In an attempt to maintain some brand consistency here at Champagne Athletics I decided (yesterday morning in the shower) that on Thursday’s I will honor the time honored American tradition of #TBT with retro-ass Detroit sports content that is sure to get your ‘member berry juices flowing- I know, super creative.

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Yesterday’s Recap, reviewed in order of posting with performance calculated at time of article:

Description: A very young, chubby, Prince Fielder rocking multiple sports teams (NY Football Giants, Chicago Cubs, & Detroit Tigers) throwing a baseball around on an MLB field with the Detroit Tigers back in the day

Performance: 17 likes, 1 comment

Foundationless reasoning: 17 likes and 1 comment is not bad given the current social standing of Champagne on social. Things that helped the post was the photo was a really old gem of a very young Prince Fielder throwing the pill around with the Major League team he would eventually play for. Great foreshadowing. In addition, his get’up was pretty legendary, especially the Zubaz pants. What potentially hurt was the fact that his loyalties were all over the place, rocking three different teams from two different sports. Also, Prince received very mixed reviews about his time in Detroit, so he is not necessarily a fan favorite in general.

TBT Weekly Ranking: #2

Description: Two beautiful, athletic people in the prime of their careers just bumpin’ uglies until the cows come home. A paparazzi-esque photo featuring two things that paparazzi doesn’t really cover anymore- NHL hockey players and Detroit athletes.

Performance: 22 likes, 5 comments (2 from myself)

Foundationless reasoning: The highest trafficked post of the day, which was anticipated. What helped the post is that everyone in Detroit loves Sergei and the caption about him leaving in 2003 was an attempt to tug at heart strings, maybe it worked. In addition, his relationship with then-smoke tennis star Anna Kournikova only added to Fed’s ledge status. What may have hurt was the completely asinine borderline argument I got into with some lady on the post who was clueless about what the caption meant.

People probably saw all of that coupled with the sub-30 like situation and decided to just avoid. Embarrassing. Didn’t help that the masses (@joeysherm) decided to side with this internet troll at the end of the day. Internet: 1 Champagne Athletics: 0

TBT Weekly Ranking: #1

Description: Detroit Piston’s #2 overall pick in 2003 NBA entry draft, Darko Milicic, notoriously regarded as one of the biggest busts in NBA history, giving a somewhat imposingly-sassy look to the camera in front of an orange background.

Performance: 13 likes, 0 comments

Foundationless reasoning: Not sure if it was the timing of the post, hatred for Darko, or just the general fledgeling fan base we have on Instagram but I thought this picture would generate more heat. What helped the post was maybe the caption, which I thought many people would have long forgotten and find humorous/nostalgic. What hurt was probably just the overall amount of posts in a day. My friends who give me pity likes were either completely over doing that or simply were not exposed to the third photo of day. In addition, the thought that we took Darko #2 overall in a draft that featured LeBron James, Carmello Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade and he panned out to do literally nothing but be a shitty MMA fighter could have also factored in.

TBT Weekly Ranking: #3

Description: Calvin fucking Johnson looking like Megatron himself, with flexing muscles and a badass visor.

Performance: 8 likes, 0 comments

Foundationless reasoning: Sad turn out for the best player in recent Lions history. What hurt the post was It was the fourth post of the day so take what I said above and amplify it even further. Also, Calvin just retired last year, he doesn’t even really feel like a throw back. I fucked up. I shoulda saved that one or used Calvin making a sick grab. I went more with “this is aesthetically cool, the people will love it,” approach. Shows you how much I know. 8 likes. I have friends’ moms who try and Tweet from their Instagram who get more likes. Oh well. Try again next Thursday.

TBT Weekly Ranking: Hard 4

🍾

– Frank