By Abby Bagby, Co-Managing Editor
Sports, spirit and a sense of humor were the driving forces behind seniors Timmy Corben and Carlee Brautigam’s decision to create a “Stoga Barstool” Instagram account. Gaining more than 700 followers in three weeks, their efforts are proving successful.
Barstool Sports is a digital media company and a sports and pop culture blog. While the “Stoga Barstool” account is not affiliated with the Barstool Sports company, Corben and Brautigam aim to mirror the same type of humorous content. The account has grown quickly. Currently, there are 28 posts, with some posts exceeding 300 likes.
“We have the Pioneer Pit (Instagram account), but they’re more formal in the way they post, and I just knew there was room for something else in our community to be fun but also informative,” Corben said.
Posts include light-hearted content about Conestoga’s sports teams, aimed at encouraging school spirit and increasing game attendance. Corben and Brautigam have thus far provided marketing for field hockey, boys and girls soccer, and football, posting about upcoming games as well as team fundraisers. A post regarding the Homecoming Game win received more than 200 likes.
“Our school never really had a funny account that also brought in sports news, so we were wanting to create something that is funny and people would enjoy,” Brautigam said.
Corben feels it is important to encourage positivity with the account despite rivalries with other schools’ sports teams.
“We looked at fan pages for other schools, but the way they reflect the community wasn’t something we wanted to create. We wanted to create something that was more positive all around but still engaging,” Corben said.
Going forward, Corben and Brautigam are looking to expand the account’s content and postings.
“We’re open to new ideas, and we’re hoping that we can grow it more than being just the memes,” Corben said. “We have a lot in mind, and I know it’s still so new so there’s so much room for it to grow. I would just say to people: Stay tuned.”
Abby Bagby can be reached at [email protected].
