“I was always pretty nervous to become a dad. My dad was an amazing dad and I always wanted the chance to be like him.

My wife and I went through 3 1/2 years of fertility treatments. We didn’t know if we’d ever be parents.

After many failed attempts, lots of fertility drugs, and thousands of dollars later, we got a positive test!

Our baby came 3 months premature, 1 lb 12 oz, lots of problems during her 103 day stay in the NICU. There were nights we weren’t sure if she’d make it.

Almost 2 years later, Remi is home and as healthy as can be. She’s got a personality bigger than this world. We’re blessed to have her and thankful for the love, laughter, and proof of miracles she’s brought in to our lives.

I’m doing the best I can every day to teach Remi to be kind and love others. Most importantly every day I’m reinforcing the love I have for her.”

– Shawn Gardner

Want to share a story about fatherhood? Email [email protected]

Check out the previous editions of Father Figures here

It’s now been a full decade since we met The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. For the uninitiated, Old Spice body wash once made commercials showcasing actor, former wide receiver, and certified hunk Isaiah Mustafa.

The ads, utilizing single continuous shots and ingenious practical effects, featured a towel-wrapped Mustafa celebrating the full breadth of his manliness, be it through beachside horseback rides or graceful swan dives onto motorcycles submerged in hot tubs. You know. Guy shit.

Ten years later, Old Spice and Mustafa have reunited for a couple of ads in which the character has a son. As it turns out, even the smoothest, most fragrant of men are defenseless against the inherently lame disposition that comes with fatherhood.

In one ad, he shows up at his son’s basketball practice and doles out dad jokes the only way he knows how.

The embarrassment continues in “Office Visit,” when he logrolls nonchalantly into his son’s workplace to suggest he join the family business and recommend a coconut-scented body wash.

Fingers crossed for another series of ads in ten years, where we catch up with the world’s best-smelling grandpa.

Brooklyn gets a lot of flak. It’s the land of hipsters with handlebar mustaches selling artisanal pickles who front bands that Pitchfork loves. As someone who lives in Brooklyn, I concede that all of that is true.

But Brooklyn also often sets trends that reverberate throughout the rest of the country, because it’s the land of pioneers. And today we learned of a new pioneer from New York City’s best borough, and here’s hoping his groundbreaking efforts start a movement that benefits us all.

His name if Floyd Hayes, and he lives in the Clinton Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn. But after his recent gambit, where he really lives is in our hearts, and in the annals of legends, because Floyd successfully registered his beer as an emotional support animal.

Floyd told the Brooklyn Paper how he came up with the idea. “It’s a delicious beer and at a reasonable 5% abv, can be consumed without hindering hand-eye coordination, mental ability or judgement. I’ve had trouble trying to take the pint onto public buses and into places of business, so I had the idea to get it registered,” he added.

He reached out to USA Service Dog Registration and applied online.

“I’m not permitted a dog in my building, so I thought an emotional support beer would be more appropriate. It helps alleviate my anxiety and is a cost effective way to manage stress,” he told Ale Street News.

And it worked! Sort of.

An anonymous employee there told Brooklyn Paper that it won’t provide Floyd with many benefits.

“This will not get you into Walmart, it will not get you into Denny’s, it will only protect you where you’re renting,” she said. “He can register his beer all day long, it’s not going to get him anywhere.”

Except straight into our hearts.

Medical debt can be crippling for families. On top of dealing with the fallout from the medical condition that incurred the debt, families can run into having to pay massive bills that can quickly spiral out of control. It’s a real problem in this country, and that’s why it’s awesome when people try to step in and help out. One such person is Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young, who started his 2020 by buying and canceling more than $1 million in medical debt for Atlanta citizens.

His foundation partnered with the nonprofit “RIP Medical Debt” and they wiped medical debt completely clear for 570 Atlanta families.

Blessed to have such a Great Team around me to help me make this happen!!

For the A #MakeADifference https://t.co/EIAFDN9ViR

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 8, 2020

“The city of Atlanta has welcomed me with open arms,” said Young. “Giving back to this community is extremely important to me. I hope these families can find a bit of relief knowing that their bills have been taken care of as we enter the New Year.”

@TheTraeYoung you probably won’t see this, but on the off chance you do I wanted to say thank you. One of the people who’s medical debt you canceled was my mother and you’ve made our lives better in a very real way. THANK YOU

— Eric Reynolds (@EricHasOpinions) January 9, 2020

God Bless you and Your Family🙏🏽

LOVE❤️ https://t.co/McuVwUErzk

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 9, 2020

The Athletic has the full story about how the gesture came about (strong endorsement for The Athletic here).

For its part, RIP Medical Debt says it seeks to help those most in need, working with individual donors, philanthropists and organizations to purchase medical debt from collection agencies for pennies on the dollar to provide financial relief for those burdened by impossible medical bills.

Young is one of the top young players in the NBA, finishing the 2018-2019 season as a finalist for Rookie of the Year and is currently one of the top scorers in the NBA.

The Las Vegas Raiders officially began their new era as a professional sports franchise with a giant tackle. With Nevada lunch debt being their first opponent at home, they absolutely crushed it with a half a MILLION dollar pledge to the cause.

The franchise donated the money to the Nevada Community Foundation, who will then send the $$ to schools participating in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. That money will go to clear the debt the school’s incur for families that can’t pay for lunches but also don’t qualify for free lunches.

The first order of business for the Las Vegas Raiders?

Eliminating the meal debt across the entire state of Nevada: https://t.co/RW1hF0lMVn pic.twitter.com/liZC5wMHaY

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) January 23, 2020

“Today, we want to make a donation to the Nevada Department of Agriculture meal service program, which feeds kids lunch and breakfast at the schools. We are hoping to eliminate the debt that the entire state of Nevada has to do that project, and in that regard we are donating $500,000 to the program,” Raiders Owner Mark Davis said in a press release.

That is a hell of an opening for the state’s first NFL team. Sure, there are plenty of discussions warranted about whether or not lunch debt should even be a thing. And I will also hear arguments about how the team should do community efforts like this, given how much money they were given in public funds.

But, let’s not gloss over the fact that EVERY NFL team gets deals like that, and they aren’t all attempting to kill lunch debt in their states. This is a weird look for the Raiders, as I’m more used to the off-putting fanaticism of parts of Raider Nation (looking at the Black Hole here).

Props to the Raiders for starting off their Las Vegas era by quickly starting to earn the goodwill of the community.

Officially the Las Vegas Raiders. 👀

This is going to take some getting used to.

(via @Raiders) pic.twitter.com/0rwzAL0Upe

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 22, 2020

Super Bowl Sunday is the closest thing America has to an unofficial holiday. People gather with loved ones, make elaborate meals, and generally drink more than they should. The biggest downside every year? Going to work (or school) the next morning. One boy in New York is trying to change that.

Frankie Ruggeri, a 16-year-old from New York, was talking with his family about the Super Bowl earlier this month when he said it should be on Saturday instead. OK, great kid, that’s the same conversation thousands of sports fans have had. But Ruggeri didn’t just complain and let it stay there, he is trying to enact real change, and he started a petition on Change.org to get the ball rolling. Cute, right? Well, football fans are joining the cause, as he already has nearly 35,000 signatures.

He makes an argument that the NFL would make more money if the game was on Saturday. He also said it would increase TV views. A valiant effort, although if it was true, the NFL would’ve probably moved it by now (there’s nothing they won’t do for an extra few dimes).

This teen thinks having the Super Bowl on Sundays is impractical because fans have to get up for school and work the next day, so he’s started a petition to change next year’s game to a Saturday. More than 10,000 people have already signed it. https://t.co/ENZYLCeNLi

— CNN (@CNN) January 23, 2020

Here’s what we need to focus on: this is objectively a great idea. It’s the top sporting event of the year, and no one wants the buzzkill of going to work (or school) the next day. Move it to Saturday, where it rightfully belongs.

Yes, it is a petition, which is a form of change that doesn’t work past the third grade, but this may be our best chance to unite and make our voices heard. This may be the time to rally and get the NFL to see the groundswell of support for a switch to Saturday.

This kid could be the Greta Thunberg of Super Bowl parties. Heck, he even got a #SuperBowlSaturday trend going on twitter.

You can sign the petition here.

And if the NFL won’t oblige, fine. Then it’s time to move to Plan B, which is trying to change a weaker organization: the Federal Government. If we can’t move the game, then it’s imperative that the Monday after the Super Bowl becomes an official holiday.

“Recently, Disney movies have been getting under my skin. Partially because I have a daughter that just turned four years of age and she’s always looking to emulate them.

She loves to play dress-up and put on her princess dresses, and she tells me that she wants to be a princess. She then proceeds to do her nails and put on make up and pretend that she is a princess waiting for her prince. Granted, not all of the stories form Disney are antiquated, more recent movies like Mulan and Brave show how a woman is capable of more than just sitting back and waiting for a prince to rescue her and provide her with riches.

This past week we celebrated her birthday and over the weekend we had a party with all of her family and friends. But on Monday night, I decided to take her out on a date (just she and I) and show her how a gentleman ought to act. I picked up flowers before coming home and I put on a suit and tie (like she always asks me to do). As we were walking out of the car and I go to open her door and sit her in her car seat, she told me, “Daddy, I want to get married!”

I was shocked to hear those words out of my little princess. I was caught off guard and my first response was to say, “Ok, baby.” I fastened her into her seat and walked around the car, but before I got in I took a moment to take a deep breath and think about how I wanted to respond. I got in the car and told her that she would make a beautiful bride – when she turns 45. I figured that would buy me time to address the bigger issue!

When we arrived at the restaurant (her favorite Italian place), she wanted to bring her flowers inside with her. We ordered her favorite meal (spaghetti with meatballs) and at the end of our dinner I surprised her with a dessert, complete with a candle and another rendition of ‘Happy Birthday!’ (Thanks to the waiter at Maggiano’s!)

It was then that I realized that if I do my job as her daddy – love, protect, encourage, and challenge her when appropriate – she would know what a gentleman should do. She would grow to be a strong and educated woman and when she does fall for her ‘Prince Charming’ it will be for love and not for the riches.”

– Manuel Carrera

Want to share a story about fatherhood? Email [email protected]

Check out the previous editions of Father Figures here.

Over the next few years, there will be a ton of Marvel content coming to screens both big and small.

Most of it will be an explicit part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in the form of countless sequels to existing superhero franchises (Dr. Strange, Thor, Captain Marvel, etc.), origin stories for characters yet to have their own film (Black Widow), new franchises being launched (The Eternals, Shang-Chi). Much of it will be related to the MCU, via movie characters getting their own shows on Disney+ (Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision), and some of it will be one-off stuff, like, Disney+’s What If series and M.O.D.O.K., a newly-announced show to air on Hulu.

News of M.O.D.O.K (which stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) came fast and furious the other day when the cast began tweeting about their involvement. Their voice-only involvement, as M.O.D.O.K will be an animated series. And what a cast it is, full of comedic stars of various renown.

The cast includes stand-up comic Patton Oswalt, Parks and Rec star Ben Schwartz, Brooklyn 99 star Melissa Fumero, Veep star Sam Richardson, Wendi McLendon-Covery of The Goldbergs and Bridesmaids, Beck Bennett from SNL, and more. Oswalt leads the series as M.O.D.O.K, a Marvel supervillain hellbent on taking over the world but suddenly beset by familiar and career-based challenges, i.e., a midlife crisis.

Certainly, a different style of Marvel property than we’re used to seeing on screen, but one that sounds like it has a lot of fun potential, especially with that cast of comedy vets. Showrunner Jordan Blum is excited for the show, saying, “I’m blown away by our insanely talented and hilarious voice cast, who have all brought their specific kind of magic to this weird and wonderful corner of the Marvel Universe.”

Jean-Ralphio himself, Ben Schwartz, is equally amped about his role as M.O.D.O.K’s son who will be, hopefully, flush with cash.

I knew the first time I jumped in the @Marvel universe it would be to play the son of a floating head super villain. This show is so funny & the cast is amazing- @pattonoswalt @SamRichardson @Aimee_Garcia @melissafumero @wendimclendonco @becbenit @jondaly https://t.co/8zdosBzKi5

— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) January 21, 2020

The show is slated to air later this year on Hulu.