Saturday, August 1, 2009

Today's something or other #29

Fantasy Football - the Musical? Yes, in fact, that is the name of the musical. In the time honoured tradition of sports-themed musicals such as Starlight Express comes Fantasy Football - the Musical?.

From the show's website:

Prior to the start of the '08-'09 NBA season, ESPN.com's "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons and the "The Talented Mr. Roto" Matthew Berry announced their plans to organize a fantasy basketball league with eight fans. The application was simple: a one-paragraph email stating what you would do in order to get into this league. The applications, many of them hilarious, ran the gamut from the rights to name a first-born child to sob stories about how depressing it is to be a Seattle sports fan nowadays.

My application stated that I would write and compose an original piece of musical theater that paid homage to the fantasy culture, with Bill and Matthew as the main characters. The real Bill and Matthew spent a couple minutes on their podcast/XM radio show discussing the idea, pushing me through to the "final round." Ultimately, however, they decided to go with what they admitted had shades of affirmative action: one Seattle fan, one member of the US Military, one female fan, etc. My application was excluded on the grounds that they did not know me, and that it was entirely possible my musical would be an absolute train wreck. Fair enough, I suppose.

Well, having been locked out of the "SimmonBerry Fantasy League," my motivations changed. I no longer cared about joining the celebrity league. My aspirations instead became three-fold:
1. To create a piece of theater that would celebrate the world of sports fandom I am proud to be a part of
2. To invite sports fans who do not consider themselves "theater-goers" to a show they would legitimately be excited about
3. To introduce many in the theater world to the reasons why being a sports fan is just so fantastic

When people ask, "What's your show called?", the response is either mild confusion or wild excitement. I encourage people with either reaction to come and check it out. You'll have a good time. And there are gonna be hot chicks.

For more information go to
Fantasy Football The Musical.


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