Buckeyes Roundball Roundup: OSU outlasts NC Central, clips Friars
November 21, 2016Jose Ramirez, Flexibility and the Market
November 22, 2016Happy Tuesday, WFNY!
And by ‘Happy Tuesday’, I really mean ‘Happy Friday’ because today is my Friday. Tomorrow I head out to visit with family for my favorite holiday of the year. Nothing beats Thanksgiving meals for me. I will not have a better meal in 2016. Good food, family, football, giving thanks. What’s not to love?
So in that spirit, I’d like to spend today’s WWW giving thanks. 2016 has been a weird year. Some say it’s been particularly awful. Vice predicted in January that 2016 was going to be a bad year for us. Some say 2016 is one of the worst years in history. And no doubt….a lot of bad things happened in 2016.
But if I’m being honest, I have an awful lot to be thankful for in 2016. I don’t want to sound flippant about some of things that happened in 2016. All the shootings, deaths, disasters, etc have unquestionably shaken our society to varying degrees. It would be callous to say “Yeah, all those bad things happened, but the Cavaliers did win the NBA Championship so all is well.” But as a Cleveland sports fan, I also cannot separate what happened in Cleveland sports in 2016. We are not binary beings living a binary existence. Shades of gray exist for a reason, and so often all the truly best things are found in the gray.
Most of the bad things that happened live in the ether, in the big-picture, thousand yard stare point of view. In the meta of my own personal life, 2016 was a pretty great year. I had a phenomenal year in my professional life, I had so many great memories in my personal life, I saw the Cavaliers win an NBA Championship by coming back from a 3-1 deficit to the 73-win Golden State Warriors, and the Indians came one win shy of winning the World Series. So how do we balance these things, the good with the bad?
We do it by giving thanks.
We don’t neglect the bad, but we don’t need to dwell on it, either. I very much believe in the power of positivity. Without ignoring or neglecting the issues permeating our society today, I believe we can instead make the best of it and live our lives by focusing on issues at the local level. Giving to charities, getting involved in our neighborhoods and communities, helping those less fortunate, and always remembering to be thankful for the blessings in our lives.
So what am I thankful for in 2016?
I’m thankful for the new writers we gained in 2016: Dan Harrington, Mike Hattery, Jim Pete, Jeff Nomina, and Pat Leonard. Whenever I am asked what I am most proud of when it comes to WFNY, my answer is easy. It’s that we’ve been able to consistently survive turnover of past writers by bringing in new voices who fit our culture and style at WFNY. The new guys at WFNY have been awesome and they have breathed new life into the site.
I’m thankful for the “old” writers at WFNY. I am never not amazed at how many people we have willing to sacrifice time out of their day to day lives and jobs to provide incredibly well written entertainment and information for all of us in the WFNY community.
I’m thankful for the WFNY readers, commentariat, and supporters. Thank you to everyone who has ever read an article on this site, told a friend about the site, shared an article via email or social media, and/or left a comment on this site. Where would we be without you?
I’m thankful for those who have supported the WFNY Patreon. Alexander Goodlive, Eric Guelcher, Jim Ford, Alex Vespoli, Eric Prosise, Ryan M Murphy, Ky Wesselhoeft, Paul Marsh, Dylon I Wilder, Dan Carroll, Ryan Lim, Ken N, Zach Rose, Matthew Anson, Chris Petersen, Rob Holub, Andrew Moleski, Spencer Byers, Stephen M Martin, Hilliam Wayden, Noah W Baker, Eric Brooks, Brad Purdom, Marilyn Troyer, Josh Neidus, Josh Raitano, Jeremy C. Radwan, Brad Eberhart, Jim England, Dawn Griffin Studios, Tom Surovy, Michael Terry, Allen Parvo, Chis Meyer, and Jeff Kasler. And anyone else who may have pledged since I pulled this list. You guys are the real MVPs. Thank you beyond words for the support you have given to help this site become the best version of ourselves. You guys rock!
I’m thankful for my partners Craig Lyndall and Scott Sargent. I’m under no illusion here. If this were my site alone, WFNY would have become ancient history a long time ago. I love having partners in this site who can all share in a vision for WFNY and while we may not always agree on every decision, we certainly always see the other points of view.
I’m thankful for all my friends and family. This goes without saying, of course. Then again, maybe not. I’m fortunate to have a family that is supportive, kind, and generous, and a family that I am always excited and eager to spend time with.
I’m thankful for the year in music, 2016. I went through some massive dry spells this year. It wasn’t a particularly great year for rock music. But when my year end list comes around and I can talk about incredible albums from the likes of Nothing, Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q, Big Ups, Weezer, Radiohead, Astronoid, Deftones, etc, I realize how many lasting albums were released.
I’m thankful for the Cleveland Indians. What a run they gave to us! We’re all terribly disappointed it didn’t end differently, but I will never, ever forget the playoff ride they took us on. So many incredible performances, moments, and wins. It was among the most fun experiences of my life as a sports fan.
And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, James Jones, Matthew Dellavedova, Dahntay Jones, Mo Williams, Timofey Mozgov, Sasha Kaun, Jordan McRae, Ty Lue, David Griffin, and Dan Gilbert. Easily the most memorable moment of 2016 was then the Cavaliers erased 52 years of sports misery and turned Cleveland into Championship city once more.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend, my friends. I wish you all happiness, safe travels, and a healthy return.
3 Comments
This article gave me the warm fuzzies Andrew, thanks. It really has been an unparalleled year for Cleveland sports, and it still feels like there are so many great things coming as we move forward. We just have to bear one more month of Browns football and then we can move on to the Cavs, the Indians, the NFL draft, World Cup qualifying in the post-Klinsmann era, and so many other great things just waiting to come to fruition.
good job , ANDREW … excellent ! yes , there is much to be thankful for & we should remember that sports , while an important part of our lives , is nothing more than a game.
i am truly thankful to be a part of this unique , multi-layered group.
Google is paying 97$ per hour! Work for few hours and have longer with friends & family! !mj109d:
On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $8752 this last four weeks.. Its the most-financialy rewarding I’ve had.. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it
!mj109d:
➽➽
➽➽;➽➽ http://GoogleFinancialJobsCash109HomeFindGetPay$97Hour… ★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★::::::!mj109d:…….