Happy 4th Of July! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Wishing you all a very happy holiday weekend. Plus, the Top 5 MLB matchups I'm most excited about this July 4th...
Happy Fourth! 🇺🇸 🌠🎆
I want to wish all of my readers and subscribers a very happy and safe 4th of July weekend.
I hope you and your families enjoy a weekend full of all the things that make America so great.
Hopefully, your holiday weekend will feature a lot of baseball, BBQ, burgers and hot dogs, fireworks, an ice-cold beer, and all the pie, cobbler, and ice cream you can handle.
I already have my July 4th mapped out. I ignored the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest last year because of the debacle that was no Joey Chestnut. However, with the GOAT - and arguably America’s finest-ever athlete - back where he belongs this year, I will be paying full attention.
Once I’ve watched the Tom Brady of hot dog eating reclaim his crown - come on, we all know Chestnut is going to do what he does best - I will then settle in for an insane amount of baseball watching the rest of the day.
After all, you can’t have July 4th without baseball.
I’ve actually put together a quick list of the five series / matchups I’m most excited to settle in and watch this holiday weekend - you can check that out below.
But, first, I want to-reshare something I posted on this day last year: a detailed account of how a guy from England fell deeply in love with America.
Here goes…
There is a lot to celebrate today. But I also totally understand all those who struggle to feel all patriotic today of all days. On a day when we’re meant to celebrate America’s independence and, in turn, everything wonderful about being American, there are a slew of reasons to do the opposite of that given the plethora of issues facing this country.
But, I want to put aside all the negativity, all the conflicted feelings, all the reasons not to embrace patriotism and instead celebrate July 4th in style by sharing my own personal love story with America with you all.
Before we start, I do get the irony of a born-and-bred Englishman writing about his love for the United States, and how July 4th is so freaking awesome given the origins of this holiday. After all, Independence Day celebrates the birth of American independence and the day when Great Britain got its butt kicked to the curb. So I understand the comedy at play here. And, if anyone in England is reading this, then I’ll probably be disowned forever.
That last bit is okay with me because America has long felt like my actual home anyway.
That in itself is actually quite funny because I showed no interest in anything to do with life across the pond when I was younger. My class at school had the chance to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York, but, despite determined arguments from my parents, I declined that opportunity in order to stay home and go watch my local soccer team instead.
True story.
And yes, believe it or not, there was a time when yours truly was obsessed with soccer and wouldn’t dare to so much as flirt with any other sport, especially those of an American persuasion. But things began to change once I reached college. Having already been exposed to the NHL as a kid, I stumbled across a UK channel where I could access all the hockey I could handle. So, naturally, I took to skipping classes and hiding out at my grandparents’ house, falling in love with the NHL in general while living on a diet of microwavable pizzas for lunch. Those were the days. Unless you are my parents, who are probably still pissed that I never actually finished college. I would argue that it hasn’t actually worked out all that bad for me, however.
From there, I eventually developed an interest in baseball, basketball, and the NFL, and those newfound passions gradually grew into relentless obsessions, even as I was climbing the journalism ladder in soccer circles back in England. All of a sudden, America appealed to me on a much-wider basis, and I made my first trip out to New York in 2016 with my younger brother.
As it turned out, it was a life-changing vacation.
From the minute we stepped foot on American soil, I was beginning to fall head over heels in love with good ol’ America. It was during that trip my life sentence with the Mets, the Jets, and the Knicks began. It was also that same week when I came to the conclusion my future belonged Stateside. I knew right there and then that my heart belonged to America. And there was no going back.
More incredible, life-altering trips followed as I embarked on a one-man mission to become the first in my family to break free from familiar confines and dedicate my life to chasing dreams and reaching for the stars. Nothing or no one was going to get in my way and stop me.
With each trip to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, I became more and more charmed with what my life could look like Stateside. I took in my first Rangers game at MSG. I sampled the delights of the pepperoni slice at Pizza Suprema (one of the best pizza places in the city, and I won’t be argued with on that). I drank beer and consumed way too much Cracker Jack at Mets games. I became an honorary Bleacher Creature at Yankee Stadium on the odd occasion. I lived out my own movie scenes in beautiful Central Park. I ran alongside the Hudson River and recovered with stacks of mouthwatering chocolate chip pancakes at Bubby’s after. I passed the New Yorker test by surviving - and mastering - the subway. I bought Miller High Life from a bodega and watched Super Bowl LIII at a friend’s apartment in the hip part of Brooklyn. Although, all of Brooklyn is now hip. I discovered that New Yorkers aren’t rude, they are just direct and say whatever is on their minds. We should all strive to live that way. And I was also seduced by the quaint charms of Boston and all that beautiful city has to offer.
I got a pretty cool introduction to July 4th back in 2019, too. It involved a very fun Subway Series the night before - where way too many beers and pickleback shots were consumed at the world-famous Rudy’s (the best dive bar on the planet. Period.) - and a you-had-to-be-there-to-believe-it July 4 party at the penthouse of a very, very, very well-known and influential public figure in American banking circles on the day itself. Plenty of beer was also consumed that night, along with copious amounts of pizza and some incredible views of Manhattan and the various firework displays throughout the city. That’s a July 4 celebration I’ll never forget for as long as I live.
All in all, I was enamored with the idea of turning my back on everything I knew in England, and doing everything within my power to carve out a full-time life in America for real.
There was also something much deeper at play.
It quickly reached the point where I discovered that America was where I was always meant to be. I was put on this very earth to eventually end up there. As strange as that may sound. After years of feeling like I didn’t belong in my actual home, after a decade plus of searching for an identity that never showed itself, a lightbulb just flashed in my head one day and, just like that, everything became perfectly clear: America was where I belonged.
Without wanting to get too deep, coming to that realization helped save me. Again, this is going to sound dramatic, but I don’t know if I would be here if it were not for my own American dream. I was a literal zombie just death-marching through life with no joy or real purpose in England. I didn’t know who I was and I was more inclined to spend every waking minute doing things that pleased other people over doing what made me happy. I was living a lie. A lie that was slowly eating away at my soul.
I may have been born in England, but I didn’t belong there. And I always knew that deep down.
Then the clouds parted, the heavens opened, and a gift from the Gods came hurtling down from the sky. And it was that first trip to New York. That was when I was delivered the first tantalizing taste of the real Andrew. The easygoing, fun-loving Andrew who had no problem making a bunch of friends in the Big Apple. The Andrew who was destined to follow his real passions and interests. The Andrew who was put on this earth to work day and night to become a baseball writer.
So that’s why America means so much to me. And always will.
That’s why I stand for the National Anthem, place my cap over my heart, and sing every single word of the Star-Spangled Banner like my very life depended on it. That’s why I consider myself a fully-fledged adopted American in every single sense of the word.
America is the ultimate land of hope and dreams, and that’s exactly what it has been for me. A warm, loving place that has embraced me for who I am, encouraged me to be the most authentic version of myself, and pushed me to never stop fighting for my dreams and goals.
America has helped shape me into the man I am today. And I’ll be forever grateful for that, and forever grateful for the bounty of wonderful opportunities this incredible, unique, and beautiful country has afforded me.
The country that will always have my heart.
Okay, that’s enough story time. Let’s finish today’s newsletter the only way we can on July 4th - with some baseball talk…
The Top 5 July 4 Series I’ll Be Watching
We’re approaching the All-Star break, which means that these games are really starting to mean something.
And, across this holiday weekend, there are a ton of really intriguing and exciting matchups worth watching.
Here’s my Top 5…
Yankees at Mets - An obvious choice, but something just feels right about the Subway Series taking place on July 4th weekend. This should be a fun series too. Both teams have been heading in the wrong direction as of late. The Mets are 5-14 since June 13, while the Yankees were just swept by the Blue Jays in a four-game series, falling out of first place in the AL East in the process. However, with the Mets pitching staff in absolute pieces, don’t be surprised if Aaron Judge and that Yankees lineup absolutely go off this weekend.
Tigers at Guardians - Okay, this doesn’t sound that exciting a matchup on paper. However, the Tigers are the best team in the American League. Plus, the untouchable Tarik Skubal will be on the mound on Sunday, so that alone makes this a must-watch series for me.
Cardinals at Cubs - It doesn’t feel like July 4th unless you are watching Cubs baseball. I try to make a real effort every single year to put on a Cubs game at least once over the holiday weekend. In recent years, that has led to watching a lot of bad baseball. However, Chicago is legitimately good in 2025, and I will take every chance I can get to watch the electric Pete Crow-Armstrong do his thing.
Astros at Dodgers - This is always a sexy matchup, and it should be no different this weekend. The Astros, despite losing some key guys, just keep winning and are 8-2 in their past 10 games. As for the Dodgers, their lineup has the potential for a lot of fireworks over the holiday weekend, and it helps that Shohei Ohtani will be on the mound in this series.
Pirates at Mariners - Call me sick, but I can’t get enough of some Pittsburgh baseball right now. The Pirates are red hot, winning six straight, while they are 8-2 in their past 10 games. They just can’t stop winning. Furthermore, they’ve outscored their opponents 43-4 in the past six games. Plus, Paul Skenes is on the mound on Sunday, and I’m always locked in for every Skenes start.
I think it is a safe bet to say that I’ll be watching a massive amount of baseball throughout the holiday weekend.
Have a great July 4, everyone! 🇺🇸