The Politics of Professional Sports with Jon Root #DMW200

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Exploring Theology, Doctrine, and all of the Fascinating Subjects in Between, Broadcasting from an

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Undisclosed Location, Dead Men Walking starts now! Well, hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Dead Men Walking Podcast.

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I'm your host Greg Moore. Thanks for coming along on the ride, guys. Thanks for checking out dmwpodcast .com where you can support the show.

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We've got some snarky merch over there. You can still get it in time for Christmas if you want to order it. 25 % off your entire order, $50 or more.

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Also, thank you to Jacob's Supply. He's a sponsor of the show, quality building prices at discounted prices.

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I'm sorry, did I say quality building products at discounted prices? I mean, he ships nationally too.

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Gets all kinds of steel, on barns, on appliances. Check him out, jacobsupply .com.

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It'll be linked up to this episode here. We want to support that brother in the Lord. He does a good job. But now that the shameless self -promotion is out of the way, we want to get right into it because we've got a special guest.

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And I know we say that every week, but this is a special guest. He's worked in the broadcasting industry for quite a while.

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I think he did some stuff with San Jose Sharks. I know he contributed at Turning Point for a little bit. All those different things.

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It's Jon Root. Jon, how are you, sir? I'm great. Thanks a lot for having me. This is fun. We talked about this when we went at the

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Fight Laugh Feast conference together, and I'm sure we could cover a little bit of that, that fun little debacle that led to like some of these connections and, and everything, but it's, it's good to be here.

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And I don't know, like, like you said, I worked in sports media for a long time before I got canceled. So, you know, cancel culture hit me.

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It found me. Jesus found me and cancel culture found me. That's what I tell people.

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And it was great working in sports media. Absolute blessing. I played D2 football, so I'll never pretend like I was some major stud, but God blessed me to play

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D2 football at Azusa Pacific. And I always knew I wanted to go, you know, pro in something other than sports.

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Kind of like those old enterprise commercials people saw watching sports growing up. And I, I love the

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Stuart Scott's growing up. Like, so he was just booyah anytime someone watched a sports center.

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And that was just like the epitome I want to know the highlights. I want to know what's going on and I want to have some fun and get away from the craziness of the world by watching sports center or just be involved in sports in general.

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So for me, I want to be involved in sports media. And then I was lucky enough to work for the sharks, the golden state warriors organization, specifically working with their

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G league team. And I did some stuff with NBC sports, the major sports broadcaster out there in the Bay area.

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That's where I was born. And a lot of people were probably like, how did this Northern California Bay area kid turn out?

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Okay. Like not only conservative and Christian, I'm sure we can go over that. Yeah.

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That that's all God for sure. And, and being born in a fantastic family, but pandemic hit everything shut down.

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And then, you know, God was really pushing me towards a place of like, there's a lot of things that I haven't been able to speak out about because I always tell people you can't just go guns blazing and be like,

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Oh, I can't believe all the people just don't like me. It's like as Christians, first and foremost, we're counter -cultural.

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So I can talk about the LGBTQ stuff, the way that pride nights had been hijacked and all the social justice nonsense, but I'd have to know that I'm going to lose my job.

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So, uh, I was kind of a little bit more like even keel about that stuff. I'd have good conversations behind the scenes, but if I shared that stuff publicly, everything

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I worked for would be done. But God ended up, um, you know, kind of ripping sports media away from me in a sense.

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Uh, when I worked for a company called fanatics, I went to the gym out here in Phoenix, Arizona, where I live now. And I moved out here during the pandemic.

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And I went to the gym without a mask the day that our governor said, go ahead and decide for yourself what a concept.

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And you would have thought that I murdered 55 people in that gym and took a gym mirror selfie of it.

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Um, but that led me to working for turning point USA, being a contributor with them, not just getting to peek behind the curtain, but fully being behind the curtain of conservatism and finding out how really godless that is.

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There's some amazing people doing some incredible work, but also too, it's a place where people start idolizing politicians, political parties, and how, you know, more than anything,

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I still love sharing sports, the non -woke side of sports stories that you probably wouldn't see with mainstream sports media.

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And for some reason, God's provided me a platform. I don't think it's really anything massive, but it's big enough to be able to, you know, have great connections.

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Like I do with you now and the guys at cross politic G three, so many people in these reform circles, like I'm learning a lot and more than anything to,

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I want to filter everything through scripture. That's my very long intro and bio. And hopefully that gives everybody a clear understanding of who

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John Root is. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Thank you for that. So there's so many things that we could touch on here that I want to talk about, not just sports related.

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And let's get into it because you came across my radar. Actually I was watching some interview clips from G three.

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I went to the national conference in 21. I wasn't able to get down there this, this year. But I always keep up on that stuff.

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Josh has been on the program before the let's, you know, just thinking guys, Darrell and Virgil love those guys.

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You know, I have conversations with Owen back and forth. So I keep tabs on that and just wanted to see what was going on.

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James White's been on and I know he spoke there, so wanted to see what was going on. And I saw you interviewing a couple of guys.

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I think it was Owen at the time and I didn't really know who you were and I watched the clip and didn't think anything of it except man, they got a, they got a good looking guy, good looking kid down there doing these interviews.

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Like you look at sharp, you know, dress sharp, look good. And then like a day or two later, um, sweatshirt gate breaks open with, uh, my friend 80

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Robles who said, what the heck is this guy? You know, basically made something to what you were wearing, which that's what 80 does, whatever it is, what it is.

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I don't know if it was necessarily, uh, a personal attack. I think it was,

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Hey, you know, he's got some qualms with some of the G three guys. I'm friends with cross politic.

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I'm friends with G three. I'm kind of caught in the middle of the dang thing. Um, I would just want us all to advance the kingdom of God by preaching the gospel and one of repentance and true

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Christ. Uh, but with that being said, I went, wait a minute, that's the guy that I just saw for the first time two days ago on a interview, you know, cause you were doing,

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I think some of the interviews down there. And that kind of led me into, uh, following you on Twitter, seeing what you're posting, what you're talking about.

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And I met and I went, man, this guy goes hard on Twitter. Uh, I mean, he doesn't, you know, from what it was kind of framed by some of the guys like,

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Oh, he might be this kind of soft kind of squishy even jellyfish, uh, you know, just down there appeasing

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G three. And then I was looking at your social media and I was like, Oh, this is one of my bros, dude. Um, no, he takes some really hard stances.

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Uh, he's, you know, you're not mean about it, but you're very upfront about what the word of God says.

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And, uh, that's kind of where I started following you and, and kind of learning about you. So, you know,

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I've only known of you probably for the last four or five, six months. Um, but, uh, it has blossomed into something.

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I'm glad that we are at least online friends and I can see your content because I think it's great.

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Um, and we talked a little bit at fight left feast, but tell me about how, what you thought when that whole thing went down with just, and to be clear for those listening,

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I don't know. I think it was because something similar to what you're wearing today, right? He didn't, he didn't like the, what was it?

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The sweatshirt? Hoodie blazer combo, which in my younger days, I rock, dude.

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I love that. I think it's a great combo of a classic and casual, like let's go, you know? Yep. And that's the thing for me is like,

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I can't pretend I'm a tough guy. Like I'm a tall blonde haired, very white, goofy looking guy.

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And right now I'm drinking a smoothie. So like, I'm not gonna pretend like I'm some sort of alpha male over here. And, but I know, especially with a lot of the

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Christian nationalist conversation, I think it's led to, you know, quite frankly, and I'm not like throwing anybody specifically under the bus, but I think there's a lot of vitriol and there's a lot of, you know,

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I'm not saying that, you know, you know, everybody on this side is doing it well. And everybody on that side is not doing it well.

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Like just like you said, we want to come together as Christians and no doubt everybody wants this to be a

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God honoring nation. Obviously the way that we go about that is, can be drastically different in the way that we have discourse online.

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Sometimes just doesn't lead to fruitful conversation, but I was blessed enough to get connected with Virgil Walker just a little over a year ago.

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And he's been a great mentor of mine, a great friend. He's just an awesome human being that loves the

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Lord so well. And I think he's been a great hire for G3 and he asked me to be the live stream for their national conference.

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And I was super humbled and very thankful because, I mean, I just got to continue to be open and honest.

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Like I don't have a seminary degree and you know, I'm, I'm someone that is just really studying the word.

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I'm going through discipleship with my pastor. I got great mentors and I know I'm connected with the Apollo Gia guys out here.

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I'm connected with Kosti Hinn out here in Phoenix. Like I'm learning a lot, so I'm never going to position myself as,

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Hey, John Root is the authority figure of, you know, some sort of heavy theological topic.

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Sure. I have plenty of my thoughts, but what I saw here and what I've done continually throughout my career is, uh, first and foremost, before we got to hoodie blazer gate is

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Owen Strand said some stuff that really irks some people and it's, and some people saw it as straw man arguments.

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Some people saw it as throwing shade without, uh, it being at somebody specifically.

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So I saw me in my position as a person that said, I am reading everything online and I know the questions that need to be asked and the answers that everybody is desperately searching for because I know

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Owen's not going to sit down with, uh, people more on the Christian nationalist side, like ad.

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I don't see, I don't see that happening. Um, and is that necessarily because of ad? No, that might be more people like connected in his circle.

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I don't know. I can't speak for Owen. I can't speak for ad, but in general, I wanted it to be extremely helpful for everybody, no matter what side of the

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Christian nationalist conversation you're at. Uh, and then make sure that we're not straw manning that like everybody that's post mill is

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Christian nationalists and everybody that's pre mill is, is not. It's like, no, specifically based off what you said,

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Owen, here's some questions. I'm looking for some answers. Yes. I'll agree with some stuff that Owen says.

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I believe Owen is a great friend of mine. He's been a good mentor of mine, but also at the same time, it doesn't mean that I go along with everything that Owen said or the way that he went about it was perfect.

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But in general, it's like, I thought it was helpful, but what it turned into was, I mean, just plain and simple. I didn't like the way that ad went about it because I just saw like,

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Oh, this guy's connected with G3. So all of a sudden this guy's soft. Um, this guy must just fall in line with everything that we're thinking about this guy.

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Like, yeah, sure. We're all going to judge a book by his cover, whether we believe it or not. Like we shouldn't be doing that as Christians, but we all, we all do it.

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So I don't doubt that people look at me and they're like, wait a minute. Like this guy isn't like, he's not super buttoned up, but he also looks too casual to me.

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And then when I saw the comment from, from ad and again, too, it's like ad and I had a great little meeting at a fight, laugh, feast.

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And it's like water under the, under the bridge. But it's like, come on, I don't need to hear that.

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Like Owen's telling me what to wear and that like the white guilt kind of thing. It's like, people can call me soft and be like,

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Oh, well that's what ad does. But like in general, I was like, just how does this add to fruitful conversation?

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And how does this make me personally want to listen to what you have to say from here on out?

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Because it's like, it's not really going to lead me down a path to be like,

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Oh yeah, well, thanks for kind of like those subtle insults. I'm not really going to go crying to mama about something like that, but I'm more just kind of like, shoot, man, if we're having

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Christian discourse, I just personally am not really going to want to listen to anything else you have to say, but got to meet up with, with ad and Joel when we're at fight, laugh, feast.

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And then like ad was wearing a hoodie under his blazer and that's kind of my fit. That's what

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I've always worn for a long time. Ever since I was working with the sharks, like I'd wear a hoodie under my blazer.

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I think it's just a different kind of look. I think it keeps me a little bit young and a little bit more hip because I just don't feel comfortable when

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I'm on a, um, a button up underneath my blazer and like, maybe like a, just a suit and tie full thing.

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It's like, I don't know. It just doesn't feel relatable to me. I don't feel comfortable in it. And I think it allows like people to feel like let's have theological conversations without feeling like you either have to be incredibly casual or you have to be way too buttoned up.

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I like it. No, like I said, I like the look and I had no issue with it. I here's, here's, here's my issue is, and I think this is a broader issue to what you're speaking to.

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And tell me what you think about this is I've found, cause I worked in politics a long time too. I'm a locally elected official, but I'm also, uh, you know,

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I do stuff on campaigns and some national campaigns and stuff. And I found when, and when you're in legislative bodies as well, tuning of caucuses in the political sense, when you have denominations, when you have any type of group and you get down to a certain type of tribalism where you kind of circle the wagons around your guys and if things are going really good, then infighting starts.

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I've seen that in both politics, churches, um, you know, any type of group sports. Um, but I, I'm seeing right now two things in, in, in the

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Christian movement, especially in the reform movement as well is we're really, it's almost like, uh, you know, the outside world's on fire.

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So let's start nitpicking secondary and third issues within our own community.

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Uh, because why be, I mean, I don't know, but, but I'm seeing the tribalism too, which

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I don't like, which is like, okay, the, uh, you know, the, I don't know, the, the post mill guys are over here, the theonomy guys and postal over here.

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And Oh, the G three. And they're a little more Baptist and they're over here. And it's like, okay, I get that.

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That's why we're in different denominations. And we have different creeds and confessions and, uh, that's fine. But man,

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I feel like in the world we're living in right now, um, I'll Joel Webben and at Owen strand should be linking arms and going, okay, what can we fight together?

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Uh, you know, in this culture right now, or, you know, a Doug Wilson and, uh, you know,

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Josh Bice should be going, let's sit down and talk through our issues here, uh, that are non -Orthodox that are secondary issues.

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And, um, you know, let's move forward. Now it might be happening at leadership level and I'm just not privy to it.

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So some of it, I am, but I tell you what, all the kind of the followers and Hey, that guy's my guy type attitude.

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And then there's no, there's, there's no quarter for any type of, uh, grace or give at all because I have to be right, or I have to look good or you have to look bad.

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So I look good. It's a, it's just weird thing where we fall into this secular non -Christian kind of tribalism that really bothers me because maybe, you know,

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I think I'm a little, maybe we're a little more like to where, look at man, I'm hanging out with my reformed

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Baptist brothers. I'm hanging out with the G3 guys. I'm hanging heck. I'm not in the fight lab feast network right now.

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I, you know, cross politic guys. Absolutely. All day long. I am reformed

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Presbyterian, uh, in my, um, you know, in my theology. But at the same time, it's like, man, the stuff that separates some of us is so razor blade thin and not, not necessarily, uh, that important in reference to salvation and who

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Christ is and those Orthodox things that it's like, man, it's not worth my time. I'd re let's go argue, you know, let's go make fun of an atheist or a secularist or a pagan or one of these guys that want to, you know, uh, allow children to have sex change.

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Like we have other things going on here. And that's what, you know, that's what I don't like. That's why, like, when

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I talk to you, I kind of get that same feeling of, yeah, I have my own thoughts. And I know as a broadcaster, we'll get into this.

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Sometimes it's not your job to have an opinion on something when you're a professional interviewer, broadcaster, trying to bring minds together, put out a production, which

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I think, man, it feels like there's no grace for that either of look at whatever happened to someone being in the room and allowing two or three or four people to talk.

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And the person who is controlling or moderating that or that interviewer debate or whatever, doesn't necessarily have to have a hard take.

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That's not their position or lane. Their position or lane is to make sure that whole production, that discussion goes where it should go.

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The questions that need to be asked are asked. And that's kind of what I was feeling with you when I saw some of your work and I appreciated that.

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Um, I don't know, that's a lot to bite on there, but do you have any comments on kind of that tribalism and then also letting people play their roles when it comes to broadcast?

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Yeah. A couple of different things there. I mean, first and foremost, a lot of people believe that Twitter is almost real life, that if we have some sort of discussion about this, it needs to be almost debate like, and it needs to be lively and there needs to be bombs dropped.

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And for me, as you said, like, yeah, as a broadcaster, I'm representing G3. So also to like,

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I'm not saying that I'm muzzled, but I have enough respect for G3 to know that,

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Hey, I'm going to position myself, you know, whether I'm working for G3 or I was in the same position, uh, for like fight, laugh feast or anybody else.

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Like I'm in the position to ask questions. This is not the soapbox moment for John root or trying to just make some sort of clickbait.

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And I'm not saying that everybody does that, but what happens within this tribalism is it's a, like you said, it's a terrible witness to people that aren't

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Christian. So they're like, what the heck? Like I already like, wasn't really much of a fan of Christians.

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They might, you know, we have the atheist out there or the secularist or whatever it may be.

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And they're kind of like, ah, like I already saw these people as kind of like angry, um, hardheaded.

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And it doesn't even seem like they get along within seemingly in their own family. Cause a lot of people, they don't know the nominationalism.

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Like they don't, they don't understand the difference between a Baptist and a Presbyterian. And then they're like, well, what are they even talking about here?

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And why are they fighting? I don't understand these words. Like some of these secondary issues. Sure. We can debate them until Jesus comes back and that's fine.

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But that comes down to agreeing to disagree. We just don't see that in society much anymore anymore.

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And we're not really seeing it within, within these Christian circles. So, and then I'm also seeing hints of almost like we see in the word, like, you know,

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Jesus, who is the greatest? Like you're, we're almost putting ourselves in these positions to be like, no, like I almost want to prove a point, um, about my eschatology or about some of these like secondary issues.

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Um, and I don't know, an aspect of like baptism or something like that. Like, I really want to prove that I am right.

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Or the person that I follow very heavily theologically is right.

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And sure. You can have some fun with like Moscow mood and no quarter and those kinds of things.

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Like, yeah, have, have some fun with that stuff because like, I love, uh, my brothers and sisters up there and they've done incredible work.

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I know my buddy Gabe to like, we'll disagree on some stuff. Um, and that's beautiful. He has the ability to shoot me a text, but that guy in chocolate knocks and, uh,

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Sumter, like everybody, like they put in so much work to like have me out at the conference and we're chatting all the time and we're learning from each other.

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But I think often, and I know I've fallen into this too, is okay. I can, nobody is really fully going to understand the tone that you have on social media, but we have to think of, we can't control the way that people think, but we can't control the way that we react.

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Um, and if we start just having a little bit more fruitful conversation, I think there is times where like the ship is sailed with some of these conversations.

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Hopefully, you know, God doesn't work in, in everybody's hearts. And I know there's plenty of conversations going on behind the scenes, but especially when it comes to the followers of some of these like social media accounts, these influencers, uh, theologians, apologists, pastors, it starts to get to a point where they're like, well,

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I don't even know how this is going to be fruitful in the first place. And then also to, you can't just drop a bomb on me, have all your followers go after me and then be like, you know what?

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We should sit down and talk about it. It's like, no, no, no. You can't, you can't hit somebody below the belt essentially.

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Um, and then be like, you know what? No, it'd be great as if we talked about it. No, no, no, no. Like we, the, the grace and the mercy should have happened many tweets ago or many months ago, or a couple of calls or texts ago or something like that.

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So I think the tribalism is really hurting us. And like you said, there's some major issues that we should be focusing on.

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Um, and sure. There's always going to be division like within the church, but we got to do that in a godly manner and not be prideful about it.

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And hopefully people understand through that. Like, I know it makes it sound like I'm just like, all right,

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John, you seem like you're taking a very neutral position. Like, no, like you can read my Twitter. You can know like really what my stance is on, on some of these things.

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But I just mostly see such powerful entities for Christ that need to somehow come together because if we're going to make this a

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Christian nation or continue to fight, um, for our God given rights and make sure that this objective morality is more portrayed and, uh, ingrained in our society.

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We probably need to figure out that there's strength in numbers and we are better together than apart. Yeah. Yeah.

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No, that's so good. Um, so let's shift gears here for a minute. Uh, you're a sports guy.

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Uh, you're in the sports world. You're in the broadcasting world. I've always loved talking about this to other believers because I've seen extreme beliefs on this, where, where kind of sports fit into the

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Christian life. Okay. I've seen some on the very, probably, I don't know if I want to say conservative one on one side of the spectrum that it's like, look at juiceless entertainment.

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They were doing it back in Rome banks, except back then they were feeding, you know, Christians, the lions, we don't need it.

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Just focus on Christ, meditate on the Bible, you know, preach the word. Okay. Those are all good things. But no, I see people on the other side to where, you know, uh, you've got these crazy mega churches that will literally play out a football game with cheerleaders on stage for a sermon on Sunday morning.

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Okay. That's way too far the other way. So I look at it and they serve it. Let's go.

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Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You're serving better not last more than a quarter. We only take 15 minutes at mega churches after that we're out.

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Uh, but, but my point is, is that I've said this many times on the podcast is like moderation is so next to godliness and so many things, so many things that the

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Lord gives us that outside of moderation become very harmful in our lives. And I've experienced some of those things personally, uh, that I've either abused or, you know, did not use correctly or in moderation.

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So where does sports, do you think personally, where do sports fit in to the believer's life?

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Um, to, to someone who wants to honor God, should it, I'll, I'll leave it there. Where does it fit in, in a believer's life?

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What do you think? I mean, I think, like you said, it's got to be done in moderation and the way

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I see things now, especially within like Christian and conservative circles, there's so many people that are just trying to say like,

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Oh, I just hate that sports have gone so woke and they're, uh, they're so lib and all these things.

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It's like, well, because we have decided to leave the fight. Like, I don't think there's any other outlet that has the potential to bring people together better than sports.

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I don't think anybody can provide any sort of entity or outlet that does that.

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I mean, just look at the Olympics. You have war torn countries that can settle it on the field, the court or the mat.

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That is a unbelievably beautiful thing. And then a lot of times too, when people would go to sports games, you know, it's not like that much anymore, but we are fighting back to make sure that like sports is an outlet away from the craziness of the world.

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And we don't need to see the politics infused. We don't need to see the godlessness infused, but a lot of times in our lives, when we go to a game, it's like you're either going to, uh, you're going to see the

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A's and the giants. Mostly. If you're going there, you got like a 50, 50 split.

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You're rooting for the A's you're rooting for the giants. I want this team to win. You want this team to win.

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I don't care how you voted. I don't care what your sexual orientation is. I have no idea where you came from.

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I don't know how much money you got in your bank account. We're just there to cheer on competition and that's it.

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And it's all about meritocracy. So I think the things that you learn in sports and especially, um, the way that not only the left is trying to hijack professional sports, but you sports, these kids should not have to worry about social justice.

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They shouldn't have to worry about, um, this whole like DEI nonsense. Um, sports is about meritocracy over the last 20 years.

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It's been one starting white cornerback in the NFL. I don't care what color you are.

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Right. I want the best. I want the best player on the Atlanta Falcons. That's it. I could care less.

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They're black, white, purple, yellow, green, whatever. But I think when we start instilling some of the things that we learn in sports, like discipline, teamwork, sacrifice, those kinds of things have helped make me the man that I am today.

26:40

And I feel like a lot of these things that we can learn in sports. I mean, we even see, um, in the

26:46

Christian life, what are we supposed to do? Run the race. Yeah. You know, obviously that might be like pulling too much out of the text, but in general, like I think when you're, when you're in sports, you're learning how to fight in a sportsman like manner.

27:01

You're learning how to push yourself to a limit that you also should see within your spiritual life.

27:07

You should always be pushing. You don't always want to go and do that practice. You might just want to play in the games, but you got to get into the word.

27:14

So when you get into the game, when you have to give a defense for the hope that you have, you, you put in the practice, you're in the right community.

27:21

I think there's a lot of things we learn in sports and sports. If we completely, um, take ourself away, it's going to be unrecognizable and it's going to be so godless.

27:31

It's going to be so leftist. And we're seeing differences being made just like, uh, what's going on in the NHL. They're no longer wearing pride jerseys and warmups.

27:38

Yes. That means they're no longer wearing a military, military jerseys or any sort of specialty jerseys.

27:43

But they're realizing that this is not only a distraction, but there is an aspect of people fighting back to say like, this is godlessness.

27:51

And that was basically like one, one guy, right? Stood up and was like, no, I'm good. And then it was like,

27:56

Oh yeah. Multiple, multiple. So, um, Yvonne Proverov from the, from the

28:01

Flyers, uh, Stahl brothers from the Panthers and then James Reimer from the sharks.

28:06

And I think there might've been, uh, somebody else, but there's multiple players that, that stood up.

28:13

And then also too, there's a lot of influence that, that fans have. If you don't like the direction they're going, you can easily hit up, um, the commissioner's office, uh, the top dogs in these leagues.

28:25

Uh, you can stop buying NBA league pass. You can stop buying jerseys, season tickets, single game tickets, like, and you can make your voice heard and you can make a huge difference.

28:34

And I think we're starting to see some of that, but I love sports. And as long as you don't make it an idol, you're not letting it take away from your family, your community, get into the word.

28:45

And if, if it's not glorifying to God, um, and you're, you just want to watch the Monday night football game and it's taken away from hanging out with your kids or fellowshipping with, with friends.

28:56

Um, you can do both at the same time, but, um, that's why I think I love sports. Yeah. Oh, no,

29:02

I'm definitely tracking with you. There's a lot of good godly biblical principles that are incorporated in sports too.

29:08

Right. Uh, I would even say some, uh, proverb esque kind of wisdom in sports with, uh, team building discipline, you know, all that kind of stuff.

29:17

Um, which leads me to, uh, kind of what I want to talk to you next, but you touched on it. So do you believe,

29:24

I mean, are we at the tipping point to where sports has become too political? I mean, it seems like we always have some type of activism going on in, in every game.

29:32

The NFL has three or four different things. Almost every game, it feels like you see it in the NBA, um, on, you know, on the, on the court, they're painting certain things and doing, and it feels like,

29:43

I got, this is a two parter though, because it feels like we really pushed it over the last five years. But I also feel like they're starting to be like a little bit of a pushback and ease on that.

29:53

Just in the fact that in the NFL this year, I haven't seen, I've never seen so many star players after interviews, like literally preaching the word before they start their interview.

30:05

Like it's insane. Like my, my, so I'm, I live in Michigan. Uh, my son is nine. He started watching, he started playing football three years ago.

30:13

When he got into it, he became Ohio state fan. Broke my heart. Right. I'm U of M he's Ohio state. It is what it is.

30:18

But at the time, you know, they, they, they, they, they should go. Right. I know.

30:24

Right. They've been beaten up on us for 10 years. We've got them the last three years, but the point was, is he loves

30:30

CJ Stroud. Right. And then you watch him in the NFL and this guy's just out here pre not, I want to give all glory to God.

30:35

Oh yeah. That was a good catch. I mean, some of these guys are going on for 30, 45 seconds and really using some language where my ears go, okay, that's not a surface level.

30:45

Like I'm accepting my Grammy and thanking God that this is like, there's a, there's a faith there. And I've seen this a lot in the

30:51

NFL. I've seen a little bit more in the NBA and I'm going, okay, so the Lord is working through because people are watching that.

30:58

You know what I mean? People are listening to it. Um, some people look up to those, uh, athletes in probably an, an idol ask way and then go, what does this guy talk?

31:08

I mean, Lord can use a CJ Stroud just as much as he can use anyone else and anything we're doing.

31:14

So I have a little bit of hope too, where I'm going, I'm starting to see, you know, we heard about the Russell Wilson's and stuff.

31:20

Even 10 years ago, he was leading his team in, in, in a Bible studies and stuff like that. When he's on the Seahawks, that's good.

31:25

I'm saying it's almost becoming a little more open to where it's like, okay, you want to talk about, uh, you know, cancer survivors and trans rights and, uh, homosexuality and all this other stuff that these sports teams and players are pushing.

31:40

Well, then the other players that are believers are like, cool, well then I can talk about my faith. And it's kind of this weird double -edged sword to where I feel like I'm starting to see some,

31:48

I don't want to say pushback, but it's starting to see, okay, look at if you, if you want to talk about love is level, I'm going to talk about, you know, glorifying

31:55

Christ every time I touch the football. And it's like, Hmm, that's interesting too, to where,

32:00

I mean, are you seeing that kind of dynamic in sports where it's opened up across the board and two, do you believe it's become too political?

32:06

Should we take some of that stuff out? Yeah. Before I get to, is it too political? The simple answer is yes.

32:12

But what you're seeing now, like you said, is, I mean, even if people watch the, uh, the bangles against the

32:18

Jaguars, uh, Trevor Lawrence, solid Christian, uh, he's become a great QB in the, in the

32:24

NFL, but he ended up hurting his ankle and the defensive end. I'm going blank on his name. I'm sorry.

32:29

I don't remember his name. Uh, but he tried to help up Trevor Lawrence. Yeah. I think I saw it on your feed.

32:35

Yeah. And like, I tried to share that stuff on my platform quite a bit. And what he did right away when

32:41

Trevor Lawrence collapsed again is he got down on a knee and he prayed immediately.

32:47

And like, that is just such a beautiful testimony. And then also you see things that are a little bit more like on the nose, someone like CJ Stroud, so many people can talk about God.

32:58

They can have their own understanding of like, God can mean a zillion different things to a zillion different people.

33:04

Sure. Even someone like LeBron James will bring up God. But like, is he, does he mean big G God? Does he mean the

33:10

God of the Bible? Like based on his fruit, I would say 99 .99 to 99 % sure.

33:17

It's not the God of the Bible, but CJ Stroud, he's saying my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Like that's a powerful statement.

33:24

And then also too, when you have someone like Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant for people that don't know, uh, what

33:29

Mr. Irrelevant means, he was the final pick in the NFL draft two years ago. He's the front runner for most valuable player in the

33:38

NFL. He is talked about on podcasts and openly, uh, about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

33:47

Like those kinds of things are not just like, man, I just thank God for all the blessings. I'm so glad I just signed this three year, $475 billion contract.

33:57

Like, of course, you're going to be thanking God for, for that, for that blessing. But you know, to see guys, like even when they have struggles in some games, but they had a big drive at the end, they're giving all glory to God, um, in the good and the bad.

34:11

And that's what you want to see for kids like yours and everybody else that knows how woke sports have gone because getting back to that sports have become way too political.

34:21

So you get to a point where like, Oh man, like, do I even want my kid watching this broadcast? Right. But when you have someone like CJ Stroud that, you know, is going to say,

34:31

I'm giving all glory and power and authority to Jesus Christ. I thank him for the blessings.

34:38

I thank him for the struggles. And obviously like CJ Stroud, he's leading the league in passing yards right now.

34:43

He's having an unbelievable rookie season. But when we see that, um, it's like, that's a great example for kids.

34:50

That's what sports are supposed to be. They don't need to get infused with all this social justice nonsense.

34:56

Have kids start asking, you know, why did they do a black national Anthem? I thought we had like one national Anthem. And then it's like, why are we doing a pride night where we have men cosplaying women?

35:06

There's a lot of leftism that's just been thrown into. And then it's just godlessness, um, aspects of Marxism.

35:12

We're going to see, uh, in the sport, uh, a couple of things like number one, uh, uh, we saw every single league go heavily into social justice.

35:20

So they were kneeling for the flag and disrespecting our country. But the NHL ended up saying after doing an audit of front offices, the amount of white people in the whitest sport in the history of the world, they had after that audit, they said the amount of white people in the front office is a problem.

35:36

That is Marxism. Then we're going to go to the NBA, NBA, and then the

35:41

WNBA. We can just kind of put those together because the NBA subs, uh, subsidizes the

35:47

WNBA. We see a lot of great athletes in there, but like, you know, who's someone that claims to be

35:52

Christian, but it's not really bearing good fruit. Steph Curry. He doesn't says he doesn't know what he feels about, uh, abortion.

35:59

And then he's going to go on platform, Stacey Abrams, who believes that the heartbeat that you hear when you go to the doctor's office is some fabricated sound based in white supremacy.

36:09

And then they're going to have George Floyd, um, there on their, on their courts. And they're going to have a social justice award winner at the end of the season.

36:17

NFL, you're going to see end racism in the end zone. So there's an incredible amount of virtue signaling.

36:23

And then you're going to see other leagues like, uh, the MLB. They took away the all -star game from Atlanta a couple seasons ago because Joe Biden ended up calling, uh, voting, uh, the new voting laws they had that said, you need to have a state issued

36:39

ID in order to vote. Joe Biden called it Jim Crow 2 .0. And then the

36:45

MLB, yeah, the MLB like fell in line and they ripped the all -star game away from a predominantly black community.

36:52

And where did they ship it off to Colorado and incredibly leftist city, but more of a predominantly white city.

36:59

So these things start not making sense, but the Braves ended up winning, uh, the world series that year.

37:04

And it's like the MLB is forced to host the world series in Atlanta. And that's a beautiful thing, but I think we're seeing some, um, some people like fight back.

37:12

We see the Rangers. They ended up winning the world series. They're the one team in major league baseball that doesn't celebrate pride night.

37:18

Uh, and then we're seeing what, again, what happened in the NHL. There's no longer pride uniforms that, uh, players are going to be forced to, uh, to wear.

37:26

Yes. They kind of, um, coward when it came to pride tape. Um, most, most recently, but I think we're seeing people fight back.

37:35

Players are realizing they have a lot of power and it's where I think we're slowly, but surely getting sports to a better place.

37:44

But we also have to remember, like, I, I think this kind of virtue signaling and this social justice and this

37:51

DEI stuff, it's, it's going to be there for good. And I think we have to understand that the

37:57

Rooney rule in case people, this is my last thing I have for all the leftism in sports. Cause it would be, it would be like a

38:02

CVS receipt. I could go through with all the nonsense that's happening in sports. But the

38:08

Rooney rule is basically telling every single NFL team that you guys need to, um, at least put a black or minority candidate, uh, and put them, um, in an interview process when you're looking for a head coach, it's insanity.

38:24

So now it's, now it's literally about the color of your skin that you can't, like, I didn't ask, I didn't work to be white.

38:31

I didn't ask to be white. There's nothing we can do about our whiteness. Just like anybody with their blackness or whatever it may be.

38:39

You're not saying we're going to see people by the color of their skin, or they can't even explain what gender is, but they'll say like, yeah, you should probably have like a female, uh, interviewed as well, even though like, so, but that's what we're seeing.

38:54

But those kinds of things are going to be involved in sports and they can get compensated, uh, for these kinds of things.

39:00

If they end up hiring black or minority people, it's, it's insanity, but virtue will be there, but hopefully we can continue to fight back against things like pride and, um, sexual immorality like that.

39:11

Yeah. So I don't want to labor this too long, but what, what is crazy to me is like you said, meritocracy that is kind of sports has always been that like whoever's best, whoever can do it best.

39:23

It's like, you know, think of Jackie Robinson, think of some of these things to where the, the fact that it was just, we don't care what color you are now.

39:32

Don't get me wrong. There was a long time where, where, uh, minorities were locked out of major league sports, but they broke through and then it was,

39:39

Oh, geez. Yeah. Let's go. Whatever can help us win. We don't care what color you are, where you're from.

39:45

You know what I mean? Baseball really embraced that. We probably have more Dominicans playing in the MLB right now than, uh, even, uh,

39:53

Americans. It feels like, um, you know, citizen wise. But, um, my point being is that was almost like the true equalizer.

40:01

It's like if nothing else, sports kind of broke through and it was that place where I didn't get politics. I didn't have to talk about race.

40:07

I didn't have to talk about, you know, the crap going on at work. Like it was like, who cares where they're from, what they are.

40:13

I want my team to win. I want the best guy playing. And it was this equalizer that now we've kind of gone the exact opposite way.

40:19

And now it's like, okay, let's get back into intersectionality and you're black and you're white and you're a minority.

40:25

And you know, you're from this country and you did this and you're this gender. And it's like, man, it felt like it now don't,

40:32

I'm not, I don't want to sugar coat the past, but it's like, what, once that barrier was broken, you know, you even think of like Alabama football and the movie they made off of that to where it was like,

40:41

I know this is wrong, but, uh, Shane Gillis does a great bit on this, a standup comic talking about the best standup bits.

40:48

But once they found out these guys could win some football games, like, let's go, you know, they said they solved racism in a, in a, in a high school football season.

40:56

But it's this weird thing to where it's like it, that does naturally kind of work when it's like,

41:02

Hey, let's, you know, and it works very well in the military as well, which that's a whole nother discussion, how we're disrupting that, where it's like when you're all the same and you're all fighting for one cause.

41:10

And I don't care what color you look and how much you weigh and what color eyes you are or, you know, what your hair looks like. We're all just going towards this and we're all the same.

41:17

And there's a really equalizing force in that. And it's kind of crazy how we've gone backwards now.

41:23

And now it's like, like you said, like the, would you call it the Rooney rule? Is that what it is? I didn't know what it was called in the NFL where you're forced to interview certain people to work.

41:31

Golly. Could you imagine if you have a person who is never going to get that job just because you know, their qualifications, but you have to put them through the interview process because of that rule, man, what a disservice you're doing to that person to wasting everyone's time.

41:45

And you know what I mean? I don't know. It's disrespectful to that person. Yeah. I mean, if someone at any, any bit of them is thinking, am

41:55

I only in this interview process because I'm black? Am I only in this interview process because I'm in my minority?

42:02

Am I only in this interview process because I'm a female? Like, this is not, this is not progressive.

42:09

It is progressive in the leftism sense, but we are not progressing towards a better society. So when we look at someone like Jackie Robinson, like I love the movie 42,

42:18

I love Jackie Robinson day, uh, that they have in the MLB every single season. You're right.

42:24

It's the ultimate equalizer because it comes down to what are we doing? We're glorifying God and his words saying that we are all made in the image of God, that we're not supposed to be elevating certain people or showing partiality to a certain people group.

42:39

Um, and then not caring for other people over here, Jackie Robinson and every player in the

42:44

Negro leagues deserve deserved a fair shot. But that decision by the Brooklyn Dodgers was not virtue signaling.

42:52

They saw someone like Jackie Robinson and said, it's almost like, almost like the money ball quote.

42:58

Like, can he get on base? Can he help us? Like, yes. Like we want to win games and we want the best players to be on the field.

43:08

And that's the thing that's such a bummer to see, uh, leagues continue to, I got a couple of things off.

43:14

This one is like, number one is you see the NFL specifically, they're like, wow, look at the amount of black quarterbacks we have.

43:23

And it's just like, can they win games? Like, that's it. That's all. That's all. We're worried about these black starting quarterbacks.

43:30

Can you win football games? Um, and then a number two, we're seeing that, uh, another issue in sports is biological men transitioning to women, cosplaying women like will

43:43

Thomas and taking women's opportunities, taking women's trophies, taking awards and ruining the record books.

43:50

And they are considering someone like will Thomas, a trailblazer like Jackie Robinson.

43:57

Like I met, I was out there, I was out there to women's women's swimming championships. And seeing that,

44:03

I'm like, I cannot believe that people are trying to compare the two things. Because again, just like interviewing a black person for an

44:13

NFL coaching job, just because they're black is incredibly insulting. It's also insulting to the legacy of Jackie Robinson and all the work that he did.

44:22

If someone like will Thomas is being compared to him, like that is nonsensical.

44:28

It's not trailblazing. It's regressive. And I think hopefully people continue to speak out about it because all the left is doing is they're starting to like eat themselves a little bit, but we're seeing other broadcasters that have pretty prominent platforms, uh, like steel, uh, that are speaking out against this stuff.

44:44

She used to work at ESPN and it's like, this is nonsense. Like I'm going to support, uh, Riley gains over here and say like, we need to protect women's sports.

44:52

Uh, they need these women need to make sure that they have a level playing field in the sense of they have biological females competing with them.

45:02

That's it. No, that's so good. Okay. So let's, let's talk about this new podcast because you didn't even really know what we were going to talk about too much here today.

45:10

And obviously as people can hear and see, I mean, you're very knowledgeable, you know, your sports, uh, and you can obviously carry on a conversation very intelligently.

45:20

So I heard that you were starting a new podcast. Uh, I don't know when it's going to launch, but tell us the idea and when you think that's going to come out, uh, and what it's going to be about.

45:30

Yeah. Cause I'm going through a few different options right now, but you know, I didn't, I didn't hear a voice from God that said,

45:36

John, start a show or a podcast. But, um, I, I've been blessed, uh, with a skillset that I want to use for the glory of God.

45:45

And, uh, one of the things that I'm really tossing around there is having conversations that we're really not hearing, like based on specific topics, um, and trying to almost like broker conversations, uh, that we desperately need, whether in, uh, the face circles, uh, political realm, sports and like everything in between.

46:09

Uh, there's, there's plenty of times too, where, you know, I see things like, uh, there's such a huge Catholic influence within conservatism.

46:19

How can we have a legit conversation with some prominent people to make sure here is the truth, not a debate, uh, but let's dive into these, um, kind of things.

46:31

Uh, there's aspects of like providing an outlet for hopefully, you know, like athletes or other prominent sports broadcasters to say like,

46:40

Hey, you covered a few of these little things in tweets online. Um, but let's have a full on good conversation about, um, something you've been afraid to share, uh, since working in broadcast sports media.

46:58

Um, so I'm tossing that around a little bit and it's probably, it would be something that would be like once a month.

47:04

Uh, but you know, there's, there's constant, especially to when we, I even think of something like, uh, the

47:11

Christian nationalism conversation. So how can we, if certain prominent figures are not going to sit down, uh, with each other, how do

47:22

I do kind of something similar to what happened with Owen? It's like, here's the questions that are, that are being asked and here's how we can get some clear answers and then allow people to speak for themselves and then run with it.

47:38

So that, that's what I'm thinking a little bit more, something that would, you know, I don't know if that turns into maybe we're doing something like this where it's virtual or I want to do something that's, you know, just fairly, fairly topical, a little bit more evergreen, but still to the point and you'll go to a specific location and set it up.

47:58

So I'm still kind of in the early stages, but I know kind of like that tweet was, I'm putting it out there. I've been talking to multiple people about on the production side and others about how to go about these things.

48:09

And I was like, this is just going to kind of keep my feet to the fire. And I know something I'm definitely thinking about more is

48:16

I was in the, the crosshairs of the chosen controversy where they had the pride flag on set and the chosen social media account, the official social media account responded to me directly.

48:29

And then I even know that like, kind of like Dallas Jenkins subtweeted me and some other posts.

48:34

And then, you know, I got called homophobic and hateful and, and a bad Christian, but season four, season four of the show is coming out.

48:42

And, you know, I think if something like there's some prominent, really prominent people that have spoken out against the chosen and maybe just provide it in a way that's just like a loving warning.

48:56

And our main focus would be like, here's some of the problems and then filter everything through scripture.

49:04

Don't go and not watch that show just because John said, so it's like, no, if, if this doesn't align biblically and what you believe that we're presenting to you convicts you enough to be like, you know what?

49:16

I, I think this is leading me down a path of, this is portraying a different Jesus.

49:22

There's aspects of Mary ology in there. There's aspects of you know, a lack of the sovereignty of God.

49:30

You can get into like the second commandment thing. I know like Votie Bachum has said that where it's like, ah,

49:36

I just can't get into it because of that specifically. Like we can have that conversation too. But I think a lot of it comes down to there's conversations that aren't happening to it.

49:46

Too many of us are talking past each other and how can it be something that is entertaining, uplifting and challenging in a way that's hopefully going to be something that people want to watch or listen to once a month.

50:03

Yeah. So what's our timeline on that? Do you have any public timeline on when you think that's going to start, uh, episodes start dropping or no?

50:12

So what I'm thinking is, yeah, it's going to be, I would imagine it's probably getting more like middle of next year.

50:19

Um, that that's probably what I would like to do. Cause I'm getting married, uh, early and thank you.

50:26

I know I found someone silly enough to say, you know what, John, you know, I'll hang out with you the rest of your part.

50:32

Uh, Sarah, Sarah's the beautiful soul. Uh, and she, she's amazing, uh, inside and out.

50:38

But I, I know with leading up to the wedding, I don't really want to, you know, buy it out more than I can do.

50:44

Yeah. It's not going to be all, we can't get married in June. That's when the first episode drops, honey. Sorry, honey.

50:49

Like I just got a massive fish. You know, I threw the line out there, honey. It's like, you know, we, we can figure this out, right?

50:56

Like let's talk to the No, I, I, I don't want to get on, um, uh, Sarah's bad side before she even says

51:03

I do. I don't want her to have to question that. Well, congratulations on that being engaged to marriage is a good thing.

51:09

Uh, finding a wife is a blessing from the Lord and we'll be watching for the podcast. Uh, make sure,

51:15

I mean, we'll be watching, uh, the Twitter X feed and stuff too. We know when it comes out, we'll make sure we promote it here too.

51:22

So people can take a listen. All right, let's put bookends on this, finish this up. Uh, you want to stick around and play 10 with us.

51:27

That's where we ask our guests, 10 fresh questions, rapid fire. They don't know what they are, but it allows you to endear yourself to the audience and the audience to get to know you a little bit more.

51:36

You want to go? I don't know why I just got so nervous, but let's party. Let's do it. Let's go. All right.

51:54

10 fresh questions with John root. Let's get going with question number one here. What city and state did you grow up in and how, how did that affect your childhood?

52:02

So I was born in Walnut Creek, California. That's in the San Francisco Bay area. And, uh, it definitely affected the way that I see the rest of the country,

52:09

I guess, when I'm stuck in a very liberalized, uh, city. Um, but I turned out okay.

52:16

Turned out. Okay. Very good. Question number two. What's your favorite funny story to tell people? Let's say you're in a social situation.

52:24

Maybe people are telling jokes or a little intro story or something to tell about yourself. What's a go -to that you go, you want to know what this one always gets up.

52:31

You got one. Yeah. Um, it's funny that, uh, I got a job with the sharks minor league hockey team.

52:40

It was their first season in San Jose there on the East coast. And then, so I got hired to be their entering a host, the first entering a host, uh, the sharks organization and had, and right before I'm going to do my first pregame hit, like the

52:55

P the places packed, like there are like over 10 ,000 people in for a minor league hockey game.

53:03

And I realized that my pen blew up in my pants.

53:09

Like it's just like your worst nightmare. So I literally have like this black hand, um, that I'm like,

53:18

I had to hold my mic with the other hand. And I was like, I'm already kind of nervous. And like,

53:24

I always tell people about that where I'm like, I am sweating way too much and I'm trying to get a crowd like pumped up.

53:32

And I'm like, I'm desperately trying to scrub it off and stuff like that. But that's one of the stories that I give people from like the hosting days.

53:38

Like that was, Oh my goodness. That was my heart saying, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to get fired on my first day.

53:45

Yeah. I didn't tell that camera man. Yeah. Blackhead. Just keep it out of frame. Cameraman. Just keep it out of frame for me.

53:51

All right. Question number three, we are in the DeLorean. The flux capacitor is fluxing. Are we going back in time to visit our great great grandfather?

53:59

Are we going forward in time to visit our great great grandson? We're going, we're going back in time.

54:06

Uh, I don't really want to know what the, what the future is like. I would actually like to see a little bit more like from my little understanding of history,

54:14

I would, I would like to go back to, to those days for sure. Okay. Back in time.

54:19

I like it. Good, good song as well too. Uh, question number four, what's something people would be surprised to know about you?

54:27

Maybe they make an assumption about you or they would be surprised just to know about you just from either interacting with you or looking at you.

54:35

Uh, probably a couple of different things. Uh, I'm an artsy guy. Uh, I actually do. I've always,

54:40

I've always liked drawing and painting. Uh, I, I used to do that a lot years ago. Uh, I used to do like custom shoes actually.

54:47

That was like a side hustle of mine. I've always, I've always enjoyed art. And then another thing too is just,

54:54

I'm actually a pretty emotional guy. So I'm like, not just in the sense of like,

54:59

Oh, I have such a zeal for Christ. And then you'll see with my content that I clearly I care, but I'm more of the kind of guy that like, if I'm watching a movie, you're probably gonna see me bawling my eyes out.

55:09

And I'm going to be like, I'm a guy that's not afraid to cry. Like I watched gardens of the galaxy, like volume three and I'm sitting there in the theater and I'm like,

55:18

I'm crying about this, uh, CGI raccoon.

55:23

And like, I, I'm just like, I'm just an emotional guy and it just hit me in the fields and I'm not afraid to show it.

55:29

Yeah. Well, uh, I noticed at a certain point after I had started having some children, anything that had to do with like the abuse of children or like, you know, taken, it really gets to you.

55:42

It got me a little sweaty in the eyes too. And you're like, when he finally like kills that guy, that's, you know, or, you know, gets the bad guy for doing stuff to kids.

55:50

You're like, Oh, thank God. It's such a relief. It's a weird thing. I mean, it was like after I had kids, I got a little, you know, like you said, hit you in the fields on some of those, uh, some of those things.

55:58

All right. Question number five, top three bands or music albums that have influenced your life the most.

56:05

They can be anything. They may be Christian, secular, be honest. What's influencing you or what are the top three bands that have influenced you or albums?

56:14

Uh, I would say that, uh, well, Jesus freak was probably like one of my favorite albums ever.

56:20

Like DC talk. That was, that was so awesome growing up. Uh, I love need to breathe, need to breathe is, is my favorite band.

56:27

I finally got to see them in person, uh, a couple of months ago. Uh, thanks to Sarah, thanks to Sarah, my fiance giving me a, getting me a ticket for that.

56:36

That was amazing. And then, I mean, I've always really enjoyed John Mayer, um, to,

56:43

I think like he's just an incredible musician. And I mean,

56:48

I've, I've gotten to see him like three times in concert now. And it's one of those where like, I, he puts on a great show and it's, it's a lot of fun.

56:57

And it's one of those I've never felt like it's ever been like a political show either. Like I no doubt,

57:03

I'd probably like disagree with aspects of his politics or something like that. But I'm like, I love that I'm able to go and enjoy someone that has an incredible voice.

57:12

And they've done so many different kinds of genres with their albums. And I go to a show and I'm like, I would recommend this to absolutely anybody.

57:19

Yeah. Phenomenal. Uh, guitar player for sure. Yep. Uh, question number six, moving right along favorite thing to do when you just want to relax, man,

57:30

I, it just, it would have to be either just watching a sports game, which also I'd have to admit might not be relaxing if I have a fantasy football player or a bet on that game.

57:40

So maybe we'll ask that. Um, I really geek out on Lord of the Rings. Um, there's an amazing, uh, either

57:48

I'll just watch the extended editions, um, which also might not be that relaxing.

57:53

Uh, I'll admit, but there's a YouTube channel called nerd of the rings. Uh, I can't remember the guy that, that does it, but Oh man,

58:00

I just geek out over things like, Oh, what if Gandalf took the ring and here's what it would've looked like.

58:06

And I'm like, I, there's been times I've just, I've had days where I'm like, I'm just going to relax and I'm going to binge watch nerd of the rings.

58:12

It's amazing. Dude. Hey, you ain't lying. No, that's good stuff. Uh, we're a Lord of the Rings family over here too.

58:18

We'll, we'll, we'll go through Hobbit then to the Lord of the rings. It'll be like a three day, uh, you know, binge, uh, fest.

58:23

All right. Question number seven. Uh, what do people misunderstand about you the most? What's something that they may assume about you or just misunderstand about maybe you, your personality or something you go?

58:34

No, that's not true. It's just kind of the, you know, kind of the reputation I have, but it's not true. Um, that's a good question.

58:43

Um, I mean, especially too, when I'm in the content creation game, there's so many times I'll share something that is so rooted in biblical truth.

58:50

Somebody is just going to call me like hateful. Um, I, I think the, um, probably the biggest misconception is probably a couple of things is probably just number one is that, uh, especially when

59:04

I've spoken on college campuses that I'm unloving that somehow when I share the truth and I believe that I'm not out there,

59:11

I'm not like a Westboro Baptist kind of person. I'm not like picketing. I'm not like beating people down with the word, but like I'm going to give the truth.

59:18

And some people will see that as, uh, unloving or, you know, just not the right way to go about things.

59:24

Um, because a lot of times people just don't like, um, being involved in conflict and I'm involved in conflict quite a bit.

59:33

So that gets people squirmy. And then probably number two on the political side, it would be, uh, people, unfortunately thinking that like I fall along with like the

59:42

Trump train, uh, and that like would say I'm on board with, but probably out of any, uh,

59:49

Christian conservative content creator, I'm probably going to be the one calling out his nonsense more than anybody, but still saying voted for the guy twice.

59:57

Um, but you know, leading into this next election, let's make sure we hold people to a biblical standard, but also knowing that like,

01:00:04

I'm not holding him to some sort of elevated Christian standard, um, that he doesn't platform that he doesn't deserve or pedestal that he doesn't deserve.

01:00:14

Yeah. No, I agree on the, on the big meanie one, because we've co -opted, you know, the, the culture has co -opted the word love to mean approval instead of truth.

01:00:21

So it's a, it's a weird thing to where if you don't absolutely approve of someone, then you don't love them, which is not true.

01:00:26

All right. Question number eight. Uh, if you could sit down for a cup of coffee with any historical figure, who would it be and why outside of Christ can't be

01:00:35

Christ. Everyone would say that maybe. So outside of that, we sit down with having a cup of coffee with for about an hour dead or alive.

01:00:43

Um, yeah. Cause, cause obviously if we're just going to go like the biblical route, it's hard to pass up, uh, someone like Paul.

01:00:51

Um, yeah. And it's a pretty popular answer. Yeah. I mean, that's, that's going to be one of the most popular answers.

01:00:57

And I think something too, it would be a lot of just, I would geek out. Like if I could have anybody like on a podcast, like to be able to like sit down, sit down with Paul and like,

01:01:07

I, I'm not going to have any real, like, Oh, here's John roots opinion. Oh my goodness.

01:01:12

Like just what I like filled with the Holy spirit, uh, and Mark martyred for Christ.

01:01:18

Like, I just can't imagine that kind of stuff. Like we can hear a lot of mean comments. Uh, but like,

01:01:23

I could never imagine what he went through, but if I didn't go biblical figure, uh, most likely be John Wooden.

01:01:29

Oh, okay. Yeah. That's good. Uh, all right. Two more question. Number nine. What's a movie you've watched multiple times

01:01:37

Lord. It doesn't necessarily have to be your favorite, but when you've watched multiple, would you say the Lord of the rings, Lord of the rings, uh, gladiator airplane, father of the ride.

01:01:47

Now those, those are, those are all in, uh, then money ball. All right. Yeah. Those are all good movies.

01:01:54

All right. Well, last one, uh, for fresh 10, what is a book outside of the Bible that everyone should just take a look at, should read, uh, and you know, take a look at and open up.

01:02:05

Uh, if it's still along the, uh, the Christian route, let me get this one and hopefully it doesn't fall.

01:02:11

Uh, mere Christianity by CS Lewis. There it is.

01:02:28

I cut you off with the outro music, but yeah, mere Christianity is almost like enough set. It's one of my favorite books. I'm so glad you pulled that.

01:02:33

But, uh, why do you like it? Well, I mean, it's one of those two that I get so humbled reading this book.

01:02:40

Like I have had to reread pages a thousand times here because I'm like, I, I don't protect or I don't see,

01:02:47

I can't even speak right. Um, I, I like to feel that I'm articulate at times, but I am not an intellectual and, uh, you know,

01:02:54

I'm going to speak to issues and hopefully be knowledgeable and credible. Um, when

01:03:00

I speak to those issues, but I read something like this and I'm like, wow, like that is just such a, um, incredible breakdown that I'm like,

01:03:10

I just don't know. Not that I'm going to try to put God in a box, but I'm like, I just don't have the ability literally to put something like that.

01:03:22

Not only to come to my head, but put that in writing in a way that people can understand.

01:03:27

And, you know, especially this on top of, um, you know, the witch and the wardrobe and you know, that, that entire series, it's just like, this guy is a genius and he was best friends with JRR Tolkien.

01:03:41

Um, so like, obviously I'm just going to like really enjoy the stuff that he, uh, puts out there. And then if I didn't choose something that, um, was on the nose,

01:03:51

Christian, uh, no other book have I read more, uh, than the toll booth.

01:03:56

It's a, it's a children's book, but, uh, people haven't heard of it. It's just the, the allegory and analogies used in that book.

01:04:05

I just like geek out on it. It's fun to just kind of get away and feel like I can read a, like a children's book and feel like, wow, this is fairly profound.

01:04:14

Awesome. Yeah. And no one really, uh, used analogies quite like CS Lewis, especially talking about faith and Christianity, things like that.

01:04:21

All right, John, we're going to link it all up, but, uh, throw it out there for the people. Where can they find you at on social media if they want to follow?

01:04:27

Yeah, I'm most active on Instagram and Twitter. Currently it's at Johnny root underscore

01:04:33

J O N N Y R O O T. I also have a YouTube channel. Uh, it's at John root jail when

01:04:38

R O O T you're mostly going to see a lot of shorts there, but I have things from like faith sports culture, a lot of different, like really hot topics, hopefully with a good biblical breakdown.

01:04:50

Yeah. Thank you so much for coming on, man. And spending some time with us, getting to know you. I really appreciate it.

01:04:56

Yeah. You're the man, bro. Thank you. Same there guys. Uh, thanks so much for listening to another episode of dead men walking podcast.

01:05:02

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01:05:08

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01:05:19

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01:05:24

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01:05:31

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