Skip to content

Make Your Art.

2026-10-06 · letter vlog · John · 4:53 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Sports (also: Philosophy & meaning) · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, heavy topic

Mourning his friend Michael 'Mikey T' Taliadoros, AFC Wimbledon's longtime commentator who died the day before, John argues that Mikey T was an artist and a hugely successful one despite a small audience, urges everyone to make and share their art despite the vulnerability, calls a football club a collective memory, and regrets not walking up to thank him.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Mikey T's death and his encyclopedic memory of AFC Wimbledon results

  • ★★★ John says his friend Michael Taliadoros, almost universally known as Mikey T, died yesterday, and calls him a truly extraordinary individual. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ John says Mikey T had an encyclopedic memory for his special interests: say a date like October 6th and he would recall a 1990 Wimbledon win over Sheffield United and its scorer. — 00:00:00 · AFC Wimbledon

00:00:29 — Friendship through shared love of Wimbledon; Mikey T as an artist; 2,000 consecutive matches; his commentary, catchphrases and the Ronan Curtis call

  • ★★ John and Mikey T supported the same third-tier English team, AFC Wimbledon, and came to know each other a little by loving it together. — 00:00:29 · AFC Wimbledon
  • ★★ John says that for him friendships often form through shared affinities. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ John says Mikey T would never have called himself an artist, but he was one: he made and shared art, and in doing so encouraged and connected others. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John says that for nearly 40 years Mikey T never missed a Wimbledon match, attending over 2,000 consecutive senior men's games, including one 10 days ago. — 00:00:58 · AFC Wimbledon
  • ★★ John says Mikey T was the club's radio and TV commentator, an astonishingly good one, with catchphrases his listeners loved. — 00:00:58

  • ★ John recalls Mikey T's catchphrases: a shot well wide 'just missed the right side junction of crossbar and post', and the added-time board was 'the overtime verdict tablet'. — 00:01:27

    “the overtime verdict tablet”

  • ★★ John says Mikey T and his partner Rob Cornell made gripping radio, and plays Mikey's call of Ronan Curtis's last-second goal against the Milton Keynes franchise. — 00:01:27

00:02:11 — Success without millions; make and share your art despite the cost and vulnerability

  • ★★ After the call, John asks what that is if not art. — 00:02:11
  • ★ John assures Hank the ball boy was fine: John saw him a few weeks ago and he said it was the best moment of his life. (playful) — 00:02:11
  • ★★ John does not know how many people listen to AFC Wimbledon radio broadcasts but suspects it is in the hundreds, certainly not millions. (hedged) — 00:02:11 · AFC Wimbledon
  • ★★★ Though we think artists must reach millions to succeed, John says Mikey T was a hugely successful broadcaster because he connected people more deeply to the game, the club and each other. — 00:02:11
  • ★★★ John does not care whether your art is sweaters, YouTube videos, home-cooked meals, soccer commentary or Tumblr fanfiction, only that you make it and share it despite the costs. — 00:02:42 · YouTube, Tumblr

  • ★★★ John wants viewers to think of what they put into the world as art: an attempt to refashion Earth's raw materials into something better and more interesting than it needs to be. — 00:02:42

    “an attempt to refashion the raw materials of Earth into something better and more interesting than it needs to be”

  • ★★★ John says sharing art is costly and scary because it expresses your deepest self, but it can reach people who really need you, as John needed Mikey T every Saturday for 15 years. — 00:03:12

  • ★★ John says he will miss Mikey T's voice and his brilliant and beautiful memory. — 00:03:12

00:03:41 — A club as collective memory; fan ownership; John's regret at not walking up to the booth; make your art and hug your friends; sign-off

  • ★★ John says Mikey T saw Wimbledon play Manchester United in the Premier League and also play in the ninth tier while sitting on hay bales. — 00:03:41 · AFC Wimbledon

  • ★★★ John says a football club is neither its players nor even its most important fans, who pass away, but a collective memory held in the present; Mikey T will always be part of it. — 00:03:41

    “A football club is a collective memory that we hold in the present.”

  • ★★ John says Mikey's commentary taught fans the club is truly theirs: they own it, run it and brought it home to Plough Lane, so it is also Mikey's. — 00:04:10

  • ★★★ John's regret: a few weeks ago, on the field, he sang 'there's only one Mikey T' up to the commentary booth but did not walk up to talk to and thank him. — 00:04:10
  • ★★★ John's two thoughts for the day: make your art, and walk up the stairs to give your friends a hug. — 00:04:39

In the description and comments

  • ★ In a channel comment John links AFC Wimbledon's tribute to Mikey T. — creator comment · AFC Wimbledon
  • ★★ In a channel comment John says other events have kept him from praising the extraordinary quality of this year's (2026) Pizzamas goods, and asks viewers to get their Pizzamas. — creator comment · Pizzamas

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: AFC Wimbledon · art · collective memory · Mikey T

Also: People: John Fashanu · Rob Cornell · Ronan Curtis

Organizations: Manchester United F.C. · Milton Keynes Dons F.C. · Plymouth Argyle F.C. · Premier League · Sheffield United F.C. · Tumblr · YouTube

Concepts: fan fiction · fan ownership · friendship

Places: Plough Lane

Only in the description or credits: Pizzamas

Also centred on art: The Point of Life · the most powerful attention-consuming tools in the history of the world · My Lungs Are on the Outside of the Body

Also centred on collective memory: Thoughts from a Battlefield · This is How You Load a Dishwasher - A Song

← Previous: Why Are We So Bad at Executing People? · Next → The 5 Meanest Things We've Named a Species