The Sports Gossip Show Take Five With OffBall

The hundreds of sports docs that followed ‘Drive to Survive’ have started to feel all the same. For the format to evolve, it could take some tips from how food TV evolved beyond Top Chef’s successful format. 

The new NBA All-Star tournament format has been announced – four teams and three games to 40 points. Kevin Durant, and NBA Twitter, hate it.

Logan Paul is following in his brother’s footsteps to set up the next global spectacle. There’s an agreement to fight Conor McGregor in a boxing exhibition in India.

The votes have been counted, and BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year is Gold Medalist Keely Hodgkinson! She edged out darts phenom Luke Littler. Jude Bellingham surprisingly didn’t crack the top three.

Rafael Nadal is in a reflective mood during retirement. In his first-person piece, Nadal looked back on his favorite tennis moments and what he’ll miss most about tennis.

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We’re back with another Take Five, a series where our community taps in to curate the music, style, restaurants, trends, and influencers that have caught their eye. From the things that are inspiring them to what or who we should all be paying attention to.

We kicked off the series with tennis champion, friend, and OffBall advisor Naomi Osaka.

And now we’re excited to take a look back at 2024 and talk holiday traditions with two of our favorite creators, hosts of the Sports Gossip Show - Madeline Hill and Charlotte Wilder - who on their last episode had the intel that Timothée Chalamet does, in fact, watch that much football.

Madeline & Charlotte, what you got for us?!

OffBall: “What was the biggest surprise of 2024?”

Madeline: “One of the biggest surprises this year was the rise in sports content that really doesn’t have anything to do with the sport itself. Whether that’s a deep dive into the outfits athletes are wearing or documentaries that give fans a behind-the-scenes look at how they prep for big moments.”

“And who do you think arrived this year?”

Charlotte: “Ilona Maher. She became a sensation during the Olympics when she won Bronze with the US women’s national rugby sevens team. Her social media is so smart, funny, and poignant, and she was so much fun to watch on Dancing With The Stars. She’s here to stay and I can’t wait to see what she does next.”

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“Let’s talk holiday traditions…”

Madeline: “With the playoffs rapidly approaching, college football and the NFL seasons are heating up. That coupled with the NBA Christmas Day games are truly the sports gift that keeps on giving.”

Charlotte: “Honestly? I just really love a good holiday party in New York City. Few things more romantic!”

“Any movies that are must-watch during the holidays?”

Madeline: “Love Actually, The Holiday, and The Family Stone are some of my favorites.”

Charlotte: “Home Alone, Elf, and It’s A Wonderful Life are such classics.”

“What about New Year’s Eve? Any fun plans?”

Madeline: “Every year, my husband and I watch When Harry Met Sally and time it to start exactly at 10:30:28 pm, so the New Year’s Eve countdown in the film is timed perfectly to the real-life countdown.”

Charlotte: “My husband and I spend Christmas with his family in New Jersey and then go up to Maine to see mine for NYE — a lot of my family lives up there so we make it a fun little party and are usually in bed before midnight (welcome to your mid-30s!!!). It’s the best!”

Thanks so much to Madeline & Charlotte for chatting with us!

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The Cole Palmer shivering celebration has never been hotter. From Justin Jefferson, to Darts World Championship participants, everyone wants in on the fun – but Palmer wants ownership of it all. Respect for someone who wants royalties on their celebration - if Cristiano Ronaldo had gotten paid he’d be approximately 100x times richer. Palmer’s battle to patent his signature goal celebration has us wondering, who else has a trademark-able celebration?

Steph Curry should be first in line. He’s been putting opponents to sleep with his, “Night, Night” move, and everyone has followed suit. Even Draymond Green! Lo’eau LaBonta had everyone faking injuries before twerking it off, from the NWSL to the NBA.

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Lo’eau LaBonta 🤝 Giannis #celebration #loeaulabonta #giannis #giannisantetokounmpo #kccurrent #milwaukeebucks #nwsl #nba #sports #lol

But are these two better than Viktor Gyökeres’s Bane mask goal celebration? That may be a bit harder to trademark, but it has inspired a Batman mask celebration from Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes.

College football was a zombieland during Cam Ward’s breakout season. His signature celebration was mimicked on every football field, but Ward may ultimately owe some royalties to the originators – Western Kentucky. And if you weren’t following the zombieland trend, you were definitely doing whatever Kai Cenat and Travis Hunter brainstormed on their streams.