Rabble targets sports fans seeking game time camaraderie – The Tennessean
Nashville company Rabble is launching a check-in app to help sports fans find one another and determine the best locations for watching their team.
Through Rabble, founded by Ryan Tyrrell, fans will be able to see where fans of each team congregate in a given city so they can find fellow supporters. They will be able to check in and comment on the location in real time. Check-ins are logged so users have a historical guide of where fans go.
“Sports fans really don’t know how to connect and find each other,” Tyrrell said. “They really don’t know it in real time.”
If Seattle Seahawks fans come to Nashville for the weekend and want to go to a Seahawks bar, the app will point them to the top watering holes for local Seahawks. Or if someone is new to a city but wants to watch with fellow Georgia fans, they will be able to quickly find where other Bulldogs congregate.
For those at a stadium, users can communicate, ask about or share tips on parking, entrances, concessions, etc.
“Fans like to congregate, fans like to share and cheer together, fans like to experience a game together,” Tyrrell said. “We know the demand is there.”
Rabble is working with sports bars to develop a revenue stream and sees revenue opportunities as an advertising platform. The company is self-funded and includes a team of seven individuals divided between Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville.
Tyrrell developed his business expertise in the car washing niche. He built 12 Super Speed Wash facilities in Middle Tennessee and operated them for more than a decade. He sold the business to Mister Car Wash in 2015. A longtime sports fan, Tyrrell decided to turn his entrepreneurial focus to the sports industry.
The app will roll out in Nashville and Tyrrell seeks to spread Rabble to other cities, especially larger cities where finding a sports community becomes more challenging. The company has been in conversations with NFL teams and college alumni groups about a digital campaign for the app.
“Nashville is a great city for this,” Tyrrell said. “We have two pro sports franchises. We have a lot of people moving in town, a lot of away fans moving in and out of here.”
Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter at @JamieMcGee_.