Editorial

To The Glee Of My Critics, I Was Not Named The Most Influential Person In The Media Over The Past Year

OPINION
David Hookstead (Credit: David Hookstead)

David Hookstead (Credit: David Hookstead)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Well, it looks like my critics finally have something to smile about.

As many of you know, I spend my days climbing a mountain built on the skulls, hopes and dreams of my enemies. I take great joy in the fact that most of those who have bet against me aren’t really vocally around to talk about it, and yet, I keep cruising. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

December 2021 is the best month of my career, and we’re not even close to being done. Of course, all great things must come to an end, and I received some shattering news Tuesday. Mediaite released its list of the most influential people in media for 2021, and not only was I not in the top spot, which is occupied by Tucker Carlson, I wasn’t even on the list at all.

Yes, you read that correctly. On a list of the 75 most influential people in the media, I apparently wasn’t good enough to crack it at all.

The saddest part is that I haven’t even heard of many of these people. How influential can you be when I — King in the North of college football — haven’t ever heard of you?

How many people on this list saved college football in 2020 and then oversaw its resurgence with packed stadiums in 2021? How many people on the list can interview the Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden in the face one day, an NBA star the next, touch base with a few porn stars and interview the cast of the most popular show on TV?

How many people on the list wake up hours before the sun is up to build an empire with nothing more than black coffee and Midwest grit? Oh, did I mention that in between doing all that, I also film “The David Hookstead Show” for viewers all over the globe? Sorry, sometimes when you’re so humble, you lose track of your accomplishments.

Of course, I guess I should just be used to the disrespect by now. As Charles Barkley likes to say, when you’re successful, there’s automatic hatred towards you.

This is not a strange concept to me. In fact, I’ve dealt with it for a long time, and being overlooked for this list is just the latest example.

You know what you do when the world overlooks you and counts you out? You get back to work. That’s what you do, and you do it with the same attitude of a Delta Force operator.

Did I just throw in the towel last year when the B1G canceled football? Hell no. I geared up, and vowed to do whatever was necessary.

I fought in the trenches while most of the people in the media did nothing other than sit in their air conditioned studios.

I remember some other Americans who were overlooked going into the 1980 winter Olympics, and we all know how that ended!

Keep betting against me. Last time I checked, none of those slips have cashed.