Dear Fellow Expat:
For some reason, I decided to stay up and watch a 58-year-old, cinderblock-footed Mike Tyson and a former social media/YouTube star named Jake Paul fight in a formally sanctioned boxing match.
I regret not getting those three extra hours of sleep.
All night, you’d have thought the screaming Netflix (NFLX) commentators had just discovered boxing or that the sport (which is finally thriving at the heavyweight level after decades of malaise) couldn’t go on without the streaming giant’s involvement.
The overall product wasn’t just bad, it was embarrassing.
If Netflix was a ship last night, it would have howled like a dying beast and sunk into a river.
Netflix's (NFLX) streaming struggled and pixelated, froze into a spiraling mess - and nearly crashed multiple times nationwide. Millions couldn’t access the fight at all.
Maybe we were better off and should have taken the hint... turned it off and slept.
The entire thing was an overhyped media spectacle supported by patchwork duct tape and popsicle sticks. It even (why wouldn’t it) featured the chorus line of Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders lining up before undercard matches in the AT&T Stadium in Texas known
as Jerry World (named for NFL owner Jerry Jones).
What are we doing as a people?
Paul—who is 27 and in his athletic prime—dominated the fight, if that’s what you want to call it. I use the word “fight” loosely… like calling a spray-painted dog in a Chinese zoo a “lion.”
Netflix Lives Sports in one image.
When this charade finally ended at 1 a.m., all I could think was that this represented today’s American culture in a nutshell. This is the peak everybody…
You are here:
An hyper-egotistical social media influencer turned boxer… beating up the husk of a Hall of Fame athlete in Mike Tyson at 58 years old LIVE!… in the most overhyped sporting event since the original launch of the Extreme Football League (XFL) in 2000… in front of actress Charlize Theron (what!?) and a drunk Rob Gronkowski… inside an overbloated statue to an NFL owner… on a streaming service whose feed looked like it might as well have been playing during the Dot-Com Bubble all while commentators and celebrities thanked Netflix for this wonderful event (because everyone’s media career now depends on approval of company CEO Greg Peters.
On Twitter - someone asked me: “Why would Mike Tyson do this to himself?”
I replied: “Occam’s Razor says: Money.”
The better, more important question is, “Why would we do this to ourselves?”
We as a society fell for this (again)… It’s not like we don’t have enough entertainment.
Our politics have even become distorted versions of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) storylines.
Maybe Netflix should take a page from Washington, D.C., and put together a special committee…
A special committee that decides if it should ever do this to its subscribers again.
Unfortunately, if they follow in D.C.’s footsteps, they’ll double down.
They’ll claim this is a warm up for future live events… especially with rival Hulu doing live sports. This is necessary ot their business model in the future.
There’s no way they can handle the Super Bowl or the NCAA Tournament right now.
Eventually, they will. But after watching so many people lock into this fight, I ask why even spend the money on the rights to major international sporting events.
Half of Americans would pay $19.99 to watch Rob Gronkowski fight a Russian bear, with the undercard match just hologram Mohammad Ali boxing the ghost of Napoleon.
It’s all downhill or uphill from here… depending on your measurement perspective of water in a drinking glass.
I’m sticking to baseball and hockey.
Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in 87 days…
Here’s what else you missed this week.
Friday, November 15
Who's That Swimming in Our River?
Over char!!! It’s the whales - buying into the very trends that we’ve been highlighting all year. What was Warren Buffett buying in recent months? Find out here.
Thursday, November 14
How To Avoid Buffett’s 'Secret Underground Poker Ring'
If you’re a new investor or been slinging stocks for decades, there’s one important rule that you must follow to protect yourself against unknown risk. Learn it here.
Wednesday, November 13
The One Good Thing About Cincinnati
Okay… there are two good things in Cincinnati… No. 1 Chris Johnson… and No. 2 a terrific regional bank that is likely set to buy up smaller players in the banking space.
Tuesday, November 12
An Early Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation
Get ready for a lot of commentary during our trip to Florida into weeks. But before Tim Melvin and I sit down to talk the macro, now’s the time to learn about what’s poised to be the Top M&A Trend of the next two years. Read it here.
Monday, November 11
How to Spot a Fraud
Looking to avoid fraudulent companies in the public market? Take a lesson from the way that I determine frauds in the baseball card world. Check this out…
Tomorrow, I’ll be back with a look at the week ahead.
With Indiana football off for the weekend, I’ll have to settle for Ohio State blowing out Northwestern at Wrigley Field tonight.
Stay positive,
Garrett Baldwin
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