What We’re Thankful For

One of my favorite Waiting For Next Year traditions is the annual Thanksgiving post. Each year, we ask all of the writers to share what they are thankful for in the past year. It could be sports related (it usually is because we’re all sports bloggers). It might not be sports related, as we pour our hearts out to you, our loyal readers.

Reading through the Thanksgiving archives is always a fun treat. Here are links to all of our past editions: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008. Wishing a happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your loved ones today. Stay safe and enjoy the turkey.

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Will Gibson: Family, friends, teachers, coaches, classmates, peers—I’m thankful for everyone who has helped me get to where I am, wherever that is.

I’m thankful for the WFNY clan embracing me into this merry fold. There are few things I like more in this world than writing about the delightfully silliness that is sport. Having the opportunity to do so—and for an audience beyond those who share my last name and/or DNA—reminds me that I’m living quite a charmed life, and that I’m an idiot if I ever complain about anything.

I’m thankful for our friendly rivals at sites like Fear the Sword and Dawgs by Nature who force us to step up our collective game. I hope we do the same for them.

I’m thankful for everyone at Cleveland State University who has welcomed me as I’ve covered Viking basketball. From the parking attendants who brave the cold, to the players and coaches who put on the show, to the ushers and staff who make everything at the Wolstein Center run so smoothly, I am thankful for the genial brand of professionalism that pervades CSU athletics.

I’m thankful for all of the writers, comics, musicians, and creators who make me laugh and think and feel, and who inspire me to try to sniff their level.

Finally, I’m thankful for each and every person who reads anything that I have to say. (I wrote more on this subject at my personal-if-scarcely-updated blog.) No one forces you to read me at gunpoint—I hope—and it means a whole lot to me that you do anyway. I hope you come away from something I’ve written thinking it was worth your time. If not, I’m thankful for the opportunity to get better.

May this Turkey Day be your finest yet. All my best to all of you.

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Craig Lyndall: I usually go short on this, but I didn’t feel like it this year. Like every year, I’ve got so very much to be thankful for, so I decided to actually write it out for once.

I’m especially thankful for my health and for having recovered 100% from neck surgery. At age 35, I still feel every bit as young as I did in my 20’s and maybe even a bit younger. I’m back to running and lifting and playing with my kids to the exact same level I was before the surgery and that’s thanks to the wonderful surgeon and my wife for taking care of everything while I recuperated and got my strength back up. Anytime you can look back on a major surgery and think of it as merely an annoying time in your life, you should feel lucky, and I do.

My wife and kids are second here, but not really because they are the reason my health means anything to me anyway. For me to have such a supportive wonderful wife and two healthy, energetic, inquisitive boys is so much more than I ever could have hoped to have in life.

I’m thankful for all the friends I’ve made here on this site – writers and contributors, readers, commenters and podcast listeners. I thank you for caring what we have to say about Cleveland sports and continuing to make this hobby fun and worthwhile.

For this year in sports I want to thank all those who helped make WFNY a soccer community during the World Cup. I loved the fact that we were able to talk about soccer during one of the world’s biggest events and not have it feel like something we needed to apologize for in terms of content. You readers and commenters made it so much fun to follow this year’s tourney. Thank you.

I’ve been a jerk about the Indians, but I’m thankful for Michael Brantley, Tito Francona and Corey Kluber most of all. I’m thankful that even as we were disappointed by the end result, there’s a reason to look forward to this upcoming year. It doesn’t stop at those three, but it certainly starts with them.

To the Browns, I’m thankful for Joe Banner being on Twitter and not in Berea. I’m thankful for Joe Haden being a great citizen of the city as well as a great player. I’m thankful for Alex Mack going through a difficult negotiation and immediately putting it in the rearview mirror as he didn’t let it impact who he is as a player. I’m thankful for Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel for improving the Cleveland Browns quarterback conversation immeasurably from a year ago. Finally, I’m thankful for the record this team has put together so far. I hope this isn’t the high point for the year.

Lastly, I’m thankful to LeBron James, not for returning to Cleveland as much as for wanting to return to Cleveland. I have a much healthier perspective this second time around with LeBron. I think it will lead to a healthier relationship between him and fans like me who’ve learned so much about putting athletes in proper perspective. Even as that might seem like a back-handed “thanks,” I really don’t mean it that way. I’m truly thankful that LeBron chose Cleveland. I know it was convenient and helpful for him too, but it would have been easy to let bad feelings and grudges persist. In the end, LeBron will win a lot of basketball games for the Cavaliers and give us plenty of things to cheer about, but that’s not what I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful for him choosing this region and letting the world know that he feels it’s worth choosing. Cleveland will never be “better” than any other place, necessarily, and it doesn’t have to be. That’s the point. Home is bigger than some nebulous contest. I’m thankful to LeBron for letting the world know that he thinks our area is worthy of being called “home.”

Oh and shoutout to the Grog Shop for making it the best year of music yet.

Enjoy your Thanksgivings.

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Joe Gilbert: I am most thankful for my family.  My parents and sister have been so supportive of me in my life and have always been there for me through thick and thin.  My family has helped me through my disability and has showed me that I still can be successful in my life despite Spina Bifida.  I am thankful for being part of the WFNY family and getting a chance to voice my views, knowledge, and love of Cleveland sports.  It is great to be a part of a group of people with the same passion of sports and the city of Cleveland as I do.

In sports, I am most thankful for LeBron James and finally a winning professional football team. LeBron’s return has a huge impact on the championship hopes of Cleveland fans, but it also has a big impact on the economy of the local businesses in downtown Cleveland.  It is great to see the city and fan base’s hopes rise because of LBJ coming back home.

The 2014 Browns have me very thankful to finally see a winning football team.  Football is number one in Cleveland and it is great that the diehard fans can be proud of their Browns.  I am thankful for the new regime of general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine.  These two look like they are in tune and working together rather then for one another.  We could be in for a great ride over the next bunch of years and that is something I am thankful for.

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Kyle Welch: It’s hard to write about being thankful for the trivial without indirectly suggesting that you’re not thankful for the truly meaningful; like buying a new car and being overjoyed by the new cup holders. So, consider everything that I’m grateful and not grateful for secondary to the infinite gratitude I feel for being a healthy, accomplished, well-nourished young man with a loving and roof over my head.

In the sports realm, the overarching theme is that I’m grateful for competence. Glorious, consistent, dependable, adequate competence. Competence: unspectacular yet—in the recent history of Cleveland, anyway—cruelly unattainable. Most of this is in the coaching realm. Mike Pettine, despite the occasional screwup, is undeniably a major upgrade over Pat Shurmur, the ex-Browns coach and Facility Scientist from Goldeneye. The Cavs’ early season struggles aside, David Blatt is better than Mike Brown and Byron Scott times infinity; I’m confident he’ll figure it out even if he doesn’t grow into Popovich Jr. Terry Francona is the immovable force steadying the Indians’ ship. Urban Meyer, as the cold-blooded assassin and relentlessly professional face of Ohio State football, ensures the Buckeyes will be a top-five program for the next decade. Brian Hoyer, despite his recent efforts, has (sadly) been the most reliable thing the Browns have had at the quarterback position in sixteen years.

All of our teams have their flaws, and none are verging on perfection. But also, for the first time in ages, none of them will douse themselves in gasoline and light themselves on fire at every opportunity. These people aren’t total imbeciles. I’m setting the bar pretty low here, I know.

Only a few more things. I’m thankful I get to watch the best basketball player in the world again without rooting against his team. I’m thankful my parents didn’t raise me as a Scientologist. I’m not thankful that Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is so damn hard to find on television around Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for GLBC Christmas Ale and other tasty holiday brews. Lastly, I’m thankful for everyone at WFNY for welcoming me on the bus and letting me take the wheel on this weird trip without so much as a map. They’ve allowed me to do crazy things like rank Simpsons episodes and compare Roger Goodell’s NFL to the Nixon administration. And I’m thankful for you, readers, for taking the time to read a single frivolous word I’ve written and entertaining a single manic thought I’ve shared. Thank you and have a gravy-filled Thanksgiving.

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Jacob Rosen: How old were you when you spent your first Thanksgiving away from your parents and family? Have you ever done that before? I’d be intrigued to hear the average responses from folks.

For me, this is my first Thanksgiving without my parents. Whether back home in Akron or some other location, I spent every Thanksgiving with them from 1990-2013. This year, 2014, is my first without them or any family at all. I’ll be celebrating here in my new residence of Eugene, Oregon, with a handful of amazing college friends driving up from the Bay Area.

Which leads me to being thankful for my incredibly caring family and friends, and all of the people who have supported me in my 24 lucky years. It’s pretty wild to say that I’m now in graduate school with a concentration in sports business, inching ever closer to my childhood dream of somehow working in the sports industry. Many thanks go out to some of my long-time mentors, bosses, coaches and all others who pushed me to be learn and grow each day.

On the professional development in sports side of things, I’d love to give some shoutouts to folks who have been particularly helpful for me in 2014. Jonathan Gordon, the college student founder of Sports Analytics Blog, put up with my constant emails and let me write for his site. Ian Levy, the star basketball analytics writer, recruited me to write for his new Nylon Calculus blog for some unknown reason. I’ve helped out Terry Pluto and Andy Glockner with some of their book projects. The director of my Oregon MBA program, Paul Swangard, believed in me enough to accept me out here. And very importantly, Akron RubberDucks owner Ken Babby is much more like a close friend than any kind of “boss” to me.

It’s been a pretty gosh darn fun year to be a proud Akron native and Cleveland sports fan. In the next few weeks, we’ll hit the 50-year anniversary of the 1964 championship. On behalf of the folks waiting much longer than me, here’s to hoping we can be thankful for a new one of those sometime soon.

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Kirk Lammers: This is the fourth one of these for me, and looking back, each one has been unique so far depending on what I was going through at the time.

Let’s start with life outside of this space. I’m thankful that I’m finally living in Northeast Ohio as I’ve always dreamed I would. Seven moves, eight years in Columbus, and three jobs later, I’m here. My sister got married last month, and I’m grateful that my brother-in-law is such a great guy. I thank my mom and dad for all their support and never letting me settle for being average at anything I do. I continue with this endeavor of ours in honor of my Grandma Joyce who I miss everyday.

I’m thankful that a lot of you guys and gals like reading my opinions and analysis on both here and Twitter as well as in person. I am appreciative of those I have had the privilege to meet and now call friends, including Jay, Jack, Alex, and Steve just to name a few. I’m thankful for the opportunity to write for two non-traditional publications this year with the Cavs Zine and the Season of Huh e-book. As always, I’m in awe of our stable of writers and alumni. We have a lot of new blood that is eager to earn your eyeballs and approval.

Sports wise, you have to start with LeBron and coming home. This Cavs team, despite its early struggles, is so much easier than the last four years. I’m blessed to be in this city at this time with all three teams on the upward trajectory. I’m thankful that we’re looking forward to a third straight year of plus-.500 baseball for the Tribe and meaningful December games for the Browns. Scarlet and gray runs through my veins, so as always, I thank Urban Meyer and Thad Matta for making that so easy.

And finally, I’m thankful for the opportunity to go to sleep at night thinking that this time next year, we might just be thankful for something else.

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Scott: Age, as a function of time, often lends us to look back at the past during less fortunate circumstances. Those were the days… The good-old days… Remember that time when… But the best reflections, the ones where you look back and wonder, are born in circumstances or situations that are more fortunate. Romanticizing the past can be fun over beers and laughs, but it’s tracing back the butterflies that all, through physics or metaphysics, led you to where you are today.

I bring this up because this past year has provided me with one of the more challenging yet successful years as a professional. After 10 years at one institution, and several months of attempting to convince myself of making a change despite my complacency, I made one of the best decisions of professional life in choosing a different path, with different teammates, and a lot more in the way of responsibility. But that decision, and preceding internal debates, would not have been possible if not for crossing the paths, however briefly, of others who would later think of me (or ‘call my number’, to borrow a sport-addled phrase) when an opportunity bubbled up. While it has just been on year with my new team, I’m forever thankful for whatever happenstance led to initial engagement, but also for those who made any and all decisions along my path that led me to where I am today. There’s plenty of time left in this journey, and while I’ve had to make plenty of sacrifices along the way (time spent writing, for instance), I’m incredibly grateful for all of those who believed in what I could bring to the table.

I’m infinitely thankful for those who continue to see value in web-based, sharable content. For the spin-offs of unique, reported, brand-based sites like Grantland and Vox and FiveThirtyEight. For the continued proliferation of longform storytelling by some of the best outlets and writers in the world. Being there isn’t always convenient, but it undeniably makes for better work. There is incredible amounts of value in unique, reported content and for those visionaries who are willing to put their money behind such ideas in a time when thoughtless garbage tends to gain more attention—they’re saints of the industry.

It’s old hat by this point (a few clicks of those links above would reiterate this), but I continue to be forever thankful for the very gentlemen who take time out of their otherwise busy lives to ensure that readers of WFNY have some of the most engaging and thoughtful pieces of content this side of Lake Erie. For Andrew and Rick in genesis. For TD and Kirk and Jacob and Jon and Ryan for sticking with this crew despite all of the curve balls that life has thrown. For Craig in his willingness to step up and become part owner of an independent venture all while producing content for the eyes and ears. For Will and Kyle and Colin and Joe for not only reaching out in hopes of joining this good ship, but for stepping in out of the gate and killing it from a literary and content-production standpoint. For Greg and Mitch and Jeff and all of the others (especially Devon McRainey—get home safe, brother) who have submitted work that have not only added value, but been pieces that readers could simply not find anywhere else in this expansive landscape that we call the Internet. We’ve seen a lot of change over the years, but the one thing that remains constant is that I am consistently impressed by how a band of brothers who have largely never engaged outside of a daily email chain can group together and produce work with the consistency and creativity that those under the WFNY masthead have, in addition to the willingness and desire for our readers to keep coming back, daily, to take it all in, keep us in check, challenge our thoughts, yet celebrate and support us in good times and bad. And to the teams and individuals within them (especially Tad, Jeff and BJ over at The Q; Rob in Berea) who continue to see value in what we do on a daily basis for the last six-plus years, providing us access and allowing us to work alongside the best in the business—them saying “yes” continues to provide the fuel for this very fire. WFNY is much, much more than a cavalcade of bylines and drop caps, and I’m thankful for every one of you who have made it possible.

And last, but (as always) certainly not least, all of those who have supported this venture from Day 1 and those who I have encountered along the way. To my incredibly close circle of friends and family, my loving parents and siblings, my wife and two delightful and ever-impressive little girls—I’ve learned more from you all than any professor, writer or advisor can ever teach.

Happy Thanksgiving, you guys. Here’s to being thankful for a parade come this time Next Year.