Harrison Mooney and Daniel Wagner founded Pass it to Bulis with one word in mind: levity.
The popular Canucks blog, which makes its online debut at the Vancouver Courier on Sept. 14, is known for its sarcasm and snark. A post written during the 2014 playoffs was titled, “We asked five Flames writers about their dumb team.”
“People take the Canucks so seriously,” Mooney explained. “It’s as though a Canucks loss is the end of the world. But they’ve lost over 1,500 times and the world has never ended. You’d think at some point we’d realize we’re not in any danger.”
In response to what the pair felt was an over-serious market, Mooney and Wagner launched their Canucks blog in the spring of 2010.
“Just before the playoffs,” Wagner explained, “when people need to calm down the most.”
Update: Read PITB live! Click here!
The duo took aim at the notion of “bandwagonning” or joining a fanbase only when the team is winning. Whereas most fans look down on bandwagonners, Mooney and Wagner invited them aboard, writing a cheat-sheet to help newbies fake it among the diehards.
A season later, PITB’s popularity had grown, and as the Canucks geared up for their 2011 run to the Stanley Cup Final, Mooney and Wagner got called up to the big stage as well. The blog was picked up by the Vancouver Sun for the playoffs.
“It was an incredible experience,” Mooney explained. “Suddenly, we were meeting all the reporters we’d made fun of. They were surprisingly nice. Everything was, except for, sometimes, they expected us to write on a deadline.”
The Canucks would fall short in PITB’s first pro season, losing to the Boston Bruins in a stunning collapse. But the pair succeeded, winning more readers and a continuing relationship with the newspaper thanks to popular posts like their offbeat “I Watched This Game” recaps and “Spitballin’” series.
Three years of their irreverent brand of hockey coverage later, Pass it to Bulis has found a new home at the Courier.
“We’re excited,” Wagner explained. “The Courier has been my favourite newspaper ever since we signed this contract. Though I’m not happy that we have to write this short, introductory article about ourselves.”
“Ugh, I know. This is taking forever,” Mooney complained. “Don’t put that in the article.”
Wagner explained how he promised not to.
Will the new home change anything about the way Mooney and Wagner run the blog?
“Probably not,” Mooney explained. “I mean, it’s possible that the Canucks will crush our spirit at some point and it’ll be just too sad to make jokes. But after 30 years of cheering for this team, I’m beginning to suspect the human spirit is uncrushable.”
Pass it to Bulis is Harrison Mooney and Daniel Wagner. They’re not your stereotypical bloggers. Only one of them lives in a basement. Reach one or both of them at passittobulis@gmail.com.
