It’s been a minute since my last post, but it’s been an actual FULL year since we began this journey. I can honestly say the road has been fun, but we aren’t done…YET! Sure, a pandemic has changed our lives most likely forever, and sports at least for the foreseeable future, but I am here today with nothing but optimism. I am OBSESSED with some of the adaptations and shifts we’ve seen in pop culture and sports- mainly what we can safely say is the merger of the two. I know we have all seen people thrive during the quarantine, finding their creativity and side hustles, while others (I think I fall into this category) struggled to get their footing for things outside of finding a new normal and figuring out what this all means for our futures in work and life (I am a scientist at heart and I take it hard when there is a general push for distrusting scientists that have dedicated their lives to research as I have. Also, not like we needed another reason to hate Facebook, but they blocked my blog link and really took the wind out of my sails). Returning to work added some type of normalcy (and chaos) back into my life, but nothing can make me feel normal about the NBA playing games as I get home or missing a hockey game that happened at noon. Life is just different now…
Many areas of our lives we take for granted have been flipped upside down and in turn, we have learned A LOT! We learned a Zoom reunion of the Real Housewives is still complete and utter chaos but now includes the mute button or a quick trip to the kitchen for a snack. We learned the NBA bubble is the reality show we need, and thankfully 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle has been documenting his experience in 10-minute episodes. We learned so, so many people are easily persuaded into dancing on TikTok. We learned that with a little creativity, any restaurant can have an “outdoor” space. We learned how many people own air pods. We learned that yes, your dog can get tired of being walked “too much.” We learned to make sourdough bread…that was a phase. We learned about so many small and black-owned businesses we can support. We learned more about Black Lives Matter and had the time and energy to throw ourselves behind one of the most important movements my generation has been alive to participate in. We learned most meetings could probably be an email (although this isn’t new). We learned that we can be productive without physical workspaces but that we lose the social engagement and for some that is devastatingly hard. We learned about new podcasts, blogs, websites, and causes we can get behind. We learned how to workout at home. We learned what self-care really means. We learned about the Oppenheim group on Selling Sunset, more specifically we learned to hate Justin Hartley. We learned who of our friends takes the virus seriously and therefore who of our friends we need to cut immediately…yikes. We learned how much news we can take before we fully implode. We learned when to get off Twitter. We learned about every possible TV show available on ALL streaming platforms. We probably learned even more but I will stop the list there before we start talking about book chapters and my favorite Peloton classes.
I started the blog because I love fantasy football, sports, and all things pop culture. What I didn’t realize is how these worlds were on a steady collision course. Watching people adapt to the “new normal” (LOL, I am sure you are as sick of “in these unprecedented times” and “new normal” as I am, but it’s the truth…) includes our favorite professional athletes making life-changing decisions to opt-in or out of their season, making choices between health and safety and their jobs. Watching Matisse Thybulle take his temperature and measure is oxygen saturation before heading to practice in the NBA bubble is something we never anticipated seeing. MLB was forced to postpone games due to COVID outbreaks, and our very own Eagles coach Doug Pederson was forced to coach the team from afar for that same reason. Sports aren’t just sports anymore, they are drama and reality TV mixed with competition and fear of the unknown. Every day I wonder if the NFL season will happen. Can it happen? Can any sport succeed without a bubble? Is the bubble practical for a league the size of the NFL? All I know is, I want to see every second of that bubble, isn’t that why the show Big Brother is so successful?
Sports documentaries have always been extremely popular, but lately, it feels as though they are prime time entertainment. Sure, we didn’t have live sports, but the Last Dance was the most talked-about show I can remember in the last 4 months- people who don’t watch sports were raving about it. Family and friends of mine that have not watched a single second of basketball said they could not turn it off. Even Bravo/pop culture podcasts made room to talk about the doc. Some highlight the incredible play of Michael himself, but my sister was most impressed by Carmen Electra’s appearance. There is something for everyone! I mentioned Thybulle’s documentary of the NBA bubble a few times already, but if you happen to watch his show or catch Jimmy Fallon’s interview, you know this thing has BLOWN up. Why is this so popular? We want to, no need to know what is happening with our favorite characters inside the bubble. We hold on to clips of Joel Embiid joking with the camera or the serious conversations between Tobias Harris and the team about Black Lives Matter. Your husband may make fun of you for watching Bravo, but this is essentially the same premise, just a different group of people at the core.
When I look back at my posts from the last year (side note, way more posts than I ever anticipated, I think you can thank my husband for pushing me with, “when’s the next post coming?”) and in turn, we had over 6,400 pageviews- thank you so much for reading my words. I can say my favorite ones were comparing the sports world with current pop culture. If you asked me would I ever write a story about Andrew Luck and Bethenny Frankel before I would have said you were insane but that is maybe my finest piece of writing to date (LOL). I explored the world of reality TV with podcasting legend Kate Casey, and was retweeted by my podcasting heroes, Watch What Crappens. I also learned that the fantasy football space is pretty intense (kudos to those that dedicate their lives to tracking these players) and I much more enjoy writing about the fun and light areas of competing in a fantasy world. I have met incredible, likeminded people who come to the site for sports and pop culture (and occasionally food and wellness?), and I promise to continue to bring that content as it comes to me.
Cheer to another year, whatever that may bring!
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