David Bates

Hey @tatereeves, yall fix EEF while you’re there!

@FreddyLA7 @ClayTravis Welcome back!! We missed you!

Hello again. We’re currently in Clemson, South Carolina. I’ve decided to come back here to document the final part of our road trip. The main reason I deactivated my account two weeks ago was that things became increasingly toxic. For some people, it’s unfortunately unfathomable that a good story can exist without some kind of hidden agenda behind it. There was even a Reddit group going through my entire account trying to find anything they could use to reveal my identity. I know this was only a small percentage of people, but after a while it became exhausting. During the last two weeks, I received so many kind messages on Instagram, and they really made me realize how many people genuinely enjoyed following the trip. Some people even told me that their grandparents regularly ask them, “What are the Germans up to today?” I think that’s really cool. I decided to continue because I realized that the overwhelming majority of people loved following along. A small group of very loud people shouldn’t be able to ruin something that brought so many others joy. I also want to clear something up, as people who follow me on Instagram already know. I’ve been to the United States before. This is not my first visit, and I’ve never claimed that it was. The last time I was here was in January 2022, when I visited New York and Philadelphia. A lot of people shared my Raising Cane’s post from November 2025 to make it look like I was secretly American. That post wasn’t from the United States, it was from my trip to Saudi Arabia. This is my first time back in the U.S. in more than four years, and apart from Boston, I’d never visited any of the places we’ve been to on this trip before. That’s probably why many people assumed it was our first time in America, because for all of these places, it actually was. And let me tell you, Ohio and Alabama are very different from New York City or Los Angeles. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks for reading.

Pay for play is not a soccer problem, it's an American youth sports problem, and it's the fault of the parents, who fall for the "your kid needs to play in this program in order to get exposure." FWIW, a lot of the profiteers in soccer speak with foreign accents!

@DanCollins2011 Soccer in the US is for girls, and boys that can’t make a baseball/football/basketball team.

U.S soccer fans screaming that our problem is LeBron James doesn’t play soccer. (Messi is 5’7, Maradona was 5’5) Total U.S youth soccer players: 20 million (Belgium is 400k) Stop blaming the youth or access to the game. My Son’s U-15 team in Memphis was better than U-15 Man City. (My Son trailed there for weeks so I saw the difference up close) The breakdown in U.S soccer starts about that age group. Clear pathway for EU players. In U.S., the U.S Soccer monopoly puts their kids on the national team which gets them big clubs in EU. (Ask yourself how the team had a former coaches Son and a former Director of U.S Soccer on the pitch last night) The current up and coming U15 star is the U.S Soccer announcers Son. Soccer is a sport many players can fake it. We have an entire team of Nepo babies stealing living. (Outside of a few) And despite having so many youth players we still scrounge Europe looking for anyone with a U.S passport . The U.S Should be winning the World Cup by now but the monopoly that controls MLS and U.S Soccer is failing the country. It’s not the kids.

Every @SpursOfficial fans already knows @HKane is a no-show when you need him the most.

Driving along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Our fifth state of the trip.☀️ Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to stop, but the beaches looked incredible. Guess we’ll have to come back someday.

A PARENT’S JOURNEY THROUGH YOUTH SPORTS: Age 5: “He’s got a cannon.” Age 6: “He’s the fastest kid out there. Coach said so.” Age 7: “Rec ball isn’t challenging him anymore.” Age 8: “We tried out for select. Obviously made it.” Age 9: “$2,800 for the season. Plus uniforms. Plus tournaments. Plus hotels.” Age 10: “Cooperstown is basically a family vacation, right?” Age 11: “He needs a hitting guy. And a pitching guy. And probably a mental performance coach.” Age 12: “I’m not a crazy sports parent. The OTHER parents are crazy.” Age 13: “We changed schools. For academics. (And also baseball.)” Age 14: “Showcases are a requirement at this age.” Age 15: “Ya his ranking just ticked up. We’re cooking.” Age 16: “He just needs to get seen by the right school.” Age 17: “The D1 schools want him to walk on. He’ll earn a spot by sophomore year.” Age 18: “Okay, D2 is actually really competitive.” Age 19: “He’s redshirting. Strategic.” Age 20: “He’s focusing on school now.” Age 21: “You know what? He’s so much happier.” Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college. About 1.5% of those get drafted. Less than half of draftees ever play one day in the big leagues. The odds of our kids going pro are somewhere between “struck by lightning” and “find a $100 in old shorts.” I love youth sports (all my kids play a bunch of them) just keep a good perspective my friends. ✌️

The classic “if you’re gonna lose, fake an injury” tactic

I’m not sure who is more obsessed at this point, Lane with OM, or OM fans with Lane.

@RealPostFolder @BiGG_Wormmmm True story, she was having an affair while her husband was away and got pregnant.

@BiGG_Wormmmm You can't make this stuff up LoL

A moral thicket

@BiGG_Wormmmm @RealPostFolder

@BiGG_Wormmmm @RealPostFolder

Here’s the secret to building relationships: Actually like kids That’s it. No fancy handshakes, no dancing and singing like a fool every morning. That stuff is for show and kids know it. Just like kids. It’s easy. And if you don’t, find something else to do.

@CoachSwit It will be here soon.

Might sound crazy, but maybe one day varsity H.S. baseball needs Robot Umpires/ABS System. No disrespect to umpires, but with league titles & playoff spots on the line, consistency behind the plate matters. Cost would be an issue, but something to think about. Thoughts?

@BBGreatMoments Josh Beckett

Who’s the first player you think of when you see this Marlins logo?

College core memory

@SBakerMD Mississippi!!!

This summer, I’ll be moving to my 11th state to live in I’ve lived in Georgia 1-2 years old Mississippi 2-3 years old Illinois 3-11 Indiana 11-15 Texas 15-24 California 25 Wyoming 26-30 Texas 30-40 New Mexico 40-48 California 48-54 Washington 54-59 And now Florida 59-??

@iky_fwjett mississippifreepress.org/ole-miss-stude…

DAWGS TAKE GAME ONE