Stool Sample?

Every writer, at heart, is a bit of a conspiracy theorist. We have to be; it makes us better writers. Being fearful of other folks taking our words and, ultimately, our ideas is an occupational hazard of sorts. Let's face it, the art of "the steal" is as old as the craft of writing itself. (Actually, I'm pretty sure one couldn't exist without the other.)

As a result, I was hesitant to throw my sports + thoughts hat in the ring when the media giant Barstool Sports posted an open job invite back in February. After all, applying meant giving one of the most influential sports' blogs of all time -- the competition, so to speak -- a heads up that my blog exists.

Tough spot, indeed.

I came to the conclusion I had nothing to lose so I WILLINGLY opened the books to Barstool Sports. Who am I not too, right?! It's Barstool Sports! El Presidente's success is proven and showcased by his masterful use of the written word, the Barstool empire he's created and, consequently, the followers he's converted using "Viva La Stool!" as a unifying battle cry. I'm a fan. Shit, I even "like" the Stool on facebook and that's more commitment than my ex-wife ever received.

True story.

I've often wondered if El Prez ever took the time to visit my site or facebook page to size me up since sending my application. Officially, I'll never know, but a recent facebook status update makes me think he just may have:

s+t exhibit A:



s+t exhibit B:



Now I'm not insinuating plagiarism or anything. It's the blogosphere, baby. Public domain. (Plus, we all know I don't have copyrights to the phrase, "City of Championship Indeed.") I'm simply saying there is an eerie similarity between his post and mine which preceded it by about 20 hours. I'm also saying there's a chance, albeit a small one, El Prez took a minute to visit the world of sports + thoughts.

And, during his brief visit, maybe one of my status updates invaded his subconscious resulting in the mirrored posts. Or maybe it's just a meaningless coincidence that I'm assigning value to.

Like that time I thought I saw Bill Belichick's face in a piece of chicken parmigiana back in '07.