It's All Your Fault

Your inbox is probably flooded, so I’ll keep this short.

This year, we grew a lot and impacted thousands. And it’s all your fault!

Thank you for a heck of a year.

Let’s dive in (for the last time in 2024) 👇

Our Most-Clicked Stories of 2024 👀 

Here are the stories that got the most love this year…

🏖️ Meet the California beach bum who became a hockey Hall of Famer. It all started with a lie spoken into a payphone on a beach in San Diego.

⚾️ From quitting the sport in high school to being rejected as a walk-on at Arkansas, Blake Treinen carved out a remarkable path to the 2024 World Series.

🤓 He sent 1,100 letters to pro football teams and rejections stacked “as high as the ceiling”. Here’s how he went from unpaid intern with no playing experience to the NFL’s most powerful GM.

🎱 He went from a small-time hustler to the best in the world at what he does. Oh yeah, and he just so happens to be deaf. It all started when a cue ball smashed into his chest.

The Best Reader Replies 💌 

Over the past 365 days, I’ve received countless messages from all of you. Here are a few highlights:

• “I love reading things like this. As a Deaf person, it makes me feel I’m worth it.”

• “Underdog stories help me bring back the feeling of a simpler and (maybe?) purer time of being a fan.”

• “Great to see how many lives you’ve touched. Keep up the good work!”

• “I’m trying to stay off social media and replace it with fun and interesting stories. Your brand hits the target of what I’m looking to read.”

• “I love the concept you have for encouraging people to not give up. It's wonderful! There are so many success stories that we never hear about and I applaud you for bringing attention to these people.”

Some Numbers 📈 

Ultimately, I want our stories to reach as many people as possible.

My short-term goal is for this newsletter to be able to fill every seat in Beaver Stadium, which can hold up to 107,282 people.

This year, we inched a little bit closer to that goal.

• Grew from 10,000 to 18,342 subscribers (and counting)

• Generated 528,000+ pageviews on JokerMag.com (where you’ll find every story we’ve ever published)

• Had our work featured by big-name sites like FOX Sports, Clutchpoints, The Sporting News, and Rivals

I cannot thank you enough for continuing to read, share, and support Joker Mag & The Underdog Newsletter.

Here’s to an even better 2025 🤝 

Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

😎 I’ll be back in your inbox next Sunday with a fresh underdog story to kick off the new year.

📖 Until then, I’ll be spending the next few days figuring out how to finally format and publish my book. I can’t wait to share it with you!

🌟 Trivia Answer: C) Signing the highest-paid free agent ever. Jim “Catfish” Hunter was actually the first free agent in modern baseball and became the highest-paid player when the Yankees signed him to a 5-year contract worth $3.35 million. Adjusted for inflation, that’s equal to $20.3 million today – which looks minuscule compared to Juan Soto’s $765 million deal.

Where to Find the Best Deals on Hoka Shoes

Are you a runner? More specifically, a road runner? Hoka was built for that. Meaning “to fly” in Maori, Hoka was founded in 2009 so that runners could get the ultimate experience with optimum cushioning and stability. Less than 15 years after its founding, Hoka is bringing in revenues topping a billion dollars a year, so it’s clear that people are loving this brand. But with quality comes high prices, and Hoka is no doubt in the high end price-wise. So we’ve rounded up the best stores to find the best deals for Hoka.

Shop the Best Deals