After serving as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 years, Mike Tomlin retired last year with an impressive record: two Super Bowl appearances, one championship, and nearly two decades of his team winning more games than they lost. He has since turned to a career in Minecraft streaming.
Dino is the reason Tomlin ever started his YouTube channel last month. It was Dino who convinced him to share his work with an audience. And what he shared was a Minecraft map he’s been building for 12 years. Tomlin’s skill with the game is now on full display.
A well-built city boasts many fine structures, including sports arenas, and even a CVS or two, because what’s modern urban living without a pharmacy? Tomlin plays in Creative mode, without all those pesky monsters or resource collection to worry about, and he notes early on that he’d always aspired to be an architect. He has clearly taken to Minecraft as a sort of complex Lego simulator.
The 12-Year Map
Tomlin began playing around with the sandbox game as a means of bonding with his three children, and kept at it even after they had grown past the age group that usually plays it. He has been adding to this single map for 12 years.
Why It Works
It’s not just that the video is exceptionally adorable—although it is—but how seriously, gently, and happily Tomlin presents it all. There’s something incredibly soothing about hearing this guy talk about how he worried there were enough bathrooms in his public facilities, or expressed mild disgruntlement at the aesthetics of Minecraft’s sometimes silly paintings.
It’s an extremely laid-back video, which may be the reason over 2 million viewers have tuned in within two days of Tomlin and his son uploading their first clip to the internet.
The Reaction
Criticism has not been absent. After Tomlin started building his magnum opus, several of his playoff win rate fell from 62.5 percent to 25 percent. Tomlin’s old NFL rivals have posted jokes about him this weekend, and at least one analyst suggested that the Steelers’ is the man who brought that change about.
The claim is a joke, not a fact. The real record shows two Super Bowl appearances, one championship, and nearly two decades of winning more games than losing.
| Metric | Tomlin’s Record |
|---|---|
| Super Bowl appearances | Two |
| Super Bowl wins | One |
| Years coaching | Nearly two decades |
| Win-loss record | More wins than losses |
| Mode | Feature |
|---|---|
| Creative mode | No monsters, no resource collection |
| Real life | Managing some of the most alpha personalities on the planet for nearly 20 years |
For nearly 20 years, Tomlin managed some of the most alpha personalities on the planet. He treated his football team with care, and he treats his virtual city with the same care. He worries about bathroom counts and the aesthetics of silly paintings.
This tale’s central figure is a man who spent nearly two decades managing some of the most dominant personalities on the planet, and he now treats his virtual city with the same care he showed toward his football team. He is happy, gentle, and utterly serious about it all.
See the video the story is built around at The A.V. Club.
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