I think we need that. To kindness,

1:01:19Rog Bennett:to empathy. I do want to say how much it means to me, team me, to be on stage with you tonight is deeply profound. You're dominating me. You are. You are a legend. You're an icon. You are the dream. It is a childhood dream for me to be with you today. Houston, please be upstanding for a legend.

1:01:43Shane Kimbrough:Thank you.

1:02:12Hakeem Olajuwon:Hakim Olajuwon!

1:02:17Shane Kimbrough:Oh my God.

1:02:23It's like meeting Nigerian-American Nick Voltemada. It's time to bring up our next guest.

1:02:36Shane Kimbrough:that was a lot i gotta tell you that was very beautiful can we just hear it again for hakeem the world needs more human beings like that i gotta tell you world needs more human beings like our next guest a gen who decided this is kind of incredible that he was going to be an nfl star when he was just seven years old started practicing his autograph when he was in middle school. I think that's where I went wrong. There wasn't enough autograph practicing. Drafted by your Houston Texans. Spent over a decade in the NFL making opposing quarterbacks reconsider their career choices on a weekly basis.

1:03:20Shane Kimbrough:What he accomplished on the football field

1:03:23Rog Bennett:made him an utter legend. But his charity work is, I think, what made him a true hero. Especially through...

1:03:33Shane Kimbrough:especially through his fundraising efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

1:03:37Rog Bennett:It's his willingness to use his power for good that transcends even this remarkable city. And I'm honestly proud to call him a friend. As his Premier League fandom, it's growing and growing and growing. What I love about him is he's a man who doesn't just talk about things, he does them. I think we all know that right. And it's true in football. He became a co-owner of Burnley Football Club, remains the only Premier League owner who make Adama Troare look undersized.

1:04:08Shane Kimbrough:Houston, please be upstanding for the legendary Mr. JJ Watt! CHEERING

1:04:36Yazmeen Ryan:Thank you. I was just perusing this book. I was under the impression I'd have a chapter.

1:04:45Shane Kimbrough:and i don't even see my name it's called the acknowledgments anywhere you've clearly not read it jj i mean you've had 20 it came out yesterday you've had 24 hours to read it i'm a i'm a fast reader i'm a fast reader what a crowd look at this place wow they say you know they say never follow animals or children you should never follow hakeem no what what do you you set me up for

1:05:12Yazmeen Ryan:failure.

1:05:14Shane Kimbrough:I said this all. We're all doomed. Let's be candid. Houston's greatest. I mean, the guy's

1:05:18Yazmeen Ryan:unbelievable. I love Hakeem. He's the best.

1:05:20Shane Kimbrough:He is an unbelievable human being. I gotta tell you, top smelling incredible human beings. Virgil van Dijk, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dominic Calvallewin. He's just cracked the top three, guys. He smells just absolutely stunning in every regard. He shook my hand And for days, I'm going to shake people's hand and they're going to smell Hakeem Olajuwon's cologne and it's going to be magnificent. But this is about, not about me.

1:05:51Rog Bennett:It's about you, JJ. And I want to rewind. In your city, which is stunning, I want to go back 15 years to the start of your Houston story. You just finished your final season at the University of Wisconsin. I'm not pausing for applause there because I know that you're all like, Anybody from the University of Wisconsin here? Anyone who supports Everton?

1:06:16Shane Kimbrough:Oh my God. You're all insane.

1:06:21Rog Bennett:You were the most dominant thing. I don't like to be hyperbolic. Out of Wisconsin since unfailing politeness and Friday fish fries. You were taken 11th in the NFL draft 2011 by your Houston Texans.

1:06:40Shane Kimbrough:And then you arrived with your beautiful parents, John and Connie, at the Houston airport for the first time.

1:06:47Rog Bennett:What did you know about this city, JJ?

1:06:50Yazmeen Ryan:Nothing. I did not know anything. I had never been to Houston before. I did not anticipate being drafted by the Texans. The coach, the famous story from my D-line coach was at the NFL Combine. He asked me, do you think you play hard? And I said, I play hard every single snap, coach, I promise. And he said, bull****. And I said, oh, okay. And he said, you don't play hard at all. You're soft and you don't work very hard. And I said, it was nice meeting you, sir. Have a great day. And I didn't think I was going to be going to the Houston Texans. Turned out that guy was my coach for a long time. And I hated him for a little while.

1:07:36Yazmeen Ryan:He was pretty tough on me, as you can imagine. And now he's one of my best friends, and I love him to death. But you need some of that tough love. And when I got to Houston, literally one of the first things I did on my first day, which is a very touristy thing to do, but I did it. I went to Cavendish. I picked up some boots and a hat, and I put them on, and I just went around town like a normal person, thinking that that's how everybody dressed. I don't know if you guys know, that's not how people dress. everyone was like that guy's just arrived day one yeah it's a six foot six guy with some justin's boots on and a like i don't know what i was doing but uh the people here have been unbelievable to me i mean truthfully growing up in wisconsin never having been here met anybody from here to now considering this place truly a home and like family and when i land here and when I go to restaurants and I meet people, it's not like an athlete meeting a fan.

1:08:38Yazmeen Ryan:It's like a family member meeting a family member, and you hug and you say thank you, and I just, I'm very grateful.

1:08:48Shane Kimbrough:You've still got those boots.

1:08:50Yazmeen Ryan:I still have those boots. I did pick up some Lucchesis now, though. I got myself a nice pair.

1:08:57Rog Bennett:I've read, to prepare for this, one of your first interviews as a Texan, You said, I'm trying to get used to the late summer weather, which is a very... You don't. You don't.

1:09:08Yazmeen Ryan:It's unbelievable.

1:09:09Rog Bennett:You just had your first meal at Papadou, Cajun seafood. You were loving it.

1:09:14Yazmeen Ryan:Absolutely.

1:09:15Rog Bennett:99 % humidity and pan-grilled redfish. It's the secret of life. When you look back on those 10 years here, J.J., what did you have to experience yourself to truly understand the soul of this city?

1:09:32Yazmeen Ryan:You have to understand the melting pot that it is, the different types of people that live here, but all come together as one and embrace this place and these people for who we are. and you have to understand the toughness and the resiliency and the grit. And then obviously going through the hurricane, the perseverance and the willingness to help your fellow city mate out in their most difficult times. And not only people from Houston, people from all over the world. I fortunately got a firsthand view of what it means to step up in the face of adversity and the whole world stepped up for us. And I was fortunate enough to be the avenue for which people did that, but I never have witnessed anything like that in my entire life.

1:10:23Yazmeen Ryan:And it gave me so much hope for humanity. But that's what this place is. We are all from different places. You can see people from any country, any city, speaking any language. But somehow we all understand that together is how we are great. and I've been fortunate enough to be able to represent this place for a while and I'm very lucky.

1:10:46Shane Kimbrough:I love that. I love that. By the way, those words, together is how we are great.

1:10:54Rog Bennett:There's so much life truth in there. I want to talk about both elements because they're both incredibly singular. You played 10 seasons here in Houston. You became a legend. Look at you. I mean when you see that by the way what do you see?

1:11:11Yazmeen Ryan:I miss it you know I miss it I don't miss waking up on Mondays but I do miss I don't miss getting hit I definitely miss hitting people yeah there's some days man there's some days where like you're in traffic and you're like or somebody's walking slow in front of you and you're just like i used to be able to get all this out you know at practice or at a game now i got nowhere to go with it you know just go to my weight room and lift heavy things and put them back down just every now and then i just want to smoke somebody you know

1:12:01Shane Kimbrough:i feel like i've just been put on warning you know what i mean

1:12:05Yazmeen Ryan:and make good content Raj I mean if you're looking for ratings we'll write a whole another book about me tackling you on stage

1:12:11Rog Bennett:first season we ever had I can't remember who the wrestler was

1:12:14Shane Kimbrough:but he goes do you want me to choke you out live on television I was like not really not really he goes it'll be great television I was like I can tell you

1:12:24Yazmeen Ryan:my most recent one I was at the Burnley match on Saturday and And the ref called back two goals. We were down 3-0 in the first half. Not good. Wanted to tackle a few people there. Then we came back. We tied it 3-3. And we scored a goal to go up 4-3. So I thought. Yeah. I'd like to tackle that ref. He was. and uh whoever was running the var i'd really like to go to that location i'm gonna i'm hopping on a phone call tomorrow with them actually for real um luckily it's zoom it's just zoom don't worry by the way i love by the way this is the essence of houston you're all clapping this and

1:13:23Shane Kimbrough:I love it. They're with me.

1:13:25Yazmeen Ryan:They'll pay the fine. Yeah. We know how to do GoFundMes around here. Don't worry. They got me covered.

1:13:34Shane Kimbrough:Oh, young people watching, this is the art of negotiation. When you're on the call, on the Zoom, with the VAR people, open up being like, I don't miss being hit, but I miss hitting people.

1:13:49Shane Kimbrough:I'm going to get back to all of this.

1:13:52Rog Bennett:but you did play 10 seasons so you became a legend three time NFL defensive player five time pro bowler Walter Payton man of the year set franchise records for sacks quarterback hits, fumble recoveries VAR challenges and you're one of only four people to be inducted into the Texans ring of honour I think only two of those are players to be candid you accomplished so bloody much JJ personally of that time on the field what are you most proud of when you think about it

1:14:30Yazmeen Ryan:just the way you play i think just the way you play the game and just leaving it all out there i mean there's no question i'm disappointed i wasn't able to accomplish the number one goal of bringing the city a championship but uh i can't say it was for lack of effort or for lack of literally given my body and everything to it. I had far too many surgeries that I care to count, but tried to do everything I could to leave it all in the field for it and just wanted to give back what they gave to me. I mean, I live the life that I live now because of this city. If people don't come to our games, if people don't watch us, if people don't buy our jerseys and buy tickets to come watch us play a kid's game, I don't get to live this unbelievable life.

1:15:14Yazmeen Ryan:I never get to go to Burnley. I never get to meet you. There's a whole life that I never get to see. So I just try to make sure every time I stepped on that field, they knew with my play how much I appreciated them.

1:15:31Shane Kimbrough:I love it.

1:15:32Rog Bennett:Don't take a second for granted. I mean, that is a life lesson. And I feel like when we talk, to be candid, that you are someone who's trying to fill every single minute with meaning and moments. and you talked about it earlier right off the bat you are also known for your immense charity work for your willingness to give you time and your full attention to what the world around you needs and what's remarkable when i was researching this jj i found an interview um where even at college from day one you you talked about starting the jj what foundation in your junior year You said the following, whether I'm going to the NFL or not, I want to be able to help change lives.

1:16:15Rog Bennett:And when I found that, I was like, that is, I will say that's different. I speak to a lot of athletes. Elite athleticism is by definition a selfish pursuit. It has to be. That impulse, though, that you had early, the motivation to help others, to raise their own challenge, to face their own challenges, to rise up. Where does that come from?

1:16:38Yazmeen Ryan:It was all my parents. My parents, I mean, I realized they taught me how fortunate I was. We weren't rich. We weren't poor. We were middle class, and we were very fortunate. I never once had to wonder if I had food on the table. I never once had to wonder if I could play a sport if I wanted to. I always had those opportunities, and they made sure to let me know that not everybody else was as fortunate. And so they would take me to volunteer and they would take me to go, my brothers and I, to go and see other places that didn't have as much. And so we'd try and give back. And they just always put into my brain to remember how fortunate you are.

1:17:18Yazmeen Ryan:And then obviously once I started to get an opportunity to use a platform to do so, it became very, very enjoyable to see the elevation of others and to be able to give back and to see how many people wanted to do that. And not everybody has an outlet. There's so many great, great, great people in the world, and I think that's something that I always have noticed, is that we as athletes or entertainers or celebrities or whoever get headlines when we do good things. But it's just the nature of it because we get headlines no matter what. We also get the bad headlines. But there's so many people out there that do so many good things that don't get headlines because they're not famous, they're not an athlete, whatever it is.

1:18:00Yazmeen Ryan:And if we can give them that outlet where they can be a part of it, I just wish that they could get the same headlines that we get when we do it.

1:18:07Rog Bennett:What felt good when you say you realized early it felt good? I mean, athletes love the spotlight. They deserve the spotlight. We spotlight them in our society. You guys, you know, the sacks, the domination, the glory, the wins, the prestige, the paychecks. What felt good to you about helping others?

1:18:29Yazmeen Ryan:I think it's just realizing that there's something so much bigger than yourself in this world. I think it's a very similar thing that I realized when I had kids of my own, now that I have two little boys. You know, everybody tries to explain it to you, and everybody tries to tell you how unbelievable it is and how awesome it is, how hard it is. But you don't know. You literally, I could explain it until I'm blue in the face, but until you have it, you don't know. And it's the same thing with giving back and helping others. It's like once you do it, you realize that there is nothing that compares to that because it's an act of selflessness.

1:19:01Yazmeen Ryan:It's an act of helping others be the best versions of themselves. And it's just special. The apogee.

1:19:17Rog Bennett:By the way, the whole theme of this is word and action and deed. And it is remarkable to me. and I feel it every time I'm with you. And the apogee of all of this, 2017, a dark moment for this incredible city, Hurricane Harvey. You stepped up. You personally asked for help. You raised more than$41 million for this city. It remains to this day the largest crowdsourced fundraiser in history. And by the way, you then went, and when I had learned this and was reminded of it, it's even more profound. You took the time to meet with every organization who received those donations. And the numbers are truly astounding.

1:19:59Rog Bennett:Two years, more than 1 ,000 homes repaired or rebuilt. Over 970 childcare centers after school programs recovered. More than 239 million meals distributed to those in need. I mean, JJ, I'm someone that believes deeply that in times of darkness, it really reveals the true character of those around you, those we call friends, those we believe, you know, a deeply connected family, you really only learn that in the worst of times. When you look back at that truly awful time for so many human beings in this city, many of whom are here tonight, and what you did was, what was the moment that was most meaningful to you that you can share with us?

1:20:43Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, the moment that immediately sticks out in my mind is a moment between my wife and I and our kitchen at about 1 a.m. in the middle of training camp because that's when all this was happening. I was still training for football and this was all happening and it was a full day of practice. It was a full evening of meeting with government officials, Red Cross and all these different organizations trying to figure out, okay, what do we do? And it was me and her in my kitchen. We both just kind of sat there and looked at each other and broke down crying together. Both sad because of everything that happened, and you're sitting there trying to fix it, and you know that even$41 million isn't going to make much of a dent in the overall true impact of everything.

1:21:33Yazmeen Ryan:And you're sitting there like, this is as good as we could have ever hoped for, and we're still not going to be able to help everyone. And there's a very heavy weight of that moment on you. But then there's also tears of joy because you're sitting there looking at the account of hundreds of thousands of people who donated, whether it's little kids who donated their lemonade stand money or it's celebrities from across Europe who sent in money, like people I've never met and never will meet. And you're like, how did these people even know or think or care to do this? So there was this juxtaposition of both sides of it.

1:22:08Yazmeen Ryan:And I'll never forget being in that kitchen with my wife and just sitting there like, how did we get here and how are we the ones trying to figure this out? But we knew the responsibility was ours and we were going to do right by those people. And we did the absolute best we possibly could. People can try and criticize it or say it wasn't perfect, but I promise you, we tried as hard as we could to do as much as we could and it was truly incredible.

1:22:42Rog Bennett:a man of action a man of passion a man of deed it's carried you into the football I want to say I love your footballing journey of discovery

1:22:53Yazmeen Ryan:is this where we get into Everton Burnley from yesterday because I I mean it had to be coming I feel like you've been buttering me up there's a lot of nice things you're saying everything is great he's awesome what a nice guy I told you Bill Dickerson Stadium 2-0

1:23:09Shane Kimbrough:I told you we'd only do an hour on the game yesterday. I told you we'd keep it quick. We go in deep. We talk about James Beautiful Tarkovsky. I wasn't going to mention it. You know what I mean?

1:23:22Yazmeen Ryan:Dwight McNeil's been dancing in your mind all night. I know. See, I was going to ask when you were getting to town to see if you wanted to come and watch the game with me. And I'm glad I didn't. I couldn't stomach that.

1:23:37Shane Kimbrough:I got a text just saying persona non grata. I had to Google it.

1:23:41Rog Bennett:The reality is, please God, I actually wish we'd gone to that game

1:23:47Shane Kimbrough:and then when the score was what it was, I was glad we didn't go because I know you miss hitting people.

1:23:55Rog Bennett:But I do love your journey. I love witnessing it. I love experiencing it. I love sharing it. You grew up as a child playing American sports, baseball, basketball, hockey gridiron football in Pewaukee, Wisconsin you did spend one delicious season as a soccer stud you didn't win a game until the last game of the year

1:24:19Shane Kimbrough:when you scored a second half hat trick let's hear it for that talk us through those three iconic goals tell us what kind of a player was JJ Watt in that incredible match, I feel like he's the one that got away

1:24:32Yazmeen Ryan:Yeah, no, I definitely was. I mean, 6 '6", 290-pound footballers are really what the Premier League's looking for. Me and Hakeem, we're going to be unbelievable together. He's just going to chuck it down to me. I'm going to head it in. I don't think it's on the rules.

1:24:47Shane Kimbrough:By the way, there's a lot of Arsenal scouts in the audience tonight who are like sending Mikel Arteta texts with a lot of eggplant emojis.

1:25:00Yazmeen Ryan:anyway the story goes we're just gonna we're gonna fly right past that um it's no so it's third grade uh i went out for soccer and i believe that i was assigned to the team that they made up because there were too many players and they didn't think they were going to be enough so they made up a team because we had brown and yellow jerseys not good colors for jerseys and everybody else had you know cool uniforms like team names like the blazers and the you know the chargers and we were just the brown and yellow team we didn't even have a name probably why we didn't win a game roger i'm gonna be honest with you um so we we didn't win a game all year and so finally like the back half of the season my parents were like all right you're gonna go to your hockey games before your soccer games all right and so for the final game of the year I had a hockey game that conflicted.

1:25:52Yazmeen Ryan:So I went to the hockey game first, played in that, and then I showed up at halftime for the final game of the season. And all season long, our coach had told us, if you guys win, I'm taking you out for ice cream. Like many coaches do. Kids all over the country have been getting ice cream after wins their whole life.

1:26:09Shane Kimbrough:By the way, pet cordialist is the same.

1:26:12Yazmeen Ryan:There's some daiquiris in your life. Not us. We didn't have ice cream all year. Starving kids. After every game, we're not even asking how we lost. We're just like, damn, that ice cream. Those kids are going to have such good ice cream. And so the final game, I came in for my hockey game. I must have been riding a high. We must have won. And I came in and scored three goals. And we won. And we got ice cream.

1:26:42Yazmeen Ryan:Chocolates, wrinkles. Frozen custard. Technically not ice cream. Frozen custard. We are Wisconsin. It is Wisconsin.

1:26:49Shane Kimbrough:no offense to blue bill but anyway maricho pochettino is taking notes about how to get the best out of christian politic at the world cup do the ben and jerry's endorsement um the reality is our journey has been amazing you first came on our show 2021 you talked about

1:27:05Rog Bennett:you know in college you played like most children in a high functioning educational setting you'd spend most of your time playing fifa um you'd start to play the ivory coast led by didier Drogba and because you are a man of passion you ended up at Chelsea watching his club play and I know that moment had an incredible like sparking for you you were moved by it Stanford Bridge and I'm always fascinated because you're a man who's played in incredible football incredible college incredible NFL stadia what was it about being at a Premier League stadium at a Premier League game that you'd not experience in American sports it's hands down how much it's purely about

1:27:47Yazmeen Ryan:the football and nothing else. I think that was the thing that hit me the most, was there's no pregame show, there's no halftime show, there's no postgame show, there's no cheerleaders. They even minimize the size of the big screens and everything, besides your new monstrosity of a stadium that you guys just built. To be fair, I will say, to be fair, our supporters spoke unbelievably highly of it yesterday. They were extremely... They did. They did. They were very gracious. They did. They said they talked about how like in a world of football grounds that you can build a big soulless bowl. They said you guys have captured the feeling.

1:28:27Yazmeen Ryan:So congratulations. You captured it. You did it. Good job. But I realized that it was that's what the primary that's what's so cool about European football to me is that you show up and everybody lives and breathes with every kick of the ball. Nobody's focusing on anything else. Nobody's looking for the vendor for the popcorn or a hot dog. It is. We are locked in. We know how the game goes. And we will boo you if you kick the ball wrong. Because we know where you're supposed to kick the ball. It's a blast.

1:28:57Rog Bennett:I mean, watching you fall for football has been one of the most remarkable things to witness. Because it happened so bloody quickly. You came on the show first. You talked about watching Chelsea. You talked about the joy of making breakfast tacos. you know you were interested in football and then your team asked if you could come back on and you came back on and it honestly blew me away you told me you had fallen down a YouTube wormhole and interviewing it was like a different person it was like interviewing Peter Parker before and after being bitten by the bloody spider because you would like you'd learn about tactics, history culture the business manifestation of the game you were like a different person what drove this sudden incredible learning journey jj because borderline obsession man what did european

1:29:50Yazmeen Ryan:football provide for you that you were looking for yeah probably unhealthy uh also expensive now um but i think it's the it's the un it's it's the obsessive quality that i it's the same thing that makes you a great athlete. It's the same thing that makes you whatever you're passionate about that you go all in on. I mean, to get where I wanted to be as a football player, I had to be 100 % all in on it the entire time. And so it kind of just carried that quality over to other things. And when I got interested in football, that's part of the reason I loved it, was because I didn't know a lot about it.

1:30:27Yazmeen Ryan:And so the first time that we talked, you know, I knew a little bit, but I didn't know a ton. And I am vastly intrigued, and I'm still intrigued to this day and learning as much as humanly possible about this sport about how you play it about how you operate it about how you own it about the business side works it is forever fascinating to me and it's like a puzzle you're constantly trying to unlock i want to dig a bit deeper

1:30:50Rog Bennett:because i was actually at a party i didn't want to go to as one of my wife's old college friends um i was incredibly uh slightly hostile and not that interested i got a text from you you were

1:31:01Shane Kimbrough:like, I am going to invest in an English football club. And then you told me who it was. And we, I mean, these were long texts, mostly from me who didn't want to be at the party it was at.

1:31:13Rog Bennett:But it was like, you were like Burnley, this incredibly authentic, traditional club in the northwest of England. I mean, it did shock me in the moment, this child of Wisconsin, like Burnley, knowing so much about it. You'd done your due diligence and you followed through on your word. May 2023. I love this moment. I want to be candid. It moved me very, very deeply that this child of Wisconsin who grew up playing the other sports fell in love with the game we all love here tonight. And it did make me think that if we can get J.J. Watt as a football lover of the United States, we can get anyone.

1:31:54Rog Bennett:I mean that sincerely. This was a profound moment for me. If we've got this dude, we're kind of like we're so close to doing what we've all dreamed of right and becoming a proper football nation what was it about english football that engaged you to such an extent

1:32:11Yazmeen Ryan:that you have invested in it the passion passion the history of the supporters um it's there's nothing like it in terms of like the true tribalism of it and it's it's the most pure form of it because it's literally where you grew up. Today in American sports, we've somewhat lost a little bit of that. There's still plenty of it, no questions asked, that everybody feels connected to the team that they grew up watching in the city that they grew up in. But with fantasy football, with all these different things in today's world, with the ability to watch everything, people do become fans of players and become fans of different things, and there's a little bit of that that's kind of separated while there is still the core.

1:32:55Yazmeen Ryan:Over in England, I mean, if you're walking around Burnley in any shirt but a Burnley shirt, there's a problem. And if you're walking around Liverpool in anything but a Liverpool jersey, or if you're walking around Merseyside in anything but a blue, I picked that for a reason, Raj. But it is true and real, and it is passed down and you watch the games with your mom and dad and you go to the match and the ticket prices are still like trying hard to keep them affordable so that everybody can stay going and it is just that deep deep rooted and people tell you about the stories that we've had these seats for generations and generations and passed down and like it's just unbelievable in the songs and the chance and there's it's magical and you go to a stadium i mean you've been there you were with me uh we we had a good one to go to together um there's just nothing like it when you score oh yeah oh yeah you're too posh for us by the way with your fancy hats and your um i was escorted off the premises shortly after this photograph but that was an unbelievable day It was such a special day, and I got to spend it with you, who has been a part of my journey through this.

1:34:16Yazmeen Ryan:And you have been such a good friend, also a bit of an advisor and somebody that I can talk to on a deeper level. Because not many people on this side of the pond are able to talk about it at such a deep level. And I suppose, like many of you here are among us with the 6 a.m. wake-up crew every Saturday and Sunday, right?

1:34:41Shane Kimbrough:I found it so moving going there. I mean, Burnley, you've got to know, and I think many of you do know, this is a post-industrial cotton town.

1:34:50Rog Bennett:I mean, it really is. There's no kind of like American equivalent, but it's vaguely like Allentown, Pennsylvania, I guess. I mean, it's a proud town. It's a passionate town. It's a capsule, for me, of authentic football culture, Burnley. and I was amazed experiencing Burnley with you JJ Watt it is this is a town that doesn't stand for much bullshit, I've got to be candid and we arrived, you took me to

1:35:19Shane Kimbrough:the iconic Royal Deitch for pre-match pints to the Miners Club for a Benedictine bomb, the local speciality, went to Hafner's

1:35:29Rog Bennett:local pie specialist, I have been to so many games of American special american celebrities i really have i have never been to one with a gentleman who has no security just walks around on his own is mobbed like enjoys every single encounter is loved by everyone talks to everyone i realized when we were doing it you acted in a way you could not if you went to an nfl game no there was something you want to see seem so free to me being there yeah

1:36:00Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, it reminds me of being in my hometown of Pewaukee because people have seen you. I mean, obviously the first time I went over there was a little bit different than now. But they've seen you. They know you. If they wanted a picture, they probably already got it by now. So now life is just like, oh, yeah, it's not like, oh, wow, there's the American football player who owns part of the club. It's just, yeah, there's JJ. He came in for his drink before the match. Like, we all walked together to the match. Like, when you do it in a real way and you're honest and authentic about it and you're just who you are, people see that and they're like, oh, yeah, just leave him alone.

1:36:41Yazmeen Ryan:He's going to do his thing. We're going to do our thing. We can all have our drink together. We're all here to watch the match. Like, all we all want is for this thing to go to a win today. And there's something about it that brings us all together. And that's why I love going over there so much because it's so normal and it's just so relaxed.

1:36:59Rog Bennett:It is so normal and it is so otherworldly. Wisconsin, United States, NFL star, Premier League. You could invest in U.S. sports. There are so many groups that would have you and Kealia investing in them in a heartbeat. And you might one day. But I am fascinated. It's been really interesting watching you wrap your brain around English football and the economics and the business. It's been fascinating. It almost feels like there's like a fresh discovery for you. And you told me that you spent the last two decades proving that you could dominate physically or come as this next phase of your life. You always want to test yourself and challenge your own mind.

1:37:46Rog Bennett:Is that part of it?

1:37:48Yazmeen Ryan:Yeah, there's no question. A big part of this and a little bit different, you know, people are like, why didn't you invest in the NFL? I wanted something that I could be an actual significant part of where I could be deep into the operation and I could learn. And I could grow as a person and grow as a businessman and learn something that I didn't know. And so this was an opportunity for me to be in the boardroom, for me to talk to the players, for me to be at the training ground, for me to talk to the managers and to learn every aspect of this inside and out, how the sporting side goes, how the business side goes, the transfer market.

1:38:21Yazmeen Ryan:It's so fascinating. And so I've loved every aspect of that. And then I also, like I said before, it's the history and the tradition. Something that I love about Burnley is we've been around since 1882. My goal is to continue. The reason I wear this crest is because I love honoring that past and that history. And I want to continue to try and find new ways to honor that past and that history. Because like you talked about, with Americans coming into a European sport, it is tribal. They are very protective. Rightfully so. They have been there for generations. I haven't. I'm brand new. So I'm coming in, and if you have any fake bone in your body, they're going to see it and kick you out.

1:39:00Yazmeen Ryan:So all I'm trying to do the whole time is make sure that I honor and show them that I have the respect for how long they've been here. and hopefully, possibly, take them to some heights at some point that they've never been.

1:39:13Rog Bennett:I mean, this has been a challenging season, return to the Premier League. There's been some bright moments. Marcus Edwards, second-half equaliser to draw with defending champions. And slightly dodgy Liverpool at Anfield. Three goals in seven minutes, the Stunt Crystal Palace, 3-2. And just last weekend, you were at Turf Moor. We talked about it, 3-0 down to Brentford. first 35 minutes. You thought, I watch Burnley a lot mostly because I care for this human being. This team have always had fight this season. They've always had fight. This game, so much fight. Brentford scored in the 93rd minute.

1:39:52Rog Bennett:You had an almost beautiful equaliser, 99 from Ashley Barnes. Vardoff, after an incredibly lengthy review, you posted this on Twitter. If it takes 10 minutes, it's not clear

1:40:05Shane Kimbrough:and obvious.

1:40:09Shane Kimbrough:By the way, I just want you to know how much I love you, Houston. And we are in America in 2026, is it? I've got no idea anymore. But, like, to clap VAR decisions with Americans is, like, this is what I dreamt of when I moved here in 1994. Love this crowd. Love this crowd.

1:40:29Rog Bennett:I love a co-owner that's willing to speak so publicly, JJ. I've got to be candid.

1:40:33Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, I know I'm not the only one frustrated by this. I know I'm not. There's similar things in the NFL, and they're trying to speed it up, and they're trying to find ways, but the whole point of this entire thing at the very beginning of it was for them to be able to clear up clear and obvious errors. It was not for us to be finding toenails that are offside by three centimeters. It was not for us to be trying to decide with a microscope, is this off his hand or is this off his hit? It was for clear and obvious. So in my personal opinion, if you turn on that tape and it's not clear in 60 seconds, leave the on-field decision as it stands.

1:41:19Shane Kimbrough:By the way, the NFL commentating was just the beginning. The Premier League commentating era for J.J. Watt is going to be amazing. NBC can't make it happen.

1:41:29Yazmeen Ryan:I'm taking Gary Neville straight out of his spot.

1:41:38Rog Bennett:Last year, you went next level. You invested in Espanol, the Parakeets, baby, in Spain's Little League. I've got to say, I loved watching you, an NFL legend, go over there in person. You drank the pints. You sang with the supporters. I watched it. I was like, oh, my God. Oh, yeah. they were singing the song so loud and it wasn't clear to me if JJ knew what he was singing or not so he just drained the pipe until he

1:42:06Shane Kimbrough:finished the song which was like genius

1:42:08Yazmeen Ryan:I'm still learning the Spanish I have to be careful when I take photos with signs because I don't know what they're saying could be talking crap right at me look at this idiot

1:42:21Shane Kimbrough:still learning the Spanish like Trent Alexander Arnold but in my lifetime when I moved here football was so like Americans were like phobic

1:42:33Rog Bennett:about football you have all moved in this beautiful beautiful Rice Opera theatre tonight to such a football loving nation a World Cup is coming to these shores it's going to be millions of young NFL fans who are going to watch football for the first time you're now an NFL broadcaster what's your message to them about what they can be poised to experience through football through soccer and it's true joy jj i think that the respect for the world's game and a game that

1:43:10Yazmeen Ryan:has been around for so long and is loved by so many is something that only continues to grow on this audience here and we'll continue to understand and see why so many love it and come around to it in obviously the way that I have. I think there's no doubt that there's still going to be some issues with the flopping. The simulation is a problem. Even as an owner, I understand that there's tactical reasons for why you do it and how it works, whether it's trying to get a foul or whether it's trying to waste some time. I understand it all. I still don't like it, but I understand it. Me and Vince and company and I have talked about this quite a bit.

1:43:55Yazmeen Ryan:Vince is awesome. He's truly one of the best in terms of him and I speaking about the sport. But we've talked about this, and it's just like learning the insiders from a veteran of the NFL and some of the tips and tricks that you learn. He'd be like, yeah, you see that guy tying his shoe over there? His shoe wasn't actually untied. He just needed a couple seconds. So I'm like, oh, all right. And then, like, you know, penalty shootouts, and some of the James Trafford notoriously saved two penalties in the last 10 minutes of a match for us to save the match. And it was some of the, I don't know, we got kids in here.

1:44:32Yazmeen Ryan:I don't know. It was some of the best house free I have ever seen in my life. It was, I mean, the guy drank his water bottle 17 times. He put his gloves on and off. It was like a 15-minute penalty that this guy had to take. And you could see the guy's brain was in a pretzel by the time he stepped up to take it. But, like, I love that little stuff. But that, sorry, that was a way roundabout way to get to saying that I think the flopping is the thing that people, NFL fans, have a problem with. If we can get past that and you can just see the beauty of the game and see just the flowing and the tactics and what's happening, it really is a joy to watch.

1:45:15Rog Bennett:What JJ just said, young Americans, the flopping we know is a problem, but stay for the s***housery.

1:45:25Shane Kimbrough:It's formal to imagine, like, hate, love. Love will win out, s***housery will win out too, and you will be all the better for it in life in every regard. I mean, the World Cup is coming, not just to the United States, it's coming to Houston, Texas. Which I've mentioned once or twice. We're now 99 days out. Host seven games. You once said this. This is amazing. I go back and I look at Michael Jordan and what made him great. I look at what made Beyonce great.

1:45:57Rog Bennett:I look at Jay-Z and how he became great. So you're an expert in this. When you look at this singular city at Houston, in your mind, what does it have that makes it great that the world is going to savour this summer? Food. Go deeper.

1:46:16Yazmeen Ryan:No, but truthfully, we have great, great food. I mean, I've always said I believe Houston is one of the most underrated food cities in the world. So I think people that come here are going to...

1:46:28Yazmeen Ryan:So people that come here are going to get fatter. It's certainly partially. You're going to have some breakfast tacos and kolaches in the morning. Start your day off right. You're obviously going to get... What? Where are we going for these? Well, now you're going to start some wars.

1:46:42Shane Kimbrough:Yeah, they said to me, you've got to go deeper. And I was like, I can't go deeper. You've got on the show.

1:46:48Yazmeen Ryan:I'm a big Island Grill fan. So Island Grill breakfast tacos are my go-to breakfast taco. I also am partial to Papa's Barbecue. They have some jalapeno sausage breakfast tacos that are phenomenal. I had to get those every Saturday as a rookie for my defensive line. I had to get Shipley's Donuts and Papa's breakfast tacos. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, this show's going to run long. If you're checking your watch, I'm on Food Talk now, so we're going to be here a while. I love this. Kolaches. I mean, you obviously have Kolache Factory. Get yourself some Rancheros there. I've also come to love, I didn't even know I was going to love this, but tamales.

1:47:34Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, I...

1:47:36Shane Kimbrough:By the way, I love you, Houston.

1:47:38Yazmeen Ryan:You clap the word tamale. I've never purchased a tamale in my life. They just show up. Truthfully, it's the greatest thing I've ever seen. When I was playing here, our athletic trainer, no, they don't show up in your mouth. They show up in a plastic bag, a Ziploc bag, just 20 of them in a Ziploc bag. And then I'll have like three Ziploc bags in my locker. And I'll be like, Roland, thank you. And it was my trainer, Roland. Just every winter, his grandma makes tamales, and they end up in my locker. And I was like, this is the greatest.

1:48:17Shane Kimbrough:German fans listening are like, Roland's grandma's tamales. Check.

1:48:21Yazmeen Ryan:So unbelievable. So anyways, that's breakfast.

1:48:27Yazmeen Ryan:You're obviously going to get some barbecue for lunch. I mean, I grew up on Killens here. Killens barbecue is what I had. You can do better. You're going to get Tex-Mex. There's no question. You can make your arguments. Neemfas or El Tiempo. I like both very much. I started out an El Tiempo guy. The margaritas do help. I mean, I'm not going to lie. And then you have some other great spots. I mean, this is the first place I've ever started trying sushi. I'd only had grocery store sushi in Wisconsin, so that wasn't good. was introduced to sushi here. Kata Robata and Katami have my heart forever.

1:49:09Yazmeen Ryan:Oh, my God. I'm hungry as hell.

1:49:14Yazmeen Ryan:Tiny's milk and cookies. I don't know if you're, yeah. Everybody knows. Go get yourself some cookies. I've recently been heavy on Dish Society. Big old fan of Dish Society. I don't know if we've got any fans. Put you on it. next place I have to go I haven't gone yet State of Grace I've heard State of Grace is very good and then of course if you're looking for a just delicious not the healthiest but you want something great you wake up and you get yourself over to the breakfast club and you get yourself some chicken and waffles and I mean this place you could go on forever where are you on Bucky's?

1:49:54Yazmeen Ryan:on Bucky's? yeah I wish there were some in the city because they're awesome. I don't get to go to them because they're all outside, way outside the loop. They're too far away. And unfortunately, I'm not on too many road trips.

1:50:06Shane Kimbrough:I just spoke to Hakim about like winning titles. Hakim was like, yeah, I won titles. I was like, being MVP of the finals, he was like, yeah. I was like, Buc-ee's. Oh, my God. Hakim like sat up straight, lost his crap. I'm like, German fans, Kazakhstan fans, Cape Verde fans, Portuguese fans. get a V to Buc-ee's.

1:50:27Yazmeen Ryan:If we could get the people that run Buc-ee's and H-E-B to take care of everything in the world, I think we'd be doing pretty good.

1:50:41I mean, and I'm not even mentioning, first of all,

1:50:47Yazmeen Ryan:let's just talk about H-E-B. Just clean, efficient, very nice people, always well-stocked. And then you just, why not just buy everything HEB branded? Because apparently they also know how to make everything better than everybody else. And then, on top of it all, I haven't even mentioned that the guy, Howard Butt himself, donated$5 million to the Hurricane Harvey fund and wouldn't let me thank him. He's truly one of the best men ever. He donated five million dollars to the Hurricane Harvey fund. And I said, can I get his number? Can I see him? Can I call him? Can I go and thank him personally?

1:51:28Yazmeen Ryan:And they said he doesn't want any thanks. He just wants the support.

1:51:37Yazmeen Ryan:So, if you want to know where I shop, that's where I shop. You can thank him now. Yeah, he's the great. I've said it many times. I wrote a letter. I hope they gave it to him. But I got to talk to all the employees and everybody. But he did not want any thanks or praise. But they run one hell of a grocery store, Raj. By the way. Their tortillas, top notch. This ending, I want you to know. Sweet and lime. I don't know if you ever had a can of sweet and lime. I don't know if you know what that is. It's great. Zero calories. I don't know. It's delicious. I'm going to have one tonight when I get home.

1:52:09Shane Kimbrough:I won't be clear. I've understood about as much of the last five minutes of this conversation as JJ Watt does when he goes to Espanol but I love it

1:52:22Yazmeen Ryan:they have their own prime rib seasoning if you're making a prime rib you get the HEB branded prime rib seasoning you sprinkle that on there, it's great they just do a good job and then Bucky's might as well be its own store its own city, might as well have its own zip code why stop there? Whataburger, great

1:52:47Yazmeen Ryan:Dipped a little. We need it to come back a little bit. We need a little bit of a comeback, but when you have a honey butter chicken biscuit on your menu, you've always got a chance. You get yourself a couple taquitos and a honey butter chicken biscuit, and maybe whatever that patty melt on the Texas toast is, now you got yourself a meal. guys turn my mic off this is by the way there's there's filibusters in congress that go

1:53:15Shane Kimbrough:less time than this but by the way this is a hundred times more interesting ladies and

1:53:20Yazmeen Ryan:gentlemen keep going jj walt yep i'll keep going all right so papa dough big fan of papa dough You get yourself some Snapper, maybe some Oysters Rockefeller. There's this place. I don't know if this is even a legit place or not. I don't know if this is good or not, but this is the place that I ate when I first moved here to Pearland. It was called Gringo's. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This guy knows right here. Yeah, yeah. You know exactly what I'm talking about, that free ice cream machine that they had. Yeah. There's no way they still have that. There's no way. They had a free ice cream machine. So you go, shut the heck up.

1:54:04Yazmeen Ryan:How are they still in business? I don't understand. McDonald's can't keep their ice cream machine running. This place keeps it running air free.

1:54:11Shane Kimbrough:I was going to say, in 24 hours, this place will be out of business. It's unbelievable. Get on Polymarket now, guys, and put a bet on. Keep going, JJ.

1:54:20Yazmeen Ryan:Their jalapeno sausage, phenomenal. The free ice cream at the end, cookie on top. Love it.

1:54:26Shane Kimbrough:I'm starting a new series on YouTube called JJ Watt Reads the Yellow Pages. Yep. Yep.

1:54:34Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, if you're going fancy, obviously Del Frisco's is always strong. Get yourself a little VIP there. The calamari. Fantastic.

1:54:43Yazmeen Ryan:Crawfish? Did I hear crawfish? Guys, Rick, I got a controversial take on crawfish. You're not going to like it. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. and then they try and tell you to suck the head and i'll be honest didn't do a lot for me look at this and the amount of crawfish that you have to break and eat and break and eat when they lay out i mean this is a small table for a crawfish table when they dump it all out i have to have my own nine foot table and i nobody has the time to be breaking that many crawfish open and sucking the head on everyone for that little bit of juice. No. No. Delicious.

1:55:30Yazmeen Ryan:Love the seasoning. I'm over here crushing the corn and the potatoes while everybody else is doing the crawfish. Gigi. What else?

1:55:37Shane Kimbrough:What have I missed? On the third floor of this theater tonight, we've got big crawfish lobby here. We're coiling in their seats right now. It's good. The crawfish is good.

1:55:46Yazmeen Ryan:There was a request from over on the left. I mean, oxtail down here. I never had oxtail before. What about Oh, my God, people are losing it. What about burgers, somebody shouted? Oh, okay. Killen's burgers, very good. Obviously, very good. Papa's burgers, very good burger. Trill burger? Y 'all had Trill burgers? I mean, come on now. Trill burger's unfair. They put something in there that can't be legal. And I've talked to Bun about this, Bun B. It's like crack, okay? He gave me one of those burgers. When I came back for the Ring of Honor, for the Texans, they put Trillburgers in our suite. And there were six.

1:56:27Yazmeen Ryan:And there were 12 people in the suite. It was a very large ring of honor about two hours later. I had four of them. So everybody else had to fight over two burgers. Trillburgers, very good. Langford Grocery is a good burger. Yeah. We got a cultured crowd in here, Raj. These people know what they're talking about. The burger joint? Burger bus? Bernie's burger bus?

1:56:56Shane Kimbrough:They also know you're on. By the way, everyone you're saying,

1:56:59Rog Bennett:I want you to know if you're watching this at home or you're watching this on television later, everyone that JJ is shouting out, there are like a couple of hundred people here tonight pointing at him as if he's just made an incredible state of the nation point.

1:57:12Shane Kimbrough:Burger bus, yeah! It's amazing. It really is. And by the way, if you're watching at home, we're only at lunch. Keep going.

1:57:22Yazmeen Ryan:Oh, no. I love it. No, it's a good place, man. It's a good place. I was a big Bex Prime fan, but they just closed one. They just closed the Bex Prime that hurt me. That hurt my soul because I ate there when I was... I thought it was the fanciest, nicest place ever because I think you could get a steak. Oh, man, guys.

1:57:42Shane Kimbrough:Guys, can I just quickly say, to Houston. To Houston, yeah. You guys are amazing. I want you to know he's done this effortlessly with no prep and I do know everybody sitting here tonight I'm going to come and be with you in just one moment

1:57:57Rog Bennett:all of you have your own list your own joy it's what anchors you to this place this city everybody I've met tonight when I talked to them back and said what draws you to this city very quickly it was the cuisine you guys have your life list it is incredibly deep it is incredibly blessed you guys are there's a joy in your city And I want you to know, I don't know who's going to win the World Cup. I think it may be Saudi Arabia.

1:58:24Shane Kimbrough:Are you crazy? Are you crazy? That guy's wearing a Liverpool shirt. He knows nothing about football. Guy, let me tell you about football history. It'll be Qatar or Saudi Arabia, one or the other.

1:58:39Rog Bennett:But I think Houston is going to be the winner of this World Cup in every regard.

1:58:46Shane Kimbrough:I think the world is going to come here to your city.

1:58:52Yazmeen Ryan:There's one thing I do notice about that and thing that I've always noticed about Houston is I mentioned a ton of different places. Some only have one location, some have many locations, but everybody in here knew what I was talking about. This is the biggest small city in the world in the way that everybody knows everybody, everybody knows everything. We may have to drive an hour and a half to get across town, but we all know each other and know what each other likes and love each other. It's a great place. And so that was a really cool little exercise there.

1:59:22Shane Kimbrough:World needs more love. I love that, by the way, the biggest small city in every regard.

1:59:28Rog Bennett:JJ, this is my last question for you.

1:59:31Yazmeen Ryan:Who knows how long it could go?

1:59:32Rog Bennett:I don't know. By the way, I've got to tell you, this elastic sense of time, we all have a short amount of time on this planet. I could listen to you forever. I adore it. I want to take you to Liverpool. I want you to leave Liverpool naming places. My city, like I now love yours. But we've got to be serious. The world isn't...

1:59:51Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, if we want to talk food, we're not going to spend too long talking about over there.

1:59:59Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, we've got some staples. Let's be honest. But, I mean, once you start getting past fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding, we're on thin ice, Rog. We got a steak and ale pie. That's very good. Very good. Fish and chips, very good. Sticky toffee pudding, very good. Yeah. Then what?

2:00:18Shane Kimbrough:What else is that?

2:00:20Yazmeen Ryan:Then what? Yorkshire pudding, what is that? What is that? What is that?

2:00:26Rog Bennett:It's 70 % air. Air. It's air. It is air.

2:00:30Shane Kimbrough:I will just say, try and live without 70 % of Yorkshire pudding in life. Mushy peas? Yeah. Listen to the name of that. I know. mushy peas is a euphemism for depression i'm gonna be candid i'm not gonna lie never liked them yeah the cuisine is not great but i'm american now baby i'm gonna be candid

2:00:51Rog Bennett:so i do ride with you in every regard uh but by the way it would just be hilarious to walk around liverpool with you jj i wouldn't understand him i it's a bit that's a that scouse accent is

2:01:03Yazmeen Ryan:thick it's thick jamie when i go i got on the phone with jamie carragher it's like all right slow it down like i can't catch every word i'm just trying to catch context like what what round

2:01:16Shane Kimbrough:of about way are you saying what are you saying he was saying pinkertons pinkertons it's a very good barbecue please um good barbecue i love you you've segued me from my the world being a world of challenge, which is hard for me to do

2:01:32Rog Bennett:after you've just taken me to Pinkertons. But I did. I finished my book by saying that rather than becoming irrelevant, football and the World Cup, I love you. I think you're on page 326, JJ. Yeah, there it is.

2:01:48Yazmeen Ryan:Yeah, 325 and then nothing. It says JJ,

2:01:52Rog Bennett:it says don't have him up as a guest because he'll name 78 for Houston Restaurant. Look, what I'm saying is, we always think football is like the most, like the most important, least important thing. I think it's become actually one of the most important things ever because the feelings we experience watching it together are all the more powerful because of their emotional weight, their electric global connection. All of those things are more and more. I mean, they're rarer and rarer in our world right now. They're more and more precious. So JJ, the world cups coming here. what is your greatest wish for this world cup in the united states in 2026 america to win

2:02:38Yazmeen Ryan:home soil can you imagine if we brought football home before you

2:02:44Shane Kimbrough:could you imagine jj i'm more american than i know you actually are you're more american than

2:02:50Yazmeen Ryan:a lot of people. You have embraced hook, line and sinker. I respect that very much. You're a Bears fan so you had a good season. I'm happy for you for that because it's been a rough one for a while.

2:03:05Rog Bennett:Did you enjoy it at least? You know what? The funny thing about the Bears thing, it was on a lot of television at Chicago. It was fun to watch the Bears. Fun to watch them for the first time since 1985. Even when we did well, we would never that fun. This was joyful. It was. And I was there for the Rams game and it was fun even in defeat and thousands of Bears fans left. I took my kids so they could glimpse it and the defeat was a joyous defeat. I'd not experienced that in a long time. The thing I loved about it, we walked out the stadium and someone shouted sorry there's children here, they shouted F the Packers.

2:03:49By the way

2:03:50Shane Kimbrough:the Packers had not just beaten us, the Rams had. But like immediately we redirected, we're like F the Packers. Thousands of people sang that on the way home through like a minus 20 night in Chicago

2:04:01Rog Bennett:and it felt delirious. That's what life in sports is about. But you're talking about the US winning. What would that feel like?

2:04:09Yazmeen Ryan:I mean, it would be unbelievable. It would be incredible. I mean, it would be on home soil to be able to pull that off, obviously knowing that it's a tall, tall task at hand. But I think that this sport is only continuing to grow here. I think that there's no question that there is so much competition in this country for the best athletes between all the different sports, whether it's you look at some of the – you always look at LeBron, and you're like, what if he had played football? You look at some football players, and you say, what if they had played different sports? So I think it will only continue to grow as we get better and better.

2:04:48Yazmeen Ryan:um poch is an espanyol guy by the way so full faith in him there but i would love nothing more than to see them succeed and be great we just got to witness in the winter olympics what it's like when the whole country comes together for team usa and it would be spectacular to watch the u.s team this summer make a deep run so that we could all get behind them in the same way from your mouth to god's ear right by the way here they're playing for the u.s women if the u.s men were

2:05:18Rog Bennett:half as good as the US women, I would bite your arm off right now. JJ, I want to do a couple of quick things. You are a remarkable human being. I do want to thank you for the joy you bring the world, your curiosity, your discovery, your honesty, your desire, your demand to be better yourself constantly is bloody inspiring. Before you leave, I want you to join me on the front of the stage.

2:05:44Yazmeen Ryan:Can I read a page from my favorite book first before I leave? I'd like to read just a quick passage from one of my favorite books. I've read this book many, many times throughout my life. I grew up on this book, actually. I grew up. Religions have been... My dad read this to me when I was a little boy. It's how I came to love the World Cup. Because we are the World Cup. I don't know if you're aware. Now this is actually a serious part. I raised my beer and toasted my son with the silent wish that as fans, we should find a way to savor each and every minute of football and life and never waste a single opportunity for memory making together.

2:06:30Yazmeen Ryan:I think that's beautiful. I think it's real. And I appreciate you for bringing that to us.

2:06:38Shane Kimbrough:GG, what! Thank you. I mean, what a human being. What a city you are. I do want to say, I want to give a huge thank you to everyone that's been on the stage tonight. JJ, Shane, the Houston Dash stars, Yasmin and Jane, Hakeem.

2:07:02Rog Bennett:But I want to thank Bank of America for presenting this show. they are the banker of US soccer the banker of the FIFA World Cup 2026, I do want to say we do not take for granted riding with them, they have changed everything that we're able to do, we're able to be with you tonight because of them they're powering so much of what is great about football in our nation in this biggest year in American football history thank you for what you do to grow the game in Houston and around the United States I'm going to come and sign books with you any second now for the incredible team at Blue Willow. I'm going to jump right over there.

2:07:44Rog Bennett:Support your indie bookstores, America, in every way you can. I do want to thank last and least. Did I say last and least? I'm shattered, sorry. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. My wife would kill me.

2:07:58Shane Kimbrough:I want to thank last and most, Houston, you in the audience. I want to say, I love your city with every regard.

2:08:10Rog Bennett:I said earlier, I can't wait to see the German fans ride with their single saxophonist, thousands of them marching down I-10, with him on their shoulders to the games. I can't wait for them to be in your restaurants, to revel in your welcome.

2:08:30Shane Kimbrough:It is like no other I've embraced in this nation. And I wish this on all of you. To the end of my book, I write that when the whistle goes and the ball is kicked,

2:08:42Rog Bennett:may you all experience that sense of anticipation, of hope and possibility, the feelings of being alive, of your heartbeat sinking with the rest of the world, watching transcendence. These are pure moments that can drive out darkness and let in light. The world needs more light. This is Rog saying, let's not take a second of watching football together for granted. Big love, Houston. Courage!