Scott Simon de NPR speaks to Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media on the Super Bowl match between the Chiefs of Kansas City and the Eagles of Philadelphia, as well as the NBA commercial deadline.
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Scott Simon, host:
The chiefs play for history, the Eagles to take revenge. And I can use my voice of sports doofus. A burst, by the way, of business of the big names in professional basketball. Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media joins us. Howard, thank you for being with us.
Howard Bryant: Hello, Scott. How are you doing?
Simon: I’m fine. Thank you, my friend. Super Bowl, of course, tomorrow in New Orleans. The heads of Kansas City go for their third consecutive title. No team in the history of the NFL was able to win three super bowls in a row. In fact, they started this rope two years ago by beating the Eagles of Philadelphia, which they play by coincidence tomorrow. Revenge time. What will be the key to the game?
Bryant: Well, I think that the key to the game will be what all football matches are summed up, especially in the playoffs – injuries and reversals. And it’s always the battle. And if you can – if you protect football and play your game, you have a very good blow to win. But, you know, the games are really at speed The chefs are a tall and super football …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … team. They didn’t even really have been so good this year. You watched them all year round and you wondered why they had been that – and then here they are again at the Super Bowl. So it’s going to be a great battle. The two teams are strongly motivated to go out …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … In addition.
Simon: That-I mean, maybe it’s a cliché, but it defines a big team, isn’t it? They cannot play their best and win.
Bryant: Absolutely. Absolutely, it’s true. And part of this is the difficulty of repeating and then repeating, then, of course, to repeat again. We never have …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … has already seen it. There are so many other things that annoy – Egos, money and boredom and pain and all things.
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: But this team is just – they have the best quarter. They have the best coach, and they also have a very good defense.
Simon: I have to ask, what do you do with what I will call the conspiracy theory which seems to have seized so many NFL fans that the League changes the scales in favor of the chiefs?
Bryant: I think it’s extremely dangerous, and I think there is a lot of truth when you look at the statistics. The NFL came out and said it was ridiculous. The NFL referees association …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … said it was ridiculous. But you look at the disparity of the penalties, you look at the speed of some of these things, and I understand. But I really think that Scott, the greatest thing here is that we know at all levels, it’s a very cynical period in this country. It is a very cynical period in each element of our life. And I think it is also one of the major by-products, the involuntary consequences of these professional sports, especially football, were made in 1,000% on the game.
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: And when you give your sport to speculation, people no longer trust what they are looking at. And all other advertisements are a game advertisement. All the other statistics are to make you make a kind of propeller bet. And obviously, the end result of this is the people who question the end result. Sport is all we have with regard to the unicenized competition. If it’s not real, if it doesn’t feel real …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … The game has a huge problem. And it’s a piece of what’s going on now.
Simon: I have to ask you questions about the NBA. This week, the deadline for exchanges, a triple team between Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz being called one of the most shocking professions in the history of the NBA. How so?
Bryant: Oh, you don’t see superstars at this level being exchanged. And certainly, when one of them is a Luka Doncic, 25, who considered …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … one of the great and great players of the NBA and one of the big ones, you know, the cornerstone of the Dallas franchise. And I think that when you have that, especially Luka, who took his team to the NBA final less than a year ago …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … Then, the Dallas Mavericks send a message that they do not like what they see in terms of their work ethics. They did not like what they see in terms of defense. They certainly did not like what they saw, that you would take a cornerstone player and that we would not say, we do not think that we can win with you …
Simon: Yeah.
Bryant: … even if we were in the NBA final …
Simon: Even if we did it, yes.
Bryant: … last year.
Simon: Yeah. Howard, one last question – Tomorrow, Nachos, Pizza or Tofu cubes?
Bryant: Always take pizza on everything.
Simon: Very good.
Bryant: This is how it must be, even during the Holidays of the Super Bowl.
Simon: Very good, with your advice. Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media. Thank you so much. HAPPY Super Bowl. Delighted to be with you, my friend. Talk to you soon.
Bryant: Thank you, Scott.
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