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00:00NFL Network slash ESPN.
00:02I'm not even sure what to call that now.
00:03I've known Ian for so long, but who does he work for?
00:06Everybody.
00:08Not Odyssey.
00:10No, that's true.
00:11You know, he might.
00:12I don't know.
00:12Maybe in some, you know, wraparound way.
00:14I'm sure he goes on one of our stations somewhere.
00:16There's a podcast or something that he's on.
00:18Yeah.
00:19Thank you for listening to WGR Middays, driven by Northtown Automotive,
00:23with Brad, Tim, and Owen.
00:27This is Tim and Owen.
00:28It is.
00:29Brad is with the University at Buffalo football program
00:32as they head to Penn State this weekend for a big matchup against the Nittany Lions.
00:39Maybe they can find some Western Michigan magic.
00:44The 59 minutes, 59 seconds of magic for Western Michigan
00:49up at the big house against the University of Michigan before that fateful second.
00:53That is still one of the all-time...
00:55What just happened?
00:56Really?
00:57Okay.
00:58Great.
00:58Like, just mind-boggling.
01:01Terrible for college sports in terms of integrity with all the betting,
01:06but in terms of just a moment, I'm always pro-chaos.
01:10Sure.
01:11We won't forget it.
01:12That's definitely true.
01:13But would we have ever forgotten Western Michigan beating Michigan in that spot?
01:19That's an all-time upset.
01:21Yeah, I guess you're right.
01:23You know, that's a moment either way.
01:24Yeah, you're right.
01:26Sorry to put rain on your parade.
01:28No, but I think those do happen, including like Appalachian State against Michigan.
01:32Yes.
01:33These happen on occasion, but the way that happened is it will be indelible.
01:37It's like Boise State against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl with a Statue of Liberty play and a hook and
01:43lateral.
01:44I keep talking about hook and laterals.
01:45They're on my mind.
01:45I did a story about hook and laterals last week.
01:49Two hook and lateral teams were going at it last night, Owen.
01:53Yes, they were.
01:54But they didn't do the hook and lateral.
01:56No.
01:56No need.
01:57It seemed like the Bills.
01:58I thought Detroit would because they were a bit desperate coming from behind.
02:01They were behind the sticks a lot.
02:04Once they got going, I thought Goff did well to break out of what could have been a very dark
02:11night for him back there.
02:12Because the first few defensive drives for the Bills, I thought they were just all over him.
02:19And I tweeted out before the game, I thought maybe that Jim Leonard was going to smell blood in the
02:25water and just go Brian Flores mode on this offensive line for the Lions that was really depleted.
02:31And then Ed got hurt, and I was like, that kind of takes a blow to that.
02:34And the game started, and it was pretty much that.
02:37It was they're just blowing this line up, and Goff can't get in rhythm, which is where he's at his
02:41best.
02:42And I was impressed that they found, one, a way to stabilize their offensive line to not continue to allow
02:49the Bills' defensive line to just burst right through.
02:52And Goff did well to settle himself down.
02:54With a bunch of injuries.
02:55Right.
02:57Detroit had a bunch of injuries, I'm saying.
02:59Yeah, right.
02:59Exactly.
03:00They were depleted on the line, two starters out.
03:03And I was impressed that they kind of got it back on the rails in that game.
03:08And Amon Ra had a slow start and ended up with a huge night.
03:11And Jared Goff, yeah, he looked lost for much of the game just based on feel, observation.
03:19But then you take a look at his stats, and midway through the fourth quarter, he only had, I think,
03:24seven incomplete passes on a lot of attempts.
03:26I think he was up well over 70% completion percentage and wasn't making the crucial mistake despite early pressure,
03:35getting strip-sacked.
03:36Greg Rousseau.
03:37Hey, by the way, I mean, this is just an observation.
03:42There's all the, is it Greg or Gregory, Josh, Joshua Palmer.
03:47There's a few of those games.
03:49Maxwell, Max Hairston.
03:51Yep.
03:51But with Rousseau, I do recall when he was drafted, we asked him what he wanted to be called.
03:58Well, first off, it's Rousseau.
03:59Mm-hmm.
04:00With emphasis on the second solo.
04:02Oh, yeah.
04:03And he said Gregory.
04:04But now he's Greg and fine.
04:06Okay.
04:07But he did a commercial, and I don't know that they advertise on WGR anymore, so I won't name the
04:13company.
04:13But there's a commercial that he does, and he says, hi, this is Greg Rousseau.
04:18I'm like, hmm, wait a minute.
04:21Could that be just for time for the spot?
04:24Inside baseball, but was it too long and they needed to shorten Greg to Gregory?
04:29No, I'm saying the last name.
04:31He says his last name different.
04:32Oh, I see.
04:33It's not Rousseau.
04:34It's Greg Rousseau.
04:35Rousseau.
04:35Right.
04:35I got you.
04:37Huh.
04:37That's interesting.
04:38I'm like, wait a minute.
04:40You're not going to say that wrong.
04:41No, that seems surprising.
04:44It's egregious is what it is, and I'm not going to stand for it.
04:47I don't care how many sacks you have.
04:50Hi, I'm Lawrence Taylor.
04:52Yeah.
04:52Nice.
04:53No, I'm just, I don't know.
04:54It was just an observation.
04:55Yeah.
04:55All right, so we've been talking about what Josh Allen can't do because the list has to be short.
05:01He does it all.
05:02He's the first player since 1929 when Ernie Nevers did it for the Chicago Cardinals to score nine touchdowns in
05:11five days.
05:13Ernie Nevers did all of his on the ground, as you would suspect, in 1929.
05:17I don't know if the ball was still round back then.
05:19I think it looked like a medicine ball, probably.
05:22It would make sense.
05:23Leather helmets.
05:24They had no, they didn't even know.
05:26So, they're probably playing in dress shoes.
05:30Josh Allen, five passing, four rushing through the first two games for the Buffalo Bills.
05:37And Ernie Nevers, by the way, who started his career with the Duluth Eskimos.
05:42So, Stephen in Florida, what can't Josh Allen do?
05:48Hey, good morning, guys.
05:51Yeah, I've got the perfect one for that.
05:55But what cannot Josh Allen not do?
05:59Josh Allen cannot not be Josh Allen, the number one player in the NFL.
06:06Now, wait a minute.
06:07I think we have a triple or maybe even a quadruple negative in there.
06:11And all we need from you now is to speak in third person.
06:16Refer to yourself as in third person, Stephen.
06:18All right, so he cannot not be the number one player in the National Football League.
06:24Exactly.
06:24The players.
06:25He must be.
06:26He has no choice but to be.
06:28Even if he tried.
06:28If he were to hand the ball to Aiden Hutchinson last night, it would burn Aiden Hutchinson's
06:35hands.
06:36It would create third degree burns to which Aiden Hutchinson would drop it immediately.
06:41Biblical interference.
06:42And turn into a touchdown for Josh Allen.
06:45Yeah, I mean, I mean, you look at this guy.
06:49It's in his DNA to be a champion.
06:51And I don't care what the players voted.
06:54Miles Garrett, and it's obvious now, he is not the number one player in the league.
06:59It's Josh Allen.
07:01I just want to brag on my team.
07:03Just a quick little vent here before I get into the Bills last night.
07:08I think it's totally ridiculous that they played the Canadian National Anthem.
07:13I know people are going to differ with me about that.
07:16This is America.
07:17There's no NFL team that's Canadian, okay?
07:20If it was the hockey, I could see them doing that.
07:24But that was just kind of ridiculous.
07:26But that's a...
07:27I digress.
07:28That's a sign.
07:28Well, hang on a second.
07:29Just a point to make.
07:31Buffalo's home market is a 75-mile radius around Highmark Stadium.
07:35That includes Toronto.
07:37So Toronto is technically Buffalo's home market, which is why the Bills were able to go up there
07:42and play the Bills in Toronto Series, which a lot of people didn't like.
07:45But 21% of Canada's population falls within Buffalo's NFL-designated home market.
07:53So Buffalo is a Canadian team.
07:57Believe it or not.
08:00Well, I'll disagree with that.
08:03They're in America, so they're not in Canada.
08:05But anyway, as far as the game last night, I knew James Cook was going to have over 100 yards
08:13and a TD.
08:15And I knew the Bills, and also I knew the Bills were going to have three to five sacks on
08:21Jared Goff last night.
08:22And one of those was going to be by Chubb and, of course, Rousseau.
08:27So, but here's the main thing.
08:29When you look at this game last night, yes, okay, the defense still needs to make adjustments.
08:3562 points in two games, that's not good.
08:40But you look at what they did, how they had Goff off his game in the first half.
08:46And, you know, they, okay, so they got, you know, decimated in the second half with the passing game, yes.
08:52But I think with Leonard, they're going to be able to adjust and step up with that.
08:59And remember, they did not have Ed Oliver last night.
09:03And also on the offense, I got to give kudos to Keon Coleman stepping up the way he did after
09:12D.J. Moore went out.
09:15I mean, he just, this is night and day from last year for him.
09:20But, again, the offensive line really did a phenomenal job protecting Josh.
09:27And that guy for the defense on the Lions, I think his name was Henderson, he thought he had Josh
09:35Allen.
09:35And you see Josh running for the side.
09:38And he chucked the ball downfield.
09:40And Dalton Kincaid caught it, but unfortunately it was out of bounds.
09:44But that's the whole thing.
09:46Never underestimate Josh Allen.
09:49This guy, he is just phenomenal and amazing with what he does.
09:55And that first drive, they had eight first downs.
10:00I don't think they had a third down until, like, their fourth or fifth drive somewhere in there.
10:06So, man, I'm telling you, I'm expecting, this is my expectation for the Bills this year.
10:12I believe, at the bye, they're going to be 6-0.
10:18And I think there's a very real possibility Buffalo's going to become the second team in NFL history to have
10:25a perfect season,
10:26the first one being the 72 Dolphins.
10:29I believe this is the year Buffalo's going to go all the way.
10:32And they're going to finally, and Josh said this in the interview he did with Fitz and Witt.
10:37You know, what's his main thing?
10:39He said he wants to bring the Lombardi trophy to Buffalo.
10:43He's got his sights set on that.
10:44And I'm telling you, this is the Bills' year to do that.
10:48What a great inaugural home opener last night.
10:51They couldn't ask for a better one.
10:53They had Bruce Smith for the legend of the game.
10:57And, man, I'm just highly expecting this is the Bills' year.
11:02So, you're still going to have the critics out there.
11:04They're going to say, oh, Josh doesn't have a Super Bowl.
11:07I don't.
11:08He will.
11:09They're going to lose two games.
11:12You say they're going to leave the critics.
11:14A harsh critic for you, Stephen, would be that they might lose three games.
11:20Yeah.
11:21Well, you know, time will tell.
11:25But right now, they're on a roll.
11:28I mean, last year they were 4-0.
11:31And then they started losing games.
11:33And if you remember last year, there was a point in the season where people were actually
11:37saying, what's wrong with Josh Allen?
11:40Remember that?
11:40Well, that was when Ken Dorsey was the offensive coordinator.
11:43That was a couple years ago.
11:45But, all right, we've got to move on, Stephen.
11:46I appreciate the call.
11:50And Stephen got on a roll.
11:51Speaking of the Bills being on a roll, they're going to go undefeated.
11:54Josh Allen has championship DNA.
11:56It's just been mutated.
11:59Yeah.
11:59The genes have been mutated because he hasn't won it yet.
12:03It's on a timer.
12:04It's on a...
12:04It's right.
12:05They're in a little pod that gets released after year 9.
12:09And they just activated.
12:11But I get it, man.
12:12Stephen's all worked up.
12:13He's down there in Florida.
12:14He's been hearing about the 72 Dolphins his whole life.
12:18And now he just needs his Bills to go out there and take care of it.
12:21Even after...
12:21There was so much.
12:22There were so many things.
12:23He was just on a roll.
12:24I probably should have...
12:25We should have, like, gone point for point.
12:27But now there's just too much.
12:28You're early in your days.
12:30There's an art to when to cut that guy off.
12:33You think so?
12:34I think so.
12:35I don't know.
12:36I'm not a professional yet either.
12:37But I think there...
12:38I think we could have stopped that train at some point.
12:43I wanted to hear the O Canada pushback.
12:47That's fine.
12:48I'll talk about that.
12:49I get it.
12:50I'm sure.
12:51People were upset about it.
12:52Some people were upset about it.
12:54I don't think most in Western New York were because they liked it.
12:58That's always...
12:58Yeah.
12:58Everybody sung it.
12:59Around here, it's a nonpartisan issue.
13:02Yeah.
13:03I don't...
13:03Stephen, I can tell by his accent, is in a Florida...
13:06Is in a native Floridian.
13:07Sure.
13:08He's from Western New York.
13:09But he's down there in Florida and maybe just doesn't recall, like, maybe how the kismet...
13:15The kismet's not the right word.
13:17The symbiosis.
13:19The relationship.
13:20Connection.
13:20Yeah, yeah.
13:21See why you got to make it so easy.
13:22Yeah, well, you know, I'm a simple man.
13:26Simple man.
13:28Anthony, are you in Charlotte or are you in Charlotte?
13:33Charlotte, North Carolina.
13:34Okay.
13:35Charlotte, North Carolina, as opposed to Charlotte, New York.
13:39How are you guys doing?
13:40We're doing great.
13:42Thanks for calling in.
13:43Yes.
13:44That's good.
13:45You know, because it's a victory Friday.
13:47And the number one thing I wanted to bring up was, now, Tyler Bass.
13:51You know, he can't be missing field goals.
13:53And I heard you guys talking about him earlier.
13:56The reason why I think they didn't bring in competition for him is because a lot of people
14:02don't realize this, but if you research it, our rookie partner that we have, he can kick
14:07field goals.
14:08And that's what I wanted to bring up to you guys.
14:12I haven't seen him try any.
14:14I would think that if you want this guy to kick them and make them in the National Football
14:18League, that you would have him working out.
14:19Now, maybe he's been doing it under the wraps.
14:22Right.
14:22But there hasn't been a kicker punter full-time in a long time.
14:28I can't even.
14:31Russell Erxleben with the New Orleans Saints.
14:34I believe you.
14:35I mean, Jay Feeley did it on an emergency basis for a little bit.
14:39I don't know.
14:39I have to look it up.
14:40I'm sorry, Anthony.
14:41But what do we know about him as a, what do we know about Doman as a field goal kicker?
14:45Anything?
14:47No, I just know that he has kicked previously field goals.
14:51If you guys go on the internet and research it.
14:53I did some research for myself, and that's how I found out that he's able to kick field
14:58goals, which I bet you that's what impressed Brandon Dean and the scouts.
15:05And, you know, for bringing him in.
15:08Well, he made, he kicked twice in college.
15:12He kicked two extra points.
15:15He, that's all I see here.
15:16I've got, I've got six of seven in high school as well.
15:20So.
15:20Six in high school?
15:21Yes.
15:22That's where I, that's where I got to.
15:24So it's not exactly a lengthy, you know, resume of, of solid place kicking that would
15:30maybe make you feel any more comfortable than you would in Tyler Bass.
15:33This show's come to a screeching halt.
15:35We had a good hour.
15:36I would say we'd have a good 45 minutes.
15:39What's screeching?
15:41You?
15:41You screeching?
15:42I'm not screeching.
15:45We're 0 for 2 on callers.
15:46Eh.
15:47This, this segment.
15:51Pick me up.
15:52Bernadette in Buffalo.
15:54I heard you saying it.
15:55You say, pick me up.
15:56You're going to, are you going to carry us now?
15:57Let's go.
15:58Let's go, Bernadette.
15:59No, no.
16:00I, I'm calling from Boston, New York, but in my car.
16:04And I have a problem with, um, Stephen, was that the guy that called about the Canadian
16:08National Anthem?
16:09Yes.
16:10No, he mentioned it.
16:11He wanted to call about something else.
16:14About kind of what Josh cannot not do.
16:17Okay.
16:18My problem with him is, like, what percentage of fans come from Canada?
16:24I think I read somewhere online.
16:2612%.
16:2712% of PSL holders are Canadian, and almost 20% of the waiting list is Canadian.
16:33Okay.
16:34So, these people come over the border from a wonderful country that I've enjoyed being
16:41on the border with my entire life, and we can't show them some respect by playing their
16:48National Anthem while they come over here and support our team.
16:51I think that man is just totally wrong.
16:55I hope they do it every home game, because it was beautiful.
16:58Well, I, they're not going to, but, um, that's because, there's a lot of logistical issues
17:05about it with the National Football League.
17:07So, if you want to do both anthems, you're kind of pigeonholed into doing it before the
17:12players come out of the locker room, because there are timing issues with the broadcasts
17:17and the kickoff.
17:18And I don't know if you're, if it carried through on the broadcast last night, I think it would
17:22almost had to have, because it was the opening kickoff, was delayed, because then they had
17:27Bruce Smith doing the leading the charge, or whatever they're calling it now, and blowing
17:32the horn, and doing the where else would you rather be, and the players were standing on
17:36the field, and the refs had to hold up the game, so Bruce Smith could do that.
17:41So, even though it's just a couple minutes, and that sounds like it's trivial, but the
17:46NFL has these things timed down so specifically, the halftime shows, everything, that the
17:52Bills have decided that if they were to do the National Anthems for every game, a lot
17:58of people will still be on the concourses, because the players won't be out of the locker
18:02rooms yet, and it just won't hit and matter like it does before the hockey games like the
18:07Sabres do, even if they're playing the Utah Mammoth, or whatever they're called these days.
18:13Well, and a big percent, I mean, granted, we have Canadian hockey players on our team,
18:17but also a big percent, some percent of Canadians come over from, you know, Fort Erie, and St.
18:25Catherine's, and all that, and they support our team, and so I get the logistical thing
18:30behind it, but if it was only once that they could do it, I'm damn glad they did.
18:35All right.
18:36Bernadette, thanks for the call.
18:38Let's go up to Toronto.
18:41Everyone's favorite Sri Lankan, Ryan.
18:43Ryan.
18:44Ryan, you're in Toronto, but you're not, well, you're up there, you call in all the time,
18:49and you're a great listener and a great caller.
18:53What were your, and you probably didn't call to talk about this, but I'm going to put you
18:56on the spot.
18:58What did you think of the Bills' decision to play the Canadian National Anthem?
19:02I loved it.
19:03I loved it.
19:04It's patriotic.
19:06It's, you know, two nations, two nations, neighbors, and, you know, why not?
19:13Well, Steve, I think because it's woke, Ryan, that's why some people don't want to do it.
19:18Well, the thing is that there's a lot of Canadian fans, not only Buffalo, but also Detroit as
19:24well.
19:24Think about it.
19:25Yeah, Detroit being a market town, or a border town right there in the Windsor being in their
19:30market.
19:31Yeah, Buffalo's a little different in that the Canadian city has the gravitational pull
19:37as opposed to Detroit to Windsor, Seattle, and Vancouver.
19:40Coming into the U.S., the exchange rate is much higher, so we are spending a lot more
19:45than what the actual face value of anything is.
19:49That's right.
19:49Well, all right.
19:50Well, I wanted to get your thoughts on that, Ryan, but you wanted to talk about the defense.
19:53You know, I heard the call, man, you know, it's not my spot to say it.
19:57Eat your own, man.
19:58They all have your own opinions on everything.
20:00So whatever, it doesn't matter.
20:03Right on.
20:03The reason I called is about the defense, guys.
20:07Like, I know offense could score points.
20:10The whole purpose, I thought, was McDermott is no longer with the Bills if the defense was
20:15allowing all these points.
20:17What are the difference right now between last year when Denver scored 31 points or whatnot,
20:25and so now, two games in a row, Bills' defense have given up 31 points, and I know Sal comes
20:33on the show and says, oh, they have no tape on Jim Leonard's defense.
20:38Clearly, they do.
20:40Back-to-back games, they have given up 31 points.
20:43Even for the offense, we could be sitting here at 0-2.
20:46So what are we going to do?
20:48How are we going to fix this moving forward?
20:51Ryan, that's a great question.
20:53And I'll be honest, I'm a big Jim Leonard fan, and people have heard me talk about that
20:58and what I've written about Jim Leonard, and I have not seen much difference from Sean McDermott
21:04other than some different pieces.
21:05Yes, Greg Rousseau is getting after it.
21:08Deion Walker, who was also getting after it towards the end of last season, too, when Sean
21:12McDermott was still around, by the way, so it's not like he's been unlocked by this coaching
21:15staff.
21:15So it's just different.
21:17It looks very bend-but-don't-break to me.
21:20But that's also what happens when you're up 21-0 early.
21:24These games have been strange.
21:27You can say the Detroit Lions with Jameer Gibbs and I'm on Ross St. Brown and dangerous, but
21:33how dangerous was Houston, really?
21:35Yeah, no.
21:36CJ Stroud and David Montgomery.
21:37I know Nico Collins is a good player, too.
21:39But the Texans look dangerous against the Bills.
21:44I'm with Ryan on that.
21:46Yeah, I think it's definitely not good right now.
21:50There are good things happening with the defensive line, like you mentioned Rousseau and Walker,
21:55that should make you feel like there's potential for it to get a lot better.
22:00I have maintained that it feels to me like a lot of the issues in the secondary can be
22:06worked out through reps and through time on task, which is something we heard McDermott
22:11talk a lot about.
22:12And that gives me a fair bit of confidence in their ability to sort of sort out that
22:18back-end stuff.
22:19I don't think Christian Benford's going to look as gettable as he has through two games
22:24so far.
22:25I thought he struggled last night a few times as well.
22:27I think that will improve.
22:29I think that the secondary communication will improve overall.
22:32And I think if you get that combined with the plays you're getting on the line, you
22:37should be able to get that defense to a place where if your offense looks like it does, that
22:42you should feel okay.
22:43And that, to me, I've got concern about it, but I'm not worried that it's going to ruin
22:49their season.
22:50Not yet.
22:50I just don't think that we've seen enough or had enough time with them sort of getting
22:55it together, working as a team to really get their feet under them in Jim Leonard's
23:00system.
23:02It is disconcerting, maybe not just with those two games in and of themselves.
23:08I guess the disconcerting part is just the thought that maybe the defense doesn't get
23:13better with this coaching change.
23:15And you still have the same guy calling the plays who was calling him last year.
23:19But to Ryan's point, the whole move away from McDermott was to get a new vibe, which they
23:26clearly have Deion Dawkins talking last night about, man, we've only had a defensive coach.
23:31Now this is fun.
23:32And I don't think he's taking a shot at McDermott as much as he's just saying, this is new
23:36for us.
23:36Right.
23:36And we are just the chunk plays and anything goes.
23:41But it's, I don't think that McDermott was handcuffing Joe Brady in terms of play calling,
23:47maybe in terms of strategy, possession to possession strategy, what we want to do here in terms of
23:53maybe we just directives or themes, let's say.
24:01But yeah, Jim Leonard was supposed to be the difference maker.
24:04Only two games, only two games.
24:06But we haven't really seen it yet.
24:08We've only heard about it.
24:09Right.
24:10And I don't, but to that point, the things we've heard about Leonard give me confidence
24:17that it will improve and that it will sort of morph and grow as the season progresses.
24:22Anybody around him says he's the ultimate teacher.
24:25Exactly.
24:25He is able to translate difficult concepts from a coaching standpoint to a player standpoint
24:31and was doing it while he was playing.
24:33And now that he's a coach, you know, it should work.
24:37It should.
24:38Yes.
24:39Hey, portions of Buffalo Football Monday, Friday, today are brought to you by Tim Hortons,
24:45the official coffee of the Jeremy and Joe Morning Show on WGR.
24:48Start your day strong with Tim Hortons and the Bills.
24:51Thank you to Tim Hortons.
24:52You can hear the beans rattling in the bag.
24:56It's like a little, it's a big maraca.
24:58It's a maraca that smells good.
24:59Let's go to Bill in Hamilton, speaking of Tim Hortons.
25:04Bill, you're on WGR.
25:07Good.
25:07How's it going, guys?
25:08Going great.
25:09Thanks for calling.
25:10Hey, first of all, can we just appreciate how awesome it is today?
25:13Thanks.
25:14For all of us who have been longtime fans, isn't today just a great day?
25:18Just, it's so much fun.
25:19I just think we got to stop for a second, just enjoy it, and just enjoy how fun it is.
25:24Secondly, the National Anthem thing, I'm Canadian.
25:27It's great to have it.
25:28I think the Anthems are overplayed at sporting events.
25:31I think they should be for special events only.
25:33I go to a lot of Blue Jays games.
25:35Guys don't give a crap on the field about the Anthem.
25:37It loses its specialness.
25:40It loses the respect that we owe to the National Anthems.
25:43It was great last night, special event, first time.
25:45We don't need to hear it every game, personally.
25:47We can hear it when we play the Super Bowl next.
25:50Just want to hear what you guys think about that.
25:52No, Bill, I think that's a great point, and I agree with it, but you can't take it away.
25:57You can see just what adding the two minutes of the Canadian National Anthem is done for
26:01the discourse.
26:02Not in Western New York.
26:03We're all pretty unified in our fondness of the Canadian Anthem here, and it goes back
26:11decades.
26:11The Sabres have been indoctrinated with it.
26:15We can sing it.
26:16When Cammie Clooney's microphone went out before the Canadians played the Sabres in the playoffs,
26:21the Western New York fans, and yes, there were some Canadians fans there, too, but that
26:26was a Sabres playoff game.
26:27Not a lot of those tickets were being given up.
26:30No, it wasn't like a takeover like you are used to seeing in the regular season.
26:34And I think Western New Yorkers, a lot of us, can probably sing it in French.
26:39And it was interesting to see even the Canadians from out in B.C. or Saskatchewan were like,
26:45what?
26:46What?
26:47Look at these guys.
26:48Unbelievable.
26:49And then people in the United States were, why do they know this?
26:52Well, when you look at the history from a sports standpoint, you come to appreciate and recognize
26:59that Western New Yorkers are different in that regard.
27:02We're almost suburban GTA.
27:06So, but I get the point about the national anthem.
27:09And I have a lot of national anthem opinions because it does lose its gravitas when you
27:19hear it all the time.
27:20It becomes white noise before a game.
27:22It is when you go run to the restroom.
27:24Yep.
27:24It's when you get in line to get your beer before kickoff.
27:28And so last night was a little different and there was a light show and everything else
27:32and everybody knew that the anthem was going to be special for Canada and bare naked ladies
27:36and you want to maybe see them.
27:38Say you saw the, finger quotes, you saw the bare naked ladies in concert.
27:43Anywho.
27:45But yeah, I think by and large, it's a show.
27:51It's kind of over the top.
27:54Going back to Colin Kaepernick kneeling.
27:56We were talking about it yesterday.
27:57Buster Bison called in.
27:58Yes.
27:59And he called that and we were talking about, well, why don't the mascots take their heads
28:01off for the national anthem?
28:03If we take our hats off, why does the Bison, because, or the mascot, it's because the mascot
28:08is part of the show.
28:09Right.
28:10It's not about the national anthem.
28:11It's the show.
28:12It's the show.
28:12Right.
28:12And you take a look out on the field at all the cameramen who are doing what?
28:16Kneeling.
28:17Yeah.
28:17Kneeling because they need to photograph the player from the ground up and kneeling away
28:22with their back to the flag.
28:24Or you hear a broadcaster in the booth reading out an injury report, which Brad mentioned
28:30yesterday, is often being done.
28:32And so I totally agree.
28:34I think it does sort of lose its meaning and it becomes banal and sort of, we got to just
28:44get through this.
28:44I guess I'm going to just throw a thing of popcorn at my buddy and see if I can make
28:47him
28:47laugh and just, we'll get to the game.
28:50Or you even hear it during a moment of silence.
28:52Yep.
28:53And somebody just wants to whistle or scream and be heard.
28:56Hey, that was me.
28:57Do you hear it?
28:57Yep.
28:57Hey, Rob, I talked to Josh Palmer about this.
29:00Rob in Hamburg.
29:01He says Joshua Palmer was crying during the national anthem?
29:05Yes.
29:06You were probably at the game.
29:08You didn't see it.
29:08But during the broadcast, he was wiping tears from his eyes, which is one of the coolest
29:13things because if you think about it, he's probably never heard his anthem in his professional
29:18career.
29:19He hasn't.
29:19And I asked him about that after the game.
29:21Neither had Michael Hoyt.
29:22That was the first time they've ever had their anthem played before they played a game.
29:26And that's fabulous for those guys.
29:28I agree with you guys.
29:30Both songs are special and they need to be treated as special.
29:34So they do lose a little bit here and there.
29:37But it's just great that no matter what is going on geopolitically, that the people in
29:44this area support our neighbors.
29:46All right.
29:46Thanks for the call, Rob.
29:48And that's true.
29:49You know what?
29:49Here's a little bit of national anthem trivia.
29:52It's not trivia because that makes it, that degrades the fact.
29:57Okay.
29:58And did you know, and we'll talk about it when we come back after the break, did you
30:02know that you are not supposed to applaud or cheer the national anthem?
30:07We'll talk about that when we come back on WGR Middays, driven by Northtown Automotive
30:12with Brad, Tim, and Owen right after this.
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