00:00Randall, I'm going to start with you. You're right here in studio. Tell us about, this is a big deal,
00:04and we've been talking about it, I feel like, forever. It's getting underway.
00:08It has been a large conversation for many months and years, and now we're finally here. We are, as it
00:14sits right now, 18 minutes away from, not tip-off, but kick-off. Tip-off is yesterday, but it's tremendous.
00:21I think that things will really come into effect. We'll feel it on Saturday when the matches really begin, and
00:29there's a match at MetLife, and I think Team USA plays on Friday, right, Vanessa? Do I have that right?
00:34Yeah. They play Friday in SoFi Stadium in L.A.
00:38So, when Team USA plays, I expect a large crowd. I expect the excitement to kick up, but...
00:44But, Vanessa, how good is Team USA? I mean, help set expectations here. I mean, this is the thing. You
00:51know, soccer, globally, it's huge. Here in the U.S., it is growing. It is big, but we're not even
00:59close to the best.
01:01We're definitely not close to the best, Tim. That's definitely correct, but we are better than I think people might
01:08think that we are. You know, I think that the U.S. is going to do well. I think they're
01:11going to definitely get out of their group. They might have the potential to win the group.
01:15And I think if they really... You know, I was talking to Alexi Lawless recently, and he played in the
01:201994 World Cup, and he really was iterating to me that how important a home World Cup really is.
01:27And the U.S. aren't expected to go very far, but I think if they're able to really capture the
01:33audience the way that we've seen, you know, in past World Cups, I think that they might be able to
01:38do something special and get to the quarterfinals or something like that, or something further.
01:42Further than we've ever seen before. I think that they can capture the magic. That's really what's important. They have
01:48to feel it.
01:48I've got to say, I want to talk more about the games itself and who's playing and all that, but
01:52the cost of the World Cup, like all the things like transportation...
01:56In 1994, it was only $25 or $65 a ticket.
01:59That's not even going to get you onto the New Jersey Transit to get to that.
02:02I know, I know.
02:05Combined, by the way.
02:06I've got to say that Dan Hunt, co-owner and president of the Dallas Football Club, he weighed in on
02:11FIFA World Cup ticketing prices. Just listen up, guys.
02:14The rollout is a little bit nontraditional, how we would do it in American sports, but FIFA has their way
02:20of doing it.
02:21And, you know, they've gotten some criticism over the prices, and they went back and repriced some cheaper tickets.
02:26And what I would say, you know, is there's a market demand for this, and the revenue they generate from
02:32the World Cup supports soccer globally.
02:34Their initiatives from grassroots to growing the men's game, growing the women's game, all the money associated with prize money,
02:41player money to clubs, and just in developing nations and helping the game along.
02:46And this is really their pinnacle, you know, tentpole moment that they have every four years.
02:51And so I know it's a delicate balance, right?
02:53You want it affordable for fans because fans make the game, but you also need to be able to have,
02:58you know, the money to help support the game for the next four years.
03:02I got to say, you could hear that in so many different marketplaces.
03:05That's Dan Hunt, co-owner and president of Dallas Football Club.
03:07Vanessa, let me just get you to weigh in on that.
03:09Is he right?
03:10Like, this supports a lot of stuff out there.
03:12Does it have to be so expensive?
03:13Look at Vanessa's face.
03:16No, I mean, it doesn't have to be so expensive.
03:19It really doesn't.
03:19And obviously, it hasn't been so expensive in the past World Cups.
03:23I mean, yes, 1994 was a very different time, so we can't really note to those ticket prices.
03:28But just even in 2022, ticket prices were, you know, six to seven times cheaper than this.
03:33We're seeing ticket prices now for group stage matches that we weren't even seeing for 2022's final.
03:39You know, so it doesn't have to be this way, but people wanted to take advantage of the U.S.
03:44ticket market.
03:44That's exactly what, you know, me and Randall have been having these conversations.
03:47That's what they say.
03:48They knew resale was going to be a problem, and they wanted to get in on the game as well.
03:53Is resale, Randall, a problem right now?
03:55I mean, I've talked to friends who are going.
03:58I know a friend, like I've said before, he's going to five games, Seattle, New York, L.A.
04:02This friend has money.
04:04He told me, in 1994, I was seven years old.
04:07I couldn't go to any games, and I vowed then, and he's literally been saving up for years.
04:12He says the L.A. game is much cheaper because they didn't price it right.
04:16Well, I think in terms of what is the right price for these things,
04:20is if you think of what is the normal first sport that kids play, it is soccer because it is
04:25so cheap.
04:26However, think about the kids who, let's say, are pre-K to high school.
04:30They're going to be relying on their parents.
04:32So if it costs you $800 for a family of four, one individual ticket each, that's $3,200.
04:37How many families of four are going to be able to pay that?
04:40And this isn't just group stage, this isn't just quarterfinals.
04:44These are group stage matches.
04:44These are matches that feature countries that we might not know or might not know players who are playing for
04:50them.
04:50Now, just imagine what it's going to cost to see Lionel Messi play.
04:53So are the tickets selling, right, though?
04:55They are, but it remains to be seen what the audience looks like in these stadiums.
05:01There are tickets that are being sold in all these places, and the prices are slowly but surely coming down.
05:05And there's a possibility that, you know, shortly before a match, FIFA could slash the prices,
05:09and then people flock to the stadiums.
05:11That's also something that could happen.
05:13But you're talking about FIFA, which is projected to net over $10 billion in revenue.
05:18That's a lot of money over the course of, like, less than 60 days.
05:21However, at what cost?
05:23I have to say, the Bloomberg Businessweek Daily team has its own soccer expert.
05:27It is known as Sebastian Escobar, and he said,
05:30Club World Cup last year had many empty seats.
05:34In the U.S.
05:35Yeah.
05:36Hey, we're going to switch gears.
05:38We've got to talk about the Knicks game last night, if we can.
05:40We are all in on soccer, but we've got to talk about it.
05:42Vanessa, come on in.
05:45Man, what a game.
05:47If you went to sleep early, you might have missed and not would have been surprised by the outcome.
05:53I don't know.
05:54How are you thinking about where we go from here?
05:55She's about to just...
05:57First of all, if you went to sleep early last night, you missed history.
06:03You missed history last night.
06:04It was the biggest comeback, you know, in an NBA playoff history.
06:08It was absolutely incredible.
06:10You know, I was watching from a scene, from a bar in Queens.
06:14It was electric at the end.
06:17You know, it was unbelievable.
06:18So I think from here, the series is over.
06:21Randall, you were in the building last night.
06:23You were there last night at MSG, Randall.
06:26I was.
06:26I was.
06:28That was the loudest arena that I've ever been in, by far.
06:31It was...
06:32The concourse was shaking.
06:34I mean, Mike Breen said it on the broadcast.
06:36This building is shaking.
06:37No, it was legitimately shaking.
06:39And they...
06:40I mean, you have to think.
06:41A tremendous comeback.
06:42Because I believe it was 76 to 49 at halftime.
06:44Yeah.
06:45And at that point, the Spurs scored 30 points the rest of the game.
06:48A tremendous defensive effort.
06:49And I think, in this aspect, I'm joking with Vanessa, but she's probably right.
06:54When you give up a 29-point lead, and then you have to go home and play a team that
06:59you
06:59haven't beat in your own house, it's kind of over.
07:03Ugh, great stuff.
07:0429-point lead is like...
07:05I mean, that is the most soul-crushing thing ever.
07:08If you're not...
07:09Maybe if you're not a New Yorker.
07:10Exactly.
07:11You're cool with you.
07:12Right, exactly.
07:13You guys are amazing.
Comments