Lisa Bluder, Sydney Affolter, Kiley Feuerbach Interviews
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00:00 - Let's start with the opening statement.
00:03 - Oh, well, let's see, let me just get organized here.
00:07 Obviously, it's just amazing to me that the season
00:14 has already wrapped up, the regular season.
00:18 It doesn't seem that long ago we were at crossover
00:20 at Kinnick, and now here we are getting ready
00:22 for the Big Ten tournament.
00:24 Very excited to have the double bye,
00:28 and that we'll be playing the winner of Wisconsin
00:31 versus Penn State on Friday night.
00:34 This tournament concerns me a little bit
00:38 just because how consolidated it is.
00:42 For example, our game's at 5.30 on Friday,
00:44 and if we would win, that game's at like 3.30 on Saturday,
00:48 and if we would win, that game's at 11 o'clock on Sunday,
00:52 but that's 10 o'clock 'cause of daylight savings time.
00:55 We've played some early games, but never a 10 o'clock game.
00:58 So that's gonna be interesting.
01:01 Both teams obviously will be in the same boat,
01:03 but we just hope to make it there.
01:06 I am concerned just for all the players' safety
01:09 about it being so consolidated
01:12 with the times of this tournament.
01:14 But first things first is the Wisconsin
01:16 versus Penn State game.
01:18 We're three and O against both those teams.
01:20 We'll prepare for them.
01:23 At this time of year, you really know your scouts.
01:26 I mean, you know your opponents pretty well,
01:29 and you don't have much time to work on your scout.
01:34 It really has to become more mental scout than anything else.
01:38 Also, obviously, I wanna congratulate Kaitlin
01:40 on being the three-time player of the year.
01:44 That's an amazing accomplishment,
01:46 and also for Hannah Stolke and Kate Martin
01:48 to be second team, all Big Ten.
01:51 The only one I was a little disappointed with,
01:52 I thought Sid would get sixth player of the year.
01:55 I thought she was very deserving of that.
01:57 And I'm disappointed with that one,
01:59 but at the same time, very happy with the three women
02:02 that we had recognized.
02:03 - Can you tell us more about Molly's situation?
02:07 - Well, I'm not sure how much I can get into it,
02:09 but basically it's not a torn ACL,
02:12 and it will not require surgery.
02:15 But has she been in here?
02:18 Did she talk to anybody yet or anything?
02:20 Okay.
02:22 I just have to be careful because of medically things
02:24 you're not supposed to talk too much about.
02:26 So I'll just have to say it was a knee injury,
02:29 but it wasn't a ligament damage.
02:31 We'll say that.
02:31 It's not gonna require surgery,
02:34 but she will not be able to play this week.
02:37 - Last night it was a kneecap.
02:39 - Yeah.
02:40 - So there's something involving that, okay.
02:41 - Kaitlin said, oh, go ahead.
02:42 - I'll just say how she's been since Sunday.
02:45 - I haven't even seen her.
02:46 I've only talked on the phone
02:47 wherever our first practice today,
02:50 but I've only spoken with her on the phone,
02:51 and she was ecstatic that it wasn't an ACL.
02:54 - Kaitlin mentioned on Sunday
02:55 that when Molly goes down like that,
02:57 obviously it's tough to see,
02:58 but it kind of, as a player, gives you a boost of energy.
03:01 You wanna go win the game for Molly.
03:02 Is it kind of similar when the team finds out
03:04 that she's not done for the season?
03:06 Is that kind of another boost of energy in a different way?
03:08 - Yeah.
03:09 Boy, I wish I could say it was a boost of energy
03:12 for me on Sunday, and it wasn't.
03:14 You see your players get hurt.
03:16 It's gut-wrenching to me, and it just,
03:21 I'm kind of, my head is spinning at that point
03:23 trying to think of long-term consequences for that,
03:27 not just that singular game.
03:29 But certainly, we were very,
03:33 everybody is so excited on our team
03:36 when they heard that news.
03:36 And nobody, not just because she,
03:40 hopefully will return for the NCAA tournament,
03:42 but also that she doesn't have to go through surgery
03:44 and go through that rehab.
03:46 - Does that probably mean Syd moves
03:48 into the starting lineup, and probably Kylie and--
03:51 - Taylor.
03:52 - Taylor move up a little bit, then it's--
03:54 - That's correct, yeah.
03:55 - Was Molly planning to keep playing after she left here?
03:59 - I think that Molly was a person that would like to play,
04:02 but it's not as easy for her position
04:06 to get something overseas.
04:08 - She was debating on these being the last games
04:13 of her life, in a way, that kind of adds another wrinkle
04:16 to the whole thing.
04:17 - Yeah, you're right, it does.
04:19 - You guys have had a lot of success recently
04:21 in the month of March, specifically the Big Ten tournament.
04:23 Is there a reason for that?
04:24 You always say that your teams play the best
04:26 towards the end of the season.
04:27 Do you feel like there's kind of something
04:28 that sticks out about why you guys play so well
04:30 at this time of year?
04:32 - No, I'm not sure.
04:33 I feel like they feel good about it, right?
04:38 And if you feel good about something,
04:39 it usually helps you, right, mentally.
04:41 If you think you can do it, and you've done it before,
04:43 and you can use that memory,
04:46 I think it just helps you psychologically.
04:49 - In the month of March last year,
04:50 Gabby Marshall shot 41% from three.
04:52 She really provided an extra spark.
04:55 When she's hitting shots, what does that do for your team?
04:57 - It's totally different, you know,
04:59 and she's made four threes in the past two games each,
05:03 you know, and so she's shooting the ball
05:05 really well right now.
05:06 But Molly provides us more,
05:08 obviously she provides defense for us,
05:10 but when she hits like that, you know,
05:12 it just takes the pressure off of Kaitlin.
05:14 It opens up inside for Hannah and our centers,
05:19 and so it just makes us so much harder to guard.
05:22 - How important in the last couple years,
05:24 I mean, two years ago you get the win over Michigan here,
05:26 last year you get the win over Indiana,
05:28 now you get the win over Ohio State.
05:29 How big are those, you know, regular season huge wins
05:32 propelling you into the Big Ten tournament?
05:34 - Thankful that we've had those games at home, you know.
05:36 I mean, in our environment,
05:38 and I think we use our environment really well,
05:41 you know, to help propel us
05:43 and to give us confidence in those situations,
05:45 and I think when you can win games like that
05:47 against really good competition at the end of the year,
05:50 it makes you realize,
05:51 yeah, you can beat anybody in the Big Ten.
05:53 - So the Kelsey Plum thing, Lynette Woodard, Pete Maravich,
05:56 all that stuff's behind now.
05:57 - Yeah.
05:58 - Is that, you know, now honestly,
06:00 was there a little bit of a distraction with that?
06:02 Is it good to have that all over?
06:04 - You know, I honestly think her biggest distraction
06:08 was not that, but making this decision
06:10 whether to come back or whether to go.
06:12 I think that's what she struggled with more.
06:14 You can ask her about that.
06:16 You know, I feel like everybody knew
06:18 she was gonna get the record.
06:19 It was just a matter of when, not if,
06:22 and so the distractions, though, on Sunday were plenty,
06:26 obviously, with, you know, game time here
06:30 and then, you know, kind of the star power
06:32 that was in the gym and being able to see, you know,
06:35 the team met Maya Moore before practice
06:37 and I'm kind of, or before the game,
06:39 and I'm kind of like, oh, geez,
06:41 let's get our head focused again,
06:42 but they did a great job of it,
06:44 even with all the distractions there.
06:46 - You've talked about how all the experiences
06:49 of this season, the crowds, the environments,
06:51 and everything is gonna make a big difference
06:53 this time of year when it's time to transition
06:55 into that post-season mode,
06:57 even for players like Sid and Hannah,
06:59 who were on the team last year,
07:01 but their roles are much bigger now.
07:03 I mean, how much do you kind of feel like the transition
07:05 into March is going to be relatively smooth
07:08 from a mental standpoint, just based on, you know,
07:10 you've kind of been playing tournament games
07:12 all year, in a way?
07:13 - I'm hoping that it's gonna serve us well,
07:16 that the environments that we've played in
07:19 have been hostile, they've been pressure situations,
07:23 there's been, you know, they've been packed to the gills
07:25 and a lot of distractions,
07:27 and so every game has kind of felt
07:29 like a mini NCAA tournament game for us,
07:32 and I think that having that experience
07:34 over and over again will serve us well
07:37 as we, you know, compete in the tournament.
07:39 - I know you're thinking one game at a time,
07:42 but, you know, if you guys were to win this tournament
07:44 three in a row, Maryland did it a few years ago,
07:46 Ohio State in the early 2010s,
07:48 would that solidify this era of your team,
07:51 do you think, to win three Big Ten championships in a row?
07:55 - I mean, I think winning three Big Ten championships
07:57 in a row would be tremendous.
07:59 Is it the only thing that's gonna solidify
08:00 their place in history?
08:02 I don't think so.
08:02 I think that they've already done that
08:05 with the attention that they've brought to this team,
08:07 with the crossover, with, you know,
08:09 the national championship game last year,
08:11 so yes, we want to win three games in three days
08:15 and win the championship,
08:16 but I don't think it's the end all either.
08:19 - What is your-- - Go ahead, Sue.
08:20 - Thank you.
08:21 What's this week like?
08:23 What days are you practicing, when do you go up?
08:26 Do you, and do you sort of practice at full bore now?
08:32 Or do you take a little, take your foot off the gas
08:34 because you got three, possibly three games in three days?
08:38 - Yeah, we definitely are not practicing as hard now
08:42 as we were, say, in October, November, and December,
08:45 just because the team is a little bit more tired
08:47 and you're really not, you know, again, right now,
08:51 like, I don't even know what scout to prepare for,
08:53 and so I'm kind of preparing for multiple teams
08:56 in these practices, but we took yesterday off
08:59 and we're gonna practice today,
09:00 and I'm actually taking tomorrow off.
09:02 That's what we typically do, is take the day,
09:04 two days prior to the game off,
09:07 and so I'm trying to keep that normal.
09:09 So then we'll practice Thursday, travel to Minnesota,
09:11 and watch the 530 game of Wisconsin versus Penn State.
09:16 We'll be in the arena, get a feel for it,
09:17 watch them live, and then head back to the hotel
09:20 and start our scout and our meetings.
09:23 - What do you remember about Penn State?
09:25 - Oh, I remember they drew a lot of fouls.
09:27 I remember, what was it, 58 fouls in the fourth quarter,
09:30 some crazy number like that.
09:32 It was not, or 58 foul shots, I believe.
09:34 I mean, it was nuts, so I just remember that,
09:37 and I obviously know about Wusu and their press,
09:40 and, you know, Mariss is a great three-point shooter,
09:45 so, I mean, they're a good team.
09:48 - You said you can't believe you're all right at this point,
09:50 but you've been playing, you know, since the crossover.
09:53 That's been almost five months now.
09:55 It's a long season, and how has this team been able
10:00 to, for the most part, stay up all the time?
10:02 You're 26 and four.
10:04 - Jeff, I'll even take it a step farther back
10:06 in that we had our foreign trip,
10:08 and, you know, we had 10 extra practices
10:11 before our foreign trip, and then we're gone for two weeks,
10:14 and then they come back and start school,
10:16 and so, I mean, it's been a long season, as you say,
10:20 and I think, you know, when you love what you do
10:23 and you love the people that you're around,
10:24 it's a lot easier to go to work every day.
10:28 You know, if you don't care for people that you're around,
10:30 it's, oh, you don't wanna go in that locker room, you know,
10:32 but these guys look forward to being together,
10:35 and they're genuinely excited for each other.
10:38 - Have you ever had a team like that,
10:38 you didn't look forward to going in the locker room?
10:41 (laughing)
10:42 - If I did, I'm trying to forget about 'em.
10:45 - When thinking back, or going back to the crowds,
10:50 I'm sorry if you've been asked this before,
10:52 but the Big Tent tournament is completely sold out,
10:54 like, all sessions, which is pretty, that's the first time.
10:57 So, a long way away from 2021 in Indianapolis
11:00 when you had Noah, one there.
11:02 What was your first reaction when you saw that news,
11:04 and you've been talking about the big environments
11:06 you've had, but does that put any additional pressure,
11:08 or do you think you're actually more prepared
11:11 for environments like that?
11:13 - Oh, I think we're prepared for environments like that.
11:16 I was surprised when I heard that it was sold out.
11:19 I don't know how many Iowa fans are gonna be there.
11:23 I would hope a great amount of them are Hawkeye fans,
11:26 but you never know.
11:28 You never know until you get there and see,
11:31 but I'm very excited to get up there
11:33 and see how much black and gold is,
11:34 hopefully we can turn it back into Carver North.
11:37 - So right now, you guys are kind of projected
11:39 to be a two-seater in the NCAA tournament.
11:40 Do you have a preference?
11:41 Do you feel like getting a one-seater is important,
11:44 or is it kind of one-two, just kind of the same
11:46 when you start, I mean, you get a three-seater
11:49 or a four-seater in the Sweet 16,
11:50 it's kind of the same, right?
11:51 Or do you have a preference?
11:52 - No, I don't.
11:53 You know, I just don't wanna be the fifth overall seed,
11:57 to be quite honest.
11:58 I don't wanna be that two-seed,
12:00 'cause I mean, that's a tough go.
12:01 I think South Carolina's, you know,
12:04 I mean, they're unbelievable right now.
12:05 To go through the whole season again without a loss
12:08 and how much they're destroying teams by,
12:11 it's really impressive.
12:13 So you just don't wanna have that one.
12:15 - Wouldn't that be the eighth overall seed?
12:16 - It would be the eighth, you're right, I'm sorry.
12:18 Thank you for correcting me.
12:19 Yeah, you're right, it would be the eighth overall seed.
12:22 - So going back to Molly for a second,
12:24 I don't know if it's like a Kate Martin situation
12:26 where she's totally a coach on the floor,
12:28 but when she's not playing, this week in particular,
12:32 I know you said you haven't seen her in person since Sunday,
12:35 what does she bring, if anything, to the team
12:38 when she's just being the encourager?
12:40 - Yeah, I don't know.
12:41 You know, Molly's not real boisterous.
12:44 Molly is a person that doesn't say a lot,
12:48 but when she says it, it's pretty meaningful.
12:50 You know, she doesn't just babble.
12:52 And so I think her being on the sidelines
12:55 will be more very like talking to kids individually,
13:00 talking to players individually
13:01 as they come to the bench or into the huddle.
13:04 She's not a person that's gonna give a rah-rah speech
13:06 or anything like that.
13:07 - Thanks, Coach Bluter.
13:09 - Thanks, Hugh, thank you, thank you.
13:11 - Who on the team was most hyped about beating?
13:19 Travis Scott.
13:20 - I feel like we all were.
13:23 He said he was gonna come last year.
13:25 - Well, I guess based on the music choices,
13:27 who listens, who would you say listens
13:29 to Travis Scott the most, right?
13:31 - Yeah, like Taylor, maybe.
13:33 - Yeah. - Or Kniev.
13:34 - Yeah, a lot of us.
13:36 - Yeah.
13:37 - Both of your roles are gonna increase, you know,
13:39 in the wake of Molly not being able to play.
13:41 Just your comments on that as far as, you know,
13:45 how that changes things for either of you.
13:48 - Yeah, I mean, Molly's a very crucial part of this team,
13:53 and me and Kylie stepping in and filling those minutes
13:56 are gonna be super important,
13:58 and we know that our teammates and coaches are behind us,
14:01 and we have all the confidence in the world
14:03 and each other and our team, so we're ready to go.
14:06 - Will you guys be a point guard?
14:08 I mean, one of you be a point guard
14:10 when Kaitlyn's sitting down?
14:12 - I think we're all, like, we all can handle the ball, but.
14:16 - Yeah.
14:17 - I think, like, me and Syd can both kind of
14:19 say the same thing on this.
14:20 Like, whenever there's a position or a role
14:23 that needs to be, like, someone has to step up in it,
14:26 well, we're more than willing to do so.
14:28 So, no matter what position that is or role that is,
14:30 we'll do whatever we have to for the team.
14:33 - Have you played point guard?
14:35 Like, in high school or anything?
14:36 - I have in high school, yeah.
14:38 - Kylie, over the last few games,
14:41 your contributions have been pretty loud.
14:43 I think you had three threes in the game
14:45 and a couple in the other one,
14:46 and four steals against Ohio State.
14:47 Just talk about that stretch of three games for you
14:50 and what you've been playing like.
14:52 - Yeah, I think, kind of going off of what I just said,
14:54 like, being able to step up in whatever position I have to
14:57 and doing whatever I need to to help the team.
15:00 And I'm really just trying to take it
15:02 and enjoy the last few games with these awesome players.
15:05 And yeah, like I said, doing whatever I have to
15:08 in order to do that.
15:09 But yeah, it's been really fun the past few weeks.
15:12 - Have you always been the kind of person,
15:15 kind of defender that just sort of flies around
15:17 and gets their hands on the ball?
15:18 - And has no idea what they're doing.
15:20 Just wander, yeah.
15:22 Yeah, you could say that.
15:23 I kind of just, I have a nickname that my AAU coach,
15:26 he called me "Rowley Twirly"
15:27 because even on the offensive end,
15:30 I kind of just, I'm all over the place
15:32 and you never really know what I'm doing.
15:34 But yeah, so I just kind of always try to do
15:37 whatever I have to, but I'm wandering around a lot.
15:39 (laughs)
15:40 - Did they call you a bat from hell after the game?
15:42 - Yeah.
15:43 - No.
15:44 - No.
15:45 - That was a question.
15:45 - Someone asked that.
15:46 - Oh, question, sorry, sorry.
15:48 Sorry, sorry.
15:49 For both of you guys,
15:52 I know you guys have had March experience and all that,
15:55 but for all the, I guess, emotion
15:58 and pressure-packed situations
16:00 that you guys have gone through pretty much every night,
16:03 do you think that'll make,
16:04 when you transition now to March and post-season,
16:07 kind of an easier, smoother transition?
16:08 'Cause you guys have, in a way,
16:10 been playing post-season-esque games
16:12 pretty much the whole year.
16:14 Or at least it feels like that
16:15 from an environment standpoint.
16:17 - Yeah, I think even throughout practice,
16:21 we're always kind of preparing for game situations
16:24 where we know there's not always gonna be a wipeout
16:27 in the game, so preparing for those tight games.
16:31 And like the Ohio State game,
16:33 the previous games that we've been having,
16:34 we've had some very close ones
16:36 where we have to stay focused
16:37 for all four quarters and 40 minutes.
16:38 So I definitely would say that those have prepped us
16:42 for this March and what's to come.
16:45 - When you see Penn State or Wisconsin,
16:48 what do you see in either or both of those teams?
16:51 - I mean, they both played pretty good games against us.
16:55 I think that's a good matchup for us for our first game.
16:59 I'm excited to play either team.
17:00 I'd say Penn State's got a little bit more forceful powers
17:06 on their team with Ashley Obuso in their point guard.
17:10 But I'm excited, either way.
17:12 - Syd, there's some social media chatter
17:18 that you got snubbed out of the sixth player of the year.
17:22 How much will that be motivating in the games ahead?
17:25 - That's not really a focus.
17:29 The focus is on this team and the girls
17:31 and taking it game by game.
17:33 Awards are more like individual stats
17:36 and that's not something that I put my energy
17:39 and focus on, but.
17:41 - What was your reaction when you found out
17:45 Molly didn't tear her ACL,
17:48 that she might even be able to come back and play?
17:51 - I just really felt for her.
17:53 Like, my heart was broken when she fell.
17:55 And Molly's just such a great player
17:58 and so important to this team and such an awesome girl.
18:00 But just being with her every step of the way,
18:04 like, that's really hard, no matter what it is,
18:07 when she comes back and we'll just have her back
18:10 every step of the way.
18:11 - Yeah.
18:12 - Is it kind of a lift, maybe?
18:13 I mean, it's kind of an odd sort of thing
18:15 to say that an injury could be a lift,
18:17 but at least it's not the worst.
18:19 - Yeah, exactly.
18:20 I think she's a very tough person, too,
18:22 and she's gonna be getting as ready as quickly as possible
18:26 to get back on the court.
18:27 But yeah, she's a really strong player
18:30 and I think when she texted us in our group chat last night,
18:32 we were all like, we all instantly were texting,
18:34 like, yay, let's go, like all this stuff.
18:37 Like, we were all very happy for her.
18:38 It's a very big relief.
18:40 - Curious, do you guys pay attention to, like,
18:43 a bracketology, like, you're a two seed, a one seed.
18:46 What could happen this week could propel you up
18:49 to a one seed?
18:50 Is that something you think about at all
18:52 with, you know, the games that are ahead?
18:54 - I think that's always, like, in the back of your minds,
18:57 but our main focus is to take it game by game.
19:01 We're not focusing on the NCAA tournament
19:03 until we play three games and win on Sunday
19:07 for the Big Ten tournament, so.
19:09 - You know, not every team goes into the Commons tournament.
19:13 That's like a huge, you know, there's some teams
19:14 that are in the bubble, so they have to win
19:16 to make the tournament, you know.
19:16 Some teams, you know, are trying to play to host,
19:18 and I think that's kind of Indiana's situation.
19:21 You guys know you're in the NCAA tournament,
19:22 you know you're gonna be hosting,
19:24 but how much of a motivation is it to try to go win
19:26 a third straight Big Ten tournament?
19:27 - Yeah, I think we're just really excited.
19:31 I mean, it's, we have a lot of momentum
19:33 kind of going into it, and I think we're all
19:36 kind of clicking at the right time.
19:37 This is the same thing that happened last year,
19:39 I feel like, too.
19:40 It's like, it's kind of a beautiful thing to see
19:42 how just throughout the season,
19:44 how much everybody progresses,
19:45 and how our team chemistry just builds even more,
19:47 so just a really exciting time,
19:49 and we're all really pumped for it.
19:51 - How does your team do that?
19:52 Like, we were talking to Lisa earlier
19:54 about how your team just seems to get better and better
19:56 in March, even as other teams maybe have fallen off.
20:00 What is it about your team that is able to get better
20:03 when the attrition of the season would hurt most teams?
20:06 - Yeah, I think this is where it gets
20:09 kind of further outside of basketball.
20:10 It's the love that we have for each other.
20:12 I think that really kind of carries out,
20:14 'cause March, obviously, it's now a few months past
20:17 since the beginning of the season,
20:18 and you start to have some wear and tear,
20:20 your body and whatever, but it's like the chemistry
20:22 and the love that we have for each other,
20:24 it just continues to grow,
20:25 and that's what pushes us through.
20:27 - How's Coach Blue about this?
20:28 Two years ago, you guys beat Michigan
20:29 in the regular season finale to kind of repel you
20:31 to that end of the big 10 turnaround.
20:32 Last year, it was Indiana.
20:33 This year, it's Ohio State.
20:34 How important are those big wins
20:36 of a really highly rated team for that last game,
20:38 just to confidence and momentum into the postseason?
20:42 - I think it just shows us how good we really are.
20:45 This team has so much potential,
20:47 and I really think the sky's the limit,
20:49 so getting those wins before entering into postseason
20:54 is super important and just really builds our confidence.
20:57 - Were you guys really exhausted after Sunday's game?
21:00 I mean, the emotion, the sound,
21:03 it was just like stimulation city.
21:08 - It was.
21:09 - You guys are young and in shape,
21:12 but I mean, it was exhausting for us,
21:14 but what did you guys think?
21:18 - I think sometimes on the court, we even talk,
21:20 we're like, we can't even hear ourselves think.
21:22 Like, it's crazy, but just all the hype around that game
21:26 and for our seniors and college game day
21:31 and the competition, there was a lot going on,
21:34 and it was really exciting, but after, it was nice to chill.
21:38 - Relax.
21:39 - It's not gonna get much quieter in Minneapolis.
21:43 Do you remember, I'm sure, last year,
21:45 the Carver North jokes, do you remember how loud it was?
21:48 What was your reaction to the tournament
21:49 being sold out all the sessions,
21:51 knowing how many people are gonna be watching your game
21:53 and every other Big Ten game?
21:56 - Yeah, I mean, obviously I wasn't playing,
21:58 so from on the bench perspective,
22:01 I mean, it was just absolutely unreal how loud it got.
22:04 It's just so fun, especially in this time of the year,
22:07 it's just like everybody, like I said, is clicking,
22:11 and I vividly remember Gabby hitting a three
22:13 and it was just absolutely berserk when we were there.
22:16 So just things like that,
22:17 it's just memories that will last forever,
22:19 but it's, yeah, it's unreal.
22:22 - Yeah, calling it Carver North is so cool.
22:26 The way Hawks fans travel is really amazing.
22:29 Like we run out and even walking into our game,
22:31 we see like a sea of black and gold
22:33 and it like takes us all back a little bit
22:36 and it's just so cool to see all the support
22:38 that we get game after game.