Let The OGs Be The OGs

…It’s more likely than you think, thanks to Stefon Diggs’ Plus One, Cardi B. Her vintage pearl purse cost $41,000. And she even said I could borrow it…isn’t that right, Cardi B?

Bob Costas says people are drawn to sports because they’re the one thing in life that promises to be fair. He might have a point, considering our reality, trust, and credibility are impacted by sports betting. Betting is everywhere! I can’t even dissocate properly anymore without hearing a sports betting ad in my head. 

Nicolas Cage’s prosthetics in the new John Madden biopic are getting a lot of hate. But, as I mentioned yesterday, hateration is out. Let’s give the movie a chance, folks. Let yourself believe. 

This isn’t technically new, but I missed the Tombolo x FIFA World Cup 2026™ USA Cabana shirt. And I want it. And some of their other stuff. So I figured maybe other people want it too. 

Which of the biggest sportswear brands is winning the basketball war? Derek Beresford of ‘The Marketing Point Guard’ Substack fame does a deep dive on the whole Nike vs. Adidas Christmas Day competition. And the answer might surprise you. Or it won’t, I don’t know you!

Speaking of Adidas, they’re dropping a collection for your pets — in honor of Chinese New Year. Because our little guys deserve to look sporty and swaggy, too, I guess. More like Adidat (All Day I Dream About Treats, obviously).

@chiefs

From sacking QBs to slaying dragons 😂 Watch the full Dungeons and Defense game at the link in our bio! #dungeonsanddragons #chiefs #defense #dline

“Go Off” is a special edition of our daily newsletter, featuring my thoughts, takes, and general vibes, presented to OffBall readers every Tuesday. 

By now, you’ve seen most of the pageantry associated with the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The ceremonial toaster button pressing done by each head coach, the prestige TV parody, the Pop-Tarts pocket squares, cannibalism, the mascots battling it out until it was time for their ultimate sacrifice (one that Slammin’ Strawberry opted out of). It was insane.

I think the main takeaway I have from witnessing college football’s smash success is something most of us don’t want to accept: No one else should try to replicate it. Not because it’s not great or original or fun. But because it is all of those things. 

These days, we’ll see a brand innovate or get creative to the point of Pop-Tarts Bowl, and then, frankly, only then (because brands are often afraid to take a risk), others attempt to join in on the enchantment with their own marketing strategies. But, because you can’t bottle this stuff up and sell it, they’ll never hit the same. In part because most of the magic comes from the bravery to take the risk in the first place. 

Take, for instance, Marty Supreme. You may be exhausted by the oversaturation now, but you still have to admit they crushed the entire go-to-market strategy from fake Zoom calls to fashion collabs to Timothée’s all-conquering press tour. And now that we have a proof of concept, we’re seeing calls to make other ping pong movies. Which is fine, but it’s a pitch that misses the point. Lightning rarely strikes twice. It’s not even that Lily Zhang doesn’t deserve a movie (she does), but the framing is all wrong. Marty Supreme isn’t special because it’s a ping pong movie. 

And the Pop-Tarts Bowl isn’t special because it’s wacky. These sports culture moments are special because their marketers had a vision and weren’t afraid of taking it to the ends of the earth. And they’re unexpected.

I have been a sports fan my whole life, and I’ve always been obsessed with the athletes’ stories. But even still, we can all agree there are probably too many athlete podcasts, right?  

We’re in a follower epidemic. And, as a result, a pickleball epidemic (but don’t get me started on that). We’re obsessed with following. We see a TikTok trend and blindly press record to zombie-ly post our own half-hearted rendition. But I think 2026 will be the year of change. I think we are exhausted of it all. I have a hunch that short-form video might even find itself on life support at some point in 2026. 

We’re learning that not everything is for everyone, and that’s a good thing. That very fact creates diversity of content, art, and thought. Not everyone has the comedic timing of Anthony Edwards or Marshawn Lynch or Sydney Colson and Theresa Plaisance. Not everyone has the founder mindset like Breanna Stewart or Napheesa Collier. Only so many athletes (nay, people!) are compelling in long-form content the way Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman are. 

But whether it’s a singular person or a brand, we’ve all got something very specific to offer. I predict that in 2026, we’ll let the OGs be the OGs, and we’ll spend time figuring out what each of us offers the world. Because that’s powerful. That’s how we get good art, content, music. That’s how we make the world better. Ok, stepping off my soapbox. 

It’s strange that in a time when we are seeing unprecedented growth in women’s sports, very few people are there to witness it. That’s what UCLA head coach Cori Close claims, at least. 

Close says very few media members were there for the Bruins’ big game against Ohio State (both teams were ranked in the top 25). So what the heck is going on??

Well, in short, it seems many reporters say it’s because publications just don’t fund this coverage anymore. 

How many stories are we missing out on because of this?! 

Some of these women have the most interesting stories in sports, surely. They’re all multifaceted. They’re passionate about fashion, vlogging, music, each other, political on-goings and more. 

I’m going to do my best to cover women’s college hoops, and I hope we all will!