Let’s face it – every day we are routinely bombarded with questions. When you’re an emerging media company in Nashville, people just want to know what your opinions are on everything. It’s only natural. And, since our duty is to serve the people, well, we have no choice but to be present. That’s the SoBro Way. Also, aren’t mailbags just a barrel of laughs anyway? Welcome to the newest weekly recurring feature up in this bitch: The SoBros Mailbag. As always, hit us with those mailbag questions @SoBrosNetwork on Twitter.
Question:
What’s your FAVORITE 3 things about 2020?
— Tom Hanks & the Guilty Pleasures (@SoBroCadbury) September 3, 2020
Answer:
2020’s been tough for an awfully lot of people. For me, I’ve been fortunate – I’ve kept my day job and haven’t missed a paycheck so far (knock on wood). Everyone in my immediately family has stayed healthy so far (again, knock on wood). A global pandemic doesn’t put SoBros Network out of business (we took a hit, don’t get me wrong – but we’ll be aight). And, I’ve been working from home since November anyway. So, I consider myself lucky and am very thankful for that.
With that said, just because things never bottomed out, it doesn’t mean they’ve exactly been sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, I feel like this is some sort of purgatory. And, it’s been a challenge to stay especially motivated to write when the results aren’t what they were earlier in the year. Days blur together and become months – I feel like this isn’t September 4th as much as it is March 216th. But, there are some things that have happened this year that are worth celebrating big time.
Professionally – First, when it comes to SoBros Network, I immediately look back at April’s stats and am still blown away. That was a huge step for us – we’ve crossed 50K total hits before (pageviews, downloads, video views), but we’ve never had 43K pure pageviews in a month before. We had our single best day in site history (12K unique visitors) on the night of the NFL Draft. I had a glass of scotch and cried, fuck it – I’ll say it.
Sometimes, it’s easy for me to lose sight of those nights. I remember the middle-of-the-night, headache-inducing, morale sucks when I’m just pushing through stuff wondering if any of it’s even worth it. But, I can’t explain the highs of those victories like that – it immediately makes every question or negative emotion go away, it affirms that I’m on the right track with this SoBros machine, and it gives me the motivation it takes to get to the next victory.
Second, with all of the restaurants closing around town, it forced me to get creative with our Nashville Reviews. I got out and hit up the food trucks on a nearly daily basis. I wrote about where they’d be each day and it was a huge hit (the reason I stopped, by the way, is because restaurants started opening back up, so a lot of trucks stopped showing up around town -AND- I had pretty much tried them all anyway). I had some of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, and discovered some of my new favorite spots
Personally – Finally, I gotta mention the creativity it forced my fiancé and I to use to visit with our family this year. From socially-distanced cookouts to road trips up to New Jersey, we’ve found ways to make things work, and that’s a testament to the love we all have for each other. Sometimes, a little fuckery like COVID-19 can remind you of that bond you have with loved ones and what you’re willing to do for them.
Nothing compares to her dad and her niece driving down in June to surprise her for her birthday, though. We had both been pretty down and feeling isolated for a long time leading up to that, and that weekend alone really turned both of our moods around. We got to stay in a hotel and actually go swimming, and we got to drive around and show her niece the city.
Kinda crazy to look back and think about how this stupid quarantine and lockdown led to such a beautiful moment that we’ll never forget.
It ain’t all doom and gloom out there.
Question:
Put together your supergroup. A vocalist, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Throw in some keys if you’re feeling frisky.
— Steven McCash (@MC_Cash75) September 3, 2020
Answer:
Bruno Mars as lead vocalist, Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar – can I put Tom Morello on rhythm? Feels blasphemous, but my man is one of the all time great riffers. Flea on bass, and Max Weinberg on drums. We’re gonna go on tour with some nu-metal soul groove.
Oh and I’m going to add in the dude from Slipknot to bang on a trash can.
Question:
How do you feel about career changes that lead to less income per year but more free time?
— Lady May Queen (@brittbutspooky) September 4, 2020
Answer:
I think your own personal happiness and success as you’ve defined it are the most important things in your life. You always have to look out for what’s best for you because no one else is going to. So, I support less income for more free time, and I dare say a little more peace of mind.
I actually took a 12% pay cut to work the day job I’m currently at, but that’s a whole can of worms I don’t think I can just air out on the internet. Point is, I was in an overwhelming job that was paying me very handsomely, but not giving me a lot of fulfillment or personal happiness and I made that leap as soon as I could (thanks, Rooster).
Question:
How many skittles do you think you can fit in your mouth?
— sobrostan (@sobrostan) September 4, 2020
Answer:
I don’t know why, but my gut reaction to this is 25 – now you got me wanting to try it. Skittles don’t dissolve that easily, so I feel like this is going to be trickier than people might initially think.
Question, from Kevin on Facebook:
When you eat hibachi, do you make it two meals by taking half of it home or do you go for the glory of finishing it all in one sitting?
Answer:
Bro, I don’t just eat two meals’ worth of food in one sitting, I finish my fiancé’s plate, too. I go for the glory of eating THREE meals in one sitting when we’re talking hibachi.
Question, from Olivia on Facebook:
What’s the elite dipping sauce?
Answer:
This might outside-the-box for some, but I’m going with sweet chili sauce. Give me a little bit of sweet, a little bit of spicy, and I’m golden. I will eat that stuff on just about everything – if you haven’t already, try it on a burger some time.
Question, from Olivia on Facebook:
If you were to own a sports team, what would the sport be and what would they be named?
Answer:
Definitely football because that’s the only thing I know remotely enough about to at least try to run an organization. I think I would base the team out of Gladeville, and we’d play our home games at the super speedway. We’d be called the Gladeville Coors Lights because I want to name the team after something I love and sell some sponsorships.
Keep the questions coming – catch y’all next week!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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