If you ever find yourself playing along as you listen to The Bill Simmons Podcast on Mondays in the fall, you’re not alone. In fact, it appears that former President Barack Obama is among those who also guesses the lines.
On Thursday night, Bill Simmons served as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! And while the appearance gave The Ringer founder a platform to promote his Celtics City docuseries on HBO, the biggest headline came in the form of his former boss’ revelation that Obama is a fan of the Sports Guy’s podcast.
In fact, the 44th President of the United States was even able to recall specific segments from the “Parent Corner” segments that Simmons does with Kimmel’s cousin, Sal Iacono.
“I have a name drop here. And I apologize for this in advance, but I was having dinner with President Obama. And we’re talking about stuff and… he says, ‘oh, I wanted to mention I listen to Bill Simmons and your Cousin Sal’ on your podcast,” Kimmel told Simmons, who was previously a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live! “He listens religiously to your podcast and then spoke for at least 10 minutes about the podcast and went into detail about my cousin. Like the ‘Parent Corner’ you guys do at the end of the show and went into detail about my Cousin Sal’s little league wrestling, peewee football, baseball.”
“Sal’s son throwing up on a wrestling mat,” Simmons said in reference to the segment.
“He knew about it, and I was going crazy,” Kimmel continued. “I just wanted to leave immediately so I could call you guys and tell you.”
The former co-host of The Man Show ultimately called Simmons on his way home to relay the story. But rather than being flattered, the Boston native admitted to being “offended” that Kimmel was so surprised by Obama’s revelation.
“I was like, ‘do I have like a rinky dink podcast?'” Simmons recalled. “I’m one of the biggest ones… I’m gonna do it the next time I have dinner with somebody and they’re like, ‘you know, I really love Jimmy Kimmel’s show.’ I’m calling you on the way home.”
“If they’re sub-Obama, I don’t even want the call,” Kimmel joked.
“That’s true, it has to be a president,” Simmons responded. “Maybe it’ll be Biden.”
“I don’t even want that,” Kimmel replied. “I’m all right.”
Despite Simmons’ reaction, Kimmel’s shock was well warranted. Considering his busy schedule, even post-presidency, it’s inarguably surprising that Obama would be spending his time listening to Simmons and Iacono guessing point spreads before sharing stories about their children.
Then again, if Barack Obama was going to listen to a sports podcast, one would assume it would be Bill Simmons. Not only does the ex-ESPN columnist lay claim to one of the most popular podcasts on the planet — as he made sure to point out — but he’s also interviewed the 63-year-old ex-president on multiple occasions over the years.
Now, if only we could get Obama’s thoughts on Aaron Rodgers.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.