Explained: why the Minecraft city a Super Bowl-winning coach built over 12 years has taken over the internet

Who and what: Mike Tomlin, the coach who led the Pittsburgh Steelers and won a Super Bowl, posted his first YouTube video on September 30: a tour of the city he has been building for 12 years in Minecraft's Creative Mode. It features boutique hotels with detailed bathrooms, housing developments, luxury apartments with aquariums and even a CVS.

Why it went viral: the charm is in the contrast. Tomlin presents everything in a monotone, obsessing over lighting, bathroom layouts and bedroom floor plans, and drops an 'I'm not going to bore you with too much detail' after about 15 minutes on bedrooms. The video topped 1.5 million views, drew comments from the official NFL and Minecraft accounts, and one fan summed it up as 'the modern dad's model train track.'

What's next: it was his son Dino who convinced him to share the project; his sons handled the music and editing, and Mayce joked on X that his PlayStation would disappear whenever his dad wanted to play. On 'Late Night with Seth Meyers', Tomlin said he started playing to connect with his sons, finds it therapeutic, and that they told him: 'Dad, this is even bigger than we thought. You broke the internet.' He is now in his first year as an NBC analyst on 'Football Night in America'.