The Eight Finalists for 2017 SoBro of the Year: VOTE NOW!

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Over the weekend, the SoBros team got together, took the initial list of 16 finalists for Tom Arnold SoBro of the Year, and whittled that list down to eight. In case you don’t remember what this prestigious award is all about, let me remind you. It is a completely arbitrary mix of people who have helped us grow our web site, people who have had an undeniably good 2017 so far, people who have been instrumental ambassadors for the city of Nashville, and people who have been some sort of combination of all three. It can best be summed up by saying, “this award is meant to honor our favorite people.” Boom – simplify, bitches!

Anyway, the link is up to vote. So, if you already know who you’re voting for, click here to cast your ballot. If you’re undecided, mis amigos, fret not – read on. We’ve got the eight-man field covered!

Tom Arnold

Did Tom Arnold do anything particularly noteworthy in 2017? I don’t know. Just full disclosure there – but the man is a legend, and one time, he tweeted us, said we were funny, and wished us luck. For a small site like us just getting started, it’s random acts of kindness like that and a small sign of support that keeps us going. So, this is more or less a ‘career achievement’ type of nomination. Oh yeah, and shit – we named this award after him, too.

Mike Fisher

When I went to the team and said, “guys, who do we want to nominate for this award?” Fisher’s name was one of the first ones brought up by all of our sports writers. He’s a favorite of Nashville, but hasn’t really done anything for this blog, so he probably won’t win. But, hey – that’s why we play the games, or in this case, count the votes. I do think it’s high time we start considering Fisher among Nashville’s greatest athletes.

Paul Heggen

Nashville’s greatest weatherman has been instrumental to our 2017 success. It all started with this stupid blog, but Heggen took the time to re-tweet it, post it on his Facebook page, and drive thousands of page views to SoBros Network. Then, the dynamic was changed when I returned from vacation only to hear that Heggen had been removed from WSMV mornings. As fans of Heggen, we were obviously distraught. We wrote another piece calling for WSMV to bring him back, but they have no interest in listening to us. We have done, and will continue to do everything within our power to get Heggen back on WSMV mornings. All in all, we’ve run three pieces on Heggen and they’ve all been tremendous successes for us.

But, it goes beyond what Heggen has done for us this year. We’re genuine fans of the guy. I don’t think any of those pieces are written if we didn’t honestly have his back. We’re a transparent, honest group. We’re not going to pander to anyone (just ask the guys that asked Brandon to review the thumb-wrestling movie) just because it gets clicks. Heggen is a staple of the Nashville media – he’s funny, he’s informative, and he’s an all-around good dude. It’s a shame that WSMV won’t hear us (and the droves of middle-aged ladies that have come out of the woodwork to defend Heggen’s honor) and bring him back to our mornings. Nonetheless, for a combination of helping our brand grow and another all-around great year of work, Heggen is the front-runner among our writers.

Dennis Kelly

He is officially unofficially this blog’s favorite Tennessee Titan, and for good reason. But, what initially started as a joke turned into a feeling that, “whoa – this guy seems like he’d be pretty cool to hang with.” Being a big wrestling guy, that’s going to get major points with this crew. But, he also gave us a shout on Twitter once, which is the easiest way to get a nomination. Then, lo and behold, the guy gets into games and it leads to Titans TDs. That Seattle game, he saw four snaps on offense, and the Titans happened to produce three touchdowns. He was on the field for at least one in Houston, and the lone touchdown in Miami. We’re going to ignore him getting blown up late in the game against the Dolphins, and officially declare Kelly the “Titans Touchdown Machine.”

Taylor Lewan

Lewan seems like he could produce content for this website, let’s be real. Also a real guy’s dude and a real dude’s guy, he’s funny, pretty damn good at football, and could become the King of New Nashville should Rusev ever relinquish his crown. Yeah, he has that kind of potential, people. I am sure to remind the Internet that Lewan is a top three left tackle in the NFL at every chance I get, and that is, of course, a hill I’m willing to die on.

But, for his big personality and #skillz on the field, he was one of the few names that kept coming up among our writers. The more this city gets to know him, the more they’re going to love this guy. It’s no surprise he made it to the Elite Eight. Lewan has also given us a couple of re-tweets and driven in some traffic for us. Automatic points, as we’ve established.

Curt Stallion

Stallion is the first indy wrestler to make it this far in SoBro of the Year voting, and that’s a testament to how impressed us wrestling guys on the staff were when we saw him in person for the first time. That time came at the Scenic City Invitational in Chattanooga in August, and the dude is as legitimate as they come. He had sneaky good matches with Jason Cade and Arik Royal in the first two rounds of the tournament, before having a fine showcase in the tournament finals opposite Anthony Henry, Joey Lynch, and eventual champ Matt Riddle.

Then, the motherfucker gets up to Nashville and puts on a physical 45-minute slugfest with Joey Janela for Southern Underground Pro, and ended up with a basketball-sized bruise on his back for it. All around, a good year for The Lone Star. He remains S.U.P.’s Bonestorm Champion, which is good enough for us to consider him Nashville’s champion. Buy a shirt.

P.K. Subban

He’s simply electric….I mean, yeah – he hasn’t done shit for our web site, but he’s one of Nashville’s favorite athletes and another name that kept popping up when the 16 of us were discussing nominees. So, here we are.

The Ultimate Predator

Our boy is known as “The Voice of the Fan,” and for good reason. Talk about a class act and a good dude, Ultimate Predator is not just one of the most recognizable Nashville Predators fans in the Music City (gotta give a shout out to @BigBenPreds in this conversation, too). But, he’s a vocal advocate for all things Nashville, and a dear friend of the blog. Plus, he’s got a killer championship belt. Go buy a shirt.

Again, here is the link to vote. Make sure your voice is heard! The polls will close on November 3, 2017. The winner will be announced at the first annual SoBros Awards, held in December (date and venue TBD).

PS. If you’re here because you’re an actual reader of this blog and you’re not just here to support your candidate, click here to make your voice heard in the SoBros staff awards as well!

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley@WrestlingNewsCo

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