Hahaha, this is a fantastic article.

It details the decline in the number of men named “Bob” participating in major sports.

“Nearly two thousand men named Bob have played in major American sports. Bob Sanders is still playing, but he is the only one. Here, we attempt to come to grips with the most pressing crisis in major athletics.”

Fun phrases include: “Bob-athletes”, “Bobhood”, and the “Bobs Are Overwhelmingly Fat/White/Old Theory.”

And even though it’s a minor thing, it makes me really happy that the author mentioned covariates that may also be causing the decline in Bob-athletes other than just fewer Bobs playing sports (fewer Bobs overall, fewer names shortened to “Bob” due to various reasons). That made Stats Claudia happy.

Oh, and for anyone wondering…

Robert/Roberto and Bob/Bobbie/Bobby trends for boys over the past century or so.

This is also humorous to me because my dad is a “Bob.”