Saturday, July 31, 1999

Razorfish and Agency -- taking it to the diamond

"Silicon Alley Rivals Meet on the Playing Field" -- A "field" report from James Pearson of Razorfish

According to news reports on the culture of Silicon Alley, the last place you might expect to find Silicon Alley's best and brightest at 9 am on a Saturday morning would be in Central Park. You might expect to find them hunched over their computers fast asleep after a long night of coding or at home just getting to bed after a late night at a club, but certainly not up early on Saturday and in the mood for a little exercise and healthy competition. But that is, in fact, where 60 Razorfish and Agency.Com employees were last Saturday morning. Most came to play, and some to cheer on their team as Razorfish trounced Agency.com 21-22 in one of the most competitive softball games of the summer.

A sense of play abounded as Razorfish employees played and cheered their way to victory. Dogs ran around the field, shouts of 'good eye', 'nice hit' and 'bring it on home' rang from the stands, and a ukulele made a very special appearance to lead the crowd in an original version of the early 1980 s hit, "We Will Rock You." Razorfish first base coach James Pearson also entertained the fans by singing an original song, "We love you Razorfish" accompanied by Tim Kelly on the ukulele. Not even the ninety-eight degree heat could keep the Razorfish team and supporters from donning their long-sleeved team jerseys. "It's like elementary school all over again remarked," Maria Sund. A large crowd gathered to watch the game, drawn by the boisterous spirit and close competition of the game.

Razorfish got off to a slow start, and by the end of the fourth inning, was down 14-7 despite the pitching excellence of Jeff Dachis and Jose Cabeller. Despite strong fielding skills, Razorfish was not able to slow down the firepower of Agency.com's small, but strong team. Joe Epstein's three run homer and Scott Kolb's homer at the bottom of the fourth helped narrow the gap, but Razorfish was definitely in a difficult position at the start of the 5th inning. A tightening of the lineup from twenty-four hitters down to ten helped Razorfish concentrate its firepower and give Agency.com a run for their money. At the bottom of the 5th inning, Razorfish's Richard Ting hit a homer to bring in 2 runners, narrowing the score to 14-10. The infield and outfield continued to do a great job at stopping Agency.com, but it was still a game of catch-up.

The consistent hitting power and fielding expertise of Razorfish closed the gap to 19-17 by the top of the seventh and final inning. As time constraints were beginning to kick in and a sense of tension hit at the top of the seventh, Agency.com continued their strong hitting streak and the score rose to 21-17 by the bottom of the seventh. But Razorfish was unstoppable, hitting strongly and causing Agency.com to commit errors. The final score of 21-22 was Razorfish's hard fought victory, celebrated with wild cheering, photographs and a tub of ice water dumped on Razorfish pitcher (and CEO) Jeff Dachis.