The NHL: All-Access video helped me understand the best way to approach a sports informatin blog, but it also gave me great ideas on how best to accomplish those ideas. Luckily these tactics can cross the border from tv to written material as well without much problem on a blog.
The best ways to convey aspect of a sports information blog are:
1. Make sure you have several and complete interviews with the entire team, from the coach all the way down throught the trainers. Everyperson that is on the bench or sidelines of a game is a great source of information about the team and players. Especially those that are not normally though of as being part of the team like the equipment manager and trainers. These members actually have more information about the personal traditions and habits of the players and the coaches than anyone because unlike the coaches and players they tend to stick with the same team for their entire careers and can tell you the differences in what a player of coach was like at the beginning of their career as apposed to the end.
2. You also want to make sure you have entries on the blog that talk about the atmosphere of the buidlign that you play in, what the fans bring to the game, and the day-to-day aspects of being part of the team. The building and fan atmopshere would be most important on a blog. This would again draw the fans to the site to find out what is best about what they do at the games to pump the team up and what they don't respond to. It helps not only educate the fans on what the team would like to draw from them, but it also make the fans feel like they are part of the team.
Atmosphere is the most important thing in a sports building. There are several stadiums and ice rinks around the country that give the home teams a distinctive advantage because of the atmosophere that is created. When you have visiting teams dreading playing somewhere it gives the home team a jump start on their way to a win. Just look at teams like Duke basketball, who have not lost much in the last two decades in their home arena, or North Dakota at the Ralph Engelstad Arena for hockey.
3. It is also very important to make sure that there is a graphical element to the entires. Having something like a photo gallary is important because if a fan can't be at the event that you are talking about the images that result from them can be the next best thing. This would be especially important when events that you want to highlight, such as post-season play, are our of town and travel is too expensive for most of the fans.
Posted by laje0007 at December 14, 2005 1:00 PM