A few things I'm thankful for
Giving an abundance of thanks on one of the best days of the year...
Happy Thanksgiving, once again…
I hope you are all having a wonderful day indulging in all the delights that make Thanksgiving one of the best days of the entire year.
With any luck, you’ll also be doing a good job of avoiding your annoying uncle who wants to do nothing but talk politics all day. We all have one of those.
I’m currently writing this having just watched the Lions pull one out of their butts against the Bears, who continue to be the Bears in all the garbage ways possible. Talk about coaching malpractice at the end of that game. Zero clock management, too. Although, I will say that Caleb Williams, who is clearly still a work in progress, showed a hell of a lot in that second half. He displayed glimpses of how tantalizing his upside could be. But, just how many soul-crushing, heartbreaking losses can the Bears take this year? Make sure you take a minute to check on any Chicago sports fans in your life today.
With the first game out of the way, I may even take a little nap later. I have a funny feeling the poopfecta between the Giants and the Cowboys may force me to sleep whether I like it or not, anyway.
But, before any sleeping does take place, I wanted to take a quick minute to share a couple of things that I’m thankful for this year. After all, that’s what today is all about…
You Amazing People
I touched on this in our earlier Thanksgiving post, but it bears repeating: I am beyond thankful for the incredible community we’ve built here at The Steele Sports Bar. It is only getting bigger, too. Your support from day one has been truly special, and getting to write sports for a living for the best community on the internet is the greatest gift I could ever have asked for. You are all freaking awesome, and your support will always mean the absolute world to me.
Sports
Okay, so this is very vague, I know, but sports has been my entire life for as long as I can remember. It has always been an intense passion of mine, and I’ve been beyond lucky to be able to cover sports for my entire career to date. To be honest, it really isn’t work. I like to refer to it as the candy store, because that’s what this store is. Just hanging out, talking sports and having fun. And, on a more serious note, sports has always been my salvation. As you all know, this has been an incredibly tough year on a personal level. Arguably one of the toughest years I’ve ever had to navigate. But, through it all, sports has been there for me and it has been the driving force that has helped me pull through and come out the other side of everything a better person, a better writer and hungrier than ever to make sure this little old newsletter succeeds. So, when watching today’s slate of NFL Thanksgiving games, I’ll be that little bit more thankful and grateful for having sports play such a big and crucial role in my everyday life.
My Sports Teams
Yes, all my New York sports teams lost on Wednesday. Yes, the Jets are an absolute dumpster fire. Yes, I’m worried about the Knicks. Yes, I don’t like the fact that the Devils got shutout and are relying on goaltending too much. And, yes, I’m really hoping the Mets don’t miss out on Juan Soto. But, despite all of that, I am beyond thankful my sports heart landed in New York and that I get to root for teams in the biggest market on the planet.
America
The entire world is going through it right now, and America isn’t any different. The last month especially has been tough and dark for so many people. That’s about as close to discussing politics as I’ll get, by the way. Anyway, life isn’t exactly full of unicorns and marshmallows for a large swathe of Americans at the moment. But, despite all of that, I still believe this is the greatest country on the planet and, on today of all days, I’m beyond thankful that the stars aligned and fate decided that my heart belonged to America. As you will all know by now, I’m English by birth but I basically consider myself American at this point. I love the United States with every fiber of my being, and I’ll always be grateful to this beautiful country for the life that I lead and the job that I get to do.
Idols
I started to pursue my passion of becoming a sports writer in America thanks to the legendary Peter King. I used to devour every single word of King’s iconic MMQB columns every single Monday morning. All 10,000 words plus with two-three cups of steaming hot coffee. It quickly became a much-loved ritual and one I miss dearly with Peter now retired. In my biggest idol’s absence, I turn to the likes of
, and for my daily inspiration. These guys - and I strongly implore that you check out their websites and subscribe to all of them as a matter of urgency (I’ll add links to the sites below) - are at the very top of their profession, and all three are absolute masters of their craft. They motivate and inspire me to keep pushing hard towards my goals every single day. I give extra thanks to Tyler, Neil and Jonathan, and their stellar work, today.Thanksgiving Day Reading List
Okay, I’m going to try something a little different here, and this is something I want to make a regular feature in future newsletters.
I’ve always been a huge and avid reader, dating all the way back to when I was a little kid. I devoured all the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings books at an early age, and I had a strong penchant for science fiction and fantasy. As I’ve gotten older, and developed more gray hairs, I’ve strayed away from fiction and instead amassed quite a collection of non-fiction books and biographies. My ever-growing book shelf is something I’m rather proud of.
However, over the last couple of years I found myself struggling to carve out the time to read, so this year I made it a goal to read 24 books in 12 months. I’ve blown past that target and I’m just about to finish book 26. By the way, the Goodreads app is an absolute godsend. How I have only recently discovered that gift from the book / app gods I do not know. Anyway, as a result of my reading binge, I want to start sharing the books I’ve enjoyed the most recently, and I thought Thanksgiving would be a good time as any to start. So here goes…
Drive: The Lasting Legacy Of Tiger Woods - by Bob Harig - I’m not really a golf fan at all. I’ve never played the game in my life. But you can’t deny that Tiger Woods is one of the most fascinating sports figures of our lifetime, and this book was a really compelling look inside the intense inner drive that propelled Tiger to the top of the mountaintop in golf. Worth a read if you are a golf fan or not.
Seinfeldia: How A Show About Nothing Changed Everything - by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong - I’ll keep this simple: I’m a huge Seinfeld fan and this is the best book I’ve read about the show. Ever. Packed full of delightful nuggets and intriguing insights into the show’s creation and unprecedented success.
Greenlights - by Matthew McConaughey - This isn’t your typical Hollywood A-lister’s memoir. Far from it. No, this is instead a sacred manual on how to approach and handle life. It absolutely changed my life and I can’t recommend it enough.
The Day After Tomorrow - by Allan Folsom - No, this isn’t based on the god-awful movie of the same name that came out in 2004. Instead, this is an absolutely riveting and exhilarating read from the very first page all the way through to the end. It is a mammoth read at just under 700 pages, but I got it done in less than a week. It is that good. You just won’t want to put the book down. Oh, and the twist at the end is an all-timer. One of the best thriller books I’ve ever read. Pop it in your Amazon cart right now.
I think that’s everything I wanted to talk about. I’ll leave you in peace now to enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday. And go back for that fifth slice of pie. You’ve earned it.
See you over the weekend.