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Midtown Madness: An Interview with Billiken Assistant Coach Phil Forte


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Thanks for the support and kind words, everybody. We're always a work in progress, still a little raw, and trying to improve every show. But we hope the enthusiasm and love for SLU comes across every time you hear from us. Zac does a tremendous job in putting these out and tracking down leads for interviews. I just show up and talk and ask questions.

I'm streaky with my availability lately (quarantine with a COVID-positive kid, plus another kid and a full-time job, etc.) but always trying to keep the Recruiting Lists thread updated here and putting out as much info as possible on the Midtown Madness Twitter feed. We're not just a podcast - the Twitter feed is ongoing and active and a great way to engage with us. It's also a lot more detailed in terms of recruiting and other topics. Both formats serve their own purpose. And we appreciate engagement of all kinds - comments, questions, criticisms, etc. The goal is to serve SLU fans.

More exciting things are in the works. Kevin Lisch part II is in the can and coming soon.

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Excellent interview.  Nice that Forte already has a feel for the kind of player that Coach Ford is looking for and that Coach trusts Forte's judgement.  Our best chance of pulling a good player out of Texas is finding the right fit.  We're competing against the TCUs and SMUs, IMO.  We need to show on the court why we're the better option.

slufanskip and BilliesBy40 like this
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9 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

I can't believe neither @billikenfan05 or @Pistol made any comment when Forte said he was born in Salina, KS.  You guys really let the board down by not asking to see his PAYSTUBS.  🤣

Go look at my face and I think less conspicuously Peter's face on the Youtube version when he said Salina.

Pistol likes this
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3 hours ago, Pistol said:

If we made reference to message board lore, we'd have lost him.

"...I was actually born in Salina, Kansas-"

"PAYSTUBS!"

[Confused silence, followed by awkward explanation, followed by more awkwardness.]

I mean you're totally right.  It was so early on in the interview and it would have set a totally awkward vibe for the rest of it, but man it just seems like it was meant to be.

I think you could've gotten away with something like "Hey, Salina, KS! That city is sort an inside joke on the Billikens.com message board involving paystubs.  The backstory on it is pretty convoluted as weird inside jokes on the internet tend to be.  In any event, you being born in Salina will resonate with some of our listeners more than you'd expect."  Alternatively you could have followed up later with a sort of inside jokey question with a wink toward the board that would have just gone over his head.  Something like "As the young guy on the coaching staff who relates to the players, would you say that you're the one who is helping settle disputes?  Like if a couple of guys on the team are trying to outdo each other to show who has the bigger PAYSTUBS and get into it a little bit, are you going to handle that?."  I do understand that the Podcast transcends this message board and needs to cater accordingly.

Regardless, I feel like both of your reactions / lack thereof on YouTube video were appropriate / in character.

I humbly submit that Forte's nickname on the board should be "Coach PAYSTUBS" from now on though.

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The REAL reason for the reactions and the omission of an allusion to "PAYSTUBS" is that, in that instant, the hosts realized that Coach Forte IS "Basketball Country," but now that he's part of #TeamBlue, all is forgiven in billikens.com-land.

Henceforth, Coach Forte will be "Coach PAYSTUBS, supreme ruler of Basketball Country."

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