Hey y’all! It’s been a while, so I wanted to check in with my wrestling folks here in the boards.
Most of my summer has been spent deep in background work for Cyclone Fanatic...website/branding projects and helping Chris with his book. It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s pulled me away from the content side. Wrestling (and honestly, all sports) has had its quiet moments and its crazy ones, but I’ve still been checking in here to see what you’re all up to. I even ran into some of the team at the Georges Niang event and got to catch up with Yonger and Anthony, who are both fired up for the season.
While digging through the CF archives, I was cackling at some of the early messages from when I first started. Hard to believe I’ve been talking to some of you for over eight years without meeting you. (Steve Kemp, I’m still not 100% sure which username is yours.)
The best find? A 2018 thread where our good friend
@crablegs went in on me for a story error. I didn't dig too hard but I am sure they weren't wrong about whatever error I must've made in like a 100 word recruiting update. HA! I cried about it back then because I was 22 and wanted everyone’s trust so badly (and I was super sensitive back then), but now it’s hilarious to look back on because I wouldn't do that today. Crablegs and I have had plenty of good interactions since then. Even a few compliments have been sent my way . So nobody yell. Funny how far I’ve come as a writer and a person. Feedback here has always mattered, good or bad. It gives me an opportunity to grow when I am able to hear it from the people consuming the content. Plus, I’ve got tougher skin these days, so I’m ready to swing back if I have to! (Joking, kind of, ha!)
Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with me and to those who’ve joined along the way. I still carry it as a badge of honor that I've grown wrestling coverage here. I’ve never cared about clicks or views. Truly I just focus on there being coverage even if only five of you read it. That’s still true today. BUT, thankfully we do have more than five people reading and consuming content each season. It's what has made it possible to do things like have a wrestling podcast and my ability to travel for the Big 12 and National championships! Hopefully we continue to see growth in fan engagement. The more growth and demand we have from the audience, the easier it is to sell the investment. I’m so excited for this season that I already RSVP’d no to a bachelorette party because it’s during Nationals. (No worries to anyone who finds sports and wedding scheduling a hot topic. They understood and knew this was a possibility from the moment they got engaged.)
Our new intern, Jackson, just finished a summer wrestling notebook I’m editing now. It’s his first wrestling piece, and after almost a decade, I figured I could share the mic a bit. He’s eager to learn, loves the sport. This was a good opportunity to give him a chance to try something different and teach him something new! Plus, it's exciting to see a young college student want to learn the sport more and get familiar with writing about it.
Hope you’re all having a great summer. Once my big CF projects wrap, I’ll be back in full content mode. As always, my DMs are open for whatever!
Cheers!
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