RUSH: And we are back with the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Hutcherson, who is the pastor of the Antioch Bible Church, Seattle, Washington, former star linebacker of the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks, known affectionately to all of us as ‘The Hutch.’ I was hoping you’d make it in this hour because I’ve been telling people you were going to call.
THE HUTCH: Heh, heh. You guys had me blocked. Bo Snerdley wouldn’t let me in, you know?
RUSH: No, no, no, no. You were not blocked. You would never be blocked.
THE HUTCH: (chuckles)
RUSH: Nobody could ever block you anyway.
THE HUTCH: (laughing) I’m trying to still recover from the wedding. How you doing?
RUSH: I’m very well. Thank you very much.
THE HUTCH: It was a great time, my man.
RUSH: It really was, and you were just amazing. The Hutch performed the actual matrimonial ceremony at Kathryn’s and my wedding, and it was great. It was superb. Everybody loved it.
THE HUTCH: It was superb, so congratulations.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
THE HUTCH: Tell Kathryn love you and keep you smiling like you were that day.
RUSH: She does that.
THE HUTCH: (laughing) Hey, you gotta be careful, man, about that feminization and chickification of the NFL, you know?
RUSH: Well, I only brought it up because you said you wanted to talk about it.
THE HUTCH: It’s getting awfully bad out there. And you really gotta watch out for those good-looking women in football jerseys, too. I heard you comment a little earlier —
RUSH: Well…
THE HUTCH: — you know, Tony Romo.
RUSH: (laughing)
THE HUTCH: Tony Romo has not even recovered yet from Jessica Simpson going in that jersey, getting blindsided.
RUSH: Yeah. That was a trip to Cabo, I think, during the playoffs. A bye week during the playoffs.
THE HUTCH: Yeah. (laughing)
RUSH: That’s a good point. That was a good point. It’s like Samson and Delilah.
THE HUTCH: You gotta understand it. But these are just the simple facts, bro, approximately how many men do you see on the sidelines as commentators today?
RUSH: How many men have I seen on the sidelines as commentators? Oh, the sideline reporters?
THE HUTCH: Yeah.
RUSH: Uh… Uhhhh. Uh, Tony Siragusa is the only one I can think of off the top of my head.
THE HUTCH: Only one! That’s the only one. You can look at football all day Sunday, Monday night, and the interviews are by women.
RUSH: So?
THE HUTCH: What’s up with that?
RUSH: Did you say…? Well, what’s wrong with it?
THE HUTCH: What is right with it? I mean, it’s the chickification of the NFL. Get some guys out there that know what language to use with these guys. Let the men be men. I had a call from one of the ladies that ran for governor up in New Hampshire.
RUSH: Yeah.
THE HUTCH: And you know one thing she said? ‘As a woman I want men to be men,’ just like your earlier caller.
RUSH: Right.
THE HUTCH: You want to attract women to football? Let men be men and quit chickifying them.
RUSH: So you think sideline reporters being women… Like I happen to think that some of those women actually know the game, Hutch.
THE HUTCH: Sure they do.
RUSH: I mean, they know it X’s and O’s.
THE HUTCH: But ten to one, knows it better than men?
RUSH: Well, I don’t know about that, but they know it.
THE HUTCH: (laughing)
RUSH: Okay.
THE HUTCH: How many men do you hear about going in and having problems in the dressing rooms these days? I’m a man of the cloth, Rush, and that Ines Sainz? I couldn’t even look at her picture and I got God in front of my eyes.
RUSH: Well…
THE HUTCH: But it’s guys. It’s a game for men. You don’t hear very many things going on with the women in the WLBA, about men being in the dressing room. You know what the WLBA is.
RUSH: (laughing)
THE HUTCH: That’s the Women’s Lesbian —
RUSH: No! No!
THE HUTCH: — Basketball Association.
RUSH: Hutch, don’t do this. You’re a man of the cloth out there, now.
THE HUTCH: Hey, there’s no problem in there because most of the guys are on the court. I mean, let’s be honest. We are trying to make women the number one thing about the NFL, and we’re losing what the game’s are all about and we’re bringing women in because women want to see these men be men, not walk around being afraid to be hit. Look at the quarterback today. How many quarterbacks are getting hurt?
RUSH: Hutch, let me tell you, this is a serious problem. They’re dropping like flies.
THE HUTCH: They’re dropping like flies. You know why?
RUSH: You could put the number of top-line, make-or-break quarterbacks in the NFL on one hand out of 32 teams right now. Why are they dropping like flies?
THE HUTCH: Because there’s no hitting drills anymore. Even in practice. They blow the whistle before you can even get to them. Why not just put dresses on them?
RUSH: Well, Bradshaw said that way back. No, Jack Lambert said that way back in the seventies with the Steelers. I’ll tell you why.
THE HUTCH: That’s when it first started.
RUSH: Well, it’s about money. The quarterbacks are the stars. The quarterback… If these guys aren’t playing, there’s not as much reason to watch the game. Plus, if you take women, if you take women out of the game there won’t be any more Ines Sainz running around the New York Jets.
THE HUTCH: (chuckling) We gotta come to the conclusion, whether we like it or not, that with all the new rules, it’s an oversimplification of sensitivity. Look at the whole thing. No contact? Rush, this is the NFL, National Football League, Not For Long, and you get penalties for taunting the guy that you just ran over and knocked down. That was part of the game!
RUSH: Yeah. Now, this I agree with you, and the end zone celebrations and the taunting and this kind of thing. But, Hutch, I know why they’re doing this, and you do, too.
THE HUTCH: Oh, yes.
RUSH: You know why they’re doing that.
THE HUTCH: Oh, yeah.
RUSH: Because that taunting is gonna lead to some weapons being brought on the field someday, if they don’t stop it. I mean you know —
THE HUTCH: You know, my big thing, Rush, is, why is all the new rules…? Even leading with your helmet these days. You can’t really lead with your helmet; you can’t lead with your shoulder. It’s a 15-yard penalty, 10-yard penalty. You know, it’s almost like if you hit some guy too hard it is unsportsmanlike conduct. And they’re celebrating. You can only celebrate by yourself, and if you celebrate you can only celebrate with one other player, and then you have no preconditions of practice on the celebration. You get penalty, penalty, penalty. Most of it going towards the brothers, Rush. Where is the penalty toward the white players?
RUSH: Uh… (sigh)
THE HUTCH: (laughing)
RUSH: Look, that’s a percentage question. Look, I got 30 seconds here and I want to react to this, because I think it’s only going to get worse. I think they’re gonna legislate more of the so-called toughness or hard hitting (some people might call it violence) out of the game. As more and more people watch it, as more and more helmets keep flying off guys heads, as more and more concussions take place, you watch. It’s gonna get worse, Hutch. They’re going to do it. It won’t end up flag football. They’re going to take away the three-point stance. There will not be offensive and defensive linemen in three-point stances anymore. That’s coming, especially with an 18-game schedule? I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens, to reduce the collisions that take place at the snap. I wish… (interruption) Well, they might lose hard-core fans but their TV audiences are at record levels right now. That’s partly ’cause the rest of TV is such a wasteland. Hutch, thanks for calling. I’m really way outta time and we’ll talk soon. Thank you very much.