Mr. Ninety Degree Angles

Transcript

Jenny: Okay. Ready?

Mark: Ready.

Jenny: Let's do it. Hi, I'm Jenny Stockton.

Mark: I'm Mark Loyd.

Jenny: And this is the Nuggets Pod. It's the last day of February.

Mark: Yep. It's like 80 degrees outside. Yep.

Jenny: It's kind of weird. but also kind of nice.

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: It's fun to be outside.

Mark: We really haven't had a winter. I'm worried about what that means for the snowpack and the water levels for the rest of the year. But this podcast is about joy.

Jenny: Yes.

Mark: Not about drought conditions and snowpack war or other. Yeah. Dunk and Egg. Dunking and Egging it up.

Jenny: Back at it.

Mark: Yep.

Jenny: Well, except for that one game the other night. Yeah, egg. Some troubles.

Mark: Some too much hard salt beef.

Jenny: Something.

Mark: Coming out of both ends, it sounded like. Also, did you see, you probably didn't, the Avs played a few nights ago and the goalie for the other team puked on the ice, like right in front of his goal, and he had to leave the game.

Jenny: Oh no.

Mark: And then it was like the next night that Jamal Murray got sick, so I was thinking about that and glad he didn't like puke on the court.

Jenny: Yeah, what was the Avs game in Denver?

Mark: yes

Jenny: was it something like something in the air?

Mark: no, i don't think so i think he the avs had like 40 something shots and he stopped almost all of them so i think he was just exhausted it was near the end of the game [yikes] yeah but this is a nuggets podcast not an avs podcast so we'll get it back on track get the train back on the tracks

Jenny: Let's do it. The train is back on the tracks. We're here to talk about the Nuggets. So the last time we were here talking about the Nuggets was one week ago.

Mark: Yeah, it was the day before they played the Warriors.

Jenny: It was, and I very passionately proclaimed that the Nuggets were going to kill it and win that game.

Mark: They played amazing.

Jenny: And that's why I'm just a fan. That's why this is not a podcast you should use for sort of intelligent analysis.

Mark: Well, but in fairness, the Nuggets actually did lose that game that Jenny said they were going to play great in. But Steph Curry had like 50 point, wait a second, no, Steph Curry didn't play.

Jenny: It was a freaking carrot top, had 20 or something in the fourth quarter.

Mark: straight off of the Barnum and Bailey circus truck and onto the NBA court and the Nuggets could do nothing to stop him.

Jenny: Yeah, what happened?

Mark: I don't know.

Jenny: It's just that's what they do on those weekend matinee games. They just can't do it.

Mark: That's my memory. I'd love to see the stats, but I just feel like for years they have never played well in those weekend early games. And that was just another one. But keeping it positive, they've only played twice since then. They played the Celtics at home and won by a lot. They lost in overtime at OKC last night, but they played much better defense in the Boston and Oklahoma City game, so maybe the Golden State game was a wake-up call that, hey, we're getting closer to the end of the season. Our defense recently has been pathetic. We need to actually start trying on that end, because the last two games, their defense has been way better. So, we'll see if that keeps being the case. But maybe that was a positive that came out of the Golden State game.

Jenny: That it was a wake-up call.

Mark: Hopefully.

Jenny: Bruce said after the Celtics game that when they play like that, they're the best team in the league or they can beat anybody or something to that. To that, what is the word I'm looking for?

Mark: Effect.

Jenny: Something to that effect. Thank you. And I, same, like I think he, I think he's right. That game, they just looked so good.

Mark: they did yeah that was like them at their best oh my goodness okay yeah and i think last night's game as frustrating as it was at times is just more support for that position. Like, OKC is the defending champs. They were at home. They got SGA back. The Nuggets didn't even play that well, I didn't think. had another clutch time lead and very easily could have won that game. So yeah, it was like so many of those games this season where they look good at times and then like not that good at times and then they find a way to blow it at the end. But I think they have showed enough to where that idea of like when they're at their best they can beat anybody is still true.

Jenny: Yes, I agree. And we haven't seen them with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson in so long. So I think... The hope is that when each of those players comes back, they will be ready and able to contribute big time. I noticed during the playoffs, the year that they won the championship, I may have pointed this out to you at some point. When I picture Aaron Gordon getting in his defensive stance, it's just, like, 90-degree angles. Like, from his back to his hips to his knees. And it just is, like, really fun to watch. Like, I realized when I was paying attention to how he plays, like, oh, dang, he's just... as a big person, and he is getting low, and he is moving fast. So hopefully that's how he's looking when he comes back.

Mark: Yeah, when he's healthy and guarding the right type of player, he is really fun to watch on defense because of that. He's quick and strong, and guys try to be physical with him, and he just shuts them down. He's supposed to be coming back soon, is the word on the street. Any day now, maybe.

Jenny: Fingers crossed.

Mark: Yeah. Fingers double crossed that he can stay healthy when he comes back.

Jenny: Yep.

Mark: That's my biggest question.

Jenny: Yeah. Hopefully he's prioritizing his mental health in the meantime.

Mark: Oh, you know, he is. I see that ad on his meditation. Yeah.

Jenny: What's his, what's the ad?

Mark: It's for that thing.

Jenny: The meditation?

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: Oh, I didn't, I've never seen an ad.

Mark: Yeah. It's on all over the internet.

Jenny: Oh. Wow. Okay. Good for him. Bless his heart.

Mark: I don't think he's paying for the ads, but it's his picture on there.

Jenny: Is it like for UC Health?

Mark: Yeah. It's that same one of him like cross-legged or whatever. Big grin on his face.

Jenny: I thought you got the email. I got the email, but that's not an ad. I'm a UC Health patient.

Mark: I think the picture was in there. Is this interesting content?

Jenny: My doctor works at UC Health.

Mark: on the UC Health nuggets collaboration emails and the technical specifics.

Jenny: Do they count as ads? Yes or no? Sound off in the comments.

Mark: What kind of camera did they shoot Aaron Gordon with in that photo?

Jenny: Oh man, he's the best. I love him. And I hope he's doing well. And I hope we get to see him play defense with all of his 90 degree angles.

Mark: Yeah, me too. Yeah.

Jenny: Julian Strother. against Boston, brought it. I was so proud of him because I feel like every game I've really paid attention to him up until then, he's just looked sort of like one of those inflatable like gas station guys, like that he just was never like solid in his feet.

Mark: The hair really plays into that, that floppy hair, like makes his whole body look floppier.

Jenny: And he's quick. So, I mean, which is a good thing. But I feel like that game, like he turned a corner in that game and I watched him like absorb a couple of like hits. And then I think the very end of the game, he had like an offense, like he screened somebody and got called for an offensive foul. I was like cheering for him.

Mark: Like, yes, Julian, get him. One thing, he's had games like that off and on since like, The Nuggets started having all those injuries. Like sometimes like last night he didn't really do much and there are other games where he's kind of invisible, but then yeah, he'll have games like that Boston one and The thing that stood out to me the most is like, he's a really good rebounder when he's engaged and when he's like playing well, which you wouldn't think of the, you know, like, because of the floppiness and stuff. The fact that he's not that big or strong, but he just, it's like he knows how to position himself and he times his jumps well. And he doesn't, he's like, he catches the ball, not like some former nuggets or one current nugget in particular. Nuggets fans know who I'm talking about.

Jenny: Shall not be named.

Mark: Keeping it positive. We don't need to call anybody out for bad stuff. It's fine.

Jenny: Yeah. But are you going to say who it is?

Mark: No! If you know, you know.

Jenny: I think I know.

Mark: Yeah, I think you do. I think I've texted you about this guy.

Jenny: Yep.

Mark: Probably.

Jenny: It's not Julian.

Mark: He's got vice-like grip. This happened last night.

Jenny: Oh, it did. It surely did.

Mark: We're looking at a picture of the most crazed, lunatic, Nicola Jokic face I've ever seen.

Jenny: Like anger?

Mark: After he got sheep shotted by Lou Dort, who then was like, Oh, what? I didn't do anything. What? He just ran into me. What's the whistle for? Come on, ref. Let us play, man. This is OKC. We're down home country folk in this arena. There's nothing but a little tussle between gents. Jokic did not agree, and rightly so. He should have been mad about that. But yeah, then he and Jalen Williams got tangled up, and Jokic, look, he has a spirit inside of him.

Jenny: I feel like the combo of his crazy eyes and the mouth guard in his teeth, too, just Who knows what he was saying, but I was like that is That I would be so scared if I was Jalen Williams right now. Yeah He is angry and that he is a big dude.

Mark: yeah, I have a question for you. So obviously during an NBA game Jokic isn't gonna like actually try to kill anybody

Jenny: correct

Mark: So we're looking at this picture and just try to think about it outside of that context, but in the context of if you were asleep in bed in the middle of the night and you woke up and you saw this face looming over you, what would be scarier? Would it be this Jokic face or would it be Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Do you remember this? This terrified me as a kid. And the fact that it's Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future just threw my world out of tilt or on tilt.

Jenny: How old were you?

Mark: I don't know. It came out like 88, 89.

Jenny: You were probably too little to watch that movie.

Mark: or jack nicholson from the shining another famous scary that one is scary

Jenny: but i feel like it's more ubiquitous i feel like the Jokic one was particularly scary because it's Like that was so out of character. I've never seen that before.

Mark: I've watched Jokic for however long, a decade plus now, and seen, I thought, every iteration of a face he could make, and that one was unique by a magnitude of 10. This one too, his teeth are too nice. That's not really a scary guy.

Jenny: That's a Hollywood scary.

Mark: Yeah. Even back, when was this? Like 1980?

Jenny: Probably.

Mark: He had a good orthodontist.

Jenny: Yeah.

Mark: I just had one more.

Jenny: I wonder if those are all his real teeth. You know, some of those could be.

Mark: Maybe two more. Let's just do one more.

Jenny: Okay.

Mark: What about that one? Terrifying, right?

Jenny: That one is scary. Oh, man. And that It is a photo of what?

Mark: Don't say it's a photo of an unnamed person who is personally known to us. Yes. And maybe the scariest of all of those options.

Jenny: Yep. And I there is a whole backstory to that facial expression that I will tell you not on the podcast because It might have been a similar stirring inside.

Mark: I believe it because when I was thinking about this, what I really wanted to find was a picture of somebody trying to wake you up.

Jenny: It's never happened and it never will.

Mark: No, I would advise against that.

Jenny: If you tried to get into that situation with a camera, you would likely be injured in the process.

Mark: Your camera would be dust.

Jenny: Don't do it. Don't try it.

Mark: I have learned that lesson. Yes.

Jenny: Something that stood out to me was that after that whole thing, like how the game started off, which I didn't see because I just learned how to use the ESPN app.

Mark: I thought you said you weren't going to talk about this.

Jenny: In the second quarter of the game. Shout out to our other brother. a child who lives in my house for teaching me how technology works. But the Shai tech that got called, just sounded like the whole thing started kind of wild. This felt like, okay, it's like, You know, Dort's gone now, like, we gotta just play. Friggin' Hartenstein just clocks Jamal Murray in the face.

Mark: That one seemed like it was accidental, but still hurt, I'm sure.

Jenny: Yeah. He's like, he's still sick.

Mark: Little egg

Jenny: out here just trying to do his best. Come on. And then he hit those three threes at the very end, just on the run. And it was so nice to have those a little earlier there, buddy. Come on, egg. Yeah, I just I don't know, I felt My stomach hurt actually for most of that game because I was just, I was like feeling upset and defensive of the Nuggets and just annoyed. But then I was thinking about our podcast and I was like, what am I even going to say about this? That's going to be positive.

Mark: They were right there.

Jenny: Freaking Christian Braun. tie score. Six seconds left on the clock or something like that and he moved his body like the star that we know he is and he stayed this close to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and did not let him get his shot. And then he did it. He tried to shoot it anyway. And Christian Braun's hand was like a freaking blade just in between SGA's hands, hit the ball. Oh my gosh. I'm like, okay, Christian Braun's back. We got Christian, he's back. He's in it. He's, oh my gosh.

Mark: That was like the play of the game. And then they got a wide open three that would have probably won it right after that. [existential scream] Oh, what could have been?

Jenny: It was a heartbreaker.

Mark: It feels like, man, if they had won that game, if that Cam Johnson shot had gone in, then that Christian Braun play would have been remembered by more people than it will be now. But since they lost, it's going to get forgotten. But man, yeah, that was a great play. I don't ever remember any, at least anybody on the Nuggets ever blocking Shai like that, like just going right up with him and just completely stuffing the ball before it even got out of his hand.

Jenny: Yeah.

Mark: Yeah, that was awesome.

Jenny: It was really impressive and fun to see and it reminded me that that's like one of the, I feel like one of the things I love most about watching Christian Braun is that This feels maybe a little silly, but I feel like his mom has like partly made him who he is as a basketball player. I feel like if you grow up with a mom who's like, she was a really good basketball player, like you're going to learn things about being a good basketball player from the day that you're born. And I just feel like all of those little kind of intangible things that are Maybe you learn them somewhere along the way or not, and you get good enough without them if you are talented in other ways. I just feel like all of those little details to his game just make him so much fun to watch.

Mark: Shout out moms.

Jenny: Come on It's true and I think he I mean it's not a secret but like he loves his mom and they talk a lot and she'd like gives him feedback. So great shout out to Christian Braun and to his mom.

Mark: Do you think she was involved in his decision to cut his hair before this year?

Jenny: I don't know

Mark: You said that like you were disappointed. You like his old hair?

Jenny: Yes, I like the old hair better. So I think probably not. I don't know. I can't imagine a mom Suggesting the haircut he has currently.

Mark: You can or cannot?

Jenny: Cannot. Just a buzz cut? I don't think he looks as nice. Which maybe is the point, maybe he's trying to look more menacing.

Mark: Yeah, I think so. Plus the beard.

Jenny: Part of it. Yeah, maybe that's, okay. I bet you're right.

Mark: His mom probably didn't like it. Yeah. She doesn't want him to be tough.

Jenny: I would love to talk to her, Christian Braun's mom, if you want to chat, let me know.

Mark: Send us an email.

Jenny: We're interested in your thoughts about his hair.

Mark: We can talk about other stuff too, but if you just want to talk about his haircuts over the years, we're up for it.

Jenny: We're up for it. I'm going to right now. make another proclamation. Anytime somebody brings up this game to me and this Lou Dort nonsense, I'm going to make sure that I also remind them about this Christian Braun Block at the very end of the game just to balance the scales.

Mark: Keep the memory alive. It was a great play.

Jenny: It was awesome. Awesome. Yeah. Nuggets play again at 1:30 tomorrow, Sunday, this time in Denver.

Mark: Timberwolves, they're now tied with Minnesota for fourth in the West. So it's a big one. Big game. I'm sure. Well, I'm not sure, but I would imagine it'll be another tough, close one like last night was.

Jenny: You think Aaron Gordon's coming back tomorrow?

Mark: I don't know. I've just heard that he's very close.

Jenny: Yeah, so it'd be fun if he did.

Mark: It'd be a fitting moment. And then they play at Utah. Yes, on Monday. So it would maybe I don't know, one of those two games, but definitely. Not both. I hope he doesn't play any more back-to-backs ever, like ever in his life.

Jenny: Yeah.

Mark: Sit one of them out.

Jenny: Yep.

Mark: It's fine.

Jenny: And just take care of yourself, because that is more important than winning. That's what I believe, anyway. And I'm not betting on his performance, so I think he should prioritize himself and his well-being.

Mark: Me too. That's my opinion. Speaking of Utah, though.

Jenny: Yeah. I've been there. I went there. Is that what you're leading me to talk about?

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: I went to a Nuggets game in Salt Lake City in April of 2023. And it was a blast.

Mark: Title season.

Jenny: Title season, yeah, like that. Just mere months before we were at a Nuggets championship parade in downtown Denver.

Mark: Yep.

Jenny: And I'm going to tell you the story, but I'm going to lead into it with telling you about the very first Nuggets game I ever remember going to. And this is actually kind of fun because The day that we're recording this is the last day of February, which means tomorrow is the first day of Women's History Month. And I know this podcast is about the nuggets and positivity, and I'm not trying to be a tone deaf lady in the United States these days because that's dumb. There's a lot going on. and I'm going to just acknowledge some stuff about what it's like to be a woman and a Nuggets fan. So 1994, we went to game six of the Western Conference semi-finals at McNichols Arena.

Mark: That's right.

Jenny: You and our dad went and stood in line at McNichols Arena to buy the tickets.

Mark: Yeah, this was the year of the famous 8 over 1 upset when the Nuggets beat the Sonics. First time it had ever happened in the NBA. Dikembe Mutombo laying on the floor with the ball. above his head yeah so it was like the next day that tickets went on sale for the next round the conference semi-finals against the jazz and we went and stood in line for hours. By the time we got up to the ticket window this was 94 so this is like ancient times for all the Kids listening. There were no apps. We had to stand in line. Yeah, for hours. And by the time we finally got up to the window, so it was a seven game series. First two games in Utah. Next two in Denver, game five in Utah, game six in Denver, game seven back in Utah. The only tickets available by the time we got up to the window were for game six. And we were like, man, like, are they even gonna make it to game six? But we decided we waited that long. We'll go ahead and buy them. We'll figure out getting refunded if the series ends before the sixth game. And we got them. got them yeah and then how many of us then jazz got up three games to zero and we were like well guess we're not going to get to use these game six tickets the refund is easy Yeah, and against all odds, the eighth seeded Nuggets came back and won game four in Denver, and then they went on the road and won game five in Utah. I remember listening to that game on the radio, because I don't think it was televised or something. Yeah, I think it was that game. Anyway, maybe I just preferred the radio. But yeah, so then we actually got to go to game six. It was incredible.

Jenny: It was like, yeah. It was a really big deal, I remember, that it was like... you and our dad going and waiting and then getting the tickets and then, oh man, the game is actually gonna happen. Do you remember who all was there? You have the ticket?

Mark: Yes, I have the ticket stub right here.

Jenny: Okay, this will be the reason that I start us a Nuggets Pod Instagram account just so we can share this with the world. Wow, Mark, that's so cool. Corner balcony.

Mark: We were way up top.

Jenny: Way up there. $19.

Mark: That's crazy.

Jenny: Dang.

Mark: Man.

Jenny: Wow. Thursday, May 19 1994. Awesome time TBA. Do you remember who all was there?

Mark: I think it was like all of us.

Jenny: both of our parents.

Mark: Yeah. Maybe not Justin. Did somebody watch Justin? It would have been little.

Jenny: Not even one.

Mark: No.

Jenny: It was like six months old. So he probably stayed with a babysitter or something.

Mark: Probably.

Jenny: We'll have to check. This would be a great time to point out. We actually have three other siblings. Shout out to you guys.

Mark: Holler.

Jenny: Two other sisters and a baby brother. So probably our two other sisters were there. Guys, confirm if you remember.

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: We'd love to know. My main memory of that game is that I have two things. I told a teacher at school that day that I was probably going to be late to school the next day because of the game, because I was like, I'm going to the nuggets game with my family. So like, I'm probably coming to school late tomorrow.

Mark: And I remember so hungover.

Jenny: It's going to be a late night. So probably because one of our parents had said something like that. Like, I don't think I would have thought about that on my own. I don't know. I was in seventh grade. And I just remember the teacher having this like judgmental sort of like, well, that's not a good reason to be late to school kind of response. And I'm like, oh, is she right? Should I be concerned? Anyway, then we go to the game. And it was the first, I think it was maybe the first like live sporting event I had ever been to outside of like your basketball games or my own basketball games. It was definitely the first professional thing.

Mark: The Aurora Parks and Rec games were same energy.

Jenny: They were where I learned about basketball though because dad tapped me to be the scorekeeper. So I had to learn like really quickly

Mark: about your glasses.

Jenny: I did have glasses. I still wear glasses. Jerk.

Mark: I just got like a mental image of you at the scorer's table with your short hair and glasses that I had not thought about in a long time.

Jenny: Yeah, that was me.

Mark: A wave of nostalgia.

Jenny: Yeah, I think before that, I sort of knew how basketball worked, but I didn't know how to keep track of all the different stats. But I learned and I learned really quickly. And then it was watching basketball was even more fun because I knew more about what was going on. So we go to this game, Nuggets Jazz. We're way up high. But there was at least one row of people sitting behind us. They had put those little plastic Pom-pom shakers that was like a plastic tab and then like a bunch of like streamer plastic streamer pieces out the end On every seat. So everybody had one of these things we were yelling We were so excited that the game was even happening. I Remember as I was probably 12 years old was I 12 in May of 94?

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: Yeah 12 years old And I just remember feeling so excited that I couldn't contain myself in my physical body. I just had to be jumping and yelling and shaking this pom-pom. and the game was happening and it was like really exciting. I don't really remember much about what actually happened in the game. Did they win that one?

Mark: It was super close, yeah. They won. I have the box score pulled up. 94-91.

Jenny: Oh, dang!

Mark: So, yeah, that sent it to game seven in Utah, which they ended up losing. But, yeah, it was thrilling being at that game. It was, yeah, like, I'll never forget it. It was so fun.

Jenny: It was electrifying.

Mark: Guess how many three-point field goals the Nuggets attempted in that game?

Jenny: Seven

Mark: six really they were two for six Yeah, and they had Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf only shot two. Wow Times have changed.

Jenny: It was a different time.

Mark: Yeah,

Jenny: dang. That's funny Wow, okay Um, so then alright, so I'm still Cheering. I'm cheering. I'm cheering. I'm moving. I'm like shaking my pom-pom. My hands are like above my head I'm dancing around like just like reveling in this moment of, I am a Nuggets fan. And then this lady behind us says something about how I'm like annoying her with my enthusiasm. And maybe because I like, maybe I accidentally hit her with my pom-pom at some point. I don't know. I was 12. I didn't, I wasn't super spatially aware. But she was cranky about it and kind of rude. And it just shut me down. It was like, oh no. You're taking up too much space. You're being too noisy. Someone else is bothered by your presence here. And what happened was that our parents just switched seats with me. So mom switched and I went further away from that lady. But then I was just, like, kind of defeated for the rest of the game. Like, oh, I shouldn't be who I actually am in this moment because I might, like, upset somebody.

Mark: Yeah. Joke's on that lady because I remember Mom was just ripping farts that night. No, I was just kidding.

Jenny: Oh, man. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I don't know how you be at a game like that and be like cranky.

Mark: Yeah, about people being excited. Maybe she was a jazz fan.

Jenny: I don't know. But it was I definitely was it was a bummer. And it stands out for me as an experience. Cut to: You know, I live my whole life as a girl and feeling like don't ever, you know, don't take up too much space. Don't be too noisy. All these messages that girls hear from various places in the culture and wherever.

Mark: The patriarchy.

Jenny: Yes. And then I have... I have two kids and I start to learn like, oh, I'm, I am actually like extremely powerful and strong and capable. And not that having kids was, is like the only way to learn that about yourself, but it was a way for me that I came to really realize like, oh, I've, I've capitulated in some places and some parts of my life in some ways because of being a girl and I found myself outside of Ball Arena at the will call like ticket office in 2019. Alone. And my two little kids were little little at that time because one of our sisters had an extra ticket and was like come meet me at the game.

Mark: OK.

Jenny: And I just stood outside alone for maybe the first time in four years. And I was just like breathing and noticing how the Denver night air felt around me. And I was like, oh, I'm going to a Nuggets game. I love going to Nuggets games. Like, this is awesome. I get to do this. And I went, met our sister, whatever, and we were leaving. It was dark out because it was late at night. And it like hit me that I I'm very rarely outside of my home when it's dark outside.

Mark: So we walked out of the area and I was like, I love being out at night.

Jenny: She was like, are you serious right now? I'm like, I just haven't done this in so long. Thank the nuggets that I get to come just have an experience like this. I don't remember anything else about that game, but it

Mark: was like just the night air.

Jenny: Just yeah. Like, oh, OK. I get to I get to be a Nuggets fan. Like I'm a mom now and I'm learning stuff about myself, but I also get to still be a Nuggets fan. Cut to: 2023 I had not been on an airplane since for probably four years, maybe five years, like pre-COVID. I don't love getting on an airplane because I get really nervous about the whole idea of like putting my life in someone else's hands and being 30,000 feet in the air. But I put my name and email address in a form on Twitter. And the Nuggets gave me a trip to see them play in Salt Lake City. It was the weekend, it was the Saturday before Easter of that year. And I just had entered this contest and this lady called me and was like, you won the Toyota blah blah blah giveaway. And I was like, is this real? I don't know if I believe you. Really? She was like, tell me your email address and send me your known traveler number, whatever information she needed. And she was like, okay, I'm going to email you the itinerary for your flights and hotel information and all this. And I was like, okay. I just didn't believe it. But then I got her email and it was like, you and one other person are going to Salt Lake City in a couple of weekends and you're going to see the Nuggets play. And so we went, me and Dann went, and it was like the best possible like re-entry to air travel because it's a 90 minute flight or something like that. And then we just like bopped around Salt Lake City for a night and had a great time being out at nighttime. Night air in Salt Lake is nice also.

Mark: Salt Lake is beautiful.

Jenny: It is really pretty.

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: Like our mountains are majestic and theirs are just in a different way, kind of the same.

Mark: Yeah, they're so close to the city.

Jenny: They're so close and they kind of wrap around. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun being there outside of being at the Nuggets game. But then the next day we get to go to the game and I was like, so jazzed, like I can't.

Mark: Jazzed.

Jenny: I was wearing my Nuggets sweatshirt, Dann had his Nuggets t-shirt on, and then we went and ate lunch, and then we were getting closer to the arena, and I was like, oh no, we're going into the other team's arena as Nuggets fans. I've definitely never done something like this before. What? Maybe when CU played against K-State when I was in college and like drove to a football game out there, that would have been the only time.

Mark: Yeah, I could imagine that kind of like dawning on you as you're getting close and like just seeing hundreds, thousands of people in jazz stuff. You're like uhhh...

Jenny: Like anyone that looked at me, I was like, are they clocking me? Making note of my nuggets. On the mean streets of SLC.

Mark: About to get shanked.

Jenny: Yes, it was a different, it was just an experience I hadn't had. And We got inside, found our seats, whatever, and there were a couple of moments that really stood out. And I have since recognized like, oh yeah, like this, it was like a whole redemption arc from that moment at the game in '94 because The Nuggets started off, like it did not start well. The Jazz got out to an early lead and the Nuggets were kind of looked out of sorts. I think it was also like a midday game.

Mark: Like late in the season.

Jenny: Yes. We were unsure if any of the starters would even play because they were so close to the end and they had already maybe clinched the number one seed, I don't remember. But they did, like all five starters started. They did okay. And before we left for this trip, our kids had asked me to try to get on the Jumbotron, if I could. So I was like, okay, if the opportunity comes, I'm gonna do everything in my power to fulfill this request of my kids. And we were sitting in the lower level of seats. So I was like, if it's gonna happen, this is gonna be where it happens. I found myself at first feeling timid about being in the arena in my Nuggets sweatshirt. And then I watched Aaron Gordon, Mr. 90 degree angles, shoot free throws.

Mark: I can't believe that nickname hasn't caught on.

Jenny: Mr. 90 degree angles?

Mark: just rolls off the tongue.

Jenny: Come on, get Mr. 90 degree angles. Bring it. Tell your friends, everybody. He goes to the free throw line. He shoots and like just misses the first free throw. But then it showed him on the big screen and you could see him visibly like take a big deep breath. Take a beat and then sink the second one. And I was like, I just had to do that. Like, just take a big deep breath and settle in. And from that moment, I was like, yelling and jumping and like dancing around. The people around me seemed unfazed, like very Utah, you know, we're chill here kind of kind of vibe are all around me. And so I just like went with it. I was just crazy. And then the Jumbotron camera came to like the people in front of us. They were like in front and a few seats over to the side. Yeah. And Dann was like, They're like, get in the shot. So I was like dancing and like trying to lean into the, get on the jumbotron. And I did like the, like a slice of the screen on the very edge. And he snapped a picture that you can see it's like the side of my face. And then at one point it was quiet. And I don't remember why maybe the Jazz were shooting free throws, but I just yelled, let's go. It's like as loud as I could. And Dann was like, I'm pretty sure Christian Braun heard you. Like, I think he just heard you and I saw him like chuckle in response to you. And I was like, that's right. And so I just, yeah, like I left that game feeling like I just had had this whole, this whole experience, this whole ride of like being a fan of this team has, you know, Helped me learn some things about myself. Yeah, and specifically as a person with a girl body living in the United States these days like man, there's some freedom and just getting like be who you are and that is what happened at that game and I feel like I've heard Jamal Murray say a couple times this season that when He's playing free He's playing his best like when he's some of his best games. He has said afterwards like I'm just playing free. Yeah, and I think There's just I don't know. There's so much truth In that sentiment. Yeah, I think all of us and everything we do.

Mark: Yeah, you can get way far into your own head when you start thinking about stuff and yeah, I think Generally across the board. It's true that if you can let that stuff go and kind of be free and just Trust I don't know trust yourself.

Jenny: Yeah, trust your guts.

Mark: Do what you know --

Jenny: Dance around, yell, just be loose and do you thing!

Mark: yeah!

Jenny: That's our advice.

Mark: It's great Fun times with the nuggets so many memories so many good ones life lessons full circle from [bleep] that in '94

Jenny: you said it.

Mark: trying to hold you down

Jenny: yeah. Thanks nuggets great thanks for the mem's. What else you got any more nuggets thoughts you want to do a rec?

Mark: yeah I did come with a rec. yeah go for it you want me to go first sure i don't know if you know about this i ate it for lunch yesterday have you had pizza It's good.

Jenny: P-I-Z-Z-A, you say?

Mark: Yes, yeah. It's like Italian.

Jenny: I made it for lunch today.

Mark: I think it's like stereotypically Italian, but it's not pasta.

Jenny: Right.

Mark: It has like bread-ish stuff on the bottom.

Jenny: Yeah. Bread-ish stuff.

Mark: Sometimes it's like, well, it's not really bread. It's not like sandwich bread, but it's like...

Jenny: It's called a crust.

Mark: Yeah. Sometimes it's thin, but it can get up to like an inch thick.

Jenny: I'm flipping Mark off right now.

Mark: They put sauce and toppings.

Jenny: What kind of pizza did you eat for lunch yesterday? Cheese. Where was it from?

Mark: Lubos.

Jenny: Okay, so you would recommend Lubos?

Mark: Well, I love all pizza except Domino's is not my favorite, and our brother loves Domino's.

Jenny: I know. Well, Domino's has decent gluten-free pizza, so I also will eat it when I want a pizza sometimes.

Mark: I would just say pizza is good. If you haven't had it, check it out.

Jenny: If you haven't had pizza, check it out. And if you don't like pizza...

Mark: You suck.

Jenny: You might be Gregory from Abbott Elementary.

Mark: Yeah, he sucks.

Jenny: It's weird.

Mark: What about you?

Jenny: Okay, cool. Pizza. I do love pizza. I did actually. And I hope that you don't know about it because I want to be able to introduce you to something.

Mark: Okay.

Jenny: Coke. Pizza and Coke. Just kidding. Not Coca-Cola.

Mark: Oh, that is a classic combo. I had Coke with my pizza yesterday.

Jenny: That's not actually my rec. My rec is a musician named Indigo De Souza. Have you heard of her?

Mark: I have.

Jenny: You have? Dang it. I was hoping to introduce you to something new.

Mark: I don't know a ton of her songs. There's like one song that's in my head right now. [humming] Have you heard that one?

Jenny: Probably. I look it up and play it for me. She is an artist I discovered during COVID. I feel like I read about her on NPR kind of out of the blue one day and then I looked up her album and then I have listened to every one of her albums since then on repeat when I am doing yard work in the summers.

Mark: Wow, okay. Yeah, I definitely have not listened to probably even one whole album of hers. Probably just a handful of songs, but the ones I've heard, I've liked a lot.

Jenny: Well, in honor of Women's History Month, which, as I said, starts tomorrow, let me tell you that her evolution on these albums from the first one I heard in 2020 or 2021 to her most recent one that came out last year is like, it has totally paralleled my My journey as a lady and it's so it's like super fun for me just because i'm like, oh man, she's What she's writing and singing about feels so relatable to me. Okay, and she is coming to denver monday march 16th She plays at the gothic theater.

Mark: Oh, man.

Jenny: So her newest album is called Precipice.

Mark: Okay

Jenny: it's probably my favorite one. It's a very good I don't think there's a bad song on it, but the same goes for I think all of her albums that i've heard which maybe only excludes like the oldest one

Mark: hold you is the song I'm thinking of okay I have four of her songs on this playlist

Jenny: do you know which album it's from?

Mark: "Any Shape You Take"

Jenny: Okay. You know that one of the older ones. So I I probably recognize the song if I heard it. Yeah, cool. Yeah, she's awesome Yeah, if you haven't listened to Indigo De Souza, start now! Check her out. Yeah, and if you have nothing else to do on Monday, March 16th, get a ticket and go see her play live at the Gothic

Mark: You don't have to stand in line in person at the ticket window.

Jenny: Nope.

Mark: You don't use your phone technology to get a ticket.

Jenny: You also don't have to put up with rude cranky people if they give you a hard time when you're at a show at the gothic. You can just walk away from them.

Mark: Yep.

Jenny: And just keep doing your thing.

Mark: Yeah.

Jenny: Yeah. That's what's great about the way it is.

Mark: Couldn't have said it better myself.

Jenny: Awesome.

Mark: Well. That concludes hour two of 5,000. We're on track.

Jenny: Next year, we're gonna talk about you and me both winning the lottery separately. That's what we're gonna talk about.

Mark: Yeah, it's gonna be great.

Jenny: It's coming.

Mark: We can get season tickets to the Nuggets.

Jenny: Perfect, I can't wait. Go Nuggets!

Mark: Yeah!

Jenny: Bye.

Mark: Bye.