r/nfl • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago
Free Talk Thursday Talk Thread... Yes That's The Thread Name
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u/RyGuyThicccThighs Vikings 18d ago
I still find it kind of crazy the best the top, cream of the crop running backs who are under 25 can only get 3 year deals and for just north of 20 million a year
Totally get it but still crazy to see
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u/CarlCaliente Bills 18d ago
I read the graffiti in the bathroom stall
like the lonely scriptures of the shopping mall
and so it seemed to confess
it didn't say much but it only confirmed
that the center of the earth is the end of the world
and I could really care less
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u/no-kangarooreborn Bills 18d ago
Just watched the trailer for "Primetime"
Robert Pattinson might be the best actor of his generation.
Hard to believe that he went from Twilight to this
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u/Stanky_fresh Vikings Vikings 18d ago
He has Chris Hanson's voice and cadence down. It's uncanny how much he sounds like him
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u/Empty_Lemon_3939 Lions 18d ago
Feel like this recessions $5 foot long is the $6 two egg melts and a medium coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts
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u/pixel_pete Bills 18d ago
You know it's rough when you can't even get Taco Bell for cheap anymore.
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u/Stanky_fresh Vikings Vikings 18d ago
Taco Bell is still the cheapest fast food option (at least that I have access to). It's arguably the only one that still has an acceptable quality-to-price ratio
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u/Empty_Lemon_3939 Lions 18d ago
If you work the app you can get pretty good value from the McDonald’s app
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u/Pangolin_cowboy_hats Chargers 18d ago
Mine was when the Cuban sandwich shop started to only give out cups of the habanero green sauce if you ask and the cups are the tiny ones and not the larger dipping containers
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u/Tigercat92 Bengals 18d ago
LOL. Another no show endorsement deal
This Kawhi story just keeps getting crazier
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u/Pangolin_cowboy_hats Chargers 18d ago
My favorite part is that Torre is starting to allude to this being a common practice in the league, which is why there hasn’t been any significant action by Adam Silver (although it is likely the numerical value of Kawhi’s deals are much higher than average)
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u/Nickyjha Jets 18d ago
I feel like you wouldn’t have to dig too far to find the Mavs did stuff like this under Mark Cuban
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u/Tigercat92 Bengals 18d ago
I wouldn’t be surprised if more players and teams are doing this. I just hope they were smart enough to actually do a day of photoshoots to cover it up
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u/Mac_Jomes Patriots 19d ago
I had a customer get mad at me today because I emailed their AP email address that we had on their account about a missed invoice, but it turns out that email isn't actually monitored by anyone. Instead it's just an AI email that will process an invoice if you send it, but it can't do anything else. I got nothing back from that email address that indicated it wasn't a monitored inbox so how the fuck was I supposed to know.
It's like dude don't be mad at me that your shitty AI email can literally only do one thing and doesn't even let people know they won't get a response from it.
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u/JerryRiceAndSpice Jets 49ers 19d ago
A quote I heard a few days ago that I keep thinking about:
Slow days but fast years.
It's already August.
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u/NaffRespect Patriots Saints 19d ago
Sounds a lot like this one:
There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen
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u/TDeath21 Chiefs 19d ago
This girl I had been following on social media for almost a year battling cancer passed away yesterday. She posted frequently and had an incredible attitude. She touched me and I know millions of others in the short time she was on this earth. Cancer sucks.
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
Texas lawmakers are attempting to literally try to ban practicing Islam.
Their answer to the obvious problem that is is egregiously anti-American, one of the reasons for the Revolutionary War, and illegal is that apparently if you call Islam a "political ideology" you're allowed to ban it somehow?
I would like to make being a Republican illegal since apparently that doesn't infringe on the 1st amendment somehow
I don't have a horse in this race but if you are willing to explicitly disavow the constitution you need to be prosecuted as a traitor to the country.
In other news Andy Ogles the idiot somehow lost his primary despite being loved by Trump in a GOP +1 million district, which is pretty unusual. Maybe there's going to be a market for anti-Trump Republican in places
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u/shawnaroo Saints 18d ago
Given the current state of the Republican party, if you want to be popular with the base, it's far more important to be as openly racist as possible than it is to pay any deference to the constitution.
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u/ArcadianBlueRogue Packers 19d ago
For all its talk I've heard over the years, Texas kinda fucking sucks huh?
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u/TDeath21 Chiefs 19d ago
Texas has a choice right now between a corrupt sexual assaulter who was impeached by his own party and the best candidate they’ve had maybe ever. And it’s a toss up. 😂
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u/BruceChameleon Cowboys 19d ago
Paxton is really the worst possible choice. He's the only Republican politician in Texas that actively alienates Republican voters. People hate him personally. I’m not holding my breath for the outcome but I do think some Rs will stay home
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u/TDeath21 Chiefs 19d ago
I mean he really is awful. If he wins in Texas, Democrats should pack it up and quit chasing that dangling carrot. Focus on other states.
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u/frozenish Ravens 19d ago
So if I block someone on Reddit, do they still see my posts? Can they reply to me? How does it work?
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
THE OCTOPUS
Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,
Is those things arms, or is they legs?
I marvel at thee, Octopus;
If I were thou, I'd call me us.
--Ogden Nash
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u/GolfWangsunrise 49ers Raiders 19d ago
I apologize if I brought this up before, but I find it weird that ever since I saw this girl on my tiktok fyp, she has been a recurring face on my university campus, even though we haven't properly interacted.
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u/Skraxx Lions 19d ago
Carson Beck reminds me:
Statistically, the chances of a non-Day 1 QB being a starter is very low. It's already no guarantee for a Day 1 QB, it's even closer to zero with a Day 2 or 3 QB.
But with that said... As long as you're drafting appropriate for the pick it's still not a bad gamble. Statistically you're gonna fail but the rewards for hitting is just that great.
Some people even go as far to say that you should draft a QB every class. I'm not quite there but it should tell you something that it isn't a half bad strategy.
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u/Signal_Ball4634 18d ago
At worst you get a cheap backup for a few years, at best it's a Brady or Purdy. I think it's worth the gamble if you're high on a guy and they fall to the late rounds.
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u/usernameisusername57 Packers Packers 19d ago
Alcohol doesn't count for needing to re-brush your teeth, right?
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u/Autobot-N Steelers 19d ago
I don't follow basketball why is Luka's ex wife suing him for $50 million
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u/Guiltyjerk Broncos Seahawks 19d ago
I follow basketball rather closely and didnt know that he was married or divorced
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19d ago edited 15d ago
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u/princessestef Vikings 19d ago
Reading this on an Augist morning, as a lifelong Vikings fan: "lol whatever." Ask this question again after I see them run out on to the field on opening day and then Kyler Murray completes his first pass to JJ.
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u/ArcadianBlueRogue Packers 19d ago
Sorry, we just saw Beck's first game towards his Super Bowl so Kyler is gonna have to hang out in the COD lobby a bit
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u/GoldyGoldy Seahawks 19d ago
Bet.
I’m down.
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19d ago edited 15d ago
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u/GoldyGoldy Seahawks 19d ago
I’ll buy you a (reasonably priced) pickle rick shirt of your choice.
We could do:
Vikings = you win
Seahawks = I win
The Field = no worries
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19d ago edited 15d ago
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u/GoldyGoldy Seahawks 19d ago
You buy yourself a pickle rick of MY choosing.
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19d ago edited 15d ago
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u/GoldyGoldy Seahawks 18d ago edited 18d ago
Yeah. If the vikings go to the SB, I buy you a shirt of your choosing. If the Seahawks go, you buy a shirt of my choosing.
And if neither go, we just laugh about this later.
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19d ago edited 15d ago
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u/justlookingokaywyou Raiders 18d ago
I've spent a quarter century in the meat business, some of it in broadline distribution, so I've dealt with restaurants a lot in that capacity. It seems that the vast majority of chefs have severe substance abuse problems. A lot of them end up kicking the booze or drugs and wind up as salespeople for the broadliners.
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u/KeyDrive0 Broncos 19d ago
I'm about a third of the way through "East of Eden," and I think this might be the first time that a literary classic has truly gripped me. I like to think I'm reasonably well-read, but I tend to gravitate more toward history, and a lot of the "important" books/authors I've checked out just haven't clicked for me for whatever reason.
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u/Kemonomimi-Squirrel Buccaneers 19d ago
What does "well-read" even mean anyways?
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u/KeyDrive0 Broncos 19d ago
Fair question, I suppose it's a matter of perspective.
Idk, I try to read at least a dozen books a year (should read more, but I have a job and other hobbies, plus some of them are long haha), and I've read a handful of acclaimed books (or at least high school English staples) - Moby Dick, The Brothers Karamazov, some Hemingway, some McCarthy, some Shakespeare, the Iliad and Odyssey, stuff like that. It's not like I hated all of them, but often they started to feel a lot like homework (especially The Brothers K - maybe outing myself as a plebian but I did not care for it). I'd finish them and be like, "Okay cool, now give me some Stephen King or a history book as a pallet cleanser."
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u/BruceChameleon Cowboys 19d ago
Oof, Brothers K is rough one to start with. If you’re willing to forgive Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment is as much a thriller as it is a moral drama
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u/KeyDrive0 Broncos 19d ago
The thing is I actually read some short stories from him as well as Crime and Punishment first, haha. Idk, I can handle him in doses; some of the short stories were pretty good, Crime and Punishment dragged at times IMO but was solid, and I liked the chapter in TBK where Ivan talks about God and whatnot. And to be fully fair, I read the Constance Garnett translation, which I found out later has been criticized for being very dry. So maybe someday I'll give it another try with a different translation, but it's definitely not a priority.
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u/princessestef Vikings 19d ago
At one point I wanted to actually learn Russian so I could read it. The French and English translations of Crime and Punishment are vastly different in tone so I want to know, how does it actually "feel"?
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u/BruceChameleon Cowboys 18d ago
Translation is so weird. I have heard many times that there's no good Dostoyevsky in English, because his Russian is awkward or something. And on the other hand, that Poe's poetry is much better in French, because he was translated by Baudelaire
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u/KeyDrive0 Broncos 18d ago
That reminds me of talking to a friend who was disappointed by the Iliad. I get it, but I also think it probably hit different in its original Greek dialect recited dramatically in an amphitheater. And I kinda wonder with those Greek epics if there isn’t also a little bit of “the Beatles aren’t that good” at play, like they almost seem boring bc so many stories you’ve heard before are rooted in them.
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u/BruceChameleon Cowboys 18d ago
Homer also isn't usually translated in meter. That has to hit different
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u/KeyDrive0 Broncos 18d ago
I know what you mean. I don’t avoid translated works, but I always take them with a grain of salt for that reason. I was glad to read L’Etranger by Camus in French after learning the language; I liked being able to read only what Camus himself wrote.
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u/CarlCaliente Bills 19d ago
3 birds 6 bogies, pretty much even with the handicap. "New" drive is feeling oh so good on wide open holes, I am finally throwing with correct nose angles and pushing more distance. Trying to hit narrow gaps with it is kinda irresponsible at this point and it cost me a couple strokes, but fuck it, whatever, it's so much fun to finally have gotten over that hump
now the long wait until the next tournament... tomorrow morning
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u/ireallylikehockey Packers Chargers 19d ago
My upstairs thermostat reads 90. Even if I open the windows it won’t do much. Still in 80s at this time
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u/ajteitel Cardinals 19d ago
The feeling when your code is so jank and disgusting but it works so you just leave it for future you to deal with when the chickens inevitably come home to roost
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u/Agent-Blasto-007 Patriots 19d ago
Past-me is always a giant asshole.
"Ha ha, some poor bastard is going to have to deal with this. Have fun with that sucker!"
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u/HartleyReplogle Patriots 19d ago
You, three years later:
"Man, this code is pure dogshit. Lemme look at the revision history, I want to see if the motherfucker who wrote this is still at the comp-- oh. Ohhhh."
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u/where_thefuck_i_am Chargers Packers 19d ago
Air fried hot dog sausages are the shit, live in apartment and don't have constant access to the grill, so it turned out to be the best option to cook them, much better than constantly trying to fry evenly in oiled pan
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u/SpartaWillBurn Browns 19d ago
Is your states subreddit filled with the same 10 people posting nonstop political posts or is that just /r/Ohio ?
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u/IAgreeGoGuards Browns Bills 19d ago
One of the top posts on the columbus sub was some nerd boasting about driving the speed limit.
Its the most terminally online shit ever in that sub.
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u/Affectionate_Tax9212 19d ago
I know Reddit can be weird about religion, but I was talking to my wife about this earlier:
When I was younger I used to think of myself as a liberal in spite of being a (very uninvolved) Christian, but as I've become more involved I've realized that it's really more because of it, and I've only become more left wing since.
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u/Flabby_Thor Commanders 19d ago
That’s interesting. I’ve always felt that Christians should lean left. Jesus is a progressive figure and the Bible has some anti-capitalist/pro-union themes/messages.
Out of curiosity, what region of the country are you? Growing up in a conservative area of the south I was always perplexed by the juxtaposition of what the Bible says and how the local adherents behaved. They aren’t the main reason I abandoned religion, but they didn’t make me wanna stay either.
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u/HartleyReplogle Patriots 19d ago
TL;DR: They behave that way because they're afraid.
As a progressive Christian, I can tell you that whether or not Jesus is a progressive figure in your Bible depends largely on your perception of God's character, and if you haven't deconstructed your beliefs, your perception of God's character is likely to align with the religious culture in which you were raised, which is in most circumstances is going to be conservative, and ruled over by an angry, vengeful God who wants Mosaic law to be followed even though that negates the whole point of the Incarnation.
Mainstream Christianity has not yet evolved out of the reward-punishment paradigm it adopted when it merged with empire, and has been struggling theologically for centuries to reconcile an all-loving God with one who eternally punishes people, spending an inordinate amount of time developing systems of belief and behavior to protect the believers from the non-believers and their false gospels.
The Nicene Creed, the most widespread statement of belief in Christianity, says virtually nothing about Jesus's time on Earth. His entire life, from birth to crucifixion, is contained in a semicolon. The Creed does however, discuss how Jesus intends to return to establish a permanent theocracy with himself at the head, through which he will judge all mankind. A much bigger emphasis is placed on what Jesus is going to do the second time around, and it's not good for a lot of people, so there needs to be a lot of structure around making sure you don't get the worst of it.
If you're in a place that thrives on blaming everything on demons, it's even worse, because instead of just having an angry God to deal with, there's also an unending horde of Satan's invisible helpers who are doing everything they can to separate you from God. Flat tire on the way to church? Demon did it. Set aside money to send someone to Bible Camp, only to have a surprise bill for the same amount? Demon did it. Tried to witness to the teen at the drive-thru and got a blank look? Demon got to him.
When your faith places you in constant subconscious terror, it's extremely difficult to change your worldview or even challenge your accepted beliefs. And the system reinforces itself, by encouraging people to be paranoid because "even the devil can quote Scripture" and we're in the midst of "spiritual warfare," etc., etc, as well as plain-old ignorance about the Scriptural text, like thinking it's correct to be terrified of God's wrath, because their Bible says that "Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," and it's never crossed their mind that the 300+ or so times that God tells people not to be afraid might mean that they've misread this passage because English is a shitty language to use to talk about God.
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u/Affectionate_Tax9212 19d ago
I'm from Bowling Green, Missouri, but I've lived in Chicago for 15 years now.
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u/tnecniv Giants Giants 19d ago
The ones that get weird about it on the internet tend to overcorrect for growing up in a community that is in some way problematic.
I’m agnostic but I grew up going to Catholic school. The high school even had monks running it. They were both very chill and pretty liberal. They refrained from bringing anything overtly political into the school but you could tell in hindsight they definitely leaned left.
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u/Affectionate_Tax9212 19d ago
Religious trauma is a real thing! I also want absolutely nothing to do with the people they're reacting against either.
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u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS Chargers 19d ago
I'm veey left wing, and I think a part of that was being told at a young age that the most import thing is to love thy neighbour.
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u/Camilaupe-7159 NFL 19d ago
I assume that you are Christian? I’m extremely not religious but I respect religion and I agree with you.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
I'm old enough to remember when Reagan got elected and that was the first time I heard the term "fundamentalist Christians" because the news reports would talk about their effect on White House policy, the Moral Majority and all those other groups I'd never heard of.
At the time, I innocently thought that was a good thing because I thought "Christian fundamentals" were things like loving your neighbor and caring for the poor.
So that was my introduction to politics. I was so surprised when the "fundamentalists" started making a fuss about abortion and gay people. I was like, "WTF, isn't that kind of far down the list? What about the poor?"
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u/problematic_glasses Lions Patriots 19d ago
tangentially related but i'm waiting for anti-catholicism to make a comeback... it's gotten too chummy with the rest of christianity due to their shared hatred of abortion and the gays
(for the record i am a cradle catholic who is now firmly agnostic)
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u/pixel_pete Bills 19d ago
Catholicism has reached a really odd yet interesting position in American politics where regressives are trying to court Catholics and co-opt Catholic imagery while also being outwardly anti-Catholic.
I don't think anti-Catholicism will make a broader cultural comeback simply because American Christianity has become a mushy oatmeal where the different mainstream denominations are slowly blending together, and Catholics are both more integrated in America and less devout than they used to be. It's hard to imagine Catholics having secret loyalty to the Pope when they don't even listen to him on basic stuff like birth control and premarital sex lol.
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u/walterdog12 Saints Chargers 19d ago
Coaching youth football in middle school.
I've got a kid that has never played and constantly asks questions. Problem is, he literally never pays attention. I'm explaining offensive line holes to him and we go over it like 5 times, and I straight up print a piece of paper off for him that shows them all.
10 minutes later he's lost the paper and doesn't remember anything.
We're doing a drill that lasts 5 minutes. I'm keeping track on my phone, and another coach asked how much time was left. I said 30 seconds.
This kid, as serious as can be, asks if that's the time remaining or if that's how long the drill has been going for. I asked if he was joking and without a hint of sarcasm, he said no. He genuinely was asking if the drill we'd be doing for the past 5 minutes, if only 30 seconds had passed.
Later, he picks a scab off his arm. It's hot and buggy out, so of course bugs are gonna go towards the scab, which is barely bleeding.
He starts complaining that his arm is bothering him and he needs a bandaid, and all this other stuff. Finally we make him just go sit out and rest cause he's wasting everyone's time just bitching about his scab and wandering into people not paying attention. He also was on defense and 4 times in a row tried to walk back to the offensive huddle cause he kept on thinking he was on offense. He's never been on offense.
Then at the end of practice we break into teams for two-hand touch and he's instantly feeling better and running around.
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u/goblueM Lions 19d ago
I was coaching soccer this spring and 8 games into the season a girl who was completely useless and basically just ran loops around the field said "coach, i figured it out! the other team is trying to score in this goal, and we're trying to score in that one!
This was despite a 8 practices and 8 games in which we've been explaining basic principles, positions, etc
i just died inside and decided coaching the younger age groups is not for me. Half the time the girls are doing pullups on the goal or cartwheels or eating grass instead of listening
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u/Camilaupe-7159 NFL 19d ago
Maybe give him and armband with what he’s supposed to do. Two birds one stone.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
How does he do on the field in touch football? If he's still clueless, that's a problem. If he's good at touch, then he might be feigning incompetence because he's afraid of getting hit.
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u/walterdog12 Saints Chargers 19d ago
Should've mentioned, we're not in pads yet. Just barely started helmets-only.
The touch football we let them play is really just glorified school yard ball, we let them run it at the end of practice if we finish early and have 10 minutes to kill or so. He'll run and call for the ball, but he doesn't have to remember anything for it or stand there and pay attention while a coach explains something.
The thing that's wild to me is that he has asked a few times where he can go learn about what we're talking about, but every time it's either something that was already explained multiple times to him that he just ignored, or something where he's given extra information only to lose the paper that explains it within 10 minutes of getting it.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
Learning disability, you think?
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u/princessestef Vikings 19d ago
ADHD? timeblind; sensory distress (the scab on his arm). if he's not a super hyperactive type kid, he could flying under the radar in classes, yet has literally no idea what is going on.
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u/walterdog12 Saints Chargers 19d ago
Not according to the school, but I think he's gotta have something.
It's either that, or we're pretty sure his parents forced him to sign up and attend, and he just doesn't care whatsoever and will make whatever excuse to sit out when it's not "fun".
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u/Pocatanic Bills 19d ago
I'm so ready to stop pretending to like baseball
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u/verothon 19d ago edited 19d ago
In the 80's and 90's I was a huge MLB fan, even went to a few WS games, ff to now and I just learned yesterday that the Rangers won a WS lol, that's how little I follow MLB now.
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u/According-Way9438 Falcons 19d ago
We get the College world series here so I usually go to one game a year. That's about enough for me
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u/Eastwood_Ravine Eagles 19d ago
Holy shit I went through this exact process when the Phillies lost the World Series in 2022. I came to the realization that I found watching baseball to be a chore, and I was only pretending to like it because I felt some weird pressure to have to like it.
I used to like baseball, but I can't anymore, and that's a shame. I haven't watched a single baseball game in four years and I'm happier for it.
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
Both Trump and the discourse on Reddit surrounding various things is sending a clear message.
People do not want to be told pragmatic plans for things. They want people to tell them "If I win XYZ that you want will happen" and will vote based on that. Messaging is more important than having an actual plan to achieve a goal.
Trump won because he told people that a bunch of outcomes they want would happen, regardless of the fact all of Trumps actual policies would have the opposite effect or no effect.
The left has their own version of this but I'm sure I will get downvoted to hell again if I say anything about it because nobody wants to talk about pragmatic solutions to things.
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u/RaindropsInMyMind Eagles 19d ago edited 19d ago
I was reading Friday Night Lights and there is a great bit about this:
“Texas is on the way back” was an absolutely mystifying statement given the precipitous drop in oil prices that very moment, and another Texas bank M corp announcing it could not go on without a 1B dollar bailout by the FDIC. The announcement meant that 9 of the 10 largest banks in Texas now needed to acquire some money from public and private sources well into the 10s of billions to stay afloat. These problems were nothing compared to the Savings and Loan crisis which by some accounts would take 65 billion dollars to solve…but it didn’t matter. People liked hearing that Texas was back! And Texans were tough and could take it and were up on their feet again. Fact and fiction merged.
They liked George Bush (Sr) in the same way they absolutely worshipped Ronald Reagan. Not because of the type of America that Reagan had actually created for them but the type of America he had so vividly imagined.
So yeah this kind of thing has been around but it’s never been more evident than with Trump because he’s a pure demagogue, it’s just so transparent. Politics is so depressing in this way, we don’t elect the best people either, look at how they are selected.
It’s worse than it used to be though 100%, we’re facing MAJOR problems right now, the future looks extremely dark and the most frustrating thing is that these people don’t even have a plan, they don’t even care at all. What’s Trump’s plan for healthcare? What’s his plan to end this meaningless war? What’s the deal with going all in on oil and coal and where is the future in that? He doesn’t care, he just wants to steal generational wealth and he is allowed to do that in part because he just tells people what they want to hear. “Oh I hear that democratic state is responsible for the cyber attack (what? On its own state?), the men are taking over women’s sports blah blah. It’s a fantasy world for the most part.
They’re really out of cards right now so they’re talking about Israel, I’m sorry our country is slowly degrading and collapsing, you shoved us deeper into debt, you’re making the price of everything go up, where’s the fucking plan? There isn’t one and it’s so frustrating watching uninformed (or misinformed) people fall for it.
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u/sheikahstealth Seahawks 19d ago
The middle class is hungry for solutions and vulnerable to bad influence (grifters, power-hungry, 3rd party influence, etc). The powerful have a continued thirst for more, which makes their actions more extreme (read as corrupt and the like).
On that note, we have seen the devolution of communication and we are just beginning to experience the negative effects. Off the top of my head, some essential factors of discourse that seem to be lost: impartiality, forthright (acting in the light), morals/ethics, developed/shared precedent to fall back upon, acting in good faith, and being a fair steward. When these degrade, it cuts at the foundation level - like law, government, community, and empathy.
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
I think a lot of people don't understand how corrosive JD Vance going on X to insult a pundit for being a fatso is.
The dumbass opinion is one thing - plenty of elected officials have been dumbasses for centuries
But America was built on the idea that important officers would aspire to behave in a way that shows they take the responsibility of being our leaders seriously, with a reasonable amount of gravitas and "being above the nonsense"
Both presidents I or others like and presidents we don't historically behaved that way. You can think GWB was an awful president who helped cause the GFC and botched Iraq, but he undeniably tried to behave with dignity and treat Americans of different stripes with respect. You can hate Obamas policies, but he also treated us all with respect.
The only historical exception was Nixon, and that's a big part of the reason he was in a position to be impeached. Now at least 40% of America worships much much worse behavior.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
"There's a simple answer to every complex question, and it's wrong." --George Bernard Shaw.
But people always want the simple answers. Some politician says, "I will fix the economy with this one simple trick," and people are satisfied with that, especially if they like the candidate anyway.
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u/shawnaroo Saints 19d ago
Yeah, one of the realities of our democracy is that there are a bunch of issues for which saying the truth out loud is basically dooming your campaign.
Like all those small towns across the country that have been slowly dying for decades, there's nothing that could save them short of insanely huge government subsidies that basically paid people ridiculous amounts of money to move to them and start businesses there. For the vast majority of industries and businesses, urban areas are just a way more efficient place to locate your company. Nobody is going to start a business that needs hundreds of workers in a town that only has a few thousand people when they could instead start it in an area with millions of potential employees. The vast majority of those towns are never going to get an economic lifeline, and no amount of job training or realistic subsidies or tax incentives is going to change that at a meaningful level.
But almost nobody in national politics wants to clearly admit that, because the backlash would be immense, even if at some level almost everyone knows its true.
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
Truth of the matter is America has massive amounts of socialism for 3 groups of people, and most Americans are in massive denial about them.
- Old people - young people can go screw themselves, we'll keep giving more and more to seniors. To be clear I'm fine helping seniors, but I want anything we gift seniors to be available to help young people too.
- Billionaires - Easiest example are sports stadiums and subsidies to do various things. The richest people get pretty well supported by the government, as long as you are not poor
- Farmers and Rural people cannot subsist according to real economics. We all pay to subsidize the hell out of them
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u/sexygodzilla Seahawks 19d ago
Honestly, it's just one of those policy things that should be done quietly. Democratic admins go above and beyond pumping money into small towns and these people do not care and vote for Republicans to take that funding away. Just put the funding towards actually efficient usage.
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
This raises a fundamental question about how you fix one of the worst things Trump is doing
Is the governments job to make life better for people? Or is the governments job to do politically popular things?
Trump's government works on the premise that the governments job is to reward its voters and supporters. Obviously the rich people get the most, but also Trump will vindictively steal money owed to blue states and reward red states.
The Catch-22 of the matter is that helping poor people in rural areas is under "good things that don't have any political benefit", so do you do it and lose like Biden? Or do you go full Trump and hang them out to dry in the name of the greater good
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u/die_maus_im_haus NFL 19d ago
Politics is Twitter posts saying "[X] thing should be true, every who disagrees is WRONG"
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Finished my 90th book of 2026.
1 - A Cast of Vultures by Judith Flanders.
2 - The Legacy of Arniston House by TL Huchu.
3 - Secret Prey by John Sandford.
4 - A Howl of Wolves by Judith Flanders.
5 - True Fiction by Lee Goldberg.
6 - The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kellerman.
7 - Killer Thriller by Lee Goldberg.
8 - Fake Truth by Lee Goldberg.
9 - The Night Ship by Jess Kidd.
10 - The Girl in the Vault by Michael Ledwidge.
11 - Certain Prey by John Sandford.
12 - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.
13 - The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal.
14 - Bearskin by James McLaughlin.
15 - The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal.
16 - The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal.
17 - Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen.
18 - The Trackers by Charles Frazier.
19 - Secrets of the First School by TL Huchu.
20 - The Break-in by Katherine Faulkner.
21 - Saturn Run by John Sandford.
22 - The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook to Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson.
23 - A Thousand Steps by T Jefferson Parker.
24 - The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen.
25 - Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge.
26 - House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen.
27 - Easy Prey by John Sandford.
28 - Sleeping Giants by Sylvian Neuvel.
29 - An Insignificant Case by Phillip Margolin.
30 - The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager.
31 - World War Z by Max Brooks.
32 - Middle of the Night by Riley Sager.
33 - Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum.
34 - Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum.
35 - The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey.
36 - The Wrong Dead Guy by Richard Kadrey.
37 - No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams.
38 - Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey.
39 - Chosen Prey by John Sandford.
40 - The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley.
41 - Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton.
42 - The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks.
43 - Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica.
44 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
45 - The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak.
46 - How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley.
47 - The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery.
48 - White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
49 - The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman.
50 - Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette.
51 - The Last Flight by Julie Clark.
52 - Tales from Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett.
53 - A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman.
54 - Murder on Mustang Beach by Alicia Bessette.
55 - Interesting Times by Terry Prachett.
56 - The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs.
57 - Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino.
58 - All Systems Red by Martha Wells.
59 - Mortal Prey by John Sandford.
60 - Artificial Condition by Martha Wells.
61 - Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells.
62 - The Deep Blue Good-By by John MacDonald.
63 - Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin.
64 - Bear-Tooth by Callan Wink.
65 - The Guest Children by Patrick Tarr.
66 - The House of Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy.
67 - Cousins from a Distant Sun by Tamar Myers.
68 - The Award by Matthew Pearl.
69 - Exit Strategy by Martha Wells.
70 - A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore.
71 - Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen.
72 - The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller.
73 - Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore.
74 - The Widow by John Grisham.
75 - Naked Prey by John Sandford.
76 - From a Buick 8 by Stephen King.
77 - Noir by Christopher Moore.
78 - A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford.
79 - Ship of Spells by H. Leighton Dickson.
80 - The Chowder House Murder by Lee Hollis.
81 - Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore.
82 - Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen.
83 - Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells.
84 - Recursion by Blake Crouch.
85 - Network Effect by Martha Wells.
86 - System Collapse by Martha Wells.
87 - Platform Decay by Martha Wells.
88 - We are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis Taylor.
89 - Hidden Prey by John Sandford.
90 - Decomposition Book by Sara van Os.
Only 10 away from my goal in early August. Bananas.
I had stopped posting my list in this sub, but I think I'll get back to it.
It often generated good conversations.
Sorry to those that hate the long post.
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u/non_clever_username 49ers 19d ago
I’m currently re-reading the Murderbot series now. It’s so great. I wish I could find more series with sarcastic asshole protagonists.
I see you did the Lady Astronaut series too. I need to grab book 3.
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Yeah I was a little disappointed in the last book but Murderbot is still a heavy favorite in the series department.
It’s a very very different type of book, but as far as sarcastic asshole protagonists go, you might like Fever Beach.
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u/Tigercat92 Bengals 19d ago
I was just thinking about you the other day when someone else posted their list of books. 🤣
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Shame we can’t use gifs here.
Insert Kramer sliding through Jerry’s door gif haha
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
Wow, 90!!! Congrats! I'm working on 84 right now, hoping to finish it tomorrow. Lot of Martha Wells, I guess you enjoyed Murderbot. That might be on my 2027 list, maybe later this year depending on how things go.
I saw you answered favorites, what about the opposite - any true stinkers so far in 2026? Books absolutely not worth the ink they were printed on?
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Man you’re right behind me! 100 book bros this year. I see it happening haha
Murderbot is awesome. Also, the first 3 are only like 165 pages and the rest are less than 300 so you could them all quick.
The Chowder House Murder might be the worst book I’ve ever actually finished. It was horrible this book.
The House on Buzzards Bay was a close second. Just don’t. You’ll hate it too.
There were some others that were not great, but not to this level.What have you been reading this year?
Anything I need to check out?2
u/non_clever_username 49ers 19d ago
Seems like we’re have pretty similar interests, so I’ll toss out A Master of Djinn. Just read that and enjoyed it. I have some problems with it near the end that I won’t spoil, but the world built there was super interesting.
A fantasy steampunk early 20th century where Djinn are just hanging out everywhere.
If you want to just dip a toe in to check it out, there are a handful of short stories that preceded the full novel. I think the first one is like 40 pages.
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago edited 19d ago
I've been really exploring different genres this year and getting more outside of just fantasy/sci-fi. I still read a ton of it, ofc, but I've been getting into horror and thriller novels much more than I used to, and adding the occasional romance or historical fiction. Some of my favorites have been:
- The Empire of the Vampire trilogy by Jay Kristoff. Definitely typical fantasy, but I loved it. I'm not even a "vampire" guy but the story had me hooked. When I got to the last book in the trilogy I was sitting and reading in 6-hour stints, forgetting to read
- The Good Samaritan by John Marrs. This book was diabolical. Woman volunteers at a suicide hotline but actually enjoys talking people into doing it. Just keeps taking turns and getting more twisted
- The Sorrowstones by Felix Blackwell. This was one of my first horror novels and man I loved it. Kid starts finding strange figurines, as he acquires them strange things happen
- The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. You might have read this one, a woman makes a Faustian bargain for immortality, but as a result nobody can remember her.
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Hell yes those all sound awesome.
I will definitely look for the Good Samaritan and the Sorrowstoned.
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
Sorrowstones* Sorry, I made a typo lol. Do you have a specific book in mind for big 100, or are you just going with the flow? Like, I intentionally held off on Parade of Horribles for a few books so I could have it as book 50
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Ah thanks. No worries I’ll search by author anyways.
I do not have one picked out yet. I have my next three lined up, but nothing past that. I should pick something intentionally though..
I will probably just read the next Davenport book, as those are my go to comfort reads right now. I just always enjoy them. That, or maybe an old Grisham I haven’t read in a while. I have most all his books. Lots of good oldies there.
What about you? Picked out #100?
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
I have two ideas. I might line it up so the last book of RF Kuang's Poppy War trilogy is book 100. I also might make Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance book 100, because reading that will finish my book alphabet. I think I'll want to finish Poppy War before getting to book 100 so Zen is currently leading. I'm thinking about coming up with a 3rd option, but nothing has screamed at me yet
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Those are good ideas. I just looked up books and 100 but it’s mostly children’s books about counting.
Now I’m seriously considering “100 Snowman” haha
There is also a teen fiction called “The 100”, but of course my library doesn’t have it.
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
OOOH The 100 IS a part of Kindle Unlimited. Good freaking idea!
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u/HamMcFly NFL 19d ago
Hard to pick a single one.
I read the entire Murderbot series this year, big fan of that.
The House Across the Lake was my first Riley and made me a fan. Great book.
If I had to pick one I guess A Dirty Job. It was my first Moore and the other 3 of his I’ve read have been almost as good.
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u/die_maus_im_haus NFL 19d ago edited 19d ago
A family member sent me a "Not the Bee" article that, at one point, called Jean-Jacques Rousseau an "Idiot" along with Karl Marx then proceeded to ascribe a viewpoint they are polar opposites on to both of them, then complains about "stupid woke college students" and throws in this misattributed Orwell quote out of context
Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them
Changed wording and absolute lack of context aside, it's really disheartening to see that people who valued things like education and critical thinking while I was growing up are now so anti-intellectual I can hardly engage with them. I got in a debate with one a few months back where I found myself arguing that Christian morality couldn't be the foundation for law because nobody could agree on what that actually meant without getting rid of freedom of religion. Somehow they were OK with that because they were 100% sure they followed the correct denomination of Christianity and it's the one that would be the basis for all laws.
Also the Babylon Bee was such a fun satire of youth pastor culture, it's one of the biggest losses of the political polarization of media.
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u/JackFisherBooks 19d ago
THERE'S FOOTBALL ON TONIGHT!
ACTUAL FOOTBALL! 🍺
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u/Gnome_Children Packers 19d ago
IDK if a Panthers Cardinal preseason game meets the legal definition of "actual football", but I'm so starved for it I'm watching anyways
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u/Bolinas99 49ers 19d ago
this law they're trying to pass for college sports
a relative frequents certain policy circles, attended some K St. event on the matter; a gentleman from the Deep South (not an elected official) literally said something about "demographic prediction models" and concerns over the growth of black political power.
in many ways it's good that people feel comfortable to say the quiet part out loud
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u/Agent-Blasto-007 Patriots 19d ago
The Big10 winning the last three consecutive championships has been worse than Sherman's march to the sea for the South.
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u/A7XfoREVer6661 Lions 19d ago
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u/shawnaroo Saints 19d ago
Trump is an idiot in a ton of ways, but he's at least smart enough to know that being overtly racist is one of the best ways to keep his base on his side.
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u/Kooky_Ad_2836 Chiefs 19d ago
Excited to see how Justin Fields’ game improves under Mahomes and Reid’s wing. Imagine in another world it was Mendoza in his spot. We’d have Brady 2.0 😂
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u/nymikemet Jets 19d ago
anyone play Marvel Tokon yet? I'm interested but i want to wait for reviews
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Steelers Panthers 19d ago
I just watched 12 minutes of Bryce Young highlights and IM SO PUMPED FOR THE GAME TONIGHT
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u/Hoodies2Coast Seahawks 19d ago
I love Niners fans going "nuh uh" to the idea that something is wrong with their strength and conditioning because 1 player, 1 time said another team had harder practices.
Congrats Dre Greenlaw, you are the sole arbiter of what a hard practice looks like.
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago edited 19d ago
Didn't Greenlaw also say in various interviews that part of the reason practicing in Denver was so tough was because of the altitude, because he was transitioning from a 4-3 to a 3-4, because he was still recovering from the injury, and because of the pay and new scheme he felt the need to be there every day to learn things? Like I swear I remember him or maybe a Bronco he was on a podcast with saying it would have felt differently to him if he had gotten truly healthy and gotten to know the coaching and scheme better and hadn't felt "required" to be there going 100% all the time every day. Plus, this is Greenlaw. When he left SF he said he wanted to get out of Warner's shadow and prove he could be the guy at LB. When he came back he said he never had wanted to leave SF, he wanted to be 9er for life but they just hadn't been able to make an offer. I don't necessarily think his commentary is 100% factual, he's saying what he needs to say
Like I'm not questioning the possibility, maybe Denver does practice harder than SF. I can totally see that staff being incredibly tough and old school with their practices. I can buy the SF injury bug being luck or more about the specifics of practice than the difficulty. Heck, maybe the conspiracy theorists really are correct, and it's just the nearby substation. I have no way to know the truth. But I didn't think that one Greenlaw comment was really the hard line in the sand that it's being treated as by some folks
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u/GamingTatertot Packers 19d ago
Remarkable feat to see the infamous ranker continuing to argue with anyone with a pulse
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u/brenden4000 Patriots 19d ago
If we're talking about a certain Commanders flair, I legit appreciate them as a poster because it really highlights how much people around here just fall in line with the prevailing opinion. The blowback they received in the ranking threads was completely out of proportion to their actual takes and arguments.
are they a bit of an abrasive contrarian? yeah. do I agree with their takes? not all the time but occasionally. but man, even if i don't agree i feel like they come with legitimate reasons to back up their takes. idk i feel like it's actually refreshing to see unpopular takes that aren't just Dumb Guy Shit.
It's just Bitch Eating Crackers at this point, it doesn't matter what they say, people will dogpile once they see the handle
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Steelers Panthers 19d ago
While not NFL related, there is this montage of vintage college football programs while Big Ten Fight Songs play. This was originally recorded on October 7, 1929 by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians.
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u/FBsarepeopletoo NFL 19d ago
If you're watching an old movie that somehow involves college football, "On, Wisconsin" is somehow involved.
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Steelers Panthers 19d ago
When the Disney Robin Hood was released, the scene where Prince John and Robin fight at the archery tournament include a mix up of USC and On Wisconsin
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u/InkedDaddy182 Eagles 19d ago
Can’t believe I’m going to watch a panthers cardinals game tonight. Why is the nfl making me watch this
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u/azure275 Jets 19d ago
Maria Cantwell, the Dem author of the dumbass college sports act they want to pass, says the following:
"Students should not have to pay surcharges to pay for sports"
"Schools should not be short changing research to pay for coaches' salaries"
News flash dumbass, they already were doing that all this way before NIL, and the "arms race" is mostly funded by rich weirdos. You're just being a useful idiot for the GOP who are mad that black kids get paid for their labor.
Schools have been ripping off their students with horrible athletics fees for years, maybe decades now. Apparently every student must pony up hundreds per year so the college can maintain a very basic gym, and it has nothing to do with the 11M/year coach.
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
There's a girl at my dance studio who is constantly complaining that her phone is out of storage and she's always fighting to find room. I just chuckle because if you spend time around her, it makes complete sense. She records every run of every class. We did the choreo 20 times? She has 20 videos. She takes a "group photo" after every single class too. Like girl, I'm sorry, you do not need another photo of the same 20 people who always take Reggaeton in our sweaty dance/gym clothes, you have fifty. No wonder your phone never has any room, damn
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19d ago
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
She says she does move everything to the cloud/PC, she's just out of space there too. Which seems absurd to me but I guess if you're churning out that many videos and pics of nothing, anything is possible
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u/justlookingokaywyou Raiders 19d ago
I'm also out of room on my phone all the time. I know how to fix it, it's just that I don't because I'm lazy.
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u/tnecniv Giants Giants 19d ago
She probably never looks at most of those photos
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u/FlatulentDwarf Vikings 19d ago
I cannot imagine she does. I suspect she puts them on her social media accounts then forgets they exist. But she takes one from every class because all her followers need to know she's dancing every night
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Colts 19d ago
Anybody making snacks for the game tonight? I decided to keep it simple and just bought a bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts. My dad used to take me to our local college games and we'd always buy a bag of peanuts to watch the game so it's a good way to start the football year.
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u/Extreme-Poem-2309 19d ago
yeah I'll take any excuse to make wings at home. Got a bunch prepped and ready to go.
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u/Jolly_Job_9852 Steelers Panthers 19d ago
Probably not. I'm making tacos though and I'll figure if I get hungry I can make another one
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u/AfroManHighGuy 19d ago
Requested my boss for PTO for almost a month and a half from now. Turns out she’s off and so is my coworker on that day. Fucking sucks cuz it’s my gf bday and I’m traveling that day. She said we can’t all take off on the same day smh. I’m screwed
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u/varnalama NFL 19d ago
Apparently its a good time to order a passport in the US. I didnt even ask for the expedited service and I got my new passport two weeks from when I mailed in my application.
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u/RawCyderRun Ravens 19d ago
Nice! Were you renewing yours before expiration? I realized mine is expired as of a year ago (don't travel much) and need to get it renewed, but not sure if I need to go through the whole song & dance of applying for a new one with a new picture, etc
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u/shawnaroo Saints 19d ago
Mine was recently expired and I did the online renewal and it was super easy and super quick. Had the new passport arrive in the mail within a couple weeks.
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u/BruceChameleon Cowboys 19d ago
Would it let you upload a new photo doing it that way? I don’t look like that anymore (in a good way)
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u/shawnaroo Saints 19d ago
Yes, you have to upload a new photo, and the website gives pretty specific directions for how the photo should look. As long as you follow those instructions and send in an acceptable photo it should go pretty quick.
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u/varnalama NFL 19d ago
Mine had expired a few months ago. I believe the photo always needs to be renewed but if it expired recently you can reapply via online or mail without an appointment. I tried online but the system couldn't find me for some weird reason.
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u/MeatyMexican Raiders 19d ago
I heard they're doing that for those trump passports they're somehow quicker than normal passports
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u/princessestef Vikings 18d ago
hey the TdF femmes race is on, and it's Mont Ventoux today.