Welcome to the Moth podcast.
I'm Mark Sullinger.
And on this hot, hot hike, whether you watch the big game for the great plays, for the seven layer nachos, for the funny ads, for the halftime performances, my personal favorite game was the one Beyonce played at Football.
Like storytelling brings people together.
Because these three stories aren't just about football.
They're about family, growing up, and the things that are revealed by the games we play.
First up is Dame Wilburn, who told this story when she hosted a main stage in Traverse City, Michigan.
Here's Dame live at the mall.
Some random snowy Saturday.
When I was a freshman in college, I sat down at the cafeteria table with my friends, the Klingons.
Now, they basically were an amalgamation of dudes that you would never let into a fraternity.
They were art majors and theater majors and English majors, and they were all like Heavy Duty Sci Fi nerds and Trekkies.
And when I sat down, these guys were talking about football.
Now, football is my favorite sport.
And I used to spend every Sunday watching the Detroit Lions lose with my mother.
And every Sunday my mother would say, damie, you could play for the Lions.
I mean, you could play for the Lions.
Now, I'm sure she meant it as an insult, but I took it to mean that my latent athletic ability meant that I could be the football player.
So when they were discussing this at breakfast, my ears popped up and I said, are you guys going to play football?
And they said, absolutely.