Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love
Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski are two guys who are hopelessly, dangerously obsessed with games. And I don’t mean just the Sunday afternoon NFL slog where you’re parked on the couch with a bag of chips. I’m talking about anything with a scoreboard, a buzzer, a winner, a loser, and that specific, frantic, chest-tightening energy that makes life feel like it’s actually happening.
In their new book, BIG FAN, they spent a ridiculous amount of time in the air, trading domestic tranquility for a seat in the front row—or, let's be honest, right on the goddamn field.
These guys aren't sitting in some climate-controlled press box, tapping out clean copy on a laptop while nursing a lukewarm coffee. They’re ringside at WrestleMania in Vegas, where the theatrics are louder than a jet engine and twice as absurd. They’re getting lost in the beer-soaked, absolute mayhem of the World Darts Championships in London, singing along with the maniacs who have turned throwing sharp objects into a national religion. They even dragged themselves to a Buffalo Wild Wings in Dallas for eight straight hours of football until their eyes bled and their brains turned to mush.
Why do it? Because for guys like Schur and Posnanski, that’s the job. It’s what they do. They love this stuff so much it physically hurts, and they’re willing to burn the frequent flyer miles to prove it.
This isn't a book about analytics, or the "best" plays, or some dorky breakdown of how to build a championship roster. You can get that anywhere. This is a book about why we stand in the rain, why we scream at inanimate television screens, and why we let a team from a city we’ve never visited dictate our entire mood for the next seven days. It’s about the raw, visceral connection that happens when you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
Think about it. From the pure, unadulterated euphoria of cheering penalty kicks with 65,000 strangers in Liverpool—where the sound alone is enough to crack your ribs—to the quiet, agonizing tension of a chess master making a move in dead silence, BIG FAN is a love letter to the weird, beautiful, irrational thing that happens when we give a damn.
We’re living in a time where everything is designed to tear us apart. The world is noisy, the news is grim, and it’s getting harder to find common ground with your neighbor. But Schur and Posnanski have found the secret: fandom. Whether it's Indigenous North American stickball, the high-stakes drama of the WWE, or the shared frenzy of a Taylor Swift concert, these moments of collective obsession are the glue. They’re the one thing still holding the seams together.
They take you from the front row to the nosebleeds, and eventually, right into the heart of what it means to be a fan. It’s a journey through the highs of crushing victories and the absolute, soul-crushing lows of defeat. If you’ve ever cried because your team blew a lead, or stayed up until 3 a.m. watching a sport you barely understand because, suddenly, it was the only thing that mattered—then this is your book.
The Guys in the Chair
Mike Schur If you own a television, you know the guy. He’s the Emmy-winning mastermind behind Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place. Before he was building his own universes, he earned his stripes in the trenches at Saturday Night Live and The Office. He lives in California with his wife, Jennifer Philbin, and their kids.
Joe Posnanski There is nobody in the game like Joe. He’s a #1 New York Times bestseller with nine books to his name—including the heavy hitters Why We Love Baseball, Why We Love Football, and The Baseball 100. He’s been named National Sportswriter of the Year five times, which is honestly just showing off at this point. He writes over at JoePosnanski.com and lives in Charlotte with his wife, Margo, and their ancient, legendary poodle, Westley.