00:00You know, I'm going to go to Messi.
00:02And we get Michelle Kaufman on from the Miami Herald all the time.
00:05She's a dear friend of mine.
00:06She said she's had seven minutes of him in interviewing him
00:11when he's down at Inter-Miami.
00:13He doesn't do interviews.
00:14He's not really a media guy.
00:17And I got to tell you, Rob, one thing that this World Cup did for me
00:21about Lionel Messi, I'm like, that guy's a modern-day Ali, sports-wise.
00:27Because I'm not talking about off and out of the ring.
00:31I'm talking about you can put him anywhere on the planet.
00:34And you know who that guy is.
00:37So one thing I think the American fan has been kind of embraced with now
00:43is you know who this guy is.
00:45He's the greatest athlete in the world, isn't he?
00:47Yeah, he is something special.
00:51You know, and I think people have even gotten over the fact, Dan,
00:54that if you're watching Argentina play and you just decide to put your eyeballs on him,
01:00which is not the worst decision, by the way,
01:02because I've caught myself many a time doing that, just staring at him.
01:05Like, what is he doing in this moment?
01:07And there's a lot of walking around.
01:08You know, there's a lot of walking around.
01:10But it's not anger or disgust or frustration with his teammates.
01:15It's watching.
01:16It's scanning.
01:17It's seeing.
01:18It's calibrating.
01:19It's seeing, all right, well, how fast is this guy?
01:21Is this guy really paying attention?
01:22Can I do a backdoor run on this guy?
01:24What if I cut this guy?
01:25And he conserves his energy, whether that's mental energy or physical energy,
01:30for when it's needed.
01:31Because when he needs to make a run, boom, old man is going, right?
01:3539-year-old legs are hustling and hauling.
01:38And when he has that ball at his feet, the place rises.
01:42Not like Argentina fans ever sit down, to be honest with you,
01:45but you feel things get elevated when he has the ball at his feet
01:48because anything can happen, and it's on his foot.
01:51And the defenders know him, and they respect him.
01:54And he is, you know, we're watching a GOAT continue.
01:58Like four years ago, he said, you know, we said.
02:00He didn't.
02:01We said, that's it, right?
02:02Like there's no way you're going to continue to play.
02:04You've already won the World Cup.
02:05What else is there to do?
02:07You go back even further, he lost the Copa America
02:09in New York, New Jersey Stadium.
02:11This was, I think, 2016.
02:13And he retired from international soccer.
02:16And then, you know, like a week or so later,
02:18changed his mind, came back.
02:19You know, so this is a guy who's had a chance to have that exit,
02:25that graceful exit.
02:26And he hasn't taken it.
02:27But his game hasn't diminished where you're like,
02:30man, I wish, I really wish he walked away, right?
02:33Like two years ago, get out in your prime.
02:35Everything's good.
02:36He's still playing at an amazing level.
02:38And he still dictates his playing time and what he can do
02:42and what he can't do.
02:43And your eyes, you know, don't deceive you
02:46because they watch him and you know this,
02:49you know your eyes are being blessed at that moment.
02:52I got about a minute left here,
02:54and I'm going to make another football analogy with you here.
02:57Cristiano Ronaldo is the American's version of Dan Marino.
03:01Is that fair?
03:05Does he have isotoner gloves?
03:09That's not a bad one.
03:11And I love Marino.
03:12I grew up a Dolphins fan.
03:16That's not bad.
03:17That's not bad.
03:18You know, the chiseled looks.
03:19He does get frustrated with his teammates.
03:22I did want him to go a little bit deeper this tournament.
03:24I did want him to get a couple more goals
03:26because everything he has done for this sport
03:28and on so many different stages across the globe
03:31has really been remarkable.
03:33But he's still a little bit more of that villain-type character
03:37compared to Messi,
03:39which is more of like, you know,
03:40those cuddly, cushy pillows
03:42that end up on, you know,
03:44your teenage daughter's bed over there, right?
03:46Like, you just feel safer
03:48and more comfortable with Messi around
03:50than you do maybe with a Ronaldo.
03:52But he's still a little bit more comfortable with him though.
03:52But he's still a little bit more comfortable with him though.
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