I knew a little bit about Lonnie as a player, but N.O. made reference to some of Smith's bizarre behavior, which I did not know about. He provided a link to a YouTube video.
Do any of you guys click on links and videos when they're included in a post? I use them often but I get very little - if any - feedback on them. I'm going to use both in this post.
I clicked on the link to the Lonnie Smith video, which led me to the wonderful world of Jon Bois.
For the past four days I've been binge-watching SB Nation content - particularly anything with the words "Pretty Good", "Chart Party" or "Jon Bois". Some of these videos are more than five years old. I'm ashamed I missed them at the time. Well, I didn't miss all of them.
A few months ago I did see a Dorktown video about the 2010 San Diego Chargers.
A few months ago I did see a Dorktown video about the 2010 San Diego Chargers.
The charts, stats, and attention to detail were impressive. The presentation of important facts - set to dramatic, often chilling music - was unique. And yet I don't recall clicking on any other SB Nation content. Perhaps Jon Bois videos are better when he rides solo; there's less of a "two guys talking sports" vibe and more of a dramatic storytelling feel to them.
I've been a sports fan for most of my 39 and 5/6ths years on this planet. I can't even begin to estimate the amount of time I've spent absorbing sports facts, stories, and statistics. And yet, Jon and the SB Nation crew told me a dozen stories I did not know or notice.
After watching a few of the videos that interested me I was left with stories about an impossibly high-scoring college basketball game (which was scored incorrectly until Jon corrected it), a lawn-chair balloonist named Larry Walters, and a Poker story? I gobbled up the first two. Tonight I'm watching the Poker one and the conclusion of The Bob Emergency.
Oh, and Jon Bois has some sports card content, too. Holy sh*t this guy is my hero.
Thanks, Night Owl. Sincerely, thank you. You opened the door to a wormhole that has taken my mind off the terrible things that have happened in our country lately. Also, thank you for the cards.
I had claimed the Ichiro relic in Greg's giveaway, and he was kind enough to send some extras - including a Dan Marino rookie reprint, and some Dodgers legends. I have a bit of a Sandy Koufax PC (perhaps an on-card auto will make my Dream card shopping list?) Don Sutton was a need for my All-Time Team collection.
And so were these. I'm sure N.O. was happy to offload a couple cards of NL West rivals and Marlins. The '70s Padres in particular were a nice surprise.
Wait a sec, you may be thinking, Mike Olt didn't make the Rangers All-Time team.. did he?
Nah, he's from Connecticut. This one will go in my hometown binder - although I'm increasingly tempted to build the 2013 Topps set considering I've accumulated 23.5% of it without really trying.
I've received a few other card packages this week - some trades, a purchase, and a couple handfuls of All-Time Teams candidates. I'll have plenty of topics to discuss in the coming days.
But there's no way I can make them sound as interesting as this:
Thanks for reading (and watching?)
~
~
Yeah those Jon Bois videos are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of his storytelling. Add all of the research and video production work that he does and the end result is masterful.
DeleteJon Bois and the SB Nation channels are two of my favorites on YT. The amount of research is insane... and the graphs and topics are super interesting. One of my favorite series is Beef History. Congratulations on picking the Ichiro relic. That's the card I would have picked too.
ReplyDeleteThe graphs are really cool, I love the way those are presented. And the payoff when he holds back that one mind-blowing data point always gets me.
DeleteI watched a couple Beef History videos, including Marty Brodeur-Sean Avery. I'll have to watch a couple more.
I went on a Jon Bois binge about 3 years ago one winter. I don't have the wide interest in sports that others do (I have to do that for my job so when I'm "off" I focus mostly on baseball), so there are a few I haven't watched. ... I click on links in blogs and I know others do in mine, that's why I leave them.
ReplyDeleteI started with the videos for baseball, football, etc.. and then I enjoyed them so much that I watched them all. I agree with the majority of comments - Jon Bois can make anything interesting.
DeleteI tried to watch an SB Nation a video a few years ago, but didn't get very far into it, as the two snarky twentysomethings doing the presenting were just too much for me. And to answer your question, I rarely click on links, and assume that a lot of other people don't either, which is why I rarely use them.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't sound like you were watching Jon Bois videos. I'm not sure who you're referring to but I've watched about 25 videos on the SB Nation channel in the past few days and din't see anything like that. I did see a video about Kevin Garnett that was kinda rough- but that was a snarky older woman, not two twentysomethings.
DeleteLove Jon Bois and I just recently discovered his work. Thankfully,they have done a lot in filling my need for baseball content in these crazy times!
ReplyDeleteIt sure helps to fill the sports void when there are all these stories to be discovered. I'd watch Jon's work over The Last Dance any day.
DeleteI'll be honest, I never click on videos - blogs, news articles, emails from the school superintendent, whatever. If it's important put it in the text. (That's why I didn't realize the school year had been completely cancelled for a couple of days . . . )
ReplyDeleteNoted, thanks for your feedback :)
DeleteI love everything Jon Bois has done. The recent series he did on the Mariners was nothing short of excellent. Even the non-baseball ones are fantastic -- St. Louis Marathon & 222-0 Cumberland-Georgia Tech football game episodes in the "Pretty Good" series being my personal favorites.
ReplyDeleteThose were fantastic! I think the Marathon one might be my favorite (that, or the Troy St-Devry game) If you told me a week ago that I'd spend an entire weekend watching a six-part documentary about the Mariners I would have laughed. But it was like binge-watching great TV.. I couldn't wait for the next one, and the next..and now I know more about the M's than I ever would have expected.
Delete