Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 7:00PM Tip of the cap to a friend and fellow blogger
Sports blogging isn't an easy occupation to pursue.
So while I'm disappointed that my friend Mike McClary has decided to close shop on his Detroit Tigers blog, The Daily Fungo, I completely understand the feeling.
Six years is a long time to grind out regular content. The beast continued to get hungrier as the Tigers have become a playoff contender during that period.
But as much fun as following a good team's postseason run can be, it can also really wear you down. I think I can speak for Mike and most other Tigers bloggers when I say this past October became pretty grueling. It almost gets to the point where you want to see your team lose because it means you'll get a break.
(Personally, I'm not sure I've taken as much of a break as I should have, once baseball season ended. Even if you're not writing, you often think about what you could or should write. It's a hard adjustment, though one that your body will tell you needs to be made.)
Most of us got into blogging (sports or otherwise) as a hobby, because we wanted to write what we weren't reading from mainstream media. And also, because we liked to write.
Some of us actually dared hope that our work would get noticed by the right people and we could turn this hobby into a profession. Unfortunately, the industry hasn't really worked out that way except for a very select few.
(Do I put myself in that category? Yes and no. I've been extremely lucky and am very grateful for the opportunties I've had as a sports blogger. But I'm not in a position to buy a house, raise a family or anything like that. And to be honest, I'm often worried that my current jobs won't always be available.)
Though it's exciting and gratifying to get attention for your work, this endeavor eventually reaches a point where you have to get something out of it for all the time and work you put in. Getting a huge spike in traffic because you were linked on Deadspin, ESPN.com or Yahoo! Sports doesn't usually translate into material gain. And if you're devoting even 20 hours a week to this, you need something to show for it. Preferably straight cash, homey.
It doesn't all just come down to money, of course. You need the time to write. Or you have to make the time. If the desire isn't there, the time becomes harder to find. And if you try to write when your heart isn't in it, it's not fair to your readers and it doesn't meet the standard you set for yourself as a writer.
It's even more difficult when you have two kids while running your own business or working a full-time job. I don't know how Mike did it.
Mike's a good friend of mine, so I'm obviously biased. But I'm standing up and giving him a slow clap. It was more fun to be a Tigers fan because of The Daily Fungo. I enjoyed writing there when I had the chance, and had I not taken on Bless You Boys, I might have written much more with Mike.
Though I'll still talk Tigers with Mike frequently, the blog will be missed. Hell, this blogging thing is how we struck up our friendship in the first place. I'll be eager to hear how he enjoys baseball next year strictly as a fan.
Here are two previous posts I've written about bloggers shutting it down. Hopefully, I didn't repeat myself too much.
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