#248 - Wine Tasting Etiquette, Clever Stadium Marketing & The Bus Driver Championships

We kick off the episode by celebrating National Outdoor Equipment Maintenance Day before diving into our recent weekends. Erin recaps her trip to the local Kempton Fair, complete with tractor pulls, upcoming frog jumping contests, and a ride operator broadcasting on TikTok Live. Erin then details her chaotic but ultimately amazing trip to Cellar Beast Winehouse in Andreas, Pennsylvania, where she tackled wine-tasting etiquette, judged an entitled millionaire, and discovered a phenomenal $65 bottle of wine. We also share a quick pull-up progress update, announcing Erin's new ability to hang unassisted and move around the bar, a skill she absolutely plans to show off when we attend the USATF Outdoor Championships. Finally, we give a quick merch update on our premium, sturdy NonMembers Only koozies and the Team Struggle Run shirts that Dan is actively packing and shipping.

In tech news, we review Snapchat's new augmented reality Spectacles, which look so clunky they seem like a joke and apparently caused the company's stock to plummet. Moving into the running world, we review the viral antics of "The 5K Guy" running inside a fridge and an oven, another creator completing a marathon without touching the ground using lawn chairs, and Matt Planks holding an agonizing two-hour and 28-minute plank for the Aerial Recovery Group. We also touch on the Cape Town Marathon joining the World Marathon Majors, the London Marathon expanding to a massive two-day event, and our fears about private equity firm L Catterton purchasing the indoor fitness race Hyrox. We even highlight a crazy story out of the Netherlands where a marathon was postponed because organizers accidentally hired a serial fake ambulance worker. Oh, and we definitely need to secure press passes to the Estonian Bus Driver Championships.

For our FIFA segment, we discuss the two lucky fans getting paid $50,000 to watch all 104 World Cup matches inside a glass cube in Times Square. We also applaud the clever marketing tactics of brands like Levi's and Gillette, who creatively covered up their stadium logos with white outlines and foam shaving cream to comply with strict FIFA rules. After sharing how heartwarming it is to see Americans welcoming international soccer fans with open arms—from the Algerian national team in Kansas to Scottish fans in Boston—we wrap up with our "No Bad, No Sad" segment. This week, we highlight an NYPD officer who brought joy to the chaotic Knicks parade by playing a massive game of tic-tac-toe with fans across the street barricades, and we send a special shoutout to Knox crushing it on the kazoo.