Ben Vander Leest

Iowa State alum | Chicago and Iowa State sports fan | KC resident

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.

Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.

I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."

"They just come with the table, man."

They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.

This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.

I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.

"Did we…?"

"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."

Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.

My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."

Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished — an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.

I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.

Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.

I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.

Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.

[Mumford & Sons @MumfordAndSons]

Chicago. We don't quite have the words but thank you so much for sticking with us and making that so special.

[Barstool Chicago @barstoolchicago]

No matter how bad the Bulls got, Stacey made them worth watching.

Forever the voice of the Bulls.

[MLB @MLB]

PCA WITH TWO OUTS IN THE NINTH 😱

It’s a brand new ballgame!

[Chicago Cubs @Cubs]

TARPS OFF. BALL GONE.

[Lovable Reunion @LovableReunion]

A shot of Five Hour Energy, a nip of Woodford Reserve, and a leadoff JACK to dead center.

Dexter Fowler’s story to start Game 7 of the World Series is legendary 🔥🔥

[Jordan Schultz @Schultz_Report]

BREAKING: The #Jets and RB Breece Hall are in agreement on a 3-year deal worth up to $45.75M, making him the NFL’s 3rd highest paid RB, per multiple sources.

Deal done by @AgentNicoleLynn of @KlutchSports.

[Ben Vander Leest @benvl18]

@Peter_Bukowski Little bro can’t stop thinking about us😂😂😂

[Joey 🇩🇪 @CalebGoatQB1]

We’re playing with house money anyway

[Jacob Zanolla @jacobzanolla]

Alex Bregman just posted a Moisés Ballesteros hype video on his TikTok 😂

[Ben Vander Leest @benvl18]

@JakeMarsh18 Hey Jake it kinda makes a big difference when your All-American gets injured in the round of 64

[Jesse Rogers @JesseRogersESPN]

BREAKING: The Cubs are in agreement with 2b Nico Hoerner on a 6 year deal, pending a physcial, sources tell ESPN.

[Ben Vander Leest @benvl18]

MOOD

[Bob Nightengale @BNightengale]

Pete Crow Armstrong, who bet on himself when he rejected the Cubs’ extension offer of a year ago, watches his patience pay off as he and the Cubs close on a $100-million plus contract extension. He’ll be second-highest paid Cub behind only Alex Bregman.

[Bob Nightengale @BNightengale]

Pete Crow Armstrong, who bet on himself when he rejected the Cubs’ extension offer of a year ago, watches his patience pay off as he and the Cubs close on a $100-million plus contract extension. He’ll be second-highest paid Cub behind only Alex Bregman.

[Monte Morris @BigGameTae]

Tamin Lipsey 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

[Jake Brend @JakeBrendTV]

He said the line.

@CycloneLarry69

[Ben Vander Leest @benvl18]

@CycloneKamala @c3trips To be fair Dom Nelson is basically the next closest thing. Former WAC player of the year!

[Ben Vander Leest @benvl18]

@CycloneKamala Remember Tyrese Haliburton? People always forget about him because he was only at ISU for a couple years. He was a baller