This Shirtless Trend Is Just Guys Bein’ Dudes

…No matter which WNBA players Glamour chose to put on their 2025 Glamour Women of the Year list. And with faces like Phee, Jonquel, and Lexie Hull on the list, I’m not arguing with the selections. And I’ll usually argue with anything.

No, those aren’t models. That’s Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle, world-class tennis player and his internet-famous content-creating WAG. Although, why limit them to just that? Also, the comments on this don’t pass the vibe check—this is a call for everyone to be nice.  

Martine Rose and Nike are celebrating big-name gamers like SonicFox with a special esports drop. It features retro, Arsenal-inspired soccer kits, shorts, socks—the works. And if you aren’t into gaming, but simply have good taste, they’re releasing the newest iteration of their famous Shox mule. 

Kid Laroi was announced as the halftime performer at the NFL Germany game, which will see the Colts and the Falcons face off in Berlin, at Olympiastadion, the most German-sounding word of all time. See you November 9, Mr. Kid. 

College football coaches are scrambling to keep their jobs this year, with at least 12 being fired midseason. Then again, once they lose their jobs, they will get bought out for record-breaking sums, so it's kind of a decent consolation. 

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

A think piece published yesterday in The Athletic asks: Are the shirtless fans of college football curing the male loneliness epidemic? And while it’s easy to yuck it up at the concept, it’s posed seriously (albeit based on a silly tweet by Lucy Rhoden, of whom I am a big fan). 

And I couldn’t help but wonder, in a world where impressions are king and buzzwords are rewarded, is the real epidemic the think piece? Just kidding, that was a Carrie Bradshaw impression. 

But more seriously, trends come and go with the wind (sometimes they last about two hours), but do each of them warrant think pieces? Is this a think piece in itself?

This particular piece was well written, and as a college football fan myself, I enjoyed it. “Throngs of emotionally repressed men, using the communal nature of college football as an excuse to shed their shirts and inhibitions in a therapeutic expression of male bonding,” Justin Williams explained. 

But it did call back to many other trend-based think pieces before it, in a way, too. If you have kids, or know even a singular kid, or have access to the internet, or know kids who have access to the internet, you know about “6 7.” I mean, you know as much as any of us know, which is basically nothing. But the NYT perhaps unnecessarily thought-pieced that concept, too. 

These sports culture moments dominate the timeline, whether or not they are worthy of dominating our conversations or group chats. And then because we see them, we talk about them, I guess. But maybe some things should just be what they are. Funny for a moment.

Because, I could definitely be wrong about this, but in those moments, as they wave their shirts above their head and chant something in unison, sure, they feel alive as hell, and it’s great they’re doing it, but I’m not sure they’re asking each other important questions about their interpersonal connections or emotional intelligence. And that’s ok, for the record. 

Maybe sometimes stories should just be like: “hey, what those kids (or young adults) are doing is kinda nothing. It’s in good fun, but that’s basically the whole story.” For instance, maybe I should stop talking about this very topic. 

It takes a lot to shake Justin Herbert. Or to make him smile. But these days, we’ve noticed he’s in rare form. And it seems like it’s all thanks to pop singer Madison Beer. 

They’ve been on our social feeds for a few weeks now—officially having hard launched at a Chargers game (likely place for them to be). 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPesN5oCffD/

And now, they’re in couples' costumes. 

They’re doing TikTok trends with Ladd McConkey. 

https://www.tiktok.com/@madisonbeer.mp5/video/7565860965149969686

They’re at the Lakers game, where he’s literally putting his life on the line to protect his girlfriend from projectiles. 

It turns out love isn’t dead. At least not if you’re an attractive, rich, famous twenty-something living in La La Land. 

@wnba

Four rookies. Four stories of resilience. From playoffs, to pain, and the pursuit of something bigger. The season finale of Year 1 is OUT ... See more