Get In Losers, We’re Getting Hobbies

…Starting last night, and for the next 46 games of the regular season, LeBron is donning a special patch to honor his 23rd season. After each game, the patch will be placed into super-rare trading cards. 

Lindsey Heaps is officially signing with the NWSL expansion team, Denver Summit FC. Heaps (formerly Horan) has played everywhere from France to Portland, but coming back to her home state will be loads of– nay, Heaps of fun. Almost as fun as surprising her parents with the news was.   

Would you believe me if I told you this clip of a reporter praising Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was tearing the internet apart? Well, you shouldn’t, because that’s crazy. But you should, because it’s true. Even LeBron feels some type of way. My thoughts? Let’s log off for a bit! 

One of my favorite writers, Maya Goldberg-Safir, of Rough Notes, is moving from Chicago to Oakland, and she’s decided to make it a sporty road trip, where she’ll attend games along the way. For some reason, she is starting with Louisiana, which doesn’t seem like it’s on the way, but I am pretty bad at geography. Anyway, go Maya! 

This clip of Will Ferrell sitting with Bebe Rexha at the LA Kings game is like snorting 50 ccs of serotonin straight to the dome. He’s out there wingmanning for her, they’re screaming indiscernible sports fan drivel, they’re sharing jalapeno cheddar pretzels. It’s glorious. I could watch it for hours.

There’s a lot going on right now. In the news, in our pocket-sized computers. I know I’m not the first one to say any of this; these are not ground-breaking observations, but I do think they tell a story with a possibly happier ending than the one we currently see on the horizon. 

I am encouraged by the fact that so many people are picking up hobbies. If you haven’t seen this, you might want to do some reflection about who is in your inner circle. If you have seen this, you probably have a newfound interest yourself. 

Sports are a hobby within themselves, but the subset of hobbies that have emerged and that fall under the sports umbrella have been so fun to witness

Droves of people are doing things like hosting knitting events where they learn to make their very own sports merch. They’re making sporty collages (Bay Area readers come to this next week). Run clubs are still going strong. I think there are two reasons for this. 1. People are exhausted of scrolling and mindlessly viewing trends; whether they realize it or not; and 2. It feels good to use our brains and our bodies; and to get our hands dirty.

It’s even true for celebrities. The NBA shooting coach, Lethal Shooter, and his seemingly endless high-profile clients come to mind on this topic specifically. Whether or not they were hoopers before, so many of them are using this moment to hone their skills and carve out a proper hobby for themselves. From Quavo to MrBeast to Justin Bieber to LaKeith Stanfield. He’s seriously working with everyone. 

For me, it’s mastering the Rubik’s Cube (famously not sporty, and in fact very nerdy). A few of my loved ones are taking acting classes, also not sporty, but the point still stands, I think. It’s not enough to watch game highlights or TikTok sketches ourselves these days. We want to be a part of it. Mina Kimes has been painting for a while, but it’s nice to see her works back on the timeline. Not sure if that was my algorithm withholding or she had taken a brief hiatus. 

During the pandemic, we were making bread to pass the time. Now, we’re making bread to better ourselves, to find fulfillment. The same goes for pickup basketball. Or traveling to watch international sports (I’m leaving for France tomorrow, and this is a great time to subtly ask you what games I need to catch in Bordeaux/Paris). Or creating Substacks about fashion and sports. 

And it feels so nice to watch everyone do their little hobbies and to feel inspired by them, don’t you agree? I love seeing what my friends create and craft. How they garden or home-improve. And I guess it’s just nice there are so many ways to hobby when it comes to sports. 

Admittedly, I’m not a learned golf gorl. However, when something juicy enough happens, like an athlete seemingly leaving $85 million on the table, my ears perk up. I am messy, sue me! 

Here’s the situation: golfer Brooks Koepka is returning to the PGA Tour after ditching it for Saudi-backed LIV Golf in 2022. 

So, I asked my colleague, Brady, to explain the scenario as if I were a five-year-old. Brady told me: “He saw how much fun his friends were having on the PGA Tour and he was tired of feeling left out.” 

Who among us can’t relate to that feeling? You bail on Saturday night plans, and have to watch all your friends hanging out via Instagram stories. It’s the worst. 

Anyway, now that he’s back, the Tour said “Well, well, well…look who came crawling back…ahem…can you bring your friends?” So now, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cam Smith are being offered a time-sensitive deal to come on home where they belong. But they’re gonna pay. 

Koepka (and the others, if they join) will be ineligible for FedEx Cup bonus money. Plus, he’s agreed to give $5 million to charity (I don’t really know what that means, who he promised it to, or how that even has anything to do with the Tour, but anyway). And oh yeah, he had to pay an $85 Million fine. To me! Kidding, can you imagine? To the PGA Tour, I guess! 

Anyway, it seems like all is forgiven and all is forgotten. How sweet.