An ode to Win in 6

The history class will have to wait for another time. Instead, I wanted to write about something more personal, so bear with the self-indulgence for a bit.

For over 10 years, I was the co-host of the Win in 6 podcast with Adam McGee. It started out like any kind of podcast does — by going out and doing it. The hours of listening to any number of podcasts during those halcyon days pushed us all to start one around the time of the 2015 NBA Draft. Otherwise known as the Rashad Vaughn draft, as it has been trademarked.

Eventually, we carved out our niche talking about the Bucks over long hours, through many mailbag questions from our listeners, reflecting on wins and losses and so on. The fact that it coincided with the golden period that saw the rebirth of the Bucks, the rise of a two-time MVP and global superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo and the winning of the 2021 NBA championship has etched this time in amber. 

This week, through my now former co-host Adam McGee, we shared the news that Win in 6 has come to an end. It’s probably not a surprise to some of our die-hard listeners — the fact that we had such devoted listeners will never not be wild. Adam shared his reasons for why he’s stepping back to a more normal life and I can only echo them. The fact that we were able to reach a decade by regularly churning out episodes across several time zones is a feat unto itself.

It’s been a long time coming and while it stinks we couldn't do a more formal goodbye episode, it’s been hard to schedule a time that works for the both of us to do so. With that in mind, I wanted to write about why Win in 6 was so important for me in the first place.

Amid a lot of uncertainty, significant life changes and just growing up from my early 20s to today, Win in 6 — and writing about the Bucks, in general — has been a constant in my life. A north star, even.

The simple act of turning on a microphone or sitting down to write has been useful to cope with the loss of loved ones, housing insecurities, getting married, going through multiple job changes, starting a family and so on. That's not to mention surviving through a global pandemic, the shutdown of the NBA and waiting on a return to normal life (if we have even returned to that…)

I’d like to think none of that seeped through the microphone over our 421 episodes. In some cases, though, life was unavoidable.  Some things were bigger than any episode, any article and so on. Even so, people still kept listening during those long breaks, or when episodes clocked over three hours, etc. The thin line with what you need to do to cope with getting through modern life and what may be perceived as a distraction only feels more resonant these days. Talking about sports feels very trivial. And yet, dedicating your free time to that for very little to no reward can still be enough to keep someone going.

When I found Adam’s call out on Reddit where he said he was looking for aspiring writers for Behind the Buck Pass in 2015, I didn’t want the opportunity to slip by.

I had been in a deep depression for years, with no direction or even motivation on what I wanted to do with my life after high school. That aimless feeling sapped any self-confidence I needed to find something or some purpose. To feel less adrift and to stop time from slipping through my fingers year after year.

What I found in Win in 6 and in writing about the Bucks was a sense of community and belonging — something that eventually extended into building GSPN. Only the internet can bring a handful of people together more than 3,500 miles away to express themselves through sports, through fandom and feeling a part of something bigger than yourself, regardless of whether your favorite team won or lost. 

Finding friends is hard enough as you grow older and certainly finding anyone you would call friendly through the internet is even tougher. It’s the thing I will cherish most about the podcast coming together and evolving over the years. That camaraderie is hard to find no matter what it is and it will be bigger than any one episode we recorded. 

Perhaps it equals the champagne supernova that overflowed over Milwaukee and for all Bucks fans on July 20, 2021. The rest of that summer was a reminder of why some distractions can be necessary. It was the visual representation of why being a fan, finding your people and finding your community can be made good by achieving the most challenging of accomplishments. Nothing will equal seeing your favorite team climb to the top of the mountain and sharing that feeling with the people who have been there with you at your best and most importantly, at your worst. 

Maybe that’s assigning too much to the power of sports and how it can transcend what transpires on the field or on the court. Maybe it’s my way of justifying all of the hours, days, months and years I have spent writing and speaking about the Bucks. I don’t know and I don’t want to think that there’s any other answer than that. It’s why I still want to grind away telling stories about my favorite team. 

One thing is for certain, though. You don’t take that ride for granted and you hold on to the memories that you formed along the way. Without it, my life would be a lot different than what it is today.

So, to all of our listeners over the years, to Adam, to Ti, to Rohan, to Numac, to Andrew and all of the GSPN fans, thank you. Hopefully Win in 6 proved to be more than a distraction for whatever life was throwing at you.