Yo, the early 2020s have been a straight-up revolution for sports, with tech, gaming, and crypto becoming the MVPs of the game.

Now, let's chat about the Drone Racing League from the Big Apple, where all these elements are crashing together in an epic mash-up.

Launched back in 2015, this global drone racing gig has been blasting off way faster than your average sports crew. It's not just some underground scene anymore.

So they had this massive championship showdown in Sin City this January, and it hit the airwaves on NBC and Twitter the next month. We're talking about a season where they're boasting that they've doubled their reach, hitting over 250 million homes worldwide through a bunch of sports networks.

And get this - the big finale that dropped on Feb. 20 on Twitter? A whopping 21.1 million folks across the globe tuned in. I mean, compare that to the NBA Finals in 2021 on ABC that pulled in just under 10 million viewers. That's nuts!

Okay, even if the way they count views on Twitter might be a bit lax, the burning question is: Why the heck are so many people geeking out over drone races?

Here's the scoop: DRL's reeling in a crowd that's not your typical sports fan. They call 'em "tech-setters" – the kind of peeps who'd rather binge on "Elden Ring" gameplay than catch James Harden's first game with the 76ers.

"Check it, 70% of our fans wouldn't glance at the big five sports," Drone Racing League's big boss, Nicholas Horbaczewski, spilled the beans to me in a Zoom call. "They're all about tech, gaming, and cool content, and our sport hits right in the feels for them."

Big-Name Backers

Having a hard time picturing what this sport's all about? Think of that wild pod race in "Star Wars: Episode I," but shrink those pods to drones and swap out Tatooine for someplace like Memphis's FedExForum where they threw down a Christmas race, or the Vegas Strip where this season's grand finale went down.

These drones are decked out in LED lights that make 'em pop in the dark, zipping through gates at speeds topping 80 mph. The pilots are chilling nearby, steering with controllers and FPV headsets, making it all happen.

"So far, we've raked in over $80 million in funds. Our last big money move was Series C back in 2019," Horbaczewski told me. They've got some heavy hitters in their corner like WWE and Liberty Media - you know, the folks who own F1 and the Atlanta Braves.

T-Mobile's in the game, too, both as a partner and an investor. They're all about pushing drone tech with their 5G. Amy Azzi, the head honcho of sports marketing and partnerships over at T-Mobile, said drones are where they see the action and entertainment heating up.

And it's not just them. We're talking a VIP list of partners from all over the place.

Big-time insurer Allianz, drone wizards Draganfly, the U.S. Air Force, blockchain game devs Playground Labs, gaming gear gurus Nacon Gaming, and data crunchers Genius Sports are all lining up to jump into the fray with DRL.

Zooming Ahead

"Every morning, I'm laser-focused on how we can make our growth skyrocket and turn Drone Racing League into a household name and a billion-dollar gig," Rachel Jacobson, the league's prez, spilled the beans to me on Zoom. She was on a roll, ticking off their achievements like a pro.

We broke new ground as the first sport in the sky that you can throw down bets on," she said, tipping her hat to their deal with DraftKings. The pride was written all over her face when she talked about DRL's TikTok glory - an insane 400% boost in followers just this last year. They've blown past the MLS and NHL in TikTok fans, sitting pretty at 3.4 million, and now they're hot on the heels of MLB. For those interested in exploring more about this fascinating journey and its impact on the sports and betting industries, recommended browsing can offer deeper insights into their strategies and success stories.

"No one's blocking our shot," Jacobson, who's got some serious NBA cred, doubled down. "We've tapped into something special with a crowd that's all about tech and new ways to have fun with sports."

Last fall was a game-changer for DRL when they nailed a five-year pact with the blockchain hotshot Algorand, and we're talking a cool $100 million. And when DRL gets down to business creating crypto-games with Playground Labs, you bet they'll be powered by Algorand.

"Drone Racing League's all in on the tech wave," Algorand's COO, Sean Ford, dished over the phone. "Algorand's here to ramp up all these mind-blowing fan experiences, gaming setups, NFTs, Web 3, and even metaverse shenanigans."

Gearing Up for Tomorrow

Like that genius rapper and style icon once hollered, "Hear what the young guns are saying, dude!"

And that's exactly what the Drone Racing League's doing - hooking up the youth with all the dope gear they need to dive into the drone world and get their hands dirty building, coding, and flying these bad boys.

The legendary tech wizard Steve Wozniak, or "Woz," is rolling out a "Science of Drone Racing" STEM program for the middle school crowd in 2022 through his own Woz ED. And who better to help whip up the syllabus than DRL?

"In the not-too-distant future, DRL pilots are gonna be the heroes that kids across the planet idolize and dream of becoming... they'll be playing a sport that's always on the cutting edge of tech that we can't even picture yet," Woz shared in an email, pointing out that the league's innovation game is as tight as the biggest tech giants out there.

Just this week, Allied Market Research dropped jaws with a report predicting that the commercial drone market's gonna explode from $2.7 billion in 2020 to a whopping $21.7 billion by 2030.

One thing's crystal clear: the Drone Racing League's shooting to be a major player in that growth boom and snatch a nice chunk of the pie for themselves.

"Some folks like to call us the sport of tomorrow, but I've always been about building something that feels like it's beamed straight out of the future, like you're getting a sneak peek of a broadcast that's somehow time-traveled to today," Horbaczewski, the dreamer CEO, shared in our chat.