Here We Go Again

In an effort to not bury the lede, my position was eliminated today with ESPN980 and I am no longer with the station. It was made clear to me that this was a business decision that had nothing to do with my performance. That is the lede. That is over.

Now, woah.

The outpouring of support today has been somewhat overwhelming. Fortunately, it's been the only part that's been overwhelming. That is to say, I'm actually okay. For those that don't know, I've been through this before. I was sent packing in Lawrence, KS after a similarly short time on the job in an eerily similar circumstance to here, where the person who hired me left the company and I was gone shortly thereafter.

I had moved my life across the country and started to really settle in to a new place when my world was turned upside down. I survived. I moved on and wound up moving up. There's a lot farther up to go when you're in Lawrence, KS (as a radio market...I absolutely loved the town) than there is in Washington, DC but if I'm able to move on and stay at the same level I was here, I'll be perfectly happy.

And I know I can do it, which brings me back to the woah.

The support today came from all over. It came from colleagues. It came from friends. It came from "competitors" who were always kind no matter what. It came from people I worked along side day in and day out on the beat. It came from people who consumed what we did and apparently quite enjoyed it.

Redskins fans are by far the most passionate fans I've worked with, and that's no small feat considering where I've been. It's a passionate, intimate fandom spread literally around the world. I got emails from Europe and South America from people listening. I was blown away by the passion from the moment it was announced I was coming, and while many were skeptical as I made my way up from Dallas, apparently I did alright.

Of the hundreds of twitter replies I got today, there was one that was negative and it had to do with me coming from Dallas and it literally made me laugh out loud. What really got to me though is how many of you not just took time to reach out and say "hey, I'm sorry" but instead "hey, I really enjoyed what you did." That means the world. I don't know how else to say it.

Everyone works to achieve a goal. In the media business, our goal is to produce a product that the consumer enjoys. Apparently I was able to do that on a level I wasn't quite sure about until today.

This note is already longer than I wanted it to be, but I'd be remiss if I didn't thank everyone at 980 who made the last 5 months an amazing experience, in particular Sheehan and Cooley. Kevin was always available to make sure I was good and to answer any question I had. That's a hell of a resource for a kid trying to figure out this market on the fly. If you liked what I did, thank Kevin. Seriously, he deserves it.

As for Chris, let me put this bluntly. The work I got to do with Cooley will literally shape my life from here on out. How I look at sports is different because of him. He probably won't read this. That's okay. I told him. I sincerely hope everyone realizes how lucky they are to have him. Other markets don't have guys like that. I'm privileged to have worked with the dude and count him as a friend as I move forward.

My family and girlfriend have been amazing in their support and I know they will continue to be. It's part of the reason I know I'm gonna be okay. I'll be employed again, hopefully soon and life will go on. I sincerely hope the passionate Skins fans who have loved what we've done continue to have an outlet that produces the content you crave and deserve. Because make no mistake about it, you deserve it.

All updates on what I'm doing will be here. I'll also probably start writing here and we'll see if we can dust off the "Funemployment Podcast" for old time's sake.

In the meantime, thanks again for everything. Off to the next one.