Roger Goodell | September 8, 2021

From September 8, 2021: On the 53rd episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by NFL Commissioner and longtime friend Roger Goodell. But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (01:16 – 06:04). With the 2021 NFL season only hours away, the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the U.S. is still front-of-mind for many around the football world. Morten weighs in, urging Americans to get vaccinated. We then move to our interview with Roger Goodell, where he discusses a wide range of topics: why he’s uncomfortable being called “the most powerful man in sports;" his excitement level as the league returns to full capacity across the board; reflecting back on a challenging 2020, and why he thinks it might be the proudest he has ever been to be commissioner; why one of his biggest regrets in life was never pursuing a college football career, as he was a star athlete in high school; going from an intern at the NFL league offices to commissioner of the league; his great respect for both Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue, and their differing leadership styles; why he believes relocating an NFL team should be hard; the importance of globalizing the game of American football, and why he doesn’t think a franchise will call London home for the foreseeable future; why there’s never been a better time to be a football fan, and why the NFL views legal sports betting as a way to grow their audience; the many positives of adding a 17th game to the regular season; Morten pitches some rule changes to his old friend; the brilliance of Tom Brady; and this week’s edition of “The Name Game,” featuring Paul Tagliabue, Pete Rozelle, Adam Silver, Rob Manfred, Gary Bettman, Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft. Then we move to this week’s edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for the five biggest games of the football weekend. Morten gives his picks for Packers at Saints, Browns at Chiefs, Steelers at Bills, Chargers at Washington, and Cowboys at Buccaneers. Finally, “Morten’s Game Winner” returns – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten uses this time to reflect on the 20-year anniversary of 9/11/2001.