A square peg isn't supposed to fit in a round hole.
But in this case, it does.
On the surface, Jake Marsh doesn't belong at Barstool Sports. He doesn't fit the box that you think Barstool employees fit into and he doesn't act the way that some of you expect Barstool personalities to act.
Even as I write this, I'm not sure why it works. It just does.
Marsh is an aspiring network play-by-play broadcaster who has grown immensely since being hired as an intern on Pardon My Take to simply play a spoof of Darren Rovell. He hosts his own college basketball podcast at the network, has covered the Final Four and traveled to Super Bowl Media Week. And he would have been the play-by-play voice of the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl this past college football season, had it not been canceled because of COVID-19.
Marsh's goals are lofty. While he's very happy at Barstool and told BSM he has no immediate plans to leave the company, he wants to be the voice of a Final Four for a major network like Jim Nantz and he wants to be part of a Super Bowl broadcast like Nantz, and another idol, Mike Tirico. But the route he's taking to that dream is certainly unconventional.
"It's not really a secret. It definitely is my goal to one day become a big network, play-by-play broadcaster," Marsh told BSM. "And they know that here, and they're very supportive of that dream. But the reason I came here is because I saw a real unique opportunity and a chance to get the best of both worlds."
Having graduated from Syracuse University in 2018, Marsh spent the 2018-19 college basketball season as the voice of the University of Vermont men's basketball team, a Catamount team that got to the NCAA Tournament before losing to Florida State in the Round of 64.
He always intended to go back for year two at UVM, but in the off-season he applied for the internship position with Pardon My Take, landed it, and moved to New York for the summer. But then, something that doesn't usually happen, happened. Barstool extended his internship through the next basketball season and allowed him to work remotely for the company while spending the 2019-20 season working on the UVM games.
And when the Catamounts season ended abruptly in March 2020 because of the pandemic, Marsh began working at Barstool full-time, and even as professional and college sports were shut down, he got to keep his play-by-play skills strong by broadcasting some of the innovative things Barstool came up with during that time.
"When I came here full-time, they introduced an idea to me called Stool Streams where I would do play-by-play for table tennis, Jenga and cornhole and things like that," Marsh said. "We don't do that anymore, but that was a good way to keep the play-by-play groove alive. And also, I saw the way the company was going -- the direction it was going in. They say 'to the moon' here. And I think part of that means 'to the moon' in broadcasting too…I got the nod to call the Arizona Bowl game with Dan (Katz) and Dave (Portnoy), and they, unfortunately, canceled it due to COVID three days prior, but I had all my prep done. We had interviews with Boise State and Central Michigan lined up. So that is the beginning of what I certainly hope is a giant, giant place at this company in terms of live rights."
Marsh says he hopes to get the opportunity this year to actually call the bowl game and reiterated that he hopes there's more live broadcasting opportunities to come at the company.
"There's definitely still an opportunity to chase my dream while I'm here," he said.
But another part of that dream was reached a month ago as Marsh traveled to the Final Four in New Orleans for the first time as a media member. It turned out to be one the biggest Final Fours in history.
"That was obviously a Final Four that no one will ever forget…That was really cool to spend time with whole PMT crew and the guys on my podcast, Bench Mob," he said. "That was awesome. Just going to see Coach K's last game and the Duke-UNC aspect of it. That was really cool."
But despite all that growth over the last two years, he still has those aspirations of moving into a major network chair like Nantz or Tirico, and in order to get there, Marsh knows it's a balancing act between fitting in with the Barstool culture, while also maintaining a level of decorum that is expected from a major network personality.
For example, he famously doesn't curse on the air.
"Obviously there's a little more looseness here in terms of how you conduct yourself, but I still keep the professionalism in my mind," he says. "I still want that to be the main part of my identity here."
Even 1,000 words in, I can't help but playfully chuckle to myself as I write this. It just doesn't seem like Marsh should fit at Barstool. It just doesn't!
He's too buttoned up. He's too professional. He doesn't embrace some of the chaos that Barstool thrives on.
But in his mind? That's exactly why he does fit.
"There really is one else like me here. And I think that gives me a cool, unique opportunity to be like, alright 'I'm the only one who's going to wear the suit on the camera.' I have a different perspective of sports compared to everyone else here and it kind of meshes well, right?" he says. "You look at me, with Big Cat and PFT, obviously we all share the same passion and love for sports, but when I'm watching a game, I'm like, 'Ooooh, I really liked the way that Mike Tirico described the running back, but when Big Cat is watching that same play he's like 'Damn it, I need a first down, I need to win my bet.. So, I think that's what makes it work."
Marsh may one day reach his ultimate aspirations of becoming a network broadcaster and he may end up following in the footsteps of his media idol, but for now? Barstool is a perfect fit.
Even if it doesn't always seem like it should be on the surface.
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