This is very disappointing, but in the interest of full disclosure, it's important to offer thanks to one Will Leitch. Actually, he's quite responsible not only for this blog, but all the incredible amounts of work time we've been allowed to waste. And now, he's moving on to bigger and better things. So it's worth noting that almost two years and one former Husker Head Football coach ago, this blog has been all his fault.
It was August, 2006. To borrow a line from Don Henley (who frankly gave this silly blog it's title), another summer's promise was almost gone. But more importantly, year three of the Bill Callahan era was about to begin, and ironically enough, it was to be his most successful year. I started to write an email to Mackenzie about how pissed I was about really all of the local media giving Callahan a pass. There were all of these rumors coming out of Memorial Stadium about Billy C and Stevie Peterson, but nobody, at THAT time, dare to speak a discouraging word about the Husker program. Mainly it was the whole Harrison Beck fallout that had me concerned. Beck was touted as the next big thing the second Callahan laid eyes on him, only to bolt the team that August.
So I started to write the email, then thought, "Really, does Mackenzie give a shit? He thinks the same thing. Who cares?" So on a boring afternoon, I found a blogger name (and really, couldn't come up with anything for a name, but since I was pissed at the media, naming it after the very song that lambasts all things of that sort seemed to fit), and basically cut and pasted the email I was about to send to Mackenzie and wrote the very first post here.
I'd known about Deadspin for a little over a month, and was starting to go to it daily. For no reason other than the fact that I wanted to, I emailed the blog to tips@deadspin.com. And that was it. Until about five hours later, I learned the power of Deadspin.
My email in-box had already been set to filter out any and every piece of junk email, so anything that came through was somewhat legitimate. I had over thirty new emails, all people I've never heard of, some named "Anonymous", attacking me about the Bill Callahan blog I had just written, the one that was just some email I was going to give Mac. I later went to Deadspin and saw that Will lead off that day's Blogdome edition, subtitled "Clueless Cornhusker?" with my piece. And this little blog was flooded with eyeballs, most of them who were so amped up they frankly wanted me dead. People wound up writing to Will himself, asking how would dare link to such a blog. It was like having your debut song become some small unexpected hit that wound up cracking the top 100. So we had something. There was no way we'd ever be able to break Husker Football news (Huskerpedia.com was doing that better than everyone then, and still do now). But we'd be a voice that could openly criticize and say whatever the hell we wanted about the football program. Or at least go out further on the limb than say Tom Shatel.
We've still had occasional posts linked to Deadspin's blogdome, and even had two posts featured (the "Casting Moneyball Movie" and Mackenzie's "Midget Basketball" pieces). In fact, Will emailed regarding both of those blogs, saying how much he enjoyed reading them. And that was nice.
Of course about a year after that first blog debuted, everyone was clawing at Billy C and company. And now everyone is drinking the Pelini Kool-Aid (we're even guilty of that to an extent, but just wait until the Virginia Tech game...), almost like they did when Callahan first rode into town and promised big things. And now Will Leitch is moving on to bigger and better things. Which isn't surprising because he's an extremely talented writer, and has a very good gig awaiting him at New York magazine, all the more impressive when you consider Will is only 32 years old.
I don't think Deadspin will change once Will officially leaves as editor (hell, he's still going to do the occasional posting there). But anyone and everyone who knows about this place does so because of Will, because of Deadspin. Almost one-year ago, "The Sopranos" officially stopped making new episodes. We always knew that would happen, and always knew Will would move on too. But if you ever kill time reading our stuff here, just remember it's all some contributing editor of New York magazine's fault.
It was August, 2006. To borrow a line from Don Henley (who frankly gave this silly blog it's title), another summer's promise was almost gone. But more importantly, year three of the Bill Callahan era was about to begin, and ironically enough, it was to be his most successful year. I started to write an email to Mackenzie about how pissed I was about really all of the local media giving Callahan a pass. There were all of these rumors coming out of Memorial Stadium about Billy C and Stevie Peterson, but nobody, at THAT time, dare to speak a discouraging word about the Husker program. Mainly it was the whole Harrison Beck fallout that had me concerned. Beck was touted as the next big thing the second Callahan laid eyes on him, only to bolt the team that August.
So I started to write the email, then thought, "Really, does Mackenzie give a shit? He thinks the same thing. Who cares?" So on a boring afternoon, I found a blogger name (and really, couldn't come up with anything for a name, but since I was pissed at the media, naming it after the very song that lambasts all things of that sort seemed to fit), and basically cut and pasted the email I was about to send to Mackenzie and wrote the very first post here.
I'd known about Deadspin for a little over a month, and was starting to go to it daily. For no reason other than the fact that I wanted to, I emailed the blog to tips@deadspin.com. And that was it. Until about five hours later, I learned the power of Deadspin.
My email in-box had already been set to filter out any and every piece of junk email, so anything that came through was somewhat legitimate. I had over thirty new emails, all people I've never heard of, some named "Anonymous", attacking me about the Bill Callahan blog I had just written, the one that was just some email I was going to give Mac. I later went to Deadspin and saw that Will lead off that day's Blogdome edition, subtitled "Clueless Cornhusker?" with my piece. And this little blog was flooded with eyeballs, most of them who were so amped up they frankly wanted me dead. People wound up writing to Will himself, asking how would dare link to such a blog. It was like having your debut song become some small unexpected hit that wound up cracking the top 100. So we had something. There was no way we'd ever be able to break Husker Football news (Huskerpedia.com was doing that better than everyone then, and still do now). But we'd be a voice that could openly criticize and say whatever the hell we wanted about the football program. Or at least go out further on the limb than say Tom Shatel.
We've still had occasional posts linked to Deadspin's blogdome, and even had two posts featured (the "Casting Moneyball Movie" and Mackenzie's "Midget Basketball" pieces). In fact, Will emailed regarding both of those blogs, saying how much he enjoyed reading them. And that was nice.
Of course about a year after that first blog debuted, everyone was clawing at Billy C and company. And now everyone is drinking the Pelini Kool-Aid (we're even guilty of that to an extent, but just wait until the Virginia Tech game...), almost like they did when Callahan first rode into town and promised big things. And now Will Leitch is moving on to bigger and better things. Which isn't surprising because he's an extremely talented writer, and has a very good gig awaiting him at New York magazine, all the more impressive when you consider Will is only 32 years old.
I don't think Deadspin will change once Will officially leaves as editor (hell, he's still going to do the occasional posting there). But anyone and everyone who knows about this place does so because of Will, because of Deadspin. Almost one-year ago, "The Sopranos" officially stopped making new episodes. We always knew that would happen, and always knew Will would move on too. But if you ever kill time reading our stuff here, just remember it's all some contributing editor of New York magazine's fault.
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3 comments:
Double Nickel got reviewed by Peter King
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/06/08/offseason/index.html
Where's the recap from your get at home at 6am weekend in NYC?
Keep writing about the Skers. I have givne you credit before but you DL were the first the pull the 4 star recruiting blinders off me when it came to Billy C.
I was trying to give him a chance to succeed,I approved of ditching the offense to a pass oriented atttafk.
Some skers fan wanted him to fail, and fail hard.
How else do you explain, people in Nebraska buyin Frank Solich Ohio tickets.
G
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