Jomboy Media's Jake Storiale on the Drama of Sports Beyond Wins and Losses

Jake Storiale is VP and co-founding partner of Jomboy Media.

“Talkin’ Jake” is also co-host of Jomboy Media’s most popular shows, including Talkin’ Baseball and Talkin’ Yanks, both of which are staples atop Chartable’s list of baseball podcasts in the U.S. Jake also hosts his own morning show, Wake N Jake, in addition to contributing content to Amazon, the YES Network and NESN alongside founder Jimmy “Jomboy” O’Brien.

Born and raised in Middlebury, Connecticut, Jake is a proud graduate of Central Connecticut State University. His obsession with sports from a young age has proven to be time well spent. His obsession with dancing, perhaps less so, but that doesn’t stop him at weddings.

We spoke to Jake for our Time-Out series, where we chat with folks in the sports world about their favorite athletes, teams, sports movies and shows, and their love of sports generally.

Jake, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in Middlebury, Connecticut, and bounced around to Dallas and Denver before settling down in New York City.

Your earliest sports memory.

I was 2 years old, sitting on the couch, and my parents saw me entranced by the TV. They asked me what I was watching and I told them. “I’m watching the chipmunks versus the trains.” My parents, concerned, came into the living room to see that I was watching the Purdue Boilermakers playing the Minnesota Golden Gophers in football. They were relieved.

Your favorite sports team.

The New York Yankees. My father was a big fan, and growing up during the ’90s dynasty was a great way to be introduced to baseball. Also, having grown up in Connecticut, I’m a massive UConn Huskies fan. My one oddball team is the Denver Broncos because of Terrell Davis. What a stud.

Your favorite athlete.

Bernie Williams. I love the way he played the game, and my mother had a crush on him.

Your favorite sports show or podcast.

I grew up loving SportsCenter and Pardon the Interruption, but now I pretty much only consume our content here at Jomboy Media. I’m still a huge fan of Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo.

Your favorite sports movie.

I think it’s The Replacements? Yes. So funny. It’s a great movie. It’s really underrated all-time.

A recent project you’re proud of.

We recently aired our Floorball tournament, which was the biggest production we’ve ever done at Jomboy Media. The whole team worked on it. Now, there are people out there watching me play the Nordic sport of floorball. I still can’t believe this is my job.

Someone else’s project that you admired recently.

The Derek Jeter documentary, The Captain. It evoked so much nostalgia for me, which I expected going in. What I didn’t expect was how they tapped into and unearthed stories I’d never heard before.

What sports can do that nothing else can.

It’s the best reality show on television, easily. You have other shows trying to make up and manufacture the drama. Sports have that ingrained in them. A lot of that comes from the human side of sports. We get to know these players. We hear their stories and we connect with them on a real level. That’s part of what makes our own shows successful. Fans care on a deeper level than just wins and losses.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in the sports world.

I would be working as middle management, talking sports and making jokes with my co-workers.