Noah Fuson: From Pink and Blue to Crew II

Photo: Justin Nuoffer

Below is a mostly unabridged interview with FMFC alumni and current Columbus Crew II player Noah Fuson, edited for brevity/grammar/spelling/accuracy. We’d like to thank Noah for his time on a Wednesday evening. If you’re a Patreon subscriber ($5/mo), you can listen to the interview audio in full.

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(Zoom Voice: RECORDING IN PROGRESS)

Andrew: She’s got a real Dana Scully vibe going on, Grant. 

Grant: You … 

Andrew: I’m building a whole mythos. 

Grant: Yeah, I know. I’m like, you have built an entire character around the Zoom woman’s voice. Which I love, by the way. I think it’s great that you’ve done this. 

Andrew: Somebody got paid to do that voice for Zoom. 

Grant: To be honest, she’s got a very … a voice that, it’s somewhat similar to Lisa’s voice- 

Andrew: A little bit. 

Grant: … in the sense where she’s very clear, she enunciates. 

Andrew: Yeah. 

Grant: So yeah, but I get why you dig it, so. 

Andrew: Yeah. Well, I’ll have both of you know, I had to tear myself away from the pool just so that … I gave up … I’m sacrificing a lot to be here tonight. 

Grant: Noah, has he told you where he is? 

Noah: Yeah. He just flipped the camera around and showed me that he’s in Belize. 

Grant: Right. Has been there for two weeks. 

Noah: Yeah. He’s living life over there. 

Grant: Right? Right? 

Noah: He’s going to come back. My color. 

Grant: He’s been saying this. He’s been saying that he’s going to come back a beautiful color of golden brown. I got to see to believe it, Noah, because as you know, I’ve got some darker skin too, so we’ll see. We’ll see. 

Noah: Come on. You be the judge. 

Andrew: Grant, I told you I was going to come back looking like that fucked up Ronaldo statue. 

Grant: [laughs] This is true. This is true. This is absolutely what he said, yeah.

Andrew: All right. Cool. Let’s get into it because I know … Noah, I want thank you for joining us today. It’s been a little while since- 

Grant: Yeah, thanks brother. Appreciate you. 

Andrew: … we’ve actually got to chat. 

Noah: Of course, yeah. It’s great to reconnect with you guys. 

Andrew: Yeah. Obviously, we’re sad that you’ve moved on. You’re on the next step in your career. How are things? What have you been up to since autumn of last year? 

Noah: Yeah. Well, things are really good. Obviously, you guys know, I signed with Columbus Crew II, and I’ve been playing over here. The season got off to a really promising start. I think we’ve won four games on the bounce right now, and we’re in first place in the east. Things are going about as good as you can want at the beginning of a season. 

Grant: Obviously, we miss you and it was hard when you left. But we obviously understand that this is part of the deal when you’re playing soccer in this country, that you want to try and move to the top level, which was something that, in conversations you and I had had, that was a goal of yours from the jump. 

Noah: Yeah. 

Grant: What was really behind the decision to move to Crew, to MLS? Was it that it just provided that opportunity? 

Noah: Yeah, I think it was just the right step for me personally. It had nothing to do with Forward Madison, the community, the place itself, the club. It was just, I think, the right step in my career to continue to help me reach my goals of eventually playing first division soccer here. I just think it was the right step for me. 

Andrew: That’s cool, man. I guess from the player experience side of things, what’s the main difference between like a MLS II side, playing with that team. Terms wise, it’s basically, you’re playing for a reserve team for a first division club, which is like … Overseas, if you were playing for, say, Arsenal’s reserve team, that’s definitely going to have a fair amount more notoriety to it. The Scouts that are coming to watch you, the people from the clubs that might come and watch you, it’s different than it would be if you were playing in the Championship or League One or something like that. From player experience wise though, what’s the main difference between … Because obviously, they’ve kind of equated … Crew II has played, is this the first year that Crew II’s been around? I didn’t think so. 

Noah: Yeah. This has been our first season. 

Andrew: What’s the difference between playing in Madison the last couple of years and then going to play for Crew II, from a player experience perspective? 

Grant: And with that, Noah, it’s like … So fans, they talk a fair amount about … We’ve all heard this … about the lack of fan support for the MLS reserve sides as compared to what Andrew was saying, maybe a Premier League side. If you’re playing for the B squad for Arsenal, you’re probably going to still play in front of a crowd. Right? 

Noah: Right. 

Grant: And then you had the experience of playing in Madison, in front of The Flock and in front of a huge crowd there. What’s your experience been like with the support for Crew II, and how does that affect the squad one way or the other? 

Noah: Yeah. Obviously coming out, playing in Madison for the last two years when we went to play against MLS reserve teams, like Inter Miami II, and New England Revolution II, there wouldn’t be the biggest support or, really, fan section there. And obviously, in Madison, those are the best fans in League One. It was a lot different going to those MLS teams last year and the year before. But when we had our home opener two weeks ago, I was kind of expecting the same thing that I saw when I went to New England, to Miami. But actually, the Columbus Crew fans came out and we had at least a couple hundred fans there, and we had like a little fan section in the corner, and they were chanting, cheering us on. And it was actually really cool to see that and have that support, because I know not all II teams have that and are privileged to have that support from the fans. So it was really cool to see them come out and support us even though we’re obviously not the first team. But yeah, it was really good. 

Grant: Has that been your experience in general, Noah, that Columbus is a soccer town? Or that they’re a soccer city in the sense where it’s like, that they support not only the Crew, but also the B squads and things like that as well? 

Noah: Yeah, definitely. I’ve definitely got that sense because even on Twitter, Instagram, things like that, you’ve got the fans of the first team and supporters of the first team that are supporting us, congratulating us, and seeing our accomplishments and really encouraging us and acknowledging us. And it feels really good. You go outside to the grocery store, you see Columbus Crew gear everywhere you look. It’s been really cool. 

Andrew: Yeah. I know we got to meet some of the Nordecke people a couple years ago on the Irruption tour, and they were all major, major die hards. It doesn’t surprise me, actually, that they show up to the two team games. Is it motivation for the guys on the reserve side to want to move up to play in the first team, to have that just much bigger crowd, that much bigger fan support? 

Noah: Yeah. We’re all here, we’re all signed as Crew II players and our goal is to win an MLS Next Pro championship. But obviously, we all have individual goals and that’s to play at the highest level possible, and playing for the first team would be the highest level you can play in American soccer. And going to the first team games and having access to that, it really pumps you up and gets you motivated, like yeah, I want to do this, this is where I want to be, and it makes you want to give that five, 10% extra every day in training, at home, whatever you’re doing because you know you’re working towards a goal at all times. 

Andrew: That’s awesome. You recently signed a deal, a loan deal, with the first team. What does that mean? That’s super cool. I think is cool. What does that mean to you? 

Grant: I just want to know, did you have a moment? It’s like, we see this in the movies when the guy gets called up to the major leagues. He has the moment where it’s like, “I’m going to the show.” Did you have a moment like that, Noah? 

Noah: It was definitely an honor to be selected out of all the talented guys from the Crew II team, that they chose me to travel with them to Kansas City. And when I first heard that it was a possibility, my stomach dropped and I had butterflies for the next two hours until everything was done and it was a done deal. And then, once I got on the plane and everything started becoming … It was surreal, because you go from watching MLS games as a little kid, going to watch Galaxy games when I was little to now, being on the bench and being a player in that environment. And it was only for one game, but it was still an amazing experience, and just a little tease, like a little taste of what could be to come, especially going to a place like Kansas City where the fans are- 

Grant: Crazy. 

Noah: Super loud and yeah, they really showed out. But yeah, it was a really good experience. 

Grant: You find out. Who was the first person you called or texted? 

Noah: My mom. 

Grant: Called, yep. My boy, My boy. 

Noah: Yeah. 

Grant: You got to call mom, right? 

Noah: First thing. 

Andrew: Absolutely. 

Grant: That’s just like- 

Noah: First thing, right when I hung up. 

Grant: It’s got to be mom. It’s got to be mom. I agree. It’s got to be mom. All right, let’s get into some fun questions now. And maybe this isn’t that much of a fun question, but what’s it like? You’re a Cali kid. You know I love LA as well. I spend a lot of time spend a lot of time there. 

Noah: West coast, best coast. 

Grant: Right. But what’s it like living far away from your family? You were in Madison last year, which is far from Cali, and now you’re even farther. What’s it like being that far away from your family, your friends? And then, are you still dating Julia? Are you still dating Julia? 

Noah: Yeah, I am. That’s crazy. That’s crazy you remember her name? Yeah, I am. 

Grant: Yeah. How do you manage all of that? Because long distance relationships, having been in numerous ones myself, they’re not easy. How do you manage all that? What’s that like, or what’s that experience like? 

Noah: Well, it’s obviously tough being away from my family, but they know that I’m doing what I love and what I’ve dreamt of doing since I was a kid, so they fully support me and they understand that not seeing me is a part of this job. I’ve been lucky. I got to see my mom. She’s actually in Cleveland, which is just two hours up the freeway, because she’s working on a movie. She’s going to be there stationed for six weeks, so it’s just a two hour drive and I’ll be able to see her. 

Grant: Let’s pause. 

Noah: It does get tough at times, but. 

Grant: Let me pause you for a second there. We got to give mom some props. So mom’s working on a movie. So mom works in Hollywood? 

Noah: Yeah, she does publicity, PR. 

Grant: Nice. 

Andrew: He just casually drops that. 

Grant: He just drops it. Yeah, she’s working on movie. Does she work for a certain studio, Noah? 

Noah: She actually has her own company. 

Grant: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. 

Andrew: Of course. Of course. 

Grant: Just again, just casually just drops that. 

Andrew: A whole family, just making waves, living their dreams, that whole thing. 

Grant: Exactly. Just doing the American dream saying, “No big deal.” 

Andrew: What’s it like living away from … It can’t be easy living away from Julia too. Is she still going to school out west? Are you guys staying … Obviously, you’re staying busy training and playing and working all the time. What’s life like for her, having you be halfway across the country? 

Noah: Yeah. She’s very supportive and she obviously knows that this was going to be part of it from the beginning. From when we met, she knew that these were the circumstances, and I could end up anywhere in the country, in the world. But yeah, she’s in nursing school right now, so she’s been staying busy and she’s about to finish that up in a little over a week. On May 9th, she graduates. 

Grant: Kudos to her. Kudos to her. 

Noah: Yeah. She’s been grinding away. But we stay in touch. We talk every day, FaceTime, watch little movie dates on our laptops and stuff like that. And then she comes to visit every once in a while. But it’s been really good. She’s been really supportive and I can’t complain. Everything’s great. 

Grant: That’s awesome. 

Andrew: And that’s the industry too. Lisa, my wife is a nurse, and we talk about that all the time. And if I had to relocate for work, she’d be able to get a job anywhere. It’s one of those industries where she could literally work anywhere that she needs to and be very well gainfully employed. But that’s super dope. Y’all are able to make it work as well as you’re able to, especially … 

Grant: 100% 

Andrew: You never know how long your career is going to be. No one does, really, right? So to be able to actually go for it when it matters. That’s huge. 

Noah: Yeah. I’ve been blessed to be put in the situation that I’ve been put in. I can’t lie. 

Grant: All right. Great question here. 

Noah: Talk to me. 

Grant: What do you miss about Madison? 

Noah: I definitely miss my friends and the family that I created over there the last two years. 

Grant: We miss you too. We miss you too. 

Noah: Yeah. It’s definitely … Madison will always have a place in my heart. You guys welcomed me, my first pro club. Just from the beginning, the love and support that I got was … It’s something that’ll stick with me throughout my whole career and even after I’m done playing. You never forget your first. And my first was memorable in a very good, positive way. 

Grant: Very true. Very true.

Andrew: Shifting gears a little bit. If we want to talk cities, what’s your favorite thing about Columbus so far? Are there good spots to eat or places like … your favorite places to hang out? Things that when people come to town, you’re like, “Oh, we got to go here?” 

Noah: I’m not going to lie to you. I’m very much a homebody. I’m very much a homebody: to the facility, back, to the field, back, gym, home. 

Grant: All business. Strictly business. 

Andrew: Oh yeah. 

Noah: Yeah. I’m trying to … Easton is … There’s this nice little shopping center where there’s a bunch of fire food places, stores. And it’s a kind of outdoor like mall, but it’s huge. It’s a pretty cool spot. That’s probably the spot where, when I have a day off or I want to go out and do something, I’ll go there. I’ve been going bowling a lot too. 

Grant: So pro tip from me to you. If someone says, “Hey, we’re going to go to this spot in the bottoms, just stay home.” Just say- 

Noah: Where is what? Is that in Columbus? 

Grant: It’s in Columbus. It’s an area in Columbus. So just be like, “Nah, I’m good, man. I’m just going to chill.” 

Noah: Yeah, okay. No bottoms. Bottoms is off limits. 

Grant: No, no Bottoms for you. 

Andrew: Yeah. It just sounds seedy in general. 

Grant: That’s why it’s called the Bottoms. It’s like … 

Noah: Oh, my God. 

Grant: Have you ever known of a place in a city or a town or a locale called the Bottoms and been like, “Oh yeah, this place is pretty nice.” 

Noah: Yeah, I don’t know. 

Andrew: I love how Noah just drops the Kieran Tierney question when people ask him what London’s like. He’s like, “I wouldn’t know. I just go to training and come home.” 

Grant: Yeah, I know. All business. That’s our boy. 

Noah: Yeah. Come on. You guys know me. 

Grant: Just so you know, Noah, Andrew and I have a very deep affinity for Kieran Tierney. 

Noah: Why? 

Grant: He comes off as, if I had to have a pro. He’s just a pro. The way he handles his business, the way he handles it on the pitch, off the pitch. I actually became a fan of his when he was at Celtic. 

Noah: Oh, wow. 

Grant: When he was at Celtic, I was like, this kid is … Because I love Celtic, because I’m just like, he’s not going to be around long. So when he signed with Arsenal, I was like, yeah, I think this would be a really good fit for him, being in North London and being with the Gunners and with all their fans. So he just comes off to me as what you would want as a pro. And Andrew and I have a thing about dudes that tuck in their jerseys too. 

Andrew: For me- 

Noah: You guys love the jersey tuck? 

Andrew: And the black boots. 

Grant: Personally, for me, Noah, I’m like you. I was always jersey out, easy breezy. Let’s just get out and run. 

Noah: Yeah. You got to have a little swag on the field. 

Grant: Exactly. But I’ll let Andrew explain why he loves the jersey tuck. 

Andrew: No, it’s like, look, the reason I like Kieran Tierney is because he’s 90% of the guys that I’ve met in Glasgow when I’ve visited. They’re all like that. Just like, I don’t know, very straight to the point, down to earth, down to business right away. But Kieran Tierney’s got that very working class … You know how defenders are, right? If you see a defender with black boots, and tucked in shirt, you’re like, “Ugh. This guy is going to be …” 

Grant: Run away from that guy. 

Andrew: This guy is going to be up my ass. 

Noah: I think we should tell Lenny to start tucking his shirt in. 

Andrew: Right? Exactly. 

Grant: Noah, we have brought this up to him before. And this is … Believe me, we’ve gotten stuff from Lenny that I didn’t think that we would ever get, including … We’ll have to send it to you. I don’t know, did you see the lips sync video he did to Lil Wayne? 

Noah: Oh, you should see my Snapchat. I get a lip sync video at least once a week, so it’s definitely hot. That’s still my boy. He still sends me in the car, giving me some of these, singing different songs to me. 

Andrew: You got to pass along- 

Grant: That is great. 

Andrew: … the word to us, because we will harass him into sharing it. I’ve been trying to talk him into letting us post up that Mr. Carter video. 

Noah: Oh, man. Oh, man. 

Andrew: He had to do that, apparently, as part of his fine. 

Noah: That would be fire. That would be fire. If I gave you guys ammo, I know he has way more on me. He has way more on me. 

Andrew: I’m sure. I’m sure. 

Grant: All right. We’ll just leave that alone then right now. 

Noah: Yeah. We’ll just put a pin in that. Put a pin in that. 

Grant: All right. Another important question: any new tattoos? 

Noah: I’m not going to lie to you, the off season, it was quiet for me in the tattoo world because I bought a car, so all my money kind of went to my car. And I wanted to go get inked up, finish my arm, my leg. But that down payment hit me kind of heavy. So I was like, you know what? Maybe I should keep this. 

Grant: Andrew, look at our boy. Look at our boy. 

Andrew: He’s a grown … He’s a proper- 

Grant: He’s all grown up. He’s all grown up. 

Andrew: He’s a proper grown up. God damn. 

Grant: God damn. 

Andrew: When the day came where I had to balance the cost of tattoos with bills, man, it was a sad day, but it comes for us all. 

Noah: Yeah. I was like, man, I can’t just go out and blow my money when I have bills to pay. Are you kidding me? A car payment? 

Andrew: Right? So what kind of car did you get? Was it at least a cool car? 

Noah: Yeah. I got a BMW 328i coupe with a red interior, black rims. It’s not bad. 

Andrew: My guy said, “It’s not bad.” 

Grant: It’s not bad. It’s not bad. Hey, I got a killer whip. I’m playing pro soccer in the major leagues. Mom works for Hollywood. No big deal. I’m just a regular guy. 

Andrew: Yeah. Couldn’t get a tattoo because I was buying a Beamer. 

Grant: Yeah. 

Noah: Don’t make me that guy. Don’t make me that guy. 

Grant: Noah, we know what BMW stands for, right? 

Noah: Black man’s wheels. 

Grant: That’s right. That’s right. Or I’ve also heard, “Black man winning.” 

Noah: Well, come on. Yeah, I like that one too. I like that one too. 

Grant: Black man winning, so. 

Andrew: All right. 

Grant: Here’s to you, buddy. 

Noah: Thank you. Thank you. 

Andrew: Yes, here’s to you. All right. We’ve come to the point where it’s the lightning round. There’s three questions. Don’t spend too much time thinking about it. All right. First one is … And Grant and I will go back and we’ll do these alternating. First question is: what music is currently on your heavy rotation? Could be an album, could be a song, could be a music video. What is it? 

Noah: Oh my gosh. Okay. Okay. There’s this new leak of Jack Harlow and Drake, and it’s on YouTube, and it’s crazy, and it’s so fire, and I’ve been listening to that a lot. 

Grant: I saw it and I almost sent it to you because I know how much you like Jack Harlow and Drake. 

Noah: Jack Harlow and Drake, it goes crazy. And then there’s a Kid Laroi song that I recently … It just came back into my rotation. Oh my God. 

Andrew: Is that Have a Turn? Have a Turn, is that the song? 

Noah: By Drake and Jack Harlow? 

Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Noah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Grant: Yeah, that’s the song. 

Noah: But the leaks keep getting taken down every three days, so you have to go find a new one. But his album drops in, I think a week, on May 6th. So I can’t wait for that. I can’t wait. 

Grant: That’s why it keeps getting taken down because … 

Noah: Yeah. 

Grant: He hasn’t released a track list yet and you already know who’s going to be … 

Noah: Yeah. I’m already memorizing the song, but that’s been heavy in my rotation. 

Grant: All right. Here we go. Next question: what is your favorite film and why? 

Noah: Soccer related or no? 

Grant: Any film. Any film. 

Andrew: Doesn’t have to be. 

Noah: Okay. 

Grant: Doesn’t have to be soccer related. 

Noah: I’m going to say, I think it’s a tie for me because there’s a soccer one, there’s a non-soccer one. The soccer one is Goal!. Have you seen Goal! The Dream Begins? 

Grant: Yes. Yes. 

Andrew: Oh yeah. 

Noah: I love that movie. 

Grant: It’s a great movie. 

Noah: He comes from playing Sunday league in LA, and then boom, all of a sudden, he’s playing for Newcastle and it’s just, I just love it so much. And that’s one of the first soccer movies I saw when I was little, and I was like, I want to do this. And then not soccer is probably Django. That’s the first one that comes to mind.

Grant: Django Unchained? 

Noah: Yeah. I love that movie. It’s just so badass. 

Grant: So you know, I was part of the group of people that was not shocked during the whip scene. I was laughing with a crew of people, because I thought that was just the most hilarious scene. 

Noah: Oh my gosh. 

Grant: Where he’s just whipping the … yeah. 

Noah: Crazy. 

Grant: Yeah. Yeah. 

Noah: It’s a great movie. Do you like Tarantino in general? Yeah, I’d say I do. I’ve seen a couple of his … I haven’t seen all of them. My mom worked on Django, actually. That’s how I originally saw it. 

Grant: Oh, so mom worked on Django Unchained. Okay. So it’s another just humble brag that we’re just going to toss in. 

Noah: I need to stop talking about my mom. I need to stop talking about my mom. She’s worked on too much stuff that’s like … Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait. The Batman, the Batman with the joker in it. What is that one? The Dark Knight Rises? 

Grant: Yes. That’s The Dark Knight. 

Noah: That’s untouchable. That’s above Django. That’s above Django. I forgot. That’s above Django. 

Grant: I have not seen the new Batman. 

Andrew: The new one? 

Noah: Really? 

Grant: Andrew hit me up with the HBO Max account. 

Noah: Okay. Okay. 

Grant: But Andrew says it’s the best Batman ever. 

Noah: Nah. No, no. Andrew? 

Grant: He said it. He said it. 

Noah: Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger, that opening scene where … Oh yeah, he told me to kill the next guy, boom. Kill the next guy, boom. 

Andrew: That is true. 

Noah: That opening scene is crazy. 

Grant: Okay. So not to go on a huge tangent here … And I’m saying this, having not seen The Batman, mind you … But here’s the thing that I thought The Dark Knight did, is that it made a movie that was a comic book movie, and it didn’t feel like it was a comic book movie. 

Noah: Yeah, it did not. 

Grant: It felt like this was something that could really happen, right? 

Noah: Yeah. It was crazy. 

Grant: Right? 

Noah: Yeah, that’s got to be number one. 

Grant: So Andrew, I don’t know if- 

Andrew: I’d put it like … So they’re very different movies. They’re very different. 

Noah: I agree with that. I agree with that. 

Andrew: I think The Batman- 

Grant: Noah, did you see The Batman? 

Noah: Yeah. I watched it in the theaters, got scoliosis for three hours and I loved every second of it. 

Grant: So that means you were up front? 

Noah: Oh yeah, I was … For three hours, man. 

Grant: That was me and The Matrix Reloaded. I had to be like … 

Andrew: Oh, yeah. 

Noah: Yeah. You just got to do what you got to do. 

Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. Grant just loves that IMAX feel without paying for the IMAX. 

Grant: Right. Invade my senses. 

Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. 

Grant: But what were you going to say about the two movies? 

Andrew: No, I will say they’re very different. The Batman was my favorite because it’s probably the closest representation to an actual comic book Batman movie. 

Noah: Okay. 

Andrew: But The Dark Knight, you can’t fade that either because of Ledger. 

Noah: Yeah. 

Andrew: It’s like Noah said … A big part of that too is, I’m a huge Tom Waits fan, and Heath Ledger apparently- 

Grant: 100%. 

Andrew: Built part of his joker character on an interview with Tom Waits that he watched in some Australian talk show from the late 70s. 

Noah: Wow. 

Grant: Yeah. 

Andrew: I’ll put it in the post when we get this up. But you watch interview that Tom Waits did, and you’re like- 

Grant: It’s him. You’re like, oh dude, it’s there. It’s like, the laugh is the same, dude. 

Noah: Oh, okay. I need to watch this. I need to watch this. I’m excited to watch this now. 

Andrew: Yeah. We’ll send it over.

Grant: The one thing I do want to say about … I really feel like The Dark Knight where it really … I thought they did a great job of showing the conflict inside. Like Christian Bale? Yes, we all know that Heath Ledger was amazing. Christian Bale was really good in that movie as well. 

Noah: He was. 

Grant: Not just as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne, as this broken guy who is just like … And the relationship he has with Rachel and everything like that. 

Andrew: Grant, you need to see the new one. Yeah. 

Grant: You get to see who Bruce Wayne is as a person. 

Andrew: Grant, you got to see the new one. 

Grant: Yeah. That’s what I’ve heard, is that it really goes into the Bruce Wayne side of things too. 

Noah: The Batmobile is kind of trash though. 

Andrew: Yeah. It’s a lot. Part of that though, because it was meshing with a very super gritty, dirty, trashy Gotham City. 

Noah: Yeah. I guess it kind of fit the aesthetic. It kind of fit the aesthetic, I guess. 

Grant: Okay. 

Andrew: But yeah. 

Noah: But I wanted like an iPad type of robots, boom. 

Andrew: To be fair, you are correct in that the guy is a billionaire. He probably could have done more to make that Batmobile- 

Noah: Yeah. You own the city. You couldn’t get glass windows? 

Grant: And that’s what we saw in The Dark Knight, where it’s like, the Batmobile gets trashed and he’s just like, “Oh, no problem. I’ll just turn it into a motorcycle.” A really dope motorcycle, by the way, too. 

Noah: It’s crazy. 

Andrew: All right. Third lightning round question, this is the last one, what’s the last book you read, and did you like it? 

Noah: I’m still reading it. It’s called … Oh my gosh, what is it called? It’s called Can’t Hurt Me, and it’s by David Goggins. And it’s about mental strength and pushing past your physical and mental limitations, and I love it. It’s so good. 

Grant: What’s the favorite thing, like little nugget that you’ve distilled from the book so far? 

Noah: Just hearing the stuff that he’s endured and pushed himself through, not just physically but mentally. The book talks about how so much of it is mental. Yeah, you might be hurting, but it’s like, your mind is telling you to give up. Your legs don’t tell you to give up. So it’s like, right when you feel like you’re at your edge and you’re at your limit, to give five more percent and to think about how good you felt. And let’s say, in my situation, after I scored a goal, think about that feeling, and think about your wins and push yourself on using that. You want to get back to that. You can do this last mile or last 10 pushups or whatever it might be that you’re trying to do. 

Grant: To where, almost like that goal that you’re trying to achieve is no longer just out in the distance, it’s just your everyday pattern. 

Noah: Yeah. It’s like, do you really want this? Okay, then push through this. 

Grant: Right, right. 

Noah: But you can push through anything. Some of the stuff he talks about, like he runs a 100 mile race with zero training in 18 hours. And when he is done with it, not to get too graphic, but he’s peeing blood, he can’t control his bowels. He’s in terrible shape, but he was still able to push his body to do that. 

Grant: He did it, right? 

Noah: Yeah. It gets crazy. 

Grant: Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome, man. That’s awesome. 

Andrew: Well, cool. 

Noah: I’m glad I started reading that, because otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a book for you. I’m not going to lie, I would not have had a book. 

Andrew: Well, he’s a former Navy Seal too, right? 

Noah: Yeah. They talk about that a lot in the book too. Really good. So good. The story’s insane. 

Grant: If you like those kind of books, man, I got some books I’ll recommend to you. 

Noah: For sure. For sure. I’m loving this. 

Grant: I got you. I got you. 

Noah: I don’t consider myself a reader, and I’m over here reading for an hour and a half. I’m like, I guess? Yeah. 

Andrew: I think it might- 

Grant: The old English teacher in me is very proud of you, Noah. 

Andrew: Well, cool. We’ll call time on the official chat. Noah Fuson, thank you for joining us on New Dogma zine. It’s been great catching up, man. 

Grant: Yeah, dude. It’s been so good to see you. We miss you so much here, so. 

Noah: Thank you guys for having me. It’s been a pleasure. I miss seeing you guys every week and hanging out with you guys after the games, and just getting to be with my guys. It’s been great catching up with you guys too. 

Grant: Let’s stay in touch. Maybe we’ll set up a trip where the RTL can get down to Columbus for a game. 

Noah: Let me know. Let me know. Let me know. 

Grant: We’ll do it. It’s an easy trip. 

Noah: Just let me know. If there’s games closer, I’ll let you know too. 

Grant: Okay. Do it. Do it. 

Noah: My guys.