HoS: Chuck Klosterman

Because I can’t get enough of The Nineties, we had to have Chuck back to discuss its sports cultural aspects, specifically with an eye towards the evolution of college football. Chuck has worried publicly about CFB losing its soul, which it appears to be in some capacity, but the sport is also surging in popularity. What do we make of this paradox?

We discuss that, plus get into the NBA’s “care deficit” problem, how sports need an illusion of realness, the myth making of LeBron vs. Kobe, Deion Sanders, and, of course, Taylor Swift’s modern dominance. Enjoy the pod, which includes but is not limited to the following topics:

* Whether Chuck is shocked by college football gaining audience while getting overtly transactional (6:00)

* NBA’s “care deficit” (19:00)

* How we now expect coaches and players not to care about their college teams (23:00)

* The MLB playoff format and the illusion of sports as “real” (28:00)

* Chuck’s initial Victor Wembanyama take (38:00)

* Chuck on the improbability of LeBron James fulfilling his destiny (40:05)

* Chuck and I argue a bit on if LeBron has a real flaw as a sports figure (43:00)

* Kobe as more flawed figure but better myth maker than LeBron (46:04)

* Chuck on Taylor Swift as cool, indicating a shift in what’s cool (48:50)

* The modern oddness of parents enjoying Taylor Swift alongside their kids (53:40)

* In retrospect, was Deion Sanders a bigger deal than Chuck knew? (58:00)

* Is the Generation Gap ending as a concept? (106:00)

* What is it about Taylor Swift that resonates with this exact era? (116:50)