“Instead of TikTok, I get on Truckstop.”
Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life. Write about what you love and… I guess subscribers will read it? “YOU HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE!” I can hear you now. “GET SOME NEW MATERIAL YOU COWARD!” Let’s cool it with the “coward” talk. It’s true Issue 10 was titled, “How to Fall in Love,” but that was about my wife; my deepest, truest love. This week, we are talking about my first love.
Speaking of love, I heard something interesting the other day. “If you have reasons to love someone, you don’t love them” This is a quote from the philosopher Slavoj Žižek. I don’t wholly agree with this, but I understand and relate to the sentiment. Do you all watch TikTok often? I do. Before I continue, and before I have people lighting up the comments hating on TikTok and the privacy stuff, please enjoy this excerpt from my personal favorite weekly epistle, and this week’s sponsor, The Information Inquiry authored by the famous New Yorker Cole Winton:
“Like many of you, I have freely given my data to the Chinese government. In other words, I love TikTok…
…Speaking of thinking you are above people, something else that annoys me is people that have EVERY other form of social media except TikTok, acting as if they are safe from their data being leaked. Someone I associate with that fits this mold looked at me with this holier-than-thou look and said, “Really? You’re that dumb?” Okay? Do you think you’re Jason Bourne or something? Do you think that you have some secret, inconspicuous identity now? That not having this one, ONE, form of social media makes you invincible or part of the witness protection program? Think again bozo. The jig is up. Grow up.”
Great stuff by Cole “City Boy” Winton. If you want more of his content, freaking go get it. I’m not going to do everything for you.
https://colewinton.substack.com/
Ok back to the point that isn’t really the point it’s just the point of the introduction that leads into the main point. You following me here?
There has been a trend on TikTok where people stop others on the street for impromptu interviews. Topics are often wide ranging, but there is a specific street interview genre where couples are stopped and asked how they met and what they love about each other. The best ones, in my opinion, are the ones where the immediate response isn’t a tangible answer, but rather a moment of pause, a smile, and maybe even an “I don’t know.” This is often followed by a few reasons as they feel they should have something concrete. I think that brief moment where there is a smile and “I don’t know,” is what Slavoj Žižek meant by his quote. They just love who they are with.
They say do what you love and you will never work a day in your life, but if you write about what you love, you can write all day. “YOU HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE!” Jk, I’m not going to redo the whole intro again. Straight to the point. My first love was football. It’s basic, I know, but it’s true. While others were watching Johnny Tsunami and reading Harry Potter, I was watching SportsCenter and reading Sports Illustrated for Kids cover to cover. If we are being technical, my first love was sports in general, but football has been the longest lasting and most passionate. Most of my AR points in elementary school came from books like these:
In fact, my writing brilliance was likely first hinted at when I wrote my first paper in elementary school titled “The History of Football”. I got an A on that paper. I then took that paper and turned it in 3 more times in different classes over the next few years. I got an A every time. They say write about what you love, you can write all day, but I’m a work smarter not harder kinda guy so reduce, reuse, recycle your A worthy papers kids. I wish I still had that paper. I’m sure in some folder somewhere in my parent’s attic there may be a copy, but I have recreated my best approximation of how I believe that paper likely started,
“In the vast history of human ingenuity, few inventions have captured the collective imagination and passion of nations like the mesmerizing game of football. From its humble beginnings on untamed fields, to the grand stages that host epic battles of athleticism and strategy today, football has transcended the mere bounds of a sport, becoming a cultural phenomenon that unites us all in a symphony of triumph and despair.
Let us embark upon a journey through time, dear reader, to the birth of this glorious pastime. It was a fog-laden autumn morning in the rustic hamlet of New Brunswick, NJ. Soon a maverick innovator Walter Camp would reinvent the extraordinary idea. His mind, a maelstrom of eccentricity, had been percolating with notions of combining the thrill of war with the grace of ballet. It was an audacious and paradoxical concoction, akin to mating a tiger with a hummingbird, but he was undeterred…”
Again, this is not exactly what I wrote as a child. The original document either no longer exists, is in my parent’s attic, or is stored in a museum of modern history, but I imagine this is a very close replica.
This newsletter has started leaning more towards a blog and that isn’t what I want. So, this week, I decided to get back to our roots and go more interesting.
We are going to look into some interesting history and stories from the beautiful game of American Football.
I have been hired by the city of Chattanooga to scrub through historical records and look for anything that might be cool. I came across a column from the November 19, 1915 edition of the Chattanooga Daily Times which included the following tidbit, “On account of the situation, the officials have requested an unusual number of policemen, and side-line rules will be strictly enforced, everyone being ordered into the stand except those actually seated in automobiles. An effort should be made and doubtless will be made to prevent the crowd from the automobiles from walking up and down the side-lines, a “bush league” proceeding at once unnecessary and even dangerous, trouble in games where the players and fans are “wrought up” coming from the side-lines nine times out of ten.”
Does this imply people watched football games from their cars in 1915? It certainly does. The following is a picture from a 1922 game between Florida and Furhman.
Here you can see cars being pulled up right to the sidelines. While this seems cool, it reminds me of a time I was playing football with my neighbor in the street in front of our houses. He threw a beautiful over the shoulder pass which I obviously caught. However, as soon as I caught the ball, a linebacker by the name of “Our other neighbor’s parked car” stopped me in my tracks. I wasn’t the only one walking away shaken up though as the force of my speed busted the tail light of the car. We had to buy him a new one. He wasn’t cool about it.
Next interesting football history factoid is actually a collection of a few of my personal favorite moments in football I watched live.
The first is an example of where I completely lost my ever-loving mind. Please watch the whole thing as the build up makes the moment more substantial.
This one just fires me up every time.
Sorry Alabama fans..
I won a lot of money on this one.
GO BIRDS!!
GO BIRDS (again) – Holy smokes… I just rewatched the next one on still can’t believe this happened.
Here you go Giants fans.
BOOM! This came right after a bad call that favored Michigan
This helped send Auburn to the National Championship
Boise State – If you don’t know what happens immediately after this play, I recommend looking into it!
Known as the biggest upset in college football history
Maybe the best game in college football history
There are so so so many more. If I just watched these 12 videos in a row, I’d be an emotional wreck. I love football.
I’m tempted to wax poetic on the many ways football and football players have inspired me to be a better person. How any time Inky Johnson speaks, I want to be a better man. One of our first issues was centered around Coach Vince Lombardi’s speech “What it Takes to be Number One”. Turn on College Gameday any Saturday morning and you could see an inspiring story on how sometimes sports are more than sports. How a young man grew up with a dream and football helped him reach it. I could tell you about the time I got to stand on the sidelines of Neyland Stadium as the team ran through the T with Rocky Top playing and I teared up. I can tell you about how I literally just got goosebumps recollecting that moment. There have been few things as bonding between my dad, brother, grandad and I as Tennessee football. Niki and I have gone to a game together every year and there is absolutely nobody I’d rather watch us win alongside. I could recount any moment from my trip to watch the Philadelphia Eagles play with two of my best friends last year and how much that meant to me. There are endless stories and reasons why football was my first love, and is still one of the ways in life I find joy, but as Žižek moves us to think, it’s not about the reasons. What do you love for many reasons and no reason at all?
Local News:
Tuesday was my dog’s first birthday. She is crazy and full of attitude and is probably digging a hole in the yard right now, but I love her. Check my Instagram for pictures of her today.
Chattanooga is putting in a drive thru Golden Corral in Hamilton Place! I look forward to doing my best NASCAR impression with you all as we make laps around the building refilling our plates (to-go containers).
Hand Selected Articles From Me To You
If you made it this far, you are loyal and your loyalty should be rewarded. At the beginning of the
Daily Dispatch, I asked a focus group what they would like to read about. This ended up leading to
one of my favorite Issues; our deep dive into the failed McDonalds menu item – The McPizza. We
dove into that conspiracy head first. Now I am opening the suggestion box once more. If there is
anything you’d like to read about, any investigations we need to do, please let me know.
All My Love,
Seth Winton
