Welcome To Barstool Breakdown, The Blog
- Sandos
- Nov 12, 2024
- 4 min read
June 20th, 2023 I decided to take the next step in my Barstool fandom by driving my happy ass up from the tri-state area of Missouri to Chicago to attend The Dozen Trivia live event at The Riviera Theatre. This was during the peak of my full introduction to what being a stoolie is and coming off of my first blog ever, Life As A Stoolie.
I was hooked by the nonsense Barstool had going on and wanted to be involved in any way possible, so when Cliff DeMartino bought the entire front row at the Riviera I leaped at the opportunity. I made the 8-hour drive eagerly, posting updates along the way to let the 9 people who interacted with me know that I would be front and center to root on The Yak and give Kirk Minihane a piece of my mind. (Didn't work. Team Minihane won and Kirk won MVP. Shout out to Durham.)
After the show, a few other stoolies from the group chat and I ventured through Chicago in search of the watering hole that our favorite creators chose to indulge at and found ourselves landing at The Rabbit Hole. As the night went on Buca and I got hammered on nooners with Rone, Dana Beers, PFT, Quigs, Max, and many other Barstool personalities. Quickly, I came to the drunken realization that these guys weren't so different than me and it only fueled my desire to reach the pirate ship more.
Sadly, the bar called last call, and my fever dream was over. That was it...
Until Cruz told us he knew a spot close to his that served shots (that we didn't need) until 3 am and we were on our way. After two rumple minze, I shooed off my mother, who was visiting me in Chicago from Toledo because I had been away for a year, and we headed back to the homies to watch college football highlights.
With White Boy Rick asleep on the floor, Frankie and I pitched a stoolie recap podcast idea to Cruz. We explained how we thought recapping the week in Barstool and learning introductory stories of their personalities and behind-the-scenes talent could be a lane for us fans to drive in.
Honestly, the show had legs, initial hype (thanks Nealy boy), and a small fanbase that seemed to enjoy it. I was surprised at some of the early shit we did. Interviewing Jenks in the car post-RNR knockout, Interviewing Frank The Tank, and even getting shouted out on Pardon My Take.
I rewatch that clip too frequently... "Barstool Breakdown, those guys are awesome." -Barstool Big Cat.
Having support like that so early felt like we were a shoo-in to make it to the Pirate Ship. I was wrong. Recently I've noticed our views dropping, and with this being a passion project of mine, I need to fix that. I'm not sure what's the problem but I know it's time to make a change, take a call to action, and get the Breakdown back on your recommended videos.
Here's my solution;
1.) Go back to doing the Breakdown, the show you created, and don't just be an interview show that blows everyone.
Don't get me wrong, I love getting the opportunity to interview the creators I look up to and, frankly, that I envy, but I/we need to get back to what earned us the initial respect. Be creative, talk a little shit, and give original takes on the week of Barstool we've witnessed.
2.) Focus on clipping shows, especially those with fewer views, and promote the brand from the account we've built up.
Barstool Breakdown on X has 2,251 followers, on TikTok 1,184 followers, and on Instagram 627 followers. This is nothing to suck my dick over but I am proud of it. I've passed my personal accounts that I've had for years in less than one, and we get a lot of play on social media thanks to the stoolies and creators who believed in us. However, we lack in promoting the brand as well as other Viva style accounts and I think it would help us to clip and post videos from Barstool content we enjoy to continue our growth.
3.) Build a blog, build a team, and keep fucking grinding.
I've given Frankie my thoughts on the direction of our show and what I'd like to do going forward but today I had this idea of expanding our reach. A third chair on the breakdown has always been an idea I've yet to fully act on, except when I reached out to Joe Sauce on his initial rise to join the show because I noticed he had a TikTok called Stoolie Recap (my original name idea for the Breakdown, but Frankie wanted alliteration).
Instead of a 3rd chair, I've extended the reach to 3 additional stoolies. Big Twan, Derik From The Chat, and Reed Jones ( who had this blogging idea first btw, shoutout Reed.) 3 stoolies I think love Barstool, don't give a fuck about public opinion, and are AUTHENTICALLY THEMSELVES.
Let us see what these crazy fucks got in store, look out for the next Breakdown where I'll introduce my new-founded team. VIVA
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