Kevin Adams is the mad scientist behind colehamelsfacts.com. A young phenom pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Hamels busted onto the scene in May of the 2006 season hasn’t looked back. As “the facts” starting picking up steam with the exceptional performance from Hamels, Adams starting getting national attention from the likes of The New York Times and Yahoo.com. Though, this 29 year old middle school computer applications teacher doesn’t really concern himself with all the fame. Besides running the popular website, that even has its own store, he plays drums in two bands and works as a Phanstormer at Phillies games. And ladies, forget about it, he’s happily married.
Todd: Chuck Norris, Jack Bauer, you picked a real original idea, eh?
Kevin: It just happened to work out that way. I honestly didn’t know much about the whole phenomenon. I mean, I heard the “guns don’t kill people, Chuck Norris kills people”, but outside of that, I wasn’t really familiar with those sites. I don’t even watch 24, but I’m sure Jack Bauer couldn’t hit a Cole Hamels [batting practice] fastball.
T: What lead you to do it?
K: Cole pitched his first AAA game, I saw his first AA start in person, not as impressive, and he was awesome.
T: So it was a spur of the moment kind of thing?
K: Exactly.
T: So what’s the best and worst “fact” anyone ever submitted.
K: The worst is easy, “Cole is 100 feet tall”. I mean, what the $#@! is that? He’s 6’4. The best, “Cole Hamels spelled backward is Slemah Eloc. Still, Cole Hamels is a palindrome.”
T: So are most facts good or are most bad?
K: Most are bad, though about one in every fifty have made me laugh out loud.
T: So it’s tough finding the good ones to stick on those colehamelsfact.com thongs?
K: It was pretty clear that the one that’s on the shirts [are] pretty popular. But there are more coming. My business associate, Duane Peck, designs the shirts.
T: You have a business associate?
K: Well, we have verbal business agreements. They design the stuff, I owe them money.
T: Oh I see. So what was the reason for [the merchandise], just trying to make a few bucks?
K: The merchandise came about because that was the next logical step, isn’t the American dream getting something for nothing?
T: You mean slapping Cole’s name on every piece of crap that comes down the aisle, kind of like Bill O’Reilly does?
K: You’d be surprised what people will buy. I didn’t think anyone would buy any of it. But, for god’s sake, one of his family members bought a dog t-shirt, and personally told me that the dog wears it all the time.
T: So did it make even more validating when [Cole’s Playboy Playmate wife] Heidi Hamels bought some shirts?
K: It was the second proudest moment of the facts’ life.
T: Behind?
K: Cole himself saying that he thought the site was hilarious, and also saying so in the media.
T: Any chance that’ll wind up on a t-shirt?
K: Anything’s possible, Todd.
- Thanks to Todd for supplying this piece.
