Detroit Coach Dan Campbell Says NFL Shot Down His Idea to Have a Pet Lion on the Sideline

Also in Traina Thoughts: New ‘SI Media With Jimmy Traina’; ESPN’s college football anthem for the season; RIP, Paul Reubens and more.

1. And this is why it’s called the No Fun League.

Lions coach Dan Campbell has revealed that his idea to have a pet lion on Detroit’s sideline during a game did not go over well with the league office.

Appearing on Pardon My Take, Campbell explained that Lions principal owner Sheila Ford had no issue with Campbell’s desire to have the terrifying animal become a mascot of sorts, but the league was not down.

“Sheila had no problem with it,” Campbell said on the podcast, “but the league apparently frowns on those types of things.” 

When Roger Goodell’s name was brought up by the hosts, Campbell took the head off the commissioner.

“I’m not gonna point out Roger on this; I’m just gonna say that the league frowns on that. Let’s just say that.”

In response to Big Cat saying a lion on the sideline “does add a little scare tactic,” Campbell was in total agreement.

“It does. It’s a little extra motivation. Yes, it does.”

If Dan Campbell was allowed to put a Live Lion on the sideline he would pic.twitter.com/xoPsP9t2zp

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) July 31, 2023

Imagine a scenario when a player, maybe a quarterback or running back, is running on a play and he’s being chased by a defensive player, and he just wants to get out of bounds to avoid being hit and he runs full speed right up to the caged lion. It would be TREMENDOUS!

Damn the NFL for denying us of this!

2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast dropped this morning (I’ll have another pod for you Thursday) with WWE superstar Seth Rollins. The world heavyweight champion, who will face Finn Bálor at SummerSlam this Saturday, talked about a variety of issues regarding wrestling, the NFL and more. Among the topics discussed:

• A potential story line with wife Becky Lynch

• His enormously popular theme song and the crowd sing-alongs

• His relationship with Cody Rhodes

• What happened in that Raw segment the night after WrestleMania when he came out did nothing

• His love of the Chicago Bears

• NFC North breakdown

• His dreams of calling an NFL game and the play-by-play guy he’d like to work with

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

3. “Something Real” by Post Malone will be ESPN's college football theme song/anthem this season.

4. CBS announced today that Nickelodeon will air its own kid-friendly telecast of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. Nate Burleson will be one of the people in the booth to call the game.

.@Nickelodeon and @cbssports are joining forces to present a slime-filled telecast of Super Bowl LVIII specially for kids and families 🏈 @nateburleson will be back in the booth to call the first-ever #SuperBowl alternate telecast, exclusively on Nickelodeon. pic.twitter.com/30aRYWySwL

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 1, 2023

5. I tried to find a good Paul Reubens/Pee-wee Herman video for you guys today and ended up on a YouTube rabbit hole that led me to what might be the greatest talk show/variety show ever produced just based on the guest list.

From the YouTube description: “Hosted by WWF/WWE Superstar ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper, the program features appearances by Gary Owens, Patti LaBelle, Pee-Wee Herman, New Edition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Herve Villechaize, Hulk Hogan (via satellite), Captain Lou Albano, Cyndi Lauper, and others.”

This is the full show.

And here’s the clip of Piper interviewing Pee-wee Herman.

God bless the 1980s.

6. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey is known for stirring things up on Twitter and throwing out some hot takes. On Monday, Humphrey decided to tweak his own fan base.

I know this will trigger some Ravens fans but it honestly doesn’t matter cause it’s in the past lol. But Ray Rice did not get that first down on 4th and 29. Clearly 1 yard short. Horrible Spot. I’m not mad I’m just saying lol

— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) July 31, 2023

After seeing Humphrey’s tweet, I rewatched the play, which I had totally forgotten about, and it is totally surreal, and I think Humphrey is right.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date, Aug. 1, 1981, MTV made its debut. Here are the first few minutes of the network’s launch.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.