CEOInterviews.AIMichael Rubin DROPS BOMBSHELL! Knicks Fans SHATTER Fanatics History

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Craig Carton0:00

It's always great bringing really neat people, cool people, successful people on the show, but when you've known those people for 30 years, I got to be honest, it's not as cool as it might be for other people. The only requirement I had for our next guest today is that because of our relationship, if he had gone on any other show here first, he would have been dead to me and I would have been very upset. The founder and CEO of Fanatics, Michael Rubin, who I'm very proud and privileged to call a very close friend, is here. How you been, buddy?

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Michael Rubin0:30

I'm excited to be here. Mostly because I think this is really the roast of Craig Carton. Like I didn't come here to talk about Fanatics Fest July 16th. I came here to just abuse you.

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Craig Carton0:42

Yes. Listen, everybody that works with me and for me loves that because they can't do it.

M

Michael Rubin0:47

I mean, you're pretty easy target if we're honest with each other.

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Craig Carton0:50

Yes, I am.

M

Michael Rubin0:51

You're talking about you slimmed down a little bit finally.

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Craig Carton0:52

I am slimmed down. Yeah. Well, every year... Anything help you with that? Ever since you chased me around your office with a Mounjaro needle, I've decided...

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Michael Rubin0:59

I mean, I just couldn't look at her anymore. So I had to stab you a few times.

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Craig Carton1:03

And by the way, that's a true story.

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Michael Rubin1:05

And I get thank you notes from your wife. I mean, she's appreciative.

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Craig Carton1:08

She's very happy that you got me off my ass to work out, to box, to use kettle bells, and to eat healthier, which is what it's all about. Mike, you know that?

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Michael Rubin1:16

Yeah, I'm here to help you, brother.

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Craig Carton1:18

You are. So, one of your guys, Brandon, actually sent me a text the other day that the New York Knicks are the most popular team in the history of Fanatics, which I always knew they would be because I think the Eagles had the record. You're Philadelphia Eagles before that and the Cubs obviously were very popular in 2016 when they won the World Series, but nothing like what you guys are seeing with Knicks fans, huh?

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Michael Rubin1:39

There is nothing like Knicks fans. I mean, first of all, New York fans are incredible. They've been a little bit starved here from big championships, but they've shown up in the biggest way possible. And it's been fun to be around the city.

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Craig Carton1:54

Were you with them last night?

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Michael Rubin1:55

I was not. I was not out with them last night. I tried to be young and vibrant and I actually realized I was old, but Sunday night and last night, I said, "I'm coming." And didn't come.

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Craig Carton2:05

You didn't go to the Fly Fish Club on Sunday night.

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Michael Rubin2:07

I said I was coming. I did not come. I was... you know, listen, the problem is I get up by like 5:00 to work in the morning. I'm always working that early. And so you have all the aspiration like, come on, I'm young. I'm fun. I can still do this. And then you're like, oh god, I'm going to be dead. Like I need to sleep five or six hours. But the Knicks fans have been incredible. This is in the history of Fanatics, the single biggest hot market we've ever had. And we've had some really big ones when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. We've never seen anything like that.

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Craig Carton2:37

That was the record set. Absolutely. The record set. Yeah, we... you know, and they were... I think they had one since 1903 if I remember.

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Michael Rubin2:43

Yeah, it was over 100 years. Yeah.

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Craig Carton2:44

Yeah, it was okay. Then it was even early. Yeah, it was... Yeah, I think it was 1903 then... Eagles enormous like when they won the first time it was incredible. Okay. And by the way, Dodgers last year pretty spectacular. But this is just another level. I mean the fandom. I actually took a jog Sunday morning from where I live in West Village to the NBA store that we own and just watching people in there just grabbing everything. Shirts, asking what do you want? Like anything. I want everything.

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Michael Rubin3:18

I mean, there's a line at the NBA store around the block for the last two and a half days. And you didn't jog. You probably walked.

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Craig Carton3:23

I actually jogged. A man of my weight 168 pounds can actually jog there. A guy of your size would probably need a wheelchair or some type of scooter to get you there. You haven't jogged since I've known you.

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Michael Rubin3:34

You know, I can tell you I'm actually jogging later today because I missed my workout this morning. I'm going to jog later this afternoon. I'd like to say you should come with me. It'd be good for you.

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Craig Carton3:42

You know, fool. I'm not jogging anywhere and I don't live in the city anymore.

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Michael Rubin3:45

We'll get you a city bike. See if you survive. You'd probably crash inside.

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Craig Carton3:48

I could do a city bike. You know, it'd be great motivation for you. I'll have a bullhorn and I'll just bike right behind you on the bullhorn. "Jog, fatso, jog!" That'd be good for you.

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Michael Rubin3:58

The last competition I remember we participated in together. Do you know what it was?

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Craig Carton4:01

Oh my. No.

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Michael Rubin4:04

We might have gone to the Kentucky Derby's probably 20 plus years ago together and we might have gone to White Castle after we had about 14,000...

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Craig Carton4:11

Stretch limousine.

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Michael Rubin4:12

Yeah, that's when they had stretch limousine. Yeah. And it was who could eat the most burgers. I tapped out at nine. I think you did 20. Wow. I won. It shows I was competitive.

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Craig Carton4:22

He's a competitive eater. 20 burgers.

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Michael Rubin4:24

But you have to understand, so there's about eight of us in this limo. Kentucky Derby was great. We had drinks and mint juleps and all the thing, you know, go along, get along. That particular White Castle is not in the greatest part of town near the Kentucky Derby, right? And we didn't care. We're drunk. It's 1:00 in the morning. Imagine a stretch limo pulling up into the drive-thru, right? With a bunch of a-holes in the bag. "Y'all take 10. I'll take 20." And then he challenged me as he typically does and I had to win. It's what we've learned through this whole process at Fanatics. We think about all the different competitions. He needs to be in the Raising Cane's eating competition. That is his strength. That's where he excels. That is his sport of choice.

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Craig Carton5:02

Yeah, it used to be. But now that I've lost 30 lbs with just hard work and nothing else.

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Michael Rubin5:08

Yeah. Now he beats the old men in warehouses.

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Craig Carton5:10

That's right. That's what he does. Just go with that. That's the story. By the way, you and I, before I get to Fanatics Fest, which we're going to be a part of as a radio station, and I have some other things going on, too, which I'll talk about in a second.

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Michael Rubin5:21

Yo, you and I talked a few years ago. Boomer and I had a concept for clothing for non-athletic regular people, newer clothing. And we kind of talked around the idea, how cool would it be if we created some clothing and tried to sell to see if non-athletes would have an interest in Narpware and we just kind of died on the vine. But now that you're sitting here, is that a project that we can bring to life or is it totally... you have two of the best non-athletic endorsers in you and me here, correct? Maybe we get... I mean I fit that mold.

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Craig Carton5:55

Okay. So you said you were the best athlete in your high school.

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Michael Rubin5:57

I was athlete of the year 2001. I guess that is true.

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Craig Carton6:01

The problem is 2001 was maybe 25 years ago. Just saying.

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Michael Rubin6:03

Not maybe, it was 25 years ago.

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Craig Carton6:06

Things depreciate quickly. You've seen how someone could be a great athlete one... you're like man best running back ever and two years later he sucks. Yeah. By the way, Fanatics Fest is July 16th through the 19th. I know we're doing this show there live on Thursday and Friday. The fan will be there throughout. And we had announced where we just read a few minutes ago that you've gotten... I didn't hear OG, but outside of OG, every single Knick from the championship team will be appearing at Fanatics Fest coming up in July, which is pretty awesome.

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Michael Rubin6:32

Yeah, it's incredible. And I think Craig, you've been with us since we started. I mean, you've been with me since I started everything. Yes. Because I have known you for legit... How long have I known you for?

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Craig Carton6:41

We're going on 30, almost getting close.

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Michael Rubin6:43

It's pretty... How old are you?

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Craig Carton6:45

What's that?

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Michael Rubin6:45

How old are you?

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Craig Carton6:46

57. It's pretty amazing for a guy who's in his mid-30s like me that I've known you since you were some little baby. Yeah, it's kind of incredible.

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Michael Rubin6:52

I look better for 57 than you look for 32.

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Craig Carton6:54

That's questionable. That's questionable. You're a little less brown now. But now Fanatics Fest, look, we started this two years ago. It's the single hardest thing we do at Fanatics because it's such a great give back to the fan. And we do this once a year only in New York City. And this year we actually planned it to be around the final of the World Cup. We just thought, you know, so many great things happening around soccer, global football, you know, what a great way to do this. And I'll tell you, the first year we did it, it was spectacular. And then we said, okay, let's figure out everything that was wrong and how to make it way better. We took a huge step up from year one to year two. And I'll tell you, I was just going through the content schedule earlier this week, and it's blow away great. And this is something where tickets are actually really inexpensive. We'll have 200,000 people through the building over four days, but you're going to have every big star in sports across every sport with us at Fanatics Fest. You will, to the point, have all the Knicks that just won the championship, but just about all the Knicks, many of the former Knicks doing so many different things. I saw Jaylen Brunson, Josh Hart interviewing for their podcast, Aaron Judge one day. And by the way, you got now what's happening around sports, just everyone's convening around Fanatics Fest. So, you have the ESPYs moved the ESPYs to New York the night before Fanatics Fest.

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Michael Rubin8:16

Because you guys are here.

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Craig Carton8:17

Absolutely. And we're working with them. We're honored to work with them on that. You've got the Dodgers playing the Yankees in New York. I think WWE is doing a big event. You've got Time 100 doing a big celebration. So everyone's just really converging around Fanatics Fest as we kind of create this is the place to be in sports. But if you just think about... I'll do this one from memory. Basketball. I mean you've got LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, you've got Anthony Edwards, SGA, Wemby. You've got Cooper Flagg for a second. You sure he's coming to New York City?

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Michael Rubin8:52

I'm sure New York City is right. Yeah. We might give him a little more security, but I think at Fanatics...

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Craig Carton8:58

Make sure no eggs are allowed.

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Michael Rubin9:00

Make sure he doesn't foul anybody on the way in.

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Craig Carton9:01

Listen, Knicks fans got exactly what they deserved.

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Michael Rubin9:05

A championship.

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Craig Carton9:06

A championship. And now they need to honor him when he's here.

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Michael Rubin9:09

They need to show him some love. Show him some love. We will get him some extra security, but I know in our house of Fanatics, we're going to have respectful fans.

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Craig Carton9:19

Oh, for sure. He has to remember life.

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Michael Rubin9:21

And by the way, you know what? It's what makes sports fans amazing. I mean, it's why all of us are so lucky to work in this business. But I was just giving you the idea of that's just in basketball. I think we have three to 400 of the greatest athletes in the world. And by the way, then you've got people across culture. You've got like yourself and Wayne and Jay-Z and Travis Scott and unathletic people like Kevin Hart coming.

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Craig Carton9:46

So, we've got, you know, we've got, by the way, he does a show called His Balls there. You... I just saw you've got Novak Djokovic there. I was just seeing a back and forth between him and Tom Brady about who was going to win the Fanatics Games this year.

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Michael Rubin9:57

Yeah. So...

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Craig Carton9:58

I think Brady won it last year, right?

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Michael Rubin10:00

It's pretty incredible. We came up with this idea last year. We said, "Let's do something where you take 50 really great athletes, a few celebrities, artists versus 50 average Joe fans and have a competition with 100 people." And we did, I think last year was seven sports. So, it was like a three-point shooting contest in basketball, a pitching competition. Last year was a basketball throwing competition. This year will be field goals, hockey competition, a kicking competition, a FIFA putting competition, and a punching competition, WWE walkout. So, I guess there were eight competitions last year and we had 50 athletes, celebrities, artists, 50 average Joe fans. Last year, by the way, I watched Brady go out with Eli because they were paired together because you go paired in twos.

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Craig Carton10:44

Yeah.

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Michael Rubin10:45

And Eli tore it up in baseball. He looked like Ohtani pitching.

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Craig Carton10:51

Really?

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Michael Rubin10:51

Yeah. It was kind of stunned.

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Craig Carton10:53

Yeah.

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Michael Rubin10:53

And then I saw Brady pitch. He looked pretty horrible.

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Craig Carton10:56

Okay. And so I left. I'm like, "Ah, Brady, he ain't got a shot of winning." I never looked at the scores again.

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Michael Rubin11:04

End of the day, Brady calls me. He's like, "Who's the champ?" It was only the first day, but he was in first place. I was like, "What?" Like, you were very competitive, huh?

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Craig Carton11:13

That would be the understatement of all statements. So last year, Brady won first place, won a million bucks. Actually, donated it. Second place was a Ferrari. Justin Gaethje who just won the UFC championship Sunday night...

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Michael Rubin11:26

He got second place. Okay. He's sneaky athletic by the way.

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Craig Carton11:29

Yeah. And a guy you don't mess with. Like if you beat him, just tell me, you know, you win. You won.

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Michael Rubin11:35

Third place was a gym teacher from Pennsylvania who by the way beat James Harden by like a smidge. James was very, very unhappy.

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Craig Carton11:44

So they took it seriously. They like what's the juices?

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Michael Rubin11:46

Really seriously. Yeah. Of the top 10, I think four were professional athletes. Six were not.

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Craig Carton11:53

Yeah.

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Michael Rubin11:53

There's thousands, tens of thousands of people compete to get one of these 50 spots.

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Craig Carton11:58

Got it.

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Michael Rubin11:58

And then you have 50 athletes, celebrities, artists. You wouldn't fit anything.

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Craig Carton12:04

And we're none of those.

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Michael Rubin12:05

I guess I'm an artist in a way, but no, I don't fit. We said high quality artist.

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Craig Carton12:08

Oh, my bad. Like you never asked me to announce anything. I could announce it.

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Michael Rubin12:12

We could use your good summer to announce to make fun of people, abuse people. For sure. I'm in that. We'll get you a key role in just abusing people.

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Craig Carton12:20

That's it. I'm in on that. Is look, this is year three and this is not a big money maker for you guys. I know that this is more...

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Michael Rubin12:26

Definitely this is a give back.

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Craig Carton12:28

No, I know. You give this back to the fans. I'm well aware of that. Is it when you walk through the building at the Javits Center the first year, is it the kind of thing where you've had crazy ideas, they don't all come to fruition. When you walk through that first year compared to what you're gonna walk through now, is it a pinch yourself kind of moment? So, let me say two things. I don't feel much. It's just like I'm always going so hard. You know, I'm starting really early, going really late every day. I do it seven days a week. You've known me for... I've been the same way since forever you've known me. So, I don't really have much feeling towards stuff. I will tell you, I remember the first year I had been up for like two days straight and I got home and I was like so wired. It was Saturday night. There was one day left at Fanatics Fest and I remember taking a sleeping pill and then saying to Camille like this is freaking crazy. That was year one. When I look at how much better year two was and then I just looked at the agenda, I don't think you pinch yourself but when you know you've got everyone around the world that makes sports work, right? It's pretty and there's something for everybody. If you're the biggest WWE fan, you've got Cody Rhodes there and you've got John Cena there and you've got Liv Morgan there and you've got Roman Reigns there and if you're a big UFC fan, you have the champ who just won Justin Gaethje there and if you're a basketball fan, we talked about all the basketball players and you know in think about New York, you've got all the stars in the Giants coming. Carter is going to be there. Jackson Dart, got Cam there, you got Malik Nabers there, you got OBJ there. So that's from a Giants perspective. From a Knicks perspective, you've got basically the entire team there and a bunch of the guys who've done it.

You guys actually did something no one's been able to do. You guys have Leon Rose going.

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Michael Rubin14:19

Leon Rose doesn't speak publicly.

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Craig Carton14:22

Well, I didn't even know he was coming. Let me say this. Yeah, he should because you know he was an agent who represented... before... Yeah. He had to deal with the Sixers and now the reigning president of basketball who just won championships. So we're honored to have him, we're lucky to have him. By the way, I got to stop and tell you one thing. When Leon left and you know he represented Joel Embiid and he was such a great guy and he was always that guy hustled his ass off like he was always in the arena all the time. I gotta say, and I said this to him last time I saw him like a year ago, like I just didn't like, you know, those are hard transitions. Like you don't normally think someone who leaves being an agent can go do this job and do it so well.

We've seen guys fail.

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Michael Rubin15:04

Most guys fail.

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Craig Carton15:05

Most guys fail. And I tell you something, I didn't think he was going to have, forget about winning the championship. I didn't think he was going to have the success. I grabbed him like a year ago and I said, "Hey, I just want you to know when you left, I didn't think you'd do this great, man. I'm freaking proud of you."

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Michael Rubin15:19

Yeah.

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Craig Carton15:19

And that was before he won the championship. Sure. Now, this guy just won the championship, what he's done for New York. I'll tell you, I was out at a watch party Saturday night, and watching the tears come out of so many people's eyes, it made me one, a bit emotional, and two, like realizing how lucky we are all to do what we do. But like, I mean, it starts with him.

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Michael Rubin15:42

Did you regret not hiring him to be the Sixers president GM when you owned them?

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Craig Carton15:46

Well, looking back, obviously. And look, we were, look, I was a perennial failure. Like, I was the third largest donor of the Philadelphia Sixers. We were a perennial first, second round exit in the playoffs. We never got it done. And by the way, when you own a sports team and you're involved with a sports team, you have one job: to win the championship. If you don't win the championship, which you have a 3% chance of doing, you failed. Leon Rose did something that nobody else could do for 50 plus years.

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Michael Rubin16:11

Yeah. No, he walks on water in New York forever.

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Craig Carton16:14

Yeah. And so, and I got to tell you something, the amount of tears I saw and you see that's why this hot market is so big for... I'll tell you another thing. We've had every city, I've had the governor of every big country in America. I've had the presidents, prime ministers, dictators of so many of the biggest countries in the world call me and say, "We want to do Fanatics Fest in our country. We want to do Fanatics Fest." We've had the most powerful people in the world offering the most insane amount of money. You know what I always say? New York's the best city in the world. I want to do it.

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Michael Rubin16:46

You say no to them.

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Craig Carton16:47

Yeah. I have no interest.

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Michael Rubin16:48

Really? So, it'll always be in New York.

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Craig Carton16:50

Look, at least for now.

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Michael Rubin16:52

Let me say this to you.

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Craig Carton16:52

You might pick LA or Chicago.

I got to tell you something. So long as New York treats us great, we will always do it. Got it. Okay. I got to tell you something. I live, you know, when I'm in New York, I live 10 minutes from Javits, right? Javits is an incredible convention center. It's got 1.1 million square feet. New York can accommodate everybody. We can allow sports week to take place around Fanatics Fest and all these great events to come. Think about this that you have the World Cup final and the World Cup going on, right? The Dodgers playing the Yankees during this period of time, Fanatics Fest, okay, the ESPYs in New York just absorbs it all and does nothing. So, for me, what I... this is not, you know, this is a give back to fans. This is a way for the greatest athletes and stars in the world to really get in touch with their biggest fans. So for us, we want to do it in the greatest place in the world. And I think New York is the greatest place that want to do it. So I'd say so long. And again, we have had people offer us hundreds of millions of dollars to come do it in their location.

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Michael Rubin17:52

And you say no to that.

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Craig Carton17:54

No, thank you. And by the way, and you... I think our ticket revenue, if we sell 200,000 tickets for, you know, 50 or 60 bucks or 70 bucks, it's whatever $12-14 million it cost. You know, ourselves and our partners spend $80 or $90 million to put this on, right, over these four days. It's the greatest honor. So you say, do I pinch myself? You walk around and just in amazement. First of all, by the way, you should do this with me for one day because it would help you get slim. The steps that you get, the steps that you get.

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Michael Rubin18:19

Dude, I'm down 30 lbs. That's because you're taking the shot. Since we're busting balls, you can get off the shot.

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Craig Carton18:27

I haven't taken it in months.

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Michael Rubin18:30

I heard two weeks ago just a few minutes ago.

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Craig Carton18:32

I haven't since we're busting balls. I got to ask you a question. And no one else is going to say this to you.

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Michael Rubin18:37

You can ask me anything.

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Craig Carton18:38

I think I know I can. Since I think it was game three, you didn't show up to the second quarter. What's up? Why were you late?

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Michael Rubin18:46

Yo, I'm going to tell you.

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Craig Carton18:46

And I watched you walk in there. Second quarter. Honest answer. So now you're going to feel really bad.

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Michael Rubin18:55

Oh, here we go.

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Craig Carton18:56

Is this on you? So my office actually had a real executional issue to where there was a miscommunication. I was supposed to go Wednesday. Instead they got me tickets for Monday. Well, my four-year-old, my youngest daughter turned four on Monday. She had a birthday in Philadelphia. So we had birthday dinner... Romy's birthday was at 6 p.m. at the Melting Pot.

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Michael Rubin19:17

Yes. Okay.

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Craig Carton19:17

Great place for a four-year-old's birthday. Yeah, it's like so... I said move it up till 5:45. I got there and it was supposed to be like an hour dinner. The dinner got finished in Philadelphia at 8:00 p.m. to where my oldest daughter, Kylie, kept saying, "Hey guys, don't you want dessert yet? Who wants dessert?" She's like trying to move the dinner as quick as she can. Camille wanted to kill us because she's like, "This is our kid's birthday. Like, why are you trying to rush out of here?" I then took a heli from where I was to get to New York to Teterboro. Thank God for the escort. The escort got me from Teterboro to MSG in 19 minutes, which is impossible. That's when I walked in in the beginning of the second quarter. So, I will say it was... shout out to my sorry Romy for sorry Gigi actually. It was Gigi's birthday, not Romy's. My god, shows you what happens to sleep. It was Gigi's fourth birthday and I was trying to be a good dad and do too many things at once. So, I was trying to make Kylie happy to take her watch the Knicks game and make Gigi happy. One in Philadelphia, one in New York. So, you know what? Stop trying to make me feel bad about my daughter's birthday. A four-year-old birthday.

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Michael Rubin20:19

You're not allowed to show up and you can't leave early at those seats.

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Craig Carton20:22

I didn't leave early. I said...

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Michael Rubin20:23

You showed up late.

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Craig Carton20:24

I showed up late without a birthday party. You know, let's get back to you and drugs to be skinny.

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Michael Rubin20:30

I learned it by watching you, Dad.

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Craig Carton20:32

It's fair point. So, what we were saying before we both got distracted was the amount of steps I take at Fanatics Fest. It's like 15 to 20,000 steps on my Whoop.

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Michael Rubin20:43

Walk me through. Not everybody knows that you guys acquired Topps. I know you're a hobbyist. You love it. Always did for a long time. So now it was a dream come true to buy that great American company. And I know it furthers what Fanatics wants to be to all fans. You give fans kind of a one-stop shopping opportunity from merchandise to memorabilia now to trading cards which I mean I've never seen more content around kids, you know, with opening up boxes and doing rips and all the things I never heard of. I remember as a kid you'd play Wallesi. Right. You throw cards against the wall. Whoever got closest got them or you'd flip cards based on position or the color of the logo. But it's had to have exceeded even your wildest dreams as far as the interest from kids today because like his kids are six and eight. They're not... we that generation didn't grow up trading cards.

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Craig Carton21:34

No, it kind of exploded around COVID like that again. It's always had its ups and downs the card market. It kind of exploded again after and during COVID and I'm curious where it is now actually the market is for the cards.

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Michael Rubin21:46

Look, we got in the business. We came up with the idea the day before Thanksgiving of 2020. And really what I saw was three companies who had the primary rights from the US sports. Panini who had the NBA and the NFL, Topps who had baseball, Upper Deck who had hockey and then Panini was really the global leader at that point in this business. I thought these companies honestly were all complacent, fat and happy, not innovative, not marketing. We looked at the business and said, "Man, you know, this is a storytelling business. If you create great products, if you tell great stories, the sky's the limit." So, we started the business January 1st, 22. It'll be more than a $5 billion business this year, which is one of the visions of Fanatics. Fanatics today is about $14 billion, about 22,000 employees, and we feel like we're just getting started. Here's the most important thing. Whatever we do, we need to figure out how to keep doing it better and better for the fan. That is the most important thing to relentlessly enhance the fan experience. And that's not like BS. Like that is our brand purpose. And by the way, we're great in certain things and other things we're not good at and we got to keep being better in. But what we've done in the collectible space, we've taken a space, we've taken a really a business that benefited from COVID as you said.

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Craig Carton23:03

Yeah.

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Michael Rubin23:04

And then everyone expected it to go backwards because it was cyclical and we said, "Wait a second. Let's innovate the product." So I'll give you an example right now. In the World Cup. Okay. In the game that was played yesterday, Lamine Yamal wore a debut patch because it was the first time he ever played in the World Cup. That patch is going to be saved by us and going to a card when our FIFA rights kick in.

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Craig Carton23:27

The entire patch or you cut it?

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Michael Rubin23:29

No, the patch.

C

Craig Carton23:29

The whole patch. The patch is his debut patch. Got it. When Ronaldo and Messi step on the field, they have legacy patches. So, like the innovation you think about, think about Ohtani when he had his rookie year, right? He had a debut patch like we now make across every sport. If a debut patch of Ohtani be a $25 million card today there'd be one in the world. Okay. And so like the innovation we've done in creating debut patches, legacy patches, you know, the marketing that we've done. I'll tell you a great story. I talk about let's get back on brand with New York Knicks. There's no bigger collector in this world than Karl-Anthony Towns.

Really?

M

Michael Rubin24:02

Okay. This guy loves... He doesn't like... he loves... Okay. Trading cards and collecting. I by the way in the middle of the series I remember after you guys had a big win. The next morning I look at him I'm like because I'm like half blind as you know. I look at him I'm like who is that? And my guy's like are you blind? It's KAT. He's pretty big to not notice. He was like whatever 20 feet away. I'm like didn't they just play last night? Didn't he finish at like 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning? He's like things to do for... He's in here breaking cards, opening cards and you know he was buying cards, trading cards, selling cards.

C

Craig Carton24:34

So he's all in on it.

M

Michael Rubin24:35

Big day cards, baby. He's... Yeah. Was it weird to you when LeBron begged you to do the specialty patch that no NBA players had other than him to acknowledge what's not his last season and you guys did the partnership with LeBron? What was that conversation like?

C

Craig Carton24:48

Yeah. So, different than you. We love LeBron. Okay. Don't have a condescending attitude to one of the greatest athletes of all time.

M

Michael Rubin24:56

Can you please give me a patch?

C

Craig Carton24:57

I knew this question was coming the second you used the word patch.

M

Michael Rubin25:01

Greg is generally unhappy. Just wanted to take over all the problems you have. Take him out on other problems. LeBron is, you know, one of the most incredible athletes in the world, as you know, and even you can't debate that.

C

Craig Carton25:11

Yeah. He's not the greatest of all time, but he's good.

M

Michael Rubin25:13

He might be in basketball. I mean, that's a good debate. He could be.

C

Craig Carton25:17

It's not a good debate, but it's a good debate. I mean, NBA players, you're old, so you're always going to obviously. So, look, we do patches to celebrate all types of things. And to have someone who played 23 years in the NBA is something we want to make sure they celebrate. The same way if you've played six World Cups like Messi and Ronaldo currently doing, we want to celebrate those moments because that's how you story tell. So, we're always thinking about people that have a positive attitude unlike Craig. How can we tell great stories with the moments that are happening in sports and whether it's LeBron for his 23rd season, whether it's Lamine Yamal for his first debut patch in the World Cup or whether it's Messi Ronaldo in their sixth World Cup, these are all great moments and what we're doing is we're taking those moments and turning them into the most coveted collectibles in the world. And we're storytelling with them. So, we love... there's no one who moves the basketball business more than LeBron James and we're honored to have him. And then on the flip side, you have guys that you currently are abusing like Wemby who's... and by the way, let's no face, but a little dirty, immature, didn't stand for the anthem at the Garden. Tried to take OG's knee out and try to take Jaylen Brunson out. And here's what I'm going to say. I couldn't be any happier for the Knicks. And by the way, I was rooting for the Knicks. That said, let's keep this real. The Spurs are going to be a formidable team and a championship team for I don't even think a decade, for decades. I got to tell you, I agree. I remember going to meet Wemby for the first time we were signing him and he was 19. I walked out of there. I called my guys. I said, "I don't think I've seen a more sophisticated, more thoughtful 19-year-old than he was at the time." And it was interesting. We're talking about like what drives people. He's talking about Star Wars. He's a huge Star Wars fan. And he's a, you know, look, I know a lot of guys are like, you think about guys in culture who drive culture. You know, he's just a very different guy. I love that because that's what makes the NBA great because you have people with different backgrounds. Sure. By the way, nothing more impressive than when you think about the thing I'm so excited about in sports now. What did the Knicks teach us? Anything is possible. How many times were they, you know, the biggest comeback in playoff history. They, you know, every game they were down, they came back. For me, for a guy who barely made it out of high school, like I resonate... you can't not resonate with the Knicks. Like the comeback kids, I mean, these guys and they're not flashy. It's blue collar. Brunson's the most understated superstar.

M

Michael Rubin27:40

And you know what else you learn about? Freaking teamwork, man. Because you know what happens all the time? You guys know this. I'm sure you sit there and you talk smack about all the people that are great athletes that can't play together. Okay? And there's so many incredible athletes. They don't work well together. You know what you have with these guys? Just a bunch of guys who just they're all about the team. They work so well together. And by the way, it's going to be great to have that team at Fanatics Fest.

C

Craig Carton28:02

If you want to set up a special carton and LeBron one-on-one at Fanatics Fest, I'd probably say yes to that.

M

Michael Rubin28:10

You know that that's a dangerous...

C

Craig Carton28:12

Can we get some wagers? You know, I don't wager anymore.

M

Michael Rubin28:16

Yeah. I was just saying like what do you want?

C

Craig Carton28:17

You guys could do what you got to do over there.

M

Michael Rubin28:19

I mean, we could... I'm just saying dangerous if you make it interesting.

C

Craig Carton28:23

I want to tell you a story about Michael Rubin that I've never told publicly before. So, I don't mean to embarrass you. I don't think you'd be embarrassed by it.

M

Michael Rubin28:29

There's nothing that could possibly embarrass me.

C

Craig Carton28:30

So, when I was in the middle of my nonsense and gambling out of control, I happened to have this huge win in Bimini, a resort in Bimini, the biggest one I had ever had in my lifetime, over three days. And because I was so secretive about my gambling, I couldn't tell anybody. No one knew, right? There was only one guy I could trust that I would tell what I just did because what I did at the levels I was gaming, you cannot do it. All right? And I don't like glorifying the numbers, but it was an absurd amount of money over three days. I remember this like it was yesterday. I was flying home and I go, "You're not going to believe it. I'll just tell you numbers once. I won $3.1 million in three days at a place that can't absorb that kind of loss to a single player." And I called Michael up and I go, "You're not going to believe this." And he didn't. And he goes, "Good. Now stop. Don't ever gamble again." He goes, "I know what you're going to, but if I could give you any advice, stop, because that is on. You can't do what you did. Enjoy the money. You'll pay off your mortgage, pay for the kids to go to school, give your wife money, whatever it was." And obviously, I didn't listen. But you were the only person outside of my family that cared enough to tell me, look me dead in the eye, and say, "Now you've got to stop." And the last meal I had and dinner I had before I went away was with him and that's true friendship and loyalty and you know I love you for that and a million other things you've done for me as you know but I do appreciate that.

M

Michael Rubin29:48

Well, I was honored to have that meal with you. And you know what I was talking, we were just saying I was with your family on Sunday. And I was saying the thing that I always knew was never a question was that lots of people go through tough times, but it was so obvious that you were going to bounce back stronger than ever. It wasn't even a question in my mind. I remember the day you got out on probation. They still wouldn't even let you at this point. You couldn't move around yet. Your probation was screwed up. I'm like, you're going to kill it. And by the way, the experience you went through made you a better person. And you know what? I know somebody else right now. One of my daughter's best friend's dad is going through a similar situation. I said to Kylie's friend, I said, "This will make your dad a better person." Like, you know what? People make mistakes. That's life. But you know what the greatest thing is? How you come back from those mistakes. And you know what? It's the nicest. It's the only nice thing I'll ever say to you.

C

Craig Carton30:41

I appreciate... I'm freaking uncomfortable saying nice things to you.

M

Michael Rubin30:47

I'm going to deny everything I just said.

C

Craig Carton30:49

Right. I love you for... I'm so proud of you because you didn't... like you made a mistake. You paid the consequences like a man and then you went back out and you're doing better than ever providing for your family, helping others learn from your mistakes. And you know, look, we're in the gambling business. Yep. And so I've been a degenerate gambler my whole life. Okay. You and I, how many times did we gamble together in our 20s, 30s, 40s? Okay, this is the way we grew up. And you know what, for me, it's funny because in our... and we're the fastest growing sportsbook and casino in the country today. And I always say, I think we have a different approach because we don't, you know, Fanatics, it's a reasonable part of a bigger company. We don't need anybody's business. We want to be the first to shut somebody off that's got a problem. We want to be the first to like... we want to be the best at responsible gambling because you know what gambling should be fun and entertaining. The second it's not it's a problem. It became a problem for you. I understood it and I remember when I was flying home that day and you called me. I thought it was actually 3.3 million by the way. I remember you calling me and I remember saying to you, Craig, stop. Like you're going to lose it all back. Like they don't build these buildings on winners. They build these buildings on losers. Okay? And you're going to give it back. And so you had the bug and you couldn't control it. But now the great thing is whatever... now I can teach people stronger better than ever. Still fat without the drug. But you know, gambling, you know, don't forget I know where you live.

All right, let's friends. Jesus.

M

Michael Rubin32:25

It goes back a long time. He was at my wedding. I look... July 16th through the 19th. Are tickets still available, guys? Website fanaticsfest.com, I think. Right. You have it over there, Big Mac.

C

Craig Carton32:37

Or no, it's fanaticsfest.com.

M

Michael Rubin32:40

And Craig, you're going to... Yeah, Thursday we're doing our show live. Friday, we're doing this show live and then it's been announced Sunday at 10:00 in the morning. I have a podcast called The Joint Venture with Lil Wayne, who is at the first Fanatics Fest. And I think it's performed for you some of your other events as well. And he and I will be taping, broadcasting live and also taping for later use a bunch of podcasts. Eli Manning is one of our guests for sure. I can't give out the rumored guests because they're not closed in yet. But if we close out the two people we think we're going to close, it'll break the internet. I can just say that. Ray Lewis is joining us. I know for one. Amari Stoudemire is joining us and probably a host of other people and we appreciate you setting it up for us and look forward to being a part of it.

C

Craig Carton33:27

We're honored to have you. Can't wait to have you guys. The only thing I want to know is like why are you not going 24/7 to test your strength at what was... would you say 67 now? Like what? Why are you not going 24/7? Just you should be there broadcasting non-stop. You should never leave. Like I want... I'm first in that building last night. You should be in the old show.

M

Michael Rubin33:46

Let's have an agreement right now. You pick which day. All right. If you want to make it Saturday, Sunday, don't matter to me, right? Because I have to do this show Thursday and Friday. You tell me what time to show up and as long as you keep providing guests and I will sit there for 24 hours and do guest after guest after guest confirmed right now.

C

Craig Carton34:05

My podcast with Lil Wayne.

M

Michael Rubin34:06

So hold on. I just want to say one thing.

C

Craig Carton34:08

Go ahead.

M

Michael Rubin34:08

Since you're on air at Fanatics Fest Thursday and Friday, you start Thursday morning. We provide your guests non-stop. You'll be the first person to go non-stop. We'll get you guests the entire time from Thursday morning. You never go to sleep until World Cup on Sunday.

C

Craig Carton34:21

Well, you know, I can't do four straight games. You're not sleeping because you're going to take a nap. Listen, tell me. So, take a nap on...

M

Michael Rubin34:27

I'll tell you what I'll do though. I'll go... I'm going to regret saying this.

C

Craig Carton34:31

Yeah. Give me something good. Somebody give me good. I will provide.

M

Michael Rubin34:33

So, obviously the building closes at some point.

C

Craig Carton34:35

It closes at the end of the World Cup on Sunday.

M

Michael Rubin34:38

No, I'm saying like on Saturday like if I got there at noon on Saturday and Wayne and I done ballpark noon on Sunday. I think we start at 10 in the morning.

C

Craig Carton34:46

What like what time Saturday night? I think there's a concert or party, but what time does the building close?

M

Michael Rubin34:51

Working all night. There's people all...

C

Craig Carton34:52

But you don't have guests there all night.

M

Michael Rubin34:54

But you could have a special event. Bring your kids. Have them have a behind the scenes. You know, come to Fanatics Fest. Only the Carton family can do it between 2 and 4 a.m. Sunday morning.

C

Craig Carton35:03

All right. So, how about we do this? How about we do...

M

Michael Rubin35:05

Give us something aggressive.

C

Craig Carton35:06

How about we show you tough...

M

Michael Rubin35:08

What time does the door open on Sunday?

C

Craig Carton35:10

I think 9:00 a.m.

M

Michael Rubin35:11

9:00 a.m. And it closes after the World Cup's over.

C

Craig Carton35:13

That's like a half day.

M

Michael Rubin35:15

That's a half day. Half day.

C

Craig Carton35:16

But you... Oh my god. You're going to come from 9:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m.? My god. I'm here. Here's what I'll do. I'll come.

M

Michael Rubin35:22

How about Saturday morning? Saturday morning 9:00 a.m. Okay. Saturday night when it opens until Sunday World Cup non-stop. We will get you guests.

C

Craig Carton35:29

We can do that.

M

Michael Rubin35:30

Bet. Deal. Okay.

C

Craig Carton35:32

Okay.

M

Michael Rubin35:32

We got your guest. Okay. You're going 9 a.m. Saturday morning. We take a break when the building closes.

C

Craig Carton35:38

No, there's no dinner break. There's no breaks here. You get to leave for bathroom breaks in...

M

Michael Rubin35:43

9:00 a.m. Saturday to noon on Sunday. Is that what we're saying? No. Well, end of the World Cup.

C

Craig Carton35:47

When does the World Cup end?

M

Michael Rubin35:48

It's like... the match is at 3:00 p.m. It's over at 5.

C

Craig Carton35:51

So 9:00 a.m. Saturday to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

M

Michael Rubin35:54

Your family would be embarrassed of you. Like to hear how weak you are trying to... like you act like you guess throughout.

C

Craig Carton35:59

We'll get you guests throughout.

M

Michael Rubin36:00

100%.

C

Craig Carton36:01

100%.

M

Michael Rubin36:01

And you close that other guy for me.

C

Craig Carton36:04

That wasn't the deal. I... We will get you guests throughout from 9:00 a.m. Saturday until Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

M

Michael Rubin36:09

Done and done.

C

Craig Carton36:10

Deal. Deal. Can I ask for one thing in return? I asked for one thing. I will get you a bathroom.

M

Michael Rubin36:17

No, obviously I get some bathroom break for sure in between tapings, but I asked for one thing. Not this year. At some point we try to roll out Narp clothing. Narp clothing. I try it once. We give it one shot.

C

Craig Carton36:31

Should it be a collab for next year at Fanatics Fest?

M

Michael Rubin36:34

No, that's fine.

C

Craig Carton36:35

Okay.

M

Michael Rubin36:35

Okay.

C

Craig Carton36:36

I think... Listen, I mean, we certainly have some great people who endorse it in this room. Michael Rubin, everybody go to fanaticsfest.com. You know, I love you and I'm proud of you and the success. I'm your biggest fan out there. I look forward to having a great time. Apparently, I'll be there Thursday, Friday, and then Saturday morning till Sunday to the World Cup.

M

Michael Rubin36:56

And there'll be guests. We'll get you people. We're going to be bringing drunk people in 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m. What's your name?

C

Craig Carton37:02

5 p.m. Right. Now, by the way, I just want to say couple overnight guests may work at Javits. We didn't qualify who the guest, but you're going to have guests all weekend long.

M

Michael Rubin37:10

Done and done. Michael Rubin, everybody. Take a quick break. Come right back.

Michael Rubin DROPS BOMBSHELL! Knicks Fans SHATTER Fanatics History

About Michael Rubin