'He's Superhuman. I Accepted Defeat' - Ian Eagle Learned Right Away He Couldn't Go Drink-For-Drink Late Night With The King Bill Raftery
[Source] - “I started leaving early, whether it was an Irish exit, or whatever you want to call it, I recognized — for me — I was not going to bounce back the way that he does. He is superhuman. I wasn’t going to test it anymore. I accepted defeat. I waved the white flag.”
That's it, I'm reading this specifically as Bill Raftery is in the market for a drinking buddy who can stay up late and bounce back. You tell me that I get to sit there with Bill Raftery, hear his stories, gas him up and bounce back to do it the next day? I'm submitting my resume. I'm not joking when I say that Bill Raftery is my number 1 guy I want to have a drink with. It's not even close.
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You can have your historical fellas, you can have your John Daly's of the world, I'm choosing my hero. I'm choosing a man who loves his drinks and loves college basketball. What else do I need? Am I a nerd? Of course! This isn't new. I'm way too dedicated to college basketball and want nothing more than to be sitting belly up at a bar with Raft listening to him hold court. It's number 1 bucket list for anything in my life.
Oh and it's 100% belly up at the bar with Raft. I'm sitting here debating this in my head because this is what happens when you're a blogger for your career. A booth? No thank you. I'm not a huge booth guy to begin with, it hurts my back because I'm old with a shitty back. Give me a chair. Feel like you also don't get the full Raft experience in a booth. That man was made to be in the center of the bar holding court, telling stories of college basketball through the decades he's been around.
And credit to Eagle here. I love Eagle and Raft together. They are easily the best announcing duo in the game and in all of sports in my mind. This is self-awareness at the highest level. I'm guessing everyone knows someone who you can't go drink-for-drink with. You try and immediately feel like shit. You have that uh oh moment and realize you're in too deep at that point. Eagle learned at 29 that Raftery is king and superhuman. So Eagle, tap the left hand and bring in the reliever. This is my dream.