Tobias Sigmir

Tobias Sigmir is a Disco Ixi and commentator at the Altador Cup. Tobias Sigmir had wanted to be a commentator for sports ever since he was little. His first memory was of watching Clockwork Yooyus fly back and forth. But as exciting as that was, Tobias admits his love of sports commenting stems from a different event. When he was five, his dad took him to a Gormball tournament on the Virtupets Space Station. The game was running into overtime, and the players were exhausted. Then suddenly a hasty throw sent the Gormball into the crowd, where it exploded, soaking everyone. In the chaos, no one knew what was going on or what the score was. That was, until a Grundo sportscaster with a megaphone roared out the whereabouts of the next Gormball. Everything got back on track, and the game finished most satisfactorily -- especially for one little Ixi, who got a scoop of Intergalactic Ice Cream. That's when he resolved to learn everything he needed to know to be a proper sportscaster. 

Years later, Tobias was at the top of his field, ready to step into the shoes of the famous Altadorian sportscaster, Lemonade Jones. He wasn't that fond of Yooyuball, to be honest, but it was the right game for him if he wanted to make it to the big leagues of Gormball. This was in the early days of the Altador Cup, you understand, so perhaps you can forgive Tobias for underestimating the prominence of Yooyuball in Neopia in the years to come. He felt he had jumped through enough hoops; he was ready to earn big money, not waste time on Yooyuball. 

Tobias was heading to the Altador Cup stadium for a big game, in fact, when he was stopped by a thin Grarrl in rags. "Spare a Neopoint?" the Grarrl asked pathetically. He didn't look like he had much hope that Tobias would actually help. "Why do you need a Neopoint?" Tobias asked, thinking he'd just go ahead and buy the Grarrl the food he wanted. "To see the game," the Grarrl said. His eyes shone despite his obvious hunger. "Yooyuball is my dream." Tobias looked at him in consternation. All his grouchiness faded away. "First," he said, "Yooyuball tickets are free. You don't need to buy one. Second, you should get something to eat; that's important too. And third..." He slowly grinned, thinking of the hot dogs that awaited him in the commentator's box. The view of the game from there was excellent, of course. "I think I know just the place." All the training and profit in the world can't replace a heartfelt passion for the game, after all.

Nowadays, of course, both Tobias and Hovri hold degrees in journalism and have collected many awards for their work on Yooyuball reporting. But they never forget to eat hot dogs together during their first game each year. 

Trivia

On the 24th of June 2014, Sigmir and his colleague Hovri Sweet received the honor of a Neopedia article.