The Evolution of Michael Brantley
April 23, 2014Tribe defense has been historically bad thus far
April 23, 2014We have long joked about the veritable cemetery of websites, or “blogs”, that has grown exponentially since the summer of 2010. Ask anyone who has opposed the advent or proliferation of web-based properties over the years, and—after some dullard comment about basements and underwear—they would likely point to the fact that anyone can start a blog. This claim is unequivocally true. Anyone with access to the Internet and the wherewithal to land on a Blogspot or WordPress page could, with a few minutes of their time, start a blog. But that point, the moment in time where your URL is officially live, is simply the beginning. The doors may be open for business, but only through dedication, hard work and a little bit of luck will you find people willing to walk through them. And getting them to come back for more? That’s a whole new ball game.
By now, you may or may not have noticed the slight, more colorful change to our sidebar. Gone is the “Vote for WFNY” advertisement; replacing it is the word that WFNY has officially been named the Best Sports Blog and Best Podcast in Cleveland for 2014 by the kind folks over at Cleveland Scene Magazine. This isn’t our first “Best of” award, and it (hopefully) won’t be the last, but I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t the most important.
This isn’t much of a news flash to anyone who visits these very pages, but things haven’t exactly been the best when it comes to the very topics we cover. Last season’s run by the Indians was the first over-.500 season of any of the three teams we cover in what was a three-year span. Just think about this—three teams, over three years, and only one winning season to combat eight losing ones. But it hasn’t just been the losing. There’s been ownership changes, FBI raids, front office turmoil, attendance issues, Chief Wahoo debates, the sin tax…You name it: If it has little to do with those on the field, and there is a modicum of sport ties to it, it’s likely happening in Cleveland.
This, of course, leads to a complete deviation from the original plan. What we had assumed we were getting ourselves into—getting to share our thoughts about three winning teams with the rest of a sports-crazy town—has, over time, morphed into a borg of depression and frustration. During our first day on the job, our windows were clean, our doors were open, and the sidewalk out front had been power washed to the best of our ability. We wrote mostly for friends and family as the occasional passer-by stumbled in. Looking back at that day, we really could not have timed the top of the Cleveland sports market any worse. Romeo Crennel had just signed a two-year contract extension after his Browns shocked the world with a 10-win season. The Cavs had just entered their first season as reigning Eastern Conference Champions. The Indians were set to avenge their postseason disappointment, one which had them one game away from being in the World Series against a Colorado team they most surely could have topped. Things were freaking fantastic. And then we showed up.
Maintaining these pages on a daily basis for what has now been more than six years has not been easy. We have waxed nostalgic about this very website many times over, most recently during our fifth birthday which was—somehow—over a year ago. We may be the ones to put the words on the pages, but if it wasn’t for you all, I know I can speak for the rest of those in the WFNY masthead when I say that it would be incredibly difficult to muster the motivation to produce anything that could be considered quality content.
We want to take this time to not only thank you all for coming to this website on a daily basis, but for interacting, for calling us out on our shortcomings, and for appreciating what we have been able to provide since that fateful day when we were writing for—well, ourselves. We want to especially thank the three teams in Cleveland and their communications efforts. While the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers will be the first to tell anyone who will listen that the on-field product has left a lot to be desired, they have also been big reasons why we are where we are today. The trust that they have instilled in us to not only meander about locker rooms and clubhouses, but have exclusive, thought-provoking interviews with players, coaches and executives—we couldn’t be more appreciative. To our friends in the media who have not only supported what WFNY has done over the years, but for treating us as peers as we “work” alongside you. To Tom Reed, Terry Pluto, Dennis Manoloff, Marla Ridenour and the countless others who have come on the WFNY Podcast and have made it be named the “best” in such a short amount of time. To the folks over at 92.3 The Fan—especially Joe Lull, Chris Fedor and Andy Roth—who have given us the air time to not only share our story, but to share our thoughts on items specific to Cleveland sports. And a very special Thank You to Esquire Magazine’s Scott Raab who, despite deadlines and dreadful topics, took time out of his always-hectic schedule to stop and talk shop on the WFNY Podcast on a weekly basis.
As Pulitzer-prize winning writer Don Van Natta Jr. once said best, no one will remember our tweets, but if we’re lucky, they’ll remember our work. Starting a blog is the easy part. Keeping them going takes drive. It takes fuel—fuel which you’ve all been so gracious to provide over more than half of a decade.
The web-based landscape has changed immensely over the last six years. Long gone are the days of repackaged news, snarky, baseless commentary and LOLcats. Here are the days of in-depth coverage, reporting, analysis and—for lack of better terms—being there. While Twitter and Facebook and various other mediums of thought-sharing and information curation have taken away from our space, WFNY has managed to thrive, independently, without venture capital backing or the benefits of network-based dissemination. We’ve managed to thrive based on a collective vision and passion for what we do, aiming to get better every single day, but we’ve also managed to thrive because of you, your thirst for Cleveland Sports discussion, and your desire to have been a part of this entire journey when we can all finally say that we’re done Waiting.
From all of us at WFNY past, present and future,
Thank You.
60 Comments
I prefer “VP of Commenting.” It’s a BS title anyways.
(Knew what you meant, but couldn’t find the gif, so I went in another direction.)
sincerely sorry for my underestimation.
also, like the repurposing of the Beatles song there too. you cannot buy the love we have for WFNY.
don’t worry, Dikembe is already having his lawyers draw up the papers.
stretching it a bit, maybe?
When Houston pairs Watt up with Clowney…bad things man, bad things…
“I thought he was primarily referring to the staff writers”
Former staff writers are exempt from this statement, obvi.
and, to think, i had you pegged as an “LOLcats” kinda guy.
Andrew Luck is pouting about that possibility:
https://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/831807920.gif?1388880010