Brad Johnson Explains What It Takes To Build A Division III Program

A season can swing on one awkward landing, one freak play, one practice rep you never see coming and Brad Johnson has lived that reality. Brad joins us from Cleveland as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Baldwin Wallace University, and we get into what it’s like to return to your alma mater with big standards, a young roster, and a year that gets hit early by injuries. We talk through how a staff keeps players focused, how culture shows up when the rotation disappears, and why the Ohio Athletic Conference is a weekly grind in Division III basketball.

We also go beyond the box score into the human side of the job. Brad and his wife Alyssa are both college coaches, which means recruiting travel, late nights, and seasons that collide at the worst times. We share what actually helps a coaching marriage work, why the offseason matters, and how support looks when you can’t always be in the stands. If you care about work life balance in coaching, athlete development, or what it takes to stay steady when results swing fast, you’ll hear plenty that feels real.

Along the way we hit college hoops fandom, the impact of NIL on the college basketball landscape, and the kind of community you get at smaller schools where people still know your name years later. Then we lighten it up with the Fast Fiddy Five, a Cleveland East Side vs West Side check-in, and a spirited sidebar on whether NASCAR drivers are athletes.

If you enjoy honest sports stories and the behind-the-scenes reality of college coaching, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find it. What part of Brad’s story hit closest to home for you?

All music brought to you by former guest of the show Speedo

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Setup

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rance Podcast. This is, as always, your host, Mike Fono. I have a great guest to us from us today. He's coming to us from Cleveland, Ohio. He is the assistant men's basketball coach at Baldon Wallace University, and that is Brad Johnson joins the show. Brad, thank you for joining, man. Mike, thanks for having me. Not a problem at all. Always happy to have people on from up in that area. But Brad, you are the husband of former guest of the show, Alyssa Johnson. Tell us about how you and Alyssa met and kind of your life's journey together. Since Alyssa's been such a big part of the show here and a big fan of the show.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, for sure. She's yeah, she's loved it. And thanks a lot for having me and her both on the show. And I know she's been on a couple times and has really enjoyed it. So I'm excited as well. But me and Alyssa, we met when we were coaching at Seton Hill University. She was the assistant soccer coach there, and I was the assistant basketball coach there. Seton Hill is a Division II school outside of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was a was a good experience we both had there. And that's where we met, started dating, and kept it going for four or five years through distance of coaching at various places, and eventually got married. So we got married two years ago. This past or this upcoming June will be year three. And now she's coaching at Case Western in Cleveland, which is actually where I'm originally from. So it's it's been a really good fit, and it's really hard to make coaching marriages last and make it all fit together. So it's been uh it's been it's been good, it's been really good for us.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, absolutely. You actually led me right into the next question here with both of you being coaches. How do you balance that time and also have time for one another? Because you know, I know how schedules can be, you know. Hell, I'm a I'm a comedian and I still have a day job too as well. So I feel like I'm on the road a lot, and my wife deals with the front end of the most of it. But both of you probably, I mean, your seasons are gonna kind of collide at some points in time here. So how do you guys balance that?

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Definitely. Well, right now, I think the the what makes it easiest is not having kids right now. I think having kids would be a little more challenging than for a normal family dynamic, I think. But for us with just with just the two of us, her season's obviously in the fall, so she's super busy and on the road a lot with recruiting or games or what whatever practice, late, late nights and things like that, versus I'm kind of gearing up for season at that point, and we have like our workouts and lifts and stuff. So I'm starting to get busy as she's super busy, and it and then actually she like finishes up her season, then it becomes busy season for me. So it's it's definitely a it's it's a challenge for really the fall into the winter, but when her season ends, it starts to die down. And in the off season, it's it's we can make up for a lot of lost time in season. So able to do things together then and travel a little bit more and make make trips and spend time together.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

I gotcha. Yeah, that's definitely important is finding that balance. Like I said, I'm I'm I'm on the road a lot. I feel like I I live in my car half the time. Yeah, when when shows are are coming in a lot faster and harder than I I think. And you know, I'm still in that stage of my career with company. It's just like if they're saying, Hey, are you yeah, I'm available, yeah. Let's do it. Yeah, get me on stage, like, yeah, sure, cool. Oh, oh, Illinois, yeah, I'll drive there tomorrow. Yeah, sure, no problem. You know what I mean? Like, so it's it's one of those, like all the time. My wife has been awesome with it, though, for someone who doesn't know who didn't know how the entertainment industry you know works and what it is with being an up-and-coming comedian and all the travel and everything like that. I mean, we've been together 10 years and she's missed three shows in in 10 years, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Everybody asks him, Oh, well, who's your cameraman? It's my wife, you know. Like, I hit her my phone when I go on stage and she hits record, and it's awesome that she's now getting to get to do that. But we do have a 17-year-old. It's it's better now that he's older and he can start to go to some of these bar shows and these clubs that I get to do where he wasn't allowed in. So now we can find that family time together. Like, is is Alyssa like coming to basketball games when when she can? Like, is she is she you hear her as the number one cheerleader in the in the crowd?

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, yeah, she's she's always there. And and I I think I do a pretty good job of trying to be there for her games. Ours, her schedule is a little bit more unique now at Case Western because they play a national schedule, we'll fly to a lot of games. I'm at getting geared up for my season, so I can't hop on a plane and go check out a game in Chicago or New York or or Atlanta. But for for me, and because we live relatively close to Bowling Wallace, and even some of our road games are going to be an hour less away, a couple of them a year, or at least you know, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and she'll be at almost all those. So it's once her season ends, she's at almost every game. And having someone there obviously is great and it's good for support. And she's she gets pretty intense and worked up. I know probably unfortunately, I probably affect her life a lot if we're losing, and if we're winning, I affect her life a lot in a positive way. So it's yeah, kind of she's probably cheering for for us as much as she wants to see us have success. She's probably selfishly motivated about that too, because I'm not in the best of moods after a loss, and vice versa after a win. So it's you know, it's nice to have her there and have her support support for sure. Yeah, for sure.

Baldwin Wallace Season Recap

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Kinda in this in the same sense, and like if if I bomb on stage, my wife knows like I'm not talking to him for at least an hour, you know, no matter where we're at. I want to give him some time to cool off, uh, because he's not in the best of moods but on the flip side, if if I absolutely crush a set, she just gets equally annoyed. She's like, he's not gonna shut up the entire night because now he's all amped up from you know, absolutely uh we'll use the sports from winning that that stage time that he had. And he's just it's just it's like, well, I'm not sleeping tonight. I hope you didn't want to sleep because I'm I'm fired up now. Because I come from a sports background, so I have that competitive nature in me. Though I'm not competing against anybody other than myself, it's still it's still it still amps me up. Like I just want a big game or something like that. So I get that how that could affect your moods for sure. But yeah, this was your first season at Baldwin as the assistant coach there. How did the season go for you guys? And how was the early part of the offseason going?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Yeah, you know, it's been a it's been a good first year back, and I'm an alum and I graduated in 2015. So getting back here has honestly always been a goal of mine. It's always been, you know, coaching for your alma mater is is you know a dream come true, and in a full-time position, you know, I very fortunate. But to be here and like to just work with the team and stuff, we had a we had a down year for where our standards are, I would say. But we we we faced a ton of adversity this year, and in in our first scrimmage, you know, we had five five guys in our top rotation, in our top ten rotation, get hurt in our very first scrimmage. And one of those players was our leading scorer coming back from the prior season, who was an all-conference player, and and you know, he ended up going out for about a month and a half, maybe two months, played in one game back. He actually dislocated, dislocated his kneecap, and it was you know, it was it was gross to see like his kneecaps on the side of the flag and the scrimmage, and then comes back for one game, plays with a brace on and played great. And team was energized, team was focused and motivated, and we had a good game, we won. We come back home, and then our very next practice, he dislocates it again with the brace on and everything. It's just a freak thing that happened, and so like that losing a guy like that makes a big difference, as well as a number of other injuries we had throughout the year and just ups and downs. But we also had a pretty young team, and we return everyone but one senior who who we're gonna miss, Miles Reynolds dearly, like just a leader, a hard worker, great, great, high-character young man, and very good player too. But but returning everybody else, we return the main core, and hopefully with recruiting, we can add a piece or two that can make a make a difference right away. But but we're really excited for next year. I think next year is kind of the when with everyone healthy, we should have a shot to really compete at the top of the conference, which the the Ohio Athletic Conference is one of the top five conferences in the country for Division III basketball every year. So every year you get teams from Mount Union to Autobine this year, like that compete nationally and beat beat up on a lot of other conferences and other division three schools. So I mean it's it's a really hard conference to win and be at the top of, but I think next year we're gonna have a shot to do really well, really well. So excited for that.

Choosing BW And Becoming A Coach

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah, absolutely. I will definitely be checking out games next year for you guys. I do follow everyone says it that a lot of people comment and say, Oh, it's it's BS that you you follow everybody. No, I absolutely follow everybody that comes on this show and to see how they're doing, especially in the coaching realm. So yeah, I will be following Baldon Walls. I have it in, I got Feddy up there now. So I mean, you know what I mean? Like I got my man up there to let me know what's going on too as well. But yeah, I'm excited to see uh you know what you what you guys do next year for sure, and to keep in contact and uh to see, and I'm sure Alyssa will let me know. I'm sure she'll be on a a couple more of the stuff that we think we got on going on, and now it gives me something more to rag on her about that. So that makes me happy when she comes on the I can give her a hard time about something, you know what I mean? But you were you mentioned it there, you graduated from BW in 2015. You know what made you want to go to Baldwin? And what did you get your degree? And I believe you also have your master's degrees, uh, but it's from another school as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Yep. I my degree from BW was in finance, and then I got my master's in business administration. Honestly, like for me, like the decision was all basketball. And I knew I wasn't gonna, I wasn't a player, I wasn't recruited to play there, but I knew I wanted to coach college basketball, and so kind of my decision was really between going to Ohio State and being more of a normal student and trying to get in with the coaches, which I had a connection to Thad Mata at the time, which was who actually just yesterday retired from Butler. But Thad Mata was the head coach at Ohio State at the time, and the connection kind of I think would have given me an opportunity to be a student manager there, or I could have, but but they have 30 some guys apply for their student manager spots every year, and they have two or three available. So would I have got it for sure? I don't know. I can't say that. But there was that opportunity to you know experience the Big Ten and everything that that has to offer, which I'm sure would have been awesome. Or I had the opportunity to help out as a student assistant coach at Baldwin. And you know, it was close to home. The academics, you really can't beat them. And then on top of the fact that just being able to work closely with the team and just be one of very few guys and get hands-on experience every day working under you know, my role models at the time, Coach Sheldon and Coach Coach Heil, who's now the head coach at BW, Coach Sheldon was when I was in school, and just being being able to be close to home was important because I was coaching AAU basketball at the time, and that's kind of what drove me to become a college coach is getting that experience of coaching basketball. I loved it. And my grandfather was a coach, he was a really successful coach and player back in the day in in the area, so I kind of had some role models and mentors that kind of helped push me that way. And it was it was a really just a great fit all around, where if I stayed at BW, I would get great experience and it would really help prepare me to after college go on and to make this a career and a profession. And and I was fortunate to have the right people along the way kind of point me in the right direction and get me to where I am today, and get to I've gotten to be a full-time coach for this is year number 11 at a bunch of different stops along the way and see different parts of the country and have some really unique experiences that you know I know a lot of people don't have that just stay close to home their entire life or or go to way to school and then start working right after college and then in that city wherever they went to school at. So it's been really good.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

Yeah, I mean, I went to I mean what Bethany College was like 20 minutes away from where I where I grew up in a little town called Fallonsby, West Virginia. And you know, it was nice. I was far enough away to get the college experience, but I was close enough that if something were to happen or I needed uh to get home for something, I could be there in in no time. And you know what? Honestly, I thought I was gonna be in West Virginia for my entire life, and I live in central Ohio now near Columbus. So, you know, it it it's it's good to get away, but kind of like you. I mean, I'm I'm in that okay, when can I get back to to good old WV? You know what I mean? Um and so being close to home definitely, definitely helps out anybody's experience at all, anywhere you go, having that family, and like just knowing like my wife can't stand it when we go back home for anything because everybody I I know everybody. I grew up in a town of 1,500 people, like it we everybody knows everybody, and like people wave and like they're like, Oh, hey, Mike, oh hey. They're like, How do you know she's like, how do you know everybody? I was like, I don't know. I just it's just you you just know them. So, like, do you have that experience? I know Cleveland's a little bit bigger than where I grew up, but you kind of have that experience, like when you're on campus and stuff like that, and you see people obviously grew up in the Cleveland area, so you know a little bit more about it.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Yeah, I think I I think I do and I don't at times, like the my high school and like that area. I know some people, but very few people I I don't think would know me like as much anymore. You know, I was actually at one of my high school's basketball games for uh we were recruiting a kid that played against them earlier this year, and like I I you know not very many people like knew that I was there as former Olmsted Falls graduate, but like I I get that set feeling, I get that feeling around BW a lot. And uh I feel like you know it one is I think the place is super special place, and I think a lot of small colleges, you know, kids make the their college decision a lot based on not necessarily the wrong things, but just different things than what they should value. Because like, you know, at Ohio State you're just a number. Yeah, that being said, like that experience is awesome, and I get it. Like going to Big Ten football games every Saturday would be a blast in college. But like at BW, what's great is like when I came back, and this was this year in 2025, like I graduated 10 years ago, 15. And so it's like 10 years removed. I came back on campus, and there's still like five or six people in the athletic department that would walk by every day, and they'd been walking around the athletic department for years, and it's like they knew me, they remembered me. You know, I honestly I think there's a just a better sense of community at some of these small schools, and especially the ones that like at BW, where there's just a lot of great people here, and that's what really makes this place special. So I get that for sure. The sense of community of like going home and you know, seeing people around uh hometown and homestead falls. I don't I don't get as much anymore, maybe, but uh BW I think it's a special place. So I do I I get that, and I love I I love that. I love the idea of like you know, get knowing everybody. Um obviously that means they know the good and the bad, but yeah, like you know that that's a definite flip of the coin.

College Hoops, NIL, And Fandom

SPEAKER_01 22:28

What would what are they gonna remember? You know, right. Sure. So, you know, being a basketball coach, I I gotta ask this question. Are you a bigger NBA fan or a college basketball fan? And who are kind of some of your favorite teams?

SPEAKER_00 22:43

Yeah, college basketball by a mile for me. I mean, I love it. I you know, the NBA, I I I do enjoy watching the NBA to like learn a lot, I'd say. I don't know if I have a team or a player in the NBA that I really am in love with. I love watching the NBA playoff basketball, but regular season I'll flip it on a couple times a year. College basketball, though, I love it. It's I think it's such a I think the landscape's changed a lot with the NIL and the money that everybody's making, but it's so much more like team, not I don't want to say team driven, but it just the culture of the teams. Like guys really want to win, and guys just, you know, the co I think coaches do a really good job at the college level of instilling culture to like, you know, this is our identity as a program. And you know, I think that's something Coach Heil does uh a really good job at BW of like who we are and who our identity is, and like our guys buy into that, and that's kind of who they go out and become in the real world, too. And I think that's why a bunch of BW basketball players have gone on to be super successful and wake make way more money than I'll ever make and do all these great things that's that it that's awesome, but it's it's it goes back to like finding that in college, and I that's what I love about college hoops, but for teams, like there's a lot of teams. I I really like to watch coaches a lot and who I really like who who I really I identify with as like, hey, my style fits that this coach, that coach, and then also like see just kind of learn from the guys that are doing it the best that year. You know, there's you know, the Michigan has not come out of nowhere, but has had an amazing run this year, and Michigan is somebody I've watched a lot on TV and I really enjoy watching. So I don't I'm not a Michigan fan by any means.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

I was just saying guy from Ohio saying that he's he's rooting for Michigan. I don't know. Yeah, that's that's tough. But hey, it is what it is. You know, I mean it's not popular, you're right. Oh man, but yeah, I mean for me, it's it it's college basketball, it's called sports in general for me. I know the NIL and these players getting paid, I guess, more openly. I guess they were always getting paid, but you know, it was just it's just a little bit more hush-hush about it. But I I think uh these kids are playing for something more, you know. They know the college isn't forever, they know they can't go and stay at a Ohio State, a WVU, a Michigan, and then and stay there for forever. They're trying to get to the next level, yeah. And I I think that they they want it more, they know it means more. Like, okay, if I don't perform, I'm not gonna get drafted, and then who knows what's gonna happen. And I didn't work from the time I was eight till now to to let this slip through my fingers, you know what I mean? Like the there's a little bit more. Uh I don't even want to, I don't think passion is the right word, but you know what I mean? There's a little bit more fire in them than they're gonna put their bodies on the line, especially for college football and stuff like that, and and it's gonna pay off in the end, obviously. But yeah, I mean the the NFL D MBA, I can't I try to get into the NBA, I can't anymore. I was I was more of a fan in the 90s uh growing up in that era, watching uh you know MJ and Magic and all them guys, right? And yeah, so I mean college sports for me, it's it's tough college basketball season. I'm a UNC fan, my wife's a Duke fan. I don't know how the house doesn't implode in basketball season here. Yeah, we don't even turn the game on because we always end up fighting. It it just always ends in a sports argument like between UNC and Duke. And it's just, I mean, it's it is what it is. But yeah, my wife always knows you know, college football season, like, okay, Saturday afternoon. I'm just gonna leave him alone because WVU is going to ruin his Saturday every Saturday. You know what I mean? Like that's kind of how it is. Like in basketball season, does does Alyssa get with you? Like, are you guys watch games together, or is she more of like kind of like, all right, I'm gonna let him go do his thing and watch the college basketball?

SPEAKER_00 27:21

It's like because it like it's not every Saturday. I think I think that's what college football, what makes college football so great is like every Saturday it's game day. It's there's a million games on, and you know your team's playing, and it's and each game means so much. But college basketball, like in the regular season, each game still means a lot, but there's what three times there's 30 games in a season compared to 10 or 12. So it's like I I think because of that, I we're we don't like sit down and just watch a game or two, yeah. You know, so I'll put them on at night or whatever when we're sitting around and after dinner or whatever and watch some basketball. But she doesn't like sit down with me and really get into it. I don't think it would help if she had a team. If if it was more like UNC and Duke, I can see that being that I mean that's a big rivalry, but that's what makes college basketball great, I think, is just you know the passion between fans, even it's like like you're saying, like the rivalry of just UNC Duke is one of the best rivalries in sports, and yeah, you don't get that as much in NBA now. I mean maybe some player-on-player like rivals.

Cleveland East Side Vs West

SPEAKER_01 28:31

I would say it's more it's more players at this point in time that that's creating rivalries between teams. But yeah, like it's it is great. I mean, I'll I'll I'll never forget quick little sidebar story. And it was two or three years ago. I was I was making my brackets. It's March. We'll we'll talk about that. I was I was picking my brackets, I do it every year. And I picked Duke to win. I I I went, I took all the emotion out of it. I sat down for like an hour and I literally went through and and made informed decisions because I I was trying to be that perfect bracket. Like, this is the year. I'm gonna I'm gonna research, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna get that, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be that guy with the perfect bracket. I think that every year. But this year I really sat down and I picked Duke and my wife goes, All right, I know you're gonna tell me about it. So I know you you've been in here for a while at your computer. Who'd you pick to to to win? Because she thought she was like, he's gonna pick UNC because he's just gonna be a homer and pick them. WVU hasn't been in the in the tournament in forever, and he always picks either them or UNC. And I was just like, I I'm gonna try not to throw up when I say this, but I picked Duke. And I I the excitement that came through her, when she was like, We you picked who? I was like, Oh, here we go. Now I'm gonna hear about this. For I was like, you know what? I hope I don't get a perfect bracket. I hope they lose in the first round now, just because you're so excited that I picked Duke. So it's it's that kind of good fun that we have too as well when it comes to that. And it it it's great to I think sport, I don't think people give sports the credit to bringing people together like like they like it should, and like it does, and it's it's all in good fun. But with that being said, I ask every person from Cleveland this this question here because you are from Cleveland originally. Yep, we have a lot of people from Cleveland on the show. We love it up there. I do a lot of shows up there. Is East and West Side divided a real thing in Cleveland? Or you know, why do people think like you know, the city is divided between east side and west side? And like what's what's your opinion? Which which side's the best side?

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Yeah, I mean, I'm from the west side, so I gotta roll with the west side, but I don't I don't look at the side as I don't I don't dislike those guys, or I don't think there's really that many rivalries that go across the sides of the city, but I do love the west side. I think it's it's a good it's a good place. It was a great place to grow up. And you know, I love that the Browns are moving out here to the West Side up in uh Brook Park. Like that'll be beautiful, like right really close to BW, really close to home for me. It's gonna be awesome. I mean, gonna be able to tailgate my backyard and get to the stadium in five minutes. So it's gonna be fun time when they get out here, and I think 2029 they build the new stadium. So yeah, I'm a big, I'm a west side guy, but I I've never really read into any anything against the east side. Like, I just I know the west side, inside and out, and I I've always had a great time here.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

So it's so strange to me that people like they they think it's true. Like there's there's like oh it's Cleveland, it's east side versus West Side. And like it's just like I I never got that. So I was like, all right, so yeah, yeah, Fitty moved up near that area, so it's like, all right, now fine, we're finally gonna we're gonna settle the debate. Everybody from Cleveland, I'm asking. I don't care. Like when we when we sit down and and make these outlines for every show and come up with you know, how do we want the show to flow in that? I'm just like the first question I ask, where are they from? He's like he's like Cleveland, done. I already got one in there, East Side versus West Side. We're asking that question. I'm asking, I don't care. If you don't put it in there, I'm gonna put it in there. Like that's when it's gonna happen because it blows my mind that people because you would never see that like Pittsburgh, it's just Pittsburgh. There's so many sub-little cities and boroughs in Pittsburgh, and nobody's like, Oh, Monroe is the best, you know what I mean? Like, or all it's Robinson, like it's none of that that you see, it's all just it's Pittsburgh. But cle Cleveland's the only city that I know, other than like out west, and I've never really been out west. Um, yeah, that is just like, oh, well, it's it's this side, or you're you're wrong. And that's what it's just like, all right, we were talking about robbery, so I was like, all right, I gotta know. Yeah, is it like do but do you see it living? I mean, you you grew up there, like do people like actually talk about that?

SPEAKER_00 33:19

I mean, I I other than like I mean for me, I haven't experienced it a ton, uh, other than like just saying like where you're where you're from or like where you're going, I guess, like geographically, but yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's because like there isn't maybe other cities just have more around them because like Cleveland's so landlocked to the lake, you're really from one or the other. There's really no north, there's no north side, and I mean I guess if you're south, they kind of identify one way or the other, I guess. But right, I don't know. I've never I haven't gotten into it to be honest with you. But that's good.

Why Students Choose Baldwin Wallace

SPEAKER_01 34:00

I'm happy it's not really a true thing. Yeah, right. But that's not gonna stop me from asking everybody from Cleveland for sure. We gotta we're gonna settle this one episode at a time, one guess at a time. What's the better side? But getting down near this here, you know, we're we've talking about BW a lot. Uh, why should a student pick BW, in your opinion?

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Yeah, honestly, I think there's a ton of reasons. Like the academics are our elite. I think the location is underrated. I think be and you know, there's there are some schools like in very similar locations to us, but there are so many small schools that are just isolated or away from just access to just you know food, restaurants, entertainment, like bars, you know, a major city. Having the main having downtown Cleveland 15 minutes away is awesome. You know, like our guys go do things down there all the time and get to whether it's a game or for something with sports or concerts or anything like that. So I think there's so many advantages to our location, as well as just like the just the experience, like the community, the you know, some of the stuff we've already talked about, it just about a small community and a tight-knit group of for basketball purposes, like you're gonna be, you know, with with a team and and form that brotherhood with you know those 15 to 20 guys in the locker room as well. So I mean, there's so many good things about about this place, and it's a special place. So, you know, there's there's a lot of different it depends on what you want, and it's not for everybody, but for the people that enjoy and like value those things, I think it's they're they're not gonna have a better experience, really, other than a place like or in a place other than BW for those reasons type of thing.

Fast Fitty Five Rapid Fire

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah, I I I don't want to say I kind of figured that was gonna be everybody from BW. That that's pretty much like the answer that you get is like it's just such a great place. And you know, just talking with Johnny and being up there and and you know getting to get to work there, and everybody that we've had on from BW, you know, it's it's an awesome place. And anybody out there, hit anybody, any one of the guests up that were on the show from BW, they will tell you the exact same thing for sure. And including Johnny, he will he will scream BW from the from the mountaintops if he could. But Brad, we are running down here near the end of the episode, and I do got to get this segment in. And if you've listened to the show before, you know what's coming. And it is the fast fitty five. Five random questions from the wonderful manager of the podcast, Johnny Fitty Falcone. For the new listeners out there, these are kind of rapid fire, they get you into the mind of Johnny Falcone. Brad, these have nothing to do with what we've been talking about for the better part of almost 45 minutes now. And he sent these to me today, so I haven't got to really read through these. So we're gonna we're gonna read through them together and we're gonna do it together. And like I said, kind of rapid fire, but you can elaborate if you need to. If you are ready, we can get going. Let's do it. All right, what is the worst hour of the day anytime from midnight through 11 p.m.? Which hour is the worst?

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Let's let's go. I'll go like 6 a.m. Because it's normally when you're waking up and have to get going. God, I wish I was I'm up an hour before.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

I gotta I'm up at 5 a.m. every day. Like that, yes. 5 a.m. for me is the worst because it's when I gotta get up. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

Yep, that's the hardest hour for me every every morning.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Yep, yeah. It is just yeah, with kids, with son in school, and then my work schedule, it's just like, yep, 5 a.m. is it for me. That coffee better be ready. Right, right. Question number two which fast food restaurant has the best French fries?

SPEAKER_00 38:12

Whew.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

I would man, that's that's a really tough one. I would go, it's a new place. You it's not it's not named brand, but it's called Pedoule. And it's gonna make no sense what I'm about to explain, but I gotta explain it. Otherwise, it won't make sense. Pedouway is a Mediterranean grill, which doesn't add up with French fries at all, but their fries are unbelievable. And it's also one of my favorite restaurants, it's favorite, favorite fast food. It's like a Chipotle, it's like a Mediterranean Chipotle. It's like a great place. It started in Michigan, it's working its way down and go there three or four times a week.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Yeah, I mean, that sounds phenomenal, honestly. Yeah, jeez. All right, my cats decide to bank off of my desk all the time when I'm recording and jump up on the closet. That's right here. That it's every time I record, it never fails. They'll fail. All right, question number three Would you rather be a panda bear or a koala bear? Oh wow, I don't know. Panda bear. Yeah, panda bear. That seems fair. Why, but I'll I'll go panda bear. I I don't either, but panda bear that just when I read that, I was like, yeah, panda, why not? Just first thing. Question number four: what is the most difficult professional sports to be great at? Being a NASCAR driver or being a ping pong player?

SPEAKER_00 39:41

I'm gonna go ping pong player because I I like ping pong and I really but oh man. NASCAR is tough. I I would still go ping pong. I think it's elite what those guys do.

SPEAKER_01 39:54

Yeah, I I I'm a huge NASCAR guy. I I know what these guys go through, but ping pong, I would have to say that for me because I can't I'm terrible with ping pong, and I like to think I'm an athlete. I I've been an athlete since I was eight years old, and I can't play ping pong.

SPEAKER_00 40:11

So yeah, that's fair, that's absolutely fair. I don't know. It's really a tough one though, because the what NASCAR drivers do, I don't think people give enough credit to it. It is insane.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

They don't. Uh after this last question, I got a sidebar on that one that we'll get down here. But question number five: if you have if you have to live the rest of your life in either California or South Carolina, which would you pick?

SPEAKER_00 40:37

South Carolina. I think that was easier, easy one for me. I I enjoy South Carolina a lot.

SPEAKER_01 40:43

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 40:45

And yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, Hilmhead golf courses, the weather's great.

NASCAR Athlete Debate And Farewell

SPEAKER_01 40:52

Yeah, you can't you can't beat that for sure. That was the fast food. I gotta say, Brad, he brought the thunder with these questions for you. Like, those were some of the hard that's like, wow, like normally we get a couple toss-ups in there, and like let's let's lease into it. No, he he brought the thunder from question one with you. Yeah, I think it's because he he he did that with Alyssa. So he keeps I think he had to make it fair on that one and do that. But sidebar with the NASCAR driver, then we'll then we'll end the episodes here. Right out of college, a buddy of mine that went to Bethany. We we both started working at Verizon at the same store, and we that was the biggest heated argument that we got into because he doesn't believe that NASCAR drivers are athletes. We we we had this big argument. I was like, you know what? Fine, we're gonna settle this. I put like a suggestion jar on the counter at Verizon, and it just said it are NASCAR drivers athletes, and I had little sticky notes there, and I was like, I'm asking every customer that walks in, you're you're gonna help settle a debate between me and my man here. And there it was like 90% of the people said yes, and he still was like, Nope, nope, it's all it's all crap. I was just like, dude, like your argument is there's one guy that's a little bit overweight that that races, like just because their sponsors are fast food and fear, like doesn't mean like they're not athletes. So I when it when I saw that, I was like, oh, this is this is this is gonna be a good question because uh my heart wants to say NASCAR, but I can't play ping pong. So like that's that's just it's a tough one.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

I that I still go back and forth. I don't know what it's hard harder to harder to be a lead at. That's it's hard to be a lead at a lot of things. That's the thing, right? It's always incredibly hard to be the best.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

So absolutely, but like I said, Brad, well, we are running down near the near the end of the episode here. I do give every guest this opportunity at the end of every episode. If there's anything you want to get out there, whether that's for BW or anything you got going on, or even if it's just a good message to to send out to everybody, I'm gonna give you about a minute and the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_00 43:07

Sure. Yeah, I'll I'll just say, you know, I've you know, BW is a great place. I'm a big fan of obviously the school and the athletic department here. I'm gonna came back here if it wasn't for you know a lot of great people and a lot of people that really changed my life. So hopefully, you know, I can do the same thing in the future for you know my students and student athletes and those guys. But I just want to say, Mike, thanks for having me. I really appreciate your time and you you guys doing this. This is awesome and really enjoy it. So I look forward to following the show a lot more in the future and keeping up. So thank you again.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

Hey, not a problem at all. Always good to have new guests on, especially guests that are spouses, a former guest of the show and uh people that like to be on. I I appreciate that for two Pisons that knew nothing about podcasting to to start a podcast and six years later still be doing it. That you know, I think I like to think we're doing something right, you know what I mean. That all being said, that is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. Again, I want to thank my guest Brad Johnson for joining the show. A lot of fun to get to talk to you about BW and just everything else in general. And as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't, tell them anyways, they might like it just because you didn't. That's gonna do it for me, and I will see y'all next week.