We Aren’t Thinking Big Enough

A conversation with Andrew Nachison for WeMedia

Q. Introduce yourself. Tell me about your interests, what you do, and something personal about your life (like where you live, family … something that isn’t in your generic bio or on LinkedIn)

A. My name is Brian Reich; I’m a speechwriter, author, media junkie and sports nut. I work with media companies, startups, nonprofits, political, and advocacy organizations and other groups — a big focus of mine has been the impact of media and technology on society. One of my recent projects was profiled in Fast Company.

I am also the author of three books. My most recent, The Imagination Gap, takes on the idea of innovation fatigue, and outlines how to get people to use their imagination more.

As for something that you won’t find bouncing around my regular bio … twenty years ago, when I was only 19 years old, I set out to visit every major league baseball stadium — a trip I subsequently named “The Great American Baseball Trip.” My trip lasted some 64 days and covered more than 18,000 miles. In addition to attending a game in each of the 30 major league cities, I visited the Hall of Fame, attended the All-Star Game, and was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Barons game in Birmingham (btw… the umpire will confirm that I threw a perfect strike).

Along the way, I captured the stories and pictures of people who I encountered during my adventure and published them online (a blog before blogging existed, really). I wrote a weekly newspaper column and served as a correspondent for the Sports Fan Radio Network during the trip as well. Today, one of the things I write and speak about is sports — through the lens of culture, society, economics, and politics. I’m particularly interested in the fan experience, the ways that casual fans engage with sports, and how sports fandom influences other aspects of our lives. Along the same lines, I believe ballparks and stadiums are staging grounds for some of America’s most unique and powerful experiences (in fact, I wrote a paper in college arguing that baseball ought to be considered a form of religion). So much of my thinking around those issues was inspired by my trip to visit all the ballparks.

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