Rate Report VII

2,755 Sports Fans will receive this email.

Of these, around 1,500 or 55%, will open it. From there it's a mad dash to the "unsubscribe" button for a select few (around 25 per Rate Report or .8%) and/or the marking of "Spam".  I myself am no stranger to this exact behavior pattern. Should a wayward newsletter ever find itself in my inbox unannounced, to the land of Spam it goes.

So, to the 1,500 of you that may or may not be reading this; buckle up!

The 7th edition of the F|RR is comin' in hotter than Steph Curry with 2 minutes left in the Gold Medal game. I'm talkin' Carolina Reaper levels of Scoville. With the 2024-25 EPL season kicking off this afternoon, a fresh release in the App Stores, and TRG's galore; our time has come.

‍

As the great philosopher and Global Olympic Ambassador, Snoop Dogg, once said in referencing the action one must take when a certain persona non grata enters your place of residence sans invitation;

"Drop it like it's hot." 🔥

The graphic above reveals 1) we have crossed the 12K Rated Games milestone 2) I have learned how to curve text in Figma 3) RateGame has users in nearly half of the 206 total countries that were just represented in Paris. Insane. In 3 days RateGame will celebrate its fifth month of being available for download in Apple's app store  🥳.

If on February 8th you told me that in five months time, my idea turned app would be on folks' phones in far away places, I absolutely would've believed you tbh. Delusions of grandeur are pretty much a prerequisite when you risk it all.

For those curious about RateGame's origin story, The Launch Log Substack below is free and always will be. Just skip the prompt to subscribe and you'll have an all access pass to the daily journal I kept while I was bringing it to life. It took 38 days in all, and I needed every single one of 'em. Enjoy!

Alright back to the semaphore circles. This planetary graphic shows the breakdown of Total Ratings by League. Thanks in no small part to @HeatCheck, the NBA reigns supreme. Thanks in no small part to @NoMoreFielders, the MLB finally counts Sports Fans other than myself amongst the ranks of Raters. When is comes to baseball, there's a "Raters of the Lost Sport" pun in there somewhere but I couldn't quite wordsmith it. Robby Manfred knows the feeling I'm sure.

Anyways, last but certainly not least, there's the CBB community. With folks like @T3Bracketology and his fellow Bracketologists, who were instrumental in getting the word out when RateGame first launched in time for March Madness.

Point is, the growth strategy for RateGame is unique.  It will never be due to traditional Brand deals or Sponsorship ads with VC money and all that nonsense.

This platform and the people it serves, will continue to be by a Sports Fan (🙋🏼♂️me), for the Sports Fan (you). Forever.

So if you or someone you follow/subscribe to is a Content Creator for the EPL, CFB, or NFL - hit me up!

In the next three weeks, as the pages of the Sports calendar turn to Fall, the true power of RateGame will emerge. By the time the NFL kicks off on September 5th, there will be four different Sports Leagues running in perfect harmony. In anticipation of this dynamic stretch, we are thrilled to announce the release of RG3. I realize the implied risk of terming this moniker after a Heisman Winner turned 1 year NFL wonder turned recently fired ESPN Analyst, but it's fine. He's super talented and self-deprecating about it already. Good for him. We are alike in this way.

RG4 is currently being built, so like the man himself, this latest version will hopefully dazzle for the next few months and then fade into the abyss. We at RG HQ now turn our attention to The Vault and Profile upgrades, with gamification layered in (Top Raters, Top Takes, Trending Takes etc).

To say there's been some baseball games worthy of TRG status would be unjust and candidly lazy. Since the All-Star break, the collective quality and overall product of Major League Baseball has no doubt increased.

However, when looking at the Ratings for each of the games, it is equally unjust to include those in which there were fewer than 10 total Fans who rated said games. Otherwise, our data set would include the first ever 10.0 which came from a single Fan (not me!). Shoutout @Macro for his informative Take which fully supports his 10.0.

This game was nuts and Leyland's jersey retirement is an added wrinkle that makes it even better. The only thing(s) missing here are additional Ratings from a Royal fan or two, which I'd venture to guess would be closer to the 5-8 range. Now that Weighted Rating is live (See F|RR 6), we can go back and course correct.

Ok I lied. Exceptions will be made for the Total Ratings & TRGs in the event of a historical performance. In this case, we have two No Hitters that are near identical twins. Both 9.3s, both 3-0 W's, and both first timers for Dylan Cease and Blake Snell. Mind = 🤯.

If not for Corey Seager's uncanny ability to break up No-Nos on the final out, we'd be looking at three of dem thangs in The Vault instead of two. Poor Framber. At least he already has one for safe keeping. Corey can't take that away from you Framby, there there.

Rounding out our TRG Top 3 for Games that qualify (10+ Fans), we have the Corbin Carrol pinch-hit walk-off homer that sealed a 5-run, bottom of the 9th, rally for the ages. Couple that with mutual dislike and intensity that comes whenever Philly vs New York Sports Teams collide, and we had ourselves a mid-summer treat in the City of The Brotherly Shove. The Jazz puns were hittin like his 4 homers in the Takes. 25 Fans is the current MLB record for a single game.

Nicely done everyone. Bravo. Encore!

The irony of having an app that's entire value prop is based on Ratings, and is subsequently promoted in the App Stores by Ratings from it's users, is the stuff of Alanis Morrisette lyrics.

But let me be clear; I do not like it when people pander for things. Especially when it comes to clout or digital engagement of the superficial variety.

The way I see it, Ratings & Reviews are earned, not given. If, and only IF, you feel that RateGame is worthy enough of your time, I would very much appreciate a Review.

Good, bad, in-between, it doesn't matter.

The fact that you took the time to leave your feedback is what's important, and you best believe I will respond to every one I get!

And so concludes another Edition of the F|RR. The last of it's kind. From here on out, we'll have TRG's from 4 Sports, instead of just 1. We've only just begun  🚀

Questions + feedback = hit me up!

‍