Empty the Call Sheet - Holiday Edition

A special edition of Yogi's weekly newsletter

Last year over the holidays, I can recall sitting down with my wife, Amy. We were wrapping presents, reflecting on life and discussing our personal visions for the future.

She was chasing her passion with her pet product company, KindTail, and I was chasing my childhood dream of being around sports. One thing was certain, our family was going to be in a state of transition. I was looking for a new broadcast booth to call home each weekend and she was asking all of the right questions.

As we talked through the night and into the morning one thing was certain – I needed to have a mindset and it needed to be one that was steady.

Thus my phrase of the year became “Be Light.”

As a rather intense person, I knew that things were going to shift under my feet and I had to be prepared to be nimble on my toes. So I challenged the inner athlete in me and knew intensity would not be the way to clarity.

As someone seeking a new job, I knew the rooms I’d walk into were aware that I was the one seeking employment. So the goal was to be a light and illuminate them. David Brooks wrote a brilliant piece in the New York Times about the power of shining a light on others, and I wanted to compete to do that.

And as a person who has always been passionate about the art of performance, I was also committed to finding that new broadcast booth and when up there on a Saturday night in the college football season, lighting it up!

This past year has been one where that phrase has been a cornerstone of my daily meditation and my core thought when walking into a variety of new football facilities.

It has also been the goal of what you read or listen to a few times per week here at Y-Option.

As we share our 100th newsletter today we hope that you feel like you’ve learned the stories of people like Pete Carroll, Kenny Dillingham, Ryan Leaf, Dillon Gabriel or most recently his mom, Dori, in ways you had not before. We hope that you view players, coaches and the game in a different light. Most importantly, we hope you feel like a light has been shone on college football through the lens of the West Coast. After all, that’s why we created this platform and hopefully it’s why you continue to return.

And that choice is not lost on us, or me, in any sense.

In our conversation that night my wife Amy asked me what mattered most – I didn’t flinch.

“Calling games, standing at the 50 and sharing stories during the week.”

From the booth with the Big Ten Network or my laptop here at Y-Option, the work we have done this fall has been an absolute joy to be connected to. I’ve watched our small and nimble team stay light on its toes, I’ve watched Jim Thornby pour into it like he only can and I’ve watched our community, your community, join forces around thoughtful dialogue in college football.

Where will it go from here? I’m not sure, but I do know we will compete to stay light, shine a light and when we enter your inbox, compete to light you up.

Happy Holidays and we hope you sit around your tree, menorah or kitchen table and find the light in your life, shine a light on those you love and feel lit up every day as you chase your passion and what matters most.

Much love from the West Coast,

Yogi