Episode 53: Roger Goodell

On the 53rd episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by NFL Commissioner and longtime friend Roger Goodell (06:04 – 56:46). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (01:16 – 06:04). With the 2021 NFL season only hours away, the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the U.S. is still front-of-mind for many around the football world. Morten weighs in, urging Americans to get vaccinated.We then move to our interview with Roger Goodell, where he discusses a wide range of topics: why he’s uncomfortable being called “the most powerful man in sports” (06:34); his excitement level as the league returns to full capacity across the board (07:40); reflecting back on a challenging 2020, and why he thinks it might be the proudest he has ever been to be commissioner (10:58); why one of his biggest regrets in life was never pursuing a college football career, as he was a star athlete in high school (14:25); going from an intern at the NFL league offices to commissioner of the league (14:55); his great respect for both Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue, and their differing leadership styles (16:40); why he believes relocating an NFL team should be hard (19:34); the importance of globalizing the game of American football, and why he doesn’t think a franchise will call London home for the foreseeable future (22:04); why there’s never been a better time to be a football fan, and why the NFL views legal sports betting as a way to grow their audience (25:52); the many positives of adding a 17th game to the regular season (32:11); Morten pitches some rule changes to his old friend (33:39); the brilliance of Tom Brady (40:21); and this week’s edition of “The Name Game,” featuring Paul Tagliabue, Pete Rozelle, Adam Silver, Rob Manfred, Gary Bettman, Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft (47:26).Then we move to this week’s edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for the five biggest games of the football weekend (57:46 – 01:03:10). Morten gives his picks for Packers at Saints (58:29), Browns at Chiefs (59:41), Steelers at Bills (01:00:30), Chargers at Washington (01:01:36), and Cowboys at Buccaneers (01:02:28).Finally, “Morten’s Game Winner” returns – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten uses this time to reflect on the 20-year anniversary of 9/11/2001 (01:03:55 – 01:06:27).