“New Heights”- By Megan Steen

Those who are close to me would not exactly describe me as a “sports lover”. Ironically, I married one of Columbia’s largest sports (especially football) fans, who for the past 16 years has PRAYED for the day when I would utter the words “Do you want to watch the football game?” To his complete surprise, several months ago for the first time I sat in the living room while the Chiefs game played, and rather than making sarcastic comments I not only watched but asked a few questions to better understand the game. Why the change after a lifetime of disinterest? This sudden tolerance for the game was born from……..The New Heights podcast (sorry to those of you who guessed T. Swift. Nothing against her, but the interest was born ahead of the Traylor fanfare.)

For those of you who have not yet experienced New Heights, it is a podcast starring the Kelce brothers, both of whom are NFL players (Jason for the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis for the Kansas City Chiefs). My interest in listening to the podcast came like many rabbit holes geriatric millennials like myself journey down … .scrolling through TikTok. Several clips of the brothers popped across my feed and the dynamic between the two brothers was what caught my interest. Eventually, it interested me enough to watch the Kelce documentary, during which the perseverance and grittiness of the two brothers were highlighted, especially during a season that was potentially Jason’s last. Following the documentary, I started listening to the podcast, starting with the current season and journeying back to the first episode and various others. There are certainly some moments throughout the podcast I tend to use as background noise (mainly the technical parts of football), I have learned more from their game descriptions than the previous 16 years of my husband trying to explain the game at home.  Despite the technical jargon that can glaze me over at points, their humor and dynamic are what keep me tuning in each week. The heart of their relationship, the love they have for their teammates and other players in the league and the passion they have for the profession all come through in a way which makes this my podcast recommendation for this month.