Hello Followers. Hope you've had a great weekend.
Well, as you can tell from the recent set of events, its been a busy one on my end.
And so, today, we start the beginning of a new era: THE COUGALICIOUS BLOG.
The reason for this blog? The time has come to start anew.
Mind you, leaving the blog that SeanHawk and I built together with Rooster and Hooty many moons ago is not without SIGNIFICANT dissonance and sadness.
But alas, the time has come.
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When Sean and I started the blog--er when SEAN started the WSU Football Blog--we did so in an effort to write about Cougar football without getting in trouble at work.
And so, the blog began in earnest as a forum for eliciting e-mail-esque comments and commentary. Nothing more. Nothing less.
But then, after a year in business, the 2005 season came to pass. And, as that season began, we found ourselves at the end of a quarterback controversy: Alex Brink was named the starter over my favorite QB at the time, Josh Swogger.
So, as a protest to a decision I figured would ruin Cougar Football, I came up with the moniker, "Brinkhater." Of course, that name made Sean and Hooty so darn mad they nearly kicked me off the blog. (In fact, Hooty started a new blog: brinkhaterhater.blogspot.com)
But as the years went on, the name stuck and so did the Steven Colbert-esque schtick that went along with it.....
At the same time the Brinkhater character was emerging, Sean had become a writer at AOL--leaving me all alone at the helm of the blog. And somewhere along that time, Longball and P-Town started reading and commenting. And then when Sean returned to the blog full time, the blog really started to pick up steam.
In fact, the blog started to do so well that we actually started getting some press FROM REAL FRICKING REPORTERS!:
I mean, within a few short years, Ted Miller at ESPN.com started to link to us, Vince Grippi started to link to us regularly, Sean got us notes in the NY Times, and NBC sports, and AS importantly, Longball joined our team!
You see, not only did Longball fit all the criteria of a kindred soul (e.g. he was a total idiot!), he also was a Pullman townie. So, while Longball fit the tenor of the blog to a T, he was also actually IN TOWN to cover action live!
And for us, that was REALLY IMPORTANT because during fall camp we had a sideline reporter that could cover all the insights of the camp in ways that others couldn't (And LB, ten questions was one of the greatest things EVER!), and he also gave courtside insight during basketball season!
But alas, as this year dawned, the landscape had changed. Our page views and visits were down considerably. Our colleagues/rivals over at Cougcenter.com had gained real credentials for events and were actually at games, in the press box, and writing stories like real stinking journalists. And, of course, Longball left Pullman to start a new legacy of "Logan's Heroes."
And all of the links from the real famous people? Well, they stopped coming. And while we embarked on building this blog based largely on intrinsic motivations, the sad reality is that those external rewards wound up mattering A LOT (in fact too much), especially when you're writing about one of the most irrelevant Major College athletic programs in the country for nearly 52 weeks a year--FOR EIGHT YEARS--for no $$$$$$$.
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And so, as we head to the question for today's post? Why do spin-offs fail? Well, ONE REASON why spin offs fail is because the main gig that they followed was already on its down-side.
So, when you look at failures like
Joanie Loves Chachi
or
The Ropers
you can surmise that those spin offs bombed because "Happy Days" had already Jumped the Shark and "Three's Company," well, was Jack Tripper ever that funny to begin with?
Of course, spin-offs also occur and fail for other reasons--such as when the "leader" of the previous franchise was unable to keep up with the needs and purposes of the company they helped to start.
And so it is with me and the WSU Football Blog: The vitality of that effort (WSUFB) depends on that blog taking a different direction--one that simply could not happen while I was still involved with it.
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And so "we" now head into a new chapter of blog idiocy.
Now, what can you expect from this particular blog? The answer, "Probably Not much."
But that's a post for Tuesday.
In the meantime, my best, best wishes to the WSU Football Blog--especially to the group of talented Blogfathers that I really admire--Longball, LucasCoug, Huddy, Tommy, and Adam. I am greatly looking forward to helping you and the entire Cougar blog-o-sphere exceed my point total in comments as the rest of the season unfolds.
And to Sean Hawkins, well....
Enjoy Your Week. And Go Cougs!
(Follow me, if you so dare, on twitter)
