Why Social Media is enriching our lives, while it eats away at the fabric of our society.

HikeNatParks said:

Hope I tapped the right thread. Seems to be a concern about that elsewhere.
Unpopular take, and a bit odd so soon after questioning Hawks relevance in runnerup race, but just watched Brands media spot for this season and liked it. Might be as simple as seeing an embattled, old-school, set-in-ways coach trying to navigate the sport’s new, choppy waters. Definitely not as smooth as media darling DT, or the stoic and reassuring Cael, but I don’t care. Brands’ unpolished, rambling, always earnest delivery has grown on unpolished, rambling me.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want to shut Iowa out in a dual and win every Lion/Hawk bout in March. Just means I won’t mind certain non-Lion-related successes by Brand’s kids.

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jtothemfp said:

I like this take. Brands is a lot of things; for me, probably in something like this order:

1. Hilarious. He's just so unique in the way he gets from thoughts to words that he's endlessly fascinating for me to watch, listen and read.

2. Impressive. Almost every time I contemplate Tom Brands, I think how amazing it is that he quit alcohol years ago. Like, everything else about his personality screams that he would be a nasty, destructive drunk. But he remains a productive member of society and a genuine leader to many.

3. Compelling. Watching him learn and grow these past 15-20 years has been a sincere joy. There are tons of D1 head coaches who begin talking and it's just so easy to treat them like a boring Attention Economy vids on my socials and immediately swipe away. But not Tom Brands! I'm infinitely interested in what he's going to say next. Like, sometimes I just *can't turn away. His 'unpolished, rambling, always-earnest delivery' is absolutely captivating.

I also have been enjoying your writing lately, Parks. Thanks for sharing your prose.

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vhsalum said:

Whoa. Tom Brands has never had a drink in his life. His father was an alcoholic and they both (he and Terry) decided to never partake.

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jtothemfp said:

Whoa, for reals? I had it in my head that Gable talked them out of drinking days from High School, before college, but of course now can't recall why or where I got that.

Dang, sorry about that, then! I'll leave it unedited to keep the thread context. Thanks for the correction, vhs.

I think my takeaway about him NOT drinking remains: I'm always amazed that he doesn't, but that probably says more about me than about him. I hope this doesn't impugn him, b/c it's not my wish.

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jtothemfp said:

I like this take. Brands is a lot of things; for me, probably in something like this order:

1. Hilarious. He's just so unique in the way he gets from thoughts to words that he's endlessly fascinating for me to watch, listen and read.

2. Impressive. Almost every time I contemplate Tom Brands, I think how amazing it is that he quit alcohol years ago. Like, everything else about his personality screams that he would be a nasty, destructive drunk. But he remains a productive member of society and a genuine leader to many.

3. Compelling. Watching him learn and grow these past 15-20 years has been a sincere joy. There are tons of D1 head coaches who begin talking and it's just so easy to treat them like a boring Attention Economy vids on my socials and immediately swipe away. But not Tom Brands! I'm infinitely interested in what he's going to say next. Like, sometimes I just *can't turn away. His 'unpolished, rambling, always-earnest delivery' is absolutely captivating.

I also have been enjoying your writing lately, Parks. Thanks for sharing your prose.

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Corby2 said:

And people might be shocked at this but Cael and Tom get along well.

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vhsalum said:

Combined forces to stop the National Duals from being the only National Championship.

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vhsalum said:

All good.

But you're right. The Brands are a lot of things - but conviction stands at the top of those superlatives.

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lionlover said:

I know this sport is unrelated, but...her outfit made me think of next year's white out game.

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SkiSkiSki said:

Looks like Kasak has been hitting the weights........HARD!!!!!!!!!

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PSU Mike said:

He scared Shapiro up to 165.

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