When I started the Pride of Detroit PODcast, I was coming out of rock bottom for a year. I had been looking for work in Georgia for years, had lost almost everything, and had just moved back in with my mom. I got a job as a carpenter, paying horribly low wages and dealing with random customers and bosses. I had no future, no direction, nothing.
The only thing I found myself doing during those quiet, listless years was listening to sports talk radio. It was ESPN Radio at its peak. Scott Van Pelt, Dan Le Batard, Bomani Jones, Colin Cowherd, Freddie Freeman, these were the voices that filled the silence and allowed me to see the sport from a completely different perspective. Because it was a deadly serious thing for a long time, but on the radio. fun. Sports were fun, it was fun, and I could relax and talk about it with friends, laugh at incompetence, make fun of monoliths, and do bad Boston accents.
I found it so interesting that I decided to pursue this myself. I never thought it would become more than a hobby. But within a year, a college football podcast I started with my friend Ross drew me into the life I wanted to pursue. I was in Chicago covering Big Ten Football Media Day and applied to write for Pride of Detroit.
Somehow that led to this PODcast. Sean Yuill quit after less than a year, Jeremy gave me rough jobs, and before I knew it, I was trying the same stupid nonsense with the Lions that I did in college football. It's a learning process and I wasn't very good at it when I first started. But what I quickly realized was how podcasts and radio shows had garnered such strong communities.
When I'm at my lowest point, I imagine myself as a mouse trying to claw at a wall while it rains and the water rises. I scramble, scraping the slick, wet surface with my fingernails. I cry, looking at the other rats on top, dry and safe, not understanding why I can't climb up there, why I can't get help. And I am filled with despair, threatening to be swallowed up by hatred this time. It drowns me.
But when we started rolling, when we started finding our groove, I didn't feel like I was at rock bottom. I managed to get a foothold into the radio industry. I told myself I could go back to school, live on my own again, and get back on my feet. It changed me. It saved me.
But this was too much for me.
This wasn't my microphone. It was a channel for you.
I wanted to be the arm that pulled people up to the stage. This is to point the microphone at many of you, to hear what you have to say, and to reflect on what you have to say. This isn't about me or my ego or my opinions, it's about your voice. Your fire, your anger, your spirit, your hope, your passion, that's what this means. That's everything. I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't care about the Detroit Lions.
We may not be able to claim breaking news or claim to be insiders with questionable sources. Because I don't think that's what you really want. You can analyze the movies and their influence on the roster all you want, but I've never sat down with friends over drinks and talked about all 22 films. Do you know what we're talking about? What we think about Jared Goff, how much we hate his big drop in the last game, how we hope the wide receiver gets back on track quickly, and kicking the Chicago Bears' ass. Confidence that you can do it.
It has to be fun, and it has to be fun to talk about sports. This is not Sun Tzu's thesis, nor is it a science to be solved. No one is going to hire you as a scout or color analyst just because you're well-read. Smart things will take you far. Having fun proves your humanity. Humans play games, create great large-scale games and sports with complex rules, and spend vast amounts of their leisure time on them. Beautiful, very beautiful.
On Thursday, SB Nation terminated my contract, but more importantly, they terminated their network's entire podcast service, including the Pride of Detroit podcast. We're not the only ones who have had their podcasts deleted. Entire communities like ours are being forced to part ways.
The move was so impromptu that I found myself locked out of the platform Megaphone and unable to upload new podcasts or recover data about my shows. This decision is made unilaterally, without any input from us, and without even an opportunity to meet with us in advance to discuss our case or participate in what they are thinking of next. I was able to get it.
I think this is very unprofessional, but thankfully in this country professionalism has so far only been expected from the lower classes, never given from the upper echelons. I have to stand here and say to those who have stepped up to the plate, “Thank you SB Nation for the opportunity.” My nine years of passionate labor were ruined without any knowledge or concern about what it meant or how to make money. If I don't do that, I think it will have a negative impact on my career.
God. 9 years have passed since then. 9 years of finding friends and passionate people like me. That's unreal. I always tell people, this wasn't just a gig, it wasn't just a job. This was something I looked forward to every week. No matter how good or bad the Lions are, I was able to do this with Jeremy and Ryan and talk to you guys.
We made this possible because of your passion. All I asked for was a chance to have fun with a microphone. Understood. That's all clear. My only regret is that I still want more.
It's not over yet. We don't know what the next shape will be. But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I love this community, and over the last few days Detroit Lions fans have taken turns showering it on me. This cannot be the end. still.
But I think the best thing to do at this point is to stop writing and do a podcast and talk to Jeremy and Ryan. I recorded this a few hours after being told I should quit the podcast. As far as SB Nation is concerned, this is the final salvo here.
This is the last podcast.
See you starside. see you soon.
Editor's note: Hello, this is Jeremy. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the creation and growth of the podcast. The second is a small request. Everyone who participates in the podcast will receive a paycheck from the show for the remainder of April. This means your downloads and streams will continue to help support Chris, Ryan Matthews, and Eric Schlitt. So if you want to support the Lions creators who spend hours, days, and years on this; Continue to download and stream the full archive. Play it on your computer when you go to the grocery store. Download his entire Spotify playlist for this episode. Please support these people who are an essential part of my life. And if possible, support your life too.
If you want to find older episodes of a podcast, you can find them in the following ways: apple podcast, Google Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, i heart radio Or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Pride of Detroit on Twitch Receive notifications when you record a podcast live or chat with us. Video replays are available at: convulsions and YouTube. Whenever possible, we will try to keep you up to date on our next moves on these platforms.
