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Abstract

ng on victorious. That’s when Matt Nagy blew it.</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*npclg5Nh2B9lLar34FlR8w.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="4dea">Randy Moss, Hall of Famer</h2><p id="849e">In August, my favorite player of all time was elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. You know I had to wax poetic about Randy Moss.</p><div id="497d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/straight-hall-of-fame-homie-the-randy-moss-story-nfl-football-minnesota-vikings-new-england-patriots-e57272b691b7"> <div> <div> <h2>Straight Hall of Fame, Homie - The Randy Moss Story</h2> <div><h3>10 of the finest moments for one of the greatest to ever play the game of football</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*pjYIq0_ThNpO7IcYUiAMJw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="2d2b">Television and Media</h1><h2 id="3fe7">Get Out was the movie of the year</h2><p id="9f6f">The Oscars came and went without much recognition for <i>Get Out</i>, but that doesn’t change how I felt about it. I thought <i>Get Out</i> was the movie of the year, the one we’ll all remember and the one everyone needs to watch, especially if you’re white like me. <i>Get Out</i> is technically a horror film, but the real horror is how much realism is layered beneath the surface as Jordan Peele deftly considers racism and microaggressions in the modern age.</p><div id="f160" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/get-out-is-the-2017-movie-we-will-remember-best-picture-oscars-shape-of-water-jordan-peele-f81d3395f066"> <div> <div> <h2>Get Out may not be Best Picture, but it’s the movie we’ll remember from 2017</h2> <div><h3>A haunting reminder of subtle racism in 2017</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*8xXhbC0mQNGWSdRxKW3Gjw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="aff7">S-P-O-R-T-S. Is spelling a sport?</h2><p id="bebd">The spelling bee is unironically one of my favorite sporting events of the entire year. I’m absolutely convinced spelling is “sports,” and this year I had the privilege of interviewing two former National Spelling Bee champions and sharing their stories. This was my best 2018 piece with <a href="undefined">Grandstand Staff</a> where I’m a senior editor, and it was one of my favorite pieces to prep and write all year.</p><div id="fdbb" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/is-spelling-a-sport-scripps-national-spelling-bee-sriram-hathwar-pratyush-buddiga-lebron-james-450e1d1eec02"> <div> <div> <h2>S-P-O-R-T-S. Is Spelling a Sport?</h2> <div><h3>Two Spelling Bee national champions tell all on the eve of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*JnP2-v1y0_qUAsKK-AUi1A.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="4cb0">My 2017 favorite movies, shows, books, and podcasts</h2><p id="3038">This is one of my favorite pieces each year, and yes, the 2018 version will be coming soon. If you’re looking to dig into a new movie or TV show or want to grab a book or pop your new Air Pods in and listen to a podcast, I guarantee you’ll find something here worth your while. These were my 25 media favorites from 2017.</p><div id="9caf" class="link-block"> <a href="https://movietime.guru/the-25-best-things-i-read-watched-and-heard-in-2017-d249e131fc6d"> <div> <div> <h2>The 25 Best Things I Read, Watched, and Heard in 2017</h2> <div><h3>Need a new TV show, movie, podcast, or book? You’ve come to the right place…</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*fPbGPCt-EOA31UXnvTXi6w.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="0b88">My faith</h1><h2 id="3bc6">Billy Graham was not a hero</h2><p id="47e2">As each year comes to a close, TV stations always run those sad compilations with four minutes of names and images set to the newest Sarah McLachlan tune as we remember those who have gone on before us. They usually save the biggest names for last, and there’s no doubt in my mind about who should get “the hammer” in the final spot for 2018. Few people in modern history have changed the world for better like Billy Graham, a man who evangelized to hundreds of millions in his lifetime. But that doesn’t make Billy Graham a hero; far from it, in fact.</p><div id="6a0c" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/billy-graham-was-not-a-hero-83d9375b72f8"> <div> <div> <h2>Billy Graham Was Not a Hero</h2> <div><h3>But he spent his life telling the Gospel story of a man who is</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*[email protected])"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="82a1">Finding a new home in a church</h2><p id="0f6e">The first piece I wrote in 2018 was about the best thing I did in 2017: finding a new home and a new church family. In 2018 I became a member of my church and discovered along the way that they honeymoon phase wears off and that church is hard, that people are sinful and broken, and that it’s not easy to live in community and accountability with others. But it is worth it.</p><div id="5856" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-best-thing-i-did-in-2017-823accd0448f"> <div> <div> <h2>The Best Thing I Did in 2017</h2> <div><h3>Finding a new home in a place I never would have expected</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*WNcZfgfC1EPH00BJbmMuTA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="0c4d">My first Holy Week as an Anglican</h2><p id="9084"><a href="http://www.cityoflightanglican.org/">My church is Anglican</a>, and part of being Anglican is following the church calendar. That includes a long Lent build-up to Easter which culminates in a massive Holy Week and a huge Easter celebration. I never really understood why everything had to be so big and busy, and a friend in church told me I needed to just jump in and do everything and then I’d understand. And so I did.</p><div id="ab28" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/experiencing-holy-week-through-new-eyes-city-of-light-anglican-aurora-easter-faith-jesus-christianity-53060eb08a09"> <div> <div> <h2>Experiencing Holy Week through New Eyes</h2> <div><h3>Celebrating Easter with a new family through the fresh eyes of preschoolers and teens and a wealth of friends and…</h3></div> <div>

Options

<p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*Fldjj-d_Kv8xzeEChUJxxw.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="17e8">Three other favorites…</h1><h2 id="36a6">I voted in a midterm election because it mattered</h2><p id="183e">I prefer to think of myself as apolitical, but I am learning that it is my white and male privilege to do so. Because I am white and male and in a position of majority and power, I can just sigh loudly at politics and check out mentally and know I’ll never really be in too much trouble, and I can post sad thoughts about politics on social media and look really good, but that’s not enough in 2018. It’s not even close. We need to do better and I can do so much more, and it started with learning how to vote in a midterm election.</p><div id="04ce" class="link-block"> <a href="https://extranewsfeed.com/i-voted-hope-you-vote-too-2018-usa-midterm-election-7898ab6bc23e"> <div> <div> <h2>Yes, I Voted. I Hope You Vote, Too.</h2> <div><h3>One apolitical man finds his voice at the midterm election. Perhaps I can help you find yours, too.</h3></div> <div><p>extranewsfeed.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*cFrYw144Mop-pDxMzNn0qA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="9720">The Winter Olympics aka Not-the-Good Olympics</h2><p id="fafc">This was another piece I wrote for Grandstand Central, a satire about the Winter Olympics. I have long felt the Winter Olympics were the sad little stepsister of the much better Summer Olympics. Recently someone excitedly asked me if the Winter Olympics were coming soon; the Winter Olympics are so forgettable that a fan forgot they happened literally 10 months ago. The Winter Olympics stink and are just a place holder for the real Olympic games two years later. Don’t @ me.</p><div id="7743" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-winter-olympics-are-stupid-and-pointless-2d9a0fed687"> <div> <div> <h2>The Winter Olympics Are Stupid and Pointless</h2> <div><h3>Better to watch some snow melt, and wait for the Summer Olympics instead</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*g4OaqRdLfgMEASsonuU56w.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="973c">Alabama football became… tolerable?</h2><p id="048a">Alabama won another national championship in January, and actually I kind of enjoyed it. And if that wasn’t bad enough, now I’m even friends with an Alabama fan. Honestly, I don’t know how we got here. Don’t worry; I’m still rooting for Clemson next week.</p><div id="1fd4" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/alabama-won-another-championship-and-it-was-actually-kinda-cool-a313844dc5b0"> <div> <div> <h2>Confessions of a Bama Hater: That Was Actually Pretty Cool</h2> <div><h3>Why this one is different — and why even the staunchest Bama haters should appreciate the Friday Night Lights ending</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*-lZl-Dkzd-iOps2i2y05rg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h1 id="21fe">So… now what for 2019?</h1><h2 id="8d76">1. Keep reading!</h2><p id="7531">I’ll keep on writing lots on 2019, so please keep reading! I typically write 3–5 pieces a week and wrote over 100,000 words in 2018. I don’t expect you to read everything, but I hope you read some of it! Writers don’t write in a vacuum. It’s only worthwhile if someone reads it. Which reminds me…</p><h2 id="5792">2. Please engage!</h2><p id="ab35">Unless you’re a writer, you probably don’t quite know the feeling of despair and loneliness when you pour your heart into writing something, put it out there on the internet for all the world to see, and… crickets. You check back the next day and got one like, a couple claps, and 47 views. Awesome. Writing is hard. I sit alone in my house for hours staring at a screen writing words and then I put stuff out on the internet and never really know if anyone even read it or cared a lot of the time.</p><p id="ac26">But you can change that! Did you know that clapping on these articles helps get me paid? So does highlighting them or adding a comment. And all the more so if you pay $5 a month and subscribe to Medium. Think of it like tipping. Always tip something, and tip extra if it was especially good. That’s how we get noticed and paid, just like servers or delivery guys. You can also like or comment on social media. And hey, you know what else is cool? Texting or calling or talking to me about something I wrote. Seriously, that makes my entire week. It’s really nice to know someone is reading.</p><p id="cc1b">PS. Still true about those 15 pieces above, too.</p><h2 id="6e99">3. A new publication… maybe?</h2><p id="f737">I’ve long thought about making my own publication on Medium. Perhaps the time has come. Writing is more fun with other writers, and that opens opportunities for co-writing and podcasting too. Maybe it will also provide some opportunities to work with up-and-coming writers, to work with them as an editor and help them grow like I have, to launch them to their next opportunity. Stay tuned. And let me know if you’re interested.</p><h2 id="e840">4. Let me know what else you’d like to read!</h2><p id="c864">Actually my favorite thing I “wrote” in 2018 wasn’t really something I wrote at all… it was a brainstorm list. It got more engagement than anything else I did, but then life and consulting work got busy this fall and I ended up not doing a lot of the ideas yet. Hopefully more of that in 2019 too.</p><p id="c872">Again, writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Writers write to be read. What would you like to read? I can’t wait to keep writing for you.</p><p id="9dc6">Thank you as always for reading!!</p><div id="671f" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/what-should-i-write-about-next-ideas-writing-brainstorm-sports-culture-tv-movies-bible-consulting-f64c14d87658"> <div> <div> <h2>What would you like me to write about?</h2> <div><h3>I brainstormed 50 new writing topics. So, dear readers, what would you like to read next?</h3></div> <div><p></p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*04CKXsC2DcJGOBndF-oQDg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="a07d"><i>Follow Brandon on Medium or <a href="https://twitter.com/wheatonbrando">@wheatonbrando</a> for more sports, television, humor, and culture. Visit the rest of Brandon’s <a href="https://readmedium.com/brandon-anderson-writing-archives-6b3ee1a29301#.6cteu050v">writing archives here</a>.</i></p><figure id="3b76"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*YnbtD8IipCsqVjNwkjtY8w.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="2ba5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*d318hSQDEA-NP2sgKkTINw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure id="0963"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*jwbMPAfFsxT_PGFz7US69Q.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></article></body>

The Best 15 Things I Wrote in 2018

My greatest hits from a year filled with NBA, NFL, TV, movies, faith, politics, and more…

I wrote a lot of words in 2018, over 100,000 in total. A lot of it was about sports; some of it was about faith, politics, television, movies, or life. Some of it was pretty good; other writing was a learning experience. Writers are always learning, and I learned a lot in 2018. It was a hard year, but a good year. I wrote a lot, and I appreciate you reading.

Below are links to my 15 favorite things I wrote in 2018 plus a little blurb about each one. They’re divided into three favorites from five different sections: the NBA, the NFL, TV and media, my faith, and the catch-all “miscellaneous” category. Enjoy!

NBA

The Jimmy Butler trade

The more I’ve written about sports, the more I’ve realized that NBA basketball is my favorite sport to watch and write about. This year that included writing three times about Jimmy “General Soreness” Butler and his tumultuous year in Minnesota. I think the Timberwolves could end up winning the Butler trade — and we’re already starting to see some of it come to fruition.

Minnesota Timberwolves could end up winners in the Jimmy Butler trade

Philadelphia got the best player, but Minnesota made the best long-term move for the modern NBA

Luka Doncic: future (and present) stud

I write more and more about the NBA draft each year, and I’ve gotten pretty good at analyzing young players and prospects. But the most interesting prospect by far this year was Luka Doncic, the young Slovenian star. I was all-in from Doncic from the moment I saw him and argued for him as the #1 pick last spring. Spoiler alert: I was right. Everything we’ve seen in his first 30 games makes Luka look like a future MVP candidate.

Is Luka Doncic a Sure Thing #1 NBA Lottery Pick?

The NBA Draft Lottery looms. Are teams vying for the chance to take Luka Doncic?

Math and basketball: 3>2

It’s easy to forget now, but the Houston Rockets were a couple shots away from knocking off the Golden State Warriors last spring, right until the team couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn in a season-ending Game 7 loss. I wrote about why all those missed threes were not a referendum on Houston’s style of play or on three pointers —just horrible luck at the worst time possible. This was a great Brandon Venn diagram of sports, math, and analysis.

Game 7 Was Not a Referendum on Three Pointers or Style of Play

But it might be a referendum on bad math and statistical analysis

NBA Draft and Summer League manifestos

Bonus! If you need more basketball, I’ve got you covered with my two biggest and personal favorite pieces of the year. You can find about 15 games I watched and analyzed so you didn’t have to in my archives, and you can also read my 20,000-word NBA Summer League manifesto or my full 2018 NBA Draft big board manifesto with the links below. I was in on Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Josh Okogie and very out on DeAndre Ayton. Feeling pretty good so far.

2018 NBA Draft Big Board Manifesto

Trae is awesome, Ayton shouldn't go #1, and everything else you need to know for NBA Draft Day…

NFL

The Kirk Cousins signing

Last spring, I called Kirk Cousins one of the best NFL free agents of all time and said that half the league should sign him. Now the Vikings missed the playoffs, and Cousins dropped to 4–25 all time against winning teams. And you know what? I stand by every word I wrote. Cousins was and still is worth every penny.

Kirk Cousins is insanely valuable, and half the league should try to sign him

YOU LIKE THAT??

When the Bears almost screwed up the entire season

It’s easy to forget now, but the Chicago Bears blew a big one Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers after leading all game. At the time, it seemed like just another reason why Aaron Rodgers and the Packers would always be big brother. A lot has changed since then, but this was still one of my favorite analysis pieces of the year.

How one disastrous coaching decision destroyed 45 minutes of Bears brilliance

Chicago was one play away from moving on victorious. That’s when Matt Nagy blew it.

Randy Moss, Hall of Famer

In August, my favorite player of all time was elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. You know I had to wax poetic about Randy Moss.

Straight Hall of Fame, Homie - The Randy Moss Story

10 of the finest moments for one of the greatest to ever play the game of football

Television and Media

Get Out was the movie of the year

The Oscars came and went without much recognition for Get Out, but that doesn’t change how I felt about it. I thought Get Out was the movie of the year, the one we’ll all remember and the one everyone needs to watch, especially if you’re white like me. Get Out is technically a horror film, but the real horror is how much realism is layered beneath the surface as Jordan Peele deftly considers racism and microaggressions in the modern age.

Get Out may not be Best Picture, but it’s the movie we’ll remember from 2017

A haunting reminder of subtle racism in 2017

S-P-O-R-T-S. Is spelling a sport?

The spelling bee is unironically one of my favorite sporting events of the entire year. I’m absolutely convinced spelling is “sports,” and this year I had the privilege of interviewing two former National Spelling Bee champions and sharing their stories. This was my best 2018 piece with Grandstand Staff where I’m a senior editor, and it was one of my favorite pieces to prep and write all year.

S-P-O-R-T-S. Is Spelling a Sport?

Two Spelling Bee national champions tell all on the eve of the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee

My 2017 favorite movies, shows, books, and podcasts

This is one of my favorite pieces each year, and yes, the 2018 version will be coming soon. If you’re looking to dig into a new movie or TV show or want to grab a book or pop your new Air Pods in and listen to a podcast, I guarantee you’ll find something here worth your while. These were my 25 media favorites from 2017.

The 25 Best Things I Read, Watched, and Heard in 2017

Need a new TV show, movie, podcast, or book? You’ve come to the right place…

My faith

Billy Graham was not a hero

As each year comes to a close, TV stations always run those sad compilations with four minutes of names and images set to the newest Sarah McLachlan tune as we remember those who have gone on before us. They usually save the biggest names for last, and there’s no doubt in my mind about who should get “the hammer” in the final spot for 2018. Few people in modern history have changed the world for better like Billy Graham, a man who evangelized to hundreds of millions in his lifetime. But that doesn’t make Billy Graham a hero; far from it, in fact.

Billy Graham Was Not a Hero

But he spent his life telling the Gospel story of a man who is

Finding a new home in a church

The first piece I wrote in 2018 was about the best thing I did in 2017: finding a new home and a new church family. In 2018 I became a member of my church and discovered along the way that they honeymoon phase wears off and that church is hard, that people are sinful and broken, and that it’s not easy to live in community and accountability with others. But it is worth it.

The Best Thing I Did in 2017

Finding a new home in a place I never would have expected

My first Holy Week as an Anglican

My church is Anglican, and part of being Anglican is following the church calendar. That includes a long Lent build-up to Easter which culminates in a massive Holy Week and a huge Easter celebration. I never really understood why everything had to be so big and busy, and a friend in church told me I needed to just jump in and do everything and then I’d understand. And so I did.

Experiencing Holy Week through New Eyes

Celebrating Easter with a new family through the fresh eyes of preschoolers and teens and a wealth of friends and…

Three other favorites…

I voted in a midterm election because it mattered

I prefer to think of myself as apolitical, but I am learning that it is my white and male privilege to do so. Because I am white and male and in a position of majority and power, I can just sigh loudly at politics and check out mentally and know I’ll never really be in too much trouble, and I can post sad thoughts about politics on social media and look really good, but that’s not enough in 2018. It’s not even close. We need to do better and I can do so much more, and it started with learning how to vote in a midterm election.

Yes, I Voted. I Hope You Vote, Too.

One apolitical man finds his voice at the midterm election. Perhaps I can help you find yours, too.

extranewsfeed.com

The Winter Olympics aka Not-the-Good Olympics

This was another piece I wrote for Grandstand Central, a satire about the Winter Olympics. I have long felt the Winter Olympics were the sad little stepsister of the much better Summer Olympics. Recently someone excitedly asked me if the Winter Olympics were coming soon; the Winter Olympics are so forgettable that a fan forgot they happened literally 10 months ago. The Winter Olympics stink and are just a place holder for the real Olympic games two years later. Don’t @ me.

The Winter Olympics Are Stupid and Pointless

Better to watch some snow melt, and wait for the Summer Olympics instead

Alabama football became… tolerable?

Alabama won another national championship in January, and actually I kind of enjoyed it. And if that wasn’t bad enough, now I’m even friends with an Alabama fan. Honestly, I don’t know how we got here. Don’t worry; I’m still rooting for Clemson next week.

Confessions of a Bama Hater: That Was Actually Pretty Cool

Why this one is different — and why even the staunchest Bama haters should appreciate the Friday Night Lights ending

So… now what for 2019?

1. Keep reading!

I’ll keep on writing lots on 2019, so please keep reading! I typically write 3–5 pieces a week and wrote over 100,000 words in 2018. I don’t expect you to read everything, but I hope you read some of it! Writers don’t write in a vacuum. It’s only worthwhile if someone reads it. Which reminds me…

2. Please engage!

Unless you’re a writer, you probably don’t quite know the feeling of despair and loneliness when you pour your heart into writing something, put it out there on the internet for all the world to see, and… crickets. You check back the next day and got one like, a couple claps, and 47 views. Awesome. Writing is hard. I sit alone in my house for hours staring at a screen writing words and then I put stuff out on the internet and never really know if anyone even read it or cared a lot of the time.

But you can change that! Did you know that clapping on these articles helps get me paid? So does highlighting them or adding a comment. And all the more so if you pay $5 a month and subscribe to Medium. Think of it like tipping. Always tip something, and tip extra if it was especially good. That’s how we get noticed and paid, just like servers or delivery guys. You can also like or comment on social media. And hey, you know what else is cool? Texting or calling or talking to me about something I wrote. Seriously, that makes my entire week. It’s really nice to know someone is reading.

PS. Still true about those 15 pieces above, too.

3. A new publication… maybe?

I’ve long thought about making my own publication on Medium. Perhaps the time has come. Writing is more fun with other writers, and that opens opportunities for co-writing and podcasting too. Maybe it will also provide some opportunities to work with up-and-coming writers, to work with them as an editor and help them grow like I have, to launch them to their next opportunity. Stay tuned. And let me know if you’re interested.

4. Let me know what else you’d like to read!

Actually my favorite thing I “wrote” in 2018 wasn’t really something I wrote at all… it was a brainstorm list. It got more engagement than anything else I did, but then life and consulting work got busy this fall and I ended up not doing a lot of the ideas yet. Hopefully more of that in 2019 too.

Again, writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Writers write to be read. What would you like to read? I can’t wait to keep writing for you.

Thank you as always for reading!!

What would you like me to write about?

I brainstormed 50 new writing topics. So, dear readers, what would you like to read next?

Follow Brandon on Medium or @wheatonbrando for more sports, television, humor, and culture. Visit the rest of Brandon’s writing archives here.