Welcome to the new RSL Soapbox, it was time for a change and this is it.
As I have talked to people over the last couple weeks about moving my blog to its new home, everyone has been excited but almost everyone has asked me why. It is a fair question and it deserves answers, so I will give you what I always have tried to do an honest answer:
1.Standalone – When I started this blog it was one of many being done by RCB (Rogue Cavalier Brigade- one of the RSL supporter groups) members and since I was managing their homepage as well it was a natural fit. But like many blogs over time most of the others became orphans with fewer and fewer posts, while I was doing more and more. With the move of RSL to Rio Tinto Stadium, I picked up a new hobby, photography and with that came the ability to shoot match pictures from the sidelines. While that added some great content to the blog it also limited my contact with the RCB and time in the stands. The more time I spent on my blog the less time I was spending on the group or the groups webpage and about midseason I knew they deserved better, so I started making plans to move my blog in the off season.
2. A Great Offer- So about two weeks ago I received an email from a fellow blogger who asked me if I might be interested in joining a group a site that was a collective of fan blogs that cover all types of sports. Now over the last couple year or so I have gotten emails from a number of people asking me to join their blog network and most of them to be honest have been very, very flaky, so I was a bit hesitant but I thought I would check their site out (sbnation.com). To say that I was impressed was an understatement, a great looking site with a lot of features and after checking around a very good reputation. I have always wanted to be able to add some new features to the blog and this will give me a chance to do so. Things like letting you all be a larger part of the content, adding scoreboards and other widgets.
3. A Larger Audience- Do you remember why I started this blog? I got tired of all the negative BS that was out there in 2007, from the stadium debacle, our horrible start, the hyper critical treatment of Jason as he became head coach, those trying to make their own reputations at the cost of the team. All of it was meant to allow me to share my thoughts with people that were in my circle, they knew me or knew the RCB. I have never asked anyone to link to my blog and have actually asked a couple of sites to remove my links. I did that because I wanted to ensure that I could say what I wanted, when I wanted to say it. I try to be positive, I am a fan of RSL and have never denied it, in fact I embrace it. This year when even diehard fans doubted a run to the playoffs, I kept looking at the real numbers which revealed a slight chance, one RSL turned into reality. When people wrote us off against Columbus, I predicted wins in both matches. While I was way off on the score in the Fire match I had no doubts (OK a minor doubt when Fabi missed his PK) that we could win. So I have used the term that what I do on this blog is "spread the gospel of Real", and I am sure some will take offense at that but it truly is what I do, my deepest desire for my blog is to help RSL as a team and organization grow into a club that everyone can support and embrace as their own. Moving to the new blog will open doors to fans who may not know much about RSL, it will allow me to reach more of the RSL fans who may not know my blog exists, and it will let the "gospel of Real" reach a larger audience.
4. More Access- As many of you know I have been treated very well by the RSL staff as far as access to take pictures, do interviews, attend practices, and get some great information for all of you. But as I work to provide better coverage getting access to both MLS and US Soccer will be vital, and simply running a little blog isn’t enough to get you the level of access that I want to have so I can get you better information. SB Nation will help me get into places that I probably wouldn’t get without them.
To ensure full transparency, I will be getting a very (trust me when I say very) small stipend to cover some of the costs but money has never and will never be a motivating factor for me. One of my first questions to them was that I get to keep editorial control; they have no desire to change the focus or message of my blog. It was the content that I provide that they pointed to as why they selected my blog to be the next one added to their site, and I consider that a huge compliment.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Earn The Star