Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins In-Arena Host Jayden Becker joins the show!

Starting point is 00:00:00 As Pat teased on Tuesday, we have a very special guest for the Wednesday edition of the Locked on Penguins podcast with new Penguins in-game arena host, Jaden Becker, and that's coming up right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your hosts. Hunter Hodes, you can follow me on Twitter at Humber.

Starting point is 00:00:40 our hodies, joined by my co-host Patrick Damp. We can follow him on Twitter at Send him for Wet. And you can follow these shows, Twitter, at L.O. On us for Penguins, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen slash watch today. We are free and available on all platforms. So Pat, you and I have been teasing this ever since we were talking to Jaden earlier this week.

Starting point is 00:00:59 And we have him first-time guest on the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Penguins' new in-game arena host, Jaden, we really appreciate you taking the time to come on today's episode, especially because, you know, teams offer the next, what, six days still. So it's great that we're able to have you on and talk about your first season here in Pittsburgh. Yeah, perfect time to talk to talk about like January and February where it was kind of like light on home games, especially now we're going into this all-star break. So I figured great time to talk to you guys.

Starting point is 00:01:27 You guys do a fantastic job on lockdown penguins. So I'm super excited. Yeah, man, we're really excited to have you here. You know, we were talking right before we hit record. You know, for a long time at PPG paints arena and consulting. All Energy Center. People kind of knew that when they came into games, it was going to be Selena Pompeiani on the mic for the inn arena host.

Starting point is 00:01:47 And with life happening, you know, she's just welcomed her first child. She stepped away from duties and in comes you. So we just want to get, you know, your first reactions to being in Pittsburgh, being with the penguins and, you know, what's your experience been like being the in arena host for a team like the Pittsburgh penguins? I absolutely love Pittsburgh. There's something about this city.

Starting point is 00:02:11 I moved here from Queens, New York. I was born and raised there, went to college in upstate New York, and Ithaca college. And now I'm here in Pittsburgh with the Penns. And honestly, I didn't really know what to expect. I know this fan base is first class. I know this organization is first class. And so coming in, I wanted to do justice and service by that. And I also wanted to execute on what the mission was, and the mission is for this season,

Starting point is 00:02:36 is fun first, fans first, put them in the forefront. The hockey is always going to be there. Obviously, you have superstars on the ice, but we want to highlight the superstars that are in the stands, and those are the fans. And so if you notice this year, obviously, we have the giant mega center hang, and we're showing the fans as much as humanly possible.

Starting point is 00:02:54 We're trying to get them rowdy. We're trying to get them crazy and give them the opportunity to cheer for more than, let's just say, the hockey. We're trying to get them to cheer for all the fun stuff that we have going on in the building. But Pittsburgh, it's special, man. There's a certain culture that comes along with Pittsburgh because Pittsburgh is in such an interesting part of the country where I wouldn't call it a coastal city, but I wouldn't call it a part of the Midwest.

Starting point is 00:03:18 I also wouldn't call it. It's very unique. It's almost like this melting pot of cultures from a bunch of different parts of Northern America. So it's very exciting to. be a part of this, you know, coming to Pittsburgh, all I really knew here was about Pittsburgh was the Steelers, the terrible towel, the Penguins, they win a lot of championships, and they have Sidney Crosby. And then along with that, the fan base is rowdy. But I did my research coming into PBG Pants Arena, making sure I knew. I was up to snuff, if you will. I make sure I knew my

Starting point is 00:03:57 history before I grab that microphone. Yeah, I've always said about Pittsburgh. I think it's a perfectly kept secret from a lot of people, to be honest. And once you come here, I think a lot of people just fall in love with it. But, Jaden, when you first heard about the gig, just what had you so interested in it? What had me interested in it was the idea that being in front of 18,000, this isn't my first time doing a hosting gig. I was the host of the Bridgeport Islanders. I was the host of the Syracuse Mets. Prior to that, I was doing Frontier League stuff with the Sussex County Minors. I hosted with the Georgia Shore Blue Clause. I ran my my way through Ithaca college doing a ton of broadcasting work.

Starting point is 00:04:36 And personally, I graduated in May of college. So I either was going to go into news or I was going to go into entertainment. And I'd rather cover, I'd rather do this fun entertainment stuff than cover crime and gas prices. So I figured that the entertainment stuff is, and also that's where I also feel my personality, best fits. You guys see me out there and I'm having a good time. And for me, it's not work. This is fun. I'm getting to have a good time with the fans.

Starting point is 00:05:05 But Pittsburgh specifically, the mindset behind it was to integrate within a new market, have some fun with the fans, and then also be a part of a, as I mentioned, a first-class organization. You know, this is an organization that messes around. This is also an organization that's looking for new ideas and fun stuff to do throughout the game. So all of it, it checked every single box from top to bottom of what this place has to offer. and what the fans have to offer as well. Yeah, and you brought up being in Bridgeport. You know, I've had my stops in minor league hockey.

Starting point is 00:05:42 I did some time. And it did some time like it was bad. I loved it with all my heart. But I was in the ECHL with the AA affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers, and then I moved on to the Utica Comets of the AHL. And so you've had, you know, you've cut your teeth there. And also with the Syracuse Mets and doing some in arena hosting at that minor league level. What to you is kind of like the bigger differences from kind of making that step up?

Starting point is 00:06:08 Because I know that when you're in the minor leagues, I say this about it all the time, you rarely have one job. You're doing three or four different things because it's not the pros. It's a local town that's not that big and everybody's got to do their part. So to you coming in from doing those jobs in Syracuse and Bridgeport and now you come to Pittsburgh, what have you noticed or like the major differences now that you're doing this in arena hosting for like you said 18,000 people inside a gigantic arena? Well, the funny answer is I'm not bagging trash. You know, it's not after the game.

Starting point is 00:06:44 I don't put my microphone down, take off my nice hoodie and then bag up the trash that that's there, you know, because they need help with the cleaning crew. You know, it's different. The big difference and specifically in Pittsburgh is that they expect greatness. They expect you to be great. They expect you to be fun. They expect you to be energetic, but they also expect you to be a part of Pittsburgh. They expect you to be bleeding black and gold. And maybe in the minor leagues, it's a little bit different.

Starting point is 00:07:12 It's a little bit more geared towards family fun on a weekend or just, you know, a random night out. There's a lot, it's a lot less risk in minor league. With Bridgeport, we could kind of get away with doing whatever we want. Same thing in Syracuse. You can get away with doing whatever you want because the sponsorship money is different. The activation numbers are different. partnership numbers are different. Their goals are different as well. Their focus isn't really on the sport as it is on the fan experience. In the NHL and in the NBA, in the higher levels of sport,

Starting point is 00:07:45 the focus is not only on, the focus usually is on what's going on in the field of play or on the court or on the ice, but now also on what's going on in the stands, given the trend of social media and, you know, the fan interaction that you see on Instagram and TikTok and stuff like that. They want everything to be holistic. So without trying to get too deep into like the minutia of like my mindset behind game entertainment, I think the biggest difference, especially in Pacers, is they expect the greatness. And you want and you, and that helps me because I want to be great. You know, I want to be in that level that they expect me to be. So I think that's the big difference. is that every hit matters, every moment matters,

Starting point is 00:08:28 and I try to chew it as such. And you obviously do quite a bit of different, you know, hits throughout the games in this game and all that. Which one if you had to pick is your favorite? Because I know you do a whole bunch of different ones, but do you have a favorite during each all game? I know what mine is. And I know.

Starting point is 00:08:45 Let me hear yours. It's the t-shirt bazooka, man. That thing, like, I was there Friday. That thing goes on. I was there Friday. with a friend of mine for the game against the Panthers. And it was his first game this season. And I was like, check this thing out.

Starting point is 00:09:01 And he just was like, oh, my God. And what's so great, I think I agree with you, it is the bazooka blast. It's a spectacle. It's not something that you see at every game. You go to another team and you'll see the trivia. You'll see the on-screen activations. But when we can do something special that's live and that gets the entire crowd involved, and we're just launching T-shirts at you that are flying up 100 feet into the air,

Starting point is 00:09:34 everyone has an opportunity to grab more. And the fans kind of come alive for that. They kind of get unglued, which I think it's perfect timing. We usually do that right at the start of the second period. And it just gets the crowd right back into the game. It gets a few fans to go home with some great prizes and in some few Let's Go Penn T-shirts. It's another thing that I really love that if you get there early enough, you see is our hockey night in Pittsburgh. It's our iteration of play ball or our iteration of gentlemen start your engines.

Starting point is 00:10:08 For us, it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh, and now it has evolved into something so much more than just getting a season ticket holder or getting a kid to do it. Now we're getting celebrities in the building. We got Camp Hayward. He did it one game. We had Trache do it to start the season. season. We had Kunitz, we had Adams, we had John Geiger most recently on Pittsburgh night, a big local fashion designer. So like we're getting some big names in the building to do this hockey night in Pittsburgh and like you never know who it's going to be next. You know,

Starting point is 00:10:41 like we have some stuff lined up, but I can't say, but we have some stuff lined up that that's pretty exciting throughout the rest of the season. And it's like you just never know what to expect when you come to PPG. He's like, oh my gosh, they're here and they're doing it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh. Not only does it set the tone for the fans, but it sets the tone for the players. It gets everyone ready for a hockey, with a lack of a better term, a hockey night in Pittsburgh. And when we have celebrities do it, it really takes it to a hold on a level. Yeah. And one thing that I wanted to ask you, because, you know, you kind of said, like, you don't want to get too into the minutia. Like I said, you know, like I told you, I was, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:23 I spent time with the nailers and then the comments in the AHL. A lot of my friends and coworkers that I had there were in game operations, which is what you would fall under as an arena host. And I remember speaking about the ECHL or the AHL when it's an arena that holds 3 to 5,000 at most, video board isn't as big. The sponsorship deals aren't as big. But they still had a 30, 40, 50 page thick long binder of like this is how. the game is going to go. So for a lot of people who haven't worked in professional sports,

Starting point is 00:12:01 you know, you don't have, like I said, you don't have to get into the big long minutia, but like what does a game day look like for you when you show up at PPG paints arena arena on a game night? That's a fantastic question. So along with my role as being the in arena host, I'm also working with the ice breakers. I'm building out their schedule and seeing what they do for the day. So I put them in different sections to throughout the building to make sure that everyone's involved in the love of game entertainment. And then along with that comes the hosting stuff. And so in the beginning, a lot of it was learning about what exactly are our big moments,

Starting point is 00:12:37 what exactly are our big sponsors, what exactly is all that. And that's prior to the season starting. And then once the season started getting into form, it's kind of gaining a rhythm not only with yourself on the microphone, but with everyone that's up in that control room, You go up to level seven, which is like restricted off for media, but up there is our control room. And there we have all of our fantastic men and women that work behind the scenes and then getting to learn to work with them and how, and whose role is which and who operates. And then now at this point in the season, a lot of it is coming into form from a game presentation standpoint, especially for me being on air. You notice, when I go out there, I don't have nothing in my hand.

Starting point is 00:13:21 I don't have a piece of paper. You know, I don't have a prompter. Everything's all up in the noggin. So that's me an hour before puck drop going through all the pregame reads, all the lines that they once said all for marketing purposes and stuff like that. And then, but honestly, going into the actual game itself, as long as I'm hitting the activation partners, you know, then we're good. You know, it's like Sobi promo, Pizuka Blast or the Ford Truck, whatever it may be. As long as I'm hitting those, I could kind of add lib it out. And I try to keep it short.

Starting point is 00:13:54 I try to keep it sweet. I try to make it energetic. I try to make it, you know, over the top because I feel like that's what this job deserves, you know, an over-top personality. But then again, at the same time, I try not to blow everybody up in the building. So it's a balancing act. You know, you're trying to walk that razor's edge. And sometimes we go over, sometimes we go under. but, you know, it's all part of the fun for me.

Starting point is 00:14:19 And what keeps me going throughout all this is really the fans. You know, I do all of this because of the fans. They pay their hard money to come to this building. And whether it's for the hockey, whether it's for the fun, we're going to try and find something for them that they're going to leave with a memory with. So hopefully it's either a T-shirt, hopefully it's just something funny that they saw on the screen. So if we can do that and they can leave happy with a smile on their face,

Starting point is 00:14:42 no matter of the score, that means we're doing our job. And part of the prep, I think, was going to be my next question, Jaden, just, you know, how much prep work goes into, you know, at home every day? Because, you know, you even said, you don't have a piece of paper, you have it all in here. So just what kind of goes into the prep for each home game throughout the year? Like, I guess, each day, I guess. It's a little bit easier in hockey because in baseball, it's a little bit tougher because games are back to back to back and they're all stacked up. And this, it's a little bit more spaced out. So our next game is February 6th.

Starting point is 00:15:14 We're starting to build our rundowns out for that game now to see exactly what that's going to look like where everything is going to fit. That's a special activation day. So it's going to be special things that are going to be inserted throughout the game, whether that's through partnership, whether that's through DEI, whether, you know, through different aspects of this organization. A few things will be inserted into the game presentation. So every game's a little bit different than the last. So you kind of have to go through all your notes every single time just to make sure. that all your ducks are in a row and you know all your lines. But honestly, it's me sitting at my desk and I'll read through my paper three, four times, say it out loud, say it out loud, say it out

Starting point is 00:15:56 loud, say it out loud. And then take a break, go eat dinner, and then come back, read it over one more time, make sure nothing changed, check my email, make sure I didn't get anything last second. And then we go out there, you know, make sure I got nothing in my teeth from dinner and then we go out there. That's usually the role. And what's great about live is that, no one really knows what's supposed to happen. You know, like we know, like we know what's supposed to happen. But the fans, they don't know what's supposed to happen. So if I flood my line or if I come in, you know, a few seconds too late, whatever it may be, the fans don't know.

Starting point is 00:16:30 But we know upstairs. But that's what makes it great. Well, Jay, this has been awesome so far, but we do have to take a quick break just to end this first. Okay. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to get to plenty more questions for you because we still have quite a few. get to. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about Jace medical. I know we come to sports to escape from some of the crazy realities of real life, but can we talk just for a minute about preparing for real life? According to the FDA, pharmacies are running out of antibiotics

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Starting point is 00:18:31 of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm Hunter Hodes. Join on my host, Patrick Damp, with Jaden Becker. Of course, the Penguins' new in-game arena host and Pat, I know you had a question before we went to break just now, so I'm going to hand this over right to you. Yeah, and keep me on the train of, you know, what you get to do on game nights and everything. You know, we kind of ask like, what's your favorite thing so far?

Starting point is 00:18:53 But I wanted to know what has kind of been your opinion or impression of just crowds at PPG Paints Arena? Because, you know, I've noticed, I said it, you know, way back in the day when the arena opened in the early 2010s, you know, you had your early on corporate crowd because new arena, expensive tickets, all the sponsors are going to see it, all the businessmen are going to get their day in the arena. And now we're back into an era where, you know, everyday fans are going. And the atmosphere in that arena for the last about 10 or so years

Starting point is 00:19:30 has really picked up. So what have your impressions been of the arena on a game night and just Penguins fans in general? Penguins fans, and I'm not just saying this just to say this, you know, because, you know, like just to say about the penguins. But I think they're some of the greatest fans in hockey. And what makes them special is night in, night out, week and week out, they show their support.

Starting point is 00:19:54 This building is packed. No matter what the team record is, no matter what they did the last game, this building is going to be packed. And I think it's almost a beautiful metaphor with PPG paints arena, like the building itself. There's a glass facade that overlooks downtown. And it's almost, the idea of we have nothing to hide about it.

Starting point is 00:20:16 Come in, you know, like, this is a welcoming environment. We want you in this building. And I completely get it. I remember back when I was a kid. I grew up in New York City. My grandma's job had tickets to Rangers games, and we would often look down in the lower bowl, and we see all the suits and stuff like that.

Starting point is 00:20:35 But in PPG, I think it's different now, you know? And I think if we spent a lot of time up in the 200s, an upper level and we talk to fans up there and they're having a good time and they're enjoying the new environment that we're giving them from a fan entertainment perspective. I often read online quotes and stuff like that of fans saying that like oh like you know penguins fans don't cheer or something like that's that's a lie like I'm literally standing there every home game and they're cheering. They're also booing. You know like they're completely invested and involved in the action that's going on on the ice.

Starting point is 00:21:13 They're completely all there for that. I think this new idea of fans first and this fun first entertainment mindset is more geared towards maybe the casual fan, the fan that maybe this is their first time being able to go to a hockey game at PPG paints arena and maybe they don't know all the rules of hockey and maybe they're not the biggest hockey fan, but they're a fan of fun and they're a fan of a good night out. And so maybe that's what we're trying to offer them. but Penguins fan, especially the diehards and the long-time season ticket holders,

Starting point is 00:21:46 they can rock it if they want to, man. If they really want to, the PPG's roof could pop right off. So, you know, another point on Penguins fans as well is I love when I go out and I'd be going to a bar or a restaurant or something like that. And I get tapped on the shoulders like, you're that guy, right? I'm like, yes, I'm that guy. I take a picture or a selfie or something like that. you know, there's no fear in Pittsburgh.

Starting point is 00:22:13 Like they love interacting, they love talking. I love taking the time to talk to fans because that's what it's all about. You know, it's like, I'm not doing anything. I'm just getting myself a sandwich. And the fact that they would go out their way to say what's up to me, that that means the world. So, like, in no other city, I think that would happen. But in Pittsburgh, that's a mixed special. There have been some great crowds this year.

Starting point is 00:22:39 And Pat and I have been there for, definitely that Pampeters game, Pat. I mean, that was probably one of the top thousands of the year with how into it the fans were. The officiating, obviously, was questionable, to say the least. But everyone was into it at the end, especially with the six-on-five goal that of Guinea-Malkins scored. I mean, we said it this week.

Starting point is 00:22:55 It looked like I've got himalcan scored a goal in the Stanley Cup final in 2016 or 2017 with the way he celebrated. But going off that with all the crowds you've been there so far, Jaden, what do you feel like has been the best home game that you've been at so far this season if you could pick one. Great, great question. Here's a few for you. Okay, so we're going to go back to opening night, Chicago Blackhawks, to be there in the building. This was my first game, but we did three preseason games, but you know, there's maybe 10,000 people there. A lot of it was kids, you know, that was the initiative, but this is opening night. And on top of that,

Starting point is 00:23:33 kind of Bredd's, you know, rookie star, everyone's talking about the rookie sensation, all that, for him to face off with Sid, that building was butts in seats, everyone watching that puck drop to start the game, and then just to take it in for a moment and to look around and to see everyone fully attentive. That was a beautiful thing. And I think that's something that that's pretty special about Pittsburgh, that that opening night vibe was great. Halloween, the night before Halloween, I want to say October 30th, I want to say it was the Ducks game. Very weird. weird game to mention, right? But that crowd was strong. It was a Halloween night. We were dressing up in fancy costumes. I had four Ken outfits that night. That was my Halloween

Starting point is 00:24:19 costume. That was a really strong when we did a Halloween dance party on the Highmark stage where we usually see Haley and Potash and them do the pregame show. We moved that desk out and we pretty much did a dance party out there. And that was awesome to be. able to dance with the fans have a good time they're all dressed up in costumes it was great pictures all stuff like that so that that was pretty cool um i would say Pittsburgh night this last most recent one on january 26th i think was our one of our best nights that we we've executed from a game entertainment standpoint also just from the fans being willing to do it all we did an incline race we did a trolley race yeah those were awesome yeah that that was brand new that was the first time

Starting point is 00:25:09 you've ever done that. And it just shows, you know, like we're willing to take risks, you know, like we're willing to do it all. So it's just to see what sticks. And we did it. The fans loved it. We had an awesome time. And, you know, I could almost argue that every home game that we do is a special one because there's always a special moment. The upcoming February 18th, we all know what's coming. We have Yager in the house, you know, putting up 68 into the rafters. And boy, if you don't have a ticket now, this is not Michelin, but if you don't have a ticket now, go, like, run. Like, please. That was giving my best question for you, Jading, because that's one of the biggest nights of the season.

Starting point is 00:25:49 He's a living legend finally coming back to Pittsburgh. Can you give us a little tease as to what you guys have planned for that one? Just a little one. I can't reveal too much. I can't reveal too much. I don't want to get you out of that. But what I will say is make sure you're in the building early. for the entire ceremony.

Starting point is 00:26:10 There's surprises during the ceremony and there's going to be surprises during the game as well. Not only is it going to be a history ride for everybody, but I love the uniqueness on how we're telling his story. The way that we're telling what Yager not only meant to the city of Pittsburgh, but also to the game of hockey, be there. And have your phones out ready to go because we have some surprises for you. I really, I can't say too much.

Starting point is 00:26:38 much. I would get a big slap on the wrist, but I implore you to be there 30 minutes before the ticket says to be there. If you're going to, any night to make sure that you're in PBG paints arena, it's that one. You don't have to sell the two of us on Yard. That's childhood hero to us. So there's no hard zone needed for double J. I should go out the mullet, right? Maybe I should get a little flow going. I don't know. You're going to have to bring a mullet wick in there. just because how he looked back in the 90s, I have an outfit ready.

Starting point is 00:27:12 So I've been trying to mix it up with their outfits every game. I got some old retro stuff, stuff like that. But there's a special one. Hint, if you watch that Penguin's documentary, there's a special one that might find its way. I don't want to say too much. Pat, you watch that like 50 times a day. So I think you're going to probably know what it is.

Starting point is 00:27:32 Listen, it's my comfort watch, man. Like if I'm doing stuff around the house and I just need background noise. It's it's there. I hear Mike Lang's voice and all the legends from the penguins. And it just, it fills me with comfort. But I think that would do it for this second segment with Jaden. Coming up to end the show, Pat and I are going to go a little around the horn with some questions about hockey, but also some questions not about hockey. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about factor. Factors ready to eat meal delivery takes the stress out of meal planning and sets you up for success in the new year. Skip the grocery stores, prep work,

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Starting point is 00:29:14 We're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm on our hodes. Join by my host Patrick Damp. Our special guest today is Jaden Becker. Pat, I know you've had this question lined up for a while. So I'm going to let you just ask it right now to Jaden. So wore it just for the purposes of this episode. I got the Brett Hart shirt on,

Starting point is 00:29:33 Excellence of Execution. Best there is. best there was, best there ever will be. But, Jaden, you and I have interacted a couple times on Twitter. I know you're a big wrestling guy. I'm just getting back into it. The yeah movement brought me back in with L.A. Night. He's become like one of my favorite wrestlers and characters on TV.

Starting point is 00:29:51 But I know you're a big wrestling guy. Unfortunately, Penguins were at home on Saturday night, so you didn't get to watch the Rumble. I was sitting in this very chair watching the Penguins game and the Rumble on Saturday night. So my question for you is very simple. Does Cody Rhodes finish the story? Yeah, Cody Rhodes will finish the story. Does it happen at this WrestleMania? Oh, now that's the big question. For me, him going against Seth would not finish the story for me. I love the promo that Rollins cut. Oh, it was so good. Trying to convince Cody to face him at mania. And often, I remember, years past, it was the champion wouldn't want to be faced.

Starting point is 00:30:40 You know, like they would be like, you know, like pick the other guy or there would be like a promo cut that that would divert from that idea. But now it was like, face me. I want you to face me. And it's almost the idea of Rollins wanting to be in that main event of WrestleMania. But the title that Rhodes would have to win, would have to be against Raines. Because not only would it be winning that title, but almost in a similar fashion, of his father trying to be flare, you know, or something like that.

Starting point is 00:31:11 Like, if you're going to beat somebody, you're going to beat the top guy. And will it happen at this year's mania? Yeah, I was ready for it to happen last year. But now that they've gone this whole way with rains, I get, I wouldn't say scared, but it's like they have this pretty big opportunity to set the new, quote, unquote, record of longest title rain ever and and it could happen. The idea of having rains go all the way to like, I think it's like 2028 or something like that crazy with that belt. It's almost like mind boggling and I almost can't even swallow it. But like the opportunity is on the table there.

Starting point is 00:31:53 So I think he will finish his story. I think he will win at mania. The momentum for him is this way and then rains compared to where he was going into. Mania last year, it's kind of on the downturn. I wasn't too keen on the four-way match that they had at the Rumble. I thought it was fine. It didn't do anything for me because it's a match that we've seen in the past, solo, you know, going and interfering and everything like that. So it's, I love Roman.

Starting point is 00:32:25 I think he did great. He's doing great. But I think it's Cody's time to be the quarterback of endeavor. You brought up that promo. with Rawlins. And like I remember I watched it yesterday because I had I had to go play my beer league hockey on Monday nights on this raw. But like I just remember like I was like the crowd in Tampa with that.

Starting point is 00:32:47 When I'm watching it at the first, I'm like, no, we don't want to do this. And by the end of it, I was like, you know what? Yeah, maybe we will do. And just so you know how seriously I took the rumble, I deleted all my social media. I like I hit it and I hit all my notifications because I got people texting. me saying like oh you know trying to spoil it for me nothing i knew nothing throughout the pens game i was wearing my cody shirt underneath my my hoodie and i knew nothing and then i literally got into my apartment went to bed woke up the next morning and watched it know as if it was

Starting point is 00:33:21 live knowing nothing so i didn't get spoiled nothing like that and uh how about that and punk punk and and Rhodes, a little mini match at the end. It's a shame to see Punk go out with the injury. There's a few other names that aren't going to be a part of mania because of recent events. So it's like trying to figure out what they're going to do here moving forward. But they could save it all with the road. It's standing tall at the end of the night. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:33:48 And we could nerd out about this for hours. Yeah, we're sure. I'm not going to subject Hunter to that because I know that he also has a question that you guys are going to nerd out over. So I'm going to let him take that one. It's not a wrestling question to say the least, but, you know, I know you play video games, Jaden. I play them too. We have a common game, I should say. And for those who don't know, yes, I play Fortnite on my PC.

Starting point is 00:34:09 I love the game so much. I used to play all my Xbox. I then got a gaming PC. And it's obviously five times better just because I have the refresh rate and everything else regarding it. But, Jaden, my question is, when are you going to start playing build mode and not zero mode? So we, you talk. tweeted me about this. And I was all excited. I got a back-to-back ranked Bill Dubs that night. And it was, I was feeling good. So I wanted to tweet about it as one does. I was a Fortnite

Starting point is 00:34:41 OG just so everyone knows. I was back in season two, you know, like, season one, like the early, early as you can get. Like, as regular Fortnite as you can get. So when they brought back Fortnite OG, I was playing it again. Me and my boy, Christopher, we play all the time. And, it's like a good, like relaxing thing for me to do. But did you get back to zero build dubs or was it? Back to back zero build ranked dumps. Okay. But now I'm getting into build because you called me out straight up.

Starting point is 00:35:11 And like I was thinking, man, like you see all these clips online and like no one's posting their zero build. I said post in their when they're cranking 90s and doing crazy cone edits and and like that's when they're posting. So that's why I feel like I got to build up to, no pun intended. But that's why I got I got a, I got a work. up to. I have been playing a lot more build. I've been catching dubs in build. It's just like, there's no way for me to edit as fast as people at a mouse and keyboard. There's just no way.

Starting point is 00:35:41 So I'm figuring it out as we go. The other day, we were working on wall edits and in practice, trying to get it right. You know, we want to be Fortnite Legends. I think that's that. At the end of the day, my dream is to have my Fortnite clip play at people. PBG paints arena for the crowds all over. No, I'm kidding. But that would be funny. But, yeah, for me, it's a relaxing thing. As a kid, I used to play a ton of call duty.

Starting point is 00:36:09 I used to play a ton of, I'm still really good at MLB the show. I'm a big sports games guy. But now, that's the fortnight's pretty, that's kind of been the flavor I'm liking lately. But, yeah, we've got to work on these builds, man. What he's saying is that he's going to be the next bugapata. If you don't, you don't know who that is probably, he won the world couple years ago just because he's one of the best players in the world but it's not i'm on my third replay of red dead redemption too so like i'm that's great that's great i wasn't

Starting point is 00:36:38 a big RPG guy but like like a role playing game guy as a kid like i played far cry stuff like that but but uh like shooters were in for me and but red dead that's that's great game yeah and all my buddies that i game with now have kids and everything so like my days are playing n-h-l e-as-h-h-h-l are long gone so That was my gaming golden age. You got to end this with a little bit of hockey, though, Jaden. So I know the penguins are outside of a playoff spot right now. They're trying to get back to the playoffs yet again after missing last year and having their streak coming to and end. Do you guys have any early prep going for playoff games yet?

Starting point is 00:37:16 Or is that not in the wheelhouse just yet just because they're outside of the, well, top eight right now? The mindset is that they're going to win every game out. You know, like that's our mindset. We can't go in thinking that they're not. Because that would be not only a disservice to ourselves, but a disservice to the fans. We cannot give up on this team. This team has a ton of potential, guys. I know there's been struggles here and there.

Starting point is 00:37:39 There's conversations of trade talks and everything like that. You know, Jake is playing out of his mind. But what are they going to do at the deadline coming in March, all that? At the end of the day, from my perspective, you can go talk to an analyst. You can go talk to someone that may be a little bit more hockey educated than me. But from my perspective, I come into the building, expecting the team to be able to execute to the best of their ability. I try to execute to the best of my ability. And from a game entertainment and what we're presenting to the fans, we're ready to rock the house with energy,

Starting point is 00:38:12 not only from a hockey perspective, from like, you know, let's get the boys going and everything like that, but also just to have fun as well. So all the stuff that we have prep moving forward, there's no eye looking towards a losing. season. Like I said, this is a first class organization that expects greatness. And the fans do as well. So we make sure we give them that. Yeah, I mean, I can only hope that you get to experience play off hockey this year because PBG, I think at first, Pat would probably go with this. It was definitely not as loud as the igloo used to be Melon Arena. But over the years, it definitely got a lot louder. It got closer to the Melon Arena levels that we were used to,

Starting point is 00:38:52 like when I was a kid, for example. And I hope that you're able to, experience just a playoff game in there because, you know, we came close to a playoff like crowd last year, Pat, you know that game against Washington, where again, Malkins score with a minute left. And that was to really save their season for that time. That's the closest I think I've heard to a playoff crowd in the regular season. But I think it's probably going to be five times that if they're able to get in in the second half and play some really good hockey. Yeah, man, and seeing in seeing the way, the way, Jaden, the way you operate and how you have the ability to get this crowd going because it's we hunter and i've been to a handful of games this year and we go as fans we don't go

Starting point is 00:39:31 as analysts we don't set up in press row we get our tickets we wear our jerseys we cheer we you know make our jokes but you've done a phenomenal job getting the crowd amped up and if you were to have a playoff atmosphere and then add in your energy man that building is going to rock when that puck drops it would be pretty crazy it would be pretty crazy and obviously it all once again i'm i'm i'm a very very very, very, very small part of it, very, very small. I'm just the crazy guy on the microphone. And I say that as humbly as I can because at the end of the day, I'm nothing without the fans. The fans are everything. So I give all my credit to them because I could be Mr. Crazy. I could be Mr. trying to get the crowd amped up, but they're the ones that are responding. So they want to

Starting point is 00:40:17 cheer. Fans want to cheer. They pay those crazy beer prices for a reason. They want to make sure that they get going. So if I can experience that and hopefully sooner or later, maybe we can be talking again in April about a crazy playoff atmosphere. Oh, yeah, they have every opportunity to do that in the second half with all the games in hand and such. They just got to show some more consistency, which is what Pat and I have been wanting them to do for all season so far. But Jaden, thank you so much for coming on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. We really appreciate it. And for those that don't follow you on social media, you know, just where can they find you? could find me at Jaden Becker TV on Instagram and Twitter. And you can also find me at

Starting point is 00:40:57 PPG Paints Arena. If you make sure you make your way over to the games, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a great plan going on, our mix and match plan. You go to Pittsburgh Penguins.com slash mini plans. You get to mix and match five tickets throughout the rest of the season. There's a ton of great games to choose from. So make sure you are saying what's up to me when we link up at PPG. That's awesome. Again, thank you so much for coming on. Pat and I both really appreciate it. And we'll be back with another episode for you all on Thursday. And Pat, is there another guest coming on for that show? We do. And this is the little tease I'll give you for everybody is if you have followed my work for a while, it's going to be a nice little reunion

Starting point is 00:41:36 episode. So stay tuned for that. Maybe I'll give another hint that it's someone from the Dying Alive podcast. It's one of the two, one of the other two. So you'll have that to look forward to on Thursday. But again, thank you all so much for tuning in. We really appreciate it. We'll be back on Thursday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins In-Arena Host Jayden Becker joins the show!

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