Like most things HLS, the end didn’t go as planned. I’ve already been called out on our Discord for wrapping up the podcast earlier than announced. It turns out when Notre Dame has a historical collapse, one last episode after recapping that mess doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, especially if your hosts just had their hearts ripped out of them one final time.

Even that episode didn’t end as planned. In the “post-credit” picks, Eddie delivered breaking news that delivered the final, and fitting, kick to the sports-junk we needed to say goodbye.

Jokes aside, this is a bittersweet end for me, personally. My HLS tenure has lasted just a bit longer than my relationship with my wife and, in an all-time upset, didn’t end it. Truth be told, she’s the one to thank for how long this run went. All those times I’ve tried to quit or take a reduced role here–yeah, she’s the one that gave me the “go get ’em” to keep me coming back.

This time around, she couldn’t talk me out of it. Frankly, this time around, I’m not sure she tried too hard either!

It’s definitely time to say goodbye and saying goodbye to something that’s taken up over a quarter of your life is a real weird thing, especially when you still enjoy doing it. However, what I quickly began to enjoy far less was worrying about my kids getting to sleep so I could run down and podcast/stream, how I could fit my Extra Life efforts into football season, what I would need to do to catch up on football when my kids had weekend events/birthday parties, trying to find the time to date my own wife during football season, how I balance everything with my job, etc.

Couple all that with the fact that, in order to be truly successful in this racket, you have to work your ass off to optimize SEO, find advertising partners, market the hell out of your stuff, and have a solid social media plan. That game has absolutely passed me by. When you realize the game has passed you by, it’s time to hang ’em up.

I still love writing and creating content. I’m really excited to see what I can do with my Patreon (which only costs a measly $1/month to sign up for) now that the constraints of a football schedule or super-focused content are gone. I’m also excited to see the heights that I can take Gamin’ 4 Aven with a more sustainable streaming schedule and focus to keep building my Twitch community and hitting my $20K fundraising goal this year.

I love the community that we’ve built. I want to keep building it through these efforts. That’s why the HLS Discord isn’t going anywhere. In fact, my dream is to have all my community efforts combine into one happy family. I’ve spent way too long and tried far too hard to separate all my various efforts. That won’t be happening any more because the truth of the matter is that the HLS community is the foundation that I’ve built both my Patreon and Extra Life efforts on.

As long as I can pay the bills, this site will stay up to serve as an archive of all our work as it’s quite the time capsule of the Weis and BK eras. I’m looking forward to other sites and podcasts bringing in the content for the Freeman era and I’m beyond excited to consume it as just a fan.

I want to thank MQ and Biscuit for reaching out back in what seems another lifetime ago to write for HLS. And when MQ stepped down, I want to thank Biscuit for trusting me with the reigns of the thing that he and MQ built.

I want to thank everyone that contributed to HLS in any way, shape or form–even Poot. We got to develop our own unique style and brand and went through countless iterations of what we wanted HLS to be and grow into. Every single person that came through here turned HLS into it’s final form that we say goodbye to today and I can’t thank y’all enough.

I want to thank my family, especially my wonderful wife for encouraging me on this whole journey. I said it before, but everyone owes Mrs. Tex all the thanks in the world. She is my rock and helped me push forward when I thought I was done on more than one occasion. I’ve had family members listen to this show and then somehow spread the word to people. Even my kids were proud of what I did despite having very little idea of what I actually did when they were asleep–probably for the best, honestly.

And, of course, I want to thank each and every person that read, watched, or listened to anything that we did here. Without you, we’re screaming into the void. When NDN decided to stop linking us, it could’ve (and probably should’ve) killed us right then and there. Instead, we doubled-down and focused on you, the Loyal Readers. It was the best decision we ever made and I’m walking away from HLS more proud than I was when we had over one million pageviews. We got to finish this thing out on our own terms because of you.

It’s been an amazing ride, but I’m ready to get off. I can’t wait to have drinks with y’all at tailgates in the future–even the awful drinks that your donations to charity provide.

See you, Space Cowboy…

The post Epilogue appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Shane & I hold one last therapy session in talking about what went wrong during the Fiesta Bowl and what hopes we have for the future.

Be sure to stay around post-credits for Eddie and I to pick the national championship and send off the HLS podcast in quite literally the most fitting way possible.

Enjoy our final show!

Podcast

The post HLS Podcast Finale appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

So I sent a message with a wild idea to Shane: let’s go on Twitch and stream a CPU vs CPU matchup of the week’s Notre Dame game using a decade-plus old video game as our “preview”. To my knowledge, no one was doing this (at best, they were playing NCAA ’14 themselves) so I figured it was worth a season to experiment.

The next thing I knew, the sim created a string of running inside jokes and we had people that legitimately made the sim appointment live viewing. Even though there were days I came to the stream completely exhausted and/or fighting a severe bout of depression, the sim always kicked me out of it. Something unbelievably stupid and hilarious would happen without fail–multiple times.

Whether you watched live, on demand, or listened to the podcast, I can’t thank you enough for making this a thing. The joy and laughter you heard was always geniune…as was my utter disgust when virtual Notre Dame lost.

The Fiesta Bowl sim was a perfect send off. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I hope you enjoy the final entry as well.

Five Wide. DRINK!

Podcast

Twitch VoD

In HLS tradition, yep, there was a technical issue. The music didn’t come through at all and the first drop didn’t as well. OOPS!

The post The Final Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State NCAA ’14 Sim appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Despite opt-outs and COVID cancellations, Eddie and I went 7-2 last week, bringing our bowl totals to 13-10 and 12-11 as I keep my one game edge. Overall, we are 112-80-4.

Yes, this means that we’ve hit the point in which we couldn’t even screw up going over .500 if we tried!

But like Notre Dame getting a good draw with Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, it’d be silly for us to lose a bunch now. So come enjoy your last large batch of winners!

#HAILGAMBLOR

Podcast

The post Penultimate Picks Pod appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

However, the show must go on despite my lack of research. With that in mind I came up with some, uh, “creative” methods to pick these games. I’m particularly proud of what I came up with for the multiple bowl games in baseball stadiums, personally.

Oh, and we have some fun with bowl sponsors too, including me trying to chat with a bot during the show as pictured below:

#HAILGAMBLOR

Podcast

The post 2021 Bowl Picks: Week 2 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

As we won’t be recording until next Thursday, we have 14 bowl games to pick. More importantly, Eddie also has a list of bowl gifts ready to go. Even more importantly, we visit some of the websites to figure out what some of this stuff is and do we ever make some discoveries.

Oh, and hang on past the closing song because you will hear Eddie and I try to figure out some confusing reference material only to find out…well, you will have to listen for yourself.

#HAILGAMBLOR

Podcast

The post 2021 Bowl Picks: Week 1 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Thankfully, I realized that I run this show. I changed some rules. Gotta keep this interesting. After all, this isn’t about the money now. It’s about walking off this thing with a W.

After taking some liberties with the Army/Navy pick, I go over this year’s tiebreaker: our 2021 futures. Spoiler alert: they were real bad!

#HAILGAMBLOR

Podcast

The post Army/Navy & 2021 Futures Reviews appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Foreshadowing

Way back before the season started, there was a strange moment where Brian Kelly had one of those Freudian slips of the tongue….

Coaches Lost

Monday began with Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma to take the USC job. Sooner fans were shocked, outraged, confused, and panicked. Good thing Notre Dame fans never have these emotions! Good thing nothing like this happens to us! Let’s just sit back and enjoy the leadup to conference championship weekend. As long as no one conjures any horrific scenarios we should be good to —

Stages of Grief: Found

Denial

Anger

Bargaining

Time to go sit on the exercise bike and totally not refresh my phone every 5 seconds.

UPDATE: And I cannot stress this enough…

DO NOT WEAR A HR MONITOR while following sports Twitter with the fan intensity.

The physiological horror show now captured for all time…

Me: I’m just gonna do some low impact spin to move.

HR monitor: Uhhhh…are you sure you’re not doing wind sprints up stadium stairs? Do I need to dial 9-1-1?

Originally tweeted by Moons (@GAMoons) on December 2, 2021.

Depression

Originally tweeted by Lena Steigs (@PDXIrish) on November 30, 2021.

Acceptance

BREAKING: Our sources confirm that Marcus Freeman has begun the Nine Sacred Protocols one must complete before officially becoming Notre Dame’s head coach.

Two sources confirm he has been seen chasing Frosty the Pig around the steam tunnels and looks to be on pace to capture him and begin Protocol Two within the hour.

The pig has been captured. We must leave now.

Things are moving faster than expected

Protocol Two is feats of strength and was created before modern nutrition and exercise were discovered so it was completed with laughable expedience

Protocol Three is Write a Poem That Enrages God

Good lord we’ve already entered the Occluded Protocols (4 and 5). We’ve asked the pilot if the plane can go any faster.

This hollowed out bear carcass is hot hope the mushrooms kick in soon

The Protocols are complete and the Divine Orgy begins soon! Don’t be fooled by the name there’s no sex we just drink Tullamore Dew out of a calf skull until we can’t stand although we are all nude.

Wish Regis could be here he always loved this.

we’re all snorting frankincense until we can see the hour of our deaths

Originally tweeted by Stuffing the Passer (@stuffingthepass) on December 2, 2021.

Sleep Lost for a Morning Meeting

Very quickly there was a team meeting scheduled for early the following morning, leaving the #NDtwitterati to consider all manner of rational responses to this news with limited information.

We’ve Found Our Enemy

And then, as time wore on, we realized….maybe actually this could be a good thing? Was Brian Kelly now LSU’s problem?

Accents: Lost & Found?

Brian Kelly’s first airboat ride

Brian Kelly learns how to spell ‘Tchoupitoulas’

Brian Kelly learns how to PRONOUNCE ‘Tchoupitoulas’

Brian Kelly learns how to make a roux

I will cut the sumbitch what tries to take that one from me

Brian Kellyhas a conversation with Nanoo from Raceland

Brian Kelly navigates Baton Rouge traffic

Brian Kelly hits the full Endymion/Bacchus weekend at Mardi Gras

Brian Kelly tries to pronounce andouille

Brian Kelly leads the “Hot Boudin/Cold Couche Couche” chant

Brian Kelly talks to Bobby Hebert

Brian Kelly learns how to Choppa Style

Brian Kelly Dance the Wobble in a Postgame Victory Lockerroom Challenge

Brian Kelly makes boudin with @zrau and I

Brian Kelly has the Edwin Edwards story — ALL OF IT — explained to him.

Brian Kelly tries to pronounce Tony Chachere’s

Brian Kelly must choose his house staple Cajun seasoning: Tony’s, Slap Ya Mama, Pappa Earle’s etc.

Brian Kelly watches Steel Magnolias and is quizzed upon it after the fact

Brian Kelly Goes to a Garth Brooks Concert

Brian Kelly Learns How to Say “y’all”

Brian Kelly’s new pastor explains that frog legs and alligator are considered seafood for his Friday fasts during Lent.

Originally tweeted by Billy Gomila (@BillyGomila) on November 30, 2021.

Brian Kelly’s new, fake southern accent is the story of the decade.

My guy Brian Kelly got 95 million dollars and decided to become Larry The Cable Guy.

I know this is said a lot on the internet but I am actually in tears laughing at this video. He’s had the job for five days and he’s doing Val Kilmer’s “I’m Your Huckleberry” bit from Tombstone.

Originally tweeted by Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) on December 3, 2021.

Inner Strength: Found

And then the upswing, where Irish fans realized that maybe there was something good happening in South Bend, and most reasonable folks wanted to be a part of it.

An official statement from BK’s former staff to BK:

Another banger from Greg

Just received comment from Josh Adams

Kyren concurs

Always worth the time to watch a master practice his craft

Originally tweeted by Andrew Callan (@acallan1) on December 2, 2021.

What comes next?
BVG?
What a great start in the SEC
You’re on your own
Awesome, wow!
Who would ever want to play for you now?

Purple hat Matching face
Guess Death Valley is a lonely place
All alone,
With the humidity
When your new fans say they hate you
don’t come crawling back to ND

Da da da da da

YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN

Originally tweeted by bridget (@bridgetgoirish) on December 2, 2021.

Offensive Coordinator: Found

Head Coach: Found

As the pieces continued to fall into place, the #NDtwitterati celebrated the only way they know how.

Ok, we’re really done now. For real for real. #HLSrecap — along with Irish Elvis — has left the building.

The post Lost And Found: A Twitter Summary appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Shane and I do discuss our initial thoughts on this game, which has never happened before; however, the beginning of the podcast focuses on the wonder that is Marcus Freeman. Shane gives his thoughts on the hire for the first time on the digital airwaves.

We are both very excited for the beginning of a new era for Notre Dame, even though we won’t be here to cover it in the uh…unique…way that we do. It’s great to see the Irish face turn and we are ready for it to start with a victory in 2022.

Podcast

The post Freeman Fiesta appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

With that in mind, I thought it was important that we highlight, not just this weekend’s data point, but the other important data point that got these teams to this all important moment. After all, these teams have the chance to lose another game that Notre Dame won’t! It’s important!

SEC

They could have two teams in the playoffs if Alabama pulls of the upset against Georgia. Just another show of strength from this powerhouse conference including:

• Georgia 56 – Charleston Southern 7
• Alabama 48 – Mercer 14

Honorable mention to Alabama’s 59-3 victory over New Mexico State as well. This is the kind of power you expect a legitimate two-loss playoff contender to have.

Big 12

Oklahoma State has already jumped Notre Dame and conference loving pundits would love for the committee to have a champion hop over Notre Dame as well. It’s easy to see with these victories:

• Baylor 66 – Texas Southern 7
• Oklahoma State 23 – Missouri State 16 (lol)

I, for one, am shocked Oklahoma and Texas are leaving a conference scheduling this kind of powerhouse out-of-conference on the regular.

*looks at above section*

Ah, so nothing has changed.

Big Ten

Kudos to you, Big Ten. No jokes here as you refuse to let your teams schedule FCS opponents. Well done.

Allow us to celebrate the extensive lists of all of Iowa’s ranked victories as that is something continuously held against the Irish: <null>

And of course, the massive amount of wins for Michigan: Ohio State…who was beaten by Oregon who was beaten by Stanford. In short, Michigan beat Stanford.

At least when these teams lost, it wasn’t to a team that went undefeated later on!

American

A group of 5 in the playoff?! It’s more likely than you think!

Yes, Cincy has beaten us, and remained undefeated to boot! But let’s not forget these great wins that they and Houston put together:

• Cincinnati 42 – Murray State 7
• Houston 45 – Grambling 0

Best of luck, conference gladiators! Thank you, and your conferences for showing us the light of a 13th data point, that isn’t an absolute money grab. If only Notre Dame was as brave and put together such incredible resumes as scheduling nine power five teams simply isn’t enough!

The post HLS Proudly Presents: The 13th Data Point appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.