Happy Monday!

It’s good to be back. I missed you all. If I owe you an email, bear with me because I’m still chipping away at my inbox after vacation.

I want to briefly mention this year’s Primavera Sound here, although I will be saving my thoughts on this for Thursday because I wanna talk about sports fans while the energy is high. Something I noticed while I was out there was that it seemed more… influencer-focused this year compared to previous editions. 

It reminded me of the conversation I had with Kate Lindsay on ICYMI before I left about the utility of influencers. If you’d like to check that out, you can listen to it here. 

Anyways, on to the matter at hand. Let’s talk ball.

The greatest content on the internet right now is coming from sports fans. There’s no debate about it. Even people who have never really cared before are getting into it. You can call it bandwagoning all you want, but as Yap Year oomfie CT Jones wrote last week, that might not be such a bad thing. 

As for myself, I’m admittedly a pretty casual sports spectator. Still, I’ve been present in cities for some exhilarating wins, from the San Francisco Giants even-year World Series run to the Golden State Warriors building its dynasty to that one calendar year that the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots won their respective championships. It’s always pretty exciting to celebrate with a city that has just achieved something great.

But this? This New York Knicks win against the San Antonio Spurs? Electric in ways I’ve never experienced. Maybe it’s because I live in New York City, but the energy outside is so joyous and infectious that it actually brings tears to my eyes. The whole city experienced an adrenaline rush after the miracle that was game four and then had the ultimate release when the Knicks won the chip on Saturday. Looking at the videos of people celebrating, you have this feeling everyone was pouring themselves into New York and taking a little piece for themselves. Taking a bite of the Big Apple, if you will. Thrilling!

And while the vibes in the city are particularly high, the excitement has crossed state lines. Many have remarked on how this win feels bigger than the Knicks and even bigger than New York City. Knicks content has become virtually inescapable because everyone is having so much fun and people want to see more. Hell, even my Warrior fan of a little brother recited the viral “Jalen Brunson is My Everything” meme to me during a recent call. 

These are hard times, but it’s encouraging to see people so united for just a moment (besides Spurs fans, sorry). It’s the true spirit of sportsmanship. Everyone wants a part of that—especially when the rest of the world seems to be crumbling.

And Knicks fans aren’t the only ones inspiring this feeling. Have you seen the World Cup fan content this past week? As soccer fans from all over the globe have flocked to the United States to support their home countries, they’ve gotten to experience the very best of ours. 

There was the University of Kansas band welcoming the Algerian team by playing the country’s national anthem. The Tartan Army came out to Boston in full force to support the Scottish team and enjoy some of the city’s biggest landmarks including Fenway Park, the Cheers bar, and of course, the cop slide. Meanwhile, one New Jersey deli gave a visiting English couple a free sandwich as a warm welcome to the country. And of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to America without the culture shock of seeing how large all of our stuff is. 

The cultural exchange and mutual respect is objectively heartwarming. Someone said this is actually the best PR that the United States has had in years. Despite the fact that the government has infuriatingly rejected some spectators’ visas last-minute, I actually think this statement is true. 

It’s easy to forget how hospitable, fun, and open Americans can be with everything that has happened in our country over the past decade. Regardless of the xenophobic and draconian laws our government has tried to inflict on this nation’s immigrants, it’s clear that many regular, everyday Americans—in every part of the country—are willing to embrace people of different cultures and backgrounds. The World Cup content reminds us of this—which is cause for celebration no matter your team.

Every Monday letter gets a playlist. I saw Olivia Rodrigo perform ahead of her latest album release and observed her affinity for New Wave through her numerous tributes to The Cure and Robert Smith. But it wasn’t until “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” dropped that I realized… damn, this chick LOVES New Wave. That is an actual text I sent upon first listen. Anyways, here’s a playlist full of New Wave—old and new.

In this week’s playlist:

Other things I want to share with you.