My friend, Mike Tagliere
“What are you writing?,” I asked my buddy and co-worker Mike Tagliere at the Omni in Dallas in January of 2016. At that time, Mike and I were both writing for Pro Football Focus and we had the opportunity to meet at the FSTA Winter Conference. That was an All-Star crew PFF assembled. Mike Clay, Jeff Ratcliffe, Nathan Jahnke, Tags, myself. I relished the opportunity to meet some of my friends from fantasy football Twitter and get the chance to network in the industry that I had come to love. Turns out, what Tags was writing was a note to Mark Cuban, millionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and the guest speaker of that season’s FSTA conference. See, Tags was driven to be successful as a writer. To be full-time in this space and he wasn’t going to let this opportunity escape. After Cuban addressed the participants, Mike and I lingered out of the conference room and Cuban spoke to a handful of people. Before he was escorted away by his one-man security detail, Mike Tagliere worked his way through the growing crowd and managed to shake hands with Cuban and handed him the note that Mike had scribbled down. A few minutes later, we were making our way down to the hotel’s bar for a drink and as we walked, I asked Tags what he said to Cuban. Mike kinda told me about how important it was for him to “make it” and that Cuban responded with some encouraging words. It must have been amazing motivation because Tags soon had a rocket propelling his momentum and he went out there and achieved everything he ever wanted to be. And it couldn’t have happened to a better person. Mike represented everything about making it the right way. Tags never had to resort to gimmicks, passive-aggressive quote tweets, thrusting himself into others’ conversations, or trolling athletes. He simply worked harder than anyone else, remained kind, and gave some of the best analyses and opinions that were out there. Even as Tags continued to ascend the ranks of “made” men and his influence grew, he never changed who he was. No matter how inexperienced or new an aspiring writer or podcaster was, Mike always found the time to give back and donate his time. And he was always humble and so appreciative of those still willing to put in that grind. One of my favorite all-time podcast spots I’ve ever participated in was with Tags and his wife Tabbie, back when they kicked off my favorite show, The Hot Route Podcast. I was the second-ever guest on the show and it was such a fun hour. Tags, Tabbie, and I talked about all kinds of non-football things and I even made it through the segment with off-the-cuff embarrassing personal questions that gave that show its unique edge and flavor. Sometime later, I started my own program, The Old School Podcast, and true to form, I had Mike on as my second guest. By that time, he had really come into his own as a talent. I was always envious of how Tags could join any media, television, podcast, local radio, satellite radio, it didn’t matter. Mike was so good at his job that he had the data and facts ingrained in his head. Mere mortals like myself often need pre-show notes to prepare facts and numbers but Tags was such an amazing writer and analyst that he didn’t need prep time. That, to me, is the mark of a consummate professional, and one who certainly should be considered among the very best at his craft. As great as Mike was in football, nothing made him happier than his wife, Tabbie, and his two kids Alyssa and Jonathan. Back to that chilly week in Dallas, Mike was the person I was most looking forward to connecting with. And to be honest, I kinda tagged along with Tags all week. I didn’t know she was coming, but Mike brought Tabbie to the conference. After meeting her, I had a better understanding of Mike’s drive. Tabbie was the most caring, kind, and supportive spouse I’d ever encountered. She filled Mike with encouragement, motivation, and genuinely wanted him to achieve his dreams. I watched in amazement how Tabbie could socialize with us scrubs, support her husband, and use her downtime there in the hotel to study. She wanted to become a nurse, and in true Tagliere fashion, that’s exactly what she achieved. I remember sipping on an IPA and thinking to myself what an amazing couple and how nice it must be to have someone be so supportive in life. On the second night in Dallas, after the main conference and cocktail hour, the vast majority of FSTA participants gathered to carpool off to American Airlines Center to watch a Mavericks basketball game. As part of the festivities, an extra $100 bought all FSTA participants a ticket to the game and all-you-can-eat-and-drink seating at the Jack Daniels Bar. Maybe because we weren’t “made” men yet, but Tags and I had elected not to buy the ducats. But after some talking, we decided we certainly wanted to go. It was Tabbie who said, “let’s just go; what’s the worst that can happen?” So Tabbie had this cool app on her phone called Uber and next thing you know, the three of us showed up at the arena and found a big group of people with FSTA lanyards on. We sorta just got in line and wouldn’t you know it? They waved us through like we were supposed to be there. And man, was that fun. Great laughs, socializing with so many people in the fantasy industry, unlimited food and drinks…oh, and the game went into overtime too! Not long after that, I took my annual February sabbatical and watched with amazement how my good friend Mike Tagliere became “Tags”. Mike landed a full-time job with FantasyPros. It was truly inspiring to watch Mike’s real personality come out on