Hooters Jen Is Ready For Kickoff, Florida Fans Have A Message For Utah & A Zach Wilson Fan Gets A Surprise
A report from Oxford, Michigan where school shooting victim Tate Myre was remembered Friday night
• Michael B. writes on Friday night's emotional return to the field for Oxford High School where University of Toledo recruit Tate Myre, who was a team captain, played football before his tragic death:
Hey Joe,
As we embark on one of the best days of the year… I wanted to share what was probably just the most emotional and best sports moment of my life. Friday night was Oxford High’s first home football game since the tragedy that occurred last November. I really don’t even know how to put this feeling into words.
Today I saw an entire community rally together after one of the worst things that could happen to our community. When your readers wake up tomorrow to watch their favorite teams play, man I hope each of them takes a moment to think of the Oxford football team. When you look at the big picture of sports, the crazy contracts, the Big 10 TV deals, NIL, the transfer portal, and all the NFL drama, we really forget what sports are about. So tomorrow if your team loses, doesn’t cover the spread… whatever, sports are f’ing amazing.
Today I got to witness a group of high school kids rally behind themselves, their community, their coaches, and their classmates… all over the love for not only the game of football but their fallen teammate. It was truly one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Tate Myre during a recruiting trip to the University of Toledo / Twitter
As a 40-year-old dude… I just can’t believe the resolve and strength of the young men on that team. I kept thinking back to myself at 16,17 years old… I don’t think I could have walked through that tunnel. To the young men of the Oxford Wildcats, you are my heroes and give strength of what we are all about as humans. There is just so much here that embodies what sports are about.
Oxford’s opponents, Birmingham Grove High School, to your players and coaches, thank you! Coach you and your team showed nothing but the highest of class tonight. Coach, today you taught your team such an amazing lesson in life. The things that bring us together are truly the things that can help us overcome our differences. Thank you to each and every one of you involved in your program.
Now back to the Oxford staff and the late Tate Myres family. Joe, I don’t even know how to describe the leadership and strength of this group. Mr. Myre, you and your family are truly amazing. After going through the worst of tragedies, seeing you all tonight at the 50-yard line was truly inspiring. Joe, I do not know how I would react in such a situation, but Tate’s dad joined the coaching staff this year, I mean talk about being just a leader and amazing human.
Joe, I will wrap this up by thanking everyone involved in tonight's game. Bally Sports carried the game here in Michigan and did just an amazing job. Thank you! Thank you to the Oxford coaching staff, no matter how the rest of your season plays out, you are developing an amazing group of young men. To the Oxford players, your dedication and love for your sport and teammate, there just aren’t words to describe that as a former athlete. To the Myre family, thank you for showing the ultimate example of selflessness and leadership.
Man Joe, I hope I didn’t get too emotional. Just tonight was a magical moment of what we love about sports and how they can bring us together through so many rough times. You look at the front page of the Outkick site and you think.. man what are sports coming to?
Well, y’all next time you think of that…. Think of the Oxford Wildcats and I can promise you there is nothing purer than a group of young men, their coaches, and their community rallying behind each other in the face of tragedy and sports bringing them together to overcome.
So let’s go on the 2022 football season! I am amped up. Oxford got us kicked off with a 17-14 comeback win tonight! Hope my Noles can show some Oxford toughness Sunday night against LSU!
#OxfordStrong #42StrongTate
Well done by Michael B., Buck Myre, and the Oxford football team.
“We need to try and change our little part of the world and the only way we can do that is by bringing people together,” Buck told Bally Sports Detroit this summer.
All the best to the Myre family, the Oxford football team, and that community as it moves forward. Now go on a run so Michael B. has plenty to email from now until late November when Michigan crowns a state champion.
RSS feed and tornadoes
• LSU fan Joe M. writes:
I read everything on Outkick through an RSS reader (it brings the news to you) except for your columns, which by default goes to a private window. Must use private mode for Insta pics, Meta is tracking everything you see, everywhere. Could it be used against middle-aged dudes that we like boobs at some point? Probably. Better not risk it.
Now that Outkick is producing so much content, I have to skip a lot of articles after skimming the headlines (gambling, PAC-8, Texas is Back, etc.) However, scrolling through my 48 unread articles from Outkick today, what do I stop to read? TNML. That’s the special power you helped create. Kudos.
But for Johnny R.: I’ve flown in and out of OKC three times. There has been an F4/F5 that has either blown through or is about to blow through every time. When every single rental car in the airport has hail damage, that’s a sign. Beautiful horizon, but I’ve seen OKC airport skies “tornado green,” and want zero part of that ever again.
My grandparents' first house in Kokomo, Indiana, was wiped out by a tornado before I was born. I’ve been involved in nearly every major disaster possible except for a volcano, but tornadoes multiple times. It’s even worse because it’s nearly always when it’s dark. You hear the “train,” but you don’t know where it’s coming from, or where it is going. I’ve clutched the toilet or sink plumbing in my underwear while waiting for the upstairs to disappear too many times (once is enough.) Even worse, it’s when it gets quiet that you know you’re in trouble. Lots of rain, no sweat. Pounding rain and sudden silence? That means things are about to get very real. Nope, nope, nope.
If you find video from the Women’s College World Series from about 2011 you can learn an important lesson (my coworker’s sister played for the Tigers). When the tornado sirens sounded, most ignored it unless the OU fans started running. That’s when you’re in real trouble; the OU fans are the canary in the coal mine. #TornadoTrauma When OU fans run, don’t be last.
Gauntlet league tracking sheets for team captains
• Russ in Iowa writes:
Joe,
I am a rookie to screencaps only been reading for a few months but love the community. I formed a league at work and had one of my guys make an excel spreadsheet for the draft and to track stats for the year. It's easy to use just fill in the shaded areas. Put guys' names in first and assign owners from the drop-down box. Everything is linked and auto-computes. Please pass it along to anyone who could use it. We just did ours tonight and was a blast. I
just want to add have been doing hard things for a long time but will save that for another email. Do want to share that at the next level we practice what I have written on a card by the alarm that says “Don’t let the hard days WIN”
Are you ready for some football!!!!
If you want a copy of Russ' Gauntlet spreadsheet, send me an email and I'll forward it.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Little did Johnny know what his wife was posting on Instagram
• TNML rookie Johnny R. took the league by storm Thursday when he sent in an Oklahoma sunset photo from his farm where he laid down some stripes and showed off his work. Needless to say I was incredibly happy to have the submission because it captures that exact moment at the end of the day when giving 110% gives back to each of us.
Johnny wrote back:
Thanks Joe! There are more where that came from. Check out my wife’s IG. She puts out some good content from our hobby farm every now and then. I actually hadn’t seen any of it until yesterday when my daughters finally shamed me into opening an IG account. Enjoy your weekend!!
SMH, Johnny!
Border collies. Chickens. Sunsets. A big pond. Living off the land. Farm to table.
This is like straight out of the Screencaps playbook. What an awesome view into life in Oklahoma. It reminds me of Bob O. in White Bead, Oklahoma who would send me photos of his cattle, his dog and his grilling prowess.
Today's lesson: Make sure to take a look at what your wife is up to on Instagram. It might turn her into a Screencaps star.
Football, football, football
It's a huge morning here in Ohio where families all across the state are making their plans around tonight's big game in Columbus. The neighborhood kids are headed to their grandparents' houses. It's going to be one of those nights.
That means I need to finish up this column, get our to-do list wrapped up, and get dialed in for a long afternoon of cornhole tournaments and beers.
I hope each and every one of you has a great and safe Labor Day weekend. As a reminder, my pop culture teammate SeanJo will make his official Sunday Screencaps debut this weekend as this franchise makes its transition to a seven-day-a-week operation.
It's called growth. And I approved it.
OutKick CEO Gary Schreier, who is a huge cheerleader for this column and the reason you see Screencaps featured prominently on the mobile site, came to me with a plan and it's going to work beautifully. Screencaps will always be my baby, but I'm not some big-brain egotistical maniac who is here to stifle growth.
We have this thing coming up called the NFL and it's a beast. Screencaps needs to be active on NFL Sundays. And because I love taking Sunday mornings very slow, SeanJo, who is pretty much a Screencaps superfan, gets the assignment.
SeanJo's been working hard behind the scenes for the last month to learn the operation. He and I are dialed in. There's no need for long talks. I give him direction, he runs with it and now it's game time.
Enough small-talk. Let's go enjoy some breakfast and pigskin.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com