The Not Joe Flacco Podcast: A Work of Art

Oxford Languages defines a podcast as “a digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device.” The Not Joe Flacco Podcast is that, but really much more, a true work of art. Somehow, Not Joe, Trevor, and Doug have turned an hour and thirty minutes of audio entertainment into something that I look forward to each week, something truly amazing. The Pod, is really just three best friends creating an excuse to talk and catch up every week. They intend to talk football, and while they do this, the conversation often devolves from that. In all honesty, however, the boys have just as much accreditation to talk about sports as they do any other topic, so this keeps the pod interesting. It never feels like you are listening to the so called “experts” from ESPN, but on the contrary it feels like you are sitting in on a conversation that you would have with your own friends. Thus, the show ends up having a wide variety of segments ranging from those about sports, such as Start Bench Cut, THC, to the ones about Not Joe’s personal life such as Podium. Each of these segments has their own traditions, and things that make them unique or great. Start Bench Cut is always great because it plays to one of the strengths of the show, the interaction with the fans, as many of the questions come from Not Joe’s Fans submitting polls on Insta, Film Review is just an excuse to talk Top Gun or Tom Cruise in some way, THC is a classic that every fan looks forward too, and the Podium is even better, giving Not Joe an opportunity to talk about his week, and the crazy things that have happened. The banter of the show, however, is really the best part, giving the boys the opportunity to show their personalities and quirks. Not Joe with his love for the Niners and Frank Gore, and hatred for Larry Fitzgerald, the Seahawks, and Russ, Doug, who grew up in/near Canton (not clear), and is a huge Browns fan now questioning his morals and whether he should cheer for Deshaun Watson, and finally, my favorite, Trevor who loves the Giants, Yankees, and all New York teams (this is what makes him great), while hating the Eagles and Cowboys (I feel disgusting writing those names). Trevor’s reactions to the Giants games each week are exactly how I feel, and seeing someone else share such optimism about such a pathetic organization is really what I need in my life. Anyways, 200 episodes is amazing, and I truly love the pod, it is the best part of my week, and yeah. Thanks Not Joe, Trevor, and Doug, y’all the goats.