While our city’s sports teams failed to bask in the afterglow of the amazing power to bring local folks together, our Chief Digital Officer Mike Rosenfeld of Web Connection lends the perspective to having been to Camden Yards, Pittsburgh and Jerusalem. The Orioles losses and the Ravens giveaway in Pittsburgh took a backseat to unthinkable violence and war halfway around the world.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, game, israel, walled city, billy joel, pittsburgh, walk, years, week, ravens, mike, weekend, baltimore, experience, good, friday, pitcher, city, feel, jewish
SPEAKERS
Mike Rosenfeld, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Back at W n s t, Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are doing a purple and orange therapy together all in one little kool aid package here this week. It’s my 55th birthday and I you know this Oriole things put it down or obviously the last the Pittsburgh has been a downer. We’re trying to pick it back up. It is my birthday this weekend. I’m trying to have some fun. I’m going to try to do my favorite things this weekend including the YouTube and REM cover bands over the record theater Friday. We’re kicking it off Friday the 13th I’ve been saying it might be lucky it only be lucky if the Royals are still playing on Friday night will be a drug city in Dundalk at the fountain upstairs at the tasting room eating the delicious crab cake I’m going to be getting delicious potato chips we have like 20 Different kinds of potato chips there. It’s really an artisan joint and Dundalk. It really is for whiskeys for food sandwiches stop by See us on Friday be doing the Maryland crab cake tour courtesy of the Maryland lottery we’ll have Raven scratch offs to give away a friend and when donation 8669 donation you buy two and you get two free all month long. Always with us on the crabcake to our newest sponsor, Jiffy Lube MultiCare. Spending time with us. You’ve heard the new ads here sponsoring the crabcake tour. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday Sunday the ravens are playing in London. Hopefully it was better than the last trip to London. We will be at the Hollywood casino in Perry Ville at the sports book up there bright and early. Having a breakfast brunch. 30 bucks for the brunch, get you into some some games, you can win 500 bucks, and we’re having a win any competition free copies of purple rain today. Anybody that wants one. Come on out. It’s early. We can hope the Orioles are hosting game one of the American League Championship Series on Sunday night. Feels a little far fetched right now but Have a little faith belief. You know, Luke and I are headed to Arlington, Texas. We’ll be broadcasting from Dallas all week long, at least as long as the Orioles are alive. This guy wants the Orioles to be alive. And well. He has a lot on his mind what’s going on over the Middle East as well. We’ll talk about that. Mike Rosenfeld is our guy. He’s our Chief Digital Officer around here web connection. You can find them at a web connection.com. You can find them on the front of Baltimore positive. He was supposed to be here two weeks ago, four weeks ago, six weeks ago. We haven’t crossed paths we a little bit off the field on the field. The website’s doing well, traffic’s up. Mike, we it’s been a great summer. I mean, you love baseball, you love the teams, you love sports come at it honest, we love music together as well. It’s been it’s been a weird week. And I know, but behind all of this is the war that affecting rents of yours. Lots of folks, I know you spend time over there as well, many of my Jewish friends have. I’ve seen the flag in front of so many of my friends out on Facebook the last couple of days. I mean, it puts in perspective on the games, for sure. Right? My
Mike Rosenfeld 02:45
Oh, for sure. I would say it’s been a tough weekend, that’s for sure. But like you say therapy. I could have used some talking to yesterday after, after the world game and the Ravens game it was it was very tough. And I’ll say the race. I mean, it’s as the Ravens just got to me most I mean, the worlds are, are figuring it out for first postseason, the young guys. And you know, you can see a couple of them are not ready for the moment yet, but they’re getting this experience. So I can see past that. But some of the stuff I saw that ravens game was just extremely disappointing beyond the loss, just just just not playing, like professionals, in my opinion,
Nestor Aparicio 03:34
well, I think could be five at all, and they’re not. And we’ve said this a lot of years that they’ve let some of these games kind of get away and games where they’ve been the better team on the field. This week is certainly the case and they’re almost hiding in London this week, right? Like they get on a plane. You know, I would have been five hours in the car in Pittsburgh five hours on the way back, I would have missed Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks kind offer that Leonard Raskin made the me on Saturday to come down and join him for the show. And I had the great, I mean, I had a great, great time anybody saw me, Billy Joel, you know, had a good time. It was pretty obvious I was having a good time. And it wasn’t the $15 Coors lights either, because it was only two of those because that’s my budget. It’s not going to get Steve shoddy any more money than I need to believe me. But that being said, they’re gonna hide London this week from most of this. And the Orioles are going to deal with whatever they’re going to deal with. They’re going to win a game or win two games or get to think back here on Friday, or they’re going to lose and we’re going to say why happened, right? I mean, the baseball thing happens quickly. And for old farts like you and me that are used to this. We’ve been through the Ravens play all thing there’s a week a build up and there’s a game and there’s a funeral or a parade, you know after it’s over with and then we’re on the Denver Ronda buffalo we’re on to the game because we won. Or we’re going to clean the lockers out and figure out how hard walk and run and hide how the owner can not show up in the offseason. take accountability for any of this and the general manager will show up sometime in April. That’s the Football team the baseball Fudd is a whole different thing when the place was orange pom poms and Joan Jett and Adam Jones on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday night, it’s pool My God, what a hole we’ve dug for ourselves and the death, managing of Bruce Bochy and the veteran part of having been down the mountain before where it looks, the game looks really big when the crowd gets going for some of these young guys and finding the strike zone.
Mike Rosenfeld 05:28
Well, look, I’ve been watching baseball for a long time, I can tell you some managerial things I saw him do that were crystal clear strategies that most people may not have paid attention to. So those of us who went to the game, when the Rangers called their one timeout, when they were in the batter’s box, they always did it as the pitcher was on the mound, and getting ready to pitch, rather than what most teams do is they just collect themselves. And after a second strike or whatever, call the timeout, then totally attain all of them. did this intentionally just ruin the rhythm of the pitcher, especially our young pitchers who had never been there before? The other thing I noticed was when he took the pitchers out, well, when Brandon took our pitchers out, he just walked to the mound and took the pitchers out. When Texas did it, and you can watch this and see if it happens on TV. The catcher would walk out knowing that they were going to take the pitcher out and wait for the umpire to start moving. And then the manager would come out to give almost an extra 45 seconds or whatever
Nestor Aparicio 06:38
to the pitcher three ever three extra pitches in the bullpen. Right.
Mike Rosenfeld 06:42
Exactly. And you may say, Well, does that really matter? Or does it not? I don’t know the answer to that. I can just tell you it’s an intentional process that he does. Plus he walks. I mean, I think it was hot. I think he’s not well, I’m not sure. I think I heard something about him.
Nestor Aparicio 06:58
I think he’s got a hip issue. Yeah. Yeah. I
Mike Rosenfeld 07:00
mean, he walks really gingerly and he walks
Nestor Aparicio 07:03
into court games in the 70s. Yeah, it looks
Mike Rosenfeld 07:06
just uncomfortable. But but I’m not suggesting that we absolutely got out out coached or managed or anything like that. It’s just,
Nestor Aparicio 07:16
I think it was the lefty lefty matchups, I mean, certainly bocce strength of saying that we’re gonna make Gunnar Henderson hit left handed pitching. And we’re gonna keep O’Hearn on the bench. And, you know, I don’t have my best pitching. So the best way to attack them is with a left hander. And it’s been all left handed pitching and they haven’t responded to it. They just had.
Mike Rosenfeld 07:35
And yeah, they were gonna and what I said is, you know, look, do we think we were going to be here? No. Does that mean it’s acceptable to get swept or go out early? No. But it is an experience that you can’t take away from them. And I am curious to see and I know you probably are thinking, not great thoughts, but I am interested to see what they do in the offseason. It’s no longer we see
Nestor Aparicio 08:00
I won’t let you talk about that right now. And here’s why. Because it’s all we’re going to talk about. Now the minute it ends we go into where’s the lease? John? Where’s the money? John? I mean, Rosenthal started in the seventh inning the other night, right, Rosa thought, well, at some point, they’re gonna have to spend money I saw. And that’s the first thing that happens in the seventh inning. Like the first night they’re losing five, one in Texas, like when it’s over, there’s no question that the ball goes back into play for ownership to say, this was great, but it wasn’t good enough, right. I mean, that’s going to be the play. I mean, all of this is going to be about what the front office can do to make it better. Because as it is, it’s not good enough. Right.
Mike Rosenfeld 08:42
Right. And, you know, we’re going to transition because they’ll, you know, we’re our, as you said, we’ve dug a hole, and we’ll see what happens. And we’ll see the character of the team, which I think is, is is, is good, there’s the vibe has been great. And if they lose, they lose. And you see a lot of helmet throwing, which I saw four times in the Ravens game, which if you want we can talk about leadership and and what that tells you
Nestor Aparicio 09:08
I’d love to do that because I’ve talked about that a little bit and and and what you show and how it goes and where your composure is, and
Mike Rosenfeld 09:15
just maturity and being able to leave bracing Rodriguez didn’t
Nestor Aparicio 09:19
throw it. If he did throw a tantrum, which he might have. It might have been, he might not be a tantrum guy. You know, I mean, like, he doesn’t strike me as a tantrum guy. Joe Flacco didn’t strike me has ever thrown anything in the locker room. It just was not how he’s wired. He didn’t think it helped him. He did. He didn’t think it benefited his game.
Mike Rosenfeld 09:34
Alright, or dropping a touchdown pass. And my understanding is not speaking to the press about it. You know, not being able to stand step up, but I could be wrong. But I,
Nestor Aparicio 09:44
but But you know, no, no, here’s where you’re not wrong. The guy who manages the people who ask those questions threw me out after 27 years, right? So the fact that it’s the only game in Pittsburgh history, I haven’t been in the locker room. I want to make that clear. The only game in the history of the rivalry But I haven’t been in the locker room. Okay, so the fact that these guys are running, they learned that from Chad steel. I mean, you’re right. I mean, like, literally, it’s okay to run there. It’s okay. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s acceptable to not stand in your locker. And I said this to Dennis, and I’ll say this to anyone. Because I’ve done this my whole life. I’m a professional. Like, I learned so much more being in locker room after that kind of loss than I ever learned being there a year ago when they beat Pittsburgh, right? I learned when you lose, what the makeups about. And to your point when guys are running, or even if Marlon Humphrey standing there, I learned a little bit about their demeanor in defeat. Everybody’s a good winner, I’m a hell of a winner. You are too, right, we’re all held, we’re great. When we’re all humble, we win, right?
Mike Rosenfeld 10:48
I like to believe I handle myself in a manner that others would say is mature and stand up and, and doing the right thing. And, and don’t get me wrong. I mean, if I did the equivalent of drop a touchdown, in an embarrassing way, that was right in my hands on the ground, I would pound the ground. And I don’t see anything wrong with that. But but when you’re professional, you know the questions are coming. It’s as awkward as it is you got to take a deep breath, and you got to take ownership of it. And avoiding it is shows something about, in my opinion, your character, maturity, whatever the case may be easy for me to say. But I guess it might
Nestor Aparicio 11:33
be easy for you to say because you’re 50 years old, right? Like, you know what I mean, in my career,
Mike Rosenfeld 11:37
I mean, it’s difficult to create analogies, but I’ve made mistakes that are equivalent to maybe dropping a touchdown in our game, you know, and it wasn’t the Super Bowl,
Nestor Aparicio 11:48
and you have to call a client and apologize with the egg on your face. We all
Mike Rosenfeld 11:52
I mean, no one’s perfect. No one’s perfect. I haven’t I haven’t been in this business for close to 30 years without any hiccups along the way. But when you have a hiccup, what do you do? You own it? You own it, you own it? You know, so? So it is what it is? It’s sports. So microcosm may be of parts of life, I guess. But maybe you hold people to different standards that are unrealistic. But I don’t think that’s the case. Because you see other players and other teams and all sports who, when they have a hiccup or f up they stand up and they they answer the questions. You know, it’s all on me. It was right in my hands. I took my eye off the ball. It kills me. I cost the team the game. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 12:37
you can’t say crashed a year ago. And you and I had to fix it right? Literally.
Mike Rosenfeld 12:41
Hey, what are you going to do bury your head in the sand? Yeah, I don’t Twitter. Yeah. And you know, I’m think back to the last I think was the Monday night game when Wilson threw a pic at the end when they were driving to win and he was beating himself up on who’s beating himself up on the sidelines and taking ownership. You know, there’s no, there’s no guarantee that they would have wound up scoring or that they would have won or that. But but he’s still you know, you could see him throw his helmet, you know, and he’s younger than our leader who threw his helmet at least five times that I’ve saw.
Nestor Aparicio 13:20
Well, Mike Rose Feld is here he’s a web connection. He is our Chief Digital Officer. Keeping us going 25 years into this are friends at a foreign data carrier wellness had that really cool Baltimore shirt, the black and the orange still giving those away and it’s our 25th anniversary. I’m gonna get to number 23 and 20 I haven’t even done my own 25th anniversary countdown like because I’ve been so distracted. distracted, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining by by all of this, you know, I got a birthday weekend. This weekend. We’re gonna celebrate and all this. I had such a good time and Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks the other night. And it was like, cathartic. I almost didn’t go and it was really fun. I really had over the weekend. There’s a part of this as a fan, where you’re vested in year round, draft, tickets 13 game plan, season books, whatever you’re doing with the Ravens PSLs year after year back to March abroad and Billick back to Earl Weaver and Mike Hargrove and Davey John, whatever, you know, whatever your your feeling is on all this. When it cascades in one weekend the way it did here. It’s so unique, right like you and I have been at this a long, long time. And I talked to Charles Steinberg last week, Dr. Charles Steinberg about thanks Brooks day, backward September 18 1977, to be with my dad and being at the baseball game that day. And my dad having the transistor radio, listen to the Colts game and I remember that vividly. 79 the Colts were awful. They were just awful. Bert Jones was hurt awful 83 The Colts were awful and about the leaf and John Elway’s, running around in the Bronco Jersey, and I think about 9697 We had the game in 97 where the Ravens were awful losing the Kordell Stewart of memorial Memorial Stadium and had to get out of the stadium talked about that a little bit last week. We haven’t had a day like, like Sunday here. I mean ravens in Pittsburgh first place on the line division. Orioles playing the biggest games they played in this generation at home with a by, you know with their Jim Palmer of the generation on the mound. Having lost a tight game and game one you feel like a comeback in game two. What a hangover for the weekend and the traffic downtown for Billy Joel a great thing to see in that there was such activity. Nobody goes downtown anymore, except when 100,000 People all show up at the same time. Which literally it was 100,000 people at the same time. And I parked at Mercy Hospital and walk because I know what I’m doing. But that kind of energy for the town, Mike. I mean, I’m Baltimore positive, right. I mean, I got into this love and the Orioles and hate in the fact that we didn’t have a team. And then we got a team and they both throw me on treating me like trash over in front of everyone in front of you and everyone I’ve ever known. They’ve treated me like garbage for 25 years. I still want them to win. I still want happy fans, I still want full bars. I still want happy horn honking after the game and all that. Boy, this was a really hard one. And you know, we don’t have a lot of these, where they backup against each other. And there’s promise for both of us. And we have a raving game on TV that people were trying to watch before an Oreo game that matters starts and Joan Jett, and like just all of that that’s going on it? You know, we didn’t come up short as a city, you know that fans showed up Billy Joel was packed. We all got there. I’m sure there were some murders over the weekend that you’ll hear about on Fox 45 today, but like in a general sense. I saw families go into games having a great time. Over the weekend, I saw husbands and wives I saw people taking their kids taking their boys who are 14 years old that have their first playoff game. Like all of that happened this weekend. And it’s such a turd that it’s going to be a week and we’ll say, Man, we’ve got our ass kicked, and especially if they lose in Texas quick. You
Mike Rosenfeld 17:03
know, I have to say we’re now in our seventh month of baseball. And all but the last two games have gone. Have been awesome. And you know, I went to more games this season than the last five combined,
Nestor Aparicio 17:20
you and everybody else.
Mike Rosenfeld 17:23
When I go to them, and I will I will give a shout out not that. Not that he cares if Mike Rosenfeld gives a shout out. But I always see Mike Elias, I always see him in the seats. And I always say if I, if he walks by I will say thank you, because I would have been sitting with my son, my youngest son is 26, who’s in Baltimore first, uh, we left a little bit of time, he’s moving out of state. And we had this experience. And I’ll also tell you this, I went to the game Saturday, and I went and I met my brother and my nephew. We met at Lexington market of which you and I talked about, take people who are from the county and just let them have an experience in Baltimore, then experience something they did. Not my son nor my brother nor my nephew had been to the new Lexington market. And I can’t tell you if they ever went to the old Lexington market. I’m like, let’s meet at the Lexington market. We’ll have some beer, we’d have different types of food. We’ll do that before the game then we’ll go to pickles. So we did that. I mean, I spent a decent amount of time with my brother, but was the first time I had a beer with my 21 year old nephew. It’s the first time both of them saw my brother do what we call the skill which I don’t know how he did it. But he’s one of those guys who can toss back a beer in like a second.
Nestor Aparicio 18:41
And shotgunning and Dundalk. That’s okay. Yeah. Well, I was out of the house for that with the baseball team. I don’t know if you’ve seen that or
Mike Rosenfeld 18:48
not. That’s right. But it was out of a cop. But it was just like a Tilton. It’s gone. And we had a great time. We went to the stadium together. They had different seats in Austin.
Nestor Aparicio 18:57
We didn’t have a crab cake. It fails. You got to take them back. I mean, you but yeah, you know,
Mike Rosenfeld 19:01
absolutely. We have to. So anyway, that’s that. So I want to thank Mike Elias for making it relevant for making us have seven months of entertainment, literal entertainment. And, and you know, the ways constructed the team. And you know, the half full guy, but you look at all the one run games we won, you got to think about, you know, that isn’t always going to be the case. So as we said, We’ll talk after the season about what they need to do ensure that there aren’t this many one run games so that we can compete and be in the playoffs hopefully for the next couple of years.
Nestor Aparicio 19:37
I would hate for them to look back at the end and say we didn’t do enough of that we could have done more they should have done more. Your Luke said that when began the year which is they could have done more they should have done more in regard to having a ball the pitching game three for us instead of flirty, not pitching game three, or the means thing which felt like the original gray cloud in the beginning of the weekend that he would have been A guy that you would hope could step up and keep the series going and now unavailable, like Rosie Feld is my dude at web connection. He’s our Chief Digital Officer keeping things going here. She talks about baseball, anything you wanna say about the football team or London or any of that, or no,
Mike Rosenfeld 20:13
I really don’t, I’m disappointed. I was just, you know, it’s one thing to be disappointed in, in performance. It’s another thing to look or play as if it’s not prepared and make so many mistakes. And then lastly, to just look, you know, when you throw your helmet and you have posture, and I mean, we could have taken we could have taken the fans out at 14, nothing, you know, you know, fumbles and interceptions and then zone I mean, it’s just about to
Nestor Aparicio 20:44
kick a field goal instead of snapping the ball at the end of the first half and
Mike Rosenfeld 20:48
looking at hardball on the sidelines, he was looking like, what did you do
Nestor Aparicio 20:52
when DuPont snapped the ball? Because he thought somebody jumped he thought, yeah,
Mike Rosenfeld 20:56
I called that while I was watching the game. I’m like offsides is a free play. I said that. So that I get that and I that sucks. That makes sense to me. I think they were trying to get him to jump in general. I don’t know that they were planning on snapping it.
Nestor Aparicio 21:12
That’s all they were trying to do. And that’s, that’s, you know, as a coach, you send the team out there, you don’t get points. That’s just that’s just awful. That’s in a game that you needed the points and the points would have been a difference maker. And, and, and Lamar, you know, having all the drops and all the frustration showing the frustration at his teammates, and then throwing the pic in the end in the end, in the end trying to find back home. Who’s been a disappointment. Bateman’s been you know, a massive disappointment. Meaning when they signed back up, I thought this was a crapshoot. You know what I mean, one way or the other? I figured by midseason you’d be dating a Kardashian and wouldn’t you know, you know,
Mike Rosenfeld 21:50
what didn’t take to the mid season so
Nestor Aparicio 21:54
bright for you. Were you in London in 17?
Mike Rosenfeld 21:58
I have, I was not.
Nestor Aparicio 22:00
Okay. I thought at some point, their life’s journey. My friend Howard shares over there this week, David Rose out, they have a better ride than I had. They are both Jewish as well. And I would think traveling at this point moving around a little bit thoughts of Israel thought I know, it’s first and foremost on your mind. And, and I know, despite all the sports stuff, you definitely wanted to discuss it because you you have some insights into this.
Mike Rosenfeld 22:26
Yeah, I mean, I guess I would preface it by saying to your listeners, if you can relate. I’m Jewish, but I’m not Ultra religious. So those of your listeners who are not Jewish, who are not Ultra religious, you can potentially relate. But I did have occasion on a couple of times to go to Israel. Most recently, maybe five years ago, we stopped there, in route to going to a trip in Italy, just for two nights just to break it up. And
Nestor Aparicio 22:57
it’s always felt to me, like one night in Tel Aviv would be among the more dangerous things that I’ve done in my life. You know what I mean? Like, in a general sense, over my lifetime, I don’t understand every route of a religious war and a land war and holy, like I but I’ve often thought like, that’s a place that I I personally, would feel safer avoiding in the same way I avoided Afghanistan, Iraq, I’ve avoided you know, Venezuela. And I’m Venezuelan, and I don’t go there and my family’s there because it’s not safe for me to be a gringo walking around there. You know, if I get killed in Venezuela, I guess some people would say that about West Baltimore, too, right? You know, I avoid places where I don’t feel comfortable, or I don’t have a reason to be there. It’s always felt to me to be very volatile, and very, like, if your kids were going over there for a week, a month a retreat, or live there for like, it’s a different life. And I I’ve seen all sorts of video. I mean, I cover I see the news. I’m a news guy, right? So I see that like, Oh, that looks like a tough way to live for, for everyone, for the Palestinians. For the for everybody there. It looks like a really tough circumstance. And I think all of us over here would say, Can’t y’all just get along and make nice and please like, just be like, what I’ve say the same thing to people in traffic on 695 here, right, like, so conflict is at the heart of I think our humanity to some degree, as much as we think love and good thoughts and kindness are there. We all preach that. But you know, one of the reasons I haven’t gone and I travel is I always feel like it’s, you know, there’s a treachery built into it. That’s very, very unfortunate, I think. I think
Mike Rosenfeld 24:35
so. And I’m not one of those people who are going to be rah rah Israel and Israeli government. Because, you know, they’re not perfect at all. And I also am sympathetic to people who are crammed into a city. That’s that’s walled off and, and the quality of their life is nowhere near the quality of life on the other side, but there’s reasons for all of this. And it’s tough and we’re not I’m not going to No one’s been able to solve it Mike Rosenfeld from WebConnect. And he couldn’t do it. All I want to do is explain my experience because it’s somewhat relevant. So the first thing is you fly him to Tel Aviv. And Tel Aviv does feel like a any other Mediterranean city. Lively, good restaurants, good bars, good nightlife. You wouldn’t think and you’re like you, like
Nestor Aparicio 25:24
every person I’ve ever seen. And I have like, a lot of Jewish friends and I, I don’t think there’s very there’s never a point where a week or two doesn’t go by where somebody’s not knows Israel, like, Oh, my timeline. And it because I’m a traveler, Facebook sort of knows I like the world. It tends to show me a people on my timeline when they are pulling their passport, I tend to see them when they’re in Bologna, Italy, like Lisa Synack is this week from Goodwill and drinking wine, I see it. So I see. Israel comes to me, You know what I mean, on my timeline, because of people like you who go and put pictures up and say, I’m here with my kids, and I’m in the Holy Land. And here I am eating good food and having a good time. But it also looks like it could go down anytime.
Mike Rosenfeld 26:06
Like literally, here’s my story that may blow your mind may not blow your mind. So So here’s here’s like, the conundrum or what people don’t realize that that blew my mind. I paid for an equivalent of a Vader tour. Maybe it was 70 bucks for my wife and I to go on. And it was in Jerusalem,
Nestor Aparicio 26:29
she this is like a you get on a bus. It’s a tour tour guide tour guide,
Mike Rosenfeld 26:33
not even a bus because this is what I’m about to tell you. Though, if you’ve have listeners who’s traveled to Italy, or, you know, just old places in Europe, many of them have walled cities, while the walled city of Jerusalem is about a third of a square mile. That’s it. And what I didn’t realize is that within the walled city, there’s a Christian Quarter. There’s a Muslim quarter. And there’s the Jewish Quarter, all crammed together in this very small walled city, right outside the walled city, within walking, and I did this all my tour, my tour was a half day, this is what’s crazy. We start before we even went in the walled city, we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is where Jesus was crucified, and laid down and dressed and then putting the cave where he resurrected. And I’m sitting here, and I’m like, watching the Christians who were in tears, like leaning where the rock was, was late, and kissing it and respecting that, and saying, I didn’t know this was beer, much less on my Vader tour, just like, you know, two football fields away. And then you walk from there into the old city. And then there’s the Western Wall that maybe a lot of your viewers have seen where the Jews go to pray. And I always thought before I went there, that that was the the the wall of an old temple, not realizing that that was a wall that the temple was built on top of, and never realized that but that’s all that’s left for Jewish people to go to pray to in this little walled city. And while you’re there, you see a minaret, which is inside the wall. And you hear the Arab called a prayer, which you hear, like on TV with, oh, you know, and it’s, and it’s through a microphone, and it’s chilling, because you’re there and I’m like, I didn’t realize that in this walled city that I thought was 100%. Jews is split amongst all these religions. And then they took us to the Temple Mount. This is where the problem resides right now. So you’re literally at this, this wall. And on top of the wall is a temple. Now it used to be holy for Jewish people, because there was a Jewish temple there. Then the Romans came, and they demolished it and they built their thing. And then the, I think the Ottoman Ottomans came, and they built this mosque, and it’s called Al Aqsa Mosque. And if you Google that, it is the third most important religious site in all of the world. So they let us go to the Temple Mount. And at the top of the Temple Mount were Jewish soldiers, making sure everything was cool. My wife had to get on a dress that covered all the way down her shoes because she was wearing shorts because it was like 100 degrees. She had to cover her head at a courtesy because the mosque was there. And they didn’t want to alienate Right, yeah, and offend. All this was done. Now, when we were up there. There were Muslim people around them. First of all, Jews aren’t even allowed to touch foot. Unless you’re Muslim. You can’t even touch foot in there. But if you’re a Muslim, or Jewish person, you could go into the Church of the Holy set thicker, but no one’s allowed I stepped foot in there, and we were yards away. And we were getting screamed at like harassed, it was uncomfortable. I’m like, What is going on here? I had no expectation. I guess my point is that a lot of people don’t realize that there are Christian Israelis, Muslim Israelis. These are people who embrace democracy, and are willing to acknowledge that this is a country. And then there is a large swatch of people who don’t even think Israel should exist. And the last thing that a lot of people don’t realize is the United States can designate groups as terrorist groups and Israel can do the same. They happen to do that with Hamas. But what I think a lot of people don’t realize is, in 2027, the people of Gaza, elected Hamas as their leadership. So it’s not like it’s an all shoot like al Qaeda. But there’s, you know, that, that that is within a rack, but that’s not part of the Iraqi government. But Hamas is the ruling party, in Gaza. And under their name, those are the people who, who did what happened. And the last thing is that, and it goes both ways. I can’t tell you how many people in previously, Israel, innocent people Israel have killed, and we’ll be killing nail today, tomorrow and the next day as they throw bombs. But it can’t be argued that the target of whatever just happened was not military targets, it was civilians. And imagine you send me pictures. I mean, we you and I, just to tell your viewers, you and I communicate not just here we, we text and we talk and you went to a bunch of shows. And we also go to small venues. Well, that’s where 250 people were just shot. I don’t know how many people were shot in the Las Vegas shooting, but 250 people, Mike, our kids age, your son’s age, and my son’s age, were just at a music festival. And half, I mean, I don’t know about half of them, but 250 of them were shot. And those were a bunch of the houses were taking. So it’s just messed up in and, and I know probably what I said, skewed towards Israel’s point of view. But I would be remiss if I also didn’t say that, I don’t know what it would be like for generations and generations to be holed up in a city. But I did do some research before calling you. And at least to the last I read, Hamas still doesn’t will not recognize Israel ever. So their two state solution is we get to run both pretty much both states or Israel doesn’t get to there is no Israel. So you know, and the last thing is, and it’s if we’re being honest, it’s not like Jewish people are the most like people in the world. You know, so if you look at the geography of where Israel is, the one place where this huge minority that really most people don’t like for whatever reason, book I like, I like all people, I don’t really understand what it is about hating anyone, much less, you know, people that I know, that are good people that that are that when it things happen to us and we’re overseas are one of the first to donate dollars and, and effort and, and willingness and, and even here in the US. I mean, when the thing happened in Pitt, the Pittsburgh synagogue, the Muslim mosque came to help and vice versa when a mosque was attacked. So I think we get it more here. But there are people celebrating in Times Square when when all this went down this weekend. And there are people in London celebrating this happening and of course in Iran and all that so I mean, it’s just it’s just it’s the tough situation. No one’s been able to crack it.
Nestor Aparicio 34:13
Patriots such an ugly thing, right, especially in the name of God.
Mike Rosenfeld 34:16
Right. Well, it is I mean, that’s what I always say I don’t really I like I said, I’m not an ultra religious guy, but any any God who says I’m right, you all are wrong. And because you’re all wrong, you can kill them doesn’t seem doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of faith to me. I think you know, love love night neighbor. I don’t know that says love my neighbor if they’re the same religion as me. But but but like I said, I’m not an ultra religious guy. Maybe it does say that. Well, I
Nestor Aparicio 34:46
appreciate your insights having been there and Microsoft fell here a little bit more. We’re doing a lot of football and baseball here due this week and a little bit more Billy Joel and Stevie. By the way, Stevie Nicks was great. I I keep holding up my Fleetwood Mac belt buckle. I’m holding it upside down. My Fleetwood Mac I felt buckle, because Stevie was particularly good on Saturday night. Well, I hope that you know, I know you’re John Mayer guy, and I’m a John Mayer guy. And I was showering on Saturday night to drive to Philadelphia to see John Mayer, because he was so good in New York earlier in the week. And the reason I was going to do it, and my whole thought on Saturday morning, which was I turned down Leonard raskins Billy Joel tickets at 9am because it was 52 degrees. And I’m like, I don’t really 52nd street to go down. 52 is not a good degrees. So for me for Billy Joel concert. So I said, I don’t really want to be cold and it’s going to be traffic and this and that. I hope your girls win. And John Mayer is in Philly tonight. I’ll just drive up there. I’ll do that. You know, come back to games to win the Raven game all day. Sunday. I got two games. I’m gonna end sometime between six and 615 I text letter where I got sharp. So you still stuck with that ticket? He’s like, Yeah, take it please. I paid for it. Show starts in an hour. And I’m thinking to myself, why would I want to drive to see John Mayer. And I’m thinking to myself, the reason I wanted to see John Mayer, is I believe the oils we playing next Friday in Minnesota Euston and I would miss John Mayer. So therefore, I need to see John Mayer. Yeah, it has it. You know, like, we got a long way to go. For me to be able to get a John Mayer concert here next Friday. or Mr. John Mayer concert here next Friday, I should say. But I do hope. I really hope that I missed the John Mayer concert because I’m in Houston. With Luke eating tortillas, or Minnesota eating sloppy. They put the cheese, the cheese in the burger, you know that? Right? They? Yes. Yeah. That’s how they do in Minnesota. So I was hoping to do that. But I’m going to be in Dallas eating barbecue and trying to get them to Friday night. Are you going Friday, if they make it so far? Yes.
Mike Rosenfeld 36:38
I have tickets for Friday. And I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful. Just wanting to play well. Can’t win. Get a win. I mean, I’m pretty sure I don’t really remember. But I think the last playoff appearance was being swept by Kansas. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 36:54
yeah, we said all four of those games, too. Yeah. So now that
Mike Rosenfeld 36:57
means six games in a row. I don’t want that to be a narrative moving forward. Just get a win. You know, and then if you get one win, then just get the next win. And if you get that one then they come home Friday and we can all cross our fingers.
Nestor Aparicio 37:10
From your lips to God’s ears. My 55th birthday on Saturday. We’re celebrating on Friday the 13th I’m hoping it’s a lucky Friday the 13th with our friends at the Maryland lottery window nation, and Jiffy Lube our newest sponsor at the fountain at drug city upstairs at the tasting room. Come on by and see us in the afternoon on Friday. Hopefully there’s a game five on Friday night, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday will be Hollywood casino at Berryville. In the morning for breakfast, Mike you’re invited bring the kids whatever the ravens are playing over in Tennessee and they lose 41 to nothing again, this time at least you didn’t have to fly to London to do it. There’s no passport required in Cecil County either. And ample free parking on like all of you got stuck at that downtown casino last week couldn’t get out of there after the Billy Joel concert. I am Nestor. Mike keeps us in business. By the way, tell me what you do what connection besides keeping me in business?
Mike Rosenfeld 37:57
Do I appreciate it WebConnect we are outsourced Chief Digital Officers. Basically what that means is small and midsize businesses are rudderless have no vision, no leadership as far as how they should be managing their website, their social media, their email marketing, their content, marketing, anything that they could be doing to grow their business. They’re just either figuring out as they go or trying to but they’re not having success. We’ve created a model that’s affordable for unattainable for small to midsize businesses to be able to have a seasoned expert. Take the helm, create the vision execute on the vision and
Nestor Aparicio 38:37
and a guy is pinned to the top of the temple to by the way. Just want to point that out. You get that too. Yeah. So the wisdom and experience that you bring is what I’m saying? You’ve been pleased.
Mike Rosenfeld 38:46
Yeah, I tried try. I try. I try. You got it. You live life once. So you got to you got to have experiences. I tell all my friends I can tell telling our mutual friend Bill Cole, gotta go. I mean, I think everyone there’s
Nestor Aparicio 39:00
this book called The cold cold roofing. Exactly. Yeah,
Mike Rosenfeld 39:03
everyone I know, no matter what your religion is, who goes to Israel has an experience that is often life changing, not necessarily religious mind wasn’t mine was cultural. Just very interesting how small it is. But you know, how they how somehow they were able to grow fruit in a desert, you know, and just ingenuity and all the tech that comes out of it. I mean, it’s really huge. I mean, I will tell you, my son to you know, while you and I are talking his company outsourced their human resource function to a company and Tel Aviv. And he was like, we’re not going to have we have a Monday meeting. We’re not gonna have our Monday meeting. Well, she texts everyone says, we as we do here, the show must go on. We’re scheduled. I mean, they fight through when there’s a bomb that goes off the Ukrainians
Nestor Aparicio 39:51
of dawn. It’s just unbelievable, right? Human Spirit, right if people did it over here in 1776, right
Mike Rosenfeld 40:00
Yeah, so it’s just a just interesting place, you know, Tel Aviv is the people are as aggressive as they are in New York. I mean, it’s just surprising, you know, you go in with this expectation and you leave with something totally different. So, look, I recommend, I’ve been very fortunate to travel a lot of places and experience a lot of cultures and, and I just think everyone I know who’s a thinker, who just wants to know, you know, experiences that should be on their list, I will tell you, do you got enough? I mean, I wouldn’t go now, you got nothing to be afraid of a norm on under normal circumstances. I mean, you know, my son spent this summer working there. And you know, there was,
Nestor Aparicio 40:39
dude, the world is I mean, like, I live in Baltimore, I saw the city on fire, right? Very unlikely, you know, once we’ve lived through a plague and you see what’s going on the Ukraine, and we talked about bombs and the Oppenheimer move, like, you know, it, it should scare everyone, it should frighten people into wanting better leadership and responsible leadership and leaders who don’t throw their helmets, you know, what I mean? So,
Mike Rosenfeld 41:02
and I’d say, like I said, I’m not the most religious guy, but the most moving thing I saw, were my, I’ll say, my Christian brothers and sisters at that church, like having an experience, and just watching them have an experience and how moving it was for them and, and, you know, if you can just separate yourself and, and appreciate what other people even if they’re not exactly like you are having it was it was touching. And then there was a line to get in that, like, literally, I couldn’t believe it. I was like, So you’re telling me, this is where the Christian like we walked the path that they took him to, to the church, where the slab was where the lay down after he was they took him off the cross, and the cave that they put him through that he disappeared and, and ascended and the line of people just going into that cave and it was just so long, I just didn’t have the we were on a tour. So we didn’t have the time. But it was just it was just awe inspiring and interesting to see the human experience for these people it was more than anything and the second was going on that Temple Mount and being screamed at just because we were there and they could tell that we weren’t Muslim and so we were the enemy and and the basis saying Are we cool but I knew that there were armed you know Israelis up there to make sure it was peaceful but but it was it didn’t feel peaceful. I don’t know it felt I felt aggressive. Very aggressive. Very aggressive.
Nestor Aparicio 42:32
All right, do Well You’ve enlightened me and taking my mind at least for a minute off the Oracles was in the Ravens was which is probably a good thing. I just don’t agree to try to set the world straight certainly. And what’s going on over in the Middle East is not a good thing. And we’re you know, hoping for peace like we’ve always done so. Don’t want peace with these Pittsburgh people after what they did to us this week. And I have no idea. The aftermath of the the Texas Rangers here looking are headed down to Arlington. We’ll be in Texas this week. checking things out finest at Baltimore positive you can find Luke and all the usual social media channels John Harbaugh. I’ll be hiding out the Ravens in London all week. They get back next week. I’ll be a drug city Friday, Hollywood casino on Sunday. I’m Nestor he’s Mike. Appreciate your insights as always my brother find him a web connection.com We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive
