House of Strauss

Hey good people! Our friends at Substack see potential in these cult classic House of Glass episodes and wanted to gauge the response from a more regular airing of them (in which we include video of our lovely faces). We’re going to be doing these shows biweekly at Tuesday 10 AM PST/1pm EST. Next time we’ll be doing a live version where we take some questions.
But today, we’ve got a great one for you. The main anchoring topic: Have we reached the “top” for the NFL and sports league business? Ryan Glasspiegel and I discuss topics that include but aren’t limited to:
* Is the NFL’s international expansion really about growing the game — or collecting billions in expansion fees?
* Are American sports leagues taking their loyal domestic fans for granted while chasing the “undecided whale” overseas?
* Why are ancient pocket passers suddenly walking off the couch and outperforming younger, more athletic quarterbacks?
* What Case Keenum’s resurrection says about the current state of NFL quarterback play.
* Did Ryan Glasspiegel actually predict the Patriots’ collapse because Drake Maye went on too many vacations?
* Could Mike Vrabel’s very public offseason embarrassment actually be affecting the Patriots on the field?
* The cable bundle is dying, local sports rights have collapsed — could national NFL and NBA TV money be next?
* The Sacramento Kings hot-mic scandal: normal private workplace chatter, outrageous double standard, or both?
* Mike Tomlin is doing something NFL coaches almost never do: publicly calling another coach’s game management “negligent.”
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Andrew Sharp came out heavy against the influx of indoor NFL stadiums. He writes:
Modern capitalism has been an object of considerable public debate over the past 10 years, and while I’m not particularly inclined to join our ongoing conversation about the historic merits or contemporary failings of Western markets, I will say this: we are building too many football stadiums with roofs.
I disagree with Andrew, but have my own modern NFL gripe: Too many international games. And so we discuss these topics but also the following:
* Morgan Wallen vs. the cultural gatekeepers.
* The 49ers’ cursed substation is gaining normie believers
* Andrew wants the NFL to stop building domes; Ethan wants a roof on Levi’s.
* Are we falsely romanticizing terrible weather games?
* Has the NFL’s global experiment actually worked?
* “Fracking the pie”: Can the NFL dilute its own product forever?
* Why watching football on Netflix feels wrong.
* The modern NFL is becoming a Starbucks.
* Should the Washington Redskins come back?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

The Glass Man is here with a lot of thoughts on the state of NFL television! We also discuss whether a group I’m calling “the sports libs” are gaining in the broader sports culture war. Topics include but aren’t limited to…
* Is ESPN preparing to break up Joe Buck and Troy Aikman?
* Why Troy Aikman might be the best analyst in sports
* Who could replace Aikman in ESPN’s top booth?
* Why NFL announcers matter more than the ratings suggest
* Does Jerry Jones still wield major influence over NFL television?
* Why networks seemingly can’t quit the NFC East
* Chris Simms’ viral rant and ESPN’s financial interest in fixing college football’s chaos
* Disney, the FCC, and the politics hovering over ESPN
* Has Pat McAfee actually improved College GameDay?
* The massive disconnect between GameDay’s critics and its ratings
* Are “the sports libs” making a comeback?
* Have America’s football fans reached Kelce-family saturation?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

We’re happy to have Freddie deBoer on to discuss a mutual obsession: The modern NFL. He’s got some issues, as do I, with how the league is covered by presumptive high priests of football analysis. Topics! Include!
* Is the NFL destroying its greatest advantage: scarcity?
* The NFL analyst class has a problem admitting, “We don’t know”
* Why social media has made every quarter…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.houseofstrauss.com

What a discussion we have for all of you. Topics! Include!
* Why the Clippers’ salary-cap cheating felt like a “victimless crime” only because they failed
* Wos argues the 2019–20 Clippers really were the NBA’s obvious championship favorite
* Was Steve Ballmer’s Clippers tenure actually a massive failure?
* Why today’s sports world increasingly operates on “what can I get away with?”
* Lane Kiffin and college football cheating
* The Patriots’ alleged optical-illusion field-goal trick: clever gamesmanship or just cheating?
* How media relationships — not necessarily money — can buy an NBA owner favorable coverage
* Nike’s collapse: Wos argues the company sacrificed its brand to please Wall Street
* Why Sydney Sweeney has cracked the code for selling sex in an increasingly sexless culture
* Why Sydney Sweeney can seemingly never reach the point of cultural overexposure
* The class politics behind the backlash to LeBron James’ Polymarket ad
* Wos’ friends thought the NBC broadcast was going to bring up Dianna Russini
* Sex, sports media and the fiction that reporters and athletes never become attracted to each other
* How much face has Mike Vrabel lost?