It’s a Crisis! The Interns Don’t Know Barstool Sports History!
Following the interns' appearance on Barstool After Dark, people within the company were quick to scoff at the interns’ lack of Barstool knowledge. And to be quite frank, I think it is unfair to concern ourselves with whether or not the interns know the history of Barstool. And before anyone jumps down my throat, I at least encourage you to hear me out.
First and foremost, Barstool Sports was founded before half of these interns were even born. I am not saying history shouldn’t matter to those who weren’t born yet, but I am saying that it is a bit ridiculous to scold the interns for not knowing obscure Barstool personalities from before they were even old enough to wipe their own ass or drive.
Now let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? When I was first approached by Barstool, I considered myself a massive fan of Barstool Sports. I had listened to Call Her Daddy, I drank Pink Whitney, I loved Dave Portnoy, and I thought the University of Arizona Barstool page was hilarious. It wasn’t until I actually started at the company that I realized the Barstool entity was much bigger than I had originally thought. It was at this point that I realized how silly it was to believe any of these things made me a “massive Barstool Sports fan.” Point being, the interns don’t know what they don’t know.
On a similar note, I asked multiple Barstool employees what and who I should be watching and following, in order to get a better understanding of the Barstool Sports multiverse. I have a vivid memory of Hank listing out all of the content employees I should keep up with, as well as The Yak and Viva La Stool. Of course, I took the time to scroll through numerous Viva La Stool clips and videos, and attempted a deep dive into all the content employees. The issue? None of this tells you about the history of Barstool Sports, unless you know what you are supposed to be looking for. Even if I had seen a clip of Hank getting duct taped to a wall at that time, I would have no idea that the clip held any significance at Barstool.
If someone wants the interns to learn about Barstool’s history, I think it is their job to at least help set the interns up for success. As someone who has attempted to learn about all of Barstool’s history, it is incredibly difficult to decipher important pieces of Barstool history from random one-off events. In fact, this discussion began on Twitter, at which point a burner account mentioned a Barstool Sports documentary. And considering this was my first time hearing about the documentary, I can only assume that the interns also had no idea this documentary exists. And while I don’t believe one documentary makes or breaks someone’s Barstool knowledge, I do think it is the perfect example of a resource that the interns would appreciate if they had known of its existence.
Most importantly, the interns will learn the Barstool lore as they continue on with their internships and potential jobs. Nearly everything I have learned during my time at Barstool has come from conversations with coworkers and the people who started before my time. If the interns were to show a complete lack of willingness to understand Barstool, I would say we have an issue. However, it is apparent to me that they all love and care about the company and will learn with time.
And let me make this clear, I am in no way saying that the interns shouldn’t attempt to learn Barstool Sports history. I am simply saying that I don’t think we can expect the interns to come into Barstool and understand niche references or have a deep knowledge of history from before their time. I personally think it is more important for interns to learn the Barstool culture, as opposed to the history. You don’t need to know that Barstool started in Milton in order to be successful, but you do have to understand the culture and dynamics in order to find success. And as always, have a lovely day everyone!