You obviously know a ton about this. I didn't ever follow Mandel before this, just wasn't a big fan but he certainly could write. I've been more a Feldman, Staples, Chris Low type guy. (Though the best writer of the bunch is probably anything Weight Thompson does.) Feldman was the one writer based in California who seemed to be a voice for everyone, which is hard to do. So Stew lived in the southeast? I saw a ton of backlash against the Athletic, but I'll admit I tuned a lot of that woke talk from every platform out. Still I got heavy doses of it even in the podcasts while ugly to actively avoid it. I'm guessing he apologized because the wallet was hit hard. These people go live in bubbles and lose touch, which honestly given the freedom and accessibility of the internet these days you almost have to willingly want to be isolated or choose to embrace your bubble because every corner of the planet has a voice on social media these days. If you're willing to listen. Shame. He sold a lot of good writers on leaving a lot of good jobs to go there. Be sad to watch him blow it up just because he wanted to push his agenda. Moral highground is such a ridiculous thing sometimes. As if we all play within the same constraints of life and ability of choice in decisions.
Oh, well that's fucking weird. Thought you meant the post on recruiting numbers I had just posted was posted over there for some reason. Didn't pay attention to which thread I was on lol. They already had a subscriber copy and paste Shea Dixon response to me on TD. Why post my post on it? I guess Maximus23 wanted to try and stir some trouble up? Very strange. Shea didn't seem bothered by the original guy leaking what he said about Russ and the PGC job so I don't think this guy is gonna get any drama he was looking for from it. He said it had been discussed on radio and amongst the coaching community openly by Russ after it went down.
@Brian Wright Thompson, "Pulled Pork and Pigskin..." The title of the article is longer. Everytime I hear his name that's what comes to mind. I probably follow writers more closely than I should. In a shallow defense, it's all about context and perspective of the writers. They rarely change from where they come. Mandell moved from the SE to Cali. He's a Northwestern grad I believe? The best I recall he grew up somewhere in the corn belt.
A really great written article touches the senses in ways that I truly fear we are losing as a country. I'm all for hype videos and highlight tapes and YouTube clips, but there's nothing that satisfies every sensibility, to me, than a literary surgeon with his chosen instrument in hand setting the scene and detailing every moment as it unfolds. There's a wonderful prison I gleefully lock myself into where they hold me captive with every word spun and observation shared until we reach the crossroads that is every perceived ending of any story. We feel it's a destination reached with a great many writers, but instead with the true masters of their craft it's always a farewell in the middle of the journey as the road remains unfinished and the path awaiting footprints to carry us on to the next rise or fall, or on rare occasion both. You are right though, @TerryP. It's so so hard to do. That was why I joined the Athletic. Support the best writers seemed ideal, but getting told what to think and feel is a recipe for a meal one should never serve. Why do you say you pay too much attention?
