Troy Aikman

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1:10welcome to the sports media podcast i'm your host richard deitch my producer is james jackson one guest on this episode he has been on this podcast many times troy aikman is the lead broadcaster for espn and abc's monday night football on monday he will call the Giants at the Rams, which all of a sudden has become a fascinating game. He and Joe Buck, of course, will call Super Bowl 61 on February 14th, 2027 at SoFi Stadium. Troy Aikman, obviously, is a pro football Hall of Famer. His athletic career really doesn't need much introduction. The thing I always say when Troy comes on this podcast, I cannot thank him enough for his transparency.

1:49He has always answered every question. And in the times I've reported on him at Sports Illustrated and The Athletic, he has done the same, even in a couple of times where it was not necessarily so great what he said for his employers. He never said he was taken out of context with me, never said that what I said wasn't accurate. And I have a lot of respect for him. And with that, I bring in Troy Aikman. Troy, welcome. Richard, good to be on. Thank you. All right. So let's start with the Monday Night Football game. Man, Giants look a little better than I think maybe people some thought. And then And the Rams are coming off that shocker in Melbourne.

2:26So I think game twos are always interesting regardless. I mean, nobody's out. But all of a sudden, Troy, the game that you and Joe have, it's kind of really interesting now. Yeah, I think it was going to be interesting regardless because it was so early in the season. Obviously, big markets. But it got a lot more interesting, obviously, because of the way that the New York Giants played. I think in some regards, maybe the way the Rams played in Australia. you, but I kind of take that with a grain of salt. I think the story really heading into week two has been more about what the Giants were able to put forward, and it looked good.

3:02So all of a sudden this becomes a game that has a little more appeal than what it was already going to have. There's always, as you know, so much emphasis on week one because you have the schedule, you know who you're going to be playing, there's more time to prepare for that particular game. And then when you don't play well, as is the case for the Rams, then things kind of get a little bit more interesting going into week two. So I expect those teams that lost to have a lot more urgency and we'll see exactly how the Giants show up after what was really a big win for a new regime. Troy, one of the stories of week one was how the Rams decided to approach the Melbourne trip versus is how the Niners did it.

3:48And Sean McVay said that, you know, the travel wasn't a reason, but I will say like having read so much stuff about this, including from athletes away from football, like Olympians and stuff like that, like they said, they were stunned that a team decided to not acclimate itself with three or four or five days in country. I don't know if you've ever made a trip to Melbourne for your NFL career. I imagine you did not, but did you have some thoughts on that because that became a pretty fascinating sub-story outside of the game itself. Yeah, I've never been to Australia, so I can't really comment on that.

4:24I have been to Europe and I've come back from trips and I've certainly felt jet lag. I've been to Japan, felt the same way, played over there.

4:35When we would play, back when I was playing, they were preseason games, but can't imagine flying in with such short notice before the game and expect that you're going to be fully acclimated and ready to play. So I think it's probably hard for anyone to think that it didn't play some role, but I certainly understand what Sean McVay is saying. They looked at this. Both teams did. They made the decision that they did. In hindsight, would he have done it differently? I'm not so sure. I don't know if I don't based on his comments, I don't know if he saw something that then made him feel that the travel, in fact, was the problem.

5:16I you know, I don't know. I'm getting ready to dive into that film just to see what see what I think about it. But nevertheless, that is the storyline. And I think everybody knew that it would be if things went the way that they did for either team. You know, had the Rams come out and played great and the 49ers hadn't, they probably would have been singing Sean McVay's praises. for going over there on such short notice. For sure. One more on this. Do you have any, what are your broad thoughts on playing some of these games overseas? You know, I know you were part of the World Football League, so you have some experience on that.

5:50But the NFL has like, they've really pushed this envelope. It's not just Europe anymore. Now it's Mexico City. It's Melbourne. They played in Ireland recently. It seems like to me, it's a great business move to expand the footprint of the NFL. but it does put a lot of pressure or maybe more responsibilities on the players because these trips are not like – it's not like going to Dallas to Houston or something like that. No, I agree. I mean I don't know that players are thrilled about it. As I said, when I did it, it was all preseason. So even then, it's not ideal, but at least it's not affecting what you're trying to achieve and accomplish in the regular season.

6:35I think, though, as players now and in prior years, I mean, this is just the way it's been going. It's where it's going to continue. And I think players just have to kind of embrace it. And I think for the most part they have. I feel like organizations have as well. It's become a global sport. I understand why the league wants to play these games. It would be great if they could have these preseason games and still have the impact and the influence in some of these international markets. But the fans have gotten too smart. They realize when it's a preseason game versus when it's a regular season game.

7:15And so I like what the NFL has done. I'm all for the globalization of the NFL. But with that, there's a price and there's a cost. And I think that the organizations just have to accept that and understand that they're at a really good time in the league's prosperity. And so a lot of the decisions that have been made on Park Avenue have been very positive. We all understand the popularity of the sport. The players and coaches alike have benefited from that. And sometimes you're going to be inconvenienced a little bit as these teams are, whether it's international or with the Thursday night schedule or the short weeks and all that comes with that.

7:58Troy, the next couple of games for you after the Rams-Giants, Eagles-Bears, Falcons-Saints, Bills-Chargers, Commanders-Niners, and then Cowboys-Eagles. There's a number of games in there that are very, very intriguing. So I want to ask you a two-part question. First, what were your initial thoughts, because I hadn't asked you this before, about the Monday Night Football schedule this year? So we'll start with that. I thought it was fantastic. Yeah, I thought the schedule when it came out was really good. Now, we have the Super Bowl this year, as you know. How much did that factor into it? I don't know.

8:39How much did the leagues acquiring 10 % of the company, how much did that factor in? I don't know. But it is the best schedule. And we've had good schedules. It is the best schedule that we've had in the five years that I've been at ESPN. And the one thing that kind of stood out probably as much as anything, Richard, was that we rarely had, we rarely had divisional games and we had a lot of inter-conference games. And there are those, there are those matchups when they're inter-conference games that are compelling, but by and large, those are hard games to sell. And so when you do get these divisional matchups and some of these marquee games like what we have this week, it's exciting.

9:22You know, it's fun. I don't see a game on our schedule that I don't think is compelling and will garner fan interest. So now the key for us, of course, is, you know, will they continue to be relevant as we move through this season? For instance, we have a Dallas at Seattle game late in the year, which you would have to believe is going to be a monster game. But you just never know. I mean, we've seen that each and every year. But yes, I love the schedule. Super excited about this 2026 season. How much in advance do you look at games? You're obviously, you know, you just said you're about to dive into Rams-Giants, which makes sense.

10:03But like, do you, even this week, like, do you keep a little bit of an eye on the Eagles and the Bears because they're next, you think? Yeah, I do. For instance, week one, I watched the Bears game because I knew we have them week three. So keep up with them. And I try to, you know, if there's teams that I know that are coming up in the schedule, trying to get a chance to watch them, it's the benefit of doing Monday Night Football that I get to pick and choose the teams that I'm going to be able to watch. So that helps with the preparation for sure. What, you know, at ESPN, it's such a big year for you guys because of the Super Bowl.

10:40And you're already seeing, whether it's marketing campaigns, right? You're already seeing sort of on-air talent talk about it. At this point, have you gotten any extra responsibility with ESPN because it happens to be a Super Bowl year? And if so, what has that been? I've not. And Richard, they've been talking about Super Bowl for five years at ESPN in Bristol. I think they've got a running clock counting down to when kickoff is on February 14th at SoFi Stadium. So to say that the network is really excited about this year's Super Bowl would be a dramatic understatement. But as far as whatever my responsibilities are, what I've been asked to do up to this point, not not much.

11:26I mean, it's pretty much business as usual. We've done, as you've seen, we have done a few promos and a few extra things that we wouldn't have done in prior years. but the lift hasn't been that heavy. Okay. No one's asking you to go to the top of the Empire State Building or something like that? Not yet. Not yet. Okay. Fair enough. All right. You saw the Chiefs in person. What did you think? They surprised me, quite honestly. I didn't see that coming. I mean, they were over the cap coming into the year. They had to make some tough decisions, one of which was trading Trent McDuffie. but the offensive line was a bit of a question going into that game.

12:12Obviously, Patrick Mahomes' health and how he was going to hold up, along with the defensive side of the ball, where they were relying on some younger players relative to past seasons, and yet they passed that test against a really good football team, I think as deep a roster as there is in all of football in the Denver Broncos, and they dominated that game. So it was impressive. It was a great way to start the year and hats off to Andy Reid and what they did this offseason and looking at their own inefficiencies a year ago and making the decision that they needed to be better running the football and take some of the pressure off not only Patrick Mahomes, but also that offensive line.

12:55And they signed the Super Bowl MVP in Kenneth Walker. And I don't know if it's going to continue like that every week, but boy, that sure looked good on Monday night.

13:10Hey, football fans. It's Vaughn Miller, Dallas Cowboys linebacker and host of the Free Range Podcast. Come hang out with me and my guy TJ Banks as we give you the best analysis, insights, and guest interviews from around the league each and every week. New episodes drop each and every Wednesday. Be sure to follow or subscribe to Free Range wherever you get your podcasts. I know you're an NFC guy, at least in terms of your playing career, but you talk to broadcast executives, and they've now said this for the last three or four years, that the AFC has become sort of the more sexy television network because of Josh Allen, Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, etc.

13:53etc um you buy that you buy that like that sort of thought process that like because of these great quarterbacks that are in this one league that that conference at least on a television basis is sort of the eight conference at the moment yeah it's a good it's a good point uh i mean obviously those are marquee names and and and obviously they move the needle uh when it comes to ratings you know i would i would counter that just by simply saying the nfc obviously has the bigger markets uh so there's some appeal you know yeah so there's appeal there as well um but yeah i mean i i enjoy watching those quarterbacks uh as much as anyone i think now uh the way that is as it relates to television and the networks there doesn't really seem to be a package anymore you know and at least not like there was i mean it was that fox had the nfc CBS had the AFC.

14:49And now it just seems like the lines have gotten really blurred to where you can't really see a matchup and know exactly what network that game might be on. One more Chiefs question. Over the years, you've been in production meetings with Travis Kelsey. You know, he has since become like a different he since has a different level of fame because he's married one of the most famous people on the planet, obviously, in Taylor Swift. um from your impressions Troy in production meetings is just do you think Travis Kelsey has interest in conventional broadcasting and the reason I phrase it that way is he has his own podcast gigantic podcast he has other avenues to become you know well known after uh his playing career his path is not like your path you know what I'm saying he's just in a different kind of place coming off the coming off the field yeah um i've not spoken to him about that we did talk to him prior to going into our game last week uh but you know he talked about where he is in his life after marion taylor and uh obviously a pretty whirlwind off season for him uh he talked about how she's given him more structure in his life uh which is positive uh clearly he's a happy young man right now and as he should be but uh the sky's the limit for him i mean he's a really talented guy as is his brother jason who we have at espn i if he wants to i it sounds like he wants to do television i can't imagine that he won't and and i think there's going to be a a lineup of suitors for his talents and then it's just a matter of what exactly does he want that to look like uh does he want to actually call games in the booth uh is he going to be in studio does he want to maybe have a limited schedule to where he can still travel and watch his wife perform from time to time.

16:40I mean, I really don't know what his interests are or what his desires are, but he's a talented guy. He's a very likable guy, which I think is a big part of success in television. And obviously, he's now a household name by the simple fact of what he's accomplished. And then marrying, as you mentioned, one of the most famous people on the planet. You, I'm correct in that your production meetings this year and practice, ability to go to practice, you have sort of the same restrictions that Tom Brady does, correct? These have to be remote in terms of production meetings and you can't attend practice at team facilities.

17:17Is that correct? uh that's what i understand i mean we do most of our production meetings now as most crews do via zoom uh so i i i've i bet i guess i've read i i've not been notified i personally have not been notified by the nfl uh as far as but to me uh richard it really it's a lot to do with nothing. I mean, I do think my situation relative to Tom's is dramatically different. You know, I have people reach out to me all the time from all different teams each year, as far as what coaching candidates do you recommend? What do you think of this player? What do you think? You know, which and I and I'm there to help any way that I can.

18:07I mean, I don't I don't reveal state secrets. I don't feel that I tell anybody anything that that I shouldn't or that is off limits. I know that when we're in production meetings, for instance, and somebody tells me something, I know whether it can be used on air. I know whether or not it can be repeated. You know, I've read where there are those that have said that my role or my consulting with the Dolphins as they went through their general manager and head coaching search is a conflict of interest. I kind of laugh at that because I think anyone who speaks into a mic has a conflict of interest because you have relationships.

18:46And when I'm calling a game after 25 years in this business, I have relationships on both sidelines. Everyone who speaks has relationships and how they then slant the story on what they're reporting is affected by the relationships in which they have. So I kind of laugh at those who act as though they have no conflicts and somehow I do or Tom Brady does or someone else as opposed to themselves. What if I again, it's not an issue because they're not I believe not on the schedule. But what would you have done or suggested had the Dolphins been on the Monday night football schedule this year? uh what would i have done or suggested i wouldn't have done or suggested anything i would have just called the game and i would have called it the way i see it you know um so i i mean like i said i've i've i've called i've called games that north turner's been the offensive coordinator i've called games that north turner's been the head coach i've called games uh where i did monday night sean payton i've known him a long time i mean i i have those friendships and relationships and it doesn't affect how I do the job.

20:01Am I going to come out and rip those guys if things don't go? I'd like to think I don't go out and rip anybody for that matter. But that for me is not unique. You know, it's just when you're in this business and you've been in the NFL as long as I have and associated with the NFL, you have relationships. And that's why I said anyone who suggests otherwise, I mean, for anyone who wants to try to tell me that they have no conflicts of interest, I call bullshit on that. I think it's the first time you've christened on this podcast, Troy. I appreciate that. It is, yeah. It's all right. We put the E up.

20:39That's okay. One last one. I've talked to your equivalents, and one thing they have told me in the post-COVID era, there is literally no difference between doing production meetings on Zoom and being in the room with people. Yes, I mean, you can make eye contact and maybe have a handshake and stuff. But every person I've talked to has said the information that you get is the same from a Zoom meeting as it was in person. Do you agree with that? A hundred percent, I do. And where it really helps, Richard, is that you're not wasting a lot of time. You know, I'm able to work while I'm waiting on someone to get on the Zoom.

21:19And variably, if we have a 1 p.m. Zoom with the team, they may not get on until 2. I mean, rarely do things move as smoothly as you'd like them to. And so I'm able to continue to get work done. And, you know, you think about the travel to Teams facilities or whatever it might be. So I find it to be more efficient, more time efficient, and don't feel that it keeps me from getting any information that I would otherwise get. And I think, yeah, I agree with everyone who feels that way. At this point of your broadcasting, Troy, how much feedback do you get from either your bosses or your direct producers?

21:57And more to the point, do you want that feedback? I've always wanted feedback. I've always been open to constructive criticism or ways in which I can get better. I don't care how long you've been doing this. I think it's good to get feedback. Yeah, I still do. I get feedback from Steve Ackles, who's my producer now at Monday Night Football. Joe and I will talk amongst ourselves as far as what collectively we feel that maybe we can do better and kind of go that route. I, beyond that, I don't hear a lot from, from Bristol, but I didn't hear a lot from, from Los Angeles either when I was, when I was doing games at Fox.

22:42Right. That's good, by the way. I feel like that's probably better for the, for the psyche, not to hear from the, from the, from the headquarters. One more, one more on that. And I always found this interesting. I talked to Hubie, Hubie Brown. I talked to a lot during the course of my reporting career. I think he was just fantastic to talk to. And one of the things he said to me that always I remember is he had a guy who was just a close friend who would watch his telecasts and be very blunt with him. Like if he did something that sucked, he would be the one guy who would always deal Hubie straight.

23:15Do you have anyone in your life who just will watch your broadcasts, who doesn't have to kiss up to you and say, hey, Troy, you said this or this happened and like you could do better here? You know, it's funny, Richard. When you were first going there, I thought, I don't have that guy. But then by the time you finished asking the question, I do, in fact, have that guy. It's a gentleman that I've been good friends with for a long time, Tom Shine, who began Logo Athletic. And I was a spokesman for the company. And through that relationship, the business relationship, he and I became very close personal friends.

23:53But, yeah, it's very unvarnished. I hear from him every week now that you now that you mention it. It ranges from he doesn't like the suit I'm wearing, he thinks it's a bad color to, hey, I thought this was thought this was really good. What you said about this. I don't agree with you here. I think it could have been better. So, yeah, I think those things are good. The one thing that I've always done when I go back and watch my broadcast, I try to listen with a critical ear and figure out, okay, why do I think maybe that was good? Why do I think maybe that was bad? What could I have done differently here?

24:27I think that in a lot of ways, I'm my worst critic, but I've also had those conversations with producers over the years when I say, yeah, I don't think this was very good. And they say, really? I thought it was, you know. So that's the crazy thing about this business. unlike as a player, you pretty much know, everyone pretty much knows whether or not you got the job done. In broadcasting, it's all opinion. So what one person thinks is great, another person thinks is terrible, and neither person is right or wrong. Yeah, Hubie would love that, by the way, Troy. He would love that you have a guy.

25:04He's kindred spirit. He always pointed out you needed that. But, you know, like I said at the top, you've always been transparent with me, and I respect that you may only want to go so far on this line of questioning. News has come out that your partner, Joe Buck, has signed with ESPN. What are your expectations right now with ESPN? Because like Joe, your contract was also up at the end of this season. Yeah, you know, we came in together in 22. I had signed with ESPN really not knowing that Joe would be joining me. He still had another year under his belt at Fox. I wasn't sure who I was going to be working with when I agreed to my contract with ESPN.

25:50And then just a few short weeks later, Joe was coming over, which I was thrilled about. And good for him for getting an extension. where I land on that I don't really have an answer there Richard I don't know I've had no conversations with anyone from Bristol as far as you know what this means for me I will say that you know I came over in 2022 in large part to kind of help mend the relationship with ESPN and the NFL. And there were a lot of people that were involved in that. Joe certainly has been involved in that and others, but I'm real proud of that. I feel like the reason that I was brought over, I fulfilled whatever obligations that they were expecting from me.

26:42So I'm proud and so much so that, as I mentioned earlier, the league now owns 10 % of the network. So I would say that the fence has been mended. And so I'm proud of what's happened there. Beyond that, I'm going to go out and do my job like I have each and every year. This is my 26th season in broadcasting. Every year I've given it everything that I have. I'll continue to do that. I'm excited about this year. I'm excited to be calling another Super Bowl. It will have been eight years since we called one. We were always in that three-year rotation. And so I'm excited to be a part of that big game once again.

27:21And where it all lands when it's all said and done, I'll be as interested as anybody to see what that might look like. Let me ask you two more things just on this. One, does his decision, now that it's been made and it's early, will that impact your thinking? Because you know someone who's a very close friend and who you've had great success with in broadcasting, has determined that he's going to be at this place for five years? Yes. I mean, when I've loved working with Joe, I consider him a very close friend. I think that the, I think we play off each other well. I know that what my weaknesses are, I think Joe helps me in that regard.

28:04Hopefully, whatever his weaknesses are, I help him in that regard. I mean, we've done so many games together and we've been together for so long, I think there's a comfort that viewers have when they hear our broadcast. And there's a comfort that I have, quite honestly. I don't want to speak for Joe, but there's a comfort that I have going into every game, knowing what I'm going to get, and knowing that he's going to be prepared, and knowing when he's going to continue talking about something. The body language, the voice inflection, all of that has come together over a span of 25 years. And there's a level of comfort, especially when you're talking about calling the big games when you want to be at your best.

28:50So there's no question that that would factor into it. Unfortunately or fortunately, how much of that is my decision, I guess, is yet to be determined. But yes, to answer your question more directly, would I want to continue to work with Joe Buck moving down the road 100%. And then the last one for me is, do you have any kind of specific timeframe where you want to do this? And the reason I ask that is it's kind of rare that Joe did this this early in the season. And so I wonder for you, maybe this doesn't matter to you. Maybe you're fine. I'm going to, you know, almost like a baseball player.

29:31I don't want to think about free agency until the end of the year kind of thing. um well i've heard i've heard players a lot you know i heard baker mayfield uh this offseason say that once the once the season's underway you know that's right i'm i'm not in the market you know i i'm off limits uh i've never quite understood that i you know i think these players i it sounds good but uh so my guess is however though richard that if nothing i thought something would be done prior to the start of this season. I've never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys.

30:13And so I thought that it would be done. It's not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anybody's guess. And it's just not something that I'm really putting a lot of energy into. Troy, I appreciate you answering that. Thank you very much. Let's finish with this. the athletic did a profile of you a couple of years ago that I thought was great. They really like the Zach Kiefer, the writer spent a lot of time with you. And there were a couple of things in here that really stood out that I just need to get an update on. Cause they're very quirky Troy Aikman stuff. First off at that time, you had not taken a warm shower in years.

30:51Is that still accurate that only cold it's only cold in the mornings. Uh, and then I, And then I do the cold plunge every day when I'm in Dallas, for sure. And I take cold showers after the cold plunge. But, you know, Richard, finally at one time, it was a little while after that article came out, I would be getting ready to take a shower in the evening, say, before dinner. And as you mentioned, I was always taking cold showers. That's all I took. And I finally asked myself, why do I continue to punish myself? Like, why am I doing this to myself? And so I finally said, okay, I'm going to enjoy a warm shower and some things in life and not make everything quite so regimented.

31:41So yes, I do still take a cold shower every morning. Most of my showers are cold, but I do mix in a warm shower as well. Okay. I will let you know this. You may have heard it, you may have not. I worked with a very well-known writer at Sports Illustrated named Chris Ballard. He recently wrote a book called The Plunge, which is about the effects of cold water on these swimmers who only swim in the cold and the health benefits for it. So you may, I think you probably know this, but you are actually doing something that has been scientifically proven to help your health with these cold showers. Well, yeah, I mean, the biohacking, Richard, that the protocols that I go through on a daily basis is nothing short of insane.

32:29But I will say the cold plunge, it has it has rewired my nervous system. I do know that. I mean, it has been tangible, the difference that I have felt. And I've been doing it now for, oh, gosh, at least three years. And absolutely love it. And like I said, when I'm home in Dallas where I have all my stuff, I do hyperbaric sauna, cold plunge, red light. I do it. I do morning low level sunlight. I do intermittent fasting. I eat at five o 'clock at night. And, you know, it's and I get my sleep. I've made sleep a real priority. But I feel great. and you know I'm not expecting any awards for this all I'm all I'm looking for Richard is I just I don't know how we none of us do we none of us know how long we're going to live I'm just hopeful that my my health span matches my lifespan and so everything that I've done is just trying to as I continue to age I'll be 60 in November so yeah I mean time's flying by and uh and I just want to try to remain as healthy as I can yeah and you've done an amazing job like you Brady and Tom Cruz, like feel like you have not, you have, you have not aged either eight, the three of you in 10 years.

33:50All right. I'll take that. I'll take that knowing those two. Yeah. So here's the last one. You sort of answered it in that piece. It mentioned that you were in bed every night by 9 PM, unless you obviously was a game night for Monday night football. Is that still accurate? That's, uh, uh, that's pretty, pretty accurate. Yeah. I'm, you know, there are, there are times obviously when I'm not for different reasons. But I'm usually in bed by them. I'm typically lights out around 930. And you're not, as someone who's such a big sports fan, Troy, like you're like the siren of maybe watching a late game somewhere doesn't.

34:27Hard for me. It's hard for you. Okay. Yeah. It's interesting. I mean, usually you have a pretty good idea. But, yeah, some games, I mean, it's hard. You know, I mean, I was watching Texas Longhorns the other night when they came back against Ohio State. yeah and as soon as they scored i mean there was still a little time on the clock i just said i can't do it but i did stay up and watch watch arch manning and was really happy for him and steve sarkeesian yeah um that yeah that's that's that's very impressive that the discipline layer is impressive and then lastly i you know i think every time i've had you on since you've had this company i always ask how is the beer company going great it's going great yeah we uh you know we came out with new packaging a little over a year ago and we went with the slim can and i think the slim can lends itself to a better for you vessel, which is what eight is.

35:15Eight elite light beer. We're only in Texas and Oklahoma, but we're bending the trends. At a time when alcohol sales are declining, we continue to grow and we continue to gain market share. So it's resonating. We really were a little bit ahead of our time. There was not a lot of people talking about better for you when when i came up with the recipe which took two years and it's just water malting hops but you can go down any aisle in a grocery store and there's a better for you section within that aisle and now uh there is finally in the beer cooler and it's and it's eight elite like beer so people have have tried we're converting people when they try the beer uh at a very high rate because it looks like beer, it tastes like beer.

36:05And if you have something that you really like the taste of, and then, oh yeah, it's also better for you, it's a no-brainer then that you're going to continue to consume it. Would the next state that you try to go for be somewhere in the Southwest? You know, it's a great question, and we've given a lot of thought to that, where it might be. We may not even open another entire state when we move, but we've talked about maybe Southern California, Arizona, we've talked about. Could be a neighboring state. Just trying to figure out what strategically would be the next best place. But, you know, we were mentioning Landman in last year's episode with Taylor Sheridan.

36:47He called me up. He loves the beer. It's his favorite beer. He said, hey, I want to get behind it. And he really has. He lives at a ranch called Bosque Ranch, and he's made the official beer of Bosque Ranch. And then we're going to be the official light beer at these venue amphitheaters that are being built, these state-of-the-art amphitheaters. Think of Cowboy Stadium, only this is an outdoor amphitheater for music. And so we're punching way above our weight for what is still really a startup company. That's awesome. And the Taylor Sheridan thing is great. I mean, that is the biggest, essentially, creator of programming right now that exists in the United States.

37:30Yeah, he's as hot as they come right now. Yeah, Troy Aikman, of course, the lead broadcaster for ESPN and ABC's Monday Night Football. Monday he has the call of the Giants and Rams, which should be a really good game. He and Joe Buck, of course, will call Super Bowl 61 next February. Troy, as always, I cannot thank you enough. and I'm now embarrassed to be falling asleep at like 12, 15, 4 o 'clock every night. Well, as long as you're getting all of your sleep, you just don't be getting up early. It's hard with young kids, but I'm trying. Troy, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you, Richard.

38:05Appreciate you. All right, Troy, stay here for a second as we close out here. Thank you to Troy Aikman, of course. Catch him on ESPN ABC's Monday Night Football. He and Joe Buck, the best in the business right now, in my opinion. In previous episodes, we had Damian Woody not too long ago, obviously speaking of another NFLer. Susie Colbert was on this podcast last week, and that got a lot of attention, obviously, talking about her career and leaving ESPN. Head down the list. We've done a lot of stuff, obviously, in roundtables and stuff on Tony Romo and all the other stuff going on in sports media.

38:37I want to thank my producer, James Jackson, for all his hard work. Thank you to everybody that asked for their support. Most of all, thank you for listening. We'll see you soon on the Sports Media Podcast.

39:16We'll be right back. plumbing and electrical needs you know who to call for all the right reasons call 8664 seasons