Lindsay Rhodes Talks Journey from NFL Network to Sumer Sports

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00:00All right, well, listen, we're going to break free and we're going to talk to Lindsay Rhodes

00:03now from Sumer Sports.

00:06And Lindsay, of course, hails from El Toro, Cali.

00:12How about that?

00:13How about that?

00:14And you're friends with my guy, Tommy D, Dimitrov, and all my friends at Sumer Sports.

00:20How's it going now?

00:21Because I think when it started, it was like three years ago, maybe.

00:25Am I crazy?

00:26Is it about three years ago?

00:27I think it's been three years.

00:28I've only been there for just this football season.

00:31Right.

00:32I have a newer ad.

00:33Right.

00:34But I think it's been, yeah.

00:35So when they started it, right, like I've been friends with Thomas since he ran the

00:37Falcons.

00:38Uh-huh.

00:39And he used to come do my show when I was on, I was on the Howard Stern channels for

00:44like 10 years in New York City.

00:47And he would come do the show and we'd go out, eat lobster in Manhattan.

00:51We became close friends.

00:53And then through the years, he would always come on the show as the Falcons GM.

00:57And then he left and he started doing the stuff with Sumer.

01:02And it was like, you know, I remember it was real analytical and it was trying to help

01:06franchises.

01:08So you had done a lot of stuff in football with like NFL Network and such.

01:14So I did, what is it, NFL, I don't know if it was NFL Films or NFL Network.

01:21I did the top 10 shows for about 15 years because I like would go on those things and

01:25misbehave for like 15 years.

01:27And we would tape them in like the Omni in Manhattan, do the whole season in like five

01:31hours and we would tape, tape and tape and tape.

01:34So I know a lot of the people at the NFL Network.

01:36What was it like for you to transition from that to Sumer and going into like, I mean,

01:42they're like mad scientists at Sumer.

01:45They're not the people at NFL Network, a bunch of beer drinkers and whiskey drinkers that

01:49like football and gambling at Sumer.

01:51They're like scientists.

01:53Well, it's in so many different ways.

01:56It's really, really interesting in terms of the layers of difference.

02:00Right.

02:01Well, first of all, even prior to leaving NFL Network and then prior to me starting

02:06at Sumer was like entering more of a podcast space and having and radio and doing those

02:11types of conversations, which is a transition in and of itself.

02:14Right.

02:15From television.

02:16Right.

02:17Television's very choppy.

02:18Talk about things.

02:19Sure.

02:20Like a minute and a half max.

02:21You're right.

02:23So if you're having a conversation on a podcast, you could go like 12 minutes on a topic.

02:26Right.

02:27Back and forth with somebody with all the different.

02:28Or the whole hour.

02:30For sure.

02:31Right.

02:32Yeah.

02:33Right.

02:34And I saw people today, they were like at our network, they were taping half hour segments,

02:36one after the next, trying to get as many of them in the, load them up into the queue

02:41for the week.

02:42And they just bang out segments.

02:44It's a lot different down there, right at Sumer.

02:46Well, it allows you to go into a lot more detail.

02:48Right.

02:49And you're really kind of getting to the thing about TV that's always challenging in a good

02:54way sometimes, but is like, if you're doing an interview, you have time for maybe three

02:59to six questions.

03:00Right.

03:01And so you kind of have to do the mental math about, is it worth it to ask a follow-up question?

03:04Right.

03:05Are we going to get bogged down and then not have time to get to the other things that

03:08people want to talk about?

03:10But then there is a level of like kind of surface that you're scratching.

03:16You're not scratching it.

03:17You're just staying right there.

03:19And so it's been so interesting being able to dive into all of the many layers of things

03:25and really kind of ask the questions about like, okay, so this is that, but is it really

03:29that?

03:30Or do we just think it's that?

03:31This player is good.

03:32Is he still good?

03:33Right.

03:34Or is he not really good anymore?

03:35And kind of ask all of the questions that help peel back some of those onion layers

03:38to get to information that you feel like really properly reflects what's going on on the phone.

03:44How have the teams responded to it?

03:47I remember when the guy started, what was his partner's name?

03:49Eric, something like that.

03:50Yeah, Eric Eager.

03:51So I know Eric really well.

03:52Eric came on my show once and dropped an F-bomb live on television.

03:56It was fantastic.

03:57It really made my day because I was a guy, listen, I worked at Howard Stern.

04:02So I am the epitome of bad language and horrible behavior.

04:06I never wear a sport coat, okay?

04:08So I am a bad person.

04:10And he came on and said all kinds of horrible things on my show one day.

04:14He had no idea that we were on like clean television.

04:17And I love him for that.

04:18I really do.

04:20But what has it been like from, have you seen these teams receiving this information?

04:25Because they wanted to take it to the teams and show them what they could do to realize

04:31what they were missing on the football field with their analytics and with their videos,

04:36their films.

04:37Because they study film like you and I, like you have kids, I have kids, I've got kids

04:41in college, I've got, kids are a pain in the ass.

04:44NFL teams' film sessions are a pain in the ass.

04:48But I think Sumer wanted to cut through that and help them.

04:52Did they receive it well?

04:53Well, so I would not be the person to answer that question because I'm not going to.

04:57You have to be.

04:58Yes, they received it great, obviously.

05:02The business-to-business model is selling like hotcakes.

05:06That is awesome.

05:07It sounded like a chime in your backyard.

05:09Is that like a chime in your yard?

05:11The person who has the ringer on, what's that going on?

05:13That is a fantastic phone ring though.

05:16I've never, like I've never, I thought, I literally thought the wind was blowing and

05:20that my dog was in the backyard and I could, he had knocked it.

05:23Listen to the chimes.

05:24It won't stop.

05:25It's fantastic.

05:26You got a lot of, you're really popular.

05:27People calling you left and right.

05:29I know for sure that that's an unwanted phone call because that's the only kind.

05:32I don't, I don't like those.

05:34I block all those.

05:36Let me ask you a question.

05:37Where did you cut your teeth?

05:39Uh, it, my, well, my, well, there are so many different.

05:43Fair enough.

05:44So tell me the story.

05:45Well, I started working like internships in broadcasting when I was in college.

05:50So I was working.

05:51Where was that?

05:52In college.

05:53Manager and a red hat.

05:54The person who holds up their hand.

05:55Right.

05:56What college?

05:57USC.

05:58Oh, a Trojan, this woman.

05:59Unbelievable.

06:00Yeah.

06:01So I worked at Fox Sports West prior to leaving college and then went and did like small market

06:04stuff.

06:05Um, Yakima, Tri-Cities, Washington.

06:07Sure.

06:08I know Yakima.

06:09I used to be on the air there.

06:10Were you?

06:11Well, I've been syndicated nationally my whole career, so I've been on everywhere.

06:15Not on the air.

06:16No, just on there.

06:17I've been on everywhere.

06:18They hear me in Yakima.

06:19That's what you meant.

06:20Yeah.

06:21It's a good spot.

06:22So do you like, um, did you like doing the NFL network stuff?

06:25And who do you think is going to win this football game?

06:27Like, do you even care about the football game?

06:29Of course I care.

06:30Do you still?

06:31Who would be here?

06:32Well, who's your team?

06:33Who's your team?

06:34Cause I'm a Steeler fan.

06:35I hate both of these teams.

06:36I hope they, they get diarrhea.

06:37I'm a nerd when it comes to just football data and content.

06:42I'm kind of, will go wherever the wind leads me in terms of where the right story is.

06:46And then what I root for are my takes.

06:48No, but what about, you don't have a team that you root for?

06:50I don't have a team.

06:51You don't even have, you don't have a, wait a minute.

06:53You're like a woman without a team.

06:56You have no team that you rooted for your whole life?

06:58Yes.

06:59So I grew up in LA.

07:01And they had so many teams leave, you lost interest.

07:03I know, but it just, it wasn't, it wasn't where my interest was attached to.

07:08And so I wasn't really a huge fan of the NFL.

07:10What does your husband think of you being a sportscaster?

07:13Like does he like it?

07:14Or is he into sports?

07:15Yeah.

07:16What does he do?

07:17I run all of our fantasy leagues.

07:19And you beat his ass in fantasy leagues?

07:21I mean, he's, he's pretty good.

07:23I'm going to give him some credit.

07:24He's not bad.

07:25What does he do for a living?

07:27He is, uh, he's Baywatch, like the TV show.

07:33Wow.

07:34So he's like David Hasselhoff.

07:36You have like a honk husband that runs on the beach in a red swimsuit?

07:39I don't know how much he runs on the beach, but just red swimsuit.

07:43Lindsay, I love you.

07:44It's great to meet you.

07:45Say hi to my friends at Sumer Sports.

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