Does everyone enjoy music? Of course they do. This is the least profound take ever, in all of history.
But, one of the few things people enjoy more than a specific song or artist, is the opportunity to be the only one who knows about them.
Nothing beats organically finding a hidden gem–a diamond in the rough–among the countless hours upon hours of music streaming to millions everyday. Encountering a seemingly random song that morphs into a can’t-skip favorite is indescribable. You love to listen to it and more importantly, its obscurity adds significance. The serotonin boost from being one of the first to encounter a new banger rivals the long-lost discovery of ancient lands.
Its melody permanently stamps itself in your brain. The song feels special. It’s uniquely yours.
That song is Travis Fulgham.
Or Emmanuel Mudiay. Or Matt Beleskey. Or Mariners CC Sabathia.
That song is, in almost every attribute, a “Slideshow Player.”
THE SLIDESHOW PLAYER
Maybe it’s someone you forgot about. A center who played ten minutes a game on your favorite NBA team. Maybe it’s a random minor league reliever callup who threw a perfect inning while you happened to be watching on a Tuesday night. It could be a quick, meaningless stint on a team by a superstar (think Wizard’s Jordan). The important thing is that YOU remember it.
The Slideshow Player comes from the idea of specific, usually unknown, professional or college athletes. Like that song which slid into your Spotify Discover Weekly, you have no intention of experiencing them, but they hook you in.
Whether it be their goofy name, eccentric on-the-field moves or you think they could be your team’s next big superstar, this athlete becomes a staple among your favorites.
Yet the world forgets them. Maybe in two weeks, months, seasons or years, they fall to the wayside. They couldn’t cut it. You’re enamored by them regardless. Where everyone else moves on, they stick to your mind. Like a catchy rhythm, impossible to describe to someone else because they’ve never even heard of the song.
CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITIES
The term Slideshow Player comes from the TikTok trend. I’m not sure who started it but the idea originated from a user creating a picture slideshow cataloging different forgotten players or career moments. Slideshow Players made up these posts.
What catapulted these posts onto For You pages across the app was other users remembering the players. Thousands of comments all reminiscing on a signature highlight of a forgotten third liner. Multiple threads lambasting how a now-European League player was thought to be the next superstar. Tendrils–however brief–of sports past were connecting sports fanatics.
Suddenly, the indie hits of the 2012 Detroit Lions’ Special Teams Unit moved above ground. The shared depth and familiarity of little known players is surprisingly vast. Slideshow Players created not-so-niche internet communities in the comments sections of TikTok posts. The hidden gems wrapped in your Spotify playlist became house party hits.
“How could I ever forget Raymond Felton’s incredible run on the Mavs?”
“Shane Vareen was one of the best passing down backs in the league.”
“Playing dead to beat up Garth Snow is an all-time Matt Barneby highlight”
Sports fans bond over way less, but the positive echo chamber created by Slideshow players is immeasurable. The forgotten memories paint the communal mindscape, with thousands of voices belting out the tunes of Andrew Hammond’s incredible journey towards free McDonald’s for life.
These players did nothing extraordinary by standard means. Everyone remembers the superstars who’ve won championships, made incredible last-second shots or posted unimaginable season statistics. Not everyone remembers the one-time January 24th, 2014, 42-point masterclass put on by Marcus Thornton.
But for the ones that do, it makes that nostalgia playlist all the more special.
Wolveridge Langan 