Is there anything more American than the life of Derek Jeter? Like most boys of a certain age (myself included), he grew up in a small town with a dream to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. By the sweat of his brow, the strength of his resolve, and the straps of his boots he made his way to the Big Leagues.
He played in New York City—the heart of the Western World, the mecca of sports and entertainment, and the place Americans go to make their dreams come true.
Under Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner—notorious titan of capitalism and prototypical boss, Jeter gave the appearance that he was just you’re everyday guy, grabbing his lunch pail every morning, clocking out every night, and doing his best to get along with the big man upstairs.
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He became one of the greatest baseball players of all time, reaching levels of fame and fortune one could never imagine, and bringing home nearly half a dozen World Series championships as well as a heap of other hardware to match.
In a society that tends to revel in the falls of their golden boys, Jeter somehow managed to avoid crucifixion. Under the brightest of spotlights, he remained cool under pressure— practically to the point of comatose.
He’s been spotted with nearly every one of Hollywood’s marquee starlets without a single iota of reported relationship drama or tabloid mayhem. In fact, through it all, there was never a scandal or even as much as a misstep on the part of Jeter. With his spotless reputation, Jeter stood as a pillar of character in a city of sin.
Humble beginnings. Hard work. Baseball. New York City. Capitalism. Fame and fortune. Cool under pressure. Beautiful women. Squeaky-clean reputation. Simply being the best at everything. Not to mention, he’s also biracial and a spokesman for Ford. The only way for Jeter to be more American is if he were to start his own hot dog brand or somehow transform himself into a living, breathing slice of apple pie.
So naturally, in the twilight of his legendary career, the All-American kid decided to venture towards Silicon Valley—what has served as the host city of the American Dream since the mid 70s—to set sail on his post-retirement journey for success.
Just three days after his final game in the Majors, Jeter opened the Player’s Tribune, a website he developed to offer athletes a channel to communicate directly with their fans without fear of media interference. Jeter and the Tribune team envisioned a platform more personal than Facebook or Twitter that would facilitate an intimate connection between athletes and their fans.
At the outset, the site had its fair share of naysayers. People didn’t think athletes would be willing or capable of expressing themselves in anything more than 140 characters; however, as time went on and the site continued to publish thoughtful and interesting long form essays from some of the hottest athletes in sports, the haters began to fall by the wayside and the Player’s Tribune began to generate a noticeable readership.
Now just over a year after the site’s grand opening, the Player’s Tribune has become a considerable force in sports media. The platform pioneered regular features including the “Letter to My Younger Self” and “What the (Blank)?” series which are certainly no strangers to viral Internet success.
Retired athletes have written incredibly poignant and vulnerable pieces, walking fans through every peak and valley of their storied careers from their unique individual perspective in the “Letters to My Younger Self” series while the “What the (Blank)?” series keeps things light and fun by asking athletes to answer different ad lib-type questions about their lives in sports and the locker room.
While the Tribune has achieved significant success throughout 2015, the platform made its biggest splash yet earlier this fall in releasing Kobe Bryant’s retirement poem, nearly crashing the entire site.
Drastically changing the landscape of sports media and breaking one of the most historic sports stories of the past decade might be enough for most people, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for Jeter.
Just last September, Jeter invested in a video-conferencing start up called Blue Jeans Network. The company provides a service that allows users to perform videoconferences between any video-calling platform. With the help of Blue Jeans, Skype users will be able to connect with users of InterCall, eVoice, Join.me, and more all on the same conference. Facebook uses the platform for their famous company-wide Beer Bashes, conferencing in employees from all over the world across all different types of videoconferencing platforms.
Jeter not only saw Blue Jeans as a great opportunity to invest, but also as a chance to contribute his own ideas. Ever a sportsman at heart, Jeter viewed Blue Jeans as another conduit between athletes and fans. He imagines Blue Jeans has the potential to be a powerful video broadcasting platform, bridging yet another gap between the sports world and the people who love it.
Whether it’s with the Player’s Tribune or his involvement with Blue Jeans, all of Jeter’s post-retirement ventures seem to revolve around two things: technology and connection. After an illustrious career largely shrouded with relative privacy considering his megastar status, Jeter looks to be spending his life after baseball in search of more and more ways to give fans a peak into not only his life, but the lives of all of the other athletes they care about, while also protecting the privacy of the players.
While it may come as a surprise that one of the most private superstars in the history of sports has underscored his entire post-retirement career with a theme of sharing and connection, it should come as no surprise that America’s newest good ol’ boy went to Silicon Valley—the Oz of the USA—to chase his latest dreams.