Bob Seawright Returns To JUST PRESS RECORD

“When I was a kid” is usually the sign of an incoming bad argument. Well, maybe not bad, but definitely flawed. And the person saying it usually isn’t acknowledging the flaw which is part of the issue.

Bob Seawright isn’t the type to avoid a flaw though. With him, it’s all and always about exposing nuance. So you have to pay extra close attention when he says, but mostly observes, that the shift from three TV stations when he was a kid to infinite streaming options today means way more of life has changed than just what we watch.

Infinite options means less common ground for starters. Not that topics have become uncommon, but with so many topics to choose from, we’ve come a long way from 100 million+ final Mash viewers to me wondering where the water cooler in some obscure corner of twitter is for the 67 people who watched what I otherwise believe to be an incredibly thoughtful Just Press Record solo episode with Matt Reustle.

Bob isn’t opining the death of monocultural experiences. That’s not his style. He is pointing out the nuance of finding new micro-cultural experiences to keep some quality in human existence.

Roger Mitchell put the word "community asset" into my brain. His book, Sport's Perfect Storm, is a must-read for anybody who wonders about how we put dollar-values on these assets. Both to warn us about what could go wrong, and also to celebrate what can go right. When I showed Bob Roger's clip distinguishing between investors who chase "championship promotion" versus those who "believe in community," Bob immediately understood the difference. Roger, like Bob, is all about the nuance.

What they both agree on is how entertainment can be turned into a communal asset. Just like we might accumulate equity in a house as we pay down the mortgage and the value appreciates, we can accumulate equity in a community asset as generations spend time worrying, fretting, and celebrating (yes, some people like successful teams!) successes - together.

So when Bob starts telling me about his grandkids and watching soccer together, I see Roger's community asset philosophy on full display. As Bob puts it: "My son, their dad, and I, they all love to watch and we love to watch together. And of course they especially love it when my team is on and they lose, and they can give me grief." In this case, it's all about time spent experiencing the emotional ups and downs of the least important most important thing - sports.

Another point Bob and Roger agree on is that participation drives appreciation. If you play a sport, you appreciate watching it more. If you’ve never played, you might have some appreciation for it, but there’s a harder gap to cross. The more you play, the more you appreciate watching, and the same is true with other fans you’re watching and playing with.

Communities rise on participation. The multitude of options we have these days dilutes participation. Somebody has to figure out how to put a thumb on that scale. Not in some politically paternalistic way, but certainly in some paternalistic or maternalistic sense (i.e. PARENTS I’m looking at you).

When Bob, as grandfather, and son as in the son he raised playing soccer, and then grandkids all can appreciate a Premier League match on TV together - a community asset is very in play. The layers of participation drive the equity. The shared emotions of the games drive bond building.

“When I was a kid” is still a yellow flag. You don’t want to get lectured on a version of history that can’t help you at all today. But, if you’re willing to spot the nuance, there’s a ton of history and continuity is sports and teams especially we could learn a lot from today.

It’s never easy to honor tradition AND adapt to new realities at the same time. It takes work. But, most importantly, it requires communication.

If we accept there’s no fandom without participation, then it becomes the responsibility of the community to make participation more appealing than at least some of the other options, no matter how infinite the number.

Community assets are extensions of community values. They start at the family level. They extend up from there. Bob and Roger have a lot to teach us about how that works. This Just Press Record, and both of their prior appearances, is a deep lesson in how we study this in the world, and reflect it in the actions of our own families.

“If I was a kid” meet “If I were a kid.” Don’t lose the nuance. Respect the agency of others across generations. Meaning means we need each other. And that’s a beautiful thing Bob and Roger (and Jason Buck too) all understand deeply.

Watch/listen now:

Don’t skip this one either, especially if you’re a sports fan: