Barstool After Dark: Fasoli's Nightmare

last night on Barstool After Dark, Fasoli's nightmares came to life as the newest crop of interns shook the Stoolie world with their knowledge...or lack thereof, on Barstool Sports history. It left Fasoli and the Stoolie world feeling stunned and disrespected, while launching a major debate: should new employees have (or at least feel) a connection to Barstool, or just be good at their jobs? The short answer? Both.

During the Intern Olympics, the Viva leader Nick Fasoli gave it his best, with the help of This Day in Barstool Sports, to quiz the newest crop of summer interns on the history of Barstool. From question one it was a catastrophe, so bad, in fact, that a show built on pain and suffering saw Ohio's Tate cut it abruptly short. Still, the debate carried on long after, with Fasoli taking to social media, rightfully so, to voice his displeasure in the newest group. The interns' lack of knowledge on the company has begun to split people into two groups: one arguing for them, saying it shouldn't matter about your knowledge of a company but instead your worth to it; while others are completely flabbergasted by people wanting to work for a company they know nothing about.

Okay, so I'm not going to say that being a Barstool expert entitles you to a job or anything, BUT hiring people who know nothing about this company's history is a disservice to what makes Barstool Sports unique. Now let me start with this: whether you like the company or you are just trying to get a job out of college, how do you personally not research the place you want to work at? I thought this was Day 1 shit. Who doesn't look up and study where they are going to work? As a coach, that is like going into an interview without knowing a thing about the history of the team, you would be written off immediately. So no, I don't need to be a fan of a team I want to coach, but I need to know their history.

Next, let's talk about Barstool uniquely. To me as a Stoolie, while I don't expect them to be as plugged in as a guy who literally blogs about Barstool for the love of the game (and hopes to blog for them one day), if we start hiring people who don't know the vision of the company, then how will the fabric of Barstool continue on? Whether they are content or social, what makes Barstool better than ESPN or NBC is that the people, from top to bottom, aren't just here for "another job", they are invested in what Barstool is. Take Stoolies Clubhouse: here is a guy who, like him or not, believes in Barstool and is great at his job. Going above & beyond with work & knowledge of the company.

This morning, the counterargument in the interns' favor came from Rone: would you rather have a team of people who know the history of the team, or people who have the talent to help the team? But see, to me there's a fallacy in that statement. If they have the talent to help the team, they should understand its history to carry on its legacy. For instance, in what world is a rookie getting called up to the big leagues with a locker next to Shohei Ohtani NOT going to know his impact on the game and show the respect he deserves? NEVER. Also, the "they are so young" argument is such a cop-out, the resources are endless for them to learn a little bit about the big events in this company's history.

See, and to me, that is the core of this situation. Fasoli, and maybe many others who grinded and still do for this company every day, felt disrespected by the lack of knowledge and care to learn it... shit, this comes on the heels of the boss man himself releasing a book a mere month ago that they could have picked up. Again, do I expect them to be as dialed in as a Stoolie? No. But there is a need for respect shown to the legacy and mission of the company if you hope to one day contribute to the ship. Fasoli's reaction is 100% justified in my book.