Matthew Mandel

From Tyler Cowen’s new book on the history of economic thinkers:

Do you want to know which single book probably is the biggest influence on this one?

It is the Bill Simmons 2009 book The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy. I loved that book and tried to pretty much read it straight through, even with its 697 pp. of text. I’m not trying to copy Simmons’s errant misogyny, or his love of the Boston Celtics. But he gives you the perspective of the fan, not just the analyst. He loves basketball, and that comes through on every page of the book. He rants, he raves, and he obsesses. So when Bill decides to write five pages on “What if the ’86 Rockets never fell apart?” (pp.191-195), you read along, even though (because?) he offers digressions on the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers as well. Or does it mean anything to say that Scottie Pippen is the 24th greatest player of all time, with Isiah Thomas the 23rd greatest? When you’re reading Simmons, again you are inclined to go along with the absurdity of this method.

Tyler does a good job capturing what’s so fun and unique about Bill Simmons (and his media company, The Ringer). Their obsessive, methodical, joyful, and gamified approach to culture is infectious. Part of it is the loving perspective of the genuine fan that Simmons conveys, but there’s also something in how he invites his audience to participate in the conversation –– maybe in a similar way to how fantasy sports give fans a more agentic way to engage in the season. Simmons having such a strong view on the 23rd vs 24th best player of all-time invites – nay, begs – the reader to interject with their own take.

And I love Tyler’s self-awareness of how Ringer-like he is. His blog and podcast are erudite and analytical – but more than anything else they’re so fan-ish! He ranks the best books every year, predicts who will win economics prizes, and categorizes people and their ideas as overrated or underrated. He, like Simmons, has built a meta-culture around his favored subjects that his audience can easily participate in.

Who else wields the perspective of the fan so effectively? Are fandoms underrated?