Part 2:
Really, the picture (courtesy of the NFL) says it all for Rich Eisen. I mean, the guy is getting paid to talk football with Olivia Munn!
And Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Adam Sandler, Larry David, “The Most Interesting Man in the World” guy, etc…
Eisen casually mentions that he is in a fantasy football league with Jeff Garlin, as if we’re all in a fantasy league with the Curb Your Enthusiasm star.
The guy truly is living the life.
In Part 2 of my interview, he discusses the popular Rich Eisen Podcast and how he deftly mixes football with pop culture. Actually, Eisen contends they are one and the same.
Here’s the Q/A:
So what is like sitting across from Olivia Munn for an interview?
It was great. I’d love to have her back. She also had a really good take. She said Romo is going to have a better year because now he’s married. Sure enough, Week 1, he had the best game of his career.
How do you explain your podcast to people who never have heard it before?
This is what I love about the podcast. Sometimes it’s talking about football, and other times, it’s about pop culture.
We had Bryan Cranston on. He’s not a football nut, so we spent 40 minutes talking about Breaking Bad, which is one of my favorite TV shows.
Matt Damon came on once last year. He knew every facet of the Patriots season. Every nuance. I turned to the movie he was promoting, and he seemed visibly irked that we were talking about his movie. It was like, ‘Hey man, let’s talk ball, because when I talk to the guy from Extra or ET, I can’t talk ball.’
Is that why the stars love doing the show so much?
It could be the engaging host too.
Why does the NFL and pop culture mix?
I get Tweets from people saying they want hardcore sports stuff. I say, hey, listen the NFL isn’t just sports. It’s pop culture. The NFL, to me, has reached the iconic pop culture status. It’s up there with movies. Watching the NFL is as part of the American pop culture landscape as going to a movie theater.
The big game of the season (the Super Bowl) has a rock concert in the middle of it. It’s a convergence of sports and entertainment. That’s what I’m trying to do with the podcast.
You live in Los Angeles. You have stars on your podcast. If I looked at your cell phone, would I be impressed with your contacts?
(Embarrassed laugh) I don’t know. I’ve been fortunate through the podcast and living where I live to meet a lot of people who are talented. Actors, actresses, directors. People I’ve admired for years. Part of the thing I love about the podcast is whenever I meet people I’m a fan of, I don’t mind telling them.
Who is your favorite?
Larry David, hands down.
Why?
I’m friends with one of his executive producers on the show. A guy named Jeff Schaeffer. Through Jeff, I got invited into this focus group. You go and watch the Curb show in an edit bay months before it airs. Everything is so improvised, they want to make sure everything makes sense to people who aren’t involved in the show.
So they show the episode. It’s 6-7 people sitting in an edit and Larry is in the back with a note pad. He takes notes on whether they are laughing or not. Later, they ask questions, ‘Did you understand this? Did you get that?’
Based on that, I asked if Larry would call into the podcast. It couldn’t have been better. Then for last year’s debut, I invited Larry in. Believe me, during the lockout, I was looking for any sort of escape.
He came in to do a round table with Jeff Garlin, JB Smooth, and Bob Einstein. It was amazing. That was my favorite podcast, hands down.