# In Which Shodan Brags on His Nephew the Footie Star **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762 "2005-10-18T16:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/1 "2005-10-18T16:38:18Z")
Guess whose nephew, in addition to being picked as a mid-season All-American, was just announced as a semi-finalist for the Lombardi Award? [Mine, that’s who. Big Joe Thomas, all 6’8" and 300 pounds of him.](http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/full_story.aspx?story_id=2005_10_18_11_02_51_fb) And it was his room mate, Ben Strickland, who ran in the blocked punt in Saturday’s win over Minnesota. And they are both the nicest kids you can imagine. No swelled heads, both on the Dean’s List, and Joe is dating this drop-dead gorgeous basketball player. Little Joey. I used to play hide-and-seek with him. If my brother-in-law’s smile gets any wider, the top of his head will fall off. 😃 Go Badgers! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/2 "2005-10-18T16:47:12Z")
It’s a shame he’s a Badger, otherwise he sounds like he’d be a really nice guy. (Min-ne-sota, hats off to thee, to thy colors true we shall ever be…) ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/3 "2005-10-18T16:54:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If my brother-in-law’s smile gets any wider, the top of his head will fall off. 😃 > > Go Badgers! > > Regards, > Shodan I’m bettin’ if **Uncle Shodan’s** grin gets any wider the top of _his_ head’s gonna fall off too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/4 "2005-10-18T17:24:53Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > I’m bettin’ if **Uncle Shodan’s** grin gets any wider the top of _his_ head’s gonna fall off too. 😃 There may be something to what you say there. 😃 But my _other_ nephew plays for Notre Dame, and that “reset the clock with seven seconds to go and USC scores” thing keeps me somewhere around Cloud Eight-and-a-Half, instead of Nine. Next month we are off to Hawaii to see Joe play. It’s gonna be 🆒 Hey, **Ino** - were you at the game Saturday? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/5 "2005-10-18T18:35:24Z")
[A dance](http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/) in honor of **Shodan’s** nephew. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/6 "2005-10-18T18:40:11Z")
That’s fantastic. Of course, it’s not footie. This is [footie](http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/footy/)\*. But still, congrats! \*[Badger](http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/badgers/) footie, even. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/7 "2005-10-18T20:00:16Z")
_dies of laughter_ Bravo, **Shodan**! Give your nephew an extra hug or two for me, eh? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/8 "2005-10-18T20:31:22Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Hey, **Ino** - were you at the game Saturday? Thankfully I wasn’t. (and it’s a lower-case L, not a capital i! lno!) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/9 "2005-10-19T12:40:21Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > _dies of laughter_ > > Bravo, **Shodan**! Give your nephew an extra hug or two for me, eh? 😉 For that, I need a step ladder. And it is tough to get your arms all the way around him, unless you are Bonzo the chimpanzee. Fortunately, his girlfriend and his mom are both taller than me. Sorry for the misspelling, **lno**. We were in the end zone. I got a real good view of the back of Joe’s helmet. And every time I got a good look at the action, it was a bad sign for Wisconsin. Purdue is next! _On, Wisconsin, on, Wisconsin, Grand Old Badger State…_ OK, OK, I’ll stop. Regards, Shodan Did I mention he made first team All-American, and has not allowed a sack all season? ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/10 "2005-10-19T16:13:48Z")
He’s a junior now. Has he started thinking about the NFL? Offensive lineman aren’t often high 1st round picks but there isn’t a team in the NFL that couldn’t use a few more good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/11 "2005-10-20T13:49:40Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > He’s a junior now. Has he started thinking about the NFL? Offensive lineman aren’t often high 1st round picks but there isn’t a team in the NFL that couldn’t use a few more good ones. His goals at this point are to get his degree, and he would like to go to the Olympics. (He is also a nationally-ranked shot putter). He has a ways to go to qualify, but at this point I wouldn’t bet against him. But my dad is the one with fond dreams of seeing him play professionally. And it is sort of cute to see **Sho-dad** repeatedly rein himself in and repeat “he wants to get his degree first” like a mantra. His grandma, on the other hand, simply assumes that Joe will do everything - win the gold in Beijing, graduate with honors, play professionally, and keep his room clean. That last is the only thing I am ruling out. 😃 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/12 "2005-10-20T13:54:54Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > His grandma, on the other hand, simply assumes that Joe will do everything - win the gold in Beijing, graduate with honors, play professionally, and keep his room clean. > > That last is the only thing I am ruling out. If he does all that other stuff, he can _hire_ someone to clean up after him! 😉 **Shodan** , I think this stuff is really cool. I’m not a sports person at all, but your pride in him shows. You must be a neat uncle! ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/13 "2005-10-20T16:17:17Z")
The degree is the most important, and I didn’t know that he has aspirations to participate in the Olympics. I’m pretty sure that the NFL pays more than the US Olympic Team though. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-shodan-brags-on-his-nephew-the-footie-star/326762/14 "2005-10-20T16:31:12Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > If he does all that other stuff, he can _hire_ someone to clean up after him! 😉 > > **Shodan** , I think this stuff is really cool. I’m not a sports person at all, but your pride in him shows. You must be a neat uncle! If you met him, you would understand. I care nothing about most sports, especially football, but he is a neat [del]kid[/del] **guy**. So is his brother and his little sister. > [@Madd Maxx](#): > > The degree is the most important, and I didn’t know that he has aspirations to participate in the Olympics. I’m pretty sure that the NFL pays more than the US Olympic Team though. No kidding, although I understand the Wheaties people pay the folks on their box. But you sound like my folks. I mentioned my father trying hard to scale back his expectations and not put too much pressure on him. And my mother makes a terrific effort to pay attention to her other grandkids, and praise them and be sure that conversation doesn’t always center on football and athletics. And she goes to my other nephew’s swimming meets and my niece’s basketball games with the same consistency that she goes to the Badger games. And roots just as loudly at all of them. Regards, Shodan