Dana B & His Stuffed Monkey, Bananas, Are Driving To Nashville With Beer For A Man Who Left A Plea On His Tornado-Torn Roof
The visual above from WKRN shows the path of one of the tornadoes that sliced directly through Nashville in the middle of the night last week, narrowly missing Vanderbilt U & the airport.
Thousands had their homes damaged or destroyed and tragically dozens lost their lives. Residents were shellshocked as they viewed the destruction but it wasn't long before 'I Believe In Nashville' became the rallying cry & they started helping each other pick up the pieces.
And upon one of the temporary fixes on a twister-ravaged roof was a plea...
BEER! WE NEED BEER! VENMO: @Ben-Kozak-1
There were lots of responses, but who would really answer the call?
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Well I guess I kind of ruined the mystery with the headline, but:
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Kate: I know you're Barstool's go-to beer guy right now but how did this all start?
Dana: One person tagged me in the original @breaking911 tweet with the roof photo, and then a ton of people started tagging me in it & linked us up. I DMed the guy last night and once he got back to me I knew I really wanted to go.
Kate: Was he a big Barstool guy/Stoolie?
Dana: No, I'm not even really sure he knows much about us. He was just really nice and was telling me what happened to his neighborhood.
Kate: So the plan was in motion after that… Did you have to ask anyone to do this?
Dana: I ran it by Dave and he said to go for it as long as it was safe.
Kate: Ah, Dave Portnoy, big-time safety guy. And where are you at now?
Dana: I'm not really sure. I left around 10:30am this morning and I'm either in Pennsylvania or West Virginia. I just passed a sign that says "Mechanicsburg".
Kate, slightly concerned: You're still in PA. What's your ETA for Nashville?
Dana: Around 11:30PM central time (12:30am Eastern).
Kate: Dang, didn't realize it was that far of a drive. So you're gonna check into a hotel tonight & meet up with Ben & get the beers tomorrow?
Dana: Uh.. no I think we're doing that as soon as I get there. I think we're gonna drink beers tonight. I'm not sure where we're gonna go or how it will play out but people can follow my Twitter for updates.
Kate: Noted. You did big fundraisers for the Orlando family & Pete Frates Foundation through Zillion Beers, but that stuff was more local to you. Why are you doing this and driving all that way instead of flying?
Dana: - pauses - Well… I could have flown but I thought it would be funnier if I drove. But I dunno, because not only is it a Barstool story, that's my brand now. I'm the beer guy. I'm here to the rescue where beer is needed. You need beer, I'm gonna bring you beer.
Kate: Thank you for the most Dana answer possible.
Dana: And for the record, yeah I'm gonna bring beer. But the guy [Ben] said most of the money sent through Venmo isn't just for his house but for his neighborhood, and the Venmo is going crazy.
Kate: Final question - who is your passenger, 'Bananas'?
Dana: The only person, er stuffed animal in the car with me. I've had him since I was literally born. I just bring him everywhere.
Kate: Love it. Safe travels.
Once Dana's off the road and has established a beer command post he'll likely be putting out blog updates of his own, but I just wanted to document the start of this journey. One of my favorite things about this company is our ability to pick up & go when something interests or inspires or moves us.
In this case, Dana was moved by a call for beers in a place that could use a few to say the least, and in doing so he'll probably stumble upon all sorts of stories that highlight what so many people in Nashville are going through, and share them with an audience that might not normally see too much of that in their day-to-day.
Cheers to your journey, Dana B. (and Bananas).
**If you're so inclined to add to Ben's Beer/Neighborhood Fund make sure you send it to the right person. It's @Ben-Kozak-1, it is NOT @Ben-Kozak1 as seen below. Mind the dash.
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And if you're looking for a way to help in style:
Or just to help in general:
Continuing to send much love to Nashville & those going through the ringer right now.