Plot twist

If episodes 1 and 2 are The Phil Helmus Show and the rest of the summer is The Daniel Negreanu Show, episode 16 will be The Joe McKeanu Show for the tournament. McKean defeats the protagonist, Schwartz, who prophesially tells him, “You’d better win this f—ing tournament,” but defeats the protagonist, Negreanu, in 11th place. He then eliminates him in 10th place, determines the final standings, and .: Check Math: A LOT.

ESPN never forgives him for this. Throughout the final vote coverage, the cameras don’t miss the opportunity to make McKeon look weird, capturing all the unattractive looks and playing them in a slow voice. The announcers are all very concerned about his ability to be a great “poker ambassador,” which apparently means he “has the commercial appeal of the mainstream.” For all the commentators and final vote coverage, there are up to six of us. Publicly, they’re rooting for one of the hypers, the more glamorous Niners, and they’re joking a lot at the expense of McKeon’s dress sense and hair. Everyone is very mean girls.

Now, it’s no wonder ESPN is interested in this event and its participants’ TV appeal as a media giant. However, most media giants usually feel a little less outspoken, pretending to put forth values we recognize (at least theoretically) as a culture. As an outsider, hearing so much of an event dedicated to talking about its appeal to outsiders, I felt like I had to wait out the door until I was ready for my guests. 경마사이트

I think it would be too easy to honestly write a story about this year’s WSOP, which stars Joe McKeon. It’s a story about a sharp, dedicated young spirit with a passion for the game rising to the top, despite the doubts and judgments of a shallow, superficial society that cares more about how charismatic people are when they dress and interview them than their actual poker skills. But our hero is true to his eccentric self, refuses to be distracted by his shallow friends, and ultimately gets rewarded for his focus and perseverance with $7 million, the highest honor in his field, and a shiny bracelet. The film actually records itself.

ESPN didn’t say that. ESPN is publicly committed to being a shallow, superficial society. And based on the amount of weird-faced footage that makes the McKeon we got, I suspect someone there hates nerds just like the jocks from the bad 80s movies hate nerds. I’ve been emotionally regressing for about a decade and might have fallen into a defensive nerd pride pit during my last table coverage.