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Last night, while waiting on the Cowboys-Steelers game, I added up the final donations for Team Screencaps' Ragnar Relay run and we hit a major milestone
I'm going to keep this brief because I've written about Ragnar quite a bit.
The team hit $5,000 in donations raised for hurricane relief after a race that ended in 32 hours, six minutes and 25 seconds.
I couldn't be prouder of the runners, this column and the community of readers who just kept coming with emails telling me they donated to the cause. Like I told Millennial Chris B. in Bowling Green last night, I had no idea if we'd raise $500.
To do 10X that number is simply incredible.
There was a point where I was receiving emails from people I've never heard from (that I can remember) who were donating $500. When I say this is the Best Daily Column in the United States, *as named by the readers, I'm not joking.
We have a real movement here and this weekend it showed.
(The Power of Screencaps: Sarah H, far right, received a message from her father-in-law, Larry H., who has emailed multiple times over the years, telling her she should join the Ragnar team. She signed up and the rest is history.)
– Ragnar reflections from team captain Indy Daryl:
Good evening! I’ve finally slept after having been awake for 36+ hours while running 20+ miles in the hills of Kentucky and finally felt like I could get some thoughts down about the weekend festivities.
First and foremost, I wanted to say thank you to you!!! You made this whole thing possible! Not only did you foot most of the bill for the event, but you built the community in which total strangers felt comfortable enough to spend 48 hours together doing something slightly crazy. That is a testament to you and how awesome you are!
Second, I want to thank Chris and Krista B, James and Kassy, Greg, Dan, Jake, Sarah, Alysoune, and Amber for following me down the crazy rabbit hole that is a road Ragnar. You are all awesome!!! I truly enjoyed all of the camaraderie, the encouragement, and the effort everyone displayed as we ran, drove in a van, ran some more, ate, didn’t sleep and finally hit the finish line. It was an absolute delight!!
And finally, thank you to everyone who donated to the Hurricane Helene relief efforts. I can’t even believe how much we raised!!! The SC community is incredible!!!
I absolutely love Ragnar Relays and believe they are some of the hardest yet most accessible endurance events anyone can do. If you ever get the chance to do one, jump up and sign up! You won’t regret it!! (Or maybe you will never do another one, but you’ll be glad you did it once!)
Have a great night!
(Indy D. finishing up his grueling 12.3 mile run on Friday with temperatures pushing 80 degrees in Springfield, KY. (via Indy D.))
Kinsey:
And with that, we can put Ragnar 2024 to rest. If you've lost faith in society, hopefully some of that faith was restored over the last 4-5 days. There are incredible people out there doing great things and I want to keep hearing about those achievements. Don't bitch and moan about how the news never shares those achievements. Email me. Tell me about what you're seeing, what you're hearing and experiencing.
I heard over the weekend from Team Screencaps that a woman just completed the Appalachian Trail in 40 days. That's the stuff I want to hear about from readers. Head on a swivel. Dial up the hotline. Say the word.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Speaking of hurricane relief, here we go again
- Lee D. in Tampa sent in this one:
Kinsey:
My mother and stepfather are moving inland from their place in Largo. They'll be at a safe location as Hurricane Milton comes ashore later this week. For the first time since she moved down there full-time in 2020, I heard her say cloudy days in Ohio weren't sounding too bad.
Fingers crossed the palms behind their trailer stay upright this week.
CFB rankings question
- John from SD writes:
Asking for a friend: are you still going to have the Buckeyes ranked #5 for having a slow start even though they covered comfortably?
Browns look horrible! Bengals had a chance to win and look much better than the Clowns.
Keep up the great work! Ragnar coverage was great! Great job by the team and the sponsor!
Kinsey:
I have moved Ohio State up to 4 and Oregon to No. 3 because I like when my Buckeyes are feeling disrespected. I'll say this: When I heard Will Howard say last week that he couldn't wait to get out of Michigan, it was one of the brightest moments out of an Ohio State QB over the past 3-4 years.
It told me this guy gets it. I need the QB to have a fire in his belly and the ability to have huge games. Saturday against Iowa, Howard accounted for five touchdowns.
I like what I'm seeing, but I want Ohio State playing as the underdog at Oregon.
It looks like all I have left now are MY Detroit Lions – maybe
- Paul Q. had a rough Sunday night:
That was a new low. Why the conservative offense after the turnover and why the timeout before McPherson was going to kick???
The window is closed
Kinsey:
So close, yet so far away. Based on the defense, it's probably a good thing the Bengals ripped out my heart this early in the season because they would've ruined my holidays.
The bad news for my heart: The schedule is still doable. I really want them to be buried, but the NFL is such an up-and-down league that the Bengals could realistically rip off four wins before meeting up again with the Ravens in November.
Locker room celebration behaviors
- Joey P. writes:
Do you think locker-room champagne celebrations for simply winning a wild card series in Major League Baseball is silly? I don't think I've ever seen any of the other 3 major sports do this.
Kinsey:
If you're the Tigers, you definitely go crazy because it was so damn improbable that you made it this far.
If you're the Phillies and you have a bunch of beer-league softball guys, I get the champagne baths.
If you're the Mets, I get it, too. It took a Pete Alonso blast to get you the series win. Hell yeah, I'm pouring something on somebody's head.
Conclusion: Have some self-awareness. If you're supposed to win, then I say shake hands, slap a few asses and drop a few atta-boy(s) and then head off to the plane or a five-star dinner.
Potato chips
- Mike M. emails:
You can't talk chips in NW Ohio without mentioning Ballreich.
Kinsey:
I think this is in reference to Mike-Sells chips from the other day. However, that was in reference to my childhood home of Dayton, Ohio and my fellow Daytonians. In SW Ohio, it's Mike-Sells.
Yes, I will give Ballreich to NW Ohio. No argument there.
On my way home from Kentucky, I kept seeing the UDF signs on the highway. It was pure torture.
Beer in Belgium
- John H. shares:
A few photos taken in Bruges, Belgium that provide an ode to the joy of beer. Those folks have this thing figured out.
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Speaking of beer, I tried the lime Garage Beer for the first time over the weekend and I wasn't impressed even though I had been promised that it was the best lime beer on the market. Not true.
Moving along, let's get after it. The weather went from 84 on Sunday to 65 today and it appears autumn has finally arrived in full. That means we need to get after it the next four days and then get dialed in for another weekend of football.
Go have a great day.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com