From the vault: my sixth Instagram post ever. February 5, 2017. Caption: "Super bowl party for people who
don't like foot ball. #pingpongbowl"
February 5, 2017 was Super Bowl Sunday, and while most of the country was watching football, I was at a party for the rest of us. The people who show up for the snacks, nod along when everyone else yells at the TV, and quietly wait for a better sport to get invented.
We invented one. It was called the Ping Pong Bowl, and as far as I can tell from this video, it mostly involved me tipping my head all the way back and holding a ping pong ball up to my nose like I was about to perform a very serious trick with it.
Look at the still. Black hoodie, white drawstrings, head back, ball balanced right on my face, plain wall behind me, ceiling tiles above me. That is the face of a man who has never cared about a first down in his life but will absolutely commit to a bit if a small round object is involved. I do not need to know the score of the actual game. I need to know if I can keep this ball on my nose without dropping it, and I need witnesses.
That has always been my problem and also my whole career. Put me in a room where everyone is watching one thing and I will find the dumbest possible side quest in the corner and treat it like the main event. Football had a hundred million people watching that day. The Ping Pong Bowl had a room, a ball, and my entire attention span.
Same guy now, on the roster at Comedy Works, won their 2026 New Faces Contest, out on the road hosting THE DOSE. I still do not watch much football. I have just gotten better at turning the side quest into the show, and now people buy tickets to watch it happen.
Nic
Original post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQKB5D9lUOj/, see the current tour dates at nicdean.net