I first joined The Dore Report the summer before the 2022 football season. I wanted to write about Vanderbilt athletics and had a platform where I could write long-form content regarding my favorite teams and where I was not restricted to the character limit of a tweet. I sent a Twitter DM to the TDR account, introduced myself, and expressed interest in writing about football, baseball, and basketball—my first series of posts previewing each position unit for the 2022 Vanderbilt football team. I loved doing it, and as we progressed into the season, I began to write post-game recaps. I loved writing about the first two games, but in true SOV fashion, the wheels quickly began to fall off. Nevertheless, I kept writing, and the week before Vanderbilt would go to Lexington to play the top 25 ranked Kentucky Wildcats, I made my first TDR pod appearance, and it has been history ever since.

My history with Vanderbilt has been pretty public. Ever since I can remember, I have loved Vanderbilt athletics. Some of my most memorable memories involve celebrating Vanderbilt athletics with my father and, recently, my mother. The Vanderbilt fandom in the Hulan family starts with my dad’s mom and my granny. My granny grew up cheering for the Commodores during the 40’s and 50’s because they were the local team. She was a huge Clyde Lee fan and loved watching him play basketball at David Lipscomb. She was ecstatic when he chose to go to Vanderbilt to continue his career. My granny then transferred this fandom to my dad. My dad also grew up a Vanderbilt fan, and he is who I credit my Vanderbilt fandom. As soon as my dad turned eighteen, he entered the workforce. With his first paycheck, he purchased Vanderbilt football and basketball season tickets and donated to the National Commodore Club.

Whenever he first met my mother, he thought it would be a bright idea to take her to a Vanderbilt-Tennessee Tech basketball game for their first date (I guess I get it honest). He then converted my mother to the Vanderbilt fandom, and they traveled all over the U.S., going to Vanderbilt football and basketball games. Then, here I come. I grew up falling in love with Ted Skuchas, Earl Bennett, and Pedro Alvarez, and I have been a diehard fan ever since.

All this is to say that Vanderbilt athletics means to the world and more to me, and I know many of you. I cannot believe that Will and I have a group of listeners who, week in and week out, listen to us be incoherent, celebrate, and lament. From a kid who grew up only caring about Vanderbilt athletics to a grown man with a Vanderbilt podcast, none of this would be possible without all of you.

So, with all of that being said, I want to thank every single one of you. From the people who comment on the YouTube videos, the people who are heavy Twitter users, the people who DM us on Instagram and want to talk ball, to the group of dedicated fans who constantly comment on and share our posts on Facebook, thank you. I cannot believe I get to hop on a microphone and talk about Vanderbilt athletics week in and week out. All of this is possible because of you guys.

To our listeners. The dogs. The goons. The junkyard dogs… thank you. It has meant the world to me, Will, and our parents that at every game, you guys come up and introduce yourselves. We love meeting and talking to all of you guys. We have even gotten to the point where we have the pleasure of calling many of you dear friends. We are truly honored that you guys take the time to listen, come to the tailgates, and support us however you can. We are forever indebted to you guys. This podcast is not our podcast; it is your podcast. The microphone isn’t our microphone; it is your microphone. This news and TDR as a whole would not be possible if it were not for the endless support you guys have blessed us with. We genuinely love and are beyond thankful for every single one of you. The show goes on, and it only gets better.

This is for you, TDR Nation. We love every single one of you.

Trevor