Happy National Coffee Day to These Sports Figures
1. A lot of these made-up celebratory days are total nonsense, but we are totally down with Sept. 29 being National Coffee Day.
And that’s not only because we love a good cup of Joe, but also because a lot of coffee establishments are giving away a free cup today.
We imagine these sports figures are celebrating National Coffee Day today, as well.
Lions coach Dan Campbell
In 2021, Campbell shared his Starbucks order during a press conference and left everyone in awe of the caffeine he consumes on a daily basis.
“Normally what I do is I get two ventis. At Starbucks, I get two ventis of the Pike with two shots in them. So, black in both. That's what I come in with. That's how I start the day.”
Heat guard Jimmy Butler
One of the highlights from the NBA’s COVID-19 bubble was Butler turning his room into a coffee shop. Butler offered up lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and more. For some reason, though, Butler charged $20 for every order regardless of drink size.
Butler also explained his daily coffee routine to Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nardkani for a feature story. From the article:
“On the road, Butler has breakfast and coffee with his physical performance coach, then immediately follows that up with more coffee at a local coffee shop. Then he goes back to his room and makes another cup using his Big Face travel kit. After lunch and a team meeting, it’s time for another cup. Then he likes to eat one more meal before another pregame cup. (We’re up to five coffees now for those losing count.)”
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis
It might make more sense for us to shout out Levis on National Mayonnaise Day, but the Wildcats signal-caller automatically became associated with coffee when he recently revealed that instead of milk or cream, he opts for mayo in his coffee.
Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon
How much does coffee mean to the New York starter? So much so that Taillon used to have a website dedicated to his love of java.
In 2020, Taillon told MLB.com, “Start days are a big deal. And I think coffee is a great way to set the tone for the day. I like to measure it, grind it properly, I boil the water to the perfect temperature. Some people say waking up and making your bed is a great way to start the day. For me, a great cup of coffee just sets the tone for what's to come.”
WWE superstar Seth Rollins
This may surprise some of you who have a stereotypical impression of what a wrestler is, but Rollins is a coffee shop owner.
Rollins talked about the challenges his shop faced during COVID-19 and why it was important for him to keep it open during the pandemic on the SI Media Podcast.
2. A brand-new SI Media Podcast dropped this morning, and this week’s guest is The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis, who joined me to talk about a truly wild week in sports media.
Topics covered include:
- Split-screen madness
- Coverage of the Ime Udoka coverage
- Brett Favre coverage
- What Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have done for Monday Night Football
- The most outlandish take of the week
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
3. The Spanish radio call of Aaron Judge’s 61st home run was electric.
As for the voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling, he wasn't as over the top as you’d expect, and he provided a solid call.
4. Bill Belichick gave us a vintage Bill Belichick performance at his Wednesday press conference, when he kept getting asked for an injury update on injured quarterback, Mac Jones.
This led to some excellent work by Julian Edelman’s social media team.
5. I know this will anger many of you, but I'm just here providing facts. Baseball fans get very frustrated with the Yankees and Red Sox being shoved down their throats, but until these ratings go down, this is always going to be the case.
6. There is no wrestler in the world today better on the mic than AEW’s MJF. One of the things that makes MJF great is that he isn’t afraid to use old-school heel tactics, such as getting a crowd riled up by trashing their home teams and praising their rivals. On Wednesday night in Philadelphia, MJF treated the Philly crowd to a passionate performance of “Meet the Mets.”
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: If it's National Coffee Day, I have to post this.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
