u/PlayKnowBall

Pittsburgh Zoo made headlines this weekend for swapping Gorillas with Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. They gave up Frankie (7) and got Little Joe (33) in return. Sports fans across social media were quick to make jokes about the exchange, saying that Boston won the trade in a landslide because they got the younger Gorilla. Classic example of an inexperienced GM giving up a young talent for a washed star.

But the sports fans are wrong. Anyone with a crumb of ball knowledge should easily see that Pittsburgh won this trade. Little Joe is no washed veteran. This is not AD for Luka. This is 2018 LeBron for a high school senior. Little Joe is the best IN THE LEAGUE. Anyone who witnessed his 2003 run knew he was going to be great. He scaled an electric fence, jumped a moat, injured a toddler, and only got caught because his bus was late. He was out for 2 HOURS. Harambe couldn’t last a minute with a toddler INSIDE his enclosure. Is this your GOAT?

Little Joe has been carrying a small market Boston team for over 20 years, he finally gets sent to a contender, and they call it a finesse? For Boston? Have you seen Pittsburgh’s silverback room? Harry died two seasons ago after a great career. Ivan (not the HOFer, the other one) was supposed to be the next gorilla up, but he died unexpectedly last season. You really think Pittsburgh is going to hand the reigns of such a historic franchise to Frankie? He won’t reach reproductive maturity for at least another 5 years. Little Joe on the other hand, with 10-15 more years of projected fertility, is a perfect fit for this roster. He’s no Shabani, but he’s the best you’re going to get in America. He’s just what this team needs to take down San Diego.

Boston is now in full rebuild. Without a silverback it seems their goal is to develop young assets and see what sticks. Frankie has the potential to be a nice centerpiece in about a decade or so, but he’s stepping into a crowded blackback room. He is going to have to work for it if he wants to be the face of this franchise.

Edit: Mixed up Harry and Ivan, my bad

Pittsburgh Zoo made headlines this weekend for swapping Gorillas with Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. They gave up Frankie (7) and got Little Joe (33) in return. Sports fans across social media were quick to make jokes about the exchange, saying that Boston won the trade in a landslide because they got the younger Gorilla. Classic example of an inexperienced GM giving up a young talent for a washed star.

But the sports fans are wrong. Anyone with a crumb of ball knowledge should easily see that Pittsburgh won this trade. Little Joe is no washed veteran. This is not AD for Luka. This is 2018 LeBron for a high school senior. Little Joe is the best IN THE LEAGUE. Anyone who witnessed his 2003 run knew he was going to be great. He scaled an electric fence, jumped a moat, injured a toddler, and only got caught because his bus was late. He was out for 2 HOURS. Harambe couldn’t last a minute with a toddler, and didn’t even escape. Is this your GOAT?

Little Joe has been carrying a small market Boston team for over 20 years, he finally gets sent to a contender, and they call it a finesse? For Boston? Have you seen Pittsburgh’s silverback room? Ivan (not the HOFer, the other one) died two seasons ago after a great career. Harry was supposed to be the next gorilla up, but he died unexpectedly last season. You really think Pittsburgh is going to hand the reigns of such a historic franchise to Frankie? He won’t reach reproductive maturity for at least another 5 years. Little Joe on the other hand, with 10-15 more years of projected fertility, is a perfect fit for this roster. He’s no Shabani, but he’s the best you’re going to get in America. He’s just what this team needs to take down San Diego.

Boston is now in full rebuild. Without a silverback it seems their goal is to develop young assets and see what sticks. Frankie has the potential to be a nice centerpiece in about a decade or so, but he’s stepping into crowded blackback room. He is going to have to work for it if he wants to be the face of this franchise.

If you could do the following:

1. Click on the link

2. Start a game for any sport except soccer (basketball, hockey, baseball, and American football all work)

3. Check if you see pictures of players in the game

(Optional) keep playing the game if you enjoy

4. Comment here:
   A. whether you saw player images in-game
   B. what device you are using (e.g. phone model or computer operating system)
   C. Link to your website + specific instructions to test/check out

I will test / check out your project in exchange!

Thanks!

Any vibe coders in here who are also huge sports fans? Check out this game I made with Lovable and let me know what you think! I wanted to make a "ball knowledge" game that felt like fantasy football that wasn't just a boring trivia/quiz game. It's an online PvP.

Still trying to identify and iron out all the bugs.

We've noticed that player images seem to appear on some devices but not others. If you could let us know if player images appear for you and what device you're on that would be greatly appreciated!

Question for anyone who feels qualified to answer: I plan to run a marketing campaign on my game as part of an MBA project in the near future, and I'm not sure whether this vibe-coded version would be suitable for full launch. From my tests it works fine but I'd be open to getting someone who actually knows how to code to make a polished version that can operate at scale. Everything is stored locally except for user info, which is on supabase.

Here's the game - playknowball.lovable.app

In Michael Mauboussin’s "The Success Equation," he discusses the concept of luck/skill variance in sports. He found that in the NBA, playoff series are mostly won by the better regular-season team, while NHL underdogs win far more often. Any avid fantasy football player knows (in their heart, at least) that the most knowledgeable manager (themselves) rarely has the best team, and even rarer yet does the best team win the championship. Any ideas on how this compares to luck/skill variance in professional sports leagues? What was the worst team in your league to ever win a championship? What about the best team to not even sniff a ring?

In Michael Mauboussin’s "The Success Equation," he discusses the concept of luck/skill variance in sports. He found that in the NBA, playoff series are mostly won by the better regular-season team, while NHL underdogs win far more often. Any avid fantasy football player knows (in their heart, at least) that the most knowledgeable manager (themselves) rarely has the best team, and even rarer yet does the best team win the championship. Any ideas on how this compares to luck/skill variance in professional sports leagues? What was the worst team in your league to ever win a championship? What about the best team to not even sniff a ring?