Author’s note: The majority of this…piece…was written in the very early hours of December 2, 2023 (or the very late hours of December 1, 2023, if you believe that the date does not change until you go to sleep and wake up, as many of us night owls do). I have never written a longform piece like this but I felt compelled at the time. I have been mulling over posting this for a while and finally decided to go for it because I hate it a little bit less than the deafening silence of the offseason.