This
might be the most personal article I’ve posted to Nerd 5, and by that I mean it
might just be for me. If I had to make a top five list of passions and hobbies
in my life (my work is theatre arts education, my love is a special girl in
Florida right now) the list, in no particular order, would look something like
this: Movies, Disney/Pixar, Harry Potter, Baseball, and Podcasts. On this blog
I’ve written about movies a ton, my love for Disney/Pixar is very strong, and
I’m never really quiet about Harry Potter, but the last two things on my list
are more personal. I love baseball. I always have, and although I don’t have
many people in my life who I can share that with, it’s a big part of me.
Podcasts are great, whenever possible I’m listening one that I’m passionate
about. I don’t talk about these things on Nerd 5 a ton, just not the format of
the blog. But today I would like to.
In 2007
I was getting ready for another season of fantasy baseball and looking for a
new way to get some advice on the game. I found a show on some little-known
network called ESPN, and that show was Fantasy
Focus: Baseball, it’s now seven seasons later and I’ve not missed an
episode. Through the end of college, ACT, Southridge, moving to L.A. and back,
and now to Seattle, Matthew Berry, Nate Ravitz, and Pod Vader have been in my
ear buds almost every day. Fantasy Focus
06010, as it would nicknamed by the hosts, is a daily podcast covering both
Baseball and Football from the middle of March to the very start of January. I always
knew that for an hour or two of my day I knew where to go for a laugh and a
distraction when I desperately needed it.
On
Tuesday’s baseball wrap-up show a very sad announcement was made. Ravtiz and
Berry would be leaving the baseball edition of the show, and most likely the
show altogether at the end of football season. The October 1, 2013 show would
be the last show of Fantasy Focus:
Baseball as we knew it. You will be missed gentlemen.
It’s
simple to say that most things I’ve learned about fantasy sports, I’ve learned
from these guys. While that’s true, that doesn’t quite cover the whole story.
When you listen to something five days a
week for almost seven years straight, it seeps into your life. Berry’s
self-deprecating sense of humor combined with a faux air of arrogance is
something that I have taken into my writing and critical analysis. Berry says
that Howard Stern is an inspiration to him, and as Sternis to Berry, Berry is
to me. I can only hope one day to have a podcast as successful. The producer of
the show, Jay “Pod Vader” Soderberg, had the tough job of steering the ship and
made himself a vital part of the show. Although no one will admit it publicly,
Jay does a fantastic job with the show. For this listener, the heart and soul
of the 06010 was Ravitz. It was always a down day whenever he missed a show. A
calming, smart and subtly hilarious personality, the weasel of the show, Nate
was the person I connected to more than the others.
I’ll
leave with this. The Fantasy Focus
was my gateway into podcasting, and I am eternally grateful for the show. It
was not unexpected-the great Eric Karabell and Tristan Cockcroft took over
doing regular Friday shows- today’s announcement seemed only logical. It’s my
hope that Karabell and Cockcroft take the show on full time next season, but it
was very sad. I wish nothing but the best for Berry and Ravitz (whose careers I’ll
continue to follow), I will give the new show a chance but there is defiantly a
gap in my day now as, without TV, I followed my favorite sport by listening to
this show (and the now dead ESPN Baseball Today). I’m hoping that ESPN can
continue to give content to help fill my day. However, there is only way I
could end this tribute and that’s to say thanks to a show that I love and will
endlessly miss.
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