1,000 days ago, I was 19 years old, on medical leave from work at my dogshit grocery store job when my brother, Nick, called me. He wanted to see how I was doing with all the test I had to have done but he also said I should start blogging on my little sports blog everyday. Just at least one blog every single day. At this point posts were infrequent as shit, I was barely getting any eyes on it because I was barely posting.
I’d write about the Hawks, Stars, and Maple Leafs mostly. There was the first game Colliton coached. There is also an iconic “Ham Sports Life” blog from my first Chiclets ‘live’ show in Chicago. I’ll never forget Jim Lites calling Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin horseshit, immortalized in a blog I feverishly wrote at my favorite Denny’s which has since closed. It was different when I started because I had no clue what I was even fucking doing. Like I just sat down at my little Chromebook, pound out a few hundred words, and then just send it off into the world. I did it every few days because all I thought was “I don’t really have much to say about this or that.”
But Nick had a point. I would have almost nothing to do most days and I did enjoy blogging, despite being terrified and horrible at it. So from then on, I just did it. It started with just one day, and then two. Suddenly it was 100, 500, and now here we are at 1,000 days. I think the only other thing I’ve done consistently for 1,000 days is breathing.
In those 1,000 days I’ve quit that dogshit grocery store job and recently started working at a company I love and have looked up to for a long time. I’ve been on countless vacations, been unable to even pull myself out of bed, been through a global pandemic, become an aunt (friend’s kid). I’ve grown closer to an incredible group of friends, both IRL and online. I’ve lost people I have never wanted to have to live without – one of which being this very blog’s biggest supporter from day 1, my cousin Mike Quezada. My favorite restaurant closed down, I learned to animate and make graphics, I had a podcast and a daily live show on Periscope in the heart of the pandemic. I had days I wanted to give up this stupid streak and relinquish myself from the vise grip it kept on my mental health. I had days where I wrote 10 blogs and felt like I was on a high. I’ve written blogs from Chicago, Florida, New York, Dallas, Indiana, random bars, cars traveling to God knows where, friend’s basements before I had too many drinks, libraries — you name it, I probably was there blogging from my phone.
I’ve changed in a lot of ways in 1,000 days but I feel like for every way I’ve changed, I’ve really remained the same. I’m still an angry, 5’8″, Chicagoan who fucking loves hockey and will talk to everyone and anyone about it. Most days when I blog anyway I don’t do it for anyone else but myself. Sure I’d love people to read and enjoy these blogs and when you start you just try and get people to look at your stuff but after a while, most days it felt like the blog was for me. I don’t really do this for numbers, I do this because I fucking love it, it makes me happy to do. Like those days when I couldn’t even get myself out of bed, I could give myself one goal star — at least I blogged that day. And for me, that’s still enough and it made me feel a little less like a sack of shit.
I don’t like saying it a lot but for this, I am proud of myself. There were so many days I could have just fuckin’ given up. Just went to bed and let that stupid number waste away. I could have just stopped and everyone would have been fine with that. I don’t make any money off Ham Sports, I stress myself out writing some days. In the middle of the pandemic it was so difficult to find stuff to write about. It would have been so easy to just take a break and stop. But I didn’t and for that, fuck it, I’m proud of myself.
More than that, I’m thankful to anyone who have ever read these blogs. Just getting that one view on something makes my day so thank you. Cheers to 1,000 more.
Without further ado, over the course of 1,000 days and 1,345 blogs, here are some of those top blogs and ones I truely loved:
- Canucks (Allegedly) Fined $45,000 For (Allegedly) Sneaking Strippers into the Bubble
- Here is Why Erika Nardini Would Be Good With The NWHL
- Staying in Connor McDavid’s House Would Drive Me to Insanity in 3 Days Flat
- An Obituary to My Denny’s
- I Have More Evidence that the Birds Work for the Government
- Eat Your Monday Lunch With The Story Of An Unlucky Broomistega and Thrinaxodon That Are Living Rent Free In My Head
- An Exposé On Harry Style’s Pants
- Interrupting Your Feed With the Pied Piper Duck Fashion Show
- 6 Years Ago Today The Timeline Split
- USA V.S. Canada in Women’s Hockey Rivalry Series
- My Notes On Coming Out
- Looks Like I’m Coming Out Of Retirement to Throw Hands With This Pig
- Brianna Decker Beat Leon Draisaitl in Passing Challenge
- Mats Zuccarello Becoming Big Name In Dallas
- Hockey Players Who Need To Be Invited To The Met Gala
- Wake Up With Some EXCITING NEWS for Women’s Hockey
- Is No One Gonna Talk About Brent Burns In Vikings?
- David Pastrnak is the REAL Best Dressed NHL Player
In the words of Bo Burnham: “Fuck you, and goodbye, and let’s keep it going.”
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