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A brilliant idea is helping anti-Trump Patriots fans feel good supporting their team.

Trump's favorite team is headed back to the Super Bowl. Let's hope for #AGoodGame.

Donald Trump loves the New England Patriots, and the Patriots (or at least their owners, head coach, and star quarterback) love him back.

Quarterback Tom Brady infamously kept a "Make America Great Again" hat in his locker during the 2015 season. The following year, head coach Bill Belichick wrote a letter Trump read on-stage during a rally, gushing about how great the future president was. Owner Robert Kraft even gave the commander-in-chief a Super Bowl ring after the team won in 2017.

While most of the team's fans probably don't care too much about the political leanings of their favorite athletes — at least enough to affect how they feel about the game — some, very reasonably, do feel a bit conflicted.


Trump poses with Patriots coach Bill Belichick during a ceremony honoring the team for winning the 2017 Super Bowl. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

So last year, two Patriots fans decided to put their own feelings of conflict to good use before the Super Bowl, raising $100,000 in the process.

Pats fans Josh Gondelman and Emma Sandoe came up with a brilliant idea in their quest to root for their problematic football fave: They'd donate money to a good cause every time the Patriots score.

Gondelman pledged $100 for every Patriots touchdown and $50 for every Patriots field goal to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, sending the group a total of $500. Sandoe pledged $5 to Planned Parenthood for every Patriots point, bringing her total to $170. Others jumped in on the action as well, making pledges in various amounts to various charities. By night's end, according to Sandoe, people on the #AGoodGame hashtag had committed more than $100,000 to charity.

Socially-conscious sports fans Sandoe and Gondelman.

With the Patriots back in the Super Bowl, I caught up with Sandoe and Gondelman (full disclosure, I know Josh from Twitter — you should follow him) to see what they had in store for #AGoodGame, part two. They didn't disappoint.

Asked why she thinks last year's campaign took off the way it did, Sandoe says she believes "deep down people want an opportunity to turn negative feelings into something positive and constructive."

"Certainly, being on Twitter, being politically active, or just being alive in 2018 can often feel like a negative experience,  and this gave people that avenue to turn it into something positive, even without the football aspects," she adds.

For this year's iteration, the duo launched the A Good Game website, where people can log their own pledges for this year's Super Bowl. The simple site, put together by Ronik Design, also offers a bit of background on the project as well as a list of some of Sandoe and Gondelman's suggested charities.

This time around, Gondelman's donations will be going to the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, and Sandoe's will support the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Tom Brady lifts the Super Bowl trophy after the Patriots 34-28 win over the Falcons in the 2017 Super Bowl. Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

Being a sports fan in a politically heated year like 2018 can be tough, but we all have our ways of working through it.

The #AGoodGame campaign is just one of several examples of people dealing with some of the unease that happens when someone or something we love does something that makes us feel uncomfortable.

Take the 2016 World Series, for example. With the baseball season winding to a close, the Chicago Cubs looked like they had a legitimate shot at winning their first World Series championship since 1908. As they got ready to head into the playoffs, the team traded for Aroldis Chapman, one of the league's best relief pitchers. Many fans cheered, convinced that Chapman would lead the team to victory; others were a bit more conflicted, though it had nothing to do with baseball.

At the tail-end of the 2015 season, Chapman allegedly fired a handgun eight times, once into the open window of a car, and choked his girlfriend. While he was eventually suspended for 30 games, he never quite owned up to his actions. The Cubs' decision to acquire someone facing credible domestic violence allegations left some fans wondering whether it was worth winning a World Series if that was the cost.

Cubs fan Caitlin Swieca reconciled her love for the team with her disdain for domestic violence by launching #pitchin4DV, pledging $10 to domestic violence organizations every time Chapman recorded a save (one of the key stats for relief pitchers). Others joined in the movement, and helped raise $38,670. The Cubs did win the World Series that season, and Chapman did play a key role for the team down the stretch — and some really great charities made a bit of money along the way.

Chapman celebrates the Cubs 8-7 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images.

There's an important lesson in all of this: If you look for it, there's usually something positive that can come out of negative situations if you're willing to act.

As the Chapman example showed, this isn't just about Donald Trump. In fact, maybe you love Donald Trump. Either way, you can still get in on these #AGoodGame-type campaigns as well. Gamification can be a lot of fun, as anyone who's ever owned a FitBit can confirm, and it's part of why people love to play Fantasy Football so much. That's the driving concept behind these campaigns: combining charity with sports for a better world. Give it a try!

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Bruce Willis recently celebrated his 68th birthday.

Back in March 2022, legendary action actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and took an official step away from the spotlight. Then, in February 2023, the beloved "Die Hard" star progressed into frontotemporal dementia, an incurable brain disorder often mistaken for Alzheimer’s that mainly affects personality, behavior and language, according to the Mayo Clinic.


Despite the tragic news, Willis is supported by loved ones, as seen in a video posted by ex-wife Demi Moore. The clip, posted to Twitter on March 19, captures Willis' family surrounding him in celebration of his 68th birthday.
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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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Pop Culture

Kelly Clarkson correctly pronouncing a guest's name on her show seems simple but it speaks volumes

Viewers appreciated how respectfully Clarkson handled her interview with K-pop group TWICE when she asked performer Tzuyu how to properly pronounce her name.

The Kelly Clarkson Show/Youtube

It really is as simply as that.

What’s in a name?

A lot, actually. We know that names reflect certain aspects of one’s identity. We know that repeated mispronunciation of a person’s name potentially undermines that identity. We know that sometimes this is unintentional, and other times, more insidious intentions of “othering” are at play. Especially when it comes to those with non-English names.

We also know that, on the flip side, making the effort to properly pronounce a person’s name is one of the simplest forms of kindness and respect that someone can offer. And it really pays dividends.

Just take a page from Kelly Clarkson’s book.
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Pop Culture

Woman shares 5 questions to ask potential employers and people are taking notes

"Being in both senior leadership and directly involved in candidate recruitment, these questions are fire. 10/10 recommend."

TikTok creator gives people 5 questions to ask potential employers.

You know the end of the interview where they ask, "Do you have any questions for us?" It's a dreaded question for a lot of people. Even though you know it's coming, the question still catches you off guard and you wind up asking something possibly irrelevant or nothing at all. Then the whole ride home, approximately fifteen questions pop into your head.

But don't you fret, because TikTok creator Kyyah Abdul has a list of five questions to keep tucked in your brain's pocket to close out an interview. And folks in the comments are applauding the creator's ability to figure out if the company is a fit for you and clarify any concerns the interviewer may have. Her advice was so genius that even a person who is involved in candidate recruitment chimed in saying, "Being in both senior leadership and directly involved in candidate recruitment, these questions are fire. 10/10 recommend."

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