Indiana’s Natty Will Live Forever As Sports Cinema

……The Great Rodger Sherman got it right in this Ringer opus. "I actually think the plot of the movie Hoosiers is more believable than what happened to these real-life Hoosiers," Sherman wrote. That piece, and so much other Hoosier content goodness, has been lovingly curated in our full nothing-but-IU-football OffBall site takeover, which is now live (and must-see, if you ask us).

Angel Reese just can’t keep herself out of this newsletter, and for good reason. For her latest trick, she’s set to co-star in Season Two of The Hunting Wives. Save some side quests for the rest of us! 

If you have access to the internet, you’ll have heard of Heated Rivalry by now. I bet you didn’t know (unless you’ve been personally affected by this), one of the side effects of the hit series. It’s tearing relationships apart. Date nights replaced by Heated Rivalry re-watch nights. People catching their partners sneaking off to bed early to watch Heated Rivalry TikTok under the covers. It’s going to be a busy Q1 for marriage counselors, mark my words. 

To celebrate Nike bringing its iconic outdoors line, ACG, into the world of soccer, the brand took the Beautiful Game way up into the mountains to host the picturesque All Conditions Cup, featuring former Inter Milan greats Luis Figo and Julio Cesar.

Paris Fashion Week is upon us. And if you haven’t been before, let me tell you, the best socializing/dating/networking doesn’t happen at the shows or afterparties. It happens at the morning run clubs, of which there are plenty, hosted and attended by an eclectic mix of (hungover) fashion store owners, models, media, influencers and the good, honest folk of the general public. Cole Townsend breaks it down for us.

Just yesterday in this newsletter, we spoke about moments that remind us why we fell in love with sports in the first place. Indiana’s win over Miami last night was a prime example. 

In our morning meeting today, our colleague Mason, admitted: “It was the most fun I’ve had watching a Natty in a long time.” I couldn’t have agreed more (not least because it was my first time ever watching a Natty, being a newbie in this country). And yes, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the sheer emotion, joy, despair, the ups and downs that fans and players of both teams went through in the lead-up to and during the game last night. 

Earlier this week, it was fascinating to hear our friends, Treasure Wilson and Kyle Schwarber, make impassioned cases for their respective alma maters. 

Our fearless editor-in-chief, Chris, told me that Indiana winning a Natty was as new a concept to him (a veteran US sports editor) as it was to me. And while I couldn’t have disagreed more, it hammered home just how special a win this was for the Hoo Hoo Hoosiers, as I now know to call them. 

For me, the most wholesome and enjoyable content from the Natty is centered on Fernando Mendoza, who not only seems like every bit the worthy winner, but also an all-around great guy. There’s his post-game podium speech. His respect and love for Tim Tebow. His on-field outpouring of emotion after IU clinched the Natty, screaming, “The Hoosiers Are Flipping Champs!” The first time I came across him was just a few weeks ago, when this video of him eloquently and passionately describing his proud Cuban-American heritage popped up on my TikTok. What a guy. What a champion. 

The scenes back in Indiana were wild. Some say they’re still partying in Bloomington. I think in this country, people take for granted just how unique and incredible college sports are as a phenomenon—the scale, passion, unity and emotion that mere university students can generate through sport is one-of-a-kind, not replicated anywhere else in the world on nearly the same scale. There were people in trees, people on rooftops, people climbing up street lights. It’s a night that will be written into Indiana folklore for generations to come. 

What made it even more special was how the celebrations transcended Indiana-related folk, which is also a rarity, given the tribal and partisan nature of sports. “I'm 42 years old and not even an IU grad and this looks like it would have been an absolute blast to be a part of. The euphoria these folks are experiencing is satisfying,” said someone on X, which really summed it all up. 

Even if some of us—ahem, me—were unaware of the joys of college football, IU showed us what it’s really all about. 

When I woke up this morning, the disproportionate volume of messages from people back home in the UK told me something big was going down. I wondered: “Was it Arsenal-related? Was it Royal Family news? Was London Bridge falling down for real this time?” It was bigger than any of that. It was the Beckhams. 

For those who may have missed it, Brooklyn Beckham—eldest child of David and Victoria—confirmed the persistent rumours of a rift between him and his superstar parents, by airing his grievances directly in a series of explosive Instagram stories, hitting out at the perception vs. his reality of “Brand Beckham”. 

Now, family drama is no joke. No family is perfect, and I wish for nothing but a speedy resolution so The People’s Royal Family™ can get back to happier days. 

But the timing of it all really was something. Brooklyn’s bombshell came just months after not one, but two blockbuster Netflix docuseries, dedicated to shining a light on the lives, achievements and more human sides of both his parents. Not to mention, timing-wise, that it happened as David was due to speak at the World Economic Forum at Davos, where, naturally, people have read into every potential hidden meaning of every word he said on stage yesterday.

The online response has so far largely centred on one line of Brooklyn’s grievances, which alleged that his mother danced “inappropriately” at his wedding during a time when he should have been taking his first dance with his newly betrothed. It’s the sort of bombshell that will feed the tabloids for months—a feeling the family is all too familiar with from David’s Man Utd days and Victoria’s Spice Girl era.

And boy, people were fast. And creative. Be sure to check on your colleagues who were quieter than normal today. It’s very likely they were at home making Beckham memes, like this one:

Or this one:

Orrrrr even this one: