WDHA’s 2-Minute Drill – For A Slow Sports Weekend, There’s A Lot To Discuss

It may be a slow weekend for sports, but this morning on the Two-Minute Drill, Jim Monaghan and Chris Swendeman found a lot to discuss.

They managed to cover the Devils, Rangers, Knicks, Major League Baseball, and the NFL television ratings.

And of course, there's the obligatory Taylor Swift reference.

JIM MONAGHAN - Chris, kind of a slow week. You've got the NHL in their All-Star break. Rangers doing better than the Devils, who I think are in trouble. I think the Rangers could really go deep in the playoffs this year.

CHRIS SWENDEMAN - I agree. And not just being a Ranger fan, but I got to be honest, the team looks really good, but they're starting to get some holes. They lost Filip Chytil for the year. That's they need a centerman. I think Chris Drury, their GM, is going to be very busy at the trade deadline, which is just a few weeks away, as is the Devils GM, who they have a lot of holes. Are they going to find a goaltender before the trade deadline? That'll be huge for them.

JIM MONAGHAN - You mentioned trades and going back to the NBA now, the Knicks making that trade a few weeks ago and there were a lot of Knicks fans who were really, really upset. This team has gelled. They've come in with a couple of big winning streaks, including one going into last night's game. They won eight in a row. They look good.

CHRIS SWENDEMAN - If you're a Knicks fan, this is the most fun you've had since the days of Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley. This team is fun to watch. And I'm telling you, they get into the playoffs, which they will, they are going to be a tough out. They are going to be a real tough out because they have grit, they have heart, and they have a lot of passion. And Tom Thibodeau's got them playing good ball.

JIM MONAGHAN - Know we're a couple of weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting the news breaking earlier this week that the Orioles being sold to a group that includes Cal Ripken Jr. And former NBA All-Star Grant Hill. I think this is good news, obviously for the Orioles because there's going to be some money put into the team. I think it's also good for baseball.

CHRIS SWENDEMAN - I think it's good for baseball. I think David Rubenstein, the primary owner, is a Baltimore guy, born and raised in Baltimore, loves the Orioles, always has, and he's very philanthropic, gives back to where he grew up in and around the Baltimore area and I think he's going to put money and I think the group is going to put money into the team, which they haven't seen. And they have a really good young core and if they could build around that young core, they're going to be a problem for the Yankees and for the rest of the AL East, for that matter.

FLASHBACK - the Morning Jolt Presents Football Made Easy For Swifties

JIM MONAGHAN - But the big sports story this weekend is how much are we going to be watching Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl a week from Sunday?

CHRIS SWENDEMAN - Well, I'll give you a stat right now, Jim, 44 total seconds is the amount of time that Taylor Swift was shown during the AFC championship game. And for those of you keeping score, that's 99.61% of the game where she wasn't shown. So, everybody, "Oh, another week of Taylor Swift." Guess what? It wasn't that bad. Stop. Get over it. It'll be fine. Trust me. Your football will not be impeded by Tay Tay.

JIM MONAGHAN - And speaking of whining, the I'll never watch another NFL game crowd that was just all up in arms about eight years ago when Colin Kaepernick took a knee. The ratings for the NFC and AFC championship games were through the roof. So either you're back watching the games or you've been replaced. It's as simple as that.

CHRIS SWENDEMAN - The NFL is too big to fail and now you have the biggest pop star on the planet, maybe since the Beatles, as you have said, and I agree with you, being a fan of the game because her boyfriend plays for one of the biggest teams in the NFL. The NFL is a powerhouse right now, and if you're not watching, you're just lying to yourself.

JIM MONAGHAN - And we won't even get into the speculation about how Taylor Swift may or may not influence the 2024 presidential election. That's the Two-Minute Drill for another week here at 105.5. WDHA.

MORE EPISODES OF WDHA'S TWO-MINUTE DRILL WITH JIM MONAGHAN AND CHRIS SWENDEMAN

Taylor Swift is everywhere. The more you try to escape her, the stronger her presence is. She is simply an undeniable force.

General fandom around the pop superstar/singer-songwriter has been intense for years. However, it has reached a new level thanks to "The Eras Tour."

Swift's ongoing "Eras Tour" is projected to gross a staggering $2.2 billion in North America alone, according to CNN Business. Her tour has provided a massive boost to the local economies of the cities where she performs. Fortune noted that Swift's tour is on track to generate a nearly $5 billion boost in consumer spending.

This is the result of people traveling to see Swift and spending money on hotels, food and other goods. Just how significant is that number? Dan Fleetwood, President of QuestionPro Research and Insights told GlobalNewsWire, "If Taylor Swift were an economy, she'd be bigger than 50 countries."

In fact, Swift made the Forbes billionaires list in April 2024. The outlet noted, "In a rare feat, Swift is the first musician to reach the milestone solely from songwriting and performing. Her fortune doesn’t largely derive from profitable side hustles (think: beauty brands, fashion lines, alcohol investments, etc.), which have been typical avenues for entertainers to become billionaires in recent years."

With this kind of popularity, it is not shocking that Swift has gotten a lot of attention from other artists in the music world, including some icons. She did the honors of inducting Carole King into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. She also notably performed "As Tears Go By" with the Rolling Stones in 2013.

Swift says in the video below, "That's one of the only bands where you see these fans who've been coming to shows for decades, and they always want to come back. The way you see them give everything they have for every single performance, that's what makes fans loyal to them, and that's been a huge influence on my entire outlook on my career."

Over the years -- but especially since the beginning of "The Eras Tour -- several iconic rock stars have said very kind things about Swift. Keep scrolling to see the many examples of their praise of Swift, from funny stories to more poignant moments and everywhere in between.

Dave Grohl recalled a time when Taylor Swift bailed him out of a jam. Both musicians were attending a party hosted by Paul McCartney. At one point, Sir Paul started playing a song on the piano. After he was done, people at the party turned to Grohl and said he should play a song next. There were two problems, though: Grohl doesn't know how to play the piano, and he said he was "a little out of sorts" at that point (wink-wink). Swift jumps in and volunteers to play a song, and she decides to play the Foo Fighters song "Best of You." However, due to Grohl being "a little out of sorts," it took him a bit to realize what song she was playing, even though he wrote it.

Stevie Nicks said to the crowd at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta in May 2023, "Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing this thing for me, and that is writing a song called 'You're On Your Own, Kid.'" ("You're On Your Own, Kid" is featured on Swift's 2022 album Midnights. The track peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight.)

"That is the sadness of how I feel," Nicks continued. "As long as Chris was, even on the other side of the world, we didn't have to talk on the phone. We really weren't phone buddies. Then we would go back to Fleetwood Mac, and we would walk in, and it would be like 'Little sister, how are you?' It was like never a minute had passed, never an argument in our entire 47 years. Never."

Nicks closed saying, "So, when it was the two of us, the two of us were on our own, kids. We always were, and now, I'm having to learn to be on my own, kid, by myself. So, you help me to do that. Thank you."

[inlink id="bono-comes-out-as-a-swiftie" text="Back in October 2022"], U2's Bono said, "I'm a Swiftie" in an appearance on BBC's The Graham Norton Show alongside Swift. Host Graham Norton if the two ever worked together before. Swift said, "Not yet. We're gonna talk about it later."

Swift added about Bono, "He’s so nice he sent me roses when I played in Dublin. He doesn’t want to take credit … He’s a truly great person. He’s just that great and thoughtful, just the best there is." Bono coyly responded, "I better have a drink."

The KISS legend shared a photo of himself wearing an "Eras Tour" t-shirt on social media. He captioned the photo, "Took Erin, Sarah and Emily to see Taylor Swift Last Night! 6 shows at SoFi Stadium for a total of A HALF MILLION PEOPLE and I know why… PHENOMENAL SHOW BY A PHENOMENAL ARTIST. Thanks to her staff for rolling out the red carpet for us."

In November 2022, Bruce Springsteen had a week-long takeover of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. At that time, there was a lot of buzz around The Boss' 2023 tour and Taylor Swift's tour happening at the same time.

Fallon asked the Boss to confirm a "theory" he and Swift will pop in on each other's shows thanks to their mutual connection of songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff. Springsteen responded, "I will be, because my daughter is going to make sure I will be at the Taylor Swift show, so I know that. And she's welcome on E Street anytime."

The Disturbed frontman shared his desire to work with Taylor Swift in an interview with 93.3 WMMR's Sara. He said, "I would love to cover a Taylor Swift song. I think that she is one of the most prolific songwriters of our generation. I think she is insanely talented. I'd love to collaborate with Taylor if she ever wanted to, on any given day."

Draiman added, "I've said it before, I'll say it again: I think she's a brilliant woman. I think she's, like I said, one of the great songwriters of our time. I love her gumption. I love the fact that she gets on stage in front of tens of thousands of screaming young female fans and plays a real instrument and sings live and is the real deal."

Draiman, again, publicly praised Swift, and this time, it was during a Disturbed show in January 2024. The singer spotted two 12-year-old girls with their dads in the crowd and brought them on stage. He commented that since the two girls were at the Disturbed show and not at a Swift show they were being raised on rock music. Per Blabbermouth, Draiman then said Swift "still kicks ass," which led to some booing. The Disturbed frontman sternly told his fans not to boo the singer-songwriter.

"I will stand up and applaud any pop artist that gets up on stage and sings live and plays a guitar live in front of a whole group of f---ing thousands of girls and guys, young fans," said Draiman. " ... She's making sure that an entire generation of new music fans understand what it means to actually play music live."

Eddie Vedder heaped praise on pop superstar Taylor Swift and her fanbase in a [inlink id="eddie-vedder-taylor-swift-punk-rock" text="March 2024 interview with Mojo"].

The Pearl Jam frontman detailed his experience of attending a Taylor Swift show with one of his daughters. He talked about how much of a community Swifties were, particularly with their practice of making friendship bracelets and trading them with other fans at shows.

Vedder noted, "The craziest thing was it reminded me of punk rock crowds, of being aligned with all of the misfits in our town, back in the day. It was galvanizing and powerful."

Vedder even got in on the friendship bracelet action. His wife Jill shared the photo below when the family attended a Swift "Eras Tour" show in Seattle in July 2023.

Vedder and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast in May 2024. The topic of Swift came up, and Ament had some interesting comments.

He said, "I think she's, you know, I think she's not afraid to change and change in a way that maybe is kind of anti-pop in some ways, you know? Which is, I have huge props for that."

Vedder added, " ... She's incredibly prolific, so she's able to just kind of keep putting out music and putting out music."

In June 2024, the Green Day frontman shared a photo of himself at a stop on "The Eras Tour," while rocking some friendship bracelets.

Armstrong captioned the photo, "Just saw Taylor Swift eras tour in Lyon France!! Great production. Great voice. Great entertainer. Great songwriting. Crazy crowd. People even shared with me some friendship bracelets. Thanks a million @taylorswift."