Some Final 2024 Musings & My Top 5's

Reflecting on a strength of character kind of year. Plus, revealing my five favorite books, TV shows, sports moments and more...

The Pop-Tarts Bowl - which featured a lifetime’s worth of entertainment in just a couple of hours - was one of my sporting highlights of the year (📸: Jasen Vinlove - IMAGN IMAGES)

I have seen so many different people throughout the Substack community share their reflections on 2024, and I wanted to offer some final thoughts before we close the book on last year for good.

Given that the theme of this newsletter will be about looking back, I also want to share some of the favorite things I’ve read, watched and listened to over the past 12 months.

But, first, I hope you will indulge me as I get sentimental and offer some final personal thoughts on 2024. It wasn’t a great year for me. Let’s just start there. For those of you who have been subscribers for a little while now, you will no doubt have read countless posts on the health issues I experienced in the opening months of 2024. It proved to be a long road until I finally got any concrete answers and, during that time, my mental health reached an all-time low. I lost all self-confidence, drive and motivation as a result, and by the time we got to summer, I was in a really dark place. Even writing and sports, the two ultimate comfort blankets that have pulled me through all the other tough moments in my life, couldn’t help me crawl out of the hole I found myself in. I was a broken, defeated man. One ready to give up all hope. I very nearly turned my back on writing, too.

For the longest time, I didn’t feel as though there was a future for me in the sports media world. Heck, I didn’t think I had much of a future period. It was an incredibly lonely and crippling feeling, one that persisted for what felt like eons. I thought there was only one possible way out, and I battled with those dark, intruding thoughts every single minute of every single day. Of course, I’m still here to tell the tale - obviously - and I still can’t really put my finger on what changed or what sparked the eventual turnaround. I just know that, at some point, I summoned the strength to dig myself out of my pit, get back on the horse and return to doing what I love the most: writing and talking about sports.

I’m also a firm believer in what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. As crazy as it sounds, I’m incredibly grateful to have gone through what I did because I feel as though I’ve come out of the whole ordeal both a better person and as a better writer. I truly believe that. Furthermore, being unable to do what I love for a few months really helped to crystalize a few things in my mind. I am truly lucky to be able to talk about sports for a living, and I’m even luckier to have an army of subscribers and readers who support what I’m trying to build here at The Steele Sports Bar. I mean, the growth of this little old newsletter over the past three months alone has been astonishing to say the least. It also fills me with excitement because the best is really still to come.

I’ve learned a lot about myself over the past 12 months. I’ve also learned a lot about who I am as a writer, and the kind of content I want to deliver moving forward. I’m going to lean into my strengths and really hone in on the reasons why I established The Steele Sports Bar in the first place. I want this to be a fun, welcoming and safe place for all sports fans to come hang out, talk about their favorite teams / players / hot button topics / sports bar debates and just have a blast. That’s going to be the mission statement that guides me and drives the entire site going forward.

Nothing flashy, nothing too complicated, just the kind of good old sports talk that is an essential staple at every single beloved sports bar around the country.

So, while I’m not sad to wave goodbye to 2024, I am beyond grateful for all the lessons and all the personal and professional growth. You’ve got to endure some struggles before you reach the top of the mountain, and the challenges of last year have only got me more excited and more motivated to ensure that 2025 is a monster year for this website.

Anyway. Now we’ve got the mushy stuff out of the way, let’s dive into my Top 5’s from 2024…

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My Top 5️⃣ 2024 Sporting Moments

1. Pete Alonso’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against the Brewers in the NLWC

2. The Knicks trading for Karl-Anthony Towns

3. Shohei Ohtani’s epic 50-50 season and the game that clinched history

4. Freddie Freeman’s all-time World Series tear as the Dodgers are crowned champions

5. Mike Breen’s double bang on Donte DiVincenzo’s huge three-point shot for the Knicks in the playoffs

*One Bonus Entry - The Pop-Tarts Bowl delivered and then some. An actual functioning toaster trophy, a life-sized, edible Pop-Tart and lots of stunning football. What more could you ask for?! Of the many, many, many hours of sports I consumed over the holiday season, the Pop-Tarts Bowl may have been my favorite event. What America is all about.

Due to my fandom, this list has a very specific New York feel. As a Mets fan, I couldn’t not put Pete Alonso’s clutch heroics in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series top of the list. The entire postseason run by the Mets in 2024 was just magical, and Alonso’s legacy-defining bomb was the ultimate highlight. The Knicks trading for a legit star in Karl-Anthony Towns comes a close second, while I had to include another gargantuan New York playoff moment to round off the list. Sandwiched in-between had to be Shohei Ohtani going 6-for-6 against the Marlins with three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBI’s to seal the first-ever 50-50 season in Major League Baseball history, in addition to Freddie Freeman hitting a home run in four consecutive World Series games and playing through the pain to lead the Dodgers past the Yankees. It was one hell of a year to be a sports fan.

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My 7️⃣ Favorite Substack Sites

I’m not going to order these as I enjoy them all equally, but these were the seven newsletters I loved reading the most in 2024. And I urge you all to check them out if you haven’t already:

• Tyler Dunne
  - Go Long

• Jonathan Macri
  - Knicks Film School

• Neil Paine
  - Neil’s Substack

• Joe Posnanski
  - JoeBlogs

• Matt Musico
  - MLB Daily Dingers

• John Canzano
  - Bald Faced Truth

• Matt Lombardo
  - Between The Hashmarks

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The Favorite Posts I Wrote In 2024

I shared the most popular posts on The Steele Sports Bar in 2024 - as decided by you - but here are the five stories I enjoyed writing the most last year…

1️⃣

All I Want For Christmas New York Sports Edition

2️⃣

Bidding Farewell To TMKS - The Show I Have A Lot To Thank For

3️⃣

Welcome To The Patrick Mahomes Show - The Greatest Spectacle On The Planet

4️⃣

It Is Now Or Never For Aaron Judge To Save His Legacy

5️⃣

Freddie Freeman Is LA's Heart & Soul, Anthony Volpe's Postseason Signature Moment

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My Top 5️⃣ TV Shows Of 2024

1. Shrinking Season 2

2. The Penguin

3. Faceoff - Inside The NHL

4. House of the Dragon Season 2

5. Fallout

Shrinking - which you can watch on Apple TV - had a profound impact on me. It was like no other TV show I’ve seen before. So, naturally, I was worried that Season 2 would be a letdown. Instead, I ended up falling in love more with Season 2 than I did with the first season. It is one of the best shows on TV and, if you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly urge that you go and binge it right now. You won’t regret it. Coming in second place is The Penguin, which delivered one of the finest opening hours of TV I have ever had the joy of watching. I’m hoping and praying for a Season 2. Also, I didn’t understand a lot of the hate House of the Dragon Season 2 got. The payoff we’re going to get in Season 3 & 4 is going to be worth all the intricate buildup in Season 2.

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My Top 5️⃣ Most-Listened To Songs In 2024

1. All Must Choose - Ramin Djawadi (From House of the Dragon Season 2)

2. Farrah Fawcett Hair - Capital Cities ft. André 3000

3. Karma - Taylor Swift

4. These Worries - Kid Cudi ft. Mary J. Blige

5. No More Tears - Ozzy Osbourne

I have no regrets about the musical choices I made in 2024. None whatsoever. Also, I think this Top 5 perfectly illustrates just how random and varied my musical tastes are.

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The Top 5️⃣ Books I Read In 2024

1. Got Your Number - Mike Greenberg & Paul “Hembo” Hembekides

2. Monday Morning Quarterback - Peter King

3. The Day After Tomorrow - Allan Folsom

4. Hoop Atlas - Kirk Goldsberry

5. Drive (The Legacy Of Tiger Woods) - Bob Harig

I read 29 books in 2024, an accomplishment I’m extremely proud of given that I only read six the year before. I’ve always loved reading, and Got Your Number by Mike Greenberg was the most fun I’ve had reading a book in years. Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback was a thrilling walk down memory lane. And Allan Folsom’s excellent The Day After Tomorrow was an absolute productivity killer. I don’t think I’ll ever finish a 600+ page book as quickly as I did this one. I’m no golf fan, but there is no disputing that Tiger Woods is one of the most consequential figures in sport, and Bob Harig did a real nice job of lifting the curtain on the relentless and fierce inner-drive that has helped take Woods to the mountaintop. Finally, Hoop Atlas will not only make you a smarter basketball fan, but it is also an absolutely stunning visual book.

Okay, those are my Top 5’s from the last year, as well as some reflections on the last 12 months. Let’s hope for a boatload of health, happiness, success, reading, listening, sports and good TV in 2025.