+
“A balm for the soul”
  review on Goodreads
GOOD PEOPLE Book
upworthy

nfl

Family

Man has a 'word of advice' for all the dads mad about Taylor Swift being at NFL games

Swift's name has become synonymous with the Kansas city Chiefs. Some dads can't get on board with it.

@curmudge_john2.0/TikTok

One dad is encouraging oterh dads to "embrace" the Taylor Swift NFL phenomenon,

Since Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chief player Travis Kelce began dating, the pop star has become a football staple.

You’d be hard pressed to go online and not see some kind of chatter about her game appearances—from the jewelry she’s wearing to the faces she makes to what she might be saying to friends during the match…it’s all the topic of conversation.

But not everyone seems to be pleased with Taylor’s version of the game. Specifically, “annoyed” men who seem to feel her very presence has ruined football as a “sanctuary from femininity.” Or the “dads, Brads and Chads” of the world, as Swift likes to call them.

Well, one man has a “word of advice” for all the dads out there threatened by the NFL’s Swift Era, especially girl dads: embrace it.

“A word of advice for all the dads out there, especially all the girl dads, the dads of teenage girls,” John R. says in a now-viral video. “This whole thing with Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. You need to embrace it. You really do. Stop fighting it. Stop being a jerk about it. Stop saying that she's a distraction. All of that. Embrace it.”

For John, the reason behind this thinking is simple. “It's gonna be good for your relationship with your daughter.”

That was certainly the case for him. John shared how his own teenage daughters suddenly took an interest in the game after Swift got involved, which created more opportunities for bonding.

“This past Monday, I went to a playoff game in single-degree weather, sitting on a pile of snow with our feet in ice. Our toes were red when we left, but I had the time of my life with my teenage daughter at a football game,” he said. And he even had the happy photos to prove it.

“Do you think that happens without Taylor Swift? You need to embrace it. Do it.”

@curmudge_john2.0 #greenscreen ♬ original sound - John R (Taylor's Version)

“My wife and daughter have watched more Chief games with me this year than all other years combined. Been married 16 years and my kid is 11,” one wrote

Another echoed, “My 20/17 yr old daughters now actively watch the games with me and ask questions. I’ll walk into traffic for Tayvis!!!”

A few even commented on how this was a chance for dads to show their daughters a world in which their own interests are respected.

“I’m so happy it’s made something that dads and their girls can enjoy together. Dads show their daughters how they should be treated. It’s important,” one person said.

Granted, not every man getting mad about the Swift/NFL phenomenon is a dad, and therefore might be unaffected by John and many others opinions. But on a certain level we can probably all agree that when people who are important to us suddenly take a genuine interest in our own passions…it’s a wonderful feeling.

As John so eloquently put it in a follow-up video, “I now have this thing that I love that I can share with the person I love more than anybody else on this planet. And it's amazing. It's one of the coolest things in the world.”

Yep, it doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Joy

NFL fans say the trainer who gave Damar Hamlin life-saving CPR should be in the Hall of Fame

Who’s more deserving of the NFL’s highest honor than Denny Kellington?

Washington Football Team at. Buffalo Bills from Highmark Stadium, Buffalo, NY September 26th, 2021

The most touching moment during Week 18 of the NFL season was after veteran Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown made a thrilling 42-yard diving catch for a touchdown. When he returned to the sidelines, he quietly gave the game ball to Bills assistant trainer Denny Kellington.

It was a gesture of thanks for Kellington’s quick thinking during the January 2 Monday night contest versus the Bengals when his actions helped save Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s life. Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest and needed immediate resuscitation and defibrillation. Kellington administered CPR on Hamlin before the defibrillator restored his pulse.

Kellington took immediate action administering CPR and it's a major reason why Hamlin is still alive today. Dr. William Knight IV, who treated Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, praised Kellington and the Bills training staff for their heroic actions.


“We cannot credit their team enough,” Knight said, noting that Hamlin needed “immediate bystander CPR, which ... rarely ever happens."

"There are injuries occasionally that happen on sports fields, be it in football or others, but it is incredibly rare to have something be this serious (and) that quickly recognized," Knight said. "Meeting the standard of what we would expect in that scenario is what has allowed us to be able to discuss these good outcomes today."

Bills head coach Sean McDermott also praised Kellington at a press conference.

“For an assistant to find himself at that position and needing to take the action that he did and step up and take charge like he did … is nothing short of amazing,” McDermott said. “The courage that took … talk about a real leader, a real hero, in saving Damar’s life, and I just admire his strength.”


One week after his horrifying collapse, Hamlin was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday, January 9 to continue his recovery at a hospital in Buffalo, New York.

Some football fans on Twitter believe that Kellington should be given the NFL’s highest honor, an induction into the Hall of Fame for his heroics. The idea makes a lot of sense. It’s one thing to achieve greatness on the field or in the front office, but saving someone’s life puts Kellington on a whole new level of achievement.

Currently, there are 362 members of the NFL Hall of Fame which includes former players, coaches and front-office people, but a medical staffer has never been inducted. If the NFL acted fast, there’s still time for Kellington to be inducted in 2023.

Players usually have to wait a minimum of five years after retirement to be inducted into the Hall of Fame but there is no waiting period for those who have contributed to the league off the field.

The NFL should announce the latest list of people who will be enshrined in the coming days, leading up to an induction ceremony at Super Bowl 57. To honor Kellington shortly after his amazing act would be a wonderful display of respect by the NFL at a time when player health is top of mind for players and fans.

Kellington took immediate action to help save a player’s life. The least the NFL can do to repay him is to give him the honor he’s due without hesitation.

Joy

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake after his cardiac arrest that shocked the world

'Our boy is doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement. Thank you God.'

Images via Buffalo Bills and Wikicommons

Damar Hamlin is reportedly making good progress after his traumatic on-field injury.

In a recent game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field after making a tackle. The game was only about 10 minutes into the first quarter when Hamlin collapsed and a flurry of medical personnel rushed to revive him.

His medical emergency immediately raised questions and put renewed focus on the safety of football as a sport and the degree to which professional sports places profits over the health and safety of the players who make the game what it is.

Hamlin was immediately transported to nearby University of Cincinnati Medical Center and the game was postponed indefinitely while the NFL focuses on Hamlin's recovery and what caused the incident. He was placed into a medically induced coma but has since woken up. According to Yahoo Sports, Hamlin is alert, responsive and asking questions, though he's still on a ventilator.

One of the first things he inquired about was who won the game, and while he can't speak, he has been communicating through writing. Doctors are hopeful as “it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact,” according to Dr. Timothy Pritts, division chief of general surgery and vice chair for clinical operations at UC Health, speaking at a UC Health Medical Center press conference.


Hamlin continues to be in critical condition in the ICU, but the news of him being alert has his NFL colleagues and their families cheering for his continued recovery. Patriots player Jonnu Smith tweeted, "Thank God for improvement just as much as we asked him for healing. If not more." Sarah Taylor, the wife of Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, has organized for schools across Cincinnati to send get-well cards to Hamlin.

Even President Biden tweeted words of support, writing, “Great news. Damar, like I told your mom and dad yesterday, Jill and I – along with all of America – are praying for you and your family.” The entire nation is rooting for Hamlin to make a full recovery. And to show their support, fans have been flooding his fundraisers with money.

Hamlin's The Chasing M's Foundation was formed in 2020 right before he was drafted into the NFL as a sixth round pick in 2021. It was started as his way to give back to his community, according to the foundation's GoFundMe, where Hamlin wrote, "As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me."

The GoFundMe was set up for the foundation's very first toy drive, but after Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest, fans have donated millions. Currently, the fundraiser sits at $7.5 million and it continues to climb. Hamlin's father Mario is the executive director of The Chasing M's Foundation and he is asking for people who would like to help to donate to first responders and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center's trauma center. He has also been encouraging people to buy lunch for their local first responders and trauma center staff.

The Chasing M's Foundation has a website where donations can be made to aid Hamlin in giving back to his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. While Hamlin continues to recover, his teammates headed to practice after hearing the good news. We certainly hope his progress continues and he recovers quickly.

If you would like to contribute to The Chasing M's Foundation's community toy drive GoFundMe, click here.

If you would would like to contribute to The Chasing M's Foundation directly, you can click here.

People keep joking about Tom Brady unretiring after being home for six weeks.

Tom Brady is, without question, the greatest quarterback to ever play American football. I've never rooted for the teams he's played for (Go Seahawks!) so it pains me to say it, but the guy truly is the G.O.A.T.

The man is 44 years old, has played in the NFL for 22 years and is the winningest player the game has ever known. So when he announced his retirement from professional football on February 1, it was truly momentous. The end of an era. A new beginning, not just for him but for football fans everywhere who either reveled in or grumbled about his consistent dominance in the sport.

The only thing Brady didn't do was go out on top—at least not in the immediate sense. The most fitting retirement for Tom Brady would be to win the Super Bowl one last time, then hang up his cleats. Instead, he staged one of his epic comebacks in the divisional round playoffs, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from a 27-3 deficit to a 27-27 tie before ultimately losing in the last second of the game to a Los Angeles Rams field goal.


That's a tough loss in general, but especially as the last game of your career. Perhaps that's what compelled Brady to change his mind and unretire just 40 days after announcing his retirement.

But according to the jokesters on social media, his comeback has more to do with the realities of full-time parenting than with tying up his loose competitive ends.

Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, have two school-aged kids and Brady also shares custody of his teen son from his earlier relationship with model and actress Bridget Moynahan. Brady has mentioned in interviews that it's difficult to balance his professional life and his home life, though he tries hard to be a present, involved parent.

The guy clearly loves his family, but the fact that he changed his mind about retiring barely a month after being home full-time was too much for the internet to resist.

As soon as Brady announced his unretirement, the jokes about parenting being harder than football started flying.

In fact, the Holderness Family made a spot-on parody video showing what that first day of retirement might have looked like at Tom and Gisele's house. While the world's best quarterback might be used to coordinating plays on the field, it's entirely possible he wasn't prepared for the level of multitasking and organization the homefront requires on a daily basis.

While it pokes lighthearted fun at Tom Brady, all parents will appreciate the all-too-real examples of the five-hour dance recital and the having to be two places at once depicted in this video. Parenting is a lot of work, emotionally and logistically.

How Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen's post-retirement conversation went, probably.

Surely, the ultimate competitor Tom Brady just wants another chance to win in the sport he's spent half of his life playing. But it is pretty funny to imagine the greatest quarterback of all time preferring to be pummeled by a 300 lb lineman over having to manage kids' schedules.