Greg Woods - The Voice of Marble Racing
It’s been part whirlwind and part disbelief
With the Coronavirus changing the world of sports, we have had to look in new directions to get our fix. We need the unpredictable nature of sports. We need teams and names to cheer for. We need something to gamble on. And with over 50 million views and 750,000 subscribers, we have a winner. Jelle’s Marble Runs on YouTube give you everything you want from sports: underdogs, fan favorites, and unpredictable twists and turns. What really makes this must stream action though is the production of it all. You have to check out the courses, the graphics, and the absolute professional quality of the turn by turn announcing. This week’s Moonlighter is the man behind the mic for all of Marble Run racing, Greg Woods. Woods sits down with Tim to explain how a guy living in Fort Dodge has become the voice of the fastest marbles in the world.
One video in a few days amassed 35 million views
Greg Woods grew up in Newton, IA and was a fan of Formula 1 racing after being introduced to the sport by his dad. That interest turned into some jobs over the years during college and medical school writing about racing for different publications. His foray into race announcing came by chance though, as he made his own video calling a marble race. Once Jelle and Dion Bakker, two Dutch brothers who run the races, saw the video with Woods on the call, they reached out to have him do all of their races. That started Woods down a course in 2016 that has been picking up a lot of speed.
The last few weeks have put the traditional sports world on hold and marble racing has taken center stage. NBC and ESPN have covered marble racing and Joe Buck even called a race recently. Marble racing is complete with teams, the marbles have names and fan bases, and a whole sports culture surrounding it. With your favorite team on the bench, now is the time to find a marble to get behind.
Role players come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes, they have to change their shapes and sizes to fit their roles. So as you fill up on Christmas goodies and homecooked meals, just pretend you are getting yourself ready for a new challenge. Ryan Harklau went from being a 3 sport star at Humboldt High School to working through the dark days of the Dan McCarney era. Harklau has never stopped chasing down experiences in and around sports. Today he is still very involved with the Iowa State Cyclones and gets to stay about as close to the game as you can get.