Don鈥檛 tell Layne Wolos, Dustin Wilson, Marcus Friess and Jeff Pratt there鈥檚 nothing to talk about in the sports world during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four Estevan sports fans and friends have started The Cheap Seats podcast, a weekly one-hour show that covers a variety of sports topics in a humourous fashion through insight, banter and quick wit.
鈥淚鈥檝e wanted to do it for a really long time, and I鈥檝e been really fighting with how I wanted to do it, and how I wanted to get it started,鈥� said Wolos. 鈥淚t came on fairly easily after these guys decided to join in. It鈥檚 a really easy group to do it with.鈥�
Four episodes have been released already, and they don鈥檛 expect it to stop soon.
Wolos couldn鈥檛 imagine doing it with anybody else, because they鈥檙e very knowledgeable and easy to get along with.
Wolos, Friess and Wilson did the first episode, and Pratt joined for the second.
鈥淲hen they asked me, with the three of them being on it, I said 鈥榃hy wouldn鈥檛 I?鈥� And it honestly hit me, too, that Layne and I will argue about the sky being blue, so I figured get me on there.鈥�
He鈥檚 pals with the other two, so it felt like a safe environment.聽聽
They mostly talk about professional sports, but they want to start to incorporate local sports when the Estevan Bruins and other organizations are playing again.
They say their format might change once live sports start up again.
鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 funny. We鈥檒l record, and the next day we鈥檙e already thinking about stuff to do for the next one. Funny how the week goes on and we tweak it and develop a whole different agenda,鈥� said Friess.
Once live sports return, there will be a lot more to talk about, so they might add another episode, because they don鈥檛 want stories to get stale.
They have also considered weekly picks and matchups.
鈥淭he fact that the show flows the way that it does as it is right now, I think, is a major indicator as to what we can actually do when we get to have sports to watch,鈥� said Friess.
Pratt believes one of the highlights of the show is the weekly top five, when they discuss who they are and their likes and dislikes, again, often incorporating humour.
As for their audience, they target an over-14 crowd, and there might be rare coarse language, but for the most part, it鈥檚 clean and they have had no problem showing the program to younger family members.
Friess noted that when they initially talked about the podcast, he would have been happy if they would have had 100 views on YouTube. But the first few episodes have had a few hundred views each, and they hope it can continue to grow.
As of Monday night, the second episode was the highest with 342 views.聽They believe it did the best because they had a really funny episode, and they had given a name to it.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 set out with this with the intention that we were going to be stars,鈥� Wolos said to laughter from Friess and Pratt. 鈥淟et鈥檚 just be clear.鈥�
鈥淚t honestly started out as just let鈥檚 kick this off, let鈥檚 see if we鈥檙e any good first of all when we did the first episode, and if we鈥檙e having fun and if it鈥檚 worth it, and if people watch and listen, keep going,鈥� added Friess.
If they get no viewers, they won鈥檛 be that heartbroken, Pratt said, but the goal is to keep getting better so more people keep watching.
Giveaways and trivia could find their way into the podcast in the future.
Most of the people who have been watching it so far have been local. Wolos has some contacts through baseball, football and hockey pools in the U.S., but outside of that, he鈥檚 been getting local people.
Friess suggested early on they re-evaluate when they get to the 10-episode mark. This week they鈥檒l get halfway to 10.
鈥淥nce we get to 10 episodes, we can assess where we鈥檙e at, what do we have to go forward, what do we have for support, what are we getting for feedback? And we are getting feedback fairly regularly,鈥� said Friess.
Initial episodes have been done via Zoom call to ensure they follow social distancing requirements. Wolos has the technology to then upload the podcast to YouTube. They鈥檙e looking at advancements, and once they all have the same equipment, they can look at adding more.
Since Wolos doesn鈥檛 have the ability to cut and edit, it鈥檚 going to be completed on the first take.
鈥淚f you say something wrong, it鈥檚 on there. So the goal is not to say something offside,鈥� said Pratt.
Wolos says they鈥檙e not going to be perfect, so it brings comedic element to the show, but also makes it more impressive.
鈥淚鈥檝e actually had people say that 鈥楩or you guys not being able to edit it, that鈥檚 pretty good.鈥欌��
They have a Twitter page and a Facebook page for the Cheap Seats podcast, and they have subscribers for the YouTube page, which is known as All Sports Considered. Wolos noted the feedback they receive helps with the content they will discuss.
