New OFD staffer: My name is Joseph, it’s nice to meet you!

Hello friends!

My name is Joseph and I will be a new staff writer here at One Foot Down. I am so excited that you all will be with me as I embark on this new journey. I thank our Site Manager Joshua Vowles for this amazing opportunity and I cannot wait to see where this path leads.

Born in South Bend, raised in Kentucky, now hanging out on the coast.

I was born in South Bend just after my Dad had finished his 5th-year senior season with Notre Dame. That is where the unbreakable bond I have with the Irish began. Similar to my new colleague Hayden, I grew up in Kentucky. Not so similar to him, I am from Louisville. Which will explain the disdain I have for the birds with teeth that you may end up noticing. I moved with my beautiful now-wife to South Carolina in 2020. We wanted to get close to the beach and enjoy warmer weather and trust me, we have not been disappointed. We started dating our senior year of high school and just got married in October of 2020. Yes, you read that correctly. We moved from Louisville, KY to South Carolina AND got married during the pandemic in 2020. Needless to say, it has been a wild two years. We have now settled in Summerville, SC (basically Charleston) where we plan to stay and eventually start a family.

Irish since day one. Literally.

As I mentioned before I was born in South Bend. My Dad played at Notre Dame from 1992 to 1996 so, from the day I was born in February of 1997 I was all Irish. The only team that gets the love that Notre Dame gets is the Indianapolis Colts. The Pacers would get that love if they ever deserved it (except for the PG-13 years, those were fun). As you can tell it’s all Indiana all day for this guy, excluding my newly adopted Carolina Hurricanes fandom. I’m thinking I should get back to the Irish though because that’s what we are all here for. In all of my soon-to-be 25 years, I have missed only a hand full of Notre Dame football games. Even though from 1997 to 2011 there were very few moments of true joy. The worst coming to mind being in the stands for the 2007 Air Force game. Even so, I have always been there for the Irish, and as long as they have a team to root for - I will be doing so (that includes basketball which has always been my second sport).

Geek/Weeb mixed with a sports buff.

Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage

Sports have always been a massive part of my life, whether it was watching or playing. Ever since I was a little kid I have been obsessed. I am equally as obsessed with things that are not so sporty. Similar to our Chief Inspector Brendan I love anime/manga. My absolute favorite is Naruto but, my other favorites include Full Metal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, and many many more. I am also a massive comic fan, especially Batman. Anything DC Comics-related, count me in and some but less so Marvel. I know that may be a hot take for some of you but aside from Spider-Man, I am not a HUGE fan of any Marvel properties. Feel free to “let me hear it” because I promise I have heard it before. Also, I play video games (console for life, Xbox for life). The cool thing about all of this is sometimes people look at sports and these other interests and think they are completely different from one another. In my brain, this is not the case. When I watch sports, anime, DC animation, or read a comic I am doing the same thing in all cases. I am rooting for someone or something I connect with that are capable of doing extraordinary things physically, mentally, or otherwise. I think it’s a pretty cool dynamic, and one some people miss out on when they choose not to embrace both their nerdy and sporty personalities.

A new chapter.

I am beyond excited to be starting this new chapter in my life. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and I am finally being given the oppurtunity to do so. I do not know where it will all lead to but I do know I will give it everything I have and have fun while doing it. I’ll be here to help with anything the site needs, and hopefully, you’ll be able to read plenty of opinions, previews, and recaps from me. I have never had anyone around me that could talk about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as much as I do. It will be amazing to be part of a staff that has been the same way in their lives and to be able to share it with all of you will be the best part. Go Irish!