Regarding the legendary rock band, The Grateful Dead, concert promoter, Billy Graham infamously said, “They’re not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do.” The satirical sports and lifestyle blog site, Barstool Sports could be held in the same respect.

 

A company that has gained a devoted following for its sardonic blogs, podcasts, social media and clothing lines covering topics from pizza reviews to professional sports has been setting a new bar for sports and lifestyle entertainment. Barstool Sports began in the Milton, Massachusetts home of company president, Dave Portnoy who is better known as ‘El Presidente’ by loyal Barstool fans. Launching in 2003, Portnoy produced a small newspaper that primarily consisted of sports, gambling, and fantasy football themes to be issued to commuters at public transport stations around the city of Boston. By 2007, the paper was gaining enough traction and developing a following, just in time for ‘El Pres’ and his staff to move to the web to start their blog site. Since, Barstool Sports has become a household name for young adults across the country. Following a company merger in January of 2016, it was estimated that Portnoy’s empire was valued somewhere in between $10 and $15 million. Following the investment, Portnoy blogged, “This was our best shot to literally take this thing to the moon. To swing for the fences. ... Hopefully this deal makes us bigger, faster, stronger, better at everything we do.”

 

Barstool’s outrageously popular podcast, “Pardon My Take” (PMT) deserves to be credited as a primary basis of the website’s recent rise in popularity. Released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, “Pardon My Take” is hosted by bloggers, Dan “Big Cat” Katz, and the anonymous “PFT Commenter,” who has a parody Twitter account of the same name.  “PMT” is regularly listed as the top podcast in the “Sports & Recreation” section of the iTunes Store. Shows like “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and even other Barstool pods like “Pros & Joes with Frank Kaminsky,” “Starting 9,” and “The Dave Portnoy Show” are frequently found beneath PMT.

 

“Pardon My Take” averages between 750,000 and 1.5 million listeners per episode and can reach two million listens for shows with celebrity guests, according to Barstool. To put those figures in perspective, ESPN’s best-rated debate shows, “Pardon the Interruption” and “First Take” (which PMT’s name lampoons) average about a million viewers per day on ESPN and ESPN2 combined.

 

A typical episode of “Pardon My Take” consists of three parts. Following their theme song, “Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant, the hosts open up the show with a comedic recap of current sports news and a few segments. They then proceed to an interview with a sports personality, journalist or athlete. Famous professional golfer, Tiger Woods has even made an appearance on the podcast. The show is usually concluded with a collection of recurring original segments that vary each episode. Occasionally, the “Pardon My Take” boys will alter this format for special episodes like their yearly recap and the annual award show, the "Takies.”

 

Now recorded in Barstool’s Manhattan-based headquarters, the initial series of episodes were recorded via Skype where Big Cat was in New York and PFT was in Austin, Texas. In the early episodes of the podcast their on-air flow was choppy, but they have since found their groove and their chemistry is incomparable to any other sports personalities. The way Big Cat and PFT Commenter feed off each other for witty jokes and crazy antics will leave you begging for another episode as soon as one concludes.

 

As Barstool continues their mission to “own the Moon,” as El Pres has stated, the company will continue to grow in popularity amongst college-aged, young adults. They’re continually expanding, employing hundreds of talented individuals that work together to create content in the forms of blogs, videos and podcasts for Stoolies. In a relatively short period of time, Barstool Sports has become a household name in the world of entertainment, and Portnoy recently responded in an interview with Forbes, describing, “People are starting to put bets on us who weren’t in the past. ... We have a legitimate chance to get to where we want to be.”