Oroville resident Michelle Thompson announces for the American Cornhole League and ESPN on April 21, 2023 in Topeka, Kansas. (Haley Shedd, American Cornhole League/Contributed)
OROVILLE — Oroville resident Michelle Thompson’s love for the corn hole began like many others — throwing bags in her backyard with her family. She and her husband Niklas became more competitive with the sport and now the passion has turned into a career.
Michelle Thompson is under contract with the American Cornhole League as an announcer and play-by-play commentator, as well as an analyst who hosts two podcasts a week and assists with another.
The ACL is signed to ESPN and CBS Sports, where Thompson can be seen interviewing players on the sidelines at ACL events around the country. ACL has a contract with ESPN and in 2023 it made 16 broadcasts on platforms ranging from ESPN3 (a streaming platform), to ESPN, ESPN2 and CBS Sports.
In the first week of August, Thompson heads to the 2023 ACL World Championships, billed as the Super Bowl of the Cornhole, where she will do nine shows in 10 days.
“I had asked a lot of times about sideline reporting because I just felt like I could do it even though I have no experience in sideline reporting,” Thompson said. “I thought I could do it, I kept asking, and finally the CMO — chief marketing officer — said we’ll give you a trial. When he said that I was like “Oh what did I do.” I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I just felt that the role was meant for me because the previous sideline reporters had no knowledge of the corn hole. Although I had no side reporting experience, I had a lot of knowledge and love for the game. I also have a personal relationship with many of the players, so it seemed natural that I would be the one to interview them.
Thompson’s journey began in 2021 when a series of events led her to her current position at ACL. She started competing as a player in early 2021 with her husband. Nicklas Thompson started playing competitively, and as she said, “I figured I had to start playing competitively or I’d probably never see him because he got addicted to it.” The couple started the Dirty 530 Cornhole Club – Oroville, a branch of the original Dirty 530 in Yuba City. Shortly after, Michelle Thompson started a podcast with two other women called Girls Throw Too, from which she subsequently moved.
Later in 2021, ACL heard about Girls Throw Too, liked it, and contacted Thompson to gauge her interest in joining their organization’s commentary team. Thompson had just finished her coursework for her doctorate in psychology, but put her dissertation on hold.
“I put everything on hold because this rare opportunity came up at the same time, and there’s no way I could have done a research project at the same time,” Thompson said.
She tried out for the Spencer McKenzie Throw Down in Ventura in August 2021, the ACL liked it and she was hired for the following season where she made 25 appearances.
During her time as an ACL spokesperson, Thompson has met with many ACL professionals, celebrities such as Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter, and many athletes, including former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens. She’s never been shocked by any of the celebrities, but instead loves hearing their passion for the charities they support.
“It was great to meet Scott Porter and also hear his story about why he supports the charity that he does and how passionate he was about it,” Thompson said when talking about his interview with Porter. “He was telling me how his wife and family were dealing with the issues the charity was dealing with and I actually got kind of emotional about it.”
Thompson also talked about his interactions with the ACL pros, who have now become friends.
“These are people that I wouldn’t normally see very often because they live all over the world, but I still see them as much as all my local friends,” Thompson said. “Not only the athletes, but also my broadcast team. I feel like we’ve built a really strong relationship between the broadcast team and the commentators and it’s really nice to be a part of something that’s out there and supports that audience of people.”
In addition to Thompson’s work as a sideline speaker, commentator and analyst, she hosts several podcasts with ACL. Around The ACL is a spinoff of Around the Horn where two analysts go through different events. The second podcast is called Baggin’ and Braggin’, where Thompson, analyst Wally Kasler and an occasional guest cover the sports betting aspect of the cornhole, in addition to player highlights and events. ACL Live airs on Monday nights and is a live show where a series of ACL commentators switch hosts.
Thompson does all of her podcasting from her home office, but has traveled to 16 events this season and more to come, as summer is her busiest season. She is preparing for the World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the home of the ACL, from July 29-Aug. 7.
Psychology forms a path
As for where Thompson hopes this venture into broadcasting will take her, she believes it has to do with her previous work in psychology.
Before broadcasting, Thompson helped women with binge eating, body image and weight loss. She speaks at events, speaks on news segments and publishes books on these topics. She assumed her career would stay in that realm, but since then she’s learned psychology and the corn hole are more intertwined than she thought.
“The funny thing is, the same principles I was teaching these women about their bodies and their weight, I’m teaching cornhole players because cornhole is a mental game,” Thompson said. “My background is in psychology and human behavior, so I use that, but I create courses for the players where I help them get more into their bodies using things like yoga and meditation, mind/body training, positive affirmations.”
Speaking in front of crowds and being on live television helped Thompson from the beginning when he was broadcasting. It was just a matter of learning little things like doing interviews with a headset and someone talking in your ear during the interview.
“I felt like I could do things like that because I’m good at multitasking, but I didn’t have any concrete evidence,” Thompson said. “It was really fun, I got a lot of positive feedback. I meet several times with the producers, the head of our production company and their vice president. Everyone seems happy, so I guess it’s working.
What next
After talking to cornhole players about their mental health and staying focused while playing the cornhole, Thompson believes it’s a natural place for players to ask about their bodies or health.
She hopes to eventually return to her work in psychology and said her ultimate goal is a reality TV show.
“I’ve wanted this for many years to help people with their bodies,” Thompson said. “I feel like that might be part of it because one of the things I would notice when I’ve worked with women over the years is that they struggle to have hobbies or soulful things to do outside of parenting, and the corn hole can fill that gap.” The other void they usually have is community and friendships, and Cornhole is very community-oriented and social, so I feel like I can tie it all together.
For now, she’s focused on her work with ACL, knowing she’s been given a rare opportunity and can enroll in a Ph.D. program to complete his dissertation at any time.
Michelle and Nicklas Thompson also run the DFT Oroville Cornhole Club, which is temporarily suspended as the group searches for a new home in Oroville. The group, which drew nearly 100 people every Wednesday night, had been using the Gold Country Casino event room for the past year, but a new marketing manager took over and forced the group out. The Thompsons said if anyone knows of a 5,000 to 10,000 square foot space and would be willing to host them Wednesday night, please contact their Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/505289797496369.
For those interested in playing cornhole around Butte County, DFT Paradise meets Thursdays at Veterans Memorial Hall, Just Send It Cornhole meets Friday nights in Palermo/Oroville Thursday nights at the Kelly Ridge Event Center, and Backyard Baggers meets Mondays at the Fraternal Order of Eagles at 1940 Mulberry Street in Chico.