Eric Bearden

it ain't all good, but it ain't all bad either • digital @BYUCougars formerly @UtahJazz • fan takes are mine

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

The number one problem with youth sports in America is that they've become completely unaffordable.

We talked to parents paying up to $25,000 per year for their kids to play sports.

Private equity and corporations are turning kids' sports into multi-billion dollar businesses.

[Boppa 🧟‍♂️ @ihatebbls]

That shit cool and all but ain’t a soul on Belgium meeting Derrick Henry in the A gap in the middle of december

[Eric Bearden @eric_bearden]

@LunalNewport Is it not his senior day uniform?

[Peanut @peanut_bettor]

Teammate in pickup - "Maybe you should try cutting or moving off ball rather than hanging out at the 3point arc. You're like 1/8 today"

Me:

[Nike Basketball @nikebasketball]

A future that's monumental.

Now show them, @aj_dybantsa.

[BYU Men's Basketball @BYUMBB]

just two Cougs on the red carpet

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

I went to In-N-Out and ordered a cheeseburger. The cashier, a calm young woman named Destiny, asked me a question I did not expect.

"You want that Animal Style?"

I paused.

I did not know what this meant. But a samurai does not admit he does not know. So I answered with weight.

"...Animal Style."

"Cool. So that's mustard-grilled, extra spread, grilled onions, pickles. Yeah?"

I understood now. This was a sacred permission. For one meal, I was being told to put down my manners at the door. To eat the way a beast eats, without shame. I had waited my whole life for someone to give me this order.

"Yes," I said. "I will become the animal."

Destiny did not blink. "...Okay. You want your fries Animal Style too?"

I stopped. Even the potatoes?

"The potatoes also become animals?"

"I mean, they get cheese and sauce and grilled onions, so..."

"Then yes. Let the potatoes abandon their restraint as well."

"...Got it." She was the calmest woman I have ever met. "3x3, 4x4, or just the one?"

I did not know these numbers, but I knew a challenge when I heard one. "How many must I face?"

"It's, like, how many patties you want."

"How many is the most honorable?"

"...Four is a lot."

"Then four. A warrior does not ask for fewer."

She wrote it down without argument. A 4x4, Animal Style, with animal fries. She warned me once, kindly. "That's gonna be huge." I told her I was counting on it.

It arrived. It was a tower. Cheese and sauce ran down my hands the moment I lifted it. There was no clean way to eat it. There was no dignified way. That was the entire point.

I ate it like a beast. Both hands, no honor, grilled onion on my chin, and I have to be honest with you, it was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth.

For thirty years I have kept my manners at every table in the world.

They handed me a burger and told me to be an animal, and I have never felt so free.

So tell me, America.

The whole country knows the secret menu. What else are you hiding in plain sight?

And "Animal Style." Was I eating the animal, or finally becoming one?

[Eric Bearden @eric_bearden]

I'm not eloquent enough for an elaborate thinkpiece.

I love sports. United through triumph and joy rather than anger or hatred, which is so prevalent in an ever-fractured society.

The hugs in the stadium chairs, the living room couches, and the streets with strangers.

Special.

[Hayden @the_transit_guy]

In its most simplistic form, people just want community

[KENNY BEECHAM @KOT4Q]

We’re blessed bro. No way this series has been this good. This close. This many memorable moments. Wow wow wow

[Blake Burge @blakeaburge]

Underrated life advice: Make yourself easy to root for. Be kind. Be reliable. Celebrate other people’s wins. Work hard without complaining. Carry good energy into rooms. You'll be shocked by how many doors open for you by making life better for others.

[vesky @veskyxd]

you mad weird for not letting me merge

[Lauren. @LMac_1326]

Me outside of my moms room at 9pm to tell her I need a poster board for tomorrow:

[Damien Peters @DamienPetersNBA]

For the people that say “there’s no defense in the NBA”. I want you to watch these playoffs very closely because you’re going to be wrong…again. It’s the biggest myth we have about the league.

[Phoenix Suns @Suns]

Book 2: BYU PE👟

[ESPN @espn]

Before announcing his college commitment to BYU, Bruce Branch III got emotional talking about his mom 🥺

He is the No. 6 recruit in the @SCNext Class of 2026.

[Eric Bearden @eric_bearden]

@vulturetrades $SPY

[BYU Men's Basketball @BYUMBB]

His game. His way.

32 FOREVER.

[Eric Bearden @eric_bearden]

@joewheat27 Villanova buzzer beater during an FHE watch party no less hahaha

[Eric Bearden @eric_bearden]

@joewheat27 28-3 Patriots comeback vs Falcons was 2016-17 season if that makes the cut