8 — Thursday, September 28, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Three memes for the soul: Tag your dirty DIY self
Tag yourself, tag your friends, tag your family — reach self-actualization in these memes we stole from the interweb
Students, sports and
success on ‘The Spew’
COURTESY OF THE SPEW
Just a bunch of dudes, talkin’ bought sports ‘n’ stuff
Undergraduates who have found a way to bridge a seemingly
impossible divide between the students and student athletes
It’s Sunday night at 5:00
p.m. For some, this means
heading to the library to
catch up on procrastinated
homework. Others eat dinner
with friends or family. Many
rush to club meetings and
group
projects.
For
U-M
EMILY BICE
Daily Arts Writer
School of Kinesiology juniors
J.J. Wachler and Ben Meyers,
however, Sunday night means
one thing: time for “The Spew.”
“The
Spew”
is
a
five-
minute Facebook TV show
that focuses on the University
of Michigan athletics and its
athletes. In the short time
span, host Ben Meyers “spews”
statistics, stories and theories
about sports. They often have
athletic guests to share their
opinions,
such
as
football
running
back
and
School
of
Kinesiology
sophomore
Chris Evans. At face value,
it sounds similar to a show
on SportsCenter or Big Ten
Network. What makes “The
Spew” different, however, is
Wachler and Meyer’s approach
to telling these sports stories.
Meyers
explained
how
their platform is unique to the
University student experience:
“We wanted to build a bridge
between the students and the
athletes on campus.”
Recognizing a major issue
with athletics on campus — that
the athletes are untouchable,
so to speak — the pair set out
to connect “regular” students
to athletes. The decision to
report on sports from a student
perspective is what makes
the show so relatable to their
peers.
“Athletes are constantly in
rooms where adults are asking
them questions. They’re just
being hammered about their
statistics, scores and stats. It’s
refreshing for them to have
questions about their Yeezys,
their recruiting stories … the
student side of things.”
The approach is working for
them. Launched last February,
the show now averages 5,000
views per episode. Loyal fans
tune in each week to watch
and ask questions. A unique
element of the show is the live-
stream function, which allows
viewers
to
pose
questions
and react to the athletes and
Meyers in real time. Some
of the comments are silly,
but others spark interesting
conversations.
Meyers and Wachler are
ahead
of
the
curve
when
it
comes
to
streaming
on
Facebook
Live.
Just
last
month, Facebook introduced
their “watch” feature, which
includes original content that
viewers can comment on, share
and interact with. It is one of
the most accessible ways to
watch media content.
“They [the viewers] could sit
down for five minutes on the
platform they’re already on,
Facebook, and watch our show
and then be done for the day —
it’s a nice little break,” Meyers
added.
Their innovative approach
to sports reporting hasn’t gone
unnoticed. Wachler and Meyers
recently won the Michigan
Sports Business Conference
“Sports Startup Competition.”
As
winners,
the
duo
will
present “The Spew” to sports
business professionals and get
feedback on their platform.
With aspirations to create a
format that can be replicated
and rolled out at other colleges,
this opportunity is pivotal.
On a more local scale, they’ve
found sponsors eager to join
in: Salads Up, Campus Laundry
and Valiant Clothing have all
signed on.
What started as two friends
talking sports in an apartment
living room has evolved into
a six-person operation with
corporate sponsors and big
plans. Wachler and Meyers
are hungry to make waves in
the sports media sector, and
have taken it upon themselves
to do so. Using Facebook Live
to innovate, they’ve created a
unique sports experience that
isn’t Sunday night football.
They’ve created Sunday night
“Spew.”
The Spew airs live Sundays
at 5:00 p.m. You can stream it
on Facebook.
Recognizing
a major issue
with athletics on
campus the pair
set out to connect
“regular” students
to athletes
What started
as two friends
talking sports
in an apartment
living room has
evolved into a six-
person operation
TV