Introductions are always so awkward – especially to internet strangers. How much should I say? How much do you even want to know? I guess I’ll just start with the aboslute minimum: my name’s Scotty. Nice to kind of, sort of meet you. 

Oh, you freaks want more? Fine. Come and get it.

Sports and entertainment have always been important parts of my life. It feels a bit weird to say, but my family bonded in front of the TV. Our weekly traditions included Steeler Sundays, NBC Comedy Thursdays, and plenty of other little nightly shows and sports. We always had little things to look forward to. We had fights and misunderstandings like any family, but mine always found some common ground with our silly little shows, movies, and sports. No matter what, we’d always be sitting in our designated spots in our living room at 8 PM for whatever primetime show or sport was on that night. 

I guess that’s why these things are still so important to me. Sitting in the living room after a long day is now one way my wife and I spend time together. With Thursday nights of Abbott Elementary (gotta wait for the Hulu drop!), to Sunday F1 races, we’ve carried on my family’s odd, and maybe slightly unhealthy, tradition. Finding a great new show, connecting perfectly with a well-made movie, or cheering on my favorite sports team in a big moment is as close to a religious experience as I can get, and I value sharing those moments with people I love.

Is it weird that I’m getting oddly emotional writing about sitting in front of the TV? If your answer to that was ‘yes,’ then you’ve stumbled into the wrong corner of the internet, friend.

Now, it’s time for me to start sharing these raw, unfiltered, and (hopefully) entertaining thoughts with you. My goal is to wield the great and absolute power of this blog responsibly. You won’t find any intentionally contrarian takes or click-baity blogs here. Okay, maybe a few ironically, click-baity headlines to draw some suckers in, but that’s it! I’ll strive to make content that will be informative, funny, or some combination of the two. 

You’re still looking for more? Fine. I guess I should give you an idea of what to expect from my little piece of the Living Room Analysis. 

As you could probably tell, I was born and raised in the greatest sports city on Earth, the City of Champions (fuck off, Boston; we had it first!), Pittsburgh, PA. Being from Pittsburgh means a few things: Yes, I like fries on everything from salads to sandwiches. Yes, I obsessively follow the Steelers. Yes, I think Bob Nutting should sell the Pirates. Yes, I watch the Penguins closely… in the playoffs (don’t worry, we have other bloggers that will cover the Pens more intelligently). Everything Pittsburgh, from Mac Miller to the sports teams, is sacred to me. You will see me write about a lot of Pittsburgh topics, but likely the Steelers more than anything else.

Here’s where my sports fandom gets a little abnormal – I am also a Minnesota Timberwolves fan. What do you want me to say? Pittsburgh doesn’t have an NBA team, and I wouldn’t be caught dead rooting for a Cleveland team even if they were the closest geographically. When we were deciding on who to root for in 2017, my buddy, Skip, and I decided we couldn’t give our loyalty to a bandwagon team, so we had limited options. After many nights debating outside Skip’s garage over a low ember, we decided on the Wolves. They’ve been up and down during our tenure, but our choice is finally starting to look like the right one with our lord and savior, Anthony Edwards, looking more like a rising superstar by the day.

Finally, I’m a fan of McLaren’s Formula 1 team. Big Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri guy over here, but don’t expect in depth breakdowns yet because I barely understand the terminology.

Aside from day-to-day rooting for my bets to cash, that’s my sports biography. Love or hate my teams, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting in my future blogs… even if it is just cheering for my heartbreak. Don’t worry, I’ll still publish some general NBA, NFL, and MLB blogs to keep you coming back for more.

I already gave some background on why I love movies and TV, so might as well give you some ideas of what I’ll publish on this front. 

I’m pretty sure my wife thinks I’m a movie snob. Everytime it’s my turn to pick a movie, it’s from the “Critically Acclaimed” section of the streaming service. Last one I picked was Michael Mann’s 1995 movie, Heat. When it’s her turn to pick, we usually watch a cheesy rom com that I consider just as enjoyable. 

How does an amateur movie snob enjoy a cheesy Netflix comedy with a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes? Easy! It’s because I enjoy movies that know what they are. Cheesy, sincere, dramatic, whatever. As long as there’s a consistent feeling of creativity, I’m on board. Take the Fast and the Furious movies as an example of both sides. It goes from Vin Diesel thinking he’s God’s gift to testosterone fueled, adreneline addicts to the series shifting to a tongue and cheek, over the top, intentionally silly action movie… and then back to feeding Vin’s can’t lose an on screen fight, tough guy persona. It’s really the perfect fit for both sides of my point of view.

In short, I love good movies, I like most other movies, but I hate uninspired movies. I look forward to explaining this point of view to you in coming blogs. 

I’ll also be keeping you up to date with my thoughts on TV series. My taste ranges from critically acclaimed dramas, like FX’s Shogun, to weird comedies like Smiling Friends (Adult Swim/Max), and more. I have just about every streaming service (not a brag, just reminding you that I am a sucker for content), so I’ll be coming back with my thoughts on many shows that catch my eye. I’m sure I’ll also get nostalgic at some point and do some retrospectives, but one step at a time.

Before I wrap up my first blog, I want to thank you for putting in the time in to read this far. I hope you’ll come back for more and join us as we create this community. Go check out our other Armchair Experts.