On Christmas Day 2024, I sat with my household and watched Mina Kimes on Netflix. It was a landmark day. The streamer was exhibiting reside soccer for the primary time—the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, adopted by the Houston Texans vs. the Baltimore Ravens. So, along with her duties as an analyst on ESPN’s NFL Reside, host of The Mina Kimes Present With Lenny, coloration commentator for Los Angeles Rams video games, and as a trusted voice on the truth present Love Is Blind, she was additionally now speaking ball in entrance of 27 million individuals on the identical platform the place I watch The Evening Agent.
In her Los Angeles dwelling this January, I sat with Kimes throughout a uncommon 90-minute window in her ever-more-complicated schedule. Her son was nonetheless asleep, she was accomplished filming for the day, and her canine and podcast cohost Lenny was loud night breathing on my lap, which apparently was not regular. There was calm, which meant it was time to ask her about Beyoncé.
Mina Kimes: The craziest half [about doing the Christmas Day broadcast] was, within the second, it didn’t happen to me that I used to be going proper after Beyoncé. I actually didn’t take into consideration that in my prep, as a result of all my prep was simply breakdowns. I’m sitting there and we’re watching Beyoncé and I’m like, “Wow, that is really Christmas.” The spirit is overpowering me. After which they’re like, “All proper, 90 out. What do you concentrate on CJ Stroud?”
GQ: And everybody’s like, Who?
I’ve obtained 90 seconds to provide my opinion about how his offensive line can’t pick the stunt to avoid wasting their lives. However what didn’t happen to me till after the very fact was the 27 million individuals who watched Beyoncé after which noticed me after. Oh no. Actually surreal, the quantity of eyes.
Fame is bizarre. The place do you are feeling in it proper now?
I positively don’t really feel very universally recognizable. I feel once I get approached or when individuals have an curiosity in me, it’s very particular to sure niches and locations. I’m simply so more likely to be acknowledged in a sports activities bar than anyplace else in America.
The place individuals watch soccer.
Which, I say that and it’s like, “Nicely—that’s America.” However a bit bit extra particularly, the kind of public location the place lots of people are more likely to truly watch soccer. It’s more likely that individuals will come as much as me too. However the quantity of real-life interplay I get is ideal.
That’s nice.
Which isn’t a ton. It’s all the time optimistic. It’s all the time so pretty. Nearly to a fault, each interplay I’ve ever had has all the time been nice in individual. It’s such a distinction to the web, proper?
Do you suppose you’ll be a Twitter/X person subsequent soccer season?
Such a very good query. I’ve been enthusiastic about this quite a bit, man, as a result of it simply fucking sucks.
The search doesn’t work…
Every part about it sucks. There’s so many sides of the platform that I don’t like, together with the possession, the best way [Elon Musk] strikes on the earth, the issues he has accomplished to it. However even separate from that, it’s a horrible person expertise. It’s horrible for information-seeking. It’s horrible for engagement. It’s horrible in the best way that the levers are actually pushed to amplify the worst issues on there, whether or not it’s in your feedback, or what’s trending, or no matter. So a part of it’s like, Screw this, I shouldn’t use this in any respect. And I’ve been actively looking for higher locations to do stuff. However then there’s a little a part of me that’s like, Nicely, you must nonetheless use your platform, you continue to have this megaphone, you must nonetheless use it.
There was a time period the place I used to be solely retweeting. I don’t wish to share any opinions anymore, however I do have all these followers…
I’m attempting to determine it out. It’s simply turn out to be a really disagreeable place. And folks all the time say, “Wow, I actually miss the way you used to dunk on shitty dudes.” And I’m like, “Yeah, there’s simply too lots of them now.” It was once one thing dumb, like “Make me a sandwich.” I’m like… Growth—stand underneath the rim. However now it’s simply specific bigotry. And it’s an actual bummer, as a result of I feel reside sports activities flourish when there’s a social platform the place individuals can have real-time dialog. And for what I do, there’s truly lots of worth in it. However I don’t actually wish to wade by means of this shit to make a joke anymore.
What’s the method like when there’s so many video games taking place, however there’s movie that it’s essential watch? Do you’ve a system now? Are clips being pulled for you so that you get up Tuesday morning and it’s simply, like, “These are the issues”?
Yeah. So I’m watching a sport first on TV. After which on tape, I’m watching and in search of tendencies, in search of issues that groups are having success with or fighting, taking notes of the performs. After which I begin taking a look at it by means of a statistical lens, how tendencies are evolving over the course of the season. So it begins with watching the video games after which I work backwards. There’s lots of prioritizing that goes on. Having a child means my day is totally oriented round him now, by way of, I’ve to complete, it’s pencils down at 5 p.m. After which, in the course of the season, it’s pencils again up, usually at 7:30 or 8—however yeah, it’s like I actually should be extra environment friendly with my time.
And is a part of your routine additionally speaking and speaking with the individuals that you simply share a stage with?
Yeah. So I feel that’s the key sauce. I’m self-agonizing, however the factor that makes my predominant present NFL Reside work is we’re in fixed communication, and that’s been the best way because it was rebooted in the course of the pandemic once we needed to be. However actually, we’re simply on a bunch chat all day like, “Hey, did you guys see this? Did you see this? Did you see this?” Our producers are on. We’ve two group chats for the present. We’ve one known as Severe NFL Reside Chat that the producers [are in], after which we now have the opposite one—the pettiest stuff, the unfiltered opinions, the within jokes.
By way of this season, I’m curious: What was the factor that you simply have been essentially the most unsuitable about?
The Commanders. I assumed they’d be dangerous. Not as a result of I assumed Jayden Daniels can be dangerous. I preferred Jayden Daniels. I simply thought the group was dangerous round him. I assumed the offensive line wasn’t adequate to help a rookie quarterback who I assumed would take lots of sacks, they usually simply dramatically outperformed my expectations. And it occurred proper after they obtained their horrible homeowners out the paint. That by no means occurs in life. Like when the dangerous man leaves after which a very good factor occurs. It actually is sort of a fairy story. It’s unbelievable.
You bought employed at ESPN over a decade in the past, largely on the power of a Tumblr put up—2014, a magical time. Earlier than all of the TV stuff, there was writing. When did that begin?
Popping out of faculty, I wished a job the place I may write. My first journalism job was as an investigative reporter. I obtained positioned there from a earlier internship. And I wasn’t like, “I wish to remedy wrongs and maintain individuals accountable,” which might be the honorable factor. It was simply “Ehh: It is a factor I can do the place I can write.” My predominant precedence was not having to return to Gilbert, Arizona.
I did a mini deep dive on Gilbert. Apparently Gilbert could be very up-and-coming. Apparently, one third of the inhabitants is underneath 18, which is terrifying.
The primary time I ever met Ryan Fitzpatrick was at a sport, and he simply pointed at me and mentioned, “Gilbert.” As a result of we’re like the 2 individuals from Gilbert. And Brock Purdy is from Gilbert. We’re actually the three soccer individuals from Gilbert, Arizona. It’s the smallest circle.
Oh yeah. That was a giant deal.