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Jesus. I know. [laughter] I know. It's having fun.
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[laughter] Hey, what's going on everybody for First We Feast. I'm Sean Evans.
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You're watching Hot Ones and today we deliver you a very special episode brought to you by TUMS because even legends need relief.
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And I'm thrilled to be joined in the studio by the legend himself, Tim Howard.
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Nicknamed the Secretary of Defense.
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He's the most capped goalkeeper in US men's national team history, 13 [music] seasons in the Premier League, and a tournament record 16 saves in a single match against Belgium in 2014.
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But will he walk away with a clean sheet against the world's spiciest wings? Only time will tell.
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Tim Howard, welcome to the show. Thank you. I I think I Thank you.
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I'm not sure what what [music] we're doing today, but we're going to find out.
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What's going through your head as you prepare to take on these wings?
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Are you naturally a fan of spicy food? Naturally, no. So, little background.
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[music] If we went out and we had wings and you ordered medium, I'd say, "No, let's get mild."
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So, this is going to be a whole whole lot of rock and roll today. But here we are.
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[music] [music] [music] Okay, [music] this is easy for you.
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[laughter] The first one, but I'm no hero.
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It gets challenging as it goes.
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So, we're just a few weeks away from the big tournament, and some have labeled this year's US men's national team as the golden generation.
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Does that add unnecessary pressure?
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Does it feel accurate given the talent level on this roster? Mostly pressure.
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A lot of teams don't live up to that hype.
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A lot of teams that get labeled their golden generation.
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It's hard cuz in that moment, you have to win. You have to succeed.
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They've been named the Golden Generation.
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And I think [music] in the last year or so, people have sort of said maybe they're not, but they're super talented.
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This generation [music] of players plays at bigger clubs than previous generations, and [music] a lot more players are playing at those clubs.
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So now they just have to go figure out how to how to win something big.
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And then every tournament has a player who comes out of nowhere and becomes a household name.
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Is there anyone on this US men's national team roster you think we should be paying more attention to going into it?
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Yeah, great [clears throat] question.
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Um, the ones that I that kind [music] of jump off the page, we already know about.
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Christian Pissic, Weston McKini, Tyler Adams.
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I think Chris Richards, which is weird to say because he plays at [music] Crystal Palace every week in the Premier League.
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Um, he's he's an out and-out starter, captain of the team.
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I think he has another level cuz I think he's got a bit of devilment in him. He's a good defender.
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Already [music] has that sort of foundation.
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But now, if you do it on the world stage, as you just asked, that can take you to new heights.
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Yeah, we're going for [laughter] it.
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I just read homegrown hell, which I'm not looking forward.
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You know, it's dangerous when guests are beating ahead. I know.
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I And I It's hard not to.
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[laughter] Lord, I understand.
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You received the news that you'd made the National Soccer Hall of Fame while live on air with NBC Sports.
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What's it like to get information like that when you're literally on TV?
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Strange, which I think that's why they wanted they wanted that shock and awe element.
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In that moment, you're like sort of there's this fast forward video of like all of the things you've done and all the people that got you there and you're on live TV, so you're trying to figure out how to how to formulate thoughts.
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um really cool and special and I do think that those type of moments [music] are deserving of monumental sort of announcements and it felt good to sort of be around my NBC family share that with the you know people at home too. So it was cool.
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How do you think the sport has changed or evolved the most comparing the games that you played in during your career versus the ones that you now watch and analyze as a broadcaster?
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You can't do the same thing over and over tactically [music] for 100 years.
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Someone has to change it.
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And so the game changes slightly from a tactical element, you know, um different formations get brought in.
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Pep Guardiola and Man City will change [music] a position and create a clever name for it and then everyone picks up on it.
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But ultimately the game doesn't change.
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The game for [music] me doesn't change.
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Um you have to be combative. You have to be tough.
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So ultimately there are ideas around the game that I think change, but the crux of the game never changes. Yeah.
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I mean cuz that's what's interesting like I'll interview Steph Curry, you know, and like his style of play of like shooting threes like just in front of the just in front of the half court logo, you know, like that can change things or like now you'll see an AA lot of like euro stepping, you know, but I think you're [music] saying that football is just different from basketball or different from baseball, different from Yeah. In in a sense, right?
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Like if if you were if you were to look at basketball for example and Steph Curry sort [music] of extending where players think they can shoot from or the Euro step or all these different little elements that come into the [music] game.
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But if you were to ask someone like how do you win a championship?
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Like if you ask LeBron James how to win a championship, it would have nothing to do with Euro steps or deep threes.
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It would it would all come back down to the basics of the game.
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So that's [music] sort of kind of how I analyze soccer as well. You enjoy this, huh? I do.
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It's uh masochistic in that way. How did you get crazy?
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How do you get to enjoying hot hot stuff? You know what?
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I think it's like cardio and then if you step away from it, I think it's hard to build up that tolerance again.
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So, I think it's just in the rhythm of natural practice.
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But I'm not going to be doing [music] this after this, so there's no time.
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[laughter] Can you take me inside the psychology of a penalty shootout?
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You know, it remains one of the most dramatic, highstakes situations in all of sports. I [music] love it.
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These guys out in the outfield have run at this point after 120 minutes.
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Probably like 15k, 17k, [music] like they're done.
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They're out on their feet.
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Mentally, you're exhausted.
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So, like, let's [music] get the game over with.
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And I and I'm I'm a fan of that.
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So, I like the penalty shootouts.
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You can only ever be a hero.
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Like, as a goalkeeper, you're not supposed to make any saves.
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The the chips [music] are stacked against you.
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So, I always thought this is great.
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If I make one save here, I'm a hero.
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and I think I'm good enough to do that.
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If you can get two, you're probably going to win.
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So, I sort of like the the [music] mental challenge as well.
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And and sort of that one-on-one is a long 50 yard walk up.
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You're staring at the shooter.
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You're kind of figuring out whether you know where he's going or you're sort of hinting to him that you you know, it's just a mind game. I love it.
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And then finally, maybe something doesn't come to mind, but I am curious.
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Does anything stand out as like the most bewildering intimidation tactic someone has ever tried in the moments leading up to a [music] penalty kick? Yeah. Not not really.
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Because here's the thing about penalty shootouts.
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The goalkeeper is always going to try and do something radical.
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[music] The the the shooter just wants to be in rhythm cuz he's already he wants to walk up, take the ball, put it down, [music] back up, pick his spot, and go.
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He wants nothing to break that rhythm.
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So, you want to sort of do things to make the referee get involved.
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You want you want the referee to say, "Hey, stand still."
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cuz you're you're you're it's like a it's like a field goal kicker.
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[music] The more they think about it, the worse it is for them. That makes sense.
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So, the more time that I can take while they're standing over a penalty, the walls close in. Yeah, I I think so.
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So, up next is the smoke and drag. I bet it is.
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I absolutely [music] bet it is.
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This is a little bit of a step, I Okay, you didn't warn me about that.
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[laughter] So, your nickname at Everton, Secretary of Defense, it's one of the greatest nicknames in the history of sports.
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[music] Do you remember any sort of welcome to Mercy Side moment when you transferred there from Manchester United?
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Like, it does seem to be like a very singular and intense football culture over there.
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Yeah, the city of Liverpool in and of itself stands [music] stands out.
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They're they're fanatical. They're crazy.
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They think the world is against them.
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They think all of the all of England is against them.
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and they they sort [music] of have this rally and cry together, even though both sides sort of hate each other.
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That one moment, I don't remember like a single moment.
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I just remember coming from Manchester United, which is like the biggest club in the world, to Everton and Everton just felt like it fit.
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I was a kid from Jersey and I was like, "This is sort of like my club, my people.
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This is a very demanding group of fans."
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But if you run your socks [music] off and you fight like a dog, they're going to love you.
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For me, that was like a a big turning point in my career.
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And then I of course I spent 10 years there.
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What does it mean to have your own chant in the Premier League?
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I feel like that, you know, getting on a video game is cool and then being in the stadium and having people chant your name or or something about you.
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Um it's sort of the culture.
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We don't have that in America. It's special.
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And I always tell like so individually they chant your name which is cool, but I think the fanaticism like the game is important.
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Like I I've been in games where our our team travels or you see it with away teams. They travel.
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They spend a lot of money to go into Europe or certain places in the country and travel to see you and you lay an egg and you stink and you're getting beat like 4 nothing and instead of leaving the shirts come off and the beers are flying and the chants are going.
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It sort of becomes a game in of itself and are basically saying we came here to be entertained.
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We're not being entertained so it's our turn to take over.
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And so there's this like togetherness with the fans and [music] the club and the players. So yeah, it's fun.
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In your autobiography, you have an interesting passage about how your coach had to convince you to play goalkeeper.
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You compared it to standing in the outfield in key ball.
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What are the hallmarks of a good goalie prospect?
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Like it does seem like a position that requires some recruitment, some indoctrination since not everyone gets a chance at it.
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I didn't want to play goalkeeper.
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I wanted to have fun and run around and slide and do all the things, score goals.
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I was [snorts] a big kid. I was tall.
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big kid. I was tall. and all my soccer my my you soccer pictures I'm like this tall I'm like and then my coach is the same height you know um and so the tall kid goes in goal I was always on teams that were good and my coaches sort of make deals with me play play in the goal in the
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first half and then we'll probably be winning so and come out in the second half and play striker or something so I did and then the further along the way that you go you just get this positive reinforcement and kids like that you know like hey you did a great job today and your teammates are high-fiving like, "Okay, well, I guess I I like playing in goal." But I think from the
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But I think from the attribute standpoint as a as a youngster, it's like tall, athletic, brave, you know, someone who sort of semi wants to be in goal.
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Like when my daughter started [music] playing, they did this little rotational thing when they were like 7 years old where every kid had to play every position and she put the gloves on.
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It was her turn and she started crying.
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I was like, "Oh, thank goodness.
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That's like that's my girl. Just cry. Get out of gold.
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Don't go anywhere near it."
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But I think that you have to have kids who are willing to to want to be in goal, otherwise it's just disaster.
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All right, Tim, we've made it halfway through the gauntlet, and I think it's time for a little halftime heartburn relief.
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Bill, bring in the TUMS Chewy Bites Tropical Fruit Smoothie.
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Heartburn relief incoming. Thank you so much, Bill. You're welcome.
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You know, after all these years of being a Chicken Wing talk show host, I still to this day could use a little relief. You know what?
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But I'm actually already starting to feel the heat.
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So, I'm going to take a thumbs now. I think I'll join you. I'm ready. Good. I'm going to hell. Here we go.
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It's where it gets serious.
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I think we drink milk for this one. Yeah.
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I'm going to join you at that party.
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If you could relive one game from your career as a semi regular reoccurring dream, which one would it be and why?
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Uh, I do the Belgium game.
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Every every [laughter] night, every night before I go to bed, I watch it.
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No, it was sort of my signature moment, but like whether it was for me or not for the fans, people come up to me and talk about Everton and they talk about if they're United fan, Manchester United fan or whatever, but 99% of the time people are are talking about the Belgium [music] game.
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And I think for an athlete in hindsight, it's like it's cool.
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It's really cool to have a shining moment that people culture. Yeah. Yeah.
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And the stories us are usually like I was in the bar with my best [music] friend and we were going crazy and then so they bring you back to this time and moment that's special. So that's the one.
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When you reflect on that game, do you feel like you were in any sort of flow state?
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Did the game unfold in front of you in a unique way?
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Like how, if at all, was it different from the other ones?
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It was different because as a as you know I'm 47 years old born 1979 right I I I I came up as a child idolizing Michael Jordan like every kid in America and there was a point in time early '90s where Michael Jordan sat down for an interview and he he had done something spectacular.
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They asked him about it and it was the first time in sports history that we heard about a player being in the zone.
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He coined that phrase and so psychologists and everybody thought what's the zone?
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What does that feel like?
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And I [music] talk about that day having having heard about what the being in the zone was like.
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I remember sort of the smells and the sounds and we were playing Belgian.
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They were wearing red and so I I can I can remember sort of blurry moments, but I was so locked in that I don't remember a lot of the game.
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Like I like I don't remember visually a lot of the game like I do [music] other games.
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It was sort of going warp speed but almost underwater if that makes sense.
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And Neo picking bullets out of the air. Totally. [laughter] Totally.
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And so for me that was sort of how how it was the breakdown of it.
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But uh kind of cool to go back and watch.
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There's just something about that deep pepper flavor. Yeah. Don't like it. Mhm. Mhm.
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I'd imagine when you lose an elimination game that it has this sort of like emotional vacuum that takes over.
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How would you describe what a locker room looks and sounds like in that [clears throat] after a big loss elimination? Quiet disbelief.
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you're dealing with winners who want another shot.
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So, you're like you're you're conditioned to win and then when you don't win, you're conditioned to go, "All right, let's go again."
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And when you get eliminated or you're you're going home, you're looking for that, but it's [music] not coming.
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And so, it's a sort of disbelief and and it feels different than anything else you've you've done.
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And it's and it's it's an epic failure.
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It sort of smacks you in the face.
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Bit like a bit like funky. [laughter] Jesus.
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So this is the bomb beyond insanity. Holy heck. All right. Wow. Jesus. I know. [laughter] I know. It's not even fun.
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So while you battle the bomb, what I'm going to do is give you some US men's national team superlatives.
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So, I'll make a declarative statement and then you tell me which player, past or [music] present, best fits that description if I can.
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Which player would you trust most to take a penalty with everything on the line? Landon Donovan. Wow. Jesus. My guy Landon. Yeah.
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Who's most likely to give an inspiring halftime speech during halftime? Michael Bradley.
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Who's the most natural leader? Carlos Boengagra.
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He was captain for a while.
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Who had the best relationship with fans?
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Clint Dempsey, I think, cuz they loved him. He could do no wrong.
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Which player is most likely to show up to the charter with the most expensive luggage? Josie Alador. Oh, wow. These tissues. Mhm. Gone. Completely gone.
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At times like these [laughter] and then just be careful around the Yeah. Yeah. No, that's fine.
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[laughter] It was his hand. It was his hand. It's hot.
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Jesus, I'm sweating from everywhere. It's amazing.
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You and I both, we got the right kind of haircut for this. Yeah. Yeah. What you were saying?
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I was just throwing superlatives at you, but you know, you did body that.
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Um, I guess who's most likely to miss the team bus cuz they're still getting ready, fixing their hair. Demarcus Beasley.
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Not that not his hair, just most likely. How we feeling? Horrific, mate. Absolutely horrific. Well, we're good. We're good.
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[laughter] The good news is that was the worst one. I don't think so. I don't think so.
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Next to not a walk in the park, but you looked a formidable opponent in the face. That's wild.
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Yeah, but people like people get like orders of that and go, "Yeah, put the bomb sauce on there."
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There's some people that need that.
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They need that to feel alive. That's wild.
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Okay, but we're almost to the finish line. Sure.
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If you're ready, this next one is a Squash Reaper X. Good gosh. All right. You doing it? Mhm.
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Oh, I find with athletes there's always like a little bit of a competitive streak that kicks in, you know, like a one more rep, one more wing.
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Damn, it that I lost that competitive streak.
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[laughter] I think the bomb knocked that streak out of me. Ah, Jesus.
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What's the code of honor regarding [music] a keeper scoring a goal?
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You know, I've heard you describe your famous one against Bolton.
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You described it as cruel. Yeah, I was too nice.
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Naturally, it's terrible.
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Goalkeeper gets scored on, you've done something wrong. Like that's terrible.
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I didn't want to celebrate that in in his face, but like now that I'm like older and wiser and like more honory, like if I scored again, my shirt's coming off.
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I'm like in the stands, you know?
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I I I tried to have a little bit of respect, but not if it happened again, I wouldn't. All right.
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No, I've seen you do this. No way.
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I need more milk, by the way. Time. 20 second time up. Need more milk.
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No chance of putting it on there. Did you put it on there? You know what? We don't have to. I I mean, I'm not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
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But you you wouldn't do it just for yourself.
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You know, I don't I don't want to I don't want to show, you know, I don't want to I feel like I'm showing off. Yeah. Yeah. Don't show off. All right. This last guy. Last guy.
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And with that, Tim Howard, the wings of death are behind us. Oh.
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You have conquered the Hot Ones Gauntlet.
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And I want to close things out. Wow.
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With some rapid fire predictions for the tournament coming up in the next few weeks.
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I know your brain, your mouth are on fire. It's fire.
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Not going to be easy with the heat of a thousand sons courarssing through you.
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Which team is your pick for a Cinderella story?
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I think one of the really small and I don't know which one, but one of the really small nations cuz the tournament's expanded now.
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So, you're going to get teams who had never been in a tournament who would who should probably never be anywhere near it, but they're going to be in it and you're probably [music] going to get an upset.
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I don't know if they'll get out of the first round, maybe.
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But they'll get an upset. Shock the world moment. Yeah.
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And if they do that and like they get out of the group as like the third place team, that's like one of the biggest things in their footballing.
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So like like Congo maybe [music] like you look at a Congo and think they could be one of the teams.
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Which host city do you imagine will have the most rockous game environment? I still think New York. New York.
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[music] New York just brings it brings the world to them always.
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And finally, who do you think is going to be hoisting that trophy on July 19th?
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I think it's going to be Spain as my champion. And there it is.
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Tim Howard taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale.
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Before we roll out the red carpet, a very special shout out to TUMS for making this all possible.
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And with that said, Tim Howard, this camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life.
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What do I have going on? Everything.
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NBC Sports Premier League, uh, unfiltered soccer podcast with Landon Donovan.
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We are crushing all things soccer.
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[music] Just being a dad to two crazy college kids. And, uh, that's it. It's good. Life is good. Amazing. Wow. My god. Great job. Great job. Great job. Um, so it wasn't fun. It was okay.
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[laughter] Horrific, mate. Absolutely horrific.