Tour de Draftee Stop #3: National Best Friends Day

Tour de Draftee Stop #3: National Best Friends Day

QIC: Draftee

Date: 06-08-2026

PAX: Drama Queen (WD), Rollback, Starfish, Ziggy Stardust, Blind Date, Tonka (WB), Slowpitch, and Draftee

The Thang

National Best Friends Day seemed like the perfect occasion to test friendships.

The morning began with a 12-minute partner EMOM consisting of:

• Partner Merkins
• Partner Sit-Ups
• Partner Squats

Using a 45-second work / 15-second recovery format, the PAX completed four rounds through the rotation.

With everyone sufficiently warmed up, it was time for the main event.

The Jenga Tower.

We took turns rolling a color die and then attempted to remove a matching block from the tower.

Each color corresponded to a different lower-body exercise:

Every successful pull resulted in the entire group performing the exercise.

Every pull increased the tension.

Every pull increased the likelihood of disaster.

And eventually, disaster arrived.

The tower fell.

As is tradition on National Best Friends Day, the identity of the guilty party will remain classified.

The Story

National Best Friends Day was intended to celebrate friendship.

Village Idiocy had other plans.

The workout began with partner work, which was well received for approximately one round.

By the second round, mumble chatter had started to increase.

At the halfway point, YHC cheerfully announced:

“Good news, gentlemen. We are halfway there.”

The response suggested that this information was not universally appreciated.

After the third round, Blind Date finally asked the question that was on everyone’s mind:

“How much longer is this going to last?”

The answer, unfortunately, was one more round.

Due to an odd number of PAX, YHC completed the partner work alongside his imaginary best friend.

He is a great listener.

He never complains.

He always agrees with the workout plan.

Honestly, he may be the ideal workout partner.

One unexpected challenge emerged before the tower challenge could fully begin.

YHC confidently explained the rules, reviewed the color assignments, and prepared to launch the game.

There was only one problem.

Purple.

At some point during the planning process, YHC had apparently forgotten to assign an exercise to the purple blocks.

This discovery was made in real time.

The resulting confusion created a brief moment of panic as YHC attempted to determine how an entire color had somehow escaped the planning process.

Fortunately, because we had just spent the previous 20 minutes celebrating National Best Friends Day, the PAX immediately came to the rescue.

Several suggestions were offered.

Most were terrible.

One involved simply doing merkins on leg day.

In the spirit of Village Idiocy, this was deemed perfectly acceptable.

Crisis averted.

The tower challenge resumed.

Once the Jenga tower entered the picture, the focus shifted from exercise to risk management.

Every roll of the die generated discussion.

Every block pull generated concern.

Every wobble generated immediate blame.

As the tower became increasingly unstable, confidence levels dropped and unsolicited advice increased.

Eventually, one block too many was removed.

The tower collapsed.

The guilty party knows who they are.

The rest of us know who they are.

But because this was National Best Friends Day, we have collectively agreed to never speak of it again.

At least not publicly.

Tour Update

After three stops, the Tour continues to move forward.

Still no FNGs have entered the competition.

A reminder to all contenders: showing up matters, but an FNG or two may ultimately be the difference between participating in the Tour and winning the Tour.

The mission remains unchanged:

Show up. Lift your brother up. Bring an FNG.

National Best Friends Day turned out to be an appropriate reminder that the Tour isn’t really about points.

It’s about spending time with men you know well and making time to get to know the men you don’t.

The points are just the excuse.

Next Stop

The Tour heads to High Life.

An evening workout.

A casino theme.

And an opportunity for the PAX to discover whether luck is actually a skill.

See you in the daylight.

— Draftee