1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Do we want "heels" representing Nebraska?: March 10th, 2026, 11:25am

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

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with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 the ticket. Welcome back. Bill and Bennett, you're right. He says that I think AJ feeds off that kind of stuff, though. He does. He does. It's the juice, right?

It's the sauce. Bach is a friend of the heel in pro wrestling, so they understand the mark. and AJ uses it as fuel. The funny thing is, is that you will have, so we talk about the thirds, right? That a third of the crowd will boo him incessantly. From the moment, anytime he's mentioned to anything he does,

they will boo. Then there's the third that will cheer, everything. And those are usually, especially when it comes to AJ, those are the young people. The young wrestlers in the building, love AJ. They love them some AJ Ferrari. As a matter of fact, most of them are agitating

the third who's bullying who are the old heads. The old heads, I get out of here with your shenanigans and your but the young kids are like, mom, dad, grandpa, Gigi, stop it. We love this guy. And then there's the

middle third of folks who're just kind of watching the other the two extremes go, okay, the guy's wrestling. there's think about this in the era of this sort of wrestling there's one a j farrar there's one there's one there's not there's not another wrestler who can walk into any building that they walk into and get the reaction that a j farore again there's none he's it like he's he's reached christian Leitner status, right? Right? Yeah. Like, who are those

iconic, like, Bosworth? Yeah. Leitner. I mean, Reddick had a tough time. Jay, Reddick. Yeah. Like Duke builds it. Yeah. Duke builds it. Duke, think about that. That's funny, though, that Duke level, that means the Nebraska wrestling is at Duke basketball level. Right? And that, because if he's just a jerk on a program, you don't care. If he's not very good, you don't care. One,

you have to be good. The program has to be good, and the events have to matter. Is there anybody else in sports at the college level that could walk into any gym state, like baseball doesn't have villains like that? Do they?

I can't think of one, especially at the college level. Right? Think about that. Marshall Henderson comes to mind from last decade or so. Is there, is there somebody from Iowa, maybe the coach? Like coaches can generate that sort of heat, right? Basketball is who's, who's the least when it comes to going into other buildings? Like who comes to PBA and the fans just give him the business? Well, I don't know. McCaffrey, maybe?

Maybe. Tom Crean had quite a rivalry with Tim Miles. I think that was that, you know, for a while, there was that. but then there's no, I can't think of a player, an athlete. I don't think, I don't think we hated Caitlin Clark like that. No, I don't think so. Right, like I, I don't think so. I mean, she was the target in every building and she was the focus in every building. But think about that.

We're literally putting AJ Ferrari in the Caitlin Clark conversation. you have to be really good. You have to be, you have to be generationally good for it to matter. And then you have to have a different sort of persona. Nebraska's never had. Think about that. Is there any other Husker who got that reaction in any other building that they went into in the Big Ten? I wouldn't think so.

Isn't that weird? That there's not, so this is what, but this is what, what's happened. Listen, they didn't boo Ridge Lovett. He was an national chain. Here's what also happened. They're starting to get after Trelli, which is you know, style of wrestling or whatever else.

And for a variety of reasons, right? He and Mentot, they got after a little bit. They did not go after Cam McDonnell. They don't go after Brock Hardy. But AJ, Mentow and Ferrari Folks are getting after it, Bach. Just pointed there.

Now we get into the sticky wicket part of the basketball season. Because focus, priority, mission, all those things. Yeah, Jordan Burroughs. Yeah, you literally just made my point. It's just, yeah, yeah, yeah. The songbird asked this question, do we want to heal representing Nebraska? I don't think that AJ's a heel, though.

I don't think anybody who's actually met AJ thinks he's a bad guy. There are people that don't know AJ, and you're basing it off of an example, but then I always tell people, be careful, be cautious, taking the one off, or too often go, okay, that's who a person is, even if I've never met them and understand that, you know, we're correcting a long way and that, oh, my goodness,

we're being judged by what we do as college students. Because I can tell you, Bach, we were judged that way back in 1980, DP wouldn't be sitting here. Just going to say, I had healed tendencies in college. You have to. The greatest face turns when you were heel and you find out that, you know what, I was wrong. There's a nicer way to do this.

Bach, are you the same guy that you were when you were in college? Oh, no. And just anybody in general, I mean, you'd point out the five worst, you know, times of your life. Everybody would, that's why they say you have skeletons in their closet. Everyone would be a terrible people. Yeah, I, you know, listen, that is not my testimony, bro. My testimony is I did not have it right. I did not, I did not have it right for a long time after college.

I took too many college tendencies and turned them into adult tendencies. And then I had to learn, hey, bro, it's time to put that childish mess down. And there was no internet. Thank goodness, there's no internet. because who we, your boy. Your boy. So, I mean, let me ask this. Would Tralee be a great representation of Nebraska?

Has been, yeah. Right? And they're bullying him. They're booing him, right? In all-academic, All-American and Christopher Mentot, he would be a great-re great. representation in Nebraska, right? Yeah. I mean, Charlie's from Nebraska. Nebraska born and bred

and a national champion as an underclassman. And a lower-seeded, a guy that came up through some stuff, took a loss, an early loss at the Big Ten, and then figured it out and then won a national title. Nebraska should probably rally for that kid, right? When other people boo a hometown hero, you should stand up about it.

You should know that this is happening. Like you would want to know. A big part of going back to Utah Valley for Nebraska Wrestling is recruiting, for one, two, partnership, three, to represent and show the iconic wrestlers Scotty Robertson and Brock Hardy back in their home state.

And the reception, that is how the reception should be. And it's amazing to watch how this thing. Yeah, Eric, it's a thing, right? We understand. And Jordan Burrell still gets some of that heat, quite frankly. Right? He really does. Yeah?

Songbird says this. I'm a rally fan trial, but I'm not sure how I feel about AJ. Have you met AJ? The reason why we brought AJ in to do his show on Wednesday night is so you could meet Youngstead. man. There is not a young, now, hey, Bob, don't we tend to give credit for people who've gone through some, some failure and some friction and then tried to get it right? Yeah. Don't we normally cheer for the person who failed and gets up and tries to do right? The comeback stores,

right? Like, we, we tend to do that, right? Especially when it's a young person who then chooses you to represent themselves, the better version of themselves through. to say that my resurrection and my reclamation project identifies firmly with the beliefs and stylings and faith systems of Nebraska. That I want to do it because he tugs at the Nebraska singlet for this, that, hey, I want to represent this. I want to be a fair representation. And I can tell you that on the mat and in Jim,

in that wrestling dojo that is, bro, that cave, there's nobody who works harder. He may be the hardest working athlete I've ever seen. Like, I don't know anybody that works out as hard as AJ Ferrar. Or that is a discipline in his, and what he puts in his body and how he's living. What he was versus what he is. And then what is he intentionally trying to be?

and I think he's trying to be a great representative of the state of Nebraska. Now, I got the opportunity to spend time with his dad and mom and sister at the airport as well. And in a pretty profound, long conversation, we had seen each other several times adapted up and along the way. But yesterday, sitting and talking and not talking wrestling, but talking life and family and love and faith and all those things, that I understand how impressive the man is and how impressive this couple is because they've created three top-tier athletes. Two of them will be all-Americans, right?

Two of them are already all-American. One is a national champion. The other is one takedown away from it. And then the third, who, quite frankly, maybe as athletic as the older too. So whatever they're doing to get their young people prepared to, one, handle the academic load, two to handle the athletic load,

and then be a fair representation. Again, one's at Nebraska, one's at Iowa. Hey, Bob, how many parents you know are putting several kids in those programs at the top level? There's not many. there's not many. So foundationally there's some good things

happening. And you can focus on, you know what, remember that time you stubbed your toe? That's who you are more than, you can run five miles right? On top level time. But you stubbed your toe tripped and fell. And that's the video people show.

Right? That's not who, that doesn't tell you about the five miles. You could talk about Brock Hardy being caught in the Splato, right? It may the Sprado had him all over social media. Yeah. But that's not who Brock.

That's not the Brock Hardy. I know. I understand that that's a part of it. But watching Brock Hardy grow through that and to grow from that, I'm certainly capable of giving Brock Hardy credit for being the other version of himself as well. And that in his humanity, he had a bad day on a big stage. but he's had many great days on that same stage. He's had great days on many of the other days. AJ Ferrari, what he's doing,

a guy who is not a natural heavyweight moving up to heavyweight and finishing second in the Big Ten and being the number two seed in the country? He's not a natural heavyweight. He won his title in a lower weight, too low. Bach, what are we doing? So I don't know. I can't tell anybody who to try.

choose to represent you. If you have a problem with it, you're right. You're absolutely right. Let me, let me be clear. I don't tell Bach who to root for. Like, he, if he wants to move for Dominic, Mysterio, hey, man, have at it. Have it, Bach.

I think he's not exactly the, you know, hand the ball to the official once you cross the goal line to me, guys. So if you've got your different opinion, but I like that. that kind of bravado from an athlete or two. Hey, I like the smurse and the touchdown leap. I love Timmy Smith's cabbage patch in the Super Bowl. I love Ricky Sanders doing the cabbage bed at the White House

and Ronald Reagan called him out and threw a touchdown pass. I listen, but I also understand Barry Sanders tossing the balls with the official. I grew up on Charlie Taylor catching touchdown passes and just standing in the end zone with the ball in one hand in his hands raised, not moving, just going, I have done all that I can do. What else is there? I'm okay with all of them. But I am certainly for the people who are trying to represent themselves better

for themselves and the state of Nebraska.