Things You Don’t Realize You Should Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving (2021)

It's back - a time-honored tradition here at SoBros Network. For the SEVENTH year in a row, it's things you don't realize you should be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

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Ah, yes – Thanksgiving week. That can mean only one thing. The time-honored tradition at SoBros Network is back. Everyone always says the same thing this time of year – they’re thankful for friends, family, food, their job, etc. etc.. I don’t think that’s reflecting deep enough. It’s too generic, and in order to be truly thankful, there has to be a deeper sense of appreciation and understanding in it. That’s why I think we need to go above and beyond sometimes when reflecting upon the year that was. It helps ground us, y’know? So, let’s just take a moment to put things into perspective and consider some of the things that we are thankful for that we might not realize we are thankful for. We do still certainly have plenty to be thankful for and hope you do as well.

This is one of my favorite annual pieces, and with it being one of the only posts I’ve written for seven years in a row now, it has a special place in my heart, too. It’s a big girthy one though (that’s what she said), so I’ll quit blubbering before I start crying and just let y’all read the article you came here for.

Things You Don’t Realize You Should Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving (2021)

Cats – The actual thing, not the musical (unless they finally release the butthole cut). I’ve always been a big cat person, and often thought that people who hate cats just don’t understand them. There is nothing as strong as the bond of a cat that loves its owner. I’m getting far too serious for this column, but I love my cat (Bucky). He’s the perfect companion for me…doesn’t constantly sit and grovel for attention…doesn’t slobber and shit all over the place. He likes to play, but not all the time. When he wants some attention, he’ll come let me know, I’ll give him a good solid pet or two, and he’s content to just chill. He loves being around his family, and lives a happy, comfortable life. The feral cat population is out of control – all I’m saying is maybe entertain the idea of adopting and taking care of a cat in need. They’re deserving of your love just as much as dogs are. If you can’t adopt, I’d suggest a donation to The Joy Clinic, who does miraculous work in helping to control the feral cat population.

Brendan Fraser – It’s comeback time for our king. FINALLY! Do yourself a favor and put on a Brendan Fraser classic and enjoy his charming and positive aura this holiday season.

The blossoming food scene here in Nashville – New restaurants open and close all the time in the Music City, but I don’t know that us old heads stop and take a moment to appreciate just how far Nashville has come as a food city often enough. I can remember growing up and thinking the Old Spaghetti Factory was the pinnacle of fine dining. Now….we have some actual fine dining options in town. Not to mention, the variety of restaurants you can find in this city has never been better (at least since I was born in 1986 – oof, gotta catch myself saying blanket statements sometimes..).

Hell or High Water – I just re-watched this classic the other day and it just doesn’t get much better in a modern Western. Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, and Ben Foster are just *chef’s kiss* in this one, and it delivers one of the greatest movie endings of all time, in my opinion with that iconic final exchange. I won’t spoil it for you, but you have to go check this one out if you haven’t already.

Google suite – I honestly have no idea what I would do or how I would effectively run SoBros Network if not for the Google suite – Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Analytics, Console, AdSense, Ads, anything that Google make is a phenomenal business tool. I would sell my soul…wait, no I wouldn’t…I don’t think…I’m probably just being overly dramatic here, or my brain is finally being fully invaded by the Google bots. Point is that they’ve made a really effective set of tools for documentation, organization, and to be able to access them from anywhere is critical to me. Love you, Google.

Cracker Barrel – I, quite frankly, do not fuck with all the Cracker Barrel slander I’ve been seeing on my Twitter timeline lately. Bland food? Unseasoned? Not representative of real Southern cuisine?! That last one…okay, I’ll give you a ‘maybe’ on that one…but Cracker Barrel is a veritable institution around these parts and I will not hear otherwise. Bathe me in that hashbrown casserole. And, they serve beer now too? GTFOH! Cracker Barrel to the moon.

Online fight videos – you can call me a low-class inbred hick all you want, I don’t care. I love a good viral fight video to break down…like the pizza boys, and this one that I’d like to find the time to do a full write-up on at some point this week:

Nobody:

Titans Twitter: pic.twitter.com/0ozojecihZ
— Lebowski and other Dude Things (@MisterLebowski) November 20, 2021

The local sports media here in Nashville – Finally, I want to talk to all of the Nashville sports fans who whine about not getting enough coverage from the national media. No one knows this market better than the reporters, broadcasters, writers, podcasters, and content creators that are here busting their asses to make sure the Nashville teams are getting the coverage they’re due. Knowing that when you tune into the national people, who by and large don’t even really watch the Titans, you’re going to get half-assed takes and uninformed analysis, why would you even want these people to cover the Titans more? It just doesn’t make sense to me. The best discussions….the best articles…the best information on this team all comes from people who are focusing solely on the Titans. And, I don’t know how this dynamic plays out in other markets, but I damn sure know that the local folks here are damn good at what they do. I’ll even help to get you started. My favorite Nashville sports writers, reporters, and general Twitter follows include:

Look – I only really care about the Titans…full disclosure, full transparency there. If there’s anyone I’m missing, as I’m absolutely positive I am, let me know and I’ll add them to this list. Now, my personal favorite Nashville sports podcasts…the ones I’m sure to catch every week are:

And, some Preds and Nashville SC podcasts that have been repeatedly recommended to me but I don’t listen to because I don’t follow the Preds or Nashville SC outside of going to get shitfaced drunk at a game every once in awhile:

There you go – you don’t need Stephen A. Smith screaming shit he doesn’t know about or people that can’t even pronounce Kevin Byard’s name correctly. Fuck that – just stick to these folks, take in their content, engage with it, and enjoy the community born out of that. Quit with this “no respect” nonsense – I promise it’s not that big of a deal.

Submissions

Every year, I try to open this discussion up to the SoBros team and to the SoBros community at large. This is what I got this year:

“Taylor Swift’s ten minute version of All Too Well” -Owen
“Hot water heaters” -Cad
“Marvel trailers” -Owen
“It might have come up last year but – working from home” -Rooster
“It’s not an election year” -Owen
“Playlists that people make on youtube for extremely specific atmospheric/emotional settings (that are great for writing) and are titled things like “your characters are starting a revolution” or “A Playlist to Feel Like a 19th Century Villain Who Won the Game” -Rooster
“Soup. Good soup.” -Brittany
“The random onion ring in your French Fries” -Will
“Working from home: 1. You haven’t had to listen to a coworker’s voice on volume infinity during calls 2. Or popping their gum” -Alyson
“I’m super thankful for those times when you feel down or something is not right in your life, there always seems to be special people to show up when you least expect it. Happy Thanksgiving. Keep doing those awesome things all you guys do.” -Brian on Facebook

Also, in case you missed it, check out this year’s Thanksgiving episode of The SoBros Hot Minute:

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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