Pop Culture Tournaments

We welcome our friend and Muppet expert, Nate Downs, to the podcast to preview the "Greatest Muppet" tournament. Nate laid down some impressive Muppet knowledge and trivia, from the origins and cultural significance of Miss Piggy to Veggie Monster (a real thing? Find out!).

We also review the results of the "Greatest Hair Metal Group/Artist" tournament.

With Slat absent this week, Dan and Rob welcome Jef Westbrook to the episode to discuss the results of the "Greatest Major League Baseball Player of All Time" tournament and we cover the results to date in our tourney-in-progress, "Greatest Hair Metal Group/Artist". 

In preparation for our "Greatest Major League Baseball Player of All Time" tournament, we have a fascinating conversation with Tim Wiles, who served as Director of Research for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for over 19 years. Tim has authored or co-authored several books, articles, exhibits, and essays about baseball. He also has traveled all over the United States and Canada as Casey in performances of "Casey at the Bat," portraying the legendary character over 2,500 times.

We discuss how player performance and public perception are affected by steroid and amphetamine use; who Tim thinks should be in the Hall, but isn't; well-rounded players vs. players with exceptional skill in one area of the game; his interactions with other sports' halls of fame; how the Hall verifies artifacts in their collection; Babe Ruth calling his shot; and we get his thoughts on the first-round match-ups in our upcoming tournament, including his opinion on who the "Greatest MLB Player of All Time" actually is.

We also review our past two tournaments, the "Greatest Fast Food Restaurant" and the "Greatest Broadway Musical."

Join us in voting for the "Greatest MLB Player of All Time" by joining our Facebook group, Pop Culture Tournaments! 

Dan, Rob, and Slat welcome a fellow member of the seeding committee and architect of the "Greatest Fast Food Restaurants" tournament, Nancy Reese, as a guest on the podcast this week! 

We talk about the recently-concluded "Greatest Cocktail" tournament. The final standings were:

4th place: Tequila Sunrise

3rd place: Long Island Iced Tea

2nd place: Rum and Coke

Which cocktail do you think won the "Greatest Cocktail" title? Listen in to find out if you're right!

We also preview the first-round restaurant matchups. We have many national chain restaurants in the tournament, some regional favorites, some we think are in Iowa but aren't, and 11 (by Dan's count) that make us ask, "How do you define 'fast food restaurant'?" 

What is the greatest fast food restaurant? Listen and find out if our seeding committee agreed with you! Better yet, join us in the Facebook group "Pop Culture Tournaments" and make your voice heard where it really counts - in the ballot box! 

Slat couldn't join us for this episode, unfortunately, but Dan and Rob welcome special guest Ann Marie Nordby to the podcast. Ann is a working actress, a member of our permanent seeding committee, and spearheaded the "Greatest Cocktail" tournament. She and Dan share a wealth of knowledge about the drinks in our field of 64. 

We also review the results of the "Greatest TV Game Show" tournament. Which shows made it to the Final Four? Would you like to use a lifeline?

Join the "Pop Culture Tournament" Facebook group to vote on your favorite cocktails!

Also, check out Dan's other podcast, "Another Bourbon Show," on your podcast app or visit their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/309193193723007

Dan, Rob, and Slat discuss the upcoming "Greatest TV Game Show" tournament hosted in the Facebook group "Pop Culture Tournaments". 

Special guests Willie Tyler and Lester stopped by to talk about their frequent appearances on the classic game shows "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares". You'll also hear about a game show pilot they shot, BB King's drummer falling off of a stage, "Family Feud", and a few of Lester's famous cousins!

We also review the results of our previous tournament, the "Greatest Marvel Superhero". The results were heavily influenced, as expected, by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

You can join in the voting for the "Greatest TV Game Show" and all of our tournaments covering all facets of pop culture at www.facebook.com/groups/popculturetournaments 

Willie Tyler and Lester are on Cameo! Get a personal message from them here: https://www.cameo.com/willieandlester

Check out the documentary in production about Willie and Lester! Find it here: https://www.hello-dummy.com/

Rob and Slat welcome new co-host Dan Schmidt to the podcast and chat with comic book artist John "Joltin' Johnny" Lucas! In preparation for PCT's "Greatest Marvel Superhero" tournament, which starts Monday, March 1st, we talk with John about his experiences in the comic book industry, his favorite comics, characters, and artists, and he helps us break down the first-round matchups. 

You can join in the fun of voting for "Greatest Marvel Superhero" here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/popculturetournaments

We had such a blast talking with John, who has worked on such titles as "Detective Comics," "Superman: The Man of Steel," "Batman: Streets of Gotham," "Before Houdini," "Fantastic Four," "X-Men Unlimited," "Ghost Rider," "Punisher", "Wolverine," and "Deadpool". He also has a story in "Slow Death Zero," which ships March 15! 

Rob, Slat, and Dan also review the results of the "Greatest Love Song" tournament. Journey became a two-time PCT champion, much to the chagrin of some in the group (including Slat). They also had the 3rd place song! The King and REO rounded out the top 4. 

We'd like to thank John again for spending over an hour with us and sharing his tales, thoughts, and quite a few laughs! You can find John at the following places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnjoltinJohnnyLucas

Twitter: https://twitter.com/himwhatjolts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joltinjohnnylucas/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JOLTINJOHNNYLUCAS/posts

A review of the completed "Greatest Saturday Morning Cartoon" tournament and preview of the first-round matchups in the upcoming "Greatest Saturday Night Live Cast Member" event, plus Deep Dive segments on Jan Hooks and Phil Hartman.

We cover the gamut of cast members through 46 seasons, pitting the best 64 against one another in a battle to claim the title of the Greatest. 

A fun and funny conversation, as well as some history and trivia. 

We'd like to invite you to the Facebook group "Pop Culture Tournaments" to cast your votes and join in the conversation! No politics, no drama, just a daily dose of fun!

Patrick, Rob, and Slat break down the brackets of the "Greatest Saturday Morning Cartoon" tournament, which starts 1/11/21 in the Facebook group "Pop Culture Tournaments". We touch on all of the greats, including "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?", "The Herculoids", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Speed Buggy", "The Smurfs", "Spider-Man", "The Pink Panther", and many more (58 more, to be exact!). 

We also take a deep dive on two shows: "Clue Club" and "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe". Learn how and why "Clue Club" came to be and what amazing invention a voice actor on this show created! You will also hear how Star Wars is responsible for creating He-Man and why each episode ended with a "life lesson". 

Patrick, Rob, and Slat welcome Todd back to the podcast to discuss the results of Pop Culture Tournament's "Greatest Christmas/Holiday Movie" contest. They also take a look back at the tournaments held since March and how much the group has grown since then. 

Join us for this retrospective and then come join our Facebook group to participate in the "Greatest Saturday Morning Cartoon" tournament, which starts January 11th! We'd love to see you there and hear what you have to say about your favorites!