11/21/24
April 06, 2004
***SPOFI LOCKER ROOM INTERVIEW #17*** rcade: "I'm on like Tiger Woods' mascara." The long-awaited interview with probably our most active Pantheon member, the self-professed argumentative pain in the ass and insincere apologist, the guy we like to call Dad. Join us for what could be our most controversial interview yet. Meet the man, the myth, the rcade!
posted by worldcup2002 to navel gazing at 12:10 PM - 84 comments
Q1. Weave more threads into the SpoFi creation myth. How did you become part of the Pantheon? What was your part in SpoFi's creation?
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:14 PM on April 06, 2004
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:33 PM on April 06, 2004
Looks like we'll have to do more waiting.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:52 PM on April 06, 2004
Taunted in preview. Ouch. I was roped into this scheme by jacknose. He wanted to create a sports-themed version of MetaFilter by finding around seven suckers, I mean partners, to pool funds and hire Matt Haughey. Jacknose trolled MetaFilter discussions looking for people who showed evidence of sports interest and -- I'm speculating here -- limited financial acumen. My primary role in the creation of the site? I wanted rotating balls in the logo.
posted by rcade at 01:55 PM on April 06, 2004
He said "rotating balls." *snicker*
posted by scully at 02:06 PM on April 06, 2004
*giggle*
posted by jerseygirl at 02:20 PM on April 06, 2004
*snort*
posted by garfield at 02:28 PM on April 06, 2004
People like my balls.
posted by rcade at 02:33 PM on April 06, 2004
Do you like playing with your balls?
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:44 PM on April 06, 2004
Ahem.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:44 PM on April 06, 2004
Q2. Wait a minute, you guys actually had to pay Matt to create this site? And how much do you pay to keep it going? When's the SpoFi going to start having to make money? And while you're at it, what does each of the Pantheon do for SpoFi (what kinda special SpoFi powers do they have)?
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:47 PM on April 06, 2004
We've got the biggest Balls of them all! Forwards! Backwards! Forwards! Backwards!
posted by Ufez Jones at 02:56 PM on April 06, 2004
The relationship between the Pantheon and the rabble is best described as murky.
posted by dusted at 03:09 PM on April 06, 2004
*twiddles thumbs* *whistles* *looks around* *creates a sand mandala* *sweeps it all away* *crosses arms and taps feet*
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:51 PM on April 06, 2004
You were spoiled by speedy lilnemo!
posted by dusted at 05:52 PM on April 06, 2004
I don't want to reveal the exact amount, because it might hurt Matt's efforts to put the squeeze to another client, but he undercharged for his work. Now that he's flush with his Google AdSense millions, he'd probably quote a higher price. As for when we need to start making money, soon. We're hitting the maximum database usage our present host allows on a shared $49.95/month account, so we need to start running ads to raise money for a dedicated server. P.s. Is it just me, or does the guy on that hosting site look like Matt?
posted by rcade at 05:52 PM on April 06, 2004
rcade, sadly, he doesn't have matt's instant charisma--no comparison beyond the glasses and haircolor. I want to be snarky, really snarky here but will settle for saying a Google click a day makes the bandwidth bandit go away.
posted by billsaysthis at 09:49 PM on April 06, 2004
rcade, 1. You definitely should do ads. I'm sure there'll be something interesting that shows up. And I will click at least one ad per day. 2. You still need to answer this, please: And while you're at it, what does each of the Pantheon do for SpoFi (what kinda special SpoFi powers do they have)? Thanks!
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:26 AM on April 07, 2004
SportsFilter's seven founders have a secret Hall of Justice on the site where we can post items to the sidebar, post columns, and plot the destruction of rival weblogs. No one has any responsibilities, though jacknose handles the money, kirkaracha designed the site, I mess with the code, and owillis watches The Apprentice so no one else has to.
posted by rcade at 06:23 AM on April 07, 2004
No one has any responsibilities Ha. Is it any wonder it all runs so smoothly? ;)
posted by justgary at 07:24 AM on April 07, 2004
how come i thought justgary was one of the 7 founders all this time? man. this is like finding out your parents were santa claus.
posted by jerseygirl at 07:34 AM on April 07, 2004
he is, jgirl
posted by Ufez Jones at 08:13 AM on April 07, 2004
OH. that crafty mathowie knocked gary out of the 7 spot for the user number. santa claus is real!
posted by jerseygirl at 08:29 AM on April 07, 2004
Santana! Man, that brings me back. "Oye Como Va, Mi Ritmo!" Good times, good times. One of my favorite memories was when Santana and the Easter Bunny leapt out of that cave and were all like "Wassup!" Damn Straight, Easter Bunny. You go girl. Hardcore.
posted by Samsonov14 at 08:54 AM on April 07, 2004
samsonov is starting to remind me of harry carray.
posted by jerseygirl at 09:23 AM on April 07, 2004
I humped your mom. Rcade, where are you?
posted by Samsonov14 at 09:54 AM on April 07, 2004
that's nsfw... is it?
posted by jerseygirl at 09:55 AM on April 07, 2004
No nudity. Language is NSFW.
posted by Samsonov14 at 10:15 AM on April 07, 2004
St. Augustine, Florida. You're not asking to set up some kind of date, are you? It's bad enough what you did to mom.
posted by rcade at 10:32 AM on April 07, 2004
Q3. So, (we think) we know your real name, what you look like, and now we know that you live in Florida. What do you do there? Let's just talk about work for now.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:01 PM on April 07, 2004
Rogers writes books. He thinks they're technical but I think they're humor manuals.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:51 PM on April 07, 2004
So, bill, are you moonlighting as a stand-in for rcade during interviews? Ha!
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:53 PM on April 07, 2004
I write computer books, publish Cruel Site of the Day and Drudge Retort, and hang out from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. on AOL most nights (screen name NaughtyVicki).
posted by rcade at 12:55 PM on April 07, 2004
Geez, you're almost a celebrity.
posted by dusted at 01:08 PM on April 07, 2004
Q4. Well, that about covers "work", I guess. (Altho, NaughtyVicki? Wha?) If that's work, what do you do for fun?
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:18 PM on April 07, 2004
Just trying to get a rise out of my Florida buddy, but to no avail at all.
posted by billsaysthis at 05:00 PM on April 07, 2004
*crickets chirping*
posted by jerseygirl at 08:17 AM on April 08, 2004
Tough crowd. Outside of family stuff, most of my fun is reflected in my comments on this place: Rooting for the "Uh Oh" Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, and Dallas Stars, listening to 100 baseball games a year on MLB.Com, and spending an embarrassing amount of time running fantasy sports teams on ESPN and SimLeagues. I'm also a very high-level dungeon master. Which, as any D&D playa can tell you, made the chicks go crazy in high school.
posted by rcade at 09:09 AM on April 08, 2004
(Altho, NaughtyVicki? Wha?) naughtyvicki is one of the girls rcade sent to an asylum back in the day. I actually never played D&D. My mom said Satan made people play that game, and I hadn't found the dark lord yet at that point in my life. *crickets chirping* *Defibrillator, stat!*
posted by garfield at 04:42 PM on April 08, 2004
Dungeons and Dragons scares me. Thats for the real geeks, surely.
posted by dng at 05:01 PM on April 08, 2004
You haven't seen real geeks until you've played EverQuest or an interactive text based RPG. Geeks ahoy!
posted by jerseygirl at 07:30 PM on April 08, 2004
you all really need to interview me, at the least I can regail you all with my stories about playing football at Syracuse, this talking about D+D is shameful.
posted by jbou at 12:38 AM on April 09, 2004
Q5. Okay, now for the tough questions. Tell us about family. Are you married? Have kids?
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:42 AM on April 09, 2004
casts cone of silence 15-foot radius spell at jbou; jbou fails saving throw I'm married with three boys, ages 2 through 8, who are just now getting into youth sports. We live near the ocean, so all three are already feeling to call to become surfers. My wife Mary is a former crime reporter who covered gangs and assorted other mayhem in Fort Worth for years.
posted by rcade at 06:20 AM on April 09, 2004
you all really need to interview me hah! HAH I say!
posted by jerseygirl at 08:21 AM on April 09, 2004
let ME interview jbou. *cough*
posted by jerseygirl at 08:23 AM on April 09, 2004
Q6. OK, what does the Pantheon eat and drink? That's what people need to know! What's your favorite food and beverage?
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:05 AM on April 09, 2004
jersey, go ahead, interview me.
posted by jbou at 10:12 AM on April 09, 2004
I like to imagine that the Pantheon, being old and vengeful Gods, drink only the purest blood of innocents, and feast upon the souls of virgins. I expect they don't, though.
posted by dng at 10:20 AM on April 09, 2004
rcade, what's your take on letting your kids surf? Are shark attacks something you think is overblown in the media, or do you feel they are more prevalent in recent years. You're in Florida right? I'd think surfing would be a great activity to start while young, but safety concerns would nag at my conscience.
posted by garfield at 10:34 AM on April 09, 2004
[j-girl and jbou, I'd be delighted if you two would do the next interview. I'm imagining that will be the hottest interview in the series. (I'm not getting as much heat as I expected here. rcade seems strangely subdued.} j-girl and j-bou: Two great tastes that go great together. Maybe. j-girl and j-bou: The J's have it! j-girl and j-bou: Cage Match of the Century!]
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:59 PM on April 09, 2004
We haven't had a shark attack in St. Johns County during the seven years I've lived here. I don't know why that is -- if you watch Shark Week on TV, there's always a shot from a helicopter showing more sharks than you can count milling about in the surf around the people. People in Daytona Beach taste better, I guess. There was a pretty horrifying attack in South Florida on the Atlantic where they never, to my knowledge, found the top half of a kid. So for obvious reasons, I don't want the kids to surf, but if I don't get off the beach, it'll be tough to prevent. If you can get past the fear of being one rung down on the food chain, surfing Anastasia Island would be a sweet life. Hanging out on the beach all the time with tourist girls in bikinis. Hell, maybe I should take it up myself. I'll go ask my wife for permission.
posted by rcade at 01:27 PM on April 09, 2004
Hanging out on the beach all the time with tourist girls in bikinis. Hell, maybe I should take it up myself. Don't forget to post some video over at the 'Bench.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:02 PM on April 09, 2004
Don't forget to post it here.
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:15 PM on April 09, 2004
And don't forget to answer Q6! Now that we know what sharks eat, maybe you can tell us more about what you like to eat (and drink).
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:17 PM on April 09, 2004
i'll do the interview. give me a few days to think up some questions. if you have any questions you want posed to jbou, email me before... let's say Sunday. fenwayfaithful[at]comcast[d-o-t]net
posted by jerseygirl at 05:34 PM on April 09, 2004
Has rcade hit the beach?
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:21 PM on April 09, 2004
No beach. I was coaching indoor soccer. My son scored two goals and an own goal. We've got a running disagreement over whether he deserves credit for scoring three goals. Favorite food: Pizza with eggplant, banana peppers, a bunch of other veggies and no cheese. I get taunted for the last part. As one of my in-laws says, "That's not pizza. It's a fucking cracker." Favorite drink: Killian's Irish Red, Guinness Draught, or any other dark beer thick with sediment.
posted by rcade at 01:07 PM on April 10, 2004
I had coffee with a woman this morning who I thought was an Irish red but turned out to be Jewish. I don't love her though, she's just a friend.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:50 PM on April 10, 2004
You say she's just a friend. OH BAYBEEEEEEEEE you...
posted by dusted at 01:23 AM on April 11, 2004
dusted, that's what I told my wife and I'm stickin' with it!
posted by billsaysthis at 11:53 AM on April 11, 2004
Q7. So have you been in Florida a long time? Were you there in November 2000? What were the elections like? What do you think this November holds?
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:57 AM on April 12, 2004
I've been in Florida for seven years. Our county, St. Johns, had the best process in the state during the 2000 debacle: Vote on a paper ballot by making a line with a marker, then give it to someone who inserted the ballot in a machine. If I made an error, the machine would've flagged it immediately, giving me a chance to scrap the bad ballot and submit a new one. No chads, hanging or otherwise. My county is on the coast in a high-tourism area, St. Augustine, and consistently votes Republican. I'm not surprised that our votes were well-counted using a reliable process that minimized voter error. If the same system had been used throughout Florida, Al Gore would be president. (He received, according to the most thorough effort to count legitimately cast votes, 502 more votes than Bush in Florida.) In November, Bush can't win re-election with an unsuccesful outcome in Iraq and the 1,000 troop casualties we may be looking at in November. I'd love to think we can pull out of that mess with a democratic, stable Iraq, but who are we kidding? Iraqis know that we're leaving, recognize that Chalabi is a goon, and showed this past week that none of their institutions can afford to be seen supporting American interests when push comes to shove. When Sadr's militia attacked, the Iraqi army we've been recruiting and paying either looked the other way or actively supported the insurgents. I wouldn't want to be anyone perceived to be an American sympathizer when we hand over that government. However, I thought Bill McBride could win and Jeb Bush beat him like a drum. So I have no freaking idea why Florida, a state with many more registered Democrats than Republicans, is crazy for Bush.
posted by rcade at 06:03 PM on April 12, 2004
Q8. Rather than predicting elections, let's predict who'll win the World Series. What's your favorite MLB team and why? Will they win it? No? Who else? Why?
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:09 PM on April 12, 2004
I'm a lifelong fan of the Texas Rangers, growing up in the '70s on a diet of abject futility that puts most franchises to shame.
We had it all -- bad owners (Brad Corbett, Eddie Chiles), cruel trades (Ron Darling and Dave Righetti for Lee Mazzilli, Sammy Sosa for Harold Baines), catatonic trances in the locker room (Roger Moret), four managers in one week (Frank Lucchesi, Eddie Stanky, Connie Ryan, Billy Hunter), and player-manager assault (Len Randle sucker punched Lucchesi in 1977 because he lost his starting position to Bump Wills). The Rangers have the longest run in the majors without a trip to an LCS (31 years and counting).
Needless to say, the Rangers will not be in the World Series this year. My pick is the Giants and Red Sox in the World Series. Steve Bartman will throw out the first ball.
posted by rcade at 10:34 PM on April 12, 2004
Q9. Oh, I almost forgot to ask: Where did you go to school? What did you study? How does it inform what you do now?
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:56 AM on April 13, 2004
I attended Stephen F. Austin State University, Richland Junior College, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of North Texas, graduating after 6.5 years from UNT with a bachelor of arts in journalism.
In hindsight, had I known I would become a computer book author, I would have kept my original major in computer science or double-majored. I switched to journalism at UTA because all of my CS professors were atrocious.
In any case, since the Web came along, having a background in writing and programming has worked out pretty well. But I still yearn for the career that never was -- interpretive dance.
posted by rcade at 02:11 PM on April 13, 2004
I attended Stephen F. Austin State University, Richland Junior College, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of North Texas, graduating after 6.5 years from UNT From my two years here, I think that's about the same path that a full 2/3rds of the D/FW Metroplex took.
posted by Ufez Jones at 03:08 PM on April 13, 2004
Q10. Oooo, yes, let's see that interpretive dance. No. Not really. Let's end with the SpoFi. Has SpoFi turned out like you expected when you first began? How has it been different? What would you change about it? What would you like to see more or less of? Also, pick the next interviewee (after jerseygirl interviews jbou, that is).
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:10 PM on April 13, 2004
Great question, wc.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:16 PM on April 13, 2004
jbou, you still up for it?
posted by jerseygirl at 05:52 PM on April 13, 2004
For the most part, I'm pleased with how SportsFilter has turned out. There have been a few surprises -- I didn't think we'd attract such a large number of soccer fans, and I expected college football to be more popular -- but overall I think we've proven there was a need for a site like this. When SportsFilter began, the founders made a lot of noise about writing regular columns and a few members have done the same. That's probably the biggest disappointment -- I don't think we've provided enough support for that feature, causing columnists to quit for lack of response. In the future, I'd like to see us find a way to provide a forum for pre- and post-game discussion of more events. These days, in most cases a sporting event has to be as big as Phil Mickelson winning the Masters for it to turn up here for analysis. There are a lot of other times I'm psyched after a game and would like to come here to talk about it -- for instance, after last night's thrilling Stars win over the Avalanche in overtime. Thanks for the questions. The next person I'd like to see interviewed is JJ, the former struggling golf pro.
posted by rcade at 09:23 PM on April 13, 2004
thanks for the interview rcade! learned a lot about you. :)
posted by jerseygirl at 09:30 PM on April 13, 2004
There are a lot of other times I'm psyched after a game and would like to come here to talk about it -- for instance, after last night's thrilling Stars win over the Avalanche in overtime. I'd've loved to discuss it too, but I passed on the game and watched Barfly instead. Idiot.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:21 PM on April 13, 2004
Interviewed? Moi? *faux modest*
posted by JJ at 09:47 AM on April 14, 2004
jersey, I'm ready when you are. rcade, overall a fun interview.
posted by jbou at 10:26 AM on April 14, 2004
sweet. we'll start this afternoon.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:55 AM on April 14, 2004
I can't get the pacing right. First it was hyper Los Angelino lilnemo answering before the questions were finished, then we had rcade taking his sweet-ass time like any good southerner.
posted by dusted at 11:56 AM on April 14, 2004
Is that a yes, JJ? Say the word, and we can start when j-girl and jbou are done with their interview.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:16 PM on April 14, 2004
I made the mistake of launching a big site redesign in the middle of my interview. And, of course, I had to work to keep my bitches happy.
posted by rcade at 01:11 PM on April 14, 2004
Interview at will - although we may struggle to find a mutually convenient time
posted by JJ at 02:36 AM on April 15, 2004
I've been interviewed in a locker room before - I was asked how I felt I'd played and managed a very witty "errrrr" before collapsing from heat exhaustion.
posted by JJ at 09:47 AM on April 15, 2004
rcade, thanks for agreeing to do this. I'm expecting that we may hit the 500-comment mark in this interview. I've put on my asbestos suit just in case.