u/january-7

Anytime I get to see him on my screen again it’s a good time

Like so many in here I've been trying to better understand the game of football and have tried lots of different things. This book was recommended to me, and though I haven't yet finished it, it has been a gamechanger. I didn't have super high expectations and randomly decided to give it a shot one night, but it's far exceeded my initial expectations. It covers every aspect of the ball and is broken down in layman's terms so that you don't have to be fluent in football lingo to simply understand what's being said (it's also a solidly entertaining read).

If you want to better understand football in its entirety, read this book

(FYI - Free PDF version of this full book can be found/downloaded from oceanofpdf.com)

I know the sports are obviously very different, but they seem to share a lot of overlap in terms of leverage, balance, hand fighting, explosiveness, footwork, and moving another person against their will. Is there a reason NFL linemen don't regularly train with sumo wrestlers or use sumo style drills as one part of their offseason conditioning? Curious if there's something I'm missing, or if I'm mistaken in thinking it would be beneficial.

Unexpectedly found this to be a sort of touching interview. Honestly in my opinion Rodgers has become very likeable since joining Pittsburgh. Seems like he finally has found that peace he was looking for all those years. I find it heart-warming that his familial relationships have been mended as well, that is truly incredible (especially considering how it was a massive media story that loomed over the majority of his career). I'm happy for him, and I'm happy that a Future HOF QB feels so blessed to be ending the biggest chapter of his life thus far in black and gold.

I recommend giving it a watch, it is only ~6 minutes total

Can I be absolutely unhinged since it’s 2 am where I am and I’m watching Steelers documentaries? We *need* this Super Bowl; it is literally the most movie-like script asking to be played out in real life. The documentaries or even actual Hollywood film that would come from it would be unbelievable (and not to be that guy, but would make millionsss of dollars). It is the ending begging to be written in history.

Cam Hayward deserves it before retiring too. I’ll be damned if that man retires without a ring, which he’s heavily alluded to in recent podcasts on his YouTube channel that this could be his last season.

We. NEED. It.

Massive fan of this guy and even got a little oniony during his draft pick. Really hoping to see him on the final roster but have seen mixed opinions on how realistic that is with our current RB room. Has anyone heard or seen any coverage on him, or anyone who’s been to watch training camp in-person notice anything noteworthy?

I just finished Season 50, and I completely agreed with the way Stephanie framed it during the jury discussion. She described Johnathan as the total package: someone who consistently blended and successfully executed old era and new era Survivor, from the get-go.

Where Cirie lost me was when she took Stephanie's exact praise of Johnathan and essentially argued, "But that's also Aubry." I genuinely don't see how their games this season were equivalent. Cirie credited Aubry for "riding the middle," treating it as evidence of the same strategic agency Stephanie was praising in Johnathan. I binged the season, and I don't think the season supports that comparison.

Throughout the game, Johnathan and the alliances around him were, more often than not, determining where the votes were going. They identified the targets, assembled the numbers, and executed the plans. Aubry was frequently brought in as a last-minute number after those decisions had already been made. That's an entirely different role in the game. One is directing the vote. The other is surviving it as an afterthought.

A game position is only evidence of strategic control if you intentionally created or intentionally maintained the conditions that produced it.

That's where the "riding the middle" argument falls apart for me. Season 50 was filled with literal Survivor juggernauts. When that many dominant strategic, social, and physical players are fair game to eliminate, someone is naturally going to avoid becoming that night's immediate priority. More often than not, that player happened to be Aubry. But the existence of those larger gameplayer threats was not something Aubry created, those conditions existed completely by chance - independently of her decisions. She deserves credit for recognizing that landscape and adapting to it successfully by pure happenstance. She does not deserve credit for creating the landscape itself.

That's why I don't view Aubry's longevity as evidence that she intentionally positioned herself in the middle through strategic control. I view it as evidence that the game's biggest strategic players repeatedly had larger priorities than eliminating her. Those priorities were created by their games, not hers.

Meanwhile, Johnathan wasn't merely adapting to the board. He was repeatedly helping create the board. He was controlling, or helping control, many of the votes that Aubry ultimately benefited from because she wasn't the immediate target. To me, that's the fundamental distinction between their games. Johnathan repeatedly influenced the conditions everyone else had to navigate. Aubry repeatedly demonstrated that she could navigate those conditions exceptionally well.

Every Survivor winner needs luck. Johnathan certainly had luck too. Every Survivor winner also needs adaptability. Aubry unquestionably had that. But the quality Stephanie praised in Johnathan wasn't adaptability. It was sustained agency over the direction of the game. I don't think Cirie ever established that Aubry demonstrated that same level of agency.

I love Aubry, so purely because of her Survivor legacy, I'm okay with the fact that she won. But if we're objectively evaluating Season 50 in isolation, I don't think she deserved to beat Johnathan. He wasn't just navigating the game and adapting to sheer circumstance. He was repeatedly helping shape it. To me, those are fundamentally different accomplishments.

First of all, I am fans of both these women and also recognize they're both imperfect and flawed. Now that that is out of the way....

I was rewatching the most recent episode and reading the posts in here reacting to Lorenzo's continued commentary towards Jasmine/Kavan (choosing to snog her in the pie challenge, being abnormally outspoken compared to his usual self during the podcast challenge about their relationship, saying come back in 6 months, etc. etc.)

And it got me thinking. Considering the recent conversation we saw where Julia confronted Jasmine about Jas's intentions with Lorenzo, stating that she felt off because of how Jas went about the Jordan/Priya thing, and didn't want any of that happening behind her back with Lorenzo...it dawned on me. What if - during the Grafties - when Kavan and Lorenzo were going back and forth about the 'affair' (lol), Julia's comment of, "I actually think it's the opposite," was as it sounded and directed at Jasmine?

I think it kind of tracks honestly. At the time the comment made no sense to me because I couldn't figure out who she was referring to. But considering Julia's recent concerns she voiced to Jasmine about how she moves, it actually makes sense now. In the Grafties episode, Lorenzo had said to Kavan, "So you seriously think I'm still interested in Jasmine?" And that is when Julia chimed in and said, "I actually think it's the opposite."

The opposite of Lorenzo being interested in Jasmine would be...Jasmine interested in Lorenzo, no?

For the record I do not think Jas/Lorenzo are anything other than FRIENDS, and have thought that since early weeks. I don't think either of them are romantically interested in one another, but I do think Julia has interpreted the 'affair' differently and sees it as Jasmine-provoked. So yeah, in light of past episodes, I think Julia's recent admissions of her interpretation of Jas is very much in line with this being the case. And it would make more sense as well then why Julia seems jealous whenever Jas/Lorenzo have had private chats, and her admitted hesitancy to trust Jasmine.

Thoughts?

Am I the only one enjoying the movie-like trope of McCarthy/Rodgers uniting for his final season, within the very franchise that they once triumphed over to obtain their SB rings? The story almost sounds scripted it’s that perfect, I just feel like no way it doesn’t amaze everyone in that building as well. Maybe I’m just being an emotional & optimistic woman, but damn it feels - at least right now - like the reunited McCarthy/Rodgers narrative could be the juice needed to lift our offense out from the depths of hell.

How is everyone feeling about it going into training camp? I’m not blind and was very much myself a part of the online reaction when McCarthy was selected as the new HC. But I began softening after his first press conference where I could viscerally feel his appreciation and devotion to Pittsburgh. IDK…this just feel like a movie narrative, but in the best way possible.

They should reboot this show and have Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina) as the parent this go around, I believe all the involved actors/actresses from the original are alive and well and would love to have all of them join as well. Especially Hilda/Zelda/Salem lmao

But a good reboot - not a cheesy one like 'Boy Meets World' got (also loved that show).

Thoughts?

Melanie and sincere win, and for the first time in love island USA history, she votes to keep all the money herself, so she walks away with $100k and sincere gets $0

Production has the opportunity to do something iconic here…

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