A note to the people who've been here
A thank-you, several things to give away, and three weeks of Y-Option for everyone.
There are a handful of moments each year that catch me off guard.
Last week was one of them.
I was reading through the notes some of you have left when you became paid subscribers. Sitting in airports between trips, scrolling slowly. And the same feeling kept hitting me.
The growth of Y-Option is not really about the writing, the podcasts or the social media.
It’s about you.
The Oregon Duck from 1975. The reader who grew up in the Pac-12 footprint and wrote that he supports this work 100%. The note from a former colleague I hadn’t heard from in years. The message from a Penn State fan who also grew up in Pennsylvania embedded in the Big Ten culture. The names of cities I drove through in my playing days, my coaching days, my broadcasting days. People still showing up.
That’s not a subscriber list. That’s a community.
So for the next three weeks, we’re doing something I want to tell you about.
We’re calling it The Honor Roll.
It’s a recognition campaign for the people who built this thing with us at Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth — and here’s how it works.
For the next three weeks, every Y-Option newsletter will be free to read in full, no paywall, for everyone on the list. Whether you’ve been paid since the early days or you joined yesterday as a free reader, you get the same thing: the whole post, every week, no gates.
That’s the first part of the gift.
The second part is that I’m giving away a handful of things over the course of the campaign:
An old school Pac-12 helmet from me, personally. From my own collection.
A Madden family experience, courtesy of my friend Joe Madden, who runs Goal Line Studios. The winner will spend a Sunday at Goal Line Studios watching football with the Madden family on their massive 108-foot screen wall running games all day, along with a two-night stay at The Rose Hotel in downtown Pleasanton, California. Travel to and from Pleasanton is not included.
A collection of Madden family memorabilia tied to the legacy of John Madden, including a signed one-of-a-kind Madden Monopoly game, a Joe Madden-signed broadcast patch from this past year’s NFL Thanksgiving game, and a commemorative pin from John Madden’s Celebration of Life.
A personal shoutout from me on the podcast this June. Your name, your story, a moment.
You’re already entered if you’re a subscriber. No form, no hoops. You’re in automatically because you’re already here.
If you’re reading this from a forwarded email, you can subscribe for free at y-option.com and you’re entered too.
And if you’ve been thinking about supporting Y-Option as a paid subscriber, this is a moment where it means a little extra. Paid subscribers receive additional entries throughout the campaign. But more than anything, this is just my way of saying thank you to the people who’ve helped build this thing with me.
To upgrade or subscribe, tap the “Subscribe now” button below or visit yogiroth.substack.com/subscribe. Monthly, annual, and Founding Member tiers are all available.
The campaign runs from today, Friday, May 15th, through Friday, May 29, at midnight PT. Winners get drawn the following Monday and announced in a final post.
I’ll be back this weekend with the regular newsletter. Paywall down, full post for everyone.
Until then, much love and stay steady,
Yogi