Welcome to part 8 of my 14-part series "ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP w/ @DaWarEagleKine." This is an intimate look at the determination, grit, and hustle that it takes to be named TBWP. In this installment, I'll be talking about how to handle setbacks.
You never know when you're going to get called on to ride for the brand. For me, it was Monday. As soon as I saw @WirelessDamnEngineer85's post tagging me and @aler in a TBWP matchup, I knew I was in for a struggle.
I awoke at 6:45, as per usual, with my beautiful wife draped on top of me. We'd fallen asleep together in a tranquil embrace every night since my come-from-behind blow-out victory over @j4au_1 in the quarterfinals of TBWP. She knew how much it meant to me that I won that match. She knew that I did this for her. For us. For our kids. Champions have many motivations; and when I listened to her peaceful breath against my taut, muscled chest, I knew she was all of mine. I slowly slid out from underneath her, bamboo sheets greeting my naked skin with a smooth "hello."
Once free, I again made my way toward my sun-drenched deck, but stopped just short of the door. I'd lit a candle the night before in front of a shrine to Mary. The red wax had pooled onto the koa wood shelf, but still the candle burned. I didn't know why Catholics did this, but I was pretty sure it would help me in my next match-up. Plus, the light from the candle created a nice ambiance for my nightly prayers and bunkering. I noticed after a few seconds that I'd become entranced by the flame; looking for answers as to how I was going to do what I had to do next. I opened the door and walked out onto my deck and again waved a warm hello to the majestic Pacific. Nothing says Hawaii like the smell of salt air in the morning.
I'd barely made it through my yoga/meditation/affirmations when I got the notification. "WirelessDamnEngineer85 tagged you in a post in the thread TBWP 2019 Flagrant Four - aler v. DaWarEagleKine." My heart skipped a beat. This was my final test. If I conquered aler, no one could challenge me. I wasn't going to win this one easily, though. I had to ride for the brand, if I was going to be successful.
I went back into my bedroom, kissed my sleeping wife on her forehead, and gave a resolute stare in the direction of my wall-sized TBWP bracket. I practically bore a hole through the name "aler." What the hell did that even mean -- at least my handle made sense.
I logged on. @Jay G. Tate and @BryanMatthews had group DM'ed me, begging that I let them ban WirelessDamnEngineer85 for even creating this tournament. "He's tearing this place apart!!!!" Jay e-screamed. Bryan seemed sent a bunch of crying emojis in reply. He always took this stuff harder than Jay. Nonplussed, I quickly vetoed the idea.
"Honor is honor. We'll fight to defend it." I replied. Jay and Bryan group FaceTime'd me when they realized I was awake. We immediately chose our favorite animojis. Bryan chose the pig. Jay chose the dragon. Jay always chose the dragon. After 20 or so minutes of this, we all said our best friends chant and hung up. Soon after, I received a text from Jay, "jus so u kno ur my real bf I just tell bmatt that bc I dont want him 2 leave." I "liked" it and opened up the voting post. It was time to go to war.
Aler already had a 20 vote lead. This was going to be tougher than I thought. I lobbed my opening salvo, a litany of nearly 100% true statements with some thoughtful tags of people that I thought could stand to know they're abrogating the call of their Christian faith to defend the poor because they've bought into a corporatist lie. @T I G E R, @bojackcaddy, @Jackson68, @hsvtgr, @Eagle, @Galactus, @God Cam It @Crawlr @Gurn_Blanston @AUB03 @tigrdent were all tagged, but very few of them replied. It seemed like I had them convicted, which was great, but I still needed their votes.
I saw a quick bump in the polls, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough. How was I going to conquer this juggernaut? Aler had been terrorizing the bunker since he learned to read at the age of (what appeared to be) 53. I had to do my best. I had to fight. I had to ride for the brand harder than I'd ever ridden for anything. Would it work? I didn't know, but I had to try.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hey friends! Like what you read? Be sure to hit the subscribe button below, so you never miss a post from @DaWarEagleKine! Also, be sure to subscribe to the AuburnSports.com Platinum Board, DaWarEagleKine's special, members-only content platform. Get behind the scenes looks into @DaWarEagleKine's Hawaii life, his workout routine, tips and tricks for talking to girls, and more! DM for details!
You never know when you're going to get called on to ride for the brand. For me, it was Monday. As soon as I saw @WirelessDamnEngineer85's post tagging me and @aler in a TBWP matchup, I knew I was in for a struggle.
I awoke at 6:45, as per usual, with my beautiful wife draped on top of me. We'd fallen asleep together in a tranquil embrace every night since my come-from-behind blow-out victory over @j4au_1 in the quarterfinals of TBWP. She knew how much it meant to me that I won that match. She knew that I did this for her. For us. For our kids. Champions have many motivations; and when I listened to her peaceful breath against my taut, muscled chest, I knew she was all of mine. I slowly slid out from underneath her, bamboo sheets greeting my naked skin with a smooth "hello."
Once free, I again made my way toward my sun-drenched deck, but stopped just short of the door. I'd lit a candle the night before in front of a shrine to Mary. The red wax had pooled onto the koa wood shelf, but still the candle burned. I didn't know why Catholics did this, but I was pretty sure it would help me in my next match-up. Plus, the light from the candle created a nice ambiance for my nightly prayers and bunkering. I noticed after a few seconds that I'd become entranced by the flame; looking for answers as to how I was going to do what I had to do next. I opened the door and walked out onto my deck and again waved a warm hello to the majestic Pacific. Nothing says Hawaii like the smell of salt air in the morning.
I'd barely made it through my yoga/meditation/affirmations when I got the notification. "WirelessDamnEngineer85 tagged you in a post in the thread TBWP 2019 Flagrant Four - aler v. DaWarEagleKine." My heart skipped a beat. This was my final test. If I conquered aler, no one could challenge me. I wasn't going to win this one easily, though. I had to ride for the brand, if I was going to be successful.
I went back into my bedroom, kissed my sleeping wife on her forehead, and gave a resolute stare in the direction of my wall-sized TBWP bracket. I practically bore a hole through the name "aler." What the hell did that even mean -- at least my handle made sense.
I logged on. @Jay G. Tate and @BryanMatthews had group DM'ed me, begging that I let them ban WirelessDamnEngineer85 for even creating this tournament. "He's tearing this place apart!!!!" Jay e-screamed. Bryan seemed sent a bunch of crying emojis in reply. He always took this stuff harder than Jay. Nonplussed, I quickly vetoed the idea.
"Honor is honor. We'll fight to defend it." I replied. Jay and Bryan group FaceTime'd me when they realized I was awake. We immediately chose our favorite animojis. Bryan chose the pig. Jay chose the dragon. Jay always chose the dragon. After 20 or so minutes of this, we all said our best friends chant and hung up. Soon after, I received a text from Jay, "jus so u kno ur my real bf I just tell bmatt that bc I dont want him 2 leave." I "liked" it and opened up the voting post. It was time to go to war.
Aler already had a 20 vote lead. This was going to be tougher than I thought. I lobbed my opening salvo, a litany of nearly 100% true statements with some thoughtful tags of people that I thought could stand to know they're abrogating the call of their Christian faith to defend the poor because they've bought into a corporatist lie. @T I G E R, @bojackcaddy, @Jackson68, @hsvtgr, @Eagle, @Galactus, @God Cam It @Crawlr @Gurn_Blanston @AUB03 @tigrdent were all tagged, but very few of them replied. It seemed like I had them convicted, which was great, but I still needed their votes.
I saw a quick bump in the polls, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough. How was I going to conquer this juggernaut? Aler had been terrorizing the bunker since he learned to read at the age of (what appeared to be) 53. I had to do my best. I had to fight. I had to ride for the brand harder than I'd ever ridden for anything. Would it work? I didn't know, but I had to try.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hey friends! Like what you read? Be sure to hit the subscribe button below, so you never miss a post from @DaWarEagleKine! Also, be sure to subscribe to the AuburnSports.com Platinum Board, DaWarEagleKine's special, members-only content platform. Get behind the scenes looks into @DaWarEagleKine's Hawaii life, his workout routine, tips and tricks for talking to girls, and more! DM for details!
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