WWJD #18: 94 ’till Infinity

It’s Memorial Day weekend, which usually means there are drinks, bar-b-que, music, laughs, fun in the sun, and TQ’s birthday!

As TQ would say, “It’s Gemini season!” As I write this WWJD, my best friend… no, my brother turns 44, and we are unable to do our typical celebration for his birthday. In fact, he has not seen family or friends in almost two months which is unlike him, especially if he isn’t on the road.
If you are in “the family,” then you know the type of person Terrence Quaites is. You know the kind of heart he has for those he cares about and how personal he takes events in those people’s lives. I know this because he is the godfather to two of my children and one of the only people I turn to for advice before making a major life-changing decision.

I have known “Squeeze” since 1994, prior to the success of his first hit singles as a solo artist “Westside” or “Bye, Bye Baby.”

 

From Westside to Cash Money Records to The HUB, we were right there for each other, creating and sharing moments. But the moments that stand out to me have happened in the past three years. Those were both the lowest points in my life and one of the highest.
Three years ago, I went through one of the toughest personal battles of my life–a divorce from my wife of 18 years. I was devastated, and it nearly broke me as a person.
Squeeze was the first person I called when I realized it was over. He left a gathering to meet me at his house and console me. I stayed at his home, and we spent the next day trying to get me together and formulate a life plan. My main take-a-way was to be there for my children, focus on myself, and life will go on.
Less than three months later, on Labor Day Weekend, we pulled the trigger to start Franchise Sports Media, a company that we had talked about starting for two years.
FSM was in the making long before we decided to start it. It seemed like on tour buses, radio station promo tours, in hotels, at bars, at family or sporting events, or anytime we got together in general, we were debating sports. Our family and friends would be entertained and would ask us to do a podcast or show. “Someday we will,” was the typical answer they’d get.

When I moved to Las Vegas in December of 2015, TQ was the first person I called after I found out the Raiders were moving to Las Vegas.

“Get the fuck outta here, Verb. Don’t tell me that shit!” were the exact words he said to me. “Bro, I wouldn’t do that, but I wanted to give you a heads up before I report it.”
Squeeze listened to what I told him about the potential move, the reasons, and the timeline. He finally said: “No shit! My team is moving to Vegas… HELL YEAH!”
We talked then about starting Franchise Sports Media but ultimately decided against it. It wasn’t the right time yet, and we both had too much going on in our lives.

We were in the pool at the Las Vegas Marriott having a few drinks when he said, “So are we gonna do this sports media outlet or what?”

I was surprised since I had been bugging him about it for a few months, and he kept putting it off. “Are you serious?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea, and we can change the game. Let’s do it!” he replied.
We bought up a domain name and started plotting out our business. Franchise Sports Media wasn’t the first name, Inside LV Sports.com was. But we changed it since we both felt it limited who and what we wanted to cover.
The FSM logo has a hidden meaning inspired by one of his songs on “They Never Saw Me Coming,” his debut solo album. In the song, “If the World Was Mine,” he sang, “I’d have Vegas as the capital, Luxor baby kinda feels natural.”
So when we were coming up with the logo for FSM, I said to him, “Let’s have the Luxor in Franchise ‘F’ with the strip inside the Franchise name.” He said, “Why the Luxor?” and when I told him he got a huge smile and said, “Really? That’s a dope idea!”
Most of the time, you are told not to do business with friends and family. But for us, it was different. It was us doing what we are passionate about with a person who is mutually loved and respected by the other.

But fast forward to 2020 and COVID-19… and the circumstances have TQ’s birthday weekend all screwed up.

 

I’m not in Vegas right now so I’m not able to spend my brother’s birthday with him. We won’t be drinking Moscow Mules or Corona Premiers while eating his famous BBQ chicken, and we won’t be toasting to Franchise Sports Media‘s success. We didn’t go to The Flamingo’s Go Pool to party with our friend DJ Supa James.
Instead, we will remain safely where we are and wait a few more weeks before we get together, along with Trisha LaCoste, the third member of the Franchise Sports Media brain trust and our sister.
Squeeze, there are no adequate words that I can say to convey how much I love and respect you. Since 1994, we have been going through life together and winning. No matter the challenges or successes, we have been ten toes down for each other daily.
Happy birthday, my Brotha. Thank you for all you do and have done. God doesn’t put too much on our shoulders that we can’t handle and doesn’t put people in our lives that aren’t supposed to be there. I am blessed to have you in not just my life, but my family’s as well.

So WWJD?

This one is simple. I am going to continue to enjoy working with my best friend and grow our vision into something we have dreamed it to be. So one day we can retire to the water on that island (which will remain nameless). We’ll sit on the beach with some beer and debate sports, just like we’ve been doing since 1994.

 

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