Marbles of different colors race along a winding path on the beach, colliding with each other in a bid for position.
The commentator excitedly narrates the process, breathlessly describing which marble will win.
Has the era of marble racing arrived after the COVID-19 pandemic?
Undoubtedly, marble racing is indeed a relaxing pastime. Its fans even include former England footballer Gary Lineker.
This widely circulated beach video actually comes from a 2016 YouTube channel called Jelle's Marble Runs (JMR), which is the brainchild of Dutch brothers Jelle and Dion Bakker.
Initially, Jelle played regular marble games, but Dion suggested he should be more adventurous.
"All the marble games became very boring," Dion told CNN. "I told Jelle, maybe we should try some race-like videos. So he did, and it worked out great!"
The brothers initially launched the Marble Beach Rally, and after the event became popular, they founded the Marblelympics—now known as the Marble League after a clash with the International Olympic Committee.
The Marble League is an annual traditional event consisting of 16 races, with 16 different marble teams competing against each other.
Each team has different colors and personalities and has its own fan base.
The participating teams include the Green Ducks, O'Rangers, and Raspberry Racers.
The league has an active community page on Reddit, where fans can post memes, videos, and support their favorite teams.
But is marble racing a sport?
"This thing is serious now," Dion said passionately defending marble racing, "People see it as a sport, a real sport, and experience it."
"People see it that way, and it shocks me."
He might be right; last year, the Marble League was broadcast on ESPN8: The Ocho, a 24-hour program on ESPN2 inspired by the 2004 movie "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," showcasing "rare sports." It appeared again in the broadcast this year.
In the past, JMR even partnered with a betting company to livestream the races, allowing viewers to bet on the outcomes in real time.
Dion believes that interest has increased because people found solace in sports during the coronavirus pandemic.
"It takes you to another world without war, full of humanity, and I think that's the magic of it," he said.
"It's a relief. I've received many messages and direct messages from fans thanking us for the videos we make and everything we do for them now."
In the past week, the YouTube channel has reached 3.8 million views and gained over 78,000 new subscribers.
During the same period, the channel's Twitter followers doubled, and Instagram followers increased by twice.
The origins of this marble racing series can be traced back more than 30 years ago, when it was held in the backyard of the brothers' grandfather's house.
"Jelle built the marble tracks, and I started helping," Dion explained. "That was when he was four years old. Most autistic individuals focus on one thing; they just want to keep doing it, and that was one of his activities."
In a 2016 interview with VICE, Jelle said his autism symptoms meant he was "very interested in moving things, sounds, lights, etc.," and building marble tracks and marble racing perfectly satisfied this interest.
Fast forward to 2020, Jelle and American commentator Greg Woods are working full-time on this project.
Meanwhile, Anton Weber from Germany, known in the community as Mellacus, serves as the full-time PR and community manager, as well as the chairman of the Jelle's Marble Runs Committee (JMRC).
JMRC consists of collaborators and fans from around the world.
The channel also has a composer from Greece and a designer from Belgium.
"We decided to bring in talent from around the world," Dion said.
"It's great, cool, and fun to connect and communicate with people from all over the world."
In addition to organizing the Marble League, the first season of Marbula One is currently being posted on YouTube every week, similar to Formula One racing, with qualifying on Saturdays and races on Sundays. It has time segments, and the scoring system is similar to F1.
