SPORTS JOURNALIST REVEALS HOW TO LAND A PRO ATHLETE ⛹️‍♂️

Cold Open And Welcome

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Oh my god, I just totally got catfished.

SPEAKER_03 0:04

He looks absolutely nothing like his picture. So I found out the guy that I've been dating is married with kids. His wife just reached out to me.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Welcome to the meat market. The single scene is the slaughterhouse, and we are here to divide. We are your hosts. I'm Lindsay. I'm Jess. And today's sizzling single is Paige. Welcome. Hi guys. So you are the host of the Draft Club and the CEO of the Draft Network. Yes, ma'am. Tell us all about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

So

Building The Draft Network

SPEAKER_00 0:31

obviously, new age. So we're on a podcast here. So this is digital media. So everybody, when they think of sports, they think traditional, they think, you know, CBS, NBC, ESPN, kind of the traditional networks. That's where I came from. So I learned from that. And I took what all the questions and the problems that I had at all those traditional networks. I would always kind of find the same problems where I was wanting to really cater to younger sports fans under 40 and people that are phone first, right? And so that was a big deal for me. And that led me to the draft network. Um now I am the sole owner of the draft network, which is really cool. I wasn't uh when I first came into it. I was a business consultant back in 2018. And now you fast forward to now, and I'm the owner, and then I host the big show for our network. And, you know, we do to not to get too deep into the weeds, but for those of you that like football that are listening to this, we're like four football fans, like people that really love the NFL. We're the kind of the intersection of college football and the NFL. We talk about both both leagues because they're both very different. Um, and it's uh honestly, it's a crazy business. I travel all over for it. It's taking me so many cool places. Um, and I love sports. I've always been a sports girly and I love football. So it's a good job, and I I enjoy all the people I get to meet along the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

How fun. So, how did you get into football?

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Um,

Chicago Roots And Locker Room Lessons

SPEAKER_00 1:53

so I grew up in Chicago. Um, I always start with that. I'm a my dad is a coach. Um, so he coached basketball my whole life. So I kind of grew up just me and the boys, like my neighborhood. I was in kindergarten, I was the only girl in my class, um, which is so unique. I always start there because I feel like it really kind of set the tone for my life of kind of like where I ended up. So I was always like all-time line leader, always in charge of things. So that's I was always used to kind of bossing men around. It started at a very young age. I have a young brother. Um, and then from there it just kind of blossomed into just always being around in a neighborhood full of the whole block. We're all boys. So it was like, are you gonna play or are you gonna sit inside all day? Well, I wanted to play. So there's this picture of me that I feel like is the perfect foreshadowing for where I am in my life. I was a figure skater, which is probably like the girliest sport on earth, right? So when people find out that I do what I do, they're always like, oh, you must have been a big tomboy. And I was like, actually, not really. I was actually like a real girly girl, but I loved playing with the boys. And it's this picture of me in a tutu with black football marks on my face, getting ready to hit a baseball. And it's like the ultimate foreshadowing of like me and my life and where I am, because honestly, I just always wanted to play. I always wanted to be outside. I always wanted, I'm a busybody. I always wanted to be doing something. And so just kind of led me to, you know, between all the different things in my life. The city I grew up in, Chicago's a great sports city. Um, grew up going to games with my dad and my brother, just pretty much a 75 to 80 percent of my positive memories of childhood involve sports.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

So you seem pretty confident around men. Yes. And you're very witty, your comebacks are quick. You must intimidate a lot of guys, I feel.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yes, that would be accurate. Um, it's because I'm confident in myself. Um, and I think that comes from if you're a woman in a man's world, which to me, all women are in men's world because the whole world is run by men, right? But football is really masculine, really dominated by men, especially where I am, because of what I do is in scouting, which is like there are no women doing what we're doing. And I run the company. So that makes it even more intimidating because of the knowledge base that I have. And I'm aware of how I look. So I also walk in and I know that it's like, oh, this is a blonde bimbo that doesn't know anything. And I very quickly hit them with something knowledgeable that kind of throws them off. And then it's like, whoa, this girl really knows football. And it's like, yeah, I have to. I didn't get here by chance. Like, I got here because I worked really hard. Um, and I'm taken seriously in an industry and respected in an industry where they don't even respect themselves, let alone women. So it's I take that as a obviously a big badge of honor, but yeah, I grew up in locker rooms. I grew up riding with my dad and the coaching staff and the boys. So I am a I am comfortable being, you know, my my dad and my brother used to chant, we're the boys, we're the boys, because we are the boys. Like they used to just chant at me and it was like traumatic. And now I laugh about it because I'm like, man, there's literally nothing that anybody in work could do to intimidate me because I've just was used to being razzed nonstop. And that's a reality of being around men, but it's also a reality of being in the city of Chicago. Chicago's a tough city. Chicago is a place where you gotta really know who you are. Um, I think the West Coast has a lot of people that are trying to figure out, you know, who they are. People in Chicago are pretty aware of like, hey, this is a city that we wear this as a badge of honor. So I think it's a little to do with the city and then a little to do with obviously growing up around men.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Do you get hit on a lot in the workplace? Because you're surrounded by so many men.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yes. Um, but I got used to it very early on. Um, and I just got really very blunt early on to make sure that it was known that's not a line I'm gonna cross. Um, because and and it's not how every woman needs to handle their business, it's just how I handle my business. Um, I was in the locker room, I'm friends with a lot of guys. I know how they talk about girls like that. I never wanted to be one of those girls. So that's not a knock on those women. That's just not for me, right? So I knew that when I was gonna walk into, I'm aware, right? I'm very situational awareness is important to me for everyone. And it seems like we as people lack awareness more than ever before. And I have to be very aware of my surroundings everywhere I go. And so a thing that my dad always put on me was like, you gotta understand you are a young, beautiful young lady walking into a room of all men. Even if I walked in there, no makeup, hair not done, sweatpants on, I'm still one girl amongst a bunch of guys, right? So you just gotta be aware of what that environment looks like. And so I just became really tough and blunt right away, like a comments made, I gotta sass your comment back. And they're like, whoa. And I'm like, yeah, well, I got another one if you're ready for it. And they're like, and you know, you gotta just you gotta be able to say no. And I know that that's hard for a lot of people. It's not hard for me.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

Are the men, are the comments that men make worse in person or online? Because I

Online Misogyny And Staying Unbothered

SPEAKER_03 7:09

imagine you also get a lot of hate comments from men online.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

So the thing that I always I think surprises people is predominantly, and maybe it's just the locker rooms I've been in, I haven't really dealt with a lot of harassment in person. In person. Honestly, the athletes are not the people that are bad. The people that I deal with that are really bad are the guys online. And uh, you know, we're here at Backlot. Tyler probably sees some of this on our Instagram page because we go have on this, but guys are make me a sandwich, oh go to the kitchen, yada yada. And I'm like, hey bro, you want to pay me 150k to sit in the kitchen? I'm good. Like, please, like, where do I sign up for that job? Right. And they never have a quirky remark back. And I'll be totally honest, it it really used to bother me. Like when I was it first coming up in the industry, I felt like I had to fight with everybody to prove myself. And I think there was this moment in college where this guy called me sweet cheeks. Okay. And it was this guy that I'm in person. In person, in person, and it was somebody that I really looked up to because I was in school in Nebraska in a small market, and it was like one of these like untouchable older journalists that I really respected. And so to have somebody like that say something like that to me was so hurtful, right? And so I called my dad, and I was sitting in my car, and I'm bawling my eyes out, right? And he and my dad's like, listen, I raised you to know who you are. I raised you to know that you belong there. So you gotta understand that some of these men have never been around a woman like you. And it makes them feel insecure about themselves. And that's not your fault, that's not your problem, and you don't gotta worry about it. So he's like, remember who you are. And I'm getting emotional thinking about it because my dad, like, it was such an impactful statement from my dad to be like, no, remember who the hell you are. You belong there just as much as they did. And he goes, Next time he has a comment for you, ask him how many times he's he suited up for a football game. And it put that in perspective for me to be like, yeah, dude, on the internet that has a problem with me working in sports, I forgot how many NFL snaps do you have? Right? Just because you're a man doesn't mean you understand football. I guarantee you, I'll wipe the floor with you, football knowledge-wise. And that that comes off almost cocky, but I have to be that way because I have to know what I'm talking about. Because when I make a mistake, it's 10x. Guys, get on TV. Stephen A. Smith's on TV, and this is no disrespect to Stephen A.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

He gets on TV. He says some of the crazy things.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

He says the most outlandish shenanigans. He's unhinged.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

He's unhinged. Unhinged. I'm glad you said it. He's entertaining himself. Like I love watching him on him. And I love watching his like hot takes or whatever it is that he does. But he is unhinged.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

He's unhinged. And no, he's on TV making $25 million a year. Like that to me, I'm like, no, this is you also gotta understand, this is an entertainment business. So I'm not gonna get on camera and be like meek and shy and quiet, because nobody's gonna watch that. Man or woman. So to me, I think that it's worse when guys see a confident woman because you usually, when you're critiquing something, you're usually projecting something that you don't have, right? And that's man and women. And it's you're critiquing something. And that's my mom will tell me all the time. She's like, listen, they're they just wish they could do what you're doing. And I get that. So yeah, it's when I was younger, it used to really hurt my feelings, but between that moment with my dad, and then honestly, just like you just kind of get used to it, you know, like over time. And I always say funny things back like, I'll pray for you. Like, you know, like that's a good one. Yeah, because it's like, what do they say? Like, bro, you must be sad in your life if you're literally on the internet with a photo of your dog as your bio with 45 followers critiquing me who you've never met, and you're harassing me about an athlete that I probably know and have talked to, and you don't he doesn't know your name. Like, why do you feel so compelled to defend him when I can assure you he doesn't need defending? Like every athlete that I talk about, for the most part, especially when I was first coming up, I had to interface with them. So I wasn't gonna say something online about them and then go into the lock. If I went to the locker room and I was talking crazy, they would be like, hey P, what's good? Like, let's talk about this. So I I think respect thing obviously goes both ways, but the internet is so disrespectful in general that yeah, I just I become accustomed to it. And I kind of, like I said, I always say, I'll pray for you.

SPEAKER_03 11:43

Like hopefully you get hopefully you work through whatever sadness you have in your life. Yeah, I think that would be an instant deal breaker for me if I was dating someone or on a date with someone and I found out that they were an internet troll. Like if I found out, if I found out that one of their hobbies or things that they liked to do was go online and troll people.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Because where does that come from? Exactly. Right? Like, one, why do you have time to do that? Let's start there. Like, you have nothing better to do in your life than harass people on the internet, which what are you getting? I I just I always go to the why. Yeah. Why are you doing this? What is making you compelled to do things like this?

SPEAKER_02 12:21

And it's usually because they're so insecure about themselves that they they're so unhappy they want to make other people just as miserable as you're gonna be able to do it. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

100%. And that's like to me, I'm a big person. Like, I would rather hang up on myself than be around miserable people. Like, I'm not gonna hang around my yeah, yeah, on my dad's side, to a succubus in Greek. It's very that that word is very powerful. Like, you it literally means to suck the life out of, right? And like that's true. Like, it sucks your energy. Like, I don't want to be around negative people because it's not fun.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

I can't imagine getting off on making someone feel like shit. Thank you. Thank you. And make you feel good. I can't imagine feeling happy about making else someone sad, making someone else feel sad. I know.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

I think you just you have to, and that's why I'm like half joking when I say I'll pray for you, but I'm half serious. Because I genuinely believe that if you are happy about making other people sad, you yourself must be a really sad person. I'm just yeah, and that, but that part of me is like an empath. Like, I feel bad for you genuinely. That's not, I don't want people to be sad so much that they feel like they gotta be negative to other people, right? And it's like, man, I'll pray for you. And a lot, the the thing, and I will bring this up like there is 50 to 60 percent of the time when I quirp at someone back, they come back really positive. And it's a lot of times I'm like, man, they just need some attention. They just are looking for attention. Yeah, yeah, and it's like, man, you must be really lonely. Like, you just want, and then it's like, how did you go from F you to I respond back with something, and they're like, Oh, I didn't realize you were a real person. Like, what? What? Yeah, I'm not an AI robot. Like, yeah, this is you're talking to a person when you say those things. But that's the part of the internet that I always tell fans like, if you would not say that to an athlete in person, you better not say that on the internet. Yeah, but you know that's not true because 90% of what they say in the internet, they would never say to a person in real life.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

I love those accounts that call out the trolls. Like, there was this one lady that pulled up all these quotes from women that were trashing Angelina Jolie and how she's aging terribly. She's looking old, she's looking ugly, she's not aging well. She pulls up all these comments from all these women and shows the face of these women, they're all old, ugly, and fat. Of course. Like boys projecting, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:51

That's my favorite account on the internet is a white guy who's married to a black woman who goes and finds racist comments. Okay. He goes on the Instagram accounts and he goes down and he doesn't even find the people that comment. He goes to the people that like the comments. And I agree with that because those people are the worst of the worst. Because like you don't even have the cojones to say it out loud, but you're lurking there, looking for these comments and then liking them. So you agree with that sh that stupid shit we're seeing on the internet. And I'm like, oh yeah, unearth all these people. Get them all off the internet. Like, get them all kicked off Instagram. I don't want any of them. Yeah, call them all out. Call them all out.

SPEAKER_02 15:28

So

Are Athletes Really Worse Partners

SPEAKER_02 15:29

we hear all these stories that athletes aren't faithful and they're douchebags and they treat women like scum. Is that true from what you know and what you've heard in the locker room?

SPEAKER_00 15:38

No, no. I think um, yes, there are people that are unfaithful, but I don't think it's any bigger of a percentage than the real daily life of anybody else. Um I feel like that narrative gets talked about all the time, and there is some of that, but a lot of it is young single men too. Also, do you feel like it's easier for them to be unfaithful because they have the groupies and things like that? I I blame a lot of times. Like one of the most uncomfortable moments that I've ever had as a woman was when I was traveling with the team at Nebraska, and we would get off the team plane, and I would see like grown women. Okay. Like we're in college, okay. These are 18 to 22-year-old men, and there are grown ass women waiting at the team hotel. That's crazy. What? Okay, and that's embarrassing. Like, as a woman, that really embarrassed me. Like, and I've talked about that a lot with women in sports because I feel like I have to sift through the women who are trying to be wifed up by athletes. And I think both sides are equally to blame, right? You've got guys who have trust issues because they don't know if these girls actually like them. So that creates an issue. And then you've got these women who only want these men because of the clout and the money that comes along with it, right? And so both sides are wrong. So how do you fix the problem, right? And the only time, the only example I can ever use is one of my buddies in college. We, when he got to the league and he won a Super Bowl, and I'll leave his name out of this for all intents and purposes, but we pretended like he was an insurance agent, and we all went along with it for like two and a half months with this girl so that he could actually learn that this girl like liked him for who he actually was. And then she found out he was playing for the New York Giants and was a Super Bowl champion, and it was like, oh, but they're happily married with three kids. And I thought it kind of proved how both sides have trust issues and problems, and how you can find those people, and it can be really a positive thing, but it's hard because especially now with social media, I mean, girls are just sending nude photos to athletes unprompted. Yeah. And it's insane. I'm like, girl, like, what is the purpose of this? Like, what are you hoping a man thinks when you do that?

SPEAKER_02 17:56

I was gonna say, do the athletes really respect that? And would they take that really seriously? Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

They don't respect it, but like, remember that time that we went to that party and it was a Bengals player and it was his birthday, and they just kept bringing girls and girls and girls in and the promoters, and it's like that's the type of girl that they're bringing in to those parties. It's like, oh, we got eight DMs from women in this city, they all look good. Yeah, so let's bring them into the house as party favors, basically.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Effectively, and so it's the best way to describe it. You know, so it's like you're just selling. Yeah, you're you're you're selling you're you're selling yourself in sex online. I mean, girls will do the same thing of like, hey, fly me out for your game, fly me out. And I'm like, like, okay, like why are you doing that? Like, and maybe it's because I was raised by a strong father that like I just have respect for myself, and I have so much respect for women. I have so many powerful women in my life that like are all individually just badasses in all the different industries that they're in. And I've never once heard any athlete, any man for that matter, say that a girl that he got a nude photo from is the girl he wants to wife up. Exactly. Just saying. So I'm on the flip side, same when I got athletes sending me dick pics, like, bro. First of all, no. Okay, please stop. Okay, that was my fantasy football name, was unsolicited dick pics. Like, bro, why do you think that that works? It's not the same as it is for women and men. So please don't please don't do that. Okay, that's first and foremost. And second of all, like, I wouldn't take somebody seriously on the flip side. Like, if that's your first form of communication, what are you putting out into the world about themselves?

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Other women are you sending that pick to? Okay. You've sent it to me.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

Have you sent it to a hundred other women? Correct. And that's how athletes feel too about the girls. If girls are sending a nude photo to them with no context, they're like, oh yeah, they're just spamming a bunch of athletes. And to be fair to them, they are. They are, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 19:56

But devil's advocate. Yep. That is probably the only way that's gonna get the attention of the athlete. Because if they do want to marry the athlete and they send a text, hello, lovely to meet you, nice to make your acquaintance. They're the DM's not gonna be acknowledged, probably, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:12

For sure. But what's the goal? Is your goal to marry an athlete?

SPEAKER_02 20:16

The goal is to marry the athlete. That initial text wouldn't even be secret.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

For sure, but you could go to church. You could join, you could join a fan group. I can give you a hundred ways you can meet an athlete in a positive way. That's true. That's the truth. If you want to meet an athlete and you want to marry one, there are a lot of ways to do it. I'm not condoning selling news. No, I get it though. I understand because you are right, you will get attention, but the wrong type of attention. Correct. Yeah. And I tell girls that all the time. I go, what attention are you in this for? If you just want raw attention, I can give you that in spades from guys and athletes. Like the but if you want to be wife, but that's the problem, is a lot of girls too, they don't really know what they want, right? So the attention is kind of fun.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Well, and I think women also think they're the exception. That they can they'll get the attention by the nude, and then they can convince them look, I'm such a great person, you're gonna want to marry me.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Yes, right. And I am here to tell you I'm looking right into the camera, girls. You will never change those athletes. Please stop doing it. You're not the exception. There is no exception. Please stop doing it. There are none. Like, that's but you are so right. Then it's like, I'm gonna be the one to change him. Girl, no, you're not. Like, trust me, like, these guys all have mamas, and their mamas are not gonna. Hey, how did you meet that girl? She sent me a nude on Instagram? Like, are we serious? Like, do any of you have parents? Like, I think about that all the time. I'm like, if I'm meeting a man, how could I, hey, yeah, Pops, I want you to meet my new boyfriend. Yeah, how'd you guys meet? Yeah, you sent me a dick pic on the internet. Like, what? Like, that's not a real conversation. Like, that can't be if your goal is to find somebody that you actually want to date, right? And I think. That's why I asked you, like, what's the goal? Because if the goal is just to meet somebody and sleep with them, like you can do that, that's fine. And there's nothing wrong with that. But if you're actually trying to date somebody, you're trying to meet somebody and be taken seriously. And I think to me, that's very important for me. So I always tell girls, like, yo, do you want to be taken seriously? Do you want to be respected? Because if you want to be respected by men, which is very hard to do, you can't do that. That's not gonna get respect. They're gonna talk about you, but they're not gonna talk about you in a way that you're gonna like.

SPEAKER_03 22:30

And there's so many things you hear these stories of women, and they do that and they end up sleeping with a guy and then they steal his watch or they do this or they try to artificially inseminate themselves with like whatever, like whatever. Fake a pregnancy, hurt it all, whatever. And so it's like these athletes have to be so guarded and careful about who they respond to in that way, because it's like there's so much to lose by giving the giving that attention to the wrong person. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

And it makes that's the part that probably makes me the most sad is like in the same way that I feel bad for the men on the internet that are must be like lonely or depressed and angry to scream at me. I also am even more saddened by the women who feel like their only worth in life is doing that. Yeah. Because like if you think you can't go make money somewhere else, like girls, like we are so powerful. Women are so powerful and so smart and so talented. You go make money, go do your own thing. Like, it's not that's the to go rob a player, to go pretend artificially inseminate yourself, what you said. But I'm telling you this. Turkey baster. I know it happens. I know it happens. Like girls, like like ladies, like if I found out somebody did that to my brother, I'd want to kill you. Like, that's insane behavior. Like, do you hear that you sound like the beginning of a scary movie? Yeah, like a documentary. Like, I'm gonna see you on Netflix in 10 years. Like, that's just that's not that's not cool. And I think right now, especially, it seems like both sides of dating world, whether it's athletes or not, are having a lot of trust issues, right? Trusting each other, feeling vulnerable. And a lot of it is because there's fake vulnerability on the internet. It's not to me, it's not real vulnerability. Getting on the internet and being like, I'm having such a tough game, and mental health awareness. And I'm like, no, you're doing that for attention. That's not actually being really vulnerable about talking about what's really going on. You're just you know, hopping on a trend. And I think that's a lot of what's going on right now.

Travel Schedules And Cheating Math

SPEAKER_02 24:32

Do you think there's a difference between athletes in like NFL versus NBA?

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Is like massive difference, massive difference. So, first and foremost, like baseball players, for instance, are probably sorry, baseball, um, the worst. Really? Because they're on the road 82 games of the year. You gotta just play the numbers. It's 160 games, 80 times you're on the road. Wow, football players only spend eight games on the road. And I can tell you because I've covered all the sports, the NFL is much more locked down than any of the other leagues. So they have much stricter travel guidelines. They all predominantly try are on travel on private planes, so you don't know where they are. It's a lot harder to find them. Um, and their practices are much more growing, they're just more tired, quite frankly. Um, baseball, they're on the road literally like 80 games a year, like 90 to 100 days, you're on the road. It's a lot of time spent away.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

I don't know why, but I always thought baseball, they were more the family-oriented ones. No, they do a good job of pretending. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

They do a good job of pretending. It's just to me, what is, and that's not, let's take anybody, right? Anybody who's away from their spouse, yeah, 80 to 90 days of the year is going to be more likely to cheat on them than somebody who's at home. Makes sense. I mean, it's just a numbers game. It has nothing to do with the type of player, the type of league, or whatever. It's just numbers. It's just you spend a lot of time away from your family. You are lonely, you want attention, you want people around you.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

It's like it's like pilots and flight attendants. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

I was just gonna say that's actually surgeons and like nurses. It's why traveling, like anybody who's traveled business travel, like when you're traveling, you're on the road a lot, those things happen because you're gone, you're away from your home. That's more temptation. Like, and there are a lot of baseball groupies. Holy, but there's a lot of temptation. And men cannot say no.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

Most men cannot say no to temptation.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Well, and especially like again, I men should be better and have the discipline to say no, but women who know that these guys are married with families should not be throwing themselves at them. Agreed. Both sides. Like, I hold both sides accountable. I feel like a lot of women will make excuses for the women's behavior. Like, if you don't want to be cheated on, why are you encouraging that behavior the other way?

SPEAKER_02 26:57

And I never understood, because I've had friends that have dated married guys in the past. Yeah. And I never understood why you'd want to be the side piece, why you would put yourself in a position and go home alone when he's going home to his wife. And he's never gonna leave his wife most of the time. Why would you put yourself in that position?

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Because I think I think certain men um are really good at convincing emotionally unstable women that they're like they can manipulate certain types of women. And that's not all women, because I have friends that have been in those situations as well. And I always tell them the same thing. He's not gonna leave her. Not going to. You think in the same way I dressed the camera and said you're not gonna be the exception to the rule with the athletes, I would say the same thing to somebody who because I I can remember, and my mom won't care that I brought talk about this. Like, I can remember my mom being in that situation and watching that as a young woman and being like, damn, mom, like she's he's not gonna leave her, right? And I know they're in a loveless marriage, and I like I can list off all the reasons, but like men very rarely leave, they just don't. And it's like a comfort thing, and it doesn't matter if the relationship sucks, and it doesn't matter, like it's just there's a lot of work that goes into getting a divorce. She's gonna keep her. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

Especially if you have kids, I feel like that's of course, of course.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

It's hard. There's a lot of emotional baggage, there's a lot of obviously I'm from a divorced family. I know like your whole life now. I have to negotiate holidays, like for the rest of my life, right? Like, that's it's not something that just happens and goes away. It's something you got to deal with for your whole life. So yeah, I I get the cheaper to keeper because it's not only that, it's also just your if you you got kids, it's a whole nother ball game. You got a whole nother house, you got a whole nother life you have to create. It's it's a lot, it's a lot to do.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Are there certain athletes that you that are so nice that you'd be shocked to like this guy, this athlete so nice, or this one's such a douchebag that you're able to talk about? Like then who's the nicest athlete in the dishes?

SPEAKER_00 28:54

There are a ton, I mean, there are a lot of nice dudes. Um a lot of great guys. I mean, in general, I feel like the ones that I can speak to are like I Larry Fitzgerald's a great example. Um, Fitz was always like so dedicated to his craft. Like, I think those are the types of guys, like when they set the tone early on, like, hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be dedicated to what I'm doing. I'm gonna dedicate myself and then I'm gonna focus on this. Like JJ Watt. I don't know how familiar you guys are with JJ Watt, but JJ Watt was like a super dedicated football player. And then late on in his career, and then after he retired, he found his wife now. And I mean this sincerely, like some of the most disciplined, dedicated husbands that I know are athletes or former athletes because they are disciplined by nature in a way that most people in the world are not. To be that great at something, you have to be really, really disciplined, like with yourself, with your health, with how you take care of yourself. Most people don't have that discipline. So that is very transferable. But the ones that I think handle it the best are the ones that go, you know what? If I didn't meet my girl while I was in college, which is kind of the way it works, like you find somebody when you're young that liked you before you were famous, and like the Patrick Mahomes model we'll use, where him and Britney were together since high school. And so he never has to question whether or not Britney loves him for being Patrick because she was older than him and cooler than him in high school. So he was not Patrick Mahomes. He wasn't even Patrick Mahomes when he was in college. He didn't get to the level of fame he got to way later on in the relationship. So that's kind of the one model. And then the other model is like JJ Watt, where I would say you dominate, you're super dedicated to your craft and your career, and then you find that part of your life later on after you retire. When in reality, it is really hard to have a relationship while you're playing a professional sport because it requires so much of you. You're not gonna get 50-50 from your partner, you're not because they can't. They literally can't. Their schedule is way too grueling and it requires way too much for them to be able to give you 50% at home. That's just how it goes.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

Do you date athletes?

Paige’s Dating Rules And Dealbreakers

SPEAKER_03 31:02

No. Or people in the industry, or do you prefer to date outside of the industry?

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Nope. No, it's a rule that I made with myself a long time ago. Are you on the apps? No. How do you find dates? I am such an old school person, and I know that's probably very funny for people because I'm in my 30s, but everyone's trying to get me on the apps, and I'm just like, I just call me old-fashioned. I just want to meet people like in real life and see. Like I the best relationships I've ever had have always started as friendships. Um, I feel like that gives you a good opportunity to feel people out and figure out like the things that are deal breakers to me. I think I find out because I wouldn't be friends with you. Like deal breakers. Like, what are your deal breakers? Laziness, probably the number one thing. Like, I can't, it has nothing to do with making money, it has everything to do with being passionate and driven. Like, I have always in eighth grade I knew what I wanted to do. So being with somebody who's lazy is so unattractive to me. Like, and that laziness, dirtiness, lack of discipline, all those things. I mean, you put those things in a row, that's those to me are my deal breakers. Like, I can't imagine somebody being with somebody like that. Because it just it would not add to my life, it would add stress to my life. And I've dated guys in like in college that, especially because I am so driven, I feel like they were ultra, I'm like a moth to a flame, right? It was like, well, she knows what she wants to do, so maybe she'll help me figure it out. And it would get to be about three months, and I'm like, dude, I'm not your mom. Like, I'm not here to take care of you like a mother. And I'm very nurturing because I'm Greek. So I like to take care of people. My friends, my family, the people I'm with, but I also don't want to be a mother to a significant other. And so, like, dirtiness, cleanliness, like if you haven't lived by yourself, I I that's a deal breaker. Like, you need to know how to take care of yourself for yourself because I'm gonna travel and I'm gonna be gone. And I hear my friends talk about things where like, well, when I leave, he doesn't know what to do. And I'm like, uh, that's so unattractive. You have to make a freezer full of meals or like bro leave, and also yeah, it's just to me, it's unattractive when you don't know what you want to do with yourself, right? Like, and I'm not saying you can't go through periods of time like that. I think everybody has time where they question themselves. That's normal human behavior, but not having a plan, not having discipline, not having focus, yeah, I can't. Those are my deal breakers.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

What is the craziest or worst first date you've ever been on?

SPEAKER_00 33:35

Ooh, craziest or worst first date. Um, so I haven't really had any awful first dates. I had I did have a crazy first date in that he was like kind of misrepresented who he was. Um and he wanted to, we went out for dinner and it was a fun dinner. And then at the end of the dinner, he was like, So I have a private jet waiting. Um, would you like to go with me to Rome? And I was like, no, because I don't know you well enough to go to Rome. And also, when did you acquire a private jet? And when how did you do that on the salary that you told me that you were making? And it was because, in the same way with athlete stuff, he didn't want to present himself as something that he actually was because he was afraid women were only gonna like him for how much money he had, right? And I understood that while also being totally taken aback by, and I get why it felt like a rom-com. And I know that some girls be like, yeah, he went to Rome. And I'm like, yeah, love bombing, red flag. Agreed. Red flag. Fun for college. Once I had it done to me once, I was like, yeah, no, thanks. I don't want to be love bomb. And I get why it's enticing, and I get why it seems fun because it's like being treated like a princess for a couple months, but like that's not reality. Like, you gotta do laundry together, you gotta lose a parent and deal with life and things that happen, and stress and vacation and trap. That's that's a real relationship. Going on vacation, I can fall in love with a lot of people. That's like Love Island and all this crap that people are watching on TV. I'm like, yeah, you guys are good looking in a private island. Yeah, sure. I can fall in love with all of you. Like, that's very easy. Yeah, that's all the real things that are the tough part, right?

SPEAKER_02 35:24

It's true. All these couples that meet on Love Island and perfect match, do they really make it in the real world? I feel like none of them do.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

No, because it's not reality. Yeah. What part of being on vacation with only good-looking people? Or your alcohol, lots of alcohol, no responsibilities, no job, is reality. None of that is reality. That's why I don't watch any of that garbage. And I tell my friends all the time, I'm like, that is all backing up toxic behavior because that's not real. And so I've never watched the Kardashians, I've never, I've never watched a lot of that stuff because I just maybe it's sports is my reality, so I don't need any other reality TV.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

Have you ever walked out mid-date?

SPEAKER_00 36:04

Have you ever walked out mid-date? No. No, no, I haven't. I haven't had a lot of like crazy interactions. Honestly, dating, I've had friends who've had a lot of crazy interactions. I feel like the last one, uh, Sarah, I'm so sorry. Um, she's not, she won't care. She was out here in Old Town, and in the middle of her date, there were a bunch of guys that came up to this guy that were like rah-rah, frat bros, blah, blah, blah. And it was very clearly like planned, right? And so she was like, Did you think I would think that this was like attractive? Like that your frat bros showed up and you guys are like chanting at me. And he was like, Yeah, this is like this is what we do. And she was like, I'm gonna leave. And so she called me to come get her, and I picked her up and I was like, So do they and like we're talking post-30, like a 32-year-old.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

I was gonna say, how old are these people?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

32-year-old grown man that thought that he should chant the Zeta House chants at a bar. Wow. Yeah, very weird. That happened like two weeks ago, too. So I felt so bad for her because I was like, why on earth would you think? Like, I wanted to go in because I wanted to talk to him and be like, So hear me out. What did you think was gonna happen? Right? Like, play out the scenario in a positive way. Because to me, I was like, this seems like you've tried this before, and maybe it worked, but like, what's the hit rate here? Like, if you've done this 10 times and it didn't work, maybe it's time to think a new strategy of pal.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

Are you ready for it? Uh huh. I'm ready for it. The keep warm in it. Brought to you by Tactical Tax Strategies. They help you keep more in your wallet. We help you keep more in your relationship. So we have a listener question.

SPEAKER_00 37:50

Oh, I love that. That's amazing. Okay.

Listener Question Red Flags And Trust

SPEAKER_03 37:54

All right. This one's long, too. All right. I'm looking for advice because I feel confused and emotionally exhausted. For context, I'm 25 and my boyfriend is 26. During the very initial stage of our relationship, he cheated on me with his ex. We were still getting to know each other and hadn't said I love you yet. I was really hurt, but decided to forgive him because things weren't fully serious at that point. And once we did get serious and say I love you to each other, he completely cut her off. Since then, there have been a few moments that have felt a little off to me. One example, he once gave his number to a girl at the club and she called him the next day when I was with him. He told me it was only for work because she's an actress, and his work involves reaching out to people with public profiles to promote his business. I accepted the explanation, but it still stayed in the back of my mind. Recently, I found something else that upset me. I had asked him to download a gaming app so that we could play games together. But he's also been using it to play with random people online. That part doesn't bother me as it's both men and women that he plays with. But what I noticed was that he seems to have much more personal conversations with women, asking things like, How old are they? Where are they from? Whether they are models, etc. What made me more uncomfortable was finding screenshots of some of these girls' profiles on his phone where their Instagram handles and pictures were visible. Individually, because of his job, these th things don't really seem like a big deal, but altogether, combined with the early cheating and a couple of other moments over time, it leaves me feeling uncomfortable. I brought it up and it turned into a massive fight. I'm not looking to be told he's a bad person, but genuinely want advice from people who have been in relationships. Am I ignoring obvious warning signs because I love him? Or could I be letting past hurt make me interpret things differently? How would you approach this? Ron, one word, Ron.

SPEAKER_00 39:57

I'm out. Ow. The moment the club thing happened, you and I looked at each other and like this is younger advice. I'm 10 years older than you, 25-year-old. No. Like, no. Like, this isn't like any man who's gonna make you feel insecure like this is not worth your time, period.

SPEAKER_03 40:13

Well, and I think the biggest thing is when she tried to have a conversation with him about it, it turned into a big fight. Going into defense mode and making it into a big fight usually is 100% the especially when he already cheated on her.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

Yeah, he slept with his ex, and that's not an excuse. We're still trying to get to know each other. Because if he really liked her, he wouldn't even be thinking about his ex.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

No, that's emotional baggage.

SPEAKER_02 40:39

And once you're cheater, I feel always a cheater. And there's been red flags since then, so why do you keep ignoring them?

SPEAKER_00 40:44

Yeah, that's a lot of red flags for me. That's a that would be a no for me, dog. I'm like, girl, and you're you're young, like you're 25 years old, you're still figuring out what you want. And these are moments that I always tell people like, this is something to learn from. Like, you gotta figure out what makes you feel secure in a relationship. And very clearly, like, maybe his job is what he does. And I deal with this with guys.

SPEAKER_03 41:09

I was just gonna ask you this if the rules were reversed, if you've ever had guys who are insecure about your job and the close relationship that you have to have. 100% happens all the time.

SPEAKER_00 41:20

Yeah. Um, and it's to me, it's the very easy, it's a deal breaker. Like it's a non, we've talked about non-negotiables, and non-negotiable is you thinking you're going to change me. You're going to make me quit the thing that I love doing. It makes me like it's part of who I am, right? And if you don't trust me, then we don't have anything between the two of us, right? And I get it, I understand. Like, sure, would I want to see my man around a bunch of women? No, but if he was at the workplace, like I am, like, do you guys like I always play the with uh ex from college? I would say, do you think I'm in the locker room, like sleeping with these guys? Right. After practice, like it's like, hey, let's just get dancing. Like, who wants to play chests? Like, can you play that scenario out for me? Like, this is my job. Like, I'm here to work and I'm there for 10, 15 minutes, and then I'm out. They're in the showers and I'm gone. Like, what are it? It's to me, it never made sense. But for that young lady, I feel bad for her because I'm thinking like you very clearly are feeling insecure, and feeling insecure and feeling like that all the time is a horrible feeling. It is like to have that pit in your stomach is not fun. Um, and luckily, I've never really dealt with that too much, but I have dealt with on the flip side, the the man being jealous of my job. And it's like, there's nothing I can do. Athletes are gonna be athletes, and you gotta understand that I'm not gonna sleep with them. They're my friends, a lot of these guys. And my ex that I was with for a long time, he understood. Like I would say he was really good about understanding, and it was on me to expose him to people. I feel like early on, where he built trust based off of being in the relationships and being in some of these rooms with me, right? But that's not always gonna be the case. Like, I have to go to things where I can't bring you along because then I'm thinking about you instead of doing my job. Yeah. And I can't do that. And I get why for a guy, most of the things I go to are pretty fun. Like it's uh, hey, I'm going to the Super Bowl. Yeah, I'd like to come along. Yeah, no, like this is my work. I'm not here to have fun, I'm here to work. And if I was there for fun, then sure you could come along. But that's not how it goes.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

How do you guys feel about the new trend? The 90 day sex slash 50 50 dating rule. I kind of like it. So it's where you go nine, you're dating someone, okay, you go 90 days, no sex, and you split everything 50 50. So it ensures that the guy's not just after one thing, yeah, the sex, and it ensures the woman is not money hungry and after just his money. It's kind of like a new trend that's emerging. How You feel about that?

SPEAKER_00 44:01

I feel see here's the thing. Maybe this is I'm old school, but and I have my own house, my own car. I can pay for all my own things. But maybe it's my dad in my head. Like, if a man's not gonna come pick you up and take you out on a date, then he's like not a man. Like, I and then that's so old school, especially for somebody my age, but it's like I pay my bills, bro. Like, I don't, I don't need you to pay my bills, but I do need you to make an effort.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

And it's kind of true. I don't know how this would fly, because I we know a lot of guys that would never allow a woman to pay. That's what I mean.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

You know, there's a lot, and there's a lot of good guys that I know that would never allow that. So I get why the trend is pop. I feel like it's so that's like the most Gen Z thing that I've ever heard of. And it's like, well, because I need to prove that I'm this, like, I don't need to prove that I make money. Uh-huh. You can, you can, you know that. Yeah. Like you can tell I'm gonna pull up in a nice car, I'm gonna drive myself there, you may pick me up from my own home. Like, maybe that's just like the millennial in me and slash my dad. But I I mean, there are probably benefits to that. Like, I wouldn't mind that if that was something that they wanted to do. But I also don't like rules. Yeah, it's kind of true. It feels like I'm on a dating show versus like actually dating.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

It feels more organic, it feels more contractual.

SPEAKER_03 45:14

Yes, like it feels more like and also waiting 90 days.

SPEAKER_02 45:19

Like, I feel like for the chemistry part, I feel like the sex can make or break a relationship. How sad if you wait three months and then you finally have sex and you're like, I feel like this is horrible. What a waste of time. What a waste of time.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

And we spent 90 days going on all these dates, all these dinner dates, and we are really good friends, but there is no chemistry.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

See, that's where I think I think what how I've had success in the past, and I'm not telling it works for everybody. But I do think finding friendships and figuring out who these people are before you're manufacturing the dating component of it. One, I think it's on our groups of friends to do a better job of putting people in rooms together. Like I always tell my friends, I'm like, we all bring people into groups so that we can hang out in an environment. So you can see if you can vibe. Yeah. Like you can see if there's like, hey, I'm gonna sit next to you at a dinner. And if like we can't have a conversation where we're this close, probably not gonna be very fun on a date one-on-one. Right. Like you probably, if you we can't, there's no like spark at all in a friendship environment. It's gonna be pretty hard to like manufacture. And I don't, I don't want to manufacture that, right? So that's the the that's like, and I get those are old school, maybe like organic ways of thinking, but I just I everything in my life is a contract. Everything at work, everything else, it's like I don't, I don't want this one other thing to feel like a contract. I get it though. I understand. Gen Z, don't hate me. Well, I agree. I think that is.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

I think it's so Gen Z, it feels like a TikTok. So true

Messi, Ronaldo, And Being On Clock

SPEAKER_02 46:51

it is. Now it's time for the celebrity cut where we marinate in the juices of the celebrities. So, do you watch real football or soccer as you Americans call it?

SPEAKER_00 46:57

I do, I do watch soccer, especially with the World Cup, obviously going on.

SPEAKER_02 47:00

So I've seen all these. Have you seen the viral TikToks going around about like Ronaldo versus like Messi and how they interact with the kids? And how Ronaldo just grabs them all and picks them up and high-fives them and signs their autograph his autograph, but then Messi won't even touch them. Yeah. Like, won't even acknowledge them. Like, what is going on?

SPEAKER_00 47:19

So here I will. I feel like I'm defending Messi. Um first and foremost, fans gotta understand something. It's not very fun to be a professional athlete that's that famous. You literally have no privacy. You can't go anywhere. There is nowhere in the world that Leo Messi can go and enjoy himself. You can't go have dinner, you can't go on vacation, you can't spend time with your family without people harassing you. Literally, non-stop. So I give people grace because I've seen it and I understand what it feels like. When I'm on my job, I have to be on. They don't have off switches, they have to be on all the time. There is a camera in their face, 24-7, 365, where we're sitting around going, Well, he doesn't want to. Yeah, guess what? This is his job. Nobody shows up at my job with little kids outside to go high-five them. Or the like, there's no people waiting outside for us to ask for autographs. And I understand, yes, Ronaldo is very full of life, but that's his personality. Messi's a quiet, shy, introverted guy.

SPEAKER_02 48:24

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

He isn't Ronaldo.

SPEAKER_02 48:26

But in Devil's Advocate, all these videos, he's in his uniform and they're like getting on the bus. So it's he's on the clock. Especially if he's on vacation with this fast. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 48:34

And I'll devil's advocate that. He's locked in.

SPEAKER_02 48:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:37

He's that he's in the zone. He's in the zone. I, as an athlete, as a former athlete, when I was running track, when I got on the bus, I was done. I'm not responding to your text, I'm not responding to your call. I am locked into what I am doing. And so I always tell people if you've never done something that requires that level of locking in, then you really can't judge them. And it's true. Because it is to Messi, you want to know the difference? Messi scored three goals and Ronaldo didn't do shit in the game one. Maybe Ronaldo needs to lock in a little bit more and spend a little less time with the kids. I'm just saying the Portuguese people might be a little bit happier with him overall. And that's the truth. At the end of the day, Messi is a more reserved, shy guy, too. That's the part of athletes that I think everybody, unless you've interfaced with guys and girls, everybody assumes because they're great at sports that they're like these larger than life people. A lot of them have social anxiety, like regular ass people. Like they have the same issues, problems, anxieties, social. Like, just because they're superstar on a on the pitch, doesn't mean that when they get off, they want to be like Ronaldo is like that. You can tell he likes the club, he likes having fun. He likes Messi's not like that. Not like that at all. So what I understand.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

Like, just like where he won't even high-five a kid. Like he'll put his hand out, but then like go above. Like it's like he doesn't want to touch the little kids.

SPEAKER_00 49:57

I think to me, I think a lot of it is you have to be like, and I'm just gonna speak to myself. Like, I'm locked in. I don't, I I you are not there. That's the truth. Like, I am so focused on my task at hand that I'm not interested in interacting or talking with anybody. And track is very much like that because that's where I've taught. Like, you you're there and it's you on the line, and you're stepping. So I didn't want to think about anybody else that was around me because I I genuinely, my dad as a coach would be like, those are distractions. And most great coaches would tell you those fans are distractions. They're they're they're taking your emotions up and down before you get on the pitch, where you have to be totally non-emotional. And Ronaldo's very emotional on the pitch. Whereas Messi is like a robot, and I think that reflects who they are as people. I don't not wrong or right, just kind of the differences I think in the personalities reflect who they are off the field. And people assume because Messi's so great that he's like this very loud, rambunctious person, and he's not at all. He's very quiet and shy. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 51:03

Now it's time to get to know you as Zoya, sponsored by Zoeya, your neighborhood

Rapid Fire And Closing Plugs

SPEAKER_02 51:06

yogurt. Rapid fire questions. Okay. Are these red flags or no? Make sure split the bill on the first date.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

No.

SPEAKER_02 51:11

Still follows their ex on Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 51:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 51:14

Bad tipper.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 51:16

Has no social media at all.

SPEAKER_00 51:19

No.

SPEAKER_02 51:19

Where should someone not take you on a first date?

SPEAKER_00 51:24

Good answer.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

Is watching porn considered cheating?

SPEAKER_00 51:27

No.

SPEAKER_02 51:28

Before you're intimate, is it appropriate to ask your date how many people they've been with?

SPEAKER_00 51:32

No.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Is it acceptable to have sex on a first date?

SPEAKER_00 51:35

No.

SPEAKER_02 51:36

And last but not least, do you have a talent, a secret talent that not many people know of, or a unique fact about yourself that not many people know?

SPEAKER_00 51:42

I'm a five-time national champion as a figure skater.

SPEAKER_02 51:45

Woohoo! That's pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_00 51:48

Because I'm 5'11, so most people don't assume that I was a figure skater. Um, and it's because I had to quit when I got really tall. Because I was built like a if you've ever seen a figure skater, they're like five, two, and under built like gymnasts, right? Like that's it's just like a spinning and jumping thing. Like it's much harder when you got like, especially when I grew really tall, long and lanky, it was really hard to jump and spin again. So I had to start to try and learn all my jumps and spins, and it just never quite was the same. So that's when I transitioned from figure skating to track when I was in high school.

SPEAKER_03 52:20

So I was gonna ask you if height is a requirement for you when you're dating. Oh, yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_02 52:25

It's hard for you to find guys that are taller than you.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

Yes, and no. I mean, I'm around a lot of like my brother is 6'6, and all his buddies that we grew up around are all bad. I feel like I grew up around a lot of athletes. Even though they're not necessarily playing now, it's all the people I'm around now are either like every time we walk in somewhere, I'm always laughing because I feel like everyone's staring at us because we're all tall, tall. Like 6'6, 6'7, I'm 5'11 and heels, I'm 6'1. Like we're used to it. But yeah, the normal average male is much shorter than I am. But let me tell you something. If I walked into my house to meet my father and my brother, and the man was less than 6'2, they would get shunned and probably made fun of out of there. Like, we are the boys. We are the boys. That's exactly not what happened. Like, I wouldn't even put that man in that situation because it would not go well. Like it'd be like, uh, so who's the rebounder here that is gonna? I'll be like, oh, okay, here comes my dad. Okay, here we go.

SPEAKER_02 53:29

Well, thank you so much for joining us this week at the meat market, and thank you so much, Paige. If you want to score a date with Paige, go to any of our Meat Market pages at Meat Market Podcast. And thank you to our sponsor, Tactical Tax Strategies. If you want to preserve your wealth and keep more of your own money in your own wallet where it belongs, you need to go to Tactical Tax Strategies. We'll see you next week at the Meat Market. Oh my god, I just totally got catfished. He looks absolutely nothing like his picture.

SPEAKER_03 53:53

So I found out the guy that I've been dating is married with kids. His wife just reached out to me.