In June of 2011, Bill Simmons introduced Grantland by writing about how he felt right before the first Jimmy Kimmel Live show (where he served as a writer). One particular part of that piece struck a chord with me at the time and has continued to nag at me ever since.
Life will deliver a few moments when something substantial is about to happen, when you know it’s substantial, when you’ve done everything you could to prepare for the moment, but still, you just don’t know. And it would be foolish to pretend otherwise.
I felt this way when I stepped onto the mound for the first time in high school, when I saw my wife walking down the aisle, when my kids were born and when I defended my Ph.D. thesis (with a 103 degree fever, no less).
This is another one of those moments for me.
For the past two years, I’ve contributed to SEC Country as an opinion writer on Florida Gators football. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to grow as a writer and have my work disseminated to so many Gators fans. It started when I responded to a tweet for freelance writers on a whim figuring I’d never get contacted back. Instead, I’ve spent two years writing about a team – and a school – that I love.
The platform SEC Country has provided me has returned so much. I had an article featured on Paul Finebaum’s show on SEC Network. I got to write a eulogy for Aaron Hernandez that tried to capture how conflicted I was, both about Hernandez and the dynamics of college football. I got invited on – first as a guest and then as a regular co-host – to the Gators Breakdown podcast, where I’ve met so many awesome people who are just as passionate about Florida football as I am.
I went back today and read my first ever article for SEC Country and I am amazed they let me write a second. But I also read that second article. It’s still pretty bad, but there are small signs of the voice that I would eventually grow into over the past two years.
And that’s why you’re reading this. Something that I wrote on SEC Country or said on Gators Breakdown compelled you to follow me or click on this link. Thank you for giving me a chance.
When I read Bill Simmons’ words in 2011, a seed was planted in my mind that I wanted to feel the way he felt. There is something absolutely terrifying about putting your dream out there completely. But there’s something about it that also makes you feel completely alive.
And out of that dream comes Read and Reaction. This site is going to still focus heavily on Florida Gators football. But I also hope to expand beyond that, to discussions about playoff participants to playoff expansion to off-field issues (recruiting, paying players, player discipline).
I hope to bring on talented writers who aren’t going to be interested in breaking news, but instead reacting to the news in a way that makes you laugh, cry or think.
Whether we’re first to report that Antonio Callaway was cited for marijuana possession while hanging with a career criminal, that Feleipe Franks will be named starter for the Michigan game or that Jordan Scarlett is going to share carries is really immaterial to me.
Where I hope this site fills a gap – and provides value to you – is to provide the reaction piece that makes you question whether you care about Antonio Callaway the person, the statistical analysis that asks whether Luke Del Rio actually deserves a second chance to be the starting QB, or the film study explaining that Scarlett’s breakdowns in pass protection are what is keeping him off the field.
Much of the information you will find here will be statistically-based. Some of this is because of my background as an engineer. But much of it is because – at its core – writing is persuading your audience to your side of an argument by telling a story. Stats are one way to help tell that story in a convincing way.
But one thing I learned in my time at SEC Country is that stats don’t tell the whole story. Last year, I broke down the Ohio State vs. Clemson and Alabama vs. Washington playoff games using only their statistical profiles. Not only did I pick the wrong teams, but I completely misread what would happen.
My issue was that I wasn’t curious enough to go watch the film of the teams. Had I done that, I would have seen beyond just the statistical analysis and pinpointed many of the things that led to Alabama being favored by more than 2 touchdowns and the leaks in Urban Meyer’s Ohio State offense.
After the Cubs (the Cubs!) won the World Series in 2016, former Baseball Prospective writer Rany Jazayerli summed up the analytics movement as the following in a piece on The Ringer:
Baseball has been solved, and the solution is simple. There is no solution. It’s when you think you have the game figured out that it bites you in the ass. There is always more information to be had, and more information is always useful. The battle was never between the quants and the gut-instinct types, it was between the curious and the incurious.
I remember being the lone voice in the wilderness of Florida writers picking Michigan to win the opener this past season. I remember the disdain from certain writers on Twitter, wondering how I could possibly do a statistical breakdown from last year’s teams and try to use that to predict this year’s result.
I feel sorry for them. The beauty of football is that there is always another angle to consider, something else to learn or a unique perspective that can teach you how to gain an edge. There is always room for curiosity.
This site will be a lot of things. It will hopefully have stories that are funny and touching. It will hopefully have a unique voice that brings something differentiated into the marketplace of ideas. But the core tenant of everything we do is that it will exhibit genuine curiosity and try to teach you something in the process.
I’ve poured my heart and soul into what this is going to become. But I’d be foolish to believe I have any idea whether you’re going to read, comment, follow or enjoy it at all. What I do know is I’m going to work my ass off to find out.
And that I’ve never felt more alive.
Thanks for reading.
Will Miles is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.ReadAndReaction.com. You can interact with him on Twitter at @WillMilesSEC. You can also listen to him regularly with David Waters and Bill Sikes on the Gators Breakdown podcast, where there’s never a dull moment in Gator Nation.
If you’re interested in writing for or contributing to Read and Reaction, you can reach us at Will@readandreaction.com.