Everybody’s got a story. Rod Benson’s just happens to be ridiculous. At least that’s what his Web site, www.toomuchrodbenson.com, says.
That same site hosts outrageous videos and blogs detailing Benson’s basketball adventures and nightlife escapades. That same site also happens to get tens of thousands of hits and is often mentioned on www.espn.com.
And, that same site, unlike most athletes’ lame attempts at self-exposure, is actually funny. Benson, a San Diego native and Torrey Pines High School alumni, is chasing a career in professional basketball and letting friends and Internet-admirers take the trip with him.
His goals, along with parlaying his playing days at Cal and current training camp time with the New Jersey Nets into an NBA career, are more than amusing.
He wants to get his laugh-out-loud “Boom Tho” slang on SportsCenter and in his spare time uses his limited exposure to meet female actresses.
His thoughts are humorous, but – not surprising considering his 1300 score on the SATs – they’re intelligent too. They have to be.
Benson isn’t Curt Schilling or Gilbert Arenas – two nationally recognized athletes with blogs that supplement their already established media exposure.
“My blog, specifically, is nothing like most athletes’ (blogs),” Benson said. “I have no (other) media voice. I do think that my blog and my basketball career play off of each other, (but) I don’t care if someone is a fan of my hoops or my blog, it’s just nice to know that I have some support.”
He’s hoping his support – online and off – will help him delay a future writing-only career that is waiting for him whenever he’s ready for it. He spent the past summer in NBA mini-camps with the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors and played for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League. If nothing comes from those stops, he insists basketball will still be in his future.
“Pro ball will work out unless I get hurt because I can and will go to Europe eventually,” Benson said. “This was a busy summer for me (and) now I’m working out four hours a day, Monday through Friday.”
Whether it’s now or in the near future, however, Benson’s writing will keep his name afloat. His growing fan base is evidence of that.
“Most people who read my blog like it,” Benson said. “I’ve got fans from all over reading my material. There are a few haters out there, but I think that’s cool that I’ve gotten big enough to have haters.”
Don’t count book publishers and screenwriters among those “haters.” An athlete’s daily details of the chase for an NBA life, along with video of himself and his friends on the road, could be pieced into an interesting puzzle.
“I’ve been offered screen writing jobs which is cool because I barely know how to spell the word ‘screenplay,'” Benson said. “I do plan on writing a book at some point, but it’s success and popularity will hinge on my NBA success. Hopefully it’ll all come together somewhere down the line.”
